Free Essays on Utopia

Thomas More’s Utopia A Look at Social and Economic Problems Deep within every society there lies problems, significant and insignificant. Thomas More’s Utopia emphasizes the construction of the Utopian society upon the principle that â€Å"nobody owns anything, but everyone is rich†.1 With this basis, Utopian society not only succeeded, but become fruitful. Thomas More’s Utopia shows an ideal society, close to perfection in almost every way. Thomas More’s Utopia is divided into two distinct books; book one describes the ills facing many European nations and its peoples, while book two describes the Utopian way of life. Embedded within book two are the solutions to economic and social problems that are outlined in book one. Identified in book one of Thomas More’s Utopia are many different economic tribulations, which are remedied in book two. In addition, More shows problems involving land and employment in book one, which in book two are solved in his depiction of the Utopian society. Beyond Utopia, kings, nobles, churches, and men of wealth primarily hold land. The need for more and more land is the primary motivation for most of these individuals. The land is usually used for cultivation or for grazing; Nobles sometimes bullied poorer groups to get the land they seek. This group of individuals greedily â€Å"preys on his native land like a malignant growth†. 2 People are either â€Å"cheated or bullied into giving up their property, or systematically ill-treated until they’re finally forced to sell†. 3 Unfortunately these men, whom seek land and other luxuries, â€Å"hang on to their property until they’re too old and ill to do so any longer - and even then they re linquish it with a very ill grace†. 4 In Utopian society (book two), the land is owned by the state â€Å"as there’s no such thing as private property†. 5 Thus, Utopians do not fret about meaningless excesses of land, instead trying to improve themselves t... Free Essays on Utopia Free Essays on Utopia 1) What Kind of government does Sir Thomas More describe in Utopia? In Sir Thomas More’s Utopia he describes a government in which everything is so ideal. In a meeting with Peter Giles and a fictional character Raphael Hythloday (which he made up in order to tell his story), he describes the wonderful government of Utopia. He introduces the geographical feature of the Utopian Island, the country life, and the cities. The population control, markets, economy, slavery and religion are also acknowledged. Even though he has little hope of seeing many, though not all, his practices adopted in Europe, he whishes to see some go to use. The Utopian Island as describe by Raphael Hythloday in the introduction to Book II in Utopia, is approximately two hundred miles by 5 hundred miles, and is crescent shaped. An eleven mile harbor which broad from the crescent is form, however the entrance is dangerous to approach, thus it makes it easy to defend. Originally this land was connected to the mainland, however an early ruler had a 15-mile channel dug to create the Island Kingdom of Utopia. In Utopia there are about 54 cities distributed over the island at fairly regular intervals, about 24 miles apart and of approximately equal plan and population. The capital city, Amaurot, is located in the center of the island. This is where the center of Utopia is located. The country life in Utopia was basically farmhouses providing for agricultural communities, called â€Å"families†; they included some forty men and women plus two slaves. Thirty such families are presided over by a magistrate. In this society where every one is suppose to be perfect, there is an interesting way for giving variety to occupational activities such as jobs. Most people, after spending two years working in the country are transferred to the city for the next two years, however the shifts are only made so that only half the farm family is moved in a given year.... Free Essays on Utopia Utopia: A Wonderful Place A utopia is defined as a vision of an ideal place. My utopia is not a â€Å"perfect place,† by that I mean it’s not a land where everything is perfect and nothing goes wrong. It is, in fact, different from the world we live in presently. There are several topics in which I chose to discuss. For example, the land that we live on is very similar to the planet Earth. There is still more water than land and also there are still seven continents. Somehow, there would be a way we could all go by the same time. The sun would just have to travel around the complete world faster than it does at this point. I say this because this is one way we (human beings) isolate ourselves from each other. If everyone were on the same time (in the same time zone) things wouldn’t be as hectic. This seems like a small detail, but small details put together make big chaos. Also, we would never run out of natural gas and minerals. The gases and minerals would recreate themselves so we would never have to worry.Water would be forever plentiful, and we would not have to worry about where we’re going to find our next batch of oil. That is a scary thought (and often makes people very nervous). Also, by this rule in my utopia coming into effect, people wouldn’t panic and try to take as much as they could at one time because they wouldn’t have to worry about it not being enough. Another aspect of the land would be no litter on the streets. No one would even think to litter and if they did, there would always be a good semeritan around to tell them to pick it up. Most people do rude things when they think no one is looking, therefore a good dependable citizen would be â€Å"patrolling† around (helping the police enforce laws). Everyone has a role in life - whether it’s by gender, age, or race. For example, men are said to be the â€Å"bread winners† of the household. They supply the food and shelter. In my utopia, men ... Free Essays on Utopia The Utopia Moore describes is without a doubt progressive, and a ahead of it’s time society. There are many entities within the society that people at the time of the 16th century were shocked by. Many of his points are strong ones, with a focus on equality, health and happiness. Many of these simple pleasures we enjoy today were not available to many people in England and across Europe during these times. There was a large gap between the rich and poor. Therefore I feel certain parts of the basis drawn from the text reflect my philosophy of a Utopia, with some minor changes. Equality is something I value and paramount for a successful society. Moore stresses this with his society where agriculture is the main occupation and there is no real class structure. Everyone works for the good of the Utopia and no one has to work harder then another. This system is a good reflection of my general philosophy, and to use America as an example there is a great divide. Some of the hardest working people get paid the least, and others just born into wealth dominate so much without working for it. A society like this helps generate and foster more of a sense of a just society, where you can live with the comfort of knowing as long as you do your part all is well. There also seems to be a much more equal approach when it comes to women joining the priesthood, and religious freedom. However with all these free approaches, there are some faults. In the Utopia Moore leaves no room for human advancement with in the society. Although you are guaranteed security, your place in society will always stay the same. This being drawn off the fact that many of the riches wealth is drawn off the backs of the hardworking poor. It is my belief that humans always strive for more then they have. Though in Europe at this time when it was clear that many had nothing at all, and were living like near animals this thinking is very understandable. Another fault I have... Free Essays on Utopia Thomas More’s Utopia A Look at Social and Economic Problems Deep within every society there lies problems, significant and insignificant. Thomas More’s Utopia emphasizes the construction of the Utopian society upon the principle that â€Å"nobody owns anything, but everyone is rich†.1 With this basis, Utopian society not only succeeded, but become fruitful. Thomas More’s Utopia shows an ideal society, close to perfection in almost every way. Thomas More’s Utopia is divided into two distinct books; book one describes the ills facing many European nations and its peoples, while book two describes the Utopian way of life. Embedded within book two are the solutions to economic and social problems that are outlined in book one. Identified in book one of Thomas More’s Utopia are many different economic tribulations, which are remedied in book two. In addition, More shows problems involving land and employment in book one, which in book two are solved in his depiction of the Utopian society. Beyond Utopia, kings, nobles, churches, and men of wealth primarily hold land. The need for more and more land is the primary motivation for most of these individuals. The land is usually used for cultivation or for grazing; Nobles sometimes bullied poorer groups to get the land they seek. This group of individuals greedily â€Å"preys on his native land like a malignant growth†. 2 People are either â€Å"cheated or bullied into giving up their property, or systematically ill-treated until they’re finally forced to sell†. 3 Unfortunately these men, whom seek land and other luxuries, â€Å"hang on to their property until they’re too old and ill to do so any longer - and even then they re linquish it with a very ill grace†. 4 In Utopian society (book two), the land is owned by the state â€Å"as there’s no such thing as private property†. 5 Thus, Utopians do not fret about meaningless excesses of land, instead trying to improve themselves t... Free Essays on Utopia WATER WORLD EXCERPT: Jehovah’s witness of the Waterworld: â€Å"A few days went by and me and Sibil had a lot to discover. This was different indeed. In the old world, we would have to sit or stand or walk. Here there was no such thing. It was just pure thought of what we would want to do. Thought is somewhat of a wrong word. It was deeper than thought. It was more intention and it happened. I learnt a lot of things. Well again it was not learned, it was already known. I discovered what I was capable of doing. It was funny how the first day I found out that we were not even walking, but simply moving without having to be confined in to space. The same was with speaking. And hearing. And knowing. It was truly strange. I knew it all in a few days. Well maybe moments. Here there was so much to do. Or shall I say not to do. Language is a barrier when it comes to when one really does not have to speak. Everybody was the same. Not color wise, but functioned the same ways, even though they did their own desired things. I was amazed at this new reality, where I could hear Sibil when she was not around. Like that day I missed her, when she took off to the Center. Moments later of feeling lonely and reminiscing of her, it was apparent that I knew where she was. And not only that, I knew what she was doing, and what she said to me. And only moments after that I did see her right near me. The mind is not the same mind as it used to be. It seems it was vaster like the oceans and moments of knowledge continually take shapes as waves. We all knew each other. There was total knowledge, pure love and extreme beauty all around me. What more could I ask for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ASIF HOQUE PROF. T. COLE LIB200 HISTORY: It is clearly understandable the need for a utopia, because it is the closest thing a man can become to God. The powers to control, destroy, disable, and create a whole society at the owner’s free will. My utopia, Waterworld was created...

An Inspector Calls play analysis

An Inspector Calls play analysis Essay In this Play the inspector plays various roles. He plays a socialist as he is against capitalist views and because he is not just looking out for himself but others as well. Also he is known to be a catalyst as he brings a split in the Birling family. He plays a ghost as we find out he is not real. Additionally he plays a fraud because he is not a real inspector, but he does act as an Inspector. The inspector adds a great deal of tension and drama to the play. Priestley does this because he brings tension between the younger generation consisting of Sheila and Eric and the older generation consisting of Gerald, Mrs. Birling and Birling because of the inspector. Priestley uses the inspector as a substitute of him self to put his socialist points across this adds drama because we have to think about what he is trying to do. The four Birlings and Gerald are happily seated around the dinner table having an enjoyable night celebrating Sheila and Geralds engagement. All of them are feeling happy and are comfortable and relaxed and do not seem to have a care in the world but all of that is about to change. The scene is set in 1912, which is a pre war time. Also this is the time when the suffragettes were fighting for womens rights. Additionally this was the time that the Titanic was built. The unsinkable ship, which ironically sank, would set sail in a weeks time. The life that the Birlings live is very nice and easy but Priestley is showing how great things always end in disaster like the evening they are having. This is also ironic as he starts by telling us how the Titanic was unsinkable and it ended and just like he will go on to tell us how the Birlings lives are good at the moment but this will soon come to an end. The story does have some relevance to the early nineties even if the novel it was written in 1945. All these points are there to remind us of how not all good things last and how we should all look out for each other and not just for ourselves. An example is We are members of one body, said the inspector. This shows us that the inspector is enforcing the point of being part of one community and that we should look out for one and other. This also shows the link of how the inspector could just be Priestley in another form such as a ghost. I believe that Priestley is reminding us to look out for each other just in case any major wars happen and we have to rely on each other so thats maybe why he is enforcing this. When the inspector first enters the stage the atmosphere changes but not a great deal on first sight of the inspector. The inspector does not appear to be a big man but he does make him self appear strong and confident. He gives an impression that he will destroy them if they toy with him. Sheila changes the way she thinks and decides from now on she is going to be good. She has come to this decision as a result of the influence the inspector has had on her. His socialist views have been understood by Sheila and have changed her because she is going to start to care for other people. For example whoever that inspector was it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You began to learn something. And now youve stopped, said Sheila. This shows us that the Inspector really has influenced Sheila and she has learnt something from what he is trying to say. Also she is showing the divide between the Birlings when they find out the inspector was not real as they now will not take responsibility for the death of Eva Smith but the youngsters will. The Inspector creates a split between the family by dividing the younger and older generations. He is a catalyst because he divides the family and makes them angry at each other. Gerald and Sheila will not get married because of the inspectors visit. Birling may not get his knighthood because of the visit from the inspector may cause a scandal. All these things are the effects of the Inspectors visit. All Priestley is trying to do is make everyone take responsibility for their actions, for example what he is doing to the Birlings. By doing this it makes the audience feel like they need to do the same thing but not act like the older generation of the Birlings but act like the younger generation. READ: Ohio monologue from the play by Nick Zagone Essay ThesisNear the end of the play the inspector is thought to be a fraud. The Birlings have various reasons to believe this. There was no information about him and he did not tell us anything about himself when he introduces him self. He is unknown in the force as the policeman Gerald asked said there was no such inspector. Also Birling is very familiar with the county police force and he said he had never seen or heard of an Inspector under the name Goole. The way he was working through the Birlings made them think he was a fraud as no inspector has ever done this to the Birlings before. Near the end of the play it is discovered that there is no inspector named Goole and he has never been seen on the police force. For example à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I met a sergeant I knowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He swore there wasnt any inspector Goole or anybody like him on the force here, said Gerald. This is proof there is no Inspector Goole and he really is a fraud. Also Theres is more proof because no other inspector works like him but it definitely is very effective as he left the Birling family in shambles. The Inspector is considered a fraud. Gerald is the first to question if the inspector really is an Inspector. He goes on to say that the inspector did not show all of us the same picture as he showed everyone a picture one by one so there is no evidence that he could have showed each of them all different pictures let alone the real Eva Smith. They all may have seen different photos. He then goes on to say that there was no evidence to prove that there really was a young girl called Eva Smith that had died. This is Geralds view of how the inspector works and how it makes him a fraud. The inspector also tells us how and why he works. Its the way I like to work. One person and one line of inquiry at a time. Otherwise, theres a muddle. This shows us how the Inspector explains how he works and why. This sounds like the real way an inspector should work which misleads us at the beginning of the play and makes us think he really is an inspector. This makes the story effective and dramatic because it all leads to a huge twist at the end when we find out the inspector does not really exist and there is no dead girl called Eva Smith however there is another twist at the end when they really do find out an Eva Smith had really died and an inspector is on his way over. This makes the story more interesting and more dramatic like a soap opera and it adds more suspense to the play. The inspector is used in the story as someone who is supposed to be like J. B Priestley. He is like a substitute for J. B Priestly and they are linked as the inspector is being used to put across his messages. The inspector is in the story to make the Birlings have responsibility for their actions. He is trying to make people think about what they do before they do it. Look before you leap as the saying goes. The inspector is trying to say that people should all be treated equally. All these messages are aimed at the audience as well as the Birlings. This is how Priestley gets his points out to us, through the link between him and the inspector. I think his main messages are that we are all part of one community, not individual people but we are connected one way or another so we have to care for each other and look after each other. For example à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. We are responsible for each other, said the inspector. This shows us the inspector has socialist views and does care about others apart from himself. READ: How does Charles Dickens use the ghost story genre to provoke fear in both the Victorian and modern reader of The Signalman EssayPriestley puts across message of capitalism verses socialism as he shows the Inspector, the socialist saying how we should not be like a capitalist but more like a socialist and care for one another. The inspector is a socialist as is Priestley and have socialist views. They are against capitalism, as they do not feel you should just earn a living for money and for yourself but you should help other people. The inspectors name is a pun for ghoul. This then leads us to believe that the inspector does not exist. He is some sort of ghost or phantom who is a nightmare to the Birlings. The Birlings have other beliefs that prove the inspector does not exist like Gerald. He finds out from another police sergeant from the county force that there is no one like or called the inspector they had met. In addition, the older generation seem to think it is all a hoax. For example Its a hoax of some kind, said Gerald. This shows that the older generation thinks it is some old fool playing a trick on them causing a scandal. There is nothing wrong with them believing this as they now have evidence that the inspector really is not an inspector but a fraud but that is only if he really does exist which is unknown to everyone. It could also show that the inspector is a bad ghoul playing tricks on family to have fun. He seems to know about he future because he knows what will happen to Eva Smith that no one else knows about, which may give the audience an idea that he is not a human being. He is another type of life such as a spirit that does not exist in our world, as it is virtually impossible to predict the future. He does make the Birlings scared of him as he breaks them down one by one leading them to confess. This may also show why he is a ghoul because he is scary. The inspector being a ghoul makes the audience more interested in the story because there is no obvious thing at the beginning of the story that gives him away but we all have our suspicions and this leads to tension as we want to continue to view the play to find out whether our suspicions were correct or not. This is another aspect that makes the play so good and again it involves the truth hidden behind the inspector. The inspector had an enormous affect on the Birlings. He caused them to fall out with each other and go against each other. From all what he told them the only people that actually learnt their lesson was the younger generation. The elders did not as when they found out the inspector was a fraud they were celebrating so what the inspector said went through one ear out the other. I think the family could get back to how they were before but it would be on Sheila and Erics conscience that they once helped lead a girl to suicide. Priestleys over all message in this story was we are all part of one community and we have to look after each other rather than just looking out for ourselves. If one person is affected in the community than all of us are. That is what Priestleys over all message is. I believe the over all role of the inspector was to play a substitute of Priestley to get Priestleys messages across to the audience and the Birlings. The Inspector has many hidden messages in him. He plays so many different roles and the he himself makes the whole story. He makes you think and puts across the messages, which to me is the point of the book. He is very effective and adds a great deal of drama.

The effect of dystrophin on neuron development in the Central Nervous Essay

The effect of dystrophin on neuron development in the Central Nervous System - Essay Example The DMD is the human gene responsible for providing instructions for making dystrophin. Dystrophin is located in muscles such as cardiac muscles (heart) and skeletal muscles (movement). Small amounts of this hormone are present in the brain specifically in the nerve cells. In cardiac and skeletal muscles, this protein hormone is part of a protein complex which work together to protect and strengthen muscle fibers from injury during contraction and relaxation of the muscles (Hart 23). Dystrophin complex often act as an anchor for connecting each framework of the cells of the muscle with protein lattice and other extracellular matrix. Dystrophin may also play an important role in cell signaling through interacting with proteins which receive and send chemical signals. Little is known so far concerning the functions of dystrophin complex in nerve cells (Hart 24). Some studies have suggested that it plays an important role in the normal functioning of synapses and structure, which are sp ecialized connections existing between nerve cells where the occurrence of cell-cell occurs. In this paper, the focus of ascertaining the effect of dystrophin on neuron development in the Central Nervous System According to Shan and Lihsia (13) dystrophin protein plays an integral role in maintaining muscle membrane integrity. Shan and Lihsia showed that accompanying neuropsychiatric disorder and cognitive impairment often presented in most of the DMD proteins suggests that dystrophin plays an integral role in membrane-cytoskeleton function. The study involved growing c.elegans strains on the nematode growth medium plate at 21 degrees Celsius. Transgenic animals were then generated basing mello et al (1991) standard procedure. In order to generate Punc-119::dys-1 (pLC587), the researchers pieced together the 9.0-kb dys-1 genomic sequence obtained from WRM0611bE10 at an exon 30 with the untranslasted region of cDNA and 169-bp dys-1 3 and 3.9-kb dys-1 cDNA, and subcloned was joined in to the pBluescript II KS vector existing between NotI and XmaI. The researchers then crossed evIs78 (Punc-129::gfp and oxIs12 (unc-47::gfp integrated transgenes into the available respective strains with a view to visulize cholinergic neurons, and GABA. Synchronized the young adult animals of such strains and the synchronized dys-1 larvae for different stages were all mounted on the 2percent agarose pads and then scored for neuronal displacement with a 40? 1.3 NA Neofluar. This was done with an aim of using the microscope with the captured image, which was captured in a camera, along with the imaging software. Shan and Lihsia findings showed that DYS-1/dystrophin helps in regulating locomotion and muscle integrity. The findings of this study, also show that SAX-7 and STN-2/Y-syntrophin functions to maintain the neural integrity in c.elegans. In yet another study Hart Lidov, Timothy Byers, Simon Watkins, and Louis Kunkel (7) scientific study, this researchers came up with antibody (a nti 6-10), which was somewhat more sensitive that the immunolabel dystrophin which were previously available. The researhers then used this anti 6-10 antibody in to investgate whether the asoociation between systrophin and the nervous system. The findings of this study revealed that in the mouse, dystrophin is more abundant in the neurons of the cerebral cortices and the cerebral. This study also revealed that

The Board of Boyds TSD Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Board of Boyds TSD Bank - Essay Example Larry Lizard who insisted on the group accounts being completed immediately. This situation presented an ethical dilemma on my part since there was a conflict of interest between my personal responsibilities an employee as well as professional responsibilities, and the ethics involved therein. Ethical responsibilities of qualified accountants To begin with, Burgstahler et al. (2007) stated that accounting is essentially concerned with recording, measuring, and communicating information relating to the financial health of a company to interested parties that are internal and external to the business. The process begins at the point of transaction or when an economic event takes place such as offering of essential services or the receipt remuneration for the good or service delivered. The process ends when the economic event is recorded in a financial statement that is designed to enable the prospective users to make well-informed decisions in regards to their dealing with the company. Therefore, it is correct to state that the main duties of accountants is recording and reporting of financial information and this means that they bear greater responsibility in regards to the impact the financial statements will have on the users especially the decision taken in reliance to the financial statements (Roslender and Hart, 2003). With reference to the writings by Shah et al. (2011), they stated that because of the sensitivity of accounting duties, accountants are normally required by the law as well as the professional body to abide by certain ethical standards. In the writings by Bennett et al. (2006), they stated that ethics in the field of accounting refers to the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy practice. Cheffers and Michael (2007) added that in the present moment there is great emphasis on accounting ethics, which is largely, attributed to the recent corporate scandals that even resulted to the collapse of some financial instituti ons. In order to counter-attack the criticisms and hinder fraudulent accounting practices, various professional accounting bodies and government agencies have designed remedies and regulations that are aimed at improving ethics within the accounting profession (Love, 2008). One of the key ethical responsibilities that have been imposed on qualified accountants across the World is integrity, of which Duska et al. (2011) described it as the act of being straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships. Edward (2006) stated that this ethical responsibility is built on the premise that the advice and work performed by qualified accountants should not be influenced by self-interest or the interest of others. The International Ethics Standards Board of Accountants’ (IESBA) Code of Ethics section 110 under the integrity section states that a qualified accountant is not allowed to knowingly associate with financial statements that he or she believes that the information contained in such statements is misleading. Additionally, a qualified accountant is forbidden from knowingly associating with financial statements that has been furnished in a reckless manner and thirdly, statements that have numerous omissions of certain crucial information, which makes the entire statement misleading. The second key ethical

Rape: A Living Nightmare Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Rape: A Living Nightmare Is anyone truly a stranger to nightmares? Has anyone not woken up in a feverish sweat with a racing pulse or pounding heart? Whose eyes have never wildly searched their room for the phantoms of a dream? Now, what if the familiar consolation of learning it was all in your head never came? How do you wake up from a nightmare that is, in fact, a reality? I think I’m getting ahead of myself. What I mean to say is, I was raped, and rape is a nightmare. I am a 19-year-old girl, far too old to think I know everything. I don’t pretend to be an expert on rape. Having known the feel of a cold blade pressed to my side gave me no superior understanding of the crime, only a small scar to remember it by. Thus I offer you no solution. I cannot say with any conviction that my writing will help to save even one person from being subjected to a similar fate. Before you’ve read to the bottom of this page three more girls will be sexually assaulted, one girl will be raped. Neither the eloquence of my words, nor the fervor of my voice will have changed a thing. The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok. Before my emotions coerce me into preaching about the atrocity I survived, excuse me, am surviving, I think some clarifications are in order. L... ... calm disposition is counterfeit. If you must be angry, be angry that by doing nothing to stop the assaults you have been made both the victim and the rapist time and time again. If you have a choice, though, choose to be upset. Be upset that it is our society that is responsible for rape and this nightmare’s reign over women. Bibliography Bode, Janet. The Voices of Rape. New York: Franklin Watts (†¢1990) Ehrhart, Julie K. Campus Gang Rape: Party Games? Washington: Association of American Colleges Gordon, Margaret T. The Female Fear. New York: The Free Press (†¢1989) Hilberman, Elaine. The Rape Victim. Washington: American Psychiatric Association (†¢1976) Macdonald, John. Rape: Offenders and Their Victims. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher (†¢1971) Schwartz, Martin D. Sexual Assault on the College Campus. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications (†¢1997)

Wyndor Glass Co. Research Paper

18 Chapter Two Linear Programming: Basic Concepts 2. 1 A CASE STUDY: THE WYNDOR GLASS CO. PRODUCT-MIX PROBLEM Jim Baker is excited. The group he heads has really hit the jackpot this time. They have had some notable successes in the past, but he feels that this one will be really special. He can hardly wait for the reaction after his memorandum reaches top management. Jim has had an excellent track record during his seven years as manager of new product development for the Wyndor Glass Company.Although the company is a small one, it has been experiencing considerable growth largely because of the innovative new products developed by Jim’s group. Wyndor’s president, John Hill, has often acknowledged publicly the key role that Jim has played in the recent success of the company. Therefore, John felt considerable confidence six months ago in asking Jim’s group to develop the following new products: †¢ An 8-foot glass door with aluminum framing. †¢ A 4-foot 6-foot double-hung, wood-framed window.Although several other companies already had products meeting these specifications, John felt that Jim would be able to work his usual magic in introducing exciting new features that would establish new industry standards. Now, Jim can’t remove the smile from his face. They have done it. Background The Wyndor Glass Co. produces high-quality glass products, including windows and glass doors that feature handcrafting and the finest workmanship. Although the products are expensive, they fill a market niche by providing the highest quality available in the industry for the most discriminating buyers. The company has three plants.Plant 1 produces aluminum frames and hardware. Plant 2 produces wood frames. Plant 3 produces the glass and assembles the windows and doors. Because of declining sales for certain products, top management has decided to revamp the company’s product line. Unprofitable products are being discontinued, releasing production capacity to launch the two new products developed by Jim Baker’s group if management approves their release. The 8-foot glass door requires some of the production capacity in Plants 1 and 3, but not Plant 2. The 4-foot 6-foot double-hung window needs only Plants 2 and 3. Management now needs to address two issues: 1.Should the company go ahead with launching these two new products? 2. If so, what should be the product mix—the number of units of each produced per week— for the two new products? Management’s Discussion of the Issues Having received Jim Baker’s memorandum describing the two new products, John Hill now has called a meeting to discuss the current issues. In addition to John and Jim, the meeting includes Bill Tasto, vice president for manufacturing, and Ann Lester, vice president for marketing. Let’s eavesdrop on the meeting. John Hill (president): Bill, we will want to rev up to start production of these products as s oon as we can.About how much production output do you think we can achieve? Bill Tasto (vice president for manufacturing): We do have a little available production capacity, because of the products we are discontinuing, but not a lot. We should be able to achieve a production rate of a few units per week for each of these two products. John: Is that all? Bill: Yes. These are complicated products requiring careful crafting. And, as I said, we don’t have much production capacity available. An Application Vignette Swift & Company is a diversified protein-producing business based in Greeley, Colorado.With annual sales of over $8 billion, beef and related products are by far the largest portion of the company’s business. To improve the company’s sales and manufacturing performance, upper management concluded that it needed to achieve three major objectives. One was to enable the company’s customer service representatives to talk to their more than 8,000 custom ers with accurate information about the availability of current and future inventory while considering requested delivery dates and maximum product age upon delivery. A second was to produce an efficient shift-level schedule for each plant over a 28-day horizon.A third was to accurately determine whether a plant can ship a requested order-line-item quantity on the requested date and time given the availability of cattle and constraints on the plant’s capacity. To meet these three challenges, a management science team developed an integrated system of 45 linear programming models based on three model formulations to dynamically schedule its beef-fabrication operations at five plants in real time as it receives orders. The total audited benefits realized in the first year of operation of this system were $12. 74 million, including $12 million due to optimizing the product mix.Other benefits include a reduction in orders lost, a reduction in price discounting, and better on-time delivery. Source: A. Bixby, B. Downs, and M. Self, â€Å"A Scheduling and Capable-to-Promise Application for Swift & Company, Interfaces 36, no. 1 (January–February 2006), pp. 69–86. The issue is to find the most profitable mix of the two new products. John: Ann, will we be able to sell several of each per week? Ann Lester (vice president for marketing): Easily. John: OK, good. I would like to set the launch date for these products in six weeks. Bill and Ann, is that feasible? Bill: Yes.Ann: We’ll have to scramble to give these products a proper marketing launch that soon. But we can do it. John: Good. Now there’s one more issue to resolve. With this limited production capacity, we need to decide how to split it between the two products. Do we want to produce the same number of both products? Or mostly one of them? Or even just produce as much as we can of one and postpone launching the other one for a little while? Jim Baker (manager of new product dev elopment): It would be dangerous to hold one of the products back and give our competition a chance to scoop us. Ann: I agree.Furthermore, launching them together has some advantages from a marketing standpoint. Since they share a lot of the same special features, we can combine the advertising for the two products. This is going to make a big splash. John: OK. But which mixture of the two products is going to be most profitable for the company? Bill: I have a suggestion. John: What’s that? Bill: A couple times in the past, our Management Science Group has helped us with these same kinds of product-mix decisions, and they’ve done a good job. They ferret out all the relevant data and then dig into some detailed analysis of the issue.I’ve found their input very helpful. And this is right down their alley. John: Yes, you’re right. That’s a good idea. Let’s get our Management Science Group working on this issue. Bill, will you coordinate with th em? The meeting ends. The Management Science Group Begins Its Work At the outset, the Management Science Group spends considerable time with Bill Tasto to clarify the general problem and specific issues that management wants addressed. A particular concern is to ascertain the appropriate objective for the problem from management’s viewpoint.Bill points out that John Hill posed the issue as determining which mixture of the two products is going to be most profitable for the company. 19 20 Chapter Two Linear Programming: Basic Concepts Therefore, with Bill’s concurrence, the group defines the key issue to be addressed as follows. Question: Which combination of production rates (the number of units produced per week) for the two new products would maximize the total profit from both of them? The group also concludes that it should consider all possible combinations of production rates of both new products permitted by the available production capacities in the three plant s.For example, one alternative (despite Jim Baker’s and Ann Lester’s objections) is to forgo producing one of the products for now (thereby setting its production rate equal to zero) in order to produce as much as possible of the other product. (We must not neglect the possibility that maximum profit from both products might be attained by producing none of one and as much as possible of the other. ) The Management Science Group next identifies the information it needs to gather to conduct this study: 1. Available production capacity in each of the plants. 2.How much of the production capacity in each plant would be needed by each product. 3. Profitability of each product. Concrete data are not available for any of these quantities, so estimates have to be made. Estimating these quantities requires enlisting the help of key personnel in other units of the company. Bill Tasto’s staff develops the estimates that involve production capacities. Specifically, the sta ff estimates that the production facilities in Plant 1 needed for the new kind of doors will be available approximately four hours per week. (The rest of the time Plant 1 will continue with current products. The production facilities in Plant 2 will be available for the new kind of windows about 12 hours per week. The facilities needed for both products in Plant 3 will be available approximately 18 hours per week. The amount of each plant’s production capacity actually used by each product depends on its production rate. It is estimated that each door will require one hour of production time in Plant 1 and three hours in Plant 3. For each window, about two hours will be needed in Plant 2 and two hours in Plant 3. By analyzing the cost data and the pricing decision, the Accounting Department estimates the profit from the two products.The projection is that the profit per unit will be $300 for the doors and $500 for the windows. Table 2. 1 summarizes the data now gathered. The Management Science Group recognizes this as being a classic product-mix problem. Therefore, the next step is to develop a mathematical model—that is, a linear programming model—to represent the problem so that it can be solved mathematically. The next four sections focus on how to develop this model and then how to solve it to find the most profitable mix between the two products, assuming the estimates in Table 2. 1 are accurate.Review Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What is the market niche being filled by the Wyndor Glass Co.? What were the two issues addressed by management? The Management Science Group was asked to help analyze which of these issues? How did this group define the key issue to be addressed? What information did the group need to gather to conduct its study? TABLE 2. 1 Data for the Wyndor Glass Co. Product-Mix Problem Plant 1 2 3 Unit profit Production Time Used for Each Unit Produced Doors 1 hour 0 3 hours $300 Windows 0 2 hours 2 hours $500 Available per Week 4 hours 12 hours 18 hours

Small Scale Entreprise in Nigeria Issues and Prospects

1.Introduction Small Scale Enterprises (SSEs) have played and continue to play significant roles in the growth, development and industrialisation of many economies the world over. In Nigeria, the SSEs have performed below expectation due to a combination of problems. This situation has been of great concern to the government, citizenry, practitioners, operators and the organised private sector groups. Small businesses are generally regarded as the driving force of economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction in developing countries. They have been the means through which accelerated economic growth and rapid industrialization have been achieved (Harris and Gibson, 2006; Sauser, 2005; Arinaitwe, 2002; Kiggundu, 2002; Monk,†¦show more content†¦While the absolute figures involved in the definition of these enterprises may differ, there are some underlying similarities in the concept used in the definitions. The following are common measures of defining SSE. †¢ Number of people employed: The number of people varies from country to country. In Uganda the figure is put to between 5-50. In India, the figure is that between 30-100. In the United States, small enterprises are those which employ less than 500 people. In Kenya business with 10 or fewer workers are called micro enterprises. †¢ Capital employed: The number of people employed may not be a good indicator especially if the industry is labour intensive. This is true in countries like India where there is a labour intensive approach to industrialisation as a policy. In some cases trading organisations can transact huge sums of business worth transactions and yet they employ a few people. Consequently, capital employed is at times used as a measure of defining small business. In Uganda there is no proper agreement as to the capital employed though a figure ranging between US$5,000 to US$50,000 is a reasonable estimate. The Uganda Investment Authority has put this figure to now Shs.50 million (about US$50,000). The Ministry of Industry however had indicated a figure of an investment not exceeding US$300,000. This figure