Global Environmental Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Environmental Change - Assignment Example hauls it to a centralized facility where workers or a machinery separate the wastes for recycling may found in understanding the characteristics and application of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, also known as the entropy law. What is Entropy? Requadt defines to Entropy as the amount of energy that cannot be converted into mechanical work. (Requadt, 2010). The term entropy is a measure of the degree to which energy has lost the capacity to perform useful work. Energy quality: According to the first energy law, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, one might think there will always be enough energy. Yet when you fill a cars tank with gasoline and drive around something is lost. If it isnt energy, then, what is it? The second law of energy, also known as the second law of thermodynamics provides the answer to this question. Energy varies in its quality or ability to do useful work. For useful work to occur energy must move or flow from a level of high-quality (more concentrated) energy to a level of lower-quality (less concentrated) energy like manifestation of the Second Law can be stated quite simply: Heat always flows spontaneously from hot (high-quality energy) to cold (low-quality energy). Heat energy will not flow from a cooler to a warmer body. It would be foolish to try to warm our hands on a block of ice although there is considerable heat in the ice. If we compare the heat of ice with the heat of liquid hydrogen, ice would appear to be very hot, indeed. It would be easy to build a machine that runs on the heat differential between the cold block of ice and the much colder liquid hydrogen. However, since the heat in the ice is at a much lower level than the heat in our body, heat cannot flow from the ice to our hands. We cannot warm our hands by immersing them in ice. We have always known this fact. Now we know why we cannot warm our hand by touching a block of ice. Any time work of any kind is done some energy is lost. In every mechanical

MBA Interactive Project Essay Example for Free

MBA Interactive Project Essay Introduction Continuing the work and analysis begun in the first three SLPs, we again project ourselves back in time to the year 2012. I am in responsible for decisions on product development and pricing for the next four years for our line of tablets. I will show the score, financials and market data at the end of the four year period from my previous time discussions. Finally we can make a detailed discussion and analysis of the data using CVP analysis, and will explain why I recommend specific pricing and research and development (RD) costs for the next four year period. Discussion The Clipboard Tablet Company is currently making three different tablet models; the X5, X6 and X7. The X5 has been on the market for three years already and market research has determined that consumers are not very worried about performance for this older tablet. The middle tablet, the X6, has been on the market for two years and market research shows consumers are concerned about performance but not necessarily price. The final tablet, the X7, is the newest and has only been on the market for one year, and market research shows the consumer is interested in both performance and price. With this in mind, we can analyze how the products evolved when Mr. Shmoe was in charge. The following table depicts the price and RD percentage for each tablet over the preceding four years (since the last run) and whether or not the particular tablet production was discontinued or not. The graphs also depict the revenue generated and profit from the different tablets over the time period I was in charge of making the decisions instead of Mr. Shmoe. Review Overall the results of the third run of the tablet simulation had an end result which was approximately $142 million greater than the previous run, which was accomplished using CVP analysis. This change was due to two reasons. The first was the increased sales and revenue generated by the X6 tablet, ultimately reaching market saturation. The second reason was due to the dramatically increased sales of the X7. As the graphs display, the X6 accelerated greatly in terms of revenue and profit through 2013 and then began a steady and definite decline once reaching market saturation. Revenue and profit for the X7 were drastically different as compared to previous simulations, beginning to increase in 2014 and 2015,and setting the stage for sustained revenue and profits in the future time period. The X5 was relatively unchanged from previous simulations since I left the pricing alone due to the tablet having been on the market for several years already. Data Discussion It will also help to discuss in more detail what happened in the third simulation under my supervision while using the CVP model. For the X5, initial RD allocation of the $24 million available was only 5%, or $1.2 million, plus the $75 million in other fixed costs gave a total fixed cost of $76.2 million. The variable cost per unit for the X5 amounts to $150, and using a price of $300 per tablet, the breakeven point for the X5 is 508,000 units sold. A price of $300 per tablet yielded a profit of $119 million. Fixed costs for the X5 are extremely high and with the age of the X,5 little RD dollars were allocated in order to keep the total fixed costs down. Next up, the X6’s fixed costs were $48.3 million including the RD costs, while the variable cost of the X6 came out to $275 per tablet. The breakeven volume for the X6 priced at $375 per tablet comes out to 375,000 tablets. The idea here was to achieve market saturation as quickly as possible and reap the associated profit. Based on the life cycle of the X6, the price was increased by only five dollars per year and associated RD expenses were reduced only 5% in the latter years. Finally, the X7 has the exact same fixed cost as the X6 with the only difference being the dollars allocated for the RD, which for the second run of the simulation was $49.5 million. However, the variable costs for the X7 are extremely low at only $55 per tablet. The breakeven volume for the X7 at $120 per tablet comes out to just under 577,000 tablets. The strategy here was to have a much lower initial price in an attempt to capture market share and volume upfront which would ultimately reap large profits after the breakeven point. Formulating a revised strategy Considering all of this information, the revised strategy will be somewhat similar from the previous one in regards to the overall conceptual plan. My previous strategy focused on CVP analysis, while the newer revised strategy for the tablet simulation will attempt to tweak and optimize this strategy further. Due to the lower breakeven prices of each of the tablets, volume for each one can be increased immediately by a reduction in price. Therefore we will attempt this for the X6 and X7 tablets. CVP does not account for product lifecycle, however, which is why my strategy is to more or less leave the pricing the same for the X5 as the previous run. RD for the X5 will never increase above 1% since the consumers don’t care for this feature, while RD will be the highest for the X7, which is marketed as the primary benefit of this higher-performance tablet. Prices for the X6 and X7 will increase by $10/year while maintaining roughly a 40-60 RD split respectively, with the beginning price of the X7 starting $10 lower. This strategy should show higher profits after four years by keeping prices closer to their breakeven CVP pricing and varying slightly the RD costs based on changing market saturation. To sum up the strategy, it is to more or less leave the X5 and X6 fairly constant from my previous simulation but attempt to increase overall sales in the X7 market, thus creating more revenue and profit. The following table depicts the results of the updated strategy for the next four years. As you can see we left the initial pricing for the X6 the same, starting out with a price of $375. Conclusion In conclusion, we generated a revised strategy for the Clipboard Tablet Company based on a revised and optimized CVP analysis. By adjusting the pricing for the X7 slightly downward in order to increase sales and revenue/profit, we maximize the outcome. The goal is to continue reap the profits out of the X5, get maximum revenue off of the X6 by achieving market saturation and to dramatically increase sales of the X7 which is the future for our company. I look forward to putting this into practice. References Forio.com, 2012. â€Å"Introduction.† PDA Simulator. Retrieved 09 Jan 2013 from: http://forio.com/simulate/jelson/tablet-development-sim-1/simulation/#p=page1 Manoski, Paula, 2002. â€Å"The RD strategy/strategic process Part 1: a road map to RD effectiveness.† Allbusiness.com, Retrieved 09 Jan 2013from: http://www.allbusiness.com/sales/customer-service-product-knowledge/122484-1.html QuickMBA.com, 2010. â€Å"Product Lifecycle.† Retrieved 13Jan 2013 from: http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle

Athenian Democracy and Meritocracy

Athenian Democracy and Meritocracy To what extent did the Athenian democracy live up to its ideology of being a meritocracy, and to what extent was power still in the hands of the wealthy? Athenian democracy was an evolving process in the 5th century B.C. The concentration of power in the political establishment would change considerably from when the first seeds were planted until the voting citizenship was expanded and new leaders emerged towards the end of the century. Democracy was not instituted in the name of human rights but for pragmatic purposes and it is necessary that we look at it in this light when considering whether Athens was a meritocracy and whether the wealthy still held considerable power in Democratic Athens. It is certainly true that Athenian Democracy, like all systems, on paper differed considerably to how it was implemented. In this essay I will argue that Athenian Democracy was largely successful in implementing a state democracy in which, to a large extent, there were no obvious discrepancies over who was favoured in matters of society and the state. I will show that the Athenian constitution largely kept the city as a meritocracy, making its citizens equal before the state in matters of legality and political power. However, I will also consider the limitations of Athenian Democracy and to what extent certain functions may have limited its success. I will argue that the power of the wealthy was in most respects limited by the structure of the state but was held back to some extent by the inevitable advantages that come from wealth. I will mainly be arguing that whatever limitations there were, they were not enough to have a damaging effect on democracy as a whole. The Athenian Democracy allowed that only adult males of Athenian ancestry were part of the democratic system, which overall made up around 10-20% of the demos. Slaves, freed slaves, children, women and metics (foreigners in Athens) were excluded. It is obvious from this that to label Athens as a meritocracy in the modern sense is absurd. In this essay, I will consider Athens as a meritocracy in terms of the rights and opportunities of those who are citizens, not from those who aren’t and will therefore consider to what extent Athenian Democracy worked the way it was supposed to. The wealthy did not hold power to the extent that it harmed the democratic process. The wealthy certainly did have many advantages compared to the poor, but this is not necessarily any comment upon Athenian democracy simply an inevitability that those with wealth will be able to achieve more than those without. The wealthy had power but not to an extent that was greatly damaging to the state. When defining wealth, I will consider Aristotle’s definition as including money, land, real estate, furniture, livestock and a high quality and quantity of slaves (Rhet. 1361a12-16). There was most definitely a significant wealth inequality amongst Athens’s citizens whereby the leisure class (those who didn’t need to work as a result of family fortunes, nobility etc.) made up roughly 5-10% of the populace. This class barrier was certainly realised by the lower classes who often showed their resentment at the wealthy. However despite this inequality, they did not see this as particularly affecting when it came down to the political and legal powers of the people, as this inequality was grudgingly accepted. Wealth discrepancies were not seen as unjust as potential legal or political barriers that may have affected the citizens. (see Ober ch.5) Politically, wealth as a tool was restricted as a result of the various stipulations in the constitution. There was no longer any property qualification for the academy or for voting and the holding of political offices as well as juries received payment for these services, meaning that the democratic or legal process was not hinged on the use of wealth to buy political office or to serve as part of the legal jurisdiction. The constitution minimised any overt legal or political control by the wealthy, who still had economic power but this fact is only to be expected in a society such as Athens which thrived on the control of goods and services. This idea of the accepted separation of wealth inequality with legal and political affairs can be seen with the orator Demosthenes: â€Å"The rich have great wealth which no one keeps them from enjoying though they must not keep us from enjoying the security which is our most common possession – the laws† (Demosthenes, Against Meidias, (22.25-27)) Therefore, the wealth inequality was not viewed by the people as un-democratic or damaging to their political power and rights (Ober 199.) The wealth even often had a positive effect on the democratic process, benefiting even the poor. The various taxes imposed on the rich (liturgies, war taxes and fines given out by the courts) was often redistributed in a way that greatly benefitted the poorer in society, such as state projects, the upkeep of the city, the academy and also security from outside threats. Therefore, often the wealthy had a positive effect on both the city and the poor, with their money often acting as subsidies for the less wealthy instead of them exploiting the poor for their own benefit. (Ober 202) However, it is true that there were indeed many situations in which the wealth were able to use their money as leverages and to exert a certain amount of power over the lower classes. In legal matters, the wealthier would often get less punitive punishments for certain crimes such as theft. The wealthy could also dominate proceeding through the use of bribes – they could use money to buy silence from witnesses or make them lie, they could also try and bribe prosecutors and use their wealth to buy support from the crowd. Also, the dependence of the state on the money received from the rich could have damaging effects. The wealthy may try and hide their wealth from the state or even refuse to pay certain taxes that are voluntary. It is also true that the allegiance of the wealthy to the Athenian state was not as solid as the poorer citizens as they were less dependent on the state structure which was very beneficial towards the poor. These actions of the rich could potentially have very negative outcomes in situations where the state were in need of the wealth of the rich. Finally, in times of war the rich certainly had an easier time, whereby the rich could use their money in order to buy positions as horsemen which were less involved in the fighting than the frontline soldiers who were often composed of those soldiers who could not afford as expensive equipment as those less wealthy. The wealthy were limited in the power they could hold. While they held economic power, this did not have much of an impact upon the legal and political rights of Athenian citizens as economic inequality was not seen as having as important a role in democracy as other egalitarian principles – they was accepted. The occurrences of violations of democracy by the rich does not show the weakness of the state as a whole only the weaknesses of individuals in certain instances and the inevitability of those with wealth having certain advantages over others – these should not be seen as any substantial drawback to the ideals of meritocracy in the Athenian state. The Athenian Constitution largely justifies describing Athens as a meritocracy. It allowed for legal and political rights to become universal for all Athenian citizens where each man was considered justly under the eyes of the polis. Athenian Democracy was not perfect. Like all systems there were areas which were vulnerable to corruption and which were arguably harmful to a healthy state. There undoubtedly was a selection of the wealthy elite who would often use their wealth for self-aggrandisement rather than supporting the state – but this has to be expected in all societies. On the whole, the Democracy of Athens was largely egalitarian in political and legal matters where those who were citizens were treated with the same eyes. The wealthy in society were, to a large extent, prohibited from using their wealth to defile the workings of the state. The times in which the wealthy were able to exert a certain level of power were inevitable blowbacks to a society where there was a competition for money and a competition for power. The power that the wealthy had and used was not enough to taint a relatively sophisticated political system and where corruptions of that system occurred, personal power-grabbing was often shrouded in popular support and the use of wealth for personal gain was seen as an inevitable circumstance of self-preservation. Bibliography M. I. Finley (1962) ‘Athenian Demagogues’ Past Present 21: 3-24 Ober, J. Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: rhetoric, ideology, and the power of the people, (Princeton University Press; US; 1989.) Ober, J. ‘Public Speech and the Power of the People in Democratic Athens’ in The Athenian Revolution. Essays on Ancient Greek democracy and political theory, (Princeton University Press; US; 1996) Raaflaub, K.A. ‘Equalities and Inequalities in Athenian Democracy’ in Ober, J. and Hedrick, C. (eds.) Demokratia. A conversation on Democracies, ancient and modern, (Princeton University Press; US; 1996) Hansen, M. H. ‘The Political Leaders’ in The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes (Blackwell; UK; 1991) Davies, J.K. Wealth and the Power of Wealth in Classical Athens, (Ayer Co; New York; 1981.) Sinclair, R.K. Democracy and Participation in Athens, (Cambridge University Press; Cambridge; 1988.) Aristotle – The Art of Rhetoric (Penguin; UK; 1991) Demosthenes – Political Speeches (Oxford University Press; London; 2014)

The Critical Reception of Flappers & Philosophers Essay -- Philosophy

The Critical Reception of Flappers & Philosophers Flappers and Philosophers served as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s â€Å"initial encore† after the â€Å"considerable success† of his first novel, This Side of Paradise.[1] Fitzgerald’s publisher, Scribners, â€Å"liked to have its authors issue short-story collections soon after they had published novels†; the Fall of 1920 offered Fitzgerald, as well as the publishing firm, a unique opportunity to both reinforce and, hopefully, expand the writer’s popular appeal.[2] Fifteen of his stories had been previously published or accepted for future publication when Fitzgerald selected stories for inclusion in Flappers and Philosophers in April of 1920. While the author â€Å"conceived initially of this collection as a mixture of poetry and prose,† the finished volume featured eight stories composed subsequent to the completion of This Side of Paradise and previously published in leading magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, Smart Set, and Sc ribner’s Magazine.[3] Dedicated â€Å"TO ZELDA† and published on September 10, 1920, only five months removed from This Side of Paradise, Flappers and Philosophers sold well, enjoying a first printing of 5,000 copies and sales of 13,325 copies by November 1922.[4] Although the popular response to the collection appeared overwhelmingly enthusiastic, â€Å"the critical response was mixed† and, at times, â€Å"quite hostile.†[5] Some critics proposed that the volume â€Å"marks the conversion of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s undisciplined and turbid genius†¦into a bridled and clarified talent† and praised mastery â€Å"of the mechanism of short story technique†; a comparatively complimentary review in the New York Sun contends that â€Å"these short stories are not so much technically perfec... ...rs and Philosophers, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (New York: Scribner’s, 1959), 12 [4] Eble, Kenneth, F. Scott Fitzgerald. (New York: Twayne, 1963), 54 [5] Petry, Alice Hall, Fitzgerald’s Craft of Short Fiction: The Collected Stories, 1920-1935 (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1989), 9 [6] Bryer, 15, 17 [7] Bryer, 15 [8] Bryer, 16; Petry, 9 [9] Bryer, 16; Eble, 54 [10] â€Å"Flappers.† The New York Times [New York] 26 September 1920 [11] Times 26 September 1920; Klatt, Marion, â€Å"Critical Reception of Flappers and Philosophers† (http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bmangum/F&P.html) [12] New York Herald, 24 October 1920, qtd. in Klatt [13] Mizener, 16 [14] Tate, Mary Jo. F. Scott Fitzgerald A to Z. (New York: Facts on File, 1998), 90 [15] Bryer, 22 [16] Ibid. [17] Bryer, 20 [18] Bryer, 21, 23 [19] Petry, 52, 51 [20] Mizener, 15; Petry, 52 The Critical Reception of Flappers & Philosophers Essay -- Philosophy The Critical Reception of Flappers & Philosophers Flappers and Philosophers served as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s â€Å"initial encore† after the â€Å"considerable success† of his first novel, This Side of Paradise.[1] Fitzgerald’s publisher, Scribners, â€Å"liked to have its authors issue short-story collections soon after they had published novels†; the Fall of 1920 offered Fitzgerald, as well as the publishing firm, a unique opportunity to both reinforce and, hopefully, expand the writer’s popular appeal.[2] Fifteen of his stories had been previously published or accepted for future publication when Fitzgerald selected stories for inclusion in Flappers and Philosophers in April of 1920. While the author â€Å"conceived initially of this collection as a mixture of poetry and prose,† the finished volume featured eight stories composed subsequent to the completion of This Side of Paradise and previously published in leading magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, Smart Set, and Sc ribner’s Magazine.[3] Dedicated â€Å"TO ZELDA† and published on September 10, 1920, only five months removed from This Side of Paradise, Flappers and Philosophers sold well, enjoying a first printing of 5,000 copies and sales of 13,325 copies by November 1922.[4] Although the popular response to the collection appeared overwhelmingly enthusiastic, â€Å"the critical response was mixed† and, at times, â€Å"quite hostile.†[5] Some critics proposed that the volume â€Å"marks the conversion of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s undisciplined and turbid genius†¦into a bridled and clarified talent† and praised mastery â€Å"of the mechanism of short story technique†; a comparatively complimentary review in the New York Sun contends that â€Å"these short stories are not so much technically perfec... ...rs and Philosophers, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (New York: Scribner’s, 1959), 12 [4] Eble, Kenneth, F. Scott Fitzgerald. (New York: Twayne, 1963), 54 [5] Petry, Alice Hall, Fitzgerald’s Craft of Short Fiction: The Collected Stories, 1920-1935 (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1989), 9 [6] Bryer, 15, 17 [7] Bryer, 15 [8] Bryer, 16; Petry, 9 [9] Bryer, 16; Eble, 54 [10] â€Å"Flappers.† The New York Times [New York] 26 September 1920 [11] Times 26 September 1920; Klatt, Marion, â€Å"Critical Reception of Flappers and Philosophers† (http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bmangum/F&P.html) [12] New York Herald, 24 October 1920, qtd. in Klatt [13] Mizener, 16 [14] Tate, Mary Jo. F. Scott Fitzgerald A to Z. (New York: Facts on File, 1998), 90 [15] Bryer, 22 [16] Ibid. [17] Bryer, 20 [18] Bryer, 21, 23 [19] Petry, 52, 51 [20] Mizener, 15; Petry, 52

The film

In the near future of a bleak, dystopian and Impoverished Australia that is facing a breakdown of civil order primarily due to widespread oil shortages. (This is not explained in this film but in the sequel, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. ) Central to the plot Is a poorly-funded national police unit called the Maln Force Patrol (MFP, derogatorily called â€Å"The Bronze† by their enemies), which struggles to protect the Outback's few remaining townspeople from violent motorcycle gangs. The MFP's â€Å"top pursuit man† Is a young police offcer, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), badge umber MFP4073.A member of one of the motorcycle gangs, Crawford Montazano (nicknamed Nightriderl escapes from police custody by killing an officer and stealing his vehicle. Max pursues Nightrider in a high-speed chase, which results in Nightrider's death in a fiery car crash. After the dangerous chase (which results In Injuries to a number of officers), the police chief warns Max that Nightrider's gang will be out for him now because of Nightrider's death. Nightrider's gang, which is led by Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne), plans to avenge Nightrider's death by killing MFP officers.Meanwhile, they vandalize property, steal fuel. and terrorize the citizenry. While chewing up a town where the the Nightrider's remains arrived by train, the gang brutalizes a civilian couple that tried escaping to the road; the couple is overtaken, then both of them are raped and the car is wrecked. Max and his close friend and fellow officer, Jim Goose (Steve Blsley), are informed about the incident and go to the crime scene. They find Toecutter's young proteg ©, Johnny the Boy (Tim Burns), and the girl of the couple in the middle of the wreckage.Johnny's drug-fueled rantings reveal him as a member of Nightrider's gang; Goose looks on Johnny with particular disdain, as his leg was broken during the Nightrider pursuit. However, they do not kill Johnny, but arrest him and drag him away In chains. Jo hnny is held at the MFP's dilapidated Halls of Justice pending a visit from the Court. However, when the attorneys arrive, Johnny Is ordered released: the Judge has set Johnny free because no witnesses showed up for the trial. (Without the testimony of witnesses, no charges could be filed; the courts declared â€Å"no contest† for the case.A shocked Goose attacks Johnny and must be physically restrained; both Goose and Johnny shout threats of revenge at each other. The second-in-command of the biker group, Bubba Zanetti (Geoff Parry) arrives at the courthouse to pick up Johnny, on orders from the Toecutter. Bubba does so begrudgingly, because he hates Johnny for his rowdiness and lack of style, and hates the Toecutter's favoritism towards Johnny. Shortly thereafter, Johnny the Boy sabotages Goose's MFP motorcycle while Goose is attending a show at the Sugartown Cabaret.His rear wheel locks up at high speed the next day, throwing Goose from the bike; Goose, however, survives w ithout even Unfortunately, Johnny throws a brake drum through the ute's windshield, causing Goose to roll the vehicle over and gas leaks from the fuel tank, soaking the ground around the truck; Johnny, at the belligerent urging of the Toecutter himself, then burns him alive in the wreckage. Goose survives, but after seeing his charred body in the hospital's burn ward, Max becomes angry and disillusioned with the police force nd resigns from the MFP with no intention of returning.He takes a road trip with his wife and infant son in the relatively peaceful coastal area north of their home. While on holiday, Max's wife, Jessie, (played by Joanne Samuel) runs into Toecutter's gang, who harass her. She escapes, but the gang manages to track her to the home where she and Max are staying. While attempting to escape from the gang again, Jessie and her son are run down by the gang, who leave their crushed bodies in the middle of the road. Max arrives too late to intervene. His son is pronoun ced dead on he scene, while his wife suffers massive injuries. It is revealed in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior that she later died from her injuries. ) Filled with obsessive rage, Max once again dons his police outfit, straps on his sawn- off shotgun, and steals a supercharged black Pursuit Special to pursue the gang. He methodically hunts down and kills the gang members: several gang members are forced Offa bridge at high speed; Max shoots and shoots Bubba off his cycle with his shotgun (Bubba shoots Max in the leg with a pistol first, though, giving Max a limp hat is consistent throughout the series, then runs over his exposed arm).Max struggles back into his car and pursues the Toecutter into a forbidden area. Max forces the gang's leader into the path of a speeding tractor trailer and he crushed in a head-on collision. Max later finds Johnny the Boy taking the boots off a dead driver at the scene of a crash. Johnny desperately tries to convince Max that the man was dead when he fo und him and that his drug addiction has made him mentally unbalanced. Max doesn't listen and handcuffs Johnny's ankle to the wrecked, overturned vehicle with a uptured petrol tank.Max lights a crude time-delay fuse and gives Johnny a hacksaw, leaving him the choice of sawing through either the handcuffs (which will take 10 minutes) or his ankle (which will take 5 minutes), and then drives off into the desolate outback. Ignoring Johnny's frantic ramblings, Max drives away. The camera shows Max's car from the front, with a large and fiery explosion in the distance behind it, leaving Johnny's fate unknown. Max blankly continues to drive in a rainstorm into the Outback, a shell of his former self.

Case Study for Emotional & Retional Manager Essay

In philosophy, rationality is the characteristic of any action, belief, or desire, that makes their choice a necessity. It is a normative concept of reasoning in the sense that rational people should derive conclusions in a consistent way given the information at disposal. It refers to the conformity of one’s beliefs with one’s reasons to believe, or with one’s actions with one’s reasons for action. However, the term â€Å"rationality† tends to be used differently in different disciplines, including specialized discussions of economics, sociology, psychology, and political science. A rational decision is one that is not just reasoned, but is also optimal for achieving a goal or solving a problem. Rational Manager Character analysis: Irrational and illogical management causes untold losses every year all over the world. Managers are paid to make logical, financially viable decisions and solve problems using good judgment to facilitate the smooth flow of the operation. Reasoning is an important process, which anyone can acquire by a short formal education. It is one of the most important factors in making rational decisions. The absence of conscientious, systematic problem analysis and decision making causes inefficiency and waste of resources. It also results in failure to set clear objectives and performance standards. Successful managers plan their meeting for optimal productivity. Meetings must be well organized and controlled; deviations from the agenda must not be tolerated. Operational meetings must be planned to inform rank and file. Suggestions must be solicited and duly studied. The definition of problem is â€Å"an unwanted effect, something to be corrected or removed†, that which cannot be solved before establishing its cause. Every problem, almost always, has only one cause. Problem solving must follow a logical process and careful analysis. It requires skill to apply theory to practice. A correct decision in one operation may prove to be less effective, even incorrect in another. The decision maker must be fully familiar with the operation, problem area and employees involved. Only correct and relevant information must be used in decision-making. Good managers always evaluate daily, the effectiveness of their decision to make corrections. Often, managers make the most convenient, but poor and costly decisions. Poor decisions may appear to solve a problem, but eventually the problem will reappear with more devastating repercussions. Young, inexperienced managers rely on technology, and conveniently forget (ignore) the importance of human factors like service standard, product quality, plate presentation and guest satisfaction, all of which cannot be quantified and must be fine-tuned constantly. A manager must know precisely the level of performance of all employees. In very large operations, general managers rely on division managers to make decisions on their behalf, and then provide guidance when incorrect reasoning was employed. Correct decisions can be made based only on facts. Problem solving and analysis are two entirely different processes. A problem indicates deviation from the standard, and usually a change of some kind causes it. In order to analyses a problem, seven steps are required: †¢ Established standards †¢ A problem is caused by a deviation from the standard †¢ The deviation must be identified, accurately located and described †¢ There is always something distinguishing about the deviation from the standard †¢ The cause of the problem is an unwanted change †¢ Possible causes are deduced from changes established †¢ The deviation(s) explains the cause(s) A problem may have several solutions. The decision maker must select the best which is linked to the scope of his/her experience. Here are the steps required to make a good decisions; Establish objectives, Classify objectives and prioritize Develop alternatives, Evaluate alternatives against objectives Select the best alternative Test alternatives (if possible) for possible adverse consequences Control adverse effects by taking affirmative action. Managers require standards to follow. If unavailable, they must develop them and seek the approval of their superior. Each problem must be solved individually. Several problems (related or not) cannot be solved simultaneously, and jumping from one to another may be an exercise in futility. If several problems exist, all must be prioritized and solved in sequence. Vaguely described and/or perceived problems cannot be solved satisfactorily. A common mistake is jumping to conclusions. Incorrect identification of a problem leads to wrong decisions, and eventually to a major crisis. Managers must be able to anticipate potential problems; promoting a line worker to a supervisory position requires due diligence. The background of the individual must be checked thoroughly, and his/her decision making skills verified before the promotion. RATIONAL VERSUS EMOTIONAL DECISION MAKING (3) Human brain researchers have determined that the more that is on one’s mind, then the more likely one will make an emotional decision rather than a rational one. Could this provide an explanation why so many decisions by managers and employees continue to seem irrational? As background, the brain researchers conducted an experiment asking people to memorize a series of numbers in sequence ranging from two to seven numbers. After given their numbers all the individuals had to do was walk down the hall to a room and write the numbers down. But there was a catch. As the subjects walked down the hall another researcher interrupted them and offered a gift for participating of either a piece of chocolate cake or an attractive bowl of fruit. The results were surprising (and very statistically significant). Those with the least numbers to memorize chose the fruit whereas those with more numbers chose the cake. Why is this? The brain researchers have observed that the human brain has two parts: a rational deliberate section and an emotional one. The competition between the two is fierce. When the mind load is light, as with those people tasked to memorize only two numbers, their judicious mind ruled the healthy fruit was more appropriate than the high calorie cake. In contrast, when the brain is more filled with items, emotion wins over reason. Let’s put this finding into the context of today’s work world. How many managers are constantly juggling many priorities? All of them. You are too. For example, should I first reply to that e-mail, edit and finalize that paper due, phone that colleague, read that blog or twitter, or analyze that report? When one has these types of â€Å"to-do† items, as a decision is thrust upon them, it is not surprising the choice is an emotional one? As examples, our largest customer just requested a special service. Should we charge them for it? Our most unreliable supplier just missed another due date. Should we replace them with another supplier? You could debate each of those decisions either way. But if your mind is distracted with a dozen other priorities and no time to debate, it is conceivable the emotional brain section might overrule the rational one. Decisions deserve analysis. The margin for error is thinner these days, and what we deal with daily is more complex than a decade ago. The tools for business analytics have now become available for even the casual user. Read my article Why Will Business Analytics Be the Next Competitive Edge? If organizations delay becoming a culture for analytics and metrics then the quality of their decisions will jeopardized. Case Study:This case was happened in 2002 in one of Egyptian military factory, the production sector took a decision to buy a certain production machine for producing a very complicated work piece, and this work piece will be used in a military device. This machine is very expensive and also very accurate, so the chairman had to be sure that this machine will be suitable for the required work piece and also will achieve the accuracy required, in order to do so, the chairman stipulated a strange condition in the contract of the machine to accept it from the seller, this condition simply is the factory will never transfer the money of the machine to the seller unless the machine not only delivered and installed but also after producing the first required work piece, and this produced work piece must be applied to measuring tests and pass through quality control procedures which is according to the German Standards (DIN). The chairman asked the quality control manager to construct a full plan to apply the measuring tests, that plan must illustrate the team, equipments used, strategy and measuring operations, once the quality control manager got the order he called for   meeting to make a discussions with the sector’s member about the required plan and to take their opinion about who will be in this team. Also the quality control manager had to determine a team leader for this mission, he had two choices, first one is an old engineer working in the quality control sector for many years and has very good and strong connections to all people in the quality control sector, second one is young engineer worked for just two years in the quality control sector but on the other hand he considered expert due to his advanced studies in the university in these type of tests and measurements. The quality control manager chose the old engineer to be the team leader. After submission the plan to the chairman to confirm, he accepted the plan but he changed the team leader and chose the young engineer due to his background knowledge. The quality control manager was very surprised and tries to change the chairman’s mind but he could not. The quality control manager called for another meeting for the sector in order to explain the reasons of changing the team leader and also to convince the team members accepting the new leader. Analysis In this case study we are obviously about two different manager styles. The chairman consider rational manager by the mean of word, he is always task oriented and focusing on how to achieve target whatever happened, this can be seen in how he made the deal with the machine seller, actually the above condition in the contract considered strange condition and not common at all in this type of business, but he did not care about what commonly used and also did not care about rules, he just want to make sure that the expensive machine he bought will do his work piece accurately. From another point of view he asked the quality control manager to construct the working plan for tests, this is to insure that the all process will be under control, where the decision of machine acceptance or rejection depends only on these tests. Also as he task oriented and always studding his option carefully he changed the team leader of the plan, as he believe that this is the way to achieve goal, and he did not care about team members, old team leader and also the quality control manager. On the other hand we have the quality control manager which considered emotional manager as seen, once he has been asked to construct the tests plan; immediately he called for a meeting to do so, also his way to determine the team leader; he used his intuition to avoid trouble in work may had been caused by the old engineer, he did not care about task accuracy, he did not care about how important was the mission and chose the old engineer just to be safe and away from troubles. Also when the chairman changed the team leader; he called for another meeting just to give excuses to the old team leader, and also to make a discussion with the team member to convince them with the new leader. CONCLUSION (2): The ancient philosophical debate about whether ethics is primarily a matter of reason or emotion has spilled over into psychology, where there is much current discussion about the nature of ethical thinking. But sufficiently rich theories of inference and emotion can clarify how moral judgments at their best should be both rational and emotional. How can we do the right thing? People are sometimes told: Be rational, not emotional. Such advice adopts the widespread assumption that reason and emotion are opposites. This opposition is particularly acute in ethics, where philosophers and psychologists have long debated the relative roles in ethical thinking of abstract inference and emotional intuitions. This debate concerns both the descriptive q Adjudicating this debate requires an evidence-based theory of emotions that mediates between two traditional theories: the cognitive appraisal view that takes emotions to be judgments about the accomplishment of one’s goals, and the phys iological perception view that takes emotions to be reactions to changes in one’s body. The cognitive appraisal view is compatible with the potential rationality of emotion, because the truth or falsity of judgments can be evaluated. On the other hand, the physiological perception view puts emotions on the non-rational side, since bodily reactions are not susceptible to reason. I have argued for a synthesis of the two views of emotion. The brain is capable of simultaneously performing both cognitive appraisal and bodily perception, and emotional consciousness results from this combination. If the integrated view is correct, we can see how emotions can be both rational, in being based at least sometimes on good judgments about how well a situation accomplishes appropriate goals, and visceral, providing motivations to act. Some emotions are beautifully rational, such as love for people who add great value to our lives, whereas other emotions can be irrational, such as attachment to abusive partners. Ethical judgments are often highly emotional, when people express their strong approval or disapproval of various acts. Whether they are also rational depends on whether the cognitive appraisal that is part of emotion is done well or badly. Emotional judgments can be flawed by many factors, such as ignorance about the actual consequences of actions and neglect of relevant goals, such as taking into account the needs and interests of all people affected. Adam Smith is sometimes taken as preaching a gospel of self-interest, but his work on moral sentiments emphasized the need for ethics to be based on sympathy for other people. Hence the emotions involved in ethical thinking can be rational when they are based on careful consideration of a full range of appropriate goals, including altruistic ones. Ideally, this consideration should mesh with a visceral reaction that provides a motivation to act well and correct injustices. Being good requires both thinking and feeling. Question about how people actually do think when they are making ethical judgments and the normative question of how they should think. References: {1} http://www.foodreference.com/html/artrationalmanager.html {2} http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hot-thought/201006/ethical-thinking-should-berational-and-emotional {3} http://smartdatacollective.com/garycokins/23935/rational-versus-emotional-decision-making