Essay on Supply Chain Management - 686 Words

â€Å"Supply chain management is the flow of goods, services, and information from the initial sources of materials and services to the delivery of products and activities occur in the same organization or in other organizations†(Horngren695). This approach enables Regal Marine (R.M) to be highly effective, efficient, and profitable. More over supply chain management effectively manage your supply chain by synchronizing the demand for your products with your production capabilities, optimizing your resource usage, and maximizing your throughput so there are less disruptions and fewer fires to put out. Supply chain management requires companies to use the Internet to be most effective. Nevertheless Companies are failing to adapt to the Internet†¦show more content†¦We mentioned earlier the disadvantages of supply chain management, now we will the advantages and the process of supply chain management. Supply Chain Management Solutions helps companies transform supply strategy into a competitive advantage. By combining the expertise, technology and information to help companies bring immediate value and profit. Supply management is clear and direct. The process help companies find the money in their supply base, get the money to the bottom line quickly and keep the money coming with a renewable and repeatable approach. But to make supply chain management effective companies need to: (1) Get Perspective. (2) Dont Underestimate Learning Costs. (3) Reconsider Whats Efficient. (4) Serve the Partnerships. (5) Dont Overestimate. R.M and partners use the fundamentals of supply chain management and the steps that are mentioned above. To illustrate more the chain will start from the supplier network that include raw material such as aluminum, fiberglass, and glecoat then the components, which can be transmission, seats, and so on. The next step is the subassembly for example engines, wiring, and chassis. The next step in the chain is the boat manufacturers (assembly line), which include R.M and all boat manufactures, then it goes on to the most important step which is the marketing channels (dealer network) and then to the buyers. To exemplify more we will take Wal-Mart as an example. Wal-Mart one of the retailersShow MoreRelatedThe Supply Chain Management Of Supply Chains1372 Words   |  6 Pagesthe world. Supply chains are now very complex and flourishing in the global marketplace, but only constructed and managed correctly. My discipline is supply chain management. There are many different functions of the supply chain that make it what it is. Breaking this discipline down to specific job task is difficult because each process in a supply chain, no matter how complex is connected with at least one other process in the supply chain. There is no clear definition of a supply chain. A supplyRead MoreSupply Chain Management : Supply Chains1476 Words   |  6 Pages1.3 Supply Chain Supply chains encompass the companies and the business activities needed to design, make, deliver, and use a product or service. Businesses depend on their supply chains to provide them with what they need to survive and thrive. Every business fits into one or more supply chains and has a role to play in each of them. The pace of change and the uncertainty about how markets will evolve has made it increasingly important for companies to be aware of the supply chains they participateRead MoreSupply Chain Management Of Supply Chains1188 Words   |  5 Pagesthe supply chain, not just a simple competition between enterprises. In order to win the competition in the supply chain, which means it must be through the management of the supply chain. Currently supply chains become more integrated, more global, the high-speed development of information technology has become an important driving force. In this report will explore the development of supply chain management technologies and impor tant role. Supply chain and technologies role Supply chain is theRead MoreSupply Chain Management : Supply Chains Essay831 Words   |  4 Pagesto answer the question of what is supply chain management we must know what a supply chain is. According to (Mentzer et al., 2001, p. 1) â€Å"Supply chain is defined as the network of organisations which are involved in different processes that produce value either in the form of products or services delivered to consumers†. A supply chain is made up of suppliers, manufactures and distributors, a good way of looking at this is the supply chain pipeline. A supply chain is seen as an enabler, this is whyRead MoreSupply Of Supply Chain Management830 Words   |  4 PagesSupply Chain Management Goal of a supply chain. According to Defining the Supply Chain, there are 5 specific goals of supply chain management. They are as follows: 1. Achieve Efficient Fulfillment – â€Å"the purpose of supply chain management is to make inventory readily available in customer facing positions to fulfill demand. The fresh produce business adage â€Å"you can’t sell from an empty wagon† highlights this fundamental purpose of supply chain management†. (Defining the Supply Chain) OrganizationsRead MoreSupply Chain Management986 Words   |  4 Pagesthat are not faced by Dell? How should Ford deal with these challenges? 3. If you are Teri Takai, what would you recommend to senior executives? Tow what degree should Ford emulate Dell’s business model? Herman Miller: Innovation by Design? (Supply Chain Strategy) 1. What are the main elements of Herman Miller’s history, design philospophy, and corporate values? How have they influenced the company’s success? 2. What led Miller SQA to develop a new business model to serve its market? What isRead MoreSupply Chain Management12177 Words   |  49 PagesSUPPLY CHAIN UPPLY HAIN MANAGEMENT ANAGEMENT Report produced for the EC funded project INNOREGIO: dissemination of innovation and knowledge management techniques Sotiris Zigiaris, MSc, BPR engineer by BPR HELLAS SA J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 0 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 1 Contents 1 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2 Description What is the Supply Chain Management (SCM) What is the importance of Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Today Supply Chain Management TomorrowRead MoreSupply Chain Management1730 Words   |  7 PagesSTARBUCKS IT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT This is a case that illustrates several facets at once: Globalization Rapid Expansion, Supply Chain Management, ERP Implementation, and IT Infrastructure. This case takes place in 1997. Introduction You have to admire the enthusiasm of Starbucks employees. Store managers have been known to stuff sacks of coffee beans into their cars and race over to help out other stores running low. Exceptional customer service, but certainly no way to run a businessRead MoreSupply Chain Management Value Of Supply Chains1122 Words   |  5 PagesHeading: Supply Chain Management-Value of Supply Chain Introduction: Supply chain management is a complex undertaking that must involve more than one organization’s efforts to succeed. A tremendous amount of skill, time, and money must be present to build and develop relationships, discover and implement a strategy, and use the capabilities of the chain to build quality at an efficient financial rate. Allowing for these requirements, it leaves one to wonder whether supply chain management is a viableRead MoreSupply Of Supply Chain Management Essay2046 Words   |  9 PagesSupply Chain Management involves the process of managing, monitoring, controlling and constantly coordinating supply related activities among manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailer and the consumers. All this is done while integrating supply management with demand management, not only within but also across companies. Since all the processes involved in managing supply chain activities require a robust system in place, every company turns to technology for efficient and effective synchronization

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Epilogue Free Essays

string(26) " sexuality comes to mind\." Epilogue The angel took the book from him, then went out the door and across the hall, where he knocked on the door. â€Å"He’s finished,† the angel said to someone in the room. â€Å"What, you’re leaving? I can just go?† asked Levi who was called Biff. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Epilogue or any similar topic only for you Order Now The door across the hall opened, and there stood another angel, this one seeming to have more a female aspect than Raziel. She too held a book. She stepped into the hall to reveal a woman standing behind her, wearing jeans and a green cotton blouse. Her hair was long and straight, dark with reddish highlights, and her eyes were crystal blue and seemed to glow in contrast to her dark skin. â€Å"Maggie,† said Levi. â€Å"Hi, Biff.† â€Å"Maggie finished her Gospel weeks ago,† said Raziel. â€Å"Really?† The Magdalene smiled. â€Å"Well, I didn’t have as much to write as you did. I didn’t see you guys for sixteen years.† â€Å"Oh, right.† â€Å"It is the will of the Son that you two go out together into this new world,† said the female angel. Levi went across the hall and took her in his arms. They kissed for a long time until the angels began to clear their throats and murmur â€Å"Get a room† under their breaths. They held each other at arm’s length. Levi said, â€Å"Maggie, is this going to be like it always was? You know, you’re with me, and you love me and everything, but it’s only because you can’t have Josh?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"That’s so pathetic.† â€Å"You don’t want to be together?† â€Å"No, I want to, it’s just pathetic.† â€Å"I have money,† she said. â€Å"They gave me money.† â€Å"That’s good.† â€Å"Go,† said Raziel, losing his patience. â€Å"Go, go, go. Go away.† He pointed down the hallway. They started walking down the hallway, arm in arm, tentatively, looking back at the angels every few steps, until at last they looked back and the angels were gone. â€Å"You should have stuck around,† the Magdalene said. â€Å"I couldn’t. It hurt too much.† â€Å"He came back.† â€Å"I know, I read about it.† â€Å"He was sad because of what you had done.† â€Å"Yeah, so was I.† â€Å"The others were angry with you. They said that you had the greatest reason to believe.† â€Å"That why they edited me out of their Gospels?† â€Å"Good guess,† she said. They stepped into the elevator and the Magdalene pushed the button for the lobby. â€Å"By the way, it was Hallowed,† she said. â€Å"What was Hallowed?† â€Å"The H. His middle name. It was Hallowed. It’s a family name, remember, ‘Our father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.'† â€Å"Damn, I would have guessed Harvey,† Biff said. Afterword Teaching Yoga to an Elephant And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. JOHN 21:25 Can you really teach yoga to an elephant? Well no, you can’t, but we’re talking about Jesus here. Nobody knows what he could do. The book you’ve just read is a story. I made it up. It is not designed to change anyone’s beliefs or worldview, unless after reading it you’ve decided to be kinder to your fellow humans (which is okay), or you decide you really would like to try to teach yoga to an elephant, in which case, please get videotape. I researched Lamb, I really did, but there is no doubt I could have spent decades researching and still managed to be inaccurate. (It’s a talent, what can I say?) While I’ve made some attempt to paint an accurate picture of the world in which Christ lived, I changed things for my own convenience, and sometimes, obviously, there was no way of knowing what conditions really existed in the years 1 through 33. The available written history about the peasant class, society, and the practice of Judaism in the first century in Galilee degenerates quickly into theory. The role of the Pharisees in peasant society, the Hellenistic influence, the influence of an international city like Joppa nearby: who knows how these things would have affected Christ as a boy? Some historians postulate that Yeshua of Nazareth would have been little more than an ignorant hillbilly, while others say that because of the proximity of Sepphoris and Joppa, he could have been exposed to Greek and Roman culture from an early age. I chose the latter because it makes for a more interesting story. The historical life of Jesus, beyond a couple of references by Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first century, and the odd mention by Roman historians, is again mostly speculation. What we can know today of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is included in the four slim Gospels found in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For those readers who know the Gospels (bear with me), you know that Matthew and Luke are the only two to mention Christ’s birth, while Mark and John cover only the ministry part of Jesus’ life. The wise men are mentioned only in one short passage in Matthew, and the shepherds are mentioned only in Luke. The slaughter of the innocents and the fleeing into Egypt are mentioned only in Matthew. In short, Jesus’ infancy is a jumble, but the chronicle of his childhood is worse. Of the time from Jesus’ birth to when he began his ministry in his thirties, the Bible gives us only one scene: Luke tells us of Jesus teaching in the Tem ple in Jerusalem at age twelve. Other than that, we have a thirty-year hole in the life of the most influential human being to ever walk the face of the earth. With Lamb, in my own goofy way, I attempted to fill that hole in history, but again, I am not trying to present history as it might really have been, I’m simply telling stories. Some of the historical elements of Lamb are uncomfortable to work the modern mind around. The precocious sexuality comes to mind. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Epilogue" in category "Essay examples" That Maggie would have been betrothed by twelve and married by thirteen is almost certain from what we know of Jewish society in the first century, as are the facts that a Jewish boy of the time would have been learning his trade by age ten, would be betrothed at thirteen, and would be married by fourteen. Trying to create empathy for the adult roles of those whom we, today, would consider children, was of no small concern to me when I was writing that section of the book, but it may be the one section where the sexuality of the characters is not historically out of place. The average peasant in Galilee would have been lucky to live to the age of forty, so perhaps the children, by necessity, reached sexual maturity earlier than they would unde r less harsh conditions. Although there are, I’m sure, many historical inaccuracies and improbabilities in this book, the most blatant that I have knowingly indulged is in the section where Biff and Joshua visit Gaspar in the mountains of China. While Gautama Buddha did indeed live and teach some five hundred years before the birth of Christ, and while his teachings were widespread in India by the time our heroes could have made it to the East, Buddhism didn’t make it into China for almost five hundred years after Christ’s death. The martial arts would not be developed by Buddhist monks until after that, but to remain historically accurate, I would have had to leave out an important question that I felt needed to be addressed, which is, â€Å"What if Jesus had known kung fu?† The life of Gaspar, as described in Lamb (the nine years in the cave, etc.), is drawn from the legends of the life of the Buddhist patriarch Bodhidharma, the man who is said to have taken Buddhism to China around A.D. 500. Bodhidharma (or Daruma) is credited with the school of Buddhism that we know today as Zen. Buddhist legend does not mention Bodhidharma encountering a yeti, but they do have him cutting his eyelids off to avoid falling asleep and having them sprout into tea plants which later monks would brew to keep awake during meditation (which I left out), so I traded that story in on an abominable snowman and Biff’s theory of natural selection. Seemed fair. Bodhidharma is also said to have invented and taught kung fu to the famous Shao Lin monks to condition them for the rigorous regimen of meditation he prescribed. Most of the details of the festival of Kali, including the sacrifices and mutilations, come from Joseph Campbell’s Oriental Mythology, from his Masks of God series. Campbell cites eyewitness accounts of the bloody ritual from nineteenth-century British soldiers and states that even today over eight hundred goats are beheaded for the festival of Kali in Calcutta. (Anyone who had trouble with this passage, please write to Campbell in his current incarnation.) The cited verses from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita are actual translations of those revered writings. The verses from the Kama Sutra are completely from my imagination, but you’ll find weirder stuff in the actual book. Theologically, I made certain assumptions about who Jesus was, mainly that he was who the Gospels say he was. While I used the Gospels heavily for reference, and there are a couple of references to the Acts of the Apostles (specifically the giving of the gift of tongues, without which Biff could not have told the story in modern American idiom), I tried not to draw on the rest of the New Testament, specifically the letters of Paul, Peter, James, and John, as well as Revelations, all written years after the Crucifixion (as were the Gospels). These missives eventually went on to define Christianity, but no matter what you may think of them, you have to agree that Jesus would not have been aware of them, or the events in them, or certainly the consequences of their teaching, so they had no place in this story. Joshua and Biff, as Jewish boys, would, however, have been familiar with the books of the Old Testament, the first five of which made up the base of their faith, the Torah, and th e rest which were referred to by people of the time as Prophets and Writings, so I referred to these when I felt it was appropriate. As I understand it, however, the Talmud and most of the Midrash (illustrative stories explaining the law of God) had not yet been formulated and agreed upon, so they were not used as a reference for Lamb. From the Gnostic Gospels (a set of manuscripts found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945, but which actually may have been written earlier than the canonized Gospels) I’ve drawn only slightly on the Gospel of Thomas, a book of Christ’s sayings, because it fit well with the Buddhist point of view (many of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas are also found in Mark). The other Gnostic Gospels were either too fragmentary, or frankly, just plain creepy (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas describes Jesus, at age six, using his supernatural powers to murder a group of children because they tease him. Sort of Carrie Goes to Nazareth. Even I had to pass.) Lamb is peppered throughout with biblical references, both real and made-up (i.e., Biff quotes liberally from nonexistent books of the Bible such as Dalmatians, Excretions, and Amphibians). My editor and I discussed the merit of footnoting these references and decided that footnotes would detract from the flow of the story. The problem arises, however, that if the reader knows the Bible well enough to recognize the real references, there’s a good chance that he or she has decided not to read this book. Our final decision – well, my final decision, my editor wasn’t really consulted on this because he might have said no – was to advise those who are not familiar with the Bible to find someone who is, sit them down, read them the passages in question, then say, â€Å"That one real? How ’bout that one?† If you don’t know someone who is familiar with the Bible, just wait, someone will come to your door eventually. Keep extra copies of Lamb on hand so they can take one with them. Another problem with telling a story that has been told so many times is that people are looking for elements with which they are familiar. Although I’ve glossed over many events that are chronicled in the Gospels, there are numerous elements which many people think are there, which simply are not. One is that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. She’s always portrayed that way in movies, but it doesn’t ever say that she is in the Bible. She is mentioned by name eleven times in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Luke, Mark). Most references to her talk about her preparation for the burial of Jesus, and then being the first witness of his resurrection. It also says that Jesus cured her of evil spirits. No whore references, period. There are â€Å"Marys† without surnames all over the Gospels, and some of them, I suspect, may refer to the Magdalene, specifically the Mary who, soon before his death, anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive ointment and wipes them wit h her hair, certainly one of the most tender moments in the Gospels and the primary basis for my rendering of Maggie’s character. We know from letters that many of the leaders of the early church were women, but in first-century Israel, a woman who struck out on her own without a husband was not only considered uppity, but was very likely referred to as a harlot (as was a woman who was divorced). That could be where the myth originated. Another Gospel misassumption is that the three wise men were kings, or, in fact, that there were even three of them. We make that assumption because there are three gifts given to the Christ child. Their names are never mentioned. The names Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior come to us from Christian tradition written hundreds of years after the time of Christ. We assume that Joseph of Nazareth, Jesus’ stepfather, dies before the Crucifixion, yet it is never stated in the Gospels. He just may not have been involved. We make assumptions based on what we have been fed over the years at Christmas pageants and passion plays, but often, although inspired by faith, that material is little more than what you have just read: the product of someone’s imagination. The Gospels do not agree on the order of the events that happen during the ministry, from Jesus’ baptism by John to the Crucifixion, so I arranged events from all the Gospels in what seemed a logical, chronological order, while adding those elements that allow Biff’s participation in the story. There are, of course, elements of the Gospels which I left out in the interest of brevity, but you can always find them in the Gospels if you want. My sending Joshua and Biff to the East was motivated purely by story, not by basis in the Gospel or historical evidence. While there are indeed astounding similarities between the teachings of Jesus and those of Buddha (not to mention those of Lao-tzu, Confucius, and the Hindu religion, all which seem to have included some version of the Golden Rule), it’s more likely that these stem from what I believe to be logical and moral conclusions that any person in search of what is right would come to, e.g.: that the preferable way to treat one another is with love and kindness; that pursuit of material gain is ultimately empty when measured against eternity; and that somehow, as human beings, we are all connected spiritually. While historians and theologians don’t completely rule out the possibility that Christ may have traveled to the East, they seem to agree that he could have formulated the teachings we find in the Gospels with no more influence than the rabbinical teachin gs in Galilee and Judea. But what fun would that have been? Finally, this story was set in a dire time, a deadly serious time, and the world of the first-century Jew under the rule of the Romans would not have been one that easily inspired mirth. It’s more than a small anachronism that I portray Joshua having and making fun, yet somehow, I like to think that while he carried out his sacred mission, Jesus of Nazareth might have enjoyed a sense of irony and the company of a wisecracking buddy. This story is not and never was meant to challenge anyone’s faith; however, if one’s faith can be shaken by stories in a humorous novel, one may have a bit more praying to do. My thanks to the many people who helped in the research and writing of this book, especially those who were generous enough to share their beliefs without judgment or condemnation. Many thanks to Neil Levy, Mark Joseph, Professor William â€Å"Sundog† Bersley, Ray Sanders, and John â€Å"The Heretic† Campbell for their advice on religion, philosophy, and history. To Charlee Rodgers for putting up with the fits, starts, whining, and hubris of the process, as well as to Dee Dee Leichtfuss for readings and comments. Special thanks to Orly Elbaz, who was my tour guide through Israel and who showed infinite patience in answering my nitpicky historical questions. Also to my agent, Nick Ellison, and my editor, Tom Dupree, for their patience, tolerance, and advice. Christopher Moore BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 2000 How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Epilogue, Essay examples

Australian Constitution Governance and Citizenship in Australia

Question: How is this possible given that the Australian Constitution has changed little over the past century? Answer: Introduction The country of Australia is fourth among the countries which have very old federation. Australia comes after United States whose federal structure is since 1789, Switzerland whose structure is existing since 1848 and Canada whose structure is existing since 1867. The federal structures of these constitutions have not changed since its composition. It has been over a century that the Australian Constitution has been established and under formal terms not many modifications have been made by the governments (Fenna, 2012). However, the Australian federal systems did undergo a number of changes in the prevailing years. The most significant change that can be observed is the degree in which the Commonwealth Government has gradually taken a very dominant position in the Constitutional structure. Federalism in Australia in 1901 After the Henry Parkes' Tenterfield Oration in the year 1889, the colonies in Australia carried out a number of constitutional conventions throughout the time period of 1890s. These constitutionals conventions were put together in a draft Constitution that was given for majority votes in each of the colonies and finally the electors approved of a final round of changes to meet the high threshold of support as required in the state of New South Wales (Appleby, Aroney and John, 2012). In the year 1900 the Imperial Parliament in Britain passed the law as the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900. The federation was observed to proceed in a very aimless manner that reflected the lack of any compelling urgency. The colonies attempted to remove the tariff barriers in inter-colonial trade and commerce. These had strategic presence and access to investment capital at lower rates (Selway and Williams, 2005). Structure of the Australian Constitution With regard to the federal structure of the Australian Constitution it can be observed that the model structure is very similar to the American Constitution (Selway and Williams, 2005). For instance the enumeration of the powers of the Parliament under section 51, the states being a broad residual power given under section 108, the supremacy clause given under section 109, the presence of a strong bicameral structure with the senate where the states represented disregard of any disparities in the population of the state as given under section 7, the division of senators into various cohorts for electoral cycles as given under section 13, the establishment of Supreme Court, the High Court with the power to declare any action of the governments unconstitutional as has been given under the section 71 and the two step amending procedure given under section 128 (Galligan and Wright, 2002). Reforms in the federal structure in the contemporary times The federal system of government in Australia has been undergoing a lot of crucial changes. With the recent changes relating to globalization and new methods of governance the questions relating to the existing three tier system of federal structure and how it can adapt the requirements of the integrated economy and also at the main time serve the needs of the variety of communities which is spread over the entire continent. In the 1940s, the federal governments used the power of the constitution regarding taxation to take de facto control over many of the policies through financial inducement and pressure. In 1999 the Goods Services Tax (GST) was established that was collected by the federal government. This was considered to be stealth missile with respect to the state governments. Again during the 1920s-1930s and again in the 1990s, the collaborate standardization of the laws were done by the federal and the state governments (Miragliotta, 2012). However, the process was ad-hoc and the mechanisms of Australia remained comparatively very weak and informal throughout. COAG and its reform agendas The Council of the Australian Governments (COAG) is the head of the intergovernmental forum in the country. The COAG comprises of the Prime Minister, State and Territory Premiers and Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) where the chairperson is the Prime Minister. The primary role of the Council of the Australian Governments (COAG) is the promotion of those policy reforms that are of national importance or those reforms that need a co-ordinated action by all the governments of Australia. The meetings of the COAG are according to the requirements generally once or twice a year. However at times they may also meet for four times in a year (Selway and Williams, 2005). One of the primary achievements of the Council of the Australian Governments (COAG) was the reform agenda that was developed by the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (IGAFFR). This reform agenda started from January 2009. This Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations mainly aimed in enhancing the collaborating federalism. This federalism reduced the earlier intricacies relating to the financial relations of the Commonwealth with that if the states and territories. It also aimed at the promotion of more flexibility in the service delivery and also enhances the accountability to achieve the outcomes. In order to figure out the reform objectives in the year 2011 the Council of the Australian Governments introduced five themes of strategic significance. These themes are related to the intersection of the jurisdictional responsibilities (Miragliotta, 2012). These responsibilities include the long term strategies relating to economic and social participation, secondly the national economy relating to the competitive advantages, thirdly, reforms for a more lively and sustainable environment in Australia, fourthly advanced and suitable health services for all the citizens of Australia and finally bridging the gap between the indigenous tribes of Australia (Appleby, Aroney and John, 2012). Impact of the High Court on the Federalism Since the federal structure of the country has been created in the 1901 number of rulings of the High Court have gradually strengthened the law making power of the federal government. According to section 71 of the Constitution of Australia, the High Court has the power to resolve the resolve any disagreements rising between the federal and state governments regarding any law making powers (Fenna, 2012). In case of any challenge regarding any law, the dispute is taken to the High Court for determining whether the Constitution has relevant power to make such laws. If the High Court considers the law to be unconstitutional then that particular law will be considered invalid. Generally the state relies on the federal government to fund a number of activities such as the schools and hospitals but now the federal and state balance has also shifted. A very essential part of the total revenue is made up of the federal funds. According to section 96 of the Australian Constitution the federal government has the power to grant financial support to the states in accordance to appropriate conditions that the federal structure deems fit. They generally give tied grants to the state governments which direct the state to how the money should be spent (Fenna, 2012). The federal government further influences the different manners in which the areas relating to education, housing, health, and urban development are to be dealt with. In order to illustrate the role of the High Court is modifying the Australian federalism in the last few decades it is essential that some of the important cases are discussed. To begin with the Tasmanian Dam case of 1983 (Tasmania v Commonwealth, [1983]) is primarily considered (Miragliotta, 2012). In his particular case an attempt was made by the then ruling power the Hawke Labor government to restrict the State Liberal government from the construction of a dam on the Gordon river that is situated in the southwestern side of Tasmania to generate hydro-electric power (Tasmania v Commonwealth, [1983]). The legislation on this was highly criticized and challenged by the state government of Tasmania as well as the governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The challenge was made on the ground that according to the Constitution federal government does not have the power to intervene in such matters (Galligan and Wright, 2002). However, when the case came up to the High Court the Court held that the legislation was valid in accordance to the external affairs and the corporation powers of the Commonwealth. This decision of the High Court was considered by most commentators to be a setback for the federalism in Australia. It was also a failure of the High Court as it fai led to maintain appropriate balance between the state and federal structure of the country. Another case may be mentioned in this regard where the High Court gave a reverse decision in a conflict between the federal and state government. In the recent case relating to Work Choices the facts were that the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 was substituted with the contemporary system of compulsory industrial arbitration that contains a national scheme based on the individual workplace agreements (Fenna, 2012). This entire system was basically according to the economical and liberal outlook of the Coalition Federal government (Work Choices, [2006]). This legislation was later challenged by quite a few state labor governments and according to them it was not within the powers of the Commonwealth and also because the law attempted to implement an individual work place agreement that was unacceptable by most state governments. When the case was brought forward to the High Court the Court upheld the previous decision of 2006 and again the court was criticized f or putting an end to federalism in the country. As a result of the decision of the Work Choice case, now the Commonwealth has far more capacity to regulate the different areas of individual activity than that was even expected by those people who had framed and ratified the Constitution (Work Choices, [2006]). These powers are considered by most to be far beyond the powers and scope that was initially given by the Constitution. However, it should be noted that the importance of the Work Choices case is not in the result of the case but in the fact that the High Court got an opportunity to reconsider the whole approach relating to the legislative powers of the Commonwealth as has been given under the Constitution of Australia (Work Choices, [2006]). After the decision in the Engineers case (Engineers, [1920]), it was first that these issues were raised and the High Court was given a chance to consider whether the previously preserved old doctrines can survive in the court jurisprudence. Further in another case known commonly as the State Banking Case (State Banking Case, [1947]), the High Court held that the reserved power doctrines that is related to those fields of power that is reserved for the states only and the limitation and scope of this power helps to understand the power that is conferred upon the Commonwealth. However, even then it is seen that the reserve power doctrine is not logical in the full sense. Conclusion The Australian Constitution that was envisaged in the year 1901 is hence quite different from the exact manner in which it was prepared. The above high court decisions along with a few others imply that these changes were brought about due to the gradual changes in the outlook and thinking of the people. Therefore even though the Australian Constitution was changed over the last few years due to the fact that a number of reforms took place in contemporary times, the structure of federalism also went through a lot of modifications. As a result the federalism that was envisaged in the year 1901 is quite different from what it is in present times. However it should also be noted that the existence of uncertainties and discrepancies in the federal systems is quite normal and most of the developed countries such as that of Canada and the United States of America have also witnessed such changes. Australia is no different in this sphere and such changes in federal structure are made keeping in mind the changing societal norms. References Appleby, G., Aroney, N. and John, T. (2012).The future of Australian federalism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Engineers[1920]CLR 28, p.129. Fenna, A. (2012). Centralising Dynamics in Australian Federalism.Australian Journal of Politics History, 58(4), pp.580-590. Galligan, B. and Wright, J. (2002). Australian Federalism: A Prospective Assessment.Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 32(2), pp.147-166. Miragliotta, N. (2012). Federalism, Party Organization and the Australian Greens.Australian Journal of Politics History, 58(1), pp.97-111. Selway, B. and Williams, J. (2005). The High Court and Australian Federalism.Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 35(3), pp.467-488. State Banking Case[1947]CLR 74, p.31. Tasmania v Commonwealth[1983]CLR 158, p.1. Work Choices[2006]CLR 229, p.1.

Coca-Cola / Pespi Business Case Hbs Essay Example

Coca-Cola / Pespi Business Case Hbs Essay Question 1 : Why has the soft drink business been so profitable ? An industry analysis through Porter’s Five Forces reveals that market forces are favourable for profitability. Both concentrate producers and bottlers are profitable. The industry is already vertically integrated to some extent ( § â€Å"Bottler consolidation and spin-off p8). That’s why we sometimes will not distinguish concentrate producers and bottlers. However, we have to keep in mind that relations between concentrate producer and bottlers were often strained. Moreover, in terms of operating profit/sales (exhibit 4 p18), during the period 1980-2004, we can notice that concentrate producer – Coca-Cola company – earned between 21% and 37,1% whereas its largest bottler – Coca Cola Enterprise – only earned between 4,3% and 8,6%. Rivalry : We could characterize the soft drink market as an oligopoly, or even a duopoly between Coke and Pepsi, resulting in positive economic profits. There was tough competition between Coke and Pepsi for market share, and this occasionally hampered profitability – especially for the bottlers. But on the whole, the carbonated soft drink industry remained very profitable. Moreover, nothing contributes as much to the present-day success of the Coca-Cola Company (respectively Pepsi) than Pepsi (respectively Coca-Cola Company). It’s a stimulating competition. But then, came the private label brands ! See question 2 below. Susbstitutes : Other beverages, from bottled water to teas, became more popular. Coke and Pepsi responded by expanding their offerings, through alliances (e. g. Coke and Nestea), acquisitions (e. . Coke and Minute Maid), and internal product innovation capturing the value of increasingly popular substitutes internally. ( § The Cola wars begin p7). Power of suppliers : If sugar became too expensive, the firms could easily switch to corn syrup, as they did in the early 1980s. There are generally a lot of cans companies who are competing for one contract with one bottler. Cans suppliers have very little power. ( § Suppliers to concentrate producer an d bottlers – p5). Power of buyer : We will write a custom essay sample on Coca-Cola / Pespi Business Case Hbs specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Coca-Cola / Pespi Business Case Hbs specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Coca-Cola / Pespi Business Case Hbs specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Supermarkets, the principal customer for soft drink makers, were a highly fragmented industry. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, had much more bargaining Power. They want to bargain directly with the concentrate producers. This contributes to de degradation of the relation between the concentrate producers and the bottler. ( § Evolving structures and strategies p13)? Only buyers with dominant power were fast food outlets but fortunately, they accounted for less than 20% of total soft drink sales. Barriers to entry : New Concentrate producers would need to overcome the tremendous marketing muscle and market presence of Coke, Pepsi, and a few others although the concentrate producer industry is not very capital intensive, other barriers would prevent entry. Coke and Pepsi are Global Brand †¦ even if the products themselves are not all the time as global as we can think (e. g. Coca Cola’s local products in Japan, Dasani bottled water in USA). Question 2 : What has been the effect of the rivalry on profits ? During the 1960’s and 70’s Coke and Pepsi concentrated on a differentiation and advertising strategy. The â€Å"Pepsi Challenge† in 1974 was a prime example of this strategy. However during the early 1990’s bottler’s of Coke and Pepsi employed low priced strategies in the supermarket channel in order to compete with private label (store brands). In the late 90’s decided to abandon the price war, which was not doing industry any good by raising the prices. Indeed, price wars, even combined with low-cost strategies had driven soda price down to the point where bottlers couldn’t get a decent return on supermarket sales (also because the concentrate prices rose). Bottlers then shifted course (both CCE and PBG) and increased their retail price †¦ consumers balked, sales volume dipped and finally, concentrate makers saw their profits drop as a result ! ( § Evolving structures and strategies – p12). Question 3 : How can Pepsi and Coke sustain profits in the future ? Coke can Pepsi can sustain their profits in the industry because of the following reasons: No new threats from new competition : when there is a threat, as when the beverages from bottled water to teas became more popular, Coke and Pepsi diversified into non–carbonated drinks to counter the flattening demand in the carbonated drinks. This can moreover provide diversification options and an opportunity to grow. Coke and Pepsi have been in the business long enough to accumulate great amount of brand equity which can sustain them for a long time and allow them to use the brand equity when they diversify their business. Per capita consumption in the emerging economies is very small compared to the US market so there is huge potential for growth. However, internationalization strategies can be risky. During the 1960s, Coke focused primarily on overseas markets, apparently basing its strategy on the assumption that domestic CSD consumption was approaching a saturation point. Pepsi, meanwhile, battled Coke aggressively in the United States, and double its US share between 1950 and 1970. Diversification and vertical integration often make internationalisation possible. According to Levitt, we should however not focus on local needs but more on homogenous market needs above all. See discussion section below †¦ Discus sion about the globalization of markets The article of professor Levitt is â€Å"provocative†. He argues that modern communication technologies are creating homogeneous market needs, while manufacturing are increasing the benefits of scale. Accordingly, truly global strategies will be able to use low prices to sweep all competitors still focused on local needs †¦ for all that the quality remains. Coca-Cola seems to be really exemplar of the trend. We can read this in the case : â€Å"the bottling process involve high-speed production lines that are interchangeable only for products pf similar type and packages of similar size†. American academics (Gerry Wind and Susan Douglas) warn of the â€Å"Myth of Globalisation†. If we take Coco-Cola we shouldn’t forget to mention that they sometimes adapt to country needs : Coca-Cola is selling local product in Japan alongside its classic Coke. As far as the Dasani bottled water is concerned, if it’s a success in the USA, it’s a failure in Europe. Nevertheless, Prof. Levitt admits it can happen : Global corporation will accept and adjust to differences only reluctantly, only after testing their immutability, after trying in various ways to circumvent and reshape them. Some countries, not all, are becoming richer. Consumers of these countries become less price-sensitive and more ready to spend on indulging their local tastes. Finally, we should also mention that between the two poles of global and local, there is a third position : regional. What we often call global †¦ is just intra-regional. The holy grail is perhaps not to know one everything about only one great thing, but rather to isolate a few standardized markets, some region. We can see that prof. Levitt is sometimes more reserved : â€Å"I do not advocate the systemic disregard or national differences†. However, this way of thinking implies two great things : a breakthrough innovation and a matchless ambition : indeed, supposing that we can never suppose that the customer is a king who knows his own wishes implies to create and keep a customer †¦ what a project ! Based on â€Å"Key debate : Global, Local or Regional – Exploring Corporate strategy – G. Johnson, K. Scholes, R. Whittington – 8th Edition

Marketing Myopia Essay Example

Marketing Myopia Essay Example Marketing Myopia Paper Marketing Myopia Paper Marketing Management I Assignment 1 Marketing Myopia Myopia refers to nearsightedness or shortsightedness. Marketing myopia refers to the myopia shrouding the vision of certain companies or industries. It occurs when the company/industry focuses mainly on selling its products and services, instead of paying attention to the needs of the consumers. They concentrate their efforts on selling, instead of marketing their product. They tend to ignore the adage, â€Å"the Customer is King†, which more often than not results in disastrous consequences. The concept of Marketing Myopia is applicable to Indian companies as well. Many Indian companies historically have failed to define their purpose from the consumers’ point of view. These firms have focused more on producing their goods and services and then finding customers to sell them to, instead of getting to know the consumers’ needs and then producing goods to meet those needs. The situation was made worse by the licensing era and closed Indian economy till 1991, which led to little competition for firms. This resulted in customers having to buy products of only those companies, which created a high demand for their products. One Indian company that suffered from marketing myopia and paid a heavy price for it is Hindustan Motors (HM). It was founded in 1942 by Mr. B. M. Birla, and was the producer of the Ambassador and the Contessa cars. Hindustan Motors: The History The Ambassador began production in 1958, and was based on the Morris Oxford, a British car. It was an extremely popular car in the Indian market for several decades. It had a constantly growing market, initially due to the prestige associated with the car, and later due to the growing affluence of the population, and was helped by the fact that its only rival till 1983 was the Premier Padmini. There was a long waiting period to acquire an Ambassador, and the company was reaping huge profits, without having to focus on consumer needs. Also, Hindustan Motors did not invest money in RD and did not try to improve its cars’ features. . There was a ready market for their product, and they just had to produce their car for it to be sold. 983: Maruti Suzuki enters the market However, the situation changed n 1983, with the introduction of the Maruti 800 by Maruti Suzuki. Consumers now had another car to choose from, and the 800 was like a breath of fresh air in the Indian automobile industry. It ate into a huge chunk of the Ambassador’s market share, as Indians now preferred this feature-packed family car. Hindustan Motors did take some init iative to ward off the threat posed by the Maruti 800 by launching its own luxury car, the Contessa, in 1983. It included a number of high-end features, and was targeted at affluent buyers looking for a luxury option. In addition, HM were also helped by the fact that the Ambassador was the only Indian car with a Diesel variant. During that time, the difference between the price of Petrol and Diesel was significant, and a lot of price-sensitive consumers preferred it to the 800. Due to its spacious size, it also became a popular choice amongst taxi operators. Lastly, a very significant market for the Ambassador was the Government. It was the first choice for most bureaucrats, and the Government accounted for over 16% of the total sales. These factors combined to mitigate the effect of the introduction of the Maruti 800 in the Indian market. 1991: The beginning of the end In 1991, the Indian economy was liberalized, and the Indian markets were opened for Foreign Direct Investment. In due course, a number of new automobile companies entered the market, and the consumers had a lot of options to choose from. The pursuers now became the pursued, and foreign companies supplied better cars at cheaper prices. These cars were packed with features, and the parents companies put in efforts to market their products in a new market. All these factors were missing in the Ambassador and the Contessa, and the money-wielding consumers gladly shifted base to other brands. Where Hindustan Motors lost the plot As discussed by Theodore Levitt, Hindustan Motors made the grave error of taking its customers for granted. They were under the belief that their growth was assured by an expanding and more affluent population, and belief that there is no competitive substitute for the car industry. These conditions were coupled with the fact that the Indian economy pre-liberalization did not have major rivals for them within the industry, and that the Ambassador was the vehicle of choice for Government officials. Over the course of 5 decades, the Ambassador was never changed drastically. There were only cosmetic changes made to the car, and from 1958 till 2000, only 3 upgrades were made. The company never tried to keep up with the changing market environment by varying the looks of its cars, or offering better features that might attract customers by choice and not due to a lack of choice. Hindustan Motors also made the surprising decision of not varying their price to increase sales. Currently, the price of the Ambassador starts at Rs. 4. 2 lakhs, which is sufficient to buy a feature-packed and trendier sedan offered by other companies. There are also several hatchbacks being made available to the consumers at cheaper prices. Hence, even today, the company is not focusing on the needs of the Indian consumer, who are sensitive to price, mileage, features and status. Hindustan Motors has also been dealt a huge blow by the shifting of allegiance on the part of the taxi operators, and Government officials. Government officials started shifting to better and safer cars ever since Atal Bihari Vajpayee started using a BMW 7-Series Sedan as his official car as Prime Minister. HM has lost a huge chunk of its customers, since they failed to focus on their needs, and adapt accordingly. They could have leveraged on their history of being the unofficial car provider to the Indian Government by coming up with new models that would satisfy their needs. Taxi operators have also moved on to the Tata Indica and Toyota Innovas to provide better service to their consumers. They stopped production of the Contessa in 2002 following low demand, and it seems like the Ambassador will be going down the same path soon at this rate. The decision by HM to continue production of the Ambassador and not invest in RD to launch a new car has been a surprising one. That being said, one positive step that HM has taken has been to enter into a Joint Venture with Mitsubishi in 1998 in India. However, in our opinion, the Mitsubishi brand is more apparent to the consumers, and most people do not know about the JV. Hence, Hindustan Motors have failed to respond to the consumer needs and market changes. Globally, cars like the Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Beetle, Buick Regal have been in the market for decades, and have adapted to the customer and industry demands to have strong sales figures even today. Closer to home, the Maruti 800 also managed to attract new customers over the years by keeping itself relevant in the market. Hindustan Motors have unfortunately been unable to capitalize on their brand value, and the automobile giant of yesteryears has now been reduced to a miserable entity in the current car market.

A Literature Review About Mecication Errors Essay Example for Free

A Literature Review About Mecication Errors Essay ? An error rate of 5% is acceptable in most industries, however, in the health care industry; one single error can result in death. (Berntsen, 2004, p5) This paper discusses medication errors in relation to pharmacology and drug treatment. It will summarize three academic peer reviewed journal articles, followed by general information in relation to medication errors, the impact of medication errors on client care, strategies to prevent medication errors  and conclude with the relationship to nursing. Summary of Articles Related to Medication Errors. The first article is by Karin Berntsen, 2004, and is entitled â€Å"How Far Has Health Care Come Since ‘To Err is Human’? Exploring Use of Medical Error Data†. This is a review of what changes have been made since a medication error report written by the Institute of Medicine was published in 1999. This article depicts how the health care system has changed since this 1999 report was written, and how the information was utilized for our benefit. They concluded that in the USA, medical errors were one of the top 8 leading causes of death. They reported the cost for these errors was between $17 Billion to $29 billion dollars. Until a new report is completed, health care providers will be unaware whether their goals in increasing patient safety were accomplished. The article finalizes that there has been progress in regards to prevention of medication errors and health care leaders feel passionate about increasing patient safety. (Berntsen 2004) The second article is by William N. Kelly, 2004, and is titled â€Å"Medication Errors: Lessons Learned and Actions Needed† and highlights the death of a one year old child who was diagnosed with cancer. She subsequently died, not from the cancer, but from receiving an incorrect dosage of a drug that she was being treated with. This report indicates that medications are systematically checked and balanced and errors are usually caught before a drug is administered to a patient. The article states that problems are not being solved in a timely manner since the industry has been â€Å"putting ‘band aids’ on problems that need ‘major surgery’.(Kelly 2004). In conclusion, the article questions whether or not they are taking the right approach in preventing errors. Many people are trying to fix this problem however; errors are still made too frequently. (Kelly 2004) The final article is by Rosemary M. Preston, 2004, and is titled â€Å"Drug Errors and Patient Safety: A Need for Change in Practice†. This article presents that errors continue to happen for many reasons. It concentrates upon calculations errors, lack of knowledge of drugs, over/under dosing drugs,  interactions with drugs and food, and legalities regarding drug administration. It also presents recommendations to minimize the risk of drug errors with good communication and honesty. The article closes by stating that â€Å"nurses should never estimate the skills needed for safe administration of medicines.† (Preston 2004) Key aspects: medication errors and their causes. To understand the impact that medication errors have on a patient, we have to understand what a medication error is. According to Health Canada online, a medication error is defined as: Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labelling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.† [Developed for use by the National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention]( http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Medication errors occur for a variety of reasons. An error can affect all areas of a health care facility from health care management, staff, physicians, pharmacy and especially patients. Studies have indicated that errors will usually occur when the staff demonstrates signs of fatigue, stress, are over-worked or encounter frequent interruptions and distractions. When physicians display bad handwriting, ineffective communication with patients, and do not educate staff and patients effectively, a medication error is more likely to happen. Poor management can result in more medication errors when there is an emphasis on volume, over service quality. This results in inadequate staffing and disorganization. Medication errors affect all components of the health care environment. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) As disturbing as it sounds, one miniscule error can result in a patient’s injury or can even lead to their death. According to the American Journal of Medicine, statistics reveal that â€Å"more than two million American hospitalized patients suffered a serious adverse drug reaction in relation to injury within the 12-month period and, of these, over 100,000 died as a result.† http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news) Death and injury is a sad reality to any single error. The government established six rights of drug administration to prevent medication errors and ensure accuracy. These six rights include: Right drug, right dose, Right client, right route, right time and right documentation. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Injuries that result from a medication error are called adverse drug events. Usually, these unpleasant effects can be eliminated and injury can be avoided. However, every drug produces harmful side effects, but the severities of these effects vary from individual to individual. These side effects also depend on the drug and the dose given. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Health care professionals must report all errors and are accountable for their actions. No matter how insignificant, nurses are taught to document and report all mistakes. When statistics show what types of errors are made, an analysis can be done. This analysis can be used to plan ways to prevent them medication errors. (Berntsen, 2004)When a nurse does not report a mistake, the probability that it will happen again will increase. Medication errors have a huge impact on client care. They can result in death, injury, and result in unwanted effects of drugs. It is our responsibility as nurses to comply with the clients’ six rights of drug administration, to prevent errors from taking place. Strategies to prevent medication errors. There are many efficient ways to prevent nurses from making an error. To ensure patient safety in all aspects of client care, nurses are taught to think critically, and to problem solve. Nurses use critical thinking to ensure safe, knowledgeable, nursing performance and they must be able to keep up with updated health facts by constantly educating themselves with new information. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Critical thinking assists in the prevention of medication errors. The six rights in drug administration help prevent medication errors from occurring. It is important to maintain the highest standards of practice of these rights for a drug to be prepared properly. Failure to adhere to any one of these rights will definitely result in a medication error. (Clayton & Stock, 2004) Take your time when preparing medications and research any unknown drugs. Rushing should be avoided when preparing, administering and reading medication labels. Proper research must be done before an unfamiliar drug is administered it to a client. Even when in a rushed emergency situation, drugs should be looked at carefully to know the correct concentration and name of the drug, to prevent injury. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Labels should be read carefully and accurately. Before a drug is given to a patient, three checks should be done to ensure you are giving the proper drug and dose. In a situation where you are unsure of a drug order, you are expected to refuse the order and clarify it by law. If an individual is unfamiliar with a particular drug, the drug should not be given. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) When a label is unclear, do not try not to examine the drug order yourself. Do not ask an associate, or ask for anyone else’s interpretation of the drug. To get the correct information, contact the individual who ordered the drug to clarify the label. In order to decrease the chances of error, verify all unclear hand writing, abbreviations, decimal points, decimal places and dosages. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) Use of dosage abbreviations should not be used to avoid drug miscalculations. Dosage abbreviations are misinterpreted more often, than any other type of abbreviation. Using standardized abbreviations, would assist in preventing misinterpretation of abbreviations. (Preston 2004) A drug check should be done three times prior to the administration of a drug. The drug label should correspond with the physician’s orders. The three checks should be done; â€Å"Before removing the drug from the shelf or dosage cart, before preparing or measuring the actual prescribed dose, and before replacing the drug on the shelf or before opening a unit dose container, just before administering a dose to a patient.† (Clayton & Stock, 2004) Do not make assumptions regarding drugs. Physicians, pharmacists, make mistakes and other parts of the health system may be flawed. For example, when documentation shows the patient has no drug allergy, it is wrongful to assume the patient will have no adverse reaction to a new drug. This could result in detrimental results to a client’s health. Therefore no assumptions should ever me made. (http://www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html) A quiet environment for preparing medications will prevent prescription errors from occurring. Sometimes, nurses are repeatedly interrupted when preparing a medication. Distractions interfere with processing information and decision making. Errors will least likely occur when preparations are done when there are no distractions. (http://www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html) When preventing errors, staff must be certain all dosage calculations are correct and clarified. It may be beneficial to ask a colleague to assist you in checking doses, to minimize the chance of miscalculations. Other suggestions to minimize error include; â€Å"making pre-calculated conversion cards, always use a leading zero before a decimal, never use a zero after the decimal and include indications whenever possible. Miscalculations are preventable if proper methods of inspecting calculations are used.† (Preston  2004, p.72) Assess for the effects of drugs to avoid harming a client. A client must be assessed before and after a drug is given. For instance, before giving an oral medication, assess whether the client can swallow or feels nauseated. An appropriate follow up should be done after a medication is administered. It is important to check if the client experienced the desired effect of the drug. Significant abnormal responses to drug should be reported to the physician. (Kozier & Erb 2004) To finalize this assignment, medication errors are mistakes that can cause harm to patients and can even result in death. The articles that have been summarized illustrate situations where medication errors have occurred and review what the health care industry is doing to prevent errors. A medication error is preventable and errors can be caused by a variety of reasons. This paper has discussed the impact medication errors have on client care and strategies of how to prevent errors from occurring. As a nurse, this knowledge will assist me in keeping beneficence a priority for client care. Clayton, Bruce D., BS, RPh, PharmD, and Yvonne N. Stock, MS, BSN, RN. Basic Pharmacology for Nurses. 13th ed. United States of America: Mosby, 2004. Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from Health Canada Web site: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Kelly, William N. â€Å"Medication Errors.† Professional Safety 49: 35. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 . Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from Health Canada Web site: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Kozier & Erb, Barbara, et al. Fundamentals of Nursing. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Minimizing Medication Errors. (n.d.). In NAPRA: National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities. Retrieved July 17, 2004, from NAPRA: National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities Web site: http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157/166.asp Preston, Rosemary M. â€Å"Drug errors and patients safety: the need for a change in practice.† British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 13: 72. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 . A Literature Review About Mecication Errors. (2016, Jul 22).

Discuss changes and similarities in Roman Republic art and Essay

Discuss changes and similarities in Roman Republic art and architecture as opposed to Roman Imperial art and architecture - Essay Example This research aims to evaluate and present one feature which is noticeable from the Republican period of Roman art. This is the tendency to imitate Greek models of sculpture. Hellenist artists were much admired by the Romans, not just in sculpture but also in literature, music and all kinds of arts and crafts. In sculpture this influence can be seen very clearly in the muscular, semi-naked bodies and the static poses which exude a sublime and noble authority: â€Å"Critics are united in acknowledging the enormous debt owed to Greece by all branches of Roman art.† A good example of the way that Romans imitated Greek culture in the early days of the Republic can be seen in the statue of Diaoumenos which is a marble copy of a Greek bronze. The different material makes it somewhat stiffer and more formal than the bronze original must have been, but it shows a similar preoccupation with physical prestige. Vergil’s account of the early history of Rome contains an illuminating passage on the differing value systems that existed between Greeks and Romans. Anchises says: â€Å"Others will cast their breathing figures more tenderly in bronze and bring more lifelike portraits out of marble. Roman, remember by your strength to rule earth’s peoples for your arts are to be these: to pacify, to impose the rule of law to spare the conquered, battle down the proud.† This suggests that the emphasis for Romans may have been more on the symbolism of power and authority that these statues conveyed, than appreciation of the physical beauty of the piece. There are also technical differences in the way that the Romans adapted Greek techniques and styles. Jackson points out that the Roman funerary rights often involved the production of realistic death masks, from which also portraits in three dimensional marble could be made later, and explains the verism of late republican portrait statues as being partly derived from this tradition: â€Å"the death mask emphasizes the construction of the face and skull, whilst Hellenistic art shows more concern for the plastic rendition of muscle and for the surface detail generally.†

Influence of Technology on decision making Assignment

Influence of Technology on decision making - Assignment Example First, it is the tangible category, which includes the models, blue prints, operating manuals and lastly the prototypes. Second category is the intangible. Here, technology is divided into sub categories involving the problem-solving, training method and lastly the consultancy section. Third category is high. It follows that the above represents the entire aspect of intelligent and automated technology that logically manipulate ever-powerful forces and finer matters. The fourth category is the intermediate part, which involve the following: partially and semi-automated technology that bears the mandate of manipulating medium level forces and refined matters. The fifth category is the low. Here, it is worth noting that the low category of technology in an organization involves a technology that manipulates the objects in a labor-intensive manner (Argenti, 2006.p. 5). It is pertinent top note that decision-making is a vital stage in the progress of manipulating data in a firm to acquir e the desired output. Therefore, it is pertinent for the organization to embrace technology when solving pertinent issues on decision making as stated in this essay. On other hand, decision-making is the section of the management that is integrated. In management criterion, the sound decision-making and rational is referred to as the primary function of management. It is worth noting that for any management to be successful, managers usually take in a lot of decision either consciously or subconsciously, and letter they make it core concepts in their management role (Dede, 2000.p. 2). First, according to (Argenti, 2006.p. 23) it is important to heed that manipulate of Technology on decision-making where the decisions arte made on ladders. The author goes ahead to illustrates that the above depends on the kind of technology to be employed. Therefore, the author argues that for effective analysis of decision-making, it is pertinent to correspond it with the right technology. For insta nce, if process cost and data storage has gone down, it is important to employ information in the database. Therefore, it will be easier for the managers to access the information thus making necessary decisions. The articles, written by Vannoy,& Palvia,, Argenti and also Vannoy, although they both bear different tiles the authors’ aim was to bring at home the point that the kind of technology used will affect the desired output. Some of the technology in list is the emails, wireless data transfer as well as mobile phone. The authors affirm that such technology has mad it easier for those employed to tackle the communication issue in the organization. At the same time, the article written by (Awasthi, & Varman, 2010.p. 65), involves data collection by the school of economics in London. The above school collected data about the structure of organization, which was compared to multinational firm (Dede, 2000.p. 23) as per the article written by (Christensen-Szalanski, 2010). It is evident that the above study aimed at examining the links between communication technology and the information flow in organizational structure. Thus the authors asserts that ERP a long with technology paves way for the workers to effectively solve both the production and design problems without their superior’s inputs. In addition, the researchers did conclude that it ids high time for the companies to be keen on the use of technologies. The above sentence is in regard to where decisions making should be incorporated.

Wal-Mart Is Bad for America Essay Example for Free

Wal-Mart Is Bad for America Essay Starting out with a single store in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart has not stopped expanding. The First Wal-Mart store was opened in 1962 by a Mr. Sam Walton. He opened the store with one intention: sell products people need at the lowest price available. Wal-Mart has since blown up into a globally known and used corporation. Currently, more than fifty percent of all Americans live within five miles of a Wal-Mart store, which is less than a ten mile drive away. Ninety percent of Americans live within fifteen miles of a Wal-Mart. (Fishman, 2006). Wal-Mart is bordering on 9000 locations worldwide including operations in Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, and India. Wal-Mart is undoubtedly a global powerhouse. This powerhouse is impacting its home country. Wal-Mart affects American businesses and employees. This massive corporation affects the health of the United States. It has many affects as it spreads around the world. â€Å"A century ago, the companies that dominated the global food trade were wholesalers. Today these giants are dwarfed by the supermarkets that govern the global food system from farm to fork† (Patel, 2011). In other words, supermarkets or â€Å"superstores† have dominated and taken over the food system. Wal-Mart would be the leader and most profitable giant in this group. With the company’s rampant globalization and its negative impact on American businesses, employees, and overall health, Wal-Mart has proven time and time again that it is no good for America. To begin with, Wal-Mart’s rapid growth has led to great success for the company, but at the expense of small businesses around the nation. â€Å"Supermarkets rule the food chain† (Patel, 2011). Smaller shops and businesses have been taking huge hits in recent years. Small â€Å"mom and pop† stores have been the backbone of American society and a symbol of the American dream since the founding of the country. That being said, Wal-Mart has been in constant competition with these stores, and many say Wal-Mart is doing a great job of destroying all its competition, even some larger manufactures’. â€Å"Not since the days of the British East India Company as the cornerstone of the British imperial system has one single corporate entity been responsible for so much misery† (Freeman Ticknor, 2003). There have been many efforts to combat these â€Å"big box† stores from taking over small communities, while other communities have welcomed stores like Wal-Mart with open arms simply because their community is struggling to survive and they expect such a large business to bring in jobs. It is true that Wal-Mart does bring in jobs. However, as people are applying and taking jobs at Wal-Mart stores, what they do not know is that, they are slowly selling their souls, giving up their pocket books, and becoming slaves of this corporation. â€Å"An exchange of goods at a low price benefits everyone-quoting Adam Smith† (Van Riper, 2008). At what lengths are customers willing to go through to have low prices? Although Wal-Mart offers these low prices, communities still do not want their businesses being forced out and have been fighting the big box store takeover. Americans have not all become accustomed to supermarkets and malls. There are Americans who still enjoy the small â€Å"mom and pop† markets on the corner and like the rich culture that comes from individual shops and town markets. Sometimes, these individuals make a stand against Wal-Mart and other large companies. Take, for example, the success of the citizens of Eureka, California, who were not thrilled with the idea of Wal-Mart coming to town and setting up shop. â€Å"Activists built a well-oiled machine of organized resistance† (Halebsky, 2010). Most towns and communities are not this lucky. The activists had help in this case from Al Norman, the founder of Sprawl-Busters, consultants who help local community campaigns against megastores and other undesirable large-scale developments. This is a reminder that under the right conditions, the small town â€Å"David† can topple a big business â€Å"Goliath† (Halebsky, 2010). When all of these viewpoints are considered, it is clear that Wal-Mart’s rapid growth at the expense of small businesses is bad for the American economy. Wal-Mart is crushing all competitors with no remorse. Wal-Mart forces its way into small communities and forces itself upon the citizens making them into employees and also making it so small business does not stand a chance. Small business in small communities, especially low-income communities, simply cannot compete with a large corporation like Wal-Mart. Though some, like the citizens of Eureka, may be able to fight a Wal-Mart invasion, most are not this lucky nor do they know enough to fight Wal-Mart on their own. Simply put, Wal-Mart is a disease; it infects one community then moves on to the next. In addition to these effects on small businesses around the country, Wal-Mart’s promises of low prices are also impacting its own workforce. These low prices often come at the expense of fair wages and sufficient healthcare plans, leaving Wal-Mart employees to work in poor conditions for little reward. Wal-Mart’s treatment of its employees has long been in question. â€Å"The sad truth is that people earning Wal-Mart level wages tend to favor fashions available at the Salvation Army† (Ehrenreich, 2007). In less sarcastic terms, Wal-Mart employees cannot even afford to buy the clothes they sell and have to end up shopping at places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army to clothe themselves and their family. â€Å"You have to keep wages completely down; you have to keep staff down† (Fishman, 2006). This is part of Wal-Mart’s business strategy for higher profit. Wal-Mart offers some of the lowest possible wages for its employees. Wal-Mart also keeps the available staff down so the employees on the clock are constantly swamped with business making them extremely overworked. So Wal-Mart has discovered the secret to maximum profits: keep the wages and amount of employees down, which means paying less people less money while still raking in profit. This sounds dangerously close to a sweatshop. â€Å"Wal-Mart has lately come under fire for its meanness over employees’ health-care benefits† (Economist, 2006). In the movie Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, there were several interviews with actual Wal-Mart employees who discuss the low wages and poor health care. In an anonymous interview, an employee states that â€Å"you should never have to choose between medicine for your sick child and feeding your family† (Greenwald, 2005). Wal-Mart offers big discounts and low prices, but the employees end up paying for it with low wages and poor health care. â€Å"The biggest single problem was health care costs which were rising 19 percent a year, mainly because Wal-Mart employees are sicker than the average American† (Bianco, 2007). Wal-Mart’s healthcare is a joke. The rates and premiums are through the roof with doctors’ visits costing one hundred dollars or more. The basic healthcare plan is a 25 dollar premium for an individual, 37 dollars for a single parent, and 65 dollars for a family. This plan included 3 total doctor visits per year before the 1000 dollar deductible kicks in (Bianco, 2007). So the key to Wal-Mart’s broken system is that they pay their employees low wages and overwork them, but if an employee falls ill, Wal-Mart’s own healthcare plan does not even provide enough to help their employees back to work. In addition to the low wages and poor healthcare plans that the company offers its employees, there have been an ever-increasing number of sexual harassment cases levied against Wal-Mart. One such case involved a male employee who made an explicit comment to a female employee who was bending over to pick up a package. One Peggy Kimzey, shipping clerk from Warsaw, Missouri, bent over a package when she heard a male store manager laughing with another male employee. When Peggy asked what they were doing, he replied with a sexual comment about her backside. He then continued even after she asked him to stop. Peggy filed a law suit against Wal-Mart. According to her attorney, Peggy, endured many other situations like this in her four years of employment. Peggy also reported that many of the other female employees went through daily degrading remarks from male managers, as well (Glazer, 1996). This was the beginning of many lawsuits against Wal-Mart and certainly not the end. Wal-Mart is also strictly and famously non-union. â€Å"Wal-Mart has been successful in keeping Unions out of its American stores, partly because it has the resources to fight organizers in the stores and in court† (Preface to â€Å"Should Wal-Mart Unionize, 2008). In order to keep goods at discount and keep wages down, Wal-Mart has tried extremely hard to keep any whisper of unionizing out of its stores. There have been countless attempts by Wal-Mart employees to petition and unionize, but even at the suggestion of a union being formed, Wal-Mart managers start the threats and spread rumors of jobs being lost if employees vote yes. One case came out of Jacksonville, Texas, where butchers voted 7 to 3 to unionize. After two weeks, Wal-Mart eliminated the butchers’ jobs by switching to prepackaged meat and scattered the workers to different departments, which effectively abolished the union. The federal Labor judge ruled this act illegal three years later and ordered Wal-Mart to reverse all its actions. However, by that time, the original butchers had left the company. (Pre-face to â€Å"Should Wal-Mart Unionize, 2008). This shows that no matter what, Wal-Mart wins. The corporation will do almost anything to keep unions out of the workforce. With all viewpoints considered, it is clear Wal-Mart does not take care of its employees. Wal-Mart employees struggle to make ends meet and there are employees that have to choose between the whole family eating and provide medicine for a sick child or family member. This is a ridiculous and disturbing way to live. Employees have no choice in most cases because it is the only job they can find in small towns where Wal-Mart has forced out all other small business. Wal-Mart’s treatment of its employees is ludicrous and barbaric, and it borders on slave labor. Wal-Mart plans every move it makes. It knows they are the only choice for most Americans in terms of employment, so they are able to set their own conditions. Wal-Mart sells goods at the lowest possible prices to keep their prices to consumers low. The problem is that they do not care how or from where those cheap goods are obtained. Recently, in the movie Food Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner (2008) broke down the supermarket walls and showed the public where and how their food transforms from raw material to the food sold in stores. â€Å"I think it’s one of the most important battles for consumers to fight, and that is the right to know what’s in their food and how it was grown† (Kenner, 2008). There has been a big push in recent years for more accurate labeling in the food sold in supermarkets. Many producers and supermarkets are fighting to not have labels on their food showing where the food comes from or even what ingredients are in the food. â€Å"Not only do they not want you to know what’s in it, they have managed to make it against the law to criticize their products† (Kenner, 2008). There are laws protecting the meat and produce companies from people openly criticizing their product. Oprah was even sued by the cattle companies for saying â€Å"it makes me not want to ever pick up another Meat patty again† on her show (Kenner, 2008). The meat packers unsuccessfully sued Oprah for bashing their product and loss of profit. Again, Wal-Mart has no regard for how they make money. It does not matter where or how Wal-Mart’s food is obtained, just so it brings in the maximum amount of profit for them. Red meat and poultry is literally packed into houses and not able to move, in order to gain more meat in less space. These extreme conditions, piled onto extensive hormones and steroids administered to boost the size of animals, make many farm animals extremely unhealthy to consume. There has been an extensive amount of E. Coli poisoning breakouts over the past ten years because of these chemicals growing in the intestines and stomachs of the animals. Yet agai n, Wal-Mart does not care how this meat is obtained just so they get it as cheap as possible and they can resale it marked up and make their profit. Americans have forever been informed of the horrible experiences going on overseas in sweatshops that are run by American corporations trying to maximize profit by paying workers in other countries massively low wages to make and produce goods such as clothing. Wal-Mart has also has been accused of running sweatshops and outsourcing its manufacturing jobs overseas to places where it costs less to make goods because they can pay employees less than American workers. â€Å"Americans may not know it, but many of the name-brand products they purchase were made under appalling circumstances† (Clark, 1996). Many companies, such as Sears and Bloomingdale’s, choose to outsource their work in order to maximize profit. Both companies are huge retailers and make a large profit every year, but this profit is largely based on their ability to produce clothing and other goods through sweatshops and cheap child labor in other countries. Wal-Mart is no different. Although Wal-Mart does not directly contract these sweatshops, they do go around the world finding the cheapest made jeans, clothing, toys, etc., and buy all of them up to turn around and sell them for a huge profit. So, no, Wal-Mart does not directly contract these sweatshops, but they do support this ghastly system. Wal-Mart has come into the Chinese economy in the same way it has in America, by putting a big blue store on every corner. In the most recent study, Chinese Wal-Mart stores are employing almost 150,000 people and drawing in more than 1.2 million people a month with more than 100 stores across the nation (Matusitz Leanza, 2009). This is leading to the same kind of shift to low wages and poor working conditions that is happening in the United States. Aware of these many issues surrounding its global presence, Wal-Mart has been growing involved in fair-trading. â€Å"Recently Wal-Mart has quadrupled its purchases of fair trade bananas, thus elim inating non fair trade bananas from its shelves† (Chu, 2009). However, this engagement in the fair trade market is not compatible with Wal-Mart’s current business model. Simply put, even as the economy is in ruins, Wal-Mart is managing to continue to bring in more profit every year at the expense of its workers and the health of its shoppers around the world. â€Å"Wal-Mart is a penny pinchers paradise† (Gross, 2008). So Wal-Mart finds another way to maximize their profit at the expense of others. Wal-Mart chooses to utilize sweatshops and child labor to increase their overall profit. Instead of using American distributors or buying locally, merchandise travels the world in the pursuit of greater profit margins for the company. Wal-Mart also chooses to expand its business overseas to China. This action also takes advantage of Chinese workers who, like America workers, need money and Wal-Mart is their only option. In conclusion, Wal-Mart is a huge corporation with many resources. Wal-Mart employs over 1.3 million people and over 5000 stores nationwide (Freeman Ticknor). It has been under fire a lot for several of its business practices. Wal-Mart offers horrible wages and meager healthcare to its workers. Additionally, there are many examples of rampant sexual harassment issues among the Wal-Mart work force. With these claims not ceasing, it is clear that Wal-Mart does not care enough about its employees to change. Wal-Mart obtains its food and goods from the cheapest provider and has no problem sacrificing quality or nutrition for the bottom line. There is also the controversy over its economic effect on American businesses. Wal-Mart destroys communities and small business. Piece by piece and store by store, Wal-Mart is taking over the United States. It wrecks communities and treats its employees like slaves. Simply put, Wal-Mart is bad for America. â€Å"Americans have stopped trading up and started trading down† (Gross, 2006). References Bianco, A. (2007, February 20). Wal-Mart: The bully of Bentonville: How the high cost of everyday low prices is hurting America. New York: Crown Business. Chu, J. (2009, April 1). The interest of large companies in fair trade is a sign of growing ethical consumption. In D. A. Miller (Ed.), Opposing viewpoints: Fair trade. Greenhaven Press. Clark, C. S. (1996, August 16). Child labor and sweatshops. CQ Researcher 6, 721-744. Ehrenreich, B. (2007, August 20). Unregulated capitalism exploits the poor. In J. Norman (Ed.), Opposing viewpoints: How can the poor be helped. Greenhaven Press. Fishman, C. (2006). The Wal-Mart effect. London, England: The Penguin Group. Freeman, R., Ticknor, A. (2003, November, 14). Wal-Mart is not a business, its an economic disease. Executive Intelligence Review, Retrieved July 7th, 2011, from http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2003/3044wal-mart.html Glazer, S. (1996, July 19). Crackdown on sexual harassment. CQ Researcher 6, 625-648. Greenwald, R. (Director). (2005). Wal-Mart: The high cost of low price [DVD]. Available from www.walmartmovie.com Gross, D. (2008). As economy tanks, Wal-Mart thrives. Slate.com, Retrieved July, 7 2011, from http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/AsEconomyTanksWalMartThr

Nicolas Poussin Essay -- essays research papers fc

Nicolas Poussin 1594-1665 Pictori philosopho (Blunt, 3), â€Å"Painter-philosopher† was a name given to Nicolas Poussin by Serous d’ Agincourt in 1782. Agincourt later found out that the name Pictori philosopho had already been given to the German artist Anton Raphael Mengas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nicolas Poussin was born in 1594 in the town of Les Andelys on the Seine. He came from a nobel family that was ruined by religious wars according to Giovanni Pietro Bellori. No actual proof of this has been established his father Jean Poussin was said to have had some descent of the hierarchy. His mother was the daughter of an alderman. His father served in the military under the command of Charles IX, Henry III, and Henry IV were he came home with a small holding and led the life of a peasent. Education in Les Andelys was not that of high caliber top notch schooling, but early biographers report that Poussin learned Latin. The visit of a painter to Les Andelys by the name of Quentin Varin greatly affected Poussin in the early years of his life. The affect of Varin’s short visit to Les Andelys so greatly affected Poussin that he left home that same year. â€Å"He crept secretly out of the house without the knowledge of his parents.†(Blunt, 13) Upon departure of his home in Les Andelys he traveled to the province capital of Rouen. Once in Rouen he studied for several years under Noel Jouvenet who lived in Rouen at the time. According to biographer Bellori, Poussin arrived in Paris, France in the year 1612, at the latest 1613.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is not much information on the time of Poussin’s life that he left Rouen and the time that he arrived in Paris. Once in Paris he met a man from Poitou who offered his home to Poussin and treated him with great kindness. Poussin was set to decorate his chateau, but due to the interference of a mother-in-law the project was hung out to dry. This left Poussin, â€Å"The young artist found himself without money and three hundred miles from Paris.† (Blunt, 13) He then began the long trek to Paris on foot; he supported himself by painting in small towns that he passed through. He arrived in Paris so ill that he returned to Les Andelys, where he spent a year recovering from his illness. After a years rest Poussin returned to Paris where he built a name for himself as a reputable artist. He made many friends w... ...craments, and especially subjects that refer to baptism (Hibbard, 45).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poussin believed that virtue and wisdom could be taught to mankind through painting. When he died in 1665, every artist and every lover of painting in Rome revered him. Among the great painters who were most inspired by Poussin’s work was Cezanne, the famous post-impressionist. If Poussin looks back to Raphael and Ancient Rome he points forward to Ingres and Picasso. Poussin painted pictures of total perfection, but those same paintings touch our hearts with their poetry. Works Cited Arikha, Avigdor. Nicolas Poussin, The Rape of the Sabines. Houston: Museum of Fine   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Arts, 1983. Blunt, Anthony. Nicolas Poussin, New York: Bollinger Foundation. 1967. Carrier, David. Poussin’s Paintings. University Park: The Pennsylvannia State   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University. 1993. Hibbard, Howard. Poussin: The Holy Family on the Steps. London: Penguin Books Ltd.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1974. Oberhuber, Konrad. Poussin The Early Year in Rome. New York: Hudson Hills Press.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1988

Trompworth to Janto

The autumn air was sharp against Tim's chest as he breathed in. He felt colder than he had for a long time for he had no scarf wrapped around his neck or a coat. Tim wore only a plain white school T-shirt, which obviously was not enough to stop him from shivering and rattling his teeth. Jim however looked the more intelligent of the two as he wore what he liked to call â€Å"the full caboodle† which was made up of a T-shirt, jumper, and coat and was completed with clothes and a chequered scarf. The two had just left school for the day and travelled through the Janto woods to their home on the other side. It was their own route that they had made for themselves and had used over the many years of attending Trompworth School. The two considered Trompworth to be the greatest school in the country. It proved to be a very different kind of school to what normal people would be used to. It had been standing for almost two hundred years and was built in a sort of French style architecture. Each building block was made of a special kind of cream coloured brick, which gave each building a kind of forever and modern look to it. Each doorway leading inside the school was always completely covered in flowers around the top and sides and no one ever tried or even thought about picking them. The school got even better once inside for it had many special features and unique places and the corridors often had many twists and turns, which proved to become a sort of labyrinth in certain parts. The architect who built the place believed that children should always be amused and entertained even in such a place as school. He thought that everyone should have very fond memories of their school if not the building at least the atmosphere that they got from it. Many people frowned upon this until they went to look themselves and see how a child could really benefit from enjoying themselves at the place they went to learn. The sun glistened through the tress but did not give Jim or Tim even the slightest feeling of warmth. The amount of leaves on the path that they made got greater as the two went deeper into the woods as if the forest itself wanted them to loose their way. It didn't matter however since they both knew the path well and would have surely noticed if they somehow managed to stray. â€Å"Are you walking up that hill again Jim?† Tim joked as he pointed to a small hill, which had footprints on in a way that looked like as if some struggle took place on it. Jim glared at Tim sternly as he tried his best not to smile at what Tim had just said. â€Å"Hey! It wasn't my fault, it was pouring with rain,† Jim said, as he started to laugh while looking at the embedded footprints in the hill. â€Å"I seemed to get up it okay,† a grinning Tim replied, while walking in front of Jim by some metres. â€Å"That's only because you practically had a natural set of stairs made for you!† Jim shouted as he ran to catch Tim up. â€Å"You were covered in mud from head to toe when you fell!† Tim chuckled. Jim was silent for a moment trying to think of something good to say back to Tim. â€Å"Anyway it was a waste of time trying because it would have only taken about thirty seconds off our journey even if we did manage to get to the top. I could hardly walk for a week after rolling down to the bottom, right Tim?† Jim said, who somehow found a purpose to have a smug look on his face. Jim did not have a second to think or a second to react but a small stone then hit Jim straight on the nose. Jim then yelled in pain as he put his hand on his nose. â€Å"What happened?† Tim shouted, turning round to Jim to see what has just happened. Jim didn't reply but just looked around in all directions obviously trying to find were the stone could have come from. â€Å"Losers!† A voice came from behind Jim and Tim who immediately turned and saw two people they would have been happy not to have seen. It was Tim's rival Mack with Morris who stood lower than Mack and kept a slouched posture and stood a few steps behind him. â€Å"I thought I'd find you around here Tim,† Mack said, as he let his own weight move him down the hill from the shifting gravel stones and gravel. Morris then did the same but had trouble keeping his balance, which he did purposefully. Mack was considered to be one of the most popular kids in Trompworth and was idolized by people like Morris. â€Å"What are you doing on our trail Mack?† Jim said bravely as he stepped in front of Mack's way. Mack then started to smile at Jim and then push him out of the way to get to of Tim. Mack and Jim then squared up to each other while Jim and Morris stood to the side of them. Jim stared into Mack's eyes and the smile did not leave his face as he looked on. The expression on Mack's face then suddenly changed and his head turned to Morris taking his eyes off Jim's. â€Å"What?† Morris said, surprised to why Mack is looking at him like that. â€Å"Do you hear that?† Mack said, turning his head back to Tim. Tim didn't answer just refocused his eyes onto Mack's. Mack then turned away and signalled Morris to follow him up a small hill. Mack ran strongly up the hill while Morris used his hands to climb even though it wasn't very steep. â€Å"What's his problem?† Jim said, as he watched Tim slowly walk up to the start of the hill with a curious look in his eyes. â€Å"I don't know but I'm starting to dislike Mack.† Tim said, laughing afterwards. â€Å"Where are you going?† Jim said. â€Å"Mack said he heard something. It could be something worth hearing.† Tim said, still with a smile on his face. He then started to walk up the hill quite quickly and for some reason seemed to be very interested in what Mack had heard. Jim still remained at the bottom thinking about whether or not he should follow or carry on walking home. Tim then reached the top of the hill. Jim upon seeing Tim disappear over the other side immediately aroused his instinct for him to follow. Jim stared to run up the hill using his hands where they helped since he was running at some speed. Jim usually felt naked without Tim with him so was hardly ever far behind him. He then reached the top of the hill but his sight was temporarily blocked by the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Jim then heard a splash and it was immediately followed by the sound of laughter by many people. Tim was also to be heard laughing in the distance. Jim raised his hand towards the sun to block out the bright and intense sun, which always seemed to get brighter once you entered the woods and would once again go back to normal once you had left. The scenery then came into view. It was the Janto stream, which was the one place that Jim didn't want to see any closer. After all Janto was said to be an enchanted wood. Over a thousand years ago it was said that evil witches and wizards from all over the world would come here for strange rituals. It was rumoured that many parts of the Janto woods had been cursed and could place a spell on you if it somehow could. There were many parts of the Janto woods where it was said that the witches and wizards would gather such as The Grotto and The Great Swell. By the stream stood Tim and a group of boys, which included Mack and Morris. The group of boys all went to Trompworth and had placed all their school bags in a large pile by the stream itself. Jim then jogged over to the group and greeted each of them with a smile except Mack and Morris of course. He could now see that on the other side of the stream stood two girls. Jim knew the two girls quite well as he grew up with both of them. Their names were Isabella and Carrie and both had long blonde hair and both wore almost identical clothes. The reason for the splash then came quite evident as their sat in the middle of the lake on a rock was Clay whose clothes were completely drenched. The group of boys including Tim were still laughing at him. Clay was renowned for his way with girls and always managed to get who he wanted. However he always seemed to embarrass himself one way or another but always had a clever way of keeping his composure. â€Å"Laugh while you can peasants! You know that I am no longer going to like any of you unless you cease your laughing! Clay shouted, climbing to his feet. The laughter then immediately ceased and Clay then reached the other side. The stream was around twenty-five foot in width and had six small jagged rocks placed from one side of the stream to the other. The water was around a foot from soil level and sometimes splashed above when the current increased, which it often did. â€Å"What's going on?† Jim finally asked. Tim turned round to Jim who was now standing next to him. â€Å"Isabella and Carrie are kissing the boys that can make it over the stream without falling in.† Tim chuckled, who looked extremely eager to try it himself. Jim laughed and watched Clay tipping water out of his shoes on the other side. â€Å"Okay next!† Carrie yelled. The next boy then approached the edge of the stream and looked down at the water. The boy was Mack. There was never any fish or any other sort of life in the stream for it was said to contain some kind of substance, which made fish and other life unable to survive. However it seemed to have no affect on humans. Mack then jumped onto the first rock with ease and was about to jump onto the second when a voice came from within the group of boys. â€Å"Don't look down Mack!† The voice said. The group of boys then moved to reveal Yenke stood in the middle. Yenke was Trompworth's foreign exchange student from somewhere that no one really knew. He was very short for his age and had a very odd accent, which sounded a mix of Australian and Welsh. He often said odd things but not many of the boys had not heard one as weird as this one. Yenke chuckled nervously and struggled to talk in risk of more embarrassment. â€Å"Its Janto woods after. The stream is said to be cursed and will take you away if it could!† He said. Mack had a very puzzled but sarcastic look on his face, which clearly offended Yenke. â€Å"You're a fool to believe in such things Yenke!† Mack yelled but did not look down once after. Mack then jumped to the second and his shoes squeaked on the rock but he managed to keep his balance. â€Å"It's easy!† He shouted. Mack then looked up at Carrie and Isabella who stood cheering on the edge. The edge of the stream suddenly seemed to suddenly stretch. Just a little at first. Only a few centimetres but then became a dot on the horizon. â€Å"What's a matter Mack you lost your nerve?† Clay shouted even though Mack could no longer see him. Mack shook his head as if awaking from a trance that he had been subjected to. â€Å"Come on Mack!† Morris shouted while jumping up and down in the air. â€Å"Hurry up! Other people would like a chance as well.† Tim shouted on the edge of the stream. With that Jim then walked over to Tim and placed his hand on his shoulder. â€Å"Your not thinking about crossing is you? It's dangerous.† Jim whispered, making sure that the group of boys don't hear. â€Å"Listen to Jim you must Tim. Jim understands dangers of the Janto woods. You would be wise to take his advice.† Yenke said from behind Jim. Tim stepped in front of Jim forcing him to move out of the way so he could get in front of Yenke. â€Å"You've been going to Trompworth School for about five minutes Yenke. How would you know what's dangerous and what's safe around here?† Tim said knelling down to him. Yenke's eyes then darkened and became angry. The group of boys then backed away as if they knew what Yenke was about to do. â€Å"What? Who are you to dare talk to me like that?† Yenke yelled at the top of his voice. Tim then started walking backwards as Yenke slowly approached him. â€Å"What are you going to do now?† He said as he led Tim backwards until he came to the pile of bags placed behind him. â€Å"Nothing I guess!† Tim said. It was a rare sight to see when Tim step down from a challenge but there was just something about Yenke, which was unusually unsettling to people. â€Å"Exactly nothing and I doubt your going to do anything about this either.† Yenke calmly said. Yenke then walked back to the group of boys who looked on at Tim and wondered why he didn't stand up for himself. Tim was well known at Trompworth since people believed him to be someone who always stands up for himself and others. However it wasn't the case this time. By this time Mack was already over the other side of the stream and was now messing around with Isabella, which Tim was clearly angered by. It was common knowledge at Trompworth that Tim had been forever in love with Isabella so obviously became angry once he seen this. â€Å"Okay my turn!† Tim said as he then pushed his way through the group of boys stood in front of him. He passed Jim who now had a very worried look on his face. Tim stopped at the edge of the river and looked down at the water for a considerable amount of time. Jim then joined him and saw that the expression on Tim's face had dramatically changed. â€Å"What's that?† He said not taking his eyes of the water below. â€Å"What's what?† Jim quickly replied. â€Å"That voice. Can you hear it?† Tim said as he went all pale and frightened. He turned his head to Jim who was looking on at him very puzzled about what he could hear. â€Å"Does anyone else hear that voice?† Tim asked the group of boys behind him who were now whispering again amongst themselves. Tim had never heard such a sound before. It seemed to sound like a voice talking in some strange language from under the water. The voice was very ruff and intimidating and seemed to stop when Tim took his eyes off the water. Clearly frightened by what he just heard however it didn't make him want to make him change his mind about crossing the stream. â€Å"Tim you shouldn't shout about hearing voices here.† Jim whispered. â€Å"Next!† Carrie shouted from the other side of the stream. Tim then stepped in front of the first rock but was again restrained by Jim who held him back by his shoulder. â€Å"You're not actually walking over there are you?† He whispered quietly but very much forcefully. Tim laughed and turned round to Jim making his hand drop from his shoulder. Tim was again smiling. â€Å"Come on Jim. It's just a stream at the end of the day.† He said although he seemed very discouraged after hearing that voice. Tim then turned back to the rock as Jim stood there not willing to try and stop him any longer. â€Å"Why must you always follow Mack?† Jim said although it was too quiet for Tim to hear. Without any further hesitation Tim jumped to the first stone and immediately found trouble keeping his balance and had to move his arm to stay upright. He then quickly stuck his foot out for the second one so he could cross in a better time than anyone else. The voice then returned as he looked downwards. He quickly raised his head, which made him start to slip from the rock. Mack then started laughing but Tim didn't take notice and tried not to respond. He carried on laughing and Tim couldn't take it any more and sharply raised his head, which resulted him losing balance yet again. Luckily the second stone was around three foot away from Tim so he quickly jumped to it. The second stone was much larger than the first so found no trouble keeping his balance. Tim was then found it possible to look round at Jim and the others. Jim seemed to be mouthing something while pointing at something. He turned his head back to Mack who was also pointing towards the rock and talking but no words came out. Tim then looked down at his feet and saw that the water was now passing over the rock and covering his feet. â€Å"Tim!† Jim shouted in desperation but it seemed that Tim could no longer hear a thing. â€Å"The water looks as if it's moving faster doesn't it?† Mack said to Carrie. Tim was not moving he had turned however and was now watching upstream. The speed of the stream then increased and now everyone was now shouting Jims name but wouldn't dare go and grab him. Tim seemed unaffected however by the increasing speed of the water, which should be throwing him off the rock right about now. The water level then started to rise and the came over the side and onto the grass forcing back the two groups of people on each side. The water around Tim's feet suddenly got higher almost up to his knees but the water level around the stone stayed the same as the water seemed to curve upwards. â€Å"Jim, what's going on?† Mack yelled at Jim as he walked backwards towards the woods. Everyone one had now left leaving Jim and Tim. â€Å"Tim, can you hear me?† Jim shouted as he then braved through the water but was somehow unaffected by Jim's voice. Tim wasn't going to answer no matter what Jim shouted. Jim then got the courage to jump into the water. The water was obviously well below zero and was much deeper than Jim first thought it to be. By this time the water was up to Jim's neck and struggled to swim against the current, which was slowly pulling and pushing him down the stream. However he still found the strength to swim over to the second rock, which Tim was still standing on not having moved since he steeped onto it. He got as close to the second rock as he could since the force of the shifting water around the rock repelled him. Jim then found a moment where he could stick his hand right in the spiral of water around Tim's rock and grab the bottom of his trouser leg, which he then pulled at but Tim still remained stationary. He didn't let go however and tugged it again this time making sure that Tim would fall forward instead of backwards no matter how dangerous it might be. It worked and Tim then fell forward losing his footing into the freezing water. Jim however made sure that he held onto Tim's trouser leg, which made him able to slide over the rock and onto the side that Tim had fallen into. The shifting water around the rock then ended but immediately the tide picked up. Jim pulled Tim's head out of the water. Tim spat up water from his mouth and coughed it in Jim's face. â€Å"What happened?† Tim asked while tugging at his clothes, which Jim was hanging onto with one hand while the other hand remained clung to the rock. â€Å"Grab onto the rock!† Jim shouted back trying not to shiver. Tim then kicked his legs behind him and was able to grab the rock trying not to get his own hands in the way of Jims. Tim managed to get to the over side of the rock and was pushed straight into it, which made him find it hard to breathe as the speed of the stream kept rising. Jim's legs dangled from behind him but Tim made sure his hands did not slip from the rock. The speed of the stream was now very strong and both Jim and Tim struggled to hold on as the stream sort of changed direction on Tim's side, which tried to make him loose grip. There was no way either of them could pull themselves up to the rock as it somehow repelled them from getting any higher above the rock. â€Å"What do we do?† Tim asked as he shivered and kicked his legs to the left still trying to hold on. The two kept their heads downwards the water, which helped them to concentrate. Jim's right hand then suddenly slipped from the rock the rock and Tim couldn't grab onto it again as it was forced too far out. Tim struggled to keep Jim's left hand in his as well since it soon started to slip. Either of the two could shout or yell for help for it was way too cold for them to even murmur by now. Jim then suddenly felt another hand touch his left and felt Tim's release. Jim then looked up and saw Mack positioned upon the rock with his hand stretched out towards him. Jim grabbed it and was then pulled up to the rock with Tim who already was pulled up by Mack. â€Å"You okay?† He asked. â€Å"I think so.† Jim replied acknowledging Tim. Mack then was about to jump over the rock closest to the shore but water passed over it before he could and it stayed travelling over. He then turned to the other side where there were four rocks but water was already passing over them. â€Å"The river is in performance with us!† Mack yelled. The water passing all over the other five rocks then stopped. â€Å"Come on!† Tim yelled as he then jumped to the rock nearest to the shore. Jim then followed immediately after Tim jumped to the soil. â€Å"Hurry up Mack!† Jim shouted as he then reached the soil. Mack then turned his head up river and saw that the stream seemed to bulge from ahead upwards. It then slowly turned into a wave and instantaneously accelerated towards him at an inconceivable speed. Just as well Mack was the fasted person in Trompworth since he sprinted to the second stone and then jumped to the soil but was dragged somewhat downwards as the wave clipped his legs, which made him land on his stomach. Mack was then helped up by both Jim and Tim. â€Å"Why did you save us for? I thought you'd be happy getting us out of your life.† Jim asked trying to catch his breath. â€Å"You are joking aren't you? I'm not going to let the two people I admire just sink am I?† He replied looking on at the water settle once more. â€Å"Are you serious? I could vow that you hated us.† Jim replied shaking some of the water out of his clothes. Tim stayed sat further away than both Mack and Jim who looked as if he had just been through a lot in that trance of his. â€Å"No I admire your friendship with each other, but I'm just jealous I guess.† Mack said looking back to Tim who still didn't talk. Jim looked on at Mack but then saw his eyes intensify towards Tim. â€Å"What are you doing here?† Mack demanded while standing up. Jim turned round also and seen Yenke standing behind Tim by a few feet. Tim however didn't seem to notice. â€Å"I'm not allowed near my own stream anymore?† Yenke said while raising a hand with the palm pointing upwards. With that Tim got to his feet slowly. â€Å"You're stream?† Jim asked. â€Å"Wait, you did all this?† Mack shouted towards Yenke. â€Å"I just wanted a game.† Yenke said still holding his hand up. â€Å"What are you?† Jim stuttered. Yenke just smiled and then pushed out his hand towards the stream. Tim then started to sprint towards the stream at a huge pace. â€Å"Tim, what are you doing?† Mack shouted running after him. Tim was then about to jump into the stream but was tackled down by Mack, which managed to stop him. Yenke then approached with the smile still on his face and walked straight into the stream disappearing beneath the surface. â€Å"Get off me!† Tim shouted pushing Mack off him. â€Å"Yenke almost made you drown Tim. Mack saved you.† Jim said walking over to them. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Tim yelled towards Mack. â€Å"Yenke was controlling you and the river Tim. I doubt he's actually human.† Mack said. Tim then started to laugh a little at first but it soon turned into a hysterical one. Jim put a hand on Tim's shoulder and started to walk him towards the woods as Mack followed. â€Å"So where's Morris then?† Jim asked. â€Å"I made him leave. He wouldn't have wanted me helping you.† Mack replied as they all disappeared into the woods.