Comparing Roderick Hudson s Rowland Mallet and The Ambassadors Lambert Strether :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing Roderick Hudson 's Rowland Mallet and The Ambassador's Lambert Strether One of Henry James' outstanding qualities is that, to a greater extent than with most writers, the only way to really understand him is to simply read a great deal more of him. This statement takes one thing largely under its assumptive stride, that is that there is something to understand, something suggested and promised by, but not contained within, his immaculate and elegant prose. Again, to a greater extent than with most novelists, with Henry James it is safe to say that the real story unfolds not fully in the light thrown off by the explicit story-telling; no matter how elaborate or complete the narrative web, there is always something beyond it, a greater significance that we are pointed to by a constant inability fully to explain to ourselves, at least within its own terms, the story we are reading. Taking Roderick Hudson from the earlier years, and The Ambassadors from the later, we can trace a certain evolution in the way James handled the themes that pervaded his work as well as his life, namely, disengagement, isolation, difference. Comparing, in these two novels, the portrayal of this resigned but not fully explicated isolation, each comes to shed an enormous light into the hidden recesses of the other, and onto James' larger project as a writer of fiction. The central characters of these two books compare in interesting ways. On a certain surface Roderick's Rowland Mallet and The Ambassador's Lambert Strether are quite different. For example, in their respective relations to the opposite sex†¹an important aspect of character in analyzing James' portrayal of isolation†¹the two men appear to have quite different histories. Though he is twenty years younger than Strether, it is significant that Mallet has never married. We are given, on the very first page of the novel, the gossamer-thin reason that upon meeting the "golden fruit" that his cousin had married, he had "then and there accepted the prospect of bachelorhood."(RH, 49) When his cousin dies, leaving this woman again marriageable, Mallet's "fancy", oddly, dies a "natural death"(49). Strether, on the other hand, has married; but, having married very young, he is, at fifty-five, a long-time widower. (The circumstances of Strether's marriage, and the deaths of his wife and son, "stupidly sacrificed"(TA, 114), sound a little like the plot-line of a James short story.)

Economy of the Netherlands :: essays research papers

The Netherlands has been a trading nation for centuries due to its open economy and outlook. The Dutch are seasoned travellers. They are proficient in languages and skilled in negotiating trade agreements and implementing projects against the odds. As an open economy, the Netherlands is susceptible to international developments, notably in recent years the global recession – which has been exacerbated by falling share prices, the attacks of 11 September 2001, the war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS. Nevertheless, the Netherlands was the world’s eighth largest exporter of goods and services in 2003. Its workforce numbered 7.5 million, three-quarters of whom worked in the service sector. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was â‚ ¬27,900. The unemployment rate was 5.3%. And growth was strongest in the public sector, education and health care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Traversed by the rivers Rhine, Maas and Scheldt as they meander towards the North Sea, the Netherlands is a hub of transport and distribution: a natural gateway to Europe and centre for multinational enterprise. Its advantages include an advanced infrastructure both for transport and telecommunications. Many Asian and North American imports to Europe are transhipped at Rotterdam or Amsterdam, the country’s two transport centres. The seaport of Rotterdam is the largest in the world, transhipping tens of millions of tonnes of goods per year. And Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is the fourth largest airport in Europe for both passenger and goods traffic. Dutch transport companies are clustered around the two main import and export centres: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the seaport of Rotterdam. The best-known transport companies are Nedlloyd, Frans Maas and Smit International. The world’s oldest national airline, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, had to merge with French airline Air France in 2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many Dutch companies operate globally. The Netherlands' three largest international trading companies are Ahold, SHV Holdings and Hagemeyer. Many manufacturers, such as Unilever Philips, Akzo Nobel and Shell, also do a great deal of trade. Dredging is a Dutch specialty and companies such as Boskalis, HAM and Ballast Nedam have larger foreign operations than domestic ones. And KPN Nederland is a major player in international telecommunications, working with many non-Dutch companies. Dutch manufacturers too have a global outlook. They export goods worldwide, maintain subsidiaries in many countries and often join forces with foreign partners. The main manufacturing industries are chemicals, food processing, metalworking and the refining of gas and oil. The printing and electronic engineering industries are also world-class. Dutch

Differing Views On Reconstruction :: American America History

Differing Views On Reconstruction By 1866, several distinct positions on Reconstruction emerged. These were divided into three opposing camps: Conservatives (democrats), Moderates, and Radicals. The Conservatives believed the South should be readmitted into the Union as soon as possible, but the Radicals and Moderates believed there should be consequences for succeeding. The question of what those consequences should be separated Radical from Moderate. The answer to this question was as related to how important each side believed it was to enfranchise African Americans into this country (socially, politically, economically, and culturally) as it was in exacting an appropriate punishment for the treasonous South. Although the two Republican factions disagreed on several aspects of Reconstruction policy, they both understood that the Conservative approach to Reconstruction could never be enacted. The Conservatives lead by President Johnson, believed in a rapid readmission, into the Union, for the defeated Southern states. Johnson's stipulations were solely that the states ratify the 13th Amendment, and repudiate Confederate war debt (thus making it null and void). A second more controversial measure to the democrat's plan for rapid reconstruction was the issuing of pardons to former Confederate officials, landowners, and generals. As a direct result of these pardons, former plantation owners' land was returned. The goal of the Conservatives during Reconstruction was obviously to return the South to the social, political, and economic structure of the antebellum period. The Conservative plans for reconstruction allowed the former Confederate leadership, which led the South to war to regain high ranking political positions. This made the Republicans fearful that the South would eventually move down the path of war with the Union. Furthermore, it also proved to the South that there were no consequences for succession. This was unacceptable to both Moderates and Radicals. In their eyes the South had committed treason and should have to suffer the consequences. However, Johnson never tried any of the Confederate leaders on charges of treason. The obvious answer to why the Conservatives wanted to enact this policy were because they were the ones guilty of succession. This was their way of protecting their self-interests. Before the war, Conservatives dominated Southern politics. After Southern succession they made up the majority of the Confederate government. However, the less than obvious answer was that they saw preserving the status quo antebellum as the only way to allow the Southern economy to one-day flourish. Considering that many conservatives were former slaveholders they enjoyed some vested interest in preserving the system. Differing Views On Reconstruction :: American America History Differing Views On Reconstruction By 1866, several distinct positions on Reconstruction emerged. These were divided into three opposing camps: Conservatives (democrats), Moderates, and Radicals. The Conservatives believed the South should be readmitted into the Union as soon as possible, but the Radicals and Moderates believed there should be consequences for succeeding. The question of what those consequences should be separated Radical from Moderate. The answer to this question was as related to how important each side believed it was to enfranchise African Americans into this country (socially, politically, economically, and culturally) as it was in exacting an appropriate punishment for the treasonous South. Although the two Republican factions disagreed on several aspects of Reconstruction policy, they both understood that the Conservative approach to Reconstruction could never be enacted. The Conservatives lead by President Johnson, believed in a rapid readmission, into the Union, for the defeated Southern states. Johnson's stipulations were solely that the states ratify the 13th Amendment, and repudiate Confederate war debt (thus making it null and void). A second more controversial measure to the democrat's plan for rapid reconstruction was the issuing of pardons to former Confederate officials, landowners, and generals. As a direct result of these pardons, former plantation owners' land was returned. The goal of the Conservatives during Reconstruction was obviously to return the South to the social, political, and economic structure of the antebellum period. The Conservative plans for reconstruction allowed the former Confederate leadership, which led the South to war to regain high ranking political positions. This made the Republicans fearful that the South would eventually move down the path of war with the Union. Furthermore, it also proved to the South that there were no consequences for succession. This was unacceptable to both Moderates and Radicals. In their eyes the South had committed treason and should have to suffer the consequences. However, Johnson never tried any of the Confederate leaders on charges of treason. The obvious answer to why the Conservatives wanted to enact this policy were because they were the ones guilty of succession. This was their way of protecting their self-interests. Before the war, Conservatives dominated Southern politics. After Southern succession they made up the majority of the Confederate government. However, the less than obvious answer was that they saw preserving the status quo antebellum as the only way to allow the Southern economy to one-day flourish. Considering that many conservatives were former slaveholders they enjoyed some vested interest in preserving the system.

Performance Management Plan Essay

A performance management system allows a business to maximize its efficiency through the sum of all its parts. Controlling employee’s behavior, maximizing employee efforts, and minimizing unproductive down town, is at the heart of a performance management system. In fact, according to Clardy (2013), â€Å"†¦a performance management system is the total complex of factors that trigger, channel, and maintain productive task performance.† (pg.1, para.2) Making sure employees are doing their job is no longer an efficient method of performance management. According to Cascio (2013), performance management can be thought of as a compass (pg. 332, para. 3). A compass will indicate current location and be a guide towards a desired direction. Thus, performance management helps businesses understand the current state of an employee’s performance and the desired outcome and direction in which to monitor and measure. Ensuring that an employee’s efforts are having a positive effect on business strategy becomes a key component of performance management. Moreover, human capital and performance management involves understanding how to align human capital management efforts to business strategies. Therefore, understanding how to align limo driver behaviors towards business strategy will be an indicator of the effectiveness of Landslide’s Limo performance management system. To facilitate the effort of recommending a performance management plan several issues will be addressed. First, how to align performance management to business strategy will be examined. Second, the philosophy of the organization performance will be explained. Third, a job analysis process will be conducted to identify the skills needed by employees and methods for measuring those skills will be detailed. Next, the process or processes for addressing skill gaps will be explained and lastly, the approach for delivering effective performance feedback will be determined. Aligning Performance Management to Business Strategy What becomes apparent, in maximizing employee efforts, is how human resources aligns human capital and performance management with business strategy. However, according to Schiemann (2007), â€Å"It’s a tough challenge when you consider that, on average, fewer than 20 percent of employees know their organization’s business strategy.† Therefore, what becomes a key issue is ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of the organizations business strategy. Fortunately, Landslide Limousine has a straightforward approach when it comes to business strategy, however, a few recommendations for further growth will also be included in this assessment and how to align performance management with the recommendations. Landslide Limousine has a business strategy of being comparable to other limousine services in the Austin area, hiring 25 employees, ensuring world class customer service, and achieving five percent revenue growth over the next two years. In addition, we would recommend furthering growth opportunities within a specialty limousine market, offering non-traditional fleet options for non-traditional customers. The performance management system should be clear and concise and the recommendation would be for a simple but effective performance management system. The first recommendation would be to clearly communicate the business strategy to all employees and ensure understanding through a survey of acknowledgement. It is important that all employees, especially limo drivers, understand the importance of how excellent customer service will effect business strategy and secondary benefits like pay. Second, setting smart targets for service and sales, monitoring and evaluating how employees achieve smart targets and sales. From initial contact and during limo service, upselling services and upgrades on every customer interaction, are important smart targets. Like McDonald’s, when an order is placed, employees will ask if the customer wants fries or a drink with their order, the same can be done with smart targets. When a customer orders limo service, asking if they would prefer a larger or more exotic limo would help align smart targets with strategy. Furthermore, monitoring smart targets could be completed using costumer surveys. Ensuring employees are properly supported throughout the process; evaluating performance and finally, further support through training and development. After a customer has completed their limousine service, managers will evaluate customer surveys  and offer any performance evaluation if necessary and any further training to ensure employees are attempting to upsell customers on services. Following this framework is essential in aligning performance management with business strategy and maximizing employee efforts towards business goals. Organizational performance philosophy Performance management is essential in creating an organization that is high performing and supporting employee development (Yale.edu, 2010). Therefore the organizational performance philosophy should align performance management processes towards the goals of performance planning, review, coaching, and development. First, employees are responsible for communicating about performance and ensuring that they are successful towards the development and continually striving for customer service excellence in support of organizational strategy. Next, management is responsible for ensuring that employees understand their performance goals and fully supported during and after development and assisted through performance reviews to ensure that goals are being obtained and that employees have all support and support resources. Ultimately, it will be the responsibility for the organization to provide an effective and impartial performance management system that encourages excellent performance, communication, and proper conveyance of a properly managed performance management infrastructure (Berkley.edu, 2014). Job Analysis and Necessary Employee Skills A job analysis allows an organization to clearly understand a position and the necessary skills employees must possess in order to functionally manage the position. In fact according to hrcouncil.ca (2014) Job analysis is a process for systematically collecting information to help you fully understand and describe the duties and responsibilities of a position as well as the knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the job. The aim is to have a complete picture of the position – what is actually done and how. With the knowledge and understanding of the expectations of a position, surmising the skillset necessary to competently fulfill positions becomes critical. Having a clear picture of the skills needed will be the frontline in aligning performance management with business strategy. First we must  define and identify necessary positions for Landslide Limousines. The necessary positions will be limousine drivers, customer service agents or office administration, fleet vehicle detailers or individuals who will be responsible for stocking limousines and detailing vehicles before and after customer use. Lastly, job analysis for supervisor and management positions must be ascertained for future purposes and to clarify the skill set necessary to help initiate the organizations performance management. Each position will require a broad spectrum of specific skills necessary, however, in general a job analysis will consist of: Summary of duties Details of most common duties Supervisory responsibilities Educational requirements Special qualification Experience Equipment/tools used Frequency of supervision Others the incumbent must be in contact with Authority for decision making Responsibility for records/reports/files Working conditions Physical demand of the job Mental demands of the job To identify the skills necessary for a limousine driver a few position details must be examined. First, drivers will be required to have the ability to drive limousine type vehicles such as stretch limousines and all over-sized limousines. Drivers must also be able to safely drive vehicles that can transport over fifteen people and have their Texas commercial driver’s license to accompany. Having the ability to clarify job duties as a driver will help ascertain the skills necessary to be a driver for Landslide. Support and administration positions must have the ability to communicate effectively and have attention to detail. Clarifying how support and administration positions will work in tangent with drivers will also be essential in understanding the skills necessary for both positions. Lastly, clearly defining management and supervisory so it becomes incumbent to have  a full understanding of how the entertainment and transportation industry works so that the individual can identify performance management aspects and how to properly align them to organizational strategy. Methods of Measuring Employees Skills and Addressing Skills Gap Having the ability to measure employee skills at initial hire and during employment can help in development and training and allocated support. Furthermore, understanding how to address any preexisting skills gap and any skills gap after training, can be critical for further employee development and maximizing human capital efforts. One method of measuring employee skills is to benchmark skills against a numerical formula that can translate skills into a measureable system. This measurable system can be done at initial hire or during an employee’s tenure. A team skills metric can be developed with the goal of benchmarking overall skills. A chart can be implemented with the Y axis and different job codes or specific work instructions across the top of the chart. A measurement of each can be labeled from A through C. The letter A would equal to being an expert and assigned negative three points, B would be classified as good, or trained in job and can work independently with minimum supervision and be assigned negative two points, finally, C would be classified as good or trained but needs moderate supervision (new) and assigned one point. From this numerical system score, each employee would have an average from all their skills and an assessment would be ascertained. Moreover, employees who were cross-trained or who possessed higher skills raised the score, therefore helping identify each employees overall score in relation to their skill set. Another method for measuring employee skills is to use a skills inventory management system. The skills inventory system can be deployed at initial hire or during employment. The skills inventory system would be an online assessment. According to brainbench (2002), A skills inventory begins with a skills measurement system that enables employees to access online skills assessments through the company intranet. When a company implements a new technology, for example, managers may have their employees take a test for skills related to that new technology. Furthermore, once the online test is taken the results are gathered and a numerical score system is assessed in which management can assess whether or  not further training is necessary and what skill gaps are still or continuously lingering. Both methods of measuring employees skills can be measured against a skills benchmark and addressing skills gap can begin. Addressing skill gaps can be addressed by training, development, and peer-mentoring. Further training to address driving issues can be done using defensive driving courses and customer service skills gaps can be addressed with more training as well. However, understanding how to develop better training to hinder further skill gaps is critical for further development. Development of skills should be addressed References Clardy, A. (2013). A General Framework for Performance Management Systems: Structure, Design, and Analysis. Performance Improvement, 52(2), 5-15. doi:10.1002/pfi.21324 Schiemann, W. A. (2007). Aligning people. Leadership Excellence, 24(8), 20. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204619577?accountid=458 University of Berkley. (2014). Berkley HR. Retrieved from http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/about/philosophy/performance-management Yale.edu. (2010, July). Yale University’s Performance Management System. Retrieved from http://www.yale.edu/hronline/focus/documents/2010JulyYALEPERFMGMNTGUIDERev6-7-10final.pdf

Analysis the operations management of Starbucks Essay

Operations management concentrates on managing process. All operations focus on the process of input, transformation and output. Operations management will concern about the cost of ingredients, labor requirements, and customer satisfaction. (Heizer, J, p, 39). So all the operators need to concentrate on some main objects of operations management such as capacity, quality, variability, and queuing. They should treat the task of balancing the supply with demand as their primary work. This essay will introduce the idea of how the operations are performed in Starbucks and how the relation between supply and demand is influenced. In the first section it will clarify the capacity and demand management. Regarding the second section it will point out the method in Starbucks to balance the supply and demand in quality aspect. Quality is the soul of a company,said Schurz in 2003. And the author can not agreed any more about this. For the final section it will discuss about the strategies whic h made by Starbucks to eliminate the problems occurred in queuing. Capacity management used to be called â€Å"demand management† (Crandall and Markland, 1996) or â€Å"managing capacity and demand† (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2004). Capacity management attempts to ensure the service runs well and satisfy the visitors’ requirements(Klassen and Rohleder, 2002). In terms of MRP, namely the material requirement planning, MRP is a manufacturing project as well as practical technology. It begins with defining products based on forecasting of market demands and customers’ order. Following this, a plan based on the producing progress of products, products’ material form and stock situation is formed. With the help of computer to calculate the needed amount and time, it then can clarify the manufacture progress and order schedule (Ptak, 2011). Starbucks uses an algorithm named thousand dollar consumption algorithm to calculate the safety material consumption for the next week. This model is applicable for them to make a short term forecast of the material consumption. The best consequence they want most is a smooth rising average. Using the usage amount of weekly material given weekly sale then multiple the next weekly forecasting sales and then multiply 1.15 is the result of safe storage  amount (Starbucks, 2006). A service is an intangible and insubstantial product that cannot be touched or tasted. Services are behaviors, actions and activities (Valarie, Mary, and Dwayne, P. 4). Compare to product, there is no need for transport and storage of service. The world’s largest coffee company, Starbucks, has 18000 stores in over 60 countries and over 200000 employees. To support this global business, the company made a success of how they organized their delivery of their services and goods. The purpose of Starbucks’ is to make a positive impact of one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Quality used to be the most difficult concept to define. However, the hospitality industry has experienced the increasingly fierce competitions about higher service quality as time goes by (Parayani et al, 2010). In the same way, Starbucks need to pay more attention on what customers want the most from the service delivery. And the customers care more about the things they experienced in current hospitality industry. Total quality management(TQM) becomes a more and more significant business management method which is related with hospitality service(Feigenbaum, 1986). This method is aimed at satisfying customers, benefiting all the members of the organization as well as making good contributions to the society(Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry., 1988). It concentrates its attention on product and service quality together with the degree of devotion of members. The total quality management concerns about one process, four stages and eight sections. The management system of Starbucks can be seen as a proper instance to analyze this total quality management concept. As for the one process of Starbucks, the enterprise is ought to meet the different working tasks during different time periods. Every business behavior of the enterprise has a whole process of emerging, forming, conducting and verifying(Greasley, 2010). One specific example is that the quality of beverage of Starbucks is strictly evaluated in different ways, such as the temperate, the taste, and the look of the beverage. The evaluation has its  specific requirement rather than basing on the personal preference of the staff. During different making time and considering several kinds of beverages, different evaluating rules are applied. It displays the fact that Starbucks follow the â€Å"one process† rule in total quality management. In view of the four stages, total quality management points out a cycle system called PDCA cycle. This cycle system performs in the form of planning, doing, checking and acting. In normal situation, the producing process of a beverage needs the effort of planning what material will be adopted, checking the availability of the material and then using it to make the product. Any of these four stages cannot be skipped because any of them has an important impact on final results. There arises the concept of eight sections following the four stages. It begins with analyzing the current performance of the firm to spot the potential quality problems and ends with conclu ding the experience, strengthening the achievement and standardizing the working results. Based on the total quality management, a model named SERVQUAL comes in to being. This model is a new method to evaluate the service quality in hospitality industry(Bojanic, 1994). Its central point is the service quality gap model, namely that service quality is depending on the gap between the aspiration service level of guests and the actual service level they experience(Pitt, 1997). The SERVQUAL model can be simply seen as this formula: the result of SERVQUAL is equal with the actual experiencing result minus expectation result. The higher the SERVQUAL result is, the better service quality is. SERVQUAL is divided the service quality into five aspects: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy(Zeithaml, 1990). Tangibles should have modern service facility, wide attraction of service facility, clear uniform of members and the factor of provided service matching with firms’ facility. Considering the Starbucks, it has the outstanding coffee producing facility, cleaning store environment, quality monitoring system that can meet the international standard. More importantly, the staffs in Starbucks are required to wear the cleaning and green aprons. This requirement not only reflects the idea of environmental protection and healthy pursuing, but also meets the demands of tangibles, which asks the firm to have the clear uniform of  members(Zeithaml, 1996). In view of reliability, it is the ability to correctly and reliable to conduct the service commitment. It includes the requirement of meeting the deadline of promised the service commitment, showing the care and helping the guests when they face the problem and recording the activities and transactions correctly. Starbucks has set a ta rget that the coffee in Starbucks will be authenticated and monitored by the third independent professional party before 2015. There are two requirements considering the coffee producing of Starbucks. The one is that the purchasing process should be legal and reasonable and the coffee cropping process should be responsible. In fact, Starbucks manage to follow such rule, as can be seen from the evidence that it has formed the moral purchasing system called C.A.F.E system. Such behavior shows the fact that Starbucks manage to take the social responsibility, which can help to increase the reliability of the firm and help to build more satisfying reputation. As for the responsiveness, it relates with the wish to improve the service standard when receiving the suggestions from customers. Starbucks has its own unique customer recovery system. To be more precise, if the customers is not satisfied with the product they buy or the service they experience, staff in Starbucks will give them customer recovery coupon as a kind of method to compensate. Besides this, the staffs also follow the listening principle that requires the staff to listen to the feedback from the customers and take relevant actions to solve the issues. In addition, staff should thank for the feedback from customers, no matter it is positive or negative. This recovery system plays an important role in dealing with the customers’ needs and shows high degree of responsiveness inside the Starbucks. With regard to assurance, it concerns about the workers’ degree of confidence and ability to display their knowledge and courtesy. The members in Starbucks are asked to follow the 5B principle. The 5B principle is to be considerate, welcoming, genuine, involved, and knowledgeable. To be considerate is to try to care for others and the whole environment. To be welcoming is to welcome every guest warmly, making them have the sense of belongings. To be genuine is to sincerely contact with guests and build the positive relationship with guests. To be involved is to devote the heart  into work and have the motivation to build a better Starbucks. To be knowledgeable is to be specific about the work and love the work(Starbucks, 2012). It is obvious that having such assurance inside the Starbucks, the operations inside the firm is und er a promising pattern, which is able to develop the quality management level. Finally, it is the concept of empathy, which means that the companies are required to care for guests together with providing the personal service. Applying this ides to Starbucks, workers in Starbucks welcome the guests individually and then kindly ask for the needs of the guests and provide the first-class service for them. Without these operations, operators can not spot in which the service gap exists and then figure out how to eliminate it(Christopher, 2006). Customer’s satisfaction is a very important demand in a hospitality industry(Robledo, 2001). The design of the hospitality industry is mainly divided into two aspects, the physical environment and the servicescape. Especially nowadays, the servicescape play a very important role in the customer’s perceptions. The hospitality, particularly hotels, should make their design and plan match the marketing and customer’s anticipation (Bitner, 1992). So, the core business value of Starbucks is to create a certain servicescape named â€Å"Third Space†(Starbucks, 2012). The third space is defined as shopping and leisure space distinguishing from living space and working space that are marked as the first space and second space individually. In order to improve the life quality, it is a key point to improve the quality of third space. As for Starbucks, it aims to expand the third space for customers. the workers in Starbucks devote themselves to provide more warm atm osphere for customers through sincerely communication and first-class service. Thus, Starbucks is more like a space for relaxing rather than just a coffee store . Under the nine-to-five working form as for most people, it is a real need for them to have an additional relaxing place and Starbucks well provides this kind of space due to its value of providing third space for customers. This value has won more and more popularity among customers. There are some knowledge of the waiting lines called queuing theory, which is a very important part of the operations management, and it is a very effective tool that every operators need to know. The most common discipline of queue is â€Å"FCFS†, which means first come first service; also it  is the same as first in first service. The Structure of a waiting line system has three parts: arrivals, queue discipline and the service facility. So, considering the arrival characteristics, it is mainly divided into three major characteristics: amount of the arrival population, behavior of arrivals and the mode of arrivals. There are two most important characteristics involving in the form of the service system and the allocation of the service time. And the basic queuing system can be divided into several models: single channel queuing system, multiple channel system, single phase system and multiple channel system (Heizer, J., p. 773). A service facility can be seen as a channel, it usually can be one open teller or a check out service. And different customers’ demand makes different phases of the queuing models. Also the queuing cost is quiet important, the operators must recognize that there are mainly divided into two parts of the queuing cost, the cost of providing good quality services and the cost of the lost of waiting time(Gross, 2008). But if a manager want to ensure the quality of the products, sometimes the queuing cost is necessary(Hayes, 2011). However, it is very important to balance the savings in service cost(Prabhu, 1997). But to minimize the cost of lost time waiting, Starbucks usually will arrange a senior partner to chat with customers, care about their demands, asking about the customized order then mark it to the partners in the bar counter, save time for both customers and the store. Also this senior partner will arrange some activities according to the queuing condition and his own experience. This partner’s job is to distract customers’ attention. By using this time, the partner can introduce the new product to the customers and send some free giveaway d rinks and dessert. Usually the free giveaway drinks will be the drinks which are new to the market. Also this partner can seize this opportunity to promote the member card of Starbucks and the items on the cabinets, which are thoughtfully placed exactly beside the queue lines. Because of the characteristic of service that cannot be storage and service takes time and the time is variable, also the customers often arrives at variable time. Therefore, the limited of the service capacity caused the bottlenecks in the process. In Starbucks, there is a special character  called Floater. Floater is like a free man that does not have a fixed work. Floater’s duty is to make sure everything goes fine. There are often two tellers in a Starbucks’ store, and the Floater’s fundamental job is to guide the customers wait in line and make sure the queue goes smooth, then get to know the customers’ demands then marks it down on the beverage cups within their own special marks which made by Starbucks, this work will efficiently relieve the pressure of partners who works inside the bar. Also the floater needs to notice the whole store, make some operational flexibility measures to ensure the positive operation of the store. One of the operations management’s main functions is to concern about the process design. The process of operation is to transform the input resources into output services and products. Process design can not only improve one’s quality, but also optimize the capacity of the hospitality organisation. Process shortening is also a very important operation about saving customers’ time and improving customers’ satisfaction. So the Starbucks made a model called â€Å"Four Classes Beverage Procedure†. This model segment the beverage according to the quantity level of the beverages in waiting queue that is needed to be made during the service time. So the average making time of the first class drink is approximate 45 seconds, while the second, third, and fourth class needs 37, 30, 25 seconds separately. The higher the class, the more time is spent on making the drink. The serving time of the first class demands one staff, which is required to make from zero to five cups of drink alone. It is allowed to make only two cups one time in this procedure. More importantly, it is a need for the staff to contact with waiting customers during the making time of the drink. This rule makes good contributions to the customers’ satisfaction, because it alleviates the impatience of the waiting customers. Service is unable to be stocked and is needed to be created immediately when customers come. Queues are caused by variable arrival and processing rates(Cochran, 2008). According to this, the likelihood of increasing the customers’ demands is accumulated. In terms of the second, third, fourth class, the difference relays on the number of required staff and beverages to be made. However, these four-class procedures share a common factor that the staff is required to have a contact with waiting customers. It is a core idea associated with culture of Starbucks. This idea has positive influence to increase customers’  satisfaction of the brand, thus raising the demand of customers. As more customers coming, the supply of the Starbucks should be added in order to balance the relation between supply and demand. Quality is the soul of a company, and the author can not agreed any more about this. This essay clarified the elements which are needed to balance the supply and demand in a hospitality organisation. Starbucks, the world leading coffee retail company, did a great job to balance the supply and demand in service quality aspect by using the 5B principle. The Starbucks applied some operations and services management theories which are already talked about in this essay, such as TQM and the SERVQUAL to balance the supply and demand between company and customers. Also according to author’s experience and observation, quality and capacity management is very important in the operations management indeed. WHY USING THE FOLLOWING REFERENCE: By using the model SERVQUAL which proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1985), the author can clearly clarify the characteristics of Starbucks combine with the author’s own experience and observation. It also helped the author to systematic describe how Starbucks manipulate their quality management. TQM can be seen as a basic measurement of quality,which is widely adopted by the service industry. The author thinks Starbucks also used this to justify their goods and services. Quality is the soul of a company. The author can not agreed any more about this. The servicescape theory is widely accepted and used by many people, and many operations strategies are emerged based on servicescape. REFERNCE: Brown, S. W. And Swartz, T. A.(1989), A gap Analysis of professional service quality, Journal of Marketing, 53, (2), pp. 92-96. Christopher, L., Jochen, W. and Jayanta, C. (2006), Marketing of services, people, technology, strategy, Pearson education, pp. 393-395. Cochran, J. K. and K. Roche. (2008), A Queuing-Based Decision Support Methodology to Estimate Hospital Inpatient Bed Demand, Journal of the Operational Research Society 59, No. 11 Crandall, R., Markland, R., 1996. Demand management: today’s challenge for service industries. Production and Operations Management 5 (1), 106-120. Feigenbaum, A.V. (1986) Total Quality Control, McGraw-Hill. Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons (2011) Service Management: Operations, Stratehy, Information Technology, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill. Greasley (2010), Operations Management, 2nd Edition, Wiley, Chapter 11. Gross, Donald, John F. Shortle, James M. Thompson, and Carl M. Harris., (2008) Fundamentals of Queuing Theory, 4th edition. New York. Hayes, D. K. & Miller, A.A. (2011), Revenue management for the Hospitality Industry, John Wiley, Chapter 6. Heizer, J., Render, B., (2007), Operations Management, Prentice Hall, pp. 571-582. Parasuaraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. And Berry, L. L (1988), A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, Journal of retailing, 64(1), pp. 12-40. Parayani, K., Masoudi, A. And Cudney, E. (2010), QFD application in hospitality industry – a hotel case study, Quality Management Journal, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 7-28 Prabhu, N. U., (1997), Foundations of Queuing Theory, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands. Ptak, Carol & Smith, Chad (2011). Orlicky’s MRP 3rd edition, New York, McGraw-Hill, 2011, p. 31 Robledo, M. A.(2001), Measuring and managing service quality: integrating customer expectations, Managing Service Quality, 11, pp. 22-32. Slack, N., et al (2010), Operations Management, 6th Edition, Wiley, Chapters 1,3,5 and 7 Valarie A. Zeithaml, Mary Jo Bitner, and Dwayne D. Gremler, (2006), Services Marketing. 4th ed., New York, McGraw-Hill, p. 4. Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996), The behavioral consequences of service quality, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 31-46. Zeithaml, V. A. And Bitner, M. J. (2003), Service Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Macbeth Characterization Graphic Organizer Essay

Use this graphic organizer to collect your thoughts about characterization in Macbeth. As you read each scene, record what you learn about the character. Add the line from the play that supports your idea. Lady Macbeth Observations Text Support Looks She appears to be a very independent woman. In the video, she walks around with her head up high and talks with great confidence. Actions Demanding And that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undoneAnd that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undoneand that which rather thou dost fear to do than wishest should be undone Speech Strong She thinks she needs to get her way with everything. She asks the spirits to fill her head to toe with cruelty, making her less like a woman and more like a man who can commit an evil deed) Thoughts Suspicious The raven (a bird that represents death) himself is hoarse. The raven was right behind Macbeth Interactions Seductive When she is talking to Macbeth in the video, she touches him and uses her words strong, but softly. Macbeth Observations Text Support Looks Timid When Lady Macbeth is talking to him, she keeps walking around him and touching him. He looks nervous or afraid. Actions Quiet He doesn’t say or do much around Lady Macbeth. I think he is just trying to keep her happy, so that things don’t escalate. â€Å"My dearest love, Duncan comes her tonight.† â€Å"And when goes hence?† â€Å"To-morrow,– as he purposes.†My dearest love, Duncan comes here tonight. LADY MACBETH. And when goes hence(When does he leave)? MACBETH. To-morrow,—as he purposes Speech Polite I know that most men were polite to their women back in this times, but he calls Lady Macbeth â€Å"My dearest love.† It just goes to show he truly values her and wants her to know he cares. Thoughts Confused He’s not exactly sure what the witches meant when they were talking to him Interactions Simple He keeps his conversations with Lady Macbeth short and sweet. He doesn’t try to upset her in any way. He lets her do most of the talking and intimidating.

Education Is Not a Preparation for Life; Education Is Life Itself Essay

It is the lack of higher education in several sections of my country concerns me. This dearth of education is what is restricting us from touching new heights of glory. In the erstwhile days, emphasis was given on garnering education which made our country prosper. The gradual decline in the number of literate people in the medieval times resulted in disparity in the society, gave birth to superstitions and social evils. Education can rescue a community from succumbing to superstitions and myths. I believe that education is the great leveler in society. It brings everyone on equal footing. To overcome the evils of corruption, disappointment, and terrorism, education is imperative. Only literate people know the difference between right and wrong. Only the literate people know the vital values of compassion and selflessness. Education is what endows people with the wisdom of spending their time fruitfully. It dissuades us from the path of destruction and brings peace in the world. Obtaining an education is a person’s passport to one’s future, it brings upon numerous opportunities for an individual to better themselves, their life, and one another. â€Å"Our quest for knowledge is something we should never complete, because it is a desire that we should never resist.† In other words, in every quest you find yourself upon, you foresee the answer and experience life has thrown at you, including the acceptance of its successes and failures. Education is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It has opened my eyes up to who I am and shown me what I really want to do in my life, and has shown what I can potentially give back to society. Indubitably, education gives us more choices in life, ultimately allowing us to leave an imprint on society. We may plan to design sky-scarpers or develop data storage techniques on the spin of electrons. We may do whatever we want to with the power of education in our hands. Education is the essence of culture, vital for the development of our values and virtues. It teaches us how to lead our lives and transforms us into mature individuals capable of planning for our future. Education always leads us to enlightenment and broadens our perspective towards life. It removes the impending barriers in the way of our success. It leads to the progress of society as a whole and propagates healthy attitudes. Education is the only power that can take any country to the pinnacle of success and glory. Indian government has taken a lot of initiatives to promote education in the remotest of areas. There is provision of free primary education and mid day meals at the schools. But, many more such initiatives are required to bring a tangible change. Comprehensive mass awareness programmes are still needed. Volunteers willing to bring the education to the doorsteps of those who need it are required. I know an example is better than a precept. I am also willing to contribute in whichever way I can to this noble cause.