Disaster Prevention And Reduction Strategy - 2761 Words

General: Natural disasters are inevitable and it is not possible to get full control over them. The history of human civilization reveals that man has been combating with natural disasters from its origin but natural disasters like floods, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions have various times not only disturbed the normal life pattern but also caused huge losses to life and property, and interrupted the process of development. Disaster Risk Management: With the technological advancement man tried to combat with these natural disasters through various ways like developing early warning systems for disasters, adopting new prevention measures, proper relief and rescue measures. But unfortunately it is not true for all natural†¦show more content†¦Recognition of the hazard is one of the most important components of Disaster Management. For any Hazard analysis, zonation of the area is very important. For seismic hazard analysis there are two methods of zonation-Macrozona tion and Microzonation. Macrozonation is used for seismic zonation at regional level on small scale considering broad parameters, while microzonation is mainly used for urban area considering local parameters and site conditions for seismic hazard analysis, at large scale. Local soil conditions has significant role on amplification of seismic waves, it being experienced in the past earthquakes. Seismic response analysis is useful to predict the design ground motion site for microzonation. Delineation of seismic hazard zones requires establishing a framework at the national or regional level with the following aspects clearly defined. †¢ Position of seismic microzonation in the construction practice and urban planning. †¢ Methodologies for data collection, evaluation and zonation. †¢ Seismic regulation that includes codes, laws and documentation, such as guidelines, recommendations, and manuals. The main assessment and management of earthquake risk concepts are from the Guidelines for Evaluating and Mitigating Seismic Hazards in California (DOC, 2000) and the Turkish Manual for Seismic Microzonation for Municipalities (DRM, 2004b). Although a major purpose of seismic

Economic Impact Of Terrorism On Terrorism - 1645 Words

Economic Impact of Terrorism Micheal Bonnett Govt/480 December 8, 2014 Thomas Brown Abstract The impact on the economy from terrorist attacks affects everyone in our country and ones we do trade with on a daily bases. When terrorist attack countries they are trying to disrupt the economy and excite fear in as many people as possible to meet the needs of what the terrorist group is looking to achieve. Without a definitive definition on what terrorism is it will continue to adapt and change as time goes on. The cost of protecting Americans from possible terrorist activity is extremely expensive and many agencies cannot afford the equipment to ensure extra precaution is taken to protect citizens. Economic Impact on Terrorism Micheal Bonnett Liberty University The economic impact of terrorism and how it effects a stable economy after a terrorist attack has occurred. â€Å"Terrorist attacks create real losses for society† (Stinson, 2007, p. 145). A terrorist attack can have a positive or negative impact on a financially stable economy depending on the type of attack which occurred and the amount of damage the attack created. â€Å"Quantifying those losses is a sobering, but important task since it provides vital information for policymakers to use as they choose how to allocate scarce public and private sector resources† (Stinson, 2007, p. 145). The financial impact of terrorism was seen during the post 9/11 attacks due to the WorldShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Terrorism On Economic Development And Reducing The Level Of Industrialization Essay1533 Words   |  7 PagesCourse: Date: Introduction Terrorism has proved its negative impacts on the economy of the country by retarding the economic development and reducing the level of industrialization. Terrorism can be defined as countries interference by use of ruthless means which can be as a result of political or religious struggles. 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SACCO AND VANZETTI Essay Example For Students

SACCO AND VANZETTI Essay SACCO AND VANZETTISacco and Vanzetti were victims of the short-lived Red Scare, which was the United States fear of the growing power of Communists, or Reds. When a factory paymaster was robbed and murdered along with his guard, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested after witnesses described the murderers as being Italian. Sacco was a shoemaker and Vanzetti was a fish peddler. Despite the fact that they had alibis and that there was only circumstantial evidence against them, they were found guilty by the jury and received the most extreme of punishments, death. However, they didnt leave the world silent. Many people protested their execution because of the unfair and prejudice treatment of the two radical, Italian immigrants. Even Edna St. Vincent Millay contributed to their defense by writing a poem on the subject. Their efforts against the unjust punishment did not save Sacco and Vanzetti. The Massachusetts governor reviewed the case and despite the overwhelming evidence of their innocence, he still allowed for their executions. Before his death, Vanzetti made a speech, which talked about how he had never stole, killed, spilled blood in his life and that not only had he never committed any of those crimes, he had worked to prevent such crimes from happening. He said that they werent being punished not for the crimes that they did not commit, but for what they were guilty of, being radicals and Italian. On August 23, 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti were put to death in the electric chair.

The Reconstruction Era Essays - Reconstruction Era, Andrew Johnson

The Reconstruction Era The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars in American history. Its damage to America was profound. It tore at the very fiber of America itself. The Reconstruction Era however was as damaging to America as the Civil War itself. Its damage has its roots in the reasons America went to civil war. In the time leading up to the Civil War the south was unhappy so they decided to leave the Union. They thought it was okay to leave if they were unhappy, while the North thought it was wrong. So the two sides went to war. After all was said and done the North had won and now faced the difficult task of reincorporating the South in to the Union once again, as well as rebuilding the South after being torn apart by the war. It was widely believed that Reconstruction was successful, when in fact, as stated by Eric Foner, it was a complete failure. It changed very little in the South. After the Civil War, America was a nation in crisis. The crisis that was faced by all America tore deep in to everyday life. The crisis faced by Congress was what to do with the states that had left the Union. How should they be let in; should they be let in at all; what do they have to do in order to be readmitted in to the Union? These were some of the questions that came before congress along with how they could keep the rebel leaders out of power to prevent this from happening again. If the Confederate leaders were to be left alone would they try to rebel once again? Another problem faced by America was the fact that Abraham Lincoln was dead and now Andrew Johnson was President. Neither the North nor the South liked him. His policies on Reconstruction upset so many that Congress attempted to impeach him, falling short by one vote on the necessary 2/3 of Congress needed to impeach a president. Johnson was a Southerner who was in office when the war broke out, got caught going against the South. This immediately alienated him from the South, while during Reconstruction Johnson pardoned many of the Confederate leaders Congress desired to punish. That alienated him from the North. Of course the big problems of Reconstruction were that the North and South were at odds against each other. They did not like one another nor did they care about what happened to the other side. Actually the North had an interest in seeing the South become more industrial like the North. With that there was the problem of the freedmen, the Southerners did not see them as part of society and treated them as such. In the beginning of Reconstruction, the blacks were able to take part in government and even hold office, but due to the failings of Johnson's Reconstruction policy, the plantation owners who were once in control before were now in power again. So in reality after a couple of years the South had not changed one bit. Black oppression continued after the war, with the passing of the 14th amendment blacks were to be given the right to vote. But the Southern whites found ways to rob the Freedmen out of their right to vote. The set up literacy tests and came up with Grandfather rules and things of that nature. They used any means necessary to prevent blacks from voting. The whites even separated schools and fountains and other public places. They even used fear to intimidate blacks in to submission; this is where the Ku Klux Klan came in. They were started as a southern fraternity that evolved in to a hate club, for lack of a better term. They sought to get rid of all that were not true southerners. They killed, beat, and tortured openly and willingly. They had political backing and in some towns even decided the outcome of elections. They were allowed to do all of their activities because they epitomized what Southerners at the time believed. They became popular because of the animosity displayed by each side. Reconstruction was an utter failure that caused many problems for America in the years that

Free Essays on Six Character Of Virtue

Aristotle six characters of virtue are the Godlike-Divine, Bestial, Virtuous, Vice, Continent and Incontinent. Extra- credit I can sincerely tell you that during my formidable years. I had a rather incontinent disposition. As a young boy, 7 thru 13 years of age, I was a follower, easily influenced by my so called friends. Moreover, I was also exposed to external situations in which temptation would always win the battle. I remember one time; I played hooky with my friends, we went down by the Hudson River and we all jumped in for a swim. But before I jumped in the water, I can clearly remember my mother telling me not to dare jump in the river because a boy had just drowned not to long ago,† but despite my mother’s advise, I didn’t want my friends to think that I was a chicken, so I jumped in the river. And so, there were many more episodes of stupidity and carelessness on my part and all for the sake of wanting to be like the kids on the block. My intractable behavior often landed me in lots of trouble in school, in the neighborhood and at home, unnecessarily. I guess, I wanted to be like the neighborhood kids, I wanted to be accepted and popular with them, and at times, I felt popular and accepted among my peers at the time. Fortunately, I really never got into serious trouble that would rise to the level juvenile delinquency but it was serious enough to get my parent’s attention and I can tell you that I paid the price for my mischievous acts. I count my blessings that I had good parents that provided a loving home and structure in my life. The decisions tha t I made was, certainly, no reflection on their parenting skills but rather decisions that I made on my own for what ever reason they were at the time. Too their credit, it was their persistence that kept me in line and not to continue in destructive path like some of the so called friends winded up. Nonetheless, as I reached my teen years, I began to realize th... Free Essays on Six Character Of Virtue Free Essays on Six Character Of Virtue Aristotle six characters of virtue are the Godlike-Divine, Bestial, Virtuous, Vice, Continent and Incontinent. Extra- credit I can sincerely tell you that during my formidable years. I had a rather incontinent disposition. As a young boy, 7 thru 13 years of age, I was a follower, easily influenced by my so called friends. Moreover, I was also exposed to external situations in which temptation would always win the battle. I remember one time; I played hooky with my friends, we went down by the Hudson River and we all jumped in for a swim. But before I jumped in the water, I can clearly remember my mother telling me not to dare jump in the river because a boy had just drowned not to long ago,† but despite my mother’s advise, I didn’t want my friends to think that I was a chicken, so I jumped in the river. And so, there were many more episodes of stupidity and carelessness on my part and all for the sake of wanting to be like the kids on the block. My intractable behavior often landed me in lots of trouble in school, in the neighborhood and at home, unnecessarily. I guess, I wanted to be like the neighborhood kids, I wanted to be accepted and popular with them, and at times, I felt popular and accepted among my peers at the time. Fortunately, I really never got into serious trouble that would rise to the level juvenile delinquency but it was serious enough to get my parent’s attention and I can tell you that I paid the price for my mischievous acts. I count my blessings that I had good parents that provided a loving home and structure in my life. The decisions tha t I made was, certainly, no reflection on their parenting skills but rather decisions that I made on my own for what ever reason they were at the time. Too their credit, it was their persistence that kept me in line and not to continue in destructive path like some of the so called friends winded up. Nonetheless, as I reached my teen years, I began to realize th...

Example for Teachers Late Work Policy

Example for Teachers Late Work Policy Here is an example of a late work and make-up work policy that a teacher would hand out to students and parents at the beginning of the year. This was created using the article, How to Deal with Late Work and Make-Up Work. To be regarded on time, work must be completed by the beginning of the period on the day it is due. Short homework assignments will be stamped on time only at the beginning of the period. If we go over answers to the previous nights homework, you should copy answers while we check homework to save as a review, but you will not get credit for having done your homework. If the homework is collected without answers being given in class, you may turn it in the following day with a late penalty. Unfinished homework is not accepted. Larger graded assignments may be turned in late with a one-grade penalty for each day late. They will not be accepted after the fourth day they are due. You may not work on late homework instead of the days assignment. Attempts to do so will result in a zero for the late work. In the case of excused absences, you have two extra days for each excused absence not counting the day of your return. Since your assignment will have to be changed to a comparable assignment if graded assignments are returned before yours are turned in, you should ask me if you need to get an alternate assignment so you dont have to do two instead of one. Work due on the day of an unexcused absence receives a grade of zero. Long term assignments (assignments made at least two weeks in advance) are due the day of your return from an excused absence. If you are in school but excused from this class, you must turn in long range assignments between classes or at the beginning of lunch time in order to avoid late penalties.

Relocation Project; Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Relocation Project; - Assignment Example There some major issues which needs to be looked up before shifting. I have to have an unpleasant thought of your present cost of living dependent upon your present bills and measure of obligation (both altered month to month obligation, for example, your contract and variable obligation like your Mastercard bills). At that point, before you acknowledge an occupation offer in an alternate city, discover what amount of additional – or less – it might cost you to live there. Simply knowing your new compensation measure is insufficient. You will know, harshly, the contrast in you can hope to experience in the greater part of the liabilities you consistently cause. That means finishing some examination to realize what you might as well hope to pay for expenditures like what youre as of now using on: Whats more youll need to get a thought of the receptiveness to shopping in your potential new main residence, which may have an immediate effect on your plan. Case in point when you live close huge rebate retailers like Wal-Mart or Target where you do a ton of your shopping yet there are no such stores in your new main residence you will either need to customarily shop at additional costly stores or pay more for fuel to head to the closest enormous box retailers. Assuming that you have the ability to invest some opportunity there you might get a considerably more precise thought of the cost of living. Look through the paper or neighborhood magazines to get a thought of home deal costs or flat rental rates. Stop at a market to perceive how your nourishment plan may need to change and look at what amount of gas costs as youre touring the region. Destroying some individual exploration will provide for them you a significantly more sensible picture of how youll have to modify your plan. The single greatest cost youre set to need to weigh when acknowledging a move will probably be lodging – both managing your present lodging and

Operations Management The increasing amount of Mass Customization in Essay

Operations Management The increasing amount of Mass Customization in the Automobile industry - Essay Example At that time, it is fair to say that consumers were more interested in the function of the product, and in the case of Henry Ford, his market domination prevented other manufacturers from offering personalization as a unique selling point. However, as automobiles became more affordable, consumers began to seek ways with which they could customize their possessions with a view differentiating themselves from other consumers, and to create their own sense of identity. The growing need to establish this identity led to the gradual customization in the automobile industry where automobiles could be produced to match individual consumer needs (Mayland and Heiland 2005). Mass customization requires a significant amount of input from all suppliers and producers involved in the operations management process. Each of these suppliers and producers will be part of other industries as well, which have their own technological advances and business strategies. For mass customization to be efficien t the automobile industry will have to look at changing its supplier relationships, but in doing so has to ensure that its relationship is not affect its suppliers relationship with producers. The automobile industry will therefore need to adopt a few examples of good practice from the service industry, as mass customization has introduced the consumer into its processes. Mass customization is likely to create a network of suppliers and a supply chain that is unique to traditional ones, but this may also involve adopting totally radical business strategies to maintain the inefficiencies. This may involve forming business alliances and partnerships that will enable the automobile industry to working closely with its suppliers by sharing more information and being involved in planning and forecasting as a group, as opposed to individually Table of Contents I. 1.0 History & Background of the Automobile industry The automobile industry is one which has its roots in America following the mass production of cars by Henry Ford in 1912 (Mozian et al 2007). The mass production of automobiles has now become a global phenomenon with other countries such as Germany, Brazil and Japan being key players in the industry. As a result of this global reach the automobile industry is experiencing influences which have forced the industry to re-assess the way they work. For instance, manufacturers are having changing relationships with their customers, as more demand high levels of personalization; manufacturers are having to form new partnerships with suppliers in order to meet their customer demands in terms of quality and cost; and these two influences have led to the need to re-invent the factory floor to accommodate the numbers and degrees of personalization demanded by the customer (Benko and McFarlane 2003). When Henry Ford mass produced the automobile in 1912, he introduced the concept of mass production which made it possible for industries to manufacture standard products in large quantities at low unit costs (Mayland and Heiland 2005). This meant that the automobile industry at that time, could manufacture automobiles that were identical, and this was largely possible due to consumer attitudes. At that time, it is fair to say that consumers

Intertestamental Period Essay Example for Free

Intertestamental Period Essay INTRODUCTION The overarching goal of the Christian church is to model a Kingdom lifestyle and in so doing facilitate a change in the world towards a lifestyle approved of God. That goal is accomplished by (1) being in the world, but not of the world, (2) being one and (3) using Kingdom methodology to achieve God’s objectives. But achieving the goal using that strategy is made difficult when it must be done in the midst of competing lifestyles. Especially when there is a desire to fit in rather than being ‘peculiar’. During the Intertestamental Period, also called the Second Temple Period by some authors, the Jews experienced cultural and environmental pressures which forced them apart and set the stage for the ministry of Jesus. The following is a brief summary of those pressures. 1. The Jews were bounded on all sides by other cultures and this caused them to compromise their life style to fit in with the world giving up any real distinction between a righteous lifestyle and a worldly lifestyle. Bruce stated that â€Å"the Greek way of life was attractive to many, and slowly but surely it continued to make headway among large sections of the population, including even the great priestly families in Jerusalem. This tendency was inimical to the true calling of Israel, and tended to break down the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles in the wrong way, by blurring the sharp distinction between Israel’s revealed religion and Greek heathenism.† 2. The Jews moved from ‘being one’ to being ‘standalone competing sects’. It is readily observable that this caused infighting and an inward focus that was detrimental to their inherent mission. This problem was highlighted in later years when Jesus said â€Å"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.† 3. The Use of Political Means to Achieve Kingdom Ends Instead of being in the world, but not of the world, the Jews readily became part of the world by entering into the political system of the culture in an attempt to develop some level of security and ensure their prosperity. The use of political maneuvering was used during the entire 400 year period. For the most part it would be impossible to distinguish the political wrangling of the Jews from that of any other self-interest groups of the day. 4. The combining of church and state in the office of High Priest. The High Priest was supposed to monitor and ensure the spiritual welfare of the Jews. However in during the Intertestamental period, governmental authority was vested in that position by the ruling factions. We can observe the same thing in some churches today. We have Pastors who are not only empowered with the spiritual welfare of the church but are also given carte blanche authority over the governance of the church. And balancing those requirements is difficult at best. We must also consider the varying conquest strategies used by the nations that existed around the Jews. The Semitic nations, which included the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Ammonites, the Moabites and the Esau-ites deported those they conquered to be settled in foreign lands. Additionally, they had a policy of destroying the religion and culture of those they conquered. The Japhetic nations, which included the Medo-Persians, generally sent the conquered back to their homelands and granted some religious and political self-rule. The Hamitic nations, which included the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Philistines and the Phoenicians, deported those they conquered and destroyed their culture and religion. Several sources were used to conduct this analysis and as can be expected, various divisions and time periods were used. For the purposes of this paper, we will divide the time period into the following divisions and use these associated dates: (1) 722-433 BC Antecedent Events; (2) 559-331 BC Persian and Medo-Persian Rule; (3) 368-323 BC Hellenistic (Greek) Rule; (4) 323-166 BC Ptolemies and Seleucids Rule; (5) 166-63 BC Jewish (Maccabean and Hasmonean) Self-Rule; (6) 63 BC AD 663 Roman (Herod) Rule. It is noted that the Intertestamental or Second Temple Period ended with the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. ANTECEDENT EVENTS722-433 BC There are events that took place prior to the Intertestamental Period that must be considered in this analysis. In 722 BC, Sargon the king of Assyria captured the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and deported the higher Jewish classes to Babylon. These deportations created spiritual crises for the Jews. But in addition, a lot of the cultural aspects of being a Jew were destroyed. According to Kostenberger, the monarchy was destroyed and the sanctuary which was the central focus for the Jewish faith was lost. The Jews, who apparently had a penchant for fitting in with foreign cultures found themselves in close proximity to Gentiles. This created moral and ceremonial problems for those living outside of Judea. In 587 BC, the exact same situations occurred when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon captured the Southern Kingdom (Judah), destroying the Temple and Jerusalem. In 583 BC Cyrus, king of the Medo-Persian Empire, came to power and sent the captives home but only fifty thousand returned to rebuild the Temple. It is suggested that an equal number simply stayed in place opting not to return to an uncertain situation. With the goal of rebuilding the Temple, the Jews forbid the Samaritans to participate due to their mixed race heritage. Offended by this, the Samaritans became obstructionists delaying the building and eventually built their own temple further increasing the schism between the Jews and the Samaritans So we enter the Intertestamental Period with the Jews dispersed in several locales, experiencing and in some cases embracing foreign cultures to the detriment of their culture and faith and having been ruled and subjugated for generations. PERSIAN AND MEDO-PERSIAN RULE559-331 BC Historical Developments The Jews were delivered from their previous captivity by the Persians and for the most part were left undisturbed by the Persians. But they had new and enthusiastic rivals among the Samaritans who had not only delayed the building of the Jewish Temple, but had initiated their rival temple on Mount Gerizim, overlooking the ancient city of Shechem. Impacts on the Jews The remnant of Jews that returned was idolatrous and had lost any sense of reverence for the Scriptures. During this period, idolatry was purged from the Jews. They gained a new sense of reverence for the Scriptures. The Jews developed a firm grasp for the concept of monotheism and completed the Temple reaffirming it as the center of worship. HELLENISTIC (GREEK) RULE368-323 BC Historical Developments It can be defended that the Hellenistic (Greek) Rule Period actually started with the rule of Philip. Philip had brought the whole of Greece under his rule, and intended to lead the combined forces of his empire against the Persians. Some view this as a Macedonian event, but Philip had already embraced the Greek culture. One of Philip’s first acts was to have his young son, Alexander trained in Greek culture. However before Philip could complete his military efforts, he was assassinated and it was left to Alexander to complete his plans. Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Babylon, Palestine, Syria, Egypt and western India. Alexander’s Empire did not last long. In 323 he died of a fever at Babylon, before he had completed his thirty-third year. But even before his death, his followers carried the Greek language and culture all over the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. Impacts on the Jews Caught between opposing forces the Jews lost all sense of security once again. They were immediately between two warring factions being pulled in both directions. This may have been one of the times when the Jews felt an overwhelming desire to fit in to avoid destruction. Hellenization, or embracing the Greek culture, was so powerful that from a cultural standpoint, the Greeks conquered Philip, Alexander and even the Romans when they showed up. The conquerors assumed the Greek language and eventually brought about the translation of the Old Testament into Greek (the Septuagint). Doing so also caused a rift between the Jews who were more traditional. PTOLEMIES AND SELEUCIDS RULE323-166 BC Historical Developments Pursuant to his death Alexander’s generals quarreled over who would succeed him. Alexander’s Empire was eventually divided into several parts. Of these parts only two are of any real concern as they had a major impact upon the Jews. These are the Macedonian kingdom of Egypt, with its capital at Alexandria ruled by the Ptolemies, and Macedonian kingdom of Syria with its capital at Antioch ruled by the Seleucids. By 300 B.C. we find two Macedonian dynasties firmly established in these capitals. Palestine lay between these two kingdoms. Impacts on the Jews Hayford indicates that the Jewish faith was seriously undermined by being in close proximity to Hellenism. The Jews started to neglect Jewish religious rites and customs. But this is not to say that the Jewish faith is inherently weaker than Greek culture. For the Jews, adherence to Greek culture was easier and it was simply more acceptable. But it did cause a schism between the Jews. Two sects emerged which included the Hellenizing party, which was pro-Syrian and the Hasidim party, which eventually became the Pharisees. Once again, we see a division among the Jews. JEWISH (MACCABEAN AND HASMONEAN) SELF-RULE166-63 BC Historical Developments As they were pulled in both directions by two Macedonian dynasties, a Jewish revolt erupted. A Syrian official pushed for a heathen sacrifice in the Jewish village of Modein. Led by the priest Mattathias and his sons Judas, Jonathan and Simon this revolt eventually led to Jewish independence. The Jews retook Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple and restored worship starting a period of Jewish self-rule. However, this was a period of self-rule with major factions competing against each other. Impacts on the Jews In addition to the conflicts with the Syrians, the position of high priest took on political overtones with the high priest being chosen not by Aaronite lineage but by political strength. It is even suggested that bribes were being paid to secure the office. This caused further schisms among the Jews strengthening both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. ROMAN (HEROD) RULE63 BC to AD 663 Historical Developments The self-rule of the Jews ended in 63 BC when Pompey took Syria and entered Israel. Under Roman rule Antipater the Idumaean was appointed procurator by Julius Caesar and was later succeeded by his son Herod. Herod was a converted Jew and yet was one of the most heinous leaders the world had ever seen. A summary of his reign would include marrying the Asmonaean princess, Marianne to secure the support of the Maccabeans; murdering Marianne and her two sons at the behest of his mother; executing his mother Alexandra; murdering forty-three members of the Sanhedrin; Hellenizing the country by erecting a Greek theatre in Jerusalem; restoring the Temple to increase his popularity with the Jews; murdering his son Antipater; and finally committing the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem. Impacts on the Jews These atrocities by Herod led to the development of three other sects developed during this time which included the Zealots, the Herodians and the Essenes. So near the end of the Intertestamental Period, we find the Jews more fractured than ever before, under the rule of a foreign power and turning to some very questionable means in an attempt to bring about God’s ends. MAJOR PROBLEMS AND RESPONSE 1. With the collapse of the Persian Empire, which had a very lenient attitude toward self-identity and religious freedom for those they had conquered, the Jews had to deal with a series of Greek kings who had a strong belief in their cultural superiority. The Jews were bounded on all sides by other cultures the principle of which was the Greek culture. Bruce calls this ‘the progressive Hellenization of Palestinian Judaism’.. The Jews started to compromise their life style to fit in with the world. In so doing, they give up any real distinction between a righteous lifestyle and a worldly lifestyle. The Jews made the decision to assume the Greek culture in whole or in part with some of them totally abandoning the faith. Others developed a sort of bi-faith practice where they embraced some of their Jewish faith as well as some of the Greek culture. This alone put them at odds with some of the more hardline practitioners of the faith. 2. The Jews moved from ‘being one’ to being ‘multiple standalone sects’. The rise of the Jewish sects resulted from the clash between Hellenism and the Jewish religion and culture. Taylor states that the Hellenism elements were dangerous to the purity of the Jewish faith and formed the new temptation to unfaithfulness just as idolatry had been to their forefathers. The Sadducees Under Jewish self-rule the Sadducees emerge as the party closely associated with the leading priestly families. It is thought that their name was derived from the priest Zadok, whose descendants are commended as faithful priests in Ezek. 44:15. The Sadducees observed only the Pentateuch and were the major supporters of the Hasmonean dynasty. As the ruling aristocracy in Jerusalem, they had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and with pressure from other sects there was a need to align themselves with the non-Jew ruling powers. They held a majority on the Sanhedrin and were allied with the Pharisees in having Jesus crucified. They held to a literal interpretation of the Law, liberal religious views and feared trouble with Rome. The Pharisees The Pharisees were the largest and most influential Jewish sects. They practiced a form of righteousness that observed a complex system of oral traditions in an effort to flesh out the implications of scriptural commends for everyday life. They were dedicated to teaching both the written and the oral Law attaching great importance to traditions. Consequently they practiced ritual prayer, fasting and tithing. They strictly kept the Sabbath and many other rules for everyday life; devised legal loopholes for their convenience. Their main goals were the restoration of religious freedom and the cessation of the connection between politics and the high priesthood. Their popularity among the people increased steadily. Most of the scribes, or popular teachers of the law, belonged to the Pharisaic party. Politically, the Pharisees were the power brokers between the masses and the aristocracy. They were scrupulous about the Law and viewed themselves as separate from those who were lax about keeping it. The Zealots The Zealots were almost a military arm of the faith and were increasingly interested in political freedom. Their means were very aggressive and won the bulk of Jews to their cause They advocated the violent overthrow of Rome, refused to pay taxes and regarded any loyalty to Caesar or Rome a as sin. Their opposition to Jesus may have come from His discourse â€Å"They say unto him, Caesars. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesars; and unto God the things that are Gods.† The Essenes The Essenes were one of the smaller sects and little is known of their origins. Their solution to the pressure and sects was to completely withdraw from society. They formed a sect that completely lived in seclusion. They turned to a philosophy that said we’re not of the world; neither will we be in the world. The Herodians The Herodians were a sect of influential Jews who were wholly politically minded. They still called themselves Jews but had pretty much left the faith. Even with his long list of atrocities, they completely supported Herod and by implication the Romans. This was their method of surviving when facing the pressures and challenges of the occupation and the various sects around them. 3. The Use of Political Means to Achieve Kingdom Ends The Jews, having lost belief in the ability of their faith to support them in their occupied and factional state turned to the use of secular politics to control their environment. Eventually, they came to pay little attention to the spiritual ideals of Israel. Their chief aim was secular power and aggrandizement. This can only be viewed as completely giving up the idea of being God’s people and in effect just throwing in the towel. 4. The combining of church and state in the office of High Priest. Carroll speaks of the evils involved with combining church and state. First you have religious power and governing power all handed to one individual. This can open to door to the state then having a say in who should receive those powers. Having this much power up for grabs sooner or later will result in the position becoming a matter of barter and sale. CONCLUSION These are major problems facing the Jewish people, but of them all, the greatest has to be the continued fracturing of the people into smaller and smaller self-interest groups. So the greatest threat to the Jewish people during the Intertestamental Period was not the warring factions around them. Not even the heinous actions of a tyrannical leader, but rather their own willingness to cease ‘being one’. There is an African Proverb that states â€Å"when there is no enemy within, the enemy without can do us no harm.† The Jews, in their attempts to meet the challenges around them were doing themselves great harm. But the Intertestamental period is a preface to the coming of Jesus. And it would be difficult to find a better time for the One who would unite all things under Himself. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bruce, F.F. The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 64. Carroll, Benajah Harvey. Between the Testaments, A Class on Biblical History. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminar, Fort Worth, Texas. 1914. Gene Taylor. 2005. Between the Testaments: A Study of the 400 Years of Biblical Silence and the Relevant Empires. http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/taylor/between.pdf [Accessed July 25, 2013]. Hayford, Jack W. 1995, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. Kostenbergen, Andreas J., L. Scott Kellum and C. L. Quarles. 2009, The Cradle, The Cross and the Crown. Nashville: BH Publishing Group. [ 1 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 12. [ 2 ]. John 17:20-21 [ 3 ]. Benajah Harvey Carroll. Between the Testaments, A Class on Biblical History. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminar, Fort Worth, Texas. 1914, 6-8. [ 4 ]. Andreas J. Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum and C. L. Quarles, The Cradle, The Cross and the Crown, (BH Publishing Group, 2009), 63. [ 5 ]. Benajah Harvey Carroll. Between the Testaments, A Class on Biblical History. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminar, Fort Worth, Texas. 1914, 6-8. [ 6 ]. Jack W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study Nashville: (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 507. [ 7 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 10. [ 8 ]. Jack W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study Nashville: (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 507-508. [ 9 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 10. [ 10 ]. Jack W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study Nashville: (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 508. [ 11 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 11. [ 12 ]. Jack W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study Nashville: (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 508. [ 13 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 11. [ 14 ]. Jack W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study Nashville: (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 509. [ 15 ]. Ibid, 510. [ 16 ]. Ibid, 510. [ 17 ]. Ibid, 511. [ 18 ]. Benajah Harvey Carroll. Between the Testaments, A Class on Biblical History. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminar, Fort Worth, Texas. 1914, 42-43. [ 19 ]. Jack W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook: The Complete Companion for Spirit-Filled Bible Study Nashville: (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 511. [ 20 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 11. [ 21 ]. Gene Taylor. 2005. Between the Testaments: A Study of the 400 Years of Biblical Silence and the Relevant Empires. http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/taylor/between.pdf [Accessed July 25, 2013], 33. [ 22 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 63. [ 23 ]. Andreas J. Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum and C. L. Quarles, The Cradle, The Cross and the Crown, (BH Publishing Group, 2009), 72. [ 24 ]. Ibid, 95. [ 25 ]. Gene Taylor. 2005. Between the Testaments: A Study of the 400 Years of Biblical Silence and the Relevant Empires. http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/taylor/between.pdf [Accessed July 25, 2013], 35. [ 26 ]. Ibid, 34. [ 27 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 64. [ 28 ]. Andreas J. Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum and C. L. Quarles, The Cradle, The Cross and the Crown, (BH Publishing Group, 2009), 72. [ 29 ]. Gene Taylor. 2005. Between the Testaments: A Study of the 400 Years of Biblical Silence and the Relevant Empires. http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/taylor/between.pdf [Accessed July 25, 2013], 35. [ 30 ]. Mt 22:21 [ 31 ]. Gene Taylor. 2005. Between the Testaments: A Study of the 400 Years of Biblical Silence and the Relevant Empires. http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/taylor/between.pdf [Accessed July 25, 2013], 35. [ 32 ]. Ibid, 35. [ 33 ]. F.F. Bruce, The Period Between The Testaments: I, Political Development. Department of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield, 1949, 64. [ 34 ]. Benajah Harvey Carroll. Between the Testaments, A Class on Biblical History. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminar, Fort Worth, Texas. 1914, 11.

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - Driven b

The Role of Fate in Oedipus Rex Before we approach this complex question inductively, we are at first obliged to contemplate what definitions and assumptions are being made. This essay, perhaps more so than others, requires a more extensive look at this aspect of the question, because of the sheer variety of possible responses. However, I now have reduced them to three possibilities. Firstly, we could make the assumption that perhaps as destiny controls all fates, then Oedipus' character was created long before he was conceived. On the other hand, we could also say that perhaps Oedipus' horrific fate came about because of his character and fate. The final possibility is that everything is inevitable - therefore no one ever has had any say in their own fate, let alone Oedipus. In this essay I would like to discuss these three ideas, and perhaps draw a conclusion at the end on which I feel to be the most valid. The first solution to this question, as I said earlier, is the idea that destiny makes character. As destiny supposedly in the Greek mindset maps out all events before they occur, we can today assume with this logic that perhaps the components that "built" Oedipus' character were caused by fate. We know today that character is determined by biological factors and experience. These biological factors would have been determined by how well he was fed, how well he developed, his genes etcetera. The experience would have also been determined by the pre-destined master plan of Fate. Thus it is possible to argue that Oedipus, as components of his character and mind, was entirely shaped by fate and therefore cannot be held responsible for what he has done, as he has no control over his actions. But the premises that th... ...e dealt with in a normal way. This is theatre. It has been crafted to look as though the fall is due to some error of action, strongly interlaced with fate. Yet despite all this, I do not feel that this is how the play has materialised. It seems to me as though Oedipus could not have stopped the actual horrific incest and patricide occurring, only the realisation of it. To me, as a non-believer in fate, nothing is due to Oedipus' character. He seems merely unfortunate, a victim of superstition. Yet to those of you who accept fate, then perhaps this could be the explanation. It is a completely subjective decision, based on a personal interpretation. This is something that I cannot decide. Thus I leave the decision open, but my decision closed. Neither is right, and neither is wrong. Works Cited: Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.

Comparison of Indirect Cost Multipliers for Vehicle Manufacturing Essay

Disclaimer This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor The University of Chicago, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, Argonne National Laboratory, or The University of Chicago. COMPARISON OF INDIRECT COST MULTIPLIERS FOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURING INTRODUCTION In the process of manufacturing and selling vehicles, a manufacturer incurs certain costs. Among these costs are those incurred directly as a part of manufacturing operations and those incurred indirectly in the processes of manufacturing and selling. The indirect costs may be productionrelated, such as R&D and engineering; business-related, such as corporate staff salaries and pensions; or retail-sales-related, such as dealer support and marketing. These indirect costs are recovered by allocating them to each vehicle. Under a stable, high-volume production process, the allocation of these indirect costs can be approximated as multipliers (or factors) applied to the direct cost of manufacturing. A manufacturer usually allocates indirect costs to finished vehicles according to a corporation-specific pricing strategy. Because the volumes of sales and production vary widely by model within a corporation, the internal corporate percent allocation of various accounting categories (such as profit or corporate overhead) can vary widely among individual models. Approaches also vary across corporations. For our purposes, an average value is constructed, by means of a generic representative method, for vehicle models produced at high volume. To accomplish this, staff at Argonne National Laboratory’s (ANL’s) Center for Transportation Research analyzed the conventional vehicle cost structure and developed indirect cost multipliers for passenger vehicles. This memorandum summarizes the results of an effort to compare and put on a common basis the cost multipliers used in ANL’s electric and hybrid electric vehicle cost estimation procedures with those resulting from two other methodologies. One of the two compared methodologies is derived from a 1996 presentation by Dr. Chris Borroni-Bird of Chrysler Corporation, the other is by Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. (EEA), as described in a 1995 report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), Congress of the United States. The cost multipliers are used for scaling the component costs to retail prices. ANL METHODOLOGY The ANL methodology described here is based on an analysis concerned with electric vehicle production and operating costs (Cuenca et al. 2000; Vyas et al. 1998). The analysis evaluated the cost structure for conventional vehicle manufacturing and retailing and assigned shares of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to various cost contributors. Multipliers developed from the ANL methodology are applied to the manufacturing cost of an individual component in order to scale the component cost to the retail price. Several cost contributors are included in the methodology, as summarized in Table 1. Some of the vehicle components for electric and hybrid electric vehicles would be procured from outside suppliers. This assumption is applied to electric drive components, excluding the battery; the vehicle manufacturer would produce the rest. Thus, two cost multipliers, one for the components manufactured internally and the other for outsourced components, are necessary to estimate the price of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Outside suppliers would incur some of the costs normally borne by the vehicle manufacturer. In the ANL methodology, we assume that the costs of â€Å"Warranty,† â€Å"R&D/Engineering,† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization† are borne by the Page 1 suppliers of outsourced components. The outside suppliers would include these costs in their prices. The following two cost multipliers are computed by using â€Å"Cost of Manufacture† as the base: Cost multiplier for components manufactured internally = 100/50 = 2. 00. Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(50 + 6. 5 + 5. 5 + 5) = 1. 50. Table 1 Contributors to Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price in ANL Methodology Cost Category Cost Contributor Relative to Share of Cost of Vehicle MSRP Manufacturing (%) Vehicle Manufacturing Cost of Manufacture 1. 00 50. 0 Production Overhead Warranty 0. 10 5. 0 R&D/Engineering 0. 13 6. 5 Depreciation and Amortization 0. 11 5. 5 Corporate Overhead Corporate Overhead, Retirement and 0. 14 7. 0 Health Selling Distribution, Marketing, Dealer 0. 47 23. 5 Support, and Dealer Discount Sum of Costs 1. 95 97. 5 Profit Profit 0. 05 2. 5 Total Contribution to 2. 00 100. 0 MSRP METHODOLOGY DERIVED FROM BORRONI-BIRD PRESENTATION In his presentation, entitled â€Å"Automotive Fuel Cell Requirements,† at the 1996 Automotive Technology Development Customers’ Coordination Meeting, Borroni-Bird included charts on the â€Å"Typical American Automobile: Price/Cost Breakdown. † The charts provided a graphical breakdown of vehicle price, showing cost contributors and profit. We used the charts to arrive at percentage shares of vehicle price by various contributors. Table 2 shows the resulting allocation. Page 2 Table 2 Price/Cost Breakdown Based on Borroni-Bird Presentation Cost Category Cost Contributor a Vehicle Manufacturing Fixed Cost Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP a Material Cost Assembly Labor and Other Manufacturing a Costs Transportation/Warranty Amortization and Depreciation, Engineering R&D, Pension and Health Care, Advertising, and Overhead Price Discounts Dealer Markup Automobile Profit. Relative to Cost of Vehicle Manufacturing 0. 87 0. 13 0. 09 0. 44 Share of MSRP (%) 42. 5 6. 5 4. 5 21. 5 0. 10 0. 36 1. 99 0. 06 2. 05 5. 0 17. 5 97. 5 2. 5 100. 0 These two contributors are scaled to sum to 1 in the third column, as in Table 1. In his presentation, Borroni-Bird did not evaluate the treatment of in-house or outsourced components. His methodology does not lend itself to easy computation of cost multipliers comparable with those in the ANL methodology, unless we make a few assumptions. We have assumed that â€Å"Material Cost,† taken together with â€Å"Assembly Labor and Other Manufacturing Costs,† would form the â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† base for the in-house components. The costs of â€Å"Transportation/Warranty,† â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation,† and â€Å"Engineering R&D† would be borne by the suppliers of outsourced components. However, â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation† and â€Å"Engineering R&D† costs were merged with â€Å"Pension and Health Care,† â€Å"Advertising,† and â€Å"Overhead† costs by Borroni-Bird. We assumed that half of the costs under this category would be borne by the suppliers of outsourced components. Our assumptions led to the following cost multipliers: Cost multiplier for components manufactured internally = 100/(42. 5 + 6. 5) = 2. 05. Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(42. 5 + 6. 5 + 4. 5 + 10. 75) = 1. 56. These cost multipliers are very similar to those computed with the ANL methodology. Comparison of ANL and Borroni-Bird Methodologies The information from Tables 1 and 2 is shown in terms of cost categories in Table 3. Both methodologies use vehicle manufacturing cost as the base and add other costs to it. The share of MSRP attributable to â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† is 50% in the ANL methodology, compared with 49% in the Borroni-Bird Methodology. Borroni-Bird combined several cost contributors under â€Å"Fixed Cost. † These contributors include (see Table 2) â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation,† â€Å"Engineering R&D,† â€Å"Pension and Health Care,† â€Å"Advertising,† and â€Å"Overhead. † Except for the inclusion of â€Å"Advertising,† â€Å"Production Overhead† and â€Å"Corporate Overhead† in the ANL methodology can be combined to form an equivalent category. ANL’s total of 24% by production Page 3 and corporate overheads is slightly lower than the total of 26% by Borroni-Bird. The ANL category of â€Å"Selling,† which includes â€Å"Distribution,† â€Å"Marketing,† â€Å"Dealer Support,† and â€Å"Dealer Discount,† is broader than that of â€Å"Price Discounts† and â€Å"Dealer Markup† specified by BorroniBird, and this category’s contribution is understandably slightly higher in the ANL methodology. The share of MSRP by â€Å"Profit† is the same in both methodologies. The absolute differences, computed as ANL value minus Borroni-Bird value, are 1% for â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing,† –2% for â€Å"Fixed Cost,† and 1% for â€Å"Selling† cost. Table 3 Comparison of Vehicle Price/Cost Allocation by ANL and Borroni-Bird Methodologies ANL Methodology Cost Contributor or Category Vehicle Manufacturing Production Overhead Corporate Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP EEA METHODOLOGY The methodology of Energy and Environmental Analysis is summarized in the OTA report OTAETI-638, entitled Advanced Automotive Technology: Visions of a Super-Efficient Family Car, published in September 1995. The values of some cost contributors are not listed in the report. Moreover, depreciation, amortization, and tooling expenses are assumed to be case-specific and therefore must be computed for each case. In order to make the EEA and ANL methodologies comparable, some assumptions were necessary. These assumptions are described in the summary below. The EEA cost equations can be simplified as follows: Cost of Manufacture = Division Cost ? [1 + Division Overhead] Manufacturer Cost = [Cost of Manufacture + Assembly Labor + Assembly Overhead] ? [1 + Manufacturing Overhead + Manufacturing Profit] + Engineering Expense + Tooling Expense + Facilities Expense Retail Price Equivalent = Manufacturer Cost ? [1 + Dealer Margin] Borroni-Bird Methodology Share of Cost Contributor or Category Share of MSRP (%) MSRP (%) 50. 0 Vehicle Manufacturing 49. 0 17. 0 Fixed Cost 26. 0 7. 0 23. 5 Selling 22. 5 97. 5 Sum of Costs 97. 5 2. 5 Automobile Profit 2. 5 100. 0 MSRP 100. 0 Page 4 The report lists the following values for overhead, profit, and dealer margin: Division Overhead = Supplier Overhead = 0. 20 (We assume that division and supplier overheads are equal; only the supplier overhead is given in the report. ) Manufacturing Overhead = 0. 25 Manufacturing Profit = 0. 20 Dealer Margin = 0. 25 Because the documentation in the OTA report does not provide values for â€Å"Assembly Labor,† â€Å"Assembly Overhead,† â€Å"Engineering Expense,† â€Å"Tooling Expense,† and â€Å"Facilities Expense,† cost multipliers cannot be computed directly from these data. The â€Å"Assembly Labor† and â€Å"Assembly Overhead† share of MSRP is 6. 5% in Borroni-Bird’s presentation. The engineering, tooling, and facilities expenses can be taken as the sum of â€Å"R&D/Engineering† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization† from the ANL methodology, at 12% of the MSRP. In deriving the division cost and price relationship below, we use the term Retail Price Equivalent (RPE) from the OTA report instead of MSRP. The RPE can be computed as follows: RPE = = = {[Division Cost ? 1. 2 + 0. 065 RPE] ? 1. 45 + 0. 12 RPE} ? 1. 25 Division Cost ? 2. 175 + 0. 268 RPE Division Cost ? 2. 175/(1 – 0. 268) = Division Cost ? 2. 97 Putting ANL and EEA Methodologies on a Common Basis As it was described in the OTA report, the EEA methodology did not provide enough data to compute the cost multipliers. We assumed some cost shares to be the same between the EEA, Borroni-Bird, and ANL methodologies while developing the above relationship between Division Cost and RPE. The EEA methodology is based on the material and labor costs of a division of the vehicle manufacturer, with other costs added on. The ANL methodology evaluates an assembled vehicle, using the vehicle manufacturing cost as the base cost. The ANL methodology also assigns additional costs to the outsourced components, whereas the treatment of such components is not clear in the EEA methodology. We have attempted to develop a common basis for the ANL and EEA methodologies by assigning shares of the final vehicle price, RPE in the EEA methodology, to individual cost categories similar to those listed in Table 1. Table 4 presents such a summary for the EEA methodology. Three cost contributors, â€Å"Division Cost,† â€Å"Division Overhead,† and â€Å"Assembly Labor and Overhead,† are combined under the â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† category. Two cost contributors, â€Å"Manufacturing Overhead† and â€Å"Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses,† combine to form the â€Å"Overhead† category. The â€Å"Dealer Margin† in the EEA methodology represents a factor applied to all manufacturer costs and profit. We assumed that this factor represents all costs of selling the vehicle. Although the profit is computed at the manufacturing level by EEA, we moved the profit to the bottom of the table to be consistent with prior tables. The cost allocation in Table 4 allows us to compute the in-house components cost multiplier as follows: Cost multiplier for in-house components = 100/(33. 7 + 6. 7 + 6. 5) = 2. 14 Page 5 To compute the cost multiplier for an outsourced component, one more assumption is necessary. In the ANL methodology, we assumed that the supplier will bear the costs of â€Å"Warranty,† â€Å"R&D Engineering,† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization. † However, the EEA methodology does not identify the warranty cost separately. We assumed it to be half of â€Å"Manufacturing Overhead† at 5. 05%. This, with the earlier assumption related to â€Å"Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses,† led to the following computation: Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(33. 7 + 6. 7 + 6. 5 + 5. 05 + 12) = 1. 56. These multipliers, adapted from our extension of theE EA information on vehicle costs, are very close to those derived from the ANL and Borroni-Bird methodologies. Table 4 Contributors to Retail Price Equivalent in EEA Methodology Cost Category Cost Contributor a Vehicle Manufacturing Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit Manufacturing Profit Total Contribution to RPE a Division Cost a Division Overhead Assembly Labor and a Overhead Manufacturing Overhead Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses Dealer Margin Relative to Cost of Vehicle Manufacturing 0. 72 0. 14 0. 14 0. 22 0. 26 0. 49 1. 97 0. 17 2. 14 Share of RPE (%) 33. 7 6. 7 6. 5 10. 1 12. 0 22. 9 91. 9 8. 1 100. 0 These three cost contributors are scaled to sum to 1 in the third column, as in Table 1. Comparison of ANL and EEA Methodologies The information from Tables 1 and 4 is presented in terms of cost categories in Table 5 for easy comparison. The â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† cost share is 46. 9% in the EEA methodology, compared with 50% in the ANL methodology. EEA’s RPE share of 22. 1% by overhead is lower than the ANL value of 24%. The cost of selling is 22. 9% in the EEA methodology, which is close to the ANL value of 23. 5%. The largest difference is in the RPE share by profit, which is 8. 1% in the EEA methodology, more than three times the ANL value of 2. 5%. According to Economic Indicators: The Motor Vehicle’s Role in the U. S. Economy (American Automobile Manufacturers Association 1998), the average net income before taxes for the three domestic manufacturers was 3. 9% during 1994-1997. Aside from vehicle sales, this value (3. 9%) includes income from spare parts sales and vehicle financing. Thus, the profit share appears very high in the EEA methodology. The absolute differences – computed as ANL value minus EEA value – are 3. 1% for component/material cost, 1. 9% for overhead, 0. 6% for selling, and –5. 6% for profit. Page 6 Table 5 Comparison of Price Allocation by ANL and EEA Methodologies ANL Methodology Cost Contributor or Category Vehicle Manufacturing Production Overhead Corporate Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP SUMMARY An attempt to put three methodologies for automobile cost allocation on a common basis is presented in this technical memorandum. This comparison was carried out to verify the reasonableness of the cost multipliers used in ANL’s cost models for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. When put into a common format, by means of certain assumptions, the three approaches yielded the cost multipliers provided in Table 6. Table 6 Summary of Cost Multipliers Computed on a Common Basis Multiplier for In-House Components Outsourced Components ACKNOWLEDGMENT Funding for the analysis presented here was provided by the Planning and Assessment function of the Office of Transportation Technologies of the U. S. Department of Energy, managed by Dr. Philip Patterson. This technical memorandum is produced under U. S. Government contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38. REFERENCES American Automobile Manufacturers Association, 1998, Economic Indicators: The Motor Vehicle’s Role in the U. S. Economy, Detroit, Mich. Borroni-Bird, C. , 1996, â€Å"Automotive Fuel Cell Requirements,† Proceedings of the 1996 Automotive Technology Development Customers’ Coordination Meeting, U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Transportation Technologies, Washington, D. C. ANL 2. 00 1. 50 Borroni-Bird 2. 05 1. 56 EEA 2. 14 1. 56 EEA Methodology Share of Cost Contributor or Category MSRP (%) 50. 0 Vehicle Manufacturing 17. 0 Overhead 7. 0 23. 5 Selling 97. 5 Sum of Costs 2. 5 Profit 100. 0 RPE Share of RPE (%) 46. 9 22. 1 22. 9 91. 9 8. 1 100. 0 Page 7 Cuenca, R. M. , L. L. Gaines, and A. D. Vyas, 2000, Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Production and Operating Costs, Argonne National Laboratory Report ANL/ESD-41, Argonne, Ill. (to be published). Vyas, A. , R. Cuenca, and L. Gaines, 1998, â€Å"An Assessment of Electric Vehicle Life Cycle Costs to Consumers,† Proceedings of the 1998 Total Life Cycle Conference, SAE International Report P339, Warrendale, Penn. , pp. 161-172.

Ellen Moore: Living and Working in Korea Essay

Question 1: What are the problems in this case? 1.Elllen’s female identity made her an alienated participant in the work place in Korea, whose culture is dominantly masculine. The acceptance of her came in and took responsibility as the senior member of the project was early based on a compromise of her obtaining of required skills, however, her identity as a female was constantly reemphasized in the company’s social events. 2.Ellen and Jack were both initially appointed as the co-manager to the SI project, however, from the organizational structure perspective, the power was not equally distributed between the two participants: Jack clearly had much more commanding authority than Ellen. With Andrew involved in a distance manner and absented from daily management, and the other manager in the above hierarchy such as Mr. Park was only directly connected with Jack instead of Ellen, all of those factors had resulted in even sever power inequality. 3.The group project progress was severely delayed, and the communication efficiency is low between the U.S personal and Korean personals, In addition, Jack as a senior consultant, had deliberately made work decisions diverged from the overall objective of the project (by adding a time consuming and unnecessary market research). Plus, the skills of other Korean consultants were obviously not sufficient and the effort that Ellen tried to make on coaching the junior consultant was interpreted by Jack as personally criticizing as him lacking of leadership ability. 4.The communication with clients was limited and the information exchange was restricted. The relationship with client was not established on a mutually beneficial service provider and buyer bases, rather the clients obtained relative dominate power towards the project group by requiring the consultant conduct extra tasks beyond work scope. 5. The higher management blamed the inefficiency of team performance sole on Ellen, which Andrew considered that it was the ineffective organizational structure and inaccurate information provided by the Korean side regarding team skills that resulted in the problem. Question 2: Now that you have discussed all of the problems, pick two or three root problems and discuss why you believe they are driving the other problems. The principal problems that resulted in Ellen’s dilemma are the inequity of female and male roles; the hierarchy and power that Jack possessed to command the fellow junior consultant running the project in a diverged direction; also the hierarchy that the client posses towards the project team. As for the gender inequity aspect, it is clear that the Korean traditional has played a significant role, even though there were improvement of women social status in young generation, in the business environment, male are still dominating the workplace and the male and female are still in a superior-subordinate relation. Given that Ellen and Scott are both functioning as senior consultants for the SI project, however, Ellen was the only one getting ultimate criticism in the eyes of the higher Korean management. Moreover, the overall organization structure also demonstrates an inequity of gender where tolerance for diversity of ideas and individuals do not tend to be encouraged (In the Eye of the Beholder, cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfma, etc), therefore, female opinions such as Ellen’s towards Jack’s market research proposal will be consider unacceptable as in the business setting as SI project team. Beside gender issue, the tension between Jack and Ellen also raised from the in-depth culturally sense of power and respect for hierarchy which also explaining the ineffective communication manner between the Ellen and other Korean consultants. Jack pointed as the leader of Korean team will expected a full commanding authority and loyalty from his Korean subordinates who are also intuitively perceive Jack as the leader. Ellen’s direct involvement with the Korean junior consultants was perceived by Jack as trespassing and challenging of his leadership power. Besides, regarding to the clients, the JVI had never build up a connection with the client until the surprisingly got the contract, the existence of hierarchy and non-trust between client and project team lead to the inefficiency of obtaining client information, later resulted in Jack’s misleading proposal for market research. Also, because in the concept of high power distance, decision making process is limited one-way participation and communication (In the Eye of the Beholder, cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfma, etc), Jack’s own lack of experience on project management made it is possible for the project to diverge from previous direction under one person’s leadership. Question 3: What alternatives exist at this point? In Andrew’s position, what would you do? Why? Based on the development of the event, the possible scenarios are 1) The dispute is taken to the JV Committee and Ellen is expelled from the group, taking the blame of being the ineffective leader; 2) recruiting new consultants for the project who have the required qualification and skills to do the job; 3) Jack is replaced by other consultant from JVI with relative more experience in project management. 4) Ellen and Jack communicate the problem and find a way to compromise. For Andrew, under the obligation of the agreement with Korean company, if the tension between Ellen and Jack cannot be comprehend by the Korean side without the possible biases towards female leadership, then Andrew could consider to promote Scott to the position to have direct communication with Jack. Ellen stays in the project continuing contributing but with Scott as the speaking representative for SCG side. Andrew can also propose a official recognition being made from the above senior management team for Ellen to clearly state her authority towards the junior consultants, and a division of Jack and Ellen’s duty should be draw and a manifest â€Å"who to report† system made for the team. This can minimize chances of having â€Å"stepping upon each other’s territory† problem. However, regarding to the delayed process of the project, that is not a problem that can be tackled in short-term, the hierarchy that existed with the clients should be respect, but at the meantime, start to build a mutually trust long-term relationship should be recognized by the SI project team. Therefore, Andrew either has to motivate the higher management such as Mr. Cho and Mr. Song to organizing frequent social event with the client or has to start to hunt recruiting liaison personals that used to working in the competitor company and have a professional connection with the client company. Question 4: What changes would you recommended making for future global consulting project teams? 1.From management perspective, it is crucial to have a clear vision setting for the project also a detailed guidance for the task, so as to prevent the potential divergence of project direction and loaded the team with unnecessary and time consuming tasks that will yield little result. 2. On the organization structure setting, for the expatriated employees, it is necessary to have a direct supporting management that he/she can report to or exchange opinion with, and that supporting management executive should be easily accessible and aware of the in-time progress of the project. 3.Expats in the global team need to build up a connection with local employees and co-workers, and need to be perceived as a part of the group instead of an outsider. In addition, expats need to accept the way that Korean conducting business, and do not presume what should be a â€Å"more effective way† of doing business. 4.From the aspect of building relationship with clients, in a context such as South Korean, accept the hierarchical order and establishing a social connection is important. Try to avoid behaving for one’s own interest, and instead, demonstrating the relationship is mutually beneficial. 5.Even though the conflicts between the two cultures gets obvious and sever, publicly confrontation and seeking judgment is not a good approach to resolve the problem. Question 5: what is the role and importance of national culture in this context? Which value differences created problems? Culture has a profound impact on preferences for leadership styles and management systems, perception of authority, organizational fairness, interpersonal relationships, communication and expectations about organizations and co-workers, and many other organizationally relevant outcomes. (Three decades of research on national culture in the workplace: Do the differences still make a difference? Vas Taras, Pier Steel , Bradley L.Kirkman). South Korea is considered as a country with traditional Confucian values mix with western lifestyle habits. The Graph below is a comparison of U.S and South Korea culture from the common nine dimensions model that used in the GLOBE Project (In the Eye of the Beholder, cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfma, etc), in general, the two cultures are illustrating variance in aspects such as uncertainty, gender, power distance, in-group and social collectivism. In the case of Ellen Moore, the differences are fully illustrated in those mentioned aspect expect for uncertainty avoidance. Especially the power distance, the Korean tradition of holding respect to authority and hierarchy internally resulted in the inefficient communication and dictated decision making, also attributed to the power distribution conflicts between two leaders of the project. Externally, given that there were no long-term business relation exist before JVI won the contact, the hierarchy of clients made the information collecting process inefficient, and even influencing the team performance by giving unreasonable requests. Question 6: How would taking a class such as this help Ellen Moore? What would you have done differently given what you know about culture? Taking an organization behavior class will help Ellen understand the root of cultural differences, the intrinsic reasons behind all the culturally distinct behaviors that appears in a global setting work place, so as to effectively resolve cultural conflicts issues or even avoid them. From the study of national cultural and the value effects on organizational behavior, global team leaders like Ellen Moore will actively develop essential attributes like global mindset, tolerance to high level of ambiguity and cultural adaptability and flexibility. It was clear that Ellen had experience in global team environment and had actively prepared for the cultural adapting process in South Korea by paying attention to mannerism, learning language and business etiquette. But in behavior level, what she did not realize in this joint venture program was that raising awareness to other culture is not enough, she needs to also tell the host country employees and co-workers about her own cultures, this exchange of understanding among management executives could dispel misunderstanding, mitigate the tension that Jack hold regarding Ellen’s power trespassing behavior. In addition, Ellen should also give a thought on how to bridge the gap between the cultures after knowing where the differences are. She should demonstrate to the employee that showing encouragement and compliment to work well done are not necessarily interpreted as weak leadership in American Culture. What is the most, opinion towards one’s professional work does not necessary linked to the personal judgment of that person, even when it is a negative comment.

Free Essays on Joy Luck Club

Growing Up In A New World â€Å"`Then I wish I wasn’t your daughter. I wish you weren’t my mother,’ I shouted.† â€Å"`Too late change this,’ said my mother shrilly.† â€Å"`Then I wish I’d never been born!’ I shouted. `I wish I were dead!’† (p. 153) In the novel, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, many conflicts arise between the mothers and their daughters. Problems arise from the high expectations from Chinese mothers, the mothers’ pride in their daughters, and the daughters’ disrespect towards their mothers. Two very similar problems grow and resolve in the novel. The problem between June and her mother reflects the problem between Waverly and her mother. The conflicts between the mothers and daughters of the novel come from the mothers’ high expectations for their daughters. Suyuan expects her daughter June to be a prodigy at something. This idea of a prodigy came from Auntie Lindo, Waverly’s mother. Lindo takes pride in her daughter’s skill in playing chess. Suyuan expects something to be proud of about her daughter as well. â€Å"Of course you can be prodigy, too†¦ You can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo know? Her daughter, she is only best tricky.† (p.141) She begins to give June piano lessons. June practices for two hours everyday in preparation for a talent show a few weeks later. Suyuan wanted to show the whole Joy Luck Club her daughter’s talent. She expected a lot from June, exacerbated by Auntie Lindo’s pride in Waverly. In Waverly’s situation, Auntie Lindo watched closely to her practice playing chess. She gave her tips that she never listened to because her mot her never played chess before. Both mothers are very tight on their daughters, hoping to boost their skill and talent. In the end, their encouragement ends everything in their daughters. Problems only worsen as the mothers brag about their daughters having their talents. The traditional Chinese mothers have expectations for ... Free Essays on Joy Luck Club Free Essays on Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club In Amy Tan’s novel â€Å"The Joy Luck Club† there are many themes and imagery throughout the book, but one theme that is relevant and stands out is the issue, â€Å"Cruel men? Weak men? Fair portrayal of men?† The novel is based on women in the Chinese traditional families, but does not discuss the men. What role do they play in their lives? Were they the people that made there lives unbearable? The men that will be looked upon are associated to the Jong, The Hsu, and the St. Clair family. Although many people would believe that the men in â€Å"The Joy Luck Club† were vindictive, they have shown that they not only are they feeble but that the weak men over power the cruel, and through their actions this statement will be apparent to all. The Jong Family have two key males that fit the description of cruel and or weak men. The first was Tyan-Yu, Linda Jong’s first husband. Lindo and Tyan-Yu’s wedding was arranged marriage. Lindo’s parents were forced to depart their home leaving Lindo behind. Even though she was only twelve years old, Lindo belonged to the family of her betrothed. The Huangs, the family of Tyan-yu, were very wealthy and took little interest in Lindo which lead to the first impression that Tyan-yu was a cruel man by the way he acted. He and his family made her stay in their servants’ quarters and made her perform physical tasks, such as cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, and embroidering clothes. Tyan-yu would make her sleep on the couch lying to his mother so that he would not get himself into trouble which was a sign of weakness on Tyan-yu’s part. Lindo proves this by saying â€Å"That’s when I could see what was underneath Tyan-yu. He was scared.†. (58) Lindo’s marriage was miserable, for there was no love in it. Tyan-yu, feeling no emotion for his wife, would not touch her. Matters were made worse when everyone wondered why Lindo did not become pregnant and for this came ... Free Essays on Joy Luck Club â€Å"One of the earliest and most profound bonds women form with each other is that of mother and daughter† (Alan). Amy Tan’s â€Å"The Joy Luck Club,† which explores mother-daughter relationships, emphasizes the struggle for identity, balance, and understanding between Chinese mothers and their Chinese-American daughters. The cultural differences impede the daughters’ realization of the importance of their mothers’ role in the journey of life. As readers, we are enlightened by the life lessons each daughter learns. These moving and powerful stories share the irony, pain, and sorrow of the imperfect ways in which mothers and daughters love each other (Chong). We are able to relate to the conflicts and struggles, and, thus, discovering how much our own mothers mean to us. Each of the daughters in the novel struggle with gaining her mother’s acceptance as well as society’s. â€Å"Each mother has to transmit the rules of feminity to her daughter to help them survive in the world as she knows it† (Alan). The daughters reject this attempt and, thus, initiate a life-long conflict between the two. Coming from a rough childhood, the mothers want nothing less than perfection for their American daughters. They believe that anything is possible for a daughter if the mother wills it. June Woo explains, â€Å"My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America† (141). However, this causes conflict as the daughter acquires the American way of life, she is both obeying and betraying her mother. â€Å"Even the most successful daughters are haunted by a sense of failure, and even the most determined mothers are dismayed to find their daughters repeating their own weaknesses† (Williard). June exhibits this à ¢â‚¬Å"in the years that followed, I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will, my right to fall short of expectations† (153). This assertiveness for independence, in turn, delays the daughters un... Free Essays on Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club â€Å"Hey, Sabrina, are you Japanese or Chinese?" I asked. Her reply, as it seems to be for many minority groups, is, "Neither, I'm Chinese-American." So, besides her American accent and a hyphenated ending on her answer to the SAT questionnaire about her ethnic background, what is the difference? In Amy Tan's enjoyable novel, The Joy Luck Club, about the relationships and experiences of four Chinese mothers and four Chinese-American daughters, I found out the answer to this question. The difference in upbringing of those women born during the first quarter of this century in China, and their daughters born in the American atmosphere of California, is a difference that does not exactly take a scientist to see. From the beginning of the novel, you hear Suyuan Woo tell the story of "The Joy Luck Club," a group started by some Chinese women during World War II, where "we feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the best stories. In addition, each week, we could hope to be lucky. That hope was our only joy." (p. 12) Really, this was their only joy. The mothers grew up during perilous times in China. They all were taught, "to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat [their] own bitterness." (p. 241) Though not many of them grew up terribly poor, they all had a certain respect for their elders, and for life itself. These Chinese mothers were all taught to be honorable, to the point of sacrificing their own lives to keep any family members' promise. Instead of their daughters, who "can promise to come to dinner, but if she wants to watch a favorite movie on TV, she no longer has a promise" (p. 42), "To Chinese people, fourteen carats isn't real gold . . . [my bracelets] must be twenty-four carats, pure inside and out." (p. 42) Towards the end of the book, there is a definite line between the differences of the two generations. Lindo Jong, whose daughter, Waverly, doesn... Free Essays on Joy Luck Club Growing Up In A New World â€Å"`Then I wish I wasn’t your daughter. I wish you weren’t my mother,’ I shouted.† â€Å"`Too late change this,’ said my mother shrilly.† â€Å"`Then I wish I’d never been born!’ I shouted. `I wish I were dead!’† (p. 153) In the novel, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, many conflicts arise between the mothers and their daughters. Problems arise from the high expectations from Chinese mothers, the mothers’ pride in their daughters, and the daughters’ disrespect towards their mothers. Two very similar problems grow and resolve in the novel. The problem between June and her mother reflects the problem between Waverly and her mother. The conflicts between the mothers and daughters of the novel come from the mothers’ high expectations for their daughters. Suyuan expects her daughter June to be a prodigy at something. This idea of a prodigy came from Auntie Lindo, Waverly’s mother. Lindo takes pride in her daughter’s skill in playing chess. Suyuan expects something to be proud of about her daughter as well. â€Å"Of course you can be prodigy, too†¦ You can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo know? Her daughter, she is only best tricky.† (p.141) She begins to give June piano lessons. June practices for two hours everyday in preparation for a talent show a few weeks later. Suyuan wanted to show the whole Joy Luck Club her daughter’s talent. She expected a lot from June, exacerbated by Auntie Lindo’s pride in Waverly. In Waverly’s situation, Auntie Lindo watched closely to her practice playing chess. She gave her tips that she never listened to because her mot her never played chess before. Both mothers are very tight on their daughters, hoping to boost their skill and talent. In the end, their encouragement ends everything in their daughters. Problems only worsen as the mothers brag about their daughters having their talents. The traditional Chinese mothers have expectations for ...

4 crucial recruiting trends you need to know

4 crucial recruiting trends you need to know As an HR or recruitment professional, you know that some things in your field never change- like matching the right talent with the right position. Just about everything else, however, may be up for grabs. Like every other industry, recruiting grows and evolves with the times. So what does that mean for this year? Let’s look at some of the biggest trends that will impact your professional life in the coming months.Crunching the dataWe live in a data-driven society now. And using that data to refine hiring practices isn’t an especially new concept, but the level of detail we can harvest and use, as well as the tools we can use to analyze the information, has grown exponentially. According to Jobscience, developing a clear data-driven strategy for hiring can help speed up the hiring process from a current average of two months to fill a given position.Data from current employees (like skills, level of experience, time in the position, or job performance) can help you deve lop metrics for recruiting people with the right skill sets. It can also help you figure out ahead of time which candidates might be a flight risk, or determine what kinds of hiring packages you should offer to ensure job offer acceptance and employee retention down the road.If your company isn’t data-focused just yet, don’t worry- there’s lots of emerging tech that can help you get there. For example, this year LinkedIn is releasing Talent Insights, a self-service tool that compiles analytics data on talent pools, employee skills, and workforce composition to help companies streamline their own analysis and hiring decisions.Embracing automationSpeaking of tech solutions, nothing has revolutionized talent acquisition quite like automation. The days of hand-scouring a slush pile of resumes for the right interview candidates are gone now. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are already helping staffing and recruiting professionals to streamline virtually every part of the hiring process- particularly the early stages, when large talent pools need to be narrowed for particular positions.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Chances are, you already use some of the automated apps and software out there to read resumes and identify potential candidates based on keywords or other metrics. But what’s coming next will revolutionize hiring even further: tools that not only screen resumes and application materials, but also schedule candidates, create compensation models, and source candidates for future job openings.Going hand in hand with a stronger focus on data analysis, these AI tools have the potential to make the recruitment, hiring, and retention processes more efficient. Using chatbots, companies can also add a â€Å"human† touch when reaching out to candidates to answer questions, schedule interviews, or conduct assessments. We still haven’t reached peak â€Å"Alexa rules the world† when it comes to using AI in corporate hiring, but the tools that are now emerging are bringing that level of automation closer to reality.Stepping up diversity and inclusivityDiversity in the workplace has shifted from a â€Å"nice to have† in many companies to a â€Å"must have,† driven by increased public scrutiny and accountability. In order to keep up with the growing diversity of the workforce, companies are left trying to figure out how to not only find more diverse candidates but also improve employee retention and meet the needs of that workforce. However, many companies are finding that merely hiring for diversity just isn’t enough- if employees feel like token hires, or like they’re add-ons, it can have serious repercussions for employee engagement and retention. Companies need to get serious about adding inclusivity as part of their diversity plans.So what does that mean in the short-term? It’s not about filling numbers or quotas- itâ⠂¬â„¢s about creating an environment that feels welcoming to a broader range of qualified people. Checking boxes on hiring forms won’t cut it. Instead, companies are turning to holistic reviews of their company policies and culture to make sure that people of diverse backgrounds, genders, etc. feel like part of the team.Rethinking the company’s culture and making conscious efforts to make it more welcoming is not the only avenue for companies to consider if they’re looking to expand their inclusivity. Much of the change happens in the employee recruitment arena: reaching out to local communities, broadening language in job postings and descriptions to reach a more diverse audience, ensuring diversity in recruiting or interview panels, educating employees and recruiters on unconscious bias, and consulting employee resource groups for guidance.Rethinking the interview processAs part of the trend of increasing efficiency in all areas of hiring, we’re also st arting to see closer scrutiny around whether the traditional interview process still works with a quickly evolving recruitment world. Traditional interviews require a significant investment of time and energy on the company’s part. That’s time that could be spent on data analysis or other initiatives. Candidates need to be reviewed, scheduled, interviewed, interviewed again as necessary, and handled at every point through the process. So how can that process be streamlined?Companies are increasingly turning to alternative interview formats to identify the best candidates for a position. Instead of the usual â€Å"you come in and spend hours talking to a panel or a series of interviewers† format, some companies are hosting â€Å"auditions,† or competitions that give candidates a chance to demonstrate the skills necessary for the job. From these hands-on interviews, employers can get a stronger sense of what the candidate can do, rather than rely on resumes and general questions in a traditional interview format.How recruiters and hiring managers read resumes is changing as well. Before, hard skills and experience were king; now, the focus is slowly moving to soft skills (like people skills, organizational skills, and teamwork) and potential over experience. It’s not that experience no longer matters, but rather that companies are increasingly valuing trainability and teamwork over what a candidate has done in the past.Many companies are also shifting interview responsibilities to the employees who will actually be working with the new hire, in an effort to get a more realistic sense of how a candidate might fit in with the day-to-day dynamics. These interviews may be informal, but they give the candidate a chance to see what the job is really like and give the current employees a chance to weigh in on how the candidate might fit in with the existing team.In 2018, the message is pretty straightforward: work smarter, not necessa rily harder, to find the people you want for the jobs you need to fill. Whether that’s using the new tech tools at our disposal, or rethinking how we bring people into the fold, the status quo just isn’t going to cut it anymore.