Ocd Essays (493 words) - Psychiatric Diagnosis,

Ocd What is Obsessive-compulsive disorder? Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the anxiety disorders and is potentially disabling condition according to national institute of mental health, NIMH (2000). Individuals with OCD become trapped in a pattern of repetitive thoughts and behaviors that can be senseless and distressing but are extremely hard to over come. Such as checking things repeatedly (e.g. doors, locks and stoves), constant counting either ?in ones head? or outwardly, etc. Most of theses obsessions are persistent fears that harm may come to self or a loved one, or an unreasonable concern with becoming contaminated, also excessive need for perfection. According to NIMH (2000), sometimes the obsessions are of a violent or a sexual nature, or concern illness. ?Although once thought to be rare, OCD afflicts as many as five million Americans or one in fifty. The disorder is found uniformly in men, women, children and people of all races and socio-economic backgrounds.? (Maidment 1999) According to NIMH (2000), OCD usually begins in adolescence or early adult hood, it may begin in the early childhood years. Onset age is earlier in males between ages 6 and 15 years and between ages 20 and 29 in females. In most cases onset is gradual but some acute onset cases have been noted. Most people with OCD struggle to hide their illness for fear of thought of being ?outcast?, fear of medication and fear of facing ones fears in behavior therapy. ?Usually people hide their illness because of feeling shame for doing/thinking such bizarre things? (Susan F, OC foundation, 1999) They are often successful in concealing their disorder. More often than not they are successful in concealing their obsessive-compulsive symptoms from friends and co-workers. An unfortunate consequence of this secrecy is that people usually do not receive professional help until years after the onset of their disease. By that time, they may have learned to work their lives around the rituals. Treatment for OCD usually comes down to two most effective treatments, which are drug therapy and behavior therapy. It is common that the most effective of these the two can be used together. ?The most effective medications are the SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) Prozac, Paxil, Luvox, and Zoloft as well as the Tricyclic Anafranil.? (Saxena, 1999) These medications generally help but decreased symptoms are any where from 40%-95% success, but each individual is varies. The medications can take anywhere from six to twelve weeks to start showing effect. According to NIMH (2000) the primary behavior therapy uses for OCD treatment is exposure and response prevention. This type is usually most effective. Most people with OCD struggle to banish their unwanted, obsessive thought and to prevent them selves from engaging in compulsive behavior. This resistance can lead to a crippling disorder, with OCD so sever that time consuming rituals take over the sufferers' lives, making it impossible for them to continue activities outside the home. Psychology

Food Pyramid Essays

Food Pyramid Essays Food Pyramid Essay Food Pyramid Essay I have always thought of myself s a person who knows nutrition and understands what is right however; when it comes to food I did not always do what was right. I love pastas, and sauces, pizza and chips, cake and cookies; but, who doesnt. Since then I have learned to balance the stuff I want and the foods that I need to achieve a balanced diet. The main problem on my first food pyramid tracker evaluation was that I was very much lacking In the fruit and vegetable food group. Since then I have bought fruit that was easily accessible so that I do not have any excuse to not have time. I have also made sure hat I eat either a salad or one steamed vegetable a day in addition to my daily VI. Another issue with my first tracker evaluation was the fact that I was not eating enough calories throughout the day. To correct this I am now eating smaller meals and more of them. Snacks of low fat string cheese, a small handful of almonds, a low fat yogurt and an apple are examples of snacks that I now eat throughout the day. By doing this I am speeding up my metabolism, cleaving the recommended amount of calories, and being able to maintain the balance of all different sources of nutrition. : These improvements are not only giving me a balanced diet and more energy but, they are also improving my vitamin intake. By making these changes my most recent food tracker was very much on track with where I would like to be. My calorie intake is now appropriate, my diet Is balanced, and the tracker showed a great diet and balance. The pyramid tracker and the nature of my diet not being balanced was only the beginning of wanting a change. I gained a lot of knowledge from our previous chapter based on vitamins, minerals, and supplements. As I learned a great deal I wanted to apply the knowledge that I did learn into my life style. Through the reading I decided that I wanted to set a goal to not need to take dietary supplements. I rather wanted to eat my vitamins and minerals through the food I decided to eat. By eating more green and leafy vegetables I can gain my Iron. By drinking carrot Juice in the morning I will be gaining all of the vitamin A I need. Have started to look deeply Into what I am eating and how it will help me achieve a long lasting life. By doing this I ill know if there is something I need to take, such as a supplement, or if I simply need to add more of an item to my daily diet. As I am not against supplements, I do not feel that they are necessary if a balanced diet is eaten. There are so many different issues with taking too many dietary supplements that I have taken the, more Is netter mental lilt on ten pills Ana let It go wit n ten Doodle Dull. I nave mentioned that the changes I had made recently made have all been to the positive. The most drastic change of all is that I am looking at food in a new light. Growing up with a chef as a grandfather has made me eat food as entertainment, enjoyment, and reward; because of this my choices and diet have never been as great as they are today. Now that I have changed my views on food I look to my new diet for energy, vitamins, and life. The balanced diet has made me want to work out more than ever and I feel that I will achieve a very healthy life style. Every day I research and learn more about foods and which are high in a vitamin or new ways to cook or serve an item that is healthy. I feel my largest gain from all of the changes is not the one that I am going to endure but, the gains that my family and children will now have. Like I said, doing and knowing are very different words. Many people fully understand what is needed to achieve a balanced diet however; doing this and sticking to it is hard. To gain the lifestyle of eating for energy, vitamins, and minerals takes huge changes. Grocery shopping, preparing, and getting use to the new foods is hard and you have to be dedicated but, the results are worth the efforts.

Career planning incorporates is long and short term goals

Career planning incorporates is long and short term goals The perfect career is not a standard of living .it’s a state of mind and state of being. In the perfect job I’m applying the talent I enjoy most to an interest I’m passionate about in an environment that fits who you are and what you value. With the rapidly changing world of work. It can be difficult to make specific career plans for the near future. Let alone for the rest of your life. Key concepts The first step in career planning is self-assessment Proper preparation is necessary for a career Setting goals/ objectives is a critical element in choosing a career path Making a career choice requires making major decisions Career planning incorporates is long term & short term career goals Long term career planning Short term career planning My knowledge, skills, values and interests Identify which new knowledge and skills I want to improve Research career opportunities Formulate a careers action plan with contingencies Up to 6 years ahead From 6 to 10 years ahea d Check the careers action plan for realism My career plan As a accounting student my personal career plan target is an finance director as my first brother who working at augentius fund administration LLP as finance associate director He is my role model. Since I was 7 years old, I started to keep expenses records with my pocket money. I have a greater opportunity to develop my career. Because two of my brothers in accounting field. Prospective career path Currently I’m doing BABS and ACCA as well after my degree it could be help to my plan to do internships in a companies which are focused on the financial sectors . Now a days a lot of opportunities for accounting field. It gives me satisfaction I have potential growth in my career. Five smart objectives I will finish my ACCA qualification within twoà Ã… ¡ years after my London school of commerce BABS graduation on self study basis Improve my English skill to excellent level in written and spoken Expand my networking thro ugh adding valuable business contacts through attend meeting, exhibition, seminars Role of the Accounting/ Financial Having noted the expanded number of tasks now undertaken by the modern financial function it is important to also note how the role of the accounting staff has changed in relation to the rest of the company. Knowing where you stand today is a necessary preside to contemplating where you might be in the future. The understanding of a company’s overall performance and its current financial standing is the key for any planning activities. The finance of the company will help to find out that information .a particular important area in which the role of the accountant has changed is related to processes. The most historically important role that the accounting staff must change is that of being a brake on other activities. The accounting staff tends to shoot down changes proposed by other department the changes will interfere with the controls. In today increasingl y competitive environment, it is very important for companies to develop strong relationships with their key suppliers and customer. These business partners will demand extra services, some of which must be fulfilled by the accounting staff. With the globalization of business, competition has become more intense. It is possible that the ethical foundations to which a company adheres have deteriorated in the face of this pressure.

Task-based Instructions in Interactive Communication Research Paper

Task-based Instructions in Interactive Communication - Research Paper Example Task-based Instructions in Interactive Communication In this system, the teacher gives an assignment that has to be done practically in the field by the students, using the second language, being taught. The students take up the assignments and have to make a choice regarding the setting where they would like to perform their tasks on. Students may choose to talk to the customer care mobile operator, interview a doctor, talk to a government official, talk to members of staff who are adept in communicating in that particular language taken by the student or rather a fellow student who is conversant in communicating in that language. Since the operation is student centered, the students undertake it and file a report on the task. This extends to the presentation of the tasks in class. The teacher then has the responsibility to analyze and give a score in conjunction to the student’s work. This poses major challenges in administration by the teachers, honesty in the part of the student and sentimental trade-offs. The task-based instruction learning system is coupled with several quandaries. It involves focus on the utilization of a given target second language by students. Such assignments include communicating with different people. Assessments of performance ids analyzed from the perspective of the outcome of the assignment as disputed to the expertise or accuracy of the student in that particular language.... The problems begin from this point. Since this method of learning is more students centered and has minimal supervision by the teachers, the students may decide not to advance their vocabulary and explore the language with proficiency. They might limit themselves to simple, elementary vocabulary that is not advancing their proficiency in the second language being studied. Other students may seek to rely on the others working. Another challenge is that of time shortage. Students may run out of time in the practical tasks extending to failure. If not properly organized, the practical task may prove to be confusing and cumbersome in terms of the size of the student body being analyzed. Limited resources and confidence by the students can be a major trade off. Significance of the Problem The quandaries, outlines above are significant in such a way that they affect the task based instructional kind of education to students who take a particular language as the second language. This poses a major debate on whether the system of education is up to standard. However, research will definitely aid in the explanation of the problem and various ways of dealing with its outcome, as well as prospecting the major ways of solving this query. The system of education, as mentioned above, has various disadvantages and poses an immense challenge to those applying it in education. These challenges ought to be addressed and put into profound consideration. The issue also has a streak of advantage as it helps students to push harder and avoid imminent victimization, which may be quite challenging to detach oneself from. The research also looks into different analyses by former and present writers in a way that the

Knowledge Management Foundations of IT Systems HW Research Paper

Knowledge Management Foundations of IT Systems HW - Research Paper Example In this scenario, the basic purpose of a knowledge management system should be the assurance that the approved clients will be able to access information. Moreover, just using a straightforward information management, recovery system and document cataloging is the beginning. Since gathering business knowledge does not only engage software and technology but it also necessitates a powerful document management software and intellectual change of how data and information are produced, managed, dispersed, stored and developed into modernization (infoRouter, 1998), (TechTarget, 1998) and (Bellinger, 2004). This paper discusses some novel aspects of knowledge management (KM) discipline for organizational innovation. In this paper I will analyze some of the prime areas of KM system for our organization. I will discuss some advantages along with significant factors regarding this new technology application at different levels of our corporation. CURRENT PROBLEMS WITH ORGANIZATION With curren t business practice at the corporation we are facing some critical problems regarding corporate operational arrangement. In this scenario the major issue is due to the traditional and inflexible working structure of the business. Seeing that, currently corporation is running its operations using traditional business practices (without knowledge management system) thus, below are some possible issues: (Laudon & Laudon, 1999) and (Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2005) Long time required for processing information Difficulties in managing records using paper based approach Difficult to manage business processes A lot of time required to search for the business information Absolutely no or least data sharing More workers required to handle business information Information gathered can include dirty data Business reports are complex and not offering better contribution for the effective decision making about business KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SIGNIFICANCE Knowledge management outlines th e major concerns of organizational efforts, change and ability beside fundamental and irregular environmental changes. Additionally, it represents organizational procedures that look for synergistic grouping of information and data processing capability of information technologies, and the modern and inspired competence of various individuals. Moreover, the knowledge management is related to the practical and thoughtful implementation for the reason that it does not exist in the hypothetical description however in the actual world implementation where the maximum confronts and prospects recline (Global Risk Management Network LLC,, 2011) and (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). IMPORTANCE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Knowledge management system is an innovative concept that is used to illustrate the creation of knowledge warehouses, knowledge availability and distribution, communication through teamwork, improving the knowledge framework and organizing knowledge as a plus point for an enterprise . Normally, knowledge management system encompasses a variety of applications and techniques those

Religion, Poverty and Wealth Essay Example for Free

Religion, Poverty and Wealth Essay Describe how followers of this religion may put their ideas into practice. Helping others is a big part of being a Christian, because of the importance of the commandment Love thy neighbour. Since the 19th Century, Christians have been setting up homes for the poor and needy. However recently there has been an increase in awareness of poorer people, putting more pressure on people to help others. A very popular way of helping others is by setting up, and giving to charities. There are many different charities, both Christian and non-Christian, which offer a wide range of help. The Church of England Childrens Society helps to better the lives of underprivileged children; The Hospice Movement aims to help the dying spend their last days in a loving, caring environment; the LArche Community helps disabled people. Christian Aid is one of the most famous Christian charities. It was set up in Britain and Ireland at the end of the Second World War, with its main aims being to improve the quality of peoples lives, particularly those of refugees who were struggling to cope with the aftermath of World War II. It also funded Churches to help repair damage caused by the war. Gradually over time, the work of Christian Aid began to involve other countries around the world. It now has an income of approximately à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40 million a year, and there are forty churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland who are a part of Christian Aid. Most of the money, which they make through door-to-door collections and donations from members of the public and various churches, is put towards development work to help people in the long term. Another famous charitable organisation is The Samaritans. The Samaritans was set up in 1953 when Chad Varah, a priest, was horrified to find out that three suicides took place every day in London. He believed that the best way to help someone who was contemplating committing suicide was to talk to them. So he set up a phone in his church and advertised that people could phone for helpful advice if they were feeling suicidal. Today The Samaritans speak to 2 250 000 people a year. Aside from charities, many Christians feel that they should give a small percentage of their wages to help the less fortunate. Sir John Templeton grew up in a poor family on a farm in Tennessee. He was educated at both Yale and Oxford University, after which he became a financial consultant in New York. Throughout his life he gave 10% of his earnings to help the poor (a process called tithing). Eventually he became very wealthy running a multimillion dollar investment company, where he successfully managed funds for over two million people worldwide. In 1972 he started the Templeton prize to be awarded for progress in religion, which is worth more money than the Nobel Peace Prize. Fifteen years later he was knighted for services to philanthropy. In 1992, he sold his investment company for a colossal $400 million. He still gives money to support projects around the world which further understanding of spirituality and the importance of the human character. George Macleod felt so strongly about helping others that, in 1938, he formed a Christian Community on Iona, an island off of Scotland. He found volunteers to learn building, stone masonry and carpentry skills and together they rebuilt Ionas ruined abbey. After that he opened a centre to provide shelter for young people from across the world, and to allow them to live in a close community. The people of the community feel it is more important to live like this and share everything than to be rich and not live as closely. They take it in turns to cook, clean, garden and work away. When they are not working, they pray. This is very similar to the ideas expressed by Jesus according to the Bible. The first Christians followed Jesus teachings very closely. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Not only are there many passages in the Bible that tell Christians how to treat the poor, there are also some in the Old Testament. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear. Isaiah 58:6-8 Another example of how Christians helped the poor was the Liberation Theology movement. This started in the late 1960s when the poorer inhabitants of South American countries decided that they didnt want to be exploited any more. They made a decision to stand against the corrupt governments, with inspiration from the words of Jesus: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has appointed me to preach good news to the poor. The Christian followers of Liberation Theology try to fight out against poverty, lack of human rights and the exploitation of certain peoples. Many Priests, especially Oscar Romero, involved in this endanger their lives by speaking out against their government. Romero knew he was in danger, but felt that it was his Christian duty to fight against oppression and injustice. He was shot dead in March 1980 whilst conducting mass. In South America, many people see him as a great martyr. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them. All Christians feel it is their duty to God to help the poor and needy, and to be kind to those who need their kindness.

Media and Plastic Surgery Essay -- Females Self Image Cause Effect Ess

Media and Plastic Surgery Images produced by the media will make people do almost anything to fit American standards of the perfect body. Plastic surgery offers a quick fix to help achieve this goal but no matter how much surgery nothing is perfect. Images produced by media, quick fixes and the outcome of the fixes are problems that women of all ages deal with. From the time of birth, images of physical perfection bombard young minds. When children are young their minds are fragile and mold to what they are taught. One of the first toys a young girl is given is a Barbie doll Girls are shown Barbie and parents tell the children that Barbie dolls are beautiful. So young girls are taught that Barbie is what a perfect female is. Eventually when the girls reach middle school they find Barbie what they still want to physically achieve but find talking about Barbie childish. So they turn to more life size Barbie dolls like Britney Spears and Destiny's Child. Teenage girls, who consider themselves individuals, all strive for the same goal to become what the opposite sex is attracted to. Teenage girls want to dress and look like young celebrities so they wear tons of makeup and dress in clothing that would have their great grandparents turning in their graves. Schools all over the country are taking the parents job by changing the dress code so that girls do not wear clothing that show their mid drifts and bare shoulders. Even when girls enter college they are still effected b...

Best teacher Essay

My best teacher that I have had thus far in my academic teacher would have to be Elias Semaan. Professor Semaan taught the upper level Finance courses here at JMU and his intelligence as well as his passion captured my attention and made me want to absorb the knowledge that he was preaching. I had Professor Semaan my sophomore and junior year and he was great. He taught a difficult course, FIN 360 Analytical Methods in Finance but he made difficult concepts and equations seem easy by going through the logic behind them and why and how we use them. He added in humor to lighten the heavy load of the courses content and keep the class happy. He was also very creative and used his own little real world examples while explaining bigger critical concepts. Professor Semaan did an excellent job of keeping the class active and participating. He was open to the student’s opinion and always asked at the beginning of class if anyone was having trouble with anything in the course or had any questions, if they did we would discuss it as a class until everyone was caught up. At first I had difficultly grasping some of the concepts as I had switched my major from Management to Finance, but he sat down with me one on one in his office and walked me through any questions I had with clear cut explanations until I had them down. He used tests as assessments for the class and they were tough but fair. If you paid attention and did all your work, the problems would seem familiar and if you slacked off in class or did not attend it would show through the grade of his tests. He was not an easy teacher by any means and you had to work hard for a good grade but he made you want to succeed and motivated me to reach my full potential more than any other of my teachers had. I liked him so much in FIN 360 that the next year I took his other class, FIN 450 Financial Risk Management. I grew a close relationship with Professor Semaan as we shared stories, went over new and challenging concepts, and he served as a role model for me through my College career. Professor Semaan said I remind him of a younger version of himself and I take that as a great compliment. He is very intelligent, he received his PhD in Finance at George Washington University and has been teaching at a University level for over 10 years now. He is in his early 50s and has had a hard life with many ups and downs but continues to push forward and motivate his students to succeed and reach their highest potential. He is dedicated, ambitious, intelligent, funny, charismatic and strong-minded and I admire him and respect him tremendously as a person and mentor. He has made me want to put in all of my effort and work as hard as I have to until I understand what I am learning. He pushed me in the right direction and offers me priceless career information as to what paths to go into and how to make myself look good to employers. He even gave me his cell number to call him if I have any questions or problems at any time. He has my back and I respect him for all that he has done for me and all that he has accomplished throughout his life. I believe Professor Semaan’s teaching philosophy is to have his students maximize their learning potential and focus on their strengths to pick a career path where they will ultimately be happy as well as successful. He has done a great job abiding by his philosophy and has helped me through College and the job searching process. He held office hours by schedule and by appointment and was very flexible and would work with you and do whatever he had to ensuring that his students learned. He also pushed his students to succeed through his charisma and charm and worked one on one with students who went out of their way to learn. He was my best teacher and I feel very lucky that him and I were able to cross paths and establish such a great relationship as teacher/student, mentor/role model, and friends.

PepsiCo Supply Chain Management Essay

Introduction Supply Chain Management is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of supply chain with the purpose to satisfy customer requirements as efficiently as possible. Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. It is a cross functional approach to managing the movement of raw materials into an organization and the movement of finished goods out of the organization toward the end consumer. Supply Chain management is also the combination of art and science of improving the way company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers. It seeks to enhance competitive performance by closely integrating the internal functions within a company and effectively linking them with external operations of suppliers and channel members. Moreover, this has been a prominent concern for both large and small companies as they strive for better quality and higher customer satisfaction. In a supply chain, a company links to its supplier upstream and to its distributors downstream in order to serve its customer. The goal of supply chain management is to provide maximum customer service at the lowest possible costs. Companies now are competing supply chain-to-supply chain rather than enterprise-to-enterprise requiring for more intimately connected relationships. Customer markets and supply chains are no longer limited by physical proximity, and businesses are sourcing from and managing a greater number of far-flung partners and channels. Success of a company now depends on effective global supply chain management, its ability to deliver the right product to the right market at the right time. The complexity involved in managing supply chains that span continents and dominate markets demands strategies and systems that are adaptable. Managing Supply Chain for Global Competitiveness takes a strategic look at all of the core functions of global supply chain management wh ich includes product design, planning and forecasting, sourcing, outsourcing, manufacturing, logistics, distribution, and fulfilment. An example to illustrate this theory on the supply chain  management is the PepsiCo, Inc. Pepsi Co History PepsiCo, a Fortune 500, American Multinational Corporation is under the food consumer product industry and is the world leader in convenient foods and beverages. The Pepsi brand and other Pepsi-Cola products account for nearly one-third of the total soft drink sales in the United States. In order for the company to make sure that their products reach the customers, the company needs a efficient supply chain solutions. It was founded in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Tropicana was acquired in 1998 and PepsiCo merged with The Quaker Oats Company, including the Gatorade in 2001. PepsiCo offers product choices to meet a broad variety of needs and preference — from fun-for-you items to product choices that contribute to healthier lifestyles. PepsiCo owns some of the world’s most popular brands, including Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Lay’s, Doritos, Tropicana, Gatorade, and Quaker. Coca-Cola Company in market value for the first time in 112 years since both companies began to compete. Other brands include Caffeine-Free Pepsi, Diet Pepsi/Pepsi Light, Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi, Caffeine-Free Pepsi Light, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Lime, Pepsi Max, Pepsi Twist and Pepsi ONE,7 Up ,Aquafina (Flavour Splash, Alive, and Twist/Burst),Propel Fitness Water, SoBe, Quaker Milk Chillers. The Frito-Lay brands are : Cheetos,Fritos,Go Snacks, James’ Grandma’s Cookies, Hamka’s, Lay’s, Miss Vickie’s, Munchies, Sandora, Santitas, The Smith’s Snackfood Company, Sun Chips, Kurkure, Tostitos and some of the Quaker Oats brands include Aunt Jemima, Capone Crunch, Chewy Granola bars, Coqueiro, Crisp’ums, Cruesli, FrescAvena, King Vitaman, Life, Oatso Simple, Quake, Quisp, Rice-A-Roni, and Spudz PepsiCo’s Mission PepsiCo’s overall mission is to increase the value of shareholder’s investment. They do this through sales growth, cost controls and wise investment of resources. They believe their commercial success depends upon offering quality and value to their consumers and customers; providing products that are safe, wholesome, economically efficient and environmentally sound; and providing a fair return to their investors while adhering to the highest standards of integrity. A customer while purchasing a bottle of Pepsi will consider product quality, price and availability of the product. Thus, Pepsi focuses its competitive strategy as to producing sufficient variety, reasonable prices, and the availability of the product. Pepsi Ceo Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi has been the chief executive of PepsiCo since 2006. During her time, healthier snacks have been marketed and the company is striving for a net-zero impact on the environment. This focus on healthier foods and lifestyles is part of Nooyi’s â€Å"Performance with Purpose† philosophy. In 2007, Nooyi spent $1.3 billion on healthier-alternative brands like Naked Juice, a California maker of soy drinks and organic juice. Today, beverage distribution and bottling is undertaken primarily by associated companies such as The Pepsi Bottling Group and Pepsi Americas. PepsiCo is a SIC 2080 (beverage) company. PepsiCo has also recently acquired a 50% stake in U.S.-based Sabra Dipping Company. PepsiCo also has formed partnerships with several brands it does not own, in order to distribute these or market them with its own brands. Competitive and Supply Chain Strategies In its business, diversity and inclusion provide a competitive advantage that drives business results. Its brands appeal to an extraordinarily diverse array of customers and they are sold by an equally diverse group of retailers. It understands the needs of our consumers and customers Uses diversity in our supplier base and in everything we do. Commitment to purchase from a supplier base representative of our employees, consumers, retail customers and communities. Developing partnerships with minority-owned and women-owned suppliers helps us build the world-class supplier base we need. Creates mutually beneficial relationships that expand PepsiCo’s sphere of activity. It helps build community infrastructure by providing employment, training, role models, buying from other minority and women-owned business and supporting community organizations Figure Thus the major sustainable advantages that give PepsiCo a competitive edge as they operate in the global marketplace: 1. Big, muscular brands, 2. Proven ability to innovate and create differentiated products and 3. Powerful go-to-market systems. PepsiCo’s Supply Chain Management Difficulties without Just-in-Time When an operation of the company was not just-in-time based, the demand or production planner strived to optimize production-oriented goals and objectives such as equipment utilization, labour efficiency, throughput and uptime. Optimizing these goals often leads to run large batch sizes that are dependent on the availability of raw materials. This optimizes the equipment and labour utilization but the production planners and managers had not been looking at the expense of the bigger picture. The sourcing or purchasing managers strived towards reducing company’s spending overall. This manager consolidated suppliers offering products or materials at the lowest per unit costs through buying in volume. They even got the shipping and freight costs included in the purchase price, which led to the increase in the price of the commodity. Purchasing managers focused on getting the best price, not putting into consideration the supplier performance and reliability. The logistics/transportation manager was tacked with getting raw materials in and the finished goods out of the production process and seek to optimize the transportation and distributing network. This manager focused on the lowest cost and reliability of the logistics or transportation solutions. But lowest cost could only be attained if the purchasing team negotiates a delivered cost package deal with the supplier and the supplier is responsible of the reliability and performance of the carriers or transporters. Improvement with using Just-In-Time (JIT) When it comes to delivering high cost and perishable products to manufacturing sites, just-in-time (JIT) remains one of the most cost-effective supply chain solutions. In JIT process, on time delivery is an absolute necessity. Just-in-Time (JIT) is a philosophy that defines the manner in which a manufacturing system should be managed. It enhances customer satisfaction in terms of availability of options, assurance ofquality, prompt delivery times, and value of money. The Pepsi brand and other Pepsi-Cola products accounted for nearly one-third of the total soft drink sales in the United States. In order to ensure that PepsiCo’s concentrates reaches bottlers as needed during the production had to reach them JIT, they partnered with 3PL provider Penske Logistics to manage its transportation. Penske also provides warehouse management for two Pepsi distribution centers in North America. I2 Transportation I2 Transportation is a part of end to end solution for planning, execution, and management of the entire transportation cycle. It is designed to enable an organization to utilize and manage an entire transportation network, as well as reduce cost while improving transport performance. I2 transportation is designed to employ sophisticated optimization and data techniques to define and evaluate alternative transportation strategies. It is also designed to provide comprehensive data management, analytics, and reporting of key transportation cost and service trade-offs. Implementation PepsiCo set two objectives for transportation management. One was to achieve an on-time delivery rate at 99.1% and another was to reduce transportation costs.It empowered with optimized processes and technology that enable the team to perform at the highest possible level. With the application of new technology that provides greater supply chain visibility, better organized data, and access to higher level of real time or near real time information, even the best team can improve their performance. In 2000, Penske converted Pepsi’s transportation management technology from propriety software to i2 transportation optimization solution. i2 transportation platform was enhanced with the addition of interface between the two companies. In addition, Penske’s partnership with Business objects provided comprehensive supply chain data from its data warehouse, analysis and management applications. Penske’s with use of i2 transportation could track performance at every stag e in the process which increased flexibility and provided greater control over the transportation operation. This increase in visibility made it easier to keep track of shipments, revise routes and schedules to accommodate unforeseen changes and implement alternative plans to counter delays. By Penske’s putting a solution in place to track and  measure every shipment, Pepsi has been able to provide an on-time delivery performance of well over 99 percent. Pepsi’s transportation is consolidated to a central location to reduce costs. Penske also provided a nationwide carrier rate re-negotiation and service assessment which improved cost structure and achieve on-time delivery goal. With this centralization, allows negotiation in a large scale to secure the best rates and services. Furthermore, Pepsi’s orders are received electronically and optimized to ensure lowest transportation cost. Advanced technology is deployed to select the lowest cost carrier, find the best routes and consolidate shipments. Optimal load configuration ensures maximization of each truckload (2003). In summary, PepsiCo used the JIT process to its supply chain management. To make this possible, Pepsi partners with Penske that has provide them with i2 transportation optimization solutions which has satisfies their consumer with the on-time delivery and with the benefit to the company for it has also reduce transportation cost. I2 Supply Chain Visibility With shorter lifecycles and lead times—to customers demanding faster results and more responsive service. Globalization and outsourcing have added to the complexity, resulting in more diversified supply chains. The number of supply chain partners, as well as the amount of geographic dispersion, has increased dramatically as a result. To ensure that their order-to-delivery performance is not impacted, companies need to have greater coordination and visibility into the material flow across the supply chain. Increase Global Visibility With Companies have access to global visibility into all of their critical supply chain activities and partnerships. It allows organizations to respond more quickly and effectively to a wide range of unplanned and potentially disruptive supply and demand events. Supply-related events can include production bottlenecks, fulfillment delays such as port strikes and customs delays, and supplier shortages. Demand-side events might include customer orders that are greater than forecasts or changes to orders that have already been placed. I2 Supply Chain Visibility is designed to manage these events, assess their impact, and orchestrate a rapid and practical resolution while providing a unified view of the supply chain. The solution  can also incorporate packaged business process packs for replenishment, fulfilment, and manufacturing, and these packages can be configured to meet customer-specific requirements. i2 Supply Chain Visibility also enables companies to close the loop between tra ditional planning and execution processes. It enables better understanding of orders, inventory, and logistics data. Powerful Functionality This solution incorporates pre-built workflows that integrate data across order management, warehouse management, logistics, and inventory applications for the flow of both domestic and international goods. A series of predefined, extensible events and exceptions support each workflow and a visual â€Å"studio† allows workflows and events to be extended, configured, and customized to meet specific enterprise requirements. i2 Supply Chain Visibility delivers a robust technology that is scalable and extensible, and that operates smoothly in a distributed computing environment. Extensive Capabilities Inbound and outbound tracking of order, inventory, and logistics flows Domestic and international flows that track multi-leg and multi-modal shipments Visibility into exceptions and events across orders, inventory, and shipments Role-based views for buyers, suppliers, analysts, and 3PL vendors High degree of permissibility and privacy controls Track-and-trace inventory across multiple locations Configurable event detection mechanism and customizable event management workflows Event chaining such as linking of related events, audit trails, context-based problem prioritization and extensive notification options including e-mail, e-mail digest, pagers, and cell phones Calendars, internationalization (i18n), and multi-time zone support enabled Integration to underlying applications for intelligent resolution and to prevent event recurrence Root-cause, event trend, and performance analysis capabilities event library with over 100+ out-of-box events supported Fast, web-based supplier enablement and transaction support Benefits Exception-based management End-to-end supply chain visibility and event management tools Customer-specific solutions for replenishment, fulfillment, and manufacturing The ability to forecast and respond to supply/demand events The option to move from calendar-based to event-driven planning and re-planning. Increased employee productivity Reduced process, personnel, and expediting costs Improved customer, supplier, and partner communications. Real-time decision support E-solution by Hewlett Packard (HP) PepsiCo signed a deal with Hewlett Packard in 2006 to help improve its supply chain management and increase overall efficiency. The seven year deal involved the overhaul of current IT solutions with PepsiCo and focused on updating server environments as well as ensuring a new infrastructure which benefitted operations and increased overall cost-saving. In particular, HP introduced a number of new solutions which helped to encourage stronger customer relationship management and supply chain management. PepsiCo had also opted for BT as its network provider to ensure the e-solution is fully implemented. The supply chain management solution reduced costs as well as enhanced current service provision online and via its communications networking system. By standardizing and optimizing its server environment, PepsiCo International is better flex to meet its changing business needs and in turn provide better service to customers anywhere in the world. Pepsi Bottling Pepsi Bottling Group is the world’s largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages. With annual sales of nearly $11 billion, the company’s fastest growing segment is non-carbonated beverages, including the number one brand of bottled water in the U.S., Aquafina, as well as Tropicana juice drinks and Lipton Ice Tea. As part of a 24/7 production operation, the company’s Detroit plant ships about 27 million cases per year. Production at the plant begins as empty bottles are unloaded from trucks via conveyor and transported to a depalletizer. From there, they  are, rinsed, dried and sent to a filling machine (filler speeds at the plant vary based on bottle size, ranging from 350 to 1,000 bottles per minute). The bottles leave the fillers and make their way to a packaging machine, and then to a palletizer. Each pallet is wrapped for distribution and moved to the warehouse for shipping. The challenge The plant uses a variety of sensors to monitor bottles as they travel through the sequence of steps and to manage the flow to the individual stations. Line sensors match the speed of the conveyor. The company’s inventory of sensors swelled over the years to include more than 120 different varieties. Many of these included multiple styles of the same product stocked under different brands. A similar problem was developing with its drives inventory, which had grown to over 50 different part numbers. The wide variety of sensors made it progressively more complex and time-consuming to replace a faulty device. Despite its fast, high-performance machinery, the increasingly lengthy and more frequent downtime was beginning to impact the company’s ability to meet its productivity goals. In addition, operating costs were on the rise due to the excess spares inventory. Because of the extensive number of sensors they had in inventory, including multiple styles and brands, simply finding the right replacement resulted in an hour of downtime. A more strategic approach to maintenance was necessary, as even the smallest of delays could cost the plant thousands of dollars in lost production and overtime. Knowing that effective parts management and fast, reliable equipment repair lies at the heart of efficient manufacturing, the company explored ways to get its inventory and maintenance processes under tighter control. That’s when it decided to turn to Rockwell Automation for help. The Pepsi Bottling Group’s Detriot plant reduced its number of sensors from 180 to 46, a decrease of 66 percent, by standardizing it sensors inventory to Allen-Bradley products. This reduced downtime and inventory costs. The solution The first task undertaken by Rockwell Automation was to conduct an Installed Base Evaluation – a plant-wide inventory assessment to determine the exact  number of sensors and drives the plant currently had in stock. Next it needed to figure out what products were actually needed and which ones could be eliminated. To streamline its operation, Rockwell Automation recommended that Pepsi standardize its entire sensors inventory on Allen-Bradley products. The local distributor, McNaughton-McKay Electric Company (Mc&Mc), helped design a migration plan to help ease the cost of this inventory conversion. Although all the drives employed at the plant were Allen-Bradley brand, many were older models representing a multitude of drive families. To simplify its drives inventory and upgrade its technology at the same time, Pepsi converted all of its drives to the Allen-Bradley PowerFlex family of AC drives. A detailed cross-reference chart developed by Rockwell Automation now provides te chnicians with a quick and easy way to identify failed and replacement parts, as well as installation instructions. To ensure reliable availability to spare parts, Pepsi set-up a Rockwell Automation Services Agreement that included parts management. With the agreement, Pepsi pays a fixed monthly cost for their spare parts, which are owned and managed by Rockwell Automation but stocked on-site. The agreement allows Pepsi to reduce its upfront expenses, have immediate access to spares, reduce carrying costs, and update its control technology cost-effectively. The agreement also includes an in-service warranty, so the parts don’t go out of warranty until they are actually used for the warranty period. To help the company better utilize its internal resources and reduce costly troubleshooting delays, the Rockwell Automation Services Agreement included TechConnect Support. This remote support service provides the plant with 24/7 access to Rockwell Automation technical specialists. When a problem occurs, Pepsi technicians can call for immediate troubleshooting assistance to resolve it as quickly as possible. To help facilitate problem resolution, Rockwell Automation technical specialists can also perform remote system diagnosti cs through an Allen-Bradley modem installed at the Pepsi facility. This helped Pepsi minimize risk and reducing long term costs. The results Leveraging Rockwell Automation Services & Support has proved to be a smart decision for Pepsi Bottling Group. The improved inventory and parts management capabilities helped reduce downtime and inventory costs, and  standardizing on Allen-Bradley products eased training requirements and minimized the technology learning curve. These benefits have ultimately enhanced productivity by 8 percent and reduced the overtime required to fill orders. In addition, the plant was able to reduce the number of sensors it uses from 180 to 46, a decrease of 66 percent. Likewise, it was able to reduce the number of drive styles from several hundred to 14. Packaging as a tool for Supply chain management GS – 1 standards (bar codes) RFID tags for real-time stock replenishments Commercial Security offerings Counterfeit & pilferage Online supply chain visibility across the chain Pack safety for the consumer Pepsi-Cola Saved $44 million by switching from corrugated to reusable plastic shipping containers for one litre and 20-ounce bottles, conserving 196million pounds of corrugated material. Palletization – cost vs. value creator Key supply chain cost optimizer through an Integrated supply chain approach †¢ Drive standards – pallets/trucks †¢ Pallet pooling services Palletization Roadmap PepsiCo’s Frito Lay Supply chain Frito-Lay is the snack food division of PepsiCo and the largest supplier of potato and corn chips in the world, currently holding 40% of the market share globally, and selling its products in 120 countries. Strength Frito-Lay is succeeding against a multitude of competitors in a fierce, yet slow-growth industry, selling approximately 4.5 billion packages of snacks per year. In order to achieve this, the company has learned how to masterfully create, innovate and manage all aspects of its supply chain  using high-tech IT systems that allow it greater control over its production processes and distribution network. Supply chain in USA: Supplier Base: Frito-Lay’s supplier network for potato chip production has fewer than 100 individual suppliers. Strategy Used: Several years ago, Frito-Lay approached its potato suppliers to seek those farmers willing to concentrate on cultivating a limited number of potato varieties, with a focus on producing the most appealing taste and quality potato chip for the consumer. Frito-Lay then offered these farmers long-term contracts, which made it easier for the farmers to get financing and for Frito-Lay to achieve more efficient, profitable economies of scale in other areas of the value chain. It is noteworthy to mention that steps like these that insure a stable supply of raw material are important to a company who purchases 2.3 billion pounds of potatoes and 775 million pounds of corn annually. From supplier to retailer Frito-Lay traditionally relied upon its in-house fleet of trucks to transport products from its plants to its 1,900 warehouses or 200 distribution centers. However, as the company expanded, operations managers realized that it was not economical to produce every product at every plant, and thus began specializing at particular locations. On the other hand, logistics became increasingly difficult and distances grew longer, and thus, Frito-Lay learned to exploit the benefits of truck carrier services, employing Menlo Logistics to handle route planning. Menlo was able to reduce the carrier base by 50% and negotiate nation-wide discounts with other carriers. Retailers The last stop involved is the 400,000 stores across the nation that carries Frito-Lay’s snack food products. The company utilizes their own technological systems to show stores how reallocating shelf space, for example, can produce larger profits. Retailers are also provided with Frito-Lay’s â€Å"Profit-Vision Program†, which allows retailers to analyze their sales and compare it to national performance statistics. At the same time, Frito-Lay benefits from the program because it convinces retailers to allocate more shelf-space to their products. Strengths of IT corporation Tracks the logistical movement of products throughout the supply chain, from acquiring the raw materials to final delivery, by utilizing its 848 tractors, 2,251 trailers, and a fleet of thousands of local computer-equipped delivery trucks. Empowers its regional managers with access to vast amounts of information on their databases that can be used to effectively guide them in their distribution decisions. It is able to correctly assess demands across all of its products due to the availability of point-of-sale data and an impeccable IT system, giving planners the ability to discern consumer trends and appropriately prepare production plans. Its managers can be proficient in determining levels of inbound supplies, raw materials, the allocation of the company’s production capacity, and logistical details for truck routing. The company’s ability to target local demand patterns with effective promotion and delivery systems results in continuously optimizing profit margins a nd reducing inventory and unneeded costs. Competitive advantages The company tries to captivate its customers by developing extensive databases that record who their customers are and exactly what they want. They focus on being the most reliable, quality-driven suppliers who provide services through the retail channel by means of collecting as much information along the way and utilizing it to address their weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths. Despite only delivering potato and corn chips, relies on its ability to add unparalleled value in its distribution channel. Its customers know that when they do business with Frito-Lays, they aren’t simply buying a product to shelve in their stores, but incorporating an advanced information system with hopes of increasing sales and profits. Supply chain in India Horticulture produce in India is largely marketed through traditional channels. A typical marketing chain for horticultural produce consists of several players as shown in Figure PepsiCo is one of the pioneers of contract farming in India since 2001 Their experience in contract farming has covered many crops – potato, basmati  rice, tomato, chili, peanut, oranges and more recently sea weed. PepsiCo’s operations started in India started in the region of Punjab in collaboration with state government. PepsiCo India’s project with the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation and Punjab Agriculture University remains one of the most ambitious contracts farming projects in the country. Pepsi Tropicana Supply Chain Background Of the four principal Distribution Centres (DC) in the U.S. the Jersey City, N.J. DC is responsible for the supply of Tropicana juices in all states in the Northeast U.S., and all Canadian provinces. Jersey City houses a unit load capacity Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) that is fully integrated into an Automated Warehouse System (AWS). The center handles chilled premium orange juices, and blended juices from concentrate as well as shelf stable juice products from either Florida or local co-packers. Products vary according to package size, and juice type and style, giving rise to approximately 200 Stock Keeping Units (SKU), each facing random demand from customers. Juices arrive already palletized and variously pre-packaged, and are unloaded according to demand, and moved into the ASRS area. The Jersey City Distribution Center (DC) of Tropicana is responsible for the supply of Tropicana juices in all states in the Northeast U.S., and all Canadian provinces. Premium orange juice from Florida represents approximately 65% of the shipments, and has an approximate shelf life of 65 days. The Jersey City DC receives five Tropicana Unit trains from the production facility in Florida weekly. Each train has approximately 45 refrigerated cars. Juices arrive already palletized and pre-packaged in paperboard containers and plastic and glass bottles. Two types of unloading procedures are currently in practice: cross-docking and warehousing. Cross docking normally is used for customers receiving a single product types or transfers to a smaller distribution center in Whitestone, NY. Each train usually contains 8 to 10 railcars that can accommodate cross-dock delivery. Problems There are three major problem areas related to the current practices in Tropicana. 1. Ordering policy of the individual retailers. At the moment, Tropicana manages the inventory orders for about 10% – 20% of the retailers. This process is called CRP or continuous replenishment program. The Tropicana customer service department administers the ordering of those individual customers. From the supply chain perspective, this is mutually beneficial for both the customers and the warehouse. The advantage of the warehouse is that it is able to centralize the demand information of individual stores in its replenishment decisions of juices shipped from Florida to Jersey City. The retailers benefit from in time delivery and less stock out cost. Individual stores contribute the other 80% – 90% of the orders, which are not under Tropicana’s control. This is subject to random variation and hence uncertainties of demand on the warehouse. One approach would be to create an incentive for the customers to entrust their ordering function to Tropicana. This is th e so-called supplier-retailer coordination problem. A carefully designed coordinated system will benefit each and every player in the supply chain network. This may require the design of contracts or cost sharing agreements with the customers. 2. Central ordering of juices that are shipped to the distribution center. Currently there are five trains of juices scheduled to arrive weekly from Florida. The company never ships partially filled trains from Florida. The Jersey City distribution center sometimes builds up inventory of certain classes of juices that are close to their expiration date, and the company has to get rid of them either at a very low price with sales promotion or donate them to charity. A carefully designed and sophisticated coordination of ordering policies will reduce the chances for these problems and result in savings. At the same time it will increase the fill rate because the additional capacity gained from more reasonable ordering can be used for ordering more juices of the type that cause trucks to wait in the yard. 3. Combining marketing strategies with inventory levels and other factors. Marketing strategies such as sales incentives can influence demand. Foreseeing an inventory buildup problem, the company can use marketing (and mainly pricing) as a tool to either increase demand (when certain items build up) or reduce demand (when insufficient inventory is available). Solution 1. Tropicana, a unit of PepsiCo, implemented i2 Supply Chain Strategist to model manufacturing logistics operations to include co-packer operations. 2. The model involved over 30 manufacturing and distribution facilities and the seasonal demand of over 20 product types. 3. Tropicana used i2 Supply Chain Strategist to execute hundreds of scenarios and sensitivities, producing data that provided insights into areas where the company could rationalize system capacity at manufacturing facilities and increase efficiencies within existing distribution and logistics systems. Limitations of Pepsi Supply Chain over Coke 1. PepsiCo has duplicate distribution systems for its beverages. Coca-Cola has for the most part maintained distribution of its entire beverage line-up through its bottlers. 2. Pepsi bottling system is more fragmented than Coca-Cola’s 3. In a consolidated system negotiations involve fewer players and therefore take less time to gain agreement, which may be why the Pepsi system has lagged in system efficiency efforts. PepsiCo and its bottlers have established a purchasing cooperative to gain purchasing power in buying raw materials. 4. While PepsiCo has been pursuing international beverage acquisitions, those investments will take time to produce significant operating income 5. PepsiCo consolidation puts pressure on the independent system bottlers to more readily consider agreements for warehouse distribution.

Word Essay Example

Word Essay Example Word Essay Word Essay Not everyone is willing to use a bad word as their topic for an article, but Beverly Gross, who is an English professor in college, uses â€Å"Bitch† as a topic for her article. After a class discussion, Gross starts to think about what is the certain meaning of â€Å"bitch†. She wants to find out the specific definition for this derogatory word, she uses a lot of definition from dictionaries and anecdotes. In this article, Gross appeals heavily to logos to prove her argument that there is no certain definition of the word bitch and that the meaning depends on both the time and the context. Gross lists many definitions from different dictionaries to support her claim in a logical way. For example, the main meaning from the Oxford English Dictionary: 1. The female of the dog. 2. Applied opprobriously to a woman; strictly a lewd or sensual woman. Not now in decent use. This English dictionary represents the authority, but for this word, the definition is clearly understandable. Dictionary said bitch is female dog; this is truly a humiliation to women in any contents. Every women would hate people connect dogs to them in the past, now or future. She also lists few definitions from Eugene E. Landy’s The Underground Dictionary: 1. Female who is mean, selfish, cruel, malicious, deceiving, a. k. a. cunt. The words that describe bitch are all derogatory sence. But the definition from this dictionary is not that strong as the Oxford English Dictionary. The meaning of bitch is changing during this time. In this article, gross wrote â€Å"a word used by men who are threatened by women† was one astute response. Threat lurks everywhere: for women the threat is being called bitch. I knew it when I finished read this article. According to Gross â€Å"there is no classifiable thing as a bitch, only a label produced by the act of name-calling† (489). Gross’s point is that there is no certain definition of word bitch, what we learn from the dictionaries is bitch’s meaning is always changing over the time. I found Gross’s article very informative. Although I think women dislike word bitch, I am a girl, I would never call other females bitch. Gross revealed a number of anecdotes to improve her claim. For example, Madonna said that she enjoyed expressing herself, it was not merely the explanation for why Madonna gets called a bitch, but it was the key to defusing the power of bitch to fetter and subdue. Gross makes an important point is that long time ago, women wouldn’t let someone else call her bitch, because it’s a bad word, however, in Twenty-first century, women are not subdued by the word bitch. But in fact, I wouldn’t let someone call me bitch!

Patriot Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Patriot Act - Research Paper Example Though there is some opposition to this act, with the opponents arguing that it has some abuse on the civil liberty and discourages free speech (Mascaro, W06). The opponents also argue that the act jeopardizes the privacy and the freedom of the American citizens, by legalizing the surveillance of their private life activities by the government. However, this notwithstanding, the act has gone a long way in ensuring the safety of the American people against terrorist attacks. Through the ability to intercept telephone lines and internet messages, the act allows the government to spy all the activities of the terror groups and individuals, and serve to apprehend those involved in such plans, just before the attack is full-blown (Mac Donald, 23). The act has many other provision all meant to guard against the planning and execution of criminal and terror attacks within the US and its other areas of Jurisdiction. Under this section 215 of the Act, the director of Federal Bureau of Investi gations (FBI) or a designee of the director may make an application for an order requiring the suspected individuals to produce anything tangible may it be books, papers, documents, for use in investigation against international terrorism (Mac Donald, 11). Such applications are to be made to a judge, who then grants the director such orders authorizing the suspect to produce such tangibles. However, such orders shall not disclose that they are issued for such investigations (Steranko, 36). The information that the FBI has sought such tangibles is not to be disclosed by any one, the person from whom they are sought inclusive. This section has served to protect the lives of the American people against terrorism. This is because, it allows the intelligence agencies to investigate suspected terrorists well in advance and that guard against a likelihood of them organizing and perpetrating terrorist attacks (Keller, A2). For example, this section allows the FBI to wiretap communication or obtain an order to search a home of an individual they suspect is an agent of foreign power, or a member of a terror network, without prior notice of search a search to the individual. The only concern the opponents raises is that there is no adequate protection against such violations occurring in the future. The section has effectively eliminated the limitations associated with specific target people and group from whom the materials and information is to be sought, since it is not possible to predict who the terrorist and the criminals are. By providing for the acquisition of such information from any one and any place, the provision ensures a complete coverage of all areas that are likely to be sources of terrorist threats, even when such sources are disguised. This is important, since libraries and bookstores can be a vital source of information for the terrorists and criminals. Section 805 of the Patriot Act makes provisions, which makes any offer of material support to terro rist or terrorist organizations in the US illegal (Mascaro, W06). The definition of crime under this section is broadened to illegalize the provision of support to include monetary instruments, financial securities, and any form of expertise advice or assistance (Steranko, 38). This section has served to protect the American people from terrorist attack, through ensuring that no support is obtained domestically by the terrorist from their terror networks or

Explore the class system in America. In what way does it still exist Research Paper

Explore the class system in America. In what way does it still exist Or, in what way does it really not exist - Research Paper Example Kendall defines the definition of the class system as follows (219): The class system is a stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on the type of work they do (qtd. in Rothman). Classical Perspectives on Social Class Karl Marx and Max Weber viewed class as an important factor in determining social change. According to Karl Marx, class is defined as a relationship to the means of production. In his opinion, a class can be capitalistic or it can be a working class. A capitalistic class consists of those who own the means of production. Workers in a working class are those who need to sell their labor in order to earn money. Major factor described by Marx’s theory involved in distinction between the two classes is power and authority (Kendall, 221). Weber came up with another theory as he was living in an era in which capitalism changed over time. He came up with a multidimensional approach to social stratification. He suggested there are three main fac tors wealth, power and prestige, out of which no single factor can determine the class level. Individuals can rank high in one factor and low in the other (Kendall, 221). Combining the Weberian and Marxian approaches to social class, research Dennis Gilbert (2003) developed a model of social class based on three factors: education, occupation, family income (Kendall, 223). Stratification based on education, occupation and income (Kendall, 224). ... duced that education is not a direct factor contributing in the status level, but it indirectly influences the two other dimensions, that is, occupation and income. Education also shapes cultural behavior. Statistics of 1993 confirms that education the role of education in generating America’s social division. It shows that among individuals earning more than $100,000 per year, 49 percent had postgraduate degrees (Fleishman, 57). Sajjadi in her article discusses about social class system as a description of how scarce resources are distributed in a society. Those scarce resources are wealth, income, education and occupation. She further writes that income is an important scarce resource. But, it is occupation that provides income, and it is education that determines the type of occupation. Income is also related to other life consequences such as the quality of education obtained, health care, and housing (Sajjadi, Social Stratification in United States). As mentioned above, U S individual income depends on education. In 2005, the top 15 percent of income earners were actually the ones with doctorate and professional degrees. Those who had bachelor’s degree had incomes above the national median and people with college degree had less income (Sajjadi, Social Stratification in United States). Education serves as one of the most essential class feature in US, which is directly linked in income and occupation. Level of Disparity Let us see how rich the riches are in US: (Durden, A Visual Reminder of US Social Stratification). A Harvard professor and behavioral economist asked more than 5000 Americans on their opinion on wealth distribution in US. Most of them thought its more balanced than it actually is (Durden, A Visual Reminder of US Social Stratification). (Durden,