Cement Clinker Manufacturing Process Manual

What is cement? Cement is a fine powder which sets after a few hours when mixed with water, and then hardens in a few days into a solid, strong material. Cement is mainly used to bind fine sand and coarse aggregates together in concrete. Cement is a hydraulic binder, i. e. it hardens when water is added. There are 27 types of common cement which can be grouped into 5 general categories and 3 strength classes: ordinary, high and very high. In addition, some special cements exist like sulphate resisting cement, low heat cement and calcium aluminate cement.The quarry is the starting point Cement plants are usually located closely either to hot spots in the market or to areas with sufficient quantities of raw materials. The aim is to keep transportation costs low. Basic constituents for cement (limestone and clay) are taken from quarries in these areas. A two-step process Basically, cement is produced in two steps: first, clinker is produced from raw materials. In the second step cement is produced from cement clinker. The first step can be a dry, wet, semi-dry or semi-wet process according to the state of the raw material.Making clinker The raw materials are delivered in bulk, crushed and homogenised into a mixture which is fed into a rotary kiln. This is an enormous rotating pipe of 60 to 90 m long and up to 6 m in diameter. This huge kiln is heated by a 2000 °C flame inside of it. The kiln is slightly inclined to allow for the materials to slowly reach the other end, where it is quickly cooled to 100-200 °C. Four basic oxides in the correct proportions make cement clinker: calcium oxide (65%), silicon oxide (20%), alumina oxide (10%) and iron oxide (5%).These elements mixed homogeneously (called â€Å"raw meal† or slurry) will combine when heated by the flame at a temperature of approximately 1450 °C. New compounds are formed: silicates, aluminates and ferrites of calcium. Hydraulic hardening of cement is due to the hydration of these compounds. The final product of this phase is called â€Å"clinker†. These solid grains are then stored in huge silos. End of phase one. From clinker to cement The second phase is handled in a cement grinding mill, which may be located in a different place to the clinker plant.Gypsum (calcium sulphates) and possibly additional cementitious (such as blastfurnace slag, coal fly ash, natural pozzolanas, etc. ) or inert materials (limestone) are added to the clinker. All constituents are ground leading to a fine and homogenous powder. End of phase two. The cement is then stored in silos before being dispatched either in bulk or bagged. What is concrete? Concrete is a solid material made of cement, sand, water, aggregates and often with admixtures.When fresh, it has a certain workability and takes the form of the mould into which it is put. When set and hardened, it is as strong as natural stone and resists time, water, frost, mechanical constraints and fire. Typically, concrete is the essentia l material used in all types of construction [residential (housing), non-residential (offices) and civil engineering (roads, bridges, etc. )]. Read more: http://www. crusherindustry. com/ skype: anna. smith20121 Email: [email  protected] com

Forever New Case Study Essay

Indian Retail Sector India is one of the most desirable retail destinations in the world. India’s twin growth engines of economic growth and demographic profile set it apart from other nations and present a compelling business case for global retailers looking to enter the market. PwC research indicates that India’s retail sector is worth US$ 350 billion and has a low organised retail penetration of 5 to 8%. Modern trade emerged during the 90s, primarily in the food and grocery sector, and is now growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15 to 20%. A large market potential for a range of categories is indicated by low ORP, increasing urbanisation, growing incomes, increasing consumer confidence, etc. India’s retail sector comprises organised and unorganised participants. Given the size of the country’s retail market, PwC research and other reports suggest that the 12 million mom-and-pop stores comprising India’s unorganised market can co-exist with modern trade players. Recognising the long-term growth potential of India’s retail market, some of the country’s largest conglomerates have allocated billions of dollars to launch large scale retail initiatives that span cash-and carry, food and grocery, books, music and leisure, gems and jewellery, footwear, apparel, accessories, etc. India-based retail incumbents are expanding their presence across a range of categories, experimenting with formats, launching private labels, strengthening supply chain systems and more. Global retailers are also assessing the Indian market with keen interest. They have recognised that the next wave of growth in terms of generating revenues, reaching new customers (including the large number of middle-class consumers) and harnessing research and development (R&D) and innovative skills. An aspiring middle-class of 300 million consumers, a large demand-driven population of 500 million young consumers and a relatively untapped rural population of 700 million people constitute the growth story. Besides, a strong GDP growth, rising consumer confidence, consumption-based behaviour, increasing incomes and a large pool of consumers have made India one of the world’s most attractive retail destinations. Major demographic groups are driving purchases across categories: Sources: PwC analysis Capgemini, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management India’s Retail Fundamentals: Market Size Compound Annual Growth Rate Unorganised Sector Organised Retail Penetration Retail Density Contribution to GDP US$ 350 Billion 15-20% 12 million mom and pop stores 5-8% 6% 14% Indian economy displays resilience in the midst of global crisis. Source: Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Government of India Demand drivers Demanding consumers: Indian consumers are demanding access to products and services that delight and excite them, are of good quality, and provide value for money. Increasing incomes: Strong GDP performance, capital market growth and the emergence of new industries are creating new millionaires and boosting income levels. This acts as an incentive for consumers to spend more on products. They are also experimenting with brands, trying new products, etc. Evolving consumption patterns: Traditionally, the focus of Indian consumers was on saving. However, positive macro-economic fundamentals, an evolving retail market, lifestyle influencers, etc. are ensuring that consumers spend more across categories. Other aspects, like the emergence of double-income households, easier access to credit and society’s acceptance of self-indulgence, are changing purchasing habits. Supply drivers Expansion: The growth of modern trade and expansion plans are enabling consumers to easily access retail products and services across urban, Tier II and Tier III cities and towns. Growth opportunities: Some high growth categories in the retail sector include children’s wear, accessories, consumer durables, leisure, apparel and footwear. New entrants: Some of the world’s largest and most prestigious brands and retailers have a presence in India. Those who have not yet entered India are assessing the market with interest. The central government recently took a decision to allow up to 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and raise the limit for overseas investment in single-brand retail to 100 percent. Benefits of FDI Consumers: plethora of options with better quality. Government Exchequer: Payment of indirect taxes through the supply chain by the modern trade players, primarily service tax. Farmers/Producers: Establishes efficient supply chains that links farmers and small manufacturers directly with retailers which maximises value for stakeholders. Together with back-end infrastructure, this will minimise wastage (especially of fresh foods and vegetables), increase farmers’ realisations, encourage best practices in crop management and improve food safety and hygiene. Unorganised Trade: Mom-and-pop stores can exist alongside modern trade players and can explore partnership models (e.g., sourcing, franchise partners) in a rapidly changing retail environment . India’s retail sector is an evolving market. The sector will grow and develop over the next four to six decades, since consumers will earn more, those below the poverty line will cross over, the gains from economic growth will be felt more inclusively, etc. Pune Retail Scenario The retail sector in Pune was earlier confined to a few markets which were unorganised, chaotic and crowded. In the last two years, however, the rise in modern retail outlets can be seen across the city. Koregaon Park Plaza, Inorbit, Phoenix Market City, Pulse, Kumar Pacific Mall and Amanora Town Center are the new ones that have joined the already existing malls like S.G.S Mall, Mariplex and Central to name a few. Source: CBRE India Retail Market View 2011 Source: CBRE India Retail Market View Source: CBRE India Retail Market View Pune has come a long way in recent times. The IT market, automobile boom, student community, thriving service sector, robust real estate market and increase in the number of professionals have led to an expansion of the city. This rapid urbanisation, and the new demands of Pune’s global citizens, has led to a rise in the number of malls, offering high-end brands. Introduction Forever New is a fashion clothing and accessories brand founded in Melbourne, Australia. It was started by Dipendra Goenka and Amanda Goenka, an Indian-South African couple in 2006. The brand celebrates the feminine beauty of women, a signature style flowing through every creative element. Collections are inspired by global trends in art, film, music and theatre as well as haute couture runway shows in Paris, London, Milan and New York. It was started as Dipendra Goenka saw an obvious gap which was not only restricted to the Australian market but all over the world. With Forever New, the Goenka’s targeted daughters who are willing to shop with their mothers, a group that flies well under the cultural radar. Normally it gets very difficult for a woman who is on her far side of 40s to struggle with hot pants and play suits of her daughter’s choice, and hence Forever New is a one of a kind store which makes women of all age groups comfortable and creates an environment for all ages groups who prefer ethereal to edgy range. Forever New has created a fashion empire based around the frilly and feminine It is one of the fastest growing Australian brands, Forever New emerged in late 2006 as a start up retailer and now trades over 250 stores in 11 countries globally. The company was restructured in 2010 to support it’s growth which values it at about $108 million, although the ownership remained unchanged. While Forever New is best known as an Australian retailer, the 250-store chain already includes outlets in China, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey. While Forever New’s restructure meant that it was impossible to say how much the chain made in 2011. Accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission showed that between June 25 and July 31 in 2011 it cleared $480,000 profit on about $1.9 million worth of sales. It had assets of almost $50 million and employed about 700 people. Forever New in India Forever New was launched in India soon after it was launched in Australia. It has its head office in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It also has its branches in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning In the Indian scenario the segment for Forever New will be women of almost all age groups starting from 15 years. They can be teenagers or college going students, fashion conscious girls, celebrities, elite class of women or house wives involved many in social activities etc. The target audience for frilly, ultra feminine products of forever new ranges from 15 to 60 years as the designs are on the classics edge. Along with that it does make collections inspired from the runway for the fashion conscious women. For the teenagers it has edgy, cute and girly designs. It has different price ranges for women of the elite class and celebrities and provides them with luxurious fabrics and designs. For the women aged 40-60 it has frilly, elegant clothes with a soft pastel palate so that it suits their age and style and doesn’t look flashy. Overseas it positions itself as a middle range brand which caters exclusively to women of all age groups primarily from 15 to 60, but in India generally after the age of 30-35 women do not prefer it. Hence in India it has positioned itself as a very chic, feminine, high fashion expensive brand which caters to women of age group from 15 to 35. The Marketing Mix Product: The products of Forever New are exclusively for women and have a wide variety under them. Under the clothing section they have dresses, tops, pants, skirts, denims, shorts, knitwear, coats and jackets. They widen their range with a beautiful collection of bags, sunglasses, shoes, jewellery, hats, belts, scarves and gloves. The products are very feminine, frilly, and classy and generally have soft colours. The quality of the products is very good especially the choice of fabrics or materials for each piece. Design-wise the products are according to the latest fashion forecasts or they are just plain simple classics. Price: Different products have different price ranges, starting from Rs 800 to Rs 15,000. Promotions: Forever New in India promotes itself through hoardings in malls. It also gives away its products for shoots in fashion magazines for which it gets due credit, hence displaying its latest collection through print media. Exhibitions are put up in Mumbai to create brand awareness. They also do mobile marketing by sending an SMS to every customer informing them about their new offers and sales. It gives away free catalogues to people who enter their stores to increase its brand awareness. It has an online shopping website which displays and sells the latest collections. Place: It sells through 2 different channels. Stores and Online. In India Forever New doesn’t have stand alone stores. They are located in malls. The head office is in Noida but the inventory is shipped from Australia to each store in India separately, even though the products are manufactured in China. Forever New, Pune Forever New is located in 2 different malls in Pune: ï‚ · Town Centre Amanora, Hadapsar Town Centre Amanora in Pune is a lifestyle retail centre, spread across 20 lac sq. ft. It is set according to world class standards, it is destined to be the retail and cultural epicentre of Pune, catering to both Western and Indian sensibilities, it has everything from premium to mass retail, cinemas, quick service restaurants, cafe’s and fine dining options. Town centre is destined to get a steady stream of customers, keeping them engaged throughout the day and create a profitable equation for retail partners. The location is an advantage for Forever New as it has almost all kinds of people coming to the mall out of which a majority are young women from the age group of 15-35 because the mall is situated right at the entrance of Amanora Township spread across 450 acres and is near the Magarpatta area, the hub of IT professionals. ï‚ · Koregaon Park Plaza Koregaon Park Plaza built on European concept, launched on 2nd March 2012 is a world class attraction with a premium retail mix and the epitome of â€Å"shop entertainment† where visitors will find a host of wonderful, engaging activities. The retail positioning of the mall is mirrored by its location in the heart of Pune, at Koregaon Park. This combination of centralised location and the mall’s world class architectural features positions Koregaon Park Plaza as an appealing destination for tourists & shopaholics of Pune. The location should’ve been an advantage for Forever New had the mall been as successful as promised but unfortunately Koregaon Park Plaza is not doing so well, but loyal and regular customers of Forever New do visit often and shop from there. Since the mall is isn’t doing well, it is very difficult to form new customer relationships leading to less brand awareness. Forever New in Town Centre Amanora, Hadapsar It is a small store in a rectangular format. Size: 375 sq ft. Approximately. The customers that come to this store are mostly young girls (teenagers), IT professionals or housewives of the upper middle or high class. Store Layout: The store in Town Centre Amanora is a small, congested store. It has very less space to move around. The focus does not go on the primary wall. The nesting table at the entrance takes up too much space. The trial rooms are big and well accommodating. There is no proper defined space for accessories. There is no defined path for the customer Forever New in Koregaon Park Plaza This store is in rectangular format with a fairly good size. Size: 400Sqft Approximately. The customers that visit this store are mostly loyal customers and are located far away from the Magarpatta area. It also has college going girls coming in to store. Women/girls from upper middle class or high class also come here to shop. Store Layout: The store in Koregaon Park Plaza is comparatively bigger and spacious. The store provides a well defined path for the customer. It has been put up in such a way that the focus goes on the right places. The store is very spacious and welcoming. It attracts attention. Common Features: Almost all the International stores have a Visual Merchandising guideline from their country head office that they have to follow. Some of them are: ï‚ · The collection stories and their display criteria. For instance, the way the story for is be spring it collection has to Tropical Fantasy and the displayed on the primary wall is already decided and ï‚ · ï‚ · The sent window by the display Australian head office. design too comes from the Australian head office. The basic store characteristics, like the humungous beautiful mirror behind the cash counter, the chandeliers, the white walls, the fixtures, nesting tables, trail rooms with maroon curtains, the chic and fun soundtracks, the comment book, the catalogues etc. Whatever things do not get sold off after a particular period of time are sent back to Australia. The collection is updated every month. Everything each store. Sales happen twice a year. This brand wants to ensure that the customer have a first class experience while visiting their store. So that when they walk out they form an image of the brand in their head and position it as a classy, feminine and delicate place. comes from the Australian head office directly to Brand Portfolio Like mentioned before, Forever New is an exclusive women’s wear brand. It has an ultra feminine style and the designs are inspired by classics and latest runway shows of New York, Paris, Milan and London. In India it is considered as an expensive brand. It uses expensive and delicate fabrics like silk and lace for its products. It provides a good visual experience when one enters its store. groups of women. The products are like the brand itself, delicate and beautiful. It has a wide variety of products and sizes for all the age Sizes Women’s Sizing Chart Measurement Point Bust Circumference Waist Circumference Hip Circumference 4 74 57 83 6 79 62 88 8 84 67 93 10 89 72 98 12 94 77 103 14 99 82 108 16 104 87 Clothing International Size Conversion XS S M L 4-6 8-10 12-14 16 Footwear International Size Conversion Australia US UK Europe 5 5 3 36 6 6 4 37 7 7 5 38 8 8 6 39 9 9 7 40 10 10 8 41 Ring Size Guide (measurement is the diameter of the ring) S/M M/L 17mm 19mm Product examples: Dresses: The stores comprised of almost 25 different types of dresses: Some of them were: 1. Cassie Embellished Strap Dress 2. Yvette Skater Dress 3. Ella Low Back Dress 4. Poppy Strapless Waterfall Dress The dresses had a very wide price range starting from Rs 2000 to Rs 15,000. The sizes varied from the kind of dresses available. In general the fastest selling sizes were 6 and 8. The slowest selling sizes were 12 and 16. Tops: The store comprised of almost 45 different kinds of tops Some of them were: 1. Trixie High Low Top 2. Koko Studded Pocket Tee 3. Chelsea Printed Tank 4. Mackenzie Roll up sleeve The prices of the tops ranged from Rs 1200 to Rs 6000. The sizes varied according to the different kinds of tops. The fastest selling sizes were 8, 10, 12 and 14. The slowest selling size was 4. Pants The store comprised of almost 20 different kinds of bottoms: Some of them were: 1. Isobella Draped Pant 2. Leya Casual Skinny 3. Arla Tuxedo Shorts 4. Oslo Piped Pocket Jegging The prices of the pants ranged from Rs 1200 to Rs 4000. The sizes varied according to the different kinds of pants. The fastest selling sizes were 8, 10 and 12. The slowest selling sizes were 6 and 16. Bags The store comprised of almost 15 different kinds of bags: Some of them were: 1. Lori Satchel 2. Ava Grace Small Bag 3. Ariela Hard Case Clutch 4. Lucy Stud Coin Accessories The store comprised of a lot of accessories: Some of them were: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Tilly Pearly Statement Ring Heather Beret Vanessa Lace Scarf Jaylyn Enamel Torque The store comprised of almost 15 different kinds of shoes: Some of them were: 1. Prianne Platform 2. Sonia Embellished Sandal 3. Candice Diamente Pump 4. Lolita The prices of the pants ranged from Rs 2500 to Rs 6000. The sizes varied according to the different kinds of shoes. The fastest selling sizes were 6, 7 and 8. The slowest selling size was 10. After studying the assortment of both the stores, it can be concluded that: The size 4 clientele in the Pune sector is less. The most common sizes are 8, 10 and 12. Oversized people generally do not prefer Forever New for dresses and shoes but they prefer the tops. Competitive Analysis According to the Pune Retail Scenario, the direct competitors of Forever New would be: ï‚ · ï‚ · Mango Zara Even though they have different styles and they all are from different parts of the world still in the Indian market these brands are competing against each other. Mango: Mango clothing is a Spanish multinational based in company Barcelona. It designs, manufactures and markets clothing garments and accessories for women and men. Mango opened its first shop in 1984. What started out as a small team began to grow as a result of an ambitious production system based on the philosophy â€Å"justin-time†, which defined product concepts, store design, quality standards, price and brand image. This solid approach has turned Mango into a Spanish fashion leader. Mango can be differentiated for having a highly-defined concept. The Mango concept is based on an alliance between a quality product, with an original design and a coherent and unified brand image. Dressing the modern, urban women for her daily needs is the formula they have analysed, adapted and applied in all the countries in which Mango is present. Zara: Since the moment the first Zara store’s doors were opened in 1975, the growth of the Zara fashion line has built a been unstoppable. In Zara famous the has brand competitive successfully clothi ng industry, worldwide thanks to their premium locations as well as a unique management system of design, production and supply chains. Unlike other fashion brands, it takes Zara only 10 to 14 days from the time they design new clothing until it arrives in stores. This â€Å"fast fashion† concept and operation allow Zara to always provide the most fashionable clothes to their customers, and the ever-renewed collections definitely help build brand loyalty. Brand Positioning: Factors Quality Variety Sizes Assortment Value for Money Price Design Style Forever New Good Fair Good Poor Fair High Good Good Mango Good Poor Fair Good Fair High Fair Poor Zara Poor Good Poor Good Poor Medium Good Good Mango in Pune has established itself only as a women’s wear brand. Unlike Forever New it has a very good assortment of products. It has a category of products which can be affordable by middle and upper middle class women and another category which can be affordable by elite classes. It has better quality but less variety. Zara in Pune opened up recently in 2011. It has great style and is up to date with fashion, but unlike Forever New it has sizing issues and most of their products are sold out or not available in proper sizes. It has poor quality goods when compared to Mango or Forever New. It is cheaper than both the brands but it doesn’t provide value for money. Forever New SWOT Analysis Strengths ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Filled in the brand gap of mother daughter shopping together. Unique Products Brand name Customer Loyalty Online Market Weakness lot of Indian consumers are not able to relate with the brand. Very expensive Weak Promotion Strategies Less brand awareness Emerging Markets Increasing Economy New Products Innovation New Technology Threats Intense Competition Substitute Products Substitute Market Losses due to low acceptance rate of consumers Strengths Forever New is a big brand name and a lot of consumers will be directed towards it cause of that. It has a USP of filling in the gap of mother daughter shopping together. It has exclusive products for women. It has high customer loyalty rate. Forever new has established itself in the online market which is the latest trend in the retail business. It ships to India free of cost which adds on to the rest of the advantages. Weakness A lot of Indian ‘mothers’ who go out shopping with their daughters won’t be able to relate to the brand. Another weakness is that due to the high prices of the products a lot of people do not prefer buying from there. It has poor promotional strategies and hence the consumers don’t notice it much and hence less brand awareness. Opportunities With the new technology coming in it would be easier to design and produce goods leading to faster innovation and new products. The economy is increasing and hence more and more people will be willing to spend on such brands. Threats There is intense competition from a lot of International brands as they are also looking forward to invest in the Indian Retail Sector. Substitute products and substitute markets at better deals will pose a threat to Forever New. Since the Indian consumers are not accepting the brand properly the company might go into a loss. Data Analysis and Interpretation Why do people shop from Forever New? Sizes Quality Pricing Design Style 0 Why do people shop from Forever New? 2 Style 12 4 Design 9 6 Pricing 1 8 10 Quality 5 12 Sizes 1 14 A majority of people shop from Forever New because of its style followed by its designs. Preferred Mall 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Town Centre Amanora Koregaon Park Plaza Preferred Mall According to my sample size the mall preferred to visit Forever New is Koregaon Park Plaza. What do people prefer buying? Tops Bottoms Dresses Shoes Accessories 3% 13% 37% 34% 13% Almost 37% of people buy tops from Forever New which is closely followed by Dresses (34%). How often do people visit Forever New? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Weekly Fortnight Monthly Once in 6 months Yearly How often do people visit Forever New? According to my sample size a majority number of people visit Forever New monthly while hardly anyone visits it weekly. How much do people spend? 9% 18% 500-1500 1500-2500 32% 2500-5000 5000-10000 41% In this sample size 41% of people spend Rs 1500-2500 and 32% spend Rs 25005000 on Forever New. Which other brand do you prefer? 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Mango Zara Promod Other Which other brand do you prefer? Maximum number of people prefer Zara if not Forever New. Problems faced 4% 4% 8% Style Designs Pricing 46% 38% Quality Sizes Other 0% According to this sample size the major problems faced in Forever New are sizes and prices. Preferance: Store or Online 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 Preferance: Store or Online 0 Online Store Many people prefer visiting stores over online shopping. Membership Card? 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Yes No Membership Card? A majority of people prefer a membership card for Forever New. Recommendations and Conclusion Forever New is moving at a very slow rate in Pune. It caters only to a limited clientele and many people are not aware of it as a brand. People who are aware of this brand and shop from it are not very happy with the sizes and the prices it offers to them. Along with that a lot of people complained that it has limited variety and goes out of stock fast. Despite all these issues, Forever New does have a brand loyalty and some people do follow it regularly, generally on a monthly basis because of its designs, style and quality. A lot of people are not aware about the online shopping facility of this brand and hence do not take advantage of it. The major backing of the online shopping market is that people prefer going to stores because they like the overall experience of actually touching the product and then deciding on whether to buy it or not. International Brands like Forever New are currently going through a bad phase in Pune because consumers are still in the middle of accepting such expensive brands. Growth Opportunities Even though the women’s wear apparel is booming right now, it still is a little congested. But if there is a proper gap like mother daughter shopping together in one store (similar to Forever New), it can easily fit in the Indian scenario, one just needs to work on the styles and sizes a bit so that the Indian mothers accept it more openly. Indians as consumers are still not ready to shell out a lot of money on apparels so if one can work on the prices and they come down a bit for a brand like this, it will be successful in the Indian market. References and Bibliography Winning in the Indian Retail Sector Indian Retail Report: Opening more Doors CBRE India Retail Market View 2011 http://www.forevernew.com.au/ http://www.canalwalk.co.za/shop.htm?shopMGID=35523 http://www.waterfront.co.za/shop/shopcontent/Pages/ForeverNew.aspx http://www.google.co.in/search?rlz=1C1LENP_enIN472IN472&sourceid=chrome&i e=UTF-8&q=globalhttp://www.zendesk.com/why-zendesk/customer/forever-new http://pune.mallsmarket.com/malls/koregaon-park-plaza-pune http://pune.mallsmarket.com/malls/town-centre-amanora-hadapsar

Application for a Master in Civil Engineering

My graduate received two internships for two weeks. The first internship took place at the Trident and Hyderabad Trident and hotels at Oberoi, where I worked on the design and implementation of the pile foundation and the pile load test. Therefore, I used the Kentlege method to learn the construction order of the boring position pile and the respective load test. My second internship took place at Indian airport authorities (Puducherry airport), I was actively involved in the partial implementation of the runway at 1,800 meters. My name is Abba Said. I am a civil engineer / project engineer. I learned civil engineering at Bauch State University (BASUG) in Canada. I graduated from grade 3. In 2011, I studied engineering project management for my master's degree at Coventry University. Being a civil engineer is not my first plan. I want to learn computer engineering. So I applied for computer engineering as the first and second choice of Ile-ife of Obaemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ni geria. However, I did not satisfy their admission requirements, then changed my college to Bao Qi. Unfortunately, I missed Bauchi's ability test. Therefore, I decided to implement a one-year relief course at BASUG. When I officially enrolled in college, I had three choices. So I chose electrical engineering as my first choice, civil engineering as my second choice, civil engineering as my third choice. I am very pleased that I am studying civil engineering now. All civil engineers need to obtain a bachelor's degree in civil engineering (undergraduate degree). However, depending on the position, you may need a master's degree in engineering (master's degree). Civil engineers usually need years of experience to play a specific role in the design of construction projects at offices and on-site. The next step is to find a job of an engineering company that works for experts approved by the National Technical Association. If you like, you can maintain this level through your career. If y ou want a managerial position, you need to pursue more authoritative professional engineer qualifications. The first step is to take the basic engineering tests provided by NSPE. If you pass the exam, you are considered a training engineer.

Intelligent building Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Intelligent building - Assignment Example Its potential will initially be showcased via the 10-megawatt solar park at Masdar City in Abu Dhabi as it started development in May 2010. It will be able to supply Masdar City with 17,500 megawatt-hours annually. This paper will try to discuss what made Madar City innovative in its 21st century sustainable economy campaign as well as carbon neutral town. It will also provide an ideal eco-city or better model based on the Masdar City goal. Discussion Masdar City Masdar City is a planned carbon-neutral and zero-waste town in Abu Dhabi (Appendix A), a federate state of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi has abundant hydrocarbon resources that generates up to 70% of its gross domestic product or GDP. The emirate owns about 95% of the United Arab Emirates oil resources. Abu Dhabi started its policy on the promotion of renewable energy through the Masdar initiative in 2006. Masdar City is its focus to develop a carbon-neutral town (Reiche, 2009) with a targeted realisation by 2016. Alre ady by that time, the population will be about 90,000 composed of 40,000 residents and 50,000 daily commuters. Masdar is a 212,000 square metres or 55 acres development with more than 87,000 solar modules. It uses 50% thin film from First Solar and 50% crystalline from Suntech. As mentioned earlier, it produces some 17,500 MWh of electricity per year and offsets about 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year (Asian Solar, 2009). In contrast, the UAE requires 6,600 MW or about $5,000m (Asian Solar, 2009). Aside from the solar power plant, Masdar City will also develop the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology with focus on information technology, water and environment, engineering systems and management, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, amongst others (Reiche, 2009). It targeted to open by fall of 2009. Masdar also is geared towards attracting some 1500 technological companies engaged in sustainable energy. It helps that Masdar is a free zone, which mean t that companies maybe 100% foreign owned, zero taxes and zero import tariffs (Reiche 2009). To start achieving its goals, the local government of Abu Dhabi has already offered the International Renewable Energy Agency of IRENA to be host of its headquarters, which was accepted. IRENA was founded in Germany with 114 country-members, and it is the first international organization to base in the Middle East. IRENA was granted by the Abu Dhabi government $135 million for its incubation period, and additional $50 million yearly to fund IRENA-endorsed projects in developing countries for a succession of seven years (The National, 2009). The purposes of developing Masdar City are many, but mainly to diversify economy of Abu Dhabi. Its economy is currently dependent on exporting fossil fuel and the government’s leadership is preparing for the depletion of fossil fuel source as well as making its businesses competitive. The goal is to â€Å"transition from a 20th Century, carbon-bas ed economy into a 21st Century sustainable economy,† (Masdar, 2009, 1). It hopes to use its oil wealth to lead a renewable energy economy (Reiche, 2009).

Corporate Social Responsibility at the Boston Beers Essay - 1

Corporate Social Responsibility at the Boston Beers - Essay Example This research tells that resources such as clean water and air are getting more elusive daily, both in the community, we operate within and in the world over. In Boston, Massachusetts, one of the major problems faced is water pollution. Some members of the public continue to raise concerns over the frequent pollution of their primary water sources that they use as sources of drinking water, domestic consumption, and industrial uses, among other things. Often, members of the public have articulated that unclean water infiltrates their water lines, causing the water supplied to be unusable, especially domestically. In a study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, it was discovered that the water pollution in the Boston area went as high as 35.71% on the pollution index. The study was based on water collected from beaches, rivers and residential areas. The beach water was voted most polluted owing to the quantity of chemical effluent discovered on testin g the samples collected from them. Apart from chemicals, the water consisted of other wastes such as plastics and sewage. This has raised major concerns over the measures taken by the relevant parties in ensuring access to clean and usable water in the community. Boston Beers Company has a role to play in ensuring a reduction in the level of water pollution in the environs of the company. The company is not solely to blame for water pollution. Even so, there are several reasons as to why the Boston Beers ought to be at the front line in making efforts to reduce water pollution.

Impact of organization culture on employee performance Essay

Impact of organization culture on employee performance - Essay Example So organizations working in these two countries are entirely different as far as culture and working environment are concerned. Organizational culture is not a static phenomenon. It is a dynamic phenomenon which undergoes periodic changes because of the advancements in science and technologies and subsequent changes in organizational principles. For example, the introduction of computers, internet and globalization have brought tremendous changes in the functioning of organizations. Majority of the corporate companies are currently operating internationally because of globalization. Outsourcing and offshoring are some of the new business terms brought in to this world by globalization. Instant and enhanced communication were introduced in the organizational world with the help of computers and internet. All these developments caused huge changes in organizational culture. Employee performance is directly connected with organizational culture. All organizations like to derive maximum output from an employee; however, few organizations provide the necessary organizational culture for the employees to perform well. Management styles in different countries and different organizations are entirely different and hence employees in different organizations may perform differently. ... This paper analyses the impact of organizational culture upon employee performances. Right frame of mind is necessary for an employee to maximize his performance. Organizational culture is responsible for cultivating the right frame of mind among employees. An organization which care more on productivity of employees and cares less on dispersing necessary remuneration and benefits to the employees may not cultivate the right frame of mind among the employees. On the other hand, an organization which respects and recognize employee performance may cultivate positive frame of mind among employees. No employee would like to work under autocratic managers. On the other hand, all employees like to work under democratic managers. This is because of the fact that only democratic managers are capable of delivering the needs of the employees whereas autocratic managers will always be interested in safeguarding the interests of the organization. For the better functioning of an organization, t he organization’s needs as well as the employee’s needs should be considered. Only an autocratic manager would be able to do this. Musacco Ph.D (2009) has pointed out that â€Å"harassment, mobbing, bullying, and emotional abuses are common at the workplaces which resulted in increased fear and minimal trust between workers† (p.2). Organizational environment plays a vital role in controlling employee performances. It should be noted that current organizations are forced to keep a diverse workforce because of globalization and internationalization of business. Majority of the modern organization are operating cross culturally and their workforce is extremely diverse. For example, Coca Cola and Pepsi

Ethic Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethic - Movie Review Example From the film, the bankers acted in a questionable manner because of how they sold the mortgages. A lot of people with experience in the financial companies were interviewed such as top executives such as Raghuram Rajan, Dominique Strauss-Khan and Glenn Hubbard (Ferguson). The bankers provided the consumers with credit despite knowing that some consumers had low credit scores. 20 or 30 years ago, banks would tell consumers who could not afford to buy mortgages that they would not get loans. However, in the film it is clear that such kind of advice is not taken cautiously because the bankers allowed the consumers to buy houses that they could not afford. In another scene, viewers can see that the people who could not afford the mortgages were now living in tents and jobless. The actions of the federal regulators, economic academics and politicians were well captured showing that they did not do anything that would help in regulating the finances. In one of the scenes, one of the interviewee indicates that there was a continued deregulation of finances and â€Å"they knew what was happening† (Ferguson). In addition, most of the people in these groups are noted in some scenes to be paid excessively. For example, in one of the scenes, when the narrator Matt Damon asks what he thought of wall-street incomes, the interviewee said it as an excessive amount. There were those who earned as much as $485 million and 80 million (Ferguson). All the parties mentioned above relied on the moral philosophy of ethical relativism to justify their actions. In ethical relativism a person holds the view that there is no moral right or a moral wrong. Therefore, the person believes that he or she should act in their own interest. In this light, it is not difficult to see why the employees and employers in the wall-street financial companies decided to self-regulate themselves.

Critical Pedagogy movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Critical Pedagogy movement - Essay Example Critical pedagogy is inclusive of the relationships present between the teachings and learning fraternities, with proponents being of the opinion that the process, being continuous has significant impacts on students in general. This is especially so to students, whom according to the proponents of the movement, historically have, and still are disenfranchised with â€Å"traditional schooling†; the impacts being even greater (Torill, 2005, p 76). The lofty claims, through â€Å"opaque prose†, by Giroux; this according to (John 1990, p 28), exemplified Giroux’s ultimate goal, which was to create radical politics thereby highlighting the existing contestable and antagonistic political and moral grounds that ultimately constitute part of the fundamental ideals pertaining to citizenship and public wisdom. Ultimately, the tensions between progressive and traditional education emanate from the various varying moral perspectives as to categorizing what is â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† (John 1990, p 56). As a recommendation, the examination of the work of the inaugural philosopher of critical pedagogy; Paulo Freire, is encouraged before embarking on any analysis. Paulo Freire, who initially focused on adult literacy projects in the South American state of Brazil, would later on find himself to be dealing widely with a range of educational and social issues. His philosophy revolved around anti-authoritarian sentiments and the interactive approach in the examination of issues; this in relation to the relational power for workers and students. Use of the primary goal that based its existence upon the social and political critiques of everyday life was the central theme in this curriculum, with his educational technique not just a exemplifying a teaching methodology but also as a worthy lifestyle in educative practice. It required the execution of a myriad of educational practices and processes, with the

Personal Statement of Purpose for MA in Criminal Justice to Loyola

Of Purpose for MA in Criminal Justice to Loyola University of Chicago,IL - Personal Statement Example This foundation I suppose bears enormous impact on my decision to pursue further studies involving criminal justice system. Through my work as a manager of a commercial department back in Russia, I obtained profound realization of the immense worth there is in building people’s confidence at work. I used to supervise six people at this stage and treating each of them with fair amount of reward or sanction deserved became essential as it reminds every person that justice does exist. During my undergraduate years prior to this, I studied diligently and was also conscientious of taking academic details in account so that as early as this period I had already practiced even distribution of energy to each scholastic assigned task besides wise management of time. At school, I made sure that I could get my points across with adequacy in any aspect without offending the other party and in return, allowed others to be listened to sincerely. Such endeavor has not ceased to this age and even while I took up Management in Social Sphere which was another huge step in my learning to adjust with different kinds of people and value deep human relations where everyone is synergistically encouraged to express diverse opinions with respect to social matters that tap into politics and economy in general.

Culture and Disease Essay Example for Free

Culture and Disease Essay Culture is a pattern of behavior and thinking learned, shaped and shared by Europeans and Americans. It is their growing and developing bank of knowledge, experiences, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, material objects and possessions gained through generations of individual group work (Williams 1976). Any discomfort, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and alterations of behavior for Europeans and Americans are considered a disease. It is a change that disrupts the normal function of the body. It is initially believed to be caused by curses, evil spirits, or night vapors. However, in the mid-19th century the discoveries and findings of scientific works by Louis Pasteur and Koch concluded microorganisms or germs are the pathogens of infectious diseases which usually gain entrance into the body. These are microorganisms that are able to infect a host and produce a disease (Miller 2003). Subsequent studies and researches improved the concepts of healthcare. In the 21st century, Western Science of Medicine means accuracy. It is the name of the trend. Its subject the human body is likened to an outstandingly complex machine that can be figured out, customized, renovated, and its health defined and described in strictly clinical terms. Medical experts called Physicians can identify and eliminate disease-causing or etiologic organisms that originate outside the body, Surgeons evolved to be incomparable experts in dealing with acute trauma and distress, and epidemiologist uncovers the factors that determine the frequency, distribution, and determinants of diseases in human populations. These factors include the characteristics of the pathogen, the susceptibility of human population resulting from overcrowding, lack of immunization, nutritional status, inadequate sanitation procedures, locations or reservoirs where pathogens lie in wait, and the various means by which infectious disease is transmitted. Ironically, resurgence of infectious disease such as tuberculosis occurred brought about by the emergence of another infectious disease HIV/AIDS (Burton 2004). The existence of epidemic and communicable diseases in specific areas were found to follow geographic patterns. Diseases like Poliomyelitis caused by over population infected Brazilian children population, and it also infected older age Scandinavian and Americans; cholera, yellow fever and dengue infected Indians in India as a result of poor sanitation; Plague brought about by rodents are cases in the Western United States of America, and in China, it is carried by rodents and fleas infecting Chinese. These findings were important concepts for public awareness to guide travelers and servicemen (Duffy 1953). Body Tuberculosis is a chronic mycobacterial infection of the lower respiratory tract characterized by fever, night sweats, weight loss, productive cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing up blood and hoarseness. It may infect lymph nodes causing systemic disease like kidney disease, urinary bladder disease and bone disease (Burton 2004). The dynamics of infection follows the following pattern: Sources of Infection Modes of entry Mechanism of disease Pattern of infection Portals of exit. Mycobacterium tuberculosis a slow-growing, acid-fast, Gram-variable bacillus is an aerobic bacillus species capable of reproducing within 16-20 hours. It is the etiologic agent of the disease called tuberculosis (Burton 2004). Mycobacterium tuberculosis developed resistance to treatment drugs. It is the second leading killer of adults in the world, with more than 2 million TB-related deaths each year (Burton 2004). Ironically, one of the endemic diseases in the United States of America is this bacterial disease called tuberculosis. In 2004 Centers for Disease and Controls, Atlanta, GA reported 14, 517 tuberculosis cases. The resurgence of tuberculosis in the United States of America in the 1980’s through 1990’s primarily resulted from the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the multi-drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis (Burton 2004). Identification and recognition of the characteristics of the pathogen, the susceptibility of human population resulting from overcrowding, lack of immunization, nutritional status, inadequate sanitation procedures, locations or reservoirs, emigration and migration of men and animals, and stress makes people immunosuppressed resulting to infection, considering that pathogens may come primarily from infected humans, sometimes from primates, cattle and other infected mammals (Burton 2004) . There are various sources from which tuberculosis can be acquired and transmitted. It may be via airborne droplets produced by the infected organism during coughing, sneezing, even singing and prolonged direct contact with infected individuals ((Burton 2004). Prevention, Precautions, Sterilization, disinfection and Patient care would all involve airborne precautions (Burton 2004). In Clinical practice, disinfection and sterilization as well as laboratory procedures were employed being a necessity. Their scientific basis has been developed only during the past century. These important procedures are: Sterilization which is the destruction or complete removal by filtration of all forms of microorganisms including their spores; Disinfection is the destruction of many microorganisms but not usually bacterial spores; Antisepsis, is the destruction or inhibition of microorganisms in living tissues thereby limiting or preventing the harmful effect of infection; Static agent would inhibit the growth of bacteriostatic microorganisms; Bactericidal agent would kill the microorganisms; Sterilizers are chemicals which under controlled conditions kill spore-forming bacteria. These agents which perform the above functions were divided into physical agents and chemical agents. With these mechanisms, Epidemiologist and Social psychologist in the United States of America helped contribute to the study of health and to the interventions to improve people’s well-being and quality of life by promoting health and preventing illnesses. They identify psychological factors that might influence illness, and identify improved ways in which health care is delivered. This is also a form of proposition for the improvement of the health of the population by promoting healthy choices and preventing people from becoming ill. Psychologists are persuasive by appealing to fear for the negative health consequences, subsequently encouraging American families, peer and schooling young adolescents to change their health behaviors by redirecting their behavioral intentions. This is in line with the concept that the actions taken by people to safeguard their health are influenced by factors such as general health values, perceived susceptibility to illness, perceptions of illness severity, expectations of treatment success, self-efficacy, perceived barriers and benefits, and cues to action. Healthy habits that are currently recommended are vigorous regular exercise, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep. Even so, considering the increased cultural mixing Of the United States of America, programs or lessons in scholastic trainings are incorporated as designed to increase intercultural communications as cultural patterns affect how people make sense of the many aspects of health care: the meanings that people give to health and illness, the causes of diseases, the means to prevent illnesses, appropriate cures, and the types of individuals most qualified to provide care and attempt to cure. In this context, magico-religious approach, holistic approach and biomedical approach are not set aside, but, the healthcare system of the United States of America is typically focused on the individual patient as the source of the medical problem in need of a cure. This is rather the biomedical approach adopted to address the issues of illness and wellness. It considers people health regardless of culture to be driven by biochemical forces. Wellness is achieved by understanding that the biochemical reaction is activated. Illness happens when a part of the normal human body metabolic activities is altered. Treatments are provided by Medical health practitioners like Doctors and Nurses, thus bringing back the normal course of bodily metabolic activities supportive of good health (Lustig 1996). In 1953 Dr. Louis H. Bauer of New York, USA as a secretary General of the World Medical Health Association outlined the major task to address medical care need from their time on, such as: 1) Rural community work to establish facilities and to encourage physicians participation; 2) provide medical care all depressed areas : 3) Extend public health coverage to depressed areas; 4) Evolve strategies to address care needs people with inborn disorders; 5) Provide insurance programs to people specially senior citizens and the disabled; 6) Eradicate graft and corruption in the Medical practice; 7) General public protection for regular Medical services; 8) Renew medical societies; and 9) Medical Health ethics education for the Medical Health practitioners (Perkins 1993). Conclusion With the advent of post-industrial age marked by the ubiquitous appearance and usages of television and the computer, supposedly a reliable indicator, most Americans should be healthy and wealthy. Being so, it could be enough to affect longevity positively, primarily through lifestyle choices, rather than lack of food or shelter and diseases (Lustig 1996). However, Studies revealed that even the introduction of Medicare in the United States, bringing the poor substantially at par with the rich in terms of health care and medical services did not eliminate or even markedly reduced the large differential mortality. In contrast, life expectancy in Japan is far above all the rest of the countries in the world. The life expectancy for males is 78 years while the life expectancy for females is 85 years, in spite of half the level of spending for healthcare than that of the United States of America amounting to around $2,000 per person, 7. 4 percent of GDP (Powell 1990). The technology used in the Japanese health care system is similar to that used in the United States of America, but, the flow of funds, the quantity and intensity of use is considerably different (Powell 1990). In Japan, all citizens are free to choose any physician and hospital. Physicians may be General Private Practitioner providing primary and secondary care, while Specialist works in hospitals. Hospitals may be large and public university hospitals with medical school, research facilities, and outpatient department for primary care while small time private practitioners have small facilities and less sophisticated treatments (Powell 1990). Knowing that tuberculosis is transmitted via airborne droplets produced by the infected organism during coughing, sneezing, even singing and prolonged direct contact with infected individuals, preventions and precautions are better than an ounce of medicine after infection. Reference Burton, G. and Engelkirk, P. (2004). Microbiology for Health Sciences. USA: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lustig, M. and Koester, J. (1996). Intercultural Competence. 6th ed. USA: HarperCollins. Powell, M. and Anesaki, M. (1990). Health Care in Japan. New York: Routledge. Duffy, John. (1953). Epidemics in Colonial America. Perkins, James E. (1952). You and Tuberculosis.

Barclays Bank Total Quality Management (TQM)

Barclays Bank Total Quality Management (TQM) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Banks believe that they are in the finance industry, and not in the service industry. Thus they tend to compete in terms of financial prowess rather than service quality. People, resources, time, and systems are devoted more to managing assets and cash rather than managing customers and service. In fact most bank systems are designed to control customers rather than satisfy customers. Products and procedures are set up for the convenience of the bank rather than that of the customer. Banks usually give customer service and satisfaction very low priority. (Rene T. Domingo) The lifeblood of any business is its customers. Customers decide sales based on their perception of product and service quality. Therefore, quality determines profits, and customers alone define and determine what that quality is and should be. Introduction This study will limit itself to the assessment of operations department at Barclays Bank PLC. Information provided is strictly confidential and for the only purpose of this study. 1.0 Introducing Barclays Bank PLC ‘Our strategy is to increase the growth potential of Barclays by continuing to diversify our business by customer, product and geography. John Varley, Group Chief Executive, Barclays Group With over three hundred years of history and know-how in banking, Barclays operates in more than sixty countries and employs one hundred and thirty five thousand people. Barclays progresses, lends, invests and protects the money of over thirty million customers around the world. Barclays Bank Plc, Mauritius with its ninety years of presence in the country, has built itself a very solid reputation. As a branch of Barclays Plc (UK) operating in Mauritius, the bank caters for the domestic and international divisions of the financial sectors. As a fast growing multi-national bank with approximately one thousand two hundred employees, Barclays Bank, Mauritius offer a wide range of services for individual as well as corporate customers. Barclays Mauritius has reported outstanding results for the Year 2010 with a profit after tax increasing by 119% to reach Mur 2.38bn. This includes a one-off gain of Rs 1.33bn from the sale of the custody business to Standard Chartered Bank. As a result, income has increased by 33 % with Mur 4.8bn. The Operation Strategy 1.1 The Operation Strategy in Mauritius The operations area is the driving engine of the bank with a headcount of 450 employees split into the Consumer and Commercial Operations. These two streams will have greater and clearer focus to the business functions to which they provide support. The operations function is headed by the Chief Operating Officer assisted by managers and team leaders from each section. The Operation Function chart 1.2 Purpose of the Project Barclays Bank Plc have to maintain image, reputation, and credibility in order to do their job as custodians of other peoples money. But over the years, the complex systems and bureaucracy were set up and added in the name of control while sacrificing and neglecting customer service in the process. The management is concerned with profitability, growth and resource generation. But only a few inspectors are responsible for checking product quality. If one looks at the concept of Quality and its progress over the years carefully, it is evident that Quality has always been an important element for the success of any organization. pay much attention to the plight of their clients before, during, and after sales. The bank is considering implementing a quality system that conforms to ISO standards. Total Quality Management (TQM), which is about total customer service and continuous customer satisfaction, is applicable not only in the manufacturing industry but in the service sector as well, where the customer is just as important. In fact, customers in the service industry are more sensitive to service quality and service delivery than in manufacturing because they are always in contact with front-line service personnel. Starting a total quality management (TQM) programme will upgrade and improve professional skills of the employees and the proposed programmes will also emphasise the need of excellence in all spheres of management. For design, development and implementation of a QMS, the ISO 9000 approach is completely compatible with the total quality philosophy. ISO system is about standardizing the approach organizations everywhere take in managing and improving the processes that ultimately result in producing better quality products and services. The quality management system is often implemented all at once throughout the organization. Where phased implementation takes place, the effectiveness of the system in selected areas can be evaluated. It would be a good idea initially to evaluate areas where the chances of a positive evaluation are high, to maintain the confidence of both management and staff in the merits of implementing the quality management system. According to initial plans, the proposed training programme will have two stages. The first phase will be implemented in the Commercial operations department. In the next phase, TQM will be applied across all departments across the bank. The process for implementation of a quality management system depends on the size of the organization and complexity of the actual process. Lets have a look at these in our next chapter. Current Situation 2.1 Literature review Supplier quality management is an important aspect of TQM since materials and purchased parts are often a major source of quality problems (Zhang et al., 2000). Many authors advocate that companies must establish supply chain partnerships to motivate suppliers to provide materials needed to meet customer expectations (Harrison et al., 1996; Kumar, 1996; Lambert et al., 1996; Clifton, 2001; Jabnoun, 2000; Thakur, 2002). The quality gurus believe that supplier should be  viewed as an integral part of the organizations business operations (Ishikawa, 1985; Deming,  1986; Crosby, 1989). 2.2 Definitions of Quality Total Quality Management (TQM) is defined as a quality-centered, customer-focused, fact-based, team-driven, senior-management-led process to achieve an organizations strategic imperative through continuous process improvement. The Oxford American dictionary defines Quality as â€Å"A degree or level of excellence†. Feigenbaum, 1983, defines quality as: â€Å"Quality is defined as being about value†. According to Juran, 1989, â€Å"Quality is fitness for use†. The word total in TQM means that everyone in the organization must be involved in the continuous improvement effort, the word quality shows a concern for customer satisfaction, and the word management refers to the people and processes needed to achieve the quality. 2.3 Tools and techniques to depict current situation All departments within the Commercial Operation Functions are linked to each other with the same aim to meet business strategies. However there are no clear interactions and synergies present between them which will make all department functions effectively. The service level between each department is low as there is great competition to perform better than the other. 2.3.1 Flow Chart Figure 3 below, depicts the current situation in the Commercial Operation department. List of tasks to be performed by: 1) Operators: record all incoming and outgoing instructions Operators may liaise with external customer by face to face telephone, emails or signed fax, Nature of instructions/queries by telephone statements, transfers, debit or credit advises, swift copies, queries on cheques/interest/charges acknowledgement of instruction form client either by fax/mail/diskette for salary transfers/or original documents being submitted personally by client Nature of instructions by fax/mail new account opening, change in authorized signatories, transfers, payments of bills or import loans, salaries, request of statement/advices/swift copies, complaints/, of letters of credit/bills/import loan accounts, access to internet banking, Liaise with internal customers like the Consumer Operations department in order to respond to clients queries 2) Team leader: verifies/sample checks whether all incoming and outgoing instructions are logged properly after instructions signed by relationship managers send all instructions to be processed to concerned department Does sample checks whether operators performing jobs as required 3) Line manager: liaises with other departments to help improve quality of service/ attend queries/complaints when same are of high priority and if involves loss to the bank No wonder staffs do not pay attention to customer service since it does not affect their performance evaluation. Most banks do not have a system to handle errors or customer complaints. Few banks realizes that if they continuously cut all processing times, it becomes a WIN-WIN situation customers are happier, and the banks make more money. 2.3.2 The current work flow process is being described in below chart: Our main concern is that the quality of service has decreased to such an extent that we are not able to retain the existing customers. We have to accept that all banks are able to provide the same products but what differentiates one bank from another is its quality of service. Our ultimate goal is providing customer satisfaction. 2.3.3 Ishikawa (Fishbone) Diagram The Fishbone/cause and effect diagram is an analysis tool to display possible causes of a specific problem. Its major benefits is that it pushes you to consider all possible causes of the problem in a structured and uncomplicated manner. Using Ishikawa (Fishbone) diagram, we will be able to identify the reasons why customer service has declined and as such identify remedies. It also helps in indicating how much we know about the process. Poor technology compared To other banks Internal environment (stress, high processing time)Poor communication) Ignorance of staff External On how to make full Environment (highly Utilization of existingvolatile and risky laws and risky technologyindustry, law and legislation) Currently nobody opinion is Bureaucracy 2.4 Implementation of a Quality System There are several approaches that can be used to implement a quality system, like Juran 10 Points for Quality improvement, Crosbys 14 Steps for Quality Improvement, and many others. However for this study, we are going to implement W.E Demings 14 Points for quality improvement. W.E Deming is one of the most famous gurus in quality implementation. He is generally credited with the post-war introduction of quality concepts in Japan. According to Deming : â€Å"The consumer is the most important part of the production line. Quality should be aimed at the needs of the consumer, present and future†. According to Deming, adoption and implementation of his 14 points would be a a sign that management intends to stay in business and aims to protect investors and jobs. Below are the 14 points of W.E Deming and how their application would increase quality and customer satisfaction: 1) Create constancy of Purpose for continual improvement of product and service Management should accept this as number one priority. Resources have to be allocated for long term planning rather than short-term profits. Investment in quality and innovation will ensure existence and competitiveness of the company. Top management should motivate employees and communicate clear policies. For the purpose of this study, implementation of point one will help to remove stress and hence providing a friendly environment to work with. Commitment form top management to invest in innovation and allocate resources for long run will ensure the people (employees and external customers) that the organization is planning to remain in business for the very long run. Innovation will help the bank increase its technology or product/service quality that will help it gain competitive edge over its competitors. This will also help to decrease the gap in technology with other banks. 2) Learn and Adopt the new Philosophy. A change is necessary in the old management methods. Organisations need to understand that higher quality cost less. However change cannot happen overnight. There should be a constant movement towards the new philosophy. First we have to analyse the existing system (as described in figure 2 chart 1 above) and the damaged caused by the current system should be appreciated by everybody (cause and effect diagram). Managers have to admit that they should be more present in day to day business, rather than just delegation work on the operation side. The organization should concentrate on defect prevention rather than defect detection. One dissatisfied customer is equivalent to a lost customer. Defect prevention will help improve process, quality and productivity as each instruction/document returned causes a delay and decrease quality. Top management should make each and every staff aware the benefits the organisation expects to realize through quality management system. The above flowchart (chart 1) can also be called a value chain, and if everybody in the value chain looks for defects, the flow towards the documents/instructions processing will be smooth, quick and the end result will surely meet or even exceed customers needs. 3) Understand the purpose of inspection. Management should understand that the purpose of inspection is to improve the process and reduce cost. Mass inspection is managing for failure whereas defect prevention is managing foe success. Defect prevention decreases long run costs, results in high quality products and minimizes the need for after sales service. For this statistical evidence is required. Team leader should take note about the number of failures with respect to any documents and the reasons why. With proper recognition by staff about building quality in the service or product, the number of failures should decrease and this will also lead to a decrease in number of controls and procedures over time. Use of checklist as a tool of quality control will help management to observe the common defects and how many times they occurred. By checking this on a weekly basis, management would know whether they are decreasing and what is the biggest problem. Checklist Defect type Number of defects Total Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Fraudulent instructions 0, 0, 0 ,0,0 0 Instructions not processed 5, 6, 7, 8, 4 30 Instructions received early but process late 4 , 3, 2, 2, 1 12 Unattended complaints 10, 5, 6, 7, 9 37 Unattended queries 9, 4, 7, 9, 8 37 E.g. Management needs to make staff understand that controls are not punitive measures, but to minimize risk that pose a threat to business. 4) Stop awarding business based on low price alone. Purchasing managers should look at quality form suppliers before making any purchase. There are huge savings that can occur over the long run by purchasing quality products. As Walter Shewhart says: â€Å" Price has no meaning unless a measure of quality is purchased at the same time†. Deming advice is to choose a single supplier for each item on the basis of statistical evidence from the suppliers process feedback loop. This point refers to the technological problem in our study. The appropriate technology that matches the organisation context should have been build in-house rather than sub-contracting or buying the package from outside. This would have helped to meet the needs of the employees better and hence providing and producing quality products. Also building the technology in-house would have required employees from all department collaboration and hence almost each and every staff would have been aware of the technologies and staff would have a sense of belonging to the organization. 5) Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service. Management should take more responsibility for problems by finding and correcting them in order to decrease costs and increase quality and productivity. The focus is again on prevention rather than detection. The process of quality improvement should never stop and it should always be geared towards customers absolute satisfaction. Note that there is always variability around every target and this is why there is always a room for further improvement. Constant improvement will lead to a reduction in customers complaints. Improving quality of service will lead to increase in communication and employees opinions taken into consideration. 6) Institute training on the job. A continuous program of on the job training should be instituted and this should include managers. Investment in proper training of all new employees will ensure that the new comers will know exactly what is expecting from them. Training will help detect variation, use of statistical techniques and helps to keep up with new developments. For our purpose, training will help employees to equip with a better understanding of the job and its requirements. The worker is not just getting satisfaction but also getting an incentive to improve. Proper training will help managers address complaints themselves, help in defining roles and responsibilities and help in the integration between old workers and the new generation. 7) Adopt and institute modern methods of leadership. Management should not create a negative and fault finding environment. They should create a positive and supportive environment where workers job are recognized. For this there should be clear communications at all level. Management should ensure that immediate action is taken whenever defects are identified which compromises quality. Modern leaders should ensure that quality, productivity and performance are continually improved. Difference between old and new school of thoughts should be taken as an advantage. According to Deming, todays leaders should: Lead and motivate by example rather than fear, Teach and counsel rather than judge and supervise. Use mistakes to learn rather than to blame Understand the difference between random and special variation. Management should differentiate between variations due to outside factors (special causes) and random variation (causes are due to the process itself). Size Size Statistical Controlh Out of statistical control Promote team work and mutual trust Provide innovative methods to accomplish the improvement. 8) Drive out fear and create trust and a climate for innovation Management should encourage effective communication and teamwork. Fear is caused by lack of job security, performance appraisals, ignorance of organization goals, and not knowing the job. Fear can be eliminated through proper communication, clear definition of goals and objectives, training and supervision. Once fear eliminated, innovative ideas will crop up. Deming believes that fear makes the implementation of most of his other management points impossible. Elimination fear in the department, will lead to a less stressful environment, positive attitude towards work, opinions being voiced out, decrease the clash between old and new school of thoughts and hence leading to better quality service. Performance appraisal leads to competition, competition leads to jealousy and jealousy leads to fear. Removal of performance appraisal will lead to cooperation. 9) Break down barriers between departments and individuals. Barriers exist among levels of management, among departments and within department. It exists because of poor communication and ignorance of organizational goals. Eliminating barriers, communication channels opened and teamwork organized, competition within the company has to be replaced with cooperation. Note that point (8) and point (9) are allied and go hand in hand. By breaking down barriers, employees from different departments can meet and interact to find quality solutions. 10) Eliminate the use of slogans, Posters and exhortations for the workforce. Exhortations that ask for increased productivity without providing specific improvement methods can handicap an organization. They just express managements desires. According to Deming, people should be given the means to work smarter, not harder. This is quite common in large organizations like Barclays Bank Plc. Due to its large number of employees, management goals are communicated through emails and this is interpreted differently at different levels of the organisation. A more face to face interaction is required so that management policies are understood, friendly environment is created, proper channel of communication developed and employees have a sense of belonging to the organization goals. 11) Eliminate numerical quotas for the work force. Quotas focus on quantity rather than quality. Quotas should be replaced with statistical methods of process control. Instead of management by objective, management should learn the capabilities of the process and how to improve them. Management should stop focussing on figures and start looking at customer satisfaction. Relevant statistical data should be analysed in line with current procedures and system. We have to take into consideration that Mauritius is a small country and it is quite impossible to look for new business every year. The only way to increase sales in through competition among banks. This leads to clients advantage. Same products are offered in all banks but the only difference is the quality of service. Only by improving process and service quality will the bank remain in business for the long run. 12) Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Ignorance of organisational goals, punitive supervision and adequate training leads to loss of pride. According to Deming, the two serious mental obstacles which prevent pride in workmanship are performance appraisal and management by objective. These two obstacle leads to internal competition and hence barriers in communication, reduces risk taking and hence decrease in innovative ideas, variability in performance leading to jealousy and fear and focuses on short term results which may prevent the organization from attaining its long term goals. Deming strongly recommends the abolition of annual merit rating because of above reasons. Performance appraisal can be replaced bay a proper leadership and communication and by a proper counselling and development procedure. This will lead to job security, teamwork, friendly environment and all employees will have a sense of belonging to the organization. 13) Encourage Education and self improvement for everyone. An organization requires people who are improving with education. Things change fast. Managers should be aware of this and be appropriately trained. Here we are referring to continual re-education and self-improvement for everyone which is quite similar with point (6). The common truth between both points is that without training there is no guarantee for innovation. Re-training leads to investment in the most important asset of the company its people. This leads to job security, increased motivation and less brain drain. 14) Take action to ensure top management permanent commitment to accomplish the transformation. The top management should demonstrate a commitment and a determination to implement a quality management system in the organization. Without top management commitment, no quality initiative can succeed. The top management should provide evidence of its commitment for e.g. by defining the organizations quality policy and make this known to every employee, ensuring that quality objectives are established at all levels and functions and ensuring the availability of resources required for the development. Management has to accept the primarily responsibility for the never ending improvement of the process. A cultural change is required. All employees should understand and be committed to the new philosophy. Deming advocates† Quality is made in the Board Room†¦.[however]†¦ limitations on quality are also made in the board Room†. 2.5 Obstacles to implementation According to Deming, there are 7 Deadly Diseases that management will face while implementing the above. Lets analyse the 7 diseases (the first seven ones below) as advocated by Deming and others that apply particularly to our case. 1. Lack of constancy of purpose. As long as the focus in on short term thinking, management will fail to plan adequately. This follows from his last point. Constancy will decrease cost, assist innovation, make employees feel secure, they know about the vision of the organisation. 2. Emphasis on short-term profits. This defeats constancy of purpose. Its easy to show short term profits by cutting expenses on training, maintenance and other long term plans. Short term profits is due to fear of takeovers, but if long term strategy/planning is forgone, surely in the long run the company will be more prone to takeovers. 3. Evaluation by performance, merit rating, or annual review of performance. All this should be stopped. The main reasons are because they create competition, fear, they are subjective, concentrate on short term profit. 4. Mobility of management/Job hopping This causes instability and destroys teamwork. 5. Running a company on visible figures alone. Figures can be manipulated. The only figures to be used are those that which represent properly selected statistical data. 6. Excessive medical costs. For our study, this can be related to additional benefits provided by the organisation to its staff. 7. Excessive costs of warranty, fuelled by lawyers who work for contingency fees. 8. Inability of management to use statistical techniques to improve productions. 9. Training once completed is not put into practice. 10. Inability to change the organisational culture and lack of planning. These are long term objectives and if management would like these to happen in the short term, then there will be complete chaos in the organisation. 11. Lack of continuous training and education. 12. Fear of change. For the TQM to succeed, we need to have a careful analysis of its failures/obstacles. But most importantly, management should educate all staff about the reasons for adapting TQM. TQM will not take place until all employees understand and are committed for its implementation Implementation In this chapter, we will have a look about the benefits TQM will have on the department and also how TQM will help in overcoming the obstacles mentioned in the previous chapter. Lets have a look at the direct benefits the department will achieve: Increased effectiveness in the use of the organizations resources to enhance customer satisfaction and improved reliability of its processes through shorter cycles time. This means that processes will be simpler, more reliable and the amount of defects will decrease. Tailor made services can be produced. Improved quality of products and services, leading to reduce in customer rejection of products/services because of poor quality. Results are more predictable. This will lead greater employee and customer satisfaction, hence higher sales and profits. Improved organizational performance and competitiveness. This will be a long term goal for the organization, whereby the organization will have a competitive edge over its competitors. Improve customer loyalty leading to repeat business. It is commonly acknowledged that a satisfied customer tells about four friends, but an unhappy customer tells about thirty people. Customer loyalty will help increase the organization reputation. Reduce or eliminate repetition of work. Responsibilities and accountabilities are clearly defined. This will decrease cost, increase efficiency and make staff performing value added jobs. Reduce management time spent on â€Å"putting out fires†. This is due that there are good controls and everybody is committed in producing quality services/products. This gives management time to focus on improving conditions of work of the staffs. Improve productivity by â€Å"doing it right the first time†. This will decrease cost of re-work, scrap and inspection. Preserve Existing Revenue and increase in revenue. Preserve revenue due to customer loyalty and having an account management team and increase in revenue due to quality products and services and having a sale management team. Staff will be motivated and will work towards the organization objectives. Workforce will be proactive and prevention oriented. Miscommunication between organizations will be minimized leading to cooperation. Establishment of trust and elimination of fear. By providing staff with the appropriate training, this will lead to greater responsibility, and this will inspire, motivate and encourage them to work smarter. This lead to creativity and innovation. Staff will be eager to participate, understand the importance of their role, identify their own constraints, accept ownership of their problems and free sharing of knowledge and experience. Use of statistical techniques will make more data available for analysis and hence leading to improvement. Also this will facilitate decision making (as the structure is well defined) and decisions are made in accordance with staff. Pay much attention to the plight of clients before, during, and after sales. Assesing root cause of complaints will help improve service in the future. Complaints and problems should be looked as an opportunity to enhance quality service and look at the root cause of problems. Other benefits that will accrue to the organization are: Wider customer acceptance of products and services (New customers require ISO compliance) Consumers are confident that they are dealing with an organisatiopn where fair treatment is central to the corporate culture Increased revenue and market share obtained through flexible and fast responses to market opportunities. Internationa

Banking :: essays research papers fc

Banking So Much for That Plan "More than 70% of commercial bank assets are held by organizations that are supervised by at least two federal agencies; almost half attract the attention of three or four. Banks devote on average about 14% of their non-interest expense to complying with rules" (Anonymous 88). A fool can see that government waste has struck again. This tangled mess of regulation, among other things, increases costs and diffuses accountability for policy actions gone awry. The most effective remedy to correct this problem would be to consolidate most of the supervisory responsibilities of the regulatory agencies into one agency. This would reduce costs to both the government and the banks, and would allow the parts of the agencies not consolidated to concentrate on their primary tasks. One such plan was introduced by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in March of 1994. The plan called for folding, into a new independent federal agency (called the Banking Commission), the regulatory portions of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). This plan would save the government $150 to $200 million a year. This would also allow the FDIC to concentrate on deposit insurance and the Fed to concentrate on monetary policy (Anonymous 88). Of course this is Washington, not The Land of Oz, so everyone can't be satisfied with this plan. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and FDIC Chairman Ricki R. Tigert have been vocal opponents of the plan. Greenspan has four major complaints about the plan. First, divorced from the banks, the Fed would find it harder to forestall and deal with financial crises. Second, monetary policy would suffer because the Fed would have less access to review the banks. Thirdly, a supervisor with no macroeconomic concerns might be too inclined to discourage banks from taking risks, slowing the economy down. Lastly, creating a single regulator would do away with important checks and balances, in the process damaging state bank regulation (Anonymous 88). To answer these criticisms it is necessary to make clear what the Fed's job is. The Fed has three main responsibilities: to ensure financial stability, to implement monetary policy, and to oversee a smoothly functioning payments system (delivering checks and transferring funds) (Syron 3). The responsibilities of the Fed are linked to the banking system. Banking :: essays research papers fc Banking So Much for That Plan "More than 70% of commercial bank assets are held by organizations that are supervised by at least two federal agencies; almost half attract the attention of three or four. Banks devote on average about 14% of their non-interest expense to complying with rules" (Anonymous 88). A fool can see that government waste has struck again. This tangled mess of regulation, among other things, increases costs and diffuses accountability for policy actions gone awry. The most effective remedy to correct this problem would be to consolidate most of the supervisory responsibilities of the regulatory agencies into one agency. This would reduce costs to both the government and the banks, and would allow the parts of the agencies not consolidated to concentrate on their primary tasks. One such plan was introduced by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in March of 1994. The plan called for folding, into a new independent federal agency (called the Banking Commission), the regulatory portions of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). This plan would save the government $150 to $200 million a year. This would also allow the FDIC to concentrate on deposit insurance and the Fed to concentrate on monetary policy (Anonymous 88). Of course this is Washington, not The Land of Oz, so everyone can't be satisfied with this plan. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and FDIC Chairman Ricki R. Tigert have been vocal opponents of the plan. Greenspan has four major complaints about the plan. First, divorced from the banks, the Fed would find it harder to forestall and deal with financial crises. Second, monetary policy would suffer because the Fed would have less access to review the banks. Thirdly, a supervisor with no macroeconomic concerns might be too inclined to discourage banks from taking risks, slowing the economy down. Lastly, creating a single regulator would do away with important checks and balances, in the process damaging state bank regulation (Anonymous 88). To answer these criticisms it is necessary to make clear what the Fed's job is. The Fed has three main responsibilities: to ensure financial stability, to implement monetary policy, and to oversee a smoothly functioning payments system (delivering checks and transferring funds) (Syron 3). The responsibilities of the Fed are linked to the banking system.

Essay --

Many people get deported each year, this situation can be prevented, but many do not have money for an attorney or do not simply know their rights. Many Mexicans cross the border of the United States for the American Dream. There are more than 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S (Huffington post, 2012). This issue has been escalating for years. There are many opponents to illegal immigration. Many people believe that those that break the law by crossing the border illegally or those who overstay their visas should be immediately deported and not have the right to become a U.S citizen. One major contribution to the growth of the agricultural economy was the creation of the Bracero Program (Carlos Marentes and Cynthia P. Marentes, 1999). A historical example is that on August 4, 1942, the U.S. and the Mexican government united to make the Bracero program (Carlos Marentes and Cynthia P. Marentes, 1999). Many had abandoned their home and headed to the U.S to work as Braceros. More than 4 million Mexican farm laborers came to work in the fields (Carlos Marentes and Cynthia P. Marentes, 1999). The Mexican migrant workers have been the foundation for the development of the rich American agricultural industry (Carlos Marentes and Cynthia P. Marentes, 1999). Many farm laborers arrived to the U.S as hard working and extremely skilled. The majority of the workers had a high experience in the field labor, because many came from agricultural regions of Mà ©xico. The majority of the men stopped harvesting their lands and growing food for their families, because they had an illusion that they would be able to earn a high amount of money in the U.S. â€Å"The Bracero contracts were controlled by independent farmers associations and the Far... ...ob, risk their life, and who work for over more than 10 hours a day. Many Americans believe that they should stay in their homeland and have their own government deal with the situation that Mexico’s citizens are in need of jobs and money. The sad truth is that their government does not care. America is known for the land of opportunities. Those who cross over to the United States come here for a reason. Not to only find a better job, but to also lead their children to the college path. To have their children obtain an education, in which many cases most Latinos cannot get an education when working is their only option, it is something that in Mexico is hard to achieve. The government of the United States should stop promoting harmful media to make Americans believe Latinos are bad people. When in reality they are in this country to work hard, just as any American.

Wireless Communication :: essays research papers

The radio is a wireless form of communication which is transmitted through sounds or signals by electromagnetic waves directly through space to a receiving set. Some types of radio communications are HAM radios, CB (Citizen Band) radios, Cell Phones, Radio Scanners and Walkie-talkies. Radio communications are widely used in the United States and majority of it is used by law enforcement and emergency services. Police/Sheriff, Fire-Rescue, Highway Patrol, Ambulance and EMS are some of the agencies that use radio communications. There are many factors that contribute to radio failure. These factors could delay law enforcement and emergency services getting to a distress call immediately. Some of these factors are; lack of maintenance on a radio communication system, causing it to crash. This happened at the Palmdale Air Traffic Control Center, when a technician failed to perform required maintenance. This caused the communication system even the back up system to shut down for more then three hours. Radio Failure also occurred during the September 11 attacks, where the radio system used by city firefighters failed. These radios should have been replaced two years earlier, but the new radios never worked properly. Radio problems also occurred during the Cedar Fires in Southern California. When firefighters went face to face with the most destructive wildfire in California history, their most reliable method for communicating with each other may have been shouting. Mismatched radio systems left U.S. Forest Service crews unable to talk to their counterparts in other fire agencies. Some firefighters resorted to palm-size Family Radio Service devices that sell for as little as $25 apiece after the failure of their regular radios, which cost thousands of dollars each. At times, supervisors had to leave their crews in trucks parked in the field and drive back to their base camp to get instructions because they couldn't reach anyone by radio. The radio failure and communications failure in these cases caused a lot of lives to be lost and damages and delays. HAM radios are a great way of communication when normal communication is down, this way of communicating could have been used in during the Cedar Fires. The National Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is an organization that uses the HAM Radios. They provide local and long distance communications services in local, regional, national and international emergencies. When normal communication systems are overloaded, damaged, or disrupted because a disaster has occurred, or is likely to occur, an amateur station may make transmissions necessary to meet essential communication needs and facilitate relief actions.

Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet

?This short story, by Nadine Gordimer, overall, speaks on the deep-seethed racial tension that influenced the individuals in this story. In essence it is about a presumably white woman being mugged by an equally presumable black male (Gordimer is from South Africa and frequently wrote about racial tension). The tension in this story is so saturating that it even manages to conquer the language, imagery, and actions of the two people involved. The first paragraph reads, â€Å"It was a cool grey morning and the air was like smoke.In that reversal of the elements that sometimes takes place, the grey, soft, muffled sky moved like the sea on a silent day. † In the very first sentence it is established that there is a smoggy, perhaps suffocating quality in the air. Smoke is a hazardous, cancer causing gas that is also an agent of concealment; these attributes can also apply to the effects of apartheid. Like cancer, racial tension spread rampantly through South Africa and concealed a person’s character by his skin color. Even in the morning the â€Å"air was like smoke† as if to almost say, no matter how early you wake up racial tension is prevalent.In the very next sentence, it is stated that a reversal of elements has taken place which foreshadows a reversal of sorts in the later part of the story in which the woman becomes a victim. As she walks by the man her concentration is directed towards the scent of pine needles that were formerly held in her hand. A thudding is heard and the man appears unexpectedly panting in her face. This sequence of events inspires another theme in the story—fear. A fear of the unknown is evident early in the story, if only subtly, and evolves into an overwhelming sense of dread.As the woman first notices the red-capped figure in the distance, she inexplicably switches her â€Å"bag and parcel from one arm to the other†. This is a common defense mechanism for women fearing a mugging from a perceived so urce or to simply add a sense of security. Later, as she nears the figure on the path, she grabs â€Å"a little sheath of pine needles†¦and as she walked she ran them against her thumb. † An innocuous action that seems to hold her attention until the visage of the man steals it away.After passing the now weary, raggedy man, she realizes that the pine needles were no longer in her hand (she doesn’t know when this happened which would lead to the conclusion that she was transfixed on the man when the needles were dropped). The woman then decides to sniff her hand in order to remember what the needles smelled like in order to compare them to a similar scent from her childhood. The pine needles, which leave a residue on her fingers, leaves the woman with a need to wash them for, â€Å"Unless her hands were quite clean, she could not lose consciousness of them, they obtruded upon her.†By being keen on washing her hands, she would no longer be wary of the figure in which she passed and therefore relinquish her caution. This sets up the next scene as just when the woman decides to let her mind linger on her hands, the man makes his move. â€Å"†¦and then he was there in front of her, so startling, so utterly unexpected, panting right into her face. He stood dead still and she stood dead still. Every vestige of control, of sense, of thought, went out of her as a room plunges into dark at the failure of power and she found herself whimpering like an idiot or a child. Animal sounds came out of her throat.She gibbered. For a moment it was Fear itself that had her by the arms, the legs, the throat; not fear of the man, of any single menace he might present, but Fear, absolute, abstract. If the earth had opened up in fire at her feet, if a wild beast had opened its terrible mouth to receive her, she could not have been reduced to less than she was now. † It is expressly stated that she did not fear the man, so why does Fear present its elf only when he bounds to her? Such terror is realized when preconceived notions of class barriers are shattered unexpectedly and what’s to come next remains a mystery.The language changes to reflect the horror that the woman experiences in this moment. She does not simply stand still but dead still, a simile is used to express the fleeting feelings of control, and animal (inhuman) sounds are produced from her throat. Fear also becomes personified by being made a proper noun and entangling her in its grip. Throughout the story the man is made to seem opposite of the woman. As the woman in the story is traveling along a path, she spots a figure (a â€Å"native†) with a red cap.Upon reaching the man, by following the path, it is expressed that his trouser leg is torn off, revealing â€Å"the peculiarly dead, powdery black of cold† (the effects of the weather on his cracked skin); his eyes are also red and he smells of sweat. When the confrontation occurs, his dep iction of something different from her becomes more pronounced. His foot is stated to be â€Å"†¦cracked from exposure until it looked like broken wood†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , his face is sullen, voice is deep and hoarse, and he has a pink injury on his skin. Such a distinct contrast with the woman is made to emphasize the cause of the tension.After the woman escapes, she desperately runs from the scene in order to get back on the road. The language that follows gives a sense of one escaping a foreign world, â€Å"And she was out. She was on the road†¦. She could hear a faint hum, as of life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her once encompassing fear has now eased slightly and the cause seems to be her flight from the velds and brush. The setting of where the â€Å"native† resided and where the woman wants to go are also contrasts that make-up the difference between the two and only add to the foreignness of the encounter.The last two paragraphs of the story are most interesting in that afte r the tussle, the woman decides, after some deliberation, that she would not tell anyone of what just happened. â€Å"Why did I fight, she thought suddenly. What did I fight for? Why didn't I give him the money and let him go? † Perhaps she felt pity for the man? He was obviously poor and tired with severe exposure to the elements â€Å"His red eyes, and the smell and those cracks in his feet, fissures, erosion.†Perhaps her story would appear shady to the people she told, â€Å"She thought of the woman coming to the door, of the explanations, of the woman’s face, and the police. † It is evident from her previous behavior that a mugging was in the realm of possibility, and from the man’s appearance it was also evident that such an action was not beneath him. The woman doesn't tell anyone of her encounter because of the social difference between the two. At the end of the day, the woman can most likely replenish her lost items but, from the descripti on of the man, his survival could have been at stake if he didn't acquire assets or funds.The is described walking down the road, â€Å"like an invalid†, because she was robbed and such an occurrence leaves a hollow feeling but she realizes that she must move on, signified by her picking the â€Å"blackjacks from her stockings. † â€Å"Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet? † is a unique title, firstly in its use of ‘nowhere’ instead of ‘anywhere’ and secondly, that the meeting between the two characters in the story is an undesirable one because of the racial tension in South Africa. Had these two people met in a different country things might have been different.