Thursday, October 31, 2019

Income determination Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Income determination - Research Proposal Example Consequently, this topic has become attractive making many researchers to shift attention towards the same as a vital dissertation topic. Surprisingly, unearthing the variety of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors to be incorporated in the computation of income, stands erected as the major stumbling block despite the recent research benchmarked against much effort and focus peddled to weed out this phenomenon. According the research findings of Michael Sare pegged at showcasing the inevitable and direct relationship between income distribution and macroeconomic factors, (The Cross Country 1997), real depreciation for LDCs, trade improvements, higher income, growth rates, and high investment rates are the vital variables associated to regional income determination. A reciprocal relation is also looming between investment and growth-facilitating policies and enhancement of in income distribution. Public expenditures and inflation are the centerpieces as policy variables that have greater magnitudes on income distribution. Income distribution attaches so little to inflation fluctuations, price ratio of investment, external position, level of real change and changes in public consumptions. People employ a tendency to trade off between equity and growth and attaches disadvantaged economic segments as the significant beneficiaries of economic growth. According to Deininger and Squire (1996), unearths beneficial evidence linking proceeding growth to initial income disparity. Bruno, Ravallion and Squire (1996), showcased that subsequent growth is attached to preceding distributed endowments of income and assets, and that, poverty eradication impacts is more felt by LDCs as compared to developed countries based on growth processes. With respect to Milanovik (1994), sets to illustrate unique reason behind lower income inequalities in developed nations as resulting from not only significant of social choice elements such as employment and

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Work of Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Work of Art History - Essay Example At the same time he was developing his own style, Rodin was joined by Realists and Impressionists who brought new perspectives to painting, and thus public perception of art changed as well. In 1907, Rodin crafted The Hand of God, which he had modeled around 1896. The sculpture shows a single hand as its central subject, and it holds within it a raw stone. This stone also features the smooth figures of man and woman, who are being fashioned into organic forms from the rough material, showing God in the process of creation much as the sculptor goes through such a process. In analyzing this sculpture, it is first necessary to use one's eyes to see what it presents—the content, the subject matter, the forms and shapes. The sculpture, as mentioned, features a large, strong hand, set apart from the body so that the hand itself is the subject. The hand juts forth from a rough base, an uncut and unpolished piece of stone marble. Within the hand, we see a smaller version of the same c ontrast—there are two human bodies, intertwined, one man and one woman, and they are attached to a backdrop of raw marble with no deliberation alterations. Examining the sculpture from different angles reveals different contrasts, as one side shows only the fingers gripping the stone, while another angle would put the focus on the human figures within the stone and the hand. The texture of the human elements is smooth and curved, while the rest of the marble is straight, jagged, and not at all organic. The sculpture can be seen as divided into three parts—the largest part being the hand, the next mot important being the two human figures, and then the backdrop of uncut stone being the supplementary part. As a sculpture, color is not used, but form doubles its centrality by gaining a third dimension that is not quite present in any painting. The artist was able to create a center of a attention with ease by having the hand sit squarely in the center of its base and come upward, with the fingers slightly curled in order to create a cylindrical shape that also suggest motion. The lack of rigidity in the hand gives it a more lifelike appearance, just as the somewhat fetal and relaxed human forms of the man and woman give an impression that they are alive and movable, rather than striking any sort of pose that lacks life and flexibility. The artist also creates a contrast between the live and non live parts of the sculpture by having a deep groove between the body parts and the rough stone. In a way, there is a sort of trench, and this has the effect of making the body parts pop out from the stone, not specifically separated but still having a clear gap and change of depth. This is his way of establishing an aesthetic difference between the two elements, while the scale is used to develop a difference between the bodies and the hand. The texture of the body parts helps to create a beauty that is set apart from the stone as well, so the viewer clearly considers the difference between the two and realizes which is more attractive. The meaning of the sculpture is rather easy to interpret on the surface, but perhaps has deeper parts. Foremost, it shows symbolic process of creation of humanity by the more powerful and larger â€Å"hand of God†. The difference between textures shows that life comes from something raw, and God cleaves life out of what is lifeless. The lack of body for God shows that the hands are the focus, as the hand of God is the doing and creating part of him, the tools that he used to change earth into man. On top of this basic theme of creation by God from rough material into life and beauty, we also get a second meaning of creation—that of the artist or the sculptor. The symbolism about divinity is displayed in

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Toyotas Operational and Industry Environment

Toyotas Operational and Industry Environment In order to analyse the Toyotas operational and industry environment and its competitive position in the auto mobile market, there some appropriate strategic tools are using in this paper. Such as the SWOT model , Porters Generic strategy and Ansoff matrix. The SWOT model analyses the companies internal and external strengths with opportunities as the factors of the companys success in the competitive market. And also this model analyses the companies weaknesses with threats for its fluctuation of sales. Generic strategy refers to analyse the companys strategic choice with in the competitive rivalry. In addition Ansoff matrix also analyse how Toyota uses appropriate strategies to be as the world leader in the car manufacturing and sales of subsidiaries. Toyotas competitors such as the Ford Motor company, General Motors and Honda Motor Corp, who concern to decide the companies market position in the market. During the periods these all companies are different position in the auto market. As the leader of the auto manufacture Toyota Motor Corp Ltd adapts the management corporate philosophy which is meant that Toyota Way including Toyota Production system(TPS), and as the Lean production. The companys corporate philosophy decide the long term competitive advantages. The elements of TPS are Just In Time(JIT), Jidoka(quality improvement) and Kaizen. In addition, Toyotas Total Quality Management(TQM), which is correlated with TPS, is also the most important system to catch the market share in the rival. These systems are adapting in the production line to product the plants efficiently with the combination of the low cost and high quality. This opportunity seeks the best in the global auto market. And also the supply chain management too is as a supporting hand for the company. These all will be briefly discussed in this paper. At the end of this paper, it is analysed that how the elements of Generic strategy such as cost leader, differentiation and focus and Toyotas operational systems are functioning together to get best competitive position within the competitors world wide. With that, Ansoff matrix will be analysed by its elements such as market penetration, product development, market development and diversification regarding the companys performance and competitive position. INTRODUCTION: The Toyota Motor Co. Ltd was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda, as a one of the worlds leading manufacturers. It has become the world Largest, and most profitable car maker . During the Second World War, the company produced trucks for the Japanese Army. Unlikely ,the companys factory in Aichi was bombed down by the enemies before war ended.ÂÂ   After the war ended ,Toyotas production of cars commercially began with the SA model in 1947. In 1957, the Toyota Crown was exported to the USA as the first time. It announced its arrival to British in1957.After 1960s the company started to spread its operations world wide. Toyota entered into an alliance with Daihatsu and Hino Motors. Its Compacts, produced smaller and fuel efficiently from the start.ÂÂ   Names of few of the popular Toyota vehicles are Toyota Prius, Camry, Lexus, Toyota Tundra, Toyota Tundra Double Cab and Corolla (http://www.swot-pest-porter.com). In the early 1970s, the companys production was behind of Ford Motor and GM, but in 1974, Toyota Corolla got largest place in world car selling. And, after ten year Toyota was in second to GM in the market(www.nytimes.com) .Now it is the third largest manufacturer in the global automobile market by sales which is producing more than 5.5 million vehicles per year(www.conceptcarz.com). LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINS: In my point of view the time is the important problem to analyse the companys operational and industry and their competitive position within it. There are lots of resources available for this analysis, however ,it is difficult to understand and recognise the very relevant resources from the pool of them. COMPETITORS OF THE TOYOTA. In the global auto market Toyotas strategic position is very strong than other competitors. It is clear that the Ford Motor , GM and Honda Motors are the main competitors in the market. Among these, Toyota was the third largest automaker in the world. Along with GM, when the Japanese automakers sales in U.S had gone into a decline, Ford took attention on Toyota customers with great offers at the January 2010. In February 2010, Ford over took GM to be the number 1 seller in the U.S as the first time since 1998. But ,Honda Motor co didnt follow its rivals at targeting Toyota customers , this is why its sales drop by 5% in 2010 (www.reuters.com). In 2009, while GM had 20% and ford had 16% , Toyota had 17% of the market share in U.S( www.reuters.com ). Especially, the companys operational system such as the TPS, TQM and the Toyota Way add real value to the companys business which is as the different management style. This value adding procedure is giving a unique strategic position in the market. For example, Toyota Prius is a enormous value and it is a commitment to green products green innovation. Toyotas project management makes sure that the projects and goals are aligned with the added values of the company and core competencies. The reason for the project manager of Toyota is the understanding the importance of competencies and core values with the need of working together. And , project manager should give efforts and best thoughts towards develop its attributers and remained focused on business goals.(http://svprojectmanagement.com). THE PILLARS OF THE TOYOTAS SUCCESS AND COMPITITIVE ADVANTAGES: Toyotas operational systems are its pillars of the success in the industry wise. They are, Toyota Way. Toyota Production System(TPS). Total Quality Management(TQM). Toyota Supply chain. Actually the Toyota way and TPS have been part of how Toyota has developed its supply chain. TPS has been part of how Toyota has developed its supply chain principles effectively towards best performance with suppliers, dealers and manufactures. These concepts work together to add value to the production line of Toyota. THE TOYOTA WAY. Toyota Way and Toyota Production System are the different concepts, but its 14 principles are giving a corporate philosophy by using Toyota Production System (TPS), which is a systematic and highly developed example of Toyota Way. Toyota Way is the culture and also a set of efficiency and improvement techniques, and also it is called that the companys managerial philosophy. Its 14 principles are categorised into four categories. Long-Term Philosophy. Toyotas philosophy of empowering its workers is the core of human resource management system. It brings employee loyalty and improves creativity and innovation by motivating employee participation. The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results. Adding value to the Organization by Developing the People and Partner Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning With 14 principles of Toyota Way, another 4 high level principles such as Genchi Genbutsu, Kaizen, Respect and Team work and Challenge are correlated with each other. Thorough learning and kaizen , Toyota has managed to grow and achieve its goals. Kaizen is a Japanese term means that change betterments it focused on improving the quality and the efficiency of the Toyotas production line. Through Kaizen the members have given gift certificates instead of money. The philosophy of Toyota Way is passing down from generation to generation(http://www2.toyota.co.jp). TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (TPS). Sources; http://www.1tech.eu TPS is the way of companys successful globally, which was introduced by Taiichi Ohno. Corporate philosophy is the basic of its success in the global market. TPS presences high standards of products this is why the company easily penetrate the markets world wide. And also Toyotas work place morale and job satisfaction are producing reliable and high-quality products at reasonable prices. Many of the success of Toyota concern with high performance of human resources and supply chain management. JIT productivity improvement. Kanban system manages the JIT production system and it supports by each of the previous steps. Generally, the JIT means that what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed. By using this concept, Toyota produces quality products by elimination of waste and avoiding the un reasonable requirements in the line production. Under this system, the ways of achieving productivity improvement are Providing a production instrument to the production line as soon as possible, when a order for vehicle is received,. Stocking few numbers of all part for assembly line Proceeding process stocking proceeding process of all parts. Jidoka- highlighting of problem. Under this concept the quality is consider by Stopping machine safely on its own when complete a normal process and also when meet any quality problem. communicating via the Andon (problem display board) when machine automatically stop. Because of this operator can continue at another machine. This will lead to a greater processing capacity. Eliminating waste: TPS works mainly with the internal in next stage in the production line and external customer perspectives which is considering and separate the value added steps from the non value added steps. According to Jeffery K. Liker , 8 categories of waste are eliminating in the TPS such as over production, waiting time, unessential movement and transport, over inventory and so on. The head of Toyota manufacturing divided the waste was eliminated in this system by JIT and Autorotation in the production line to add value(http://people.brunel.ac.uk). The concept of respect takes responsibility to build trust each other in the TPS and the concept of team work encourage employees to achieve growth and performance by contributing the opportunities of development in the Toyotas production line to add value. Actually, the Toyota Production System has been a roaring success at Toyota, but much less effective in other locations in many conditions. Total Quality Management (TQM): TQM is a management system adapting by Toyota in the production line to add value of its products. This is the greatest strategy following only by Toyota successfully within the larger auto makers. Indeed, The TQM is based on the quality of the product with the commitments of the all members towards the long term success of the company.TQM works through a combination of the customer satisfaction and welfare of the society. At the end, the result is the high quality and low cost add value for the product in the TPS. GENERIC STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES. Porters Generic strategy, seeking competitive advantage on Toyota, is defined as the basis on which a strategy business unit (SBU) might achieve or counter competitive advantage in its market. According to the cost leader ship strategy, Toyota reduced its cost at every element of the value chain. Toyota is the good example of an organization for producing quality cars at low price with brand and marketing skills to use a premium pricing policy. The companys JIT attempt to manufacture with an absolute minimum of inventory, in a shortened lead time. This feature support the companys manufacturing cost in production line. Jidoka supports to reduce the cost in production line by highlighting the problem before occur. And also TQM of the Toyota is supporting in reducing the cost how with the minimum input and maximum out put with in a sort lead time. Toyota is manufacturing its products for the market where what is needed and what is suitable. Its mean that the company adapts the differentiation strategy well than other competitors. When it offer totally different from other rivals , this is why the companys products aim on value with less price and which creates higher price and higher profit to the company. Hybrid Prius is the pertinent evident of differentiation in the rival. Further more, Toyota offers high quality and luxury brand cars in Japan, Europe and U.S( like Lexus ), the company is selling minivans and trucks in China, Brazil and South Asian markets, where the products of the Toyota are totally different than other major competitors. The thing is that even though, additional costs occur pursuing differentiation, and it is managed by increased revenue generated by the sales. In the view of application of generic strategy with JIT, in which the production line is able to producing many varieties of products in response according to the changing customer demand in the market. It means the company uses the JIT production to differentiate its product in the market. And also TQM helps in Toyotas differentiation strategy, how the companys products with high qualification could easily differentiate among other competitors. By adapting focused differentiation strategy, Toyota first introduced a brand, Scion, specifically for young buyers in January, 2003 which was a great success with that introduced hybrids in 1997 selling 127000 more than Honda. (http://ezinearticles.com). This strategy support to compete with other competitors in similar segments and to get competitive advantages. JIT production and TQM support also in focused differentiation strategy. For example, when the company identifying specific market segmentation wised to buy a specific vehicle, JIT production gives that particular product to that targeting market segment. THE APPLICATION OF THE ANSOFF MATRIX IN TOYOTA: Market penetration: Toyota penetrated easily and successfully world wide comparatively than other large manufacturers in building plants and sales the subsidiaries. Toyotas first advantage of market penetration is presentation of strategic markets. For instance, it penetrated successfully in Asia, Europe and US. Whereas, its market rivals such as Ford and GM influence in only U.S and Europe. Toyota Motor Corp holds its foot in China and India to get competitive advantages heavily. By adapting this strategy, it manages the unexpected fluctuations for the markets of its products. Product development: One of the key to the success in the car market is new models which increase the demand and loyalty for the companys brand. Toyota has huge reputation for producing few cars with fuel efficient and good performance. And, Toyota has enhanced to meet government requirements specially for reducing the hybrid fuel. A remarkable point is that Toyota was the first car manufacturer to market hybrid fuels, with the introduction of the Prius model in the market (www.reuters .com) 2010 Toyota Prius is the best example of the product development. The third generation Prius is bigger and more powerful than the previous version, but it will become in the United States as the only vehicle that offers combined mileage greater than miles per gallon (http://reviews.cnet.co.uk). But the latest Prius is 70Kg heavier than its predecessor, and this is largely down to the amount of new technology inside. Market development: Toyota Company sells its products in 70 countries world wide. In order to maximize the profit, it seeks new market with existing products. For example, China and South East Asia ere the new markets where the company sells its vehicles. Diversification: By adapting this strategy, Toyota seeks new products into new markets. While getting any troubles by the competitors in existing market with existing products, it is the pertinent strategy for its growth. The company emerges in China and South East Asia where targeting a 2012 launch and a piece under 1 million Yen. (www.reuters .com) and also one of the Toyotas Mini vehicle unit which is Daihatsu Motor co(7262.T) is developing a small car for emerging market such as South East Asia, and may sell them under the Toyota brand the Chunichi newspaper said(www.reuters.com). The Compact car will be based on its vision and Yaris subcompact models in the new markets. In addition, these two models and a new set of entry level cars are announced for India, Brazil and China by Toyota. To develop the sales in emerging markets the company maintains a three layered approach. However, Toyota has relatively small market share in India, Brazil and other emerging markets. This is indicating the limitat ions of its market development (www.reuters.com). Toyota gets a best strategic position in the competitive market by applying these strategies properly than other competitors. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: As above, the third largest auto maker Toyota is a successful company in the auto makers. The factors of the companys success and its best competitive position in the competitive revalry, are its internal strengths and external opportunities. Even though, it is as the world leader in the auto market, it faces some problems as its own weaknesses and the threats from other competitors and from the outside. These factors are analysed by using SWOT analysis in the appendix. In addition, the companys main competitors compete with it heavily during the years such as Ford, GM, and Honda. However, Toyota Motor Corporation is in a much strengthened strategic position in the auto market. There are some details describe the companys achievements among the competitors in the appendix. The Toyota Motor Corporation achieves its competitive advantages by using the best operational systems in the industry such as the Toyota Way, TPS known as the Lean production and TQM in its production line. Porter s Generic strategy analyse the companys strategic position in the market with the correlation of those operational systems toward the competitive advantages. And also Toyotas supply chain management is reflecting its uniqueness in the global market which is noted in the appendix. At the end, the Ansoff matrix describe the companys current position by market penetration, market development product development and diversification strategies. In my point of view, Toyota Motor Corporation still is the world leader of the car makers. But in 2008 and 2009, it faced decline in its sales by few problems. However, the president of the company Akio Toyoda who and the every level employees of the company commit their whole life over take these problems. I suppose that, in future it will be the number one auto maker in the global car manufacturer with the attention of over taking particular quality problem for preventing the quality problem by using its the world greatest strategic operational choices in the industry. APPENDIXES: 1. TOTAL SALES OF THE TOYOTA AND ITS COMPETITORS: COMPANIES VOLUME MAY 09 MAY 08 DSR DSR5/09 DSR5/08 GM -29.555 191,875 272,363 -26.84% 7380 10,088 Ford -24.25% 161,531 213,238 -21.373% 6,213 7,898 Toyota -40.72% 152,583 257,406 -38.44% 5,869 9,534 Honda America -41.46% 98,394 167,997 -39.21% 3,782 6,222 Chrysler Group -46.88% 79,010 148,747 -44.84% 3,039 5,509 Nissan NA -33.10% 67,4874 100,874 -30.52% 2,596 3,736 BMW Group -27.65% 22,993 31,781 -24.87% 884 1,177 *The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 days for May 2009 and 27 for May 2008. Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/02/by-the-numbers-may-2009-gm-and-ford-surprise-edition/ TOYOTAS INDUSTRY RANK AT IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES. ATTRIBUTES INDUSTRY RANK Innovation 3 People management 3 Used of corporate assets 2 Social responsibility 1 Quality of management 2 Financial soundness 1 Long term investment 2 Quality of products /services 2 Global competencies 2 Source: http://money.cnn.com 3. WORLDS TOP 10 AUTO GROUPS BY 2009 H1 SALES. RANK COMPANY SALES(US $ Millions) 1 Toyota Motor Corp 3.564 2 General Motor Co 3.553 3 Volkswagen AG 3.265 4 Hyundai Mo. Co 2.153 5 Ford Motor Co 2.115 6 P S A Peugeot Citroen 1.587 7 Honda Motor Co 1.586 8 Nissan Motor Co 1.546 9 Suzuki Motor Corp 1.15 10 Renault SA 1.107 Source: www.reuters.com 4. THE SWOT OF TOYOTA Strengths and Opportunities; Toyotas Just in Time (JIT) allows the production system to produce vehicles efficiently and quickly, one at a time, which is great quality and provide satisfaction to consumers. And ,the company has a major strength which is Toyotas Production System(TPS) prevent waste and therefore reduces the amount of energy, raw materials and other resources used, this is making it towards sustainability(www.toyota.eu). Toyota is a best profit maker in the market. This is because, rising up of the share price of Toyota. For example, Toyotas stock market value is approximately 30% of the value of the global car market. If we combined the profits of all global car makers, Toyota would account for about one third. And other all Japanese car makers would account for another third. Only the rest final third, would be accounted by all European, North American and other Asian car makers together. (http://www.marketingteacher.com). Another reason for its climbed up to the top is beyond loyalty. Toyotas life long learning by Kaizen and improvement management systems makes best decisions. Japanese companies, specially, Toyota is excellent in particular areas as the strengths its self. Such as Elimination of waste and cost cutting. A culture rooted in manufacturing. Fast, disciplined product development cycles. Consistence and relentless Toyotas managers always knows that where they want to be five years from now and are working at getting there. Toyotas innovation and creativity is a major opportunity. Companys commercial mass produced hybrid gas and electric vehicles are creating more opportunities in the competitive markets. Prius is the pertinent example for these advance technology adaptation of Toyota. It based on advanced hybrid technology and R+D activity. This investment and Toyotas wide range of product portfolio support customers for alternative sources of fuel away from gas guzzling cars. Another example of innovation is that Toyota Sienna is planned to join the hybrid line up by 2010 (www.brandchannel.com) Toyota mostly attracts the youth market by its segmentation. As Pedro Pacheco(spokes person for Toyota Europe) said, The urban youth segment is attractive to us because it can success fully influence the whole of youth sector, and it allows to attract customers to the brand at an earlier stage (www.brandchannel.com). Toyota like these customers to grow by providing products as their like. This is a big opportunity of establishing a life lasting relation ship. Toyota taking heart the customer feedback it has received, together with its suppliers, dealers and its world wide employees, its commitment is on its products and services and also its commitment to the customer first. This feature is giving many opportunities to Toyota world wide. Toyotas continuous global expansion also brings opportunities to it. Practically, Toyota has its factories in all continents and its vehicles are made up in different countries. Remarkably, for recent years the company emerged in third world countries and it is getting possible opportunities. And it tends for the localisation of the production using their situation in different countries as the suppliers of the production local market. This result of globalization is making many opportunities for the company. Weaknesses Threats Almost every problem creates a need for inventory, which is one of the largest wastes. This is really a reflection of ineffectiveness. Because every manufactures should need to make sure that their models consumers want or not and conditions of those markets. These may be the reasons of putting attention on emerging market heavily. Toyotas production needs a huge investment with high fixed cost and cost of labour. This may allow to face problems like over capacity or under capacity if occur any upturn or downturn. The main problem is that the companys products are too expensive for its emerging markets, when other competitors like Tata Motors (TM) produce reasonably cheaper cars. The movements of the exchange rates make narrow margins in the market of its sales. For example, in 2009, Toyotas chairman said that the strong appreciation of the Yen against the Dollar and Euro and the rising cost of raw materials made losses in Toyotas sale (www.glgroup.com). The demand for larger cars decreased while increasing the demand for small cars by changing the life style nowadays. This is also a challenge for Toyota. According to the increasing expenses, the consumer usage of cars is decreasing. This factor reduces the demand of cars in the market as well as the high price Toyotas cars. Businesses operate their operations with fewer fuels by the technology improvements. For instances, Europe governments are encouraging more alternatives for transport, which is reducing the demand for new cars (www.businessteacher.org.uk). These all factors are the threats for Toyota. 5. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF TOYOTA: Toyota has coordinated the plans across the supply chain and has executed them efficiently. It is the ultimate way in which Toyota has built its superior efficiency in operations. Its effective performance is estimated by the process and their results. This process aims to create a balance between the supply chain parameters. Components of Supply chain management. Variety of products. Velocity of product flow. Variability of out comes against fore cast. Visibility of process to enable learning. (http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071615490) The variety represents an extremely important design selection of supply chain which has an effect on the participants of the supply chain. When choosing variety, there is a need to have feed back to make sure that it is suitable to represent for the market situation. Velocity has clearly shown in the Toyotas supply chain. It allows doing the procedures at the same time throughout the system. By reducing the variability orders, supply chain will need low level of inventory. It also support for the high quality and cost reduction across the supply chain. These three concepts of supply chain management influence on the stable of supply chain of Toyota. However, Toyotas supply chain ran too hot, which means, working with a lot of unfamiliar suppliers. They didnt have proper understanding of Toyotas culture. The majority of the problems of the company concern with this problem. The Toyota Way and TPS have given them the competitive advantages on a global scale. Most of these advantages are gained through a combination of the arrangement of the human resources policies and their highly efficient global network of the suppliers and manufactures. According to the TPS Toyota maintain the quality of the product while reducing the cost and eliminating the waste efficiently. Through these techniques Toyota is able to develop competitive advantage in their manufacturing and sales. Toyota considers that the workers are at the centre of the process of continuous improvement and that their creativity leads to innovation, to improve the loyalty and morale in the work place. At the end, when the job satisfaction is high, there is a greater likelihood that reliable and high quality products can be offered at an affordable price. So the low cost and high quality of the products create high demand for Toyotas products in the competitive market. REFERENCES: Kae Inoue, Toyotas President Takes over Amid U.S. Slump, [Online], Available: www.bloomberg.com, ( June 23, 2009). GM, Toyota, Ford add sales as incentives Buoy Rough market, [Online], Available: www.businessweek.com,( April, 2010). Operational agility at Toyota, [Online], Available: http://blogs.ft.com, (January 27, 2010). Toyota, Nissan Vow to do Better; Green Cars Key, [Online], Available: www.retures.com, (June23, 2009). Toyota will reduce Hybrid Cars prices, [Online], Available: www.inrumor.com, (January 17 ,2010). Porter, M., Generic Strategies, [Online], Available: www.marketteacher.com,( 1980) . Edwards Deming, W., Total Quality Management, [Online], Available: www.1000advices.com. Strategic Analysis of Toyota, [Online], Available: http://ivythesis.typespad.com (August 03,2004). Jeffrey K. Liker., The Toyota Way:14 management principles from the worlds greatest manufacturer, [Online], Available: http://books.google.co.uk, (August 03 2009). Vision and Philosophy: Toyota Production System [Online], Available: http://www2.toyota.co.tp. Taylor, A., Toyotas new man at the wheel, [Online], Available: http;//money.cnn.com, (June 26, 2009). Toyota working on new car for emerging markets, [Online], Available http://www.teuters.com ,(July 29,2010). Despite Toyota is still launched in emerging Markets, [Online], Available: www.allbusiness.com (February 21, 2011). Toyota Prius,[Online], Available: www.brandchannel.com. Core competency of Toyota, [Online], Available: http://svprojectmanagement.com, (Feb, 2010) Toyota invest in 1Techs process engineering expertise, [Online], Available: www.1Tech.eu.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Who The Hell Is Connie Chung? :: essays research papers fc

Who the Hell is Connie Chung? How does one go from being called â€Å"America’s sweetheart† to being labeled a â€Å"shameless tabloid whore† (Revah 10)? Connie Chung knows. Co-anchoring the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and hosting her own Eye to Eye, she was once on top of the broadcast journalism world, yet all good things must come to an end. Connie Chung had a glorious rise and a dramatic fall. Connie Chung began her career as an assignment editor and on-the-air-reporter at a local Washington, D.C. television station WTTG. But her big break came in 1971, when the Federal Communications Commission began pressuring television networks to hire more minorities and women. Chung applied at CBS’s Washington bureau. She once told Daniel Paisner, â€Å"They had only one woman at CBS News at the time, and I think they wanted to hire more. So, they hired me, they hired Leslie Stahl, they hired Michelle Clark, and they hired Sylvia Chase.... In other words, a Chinese woman a black woman, a nice Jewish girl, and a blond shiska. And so they took care of years of discrimination.† (Moritz 107) Chung covered George McGovern’s presidential campaign in 1971 and accompanied Richard Nixon on trips to the Middle East and the Soviet Union in 1972. In 1976, she became a news anchor for KNXT, the local CBS television station in Los Angeles. There, her salary went from about $27,000 a year to an estimated $600,000, making Connie Chung one of the country’s highest-paid local news anchors in 1983. She received many honors, including an award for best television reporting from the Los Angeles Press Club in 1977 and Local Emmys in 1978 and 1980. (Moritz 108) In 1984, Chung, eager to return to reporting national politics, was asked to anchor NBC News at Sunrise. Of course, she did not let this opportunity pass her by. Chung’s â€Å"new job....also included serving as a political correspondent for the NBC Nightly News program, anchoring the network’s Saturday evening news, and doing three prime-time, ninety-second news casts a week† (Moritz 108). Chung’s â€Å"status as a rising network star was reaffirmed when, in November 1983, she made the first of many appearances on the Today show as a substitute for anchorwoman Jane Pauley† (Moroitz 108). Connie Chung announced in March 1989 that she would rejoin CBS after her NBC contract expired in May. She was to anchor a revamped West 57th Street and the CBS Sunday Night News, and to be one of the main substitute anchors for Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News. This agreement was worth nearly $1.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Closely Examine the Character of Melanie in Hitchcock’s the Birds

The Birds is a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It centres around Melanie, a young city girl, who journeys into danger into a small coastal town called Bodega Bay to play a practical joke on a potential lover, Mitch. A series of unfortunate Bird attacks follow her and wreck havoc on the town and its inhabitants. As the film progresses, Melanie tries, on several occasions, to go against the social norm of women of the 1950’s; every time she does she gets punished and gradually destroyed until she becomes the dominant ideology.At the start of the film, Melanie seems strong and independent. From the offset she is seen as an individualist. In the first scene she is first seen walking down a street in a fitted jacket and pencil skirt, this was seen as too provocative and was not the usual dress code for a 1950’s woman; the norm would be a dress with either a swing skirt or a poodle skirt. Along with the fitted clothes, Melanie has perfectly groomed hair a nd perfectly painted fingernails; these are signs of her emotional state and will change throughout the film.Also in this scene the audience can hear a wolf whistle from a man directed at Melanie, she turns and smiles, telling the audience that she enjoys male attention and is comfortable and confident in the city environment. In the next scene, Melanie is in a bird shop. This is when Mitch is first seen; when Melanie first sees Mitch she immediately becomes flirtatious and thinks that she is in control of what is happening, when really Mitch is in control as he knows exactly who Melanie is while she does not know who he is.After Mitch plays a practical joke on Melanie in the bird shop, Melanie sets out to speak to him again, and when she finds out that he is not staying in his home in the city but in a small town up the coast, Bodega Bay, she sets out on her own little practical joke. This journey will take her out of her comfort zone, the city, and put her in unknown surroundings and ultimately danger. During the drive, Melanie looks very smug but is unaware that she is journeying into danger.The actions of the two love birds in their cage and the speed of the car are deliberately made to look fake as to lull the audience in to a false sense of security and to mask the danger to come, this ties into the genre of deceit that is seen throughout the film. When Melanie reaches Bodega Bay, it is quite obvious that she is out of place; all the town’s citizens are casually dressed which contrasts with Melanie’s immaculate hair and nails and her fitted clothes. Melanie is treated as novelty by the citizens that she encounters.After she plays her practical joke on Mitch at his house, she races him back to Bodega Bay but he beats her and stands waiting for her. The mood is very light hearted as both characters are smiling but the mood changes to become very serious as Melanie is struck by a seagull on the head. This is the first bird attack and the first time, of many, that Mitch is there to rescue her from danger. After the attack Melanie is composed once again but her gloves are blood stained and she does not wear them again, symbolising that her first layer of protection is gone.This first attack is the start of Melanie’s confident and independent exterior being pecked away by the birds. After the attack Melanie goes back to Mitch’s and meets his mother, a very demanding and controlling woman. In these few scenes where they are together Melanie is seen with high angle camera shots, showing that she is weak and powerless in their home, whilst Lydia is seen with low angle camera shots, demonstrating her power and dominance over the family and Melanie.In their next encounter their roles in the household switch: Lydia becoming frail and helpless whereas Melanie is now dominant and in control. The next significant change in Melanie’s character and emotional state is during the bird attack on the petrol station. M elanie shows an act of independence and defiance by taking shelter in a Telephone Box, away from the security of Mitch and other men, but when she tries to get out again she is attacked by the birds, eventually the glass panels of the Telephone box shatter, representing her fragility.High angle shows, once again, that Melanie is weak and powerless. The paint on her fingernails is still intact but her hair is not as groomed as it started out, signifying that her emotional state and independence has been damaged again and she has been punished for her act of defiance. For the second time, Mitch has to come and rescue Melanie from the birds, showing that she is becoming more and more dependable on the security of men, especially Mitch. During the penultimate attack by the birds Melanie’s state of mind changes nce again: she has regained her strength and has taken over the role of mother of the family. This is shown by low angle camera shots and in her actions. When Mitch’ s sister, Cathy, gets sick, it is Melanie, not the mother, that takes her to the kitchen. However, these moments of defiance are short lived, for after the birds appear to have left the house, Melanie hears bird sounds coming from the attic and climbs the stairs, on her own, to see what it is.She hesitates at the door of the attic, there is a close up of her hand and her nails are still intact, and when she does open the door, she does so only to find a flock of birds which attack her mercilessly. This, her last act of independence, ends in disaster and her destruction as an independent woman. For the final time Mitch comes to rescue Melanie from the birds. Melanie’s destruction is symbolised by her looking dishevelled and wrapped up in bandages. Mitch then carries Melanie to the car, demonstrating Melanie’s total dependence on Mitch.Melanie’s destruction is finally symbolised by an extreme close up of her nails, which are completely broken and chipped. The ways in which Melanie changes over the course of The Birds, her frame of mind could be compared to a yo-yo. At the start she was completely independent and self sufficient, but during different parts of the film she either lost some of her independence or gained some. By the end of the film, Melanie ends up being the polar-opposite of what she started out to be. At the end she was totally dependent on Mitch and had lost all independence. Making her the dominant ideology of a woman of the 1950’s.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Critical Analysis and Research on Sylvia Plath’s poems Essay

The literary tradition Plath is most closely associated with: Confessionalism, engenders robust biographical interpretation due to the innately self-revelatory idiom. Plath, even more so than other Confessional poets like Anne Sexton or Robert Lowell, explored the poetic possibilities of contemporaneous self-expression which involved intimate, sometimes deeply personal psychological and biographical revelation. This aspect, along with deftly executed figurative language, expressive and interesting prosody, and stark, often violent imagery distinguishes the poems of Plath’s most well-known book of verse â€Å"Ariel. † Plath’s most famous poem â€Å"Daddy† enjoys myriad biographical interpretations, an understanding of which are as necessary as understanding the poem’s other dimensions: prosody, rhyme, image, and theme for a thorough reading of the poem. Interestingly, Plath her self noted, in a reading for the BBC, that â€Å"Daddy† was â€Å"spoken by a girl with an Electra complex. Her father died while she thought he was God. Her case is complicated by the fact that her father was also a Nazi and her mother very possibly part Jewish. † (Plath, Nos. 166-188). These words express Plath’s attempt to pace a narrative distance between herself and the speaker of the poem and seem to indicate that she felt such a distinction failed to be strongly apparent in the poem itself. This latter conclusion is understandable; close inspection of Plath’s diary, biographies, and the lines of â€Å"Daddy† exhume a potent parallels between the events described in the poem and the events of Plath’s life. Beginning with the most obvious parallel as well as the poem’s central theme of a â€Å"girl with an Electra complex,† Plath’s journals reveal that she, indeed, suffered personally from an â€Å"Electra complex. † While undergoing treatment with her psychologist Dr. Ruth Beuscher, Plath experienced a cathartic emotional climax during psychotherapy and recorded her subsequent Sylvia Plath’s Poems Page -2- thoughts. Plath also noted that her father was an â€Å"ogre† and â€Å"tyrant† and that he kept a hidden Nazi flag in his closet which he occasionally paraded in front of while dressed in Nazi regalia. â€Å"He wouldn’t go to a doctor, wouldn’t believe in God and heiled Hitler in the privacy of his home. † Of her mother Plath observed, â€Å"She suffered{†¦ } bound to the track naked and the train called Life coming with a frown and a choo-choo around the bend. † (Plath Journal, 430) This latter turn of phrase (with its train imagery) informs the imagery of Daddy when Plath writes: â€Å"An engine, an engine/ Chuffing me off like a Jew. † Likewise, the Nazi imagery of â€Å"Daddy† conveys a sense of bleakest hopelessness, with Plath directly identifying her own childhood pain and loss of her father with the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis. â€Å"I have always been scared of you/ With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo. / And your neat mustache/And your Arayan eye, bright blue. † Although the poem expresses the dramatic revelation of an â€Å"Electra complex,† the poem’s opening lines foreshadow a strange inversion of powers; the admonition â€Å"You do not do, you do not do/ Any more, black shoe† portends or infers that the speaker has won a victory over her oppressor (s); taken at their full impact, the opening lines convey not only a release from the familial neurosis implied by the aforementioned biographical details, but a sinister hint at the poem’s ultimately suicidal themes. The line â€Å"in which I have lived like a foot/For thirty years, poor and white† mean to strike to the heart of the poet’s entire life and not merely the â€Å"Electra complex† that is so obviously rendered. The â€Å"shoe† is all form of oppression and constriction, though throughout the poem there is a strong sense of male domination and patriarchal oppression. â€Å"Of the poems that Sylvia Plath’s Poems Page -3- concentrate on the family, those dealing with the father provide the clearest and most powerful example of Plath’s divided conception of the universe. † (Rosenblatt 119) That said, the poem gains its most sinister and perhaps most powerful energies from deeply autobiographical confession. Lines such as â€Å"In the waters off beautiful Nauset. /I used to pray to recover you. † can only be interpreted as personal motifs, since Plath summered in Nauset with her family and often referred to this time period as the most gloriously happy in her life. Memory, in the poem, is like the child remembers: â€Å"Daddy† brilliantly enlarges the memory of Plath’s father to legendary proportions. â€Å"Plath dramatizes the situation between daughter and father as if no time had passed since the father’s death: the emotional situation is still burning in her consciousness. † (Rosenblatt 160) This constant tension between the ideal and the real – the remembered and the present – the child and the grown woman mirror the universal experiences of most people whether the specific biographical details are similar. In order to firmly establish the mythical impact of her private â€Å"theater† Plath employs heroic exaggeration via the imagery of the poem: While most of the geographical references in Plath’s poetry are to New England or England, â€Å"Daddy† refers to San Francisco in the lines â€Å"Ghastly statue with one gray toe / Big as a Frisco Seal / And a head in the freakish Atlantic. † These lines identify the daddy in the poem as a colossus who stretches across America from the Atlantic to the Pacific–a colossus even larger than the one described in â€Å"The Colossus. † (ANO194) Similarly, Plath demonstrates that her personal life, as a focused theme for her thoroughly crafted poetry, attains a mythical stature in the process. This mythical resonance is prevalent in her poem â€Å"medusa,† which, while not as generally well-known as â€Å"Daddy† is actually a complimentary piece to the more famous work, with Medusa providing the maternal aspect of the Sylvia Plath’s Poems Page -4- two parentally themed pieces: â€Å"†Medusa† corresponds in Plath’s work to â€Å"Daddy†: both represent the search for freedom from parental figures. † (Rosenblatt 127) If â€Å"Daddy† drew upon events from Plath’s life and juxtaposed them with sweeping images drawn from world history, â€Å"Medusa† presents a more directly mythological connotation. From the title, alone, the reader is set to expect a resonance with Greek myth. However, what ensues is an inversion of the technique employed in â€Å"Daddy,† which utilized a mathematically precise rhyme scheme and colloquial diction to elevate the personal to the status of myth. In â€Å"Medusa,† a well-known myth is used as a kind of â€Å"anchor† by which the personal can be magnified and universally comprehended. Plath imagines her mother as the Medusa, capable of turning all who look at her into stone. â€Å"†Medusa† paints the portrait of a similar figure: she observes the speaker from across the Atlantic; she has a hideous head that can apparently turn the self to stone; and she wishes to hurt the speaker. † (Rosenblatt 127) One of the most interesting images in the poem is that of the Atlantic cable viewed by the poet as a â€Å"barnacled umbilicus† which keeps her tied to the â€Å"stone† world of Medusa with its â€Å"God-ball,/Lens of mercies† and Medusa’s â€Å"stooges† following the poet â€Å"Dragging their Jesus hair. † This image also allows the infusion of biographical details, as in â€Å"Daddy† and in nearly all of the â€Å"Ariel† poems, as functional a part of the aesthetic as meter, rhyme, and diction. â€Å"The reference in the poem to the umbilical attachment between the poet and Medusa identifies this figure as the mother. Plath also alludes to a visit that her mother made to England in the summer of 1962 in the line: â€Å"You steamed to me over the sea. â€Å"[†¦ ]†Medusa† attempts to cast off the parental image and to attain personal independence. † (Rosenblatt 127) Sylvia Plath’s Poems Page -5- The diction of â€Å"Medusa† is deliberately colloquial, conversational and punctuated by complex, corresponding imagery and figurative language. This alloy of disparate impulses, one toward the informality of a phone call or table-conversation, the other for the deep mythological reference and probing psychological confession, produces a brilliant and enduring poetic tension in Plath’s â€Å"Ariel† poems. Perhaps more than nay other single poem in the â€Å"Ariel† sequence, â€Å"Lady Lazarus† pushes the parameters of the poetic idiom described above. The subject of Lady Lazarus, like the subject of â€Å"Daddy† and â€Å"Medusa† is simultaneously autobiographical and mythological. In this poem, Plath conjoins her first suicide attempt with the Biblical story of Lazarus. And again, Plath produces a tension in diction by contrasting formal and colloquial language. â€Å"Lady Lazarus† defines the central aesthetic principles of Plath’s late poetry. First, the poem derives its dominant effects from the colloquial language. From the conversational opening (â€Å"I have done it again†) to the clipped warnings of the ending (â€Å"Beware / Beware†), â€Å"Lady Lazarus† appears as the monologue of a woman speaking spontaneously out of her pain and psychic disintegration. † (Rosenblatt 40) Against the predominantly colloquial diction, complex Latinate terms and phrases are contrasted providing the voice of the â€Å"establishment,† of the â€Å"enemy† and the numb, indifferent, objective world. â€Å" The Latinate terms (â€Å"annihilate,† â€Å"filaments,† â€Å"opus,† â€Å"valuable†) are introduced as sudden contrasts to the essentially simple language of the speaker. † (Rosenblatt 40) The prosody of â€Å"Lady Lazarus,† with its sporadic, nursery-rhyme like rhymes: â€Å"I do it exceptionally well/ I do it so it feels like hell† â€Å"A wedding ring,/ A gold filling† ventures near the territory of light-verse, but the poem’s themes and images are anything but light. The strain of the prosody and diction against the profound themes of suicide, Nazism, psychiatric and medical Sylvia Plath’s Poems Page -6- tyranny, and social-alienation is produced without poetic collapse due to Plath’s unerring control of language: â€Å"The inventiveness of the language demonstrates Plath’s ability to create[†¦ ] an appropriate oral medium for the distorted mental states of the speaker. The sexual pun on â€Å"charge† in the first line above; the bastardization of German (â€Å"Herr Enemy†); the combination of Latinate diction (â€Å"opus,† â€Å"valuable†) and colloquial phrasing (â€Å"charge,† â€Å"So, so †¦ â€Å")—all these linguistic elements reveal a character who has been grotesquely split into warring selves. (Rosenblatt 39) â€Å"Lady Lazarus† closes, like â€Å"Daddy† and â€Å"Medusa† with the affirmation of the speaker’s vengeful triumph over adversaries. This closing â€Å"sting† in many of the most successful of the â€Å"Ariel† poems suggests a rebirth for the fragmented self described in â€Å"Lady Lazarus. † The successful rebirth also indicates another, if secondary impulse, in the â€Å"Ariel† poems, that of communal identification or empathy. It is as though poet, having undergone the vivisections of â€Å"Daddy† â€Å"Medusa† â€Å"Lady Lazarus† and other poems, can now empathize with others who have been similarly wounded. An ironic take on this aspect is the pome’ The Applicant,† which substitutes the idea of salesmanship for compassion, admitting, however, that identification with the customer is a necessary component of selling. â€Å"One of the more bitter poems in Ariel is â€Å"The Applicant† ( October 11, 1962), a portrait of marriage in contemporary western culture[†¦ ] Somehow all interaction between people, and especially that between men and women, given the history of the use of women as items of barter, is conditioned by the ethics and assumptions of a bureaucratized market place. † (Annas 104) Plath’s melding of colloquial and formal diction in â€Å"The Applicant† results in an ironically bitter observation on the consequences of human-objectification, a theme which upon close inspection informs nearly all of the â€Å"Ariel† poems. Works Cited Annas, Pamela J. A Disturbance in Mirrors: The Poetry of Sylvia Plath. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. Plath, Sylvia. The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. New York NY Anchor Books. 2000. Plath, Sylvia. â€Å"The Source of the Vampire and â€Å"Frisco Seal† in Plath’s â€Å"Daddy†. † ANQ 4. 4 (1991): 194-194. Rosenblatt, Jon. Sylvia Plath: The Poetry of Initiation. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1979.