The Olympic Games Essay Example for Free

The Olympic Games Essay There were many factors that helped shape the Olympic Games from 1892 to 2002. Originally, Olympic Games were conducted in Ancient Greece in hopes of uniting its city-states Athens and Sparta and to promote peace through sports activity. When Olympic Games were resurrected in 1892, they had the same goal of promoting peace in the world. Over time factors such as nationalism, The Cold War, changes in global economy and a rise in feminism facilitated changes in the Olympic Games. However, a great additional document to add would be a personal letter from one of the German athletes or a bar graph before the world wars had taken place. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, World War I and World War II occurred followed by The Cold War. Countries entered the Olympic Games in hopes of finding peace through friendly competition, while leaving their individual problems behind. In document 1, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic movement in 1892 thought, â€Å"Reduction of the chances of war helps promote peace†. This quote means that when the countries came together for friendly competition at the Olympic Games, wars weren’t taking place. Pierre de Coubertin also believed that the Olympics Games helped promote peace and as founder, he wanted everyone to feel a sense of unity within them. The author of document 6 shares the same belief. The Soviet Union committee believed that, â€Å"a consistent and peaceful foreign policy† had a dramatic influence on the 1980 Olympics. The Soviet Union/USSR believed this because in 1980 the pressure on Soviet Union to end the Cold War was increasing. By hosting Olympic Games in 1980, USSR was eager to show their will to come together with the world in a peaceful manner. Although Pierre de Coubertin and the Soviet Union Committee believed that the Olympic Games would help promote peace, some nations and countries just wanted to win out of pride and return home with glory. Nationalism is another factor that played part in shaping the Olympic Games. In document 3, Arnold Lunn, a British Olympic team official at the 1936 games believed, â€Å"The Nazis had to prove that they were the best at skiing† and that â€Å"Nazism is better than democracy. † However, because the 1936 games were held before World War II, it brought the conflict of various ideologies. Due to their belief in their supremacy, the German athletes were forced to cheat such as using closed course for practice. They just couldn’t afford to lose. Also, in document 4, Bob Matthias, a United States competitor from the 1952 games, expressed his point of view. Bob Matthias stated, â€Å"There were many pressures on the American athletes to defeat the Soviet team†¦ they were in real sense the enemy†. Because he was a USA competitor, it was the natural feeling of patriotism towards his country to feel this way towards the USSR, USA’s enemy. This also made the Olympic Games seem like a battle between countries, capitalist and communist ideologies, instead of a friendly competition between countries. In addition, document 10 expresses national pride. Ali Kabir, a sports writer for the newspaper Dawn states, â€Å"our team finished 2nd to India in the 1956 Olympics†¦ the current national team tarnished the country’s name†. Ali believed that the Pakistan’s men’s field hockey team won at the 1956 and the 1960 Olympics because they felt pride towards their country. He also believes that the current national team lost pride in their country, therefore they didn’t prevail. As you can see, documents 3, 4 and 10 show how nationalism affected the Olympic Games. Another factor that had major influence on the Olympic Games in addition to nationalism was the global economy. Many countries wanted to host the Olympics to attract visitors to their country and to demonstrate their power. The Olympic Games were also beneficial for the economy. Ryotaro Azuma, mayor of Tokyo and chairman of 1964 games committee stated, â€Å"Without the magic of the Olympics, we might not have gotten what we needed to rise as a world power†. Ryotaro believed this, because as a Mayor he saw firsthand the important role of tourism for the city of Tokyo, which has become one of the top economic cities in the world. Ryotaro Azuma also believed that the Olympic Games helped Tokyo achieve this economic success. Furthermore, document 7 was written from a Japanese economist stating his point of view. This person states, â€Å"Korea failed to display its industrial and economic power worldwide. † He believed that although Seoul was hosting the Olympics of 1988, they did not use the opportunity to benefit economically. He also believed that other countries such as Japan and USA dominant over South Korea on political, industrial and economic terms because they were actively sponsoring the Games. Yet another document, document 9, is a bar graph representing the amount of money spent for broadcasting different Olympic Games. Since it is clear that this amount increased by hundreds of millions from Game to Game, one could infer that the Olympic Games could be used by the host countries to â€Å"show off† through publicity and broadcasting and to also bring in huge revenues . Lastly, a major driving factor shaping the Olympic Games was the feminist movement. Document 2 is a picture of Sybil Newall, a British competitor in the 1908 games. At that time, only two percent of women were athletes. Sybil was one of the few women who was able to participate in the Olympic Games. In Document 8, a female Algerian athlete by the name Hassiba Boulmerka was greatly involved in the feminist movement. She participated in the 1992 games. Hassiba believed that all women were very capable of being athletes just as well as any other man even though at that time in her society women were turned down. She also believed women had potential; she wanted to see women rise up in the world and be equal to any man. Her belief materialized in the rate of participating female athletes, which grew to twenty-nine percent. This growth is ongoing as many more females participate in Olympic Games each year. Factors such as nationalism, a rise in feminism and the global economy allowed the Olympic Games movement to become what it is today. Today, the Olympics promote the importance of the feminist movement, importance of religious and national freedom and peaceful co-existence of various cultures. From Ancient Greece to modern day Olympic Games, the transformation is incredible!

Western Hemisphere Essay Example for Free

Western Hemisphere Essay In the novel, Michele Wucker shows lots of events from the history of the island. She starts from the conquest of the Taino Indians to the colonial skirmishes between the French and Spanish for possession of the island. After that the author goes to the United States occupation of Haiti in 1915 and to the invasion of the US of the Dominican Republic in 1965. Throughout this panoramic history Michele Wucker inserts lively portraits of Haitians and Dominicans struggling in Hispaniola and abroad: she shows displaced peasants on the outskirts of Santo Domingo and immigrants who came to look for a happier life in New York. The author reports on the struggles between Dominicans and Haitians and depicts the events which happened around 60 years ago when the Dominican dictator Trujillo ordered 30,000 Haitians to be killed. The author also describes Vodou rituals in Dominican sugarcane fields where Haitians were working like slaves. She does her best to show the fights between the nations and also devote lots of attention to policies of the United States towards every nation. Michele Wucker finds it very important to analyze the often contradictory policies of the United States towards each other nations inhabiting Hispaniola which continue to influence the density of two important countries and of tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans living in the United States. The policy of the United States towards the discussed nations should be trying to settle the conflicts between them and overcoming contradictions but never putting more oil into the fire of their conflict. It’s a very interesting approach how Michele Wucker moves from one strongman and atrocity to another, e. g. conquering Spaniards complain about the noisiness of natives when they are punished by being roasted alive; Trujillo massacres at least 15,000 Haitians residing from the Dominican Republic in 1937; and the Duvaliers arrogantly loot their own country which is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. One of the major themes of the novel is the role of racism in the island’s history and its influence on the life of the nations inhabiting the island. Haiti came to be dominated by light-skin elite and a series of Dominican leaders, especially Trujillo, who sympathized with Nazi race ideology demonized Haitians and dark-skinned Dominicans. As we all know, the problem of racism has always been very important in history and was the reason of lots of fights, so there is no wonder it was also the reason of different conflicts in Hispaniola. Another important theme covered in the novel is the theme of migration. Michele Wucker interviews a cutter who originally came from Haiti to the Dominican Republic to work and who has lived on a plantation for almost the entire life and finds out about the unbearable conditions in which he was working and about all the tortures and sufferings which he had to go though all the time while he was working in the plantation. Lots of people like him had to work like slaves in the plantations for pennies an hour and the Dominican Government was literally purchasing thousands of workers each year from the Haitian Government through annual contracts. Those people had no rights and they had to work day and night in the plantations. Migration was playing an important role beyond the island, too and the million Haitian immigrants in Miami and New York were a major influence in forcing Clinton Administration to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the power in 1994. Returning to the fight which goes on between fighting cocks and which is the main theme of the novel, we have to mention that the leaders, like the Duvaliers and Balaguer who were staging bloody fights in the arenas, while the players on the sidelines- the armed forces, the bourgeoisie- were wagering on the outcome. Michele Wucker even enlisted St. Augustine who was watching cockfight which he happened to see and wrote of the deformity of a blooded, defeated cock that ‘by that very deformity was the more perfect beauty of the contest in evidence’. It is also important to analyze the final scene in the novel which takes place during the carnival on the outskirts of the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, where Haitian immigrants reside. The scene shows Haitians and Dominicans dancing together during the carnival and this scene means that there are lots of situations in which even those people who were fighting with each other can find a way to understand each other and be friends and forget about the previous fights. According to the words of Michele Wucker, ‘During the carnival, the festival that flaunts limits and rules and real conflicts disappear as Dominicans and Haitians celebrate their differences and their common roots’. This means that no matter what the color of skin of people inhabiting the Hispaniola island is, what history the nations inhabiting it have, they still have to overcome all the distinctions and do their best to live in peace. As long as people realize that it’s much better to live in peace and that distinctions between nations should never result in conflicts, they can always hope for a happy future. Bibliography: http://wucker.com/

Flexible Manufacturing System Analysis

Flexible Manufacturing System Analysis Historyof Flexible Manufacturing Systems Introduction AFlexible Manufacturing System(FMS) is a manufacturing system in which there is a certain degree offlexibilitythat allows the system to react in the case of changes, whether predicted or unpredicted. According toMaleki[1], flexibility is the speed at which a system can react to and accommodate change. To be considered flexible, the flexibility must exist during the entire life cycle of a product, from design to manufacturing to distribution. Flexible Manufacturing System is a computer-controlled system that can produce a variety of parts or products in any order, without the time-consuming task of changing machine setups. The flexibility being talked about is generally considered to fall into two categories, which both contain numerous subcategories[2]. The first category, Machine Flexibility, covers the systems ability to be changed to produce new product types, and ability to change the order of operations executed on a part. The second category is called Routing Flexibility, which consists of the ability to use multiple machinesto perform the same operation on a part, as well as the systems ability to absorb large-scale changes, such as in volume, capacity, or capability. The main advantage of an FMS is its high flexibility in managing manufacturing resources like time and effort in order to manufacture a new product. The best application of an FMS is found in the production of small sets of products like those from amass production. FM systems are supposed to provide the manufacturer with efficient flexible machines that increase productivity and produce quality parts. However, FM systems are not the answer to all manufacturers problems. The level of flexibility is limited to the technological abilities of the FM systems. FM systems are being used all over the manufacturing world and though out industries. A basic knowledge of this kind of technology is very important because FM systems are involved in almost everything that you come in contact with in todays world. From the coffee maker to your remote control FM systems are used all over. History of Flexible Manufacturing Systems At the turn of the twentieth century, FMS did not exist. There was no pressing need for efficiency because the markets were national and there was no foreign competition.Manufacturers could tell the consumers what to buy. During that period, Henry Ford had been quoted as saying â€Å"People can order any colour of car as long as it is black.† All the power remained in the hands of the manufacturer and the consumers hardly had any choices. However, after the Second World War a new era in manufacturing was to come. The discovery of new materials and production techniques increased quality and productivity. The war led to the emergence of open foreign markets and new competition.The focus of the market shifted from manufacturer to consumer. According to Maleki, the first FM system was patented in 1965 by Theo Williamson who made numerically controlled equipment. Examples of numerically controlled equipment are like CNC lathes or mills whichKusiaksays are varying types of FM systems. During the 1970s, with the ever-growing developments in the field of technology, manufacturers started facing difficulties and hence, FM systems became main-stream in manufacturing to accommodate new changes whenever required. During the 1980s for the first time manufacturers had to take in consideration efficiency, quality, and flexibility to stay in business. According to Hoeffer, the change in manufacturing over time was due to several factors. (Hoeffer, 1986) Increased international competition, The need to reduce manufacturing cycle time, and Pressure to cut the production cost. Everyday new technologies are being developed and even FM systems are evolving. However, overtime FM systems have worked for many manufacturers and hence will be around for the time to come. The Process of Flexible Manufacturing Systems As has been discussed above the flexible manufacturing system can be broadly classified into two types, depending on the nature of flexibility present in the process, Machine Flexibility and Routing Flexibility FMS systems essentially comprise of three main systems.[3] The processing stations: These are essentially automated CNC machines. The automated material handling and storage system: These connect the work machines to optimize the flow of parts. Central control computer: This controls the movement of materials and machine flow. The FMS as a system stands out because it does not follow a fixed set of process steps. The process sequence changes according to requirement to allow maximum efficiency. Sequence of material flow from one tool to another is not fixed nor is the sequence of operations at each tool fixed. Key Features of the Process[4] Some characteristics that differentiate FMS from conventional manufacturing systems are their technical flexibility, i.e., the ability to quickly change mix, routing, and sequence of operations within the parts envelope and also complexity resulting from the integration, mechanization, and reprogrammable control of operations i.e., parts machining, material handling, and tool change. Some key features of the process are discussed below. Cell: It consists of several groupings of two or more automated machines within a company. Each grouping is called a cell. All the machines present are controlled by a computer. They are programmed to change quickly from one production run to another. A key feature is the automated flow of materials to the cell and the automated removal of the finish item. Several cells are linked together by means of an automated materials-handling system, and the flow of goods is controlled by a computer. In this manner a computer-integrated manufacturing process is initiated. Random bypass capability: The material handling system has a random bypass capability, i.e. a part can be moved from any tool in the interconnected system to another because the transport system can bypass any tool along the path, on demand. This implies: Each part can traverse a variable route through the system. Again, this flexibility in material handling, in combination with multipurpose tools, makes it possible for a flexible manufacturing system to process a great diversity of parts. Automation: Computers are the heart of automation. They provide the framework for the information systems which direct action and monitor feedback from machine activities. As FMS involve a wide variety of components, each with their own type of computer control, many of these computer components are installed as islands of automation, each with a computer control capable of monitoring and directing the action. Each of the computer controls has its own communication protocol based on the amount of data needed to control the component. Thus, the task of computer integration is to establish interfaces and information flow between a wide range of computer types and models. Computer software provides the ability to transmit timely and accurate status information and to utilize information which has been communicated from other computers in FMS. Component redundancy: In FMS as the equipment is highly integrated, the interruptions of one component affect other components. This results in a greater time to trace the problem when compared with isolated components. In some cases, the interruption might be due to some other integration effect, and greater downtime may result before the actual cause of the problem is found. In this situation, component redundancy provides flexibility with the opportunity for choice, which exists when there are at least two available options. Flexible manufacturing contains functionally equivalent machinery. So in case of failure of one machine the process flow is directed towards a functionally equivalent machine. Multiple Paths: A path in flexible manufacturing represents a part sequence and requisite fixtures to complete its required operations. In a conventional machine environment, only one path exists for a part because a single fixture remains at a single machine. However, this is not the case within flexible manufacturing systems, where there are multiple paths. The number of paths which are present within flexible manufacturing is a measure of the degree of flexibility. Obviously, the higher the number of paths, higher is the degree of flexibility. Flexibility ranks high in Japan†²s manufacturing strategy but not in America†²s. A true flexible factory will not only build different versions of the same car, like a coupà © or a station wagon, on the same production line, but also a completely different car. This is what the Japanese factories are setting out to do. The cost of one factory can be spread across five or ten cars. Apart from lower fixed cost, it is also less painful to stop making one of those cars if it fails to sell. FMS as a system of manufacturing process can be compared to other processes in terms of the product volume it generates and its capacity for creating part variations. The above depicts the position of FMS vis-à  -vis that of stand-alone machine and transfer lines. The horizontal axis represents production volume level and the vertical axis shows the variability of parts. Transfer lines are very efficient when producing parts at a large volume at high output rate, whereas stand-alone machines are ideally suited for variation in workplace configuration and low production rate. In terms of manufacturing efficiency and productivity, a gap exists between the high production rate transfer machines and the highly flexible machines. FMS, has been regarded as a viable solution to bridge the gap and as a gateway to the automated factory of the future. The Process: With Reference to particular companies[5] Though the features of this manufacturing innovation process are similar across all types of firms, the manner in which they are adopted and implemented depends on product type, manufacturing, maintenance, process planning and quality control processes. It is also contingent upon the people carrying out these processes; the productive resources being used and the organizational arrangements used to divide and coordinate the processes distinguished. The description of the layout of a company that has adopted the flexible manufacturing system gives a clear idea of how the system works in practical life. It has all the features as mentioned before of a typical FMS. Flexible Manufacturing System at The Hattersley Newman Hender (H.N.H.) This company, located in U.K. manufactures high and low pressure bodies and caps for water, gas and oil valves. These components require a total of 2750 parts for their manufacture. That is why they decided to go for the system of F.M.S. to fulfill their machining requirements in a single system. The process described below shows how FMS is used for efficient production for this company. Their FMS consists of primary and secondary facilities. The primary facilities include 5 universal machining centres and 2 special machining centres. The secondary facilities consist of tool settings and manual workstations. System layout and facilities: Flexible Manufacturing Systems [F.M.S] Primary facilities: Machining centres: The FMS contains two 5-axis horizontal ‘out-facing machines and five 4-axis machining centres under the host control. All the machines have a rotating pallet changer each with two pallet buffer stations. These stations transfer pallets to and from the transport system which consist of 8 automated guided vehicles. The 5 universal machining centres have 2 magazines with capacity of 40 tools in each magazine. The special purpose out-facing machines (OFM) each have one magazine having a capacity of 40 tools. The tool magazines can be loaded by sending instructions to the tool setting room either from the host computer or the machines numerical controller. Processing centres: The system contains two processing centres a wash machine and two manual workstations. Ø Wash machines: It contains two conveyor belts where one is for input and one for output of pallets, each with a capacity of three pallets to transfer the pallets. The wash booth has a capacity of three pallets. The pallets are washed in the booth and turned upside-down to drain out the water. Then they are dried with blown air. Ø Manual workstations (ring fitting area): The operator fits metal sealing rings into the valve bodies at the manual workstations. He receives work instructions via computer interface with the host. Secondary facilities: Auxiliary stations: Ø Load/unload stations: The FMS has four-piece-part load and unload stations. Loading and unloading is performed at these stations with the instructions again received via computer interface with the host. Ø Fixture-setting station: At these stations the fixtures are readjusted to accommodate different piece parts. Ø Administration of tools: Tools are assembled manually. The tool-setting machine checks the dimensional offsets of the tools and generates a bar code for further identification of the tool that has been set. Auxiliary facilities: Ø Transport system: The transport system consists of a controller and 8 automated guided vehicles (AGV). The system also contains an A.G.V. battery charging area. Ø Buffer stores: The FMS has 20 buffer stores in order to store the empty and loaded pallets while they are waiting to be taken to another transfer station (i.e. a load/unload station or a machine tool etc.). Ø Maintenance Area: This facility caters to pallets that may be damaged or need servicing or for storing scrapped piece-parts. Ø Raw Material Stores: These stores are located in front of the load / unload stations and are used to store the raw materials (like forged valve bodies etc). The store is served by two fork-lift-stacker cranes and motor roller conveyors. It has a capacity of 80 containers. Ø Fixture store: The fixtures that are not stored in FMS are stored here. It has a capacity of storing 120 fixtures. The store is served by a stacker crane and motor roller conveyors. Flexible Manufacturing System at TAMCAM Computer Aided Manufacturing (TAMCAM) Lab. This is an example of flexible manufacturing system that is used to describe the TAMCAM Simulation-Based Control System (TSCS)[6]. This system is located within the TAMCAM Computer Aided Manufacturing (TAMCAM) lab. The system consists of three CNC milling machines, one CNC turning centre, two industrial robots, and an automated cart based conveyor system. In addition to the automated equipment, human operators are used to load and unload some machines and perform assembly and inspection tasks. Advantages of Flexible Manufacturing System Why would firms embrace flexible manufacturing systems? What benefits does FMS provide? Answers to these two questions are important to the success of flexible manufacturing systems. It is important to understand the impacts on product life cycle, direct labour input and market characteristics. Various advantages arise from using flexible manufacturing systems.[7] Users of these systems enlist many benefits: * Less scrap * Fewer workstations * Quicker changes of tools, dies, and stamping machinery * Reduced downtime * Improved quality through better control over it * Reduced labour costs due to increase in labour productivity * Increase in machine efficiency * Reduced work-in-process inventories * Increased capacity * Increased production flexibility * Faster production * Lower- cost/unit * Increased system reliability * Adaptability to CAD/CAM operations Since savings from these benefits are sizeable, a plethora of examples from the manufacturing industry are available to illustrate these benefits. â€Å"A major Japanese manufacturer, by installing a flexible manufacturing system, has reduced the number of machines in one facility from 68 to 18, the number of employees from 215 to 12, space requirements from 103000 square feet to 30000 and processing time from 35 days to a 1.5 days† â€Å"Ford has poured $4,400,000 into overhauling its Torrence Avenue plant in Chicago, giving it flexible manufacturing capability. This will allow the factory to add new models in as little as two weeks instead of two months or longer. The flexible manufacturing systems used in five of Ford Motor Companys plants will yield a $2.5 billion savings. By the year 2010, Ford will have converted 80 percent of its plants to flexible manufacturing.† The benefits enlisted above are the operational benefits.[8] Flexible Manufacturing Systems also give rise to benefits in terms of strategy for the firm. Operational Benefits Strategic Benefits Lower Costs per unit A source of competitive advantage in present and future. Lesser workstations Less space in plant required. Reduced Inventories Less of Storage Space. Plant Layout gets simplified. The space is freed up for other activities. Increase in labour productivity Lesser workforce required. Operational Flexibility Ability to meet varying customer demands in terms of numbers (seasonality) and choices. Improved Quality Increased customer satisfaction Less inspection costs Lesser lead time Increased Machine Efficiency Less technical workforce for handling maintenance and repair Less Scrap and Rework Consistent Production Process On a macro level, these advantages reduce the risk of investing in the flexible manufacturing system as well as in ongoing projects in such a firm. Let us look at how flexibility helps firms. To maximize production for a given amount of gross capacity, one should minimize the interruptions due to machine breakdowns and the resource should be fully utilized. FMS permits the minimization of stations†² unavailability, and shorter repair times when stations fail. Preventive maintenance is done to reduce number of breakdowns. Maintenance is done during off hours. This helps to maximize production time. Cost of maintaining spare part inventories is also reduced due to the fact that similar equipment can share components. Hence we can see that higher the degree of flexibility of the workstation, the lower the potential cost of production capacity due to station unavailability. To make a product every day, the trade off between inventory cost and setup cost becomes important. However, each time the workstation changes its function, it incurs a set-up delay. Through flexibility one can reduce this set-up cost. [9] CAD/CAM aids in computerized tracking of work flow which is helpful in positioning inspection throughout the process. This helps to minimize the number of parts which require rework or which must be scrapped. FMS changes the outlook of inspection from a post-position to an in-process position. Hence, feedback is available in real time which improves quality and helps product to be within the tolerance level.[10] Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are virtually always used in conjunction with just-in-time (JIT) order systems. This combination increases the throughput and reduces throughput time and the length of time required to turn materials into products. Flexible Manufacturing Systems have a made a huge impact on activity-based costing.[11] Using these systems helps firms to switch to process costing instead of job costing. This switching is made possible because of the reduced setup delays. With set-up time only a small fraction of previous levels, companies are able to move between products and jobs with about the same speed as if they were working in continuous, process type environment. To look at another aspect of strategic benefits, enterprise integration can be facilitated by FMS. An agile manufacturer is one who is the fastest to the market, operates with the lowest total cost and has the greatest ability to delight its customers. FMS is simply one way that manufacturers are able to achieve this agility.[12] This has also been reported in many studies that FMS makes the transition to agility faster and easier. Over time, FMS use creates a positive attitude towards quality. The quality management practices in organizations using FMS differs from those not using it. The adoption of flexible manufacturing confers advantages that are primarily based upon economies of scope. As a result of aiming simultaneously at flexibility, quality and efficiency, the future manufacturing industry will strive towards: producing to order, virtually no stock, very high quality levels, and high productivity. [13] Disadvantages of Flexible Manufacturing System[14] Now that we have looked at the multiple advantages flexible manufacturing systems offer, the next obvious question is, if they are so good and so useful then why are they not ubiquitous by now? It is essential to look at the other side, especially the impact these systems have on costing, product mixes decided by the company and the inevitable trade- off between production rates and flexibility. Following are the major disadvantages that have been observed Complexity These sophisticated manufacturing systems are extremely complex and involve a lot of substantial pre planning activity before the jobs are actually processed. A lot of detail has to go into the processing. Often users face technological problems of exact component positioning. Moreover, precise timing is necessary to process a component. Cost of equipment[15] Equipment for aflexiblemanufacturingsystem will usually initially be more expensive than traditional equipment and the prices normally run into millions of dollars. This cost is popularly known as the Risk of Installation. Maintenance costs are usually higher than traditional manufacturing systems because FMS employs intensive use of preventive maintenance, which by itself is very expensive to implement. Energy costs are likely to be higher despite more efficient use of energy. Increased machine utilization can result in faster deterioration of equipment, providing a shorter than average economic life. Also, personnel training costs may prove to be relatively high. Moreover there is the additional problem of selecting system size, hardware and software tailor made for the FMS. Cost of automation in the form of computer integration is the most significant cost in a flexible manufacturing system. The components require extensive computer control. Also, the costs of operation are high since a machine of this complexity requires equally skilled employees to work or run it. Adaptation Issues There is limited ability to adapt to changes in product or product mix. For example, machines are of limited capacity and the tooling necessary for products, even of the same family, is not always feasible in a given FMS. Moreover, one should keep in mind that these systems do not reduce variability, just enable more effective handling of the variability. Equipment Utilization Equipment utilization for flexible manufacturing systems is sometimes not as high as expected. Example, in USA, the average is ten types of parts per machine. Other latent problems may arise due to lack of technical literacy, management incompetence, and poor implementation of the FMS process. It is very important to differentiate between scenarios where FMS would be beneficial (ex, where fast adaptation is the key) and those where it wouldnt (ex where a firms competency is based on minimizing cost). Product/Job Costing[16] Arguably the biggest disadvantage of flexible manufacturing systems is the difficulty faced by the company in allocating overhead costs to jobs. Usually, several products share the same resources with different consumption characteristics. Ideally, the overhead allocation should be directly proportional to the resource consumption. But this becomes complicated in the case of flexible manufacturing systems since it is very difficult to estimate which product used which machine for which purpose and for how long. Often this leads to under costing of some products and consequently over costing of others. In systems that use FMS, usually the fixed costs are quite high due to the following reasons: * The machines are costly, material handling is more expensive and the computer controls are state of the art, thereby leading to a higher depreciation than seen in traditional manufacturing systems. * A lot of items which are otherwise usually treated as direct costs are counted under indirect costs in case of flexible manufacturing systems. For example, labour is normally attributed to the job directly done, but in FMS, the same workers work on machines that usually run two jobs simultaneously. Hence even labour costs are to be treated as overhead or indirect costs. * In order to ensure smooth running of the flexible manufacturing systems, a lot of support activities carried out by engineers and technicians. Keeping the above points in mind, we can infer that in order to cater to these scenarios, Activity Based Costing techniques are used with FMS to reduce distortion of product costs. FMS Adoption in Automobile Industry The Flexible manufacturing system has been adopted extensively in the manufacturing industry in this day and age. It addresses the issue of automation and process technology which is a key area for concern of manufacturing management along with inventory production planning and scheduling and quality. One industry which has extensively adopted this system is the Automobile Industry. Almost all global giants now follow the Flexible Manufacturing system and many have developed their own manufacturing system keeping FMS as an integral part of it. The Big Three of the American Automotive Industry namely General Motors, Ford Motors and Chrysler Motors enjoyed a monopolistic environment for a very long time. This in some way inhibited their innovation capabilities as there was no competition in the market which could drive them to innovate. These companies, therefore, maintained production facilities that were suitable for mass production of any single model, which ensured economies of scale and plant profitability. But gradually as Asian car makers gained prominence in the automotive market, the Big Three of the United States faced huge challenges across all product lines. The main Asian competitors that came into picture were Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi from Japan and Hyundai from South Korea. With these Asian countries exporting vehicles to the United States of America, competition heightened and the profitability of the Big Three decreased. To improve its profitability and maintain its market share Chrysler Corporat ion, General Motors and Ford Motor Company employed Flexible Manufacturing System in their production lines following what had been started in Japan. The essential driving force for adoption of FMS in Automobile industry is 1. The emphasis on increasing product variety and individualization has created a strong need to develop a flexible manufacturing system to respond to small batches of customer demand. 2. Cost savings were required to be more competitive. Newer varieties needed to be introduced in lesser time and at lesser cost. Given below are examples of some companies and their motive for adopting FMS as well as the benefits that they have achieved through it Japanese Companies and Latest FMS Toyota Toyota has been at the forefront of adopting flexible manufacturing system which has been in place since 1985. In 2002, Toyota unveiled its Global Body Line (GBL), a radical, company-wide overhaul of its already much-envied FMS.[17] The GBL process was developed so Toyota could implement a common vehicle-assembly â€Å"platform† at any and all of its worldwide assembly locations — regardless of volume or method of assembly. GBL helps Toyota to meet its goal â€Å"To seamlessly manufacture our products in any country, at any volume† The advantages that GBL delivers over the older FBL system of Toyota are * 30% reduction of the time a vehicle spends in the body shop. * 70% reduction in time required to complete a major model change. * 50% cut in the cost to add or switch models. * 50% reduction in initial investment. * 50% reduction in assembly line footprint. * 50% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions due to lower energy usage. * 50% cut in maintenance costs. More than 20 of Toyotas 24 worldwide body lines already have been converted, and the rest either are in the process of conversion or will be refitted for GBL in conjunction with upcoming model changes. Operations in Toyota Older Flexible Body Line (FBL) System : Each vehicle would require three pallets — each tightly gripping either a major bodyside assembly or the roof assembly and assuring its adherence to dimensional hard points — as the body panels travelled through the various stages of welding to the floorpan and to one another. Three pallets limited the number of vehicles that could be in the build sequence at any given time in some plants the number was 50. Also, the design of the pallets — which held the bodysides and roof panels from the outside — limited the access of welding robots and required a lot of floor space. Planners had to â€Å"guess† about how many pallets to build and work that guess into the plants vehicle mix (FBL-equipped plants could handle as many as five different models). Bad guesses about pallet allocation were very costly. Also, quick reaction to a change of production mix was discouraged by the 3-pallet system. Newer Global Body Line (GBL) System : GBL design solves those problems by replacing FBLs three pallets with a single pallet, one that now holds all three major body panels from the inside. This â€Å"master pallet,† layout eliminates the need for predicting initial pallet demand. Since each model or variant requires only the lone pallet, switching new models in or out of the production mix is a breeze. Thus the 70% reduction in time required to facilitate a model change[18]. GBL doubles the amount of floor space that can be occupied by robots, and, on a GBL tour here, every inch appears to be used. In the Georgetown plant of Toyota, the floor space freed by GBL allows a second GBL line — helping the plant achieve a recently announced capacity increase to 500,000 units. Highly advanced robots are central to leveraging the advantages of the GBL layout the system was designed to make the most of new-generation body shop robots that are smaller, more precise and more energy efficient. The number of robots has increased from about 250 to nearly 350. GBL system is enhanced by initial vehicle designs that ensure commonality for various hardpoints. This makes it easier to accommodate a variety of models: GBL-ready plants now can build as many as eight, rather than five with the FBL system. However even with the ability to produce eight different models, there is a limit to GBLs flexibility. Once pressed, engineers admit that not everything Toyota makes, from Vitz to Land Cruiser, can be produced on a single GBL line. There are two siz

Energy and Power Essay -- Natural Resources

Energy and Power Although I am surrounded by energy and power, I never really knew just how much they mean to the world. However, after learning about the fundamentals of energy, I have a much deeper understanding of their magnitude. In this paper, I will reflect back on what I have learned about energy, and how it has affected me personally. For instance, I know now that the power I am using to sit here and type is roughly equivalent to the power used by an incandescent light bulb, but that is only the beginning. Energy is all around us, but to create power, we need to harness it. I never thought about the fact that everything on earth has some type of energy, and until this course I never even knew the six different types. Now, I can make the connection between two types of energy, and know that fire requires a transition between chemical and thermal energy. Now I am able to understand that even natural processes, like photosynthesis, require multiple types of energy, and it has allowed me to think about energy on a much higher level than I used to. For instance, the fact that I know the First Law of Thermodynamics and would be able to hold an intelligent conversation about the subject has given me the type of confidence a Harvard graduate acquires upon being handed their diploma. Now, beginning to learn about coal has awakened a new curiosity in me, as this source of energy is a large part of my family’s history. I am amazed by the things I have learned so f...

Struggle for Equal Work Essay -- essays research papers fc

Struggle for Equal Work The development of the Lowell Mills in the 1820s provided American women with their first opportunity to work outside the home with reasonable wages and relatively safe work. About ten years later however, working in the mills wasn’t the same. Working conditions became more vigorous, the mills were unsafe and the pay received didn’t match the amount of work done. The Lowell family’s textile mills were set up to attract the unmarried daughters of farm families, hoping that they would work a few years before getting married. These young women were called â€Å"Lowell Mill Girls.† A typical working day in the mills started with a factory bell ringing at about four in the morning to wake up employees. After this, employees had to be at the mills in an hour and work until late in the evening. This would sometimes lead to 12-14 hour days. Often times, women were expected to tend about three or four machines at the same. It was a lot of work, but at the time the pay offered was the highest wage available. In the 1830s, wages ranged from $.44 to $1.58 per day, depending on the speed and skill of the worker. This was about half the amount paid to the male mill worker. The air in the mills was not circulated causing it to become very hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. Company supervisors believed that opening any windows would cause threads to break more often so they chose to leave windows shut tight at all times. This is an example of how product...

A Society Without Culture Is As Good As Dead Essay

This essay attempts to discuss, with examples, the topic which says, ‘a society without culture is as good as dead’. Carefully evaluated, the subject entails that culture is of great relevance and value to society. In this vein, the essay shall first examine the meaning of the term ‘culture’, and then outline the significance of culture to any given society. A conclusion shall be presented at last. In the first place, there is no universally acceptable meaning of the word culture. Different people from different lifestyles have advocated for various theoretical interpretations. Anthropologists hold the view that culture has something to do with the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in specific social groups learn, create, and share. Experts have categorized these as customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group of people. However, many experts agree that in its totality, a people’s culture encompasses their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art and technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, political and economic systems. All in all, these can be broken into two major groups namely the material culture and the non-material culture. However, a common practice is to divide all of culture into four broad categories: material, social, and ideological with the fourth category, the arts, sharing characteristics of both material and non-material culture. The material culture includes products of human manufacture, such as technology. The non-material culture pertains to  people’s forms of social organization – how people interact and organize themselves in groups. According to Anchor (1990), the non-material culture includes people’s perceptions on value, beliefs, and commonly held ideals. Both the material and non-material culture may contain some aspects of the art culture including some activities and areas of interest such as music, sculpture, painting, pottery, theatre, cooking, writing, and fashion. The economic system is a very important notion in societies made of material cultures. All societies produce and exchange material goods so that people can feed, clothe, shelter, and otherwise provide for themselves basic needs. In most material cultures, anything that can be attached to the means of production is prioritized. Thus, when carrying out studies on the material culture of a particular society, Anthropologists look at several aspects of people’s material culture including the pattern of subsistence; the ways in which people exchange goods and services; the kinds of technologies and other objects people make and use; and effects of people’s economy on the natural environment. The aforementioned four are the major tenets of a material culture as defined in modern social groups. How advanced one material culture is determines even its levels of development. This is evidenced by itself in that the culture of any given social group defines the level of development that has been attained by that social group. Another value of the material culture is that it provides the form of exchange. Generally, it is a tradition in any society whether big or not to exchange goods and services with each other through appropriate exchange systems. In Luapula Province for example, money is not the only form of exchange, but people can use other valuable products including food stuffs, clothes, and fishing equipment to exchange with fish. On the other hand, contemporary industrial societies have organized markets for land, labor, and money, and virtually everything is a commodity. People buy and sell goods and services using money. This form of economy, known as capitalism, is typical of the pre-modern Zambian culture. As shown above, a material culture of every society or social group has a system of exchanging goods and services. Pre-historical man developed a system of exchanging goods and services quite different from the present. Today people from different regions are able to exchange goods and services through the exchange aspects of their cultures. However, it is important to note that the culture plays a  very important role in shaping the exchange system of any social group and that the nature of the exchange system determines the rate of development of that cultural group. Apart from the afore-mentioned, material culture also has a hand in the development of the use of a particular type of technology. In most primarily agricultural societies in Zambia, people build sturdy houses of sun-dried mud bricks and grass-thatched roofs, wooden beams, or quarried stone. In large industrial and commerce-based societies, most people live in wood-frame or brick houses and apartment buildings with plumbing, supplies of electricity and natural gas, and telephone services. Much of the material culture in these societies consists of mass-produced goods created through industrial production, Sowell, (1996). A great deal of food and clothing are produced in this way. The variety of common household technologies includes televisions, stereos, microwave ovens, electric kettles and irons, computers, etc. Apart from the material culture, the non-material culture also has a great role to play in the development of a given people, social group or society. Focusing on those aspects of the non-material culture that help people of any given society to get organized, the non-material culture varies from simple to complex societies. People commonly organize themselves according to bonds by kinship and marriage. Important factors in family, work, and political relations include age and gender. The other factor that makes the non-material culture different from material culture is the notion on ideologies. In every society, culturally unique ways of thinking about the world unite people in their behavior. Ideology can be broken down into at least three specific categories: beliefs, values, and ideals. Many people rely on religion, systems of belief in the supernatural (things beyond the natural world), to shape their values and ideals and to influence their behavior. Beliefs, values, and ideals also come from observations of the natural world, a practice anthropologists commonly refer to as secularism. In Zambia, since the pronouncement that Zambia is a Christian nation, religion is becoming a very important aspect of the non-material culture. Religion allows people to know about and communicate with supernatural beings – such as animal spirits, gods, and spirits of the dead. Religion often serves to help people cope with the death of relatives and friends, and it figures prominently in most funeral ceremonies. In the same way, visionaries and healers known as shamans  receive stories from supernatural beings and later recite them to others or act them out in dramatic rituals, Taylor (1996). Culture plays a very important role in the development of any given social group. As a way of life for a given social group, culture shapes the development of any given social aspect. One such an area is communication by symbols. According to Archer, (1996), humans are of a nature in many ways to use symbolic communication. The ability to communicate with and understand symbols is one aspect that qualifies people to have a culture. Moreover, communication is a vital component in the development of a particular country. For example, in Zambia just like in many other countries, colours on the national flag instill a spirit of patriotism among citizens. Similarly, language allows people to develop complex thoughts and to exchange those thoughts with others. Language and other forms of symbolic communication, such as art, enable people to create, explain, and record new ideas and information. In this day and age a great deal of arithmetic is expressed or communicated through symbols, enabling a flexible way for people to communicate even very complex thoughts with each other, for instance in the construction industry. Among several benefits that come with the starting of culture is self-identity. Self-identity usually depends on culture to such a great extent that immersion in a very different culture – with which a person does not share common ways of life or beliefs – can cause a feeling of confusion and disorientation or culture shock. Sharing culture enables people to cultivate a spir it of unity. Members of a society who share culture often also share some feelings of ethnocentrism, the notion that one’s culture is more sensible than or superior to that of other societies. Ethnocentrism contributes to the integrity of culture because it affirms people’s shared beliefs and values in the face of other, often contradictory, beliefs and values held by people of other cultural backgrounds. Cultural exchange can provide many benefits for all societies. Different societies can exchange ideas, people, manufactured goods, and natural resources. Such exchanges can also have drawbacks however. Often, the introduction of aspects of another society’s culture can disrupt the cohesive life of a people, Archer (1996). For example, the introduction of consumerism into many small societies has led to what anthropologists refer to as cargo cults. In cargo cults, people focus much of their religious energy and time on trying to magically acquire  commercial goods. Accordin g to a good number of experts, education has been a vital component of human civilizations. Today, policy makers and other concerned parties have woken up to the fact that education is crucial to the development of any nation. People are not born with culture; they have to learn it. For instance, people must learn to speak and understand a language and to abide by rules of a society. In many societies, all people must learn to produce and prepare food and to construct shelters. In other societies, people must learn a skill to earn money, which they then use to provide for themselves. Culture helps human societies survive in changing natural environments, Sowell, (1996). By enabling people to develop new technologies and learn how to subsist on new environmental conditions, people are empowered to survive. As a matter of fact, cultural adaptation has made humans one of the most successful species on the planet. Through history, major developments in technology, medicine, and nutrition have allowed people to reproduce and survive in ever-increasing numbers. The global population has risen from eight million during the Ice Age to almost six billion, Hall (1999:45). In conclusion, I remain of the opinion that culture depicts the way of life for any given social group. It covers all aspects of the human life including symbolic aspects, art, technology, ideologies among others. However, it is common tradition for experts today to categorize culture in terms of material and non-material culture. The material culture can be much closely linked to the means of production or earning a living or livelihood that has been adopted by a given people. The non-material culture has something to do with the beliefs, customs, norms, and other important non-material aspects of a people’s culture the society has adopted to ease the process of communication or cooperation. Culture is important for the development of any nation. It is common among anthropologists today to distinguish between developed and developing nations just by studying some aspects of the culture to that nation. Culture defines the means of production, type of technology and innovation among others. Culture is important if a given society should uphold those aspects of culture it considers to be working even for future generations. The shared aspect of culture enables people in the same society to share among other things, skills, norms, customs, and beliefs. Furthermore, while people biologically inherit many physical traits and behavioral instincts, culture is socially  inherited. A person must learn culture from other people in a society. Culture is also adaptive. People use culture to flexibly and quickly adjust to changes in the world around them. Indeed, as can be noted from the above discussion, a society without culture is as good as dead. REFERENCES Anchor, J. (1990), An Examination of Cultural Influences on Behavior and nonverbal Communication. Gold, Tie Cooperations. Archer, M. (1996), Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory. Rev. ed. Cambridge University Press. Hall, E. (1959), The Silent Language. Doubleday, New York: Wiley & Sons. Sowell, T. (1996), Migrations and Cultures: A World View, London: Basic Books. Taylor, G. (1996), Cultural Selection, London: Basic Books.

Renaissance Humanism Essay

The Northern European and Italian renaissance period was a time of rebirth of Greek and roman studies, arts, and culture. The people of this time period were call humanists or people who studied Greek and Roman classics and works. The humanism movement not only influenced culture, but it also influenced how the individual was perceived. Humanists encouraged finding oneself whether it is through art, sports, learning and teaching, sciences or mathematics, and they believed one individual could achieve anything they put their minds to. (DOC. 3) The humanists of the Renaissance greatly valued religion even thought they were more focused on the study of human nature and values (DOC. 9). Humanists took it upon themselves to be devoted members of the church and make religion a crucial aspect of their everyday lives. By becoming a more religious individual, they benefited themselves and it was encouraged of humanists to use their connection to the Church to strengthen their relationships with others. One of the most important aspects of the Renaissance that the humanism movement influenced was art. People all over the world began to express themselves and their talents through art and the humanists’ beliefs greatly emphasized Greek and Roman art technique as well. For example, Michelangelo’s sculpture of David emulated the Greek and Roman’s grasp for the physical beauty of the human body and humans’ perfect strength and symmetry (DOC. 1). Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of the muscles in human arms also emphasized and shed more light on the function, look and anatomy of the human arms, thus making it easier to study and visualize the human body (DOC. 7). Additionally, the population of humanism during the Renaissance influenced the way art became more lifelike. In paintings such as Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael (DOC. 4), the artist utilized aspects such as realism and perspective to give more depth to the painting. There is also a sense of the Roman and Greek admiration of the beauty of the human body in this painting, which was painted with new materials and on new mediums, that were invented during he Renaissance. Humanism greatly influenced scientific and secular studies of the Renaissance as well. One example is the improvement of the telescope in Europe (the telescope was originally invented by the Muslims), which greatly increased the flourishing of science during the Renaissance (DOC. 5). With the help of the telescope, it became easier to study astronomy and view the planets and the rest of outer space. Additionally, the printing press invented by Johann Guttenberg greatly contributed to the increase of learning during the humanist movement because more books were produced and became available (DOC. 10) In conclusion, humanism during the Renaissance transformed the lifestyle of people in Europe and influenced interrelated characteristics of culture such as science, art, and principles of the time period. Because he humanists became enthralled with the world around them and were detersmined to express themselves, the course of history for the Modern Ages was definitely changed for the better.