Due Diligence of PepsiCo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Due Diligence of PepsiCo - Case Study Example Today, the company has under its brand, products like Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker. It has organized itself under three banners, namely, PepsiCo Americas Beverages, PepsiCo Americas Foods, and PepsiCo International. PepsiCo, as a leader in the Beverage Industry, is also very committed to its Corporate Social Responsibility and believes in giving back to the community. Its current growth strategy is 'Performance with Purpose', which lays down its commitment towards the community. It outlines PepsiCo's idea of being a leader with people's support. Apart from focusing on the larger community, PepsiCo also believes and works towards keeping its main people happy---PepsiCo's workforce is the focus of the company. The workforce receives great benefits and packages, as part of working with the leader. It is PepsiCo's way of retaining the talent pool, while also keeping them happy with the company's success. PepsiCo does not solely rely on financial rewards, packages and recognitions to keep its workforce happy. It also is well-dispositioned in terms of its commitment to diversity. The workforce at PepsiCo comprises people from different backgrounds, nationalities and ethnicities.

Quality Management in Green Valley Bakers Research Paper

Quality Management in Green Valley Bakers - Research Paper Example This organization was formed in 1933 and dedicates itself to making the perfect loaf. It has more than 1300 members across the USA. Membership indicates that the bakers are themselves masters at their craft and meet the quality standards set by the Guild in terms of baking prowess. The Importance of Quality We may all have heard it a hundred times or more, but it is nevertheless worth repeating that Quality is never an Accident; rather it is the result of concentrated effort directed towards achieving a certain purpose, depending on what we are doing. Quality means better than average, certainly not run of the mill or mediocre. Thus we can be sure that we have been given among the best in the world when we get a Cross pen, or a Rolex watch, or a Ferrari car. These brands are renowned for their quality and finesse. They have climbed the long hard road to the top, and their quality consciousness shows in every product they produce. One can be sure that they have the best quality contro l and improvement procedures in place, and are also on the cutting edge of technology. Once one has achieved a name and fame, it is all the more important to maintain the standard and that is done by a meticulous dedication to quality control principles and procedures. In essence, a reputation for quality ensures a dedicated and loyal group of clientele who will always choose you as their first choice (and maybe an only choice) when it comes to a certain product, e.g. DeBeers for diamond jewelry. They are convinced that they are getting value for their money and will keep on coming back to you as long as your product offerings are consistent in value and price. Three Areas of Quality Focus for Green Valley Bakers Taking into account the practices and procedures followed in the baking industry and particularly those used by Green Valley Bakers, it is recommended that materials management is one area where quality control should be implemented. The Japanese concept of JIT or Just-In-T ime Inventory can be implemented to save the cost of carrying inventory as well as re-ordering costs. By establishing particular trigger points for re-order and preventing the costs of storage to get exorbitant, we will be following the concept of Economic Order Quantity (EOQ). The second thing to look at is the reputation of our suppliers and the ongoing costs of materials. We should always make sure that we have a backup plan just in case something happens that can interrupt supply from one main supplier. There may be transportation or delivery problems, cost and profitability can be affected and thereby threaten the profitability and survival of the bakery. All this must be planned for in case of unforeseen problems or eventualities. For instance, a natural disaster could disrupt supply lines for weeks. Another quality measurement tool that could be used is demand forecasting and anticipation of inventories of materials and labor etc. to meet peak and off-season demand hikes and slumps. This could be done by tracing the demand per week or per month and relating it to particular events that might have caused its occurrence. For example, Easter and Christmas are festive occasions in which demand is at a peak because of Easter eggs, bunnies, cakes and other confectionaries as well as Christmas cakes, chocolates and other goodies in December.  

History of Federation of Malaya Essay Example for Free

History of Federation of Malaya Essay The Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) is the name given to a federation of 11 states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca) that existed from 1 February 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957. It was reconstituted as Malaysia with the addition in 1963 of Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak. History After World War 2, the British came again to Malaya and Britain suggested the formation of the Malayan Union. Malayan Union not only took away the power of the Malays over their nation, but also the rights that belong to the Malays. Then, the people of Malayan Union started to realise that their country has to be ruled by their own people and not to be ruled by other people of other nations. Due to opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states in 1st of February 1948. The British government and Malaya leaders signing the agreement of establishing Federation of Malaya at King’s House, Kuala Lumpur. Within the Federation, while the Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore, despite its traditional connections with Malaya. The Federation achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957. In 1963, the Federation was reconstituted as Malaysia when it federated with the British territories of Singapore, Sarawak, and British North Borneo (renamed Sabah); the latter territory was claimed to be a part of the Sultanate of Sulu. Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Agreement of Federation The Federation of Malaya Agreement was formulated by the British–Malay Pleno Conference between June and December 1946. At the end of the meeting, the Pleno Conference produced a 100-page Blue Book. The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on 21 January 1948 at King House by the Malay rulers, and by Sir Edward Gent as the representative of the British government. The Agreement superseded the Agreement creating the Malayan Union, and prepared for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. The position of the Malay rulers was also restored. As with the Malayan Union, the Federation excluded Singapore, despite its traditional links to Malaya. List of member states * Johore * Kedah * Kelantan * Malacca * Negeri Sembilan * Pahang * Penang * Perak * Perlis * Selangor * Terengganu System of Government The government of the Federation of Malaya was headed by a British High Commissioner with executive powers, assisted and advised by the Federation of Malaya Executive Council and the Federation of Malaya Legislative Council. * The Federation of Malaya Executive Council comprised 7 official and 7 unofficial members. The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council comprised the High Commissioner as the Council President, 14 official and 50 unofficial members representing the Straits Settlements, business groups and all races. Additionally, 9 State Council Yang Di Pertua (heads of state), Chief Ministers and 2 representatives from the Straits Settlements became unofficial members. * The Malay Conference of Rulers would advise the High Commissioner on immigration issues. The British Resident was replaced with a Chief Minister in each state of the federation. Conditions of citizenship The conditions of citizenship of the Federation of Malaya were further tightened using law enforcement and naturalization by application. Under the laws, the following were automatically granted citizenship: 1. Citizens of the Sultan of any state 2. British citizens born in Penang or Malacca who have lived continuously for 15 years in the federation 3. British citizens born in the federation whose fathers were born or lived continuously for 15 years in the federation 4. Anyone born in the federation, conversant in the Malay language and following Malay traditions in his or her daily life 5. Anyone born in the federation whose parents were born and lived continuously for 15 years in the federation Via naturalization (by application), one could achieve citizenship, given these criteria: 1. Born and lived for at least 8 of 12 years in the Federation of Malaya before the application was made 2. Lived in the Federation of Malaya for at least 15 of 20 years before the application was made In both cases (via naturalization), applications must be well-behaved, swear allegiance and clarify their reasons for living in the federation, and are fluent in either the Malay or the English language. The Federation of Malaya, through its constitution, guarantees the rights and special position of the Malay people as well as rights, powers and sovereignty of the Malay rulers in their respective states. Separation of powers of the federal and state governments The federation agreement Perjanjian Persekutuan set the powers of the federal and state governments. Financial matters must be handled by the respective states. The Sultan was given full power on religious issues and Malay customs. Foreign policy and defense continued to be administered by the British government.

Electricity Reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Electricity Reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina During the conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, huge number of transmission and distribution network was damaged. This resulted in a minimum electricity supply that was barely maintained. Thanks to a large number of donations, a major reconstruction occurred post-war of most of generation. Electricity as not the only sector affected by the war, coal, engineering and many other have suffered badly in during the 1992-1995 span. This has not been sufficiently monitored by the public sector due to weak and fragmented administrations. This has become a major barrier for the development and enforcement of electricity reforms to improve the overall performance of companies and to create effective markets. Both, the electricity demand and supply has greatly recovered and reached beyond the pre-war levels but the industrial consumption is low and still suffering, concentrated in a few large consumers. The main reason behind the household demand inflation is due to the excess use of electrical heating. Without an industrial recovery or development of new medium-sized, the likely trend in the medium term is for a reduction in household electricity heating consumption (with the expansion of the natural gas network) and a leveling of energy intensity of domestic electricity demand. Prior to electricity reforms, the electricity market in BiH was characterised by disintegration. All the power of the sector was controlled by Governments (Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Industry) This affected and visibly slowed down the process of the reforms having a biggest impact on adopting of uniform laws that were the base for creating key institutions. Because of the unique situation in BiH with three entities, presidents, etc., there are three independent non-profit regulators as well, the state and two entity ones. Each one of them has clearly divided responsibilities which do not interfere in each others work. The commission of State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) consists of three members who manage SERC according to the principle of annual rotation. It consists out of three members, two from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the third one from Republika Srpska. While the members from FBiH are proposed by the Parliament of FBiH while the member from RS is proposed by the National Assembly of RS. Currently, the Regulator has 26 employees which include commission members. These two gather money through different ways, while the financing of RERS is provided by the Law on Energy of RS, SERC gathers money from regulatory fees paid by licensed companies. FERK on the other hand operates in the way that it submits the budger proposal to the Parliament of FBiH and then the Parliament itself adopts the budget. FERK is financed by the Law on Energy of FBiH from compensations and taxes of companies. The institutional reform of the electricity power sector BiH has proved to be pretty sucessful and is consistent with good results and continuos improvement. But the electricity sector is still a long way off being stable and in good shape and form. Many deficiencies are still present as for example problems often occur in the distribution of profits and investments or for example a bigger and more serious problem, BiH does not have legislation on the energy efficiency at the state level although that should be obligatory according to Energy Community Treaty and many other signed documents in accordance to the EU legislation. Electricity Regulation and Reforms The power sector reform in BiH officially began with the adoption of the entity laws on electricity, though which a number of important institutions in the energy sector have been made. Bosnia and Herzegovina still relies on several important agreements which are closely related to the reform as they aim to join and keep coming closer to the EU. Due to their ambition to enter the EU as soon as possible, it is obvious that they would have to adapt to the single electricity market of the Union. Three main documents have been signed by the authorities in BiH which have been crucial for its improvement and movement towards the single market in electricity. These are: Energy Community Treaty Treaty establishing the Energy Community of South East Europe Agreement of Stabilisation and Association The first, Energy Community Treaty (ECT), is considered as one of the most important agreements that Bosnia and Herzegovina has ever signed in the energy sector. According to this agreement, the stable regulatory framework, single regulatory space, security of supply, energy efficiency, competition and use of renewable energy should all be visible and present in the energy sector of BiH. Through this agreement, BiH has forced itself to meeting certain obligations and goals which have been agreed upon the ECT. The Energy Community Treaty was also the base for creating the road map for such market openness. It clearly prescribes guidelines and dynamics of key reforms in five key areas. The fact that BiH had only one real customer in Aluminij Mostar until 2012 speaks for itself about the market openness in the electricity sector. But an encouraging fact was that from 2008 all tariff customers, not including households, had the opportunity and freedom to choose their own suppliers and become eligible customers. When comparing BiH to the EU countries, there is an obvious and large distinction in the market openness of the electricity sector. From 2009, almost all EU countries bar a few were fully opened to competition. Two main reasons for low-market openness in BiH: Electricity prices for industrial customers in BiH are the lowest when comparing to EU countries. Electricity prices are equal to the prices at which they are supplied as tariff customers. The Electricity Policy Statement was adopted in 2000. The main reason and objective behind this policy was to establish and achieve in producing a competitive electricity market in Bosnia and Herzegovina which would enable all customers to have a choice between more electricity suppliers. The main goal of this reform plan was ensuring a long-term sustainable and a high-performing sector while introducing EU regulations which would be visible through effective competition. In this effort, the following laws were adopted at the State level: Æ’ Law on transmission, regulator and system operator of electricity (2002); Æ’ Law on establishing the Transmission Company, Elektroprenos BIH (2004); and Æ’ Law on establishing Independent System Operator, NOS BIH (2004) At the entity level, two separate laws on electricity generation and distribution were adopted by FBiH (2002, 2005) and RS (2002, 2003). DERK, as the State regulator, is responsible for electricity transmission while FERC and REERS, the entity regulators, cover generation and distribution in FBiH and RS, respectively. Further to the unbundling of the transmission grid, the restructuring of the vertically integrated state-owned electricity companies has been based on the â€Å"Harmonised Action Plans for the Restructuring of the power sector† adopted in 2003 in Republika Srpska and in 2005 in FBiH. The main stages of this Plan included the reallocation of assets into a joint stock company, the commercialisation and the unbundling of generation and distribution by 2008. While the state-owned electricity companies have been transformed into joint-stock companies (JSC), to date the other stages of the Plan have not been achieved, in particular the creation of a distribution system operator (DSO), a requirement of the Energy Community Treaty. On a positive note, corporate performance, in particular accounting transparency, has progressed. As of 2008, the opening of electricity markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina to domestic and foreign competition has focused on setting eligibility consumption thresholds and connecting directly to the network, as well as third party access to the transmission network as described by DERK’s â€Å"Rule on third party access† (2006). Third party access to 6 distribution networks is monitored by the entity regulators. To date, however, no supplier switch has been reported. Significant progress has been achieved at the national level in adopting a single regulation for transmission and merging national transmission ownership and operation under one regulator. As recently established bodies, the TSO and ISO need to strengthen their capacity and power. However, regulation and oversight for generation and distribution remains separated at the entity level. Furthermore, three (four with Bckro) separate companies operate a very fragmented distribution network over the territory (see map above), raising operational, efficiency and economic issues. The unbundling of these services has not advanced significantly, raising concerns about effective third party access to the respective distribution networks. While regulators set tariffs and prices, most of expenses for an adequate maintenance and replacement of facilities as well as for non-wage obligations (pensions) are not covered. The price structure still subsidises households and large industries (e.g. aluminium). There is a clear need to analyse the costs and benefits of this indirect support system and, if justified, to set up a transparent direct subsidy scheme. Although the TSO is responsible for the country’s transmission development plan and the ISO prepares an indicative generation development plan based on elements provided by the entity administrations and companies, the coordination and coherence of the system is inadequate and ineffective. For instance, the announced investment projects which would see a tripling of domestic installed capacity, with a focus on export markets, is not feasible within the context of the current grid and interconnection capacities. This will require major investments in the transmission network, extremely difficult to finance under the current tariff structure. These projects need to be assessed under a consolidated least cost plan with a more detailed analysis of domestic and export markets, in a context of high volatility. Also in the context of fragmented and weak regulation and administration, major investments by powerful foreign investors could lead to imbalances in the investment and operat ional oversight process and to a strong dependency. The recent decisions (2007) by entities to award concessions without open and transparent tenders to private investors have raised concerns over transparency and the effectiveness of economic benefits at the local and national level. This risks fragmenting the sector still further. At the 4th World Bank Poverty Reduction Strategies Forum it was â€Å"recommended urgent[ly] to develop, adopt and enforce a state-wide, uniform and transparent procedure for the construction of new generation plants in compliance with EU regulation†. A national least-cost electricity supply plan should provide a ranking of the most viable rehabilitation and construction projects and be coordinated with generation and transmission planning of the grid operators. The electricity sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina still faces the challenge of completing its rehabilitation, diversifying the power generation mix and complying with EU environmental standards, in particular the Large Combustion Plants (LCP) Directive. It also needs to improve overall technical and managerial performance, diversify the power mix notably with CHP, small hydropower and biomass in order to compete on export markets and prepare for effective domestic and regional market opening. At the company level, this will require sustained effort to reach EU corporate governance standards. At the ministry and regulator level, there is a clear need to strengthen ownership rights and oversight over the sector as well as to consolidate and coordinate the state and entity levels. The administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to develop an overall, coordinated and coherent national policy and action plan backed by economic tools, in particular independent least cost plans and demand projections. An integrated supply and demand least cost plan would help prioritise refurbishment projects and reduce grid losses. In this respect, the World Bank’s energy study should provide crucial elements and tools to be further developed and used by the administration in coordination with electricity companies. Persistent fragmentation of the electricity sector structure and regulation is not sustainable in the longer term and will risk the sector’s marginalisation in the region. Key issues: Infrastructure rehabilitation, grid losses, non-cost reflective prices, system and regulation fragmentation These reforms had the aim and strived for the electricity sector to: Perform more efficiently, both technically and commercially; Enables efficient and effective competition (most important); Meet international standards in terms of cost effectiveness, quality of service, security of the system and the environment; Allows companies to recover their full costs including a reasonable return on investment; Has a universal service obligation; Attracts private capital to the sector; -Complies with EU rules for the internal electricity market in the medium term. Regulation of network prices All consumers in BiH with the exception of Aluminij-Mostar are captive consumers of their local utilities and have no freedom of choice when it comes to their suppliers. There are also no cases of contracting the supply outside local utility borders and the problem with importing electricity in BiH is that All consumers in Bosnia and Herzegovina except Aluminij–Mostar (8% of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s consumption in 2013) are captive customers of their local incumbent utilities. There are no cases of contracting the supply outside the local utility borders. The incumbent local suppliers were appointed as â€Å"reserve suppliers† in the transitional period before 2015 and â€Å"suppliers of last resort† by the regulatory authorities in all jurisdictions, and are likely to delay market opening in the future. Wholesale market opening suffers from the absence of liquid trading platforms. Trading takes place through bilateral transfers between dominant utilities and registered traders, including exports and transits. In terms of price regulation, the Law on Electricity in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina allows for access to regulated supply for all eligible customers, including large ones and without limitations. This violates Article 3 of Directive 2003/5 4/EC. Even worse, the price of generation for the supply of customers supplied at regulated prices (i.e. the wholesale price) is also regulated. The Law on Electricity in Republika Srpska makes electricity supply at regulated prices by subsidiaries of EP RS available to all customers. This exceeds what is allowed under Article 3 of the Directive. The Law similarly supports price regulation for production by EP RS sold to local utilities and Komunalno Brcko. The Electricity Law in Brcko District also misinterprets the concept of public service in providing regulated supply of all captive customers. This prevents supplier switching in practice. All three regulatory authorities have adopted rules for supplier switching and price methodologies for supply services available to eligible customers in the transition period before 1 January 2015, and to households and small customers as last resort supply. As the electricity market is very specific and almost unique, the market must be regulated in order for the network fees to be reasonable. The reason behind this is that the competition in this market in BiH is almost non-existent what then creates monopolistic tendencies by the authorities in BiH. For instance, FERK and RERS are entity regulators which adopted and developed separated Rules of Tariff Methodology and Tariff Proceeding regarding the distribution tariffs. In the other hand meanwhile, SERC is occupied with approving prices for transmission network that are the same for all participants in BiH. Quality regulation One of the most important parts of the electricity market which needs to be regulated and closely observed is most definitely the quality in the electricity supply. It is perhaps the most essential indicator of successful business of electric power companies. It is crucial for the customers to have a freedom of choice when it comes to the selection of the electricity suppliers, and as the competitiveness increases, so does the quality and service in the electricity market. If companies do not proceed to adapt and improve in order to be competitive in the market, they will soon lose out all their customers and the funds which are necessary in order for their company to operate and exist on the market. Competition As mentioned previously, the competition is the healthiest way to improve and motivate companies to continue improving their supply, quality, decrease costs and many other factors which would satisfy the customers further more and be positive for the country in the long run. Also, EU regulations emphasizes competitiveness as a step forward to meeting their standards and achieving one goal more towards entering the EU market. Recommendations: Reorganize and reinforce the way in which the regulators operate. Emphasizing the unity of the three regulators into one single structure with more entity branches and dividing the power and duties by those branches; Unify regulation for generation and distribution in line with EU requirements, ensure cost-reflective tariffs and reduce cross-subsidies; if justified, set up a transparent direct subsidy scheme for large industries; Proceed with improving the restructuring of electricity companies towards European standards Adopt a national least-cost supply plan, generation planning and demand forecast under the supervision of the national regulator and ISO. Sources: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/epr/experts/BosniaAndHerzegovina/UNDP/UNDP_Bosnia.pdf Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, Volume 1 edited by N.H. Afgan, R. Della Morte https://www.energy-community.org/portal/page/portal/ENC_HOME/AREAS_OF_WORK/Implementation/Bosnia_Herzegovina/Electricity http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/epr/experts/BosniaAndHerzegovina/UNDP/UNDP_Bosnia.pdf http://fipa.gov.ba/doc/brosure/Energy%20sector.pdf http://www.elektroprivreda.ba/eng/page/general-information

Behaviorism Essay -- Psychology Psychological Essays

Background and Description of Behaviorism in Relation to Learning The background of behaviorism is associated with many scientists. Behaviorism started back in 400 BC with Aristotle. Aristotle believed in association and that "the objects being associated are similar, or opposite, or near each other". Then, behaviorism came into play with Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist. He studied the behavior of dogs and how they would salivating (conditioned reflex) when shown just the food dish without food (conditioned stimulus or conditioned response). Next, John B. Watson wrote a book called Behavior, where he described psychology as the process where behavior can be predicted and controlled. Watson also studied how learning can be achieved through a repeated stimulus and specific responses. Edward Thorndike described behaviorism as "a description of a man’s mind is that it is his connection system, adapting the responses of thought, feeling, and action that he makes to the situation that he meets". Thorndike also studied how the "law of effect" a nd "law of exercise" affects a person’s learning abilities. In other words, if an individual is positively reinforced, without punishment, and if a stimulus was followed by a response with repeated practice, stronger learning would take place. One of the main behaviorist that will be discussed is B.F. Skinner. Skinner studied what individuals "do and don’t do" in relation to behavior. He also believed that the actions that people take are in response to whatever happened to them in their past. Skinner came up with the idea of "operant conditioning". In operant conditioning, the organism’s behavior (response) is controlled by the use of positive reinforcement (stimulus) (Behaviorism As a ... ...orida: Harcourt Brace & Company. Nnedu, Cordelia. (1997, November 19) Auburn University: Educational Foundations, Leaderships, and Technology. EM 600 Behaviorism. Retrieved on October 29, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/eflt/beh.html Ormrod, Jeanne, E. (1995). Human Learning. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Shrock, Sharon, A.(1995). A Brief History of Instructional Development. In G. Anglin (Ed.), Instructional technology: Past, Present and Future (p. 15-16). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. White, Andy. (1995) Theorist of Behaviorism. Retrieved on October 29, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~t377/btheorists.html UHCL Home Page: Behaviorism As A Learning Theory. (1995, June 13) Retrieved on October 29, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://inst.cl.uh.edu/inst5931/Behaviorism.html

The Mathematical Aspects of Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland Essay

The Mathematical Aspects of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland The story Alice in Wonderland was written about a little girl named Alice who was a child of the dean of the Church of Christ. Alice Liddell was the one who convinced Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) to write down the verbal story originally known as "Alice's Adventure Underground".Actually, the book is known by several different names, Alice's Hours in Elfand,Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Alice in Wonderland.I found it interesting that the Mid-Continent Public Library once listed the book under Lewis Carroll and has recently changed it to Charles L. Dodgson. If one looks on the side of the book, Carroll was actually crossed off and Dodgson written over(Lewis Carroll Biography, The Victorian Web). As I began reading the book Alice in Wonderland, it was very obvious that Lewis Carroll was a logical mathematician.The contemporary math class that I am currently taking has opened a new level of understanding for myself; if I had read the book anytime prior it would have read simply as an unusual child's fairytale.I find it interesting that the book Alice in Wonderland follows the first couple sections of our contemporary math book.I actually see the mathematics behind the story.I never knew that math could be turned into a fairytale(Johnson/Mowry 46-47). The book begins with Alice and her sister sitting by the bank as Alice grows tired.Alice believes she sees a white rabbit running by and decides to run after it.The rabbit jumps into a hole and Alice follows.I believe Lewis Carroll was a very intelligent man and like to state his complex ideas through the use of Alice: "for you see Alice had learned several things of this sort in her lessons in the sch... ...ting effect(Weber,Food ,Drink,and Public Health in the Alice Books). Works Cited Carroll,L.(1952). Alice in Wonderland.Philadelphia Toronto:The John C. Winston Company. Johnson,D.,& Mowry,T.(1988).Mathematics,A Practical Odyssey (3rd ed.). California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. Connell, Kate. Opium as a Possible Influence upon the Alice Books: December 1993. Brown University/Victorian Web. July 17,2000 <http://landow.stg.brown.ed/victorian/carroll/aiw14.html. Lewis Carroll: Biography: December 1992. Brown University/Victorian Web. July 17,2000<http//llandow.stg.brown.ed/victorian/carroll/dreamchild/creamchild2.html.> Weber,Anya.Food,Drink,andPublic Health in the Alice Books: December 1995. Brown University/Victorian Web.July18,2000 <http://landow.stg.brown.ed/Victorian/Carroll/weber.html.> Reflection - Alice in Wonderland

Planning for Business Growth and Expansion Essay

There is a tremendous amount of information to be considered when starting a business. Not only is there planning for the business you are experiencing at the current moment, to maintain success an owner must plan ahead for growth and expansion. This planning should include the structure of the company as it grows as well as planning for any type of business product. I plan to discuss the detailed projects and plan regarding growth and expansion of a dot. com start up and the challenges that may be faced along the way. Business Phases The business at hand is a dot. om start up that involves renting apartments to students. Phase One (see example page 6) has five employees. The original organizational structure of the company had three Salespersons, one Accounting/ Billing person, and the owner. The owner handles all of the apartment maintenance, is an extra salesperson and performs any extra duties as needed. Organizational structure helps to define how Job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated, (Robbins, 2010). The Salespersons and the Accounting person are specialized into their departments but due to the small size of the company there may be some overlap in duties. Phase Two (see example page 6) has developed very quickly and without planning. The company is currently at 30 employees and has grown 500% over the last six months. This growth has required a more in depth look at each individual Job and has required more work specialization. Work specialization is the degree to which activities are subdivided into separate Jobs, (Robbins, 2010). A manager has been brought in to strengthen the chain of command and manage all the processes and employees to ensure each area is running smoothly. At this point, the small size is still manageable but the chain of command is not a hard and fast rule with the wner still very involved in the day to day aspects of the business. The owner still makes all of the decision regarding the business and is an example of a Centralized management style. Challenges of the business at this point can be no formal Job descriptions, Jobs getting lost in the shuffle due to business growth and the owner and manager trying to run the business at the same time. Phase Three (see example page 7) of the business becomes more involved in a variety of ways. Once a company grows to fifty employees, the majority of labor laws begin to apply. The next forecast for growth is for two hundred employees and is rojected for one year out. We begin to see a more de-centralized approach as operations of their departments and are responsible for carrying out the objectives set by the owner. Human Resources is formed to manage the legal employee aspects of a company this size as well as recruiting, new hire orientations, payroll and any type of employee relations issues. The Sales Department has the largest growth due to the fact that this department brings in the most revenue. As this department continues to grow, support staff will be needed to manage calendars, maintain files and any other as needed duties. Where the sales staff may have been creating their own documents when the company was smaller, they may now rely on administrative help to perform their general maintenance of documentation. As the company grows, an Information Technology Department will be needed to create a network for the business and ensure all employees have the technology they need. Sales representatives may require laptops as opposed to regular employees that can use a stand-alone personal computer. As growth continues, problems will occur which presents the need for a Help Desk department to correct computer roblems and help employees manage day to day technology challenges. As the company expands, so does the need for Maintenance. The Maintenance staff is responsible for cleaning and preparing an apartment to rent when an old renter moves out. They are also responsible for responding to any problems with the rental units. In addition to the rental units, some maintenance employees will be assigned to cleaning and maintaining the corporate building that houses the employees. Looking to the future, it is important to plan ahead to and create a formalized structure. The owner should create a mission statement and yearly goals to share ith the employee. Human Resources should have formal Job descriptions for each job title in the company. An appraisal process should be implemented and as the company grows, career paths should be created. There should be a formal employee orientation process with a well thought out socialization process. â€Å"The most important socialization stage is at the time of entry into the organization. This is the time to mold the employee into an employee in good standing†, (Robbins, 2010). If an employee is not socialized properly and allowed to flourish in their position, they may be frustrated, resign, or cause problems within the department. Each department should have their own formal policies and goals that tie into the corporate goals of the company. It is important to formalize all policies and procedures in an effort to protect the company from law-suits and employee ethics charges. Formalized policies will make it clear what the company stands for and how to enforce the rules and regulations. It will also be necessary to create an employee management process for employees that are not performing up to standard. A written policy will enable managers to follow-through with employee performance issues and not miss any steps that could create a liability for the company. Phase Four (see example page 8) of the Growth and Expansion plan is for two into specific roles and models. The division of labor is highly specialized and grouped into individual departments. Each individual department reports into their department manager creating a decentralized management process. Each manager then reports into the owner which is an example of a centralized management chain of command. The current set-up of each department utilizes a Bureaucratic organizational design style. Each department will have highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, (Robbins, 2010). All of the company policies and rocedures should have been developed and enforced. As the company continues to grow, each individual department will need to be assessed to evaluate if the current reporting structures is effective. Rapid growth will require the additions of sub- categories such as assistant manager or supervisors that report to the individual department manager. Additional support Jobs may be needed and lor more specialized Jobs may be created as the business grows and changes. The company will need to learn to react to the changing external environment of the business which could require changes to the organizational design process or structure of the ompany. Conclusion Starting a business can happen from inspiration or simply a great idea as in the example for our study. There is much more to consider beyond the product itself. Organizational design and culture can make or break a company and be the determining factor as to whether your employees will stay and flourish or leave for a competitor.