Definitions And Functions Of Micro Finance Economics Essay

Microfinance is viewed to be a remedy against poorness in the universe. In each state and part holding diverse demographics, microfinance is being utilized to battle poorness. It is a quite recent construct in banking and fiscal sectors. Microfinance is to assign really little loans to hapless people with the purpose of helping them to get down their ain endeavors so as they can come out of poorness. That is microfinance is non a manus out, alternatively it is a manus up that permit the hapless, largely adult females, to achieve uninterrupted fiscal victory. The Journal of Microfinance describes it as what â€Å" is arguably the most advanced scheme to turn to the jobs of planetary poorness † ( Woodworth and Woller, 1999 ) . The General Secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, stated in 2002 that microcredit is a critical anti-poverty tool and a wise investing in human capital ( Annan, 2002 ) . â€Å" Microfinance has evolved as an economic development attack intended to profit low-income adult females and work forces. It refers to the proviso of fiscal services to low – income clients, including the ego employed † ( Ledgerwood, 2000 ) . Microfinance is defined as formal strategy designed to better the well being of hapless through better entree to salvaging and services loans ( Schreiner, 2000 ) . The word â€Å" microcredit † was non existing before the 1970ss. But now it has turn out to be a buzz-word among the development practicians. It is usually characterized as doing little loans available straight to small-scale enterprisers to enable them either to set up or to spread out micro-enterprises and little concerns. Microcredit is usually applied to aim groups that would otherwise non measure up for loans from formal establishments. This includes the bulk of those populating below the poorness line ( Commonwealth Secretariat, 2001 ) . Microcredit differs from microfinance in that microcredit refers to really little loans for uncompensated borrowers with small or no collateral, provided by lawfully registered establishments. Currently, consumer recognition provided to salaried workers based on automated recognition marking is normally non included in the definition of microcredit, although this may alter. Whereas Microfinance typically refers to microcredit, nest eggs, insurance, money transportations, and other fiscal merchandises targeted at hapless and low-income people. Microfinance is a extremely common manner of loaning as batch of people require to borrow money quickly and in small sum. In the instance of macro loans, Bankss enquire about the individual ‘s recognition history and people have to go through through tonss of processs before the blessing of the loan sum.CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROFINANCEHarmonizing to ( Murray, U and Boros, R, 2002 ) , there are many activities and features are included in microfinance. Some are: Small sums of loans and nest eggs. Short- footings loan ( normally up to the term of one twelvemonth ) . Payment agendas attribute frequent installments ( or patronize sedimentations ) . Installments made up of both chief and involvement, which is amortized over the class of clip. Higher involvement rates on recognition ( higher than commercial bank rates but lower than loan-shark rates ) , which reflect the labour-intensive work associated with doing little loans and leting the microfinance mediator to go sustainable over clip. Easy entryway to the microfinance intermediary saves the clip and money of the client and permits the intermediary to hold a better thought about the clients ‘ fiscal and societal position. Application processs are simple. Short processing periods ( between the completion of the application and the expenses of the loan ) . The clients who pay on clip become eligible for repetition loans with higher sums. The usage of tapering involvement rates ( diminishing involvement rates over several loan rhythms ) as an inducement to refund on clip. Larger loans are less dearly-won to the MFI, so some loaners provide big size loans on comparatively lower rates. No collateral is required contrary to formal banking patterns. Alternatively of collateral, microfinance mediators use alternate methods, such as the appraisals of clients ‘ refund potency by running hard currency flow analyses, which is based on the watercourse of hard currency flows, generated by the activities for which loans are taken.MICROFINANCE CLIENTS?Microfinance is established as an efficient manner to eliminate poorness by offering fiscal services to those hapless people who can non make or are ignored by Bankss and fiscal establishments.HOW DOES IT WORK?Poor people have necessary accomplishments and cognition to get down their ain endeavor, the lone thing is that they do non hold resources ( particularly finance ) to make so. Thus microcredit helps them to carry through their vision by supplying them with micro loans. Harmonizing to Ahmad ( 2000 ) , it is acknowledged that people populating in poorness are innately capable of working their manner out of poorness wit h self-respect, and can demo originative potencies to better their state of affairs when an enabling environment and the right chance exists. It has been noticed that in many states of the universe, micro-credit programmes, give entree to little capitals to people populating in poorness. Microfinance is an promising tool for economic development, poorness decrease, authorising of low income communities and giving a new function in micro-entrepreneurship ( Mondal, p.1-3 ) . The MFIs take into history the demand of their clients refering micro loans so as they can transport on their endeavors. There are two types of microfinance borrowers ; Micro borrower and Micro enterpriser. A micro borrower has mind like capitalist who is intend to derive net income while making concern. Therefore a micro borrower gets fundss from MFIs, and after reimbursing, they will obtain fundss once more but merely if the intent is to gain net income and non any entrepreneurial accomplishment. In contrast, a micro enterpriser financess his concern and brings modernism, originality and differentiation from others ( Mondal, p.3 ) . Microfinance bestow authorization to adult females. Misra ( p.3 ) describes empowerment as a strength to the people and self administration. He quoted â€Å" Empowerment builds autonomy and strength in adult females, fixing them towards garnering the ability to find the pick of life. This adds to the bid over resources outwit insubordination and mean their societal function. † Harmonizing to PREM, WB ( 2002, p.11 ) , â€Å" Authorization is the enlargement of assets and capablenesss of hapless people to take part in, negotiate with, influence, control, and keep accountable establishments that affect their lives. †MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSA microfinance establishment ( MFI ) is an organisation that offers minor loans to the destitute people. The model of the loan differs from organisation to organisation as every establishment has their ain processs and conditions to provide credits. However, the nucleus intent is to allow fiscal aid to the underprivileged. When speaking about MFIs, we can believe about non-governmental organisations ( NGOs ) which besides provide loan installations to the hapless. During the 1990s, many NGOs were converted into formal fiscal establishments so as to entree and on-lend client nest eggs, as a consequence bettering their outreach. There are besides other sorts of microfinance establishments such as recognition brotherhood or concerted lodging society. These organisations are different in every state ( Rehman, 2007 ) . Nowadays even commercials Bankss are traveling towards the construct of microfinance. They are making this to pull new patronages who wants to get down a concern but does non hold plenty support to make so.CHARACTERISTICS OF MFISFormal suppliers are sometimes defined as those that are capable non merely to general Torahs but besides to specific banking ordinance and supervising ( development Bankss, nest eggs and postal Bankss, commercial Bankss, and non-bank fiscal mediators ) . Formal suppliers may besides be any registered legal organisations offering any sort of fiscal services. Semiformal suppliers are registered entities subject to general and commercial Torahs but are non normally under bank ordinance and supervising ( fiscal NGOs, recognition brotherhoods and co-ops ) . Informal suppliers are non-registered groups such as revolving nest eggs and recognition associations ( ROSCAs ) and self-help groups. Ownership constructions: MFIs can be government-owned, like the rural recognition co-ops in China ; member-owned, like the recognition brotherhoods in West Africa ; socially minded stockholders, like many transformed NGOs in Latin America ; and profit-maximising stockholders, like the microfinance Bankss in Eastern Europe. The types of services offered are limited by what is allowed by the legal construction of the supplier: non-regulated establishments are non by and large allowed to supply nest eggs or insurance. ( www.cgap.com )ISLAMIC MICROFINANCEAccepting or paying involvement while loaning or borrowing money is out harmonizing to the Islamic jurisprudence. However the borrower will portion the net income that he will obtain from his concern with the loaner. Money is non an plus for gaining net income ( Duhmale, Sapcanin, p.1 ) . Islam emphasizes on societal, ethical, moral factors for distribution of wealth and usher towards societal and economic justness. Islam encourage net income instead than involvement because gaining net income evolve productive activity and involve in net income and hazard sharing between loaner and borrower ( Dhumale, Sapcanin, p.1-2 ) . The intent of Islamic microfinance is to supply little loans to hapless people without involvement. This construct benefits the borrower as microfinance involvement rates are comparatively high. There are several agencies to continue with the interest-free microfinance but we will speak about three of them which are: MUDARABA ( Participation Financing ) Here trade takes topographic point between the loaner and the borrower. No involvement will be charged, nevertheless net income will be shared by both the loan supplier and the borrower. Harmonizing to Zaher, Kaber, â€Å" Mudaraba is a trust based funding understanding whereby an investor ( Islamic bank ) entrusts capital to an agent ( Mudarib ) for a undertaking. Net income will be shared on an agreed ratio and the contract is similar to a western type of limited partnership where 1 is shooting money and the other one controls the concern. In instance of losingss, the loaner receives no return and the borrower no recompense for his work ( Segrado, 2005, p.11 ) . MUSHARAKA Harmonizing to Segrado ( 2005 ) , â€Å" Two parties provide capital for a undertaking which both may pull off. Net incomes are shared in pre-agreed ratios but losingss are borne in proportion to equity engagement † . As we can see, here it is non established on net income sharing but depends on rating and disposal competency and portion in concern. MURABAHAH Here the loaner will buy goods and sell them to the borrower after adding a sensible net income. The loaner will remain the owner of the goods until imbursements are cleared. Dhumale, Sapcanin ( p.10 ) describe Murabahah as â€Å" the Murabahah contract is similar to merchandise finance in the context of working capital loans and to renting in the context of fixed capital loans † .MICROCREDIT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATIONTHE GRAMEEN MODELThe footings â€Å" microfinance † and â€Å" micro recognition † were non on screen before 1980s 0r 1990s ( Robinson, 2001 ) . It all started with the return on Muhammad Yunus to Bangladesh after learning in the U.S for a few old ages. In 1974, during a trip in a comparatively hapless small town in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus came across Sufiya, a stool shaper, who had to borrow money from a local loaner so as to purchase natural stuffs. She had to refund the loaner with high involvement rates which sometimes exceeded the initial sum. After refund, she was left with practically nil to run into her basic demands. Dr. Yunus was disappointed by what he saw and lent a little sum of money to 42 rural basket-weavers. He found that his action encouraged them to work more and they were enthusiastic to refund their loan ( Roy, Mark A, 2003 ) . After two old ages, there came the constitution of the Grameen Bank where Dr. Yunus introduced the â€Å" Grameen Model † which is now the cant in the universe of microfinance. Since its start in 1976, it has grown to over 1084 national subdivisions in over half the small towns of Bangladesh. The construct of this theoretical account is to supply loan installations to hapless people, particularly adult females, so that they can transport out their little endeavors and pull off their support ( Roy, Mark A. , March 2003 ) . The process of the â€Å" Grameen Model † is that borrowers should organize a group of five members. After the loan application, the first two people will obtain the loan. If they repay their loan successfully, so the other two members will acquire their loan sum. The last member will be granted the loan when the old two members clear their debts. If this group was a good remunerator, therefore they will be eligible for future loans. However, if one of them fail to pay the loan, the whole group will be disqualified for farther loan ( Rehman, 2007 ) . As we can see, the attack of group loaning is applied. This attack has many advantages. First, members of a group are acquainted to each other, hence if one is absent in the group meeting, another one can pay its installments. Furthermore in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, there exists some sort of societal force per unit areas. If a member of a group does non refund his loan, he will be pressurized by the other members and besides his vicinity will acquire to cognize about it. So he will hold to do an attempt to refund his loan to avoid this sort of state of affairs ( Sengupta, Aubuchon, 2008 ) .A

Canadian Solar Essay

However, with the global economic downturn in the recent years as well as changes in the government incentives in certain countries, the company has been struggling to stay on top in this competitive market, and needs to keep a competitive advantage against companies such as Sharp and Kyocera. This is a big problem to the company since it threatens their strategy and might put them out of competition. Which brings us to the question: What should Canadian Solar do to best compete in the increasingly â€Å"global† photovoltaic industry? Analysis External Analysis General Environment Most of the general aspects influence the PV industry relies on government incentive programs. Programs for green energy such as the FIT program, has a positive effect on the industry since it guarantees rates on certain projects. Other government laws such as the placement of a cap can have a negative effect on the industry. Therefore, since income levels vary for every country, this will affect the usage of PV technology. Moreover, society has a desire to â€Å"go green† and they highly value PV technology, although the implementation of PV technology can cause society financial harm such as in Spain, where the unanticipated installations caused taxpayers $26. 4 billion. Threat of new Entrants Barriers to entry are considered low since the PV industry requires low capital and medium to low technological knowledge to make PV module. The low barriers to entry are also due to †¦

Language Learning and Elementary School Curriculum Annotated Bibliography

Language Learning and Elementary School Curriculum - Annotated Bibliography Example It is appropriate, hence, that the chapter included several empirical pieces of evidence that supported the theories. For example, they explained why assessment is necessary or why particular components of such assessment are critical. This allowed a better understanding of the imperative for a "connection" between language learning and language learning the elementary curriculum. Following an inductive approach to content, it began with the general theories of communication and then proceeded on specifying models and strategies. This is great for instructors who are interested using the multidimensional "interactive approach" in developing listening, reading and viewing in learners. The chapter is particularly useful in developing unique instruction strategies that are tailored for a diverse set of learners. There are several sub-strategies and components that are further contextualized according to reading, listening and viewing, for instance, that could be combined in order to come up with the effective program or instruction plan. A critical dimension of this chapter is how it covered and addressed challenges such as anxiety and other factors that impact learners interaction with texts. Â  Tackling the issues concerning teaching grammar, this chapter offers an interesting approach to achieving better learning outcomes. The key concept was the "dialogic approach" wherein the subject is taught using cultural stories. This is quite interesting for those who are exposed to the traditional teaching model for grammar with the focus teaching grammatical rules as opposed to a focus on form.

The piano Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The piano - Research Paper Example This followed the invention of other stringed as well as keyboard instruments leading to the development of the piano as it is today. Between 1790 and 1800, there were major improvements in piano technology and sound due to industrial revolution as suggested by Siepmann, (10). These improvements included the new and high quality steel referred to as the piano wire and also the ability to cast iron frames in a precise manner. There was also the increase of the tonal range of the piano from the initial five octaves to the seven and as it is found in the modern piano. The modern piano has 88 keys with the hammer mechanism which is used to bring out the sound of the strings and then the keys activate the sounding. The strings are held in a cast iron frame which is heavy enough and then they are passed over a kind of bridge to where the strings are tuned. The most crucial element in the sounding of the piano is the soundboard which is made of spruce. Due to the rise of pitch standard in t he modern piano there are few pianos which are left in the market today. In playing the piano, the greater the velocity of a pressed key, the greater the force of hitting the strings with the hammer hence a louder note is produced. The Impact of the Piano in Other Countries The piano has played a major part in the music industry in the many countries. For instance it importantly used in the western jazz, television, classical music and film production. These applications are also done in other parts of the world. Many countries have produced great pianists and composers. This is because the keyboard of the piano gives an easy way of handling complex as well as harmonic interplay, hence a good tool for composition of music. The piano has led to the establishment of piano manufacturing companies such as Yamaha which are situated in different countries thus creating employment. For instance the victory enterprise in Japan is the mostly known leading exporter of the used pianos in the w orld. The music industries in many countries has also grown and developed due to the use of the piano as a composer machine. The piano drama film was produced in New Zealand as it was acted by a pianist. Individuals from different countries have developed their career in music with the inspiration of the piano. The Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), a music institute in China has a piano department which is a nation al centre facilitating the teaching, performance as well as research. Hundreds of pianists have been trained who are now teaching in other music schools, research institutes in china and have even won international prizes music competition. With the efforts of Chinese pianists combined with that of the foreign pianists from Russia the CCOM has been able to establish a system of piano teaching embracing the Chinese as well as the western philosophies. The piano industry in Japan has tremendously grown due to the world wide demand for the instrument. Thus companies such as Yamaha and Kawai from Japan are major piano producing companies in the world. Piano manufacturing companies have also been established in Korea for instance the Alex Steinbach pianos which is produced by Samick Musical Instruments Company. This has led to the increased involvement in music and piano training schools in Korea. With the increased development of the piano, German entered the field of

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

Ac - Essay Example that point these marketing experts prepare and administer questioners who behavior these studies on the web, by phone or through meetings with people or center assemblies. (Laccarino, 2000) A market research analyst forms a very integral part of an organization because based on his extensive research and results he or she prepares the reports which is followed by the company to plan its future endeavours. So it is important for any firm to hire experienced and able market research analysts so as to give accurate and feasible reports. Roughly 29% of them worked in the expert, scientific and technical administrations industry. Others were utilized in the account and protection, data, administration and wholesale exchange commercial ventures. So as to turn into a market research analyst we have to acquire no less than a four year college education in marketing research or an identified order like facts or math. Despite what degree you choose to seek after, your coursework may as well incorporate business, marketing, facts, math, and overview outline. A few occupations may oblige a graduate degree. So this zone will be fit for me to begin my vocation. Market research analysts may get confirmation from the Marketing Research Association. This accreditation, which is dependent upon training and experience, must be replenished like clockwork. So as to meet all requirements for recharging, one must take proceeding instruction classes. (McCrudden, 2008) In the wake of getting knowledge helping more prepared market research analysts, one will be allotted to his or her anticipation. The individuals who need to development to additional mindful positions might as well take proceeding training courses to stay aware of the most up to date strategies for improving, directing, and breaking down studies and other information. Procuring a propelled degree is additionally supportive. A job role for the post of research analyst was found for a graduate. The ad said that the

Who are the 'winners' and 'losers' in globalization Essay

Who are the 'winners' and 'losers' in globalization - Essay Example the article concludes that the prospects for a satisfactory synthesis of a liberal economic theory of globalization, a normative political theory of the global public domain, and a new social bond are remote"( Devetak & Higgott 1999). Largely looking in terms of distribution of economic benefits of globalization it can be surmised that entrenched vested interests and inequalities have remained or even worsened. These inequalities, by themselves, would make any concept of global polity, economy or social bond from arriving in synthesis for maintenance of global social order. We examine the extent of inequalities below. Again in a slightly different context Phillip W.Jones makes a statement which is extremely relevant to the definition of globalization in present context. Jones states that," The logic of globalization contrasts markedly with that of internationalism. The latter, with its intrinsically democratic foundation, looks to a world ordered by structures supportive of that functionalism which is embedded in accountability. Globalization, by contrast, implies few logical imperatives in favour of accountability, but rather looks to the pursuit of interest on the global level through the operation of unfettered capitalism"(Jones,1998). Examining the globalization context from economic point of view prima facie capitalist motives of profits appear predominant. New technological developments, improvements in communication, growth in transnational infrastructure and liberalizing of trade and capital flows have enabled entrepreneurs the globe over to deploy and run their capitals chasing markets the globe over. The globalization aligned attitudes of IMF and World Bank are exemplified with clarity by Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, when he says that," The key aim of today's policy makers has not changed compared to those at the Bretton Woods times - it has been, and still is, global prosperity and stability - but the environment in which we are acting has changed profoundly......Today we are striving for stability of the international financial system in a world of free capital flows with a growing importance of private flows and increasing trade and financial integration"(Trichet, 2004). As Roby says," world-wide output and trade have grown apace with market openings and the rise of efficient global business networks these past 15 years. An entrepreneurial class is energizing once-stagnant command economies" (Roby, 2005). It is at once apparent that this 'entrepreneurial class' is essentially limited in number the globe over. They also have limited spheres of influence. Consider for instance, the pharmaceuticals giant Astra Zeneca (AZ) has multinational operations and employs just about 65000 employees globally (Annual, 2004). Such instances abound in almost all industrial and commercial sectors where spread and success have been limited. Has AZ been able to provide cheap drugs to global population-perhaps no. We perhaps need more global entrepreneurs in each activity to raise

Feilds write up Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Feilds write up - Case Study Example Fields’. The size of the company was enormous. Their preparations’ styling was different of baking from frozen dough the croissants, bread, hot soups and sandwiches, which was taken as an extended business from Mrs. Fields’ cookies. Naturally the company wanted to get the leverage of its MIS system, which was not updated to absorb the different administrative functionaries of LPB, as it was customized to absorb the administration work of the famous Chocolate Chip Company in the MIS system of Mrs. Fields’ Cookies. It was taken for granted that without changing the design of the MIS system to accommodate the overhead functions related to accounting, finance personal, human resource, training, and development of the acquired company, Mrs. Fields’ Cookies would be able to leverage from the current MIS system successfully. Assuming and finding myself in the position of an LPB store manager, I should be a puzzled lot. The mechanism that I was accustomed to work in was suddenly snatched just like a sheet from under one’s feet. Finding none of the reported to staff at the senior level could be detrimental to the organization’s financial health and affect performance in all departments. As stated by Randy, the organization structure of LPB was traditional in comparison to robust IT applications employed by the IT department to organically control the empire of cookies stores expanded worldwide. Before removing the 50 overheads of the acquired company, whose store manager I am supposed to be, it would be like crippling the whole structure of the newly acquired company without replacing or changing the system wide practices. At least some technical training was needed to be imparted to the staff to become accustomed to the work processes of organization sub structures under mechanistic and org anic structure heads. Store managers under Mrs. Fields’ Cookies organization structure were

Horizon ElectroniX is a start-up business located along Cardiff Bay Coursework

Horizon ElectroniX is a start-up business located along Cardiff Bay - Coursework Example It will also carry mobile phones and tablets. The Marketing strategies will focus on people who prefer higher-end electronic pieces. This particular market is perceived to put great importance in their entertainment equipment and is open to spending and investing in these items for greater value and long-term use. They prefer quality versus price, yet they will demand for value-for-money qualities. Horizon ElectroniX is a business under sole proprietorship. The owner shall also perform the duties of a Chief Executive Officer, working with department managers and their staff. He will employ personnel who will be trained to perform their assigned duties, and create a corporate environment where there is ownership and pride in the business. The main business strategy is to form solid partnerships with distributors and manufacturers to be able to implement promotions and marketing activities that are beneficial to both parties. The Purchasing, Inventory and Marketing Departments hold key responsibilities in ensuring the success of the company. Further, after sales or customer service is given as much regard as sales. Management sees that they key to keep the clients coming back is to have a highly skilled, knowledgeable and reliable after sales team to assist the customers in their requirements. Horizon ElectroniX is envisioned to be the market leader in computer, electronics and gadgets within Cardiff, UK. By focusing on its strengths, its customers and the underlying values that they need, the company will establish market presence and reach gross sales to ?5M for the first three years of operations, while also improving on gross margins on sales and cash management and working capital. II. INTRODUCTION – HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Horizon ElectroniX was created on the assumption that information technology is not an inherently a do-it-yourself prospect. Each gadget or electronic piece comes with a manual, whose contents are often not friendly to those not tec h-savvy. Often times, new owners need the help or guide of an expert who will walk him through each function and characteristic, to enable them to enjoy and maximize each unit’s use. Clients who are not exactly computer hobbyists need to find quality vendors of reliable hardware, software, service, and support. They see these trusted vendors as allies, whose professional expertise are even worth more than the gadget itself. The owners and management wishes to position Horizon ElectroniX as such a vendor. It aims to serve its clients as a trusted ally, to provide them with the loyalty of a business partner and the economics of an outside vendor. Management wants to make sure clients have what they need for their personal consumption, and also to run their businesses, with maximum efficiency and reliability. Many of the company’s information applications are mission critical, so the management endeavors to give the clients an assurance that our after sales teams are alwa ys available to serve them. The company’s keys to success are as follows: 1. Offering after sales and service support with applicable charges. This puts premium into the company brand as a retailer. 2. Its strong inventory management policies. Horizon Electro

Compare and contrast the philisophical positions of Thales and Essay

Compare and contrast the philisophical positions of Thales and Anaximander - Essay Example He hypothesized several things that provided a logical pattern for the critique of natural phenomenon. For instance, he assumed that earthquakes are caused because the earth floated on something and this meant that some situation could cause the earth to shake and hence cause the earthquakes. This was something most people in his generation had never really thought about. Herodotus cites that Thales used logic and mathematics to predict the solar eclipse of 585 that ended the war between Lydians and Medes. Thales’ main methodology was to explain the logic of things through geometry and this included the long, square and cube of an object Anaximander was a student of Thales and as such, he took the teachings and principles of his teacher to the next level. Anaximander was mainly interested in the mechanics of the earth and how it related to the universe(Philosophy Basics, 2008). Therefore, he went beyond the basic geometry of Thales and studied the earth’s position in the universe with principles in cosmology, meteorology and geography. This was a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach that provided explanations about the origins and position of the earth. Thales and Anaximander were pioneering scientist in Pre-Socratic Greece. Thales was the first to question things using the logic of natural science instead of metaphysics. He developed methods including geometry to explain natural events. Anaximander, his student consolidated his basic ideas and integrated other elements of scientific testing and new disciplines to deduce the position of the earth in the

Cokes Polar Bear Can Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cokes Polar Bear Can - Essay Example Consequently, the identical color in the two types of coke both classic and diet brought consumer displeasure and terrible confusion. The campaign of the white can coca cola became disruptive to the consumers making them do a double take. The coca cola company has never changed the traditional red color of its can however for the first time the company introduced coke Classic in a white can. Even though consumers may refute the power of marketing over their preferences, the consumer brain is profoundly influenced by effective advertising. Naturally in soda brands color red brings to the mind coke classic while silver evoke diet coke (Shayon 5). As such where consumers are able to make color association with brands, an attempt to change the color of a given brand like coke attempted to do, would certainly amount to a dramatic shift branding consequently disrupting the normal behavior of consumers. For this reason there is a greater possibility of regular consumers to be mistaken as to the identity of the brand as was the case in distinguishing coke classic can and that of Diet coke. Many of the angry and confused c ustomers posted their complaints on emails and twitter. Even though the company’s’ intention was to grab their customers attention through disruptive complain its customers were not impressed at all. Within day of the launch numerous complaints began flowing about the white can being too similar to the silver one. This made some diabetic and weight conscious consumers to accidentally purchase classic coke while in fact they had intended to buy Diet coke. Some of the customers went ahead to return already opened white cans to the stores where they had purchased them demanding that they should be given new diet coke cans. Some others opted to express their anger and dissatisfaction with the white can online. The introduction of white cans by the coca cola company was just another

The novel Of Mice and Men and the characters Crook, Candy and Curlys wife Essay Example for Free

The novel Of Mice and Men and the characters Crook, Candy and Curlys wife Essay Discuss the theme of loneliness in the novel Of Mice and Men by looking at the characters Crook, Candy and Curlys wife Loneliness plays an integral role in the novel and it is this theme, which effectively leads to the inevitable ending. Each of the characters mentioned in the essay title re-enacts different aspects of the definition loneliness. Hence I will explore the way in which Steinbeck epitomises loneliness, using each of these characters. Crooks is depicted as a loner due to his supposed unfortunate predicament of being born a nigger. Despite this term being derogatory, it highlights the immediately low social stratum that black people occupied in a period where racism and segregation was prominent. The boss gives him hell when hes mad Just because is black, he is at the receiving end of the boss; wrath, a white man. Crooks is described by Candy as a nice fella. The reader is left to assume that the only Black character mentioned in the story is lonely, as the reader is almost oblivious of his presence. It is but for the initial reference to him and the re-emergence of his character in the middle section of the book that the reader is forced to remember. The idea of loneliness with reference to Crooks character has two explanations. The primary reason for his loneliness is Cause [Hes] black. Crooks is annihilated due to his race which in the period when the book was written, segregation was rampant. The reader learns exactly what Crooks feels about his treatment: I aint wanted in the bunkhouse Cause Im black I cant play [cards] because Im black. They say I stink. This outburst signifies the loneliness he feels. He is ostracised due to his race and is not allowed to participate in any activities. Unlike the other characters that experience loneliness, the reader feels that his isolation is the most extreme, as he is black, which automatically relegates him to a low class. The second explanatory for his loneliness is his disability, which evokes a form of loneliness. Crooks has a crooked back. And so presumably, he does have not much use due to his inability to provide a service. Slim suggest that inability to provide a service notes your uselessness: I wish somebodyd shoot me if I get old and cripple. Crooks falls into both these categories. As well as being old, he is cripple, therefore shooting him is of no great loss. Crooks annihilation due to his race and forced into a low social stratum he has an equal status as an animal. This is well represented in c chapter four, where the reader learns that Crooks has his bunk in the harness, and what worsens the situation is the fact that his actual bunk is made from straw, which is what forms many animals beds. The reader also learns that he has a manure pile in his room. Several references are made to his medication, where he owned a range of medicine bottles, both for himself and for the horses. The fact that he uses medication indicates that he often feels pain: Now and then he poured a few drops of the liniment into his pink-palmed hand He flexed his muscles against his back and shivered. Crooks is constantly applying liniment to his back, which may be to ease the pain he feels. He is often in pain and so may not be able to cope with strenuous activities, thus his uselessness and inevitable isolation. The descriptions used with reference to Crooks appearance, may symbolise the suppression he feels from the world. The fact that his body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine forces the reader to relate this to his bad treatment in life. It may suggest that he has had a rough life and the reader assumes that his injury epitomises the hardship and rejection felt, thus his sub-human status. Steinbeck describes Crooks as having deep black wrinkles. The fact that they are deep is also indicative of the depth of strain that he has endured in life, yet we are given no impetus that he has been badly treated at the ranch. Lennie in some ways breaks Crooks loneliness, when he intrudes in his room. Although he scowled in response to Lennies intrusion the reader feels that his presence is welcomed thus Crooks says, It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger. Crooks becomes more comfortable with the company and the reader delves into his past as he confides with Lennie. The reader pities Crooks attributed to the fact that he views himself as just a nigger talking a busted-black nigger. Crooks indeed pities himself and his predicament. He is lonely as his only true company is himself. Hence, when Lenny tells how he has George, Crooks is in some ways envious of their relationship thus forcing Lennie to consider a pessimistic situation: You got GeorgeSpose you couldnt go into the bunk-house and play rummy cause you was black Spose you had to sit out here an read booksBooks aint no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody Dont make no difference who the guy is long as hes with you a guy gets lonely, an he gets sick The fact that Crooks aint got nobody generalises his reasons for his loneliness. This saddens the reader, as up till now he has been forced to keep this too himself, but his treatment makes him sick. He pours out his inner feelings and the reader appreciates that reading, his most frequent form of communication, is an escapism, but he concludes books aint no good. Lennie relishes in the fact that he and George will own some land of their own, however Crooks is rather pessimistic. Having seen many aim for a better life and fail, he concludes Nobody gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. The reader considers Crooks extreme pessimism and concludes that due to his constant disappointment and failure, such improvements are but dreams and only exists in their head. However, a glimpse of faith is evident in Crooks character and maybe a realised dream himself, when almost convinced by Lennies revelation to live on the fatta the lan he responds: If you guys would want a hand to work for nothingwhy Id come an lend a hand This outburst indicates his eagerness and yet hope for some sort of recognition in life. The fact that this dream seems achievable gives him a glimmer of hope. For a short while at least his cocoon of isolation seems to be disintegrating: It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger This narrative indicates that he is content, as he finally has human company, which he can interact with. The fact that Guys dont come into a coloured mans room very much indicates that despite the solemnity he has become accustomed to, company is always welcome, after all A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody The partial hope of escaping from his sombreness is probably what gives him enough courage to say to Curleys wife on her intrusion into his room, Maybe you better go to your own house. Despite it being his own space, Crooks essentially relinquishes his non challenging role as a negro and dares to question a white persons authority. Yes, he can dream, but Curleys wife throws reality back in his face when she relegates him back to the terrible protective dignity of a negro. Crooks accepts that he will never be a white persons counterpart and concludes: You guys comin in an settin made me forget. What she says is true. Crooks forgot his place as a Nigger and so had reduced himself to nothingnothing to arouse either like or dislike. Crooks is lonely and no one in the story truly understands his predicament. However the reader is forced to conclude, that his annihilation is what retains the fact that he is proud [and] aloof. When he was on the verge of putting an end to his loneliness, thus confronting Curley wife, he realised that [for] a coloured man to have some rights, even if he dont like em., he has to settle for an inferior position in society or face humiliation. Through Crooks loneliness, he retains his pride. In considering Candys loneliness, the reader automatically compares him to that of Crooks. Candys character in the play symbolises the fate of those who are old and disabled. He has the most menial job on the ranch as the swamper and it is primarily because of his disability why he has turned into a self-pitying worker. Although he is lonely, his dog provides him with some sort of comfort. Despite his dog being weak, because [hes] so used to him and had him from a pup he feels some sort of attachment to the dog. The reader is forced to deduce that maybe the dog reflects Candys temperament. Both are old, walk with a limp and could receive the same fate of being killed due to their uselessness. Steinbeck describes the dog as: drag footed sheep dog[with] blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side This description shows the reader, the bad condition of the dog. The reader understands that as well as not walking properly, the dog is blind and its whole existence is a struggle. Carlson describes the dogs condition as: Got no teeth Hes all stiff with rheumatism. He aint no good to you Candy. Candy and his dog, and Crooks suffer a similar fate, as all of them are retired and so are of no use, as they can not carry out service jobs. Candy is attached to the dog. The fact that the dog is a reflection of himself, initially a hard worker, but now cripple to due his hard work killing it would mean he deserves to be killed also, as both have passed their usefulness. When Candy is forced to put the dog down, through Steinbecks descriptions, the reader realises how much the dog actually means to him: he subdued the hand with the other and held it down he rolled over and faced the wall and lay silent This is rather a sombre description. It underlines the fact that by killing the dog, his only long-term companion, means a part of him would be missing. Hence when he shares in Lennies and Georges dream he somehow feels rejuvenated. Candy shows interest in their dream as by being a part of it, it entitles him to have a future outside of the ranch and some human company. He would no longer have to be subservient to anybody, thus he would not receive the same fate as those who are in the same predicament as himself. It is interesting to note that he finds out about their dream while he would normally be alone, but for Lennies and Georges presence. Many people who are lonely thrive on gossip, as this is a means of escaping their own dismal life and delving into the life of someone elses, often more interesting than their own. This is so for Candy who is described as [warming] to his gossip. He speaks about Curley and even refers to his wife as a tart, yet the reader observes how inferior he actually is, when Curleys wife calls him a lousy ol sheep. Candy does tell Curleys wife what he thinks of her, but he realises that -Nobody d listen to us. In society, he is insignificant and thus his loneliness. Curleys wife experiences a unique form of loneliness. From an early stage in the book, the reader regards Curleys wife as that of a sex symbol. Throughout the story she is never named, but the reader only considers her as a tart, purty and a looloo. Glove fulla vaseline This refers to Curley who actually degrades his wife openly, by the display of this sexual connotation. Due to this derogatory act, it is no surprise to the reader that she is lonely. She is thought of as an object, not a person. She is not appreciated for her talent although according to her [she] could of went with shows because of it. While Curley is out enjoying himself she is left talking to a bunch of bindle stiffs. The reader knows she is lonely, through her constant search for attention. Through exploiting her sexuality does she try to conceal her loneliness hence, she flirts with Slim and constantly wanders around the men the ranch. It is interesting to note, that her only defence to Crooks when he asks her to come out of his room, is to threaten him with rape charges. The fact that she is lonely, she knows nothing else but to exploit her sexuality again. She is very shallow Curleys wife actually admits I get lonely I cant talk to nobody but Curley. This is why she is constantly seeking attention. When Lennie says he is not supposed to talk to her she questions angrily Whats the matter with me?. Again she uses this opportunity to tell Lennie about the dreams that she had. She becomes so comfortable speaking with Lennie that it is this which leads to her death. She is so willing to poor out her heart, her disappointment and the fact that she is lonely, that Lennie gets attached. It is her sexuality which causes her death. She confides in Lennie admitting that [she] don like Curley. So when Lennie starts to stroke her hair she does not mind initially, but this flirtatious act is what leads to her death. Lennie kills her involuntarily; yet this fate was inevitable. Each of these characters experienced their own forms of loneliness. It is quite interesting to note that each of the characters all end up in the same room, having been left out of the other activities which the men are indulging in: Crooks because he is black, old and cripple, Candy because he is old and disabled and Curleys wife as she is thought of as a sex object, not a person. Although she asks herself, An what am I doin? Staindin here a nigger an a lousy ol sheep. Yet she answers her own question when she says, They left all the weak ones here. She actually does belong there as all characters are lonely in some way or another and have been excluded from the activities of the ranch. Is it not fair that they comfort each other? The reader understands that this is not possible, as they are not compatible with each other due to their different predicaments.

Emotions & the monster Essay Example for Free

Emotions the monster Essay Acceptance is very important in society, and the same perceptions apply just as much today as they did in the 1800s. It is part of human nature to make instant judgments, and to form first impressions of a person before you know what they are really like, and this is what happened to Frankensteins monster in this book. Although it is almost impossible to avoid making these snap decisions, they can almost always be changed later on, and put right once you get to know the person. Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are, regardless of appearances or stature, however this is not always the case. This can be related to the treatment the monster receives upon meeting other people. He is not the norm, and is undoubtedly ugly to look at, but that does not make him a bad person. Shelley manages to show this in such a way that the reader feels sorry for the monster, but we can see that it is something that is unlikely to change, as it is a normal part of society and human nature. Shelley shows her disgust at this harsh treatment through the monsters feelings, which are shared with Victor later on in the book, and it is as if the author is pouring out her emotions, rather than the monsters. The hideous figure, the disfigured stature of this monster is the first thing noticed by Victor Frankenstein. His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles. This reference to the monsters yellow skin depicts the same behaviour conducted in modern day racism. The colour of ones skin does not dictate the intelligence, attitude and personality of a person. Regardless of the yellow skin of the monster, which would repulse and overwhelm most people, there is no need to carry over that emotion to judge the monsters intellectual side. The mind and body are two very different things; human beings have yet to distinguish that fact. Mary Shelley clearly feels very strongly about this unfair prejudice in place in society, and has tried (very successfully) to show her readers just how unjust it really is. However, until people actually do something about it, it is just a part of society which we will probably never be entirely without. We may feel that it is wrong, but it will always be there, and it is something people have learnt to deal with in society. The novel, Frankenstein, actually reflects quite badly on the society in which Mary Shelley lived. It suggests that this type of behaviour was carrying on back then towards different people and was accepted as part of every day life. Humans have always and will continue to be scared of the unknown. Some might say that what you dont know about cant hurt you, but there is a sense of mystery and darkness behind unidentified things. This fear is ever increasing alongside the amount of horror films and novels, by which the general public is heavily influenced maybe sometimes too heavily. The public has always been influenced by the media, which is created by society, and with an increasing amount of stories and films out with the intention of scaring the audience, people are getting more and more prejudiced towards the unknown. Luckily this is counteracted by an increasing knowledge of other cultures and races, but Shelley lived in a society where people were still very ignorant about other people, and automatically assumed the worst. Although it is not shown outright, in Frankenstein, the monster actually experiences this fear as well as the villagers when he comes into their town. Their fears were of the same thing the unfamiliar; however their reactions were completely different. Some villagers threw rocks, and were trying to drive the monster away as if it was a worthless piece of society; others simply ran away in shock, screaming and scared. This is not justified by anything except his demeanor. The monster, on the other hand, did not reply in a violent manner at all, he just tried to hide from all people from then on. This just goes to show how much people are affected by small things in their life. One incident such as this could ruin an entire life, and the villagers did not realise just how selfish they were being. They did not think about his feelings, and left him to support himself, poor and defenseless. The public do not realise how much little things they may pass off as unimportant affect others, and in this case, society ruined the monsters life. From that moment and for the rest of his existence, the monster knew not to interfere with human beings, for their nature was clearly different to his. The monster, like all human beings, wanted to be accepted for his intellectual abilities and personality, and both him and humans have it in their nature to be afraid of the unknown, yet the villagers had an unmistakable advantage over the monster the monster was still innocent and nai ve, unsure of the world around him and ignorant of human nature. He was not accepted by anyone, purely because of his appearance. This fact is obvious as no one as yet had even had the chance to get to know the monsters personality, not even the monster himself had had this opportunity, because he could not speak and did not know anything about society. Therefore human nature plays an incredibly important role in the novel, because without it the villagers would probably have accepted the monster, and he would never have turned out how he did.

The Development Of Local Malay Films Media Essay

The Development Of Local Malay Films Media Essay Last month, president to the National Film Development Corporation, Ahmad Puad Onah, said that the association would propose that ticket prices for Hollywood-produced movies be increased to RM20! This is supposed to help the local film producers become more competitive. However it is sad that these people really have they not learned anything from the Proton story yet. This suggestion is a really shallow idea and it will not help local films be more competitive against foreign movies. In fact, this will have an opposite effect. Local film producers should become more competitive. These days. So the question is, why arent Malaysians watching local movies? Think about it. What are the demographics that show people who actually go and watch movies? Can a middle income family with 4-5 kids afford to watch movies priced at RM8-12 per ticket? Four kids plus mom and dad will cost the family (RM10 x 6) RM60. Add the parking ticket, and snacks and it will cost at least RM100 just for an afternoon of movie-watching. So if these people want to watch a movie, what do they do? You guessed it. Buy an illegal DVD at RM7 per disc and the whole family can watch it over and over again. So solution No.1 is to enforce the law against illegal DVD sales. This although it would put a dent in the coffers of those authorities and VIPs who are taking bribes from this industry. So, who then will go to the cine-plexes? I would have to say that it would be couples or young people out with their friends right?!? However these people have a limited budget as well. If they have to choose between watching Spiderman and Cicakman which show do you think they will watch? So what would attract the younger generation to watch local films? Can local films ever match Hollywood in terms of visual effects, star power or even in promotional marketing activities? So how then can they compete against Hollywood movies? The answer is nearer than you think. Just look at our neighbors. Both Thailand and Singapore have managed to produce local-made films that are very successful, even on the international stage. So why cant Malaysian film producers do the same? The reason is simply because they are too afraid to offend the authorities. There is too much control, taboos, restrictions and censorship in the industry. It has come to a point where any movie that comes out from the local industry will almost sure to be too safe meaning dull and boring. Also, the local movies that come out arent controversial, provocative and have little to offer progressive Malaysians as a whole. Just take a look at our local news. We have an exciting by-election, the Jerit issue, the Hindraf issue, the ISA Issue, the hudud laws issue, many corruption scandals, a murder of a Mongolian gal and a conspiracy involving a top man, New Year sex parties with movie stars, the list goes on! Now why would I ever pay money to watch a local film when our local news in Malaysia is a whole lot more interesting? Do you think any of our local film producers are brave enough to turn any of the issues above into a movie? If our local film industry produced a film related to any of those issues I mentioned above, I am sure it will get a whole lot of publicity and many people will watch it. Why? Because all Malaysian can relate to it. It will be very provocative and this will generate curiosity and publicity among many Malaysians. And on top of this, it will not have to compete directly against any Hollywood movie (Blue Ocean strategy). Also, when was the last time we saw a movie that appealed to Malaysian audience as a whole? Local movies are usually categorised as either Malay movies, Indian movies or Chinese movies. Where are the Malaysian movies? Lets be honest how many Chinese will go watch a Malay movie? Local producers must learn to makes films that appeal to a broad spectrum of society and not segregate their movies potential market by race! Whats wrong with movies that have characters speaking Chinese, Malay, Tamil etc, in the same movie? We do that in our everyday life. So why not in our local films as well? I know it is not easy to produce films that will appeal to the whole country. Thus, local film producers must be ready to face the challenges of making movies that would be very controversial politically and socially. We must no longer be afraid to makes movies that are racially or religiously sensitive. Now, I am not asking producers to make films that insult other races or religion. Neither am I asking producers to make politically-charged propaganda films. But we can still make movies that reflect the true picture of our country and show that the human spirit can triumph over many adversities. With regards to this, I have a list of ideas that I think will make great movies which most Malaysian will pay to watch. Police corruption (tales of a young police officer facing huge peer pressure to compromise his principles and succumb to taking bribes and the persecution he faced by not giving in) A Malaysian spoof movie on the local politicians (I bet you it will be very funny with actors and actresses imitating our local politicians) Who really killed Altantuya? A mystery movie with an open-ended ending (allowing viewers to make their own decision) Prostitution in Malaysia Tale of a young local gal with little education being conned into prostitution The Hindraf/Jerit issues (why, this could be a documentary movie) May 13 (tale of three friends a Malay, an Indian and a Chinese whose relationship is strained to breaking point during that era but they managed to overcome this adversity and remain friends till this day) I am sure a lot of people can think of many more ideas that will make great movies. I am sure many of these potential movies will make certain groups unhappy. But that is the whole point isnt it? A safe and nice movie that does not raise any eyebrows will not interest the Malaysian public at all (considering they get so much more entertainment from the local news). Until local film producers are brave enough to challenge the status quo of making proper films, and make movies that are honest and relevant to all walks of life in Malaysia besides challenging the minds of our society, they will never be able to compete with Hollywood movies. (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/99234) The FFF Guide to Writing a Winning Film Proposal So here it is! The FFF Guide to Writing a Winning Film Proposal. We tapped into the brains of our most beloved KOMAS creative consultants and pulling from them their many years of experience to give you the following tips to help guarantee your proposal has what it takes . ONE: Choosing your issue Is it relevant why is this issue important and why it is something that Malaysians need to know about, acknowledge and discuss openly? Is it daring is the issue seldom discussed and would researching it be difficult? Does the issue fit in with the theme of Democratic Space and Human Rights? First step: Choosing your issue Find an interesting issue that people regularly discuss or those that matters a lot. We need to keep finding out the Malaysians needs, what they would love to see, discuss and acknowledge either fits with Democratic Space and Human Rights theme. Second step: Content Showing viewers something that are rarely seen and take notes on every important points. TWO: Content What new angles or different point of view are you showing your viewers? What are the important points that this documentary will discuss? How will you make those points i.e. give details of who you will profile/interview, what visuals or scenarios will you document in detail. Provide story line or outline if possible, but not necessary. (If your proposal is chosen we will help you write the script). Its important to show that you have a clear idea of how the video will be executed and look like in the end. Show that discussion of the issue is well researched and deep. THREE: Treatment Describe how you will treat the film using music, editing techniques, storyline any creative approach to make your documentary interesting and attractive to your audiences. Trade Secrets Do research about your topic first. Speak to some resource people or find interesting profiles that you can definitely include in your film. Understand your issue well before taking on the subject. You need to know more or have something more to say that your viewers do not already know about or understand well. What is your stand on the issue? Think of one or two main points you want to make in the film. At the end of the film, this is the message you want your viewers to take home with them. Something that may sound interesting to you initially might be difficult to execute in the end be careful and plan well. A film is nothing without good audio/interviews and visuals, so you always need to have in mind what audio/visuals you will need to make your point. Know your own strengths and weakness. Have a team/crew that is technically proficient to help you in areas that you might be weak in. Follow these three easy steps, while taking into account those tricks of the trade and voila! Youre first documentary film proposal. Good luck! (http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org/?cat=53) Should Malay Films continue to be Malay Films? One approach that should be continued is the furthering of Malay films as films made in Malaysia. This is because the Malay language is the national language, one that does not exist outside of the Malay Archipelago. It is one that is easily acceptable as a language that reflects Malaysia from any point of view. The non-Malay language can always be used to reflect the position of the language i.e. spoken in the community among people of the same language culture, or in telling about some background information, so long as it can enhance the cinematic impact required by a film. To this end, the effort to produce Malaysian films should do this two-pronged approach: Increase the production of Malay films. Building the foundation of distributing Malaysian film that deals with Malaysian issues from the perspective of other races. The production of Malay films should be increased in quantity and quality. This is because Malaysia is the only country whereby Malay films can be produced. Without Malay films from Malaysia, it can be said that there will be no Malay films in the world. Another reason is that there is still a lot of of other Malay and Malaysian issues from Malaysia, as well as from the Malay archipelago, that can be shown on film. Reducing the production of Malay film and producing Malaysian films on the excuse that Malaysian films have to be multi-racial and multi-lingual will marginalise a film source that is very cinematic and will also diminish the importance of Malay history and culture. It is a culture that may well disappear. At the same time, the production of Malaysian films from the perspective of the non-Malays should also be encouraged. This will improve the standing of film in society and film as a medium and source of culture that is important to the nation. National Film Development Plan An officially-organised approach to build the film industry in Malaysia began in 1980 when the government established the National Film Development Body (FINAS). Since then, activities like as film development, encouragement, control and protection has been taken towards three of the most important aspects of the industry; that is, the production, distribution and screening of films in Malaysia. From the aspect of control and protection, the specific activities to development such as training workshops and financial aid can be said to have achieved their objectives. The Production Aid Scheme and return of entertainment tax, for example, can be incredibly significant to local film producers. This paper does not intend to provide further commentaries on the success or failure of such programmes run by FINAS. 25 years worth of opinions and debates can be found via other avenues. I will, however, say that the programmes have a long-term impact on the development of the film industry in the future. The subject at hand is film policy. FINAS, in an effort to advance the local film industry, has twice pushed this issue forward. The first was in the years of 1989 and 1990, led by Tun Ghazali Shafiee. The second time occurred in 2004, when the policies were reviewed and improved to become more aligned to the new objectives and concepts of Malaysian film development. Even though policies for a clear, national film agenda have been formulated, along with the requisite targets and objectives, nevertheless it is difficult to see what shape or form the Malaysian film industry will achieve by the year 2020. In my opinion, there should be a clear and concise 2020 objective to aim for, giving it the same amount of attention and importance as other fields. The entire nation is gearing up to achieve their respective objectives in these fields. As a developed nation, what kind of film industry will we have by then? It would be wise to ensure that we do no lag behind, and set practical objectives (e.g. local films having a 30% share of the market). The main thing is the setting of a schedule, timetable, or master plan for national film development. If such an action plan ever came into existence, all sectors of the industry would have main idea to refer to. Until now, however, we have yet to see such a plan, whether it exists or otherwise. Increasing Appreciation Programmes for Local Films in a Structured and Holistic Approach Another step that could be taken by all relevant parties is to increase the number of appreciation programmes in a structured and scheduled manner, so that the attention paid towards local films could be increased. This is of critical importance, seeing how low the audience numbers for local films are. From a national population of 26 million people, we can count a mere 200,000 to 300,000 people who consistently watch local films. Compare this to the Czech Republic, who have around 10 million people, but can depend on around 1 million of them to watch their own films. If we can increase the number of viewers even by 1 million people, it would certainly change the face of the local film industry. We could also look at other countries and consider how they develop their own films; South Korea, for example, imposes a quota system to protect their local filmmakers. The current situation is a cause for concern, because the previous generation of film viewers are now at a different stage of their life. Thus, they no longer go to the cinemas regularly. The new generation of film audience members have a different perception and exposure compared to the previous group, and with this comes a different viewing trend. If there is no programme to encourage further appreciation towards our own local films, Malaysian films, Malay or otherwise, will not have a chance. Only through a permanent, holistic, and well-planned approach will the situation improve. We need not look to far for an example of what could be; the current state of newspapers written in Arabic, when it was once the norm, is a sore sight for eyes. Even more galling is the lack of emotions that such a state arouses at the present time. Increasing and Expanding the Interest towards the National Language Apart from film appreciation programmes, other approaches can also be taken. One such example is to increase appreciation towards the language and culture of Malaysia, especially in the schools. Ultimately, this can help to increase further interest and fluency in understanding the local films. This should also be carried out in a similar manner to the above suggestion, so that the seed for such an interest can be planted and be allowed to mature. This can also increase the interest within society towards the traditional/Malay arts and stories which will also help along Malay and Malaysian films. Training Programmes, Technology Networking and Fund for Young Artists Other areas that can be looked at is further exposure and education about all aspects of filmmaking, including providing further training to those who currently active in the industry. We can also work to strengthen relations and networking, and providing practical encouragement for filmmakers to take Malaysian films beyond Malaysia. This networking will help to increase Malaysian film appreciation not just within the country, but also without. Another important factor is to create a fund for young artists. This fund can be used for various activities, like script development, but with an especial focus on encouraging the number of young directors with quality. Through such efforts will we only find the diamonds in the rough. Conclusion This paper does not suggest any one single conclusion, but invites further discussion and dialogue on the matters that I have raised. The issues and problems of the film industry are constantly changing with the winds of time, and so long as there is an effort to improve the making and content of local films, then the sky will truly be the limit as to what we can achieve. (http://thoughtsonfilms.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/the-malay-and-malaysian-film-where-are-we-part-2/) Archive for the Malaysian Cinema Category Global connections in three  countries In an earlier post on the film industry in Poland I looked at the range of countries to which the Polish film industry was connected through co-productions and incoming productions that did not involve a domestic partner (which I called autonomous productions). The data was taken from the Internet Movie Database, and while it cannot be said to provide a comprehensive overview of the globalisation of the film industry and its relation to Poland it does allow us to make some inferences about the range of countries a particular film industry is connected to in terms of a single type of interaction (i.e. feature film production). The aim behind this post, and todays follow-up, is to get a sense of the web of connections that link different film industries by simply enumerating the number of connections between them. Further work needs to be done on the economic value of these connections in order to understand how co-productions and autonomous productions contribute to a film industry, a nd so the depth of penetration (call this the density) needs to be considered alongside the range of connections in order to describe the extent to which a film industry is globalised. We could, for example, distinguish between film industries with a high range and high density, those with a high range but a low density, a low range but high density, and those with a low range and a low density. (This could be represented in similar terms to the relationship between the transnationality and territoriality of UK productions I used in Redfern 2007). This would enable us to distinguish between different types of national film industry in the global film industry, whilst also allowing us to identify areas of potential weakness. For example, an industry with a low range of connections but a high density will be overly-dependent on production finance from a small number of countries coming into the industry, and should anything upset this balance (better incentives available elsewhere, ch anges in exchange rates, global economic meltdown) this will have a disproportionately large effect on the host industry that could (potentially) be wiped out. Quite how to measure the density of global connections to a film industry is a problem I have not yet solved. We could use the proportion of the total production investment in an industry accounted for by co-productions and autonomous productions, but there may be better methods. A first step must be to simply understand the level of global interaction; and to add to the data on Poland, this post applies the same method to three other film industries in Malaysia, Chile, and Morocco. (A key difference here is that the data for Poland covered the period 2002 to 2007, while the data for these three countries covers the period 2003 to 2007). Malaysia A total of 37 films produced in Malaysia were identified from the Internet Movie Database, accounting for a total 47 connections to 17 countries, and country by country summary is presented in Table 1. Of the 37 films included here, only six are co-productions, so while Malaysia may be a filming location of choice for many producers this does not involve Malaysian production companies. The single largest number of connections is to India, but all of these are autonomous productions. After India, Singapore, with 5, has the second largest number of connections (again all autonomous); but in general the number of connections is very low fr each country across a 5 year time period. Connections to other Asian countries account for 66% of the total, while Europe accounts for 23% and North America just 11%. In simple numerical terms, connections to industries in the immediate vicinity are more important than those that stretch across the globe, although as noted above it is difficult to ass ess the meaning of these connections in the absence of detailed of some understanding of how deep they go into the Malaysian industry. TABLE 1 Co-productions and autonomous productions to shoot in Malaysia, 2003-2007 Chile 24 films produced in Chile were identified, accounting for a total of 42 connections to 12 countries. This data is summarised in Table 2. Of these films, just over half were co-productions and so (unlike Malaysia) a substantial proportion of productions shooting in Chile will have some sort of relationship to producers and filmmakers based in that country. South American countries account for only 21% of connections and North America (i.e. the US and Mexico) account for 31%, while seven different European countries account for just under half (48%). Unlike Malaysia (and Poland) it is not local connections that are the most important to Chile, but the relationships that reach further across the globe. TABLE 2 Co-productions and autonomous productions to shoot in Chile, 2003-2007 Morocco For Morocco, a total of 69 films were identified accounting for 111 connections to 23 different countries. of the three countries looked at here, Morocco has the greatest number of connections and the widest range of countries, but like Chile is dominated by North America and Europe. There are connections to only one African country (Algeria), one Asian country (Japan) and one South American country (Brazil); while 17 European countries account for 78% of connections and three North American countries account for 27%. Interestingly, only Morocco out of the the three countries looked at in this post and Poland has connections to countries in all parts of the globe. However, only 15 of the films in this sample were co-productions, and so, like Malaysia, international production in Morocco is typically non-Moroccan production. Only France is a significant co-production partner. That so many links to France should be apparent is unsurprising, as the state was made of protectorate of Fran ce under the Treat of Fez (1912), and the European influence here is strong (as it is in Algeria and Tunisia). The country with the largest single number of connections is the US, and this is in large part due to the fact that Morocco can stand in for other parts of the Arab world without so many of the dangers. Numerous Hollywood movies have chosen to film in Morocco since 2003 for the desert locations, the architecture, the middle-eastern looking extras, and because Morocco can also pass for the ancient world. Thus Alexander (Oliver Stone, 2004), Troy (Wolfgang Petersen, 2004), and Kingdom of Heaven (Ridley Scott, 2005) have all been shot in Morocco (along with Arn Tempelriddaren (Peter Flinth, 2007) and Arn Riket vid và ¤gens slut (Peter Flinth, 2008)). The Moroccan film industry appears to have benefited from the war in Iraq as the chosen location for Rendition (Gavin Hood, 2007), In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis, 2007), United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006), and Home of the Br ave (Irwin Winkler, 2006), along with Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005), Charlie Wilsons War (Mike Nichols, 2007), and Body of Lies (Ridley Scott, 2007). TABLE 3 Co-productions and autonomous productions to shoot in Morocco, 2003-2007 Summary Although this post is only a brief survey of three countries using limited data, it is possible to see how the film industry in different countries can be connected to the rest of the world. It is possible to identify where local connections are important and where more the key relationships are over a longer distance. It is possible to compare where connections between countries result in co-productions or where relationships are not formed with local producers. As more data becomes available it will hopefully be possible to compare the number of connections between countries over time to gain an understanding of the dynamic relationship, rather than the simply static picture we have here. In simply enumerating the connections in the global film industry in this manner we can slowly build up a picture of a mosaic of film industries.

George F. Handel Essay -- essays research papers

The Artistry of G.F.Handel (1685-1759) First Part Halle - Hamburg - Rome 1690-1712 It's hard today to speak about Handel's life and works without mentioning the similarities between him and Bach; first of all they were born in the same year:1685, even if it's not a case than the most geniuses of the late baroque era (Couperin, Telemann Scarlatti ) would have almost been all co-aged.Neverhless unlike Bach, Handel immortalised the name of a family of cheesemakers or of the Prince of Saxony's barber/surgeon -his father. And really it was under the influence and the strong expectations of the latter that like many other aspirants gentlemen, the young Haendel enrolled the university of Halle as a law student. But after his father death he decided not to pursue the legal career and began instead to perfection those skills as a musician which some three years of lessons taken in his hometown from the reknown organ player Wilhelm Zachau had awakened in him When in 1703 Haendel eventually left Halle and went to Hamburg as a violino in ripeno (an ordinary violin player in an orchestra) his bad talent as a lawyer and good skills as an artist, both characterizing every sudden and proverbial decision taken by him in the future were both proved. At those times Hamburg, the mercantile capital city of Northern Germany, was well known also for its Gansenmarkt Thater (literally: 'Theatre at the goose market'), which workers were yet trying to create the millenary dream in advance of Goethe by combining Italian creativity with German methodology. And what better even if "oleographic" example can be brought to this aim if not the librettos of the operas represented at the Gansenmarkt Theater between 1700 and 1720 ehich appear to be written in German with the execption of the Italian "belcanto" arias. A Ture master in this mixed and eclectic genre, neglecting the lutheran poetry (preferred by Bach) in favour of the Italian an Viennese writers (Zeno, Pariati, Pasquini etc.) was Reinhard Keiser who, naturally, claimed to be the master to all the new-comers, including Haendel who far from accepting this rule, successfully sought the friendship and maecenatism by Gian Gastone de Medici (1671- 1737) , son of the Gran d Duke of Tuscany: Cosimo III. And in what it seems it was in this environment that The young Haendel met Johann Mattheson, the most reknow... ...ovanni" (represented only in Prague in 1787) could only be hosted by the Dublin Catholic Theatre and never saw the glories of the Covent Garden where at those times the Neapolitan composer Niccolò Porpora, together with his pupil Roberto Farinelli had come to triumph and to outhshine Haendel himself. If the Same Farinelli is said to have taken the party of Haendel during one of the not infrequent "Querelles" made by the supporters of Theatre of nobility against modern impresarios, Haendel accused to have conspired against the king together with the so called Jacobites didn't take much success anymore and in 1745 the representation of the beautiful opera Hercules had to be cancelled from tghe program of the Kings Theatre. So outshined by history the Master died in 1759 of the same blindness which had affected Bach after having arranged the last representation of the Messiah and having composed other oratorios such as: Judas Maccabeus (1742), Alexander Balus (1748), Susanna (1749), Theodora (1750), Jephta (1752) . It's not a case then if the latter appear to be a quotation of the most famous Italian Oratorio ever Written Jephte (1749) by Giacomo Carissimi

Comparing Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bro

Comparing Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte In the novels Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the theme of loss can be viewed as an umbrella that encompasses the absence of independence, society or community, love, and order in the lives of the two protagonists. They deal with their hardships in diverse ways. However, they both find ways to triumph over their losses and regain their independence. The women in both novels endure a loss of personal freedom, both mental, and physical. Jane Eyre, in her blind infatuation with Mr. Rochester, allows her emotions to enslave her. She realizes her obsession when she states, "My future husband was becoming to me my whole world; and more than the world: almost my hope of heaven. He stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun. I could not, in those days, see God for his creature: of whom I had made an idol" (Bronte 241). By design, Rochester seduces Antoinette and deliberately makes her depend on him. Christophine, Antoinette’s servant, in a conversation with Rochester accusingly contends â€Å"you make love to her till she drunk with it, no rum could make her drunk like that, till she can’t do without it. It’s she can’t see the sun any more. Only you she see. But all you want is to break her up (Rhys 153). After becoming totally enslaved by her feeli ngs for him, Rochester adds insult to injury by physically abusing Antoinette. Her complete and total love for Mr. Rochester, who is passionless and devoid of any empathy, causes her to lose her mind. She realizes her mistake in marrying this cold, calculating man and vehemently states, â€Å"You see. That’s how you are. A stone. But it serves me right†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Rhys 148). Jane and Antoinette’s uninhibited desire to please those whom they love becomes detrimental to their peace of mind. Jane does everything she can to please St. John, her cousin, which ends with her completely paying no heed to her own thoughts and feelings. She realizes her dependence on his opinion, declaring â€Å"As for me, I daily wished more to please him: but to do so, I felt daily more and more that I must disown half of my nature, stifle half my faculties, wrest my tastes from their original bent, force myself to the adoption of pursuits for which I had no natural vocation. He wanted to train m... ...'I scorn your idea of love,' I could not help saying, as I rose up and stood before him, leaning my back against the rock. 'I scorn the counterfeit sentiment you offer: yes, St. John, and I scorn you when you offer it'" (Bronte 359). Jane similarly leaves Rochester when she finds out about his deceit. When Antoinette realizes Rochester does not love her, she scorns him, saying â€Å"my mother whom you all talk about, what justice did she have? My mother sitting in the rocking chair speaking about dead horses and dead grooms and a black devil kissing her sad mouth. Like you kissed mine† (Rhys 147). Although the two women are fundamentally different people, they face many similar challenges throughout their lives. Jane and Antoinette respond to each type of loss they experience differently, and these choices ultimately demonstrate Jane’s inner strength and Antoinette’s inherent vulnerability, resulting in two very different endings, one happy and the other tragic. Work Cited Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. Ed. Angela Smith. London: Penguin, 1997. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London, Penguin Books Ltd.: 1996. (Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Michael Mason).

Cosmic Life and Death of a Star Essay examples -- physics science spac

Conception Nebula as Star Nurseries Stars are born in the interstellar clouds of gas and dust called nebulae that are primarily found in the spiral arms of galaxies. These clouds are composed mainly of hydrogen gas but also contain carbon, oxygen and various other elements, but we will see that the carbon and oxygen play a crucial role in star formation so they get special mention. A nebula by itself is not enough to form a star however, and it requires the assistance of some outside force. A close passing star or a shock wave from a supernova or some other event can have just the needed effect. It is the same idea as having a number of marbles on a trampoline and then rolling a larger ball through the middle of them or around the edges. The marbles will conglomerate around the path of the ball, and as more marbles clump together, still more will be attracted. This is essentially what happens during the formation of a star (Stellar Birth, 2004). If the nebula is dense enough, certain regions of it will begin to gravitationally collapse after being disturbed. As it collapses the particles begin to move more rapidly, which on a molecular level is actually heat, and photons are emitted that drive off the remaining dust and gas. Once the cloud has collapsed enough to cause the core temperature to reach ten-million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion starts in its core and this ball of gas and dust is now a star. It begins its life as a main sequence star and little does it know its entire life has already been predetermined. Although this may sound like a simple enough process there are actually several variables that must be just right for birth to happen. For one, the mass of the collapsing particles is crucial and ther... ...e times the mass of the sun. In this case gravity is overwhelmingly strong and is able to crush the neutron star towards zero mass. The result is a black hole with a gravitational field strong enough to not even let light escape (Brusca, 2004). Bibliography Brusca, Stone. Cosmos, Physics 304. Arcata, CA: Dr. Stone Brusca, 2004. Miller, Coleman M. Introduction to neutron stars. University of Maryland. 22 Nov. 2004 Star death: post- main sequence evolution of stars. 22 Nov. 2004 Stellar Birth. 11 Jan. 2004. 22 Nov. 2004 Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004 Cosmic Life and Death of a Star Essay examples -- physics science spac Conception Nebula as Star Nurseries Stars are born in the interstellar clouds of gas and dust called nebulae that are primarily found in the spiral arms of galaxies. These clouds are composed mainly of hydrogen gas but also contain carbon, oxygen and various other elements, but we will see that the carbon and oxygen play a crucial role in star formation so they get special mention. A nebula by itself is not enough to form a star however, and it requires the assistance of some outside force. A close passing star or a shock wave from a supernova or some other event can have just the needed effect. It is the same idea as having a number of marbles on a trampoline and then rolling a larger ball through the middle of them or around the edges. The marbles will conglomerate around the path of the ball, and as more marbles clump together, still more will be attracted. This is essentially what happens during the formation of a star (Stellar Birth, 2004). If the nebula is dense enough, certain regions of it will begin to gravitationally collapse after being disturbed. As it collapses the particles begin to move more rapidly, which on a molecular level is actually heat, and photons are emitted that drive off the remaining dust and gas. Once the cloud has collapsed enough to cause the core temperature to reach ten-million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion starts in its core and this ball of gas and dust is now a star. It begins its life as a main sequence star and little does it know its entire life has already been predetermined. Although this may sound like a simple enough process there are actually several variables that must be just right for birth to happen. For one, the mass of the collapsing particles is crucial and ther... ...e times the mass of the sun. In this case gravity is overwhelmingly strong and is able to crush the neutron star towards zero mass. The result is a black hole with a gravitational field strong enough to not even let light escape (Brusca, 2004). Bibliography Brusca, Stone. Cosmos, Physics 304. Arcata, CA: Dr. Stone Brusca, 2004. Miller, Coleman M. Introduction to neutron stars. University of Maryland. 22 Nov. 2004 Star death: post- main sequence evolution of stars. 22 Nov. 2004 Stellar Birth. 11 Jan. 2004. 22 Nov. 2004 Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004

Managing to Achieve Results

Table of Contents Introduction2 Details3 1. Structure and culture of Ford Vietnam3 1. 1. Structure of Ford Vietnam3 1. 2. Culture of Ford Vietnam5 1. 3. Inter-relationships between the different processes and functions of the organization9 2. Mission, aims and objectives o Ford and the effect of these on the structure and culture of the organization10 3. Process maps, output evaluation, and quality gateway analysis12 4. Resources, tools and systems required to support the business process17 5. Quality audit system/ practice to manage and monitor quality to standards specified22 6.Quality culture embedding to ensure continuous monitoring and development of the process25 6. 1. Quality in employees25 6. 2. Quality in process26 7. Recommendation to improve quality and the function of Ford Vietnam27 7. 1. Problem27 7. 2. Reasons27 7. 3. Recommendations and evaluation29 Conclusion33 References34 Introduction At the present car industry in Vietnam is huge. Its expansion grows strongly due t o market demand and social development. Ford Vietnam is one of car enterprise which has entered in this market for over 15 years and gained quite a lot of success.For 15 years in Vietnam, despite of being competed by many rivals, Ford Vietnam still stands firm in the car market. Last year, with the new models, the sale volume of Ford reached approximately 8,000 cars. However, its market share in recent years has decreased by few amounts. Our group 19 had a chance to visit Ford factory and observed it with the purpose of understanding its culture, structure and process in order to make suggestions for how to improve quality and the function of Ford organization. Details 1. Structure and culture of Ford VietnamOrganizational structure and culture play a very important role in terms of creating the organizational success. Based on the company’s business and objectives, there are various organizational structures and cultures which can be applied to organizations. 1. 1. Structure of Ford Vietnam Theoretically, organizational structures can be defined as tall structure and flat structure; centralization and decentralization; functional structure, product structure, market structure, geographic structure and matrix structure; multifunctional teams and multidivisional structures.According to the span of control, there are two kinds of organizational structure: tall organization and flat organization. A flat organization is one which, in relation to its size, has a small number of hierarchical levels. This implies a wide span of control. A tall organization is one which, in relation to its size, has a large number of level management hierarchy. This implies a narrow span of control. According to the degree to which authority is delegated, there are two kinds of organizational structure: centralization and decentralization.Centralization is the concentration of authority for making most decisions at the top levels of organization. In contrast, decentralization i s the dispersion of authority to make decisions throughout all levels of the organization. Besides, the structure of an organization can be classified by geography, by function, and by product and brand. Additionally, there are some kinds of organization structure that are more complex: the matrix, multifunctional teams and multidivisional structures. The matrix is a structure in which people are grouped by function and by product team.A multifunctional team is a group of individuals brought together from more than one functional area of a business to work on a problem or process that requires the knowledge, training and capabilities across the areas to successfully complete the work. A multidivisional structure is an organizational structure in which each district product line, market or business unit is placed in its own self-contained unit or division and each division has within it several functional sub-divisions for production, marketing and so on.Ford Vietnam has established and developed its organization based on nine fields with nine managers including Technical Affair, Finance, Human Resource, Marketing, Sales, After Market Sales and Service, Public Affair, Deputy Manager, Quality manager. Under the authority of Technical Affair manager, there are two departments: Manufacturing and Supply Operation. The manager of manufacturing department is responsible for four divisions including Body shop, Paint shop, TCF (final assembly) and support function. There are three divisions in the supply operation department: Logistics, purchasing, and launching.In fact, the name of each field, each department and division is clearly based on their tasks. Therefore, the structure of Ford Vietnam has organized by functional structure. Furthermore, Ford Vietnam is considered as a large company in Vietnam with more than 500 employees. Mr. Michael Pease, the General Director of Ford Vietnam tried to emphasize in the authority and responsibility of individual managers, who enact the role expected of their position. In this company, everybody can make decisions based on their level of authority. Hence, Ford Vietnam follows the decentralized structure and the tall structure as well. . 2. Culture of Ford Vietnam Organizational culture is defined as â€Å"the informal set of value, norms, and beliefs that control the way people and groups in an organization interact with each other and with people outside the organization†. There are four types of culture: power culture, role culture, task culture, and person culture. Power culture is the culture in which the organization is controlled by key, central figures – often the owners of founders of the organization. Role culture is used in classical, rational organization or bureaucracy.In task culture, management is seen as completing a succession of projects or solving problems, often as part of a team. Person culture is a culture where the organization tends to serve the interest of the individ ual within it. Ford Vietnam was established in 1995. Since then, there were 15 years for Ford Vietnam to build up its culture which can be represented by its slogan, image, clothing, office decor, rules, policies, motivation, leadership style, belief and attitude, and so on. It is so surprising that you can see a lot of slogans in manufactory of Ford Vietnam.For example, to emphasize the value that Ford Vietnam wants to build up as well as motivate the workers in the plants, Ford VN uses the slogan â€Å" Ford moving with you, quality is job # 1†. Additionally, Ford VN realized that saving is an important with the development of its business. As a result, there are a number of slogans about saving in the plant, office, canteen, even in toilets such as â€Å"the higher saving energy, the higher salaries†, â€Å"one hour oven burning equals to 100 oxen†, â€Å"one hour air compressing equals to 100 pumpkins†. Ford VN understands that the majority of its wor kers were grown up in farms.Therefore, using the familiar things with the workers such as ox, pumpkin is to make the workers more understand the slogan and then m work more effectively. Addition to the slogans, the company publics the price list of the tools the workers using to make them understand the value of each tools they are using, the take care of those tools, saving and using effectively. [pic] Figure 1: Ford Vietnam Symbol is an element showing the Ford VN culture. It acts as shorthand way to keep people aligned as well as the way to indicate status within a culture.This includes clothing, office decor, and so on. In term of clothing, Ford VN designed uniforms for its employees based on the characteristics of the work the employees carrying out. For example, the staffs working in the office wear the blue shirt while the workers in the Paint shop wear a green-stripe suite which is quite convenient, and suitable with the condition in Paint shop. Meanwhile, the uniforms of wo rkers in Body shop and Final assembly are different from the office staffs and Paint shop workers but quite similar to each other.These uniform are not only for identifying the employees in different fields of work, but also for showing the spirit that Ford VN wants to build up for its employees. From that, they are proud to be the employees of Ford VN and then have behaviors that are appropriate for their status and position. In term of office decor, the manufactory looks quite friendly with the environment. There are a lot of green grass between blocks with beautiful flowers and trees which are taken carefully.Besides, to support the rules and policies about the safety in the manufactory, there are drawings to distinguish the paths for walking and paths for goods carriers. It looks like an in-zooming traffic system in the manufactory. In addition to policies about the production, safety and saving in the notice-board, there are a lot of signboard in the plant. For example, there a re signboard about the areas for smoking and no smoking, areas for using cell phone. Moreover, there are a lot of pictures, certificates, cups divided into two groups.One group is about the Ford Company in history, introducing the presidents of Ford, the T-model, and achievements. The other group is about the achievements of Ford VN. In the office, there is no separate room for each department. The departments are all in a huge hall and separated by the sectors. That is quite helpful for the employees among departments to communicate with each other easily. In term of motivation, the company has done a lot of activities to motivate the employees. Firstly, when becoming the employees of Ford VN, they have opportunities to take part in training courses sponsored by Ford.Furthermore, if the workers want to exchange the field in job in the plant, they can register and will be provided a six month training to improve their skill so that suitable with the position they want to change. Mor eover, they can be exchanged to other manufactory of Ford in the world wide. It is the good way for the employees to develop themselves and be globalized. Suggestion plan is an activity motivating the employees have new ideas to improve the quality of production which is updated every first day of a week. If the new ideas are evaluated as the good ideas, the ones who have those ideas will be given a bonus.If those ideas can be applied in production, those will be rewarded. Besides, there is a closing ceremony to acknowledge the best idea every year. Additionally, the best employee will be recognized and rewarded. The bonus will be given based on that situation of the company. Besides, the company also organizes a consulting sales competitive festival in the whole Vietnam. In addition to activities related to the production and operation, the company also organizes competitions on chess, billiards, table-tennis, tug of war, and so on. It helps the employees entertain after tired work ing ours. Moreover, there is a family day in which all the member in the family of employees can come to visit the manufactory and join the party with others. Besides, there are a lot of propagandas from Ford Vietnam so that the employees enhance their sense to take care of themselves. From example, the company propagandized about the way to prevent from chicken blue H1N1 when that disease appeared. Additionally, HIV-AIDS is a century disease that the whole society is taking care, so is Ford VN. There are a lot of pictures and slogan in the manufactory propagandizing about it.Besides, there is a automatic machine selling condom in the Man toilet with very low price (VND 1000). The company is doing the job showing the right way for their employees to prevent and protect themselves from that disease. In term of leadership, Michael Pease, the General Director of Ford VN is apprised to follow the democratic leadership style. He is commented that he is an open-hearted, friendly, funny, c ondescending, reliable, and stable man, especially in the business. Within more than two years from the first day he came to Ford VN, he succeeded in building trust, faith with the employees.In Ford VN, every employee can take part in the decision making process and made decision based on the level of their authority. With the important issue, normally the one makes the final decisions is still the general director. In term of social responsibility, Ford VN always considers that activities contribute for the society is one part of responsibility of the company. Ford VN has carried out many programs in driving safety, environment protection, and prevention in Vietnamese traditions, and other charity activities.For example, Road safety education for both children and adults, driving skills for life which guide the driver how to drive safety. Besides, in 5 years ago, Ford VN sponsored a lot of cars for American war veterans with about USD$ 150,000. Additionally, Ford Grant sponsors for the environment protection and prevention in cultural traditions with about USD$ 40,000. In conclusion, by the way Mr. Pease decentralize the power of the authority in the company, his individual managers can understand clearly their works and responsibilities, so that they can take their own decision in their field of business.Besides, individuals in the company tend to learn an expertise without experiencing risk. Additionally, employees are rewarded for their expertise and their contribution to the company rather than simply for their position in the hierarchy or their length of service. Furthermore, he also wants to build trust, respect and commitment, and work best when wanting to receive input. Theoretically, it is called role structure. Moreover, the employees in Ford VN work with team based. There is no dominant or clear leader. The performance is judged by the results.The most important thing is how to get the job done. Theoretically, Ford VN also follows the task culture. In conclusion, the culture of Ford VN is combined between role culture and task culture. 1. 3. Inter-relationships between the different processes and functions of the organization Among the departments of Ford VN, there are two kinds of close relationships that will be mention and evaluate below. The first kind the writers want to mention is the relationship where the output of this department becomes the input of other departments.This kind of relationship make the departments inside Ford VN become the internal customers of each others, and ensure that the process inside the company will be fluent and qualified. In reality, the output of each department in Ford VN is created based on the orders of other departments. For example, the output of Marketing department is the fact that customers come to the company, and this fact becomes the input of the sales department. The output of the sales department: cars sold to customers becomes the input of the Aftermarket sales & service dep artment.In this kind of relationship, the departments of Ford VN become customers of each other and they have to try their best to satisfy their internal customers and to keep their products qualified with ISO 9001. In the structure of Ford VN, there is a department which supervises the output of the others: the quality manager department. This department represents for the customers. As a result, their comments and ideas are very important to the other departments. The second relationship is the supporting relationship among the departments. All the departments have a main aim: the development and profit of Ford VN.Therefore, they team up to create the power of Ford VN. Every part of the process has the contribution of the whole company. For example, in a marketing campaign, from the preparation to the implementation, there are contributions of the public affair department, marketing department, sales department, and after sales and service department. First the marketing departmen t will research the market to find out the demand, the needs and wants of the customers, and then they design a proposal which call for the contributions of the other departments.The ideas come to make the proposal more applicable. After that, the proposal will be tested by the quality manager department, whose voice represents for the voice of the customers. After that, the proposal will be brought to trial after the agreement with the finance department, then moving to implementation process, and this process depends on the efforts of the sales department and the service and after sales department. To ensure that a proposal running right as it was designed, the whole company has to participate and support each other. 2.Mission, aims and objectives o Ford and the effect of these on the structure and culture of the organization ? Mission To talk theoretically, a mission describes the organization’s basic function in society, in terms of the products and services it produces f or its clients (BPP 2004). A mission can also be an answer for the question: â€Å"why does the company exist? † Bases on this definition and to link up with Ford Company, our group considered that the firm’s mission is â€Å"To build up a safety, creative and comfortable working environment for everybody. † ? AimsAims or goals give a sense o direction for the activities of an organization and are sufficient for the satisfaction of the organization’s mission (BPP 2004). There are some important functions to make a statement as an aim. Firstly, aims provide a standard of performance. Second, Aim can be considered as a guideline which provides the basis for planning and management control of the firm’s activities. Next, aims influence the structure of the organization and determine the nature of the technology employed. Last, aims are the basis objectives and policies of the organization.In terms of understanding exactly what the aims are, Ford has s ome main and important ones. Ford Vietnam wants to focus on satisfying the needs of the customers and improving the quality of its cars. Furthermore, the company will expand the scale of the firm in Vietnam by developing more retailers and customer services around our country. Not only this, Ford Vietnam wants to improve the organization’s market share because Ford had lost too much share to other competitors. ? Objectives Objectives are very necessary for a company.We can understand objectives as the goals of the firm but more particular. An objective often includes five elements, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result-orientated, Time-bounded. In case of Ford Vietnam, it has some objectives for the year 2010. First, Ford will take a new model of its car, named Fiesta to Vietnamese market in the second quarter of 2010. This model got a big success in Europe market and was voted as one of 10 cars of the year 2010. Therefore, Ford Vietnam believes that it can get the same re sult in Vietnam market as well.Moreover, Ford wants to open new retailer, customer service centre, raise the number of dealer to 23 at the end of two first quarter of the year. Through it, the firm will raise people’s awareness and maintain the stand in customer’s mind. Lately, one of many important purposes in this year is to raise the share in Vietnam market from only 11% to 25% at the end of this year. ? Effect of mission, aims, objectives to the structure and culture of Ford Vietnam Aims and objectives are the first factor in terms of creating the firm’s structure and help facilitate systems of communication between different parts of the organization.To achieve aims and objectives, Ford creates the One Ford structure; include One team, One plan and One goal. It helps Ford’s agents all over the world to be identical to Ford Company. As this result, it will be easier to control the structure and make a general plan for the organization. [pic] Figure 2: One Ford model The most important mission of Ford is to create an equal and comfortable working environment for all employees of the company, so it influences so much to the organization’s culture. 3. Process maps, output evaluation, and quality gateway analysisBody shop Paint shop and accessories There are quality gateways in the process maps that the writers want to mention. The first quality gateway is placed right after the completion of the frame of the car, with doors and engines. In this gateway, the workers take a completed frame randomly and take it to a room where they use machines and modern technology to check whether the frame achieved the size and quality that they want or not. If the frame has no issue, it will be certified to be the completed frame and be moved to the paint shop.If it has issues, the worker will check the whole lines to see whether those issues happens in all the other products or not, and they will fix it. The second gateway is placed after the frames are painted. Here, the worker will check whether the surface of the painted frames achieved the quality. If not, the frame will be re-clean and repaint. If the frames are qualified, they are considered completely painted. They will be moved to the area where bumpers, accessories and tires are installed.The last quality gateway that a car must pass to be certified is a combo of tests such as water proof test, speed test, acceleration test, etc†¦ If the car fails any of these tests, it will be moved to the fixing area and be re-testing till it passes all of these tests. After that, the car is considered completed, qualified with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and QS 9000, and ready to be sold in the market. The cars of Ford are the products of a strict process. The quality of the Ford cars have been proved and accepted all over the world. However, in Vietnam, Ford is not so favored as Toyota, Kia, and Hyundai.The main reasons are the design of Ford cars and the fact that Ford car s consume more fuel than other brands. The design of Ford cars, according to some professional ideas, looks muscular than other brands. Another problem is the fuel consumption of Ford car. Because Ford cars have the higher engine capacity, they consume more fuel than almost the cars of other brands in the same segmentation. However, in the recent years, Ford has tried a lot to improve these problems and we now can see more Ford cars on the road. 4. Resources, tools and systems required to support the business processFord’s success totally depends on such supporting elements as resources, tools and systems. Acknowledgement of those supports will determine the human recruitments, managements, therefore helps to evaluate the sources of cost and sales of Ford. ? Resources required supporting Ford’s process In a business process, identification of its resources is very important because from identifying resources, we can acknowledge what we have and therefore are able to bu ild up an appropriate strategy, in order to support the business process. The resources can be divided into these groups: ?Financial Resources A financial plan consists of sets of financial statements that forecast the resource implications of making business decisions. It is important because the financial plan will need to take into account sources of finance, costs of finance, and costs of developing the project, as well as the revenues and likely profits to justify the expansion programme. Financial plans are typically made out for a given time period, e. g. one, three or five years. Without a financial planning, Ford will not be able to know which target to aim and do not know how much to spend.It will avoid unnecessary debts and be more effective in the construction, use and protection of its wealth through the years. An audit of financial resources would include assessment of the following factors: |Existing finance funds |- Cash balances | |   |- Bank overdraft | |   |- Bank and other loans | |   |- Shareholders' capital | |   |- Working capital (e. g. tocks, debtors) already invested in the business | |   |- Creditors (suppliers, government) | |Ability to raise new |- Strength and reputation of the management team and the overall Ford | |funds | | |   |- Strength of relationships with existing investors and lenders | |   |- Attractiveness of the market in which the business operates (i. e. s it a market that is attracting investment | | |generally? ) | |   |- Listing on a quoted Stock Exchange? If not, is this a realistic possibility? | ? Human Resources The importance of human resources within an organization is becoming increasingly understood in today's rapidly changing and uncertain business environment. In order to assist employees in helping Ford to reach its strategic business goals, effective human resource managers often gather job related information in a job analysis and job description, which is vital to creating or re-d esigning jobs which provide employees with a high level of job satisfaction.The basic human resource activity can help Ford to achieve strategic goals more efficiently and effectively by avoiding both duplication and overlapping of work. An audit of human resources would include assessment of the following factors: |Existing staffing |- Numbers of staff by function, location, grade, experience, qualification, remuneration | |resources | | |   |- Existing rate of staff loss | |   |- Overall standard of training and specific training standards in key oles | |   |- Assessment of key such as morale, business culture | |Changes required to |- What changes to the organization of Ford are included in the strategy (e. g. change of location, new locations, | |resources |and new products)? | |   |- What incremental human resources are required? | |   |- How should they be sourced? | ? Physical Resources The category of physical resources covers wide range of operational resources concerned with the physical capability to deliver a strategy.These include: |Production facilities |- Location of existing production facilities; capacity; investment and maintenance requirements | | |- Current production processes – quality; method & organisation | | |- Extent to which production requirements of the strategy can be delivered by existing facilities | |Marketing facilities |- Marketing management process | | |- Distribution channels | |Information technology |- IT systems | | |- Integration with customers and suppliers | ? Intangible Resources It is easy to ignore the intangible resources of a business when assessing how to deliver a strategy – but they can be crucial. Intangibles include: |Goodwill |- The difference between the value of the tangible assets of the business and the actual value of the business | | |(what someone would be prepared to pay for it) | |Reputation |- Does the business have a track record of delivering on its strategic object ives?If so, this could help gather | | |the necessary support from employees and suppliers | |Brands |- Strong brands are often the key factor in whether a growth strategy is a success or failure | |Intellectual Property |- Key commercial rights protected by patents and trademarks may be an important factor in the strategy. | ? Tools required supporting Ford’s process Policy is a mandate and directive from the top of the organization. Its purpose is to influence behavior. From it, management provides the overarching principles under which the business operates. It should not vary in its message or enforcement model. Procedures are process specific and detail the steps taken to achieve an objective. Procedures include operations manual, user manual, and all manner of process documentation. Policies are usually seen as the rules, or laws, of an organization, whereas the procedures are the processes used to enact the policies.However, many companies see policies and procedures a s belonging to the Legal/Compliance department, and create another set of processes — usually referred to as an â€Å"operational guide† — that are created and maintained by the operational area that executes the actual processes. If it is put into BPM (Business Process Management), then some of these operational procedures may be further documented in the process. Besides, there is the responsibility issue that is referred to above lead to the question who is responsible for each of these essential bits of corporate documentation. If process maps are created within a BPMS, do they become part of the business process documentation, replace part of it, or stay as a separate â€Å"implementation view† of the processes?There are several cases where the process maps in a BPMS bear little resemblance to what the business perceives as its processes, either due to limitations in the BPMS environment or to the business having an incomplete view of the process. Th ird is the whole technology issue: how is all of this information captured, published and synchronized? There are tools such as Rules Arts and Rule Burst that help to capture policies as high-level non-executable rules — an approach that makes more sense than just trying to document them free-form in a word processor while praying for consistency. Some of this systems are also business rules engines, that is, they execute the rules and can be called from other applications; some are just platforms for non-technical users to document policies, detect gaps and exceptions, and help to ensure compliance. Processes based on rules.Those organizations documenting their policies in a word processor are likely also documenting their procedures in the same way — in fact, possibly in the same document — using descriptive text and a few diagrams. At some level of detail, someone starts drawing process maps, although these are usually as illustrations to the descriptive text rather than a replacement for it. Policies are guidelines and best practices which are enforced by an organization to achieve a desired outcome consistently to the benefit of an organization. There are two distinct types of policies – technical policies and business policies. Changes in technical policies may or may not impact the business processes.Changes in business policy will certainly affect business processes since business policies are nothing but externalization and manifestation of business rules using XML and BPEL. Service orientation provides the capability to alter the business processes dynamically and instantaneously as per the changing business needs by applying the policy changes unlike in the traditional IT + Business environments, where a simple policy change can take several months to implement. ? System required supporting business process A structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within Ford, in contrast to a product focus’s emphasis on.A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action. †¦ Taking a process approach implies adopting the customer’s point of view. A typical characteristic of a successful process-based organisation is the absence of secondary activities in the primary value flow that is created in the customer oriented primary processes. The characteristic of processes indicates that processes are embedded in some form of organisational structure. Also, a process can be cross-functional, i. e. it ranges over several business functions. A structure system required for supporting a business process identifies: ? The activities and tasks within a business process. ? The actions (i. e. steps) performed in each task, the mode in which each action will be performed , and the time that will be required to execute the task. ? The inputs/materials required by a task. ? The outputs/products produced by a task. ? The internal and external customers and suppliers of a task. ? The organisational units that will be responsible for performing the task and the geographical locations where the task will be performed. ? The sequence in which the tasks will be performed. ? The data required by a business process and the quality and timeliness requirements of the data. ? The process measurement capabilities designed into the new business processes. 5.Quality audit system/ practice to manage and monitor quality to standards specified By adapting some models which based on controlling quality in manufacturing and operated process, Ford Vietnam is the only one Motor company in Vietnam that was granted three quality certifications by International Organization for Standardization, that are ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and QS 9000. In specific certification about quality was set, Ford Vietnam was passed the test and standard quality certification ISO/TS 16949 by International Automotive Task Force (IATF). ISO 9001: when receiving this kind of certification, that means Ford Vietnam was the company that achieves all the requirements about quality regulation.There are some kinds of quality objectives was required, they are quality of broad of directors and quality of all departments of company to meet the customer demands. ISO 14001: is the standard of environmental management requirements given its management of environment needs for organizations. The purpose of ISO 14001 is to help organization protecting its environment. By receiving this standard, Ford Vietnam expresses that they built the environmental management system and set the environmental objectives and had the system to control what they had set. QS 9000: The QS-9000 Quality System requirements are divided into three sections. Section 1: Common requirements, includes the exact text of IS O 9001 with the addition of automotive / heavy trucking requirements.Section 2: Additional Requirements, includes requirements beyond the scope of ISO 9001, common to all three manufacturers. Section 3: Customer Specific Sections contains requirements unique to either Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler. ISO/TS 16949: is the quality system requirement for Ford Motor Company suppliers (production and service parts and materials). It includes innovate and improve quality of products cause of changing requirements all the time. Receiving these standard certifications that means Ford was accepted by customer cause of quality. As the result, Ford needs to apply a quality audit system to keep going these standards. In recent time, by always innovate the quality of product and management, ith slogan â€Å"Quality is Job number one†, Ford is using TQM (Total Quality Management) system to manage and monitor the standards specified. Based on the Managing activities to Achieve Result BBP course book, TQM was defined that â€Å"as the management approach of an organization centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success. This is achieved through customer satisfaction and benefits to all members of the organization and to society†. TQM requires the integration of all functions of organization (marketing, finance, production†¦). As a tool support to meet objective of TQM that â€Å"Do the right thing, right the first time, every time†, Six Sigma was concerned within Ford Company.Mike Stock, a Ford Master Black Belt said â€Å"Consumer Driven 6-Sigma allowed us to look at the interactions between all of the components to find the true root cause; the data it produced allowed us to identify all of the key contributors, and how much each truly impacted the overall issue† First of all, â€Å"for each department of Ford Vietnam like Marketing, Finance, Human resource must achieve target 6-Sigmaâ⠂¬  _ say Mr Vuong. That explains the first rules of 6-sigma that everyone must be involved. According to Mr Vuong, every management levels and team of staffs have a Scorecard that set objectives about safety, quality, and delivery have to achieve. Each staffs of team in company need to have their own objectives based on the top-management objectives and have monthly review.In 6-Sigma, there are two pieces Project in Ford, they are Green Belt and Black belt teams. Black Belts typically use tools such as process mapping, cause-and-effect diagrams, failure mode and effects analysis, design of experiments, and mistake proofing in their daily work. Black belt team is gathering of the ones who have experiences, skills. Green belt team learns to help Black Belts do projects faster. Green Belt training allows the people who are affected by the Six Sigma projects to be able to continue to monitor and control the improvement and to do their jobs better. To Ford, 6- sigma is the channel to c onduct training in manufacturing for SPC (Statistical Process Control).As the Process map was discussed in part above, at the end of each period of process, there are the testing step from input to output, the staff in testing step will check whether having mistakes or not. For example, in body shop, after frame of car was assembled, there have the 3D measure checking machine to check whether the standard parameter meets the requirements or not. Moreover, any issue appears in assembling process, the employee will warn to manager of this part and he will solve the issues. Furthermore, the feedback of customer voice will be concerned and solved. In conclude, the quality audit system was used by Ford is TQM with the improvement method is Six-sigma. The quality of human and products of Ford was improved and developed. 6. Quality culture embedding to ensure continuous monitoring and development of the processAutomobile industry requires strictly safety condition, because it relates to sa fe of consumers. Before reaching to consumers, they are tested many times carefully. Thus, if the company focuses mainly on quantity, ignore quality, defects may occur that affects to customer satisfaction. In addition, the company might encounter with compensation for their defects that affect directly to revenue of the company. Therefore, in order to avoid errors that results in costing money, and risk of losing customers, quality-focus should be carried out and be the culture of the company. It means that quality should be concerned by all employees and continuous improving it.Quality is considered as the most concerned factor of Ford with slogan: â€Å"Quality is job number one. † Quality is not only carried out in steps of process but also in employees. 6. 1. Quality in employees Beginning with employees of Ford organization in Vietnam, located in Hai Duong, most of them are qualified and skilled employees. Bachelor degree for staff with English skills, experiences, inte rview, team work, and so on. Workers at least intermediate degree to satisfy working requirements, i. e. English skills, technical abilities, team work, and interview. After that they have training course to accustom to the work. Salary for Ford employees are competitive compare to other companies.They are also received bonus depends on the company situation. The best employee will be awarded for the one who work best each month. It proves that the company selects and trains employees carefully to maintain and attract quality employees. Through our visiting to Ford, Ford employees are friendly; show us their operation dedicatedly, answer all questions responsibly that makes advantages for us to do assignment well. They also work really discipline. Workers follow safety labor strictly. In addition, in this factory, clinic is quite clean and equipped; first aid process is displayed everywhere, there are at least two nurses in the clinic in case there is any accident.Thus, the most ser ious accident in this factory is lost one part of a finger. 6. 2. Quality in process Qualified employees help manufacturing process in factory go well. As we mentioned in some parts above, input and output are tested carefully in each period, and in general. In addition, Ford care about feedbacks as well as complaints of customers. Ford products must satisfy Ford standards in particularly, achieve ISO, requirements of car industry, i. e. ISO 9001, QS 9000, ISO 14001, TS 16949. If there are more orders than usual, Ford still focuses on quality, careful in each step of process. Although it takes time and lengthen delivered time, it brings guaranteed for consumers.Furthermore, Ford builds quality culture based on two factors of Six Sigma system, i. e. Green Belts and Black Belts. Green Belts support for Black Belts to carry out projects more effective. Employees take one week training program to understand Six Sigma system as well as Black Belts basically. There are three classes in Gr een Belts training which depends on fields that employee trained, i. e. technical, manufacturing, and transactional. Apart from these, one of the responsibilities of Green Belts is to ensure the quality improvement, continuous monitoring, and control it which can avoid losing control management. In terms of Black Belts which used some methods, i. e. xperiments, mistake proofing, process map, cause and effect diagrams, failure mode and effect analysis in their daily work to avoid errors that make work better. Ford has applied Black Belts for two years and DMAIC cycle model, which stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control for current operations, will be organized for one month to train employees. To sum it up, Ford is now carrying out to maintain as well as improve quality to make it become culture of the organization. However, building quality culture to ensure monitor and development of process is take time and cost. 7. Recommendation to improve quality and the function of Ford Vietnam 7. 1. Problem Ford VN is evaluated as one of the companies which have the best working environment.In fact, with half a day visiting in the manufactory of Ford VN, everything seems to be very good. The employees are equipped with many modern working tools. Besides, the manufactory is clean and quite friendly with the environment. In addition, all the employees follow the roles, policies and procedures of the factory. Moreover, there are a lot of activities to motivate the employees. However, our group realized that the atmosphere in the manufactory is so serene that there is very little communication among employees. Of course, when they are in the working hours, they focus on the works that they have to get done. However, it is not better in the break time.In the lunch, the employees just stand in a queue to wait for taking their meals. After that, they sit down, eat, give back the dishes, and then go back their places. There is no hurry, fun, sense in their face. E verything happening likes a film in slow motion and repeats every day. 7. 2. Reasons There are two main reasons for that problem such as the characteristic of the job and the not high pressure in work. ? The characteristic of the job The main characteristic of the job is the specialization in production. It means that each employee is a specialist in a specific job, so that they will repeat the acts in the assembly line day by day. As a result, it will make the employees feel boring.In fact, the first using assembly line with Model T in 1908 by Henry Ford created the success and strong brand of Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line. He did, however, change the world by using an assembly line technique to produce cars which could be afforded by everyone. By improving the assembly line so that the Model T could be produced ever more inexpensively, Ford placed the power of the internal combustion engine within reach of the average citizen. He transformed the automobile itself from a luxury to a necessity. From 1909 to 1029, the Ford Motor Company built more than 15 million Model T[1]. Without a doubt, Henry Ford transformed the economic and social fabric of the 20th century.However, this masterpiece of the 20th century is now becoming a headache problem of the 21st century. In fact, the company makes many chances for the worker to exchange their job in the assembly line with six months training. Nevertheless, this seems to be not effective in improving the atmosphere in the manufactory. ? The not high pressure in work The work with not high pressure or even quite love pressure is a peaceful work. It might sound good. However, stability and peace are not a good element to motivate the employees. It may cause boredom for the employees, and then may cause the reason for their leaving. The main reason why the pressure in work is low is the very low demand consuming products of Ford VN.The productivity of the manufactory is quite low only reached about 10%. Although, the sales volume of Ford in 2009 is grow up comparing with the sales volume of Ford the year before, it is quite low comparing with the biggest competitor, Toyota and the development of Car market in Vietnam. The first reason is the product itself. The design of products of Ford is not outstanding in comparison with products of other motor company such as Toyota, Honda, GM Daewoo, and so on. Meanwhile, the main customer buying car is the one who have very how income and care about the fashion trend so much. Moreover, the engine of products of Ford is petro consuming and quite cumbersome.It is a very big advantage of products of Ford in the period of financial crisis. Besides, the marketing activities of Ford VN are quite quiet. As a result, the image of Ford VN is dimmer and dimmer. Many people don’t know about the different product line of Ford VN. If this problem continues to happen. This will make the decreasing in market share. As a result the profit of the company is also going down, then the profit is decreasing, and then the bonus is also decreasing. This will lead to a result of the leaving of their employees. 7. 3. Recommendations and evaluation Due to reasons mentioned at the previous part, there is a need of changing in the Ford VN.In general, Ford VN should change in two issues: increasing the market share and motivation. The main job of increasing the market share is to create the demand for the Vietnamese customers. Based on the reasons of the problem, carrying out market researches, developing marketing activities, and changing in the product itself should be done to increase the market share. Although it may cost a lot in short-term, the company can obtain benefits in the long-term. The company does not have to apply all methods presented below at the same time, they can be applied depends on the situation of the company and the Vietnamese car market in specific period. ? Market researches Mark et research includes four methods, i. e. urvey, interview, observation, focus group. Depends on the situation of the company, Vietnamese market, appropriated methods can be applied. The company should carry out two kinds of market research. Firstly, the company should do a research inside the company. It means that the company should understand clearly about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities as well as the threats of the company. It is important for the company to find out the disadvantage competitive to make it better and the advantage competitive to develop. The company should also find out about the distribution system to support them. Secondly, Ford VN should do research market about car market in Vietnam.It is important for the company to understand clearly about the potential market size, and trends of the car consumers. With the development of technology, the trends of the customers are changing so much days by days. They also care about the reputation of the brands, t he fashion trends, petrol-consume and so on. Therefore, by doing the market research regularly, Ford can catch up the new trends of the market in common. Additionally, the company also can set up the price so as suitable with the Vietnamese living standard. Besides, the company may update information about the competitors in Vietnamese market. The best way to be the leader in the car market is to itself create its trends that attract the customers.However, the result of market research may not really precise; thus, the company should not rely totally on those results. ? Marketing activities Although Ford is a well-known brand, and familiar to Vietnamese customers, rarely do Ford products circulates in Hanoi streets. Through our observation, one of the reasons is rate of advertising on television, public places is rather low. In addition, car is luxury goods, not everyone can afford it, thus customers tend to consider carefully before making decision based on price, infrastructure, c limate, petrol-consume, and so on. Therefore, marketing and sales is very important to increase market shares in Vietnam.It is common knowledge that there are six lines of Ford cars in Vietnam, i. e. New Focus, Mondeo, Escape, Everest, Ranger, and Transit. Each of them has their own functions and features that appropriate with Vietnamese geography. Vietnam is divided into three areas, i. e. the North, the Middle, and the South with different geography. Geography in the North is flatter than the Middle and the South. Thus, Escape, Everest, and Ranger are likely to be suitable for the Middle and the South. New Focus and Mondeo are appropriated to the North, and some parts of the South where has flat terrain. Therefore, Ford should carry out promotional activities that suitable for each place based on Vietnamese geography.There are a range of promotional activities, i. e. advertising, sale promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling, and so on. On the other hand , cost for promotion is very high. Therefore, promotional activities should be applied effectively and creatively. Advertising It is important to regain attention of Vietnamese customers by advertising to prove that Ford is new trend and people will be fashionable when drive it. Besides, Ford should increase rate of advertisement on television, magazines, cinemas, placards, posters in public places. Ford can advertise in golden hours, from 7p. m to 10p. m to catch attention of customers.Advertisement should be in long-term. Feature of cars should be emphasized to remind customers that they select the most appropriate car. Advertising should be assigned to experience as well as creative advertising company. Public relation Besides advertising, public relation is very important. In this method, some celebrities should be invited to use and promote Ford cars to show that it is fashionable when driving Ford every day. Furthermore, in order to build up a good cooperate image, good relati onship with customers, some activities should be carried out: †¢ Sponsoring for events, e. g. V-League championship, concerts, sport events, and so on.Especially, there is ceremony of 1000 year of Thang Long – Hanoi, Ford can take part to sponsor this activity. †¢ Awarding scholarship for poor children or encourage pupils, students who have excellent result. †¢ Participating in charities programs, or celebrates the days about environment. Sales promotion: Ford can discount for sales promotion, or reduce tax, free-register, or give gift for customers. Ford should concern about old customers, e. g. discount guaranteed. Direct marketing Among six lines of products, Transit is likely to be used in enterprises. Therefore, besides those activities above, direct marketing should be applied. With business buyers, there always have a group of people response o select product for their business. Ford should use face-to-face marketing method at the first stage by offer so me experienced employees with communicative ability, flexible, professional to come to these firms to introduce. With those activities are presented above, although the cost is high and can make loss for Ford in short-term, the company can achieve the good result in long-term. Along with that, with activities Ford plan to contribute to community, it is proved that Ford is an ethic company, has responsibilities for Vietnamese and to be favored by Vietnamese citizens. ? Changing in the product itself This changing in the product mostly depends on the market research.Furthermore, the most difficult thing of Ford VN is that the main job of the company is to assemble the car based on the design of Mother Company in the United State of America. Every spare parts and engine are imported from foreign countries. However, the company can propose the changing to the suppliers so that the products of Ford are more suitable with the demand and trends and the car market in Vietnam. Nevertheless, changing in the product applied for Vietnam must ask for permission from the Mother Company as well as shareholders. Thus, it may take time whether the suggestion is passed or not. In addition, the suggestion applied for Vietnam should be similar to other countries.Ford cannot manufacture a new design only for Vietnam because it cost too much and it does not guarantee that whether the company can cover the loss or not. In term of motivation, the company has quite done a good job in creating the good working environment for its employees. However, there are some changes the company should do to manage and motivate employees more effectively. Firstly, the company should have a little bit change in conditions of taking the training courses sponsored by Ford VN. There is a problem that, some employees of Ford taking the Master course at the faculty of international education at NEU have serious attitude in studying because there is no rules or condition between the employees and Ford VN . Then, they were absent a lot.As a result, the training courses sponsored by Ford VN that those employees took were not effective. Besides, there is a problem that, after taking the training courses sponsored by Ford VN, some employees left Ford and went to other company, the competitors of Ford, for example. Therefore, instead of no condition of taking the training courses, the company should have some conditions when support the employees taking the training courses to hold its employees. Additionally, the company should build up an entertainment room for the employees. From that, it increases the communication among employees, and then creates enthusiasm for the employees.Moreover, the company should build a hostel building for the employees whose houses are far from the manufactory. Furthermore, the company should also have a psychological consulting room. In that room, the employees can share all their worries, opinion, and so on as well as receive advice from the profession. It is the good way to reduce stress for employees and have better results in working. Conclusion After observing, analysing and evaluating Ford’s organisation, we, group 19 has drawn to the conclusion as well as some recommendations for Fords to change for improvement of quality and its function. 15 years has gone by and Ford’s market share has decreased while the sale volume is increasing rapidly each years.It means that Ford is not the trend-setter but trend-follower. Ford’s line seems to be in the position of wait, which is not appropriate in this competed market when lots of car enterprises took part in the market such as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, BMW, Daewoo, Hyundai, etc. As for the middle class car, Ford was unable to compete with Hyundai or Daewoo whose prices are suitable for most of Vietnamese people. Besides, luxury car of Ford has no chance to compete with Mercedes-Benz, Camry of Toyota or Audi of BMW, etc. On the other hands, Ford’s cars have a disadvantage that lead to the slow sale volume is petrol-consuming whether others Cars Company has considered of this problem long time ago.Therefore we have analysed and evaluated Ford’s situations and drawn some recommendations for it to improve quality as well as its function. However, this recommendation is still in theory, it depends on market’s variety and requires sensibility and sensitivity of Ford’s managers, in order to act suitably with the change of market. 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Paton (n. d. ), Consumer-driver Six Sigma saves Ford $300 million [Online], Available from: http://www. qualitydigest. com/sept01/html/ford. html [Assessed April 21, 2010] †¢ Six Sigma Black Belt and Six Sigma Green Belt [Online], Available from: http://www. sixsigmaonline. org/six-sigma-training-certification-information/articles/six-sigma-black-belt-and-six-sigma-green-belt. tml [Assessed April 21, 2010] †¢ Thomas Pyzdek (2003), 101 things every six sigma black belt should know [Online], Available from: http://www. sixsigmatraining. org/101 [Assessed April 23, 2010] †¢ VON HALLE, Barbara & GOLDBERG, Larry (2006 October 9). The Business Rule Revolution. [Assessed April 22, 2010] ———————– [1] History of Model T, Available from: http://www. modelt. ca/background. html ———————– General Director Quality M anager Deputy Manager Public Affair After market sales & service Sales Marketing Technical Affair Human resource Finance Supply Operation Launching Purchasing Logistics Manufacturing Body shopPaint shop TCF Support function Materials (Body parts, paints, engines, etc. ) Yes No No No Yes Stored in the ground Completed cars Fix Is the car water-proof? Water-resistance test Are the functions of the car qualified? Functional Tests Yes Yes Yes Yes Is the frame of the car installed right? No Yes Check, then fix or discard if cannot fix Accessories, bumpers and tires installation Is the surface of the paint qualified? Body shop (ground up frames, install engines, etc. ) Paint shop (paint the car) Stored in the warehouse Yes No No Yes Yes No Material from warehouse Doors installation Engine installation Are there any issues with the frame?Are there any issues with the materials? Change and check the whole materials in the warehouse. Frame ground up Random size check with specific machines I s the size of the frame achieved the estimated quality? Completed frame with engines and doors Moved to paint shop Moved to testing area Completed car, prepare for last tests Accessories installation Yes Tires installation Bumpers installation No Yes Re-clean the surface Are there any issues with the surface of the frame? Surface check Dry room Paint No Are there any issues with the surface of the frame? Surface check Flow the surface to clean it up with high speed fans Completed frame with engines from body shop