Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Operation management - Essay Example Slack and Lewis (2008) identified three basic verticals for companies such as finance, marketing and operations while finance and marketing activities have close linkage to operation management Slack & Lewis (2008, p. 4) defined operation management as â€Å"it is the management of systems or processes that create goods and/or provide services.† Consideration of research works of Slack, Chambers & Johnston (2007) and Hsu & Tang (2010) reveals the fact that operation management has close linkage with supply chain activities. Slack, Chambers & Johnston (2007) defined supply chain management as the sequence of activities in order to supply resources throughout every phases of value chain. As part of synchronization of supply chain activities and operation management activities; facilities, functions and activities are being used. Facilities- warehouses, processing centres, offices, factories, distribution centres and retail outlets are the place where operations are took place (S lack, 2004). Functions and activities- operation management is collective act and not only operation manager but also supply chain partners and workers play vital role in performing activities like delivery of the resources or final output to facilities, inventory management, customer service, scheduling of operational activities, information management, forecasting of future demand, purchasing of material, designing new product, quality assurance testing etc (Slack, 2004). While describing nature of operation management in context to manufacturing sector, Slack (2004) and Slack & Lewis (2008) used the following model. Figure 1: Operation Model (Source: Slack & Lewis, 2008) According to the above model, operation management is backed by three strategic verticals such as resources, capabilities of the firm and process that will be deployed in manufacturing new product or processing a service. As part of resources; equipments, financial capital, staff, sourcing from suppliers and tech nologies is being used in operation management. As part of capabilities of the firm; application of state of art technology, quantitative formulation of process and process diagrams are being used by operation managers and respective staff members. As part of process; job design, movement of goods in the facilities, process design, new product concept design, new product development etc are being used as part of operation management. So, what is the role or types of activities that operations managers are involved in operation management? Answering the question is not simple because types of activities of operation manager differ significantly with the change in nature of business for organizations. For example, operational activities of operations managers in manufacturing plan cannot be same operational activities in bank. However, some basic activities of operations manager for manufacturing facilities can be identified as, 1- managing the resources that are being used in differe nt phases of manufacturing, 2- developing and adjusting production schedule, 3- monitoring and controlling quality in

Millennium Schools in Ecuador: Role to Improving Creativity

Millennium Schools in Ecuador: Role to Improving Creativity Are Millennium Schools a Solution to Improve Creativity Education in Ecuador? Abstract In this research paper we will talk about the millennium schools in Ecuador and its role to improve creativity in the countrys school. The goal is to show what the millennium schools are and explain why the government invests so much in these schools that they can not improve the creativity of education. So when we look a little deeper into this matter we can see that there are many irregularities with these millennium schools that are part of the governments flagship projects. We will identify the main problems of these schools and will explain in an easy way the reason why these are not the best option to improve the creativity in the education of the country. These are the things we will see in this research paper, from a brief explanation of the millennium schools to explain why these schools are just a waste of money. Keywords: Millennium school, creativity, education, government. Investing in education means investing in hope (Pope Francisco, 2015).ÂÂ   These words make a lot of sense for todays society because with education we can change the future and create hope for a better future. Each country has its way of investing in education in the case of the government of Ecuador was invested in a new type of schools called millennium schools. This idea of creating schools of the millennium emerged in 2005 that Ecuador along with 147 other countries subscribed to the declaration of the millennium. The government of Rafael Correa inaugurated the first school of the millennium in the year 2008. With this new type of schools it was thought to improve the creativity in Ecuadorian education and this to create a better future for Ecuador. Its objective was to change the traditional form of education that the country used. These millennium schools are very much criticized and are called white elephant, because they do not fulfill what is expected and cost much mor e money than a common school. Many people also think that it is unfair to invest a lot of money in building only a few schools and the vast majority of schools remain the same, with very poor infrastructure. Millennial schools are the same as ordinary schools and do not lead to change or improvement of education for the following reasons: firstly, millennium schools have a modern structure, but use same education system as traditional schools; secondly they are white elephant; and finally, they may be end with a new political regime. 1. Modern infrastructure but the same system First of all, we will start by talking about one of the main problems of the millennium schools, millennium schools have an excellent infrastructure compared to the other schools in Ecuador, but they have the same education system as the rest of Ecuadorian schools. These millennium schools are fully equipped with labs and classrooms but do not have teachers trained for this new type of school. In all of Ecuador there are only 64 millennium schools built totally and another 57 that are being built or is planned its construction. This means that only a small group of students in the country will benefit from these millennium schools. While investing a large amount of money in schools of the millennium the great majority of schools in Ecuador have a poor structure that needs to improve urgently. In millennium schools creativity is not encouraged as planned because these schools have the same education system as the other schools in the country. For these reasons the schools of the mille nnium do not help to increase the development of the creativity in the Ecuador because they have the same system of education. So all this investment does not change the education of Ecuador. 2. Why they are calledwhite elephant? Another problem is that millennium schools are called white elephants because people think that these schools are not going to progress and they are only a useless expense of the government that does not worry in solving the main problem of the little creativity in the basic school. The construction of the millennium schools is surrounded by many irregularities. One of these irregularities is its construction. These schools have budgeted a price and in the end always cost a few more than the initial price of construction. People in Ecuador are angry because they invest a lot in these schools alone and there are very few schools with proper infrastructure in Ecuador. For these reasons people think that this project is not sustainable and does not help the development of Ecuador. These millennium schools are just an act of populism of the government since it builds them very few. For the things written above is that many people say that the schools of the millennium are a white elephan t that is determined to fail because of its high costs of construction and because it has the same educational system that is the rest of the schools in the country. 3. The project may end with a new political regime. A very serious problem of these millennium schools is that they could end if the government of Rafael Correa comes out of power. With a new system of government the schools of the millennium would be stagnant. Currently the Ecuadorian government has many economic problems due to the low price of oil. The next government to be elected in 2017 will not have the resources to complete the construction of the millennium schools and would leave that project in the trash. This means that the following elections in Ecuador will define what will happen with many emblematic projects that the current regime has. It is very possible that the next president of Ecuador will cancel the millennium schools and other projects. Conclusion In summary there are many negative aspects in the millennium schools that show us that these schools can not be able to improve creativity in the educational system of Ecuador. The correct thing would be to invest to improve all the schools of the country at the same time and to change the educational system of education. It would be necessary to start with basic education from teachers, parents and students. In order to fulfill the goal of 21st century education, the millennium schools must change the old boring and memorable education to a new education in which the creativity of all is important. So the first thing that should be done is for the government to stop constructing new schools and to invest in improving the infrastructure of the schools that already exist in the country. When all the schools in the country have a new infrastructure, it will begin to improve creative education. In conclusion the millennium schools are very expensive to build and are not a solution to im prove the creativity in Ecuadorian education. References Compton, Robert. (2011). The Finland phenomenon. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm1zbC18j-w Childress, Sarah (2007) A Young Tinkerer Builds a Windmill, Electrifying a Nation Segal, Susan (2016) The case for disruption in Latin Americas classrooms Ossola, Alexandra. (2014). Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine. The atlantic.

Empiricism and Behaviorism Essay -- essays research papers

the turn of the twentieth century, the field of Psychology found itself in a war between two contending theoretical perspectives: Gestalt psychology versus Behaviorism. With its roots within the United States, behaviorists in America were developing a theory that believed psychology should not be concerned with the mind or with human consciousness. Instead, behavior and the actions of humans would be the foremost concern of psychologists. Across the Atlantic, Gestalt psychology emerged by placing its criticism upon the methodology of introspection, especially by ways of disparaging behaviorism. Although the two theories originated on separate continents, their opposing ideas were brought together after World War II and continued to battle each other for almost half a century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An American psychologist, by the name of John B. Watson, is historically known for â€Å"selling† the idea of Behaviorism to other American psychologists during the 1900s. Watson insisted that â€Å"psychology had failed to become an undisputed natural science because it was concerned with conscious processes that were invisible, subjective, and incapable of precise definition† (Hunt, page256). Watson’s position on human behavior was that it could be explained entirely in terms of reflexes, stimulus-response associations, and the effects of multiple reinforcements upon a person--entirely excluding any mental processes. Watson’s work was based on the experiments of Ivan Pavlov, who had studied animals’ responses to conditioning. In Pavlov’s most well-known experiment, he rang a bell each time he presented the dogs with food. Every time the dogs would hear the bell, their initial response would be to salivate because they be lieved that food was going to be offered. Pavlov then rang the bell without bringing food, yet the dogs continued to salivate. In essence, the dogs had been â€Å"conditioned† to salivate at the sound of the bell. From this research, Pavlov concluded that humans also react to stimuli in the same way--a finding that Watson would later emphasize.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In modern psychology, behaviorism is most closely associated with B.F. Skinner, a man who molded his reputation by testing Watson’s theories in the laboratory. Skinner’s studies led him to believe that people operate on the environment to produce certain consequences, along with sim... ...alist thought and empiricism primarily embodies the question of how humans gain knowledge. In rationalism, pure reason is used in determining the fundamental natures of things and it is through human intuition and deductive reasoning that humans can obtain knowledge. Rationalists assert that there is an already existing innate knowledge, which is independent of experience, which God has bestowed upon every human individual. Descartes believed that, without innate ideas, no other information could be known. Furthermore, our innate knowledge is not learned through experience but is known intuitively through reason. Empiricists criticized the rationalists at this point, arguing that the matters of the innate ideas were in fact learned through one’s previous experiences. They emphasized that large amounts of knowledge were gained through interaction with society—which occurs in early childhood and therefore cannot be considered intrinsic. Moreover, empiricists accentuate the notion that knowledge stem from internal mental experiences (such as emotion and self-reflection). For empiricists, facts precede theories and it is plausible for one to be a fair, unbiased observer of â€Å"facts†.

Themes…. monsters are due on maple street

People who persevere are not stubborn. 4. Fear a. Fear Is powerful and can take over your mind. B. Sometimes fear Is a reasonable reaction. Other times, fear can be Irrational. C. We should fear Ignorant people with the power and authority. D. Ignorant people with power and authority can harm others. E. Fear tends to happen when your rights are gone. F. Fear can cause people to limit your rights. G. Sometimes you have to face your fears. 5. Trust/mistrust a. Mistrust can lead to confusion. B. Trust takes courage. Sometimes we can trust the wrong person (people). Ere (The Obsolete Man) 6. Leadership a. Don't always trust your leaders. B. Not all leaders are trustworthy. C. Don't follow bad leaders who take away your natural rights to life, liberty, and property. 7. Worthiness a. People who are worthy of leadership are fair, respectful, trustworthy, do what's best for the common good, and don't always make the popular decision, but they try to make the right decision. 8. Ignorance 9. A bsurdity 10. Confusion 11. Judgment 2.Curiosity 13. Manipulation 14. Truth/lees 15. Misunderstanding 16. Change 18. Blame Have you ever stood on your front porch, looking at a mob of people accusing you of being an alien? Less Goodman, a resident of Maple Street, knows exactly how this feels. In the short story, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, by Rod Serving there is a strong theme of Summary of story here. Ladled;Jeff;alkyds;asked;saddle;saddle;fjords;Sofas;JDK;Alasdair;aside;fjords;Sofas Thematic statement here. Explanation of statement.

Narrative Essays Are a Great Read Essay

Narrative essays and Descriptive essays can be similar but they are different in nature. The narrative essay â€Å"I Want a Wife† is more compelling than the descriptive essay â€Å"Homeless† because the narrative essay has a point of view, uses humor and satire, and uses tone and language that can draw the reader in. â€Å"Narration is storytelling from the perspective of a narrator and the story may be true, false, imaginary, or a combination. A narration can be about past, present, or future events, and it can be short or the length of a novel† (Connell & Sole, 2013, sec. 6.3). A narrative can draw in the audience by telling the reader the story just how it happened or how they pictured it to be without losing someone in thought because they may not understand what they mean when they are using words to describe it a certain way. â€Å"Description is a pattern of writing that can be defined as painting pictures with words† (Connell & Sole, 2013, sec. 6.4). A descriptive essay uses very expressive words to describe specific details. See more: what is narrative writing The reader will have to use the five sense in order to understand what the writer is trying to convey and may get lost especially if the reader doesn’t understand one of those descriptive words. The two essays in this paper that are being compared and contrasted are â€Å"Homeless† by Anna Quindlen and â€Å"I Want a Wife† by Judy Brady. Both essays are being told by the author but through someone else’s eyes but on what the author sees. The beginning paragraph from the narrative essay â€Å"I Want a Wife† reads, â€Å"Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred  to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife† (Brady, 1971)? This paragraph started off the essay with author’s point of view because she too is a wife. The author was able to identify this by what she does as a wife, how she acted and how she is treated. This can also be the point of view of a man because some men may feel that this is what a wife should do or how a wife should act or maybe someone else who is a wife, because it’s what they do. She made the essay seem like a wife is such a huge deal and that they have such a big job to complete throughout each day. This essay makes the reader stop and think about if this is the way they want their wife to be or if they want to be this way if they are a wife. The descriptive essay â€Å"Homeless†, the author tells her point of view because of a homeless lady she wanted to ask questions to. She perceived her point of view about homeless people from a portrait the lady showed her and what she sees when she looks at the lady and the picture. Both essays have a point a view a reader may agree or disagree with. Not everyone sees a wife as a person who does everything for the household, such as cook all meals, clean the whole house, take care of the kids, and take care of the man. Back in 1971 when the essay was written this may have held true, but in 2014 there are house-holds where the woman is the bread winner and the man will stay home and take care of everything. There are also other relationships where the house hold is 50-50. The husband and wife share duties. As far as homeless people, someone’s point of view may be different than when the author said: â€Å"People find it curious that those without homes would rather sleep sitting up on benches or huddled in doorways than go to shelters† (Quindlen, n.d. para. 7). That was her point of view of what she thinks other people think but in reality, the homeless people may not be able to get shelter so they have no choice but to sleep on benches. With these two essays, the point of view is stronger in the narrative essay beca use most people are wives, or they have a wife and can see this essay as true. The descriptive essay, not everyone is homeless or they may not be around homeless people or know how they interact so they may not understand the point the author is trying to make. The tone of â€Å"I Want a Wife† is written in a humorous, ironic mood. This is what makes this essay enjoyable to read and it’s not boring to the reader. The essay has a â€Å"sarcastic tone which is produced when someone uses heave-handed verbal irony. Verbal irony occurs  when one expresses the opposite of what one actually means (Connell & Sole, 2013). The narrative essay is also of great humor and satire. To any woman reader and maybe some men, they may look at this essay and laugh. The reader may sense the sarcasm in the author’s words. For example, the author says â€Å"If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one† (Brady, 1971, para. 8). This paragraph alones makes you mad but makes you laugh. The whole essay in itself is also written in sarcasm. The writer depicts what a wife should be but is sarcastic in her approach of how she writes it. She always started off with â€Å"I want a wife who will†, and then talks about what she would want her wife to do if she wanted a wife, and how a wife should act. If you did not know the author, you would have th  ought this was written by a man. At the end of the essay, Brady (1971) states â€Å"My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?† shows that this whole essay was of great irony and satire because she talks about what she wants in a wife when she is a wife. This quoted sentence shows exaggeration, just like the rest of the essay. There was no irony or sarcasm or anything to make me laugh in the descriptive essay â€Å"Homeless†. Because of the nature of the essay, there wouldn’t be any humor or satire since it could be considered a sad essay. The author’s tone in â€Å"Homeless† is very serious, yet tranquil. It is serious because the subject is also very serious subject, but serene because she knows that there is a solution for these problems. Quindlen uses this tone to get through to the reader in order to deliver the purpose. The tone is also sad because of the problems of homelessness in the world today. The reader may feel a sense of sympathy when reading this essay because it can be controversial. There is some hyperbole language the author is using in homeless like: â€Å"It was like a thousand houses in a hundred towns, not suburb, not city, but somewhere in between, with aluminum siding and a chain-link fence, a narrow driveway running up to a one-car garage, and a patch of backyard (Quindlen, n.d. para. 2). Brady also uses different figurative language such as exaggeration and repetitiveness in her essay. Through the language you often felt the emotion of the essay especially if you are a wife because you may think about if you have done the things she is stating a wife does. This essay has an emotion appeal to it. It â€Å"has a purpose, its honest and not attempting to mislead, and not used just for  effect or for gratuitous reasons† (Connell & Sole, 2013, sec. 7.3). It is not making personal attacks on wives, but showing how a wife is treated as such and how they are not appreciated. The narrative essay gave a more clear understanding as to the point the author was trying to get a cross. The narrative essay also used a descriptive writing pattern. The language was carefully and particularly chosen and it also evoked emotions to the reader. The narrative essay was of great humor and satire but it also made you think about life as a wife, as to where the descriptive essay was a serious essay that talked about a world issue and the attempt to take action to solve that problem. It lacked the senses a descriptive should have. There was no emotion and no feelings relating to the topic, because the descriptive essay was more of a journalistic essay that talked about problems that needed to be solved. It did not have many words to paint the picture of how homeless people live and what they look like, or how they smell how they get by day to day. The narrative essay had this creative tension that kept the reader interested in what a man or another woman may think of what a wife could be. It kept the writer of this essay interested because she is too, a wife. References Brady, J. (1971). I want a wife. Retrieved from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument4e/content/cat_020/Brady_I_Want_a_Wife.pdf Connell, C. M., & Sole, K. (2013). Essentials of college writing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Quindlen, A. (n.d.). Homeless. Retrieved from http://pers.dadeschools.net/prodev/homelesstext.htm