The Sun Also Rises :: Essays papers

The Sun Also Rises "This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper." (T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men) "†¦but a whimper.", Eliot was writing of the Lost Generation. The period after World War I were people were disillusioned, wandering through their life lost, not sure what their goal was. In Ernest Hemmingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises, the Lost Generation and their inability to cope with the change around them is the focus of the novel. The Sun Also Rises is a beautifully written account of a generation lost in an unknown cause that leaves them abandoned in the end. Hemmingway wrote this story in a unique fashion. The book is written with no apparent plot, that is, there are not twists, intrigue, or goals for the characters. The plot is simply the story itself. That is what Hemmingway wanted, he wanted the reader to read this story and recognize the loses and struggles the characters encounter through experiences they had. The Sun Also Rises takes place in France following the First World War. The main character and narrator is Jake Barnes a newspaper reporter and war veteran. His life corresponds directly to that of the Lost Generation, for he is the Lost Generation. Jake lives a very simple life, he gets up and eats, goes to work, goes out with someone for lunch, goes back to work, than goes out with friends to eat supper and drink the night away. Jake's life is very similar to all others of that time; he is not an exception. To prove this Hemmingway shows the bars and restaurants packed at night with people just like Jake and his friends. Jake's long time friend and once lover, Brent Ashley is a very beautiful and unruly woman. She makes her first appearance in the novel as she walks into a bar to meet Jake, she is followed by a group of gay men. This point is very crucial to the novel because it strikes a major point of conflict between Jake and Brett. Jake had suffered an injury in the war and was impotent because of it. Jake is self-conscious of this fact and was very upset when Brett walked in with men that were not impotent and yet failed to take advantage of it.

National Cranberry Cooperative Case

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the current scenario, the major bottlenecks in the system are the drying units for wet berries and the berry separation lines. While the drying units’ capacity can be increased by purchasing additional units, the throughput of the system will still be limited by the limitation of the separation lines. If the average rate of inflow of berries is 1500bbl/hr, then with the effective separation capacity of 1200bbl/hr, the plant will incur a backlog of 300bbl/hr. If the shift start times stay as it is, and the processing divisions start four hours after the receiving division, the truckers toward the end of the day will have to wait, since the cumulative backlog caused by processing will exhaust the bin storage capacity. The wait times for the truckers can be reduced by converting some of the dry bins to wet bins. However, this measure will not completely eliminate the trucker wait times. The best solution is to acquire one additional drying unit and advancing the processing shift from 11AM to 8AM. The backlog per hour of 300bbl/hr (due to the separation unit), will be manageable by the available storage capacity in the bins, even without converting the bins. The truckers will not have to wait to offload the berries. The accumulated backlog of berries can be processed in approximately 3. 75 hours after the end of scheduled 12 working hours. With the new expected ratio of wet to dry berries (7:3), not adding an additional drying unit will require the plant to work 9 extra hours to eliminate the backlog. The cost benefit of adding the additional drying unit and advancing the shift start time are higher than the cost benefit of other options considered. THE COMPANY The Receiving Plant I (RPI) of National Cranberry Cooperative (NCC) processes both wet and dry cranberries in a highly mechanized process involving 400 workers during peak season. The processed berries are sold in bulk and bags. PROBLEM STATEMENT NCC is currently wrestling with both runaway overtime costs as well as long waiting time for delivery trucks. PROCESS FLOW The process flow diagram is attached as Exhibit A ANALYSIS From Figure E in the case Delivery begins at 7 AM Processing begins at 11 AM Average Truck per day20/ hour Average load per truck75 bbl Average load per hour1500 bbl Expected split between dry and wet typesDry -30% Wet- 70% Cranberries Delivered Wet768600 Dry1065420 Color 134460 Color 2401080 Color 31398480 Total Pounds1834020 Total No. of trucks243 Time Interval729 Average Truck per day243/12 = 20 per hour Plant capacity and demand ReceivingDryWetTotal Average Receiving per hour (bbls)45010501500 Accumulated berries during 4 hour period (bbls)180042006000 Maximum bin storage capacity (bbls)400032007200 Excess/ Shortage (bbls)2200-10001200 Destone/ Dechaff/Dry Maximum Destoning capacity per hour(bbls)450004500 Excess/ Short over average receiving rate per hour(bbls) for destoning 405004050 Maximum Deschaffing capacity per hour(bbls)150030004500 Excess/ Short over average receiving rate per hour(bbls) for deschaffing 105019503000 Maximum Drying Capacity per hour(bbls)0600600 Excess/Shortage over average receiving rate per hour(bbls) for drying (=600-1050)0-450-450 Quality GradingCombined for Dry & Wet Average Separator line capacity per hour(bbls) (3Ãâ€"400)1200 Average receiving by separator line (600 wet + 450 dry)1050 Average receivings when there are no bottlenecks in the system1500 Excess/ Short over average receiving rate per hour(bbls)-300 1. While the receiving starts at 7. 00 am, the processing starts at 11. 00 am (from Figure E in the case). Accumulated wet berries till the plant starts (1100) is 4200 bbl, about 1000 more than the capacity of wet storage bin. This is the first bottleneck in the system which would cause morning queues of the delivery trucks. This shortage could be eliminated by converting some of the dry bins to wet bins. However, as will be seen, the downstream bottlenecks will still cause the converted bin capacity to be wanting. 2. There are two limitations on throughput for Receiving Plant 1. For wet cranberries, throughput is limited by the Dryer capacity to 600 bbl/hr. In terms of total throughput of RP1, the limitation is on separating capacity at 1200 bbl/hr. At the drying unit, the total processing rate of wet berries falls short of the arrival rate (1050 bbl/hr) by 450 bbl/hr. The solution is to either increase the overtime hours, purchase additional dryers or a combination of both. Option I: No dryers are purchased and overtimes are added: Total received per day (12 hrs)Accumulation till 7. 00 pm if processing start at 11. 00 amProcessing in a day (12 hrs)Additional hours reqd #Additional overtime cost* per peak Peak Season (09/20 – 10/9) wet12x1050=126004200+8*450=7800600Ãâ€"12= 72009 hours for processing USD 9*36*6*20= 38880 dry12x450=54001800 + 8*0=1800600Ãâ€"12= 72000 hours # (shortfall in wet berry processing capacity/processing speed) (12600-7200)/600= 9 hours * staff need to be hired in shipping(15 workers for one additional hour), dechaffing (one worker), milling(15) and shipping units (20) ** overtime charges @ USD 6. 00 per worker per hour Thus dry berries are processed in full while there is considerable backlog in wet berries which will necessitate 9 hours of overtime but still would not able to avoid truckers’ queues. If the some of the dry bins are converted to wet bins to maximize the wet capacity to about 5400 bbl, it will reduce the wait times for the truckers, but not completely eliminate it. As a result the receiving department will have to work over their scheduled 12 hour shift. Option II: One dryer is purchased and overtimes are added: Considering that the separator capacity is 1200 bbl/hour, we can at present add only one dryer line which will enhance the drying capacity to 800 bbl / hr. Let us consider a scenario where wet is processed at 800bbl/hr and dry at 400 per hour Total received per day (12 hrs)Accumulation till 7. 0 pm if processing starts at 11. 00 amAccumulation till 7. 00 pm if processing starts at 8. 00 amProcessing in a day (12 hrs)Additional hours reqd #Additional overtime cost* per peak season (09/20 – 10/9) wet12x1050=126004200+8*350=70001050+8*250=3050800Ãâ€"12= 96003. 75$ 810*20 days= $ 16200 dry12x450=54001800+8*50=2200450+8*50= 650400Ãâ€"12= 48000. 00 # (sh ortfall in processing capacity/processing speed) (12600-7200)/600= 9 hours * staff need to be hired in shipping(15 workers for one additional hour), deschaffing (one worker), milling(15) and shipping units (20) ** overtime charges @ USD 6. 0 per worker per hour Thus dry berries are processed in full while there is considerable backlog in wet berries which will necessitate 3. 75 hours of overtime. If we continue to start the processing shift at 11 am we wouldn’t be able to avoid truckers’ queues because of shortage in bin capacity. However, we start the shift at 8. 00 am, this can be avoided to a large extent Option III: No dryers are purchased and overtimes are added: Let us consider another scenario in which wet is processed at 1000bbl/hr (i. e. two additional dryers) and dry at 200 per hour Total received per day (12 hrs)Accumulation till 7. 0 pm if processing starts at 11. 00 amAccumulation till 7. 00 pm if processing starts at 8. 00 amProcessing in a day (12 hrs)Ad ditional hours reqd #Additional overtime cost* per peak season (09/20 – 10/9) wet12x1050=126004200+8*50=46001050+8*50=14501000Ãâ€"12= 120003. 0$ 648*20= $12960 dry12x450=54001800+8*250=3800450+8*250= 2450200Ãâ€"12= 24000. 0 # (shortfall in processing capacity/processing speed) (12600-7200)/600= 9 hours * staff need to be hired in shipping(15 workers for one additional hour), deschaffing (one worker), milling(15) and shipping units (20) ** overtime charges @ USD 6. 0 per worker per hour EVALUATION OF LIGHT METER SYSTEM In 1980, 75 cent premium was paid per bbl on about 450,000 bbls of berries of which about 225,000 turned out to be not of high quality. This cost the company $168,750. We presume that this is also the cost incurred by the company every year. Since the cost of installation is $20,000 plus hiring of a full time skilled operator. Cost of operator = $6. 50/hourx2000 hours per year=$13,000 per year Savings to the company excluding onetime cost of $20,000 = $155750 RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The company needs to purchase one additional dryer @ cost of 40,000 else it would have to spend $38880/ year in additional overtime. Considering the capital cost and the overtime spent ($16200), the additional expenditure can thus be recouped in less than two years. The last option of two dryers would lead to only marginal savings in additional overtime ($3240/year) over the option of buying one dryer. 2. The processing of berries of berries should start at 8. 00 am instead of current 11. 00 am to prevent shortage of bin capacity. . The limitation in separation capacity is serious and measures need to be taken to overcome it. For this, either the capacity of the system needs to be added or the quality of berries needs to be improved so that the separation system can work at its peak capacity of 450bbl/hour/line. However, without further indications on the cost of additional separation units it is not possible to conduct cost-benefit analysis. 4. In view of the substantial cost saving s, the company should buy the light meter system.

Internet and Suicide Essay

Millions of people in the developed countries have access to internet. This due to the high advancements in technological levels. High literacy levels have also contributed to the usage of internet coupled with growing needs and desire to get information. Internet is rising as America‘s most important source of information. (Alao, 1999) The increased affordability of personal computing in recent years has put computers in many homes across the nation. This availability has also driven the cost of internet access down so that many households can afford to subscribe to internet services at very low costs. This along with the vast amount of quality information available on the internet has led to increased internet usage. The internet has become handy and useful to find right information at one’s fingertips literally on anything from math formulas to the best way to kill oneself. (Baume, 1997) Suicide and Internet- Amount of information and How it Can Be Accessed The internet has become the invisible version of the real world where good and bad coexist. It is a small world except less strong regulations to hinder the detrimental effect of bad resources like those websites that provides encouragement for suicidal methods, and unprofessional advices on suicide. (Shaffer, 2000) It is amazing how easily one can access to more than 1,000,000 websites regarding suicide and information on how to kill oneself. Suicide is basically how a person gets encouraged to take his or her life. In simple terms, a person gets information on the easiest, fastest and may be painless methods that can be employed to kill his or herself. Internet is known to offer some advice on crude methods that can be used to kill oneself. The internet offers information as fast as possible and no one needs to know that you are intending to kill oneself. (Michel, 2000) Taking one’s life is usually a personal decision and internet offers personalized assistance. This is the main reason why many people turn to it when they require information on to how to commit suicide. Information can be accessed in the privacy of ones bedroom, cybercafes, or even in the office. No one needs to find out since it is silent advice though very powerful. Another reason why many people have turned to internet to seek information on how to commit suicide is availability of cheap and efficient internet networks and connections. To access internet is no longer an expensive or a cumbersome exercise. Besides that, one is assured that the information or advice given is confidential unless, of course, you divulge it to other people. (Michel, 2000) Young children and youth are usually the most curious lot and they always want to explore and find out more about what they hear. It is through such adventures, that they access information that has to do with suicide. There are some groups of people however who commit suicide without the intention of taking away their lives. It is only that curiosity gets the better of them. They try to experiment with the advice and information they get from internet oblivious of the deadly consequences. There were some children who committed suicide after they accessed information regarding Sadaam’s execution. This was a sad and unfortunate incident which can only be linked to cheap and available internet connections. (Etzersdorfer, 1998) Tackling the deaths which come as a result of internet connections is a challenging task. This is because there is no workable formula which has been devised so far to control the usage and internet access. Cybercafes are all over and people can always sneak in and browse some information and advice without anybody’s knowledge. It is becoming increasingly difficult to control people’s lives due to the increasing demands in the modern society. (Potter, 2000) Many organizations and institutions have subscribed to internet connections including homes. It is therefore not easy to control the usage of internet since it has also contributed to growth of other social economic and cultural factors. It also important to note that, the information contained in the websites cannot be easily censored. As a matter of fact, it has not been censored therefore, the amount of information that can be found in the internet cuts across the whole world. People are actually invited to comment or even add more information regarding suicide and therefore the people have more than enough methods of committing suicide to choose from. (Potter, 2000) Effects of Internet on Suicide The effects of internet on incidences of suicide are becoming overwhelming with every passing day. The report and incidents of suicide have been reported on the television, radio and even written on papers. (Phillips, 1974) The exposure of people on such media services has proved to have negative influences on the people exposed them. It has been reported that the people who are exposed to internet area more inclined to be involved in acts of suicide. There have been overwhelming and systematic reviews published by people and they reveal the saddening truth regarding incidents of suicide. For instance there have been manuals on suicide, literature and suicide and actual reports of suicides shown on the films. Despite the evidence from all these forms of media, the extent to which internet contributes to suicides is yet to be proved. (Baume, 1997) Most suicide cases are reported especially when the victims had collected very specific information on suicide. Such stories are portrayed prominently and dramatically. Internet has also led to mob psychology because the information collected can be distributed amongst friends. Many people have been reported to have committed suicide together in a group since the information was forwarded to each and every one of them. Most of the books and journals accessed on the internet have been easily trusted and exercised. The guidelines that a re presents are properly outlined and therefore they leave no doubt in the person accessing the information. (Etzersdorfer, 1998) The information appears to be given from a professional point of view. Besides that the methods portrayed are outlined in a procedural way and the degree of efficiency is seen to be very high False Advice Due to the increased reliance of people on information available on the internet, some authors have come up with false advice on the best and efficient procedures that one must follow to effectively commit suicide. Some people have been left paralyzed and mentally retarded after attempting suicide. This has been due to failed methods which did not achieve the end goal. (Potter, 2000) The information available has also been falsified and unsuspecting individuals go ahead to use the information since they have no means of checking the facts.

A cross cultural management study on Toyota

A cross cultural management study on Toyota The aim of this paper is to identify what role culture has played in the organizational structure and management technique of Toyota. Toyota is now the world’s leading automobile industry, knocking out rivals car maker; General Motors (Marr, 2009). The Toyota Motor Company was established in 1937 and 30 years later it entered the US market in 1967. By 1980, the company already had about 20% of the US car market as the indigenous car companies started experiencing customer dissatisfaction. The company based its entrant strategy into the US on the following; Fuel efficiency as compared to ‘gas guzzling’ American cars Environmental friendliness Superior build quality The introduction of the luxury-car line The real reason for the company’s success nevertheless was based on the introduction of Japanese style of production, operation and management. According to Liker and Morgan (2006), management principles must extend beyond the shop floor as they do at Toyot a. The ‘Toyota Way’ is a set of standards that harness the Toyota (Japanese) culture. These standards are applied by the Japanese in virtually all their dealings. Although they are moderate by nature hardly showing emotions, they are still very thorough and they apply the successful cultural traits in almost everything they do. The most important aspect of Toyota America is the techniques the company has used to stay successful given the obvious cultural differences between Toyota Japan and its biggest foreign subsidiary. The Japanese and the Americans have distinctly different business cultures however; the company has been able to work in harmony for decades. The major differences are; communication skills, winning attitude, methodology of maintaining strategies etc for both the countries – Japan and United States. Thus, we can say that while establishing a new company in host country culture is highly important. HOME-COUNTRY BUSINESS VALUES (JAPAN) Managerial Autonomy and Long-term Planning Very often, Japanese employees are engaged to the companies for ‘lifetime employment’. It is therefore probable that managers are not pressured to meet requirements financially and employee related. Corporate Rigidity and Hierarchy Japanese companies like Toyota are very hierarchical in nature and as such have distinctive and autonomous power bases. The roles of top managers are defined and incline towards strategic development of the company. The business unit managers are the ones responsible for initiating and supervising new projects. Participatory Decision-making The practice of exploring ideas of employees by senior management is known as Nemawashi in a given project. The idea behind the Nemawashi is to obtain participation of all employees in the decision-making process. The Japanese style of management is a bottom-up approach as compared to the rather autocratic top-down style of management. HOST-COUNTRY BUSINESS VALUES (UNITED ST ATES) Low Context There is more or less an uncongenial nature of communication in American organizations. Expectations of employees are communicated in competency statements or the criteria of their performance. On the other hand however, the Japanese may be more contained in their communication. Individualism Employees and indeed managers in the United States are often defined by their personal achievements and place little importance in group achievements. Americans also do not place much value on trust as they are likely to engage in business with strangers not necessarily friends or family unlike their Japanese collectivist counterparts.

Feed R&D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Feed R&D - Essay Example Ray is quite not ready to outsource the R & K technology and thinks that the company is going to collapse after outsourcing the R & K (Nohria 2005). The company RLK Media has another option of procuring the software engineering skills from a skilled and expert company. Ray gives opinion of appointing the best persons from the market for his support in the innovation but the company is not in a position to endure higher expenses that are related to the option of Ray. Lars can procure the software engineering services from Inova, which is an Indian firm for the expansion of R & D. on the other hand, the technology of R & K can also be outsourced as the chairman of the company wants (Nohria 2005). Outsourcing is not a good option for the company, as there are chances of collapsing of the company. The procurement of software engineering services is a good solution for the company. Lars who is working in RLK Media as a CEO of the company was going through a hard process of decision making concerning feeding R & D or just farming it out, as is explained in the case study (Nohria 2005). The company RLK Media was famous because of its innovations but at this juncture, they are not getting positive response from the customer, as there are no new innovations by the company. Ray Kelner was the founder of RLK Media and was also the chief scientist of the company, as he was the major contributor in the innovations (Nohria 2005). Ray was experimenting with headset technology. Customers were attracted towards the products by RLK Media because of the innovations that they come up with their products (Nohria 2005). The chairman of RLK Media, Keith Herrington was very disappointed because of the company’s current situation and the unresponsiveness of customers for RLK Media’s products. According to his opinion, Lars was required to outsource R & K. on

Discuss the Commonalities and Differences Between Communist Economy Essay

Discuss the Commonalities and Differences Between Communist Economy 1976 and Social Market Economy after 1976 in China - Essay Example Under this system government approved the private ownership of means of production. As means of production are handled by the government before 1976, there was always the intervention of government in whatever is done. But with the emergence of socialist market economy, the role of the government shrank into making laws. Under communist economy people were reluctant to work as they were deprived of owning property and the developments that the country received under such a system was too little. When people were allowed to have private property, the made the best use of the resources and this period witnessed the thriving of the Chinese economy. In the communist economy, it was the government that controlled the market mechanism but under social market economy the market forces such as supply and demand took the place of government. When the communist economy tried to bring everything under the control of the government without any consideration to its citizen, the social market econ omy envisages at the formation of a welfare state in which individuals are given priority in all the aspects. Communist economy was upheld only by a simple majority of China, but social market economy has been welcomed by all category of the society. 3. How did China become an industrialised economy with in the last four decades? An economy becomes industrialised only when an agrarian society turns into industrial society with social change and economic development. The endeavour China made to reach its destination of a developed economy has been in its culmination for the last couple of decades. In all the areas, the performance of China was spectacular. The first and foremost factor that can be attributed to the success of China in this arena is the rapid expansion of international trade. International trade was accelerated as a result of gradual and incremental trade reforms and opening up of the economy for international trade. As a result, the Foreign Direct Investment increase d. China being a vast country had resources in abundant. Moreover the labour also was cheaper as compared to other developing countries. The decision to use the resources properly helped the development of domestic industries. China’s factory outputs vary from cotton textiles to railway locomotives, jet planes and computers. As the largest economy in terms of population, there is greater demand for commodities in China. In one hand it is a good market for foreign companies and on the other a good supplier as well. The amount china spend in the area of education is huge. The well educated works being more productive contribute towards the industrialisation of the country. The amount China invests for research and development is really note worthy. Advanced technologies help it to produce commodities cost efficiently. Chinese products has got good demand world wide as these products are competent to the products of other industrialised countries. However, it is the decision of the government to open up the economy for foreign countries that helped the fast industrialization. 4. Write a critical note on China’s SOE reforms. The state owned enterprises in China were capable of producing a wide range of consumer goods domestically. The commodities so produced were capable of satisfying the local demands sufficiently. However it had more drawbacks than these advantages. The persons who were at the top of the party were the ones who controlled these enterprises. Since most of them were

Consumer choices regarding food and other items related to their Essay

Consumer choices regarding food and other items related to their income and social status - Essay Example The main query behind all the research effort was to determine how social inequality dictates the consumption of products. To answer this question, the research questions posed were as follows: 1. How does the lower-income buyer view their consumption habits in relation to government, politics, or corporate employment? 2. What role, if any, does television usage (volume and content) dictate lower-income buyer preferences and consumption behaviours? 3. In relation specifically to food, how do food insecure individuals view the food products they purchase in relation to needs or environment? 4. What is most important to the lower-income buyer- peer opinion or price sensitivity and to which types of products does either/or apply? In other words, this sociological research project is expected not only to draw a relationship between income, consumption and lifestyle but also to determine how the lower class of society respond to the jobs provided to them in terms of daily living, purchasing and consumption activities. Obviously the highly relevant factors of media advertising and peer group recommendations had to be included as these factors cannot be ignored in the consideration of modern lifestyle choices- no matter what strata of society we are dealing with in a typical Western economy. The methodology involves first of all the creation of a Food Log, followed by a multi-purpose Survey covering the purchasing habits of the lower class families in selected areas. The multipurpose survey will have three distinct sections- one about general consumption behaviours, the second about the influence of television and peers on decision-making, and the third about any physiological restrictions that each participant maintains in their lifestyle. These surveys were distributed by the researcher in an environment where low-income shoppers frequented in the region, while guaranteeing anonymity to the participants. However the expected sample to be collected was 50-100 individuals of varying demographics and socio-cultural backgrounds to gain a broader perspective of what drives product consumption as it relates to their social inequality as compared to other more resourceful consumers. The data gathered from the study was then analysed and correlated