What does it mean to be human What makes one human Essay

What does it mean to be human What makes one human - Essay Example The early humans scattered to different environments where their sizes and shapes evolved helping them adapt to the climatic conditions. The change in their diets brought about the change in their sizes and shapes. Due to the harsh conditions of weather the ancient man faced, their brains became more complex and large to deal with the challenges. The aspect of food sharing, networking and taking care of young ones helped these people tackle their challenges. Symbols transformed the manner in which humans lived and brought new ways to tackle the changing world (American Anthropology Association, pp.385) What does it take to become human? What is about to be discussed in this paper will answer the question adequately. The origin of human tackles the important aspect of the question. To know how to be human is partially what it is to be human not only as common species but unique persons. To answer this question is a process that involves adaptions to change in climate, geographic expan sions and stops at Homo sapiens. If an individual was to walk through exhibitions in Sant Ocean room, one would go through a tunnel which draws back one in time, making an individual have a rough idea of life may looked like for extinct human species. To start with is a panel that outlines the relationship between climate change and human evolution. Contradicting the idea of humans evolving in reaction to an ancestral environment or change in climate, it has been suggested that the adaptation hypothesis to change in climate in itself had implications on human evolution (Goldsmith and Rabinowich, pp.2) The first argument to the question about what makes us human will be done by relation of context and background on which humans fit tree-life. There is a human tree that has been generalized that feature the widely accepted early human extinct species grouped into four main categories, with 5 skulls and family tree of the primate illustrating how DNA association shows our relationships to those living primates. Apart from that evidence, there is an astonishing display of a constructed full body of 3.1 million year old, most probably the early fossils of the Australopithecus. Instead of collecting evidence on the question of discussion, the display takes a very unique approach in the organization of evidence to human character; the things that make humans unique. This is inclusive of walking on two legs and upright, eating other new foods, use of new tools, body size and shape changes, complex and large brains, unique aspect of the social life and symbolism and language. The characteristics define the display organized in a chronological order like walking followed by making stone tools, followed by changes in the body shape and size of humans, with evidence of evolution and origin of every characteristic inclusive of interactives, touchables, videos and object. Some other evidence that can answer the question at stake in the gallery is the snap shots. The interac tive, dynamic, large screen occurrences allow individuals to go into the pre historic sites and explore an indication on what took place. How do people know their past? The question is common for science such as paleoanthropology and a topic for human origins hall. How do people know? There are labels everywhere around the exhibit; answers are provided for common question on how the fossils are known to be human, knowing of fossils age, knowing of changes in climate in the ancient period. Every label is inclusive of what the exhibit mean in science. Among the objectives of exhibition is presentation of evidence on human evolution. A close computer specialist allows individuals to have an intensive exploration of the differences and similarities among ancient

Customer Service and Design Alternative Courses Essay Example for Free

Customer Service and Design Alternative Courses Essay Case 1. TECSMART ELECTRONICS Identify the problem: Formulate objectives: Design alternative courses of action: Analysis of the ACA: a. advantages b. drawbacks Conclusion: Recommendation: Case 2. CAN SIX SIGMA WORK IN HEALTH CARE? Identify the problem: New culturein the hospital Formulate objectives:  · To be able to make it easy to employees and all staffs the new framework to be used.  · Design alternative courses of action: Analysis of the ACA: a. advantages b. drawbacks Conclusion: Recommendation: Case 3. TOYOTA MOTO CORPORATION, LTD. Identify the problem: Losing quality products. Formulate objectives:  · To be able to consitently provide quality products.  · To be able to regain quality edge. Design alternative courses of action:  · Inspect every process in the production system to ensure delivery of quality products to customers. Analysis of the ACA: a. Advantages:  · High quality products.  · Customers satisfaction to products. b. Drawbacks:  · Costly  · Time-consuming Conclusion: Toyota became a victim of its own success. Because of its focus in becoming the number one auto maker in the world, it affected its product quality. Customers began to face safety related problems in Toyota vehicles. Toyota had sacrificed its legendary quality and ignored its own management principles and customers. Recommendation: I would recommend them to forget their own pride in having their own principles and management, if it will lead them to a low quality products and unsatisfied customers. It is good if they would focus on providing quality and always conduct an inspection before giving away products to customer to ensure quality. Case 4. THE NIGHTMARE ON TELECOM STREET Identify the problem: Inefficient customer service system. Formulate objectives:  · To be able to improve cutomer service experience.  · To be able to provide quality service to customers.  · To be able to provide efficient service.  · To be able to give fast transaction. Design alternative course of action:  · Recreate the customer service system  · Hire additional customer service representatives to entertain calls Analysis of the ACA: a. Advantages:  · Customer satisfaction to efficient service.  · The more the employess, the more persons can facilitate customers need to entertain their needs and concerns. b. Drawbacks:  · More cost is shouldered by the firm.  · Time-consuming. Conclusion: In order to satisfy customers need to be entertain, the firm is in a need of new employees. As a customer myself, I also get pissed of to systems like this because it is very time consuming. Recommendation: I would highly recommend to hire more employees in order for the customers need to be entertain urgently and efficiently. If it is possible to reform the system, it is much better.

Synthesis and Characterization of Nylon-6,6 Polymer

Synthesis and Characterization of Nylon-6,6 Polymer Abstract Synthesis and characterization of nylon-6,6 polymer was performed in this experiment. Nylon-6,6, was obtained from adipoyl chloride and 1,6-hexanediamine monomers, dissolved in cyclohexane and water. Employing interfacial polymerization technique, thin film of nylon product was formed and collected. The final product were white peaces of small fragile strings with a total mass of 0.0694 g and 4 cm in length. Infrared spectroscopy then characterized the final product and confirmed successeful synthesis of nylon-6,6 polymer due to the appearance of N-H stretching, C=O stretching, and N-H bending from the secondary amide group and from the nylon polymer. Introduction Polymers are macromolecules consisting of smaller subunits, called monomers.4 There are two main types of synthetic polymers, according to the mechanism by which they are synthetically made: step- growth and chain-growth polymers.4 One of the most popular synthetic polymers is nylon-6,6 due to low cost and ease of synthesis. There is no human activity where plastics are not used on a daily basis. Nylon in particular is widely used, due to variety of properties such as: elasticity, flexibility, lightweight and strength.5 Clothing, electronics, packaging, cars, airplanes, medical supplies, cookware, ropes all examples of nylon fabrics.5 In this experiment nylon is made by step- growth polymerization and condensation reaction. The monomers involved in this polymerization reaction are adipoyl chloride and 1,6-hexanediamine dissolved in cyclohexane, respectively. The chloride from the acid and the hydrogen proton from the amine group form a hydrochloric acid.4 The rest of the adipoyl chloride and hexanediamine will link together to form a larger polymer molecule. In each end of this polymer is a primary amine group in one end or an acid chloride group in the other end.4 These groups can act in a similar way with other acid/amine groups from the adipoyl chloride and hexanediamine. If many steps of this process are repeated, nylon-6,6 polymer will be formed.4 Hydrochloric acid is generated as a byproduct upon nylon formation, therefore a strong base must be added to neutralize the acidity of HCl, and maintain the pH of the solution. In this experiment sodium hydroxide was used as base. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy will be applied as method of characterization. It will provide information regarding   functional groups present in a molecule because the location of the absorption peaks observed have been associated with specific types of chemical bonds.6 It could be determine which functional groups from the starting monomers, are present in the nylon spectrum. Results Table 1: Nylon-6,6 Polymer Mass of nylon-6,6 0.0694 g Length 4 cm Appearance White fragile strings Table 2: IR spectrum of adipoyl chloride Functional Group Molecular Motion Observed Wavenumber (cm-1) Literature Value Range(cm-1) Peak Intensity Peak Shape   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alkane C-H Stretch 2952.44 3000-2850 Weak Broad Acyl chloride C=O Stretch 1779.80 1820-1780 Weak Sharp Alkane C-H in plane bend 1404.56 1480-1350 Medium Sharp Acyl chloride C-Cl Stretch 681.43 800-600 Strong Sharp Table 3: IR spectrum of 1,6- hexanediamine Functional Group Molecular Motion Observed Wavenumber (cm-1) Literature Value Range(cm-1) Peak Intensity Peak Shape 1 ° amine N-H Stretch 3323.78 3300-3250 Medium Sharp Alkane C-H Assym. Stretch 2921.17 3000-2850 Strong Sharp Alkane C-H Sym. Stretch 2846.91 3000-2850 Strong Sharp 1 ° amine N-H Bend 1603.91 1640-1530 Medium Sharp Table 4: IR spectrum of nylon-6,6 polymer Functional Group Molecular Motion Observed Wavenumber (cm-1) Literature Value Range(cm-1) Peak Intensity Peak Shape 2 ° amide N-H Stretch 3299.0 3300-3250 Strong Sharp Alkane C-H Assym. Stretch 2932.0 3000-2850 Medium Sharp Alkane C-H Sym. Stretch 2859.0 3000-2850 Medium Sharp 2 ° amide C=O Stretch 1636.0 1680-1640   Ã‚   Strong Sharp 2 ° amide N-H   Bend 1538.0 1560-1530 Medium Sharp Discussion In this experiment, sythesis of nylon-6,6 was carried out. The final product had an appearance of white pieces of small fragile strings with a total mass of 0.0694 g and 4 cm in length. A way of improving the yield could be: different molar ratios of water to solvent; changing the solvent. No theorytical yield could be calculated for this reaction because all the polymer chains will have   variety of different lengths.1 The ability of nylon-6,6 to undergo hydrogen bonding results in high molecular order and high degree of interchain interaction as shown below2 (Figure 1). Each single chain of nylon fiber will interact with the adjacent one, forming a hydrogen bond between the nitrogen proton of the secondary amide and the lone pairs of the oxygen on the carbonyl, thus making the nylon polymers strong, difficult to separate and resistant to outside reaction.2 The signals for the IR spectrum of adipoyl chloride, are presented in Table 2. The spectrum shows the characteristic weak and narrow alkane peak, C-H stretch at 2952.44 cm-1. This value was within the range 3000-2850 cm-1 for the secondary alkane functional groups.   The weak and sharp C=O stretch appeared at 1779.80 cm-1 thus correlating with the literature value 1820-1780 cm-1. A C-H bend for alkanes should appear at 1480-1350 cm-1, which did appear at 1404.56 cm-1 as a medium and sharp peak. A C-Cl stretch was observed at 681.43 cm-1, within the expected range of 800-600 cm-1. This peak appeared weak to strong and sharp. The IR spectrum for 1,6-hexanediamine exhibits the following stretches: N-H stretch; N-H bend; alkane C-H asymmetric stretch; and an alkane C-H symmetric stretch. The primary amine is causing the N-H stretch. The literature value for this stretch is from 3300 to 3250 cm-1, which corresponds to the experimental value of 3323.78 cm-1. The peak intensity is medium and the shape is sharp. There is another sharp peak with medium intensity caused by the primary amine as well, which appear to be a N-H bend. The experimental value of 1603.91 cm-1 correlates well with the literature value range of 1640-1530 cm-1. There is C-H asymmetric stretch observed at 2921.17 cm-1 and it corresponds to the literature value range of 3000-2850 cm-1, caused by the alkane. It exhibited strong intensity. The C-H symmetric stretch falls in the appropriate range of literature values 3000-2850 cm-1 and it is caused by the alkane as well (See table 3). Analysis of IR spectrum of nylon-6,6 polymer showed successful synthesis. There were five distinct peaks associated with this compound include the following: N-H stretch; C=O stretch; C-H symmetric stretch; C-H antisymmetric stretch; and N-H bend. The N-H stretch had an observed peak value of 3300.81 cm-1 and its caused by the secondary amine. It correlates well with the literature values of 3300-3250 cm-1 and with the N-H stretch of 1,6-hexadiamine at 3323.78 cm-1. The two peaks have the same shapes, just slightly different intensities. Nylon-6,6 has strong intensity whereas the 1,6- hexanediamine, medium one. The C=O stretch had an observed peak value of 1634.04 cm-1. It falls within the expected literature values for this peak 1300-1100 cm-1. It appears at lower wavelength, compared to the adipoyl chloride. The proximity of the carbonyl to the nitrogen, lowers the energy of that stretch, due to interchain molecular interactions3. The alkane C-H assymetric and symmetric stretches e vident at 2932 cm-1 and 2832 cm-1 are nearly identical with the C-H stretches of 1,6- hexanediamine (See Tables 2 and 3). Differing only in their intensities- medium for the nylon and strong for the 1,6- hexanediamine.   All of the observed values fall within their literature range. The N-H bend at 1538 cm-1 with medium intensity and sharp peak, is caused by the secondary amide. It is in the accepted literature data of 1560-1530 cm-1. The major peak not present in the nylon-6,6 spectrum and evident in the starting material spectra for adipoyl chloride is the C-Cl stretch. The acyl chloride stretch is missing because there is no chlorine in the nylon composition, thus explaining why there are no observed stretches below 1000 cm-1. The other major difference is the N-H stretch observed at 3323.78 cm-1 in the hexanediamine spectrum, which appears at lower wavelength and becoming one peak for a secondary amide in the nylon spectrum. Conclusion This experiment demonstrated successful synthesis of nylon-6,6 polymer. It was accomplished using infrared spectroscopy technique. The IR analysis revealed the appearance of N-H stretching, C=O stretching and N-H bending from a secondary amide group and from the nylon polymer. It showed that there is no C-Cl stretch explaining the absence of chlorine in the nylon polymer as well as the N-H observed on the hexanediamine spectrum, appears on a lower wavelength as a secondary amide in the nylon spectrum. The final product had an appearance of white pieces of small fragile strings with a total mass of 0.0694 g and 4 cm. However, this experiments allows for multiple errors; such as improper pipetting technique; improper washing technique; incorrect rate of taking out the nylon product from the reaction beaker.   A chemical error could be not adding enough sodium hydroxide to neutralize the acidity of HCl, not allowing the reaction to be pushed towards the product.

Synesthesia and the Nature of Perception Essay example -- Biology Essa

Synesthesia and the Nature of Perception Although scientists do not fully understand the workings of the brain and perception, the basic concept seems fairly simple on an intuitive level. The brain interprets one set of stimuli in a specific way. Certain people with synesthesia, however, can experience a single stimulus in different ways. Are they naturally predisposed to hear red? Do these people have extra neural connections allowing them to taste green? Some scientists claim that all humans begin their lives as synaesthetes until they learn to differentiate their senses. It brings into question the nature of perception, and how the brain perceives reality. Synaesthetes experience "cross-modal" associations involuntarily, so that the feeling of one sense stimulates the sensations of another (1). Five features for clinical synesthesia exist (1): People with the rare condition of synesthesia experience it passively, but it requires a certain stimulus to elicit a response. The individual projects the sensations into his peri-personal space. The sensations do not change over time, and are generic, unelaborated sensory perceptions. In addition, the experiences are very memorable; one subject said that "he was merely a passive observer as the reminiscence unfolded itself" (1). Experiments with a single synesthetic subject show perfect consistency for colour descriptions of words, compared to a 17% consistency rate of a control subject with similar intelligence and memory levels (3). Not only did the subject seem genuine, based on her high level of consistency, but she gave far more detailed and vivid descriptions of the associated colours than the control subject. In a larger group of nine subjects, the consistency rate fo... ...until the brain learns to separate sensations. The source of the connections, the limbic brain, still serves as an emotional guide to the rational objective world, giving reality different perspective for each individual. Internet Sources 1)http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-10-cytowic.html, in Psyche 2)http://www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/isa/whatis.html, Overview on the ISA homepage 3)http://www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/isa/expinv.html, Experiments on the ISA website 4) http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond/synth.html,paper on Synesthesia 5)http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-27-baron_cohen.html, in Psyche 6)http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9511/synesthesia/, article on CNN 7)http://www.ad-i.com/viral/what/synes2.html, paper by Kamel 8)http://www.healthlink.usa/synesthesia.html,health information about synesthesia from Healthlink

Animal Testing Discussion Essay -- Ethical Issues, Animal Ethics

The major ancient philosophers, Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes, argue that animals lack a moral status because they do not engage in rational thought, are not conscious, and do not behave morally (Wilson, 2001). However, contrary to their beliefs, non-human animals do display the characteristics that Aquinas and Descartes claim qualifies humans for a moral status. In this paper, I will argue that animals should have an equal moral status to that of humans. This is due to the lack of relevant differences between humans and animals in the areas of thinking rationally, having a conscience, and behaving morally. This paper will be organized into three main sections. The first section â€Å"Background Information† will introduce the broader subject of animal ethics. The second section, â€Å"The Argument,† will begin by presenting arguments from philosophers, including Rene Descartes and Thomas Aquinas. In this section, I will discuss why these philosophers refuse to give non-human animals a moral status. Next, I will be supporting the second premise by appealing to recent examples in the animal kingdom, and by referring to arguments from Peter Singer and Robert Garner. Finally, I will conclude in the final section, â€Å"Conclusion,† by asserting that because humans and animals have a lack of relevant differences (with respect to what makes humans moral beings), animals do have a moral status. So, what does the animal ethics issue deal with? First, there are still many problems with the way we treat animals today. It is not an exaggeration, as some say, when animal rights activists point out that humans submit animals to unimaginable atrocities. To test for the safety of a shampoo, for example, rats are subject to ex... ...als may not have exactly the same emotions and interests as humans, but their respective properties must be taken into consideration because every life form must be treated with respect. Finally, as a way to wrap up this paper, I will appeal to a video from Chile that involves a stray dog rescuing a second stray dog (â€Å"Hero Dog†). In this video, a dog spots another dog who had been hit by a car. The dog goes to the middle of the highway and attempts to help the injured dog by using its front paws to drag it to the side of the highway and into safety. The dog had no benefit in helping the second dog. In fact, it put itself in danger because it was crossing a busy highway and could have been hit. Therefore, the dog went above its basic instinct (contrary to Aquinas’s argument that non-human animals act on pure instinct). What can this â€Å"hero† dog’s behavior tell us?

McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Essay

Introduction McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) is the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. McDonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts. More recently, it has begun to offer salads, wraps and fruit. Many McDonald’s restaurants have included a playground for children and advertising geared toward children, and some have been redesigned in a more ‘natural’ style, with a particular emphasis on comfort: introducing lounge areas and fireplaces, and eliminating hard plastic chairs and tables. Each McDonald’s restaurant is operated by a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporations’ revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company operated restaurants. McDonald’s revenues grew 27% over the three years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9% growth in operating income to $3.9 billion. McDonalds’s success is the result of superior products, high standards of performance, distinctive competitive strategies and the high integrity of our people. Approximately 85% of McDonald’s restaurant businesses world-wide are owned and operated by franchisees .All franchisees are independent, full-time operators. McDonalds Vision Mission Statement and Values * Vision: To be the best & leading fast food providers around the globe. * Mission: To be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.† * Values: Our values summarized in â€Å"Q.S.C & V†. Provide good quality, services to customer . Have cleanliness environment when customer enjoys their meal .The value of food product makes every customer is smiling. Management structure Managing Director Head of MarketingDirector of FinanceHuman Resource head Accounts Manager Senior marketing executiveFinance managerEmployees Marketing executive Brand ManageResearch & Development officer Assistant Brand Manager Customer service managerProduct Development Sales managerMarket research TeamCompensation officer Branch managerRecruitment & Selection Training & Development Branch employees Porters Five Forces(in reference to McDonalds) Competitive rivalry According to Porter’s Five Forces Model, if entry into a market is easy then rivalry is likely to be high. Considering McDonald’s competitive rivalry, there is intense competition in fast food industry that many small fast food businesses fight with each other to improve their customer base. This makes a competition the major focus between businesses. Although, McDonald’s, with more than 32,000 local restaurants serving more than 60 million people in 117 countries each day, has a number of fast food outlet competitors across the countries such as Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy’s, it is currently the leader of the industry in market capitalization with a cap of $39.31 billion. The Threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants in the fast food industry is high because there are no legal barriers which would keep them from entering the industry. The economies of scale and the access of the distribution are the major barriers that firms face in the industry. Firms must spend a large amount of capital on advertising and marketing in order to enjoy successful existence and long life of a fast food outlet. Large established companies with strong brand names such as McDonald’s make it more difficult to enter the market because new entrants are faced with price competition from existing chain restaurants. Thus, it takes a pretty much time for a new business to establish in the fast food industry. Supplier bargaining power The bargaining power of suppliers of McDonald’s is high because McDonald’s restaurants use the same products from the same suppliers and it doesn’t matter if you are in Rochester, MN or Beijing, China you can get the same Big Mac everywhere. This is a feature McDonald’s want to keep going on by encouraging consistency among its restaurants. Supplying these products to McDonald’s across the globe is the whole business for the suppliers and, however, if McDonald’s would lose even one supplier it would have to change one or more of its product lines and perhaps the whole menu what the McDonald’s customers were used to. This gives the suppliers of McDonald’s a high bargaining power. Buyer bargaining power Bargaining power of customers of McDonald’s is low because of low customer switching costs which are nearly zero; however, for example, one-fifth of the USA population eats in a fast food restaurant every day. Thus, fast food industry does not worry about customers’ loyalty. Fast food products industry is differentiated which are usually or almost always promoted by advertising – that is because of a vast competition between fast food firms Furthermore, if the fast food industry does not match the demands of the buyers and the general consumer trends, then the buyers can choose not to buy their product and convince others to do the same. A good example of this is the movie ‘Super Size Me’. It is a movie showing an ordinary consumer trying to live of McDonalds fast food, and the purpose of the movie was to see what the traditional fast food from McDonalds could do to your health if you were to eat their products for every meal. This movie shows what the buyers possible reactions could be if not satisfied or not being pleased. The reactions from the whole market were a large change in consumer preferences and brand preferences. The Threat of Substitutes With so many firms in the fast food industry with low switching costs, vide variety of similar products that people can chose, and healthier alternatives, the threat of substitutes is very high.As there is intense competition between rival sellers in the fast food industry, the competition between firms selling substitute products is intense as well. One very important issue is that the customer always tends to find another product comparable or better in terms of the quality of fast food products. Another thing is that fast food industry is unhealthy to its customers’ health. The majority of the public think that fast food restaurants primarily serve high in fat content foods which are unhealthy and as a consequence they tend to look elsewhere for healthier alternatives. While fast food products are not always associated with health and quality, fast food restaurants keeps a major advantage over other firms selling substitute products through the lower prices of their products and a quick, convenient service. Competitive Profile Matrix The above matrix re-establishes McDonald’s supremacy in the fast food market. * Pricing: McDonalds certainly gets an edge on the pricing front. Its competitors like Wendy’s are rapidly proliferating high-quality burger chains like Five Guys. Wendy’s has more premium products on its menu and therefore is relatively highly priced. The line â€Å"apke zamane mein baap ke zamane kaa daam† reinforces pricing edge enjoyed by McDonalds. They follow the value based pricing strategy * Financial Position: Wendy’s sales as in 2011 was 8.5 billion dollars closely competing with Burger King at 8.4 billion dollars. However McDonalds total sales were 27 billion dollars that is more than three times of its competitors. * Advertisement : McDonalds spends on an average 6 percent of its sales on advertisement. Slogans like â€Å"I am loving it† are really catchy and every McDonalds customer can associate with it. Also McDonalds can be seen using a marketing mixture by being there as a sponsor for Olympics to TV advertisement. However McDonalds generally doesn’t use print media. * Market Share: McDonalds market share is much more than its competitors and all the above factors such as pricing, quality, marketing strategy have played their role in this. * Global Expansion: McDonalds high sales are a result of its global expansion. McDonalds has its presence in 119 countries and serves 68 million customers daily which is way more than any of its competitors. Since its inception, McDonalds has consistently emphasized on restaurant operations procedures, service, quality and cleanliness. Here are a few milestones which the firm accomplished: 1. Hamburger University: It is a training facility which was designed to instruct personnel employed by McDonald’s in the various aspects of restaurant management. More than 80,000 restaurant managers, mid-managers and owner/operators have graduated from this facility. It is also located in Shanghai, China. 2. The Big Mac: The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti, who was operating several restaurants in the Pittsburgh area.It was introduced in 1967. The sandwich was so popular that it was added to the menu of all the U.S restaurants by 1968. 3. Happy Meal: A Happy Meal is a form of kids’ meal specifically marketed at childrensince June 1979. A toy is typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a box or paper bag with the McDonald’s logo. Frequently, the packaging and toy are part of a marketing tie-in to a popular film, TV show, or toy-line. 4. Drive-Thru: The first McDonald’s drive-through was created in 1975 in Arizona on a military base to serve soldiers who weren’t permitted to get out of their cars while wearing fatigues.McDonald’s drive-through service is called McDrive. 5. McDonaldization: McDonaldization is a term used by a sociologist, George Ritzer. It occurs when a culture possesses the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Its five components are Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, Control and Culture. 6. Plan to Win Strategy This strategy was adopted in 2003 with its strategic focus on being better and not just bigger. The 4 P’s of this strategy were People, Place, Price and Product. SWOT Analysis Strength * McDonalds holds a very strong brand name worldwide.. * It is said that McDonalds was the first food outlet to provide its customers with nutritional facts. Nutrition information is printed on all packaging and more recently added to the McDonald’s Internet site. McDonalds offers salads, fruit, roasted chicken, bottled water and other low fat and calorie conscious alternatives. * McDonald’s uses only 100% pure USDA inspected beef, no fillers or additives. Additionally the produce is farm fresh. McDonald’s serves 100% farm raised chicken no fillers or additives and only grade-A eggs. McDonald’s foods are purchased from only certified and inspected suppliers. McDonalds works closely with ranchers, growers and suppliers to ensure food quality and freshness. * Loyal employees and management and customers is their biggest strength * McDonalds makes sure that cultural and regional barriers are kept in mind while providing food to different countries. * Clean environment and play areas for children where they can enjoy their time. Weakness * The weakness that hits the list is the employee turnover rate. Every year many of their employees are fired out of the restaurant * Health conscious people seldom complain that they do not provide us with the organic and healthy food. This becomes their weakness when they get in the complaints. Opportunities * Discounts given on every food item may help them gain more customers. * In today’s health conscious societies the introduction of a healthy hamburger is a great opportunity. They would be the first QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) to have FDA approval on marketing a low fat low calorie hamburger with low calorie combo alternatives. Currently McDonald’s and its competition health choice items do not include hamburgers. * In order to be environment friendly, they can use packing material which can be recycled later or material that does not create pollution. Threats * Emerging competition of similar outlets is becoming a problem for McDonalds. They have a threat of local food outlets in different countries. * As it is a multinational food outlet, fluctuations in the currency of other countries becomes a problem for such companies * Political factors Political Factors The international operations of McDonald’s are extremely under influence of a policy of the separate state put into practice by each government. For example, there are certain groups in Europe and the United States, which demand the acts of governmental power concerning medical values of meal of fast food. They have specified that harmful elements as cholesterol and negative influences as fatness are concerning consumption of products of fast food. Economic factors The organizations in the fast food industry aren’t excused from any disputes and problems. Definitely, they really have the separate problems involving business factors. Branches and privileges of networks of the enterprises of fast service as McDonald’s has a tendency to experience difficulty in cases where the economy of the corresponding states is amazed by inflation and changes in exchange rates. Clients hence face a survey stalemate through their separate budgets, whether they should spend more on these foreign networks of the enterprises of fast food. Hence, to these chains, possibly, it is necessary to take out problems of effects of economic environment. Especially, their problem depends on the answer of consumers to these main principles and how it could influence their general sales. In an estimation of operations of the company, food chains as McDonald’s tend to import the biggest part of the raw materials to certain territory if there is a delivery lack. Exchange rate fluctuations will also play an essential role in company’s operations. The company’s international supply as well as the existing exchange rates is merely a part of the overall components needed to guarantee success for the foreign operations of McDonald’s. It is besides obligatory, that the company has been informed on the existing tax requirements needed by the separate governments on which they operate. It basically guarantees smooth operations of McDonald’s privileges. In the same relation the company should consider also a state economic situation on which they influence. Level at which the economy of special state grows, defines purchasing capacity of consumers in that country. Hence, if the privilege works in the especially economically weak state, then their products should cost above than other existing products in the market, these privileges should take certain regulators to support economy at the expense of manufacture growth. Social The main reason is the consumers’ worries had greatly increased with health fears so customers now opted for healthier options like subway, which offered more of a variety for health conscious customers. Social Considerations: To ease customers concern about health issues, McDonald’s has made changes to the following; McDonalds changed its image vastly by evaluating the current menu and making changes to it from using organic products to revising the whole menu entirely by offering salads and vegetarian burgers. McDonald’s serves a range of high-quality foods that can fit into a balanced diet. The accurate and accessible nutrition information help guests make informed menu choices. Social Considerations Emphasis on food safety: McDonald’s suppliers have food safety management systems in place, including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), a verified Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan and crisis management, food security and other applicabl e programs Technology Technological Advantages McDonald’s has taken advantage of technology to streamline their processes and improve efficiency. Through technology enhancements such as FPI’s Help Desk Service, network and application consolidation, and other technology implementations, operations of the company are greatly improved. Technological Advantages: * Technological Advantages Touch Order Allows You To Place Order At McDonald’s Via handset. * T The customers can place their order directly from their tables, dubbed as â€Å"Touch Order†. It’s the first self-ordering system in the world to use RFID* Technology Spotlight. * McDonald’s has also implemented technology to improve supply chain management, and allows customers to access this information to make more informed decisions about what they eat. Supply Chain They strive to ensure that every step of the McDonald’s supply chain contributes positively to the safety, quality and availability of their final products. They also want their product ingredients to be produced in ways that contribute positively to the development of sustainable agricultural and food manufacturing practices. Since McDonald’s does not actually produce any of the food they ultimately serve their customers, it’s essential that they work with suppliers who share our values, and we do. They have a large number of direct suppliers – companies that make or deliver final products for their restaurants as well as an even larger number of indirect suppliers companies and farms that grow or process the ingredients that are eventually delivered to their direct suppliers. They work closely with their direct suppliers to continuously improve the practices that impact their employees, their communities, the environment, their own suppliers and, of course, McDonald’s customers. Profit Pyramid Model The key is to get customers to buy at a low price, low price, entry point and move them upto high price and high margin products where the company makes its profit. For example McDonalds uses products like Mc Aloo Tikki to get the customer inside the restaurant. Once the customer establishes a taste for its products his focus is shifted to products belonging to the higher strung of the ladder such as Mc Paneer Spicy, Chicken Maharaja Wrap etc. This is where it makes it profit. Thus McDonalds follows a Profit Pyramid Model. Corporate strategy Corporate level strategy fundamentally is concerned with the selection of businesses in which the company should compete and with the development and coordination of that portfolio of businesses. McDonald’s is engaged in. Mc Donald’s only deals in the restaurant business, so its corporate strategy is a single business unit strategy, likely of growth. Business strategy: A strategic business unit may be a division, product line, or other profit center that can be planned independently from the other business units of the firm.McDonald’s has pursued two strategies since 2003. To keep up with rapidly changing consumer preferences, demographics, and spending patterns, McDonald’s has introduced new items (Premium Chicken sandwiches and the Angus Beef Burger) and campaigns to create more healthy foods (Premium Salads). The strategy reflects the philosophy that novelty, as opposed to loyalty to traditional products, is the key determinant of sales in the fast food industry. McDonald’s has also focused on increasing sales at existing restaurants instead of opening new ones. To do so, McDonald’s has remodelled many restaurants, kept stores open longer, and increased menu options. Marketing Strategy McDonalds uses marketing mixture by using the different sources of media to reach the consumer: * Medium: Marketing medium of McDonalds ranges from TV advertisement to sponsoring the Olympics.It normally doesn’t use the print media for advertisement. * Branding: When someone says McDonald’s things like the golden arches ,Ronald McDonald Big Mac, etc come automatically comes to our mind. McDonald’s is loaded with brand images that are embedded into our souls from a very early age, and the company’s influence has been profound. * They Speak to the Children: McDonalds has established strong relationships in their brand by marketing directly to children, and giving them the products they want—little meals with lots of color, happy faces, and a toy (hence, Happy Meal). Core Competency The only core competency that Mc Donalds has is developing localized products. We can explain this with the example of the products that were provided to their French customers. They included beer in their menu. All their hamburgers also included a tinge of mustard to it since the French are extremely fond of mustard sauce. To overcome their unhealthy image they also began to include salads in their menu. In Thailand some of their dishes also included rice since all their meals have rice. To cater to the taste buds of Indians they have started dishes like Paneer McSpicy. McDonalds also focuses mostly on children by providing Happy Meals and toys along with it which attract the kids. There no other fast food brand which has customized its product to such an extent and therefore it is a core competency for McDonalds. Distinctive Competency The distinctive competencies of McDonalds are as follows: * Price * Standardized products * Quick service VRIO Analysis * Value: McDonalds provides value to the customer’s because of its competitive pricing. There are not many brands which can match the same prcing, standardized product, quality which McDonalds provides therefore it does provide value to the customer’s. * Rareness: McDonald’s approach towards children is very rare and no other competitor has the same to this extent. Also localizing their products is one more rare feature of this brand. * Imitability: Designing a business model which has been successful in 119 countries with annual sales of 27 billion dollars and with so much brand recognition is definitely not easy to imitate. * Organization: They exploit their resources because they cater to the local customers in an extremely efficient manner.

English Creative Writing

Creative writing first draft In today's modern society, media is everywhere. Even at an early stage in life, people are heavily exposed to media. According to a study concluded by Kaiser Family Foundation (2010), teenagers spend about 53 hours per week on different sort of media; such as television, internet, and film. As it has become a huge part of people's everyday lives, one may question what role this plays in terms of shaping the opinions and positions of the younger generation. In my opinion, the mass media has got a huge impact on teenagers.Some influences may be positive, such as access to information and overall awareness. On the other hand, a society has been created where teenagers blindly follow trends, advices and norms that have been influenced by the mass media. Let's take my typical morning as an example. The alarm clock goes off after 8 hours of sleep, which Vie read is the recommended amount. When taking a shower afterwards, I use a certain shampoo, which I bought because it was presented by my favorite actor in a commercial.Having done that, I will put on my makeup which is carefully selected from one of the brands recommended by my favorite magazine. I will also style my hair in a certain ay, inspired by a trend. After that I will carefully select my outfit according to fashion which is presented by the different sorts of media. For breakfast I will have some bread and Juice, which is healthy and full of nutrition's according to a newspaper. As clearly shown in the example above, media has affected my life in many ways.Things, such as my way of clothing, selection of makeup, and even my diet, are inspired by media. Even though there may be different or even better options for me in terms of preferences and lifestyle choices, there is a big chance that I will base my sections primarily on what is presented to me through media instead of basing my decisions on facts and personal interest. This is because I'm constantly being exposed to a cert ain ideal in terms of lifestyle, opinions, etc. Which I could be heavily inspired by. According to Teen futures media network, a teenager will have seen around 350 000 commercials by the age of 18. Also, a major amount of hours will be spent by the TV or the computer. This constant exposition to trends and ideals will shape people's opinions and view on things in various ways. A survey in People Magazine showed that 80 % of all female respondents felt that women in movies and television programs made them feel insecure about their bodies.Basically, the mass media has got both positive and negative impacts on the younger generation. It influences decision, preferences, and decisions all through people's lives through advertisements, televisions and magazines among others. No matter what consequences the mass media brings to teenager's lives, it is undeniable that media does shape the opinions and positions of the younger generation in various ways. English Creative Writing By Hindqua rters