Conservatism in Jackson's the Lottery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Conservatism in Jackson's the Lottery - Essay Example Conservatism stresses that human nature is â€Å"unchanging† or â€Å"fixed† and has â€Å"natural dispositions† (Loptson 93). The Lottery shows the resistance of people to changes, even when their traditions lead to violence and suffering of certain unfortunate, arbitrary individuals. The town performs the lottery with such regularity that it is treated like any other day. For instance, during the lottery, â€Å"the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes† (Jackson). These actions reflect an ordinary day for them. But The Lottery later on reveals the capacity for evil that conservatism can uphold. Apparently, the lottery involves the ancient tradition of choosing a person to stone each year, because of the belief that it will bring prosperity to the town. Old Man Warner says: â€Å"Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon† (Jackson). What is further troubling about this ritual is that no one d ares to challenge it. Mrs. Adams suggests that â€Å"some places have already quit lotteries,† but Old Man Werner stresses that this would be an outrage since â€Å"there's always been a lottery† (Jackson). The idea of natural dispositions for conservatism dwell on the evils of humanity. In this town, even children participate in the violent act. Women, men, and children alike stone Mrs. Hutchinson without thinking about the morality of their actions. This story emphasizes the natural evil in people, especially when they are firmly bound to authoritative rituals and beliefs. Freedom from traditions is unheard of for conservatism. The only freedom possible is the freedom to pursue one's individual or group or community goals. While some towns have given up the lottery, this particular town insists on preserving the â€Å"institutionalized way of life† (Vincent 58). Conservatism believes in the permanence of the â€Å"existing† social order (Vincent 58). Th e townspeople cherish traditions so dearly that their old black box cannot even be changed, even when it is already severely degraded: â€Å"...but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box† (Jackson). These people are imprisoned by their idea that their freedom is linked to the preservation of their ancient beliefs and rituals. Though they welcomed some changes, such as removing the use of wooden chips and the â€Å"tuneless chant† (Jackson), the people generally accept the lottery as a vital part of their everyday lives. They are free to pursue other roles in the community and family life, but never free to change rituals and breach the norms of their lives. Conservatism entails the vision of a good life that is paradoxically materialistic and moralistic. It is materialistic, because of the focus on fundamental needs. Gender roles are pronounced, where men are concerned with â€Å"planting and rain, tractors and taxes,† w hile women spend time for â€Å"gossip† (Jackson). Mrs. Hutchinson almost forgets the lottery, because she is busy doing the dishes. These people are preoccupied with their material needs and concerns. A conservative life is also moralistic, but not in the genuinely moral sense. Instead, what is moralized is done

Analysis of USPS Business Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Analysis of USPS Business Model - Essay Example It is currently employing more than 574,000 workers. It is legally permitted to render service to all the Americans without considering their geographical location. The company is well known for its quality services along with the uniform price. The agency has an access to the letterboxes which are marked as the ‘US Mail’ and also to the personal letterboxes in the country. Services Offered The United States Postal Services offer a wide range of services. It has bulk mail procedures available which provide discounts to the customers. It provides personal mails to the customers. The company also provides inter-departmental details regarding the UALR mails. It provides the services of campus delivery of the mails and state courier services. It provides media mail services to the customers as well. There are some other facilities provided to the customers like the business rely mails, postal money order services etc. Current Position of the Company United States Postal Serv ices is responsible for providing employment to a large number of people in the United States. After the federal government and Walmart, United States Postal Services is the third largest company in respect of providing employment (Bovard, 1985). It operates the largest number of vehicles in the whole world and is known as the largest vehicle fleet. The Department of Defence jointly operates with the United States Postal Services to provide services to the Army and Air Forces (the Army Postal Services) and the Navy (the Fleet Post Services). The two big competitors of USPS are UPS and FedEx. They compete with the company in providing postage delivery services, making urgent deliveries in the domestic land. DHL express was the third largest competitor of USPS until it stopped its operations in the United States in the year 2009. The National Postal Forum held in 2007 revealed that the Postal Service has highlighted and undertaken a large number of initiatives to improve the services and gain a remarkable position in the United States parcel industry. The low price offerings made by USPS is making it easily affordable by the customers. The company generates annual revenue of $73 billion whereas UPS and FedEx have annual revenue of $48 billion and $32 billion. Thus it is in a leading position in the market. Domestic and International Services The United States Postal Services provide domestic as well as international services in the United States. Domestic Services- Domestic services include weekday’s delivery of postal services to any particular customer’s address or Post Office Box or any delivery in the Army and the Military in the United States. It provides express mails which guarantee overnight deliveries to most locations. It is one of the fastest postage services offered by the USPS. There are several other facilities provided to the customers like first class mails, bulk mails, media mails etc. International Services- The United States Post al Services provides various facilities to the customers in order to meet their international shipping needs. The Global Express Guaranteed Service (GEGS) guarantees delivery within three days in more than 190 countries all over the world by FedEx. The First Class Mail Service is the best suitable international service for most of the customers. However, the delivery time in this service depends upon the destination of the delivery. The Express Mail International provides a combination of quick services and affordable prices in almost 185 countries. The delivery time lies within three to five business days. Challenges faced by the Company The delay in the delivery of services was one of the problems faced by the customers. This problem was arising frequently. The company conducted an analysis in

Application of Carbon Nanotubes

Application of Carbon Nanotubes I will be examining and discussing carbon nanotubes and the application within industry, I will look at the History and manufacture of carbon nanotubes. I will Examine and discuss their chemical and physical properties and how these properties make them useful in a wide range of applications. The history of carbon nanotubes is not entirely clear even for those in the science therefore giving proper credit to the person that invented the carbon nanotube has been the subject of several high tech debates among the scientific communities. The initial history of nanotubes started in the 1970s. A preparation of the planned carbon filaments was completed by Morinobu Endo who was earning his Ph.D. at the University of Orleans, France. The growth of these carbon filaments were initially thought to be the first carbon nanotubes. However, they failed to meet the measurement requirements for width and thus were deemed, eventually, barrelenes. This was still a highly important development in the history of carbon nanotubes, but it just wasnt the right time to be considered the first recognized invention. Giving the proper credit to who invented carbon nanotubes would not come along for another 20 years. In 1991 the true first invention of nanotube was finally made. It seems as though there was a race between Russian nanotechnologists and Sumio Iijima of IBM. The first observation of the multiwall carbon nanotubes was credited to Iijima. There are some that hold the belief that in the 1950s there was an initial discovery of what could have possibly been seen as the first carbon nanotubes had Roger Bacon had the high powered electron microscope that would have been necessary. He was credited with the first visual impression of the tubes of atoms that roll up and are capped with fullerene molecules by many scientists in the field. Some state that his discovery just wasnt taken very seriously at the time because science did not know how this discovery could impact scientific research. It would be in 1993 that Iijima and Donald Bethune found single walled nanotubes known as buckytubes. This helped the scientific community make more sense out of not only the potential for nanotube research, but the use and existence of fullerenes. With this information, the complete discovery of carbon nanotubes was realized and Iijima and Bethune were ultimately credited with their discovery in their entirety. Russian nanotechnologists were independently discovering the same visual affirmation. They were just a little bit later in their announcement and the potential effect of this discovery. While Roger Bacon might not have been completely aware of the impact his discovery had on the scientific world, he is technically the first scientist to discover these hollow tubes of carbon that are changing lives on a daily basis. Since the initial rediscovery of the nanotubes in 1991, who discovered carbon nanotubes is no longer as important as who can come up with the most practical applications. DefinitionCarbon nanotubes are large molecules of pure carbon that are long and thin and shaped like tubes, about 1-3 nanometres (1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter) in diameter, and hundreds to thousands of nanometres long. A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a miniature cylindrical carbon structure that has hexagonal graphite molecules attached at the edges. Nanotubes look like a powder or black soot, but theyre actually rolled-up sheets of graphene that form hollow strands with walls that are only one atom thick. Nanotubes, which are sometimes called buckytubes, were developed from the Fullerene, a structure that is similar to the geodesic domes. Nanotubes can be characterized by their number of concentric cylinders, cylinder radius and cylinder length. Some nanotubes have a property called chirality, an expression of longitudinal twisting. Multiple nanotubes can be assembled into microscopic mechanical systems called nanomachines. Shapes Although carbon nanotubes are strong, they are not brittle. They can be bent, and when released, they will spring back to their original shape. One type of carbon nanotube has a cylindrical shape with open ends. Another type of nanotube has closed ends, formed by some of the carbon atoms combining into pentagons on the end of the nanotube. Figure 3.2 A carbon nanotube with closed ends Carbon nanotubes can occur as multiple concentric cylinders of carbon atoms, called multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCTs). Logically enough, carbon nanotubes that have only one cylinder are called single-walled carbon nanotubes. Three orientations are possible: armchair, zigzag, and chiral. Figure 3.3 The three possible orientations of CNTs Chemical Properties Carbon nanotubes are polymers of pure carbon, and thus possess all of carbons versatility, including the ability to form countless combinations and derivatives. In addition, carbon nanotubes are direct beneficiaries of the rich history and vast body of knowledge associated with carbon chemistry. Consequently, carbon nanotubes can be functionalized in countless ways using a variety of well-understood chemical reactions. In addition, the geometry of a nanotube allows for the formation of novel synthetic structures not possible with other carbon structures. Carbon nanotubes can be derived both covalently, in which other molecules being bonded to the nanotube share an electron with the tube, and non-covalently, in which the other molecule simply adheres to the carbon nanotubes sidewall, providing a nano-scale coating of the carbon nanotube. Because the carbon nanotube sidewalls are electrically polarizable, polar molecules can easily adhere to their surfaces. When molecules adhere even n on-covalently to the carbon nanotube surface, they often cause subtle changes in the electronic structure of the tubes. Such changes can be easily detected, making carbon nanotubes exquisitely sensitive chemical sensors. An important aspect of non-covalent derivatization is the association of surfactants with the carbon nanotube surface, enabling them to be suspended in water. Physical Properties Electrical There has been considerable practical interest in the conductivity of CNTs. CNTs with particular combinations of N and M (structural parameters indicating how much the nanotube is twisted) can be highly conducting, and hence can be said to be metallic. Their conductivity has been shown to be a function of their chirality (degree of twist), as well as their diameter. CNTs can be either metallic or semi-conducting in their electrical behaviour. Conductivity in MWNTs is quite complex. Some types of armchair-structured CNTs appear to conduct better than other metallic CNTs. Furthermore, interwall reactions within MWNTs have been found to redistribute the current over individual tubes non-uniformly. However, there is no change in current across different parts of metallic single-walled CNTs. However, the behaviour of ropes of semi-conducting SWNTs is different, in that the transport current changes abruptly at various positions on the CNTs. The conductivity and resistivity of ropes of SWN Ts has been measured by placing electrodes at different parts of the CNTs. The resistivity of the SWNT ropes was in the order of 10-4 ohm-cm at 27ÂÂ °C. This means that SWNT ropes are the most conductive carbon fibres known. The current density that was possible to achieve was 107 A/cm2, however in theory the SWNT ropes should be able to sustain much higher stable current densities, as high as 1013 A/cm2. It has been reported that individual SWNTs may contain defects. Fortuitously, these defects allow the SWNTs to act as transistors. Likewise, joining CNTs together may form transistor-like devices. A nanotube with a natural junction (where a straight metallic section is joined to a chiral semiconducting section) behaves as a rectifying diode that is, a half-transistor in a single molecule. It has also recently been reported that SWNTs can route electrical signals at high speeds (up to 10 GHz) when used as interconnects on semi-conducting devices. Strength and elasticity The carbon atoms of a single (graphene) sheet of graphite form a planar honeycomb lattice, in which each atom is connected via a strong chemical bond to three neighbouring atoms. Because of these strong bonds, the basal-plane elastic modulus of graphite is one of the largest of any known material. For this reason, CNTs are expected to be the ultimate high-strength fibres. SWNTs are stiffer than steel, and are very resistant to damage from physical forces. Pressing on the tip of a nanotube will cause it to bend, but without damage to the tip. When the force is removed, the tip returns to its original state. This property makes CNTs very useful as probe tips for very high-resolution scanning probe microscopy. Quantifying these effects has been rather difficult, and an exact numerical value has not been agreed upon. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM), the unanchored ends of a freestanding nanotube can be pushed out of their equilibrium position and the force required to push the nan otube can be measured. The current Youngs modulus value of SWNTs is about 1 TeraPascal, but this value has been disputed, and a value as high as 1.8 Tpa has been reported. Other values significantly higher than that have also been reported. The differences probably arise through different experimental measurement techniques. Others have shown theoretically that the Youngs modulus depends on the size and chirality of the SWNTs, ranging from 1.22 Tpa to 1.26 Tpa. They have calculated a value of 1.09 Tpa for a generic nanotube. However, when working with different MWNTs, others have noted that the modulus measurements of MWNTs using AFM techniques do not strongly depend on the diameter. Instead, they argue that the modulus of the MWNTs correlates to the amount of disorder in the nanotube walls. Not surprisingly, when MWNTs break, the outermost layers break first. Thermal Conductivity New research from the University of Pennsylvania indicates that CNTs may be the best heat-conducting material man has ever known. Ultra-small SWNTs have even been shown to exhibit superconductivity below 20oK. Research suggests that these exotic strands, already heralded for their unparalleled strength and unique ability to adopt the electrical properties of either semiconductors or perfect metals, may someday also find applications as miniature heat conduits in a host of devices and materials. The strong in-plane graphitic C-C bonds make them exceptionally strong and stiff against axial strains. The almost zero in-plane thermal expansion but large inter-plane expansion of SWNTs implies strong in-plane coupling and high flexibility against non-axial strains. Many applications of CNTs, such as in nanoscale molecular electronics, sensing and actuating devices, or as reinforcing additive fibres in functional composite materials, have been proposed. Reports of several recent experiments on the preparation and mechanical characterization of CNT-polymer composites have also appeared. These measurements suggest modest enhancements in strength characteristics of CNT-embedded matrixes as compared to bare polymer matrixes. Preliminary experiments and simulation studies on the thermal properties of CNTs show very high thermal conductivity. It is expected, therefore, that nanotube reinforcements in polymeric materials may also significantly improve the thermal and thermo-mechanical properties of the composites.

the aztecs Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Aztecs Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tribe in which I will be researching is the Aztecs tribe. I plan to find out the answers to the questions below. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Where they lived? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their religions? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What they ate? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of their beliefs? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What life was like? The Aztecs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Indian tribe I am studying is the Aztecs. I plan on answering questions such as what life was like, what they ate, how they dressed, what their religions were, and many other questions which I intended on finding out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I learned many interesting facts about the Aztecs. And a few of the most interesting facts in which I learned are that the Aztecs believed deeply in sacrifices, and would capture prisoners of another tribe of war, and would make them climb a pyramid and at the top they would have their heart cut out from their chest and burned as an offering to their gods. (Unstead, 9&10.) The Aztecs had many gods, which they believed in. The two chief gods were Oretecuhtlick and Orecihuatl. They were the lord and the lady of creation. They had four sons who would be the creators of the other gods. (Unstead, 8&9.) The Aztecs believed in a god for everything. There was a food god, a sun god, a water god, a moon god, even a god for their clothing. &n...

Economic Order Quantity model (EOQ) and the Just-In-Time model (JIT) Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION It is very important that successful enterprises need efficient stock control management, especially in manufacturing companies and retail distribution. In business practice, we usually use many stock control models such as the Economic Order Quantity model (EOQ) and Just-In-Time model (JIT). The purpose of this report is to indicate the rationale of EOQ and JIT models and detailed to explain the effectiveness in practice of the two models. Moreover, I decided to take the McDonald company as an example, which illustrate JIT model is being applied by McDonald company. In this report, by serious study and literature review, combined with refer to relevant books, search useful information from internet and my personal idea. I have examined concepts of EOQ and JIT models. Followed by discuss the rationale of them, and illustrate effectiveness of the two models in practice that we may fully understand the importance of EOQ and JIT systems in company’s daily operation. Finally, use JIT system in McDonald Company is presented. 2.0 THE ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY MODEL AND JUST-IN-TIME MODEL 2.1 Definition 2.1.1 Economic Order Quantity model The Economic Order Quantity stock control model also called the economic lot size or economic production quantity, it affirms that â€Å"the optimal quantity of an inventory item to order at any time is that quantity that minimizes total inventory costs over planning period† (Horne and Wachowicz 1995, p.271). 2.1.2 Just-In-Time model The Just-In-Time stock control model â€Å"is an integrated set of activities designed to achieve high-volume production using minimal inventories of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods† (Aquilano et al. 2004, p.426). 3.0 THE BASIC ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY MODEL In 1913, F. W. Harris developed an EOQ model which has been applied widely. This model is being used in planning the purchase raw materials, and suppliers, and in planning purchases for wholesalers and retailers who resell products. 3.1 Assumptions of EOQ Model It is necessary to the inventory management that EOQ model is one of the most commonly approach. Use this model is relatively simple, however, according to Heizer and Render (2001, p.481), it must based on the following assumptions or conditions: Rate of demand is constant, known and independent. Lead time is certainty and constant, therefore, when the stock down to zero, the stock could be added at a precise time. Quantity discounts are impossible. The stock is immediate and complete. If ordered goods are in appropriate time, shortages can be prevent. Setup cost and holding or carrying cost are belong to variable costs. 3.2 The Objective of EOQ Model â€Å"The objective of the EOQ model is to determine the optimal quantity of inventory to order and the best time to place the order† (Dyclcman et al. 1990, p.630). In fact, the EOQ is balancing two inventory management costs: carrying cost and ordering costs. Dyclcman et al. argue (1990): Carrying costs include out-of-pocket costs such as storage, insurance, taxes and so on. Opportunity costs is related to the cost of investing capital in inventory rather than in other income-producing assets. Ordering costs include out-pf-pocket expenditures incurred every time an order is placed, such as handling, shipping, and so on. Dyclcman et al. (1990) make a further statement: Carrying costs and ordering costs demonstrate different cost behaviors relative to the level of inventory maintained. Carrying costs increase with the quantity of inventory maintained; ordering costs decrease with the quantity of inventory maintained. The more inventory kept on hand, the more storage, handling, and other such carrying costs are incurred. The larger the amount of inventory, the fewer number of orders needed to replenish the inventory and the smaller the amount of ordering costs. 3.3 Validity of the assumptions and model robustness Although the assumption of EOQ model shows highly restrictive, one advantage of EOQ model is that it is quite robust. As mentioned onwards, there are some assumptions will be dropped, like no quantity discounts, no shortages, no uncertainty in demand and lead time. On the other hand, â€Å"such as a constant demand rate and a constant holding cost per unit, can be violated somewhat without substantially reducing the accuracy of the solution† (Martinich 1997, p. 671). When the demand face seasonal changes, model can be changed to adapt to this situation. Martinich (1997) stated clearly: The important feature of EOQ model is that the function of total stocking cost is flat around the optimal order quantity. Estimating ordering cost per unit time and holding cost per unit time are very crucial, because they are not often very accurate. Therefore, the value computed for EOQ cannot equal the true optimal value. â€Å"However, because of the flatness of the total stocking cost function, even if the computed EOQ is 20%-30% different from the true optimal, the cost penalty is relatively small†(Martinich 1997, p.671). Robust is defined as â€Å"a model that gives satisfactory answers even with substantial variation in its parameters† (Heizer and Render 2001, p.486). As we mentioned above, it is difficult to decide accurate ordering costs and holding costs for inventory management. Thus, a robust model is very favorable and some errors do not cost us very much. This is because that the EOQ model is most convenient and it can accurately forecast demand, holding cost, and ordering cost is limited. 3.4 Fixed Order Point versus Fixed Order Interval Policy EOQ model is an approach of the fixed order point policy. According to Ellram et al. (1998, p.128): Throughout the ordering process, as long as the EOQ model was identified, a fixed quantity will be ordered every time. â€Å"An order is placed when inventory on hand reaches a predetermined minimum level necessary to satisfy demand during the order cycle.† An order will be generated through the automated inventory management system. Another reorder policy is the fixed order interval method. Use this method, we may set time interval, maybe every week. Under this method, many projects are bought by the same supplier. â€Å"A weekly order may be placed to reduce ordering costs and take advantages of purchase volume discounts and freight consolidation.† 4.0 JUST-IN-TIME PRODUCTION SYSTEM As we all know, the most effective stock management approach is JIT production control system over the past 50 years. The system is currently being used by many industries. 4.1 JIT Logic For the purpose of JIT system, it intend to use minimum inventories of raw materials, process of production, and finished goods to achieve high output. Need is based on the occurrence of product’s actual demand, otherwise nothing will be produced. Theoretically, if an item is sold, the market will pull a substitute in the system. â€Å"This triggers an order to the factory production line, where a worker then pulls another unit from an upstream station in the flow to replace the unit taken† (Aquilano et al. 2004, p.427). Then this upstream station pulls to further upstream and back to release of raw materials. To make this pull process more smoothly, JIT need high quality in every procedure, strong supplier relationships, and a very clearly demand for the final product. 4.2 Feature of JIT production system In JIT production system, Black et al. (1996, p.842) argue that it include three key features: 1). Operation of production line is based on demand-pull, as a result, each workstation’s activity is subject to the approval of the demand of downstream workstations. There are many approaches to use demand-pull feature, but the most common method is Kanban system which is the Japanese term for a visual record or card. Under Kanban system, use a kanban card to operate to authorized another operation to produce a given part of the special quantity. Black et al. (1996) provide an example: â€Å"suppose the assembly department of a muffler manufacture receives an order for 10 mufflers. The assembly department triggers productions of the 10 metal pipes it needs to make the 10 mufflers by sending a kanban card to the machining department, which then begins producing the pipes. When production is completed, the machining department attaches the kanban card to the box containing the mental pipes and ships the package downstream to the assembly department, which starts the cycle over again when it receives the next customer order.† 2). Each unit including the setup time and manufacturing lead time are minimized. When a product is prepare to begin in production line, then turned into finished products, the process of the elapse of the time is known as manufacturing lead time. Production of demand normally produced relatively small quantities, however, as long as setup times are small, it is cost-effective to produce product in small quantities. 3). If parts have defective and insufficient, the production line will cease operation. Each staff should attach great importance to reducing the occurrence of such problems like defective material parts. Conversely, under the traditional inventory management system, workers can ignore defective parts and continue to work because the inventory parts and work in process are huge. Hirsch et al. (1989, p.746) take a similar view, they have also added an important argument that total quality control (TQC) is often combined with JIT system. All the staff have become quality control inspection personnel, meanwhile, if products and materials are found to be not meeting quality standard, the production line should suspend operation. As long as this situation happened, it must be resolved as soon as possible. It means that workers have not impetus to ignore the fault in the early of production process stage, they had to stop their work process. 4.3 JIT Costing The fundamental difference between JIT method and other traditional methods is the treatment of the costs. According to Hirsch et al. (1989, p.746), under the traditional approach of costing, raw materials or reserves firstly get into an asset account, when they are transported. After these amounts are transferred into a work-in process account, they will be put into operation as raw materials. â€Å"Then, as the materials move from process to process they pass through a series of work-in-process accounts for each operation.† Eventually, when the product inventory through work-in-process account transfer to finished product inventory account. â€Å"With JIT the incoming materials are entered at cost directly into a material and work-in-process inventory account.† There is no series of work-in-process accounts for each process because there is very little work-in-process to account for. The value of material is diverted to finished product inventory account because the product has been completed. 4.4 JIT Purchasing In JIT purchasing, suppliers use the replacement principle of Kanban by using small, standard-size containers and make several shipments daily to each customer. JIT not only reduces in-process inventories by using Kanban, but also raw materials inventories are reduced by applying the same principles to suppliers as well. According to Frazier and Gaither (2001): the elements of JIT purchasing are as following: 1). Supplier development and supplier relations undergo fundamental changes. The nature of the relationships between customers and suppliers shifts from being adversarial to being cooperative. The Japanese call these relationships subcontractor networks and refer to suppliers as co-producers. 2). Purchasing departments develop long-term relationships with suppliers. The result is long-term supply contracts with a few suppliers rather than short-term supply contracts with many suppliers. 3). Although price is very important, delivery schedules, product quality, and mutual trust and cooperation become the primary basis of supplier selection. 4). Suppliers are encouraged to extend JIT approach to their own suppliers. 5). Suppliers are ordinarily located near the buying firm’s factory, or if they are some distance from the factory, they are often clustered together. This causes lead times to be shorter and more reliable. 6). Shipments are delivered to the customer’s production line directly. Because suppliers are encouraged to produce and supply parts at a steady rate that matches the use rate of the buying firm, company-owned hauling equipment tends to be preferred. 7). Parts are delivered in small, standard-size containers with a minimum of paperwork and in exact quantities. 8). Delivered material is of near-perfect quality. Because suppliers have a long-term relationship with the buying firms and because parts are delivered in small lot sizes, the quality of purchased materials tends to be higher. 5.0 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EOQ MODEL IN PRACTICE 5.1 Examination of EOQ Assumptions In the practice of business arena, although EOQ model enable to generate many good results, many limitations of EOQ model is combined with its own assumptions. Schroeder (1993, p.592) argued as following: 1). In practice, demand is assumed to be constant, but in many cases demand is shifty. 2). The unit cost is assumed constant, in practice, however, normally if the purchase of large quantities, it will gain quantities discounts. â€Å"This case needs a modification of the basic EOQ model and is treated in the chapter supplement.† 3). The material in the lot is assumed to arrive all at once, but in some cases material will be placed in inventory continuously as it is produced. This case is also treated in the supplement. 4). A single product is assumed, however, sometimes several projects were purchased through a single provider. Meanwhile they are being shipped at one time. 5). Suppose the setup cost is static, as a matter of fact, it is always decreased. These assumptions have been pointed out to illustrate the limitation of the basic EOQ model, nevertheless it is useful approximation in practice. The formula at least â€Å"puts you in the ballpark†, provided the assumptions are reasonably accurate. In addition, the total-cost curve is rather flat in the region of the minimum. Therefore the EOQ can be adjusted somewhat to conform to reality without greatly affecting the costs. The EOQ formula can also offer insight into economic behavior of inventories. For example, traditional turnover arguments suggest that inventory should increase directly with sales if a constant turnover ratio is desired. Since turnover is the ratio of sales to inventory, a doubling of sales will allow a doubling of inventory if the turnover rate is held constant. But the EOQ formula suggests that inventory should increase only with the square root of sales. This indicates that it is net economical to maintain a constant turnover ratio as sales increase; a higher turnover is indeed justified. It is important for financial manager that fully understand limitations and assumptions of the EOQ model will offer a strong base of making stock management decision. 5.2 EOQ Model Extension Obviously, through the above discussion, some assumptions of EOQ model are impractical. In order to make this model more useful, it is necessary to extension for EOQ model. Besley and Brigham (2005, pp.602-603) state clearly: To begin with, if there is a delay between the time inventory is ordered and  when it is received, the company have to reorder before it use up inventory. To avoid this, the firm can carry safety stock, which means â€Å"additional inventory carried to guard against unexpected changes in sales rates or production/shipping delays.† The amount of safety stock a company holds generally increase with a) the uncertainty of demand forecasts, b) the costs (in term of lost sales and lost goodwill) that result from stockouts, and c) the chances that delay will occur in receiving shipments. The amounts of safety stock decreases as the cost of carrying this additional inventory increase. Moreover, a company should consider when determining appropriate inventory level is whether its supplier provides discounts to purchase large quantities. It is unrealistic to suppose that the demand for the inventory is uniform in the year, the  EOQ model should not be based on an annual to applying. More appropriate approach should divide the year into the seasons like the spring, the summer, the fall, and the winter which sales are relatively constant; then the EOQ model can be applied separately to each periods. 6.0 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF JIT IN PRACTICE In practice, we have already found that JIT system have its potential benefits and its problems. It is important to use that fully comprehension the merits and the problems of JIT system. 6.1 Typical Benefits of JIT Meredith and Shafer (2002, p.351) deem that JIT provide various advantage in real operation: Cost savings. There are many approaches to save cost. Such as inventory reduction, reduced scrap, fewer defect, less space, fewer changes due to both customers and engineering, decreased labor hours, less rework, reduced rework, and other such effects. Total savings range in the neighborhood of  20 to 25 percent, with significantly higher savings on individual categories such as inventory and defects. Revenue increases. Through high-quality product and satisfactory service to customers, revenue will be increased. Short lead time and rapidly reply to meet customer’s need lead to better margins and higher sales. The rapid research and development of new products and service will bring more revenues. Investment savings. Investment is saved through three primary effects. First, less space is needed for the same capacity. Second, inventory is reduced to the point that turns run about 50 to 100 a year. Third, the volume of work produced in the same facility is significantly increased, frequently by as much as 100 percent. Workforce improvement. JIT company’s employees are more satisfied with their work. They prefer the teamwork it demands, and they like the fact the fewer problems arise. They are also better trained for the flexibility and skills needed with JIT, and they enjoy the growth they experience in their jobs. â€Å"All this translates into better, more productive work.† Uncovering problems. One of the unexpected benefits is the greater visibility to problems that JIT allows, if management is willing to capitalize on the chance to fix these problems. In trying to speed up a process, all types of difficulties are uncovered and most of them are various from of waste so not only is response time but also is usually zero. 6.2 Potential Problems in Implementing JIT It is important that JIT system has some problems and limitations. According to Meredith and Shafer (2002, p.353), there are some difficulties and problems as following: First of all, JIT system is do for repetitive production case, including relatively standard products. It does not applicable to custom, continuous  flow, or project situation. JIT system is not long-term operations, because it is based on the identical mixed-model plans to operation in every day. Clearly, when setups need to spend a long time, JIT will not able to run continuously. JIT system often has setups, it also has frequent shipments and receipts. Therefore the company must be prepared for this too. JIT need principle as well. Production will cease, once products are not arrive on schedule, or flaws happen. Moreover, we have no other means or time to make up for mistakes. Production system must be used correctly, workers must fulfill their work seriously, otherwise run of JIT system will fail. Principle is usually linked with supply chain. The biggest problem to successful operation of JIT system is unrealistic deliveries from suppliers. For example: Suppose X company’s two important suppliers have already gone strike for several days, X company was forced to close 10 of its plants at a cost of almost $500 million in lost profits. When an important supplier their supply, JIT is very danger if there is no backup supplier. In addition, equally serious problem is when a comprehensive delivery service goes on strike, like UPS and FEDEX strike that idled thousands of business and caused a major disruption in the economy. Although other delivery service can sometimes fill in, they often cannot bring sufficient capacity to the problem to keep JIT operating without disruption. On the other hand, JIT is based on cooperation and trust among workers, managers, suppliers, customers, and so on. The current environment must be trust and competition is not exist, or else JIT will not run successfully. Trust and cooperation must also be extended to the external such as suppliers and customers. â€Å"With suppliers, this means moving to risky, single-source contracts and bringing an outsider into the project team, where there may be proprietary secrets.† 6.3 E-Commerce and JIT Purchasing Nowadays, JIT system combined with e-commerce, making the JIT purchasing has  become better to use in practice. E-commerce has already put up a advantage to JIT purchasing. There are some merits being showed: Reduce waste of time to deal with paper work and reduce the procurement lead time; labor costs are also reduced. â€Å"The bottom line is a more efficient and effective purchasing process† (Frazier and Gaither 2001, p.477). E-commerce can drive the use of Kanban between manufacturer and suppliers. Under method of Internet-based system, a manufacturer can electronically send Kanban to suppliers. E-Kanban and paper Kanban have identical functions, however they can provided to suppliers rapidly. 7.0 JIT SYSTEM IN MCDONALD COMPANY  ·What are the benefits for McDonald? The major benefits for McDonald are better food at a lower cost. McDonald Company has found something that allows them to improve quality and lower costs.  ·Improved Quality The less obvious benefit is the higher quality customer service that arises from the JIT burger assembly. When McDonald waits for you to order the burger, they do a few things to improve customer service. First of all, when you place a special order, it does not send McDonald’s into a panic that causes huge delays. Now that McDonald company is in the practice of waiting until you order a burger until they make it, they don’t freak out when they have to make a special order fresh just for you. This higher quality customer service is subject to McDonald ability to produce faster. Without this ability, McDonald’s ordering costs would be sky-high because the costs associated with ordering would be the loss of customers tired of ordering fast food that really isn’t fast. Second, JIT allows McDonald to adapt to demand a little bit better. Seemingly, lower inventory levels would cause McDonald’s bigger problems in a higher demand because they wouldn’t have their safety stock. However, because they can produce burgers in a record time, they don’t have to worry about their pre-made burger inventories running out in the middle of an exceptionally busy shift.  ·Lower Costs In McDonald, the holding costs for burger parts (beef, cheese, whatever other garbage they put on their burgers) are fairly high because of their spoilage costs. Frozen ground beef that’s good today might not be so good in a few months. Once cooked, the same ground beef’s spoilage rate shoots through the roof. Instead of having a shelf life of months or weeks, the burger needs to be sold within 15 minutes or so. The holding costs go from roughly 20% per week to 100% per hour.  ·Why use JIT? According to argument of Inventory management review (2005):  ·Economic Order Quantity Savings A large benefit of JIT is that it reduces the total cost of ordering and holding inventory. High holding costs is the nature of the fast food industry. JIT system allowed them to exploit the savings that were realized by holding less inventory. High holding costs and low ordering costs are the factors that drive JIT. Generally, it’s the ability to lower ordering costs that make it a feasible solution. McDonald was slave to the high holding costs. It was just the nature of their industry. The solution for them was that while they couldn’t lower holding costs, they could lower ordering costs. EOQ determines how much you should order and there are two factors that drive economic order quantities down: low ordering costs and high holding costs. Depending on the product and the industry, one or both of these qualities may exist in your operations. If they do, JIT may be right for you. Without the ability to make ordering costs low as a percentage of holding costs,  then there is no need for JIT. In fact, the increased frequency in ordering will result in cost increases.  ·Safety Stock Reductions The other aspect of JIT is the drastic reduction in safety stock. Two reasons result in safety stock exist: variability in demand and variability in lead times from suppliers (for McDonald company, the supplier is the internal production process). If lead time is shorter, which JIT tries to accomplish, then this part of the safety stock is smaller, this lowering safety stock inventory. McDonald company is accomplished this by creating a system that allowed a faster burger production (McDonald’s lead times are internal). On the other hand, If lead time has no variance or is reduced, then this term can be eliminated or at least reduced. Again, this is what JIT try to accomplish. McDonald company is accomplished by standardizing production. McDonald Company fully understand that a considerable amount of work needs to be done with suppliers/internal operations in order to accomplish the tasks of shortening lead times and reducing their variances. McDonald company has the resource to implement JIT system successfully. However, in competitive industries, JIT is not optimal for all the firms. JIT, like most management accounting techniques, is not a universal panacea, and some firms find it profitable like McDonald, Walmart, and so on; some are not. 8.0 CONCLUSION It should be said that stock management is prominent aspect of working capital management. For the purpose of control stock level, most of companies use EOQ and JIT models in practice. Efficiency gains in inventory management can bring significant improvement to overall company financial performance. However, no model has been fully satisfactory. The two models have advantages and disadvantages respectively. In general, although each  model will work well in certain environments, they may not work well in other environments. An inappropriate choice of system can be expensive mistake. Thus, it can be concluded that each company should choose own different stock control model with its own conditions and efficient inventory management can lead to better planning and business control. LIST OF REFERENCE Eric Smith, Joseph G. Louderback III, and Maurice. Hirsch 1989, _Cost Accounting in Australia: Accumulation, Analysis, and Use_, Published by Thomas Nelson, p.746. Richard B. Chase, F. Robert Jacobs, and Nicholas J. Aquilano 2004, _Operations Management for Competitive Advantage_, 10th edn., McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, pp.426-427. Jay Heizer and Barry Render 2001, _Operations Management_, Prentice-Hall Inc. New Jersey, pp.481-486. Joseph S. Martinich 1997, _Production and Operations Management: An Applied Modern Approach_, John Wiley & Sons Inc., p. 671. Lisa M Ellram, Douglas M. Lambert, and James R. Hock 1998, _Fundamental of Logistics Management_, Irwin/McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, p. 128. Charles T. H Orngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Terry Black, and Phil Gray 1996, _Cost Accounting in Australia: A Managerial Emphasis_, Prentice Hall Australia Pty Ltd., p. 842. James C. Van Horne and John M. Wachowicz Jr. 1995, _Fundamental of Financial Management_, Prentice-Hall International Inc., p. 271. Roger G. Schroeder 1993, _Operations Management: Decision Making in the Operations Function_, 4th edn., McGraw-Hill International Inc., p. 592. Scott Besley and Eugene F. Brigham 2005, _Essentials of Managerial Finance_, 13th edn., South-Western Thomson Publishing Company, pp. 602-603. Jack R. Meredith and Scote M Shafer 2002, _Operations Management for MBAs_, John Willey & Sons Inc., pp.351-353. Greg Frazier and Norman Gaither 2001, _Operations Management_, 9th edn., South-Western Publishing Company, pp.476-477. Inventory Management Review 2005, viewed 5 June 2007, . Thomas R. Dyclcman, Harold Bierman, and Reonald W. Hilton 1990, _Cost Accounting: Concepts and Managerial Application_, Pws-Kent Publishing Company, pp. 630-631.

Samsung

Samsung Electronics Co. , Ltd. and its subsidiaries Stevenson Saby & Lesly Castillo American Intercontinental University September 7, 2012 Nicole Pringle Abstract The for-profit organization of interest we selected is Samsung electronics co. , ltd. and its subsidiaries. We researched the unusual or conflicting accounting principle that has impacted Samsung electronics co, Included in this research we present, a review and analyze the organizations published accounting statements of the last two years.Specifically, our research paper will: Identify the core functions of each department, their strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for improvement, as appropriate. This paper Identifies and describe the underlying problems, Compares the alternative courses of action, Explain the effects at issues, Recommend options that would be consistent with the organization’s accounting practices, accounting processes, and accounting-related departments. Last includes the last two years of published accounting statementsFrom its inception as a small export business in Taegu, Korea, Samsung has grown to become one of the world’s leading electronics companies, specializing in digital appliances and media, semiconductors, memory, and system integration. Today Samsung's innovative and top quality products and processes are world recognized. This timeline captures the major milestones in Samsung's history, showing how the company expanded its product lines and reach, grew its revenue and market share, and has followed its mission of making life better for consumers around the world. SAMSUNG All rights reserved) To identify the core functions of each department, Samsung organization structure consist of Vice Chairman, US executive team and a Board of directors. http://visiblebusiness. blogspot. com/2009/11/samsung-samsung-ar-2008. html Samsung has recently been involved one of the largest patent laws of its kind, Apple Inc. has sued Samsung for $2. 525 bill ion for copyright infringement of the iPhone and iPad with Samsung’s Android technology smart phones.Apple claims, Samsung owes â€Å"substantial monetary damages† for when they illegally â€Å"chose to compete by copying Apple. † You might hear some comments like â€Å"Apple is better â€Å"or what’s so good about Samsung. First let’s identify, Samsung throughout the years has been very successful in providing consumers with innovative technology. Samsung has revenue of 247. 5billon, Assets of 384. 3 billion, Equity of 224. 7 billion and net income of 18. 3 billion with 344, 00 employees. Samsung Electronics Co. , Ltd. and its subsidiaries) Apple has pulled together 434 LTE patents in order to counter a legal threat from Samsung, according to reports on Tuesday. Samsung has vowed to sue Apple if, as expected, if it unveils an LTE-enabled iPhone 5 during the launch event now confirmed for September 12. Anticipating this, Apple has been acquiring and developing enough LTE patents to combat the legal challenge, according to the Chosun Ilbo website.Samsung is planning to make the air-condition product category more strong with unique technology called ‘Triple protection proposition’ Samsung is the India’s official ‘Olympic partner’ for the 2012 London Olympic and recently launched ‘Olympic Ratna Program’. This will result enhance brand awareness and increase the sales. Samsung Mobile and Home appliance has future plans of launching Customized products for Indian market. This will improve the market share in rural market being that Apple is filling injections on a lot of their products.The Indian youth population is growing and mobile phone sales is expected to increase due to lesser call rates, Its financial position is strong and there is a scope of entering into unrelated diversification. Two years published accounting statements 2011> http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/ir/ financialinformation/annualreport/downloads/2011/SECAR2011_Eng_Final. pdf (http://www. samsung. com, 2011) http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/ir/financialinformation/auditedfinancialstatements/downloads/consolidated/2012_con_all. df (Samsung, 2012) Samsung’s core functions of each department, their strengths and weaknesses were identified, recommendations for improvement were addresses. We hit on possible course of actions Samsung could take with the drop in market shares as well as the alternative courses of action. Samsung Has been in the Industry to long to make a mistake as big as they did in the lawsuit against apple but they are innovators and will continue to make great products and make profits as represented in the financial statements provided.