The Wounded Warrior Project Essays

The Wounded Warrior Project Essays The Wounded Warrior Project Paper The Wounded Warrior Project Paper The Wounded Warrior Project The Wounded Warrior Project (WAP) was started in 2003 in Ranked Virginia by John Amelia. During Johns tour his Marine Corps helicopter crashed killing four and injuring 14 more including himself. His experience coming home opened up many gaps in service delivery to wounded military members. To help fill in these gaps John created WAP in his basement with 50 dollars. Today WAP is one of the nations most recognized and fastest growing veteran service charities. Amelia brought together a group of people and raised $5,000. With that money they put together backpacks filled with comfort items (underwear, socks, calling cards, a CD player, t-shirt, and a pair of socks). For John it was easy to decide what to put in the backpacks because it is all the stuff he wanted when he returned home. In an article written by John he explains how the backpacks were a hit When I delivered those backpacks, they just caught on like wildfire, and got a call three or four days later from a guy at Bethesda and Walter Reed and he said, Can you get me any more of those? (Amelia n. P). The backpacks handed out by John and the WAP brought great success. John goes onto say how the backpacks was the major stepping stone to push WAP to the next level it just turned into so much more because every time we went there, warriors were inspired by stories that told them about other wounded veterans (Amelia n. P). Just like any other charity, the Wounded Warrior Project is to give help and bring awareness to people in need. In Wops 2012 annual report they state their purpose To raise awareness and enlist the publics aid for the needs of injured service members; to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs (WAP 2012, p. 6). The Wounded Warrior Project focuses its programs under four categories, mind, body, economic empowerment, and engagement. Mind programs include Project Odyssey and Restore Warriors, which help soldiers readjust into civilian life. The main body program is Soldier Ride, which helps maximize rehabilitation so soldiers can return to their normal lives faster. Economic Empowerment allows wounded warriors to pursue their economic goals by providing higher education programs and information technology training. Last but not least the Engagement programs are focused on keeping the wounded warriors involved with the charity. All of the programs outlined above can be found and explained in greater depth at www. Underproductions. Org/programs. Since Wounded Warrior Project was founded in 2003 their finances have grown at an exponential rate. In Wops 2013 annual report on page 28 lies the financial report. Outlined where assets accumulated to $1 77,862,039 and the total liabilities and net assets equaled to SSL 911 Thats an imaginable jump from $5,000 dollars just ten years earlier. With everything that WAP has accomplished and all the money raised there of course will be doubts. An article written by Tim Make goes in depth about some veterans feeling like Wounded Warrior Project is too concerned with raising money, then with actually helping the veterans. An interview held by Make and an unnamed veteran brings some light on this topic Theyre more worried about putting their label on everything than getting down to brass tacks. Its really frustrating (Make n. P). The veteran then goes on to say that he has never oaten any real help from WAP, only a backpack with razors, shaving cream, and socks. This makes you wonder, with all of the money raised by WAP, why did this veteran get so little and no real help? There are many ways for someone to help add donations to the Wounded Warrior Project. For me the most successful would be to organize a state wide run through a major city (Detroit). To enter in this run you will have to donate at least $10 to WAP. I feel like a running event would be optimal due to the previous success of other organizations using fundraisers that are similar.

You are required to evaluate the role of finance director in an Essay

You are required to evaluate the role of finance director in an organisation of your choice - Essay Example ere are specific roles of finance directors such as strategic planning of financial future of organizations, overseeing and ensuring proper controls within the organization and making sound financial decisions such as investment decisions. This essay explains and evaluates a detail official description of the role of finance director in McDonald and comparison of the description to that found in at least three different job adverts. According to Sawers (2009), Finance director at McDonald provides insight across all business functions and works closely with other finance related departments especially marketing and supply chain and further supports the company’s franchisees by building projection tools. Finance director advices on financing options, optimizes business plans, sets, and monitors financial and other targets (Sawers, 2014). Finance directors ensures rigorous project management discipline and works closely with product and marketing teams to finance the launch of activities and further evaluates, measures and monitors performance against financial and other targets. Finance department is at the heart of McDonald Company, incorporating many functions that go beyond its traditional financial reporting role. McDonald’s Finance director ensures that the organization maximizes its strategic abilities by shifting the emphasis of their accounting and finance functions to integrate evaluation of past performance and appraisal of future opportunities (Ionescu, 2010). McDonald uses integrated accounting and finance function that extends from the restaurant floor up to the board of directors and every individual subsidiary restaurant is structured as an independent business responsible for its financial performance (Sawers, 2009). Finance director therefore oversees financial performance of individual McDonald restaurants across the world and further ensures that centralized Accounting and Finance functions are undertaken. Moreover, McDonald’s Finance

Sociology Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sociology - Term Paper Example Social events vary in a wide range, due to the variations in human tendency and behavior. Analyzing the reason behind social events requires a psychological study of human behavior, as that strongly holds the ethics of religious, cultural and community values as its background. Matthew Desmond in his book analyzed the subjective facts of individual psychology of temptation and risk bearing factors. Fighting against the forest fire is a life taking job but the country boys, in their every efforts, tries to prove their braveness by accomplishing the challenging job. Every forest fires are followed by death, injuries and bone breaks; but they never give up fighting against it (Desmond). Hence, the factor behind the human guts must be very personal; the responsibility they feel about rescuing forest from fire, to maintain their identity as a firefighter and also the inability to do the same would be a question to their masculinity. All the mentioned factors seem to have their connection with the psychological prospects of an individual with his ethical values. Psychological factors are equally responsible for the involvement of individual in any social events. On this contrary Randall Collins, emphasizing on micro-sociological theory, gives stress on social violence as a result of the big shape of emotions in an individual, connected to several past and present happening in his/her life. For example: poverty, race, and origins in divorce or single parent families etc. Human psychological condition of fear, insecurity and inferiority leads to the violence of different kinds. For example: mass murder, serial killing, revenge taking, sexual abuse and suicide. He insists on the use of the modern technology to give authentication to the findings. As per Collins, police normally uses the available data to confine the cause of the happening. But such empirical data are not liable to give psychological justification to the case. The use of micro analysis theory becomes a n ecessity, in such cases, as that can draw out the emotional involvement of the individual in a particular social event (Collins). As these two frameworks, seem to have the similarities with the Comte’s social theory of positivism and anti-positivism. Where, Collins views inclines more towards anti-positivists whereas Desmond towards positivists. Giving stress to positivism, Durkheim maintained that the social sciences are a logical continuation of the natural ones into the realm of human activity, and insisted that they should retain the same objectivity, rationalism, and approach to causality. This approach eschews epistemological and metaphysical concerns such as the nature of social facts, in favor of methodological debates concerning clarity, reliability and validity (Wacquant ). Supporting anti-positivism, sociologist Max Weber argued that sociology may be loosely described as a science as it is able to identify causal relationships of human "social action", especially a mong "ideal types", or hypothetical simplifications of complex social phenomena. Karl Marx's methodology is borrowed from Hegelian dialecticism but also a rejection of positivism in favor of critical analysis, seeking to supplement the empirical acquisition of "facts" with the elimination of illusions. He maintained that appearances need to be critiqued rather than simply documented

Tesco Logistic Operations Analysis

Tesco Logistic Operations Analysis The logistic operations Executive Summary The objective of this report is to critically analyse the logistic operations in the newly opened food outlets of TESCO, UKs largest multiple retailer in Central Europe, Thailand and the more recent Fresh and Easy store in United States of America as against the well established logistic operations in the UK. For the purpose of coming up with a critical analysis, we have first studied the operations of TESCO in United Kingdom starting with the initial supply chain operations and then a gradual evolution of an effective and efficient supply chain. Next we evaluated the operation strategies adopted to maintain and manage the international operations and the challenges faced by Tesco to maintain a consistent global brand image. It was found that in order to maintain a consistent service delivery system across the globe; Tesco has been making necessary changes in the service operations like international warehouse management, continuous replenishment policy, and international logistics. The changes made have been in accordance to the legal and cultural sensitivity of the overseas country. The maintenance of international logistics has been critical for Tesco and with the geographical expansion it is imperative for Tesco to adapt to intermodal intercontinental mode of transportation. It is suggested that Tesco develop expertise in sea freight transport by developing dock outs near to sea shore in overseas countries and then transporting goods from docks to the respective central warehouse units. This will help in achieving economical and efficient freight cost considering the scenario that Tesco sources both locally and globally. Highly advanced Information Technology and IT systems have given Tesco a competitive advantage over the competitors on an international platform and has helped Tesco in maximizing the overall supply chain profitability. With the expansion happening across the continents it is important for Tesco to maintain consistent service operations across the globe. This can be done by developing remote station controlling and tracking of movement of goods by latest RFID and satellite sensing technology. Tesco need to develop dual monitoring system both on national and international level. With the usage of upscale Warehouse management system, international fleet management systems and the ERP systems coupled with remote sensing technology, Tesco can monitor and control international operations. 1.0 Introduction TESCO was founded in the year 1924 by John Edward Cohen. The name TESCO comes from the initials of Cohens tea supplier T.E. Stockwell combined with the first 2 letters of Cohen. Cohen is considered to be the biggest retail revolutionary responsible for several small revolutions which has led to the current retail industry. Tesco:OurHistory TESCO is one of the biggest retailers in the world operating around 2491 stores and employing over 350,000 people worldwide with profits exceeding  £3billion. The UK is the companys largest market while it has recently expanded their operations in Central Europe, Thailand and recently in US under the name of Fresh Easy. In United Kingdom, TESCO operates under four banners of Extra, Superstore, Metro, Express, One Stop and Homeplus. TESCO is listed on London Stock Exchange under the symbol TSCO and has a secondary listing on Irish Stock Exchange with the name TESCO PLC. Tesco international operation was in line with the vision of Tesco to become a global retail house. It entered into joint ventures with local partners, like SAMSUNG group in Korea and Charoen Pokphand in Thailand; also it started its US operations under the name of Fresh and Easy. The US operations were intended to be a direct competition to the Walmart. Tesco now operated in Ireland, Czech Republic and Poland as Central Europe operations, Thailand, South Korea, China, and Japan as Asian Operations and recently entered into US. 2.0 TESCO Logistic Strategy Initially under Cohen, TESCO sailed on the principle of Pile it High, Sell it Cheap[ Corina, M (1971)]. The idea was inspired from the USA retail format where bulk procurement was done resulting in low cost and thus better profit realization. However, with the changes in macro environment and increasing competition from other retail stores, there was decrease in profit margins and the company was left with tarnished brand image. Hence under leadership of MacLaurin, who succeeded Cohen, TESCO decided to bring in fundamental, radical and dramatic changes in the business operations and a business re-engineering was done with a focus to build an effective and efficient supply chain aided with the innovative usage of technology.(Tescocorporate.com, History) Currently, Tesco operates both local and global sourcing. There has been continuous evolution in the distribution and operation strategy of Tesco which can be split majorly into four phases. First was the time when there was direct delivery from the suppliers to the stores, this transformed into centralized regional distribution system as the second move in the late 1970s. The third move was a composite distribution strategy in the late 1980s and in the 1990s it was the vertical collaboration in the supply chain as the fourth move. Under its vertical collaboration strategy, the focus has been to streamline the supply chain processes with the usage of technology and sharing of information across the supply chain to build an effective and efficient supply chain. Sharing of information with the suppliers started in 1997 with the establishment of commercially secure data exchange system based on the internet to facilitate the suppliers with the information on the current inventory holdings. This was followed with analysis on the primary distribution (manufacturer to distribution centre) to implement changes that added net value over the entire supply chain. Once the primary distribution was stabilised, there was business motivation to make the logistics and flow of material streamline to generate further cost-benefit competence. This led to negotiation of more competitive distribution rates. This process of continuous change and improvement has led to radical decrease in the lead time to stores and from suppliers. 2.1 Value chain Analysis 2.1.1 Inbound Logistics This is the first step in the value chain, thus posses the first value creating opportunity. Tesco calls this as the primary distribution and the activities include receipt of goods at the warehouse from the suppliers, internal handling and distribution to the stores and finally placing the goods on display at the shelves. Quality control measures are taken at every point to ensure that the customers get true value for money and the unnecessary costs are not transferred to the customers. 2.1.2 Operations Operations form a very important and critical area for the smooth functioning of Tesco. The tasks involve daily inventory management, shelf display and stock management to ensure competitive advantage. 2.1.3 Outbound Logistics This involves delivery to the customer. Tesco offers convenience to the customers by giving them home delivery. Also efforts are made to improve trolley space, parking facilities and other tangibles to maximise feel good for the customers. 2.1.4 Marketing and Sales Through the clubcard initiative, Tesco has successfully engaged loyal customer base and attract more customers by heavy advertising through radio, local newspapers and TV. Tesco has also started their green initiative as a corporate social responsibility and branding itself as a green and responsible company in the eyes of the customer. 2.2 Tesco Logistics: UK Tesco holds a commanding 13% share in UK retail market. The focus has been to grow share in food while increasing the space contribution in hypermarkets. Tesco, at this point of time reached the optimum level of supply chain efficiency and the logistic operations are now benchmarked by the competitors. Currently stock is checked every day on a real time basis and based on the inventory, orders are processed centrally. Production schedule plans are prepared and the same is then transported from deport to the store after approval of depot in charge. Jones and Clarke (2002) 2.3 Continuous Replenishment: UK CR introduced in 1999, replaced the batch data processing with a continuous flow system and then multiple orders are sent to the suppliers thus reducing stock holding and better inventory control. Through this, the risk of high inventory passed to the suppliers. The suppliers got the orders as per the requirements more than once a day through the central batch processing unit. The same were then processed by the suppliers and then assembled as per the batch orders at the Tesco depot. Multiple deliveries are then made to ensure efficient fleet utilization and faster replenishment. Image from book The movement of goods happens through mostly road and railways in the UK. In 1997, Tesco started using canal mode of transportation to ship goods between Manchester distribution facility and Liverpool. The movement happens between a central warehouse and the local depots based on the batch orders generated through the central processing unit on a daily basis. The inventory is maintained by sharing the inventory status data with the suppliers on a real time basis. The control of stock levels is ensured so that no one runs out of any goods. By sharing the information, chances of bullwhip effect are minimized and actual forecasting and schedule planning is done. [Gustafsson K, Jà ¶nson G, Smith DandSparks L (2006)] 2.4 Overseas Operations By 2003, Tesco has started functioning successfully in Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Thailand and South Korea. It is evident from the 2003 annual report of Tesco Plc that overseas operation now accounts for almost half the Tesco retail space and nearly 20% of sales (Tesco Plc Annual report, 2003). Managing international operations has been a challenge for Tesco. With the experience of managing an efficient supply chain in the UK, Tesco has been able to replicate the operation overseas in a similar manner. However there has been change in procurement strategy. Tesco has adapted to local and global sourcing strategy. Tesco has been able to utilize the local talent and resources and also managed to maintain a consistent global brand image. Local Operation and distribution is done through rail and road between a central distribution facility and the stores. It also uses sea transport to source products from global suppliers, thus maintaining a consistency. The prima ry distribution is kept similar as the UK operations and the use of information technology has enabled Tesco to optimize the supply chain activities and maximize the supply chain value internationally as well. Tesco unlike its UK operations has deviated from the just in time inventory management. To streamline the overseas operation they have identified local manufacturers to develop a cost effective competence over the competitors. The globally sourced products are ordered in bulk as per the fright management system and thus delivery of such products happens as per the stocks levels of the central processing units. Moreover, there have been legal bindings under the food and beverage laws of the various overseas countries and thus Tesco has to effectively manage as per the varying trade and labour laws. Due to global sourcing there has been change in the Continuous Replenishment policy as adopted by Tesco in the UK. The replenishments of globally sourced goods do not happen on a daily basis. The future demand of such goods is anticipated in advance and thus they are procured in bulk and transported through intermodal operations to maximize the overall supply chain profitability. With the onset of international operations, Tesco has realized the need of technology advancement and the high scale information systems to maintain and manage the global operations. The recent use of RFID technology has enabled Tesco to track and find the shipments and the local transportation in real time. Also, the ERP systems have been in place to maximize the supply chain value globally as well. However, to maintain the international standards and global brand image, there has been high cost occurrence on the transportation of goods procured from the international suppliers, thus leading to low margins in some cases. But with efficient supplier management program and real time sharing of information with the suppliers high transportation cost has been offset with the overall increase in supply chain profitability. Strategic Changes made to incorporate international operations Heavy investment is involved to expand geographically and there is need to provide cross cultural training to the employees. International sourcing from standard suppliers is shipped to the new locations through sea transport. RFID technology implemented to track and find the shipments. Utilization of local human and natural resources to achieve better margins. Hub and spoke model implemented to build central warehouses and docks near to sea and then transporting the same to the distant locations. Forecasting and demand estimation done centrally and the inventory details shared with the suppliers on a real time basis to ensure low inventory holding cost. Multiple deliveries from the suppliers ensured fast replenishment and zero stock out situations. 3.0 Transportation Policy Tesco sources both locally and globally. With the geographical expansion of Tesco to Central Europe, Asia and recently in US, it has been a challenge to manage the transportation and distribution of goods at the new locations keeping the quality consistent to that of the global image of Tesco. [Anderson, D. L., Britt. F. E., and Favre. D. J. (1997)] Risks associated with international logistics and transportation (Zhihui Song, Apr 2005) * Easy to lose control of operation and movements * Increase in paper work and documentation binding to the different legal and taxation in overseas countries. * Risk of delays in receiving and arrival of goods internationally. * Difficult to trade and trace as the point of action is remote. * There can be conflict in the customs and culture of the overseas country, * Lack of infrastructure capabilities in the hose country which may hamper the easy movement of goods 3.1 Rail Freight With the extensive rail reach in some of the overseas countries rail freight proves to be an economical on bulk ordering and low value goods. This mode of transport is low on speed and thus need to be used in slow moving goods and in instances where demand forecasting is accurate for a longer period of time. However there is a limitation in this mode because of the slow speed and inflexible service. But rail cannot be solely be relied as a transportation mode as the last mile has to be road. 3.2 Sea Freight With the geographical expansions, sea freight offers a cost effective mode of operation. The service however is slow but there is easy and quick availability of service due to the regular routes and service offered. There is a delay caused in this mode of transportation as it involved additional investment in developing port infrastructure for loading and uploading of goods. 3.3 Road Freight Road freight has to be put in place as a result of the strategic decision to ensure a balance between speed and responsiveness of the inventory management. Road Transport offers a fast and regular service but this can be a relatively expensive mode of transportation. This can be used in combination with roll on and roll off ferry services to cover intercontinental journeys. 3.4 Transportation Model for International and National Operations For the national distribution of goods, Tesco has been following intermodal transportation policy using rail, road and canal as means of transportation. It follows a hub and scope model where in central warehouses are maintained and through them the goods are sent to the local stores. Inventory at both the warehouse and local stores is tracked by a central processing unit. Inventory reports are generated on a real time basis in the local stores and in case of inventory falling under safety limits, warehouse is informed and the stock is dispatched. Freight management system is put in place which makes sure that the least cost incurring transportation is selected. [Bearnon, B.M (1998)] For the international operations, Tesco should look for standardizing their suppliers on an international level. A similar hub and spoke model can be implemented. The warehouses can be suitably located near the sea shore as dock units to ensure that the international supplies can be maintained on a relatively cheaper mode of sea transport. The choice of the dock units need to be made depending on the commercial and labour laws to ensure maximum profitability of the entire supply chain. Central warehouses can be maintained depending upon the location of the final local stores. An extended hub and spoke model can be realized with the goods being transferred from the dock units to the central warehouse and then finally to the end stores. 4.0 Information Technology: Critical Factor Information Technology now finds itself as an indispensable activity for any world class organization operating in any field, technology or sector. IT is now used as a means of competence over the competitors. IT has been used by organizations to restructure and re-engineer the distribution set up to achieve higher service standard, accurate production planning and demand forecasting thereby achieving low supply chain cost and high supply chain profitability. The recent advancements in the Information Technology enable the organizations to have a real time track and management of stock inventory at each level of the supply chain thereby elimination of any chance of information mismanagement and bullwhip effect. IT infrastructure now provides competitive position to a company through reduction of cycle time, implementation and free flow of cross functional information. [Smith, W B (2000)] Companies have now gone into maximum vertical and horizontal integration of supply chain stages by engaging into strategic tie ups with the suppliers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers. This inter organizational development of supply chain has been enabled by strong IT infrastructure, thus providing three distinct advantages of [Mishra R K (2004)] Cost Reduction Higher Productivity New product/ Market Strategies Typical supply chain as in case of Tesco can be split into 2 subchains. The first can be called as movement supply chain. This involves movement of raw material from suppliers to the company shop floor, cross functional movement of work in progress goods and the final movement of finished goods from warehouse to the retail stores. The other part of the supply chain is forward and backward information flow. The later subchain of information flow is rather more complex than the forward movement of the product from assembly line to the final retailing stage because of the integration of the multiple parties involved in the entire supply chain. Critical issue is of providing the right information at the right time at each stage of the supply chain, failure of which leads to passage of erroneous information across the supply chain which gets cascaded at each level. [King, J. (2000)] Also the use of strong IT infrastructure and advanced software services have helped Tesco in identifying the usage patterns of the end customers and has aided in developing a strong loyal customer base. This has helped in accurate demand forecasting, low inventory levels and an efficient production scheduling. Some of the advanced technological developments happening across different industries can be listed below Electronic Commerce: With the increase in internet savvy customers and continuous focus on providing convenience to the customers, organizations have resorted to conduction of business in a paperless environment. This involves emails, electronic money transfer and buying and selling of goods and services electronically on internet. This also involves quick and paperless cross functional movement of documents. Bar coding and Scanner: This is one of the most common technological advancement in the retail industry and can be seen at the checkout counter of the retail outlets. The bar codes carry full information of the products, details of suppliers and the entire product life cycle details. Data Warehouse: Data Warehouse refer to the consolidated database management of the companys entire production system database. This is used in making analytical and strategic decisions like demand estimation, production planning and forecasting by the top management of the companies. Enterprise Resource Planning tools: The SAP, Oracle ERP system forms backbone of the IT infrastructure of almost all the fortune 500 companies. These systems provide complete end to end highly optimised supply chain process flows that reduce the manual activities and help in achieving automated flow of information across the entire chain. With well equipped IT infrastructure, Tesco has developed a competitive advantage against the competitors. Sharing of information with the suppliers at Tesco started in 1997 with the establishment of commercially secure data exchange system based on the internet to facilitate the suppliers with the information on the current inventory holdings. This aided the suppliers to have a real time tracking of the required inventory at the production facility and the warehouse of Tesco, thus low inventory holding cost for Tesco and better demand estimation for both Tesco and the suppliers. With the use of IT, Tesco has become a market leader in United Kingdom, but with the globalization and geographic expansion, Tesco faces a challenge to monitor and manage the supply chain activities in the overseas location as well. For efficient monitoring and effective control it is imperative for Tesco to develop remote monitoring systems that can be used to track and locate the movement of goods locally and internationally. These remote monitoring applications have to be in consistent with the existing policies and the supply chain activities of Tesco, UK. The real time monitoring can be done by using satellite monitoring and tracking of movement of goods by implementing RFID technology, ERP systems to monitor the procurement, order processing and overseas supplier management, warehouse management and fleet management systems. International Warehouse Management System will help in providing buffer between supply and demand considering the fact that Tesco sources products and goods both internationally and globally. It can develop international stock holding facilities through which the goods can be transported efficiently and economically to the remotely located retail outlets. This will also help Tesco to maintain good dispatch facilities and warehouse operational activities. Developing an international Fleet Management System is needed for long term reliability of vehicles. It will help in maintaining scheduling, vehicle maintenance and tracking. This will help in international movement of goods across borders efficiently and economically, Electronic data systems need to be deployed to capture essential data of customers like customer details, usage patterns, order sizes and order details like product and quantity. This can be done by using a database system to select customers delivery, past shopping details across the different countries where the customer has shopped and thus producing a digital report of the special requirements if any of the customer. 5.0 Conclusion The report thus highlights on the critical evaluation on the changes in the supply chain operations especially international logistics and Information Technology up gradations in order to maintain consistent service delivery. Tesco need to adapt as per the legal and culture of the overseas countries, hence need to maintain global monitoring and controlling mechanisms to track the cross continent movement of goods and thus achieving maximum supply chain profitability. With the adaptation to international logistics and high scale information technology systems, Tesco can replicate the success in the UK on a global platform as well. 6.0 References Clarke, P (2002) Distribution in Tesco. Presentation for Tesco UK Operations Day 2002 [online] available from www.tesco.com/corporateinfo/ (12 Jan 2010) Corina, M (1971) Pile It High, Sell It Cheap, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Jones, D T and Clarke, P (2002) Creating a customer-driven supply chain, ECR Journal, 2 (2), pp 28-37 Tesco PLC (2009), Preliminary Results 2008/09 Additional Information [online] available from http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/ir/pres_results/analyst_packs/ap2009/prelim09/prelim09.pdf [14 Jan 2010] Fernie J and Sparks L (2004) Logistics and Retail Management: Insights into Current Practice and Trends from Leading Experts, Second Edition, London: Kogan Page Gustafsson K, Jà ¶nson G, Smith DandSparks L (2006) Retailing Logistics Fresh Food Packaging: Managing Change in the Supply Chain, London: Kogan Page Smith, W B (2000) Outsourcing supply chain information technology, Logistics Spectrum Jan-Mar pp. 14-22. Mishra R K (2004) Role of Information Technology in Supply Chain Management, Sambhalpur University [online] available from http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC461/fc461.html [16 Jan 2010] Anderson, D. L., Britt. F. E., and Favre. D. J. (1997), The seven principle of Supply Chain Management, Logistics Management. [online] available from http://www.manufacturing.net/magazine/logistic/archives/1997/scmr/11princ.htm [14 Jan 2010]. Bearnon, B.M (1998), Supply Chain design analysis: Models Methods, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 55 pp. 281-294. King, J. (2000), B2B exchanges Tighten Buyer seller Data Links, Computer world, Vol. 34 (10), pp. 42 March 2000. Zhihui S, (2005) Shijiahunag Railway Institute Risk and Uncertainty Analysis, International Logistics, April 2005, Volume 4, No 4 Rowley J and Williamson J, (2009) Logistics Operations, Coventry University

Comparing Two Biographies of the Genius Oscar Wilde Essay -- compare an

Comparing Two Biographies of the Genius Oscar Wilde      Ã‚  Ã‚   If someone had told Oscar Wilde during his life that for the next hundred years, people would still be taking the time to write about his life and accomplishments, he probably would have wittily declared it impossible for anyone to try to admire him as much as he admired himself.   However, two of his biographers, Frank Harris and Barbara Belford, have done just that.   Harris, in 1916, sixteen years after Wilde's death, published his biography, Oscar Wilde, as a memoir of his own cherished relationship with Wilde, for whom he had served as literary editor and friend.   Just this past year in 2000, after a popular film remake of An Ideal Husband, Belford published Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius, a tribute to the man and the literary works for which he is famous.    Oscar Wilde provides an intimate portrait of the poet, playwright, and self-described aesthete.   Born one year after Wilde, in 1855, Frank Harris was much more than a contemporary.   He lived in the same London social circles, knew the same people, and participated in the same events as Wilde, often by his side.   Harris' biography, which is much more a recounting of the dialogue between Harris and his subject than a straight-forward narrative of Wilde's life, is directed to those outside the loop, those Victorians who misunderstood Wilde, viewing his life as just as one controversy after another.   By focusing heavily on Wilde's education and the intense scrutiny of his lifestyle by England's movers and shakers, he presents Oscar Wilde as an innocent genius whose enthusiastic love of the classics, art, words, and life in general made him a victim in Victorian 1890s London.   Harris uses the insight of his ... ...erent from the methods of Frank Harris.   It is worthwhile to read both accounts, as the two provide an enforced, fuller understanding of who Wilde really was.    One hundred years separate us from the physical presence of Oscar Wilde, and eighty-four years separate the biographies of Frank Harris and Barbara Belford.   Though conceived and written independently, they manage to tell the same story.   The story told is that of Oscar Wilde, aesthete and artist, writer and wit, a true genius who was, as many great minds are, ultimately misunderstood by the people of his day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Belford, Barbara.   Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius.   New York: Random House, 2000. Harris, Frank.   Oscar Wilde.   New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. 1916.

Kinds of Music Essay

Music is no stranger to anyone, but have you ever asked someone as to what music is. If not, then try on but be prepared that you would not receive any definite answer from anyone. The dictionary defines music as ‘the art of arranging tones in an orderly sequence so as to produce a unified and continuous composition’. However, in the larger picture, the definition of music varies with culture, people, place or time. Music is sublime and too varied, leaving each individual with a different set of choice. For some music may be a source of relaxation, while for others it could be the means to let out their internal anguish. Even a person with the least inclination towards melody can recognize a piece of music instantly. With the diversity in the forms of music, here is a classification of some of the different types of music. It’s an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. Classical music is the main form of music, and refers mainly to the music which prevailed in the world before the 20th century. Classical music is a complex form of music and requires intensive training and knowledge. Classical music may also refer to the local and folk music of any particular country or region. In the world of Western music, the works of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven are defined as classical music. It’s a complex form of music as it requires skills like learning the ragas and ability to coordinate with other musicians. One has to maintain the complex relationship between its emotional flows. If you wish to learn it, then you have to go through proper training. Folk music includes both traditional music mirrors the needs, desire, likes, dislikes and life of the local people and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. Certain types of folk music are also called world music. Folk music mostly depicts the struggle for survival and culture of the people. Country music is a genre that has evolved out of folk music. Bob Dylan’s songs have become anthem for people fighting against social injustice. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers; another is music that has been transmitted and evolved by a process of oral transmission or performed by custom over a long period of time. Rapping is a key ingredient in hip hop music and reggae, and has worked itself into mainstream and alternative rock music as well. It is generally spoken to a beat, either with backing music or acapella. Rap is a complex mix of influences, and includes elements of speech, prose, poetry, and song. If you appreciate the art form, have some talent, and want to learn how to rap, this article will help you build the foundation that will allow you to grow into a world-class rapper. Country music is genre of American popular music that originated in the rural regions of the Southern United States in the 1920s.[1] It takes its roots from southeastern American folk music, Western cowboy. Blues mode has been used extensively throughout its recorded history. Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies accompanied by mostly string instruments such as banjoes, electric and acoustic guitars, fiddles, and harmonicas. Rock music came into existence in the rock and roll era of the 1950s. Rock music has its focus mainly on guitars, drums and heavy vocals. However, use of piano, synthesizer, saxophone, flute, mandolin and sitar has also been witnessed in the modern rock era. These instruments are mainly used to create a deeper impact. Elvis Presley and The Beatles are considered to be the pioneers of rock music. Over the years, rock music has diversified into various genres like hard rock, metal rock, progressive rock etc. Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as â€Å"rock and roll† in 1950s America and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s’ and 1950s’ rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, c lassical and other musical sources. Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre’s popularity peaked during the late 1970s. Its initial audiences were club-goers from the African American, Latino, gay, and psychedelic communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco also was a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Women embraced disco as well, and the music eventually expanded to several other popular groups of the time. Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its (typically) guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music. Scholars have noted that pop and rock are usually depicted as opposites; the detractors of pop often deride it as a slick, commercial product, less authentic than rock music. Metal music emerged after the Second World War. Here the melody of the song is heavily influenced by the structure of the songs. While in rock music, songwriting is based within a form; in metal music, the central melody decides the structure of the song. It is also known as ‘information music’. Heavy metal music, also known as ‘information music’, started off after the Second World War. It includes various sub-genres, such as thrash metal, death metal, and black metal and so on. The most important requirement of a heavy metal band is the presence of at least one electronic guitarist. There may be a few soft and subtle pieces, but most of the songs are loud, fast and aggressive with some heavy use of the guitar and drums, and lot of screaming, mostly in death metal. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were some of the famous bands of this genre. Hip-hop music originated among the Black American during the 1970s, with a deep influence from the Jamaican music. Hip-hop employs bass as the main instrument and includes rapping and audio mixing. Bob Marley and Roberts Nesta Marley were the pioneers in popularizing hip-hop music. By 2000, hip-hop made its way to the world music charts, and now with the success of hip-hop artists like Eminem, 50 Cents, Usher and Akon, hip-hop is going places around the globe. Hip-hop music always includes the use of instruments such as guitar, violin, fiddle, piano, bass and drums. In this type of music, the bass is the main instrument. This can be used in different intensities to emote feelings of anger, pride and others. This type of music is the result of hip-hop culture and is known as hip-hop music. This music shows a heavy influence of Jamaican music. The roots of the music are found in African-American and West African music. It was first played by a group of traveling singers and poets of We st Africa. Trance music is characterized by fast beats, short melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that varies up and down throughout a track. Trance music is mostly played in clubs and discotheques, for listeners to groove and dance. The name trance suggests the hypnotic effect of this type of music, and quite often gets associated with the use of drugs. Trance music is a combination of various forms of music such as industrial, techno, and house. Jazz music owes its origin to the African American communities in the Southern United States. Cornet, trumpet, saxophone, piano and violin are the main instruments used in jazz music. Jazz music carries a strong and intricate rhythm and is a lot influenced by the blues in terms of using components like blue notes and phrasing of melodies. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Freddie Hubbard were some of the most famous jazz artists. This type of music is featured by strong and complex rhythms. The main instruments used for jazz music are cornet, trumpet or violins, which help carry the melody. This is a rhythmic music and has a forward momentum called â€Å"swing†. However, in this genre, the skilled performer interprets a tune in his own way. Techno music is also known as fusion music, is electronic dance music influenced from the African American styles like funk, electro and electric jazz. It was developed by a group known as â€Å"The Belleville Three†, initiated by Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins in the suburbs of Detroit. Among the various styles of techno that exists today, Detroit Techno is considered to be the base for all others. Techno music is mainly an instrumental genre that uses instruments like synthesizers, drum machines, multi-tracking and hardware sequencers for creating harmony. It features fast beats and this form was initiated by Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. Opera music first emerged in Italy in the 1600s. This genre has a remarkable combination of theatrical art and musical invention and is specifically played in the theaters. This has greater appeal for its delightful orchestral accompaniment. The preludes and interludes of this music set the tone for the action on-stage.

Sexual Harassment Is A Form Of Sex Discrimination

Section One: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title Vll of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. AAUW, describes sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of nature. (Know Your Rights at Work: Workplace Sexual Harassment: AAUW, n.d.) The Title Vll is a federal law in which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. You would of think that with this law people will not have to face any sexual discrimination in a work setting , but unfortunately that is not the case. Sexual harassment has three different forms that may appear in a working environment such as verbal, visual, or physical. â€Å"Verbal Sexual harassment refers to sexually suggestive remarks, or obscene or insulting sounds. It includes unwelcome and offensive names or terms of endearment such as ‘honey bun’ or ‘boobsy’. â€Å"(The Aware Sub Committee, 2008) Some examples of this type of sexual harassment include: Cat calls, kissing sounds, calling someone honey, whistling at someone, and etc. Then there is Visual Sexual harassment is when either someone is exposing their private parts or is simply staring at another person’s body in a way that can cause discomfort. (The Aware Sub Committe, 2008) Examples of these are unwanted looks, unacceptable gestures, nude calendars in employees office, emails, and text messages. Lastly, PhysicalShow MoreRelatedEssay on Same Sex Harassment1650 Words   |  7 PagesSame Sex Harassment Imagine that you are in the shower of the gym at work and three co-workers enter, then hold you down to the ground while rubbing their genitalia across your bare skin. No matter what the circumstance you would find this behavior appalling and disgusting. 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