The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay #1 -Huck has a grim attitude towards Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Huck has a grim attitude toward people he disagrees with or doesnt get along with. Huck tends to alienate himself from those people. He doesnt let it bother him. Unlike most people Huck doesnt try to make his point. When Huck has a certain outlook on things he keep his view. He will not change it for anyone. For instance in Chapter Three when Miss Watson tells Huck that if he prayed he would get everything he wished for. â€Å"Huck just shook his head yes and walked away telling Tom that it doesnt work because he has tried it before with fishing line and fishing hooks. † This tells us that Huck is an independent person who doesnt need to rely on other people. #5 How is Jim betrayed? How does Huck react? What does this show about his character? How has he changed his mind about Jim at this point? Jim is very much like a father to Huck. He looks out for Huck and he is respected and looked upon by Huck. This is also more significant because Huckleberry Finn never had a father and he never really had a role model. Jim serves this purpose perfectly. Throughout all of his adventures Jim shows compassion as his most prominent trait. He makes the reader aware of his many superstitions and Jim exhibits gullibility in the sense that he Jim always assumes the other characters in the book will not take advantage of him. One incident proving that Jim acts naive occurs halfway through the novel, when the Duke first comes into the scene â€Å"By right I am a duke! Jim’s eyes bugged out when he heard that † In the novel, Huck Finn, one can legitimately prove that compassion, superstitious and gullibility illustrate Jim’s character perfectly. To begin with, among the many characteristics of Jim, his compassionate nature shows throughout the book. When Huck and Jim come across the floating boathouse, Jim finds a dead man inside. He advises Huck not to look as he says, â€Å"It’s a dead man dead two er three days come in Huck, but doan’ look at his face. † At the end of the book the reader finds out that the dead man turns out as Huck’s father. Further on down the river, Huck and Jim engage in a deep conversation. Jim speaks of the family he feels he has left behind. Jim tries hard to save up all his money in hopes of buying back his wife and children when he becomes a free man. He expresses that he feels terrible for leaving behind his family and misses them very much. As a result, Huck feels responsible and guilty for ruining Jim’s freedom. Huck decides that he wants to reveal the truth, that Jim really isn’t a free man. His conscience tells him not to and instead he finds himself helping Jim rather than giving him up. Jim feels so thankful to Huck when he says . . . it’s all on account of Huck, I’s a free man, you’s the best friend Jim’s ever had † #6 Huck is constantly rebelling against â€Å"civilization† in the story. Has he become more â€Å"civilized† at the end of the novel? Why or why not? The conflict between society and the individual is a theme portrayed throughout Twains Huckleberry Finn. Huck was not raised in accord with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As portrayed several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more moral than those of society. From the very beginning of Hucks story, Huck clearly states that he did not want to conform to society; The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied. When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an obviously evil and unfit man. One who drinks profusely and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned over finding Hucks dead body than rescuing his live one from Pap. This is a society that is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out, down the Mississippi. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restrictions of society. Also, Hucks acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. He does not realize that his own instincts are more morally correct than those of society. In chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he fabricates a story about his father on the raft with smallpox. 6. Huck constantly rebelling against â€Å"civilization† in the story. This is a book of social criticism. Twain has his ways of criticizing people of their actions and the things they do. Twain does a good job expressing the characters social behaviors. Instead of upfront making fun of Hulks actions he hints towards them or tries to glorify them when he does something that is socially wrong or unintelligent. Huck stages his death. This is not a real bright thing to do even though Hucks father is real mean and is a threat to his life and Hucks life. Huck wants to get away from him so bad that the first thing that comes into his mind is to stage his death so Pap will think hes dead and wont be looking for him ever again. Twain feels that by making Huck do this Twain is poking fun at Hucks intelligence. Not his nature intelligence but his book intelligence. In other words Twain is making fun of Huck. #8 – In what way is Huck a slave? Throughout the incident on pages 66-69 in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck fights with two distinct voices. One is siding with society, saying Huck should turn Jim in, and the other is seeing the wrong in turning his friend in, not viewing Jim as a slave. Twain wants the reader to see the moral dilemmas Huck is going through, and what slavery ideology can do to an innocent like Huck. Huck does not consciously think about Jims impending freedom until Jim himself starts to get excited about the idea. The reader sees Hucks first objection to Jim gaining his freedom on page 66, when Huck says, Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I could get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way. Huck is hearing the voice of society at this point, not his own. He does not see a moral dilemma with Jim being free; he is opposed to the fact that he is the one helping him. This shows Huck misunderstanding of slavery. Huck does not treat Jim like a slave when they travel together, this shows the reader that Huck views Jim as an equal in most ways. Huck sees having a slave only as owning the person, not actually being a slave to someone. Therefore, when he helps Jim runaway it would be like stealing. This conscience is telling him that Miss Watson, Jims master, never did anything wrong to him and that he shouldnt be doing a wrong to her by helping Jim escape. This is a totally different view of Miss Watson from Hucks perspective. Huck always disliked Miss Watson, but now that this society voice plays a part in Hucks judgment his views are changed. This society views allows Huck to see Jim, a friend, only as a slave and Miss Watson, almost a foe in his young views, as a dear friend. Twain is showing the reader the gross injustices of slavery in this little incident, as well as his moral opposition to slavery. #2 – Describe Pap. Use his own words (textual examples) to support your description. My heart wuz mos broke bekase you wuz los,(Pg. 85) was what Jim told Huckleberry when he found him again after they had been separated. This is a perfect example of how much Jim sincerely cares about Huck. Huck definitely has very close and father-like relationship with the runaway slave, Jim. On the other hand, his real father, Pap, is less father figure to Huck than a runaway African American slave. Pap is very violent and abusive towards Huck. By looking at Hucks relationships with Pap and Jim and how they are different and similar in some ways, Hucks relationship with Pap, and Hucks relationship with Jim the reader can see how they all relate. Although the relationships between Huck and Pap and Huck and Jim may seem extremely different, they are also quite similar in some ways. Both are father figures for Huck in a way. Although Huck is related to Pap through blood, Jim, who is a slave, cares more for Huck and is more nurturing than Pap is. Come in, Huck, but doan look at his face its too gashly. (Pg. 50) Jim said this as he found the body of Hucks father, Pap. This shows how Jim didnt want Huck to be upset by knowing that his father is dead. Also, Huck is in danger staying with both of these people. With staying with Pap, Huck is in danger because of his fathers abusiveness. Jim and Pap are also alike because of the fact that both of these people dont like their place in society. Pap wants to be wealthier and higher up in society, whereas Jim only wants to escape slavery and own himself. Pap is a very violent drunk. He lives on the outskirts of town, and goes into town only to get alcohol and become intoxicated. I borrowed three dollars from Judge Thatcher, and pap took it and got drunk, and went a-blow-ing around and cussing and whooping and carrying on; and he kept it up all over town, with a tin pan, till most midnight; then they jailed him, and next day they in had him before court, and jailed him again for a week. , (Pg. 21) #2 – What commentary is Mark Twain making about his society in this novel? Choosing Right Over Wrong Maturity is knowing when to do the right thing and following up on ones commitment even when he or she is tempted to do wrong. Huck Finn, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is faced with such temptations and situations where he is able to make the right choice and mature physically, mentally, and spiritually. He is able to avoid bad decisions, which leads him to become a more mature, established young man. Although Huck Finn finds himself acting immature at times, he still fully demonstrates maturity by the end of the novel. Throughout the novel, Huck is able to recognize what is wrong and decipher what should be right. Huck realizes that the King and Duke are taking advantage of the girls inheritance money. He realizes that what they are doing is incorrect and something should be done. This is first demonstrated when Huck states, It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race (175). This shows that Huck is developing a conscience and that he is able to recognize that what the Duke and King are doing is morally wrong. He determines that taking and robbing from innocent people is not what humans are supposed to do. This is also evident when Huck states, I say to myself this is a girl that Im letting that old reptile rob her of her money! (188). This thought established by Huck shows that he can distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. Huck also shows maturity by allowing negative situations to pass by and misdirected conversation to stop, by not arguing more excessively than necessary. This is recognized when Huck states, Well, I couldnt see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldnt try for it. But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, and wouldnt do no good (11).

Analysis Of The Pharmaceutical Industry Economics Essay

Analysis Of The Pharmaceutical Industry Economics Essay The most important definition of industry was given by Michael Porter in 1979: a group of competitors producing substitutes that are close enough that the behavior of any firm affects each of the others either directly or indirectly. Later, Porter defined the term more precisely as a group of companies offering products or services that are close substitutes for each other, that is, products or services that satisfy the same basic customers needs. This new definition emphasizes the importance of industry borders and industrys role as a market supplier or producer of goods and services, as distinguished from a market, defined as a consumer of goods and services. Furthermore, inside every industry there are groups of companies that follow similar strategies, defined by Michael S. Hunt in his unpublished 1972 Ph.D. dissertation as strategic groups. Between these groups there are differences in entry barriers, bargaining power with buyers and suppliers and skills and resources . Strategic groups compete against each other within the industry as a result of these differences. 1.2 Models to Analyze the Industry and Its Environment The literature agrees that comprehension of the industry structure is essential to developing a firms strategy and has a greater effect on the firms performance than whether it is business-specific or corporate-parent. The comprehension of the structure requires analyses of the industrys life cycle. It also requires step-by-step political, legal, technological, social and economic analyses as well as the five driving forces of business, provided by Michael Porter. By utilizing these analysis techniques, it is also possible to anticipate changes in industry competition and profitability over time. 1.2.1 Industry Life Cycle Analysis There are different phases during the development of an industry. Every phases is characterized by a different environments which make competition assumes different the form. Through studying the life cycle, the industry realizes its stake in the market and its influence on consumers. The industry life cycle model includes four different phases: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The first phase, called introduction, is characterized by a low demand, whereas prices are high as a consequence of firms inability to realize economies of scale. For this reason profits are low and losses are possible due to high amount of investments in new categories. Barriers to entry are primary based on technologies and competencies. Strategy is focused mainly on RD and production, with the goal of enhancing novelty and quality. Competitors, attracted by the rising demand, attempt to replicate the new product. In the second phase, growth, the use of the product is extended, demand grows, prices decline due to economies of scale, barriers to entry are lower and the threat of new entry is high. At this phase the technology is usually not exclusive property of one or more firms, and the primary reaction to competition is marketing expenditure and initiatives; profits are not very high because prices decline as competitors enter the market. There is a transition period, or shakeout, between the second and the third phases. The shakeout involves finding and using all investment opportunities, because the market is near saturation and demand grows more slowly. In the third phase, maturity, market growth is low or nonexistent, and the focus shifts to gaining market share; demand is represented only by the substitution of products, investment in RD decreases and there is little innovation. In this phase firms seek cost reductions, and competition is based primarily on advertising and quality because of the low differentiation between products. Big firms acquire smaller players, while others are forced to exit. As a conseguence of high barrier to entry, the threat of new entrants are low. The last phase is decline, so called because of the continued decline in demand. Industries arrive at this stage for a variety of reasons. These include a change in social behaviors, demographic changes, international competition, technological innovations and increased customer knowledge. The buying process is based primarily on price rather than innovation. As a result, profit and revenues decline, and the industry as a whole may be supplanted. 1.2.2 PEST Analysis The word PEST is an acronym of several aspects that influence business activities at any given moment. An industry operates under Political, Economic, Social and Technological conditions. These conditions are identify and analyzed using the PEST Analysis technique. Due to their independent influence on any industry, it is essential that each be considered individually. The political aspect of analysis encompasses various factors that influence business activities in a given country at several levels: national, subnational and supranational levels. These include trade policies control imports, exports and international business partners, government ownership of industry, attitude toward monopolies and competition and trade policies. Hence, failure to consider these policies may result in loss of revenue due to taxes or penalty fees. Government stability is also very important, because it eradicates the risks associated with wars and conflicts. For an industry to thrive, political stability must be uncompromised; otherwise, sales and business activities will be uncertain, and investors will lose interest. The internal political issues in any country influence the running of industries. Politics based on race or religion may define the course for certain industries, especially if an industry falls short of political expectations. Elections and changes in leadership also influence an industrys strengths and opportunities and thus should be considered during the analysis. In addition to internal issues, international pressures and influences may affect some industries, such as environmental degradation or product safety. Another factor is terrorism. Though uncommon in many countries, poor or unstable governance may attract terrorist activities, vengeful or otherwise, which can have adverse effects on the industries operating in that country. All these issues may influence industry and firm expansion and industry attractiveness from stakeholders point of view. The economic aspect of analysis includes many factors. The first factor to consider is the current economic situation and trends in the country in which the industry is based. Companies should note inflation and economic decline so that when it comes to investing, they can avoid being financially affected. Failure to do this results in an economically blind platform that may cause the industrys sudden collapse. Another factor to consider in analysis is taxation rates. When there are high taxation rates in a given country, price-based competition may affect a given industry in the international market. International economic trends are also very important, because they define currency exchange rates, imports and exports. Other factors to consider are consumer expenditure and disposable income and, finally, legal issues, including all trade legislation in a given country and other legal regulations that inhibit or encourage expansion of business activities. Also to be considered are co nsumer protection laws, employment laws, environmental protection laws and quality standardization regulations. Industrial laws regulating competition, market policies and guidelines also play an important role in influencing industrys stability and future expansion possibilities . When considering the social aspect, factors including demographic changes, shifts in values and culture and changes in lifestyle are important to note so as to strategize on expansion and growth . Certain factors, such as media and communities, influence an industrys growth and returns. Brand name and corporate image are also very important in influencing growth and returns since they shape customer loyalty and shareholder investment. The medias views on certain industrial products should be incorporated into the analysis, as should consumer attitudes and sensibility to green issues, that is, issues that affect the environment, energy consumption and waste and its disposal. A companys information systems and internal and external communications should also be analyzed to ensure that it keeps pace with its competitors. Other factors are the policies regulating education, health and distribution of income, all of which, in the long run, influence consumer use of products . The technological aspect of analysis encompasses a variety of factors. In addition to developing technologies, all associated technologies, along with their innovation potentials, speed of change and adoption of new technology, should be analyzed for a proper evaluation of the industry. Other technological factors are transportation, waste management and online business. The level of expenditure on RD should also be considered in order to secure the industrys competitive position to prevent losses and collapse . 1.2.3 Porters Five Competitive Forces Analysis Porters model, as described by Kay, is an evolution of the Structure-Conduct-Performance paradigm conceived by Edward Mason at Harvard University in the 1930s and detailed by Scherer in the 1980s. , The model aims to determine the intensity of industry competition, major issues in determining strategy and whether an industry is attractive or not. Porter identified five competitive forces that act on an industry and its environment: threat of entry, intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and bargaining power of suppliers. The first competitive force, threat of entry, refers to the threat of new entrants in an established industry or acquisition to gain market share. Reactions of participants and barriers to entry are the main factors used to establish whether the threat is high or low. Six major entry barriers have been identified: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ capital required to compete in the industry (especially in risky industry, such as advertising or RD) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ switching costs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ access to distribution channels à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ economies of scale à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ cost disadvantages independent of scale, such as patents, access to know-how, access to limited resources, favorable locations, government subsidies or policies and learning or experience curves à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ product differentiation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ expected retaliation from existing firms against the new entrants Strong barriers to the entry of new firms enable a few firms to dominate the market and thereby influence prices. The second force is intensity of rivalry among existing competitors. Rivalry takes place when one or more firms inside an industry try to improve their position using tactics such as price competition, new product introduction or new services. Rivalry depends on several factors: number and size of competitors, industry growth, product characteristics (which determine whether the rivalry is based on price or differentiation), cost structure, exit barriers, diverse competitors, operative capacity and high strategic stakes. If an industry is inhibited, then firms will experience difficulties when trying to expand. The growth of foreign competition and the corporate stakes should also be included in the analysis. Threat of substitutes is the third forces. Substitutes are those products manufactured by other industries but serving the same purposes as the initial product. These substitute products cause the demand to decline. The implications are reduced profits and reduced market command by the original capital investor. This is of particular importance when the buyer has no switching costs and can easily compare products in terms of price and efficiency. Bargaining power of buyers is the fourth force. High bargaining power positions weak firms inside the industry, forcing price down, enhancing competition between industry players and resulting in bargaining for higher quality or services. This power is particularly high under certain conditions, such as few and specific buyers, undifferentiated products, low switching costs, the possibility of backward integration and information about demand and the availability of market price to the buyers. Furthermore, bargaining power is high if product quality is not a crucial factor of decision-making and if what the buyer is acquiring is a modest fraction of his total costs. Bargaining power is even higher when the buyer is a retailer or a wholesaler able to influence the consumers purchasing decision. The fifth and last force is the bargaining power of suppliers. This can act on the industry in several ways: raising prices, lowering quality or privileging some buyers. Supplier power can be divided into several elements. One of these elements is supplier concentration. Suppliers are in a stronger position when there are few suppliers, switching costs are high, the industry they are serving account for a small fraction of their business or their products are an important part of the buyers business. The bargaining power of suppliers is low or nonexistent when there are substitute products. Lastly, purchase volume and the suppliers influence on cost are very important. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™ 2. Pharmaceutical Industry Analysis A general overview of the pharmaceutical industry is the primary objective of this chapter. First, this chapther will define the industry in order to identify the main players in the pharmaceutical market. Second, using the instruments and models described in the first section, it will highlight the main characteristics of the industry and the factors that influence it. 2.1 Definition of Pharmaceutical Industry The pharmaceutical industry is composed of companies developing, manufacturing and marketing products licensed for use as medications. Their goal is to prevent, diagnose or treat diseases. A medicinal product, also called a pharmaceutical, according to the EU, is an exogenous substance or a combination of exogenous substances that can be organic or inorganic, natural or synthetic, and able, once inside the human or animal body, to modify physiological functions or to make a medical diagnosis through physical, chemical or physicochemical action. This industry is subdivided into two sub-industries characterized by different business models and players: prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals. Prescription pharmaceuticals, also referred to as Rx, are medicines that are available to the consumers for purchase in a pharmacy or drug store only with a prescription from a physician or administered only in hospitals. These medicines target specific diseases and, therefore, are prescribed for and used by one person only. OTC pharmaceuticals are instead used by more than one person which present the same symptoms in the same or in different time. These medicines are available to the consumer at every time and the consumer dont need any prescription from a physician for purchase. Furthermore, inside this industry there are two types of firms: Big Pharma and Biotech. These two types, despite being in the same business, vary in several ways: IP, drug methodology, expenditure and productivity of RD . The primary drug RD techniques used by Big Pharma firms are chemoinformatics and in silico screenings. Biotech firms are companies that use biotechnology in RD . Biotechnology, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is the application of science and technology to living organisms, as well as parts, products and models thereof, to alter living or nonliving materials for the production of knowledge, goods and services. Generally, Biotech firms tend to have a strong academic culture, are more risk treatment and spend less than half what Big Pharma spends on R&D; in 2004, Biotech firms spent $20 billion, versus $50 billion spent by Big Pharma. Generally, a Biotech product has multiple IP covering manufacture, formulation and stability, a s opposed to Big Pharma IP, which covers only the product, allowing generics to be produced quickly. While they may appear to have the same phenotype, their genotypes are distinct, so much so that they can be considered two industries, as stated by Arthur D. Levinson, Chairman and CEO of Genentech. Nevertheless, this distinction is not always clear, as many Biotech and Big Pharma firms are hybrids to varying degrees. The focus of this thesis are Big Pharma involved in the development of prescription pharmaceuticals to treat and prevent human diseases in the EU market. 2.2 Analysis of the Pharmaceutical Industry The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the pharmaceutical industry lifecycle and investigate the major force acting inside it . 2.2.1 Industry Lifecycle Analysis People over the years have always tried to discover diseases causes and to find remedies against it. The most complete medical test, the Ebers Papyrus, is dated 1550 BC and it was written by Egyptians . However, the industrial production of drugs dates back to the year 1827 when Heinrich E Merck in Germany founded the first company for the production of cocaine and morphine . This event started the introduction phase of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe. In Europe, this industry was born in different way, reflecting the different strategic groups inside it. In the German-speaking countries, pharmaceutical companies were born as a branch of the chemical industry, with firms like Bayer and Hoechst in 1863, BASF in 1865 and Schering in 1871 in Germany, and CIBA in 1884 and Sandoz in 1886. Only Hoffman-La Roche in 1894 in Switzerland was originally a drug firm. On the other hand, in Italy, France and the UK companies were born from small shop pharmacies, such as Glaxo which traces it s origins to a pharmacy in Plough Court in 1715 . During the 1800s many compounds were already being isolated, but none was being synthetically produced. The first synthetic drug was Phenacetin, produced by Bayer and commercialized in 1888 . Ten years later Bayer commercialized Aspirin, which marked a milestone in the pharmaceutical industry. Many firms rose to prominence in the 1920s-30s with these kinds of pharmaceuticals, but also with a new class of pharmaceuticals: vaccines and serums . During the Second World War II the demand for drugs increased and mass production started, primarily with drugs such as antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin and neomycin) and sulphonamide . The availability of these drugs dramatically changed the quality and the average life-span of people. In this period the German pharmaceutical industry, a leader along with the Swiss in pre-war times, was taken over by American firms who came to Europe to taking advantage of the condition of the continent after the war. The period 1950-60 was the start of the industrys growth phase , and this saw a proliferation of new drugs and high return to drug discovery. New drugs included tranquilizers such as MAO inhibitors in 1952, anti-tuberculosis drugs such as Isoniazid in 1952 and oral contraceptives in 1956. Other discoveries included Librium in 1960 and Valium in 1960. The latter was sold from 1963 and later became one of the most prescribed medicines in history before controversy emerged over its link to habituation and dependency. In the 1950s, legislation was put in place to regulate the industry, mainly touching on labelling and approval by health authorities as well as drawing distinctions between non-prescription and prescription medicines. In this apparently unstoppable process of pharmaceutical progression and optimism the industry was stalled by a drama concerning one drug sold in Europe and Japan, Thalidomide. This drug, synthesized in Germany in 1954, was introduced to the market to treat the symptoms of morning sickness and nausea in pregnant women. Between 1954 and 1960, it caused around 5,000 and 10,000 severe deformities in infants. In fact, the drug had not been sufficiently tested on animals to assess its safety, and after this revelation, in an attempt to better regulate the industry, drug oversight authorities were established to exercise control over the industry. The World Medical Association met in Finland and issued the Declaration of Helsinki, setting the standards for clinical research. Among other things, the declaration stated that pharmaceutical companies must prove the efficacy of a new drug in clinical trials before releasing it to the market, and subjects must consent to experiments done to test the efficacy of drugs in clinical studies. The industry remained small up to the late 1970s . Two events characterized the 1970s. First, chemical production for raw materials and early intermediates shifted out of Europe to low cost destinations such as India and China which later began producing active pharmaceutical ingredients and finally non-patented pharmaceuticals . Second, there was the birth of biotechnology. This new science had its roots many years before with the discovery of the double helix in 1953 by Watson and Crick, which followed the advances in molecular genetics, recombinant DNA technology, and molecular biology. Until then, drugs in commerce were produced by extraction from natural substances or chemical synthesis. These new techniques of molecular biology marked the birth of a new industry which became a competitor to and a substitute of the pharmaceutical industry. This new industry was pioneered by firms like Genentech and Amgen which introduced revolutionary drugs such as Epogen and recombinant human i nsulin. In the 1980s, legislation was passed in most European countries requiring adherence to strong patents for both the pharmaceutical products and their production processes. There were also new regulations such as the introduction of the Good Clinical Practices, which were guidelines regulating ethics and the reliability of clinical studies. In Europe, several states also initiated health maintenance organizations and managed care in an effort to limit rising medical costs, and a preference for preventive rather that curative medication took root. As the industry entered the 1990s, new discoveries and projects, such as the Human Genome Project 1990, changed the business environment. Also, there was a huge wave of MA to build on synergies. This included Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz forming Novartis, Hoechst and Roussel-Rhone Poulenc-Rorer forming Aventis and Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline forming GlaxoSmithKline. In this way, the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals came to be concentrated in Western Europe and North America, with dominant firms and a few small companies that produced drugs in each country. The major European companies are still the dominant players not only in Europe but also in the global market. They include Novartis of Switzerland, Bayer of Germany, GlaxoSmithKline of the UK, Hoffman-la Roche of Switzerland and AstraZeneca of UK/Sweden. As the European pharmaceutical industry entered the 21st century, signs of the growth phase have become even more evident. This has been characterized by intense marketing to physicians and internet commerce. This, in part, has been facilitated by the liberalization of marketing rules requiring presentation of risks as well as the advertising message. Internet has enabled the direct purchase of raw materials by the manufacturers. The development of drugs has moved from the hit-and-miss approach to research and informed discovery. Alternative medicines and lifestyle medicines have presented new challenges and opportunities and have raised the level of competition in the industry. The aging population in western European economies has increased opportunities for raising revenues. In fact, because of the ageing population in the developed economies, drug consumption will increase since the aged have a higher frequency of contracting diseases than younger people. New epidemics, such as t he recent H1N1 flu outbreak, continue to batter the world population, and increased globalization makes them spread more quickly than ever. As the industry advances through the growth phase, companies are undertaking research and development initiatives both to develop new drugs and improve production processes. Further, the increased role of state-supported medical schemes across Europe, as well as other state-managed health programs around the world will greatly increase the reach of healthcare, extending it to more of the middle class and the poor who constitute the larger part of the population in most countries. As the medical programs continue to gain efficacy, the sales of pharmaceutical firms are expected to grow. In addition,, the emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India, China, Turkey, Mexico, and South Korea will add to potential consumer numbers in the industry for European manufacturers. Together, these countries constitute a huge percentuage of the worlds population, meaning that their entry into the high income category will no doubt present an enormous potential market for pharmaceutical products. In fact, the growth in these markets is expected to reach 14-17% by 2014, compared with only 3-6% growth in the developed markets. Thanks to agreements signed by the Asia-Pacific and Europe governments concerning liberalization of the Asia-Pacific pharmaceuticals and investments market, many companies have already started to establish relationships with emerging markets. An example is GlaxoSmithKline, who partnered in 2009 with Indias Dr. Reddy Laboratories. GlaxoSmithKline will distribute the drugs manufactured and supplied by Dr. Reddy in Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Even with these last considerations, the European pharmaceutical industry has only a limited chance of entering the maturity phase of the cycle. The barriers to entry are so great that they choke any new entrant in almost every facet of operation: in research and development, in product distribution, and in compliance with rules and regulations. In fact, this industry has complex manufacturing capabilities which are hard to replicate, and are protected by way of patent, as well as huge consumer attachment to preferred brands from specific companies, often informed by experience. Furthermore Europe generic penetration is very low (less than 10% in total). Thus the industry might remain in the growth phase for a considerable time.

Anorexia and Bulimia - A Growing Epidemic Essay -- Causes of Bulimia N

Bulimia and anorexia is a growing epidemic in America. Bulimia and Anorexia can start at any age, but is most common between the ages of 11-17 years old. Of all the individuals that experience this illness only 50% of all of them are ever cured, and another 6% that suffer from this horrible illness will experience death. This illness has become very deadly to our young adults. Bulimia and anorexia can cause a distorted image in a persons mind because they truly believe they are overweight. In their minds they are beyond doubt obese. Even if the person weighs only 95 pounds. This sickness has the person thinking they are overweight. This could bring about a severe bout of depression. Once the person hits the stage of depression professional help is needs because the feeling of being overweight and depression could put the individual over the edge. Individual experiencing Bulimia go on what is called eating binges. Eating binges are when people eat longer amounts of food in less then two hours. (Internet3) Then after they binge they feel guilt or shame so they need to undo their behavior. To undo their behavior they make themselves vomit, or they take laxatives, water pills or starve themselves. (Cauwel21) Binge and poring usually occurs more than two times a week for at least three months. (Internet1) What cause bulimia and anorexia? It can be brought on by stress or depression, but most often dieting causes it. (Erichsen 12) Stressful situations such as death can bring about bulimia and anorexia. Also many young adults frequently experience sessions of depression for various circumstances during their adolescent’s years. But, again most of the time bulimia and anorexia is trigger by dieting. (Moe 21) Many psychological factors play a big role in the cause of bulimia and anorexia. People that have a fear of growing up sometimes have incidents with anorexia because they think that if they stop eating they want get older or bigger. (Erichsen15) Ford5 People need to take control of themselves if they are anorexia or bulimia because they can control how much they eat or if they want to eat. (internet1) If a person feels out of control because of difficulties at home they should control what they eat or if they are going to eat. The people that suppress anger need to release it and get it out. If there is a major life change, such as divorce, family problems,... ...rging behavior. Challenging the weight and body image beliefs of the patients is also part of the treatment. Improving self-esteem and ability to communicate needs and feelings may be the key to the treatment. Each case is different, so the course of treatment for each patient is different but the guideline for case is the same. Anorexia patients mostly start off with small amounts of nutritious and easily digestible foods such as eggs, custards, soups, and milkshakes are usually what they eat the first days. People that have anorexia extra calcium and multivitamins pills to help with the large loss the body has sustained. (internet2) Bulimia and anorexia causes a distorted image in a persons mind, this is because they believe they are overweight. Depression is usually one of the first symptoms. Many people have suffered from this illness or still are suffering. Bulimia and anorexia could happen to a person at any age, but is most common in teenagers because of the problems young adults experience during. Most of the time it is trigger by dieting, but no matter how it is triggered it is a very dangerous illness. Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!

Essay --

Evidence of foreign aids ineffectiveness is easily seen by the fact that there are more than thirty six countries who have received more than ten percent of their Gross National Income from foreign aid for at least the last three decades. In this amount of time the goals of creating economic growth and self-sufficiency have yet to transpire. Historically aid has never lasted this long. The times where aid has been shown to be effective in meeting its goals, like the Marshall Plan, it only lasted a few years. Not only that, during times where aid was successful it never topped three percent of the recipient countries GDP. Historically when aid has been given for longer periods of time, like it was in the Cold War, it was slowly decreased until no longer needed. The foreign aid that is seen today has not only lasted longer but has also increased and grown larger over the past three decades. This ineffectiveness has not gone unnoticed. This is why programs like the Millennium Challenge Account have been created. The idea behind these programs is to be more selective with what countries aid is given to and to monitor the aids value in helping those countries (Clemens, Radelet, and Bhavani, 2004). It is important to understand that not all aid has been futile. There are many times where aid has been successful. As research done by the Center for Global Development has shown, the commonality found in its success stories is when aid is given with an objective (Levine, 2004). William Easterly cites in â€Å"CGD Working Paper 65† that both South Korea and Botswana as two examples of where aid was given to help local efforts financially temporarily and turned in long term success where institutions were formed that were self-propelling and fore... ...ry’s government having less of an incentive to tax because aid is a non-earned source of revenue. The idea is less taxation will open markets and cause more consuming and investing. This may be effective, but only as long as the aid is being given. During this process the lack of taxes causes the recipient country’s government’s institutions and administration to weaken because they lost their legitimacy. Taxes are the only way to assure that both a country’s government and its citizens are accountable to one another. Self-reliance is positively correlated with the integrity of a country’s sovereignty (Brautigam and Knack, 2004). Thus the more aid a recipient country receives, the less accountable the government and citizens are to one another, resulting in the less sovereignty which drives the need for more foreign aid and creates a dependency on donor countries.

E-commerce :: essays research papers fc

TABLE OF CONTENTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Page 1. Summary  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 2. Introduction  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.1 E-commerce consumer behaviour model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 3. Intervening Variables  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.1 Customer service  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.2 Advertising  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   9 4. Conclusions  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   13 5. Bibliography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   14 6. Appendix A – Growth in Web advertising in millions of dollars per year  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15 7. Appendix B – Consumer Information Processing Model of Choice  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   16   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1. Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This report presents briefly the generic e-commerce consumer behavior model. Its task is to show different ways the companies may use to win a customer and increase their profits concentrating on â€Å"intervening variables† represented in the model as far as E-commerce is concerned. The work is divided into three main parts. The introduction leads in the reader into general consumer behavior model. The main part concentrates on vendor controlled techniques of reaching clients and keeping them with the company and in the end it’s summing up the figures in the conclusion section. 2. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The omnipresent nature of the internet and its universal access makes it an excellent platform for communicating more effectively with customers. To become a successful e-business initiative the company has to figure out how to lure costumers first and how to keep them without relaying on face-to-face interactions further. For marketers, the consumers are the natural starting-point for all decision-making. The consumers are at the centre of everything the marketing-oriented company does or plans: presumably, therefore, understanding how people think and behave in purchase situations is essential to the success of a company. It is impossible to predict all clients’ decisions but knowing the e-commerce consumer behaviour model enable the firm to increase its sales together with reducing the retailing costs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.1 E-commerce consumer behaviour model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Economists tell us that people buy in order to maximise utility and obtain â€Å"best value for money†. Marketers tell us that the decision-making process is not necessarily based on economics. In fact, very few people consistently buy the cheapest version in the product class. The model shows us that final customer decision depends on three factors:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Independent variables, the company cannot control or influence o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Personal characteristics such as: age, gender, education, ethnicity, lifestyle, psychological, knowledge, values, personality o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Environmental characteristics such as: social, cultural, legal, institutional, governmental - Intervening variables, the company can control and influence o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stimulated by market such as: price, brand, promotions, advertising, product quality, design o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  E-commerce systems such as: logistic support (payments, delivery), technical support (web design and content, intelligent agents, security), customer service (FAQs, e-mail, call centres, one-to-one contacts)

Process Strategy and Analysis For Toyota Motors Corporation Essay

Introduction When organizations seek to improve or transform their resources into goods and services, they are, in a way, developing their process strategy in producing their customer and product specifications at lower costs and less managerial constraints. As companies are targeting global markets at present, each organization needs to decide on long-term competitive goals that are strategic in nature. In making these process decisions, managers need to focus on controlling competitive priorities like quality, flexibility, time, and cost to meet the global demand for their products. In having a look at Toyota Motor Corporation’s process strategy, it will be helpful to realize why their decisions for both service and manufacturing processes are successful. By determining the processes that comprise their operations, we will be able to assess if their value chains are managed efficiently and effectively. According to Krajewski et al. (2007), a process strategy specifies the pattern of decisions made in managing processes so that they will achieve their competitive priorities. Also, a â€Å"process strategy guides a variety of process decisions, and in turn is guided by operations strategy and the organization’s ability to obtain the resources necessary to support them†. Thus, a process strategy consists of decisions that help define the value chain. Usually these decisions seek the improvement of processes and they are done most likely when: A gap exists between competitive priorities and competitive capabilities. A new or substantially modified service or product is being offered. Quality must be improved. Competitive priorities have changed. Demand for a service or product is changing. Current performance is inadequate. The cost or availability of inputs has changed. Competitors are gaining by using a new process. New technologies are available. Someone has a better idea. As a leading auto manufacturer in the world, Toyota Motor Corporation sells its vehicles in more than 170 countries and regions worldwide. Toyota’s primary markets for its automobiles are Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. Employing nearly 300,000 people, its headquarters is located in Toyota City, Japan. Their products include passenger cars, recreational and sport-utility vehicles; minivans and trucks. Toyota’s subsidiary, Daihatsu Motor Company, also produces and sells mini-vehicles and compact cars. While another brand, Hino Motors produces and sells commercial vehicles. More importantly, Toyota manufactures automotive parts, components and accessories for its own use and for sale. Toyota has 52 manufacturing facilities in 27 countries and regions (Toyota Website). Process Strategies in Toyota One of the most notable processes that Toyota Motor Corporation had made famous is the Toyota Production System (TPS). At present, TPS is also known for a variety of terms like lean systems or just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, lean production, stockless production and zero inventories. Cox and Blackstone (1998) defined lean systems as â€Å"a philosophy of production that emphasizes the minimization of the amount of all the resources (including time) used in the various activities of the enterprise †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lean systems thinking was initiated and developed as the TPS. It was Toyota’s vice president Taiichi Ohno who pushed for the TPS beginning in 1937 when he discovered that labor at American manufacturers was nine times more productive than labor at Japanese manufacturers (Monden 1983, p. v). Since there was a pressure to improve after World War II because capital was restricted and production volumes were low, Ohno researched on some methods they can adopt in Toyota to make their production system work better. However, it was not until the 1973 oil crisis that most Japanese manufacturers became interested in TPS and it was not until the end of the 1970s that a significant number of U.S. manufacturers began to investigate TPS. The Toyota Production System became widely known in the United States in 1983 when a book of that title was published. During the 1980s, the popular term in the United States for the TPS system was â€Å"just-in-time manufacturing†. At the beginning of the 1990s, the term lean systems became popular because of a series of books and articles by U.S. consultants and researchers in which they referred to TPS as â€Å"lean systems,† because they allow more and more to be done with less and less. Fact is that Ohno only borrowed important roots of lean systems from two distinct American institutions: Henry Ford’s mass production system and the supermarket. Lean Systems That Sparked More Process Strategies In the book by Womack and Jones (1996), entitled Lean Thinking, they simplified Ohno’s lean systems approach. As it is not just a set of techniques but a management philosophy, this means managers must have a different mental model or perspective of managing the manufacturing process. The five steps or principles to develop this mental model are: Precisely specify value for each specific product. Identify the value stream for each product. Make value flow without interruptions. Let the customer pull value from the producer. Pursue perfection. During the 1980s, some U.S. companies have adopted lean systems successfully. But many more failed or even refused to take action. Many managers are skeptical that TPS could not succeed in the United States or it provided no real benefits. However, the publication of a book titled The Machine That Changed the World (Womack, Jones & Roos, 1990) ended the debate about whether lean systems created real, lasting benefits. The book presented the results of a three-year study of automobile manufacturing throughout the developed world. They found that in 1990 a Japanese plant in Japan took 16.8 hours to build an auto, while a U.S plant in the United States took 25.1 hours per car. Not only did a Japanese plant produce cars faster, its cars had fewer defects per hundred vehicles, lower space requirements, and lower inventories than their competitors. Their findings also indicate that it is the management system and not the country’s culture that is responsible for the success of lean companies, since Japanese plants in the United States performed better than U.S. plants on all criteria. Aside from the TPS, Toyota pursued total quality management or â€Å"kaizen†, a change strategy that involves a continuous incremental improvement of work procedures. Using kaizen, production-line employees are made responsible for finding ways to improve work procedures to drive down costs and drive up quality. Individually, and in quality groups or circles, employees suggest ways to improve how a particular Toyota car model is made. Over time, from their thousands of suggestions, incremental innovations made to the car assembly process result in major improvements to the final product. Employees receive cash bonuses and rewards for finding ways to improve work procedures, and the result has been a continuous increase in car quality and reduced manufacturing costs. In the 2000s, under the leadership of Toyota’s new president, Jujio Cho, the company sought to increase the speed of change to further improve its efficiency and quality to gain an edge over its major competitors such as GM, Ford, and Daimler-Chrysler. It has begun a series of new kinds of change programs, each directed at improving some aspect of its operations, which Toyota hopes will bring both incremental and radical changes to the way it operates. Some incremental change programs involve strengthening its kaizen program, such as â€Å"pokayoke,† or mistake-proofing. This initiative concentrates on the stages of the assembly process that have led to most previous quality problems; employees are required to double- and triple-check a particular stage to discover defective parts or to fix improper assembly operations that lead to subsequent customer complaints. Another program is Construction of Cost Competitiveness for the 21st Century program or â€Å"CCC21,† which involves working with the company’s suppliers to find ways to reduce the costs of Toyota’s car components by 30 percent—something that will result in billions of dollars in savings. Toyota has also introduced a new manufacturing process called â€Å"GBL,† which uses a sophisticated new assembly process to hold a car body firmly in place during production. This allows welding and assembly operations to be performed more accurately, resulting in better-quality cars. GBL has also enabled Toyota to build factories that Toyota to build factories that can assemble several different kinds of models on the same production line with no loss in efficiency or quality. This is a major competitive advantage. The company’s global network of plants can now quickly change the kinds of cars they are making depending on buyers’ demands for various models at different points in time (Dawson, 21 February 2005). Other radical change efforts have focused on revamping Toyota’s development and design process to keep up with changing customer needs and demographics. In the 1990s, for example, the age of the average Toyota car buyer steadily rose. Despite Toyota’s climbing global sales (which exceeded $203 billion in 2006), the company was criticized for failing to understand how the market was changing. Some blamed the problem on centralized decision making at the company and a culture that had long been dominated by Toyota’s cautious and frugal Japanese designers. Rather than designing innovative, flexible vehicles customers were increasingly demanding, Toyota continued to focus on cutting costs and increasing the quality of its vehicles. To quickly get an improved design process into gear, President Cho bolstered two new change techniques to radically alter the design process: PDCA and â€Å"obeya†. Obeya is based on frequent brainstorming sessions among engineers, designers, production managers, and marketers designed to speed new model cars to the market. PDCA (â€Å"plan,† â€Å"do,† check,† â€Å"action†) is a program designed to empower the company’s designers outside of Japan to intervene in the car development process and champion designs that meet the needs of local customers. The results of promoting a flexible, decentralized car design process were the speedy introduction of the rugged eight-cylinder Tundra pickup truck and the angular, ScionxB compact in the United States, as well as the Yaris, Toyota’s best-selling European car. The Yaris was designed in Europe, and its success there led to its subsequent introduction in Japan where it also sold well (Hill, 2004). Conclusion Throughout its existence, we could see that Toyota has managed their process strategies effectively as they root everything out from the TPS. Through the TPS, they continued to change and improve their processes to lessen production time, lessen the wastes and make production efficient to the benefit of both the company and its employees. Also, it is important to note that, despite all these changes, their customers remain at the core of their focus as Toyota seeks to meet all their demands. As for their management, the decisions are translated into actual process designs or redesigns. This matches the complementary philosophies for process design: (1) process reengineering and (2) process improvement (Krajewski et al., 2007). In this regard, we could say that Toyota Motors Corporation has an excellent decision patterns to further improve their manufacturing processes in the future. The Process Analysis of the Toyota Motor Corporation Introduction In the book The Toyota Way, Liker (2003) claimed that Toyota has the fastest product development process in the world. In analyzing their manufacturing process, Liker found that new cars and trucks take only 12 months or less to design in Toyota, while competitors typically require two to three years. Also, Toyota has been benchmarked to be the best in its class by all of its peers and competitors throughout the world. This is because Toyota maintains high quality, high productivity, faster manufacturing speed and flexibility in processing their products (p. 5). All these successes are due to the TPS that Liket (2003) summarized into 4 Ps (Problem-Solving, People and Partners, Process and Philosophy (see Figure 1). Figure 1. 4Ps That Comprise the Toyota Production Systems (Source: Liker, 2003). Analyzing the TPS In the process part of the TPS, we can see at its core is the goal of eliminating waste. For example, in the manual assembly operation of a truck chassis assembly line (see Figure 2). The operator takes many individual steps, but generally only a small number of the steps add value to the product, as far as the customer is concerned. In this case, only the three steps identified add value. Although some of the non value-added steps are necessary (for example, the operator has to reach to get the power tool), the point here is to minimize the time spent on non-value-added operations by positioning the tools and material as close as possible to the point of assembly. Toyota has identified seven major types of non-value-adding waste in business or manufacturing processes: Overproduction. Producing items for which there are no orders, which generates such wastes as overstaffing and storage and transportation costs because of excess inventory. Waiting (time on hand). Workers merely serving to watch an automated machine or having to stand around waiting for the next processing step, tool, supply, part, etc., or just plain having no work because of stockouts, lot processing delays, equipment downtime, and capacity bottlenecks. Unnecessary transport or conveyance. Carrying work in process (WIP) long distances, creating inefficient transport, or moving materials, parts, or finished goods into or out of storage or between processes. Overprocessing or incorrect processing. Taking unneeded steps to process the parts. Inefficiently processing due to poor tool and product design, causing unnecessary motion and producing defects. Waste is generated when providing higher-quality products than is necessary. Excess inventory. Excess raw material, WIP, or finished goods causing longer lead times, obsolescence, damaged goods, transportation and storage costs, and delay. Also, extra inventory hides problems such as production imbalances, late deliveries from suppliers, defects, equipment downtime, and long setup times. Unnecessary movement. Any wasted motion employees have to perform during the course of their work, such as looking for, reaching for, or stacking parts, tools, etc. Also, walking is waste. Defects. Production of defective parts or correction. Repair or rework, scrap, replacement production, and inspection mean wasteful handling, time, and effort. Unused employee creativity. Losing time, ideas, skills, improvements, and learning opportunities by not engaging or listening to your employees (Liker 2003, p. 28-29). Figure 2. Waste in a Truck Chassis Assembly Line (Source: Liker, 2003). Figure 3. Timeline of Waste in a Value System (Source: Liker, 2003). TPS: A Goal Driven Process Like any system, the TPS is a goal-driven set of interrelated or linked activities. Managers who recognize that they are managing a system are aware of two main points: (1) the system reacts to any solution and (2) the system controls the behavior of those individuals who operate within it. The first point means that there are often unintended consequences when a solution to a problem in a system is introduced. To avoid unintended consequences, managers must fully understand the system. The second point means that managers must avoid attributing the problems in a system to the character of the individuals within the system. The manager must instead identify how the structure of the system is shaping the choices of the individuals within the system. By understanding these two points, the manager can now redesign the system to increase the system’s performance. The incorrect use of performance measures can prevent the successful introduction of lean systems. For example, a performance measurement system that encourages high equipment and high labor utilization often discourages production at the rate demanded by the customer. Indeed, these performance measures actually encourage large-batch production, thus creating the waste of overproduction and decreasing the system’s ability to respond to the customer. Firms that implement lean systems often use a performance measure called overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Soiichi Nakajima (1988) first formulated this performance measure to assess how effectively equipment is maintained and operated. Figure 4 shows six types of capacity losses in the right-hand column (breakdown losses, setup and adjustment losses, idling and minor stoppages, speed losses, quality defects, and start-up and yield losses). These capacity losses are organized into three categories: downtime losses, speed losses, and quality losses. Figure 4. Six Probable Causes For Equipment Losses (Source: Masaji & Goto, 1992). Knowing performance measurements are an important part of any manufacturing system, thus TPS support the elimination of possible waste. The operations manager must select the performance measurements that will encourage behaviors that lead to the desired business performance. In TPS, the desired business performance is shorter flow time, reduced costs, and faster response to the customer. Another advantage of the TPS is its support towards employee empowerment as a means for continuous improvement. Toyota empowers its employees by training them to use the scientific method to continuously improve processes. The scientific method involves four elements: theory, hypotheses, data, and verification. In the research of Spear and Bowen (1999) they indicated that the scientific method is integrated into the Toyota Production System so that every time a job is performed is an experiment. This creates a system where all the work processes are very specified and structured, but the system itself is very flexible and responsive. Toyota implements the scientific method as part of four unspoken rules that everyone in the organization must learn and practice: Highly Specified Work – Toyota’s first rule requires that managers, engineers, and line workers fully understand how a job is to be done and its relationship to other jobs. By ensuring that every job has a very clearly defined set of steps, it is obvious when the correct process is not being followed and it is also obvious when more training is needed or when the job definition needs to be changed. This allows quick identification and correction of any problems that occur. This first rule reduces variance in how work is done. By creating a highly specified sequence of steps to perform the job, Toyota is actually proposing a theory that this procedure is the best way to do the job. Given this theory, two implicit hypotheses in every standard job specification are first that each person doing the activity is capable of performing it correctly and second that performing the activity as specified actually creates the expected outcome. Direct Connections – Toyota’s second rule states that there must be direct, unambiguous communication between each customer and supplier. Direct, unambiguous communication means that each customer and each supplier know the exact form and quantity of goods and services to be provided. The theory implicit in this second rule is that the supplier has the capacity to meet the customer’s needs as they are communicated. This theory leads to two hypotheses: (1) the customers’ requests will be for goods and services in a specific mix and volume and (2) the supplier can respond to the customers’ requests. The production process generates data through the observation of the customer-supplier interactions. Simple Direct Pathways – Toyota’s third rule is that all pathways must be simple and direct. This means that goods and services must flow to a specific person or machine. The underlying theory in this rule is that having simple and direct pathways will quickly reveal any source of variances in the flow of goods and services. This rule suggests two hypotheses: (1) every supplier is necessary and (2) any supplier not connected to the pathway is not necessary. Each day of production provides data to analyze the hypotheses. Was there a supplier who was not connected to a pathway? Obviously any supplier or activity not connected to the flow pathway can be eliminated. This rule eliminates noise from the system and means that there are no pooled queues of completed work from suppliers waiting for the customers to use. Instead, completed work leaves one activity and goes to the next activity. If one supplier has a high variance in deliveries, their variance will not be hidden b y the deliveries of the other suppliers. Scientific Method – Toyota’s fourth rule requires that employees be trained to formulate and test hypotheses about how they can improve their job activities. Toyota constantly encourages its workers to conduct experiments trying to identify a better method of performing their job activities. Conclusion In analyzing the Toyota Production System, we can deem that the company seeks to benchmark their operations to become more efficient. This is the reason why that the TPS is highly regarded among all companies in the world because it focuses on setting quantitative goals for improvement. TPS seeks to make Toyota’s manufacturing processes to be made simple and they are utilizing a scientific model that goes one step further it transforms their processes to be more dynamic. The Toyota management is also constantly gathering ideas for reengineering or improving a process become apparent after documenting the process. They are carefully examining the areas of substandard performance, efficient interaction between departments and finally making customers’ preferences a prime priority. The ultimate goal of TPS is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all Toyota’s business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, and physical production by eliminating the unnecessary waste. Thus, the TPS is an all-encompassing philosophy that includes product design, process design, equipment and facilities design, supply chain coordination, job design, and productivity improvement. If there is one â€Å"key† to successful implementation of TPS, it’s adopting a holistic approach. This is probably the reason why Toyota remains to be one of the most admired companies in the world because they implemented a system that cut all the unnecessary costs and produced faster results without compromising the product expectations of their stakeholders. References Cox, J.F. & Blackstone, J.H. Jr. (Eds). (1998). APICS Dictionary, 9th ed. Alexandria, VA: APICS. Dawson, C. (2005, Feb 21). A China Price for Toyota.   Business Week, 3921, 50-51. Hill C.W.L. (2004). Toyota, in C. W. L. Hill & G. R. Jones, Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Krajewski, L.J., Ritzman, L.P. & Malhotra, M.K. (2007). Operations Management: Processes and Value Chains, 8th   ed. NJ: Prentice-Hall. Liker, J. (2003). Toyota Way. Blacklick, OH: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing. Monden, Y. (1983). Toyota Production System, Norcross, GA: Industrial Engineering and Management Press. Nakajima, S. (1988). TPM: Introduction to TPM, Total Productive Maintenance Cambridge MA: Productivity Press. Spear S. & Bowen, H. K. (1999, Sept-Oct). Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, Harvard Business Review, pp. 96–106. Tajiri, M. & Gotoh, F. (1992). TPM Implementation: A Japanese Approach, New York: McGraw-Hill. Toyota Website. (2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.toyota.com/about/our_business/ Womack, J.P. & Jones, D.T. (1996). Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, New York: Simon and Shuster. Womack, J.P. Jones, D.T. & Roos, D. (1990). The Machine That Changed the World, New York: Rawson Associates

Path of Democracy Throughout the French Revolution

â€Å"The French Revolution was a decisive period in the shaping of the modern west. It implemented the thought of the philosophies, destroyed the hierarchical and corporate society of the Old Regime, which was a legacy of the Middle Ages, promoted the interests of the bourgeoisie, and quickened the growth of the modern state† ( Perry. Chase. Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 462). The aristocracy of France was also weakened by the Revolution. The nobles no longer had their ancient rights and privileges making them ordinary people. In the nineteenth century, the ruling class was no longer decided upon by noble birth but by property.This trait was shown before the Revolution. Also the French government was now ran by the aristocrats and the bourgeois. With the bourgeois being given high positions because of their wealth, talent, ambition, and opportunities, they would have an important role in the political life of France. The French Revolution changed the Old Regime, based on a dynas tic state, into the modern state it is today. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen concluded that the state was no longer a separation of provinces or estates; it was also no longer a possession of the monarch's that he believed belonged only to him.The idea of the Declaration showed that the state now belonged to the people as a whole and its power must come from the people to succeed. The people now had the characteristic of individuality of no longer being separated into nobles and commoners. Many surrounding lands took the ideas and reforms of the French Revolution as inspiration to create their own revolution over their land. â€Å"During the nineteenth century, the French Revolution served as a frame of reference for the various political constellations: liberalism, socialism, and conservatism† ( Perry. Chase.Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 462). Before the Revolution, the state was still closely linked to its religion. Each state had a state church that w as the ruling power. â€Å"By disavowing any divine justification for the monarch’s power, by depriving the church of its special position, and by no longer limiting citizenship to members of a state church, the Revolution accelerated the secularization of European political life† (Perry. Chase. Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 463). The Revolution did away with administrative ways of the Old Regime, and imposed rational ways to the state.Highest ranks of land and position were given to men by their talent and no longer by their birth line. The Revolution also did away with peasantry working obligations, and based taxes on the people’s income. By showing that an ancient order could be overpowered by a new one, The French Revolution inspired other generations to revolt against their abusive model societies. This created three forces with the modern state: total war, nationalism, and a fanatic utopian mentality. These ideas went against the ideas of the Declaration of t he Rights of Man and could be destructive to what the French Revolution was creating. The French Revolution also gave birth to the modern nationalism† ( Perry. Chase. Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 463). During the Revolution, the entire nation was directed loyalty. This view was seen as dangerous by many philosophers because it was feared that it would setback the progress of the Revolution. The Revolution looked to reconstruct society on the basis of Enlightenment ideals. These ideas were soon crushed by the terrors and fears of the dangerous forces that had begun to rise in the later years of the Revolution. These forces almost succeeded in ruining what the French reformers had created.