General Appliances Essay Example for Free

General Appliances Essay Introduction:The General Appliance Corporation is a manufacturer of all types of home appliances. The company has a decentralized, divisional organizational structure, which consists of four product divisions (electric stove, laundry equipment, refrigeration and miscellaneous appliance division), four manufacturing divisions (chrome products, electric motor, gear and transmission and stamping division) and six staff offices (finance, engineering, manufacturing, industrial relations, purchasing and marketing staff). The staff offices do not have functional authority over the divisional general managers, who are each responsible for their own divisional personnel. The manufacturing division made approximately 75 percent of their sales to the product division. In addition, the parts made by the manufacturing division is designed and engineered by the product divisions. Since the eight divisions are expected to act like independent companies, the transfer prices are negotiated amongst themselves. But, if two divisions could not agree on a price, they submit the dispute to the finance staff for arbitration. The product division does not have the power to decide whether to buy from within the company or from outside. If there was a disagreement with the sourcing, the manufacturing division could appeal to the purchasing staff to reverse the decision. Problem:At the General Appliance Corporation, the purchasing staffs are the personnel that decide which part would continue to be manufactured within the company (org. chart may need to be revised). When the part is decided to be manufactured internally, the manufacturing division must hold the price at a level the product (purchaser) division could purchase it outside. Currently, the managers do not have the freedom to source and choose the alternative that is in their best interest, even though an alternative for sourcing does exist. The three problems that exist in the company are:-Determining a transfer price that includes the extra $0.80 per unit spent on developing the new quality standards. Also, the arbitration committee should determine whether the appearance is a subjective or objective matter. -An excess capacity (supply is greater than demand) caused a temporary  decrease in the selling price. -The standard price used for calculations of the total cost, profit and proposed price is determined from the price given in a competitors proposal this is not a definite price. Investment Centres dont know when to produce or when to outsource (what role does innovation or engineering for lower costs play?)For each case, calculate if its better to outsource or manufactureArbitration committee which considers all staff functionsDo something quick fast (cheap) and easy to doAnalysis:Stove Top Problem Survey has shown that the companys reputation as a producer of quality products has deteriorated, and resulted in the Chrome Products Division implementing quality improvements to the stove tops. Chrome has proposed to increase the price of the stove top by $0.90; $0.80 represents the additional costs of quality improvements and a $0.10 profit mark-up. The Electric Stove Division does not see the improvements as necessary changes since there is no change in engineering specifications, the changes made were never requested or approved, consumers may not even notice or want the change, and believes that the improvements made will only bring the quality level of the stove tops to the competitors level. Ultimately, Electric Stove sees these quality changes as being more subjective rather than objective. The engineering department of the manufacturing staff has verified that the new improvements were of superior quality then of their competitors and the costs were reasonably allocated. Thermostatic Control Problem Electric Motor Division has been able to consistently reduce the price of the thermostatic control units to mirror the price of Monson Controls Corp. from $3.00 in 1984 to $2.40 in 1987. Monson has decided to further reduce their price to $2.15, which according to the general manager of Electric Motor Division, would result in selling at a loss rather than a profit. The GM believes that they are just as efficient as Monson, therefore Monson must be selling at a loss at $2.15. Laundry Equipment and the Refrigeration Division both require a total of 120 000 units for their division (100 000 units for Laundry and 2 000 units for Refrigeration). Refrigeration has made an agreement with Electric Motor that  they will be able to competitively source to the lowest bidder, in this case, Monson for $2.15. Laundry Equipment believes that for such a large order, they could probably obtain a lower price than $2.40 if they were to outsource. In reviewing this dispute, the Finance Staff stated that there was excess capacity in the market that results in soft prices. The purchasing staff believed that Refrigeration could purchase their requirements at $2.15 for the next year but if the corporations orders were all place externally, the price would rise to $2.40 through increase in demand or limited supply. Considering the 120 000 units of thermostatic control that is required by both the Laundry Equipment and the Refrigeration Division, and the fact that their requirement is large enough to increase Monsons price of $2.15 to $2.40, General App. will have to outsource and purchase from within. Assuming that the more units General App. outsources, the price will gradually increase due to the increase in demand. The best combination of outsourcing and purchasing from within would be to outsource 60 000 units at an estimated price of $2.25 and purchase 60 000 units internally for $2.40. This would cost the organization $279 000, a savings between $1 000 and $9 000. The average price per unit is $2.325, less than the cost of the market price if the required volume was entirely outsourced. It is also less then purchasing the entire volume internally. This would result in Laundry Equipment saving $7 500 and costing $3 500 to Refrigeration as oppose to purchasing their required volume at $2.15. Transmission Problem Laundry Equipment has previously entered into an agreement with Thorndike Machining Corp to purchase one-half of its transmission for 10 years. Two years before the expiration of the agreement, General App. decided to manufacture their own transmissions to extend their capacity. Thorndike proposed a price reduction of $0.50 consistently for the next two years with a new economy transmission unit at a price of $10. The Gear and Transmission Division estimates that they can replicate a comparable model of the economy transmission at a competitive price of $9. The Gear and Transmission Divisions proposal failed to eliminate the cost of design features of $0.50 per unit. This would bring the proposed total  unit cost for GT from $11.66 to $11.11. This error makes Thorndikes proposed price of $11.21 appear more favourable. Bibliography: Anthony, Robert N., and Vijay Govindarajan. Management Control Systems. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2000.

American Public Education - Obsessed with Being Average Essay -- Teach

American Public Education - Obsessed with Being Average A country's educational system is typically influenced by a variety of factors. Racial and ethnic attitudes, for example, can play an important role in policy formation and school administration. Language is a significant factor as well. Political and religious ideologies also are potent influences on the educational system. An average student’s registration into the educational system may be affected by such factors. What is the definition of an average student? What constitutes such a student to receive an â€Å"average† education? Mike Rose’s article â€Å"Tracking†, focused on the educational system and its effects on both normal and abnormal students. One student affected by this system was Ken Harvey. He was placed in the vocational track due to the labeling of the educational system. Ken Harvey’s statement, â€Å"I just wanna be average†, was a desperate call for help. No doubt, his placement in the educational system had a negative effect on his life. â€Å"Ken Harvey was gasping for air†. As brought out in the article, â€Å"schoo...

Nietzsche

Nietzsche says, in effect, that between Plato, Augustine, and the Buddhist there's â€Å"not a dime's worth of difference. † What features does he see them as having in common? Why does he not share these points of view? Nietzsche viewed our values in life in a different way than most philosophers. He had a different perspective in the meanings behind â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad. † Most philosophers defined â€Å"good† as the weak and ill ones, by Judgement of ranking and high class to low class. Nietzsche believed that all philosophers lacked the â€Å"historical spirit itself.They all have the common Judgement of determining the concept and judgement of â€Å"good. † Nietzsche talks about how unegoistic actions were always praised as good even when they weren't naturally good. Nietzsche believes that the judgement in â€Å"good† does not stem from those who goodness is rendered. This means those to who goodness was shown weren't actually goo d. He believed that the noble and powerful ones, the ones who were ranked as good because of high- ranking, high-minded, and powerful ranked themselves and their doings of â€Å"good. The good good is compared to the word truth because the good is the truth and the ruth is the good.The rich, high ranking, strong, beautiful, brave and powerful are associated with the truth and good. As for the poor, ugly, common and low ranking, they are associated with cowardice and lying. Nietzsche blames the Jews for the views and how people defined â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† because the Jews, who were poor, and common, were in Nietzsche words â€Å"the most refined hates in human history. † It is because of the Jews that people view the poor, and wretched as good and the powerful and noble as evil. This brings us to the conclusion that Nietzsche believes hey all have in common in what he calls the slave revolt in morality.The slave revolt in morality begins when resentment becomes a creative force. It gives birth to new values and causes a battle between power, values, and ranking issues. The slave revolt morality causes the slave to feel much resentment against its master, Resentment that turns into evil. Imaginary revenge builds up within a slave against its master, turning the slave to â€Å"bad/evil. † In the slave revolt morality, the slave see themselves as the good and their masters as the evil ones when in reality it urns into the opposite because of the resentment that builds up inside them against their masters.The man of resentment allows for hatred to grow in him and having to rely on secrets and scheming, becoming more clever than the noble man. Also, slave morality declines what is different, and not itself. It says â€Å"no† to an outside and anything that is different, this is a creative deed. It makes people realize the distinctions between things. This is important because it us a system that helps level everything out instead of promoting greatness. Nietzsche By rosast6 Nietzsche Perhaps the most convincing arguments Nietzsche makes for the idea that God is either dead or does not exist is the idea that God is a creation of Western society, a universal ideal of morality, truth and ethics. When he argues then that those things no longer exist, if indeed they ever did, as a unifying factor in European culture, he makes a convincing argument that God was merely a creation of humanity to fulfill a spiritual need for there to be a greater good or high purpose for life. In Nietzsche’s argument, the next step after the acceptance of the death of God is a step toward nihilism and the idea that life has no meaning. On a personal level, choosing to accept the idea that God does not exist gives the reader the ultimate freedom and responsibility for his own life. The reader can no longer blame personal decisions on some epic struggle between good and evil, but must acknowledge that his or her actions are his own, chosen based on her own wants, needs and perceptions. The idea that there is no higher power to answer to can be emotionally devastating or it can be liberating. For many the idea of God has always been a strange dichotomy as most religious preach a god of mercy and love and yet bad, often horrible, things happen, even to those who are devout worshippers of that god. Too often, the religious have tried to explain away why God allows bad things to happen. From hurricanes to the Holocaust, there has never been a logical explanation for a God of love and mercy to allow evil. Some have argued that evil must exist to show good for what it is, but that too is simply hiding behind the reality. One does not have to eat a good apple to know when one is bad and vice versa. Any act can be judged on its own merit without the benefit of the opposing force. Therefore, determining that God does not exist only matters when the person who discovers this decides it matters. For those with no faith, the death of God means nothing. For people of faith, it is a devastating conclusion. However,   it seems that it should be argued that people of faith, for whom seeing is not believing, should never become convinced that God does not exist and should be completely unaffected by Nietzsche. In essence, since God is a concept defined by man, its importance is likewise defined by man.    Nietzsche Nietzsche says, in effect, that between Plato, Augustine, and the Buddhist there's â€Å"not a dime's worth of difference. † What features does he see them as having in common? Why does he not share these points of view? Nietzsche viewed our values in life in a different way than most philosophers. He had a different perspective in the meanings behind â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad. † Most philosophers defined â€Å"good† as the weak and ill ones, by Judgement of ranking and high class to low class. Nietzsche believed that all philosophers lacked the â€Å"historical spirit itself.They all have the common Judgement of determining the concept and judgement of â€Å"good. † Nietzsche talks about how unegoistic actions were always praised as good even when they weren't naturally good. Nietzsche believes that the judgement in â€Å"good† does not stem from those who goodness is rendered. This means those to who goodness was shown weren't actually goo d. He believed that the noble and powerful ones, the ones who were ranked as good because of high- ranking, high-minded, and powerful ranked themselves and their doings of â€Å"good. The good good is compared to the word truth because the good is the truth and the ruth is the good.The rich, high ranking, strong, beautiful, brave and powerful are associated with the truth and good. As for the poor, ugly, common and low ranking, they are associated with cowardice and lying. Nietzsche blames the Jews for the views and how people defined â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† because the Jews, who were poor, and common, were in Nietzsche words â€Å"the most refined hates in human history. † It is because of the Jews that people view the poor, and wretched as good and the powerful and noble as evil. This brings us to the conclusion that Nietzsche believes hey all have in common in what he calls the slave revolt in morality.The slave revolt in morality begins when resentment becomes a creative force. It gives birth to new values and causes a battle between power, values, and ranking issues. The slave revolt morality causes the slave to feel much resentment against its master, Resentment that turns into evil. Imaginary revenge builds up within a slave against its master, turning the slave to â€Å"bad/evil. † In the slave revolt morality, the slave see themselves as the good and their masters as the evil ones when in reality it urns into the opposite because of the resentment that builds up inside them against their masters.The man of resentment allows for hatred to grow in him and having to rely on secrets and scheming, becoming more clever than the noble man. Also, slave morality declines what is different, and not itself. It says â€Å"no† to an outside and anything that is different, this is a creative deed. It makes people realize the distinctions between things. This is important because it us a system that helps level everything out instead of promoting greatness. Nietzsche By rosast6

Concept of research methodology - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1672 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION This section will explain the concept of research methodology, including an outline on the main methodological approaches and philosophies that exist; following this, the research strategies that will serve to address the objectives of this research topic will be explained. According to Saunders et al. (2009), three characteristics exist for carrying out research: Systematic collection of data. Systematic interpretation of data. A clear reason for investigation exists. Therefore, individuals generally undertake research because they want discover new things in a systematic manner, and hence expand their knowledge about a particular subject. Research in the business and management field is crucial as it serves to provide solutions to problems that exist in businesses. There are particular qualities that are required for carrying out good research including good communication, intellectual, organizational and IT skills. The researcher may already have these skills, or may need to develop them over the course of the research (Collins and Hussey, 2003). Research methodology is the process used to provide solutions to research problems in a systematic manner (Kumar, 2008). It is multidimensional and is the rationality behind the research methods chosen for the investigation. Research methodology provides the platform for the researcher to explain and evaluate the research strategies implemented. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Concept of research methodology" essay for you Create order APPROACHES TO METHODOLOGY One can choose to take either a deductive or an inductive approach to undertaking research, both of which would influence the manner information and results are collected and distributed. The deductive approach to research involves developing a theory based on knowledge and understanding which is already in place, therefore is scrutinised and faces the risk of being unaccepted. Whereas the inductive approach begins with data collection followed by analysis of results and forming conclusions and theories based on the results (Saunder et al, 2009). In this kind of research approach, the flow of processes begins with observation and ends with findings and forming theories, which can be further integrated into knowledge that already exists. From this, it is planned that this current research will undertake an inductive approach, which will first involve data gathering, and following analysis, form conclusions as to how to enhance the management of information systems in NHS hospitals. In research methodology, research can be undertaken over two different time periods, using a cross-sectional or longitudinal method for data collection. Cross-sectional relates to research carried out and is based on the current time and place. Longitudinal, on the other hand, concerns research carried out over a certain long period of time (Kumar, 2008). Judging from the topic area and the time constraints, this research will adopt a cross-sectional style. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHIES According to Saunders et al. (2009), there are three main categories of research philosophies, which are positivism, interperpretivism and realism: * Positivism this assumes that knowledge has a free value and is directly gained from experience. An important aspect of this viewpoint is that research is carried out in an independent and objective manner away from any kind of influences, and is based on quantitative data from the utilisation of a structured methodology. * Interpretivism this adopts a naturalist approach which places emphasisim on social constructionism and focuses on the underlying multiple social structures of knowledge. It is concerned with the attitudes of research subjects and views on the world. This type of philosophy supports the adoption of certain research techniques such as observation and interviews which in turn would enable to gain knowledge from different perspectives. * Realism this is similar to the positivist theory, as it also adopts a s cientific approach to the concept of knowledge development. It argues that a reality exists independent of the human mind, and that there are certain social forces that influence their behaviours and interpretations; therefore the intention of such approach is to be aware and understand these social forces. Collis and Hussey (2003) state that the choice of research philosophy to adopt largely depends on the nature of the research, therefore there is no lsquo;correct strategy. Having defined the three main philosophies, it is clear that one would be able to incorporate the three of them into one research strategy. However, the philosophy that will be adopted for this research is the realist approach, which is essentially a combination of the positivism and interpretivism philosophies. This would involve the collection, interpretation and analysis of data, and establishing any social processes that might influence the behavior and actions of individuals. RESEARCH STRATEGIES In order to address the objectives of the research topic, one has to implement certain research strategies that will enable the collection of the necessary data. Numerous research strategies are available including experiment, case study, survey, grounded theory, action research, ethnography and archival research (Saunders et al., 2009). The choice of the research strategy must take into consideration certain important aspects about the research topic, including the research questions and objectives, existing knowledge about the topic, the amount of time available and also the availability of other useful sources (Saunders et al., 2009). PRIMARY RESEARCH This involves the use of different techniques to collect current information. This is an important way to gain an insight into the research topic and it enables the addition of certain information and ideas to the available literature surrounding the topic. This is done using a variety of methods, as illustrated below: SECONDARY RESEARCH This involves collecting relevant information relating to information systems in the NHS, including details about their roles, impacts and management, with particular reference to the London Ambulance Computer Aided Dispatch system. This requires the review and examination of a number of materials including journals, books, the internet and newspapers. The researcher will undertake both primary and secondary research to thoroughly investigate the research topic. For primary research, the case study strategy will be chosen as the research strategy for this study, which is explained in more detail as follows. CASE STUDY STRATEGY Given the nature of the research topic, a case study has been chosen as the research strategy to be implemented in this research. According to Robson (2002), a case study enables the researcher to focus on a specific situation and explore a single phenomenon, by collection of data using a variety of methods. This research strategy has the ability to provide answers for the lsquo;why?, lsquo;what and lsquo;how? questions (Saunders et al, 2009), and it will enable the researcher to gain a thorough understanding of the chosen topic area. RESEARCH METHODS For the purpose of this research topic, both qualitative and quantitiative measures will be used for collection and analysis of data. The research methods chosen will be in the form of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires are an effective technique of collecting data in which individuals are asked to answer a pre-set list of questions in a specified order (Creswell, 1994). The questionnaire will be structured, predetermined and standardised; it will contain a mixture of closed and open-ended questions that will serve to address the research objectives. An advantage of using such research method is that it enables access to a great number of people over a large area. Furthermore, a questionnaire is a reliable research method as the questions are structured and predetermined, which means that they cannot be altered and consequently minimizing bias. However, at the same time, this structured approach will also mean that respondents are unable to answer freely and expand on th eir responses. Additionally, there is the potential of a threat to validity as respondents may not understand the question clearly and therefore give an answer to a question which is not intended by the researcher. Still, however, it is important to ensure that the questionnaire is well-constructed and easy to follow; because one needs to ensure a good response rate from the sampled population which is essential for gaining accurate information that would be helpful for the research. The second research method that will be used is a semi-structured interview. This will be carried out face to face with certain staff members working for the NHS, such as hospital managers and paramedics. The aim of the semi-structured interviews is to provide more focus on the research topic by gaining reliable information from key staff members who are familiar with the topic area, and hence generate valuable information for the research. The semi-structured approach to questioning will enable the researcher to alter the style of questions appropriately depending on the individual being interviewed. Therefore, interviews provide greater flexibility compared to questionnaires, and are a relatively better tool in ensuring higher response rates. Nevertheless, both of the research methods when combined will enable the researcher to explore the complexity and gain valuable insight into the research area. For the purposes of this research, a specific sampling method will be utilised, in which the researcher will select key people to include in the research study provided that those chosen can offer relevant information related to the topic; a technique called lsquo;purposive sampling (Saunders et al., 2009). The sample will be selected from three Northwest NHS Foundation Trusts, including St. Marys hospital, Chelsea and Westminister hospital and Hammersmith hospital. The key staff who will be included are hospital managers, paramedics, doctors and nurses. The researcher will aim for a combined sample size of 70 individuals based on questionnaires and interviews. ETHICAL ISSUES The main ethical considerations that must be acknowledged by the researcher when conducting the methods for data collection are centered on the periods of gaining access to the hospitals and interviewing the staff. The researcher will need to respect certain ethical values such as the anonymity, confidentiality and personal privacy of the person being interviewed when collecting information during interviews. Moreover, the researcher must obviously gain an informed consent from every person prior to starting the interview or handing over the questionnaire. SUMMARY In summary, this research of management of information systems in the NHS will assume an inductive and realist approach, to be implemented in a cross-sectional method, using a case study strategy employing both semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. In addition, secondary research will be undertaken in order assist in addressing the research objectives.