An Analysis of Productivity of Major ApplichemCompany Plants.

ApplichemCompany was one of the leading manufacturers of specialty chemicals in the early 1982s. As a result of the increased demand for its products in the global market, the company’s top management was forced to establish additional branches in different places across the world.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on An Analysis of Productivity of Major ApplichemCompany Plants. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Four of its major plants were built in Gary, Mexico, Frankfurt, and Sunchem. Release-ease is a product that earned the company a global recognition for many years. The company’s performance in terms of production and distribution of release-ease varied from one plant to the other. Looking at the general performance of all plants from a profitability perspective, one can easily note that Frankfurt plant was the best performer overall followed by the Gary and Mexico plants. The Sunchem plant wa s the least performing branch. Despite its expansive market, the Frankfurt plant incurred low manufacturing costs compared to other plants. The raw materials were relatively cheap in Germany compared to the US and Mexico. The manufacturing costs in Japan were so high that the Sunchem plant’s expenditure on inputs was huge. This reduced the revenues to a great extent and eventually affected the productivity of the plant. Since profitability is positively correlated to productivity, the different profit levels attained by different plants also impacted the productivity levels. This implies that the productivity of each plant depended on the prevailing conditions of the location. Labor productivity The productivity of labor was the highest in the Frankfurt plant. This can be attributed to the introduction of computerized processes. The technical team was equipped with computer skills making it to be effective with regards to performance. This not only ensured that time was put i n its optimal use, but also minimized raw material wastage. Additionally, the Frankfurt plant was headed by an experienced manager who understood every detail of release-ease production. He understood the needs of customers very well. By doing that, he incorporated certain specifications in the production of release-ease. This attracted a large market for his plant in comparison to others.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Gary plant had the highest number of employees. However, the productivity of each employee was low, because the hiring processes were based on loyalty to the plant and the plant manager and not on merit. However, the Mexican plant had operators with the lowest education levels. This hampered innovation and problem solving as no decision would have been made without consulting the plant’s general manager. On the other hand, the Japanese plant had most of the processes automated forcing the employees to do product development work rather than production. Although the workers of the Sunchem plant acquired the necessary skills through training, their productivity was low. This was due to the few hours of work rule that was enforced by the Japanese labor laws. Capital productivity The Gary plant had more capacity and facilities required in the production and storage of release-ease. This explains why the products manufactured in the Frankfurt plant were shipped in bulk to Gary for packaging. Moreover, the computerization of processes in the Frankfurt plant increased the effectiveness and efficiency of production in relation to other plants. The same applied to the Sunchem plant. Nearly all production systems were automated and also managed to stand alone as the only plant that effected the recycling of waste. In summary, the success of the Frankfurt plant was not only due to the extensive investment in capital, but also as a result of its optimal utilization. This was the prerequisite for profit maximization that was sustainable in the long run. The least performers like the Sunchem plant needed to boost their productivity to allow for profitability in the long run. This case study on An Analysis of Productivity of Major ApplichemCompany Plants. was written and submitted by user Angela W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Famous Celebrity Trials and Court Cases

Famous Celebrity Trials and Court Cases Even the rich and famous can find themselves in trouble with the law. Being a celebrity in the United States does not protect you from the pursuit of justice. Nor does it protect you from becoming a crime victim. These stories give the timeline of criminal investigations and trials of cases involving celebrities. Some of the cases are closed and adjudicated, while others are still on-going. The Death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, less than a month before he was scheduled to begin a series of comeback concerts, paramedics were called to Michael Jacksons rented home in Holby Hills near Los Angeles where they found him unconscious and not responding. The Trial of Michael Jackson Pop singer Michael Jackson faced charges of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion, three counts of committing lewd acts upon a child, attempted lewd acts upon a child, and four counts of administering intoxicating agents to assist in the commission of a felony. The Legal Saga of O.J. Simpson On Sept. 13, 2007, Simpson and four other men entered a Las Vegas casino hotel room where some of his sports memorabilia were being offered for sale by two collectors. Police arrested O.J. Simpson on kidnapping and armed robbery charges. The Robert Blake Case Robert Blake faced trial for the murder of Bonny Lee Bakley and soliciting two other men to kill her. Bakley, 44, was shot to death on May 4, 2001, as she sat in Blakes sports car behind a restaurant where the couple had just dined. The Phil Spector Case Legendary rock and roll music producer Phil Spector was charged with the fatal shooting of former actress Lana Clarkston Feb. 3, 2003, at his Los Angeles mansion. The Jennifer Hudson Family Murders On October 24, 2008, the bodies of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudsons mother and brother were found in the familys home on Chicagos South Side. Shot to death were Hudsons mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson. The Legal Troubles of Joe Francis Joe Francis, who has made millions from his Girls Gone Wild videos and magazines, has found himself entangled in legal trouble in civil and criminal courts on the state and federal levels. The Kobe Bryant Case Professional basketball star Kobe Bryant, 24, was charged with a single count of felony sexual assault against a 19-year-old woman at an exclusive spa where he was staying when he came to Colorado for knee surgery in the summer of 2003.

The use of a SINGLE literary device (characters) in the novel the Essay

The use of a SINGLE literary device (characters) in the novel the great gatsby by fitzgerald - Essay Example To convey the vapidity of the American Dream, Fitzgerald presents them as the type of people likely to use others and put wealth and superficial qualities above all else. With specific emphasis on descriptive phrases, the corruption of money, and valueless relationships, this essay traces Fitzgerald’s use of characterization to achieve this aim. Fitzgerald makes excellent use of descriptive phrases and subtle character elements to demonstrate the underlining vapidity of the characters’ existences. Haupt indicates descriptive phrases used to convey this superficial lifestyle. â€Å"Bootlegged gin, cigarettes placed into mouths following the clicking shut of their golden cases, gowns, suits, chauffeurs. Games, double meanings, illicit affairs, fortunes made in mysterious ways, drinking to drown an awkward moment or the quiet disappointment of your life† (para. 1). Even from the novel’s beginning epitaph, the reader understands that money and its importance is always on Gatsby’s mind: That â€Å"gold hat† includes Gatsby’s decision to change his name, Jimmy Gatz, to one that will assure him success in life. He doesn’t like his real name as representative of the old Jimmy and believes he must sacrifice truth [his name] in order to create a more positive image, one that exudes success and â€Å"self assurance† (Bloom 75). It is a superficial adjustment, since a name is only that and it is what a person does that matters, or should matter to anyone who meets him, whether in business or socially. The name change, in another sense, represents part of the gold hat he must wear to achieve success and Daisy’s love. The use of the words [gold hat] in the epigraph clearly indicates that someone [Gatsby] is telling himself to use the glitter of material deception in order to win a girl despite advise from Nick later in the story that â€Å"You can’t repeat the past† (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 116). â€Å"This is precisely what Gatsby

The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire Essay

The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire - Essay Example The first part of this quotation suggests that without the historical backdrop of the Roman Empire, and without the cultural and political directives it brought to bear, the Christian religion could never have come to be, at least not in the form that we know. The second portion of the quotation suggests that the Christian religion has preserved the memory and something of the auspices of the Great Empire, as a necessary component of cultural transmission--as a necessary if incidental consequence of preserving and furthering itself. In large measure, both assertions are true. The Roman Empire made Christianity possible, first by bringing relative order and stability to those under its governance. Without the rise of the Roman city-state under a central power, it is easy to imagine small, disparate tribes of rural, agrarian folk remaining close to the cycles of nature and loyal to the simple ritual observances of old pagan polytheism. Next, for all its dealings with the eternal, Chris tianity is a religion with strong historical and political roots. The historical embeddedness of this religion is undeniable. As Harold Mattingly points out, "All the great religions of the world speak to the passing generations of that which is outside the time order, the Eternal, that 'which was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.' Some of these religions--not all--are very closely related to history. Mohammed, great prophet of Islam, rose to sudden greatness at the very moment in the seventh century when the empires of Rome and Persia had fought one another to a standstill. Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, 'who was in the beginning with God', was born in the Palestine of Herod the Great and, as we repeat in the Creed, 'suffered under Pontius Pilate'. The sacred history of Mithras, on the other hand--his birth from the rock, his solemn meal with the Sun-god, his slaying of the great bull--is quite outside time. The early history of Christianity cannot be fully understood wi thout a knowledge of the world into which it came" (5). The world into which this new faith emerged was characterized by expanding empire, with the burdens of increasing taxation to fund the political and military machine and establish the benefits of relative peace, political unity and solidarity under the Roman Emperor. This was also a world where people maintained a belief in many gods and observed ritual sacrifices to those gods in exchange for good fortune. The statues and temples of these gods were visited and given homage by people of all stations, including the Emperor himself. Iconic images were engraved upon the coinage of the Empire, and the line between fidelity to the old gods and fidelity to the Empire of Rome was often blurred. Therefore, the emergence of an exclusive, monotheistic religion, that shunned all the vestiges of the older religions, offered a certain threat to political stability. The attitudes of the Roman Emperors and their officiators toward the Christians, in the first centuries of the new faith, varied from blind indifference to outright persecution, depending upon the emperor and the climate of the times. Likewise the attitudes of the Christians toward the Roman State varied, from individual to individual and from time to time, as the new religion grew. According to Grant, "Within the Christian communities of the second century two different but equally extreme minority positions were assumed. On the one hand, there were those, especially in Asia Minor, who under the influence of apocalyptic prophecy insisted upon an intensified expectation of the imminent end of society and the descent of the "heavenly Jerusalem" in Phrygia. On the other, there were those who turned their backs on the world and took the gospel to the world through the planetary spheres above and come to

Approval Letters Essay Example for Free

Approval Letters Essay SAE-UMP Chapter Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2013 Team. 1) Nik Fadhil B Nik Mohammed 24-Jul-1990 23 Year Old EC09051 (Yr. 4) Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Power System) Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering 2) Muhammad Hisyamuddin b Jaafar 11-Jan-1990 23 Year Old MH09014 (Yr. 4) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 3) Wan Nurul Syahirah Binti Wan Lanang 15-May-1992 21 Year Old FB11041 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 4) Mohd Najmi Bin Harith 19-Aug-1992 21 Year Old MH11099 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 5) Muhammad Taufiq Bin Taha 6-Feb-1992 21 Year Old FA11025 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Manufacturing Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 6) Nur Aisvah Binti lsmail 2-Jan-1992 21 Year Old MH11062 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 7) Muhammad Haziq Bin Mazlan 4-Sep-1992 21 Year Old MH11042 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering ) Muhammad Najmuddin Bin Moskori 13-Nov-1992 21 Year Old MH11020 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 9) Wan Muhamad lzzudin Bin Wan lbrahim 4-Nov-1992 21 Year Old MH11038 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 10) Loo Fu Hong 6-Dec-1991 22 Year Old MC12051 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 11) Mohd Firdaus Bin Mohd Rosli 20-Nov-1989 24 Year Old MH09086 (Yr. 4) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 12) Mohammad Hanif Bin Rameli 11-Sep-1992 21 Year Old MH11032 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 13) Tang Shuen Cherng 15-March-1992 21 Year old FB12056 – (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 14) Muhammad Khaidir B Azman 24-March-1994 19 Year Old MB12061 – (Yr. 1) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 15) Muhammad Nabil Fikri B Mohamad -Dec-1993 20 Year old MA12070 – (Year 1) Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 16) Nor Arina Binti Ali Kangsa 4-Jan-1992 22 Year Old MH11090 – (Year 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 17) Wan Amir Haziq B. Wan Mohd Pandi 15-July-1994 19 Year Old MB12056 Bache lor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 18) Ng Yee Shian 25-April-1992 21 Year Old MC12054 – (Year 1) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 9) Raja Imran Shah B. Raja Badrin Shah 24-Apr-1992 21 Year Old MH11036 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 20) Muhammad Aiman Safwan B. Jubri 11-Jan-1994 19 Year Old MB12068 – (Year 1) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 21) Ng Wei Ming 21-Jan-1992 21 Year Old MC12056 – (Year 1) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 22) Nor Fadilah Binti Ahmad 19-June-1991 22 Year Old MH11097 – (Year 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 23) Lee Shun Jian 25-June-1992 21 Year Old FB12043 – (Year 1) Bachelor of Manufacturing Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 24) Chan Chao Shiung 24-August-1989 FB12061 – (Year 1) Bachelor of Manufacturing Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 25) Mohd Aiman Bin Mahusin 19-Jan-1990 MH09068 (Yr. 4) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 26) Mohd Amiruddin Bin Alias 14-Jan-1992 MH11076 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 27) Nurul Hasnah binti Awang 24-May-1992 FB11011 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering 28) Muhamad Syazwan Bin Zolkafli 6-Jul-1991 MH11074 (Yr. 2) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 29) Che Wan Abdul Rashid Bin Che Wan Hitam 14-Jan-1992 MH11015 – Yr 2 Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Feedback Stress: Does Auditory Feedback Negatively Affect Performance o

The Stroop Effect In his historic study, Stroop found that reading names of colors interfered with individuals’ ability to name the ink color the word was printed in when the two differed (i.e., the word â€Å"BLUE† written in red ink) (1935). However, the basis of this phenomenon can be traced back to Cattell who found that naming colors and pictures took twice as long to accomplish than reading the word these colors or pictures represented (1886). He concluded that this was due to reading being an automatic process while identifying colors or pictures requires a conscious effort (Cattell, 1886). MacLeod (1991) reflects that it was Cattell’s work which strongly influenced future psychologist including Stroop. In his experiment, Stroop investigated how the reaction time to name colors increased when it conflicted with the automatic process of reading. He broke down his experiment into three parts. In the first, he tested how reading the name of a color printed in a different ink color (i.e., BLUE) differed from reading the name of a color printed in black ink (i.e., BLUE). The difference between the name of the color and the ink color it was printed in caused a slight interference resulting in an increased reaction time of 2.3 seconds (Stroop, 1935). In the second part of his experiment, Stroop (1935) looked at reaction time differences between naming the color of solid blocks (i.e., ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"  ) versus naming the color of the ink not the name of the color (i.e., responding â€Å"RED† for BLUE). He found that participants required 74% more time to name the color of the ink when it did not agree with the name of the color (Stroop, 1935). Stroop concluded that it was the interference between the automatic process of reading the na... ...oop: An interference task specialized for functional neuroimaging – validation study with functional MRI. Human Brain Mapping, 6(4), 270-282. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0193(1998)6:4 Cattell, J. M. (1886). The time it takes to see and name objects. Mind, 11(41), 63-65. MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop Effect: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 109(2), 163-203. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.163 Richards, A., French, C. C., Johnson, W. Naparstek, J., & Williams, J. (1992). Effects of mood manipulation and anxiety on performance of an emotional Stroop task. British Journal of Psychology, 83, 479-491. Shor, R. E. (1975). An auditory analog of the Stroop test. Journal of General Psychology, 93, 281-288. Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18(6), 643-662.

The World in a Train by Francisco B. Icasiano

One Sunday I entrained for Baliwag, a town in Bulacan which can well afford to hold two fiestas a year without a qualm.I took the train partly because I am prejudiced in favor of the government-owned railroad, partly because I am allowed comparative comfort in a coach, and finally because trains sometimes leave and arrive according to schedule.In the coach I found a little world, a section of the abstraction called humanity whom we are supposed to love and live for. I had previously arranged to divide the idle hour or so between cultivating my neglected Christianity and smoothing out the rough edges of my nature with the aid of grateful sights without – the rolling wheels, the flying huts and trees and light-green palay seedlings and carabaos along the way.Inertia, I suppose, and the sort of reality we moderns know make falling in love with my immediate neighbors often a matter of severe strain and effort to me.Let me give a sketchy picture of the little world whose company Ma ng Kiko shared in moments which soon passed away affecting most of us.First, there came to my notice three husky individuals who dusted their seats furiously with their handkerchiefs without regard to hygiene or the brotherhood of men. It gave me no little annoyance that on such a quiet morning the unpleasant aspects in other people's ways should claim my attention.Then there was a harmless-looking middle-aged man in green camisa de chino with rolled sleeves who must have entered asleep. When I noticed him he was already snugly entrenched in a corner seat, with his slippered feet comfortably planted on the opposite seat, all the while his head danced and  dangled with the motion of the train. I could not, for the love of me, imagine how he would look if he were awake.A child of six in the next seat must have shared with me in speculating about the dreams of this sleeping man in green. Was he dreaming of the Second World War or the price of eggs? Had he any worries about the perman ent dominion status or the final outcome of the struggles of the masses, or was it merely the arrangement of the scales on a fighting roaster's legs that brought that frown on his face?But the party that most engaged my attention was a family of eight composed of a short but efficient father, four very young children, mother, grandmother, and another woman who must have been the efficient father's sister. They distributed themselves on four benches – you know the kind of seats facing each other so that half the passengers travel backward. The more I looked at the short but young and efficient father the shorter his parts looked to me. His movements were fast and short, too. He removed his coat, folded it carefully and slung it on the back of his seat. Then he pulled out his wallet from the hip pocket and counted his money while his wife and the rest of his group watched the ritual without a word.Then the short, young, and efficient father stood up and pulled out two banana le af bundles from a bamboo basket and spread out both bundles on one bench and log luncheon was ready at ten o'clock. With the efficient father leading the charge, the children (except the baby in his grandmother's arms) began to dig away with little encouragement and aid from the elders. In a short while the skirmish was over, the enemy – shrimps, omelet, rice and tomato sauce – were routed out, save for a few shrimps and some rice left for the grandmother to handle in her own style later.Then came the water-fetching ritual. The father, with a glass in hand, led the march to the train faucet, followed by three children whose faces still showed the marks of a hard-fought-battle. In passing between me and a person, then engaged in a casual conversation with me, the short but efficient father made a courteous gesture which is still good to see in  these democratic days; he bent from the hips and, dropping both hands, made an opening in the air between my collocutor and m e – a gesture which in unspoiled places means â€Å"Excuse Me.†In one of the stations where the train stopped, a bent old woman in black boarded the train. As it moved away, the old woman went about the coach, begging holding every prospective Samaritan by the arm, and stretching forth her gnarled hand in the familiar fashion so distasteful to me at that time. There is something in begging which destroys some fiber in most men. â€Å"Every time you drop a penny into a beggar's palm you help degrade a man and make it more difficult for him to rise with dignity. . .†There was something in his beggar's eye which seemed to demand. â€Å"Now do your duty.† And I did. Willy-nilly I dropped a coin and thereby filled my life with repulsion. Is this Christianity? â€Å"Blessed are the poor . . .† But with what speed did that bent old woman cross the platform into the next coach!While thus engaged in unwholesome thought, I felt myself jerked as the train mad e a curve to the right. The toddler of the family of eight lost his balance and caught the short but efficient father off-guard. In an instant all his efficiency was employed in collecting the shrieking toddler from under his seat. The child had, in no time, developed two elongated bumps on the head, upon which was applied a moist piece of cloth. There were no reproaches, no words spoken. The discipline in the family was remarkable, or was it because they considered the head as a minor anatomical appendage and was therefore nor worth the fuss?Occasionally, when the child's crying rose above the din of the locomotive and the clinkety-clank of the wheels on the rails, the father would jog about a bit without blushing, look at the bumps on his child's head, shake his own, and move his lips saying, â€Å"Tsk, Tsk.† And nothing more.Fairly tired of assuming the minor responsibilities of my neighbors in this little world in motion, I looked into the distant horizon where the blue C ordilleras merged into the blue of the sky. There I rested my thoughts  upon the billowing silver and grey of the clouds, lightly remarking upon their being a trial to us, although they may not know it. We each would mind our own business and suffer in silence for the littlest mistakes of others; laughing at their ways if we happened to be in a position to suspend our emotion and view the whole scene as a god would; or, we could weep for other men if we are the mood to shed copious tears over the whole tragic aspect of a world thrown out of joint.It is strange how human sympathy operates. We assume an attitude of complete indifference to utter strangers whom we have seen but not met. We claim that they are the hardest to fall in love with in the normal exercise of Christian charity. Then a little child falls from a seat, or a beggar stretches forth a gnarled hand, or three husky men dust their seats; and we are, despite our pretensions, affected. Why not? If even a sleeping man wh o does nothing touches our life!