Tempur Pedic Quality Process Improvement Plan Essay

Tempur Pedic Quality Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example As Hill writes, "top management determines quality priorities, establishes the systems of quality, management and the procedures to be followed, provides resources and leads by example" (Hill, 1991). The concept emerged from the work in statistical quality control at the Western Electric Hawthorne plant in the 1930s and was associated with the work of W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran (Chase, Jacobs, 2003). It was introduced to Japan by the Americans as the occupying force in the immediate post war era and found its greatest expression in Japanese manufacturing industry. Literature review. Two themes in the research literature have been particularly prominent in recent years: "the ways of improvement" as a source of service planning and the debate over the different methods and models of successful production technoques. Up-to-date scholarship on both of these themes is reflected in recent researches R.B. Chase, R.F. Jacobs (2003), N. Slack, S. Chambers, R. Johnston (2003), D. Dow (1999), etc. In their works these authors develop a new theoretical approach which can be applied to practice. The works they provide a lot of example of management teams and their experience in TQM. These researches join theoretical and practical side of strategy, giving recommendations for improvement in the TQM to ensure customer satisfaction. "Production and A big layer of literature concerning this topic belongs to such gurus as T. Hill "Production and Operation Management: Text and cases" (1991), N. D. Harris "Service Operations Management" (1989). Their theoretical studies on improvements based on TQM, sustainable competitive advantage, the role of standards, etc, are still the basis of any research in the field of production and operations management. They examine and discuss the role of different companies for product and service improvement can successfully use TQM. Internal factors. Monitoring of the environment is an important method that helps to search for new trends in operations management. Managers should take into account internal and external factors that influence a potential consumer. The policy of implement restructing sooner rather than later was proved to be correct. There is no two cuctomers with the similar requiments, that is why operations management must respond to different customer needs. Factors Internal to a company are types of workers, organization structure, assumptions about people, technology, vision, mission and values of the firm, n ature of ow nership and management. Tempur Pedic is a Swedish Company which manufactures and distributes mattresses and pillows made from its proprietary "Tempur" pressure-relieving material. This material consists of a visco-elastic material that conforms to the body to provide support and help alleviate pressure points.The company operates in 60 countries around the world. In a time of rapidly changing technologies and ever-shorter product life cycles, product development often proceeds at a glacial pace. In an age of the customer, order fulfillment has high error rates and customer enquiries go unanswered for weeks. In a period when asset utilization is critical, inventory levels exceed many months of demand. The usual methods of boosting performance - process rationalization and automation - haven't yielded the dramatic improvements for Tempur Pedic Company need. In particular, heavy

Business Policy Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Policy Concepts - Essay Example A good corporate strategy should integrate an organization's goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. The success of Japanese companies revealed implementation policies which appeared to be unique but have now been shown to be valid in many business environments, for example management by walking around (MBWA) proved to be a successful technique for Honda. Senior management's contacts with key people resulted in appropriate choice of policies and to the success of the company philosophy. This shows that corporate choice of strategy and implementation of that strategy involves many different concepts, theories and frameworks. An understanding of major choices of corporate policies and their advantages and disadvantages is critical to the understanding of business policy process {Johnson et al, 2005]. In a perfect world a strategy planned by the management will proceed according to plan and be implemented. Unfortunately any belief that strategy can be formulated on the basis of intended and deliberate actions to result in commercial success is far from the truth. This concept rules out any opportunity to adapt to a changing market situation. In a number of cases a situation may develop where incremental changes in the strategy may result in a more advantageous position for the company. This is a positive example of strategic drift. A preplanned and formulated strategy also assumes an organization to be homogeneous where management decisions from the top can be implemented in full. In practice the decisions are effected by power behavior, cultural and political factors. Quinn [cited in Peppard et al, 1996] argued that strategy develops incrementally as a result of decision made due to developing market situations and other organizational experiences. This strategic drift results in a course which is often significantly different from formal planning. Drift in strategic planning is a fact of organizational strategy. It does not mean that strategic policy making is a useless process as it will eventually drift into something new. It only recognizes that changes often become necessary due to extraneous factors and require adjustments to the strategy to keep the broader strategy on course. Porter's 5 Forces Porter's five forces is a useful tool for analyzing the factors impacting on strategy formulation. [Porter, 1980] identified forces that impact every business. The objective of the strategy is to use these competing forces to result in a positive impact on the business. These forces identified by Porter are the driving forces of the industry. The strategy analysis thus analyses the impact of these forces on a particular business and how to minimize the impact of the negative forces and maximize the benefits of the positive forces. The five forces are: 1. The threat of new entrants 2. Bargaining power of suppliers 3. Bargaining power

Tempur Pedic Quality Process Improvement Plan Essay

Tempur Pedic Quality Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example As Hill writes, "top management determines quality priorities, establishes the systems of quality, management and the procedures to be followed, provides resources and leads by example" (Hill, 1991). The concept emerged from the work in statistical quality control at the Western Electric Hawthorne plant in the 1930s and was associated with the work of W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran (Chase, Jacobs, 2003). It was introduced to Japan by the Americans as the occupying force in the immediate post war era and found its greatest expression in Japanese manufacturing industry. Literature review. Two themes in the research literature have been particularly prominent in recent years: "the ways of improvement" as a source of service planning and the debate over the different methods and models of successful production technoques. Up-to-date scholarship on both of these themes is reflected in recent researches R.B. Chase, R.F. Jacobs (2003), N. Slack, S. Chambers, R. Johnston (2003), D. Dow (1999), etc. In their works these authors develop a new theoretical approach which can be applied to practice. The works they provide a lot of example of management teams and their experience in TQM. These researches join theoretical and practical side of strategy, giving recommendations for improvement in the TQM to ensure customer satisfaction. "Production and A big layer of literature concerning this topic belongs to such gurus as T. Hill "Production and Operation Management: Text and cases" (1991), N. D. Harris "Service Operations Management" (1989). Their theoretical studies on improvements based on TQM, sustainable competitive advantage, the role of standards, etc, are still the basis of any research in the field of production and operations management. They examine and discuss the role of different companies for product and service improvement can successfully use TQM. Internal factors. Monitoring of the environment is an important method that helps to search for new trends in operations management. Managers should take into account internal and external factors that influence a potential consumer. The policy of implement restructing sooner rather than later was proved to be correct. There is no two cuctomers with the similar requiments, that is why operations management must respond to different customer needs. Factors Internal to a company are types of workers, organization structure, assumptions about people, technology, vision, mission and values of the firm, n ature of ow nership and management. Tempur Pedic is a Swedish Company which manufactures and distributes mattresses and pillows made from its proprietary "Tempur" pressure-relieving material. This material consists of a visco-elastic material that conforms to the body to provide support and help alleviate pressure points.The company operates in 60 countries around the world. In a time of rapidly changing technologies and ever-shorter product life cycles, product development often proceeds at a glacial pace. In an age of the customer, order fulfillment has high error rates and customer enquiries go unanswered for weeks. In a period when asset utilization is critical, inventory levels exceed many months of demand. The usual methods of boosting performance - process rationalization and automation - haven't yielded the dramatic improvements for Tempur Pedic Company need. In particular, heavy

Open and Closed Source Systems Essay Example for Free

Open and Closed Source Systems Essay The GNU General Public License has served a major role in the way people think of programs today. The GNU, or simply GPL is originally written by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The case is, most software’s don’t want you to share or change the program. This means that they are trying to take away freedoms of having the program. What the GNU General Public License is designed to do is the opposite of that because it offers freedom to share and change the software and to make sure it is free for all of its users. This creation caused it to be the most widely used free software license. As of August 2007 the GPL accounted for nearly 65% of the 43,442 free software projects listed on Freshmeat. Some believe that the copyleft provided from the GPL was crucial to Linux’s Success because it gave programmers who contributed to the kernel the assurance that the work done by them would benefit the world and remain free. After the first version of the GPL, more were made that followed. The first GPL was made in 1989. After that, another version was made with similar licenses but there was concern over problems in the GPLv2 so they made another one in June 2007. Preamble The General Public License was designed so that it meant that the people won’t think of a free software as related to its price but more to freedom. What this means is that people can do almost anything to the program including, making copies, giving away copies, selling the program, and either turning the original program into something that is better. What this license includes in its preamble is; each distributer must know that there is no warranty for this free library. With this license, comes great responsibilities for handling this. One example of this would be if you were tried to sell the program that you copied, you will have to tell them all their terms so they know their rights. The protection of a person’s rights is split into two sections; the first is you cope the library then second, you get offered this license which gives you legal permission to copy, distribute, and or modify the library. Terms and Conditions There are many terms and conditions that you have to go by while using this license because if you don’t go by them, there could be real harm. A library is a collection of software functions and or the data prepared so it can link with other application programs. You are only allowed to modify copies of the library if you show that you modified the library, you must make sure that there is no charge to third parties for the work to be licensed and you have to show them their terms to make sure they know their rights. If the license isn’t signed then you are not allowed to modify, copy or sell anything from a library because it’s prohibited by the law unless you have signed the license. If you create any attempts to copy, modify, sublicense, link with or distribute the library without this license, then you are prohibited from ever getting it and the library will be void. GNU Conclusion This idea that was released by Richard Stallman was brilliant in many ways. One major way it was important was it allowed people to sell programs for free and let people try them and not be controlled by companies. Freedom is important not the price of the program.

National Effluent Limitation Regulations At Nigerian Breweries Environmental Sciences Essay

National Effluent Limitation Regulations At Nigerian Breweries Environmental Sciences Essay Nigeria, a country with thirty six states situated in the western part of Africa, rich in mineral and natural resources, having a size of three hundred and fifty six thousand, six hundred and sixty nine square miles of land area, with ecological zones ranging from the dry savannas in the north, to the water abundant Niger Delta (about nine hundred and twenty three thousand, seven hundred and seventy three square kilometres) She is more than half the United States of American state of California, Nigeria has placed her name on the globe for recognition in exportation of petroleum oil, groundnut, palm oil and cocoa. Gaining her independence in 1960, she has been ruled and governed under the military and civilian era, with the later still in rule, also known as the era of democracy. Nigeria, like many other former British colonies operates a common law. The main sources of law in Nigeria are customary law (which was the legal system operating in Nigeria prior to the advent of the Briti sh colonial rule), the Nigerian legislation, and common law. The composition and nature of our environment has greatly been altered by activities such as industrialization, transportation, construction and other activities. Nigeria is a developing country and so, has industries situated in urban and rural areas, most of these industries are manufacturing and producing industries, and as such, tend to give off waste products which acts as pollutants to the immediate and surrounding environment. This essay covers air pollution control laws in Nigeria caused by brewing activities. BREWING ACTIVITY AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Brewing is a complex process with several stages, that tend to produce pollutants in form of fumes and effluent that causes environmental air pollution. The raw material collection process, produces dust which when inhaled makes the victim to sneeze and cough, for this reason, handlers are given protective gears to cover their nose, failing to realise that this dust particles still float in the air and pollutes the environment. The steam produced when the milled grains are boiling (wort production), and the addition of yeast to the cooled wort for fermenting the wort into beer, (the aeration process), the bottling and packaging which deals with water that is in turn converted to waste water that gives a stench before treated. Waste water from the industry (effluent), which is later on recycled and used to wash equipments in the factory, gives out a stench that offends neighbouring surrounding. In the effluent tanks, the odour produced poses as a nuisance to the surrounding environmen t in the form of air pollution. The law relating to air pollution in Nigeria is contained in numerous instruments as obtained in The National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act 2007, an Agency of the Ministry of Environment Housing and Urban Development is charged with the responsibility of enforcing environmental Laws, regulations and  standard in deterring people, industries and organization from polluting and degrading the environment. According to the Environmental Law Research Institute 2007, (ELRI) for Nigeria, the synopsis of laws and regulations aims at inducing responsible attitudes and behaviours towards the environment are embedded in NESREA Act 2007 which replaced the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) Act, notes in Section 7, that it provides authority to ensure compliance with environmental laws, local and international, on environmental sanitation and pollution prevention and control through monitory and regulatory measures. According to the regulations under NESREA on National Effluent Limitation Regulations, Section 1 (1) requires industry facilities to have anti-pollution equipment for the treatment of effluent, but because policies are not given out to the general public, perhaps due to companys work ethics or policy, one can not say if the treatment of effluent is properly met in the brewing industry, however, because of the air pollution caused by this activity, it is recommended that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comes into act to check if the industry has exceeded its limit in polluting the environment as stated in The National Environment Protection (Pollution Abatement in Industries and Facilities producing Waste) Regulations (1991), Section 1 Prohibits the release of hazardous substances into the air, land or water of Nigeria beyond approved limits set by the Agency. Also, the need for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to measure the level of impact and damage done to the environment is not applied, it is for this reason that both small and big industries still generate a lot of pollution to the environment. The E.I.A Act, as it is informally called, deals with the considerations of environmental impact in respect of public and private projects. Sections relevant to environmental emergency prevention under the EIA include:- Section 2 (1) requires an assessment of public or private projects likely to have a significant (negative) impact on the environment. However, this is not the case when compared with the activities of brewing, as it gives a negative impact on the immediate environment. Mwalimu in his text states The common law supplements statutory control and regulation of air pollution in Nigeria for example concerning tortuous liability under torts of nuisance and negligence. This means that the law is there to control and regulate air pollution. A tort is an injury incurred by one or more individuals, and it may involve mere inattention by the air polluter who allowed the injury to occur. The different stages are powered with generators which emit fumes into the air, the stages involved also releases fumes into the air, effluent water which is before treated acts as another means of air pollution. The fumes produced from the industry, derived as a result of the production from brewing, running of diesel operated generators (commonly known as diesel fumes) are a mixture of gases, vapours, liquid aerosols and substances made up of particles. They contain the products of combustion including: carbon (soot); nitrogen; water; carbon monoxide; aldehydes; nitrogen dioxide; sulphur dioxide; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This gases acts as pollutants and are suspended in the atmosphere where they cause greenhouse effect and lead to global warming. Most of these gases damage vegetation, respiratory system, product of complete combustion of organic compounds; implicated in global climate change. In other words they damage and pollute the environment; it is safe to say that brewing activities contributes to one of the major sources of pollution. Environment is a very broad concept and involves everything that affects an organism during its lifetime. According to Srinivasan our environment comprises atmosphere, water, earth, and space. In his book, Chauhan defined environment in different ways; 1. It is in totality of all social, biological and physical or chemical individually as well as collectively that compose the nature and man-made surroundings. It refers to the sum total of conditions which surrounds man at a given point in space and time. It is the representative of physical components of the earth where in man is the important factor influencing his environment It would appear that what the author means by environment is the totality of the surrounding body (air, land and water) that can be seen and felt by living organism. Pollution is when different activities done by man makes the environment (air, land and water) dirty, Saunders in his text defines Pollution as The introduction by man of waste matter or surplus energy into the environment which directly or indirectly causes damage to man and his environment other than himself, his household, those in his employment or those with whom his has a direct trading relationship. This means that for every action man has taken has caused pollution directly or indirectly. Olanrewaju and Chukwukere defined air pollution as the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, biological materials that may cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere and further classified sources of air pollution into anthropogenic sources and natural sources. Tiwary and Colls stated in their book that air pollution has been with us since the first fire was lit, although different aspects have been important at different times. While many would consider air pollution an issue that the modern world has resolved to a greater extent, it still appears to have a considerable influence on the global environment. It would appear that the authors mean to say that air pollution, has been in existence from the beginning of time where fire was discovered and possibly before then. Vallero in his text defined air pollution in page three of his book as Air Pollution is the presence of contaminants or pollutant substances in the air that interfere with human health or welfare, or produce other harmful environmental effects. Hill in his text said Pollution occurs because no process is one hundred percent efficient the author means that pollution is inevitable but can be managed. As stated above, there is no process or activity done by any living organism that does not result in one form of pollution or the other. A good example of air pollution includes failure to inspect the operation and maintenance of electrostatic precipitators or failure to design and size an adequate abatement technology. Effect of Air Pollution on Health of Humans Olarenwaju and Chukwukere, the effect of air pollution and disturbance of natural air causes different health problems such as difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions, pulmonary exacerbations, vascular dysfunction, increased thrombus formation, brain damage, cancer, and increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. For this reason, legislations and regulations have been made for producing industries to abide in, and breach in this has its consequences. This legislation in relation to environmental law constitutes interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that, very broadly, operate to regulate the interaction of humanity and the rest of the biophysical or natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human. The polluter can be held responsible for the damage to human health. These laws and regulations are in the constitution but are not enforced in the country, because pollution is still on the increase in this developing country. The use of generators to power the factory, or a house or machineries has led to not only air pollution but also noise pollution. According to Abdulkareem in his case study on Urban air pollution by computer simulator, Urban Air pollution due to activities of process industries is one of the main problems faced by the industrial area of the world. This means that, as long as there is an industrial process going on, air pollution would still be present. The action carried out by the brewery industry does not promote clean air, and therefore pollutes the air and this causes discomfort for the inhabitants of the surrounding environment, and the regulatory bodies are not efficient in carrying out their duties, unlike the United Kingdom, where Legislations are constantly reviewed and put into place to fish out industries and companies that are exceeding the pollution limit, environmental permits are in place, pollution prevention and control permits are also in place to check for stake holders that breach laws and to check for hw air pollution is regulated. As earlier said, there is no process that does not pollute the environment. The Pollution Prevention and Control permits (PPC) of the United Kingdom states that If a business operates in Northern Ireland or Scotland, the business would require a PPC permit from an environmental regulator before such business would be allowed to operate. The NEW Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) HYPERLINK http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2172/contents/madeRegulations 2010 SI 675 pHYPERLINK http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2172/contents/maderovides a consolidated system for environmental permits and exemptions for industrial activities, mobile plant, waste operations, mining waste operations, water discharge activities, groundwater activities and radioactive substances activities. It also sets out the powers, functions and duties of the regulators.HYPERLINK http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2172/contents/made Unlike the United Kingdom where the public has the right to know the legislation for air pollution control, the public is unaware of this legislation in Nigeria. Very little is put in place for the public, there is no clean air act, which gives powers to local councils to control domestic and industrial smoke to improve local air quality and meet EU air quality standards for sulphur dioxide and particulates. The English air legislation controls emissions of gases, dark smoke and other airborne pollutants that harm the quality of the atmosphere. It includes environmental permitting and authorising regimes and, via the climate change framework, establishes financial incentives to switch to less-polluting ways of working. NEW Aerosol Dispensers Regulations 2009 SI 2824 aims to protect public health by prohibiting the supply or possession of aerosols not marked as conforming to safety standards. RECOMMENDATION: This regulation has been in place to meet up to the cleanliness of the environment, but because of the corruption of the land, such laws are not enforced and therefore, it is ignored. The industries still run and release aerosols and fumes into the atmosphere, damaging the immediate environment.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers

SIR GAWAIN and the GREEN KNIGHT In the Middle Ages, a time of brave knights and fair maidens, chivalry was alive and well, and honor meant much more than just pride. A man could be expected to be as good as his word, and God was an integral part of his life. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the title character sets off on a month-long quest for the Green Chapel in fulfillment of a promise made a year earlier, knowing full well that it could mean certain death. After the knight's final days at the court of King Arthur are recounted, he sets off in "country wild" where he is "far off from all his friends" (lines 713-14). This lonely road on which he rides reflects the nature of his quest--Gawain's conflict is within himself, and is something which he must deal with on his own. On the long, arduous journey, the brave knight battles countless foes to the point where "to tell but the tenth part would tax [the author's] wits" (719). All manner of fearsome foes are described, from serpents and wolves to wild men and giants. However, he has "borne himself bravely, and been on God's side" (724), and therefore makes it through all these trials intact. The description of the locations where Sir Gawain is forced to sleep on some nights calls to mind the dwelling of Grendel's mother from Beowulf--cold, gloomy, rocky, and generally unpleasant. Gawain bears it all with stoic patience and fortitude, though he is "near slain" by the inclement weather. Finally, on Christmas Eve, Gawain "prays with all his might/That Mary may be his guide/Till a dwelling comes in sight" (737-39). This prayer underlines the parallel between Gawain's plight on this Christmas Eve and Mary's own search for lodging on the night of the first Christmas. On Christmas morning, he arrives in a foreboding forested area, "a man all alone" in a "marsh and mire" where "birds unblithe upon bare twigs/Peeped most piteously for pain of the cold." (The cold loneliness stands in contrast to the warmth and companionship he is to find in Bercilak's castle later on in the story.) Here he again prays mournfully--this time that he may be able to attend the Christmas mass. His first thoughts are not for his own safety, nor for his reputation should he not find the Green Chapel in time.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt :: essays research papers

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of our country's best known and most beloved presidents. He is commonly remembered for taking a tired, beaten, nation and instilling hope in it. This positive view of Roosevelt is held by Burns, who paints the picture of a man whose goal was to alleviate our nation's economic pains. But, is this view too myopic? Is Roosevelt deserving of such a godly reputation? These questions are posed by Conkin as he points out the discrimination that underlies many New Deal programs, and even suggests that many of Roosevelt's actions were for purely political motives. During the weeks preceding Roosevelt's inauguration the country was engaged in an economic crisis that was quickly spiraling downward. Banks failed, people panicked, and the nation looked to someone, anyone, for help. Hoover, sensing the country's desperation, but realizing his lack of power, and the feelings of resentment harbored towards him looked to Roosevelt. He asked the president-elect to join in economic planning, support policies, and most importantly to reassure the nation. While both authors note Roosevelt's unwillingness to cooperate with Hoover they site different reasons for it. Burns talks of Roosevelt's belief that the nation was not yet his domain, and that Hoover had the authority to handle the situation. In addition, Burns excuses Roosevelt by maintaining "Roosevelt did not foresee that the banking situation would reach a dramatic climax on Inauguration day. No man could have." (P. 148) This position is an exceedingly benevolent one when contrasted with Conkin's who writes Roosevelt "did nothing, and helplessly watched the economy collapse, letting it appear as one last result of Republican incompetence." This measure allowed Roosevelt to emerge as the "nation's savior," and ally the Democratic party with this image.Furthermore, the two authors differ in their assessment of the effect of public opinion on Roosevelt's actions. Burns gives the impression of a president who looked to engage all in his coalition. He states, politically, his cabinet "catered to almost every major group." Burns also adds, "Roosevelt did not slavishly follow the wishes of group leaders." (P. 150). Roosevelt is portrayed as the paragon of a humanitarian, "he wanted to help the underdog, though not necessarily at the expense of the top dog. He believed that private, special interests must be subordinated to the general interest." (P. 155) Conkin attempts to poke holes in this idealistic portrayal of Roosevelt.