Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Employment Law Brief

Employment Law Brief The Clapton Commercial Construction Company located in Detroit, Michigan, is planning to expand its business into the state of Arizona. It is a medium-sized company with 650 employees and possibly increasing an additional 20% in the new state. Prior to the move, the human resources (HR) department must be aware of applicable employment laws that may affect the business.Outlined below are brief summaries and consequences for noncompliance of the following employment laws: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), he American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (FLSA). Relevant Employment Laws Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the first employment law to consider. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in aspects of employment such as hiring, wages, assignment, promotions, benefits, and discipline. Titl e VII is the most important federal Equal Employment Opportunity law because it contains the broadest coverage, prohibitions, and remedies† (Cascio, 2013, p. 83). Under the law, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) exists o implement laws dealing with employment discrimination. According to Cascio (2013), the law was expanded in 1972 to cover almost all public and private employers with 1 5 or more employees; except private clubs, religious organizations, and Indian reservations. The EEOC has the authority to conduct investigations, create resolution programs, and file lawsuits.Failure to comply with Title VII exposes the employer to both civil and criminal lawsuits with possible outcomes of fines, compensatory and punitive damages, or even imprisonment. The company may also have to reinstate or promote the affected employee. In 1991, the Act amended several statues enforced by the EEOC. Parties were able to obtain Jury trials and recover compensatory and punitiv e damages with cases involving intentional discrimination. The Act also placed monetary caps for future cases based on size of the company.Another provision was enforcement of those American controlled companies abroad. The next employment law to consider is the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This law applies to employers regardless of size and every employee regardless of status: full-time, part time, or seasonal. The IRCA prohibits employers rom hiring or continuing to employ personnel which are not legally authorized to work in the United States. The Clapton Commercial Construction Company is expanding business to Arizona with the intent of increasing the number of employees by 20%.The company must consider the demographics of that area with regard to potential employees and take measures to ensure an employee has documents to work legally in the United States, such as a passport or resident alien card. Other examples are located on the Employment Eligibility Verific ation 1-9 form that potential employees are required to complete. Penalties for noncompliance may esult in fines for each violation and denial of federal contracts. According to the Department of Homeland Security (2013), in fiscal year 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed more than 392,000 illegal workers nationwide.The American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is another law to consider. â€Å"Almost 13% of people ages 21 to 64 in the United States have at least one disability, a percentage that more than doubles to 30. 2% for people ages 65 to 74† (Cascio, 2013, p. 89). The ADA prohibits an employer from discriminating against a qualified person with a disability. A qualified person is someone who can perform the essential unctions of a Job with or without accommodation. The physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities is called a disability, such as seeing, walking, hearing, or talking.The ADA expanded protection of drug and alcohol rehabilitation and those individuals who have tested positive for HIWAIDS. The ADA applies to private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions. The Clapton Commercial Construction Company is not required to lower work standards or tolerate misconduct on the Job; however, reasonable accommodations must be made to assist ualified Job applicants. For example, the company can purchase a computer screen magnifying glass for the vision impaired. The EEOC enforces the provisions outlined in the ADA.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Herman Miller Inc Essay

From the headquarters of Herman Miller Inc. , Curt Pullen talks amid the unmistakable pounding sounds and commotion associated with a construction work site about his company’s plan to rebound from the recession. Pullen, the firm’s executive vice president and president of North America, says the workers are installing new lower-height Herman Miller workstations designed to accommodate a growing trend in offices toward more open, collaborative environments. The new product, called Canvas, is part of the company’s market-shift strategy after the demand for office furniture fell hard during the economic downturn. The plan also involves diversifying into the health care and academic furniture markets and more emphasis on emerging economies. The plan appears to be paying off. For the first time in nearly four years the company reported two consecutive quarters of double-digit percentage sales growth after releasing its second-quarter earnings statement on Dec 15th. Orders in the second quarter rose 34% to $462 million. CEO Brian Walker noted the company’s expanded market reach as a contributing factor to growth. Significant increases occurred in international markets where sales rose 33%. In 2010 the company acquired UK-based ergonomic workstation manufacturer Colebrook Bosson Saunders and purchased assets from Australian furniture maker Living Edge Group. In 2008, the company announced a partnership with China’s Posh Office Systems Ltd. to expand in the Asia-Pacific region. The company attributed a year-end surge to gains in its international, health care, learning and retail vertical markets. The expanding health care industry has become one of the company’s key growth targets. One of the more recent expansions into the health care field came on Jan. 31 when Herman Miller completed its acquisition of health care furniture manufacturer Nemschoff Chairs LLC based in Sheboygan, Wis. Herman Miller designed the Canvas workstation at a lower height than traditional workstations to facilitate a workplace trend toward more collaborative environments. The design also allows more light into work areas and saves space, the company says. Including sinks and headwalls, to be reconfigured to meet patient needs. 2. Business Strategy: Broad Differentiation Strategies This strategy pursues the buyer’s needs and preference to make them satisfied with the product. And to be different from other rivals, the product must have unique product attributes that a wide range of buyers find appealing and worth paying for. The strategy achieves its aim when an attractively large numbers of buyers find the customer buyer value proposition. Herman miller is pursuing this strategy as we refer to the case study that their products are based on the design which is designed according to the people who use the furniture. Like the president of Herman Miller said: ‘people are important not the furniture. Furniture should be useful’. Besides, this company emphasizes on product design and environmental friendly, these are two basic things that they have been practicing for many decades. Furthermore, they also invest more in research and development for product innovation. Take an example of office design product, Herman Miller’s Insight and Exploration team observed various workplaces to analyze how people collaborate and the ways in which their interactions vary over the course of a day, and throughout the life of a project by differentiating the subtleties of how, when, where, and why people connect independent of content or industry. Senior Researcher Shilpi Kumar notes that, â€Å"outlining these collaborative work behaviors will empower designers and decision makers with a greater understanding for how people really work, and will enable more informed choices in regards to office spaces. Herman Miller takes advantage of the growing desire for green products to create a better world and increase ergonomic furniture, because the consumers are willing to pay a premium for such quality and social responsible product. Since the designer of Herman Miller emphasized quality, excellence, and the continual improvement of their products, obviously one of their product which is designed by Charles and Ray Eames since its launch in 1950 had developed from plastic chair to wood chair in 2000. She also confirmed that this wood chair is 100 times recyclable since Herman Miller is concerned about environmental friendly, and Eames Molded Wood Side Chair earns â€Å"Gold† award at NeoCon 2013 in the Guest Seating category. 3. Functional strategy: Research and Development (R&D) This category focuses on strategy that is concerned with the actions in managing particular functions within a business especially in R&D. In terms of Herman Miller R&D, they invested in research and development (R&D) financially. Although there was downturn in financial, Herman Miller still invested tens of millions of dollars in R&D. The investment in R&D was code named Purple. A result of investment in R&D was an outgrowth of project Purple. The goal of this project was to spread beyond the boundaries of normal business. Herman miller created a special team called the accessories team in which the team-identified a potential growth area. This team is made to recruit people with different disciplines needed to support that goal. In addition, this team focuses on contributing ideas to the success of the team from all resources and also to develop a particular product as it goes through that piece of work. This project is in line with functional strategy of R&D in which a company’s product development represents the plan for keeping the company’s product in accordance with what buyers are looking for (Thompson et al, 2014). In the case of Herman Miller Inc, they began with research in every real design solution in which the exploitation and insights of the best research leads to human-centered design and problem solving. Herman Miller Inc is doing many things for R&D in the case of education, sustainability, performance, healthcare, manufacturing, architectures design and ergonomics. Herman Miller Inc has its major R&D activities and projects, i. e. its way to support and develop a company’s product. According to Herman Miller’s financial statement for fiscal years 2006-2011, there was a decline in design and research in 2009 due to the ongoing economic downturn. Figure 1. 1: Spending on Design and research So far, they have done some research projects regarding education such as; student’s research work behaviors behind innovation spaces. In the fall 2012, there was a project Herman Miller funded as a way of investing in the next generation of workers by giving students the chance to apply what hey learn in a real-world setting. Herman Miller wanted them to look at the business objective of the company. Besides Herman Miller providing the funds, the employees of the company also participated in the project. After the field research, the goal of this project was that the students shared what they had learned from going to the company for a workshop. The company also wanted to discover more about places that encourage creativity and the places of creative people. Besides Herman Miller providing the funds, the employee of the company also participated in the project. In regarding with the research in technology, the research starts by understanding which technological trends are creating new behaviors in the workplace. So from that, they can produce new design solution. Over the last three years, a group of designers, engineers, and researchers, the Insight Herman Miller and Exploration Team (I & E) has focused on emerging technologies and how they alter social behavior in the workplace. Herman Miller’s goal is to identify the technology trends that are relevant to the office and also understanding new behaviors that allow the designers, architects and manufacturers to bring new workplace design. For healthcare, Herman Miller Healthcare saw the opportunity to study and analyze by doing the research from the discussion of Bluewater health in which prior to design development and also the satisfaction and safety of patients and staff members. Herman Miller Healthcare is sponsoring a research project that will explore how changes in the built environment have affected staff in three important areas: Ambulatory Care, Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department. 3 4. Functional Strategies: Marketing Marketing is one of the strategies used under functional strategy. First and foremost, Herman Miller products were sold internationally through wholly owned subsidiaries in countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, China, India, and the Netherlands. Hence, they use the international strategy to compete its products in each country. In other words, they use the foreign subsidiary strategies because it seemed that they prefer to have a direct control over all aspects of operating in a foreign country that is the reason why they established wholly owned subsidiaries. As a result, this strategy was successful as their brand was recognized by customers and increased customer base spreading over 100 countries. Moreover, they used green marketing strategy to sell their products. This is because they mainly focus on environmental friendly such as Mirra chair, one of their products which was made of 45 percent recycled materials, and 96 percent of its material were recyclable. Therefore, the chairs used 100 percent renewable energy. Due to this strategy used, Mirra chair was recorded as one of the Top 10 Green Products by Architectural Record and Environmental Building News. Hence, this can indicate the success of using this strategy. In addition, Herman Miller engaged in cooperating advertising with strategic partners. As the example of Hilton Garden Inns which they equipped the Mirra chair in some room and on the desk in the room, was a card that explain how to adjust the chair while also providing the advertisement of Herman Miller’s website, how to purchase the products. Likewise, this is one of the advertising used to promote their products by using the strategic partner. As a result, they can reduce the advertising cost and gain more brand awareness. . Operating Strategy: Lean Production Initially, at Spring Lake, Herman Miller had invested in a giant robot assembly that welded supports inside file cabinet housings, including a tractor-trailer-length automated welding line with 1,000 sensors to drive labor completely out of the process. Unfortunately, big customers like Hewlett-Packard and AT&T were pulling their orders of 100 instead of 500 and some wanted file cabinets in two weeks instead of six with much higher quality. The Spring Lake plant could not deliver, and certainly not for the lower prices customers demanded. 995, they adapted Toyota’s leading-edge formula for plant-floor management into an approach they called the Herman Miller Performance System (Booz&co. , 2010, para 20). Based on the above quote, it depicted that Herman Miller’s decision to employ Herman Miller Performance System (HMPS); lean production, was to maintain efficiencies and cost savings by minimizing the amount of inventory on hand through a just-in-time process. To ensure a fluid flow on the order – driven production, Herman Miller collaborated with reliable and strategic suppliers. HMPS created competitive advantage through large assembly – manufacturing based. For example, direct materials and components purchased as needed to meet the demand and some suppliers delivered parts to Herman Miller production facilities five or six times per day. This resulted in a standard lead time of 10 to 20 days for majority of the products and low inventories on hand. Interestingly, HMPS managed to increase the variable costs rather than fixed costs while retaining proprietary control over manufacturing process. It was reported that â€Å"the plant managers across Herman Miller have learned that the best-run plants rely on people, not machines. Only people can solve problems to make assembly lines go faster, run cheaper, and deliver higher quality† (Booz&co. , 2010, para 25). Therefore, it can be concluded that labor intensive approach tend to outperform machine intensive approach especially when the products demand further customization with limited time and the majority of industry products are built to each customer’s unique order. Question 2: Culture at HMI: healthy and largely supportive of good strategy execution. Herman Miller had codified its long-practiced organizational values, intended as a basic for uniting all employees, building relationship, and contributing to society. Herman Miller started in 1905 with the Star Furniture Company and created the Herman Miller furniture company with his son in law named Dirk Jan De Pree. From the beginning, De Pree committed himself to treating all workers as individuals with specials talents and potential. This was part of Herman Miller’s corporate culture which continued to generate respect for all employees and take advantage of the diversity of skills possessed by all. This is one of the functional strategies in corporate culture in Herman Miller Inc in which included the company’s approach to people management, procedures and operating practices that provide the guidelines for the behavior of the company. The impact of this culture became one of the competitive advantages that make strong management and employee satisfaction in the company. The business principles and ethical standard of Herman Miller are the management practices as the key of company’s culture. Herman Miller was one of the furniture company named to Fast Company’s â€Å"Most Innovative Companies† in both 2008 and 2010. Herman Miller had pursued a path of reinvention and renewal. Herman Miller has many ways to develop their products and its culture is also unique. Through the growing of the company, Herman Miller maintains the relationship with the employees. Herman Miller’s commitment to innovation included sharing ideas and opinions from the employees. On January 1979, Herman Miller established new organization structures that included all employees were to be given the opportunity to discuss new plan in small group settings. In addition, Herman Miller also established a plan in which all employees became shareholders. Herman Miller Inc. also focuses on more efficient and environmentally friendly by taking a major initiative in 1981. It is in line with a better world value which is pursuing sustainability and environmental policy. They established environmental quality action team whose goal was to coordinate environmental programs worldwide that involves many employees. A Herman Miller’s culture is grounded in and resides to certain core value and some sets for ethical behavior. Herman Miller had long practiced organizational values that were still used in 2012. The values are as basis for uniting all employees, building relationship, adapt the implied attitude, behaviors and work practices. The company adopted inclusiveness which means they include all the expressions of human talent and potential that society offers. As mentioned before, Herman Miller corporate culture continued to create respect to all employees and looking for and utilizing the skills possessed by anyone. The second value is design in which it is important to Herman Miller Inc. in order to make innovative products. It is the way for them for looking at the world and how it can work. The results of this value are Herman Miller established many innovative products and designs. In 1971 and 1984, they introduced products based on ergonomics principles such as the Ergon chair and Equa chair. For another groundbreaking design, it introduced the Aeron chair which was almost added to New York Museum of Modern Art’s permanent design collection in 1990. Other important values are based on Herman Miller’s best performance that focuses on enriching the lives of employees, customers and create value for the shareholders. The result of this value has made Herman Miller share the gains and pains with the employees especially about the compensation. All employees received a base pay and they also participated in a profit sharing program where they received stock in accordance to the company’s financial performance. The company also offered to the employees the employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), retirement income plan, offered annual bonus to all employees based on company’s performance, and in regard to profit sharing both the employees and executives have same calculation of bonus potential. High performance culture In Herman Miller Inc. there is a strong sense of involvement on the part of company personnel and emphasis on individual initiative and creativity. Two of the greatest strengths lie behind our heritage of research-driven design. Respecting and encouraging risks, exploring new ideas and freedom of speech. Owners actively committed to the life of the community called Herman Miller, pride in doing things right, sharing in its success and risks. The strengths and payoff really comes in when engaging in people’s own problems, solutions and behavior. Performance is required at the highest level possible. Herman Miller enriches employees’ lives, delight its customers, and create value for its shareholders. Herman Miller includes all the express human talent and potential, everyone should have a chance to realize his or her potential regardless of color, gender, age, sexual orientation. It believes that skill; different educational background could bring the company uniqueness. Adaptive Culture Herman Miller always keep innovating its products to serve their customers better. Herman Miller’s corporate culture, which continued to generate respect for all employees, had fueled the quest to tap the diversity of gifts and skill held by all. The company designs products according to what people want the most, and it is a way of looking at the world and how it works or does not. To design a solution, rather than simply devising one, required research, thought sometime starting over, listening and humility. Manager and employees support each other in dealing with working environment. Herman Miller designed the Canvas workstation, at a lower height than traditional workstations to facilitate a workplace trend toward more collaborative environments. The design also allows more light into work areas and saves space, the company says. Additionally, the company also keeps changing its production designs from time to time according to the needs of the people and follow ergonomic system. Herman Miller hired much expertise to design its furniture, and it is costly to spend on R;D but company the company was willing to take risks on new innovation. Financial performance Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 Revenue ($ millions) $ 2,012. 1 $1,630. 0 $1,318. 8 $1,649. 2 R;D to Sales Ratio R;D/Sale 51. 2 / 2,012. 1 = 2. 5 % 45. 7 / 1,630. 0 = 2. 8 % 40. 5 / 1,318. 8 = 3. 1 % 45. 8 / 1,649. 2 = 2. 8 % Table 2. : HMI’s Revenues and R;D to Sales ratio from 2008 to 2011 Figure 2. 1: Research and development (R;D) to Sales ratio from 2008 to 2011 The above graph shows the trend of R;D sales ratio which increases from year 2008 until 2010. However, it decreased slightly in 2011 due to low R;D investment because of recession. However, it is not clear whether measuring the R;D ratio is a good metric to represent its efficiency towards a company. This is because it takes into consideration the R;D expenses rather than R;D investment thus it is easy to manipulate the number by lowering the R;D expenditure. Even, in the balance sheet of Herman Miller, the R;D investment is not disclosed under assets. If R;D is capitalized as asset, then it depicts the efficiency of R;D towards business revenues. In brief, due to that constraint, we assume that at least the R;D sales ratio increases and contributes positively towards Herman Miller’s business structure as Herman Miller invests heavily in R;D to create the furniture. Figure 2. 2: HMI’s Revenues from 2008 to 2011 The above graph illustrates that the trend of sales revenue decreases from year 2008 until 2010. However, it started to increase in year 2011. Thus, in brief, Herman Miller is improving in their sales through investment in Research and Development and produces competitive design. Question 3: HMI’s Financial situation: prior years and its competitors 1. HMI’s financial situation In order to measure the financial performance of Herman Miller Inc, we have used different ratios, such as liquidity, profitability, leverage and activity ratios. Besides, we also compare the financial performance of HMI in relation to its competitors – HNI and Steelcase Inc from 2008 until 2012 based on the above mention ratios. For our case, we have used the current ratio to measure the extent to which the three companies (HMI, HNI and Steelcase) can meet their short term obligations as shown in the figure below. Figure 3. 1: HMI’s current ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the current ratios for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , their current ratio showed some slight increase of about 1 percent from 2008 to 2009. However, a drop of about 21 percent was xperienced in 2010 but they were still able to maintain a current ratio of greater than 1. In the year 2011 and 2012, there had been a tremendous increase in their current ratio to 1. 76 and 1. 81 respectively. This current ratio of greater than 1 provides additional cushion against unforeseeable contingencies that may arise in the short term. In the case of HNI, their current ratio showed a moderate increase of about 7 percen t from 2008 to 2009. However, for the subsequent years, HNI experienced a decrease in their current ratio of approximately 10 percent from 2010 all the way to 2012. Nonetheless, they were able to maintain a current ratio of at least 1 to ensure that the value of their current assets covers at least the amount of their short term obligations. As for Steelcase, their current ratio showed a moderate increase of about 8 percent from 2008 to 2010. On the other hand, the company experienced a decrease of roughly 8 percent in the year 2011 but they were still able to maintain a current ratio of greater than 1. However, Steelcase managed to have an increase in their current ratio from 1. 37 in 2011 to 1. 52 in 2012. Overall, Herman Miller Inc. as shown a significant increasing trend in their current ratio as compared to the other two companies. This may suggest improved liquidity of the company or a more conservative approach to working capital management. ii. Profitability ratios: Profitability ratios measure management’s overall effectiveness as shown by the returns generated on sales and investment. There are a number of ratios under profitability but for our case, we have used the Return on Assets (ROA) to measure the after-tax profits per dollar of assets and Gross Profit Margin which measures the total margin available to cover operating expenses and yield a profit. These two ratios have been used to evaluate the three companies (HMI, HNI and Steelcase). Figure 3. 2. 1: HMI’s return on asset ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the Return on Assets for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , there has been a decreasing trend of ROA in the year 2008 to 2010 from 19 percent to 4 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is deteriorating. Nevertheless, rom the year 2010 to the year 2012, the company has shown some slight increasing trend of ROA from 4 percent to 9 percent respectively. This indicates that the company’s profitability is quite improving over the years. When it comes to HNI, it has also shown a high decreasing trend of ROA in the year 2008 to 2011 from 5 percent to -0. 6 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is extremely deteriorating. However , in the year 2012, there was an increase of about 4 percent as compared to the previous year. The company was able to move from -0. 6 percent to 3. 8 percent. This signifies that the company’s profitability is slightly improving. Lastly for Steelcase, there has also been a high decreasing trend of ROA from the year 2008 to 2010 with about 6 percent and -0. 8 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is extremely deteriorating. However, there was a slight increasing trend of ROA in 2011 and 2012 of 1. 02 percent and 3. 33 percent respectively. This means that the company’s profitability is somewhat improving. Overall, Herman Miller Inc. has shown a considerable increasing trend in their ROA over the years as compared to the other two companies. This may imply effective use of assets and creation of high margins by the company as well as gauging how well the company uses its financing from borrowing and bonds. Figure 3. 2. 2: HMI’s gross profit ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the Gross Profit Margin for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , there has been a slight decrease of the Gross Profit Margin in the year 2008 to 2009 from 34. 72 percent to 32. 37 percent respectively. However, from the year 2010 to the year 2012, the company has shown some slight increase in their Gross Profit Margin from 32. 49 percent to 34. 26 percent respectively. This indicates that the company can make a reasonable profit. For HNI, there has been an increasing trend of the Gross Profit Margin from the year 2008 to 2011 with about 33. 66 percent and 34. 6 percent respectively. However, in the year 2012, there was a slight decrease of about 1. 3 percent as compared to the previous year. The company’s Gross Profit Margin moved from 34. 86 percent to 34. 39 percent. This also signifies that the company can make a reasonable profit. Lastly for Steelcase, it has shown a slight decreasing trend of Gross Profit Margin from the year 2008 to 2010 with 32. 12 percent and 28. 35 percent respectively. However, there was a slight increasing trend of Gross Profit Margin in the subsequent years amounting to 29. 5 percent in 2012. This means that the company can still make a reasonable profit. Overall, HNI has shown a steady increasing trend in their Gross Profit Margin over the years as compared to the other two companies. This may indicate how efficiently the company is using its materials and labor in the production process and gives an indication of the pricing, cost structure, and production efficiency of the company. iii. Leverage ratios This ratio is used to determine the companies’ financing methods, or the ability to meet the obligations. There are many ratios to calculate leverage but the important factors include debt, interest expenses, equity and assets. In this section, we will examine two ratios which are debt to assets and debt to equity ratios. Figure 3. 3. 1: HMI’s debt to asset ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The debt to asset ratio gives us a quick measure of the amount of debt that the company has on its balance sheets compared to its assets. In general, the debt to asset ratio for Herman Miller fluctuated over the years as compared to its competitors – HNI and Steel case. In 2008, the debt to equity ratio for Herman Miller was above 80 percent and rose approximately to 100 percent in 2009, whereas this ratio was just about 61 percent and 57 percent for HNI and Steel case respectively in 2008; and about 58 percent in 2009 for both competitors. This indicated that almost 100 percent of Herman Miller’s assets were financed by debt or creditors which implied that the Company has high level of leverage and risk, while its competitors had roughly 50 percent of their assets financed by the owners. However, Herman Miller’s ratio significantly dropped in 2010 to about 40 percent which was below its competitors who almost maintained their position over the years. In 2012, 70 percent of Herman Miller’s assets were financed by debt. In general, although the company debt to assets ratio is still high in relation to its competitors, the financial performance of the company is improving after the financial crisis. However, the Company needs to further reduce the amount of debt resulting to the reduction of risk; this is because it may affect the company’s survival in the long-run. Figure 3. 3. 2: HMI’s debt to equity ratio versus its competitors’ ratio A debt-to-equity ratio measures the amount of debt a company uses to fund its business for every dollar of equity it has. In other words, it is a measure of a company’s ability to repay its obligations. Generally companies with less debt equity ratio are less risky than the companies with high ratios. As we can see from the graphs, Herman Miller Inc. has the highest ratio over the year in relation to the other companies. For instance, its ratio fluctuated significantly over the years which were at 32. 7 and 94. 91 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. This might be due to the effect of the financial crisis, which caused the company to increase its debt financing heavily. Also, this indicates that the company had substantial high amount of debt as compared to equity which can endanger the long term survival of the firm since the company may not be able to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obl igations. Meanwhile, debt to equity ratio for HNI and Steel case was roughly lower than 2, which was acceptable for large public companies. For Herman Miller, however, this ratio sharply dropped over the next years to just about 8. 62 in 2010 and 2. 37 in 2012. In contrast, its competitors still can maintain their ratio below two over the next years. In order to improve this ratio, Herman Miller had sold its common stock and tried to lower the mount debt financing, this can be seen by the amount of long-term debt decreasing. This implies that the company’s financial performance has been improving after the financial crisis. In terms of leverage, overall, it can be said that the performance of the company has been improving over the years and regaining its position in the furniture market after the economic downturn. Although it may not do well as compared to its competitors in terms of financing the debt and equity, there is a sign of improvement and effort in positioning its self in the market industry in U. S. iv. Activity Ratios Figure 3. 4. 1: HMI’s Inventory turnover ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The inventory turnover is commonly used to measure the operational efficiency in managing its assets. Based on the figure 4. 1 illustrated above, in 2009, Herman Miller Inc. has the highest ratio compared to other years. This high ratio could indicate two conditions, such as; whether the company has strong sales during the year or it has an ineffective buying activity. However, it is perceived that the company did have strong sales proven from the lowest level of inventory and high sales revenue which are seen in the annual report during the year. While in 2010, Herman Miller Inc. ’s turnover ratio drops significantly compared to the other years. Its cost of sales for the year has the lowest and showed a decrement of 24% from previous year which simultaneously contribute to low ratio as well as indicating the lack of effectiveness particularly in turning its inventory into sales. One of the reasons is that it could be due to the recession which highly affected the company, and hence making them to reduce the cost of sales. However, Herman Miller Inc is getting better in turning its inventory into sales proven from the increment of its ratio by year. Additionally, compared to competitors, the position of the ratio shown for Herman Miller Inc. is located somewhat in the middle. Steelcase is somewhat faster in turning their inventory into sales compared to others. In contrast, HNI has the lowest rate. This proves that Steelcase is more effective in managing its operational assets. Figure 3. 4. 2: HMI’s Average collection period versus its competitors’ ratio Average collection period is the number of days it takes a company to collect its account receivables. As illustrated from the figure 4. 2 above, Herman Miller is getting better in obtaining its receivables shown by the average days taken which was from 58 days in 2008 and 34 days in 2012. This demonstrates that Herman miller Inc. onstantly improve its credit policy effectiveness confirmed by a dramatic slump by years. Comparing to other competitors, originally HNI was the most effective company in managing its credit term policy, as the company only took 38 days in collecting its account receivables compared to Steelcase or Herman Miller. However, the company ended up to be the highest rate at 2012 showing that it is not effective in evaluating company’s credit policy. As a result, when a company possesses a lower average collection period, it is seen as optimal as it indicates that the company does not take very long to turn its receivables into cash. . HMI’s current strategies: an issues of need to change its strategies during poor economic conditions The current Herman Miller strategy which focuses on growth strategy, through innovative products and related diversification made the company to survive the Great Depression early in its history, multiple recessions in 20th century and in early 21st century the company recovered from the dot-com bust and was able to continue expanding overseas. The furniture industry is an economically volatile industry. The office furniture segment of the industry was hit hard by the recession. Industry sales decreased 26. 5 percent during the 2009 economic downturn. However, because of the innovative and diversification, Herman Miller was able to outperform its competitors in terms of sales and profitability, during that time Herman Mill’s sales dropped by 19% which is relatively low in comparison with its competitors HNI Corporation and Steelcase which had dropped by 33 percent and 28% respectively. The furniture industry is at its maturity stage, thus Innovation is crucial to the company’s survival. If Herman Miller continues to successfully innovate, it will enable them to compete in the market strongly. The industry had been negatively impacted telecommunication which had reduced the need office furniture. Yet, more employees were spending more hours in front of the computer screens than ever before. Because of Herman Miller’s effective innovation, they were able to respond to the need of ergonomically correct office furniture that had helped to decrease fatigue and injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. In summary, the company does not need to radically alter its main strategy which focuses more on innovation and diversification as it’s the reason they were not dramatically hit by recessions and competitions among the rivals. 3. Recommendation: i. Reduced current benefit and incentive schemes There are several incentives that had been eliminated by Herman Miller’s management due to the economic downturn in 2009. The suspend of 401(k) contribution plans (saving contribution plan), cut-off 15 percent of current workforce and 10 percent reduction in salary for remaining workforce had been implemented during the crisis. However the pay cuts was discontinued because of Herman Miller’s quick turnaround. The company was stable starting the year 2011, but the selling, general, and administrative were the highest contribution of the operating expenses. Specifically, â€Å"†¦$3. million and $16. 6 million of additional operating expenses during fiscal 2011 due to the reinstatement of all of our employee benefits and employee incentive expenses† (Herman Miller’s Annual Report, 2011). The company believed that the large benefit and incentives had created motivated and skilful employees which are the key of its competitive advantage. Even though the company has increased in sales as compared to the year 2010, it is important to cut the costs by eliminating some of the less important incentives schemes and benefits such as $100 rebate on a bike purchase, concierge services and one-site services to name a few. Previously, the company had eliminated the 401(k) contribution plan so that they could stop providing some percentage on the employees’ contribution. It is crucial since it could allow the company to save a significant amount of money in the long run (Richardson, 2009). It can be done by communicating the problems and issues which need to be addressed to the staff before they get out of hand. Address the problems proportionately and regular communication could make the staff be aware on their role to support the company throughout the economy downturn. By having it, the staff might accept the decision positively and provide effort to help the company to fully recover after the recession (‘Recession Business Cost Cutting†, 2013). ii. Reduction in company’s cost of sales According to Herman Miller’s Annual Report (2011), the increase in cost of sales for the year 2011 was due to the increase in sales volume that was driven primarily by cost leverage on higher production, which was partially offset by deeper discounting, higher employee benefit and incentive costs, and higher costs of key direct materials, most notably steel and steel components. Besides that, the cost of direct material increased as compared to previous years which there was increase in the cost of commodities and the increase in discounting, which has the effect of reducing net sales The costs of certain manufacturing materials used in producing finished products are sensitive to the volatility of commodity market price. The cost of direct labor and overhead were increased due to increase in product volume while the cost of freight expenses had increased during the year because of increase in product volume as well as increase in fuel costs in 2011. First recommendation to cut the cost of sales in terms of direct material is substituting lower cost material where possible to replace the expensive one and each angle should be considered for better decision. For example, the substitution of carbon steel to replace expensive stainless steel could reduce the cost but the corrosion protection might not last longer. This method should be applied if only the benefit from the substitution is higher than the cost of reduction in quality (Lewis, n. d. ). Second recommendation is by eliminating unnecessary product features to reduce cost. The company should produce a product that really suits customers’ preferences in buying their products. For example, the company should identify whether customers are purchasing its products because of their unique looks, lower price or high quality. If customers buy the products because of their lower price, unique features may not be needed (Lewis, n. d. ). Third recommendation which is the most effective one is by hedging the price of the steel through futures contract. According to Herman Miller’s Annual Report (2011): The company believes market prices for commodities in the near term may move higher and acknowledges that over time increases on its key direct materials and assembly components are likely. Consequently, it views the prospect of such increases as an outlook risk to the business† (p. 34). By locking the price in the contract, it could eliminate any risk of price volatility (â€Å"Hedging in Practice†, 2013). For example, if there is a huge possibility that the price of steel will increase in a certain period of time. Due to that, the company will engage in future contract and lock-in the price for a specific period in the future. Regardless of increase in steel price, the company is eligible to buy the commodity at a lower lock-in price as stated in the agreed future contract. Conclusion Herman Miller Inc. has implemented different strategies in order to improve its performance and expand its self in furniture market, such as diversified strategy, broad differentiation strategy, green marketing, product development and innovation. In addition, besides focusing on those strategies to achieve the business goals, the company also concerns about how it communicates and treat its employees. â€Å"All workers as individuals ith special talents and potential† can be considered as one of the healthy culture at Herman Miller since 1927 and the Company continued to generate respect for all employees and fueled the quest to tap diversity of gifts and skills held by all. According to one of the verse in chapter 42 of the Qur’an: â€Å"Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (cond uct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance† (Quran 42:38) The verse above explains the importance of mutual consent in making a decision. Islam encourages Muslims to decide their affairs by consulting with those who will be affected by the decision. Thus, in the case of Herman Miller, it empowers its employees and nurture participative decision making so that the employees feel as part of the company. Surviving in matured furniture industry and the economic volatility such as recession, demand full cooperation from the whole organization. It is not easy to integrate the diverse nature of employees with different backgrounds and behaviors to achieve goal congruence. Thus, Herman Miller’s healthy culture leads to its employee’s readiness to accept any relevant decision by Herman Miller such as cutting their salaries as the employees work with Herman Miller and not just work for it. Furthermore, in term of design value, the designer team of Herman Miller always emphasized on quality, excellence, and the continual improvement of their products. â€Å"At Herman Miller the products we made decade ago are still sold after today, and products we make today we will do for a decade to come. † All in all, Herman Miller should pursue its current strategies and continue to expand those strategies such as product innovation, diversification and so on. We believe that these strategies have made and will make Herman Miller one of an outstanding and award winning Company. They will continue to provide the Company with the ability to renew and reinvent itself in the furniture market and outperform its rivals in the future. From the explanation above, it gives us a broad view of how the company’s long-term strategy and objective affects all their business: from product design to decision-making process to the culture of the Company.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Concussions in Sports and Return to Play Guidlines Essay

Concussions in Sports and Return to Play Guidlines - Essay Example He hit his head on the turf, lost consciousness and when he regained consciousness, he remembered nothing of the incident. On the same day, in another game, Troy Aikman, one of the starting quarterbacks had to leave the game when he was kneed in the head. His condition was also termed as a concussion. Two players getting hit in the head on the same day is a rare occurrence because mild head trauma is limited to 2% and 10% for any athlete and this calls for some attention to incidence of concussion in various sports. The word 'Concussion' induces horrible images of permanent brain damage. But there is a) low probability of an athlete being hit in the head and 2) the return and full recovery are often rapid. However there have been more complicated cases where effects of concussions lasted a very long time. (e.g., Barth et al., 1983; Rimel, Giordani, Barth, Boll, & Jane, 1981). A growing body of literature, thought not vast yet, focuses on the occurrence and effects of concussion in various contact sports including boxing, football, and soccer. It was found that while professional athletes can serve as good cases studies for various related researches, they usually do not report every injury making it difficult to gather accurate data on the incidence of injuries in sports. Athletes underreport for fear of sabotaging their chances of playing in coming games. (Gerberich, Priest, Boen, Staub, & Maxwell, 1983). What is a Concussion or Mild Trauma The study of concussion in sports is relatively new considering that literature available is barely 15-20 years old. Attention is being paid to the process by which concussion cases mild head injury and the subsequent post concussive symptoms that result. Concussion or mild head injury refers to blow to the head which may or may not be followed by loss of consciousness but causing an alteration in awareness. Though no serious lesions are noticed on brain in the case of concussions, some contusions may be found on the frontal and temporal lobes. The white matter in the brain is affected and some shearing might be caused to neuronal axons (Duckett & Duckett, 1993). Acute and chronic alterations in neurochemical functions are also reported following a head injury (Dixon, Taft, & Hayes, 1993). The problem with CT and MRI scans is that while they can detect serious signs of severe injury such as swelling or bleeding, they may fail to notice lesions caused by concussion. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is used to measure and categorize injury. With a score of 13 or above for example, injury is considered mild. However while this scale along with other factors just as length of unconsciousness and length of stay in the hospital are used to categorize concussion and resulting head injury, there is still a serious lack of consensus

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The reliance upon technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The reliance upon technology - Essay Example Regardless of the individual device in question, the fact of the matter is that this societal shift impacts upon nearly every aspect of personal life and nearly every relationship that currently exists around the world. The pervasive paradigm shift that has been evidenced has occurred over the past 20 to 30 years has been hailed by many as a great move forward with regards to the overall capabilities and development of the human race. However, there is an alternate view as well; one which warns against the fact that many individuals within society are slowly but surely becoming addicted to the very technology that was initially intended to aid them in accomplishing tasks of different varieties. It is the belief of this author that neither of the sides to this debate has all of the facts or is utilizing them to the correct degree. Rather, technology, although a definite aid in accomplishing tasks that would otherwise take quite a while, has become something an addictive aid that threa tens to reprogram the way in which the human mind and creativity are evidenced; thereby decreasing human potential and creating an unhealthy co-dependence that is evidenced throughout current society and culture. Firstly, it does not take a great deal of analytical or scientific discovery to realize that the way in which technology has reshaped and classified our world is without question. Moreover, a sociological increase into the way in which technology has shifted interpersonal dynamics, relationships, and communication has been conducted by a variety of researchers and convincingly pointed to the fact that the current era of texting, instant messaging, Facebook et al has significantly decreased the amount of time that individuals spend in face-to-face communication and has moved society convincingly towards something of a more introverted nature (Carr 1). Although introversion in and of itself is not necessarily a poor character trait, it must be noted that the overuse and relia nce upon these technological tools which have already been discussed has created a dynamic by which formerly extroverted individuals are merely introverted and carrying out a great deal of interpersonal communication that one might otherwise carry out face-to-face via the Internet or other technologically enabled means. However, communication is not the only thing that suffers from an overdependence upon technology. As many have noted, memory recall and the perennial knowledge that any and all information can be readily retrieved has created a situation in which memory and the ability to recall tidbits of information are placed at a much lower premium than they might have been in an era in which the likes of Google or other prominent technological means by which data can be retrieved had existed. Again, it does not take a great deal of imagination to envision an era in which it was necessary for the schoolchild, or even societal shareholder, to be nominally familiar and remember suc h information as capitals of states, a rough understanding and appreciation for the order and number of presidents, how many chromosomes exists in human DNA, who the first woman in space was, for the year in which the state of Israel was created (Cottler 24). As can be seen, there is something to be said for the amount of memory recall that individual can possess and leverage as a means of readily interjecting key understandings and tidbits of fact, data, and history into conversations and pertinent situations. However, with an overdependence upon technology has, situation in which individuals have placed this premium of memory and recall far down on the list of priorities; choosing instead to

Saturday, July 27, 2019

John Mclaughlin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

John Mclaughlin - Essay Example f 8 years old, McLaughlin became inspired of learning to play musical instruments when one of his brothers listened to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony from a radio station (Stump, p. 12). A year later, McLaughlin had the privilege to learn how to play the violin and piano (Christian Pegand). After three years of playing the violin and piano, he started to dream of becoming a good guitarist. His dream of playing the guitar started on the day when his brothers started to play blues of Bill Broonzy (Christian Pegand; Stump, p. 12). This made McLaughlin became more exposed to the music of Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Terry among others (Stump, p. 12). aware of the music industry (Stump, p. 12). Inspired with religious and cultural music in India and other Western classical music, McLaughlin became a famous jazz and classical guitarist that plays a wide-range of music styles and genres (Cal Performances). Because of McLaughlin’s passion to make other people happy by listening to his music, he exerted a lot of effort in terms of improving his knowledge and skills in playing musical instruments (Stump, p. 10). Later on, he became proficient in playing the violin and guitar (Stump, p. 13). During the late 50s, McLaughlin played some musical instruments together with Peter Deuchar – the banjoist and his professors of Ragtime (Christian Pegand; Stump, p. 13). Before McLaughlin reached the age of 15 years old, he was very actively leading a band in school (Stump, p. 13). All this happened before he decided to go to London where he pursued his dream of being able to play in a rock and blues band. His decision to leave the school band was very much influenced by Miles Davis’ album â€Å"Milestones† which was released in the market back in 1957 (Stump, p. 13). McLaughin’s exposure on blues music started when he reached London during the early part of 1960s (Stump, p. 15). Since then, McLaughlin took every chance he gets to have a jamming or recording sessions with

Friday, July 26, 2019

Plz look the instruction, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plz look the instruction, - Essay Example So in many ways normal and abnormal are in the eyes of the beholder. The human mind adapts and changes over time and in so doing changes its perceptions of normal and abnormal. Further, that which was considered as normal years ago may be considered abnormal today (Plante, 2006). In our first example, we will look at a phenomenon that is considered normal now but will be seen as abnormal in the future. We will examine the developments in robotics and medical technology. At present advances in medical technology have enabled the human race to transplant organs and replace malfunctioning livers and kidney. However more is yet to come. Medical technology will in the future be able to significantly alter the human race to astounding levels (Kurzweil, 2006). These discoveries will be able to stop ageing, enhance memory and increase human performance. Medical technology will be able to recreate the human race. While we are already witnessing some forms of human alteration through medical intervention the future will change what we presently consider normal very abnormal. Presently the use of prosthetics has enabled scientists to recreate limbs. For example disabled South African athlete Oscar Pistorius competed in the 2012 Olympics men using carbon fiber blades. A decade ago his feat was unimaginable. Presently athletes’ using bionics or performance enhancing drug are regarded as unfair and cheats, but as technology advances and everyone has access to these technologies objections will cease .In other words we will no longer see disabled athletes as disadvantaged. Take this train of thought further and one will realize how far medical technology will go in the future such that it will be abnormal to view human beings as disabled or ageing. Science will be able to significantly alter, rectify and enhance the human form and performance through the use of technology and drugs. This is known

Changes In School Security Policies Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Changes In School Security Policies - Article Example From the analysis of alternatives, installation of synchronized doors and effective emergency response procedures are the best policies. It is followed closely by special sections for disabled children and placing more responsibilities on school administrators. Considering all factors; economic, social and environment, the most suitable policy is the enhancement of school security systems and revision of emergency procedures. The policy is suitable since it offers the remedy for insecurity at a lower social cost. Moreover, the policy is affordable since the only cost involved is the installation of security systems. Revision of emergency response is costless. The policy can respond well to emergent issues such as child disappearance, and violence in school. Automatic doors ensure that only authorized persons to leave or enter a school. The policy would avert incidences such as carrying weapons to school. The policy would have averted the Avonte Oquendo case since he could not have el oped from school. The proposed policy is within the bounds of the law. However, legal experts may scrutinize the costs and follow up on the implementation. In addition, the policy does not negatively affect the subjects and the community. Critics may argue about the costs and time that it may take to fully implement the policy. However, most public policies are rolled out gradually, starting with the riskiest aspects. This implies that the policy would not be instant, but a gradual policy, allowing all stakeholders to familiarize with it.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Summery of key business arguments for and against diversity Essay

Summery of key business arguments for and against diversity - Essay Example This paper seeks to provide arguments for diversity in the workplace, in addition, to arguments against diversity. An organization can increase revenue by improving the diversity of its team, which in turn improves decision-making and problem solving. Diverse teams have a richer and broader base of experience, which they can draw on, to solve organizational issues and problems. The presence of views from the minority can create a higher level of critical analysis of implications and assumptions in decision-making (Thiederman 1). Additionally, it also provides for an increase of alternatives from which the team can choose. Problem resolution benefits from a diverse workforce with dependency on manager who is diversity-competent and utilizes key behaviors of diversity management. A properly trained and managed diverse team is more successful in resolving work-related difficulties than homogenous teams. However, diversity does not work out if this diversity is not utilized effectively (Thiederman 1). Diversity also increases the ability of an organization to be innovative and creative (Jackson 1). These skills are best used in quality improvement, process re-engineering, advertising, and introduction of new products. Diversity can also help where an organization is serving a diverse customer base. For example, if an organization is serving Hispanic and Black consumers, then a diverse workforce will be better equipped to handle them on a personal level. Allied Sinai is a perfect example of this as they successfully negotiated the sale of wheels to China East Airlines, with the success put down to the presence of Americans of Chinese origin on their sales team (Jackson 1). However, diversity does have its drawbacks. Diversity can act as an impediment to effective communication, which, in turn, can dampen the cohesiveness and productivity of small, work teams (Mayhew 1). Spending time together can act, as a gradual way of breaking down these barriers to

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Philosophie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Philosophie - Essay Example The second part, on the other hand, will compare some important concepts that have been forwarded by each of them in order to underscore some important lessons. The last part will conclude this paper by stating the relevance of each of their views in the subsequent studies on the philosophy of the mind—how their analyses guided various schools of thought pertaining to metaphysica and the mind-body problem (philosophies of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, and Martin Heiddeger). To Plato, the physical world is nothing but an immitation of a perfect world, as stated clearly in the article entitled "Plato Overview" (Clark 1). Physical objects are construed as beings lacking the state of perfection. In this regard, the humans’ acquisition of sensible experiences gives them what Plato called ’opinions or beliefs’ (Clark 2). Such position, as reinforced in an academic paper entitled "Temporal Platonic Metaphysics," is based on the assumption that: (1) physical objects can only be regarded as imperfect versions of their perfect counterparts and (2) humans’ senses can only grasp these imperfect characteristics of physical objects (Mikovic 1). Following this reasoning and connecting this to his position on the nature of the human mind, Plato then recognized the need to transcend physicality as he regarded humans as more spiritual than physical. In Plato’s renowned metaphor, humans are souls trapped in physical bodies. Such conception of the state of ’being trapped’ is both revolutionary and developmental—revolutionary because it introduced the concept of non-materiality as another facet of humanity, and developmental because it highlighted the proper way through which the spiritual or ideal state of objects could be grasped. While humans gain sensible experiences through the physical contact with physical objects (as mediated by the five senses), such occurrence is made possible by the author and governor of the visible world of appearances called

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Tourism in Dubai Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tourism in Dubai - Research Paper Example Sources indicate that Dubai is using resources to tap into new emerging markets, which allows them to raise their position in already established/developedregions. All this is being done in a bid to increase the revenue the region rakes in annually, while it hopes to become one of the largest tourist destinations in the globe. This paper will analyze tourism in Dubai, and the potential the region has in terms of increase in growth for different areas in the economy. In 2011, Dubai boasted of an increase in the number of tourists who visited hotel apartments and hotels. This is from approximately 8 million in 2010, to over 9 million guests the following year. The initiatives in place guarantee that the emirates is the place to be once people decide to go on vacation, events, or business trips. The vibrant and dynamic nature of the tourism sector is being reflected by the hotels, hotel apartments, and the cruise passenger liners that attract more customers to the emirates (Nadeem 46). There are many factors that come into play when the success of Dubai is mentioned. The travel industry is one area that has played a part in the growth of the region’s success. Enhanced networking makes it possible for different sectors to chip in and aid in the success of the region. Dubai is now capable of reaching more people as a result of these diverse networks, which is aiding in the development and growth process of the UAE. There are regulations that need to be followed prior to visiting Dubai. As one of the seven emirates of the UAE, Dubai is one of the most prosperous regions in the Arab peninsula. The tourism sector has had a lot to do with this success, but to comprehend the nature of the region; one has to comprehend the regulations that govern the region. It is impossible to gain access to Dubai without a visa. Dubai can grant permits to citizens of certain regions upon arrival to the UAE, but they have limits. Also, visitors may be allowed permission to stay if they get sponsorship from citizens in the region, or any company that may be licensed to operate in Dubai. All these are ways in which the region can monitor the coming and going of foreign individuals. Awareness of the market presented by Dubai is created every day for people to realize that there are tremendous opportunities in the region (Page 97). This makes it even easier for people to get access to the region, increasing the chances of the region’s growth. Culturally, as with any region, there are different behavioralrestrictions that govern people living in Dubai. Since the tourism industry is booming and is attracting a large number of individuals of foreign descent, hotels and hotel apartments note that some of the things that may be considered normal in other developed countries may not necessarily be normal in Dubai. An example would be the strict adherence of Muslim laws, even if one may not be affiliated with the religion (Page 103). It is crucial to follow some of the cultures, for example; visits in the month of Ramadan may require individuals not to eat or drink in public as per the custom of the people. Moreover, decency in public is considered a moral obligation for individuals in Dubai. One is prohibited from wearing swim suits or even bikinis, unless they are on the beach. Tourists have to adhere to these restrictions regardless of whether they are Muslim or not. There are

Monday, July 22, 2019

Clinical Journal One Essay Example for Free

Clinical Journal One Essay The nursing process is an assessment, diagnosis, plan, implementation and evaluation of our patients. As a practical nursing student this is something we are learning and improving on daily. Assessment is the most important part of the nursing process. This process is becoming clearer every day spent in the clinical setting. The assessment part of the process is done with every interaction of our patients we are taught in school. I thought how could that be assessing something takes a considerable amount of time so assessing every patient, every interaction sounded absurd to me. Currently my clinical setting is a post surgical unit. The nurses on this unit are registered nurses with varying amounts of experience. As I observe the nurses, I have noticed they actually do assess everyone, every time. I was amazed how easy this skill seemed to them of course experience helps in that area. I had the opportunity to participate an assessment of a month old child. During this experience I was able to understand the doorway assessment I learned about in growth and development and it made more sense to me . I was able to take a set of vitals on this baby, weighed a diaper for the IO and was shown how to assess the IV site on an infant. I realize how very important a quiet baby is during the assessment because of this experience. Assessing an infant is different than adults. Infants are a bit harder to assess if they are not calm. Upset babies respirations will increase. I learned how to feel for the fontanel and dehydration signs in infants. There is so many parts to assessment and each and every part is an important step in keeping your patient on the path to recovery. Post-op assessment require that you check patients pedal pulse, this is something I would not have thought to be important but I have since discovered that pedal pulse is a warning sign for post-op patients. The  smallest part of assessing a patient is just as important as the biggest parts. So a pedal pulse takes a minute or two to be sure it’s present and equal in both feet but the importance of doing this step in your assessment lasts forever because you deterred your patient a problem by doing a full head to toe assessment. Though, hands on assessments are most important, I have learned I do not always have to touch my patient to assess their condition. I can learn a lot from them just by listening to them and taking a good look at them. Patients also need more than a physical assessment. Physical head to toe is done at the beginning of your shift but you do and you can assess everyone with every interaction. There are many parts to assessment. The physical, of course, but as a nurse you must figure out the needs of each patient beyond the physical. They need emotional support as well. We must look at the whole picture when assessing. Do they need physical therapy? Home care? Support services? Are they going to need additional information on ways to be safe at home. Maybe the patients going to a rehabilitation facility after discharge so they may need to be assessed for which facility they would   gain the most from. We must assess if they require special equipment to improve on their independence. Assessing your patients doesn’t stop at taking a pulse or blood pressure.  So, assessment is very important and is easily done at every interaction once you see it done in the clinical setting. I still have so much to learn when doing a patient assessment but now I understand my role of assessing the patient as a licensed practical nurse and I understand the importance of every interaction assessment. Clinical Journal One Milford Regional Medical Center The nursing process is an assessment, diagnosis, plan, implementation and  evaluation of our patients. As a practical nursing student this is something we are learning and improving on daily. Assessment is the most important part of the nursing process. This process is becoming clearer every day spent in the clinical setting. The assessment part of the process is done with every interaction of our patients we are taught in school. I thought how could that be assessing something takes a considerable amount of time so assessing every patient, every interaction sounded absurd to me. Currently my clinical setting is a post surgical unit. The nurses on this unit are registered nurses with varying amounts of experience. As I observe the nurses, I have noticed they actually do assess everyone, every time. I was amazed how easy this skill seemed to them of course experience helps in that area. I had the opportunity to participate an assessment of a month old child. During this experience I was able to understand the doorway assessment I learned about in growth and development and it made more sense to me . I was able to take a set of vitals on this baby, weighed a diaper for the IO and was shown how to assess the IV site on an infant. I realize how very important a quiet baby is during the assessment because of this experience. Assessing an infant is different than adults.

Transit Point Essay Example for Free

Transit Point Essay Should Merloni replace its network of regional warehouses with Transit-points? In order to be able to answer to this question, we first have to calculate the costs of operating, inventory and transportation from both alternatives (the current system and the transit point) and then compare them. However, as the case doesn’t have complete information to compute these costs, we have to do some assumptions. First, we have to separate the 17 regions in two groups: the Urban regions and the Rural ones. To former this groups we used the criteria of the average daily demand. So, if the region has a daily demand bigger than the average of the 17 regions (99,21= 1686,6/17), it will be included in the Urban regions. Otherwise, it will incorporate the Rural group. After doing this, we will assume that the operating, inventory and Short-Haul Transportation Costs per piece and per month will be the same for each group and will be equal to the ones of the exhibit 10 of the case. Second, in order to calculate the transportation costs between the central warehouse and the retailers, we have to assume that the transit point will be near the location of the Region Warehouses. If so, the costs of transportation until the Transit point will be the same of the long-haul transportation and the costs between the transit point and the retailers would be the same of the Short-Haul transportation Costs. We also have to determine the distances between Fabriano and the Regional Warehouses. In order to do this, we use the map of the exhibit 7 from the case. We know that this distances can not be exactly the real ones (because the roads are not in a straight line), but as we don’t have more information about this on the case, we decide to use the map. Analyzing the exhibits 1, 2 and 3 and assuming that the goal of Merloni is just maximize his value (minimizing its costs) we conclude that there is not only one good system. So, Merloni should use a combination of the two systems. The current system should be used for 6 regions: Bari, Bolzano, Cagliari, Catanzaro, Genova and Udine. In fact, although the operating and inventory costs decrease a lot in the Transit-Point system, the transportation costs increase much more in these regions. This happens because in the Trial-Point system the products should be transported to the regions every day, and sometimes with the trucks almost empty. The Transit Point should be used on the other 11 regions: Angona, Bologna, Catania, Firenze, Milano, Napoli, Padova, Palermo, Pescara, Roma and Torino where the elimination of inventory compensates the increase on the transportation costs. In conclusion, pursuing the goal of minimizing the costs, Merloni should use a mixed distribution system. We will have to consider that the distances between Fabriano Rome and Fabriano Catanzano are, respectively, 210 and 710 km (according to the map’s scale – it is not a real life situation given that roads are not in a straight line).

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Effects of Earthquakes on Humans and Environment

Effects of Earthquakes on Humans and Environment Earthquakes can have disastrous effects on humans and on the environment. An earthquake is the result of trembling, rolling and vibration of the ground triggered by the sudden release of energy that is stored below the surface of the Earth (Ford 2004). A scientific instrument called a seismometer is used by scientists to record, and measure strengthens of earthquakes (McNally 2007). The intensity or the size of an earthquake is measured by a number called the magnitude. Actually, earthquakes occur in everyday and everywhere and as a result, the estimate by scientists for each day is that more than thousands minor earthquakes happen without triggering any physical damage and mostly they are imperceptible. Earthquakes frequently occur in the following countries: China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, United States, Japan, and the Philippines. In these regions there are a lot of earthquakes and also they have numerous volcanoes. There are three main causes of earthquakes: tectonic plate move ment, human activities, and volcanic eruptions. 2. Background Earthquakes destroy property and cause death. On July 28, 1976, there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the city of Tangshan (Rosenberg 1997). The strength of the earthquake was recorded by a scientific instrument called a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. It is an instrument that can detect and measure the ground motion from an earthquake (McNally 2007). At 0342 local time, the earthquake hit Tangshan and over a million of people were sleeping. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and many people were reported missing and presumed dead. There were a lot of people were badly injured. Tangshan is located in Northeastern China Å’an area devastated by earthquakes. The earthquake was so strong that it triggered infrastructure collapse including houses, schools, shops, heath clinics, roads, railway station, factories, and bridges. The people in Beijing also felt the tremors. A lot of people lost their lives because most their houses were completely destroyed . The city of Tangshan is being rebuilt nowadays by its citizens. 3. Causes 3.1 Cause 1: Tectonic Plate Movement The main cause of earthquakes is tectonic plate movement. The crust of the earth consists of many pieces called tectonic plates. There are plates along the outer layer of the earth which are floating on the molten magma under the crust of the earth. (Ganguly 2008) The convection current in the molten magma drive the plates to move inside the earth. They move continuously until they pass through each other. When the two plates meet together, they start to push and rub each other but they are not moving. After a while, the pressure beneath builds up and keeps on rising. Once they cannot contain the pressure, it will be expelled. This sudden release of energy and the strength of the plates cause the ground shake and the two plates start to break. (Why do earthquake happen? n.d.) For example, on December 26, 2004, an earthquake hit the Sumatra, Indonesia where the Indian and Burmese plates in India Ocean are broken and one plate is moved across the top of the other plate. (Magnitude 9.1- Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra 2008) The region that breaks on the crust is known as a fault which usually can be seen on the surface of the earth. The point where earthquakes begin and break the plates underground is known as focus and above the focus, on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter. During plate movement, one plate gets submerged into the molten magma and another plate is moved across the top of it. This plate rises up due to the heat of molten magma. The plates keep on moving until they get stuck against each other. Most earthquakes take place on the edges of the plates where one plate is forced further into the earth crust while another plate is moved across the top of the submerged plate. 3.2 Cause 2: Human Activities Another contributing factor to earthquakes is human activities. There are many human activities that cause an earthquake. Building skyscrapers is a good example that may cause an earthquake. Many engineers and scientists are concerned about the types of buildings in construction. Skyscraper Taipei 101 with the height of 508 meters which is the worlds tallest building. According to the geologist Cheng Horng Ling (2005), from the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 101 may cause an earthquake because the 101-storey skyscraper is built the stress on an earthquake fault. An ancient earthquake fault may reopen as the stress from the buildings exerting on the ground increases. Besides that, the injection of fluids in the mountain or into the crust of the earth also triggers earthquakes. A long time ago, the main purpose of humans injecting fluid was that the injection was the best way to dispose of toxic waste. For example, in the Rocky Mountains where there is a place for waste disp osal. (Madrigal, A 2008) The injection of fluids into deep wells causes changing of the stress of the underground and the stress can generate an earthquake. Furthermore, the release of pressure when extracting oil and natural gas can also cause earthquake. 3.3 Cause 3: Volcanic Eruptions In addition, volcanic eruptions can also cause earthquakes. Normally, earthquakes are very active in areas of volcanic activity where they can either occur on their own or with the eruption. (Presnell 2002) Most of the time, the earthquakes triggered by the eruption of volcanoes are within ten to twenty miles around the volcanoes. In order to release the huge pressure that builds up by the molten magma underneath the earth crust, it always tries to look for an opening or an area that is fairly weak. (Ganguly 2008) Therefore, areas that have active volcanoes accompanied by volcanic activities are always prone to the earthquakes because the pressure builds up by the magma has surpassed the limit that earth crust can sustain. If a volcano eruption produces acidic lava then it can be predicted that there will an earthquake with the strongest magnitude. It is because acidic lava will solidify once it contacts the air and block the volcanos vents so that pressure cannot escape. As a result , pressure is developed inside and the resultant explosion can be destructive and destroying, producing an earthquake of significant magnitude. 4. Transition Statement Having looked at the causes of earthquakes, its main effects will be discussed in the following. The effects can be in terms of social, environmental and economic. An earthquake can bring great impacts to the society. It is an unbearable scene as people die in the aftermath of earthquakes and leaving their love one to suffer from their death. Some of natural disasters like tsunamis and landslides can be triggered by earthquakes. Earthquakes can also have disastrous effect to the countrys economy. 5. Effects 5.1 Effect 1: Social Impacts One of the biggest effects of earthquakes is the social impact on survivors. Earthquakes have short term impacts as well as long term impacts. The short term impacts can be seen in the aftermath of earthquakes. We can see thousands of people dying and many corpses. The 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China, for instance, caused tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds thousands of people were injured. (Magnitude 7.9-Eastern Sichuan, China 2008.) A powerful earthquake can destroy buildings, factories, shops, roads, bridges and schools. These cause many people to become homeless. Furthermore, earthquakes can cause disruption to public services like transport systems and communication connections. (Earthquake n.d.) Worst of all, survivors face a lack of drinking water because water pipes burst and water supplies are contaminated. In the cases of long term social impacts, thousands of children became orphans as their parents are killed in the earthquake. Most of the parents are depressed and the town lost a generation because their children were killed in schools that collapsed. 5.2 Effect 2: Environmental Impacts There are also environmental impacts. A tsunami, for instance, is produced by an earthquake. Tsunamis are tidal waves that are caused by the sudden movement of plates under the sea floor during an underwater earthquake. (What are effects of earthquakes? n.d.) This wave can move swiftly a long way across the ocean. (Effects of earthquakes n.d.) When a large scale of tsunami hits the seashore area, it can trigger enormous erosion as well as destroy buildings in its path. Worst of all, people will also be washed away by the tsunami. For example, on December 26, 2004, a tsunami hit some nations around the Indian Ocean and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Earthquakes can cause landslides. It is very dangerous especially for buildings in unstable area on hillsides or mountains where soft soils can be liquefied by the tremors of earthquakes. During an earthquake, buildings can fall down hills with soil and bury people under the soil. People will be buried alive. In addition, aftersho cks are also effects of earthquakes. Aftershocks are small tremors which disperse it to other places and other people can feel it after the main shocks of an earthquake. For instance, in Penang, Malaysia, there are no earthquakes, but when an earthquake happened in Sumatra it was so great that even Malaysians living in Penang experienced aftershocks. (See 2006) 5.3 Effect 3: Economics Impacts Apart from social and environmental impacts, earthquakes also have negative effects on a nations economy. Governments have to be responsible for the damage caused by earthquakes. As we can see, earthquakes cause infrastructures to collapse, reservoirs dams, shops, and hospitals are devastated after an earthquake. (Earthquake n.d.) Governments have to spend sizeable amounts of money to rebuild the place. Earthquakes also cause spending of the capital to distribute food and medicine to victims. Markets in particular may be disrupted and this causes uneasy trade. Furthermore, investors whose money is in that particular area for development may decide to withdraw. Once the investors withdraw the investment in the particular country, it will a cause loss of job opportunities as well as the countrys income diminishing and an unstable of economy. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, earthquakes are hard to predict and can happen any time. Tectonics plate movement, human activities and volcanic eruptions are 3 of the causes of earthquakes, whose effects can be felt socially, environmentally, and economically. As we can see, prevention of earthquakes is absolutely impossible, so, suitable action to reduce injury and death is of uttermost importance. Some safety action should take place, such as evacuation and safety build structures to resist earthquakes. Some countries, such as the United States and Japan carried out research about public buildings designed to resist earthquakes. (Moleworth 2008) The results are that the whole building will move to and fro without trembling. It is very important to have this facility in earthquakes zones as damage and lives are at risk. (1775 words) References Bignerds. 2008. Earthquake. http://www.bignerds.com/essays/Earthquake/1237.html (accessed October 6, 2008) Earthquake. n.d. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/platetectonics/earthquakesrev3.shtml (accessed October 13, 2008) Effects of earthquakes. n.d. http://www.olympus.net/personal/gofamily/quake/effects.html (accessed October 21, 2008) Ford, R. 2004. Glossary. http://resweb.llu.edu/rford/docs/VGD/GSLVT/gslglossary.html (accessed October 21, 2008) Ganguly, P. 2008. What causes earthquakes? http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-causes-earthquake.html (accessed October 17, 2008) Madrigal, A. 2008. Top 5 ways to cause a man-made earthquake. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/06/top-5-ways-that.html (accessed October 29, 2008) Magnitude 7.9-Eastern Sichuan, China. 2008. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008ryan.php (accessed October 13, 2008) Magnitude 9.1-Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra. 2008 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/ (accessed October 13, 2008) McNally, K. 2007. Earthquake. http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/earthquake_worldbook.html (accessed October 13, 2008) Molesworth, C. 2008. Pacific builder and engineer. http://www.acppubs.com/blog/1210000521/post/260034826.html (accessed October 27, 2008) Presnell, W. 2002. What causes earthquakes? http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/causesearthquak_tsjl.htm (accessed October 21, 2008) Ravillious, K. 2008. Skyscraper that may cause earthquakes http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/dec/02/naturaldisasters.climatechange (accessed October 6, 2008) Rosenberg, J. n.d. Tangshan: The deadliest earthquake. http://history1900s.about.com/od/horribledisasters/a/tangshan.htm (accessed October 21, 2008) See, B and S. C. Looi. 2008. Tremors felt in Penang. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/2/20/nation/20080220191502sec=nation (accessed October 13, 2008) The Free Dictionary. n.d. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/aftershock (accessed October 30, 2008) What are the effects of earthquake? n.d. http://www.usgs.gov/faq/list_faq_by_category/get_answer.asp?id=197 (accessed October 30, 2008) Why do earthquake happen? n.d. http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/why.html (accessed October 17, 2008)

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Marshall McLuhans Understanding Media Essay -- McLuhan Understanding

Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media In his groundbreaking work, Understanding Media, Marshall McLuhan posits that technologies in the â€Å"electric age† rendered it impossible for the individual to remain â€Å"aloof† anymore . Over the course of the late 19th to early 20th centuries, while an increasing presence of electric machines in daily life irrefutably signaled our nation’s arrival into the electric age, society’s â€Å"central nervous system [was] technologically extended to involve [each individual] in the whole of mankind,† McLuhan states (20). Previously disconnected, isolated individuals and groups suddenly became compressed, involved in each others’ lives, and unified into a network. As opposed to the preceding mechanical age, this was an age that sought â€Å"wholeness†-- an aspiration that McLuhan refers to as a â€Å"natural adjunct of electric technology† (21). McLuhan believes that great progress was made in the electric age; that wholeness was sought and worked towards eagerly. However, at the turn of the century, three individuals—the philosopher, historian, and writer Henry Adams, the author Henry James, and the escape artist Harry Houdini—seemed to believe society was falling short of the goals that McLuhan claims it held. To these artists, the dreams of making everything seem attainable and everyone reachable were unrealistic; complete global unification, involvement, and wholeness served as a foil for disintegrating interpersonal relations. These American artists saw technology not so much as a device that brings individuals together, but rather as a means of escaping each other, individual social lives, as well as the constraints of the natural world. The Autobiography of Henry Adams, first printed privately in 19... ... not yield wholeness, grant individual freedom, and give Americans the infinite mobility they dream of. On the contrary, technology may cause separation, destruction, and confinement. The question of whether future technologies will unite individuals peacefully or destroy civilizations ruthlessly is just as relevant, if not in fact more pressing today, at the turn of the 21st century, with a global presence of weapons of mass destruction haunting America, than it was at the turn of the 20th century. Based on his law of acceleration and increased danger, Adams might be surprised that America withstood two world wars and even entered the 21st century. But since we have, there is reason to hope that individuals and fellow nations may continue to defy Adams’ fears; that we may continue to â€Å"jump† headfirst into the future, and in doing so, eventually make progress.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Catch 22 :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is an interesting novel in the fact that throughout the entire novel the plot seems to go nowhere. It just seems to be a bunch of events strung together through the main character Yossarian. These events, however powerful, don’t seem to lead to much of a point, until the reader finishes. Then, out of nowhere, comes the meaning behind the book. Heller does a great job of ending the book. By having Yossarian run away the meaning of the book is set in stone. Catch-22 is a novel which discusses the fact that the importance or value of one thing to one person, could be completely different to another, like in the cases of selling goods over human life with ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen, Milo Minderbinder with his wheeling and dealing and Doc Daneeka and his description of what it takes to get home. Each character in the novel seems to have a certain way in which they judge their power, importance, worth and/or duty. Throughout the entire book, the only character that resembles someone with good opinions of himself is Yossarian. He appears to be the only character that realizes the insignificance the war effort is because almost all the people in the novel are fighting for the wrong reason. He says, â€Å"Am I supposed to get my ass shot off just because the colonel wants to be a general?†. Other characters, like ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen respond to questions with answer that seem to make no sense. In the case where Yossarian is requesting that Wintergreen get them off the flight to Bologna because they will probably die, Wintergreen comes back with the unbelievable answer â€Å"Then you’ll have to be killed. ...if your destined to be killed over bologna, then you’re going to be killed, so you might just as well go out and die like a man. I hate to say this, Yossarian, but you’re turning into a chronic complainer†. The importance of life is gone. Ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen is more concerned about peddling his goods throughout the war then he is about the life of a friend. Another strange character in the story was Milo Minderbinder. The person originally brought in to run the mess hall, who later had his own business, M & M Enterprises, in which he traded things in order to gain stuff for himself. He collected stuff, like art and sculptures, that would be really valuable after the war. The only problem with this, is that it got to the point that he would trade things valuable to the

Essays --

A. A party system is the concept that political parties in a democratic country have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal mechanisms for controlling funding, information and nominations. From 1789 to the 1890’s, the United States had three party systems. The First Party System consisted of Federalists versus Republican-Democrats (Republicans) from 1789 to 1816. This system can be considered to have developed as a result of the factions in the George Washington administration. The two factions were Alexander Hamilton and John Adams with Federalists and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison with the Republican Party. The Federalists argued for a strong national government, to push for aggressive economic development with a greater emphasis on farmers and states’ rights. They preferred to practice loose constructionism (loose interpretations of the Constitution) to argue that government power should be used to promote economic development through the creation of a national bank, federally financed roads, harbors, and bridges. Federalists believed that America’s economic future depended on the cultivation of strong commercial ties with Great Britain. The Republicans on the other hand wanted a small and weak national government to leave the citizens mostly free of taxation and government interference. Unlike the Federalists, the Republicans supported a philosophy of strict constructionism (strict interpretation of the Constitution) in order to avoid the economy benefitting only a few wealthy northeasterners. They also believed that agriculture, instead of manufacturing, should remain the country’s economic base and so they opposed closer relationships with Great B... ...e intent on preserving the interests of the common man. To do so, they favored the smaller national government and opposed, in particular, any Whig proposal that seemed to threaten their economic, social, or cultural freedoms. This period lasted until 1860. Lastly is the Third Party System from 1854 to the 1890’s consisting of the GOP and the Democrats. Beginning around the time of the start of the Civil War, this system was defined by bitter conflict and striking party differences and coalitions. These coalitions were most evidently defined by geography. The South was dominated by the Democrats who opposed the ending of slavery, and the North, with the exception of some major political machines, was dominated by the Republicans, who supported ending slavery. This era was a time of extreme industrial and economic expansion. The Third Party System lasted until 1896.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Frederick Douglass Essay

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, Douglass describes the dehumanization of both slaves and slave owners. Many slaves were dehumanized by getting beat, raped and even killed. He has seen many horrid things like the incident with Denby’s death and how he had to fight over scraps of food. Douglass not only describes the dehumanization of the slaves, he also talks about how it also changed many of the slave owners that he had encountered. The first time Douglass sees the dehumanization of the slave owners was when he met Mrs. Auld. She had never owned a slave before so she treated him with respect and with kindness. At first, Mrs. Auld is described by Douglass as angelic, kind, and humble. She taught him the alphabet and how to read. Frederick said, â€Å"When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear. She had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner that came within her reach.†(pg. 82) However, her husband scorned her for teaching a slave how to read. He influenced her with his corrupt mindset about treating slaves and changed Mrs. Auld from â€Å"Angelic† to â€Å"demonic† as Frederick described. He said, â€Å"Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness.† This shows how immensely Mrs. Auld was changed just by her husband commanding her and telling her what was right in his mind. Once she discovered this new found power, that she has power over another human being, she used it to her advantage and went from being the nice lady that taught Douglass how to read to the lady that would punish him if she caught him reading. Another example of the dehumanization of the slave owners is Mr. Covey. He was a very religious man and was also nicknamed the â€Å"n****r breaker† because all the slaves that went to him, he emotionally broke, leaving their life even more depressing and gloomy. Mr. Covey was proud of his nickname and cared very much for his reputation. It says in the novel, â€Å"Added to the natural good qualities of Mr. Covey, he was a professor of religion — a pious soul — a member and a class-leader in the Methodist church.†(Pg. 101) Covey was devoted to religion and breaking his slaves to build on his reputation that he has. The dehumanizing part is that he likes what he does and how he beats the poor slaves. The novel states, â€Å"My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!† this shows how cruel Mr. Covey is that he made Douglass â€Å"transform†. Everything that he learned went away, his slight sense of joy if there was any was now wiped away from him. Douglass also talks about the dehumanization of the slaves. Branching off from Mr. Covey, Many women slaves were dehumanized by being â€Å"baby machines.† Mr. Covey bought a women slave, Caroline, and her only job was to breed with another man which was Samuel Harrison which was a married man. This is very contradictory because Covey claims to be a man of god when he is doing things like this. Another example of the dehumanization of slaves was when Douglass and his mother were separated when he was born. The slave owners didn’t want them to gain affection with each other because they thought it would distract them from working. In the novel it says, â€Å"I do not recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day. She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone.† This shows how his mother would walk all the way to another plantation just to see him at night when he was sleeping because she loved him very much. It was very dehumanizing when Douglass described what kind of food they had to eat, â€Å"We were not regularly allowanced. Our food was coarse corn meal boiled. This was called MUSH. It was put into a large wooden tray or trough, and set down upon the ground.† He later describes how the children were called to eat the mush like pigs and how they had to fight over the little they had. It was the survival of the fittest. As you can see, dehumanization had an effect on the slaves by destroying them physically and mentally, making them depressed and malnourished, and in some cases, dying. There were also effects on slave owners but not as bold as the ones slaves endured. Mrs. Auld went from being a nice, angelic lady who was nice to everyone and everything to cruel and punishing.