Outsourcing Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) Essay example

Outsourcing: Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) Outsourcing has become a very controversial topic, particularly around the time of presidential elections. The working public has a very different view of outsourcing than the business owners, partly due to information asymmetry. In other words, the working public does not typically have all of the information regarding the impacts of outsourcing available to them as business owners do. Reversely, business owners are not able to see the impacts of outsourcing on the working public and therefore, do not consider those impacts when restructuring their companies. The interpretations of these impacts, however, determine whether they are costs or benefits to the person interpreting them.†¦show more content†¦This new phenomenon has sparked interest from not only consumers, who feel they receive the short end of the stick, but business executives and most economists as well, who see the other side of the spectrum. In addition to Information Technology, The Outsourcing Institute lists several other sectors that are outsourcing: Operations, such as consulting, training, records management, printing, and telephone customer support; Finance, including payroll processing, purchasing, transaction processing, and accounting; Human Resources, mainly workers’ compensation; and Sales and Marketing, in the way of direct mailings, advertising, and telephone sales. Opponents of outsourcing do not take this information with a grain of salt. They see outsourcing as a significant problem contributing to job loss, increasing wage gaps, and negative impacts on low-skill workers. As outsourcing is essentially free trade, some opponents blame job loss on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in which Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean Basin do not pay tariffs on exports to the United States. By not imposing tariffs on exports, opponents of NAFTA claim companies will jump at the opportunity to cut costs by manufacturing products in a lower wage-paying country and exporting them to the U.S.,Show MoreRelatedChapter 4 Risk Management Essay1322 Words   |  6 Pagessystems to remain viable, information security and the discipline of risk management must become an integral part of the economic basis for making business decisions. These decisions are based on trade-offs between the costs of applying information systems controls and the benefits realized from the operation of secured, available systems. 2. According to Sun Tzu, what two key understandings must you achieve to be successful? Know Yourself and Know the Enemy 3. Who is responsible for risk managementRead MoreStrategic Planning And The Annual Budgeting Cycle2366 Words   |  10 Pagesbusiness leads. The business leads prepare a business case detailing the project including the business benefits. 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A feasibility study will normally have the following A statement of the purpose of the system A definition of system scope A list of current deficiencies A statement of user requirements Cost benefits or limitations of development Conclusion and recommendations TELOS Feasibility study is taking factors for starting up the project and then looking at them and also discussing about to see how to set up the project. There are many factorsRead MoreLabor Contractualization3560 Words   |  15 Pagesthe security and benefits of a regular job while being paid very low wages. Labor flexibilization schemes, such as part-time/contractual labor, subcontracting parts of the production process among smaller enterprises, subcontracting certain on-site services to other firms, agency labor-only contracting, and piece rate compensation strategies, have resulted in the stagnation in the number of unionized workers. 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But, off recently due to the business revolution enabled by Social Media many managers and higher level executives are showing interest in to these social platforms and as to how they can benefit out of them. More executive level officers are interested to know how many people have liked their product page and how do the user reviews look like. This is how the social technologies work. The consumers are put upfront in analyzing and understanding

Differences Between Internal and External Motivation

Differences between Internal and External Motivation When asking the question what is the difference between internal and external motivation?, one may assume that the answer is simple. At first glance, one would simply say that internal motivation is something that someone uses to motivate themselves from within. In the same sense, one would say that external motivation is something that a person would use to motivate others to accomplish a task or achieve a certain goal. Internal motivation is actually the only type of motivation. It is that silent and invisible feeling that comes from within. It makes people actually want to get up and do things. When someone sets themselves a goals to lose weight, they must have that†¦show more content†¦Because, hanging up photos of skinny people in bathing suits will not make you want to lose weight at all. It can back-fire, and give you a reason to give up. Many people who have ever given up on a diet or exercise routine have all too many times used the excuse, I will never get that skinny or they have a team of trainers that keep them that in shape. But, the truth is the motivation was never there. Someone with motivation that comes from within will always achieve their goals, because it is something that they are actually interested in doing. In a classic study on the effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation, Mark Lepper and his colleagues at Stanford University asked young children to draw with magic markers. Drawing with the markers was an activity that all of the children in the study found interesting. One group of children was simply asked to draw with the markers and a second group was told that if they drew with the markers, they would get a Good Player Award. Essentially, this was a certificate that they could hang up in their preschool classroom, something that would appeal to most preschool children. 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Hertzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation states that there are two types of motivators:Read MoreThe Differences Between Moral Motivation1390 Words   |  6 PagesThe differences between moral motivation in Groundworks and Utilitarianism Among the history of moral philosophy, two major philosophers, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill from the 18th and 19th century have come up with two different moral theories for the moral philosophy. Kant had established his view of moral in his bookâ€Å"The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of morals† and claimed that motivation of an actions are based on duty and reason. On the other hand, Mill’s idea is that actions baseRead MoreEffective Manager And An Effective Leader819 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction There has been much debate over the difference between an effective manager and an effective leader. There is strong evidence that there are definitely distinguishable characteristics between the two. 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Behaviorism can beRead MorePeople and Organisations1249 Words   |  5 Pages 3 Analysis of Motivational Differences within the Organisation 4 Discussing Different Motivational Theories amp; How they affect the groups within AWF 5 Future Motivational Strategies 6 Conclusion 7 Bibliography/esources 8 Appendices 2. Introduction: What Is Motivation? Motivation comes in many different forms and can affect people very differently. I found this to be the clearest definition of motivation: â€Å"Motivation is a psychological process andRead MoreTaking a Look at Intrinsic Motivation662 Words   |  3 PagesNeed: Although there has been countless research done about intrinsic motivation, a lot of it is conflicting when looking at comparisons. Previous studies have looked at the two mechanisms of attribution and perceived competence, as well as the influence of extrinsic rewards on levels of intrinsic motivation. However, they have not directly measured the two variables or focused on reward contingency in multiple aspects in one study. Purpose: The researchers of this experiment sought to clearRead MoreEssay on What is Motivation?1168 Words   |  5 PagesMotivation in the workplace is an important area for discussion and many theories as to what motivates people to do their jobs well have been formulated. This essay will discuss three different theories of motivation and work. Also produce a definition of motivation. First mention that you will define motivation then state that you will talk about different theories of motivation To begin with, there are to aspects of motivation to look at the first of these is a definitions of motivation. Robbins

Misconception of African Americans Free Essays

The Misconception of African Americans Since the beginning of time African Americans have been viewed negatively. We have always been viewed as a threat to society and frowned upon by many races. There are many cliches displayed in the media of what African Americans are supposed to act like. We will write a custom essay sample on Misconception of African Americans or any similar topic only for you Order Now These conclusions cause almost immediate negative feelings from other races and sometimes by our own race. African American females in television shows and movies are often shown as the loud â€Å"ghetto† acting, angry black girl who is always â€Å"telling someone off†. Actor Tyler Perry has been criticized for illustrating African American females as â€Å"big momma†, another negative portrayal of black women. Other times shapely video vixens cause other black females to be portrayed as â€Å"jump-offs† or gold diggers. African American males have even greater judgments to overcome. They are viewed as a menace to society. They are illustrated as wild, angry, dangerous â€Å"gang bangers†. Black men are viewed as absentee fathers or abusive husbands. Although, in some cases, African American males do possess some of these characteristics, there are just as many black men that are positive role models. These ignorant judgments are called stereotypes. A stereotype is defined as â€Å"a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing†. Stereotypes, in my own words, are judgments blindly made by people who use ignorance as an excuse to be biased against those who are different from them. There are many different types of stereotyping. Racial stereotyping, sexist stereotyping, stereotypes about cultures, and sexual orientation stereotypes are all judgments that can affect one’s life in many ways. Stereotypes are, sadly, made by everyone. Racial stereotyping, however, is the most common type of stereotyping, and can sometimes be dangerous. The Trayvon Martin story, for example, is a situation where stereotyping turned tragic. Trayvon Martin was a young African American boy who was walking from the store with nothing but Skittles and a drink in his pockets. Because of his race, and the stereotype of what black Males are capable of, he was targeted, and tragically killed. There have been many similar cases of dangerous stereotyping. People’s fear of what the media shows we are suited to do, has gotten out of control. Too many of us are dying because of this fear. While many stereotypes do seem to be believable, people like Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, my grandparents, and my mom allow me to realize that not all stereotypes are true. How to cite Misconception of African Americans, Papers

Organization That Uses Account Software Packages â€Free Samples

Question: Discuss About The Organization Uses Account Software Packages? Answer: Introduction: The report gives a brief overview of an organization that makes use of account software packages. Here the company chosen is 2020 Global Business Consultants. The report gives a brief overview of the current organizational structure and the operational problems that it faces following such a structure. Then there is discussion about the most likely system acquisition method. The report further describes and presents a flowchart of the sales procedures chosen for the company. Further, there is discussion about the identification of the control problems faced by the minor business enterprises. There is discussion on the development and adoption of the accounting software packages and the current market size. The report also helps in identification of the market leaders and the discussions about their competitive edge. The report also discusses the challenges faced by the users or customers of the software packages. Current Organizational Structure Small and medium sized business enterprises usually make use of accounting software packages. Here the company chosen is 2020 Global Business Consultants. The organizational structure is important for any company as it enables the creation of hierarchy in business for the increase in effectiveness and efficiency of business operations (Coyte, Ricceri and Guthrie 2012). The company chosen here follows a functional organizational structure where the hierarchy of the organization designed based on the employees job role. In this structure, the employees grouped together towards a common goal. This particular structure has more focus on its employees. For instance, in this structure all the marketing employees belong to the same group. Operational Problems Faced by the Organization There are certain operational problems that crops up with the functional organizational structures. Due to the hierarchical nature of this structure, there are certain bottlenecks that the company faces (Brammer, Hoejmose and Marchant 2012). Then there is the problem of holding a particular employee responsible when several employees have made inputs for a task. The scenario becomes crucial when decisions are made or when there is a mistake. In this particular organizational structure, nobody claims responsibility for the task and with the involvement of various specialists; it becomes difficult to pin the blame on any particular individual. This structure of the organization also leads to poor communication across organization thereby decreasing innovation and flexibility. The organization with functional areas also faces challenges in terms of employees who have a tendency to undertake unique viewpoints in case of organizational matters (Verbano and Venturini 2013). Most Likely System Acquisition Method Used Commercial Software, Custom Software, or ERP The most likely system acquisition method is the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). ERP is a real time integrated management of business processes including production planning, manufacturing, marketing, management of materials and management of inventory supported by technology and software (Coyte, Ricceri and Guthrie 2012). Thus, ERP used for category of business management software that an organization uses for collection, storing, interpretation and management of data. With ERP, the organization can get an updated view of its business process by the use of common databases maintained through database management system. The resources of the business along with its status and orders can be also be tracked by ERP (Asl et.al 2013). Moreover, ERP also enables flow of information among all functions of the business and helps in managing connections to stakeholders outside the company. Description and Preparation a system Flowchart Sales The company chosen here is 2020 Global Business Consultants who mainly focus on providing accounting service and audit services (Wei and Wei 2013). The company asks identifies business needs and ensures services in a manner that leads to the improvement of the operations of the organization. The 2020 Global Business Consultants is expert at asking the right questions and efficiently and effectively identifying business needs to add value and improve an organizations operations (Gross 2012). The company offers assurance service, compliance audits, feasibility assessment, external auditing, financial modeling and analysis, probity audits, information system audit, risk assessment, annual preparation of reports, bookkeeping, business mentoring and coaching, business planning and preparation of tender documents (De Simone, Ege and Stomberg 2014). Figure: Cycle of Accounting Source:( De, Ege and Stomberg 2014) Identification of Control Problems in the System There are many challenges or control problems that any service industry faces. These are as follows: Knowing the Customer Type: The company in the service sector like 2020 Global Business Consultants may have to deal with different customers for the same service. However, the customer categorized as the user, the buyer, or the one who provides the fund ( Hatten 2015). The same service can be availed by different people with different benefits and needs. Therefore, it is very challenging the service providers to understand the need of the people, develop relationships with and thereby manage everything effectively. Clearly Identifying the Service: People might have differing views about the services provided by a company. This is because a particular customer may have a single benefit in mind while others might hold very different perspective (Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright 2013). This changes the perception of the service provided by the company amongst people. Thus, there must be clarification of the services provided to the people through proper communication and articulation. Outcome and Experience Management: One of the primary challenges of the service company lies in the fact that they cannot draw a thin line between the how and what of the customer interface (Kerzner 2013). Thus, simultaneous management of the experience and outcome becomes quite a challenging task for service providers. The company providing service must ensure proper management of the customers by ensuring that the service made to serve them individually. Some of the real time service provided by the company does not follow a delay or cancellation procedure. Moreover, real time services do not have a rewind button (Sekaran and Bougie 2016.). Thus, creating an appropriate culture and management of capacity are the key challenges faced. Issues Related to Co-ordination: The small enterprise that focuses on providing service like 2020 Global Business Consultants are not only demanding but looks for integration in people, resource and marketing management. Co-ordination of the various parts of the organization to ensure quality service and meet the customer needs is the utmost priority of such company. Operation Decision and Business Success Relationship: Initiating the right decisions that will lead to the success of the business has been a major challenge for the service company. Business success however refers to entering new markets, making profits, attracting new customers and reduction of cost. Therefore, it is very necessary to understand the correlation between the factors and their impact on the company (Longenecker 2013). Operation Improvement: The small service enterprise continuously faces the challenges for improving and developing the services and thereby ensures that outcome is supportive of the change initiated. The major challenge faced in the area is the enhanced complexity that crops up because of the change. Development and Adoption of Accounting Software Packages Accounting Software refers to a kind of application software that processes and records transactions related to accounting within the modules that are functional that includes accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, trial balance and gender ledger. Thus, it functions as an information system for accounting. There are various companies in Australia that develops such software. These include Myob, Quickbooks online, Reckon and Xero (Hu 2012). Small business enterprises make use of such accounting software. Thus an account management software platform can lead to the transformation of the business through acceptance of payments and other point of sale reports, provide dashboard for business performance, tax reporting and monitor payroll. The software also helps in claiming expense, purchase, and quote orders. The cost of the account management software however depends on the platform that a company chooses. Sometimes, the account management software is subscription based. Howev er, the importance of the Account Management Software packages felt largely by small businesses. In a survey conducted, found that about 81% respondents said that this software was crucial to their business while 87% said that the availability of the software simplified business operations. However, a statistics close to 60% said that accounting software ensured business growth. Current Market Size The introduction of the GST (goods and service tax) have forced many small business to make use of accounting software packages who previously were happy using paper based systems of accounting. Although small businesses still feel that keeping track of things on paper makes a difference however, the introduction of the software packages makes a significant contribution. Moreover, shifting to a computer-based system meant that extraction of numbers also became an easier task. There has been pressure from the government on the small-scale businesses to change into computerized systems. The change made to enable the small business to closely keep a track of the operations and thereby lead to an improvement in the performance. Thus, with time the demand for the accounting software packages is increasing for small businesses. Initially, in Australia there were just two players responsible for accounting software development (Brailsford Gaunt and OBrien 2012). These players were Quickbook s and Myob. Presently, these two players have many competitors. The providers are responsible for services like offline and online bookkeeping for traders. The accounting software packages also enabled preparation of activity statements for small business. Leaders in the Market and Their Competitive Advantage There are three platforms for accounting provided by Xero, Intuit Quickbooks and Myob (Carson et.al 2012) This is the most straightforward accounting software platform with a starting price of about 25 dollar per month. Therefore, the platform allows making five quotes, invoices, bills along with twenty bank transactions and single employee payroll. There are other plans available in the range of 50 and 60 dollars. Free versions of this accounting software are also available and it ranks highest in terms of customer satisfaction. This provides a competitive edge for Xero. They provide one of the cheap plans of accounting software that ranges from $15 per month to $25 dollar per month. Through the accounting software developed by Quickbooks one can not only create customized reports but also invoices and connect it with the mobile application. There are huge discounts provided by the software provider and thus they do pinch the customer pockets. Thus, they create an overall satisfaction among customers that gives them a competitive edge. This accounting software developer has huge number of plans on offer that is good for the business but is a bit confusing for the customers. They have four categories for their small business plans that include essentials, account edge and account right, account right tiers and plans for essentials. There a free application known as on the go that is a part of the Account Right and Essential plan. The features that the software platform offers gives are the reason behind its preference. Challenges Encountered By Users or Customers of Accounting Software Packages There are many challenges faced by the user or consumers of the accounting software packages. These challenges are as follows: Although the accounting software comes in reasonable prices for the small business but the applying the software involves cost that is more than using it. This is because the software requires minimum standards for use of computers in regards to processor, RAM, hard drive memory and speed. Moreover, the space requirement for storing the accounts data may be more than an excel sheet. Thus,, the technical support for the software may lead to the extra cost which the small companies may not be able to afford.: The operation of the software requires some knowledge on it otherwise implementation the accounting terms layouts and designs may be difficult for a first timer. This can become an additional stress along with the stress of the business. Thus, the software recommended for use only when it is necessary and the gains of it much higher than the losses incurred. The accounting software takes much time to process invoices and expenses compared to the one done on spreadsheet. Thus if the computer usage is not a part of the daily routine then the time needed for processing the financial data may negate the benefits of the accounting software. Requires Maintenance: The accounting software requires maintenance that includes upgrading the software package from time to time. There is also the need to upgrade all the equipments necessary for the successful operation of the software. These include upgrading the personal computer or laptop, printer, internet connection, modem, operating system and back drive. This might become quite a challenging task for the small businesses. Conclusion The report concludes by stating the challenges encountered by users or customers of accounting software packages. There is an identification of the market leaders of the Accounting Software in the report and their competitive edge. The report also identifies the control problems minor business face. There is also a representation of the sales flowchart of the chosen company. Further, the report discusses about the system acquisition method. There is also an overview of the current organizational structure and the operational problems faced. References: Asl, M.B., Khalilzadeh, A., Youshanlouei, H.R. and Mood, M.M., 2012. Identifying and ranking the effective factors on selecting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system using the combined Delphi and Shannon Entropy approach. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 41, pp.513-520. Blackburn, R.A., Hart, M. and Wainwright, T., 2013. Small business performance: business, strategy and owner-manager characteristics. Journal of small business and enterprise development, 20(1), pp.8-27. Brailsford, T., Gaunt, C. and OBrien, M.A., 2012. Size and book-to-market factors in Australia. Australian Journal of Management, 37(2), pp.261-281. Brammer, S., Hoejmose, S. and Marchant, K., 2012. Environmental management in SMEs in the UK: practices, pressures and perceived benefits. Business Strategy and the Environment, 21(7), pp.423-434. Carson, E., Simnett, R., Soo, B.S. and Wright, A.M., 2012. Changes in audit market competition and the Big N premium. Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory, 31(3), pp.47-73. Coyte, R., Ricceri, F. and Guthrie, J., 2012. The management of knowledge resources in SMEs: an Australian case study. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16(5), pp.789-807. Coyte, R., Ricceri, F. and Guthrie, J., 2012. The management of knowledge resources in SMEs: an Australian case study. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16(5), pp.789-807. De Simone, L., Ege, M.S. and Stomberg, B., 2014. Internal control quality: The role of auditor-provided tax services. The Accounting Review, 90(4), pp.1469-1496. Gross, A.C., 2012. The global engineering consultancy market. Business Economics, 47(4), pp.285-296. Hatten, T.S., 2015. Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond. Nelson Education. Hu, W., Clements, A., Williams, G., Tong, S. and Mengersen, K., 2012. Spatial patterns and socioecological drivers of dengue fever transmission in Queensland, Australia. Environmental health perspectives, 120(2), p.260. Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Longenecker, J., Petty, J., Palich, L. and Hoy, F., 2013. Small business management. Nelson Education. Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley Sons. Verbano, C. and Venturini, K., 2013. Managing risks in SMEs: A literature review and research agenda. Journal of technology management innovation, 8(3), pp.186-197. Wei, H.J. and Wei, C.L., 2013. Analysis of Success Factors of Introducing SAP System for ERP Implementation in Small and Midsize Enterprises in Taiwan. In Modern Library Technologies for Data Storage, Retrieval, and Use (pp. 252-290). IGI Global.

Ancient civilization comparative essay Essay Example

Ancient civilization comparative essay Essay Example Ancient civilization comparative essay Essay Ancient civilization comparative essay Essay Ancient Civilization Comparative Essay Without any form of rapid long distance communication as we have today, Egypt and Mesopotamia built their civilizations with inadvertent similarities and differences between their political and social structures. Given the facts that Egypt was unified and Mesopotamia was a collection of city states, both had common writing forms amongst them, but not all were literate due to the sharply contrasting social hierarchy. Even though Egypt believed in a fulfilling after life, Mesopotamia did not; owever, both had polytheism religions. Known as one civilization but actually a collection of city-states, Mesopotamia, unlike Egypt, was not politically unified. However, Egypt was politically unified under one ruler, the pharaoh. Political unity allowed for a stable government and economy. Therefore, more people were able to study other pursuits. As a result of this, the two civilizations developed respective forms of writing. Usually used to record religious rituals, hieroglyphics were used as a form of writing and art; but it wasnt only used for religion. Hieroglyphics were also used for writing poems, myths, medical recipes and records of battle, legal documents, trade transactions and even magic spells. Scribes, wrote with hieroglyphics on walls of temples but mostly papyrus, an early form paper. Mesopotamian scribes, instead of writing on papyrus wrote on clay tablets. Mesopotamians are credited with inventing the earliest form of writing, Cuneiform. With the use of reed styluses, they carved pictographs into clay tablets and left the tablets to dry. Even though both civilizations had a writing form, not all ould read or write due to the massive inequality between the elites the laymen. Only the elites could read and write because only they could afford to go to school. In each of these civilizations, women were not permitted to attend school. However, women in Egypt had rights to an extent. For example, in the absence of her husband and sons women would manage the family farms or businesses. Women could even initiate a lawsuit to get a divorce. But those rights came with a price, under the law women in Egypt were treated equally even more so cruel than men. To a degree women in Egypt had freedom of expression while women in Mesopotamia could not due to the fact that they were completely downgraded and did not have any rights unlike Egyptian women. Under one leader, Egypt was unified; ancient Egyptians believed that their leaders, or Pharos, were part god, a god of their many gods. In fact, it was believed that Egypt had over 2000 gods, Just short of Mesopotamias 3000. There is no doubt that they were both polytheistic, but their beliefs of the after life differed. The gloomy outlook of Mesopotamian religion was to go to the land of no return after life on earth. On the other hand, Egyptian religion believed that ones after life is where one finds content; as a matter of fact it was believed that kings ruled in the after life as well, therefore they were part god. In order for them to rule in the after life, they had to undergo a proper burial. Therefore in their life on Earth, it was ordered that a proper mesopotamians also built a pyramid like structure, but it was used for religion and ot as a burial site, the ziggurat. Although Egypt was unified under one ruler and Mesopotamia was various city states, their social structures were homogeneous in parts yet also heterogenous in others. However, because of the social hierarchy not all were educated and could write; both had common writing forms among them. Even though both believed in an after life, their outcomes were not the same. The early civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia had distinguishable similarities but also very distinct differences.

Eat, Drink, and be Merry essays

Eat, Drink, and be Merry essays In a time of no forks, many spices, and wooden plates, the people of the middle ages loved their food. To them food and drink were not only a necessary part of life but also a form of entertainment and a good excuse to get together and socialize. Even though they had knifes and spoons, the forkless civilization tended to use there hands and "fingers a great deal" (Food). They also used wooden plates, or sometimes day old bread as plates when meats were served in order to soak up the blood from the meat. As for preparing the meals, a big rule to medieval cooking was to add so much spice to completely mask the original flavor of the food. Many of the spices that they used are still used today. For instance, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, saffron, and even sugar was a spice and a treat for them. Since social status determind how will the people ate, lords were fed very well. This was true all through out the year, including the winter, when meat was scarce and crops were not growing. Infact, meat was apart of their daily diet "principally beef, followed by pork and mutton, with game and poultry [last]" (Singman) drinking ale and or wine with their meals. They also had dairy and vegetables, but they were not favored. The upper class could afford to preserve meat year round and could buy spice for tasteless food or food that is about to go bad. As for the peasants, or lower class, it was the opposite. Meat was really was pretty expensive and was not rally apart of a peasants diet. Their main food was grain, rye, oats, barley, beans, and peas, since wheat was also relatively expensive. With their meals they usually had ale, or some sort of juice, sometimes fermented. They also a had a soup called "pottage." The villagers ate pottage "nearly every day" (Hinds). The basic ingredients to this "meal-in-a-bowl" (Hinds) is sprouted barley grains, peas, salted pork or bacon, onion, garli ...

Operations Management wk1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operations Management wk1 - Essay Example A poor operations management can always result in poor quality of the final products. Q.1 (b) Specialization in production activity is the basic strategy to be established. That is when a product like vehicles are produced every person or group must be specialized in performing certain activities. A particular group must be assigned the duty of production of Chassis, another group or individual must be specialized in electric works, etc. Similarly, after each and every activity it must be checked for perfection. That is the any component of the vehicle should be transferred to the next section only after detailed examination. Q.2 One of the major strategies that made Coca Cola to gain competitive advantage is its branding strategy. Coca Cola popularized its brand image through different advertising modes. They also opened food houses. â€Å"Some of Coca-Cola’s latest domestic marketing strategies include Coke dominating fountain sales.† (Coca Cola Marketing strategy, 2008). Excessive consumer oriented approach is what made Pepsi to be obtain competitive advantage. It even reduced prices of the product during great depression in order to make it available to the consumers. Later on it popularized the brand as a new generation drink. The strategies of both companies were good as both resulted in gaining market advantage through different methods. The three factors that have resulted in the success are better knowledge of the market, strong brand building strategy and uniqueness in the product. Similar strategy adopted by Apple and Dell would also work as consumers are always impressed by extr emely popularized and branded products. Both are retail stores that sell goods to the final consumers. Operation optimization is not possible in the case of Mom and Pop Stores. Goods are not purchased directly from the manufacturers in the case of Mom and Pop Stores. Staff motivation is very high in case of Wal-Mart but it is absolutely