Achievements and Complaints of India Today Group Essay Example for Free

Achievements and Complaints of India Today Group Essay Operating for 36 years now, the company has consistently maintained incomparable goodwill and rapport in the market. The India Today Group continues to be the best and has steadily bagged major awards and notched up achievements over the years, some of which are: * Its news channel Aaj Tak won the Indian Telly Award for Best Hindi News Channel for the 10th consecutive year in 2010. * The Editor-in-Chief of Aaj Tak, Prabhu Chawla, won the Best News and Current Affairs Anchor Award at the Indian Telly Awards 2009. * The India Today Group publishes the Cosmopolitan magazine in India and has been featuring awards for Fun and Fearless Male and Female of the Year since 2002. * Cosmopolitan also showcases awards for the Best Bachelor of the Year. * Cosmopolitan further promoted the Practice Safe Sun campaign that fights against skin cancer * The India Today Group organizes several events like the India Today Conclave and ACUMEN, which deals with some of the major issues and businesses in the country. * The Vasant Valley School was started by the India Today Group to encourage education for all in the country. CONTROVERSIES AND COMPLAINTS In the recorded conversations between Nira Radia and prominent figures, referred to as the Radia Tapes, several prominent figures are heard in conversation with Radia amongst them were Prabhu Chawla, editor of India Today magazine and Shankar Aiyar, then with India Today Group . ONLINE CHEATING AND SCAM BY BAGITTODAY an INDIA TODAY Group: The company, bagittoday,an india today group company,known in ecommrce as living media india ltd cheated many people by not giving them promised service, gifts and evn asking the people for account nos with passwords . They realise payments through credit card/Online banking and do not send the material. October 14 was a sad day for Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid and the India Today group, which owns a number of print journals and TV channels, says B Raman A non-governmental humanitarian trust for assisting physically disadvantaged people with which Khurshids wife Louise is reportedly associated has been the target of allegations of wrongful use of funds amounting to approximately Rs 80 lakh sanctioned by the government for humanitarian relief. A Hindi TV channel of the India Today group and the India Against Corruption group headed by Arvind Kejriwal, a non-governmental activist, have been spearheading the campaign against Khurshid on these allegations against the humanitarian trust. The two campaigns have been trying to project themselves as separate from each other without any orchestrated co-ordination, but an undeclared, but evident convergence of objective between the two is discernible to any objective observer. That objective is to exploit the suspected misuse of the funds to cause public discomfiture to Khurshid.

Representation of War in the Media

Representation of War in the Media CHAPTER III : CASE STUDIES â€Å"War is fought with the will of the government, competence of the armed forces and the support of the nation† Carl Von Clausewitz There is no doubt that the global reach and immediacy of the new media communications technologies and the ability to shape both national and international public opinion has made media a major player in limited conflicts. Such developments could be expected to significantly impact the way conflict is reported and debated by international community. Given the rapid progress and far reaching advances in communications over recent years, correct engagement with the media acts as a force multiplier for the commander on ground to achieve a more comprehensive success. On the other hand, the incorrect media engagement leads to loss of operational security and makes the task of the military commander much more difficult. The media representation of wars has significantly changed over last years. Previously being just an instrument of coverage and propaganda, now media are considered a competent weapon. The war of real objects is partially being replaced by the war of pictures and sounds, information war[1]. Now we shall examine few significant national and international conflicts, where the media extensively covered these operations by the Armed Forces. Some were a success story while others left much to be desired form the way the Armed Forces engage the media. The Gulf War Control of the media during the Gulf war followed the pattern that was established in the Falklands and refined in Grenada and Panama[2]. The pattern included secrecy in planning, demonisation of the enemy, exploitation of the media to enlist national and international support, and the exclusion of the media during the initial phases of the operation[3]. The resultant news vacuum was filled by official  coverage favourable to the military. Later criticisms were stonewalled. In the Gulf, the media were excluded from the planning stages of the initial deployment and the deliberations leading to the change of war aims from that of the defence of Saudi Arabia to offensive action in Kuwait. The demonisation of Saddam Hussein was used to rally national as well as international support and the media was immediately co-opted into these tasks[4]. The Gulf also demonstrated the familiar pattern of exclusion of the media from the early action, when both the military and the administration were most vulnerable[5]. Before the commencement of the hostilities, USA set up the Joint Information Bureau to handle the media from a base in Dhahran. Journalists were formed into pools or Media Reporting Teams (MRTs).Guidelines were instituted, concurrent with the arrival of the first pool of reporters[6]. Subsequent guidelines gave detailed instructions how the information could be gathered. All interviews could be conducted only in the presence of a military escort, all reports, photos and videos had to be cleared by a security review system before transmission. Beyond these measures, however, the Gulf campaign lent itself to complete media management through absolute control over the means of communication, transport and access. So powerful was this weaponry that there was no need for actual censorship[7]. Censorship was achieved primarily through denial of access and delay in transmission, backed a blanket decision not to allow media access to any event that was a strictly controlled. This was offset by a flow of favourable military sourced information to fill the vacuum created by media restriction. Material ranged from information provided at carefully controlled briefings which bypassed journalists on the spot. The combination of credibility afforded by the briefings and novelty of the new weaponry was enough to satisfy audiences[8]. The realities of war and any real analysis were foregone in favour of a politically  acceptable, sanitised war which showed nothing but success. It was evident too that  the military used the media not only to present its own policies in the best possible light, but to deceive and misinform the Iraqis. Both the administration and the military clearly benefited from this control. CNNs coverage of the 1991 Gulf War, when it became the worlds only instant chronicler of a major conflict, seemed only to confirm the formidable role played by Western news agencies in covering and framing international events. The impact of this kind of media coverage has been dubbed â€Å"the CNN effect,† referring to the widely available round-the-clock broadcasts of the Cable News Network[9]. Indeed, by the mid 1990s, some scholars and certain policymakers had come to the conclusion that CNN in particular was having a measurable impact on the way governments conduct world politics. This proactive engagement of media by the Pentagon ensured that the military remains immune from scrutiny but also garners the voter benefits for the politicians. The only caution is that this form of media containment or partial exclusion can only work for a limited period. If, as in Vietnam; and as may well have happened in the Gulf, such a limited conflict becomes protracted and involves high levels of casualties, then the ascendancy of the military may be challenged and broken as the global media brings to bear the full weight of its capacity for independent news gathering and communications. The 1991 Gulf war was the first televised war of the century wherein pictures of the night sky lit up with firing of weapons. Operation Desert Storm was the most widely and most swiftly reported war in history. In addition to being called the first â€Å"CNN War† this war also marked a turning point for the American’s view of that relationship. US demonstrated will and military potential to influence developing world in consonance of her policies.[10] The world saw the live footage of the 1991 Gulf war. CNN activities during the war were a classic example of the role that civil broadcasts and journalists can play in any future war. Media can be allowed selective access with a view to influencing the international opinion. The media enjoys the support of high technology equipment and access to credible media outlets. The CNN broadcasts provided useful inputs to put into operation diplomatic damage limitation operations to counter the fallout of adverse reports. The examp le at hand is the demonstration of her will and the military potential by the USA in influencing the world opinion, including engaging the media[11]. The first Iraqi war was totally covered by the media and the general opinion was that the media was focussing all their attention on the wars victory and retreating troops. Very few journalists looked after the Arabian people; in fact the Iraqi refugee problem was simply overlooked. In general, the media was very supportive of the American troops in the Persian Gulf. Though the reporting was positive, the coverage did not tell the absolute truth on the battle field. Journalists were more or less welcomed by the battalion commanders. The army was silent to â€Å"embedding† the media, while the Marine Corps was proactive and welcomed media attention. Public satisfaction with press coverage can be largely attributed to the increasing media savvy of the military leadership, who were able to successfully use news coverage to enhance the military’s image and win public support for its operations. General Schwarzkopf was a master at these press briefings. He analyzed the impor tance of the briefings and prepared himself mentally. He decided not to repeat the mistake made in Grenada, where the relations between media and the military had been eroded to an appalling state[12]. Kargil A Water Shed for Indian Media The Kargil conflict was India’s first real war of the information age and it was significant for the impact and the influence of the mass media on the public opinion of both the nation states[13]. During this operation, both the military and the media were interacting for the very first time in the backdrop of the technological advances made in the last two three decades or so. The Kargil news stories and war footage were often telecast live on the TV, while many websites provided in-depth analysis of the war. This conflict became the first live war in South Asia[14]. The Indian Army tried to implement the â€Å"pool† methodology of the Gulf war after consulting some reputed and esteemed media persons. There were daily briefings in Delhi through the operational staff and journalists were allowed to enter the war zone[15]. The site tours were discontinued after some time and media persons got total freedom to move around on their own except where their lives could be in danger. But unlike the Gulf war, there was to be no censoring of media reports and there was to be no deviation from the truth[16]. The military and the media did not indulge in any deliberate disinformation drive. But they effectively exposed Pakistan’s lies and disinformation tactics. The media for once highlighted defence requirements of weaponry and ammunition which otherwise do not get any significance for reporting in the normal sequence of events.[17]. The ‘Kargil War’, also brought into focus the significance of both the print and the electronic media[18]. The nation made a very clever use of the Internet and dedicated an exclusive Website www.vijayinkargil.com to show case the heroics of the Indian Army. Trained PR officers manned chat sites on the web to establish a real time inter face with the youths of the country for possibly the very first time. Television was able to invade the living rooms of the people to shape public opinion. The war received a human face because of the wide scale coverage of the war by the news channels like Aaj Tak, Zee News and NDTV Network. The media both Indian and overseas was predominantly compassionate to the Indian cause, with editorials in newspapers based in the west and other neutral countries observing that our western adversary was in principal answerable for the conflict[19]. Some analysts believe that Indian media, which was both larger in number and more credible, may have acted as a force multiplier for the Indian military operation in Kargil[20] and served as a morale booster. As the fighting intensified, the Pakistani version of events found little backing on the world stage. This helped India gain valuable diplomatic recognition for its position. Media reportage on Kargil converged around a single dramatic image of a nation at war. In the initial phase, news coverage was restrained on the logic of operational security. The Army permitted first media coverage on 15 May 1999. In Jun 1999, travel permits of press personnel were cancelled again quoting compromise of security. The failure of understanding was due to incorrect handling of media by army as well as character and content of reportage. There was a tendency to trivialise and sensationalise news by many sections of media. The semantics of reportage of certain events like return of six tortured bodies, led to a proliferation of exaggerated stories. However, media did not act as the force multiplier throughout. At crucial junctures, the over ecstatic media reported the crucial attack plans of the Indian army on the news in advance. This gave the all important operational intelligence to the adversary. The glaring example of this was the attack on Tiger Hill, where in after capture of Tiger Hill, the captured Pakistani troops revealed that they received the inputs about the Indian Army’s plans through the news channels. Also the telecast at times showed the location of the artillery gun bases, deployment areas and the logistic installations which was then suitably interpreted by the enemy to bring out effective fire on these locations. Mumbai Terrorist Attacks of 26/11 Medias reporting of terrorist activities is fast becoming critical in today’s scenario when no country is left untouched by terrorism. War on terrorism is a test for the Indian media. How much should be broadcast, whether broadcast of terrorist actions amounts to glorifying terrorism and violence and whether it incites people, creates new recruits and gives publicity to terrorists who seek to grab world attention are topics of debate across nations in the post 9/11 world. Similar debates have begun in India, more so after 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The well coordinated terror attack on Mumbai brings about essential lessons, both for the media as well as the Armed forces. The news media with a lack of understanding of where the medium can reach in such a situation, reported the move of National Security Guard (NSG) from Delhi to Mumbai being declared by the Home Minister[21]. There is increasing questioning of the medias conduct in the face of such attacks and more so after the live telecast of the 60 hour long Mumbai attacks. Concerned over the way many aspects of its operations got â€Å"jeopardized† due to live images being broadcast by TV during the 6- hour siege, the National Security Guard (NSG) pressed for restrictions on media coverage wherever its commandos are engaged to combat[22]. The case in point is the way NSGs operations at Nariman House were broadcast live. Questions were raised over the way Havaldar Gajender Singh fell to a terrorists bullet at Nariman House. As per the narration of incidents by an NSG commando â€Å"TV broadcasted our commandoes landing from a helicopter on the roof over Nariman House. By the time our men landed and started taking positions, the terrorists were already waiting for us and opened fire[23]†. In contrast the operations at Oberoi could be conducted more smoothly since TV channels were kept beyond a one-kilometer radius[24]. This zone was put under virtual curfew with no access allowed to television crews. The operations there took the least time, just under 30 hours, as compared to the other two places. As per NSG officials while terrorists holed up inside probably did not have access to live TV images on the second and third day of operations, they still had phones and were probably getting â€Å"instructions† from people watching those live images on TV. The media in turn can question the NSG that was there any spokesman of NSG to guide the media? The media showed what they saw. Can you blame them for showing what was happening? [1] Gulf War Was A Perfect Television War http://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/gulf-war-was-a-perfect-television-war-media-essay.php> [2] Young and Jesser, Loc cit, pp 280-281 [3] Ibid, pp 176 [4] Ibid [5] Ibid, pp189 [6] Ibid [7] Ibid [8] Aradhana Sharma, Journalism in Democracies during times of war: Examining the Role of Indian and US Media, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi 2010 [9]The CNN Effect: Strategic Enabler or Operational Risk? Margaret H. Belknap http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/02autumn/belknap.htm [10] Brig VK Nair,VSM,Retd. War in the Gulf: Lessons For The Third World, Lancer Papers, pp 106. [11] Ibid [12] Vice Admiral J Metcalfe, The Press and the Grenada 1983, Franc Cass Co. Ltd, London pp 168 [13] Operation Vijay 1999 Victory Over Pak Treachery Col J P Singh, Retd News Bharti English 25 Jul 2014 [14] Kargil War –Wikipedia, online http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kargil_war. [15] Kargil War –Wikipedia, online http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kargil_war [16] Ibid. [17] Ibid. [18] Aradhana Sharma, Journalism in Democracies during times of war: Examining the Role of Indian and US Media, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi 2010 [19]Article titled The Significance of the Kargil Crisis pp18-19, RAND Publications http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1450/MR1450.ch2.pdf [20] Ibid [21] Rahul K Bhonsle, Mumbai 26/11- Security Imperatives for the Future, New Delhi Vij Books (India) Pvt Ltd pp 50-51 [22] Media has Blood of NSG Commandoes http://nomadmolouges.blogspot.in/2008/12/media-has-blood-of-nsg-commando.html> [23] Ibid [24] Indian Media And War Maturity Essay http://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/indian-media-and-war-maturity-media-essay.php>

Strategic Objectives of Operations Management Case Study

Strategic Objectives of Operations Management Case Study 1) Evaluate the strategic objectives of operations management within the organisation Effective operations management is directly related to overall organisational objectives, if operations within the organisation are not implemented properly, it will affect the profitability of the organisation in longer terms. Therefore, in order to achieve these objectives the need for operations management arises in order to professional mangers. These managers have the expertise in their related fields such as marketing, finance and human resource etc. Operations Management relates to the production of goods and services within the organisation. It deals with the inputs and outputs that are vital for the effective operational management. Here, input refers to the managements of the recourses such as competence of the employees, machinery and raw material, and output is mainly focused on distribution of goods and services of finished goods to the customers (Gyte, 2009). Apart from input and output, there are other functions that are listed below: Quality management function Management control and Coordinating function Facilities management function Inventory control and management function Research and development function Finance function The better coordination among these function will improve the control within the organisation and ultimately resulting in organisational. In order to prove how these functions can help an organisation to achieve its strategic objectives, the researcher has chosen the Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL). However, it is to remember that these functions will be similar to any other manufacturing company. JSL is deals in manufacturing of stainless steel products of different ranges. Therefore, the coordination of above mentioned functions becomes vital (JSL, 2009). These functions are discussed in detail in relation to the JSL. In operations management quality management is imperative in every organization. Company like JSL, always concentrates on customers needs, which is directly related to product development. They understand the importance of maintain the standards as for as the quality of the product is concerned, which in turn help them to hold on to their customers. It will also improve the market share and will also be less attractive to new entrants. Continuous efforts to improve the quality of their product are the main reason that JSL is still growing even in current economic crises. Their continuous investment in research and development projects is also seen as the main reason for their success. Other factors such as internal auditing (benchmarking) and reengineering are also key drivers for their leadership in the market. Internal audit function helps the organizations to identify the flaws and weaknesses in different departments and suggests different ways that ultimately increase their custo mer base in the market (JSL, 2009). Management control (MC) is also very important function that has helped the JSL to achieve their strategic objectives. There are broad range of activities involved MC that ensures that organizational objectives are implemented in efficient and effective way. Under this function an organization always tries to figure out if it actually following and implementing the activities that were decided when original objectives were laid out. For example, JSL always implement those strategies that which are focused on customers. They are always concerned how the products will reach to the customers; therefore they have implemented the national level distribution systems in India. This type of strategy has helped the JSL to achieve their organizational objectives (JSL, 2009). For JSL facilities management is also important in order to achieve the overall objectives. In facilities management, companies heavily rely on the better management of the facilities such as building, computer, signage, lighting and plant and machinery. Facilities management is very important to the JSL, which operates at national level in India, as mentioned earlier. This is because company is involved in the large scale production in relation to market demand. If there is high demand of steel products in the market, then it will be equally important that facilities should be provided keeping in mind the level of demand. On the other hand, if there is less demand in the market then facilities needs to be managed otherwise it may result in high cost to the organization, which will ultimately affect the profitability of the company (JSL, 2009). Marketing or advertisement function is also equally important in current technological world. This helps the companies to reach to the customers quickly and make them aware of latest developments in different products, and make them aware of any new ranges that are introduced followed by the customer demand. The similar strategy is adopted by the JSL in order to ensure its product and services (output) are in the reaching out to the customers in each and every single part of the country. This in turn helps them to achieve their overall objectives and maintain the level of profitability (JSL, 2009). In operations management inventory control is also equally important like any other function that contributes to the achievements of the organizational goals. There should always be control over inventory and procurement department plays the key role in this. In manufacturing company like JSL, the presence of procurement department is vital. If there is more production and less demand then it is highly likely that all the steel products produced will be sold. On the other hand, if there is high demand and less production, this will ultimately affect the profitability of JSL in longer terms and company may loose its customers. This will also increase the chances of competitors to gain the market share (JSL, 2009). Another important function can said to be finance, which helps the company to have the control or manage its finance. JSL is involved in manufacturing business, which requires heavy capital investment. It is important to mange these investments in an efficient manner. Over the years it is seen that companies are employing professional managers those who have expertise in the financial sector. Overall, it can ne said that operations management is embedded in each and every part of the organization, hence important for the achievement of the organizational objectives. References Gyte, (2009), Operations management (Online) www.gyte.edu.tr/dersler/546/ISL536/ÃÅ"retim%201.ppt (Accessed on 09/12/2009) JSL, (2009), Company Profile, (Online) http://www.jindalstainless.com/profile.html (Accessed on 09/12/2009) ASKS 2-A ETOLA 10573 Define resources tools and system required to support business process Introduction Due to globalization, the market become more competitive, now a days the range of new tools are available in the market. To achieve a marginal development business need to develop its business process. The business process management help organization to improve productivity and recognize the value chain to gaining competitive parameters. The business needs a solution of all kind of hype. On the other hand, fear of making a selection that may result in a failure to meet strategic goals or achieve adequate return on investment can cause delays in making the decision to adopt a Business Process tool and, by omission, result in the same problems. Define business process The further step to identify the business strategy is to One step is to identifying the business process strategy is to classify the main business processes which support the business value chain. The current business trend required a long term development planning to achieve a good, but it is possible when business have good business strategy and this strategy is Business Process Management, to achieve overall business objectives this process play an important role. Revolutionary changes To remain stable in the market, it is very imperative to make revolutionary changes by maintaining relationship between technology and current business scenario. If we glance over the real business situation over the last decade, there are huge revolutionary changes has occurred. The technology has changed and due to market competition the quality improvement plays an important role. And to fulfil these objectives there should be a overall contribution of all department. Departments in an organization play key role in meeting overall objectives To achieve organizational goals, all departments play important role like; Human Resource, Finance, Marketing, Production and Quality Control, and IT etc. In this globalization era, it is necessary to maintain clear objective and role to meet organizational goal. All above depart are run by the employee and so the employees are the main capital of the organization because the success and failure of the company is depend on the employees because the command of the all department is in the hand of the employee. Tools and System to manage business recourses To mange a better work system it is essential to establish a better technological tools and system. Now a days there are many technical tools are using in the organization to work smoother. Recently the new ERP established in organization, by help of this system you can operate all of your business function easily like., purchase, sales, time keeping HR outsourcing, and security Management. There are different types of tools to run your business as under: Management Information system Integrated information systems Executive information system Corporate information system Enterprise wide system Material resource planning Manufacturing resource planning Money resource planning Conclusion: The growing information needs of an enterprise make it imperative to improve or replace old system, where the globalization has been initiated, full convertibility is coined, Infrastructure Projects are nearing completion, and it is expected that the whole business system will undergo a major shift. Gain the performance improvements offered by a service-oriented architecture. Enhance operations by combining new and existing information assets and making them available to users throughout the enterprise, and for combination with other resources to meet new challenges. References http://www.bpminstitute.org/articles/article/article/define-your-bpm-strategy-before-selecting-a-tool.html http://www.erpfans.com/erpfans/erpca.htm Task-2-b ETOLA-10573 Define and implement quality audit systems/practice to manage and monitor quality to standards specified by the organization and process operated. Introduction: Quality audit is an important part of an organization to examine a product quality. It is a process of systematic examination of a quality to maintain good quality, because it is a key element to get international quality standard. Quality audits are typically performed at predefined time intervals and ensure that the organization has clearly-defined internal quality monitoring procedures linked to effective action. This can help determine if the organization complies with the defined quality system processes and can involve procedural or results-based assessment criteria. Audits can also be used for safety purposes. Quality Audit can save organizations from quality disasters. The goal of this article is to provide brief information regarding quality audit and it is importance in continuous improvement of any quality system. Audit System: In 2008, our audit volume declined by 19 percent compared to 2007. Wal-Marts ethical standards group and third-party audit firms conducted 11,502 audits in more than 7,000 supplier factories. Of the audited factories, approximately 5,000 produced merchandise for our direct import program, and 2,000 produced domestically-sourced merchandise. In 2008, we accepted more than 1,000 audits from the ICTI and ILO. We attribute the decline in overall audits in part to the change in the programs frequency of audits. Additionally, the factory base across many regions has been negatively impacted by the unfavourable global economic conditions, thus leading to factory closures. Quality Audit Standard of Wall-Marts: Advancing our commitments In Wall-Marts they work with their supplier to help them to achieve new goals, they give their review and feedback to their supplier when necessary. Third-party auditors Third-party auditors will undergo thorough, independent assessments of their performance and work product quality. Third parties will be required to obtain and maintain certification to established industry standards. Improving the efficiency of our audit program Wall-marts is a member of the Clearinghouse (FFC) that enables us to share data among a group of global brands and retailers. Company also have developed a plan to accept high quality and fully establish audits from their peer companies. Company have created a program to evaluate and accept the audit conducted third party group. New requirements The company is improving their supply chain transparency by requiring all main manufacturers of direct import, non-branded and private label goods to reveal their factories and subcontractors company. A supplier development team To achieve high standard supplying the company have developed a supply team, this team is specialized to support the suppliers and their factories by activities such as root cause analysis. A special audit team This team member is responsible to validating audit results created by the quality department and third-party audit firm, after this result if any ethical standards issues arise they audit them and make investigation on it. Conclusion: Quality and knowledge management initiatives can be complementary rather than competing strategies. Continuous process improvement systems work well in controlled and ordered environments focusing on the performance of well-defined and repeatable tasks. Knowledge processing is context dependent and complex the activities of thinking and learning. Cause and effect are discovered in retrospective analysis. References http://walmartstores.com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2009/s_rs_auditProgramResults.html http://www.kppub.com/articles/may2009/quality_audit_a_tool_to_review.html Task 2c ETOLA-10573E Embed a quality culture to ensure continuous monitoring and development of the process Introduction The methodological approach to quality was born at the time of the industrial Revolution, with natural resources being transformed into products having comparable features. The concept of quality is at the basis of competition: products offering similar features distinguish themselves on the basis of how well their features were developed and of how much they are appreciated by the public. Speaking about the quality of an intangible product or service implies substantial differences, as well as different organization and monitoring methodologies. The concept of quality, somehow intuitive in itself, is actually something strictly connected to the service received and the relating client satisfaction. Definition Quality culture is a long-term, extended methodological approach involving all the bodies in charge of delivering a service, with the purpose to attain the highest possible customer satisfaction. Hear in this topic we will summaries how does Wal-marts monitoring the process and develop the quality culture. Wal-marts Culture The corporate quality culture of Wal-Mart is one of the biggest contributing factors that make it one of the worlds most admired companies. When Sam Walton founded the company, he instilled in his people and his business a belief system that is still very much in place today. From the three basic beliefs to the sundown rule, we respect our customers, Associates and suppliers and strive to treat them as we ourselves want to be treated. In building and nurturing these relationships, as well as serving the communities where we live, weve helped build a better business-one committed to excellence. Monitoring and development of Quality Culture In Wall-marts they continuously monitoring their internal process of their quality and after monitoring the process, they develop the policy to gain business goal. From the three basic beliefs to the sundown rule, we respect our customers, Associates and suppliers and strive to treat them as we ourselves want to be treated. In building and nurturing these relationships, as well as serving the communities where we live, weve helped build a better business-one committed to excellence. Conclusion As we have reviewed and studied the quality culture, and the challenges and successes at Wal-Mart, However, it is surprising to find that many organizations though acknowledging the pressure that corporate culture exerts on an organizations profit and loss figures do not more than document their quality culture in paper only and lock them away in files that are never read. So, it is very important for any organization to monitoring the quality culture and develops them to achieve the success. References: http://www.careerbuilder.com/Jobs/Company/C7H3TS6Y32JND3GZW88/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inc-Corporate/?cbsid=ca014d79eaf249a7acd25c7eebb99c0d-313812029-J5-5ns_siteid=ns_uk_g_The_corporate_quality_cbRecursionCnt=1 Task-III-Group assignment ETOLA-10573 McDonalds The McDonalds concept was introduced in Southern California by Dick and Mac McDonald of Manchester, New Hampshire in 1940. It was modified and expanded by their business partner, Ray Kroc, who later bought out the business interests of the McDonalds brothers in the concept and went on to found McDonalds Corporation. It has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 119 countries and serves 47 million customers each day. It has more than 1.5 million employees Its headquarter is at Oak Brook, Illinois, USA. Each McDonalds restaurant is operated by a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporations revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company operated restaurants. McDonalds revenues grew 27% over the three years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9% growth in operating income to $3.9 billion. PARTICIPATIONS Group viii Question number 3.a and 3.b is completed by: Dhaval B. Kanojiya (Leader) Yogita P. Kapadia Chinmay A. Chauhan Question number 3.c and 3.d is completed by: Sanjay Kumar Paul MD Humayun Rashid Baldev M. Bhetariya Task 19.3.a: Monitor systems, work activities, and identify problems and opportunities for improvement. McDonalds system: To make the profit in the organization McDonalds uses the franchise system. McDonalds gives its franchise to other companies for the expansion of their business. The following diagram is about the introduction of the working environment of the McDonalds. McDonalds working environment: Figure no.3.a.1 McDonalds Working Culture: McDonalds offers different kind of work and position to its each and every employee. The following positions are given to the employers by the McDonalds. 1) Main Manager: The manager has to run the company and it is his responsibility to expand its business in the market and also to make the company more profitable. Manager decides about the increment of the employer, gives permission for leave and also about the strategy of the company. 2)Shift Manager: The Shift manager has to take care about a particular shift which is been given to him. He or She has to look after man force and food .One has to train the new employees as well. 3) Customer assistance: The customer assistance has to deal with customers about taking orders and solving their problems. 4) Crew member: The crew member has to deal with many activities like cleaning, preparing food, set up all the food items to the storage, changing menu daily, etc. Problems: McDonalds provides many facilities to their customers. It provides counter and drive-thru service to the customers. Even after good services to the customers there are some problems that McDonalds or the customers facing. Parking is the main problem for McDonalds. Customers have to wait sometimes if there is any queue in drive-thru. Managers in the McDonalds keep minimum man force. So when it gets busy, People working in it faces lots of workload. Kitchen area in it is very small. They take maximum work in minimum wages and they do not provide extra wages on holidays. So employees feel exploited sometimes. Minimum Chances for promotion. Though there are some problems there are chances for improvement. So in my opinion here are some points which might be useful as sources for improvement. Customer reviews should be analysed on regular basis. They should provide extra space for parking. They should learn lessons from the past. Rewarding system should be improved. They should also consider the complaints of employees and stakeholders and must try to resolve them. Open suggestion meeting or sort of suggestion box should be there and after regular time period they should go through all the suggestions and accept those who are useful. Task 19.3.b: Recommend improvements which align with the organisations objectives and goals and which result in a reduction in the variation between what customers and other stakeholders want and what products, processes and services deliver. Shareholders: Ø Shareholders have invested in McDonalds to increase the value of their investment. So if McDonalds does not give them profit, they could take their money back from company or remove their financial support. They can sell their part of shares or properties held in the company. Customers: Ø Customers can invest in the company by buying the product of that company. So if they are dissatisfied with their product they can ask for refund or can go anywhere else where the same product is present from the next time. Even more than that they could influence their other customers by word of mouth. In my opinion there are some points that I want to discuss that might be acceptable. They should provide good wages to their employees as per level of experience and qualification. For the progress of McDonalds every employee must be keep in mind that they have to work better to get more customers satisfied. Every employee should work in a team so each one contributes into progress of the company. They should also provide some funds to their different franchises as required so they can also give their contribution into reaching companys overall goal. Any appropriate suggestion from any stakeholder should be considered seriously and should be discussed in a meeting. Working environment should be warm and friendly that every employee would feel like a family. It gives more mental support to them. Product development with minimum cost and resources will increase profit for investors and provide good value for money to consumers. Operationally efficient organisations examine and improve processes, always in the context of what they are seeking to achieve for their customers and stakeholders. Company should achieve all its goals within time frame with optimum utilization of resources to attract more shareholders to invest their money. Managers in the company should focus on short term profit than long term growth to avoid risk involved in it. However, as observed by Post, Preston, and Sachs: Organizational wealth can be created (or destroyed) through relationships with stakeholders of all kind resource providers, customers and suppliers, social and political actors. Therefore, effective stakeholder management that is, managing relationships with stakeholders for mutual benefit is a critical requirement for corporate success. Task 19.3.c Evaluate the wider implication of proposed change within the organization. In todays workspace the change has become modus operandi to success. Now the rate of change in business prospectuses is accelerate more than ever. Accepting of Change can be rated easy to difficult. Change can be related with marketing, finance, production. Here are some principles that use to develop business pattern. Challenge yourself: One should try new things if it is possible each day. In short you should start adopting new things as they come. Practice constructive discontent: one should think about himself and the organization that how could I improve? How could my organization improve? Having attitude of thinking different way is always helpful. So for better change one should work integrally. Be adventures: Always challenge the challenge. Try to create new ideas and try to adopt them. Let other try it and also involve them in it. Set high targets and make all your efforts to get it. Always be open to suggestions: one should take suggestions and feedback from the members whose working in the organization as well as from customers. Change always takes time so contributing into the process will decrease the time for improvement. Be patience: Change in any process may take time, so one should learn to wait things to get happened. The change has to be process with its proper way and it needs to be time for work in organizational manner. Ø These are the steps forchanges within the McDonald. McDonald should give their franchise at low price to small countries considering low profit in the mind. McDonald should increase its franchise restaurants to earn more profit. McDonald should provide garden for sitting facility. There should be a specific person who handles the stock at store. There should be an internet facility or Wi-Fi facility and children play station. McDonald should start its free home delivery facility. Open suggestion box should be there so that exchanging idea can make organization better. Space is the major problem for McDonalds. So they should spend some more money on that and by doing this they can increase their asset. But from that work load for employees will be increased. Task 19.3.d Develop the implementation plan and evaluate the results expected after the implementations of your approved solution from third question. Momentous organizational change occurs, for example, when an organization changes its overall policy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice, and/or wants to change the very nature by which it operates. For organizations to develop, they often must undergo significant change at various points in their development. Now in this case from the third question answer we can conclude some following point to develop the implementation plan. In terms of company franchises, they can not give franchises to all small country but they can give by considering some criteria, they have to focus on community and culture, apart form this they can change some verity of product to cover the more customer. Macdonalds have some own policy about their store but they need to change their policy while they give franchises in small countries. If we talk about generating revenue, this is the main goal of every organization but, profit is not only a main aim hear for McDonalds. By increasing franchises they can make more profit but they have to keep quality and expenses in mind. MacDonalds can make more profit not giving more franchises but they can make cost cutting to increase the profit. In MacDonalds they have huge customer rush on week ends and some occasion, at that time customer faces the sitting problem so to cope up with this problem, they can arrange some facilities for waiting customer, moreover, they have to keep for extra berth facilities so they can arrange more sitting when required. The garden facilities can be very expensive to hire that much space in city area so this concept can be worst. Stoke taking is the important function of organization to know the real trading of the business. In MacDonalds to taking their stoke they can use some software like., SAP,ERP all these software have wide features which can take automatic stoke taking and order processing, they can also link their shop with main delivery shop to order the product by auto reminder facilities. Apart from this send all stoke data to head office from one country to another country any time and any day. Implement plans: after making proper changes, it is very important to do implementation. Management have to make proper planning about how to implement the system properly. In McDonalds while implementing the change, everyone should know their role and also they should know what is going on in the organization. Managing the work force and reaction of people is also part of the plan. Following are the advantages and disadvantages of McDonalds operation Management. Advantages: At least 21.5% of all franchises sales and profit goes to the company which are with McDonalds. 12% for rent of the restaurant and brand name, 5% for use of the McDonalds system (consultants, workers inside the corporation) and 4.5 % for the national marketing spend. So profit will increase. Gardens will be used by customers if there is a long queue or waiting for the food. Children can play in the children play area without disturbing the other customers. Stoke manager will keep eye on stock so no food would be wasted. Everyone could access the internet facility by Wi-Fi in the restaurant. Medium class people can also afford their food on daily basis. People can order the food at home. Disadvantages: Shortage of staff for home delivery They have to spend extra money for space for garden and its maintenance. Area of restaurant should increase for child area. References: Information about McDonalds www.aboutmcdonald.com www.mcdonald.co.uk www.bized.com/company Ø information for improvement can be found in Bradach, J. (1998), Franchise Organizations, Harvard Business Press, Boston, MA Ø Information on stakeholders can be found on Jones, G. R. (2007). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change (5th ed.), Lesson Plan of Chapter 2 New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Ø Info on implementation of change can be found on www.authenticityconsulting.com , Authenticity Consulting, LLC Ø Information about successful organizational change can be found on http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/leadership/change/fivesteps

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper :: essays research papers

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is overflowed with symbolism. Symbols are images that have a meaning beyond them selves in a short story, a symbol is a detail, a character, or an incident that has a meaning beyond its literal role in the narrative. Gilman uses symbols to tell her story of a woman's mental state of being diminishes throughout the story. The following paragraphs tell just some of the symbols and how I interpreted them, they could be read in many different ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The title itself, The Yellow Wallpaper, is symbolizing the role men play in a patriarchal society, where men are the more dominant sex, and how women are 'trapped'; in a life of male control. For instance, At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all moonlight, it becomes bars!';(Gilman 211) This shows how the narrator feels trapped by the paper. Another symbol that refers to the role women play is, 'And she is all the time trying to climb through that pattern, it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads.';(Gilman 213) This is meaning that if a women tried to play a role in society she was just not taken seriously, or felt like trying to play a role was getting nowhere.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The way Gilman describes the wallpaper tells of what the narrator's mind is thinking, 'and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide.';(Gillman 206) She doesn't think this on the conscious level but more on the unconscious level. When the narrator writes, '(The designs) destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.';(Gillman 206) She is speaking of her state of mind subconsciously, the narrator is on the brink of losing her mind at this point. Gillman writes, 'There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down. '(Gillman 207) She was explaining how the wallpaper is like a 'watchdog'; or a guard of some type, watching her every move, naturally making her nervous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that the narrator feels much alone in life, even though she has a family who cares for her. She is clinically depressed so naturally she is going to feel isolated from the world. Speaking about a house that the narrator grew up in, she writes, 'and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend.

Graduation Speech: Always Follow Your Dreams :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I'd like to start out by saying that I am truly honored to speak here today and thank you to my class for choosing me. From the day I first stepped into the learning world of Mrs. Jacobson's kindergarten class spotting tons of building blocks and crayons until the day I walked out of Mr. Fulton's class with memories of burning gummy bears and rubber corks stuck in his ceiling, the majority of my life has been consumed by school. I thought it would never end. Do you know how long we've been in school? Thirteen years and 181 days for each year. That's 2,353 days or 14,118 hours or 847,080 minutes or 50,824,800 seconds. Good lord!!! That's a long time. Why would anyone do this? And half our class probably has scoliosis from teachers loading our backpacks with 75 pounds of books. That's hard to do. I think modern schooling is trying to rise a generation of Quazi Motos. But these 12 years of schooling have provided all of us with memories. Growing up in the community of Murry we are left with a variety of good times and bad times. In intermediate school, you thought it was the end of the world if you were beat by a girl in tetherball or you'd start crying when you lost all your pogs in an intense pog tournament at one of our three recesses. The times that have left positive feelings towards my many years of schooling would have to include watching Mr. Patterson singing the Fig Newton jingle, or watching our Falcon football team destroy Lakewood this year in our Homecoming football game. Or what about the time when Coach Davis, our head basketball coach, went a whole game with his zipper being undone? But my fondest memory of Murry is remembering Mr. Johnson on my first day of freshman year. He had such a lovely full head of hair, but since the class of 2003 has came through, it has gotten a little thinner and a little grayer. These types of memories have shaped us and made us grow into the powerful young adults we are today. Now we're sitting here ready to tackle the challenges of the real world. Graduation is not an end, but more of a rendezvous point from where we go our separate ways. The only thing that lies ahead is the future. Dreams and goals are what push us to be better and what have gotten us here.

Modules on skills and materials Essay

â€Å"Well prepared teachers have a large repertoire of activities for their classes. They can organise preparation and controlled output practice; they can direct students in the acquiring of receptive skills and organise genuinely communicative activities. This repertoire of activities enables them to have varied plans and achieve an activities balance.† â€Å"The Practice of English Language Teaching† Harmer Which of the techniques outlined in this module, and elsewhere in the modules on skills and materials, would you use in order to achieve genuine communication in the classroom? This task should refer to other areas of the course. You should aim to write about 750 words. The ultimate aim of teaching English to speakers of other languages is to achieve genuine communication by limiting teacher talking time and maximising student participation. Simply standing in front of a class and telling things to the students does not guarantee they will learn them. Students need to be actively involved in the lessons. A vital step in establishing a class of active learners is classroom management. There are many techniques which can be implemented in order to achieve genuine communication within the classroom. Communication should take place the minute the class begins. Getting into the habit of ‘chatting’ to the students at the start of a lesson gives them the chance to take part in natural conversation. This can be achieved by greeting the students and allowing five minutes to go around asking what people did at the weekend, for example. This gets students speaking before they have had a chance to worry about getting involved. In order to create an open learning environment and aid the flow of communication, the furniture in the classroom should be arranged appropriately. Ideally, the furniture should be  arranged in a circle as it allows all the students to be involved and creates a sense of equality. However, if this is not possible, a semi-circle or some form of group arrangement is best. A semi-circle ensures the students are able to see any visual aids clearly and as many students as possible have eye contact with the teacher. A group arrangement allows for a huge degree of interaction and can be useful in mixed-ability classes, where groups of students can concentrate on different communication tasks according to their ability. Another great way of rousing communication is to show interest in the students by getting to know about their interests and backgrounds. This allows teachers to make conversation before and after class using personal information. How is your new cat? Is your husband feeling better? It is encouraging for the students and they are more likely to want to speak about themselves, their families, etc. Getting to know the students also allows teachers to personalise lessons and set up relevant discussions. This increases student involvement by allowing them to express opinions about their environment and personal experiences. A similar technique is to talk about current affairs or news stories. These are subjects that the students are likely to have knowledge of and will be able to discuss amongst themselves. This will encourage students to find interesting stories or anecdotes they can share with the class or to keep themselves informed so they can have meaningful input in class activities. Current newspaper and magazine articles can be cut out and used to prompt discussions. These techniques can allow the students to take control of the conversation, reducing teacher talk time and consequently further their learning. Relevant and realistic practise of language is important in spurring meaningful communication from students. Teachers should focus on elements of language and communication that are necessary for the student’s goals or are of personal interest. The types of activities utilised in a lesson can give more or less opportunities for communication. The most obvious way to get someone talking is to ask them questions, but teachers should really think about the kinds of questions they ask. Closed questions are simple direct questions that can be useful for checking understanding or reviewing language, whereas open questions do not always have a single or right answer and get the students thinking. Both types of questions are useful in the classroom and teachers should establish a good balance between  the two. Furthermore, questions should be directed to the whole class initially, rather than a named individual, as this ensures all students are alert and thinking about the answer should they be chosen to respond. Another technique to keep students focused is avoiding asking questions in a fixed order. Teachers should mix it up by darting around the classroom, keeping the students on their toes. Asking questions can be rather limiting in the degree of communication it fosters and it involves a lot of initial input by the teacher. In order to encourage genuine communication between students so they get the most out of the experience, teacher talking time needs to be limited. Group or pair-work activities are a great way to do this. They generate conversation and communication flows more naturally. Well prepared group or pair-work activities should require students to maintain communication in order to complete the task. They dramatically increase the amount of speaking time each student gets in the class and allow students to interact independently without guidance of the teacher. This promotes learner independence and more spontaneous communication. Role-plays, dialogues, sketches, etc. can be a great way to reduce anxiety about speaking. Students may be embarrassed at first, but become less self-conscious as they concentrate on the character or role they are required to carry out, thus produce more natural language. In addition, prompts, such as role cards and realia can be provided as an aid for the students to use during their performance. It is important for the teacher to continue monitoring groups during fluency tasks to ensure English is being spoken. It is imperative that the use of the mother tongue language is limited in the class. If the class are of differing nationalities, this aids communication as the students have no choice but to use English to communicate. Thus, there are many techniques that can be adopted to ensure genuine communication is achieved in every lesson. It is important for teachers to really think about all aspects of the lesson, including the introduction, seating arrangement, the delivery of activities, materials used, etc. prior to teaching in order to maximise student talk time so that each individual gains the most out of their experience within the classroom. TASK FOR SUBMISSION TO YOUR TUTOR TASK 2 You are working in an ESOL school with class sizes of 14-18. Your boss does not like your school’s current way of testing spoken English. At the moment it is tested in a one-on-one, 2 minute speaking test at the end of course with a mark from 0-10. It does not seem to be working well and takes up a whole lesson from the course. He has asked for suggestions as to how to change the system. With reference to what you have studied in this and other modules, and to your own experience and reading, make some suggestions to your boss as to how the school could assess the spoken English of the students in a more accurate and less pressurized way. You should write about 400 – 500 words to send as an email setting out your ideas. Dear ______, In light of your recent request for ideas as to how to change the current way of testing spoken English, I would like to propose the following suggestions. Rather than a one-on-one end of year speaking test, we could adopt a task approach and assess the students speaking ability in a variety of ways throughout the duration of the course. We could create tasks that require the students to use the language in ‘real-life’ communicative performances. This type of testing is advantageous as it can be conducted with more than one student at a time, reducing the amount of time dedicated to the testing. It allows the students to use their language knowledge and competence in ‘real-life’ communications with their peers. It is a more realistic and accurate measure of their abilities. Not only do these tasks test accuracy and fluency, they also test how creatively the students are able to use language and whether they are able to communicate effectively with each other . It is likely to reduce the pressure they feel about a single ‘interview’ with the teacher, particularly if they get to perform the  tasks with other students so the focus isn’t solely on them. Adopting this kind of testing approach will allow us to carry out a number of different oral tests throughout the course, assessing a variety of skills. There are a number of different tasks that could be used such as role plays, debates and presentations. Role Plays: We can give them a specific situation and roles to play that utilise the language they have learnt. Role plays can be used informally throughout the course so the students get lots of time to practice for a formal assessment. Debates: We could split the classes into groups and have each group debate an argument relating to different topics they have studied. Each group would be split into two smaller groups, one to represent each side of the argument. The students can be given time in or out of class to prepare their side of the debate. Each side could be allocated a specific time for giving their initial argument in which each student has to contribute the same amount of time. Again, debates can be used informally throughout the course to practice language, allowing students ample of practice before the formal assessment. Class Presentation: We could assign group projects for the students to carry out in or out of class. The students will have a deadline to complete the project, at the end of which they will be asked to give a group presentation. We can provide them with guidelines of what to include and what skills they will be individually tested on. Another way to test students individually that takes away the pressure of ‘performing’ in front of the class is to ask them to make a recording. In a previous school, we had students read a short story and then asked them to imagine they were one of the characters. They had to record themselves giving an account of what happened according to their {the characters} personal experience. The students were allowed time to think about what they wanted to say before making the recording. After assessment, the students listened to each other’s recordings and gave constructive feedback to their classmates. This type of assessment was carried out a number of times throughout the course, with notable improvements across the board. Although this approach is less realistic, it gives the students a chance to hear themselves speaking and pinpoint their own mistakes which they can work on in the future. I hope these suggestions are of use and we are able to implement a more successful way of testing the oral skills of the students.

Computers – Invention of the Century

The History of Computers only once in a lifetime will a new invention come about to touch every aspect of our lives. Such devices changed the way we manage, work, and live. A machine that has done all this and more now exists in nearly every business in the United States. This incredible invention is the computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has the computer changed American management to its greatest extent. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every aspect of management, and our lives for the better. The very earliest existence of the modern day computer's ancestor is the abacus. These date back to almost 2000 years ago (Dolotta, 1985). It is simply a wooden rack holding parallel wires on which beads are strung. When these beads are moved along the wire according to programming rules that the user must memorize. All ordinary arithmetic operations can be performed on the abacus. This was one of the first management tools used. The next innovation in computers took place in 1694 when Blaise Pascal invented the first digital calculating machine. It could only add numbers and they had to be entered by turning dials. It was designed to help Pascal's father, who was a tax collector, manage the town's taxes (Beer, 1966). In the early 1800s, a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage designed an automatic calculation machine (Dolotta, 1985). It was steam powered and could store up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Built in to his machine were operations that included everything a modern general-purpose computer would need. It was programmed by and stored data on cards with holes punched in them, appropriately called punch cards. This machine was extremely useful to managers that delt with large volumes of good. With Babbage's machine, managers could more easily calculate the large numbers accumulated by inventories. The only problem was that there was only one of these machines built, thus making it difficult for all managers to use (Beer, 1966). After Babbage, people began to lose interest in computers. However, between 1850 and 1900 there were great advances in mathematics and physics that began to rekindle the interest. Many of these new advances involved complex calculations and formulas that were very time consuming for human calculation. The first major use for a computer in the U. S. was during the 1890 census. Two men, Herman Hollerith and James Powers, developed a new punched-card system that could automatically read information on cards without human (Dolotta, 1985). Since the population of the U. S. was increasing so fast, the computer was an essential tool for managers in tabulating the totals (Hazewindus,1988). These advantages were noted by commercial industries and soon led to the development of improved punch-card business-machine systems by International Business Machines, Remington-Rand, Burroughs, and other corporations (Chposky, 1988). By modern standards the punched-card machines were slow, typically processing from 50 to 250 cards per minute, with each card holding up to 80 digits. At the time, however, punched cards were an enormous step forward; they provided a means of input, output, and memory storage on a massive scale. For more than 50 years following their first use, punched-card machines did the bulk of the world's business computing (Jacobs, 1975). By the late 1930s punched-card machine techniques had become so well established and reliable that Howard Hathaway Aiken, in collaboration with engineers at IBM, undertook construction of a large automatic digital computer based on standard IBM electromechanical parts (Chposky, 1988). Aiken's machine, called the Harvard Mark I, handled 23-digit numbers and could perform all four arithmetic operations (Dolotta, 1985). Also, it had special built-in programs to handled logarithms and trigonometric functions. The Mark I was controlled from prepunched paper tape. Output was by card punch and electric typewriter. It was slow, requiring 3 to 5 seconds for a multiplication, but it was fully automatic and could complete long computations without human intervention. The outbreak of World War II produced a desperate need for computing capability, especially for the military (Dolotta, 1985). New weapons systems were produced which needed trajectory tables and other essential data. In 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Mauchley, and their associates at the University of Pennsylvania decided to build a high-speed electronic computer to do the job. This machine became known as ENIAC, for Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator (Chposky, 1988). It could multiply two numbers at the rate of 300 products per second, by finding the value of each product from a multiplication table stored in its memory. ENIAC was thus about 1,000 times faster than the previous generation of computers. ENIAC used 18,000 standard vacuum tubes, occupied 1800 square feet of floor space, and used about 180,000 watts of electricity. It used punched-card input and output. The ENIAC was very difficult to program because one had to essentially re-wire it to perform whatever task he wanted the computer to do. It was efficient in handling the particular programs for which it had been designed. ENIAC is generally accepted as the first successful high-speed electronic digital computer and was used in many applications from 1946 to 1955. However, the ENIAC was not accessible to managers of businesses (Beer, 1966). Mathematician John Von Neumann was very interested in the ENIAC. In 1945 he undertook a theoretical study of computation that demonstrated that a computer could have a very simple and yet be able to execute any kind of computation effectively by means of proper programmed control without the need for any changes in hardware. Von Neumann came up with incredible ideas for methods of building and organizing practical, fast computers. These ideas, which came to be referred to as the stored-program technique, became fundamental for future generations of high-speed digital computers and were universally adopted (Dolotta, 1985). The first wave of modern programmed electronic computers to take advantage of these improvements appeared in 1947. This group included computers using random access memory, RAM, which is a memory designed to give almost constant access to any particular piece of information (Dolotta, 1985). These machines had punched-card or punched-tape input and output devices and RAMs of 1000-word capacity. Physically, they were much more compact than ENIAC: some were about the size of a grand piano and required 2500 small electron tubes. This was quite an improvement over the earlier machines. The first-generation stored-program computers required considerable maintenance, usually attained 70% to 80% reliable operation, and were used for 8 to 12 years (Hazewindus,1988). Typically, they were programmed directly in machine language, although by the mid-1950s progress had been made in several aspects of advanced programming. This group of machines included EDVAC and UNIVAC, the first commercially available computers. With this invention, managers had even more power to perform calculations for such things as statistical demographic data (Beer, 1966). Before this time, it was very rare for a manager of a larger business to have the means to process large numbers in so little time. The UNIVAC was developed by John W. Mauchley and John Eckert, Jr. in the 1950s. Together they had formed the Mauchley-Eckert Computer Corporation, America's first computer company in the 1940s. During the development of the UNIVAC, they began to run short on funds and sold their company to the larger Remington-Rand Corporation. Eventually they built a working UNIVAC computer. It was delivered to the U. S. Census Bureau in 1951 where it was used to help tabulate the U. S. population (Hazewindus,1988). Early in the 1950s two important engineering discoveries changed the electronic computer field. The first computers were made with vacuum tubes, but by the late 1950s computers were being made out of transistors, which were smaller, less expensive, more reliable, and more efficient (Dolotta, 1985). In 1959, Robert Noyce, a physicist at the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, invented the integrated circuit, a tiny chip of silicon that contained an entire electronic circuit. Gone was the bulky, unreliable, but fast machine; now computers began to become more compact, more reliable and have more capacity. These new technical discoveries rapidly found their way into new models of digital computers. Memory storage capacities increased 800% in commercially available machines by the early 1960s and speeds increased by an equally large margin (Jacobs, 1975). These machines were very expensive to purchase or to rent and were especially expensive to operate because of the cost of hiring programmers to perform the complex operations the computers ran. Such computers were typically found in large computer centers operated by industry, government, and private laboratories staffed with many programmers and support personnel. By 1956, 76 of IBM's large computer mainframes were in use, compared with only 46 UNIVAC's (Chposky, 1988). In the 1960s efforts to design and develop the fastest possible computers with the greatest capacity reached a turning point with the completion of the LARC machine for Livermore Radiation Laboratories by the Sperry-Rand Corporation, and the Stretch computer by IBM. The LARC had a core memory of 98,000 words and multiplied in 10 microseconds. Stretch was provided with several ranks of memory having slower access for the ranks of greater capacity, the fastest access time being less than 1 microseconds and the total capacity in the vicinity of 100 million words. During this time the major computer manufacturers began to offer a range of computer capabilities, as well as various computer-related equipment (Jacobs, 1975). These included input means such as consoles and card feeders; output means such as page printers, cathode-ray-tube displays, and graphing devices; and optional magnetic-tape and magnetic-disk file storage. These found wide use in management for such applications as accounting, payroll, inventory control, ordering supplies, and billing. Central processing units for such purposes did not need to be very fast arithmetically and were primarily used to access large amounts of records on file. The greatest number of computer systems were delivered for the larger applications, such as in hospitals for keeping track of patient records, medications, and treatments given. They were also used in automated library systems and in database systems such as the Chemical Abstracts system, where computer records now on file cover nearly all known chemical compounds (Dolotta, 1985). The trend during the 1970s was, to some extent, away from extremely powerful, centralized computational centers and toward a broader range of applications for less-costly computer systems (Jacobs, 1975). Most continuous-process manufacturing, such as petroleum refining and electrical-power distribution systems, began using computers of relatively modest capability for controlling and regulating their activities. In the 1960s the programming of applications problems was an obstacle to the self-sufficiency of moderate-sized on-site computer installations, but great advances in applications programming languages removed these obstacles. Applications languages became available for controlling a great range of manufacturing processes, for computer operation of machine tools, and for many other tasks. In 1971 Marcian E. Hoff, Jr. , an engineer at the Intel Corporation, invented the microprocessor and another stage in the development of the computer began. A new revolution in computer hardware was now well under way, involving miniaturization of computer-logic circuitry and of component manufacture by what are called large-scale integration techniques. In the 1950s it was realized that scaling down the size of electronic digital computer circuits and parts would increase speed and efficiency and improve performance. However, at that time the manufacturing methods were not good enough to accomplish such a task. About 1960, photoprinting of conductive circuit boards to eliminate wiring became highly developed. Then it became possible to build resistors and capacitors into the circuitry by photographic means. In the 1970s entire assemblies, such as adders, shifting registers, and counters, became available on tiny chips of silicon. In the 1980s very large scale integration, VLSI, in which hundreds of thousands of transistors are placed on a single chip, became increasingly common. Many companies, some new to the computer field, introduced in the 1970s programmable minicomputers supplied with software packages. The size-reduction trend continued with the introduction of personal computers, which are programmable machines small enough and inexpensive enough to be purchased and used by individuals. One of the first of such machines was introduced in January 1975. Popular Electronics magazine provided plans that would allow any electronics wizard to build his own small, programmable computer for about $380. The computer was called the Altair 8800. Its programming involved pushing buttons and flipping switches on the front of the box. It didn't include a monitor or keyboard, and its applications were very limited. Even though, many orders came in for it and several famous owners of computer and software manufacturing companies got their start in computing through the Altair. For example, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer, built a much cheaper, yet more productive version of the Altair and turned their hobby into a business. After the introduction of the Altair 8800, the personal computer industry became a fierce battleground of competition. IBM had been the computer industry standard for well over a half-century. They held their position as the standard when they introduced their first personal computer, the IBM Model 60 in 1975. However, the newly formed Apple Computer company was releasing its own personal computer, the Apple II. The Apple I was the first computer designed by Jobs and Wozniak in Wozniak's garage, which was not produced on a wide scale. Software was needed to run the computers as well. Microsoft developed a Disk Operating System, MS-DOS, for the IBM computer while Apple developed its own software. Because Microsoft had now set the software standard for IBMs, every software manufacturer had to make their software compatible with Microsoft's. This would lead to huge profits for Microsoft. The main goal of the computer manufacturers was to make the computer as affordable as possible while increasing speed, reliability, and capacity. Nearly every computer manufacturer accomplished this and computers popped up everywhere. Computers were in businesses keeping track of even more inventories for managers. Computers were in colleges aiding students in research. Computers were in laboratories making complex calculations at high speeds for scientists and physicists. The computer had made its mark everywhere in management and built up a huge industry. The future is promising for the computer industry and its technology. The speed of processors is expected to double every year and a half in the coming years. As manufacturing techniques are further perfected the prices of computer systems are expected to steadily fall. However, since the microprocessor technology will be increasing, it's higher costs will offset the drop in price of older processors. In other words, the price of a new computer will stay about the same from year to year, but technology will steadily increase. Since the end of World War II, the computer industry has grown from a standing start into one of the biggest and most profitable industries in the United States. It now comprises thousands of companies, making everything from multi-million dollar high-speed supercomputers to printout paper and floppy disks. It employs millions of people and generates tens of billions of dollars in sales each year. Surely, the computer has impacted every aspect of people's lives. It has affected the way people work and play. It has made everyone's life easier by doing difficult work for people. The computer truly is one of the most incredible inventions in history to ever influence management, and life.