Pestel Analysis Of The Auto Ancillary Industry Economics Essay

Pestel Analysis Of The Auto Ancillary Industry Economics Essay Auto ancillary industry is an important segment of the economy in any country. The Indian auto industry has the potential to emerge as one of the largest in the world. Presently, India is The largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world. The largest three wheeler market in the world. Second largest two wheeler market in the world. The fourth largest commercial vehicle market in the world. Auto ancillary company comprises of OEM (original equipment manufacturers). Replacement Market. The automotive sector in India contributes to 5% of the nations GDP. This envisages the Auto ancillary sector output reaching a level of $145 billion accounting for more than 10% of the GDP by 2016. PESTEL ANALYSIS There are many factors Consists of internal environment and external environment will affect the decisions of the managers of any organisation. This analysis is essential for all organization before beginning its marketing process. 3 Investments in Industry Foreign Investments: India enjoys a cost advantage with respect to casting and forging as manufacturing costs in India are 25 to 30 per cent lower than their western counterparts. Seeing the growing popularity of India in the automotive component sector, the Investment Commission has set a target of attracting foreign investment worth US$ 5 billion for the next seven years to increase Indias share in the global auto components market from the existing 0.9 per cent to 2.5 per cent by 2015. Â · French tyre major, Michelin, has gained clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for its US$ 2.26 billion Foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal to set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. Â · Ford motor car is investing about 500$ million (Rs. 2,445 cores) to double capacity at its India plant, which will Become a strategic global production hub. Â · Bosch will continue to maintain its focus in India in spite of global recession as it is planning to set up manufacturing units for electronic control units (ECU) by investing US$ 26.76 million. Â · Renault in association with Nissan is to source USD 440 million worth of auto components from India in the coming years. Â · Italian car manufacturer Fiat is planning to increase sourcing to USD 330 million by 2010 and make India its global sourcing centre. Â · Volkswagen has set target to capture 8-10 percent of market share in the passenger car segment in India by 2014 with a series of launches and by doubling the number of dealers. Domestic Investments: The market is so large and diverse that a large number of players can be absorbed to accommodate buyer needs. The Sector not only has global players looking to invest and expand but leading domestic component companies are also pumping in huge sums into expanding operations. Indian tyre makers are rolling out investment plans worth US$ 1.24 billion, due to the rising popularity of radial tyres in the commercial vehicles segment. Some other investments include: Â · Hero Motors will invest US$ 19.84 million in association with Austrian firm BRP Power train for manufacturing Automotive transmissions in India. Â · Indian arm of Swedish automotive component maker SKF is investing US$ 30 million in new ball bearings manufacturing plant at Haridwar. Â · Mahindra Mahindra will invest approx US$ 400 million for setting up an integrated auto facility in Tiruvannamalai(Chennai). Â · an auto park is coming up near Hyderabad with investments worth over US$ 409.30 million from around 34 automotive ancillary units. A lower labour cost gives Indian auto ancillary companies an absolute cost advantage. ACMA numbers suggest that wage cost accounts for 3% to 15% of revenues for Indian manufacturers as compared to 20% to 40% for US players. Historically, Indias strength in exports lies in forgings, castings and plastics. But this is changing with more component manufactures investing in up gradation of technology in recent years. DEMAND SUPPLY SCENARIO Demand supply scenario Demand is generated from two segments namely OEMs and replacement markets. The volume of demand varies by product segments. The replacement market has 45 percent of its sales coming from unorganized players. There are no regulatory standards prevailing in the market. The level of technology is not sophisticated in the replacement market. The replacement market is a safe bet even when the economy faces a slowdown. Hence, it looked as an area of focus by major players of the auto component industry. The margins in the replacement market are generally higher because of low cost operations and counterfeit sales. Success in the organized market depends on the presence of an established brand name and a wide distribution network. Unorganized sector enjoys huge advantages over the organized players in terms of excise duty exemptions and lower overheads. The suppliers to OEMs have to adhere to requirements of high quality, tight delivery schedules and lower margins. Duty structure Regulations Government Policies: Reduction in excise duties in select segment of automobiles. Extension of tax holiday for 100 per cent export oriented units (EOU) until 2010-11 will benefit only players with established EOUs. Scheme to provide enhanced Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) cover at 95 per cent has been extended up to March 2010. This scheme will assist players to mitigate risk of payment defaults in the export market. Automatic approval for foreign equity investment up to 100 per cent of manufacture of automobiles and components is permitted. The automobile industry has been delicensed. There are no restraints on import of components. Free Trade Agreements: The growing number of FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) that are being signed by India with countries like Thailand, Singapore, China etc is likely to hurt the domestic players as they pay a relatively higher duty of around 25% as compared to 1%-10% being paid by its Asian counterparts. P- POLITICAL FACTOR Political factors the most important influence on the regulation of any business. How stable is the political environment Influence the Government Policy / Law on your business Governments position on Marketing Ethics Governments policy on the economy Governments view on culture under religion Political System is responsible for Law Making. Immediate laws which affect any business in general are Central Excise, Sales Tax/ VAT, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax Service Tax Controls if any on Marketing Strategies Like Marketing / Advertising of Cigarettes, Tobacco, Alcohol etc. Government Policies on the Economy Role of Public Sector Role of Private Sector Role of Joint Sector E- ECONOMIC FACTOR Inflation Employment Disposable income Business cycles Energy availability and cost Government outlook towards Bank Financing Interest Rates Exchange Rate Mechanism Incentives for Exports Restrictions for Imports Inflation Labour Policies Level of Government Spending Avenues for Capital Creation Size of the Capital Market Role of the Regulator Type of the Instruments Nature of the Investors Business Cycles Monsoon Energy Availability Cost of Energy S- SOCIO CULTURAL FACTOR Demographics Distribution of income Social mobility Lifestyle changes Consumerism Levels of education Demographics Distribution of Income Division of population Male / Female Age Group of the Population Disposable Family Income Disposable Income in the hands of the different Age Groups Education Level of the Age Groups Life Style Changes Consumerism Attitude to living Different Age Groups In tune with available disposable income Thrust on taking care of present needs by spending than saving for the future. Joint living and nuclear families Availability of various media tools Reach of the media to the population T- TECHNOLOGICAL FACTOR New discoveries and innovations Speed of technology transfer Rates of obsolescence Internet Advantage of Technology In terms of Economies of Scale E- ENVIRONMENTAL Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Changes in temperature can impact on many industries including farming, tourism and insurance. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. The growing desire to protect the environment is having an impact on many industries such as the travel and transportation industries (for example, more taxes being placed on air travel and the success of hybrid cars) and the general move towards more environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities L- LEGAL Discrimination law Consumer law Antitrust law Employment law Health and safety law CONCLUSION The auto ancillary industry is in the growth phase. As, the auto sector grows, the auto ancillary sector also grows. The industry is graduating towards the world-class technology by implementing TQM, TPM and Six-Sigma. India is becoming the global manufacturing hub for the small cars. European companies are expressing interest in India for sourcing their needs. Many other companies are looking to consolidate their global operations; India is now a supplier of high value and critical automobile components to global auto makers such as General Motors, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen. India is expected to soon become a destination for sourcing the auto components. The Automotive Mission Plan 2016, states to increase the turnover to $145 billion and increase the export revenue to $35 million by 2016 and also to provide employment to 25 million people. With investments around US$ 15 billion slated for the sector over the next few years, the prospects for Indias auto market are bright. The results for the month of November and December2009 of the auto sector and the improved sentiments have already resulted in the BSE Auto Index outperforming the Sensex over the last one year. Therefore, the auto component industry is expected to grow in the near future. SUBMITTED BY: PANKAJ KUMAR YADAV

Look At Domestic Robots Information Technology Essay

Look At Domestic Robots Information Technology Essay Since the ancient times the idea of an easier and simpler life existed in the humans. In all these centuries they have discovered and developed many things that help them in their everyday life. One of these inventions is Robotics. The word robot was first introduced by the Czech writer Karel ÄŒapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossums Universal Robots), published in 1920. Later on, it was made famous by Isaac Asimov, in his book I, Robot. After that the meaning of the word has changed extensively. The great number of robots in everyday life has opened a new specter of changes for future applications and developments of robots. Even though there is a great progress in the field, there is always room for improvements. Aristotle once said: If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it then there would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords., meaning that if the humans had a mean in their disposal to help them, their life would be a lot better. Leonardo da Vinci is believed to be the first who created a robot. He developed a soldier who could move his head, arms and legs. After him many people invented devices that helped to improve their lives. There are many types of robots but the most important ones are two: the service robots and the industrial robots. The service robot is a robot which operates semi- or fully autonomously to perform services useful to the well-being of humans and equipment, excluding manufacturing operations.  [1]  The industrial robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications  [2]  . The technologies needed to build a robot are: teleoperators and numerical control.  [3]  A teleoperator is a mechanical manipulator that is controlled by humans from a remote location.  [4]  Numerical control (NC) is a method of controlling machine tool axes by means of numbers that have been coded on punched paper tape or other media.  [5]  The manipulator is controlled by a computer system, which is divided in two sections: arm-and-body and wrist with a gripper. In this way the robot can be taught by the computer system to perform some standard tasks. In the last decades the life of humans has changed a lot. In todays world there are many domestic robots, many of which we didnt even image. Task (chore) robots can be divided in the following groups: vacuum cleaners, pool cleaners, washing machines, window washers and lawn mowers. As time passes new models come on the market, with new qualities, more tasks to perform. Moreover anything that can be programmed to do a chore, doesnt require our presence, and responds to environmental conditions can be categorized as a simple type of robot.  [6]  The interactive robot is the simplest kind of domestic robot. Examples of this kind are coffee maker, washing machines, microwave etc. All these devices use the timer to notify the user when the process is finished, meaning when the food is cooked when the clothes are washed or when the coffee is ready. A more advanced version of domestic robots consists of support robots and house surveillance, helping people to monitor their homes. For al l these reasons, it is not difficult to understand why many big companies such IBM, Microsoft, Sony invest in the development of robotics. Many interactive robots such as automobiles, refrigerators, video records, washing machines, use a microprocessor so they can work as a computer controlling device. If the consumer wants something he pushes the corresponding button. So, the use of automated appliances is user-friendly. The automobile is the most widespread example of an automated object used in our everyday life; it uses microprocessors to operate a variety of functions, including engine control (fuel-air ratio, for example), the clock, the radio, and cruise control.  [7]   Trilobite 2.0 was the first vacuuming robot launched in 2001 by AB Electrolux. The designers of the Trilobite thought of everything when they designed it. They used a sonar system that detects obstacles like walls and stair cases. In 2003 another vacuuming robot was launched by a German company called Kaercher GmbH. They called the robot Robocleaner RC3000. The difference between the latter one and Trilobite is that RoboCleaner RC3000 uses random motion pattern to clean. RoboClenear is equipped with a sensor that monitors the pollution of the air and detects how dirty an area is. Moreover, whenever the battery of the robot is running low it returns to its charging position and in the mean time it also empties his dustbin. The most popular tasks robots built until now are produced by an American company called iRobot Inc. The company is the producer of two other famous robots Scooba and Roomba. Scooba is a floor washing robot while Roomba is a vacuuming one. The real success of these products is not their high quality, but their price. Until now there have been three generations of Roomba. The first generation had three buttons for the size of the room, while their robotic technology consists on a spinning brush on the side and a rotating cylindrical brush at the bottom. The second generation came out in July 2004. It was much more sophisticated than the first one. It had a larger dust bin, better software that calculates room size, fast charging in the home base (or wall hanger in the Discovery SE), and dirt detection.  [8]  The Roombas of the second generation had the same functions, though some of them could have more accessories and all updated features after mid 2005. The third generation call ed 5xx was a whole new level. It was introduced for the first time in 2007 and it had an infrared sensor to detect obstacles, a dock button, and improved mechanical components.  [9]  . Scooba as said before is a floor cleaning robot. Even though we might think that it is different from Roomba actually they are not. They use the same navigation system and the same driver. The difference between them is the cleaning technology. Moreover, IRobot Inc. thought of new models of Roomba called (Dirt Dog and Model 401). These models are really simple to use and they are also cheap to buy. Dirt Dog has a larger dust bin and sweeping brushes but it lacks the vacuum motor. This model is designed for large environments like home garage and home shop. Model 401 is similar to Dirt Dog but it has a standard size dust bin. They are similar in fast charger and extended- life batteries. . The downside of this robot is however that its performance is not up to the level of every other cleaning robot. This household device is slower and does not clean as efficiently as its competitors. One of the companies that competes with IRobots is The Sharper Image Inc. This company launched in the market a vacuum robot called eVac. The only difference between Roomba and eVac, is the eye-catching design of eVac. They both have the same technology with some minor differences. The first difference is that eVac has a touch sensor, when it hits something it backs up and turns. Another difference is that eVac does not have the technology behind the virtual walls like Roomba has. The Sharper Image Inc. included remote control and a traffic cone  [10]  in eVac. On the market there are many types of customers, so to satisfy all of them Black Decker Inc. thought of a cheap robot. It is called Zoombot. Although it costs less than the others, Zoombot has more or less the same technology. The problem of Zoombot is its cleaning is not too efficient. The wide spread of domestic robots made companies produce new models, which were more expensive and much more sophisticated. Ottoro is one of them. It was launched on the market in 2003 by a South Korean company called Hanool Robotics. It is todays most expensive cleaning Robot. Ottoro identifies its own position and objects in any places in the house. The cleaning zone is set according to the map of house and completes the zone in order without missing any spots  [11]  . It also detects the clean or cleaned areas so it does not clean the same area twice. Another feature of Ottoro is its suction spout. It helps Ottoro to reach spaces that other robots cannot reach. LG, another South Korean company, released on the market a cleaning robot called RoboKingV- R400. It is not as stylish as Ottoro but it is well created. Its system is based on odometers. Furthermore its positioning system uses a 32 bit gyro sensor. Robokings effective operation under the control of 22 sensors attached on 32bit Microprocessor, moves in 4 smart patterns such as Gyro-Matrix, Variable-Matrix, and Spiral, Random, depending on the structure and space of the area. Especially, Gyro-Matrix controlled by Gyro sensor does what vacuum cleaner ROBOT has to do. This allows the LG Roboking to drive around the house without getting stuck on furniture.  [12]   Nowadays people do not have enough time to take care of everything, especially the outdoors tasks. It is not a surprise that the popularity of the outdoor operating robots has increased a lot these years. The most popular ones are the pool cleaning robots. These robots are seen as necessary gadeget rather than luxury tools. Aqua Products is an American company that produced one of the most popular pool cleaning robots called Aquabot. It has two powerful motors that share the load and provide a longer service life than other cleaners.  [13]  Aquabot can be put in the pool without any installation. It moves in two different patterns. The first pattern is a rectangular movement, using the walls of pool as a navigation tool. The second pattern is based on a zigzag movement- when Aquabot touches the walls, it starts moving towards the center of the pool. It also has brushes that clean the sides and the bottom of the pool. Aquabot, its power Supply and Floating Cable are ETL Listed to UL Standard 1081. No other robotic cleaner is this safe.  [14]  Dolphin Diagnostic is a pool cleaner robot manufactured by Maytronics, an Israeli company. It uses the same system as Aquabot. It can cre ate the most efficient cleaning pattern by itself. The distinguishing feature of this robot is that it can determine if it left the pool or not. It does that by using an air sensor. If the sensor turns on it will go back into the pool. Another benefit is that Dolphin Diagnostic is able to conduct a self diagnostic analysis, which makes it easier for technicians to receive information about its operations.  [15]  Tigershark is another pool cleaning robot, produced by Aquavac Company. It uses the same system as the previous examples. Tigershark has ASCL (adaptive seek control logic) microprocessor. The processor can determine the size of the pool and it programs a motion pattern in order to clean of the spots of the pool. Other robots than can perform domestic chores are the window-cleaning robots. The downside of this product is their cost of production. There are several problems related to this product. One of them is gravity. Another problem is the surface on which they operate, since window is really fragile. Moreover people use more pool cleaning robots than window robots, which also explains their meek success. For all these reasons these robots are not highly commercialized. Racoon is an exmpale of window cleaning robot. It is developed by Procter Gamble together with Fraunhofer IPA. It was introduced in 2002. After Racoon another window cleaning robot was produced, called QUIRL. Like Racoon, QUIRL relies on vacuum cups to hold to the windows. The difference between the two devices is that QUIRL is smaller and lighter. QUIRL races around the window without any wheels to drive it. The direction and the speed of its path can be controlled by varying the turning motion of the suction paths, caus ing the robot to execute linear or rotational movements.  [16]  Nevertheless, QUIRL is not yet commercialized.  [17]   All cleaning robots have the same problems. They have 3D range cameras used as sensor. The problem with the 3D cameras is that they are really expensive, summing the price of the products. Two German companies came up with a new idea of positioning and navigating the robot, called smart floor. Smart floor contains RFID transponders and it is easy to install. It can be put below all types of floor materials. Robots that have the RFID as a navigation system can operate on this kind of surface. The first cleaning robot which used this kind of navigation system is called Robo40. NorthStar project presented by Evolution Robotics is a solution to the same problem. The device uses these models much like old sailors used the stars in the sky.  [18]  The solution that both projects provided was just for small space, it could not cover large spaces. As the world today is using more technology and less labour it is hard for us to restrain our imagination from thinking the possible effects on our life. Maybe a couple of years from now everything will be computerized. In the supermarkets the customers will be welcomed by a robot similar to Robovie-II. There will be robots driving cars, serving food in restaurants and maybe who knows they could even teach our children in school, even though not everyone is e enthusiastic about all these changes. According to some studies made in South Korea, students were pleased when a robot taught them English. The children like the robots because they never get angry or make sarcastic remarks-unlike their human counterparts.  [19]  However, the future still remains a mystery. For Bill Gates this huge expansion of robotics industry is the same with that of computer business decades ago. As the processing power rises every day and the cost of producing hardware decreases, the growth of robotics industry will speed up. This offers the basis for a future in which robotic devices will become a nearly ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives.  [20]  Nevertheless, an affordable, open platform that allows robot developers to readily integrate hardware and software into their designs must be established, allowing the further development of the industry.  [21]   The rehabilitation robotics technology is now focusing more in systems that are efficient for handicap people, helping them to conduct a normal life. The advantages of these robots are stability and flexibility. The perfect examples of such devices are the robots Handy1 and Manus. Manus is the leader of these kinds of robots in todays market. The disabled people use Manus to do tasks like drinking, pouring drinks, eating, washing, etc. Another type of robot that helps the disabled people is the mobile manipulator. An example of this kind of robot is Kares II. It is more efficient and has more advantages than the static robots. Karess main task is to do domestic work. In the last few years, EU developed a project called MATS. The goal of this project was to increase the number and quality of the existing human skills in robots. Over these years, we have witnessed the greatest developments of technology, even though there is more to come. If we think of the time that we needed to reach this level of production and efficiency, makes us raise the question if our generation is going to see the beginning and the development of a new industry. Half a century ago we could not even image our lives like they are today. Although, now human beings have passed to a whole new level, that of searching new things. Our laziness is unquestionable. Even though, in this world, where everything is computerized, where inventions are made every day the last thing that we needed to disperse was the labor force. It is very hard to find any industry that hasnt adopted the robotic technology nowadays. In a world where all the industry is based on the new technologies, new start-up companies that produce new gadgets, new toys projects are complex, progress is slow, and practical applications are relatively rare. In fact, for all the excitement and promise, no one can say with any certainty whenor even ifthis industry will achieve critical mass. If it does, though, it may well change the world.  [22]  The best example of these is Smart House; it is made of elements such as network of sensors and actuators.  [23]  The technology of this house contains environment control, health monitoring, fall detector, video monitoring, motion detectors, body temperature and many other devices. A more innovative Smart House would be one that has a keyless system. The doors will be unlocked with fingerprint scanners. Based on the information of the person that opens the doors a robot dog called AIBO would welcome the person. AIBO is produced by SONY. Furthermore, other functions in the house such as turning lights and air conditioner on, opening the curtains would be controlled remotely. From an experiment conducted by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), the possibility of integrating robotic system in a house resulted successful. This house was designed mainly for elderly people and it was equipped with heartbeat sensors. In case the person living in the house had a low or irregular heartbeat, the system would send a text message to his familiars. These kinds of devices are really important in cases when the elderly live alone. A distinguishing feature of this house is that it adapts the habits of the person living in it. Another house like this was built by the University of Florida. They called it Gator Tech. As the houses mentioned before, Gator Tech addresses the needs of aged people. It has smart devices like smart mail box, smart doors, driving stimulator, and smart blind, smart bed, smart refrigerator etc. The smart refrigerator can monitor the food; the consumption and it can detect expired food. It has an integra ted preparation meal advisor and also can create a shopping list. The Smart House is not used only for aged people; it is also used for the disabled or mentally ill like schizophrenic people. The usage of such house would help them have a normal life. As we know, the Smart House is equipped with sensor. Data transmitted by sensors can be analyzed for the immediate purpose of detecting critical situations or for the longer-term purpose of understanding the pathology in question.  [24]  The house can help the person prevent dangerous situations; it can remind the owner to take his or her pills. The devices should also be user-friendly in cases when the person has bad memory or poor management skills. One of the symptoms of schizophrenia is the distortion of the reality. In the case the person already believes that in his house there are hidden microphones or video cameras. The most challenging thing here is to create a balance to improve outside cognitive support without aggravating or inducing delusions.  [25]   Even though, the Smart House helps the elderly and disabled people to have an independent and happy life, it also raises many ethical questions. These ethical questions concern all the co-builders of the society. It questions the dignity and the privacy of the people who will use this technology. Another question is: who will be responsible for that person since he or she is no longer under medical care, lives in a neighborhood and in apartment that she or he can leave and return to? What will be the measures of support in case of an accident or emergency? Furthermore, will these people create dependence since most of the tasks in the house will be done by the devices?  [26]   As all this questions concern us in just one technological development, what is going to happen when every project comes to life? Many people said that the ethical rules should be imposed before any positive effect of technology sweeps away. Another development that raises ethical questions is a robot that works as a babysitter. This can have many advantages, but can a robot react in case of emergencies as a human being. This kind of robot was developed for the first time by South Korean and Japanese companies. The child minding robot offers other facilities for video-game playing, conducting verbal quiz games, speech recognition, face recognition, and conversation.  [27]  Beside all this, we dont know the psychological effect that all this could have on a child who is left for hours with no human contact. Because people cannot conduct experiments on infants, research is conducted in monkeys. The result of the search showed that severe social dysfunction occurs in infant animals allowed to develop attachments only to inanimate surrogates.  [28]   It is shown that the use of robotics in our life has its benefits. On the other hand, an excessive interaction with the robots can lead the persons to a social isolation. Another problem is the robotic pets. The most vulnerable are the small children who are the main target of the manufacturers. They misperceive the relationship with the robot. It looks like all these concerns about the use of robots in our life are still unnoticed by the public. Due to their high price, robots are used only domestically. Since the costs of production are decreasing, this trend is going to change a lot; people will start to buy all kinds of robots. Despite all the problems and concerns that the usage of robotics rises there is no ethical code to tell us who to react in certain case. There is no Convention on the Rights of Children and there is no ethical code on Nanny. Society should discuss and decide the limits of the robots in our life before before the industry and busy parents make the decision themselves.  [29]   Work Cited Industrial Robot. Science Daily: News Articles in Science, Health, Environment Technology. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. Industrial Robots IFR International Federation of Robotics. Home IFR International Federation of Robotics. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. . Abry, Vincent. Domestic Robots Today. Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. . automation. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online. 14 Nov. 2010 Automation Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. . Roomba. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. . Cleaning Robot Named OTTORO | Korea IT Times. Home | Korea IT Times. 31 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. . LG Roboking. Consumer Robots Advice, News, Reviews and Prices. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. . Key Features of the Aquabot Pool Cleaners. Probotics- Official Dealer for Robomower Lawnbott Aquabot Repair and Service Automatic Lawn Mower Lawnbot Accurain Aquaproducts Robot Pool Cleaner Friendly Robotics Mowers Robotic Makes a Great Gift Parts and Repairs. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. . Siciliano, Bruno, and Oussama Khatib. Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer International Publisher Science, Technology, Medicine. 1254- 260. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. . Drexler, Janine. Robot Workers with a Head for Heights. Fraunhofer Magazine. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. . Bilton, N. The Robots Among Us NYTimes.com. Technology Bits Blog NYTimes.com. 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. . Gates, Bill. A Robot in Every Home. Scientific American. 16 Dec. 2006. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. . Statistics IFR International Federation of Robotics. Home IFR International Federation of Robotics. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. . Sharkey, Noel. The Ethical Frontiers of Robotics. Academic Search Premier. Science 322.5909 (2008): 1800-1801. EBSCO, 19 Dec. 2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. Helal, Sumi, et al. The Gator Tech Smart House: A Programmable Pervasive Space. Computer 38.3 (2005): 50-60. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, Mar. 2005. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. Stip, Emmanuel, and Vincent Rialle. Environmental Cognitive Remediation in Schizophrenia: Ethical Implications of Smart Home Technology. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 50.5 (2005): 281-291 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, Apr. 2005. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. Gade, Lisa. Review: Sharper Image E Vac. Everyday Robots. 19 Aug. 2004. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. .

Kerensky handed over power to the Bolsheviks Essay -- Russia Bolshevik

"Kerensky handed power to the Bolsheviks" By October 1917 the Winter Palace of St Petersburg was overthrown by the Bolshevik party of Russia. Historians have deliberated for years on why this event occurred, one viewpoint taken is it was the fault of the detested Alexander Kerensky, prime-minister of Russia. Accusations that Kerensky handed power to the Bolsheviks are not unfounded, he conducted some disastrous policies, but was this Kerensky's fault, or was he being pressured by the unruly monarchists and rightists of Russia, did fear of a bloody cout d?ÃÆ'Â ©tat force him into passing measures such as the restoration of the death penalty? Was Kerensky's failure inevitable after the miserable spells of Lvov and Milyukov as leaders of the Provisional government? It is too easy to state that the revolution in Russia was one man's fault, despite Kerensky's perpetual mistakes there were a lot of other factors, such as the role of Trotsky and Lenin that must be taken into account. An indelible failure of Alexander Kerensky was his refusal to bring Russia out of the war. Kerensky had been hired as Lvov successor due to his belligerent and aggressive nature against the Bolsheviks so his continuation of the war was not unexpected (especially coming from the position Minister of War). However Kerensky was quite arrogant in thinking that a war that had brought down the Romanov dynasty of over 300 years and saw the dismissal of Milyukov and Guchov (after they embarrassingly promised to carry on with the war effort after telling the people they would not) would not hinder his leadership. The burden of the war on the people was devastating as resources were being sent to the front also troops at the rear were becoming increasingly frustrat... ...ro to solve them, the war was straining all their resources, the workers were in constant rebellion and the army were no longer under the Provisional Government?s control, also the polarisation of political Russia was worrying. Kerensky came to be a leader because he was a bridge between the right and left, but that bridge burned and Kerensky was left alone with no support. His handling of the Kornilov affair was his biggest downfall, personally I think he should have never appointed Kornilov as Command in Chief, he was reactionary and had a past record of disregarding rules, Brusilov was a better option because of his democratic appeal. When Kornilov came into the picture the left support of Kerensky disappeared as well as the right, at this moment the Provisional Government was over. Kerensky didn?t give the Bolsheviks power but made it exceedingly easy for them.

Evil Villains in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Essay -- Northanger A

Evil Villains in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen In Jane Austen’s, Northanger Abbey, John Thorpe and General Tilney are portrayed as unpleasant villains. Villains are defined as, â€Å"a wicked or evil person; a scoundrel† (The American Heritage Dictionary http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=VILLAIN). Austen description of both men as power-hungry, easily upset, and manipulative follows this definition. She introduces both characters in separate parts of the book, however simultaneously she delivers a stunning example of their identical villainous personalities. Through the portrayal of John Thorpe and General Tilney as villains, Austen comments on the male supremacy that permeates through her time. In the first half of the novel, John Thorpe stands out as the villain of the novel. He is introduced as a, â€Å"stout young man of middling height, who, with a plain face and ungraceful form, seemed fearful of being too handsome unless he wore the dress of a groom, and to much like a gentleman unless he were easy where he ought to be civil, and imprudent where he might be allowed to be easy† (Austen 25). Following the initial description, John is introduced to Catherine. Rather than engaging in personable dialogue, he brags about the quality and speed of his horses, his authority on ascertaining distances, and his proficiency in leading his horses. Immediately, the reader is struck with the similarity of John to an immature ‘schoolboy’. Although Austen continues to portray John as juvenile, she does not develop him into the villain until later in the novel. While Catherine’s love grows for her hero, Henry Tilney, John also develops affection for Catherine. During this struggle for Catherine’s love, John begins to mature into the ‘classic villain.’ For example, during a normal evening at the ball, Catherine had promises to dance with Henry Tilney. However, Thorpe approaches Catherine and declares, â€Å"What is the meaning of this? - I thought you and I were to dance together† (Austen 46). Catherine is flustered since this declaration is false. After a barrage of half-truths, John once again talks about his beloved horses and his knowledge of them. Suddenly without any type of closure, he is wisped away by the â€Å"resistless pressure of a long string of passing ladies† (Austen 47). In this section of the novel, John Thorpe quickly becomes dislikeable and Jan... ... that she came from a wealthy family of consequence. However, when the General bumps into John during Catherine’s visit at Northanger Abbey, John amends his story. Bitter that Catherine had fallen in love with Henry and rejected him, he changes his entire story and tells the General she only from a middle class family. Jane Austen completes her story with a â€Å"Cinderella ending† of Catherine and Henry marrying. However, her novel is more than a fairytale ending. Although often wrong and misguided in their judgments, she shows the supremacy of males that permeated throughout her society. Jane Austen takes us from a portrayal of men as rude, self-centered, and opinionate to uncaring, demanding, and lying to downright ruthless, hurtful, and evil. John Thorpe’s and General Tilney’s total disregard for others feelings and their villainous ways prove Austen’s point. Whether reading Northanger Abbey for the happy ending or the moral lesson, this novel has much to offer. Bibliography The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition. 9 November 2000. 4 March 2002. http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=VILLAIN Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Classics.

West Side Story :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie takes place in the West Side of New York, in the late 1950s.The Jets are a teenage gang of American boys determined not only to check but to destroy the growth of Puerto Rican population and influence on their block. They are opposed by a Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, led by Bernardo.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the entirely dance sene, the members of the two rival gangs provoke each other. A fight breaks out between them, but it's broken up by the arrival of two cops. After the police has got rid of the Puerto Ricans, Riff, the leader of the Jets, informs his gang that he will challenge Bernardo to a decisive rumble that night at a dance. The Jets are convinced of their invincibility, they sing the Jet song.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Riff tries to talk his friend Tony into being his lieutenant for the challenge. Tony, who is the co-founder of the Jets, has been growing away from the gang and is now working at Doc's, the neighborhood's drugstore. Tony reluctantly agrees to meet Riff at the dance and sings about his feelings the song he sings is called something's comming i think. The Jets, led by Riff and Graziella, and the Sharks, led by Bernardo and his girl Anita, meet at the dance in the neighborhoood gym, where in choreography their violent hostility to each other is reflected when they dance at the gym.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the frenzied dancing, Tony meets the lovely Maria. She is Bernardo's sister who has just arrived from Puerto Rico to marry Chino. To both Tony and Maria, it's love at first sight. But Bernardo stops them from dancing together and insists that Chino takes Maria home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later the challenge is made for a war council to decide on weapons for the rumble. Meanwhile, Tony walks through the streets, thinking only of his new love, Maria . On a tenement rooftop, Bernardo, his girlfriend Anita and their friends joyfully sing about the relative quality of life among Puerto Ricans in New York. At midnight, the Sharks boys go off to the war council, much to Anita's annoyance at Bernardo.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Meanwhile, Tony finds the building where Maria lives and he climbs up her fire escape to meet her. They sing of their lovetonight. They plan to meet in the bridal shop where Maria is employed the next day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At Doc's drugstore, Riff and the Jets are warned by Krupke, a cop, no to cause any trouble on the block.

Business Environment Essay

Recruitment and retention The need of recruit- There is been a new position arisen for Customer Service Executive in Buffs Supplies LTD. As now they have a website developed, there is a need of person who can run the website effectively, and make a very good use of the website to help the business to offer a good and improved service for their customers. Job description- is there to provide a clear understanding of the job details for the people who are going to apply. It outlines the things that he/she will do during his/her employment and it outlines the things that employer wants from the employee. So that Job description should include the following: * The job title/type * Position of the employee, who they will report to * The location * A summary of the job’s objectives, * Main purpose/duties/responsibilities * Pay levels, and any potential increase, benefits, uniform/dress code * Hours/ holidays * How to apply and deadline for application I’ve designed a job description document (please see attached document) for Buffs Supplies LTD to assist my manager. Person specification- gives a better understanding of what kind of person that certain company wants for the job, and to identify the knowledge, skills and ability to require to do the job as well as to fit within the company. It should include the following: * Educational/ qualification- it is essential for professional jobs like lawyers, accountants as it is directly connected to their performance as well as they should know what they should/ should be doing. If you don’t know the law you cannot work as a lawyer, simple! * Experience and training- you may need to be experienced to be able to do a good job for your role and it’s likely for employers to specify length of time of experience on their job description. A good thing of being experienced is you may not need a qualification to do certain jobs if you are experienced. * Personal interest/ attributes- it’s helpful for both parties to understand each other as it shows the requirement of people’s character for the job role. Person’s interest may relate to the job role, for example if you are not comfortable with approaching to stranger, you may not be suitable for jobs like sales person who deals with customers face to face as part of their job role, if you enjoy talking to people you might enjoy the work and motivated to be at work, meaning that success will be a closer for you. I’ve designed a personal specification with my job description for customer service executive. (Please see attached sheet) Different methods of advertising a job There are number of method that you can use to advertise your job vacancy arises. It helps the company to reach targeted group of candidate and it might also depend on the people who will be your candidate to choose where you would like advertise the job vacancy. First of all you will need to have a good job description to help the candidate what you’re looking for. I’m going to write about different methods. 1. Internal Advertising- you can employ people within the organisation instead of getting some one from outside. It might be cost efficient as you might not have to pay for recruitment agency to advertise your job, when you can put it on your company’s website, employee’s board, send internal e-mails to everyone and even put it on company’s facebook page. It is useful because if someone wants to climb to the ladder, they can do so by applying for the job vacancy. 2. Online- you can advertise it by online through job website’s such as Monster, Job Centre website etc. Advantage of online advertising is you might be able to reach a lot of people and they can search by location, industry or job titles they wish to apply. 3. Recruitment Agency- you can also advertise it through these agencies with a small charge. They will advertise the job, maybe create the job description according to the company needs and asses the applicants to ensure they meet the minimum requirements. It might be useful for them if the company needs a staff urgently they can quickly find someone to cover as they have a lots of member who are seeking for jobs. they also 4. Newspapers- this is a offline choice you can advertise it on a local newspapers to let the local know about the job vacancy. Importance of staff retention I think recruiting a new staff is an expensive, because you will have to advertise the job, do the search on the applications, interview them individually and also once you got the right candidate you will have to train them from the start pointing every single fire points etc. Instead of going through all these you can try to retain the staffs you already has so that person is already know the company’s style and people so it will be easier for him to work/deal with things. It is good for the company image and reputation to promote people within the organisation. If someone got hired and leaves after a month It will cause a problem, because they will have to do the recruitment process all over again and spend money to recruit the person will be a waste. Existing staff might be overworked so it will lead to unhappy employees and they will not perform their best as they’re tired of long hours and covering for someone else. However, businesses can avoid this situation by retaining staff as if the person stayed within the organisation and got promoted it is likely for the person to stay longer and work more harder as he will feel he is achieved something after working for the company. Ways of improving staff retention rate Businesses calculate to see how long their staffs are tending to stay with the company using the following formula. Number of staff leaving a year 100 Average number of staff employed that year This formula helps them to identify any problem so that Human Recourse can act on it to research what is going on by preparing surveys for staffs to complete or organise an open meeting with their staffs to know exactly what is going on, what is that they are happy and not happy with, so that they can act on it straight away. Reason to have high rate: this is when employees are not happy with the work they do, or the environment they work with, or even the management they are working for. It could be anything to be not happy as human expectation is increasing with the technology. However, employers should provide the right facility with the right motivation to keep the employers happy and juice them effectively. Ways to avoid these situations: to improve the rate you can do all sorts of things like showing them that they (employer) really care about them by listening to what they have to say, support them with their life, or organise some outside work events like weekend bowling competition to help them work closely with each other. Make the work place more challenging by doing competition with a price, a little investment won’t bring down the company, in that way work place might be more interesting and staff will perform better. Motivation is a key thing to get a better out of the staff and keep them within the business as well. b) Describe main employability, interpersonal and personal skills required by the new customer service executive. Organisations often look for people who are skilled or experienced so that it will be easier for both parties, from the employers view it helps them to replace the worker quickly and it may save some money as there might not need of training for example if he is trained as first aider, and the job requires to have a qualification the company does not have to train the staff who already has the qualification for it, from the employees part of view it might be easier for him to do the job and as he is experienced he will have an idea of what he is expected to do, and will be paid as a full employee, I mean some organisations pay lower wage for those who are not experienced enough. Employability skills: this is the basic skills that are needed to get, keep, and do the job. It is necessary for the candidate to have or knowledge these skills as it can be transferable during the employment as they go up the ladder in a modernised environment. It includes the following: 1. Qualification/ Previous experience in similar role and industry You may not need any qualification for some profession, but you will need your GCSE or NVQ qualification for some job roles for example if you are seeking to work as waitress as such, you may even not need any qualification as long as you are experienced enough or maybe your employer will provide a full training to do the job. However, for professions like accountant and lawyer or higher positioned job role which requires specialised skills/ qualification, you will definitely need not only GCSE but at least a Bachelor’s Degree to be considered in your application. According to my study book I’m on the right track to develop and educate myself further. Having an experience in similar role is always a bonus for employers and it is more likely for employers to consider those who are experienced and it is important that you mention it on your CV or letter indicating that you have worked in this role before. However, previous experience in similar industry is very beneficial for the employer, because they can get information about their competitors as well as an idea of how they worked to be more effective so that they can walk in a same level of their crowd. For example when I applied for a job in Harry Ramsden, I’ve put on m CV that I used to work in McDonalds, so I knew that I would definitely be invited for an interview so I did, on my interview they asked me that how McDonalds motivate their workers to stay with the business longer as I worked there for quite long time, I said to the lady that if you hire me I’ll tell you how they did it, and she smiled at me and welcome aboard! It shows that it is useful for the can didates as well as the business. 2. Knowledge of product/services This is one of the must have knowledge. For example you will obviously need to know about your product if you are a sales person, you should have a good knowledge of what you are going to sell. If you don’t know of your product, you can’t possibly persuade to sell it to different person. 3. Effectiveness in meeting personal and team targets As every business work towards achieving their aims and objectives, you must be able to meet targets to do so in the first place. You should clearly indicate if you have met any previous targets during your previous employment and any achievement, improvement you have set as a target for yourself past years, showing that to an employer will help you to get the job and it shows/proves that you are able to meet targets because of your previous achievement. 4. Ability to observe and raise professional standards There is a quote I know from my country it says if you work your hands hard, your mouth will also work hard, which means if you work hard, you will be able to feed yourself, same as that if you work hard and have a great attitude towards you work then you might get a reward/promotion. In business you are a professional, so you have to be professional to people taken be considered seriously and every organisation have a set of standard which you should meet. Personal skills: Everyone have their own character and attitude from their childhood. It might be difficult for some to change that in a day because of the job you are doing, but for some it doesn’t matter as you can learn them from others or on your own. Basically if you have the right attitude that the employer wants, it will attract the employer towards you as you are the right candidate for the job. For example if you are a kind, understanding, a good listener and most importantly patient and calm, then you are suitable for jobs like carer or consultant as the job itself requires you to be calm and a good listener as you will be hearing all kind of things and dealing with the public. A personal skill requires you to have the following: 1. Patient and hard working Patient is a very difficult thing that human being can face in difficult situations. I would consider a person who is very patient is a very calm and collective person. For some jobs you will have to be patient and calm at all times, if you can do that employers are very like to keep them as it is difficult to find these kind of people in our society and I believe making your business successful is hard work and them patient. I mean you work very hard to build your business, and it might not be success as you want it to be, so you will have to be patient to drink the juice of your fruit you plant. 2. Team work Ability to working as a team or a part of a team is essential for you and for your employer. If you are a people’s person/ easy to get along with people you might/can be a good team player as it is all about communicating and understanding each and everyone one of the team players. Employers will always look for a people who can work with the team as if you have a say of different people you can get the work done quickly and more effectively, because the things you don’t know, the other people might know so it is better for more brain than only one. Interpersonal skills: this is the skill that how you approach or deal with people and also how well you communicate with others. Customer Service Executive Employee Skills: Personal Skills: Interpersonal Skills: * Good written and spoken skills * Good IT knowledge * Previous experience in customer focused environment * * A good team player * Problem solving * Hard working * Friendly * Professional * * An excellent communicator * Good with people * c) Assess the importance of employability, interpersonal and personal skills in the recruitment and retention of staff in a selected organisation. I’ve chosen The Manchester College to assess in this task; I think The Manchester College is the largest college in Manchester and in the UK. It is important for the college to consider employability and personal skills when recruiting staff as it is an educational institution, I believe the teachers should be educated as a teacher and also the subject of their own to give their students the best knowledge possible. If the college needs to hire a new staff they should consider to hire experienced staff to save that money to put towards the existing staff training, bonus for those who worked overtime during the recruitment process, so that people get rewarded after the hard work they’ve done for their organisation, in doing that college manages to keep their staff happy, that means it is likely for them to stay within the organisation longer. To work more efficient college can carry out a skill auditing to identify the skill gap within the organisation and decide whether to hire new staff or train their existing staff. Communication is the key skill that college needs to have to be able to understand their student and their needs, so it is essential for their staff to have strong communication skills in written and verbally as it is a large organisation people will need to communicate in writing. Employees of the college should be presented and act in a professional manner, so that student and teachers will be look separately. Employability skills will be required for teachers as they have to be qualified in certain areas, whereas administrator of the college will not need to have a qualification if she/he is experienced enough. Task 2 a) Select an organisation and describe the main physical and technological resources that are involved in the running of your selected business. Physical resources – this is the things that business can use to run their day to day activities includes machinery, buildings and facilities. For my chosen organisation The Manchester College, it is very important for them to use all the resources to run effectively. They are number of main physical resources which needs them to run the business. 1. Building and Facility Building of your business may play an important role as you might not think, it is very important for businesses to have to well presentable building as it is effective in many different way. For example in my country there is a bank called Coin and the building is round and gold coloured. Anyone who saw that building will know it is a bank and will go straight to it as it is located near the airport, foreigners will have to get their money changed before they take a taxi etc. I think the prettiest campus of The Manchester College is Openshaw and it has a lots of facilities that is available for students and staffs to use such as IT suites for multimedia students, an award winning training restaurant, workshop for construction, engineering and electrical students, hair and beauty salons etc. I think the facilities that are available for student and staffs are amazing and it will be very useful for students to use these to improve their knowledge on things that they are studying. 2. Materials and waste The need of materials will depend on the business type as they all use different things. For my chosen organisation they are likely to use papers, computers, printers, pen, pencil, projectors and all sorts of office equipment as they are small teachers’ offices. Businesses should keep a close eye on what they waste, if you do that it will help them to cut costs and work more environmentally friendly. 3. Plant, machinery and equipment Businesses spend thousands of pounds on equipment and machineries to work more quickly and efficient. It is essential for them to have them and an up to date one as it helps the business run smoothly. For example teachers at The Manchester College use projectors to make it more easier for students to read or see what the teacher is teaching, and we have a library with computers which students and staffs can use to do their work. 4. Security, insurance and emergency provision I believe The Manchester College follows the Health and Safety act as I’ve seen the fire exits and there were . Also they must have the policies and provisions if there is an event of fire, there must be a staff who are trained to lead the way or make way for people in that event to keep them calm and put them in the right direction, and the people who have come to study/work to the college should have had a training or at least shown the fire exits or false alarm to see if the fire alarm works and to people know what to do in that event. All the building must have insurance against things like this to ensure the building and the employee/customers are protected, so that in any case of accident the insurance company will pay for the person who is injured or pay money to the person’s family in the event of death. Technological resources- are not only computers and printers which can be treated as physical resources. There are four main areas: 1. Intellectual property This is the right to own ideas and have a right to concerning what happens to them, if the one of the staff has new idea that no one has the business can protect it from others to use it so that business will only benefit from this idea to make more profit or attract more people. For my college if one of the teacher/ advisor got a new idea of having a nursery on site which can be paid by day and any student/employee can give their child it would be a good and new idea as it enables students with children to study/work and easy to bring her child to the place they study/work, and the business protected it, only The Manchester College can use this idea to bring in more students. 2. Accumulated experience and skills This is an experience gained over a number of years when a person has come across lots of different issues to do with the job. There is a good side and not so good side by keeping employers for a very long time. Of course, it will be worth if the employee is the brilliant one, if so the level of experience will grow. Not so good side is if it the experienced staff is not handled carefully, it may result that you will have to pay more for them or give them a special condition whereas you can hire a new staff with the same or higher skills and pay low wages. For my college I think the employees are likely to stay longer and I think teachers are feel privileged when the student comes back to her/him to show what they have got out of their education that is gained from the teacher and college. 3. Software licences, patents and copyright I believe The Manchester College bought a license from Microsoft to use their Microsoft Office Pack as it will cost them cheaper than buying it individually and install them on computers which they have a hundreds and thousands of them. So it is enabling them to use it unlimited with a one off payment. Often it is allowed for businesses to do so, not for single person/public. Patents and copyright has always been tricky to protect or should I say difficult to prove the person who stole it, because people may copy the whole idea and change the name of it to pt it on the market, so apparently it is different as it has a different name and maybe slightly different, but if people see it they won’t even recognise or know the difference. I remember one girl was selling a hoody with the logo of the college without permission from the college back home, so the college found out and they fined her parents as she was not an adult herself. b) Explain how the management of human, physical and technological resources can improve the performance of your selected organisation. Human Resources Every activity is carried put by human at The Manchester College and other businesses, so it is essential for businesses to have the right source of people to work towards their main aims and objectives. They must improve/ update their Human Resources to work effectively. I believe that my college try to manage its human resource at the level of standard as the best to provide the better future and education for us the students, considering the highly professional staff they have in my college, they hire the best possible staffs with ability and interest to care for students, so that staff will have better understanding of what students needs, also they train their staff accordingly with the new technology’s or hire new staffs who have new skill which can be introduced to the other staff. To do those things there is department especially designed to do that job. Their main job role is to manage and control the employees in the college, meaning hiring a new staff, train the existing ones to improve their employer’s ability to have the best source of employees. To manage its staff successfully the college tries to keep the existing staff as it is beneficial for the college as longer the staff stays, college won’t have to advertise jobs and train them which costs money for them to do that, instead of spending money on new person who is starting as an entry level, the company invest in their people who have stayed with them on the long run so that the employee will feel that they belong there and work more harder. Team work is always important for organisations like Manchester College as it is very large organisation and everyone have to work as a whole to get the work done, to improve team performance organisation do things like group activity, staff meeting and staff day out to make them closer so that they work with each other more comfortably, if they work closely the organisation will benefit from the use of full staff performance and things will go quicker and smoother, so that they can move forward to their next objective. Physical Resource If the college have a good facility for students, it can attract more students and people would be looking to work for them as basic standard of facility needs to meet and higher would be an advantage. It also important for them to use these facilities with its full use and keeping them up to date as the things are developing very fast and things are getting out of fashion quickly. For example if the student had learned Microsoft Office 2003 in their IT class by the time they finish their studies and find work would be 2007 and he might struggle if the new employer has the newer version and he doesn’t know how to use it properly even though it is similar to the older version, he will not get the all the benefit that the software is offering. Technological Resource As the college uses a lot of paperwork and papers, it is crucial to save them as they need to be used for hard evidence, however I would like to suggest that teachers can send their assignment brief to student e-mails which college have provided for them it saves the trees and we are going to be use the e-mail which is one of the facility college improved last year and I think we are not making a full use of it and it feels it might be waste of money to have e-mail address and not using it, to motivate students to use their e-mail college can put their names instead of student number which will look more real and nice, and not allow to have an access to any other mail service in the library so that student have no choice but to use it properly. If we can do that we will reduce the use of papers and use the facility which we don’t use. Task 3 a) Describe the sources of internal and external finance, available to Barney’s business. There are two main ways that business can access financial resources: 1. Internal sources ( within the business) This is the money you can get within the business: Owner’s savings- I believe Barney has some money for himself if he is thinking to start a new business, because it’s the owners who are often invest in their company to cover the setting up costs. It might be the only source they available immediately for them as for sole traders like Barney, banks or other financial institution unlikely to offer a loan as there is too much risk involved, and if you have that kind of money it is really good for the business as you will not have to pay it back by monthly or pay an interest. Capital from profit- this will become available after the business set up and operating. Once they have run for certain time, they may make some profit to invest into the business to run or buy more stock or buy new machinery to grow the business 2. External sources (outside the business) There are number of different external sources that business can get money from to help them to set up or invest in. Banks- they can offer loans, overdrafts and business account to businesses but you will have to have a good business plan to get it. Loans are not easy to get and might not be a good option for small business as you must pay it back with interest in certain amount of time and if the company goes down the owner will end up with huge debt. The choice I would suggest is the overdraft for him as it is flexible and you won’t have to pay a penny unless it is used, there are some banks who offer interest free overdraft, if you can get it will be a win! Friends/Family- you can always seek for help from your friends and families and you can even offer them a share for return of their investment or just borrow some money from them to put towards the business if they are nice enough. I would say it is the best option of borrowing money as you don’t pay interest and it is your family they will not give you to court unless you run with their money. Government grants- these are available from the EU, national/local government. A grant is money you can receive as a business man; a good thing about it is that you don’t have to pay it back. If Barney falls under the age group of 18-30 he can get a low interest loan from Prince’s Trust. Task 4 (a) The purpose of budgets, and how they can be used to monitor and control the performance of Barney’s business, including, the monitoring of actual performance against budget and the use of variance analysis. Budget is a written plan with spending which will occur and a revenue that is need in the future to cover these costs. The purpose of it is it gives you clear understanding of what to expect to spend/receive in the future (coming year) to prevent or act any crisis before it happens. It also can be used as a communication between the employees to understand the objectives of the business and work towards it. For owners they can see how well their managers managing the budget plan and performance of them. Budgetary control 1. Set objective for Barney Objective for Barney could look like this * Do a business related course * Get information on government grants * Find any other fund that is available to him 2. Set a plan to how to achieve these objectives He can start of with: * Do a year course in business related or hair styling course to have a better understanding of how business operate * Design business plan to show it to the banks and to apply for government grants * Get advise from people who are in the same business as his to find out what needs to be done orderly * Do an online research on advise and support from government websites to collect necessary documents to apply for government grant * Hire someone to do research on the market things like where to open the salon, and what kind of people lives in the area, and what is the average income for people in that area to help to set a price etc. 3. Prepare the plan You should produce a budget plan to attach it with your business plan to show how much is going to cost what and how you can manage to pay for it etc and you should compare it with the actual figure to analyse the situation of what has gone wrong or right and then you can take some action to prevent it in the future and more experienced on the next budgeting. Task 5 a) Study the contents of the profit and loss account and balance sheet for Wansbeck Motors Ltd and give an account of the worthiness of the business by explaining the purpose of each element. Purpose of balance sheet- is important as it shows the value of the business. * Assets things that business own * Liabilities ( debts a business owns) * Equity (the amount invested in the business) Purpose of profit and loss account- it shows how much money business making and how much money they are losing and you can identify it by looking at the profit and loss account to do something about it.

Life at a Medieval University Essay

Life at a medieval university for clerics was in many regards similar to our present day college experience. When college was in session, life was basically split into two categories; life in the books, and life outside the books if you will. Scholars needed to focus their attention to the tasks at hand during learning hours. As we know today, the more time you spend studying, the better grades you’ll achieve. On the other hand, scholars needed a release from the daily grind of constant academic involvement. This may have included some popular pastimes such as drinking, gambling, and wreaking havoc downtown (nothing a modern student would do). The scholars experienced many of the problems that modern day collegians deal with as well. Some of these issues included finding the college that fits you best, shortages of funds, arguments with local residents, feuds with fellow clerics, and finding the path that would be fulfilling to them in their lives. There were only a few major differences being a life centered on religion and discussions based on theology, the fact that only males were accepted to study and the clothing that scholars wore. All in all, being at a university was for the betterment of the individual. Students back then had a similar motivation to go to school. By completing university study, you would achieve a higher status in society and live a better life. Another was to get out of a home town to see what else the world had to offer. College is the best time to explore because you’re housing and food are all accounted for. Wandering scholars took best advantage of this by traveling to different universities and getting a diverse education. One reason not many people went to school was because most were not privileged at this time (the literacy rate was very poor). Academic life was structured fairly well. Rules and rights were clearly laid out by the institution itself. Students were protected from harm by any member of the faculty, as they should be. In the â€Å"Royal Privileges Granted to the University of Paris by the King of France,† it is stated that â€Å"†¦neither our provost nor our judges shall lay hands on a student for any offence whatever; nor shall they place him in our prison, unless such a crime is committed by the student that he ought be arrested. † The article goes on to talk about how under the circumstances that the scholar is found to have committed a crime, he be handed over to an actual judge for further investigation. This shows that the university has governing powers within itself to a certain extent. If an encroachment can be resolved without going to the local or state government authorities, the scholar’s image can be protected. Even today we have University Police on campus who held regulate behavior on campuses, but do not have jurisdiction outside of the college campus. Clothing was another major aspect of scholarly life. Clerics wore long cloaks with nothing fancy that would make them stand out. Master teachers wore cloaks with the addition of a white stole. The stole was used to show status and authority over the rest of the student body. This seems to hint to the fact that all the scholars were on a level field of play, and it distinguished them from the rest of society. Typically our graduates of today’s colleges and universities adorn the traditional gowns when they receive their diploma. On a side note, I attended a private religious elementary school which enforced a policy of uniforms (shirt and tie for the guys, skirts for the girls). I believe that by wearing the same clothing as fellow students, people aren’t so concerned with what each other is wearing, and focus on learning. Religion played a major factor in medieval universities. As in my elementary experience of mass being part of the weekly routine, medieval universities had a major emphasis on religion. Robert de Sorbon tells us in his regulations that religious holidays will be followed strictly in the academic life. No meat would be allowed to be consumed on Advent and other days designated by the church. If you were at a university at this time, you would follow the religious standards, just as I could never get out of going to Friday mass at HGA. Nowadays, religion is a touchy topic. It is left to the discretion of the individual whether or not he or she wants to follow the practices and how closely. Church and state are now separated as to avoid major conflicts. Peter Abelard questions the theological teachings of medieval universities and is criticized for it. He says â€Å"Is God one, or no? † At this time scriptures were not to be questioned and were considered to be true. As we know now, science has become a major source of answers in society. Anyway, Abelard brings a whole new dimension to the table when he questions god’s existence and some of the things that the church stands for. The whole basis is to use logic and reason to ponder things in a philosophical fashion. This faith vs. reason debate involved Abelard and others who felt that god was in a persons being, or heart. Academia took up most of the students daily and weekly lives. Scholars took full advantage of down time to relax and enjoy themselves. Social life was the second major aspect of a cleric’s university experience. As we know, the student body greatly impacts the surrounding town’s economy; however social issues arise as well. When students and townspeople are in the same atmosphere, and drinking, fights are bound to break lose. These battles came to be known as â€Å"town and gown† ordeals. These were actually small wars where people would be killed! As many as three thousand students armed with weapons would flood the streets and begin fighting with townspeople, also armed with weapons. Students were also held fairly high in terms of their rights. This is what fueled most of the battles. The fact that a scholar was in progress of obtaining a degree made many seem untouchable, after all, they were going to make the world a better place with their elevated knowledge. Students were warned ahead of time by their proctors that there was a tension between the people of the town and the student body. Heavy drinking and gambling occurred frequently and poems were written as evidence. This served as a social release where students could let lose for awhile. Even today student go to the bars downtown and mix with the locals. There are rarely any incidents of deaths or injuries because of it though. The money generated by pizza shops, bars, taxi services and businesses due to the student influx is what keeps them afloat. On a lighter note, clerics needed some of the same things that modern students need. Money was a big necessity among students as it is today. In a letter home one student tells his sponsor that he is working very hard in school, and studying often, but he needs some money to pay for food, rent and other â€Å"unspecified† things (possibly beer money?). The way he words his letter makes it sound like he will not be able to go on learning without the timely delivery of some funds. The sponsor’s response shows that he knows the truth behind what the student has said. It humors me how students today do the same thing through emails and phone calls home. â€Å"I’m working so very hard in school, but the weekend is coming†¦ † Its all part of growing up and learning responsibility. In the end, life at a medieval university was not that much different from today’s experience. The focus on religion was very important, but reason came into play as well. Scholars were taught to question everything in order to get to the roots of a topic. Over time, there was a major shift from the theological answers to the scientific explanations of today. We test things in science with facts to find if they are true instead of looking toward God and scripture. As in life, there is a time for work and a time for play. We go to college because we know it is good for us, plus it gives us a little extra time in our lives to figure out what we want to be.