My Life Essay Example for Free

My Life Essay Above anything else, I still think that the most ambiguous term, concept, and thing in the world aside from its existence is life. A persons life can be the most difficult thing to describe, to define, to expound, and to measure. It will always be very challenging for an individual to summarize his of her entire life in nothing but words that do not even measure up to lifes vague beauty, wonders, and mysteries. But in the very best way that I can, combining everything I learned from writing, recounting history, and expressing my thoughts, I shall try to tell you what and how my life is so far. I will choose to tell how my life was in the past, what it is like now, and how I envision it to become in the future in my own tone and perspective. Simplicity is a very relative and subjective term. Some would associate this term with peace and serenity, but I would rather connect it with the ideas of non-extravagant beauty and non-chaotic momentum. And so, I would rather call my life a simple one in this sense. As for my childhood, I realized that this phase is not a completely natural incident and event which happens to everyone. In one way or another, and at least in my own life, I have come to understand that having a childhood is also partly an individual choice that people have to make. More importantly, having a happy childhood is the greater choice which people have to decide on whether they would have it or not. With regard to my own, I chose having a childhood and a worthwhile one. Twenty-three years ago, I cried meaningfully on the [insert date of birth; ex: 25th of December, 1986] which told my parents that I am already existing as a person. Throughout my entire childhood, I cried for various reasons — whenever I got hurt, got disappointed, felt sad, felt annoyed, and felt overwhelmingly happy. All these cries, my life proved, are part of growing up. In my lifes context, these things made me realize that I am but a human being who feels and learns to express what he feels whenever he feels the need for it. Growing up in Turkey, I can say that my past is as colorful and vibrant as my country. My mind never ran out of iridescent and crazy ideas when I was going through my primary and secondary levels of education. I think I owe to my parents the considerable amount of effort they had to sacrifice in order to give me and my one and only sister the kind of education which we can both be proud of. My heart never skipped a beat as it vigorously lived with the glorious days of my childhood and adolescent years when I felt like I was the most powerful and liberated man that God has ever created. In a nutshell, my childhood is something I would always want to reminisce over and over again. And so, I rekindle that vibrant feeling every now and then, especially now that I write this chronicle of my life. Excellence and being well-molded never fascinated me until my parents, together with my mentors at the previous schools that I attended, injected into my consciousness the significance of education to an individuals betterment. I think that it safe to say that generally, young people dislike going to school very much; however, it was during those days, when I was on the verge of hating school, when I started to realize that education is actually the strongest foundation I could ever have that will equip me with the skills and knowledge to become a competent person in the future. As an average person who grew up with his parents in Istanbul, Turkey and who is still spending his days as a university student under the custody of his parents, I can say that I now have a considerably complete idea of what being a well-molded individual is like. Upon seeing and knowing successful people around me, I have to realize that all their authority, wealth, honor, valor come from a sufficient amount of education and dedication to it. But for me, aside from this, one thing which also aids in creating a well-molded individual in each person is his or her choice of submitting and staying under the guidance of his of her parents, for no parent shall wish for his or her child to go astray. And so, I chose to stay aligned with my parents guidance and proved to myself that indeed, parents have the innate ability to know the best and only the best for their children. I have never learned and realized the power of material things. I may have become fascinated with some, but one of the most amazing and valuable things I have learned in my life is that most of the things that can actually give true happiness to people are the intangible things that money cannot purchase in anyway. In several instances, I have also experienced the most typical emotional and psychological milestones that a human being goes through in life. As I entered adulthood, I have realized the value of true friendship and the value of having a special person caring for me. I have also been able to go through several rites of passage that defined my membership to the so called â€Å"in-circles† in my youth. Many times I fell hard and stood up again, never surrendering to the most miserable heartbreaks yet the most meaningful lessons that I can consider indispensable for the rest of my life. Truly, no material form of wealth and luxury can ever compare to the most special things that I regard as my greatest achievements in my life so far; and these include my self-dignity, the seemingly everlasting friendship that I share with my peers, the love I constantly receive from the people around me, and the bright future that shines ahead of me in this point of my life. I chose to value these intangible treasures that will last longer than me and than the ones that will fade after I passed. Yet, no matter how colorful or pleasant my writing will turn out to be, I also believe that life is not always a bed of roses. For several instances, I have received harsh criticisms from people who tried to judge me from a far and tried to measure me as a person without knowing me completely. I have faced several failures that brought me serious humiliation and deep self-disappointment. I also have failed to live up to other peoples expectations a number of times. At one point, I thought these falls were bound to identify and label me as an individual and as a man. But my hopes, aspirations, and visions inside of me that have been kept hidden behind these failures always manage to float above everything else and take over my consciousness. Thus, I chose to believe that I as an individual can only be judged and measured according to how strong and triumphant I succeeded after a fall and not by how hard I fell flat on the ground. I chose to tell you this tale of my life in my endeavor to give myself a hint on how I would want to envision myself in the future. If there is one thing this chronicle has taught me and made me understand about myself, it is that my life is truly made up of great choices, and each choice is a fruit of a trial-and-error process of learning. Right now, the life of being a university student is giving me all the positive thoughts of what my life ahead would become. I could be successful like todays powerful and affluent people, yes I can say, but I would choose to follow this tale and make a success story of my own, keeping in mind all the vibrant memories I have had from my childhood, all the valuable lectures my parents and my mentors taught me, the inspiration that my sister, my friends, and loved ones gave me, and the indispensable lessons my failures made me realize. Most especially, I would choose to remember my own ambiguous yet insightful definition of what my life is right now and what it will be tomorrow. Thus, I would still choose, and in the future, I know there will still be more choices to make, but I guess that is what life is to me basically — a never-ending ball of choices which define who we are.

Impact Of Globalization On A Developed Economy Economics Essay

Impact Of Globalization On A Developed Economy Economics Essay Globalization is used to describe variety kinds of related but separate, political, sociological, economic and business phenomena. In general terms, globalization refers to the increasing global interdependence of national economies and development of worldwide business competition, activities, and markets (Stonehouse, 2005). The most common definition and the one which usually used in international business is economic globalization, which means an international integration of tendency, such as information, labor, technology, products and capital (Ball 2010). Multinational corporations (MNCs), which majority supported by the industrialized countries governments, and international financial organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), are the foundational agents in economic globalization. In addition, an accelerative number of small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in global business operations as partners in this processing (Ahmad, 2001). This paper wills analysis the processing of economic globalization, listing the drivers with evaluating the values, and then assessing the impacts on a developed economy and a developing economy respectively. Drivers of globalization Globalization increased the interconnections of economic between countries. Accord to the theory of Ball (2010) and Cavusgil (2008), there are five major kinds of drivers: Political: government eliminates barriers to trade and foreign investment. International firms both exporting and building production facilities in different countries to open new markets. Much of the industries in formerly communist nations are privatization to participate in the global competition. Technological: Customers could learn more about foreign goods and have more right to choose by the advances communications technology. Small companies become competing global by using the internet and network computing, which also leads a large number of companies to make transactions with E-commercial systems. Market: As companies globalize, they also become global customs. When firms saturated the home markets, they begin to send branch companies into foreign markets. There are 84% of worlds largest companies expect that global markets will generate the majority of their growth in the next five years (Dow Jones survey Cited in Ball, 2010). Cost: Economies of scale reduce the unit cost by globalize product lines. These costs include production, development and inventory costs. The company can move production or other parts value chain to low-cost country by take local advantages. Competitive: Globalization leads intensity increasing competition for whole corporations all around the world. New companies, abundant from newly industrialized and developing countries, have entered global markets in automobiles, computers, and electronics in order to obtain more competitive edge. These drivers which are the dominant force for economic integration have variety impacts on different economics depend on the particular situation. Developing economy Positive impacts Globalization can enhance socioeconomic development in the developing economies. A large number of researches have estimated the impacts of globalization on the long-run growth of output and agree that international trade and globalization are important factors for a developing economy to build a positive economic system. They point out that higher globalization policies can leads countries to have higher Steady State Growth Rates (SSGR) (Rao, 2009). Focusing on the FDI inflows, more advanced technology and manager method involved in the developing countries could directly accelerate the local economic growing (Marques, 2009). The extent of financial flows seemed to supplement the developing economies shortages of capital and to encourage their investment in some aspects such as the construction of infrastructural facilities (Spence, 2010). Besides, globalization leads growth of international business and Increasing competitive in the developing countries. The general principle in globalization is that the most competitive one is the most efficient (Knight, 2008). As the WTO and other organizations have Impact on the construction sector in developing countries during globalization, which help developing countries economic to grow, by allowing competition to break down the inefficiencies of industries that were hidden behind various barriers to trade (Ball, 2010, p.20). In order to be more competitive in world markets, local corporations must obtain advanced commercial technology in the form of purchase of capital goods, direct investment, and the right to use the international companys skill or knowledge. This process of liberalization leads governments to acquire more capability of competition for markets, social utilities and services (Spence, 2010). Finally, globalization provides developing economy more and better jobs. According to the comparative advantage theory, trade and FDI should take advantage of the plentiful labor in developing economy and so trigger a trend of specialization in domestic labor-intensive activities and, ultimately, an expansion in local employment (Rugman, 2009, p.5). FDIs cause positive employment impacts both directly and indirectly through job creation by suppliers and retailers; they also produce a tertiary employment effect by generating additional incomes and thereby increasing aggregate demand (Lall, 2004, p.75). Spiezia (2004, p.154) measures the exported and imported of labor-intensities and non-traded goods, and concludes that in 21 out of 39 sampled developing countries an increase in the volume of trade resulted in an increase in employment. He also finds that the impact of FDI on employment could increases per-capita income in general. In addition, globalization could decrease poverty. Indeed, the majority of developing countries, particularly fast-globalizing countries such as India, China, and Vietnam, experienced a significant decrease in the proportion of their population which is living below the poverty line. The World Development Indicators shows that the proportion of extreme poverty people in China fell from 56 to 31 percent between 1981 and 1999. In contrast, that countries rejected globalization, Including Myanmar, Sierra Leone and Ukraine are always the most impoverished countries in the world (Ball, 2010). Negative impacts The major negative impact on developing countries is globalization will lead a developing economy to greater volatility with reducing economic growth in short-time, particularly in the capital markets. The financial linkages of developing countries with the worldwide economic system have significantly increased in recent decades (Prasad, 2003). With the financial globalization, the proliferation of financial crises among developing economies are often viewed as a natural consequence of the growing pains (Prasad, 2003). The Asian financial crisis, thousands of firms went bankrupt during the recession in developing countries. As the global financial market continue to be unpredictable, opening up to capital markets can exacerbate such existing domestic distortions and lead to catastrophic consequences (Aizenman, 2002, p.4319). The expanding foreign-owned corporations in local economy came to be viewed as a threat to autonomy by a large number of governments with the reduction of tariffs and the elimination of quantitative restrictions. The economic strength of large companies is even larger than the local governments in many developing countries. For instant, the annual revenue of Wal-Mart is higher than the GDP of Poland, Israel and Greece (Cavusgil, 2008). The MNCs can lobby the government or sponsored the selection in order to benefit from changing the local economies and social structures (Knight, 2008). They can also affect the legislative process, benefit from government agencies. Besides, the MNCs also threat the survival of domestic firms due to the low competitiveness of domestic enterprises (Langmore, 2004). As a result, some traditional customs and industries are disappearing. Hoang (2006) argues that globalization leads to exploitation of labor in the developing countries due to the developed countries take the advantage of cheap labor. As all these foreign investment in the developing countries are pursuit of profits, some experts argue that a large number of MNCs employing child labor and paying slave wages. These sweatshops also provide miserable working conditions in Dongguan, China and Africa (Stonehouse, 2004). According to the theory of Beine (2008), globalization leads to brain drain in developing countries. It has opened country easily for free movement of labors, especially experts and professionals. This problem is mostly in developing countries such as India, China and Africa where some of the qualified personnel immigrate to developed countries to get jobs due to poor economic conditions and lack of good financial policies in their motherland. Developed economy Positive impacts Globalization is much better for developed economic growth. On average, countries that globalized more, the experienced growth rates could be higher, especially true for actual economic integration in developed countries with the liberalization on trade and capital. There is also evidence, that cross-border information flows promote growth (Drehera 2006, p.1080). Besides, with a fully integrated market of services, labor, capital and goods, increased internationalization leads to larger income and sales, which in leads to greater profit potential especially in exploiting emerging markets (Sledge, 2006). The multinational firms from developed nations realize much performance benefits from globalization and pay more sales tax to their government. Globalization also accelerates the MNCs to expansion with more performance. Firms always organize their value-adding actives according to availability of land resource, labor cost levels, skills, and capital quality, they could benefit from much lower unit cost levels and often get huger quality manufacturing when take a location advantages during globalization (Stonehouse, 2004). For instant, IT outsourcing could cut operational costs and stay competitive especially it leads to a 24-hour functioning of firms (Marques, 2009). Furthermore, during increasing expansion, the subsidiaries of foreign companies are becoming important roles in the industrial and economic life in many developed economies. As growing rapidly in Foreign Direct Investment and exporting in the developed countries, globalization has a positive effect on Industrial competitiveness (IC) (Zhang, 2010), which also means that MNCs could get more industrial productivity by increasing integration with the global economy through FDI and trade. The MNCs also can benefit from a diversification of risk by invest in variety kinds of nations. Furthermore, by setting labor-intensive and heavy industry into in developing countries and regions, developed economics put pressure on the local capital markets to  upgrade. MNEs form developed countries are becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive rather than labor-intensive (Narula, 2000). MNEs increase international competitiveness with continuous innovation in high-tech researches and production new high-tech products. Developed countries are shifting their industrial structure to tertiary-industry during globalization. For instance, U.S. has set information technology, aerospace technology, defense and biotechnology industries as its pillar industry (Hecker, 1999). Economic globalization also creates more conditions for transnational flow of high-skilled labor. The important determinants for the migration decision of individuals are economic factors. As rapid rates of economic development, which based on high technology industrialization, more and more MNCs demand for imported high-skilled labor (Skeldon, 2005). So developed countries attract a large number of foreign talents to immigrate in and make important contributions to their economics. As human resources have become the most important factor in competition, developed nations could acquire more productivity (Beine, 2008). Negative impacts Globalization could increase the unemployment rate and widen the gap between rich and poor in the developed countries. The major threat obvious from globalization is that trade with the Third World, which provides cheaper labor, will undermine the wages of less-skilled workers, and even leads to their intense unemployment, such as in Western Europe. From economic theory, which provides clear evidences for the situation that trade can increase the rewards of skilled workers while reducing the pay of the unskilled workers when they are facing international competition, importing skilled labor tend to displace unskilled workers (Irwin 2000). Rodrik (1997) fears that those who can adapt to economic change, such as capital owners, skilled labor, and experts, will increasingly edge out those who cannot, such as unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Mckay (2004) points out that the gap between rich and poor could be accelerated because of the increasing redundancy of low-skilled people. Similar as developing economics, globalization leads developed nations more interdependent. That means the developed economies suffer more from economic disruptions as the risks become more global. Globalization encourages free trade, which involves an increased cash flow, and then the redistribution of capital could become more liquidity. As Bagai(2010) argues that there are more widely risks than before due to the financial markets and institutions have more capability to disperse than past. Furthermore, the increasing financial innovation by developed countries leads the financial managers more possibility to underestimate the risks. The subprime crisis illuminates are errors of omission due to the financial managers ignore the regulatory discipline (Spence, 2010). Conclusion (2176 words) Globalization has became one of the most controversial political and economic issues recently. As Marx said globalization process is inevitable as progressive and praiseworthy (Jellisse,2009, p.35). However, globalization is a dual-edged sword. With MNCs set their workforce from overseas to obtain inexpensive labor, developing countries obtain higher employment rate, thus improving their economies and living standard. But it has also thrown up new challenges like growing volatility in financial market and brain drain. As regard the developed economics, globalization accelerates the MNCs to expansion and industrial upgrade and shift. Because the globalization process is leading by developed countries, although it leads to increase the unemployment rate, developed countries gain more benefits from international trade and investment such as take local advantages and shift their industrial structures. In all, as globalization can be managed by governments cooperating global, expanding tr ade by collectively reducing barriers and working together to fulfill the optimization of resource distribution, both developed and developing countries can deploy to reduce poverty and raise living standard at last (Stonehouse, 2004 ).

Action of Myofibrils In Muscular Contraction and ATP as an Energy Sourc

Action of Myofibrils In Muscular Contraction and ATP as an Energy Source for Muscular Contraction Abstract: The objective of this research was to determine how myofibrils and ATP are involved and/or altered in muscular contraction. I analyzed the structure of myofibrils and their subunits of myosin and actin. I then determined that myosin shortens actin, carrying out a muscular contraction, by forming cross-bridges between the myosin heads and the actin filaments. I also discovered how ATP is used in muscular contraction and then replaced by undergoing a reaction with PCr. This research is very important to athletes and doctors in order understand how to increase muscular performance and treat muscular diseases, respectively. The human body has an uncountable number of muscle fibers. There are so many, packed so tightly, that it makes it nearly impossible to isolate any small number of cells. In one study, it was determined that the tibialis anterior was made up of 160,000 muscle fibers. [1] The size of this muscle is not particularly impressive and the ?biceps brachii muscle likely contains 3-4 times that number.? [2] Not only that, but human skeletal muscles are always changing how they interact with themselves, and the rest of the body. This is especially apparent in muscular contraction. In fact, it has only been in the last 50 years that we have begun to really understand them, and much of the research that has been done has been conducted on animals that are not humans; one can see the problems that may arise from cutting up a human and examining muscles as they contract. It is important to have at least a rudimentary understanding of these processes for one?s own health purposes, athletic performanc... ...296-305. [5] MacIntosh, B., Gardiner, P., & McComas, A. Skeletal Muscle: Form and Function 2nd Edition. Chpt 11. 2006 [6] Huxley, H. E. The Contractionof muscle. Scientific American 199,67-82. 1958 [7] Currie, David. The Molecular Basis of Muscular Contraction: Hanxon and Huxley?s sliding filament theory of muscle contraction. http://faculty.etsu.edu/currie/muscmolec.htm 2007 Figures Figure 1 Courtesy of www.edcemter.sdsu.edu Figure 2 Courtesy of www.ohioline.osu.edu/sc172/images/sc172_42.jpg Figure 3 Courtesy of www.biomed.miami.edu/pharm/faculty_Szczesna.html Figure 4 Courtesy of: http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/CellBiophys/LocalProbes/motorproteins/myosin.html Figure 5 Courtesy of http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu Figure 6 Courtesy of http://biology.clc.uc.edu/graphics/bio104/atp.jpg Figure 7 Courtesy of http://staff.jccc.net/pdecell/cellresp/glycolysis.gif

Searching For a Balance in Education :: Learning Education Essays

Searching For a Balance in Education The definition of "education" encompasses many different meanings. It can be defined as schooling, studies, learning, the educational system, and the list continues on. Both Adrienne Rich and Jon Spayde feel that education is composed all of these elements. But learning at a school, inside of a classroom is only the beginning. There is much more to learn other than what is inside of a text book. Learning, in large part, will come from experiencing the happiness, horrors, tragedies, and other lessons that life will bring us. We will not be able to truly appreciate our gift of knowledge until we learn to look within ourselves and to gain the self- awareness we need to recognize the meaning and importance of education. Spayde and Rich feel that a school education alone does not prepare us for the real world. Both Spayde and Rich give accounts of what they have experienced inside the educational arena. (66) Jon Spayde, author of "Learning in the Key of Life, ²s ntless experiences of many writers to illustrate the various types of education that exist in today ¹s society. He and his colleagues don ¹t necessarily believe that a formal education is the only way to learn, but instead there are various avenues for acquiring knowledge.  ³The whole world is a classroom, and to really make it one, the first thing is to believe it is. "(62) In Spayde ¹s essay, Elizabeth Sutton- Lawrence discusses Greek education, known as "in-the-street education,"where the Greeks "learned largely in part from first-hand experience. Socrates met and challenged his "pupils ²"in the streets, at dinner parties, and after festivals. ²"(us) Even if universities had been established in Greek times, Socrates, most likely would still have chosen to educate himself in the streets. He probably would have chuckled at the idea of formal schooling. (62) According to Spayde, not only did the Greeks believe in self-education, but so did other classical philosophers. They believed that to enliven the mind  ³"You need to be very alert to the world around you."(63) Awareness is so critical to our learning experience. We ¹ll never appreciate the beauty that life brings us if we don ¹t sit back and reflect on the experiences that we ¹ve learned from. New York Jazz and rock writer Gene Santoro expressed that we can also learn a lot from  ³popular culture. ² "Jazz", for example,  ³"is the artistic version of the American experience.

Good and Evil in Good Country People Essay example -- people

Good and Evil in Good Country People  Ã‚     Ã‚   In "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor, the masked truth is reflected unequivocally through the reality in the story, its equal counterpart. For every good or evil thing, there is an antagonist or opposing force. Each character has a duplicate personality mirrored in someone else in the story. In the story, the names and personalities of the characters clash. The name is the mask covering the personality, which is representative of the reality aspect of each character. When Mrs. Hopewell named her daughter Joy, she was hoping for all the joy that comes with raising a child and watching the child develop a life of its own. What Mrs. Hopewell received was a disabled daughter who lived miserably at home and was the antithesis of everything her mother believed. The name Hulga is also a mask. When Joy changed her name to Hulga, Mrs. Hopewell had made up her mind that Joy "had thought and thought until she hit upon the ugliest name in any language" (O'Connor 299). Although Joy-Hulga chose the name because of its "ugly sound" and how well it suited her, she "secretly desired an inner self that was beautifully unique" (Bloom 99). The name Manley, the Bible salesman, has similar implications. The name Manley includes the word "man," but he is constantly revealed through his child-like acts such as his mumbling "was like the sleepy fretting of a child" (O'Connor 307). O'Connor also refers to him as having sweet breath like a child's and his "kisses were sticky like a child's" (307). The beginning of the story, "Good Country People," is misleading. At first, the story points to Mrs. Freeman and Manley Pointer as being good country people. According to Mrs. Hopewell t... ... the story. Flannery O'Connor portrayed both the good and the evil side of human nature. She also explored religious issues that are prevalent in today's society. The struggle between good and evil and real and hidden truths build the foundations for "Good Country People." Works Cited Bloom, Harold, ed. Flannery O'Connor. New York: Chelsea, 1986. Humphries, Jefferson. The Otherness Within: Gnostic Readings in Marcel Proust, Flannery O'Connor, and Francois Villion. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1983. May, John R. The Pruning Word: The Parables of Flannery O'Connor. Notre Dame, IN: U of Notre Dame P, 1976. O'Connor, Flannery. "Good Country People." Literature: Reading, Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 3rd ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 297-310. Walters, Dorothy. Flannery O'Connor. New York: Twayne, 1973.   

Albatross Anchor

Albatross Anchor is a small family owned business located in Smallville, MA. Albatross Anchor is located on 12 acres of land. They started out with four employees in 1976 and grow over the years to over 100. The company manufactures two types of anchors in different sizes. The types are the mushroom/bell anchor and the snap hook anchor. Albatross Anchor has many manufacturing problems which are the cause of the company not doing as well as it should be. The company is antiquated, worn and does not meet government guidelines. Albatross can be a company of the future with the application of much need upgrades and expansions. Question one A. Albatross Anchor‘s competitiveness in relations to cost below their competitors. They are 30% lower than their competitors. The cause of this is all the operation inefficiencies. They need to correct all of their problems in order to get in line with the competitors. The cost to manufacture is the same as the competitors $12. 00 per/lb. for mushroom/bell anchors and $6. 00 per /lb. for snag hook anchors. But, with the high price of shipping raw materials in finished goods not shipping out, and the cost of raw material, these are just some of the problems causing the company to lose money. The cost of the manufacturing process is hurting Albatross. The down time in between set up of the different anchors is a downfall of the company. They are paying workers to be there to wait for work to begin. The cost of raw material is high, since the company smaller than most. They will not get a better price as a large company would who manufactures more product. Cost efficient companies keep its capital, labor, and operating costs lower than its competitors. Then they must also provide a good price to its customers. Albatross Anchor should take on the method of Six Sigma This will help to achieve a level of quality, reduce costs related to scrap, rework, inspection, and customer dissatisfaction. B. The speed of manufacturing is a slow process; this is due only being able to produce one type of anchor at a time, which is called batch manufacturing. The time to switch from one process to another is 36 hours. The plant space is limited; it does not have enough room to have enough equipment to manufacture each anchor at the same time. The company needs to implement a score card to help with the operations strategies. The balanced scorecard has evolved from its early use as a simple performance measurement framework to a full strategic planning and management system. † (http://www. balancedscorecard. org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default. aspx) C. The flexibility of filling an order with Albatross Anchor is non-existent. The manufacturing area is too small to make both anc hors at the same time. If an order comes in and need to be produced in a hurry they are not able to do this, because of the lack of technology in having a machine to produce both without a long set up time. Flexibility is important if a company is to respond quickly to changes in the industry. Time is money. Companies that can design, produce, and distribute their products faster than the competitors will have the upper hand. (Russell & Taylor, 2007, Operations Management: Creating Value Along the Supply Chain, pg. 124. ) D. The technology at Albatross Anchor is antiquated and deprived and is no longer up to standards. The manufacturing process is not capable of continuous production. The time to switch from one process to another is too long. The equipment and process should be update, or replaced. The funds for these projects are considered to be a capital investment. Albatross should consider making this investment to have a positive effect on the manufacturing process. Once the company makes the investment into new equipment, they will also have to invest into training the employees to run the new equipment. The company may need to have new hires, ones that can possibly do the job with less training. E. The capacity and facilities have out grown what the company has now. The company was designed to be a small manufacturer. Albatross is sitting on 12 acres of land they would be able to expand to make room for better technology. They have plenty of land to become an aggressive modern company, who is producing a top quality product. They can be the top producer of anchors with the changes that need to come about. Capacity is the maximum amount capable of producing. Another why to expand the capacity is to consider outsourcing. Outsourcing would come into play when they cannot set up the equipment and they need to produce product to satisfy an order. Some things to consider are the cost of making the product, such as labor, raw materials, and overhead. The facilities need to be made larger. The area that holds the raw materials should be expanded and should be close to the receiving area. Finished products should be close to the shipping area. This would cut down on time by not having to move product from such a long distance. The receiving and shipping should be together on the side where imports and exports are done. F. Service to customers is not very good. Long lead times and bad shipping methods are cause for problems. Accessibility and convenience are also a cause for concern. By offering a quality product, be able to meet orders and a touch of individualized customer service, you add value to your offering and your customers experience a higher level of satisfaction. The process of benchmarking can also help solve some of the problem and help to become a better company. â€Å"Benchmarking is the process of measuring an organization's internal processes then identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding practices from other organizations considered to be best-in-class† (http://www. benchnet. com/wib. htm) The scorecard will also help determine where the problems lie within the service area. Albatross needs to come up with new designs of anchors to be more competitive, this will give the customers more options to choose from, bit the company needs to know how to make the process of making the anchors go smoother and faster. Based on the needs and perceptions of their target customers, they should either improve their products or reduce the cost of the product to enhance customer value. There are six things that influence a customer’s buying decision they are selling price, quality, dependability, flexibility, time, and service. These are all thing that a company must keep in mind to gain and keep customers. Customers do not want to buy products of the companies that they cannot trust. They want dependable producers. Question Two There are many ways that mushroom/bell anchors may be manufactured. Albatross Anchor is considering two new manufacturing processes (Process A and Process B) to reduce costs. From the available information below determine which process has the lowest breakeven point (this validates the process is more cost effective) and report your analysis and supporting conclusion. For each process the following fixed costs and variable costs have been identified:

Essay Structure

The reality that an alarming number of qualified school leavers will not get spaces at universities in the United Kingdom has left many in shock. This could have serious implications for students who have long held dreams of acquiring university education. These students are left with the option of missing out on university education entirely or finding alternative means of acquiring this much sought after education. I will explore the reasons that have resulted in this crisis in the United Kingdom’s higher education learning system.I will also offer a study abroad alternative to students who still wish to acquire a university education. Finally, I will explore the advantages of this study option in comparison to universities in the United Kingdom. One factor that has contributed to this crisis is basically a demand and supply crisis. I intend to discuss how the cuts on government funding have affected the uptake of students who have completed their A-levels. I will explore in detail how the announcement by the Coalition of a two hundred million pound cut from the higher education budget has reduced the number of available spaces a the universities.In contrast, reports indicate that there has been a sharp increase in the number of students who made applications to universities. This increase in applications is taking place at a time when universities are planning to cut places available to British and European Union students. I will also discuss how the threat that faces universities for recruiting above the specified number of students of hefty fines guarantees that they will not admit extra students. These universities face fines of up to three thousand seven hundred pounds for each student above targets.The plans by government to introduce new graduate taxes which will inevitably result in a rise in fees will give more students enough motivation to reassess their study options. Interestingly, universities have not reduced their intake of foreign stude nts (Tony, 2010). Many universities have more places available to foreign students than British students and in other cases places are only available to foreigners. This is because foreign students are charged higher fees and are a source of profitable funding for the universities. I will also point out the alternative option of abroad study available to students.Students in the United Kingdom have over the years displayed a reluctance to study elsewhere, I will analyse this option in detail. I will highlight how the United Kingdom’s strong economy has made it a historic importer of students and labour rather than an exporter. This has resulted in attracting high quality academics and excellent standards. This has undoubtedly led to the reluctance by students to leave the United Kingdom due to the presence of institutions with established reputations like Cambridge and Oxford for academic excellence.To further support the option of studying abroad I will examine the benefits it offers. One advantage is the potential savings of several thousand pounds for students studying at reputable universities elsewhere in the European Union (Morgan, 2010). This would appeal to British students who expect to graduate with twenty five thousand pounds of debt (Morgan, 2010). I will also discuss the QS World University Rankings which indicate that many universities in the United Kingdom continue to perform better than others across the continent.However, many institutions across Europe outperform UK universities in specific subject areas. The University of Amsterdam which is ranked position thirty two worldwide for social sciences has been placed above all UK universities except Cambridge, University College of London and Oxford. They offer these courses at significantly reduced costs compared to universities in the UK. The exciting opportunity for a deeper cultural appreciation presented by abroad study will also be analysed.The acquisition of new language skills, inc reased cultural awareness and how this will serve to set the student apart in the competitive job market will be discussed. I will also point out the advantage one gains by acquiring an impressive portfolio of contacts. Finally I would include the QS World University Rankings, 2009 in the appendices. Written Evidence The numbers of students who will miss university places is alarming. Due to the stiff competition for these places even qualified students will miss out on the much coveted university positions. The vice-chancellor of Worcester University, Prof David Green commented that:â€Å"I think there will be many tens of thousands of young people, in particular young people with good A-levels, who will just miss out on the university offer made to them, meaning they won’t get a place. My earlier prediction that there will be around 220,000 unhappy people will be about right. Of those, about 100,000 will be pretty well qualified and motivated students who would have been a ccepted in previous years. † (Graeme, 2010, p. 7) This implies that an increased number of students will have to seek university education elsewhere or risk missing out on it altogether (Hannah, 2010).This has left many students confused and unsure about their fate. Aaron Porter the president of the National Union of Students said that these youth were â€Å"facing a very uncertain future. † He recommended that these students would have to review other options that may be available to them. The Universities Minister, Mr. Willets said that he felt ‘sorry’ for the students who had missed university places at the universities of their choice and advised them to lower their sights. This is a very disappointing situation for the thousands of students who studied very hard to pass their examinations.The government proposals for graduate taxes will also increase the already high fees paid by students in the United Kingdom (Clark, 2010). These have been subject to public outcry and political debate. A contender for Labour Party leadership, Mr. Miliband commented that: â€Å"They are attacking the poorest people in our society through VAT, attacking people on benefits, attacking people in the public sector and making a series of cuts well beyond what Labour would have done and in a way which is cavalier in terms of what it means for society. † (Tony, 2010, p.15) Universities are also cutting back on the admission of local students in favour of international ones. These students are also not subject to the stringent requirements of grades or restriction in places offered at the universities. In a report, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education termed that this increase in foreign students was ‘unsustainable, ’due to various complications that arose. Sally Hunt, the University and College Union secretary urged the Business Secretary to exercise caution in the introduction of graduate taxes:â€Å"We urge Vince Cable to look again at the idea of taxing big business for the substantial benefit it gains from a plentiful supply of graduates, rather than merely looking to penalise students further. † (David, 2010, p. 24). REFERENCES Clark L. , Freeman S. (2010) I’m sorry: Minister tells students to lower their sights as frantic scramble for university places begins. The Mail. Pp10-11 David T. (2008). University push to lure foreign students branded ‘unsustainable'. Financial Times p 24 Graeme P. , Andrew H. (2010)’ More students to be rejected from university. ’ The Telegraph pp 7-8 Hannah R.(2010) University place scramble gets underway. www. bbc. co. uk Morgan J. (2010) Graduate tax could prompt brain drain. Retrieved from: www. timeshighereducation. co. uk Tony K. (2010). Labour needs ‘deep renewal', says challenger. Northern Echo, pp15. BIBLIOGRAPHY Green M. (2004) Competition slows lucrative foreign student share to 12% higher education: [London 3rd editi on]. Financial Times, Laurence Norman. 2010. U. K. to Maintain ‘Competitive' Tax Regime. Wall Street Journal Martin Wolf. 2010. Why Britain does not need a graduate tax. Financial Times, Miranda G. (2004). An insight into university education taxes. Financial Times, p. 4.