ATM Services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ATM Services - Assignment Example After selection of the withdraw option, at this point the user is requested to select the type of account he or she is willing to withdraw from i.e. saving the account, fixed account, and deposit account. After selecting a type of account you wish to withdraw from, you enter the amount you wish to withdraw and submit to bank database for verification. The system verifies whether the amount submitted by the bank customer is sufficient for withdrawal, if not, the customer is requested to enter different amount whereas if the amount entered is approved by the bank or there is sufficient cash, the system sends the account number, PIN, choosen account and the amount in the bank which approves the transaction thus dispensing the correct amount requested by the user and issues a receipt else if the transaction is disapproved because of the incorrect PIN, the disapproval are reported to the system thus initiating Failed Transaction extension. Therefore, informing the bank whether the transac tion has been approved or not; it is completed the bank debits the customer’s for the amount. A transaction involved when depositing dollar amount starts with a session when a customer chooses from the possible transaction types indicated or shown by an ATM machine or system. Therefore, he or she chooses the type of account he or she is wishing to deposit to form the various menu accounts option given and then he proceeds by choosing the amount of dollar through pressing the key or typing digits of the amount to be deposited. During this moment, the bank customer information is sent to the bank database for verification i.e. user card number, PIN, the amount to be deposited, and amount to the bank.

Money and Morality Essay Example for Free

Money and Morality Essay MONEY AND MORALITY: Gifts of eternal truth in moments of the mundane By Cheryl Leis, PhD, Management Consultant/Practical Philosopher As inhabitants of this 21st century Western world, we all have to deal with money. We participate in the world of commerce as a means to obtain those things considered necessities of life. Money plays the role of the most commonly accepted means in this giving and getting from others. And the more money one has, the greater one’s power to regulate the particulars of survival – one’s own and that of others. We use money to participate in the exchange of products or services, individually and corporately – whether employed by or leading an organization. In some cases these organizations are publicly funded non-profits, and in other cases they are private, for-profit ventures. Money and morality is a topic that has surfaced on many occasions in my line of work. One such instance was during a contract with CBC TV to work on the development of a six-part national series titled: â€Å"Beautiful, Filthy Money and the Search for Soul. † The title itself speaks to the ambivalent nature of our responses to money and its presence in our lives. As part of the contract, I appeared as a guest on the panel, where I was asked to complete the following sentence: â€Å"Money is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yes, what is money? My response was: Money is a tool for finding out who we really are. What you do with money, and how you live with money’s presence in your life, tells a lot about your values. Or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it: â€Å"A dollar is not value, but representative of value, and, at last, of moral values. † This is apparently pretty close to what Buddhists believe about money. There are times when many of us are faced with an imbalance between money and morality and find ourselves asking in some form or another: How we can put â€Å"Money† and â€Å"Morality† in the same sentence and not end up with an ethical contradiction? The incompatibility of these Mwords is an inherent, yet complex part of being human. And it is only when we face the truth of their incompatibility that we can come to understand the utter necessity of their coexistence. The challenge stems from the fact that there is both a spiritual side and a material side to our situation. When we don’t bring the spiritual side into dialogue with the material side, problems result. This is true for individuals as well as organizations. Think about Enron – what do you think their way of dealing with money says about the moral values that guided senior management there? Each of us could turn the question on our own lives. Money, in and of itself, is neutral. It has no intrinsic value, but is a mere yardstick of value, a means of measuring or comparing in the exchange of one thing for another. Money â€Å"belongs to the class of great mental inventions, known as 1 measures†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Measures of distance – the meter or mile – span the gulf between two things or places yet are not themselves things or places. Similarly, money brings things of different value together without becoming one or the other. † Because money is merely a way of measuring, it is in itself, therefore, not real. Thus, money is both neutral and unreal. Nevertheless, we often seem oblivious to this unreal nature of money and equate it with things that are very real, like our own values. But if, as Aristotle says, â€Å"[a]ll things that are exchanged 2 must be somehow comparable,† what are we saying about our perception of reality when we measure our sense of self-worth by our net-worth? While money is a measure of value, that value can change depending on what the market is willing to bear. It’s rather similar to the story of the emperor’s new clothes. As soon as we agree something no longer has value, our whole perception of it changes. This change in the perception of the value of something affects humans psychologically and emotionally. So when the value of stocks falls through the floor, people react in fear or paranoia. Conversely, when stocks rise like crazy, there is frenzy fuelled by hope and even greed. What then, motivates our relationship with money? With what intention do we strive to accumulate wealth? Do we recognize what our relationship with money says about our values? Money Obsessing For some the question of ethics and money leads down another path. In â€Å"Is Lucre Really 3 that Filthy? † Craig Cox, executive editor of Utne magazine, reflects on his own journey from disdain for the almighty dollar as a child of the 60s to becoming – of all things – â€Å"bourgeios,† earning money and learning to manage it. There was the example by a leading voice of the counter-culture of the day, Allen Ginsberg, who wrote in Howl! of burning all his money in a wastebasket. Times have changed – even for Ginsberg, 1. David Appelbaum, â€Å"Money and the City,† Parabola, Volume XVI, No. 1 (Spring 1991), 40. 2. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1133a 18. 3. Craig Cox, â€Å"Is Lucre Really That Filthy,† Utne Reader (July-August, 2003), 63. who â€Å"†¦of course, sold his papers to Stanford University for 4 nearly a million bucks. † The irony, points out Cox, is that social justice activists who want to eschew wealth in order to bring about social justice and help the poor are in fact helping people to attain the very thing they, the activists, abhor: a comfortable life. He sets up an interesting dilemma when he insists that â€Å"If you insist on embracing poverty in your own life, how do you become a credible advocate for folks who would do almost anything to 5 escape it? † True enough, there are those who become enslaved to money in their attachment to mere accumulation of more and more capital. However, there are also those who are enslaved to money in their ascetic avoidance of it. Both are obsessive behaviours: obsessed with having money or obsessed with avoiding it – like the alcoholic’s family that is obsessed with avoiding alcohol. In neither case is money at the service of the individual as a means of providing for the necessities of life; rather, the individual is at the service of money. Our emotional responses to this neutral thing called money often lead to an automatic attachment of value-statements. We grab on to labels such as â€Å"evil,† â€Å"bewitching,† â€Å"aweinspiring,† or â€Å"filthy lucre. † Respect for money is replaced with either worship or condemnation of it. Emotional and value-laden responses are also evident when conversation turns towards money and self-righteous posturing rises very quickly to the surface with comments like: â€Å"Well, I don’t soil my hands with money. † Or: â€Å"I certainly don’t 4. Ibid 5. Ibid work for money. † A lot of judging of others happens: â€Å"He’s just in it for the money. † Or: â€Å"She’d do anything for money. † This judgmental posturing also leads to ideological positioning. Anyone who focuses on making money is immediately dubbed a capitalist and conversely, anyone who speaks of communal sharing is dubbed a socialist. Subtleties are lost and conversation ends right there. No dialogue is possible. We move from love of money to love of ideology, where anyone who thinks differently than I do about money is immediately evil. Spiritual Moments of Mundane Existence To judge from one side or the other is to forget that we inherently have one foot in heaven and one foot in the mud of the earth below. The challenge is to live in both simultaneously. Living as a human being means learning to deal with money – whether one has a lot or a little matters not. It will do us no good to merely pursue a spiritual life unless we are living equally and simultaneously in the material world. Christians are exhorted to remember that even Bishops, or spiritual leaders, are told to balance both. â€Å"For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? † (1 Timothy 3:5) A life of wholeness, or one in which the spiritual and the material are in balance, guarantees freedom from distortion. Yet the need for wholeness is also at the heart of the contradiction. The spiritual and the material are of entirely different natures. Not only must they live in the same world, both the spiritual and the human sides of our existence must also have 2 their own identity and remain in full relationship with each other. We have to work at accepting this incompatibility for what it is. These are separate parts of who we are and of our daily existence. These separate parts are in a dynamic relationship one to the other, like notes in a beautiful song: you might have harmony, but you still have separate notes. If they are all the same note, there is not harmony, there is unison. Harmony has tension. It is beautiful because of the tension. Unison is nice, but harmony is richer. Morality And Business Just as it will not help us on an individual level to focus only on the one side of our nature at the expense of the other, likewise it will not help to divide our culture into the spirit-lead and others. It reminds me of a story I recently heard: Two men met for the first time, in of all places, a church on a Sunday morning. The one asked the other: â€Å"So what do you do? † To which the second responded: â€Å"I work as a director of XYZ division of a business. † â€Å"You’re in business? † quipped the first, who was a teacher, â€Å"Oh that’s too bad. † The work of the businessman was seen as inherently less worthy. How far could the conversation go after that? It is a difficult chasm. One finds a classic case of a religious-affiliated venture that refused to acknowledge that it must run itself like a business. After decades of mismanagement, the publishing house cried out to its constituency to get it out of a multi-million debt. One former board member was even quoted in a church publication as saying that this was seen as â€Å"a church venture, not a business venture. † The mistake lay in this eitheror posture. There was no acknowledgment that gifts and talents and skills of different sorts were needed. The disdain goes the other way too. One has only to think of the now infamous corporations like Enron or Livenet, where the situation is merely the reverse: a business enterprise that lacks spiritual sense, and results in moral bankruptcy. If our moral principles give us the framework within which we operate and the ability to continue operating depends upon financial viability, then integrity is automatically lost for any organization when either half of the morality and money equation is lost. Balancing the Equation Only when we pay attention and only when we come to recognize the true place and role we have allowed money in our lives, only then can we possibly hope to reach a deeper understanding of how important a balance between the material and the spiritual is. This deeper understanding may only come in flashes, only fleetingly. Yet the truth that is understood in an instant opens us up to the truth of our everyday actions and existence. In other words, we must become conscious, we must become aware of our human condition – this life lived in a dynamic balance between the spiritual and the material – and be attentive to both. But instead of giving the right amount of attention to those mundane and material aspects of life like taxes and monetary demands put upon us, we often get caught in a bias against money. We would rather point fingers and condemn in broad strokes than engage in dialogue of particular money matters. We would rather alienate than seek to understand. Instead of casting judgment or pretending we, personally, are above being affected by money, we need to face our human situation and recognize we live in two worlds simultaneously. Maybe then we would do a better job of living in both. â€Å"If great truth does not enter into our relation to money, it cannot 6 enter our lives. † And if we do not allow ourselves to face that truth, the negative aspects of our relationship to money will sneak up on us unawares. Bad debts, overdue bills, or an empty fridge will suddenly demand so much of our human attention that we will have no energy left to focus on matters of the spirit. Undeniably, it can be a challenge to live out our moral principles in the marketplace; it is inherent in the challenge of being spiritual and human at the same time. Not giving enough attention to either the spiritual or the material, on an individual or an organizational level, leads to bankruptcy, whether moral or financial. In his book, Business and the Buddha, Dr. Lloyd Field states, â€Å"greed is a choice. † We can choose to allow our insatiable desires to form our intentions or we can choose to recognize where our intentions are ultimately leading us. It is not money or wealth or even the capitalist system that is the problem, he argues. Buddhists regard wealth as neither bad nor negative. Rather, the problem sits plainly with us, human beings, and the intentions which we allow to motivate our thoughts, our emotions and our actions. It cannot be stated any clearer than said in this book: we are exhorted to â€Å"continually make the connection between money and human values. † And then the question that really gets to the heart of the matter: â€Å"What price do we put on our ethics? † We will need to move past our biases and disdain for those whom we consider to be on the other side of the money and morality equation and allow moments of eternal truth and even grace to infiltrate our discussions and our questions. When all gifts and skills are welcome and when integrity is our priority, then there will be the possibility of a true and dynamic relationship between money matters and morality. 6. Needleman, 265.

President of Venezuel Essay Example for Free

President of Venezuel Essay The current president of Venezuela named Hugo Rafael Chavez was born in Venezuela’s western grassland region on July 28, 1954. Socialism, Latin American integration and anti imperialism are promoted by the president because he was also leading the Bolivarian Revolution. Neo-liberal globalization and U. S. foreign policy were the main critics of the president. His parents were schoolteacher which is not a lucrative profession by any mean in Venezuela. He was belong to a poor family besides this in Venezuela dark skinned dark skin people faces strong racial divisions and white skinned people are elite. When he was seventeen years old he enrolled at Venezuela â€Å"Academy of Military Sciences† and studied engineering. After completion of acidic career he joined he joint military for several months. Chavez was immediately popular with his fellow students, he and his fellow students developed a left nationalist doctrine that they termed Bolivarianism inspired by his real hero Simon Bolivar, the father of Venezuelan independence and a figure of legendary dimensions. He was an excellent player of baseball and he played a lot for team called the Criollitos de Venezuela. Moreover, upon completion of his studies, Chavez entered the active military service. His military career lasted for 17 years, during this time he held variety of posts, seniorities and commands. He was also the part of the lectureship and was famous for his fiercy lecturing style and radical critique of Venezuelan government and society. With his natural charisma, he brings closer soldiers to his ideas, and built a network of supporters within the army. In 1983 he established MBR 200, the revolutionary Bolivarian movement (Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario 200), 1983 being the 200th anniversary of Simon Bolivars birth. Simon Bolivar: Influent Al Person in Hugo Chavezs Life Major influence on Chavez came from Simon Bolivar, from where Bolivarian movement was developed. The memory of Simon Bolivar has yet kept alive in Venezuela, the revolution of 19th century which led the sub continent independence battle against Spain. Simon Bolivar was born in Spain and many of his followers were native of Venezuela. Nonetheless, Simon Bolivar remained to be a significant and founding myth for the Venezuela institute. Particularly, his arm forces helped him a lot to bind them together even though of political instability. Chavez when he was a school child during the periods of 1950’s and 1960’s in the school studied a lot Bolivar’s feats against the Spaniards. The defining event in his life came when in 1989 the economy was devastated by rising oil prices which led President Carlos Andres Perez to a serious of tough measures. As a result of rising oil prices, buses fares were increased which led to protests by poor people and the army was sent to suppress the protestors. Chavez belong that part of the group that was deployed and he was enraged when he listen the order shoot all the citizens who he believes had a legitimate grievances. This was the motivation which led to his army coup that he organized against the same president some three years later. MBR 200. Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 The MBR 200 was the social and political movement that Hugo Chavez founded in 1983. Chavez established MBR 200 setting as its political goals the realization of Bolivars ideals by means of a Bolivar resolution, which refers to a mass social and political movement in Venezuela aimed at eradication of corruption and emphasized on redistributive social justice and economic and political sovereignty. Some important points of Chavezs Bolivarianism are: †¢ Political participation of the masses by votes, referendum and councils †¢ Political and economic sovereignty †¢ Economic self – sufficiency †¢ Building in people nationality and patriotism †¢ Eradication of corruption †¢ Equal distribution of oil revenues of his land 1992 Coup Chavez was working as a lieutenant colonel during his late 30s. In addition, he was also working as a committed left wing activist, mixing with left wing group outside the army and conspiring in the institution for the sake of coup d’etat. So, after an extended period of dissatisfaction and economic decline under the administration of President Perez, Chavez and his fellow conspirators launched a military coup in Feb 1992. Although the coup was not entirely successful Chavez came to national prominence due to a abruptly speech made shortly after his arrest, the Venezuelan government allowed him forty five second speech in order to tell his co-conspirators to lay down the arm. It was a mistake made on the government part and Chavez made the most of it. Chavez in Power When Chavez spent his 2 year life in Jail during the period of 1990s economy of Venezuela was went on to bear the huge burden of oil prices. Support for the two of main political parties decline in elections of 1994, Chavez found the population increasingly receptive to its critique of the two party models and its associated corruption. Chavez organized a new party called the â€Å"fifth republic movement† During 1996 97 his support gradually increased in polls and he scored a comfortable majority and took power in 1998, his first political office with 56 percent of votes. Chavez Is Moving Venezuela from A Democracy To A Totalitarian State â€Å"Chavez supporters assert that, in fact, it is the current administration which is successfully steering Venezuela away from its statist and authoritarian past. They refer to the introduction of the new constitution at the beginning of Chavez’s term, which provides numerous opportunities for citizens to become directly involved in participatory politics, including making provisions for the current recall drive. Civil society groups can, for example, participate indirectly in the selection of judicial officials as well for as the national electoral commission. Furthermore, Chavez’s standing with his own people seems to be improving, which reflects an economy which once again shows promises. Even though the middle-class led last year end’s strike cost the economy $10 billion, unemployment has slowly dropped to 15%. The Bloomberg News Service credits the Venezuela Stock Exchange with one of the two best performances of the 59 exchanges it monitors worldwide. With Chavez’s personal popularity, he has climbed back to 40% after dipping to 30% a number of months ago†. Authoritarian Vs Democratic (Democracy Vs Totalitarian State) There has been a continuous debate whether Chavez has released from corruption accusation or he himself damaged the country’s own foundation of democracy. Authoritarian Some believe that the Hugo Chavez have more power than any president should have. Chavezs new constitution has been seen as authoritarian. Although there are detailed sections involving human rights, but some believe that the power given to the highest branch of government can easily lead to human rights violations. The new constitution also allows the president to be in the office considerably, which some suggests leads to authoritarianism. Scholars also criticized the way Chavez gained power and his conduct afterwards. The motivation behind his recent constituent assembly has been seen as to settle the score with Venezuelans traditional opposition parties and remove them from all positions of influence. One scholar suggested that Chavez himself overthrown the government in 1992 as similar to the corruption of the traditional parties of Venezuela, which clutched power by the military inventions in 1945 and misbalanced Venezuela’s supreme court and congress. Democratic Stance On the other way, some believe that the Chavez protected the democracy. In their point of views, â€Å"Chavezs government does emphasize the mobilization of the masses and confrontational speeches, Chavez cannot be equated to fascism since his ideology is left wing. Others are more pronounced in their view that Chavez is a benefit to democracy. These people believe that Chavez simply frees Venezuela from the corruption and he stands for a much needed transformation in Venezuelan society† Since Chavez does not belong to any party, and he came from the grass roots and has seen all the hardships, therefore he is more capable to meet the interest of the Venezuelans. Some opponent of Chavez equates him with Fujiori but his comparison is not correct because unlike Fujimori Chavez has an self-governing foreign military, a revolutionary disclosure and he did not endorse huge privatization. Economic Policies Venezuela is the 5th largest oil producer, which remains the key of Venezuelan economy. Chavez has gained a reputation as a price hawk in OPEC. At a meeting of OPEC in July 2006, Venezuela was the only country calling for lowered production to drive oil prices higher. Some critics say that under the President Chavez regime the output of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) which is a state owned company, has been reduced by 25% and Venezuela cannot meets it current quota. However Forbes argues that the political and other influence have an effect on numbers. Nonetheless, Chavez has attempted to broaden Venezuelas customer base by getting into joint ventures with other developing countries including China, Brazil, Argentina and India. Although the record oil prices have meant more funding for the social and development plans, but it has also left the economy dependent on oil sector, private sector role has diminished. â€Å"February 6, 2006 Chavez announced a 15% increase in the minimum wage and a new model for Venezuela’s national health-care system, with US$449 million allocated to upgrade 43 hospitals. Implementing a measure of the constitution that recognises housework as an economic activity, the government will also provide wages to 200,000 poor homemakers. January 30, 2006 Chavez launched 12 new state-run Social Production Enterprises (EPS) in key industries, with the aim of substituting for the many products Venezuela currently imports. This is a key part of overcoming Venezuela’s underdevelopment and achieving genuine sovereignty. The EPS follow a new economic model oriented towards human need rather than private profits. February 7, 2006 Chavez announced his government would provide $1 billion in funding to community planning councils. These elected councils aim to greatly deepen participatory democracy by allowing people to directly control public policy†. Unemployment is down â€Å"Venezuela is experiencing a period of economic growth which has moved the formal employment sector (businesses with five or more employees) past the 50 percent mark. When businesses with less than five employees are taken into account the informal sector is much lower (perhaps 35 percent) — unusual for Latin America, which suffers from chronic unemployment and underemployment. I happened on a long line in a downtown shopping district and asked some ladies if they were waiting for the internet cafe to open. No, mi amor, la tienda de zapatos. â€Å"The finest shoes added another. The National Institute of Statistics is preparing a study that will measure the standard of living, not only wages as the World Bank does. Taking the social programs into account — especially the 15,000 Cuban doctors and more money invested in the Social Security hospitals — the standard of living should show more improvement than wages alone show. The institutes president says free education at all levels has drastically reduced dropout rates. This will undoubtedly raise standards of living in the long run as more students go on to higher education†. Highlight of Key Statistical Data Per Capital GDP: During Chavezs presidency per capital GDP dropped 1% 2%. GDP Growth Rates: 18% in 2004, 9% in 2005 and 9% in the first half of 2006. Non-Petroleum Sectors: From 2004 to the first half of 2006, Non Petroleum Sectors showed a growth of greater than 10% Poverty Figures: Dropped by 10% officially. Unemployment: Dropped by 7. 7% since the start of Chavezs presidency. Inflation: Dropped from 29. 9% to 14. 4%

Operations Management of Supermarket Retail Shops

Operations Management of Supermarket Retail Shops Operations are a primary activity for a supermarket retail business. As such, a business that wants to be successful needs to have a leading operating model. Staff plays very important role in this model. It is necessary to put a sustained focus upon how to develop best operational staff to ensure the supermarket industry is fit to embrace the significant future developments that are expected and to excel in customer service (Sramek, Mentzer Stank, 2008). As per Martyn (2010), operations must be viewed with the appropriate level of importance, so as to support an ambition to create a world-class operating environment, which consists of people, process, technology and organization. A good operational team staffed by good operational individuals can create a competitive advantage, keeping customers satisfied, having a company that is efficiently, economically and effectively run, and creating a band of loyal and committed employees (Foster Jeffrey, 2008). It is worth being ambitious for the operations function and the associated staff it will make a difference to the business According to Willis (1998), operational management is the systematic management and control of processes that transform resources into finished products and services. The operation includes support for a significant proportion of the workforce and material assets in most organizations. Managers are involved in each step in the operations. They determine what kind of equipment, labor, tools, equipment, materials, energy and information must go into the operating system and how these materials can be the best way to go and use to meet the needs of the market (Banker and Khosla, 1995). Managers are responsible for critical activities such as quality management and monitoring, capacity planning, materials management, purchasing and planning (Goodale and et al. 2010). Without the assistance of staff, these activities cannot be successful. Operations management is also known for production and capacity management and operations management area is a multidiscipline that focuses on operations of the organization (Lashley Taylor, 1998). Schniederjans Cao (2009) states that OM includes many decisions such as the scale of operations, including managements decision regarding the design, planning, and managing a number of factors that affect the operation. (Shin Collier, 2000). Operations Manager needs to apply the ideas and technology to increase productivity and reduce costs, increase flexibility to respond quickly to changing customer needs, shorten delivery times, improve product quality, and improve customer service. These are the important areas to be taken care of for the success of a company or a branch. There has been dramatic increase in the importance of operations management. Significant foreign competition, shorter product and service life-cycles, better-educated and quality-conscious consumers, and the capabilities of new technology have placed increasing pressures on the operations function to improve productivity while providing a broader array of high-quality products and services (Williams Anderson, 2008). With the globalization of markets, firms are recognizing that the operations function can be used to strengthen their position in the market place. Managers in operations management play a strategic and tactical role in satisfying customer needs and making their firms strong international competitors. Organizations should follow the competition. If an employee is away from work or not paying attention then the company will lose customers and its competitors are able to take this opportunity, the company can lose its popularity and profitability. For gaining efficiency quality is the key to success and which is an effective treatment, especially for continuous improvement (Soteriou Chase, 1998). Excellent customer service is essential to the success of any business. Officials must be monitored at all times, if they offer a good customer service or not, so they can better perform and can excel in customer service and their work should be assessed frequently. It takes time to really excel in customer service, but this ability can be learned with proper training. Employees should leave the bad attitude, family problems and personal issues at the door. Generally, customers will not see the owner or management f the company. Instead, they see that the customer service and this is how t hey judge the whole business. Employees are the mirror of the company so the employees should show their best services through their good attitude. Employees should sincerely welcome every customer with a smile, they are valuable. A participatory management and team work are major components of successful operations (Hays Hill, 2006). Motivation, leadership and training are essential too. In addition, materials management and quality, these are two important areas. Materials management is becoming increasingly important in many organizations as the cost of purchasing materials is more than 50% of the total cost products (Shin Collier, 2000). Quality management programs and quality products are essential to compete in todays business environment. The supermarket retail branch staff should have the qualities to win the heart of the customers by their services. For excelling in customer service employees should consider that customers are not easy to deal with but if employees have the patience and the people skills to overcome that, it would be easier for them to excel in it (Sramek, Mentzer Stank, 2008). Perhaps the most essential thing the employees should always remember when on a customer service job is to keep a positive attitude. For instance, if one works at a call center, the first thing the employee should expect from a call from online is a burst of angry customers (Soteriou Chase, 1998). Although sometimes this may not be the case but it is better if one is prepare for it. To develop that pleasant and relaxed attitude, it is best to smile even if one is only on the phone. The action of smiling automatically buffers the outbursts you are going to get from your client. In the case of working in a retail business, smiling will go a long way with the customers. When the customers are greeted with a friendly face, they will start t o give their interest. The next thing the employee must remember is how to respond at a time when they come into contact with customers. For a retail customer service, employee does not follow the customers around when they come into the store (Hays Hill, 2006). This is a common mistake made by the store customer service staff. Employees must make it possible for customers to have the freedom to explore the product without tailing behind him. They should let them walk around and check out the goods. When they are ready to ask questions, they talk to employees. Employee must comply with them if they seem to ask, is the signal for the employees can go up to them and ask how they can help them out (Sramek, Mentzer Stank, 2008). All this will result in having good reputation in the market. The working operations can output more than they would work alone as the organization has developed sophisticated systems and equipment that increase worker productivity (Horvathova, 2010). The company also provides education and training for their workforce to increase their knowledge and improve their skills. As a result of improvements in productivity and improved training, more outputs are produced and the standard of living increase for all. Employees should think of customers as individuals. If they think so, they realize that their business is their customers, not their products or services. Put all the attention for goods in shops, or companies offering their services, leaving the most important component: each individual customer. For good customer service, employees must go the extra mile. They should include a thank you note to the package to a customer, send a greeting card, clip articles, and write a note of congratulations when they get a promotion (Martyn, 2010). There are many ways for employees to stay in touch with customers and make them closer. An effective operations strategy can provide a competitive advantage. Managers must rethink many of the basic principles of good managers of operations who worked in the past (Schniederjans Cao, 2009). Companies should adopt a strategy for improvement that fits the specific needs of the organization at that point. Assigning a team to perform a task may not always be the best idea. Sometimes it is better to allow an individual to work alone. Foster Jeffrey (2008) believe that the main purpose of Operations Management is to plan, organize, direct, and control the process of bringing together people, equipment, materials, and methods to accomplish a broad range of operational tasks outlined below in the most cost-effective manner. The manager of the branch should understand how people think and act accordingly to motivate workers by creating a harmonious workplace. Proper management of the operations function has led to success for many companies. For example, in 1994 Dell Inc. was a second-tier computer maker that managed its operations similar to others in the industry (Schniederjans Cao, 2009). Then Dell implemented a new business model that completely changed the role of its operations function. Dell developed new and innovative ways of managing the operations function that have become one of two- days best practices. These changes enabled Dell to provide rapid product delivery of customized products to customers at a lower cost, and thus become an industry leader. As change is the law of the nature, the operations of the supermarket retail branch should be flexible so that they can adapt the changes in the future. For operations management to be successful, it must add value during the transformation process (Willis, 1998). The greater the value added, the more productive a business is. Activities that do not add value are considered a waste; these include certain jobs, equipment, and processes (Banker Khosla, 1995). In addition to value added, operations must be efficient. Performing well at lowest possible cost results in greater efficiency. An important role of operations is to analyze all activities by eliminating those that do not add value, and restructure processes and jobs to achieve greater efficiency (Goodale et al. 2010). Todays business environment is more competitive than ever, and the role of operations management has become the focal point of efforts to increase competitiveness by improving value added and efficiency. This can be possible by employing new methods, new technology and by training employees. As customers demand ever higher quality in their products and services, companies have been forced to focus on improving quality in order to remain competitive. With TQM everyone in the company is responsible for quality. TQM was practiced by some companies in the 1970s and became pervasive in the 1990s (Foster Jeffrey, 2008). Quality is the area of the operations management which can never be ignored by companies. The importance of this movement is demonstrated by the number of companies joining the ranks of those achieving ISO 9000 certià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cation (Foster Jeffrey, 2008). ISO 9000 is a set of quality standards developed for global manufacturers by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to control trade into the then emerging European Economic Community (EEC) (Foster Jeffrey, 2008). Today many companies require their suppliers to meet these standards as a condition for obtaining contracts. To have effective operations management, the company must employ T QM. Competition based on time is the one of the recent trends in the companies. It has many aspects like development of the new products and services and reaching the market first and meeting customer orders most quickly (Schniederjans Cao, 2009). For example, two companies may produce the same product, but if one is able to deliver it to the customer in two days whereas the other delivers it in five days, the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst company will make the sale and win over the customers. Time-based competition requires specifically designing the operations function for speed (Schniederjans Cao, 2009). Supermarket branch should cater to the needs of the customers more quickly in order to gain competitive advantage. Supply Chain management plays a vital role in appropriate operations management. Willis (1998) states that supply chain management (SCM) involve managing the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow of materials and information from suppliers and buyers of raw materials all the way to the final customer. Its aim is to reduce the overall cost and improving the quality and the delivery of the service. Team approach is essential in supply chain management. It requires the co-operation from all the departments such as marketing, purchasing, operations, and engineering. It will result in more satisfied customers (Banker Khosla, 1995). It has become possible with the development of information technology (IT) tools which assist in collaborative planning and scheduling. The technologies help to combine the supply chain execution and design collaboration, which enables companies to respond better and faster to changing market needs. The companies which have achieved great success through supply chain management are Dell Computer, Wal-Mart, and Baxter Healthcare (Banker Khosla, 1995). Today businesses must think in terms of a global marketplace in order to compete effectively. This includes the way they view their customers, competitors, and suppliers. Key issues are meeting customer needs and getting the right product to markets as diverse as the Far East, Europe, or Africa (Willis, 1998). Operations management is responsible for most of these decisions. Operations Management decides whether to tailor products to different customer needs, where to locate facilities, how to manage suppliers, and how to meet local government standards (Williams Anderson, 2008). Also, global competition has forced companies to reach higher levels of excellence in the products and services they offer. The use of best supply chain management should be used in supermarket retail branch for excellent management of the operations. There should be an effective, consistent and impartial way to benchmark service levels in all the supermarket retail branches, and Mystery Programmes can provide the solution. The employees should have thorough understanding of what the branch offers in order to win and retain the customers. Moreover, the employees must fully understand the position of the branch in the market and what is expected of them (Horvathova, 2010). Mystery shopping programmes support the management and development of service delivery in supermarkets, transforming an intangible asset into exactly what one promises to the customer a vital competitive advantage in todays uncertain market (Hays Hill, 2006) . This programme is very helpful for making improvements among the staff. It will help in identifying areas for revenue improvements, recognizing and rewarding employee and customer service initiatives Mystery shopping programmes should be developed to reflect own unique quality protocols. These systems wil l help to measure the staff performance. Continous monitoriting of the service improvements can be done through this programme. One can define and monitor staff in many ways. These programmes should be designed in such a way so that these can check variables like employee product knowledge, check consistently the quality check standards and uniformity, and monitor customer care and communication (Martyn, 2010). Benchmarking should also be employed in the branch in order to make the comparison among different branches. Otherwise, it is complex to identify the areas that need improvement. Employees should be rewarded on the basis of their performance and there should be incentive plans which will reward the employees when they outperform. This will be very helpful for effective operations management. At the end, it is concluded that for the success of the retail branch operations the employees should pay full attention rather than taking their personal performance for granted. The quality of the service will decline if they dont co-operate. The employees should be checked at all times whether they are providing good customer service or not and there should be training conducted from time to time so that they can learn to excel in this skill and their work should be evaluated frequently. They should also be trained so that they can acquire new skills. There should be an effective, consistent and impartial way to benchmark service levels in all the supermarket retail branches. Todays business environment is more competitive than ever, and the role of operations management has become the focal point of efforts to increase competitiveness by improving value added and efficiency. This can be possible only by employing new methods, new technology and by training employees. By behaving strategically, the supermarkets or companies can pave their way towards effectiveness, efficiency, productivity and prosperity.

I am alone :: essays research papers

I am alone In the speech â€Å"I am alone† by Cochise, a Native American leader address to the white people for peace. The story goes back when the Native Americans (Chiricahua tribe) owned the land in the western part of the United States known as Apache land. First the Mexicans came across their land and try to over-rule them in which resulted the Mexican War. The war lasted years and the Natives eventually overcame the Mexicans. After the Mexican War then came the Europeans who sailed across the Pacific Ocean and landed on the Apache land. At first the Europeans make friends with the Natives then the Europeans turned against them and falsely accused Cochise of kidnapping a white child. The captured of Cochise made the Natives furious and brought tension on the Europeans. In 1861 the conflict between the Natives and the Europeans begins in which caused war. The Europeans were too much to handle for the Natives; they brought many troops across the sea to fight the Indians and eventually overcame them. Many Natives and Europeans were killed in the war, the Natives were forced to give up their land and be transferred to a reservation far from Apache. It was 1871 when the Natives seek peace with the Europeans; they send Cochise to address peace with the Europeans and negotiated a new treaty which allowed the remaining Natives to stay in Apache.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the reading it sounds like the Chiricahua tribes were gullible and compassionate. The Natives were gullible because they assume the Europeans come to Apache for visit or to make friends with them. After the horrible tragedy with the Spanish the Natives should have attacked all the intruders that came across on their land instead of befriending the Europeans and ending up loosing their territories to the Europeans. I am alone :: essays research papers I am alone In the speech â€Å"I am alone† by Cochise, a Native American leader address to the white people for peace. The story goes back when the Native Americans (Chiricahua tribe) owned the land in the western part of the United States known as Apache land. First the Mexicans came across their land and try to over-rule them in which resulted the Mexican War. The war lasted years and the Natives eventually overcame the Mexicans. After the Mexican War then came the Europeans who sailed across the Pacific Ocean and landed on the Apache land. At first the Europeans make friends with the Natives then the Europeans turned against them and falsely accused Cochise of kidnapping a white child. The captured of Cochise made the Natives furious and brought tension on the Europeans. In 1861 the conflict between the Natives and the Europeans begins in which caused war. The Europeans were too much to handle for the Natives; they brought many troops across the sea to fight the Indians and eventually overcame them. Many Natives and Europeans were killed in the war, the Natives were forced to give up their land and be transferred to a reservation far from Apache. It was 1871 when the Natives seek peace with the Europeans; they send Cochise to address peace with the Europeans and negotiated a new treaty which allowed the remaining Natives to stay in Apache.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the reading it sounds like the Chiricahua tribes were gullible and compassionate. The Natives were gullible because they assume the Europeans come to Apache for visit or to make friends with them. After the horrible tragedy with the Spanish the Natives should have attacked all the intruders that came across on their land instead of befriending the Europeans and ending up loosing their territories to the Europeans.

Survivor :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Survivor Africa has been entertaining to watch and will be interesting to see how the different episodes relate to the topics discussed throughout the course. It will be interesting to see how the different group dynamics within each tribe collaborates. You have a plethora of different personality types within each tribe. There are young and old members, gender differences, workers and slackers, introverts and extroverts, and racial differences. However, the first and most appropriate example that comes to mind that is directly related to the show and the course is the Robbers Cave Study. The study was able to show that whenever you are competing for limited resources, conflict is inevitable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first days most dramatic moments in the Boran tribe revolved around Diane and Clarence. I believe Diane started off on the wrong foot by taking control of the map and then leading the rest of the tribe in the wrong direction. She assumed a leadership role without earning it. When they finally arrived at their campsite they were lacking water, so they decide to open a can of cherries. They carefully passed the can around, with each member taking one. Well, each person except Clarence, who helped himself to two cherries. This was Clarence’s first mistake, this was not a brilliant move on Clarence’s part, especially after only the second day. As we learned in chapter four, first impressions are lasting, and people are slow to change their first impressions on the basis of new information. Later on that day, both teams had their first immunity-reward challenge that involved having a race. It was quite obvious that Diane did not do very well, she pret ty much passed out. Samburu ultimately won the challenge. When Boran returned to camp, Diane was still not feeling well, so Clarence decided to stay behind to help her while the other team members went to get water. While the other team members were away, Clarence decided to open a can of beans to feed to Diane thinking it might do her some good, What a guy! Well, Diane ate some and Clarence polished off the rest of them and then discarded the can. To make a long story short, this was Clarence’s second mistake. When the team returned, they realized what had occurred and all lashed out at him. Considering what just occurred, I must admit, Clarence handled himself extremely well.

Ironing out carbon - One mans solution to carbon sequestration Essay

â€Å"Ironing† out Carbon Dioxide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carbon Dioxide plays a key role in the atmosphere. This gas has properties that allow it to sustain and hold in heat, which in turn warms the planet (EIA, 2004). Carbon, the primary component of carbon dioxide; is also the essential molecule for life and is the most basic building block found in all organic compounds. Human activities been blamed for the disruption of the earth’s natural carbon cycles and according to some studies, carbon is being added to the atmosphere faster than the natural processes that sequestrate it. The massive carbon sinks that naturally regulated and fixated excess carbon dioxide have been destroyed as humans have deforested ancient forests for the sake of building their cities and supplying lands for agriculture. Research shows that there has been a consistent balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for the past 10,000 years (Hamburg, Harris et al 1999); this balance has shifted rapidly in the last 150 years. The Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carbon dioxide, produced through combustion and oxidation has become a growing concern in today’s society. In industrialized countries greenhouse gases and the effects on our environment are becoming an issue that no longer can be ignored. Changes such as increasing temperatures, the melting of the Arctic ice cap, rising sea levels, and more violent weather activities (hurricanes, droughts, and hotter/longer summers) are becoming more and more evident with each decade. The rapid increase of carbon dioxide appears to be a key component of the in the development of these occurrences, however global warming has sparked much debate because the data that has been collected over the past century has conflicting trends (planktos.com, 2004). It is difficult to predict the behavior of the earth’s climate because it is ever changing and erratic, much to the chagrin of scientific modelers; the earth’s climate refuses to adhere to computer models.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Historically temperatures have fluctuated on the surface of the planet; however, with new technology and satellite data collection, conflicts in data have caused scientists to rethink their conclusions on the causes of these temperature fluctuations. What can be proven is that humans are affecting the planet in adverse ways. Mass deforestation, burning of f... ... Sources cited: â€Å"American Society of Limnology and Oceanography†. The Scientific and Policy Uncertainties Surrounding the Use of Ocean Fertilization to Transfer Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to the Oceans. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. http://www.aslo.org/meetings/carbon2001/chisholm/transcript2.html Caroline Dopyera, â€Å"The Iron Hypothesis† Earth, October 1996 Hamburg, Steven, Harris, Neil, et al. 1999: â€Å"How do we know that the Atmospheric Build-up of Greenhouse Gases is Due to Human Activity?† 20 October 2001 http://www.gcrio.org/ipcc/qa/05.htm Lawrence, Mark G. â€Å"Side effects of Oceanic Iron Fertilization† Science 20 September 2002 National Energy Information Center (NEIC),Energy Information Administration, â€Å"Greenhouse gases, climate change and energy† Publication EI-30 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggccebro/chapter1.html PALMER, ALASDAIR. â€Å"FOCUS PLANKTON TO THE RESCUE: the man who says he can save the planet† The Sunday Telegraph [Sydney] 23 August 2003 United States, Department of Energy. Capturing and Sequestering Carbon Dioxide DOE Document PI -0001. November 2003 http://climatetechnology.gov/library/2003/currentactivities/sequester.htm