Studies in English Literature Essay Example for Free

Studies in English Literature Essay Henry V, positioned during the critical move from the Theatre to the Globe, can serve as a case study for this kind of economic close reading. It tells a story of continual repositioning, good and bad decisions, business errors, and the workings of a company that was trying to succeed financially but was far from assured of success. From 1598 through 1599, the Chamberlains Men dealt with a series of difficulties. One of these difficulties was related to politics: the companys choice of Henry V as a topic, assuming that it would be topical and popular, and the subsequent return of the earl of Essex in defeat. But most of the companys problems were internal and economic. [3] The search for a theatrical home took up most of the companys energy, through the Blackfriars financial fiasco, in the bitter battles with Giles Allen over their lease (which resulted in pulling down the Theatre), and through their commissioning of Peter Street to build a new theater in Southwark, the Globe. Another major blow was the departure of William Kempe from the company. Henry V shows the strains of making a series of accommodations to fit financial and internal crises: casting changes, location changes, and changes in topical references. These accommodations can be seen in the prologues, in the accommodations to the casting, in the break from 2 Henry IV, and finally, quite possibly, in the Bad Quarto text of 1600. In 1597, James Burbage died, leaving his sons capital invested in the Blackfriars Theater. He had bought the Blackfriars on 4 February 1595/96. [4] His plans to move the company there had been frustrated by the petition of the inhabitants, including the companys own patron, Lord Hunsdon: [W]hereas one Burbage hath lately bought certaine roomes in the same precinct neere adjoyning unto the dwelling houses of the right honourable the Lord Chamberlaine and the Lord of Hunsdon, which romes the said Burbage is now altering and meaneth very shortly to convert and turne the same into a comon playhouse, which will grow to be a very great annoyance and trouble [ldots] both by reason of the great resort and gathering togeather of all manner of vagrant and lewde persons that, under cullor of resorting to the playes, will come thither and worke all manner of mischeefe, and allso to the great pestring and filling up of the same precinct, yf it should please God to send any visitation of sicknesse as heretofore hath been [ldots] and besydes, that the same playhouse is so neere the Church that the noyse of the drummes and trumpetts will greatly disturbe and hinder both the ministers and parishioners in tyme of devine service and sermons [ldots] there hath not at any tyme heretofore been used any comon playh ouse within the same precinct, but that now all players being banished [ldots] from playing within the Cittie by reason of the great inconveniences and ill rule that followeth them, they now thincke to plant them selves in liberties. [5] The petitioners object to the increased traffic, the noise, the nature of the audience (vagrant and lewde persons), and to the possibility of the plague. Perhaps most significant is their statement that the players are banished from the city and now thincke to plant them selves in liberties. It has often been assumed that the freedom sought by the playing companies was primarily political and that the companies were marginalized. [6] Steven Rappaport points out, however, that the liberties were economically attractive to those who wished to avoid city regulation in order to make more money. [7] The liberties were, therefore, enterprise zones, and as such were equally attractive to theatrical companies seeking economic freedom. In short, the inhabitants of Blackfriars successfully blocked the move. The Chamberlains Men were losing their lease at the Theatre and had nowhere to go. Adams, John Cranford. The Globe Playhouse: Its Design and Equipment. 2nd ed. New York: Barnes Noble, 1961. The years all other theatres of its type had to be closed down, refurbished, or replaced. And until its accidental destruction in 1613 the Globe was the principal theatre, public or private, in all London, occupied exclusively by the leading theatrical company, during that companys strongest years. In short the Globe witnessed indeed it helped materially to create the golden years of Elizabethan drama. If for no other reasons this study of the Globe would be justified. But its chief object is to prepare the way for a fuller understanding of Shakespeares plays. The stage for which he wrote differed radically from our modern stage, and as a consequence his techniques and conventions were unlike those of Broadway and Hollywood. As Mr. Tyrone Guthrie observed (in The Listener of April 10, 1958): Shakespeare will always have to be butchered so long as his work has to be produced in a sort of theatre for which the plays were not written, to which they are positively ill-adapted; a sort of theatre designed for effects which are irrelevant to Shakespeares purposes, and inimical to the kind of effects he sought. If we are to comprehend his genius as not only the leading dramatist but also the leading theatre craftsman of his age, we must bring more to a study of his plays than the theatrical assumptions and techniques of today. It is important to the study of Shakespeare and his fellow dramatists to understand the design of an Elizabethan public stage and the extent to which that stage was equipped with fixed or alterable scenery, with traps, machines, and properties all helping to enlarge and sustain the scope and force of dramatic illusion. It is essential, for example, to know where the audience was placed in relation to any given unit of the multiple stage, and whether the inner stages (where such scenes as the murder of Desdemona or the blinding of Gloucester took place) were remote and dimly lighted or were in full view and well lighted. It revives some of the excitement Shakespearean.

Religious Traditions and History Essay Example for Free

Religious Traditions and History Essay Polytheism, the belief in many gods, is perhaps the oldest known religion. The best known example is the Greek/Roman mythology, which included Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite, among others. One trait that is true of most Polytheistic sects is that there is a god that is above all others. â€Å"All African religions are monolithic in the sense that there is a single High God, who is said to be the creator of the world, and of mankind, and a central source of order and of whoever sense is to be found. † Another example would be Zeus. Most ancient societies believed in gods that were in charge of specific areas, such as rain, fertility, and a god of nature. These types of societies cooperate with nature. This doesn’t mean that all Polytheistic societies revered the natural world. The Romans exploited the natural resources of their surroundings. One common thread in most of these societies is that, compared to other religions, Polytheism is much more tolerant with the individual. Hinduism and Polytheism Hinduism is a religion founded in India around 1000 B.C. The religions practice a form of Polytheism. This religion doesn’t believe in one form of a god. They believe in the authority of the Vedas and Brahmans. These fundamental beliefs differentiate Hinduism from monotheistic, believing in one god, and most of the world’s major religions. There are many different gods in the Hindu religion. The most common are Ganesha, Shiva, Hanuman, Durga, and Lakshmi. What developed was a caste or class system called ‘varnas’. The different castes were assigned a task that was fitting for their class. â€Å"The expansion of towns brought about an increase in the number of artisans who were organized in guilds (shreni).† This system was good for commercial activities. The main goals of Hinduism are life-affirming goals of Dharma (virtue), Artha (success) and Kama (pleasure), while the life-negating goal is that of moksha (release). All except moksha can be done in any part of a person’s life. Confucianism and Buddhism People think that Confucianism and Buddhism are one and the same. Confucianism, which originated in China, teaches honesty, kindness, respect the earth, and good moral character. Confucius had a distain about gods and spirits and preferred to try to understand man. â€Å"Confucius (the Master) is more correctly Kong Qiu or Kong Fuzi (551-479 B.C.). He was the founder of a way of life, philosophy, or religion named Confucianism after a Latinized form of the founders name.† Buddhism, which started at about the same time as Confucianism, was started by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Buddha, which means â€Å"the enlightened one†, which was the name he received from his followers. Buddhism is different from Confucianism in that it didn’t teach about the family or rituals of this world, rather it taught enlightenment which leads to nirvana. There are eight awarenesses of enlightenments. â€Å"Freedom From Desire, Satisfaction, Serenity, Meticulous Effort, Correct Remembrance, Samadhi, Wisdom, and avoiding idle talk.† The Chinese during this time asked the Buddhist monks, why do you not marry? Their answer was â€Å"Wives, children, and property are the luxuries of the world, but simple living and inaction are the wonders of the Way.† The Buddhist’s wanted was to live a simple life and reach enlightenment and thus nirvana. Christianity Christianity is a salvation religion. Christians and Buddhists turned to the idea of salvation around the same time. Salvation means escape your earthly bonds. If you don’t follow a righteous path, meaning free of sin, then you are destined to be cast into the pit of darkness, otherwise known as hell. The new testament of the bible is what guides these true believers. The Catholics say, for instance, that if you sin and repent by going to confession your sins will be forgiven. This is the only way to ensure that the soul is clean. The idea of all Christian orthodoxy is that they follow the teachings of Christ, which has many different interpretations. Thus it follows that when you die you will go to heaven. Some believe that the Earth is 6000 years old and believe that the bible is literally god’s word. They refuse to believe in science, saying that it’s flawed in some way. Others believe that the Earth is indeed older than 6000 years. These Christians believe that the bible is a parable, teaching them how to live everyday life as a Christian. Modern orthodoxy believes that Christian’s are observers of nature, rather than one with the Earth. Religion, Science and Nature Religion has a profound imprint on our natural surroundings. In general, the Eastern and most Polytheistic religions are more reverential toward nature. The Western religions tend to abuse nature. The invention of the plow is a prime example. The West thinks of it as a means to increase the food supply and disregards the environmental impact. The East and the Polytheist refer to it as â€Å"Mother Earth† and treat her much more delicately. The contrast between the two couldn’t be more stark. The East will try to balance their needs with nature. The West uses nature and sometimes destroys parts of it. The idea that we are separate from nature is a Western ideal. The East, in general, believes that we are one with nature and must take care of it. Science in the West was not in tune with medieval orthodoxy. It was interested in facts. The Eastern philosophy used science with a spiritual twist. Fang Yizhi observed of western science, â€Å"use a variety of techniques for swift computations, but they are still out of touch with general principles.† They used the mind and not the natural world. Summary There are many different religions that teach many different methods of how to live your life while on this world. Most worship one god, monotheistic, others worship many gods. Polytheists, which literally mean many gods, roots are seen in Greek/Roman mythology. Buddhism believes that there is no god, just a path to enlightenment. Once they’ve reached enlightenment, they’ve achieved nirvana. Confucianism and Buddhism are from China, but have very different belief systems. â€Å"Confucianism is perhaps best understood as an all-encompassing humanism that neither denies nor slights Heaven.† They believe that they are one with nature. Christians recognize only one god. They are labeled as a salvation religion. They hope to be able to break the bonds of this Earth by living a relatively good life with the reward being heaven. If you don’t accept Jesus into your life, you are destined to eternity in hell. It’s safe to say that the world’s religions have varied belief systems. Some believe in the after-life, while others believe that feel that we are Earth bound only. Most of the world believes in a single god. Polytheism and Hinduism say that there are many gods. They differ from Eastern religions in that they see themselves as observers rather than one with the Earth. The East and West see nature differently. While the West observe nature, the East embraces the idea of being part of nature. This is a very fundamental philosophy that can’t be overstated. The bottom line is that there are almost as many belief systems as there are people on Earth. It includes, but not only, monetary considerations, faith, and devotion. The only ones that know what’s going on, assuming there is an after-life, are the dead and buried. Citations The West and the World, A History of Civilization, From the Ancient World to 1700, Kevin Reilly, 95 2 The West and the World, A History of Civilization, From the Ancient World to 1700, Kevin Reilly, 334 3 The West and the World, A History of Civilization, From the Ancient World to 1700, Kevin Reilly, 146 4 http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/china/f/022808Confucius.htm 5 http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/tp/awarenesses.htm 6 The West and the World, A History of Civilization, From the Ancient World to 1700, Kevin Reilly, 103 7 Kevin Reilly, The West World: A History Of Civilization from the Ancient World to 1700, Page 349 8 http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/confucianism.htm

Importance of Operational Efficiency in an Organization

Importance of Operational Efficiency in an Organization 1. Executive summary Operational efficiency and its quality of providing service is most important factor whatever organization either production or service. That is most important part in any company operations whether it is business oriented or nonprofit oriented organizations also are highly concern their organizational growth and local and regional expansion of their operations. Mainly operational efficiency and performance is depending on the external environment drivers. Those external drivers are creating competition and intense of the among the industry player. Therefore future strategic planning, contingency plan, operation strategy is most important and playing vital role to face forthcoming changes. If the organization is not be able to manage those changes that happening in the originations and outside organization directly affect on operational efficiency of the organization. To face those environment changes most prudent strategies make adjustment in organization operating style and strate gies. That does will help to achieve organizations corporate objectives as planned. Mainly manufacturing service organizations are performing functions such as; Sales Marketing Human resource Operation Accounting Finance or treasury IT/Information department Logistic/branch management Channel management Internal auditing Risk management So called functions linking each other and having inter dependencies, no one can override those operational activities. Everybody work in the must focus on very well on operational activities. Because, at the end of year shareholders (investors) are raising questions at AGM, how much of amount of return generate by businesses and whether business operations went smoothly, what will be the future plans to deliver high rate of return for our investment and what type of operational strategy going to carryout to face the completion. So on frequently raise the questions by shareholders. Production and operation management was begun with industrialization. But it play vital role in the service sectors. In the contemporary world named it as Operation Management. Contribution of this subject is making bigger differences for business functions. Multinational local companies have established independent department to manage their operational activities very well. For an instance nowadays eme rging business is banking financial service company name called Nation Trust Bank. That bank routine operations are making huge impact on their business performance. That is because; bank performance is driven by its operational capacity style. Mainly employees and customers satisfaction are most important element to show outstanding performance and to attract the new customers. In this industry is driven by managing effectively whole operations of the business. Lack of operation management delivers poor performance. To provide remarkable service wider range of service related need to have well defined operations strategy to uplift business. This assignment report mainly focused on current practice of operation management banking industry and assignment contain the followings. Define operation management, its characteristic and playing role in banking financial service industry. Evaluate the goals and objectives are achieved in operation management objectives. Define systems in operations in relation to service and routine activities. Major resource, tools and systems that are supporting operations and to support quality of service of the bank. Analyzing importance of quality audit and implementation of quality management system in bank. Major weakness and explore opportunities to improve the bank service to satisfy the stake holders of the business. Making recommendation to capitalize the opportunities and avoid weakness of the bank. Conclusion of assignment 2. Define term of operations management According to literature production operation management are considering as one subject but in the current situation totally expert says about it as Operation management is subject that Design, execution and control firms operations that converts it resources into desired goods and services, and implement its business strategy and its define as another way The maintenance, control and improvement of organizational activities that are required to produce good or service. Operations Management deals with design and management of products, process, services and supply chains. It considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources that firms need to deliver the goods and services their client wants. First definition can be related the following diagram is simple operation of any organization. Feed Back Input inputs Service Process servicing process Out put Maximize customer satisfaction Employees Money (local foreign) Savings accounts Information Systems Open up Bank A/C Cashiering Credit card promotion Mortgaging Generate bank statements Buying selling of foreign currencies Happiest or loyal customer The above diagram we can see operations different operations in the input level, process level and output level. Therefore we can conclude that 2.1. Operation management from aspect of Nation Trust Bank To get analyze importance of operations of the bank the vision mission and values is helping out it Vision Making life simple by being the benchmark of convenience Mission Be innovative in continuously developing customer centric solutions. Unleash the talent of our team to be the best in the industry. Consistently grow market share and be the most profitable and respected Sri Lankan bank by 2015. Values Inspirational leadership Integrity in all our dealings Open communication Learning focused Meritocracy Prudent risk management Respect for all Innovation and continuous improvement Nurture relationships Socially and environmentally responsible Vision, mission and value are Nation Trust Bank (NTB) operational objectives in relation to corporate objective. Organization chart shows hierarchy of the departments Chairman Deputy Chairman Board of Directors CEO Corporate management Senior management Branch management Managers Operation management Corporate management overlooking the follwing functions Director/CEO DGM Retail Banking DGM SME Banking DGM Cards, Consumer Assets and Strategic Marketing DGM Corporate and Institutional Banking Chief Operating Officer Head of Legal and Company Secretary Chief Financial Officer Head of Human Resources Head of Credit and Market Risk Management Head of Internal Audit Consultant/Head of Treasury Consultant/Head of Operational Risk and Compliance Senior management overlooking functions are; Trade Services Branches and PBC Alternate Channels SME Banking and Factoring Cards and Consumer Assets Branch Operations and Credit Wholesale Banking Consumer Credit Risk and Collections Consumer Sales Treasury Services Leasing Corporate Banking Leasing Operations Management Information and Planning Cards Marketing Collections Central Operations Fixed Income Securities Leasing Zone 2 Leasing Recoveries Marketing Services Retail Banking Credit Delivery Channels Nations Insurance Brokers Technology Legal Credit Operations Credit Risk Corporate Banking Delivery Channels Leasing Zone 1 Internal Audit Infrastructure and Administration Business Banking Compliance and Financial Reporting Business Solutions Delivery Channels Credit Risk Leasing and Factoring By looking at the above orgnization chart and that functions, can get clear idea about the how its importace of the operaton mangement in the NTB operations. Here in the chief oprating officer and head operational risk is paly vital role of for the baking operations. They are responsible for the bank oprations as whole. Operational scope No of branches 40, No of leasing centers 9, No of ATM 43 , 6 personal banking centers as well as Internet Banking 2.2. SWOT analysis of NTB Strenght It is subsidiary of Jhon Keels group, idirectly they can gained group strenght. Reputed coporate brand name Coporate brand value is very high Has selected well profitable segment to provide the banking service Wider product portfolio Strong IT net work staff in every layer having experice More than 20yers experaince in that perticualr field. Carryingout more promotion Respect corporate governance Good Internal auditing risk management Weakness Faliures in th the IT system define some operations wrong manner Poor promotion Newly introdce gurnateed invetment paln will be fail because of it is irrational plan. More customer complins prices and products quality Few brach and ATM Suboptoimization is happening Employee discrimination Poor advertising in relation to market leader. Employee selections very static do not willing to new comers and do recruitment based on the personal contact. Poor strategic implication. Try to do mass scale promotion, it has failed Always try todepend group strenght Poor opertations of mini brach in the supermrkets Opportunities expansion opportunity in further in sri lanka in norht south ( war affected areas) Can be offered more differntiated Service by giving well traning for the staff. Customer driven promotion. Customer feed back system over the phone or by SMS,by mail. Rewarding system for employees Threat High competition in the banking industry. Overriding tax ruels and regulation by bank.may have legal risk for business. New management is do not more concern on the operations Paying high premius to get new business without cinsidering future feasibility. 2.3. Importance of operations management NTB To satisfy the share holders objectives Investors are expecting return by investing money on the banking business. If the bank is not generated sufficient of amount of return on the shareholders will not invest in the bank. Therefore its corporate objectives must design and link with operations. To defense the market share face the competition Another main importance area of the operation management is developing strategy to face the competition. To managing the risk of the business Mainly banks facing the following risk; Credit risk Market risk Asset Liability management risk. Operational Risk When look at all the risk are related with the operation with banking business, if bank the bank stopped their business operations there is no any risk to manage for them. Therefore, managing risk of the banking business should have smooth plan to manage the operations. To fulfill rules and regulation of governed by Central bank of the country To fulfill rules and regulation of governed company act and banking acts Supporting decision making Operational informations are giving support to make the decision making. As example to advertising effectiveness evaluate branded saving accounts can be used no of accounts opened up by customers on daily. To adapt new changes on technological information Technological environment is rapidly changing to adopt those changes ATM came into apply to increase banking operational efficiencies. 2.4. Performance analysis of the operations in relation to organization goals and objective External process changes (customer satisfaction) Personal banking service providing branches New investment plan offered by bank 24 hours banking facility Open mini branch in supermarket location. Online bank account opening systems SMS banking system Door step banking system Billing payment system via their mobile phone Internal process changes (to happy internal customers) new auditing system to analyze the business risk Make contract with the international HR consultancy firm for training development of staff. Policies have been changes when issuing loans Transferring staff between branches to reduce Giving good training for newly recruited employees regarding bank operations. To reduce bottlenecks IT system training was provided. To prevent hacking introduced new system PIN by IT 3. Routine banking operation and related resources, tool and systems in support to improve operation quality. As banks it having so many business process, that can be divided into two External business process Customer focused process Under this process defined that banking service which they provide to the customers. Those service are divided into 3 categories Corporate banking Personal banking Treasury Issue Letter of credit Current , saving and fixed deposit Foreign exchange dealings Shipping other guarantees Credit card Forward exchange booking Import export finance Debit cards Commercial paper SWIFT facility Branded Savings accounts Foreign currency swaps Syndicate loans Certificate of deposit Interest rate swaps Project financing Advice on foreign current market movement Securitization Salary remittance package Structuring , managing and underwriting of initial public offering and private placement of equity Housing loans Company valuation restructuring E exchange money transfer facility Structuring of Corporate debt instruments Holiday banking systems Working capital financing Red carpet banking system Bullion trading Off shore banking facility Leasing Internal business process Internal operation centric process Where mainly internal functions related process can be analyzed Marketing Management Ex. process of introduce of new product This the huge process from the idea generating and to launch to customers is having certain approval to procedure such as; Idea generating new service based products Evaluating feasibility with the market condition Getting approval from the Head of the marketing Head of the marketing and Director of the Marketing, brand manger discussing pros and cons of the product, brand name selection, effect of existing products and competitor response Finalized the approval brand name Registering to launch the product preparing budget and get approval for that brochures designing and making agreement with the ad agency Printing pass books Communicating to customers regarding the product via ad Get feed back from the customer Compare budgeted deposit or account to measure whether branches have achieved budgeted sales. Human resources management Opening new Branch fill the staff requirement Forecasting staff requirement Advertise regarding the vacancy application sorting and short listed candidates Call for the interview 1st interview for them and short listed for second interview Call for the second interview Select the right candidate for the job Giving the appointment letter Familiarizing for the organization via inductions Training for that candidate Permanent those staff Internal auditing system Here try to ensure that bank staff follow the procedure as planned and prescribed the accounts and finance. Here they evaluate Analyze search Fraud and errors Management auditing System auditing (IT) Accuracy of accounting entries Analyze search Ineffective accounting procedures Assets auditing Deposit management Under this category try to manage the deposit level with liquidity and profit. By balancing rules and regulations which are governed by central bank. Channel Development System This is described regarding new branch operation and development of customer service. Managing Assets Liability This also very important business process and functions in the banking operations managing their assets and liabilities. If these two are not balancing each other, the bank balance sheet will show impact on assets and liabilities. It should be managed by well qualified management account or fiancà © disciplined person. Otherwise bigger impacts made on the corporate image as well as destroy the customers relationship and may have position go out of the business. Ultimately it will makes huge impact banking system in the economy. Risk Management System major different risk component those are making bigger impact on the business continuation. According to bank information major risk rating as follows; Risk Areas Component of the risk Credit risk Default risk Security risk Sectoral exposure risk Legal risk Counterparty risk Cross border risk Sovereign risk Market risk and Asset Liability management risk. Interest rate risk Liquidity risk Exchange rate risk Investment risk Group financial risk Share price decline risk Country risk Operational Risk Employee behavioral risk such as omission, fraud, judgmental errors, negligence, etc. Disaster related risk Trained staff turnover risk Insider dealing risk Sensitive information leakage risk Lack of creativity and innovativeness Risk on MIS and IT related risks Planning Budget related risks Shortcoming in the organizational structure Credit rating falling risk Money laundering Risk of technological obsolesces Risk failing business volume and market share Risk is being overtaken and losing the leadership position Overtrading risk and risk of financial disintermediation When look at overall risk, high risk show by operational risk compare to other risk areas. Therefore, to analyze any type of these risks, need to have solid information to mitigate those risks in business operation. Operation management Operations managements are looking after following areas. Those are; Bank or branch opening procedure This is very important part in opening branches and head office. Opening must be done without authorized people. If not that is considered as misused of operational rule on the other hand it taken as illegal act. Therefore those rules regulation must very well. Cash handling process by cashiers Main cashier hand over cash to the counter cashier Get it signed on the log book Cashier log on the computer Carryout the day today operation (saving, withdrawals) Handover cash to main cashier after counting Fill the cash summary by using slip Main cashier reconcile the cash with slip Cash put into the safe box Managing bank electronic data Data management is major important part of business process. Bank decisions are making process based on this process. If there is an error in the data, outcome (information) is will be inaccurate, ultimately, made decision are delivering risk picture. Following the appropriate tool for quality assurance of the data applied by the banks; Describing data that is in the warehouse Specifying what In and out of data is warehouse business events scheduling extract based Documenting and monitoring data synchronization requirements Measuring validity quality of data Data process management and security management system for data building Capacity of the bank To improve productivity of service that providing process by bank need improve existing capacity in terms of ATMs, Branch and staff. Loan Management system The following process is involved in under the loan management; Analyzing suspension of the loan and advance Then made reservation or taking legal action to receiver those loans Managing the Finance of the bank Financial management process overlooking low cost funding sources and mainly following procedure also looking after by fiancà ©e manager Working capital management Corporate tax planning Analyzing Investments Debentures and Share issue Corporate planning Budgeting Bank corporate planning and budgeting strategies are followed by operations, main step that is following certain steps in the corporate, business and operations levels. Analyze the Vision, Mission, Goals and objectives of the bank Carryout position audit (SWOT) and environment analysis (PESTEEL) Generate strategic options Analyze strategic options are generated And Develop functional strategies such as finance, marketing, HR, operation, and IT to achieve corporate objectives. Such as Profitability (Profit before tax) return on capital employed of the bank Growth and Market share of the bank Customer satisfaction and value addition for service Quality of service 3.1. Analyzing and evaluating resources, tools and system to support in the quality operation Bank or any other business resources, tools and system can be divided into 3 categories based on value platform. Those are; Customer capital Structured (organizational) capital Human capital (Human Resources Customer loyalty Corporate brand name and it reputation Business collaboration Intellectual property Patents copy rights Design right Service mark Trade mark Infrastructure assets Management philosophy ,Corporate culture, Management process ,Information systems, Net working systems ,Financial relationship Know how (serving offering process) Education level of employee, Vocational qualification, Work related knowledge, Proactive and reactive abilities, Changeability, Occupational assessment 3.2 Define and implement quality management for bank Quality management defined by American Society for Quality Quality is the totality of features and characteristic of product or service that bear on its ability satisfy stated or implied needs. Banks can focus on their quality the following way. Quality of services or business can be measure by using the following methods; Six dimensional performance matrix Balance Score card systems Generic measurement 3.2.1. Six aspect or dimensional performance matrix Dimension of the performance Type of measures Competitiveness Relative market share Measure of customer base Deposit growth Financial performance Profitability Liquidity Capital structure Market ratios Quality of service Reliability Responsiveness Aesthetic/appearance Comfort Friendliness Courtesy Flexibility Volume flexibility Delivery speed flexibility Specification flexibility Resource utilization Productivity Efficiency Innovation Performance of the innovation process Performance of the individual performance 3.2.2. Balance scorecard (BSC) system BSC is identifying financial and non financial measures to evaluate quality of service. 4 pillars are representing by BSC. Those are; Customer perspectives Satisfaction of the customers Financial perspectives Satisfaction of Share holders Internal business process To satisfy both party what must be offered Learning and growth Improving, developing, changing process and procedures to satisfy all the parties in the organization to improve efficiency of the organizations continuously. 3.2.3. Generic measures system To evaluate service efficiency the following generic measures can be implement Generic Measures Type of measurement Service of Quality Access Easy to find out supermarket Appearance Staff appearance, well groomed Availability products availability Cleanness Gondolas and shelf must free from dust Competence Speed of cashiering Courtesy CSA must polite and respect to customers Responsiveness Response any queries Security personal security 3.3. Implementing quality management system (six sigma model) Improve any process performance either production process or service providing process. This model can be implemented and it has 5 steps. Step Define measures Step Measure Step Analyze Step Improve Step Control 4. Identifying Weakness and opportunities in the process 4.1.Weakness analysis and strategic implication Wrongly define some operations To collect the deposit banking assistant are sending to the outide banking premises, that is very risky because the rob or theft money. Faliures in th the IT system Banking industry one of the key driver is IT systms in those suystmens failutre affect couters, ATM or brnach operation. Therefore IT deparment need to take relavent action to prevent this kind of situations. Poor promotion Newly introdce gurnateed invetment paln will be fail because of it is irrational plan.We the customers are get calcualte benefit of the invesment plan, relizing bank try to make fool the new customerss. Therefore NTB need to evaluate that promotion of investment plan. Few brach and ATM To satisfy customers need exiating ATMs and branch are not adequate. Therefore top management need to increase number of ATMs and mini brach increse the customer service. Suboptoimization is happening Employee discrimination This always happen in the top management and they dont allow come with new ideas and try discriminte those people as headche for the bank. This is not acceptable level of pracite because of new ideas are helping to develp the bank service. That culture must changed by HR department. Poor advertising in relation to market leader Commercial bank is market leader in the banking industry but problem is that NTB is not spend sufficient amount of cost on advertising and they have selected brand ambassder as sport star that is not reflect imporatnce of the bank service. cost of staff training is very high and cust down other cost NTB has made an agreement with interanationl HRM consultancy firm to get trian the satff. But it is very cost. There are experianced firms are availble in locall to get bank staff training at resonable cost. That must be changed. Employee selections very static do not willing to new comers and do recruitment based on the personal contact. Junior and senior level staff recruitment is made via personal contact, that is not good practice, it will leads poor operational perfornances.That is need to be chaged by HR department. Poor strategic implication Competition of the banking inductry is very high and NTB strategies not capable enough to cope the competition. Try to do mass scale promotion, it has failed Promotion that made by using brand ambassader was not successful. Even the NTB advertising fail to highlight their major benefit of the each of bank accounts. That has already capitalized by other players of the industry. Always try todepend group strenght JKH is large conglomarate bunines group, therfore NTB try use the those group of companies money in their accounts as corporate accounts. But it will not be successful strategy, if any buisness will fail that will directly affect o on the bank operations. Poor opertations of mini brach in the supermrkets In the supermarket bank service expecting customers are very high, but mini branch is included 3 staff members they cant manage rush time banking operations. 4.2. Opportunities analysis and strategic implication Expansion opportunity in further in sri lanka in norht east ( war affected areas) There is an opportunity to open up new brach north east. Because of those areas high ended customer is having desire to get good banking service. Therefor NTB could capitalize that chance. Can be offered more differntiated Service by giving well traning for the staff NTB staff always having an attitude as most prestige bank, but they need change that attitude and need do differentiated bank service for the customers. Customer driven promotion. By analyzing most valuable customer, NTB must offer rewarding system such as; Interest excemeptions Gift vouchers Seasonal promotions on the minor accounts, Customer feed back system over the phone or by SMS,by mail. This will help to increase the customer satisfaction efficicny of the bank by merging with new technological development.That will help to increase the number of customers and reduce operational failures. Rewarding system for employees To motivate the employees need to have proper and stimulus arisen rewardign system to increase the sales and productivity 5. Conclusion According to the report and based on practical application of operation management, can be make the following conclusions Importance of the operations management will be increased in future This subject will be more developed and that knowledge need put into practice. Operation manager role of will highly important. HR department must play as supportive department in managing people to implement operational strategy Marketing department is play a bigger role when comes to the sales management or branch level operation. To improve the business performance and quality benchmarking need be practiced by any company. Most effective bench marking practice is industry based bench marking.

Skylab :: essays research papers

Skylab Skylab was America's first experimental space station. Some of Skylab's program objectives were: To prove that humans could live and work in space for extended periods, and to expand our knowledge of solar astronomy well beyond Earth-based observations. Skylab made much use of Saturn and Apollo equipment. Through the use of a "dry" third stage of the Saturn V rocket, the station was completely made as a workshop area before launch. Crews visited Skylab and returned to earth in the Apollo spacecraft. THE FLIGHTS Skylab's 1st unmanned mission May 14, 1973 The station was launched into orbit by a Saturn V booster. Almost immediately, problems developed due to vibrations during lift-off. A critical meteoroid shield ripped off taking one of the craft's two solar panels with it; a piece of the shield wrapped around the other panel keeping it from deploying. Skylab was maneuvered so its Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) solar panels faced the Sun to provide as much electricity as possible. Because of the loss of the meteoroid shield, however, this positioning caused workshop temperatures to rise to 126 degrees F. The launch of Skylab 2 was postponed 10 days while NASA engineers developed procedures and trained the crew to make the workshop habitable. At the same time, engineers "rolled" Skylab to lower the temperature of the workshop. Skylab's 2nd manned mission - May 25th to June 22nd Astronauts; Charles Conrad, Jr. Paul J. Weitz Joseph P. Kerwin The crew meats with Skylab on the fifth orbit. After making many repairs, including deployment of parasol sunshade which cooled the inside temperatures to 75 degrees F, by June 4 the workshop was in full operation. In orbit the crew conducted solar Earth resources experiments, medical studies, and five student experiments; 404 orbits and 392 experiment hours were completed; three EVAs that totaled six hours, 20 minuets. Skylab's 3rd manned mission - July 28th to September 25th, 1973 Astronauts; Alan L. Bean Jack R. Lousma Owen K. Garriott Continued maintenance of the space station and extensive scientific and medical experiments. Completed 858 Earth orbits and 1,081 hours of solar and Earth experiments; three EVAs totaled 13 hours, 43 minuets. Skylab's 4th mission - November 16th, 1973 to February 8th 1974 Astronauts; Gerald P. Carr William R.

Clozapine and the Treatment of Schizophrenia Essay -- Biological Psych

Clozapine and the Treatment of Schizophrenia Clozapine, marketed by the trade name of "Clozaril," is a member of the dibenzodiazepine class of antipsychotic medication, and is one of many types of neuroleptic drugs. Clozapine is an atypical medication because it differs from the older conventional drugs such as Halodol or Lithium. The difference between atypical and the older drugs is because there less neuroleptic activity as a result of more specific receptors utilized. The atypical drugs work effectively to treat psychotic illnesses and tend to have fewer side effects than their predecessors. Clozapine has been found to be the most effective antipsychotic drug for treatment resistant schizophrenia. Clozapine is used on a limited basis because of the risk of agranullocytosis, where white blood cells are destroyed faster than they are produced, causing the individual to be prone to other illnesses. Two other drugs, either one typical and one atypical, or two atypical medications are used and deemed ineffective before clozapine is used due to the this serious side effect, agranullocytosis. Even thought this risk happens to be small, 1% to 2%, the drug is normally viewed in the psychiatric field as a method of last resort.(Kentridge, 1995) The most common explanation for what occurs in the brain of a schizophrenic is the dopamine hypothesis, where certain areas of the brain have excessive activity at certain dopamine receptors.(Kalat, 2004) This theory will be a reoccurring theme when explaining how clozapine interacts with the body. There are also explanations dealing with clozapine's interaction with the serotonin 5HT2 receptors and the glutamate receptors. ... ...hin a week levels will increase with treatment of colazopine.(Naheed & Green, 2000) Andreasen, N.C. (1994). Schizophrenia: From Mind to Molecule. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Kalat, J. (2004). Biological Psychology. 8Th edition, Chapter 15.3. Kentridge, B. (1995). S2 Psychopathology Lecture 3: Schizophrenia. Retrieved March 4, 2005. From Http://www.dur.ac.uk/robert.kentridge/ppath3.html Mann, R. (1996). The Role of Dopamine Receptors in Schizophrenia. Retrieved March 3, 2005, From Stanford University, Chemistry department web site, http://www.chem.csustan.edu/chem44x0/SJBR/Mann.htm Naheed, M., & Green, B. (2000). Focus on Clozapine. Retrieved February 7, 2005. From http://www.priory.com/focus14.htm Waddinton, J.L., & Buckley, P.F. (1996). The neurodevelopmental Basis of Schizophrenia. Austin, TX: Landes Co. Clozapine and the Treatment of Schizophrenia Essay -- Biological Psych Clozapine and the Treatment of Schizophrenia Clozapine, marketed by the trade name of "Clozaril," is a member of the dibenzodiazepine class of antipsychotic medication, and is one of many types of neuroleptic drugs. Clozapine is an atypical medication because it differs from the older conventional drugs such as Halodol or Lithium. The difference between atypical and the older drugs is because there less neuroleptic activity as a result of more specific receptors utilized. The atypical drugs work effectively to treat psychotic illnesses and tend to have fewer side effects than their predecessors. Clozapine has been found to be the most effective antipsychotic drug for treatment resistant schizophrenia. Clozapine is used on a limited basis because of the risk of agranullocytosis, where white blood cells are destroyed faster than they are produced, causing the individual to be prone to other illnesses. Two other drugs, either one typical and one atypical, or two atypical medications are used and deemed ineffective before clozapine is used due to the this serious side effect, agranullocytosis. Even thought this risk happens to be small, 1% to 2%, the drug is normally viewed in the psychiatric field as a method of last resort.(Kentridge, 1995) The most common explanation for what occurs in the brain of a schizophrenic is the dopamine hypothesis, where certain areas of the brain have excessive activity at certain dopamine receptors.(Kalat, 2004) This theory will be a reoccurring theme when explaining how clozapine interacts with the body. There are also explanations dealing with clozapine's interaction with the serotonin 5HT2 receptors and the glutamate receptors. ... ...hin a week levels will increase with treatment of colazopine.(Naheed & Green, 2000) Andreasen, N.C. (1994). Schizophrenia: From Mind to Molecule. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Kalat, J. (2004). Biological Psychology. 8Th edition, Chapter 15.3. Kentridge, B. (1995). S2 Psychopathology Lecture 3: Schizophrenia. Retrieved March 4, 2005. From Http://www.dur.ac.uk/robert.kentridge/ppath3.html Mann, R. (1996). The Role of Dopamine Receptors in Schizophrenia. Retrieved March 3, 2005, From Stanford University, Chemistry department web site, http://www.chem.csustan.edu/chem44x0/SJBR/Mann.htm Naheed, M., & Green, B. (2000). Focus on Clozapine. Retrieved February 7, 2005. From http://www.priory.com/focus14.htm Waddinton, J.L., & Buckley, P.F. (1996). The neurodevelopmental Basis of Schizophrenia. Austin, TX: Landes Co.

Growing Up Gay :: Personal Narrative Writing

Growing Up Gay When I think back of my early childhood, I can remember moving with my parents and little sister to a city in southern Sweden called Tranà ¥s. I started in a new school, and I was fascinated, in a rather special way, by a particular boy in my class. While my thoughts at that time were not particularly sexual (I was nine at the time), I often thought about whether or not I thought this boy beautiful. I had problems settling the issue in my mind, but nevertheless, I looked at him ever so often, and I felt pleasure while doing so. As time went on, as I entered puberty, I began to take a more active, albeit still very discrete, interest in other boys. While in the locker room after physical education, I detected that I was sexually attracted to several of the other boys, and I also saw many boys walking around the school corridors who caught my attention. Sometimes I looked them up in the school's photo catalog to see what their names were, and in my free time, I often dreamt about being physically close to them. But during this period of adolescence, I never really thought about what I was. All the things that took place in the emotional-sexual realm were, admittedly, real and concrete to me: I experienced real feelings for other boys (love, infatuation, sexual attraction). But at the same time, on an "intellectual" level, I never confronted these feelings, and so I continued having them without worrying about them or trying to transform them in any way. They just were, and that was fine with me. While some opponents of homosexuality often claim that it is "unnatural" (a claim which is thoroughly refuted in the essay "Homosexuality and the 'Unnaturalness Argument'"), for me, my homosexual feelings were very natural indeed. When I was 16, I became a Christian, which complicated matters quite a bit. After a conversion in the summer of 1984, during which I confessed Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, I joined the Pentecostal Church by being baptized on December 9. While I felt great satisfaction about being a part of the Christian church, I gradually encountered attitudes among fellow Christians and in the Bible which were rather hostile towards homosexuality in any form. I adopted that negative attitude, and I became quite a vocal homophobe.

Opinions and Social Pressure Essay

Asch in his essay â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure† conducted an experiment to determine effects of group pressure towards an individual and concluded that there is a very strong tendency to conformity even when doing so conflicting with their own senses of morality. In the experiment a group of young students have to compare length of lines on two different sheets of paper. On one of them there is a sample single line and on the other one there are three lines only one of which is same size as the sample line from the first sheet. People taking part in this experiment are instructed to point at lines that are the same length. At first, during the experiment the group is unanimous in their answers and chooses the correct line, but later on the person that sits near to the end of the line in which people taking part in the experiment are sited, selects different answers then the rest of the group. As the experiment continues and the situation repeats, the isolated in selecting different than the majority answers person shows signs of feeling uncomfortable in position of dissenter. What he doesn’t know is that the rest of the group is instructed to give wrong answers while the experiment is conducted. The single individual is placed in the minority while actually giving the correct answers. Subjects of this experiment could act independently or they could go along with majority’s opinion. A prominent percentage yielded. Under the majority pressure people are more likely to accept the misleading information. There are extreme examples of totally independent individuals as well as people who totally agree with the majority almost most of the time and the tendency is highly consistent. After reconstructing the experiment the next question for the scientist to answer is which aspect of influence is more important, the size of majority or its unanimity. It turns out, that the majority size makes a difference only to the point where majority group involves three people. Making the majority any bigger would not influence on the error rate for the answers in the experiment. Breaking up unanimity of the group in given answers has a significant effect. In the experiment it is also noted that the rate of wrong answers depends to a considerable degree on how wrong the majority is. Even with significant difference in length of lines there were still individuals who agree with majority error. For those participating in this experiment almost all declare that independence was preferable to conformity. â€Å"Life in society requires consensus as an indispensable conditions. But consensus, to be productive, requires that each individual contribute independently out of his experience and insight. (†¦) We have found that tendency to conformity in our society so strong that reasonably and well- meaning young people are willing to call white black is a matter of concern† (Salomon E. Asch â€Å"Opinion and Social Pressure† pp. 730). The experiment has proven that we live in times where opinion become very subjective and can be easily modified. Social techniques are wildly used in marketing and sales or even by lobbyist in governmental decision making process. The uncertainty of people own senses, opinion or knowledge can be easily abused. Asch’s experiment implements how people believe in the obvious lies. It’s shows simple ways of influencing perception, judgment and action. Results of this experiment trigger a number of social and scientifically researches like study of Berns G.S. (2005) (Neurobiological Correlates of Social Conformity and Independence During Mental Rotation, Biological Psychiatry, 58(3), pp 245-253), that explains decision making influence on very profound level. It proves that social mechanisms of authority have an effect not only on individual behavior but it also effects brain chemistry. Resources: â€Å"Opinions and S ocial Pressure† / by Solomon E. Asch Berns G. S. (2005) (Neurobiological Correlates of Social Conformity and Independence During Mental Rotation, Biological Psychiatry, 58(3), pp 245-253) Reaction Paragraph: I was very surprised by the results of Asch’s experiment. I always knew that the opinion of the group counts and it’s important to most of us, but would never except that the scale and strength of decision making influence techniques can be so large and effective. Society faces many different forms and techniques of decision making influences that were developed from results of the Asch’s experiment. This techniques share common goals which are to make society to obey and find the best ways to achieve social conformity. On positive side, conformity can be used to create predictability references or to organize a convenient social structure that doesn’t require constant renegotiations. On the negative side, it’s a key to a great power over social behavior and actions. This raise questions over morality and responsibility over the actions that could be caused by manipulations. If the study was conducted on contemporary society the results wouldn’t be much different if not even showing stronger tendency to conformity. Living in the age of social media, mass communication networks and globalization concepts individuals are more pressured to obey, to be a part of events or actions not truly and not only by their free will. The study indicates that in big majority people are followers and they tend to obey authority and follow the opinion of majority. Awareness of how humans tend to obey comes with some tips on how we can protect ourselves from external influence. Cultivating a healthy skepticism and exercising active change in our behavior make us less vulnerable to prospective social experiments.