Zero Waste Management

Zero Waste management is a program designed to reduce waste in our society. Zero Waste lifestyle is a mission to save the world from waste and recyclable materials.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Zero Waste Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This lifestyle is an important subject for discussion, which is why Collin Beavan used the subject of Zero Waste lifestyle to facilitate in his re-election in the senate. This way of life has circulated over many regions in the recent times (Colin, 2012). Zero Waste lifestyle has a target of reaching out to people all over the world. The objective of a zero waste lifestyle is to reduce waste on the environment. Whether rich or poor, zero waste lifestyle will reduce hazards in our enviroment. Some communities have adopted the idea and they are reaping the benefits. San Francisco came all out in 2008 to declare her intentions of having a healthy environment. Authorities at the state level enacted an act to address the issues with waste disposal. The high in the society and lower class citizens were all included in the policy. Florida also formulate a policy of zero waste lifestyle. The government instituted a committee that looked at various factors that could hinder the success of a zero waste lifestyle. They finally came up with a blueprint, which introduced incentives to residents that adopted a zero waste lifestyle. There was a massive turnout from all social classes in Florida. The high social class adopted the way of life as they were well informed of the need to have a safe environment. The low-class citizens objected a bit, but were motivated to tag along because of the incentives given to people who accepted with the policy. Today, Florida has an exceptional record for keeping her environment safe. Every social economic class in Florida has adopted the zero waste lifestyle (Khan, Prior, Islam, 2008). Zero Waste lifestyle is be neficial to all the socioeconomic classes. Although the rich in the society do not agree with a Zero Waste management, there seems to be headway in achieving a Zero Waste lifestyle. The rich argued that there is little significance in the economy if they adopt a Zero Waste lifestyle. Until the recycle and reuse of products is enforced, a Zero Waste lifestyle will not get the desired recognition. People from the middle socioeconomic class will adopt a Zero Waste lifestyle because it will help them save cost in every aspect of life. It introduces the technology of re-designing every resource so that it will have an extended lifespan. The ability to use a commodity and then reuse it for another purpose will save them some money.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The San Francisco compact act is a land law set aside by the local authorities in San Francisco to protect t he environment from non-degradable waste. The law requires that every resident of San Francisco should manage his/her waste as stipulated by the waste ordinance. The government in San Francisco has propagated a Zero Waste lifestyle. This has helped in reducing the risk of having waste cover on our environment. They have introduced an incentive policy according to which people would receive cash for recycling their waste products (Lean, 2006). Today, San Francisco is rated 67% of its waste recycle program. Zero waste lifestyle is suitable for every socio- economic class; it requires an individual properly to manage his/her waste. Thus, it is beneficial to every person. People with high socioeconomic status may accept a Zero Waste lifestyle in that they believe that they could help change the world. There has been an increasing concern with the risks of an unsafe environment. A research survey of US environmental agency projects serious damage to the country’s water supply due to negative effects on the environment. This means that all the efforts must be done to avert a major crisis in the region. The high social economic class can really influence the society to accept a Zero Waste lifestyle. It is more viable for the high socio-economic class as it members are capable of adopting it (Lean, 2006). On the other hand, people from low social economic class may not agree with some aspects of a Zero Waste lifestyle due to their economic status. Their low life conditions may really affect while accepting this plan. However, the key to this program is to enact a law that would mandate the entire region on the need to manage the waste. Just as the authorities of San Francisco and India have formulated a law that stipulates the recycle of waste resources, many other countries can follow their example (Zero waste home, 2010). Zero Waste lifestyle is a practical plan, and its benefit can be seen in our everyday activities. Finally, many other organizations have a similar program and may believe in the same objectives of a Zero Waste lifestyle. They can come together in facilitating the recycle of every product from the day it was manufactured. Remember that Zero Waste plans imply that any product that does not have an alternative use should not be created in the first place.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Zero Waste Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Colin,B. (2012) No Impact man: My Speech at Green Party National Convention. Web. Cooper, E. (2010). The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A-Z. Hampshire: Permanent Publications. Dhir, R., Newlands, M. D., Dyer, T. D. (2003).Sustainable Waste Management. Reston, VA: Thomas Telford. Lean, G. (2006). Disappearing World: Global Warming Claims Tropical Island. Web. Zero waste home. (2010). Web. This research paper on Zero Waste Management was written and submitted by user H0ly 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.

The Dictionary of Concise Writing

The Dictionary of Concise Writing The Dictionary of Concise Writing The Dictionary of Concise Writing By Maeve Maddox Serious bloggers understand the importance of concise writing. Unfortunately, great writing tips on brevity are scattered among many resources. Fortunately, a book called The Dictionary of Concise Writing crossed my desk. Written by Robert Fiske, The Dictionary of Concise Writing is the definitive guide to fat-free writing. This book literally contains its subtitle more than 10,000 alternatives to wordy phrases. For example, I wanted to lead this sentence with the phrase as an example. Instead I referenced the book and found the alternatives for example and for instance. Other great entries I use on a daily basis: as a result consequently; hence; so; then; therefor; thus past (previous; prior) experience experience is inclined to think (that) asserts; believes; claims; contends; feels; holds; maintains; says; thinks Each time you reference the book, you are training yourself to recognize wordy or redundant phrases. Definitely a good exercise! You can find the book on Amazon.com Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Book Reviews category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, WhetherDeck the Halls30 Words for Small Amounts

Case study in Forensics - Ashley Coulston

Ashely Mervyn Coulston is known as the ‘Burwood triple murderer’ he murdered three innocent victims in cold blood on 29 July 19921. Coulston had gone to a Burwood house under the guise of renting a room in the house that had been ‘advertised in the Herald Sun’2. Coulston had a bag that contained a . 22 rifle, ammunition, a homemade silencer and plastic cable ties. Coulston bound, gagged and covered the victim’s heads (using a towel or dressing gown) and shot each in the back of the head at point blank range3. I will briefly outline the circumstances of the case and how the perpetrator – Coulston, was eventually captured and the evidence that flowed to convict him for the triple murders in Summit Road, Burwood. In this case study I will examine the forensic evidence (limited to the main ballistic evidence), that was presented in the criminal trials and the forensic evidence that was introduced by the prosecution. Background Coulston was caught by police not for the murders in Burwood but for an armed robbery that occurred several months after the murders in July. Coulston had approached a couple who were returning to their car parked near the National Gallery in St Kilda Road. Coulston was wearing a balaclava and carrying a . 22 calibre rifle when he approached the couple in their car4. The couple believed the assailant was after money; so they threw some money at Coulston hoping that he would leave5. Coulston grabbed the money and forced the couple from the car. He then forced the female to the ground and tied her hands with the cable ties. At that moment the male partner of the couple noticed that Coulston had placed the gun on the ground and he took the opportunity to grapple with Coulston, thus allowing the female to run. The male also fled, with both calling out for help. Two security officers near the scene heard screams for assistance, and subsequently called for police. Coulston followed the couple and fired shots at the security officers which hit one of the officer’s in the hip6. When police arrested Coulston they found a sawn off rifle, a homemade silencer that was made from a motor vehicle oil filter, a knife and plastic cable ties7. Forensic evidence The police forensics department found that the bullets recovered from the scene of the Burwood triple murders had come from the same gun used in the St Kilda armed robbery8. The police also found that the cream cable ties used on the female victim in the armed hold-up were the same brand as those used in in the Burwood murders9. Forensic evidence also established that blood splatter from a dressing gown found over the head of one of the Burwood victims was the same blood that had splattered onto the oil filter of the rifle, used as a silencer10. Police were also able to use the fingerprint of Coulston found on his Melways Street directory that marked the page of the Summit Road, Burwood triple murders11. These pieces of evidence were used to place Coulston as the prime suspect in relation to the three murders in Burwood12. In relation to the specific ballistic evidence; there was considerable debate over the possible contamination of the evidence by Senior Constable Ray Vincent – police forensic examiner. Mr Vincent appears to have incorrectly labelled a job card used to record the test firing of the rifle. The Court of Appeal was less than impressed with the defence’s proposition that due to the error there was a possibility that the bullets had been substituted to make it look like they had been fired from the . 22 Sterling rifle13. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed the notion of the evidence being tampered with14. The prime evidence that was used to convict Coulston was the . 22 Sterling rifle he had in his possession, when he was arrested in relation to armed robbery and attempted murder of the security officers in St Kilda Road, Melbourne15. Specific Forensic Evidence There were several specific pieces of evidence that were found at the Burwood murder scene:16 1. There was no sign of forced entry; 2. That the flat was neat and tidy – not disturbed; 3. That the 3 victims had their hands bound with cream coloured tie straps and socks placed in their mouths; and, 4. One of the victims had a dressing gown placed over her head whilst the others had towels. 17 5. A Sterling . 22 rifle was one of a list of weapons that had similar rifling marks to two of the bullets used in the murders – one of the bullets was indistinguishable18. The Sterling rifle that Coulston used in the armed robbery was suspected to have been the weapon used in the Burwood murders19. The police forensic expert Senior Constable Ray Vincent was able to match the distinct impressions left on the bullet by the particular firearm, ‘much like a fingerprint’20. The firearm barrel is manufactured by using a type of drill (reamer) to cut the barrel so it has ‘spiral grooves cut into the inner surface of the barrel’21. The spiralling enables the bullet to spin and therefore maintain a more accurate trajectory22. When the ballistics expert inspects the bullet, he measures the spaces between the markings on the bullet called grooves and lands, and in particular if they twist either to the right or left23. Mr Vincent was able to count the number of grooves, their width and depth, together with the angle of the twist, and compiled a list of manufacturers that had similar rifling marks – one of those was a Sterling . 22 rifle24. Coulston’s defence tried to discredit the ballistic evidence given by Mr Vincent25. By indicating that: 1. 250 bullets had been test fired from the rifle to make a comparison; 2. the job card used to record the firings was incorrectly dated – it was dated August 1993 instead of August 1992; and, 3. the bullets used had been substituted at a later stage. In relation to point 1, His Honour Chief Justice Brenan responded by suggesting that ‘the rifling on these bullets fired at a stage before the burring on the front of the barrel might have changed the perspective of them’26. In essence His Honour was making the comment that the defence may be suggesting that after multiple firings of a weapon the profiling on the bullet may change indicting a possible error being made in the make of the firearm27. In relation to point 2, the defence proposed that the evidence may have been tainted by the fact that ‘something was wrong in the handwritten†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦addition to the document†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦which was a list of weapons having the same rifling characteristics as the weapon inferentially used in the murders’28. The defence was trying to put doubt in the jury’s mind by stating that the list of weapons noted by Vincent, that had the same markings as the murder weapon, was made after Coulston was arrested for the armed robbery in September 1992, noting that Coulston had one of the weapons on the list29. In relation to point 3, the defence stated that the rifling, that is the ‘characteristics of the weapon’ †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢used in the murders, was based on Vincent’s forensic examination of the bullets’. The bullets had †¦. ‘six lands and grooves with a right hand twist with the lands wider than the groove, land . 063 and groove . 048, Vincent prepared a list of rifles which possessed those characteristics. ’ ‘The list of rifles with those characteristics would therefore identify the murder weapon’30. The defence utilised the services of an expert witness; Mr Barnes (a former Forensic officer later to be discredited) who indicated he was ‘not able to see how you could prepare a list of [weapons] based on those characteristics’ (the land and groove markings on the bullet) to the list of weapons prepared by Mr Vincent31. The inference drawn was the bullets used by Mr Vincent may have been substituted at a later stage. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal both regarded ‘the issue as improbable’ and regarded ‘Mr Vincent as a credible witness’32. Blood splatter and gun residue Due to the word limit I will only touch on the issue of the other evidence that was gathered from the crime scene in Burwood, as it was not as significant as the ballistic evidence. A forensic scientist had determined that the blood stains from the dressing gown matched blood found on the oil filter that was used as a silencer33. Another forensic scientist determined that the lack of gun residue on the dressing gown was consistent with someone being shot a close range34. These pieces of evidence led to the police interrogation of Coulston who answered â€Å"no comment’. Coulston remained silent in regards to the murder charges throughout the trial and has maintained his innocence to the charges of murder35. Coulston ultimately appealed his conviction of murder to the High Court who dismissed his appeal on the ground that it had ‘no prospects of success. 36 He is now serving three consecutive life sentences and is never to be released. Conclusion The attention to detail and the corroboration of the evidence by another Forensic Officer is tantamount to the credibility of the evidence put before the court. Any mistake made by the Forensic officer can jeopardise the trial and possibly allow a murderer to walk free, as a jury is required to make a decision on the basis of beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, if there was doubt around the date of the job card, the list of weapons and the bullets used; this may put enough doubt in a juries mind to find Coulston not guilty37.

Career in Dental Surgery Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Career in Dental Surgery - Personal Statement Example I go to his clinic and read his books about Dental Surgery. I have found great interest in the career of Dental Surgery. I want to be like that dentist that changed world history. "The extravagant headline "The Dentist Who Changed World History" is taken from the title of an article that appeared in Harper's Magazine, in December, 1943. The dentist referred to was Maurice William (1881-1973), who practiced in New York and who, if he didn't change world history, at least influenced the course of events in China." (4) The people in rural areas have less health resources so they are migrating to urban areas. A new report says "The year 2008 will be the first time that more than half of the earth's population-nearly 3.3 billion people-will be living in towns and cities." (5) Although people are generally afraid of approaching dentist as Taylor Caldwell, "[An] Anglo-American novelist, a prolific author of popular fiction, who used often in her works real historical events or persons"(6), says "I was never afraid of anything in the world except the dentist." (7) But I love Dental Surgery Career. I believe that if I do not love a career, I can not move forward in that career. this career. Motivation is one of the best gifts people possess in all aspects of their lives, but many of them do not even realize they have it or may not know how to use it. Motivation is a feeling that compels us to strive and succeed in all that we do or intend to do. Many people achieve success beyond their wildest dreams. It is often seen that they are not necessarily the smartest people around. Generally, it is seen that the people who succeed financially are the ones who are motivated to achieve success. Human beings have enormous

Identifying Problems and Offering Solutions Essay

Identifying Problems and Offering Solutions - Essay Example For instance, if one of the students was making noise in class, Nick would candidly to stop talking in class because that was the rule. This quite irritated his classmates and hence got him on the wrong side of the school bullies. They would spit in his lunch, knock over his books, call him names such as gay and faggot, and this really hurt his pride. Unfortunately, when Nick’s parents complained to the school authorities about their son’s predicaments, all they got was nothing more than ‘boys will always be boys’ or ‘we’ve done all we can’. One unfortunate morning, Nick Perry changed his pajamas and wore his favorite T-shirt and pair of jeans. Having had enough, Nick strapped a belt around his neck and hanged himself from the top of the shelf of his closet. When his father found him, it was too late to save him. Nick’s life had been cut short at his young age. Bullying in schools is a global problem and as Nick’s suicide case shows, it can have dire consequences. This article therefore looks into the causes of bullying in schools, its impact on students, the short and long term effects it has on the bullies and victims before discussing some of the strategies such as revision of school policies as solution to bullying in schools. Bullying can be defined as aggressive behaviors or actions that are done with the intent of making the victims feel belittled or hurting them. Bullying in schools can further be described as unwanted behaviors among students driven by either perceived or real imbalances of power. Bullying bears the following characteristics: Imbalance of power- the students who act as bullies, use the power at their disposal such as physical strength, popularity, seniority, or access to some embarrassing information about their victim, to control others. However, this imbalance of power is subject to change from time to time depending on the situation. It has to be

The Purpose and Historical Academic Use of Formatting Styles Essay Example for Free

The Purpose and Historical Academic Use of Formatting Styles Essay It is critical to acknowledge sources to further prove an honest academic work. There are three major citation styles namely Chicago or Turabian, MLA, and APA. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, and commonly known as Turabian style is a style of formatting developed specifically for papers written in class and not for publication or for writing and formatting research paper. It enables the use of footnotes and or end note in combination with parenthetical referencing. Turabian style is named after the book’s original author, Kate Turabian with her study guide, â€Å"A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations†, and developed it for the University of Chicago. American Psychological Association or APA styling is necessary to prevent plagiarism and to maintain consistency among the different leagues of writing communities. APA is used in social sciences, education, engineering, and business adapted to present written material in the field. The editorial style is more like a formatting tool to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material. The origin of APA dates back to February of 1929. The APA style was published in â€Å"Psychological Bulletin† as a result of 1928 meeting of representatives from anthropological and psychological journals to discuss the form of journal manuscripts and to write instructions for their preparation. The use of Modern Language Association of America (MLA) can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism or accidental and purposeful uncredited use of source material by other writers. It is addressed primarily to academic scholars, professors, graduate students, and other advanced-level writers of scholarly books and articles in humanities disciplines such as English and other modern languages and literatures. MLA style found its roots back in 1883 at The Johns Hopkins University, as a discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and modern languages. MLA at present is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature.

The Death Penalty As a Form of Justice Around the World Essay -- Death

The Death Penalty As a Form of Justice Around the World Introduction: The death penalty is a subject that has become very big in the 21st century. Many centuries ago the death penalty is something that was widely practiced in almost all cultures. This revenge sort of action was the only way some old civilizations felt could really prevent criminals from breaking the law. The USA today is almost left alone among nations when it comes to the death penalty and the U.S. government does not have a problem with that. Arguments for the death penalty: Capital punishment permanently removes the worst criminals from society and should prove much cheaper and safer for the rest of us than long term. It is self evident that dead criminals cannot commit any further crimes, either within prison or after escaping or being released from it. Another argument for the death penalty is the cost factor. The state may very well better spend our resources on the elderly, young and the sick rather than the long-term imprisonment of murderers. Execution is a very real punishment rather than some form of treatment. The criminal is made to suffer in proportion to the offence. Although whether there is a place in a modern society, is a matter of personal opinion. There are many arguments why abolishing the death penalty should be done. Some argue the costs are too high, others think it is simply inhumane. I personally could not discount the value of human life because it costs less to kill someone rather that to keep them in jail. I do agree that all human life should be valued equally but that has not happened ever and I don't think it is going to start now. Even in a communist society, people are not equal. It is just the natu... ..."normal" in a sense. In conclusion I would like to say that I don't exactly know how the U.S. Catholic bishops felt about this issue a hundred years ago, but in modern times, death is not always the best way to solve society's problems. I am glad to see that a major influence has spoken out to help abolish the death penalty and I think that is a huge step in the movement. Nothing will ever change unless an influential body urges and persists with teachings of peace and non-violent alternatives. If the death penalty was abolished, I think over time we would in fact see the murder rates decrease as generations of children are raised sensitive to death and violence. Bibliography: www.wikipedia.org [for examples around world] Resource website Ideas after watching Dead Man Walking Emotions after reading Newspaper opinion pieces RE Pink Resource Book Section F

A&P/Araby Comparison

Christopher Nguyen Dr. Pedersen, 11:30-12:30 Araby and A&P Araby, written by James Joyce 1914 was about a young boy on a quest to woo over the girl of his adolescent dreams. A&P, written by John Updike in a completely different time period, was a story about a young store clerk trying to impress three teenagers by defending them from his manager. Both story lines are different, as well as the time periods and morals, but somehow and in some way, they share many similarities.Between the two stories, you could find a bunch of examples of how they are similar, but one of the more distinct ones is the fact that both stories are told from a first person point of view. In our first story Araby, it is told from the young boy’s point of view. Although nothing is said much about the little boy himself, we can tell from his point of view that he has a very big crush on his friend’s older sister. We also see from his point of view that he lives with an unappreciative uncle and a c oncerning aunt. From our other story A&P; we go into the life of Sammy.In his point of view, we find out that Sammy is a store clerk for a small-town A&P store down in Georgia. He obviously isn’t excited about his job, but when three teenage girls wearing nothing but bikinis on a random hot summer day, he takes notice. In the end, when his manager comes out and ridicules the girls for coming into the store looking indecent, Sammy decides to quit his job in order to defend the ladies thinking that they would commend him for his efforts. Sadly his actions go unnoticed and that’s when we all realize that life from there on will be harder for him.There’s another element in these two stories that share similar traits. It’s the conflict between the main character and the antagonist. In Araby, it’s the little kid falls for the pretty girl, only to be stopped by the antagonist, this case his drunken and broke uncle. A&P is a bit similar and it starts out w ith Sammy falling for â€Å"Queenie† and eventually Lengel, the store manager, is his opposition. Neither characters end up with what they truly wanted in the beginning, but it makes them realize that this is only the beginning.There is one special similarity between these two stories is so great that the authors hid well in the text was the vast imagery. In Araby, there was a vast amount of imagery and a lot of it referred back to the bible such as when he talks about Mangan’s sister’s holding her spikes, how her brothers were fighting over a cap, and how her hair fell over on side of her dress. In A&P, it referred to how â€Å"Queenie† was in some way a mermaid because of her long, white prima-donna lets and how she came down heavy on her heals.Sammy was in a way, mesmerized like Oedipus had been when they cross paths with the sirens. Although A&P and Araby have different story lines and plots, what they do have in common are hidden messages and dilemma s. Both main characters took the road of chivalry and romance, but obviously it didn’t work out for them. However it did make them realize that nothing in life is going to be so easy, and in order to achieve their goals, they would have to go through more experiences in order to get what they want later in life.

Before the Great War the position of women in society depended on birth, class, marriage, and men

Women had to live up to an ideal created by men. This meant women had to appear less intelligent than their husbands, women had to be well mannered, and modest in behaviour and speech. Women from richer middle and upper class families had servants to look after their homes and weren't expected to work. Upper class women were brought up and educated to be a dutiful wife. Lower class women had to look after their husband, manage everything in the house as well as finance, be utterly faithful to her husband and willingly manage a large family Some women did go to work; in 1901 55% of single women and 14% of married women were at work. In 1914 the largest employer of women was the Domestic Service with 1,600,000 this is because the Domestic Service was regarded as better than working in factories. About 656,000 women worked in the factories of the textile industry – especially the cotton mills of northern England. Lots of women were in work but many of them hardly made enough money to live on. Married working class women faced a lot of problems. Families were large: 71% of women had four or more children and 41% had seven or more. Many women however lost children to diseases like Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, and Tubercular. Children died because they didn't have any health care and doctors were expensive and hard to find. Poverty, bad housing and child bearing affected the health of working class women probably because they put the health of their husbands first as they had to be at work to earn money. Lots of women wanted the vote before the Great War. Suffragists wanted the vote and played by the law where as Suffragettes were more militant. The Suffragettes committed many acts of violence such as destruction of property and arson. Lots of people were against giving women the right to vote, even queen Victoria was. This meant women's suffrage had to gain support, so they continued with their marches and put posters up to try to gain support. The government passed a cat and mouse act which allowed Suffragettes to be released when they became ill because of their hunger strike and as soon as they were better again they were arrested and sent back to prison to finish their sentence. The outbreak of the First World War brought an end to the Suffragettes campaign.

To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage The WritePass Journal

To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage Rationale / Background To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage Rationale / BackgroundDescriptionResearch MethodologyDeliverablesScheduleResources RequiredReferencesRelated Rationale / Background Due to the increasingly competitive and evolving environment of modern business, a significant focus now lies on business restructuring in order for firms to meet the demands of the global economy.   Buhalis and Owen (2010) see this necessity as the driver behind business process reengineering and as a result the practice is widespread, for instance Attaran (2004) highlighted a study in which 87% of businesses were found to engage in the process.   Much research has been conducted in this area (see Kettinger and Grover 1995), which points towards competitive advantage as the primary focal area. Based on Porter’s original five forces model (Porter 1979) companies now look to business process reengineering to create a sustainable competitive advantage for their firm. Whilst research done by Ansoff and McDonnell (1990) focuses on more traditionally held beliefs about a firm’s unique resources, many has since changed their beliefs on what is considered a dynamic capabil ity worthy of creating a sustained competitive advantage. Meed et al (1994) cited a company needs to transform in order to adapt to its environment, and Osborne (1997) suggested that the very nature of the issue requires ever evolving material. Thus there is becoming an increased focus on the more subjective capabilities of modern organizations, as Barney’s 1999 article noted how strategic resources tend to be evenly distributed across firms and so there is a new focal point of knowledge being central to the business reengineering process and to creating a sustained competitive advantage for modern businesses. According to Grint (1994) reengineering quickly became the buzzword for businesses in the 1990’s, set on organizational improvement and change. Business process reengineering is defined as â€Å"a requirement to study fundamental business processes, independent or organization units and information systems support, to determine if the underlying business processes can be significantly streamlined and improved† by Langer (2008) and is based on operational objectives in order to improve performance. For instance a firm may wish to simplify their processes, improve communication procedures or speed up their operational turnover (Sayegh 2005.) As mentioned previously the very nature of business process reengineering requires a circular flow of communication in order for business processes to continuously improve, as Guha et al (1993) suggested the process reengineering cycle to be implemented into organizations in order to quickly tweak any issues with a new process with a minimal delay on output.   The subject of business process reengineering is still relatively new and so there are suggestions for future improvements, as a significant focus now lies on not only creating the information systems but using them effectively. This requires what Earl et al (1995) called alignment, that a process must not only be operationally efficient it must also be aligned not only with the company’s other materials and systems but also with the existing knowledge of the firm’s staff. This view is supported by Burgelman et al (2008) who focused on the links between not only different management levels but also between different strategic levels of the business. The suggestion by Burgelman et al being that organizational knowledge is unevenly spread and so needs to be aligned more thoroughly.   According to Brynjolfsson and Renshaw (1997) business process reengineering does suffer from low success rates, due to a lack of tools for managing the change process. Brynjolfsson and Renshaw proposed utilising a matrix of change in order to help managers identify and deal with critical issues. In this sense the importance of organizational knowledge is evidently the weak link in making business process reengineering reach its potential. Therefore much work has been done to attempt to bridge this success gap between the operational processes of a business and people’s ability to use them (see Khosrowpour 2006.) Attaran (2004) believed information technology to be a key element of a successful reengineering approach, citing Bill Gates’ comment on the 2000’s focus being on velocity. Therefore it is feasible for a company to rely on information technology to understand processes if they operate in a particularly fast paced industry like the example Bill Gates was referring to. In fact Johnson and Vitale (1998) believed innovations in information technology to be the future source of competitive advantage for firms, usin g examples of where it has been essential for business success for instance linking systems between an organizations diversified functional areas. Organizational knowledge is therefore seen to be one of few sources of a sustainable competitive advantage for modern firms. Tacit knowledge means that no two companies are the same (Collis and Montgomery 1995) and so as a dynamic capability knowledge appears to fulfil the necessary criteria, seen by Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) as being difficult to imitate, difficult to substitute or transfer and being scarce. Especially vital in the modern business environment is the speed in which knowledge can be created or transferred, as Saint-Onge (1996) noted how a company’s intellectual capital needs to be in line with rapid technological developments.  Ã‚   This focus on human capital led Saint-Onge to cite the â€Å"knowledge era† of modern times. A key application for business process reengineering of this focus is the need to constantly reinvest in organizational knowledge, due to the attrition effects of competition decaying the casual ambiguity that knowledge creates (R eed and Defillippi 1990.)   Therefore the real challenge for modern companies is how to undertake this required reinvestment in business process reengineering. Cavusgil and Calantone (2003) pointed out in their study on tacit knowledge that the primary issue is sharing knowledge throughout the firm. Howells (1996) noted that in order to be fully utilised tacit knowledge can be transferred on a variety of levels as in many cases knowledge should not only be transferred horizontally but vertically in firms, i.e. that managers must pass on their knowledge to their staff and vice versa.   This vertical transfer is vital for informational systems as in many cases practicalities experienced by lower level staff are not considered by upper management. Due to the difficulty in representing tacit knowledge acknowledged by Lubit (2001) the suggestions on how to transfer knowledge throughout the firm focus on more informal means. Lubit believed social mechanisms to be the best option, citi ng how formalised processes will always leave gaps. Similarly Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) found that techniques such as individual questionnaires and storytelling were most suitable for demonstrating tacit knowledge. Description Project Aims and Objectives: To uncover relevant links between organizational knowledge and the firm’s business process reengineering, and the role of knowledge management in facilitating the reengineering process. To examine theoretical approaches to business process reengineering and empirical evidence of their respective success rates. To investigate the impact of business process engineering on sustainable competitive advantage from a theoretical standpoint. Research Methodology Due to the theoretical approach being adopted in this study, secondary research would be utilised in accomplishing the aforementioned research objectives. Based on this approach, the study would adopt an interpretivist epistemology.   According to Saunders et al (2007), â€Å"Interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors†. Interpretivism relates to how people make sense of the world around them, and how they interpret social phenomena. Compared to the positivist view, the interpretivist view relates essentially to the interpretation of findings by those collecting data, and a common risk is that there may be issues of reliability and validity due to its subjective nature (Collis and Hussey, 2003). Based on recommendations by Collis and Hussey (2003), an inductive approach would also be utilized in conducting the research, as this involves analyzing the theoretical data concerning business process reengineering and competitive advantage, and drawing up a conclusion (after indepth analysis), on how both factors may be related. Data collection and analysis within this study would involve the systematic review of literature, reviewing previous studies on business process reengineering, knowledge management and competitive advantage to establish the relationship between all 3 variables, and ascertain if and how they the reengineering of business processes could actually lead to an improved competitive advantage within an industry. Through the combination of a number of results from a number of studies, the researcher hopes to uncover reasonable, reliable and valid insights into the subject area. Relevant databases such as Business Source Premier, Ingenta Connect and Emerald Insights would be utilized in finding these researches. Further research would also be conducted on institutes of business, such as those who may have statistics on how business processes affect competitive advantage. An entire subchapter would also be devoted to critiques of business process reengineering, particularly in its relevance to competitive advantage, as this allows for a balanced critical research and helps support the study’s reliability. Secondary research has been adopted as opposed to primary research, as it essentially bases our findings on more extensive research that may have been done in the past. These literatures are usually wider ranging and cover a lot more aspects of BRR than this research could have, if it adopted a primary approach. Deliverables This project intends to deliver clear conclusions and recommendations on the following: The relationship between business process reengineering and knowledge management within organisational settings. Do they necessarily impact on one another? Does effective knowledge management particularly promote better results when processes are reengineered? Empirical findings on the success and / or failure rates of business process reengineering activities that have been conducted over the past decades. These could be differentiated based on industries, and conditions, such as whether the organisations properly utilised information technology or knowledge management systems. Empirical or theoretical evidence suggesting that business process reengineering does promote sustainable competitive advantage. Particular emphasis would be placed on how it was accomplished and the secondary factors (such as information or knowledge management technology) that may have acted as catalysts. Schedule Secondary research (literature search) to be completed within two weeks of the project’s start. Cross-examination of literature is to be completed within a week of the final data being collected. This will encompass all of the data to spot any clear patterns. Checking of the discovered patterns to ensure their viability, reliability and generalisability will also be aimed to be completed within the same week that the original cross examination has been completed. The Introduction and Methodology chapters would be written within a week from when the data has been gathered. This would help in the structure of these chapters. The systematic literature review would be written up and conducted using the thematic approach. Meaning that each of the project deliverables would be separated into different themes and analysed as such. Overall project timeline – A maximum of 4-5 weeks from starting to accumulate the relevant data to having a clear, presentable set of results. Resources Required No hardware resources are required, except for computer hardware to use in researching, analysing and writing up the project. Access to literature sources such as the journals mentioned above, and empirical results on business process reengineering may require library access to such journals and in-depth Internet research. The researcher is confident that he has the skills to accomplish all of these. References Ambrosini, V. And Bowman, C. (2002) Tacit Knowledge: Some Suggestions for Operationalization. Journal of management studies, Vol 38, Issue 6, pp 811-829. Ansoff, H.I. and McDonnell, E.J. (1990) Implanting strategic management. Prentice Hall New York. Attaran, M. (2004) Exploring the relationship between information technology and business process reengineering. Information and management, Vol 41, pp 585-596. Barney, J. (1999) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, Vol 17, No 1, pp 99-120. Buhalis, D. And Owen, R. (2010) Business Process Reengineering. Business Process Management Journal, Vol 6, Issue 2, pp 113-121. Burgelman, R.A. Christensen, C.M. and Wheelwright, S.C. (2008) Strategic management of technology and innovation. McGraw- Hill / Irvin. Cavusgil, S.T. Calantone, R.J. Zhao, Y. (2003) Tacit knowledge transfer and firm innovation capability. Journal of business and industrial marketing, Vol 18, Issue 1, pp 6-21. Collis, D.J. and Montgomery, C.A. (1995) Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s. Harvard Business Review, July-August. Earl, M.J. Sampler, J.L. and Short, J.E. (1995) Strategies for business process reengineering: evidence from field studies. Journal of Management Information Systems, Volume 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Grint, K. (1994) Reengineering History: Social Resonances and Business Process Reengineering. Organization, Vol 1, No 1, pp 179-201. Guha, S. Kettinger, W.J. and Teng, J.T.C. (1993) BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING Building a Comprehensive Methodology. Information systems management, Vol 10, Issue 3. Howells, J. (1996) Tacit knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. Technology analysis and strategic management, Vol 8, No 2, pp 91-106. Kettinger, W.J. and Grover, K. (1995) Special section: toward a theory of business process change management. Journal of management information systems, Vol 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Khosrowpour, M. (2006) Advanced topics in information resources management. Vol 5. Idea group publishing. Langer, A.M. (2008) Business process reengineering. Analysis and design of information systems. Lubit, R. (2001) Knowledge Management : The Keys to Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Organizational dynamics, Vol 29, Issue 3, pp 164-178. Meed, J.W. Bots, P.W.G. and Sol, H.G. (1994) A hard core for soft problems: A business engineering case study within the Amsterdam municipal police force. TCBAUS IFIP Information systems international working conference, Gold Coast, Australia. Osborne, T. (1997) Business process reengineering. PACIS 1997 Proceedings. Porter, M.E. (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard business review. Cited by Smit, P.J. (2000) Strategic planning: Readings. Juta and Company Ltd. Reed, R. and Defillippi, R.J. (1990) Causal Ambiguity, Barriers to Imitation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The academy of management review, Vol 15, No 1 (January 1990) pp 88-102. Saint-Onge, H. (1996) Tacit knowledge the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Strategy and leadership, Vol 24, Issue 2, pp 10-16. Sayegh, F. (2005) Business process Reengineering.   EFS Technical report No.21. (December 15th 2005.)

Hewlett Packard (HP) - Introduction to Business Organization Coursework

Hewlett Packard (HP) - Introduction to Business Organization - Coursework Example It deals in manufacture and supply of laptops, printers, PC’s and variety of range of computers. HP operates a large network for the manufacture and supply of technological products; it operates in 170 countries of the world fulfilling the technological needs of millions. (HEWLETT PACKARD. 2012) HP was founded in 1939 by two of the classmates of Stanford University- Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. It’s first ever product was an electronic test instrument and one of its early customers who boosted their sales initially was Walt Disney. (HEWLETT PACKARD. 2012) HP operates in 170 countries of the world which makes it operative in America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Its head office is located in Palo Alto, California –USA. Further it has installed HP Solution Centers in over 80 locations all around the world which provide technical support regarding the products to million of customers. (HEWLETT PACKARD. 2012) HP operates as a public listed c orporation and is listed on New York Stock Exchange. Financially, HP is a very sound company with an annual turnover of $127,245 million, generating a profit of $7,074 million. HP has a diversified portfolio of products and operates many different segments. Region wise it mostly generates its sales- 45% of it from America (which includes US, Canada and Latin America) the rest is generated from EMEA and Asia Pacific. Its most revenue generating segment is that of personal computers products and services which generates around 60% of the revenue. Other segments which are operated are imaging and printing group, enterprise server, storage and networking, HP software and HP financial services. The company is currently headed by Meg Whitman, the CEO and President of HP who was appointed on the posts recently in late 2011. (HEWLETT PACKARD. 2012) Organizational Structure: An organization’s structure plays a great role in executing its strategies. HP’s organizational structur e has grasped international attention from past decade. In 2000 Carly Fiorina was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer at HP, at that point Fiorina changed the organizational structure of HP which had been there for last 64 years. She dismantled the decentralized structure of HP and introduced a more modern concept of structuring the organization in which HP was to operate with a front-back approach in which back-end unit was to deal with manufacturing while the front-end dealt with sales, marketing and customers. That was the first time a large company with numerous production lines adopted this structure which requires high level of coordination. (PEARCE & ROBINSON. 2000) However this structural strategy was a fail and in 2005Mark Hurd was appointed as the CEO and he changed the structure back to it what it was before Fiorina, that is, a decentralized structure with independently run smaller units with a narrow product focus. The current organizational structure at HP allows f or greater accountability, high sense of responsibility, aids in cost reduction and accountability of spending and better control on production to sale activities. The decentralized structure at HP is basically made up of seven divisions/segments which are either organized on the basis of products or functions. Such a structure enables HP to have greater insight about the environment in which it operates as a technological business is highly dynamic, the divisions and units have to be adaptable and agile to the changes which is done by resting the power to plan day-to-day activities to the segments. However major strategic decisions are held with the higher level. Such a structure also supports a giant like HP which serves a market of trillions all around the world to execute more effectively. HP has

Dealing with Crime and Disorder in Urban Parks Essay

Dealing with Crime and Disorder in Urban Parks - Essay Example The parks in the urban areas are quite large and the security that is present in these parks is not strong enough and not in much number that they can keep a strong check on what is going inside the park. They are only responsible of watching over the outside of the park that no terrorist or burglar enters the park; they only keep an eye on the people who are entering the gate and do not allow who they feel suspicious. The illegal drug dealers know many ways and techniques through which they can make their way to various places from which they can trade and the drug dealers have now chosen urban parks as their main spot of dealing and they usually enter the park well dressed and like respectable ordinary people so the security officers cannot differentiate them from ordinary people. These people then carry out their illegal business in the park and it can only be observed by the people who visit parks regularly for recreation and it cannot be stopped by the local security officers. T his crime has increased and become wide spread and nearly all big parks in the urban areas have been reported for the same issue. ... rolling or other such things then they inform their in charges which then come in a jiffy and quickly wind up their work before any concerned official can get informed and make any sort of raid. The illegal drug dealers have a very wide spread network and informants who are also wide spread in many different years who keep an alert eye 24/7 to prevent their business from being caught by the police (Kinnane, 1979). A very sad part of this whole case is that there are some black sheeps of our own police department who themselves are involved in such activities and business and they are basically those who inform these drug dealers about the raid the police are about to do and other details being discussed in the police department like informing them about the operational planning of the police department. The greatest threat that this business pose is the wide dealing of syringes; the dealers do not care about the syringes being used or unused, they just sell them and the addicted are in so want of them that they also do not care about the syringe and this is a major reason for many incurable diseases that are now a days becoming wide spread in many parts of the country. It is very necessary that a proper operational policing strategy is developed to control this serious and rapidly increasing issue (Ireland, 1996). A proper operational strategy must be designed in order to eliminate this issue from the root. If a weak strategy is designed then it will not be able to overpower the strong network of the illegal drugs business dealers. Like other departments it has become a necessity for the police department as well to design strategies, tactics and techniques and pay a lot of attention towards strategic planning in the past few years because with the advancements in