Social networking and information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social networking and information system - Essay Example Although most of the activity done on social media is either non-work-related or entirely harmless, employers sometimes take exception to the employees’ online postings and take disciplinary action against them. Some kinds of social media usage by employees that usually acquire disciplinary action from the employers include posting photos or videos showing some sort of misbehavior related to work e.g. tweeting about avoiding work or feigning illness, and expressing views over social media whose connection to the organization is not appreciated or approved of by the employers. The technical, legal, and ethical implications of the social media in business imparts need for government and organizations to work at their respective levels to develop safety mechanisms, security systems, and codes of ethics to guide the behavior of employees at the workplace. Business use of social media saw a two-fold increase from 11 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2009 (Sarrel, 2010). Social med ia is being increasingly used by the employees at the workplace for both non-work and work related purposes including attracting clients and developing joint ventures. Organizations use social media to engage their customers and market their products and services as social media websites â€Å"provide a cyber-meeting space for people wanting to network† (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2011, p. 270). Rise in the use of new technology in general and of the Internet and the social media at the workplace in particular implies that employees can now access information related to their employment law and employment rights much more easily than they could in the past. A vast majority of organizations and unions provide information related to their employment rights in definite sections of their websites in formats that are easily understandable including links to social media websites like YouTube and Twitter. Although employees’ increased access to information can generally be perce ived as a positive development since it increases their awareness about employment laws and assists them in dealing with work related issues, yet this also poses certain challenges for organizations. For example, employees may prefer getting information about employment laws online rather than directly approaching their managers or consulting a trade union representative. As a result, employees have a tendency of misunderstanding information that has been garnered out of context online, which in effect, complicates the interaction on specific issues between employers and employees. As social networking websites have become more popular, employees have received a platform where they can display a lot of information about themselves. This information is visible to everybody in the public and potentially to the employer. The employer can access all that information including photographs showing the activities and behavior of the employees outside of work which can have an adverse impac t on the dignity and reputation of an employee at work. Principally, an employer should not judge an employee’s performance at work based on their private life activities. Every employee has a personal life that should be respected by the employers until the employee does not breach the ethical guidelines established by the organization. Baldas (2009) argues that with the awareness that the information about private life has been accessible to the

To Kill a Mockingbird - is a must see Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird is a must see Essay To Kill a Mockingbird, is a story told through the eyes of a young girl named Scout Finch (played by Bailee Madison) who grows up in Alabama (Maycomb County) during the Great Depression when blacks and whites were very much segregated. The story revolves around the ideas of racism, poverty, ignorance and discrimination. Boo Radley(played by Guy Pearce) is the main source of Dill (played by Kenton Duty) Jem (played by Greg Sulkin) and Scout’s fascination because he is very withdrawn, which is very strange in Maycomb- where everybody knows everybody, because he is so reserved he is given a bad reputation of being mentally unstable. People discussed many rumors that are later proven to be completely false. Growing up in a town where everyone knows each other she and her brother, Jem Finch are hounded and taunted at school because their father, Atticus Finch (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is an attorney who takes up a case in which an acquitted, Tom Robinson (played by Shemar Moore), a black man is accused of attacking a white girl. He’s up against the rooted racial power structure of the Old South, severe bans against interracial sex, as well as the pride of the girl’s disadvantaged and brutal family (The Ewell’s). Because their father is protecting a black man in a court of law, they are bullied at school and decide to watch the trial, realizing that their father isn’t the man they thought he was. Throughout the beginning of the story Jem and Scout see Atticus as a feeble man but during the trial they both get a newfound respect for their dad. Scout and Jem both recognize the strength in Atticus and the respect he commands of those around him. Little things like the mad dog and the way he handles himself in front of the mob at the jail make them realize how strong their father is regardless of physical age. Bob Ewell wanted to get revenge on Atticus for completely destroying his dignity during the hearing and to suffer during the post-trial period. Therefore, he wanted Atticus to experience the pain he felt. Hence, he attacked Scout and Jem, in the hopes of killing them. Boo Radley heard Jem scream and came outside immediately to help them. He grabbed a kitchen knife on the way out and stabbed Mr. Ewell up the ribs in attempt of saving Jem and Scout. To Kill a Mockingbird The scene I chose is the court scene because it symbolized life, or death to Tom Robinson. It also would affect the Finch’s because during that time people were narrow-minded and would see them as sympathizers to the blacks which was unheard of in a small southern town during the 1930’s.

Economic Conditions And Effect To Airlines Industry Tourism Essay

Economic Conditions And Effect To Airlines Industry Tourism Essay Airlines industry is a huge and growing industry. It is known as a services provider industry. Airline is not just only the airplane; it includes many elements like business aircraft, military program, and recreational aircraft and it provides services to passenger or cargos. The outcome of growing and the working of airlines industry are always unexpected because it is full of challenge and variables conditions. Air travel industry is a special industry to the global, because it is always grow along with the economics. Somebody describes the importance of airlines industry as no airlines, no globalization, and no new era, this has showed how much is the importance airline industry to us. Airlines industry is a complicated industry; we briefly say that airlines industry is under an oligopoly market structure. The explanation of oligopoly is an economic condition that only few service or product suppliers in the market and one of the supplier actions can perceive significant impact from its competitor in the same market. Thus, since a firm of carriers provides a new action and it will always taken by competitors, and soon affect the outcomes of whole market, therefore, firms in this industry are interdependent and airlines industry is a high competition market. It is also one of the most fragile industry, many things can affect their performance from SARS, 911, economic crisis and even weather conditions. The airlines industry has seen some positive effect currently which resulted in them forecasting a better forecast. Many factors could have affected the changes; we will discuss some of it below Changes in economic conditions and effect to airlines industry. As the world pick up from the economic crisis the traffic increases significantly. The demands for business travelers to individual travelers went up. During the economic crisis most carriers gone through restructuring and implement cost cutting measures so when the business pick up they will see that their profit margin is better than what they use to have before the crisis. Currently, the economy is expected to post up a profit of 2.5 billion for 2010 as it is recovering from the two years of ailing business. This is due to the increase of passengers, increase of cargo trade and effective cost measures taken my responsible parties to encounter the problem. Which means there is an increase in peoples standard of living as they can afford to travel; therefore there is a tremendous increase in the tourism industry which positively affects the air travel demand. Previously, industry prediction predicted that the economy would encounter a loss of 2.8 billion because assumption made that in 2009 and 2008 which was during the year of economic downturn, there was a loss of 9.9 billion and 16 billion respectively. However, the result was a positive one in 2010 for the airline industry. Passengers traffic has actually increased up to 7.1 % when it was predicted only an increase of 5.6% and that the demand grew twice as the supply. For example, a venture of C$1,805 million at Vancouver airport was approximate to have led to a 5.4% boost in connection with Canada as a whole. Therefore, airline deregulation can help sustain an increase in air transport connectivity as it is spread to industrialize world affecting domestic air travel. The increase in airline operation and services provides a growth of 5 % per year and also an increase of GDP twice as much. Moreover, its also expected to grow for the next ten to fifteen years. It also provides the flexibility for airlines to adjust capacity properly to meet changes in the market demand. By way of example, the expansion in a ir services between Poland and the UK since 2003 has increased connectivity as a percentage of GDP by 27% for Poland, whereas the increase in the UK was a much smaller 0.5%. This shows that there is a long term boost of 634 billion and 45 billion for both countries respectively. Another positive factor which affected the changes in airline industry is the price of fuel. Although there is an increase in fuel price, several airlines such as the southern west airline company does not seem to allow this worldwide issue to affect its company profit and revenue. As the tourism industry is starting to boom and growing faster, travelers and passengers are using flight services very often and if they raise the price of the air ticket, passengers will have to look for another cheaper transportation mode. Therefore, the airline company choose to dissolve their problem by minify the loss through management reinforcement, cost lowering and efficiency improving, but not simply raise the price. Airlines also took the approach differently by looking at similar measures to solve the problem of the increase of price fuel. Todays collection of aircraft is nearly three times more fuel-efficient than the olden days aircraft we were operating at the time of the first OPEC fuel cr isis. In fact, our fuel conservation efforts have resulted in most fuel-efficient automobiles. Therefore, there were changes in cruise speed, use of flight simulators, complicated flight planning systems, increasing load factors and the introduction of newer, more aerodynamic aircraft designs combined with modern engine technology as alternative measurements. With the high technology the world has created, this problem could be solved in different ways and means. Another good example is China encounter the problem of increase of fuel price by reducing domestic fuel price as 80% of their flights are domestic flying. This results in a lower profit and also a lower operating cost and also helps boost the nation airlines. Changes in Government Policies and effect to Airlines Industry Worldwide deregulations and liberalization In the past of the era, air travel industry is strictly controlled by government. No matters what the country is, government always involved in this industry, airlines almost operates and owns by government.Government used to decide how much is the airfares, control the route networks, and other requirements for each airlines company in the country. Now the time goes by, JAPAN, UK, US government start to deregulation their airlines to make the airlines market negotiate the price of ticket and operational requirements as a large free and manage these according to the demand of market. For example, united stated of American has hundred new airline firms enter the market due to result of deregulation. Hawaiian airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska airlines and Frontier airlines are the airlines available in American State of America. The global deregulation policy to the airlines industry has because the barriers to this industry become lower and make more qualified air travel company to ent er the market. The competition in this market has increased and pricing freedom. Therefore, the supply has increase, will cause the price decrease and demand will increase, because the firms in airlines industry provide better service and incentive to attract the consumer choose airlines service to increase their profit. Despite the deregulation, global government has a trend to [open skies] agreement. These agreement is talking about between the country has a concord that air travel has the rights to fly over the country intermediate and beyond point. From the 1990s, this agreement has become more common. At the April of 2007, United State of American has open skies agreement with European Union and this agreement have provided the right to transport passengers to a foreign country or international, under USA and EU open skies agreement, any airlines from EU and USA will be allow to fly from any city point within the European to any city in United State of American. This agreement has grounds the maximum flying flexibility to the airlines firm that has relevant and alliances because they can cut down their flying cost that include fuel fare, service cost and other opportunity cost. Demand and Supply curveUntitled.png Changes in technology and effects to airlines industry. The changes in technology are provides a obvious effect in airlines industry, the common of internet use has help the airlines company to promote their service and make their air ticket selling become easier to air travelers. In the 80s till 90s, the revenue of Airlines Company was depending on travel agent. Consumers no need to go to airlines company agent to buy ticket, in the past, customers are expected to wait at least three days to get the proceed of air ticket. In this era, they can make the booking on airlines company internet, the only they need to do is print out a page and pass to counter at airport. The buying processes can be done in an hour. Airlines Company can save the operation cost in selling ticket. Despite the internet convenience, the technology in design and aero plane engineering has been improved, more safety in flying. To this result, air travelers do prefer to take a fly as because it is more safety than past. Due to the convenience and safety in flying, con sumers has bigger willing to choose air travel as their transport. Demand and Supply curve: show the improvement in technology has increase the demand for airlines service. Untitled.png

Employee Appraisals Essay -- business, employee appraisals

Employee appraisals are a key component to a company’s long-term success. The appraisals should be objective, rational, and accurate (Sims, 1987). Without effective appraisals, the employee is not aware of how they are performing and a company is not getting the very best out their investment, the employee. In addition to appraisals, the employee should be afforded development feedback and opportunities. The appraisal allows the employee to understand what areas they are excelling in and what areas they need to work on and improve. Discussing with the employee the developmental opportunities will allow the employee to see the possibility for career advancement if they achieve the goals set out in the appraisal. The appraisal is also a time when the employee can openly voice their concerns and aspirations pertaining to their job. The employee can also get clarification as to what is expected of them and what it will take in the way of performance and goal fulfillm ent to advance in their career. Employees are well aware of the fact that appraisals for the basis for promotions and salary increases (Purwanti, 2011). The end result of both the employee appraisal and the opportunity feedback and opportunity is to allow the company to avoid employee turnover. Turnover is not only costly to the company but it can affect the overall performance of those employee left at the company when a unhappy employee either leaves by their own decision, or one that the company has to let go. The appraisal should be a structured approach and be consistent from employee to employee thereby not showing any type of favoritism. The expectations of the appraisal need to be addressed up front. Next the manager needs to let the employee sa... ...ted Minshew, K. (2012, July 31). 6 tips for better performance reviews. INC Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/kathryn-minshew/best-practices-for-performance-reviews.html Purwanti, Y., Pasaribu, N., & Lumbantobing, P. (2011). Harmonization Process Between Individual Performance Appraisal and Business Unit Performance Appraisal Without Decreasing Employee Engagement. Proceedings Of The European Conference On Intellectual Capital, 577-581. Sims, J. P., Gioia, D. A., & Longenecker, C. O. (1987). Behind the Mask: The Politics of Employee Appraisal. Academy Of Management Executive (08963789), 1(3), 183-193. doi:10.5465/AME.1987.4275731 Swiercz, P. M., Bryan, N. B., Eagle, B. W., Bizzotto, V., & Renn, R. W. (2012). Predicting Employee Attitudes and Performance from Perceptions of Performance Appraisal Fairness. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 7(1), 25-46.

Ecological Debt Repaid through Awareness and Commitment Essay

At this age of technological advancements, where people are more likely inclined with the latest technical and industrial innovations, the most modern gadgets, the cyber world itself, the group believes that a public service message posted to social-networking sites, like Facebook, would reach out with its millions of users; teen-agers, civilians, and people from all walks of life, who are still unaware of the impacts and dangers that humanity would face because of our ecological debt and neglect. Now that man is getting more engaged with a computerized and scientific world, the preservation of the earth’s innate form is often situated at stake. For instance, land developers aim to civilize mountain and forested areas in view of larger residential communities, neglecting the extinction of species and the degradation of their habitats in that area. In the same way, roads and tunnels are logged to provide efficient trips in woody regions, unaware of the affected species due to construction. It should be realized that in the context of global progress, biodiversity should not be sacrificed. Biodiversity is about making sense of the variation of life on earth, and its fundamental unit is the species. Why is there a must to conserve biodiversity? It is mainly because it affects mankind by all means. Outstandingly, biodiversity has an incontestable subsistence value. Remember that the species we use for our herbal medicinal needs, the plant and animal species that we eat, and the other species we use for our consumption, all contributes to biodiversity’s value for human survival. Biodiversity also has an economic value; the productive use it imposes into our market. In addition, it provides service value, like tourism benefits for a region where a certain specie is  endemic. But most importantly, biodiversity has to be conserved because of its intrinsic value. By the principle of Biocentrism: All species are worth of moral consideration. Humans have an obligation to protect them (Do or Die, 1999). We should be grateful for nature because it provides us our basic needs, water, food, air, even which the greatest engineering cannot tantamount. All of us have an ecological debt we can never repay fully, but we could somehow pay its interest, that is by preserving biodiversity. There are two modes of payments: In Situ and Ex Situ. In Situ is the maintenance of biodiversity in the wild, by allowing the species to continue their aboriginal evolutionary interactions (Reid, 1989, para.1). The species are left to be free and to continue their way of survival without any human intervention. This is a general and efficient solution that is left to the hands of government officials or organizations for strict implementations. But as part of the human race, we should be aware of the creation of such law and support it whole-heartedly. Many of our local or indigenous fellowmen would still continue the hunting or harvesting of the endangered species due to lack of knowledge or opportunities; thus, there should be thorough promotion of In Situ throughout the nation. On the other hand, Ex Situ is the maintenance of wild or domesticated species in home gardens, orchards, aquaria, zoos, or laboratories. These sites provide home for viable populations of threatened species, also providing areas for research, educational and public awareness (Reid, 1989, para.1). Indeed, there are several solutions man could engage to if we really want to hinder more biodiversity losses. We could grow endemic plants in our region in our own backyards. Every time we go to a beach, we must remember not to take souvenir seashells or corals with us. We should refute groups that do  activities leading to biodiversity losses. Or join movements which promote awareness and commitment in saving the earth’s biodiversity. Spread the information of biodiversity’s importance. All of us can make a difference. The move should start today before we reap the wrath of nature’s revenge. Change does not happen overnight, neither does it occur one-time big-time. The restoration of our ecosystems does not depend only on politicians or environmentalists, simple steps should be made by simple citizens, like you.

Prejudice and Discrimination essays

Prejudice and Discrimination essays There must be a reason for the popularity, despite fifty years of desegregation, of racially biased humor. There must be a reason books of "politically correct" fairy tales got big laughs and made big bucks for their clever authors. There must be a reason that people laugh about being "politically correct" in their thoughts, words and actions. And perhaps the concept is so continually amusing because it refers to a psychology that does not naturally exist in human beings. At base, although there is so much talk about unity' and globalism' and all of us being one (and I don't pretend to argue that we are or are not one in spirit), we all do come to this plane of existence in a variety of wrappers.' Moreover, these wrappersour bodiesare motivated by an infinite variety of thought engines. It could be argued all day and all night whether the contents and proclivities of these minds and mental states are inherent or environmental. It doesn't matter. What is important is that when humans are attempting to be non-judgmental, non-discriminatory and unprejudiced, they are attempting to surmount a very basic animal reaction to the simple fact of inhabiting a body different from most other bodies, but quite Other researchers, too, have found that stereotyping and the prejudice to which it gives life (sometimes followed by discriminatory acts, and sometimes simply held in mind) are so hard to eradicate in humans that they must be part of the package. "We've found out that despite the cleverest efforts of smart, knowledgeable researchers, it is very hard to get people not to stereotype." (Pratto, 1992, 184) There are circumstances in which stereotyping is reduced, including having additional information about someone that would otherwise be stereotyped or when one is personally involved with a stereotyping target or are motivated to be ...

Creativity and Gifted Students

Creativity and Gifted Students Introduction Creativity refers to the ability of a person to bring something ‘new’ or simply one that did not exist before into being. It can also be defined as finding new applications for ideas or things that previously existed. New in this case is used relatively to refer to new ideas as is in the experience of the person.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Creativity and Gifted Students specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The process of creativity can be divided into two main processes, that is, coming up with the original idea and then acting on the original idea to produce it into a reality. A gifted person is one who shows remarkably extraordinary performance in doing something compared to other people of the same age and experience. Inventories for measuring giftedness The giftedness of a person is considered measurable and can be evaluated by administering the subject customized tests and then analyzi ng the results. A lot of research, in the past, has been carried out on the topic of giftedness as a result; different people have discovered numerous tests that are used to determine the giftedness of a person. Gifted children are identified and enrolled into programs for gifted people where they are nurtured into better people. These tests have been applied over time to determine which students are eligible for enrollment into the gifted programs. Some of the tests used include; The Cognitive Abilities Test that is used to measure a person’s mental ability, the Iowa Test of Basic skills together with the Iowa Test of Education Development both used to measure the subject’s achievement and Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory are used to measure the subject’s level of motivation. Tests for creativity of a person should also be used in determining eligibility into gifted programs (Kim, 2009, p.7). The capacity of creativity of a person is me asured by The Group Inventory for finding Creative Talent and the Torrance test of Creative Thinking, which was named after its inventor Dr. E. Paul Torrance, a leading researcher in the field of creativity who developed it in 1966.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Dr. Torrance, creativity can be summarized as a continuous process of realizing problems, deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies; identifying the difficulty and its solutions by making guesses, formulating hypotheses, testing, changing and retesting them where necessary and then eventually communicating the result. Tests for creativity should be used in evaluation of eligible students for gifted programs because they help determine the potential of the subject in creative tendencies (Davis, 1986, p. 63). There are many dimensions of creativity, and it is important that the corr ect test is chosen to determine each dimension of creativity. Therefore, different sets of tests to measure creativity should be used in choosing children for gifted programs depending on the focus of the program. The creative capacity measuring tests contain a wealth of information on them which can help reveal the divergent thinking and the fluency of the subject. When a person engages in creative tendencies, they are mostly framed by many factors including their background, their culture and discipline and most importantly, his or her own description of creativity, and therefore, administrators of tests that measure a child’s eligibility for enrollment into a gifted program should take this into consideration when doing so (Kim, 2009, p.11). The tests should rhyme well with the subject’s culture disposition and discipline because the environment of the subjects also not only the talents the person possesses influences their abilities. It is for the best interests th at the creative measurement tests be not the only ways used to identify creativity in individuals and eligibility or be the only instrument on which the decision is made. There should be several tests to pick out legitimately individuals for gifted programs.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Creativity and Gifted Students specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the results of tests for evaluating eligibility of children in gifted programs enrollment should not be compared against each other. Each culture and society has their own definitions of excellence and the kinds of intelligence that it values. These factors should also be taken into consideration when administering creativity tests. This means that tests for divergent thinking, motivation, inventories in interest, attitude and personality and judgment of products should be administered when deciding which child will be accepted into a gifted program and which one will not. Most tests of giftedness rely mostly on the verbal prowess or the amount and vastness of information the subject possesses which is why creative tests should be adopted as a good addition to those tests. Creativity tests provide of the other side of the subject’s abilities that are separate from the vast knowledge and talents hence scrapping off biasness. Also, opinions from other experts in the relevant fields and disciplines should be employed to ensure the success of the process of identifying eligible children for gifted programs. Creativity tests, for example, the Torrance test of Creative Thinking are very easy to administer, and they do not require much time. They have a few cautions to observe and considering the extensive research on this field that has been going on, they are highly effective. They are fair in terms of gender, culture and socioeconomic disparities, and they should be adjoined with other tests to determine which students are enrolled i n gifted programs.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Davis, G. A. (1986). Creativity is forever (2nd ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co.. Kim, K. (2009). Can we trust creativity tests? A review of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)†. Creativity Research Journal. 18(1), 3-14.

Hurrcaine essays

Hurrcaine essays The boxing world is a world of guts, glory, and among other things pride. To achieve all of these things a fighter must never give up and fight until the end. For Rubin Hurricane Carter his fight would not stop out of the ring. The book titled Hurricane The miraculous Journey of Ruban Carter had an impact on me like no other book. The theme of the book was to never give up, even when the odds are stacked against you for days, months, or even years there is always a chance and giving On October 14, 1966 Rubin Hurricane Carter was picked up by police and charged with the Lafayette bar murders. The Lafayette bar murders was the horrific shooting of four innocent white victims in the small town of Paterson. Carter was appalled to find him in the back of the squad car for a murder he so obviously did not commit. His trial was a despicable display of prejudice and racism. Despite reconstructed stories the facts were stacked on Carters side, however on May 26, 1976 Carter and friend John Artis were convicted of murder one on all three counts by an all Caucasian jury. Though Carter was locked in a cell it was as if he would not give up his freedom, he appealed and appealed. Finally a young man named Lesra Martin, a young Negro inspired to free Carter, came in contact with Ruban. Lesra was a black boy living with a white family who helped him with school work and kept him out of trouble. Lesra and his family fought for Carter like a mother to a child, they knew as well as Ruban that he was an innocent man. They gathered every bit of evidence and went back to court for one last trial and on 1985 he was released from prison after nearly 20 years. Rubin never gave up. Rubin Hurricane Carter affected my life by making me realize what people believe is meaningless when you believe in yourself. Just as Rubin fought, I will fight until what I feel is right happe ...

Same Sex Marriages Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Same Sex Marriages - Research Paper Example Emotional understanding takes place between two persons when they start believing each other. Love, care, and trust are those key factors that play an important role in creating and maintaining affectionate feelings in the minds of the individuals involved in the relationship. However, one thing, which must me mentioned, is that feelings of love and care are not gender specific. It is not necessary that these feelings always arise between the individuals belonging to opposite genders. Sometimes the feelings of love and care also arise between the individuals belonging to the same gender. Those feelings become the reason for any two individuals from the same gender to get involved in a relationship between each other, which is referred to as same sex marriage. The government of the United States of America does not allow same sex marriages. The government of America believes that marriage is a sacred relationship, which should always involve the individuals from the opposite sexes whereas gay or lesbian marriages result in destroying the basic sprit of the relationship of marriage. â€Å"The biggest problem affecting same sex marriage is geography† (Dunn). However, in some states of America, courts have allowed people to do same sex marriages. Some of those states include Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut. The courts of these states declared that marriage is a civil right, so gays and lesbians also possess this right (Cahill 4). In these states, although people belonging to same sexes are allowed to get tied in marital relationships with each other, yet their marriages or living status as a couple is not very much accepted by the majority of the US population. One of the major problems, which the same sex marriage couples face, is the discouraging behavior of the societies. Majority of people usually do not encourage same sex marriages because they think that such marriages are just for the fulfillment of sexual desires instead of making

Health record structures in computer-driven formats Essay

Health record structures in computer-driven formats - Essay Example In addition, this structure enables me to perceive of the likely effect of reorganizing health records and any associated medical narrative. Many healthcare institutes, particularly public ones, cannot meet the expense of lowering open medical language to mere postscripts in the strategy of EHRs. EHRs with computer-driven formats is an essential movement towards information system structure that employ natural language dispensation as a major innovation for translating it from unorganized to organized representations (Davis and LaCour, 2014). Health record structures in computer-driven formats are applicable in my work area, systems science, in terms of standardization, organization, and easy control. For electronic health records to exhaust all their potentials and purposes, this data has to be made uniform, structured, and simple to control. This data often includes patients’ symptoms, diseases, allergies, clinical histories, family backdrops, and even billing information (Davis and LaCour, 2014). If this type of data is unstructured and unstandardized, treating these patients with utmost efficiency and economy becomes difficult. Additionally, my work area facilitates paperless offices, a factor that computers today are greatly attributing to. Computer-driven formats will enable me to save time while at work while sharing confidential data regarding a given patient at any given time. Computer-driven formats process workflow in my field at a high rate in contrast to manual, paper formats. The benefits of health record structures in computer-driven formats are more efficiency, lower medication and nursing errors, structured data, and effective medical decision-making processes (Davis and LaCour, 2014). There is a significant drive in the course of doing away with conventional medical transcript and converting the clinical documentation

In todays conditions, the survival of magazines, individually and Essay

In todays conditions, the survival of magazines, individually and collectively, is not dependent on the quality of their journalism. Discuss - Essay Example The real problem is quality journalism, but the media business itself. For instance, under discussion is whether the World Wide Web can help major, independent journalistic organisations. The Internet—the greatest medium ever created for information dissemination and news transmission—already provides a plethora of quality journalism and constantly will, from small-scale magazine organisations to the online expansions of large-scale newspapers and networks (Cook 2008). However, can new magazine businesses—organisations which are formed external to and in competition with the giants of the old media—survive through quality journalism alone? Can and will the prospective counterparts of today’s major magazine companies penetrate the current media barrier, emerging as strong national magazine brands above the debris and dissonance of the current magazine industry? In a study examining the disparity between professional magazine editors and journalism educators, Dickson and Brandon discovered that there were considerable disparities between the educators and editors in their belief of what comprises the survival of magazines today, specifically what media-related skills or advantages are vital (Lepre & Bleske 2005). The researchers discovered that educators ranked theoretical knowledge in mass media and society, communication theory, and media history, and professionally focused skills in media management, media ethics, and media law, higher than professional magazine editors did (ibid, p. 190). Technical skills in language arts were ranked the highest by professional magazine editors. The group of journalism educators was the only one which ranked another category, skills in journalism, as being the most contributing factor to the survival of magazine businesses (Lepre & Bleske 2005). Generally, the findings of this study demonstrated that even though there were considerable disparities between the groups of

Logic Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Logic Application - Essay Example Now, this belief goes against the teachings of Bible about stealing. The fact is that a culture is surrounded by a variety of beliefs and human actions that they perform in different situations. Sometimes, those actions earn people benefits even when they are wrong if compared with the God’s words. In such situations, those negative actions become common human behaviors, as well as part of the culture. The impact of following the culture blindly is not good for a society in the long-term. For example, if people adopt the habit of stealing each other’s assets, it will give rise to insecurity and mistrust everywhere in the society. People should understand that stealing is wrong because it makes the environment insecure. As Kurtus (2010) states, â€Å"There have been cases of a mob of angry people catching a purse-snatcher and beating him senseless†. People should understand that what a person earns is his/her personal asset and nobody has the right to steal that asset even if a person has an excess of an

Motivation Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Motivation Assignment - Case Study Example These aspects can determine the level of motivation among employees (The Certified Accountant, â€Å"Expectancy Theory†). There are several disciplines in the field of motivation and one of them is the expectancy theory. This theory is devised by Victor Vroom. He assumed that motivating an employee requires making a connection between effort, performance and inspiration. The productivity of employees depends on aspects like employee behavior, ability, knowledge, experience and proficiency. Vroom’s expectancy theory is made on the basis of three attributes which are Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality (The Certified Accountant, â€Å"Expectancy Theory†). Valence: It is the emotional direction which employee embraces with respect. The desire of employee can be extrinsic benefits like higher income, job promotion, free leisure time or intrinsic benefits like job satisfaction. Organizations need to determine the acts that can make an employee more grateful. Expectancy: Expectancy deals with the faith of employee about his/her ability. Each employee possesses dissimilar expectations and degree of confidence about their capability. Expectation is illustrated as the strength of an employee’s faith if a particular task is achievable or not. Organization must find out the materials, training and administration requirement of employee for a particular task. Instrumentality: Instrumentality is the idea of gaining something after completing a task. An employee always thinks that if he/she performs well, a worthy result will be gained. Thus, it is the perception of employee that whether he/she will gain the expected result even it is assured by the organization. It is the responsibility of organization to make sure that promised compensations are realized. The following figure shows the relationship between Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. The instrumentality is impacted by the belief among

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 13

Economics - Essay Example Trade unions are frequently charged of benefiting the insider workers, those having a secure job as well as high efficiency, at the cost of the outsider workers, those who are jobless or at the risk of joblessness or who are not find to get the job that they want in a particular field. The alleged insider-outsider theory studies this problem. Usually, the trivial benefit of an additional worker decreases as the number of workers raise. This entails that the lower the minimum wage, the more workers a company can gainfully employ. Consequently, while an augment in the minimum wage benefits the insiders, consequently fewer new workers are employed and fewer retiring workers reinstated. This effect is more marked in a work-intensive service company (Baker, (2002). The economic examination of a cartel applies totally to most unions, to those that struggle to fix the price of work, to limit supply or to limit rivalry. Conversely, unions often have also other jobs than those of a cartel: they may counsel the workers, warn concerning detrimental contracts or terms of employment etc. These latter purposes are typically considered as valuable for both the workers and for the society all together, whereas the opposite applies to cartel-type minimum terms. Frequently the union on a particular industry puts pressure on politicians to finance the industry concerned. This promotes the companies, workers, shareholders as well as consumers of the product of that industry at a cost to other people. As a result, it depends on the question whether the welfare of a trade union are for or in opposition to the interests of the companies, unemployed, workers, tax-payers or the society all together. Small unions have grown to enormous size; a huge new federation has developed; and now the old American Federation of Labor and its late rival, the

Logic Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Logic Application - Essay Example Now, this belief goes against the teachings of Bible about stealing. The fact is that a culture is surrounded by a variety of beliefs and human actions that they perform in different situations. Sometimes, those actions earn people benefits even when they are wrong if compared with the God’s words. In such situations, those negative actions become common human behaviors, as well as part of the culture. The impact of following the culture blindly is not good for a society in the long-term. For example, if people adopt the habit of stealing each other’s assets, it will give rise to insecurity and mistrust everywhere in the society. People should understand that stealing is wrong because it makes the environment insecure. As Kurtus (2010) states, â€Å"There have been cases of a mob of angry people catching a purse-snatcher and beating him senseless†. People should understand that what a person earns is his/her personal asset and nobody has the right to steal that asset even if a person has an excess of an

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 13

Economics - Essay Example Trade unions are frequently charged of benefiting the insider workers, those having a secure job as well as high efficiency, at the cost of the outsider workers, those who are jobless or at the risk of joblessness or who are not find to get the job that they want in a particular field. The alleged insider-outsider theory studies this problem. Usually, the trivial benefit of an additional worker decreases as the number of workers raise. This entails that the lower the minimum wage, the more workers a company can gainfully employ. Consequently, while an augment in the minimum wage benefits the insiders, consequently fewer new workers are employed and fewer retiring workers reinstated. This effect is more marked in a work-intensive service company (Baker, (2002). The economic examination of a cartel applies totally to most unions, to those that struggle to fix the price of work, to limit supply or to limit rivalry. Conversely, unions often have also other jobs than those of a cartel: they may counsel the workers, warn concerning detrimental contracts or terms of employment etc. These latter purposes are typically considered as valuable for both the workers and for the society all together, whereas the opposite applies to cartel-type minimum terms. Frequently the union on a particular industry puts pressure on politicians to finance the industry concerned. This promotes the companies, workers, shareholders as well as consumers of the product of that industry at a cost to other people. As a result, it depends on the question whether the welfare of a trade union are for or in opposition to the interests of the companies, unemployed, workers, tax-payers or the society all together. Small unions have grown to enormous size; a huge new federation has developed; and now the old American Federation of Labor and its late rival, the

Foundation Degree (FdSc) in Food Manufacturing Management Essay Example for Free

Foundation Degree (FdSc) in Food Manufacturing Management Essay Introduction Audit objectives Why Audit? The intentions of this Audit are as follows: Using a recognised GMP standard (UNIDO/BRC) assess and quantify the effectiveness of the current quality system that is in place. Recommend, upon review, strategies for improvement that can be made to meet, and potentially exceed, the minimum retail requirements. * Upon completion, allow the business to set attainable goals and objectives in order to drive the business forward. This is in an efficiency, production and legal capacity. Company Profile Shetland SeaFish (Hull) limited started trading in 1922 as a specialist manufacturer of frozen fish products. The company employs 50-60 staff on site and has a total of 80-100 employees working throughout the group. The group has three factories. The other two are involved in primary processing and fish farming in the Shetland isles. The company supplies supermarkets, discounters, fish wholesalers, frozen food distributors and food service companies. The main market is the UK but the company also has a small export trade. Shetland SeaFish (Hull) limited has implemented a tightly controlled system of operational procedures including a fully documented HACCP system and quality manual. Business Environment The food industry is one under pressure. The fishing industry in particular is an area with its own particular problems which have a direct impact on this company as fish is its primary raw material. Over the past few years, environmental concern over diminishing fish stocks has contributed to increased governmental interdiction to manage fishing quotas. Although this may be the case for the national fishing industry, the world wide catch (up until recently) has been on a steady rise. This company sources raw material from worldwide locals (Particularly the Asiatic areas such as China and Scandinavian Seas) so the impact has been minimal. The way in which the company sources fish may change in the future, as internet auctions are on the increase, and this makes the market more of a volatile entity as prices can fluctuate as events affect fishing procurement. The other main problem with the food industry is the strength of the major multiples over the manufacturers. The major supermarkets to whom most food manufacturers supply, aim to maintain a constant gross profit margin which is typically quite large. To reflect this, the multiples like to pass down on-costs to the suppliers. Offers such as buy one, get one free are fuelled by the manufacturer, and come straight from their bottom line. By running a BOGOF offer, it is affectively selling the product at half the unit price for the duration of the offer. One supermarket that this company has dealt with also deducts (on their own accord) a set price to go towards advertising and marketing. For example, a deduction of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 might be deducted from an invoice to them for product, with the reasoning being that even if that amount is not being used to directly promote that particular product, just by advertising the stores in general, the increased amount of customers flowing through the store, should they say, increase sales to the companys product. This deduction from the invoice is imposed by the supermarket, and because you do not know how often they are going to do this, it makes costing for business more difficult. Combine this with the fact that at every price review by the supermarket buyers, they demand higher quality products, for a reduction in unit price, depresses margins lower than ever. The margin depression brings with it a set of problems. Because a company has to reduce its costs to meet the price points per units, so as to maintain the business with the supermarket, it makes it for a business to remain as profitable as what it would like to be. A smaller margin means that a company does not have the same amount of free capital available to it to make necessary re-investments which would help to procure more sales and increase throughput. In section four of the overview, a specific study of this is discussed in relation to an OEE study on one of the factories lines. There are several technological resolutions available which if purchased would go a long way to increase productivity. Unfortunately there are several financial constraints which place barriers to the procurement of these technological improvements. A brief discussion of Chicken and Egg barriers is briefly explained in section four of the overview. The problem lies in the fact that if a new piece of equipment is needed to continue, or to improve production, then the company does not have enough liquid capital available to be able to purchase it outright. This means that the company would have to investigate borrowing facilities. The problem with this is that the company would like to have a secured amount of business from one of, or a combination of customers, in order to take on the risk of borrowing large amounts of money. The reason for this is that a company has to account for a payback period into their costing to cover borrowing and interest as well as machine depreciation. With shortened product placement tenures, the guarantee of continued business for this period is not there, inhibiting the business from wanting to take a risk of this magnitude. Eventually a company has to bite the bullet and take a risk in order to increase turnover and throughput. Smaller margins also mean that there may not be enough of an increase in net profits to cover staff requirements. Each year there is a general staff appraisal to discuss the terms of wages and conditions. If the company is reduced in its profit capacity, then this trend is often relayed onto the workforce. f the company has diminished available finances then money is not possible to give staffs the annual increase in wages or to be able to invest in communal facilities. This has a knock on effect on staff morale and motivation if the annual increase is postponed or if it has to be cancelled. It manifests itself in some individuals in a revenge motivation mentality. As the individuals feel aggrieved because the company cannon comply with what the workers feel is a basic right, then they may wish to get back at the company. At best this may just be by reducing their amount and quality of work, therefore their loyalty is affected. At worst, it could be resignation, dissention or even some form of industrial sabotage. Without the increase in wages rates it also lessens the difference between that and what the government sets as the national minimum wage. This poses a problem in relation to retaining, and gaining new employees. At one point, working in a factory used to attract a premium, but over time that has decreased to the point to where wage levels between shop workers and factory workers are almost the same. With the current work ethos among new employees (particularly young people) the dilemma of where would I like to work arises. Either a (usually) smelly, shift work system, hard work inducing factory, or a shop, where they can go straight out from without having to go home for a shower and change, is less hard work and usually has a set nine until five work pattern. For the same, or similar, wage, most people appear to want to work in a shop. This displays a distinct shift from employment trends from primary or secondary employment to a majority of employment in the tertiary, or services, sector. If a company has a high turn-over of staff, then generally the quality of staffs decreases. This may then affect production output and efficiencies. One way that this can be combated is though an increase in staff training. This not only acts to both increase staff quality, but it also helps to improve the individuals job satisfaction. This is through increased competency, increased knowledge (i.e. making an individual more multi-skilled) and the feeling that they are not in a dead-end job. In the industry sector to which this company falls, there is an increased amount of governmental grants available for staff training programmes. Within this factory, all of the employees of first tier level have all been through NVQ level 2 training in Food hygiene and handling. Production supervisors have received additional training to NVQ level three in this area. There is also a range of other courses that are being studied that are part funded, or reimbursed by, governmental policies. It is clear that there are some relatively easy ways to increase the efficiency and line throughputs of production. Unfortunately limiting factors come into play to inhibit potential growth as long as margins are squeezed smaller and smaller. This is a self perpetuating cycle. If allowed to make a little bit more profit then this can be channelled back into the business to increase production efficiency and overall turnover making the business more successful. Legal Issues There is a complex mine field of legislation that comes into play when dealing with a food unit operation. There is a whole plethora of acts and regulations which help to control the food industry which helps to protect the consumer from dubious practices and ensure that the final product that is consumed is of the expected substance, nature and quality demanded. There are several levels of legislation: * Acts, which are statutes passed down by parliament. * Regulations which are made under specific acts * E.C. directives which are passed down from the E.E.C. The Food safety enforcement officers have various enforcement powers which enable them to ensure that all of the legislation is correctly adhered to. These can be servicing notices, sampling and seizing foodstuffs, and also to instigate criminal proceedings if an offence is made. The main legislation affecting this business are to be listed as following; Food Safety Act, 1990 This act is in relation to the sale of food for human consumption and is applicable to all food premises. This act makes it an offence to: * Render food injurious to health * Sale or possession of food injurious to health, or that is unfit for, or is contaminated. * Sale of food that is not of the correct nature, substance and quality demanded by the consumer. * Give any false or misleading descriptions. The Food Premises (Registration) Regulations, 1991 (SI No. 2825) amended 1997 This regulation requires all food premises to register with the local, or port authority, in the area that they are situated. Every registration authority must keep a register, which can be accessed by the public for inspection. Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulation, 1995 (SI. No. 1763) This act provides general requirements for all food handlers and premises (with specific requirements for preparation areas, moveable and temp. premises, transport, equipment and the like) to be kept clean, facilitate cleaning, and prevent the accumulation of dirt. It also specifies a requirement for all food premises to identify all steps in the business that is critical to food safety, and to minimise these risks. The Food Safety (Temperature Controls) Regulations, 1995 (SI. No. 2200) This determines any matter involving a risk to food safety, in relation to the nature of the food, manner in which it is handled and packed, and processes and conditions under which it has been displayed or stored. No person should keep food that is likely to support the growth of pathogenic bacteria or the accumulation of their toxins. Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regulations, 1996 These regulations govern the origins of animal foodstuffs from countries outside the EEC. Since 1993, foodstuffs imported from other members of the EEC are not liable for inspection due to the open border policy, but they are still subject to the Food Safety Act 1990. Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (SI. No. 1499) These require most foodstuffs that are to be sold for human consumption be labelled with: * The name of the food. * List of ingredients (Quantifying ingredients mentioned in the name of the food). * Best before dates, which indicate minimum durability or perish ability of the food in relation to microbial or product degradation beyond being fit for human consumption. * Any specific storage conditions required. * Name and address of the manufacturer The Quick-Frozen Foodstuffs Regulations, 1990 (SI. No. 2615) amended 1994 Food that has undergone quick-freezing (i.e. whereby the zone of maximum crystallization as rapidly as possible) should be labelled as such. It must be suitably packaged so as to protect it from microbial and other contamination and also to protect from de-hydration. Must be labelled with: * BBE * Storage requirements including temps. * Batch reference * A clear message not to refreeze after defrosting. There are also some specific legislation relating to food poisoning: Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1994 The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations, 1988 (SI. No. 1546) National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1986 The National Health Service (Food Premises) Regulations, 1987 (SI. No. 18) The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) These pieces of legislation relate to reports of incidences of food poisoning and food borne illness. It empowers officers to investigate food premises on the basis of risk to increased infection, and to identify the source of food poisoning illnesses. Separate to food related issues there are also a number of other pieces of legislation that apply to most businesses. These are: Health Safety The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, 1994 (SI. No. 3246) The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation, 1985 (SI. No. 2023) The Electricity at Work Regulations, 1989 (SI. No. 635) The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1992 (SI. No. 2051) The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, 1992 (SI. No. 3004) The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations, 1992 (SI. No. 2966) The Manual Handling Operations Regulations, 1992 (SI. No. 2793) All of these laws are in relation to keeping equipment in good order; provide all PPE, also in good order, and to report all accidents and medical problems caused by/ at work. There are some new environmental legislation in relation to waste water and effluent, and also the climate change levy. There are also waste land fill laws (After B.S.E. and Foot and Mouth no food wastes can be further processed into animal feeds) It is clear that there are a lot of laws that help to keep the consumer, and employees safe, both in relation to food safety and personal safety. In order to comply with all of these laws, and check with the companys compliance to these, the office of fair trading and the environmental health office audit the factory on a regular basis. Section 2 Key Findings Summations on Audit checklists Section by section review HACCP System: The company has a very detailed and comprehensive HACCP system following the Codex principles and based on risk assessment for each product type. The latest revision is June 2002. The HACCP documentation includes Introduction (Intro, team, product description, intended use, flow diagram, and verification of flow, controls and hazards), Process flow (product, production process), Hazards, Hazard analysis and Hygiene controls. The site technical manager who is qualified in advance food hygiene leads the HACCP team. The other HACCP team members include the production manager, financial director, business consultant, Q.A. supervisor and HS officer. They have all received training in HACCP principles. Eight CCPs have been identified and clearly marked around the site. These include; R.M. intake, band saw room, product storage, packaging storage, coatings, sauce making, sauce buggies, sauce deposition and metal detection. Shetland SeaFish (in conjunction with Cravenglow consultant limited) has produced a handbook for employees entitled Understanding HACCP and the British Retail Consortium Quality Award. This book was issued to all staff before going through their first successful BRC audit, and is issued to new staff during induction. The Handbook explains; HACCP terms and working practices, details the eight CCPs, How to control potential Hazards, How HACCP works, Different types of Hazard, other important HACCP information and an introduction to the BRC standard Quality Management System: The site operations/quality manual has been fully implemented and indexed in the latest revision (Revision 4 October 2002) to the BRC technical standard version three. Policies and procedures referenced to the HACCP manual and currently cover all of the identified critical controls. Each working area has its own handbook that includes some or all of the following: Factory cleaning procedures Technical terms Key staff Safe working practices Factory procedures QA procedures applicable to the area. A specifications file maintained by the company has a programme of internal audits that cover the entire quality system twice per year. The handling of complaints is the responsibility of the Technical manager. Complaints are referenced individually, by customer, and complaint type. Corrective actions arising from complaints are recorded. An approved supplier list is in operation, deliveries assessed at intake, and supplier performance reviewed quarterly. One of the key findings of this audit has been that although the supplier audit plans clearly defined and laid out, it has not been adhered to. This needs rectifying by the time of the next audit. Factory Environmental Standards: The factory is well located just off the main route into Hull, and has a logical process flow. The buildings are well constructed. Walls panelled with false ceiling and smooth concrete floors. Equipment is industry standard and is be well maintained. There is a planned maintenance system administered by a well-resourced engineering department. Staff changing facilities are provided by separate storage of work wear and personnel wear with staff locker rooms situated well away from production. Work clothing situated in changing facilities on the entrance to the production facility. A dedicated night hygiene crew operate a comprehensive cleaning programme, verified using bioluminescence ATP swabs. This form of assessment is under utilised. By conducting more swabs, a more indicative trend analysis can be compiled. This system could also be extended to incorporate hand swabbing, so as to gauge the effectiveness of the staffs hand washing. A comprehensive pest control contract is in place with Rentokil and no infestation reported. The only addition to this regime would be to introduce catch tray analysis. This is not done at present, although Rentokil have been asked to provide a quote for the service. The reason that catch tray analysis is so important is that various indicator species of insect may help to identify a particular problem within the factory. Another option is that the accountant is a qualified entomologist. The suggestion has been made that they complete the catch tray analysis on behalf of the company. Transport and waste removal are both contracted out services. Product Control: There is a product development procedure detailing the process steps and documentation held for customer driven development work. Development work is mainly restricted to crumbs, batters and sauces and as such, the suppliers of these materials carry out a lot of the work. Product is analysed on line hourly by trained QC staff External chemical and microbiological analyses are carried out at a UKAS accredited external laboratory. The result turn around is typically ten days. There is an investigation into the possibility of bringing the microbiological testing into a feasible in-house solution. The testing procedures preferred are the rapid methods that are now available on the market. These allow for rapid enumeration and identification in unprecedented speeds compared to traditional plating methods. Because of the simplicity of the tests, it reduces the degrees of error that might be entertained in old style methods, and also it helps to simplify the lab quality manual. All of these rapid methods are AOAC accredited methods and are thus suitable for ISO 17025 standards, which is a pre-requisite for the accreditation edicts stated for BRC compliance. Products coded to allow stock rotation, and on-site stock levels kept to a minimum. The cold store has the capacity for approximately 600 pallets, which are on a mobile racking system. Metal detection is carried out on all products at 3.5mm non-fe and 3.5mm fe. Legislation is on the way to incorporate testing using S. Steel rods as well, using the same sensitivity levels. Product is released based on on-line QC testing. A non-conformance procedure is used to prevent the despatch of non-conforming product and its restriction to quarantine. Process Control: Control of sauce cooking and processing is closely monitored by QC and thermographs are in place to verify sauce cooking profiles. QC also regularly verifies process parameters and freezer temperatures. Continuous quantity control monitoring equipment is in place on the coated fish line. Check-weigh systems are calibrated at the start of each day following a detailed calibration procedure. Hourly QC checks and daily taste panels verify process parameters and specifications requirements have been fulfilled and all measuring equipment is calibrated at appropriated frequencies. A small amount of kosher product is processed on site and the delivery processing and despatch of kosher materials is closely monitored. Personnel: Staffs trained to NVQ levels 1 and 2 in hygiene and safe product handling by external consultants. Plans are in place to introduce an in-house training scheme. The Q.A. supervisor holds a CIEH certificate of Advanced Food Hygiene. Once they complete the CIEH professional trainers certificate, it will allow them to train new staffs, and re-iterate to current, basic food hygiene and HS. Hygiene rules are also available in the staff handbook, given at induction. Induction includes hygiene and HS requirements, fire drill procedures including a tour of the facility (highlighting emergency exits), company objectives and the review of the individuals accountability level. Staff and visitors complete a basic medical questionnaire before entering the factory. Protective clothing provided and laundered by Brooks based in Hull and only specialising in laundering of food industry clothing. Supervisory staff and line leaders trained to NVQ levels 3. Detailed training records are in place, but not review on a frequent basis. Section 3 Improvement strategy Recommendations on enhancement Why did it fail? What can be done? The overall result of this audit is promising. The main sections that are in need of improvement are the cleaning and management systems. With regards to the cleaning controls one of the biggest deficiencies is that there were no daily cleaning logs in place at the time of the audit. These are necessary to verify that all of the pieces of equipment that has been used during the course of the production shift have been cleaned effectively. This should also incorporate a list of equipment that needs weekly or monthly cleaning, similar to the engineers protective maintenance system. Provisions are in place to indicate cleaning frequency, but by combining this with a daily cleaning log a system of records can be obtained to help with any Due Diligence defences that might need to be called into play. The preventative step to reduce the microbial and soil loads within the factory are the cleaning schedules, but the due diligence defence are the daily logs. These are a record confirmation that the schedule has been implemented, and also provides accountability of who conducted the particular action that might be in question. It also helps the management team to assess the manning levels required for a particular cleaning regime. By combining these logs with an effective utilisation of the Lightning ATP hygiene verification system it would be possible to more accurately monitor the effectiveness of the cleaning systems that are in place. At present the unit is not used at levels that are going to supply the monitoring team with a set of results that are statistically significant. By increasing the levels of testing with the unit, a better picture of cleanliness levels can be obtained by using the trend analysis software to scrutinize past results and to predict problems that might occur in the future. This system could also be extended to apply to incorporate hand washing checks. This could be done on a random set of checks throughout the week. It might be possible to correlate this to the expected and actual bacterial soap usage rates to see if there is a relationship. This might be an extra way to monitor the effectiveness of the staff in the own personal hygiene in relation to hand washing. The engineers need to keep an inventory of parts as a repair is carried out so that all pieces are accounted for upon completion so as to eliminate the possible physical contamination problem, or at least to identify if there is one. A number of hose pipes were observed around the factory, liberally strewn on the floor. This is not bad GMP; it also creates an impression of untidiness and not caring for not only visitors, but also to other staff. Perhaps the purchasing or some hose reel storage units. If these hoses were kept on one of these units, it would automatically reel in and is then kept neatly on the wall, off the floor and out of the way of people walking around the factory. During the course of the audit the food waste skip was left open. This leaves the door open to many potential problems. The first is that it has a potential to attract pests. By leaving the skip doors open is may provides a food source for advantageous vermin. It was observed that there were some birds on the fence which might have been attracted by the residue surrounding the skip. To eliminate this problem construction of a reaching handle for the skip door should be made. By keeping the skip door closed it prevents vermin from entering the skip to scavenge for food. With the skip door closed, thus stopping pests from gaining a free food store, the area around the skip must be kept clear also; otherwise keeping the door closed is a futile effort. This area not only needs to be swept, but also cleaned down with a detergent to emulsify the fatty residue left from the batter scraps. This would also help to make the area safer for the employees as it would make the area left prone to causing slippages, and this is especially important as there is a small set of steps out there. There is no provision for persons to wash their hands upon re-entering the factory after going to the food skip. There person would have to go to the basins outside the packaging area. A small basin or alcohol station should be installed to prevent this. The main body of the factory was in very good condition. There were a few incidences that need to be rectified in order to improve the grade. Around the sauce making area, the ceiling tiles above them had some signs of mould growth. This is an indication that the ventilation is perhaps inadequate for that area. Some form of steam extraction unit might need to be investigated in that area. In the short term, regular cleaning with a sterilizer (with some form of mould growth inhibitor) would suffice, but this would only deal with the symptoms, and not deal with the route cause. The sauce agitators in this area are in need of recovering. The motors on the agitators have some small areas of paint flaking from them. Even though the paint is blue in colour, it provides a potential physical contamination problem. This needs to be tackled in several ways. The first and easiest to do is to recover the motors. The motors can be covered with a stainless steel covering which would prevent both paint flakes falling into the sauce, but also dirt accumulation on the motor. Another method is to use an alternative agitator motor. There are several on the market, and several of these are not mounted directly above the sauce making kettles. There are also some other methods for sauce production, that if increased production were to be required, then they should defiantly be investigated. Another area in the factory that could benefit from additional extraction/ventilation is directly surrounding the coating line. When the fryer is producing breaded products, then the first stage crumb, which is a fine crumb, causes a lot of dust to be blown in the air. This causes excessive dust accumulation on the pipe works above the fryer line. This needs additional cleaning to remove the dust in this area. Perhaps a form of extraction system should be investigated in this area. As a minor point, there was also a small pool of water surrounding the con-air compressor units. This implies that the floor does not bevel in the right direction. Again this is a situation that has a long term objective, but also has a short term measure. The long term goal is to re-lay the floor in that area to make the floor slope in the right direction (i.e. from the wall to the drain). The short term solution is to have the cleaners regularly squeegee the floor of water. Standing water is a particular problem in that it provides excellent breeding ground for Listeria spp. Bacteria. Listeria is a food borne bacteria that is naturally found in the environment. By providing pools of standing water, it magnifies the problem and opens the potential for increased incidences of Listeria monocytogenes poisoning. It is a strange practice that although there are manager and team leader meetings on a regular basis, there were no supervisor meetings held. This is a gross deficiency, not for GMP, but for the lack of communicational strokes that are missed from these meetings. By conducting these meetings a dialogue can be maintained between the higher levels of management and the junior levels. During these sessions company objectives can be relayed, problems considered, and grievances examined. It is also an excellent opportunity to provide motivation to the staff and to keep them apprised of important happenings within the company, such as potential sales, production turnover, NPD and the direction of the company. These meeting should be implemented effectively immediately. If not in their own right, then try combining the team leader meetings. This may pose a problem with truthful communication if the team leaders feel inhibited by the presence of the supervisors, especially if they have any grievances with them. The omission of the supervisor meetings exacerbates the next point. That is the cross communication of ideas and instructions between departments. This point is discussed in more detail in the second overview of the audit. The job descriptions that are in place for the key positions within the factory are deficient in the totality. I would suggest a review of these be taken with the specific aim to include the individuals main duties and responsibilities, full accountability, and any health and safety requirements that are obligatory to know. By providing a comprehensive description it helps the individual to identify their own progress against what is expected of them. It would also help to identify any training needs by comparing what the individuals actual abilities to what is needed for that position. During an appraisal a gauge of competency can be made against the standard and a measure of feedback can be relayed to the person. This also ties into the fact that no records are kept of personal record reviews. These need to be conducted on a regular occasion, and if they are being conducted at the moment, then they need to be recorded. There are some clear objectives that have been identified and now need to be applied and rectified to improve the factory as a whole. Section 4 Conclusions Overview of progression stratagems Step by step guide Structure and Fabric * Hand washing basin/ alcohol station to be installed by exit to food skip. * Foods skip needs to be looked at and a handle constructed to enable the lid to be closed. * Sauce kettles needs to be looked at for possible installation of extraction units. * Sauce agitator motors needs to be covered to prevent paint flaking into product. * Hose pipes to be placed into self reeling units. * Pool of water needs investigating around con-air units. Floor needs re-laying in that area. * Dust accumulation above fryer area. Additional extraction needed. Pest prevention * Pallet shed door needs to be kept closed. Pallets stored away from walls in storage. * Some drain covers missing and needs replacing. * Catch tray analysis needs to be done. Cleaning systems * Daily cleaning logs introduced. * Engineers inventory of parts during a repair to prevent contamination. * Effective utilisation, and expansion, of ATP hygiene monitoring system. Management Controls * Introduction of supervisor meetings. * Additional training to supplement and increase knowledge of GMP systems, Food hygiene and legislation. * Review of job descriptions. * Record employee appraisals. Section 5 References Background / further reading. Including bibliography Hygiene for Management, Sprenger. R. A. 1998 (8th Ed) Cleaning, Dillion M, et al Inspirational Supervisor, Shaw J. 1999 FdSc Food manufacture management GMP Course work notes, Dillion M. 2002 Log book Overviews Overviews Part 1: Basic findings from two sections of the manual. Section 1 Structure and Fabrication The factory has a logical process flow and the buildings are of sound construction. All internal factory wall surfaces are panelled with a lowered false ceiling and smooth resin floors. Equipment is industrial food grade standard and appears to be well maintained. A preventative planned maintenance system is in operation and resourced by a competent engineering department. The work wear is situated in a separate clean changing area immediate on entrance to the production area. The pest control is out-sourced to Rentokil (initial services) with no signs of infestation problems to report. OBS 1: The floor is made of an impervious material and when combinations of two immiscible liquids (such as oil and water) mix, it causes some sections of the floor around the fryer area are slippery. Recommendation Review the cleaning schedule for this area to include a protocol stating that the floor in that area is to be cleaned as often as required throughout the production day, in addition to the usual scheduled cleans. Another suggestion would be to use a floor covering/mat to make the area more non-slip. Timescale 30days OBS 2: There was a small pool of standing water around the con-air units during production. Recommendation The long-term goal would be to re-lay/repair that section of floor to provide an adequate slope to provide water run-off into the drainage channels. Action to be taken place in the mean while would be to revise the cleaning schedule to include that the area is to be cleared as often as required throughout the production day. Timescale 90 days OBS 3: There was no steam extraction above the sauce making kettles giving rise to N/C1. N/C1: Evidence was noted by observation and noted, audit checklist ref: GMP Section 1 -ref 1.8.2, that there was the beginnings of mould build up on the ceiling tiles above the sauce kettles. Recommendation Investigate the possible methods of fume extraction best suited to the needs of the task. Possible installation of an extractor cowling. Action that can be introduced quickly is that a revision of the cleaning schedule to include weekly/fortnightly/ or as required cleaning to be undertaken in that area using a detergent with mould growth inhibitor. Timescale 90days Section 2 Storage Facilities Storage or R.M, WIP, finished goods, packaging and tainting elements are well segregated with observed codes of practice to prevent cross contamination. Products are coded to allow stock rotation on a FIFO basis and the stock levels that are kept on site are kept to a minimum. There are no contractual off-site storage facilities used. Products are released on the basis of on-line QC testing. Procedures are in place regarding damaged or defective goods segregation and disposal. OBS 1: Only visual checks are made of the contracted out logistics companys vehicles. Recommendation Revise an audit schedule to visit their head office so as to not only audit the vehicles used for the transportation of goods, but also to review the company policies and procedures regarding GMP practices. Timescale 90days Part 2: Area to improve. The area of greatest need is management control, especially in relation to motivation of staffs and inter-departmental communication. A highly motivated workforce can increase the potential output efficiency greatly, without the need for costly capital expenditure. Poor communication is the catalyst for future problems John Shaw, Business consultant The vast majority of problems within the workplace arise due to the lack of or inadequate communication between colleagues. All members of the organisation must develop their verbal and written skills to allow for ease of dialogue between the two parties. Regular dialogue is essential for the pooling together of ideas and suggestions that helps to minimise problems and help to achieve the company objectives. Employees must be able to interpret management edicts and be able to pass on these instructions to other staffs clearly and concisely in order to achieve peak performance. One opinion that might be made is that the companys impersonal uses of memos are substituting important meetings that would be held to discuss some of the key issues. By conducting regular meetings to open up a dialogue for discussion, it would help to eliminate any confusion that might have arisen because of their own interpretation of what is trying to be stressed in the communiquà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. By opening a dialogue between colleagues, it helps to make them feel a part of the team because they are being consulted and being offered to stress their opinions and grievances. During the meetings, it lets the individual know exactly what is being expected of them to do, with little chance for error. Once the individual knows the parameters in which they are expected to perform, and then the individual has some attainable guidelines on how to conduct him or herself around the workplace. Being made part of a team is one essential tool in the motivation of staffs. By including their opinions within any debate, it helps to raise that persons self-esteem. Once a person begins to become motivated, it often leads to greater job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is a combination of hard work and competence. Employees who reflect pride in their work are an infectious source of inspiration to others. This can be seen again in persons whom take personal pride and lead by example. Motivation is a key component to modern businesses. Staffs should take every opportunity to motivate others constantly. One way to encourage your staff is to let them know what is required of them by defining the days objectives. Use of praise and encouragement inspire maximum performance from an individual from a few choice words or phrases. Where an individual or team needs berating if they have made a mistake, remain calm and resolve the problem through constructive criticism. This is where the situation is given an explanation of what went wrong, gentle words to re-enforce the need that it does not re-occur, and gives further guidance on how it can be avoided in the future. It is imperative that if it is an individual involved, then take them to one side to discipline them. This way you are not undermining them and therefore their personal dignity is maintained. Another critical instruction is not to overreact to minor problems. Destructive and unwarranted criticism is harmful to morale and can easily sweep across a work force. It is also a good idea to be receptive to reasonable grievances that they might have and suggestions that they might make. Motivation encourages individuals and teams to continually achieve the companys goals through sustained peak performance. Part 3 Cleaning and the Law Cleaning plays a fundamental part of food hygiene. It is pivotal in preventing contamination of both microbiological and chemical, but it also helps to make the indicator signs of pest infestation easier to spot. All cleaning comprises of four factors: * Heat * Mechanical energy * Chemical energy * Contact time Cleaning is usually a five stage process (although not exclusively). 1) Pre-clean 2) Main clean 3) Rinse 4) Disinfect 5) Final rinse 6) Drying The relative energy and time components of a cleaning programme can differ greatly. This is all dependants on the load of soil age, the chemical properties of the cleaning agent, and the surface to be cleaned. Staffs should receive clear concise instruction on how to correctly conduct the cleaning schedule. The chemicals used within this factory are as follows: Chemical Action Fatsolve Surfactant degreasing detergent Bleach Hypochlorite based disinfectant Sparkle Surfactant degreasing detergent Acid foam Acidic de-scaler Caustic floor cleaner Alkaline (NaOH) floor cleaner Caustic pearls Alkaline (NaOH) fryer cleaner Tego 2001 Biocidal disinfectant/detergent combination All staffs that will be handling these products for use in hygiene must receive full training and monitored for competency and efficiency. All of these products must comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect the employee whom is to be using these chemicals. This Act states specific legislation to include: The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regs, 1994 (SI. 1994 No. 3246) (COSHH) These regulations require employers to assess the hazards and provide suitable controls. Implementation is by means of risk assessment. COSHH is concerned with chemicals that can be classified as toxic, harmful, corrosive or irritant. All of the products used within the body of the factory are supplied with all COSHH safety sheets and are filed in the technical department. Each of these products is mentioned in the company HACCP plan to include the risk assessment of these products. Chemicals (Hazards, Information Packaging) Regs, 1993 (CHIP) Again, this states that all chemicals sold must be supplied with a COSHH safety sheet provided for the purchaser by the supplier. This must include detailed information about the product, its hazard classification under CHIP regulations. It is also prohibited to decant harmful chemicals into unmarked containers. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at work Regs, 1992 These regulations enforce the employer to provide all necessary PPE required for a specific task so as to minimise the health and safety risks that the employees might be subjected to. There are several good reasons why effective cleaning is so important besides those mentioned earlier: * It creates a good visual impression for both workers and visitors alike giving a sense that the business cares. * Helps to maximise the efficiency and costing of several types of products. For example, if a sauce is left to build up deposits, then it would restrict the diameter of the pipe work, making the motor have to run harder to pump product through, thus reducing the lifetime of that component. Its also helps to reduce wastege * Legal obligations. It is that final point which needs further explaining. The food safety Act, 1990 This law makes it an offence to contaminate food so that it would be unreasonable to expect it to be used for human consumption in its current state. It also states that a food proprietor and staffs must identify all steps that are critical to food safety and minimise those risks. This is further backed up by the Food Safety (GFH) Regs, 1995 This states: * Premises must be kept clean, designed to facilitate cleaning, and to protect against the accumulation of dirt. * Make it a requirement for all food business proprietors to identify any step in activities of the business which is critical to food safety, and to introduce restrictive controls at those points identified. This law allows an enforcement officer to raise a non-conformance on the actual presence of dirt, and does not have to prove that that soilage poses a risk to health There is a clear legal and moral obligation that wherever there is a risk to food, a business proprietor must ensure that the working premises are kept clean so as to minimise the risks to public health. These responsibilities must be stressed to all employees not only in their induction period, but also sporadically throughout their employment. Part 4: PEST in relation to OEE During the course of this audit, an OEE analysis was conducted on one of the production lines (See OEE exercise workbook). The aim of GMP is to improve the manufacturing performance, and by using OEE calculations it is possible to gain a quantifiable index of performance. Using the precepts behind GMP it is possible to identify areas that could benefit from improvement so as to improve production performance. The identification of the seven wastes which are the non-value added and also the value added sections of a production period are vital. It is the main objective to reduce the first, and increase the latter. With regards to the production run that was studied several strategies can be entertained to help to minimise waste due to the above mentioned wastes. Firstly, fish cakes are products that produce only small amounts of waste due to the fact that defects can often be re-worked during the same production run. Defect cores can be removed from the line by operatives and then deposited back in the koppens former to be re-moulded into another cake. Reducing the throughput can often help reduce the rejects levels. Running at just a few strokes under the maximum for the line might make it more cost effective to reduce the throughput by a minimal amount in order to dramatically decrease the amount of reject product. By doing this the right first time figure could increase to raise overall production efficiency. If speed is the overriding factor, i.e. the faster the speed, the higher the defect rate, then just by reducing the stroke rate of the machine, the amount of over-processing required would be reduced. If however speed were not the decisive factor, then an investigation of the machines capabilities would have to be reviewed, and if it cannot be removed, then do you accept this defect level caused by the machine, or do you evaluate the possibility of purchasing a more efficient piece of kit? With regards to the machine that is in place, the Koppens former is approximately 10-15yrs old and forms cakes by using hydraulic cups and a forming plate. Over the years the maximum output of the machine has dropped by approximately 25% from the max of 40s/m to now 30s/m. Would it be better to buy a new piece of kit. Perhaps the purchasing an AEW forming machine? Unfortunately these are costly pieces of kit. Costing in the range of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½250K. This is a large prohibiting factor in an SME of the size of the company in question, with their limited financial resources. In order to justify a capital expenditure of that magnitude, a significant order would have to be procured to allow for the required payback period to make it a cost effective purchase. It is almost chicken and egg scenario. With a new piece of machinery of this nature the potential for increased throughput of not only this line, but also of others would rise significantly, but monies or orders to cover payback periods would have to be secured before capital expenditure is considered. It is a difficult political climate with retail customers at present. More and more of the major multiples only issue contracts for periods of usually a year (although there has recently been a downward trend to decrease these to six monthly). So a guarantee off continued business is not certain, which prohibits the purchase of the new machinery. The small margins also affect the staff efficiency and retention (thus quality). Because margins are tight, only a small amount on the top of national minimum wage can be applied. This can limit not only the response to job advertisements, but also with staff retention and loyalty. With a higher staff turnover, the quality of staffs employed often reduces, thus affecting the throughputs and efficiencies of the lines. This interplay of factors is what has to be investigated further upon before resolutions can be found. Identification is just the first step in an overall improvement plan. Appendix 1: Summary Sheets GMP Audit Material Enclosed in this booklet are copies of the audit checklists that you can use to audit your site against each element of GMP. You should aim to audit 2 elements of the standard each week and use the techniques discussed in week 1 on problem solving to objectively assess each element of the standard. If you wish to discuss any elements in more detail then contact one of the tutors on the course who will be able to help you clarify any problems or issues that you may have. IMPORTANT You will need to copy the food safety and hygiene audit assessment form each week, as you will need to use this to summarize for each assignment. Using the Sample Assessment Forms for the 10 sections of Good Manufacturing Practice identify: 1. Areas of Strength and Weakness for the GMP sections for your own plant or operation, using the checklists provided. 2. The causes of problems which are inherent with the areas of weakness 3. The barriers and aids which will effect the improvement process 4. Prioritise the actions needed to improve your Good Manufacturing Practice needs, using the assessment forms, which should be included within your weekly assignment. A grading system has been given on each checklist. You may use this grading system to help you to assess your factory, but feel free to modify this. If you do modify the system then you should explain, quite clearly, how the grading or scoring system is used. Key to the ABCD grading system for assessing the sections and elements of the GMP standard: Grade A Excellent Scores 50 points. Grade A scored when there are no safety problems or issues. Requires no further action. Grade B Satisfactory Scores 30 points. Actionable within defined timescale as agreed at audit. Grade C Major Scores 10 points. Actionable within one working week. Grade D Critical Scores 0 points. A Grade D is automatically awarded when a critical safety issue is identified, and is actionable immediately.

Feasibility Study Of National Saudi Arabia Day Tourism Essay

Feasibility Study Of National Saudi Arabia Day Tourism Essay Every country celebrates its national day-be it the date of countrys independence from a former colonizer, the day when the country declared itself a new and sovereign state, thus marking its place in the international community of nations or simply the time when a once-divided country was reunified and made whole again. This event paper will focus on the celebration of a National Saudi Arabia Day, which is traditionally celebrated on the 23rd of September. This is the date when King Abdul Aziz reunited the country in 1932. Saudis National Day was declared a holiday only fairly recently, but its social, historical and cultural impact is felt every time it is celebrated. The researcher would like to recommend holding a number of activities held simultaneously on the culminating event of the celebration. This will be called Soar Saudi Arabia and will feature activities that relate to the countrys rich history, economy and social life. The main event will be held in the capital city, Riyadh, during the evening. The capital is the most perfect location for the main event because it is the most accessible and cosmopolitan place in the country. It offers all the top of the line amenities and services that potential tourists will look for, such as taxicab services, car rentals, and five-star hotel accommodations. But the celebration will not be confined to just the capital. The NDC will also launch small token events in other parts of the country to impart the feeling of a collective national celebration. Other smaller events will likewise be held during the day in Riyadh to build up the excitement for the primary celebration at night. There will be exhibits showing photographs and artefacts relating to the history of Saudi Arabia, books and movies depicting Arabian culture, and a specially commissioned documentary depicting the rise and reunification of KSA which will be shown for free every two hours in the main event tent. Kiosks and booths selling tourist items, trinkets, delicacies and other crafts shall surround the main staging area. During the culminating program, there will be a live cultural presentation from KSAs tribal and ethnic groups, a grand pyrotechnic show, and a short awarding ceremony for honouring Arabian citizens who have given substantial contribution to KSA society. This program shall be held at the main event tent. Taking advantage of the 2005 declaration of September 23rd as a national holiday, the researcher proposes to hold all the events on this particular date to take advantage of the number of people who do not have to go to work or school on that day, and can instead be convinced to participate in an important patriotic event. Soar Saudi Arabia is therefore a most opportune event for both the organizers and the people to make the most out of the national day celebration for the first time. It is an excellent opportunity for companies and other organizations to give back to the community as well as to directly expose their product or service to the market of consumers (Mack 1999). This year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will celebrate its 78th National Day, surely a momentous event for any state. The Kingdom enjoys a strong and prosperous economy despite the global financial downturn that happened in the last quarter of 2008. As the KSA welcomes another year of sovereignty and prosperity, it is but fitting that the private sector, the state and the international community come together to celebrate a very significant time in the countrys history. According to Almaeena (2005), a nations act of honouring its national day is not merely paying lip service to the long-established tradition of celebrating this particular day. Rather, it is also important to look at September 23rd as the date when the people of KSA can individually and collectively look back upon the historical foundation of their nation and also look forward to future challenges and developments that will come upon them. The need to rekindle the Saudi Arabian societys passion for celebrating their national day can be addressed by putting up an event to mark this famous day. Soar Saudi Arabia is an event that is meant to accomplish many things, but for the most part it is designed to serve as a venue for bringing the Saudi Arabian citizens together in a day of pride and honour. It is also a day to remind the international community of the KSAs power and influence, its unique history and people, and its exalted position in the global economy and politics. The event is likewise expected to generate profits for both the government and the private sector by increasing the tourist traffic. September is one of the slow months of the tourist season, and launching a big national celebration on the national holiday will definitely attract a sizable crowd of tourists who have never before seen how the people of KSA celebrate this day. The driving ideal behind the event is to portray that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is more than just the petroleum products that it produces-it is a country peopled by intelligent, hardworking citizens who share a proud common heritage and who believe in the same positive social objectives. Because this is the first time that KSA will really go all out on a national day celebration, it is expected that Soar Saudi Arabia will attract not merely business but also notable dignitaries from other states who will wish to attend a distinctive event. Thus, the event at hand is not just for tourism and business purposes; it is also a way for KSA to promote the country and claim its place in the international community. Soar Saudi Arabia is therefore not just any typical national day celebration that begins with a welcome speech and ends with a brilliant display of fireworks. The researcher has designed this event so that it will cater to the interests of both old and young people, whether or not they are citizens of KSA. What is important is for the event to become a symbol of the countrys grand story and its readiness to face the challenges that the future may pose. It is hoped that through this event, the younger generations will be more convinced to pay greater attention to their exceptional history and heritage, even as globalization continues to facilitate a kind of uniformity across different countries. Mission, vision and objectives of the event At the heart of this event is an opportunity for the people of KSA to express their patriotic feelings on the national day celebration. More than anything else, Soar Saudi Arabia is a venue for the people to show their pride for their fatherland. It is the goal of this event to provide an excellent chance for the world to understand Saudi Arabian society in particular and the Muslim world in general. The widespread prejudice today against the Islamic community has not considerably hindered the economic activities of Saudi Arabia and of Arabic companies, but the social stigma makes an impact beyond the realm of corporate engagements. Soar Saudi Arabia is envisioned to be a means for the world to know more about Saudi Arabia, to appreciate the beauty of how their society came about. The event will be spearheaded by a 2010 National Day Council (NDC), members of which will come from the private sector, the government, the royal family, foreign investors, the academe, non profit organizations, international groups, and other relevant stakeholders. The NDC envisions the celebration to be a showcase of all the best that Saudi Arabia has to offer: its food, music, fashion, artwork, history, culture, sports, tradition and literature. It will be a venue that will allow the varying threads that make up the social life of KSA to come together and blend in a beautiful design to honour the day when the country was reunited as one state and one territory. The organizers intend for this celebration to be a reminder to everyone that KSA is not just a country where oil makes people rich; it is also a country with a colourful past and a lot of new lessons to learn. Yon Cho (n.d.) noted that festivals and special events (FSEs) have recently become a catalyst for community development, as well as becoming more popular among communities (Small et al. 2005). Soar Saudi Arabia is designed to become a driver for the growth of tourism and international interest in KSA, as well as a source of pride and joy for the people themselves. Liang et al. (2008) are entirely in agreement when they said that FSEs have the peculiar effect of crystallizing the sense of identity of the local community who holds such events, as well as piquing the interest of tourists who have little or no exposure at all to their particular culture and history. Tourism has become an important business in recent years because of the lowered costs and improved safety of methods of transportation. Globalization has also helped in the process because new technological tools such as the Internet and the email have allowed people to learn more about far-flung places that they had only read or heard about, therefore making them curious enough to actually visit these locations. With the array of transportation and accommodation options available to international visitors, the tourism industry has certainly grown and become a robust economic sector. The KSA is not exactly a hot tourist spot by todays standards, but it is hoped that through events like Soar Saudi Arabia new festivals and special gatherings will be created and held in order to boost not just the countrys tourism profits but also its cultural and historical heritage. The present event is but a small step towards opening the KSA society to the whole world and introducing a different side of the country to the international community. Proposed organizational structure As already mentioned, the 2010 National Day Council will be spearheading Soar Saudi Arabia and will serve as the main government agency to handle all affairs and transactions necessary for the event. The Council shall be composed of eleven notable leaders and personalities in their respective fields, with one chairperson and ten regular members. They will be appointed by the King through a careful nomination and selection process. Some of the proposed sectors from which the council members must come from include the banking industry, the academe, the petroleum manufacturers and so on and so forth. The Council will have its own paid organizational staff who will oversee all aspects of the celebration, from the coordination with partner agencies and companies to the documentation of all the events and programs for the duration of the month-long celebration. However, the entirely staff will not be permanent; only a core group of personnel shall be necessary to perform the Councils regular work. Additional employees will be hired on a project basis as needed prior to the September 23rd event itself. Work breakdown structure A work breakdown structure allows is a kind of family tree that gives an accurate graphical description of all the job components needed to complete a particular project or event. Breaking down the project at hand into smaller work units allows the coordinator to have a more manageable concept map of all the work that needs to be accomplished. By dividing the whole project into smaller bites, improvements can be applied at once and problem areas identified and addressed properly. Figure 2. Work breakdown structure for the Soar Saudi Arabia 2010 celebration The project will go through the requisite four stages of event management: planning, running, following up and evaluating. These four steps are necessary in order for the Council and its partner agencies to have a clear idea as to the changes that need to be integrated in the next National Day Celebration. This being the very first time that KSA will officially celebrate its reunification day, it is incumbent upon the Council to make this a good standard against which future special events and festivals will be measured and analyzed. Thus, ensuring the events success is important not only for the sake of a good show, so to speak, but also for the sake of future celebrations to be held in KSA. Human resource plan Basic risk management plan In any event or occasion, it is always important for the organizers to come up with contingency plans that are sufficient to answer for any problems that will occur prior to or during the event itself. The bigger and more complex an event is, the greater the chances of something going wrong along the way, even if every detail was carefully planned and executed prior to the event itself. This is why event organizers have to establish back up plans or what is more properly called a risk management plan that can be made operative in case of any breach or failure in the agreed scheme of activities. In an event as big as the national day celebration of KSA, there are a number of risk factors that have to be taken into serious consideration. Most important among them are the security and crowd control measures that will be employed, especially during the night of the culmination program in Riyadh. The main event tent will be the venue for the evening celebration but the surrounding areas shall be also be a staging ground for the pyrotechnic show. An estimated 10,000-20,000 people (locals and tourists alike) plus the NDC personnel are expected to stay in Riyadh as early as a week before the September 23 event. Therefore, proper security measures have to be outlined in order to protect the safety of all the people. Additional police officers would have to be taken in from the surrounding provinces so that the city police would be sufficient in number to respond to any emergency situations. Another priority risk that has to have back-up plans is the very real likelihood of transportation and accommodation problems among the guests. The citys carrying capacity is so much less than the number of people who are expected to pour into KSA for the duration of the event, so solutions have to be designed in order to make the travel to and from the hotels and the events area should be as seamless as possible. To allow traffic and transportation jams to occur is to leave a negative impression, especially with the first-time tourists who are only just beginning to form their ideas about KSA. Hotels and second-class living areas also have to be built or leased from private companies so that there will be sufficient rooms for every tourist, whatever their particular budget may be. Income and expenditure The following represents the proposed income and profit scheme between the NDC and the private companies who will be selected as partners for the event: Income Expenditure From corporate sponsorships Construction of event venue From voluntary donations Staff salary Government allocated budget Complimentary transportation and accommodation for selected VIPs Share from the profit of commercial booths in the events area Tokens to VIPs and sponsors Rentals from the booths and other business in main area Salary for additional police and peacekeeping force Beautification for Riyadh City Gratis for cultural performers, filmmakers and others Event monitoring and evaluation Even with the financial partnership with corporate organizations and other socio-civic groups, the 2010 National Day Council will remain as the main oversight body that has veto power over all decisions and strategies regarding the event. For example, a corporate sponsorship may be terminated in case of any breach committed by the partner company or individual. The hiring of additional personnel for the actual event day shall be supervised by the regular staff of the NDC in order to have a firm control of the necessary skills and qualifications needed but their wages shall be borne by the collective NDC funds. The event shall be separately and jointly evaluated by the different partner agencies and companies as well as by the NDC. This two tiered process is necessary in order to determine the success of the event as perceived by the different participants and stakeholders. An on-site feedback survey shall also be done on the day of the event itself by randomly selecting visitors to the booths and the evening program. Holding separate evaluations is also necessary to determine the actual benefits of the corporate partnership on a mutual level. On the part of NDC, it is a way to identify if there are ineffective partners or groups that have been selected for this first event, so that future festivals can have better sponsors. As for the corporate partnerships, the companies themselves will be able to know if their investment in the event has paid off. Each party to the partnership has a different objective upon joining, and holding discrete assessment methods tailored to their specific requirements will give a fuller and realistic view of the events success. At the end of the day, the evaluation outcomes shall be put together and analyzed as a comprehensive, interlocking series of activities.