Tuesday, November 26, 2019
The Difference Between Intensive and Extensive Properties
The Difference Between Intensive and Extensive Properties Intensive properties and extensive properties are types of physical properties of matter. The terms intensive and extensive were first described by physical chemist and physicist Richard C. Tolman in 1917. Heres a look at what intensive and extensive properties are, examples of them, and how to tell them apart. Intensive Properties Intensive properties are bulk properties, which means they do not depend on the amount of matter that is present. Examples of intensive properties include: Boiling PointDensityState of MatterColorMelting PointOdorTemperatureRefractive IndexLusterHardnessDuctilityMalleability Intensive properties can be used to help identify a sample because these characteristics do not depend on the amount of sample, nor do they change according to conditions. Extensive Properties Extensive properties do depend on the amount of matter that is present. An extensive property is considered additive for subsystems. Examples of extensive properties include: VolumeMassSizeWeightLength The ratio between two extensive properties is an intensive property. For example, mass and volume are extensive properties, but their ratio (density) is an intensive property of matter. While extensive properties are great for describing a sample, they arent very helpful in identifying it because they can change according to sample size or conditions. Way to Tell Intensive and Extensive Properties Apart One easy way to tell whether a physical property is intensive or extensive is to take two identical samples of a substance and put them together. If this doubles the property (e.g., twice the mass, twice as long), its an extensive property. If the property is unchanged by altering the sample size, its an intensive property.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
10 Steps to Training Your Brain for Peak Performance
10 Steps to Training Your Brain for Peak Performance You can get the greatest job in the world and be set up to have the greatest career youââ¬â¢ve always dreamed of. Think youââ¬â¢re done? Well, you could be. You could rest on your laurels and coast for the rest of your working days. Or you could stay sharp, keep learning, and put yourself in the path for even bigger things. How to do that? Simple. Whether youââ¬â¢re trying to stay sharp to get ahead or just trying to improve your memory and general mental performance, here are a few strategies to train your brain.1. Feedà it well.There is such a thing as brain food. What we eat does affect our memory and function. Get your neural circuits set up for success by eating fish high in omega fatty acids, cut back on the sugar, and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Taking a handful of vitamin supplements wonââ¬â¢t hurt either. Try B-vitamins, C, E, omegas, choline, and other antioxidants.2. Exercise daily.Exercise increases blood flow and oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Twenty minutes of walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing a day can really improve your cognitive capacity. Plus it makes you look and feel better!3. Play games.Strategy, role-playing, and verbal games, even challenging crossword puzzles or Sudoku can engage your prefrontal cortex and help you build memory, self-awareness, incentive and reward processing.4. Practice meditation.Meditation can be a magic reset button for the brain. Awaken your cells and focus your mind and find yourself better prepared to face the day. Even 15 minutes a day can really make a difference.5.à Get enough sleep.Getting enough rest is absolutely crucial to peak function. If youââ¬â¢re not sleeping enough, youââ¬â¢re compromising your ability to assimilate new information. Give yourself and your brain a chance to rest. Shoot for a minimum of 7 hours a night.6. Keep learning.The day you stop learning is the day you stagnate. Start with things that interest you most, then read up as much as you can. See k out online or in-person lectures, or resources on television or the internet. And read a good book! Even one you donââ¬â¢t expect to be as interested in. Youââ¬â¢ll never know where it might take you!7. Trigger your memoriesThumb through old pictures and try to recall what you were doing, eating, wearing, as well as the names of all the people. Digging back for details like these can really stimulate your memory apparatus.8. Turn off the GPS.Remember the good old days of having to write out directions and then find your way to your destination without a voice in your ear telling you to ââ¬Å"Turn rightâ⬠in 100 feet? Itââ¬â¢s actually very useful exercise to let your brain figure out on its own how to get from point A to B. And youââ¬â¢ll figure out your bearings that much faster in a new place.9. Memorize something.Whether a poem or a favorite song, expanding your brain by memorizing something can really help get your brain back in shape. It will also help you t o build your vocabulary.10. Lay off the booze.Drinking in moderation is fine, but alcohol is a depressant and can slow down mental functions. If you need to be at top form, put down the martinis for a day or two. Youââ¬â¢ll likely sleep and think much better!
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Matrixes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Matrixes - Essay Example SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis is a tool used for auditing the organization and its environment (Marketingteacher.com, 2011.) It is a very popular and useful tool for developing strategic management decision because it is simple and easy to use. In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are considered as internal factors while opportunities and threats are external. This also gives the reason why SWOT analysis is sometimes called the Internal-External analysis (Mindtools.com, 2011). This is done with the help of the SWOT matrix where in the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the organization are considered. By looking at the strengths of the organization, the possible areas for comparison with the competitors maybe discovered and this will also present the weaknesses that the organization possesses. Useful opportunities may come from looking at the strengths and trying to eliminate the weaknesses of the organization. Threats are the external factors that serve as obstacles that organization may face. SWOT analysis may help the organization in its strategic management decisions as it uncover opportunities where it is well placed to exploit and by understanding the weaknesses, threats can be managed and eliminated.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Marketing - Essay Example Moreover, it has also established low ratings in aspects such as the satisfaction of customers, how loyal customers are and consumers behaviours through word-of-mouth. Significant, positive relationships have been found between customer satisfaction and each of the aspects of service quality that were discussed above; as well as between satisfaction with service and customer loyalty; and word-of-mouth consumer behaviours with customer loyalty. There was no significant correlation found between cultural values and service quality assessments. To measure the degree to which customers uses word of mouth in line with the services provided by the Saudi Telecom Company. To analyse and examine the relationship that is present between customer satisfaction and the quality of service in Saudi Telecom Company. To analyse the relationship between the satisfaction and the loyalty of customers in Saudi Telecom Company. To analyse the relationship that has developed between word-of-mouth and custo mer loyalty in Saudi Telecom Company. ... Is the loyalty of customers and their satisfaction related in Saudi Telecom Company? Are customer loyalty and word-of-mouth linked in Saudi Telecom Company? The model presented above serves as the present studyââ¬â¢s theoretical framework. It has been influenced by the studies conducted by Parasuraman et al. (1988). Upon the formulation of the framework, the hypotheses would be tested for validity purposes (Parusaraman, Zeithamal, Berry, 1985; Newman & Benz, 1998). 8.2.1. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Mittal and Kamakura (2001) stated that an individualââ¬â¢s satisfaction is the general assessment of a performance of a particular item or service at present. The significance of the role of customers in business is emphasized by Kassim (2001) through stating that 75 percent of a firmââ¬â¢s budget allocated for marketing purposes should be allotted for strategies that would retain customers, as well as to build and reinforce relationships with profitable ones. Mitta l and Kamakura (2001) discussed that a customerââ¬â¢s satisfaction towards an item, service or the company, is in accordance with the degree of relationship that will be formed between the consumer and the company, as satisfaction is tantamount to oneââ¬â¢s predilection to repurchase (Kassim, 2001; Mittal and Kamakura, 2001). The hypotheses for the research questions above are: H1aa: A positive relationship exists between the level of customer satisfaction and tangibles in relation to the services that are provided by the Saudi Telecom Company. H1a0: There is no relationship present between tangibles in the services that Saudi Telecom Company provides and the amount of customer satisfaction. H1ba: Customer
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Nockââ¬â¢s Ideas on Education Essay Example for Free
Nockââ¬â¢s Ideas on Education Essay Education refers to a slow and gradual process of gaining and acquiring knowledge. Training is an organized and planned process of imparting practical and hands on skills (www. osh. gov). Training is what Nock would rather wish people undergo rather than the rigorous process of learning abstracts. Nockââ¬â¢s view on education though largely generalized is the basic and sad truth. We should strive to train our children towards specific topics and fields instead of continually pumping them with more and more abstracts. Whereas education imparts one with theoretical knowledge regarding certain concepts and phenomena, training focuses at the application of that knowledge to practically control that phenomenon. A locomotive engineering student gains knowledge on the mechanical components and rationale behind vehicles but a mechanic practically applies this knowledge to perfect the mechanical rationale and yet he may be of modest education. It is agreeable that education takes much of an individual time and narrows his/her thinking directing it to one channel. This is at the expense of exposing one-self to diversified interests and aspects that would be beneficial to ones life. A nuclear scientist might learn so much about nuclear science and lack understanding of how to manage his financial resources. Education for sure leads to very frustrated minds, although not all. It promises sometimes what cannot be delivered leaving one consumed by an unquenchable thirst and passion for things that life cannot offer. Although this is what leads to innovations and inventions, it leaves in its wake very frustrated people. However I find Nockââ¬â¢s generalizations and insinuations regarding the social life unacceptable. Being educated does not simply mean that one does not associate with people. Although one may not necessarily hang out with his/her childhood playmates, they still maintain close associations with those that they enjoy the same interests with. However, I find Nockââ¬â¢s view regarding education and training to be real and we should heed the advice and seek to train more than we educate.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
ROI in the Public Sector :: essays research papers
ROI in the Public Sector Interest in return on investment (ROI) by public sector organizations continues to grow. This interest is not isolated to large federal agencies. Myths regarding the use of ROI in government abound, prevents many agencies from developing a comprehensive approach to evaluating human resources, training, and performance improvement initiatives. The key is distinguishing what is myth versus what is reality. Efforts have been made toward more responsible performance management and measurement in the public sector. The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 was enacted to improve the management practices of the federal government and to ensure the production of reliable and timely financial information for use in managing and evaluating federal programs. The government Management Reform Act of 1994 added to the Chief Financial Officers Act by requiring all federal agencies to prepare and make public annual financial reports. It also authorized the Office of Management and Budget to implement a pilot program to streamline and consolidate certain statutory financial management and performance reports into a single, annual accountability report. One piece of legislation that has had influence in enhancing accountability in government agencies is The Government and Performance and Results Act of 1993. GPRA (or the "Results Act") is the primary legislative framework through which agenc ies are required to set strategic goals, measure performance, and report on the degree to which goals are met. Basically it requires government agencies to develop performance plans that outline the link between strategic goals and day-to-day operations. ROI is not the first private sector practice to be applied to public sector organizations. Total quality management (TQM), zero-based budgeting, and the balanced scorecard all had their initial beginning in the private sector and to some extent have been applied in government. While the fundamental use of ROI comes from accounting and finance (earnings divided by investment), the process of cost-benefit analysis is grounded in welfare economics and public finance. Both account for the financial benefits of a program, project, or initiative compared to the costs. The difference in the two equations is that cost-benefit analysis results in a ratio comparing monetary benefits to the program costs (BCR); ROI results in a percentage that presents the net monetary benefits (earnings) compared to the costs (investment). For many years there has been a great divide between traditional program evaluation and evaluation coming from business. Program evaluators have long been concerned with the correctness of use of methodologies, expending whatever time necessary to ensure purity of research.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
The Craft Era
The first major era is now referred to as ââ¬Ëcraftââ¬â¢ manufacturing and service ââ¬Ëshopââ¬â¢ delivery. This system was European in origin and linked to the way in which skills were developed: the apprenticeââ¬âjourneymanââ¬â master progression, which led to the creation of guilds of skilled people who sought to control the supply of their speciality, and the consolidation of skill within a subsector of society (as, for example, skills were passed on from father to son). This was noted for low-volume, high-variety products, where workers tended to be highly skilled and quality was built into the very process of operations. It was also appropriate for largely national markets, supplied internally with minimal imports and exports. Some craft manufacturing still remains today, in markets where exotic products and services can control demands through some unique feature or high level of desirability. For instance, some house building, furniture making, clock and watch making are still carried out by skilled craftsmen/women working on a single or few items of output at a time. While the processes and techniques used by these craftsmen/women are highly inefficient, the unique quality of their products commands a premium price, as illustrated by the secondhand value of products such as a Daniels pocket watch or a Morgan car. In the case of Morgan, however, it is a mistake to conclude that the passenger car industry might still be able to employ craft production. Morgan is unashamedly part of a sector that is closer to specialist toys than that concerned with personal transportation. It is also the end of a very thin tail, other parts of which (AC, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, etc. have already been absorbed by volume producers, keen to operate in exotic niches for purposes that are closer to corporate advertising than to income generation. In the clothing industry, one significant sector of the industry ââ¬â haute couture ââ¬â is based on the craft production approach. In services, the craft era has also continued ââ¬â perhaps even more so than in manufacturing. The slower pace of change within services derives from the extent to which customer processing operations can adopt new technologies and new systems. Only services that require little skill at the operating level (such as FMCG or petrol retailing) or processing large amounts of information (such as financial services) are significantly different now from what they were like even 30 years ago. Many services such as hotels, schools, hospitals, hairdressers, vehicle repair and transportation have changed very little, despite new technologies. The mass production era The second major era is known as mass production, although once again its principles were by no means restricted to manufacturing. This system grew in North America to accommodate three principal requirements of the developing giant: the need to export, the need to provide employment for a massive, largely unskilled workforce, and the need to establish itself as a world player, which meant infiltrating other regions with ideas clearly associated with the USA. In short, the Americans could not play by the European rules, so they reinvented the game: innovating by destroying the competitive position of craft production. The system was massively successful and changed the working and buying practices of the world in the first three decades of the twentieth century. In order to sell the standardized products made by standardized operations practices, mass production had to standardize the market requirements too. Fortunately, the market was immature and would do what it was told to do. Thus, mass production reversed the paradigm of craft production: volume was high with little variety. The marketing ploy (and the resultant manufacturing strategy) was exemplified by Henry Fordââ¬â¢s famous declaration, from now on, ââ¬Ëa customer can have a car painted any colour he likes, as long as it is black! ââ¬â¢ In mass production, workers were typically unskilled. This was the era owing much to the contribution of F. W. Taylorââ¬â¢s Scientific Management, whereby workers had very narrowly defined jobs, involving repetitive tasks, and quality was left to ââ¬Ëquality expertsââ¬â¢ at the final stage of the overall process rather than being an integral part of operations at each step (Taylor, 1912). Taylor enabled firms, for the first time, to control costs, times and resources, rather than rely on skilled craftsmen and women to decide what was appropriate. Coupled with the developments made in mechanization and employee co-ordination during the European industrial revolutions, Taylorââ¬â¢s ideas provided an entirely different way of operating. In 1926, Encyclopaedia Britannica asked Henry Ford to christen his system and he called it mass production. He meant ââ¬Ëmassââ¬â¢ in the sense of large volume production. Perhaps he did not see the other meaning of mass as ââ¬Ëheavy and cumbersomeââ¬â¢, which is what the system turned out to be (in terms of management systems and superstructure), once the market no longer bought what it was told. These principles originating in the 1920s were slow to be adopted in services, but by the 1970s, Ted Levitt, from Harvard Business School, was able to identify the ââ¬Ëproduction-liningââ¬â¢ (Levitt, 1972) of service and the ââ¬Ëindustrializationââ¬â¢ (Levitt, 1976) of service. He cited fast food, the automatic teller machine (ATM) outside banks and supermarket retailing as examples of this. Schmenner (1986) coined the phrase ââ¬Ëmass serviceââ¬â¢ to exemplify this type of service operation. More recently, the aspects of working life that are typical in this mass production context have been extended to life in general by Ritzer (1993), who refers to it as the McDonaldization of society. The shift from ââ¬Ëcraftââ¬â¢ marketing to marketing in the mass production age is clearly demarcated by the publication of Levittââ¬â¢s (1960) article in the Harvard Business Review entitled ââ¬ËMarketing myopiaââ¬â¢. In mass production, customers bought what was supplied; producers concentrated on keeping costs, and hence prices, down, and focused on selling to customers through aggressive advertising and sales forces. As organizations were product-led, operations management was relatively straightforward. Mass producing goods at the lowest cost meant minimizing component and product variety, large production runs and scientific management. The success of Ford made this view highly persuasive. In 1909, the Model T automobiles were sold for $950, but by 1916, following the introduction of the assembly line, it had fallen to $345, and three-quarters of the cars on American roads were built by Ford (Bryson, 1994). However, as Levitt (1960) pointed out, Ford was eventually outstripped by General Motors, who were not product-led but market-led. They gave customers what they wanted ââ¬â choice, model updates, a range of colours (not just black! ). The symbol of this age is the brand. Originally (in the craft era) the brand was a mark on the product, often a signature ââ¬â for example, on a painting ââ¬â or symbol, signifying its ownership or origin. But in mass production the brand took on far more significance. It became the means by which one product (or service) could differentiate itself from a competitorââ¬â¢s product (or service). Procter & Gamble set up brand managers in 1931 to sell their different soap products. Later the brand also became a guarantee of product/service quality. Kemmons Wilsonââ¬â¢s motivation in 1952 to open the first Holiday Inn hotel was his own disappointment with the ariable standards and sleaziness of the motels he stayed in whilst on a family holiday. The success of delivering a consistently standard level of service resulted in Wilson opening one hotel every two and half days in the mid-1950s. But by the 1990s, brands had come under threat. Markets are highly fragmented, the proliferation of niches makes target marketing more difficult, product and service life cycles are shortening, and product/service innovation is quicker than ever before; increasing customer sophistication has reduced the power of advertising. As a result, a more holistic view of operations management is required, as Crainer (1998) suggests: Companies must add value throughout every single process they are involved in and then translate this into better value for customers. This is because the modern era has brought profound changes in operations management and operations has to be at the heart of successful strategic thinking.
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