Research Paper on Cyber Bullying Essay Example

Research Paper on Cyber Bullying Essay Cyber bullying is the process, during which the Internet is used to harm and abuse people. Cyber bullying is really becoming more and more popular especially among teenagers, young people, who use the Internet technologies to hurt their friends or class mates. In is generally known that nearly every child who studies at school and has an account in social networks is a victim of cyber bullying and receives instant massages which contain threats and rude content. Most often the messages are not dangerous, because it is mostly a joke of young people who entertain themselves in such a weird way, but many targets of cyber bullying are very sensitive and treat every message seriously. As a result many teenagers, especially the ones, who possess low self esteem are stressed, frightened and even depressed. If one receives messages very often, he might get problems with psychics. In order to protect young people from cyber bullying parents and teachers should control the time spent in front of the PC and if the emails and messages are very serious – should ask the police for help. Very soon cyber bullying will be considered like a serious crime in order to regulate the situation and protect people from the unnecessary negative emotions in the web. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Cyber Bullying specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Cyber Bullying specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Cyber Bullying specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Today cyber bullying is the favorite entertainment of young people, that is why the situation with this problem is very tensing. More and more people suffer from cyber bullying and the government, including the police do their best to stop this process or at least reduce it. Students who study sociology and psychology often choose to write about cyber bullying, because they have fresh ideas aimed to solve the problem once for all. A student writing the research is expected to present the background of the problem, its cause and effect aspects, types of cyber bullying, what categories of people are the targets and with what ways people are abused in the Internet. Moreover, every student is supposed to present wise solutions of the problem which will be new and effective. Like every assignment, research paper writing is a difficult job for a young person. One has to read a lot about the problem under research and improve his knowledge on the topic. Besides, it is recommended to read free sample research papers on cyber bullying information in the web. Free papers are often completed by professional writers who are the experts in the topics they research and write about. On the other hand, no matter what the quality of the sample is, it will be a good help for every student. Every free example research paper on cyber bullying stories will teach a student to write a paper successfully. CAUTION! Free research paper samples and research proposal examples on Cyber Bullying are 100% plagiarized!!! At EssayLib.com custom writing service you can buy a custom research paper on Cyber Bullying topics. Your research paper will be written from scratch. We hire top-rated Ph.D. and Master’s writers only to provide students with professional research paper assistance at affordable rates. Each customer will get a non-plagiarized paper with timely delivery. Just visit our website and fill in the order form with all paper details: Enjoy our professional research paper writing service!

Scientific Hypothesis Examples

Scientific Hypothesis Examples A hypothesis represents an educated guess about what you think will happen, based on your observations. Before experimenting, you propose a hypothesis so that you can determine whether your prediction is supported. There are several ways you can state a hypothesis. The best hypothesis is one you can test and easily refute. Why would you want to disprove or discard your hypothesis? Its because this is the easiest way to demonstrate two factors are related. What are some examples of a hypothesis? Hypothesis Examples Hypothesis: All forks have three tines.Disproven if you find any fork with a different number of tines.Hypothesis: There is no relationship between smoking and lung cancer.While it is difficult to establish cause and effect in health issues, you can apply statistics to data to discredit this hypothesis or to support it, if the rates of lung cancer are the same between smokers and non-smokers.Hypothesis: Plants require liquid water to survive.Disproven if you find a plant that doesnt need it.Hypothesis: Cats do not show a paw preference (cat equivalent to being right- or left-handed).You could gather data about the number of times cats bat at a toy with either paw and analyze the data to determine whether cats, on the whole, favor one paw over the other. Be careful here, because individual cats, like people, might (or might not) express a preference.Hypothesis: If plants are watered with a 10% detergent solution, their growth will be negatively affected.Some people prefer to state a h ypothesis in an If, then format. An alternate hypothesis might be: Plant growth will be unaffected by water with a 10% detergent solution. What hypothesis would you use? Youre welcome to post a reply offering additional hypothesis examples or discussing the type of hypothesis you prefer to formulate and test.

Service Capabilities Vignettes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Service Capabilities Vignettes - Assignment Example Navy Services The services have the capability to operate in any threat environment expanded warfare capability on both land and at sea thus a good way to provide operational freedom. The Naval services have a composition and capabilities of major deployment elements. These elements are the Carrier Strike Group, Ambitious Ready Group, Surface Strike Group and Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. The Carrier Strike Group offers its services in all threat environments. It has the capabilities to offer full support in non-permissive environment. This is because it has all the anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, fighter aircrafts, electromagnetic jammers, cruise missile equipped surface combatants and submarines. These war weapons ensure that the group has the force power to offer great services in time of any crisis. The Amphibious Ready Group consist of three amphibious ships with naval elements, a fleet of surgical team which offers medical capabilities, Tactical Air Control Squadron and both displacement and non-displacement landing crafts. The Surface Strike Group capabilities support crisis response missions or sustained missions and may employed in limited non-permissive environments characterized by multiple threats. In this case therefore, it offers passive surveillance and tracking, passive defense and early warning, strike operations and sea control. It is equipped with three surface ships: two strike capable surface combatants and one surface combatant ship. With these equipments, the Surface Strike Groups capabilities include maritime ballistic missile defense. The Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force has forty ships that act as supply lines to the U.S. Navy ships at sea. Ideally, the group provides everything to the Navy fleet to remain at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods. In addition, it conducts towing, rescue and salvage operations. With such capabilities, they can support initial crisis response missions in non-permissive environments char acterized by multiple threats. Algeria is an uncertain environment because its Islamic militia wants to overturn the government as well as intrude into the Moroccan territory. This means it does not support any US military services. The U.S. Army Services The army services play a critical role in any type of calamity. It protects its people as well as the resources that are of great interest to the people. Title 10 USC is an army inside an army that has the land combat and service forces. It offers prompt and sustained combat incident to operations on land. Therefore, it responsible for the preparation of all land forces necessary for effective prosecution of war. The army is organized into three Army Commands (TRADOC, FORSCOM and AMC), nine other commands that are Army Service Component Commands (ASCC) of unified or sub unified combatant commands and eleven direct reporting units. Army Service Component Command or rather the Theater Army is responsible for organizing, equipping, tr aining, maintaining and logistically sustaining the army forces. It has the capabilities to maneuver large land-force weaponry during offensive attacks thus capable of long-range strategic and operational missions. Maturity of the theater always has a great influence on the army capabilities because it determines how the army force will operate. It therefore will be based as the Joint task Force- capable headquarters to control all the forces for effectiveness. The Army commands include the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine

Define your concept of a college education, and what a college Essay

Define your concept of a college education, and what a college education means to you - Essay Example This paper will attempt to explore the importance of college education in an individual’s life and why is it worth the amount of time, hard work and money that students invests on their college education. Tamara Draut in her article ‘Whats a Diploma Worth, Anyway?’ quotes, â€Å"Getting a bachelors degree is the required ticket for entry into the middle class today, but the security once implied in that status is gone. In addition to the exigencies now felt by middle-class Americans of all ages -- rising health care costs, soaring home prices and flat or falling incomes -- todays new generation of college grads bear an added vulnerability of massive debt† (Draut, 203). Personally speaking, nothing is further from truth. College education serves a more profound purpose than providing a promising for a prosperous life. Several evidences points to this very fact. First, not all people, who graduate from elite branded colleges, end up successful and neither all the graduates of mediocre schools stay unsuccessful all their lives. On the contrary, everyone hear rags-to-riches stories about people who attended mediocre colleges or did not go to one at all and did great. Examples include Bill Gates, the founder of Windows and Steve Jobs, the creator and owner of Apple. In addition, there are evidences of graduates of Harvard, Stanford, and Cambridge working at mediocre companies and living an average life. Thus, there is no black and white rule that promises successful prospects after college education. The question now arises, why go to college if a dropout can achieve so much more without a degree? How is it prudent to invest so much money and time in a venture, which is not even remotely reassuring of a good future? The answer lies in under the covers of salary, degree, and fame. The college education serves the purpose of character building. It deepens the attitude and dampens the soul of those who take it seriously. When one studies the

Understanding Traumatic Migrant Sex Workers and Trafficked Women Essay

Understanding Traumatic Migrant Sex Workers and Trafficked Women - Essay Example Although women trafficking and the trauma of the women have become foremost priority for social workers, yet they face daily challenges to get engaged with this group of migrants. I traveled to Italy from Nigeria with my aunt at the age of 16 for the purpose of working in her boutique. Once I reached there, I was forced to enter into prostitution. The money received from this was taken by my aunt and I was threatened to remain silent about the matter. For two years I was dehumanized, humiliated and maltreated after which I managed to escape from the ordeal. It was the most traumatic experience of my life as I had nowhere to go nor I could seek help from anyone. The modern concept of indigenization emerged in the third world countries initiated by the western power. The subject of social science was implanted from the West during colonialism in order to strengthen and make a permanent impact of the western power. As a result in the third world countries both political and academic ventures were influenced by the western colonialism. In order to achieve self governance it was important for â€Å"political decolonization and the indigenization of social sciences or intellectual decolonization.† (Yunong & Xiong, 2008, p.612) I chose migrant sex workers and trafficked women as the subject of my topic to discuss them in the background of indigenous social sciences. There are some liberal advocators of indigenization who admit that social sciences cannot be limited by any boundaries and conditions. They argue that the ideas and the principles are only common factors that are adopted from studies in western civilization. This group of advoc ators is more inclined towards a union of both perspectives and their attempt is to make social sciences more transcultural (Yunong & Xiong, 2008, p.612). In my opinion, the social policies of any particular country should

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur

Author William Faulkner and Ideals of Manhood Essay -- Biography Biogr

Author William Faulkner and Ideals of Manhood William Faulkner was above all else a lover of the image of southern masculinity. While Hamlet would learn to value his actions’ worth upon their bloodiness, Faulkner would use a masculine critique for his. Even his writing may be described as simply the only successful vessel he could find to indulge in this want of manliness. It was through his stories that Faulkner, in a sense, was able to reconcile the vast difference between the small framed, shunned outcast who stared back at him through a looking glass, and the courageous Colonel Sartoris of his imagination- the man he wished he could be. It appears that for Faulkner, life was a ceaseless struggle against fears of inferiority. While all writers in their efforts to create something significant and original must first, metaphorically speaking, slay their literary fathers, Faulkner‘s ambivalence and anxiety was all the more concrete as his â€Å"Literary Giant† was his own grandfather. It was Faulkner’s grandfather, nicknamed the â€Å"old Colonel†, who William hoped to see staring back at...

The Elizabethan Era

By definition, a class is a group of people with a related social standing. There are often distinct differences between the classes, denoted by characteristics such as one†s wealth, education, career, and health. These principles applied for the Elizabethan Era as well. Elizabeth herself was a member of the upper class, while other fairly successful people belonged to the middle class. Peasants were the lowest ranked class, usually because they were unfortunate enough to either contract a disease that disabled them from work, or they were farmers that were stricken with poverty when a harvesting season went bad. The â€Å"upper class† consisted mainly of nobility and wealthy landowners. Those in this class generally handled governmental affairs. They also had their children brought up with an education in music, math, and history. It wasn†t rare for many of them to be literate in multiple foreign languages, as well as their own, such as Latin, English, French, and Spanish. Also, the men usually received a better education than the women. The men of nobility were taught extra skills such as horse riding, hunting, shooting, and hawking as well. Because of this class†s social statute and wealth, they were easily able to treat themselves to the best of the food available during their time, especially meaty foods. But because of the large consumption of meat with few vegetables, many eventually suffered from diseases such as scurvy, which is weakness of the bone. The dinnerware consisted of wooden plates, like those of the lower classes, but these were accompanied by other delicacies of the Elizabethan period, such as chairs, forks, and glasses. The favorite drink of all the classes was beer, although the upper class favored wine imported from French vineyards. One custom between the people of this class and the peasants was known as the giving of â€Å"alms† to the poor. This was were a wealthy person would contribute money and sometimes provide supplementary shelter to a less fortunate person. Although the upper class was a minority in Elizabethan times as it is now, it kept the thriving European kingdom alive. The second class of the Elizabethan Period was the â€Å"middle class†. This class usually consisted of merchants and some landowners, although the number of peasants who rose and fell between this class and the lower class varied depending on the health of the seasonal harvest. Those in this class lead a fairly peaceful, easygoing life, other than common household chores and visits to the local market. If possible, they would hire a servant to keep up with some of the household chores, such as the tedious task of clothes washing. They sent their children to a formal school if they could afford it. The parents were so intent for their children to learn the material that they encouraged teachers to beat them if they made mistakes or became lazy. The middle class often could not afford some of the things taken for granted by the upper class, such as chairs instead of stools, forks, glasses, and a large selection of meats. The middle class drove the economy of Britain through its trades with other European countries. The peasants made up the lower class. These people were either ill, lazy, became laborers, or were just turned a bad hand during the harvest season. The laborers and servants served long hours each day handling the least favorable jobs, such as field work and laundry. During bad seasons, as many as 25% could not afford food, and often the most they ever ate was bread. In many cases they turned to thievery, otherwise they would starve. Some were lucky enough to receive â€Å"alms† from the wealthy, but many didn†t, because of their great number. The upper class pitied the peasants that were ill or that couldn†t find work, so they created a system to care for them. If there were able men that were just lazy and rather beg on the streets, a Parish, or the person in charge of the system locally, would send them to a larger city were they would be whipped and then sent back and assigned a job. If a man was ill, then they would often try to take him in and give him enough food to survive on. Widows and their families were also treated in the same manner. In the end, when harvest was well, every class benefited, and it created especially good seasons for the poor, otherwise it was the peasants who suffered most. The classes of the Elizabethan Period established a society which became a model for many present-day cultures. Though not perfect, it still exists today, even in America to some degree. The upper class was the wealthiest and had the most power, while the middle class was mostly involved in trade, and the lower class made up the remainder who were often ill or widowed.

Free Essays on What Is Enlightenment

, enlightenment is the development of a society through there own rational thoughts and educated analysis. Kant feels that if we are going to free ourselves from tutelage then we must be able to use our freedom whenever we want. â€Å"One c a try to revolt but it’s without doubt going to fail. One can try to put an end to tutelage and then become the tutor themselves†(@@@@). This revolution will not lead to enlightenment, but rather lead to more tutelage. One ruler said that the coming about of enlightenment will only arrive if you, â€Å"Argue as much as you will, and about what you will, but obey!† (Kant 87). In short, this means you can argue but you can’t revolt. Kant seemed to take this into account when discussing what will bring about enlightenment. Kant states, â€Å"The public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among mankind; the private use of reason may, however, often be very narrowly restricted , without otherwise hindering the progress of enlightenment. By the public use of one's own reason I understand the use that anyone as a scholar makes of reason before the entire literate world. I call the private use of reason that which a person may make in a civi... Free Essays on What Is Enlightenment Free Essays on What Is Enlightenment What is enlightenment? Immanuel Kant attempts to shed light on the meaning of enlightenment while writing the essay, â€Å"What is Enlightenment?†. This document was written in response to political and social changes brought about by King Frederick of Prussia. The goal of Kant’s essay was to discuss what the nature of enlightenment was. It also taught people how enlightenment can be brought about within the overall public. Kant explains that, â€Å"enlightenment is man’s release from his self-imposed immaturity† (Kant 85). Kant’s use of Immaturity seems to more in reference with the idea if self-imposed tutelage which is man’s lack of ability to have direction for himself, and needs a guardian or tutor. In other words, enlightenment is the development of a society through there own rational thoughts and educated analysis. Kant feels that if we are going to free ourselves from tutelage then we must be able to use our freedom whenever we want. â€Å"One c a try to revolt but it’s without doubt going to fail. One can try to put an end to tutelage and then become the tutor themselves†(@@@@). This revolution will not lead to enlightenment, but rather lead to more tutelage. One ruler said that the coming about of enlightenment will only arrive if you, â€Å"Argue as much as you will, and about what you will, but obey!† (Kant 87). In short, this means you can argue but you can’t revolt. Kant seemed to take this into account when discussing what will bring about enlightenment. Kant states, â€Å"The public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among mankind; the private use of reason may, however, often be very narrowly restricted, without otherwise hindering the progress of enlightenment. By the public use of one's own reason I understand the use that anyone as a scholar makes of reason before the entire literate world. I call the private use of reason that which a person may make in a civi...

Free Essays on Criminal Activity In The Brain

Criminal Activity and the Brains Role When it comes to aggression, the brain is said to be directly connected to psychological abnormalities. When there is damage to the frontal lobe of the brain, the chances of the individual having social and behavioral problems are higher. The traits and characteristics that the individual has as a result of these abnormalities contribute to antisocial behavior and aggression. The damage that is done to the brain reduces the individual’s autonomic arousal ability, which decreases the individual’s level of fear. As a result, the individual seems to fear nothing and has a higher possibility of becoming a violent offender. If an individual fears nothing, then they believe that they can do anything, because it is the fear of being punished that keeps most people from committing crimes. If an individual has no fear they have no need or desire to refrain from being violent. The individual’s personality and emotional deficits are controlled by the right frontal cortex a nd when this area is damaged or altered, the individual’s behavior ids different from those individuals that do not have damage to the brain. If an individual is abused as a child, they tend to have reduced right hemisphere functioning, in the brain which causes the individual to engage in serious violent acts. However, those that were abused, but refrained from violence had a higher right hemisphere brain activity. Physical abuse is a risk factor that has a major contribution to damage to the brains functioning and increases the chances of violent behavior. However, if the right hemisphere of the brains function is good or normal, the chances of the individual being violent will be reduced, these individuals are unable to handle or process an extended amount of information and when they are faced with this, it could cause more damage to the already damaged frontal lobe of the brain., which contributes to the loss of self control ... Free Essays on Criminal Activity In The Brain Free Essays on Criminal Activity In The Brain Criminal Activity and the Brains Role When it comes to aggression, the brain is said to be directly connected to psychological abnormalities. When there is damage to the frontal lobe of the brain, the chances of the individual having social and behavioral problems are higher. The traits and characteristics that the individual has as a result of these abnormalities contribute to antisocial behavior and aggression. The damage that is done to the brain reduces the individual’s autonomic arousal ability, which decreases the individual’s level of fear. As a result, the individual seems to fear nothing and has a higher possibility of becoming a violent offender. If an individual fears nothing, then they believe that they can do anything, because it is the fear of being punished that keeps most people from committing crimes. If an individual has no fear they have no need or desire to refrain from being violent. The individual’s personality and emotional deficits are controlled by the right frontal cortex a nd when this area is damaged or altered, the individual’s behavior ids different from those individuals that do not have damage to the brain. If an individual is abused as a child, they tend to have reduced right hemisphere functioning, in the brain which causes the individual to engage in serious violent acts. However, those that were abused, but refrained from violence had a higher right hemisphere brain activity. Physical abuse is a risk factor that has a major contribution to damage to the brains functioning and increases the chances of violent behavior. However, if the right hemisphere of the brains function is good or normal, the chances of the individual being violent will be reduced, these individuals are unable to handle or process an extended amount of information and when they are faced with this, it could cause more damage to the already damaged frontal lobe of the brain., which contributes to the loss of self control ...

Construction Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Construction Economics - Assignment Example The industry provides services such as maintenance, repairs and rehabilitation of existing structures. The industry comprises of three main sectors, which include building construction, heavy and civil engineering and specialty trade contractors. The building and construction sector includes contractors who build buildings for residential, industrial and commercial purposes. Heavy and civil contractors build roads, bridges, sewers and other major projects mostly relate to state infrastructure. Specialty deals with carpentry, painting and other works that relate to all types of construction. The industry teds to enter recessions first and often the last to recover. Most economic factors, which lead to recession, affect the construction industry. Inflation is one of the major causes of recession where consumer goods become expensive resulting to a drop in customer spending. In instances when the economy is expanding, there is increased consumer spending due to better wages and high disposable income. During the economic boom individuals have disposable income, which they use to buy durable goods and assets such as apartments and homes (Samuelson & Nordhaus, 2004 p. 56). In addition, the state acquires more tax revenue, which it utilizes by developing infrastructure. All three sectors of the construction industry indicate tremendous growth during this period. ... This happens in the initial stages of economic contraction. The Federal Reserve additionally, increases the lending interest rates and mortgage rates leading to reduced loans. The monetary control and inflation affect the construction industry even when they are in the early stages of inflation. The fluctuating interest rates results to an increase in the number of defaulters since they are unable to pay (Agapiou et al, 1998, p. 56). Federal Reserve increase in interest rates and reduced money supply result to weak housing market. The increase in lending affects the housing market, which comprises of the building sector of construction industry. Those already building houses are unable to continue due to escalating prices brought by rise in energy cost and fluctuation of currencies. Economic recession heavily affects the construction industry even in the early stages due to initial reduction in customer sending that result to a decrease in the demand of housing due to oversupply. Rec ession affects the industry more when compared to transport, education and financial industries. In addition, housing prices fall leading to a rise in foreclosures. Schmalensee (1987) says that the recession results to a rise in unemployment and thus a decline in the number of construction works (132). An imbalance in supply and demands slows the construction of residential building due to increase in interest rates. For example during 2007 recession total construction in United States declined by 28% (Department of labor). During recession, the government reduces its spending since its budget is normally under strain. This results to a decline in heavy and civil sector of the construction industry, which heavily relies with government projects such as roads and

Paper 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper 2 - Coursework Example The Chinese distinguish the time through the use of animals (and one mythical creature), naming years and hours as these animals. The selection of these animals, and the arrangement thereof, came from an old legend from the Chinese dynasty, possibly around the Zhan Guo period. Legend tells of Buddha or the Jade Emperor calling for all animals to a race across a raging river. The rat, thinking smartly, overcame its disability to swim by hopping and free-riding on the strongest animal on the race: the buffalo. Just before the buffalo was to cross the finish line, the rat jumped off ahead of the buffalo and landed first. The tiger, being strong as it is, was the next to arrive. As the rabbit came near to the finish line, hoping his way from stone to stone, it slipped and landed on a floating log, which the rabbit used to float to the finish line. The dragon, which everybody thought would finish the first, came after the rabbit, giving the alibi that it had to help the townspeople and th e rabbit in crossing the finish line. The next to approach the finish line was the horse, but the snake, just like the rat, subtly hid itself on the horse’s hooves.