John Deere and Complex Parts

Strengths of the AEP: (Q1. , p. 109) – Evaluation is carried out by Deere personnel from different departments such as supply management, operations, quality engineering etc†¦ This makes the evealuation more transparent and comprehensive since the opinions of diverse personnel from different departments are taken into account – Suppliers were evaluated in five key areas, thus making the evaluation all inclusive – The use of the wavelength rating is an innovative approach to measure the supplier's focus on quality, cost etc†¦ The cost, wavelength and technical ratings are consensus composite ratings, which measures a variety of underlying aspects, rather than provide a brief overview. – Suppliers were classified into 4, making it easy to identify where each supplier stood with regard to others – The annual revision of performance level cutoffs is another strength of the AEP. Periodic revisions make sure that the ratings reflect current chan ges. The supplier performance summary provided each quarter provides suppliers with all pertinent data related to their classification – Training and recognition are only provided to suppliers with high ratings, thereby acting as an incentive to suppliers with low ratings to catch up. Weaknesses of the AEP: – The weakest category tends to skew the overall evaluation, which would work against suppliers providing consistent service with minor glitches. These glitches tend to be amplified in the rating – Training is not provided to conditional suppliers, which is counter productive. A training program for such suppliers is likely to improve performance – The delivery and quality ratings are not composite ratings. Breaking down these ratings into individual components would provide more clarity. For example, the delivery rating makes no mention of the percentage of late, early or over deliveries. Other Criteria to be included: (Chapter 3, page 66) Total cost of Ownership including cost of special handling, cost of defects, rework etc†¦ should be included in the AEP – The financial strength of the supplier should be included, possibly in the form of a credit rating – Responsiveness and flexibilty measured by responsiveness to customers, accuracy of record keeping, changes in delivery schedules, responsiveness to changing situations etc†¦ should be included Performance over the last year: (q. 2, p 109) Complex parts has not performed adequately over the last year. I say this because of the following reasons: – Certain requested price quotes had not reached Deere on time. – Suggestions for cost reduction and elimination of recurrent problems were not forthcoming – Increasing number of deliveries had to be expedited, which cost Deere – Complex parts delivery rating in the last quarter had hit a dismal 155,000- the level of a conditional supplier – Complex parts had not implemented the Deere quality plan at its new facility – Parts supplied for new product programs had not met Deere's cost targets, thus reducing profit Though Complex parts became ISO certified, internalized the Deere Quality plan elements, provided profitable suggestions through its R&D department and had been proactive in its business approach, the above shortcomings overwhelm the positive aspects. Hence, Complex parts has not performed adequately over the past year. Classification: In the absence of adequate data, it is difficult to assign a classification to Complex parts. Over the last quarter, Complex parts' delivery rating was 155,000. The quality, wavelength, technical and cost management ratings have not been provided. Complex parts' delivery rating of 155,000 would make it a ‘conditional' supplier. Therefore a conditional supplier classification is most apt, based on the latest available quarterly data Alternative courses of action (q. 3, p. 109) – The first course of action would be to intimate Complex parts of its shortcomings. Having done this, the next step would be to downgrade its classification. Complex parts should then be provided an ultimatum, failing which it would cease to exist as a supplier. The ultimatum would be to meet certain set standards over the next quarter. This course of action would be taken because of the longstanding relationship with Complex parts, which was proactive – The second and obvious course of action would be to terminate Complex parts as a supplier. Since there are 2 other suppliers who are capable of delivering the needed product, this move would make sense. However this would mean severing a relationship of ten years. – The third alternative would be to reduce the quantity sourced from Complex parts, sourcing the balance on a trial basis from either of the two capable suppliers. This move would provide an objective assessment of the new supplier as well as Complex parts. In addition Complex parts would be provided with an ultimatum, failing which it would cease to exist as a supplier. Recommendation: – Intimate Complex parts of the shortcomings. Provide a set of standards to be adhered to within the next quarter. Make it explicitly clear that any shortfalls in set standards would lead to Complex parts being terminated as a supplier. Short term implications for Deere: (Q4, p. 109) Possibilty of costs increasing due to expedited deliveries – Possibility of increased costs in new product development programs due to Complex parts' failure to meet estimated costs – Cost escalation because of a delay in receiving quotes – Possibility of a further fall in quality of Complex parts because of its not implementing the Deere quality plan at its new facility – Possibility of a frayed relationship as a result of the ultimatum – N eed to keep a continuous watch on Complex parts to make sure standards are met. – A Continuous watch would mean extra costs for Deere Long term implications: ( Chapter 4, p. 95) – Provides an opportunity for Complex parts to get back to its previous high standards – Cost reductions because of continuing with a trusted partner – Early supplier involvement would continue, thereby profiting both. – Value engineering provided by Complex parts through its R team would reduce cost and improve quality – The proactive approach of Complex parts would reduce new product development time – Change management would be easily implemented – Alliance development would be initiated

The Symbiotic Relationships between Microbial Organisms and Plants

The Symbiotic Relationships between Microbial Organisms and Plants | With Concentrations in Rhizobium & A ; Mycorrhiza Introduction– There are many capturing microbic beings that spend a important part of their life rhythm shacking in the dirt profiles. These beings include roundworms, Protozoa, Fungis, bacteriums and different arthropods. Together they play critical functions in act uponing dirt features and keeping healthy dirt profiles. In our instance, we will be chiefly concentrating on Fungis and bacteriums. Fungi and bacteriums are really normally found inside the dirt and they have huge impact on dirt birthrate and works growing. It is instead challenging to analyze their interactions with workss and their single maps. The intent of this research paper is to derive a deeper comprehension of their perplexing relationship with workss ; and most significantly, to carry through my intense wonder of why such symbioses are so indispensable to the well-being of our assorted ecosystems and even for us worlds? Plant Foods– The three primary foods workss reliant to a great extent on are nitrogen, P, and K. Since we will be extensively analyzing the functions of bacteriums and Fungis, thereby we are more concerned with N and P. So so, why do workss necessitate those foods? Nitrogen is one of the indispensable chemical elements workss needed for growing and reproduction. It is a constituent of chlorophyll and thereby critical for photosynthesis. It is besides a major constituent of amino acids, the edifice blocks for proteins ; and without proteins, workss would shrivel and decease ( U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2015 ) . In add-on, some of the proteins act as structural units in works cells while others act as enzymes, doing possible many of the biochemical reactions on which life is based. Nitrogen is besides a constituent of energy-transfer compounds, such as adenosine triphosphate, known as ATP. ATP grants cells the ability to conserve and utilize energy released in metamorphosis. Nitrogen is besides a important constituent of nucleic acids such as Deoxyribonucleic Acid, known as Deoxyribonucleic acid, the familial stuff that allows cells to turn and reproduce. Phosphorous is another critical food both as portion of several cardinal works construction compounds and as a contact action in the transition of legion cardinal biochemical reactions in workss. Phosphorous is notably responsible for its function in capturing and change overing sun’s energy into utile works compounds. Like N, P is a critical constituent of DNA. It is a constituent of RNA, the compound that reads the DNA familial codification to construct proteins and other compounds indispensable for works construction, seed output and familial transportation. The construction of both DNA and RNA are linked together by P bonds. Another similar belongings that phosphorus portions with Nitrogen is that it is besides critical constituent of ATP. ATP signifiers during photosynthesis, and uses P within its construction, and it processes from the beginning of seedling growing through to the formation of grain and adulthood ( U.S Department of Agriculture, 2015 ) . Therefore, both N and phosphoric are indispensable elements needed for the general wellness and energy of all workss, they help to increase chaff and root strength, better flower formation and seed production and support plants’ development throughout their full life rhythm. Without neither N nor phosphoric, there would be no life on Earth as we know it. Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria Analysis –Rhizobium As mentioned above, N is an indispensable food for workss as it is portion of their nucleic acids and proteins. Nitrogen can be in many signifiers, such as Nitrogen Gas, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonium and Nitrous Oxide. Dinitrogen or N gas is really abundant and makes up 78 per centum of our ambiance. Unfortunately, workss are unable to utilize them straight because they lack the necessary enzymes to change over the gas into biologically utile signifiers. The job here is that N gas is non really reactive ; it will barely interact with other chemicals to make new compounds ( Brady & A ; Weil, 2010 ) . However, there is a manner to repair the unserviceable signifier through either chemical or biological procedures ; and the repair procedure itself is called nitrogen arrested development. The nitrogen arrested development procedures will interrupt down the ternary bond that held the N atoms together and liberate them up for transmutation. The atoms can so be integrated with other e lements to organize ammonium hydroxide, ammonium or N dioxides. Now we introduce the construct of biological N arrested development. It was foremost discovered by German agronomist Hermann Hellriegel and Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck. Biological N arrested development is the procedure of transition of atmospheric N into ammonium hydroxide by beings through an enzyme called nitrogenase ( Peters, Fisher & A ; Dean 1995 ) . Within the nitrogenase, there are two important protein composites that are responsible for the decrease of N gas, viz. Fe-protein & A ; MoFe-protein. The reductive reaction can be expressed by the equationN2 + 8H+ +8e- + 16 ATPi?2NH3 + H2 + 16ADP + 16Pi. Think of the Fe-protein composite as a power house and the MoFe-protein composite as a mill. A mill requires energy to bring forth merchandises, and that is when the power house stairss in to run into the demand. Fe-protein ( the power house ) receives elections ( energy ) from a flavedoxin ( an negatron reassigning protein, in this instance, think of it as a air curr ent turbine ) and transfers them further to the MoFe-protein ( the mill ) . The negatron transferring is made possible by the coincident hydrolysis of ATP to ADP & A ; Pi, where more energy is produced to back up the transit of negatrons. MoFe-protein so takes the negatrons, atmospheric N gas, and H converts them into ammonium hydroxide along with a remnant H molecule. It is of import to observe that enzymes within nitrogenase can be destroyed by free O molecules. Thereby, organisms that fix N must guarantee the enzymes do non acquire exposed to oxygen ( Brady & A ; Weil 2010 ) . The being that fix N are a type of dirt bacteriums and they are jointly called Rhizobium. In order to protect nitrogenase, they form this intricate symbiotic relationship with leguminous workss, such as soya beans. They begin by infecting the plants’ root hairs and the cortical cells ; it leads the formation of root nodules that serve as the safe oasis for nitrogen arrested development ( Long, 2004 ) . The procedure in which the nodules signifier is really absorbing. The plants’ root hairs release certain chemical signals to pull rhizobia bacteriums that are present in the dirt. Rhizobia enter the root and get down to proliferate and do an infection yarn to organize. The infection yarn will so turn into the cerebral mantle of the root. When the infection yarn has reached far plenty into the plants’ root, it will let go of bacterial cells, which become bacteroids in root cells. Nod factors from the bacteriums will do cortical cells to split and take to the eventual formation of nodules. It is curiously interesting that the plants’ immune system is digesting the infection ; alternatively of killing the bacteroids, they keep them within their cells. When Rhizobium are inside the nodules, they do non hold to cover with free O molecules and now can safely utilize nitrogenase to cut down atmospheric N to ammonium hydroxide. Through this symbiotic relationship, the host workss gain benefits from utilizing an eternal beginning of N from the ambiance that are now in a more biological useable signifier. In return, rhizobia receive saccharides generated through photosynthesis for energy ( since it takes energy to execute the transition ) , every bit good as a protected shelter in which for them to populate and turn ( Brady & A ; Weil, 2010 ) . Plants are now able to use the ammonium hydroxide ensuing from bacterial N arrested development for growing. The compound is transported into works tissues and is so incorporated into aminic acids, which are so made into works pr oteins. For cases, soya beans and peanuts produced by leguminous plant workss contain extraordinary high degrees of protein and are among the most of import agricultural beginnings of protein in the universe. The curious mutualism between legume workss and Rhizobium illustrate the manner they help to prolong each other’s lives. Consequently, it is besides assisting us worlds to prolong our lives. In fact, our well-being is to a great extent dependent upon this important and yet low-cost beginning of protein. We consume them as portion of our basic diet and we use them as animate being provenders. Farmers, they take the advantage of this mutualism and utilize it to fertilise their harvest land through harvest rotary motion – for case, they use soya beans and other leguminous plant workss in rotary motions with grass harvests such as maize or wheat to straight shoot biological useable N back to the dirt ( U.S. Department of Agriculture’s, 2015 ) . Nitrogen arrested development procedure besides at the same time contributes to dirty birthrate because the works roots leaves behind some of the biologically available N. Rhizobium is a natural and environmentally friendly ma nner to fertilise workss as oppose to chemical fertilisation that use a non-renewable resources, such as natural gas. Taken together, who would hold of all time thought that such elusive relationship between workss and bacteriums can hold such an tremendous consequence on all the species’ endurance. Alimentary Delivering Fungi Analysis – Mycorrhiza As antecedently stated, phosphoric is one the most indispensable foods for many life beings, particularly for workss. Plants must utilize phosphoric for normal growing and adulthood. The component plays a immense function in photosynthesis, energy storage and transportation, cell division and many of import procedures in workss. Without phosphoric, a works would non even be able to finish its normal production rhythm. Soil phosphoric is classified into two groups, organic and inorganic. Organic phosphoric can be found in works residues and manures. Inorganic P consists of apatite ( a group of phosphate minerals and original beginning of all phosphoric ) and composites of Fe and aluminium phosphates and P absorbed onto clay atoms. The job associated with phosphoric and its relevant compounds are their solubility. The solubility of both organic and inorganic P is highly low and merely a really little fraction of dirt P is present in solution at any one clip. To give a position, most dirts contain less than a lb per acre of soluble P and with some dirt incorporating even less ( Ingham, Trofymow, & A ; Coleman, 1985 ) . Since there will be really small P in dirt solution and most of them being stuck onto clay atoms due to molecular attractive forces, it would be rather hard for workss to seek for and intake P. However, merely because workss themselves are unable to obtain the foods they need, it does non intend they can non inquire for aid from other being ; for cases, mycorrhizal Fungis. First and first, it is of import to understand what Fungi are and how do mycorrhizal fungi differentiate themselves from their sort. Fungi are primary beings that can non synthesise their ain nutrient and are really dependent on complex organic substances for C. There are three functional groups of Fungis, decomposers, pathogens, and mutualists. First, we have decomposers or saprophytic Fungis ; they are an of import portion of our ecosystems and play a necessary function in immobilising and retaining foods in the dirt by devouring foods in organic affair. They are capable of degrading cellulose, proteins and lignin, some of which are extremely immune to breakdown ( Smith & A ; Read, 2008 ) . They can change over dead organic affair into their ain fungous organic structures, C dioxide and organic acids. They are besides indispensable for the decomposition of difficult woody organic affair. Through decomposition, they help to supply a fresh beginning of indispensable foods for new coevalss of life. Second, we have infective Fungis, such as Verticillium, Phytophthora and Pythium ; they are really rather damaging to the wellness of workss. Those beings will perforate the works and break up the life tissue, doing the works to be weakened and alimentary deficient or even decease ( Smith & A ; Read, 2008 ) . Last, we have mutualistic Fungis that form reciprocally good relationships with workss. Mycorrhizal Fungis are possibly the most well-known amongst mutualists. There are four groups of mycorrhizal Fungis, arbuscular, ectomycorrhizal, ericoid and orchid ( Smith & A ; Read, 2008 ) . Our chief focal point will be on arbuscular mycorrhizae, they are the most common signifier of mycorrhiza, particularly in agricultural works associations. This fungus has arbuscules which are growing formed inside the works root and have many little projections traveling inside the plants’ cells. Arbuscules are believed to be the major site where the C and alimentary exchange between works and fungus occurs. It is named so due to their â€Å"tree-like† construction, arbuscules are created by perennial ramification of hyphae once they enter a cell within a works root. Fungus kingdoms are heterotrophic beings, intending they must absorb their nutrient. They have the capableness of absorbing elements such as P and N which are indispensable for life. Plants are autophytic ; they produce their ain nutrient in the signifier of saccharides through the procedure of photosynthesis. It is of import to observe that plants’ roots frequently have trouble obtaining and absorbing Ps due to the element’s stationariness and unsolvability inside the dirt. However, arbuscular mycorrhizae can assist workss to widen the volume of dirt explored through their hyphae. Mycorrhizal Fungis are characterized by those really thin hyphae, which are between 1 and 10 thousandths of a millimetre in breadth. Impressively, up to 5 metres of populating hyphae can be extracted from 1 gm of dirt. These hyphae explore the dirt expansively and intercept phosphoric compounds, it would so bring forth enzymes to solubilize P from inorganic stone, absorb the food, and transpo rt them back to the host-plant ( Baum & A ; Gruda 2012 ) . The hyphae would organize webs between neighbouring dirt atoms, between roots and dirt atoms or even between roots of different workss. And since they are arbuscular mycorrhizae, they besides form webs inside the roots they colonize. These intricate webs of hyphae are normally referred to as mycelium. In this instance, both workss and fungus depend on the symbiotic relationship to develop and last. At the terminal, they both benefit from each other. Mycorrhiza fungi usage mycelium to happen phosphoric and transport it back to the host works. In exchange, the Fungis receive saccharides as a signifier of payment for assisting the workss ( Brady & A ; Weil, 2010 ) . In add-on, mycorrhizal associations may besides assist to cut down onslaught from root pathogens through the secernment of bacteriums killing enzymes and antibiotics ( Lugtenberg & A ; Bennet, 1991 ) . It is undeniable that mycorrhizae play an huge function in sustainable works productiveness and care of dirt construction. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 90 % of all vascular land workss ( land workss that have lignified tissues, the xylem, for carry oning H2O and minerals throughout the works organic structure ) live in some association with mycorrhizal Fungis. Mycorrhizal associations are besides seen in dodo rec ord and are believed to be one of the lending factors that allowed early land workss to suppress the land around 450 million old ages ago. The symbioses between workss and mycorrhizae affect our ecological procedure in many intricate and elusive ways. And knowledge refering mycorrhizal Fungi has well helped us to progress in engineering that made possible the production of microbic inoculums. Those inoculums act as bio-fertilizers which significantly improved the endurance, growing and constitution of trees and harvests ( Baum & A ; Gruda, 2012 ) . We are able to bask the shadiness of oaks, decorate Christmas trees, and eat delightful blueberries all thanks to the benefits from the concealed universe of mycorrhizal Fungis, a universe that helps to prolong the endurance of about all of the earth’s land workss. Decision– Symbiosis is a alone relationship exhibited between two beings where they live together in a close association. The two beings would work together and exchange foods to guarantee each individual’s endurance. The mutualism between legume workss and Rhizobium provide us humans a important and yet low-cost beginning of protein. The mutualism between vascular workss and mycorrhizae has a enormous impact on the well-being of many ecological procedures due to the fact it supports the endurance of the earth’s huge land workss. We are able to bask many things in our life all thanks to symbiotic relationship amongst these microbic beings. I personally feel that many of us have gotten so busy with carry throughing our wonder towards outer infinite that we have forgotten to appreciate what are concealed underneath the land. Another philosophical takeout from composing this research paper is that I have learned the value of mutuality. None of us are born perfect, a nd it might be better if we can swear and trust on one another in society for endurance and to boom as people. For case, if I’m inadequate at making certain things, I can possibly inquire my friend to assist me out, and in exchange I can assist him or her with something that she is non good at. Therefore, I believe that by working together hand in glove and collaboratively, we can optimise our consequences and accomplish astonishing things that we otherwise would non be able to accomplish by ourselves entirely. Mentions Baum C. , EL-Tohamy W. & A ; Gruda N. ( 2012 ) . Increasing the productiveness and merchandise quality of vegetable harvests utilizing arbuscular mycorrhizal Fungi.Scientia Horticulturae,187, 131 – 141. Brady N. C. & A ; Weil R. R. ( 2010 ) .Elementss of the Nature and Properties of Soils, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Ingham R. E. , Trofymow J.A. , Ingham E.R. & A ; Coleman D.C. ( 1985 ) . Interactions of Bacteria, Fungi, and their Nematode Grazers: Effectss on Nutrient Cycling and Plant Growth.Ecological Monographs,55,( 1 ) , 119-140. Lugtenberg J.J. B. , Weger A.L. & A ; Bennett J.W. ( 1991 ) . Microbial stimulation of works growing and protection from disease.Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2, ( 3 ) , 457 – 464. Long R. S. ( 2004 ) . Rhizobium-legume nodulation: Life together in the resistance.Cell,56, ( 2 ) , 203-214. Peters J.W. , Fisher K. & A ; Dean D.R ( 1995 ) . Nitrogenase construction and map: a biochemical-genetic position.Annual Review of Microbiology, 49, 335-366. Smith S. E. , & A ; Read D. J ( 2008 ) .Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Third Edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ( 2015 ) .The Soil Phosphorous Problem. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php? idinformationmodule=1130447043 & A ; topicorder=3 & A ; maxto=15 & A ; minto=1 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ( 2015 ) .Nitrogen as a Food. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php? idinformationmodule=1130447042 & A ; topicorder=2 & A ; maxto=8

Fast Food Essay

Junk food is being blamed for causing many undesirable problems to children. It is referred to any food that is low nutritional value such as instant noodles, potato chips and chocolate bars. Takeaway foods, pre-packaging meals and sugary snack food are also included as junk food (Trab 2005). In response to the problem, I strongly believe that the sale of junk food should be banned. The first reason why junk food should be banned is because it causes behavioral problems in children (Caputo 2005). Most of them contain chemical additives to enhance flavor and colour and to increase shelf life. Furthermore, junk food has a lot of flavor as it is typically high in fat, salt, or sugar and commonly containing synthetic flavor enhancer (Smith 2005). These additives have been shown to cause the behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and pour concentration. Based on a research, it is proven that junk foods are often loaded with chemical additives which can trigger behavioral problems (Caputo 2005). Secondly, junk food is to be said as the major contributor to litter problems. The fast food packaging causes litter problems which is a safety and health hazard, increases cleaning costs and reflects bad image to our communities (Smith 2005). Cans, crisp packets, cartons and plastic container are among of them and are everywhere (Green 2005). By reducing the sale of junk foods, litter problem in schools can be redressed (Smith 2005) as many junk foods are sold in school canteen. As a result of the reduction, the school grounds man doesn’t have to spend so long cleaning and has more time to spend on maintenance projects that benefit the school (Green 2005). Lastly, junk foods need to be banned because they are unhealthy diet because they are lack in nutritional value (Health Foundation 2005). The nutritional value of food eaten by Australian children has been falling progressively over the past 30 years and this can be linked directly to the increased availability and consumption of junk food (Tran 2005). Examples of the junk food that is low in nutritional value are biscuits, cookies, chips.

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Management - Essay Example As much as they try to deal with one culture in another country, they still experience others as they venture into other markets in search for cheap labor and raw materials. There are different moral standards within the countries, which brings challenges to the operation of multinational companies. Because of this, successful multinational companies require to solve these ethical issues to maintain their stability towards realizing the organizational goals. Ethical Issues Traditional Small-Scale and Large Scale Bribery Most of the developing countries lack strict laws to minimize bribery of the public officials. This is a contradictory to the practices by the developed countries where bribery is offense and punishable by law. In the developing countries, multinational companies experience ethical issues as they are forced to bribe foreign officers in exchange of the violation of the official duties. Foreign officers need bribes to offer services which they are meant to perform. This also implies in a case when the multinational companies fails to comply with certain provision and are forced to give bribery as a justification or failure. Similarly, multinational companies have to give hefty bribes in order to influence the making of policies or in case of a violation (MacDaniel, Hair & Lamb & 2007, 72). The issues of bribery are very rampant in the developing countries unlike in the developed countries where most of the multinational companies base. Because of this, theses corporations are operating in a dilemmas which they need to find a solution. Pricing Developing countries are characterized by unfair pricing and questionable invoicing where the buyer request for invoice showing a different price from the actual price of the product or service delivered. The regimes fix the corporation prices in order to face off local competition. The companies also dump their prices to below their mother countries and engage in the business practices, which are illegal in their home countries but are legal in their host country (Rendtorff, 2009, 436). These practices in pricing raise the ethical issues in which the multinationals companies operates in the host countries. As much as they want to remain relevant and capture the market share, they are forced to indulge in unethical activities to remain relevant to the laws and regulation governing business activities in the host country. Any corporation that wants to remain successful has to find a way of dealing with these ethical issues without being victim to the host nation by not complying with the law. However much it may pose a challenge more so when operating in a new business environment, the multinational companies have to strive, and do their best in managing their corporations to enable them meet their goals. Legal Issues Multinational companies face legal issues in their host countries different from their mother countries. Different countries operate under certain laws and vary depending w ith the framework in which the government requires them to operate. The legal challenges may come with undefined way of doing things that cause the company to close its operations or continue operating under inflexible and strict laws minimizing its full potential. In many cases, Legal issues affect the company in terms of penetrating the inner market and its relation with its stakeholders. Legal issues are binding and meant to influence the organization towards a certain direction.

Teens and young adults covet certain brand-name clothing because they Essay

Teens and young adults covet certain brand-name clothing because they believe it promotes a particular image - Essay Example The brand image is a key factor that determines the success in marketing a brand. The image helps products associated with a particular brand to stand out from competing products. A good brand creates a connection with the customer as the sole total solution to the customer’s wants. It positions itself as being the consumer’s first choice. This essay will outline the role of companies and their consumers in branding. By means of examples, it will seek to establish who drives a brand image. Company role in branding Brands like Coca Cola, Gillette, Pepsi and Adidas are successful all over the world. This success and positive reception by the consumers can be attributed to quite a number of roles played by the companies. Strategic marketing, with an objective and a target audience is essential in developing a positive brand image. A key example is Adidas’ association with sports. Adidas has over the years sponsored sports competitions such as the Adidas Championship Football and hence increased its brand’s visibility. Adidas also place big sized shoes at public places. These Adidas branded shoes increase the company’s visibility and hence a stronger brand image. A simple slogan and company symbol are also essential in creating a permanent association to the brand by the consumer. Symbols such as Adidas’ three blue stripes and Nike’s tick are easily recognizable. These two symbols are associated with sports in the eyes of the consumer (Philip 2006). Building a strong brand image also entails endorsements and association with the right persons. Association with well known, successful and trusted personalities increases the chances of a brand having an edge over its competitors. Association with well known persons may give the customer a sense of security on a product and a feeling of attachment to the star. This is especially true when the consumer is a fan of the endorser. Such endorsements come mostly from sports pe rsonalities, such as Jordan’s endorsement for Nike. David Beckham and Zinadine Zidane, two legendary football stars remind one of Adidas. Along with these roles, manufacturing quality products that satisfy consumers’ needs, having a good public reputation as a company and delivering promises on a product helps create a strong brand image (Philip 2006). The brand name Adidas is easy to recall. It stands out from competitors’ names and the logo is easily noticeable. This creates a distinct identity hence image of Adidas on consumers. Adidas has dedicated resources to aid in optimization of its products so as to be able to deliver the best sportswear and equipment a sportsperson can access. This has led to production of quality products and hence reinforced Adidas’ brand image in sports. Adidas CEO, Adi Dassler ensures personal presence at important sports functions thereby creating a connection between him and consumers. This earns Adidas consumer loyalty a nd more attachment to the brand (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 2006) Consumers’ role in branding The consumer’s role in branding cannot pass un-noticed by companies. Consumers have needs and expectations on a product. They tend to choose the product which meets their needs and fulfils their expectations. With online forums and social networking sites, consumers can discuss and rate various brands of a product. The shared opinions form an image of the respective brands to new consumers. This image governs the new consumers’

Extra Cridets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Extra Cridets - Essay Example Extra Credits was first viewed on The Escapist from 2010 to 2011. It was developed in 2008. This was the time when Floyd came up with two video presentations (Harris 118). The presentations were meant for media theory and respective art history classes. The classes were held at Savannah College, a school of art and design. The series of videos in Extra Credit are presented in a loosely modeled style. The director of the video, Floyd, makes use of pitch-shifting technique to come up with a unique and high-pitched voice. Portnow wrote the episode scripts for Extra Credits. Floyd then redefined the scripts for recording. Floyd also edited the video series. The show in Extra Credit is presented in a lecture hall style. The tone of the series in the film is humorous and light-hearted. However, the tone is also didactic since it is aimed at raising discussions on the major subject being presented. The shows in Extra Credit target game designers (Harris

Business Synoptic 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Business Synoptic 1 - Essay Example This has been described in detail in the diagram elucidating a close linkage between the concepts. The diagram below helps to understand the linkage between the strategic management and the management accounting. Evidence Link between Strategic management and Management Accounting Accounting plays a vital role in the calculation of the product and to measure the profitability of the customers. In the figure above, it can be seen that the supply chain management of the company which is a strategic management concept can be linked to the customer focused accounting which on the other hand is a management accounting concept. The link between the two concepts is evident in the form of increased sales, profitability and productivity. The strategic decision making process incorporates a customer focus in order to guide value creation and delivery decisions. It is useless to supply the goods and services if the organisation is not able to create value in the minds of the customers. The mana gement accounting techniques involve efficiency measures and control which help the organisation to analyse the performance of the suppliers and the abilities of the company. It is worth noticing that the supply chain management consists of each of the link in the whole supply chain, starting from the producer to the consumers. In case of horizontal organisation, the use of various management accounting techniques such as target costing, life cycle costing, consumer focused accounting, theory of constraints, balance scorecard and activity based cost management techniques are evident. The overall activity of the supply chain can be aligned with the wants and needs of the customers in order to satisfy both the organisations as well as the customers. If the company’s supply chain is customer focused then the company as a whole will be benefited. Based upon Nestle’s case study, a connection can be formed between the strategic management and the management accounting that e lucidates the firm’s approach in its highly successful growth strategy. It has been argued by the researcher that the organisation that implements the strategic management approaches tend to be at a successful and profitable state. The business that uses the strategic management approaches shows progress in sales, profitability as well as productivity in comparison to the firms which lacked systematic planning activities (Virtual University of Pakistan, n.d.) There are various elements that are involved in Nestle’s competitive strategic management approach. They are ‘situation analysis, the strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation’. The competitive strategy of Nestle is associated with foreign direct investment in both the businesses namely the dairy and food businesses. It has been believed by the company that strengthening their leadership in this market is the most important element of their corporate strategy (Castelarhost,

Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Apple - Essay Example This is a unique technique to apple. It contains a wide range of products that welcomes support from many customers who purchase them. The company is a leading innovator of mobile devices. It enjoys most profits from the sale of mobile technology than other companies. The retail stores ensure a strong customer relationship with the company. High pricing of commodities differentiate it with the prices at Hp. While Hp specializes in manufacture of PCs, apple switched and concentrated on producing mobile devices. Apple enjoys a cost strategy to remain and sustain the market. Their products have a unique technology that enjoys the market share. Despite the high pricing that rocks the market, still the company registers large number of sales. The customers believe that the products are of high quality because of the company’s reputation. This technique puts the company as the second most valued brand in the whole world. Despite the high competition that is in the technology business, apple still uses high pricing as strategy that enables them remain relevant in the

Cases of Age Discrimination in the Workplace Case Study

Cases of Age Discrimination in the Workplace - Case Study Example The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is legislated in order to protect the rights of the employees against discrimination on the basis of age. As defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, â€Å"age discrimination involves treating someone less favorably because of his age†. In accordance with this legislation, the employers must be careful in handling their staff and take into consideration this law particularly when hiring, firing, paying, giving particular work tasks, granting promotions, etc to the employees. Another related law is the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 which particularly protects the rights of the employees to acquire their benefits from their employers.Criswell and Starley, the plaintiffs, filed complaints against Western Air Lines arguing that the airlines’ standard requiring under-age-60 qualification for their pilots violated ADEA. Both the plaintiffs after celebrating their 6oth birthdays applied for rea ssignments as flight engineers the application was denied due to the reasons that the plaintiffs were members of Western Airlines’ retirement plan. In the jury, the defendant attests the complaint explaining the standards as based on BFOQ or bonafide occupational qualification. The airline argued for Western’s enterprise for their passengers’ safe transportation. However, the court’s verdict favors the complainants stating that Westerns’ BFOQ is insufficient as basis of the standard.... In the jury, the defendant attest the complaint explaining the standards as based on BFOQ or bonafide occupational qualification (procon.org). The airline argued for Western’s enterprise for their passengers’ safe transportation. However, the court’s verdict favors the complainants stating that Westerns’ BFOQ is insufficient as basis of the standard. Western Airline appealed again and so the Supreme Court granted review of the case. The hearing follows as the jury reviewed petitioners appeal as backed up by the said company’s intention public safety. In the end however, the petitioners’ claim for implementing under-age-60 standard was regarded reasonable and thus, the case became a landmark for revising ADEA adding BFOQ as exception to the age discrimination act (procon.org). In this case, we see that the court has carefully weighed the respondents and the petitioners claim regarding Age Discrimination Act of 1967. Thus, I agree to the decisi on of evaluating the Airline as exempted kind of business in implementing ADEA. Hazen Paper v. Biggins The plaintiff named Walter Biggins filed a suit against his employer and its two owners accusing them of age discrimination as grounds for his termination (91-1600), 507 U.S. 604 (1993). Biggins, a sixty-two year-old employee, was fired by Hazen Paper Company after almost ten years of employment. Biggins claimed that his termination was clearly unlawful as he was seemingly fired intentionally just weeks before his tenth anniversary in the company; thus, consequently denying him of the company’s pension benefits. In order to prove Beggins’ claim of disparate treatment, he must provide evidence that he was terminated due to his age. However, the

China Goodwill or Badwill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

China Goodwill or Badwill - Essay Example Just as all the rising great powers in the world history does, China will have to take measures in order to survive and secure her position as a super. An increasingly powerful China is most likely going to try to dislodge the threat of the United States out of Asia. One scholar paints a picture of an ideal rising China who is more reasonable, flexible and nonviolent; another draws a dark image of a calculating rising China who is aware of her weaknesses (especially in the military capability), and who is wisely trying to extricate herself from the internal and external threats of these weaknesses so as to secure the commanding position in the global balance of power in the future. In lieu of the principles of debate, Mearsheimer's arguments shine through. He was able to defend his stance by providing public historical accounts of the actions of past powerful nations. However, this does not prove that Brzezinski's view is not well-founded. There are, in fact several scholars who share his notion of a reasonable and powerful China based from the country's present peaceful dealings. But just as Mearsheimer had stated, we cannot know what political reality is going to look like in the year 2025. At present, China's actions possibly is a sincere att empt for peaceful progress but 45 years from now when China has grown powerful and far-reaching, who will be capable of preventing them from trying to dominate Asia, prevent them from dictating the boundaries of acceptable behavior in their region and prevent them from translating their economic strength into military might that could create all sorts of trouble for the current regional hegemon that is the United States As competition in all aspects goes, one dedicated player strategizes and tries to outmaneuver his competitor in order to be on top. China is competing for economic prosperity and the United States is trying to preserve his position as title holder. Conflicts are inevitable. China is a threat to the United States. Goodwill or bad will It depends on the players' future behaviors. There will be inevitable frictions as China's role increases and as Chinese "sphere of influence" develops however, Brzezinski believes many negative consequences that often accompany the rise of new powers can be avoided. True. It is possible in an ideal world. Unfortunately, we are not living in one. Everything depends on the stage players' actions. According to Brzezinski, the current Chinese leaders appear much more flexible and sophisticated than many previous aspirants to great power status and therefore would not follow the path of violence like the past great nations have done. Mearsheimer rebuts that China is expected to act the same way as the US-She will want to maintain regional hegemony to get back Taiwan as well as dominate Asia the way US does Western hemisphere. In his words: Are they more principled, more ethical, less nationalistic or less concerned of their sur vival Mearsheimer believes China is none of these things. In my perspective however, who is Mearsheimer to assume authority over the Chinese leaders' intentions And again I state, China is a threat but the reality of this threat depends on the stage players' future actions. Over a decade ago, China did not enjoy full diplomatic relations with several countries due to border disputes, the June 1989 killing of civilians in Beijing, their public attempt to export their

Clothing and Uniforms School Uniforms Essay Example for Free

Clothing and Uniforms School Uniforms Essay School uniforms are a set of standardized clothes worn primarily for an educational purpose. Uniforms can range from formal to informal. The most popular uniforms include khakis and polo shirts of varying colors. Wearing school uniforms can reduce issues related to students wearing inappropriate clothing. Students are less likely to be ridiculed by others due to the kind of clothes they wear. Uniforms are cost effective and are less expensive than street clothes and wearing uniforms are a positive way to bridge the gap between social classes. We live in a society where appearance is everything which makes kids feel pressured to fit in and dress a certain way. Money plays a big part in the clothing students wear. Not all styles are affordable to everyone. Some students are criticized because they cannot afford the â€Å"name brand† clothes. This makes parents feel pressured to purchase the popular and more expensive clothing just so there kids â€Å"fit in. † Some students may even feel the need to steal to get the â€Å"in† clothes. The average cost of a year’s worth of school uniforms is approximately $200 which is a lot less than name brand clothing. Uniforms can help reduce peer bullying and criticism, since all students are wearing the same thing. It also reduces stress and conflict to look a certain way. The great thing about uniforms are they can be worn for more than one year (if they still fit), making them even more cost effective and less expensive than regular clothes. There are many styles of clothes, some that are appropriate to wear to school and others that are not. Students are influenced by the clothing styles they see on television as well as the styles worn by their mentors and idols. Violence and stereo-typing are big concerns for schools. Clothes play a factor in what people who are part of a gang wear. These gang members wear specific clothing to identify themselves and express their power as well as separate them from other gangs. Uniforms could help cut-down the growth rate of these gangs as they would be harder to recognize which could lead to less interest in them. Generally, uniforms are navy or white shirts and navy or khaki pants. These are pretty neutral colors that are not distracting. More than likely, they are colors a lot of students would where anyway. A lot of the popular styles are navy and khaki, which make uniforms more stylish. Many people think wearing uniforms are uncomfortable and boring. However, uniforms actually unite the school as a whole and promote a team atmosphere. Placing less emphasis on clothes will only increase the entire academic outcome. Wearing school uniforms can benefit students academically, financially, and socially. A person should not be defined by their clothes but by who they are as an individual. I think it would benefit all schools to have a school uniform.

Macro Mechanics Essay Example for Free

Macro Mechanics Essay The first chapter â€Å"Introduction† provides detailed overview of the book content. The author discusses the scope of the book, its goals and objectives, and special attention is paid to chapters’ content. David Ashby, the author of the book, argues that the key task of economy is â€Å"to coordinate the kinds and quantities of goods and services produced with the kinds and quantities that buyers want†. (p. 1) Central government planning is assumed to deal with coordination among monetary capacity and demand for output, whereas the book’s goal is to present how this process is being accomplished in market-oriented economy and in private enterprises. Ashby stresses that, for example, in the USA coordination process is automatic process meaning it doesn’t need government involvement; coordination process has evolved through the changes in interest rates, employment levels, prices and output. Ashby discusses the disturbances that trigger coordination process and highlights peculiarities of the macroeconomic coordination process. Actually, he defines macroeconomics as the study of policy methods for manipulating levels of coordination process; moreover, macroeconomics is the study of key determinants of employment levels, interest rates, prices and outputs. In this respect, the book offers original approach to modern macroeconomic analysis. The author recommends three aggregative magnitudes for examining coordination process: GDP that represents annual rates of national produced goods and services; APE that represents current rate of demand; and ASF that represents the limit imposed on annual purchase of current output. Further, Ashby stresses the importance of studying macroeconomics because it gives an excellent opportunity for becoming more informed choices instead of a voter. Thus, modern person should be able to assess quickly what he future employment prospects are, what the current macroeconomic situation is, and what actions the government can take in crisis situations. The book consists of 16 chapters and several tables that illustrate the nature of economic coordination process and its dependency on twenty-four fundamental relations. Chapter 2 provides extended definition of GDP, how it is measured why it is important for macroeconomic coordination process. Chapter 3 discusses the concept of GDY stressing that it equals GDP, but its key goal is to measure the incomes produced during the national output production. The next chapter highlights the concept of APE and discusses its dependency on employment, output, interest rates and prices. Chapter 5 provides definition of ASF and explains its key fundamentals and its relations with income and interest rates. Chapter 6 discusses the third aggregative multitude – ADF – and examines its relations with ASF. Their interplay is funding adjustment. Chapter 7 and 8 examine the â€Å"microeconomic foundations of the output-price adjustments that commence whenever APE and GDP are unequal†. (p. 6) employment levels, interest rates, prices and output make coordination process function effectively through changes and restoring equality. Chapters 8 and 9 discuss the causes and reasons of inequalities among ASF, APE and GDP identifying inequality situations. Chapters 11 and 12 concentrate on the monetary and fiscal policy used for manipulating the macroeconomic coordination process. Chapter 13 and 14 address induced business cycles, international and foreign trade, income policies. Special attention is paid to policy hurdles that may lead to liquidity traps, macroeconomic inconsistency or timing lags. Chapter 15 examines trade impacts and trade restrictions. The final chapter draws relevant conclusions about macroeconomic coordination, and provides fresh look at exchange rate regimes and exchange rate determination in relation to domestic fiscal and monetary policies. Chapter 2: Summary The second chapter â€Å"Output† provides extended definition of GDP or Gross Domestic Product, prices level indexes, and discusses the ways how to adjust Gross Domestic Product. Ashby writes that a nation has three limited factors of production – resources/and, labor and capital. Firstly, resource/land includes not only the land itself, but also animals, mineral resources, vegetables that are obtained from the land. Secondly, labor resource is human work effort. Thirdly, capital includes everything that refers to producing goods and services as, for example, machines, buildings, tools, processed ingredients and manufactured parts. Ashby writes that production processes â€Å"combine quantities of resources/land, labor, and capital to create a wide variety of goods (i. e. , merchandise) and services†. (p. 10) Nevertheless, the negative moment is that existing technologies and availability o factors limit what the nation is able to produce. Therefore, Gross Domestic Product or GDP is very important for macroeconomic coordination process as it helps to calculate what the nation can produce and what benefit it will give to the nation. GDP is defined as â€Å"the value of the total output of goods and services produced within a country during a year’s time†. (p. 11) The market values are added together for calculating the GDP. In particular, the Department of Commerce puts together the actual average selling prices and the number of units produced. Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that the Department of Commerce has to deduce cost of any foreign materials and services, as well as materials and services that have been measured as GDP of other producer. Ashby writes that â€Å"price shall refer to the market value per unit of the product minus any multiple counting of costs as well as any costs or profits owed to entities outside of the country†. (p. 12) Of course, data problems are immense as calculating GDP is a complicated process even for professionals. No errors are allowed as GDP reflects national stability and economic growth. For example, one of the problems is lack of data and, therefore, some of the products may not be included into GDP calculations. Further, the author writes that cost and market values are not the same. The key difference is profits meaning that market value equal cost value plus profit. This peculiarity should be remembered to avoid errors in calculations. Moreover, problems are associated with unit price as well because for defense, fire, education and policies services no unit price is provided. There is no surprise that the Department of Commerce isn’t allowed to determine the values of either goods or services produced for own use. The Department of Commerce has also to measure the value of the output using prevailing prices. As far as the level of prices and costs are changing, the magnitude of prevailing prices is changing as well challenging accuracy of the calculations. Ashby indicates that â€Å"a suitable measure for the volume of domestic output must change only when the volume of domestic output changes and must change in the same direction and by the same percentage as does the output value†. (p. 14) Finally, price level indexes are used for removing the influence of cost and price changes. It is know that GDP represents the volume of goods and services produced within one year; otherwise, GDP represents the annual the annual rate displaying country’s produced output. Of course, it is necessary to remember that GDP is adjusted value meaning that changes in level prices result in changes in the value of the output. Chapter 3: Summary The third chapter stresses the differences between gross domestic product and gross domestic income. The only source of income is, actually, production. The author mentions that one should not misuse ‘gross domestic product’ and ‘gross domestic income’ as they different concepts. In particular, gross domestic product is the measurement of production, whereas the gross domestic income is the measurement of income. One more moment to remember is that their magnitudes are equal: if gross domestic product is changing, gross domestic income is changing as well in the same amount and in the same direction. Ashby underlines that â€Å"there can be no change in gross domestic income without a matching a change gross domestic product†. (p. 24) Further, the author discusses three important notions in the chapter. Firstly, it is necessary to understand that gross domestic product is measured as the output is produced, and it identifies the values of the products that are expected to be sold either at domestic or foreign markets. It means that some products may appreciate in market values, whereas other may deteriorate awaiting the sale. Therefore, matching adjustments should be definitely made for identifying both gross domestic income and gross domestic product. Secondly, money and income are two different notions; they are not the same thing. Income is defined as the result of money, and money is argued to be a messenger that delivers humans the income. Nevertheless, income can also be received in non-money form as, for example, insurance policies, retirement packages, etc. Interestingly, Ashby recommends distinguishing between ‘people earning income’ and ‘people earning money’. Income is generated by producing goods and services, but income doesn’t generate money. New income is often generated by the old money. Thirdly, Ashby underlines the role that credits are playing in modern economies. The role of credits is critical to economic development and country’s prosperity. Credits give producers an opportunity to produce goods and services, to sell their goods before they are to pay the bills, etc. The chapter highlights the concepts of shared incomes and shared sales. In particular, the author discusses the shares of gross domestic income that are received for producing gross domestic output. The role of specialization is underlined as well. Ashby writes that modern economies of well-developed countries enjoy high standards of living due to specialization. Actually, specialization involves â€Å"structuring production processes in ways that enable workers and machines to restrict their efforts to a small number of tasks for which they are particularly well suited†. (p. 26) However, the key negative moment is that specialization may result in reduced self-sufficiency. Specialization requires earnings to be paid in money form for purchasing goods and services. The author defines federal debt as â€Å"the total of all Treasury securities that have been issued but have not yet matured†. (p. 43) For example, the federal debt of the USA in 2008 was more than $9 trillion. Of course, the debt is huge and the country has to develop fiscal policies to reduce federal debt and to prevent its re-occurrence in the future. Budget deficits may be avoided by levying sufficient tax increases and generating adequate national revenues. Ashby blames federal government for doing nothing to reduce debt balances. As far as the government never pledges collateral, it may borrow any necessary time. Therefore, sovereign federal government can’t go bankrupt. As far as the US is able to borrow, its national debt is increasing and increasing. The tendency is negative because when the time to pay credits comes, what will the government do?

Shaping, Joining and Surface Treatment Analysis

Shaping, Joining and Surface Treatment Analysis MANUFACTURING  PROCESS  SELECTION Introduction: Process selection is a key responsible are in an industry where the specification from the customers is analysed and the suitable process for the desired product is isolated from the other manufacturing processes. This selection process in a company is very important as this determines the futuristic profit for the industry or the quality of the products thats been produced from the plant. In order to analyse the importance and economics of the various processes in manufacturing industry, most of the companies these days uses CES software which explains all the details a company should think about before starting the manufacturing process. CES software details the important information on the history of the materials used for manufacturing process and suitable analysis based on their economics and environmental impact. In this report, from CES mainly, the process universe is analysed based on the three process such as SHAPING, JOINING and SURFACE TREATMENT. Figure 1 CES database with process universe Part 1 Manufacturing processes: From the CES (Cambridge engineering selector) software, process universe database few of the processes were selected and analysed in detail using CES database and the sources outside CES in order to investigate these processes. Joining, Shaping and Surface treatment are the three manufacturing processes that were analysed in this report. JOINING Introduction: This process describes the methods of joining parts together using various tools and methods in order to form certain assemblies which provides useful functions mechanically. At the very beginning joining process was very simple and basic like sewing using threads to stitch clothes, using paper clips, press studs and shoe laces. When it comes to fastening two objects or bodies together, all possible options should be considered in manufacturing processes in industries. Some of the basic classification of joining process are using Adhesives, Fasteners, Mechanical welding and Thermal welding. In industrial manufacturing process, joining process is widely divided into either permanent or non-permanent joining between two objects or surfaces. One of the common process in joining metals is to fasten two parts or castings in order to merge the two surfaces of the objects. Metal objects like body armours were assembled using metal rivets. Before metal welding was introduced, riveting the metals bodies played an important role in joining manufacturing process. BRAZING Brazing is one of the basic methods used to join two pieces of metals together. The process starts with isolating the two parts of steel that are to be brazed and by cleaning the parts using wire wool or emery cloth would remove all the greases on the surfaces. A paste that is made from borax flux powder and water is applied along the joint. This prevents the process of oxidation on the surfaces as this inhibits the brazing procedure being successful. And when the compressor attached to the brazing torch is turned ON, this pressurises the gas and the air, and then the gas-air is turned ON slowly, feeding the gas through the small nozzle and this is then ignited at the end of nozzle using a match. Figure 2 Brazing torch Once the torch is set and the hottest part of the brazing torch (tip of the blue part of the flame) is used to merge the two parts of the steel surfaces. Two pieces of the steel are placed on top of the rotating mount where it is easily accessed from all the directions. In order to lift the steel off the rotating mount, fire bricks are used and hence the heat produced can flow all over the surface rather than on one spot. The surfaces of the steel and the joining metal were given a gentle heat to raise the temperature in order to expand the metal edges and ready for brazing. Figure 3 Brazing process setup The flame is then moved forward and backward in order to focus the hottest part of the flame until the steel part becomes red hot. Then a brazing rod (copper zinc alloy) is then pushed gently along the edges of the steel surfaces and when the temperature is right the rod will melt in the gaps to fill them and merge the metal and steel surfaces. The rod is fed until it runs along the joint is brazed in order to join them together. When this is complete, the steel is allowed to cool slowly by quenching in water because cooling the metal quickly may break or crack the joint or it may become distorted. Figure4heatingprocessFigure 5 Brazed material Types of materials Brazing is the process which is widely used to heat exchangers, bicycle frames, boilers, copper pipes, and pipework fittings and to repair castings and assemble machine parts. Metals, Ceramics and dissimilar materials are normally brazed using this process in industries. A variety of alloys are used in brazing the materials by using the alloys for filtering. Some of the materials that are used as common filters are, Silver Copper Nickel alloy Gold silver Copper silver Aluminium silicon Copper zinc Most commonly, the brazing materials come as in the form of rod, powder, ribbon, paste, wire and preforms such as stamped washers. Characteristics of the components Brazing process will be able to fit within the sectional thickness of range from 0.1mm to 30mm. some might cover the points beyond this range, however, this may affect the increase in cost and time for the process in order to take place. The minimum section thickness is always determined by the process and the materials used within the certain manufacturing companies. Nominal tolerance for the brazing process is in the range from 0.05mm to 0.5mm and the resulting processed materials may be outside the tolerance range but this might affect the time for processing and the cost for the manufacturers. Some accuracy like precision or the surface roughness can be determined by the nature of the process. Economics of the process Brazing can be done manually and by using automated machines which is using the furnace. Generally manual process takes time and using the torch to braze a material requires certain skill level. On the other hand, automated furnace brazing requires no skill and no labour costs. Therefore, this brazing process is cheap and tools are fairly cost worthy as well and it is very economical for small runs in certain companies. Yet this process allows high production rates when the whole process is automated at large or industrial scale. SHAPING Introduction: Shaping is a process that was developed over time from ancient times when machines were involved in manufacturing processes. However, these types of shaping machines are not widely used in the current manufacturing industries although they had very substantial development. This process was used to cut metal tools and other parts in early days on the flat surfaces, yet these were used as a drawback in this times. Shaping produces the flat surfaces by moving a single point in a reciprocating or zigzag motion. The forward stroke is the cutting edge motion and the reverse motion is finished with high velocity motion in order to include the sideways feeding motion. CERAMIC MOLD CASTING Ceramic mold casting is a process which uses high temperatures in order to cast certain parts of machines or even tools, used in various machineries. This process is also like plaster mold casting but instead of using plaster to create metal parts or castings, ceramic casting uses refractory mold materials for casting. In an industrial level the parts used as cutting machinery or metal molds die for metalworking or even the metal impellers can also be manufactured using this type of casting processes. Nature of the process This process kicks off with preparing the platform for pouring the material for molding. A mixture of fine grain ZIRCON (ZrSiO4), aluminium oxide, fused silica, bonding agents and water which creates a ceramic slurry solution for the mold to be dipped in or immersed in this solution. When the mold is set in the slurry solution in the platform, the pattern is then removed and the casted mold is then left off to dry. Then using high flamed torch, the mold is then fired in order to melt or heat off the excess cast around the mold. This firing the mold process will also burn off any unwanted waste materials on the mold and make it rigid and hardened for the future polishing process. In order to add more strength and rigidity the mold is then baked in an oven over a certain time period or even heated in the furnace. The firing process leaves the mold with few cracks and lines which then adding the mold extra permeability and collapsibility for the metal processing that comes later in the industrial scale manufacturing process. Figure 6 ceramic casting process Once the mold was prepared the two halves were then joined together for assembly and be ready to pour the casting or molten material into the molds. The two halves also called as cope and drag section are then backed up with the fireclay materials for additional molding strength. Often in these types of processes in manufacturing industry, the ceramic mold is preheated in the oven in order to pour the molten metal into the cast. The metal casting is poured and let to solidify, in ceramic molding process in industries, like in other expandable mold processes, the ceramic mold is destroyed in the removal process of the metal casting. The ceramic mold itself can be a shell, for small manufacture processing components, or a box less block mold, for large industrial components, or even a composite mold combines both the shell which then backed up with a cheaper material like the large components that are produced in large quantities. The insulating nature of the ceramic mold prevents the molds from decaying or decomposing and prolongs the lifespan of the cycle time however the manufacturing ceramic casting process lends itself to mechanization and rapid output of molds. Types of materials Ceramic casting process plays a vital role in casting metal components such as tools used for forging and extrusion and even die casting. This process also used in the glass production. Some of the materials that has been processed in this way are, Aerospace parts and components Marine fitting tools Propellers for ships and small turbines Complex gearing parts Pumps and valves Pipes and precision machinery parts Impellers Characteristics of the components Mass range for this casting process is from 0.2kg to 50kg of weight and this is determined by the capacity of the casting mold or the caster, the press that the mold undergoes and the machine tools, etc. this can also often be extruded or extended with the help of additional process of fabricating. 1.5mm to 999mm is the range of the sectional thickness of the materials or the casting mold that is being used in the casting process in the industrial scale of manufacturing process. This is determined by the fluid flow in castings or the plastic constraints used in the molding process or the melt flow length in injection molding, etc. this process can generally be further outside the range resulting increase in cost for material and time for the process to take place in an industry. The range of tolerance for this casting process is from 0.38mm to 0.8mm in length or measurement as the achiever tolerance can be refined by secondary machining operations such as precision grinding and polishing in order to remove the extra unwanted materials and keep the accuracy nearly to 100%. 1.6 µm to 3.2 µm is the range of roughness for this process as this is controlled by smoothness of the molds or casting surfaces. Economics of the process Ceramic mold casting is relatively expensive. The tools costs cover a range from small, simple to large, complex molding materials and they vary in size shape and structure. To be able to cast parts at higher accuracy elements eliminates the need for machinery which reduces the cost for automated process but this casting is mainly monitored with watchful eyes and that increases labouring costs and training men in different aspects of skills development. The long preparation time taken in molds increasing makes the manufacturing production rates at very low intervals and increasing demands for new molds with certain improvements. SURFACE TREATMENT Introduction: Surface treatment can be used in various ways in order to clean or polish the surface of the materials using various techniques. This includes polishing or grinding the metals as well as smoothening the outer surface of the body of the materials used in manufacturing. Surface treatment of the metals involves the creation of a barrier that can protect the metal parts like a wall around the body in order to prevent corrosion or other chemical or environmental damages. The surface layer forming on a metal that is scheduled for chemical coating is created due to a chemical reaction which is non electrolytic in nature in order to achieve great and precision results in industrial manufacturing process. GRINDING Grinding is a slow process that polishes the surface of a material yet not removing a large sized part from the object or cutting the big edge off the material. In the past, this process was only used to machining processes or final dimension accuracy treatments by finishing the surface of the materials. But the developed or renowned new processes are changing the thought process thats been used over the years of time. Utilizing new grinding techniques, incredible material removal rate has increased up to 300mm3/smm, which is equal to 28 cubic inches per minute. This process allows the tough edges in aerospace markets, where the materials are made up of tough alloy or nickel to be removed and polished. Nature of the process Grinding process normally associated with the tools thats been used in the process of grinding. A grinding tool is used to grind down or polish metals or glass surfaces. Grinder is more like a sander which uses the abrasive surface of the grinder to remove the minute particles on the materials. Grinding process actually sharpens the wheel that is attached to the grinder by braking those particles and creating new grinding points in the wheel. A grinding wheel is made from several chemical and mineral ingredients, this composition of particles may vary according to the purpose of the wheel that is used in the industry like whether to grind metals or polish ceramic glasses. Figure 7 bonding particles in grinding wheel making process For metals they use the grinding wheel made from aluminium oxide granules to create that very abrasive surface of the wheel. For non-metals components, silicon based particles are used in the making of surface of the grinding wheels. These particles are added in weighed scales and by using resin bonding agents these particles are then bonded in shape to form the grinding wheels which are then used in the grinders for appropriate uses. Figure 8 grinding process with grinding wheels Types of materials Grinding also used to cut hardened steel, which produces very smooth surfaces. Surface pressure is minimum in grinding, which is suitable for light or small works that will spring away from the cutting tool in the other machining processes. It can be classified into rough and precision grinding. Rough grinding eliminates the primary layer of the materials that are with the huge or big part of the edges and extra addition of materials. This prepares the materials for further grinding with precision and increased accuracy. Surface grinding uses a rotating abrasive wheel to remove material which creates a flat surface. Pistons, pins, gears and shafts are some of the materials prepared by this grinding process. Rivets, valves and pipe fittings and lenses and mirrors for precision optical equipment. Characteristics of the components Surface smoothness of the materials used under grinding process achieve the high precision. The maximum temperature attained during this process is ranges from 70 to 370 C, this is due to the interaction between the grinding wheel and the material that is being grinded in the process. Unfortunately, the grinding process does not even out all parts of the material which indicates whether the treatment reaches its maximum precision level. At this process the curved surface coverage is very poor. Economics of the process The tools used for grinding process are fairly cheap and affordable. This is for manual polishing tools only with the approximate range of price from capital cost being  £90 to  £1000 and tooling cost ranges from  £8 to  £200 however this results in the production rates being very low as this is a manual process. Automatic machining processes can be expensive for both capital (ranges from  £1800 to  £1,000,000) and tooling machines (ranges from  £900 to  £10,000) but this shows higher production rates in manufacturing. PART 2 In depth case study analysis Using CES software the following charts are drawn and one of the given case study is analysed with the help of CES software. Manifold Jacket Figure 9 Manifold Jacket hollow 3D model The part shown above is called manifold jacket, is used in aerospace shuttles and vehicles. This component is made from nickel and it weighs about 7 Kg as this is a large 3D hollow dimensioned component it has a thickness of 2 5 mm with a precision tolerance of 0.1 mm. In this process of manufacturing case study, we only going to manufacture 10 units as this limited usage in the industry. Table 1 design requirements Manifold Jacket Material class selection Mass range Vs Material class The required material for this manifold jacket comes from a non-ferrous alloy. The chart below explains the class of materials fall in the range from 5 to 10 Kg of mass range of the chosen material (Non-ferrous alloy). From CES software the chart was created by labelling Y-Axis (Mass range Kg) and X-Axis (Material class Non-ferrous alloys). Then certain range as given above (5 to 10 Kg) was isolated using the box tool and the processes that satisfies the approximate length and mass are then labelled in the chart. The box in the chart isolates the processes which can shape these alloys and can handle the desired mass range of 5 10 Kg. Mass range was the Y axis and it was selected from the Process universe > Shaping > Mass range from the chart dialog box. Material class on the X-axis was chose from the advanced features and under Tree > Material universe > Metals > Non-ferrous alloys. In order to choose the limit to isolate the required process selection, a box was drawn in the chart body and right clicked on to Properties > Specified range 5 10 Kg in under the mass range sub heading. Then the chart was then zoomed in according to label the processes. By clicking and dragging on each of the coloured lines the desired processes can be identified. Chart 1 mass range VS nonferrous alloy Thickness Vs Shape class The chart below shows the relationship between the range of section thickness of the chosen materials and to see which processes can produce a 3D hollow shape of the material with transverse features. The chart was plotted by choosing range of thickness for Y-axis and hollow 3D with transverse features on the X-axis. By selecting Chart > Y axis > Range of section Thickness was selected in order to plot the graph and X axis > Advanced > Tree > Shape > 3D shaping > Transverse features. A box was marked in the chart by selecting box tool in order to isolate the processes that are capable of making that desired 3D hollow feature with the transverse feature as well. This box was in the range of section thickness from 2 mm to 5 mm. the processes outside the desired range are in different colour since these processes failed to produce the desired results within the certain limitation and ranges specified by the manufacturing company or industry. Chart 2 range of section thickness VS hollow 3D with transverse features Tolerance Vs Primary shaping process The process selection chart below refers to the interaction between the tolerance that the selection process can have and the trueness of the primary shaping process that is responsible for the formation of this manifold jacket. This chart was plotted using CES by selecting Chart from the process universe and under Shaping process > Y axis > Tolerance (mm) and on the other hand for X axis > Primary shaping process was selected on the same dialog box as both are under shaping process sub heading. Few processes that can be used to make this product within the limited tolerance and accuracy of the ranges are then isolated from the chart using a box tool and drawing the box for only the processes that can satisfy which means whatever lies on the box after TRUE phase and the applicable tolerance was specified. The tolerance level for these processes ranges from 0.1 mm and whatever above this tolerance and belong to the true phase then these processes can be used to manufacture the desired product with the possible tolerance output. Chart 3 tolerance VS primary shaping processes Economics Vs Discrete The chart below was plotted against the Economics of the batch size of 10 units thats been produced from the manufacturing processes. This chart explains the cost for the manufacturing process and see how much this process cost for the company would in order to produce 10 units of the desired products. Using the box tool from CES, 10-unit scale was isolated from the chart and the processes which can produce the certain amount of products are labelled outside the chart. Economics batch size in units is plotted in Y axis by selecting form Chart > Y axis > Economics batch size and for the X axis from the shaping process universe > X axis > Discrete was selected. Only the true section of the chart which can produce the desired materials can be isolated and units of 10 were boxed in order to see which processes can achieve this manufacturing process. Table 2 processes of the manifold jacket Chart 4 economics of the batch size VS discrete Methodology and conclusion Before even the part was made, it was important to meet the customer requirements and produce a report on how the production is going to take place and how this might satisfy the customers needs in order to make the production more efficient and effective. To make Manifold jackets it seems that Electroforming and investment casting are the right processes with the suitable economics and even for small number of units the casting works out just fine. These types of products are used in small number of units such as in aerospace vehicles and shuttles therefore it doesnt have to be produced in vast quantities. But in order to produce in bulk operations this process could cost very high and more expensive when it comes to the process being automated as the machines for these types of processes could cost effective and hard to maintain. If the process is manual this could cost much worthy for the company as in training staffs and more labour could result in expensive treatments. When it comes to large scale production of the desired products Electroforming is the only solution and for the manual process side, Investment casting emerged as a suitable solution. However, before any of these decisions been made, a brief analysis of the investment and profit report such as a cost analysis report is advisable in order to proceed with the project in future. And the analysis from the labours also advised in order to maintain a constant and continuous production in line in the factory in near future. PART 3 Environmental Impact of Process Selection ECO AUDIT TOOL To evaluate the environmental impact of the designed product and to analyse the ways to reduce this effect on the environment, ECO-AUDIT tool in CES software is used. This concept is achieved by focusing on energy usage and CO2 footprint of the materials used in the process of manufacturing. The product design forms the objective for the methods used and this resulted from a class of material selection. The objective is dependent on both product application and dominant phase, when the use phase is dominant the objective for a car would be minimize mass, whereas for a boiler, it would be to minimise thermal loss from the manufacturing process. Eco audit tool helps us to perform small or large quick audit before even we begin the report. This part of the CES software helps you to track and focus on the environmental requirements and simple and quantitative reports are being produced in order to demonstrate the compliance. This way it saves money by identifying the early stage corrections and before even the resources were submitted. Methodology of ECO Audit tool The methodology system in ECO audit helps us to easily interact with the tools and get some environmental impact of the manufacturing processes or the materials used for the manufacturing process quickly and effectively. This way you can track the product sustainability, comply with the customers target or the companys and even help us with more ideas in order to improve the design for manufacturing. If the goal is to minimise the environmental impact of the processes performed in the environment we need a quick and effective means of valuable report in order to judge the performance or the quantitative assessment. The whole processes in the ECO audit methodology can be summarised by the following image which clearly explains the steps and analysis of the process. Figure 10 methodology of ECO Audit process Advantages It helps us to make quick and early decisions based on the corrections and solutions given by the eco audit tool and this saves the company a plenty of time and money by identifying the mistakes in early designs and early stages. In order to use this software, the company or the industrial personnel does not need a specific knowledge therefore this product can be used across the company by anyone making this software more accessible for everyone and engineers can be supported by this software and take advantage by using this to make changes in their environmental audition report. It also helps the company to demonstrate the progression towards sustainability goals thats been set or achieved for the customers and some of the investors from other companies and sectors through benchmarks and some other better quantitative measures made. Case study Glass bottle We are trying to find out all the information regarding this product. For this we can use ECO audit tool which can tell us about the life cycle of this product, transport and uses for this product. This tool also clarifies the information for the energy consumed by this product and the CO2 emission for this product. We now analyse the design and the materials used in order to form this bottle including the cap of the bottle and also analyse where the bottle actually transported from and the net weight of the product or the balance weight that this product can maintain. Product manufacture The name of the product is Glass bottle with the aluminium cap that can be filled with 1 litre of mineral water which could also mean that the net weight of the materials and the whole product is 1Kg. Table 3 materials in manufacturing the product All the materials that the bottle was made up of can be recycled which indicates that the whole product is very Eco friendly and very beneficial to the environment. Transport The bottle itself was manufactured in France and it has been transported 550 km to UK with the help of

Luxembourg :: essays research papers fc

Location Luxembourg is located in Europe and is bordered by Belgium, Germany and France. On a map, it is located at 50 N latitude and 6 E longitude. Luxembourg is very small. It is only 998 square miles, which is roughly the size of Orange County, California. All the country is inhabited, with most people living in the southern part. The Flag The flag of Luxembourg was adopted in 1845. The colors come from the Coat of Arms of Luxembourg and are red, white and blue. The flag is simply three horizontal stripes from top to bottom. The Land and People Luxembourg has two distinct regions. The Ardennes, or northern region, is mountainous. The Bon Pays, or southern region, is mostly fertile farmland. The climate is cool and moist, with snow in the mountains. There are rich deposits of iron ore creating many jobs in the steel industry. There is also fertile farmland to the south, also creating many jobs in farming. The people of Luxembourg have no native costume. They borrow much of their culture from Belgium, Germany, and France. Today, modern Luxembourgers dress like other Europeans. The people of Luxembourg like to eat smoked pork and beans, and sometimes saurkraut. Smoked ham is available all year round, and pastries are a Luxembourg favorite. Some of these pastries include rolls, muffins, cupcakes, and a special dry cake translated "Random Thoughts". Luxembourg makes beer and wine which is sold there and in other nearby countries. The buildings in Luxembourg vary from place to place. Some villages have charming old houses hundreds of years old, though in the cities there are many modern apartment and office buildings. For recreation, a Luxembourger might ride a bike, or hike in the countryside. A favorite sport of the people is volleyball. For transportaion they have railroads and highways for cars and buses. There are bike trails and hiking paths as well. Luxembourg doesn't have a culture all its own, because it ties in with its neighboring countries, Belgium, Germany, and France. The natural resources of Luxembourg are: iron ore, which is processed into steel, farm products such as wheat, corn and livestock, and grapes which are grown for winemaking. Technology The main industries of Luxembourg are steel and winemaking. Farming is also an important industry, especially with such crops as corn, wheat and livestock. The steel is exported and crops are exported, as well as used in Luxembourg. Also the wine made in Luxembourg is exported and sold there. Culture There is a lot of culture in Luxembourg. There are many art galleries featuring work from the expressionist painter, Joseph Kutter, and also that of Edward Steichen, a well

Race and the Death Penalty Essays -- Capital Punishment Race African-A

The death penalty is one of the most controversial issues on American soil. Blacks are more likely to face the death penalty than whites in the commission of identical crimes(CNN, 2014). The history of capital punishment dates back to the days before Christ. The Old Testament adage 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,' has survived throughout the ages despite the New Testament's rendition of 'thou shall not kill'. Today's American victims endure a more demure of style of cruel and unusual punishment; death by lethal injection has replaced the barbaric traditions of the past. Statistics prove that for many years the death penalty has fallen disproportionately on racial minorities in the United States. For example, since 1930 nearly 90% of those executed for the crime of rape in this country were African-Americans, and currently, about 50% of those on the nation's death rows are from minority populations representing only 20% of this country's population. Nearly 40% of those executed since 1976 have been black, even though blacks constitute only 12% of the population. And in almost every death penalty case, the race of the victim is white. Of the 229 executions that have occurred since the death penalty was reinstated, only one has involved a white defendant for the murder of a black person (Race and the Death Penalty, 2003). Does this mean that minorities are inherently criminals, or is there an undercurrent of racial segregation affecting the views of the majority in our society? T.V. shows, such as Cops, often depict persons of color as the criminal ele ment, reinforcing the myth that minorities are to be feared. Blacks are sentenced to jail and the death penalty more often that any other minority in America. As the national inmate population has increased in recent decades, the impact of these changes on minority communities has been particularly dramatic. Two-thirds of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities, and for black males in their twenties, one in every eight is in prison or jail on any given day. Moreover, black males born today have a one in three chance of going to prison during their lifetime, compared to a one in seventeen chance for white males. These trends have been exacerbated by the impact of the "war on drugs," with three-fourths of all drug offenders being persons of color, far out of proportion to thei... ...people and it should be abolished. References Author Unknown (2015) Race and the Death Penalty, ACLU. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. https://www.aclu.org/race-and-death-penalty Author Unknown (1994, March) Racial Disparities in Federal Death Penalty Prosecutions 1988-1994 [Online], Available: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article. Beal, F. (2004, October) Criminal Justice Racism Verified in Recent Studies, Available: www.blackradicalcongress.org/ comm/chronicles Fessenden, Ford. 2000. Deadly Statistics: A Survey of Crime and Punishment. The New York Times September 22, 2000. Available: www.nytimes.com Goertzel, T. (2004, July) Capital Punishment and Homicide: Sociological Realities and Econometric Illusions, Available: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article. Kalogeras, S., & Mauer, M. (2004, May) The Sentencing Project: Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System, Available: http://www.sentencingproject.org/ Rovella, D. (1998, June 8) Race Pervades Death Penalty, Available: www.picard.tnstate.edu/~cmcginnis/RacePervadesDeathPenalty.htm Staff, CNN. "Death Penalty Facts That May Surprise You." CNN. Cable News Network, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

Condoleezza Rice Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

Condoleezza Rice Not many people can add the position of National Security Advisor to their list of achievements, especially if those people are women. Condoleezza Rice, however, can place the accomplishment right up there with being a previous member of President Bush’s foreign-policy team, and tenured professor and provost in the political science department of the prestigious Stanford University. Rice is well known for her knowledge on Russian history and current events. After growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during a time of racial segregation, Rice soon went on to graduate from the University of Denver at the age of 19 (she skipped two grades), where she became an expert in the issues of the Soviet Union. She also received two advanced degrees in political science. With a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies, she soon found herself a provost and professor at Stanford, only to be drawn away by a life in politics. In Washington, D.C., Rice worked on nuclear strategic planning with the Council on Foreign Relations fellowship at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After returning to Stanford, she soon found herself back in the political spotlight. President George Bush, in 1989, trusted Rice to the point of allowing her to aid in Russian policy and relations. Rice became the director of Soviet and East European affairs with the National Security Council, special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Soviet affairs in the National Security Council. In essence, Rice helped Poland receive needed reforms, as well as helped with policies between the United States... ...ck and female, the world suddenly takes notice. â€Å" There aren't too many females in this business, she was really an exception in this almost 100-percent-male crowd -- which may be one of the reasons she earned the reputation of being tough," said Sergei Rogov, director of the Russian Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies in Moscow, who has known Rice for nearly two decades. Condoleeza Rice has been a member on the boards of directors for the Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Chevron Corporation, the University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan and the San Francisco Board of Governors. She also has invested time working on various political books, such as â€Å"Germany Unified and Europe Transformed,† â€Å"The Gorbachev Era,† and â€Å"Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army.† Condoleezza Rice Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays Condoleezza Rice Not many people can add the position of National Security Advisor to their list of achievements, especially if those people are women. Condoleezza Rice, however, can place the accomplishment right up there with being a previous member of President Bush’s foreign-policy team, and tenured professor and provost in the political science department of the prestigious Stanford University. Rice is well known for her knowledge on Russian history and current events. After growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during a time of racial segregation, Rice soon went on to graduate from the University of Denver at the age of 19 (she skipped two grades), where she became an expert in the issues of the Soviet Union. She also received two advanced degrees in political science. With a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies, she soon found herself a provost and professor at Stanford, only to be drawn away by a life in politics. In Washington, D.C., Rice worked on nuclear strategic planning with the Council on Foreign Relations fellowship at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After returning to Stanford, she soon found herself back in the political spotlight. President George Bush, in 1989, trusted Rice to the point of allowing her to aid in Russian policy and relations. Rice became the director of Soviet and East European affairs with the National Security Council, special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Soviet affairs in the National Security Council. In essence, Rice helped Poland receive needed reforms, as well as helped with policies between the United States... ...ck and female, the world suddenly takes notice. â€Å" There aren't too many females in this business, she was really an exception in this almost 100-percent-male crowd -- which may be one of the reasons she earned the reputation of being tough," said Sergei Rogov, director of the Russian Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies in Moscow, who has known Rice for nearly two decades. Condoleeza Rice has been a member on the boards of directors for the Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Chevron Corporation, the University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan and the San Francisco Board of Governors. She also has invested time working on various political books, such as â€Å"Germany Unified and Europe Transformed,† â€Å"The Gorbachev Era,† and â€Å"Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army.†