Emerging Business Themes Essay Example for Free

Emerging Business Themes Essay A- QUESTION 1 1- Definition Business ethics is a form of professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. The definition of Ethical stance defined by Johnson and Scholes as: ‘the extent to which an organization will exceed it minimum obligations to stakeholders and society at large. There are four possible ethical stances existing and are stereotypes for any organization.(1) The first ethical stance is short-term shareholder interests; a company who stick very close to laws and regulations which are in place. They give and do only what they are obliged to, this usually causes problems with long-term financial decisions. The second stance is longer-term shareholder interests a company who are very focused on building and maintaining reputation in relation to its financial success. They take into consideration all stakeholders and how they can affect the organization in the future. The third stance is multiple stakeholder obligations relating to a company taking wide consultation with all stakeholders. This is a very slow process and not a good stance for a fast moving and growing company. The last stance is shaper of society companies who focus on communities and want to build them up; this stance puts the financial interest second and is usually related to charitable organizations. 2- Ethical Dimension to Corporate Decision Making Ford Motor Company is one of the competitive motor companies in the world. In 1970s, the compact car Ford pinto, became a famous for its tendency in rear-end collisions to leak fuel and explode into flames. More than 20 people were killed or injured before the Ford Motor company issued a recall to correct the problem. The decision process behind the Pinto’s launch revealed that under intense competition from Volkswagen and other small car manufacturers, Ford has rushed the Pinto into production. Ford’s engineers had discovered the potential danger of ruptured fuel tanks in crash tests, but the assembly line was ready and Ford’s leaders decided to proceed. This is an evidence of greed, callousness and unethicality. (2) Looking to their decision, it take into account a growing understanding on how cognitive biases distort ethical decision making, and come to a different conclusion. In our mind, the executives involved in the Pinto decision, were making an unethical choice. It is because they thought of it is as purely a business decision rather than an ethical one. The problems are already highlighted to Ford’s leaders, but, in those days, safety was not popular in Ford. Problem meant delay on a Pinto. Production must go to achieve sale target. We don’t believe that Ford’s leaders or executive in charge were consciously unethical or intentionally sanctioned unethical behavior by people further down the chain of command. After decades, the Ford Pinto case has allowed us to dissect Ford’s decision-making process and apply the latest behavioral ethics theory to it. The pattern of evident continues to recur in organizations. It is diverted the Ford’s Executives’ attention from the ethical dimension of problem, and executives today are swayed by similar forces. (2) To overcome all the problems, Ford Motor Company has a program to guide compliance with Ford Policies and Directives. Ford compliance program is reviewed by a senior management compliance committee and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The program raises awareness of the Companys commitment to defines corporate practices through Policies and Directives, ethical practices, ensure an infrastructure that allows for the reporting of Policy violations or business-related legal violations through a number of avenues worldwide, conducts risk assessments, oversees the investigation of such reports and education on key legal and provides training and ethical risk areas. The Handbook outlines requirements for its employees and those working on behalf of the Company and provides background resources for a wide range of business-related situations, including: (3) 1- Workplace environment 2- Gifts, favors and conflicts of interest 3- Use of Company assets and data safeguarding 4- Integrity of financial records 5- Product quality, safety and environmental matters 6- Intellectual property 7- Working with governments (political activities) 8- Competition and antitrust laws 9- International business practices References: 1-Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Business_practices 2- Max H. Baseman And Ann E. Tenbrunsel – Harvard Business Review April 2011- http://hbr.org/2011/04/ethical-breakdowns/ar 3- Ford Motor Company- Fordmotorcompany.com -report 2008/2009 – http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2008-09/governance -sustainability-ethical B- QUESTION 2 1-Climate Change – Ford Motor Company. In 21st century, climate change is the most important global political and business issues. It will have a huge impact of the world and threaten livelihood of millions of people in the world. Every years, average temperature in artic have risen twice, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases. Climate change is the result of an increase in heat-trapping (greenhouse) gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major long-lived greenhouse gas (GHG). The burning of fossil fuels (to provide electricity, heat and transportation, and to support industry and agriculture), as well as deforestation, leads to net emissions of CO2 and increased levels of atmospheric CO2. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased from a preindustrial level of 270–280 parts per million (ppm) to a level of approximately 392 ppm in 2012. (4) Ford Motor Company have a holistic view of climate change and have addressed non-CO2 long-term greenhouse gases such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), nitrous oxide (N2O) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Through its Restricted Substance Management Standard they have prohibited SF6 in tires in magnesium casting. They were continuing their scientific research to determine the relative contribution of a wide range of long-lived greenhouse gases to radiative forcing of climate change. (4) 2-Ford’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Ford has estimated that their total CO2 emissions are in the range of 350–400 million metric tons (Mmt) per year, varying over time with fluctuations in vehicle production and sales, on-road fleet size and vehicle miles traveled. The estimate includes emissions from its facilities, emissions from current-year vehicles and emissions from all Ford vehicles on the road. (4) 3-Climate Change Risk and Opportunities In 21st century, concerns about climate change, the energy security and price of fuel, along with the global recession, have changed the automotive business. This creates substantial risks for automakers but also opportunities for innovation that enable growth and expansion. Below, the general trends driving change in Ford’s markets and take a closer look at several key markets. Also discuss the physical and supply chain risks to its business posed by climate change. (4) Ford’s Markets Price of fuel, consumer interest in smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles and energy security concerns are also a driver of fuel economy regulation and alternative fuel development. All of Ford’s major markets are increasingly shaped by government actions to regulate fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions, provide incentives to shift consumer and introduce low-carbon fuels and business behavior. Some of governments are also actively involved in development, promoting the research, battery technologies and purchase of new vehicle. Greater concern from Investors about climate change as a material risk. Providing climate-change-relevant information to investors and shaping its business strategy with climate change in mind are important elements of maintaining access to capital. Product globalization strategy – respond to changing markets, regional preferences, opportunities and the risks presented by the climate change issue. Ford has created global vehicle platforms that offer superior fuel economy, safety, quality and customer features. (4) 4-Physical Risks Climate change raises the potential for shifting patterns of extreme weather and other risk to Ford’s facilities. For insurance, Ford assesses the risks each of their facilities faces at least once a year. This risk assessment is updated and takes into account the risk of exposure to storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding. (4) 5-Supply Chain Risk Ford suppliers located in more than 60 countries, regulatory and physical risks as a result of GHG regulation and the impacts of climate change. These risks could affect their competitiveness or ability to operate, creating the potential for disruptions to the flow of supplies to Ford. (4) 6-Ford Climate Change Strategy Ford’s long-term strategy is to contribute to climate stabilization by: †¢ Continuously reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy usage. †¢ Working with industry partners, energy companies, consumer groups and policy makers to establish an effective and predictable market, policy and technological framework for reducing GHG emissions. †¢ Develop the flexibility and capability to market lower-GHG-emission products. (4) 7-Product Sustainability Process -Science – Stabilization approach Technology plan -Government – regulatory trendsproduct CO2 strategy Policy position -Consumer- market trends Cycle plan -Competitive- industry trends Marketing and Communication plan 4- Ford Motor Company – http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2011-12/environment-climate-risks C- QUESTION 3 In 21st century business challenge and difficult global trading conditions, good relationship with several groups of stakeholders such as employees, customers, dealers, suppliers, investors and communities are very important. 1- Ford Motor Company Stakeholders. Through internal analysis and developing sustainability programs, Ford has interdependent relationship with a few categories of stakeholders such as employees, customers, dealers, suppliers, investors and communities, also its relationship to ‘society’ which includes government agency, NGOs and academia. (5) 2- Employees Employees are the most valuable resource. In 2011, Ford employed more than 164,000 individuals at 73 plants, 41 distribution warehouses, 106 sales offices worldwide and 57 engineering research/development facilities. All of the hourly employees in its automotive operations in the U.S. and also its subsidiary outside U.S. are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. Unions are key partners with Ford in providing a productive, safe and respectful workplace. Ford faces workplace health and safety challenges such as; establishing and reinforcing high, common expectations for the safety of their employees worldwide. Most of their manufacturing facilities have joint union/management safety committees that guide the development and implementation of safety programs. (5) ONE Ford plan aligns its efforts toward a common definition of success: having ONE Team, ONE Plan and ONE Goal for an exciting, viable Ford that delivers profitable growth for all. (5) †¢ F: Foster Functional and Technical Excellence(5) †¢ O: Own Working Together(5) †¢ R: Role Model Ford Values(5) †¢ D: Deliver Results(5) 3- Customers Ford Motor Company serves more than 5.5 million customers worldwide. Ford’s customers are the most important stakeholder. Their major regional markets include South America, North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Russia, Australia and Asia. In some regions, Ford serve 3 types of customers- individual retail consumers, small business customers and large commercial fleet customers. It will continue to expand products and services for these existing customers while working simultaneously to gain new customers in emerging markets. In North America and Asia, they are focusing on increasing their offerings of smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles. (5) 4- Dealers Dealers are the face of Ford to its customers and communities, the key employers and contributors to local economies. Dealer sustainability program has launched in 2010, a voluntary sustainability initiative for dealers to reduce their carbon footprints and improve the energy-efficiency of their dealerships. The goal of the â€Å"Go Green† Dealer Sustainability Program is to collaborate with dealers to implement cost-effective ways to improve the energy-efficiency of their facilities. It partnered with the Rocky Mountain Institute, a leading energy-efficiency organization, to pilot new technologies and architectural design principles. (5) 5- Suppliers Ford relies on more than 1,400 production suppliers to provide parts that are assembled into Ford vehicles. 9,000 supplier companies provide a wide range of nonproduction goods and services, from industrial materials to computers to advertising. Ford and its suppliers work jointly to deliver great products, have a strong business and make a better future. In today’s economic environment, achieving lower costs and improving quality require an unprecedented level of cooperation with suppliers and the maintenance of strong supplier relationships. (5) 6- Investors The success of Ford as a company directly affects its 162,000 investors, and they have been focused on improving Ford’s financial health. Provide information and interact regularly with investors through corporate website, annual report and regulatory filings and annual meeting. They also engage with socially responsible investment organizations that are seeking information to use to evaluate its sustainability performance. These interactions help Ford stay abreast of and respond to investor concerns. (5) 7- Communities Ford Motor Company impacts the communities in numerous ways, provide the employment, the taxes, the environmental and safety performance and support and participate in civic life. The communities are composed of a range of groups and individuals, include its customers, employees, business partners, government regulators, community organizations and members of civil society, and individuals who live and work around its facilities. Ford has been supporting community more than 100 years ago. This includes helping feed hungry people, providing mentors in classrooms and teaching teenagers to drive more safely. Changing of Fundamental have been happening including increased competition globally and changing markets for its products, with future sales growth expected to occur in emerging economies. Ford is expanding sourcing in these lower-cost emerging markets, as a way to serve both local markets and the global supply chain. Ford seeks to respect and make a positive contribution to its host communities. (5) 5- Ford Motor Company – http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2010-11/society-stakeholders D- BIBILIOGRAPHY 1-Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Business_practices 2- Max H. Baseman And Ann E. Tenbrunsel – Harvard Business Review April 2011- http://hbr.org/2011/04/ethical-breakdowns/ar 3- Ford Motor Company- Fordmotorcompany.com -report 2008/2009 – http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2008-09/governance-sustainability-ethical 4- Ford Motor Company – http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2011-12/environment-climate-risks 5- Ford Motor Company – http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2010-11/society-stakeholders

Fast Food Nation Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Nation Essay One thing that most people don’t seem to understand about fast food restaurants is the harmful and unethical practice that comes with an order of a double cheeseburger with a side order of medium fries and a drink. Eric Schlosser, the author of â€Å"Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,† had made several negative interpretation about the functionality of fast food corporation. Such interpretation can be in relations of what a typical Marxist would complain about, such as the fact that fast food corporation tends to do whatever means possible to reach the end of making a substantial amount of profit. In â€Å"Fast Food Nations: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,† Schlosser targeted on the unethical practices of producing profit which includes the fabrication of sediment phrases, the systematic of mass production, and the management of poor quality with emphasis of large quantity. Some of the claims that Schlosser made can be viewed similarly to the aspects of Karl Marx and his believers, the Marxists. Many Marxists can strongly support Schlosser’s claim with a Marxist interpretation of an accusation of Capitalism. Marxist is known as a group of socialist and they believes that the government’s economy should be equally shared amongst all working classes. Without a doubt, Schlosser had exposed the fact that corporations like McDonalds, Carl’s Jr, Burger King, and so forth had made great profits from exploiting the nation’s vulnerable workers who are willing to work at any cost. These vulnerable workers can be just about anyone from teenagers to first generation immigrants. All in all, Schlosser had made a strong argument to persuade the nation from supporting profit-hungry Corporation by revealing of its unethical practices that may be a convincing factor for the nation to think twice before entering another fast food restaurant. One of the many reasons why fast food restaurants are successful is because they know how to market themselves properly with small sentimental message that appeals to the community. Sentimental message might not mean much, but when families of the community are convinced that the restaurant cares about them, they will be inclined to support their business. It’s a shame that the community does not see the irony in their sentimental messages. Example of the irony would be Mcdonalds creating the Ronald McDonald House of Charity to ask customers for additional donations, in which all proceeds of that donation will help other counties hospital. The irony of this all is that fast food is also the reason why kids are unhealthy. It is also common knowledge that fast food is the leading cause of obesity and obesity can lead to various amount of health-related problem. Another reason why fast food restaurants are successful is because fast food industries target a younger audience such as children. Their techniques on children are simple, because children love collecting toys and items that relates to cartoon figures that they are familiar with. Therefore, these corporations would purchase patents and the rights to use their cartoon figure or icon on their product, which typically sells efficiently with kids. These items are not just popular amongst the children’s age group, but â€Å"many adult collectors have also bought Teenie Beanie Baby Happy Meals, kept the dolls, and threw away the food† (Schlosser 48). These cross promotions between brands has done two things; strengthens ties between fast food industries and companies and also create an irresistible addiction between collectors and the industries. Another marketing strategy that these fast food industries utilize is to slightly modify the collectible’s colors or parts to attract customers to spend a fortunate collecting a whole set of the same kind of toys. The surface of the fast food industries may be deceiving to the general public, but it certainly is not easily deceitful to the workers who dealt with jobs within a fast food industry. While the economy continues to look like steep slide, workers are becoming more willing to work at any jobs in order to financially support their family and themselves. These very same workers that work for fast food industries, are typically teenagers or first generation immigrants because fast food industries knows that these two candidates are perfect for exploitation. Also, because they are less likely to form unions, complain about conditions, and complain about long hours. Fast food industries, like most Marxist-invaded counties, know how to exploit their workers at their fullest potential. They hire the uneducated youth with the least potential to start a union. They view workers as cheap objects that they can be hired and fired at the will of their employers. Unlike a business firm, these fast food industries rarely give raises to their employees, but instead they ould motivate their workers with encouragements or compliments. Since these workers are uneducated and don’t know their rights enough to argue, they would simply respond to their employer’s encouragement or compliment with better performances. Aside from the wages, these jobs are more than often dangerous. It is not certain whether these companies have spent enough money to properly train workers to diligently use the restaurants equipment which would prevent health inc idents and work injuries. Reasons being that these companies are profit-focused. They will try to minimize their spending as much as possible to make sure that they maximize the profit. Some of these jobs are even done by illegal immigrants or anyone desperate enough for a job at a later night shift, because it’s extremely dangerous and companies do not want to risk going into law suits or paying for higher life insurances for their workers with all means to maximize their profit. Schlosser had mentioned a story about Kenny Dobbin, as an example of a worker who was a victim of such unethical offense. Kenny was an uneducated man with no literacy skills, but was tall and strong. He was hired by Monfort, a meat-packing plant company, whom took advantage of Kenny’s kindness and abused him by placing him in dangerous working condition. After sixteen years of pure dedication, Kenny was fired because of his severe injuries from work, because the company does not want to pay for a higher insurance coverage for him. Kenny was â€Å"once strong and powerfully built, he now walks with difficulty, tires easily, and feels useless as though his life were over. He is forty-six years old† (Schlosser 190). Kenny, however, is still considered to be one of the fortunate one because he is able to get his story out unlike many other victims who weren’t able to get their stories out because they are still working with the injuries that they have attained from work. Some of the reasons that explain why they don’t complain about their injuries are because they don’t want to be fired and stress the difficulties of finding another job. These are just some of the examples of the inhumanely acts that fast food industries had commit to their workers. Workers might understand the cruelty that lies within their job, but they might not know what kind of quality the management has selected for the product that they are working with. Aside from managing workers and their wages, fast food industries also manages their food supplies to ensure the greatest amount of profit. By doing so, managements of fast food industries would choose the cheapest quality of meat that’s barely edible, refrozen fries that have been made with preservatives, and also wheat from a wheat field that have been sprayed with pesticides on a regular basis. Many fast food critics, including Schlosser, argued that fast food industries are more concern about the superficial image and the smell of the product rather than the natural healthy content of the product. Schlosser had mentioned that the â€Å"Food and Drug Administration does not require flavor companies to disclose the ingredients of their addictive, so long as all the chemicals are considered by the agency to be generally regarded as safe,† which means that the government had betrayed the consumers and had gave fast food industries the additional power to make substantial amount of profit. Most fast food restaurant took advantage of the governments’ lack of responsibility and would spend as little as possible on meat. This course of action might be good for business, but it is absolutely terrible for the consumers who invest their health in these fast food products. In the early years of fast food industries, many fast food restaurants have been criticized for their contaminated burgers because of the hospitalized and illness trend that consumers are recognizing prior to eating their burgers. The fast food industries did not know how to react to such immense pressure, so they attempt to shift the blame to the farmers. Eventually the government realized the decline of fast food industries and initiated the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to run a federal inspection test for all the meat packaging industries of the fast food industries. This might have been a good sign of improvement for the government, until the government decided to be secretive about their findings and had agreed with fast food industries to not reveal the details about the company’s distributed meat. Today, Fast food industries is still one of the largest marketing industries across nation, but let’s not forget about the labor policies, marketing strategies, and agricultural techniques that comes within their products. Schlosser had made enough strong argument about the business tactics that are responsible for the success of fast food industries. Such tactics that targets children and families with collectibles and sentimental values, hiring workers that are more willing to work with minimum wages, and also managing a horrible quality of food supplies. These factors might be great for the industries because they prospering a substantial amount of profit, but it are unhealthy for the consumers across the nation. Hopefully in the near future, United State’s Department of Agriculture would interfere with regulations that would prevent fast food industries from exploiting the community of its self-motivated individuals. Schlosser also believed that the government should create a federal agency that promotes â€Å"more safety laws that could also reduce the number of slaughterhouse workers who get hurt† (Schlosser 264). With the worker’s safety conditions controlled, it would also be the nation’s best interest to end obesity, by controlling the establishment of fast food restaurants allowed per community and to open up healthier restaurants. Now on a more practical basis, students and the community should raise awareness of the unethical practices of fast food industries, and promote healthier eating habits within their community. With this practical practice, fast food industries will be prone to being eliminated, and the community will live a longer and healthier life.

Radio Frequency Identification and Intelligent Parking

Radio Frequency Identification and Intelligent Parking Executive summary This report is an introduction of two sensor related technology used in modern life. Radio frequency identification (RFID) lock system and Intelligent parking assist system (IPAS) are two topics maintained in the report. In each of the topic there will be at least three parts: history and development, principle of the technology and limitations. The aim of the report is to give reader a brief knowledge of these technology. Radio frequency identification technology is mostly used on door lockers. These kind of products are commonly used in hotel rooms or the front gate of some buildings. The user can unlock the door by swiping a card or tag through the device without using the key. There is no physical contact though this process. RFID lock system (Fig.1) is identified to be safer then traditional key lock system. Additionally, it is more convenient for people to use such as to open the garage door when you are in the car. RFID technology have also been used in a variety of applications: Access management, Tracking of goods, Tracking of persons and animals, Toll collection and contactless payment, Machine readable travel documents, Smart dust (for massively distributed sensor networks), Tracking sports memorabilia to verify authenticity, Airport baggage tracking logistics, Timing sporting events FIGURE 1:Radio frequency identification (RFID) hotel lock system 1.1 History and development In 1945, Russian inventor Là ©on Theremin invented a covert listening device called The Thing which transmit audio signal through incident radio waves. Sound waves collected by a resonant cavity microphone which oscillated the resonator, which generates the reflected radio wave. This device was not an identification tag when it was built. Due to its passive, being energized and activated by electromagnetic energy from an outside source, The Thing is considered a original form of RFID technology, see Fig.2. [7]   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   FIGURE 2: the thing'(listening device) invented by Là ©on Theremin Similar to The Thing, the IFF transponder, was used in World War II by the German allies to identify aircraft (Identity: Friend or Foe) [3]. Transponders are still used nowadays. In 1948 Harry Stockman predicted that considerable research and development work has to be done before the remaining basic problems in reflected-power communication are solved, and before the field of useful applications is explored.[4] is another early work exploring RFID. Mario Cardullos device a passive radio transponder with memory, patented on January 23, 1973, was the first true prototype of modern RFID[8]. The initial device designed as a toll device was first demonstrated in 1971 to the New York Port Authority and other potential user. It was passive, powered by the interrogating signal, with 16 bit memory. The basic Cardullo patent take RF, sound and light as transmission media. The original business plan was targeted to transportation (automotive vehicle identification, automatic toll system, electronic license plate, electronic manifest, vehicle routing, vehicle performance monitoring), banking (electronic check book, electronic credit card), security (personnel identification, automatic gates, surveillance) and medical (identification, patient history) in 1969. In 1973, Steven Depp, Alfred Koelle, and Robert Frayman performed an early demonstration of reflected power (modulated backscatter) RFID tags, both passive and semi-passive at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. [5] The portable system operated at 915 MHz and used 12-bit tags. Today, the majority of UHFID and microwave RFID tags is using this technique. The first patent to be associated with the abbreviation RFID was granted to Charles Walton in 1983. [6] 1.2 Principles of RFID technology Radio frequency identification system use radio wave to transmit information between tags and readers, see Fig.3. Certain information in the tag can be identified by the reader which can be used to unlock a door. In the tag there is a coil and a micro chip, the chip will respond when the tag is close to the reader through electromagnetic field. The coil in the reader act as a power source, meanwhile it is also an antenna to receive the data transmit by the tag, see Fig.4. [1]    (b) FIGURE 3:(a) RFID reader, (b) tags FIGURE 4: Working of RFID 1.2.1 Tags Radio frequency identification system use tags or labels as identifications. Two-way radio transmitter-receivers as known as interrogators or readers send a signal to the tag and read its response. There are three type of RFID tags passive, active or battery-assisted passiveà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ »9à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ ½. An active tagà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ »10à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ ½ is battery charged and its ID signal is periodically transmitted. One example of an active tag is the transponder attached to an aircraft that identifies its national origin [2]. Olivetti Research Ltds Active Badge, used to determine the location of people and objects in a building is an example of a small wearable active tag with a lifetime of about 1 year [11]. A battery-assisted passive (BAP) has a small on-board battery and is activated when in the range of an RFID reader. A passive tag is the cheapest and smallest among these three there is no battery in it the tag uses the radio energy from the electromagnetic field cause by the reader instead. However, passive tag requires a much stronger radio transmitter than for signal transmission. Tags could be read-only or read/write. Read-only tags have a serial number wrote in from the factory that is used as a key into a database, while read/write ones can have data write by system users. Field programmable tags can be write-once, read-multiple; blank tags can be written with an electronic product code by the user. Passive RFID tags contain at least three parts: a circuit, an antenna and some form of encapsulation, see Fig.5. [3]. The integrated circuit is used for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, collecting DC power from the incident reader signal, and other specialized functions; and the antenna for receiving power and transmitting the signal. The RFID tag includes either fixed or programmable logic for processing the transmission and sensor data, respectively. FIGURE 5:Logical components of an RFID tag. Note that the antenna can take many forms including a coil and a dipole depending on the tag type An RFID reader send an encoded radio signal to the tag. The tag then receives the message and communicates back with its identification and other information. This may be a unique tag serial number, product-related information, a password or other specific information. Since tags have individual serial numbers, the RFID system can discriminate among several tags and read them simultaneously when they are within the range of the RFID reader. 1.2.2 Readers Radio frequency identification system can be defined into 3 types by different tags and readers. A Passive Reader Active Tag (PRAT) system is a combination of passive reader (only receives radio signals) and active tags (battery operated, transmit only). The operation range of a Passive Reader Active Tag system reader can be adjusted from 0-600 m. Which allows flexibility in applications such as asset protection and supervision. An Active Reader Passive Tag (ARPT) system has an active reader, which transmits interrogator signals and also receives authentication replies from passive tags. An Active Reader Active Tag (ARAT) system uses active tags awoken with an interrogator signal from the active reader. A variation of this system could also use a Battery-Assisted Passive (BAP) tag which acts like a passive tag but has a small battery to power the tags return reporting signal. The signal intensity of readers can be set up to create a specific interrogation zone. A highly defined reading area can be created for when tags go in and out of the interrogation zone. Mobile readers may be hand-held or mounted on carts or vehicles. 1.3 A comparison between traditional KC system and RFID locking system The keycard (KC) lock system can be a lock operated by a keycard, a flat, rectangular plastic card with identical dimensions. The card stores a physical or digital signature which can be accepted by door mechanism. There are several common types of keycards in use, including the mechanical hole card, barcode, magnetic stripe, Wiegand wire embedded cards, smart card (embedded with a read/write electronic microchip), and RFID cards. Corresponding systems operate by physically moving detainers in the locking mechanism with the insertion of the card, by shining LEDs through a pattern of holes in the card and detecting the result, by swiping or inserting a magnetic stripe card, or in the case of RFID cards, merely being brought into close proximity to a sensor. RFID locks operate differently to the traditional magnetic and chip card hotel locks, using Radio Signals in order to communicate between the guests Keycard and the Lock. The older Magnetic Swipe and Chip Card systems have several drawbacks including short life cycle, impact on magnetic field, limited data storage. The older Keycard have to be inserted into the door lock. Scratches appears on the reading surface due to the physical contact between the magnetic stripe (or the Chip) and the reader. This eventually makes the cards unreadable by the lock. It will also cause failure when writing the card at the encoding station. The average life span of such a magnetic strip Key Card or chip cards is about 200 to 500 uses[3]. The older Keycard can easily be affected by small magnetic field (even interference from Mobile Phones), which makes the card unreadable and hence needing replacement. The traditional cards have a small memory capacity which makes it difficult to integrate cards with equipment like Lifts, Car Park Barriers, Vending Machines. The RFID Locks are contactlessà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’it operates by presenting the Key Card to the lock. The lock then reads the information stored on the card by means of RFID, and grants access to the room to valid cards. There is no physical contact between the lock and the card. With the help of RFID technology, magnetic strip or visible micro chip can be discard from the card and hence eliminates damage cause by physical contacts. This gives RFID card virtually unlimited life span. There is no need to replace or clean the reader heads. In addition the locks are free from opening slots preventing ingress of dirt, dust and other outside influences, prolonging the lifespan of the lock itself. 1.4 Limitations Although Radio frequency identification offers the benefits of relatively low cost compared to other wireless technology, being physically unobtrusive and enabling detailed stock tracking, it still has limitations. The cost of tags depends on their type. In the 2003 report RFID Systems in the Manufacturing Supply Chain [14]. Thought RFID tag can cost as little as a few cents and the cost has fallen over time, however, it still requires investment to install on a good. Comparing to the value of some goods it is not economically viable for tagging them. Especially for active tags (those that require a local power source), which can cost up to a dollar each. Different signals from the tags may interfering with one another. A February 2011 paper for the International Journal of Computer and Electric Engineering notes that it isnt easy to read multiple RFID tags simultaneously [1]. There is Computerized techniques for detangle such signals, but implementing and managing these techniques increases costs. [12][13] NFC and EPC global standards are two wide-scale adoption standards for RFID, but they are fundamentally incompatible [3]. Lack of standards is an issue when two different companies attempt to share and tracking RFID information. The IJCEE paper notes that RFID does not have fixed technical standards. Cooperating partners in RFID industry need to agree in standards concerning communication protocols, signal modulation types, data transmission rates, data encoding and frames, and collision handling algorithms. [1] There are three large regions of frequency allocations in the world the Americas; Asia and Australasia; and Europe and Africa. The variations in wireless frequencies ranges limits companies that want to use RFID tracking for international inventory management.[1] Intelligent Parking Assist System is a comfort function in some of the vehicles. The first system coming in the market monitored the front and rear of the vehicle and warned the driver if there is any object beside the vehicle. Ultrasonic sensors are wildly used in this technology. Together with ultrasonic sensors, video technology and some algorithms the vehicle itself is able to measure the length of a parking space and steer itself to the parking lot. Drivers must care only for the longitudinal control of his vehicle. 2.1 History and development In 1999 Toyota Motor Corporation developed The Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) for Lexus models in the United States initially for the Japanese market hybrid Prius models and Lexus models. The system assists drivers in parking their cars.[15][16]Vehicles equipped with the IPAS can drive itself into a parking lot with little control from the user. The Prius Hybrid sold in Japan in 2003 installed the first version of the system.[17] In 2006, an upgraded version of the system on the Lexus LS luxury sedan[18] featured the automatic parking technology among other brand new inventions from Toyota. In 2009, the third generation Prius sold in the U.S has this feature. In Asia and Europe, the automatic parking technology is labelled as the IPAS for both Lexus and Toyota models, while in the U.S. the Advanced Parking Guidance System is only used for Lexus cars. Intelligent Parking Assist System initially was designed for reverse parallel parking.[17] The system estimated the location of the parking lot and steered the vehicle without Drivers intervention. Onboard computer used a camera and sensors built into the forward and rear of the car to detected the proximity of nearby vehicles. The dashboard showed an real-time image of the lot with a box, and the driver have to determine the exact final position of the vehicle in the lot by using arrows appeared on the screen. When satisfied, the user pressed the Set button, which will activated the IPAS. The system then took over steering control to maneuver the vehicle.[19] Early versions of this system cant detect objects properly, including cats, baby prams and pedestrians. Secondly when the driver used IPAS in a small space, the system continuously warning the user of the danger of hitting the object. User assistance is required in such situations. In 2005, recognition capability is added to the system for parking stripes.[19] A later version of this parking technology integrated the system with parking sensors in 2006.[19] This version calculated the steering movements needed for parallel or reverse parking, and help determine weather the car has enough clearance for a particular space with colored screen display. 2.2 Function Intelligent parking assist system is widely used in some of the Toyota, Lexus cars, even worlds top sport car McLaren P1 has IPAS. Following information is the instruction of IPAS in Toyota Prius Owners Manual.[20] Step 1: Drive your Toyota Prius up until you see the spot youd like to park in. It may be behind you or in front of you (unlike those of the Ford models, where the only thing you can do with their system is parallel park the car using its system).(Fig.6) FIGURE 6:IPAS instruction 1 Step 2: Press the ParkAssist button near the drivers side of the dashboard. (Fig.7) FIGURE 7:IPAS instruction 2 Step 3: Make sure that the back end of your vehicle is further forward than the spot your vehicle has been designated to be parked in.(Fig.8) FIGURE 8: IPAS instruction 3 Step 4: Look at your screen up on the dashboard. The vehicle will light up spots that it thinks there is a viable enough parking space located in. Not only will it light up the screen, but it will beep to alert you that there is a parking spot nearby that it can choose. Look for spots that turn into blue square areas. The vehicle can already determine that these spots are big enough and well suited enough to park the car there. (Fig.9) FIGURE 9: IPAS instruction 4 Step 5: Touch to fine-tune the parking space you believe would be a working space to park in. Use the arrow points on the screen to fine-tune the spot. Look for the car to find out what area you may be indicating as you move around the parking lot. The arrows will select the spot, and will highlight the spots. (Fig.10) FIGURE 10: IPAS instruction 5 Step 6: Adjust the parking space its designated.(Fig.11) FIGURE 11: IPAS instruction 6 Step 7: Touch the OK button in the bottom right corner of the dashboard screen.(Fig.12) FIGURE 12: IPAS instruction 7 Step 8: Put your car in Reverse gear and only keep your foot on the brake pedal. Operate only the brake pedal, as you park the car. (Fig.13) FIGURE 13: IPAS instruction 8 Step 9:Put your foot on the brake pedal, when youve backed up far enough without running through the building or into any designated non-parking areas.(Fig.14) FIGURE 14: IPAS instruction 9 Step 10: Cancel the guidance feature on your vehicle by pressing the X button on the display. (Fig.15) FIGURE 15: IPAS instruction 10 2.3 Principle of IPAS technology The IPAS use computer to process signals from the vehicles sonar warning system, backup camera and two additional forward sensors on the front side fenders(Fig.16). The sonar park sensors including multiple sensors on the forward and rear bumpers which detect objects, allowing the vehicle to calculate optimum steering angles during regular parking. [19] The Intelligent Parking Assist System expands on the function of these sensors and is accessible when the vehicle is shifted to reverse (which automatically activates the backup camera). The central processor calculates the best parallel or reverse park steering angles and then implement with the Electric Power Steering systems of the vehicle to guide the car into the parking spot. FIGURE 16: front sensors 2.4 Sensor technologies in Intelligent parking assist system 2.4.1 Ultrasonic sensor In the past 20 years, Ultrasonic sensors are used for many applications for military application in submarines, in Medicine for diagnostics, and as sensors for distance measurement in industry. Automotive applications use piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers since 1993 as they are small and robust.(Fig.17) The piezoelectric effect describes electromechanical property of a crystal. a mechanical deformation appears when a piezoelectric crystal is applied an electric field on its two sides. A mechanical deformation of the crystal can also generate an electric voltage measured at the crystals electrodes. The voltage is proportional to the deformation. Thus piezoelectric materials can be used as high frequency (ultrasonic) oscillation generators and sound wave receiver. An ultrasonic piezoelectric element can be considered as a loudspeaker and a microphone in one unit, therefore it is known as transducers. [21] FIGURE 17: the cross section of the car ultrasonic sensor 2.4.2 Video technology 2.4.2.1 CCD and CMOS technology CCD and CMOS are wildly used as image sensors. In a charge-coupled device (CCD), electrical charge move within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated. Linear array of MOS capacitances are combined so that a stored photo charge can be moved. Photo charge pairs are generated in the semiconductor under the influence of incident light. Interline-transfer CCDs are the mostly used type in automobile applications. (Fig.18) The charges are sequentially and vertically transferred to a register. [22] FIGURE 18: Interline-transfer CCD [21] CMOS sensors use non-integrating photodiodes which are independent from the exposure time. It has a characteristic similar to the human eye which means CMOS has a high dynamic range. CMOS sensors have more advantages than the more generally used CCDs: they have lower costs by taking advantage of submicron CMOS technology. Several functionalities can be integrated on the sensor itself. The power consumption is low as the circuitry in each pixel only activated during the readout period, there is no clock signal driving large capacitance as well. Readout speed can be enhanced by parallel access to multiple taps of the pixel array. As a result, CMOS sensors are favored using on automotive. 2.4.2.2 Video Cameras and Vision System FIGURE 19: structures and camera system structures of Parking and maneuver assistance systems There are four structures of video cameras, see Fig.19. The camera for photo only has a standard NTSC- format of its video data. Meanwhile, digital cameras with a LVDS interface are mostly used. The camera parameters can be controlled by an external CPU with the optional LIN/CAN interface. With the help of internal Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), smart cameras can extract features from the picture and thus provide additional information to the device. Due to the space and thermal conditions, these cameras are limited in its functionality. They are a combination of a digital camera with an external GPU called smart system in which two components can be connected via LVDS. An multi-camera system typically has more cameras in used. 2.5 Limitations on Parking Assistance Systems Ultrasonic technology has some limitations in functionality as follow. Sound absorbing materials are hardly seen by the system. The system has a short detection range for people who wears absorbing cloths. The system will be influenced by objects in the vicinity of the own vehicle, in particular the noise of compressed air like truck brakes. The detection range may differ by mud or snow covered on it under severe weather conditions.[23] Video technology has also restrictions: visibility range of cameras may reduced by poor weather conditions (Silicon sensor technology will have a significant impact). Like the ultrasonic sensor, camera lenses may be covered with mud or snow at poor weather conditions and must be cleaned frequently. Due to their limited performance, Parking systems based on ultrasonic sensors and cameras are therefore defined as comfort systems.[23] Ultrasonic sensors and video cameras are excellent supplement to each other for their different physical principles. Each technology has individual strengths supporting the weaknesses of the other. The camera-based system can be improved by being combined with an ultrasonic system with the ability to measure the distance to objects. This allows the detection of objects while visual quality is poor for the camera system. The video picture together with an ultrasonic parking system contains much more information for the driver. This is an important step towards more detection security and functional safety.[23] Radar sensors with a longer detection range can be mounted behind the bumper of the vehicle. They may be used for IPAS as well as for safety functions like collision avoidance or collision mitigation. [23] Radio frequency identification (RFID) and Intelligent parking assist system (IPAS) are wildly used in our daily life. This report discussed RFID in the field of electrical lock system and IPAS in car industry. The first RFID device was developed to be a mobile toll system, and the similar technology was invented to be an espionage tool back in 1945. Radio frequency identification use radio wave as a medium in communication between reader and tag. An RFID tag can be either passive or active. A passive tag is powered by electromagnetic field generated by the reader, while an active tag has its own battery. The reader send signal to interrogate the tag, the tag will respond when it is in the range of the reader. The data in the tag can be used as a key to unlock doors so that RFID lock system are generally used in hotels. Since the RFID has its contactless characteristic, RFID locker is better than traditional keycard mechanism. Locks with RFID technology have a longer life cycle and low maintain expense. However, it still has some drawbacks in cost, signal interference, frequency, standard. IPAS was first developed on Lexus models, the technology integrated ultrasonic sensor, camera system, electrical steering system and on board computer. The vehicle will drive itself to the parking lot without the drivers assist. The two main components ultrasonic sensor and camera supporting the weaknesses of the other. The ultrasonic sensors are used to detect surrounding objects while the camera is used to locate the parking area. The system has its limitations in signal interference, natural factors. References [1] Mandeep Kaur, Manjeet Sandhu, Neeraj Mohan and Parvinder S. Sandhu, RFID Technology Principles, Advantages, Limitations Its Applications, International Journal of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Dec. 2011. [2] K. Finkelzeller, The RFID Handbook, 2nd ed., John Wiley Sons, 2003. [3] Roy. Want, RFID Explained: A Primer on Radio Frequency Identification Technologies, Morgan Claypool, 2006. [4] Stockman, Harry (October 1948), Communication by Means of Reflected Power, Proceedings of the IRE, 36 (10): 1196-1204. [5] Real Time Location Systems (PDF). clarinox. Retrieved 2010-08-04. [6] Charles A. Walton Portable radio frequency emitting identifier U.S. Patent 4,384,288 issue date May 17, 1983 [7] Hacking Exposed Linux: Linux Security Secrets Solutions (third ed.). McGraw-Hill Osborne Media. 2008. p. 298. ISBN [8] Genesis of the Versatile RFID Tag. RFID Journal. Retrieved 2013-09-22. [9] R. Want and D. Russell, Ubiquitous electronic tagging, IEEE DS-Online. [10] D. J. Moore, R. Want, et al., Implementing phicons: Combining computer vision with infrared technology for interactive physical icons, in Proc. ACM UIST99, Ashville, NC, pp. 67-68, Nov. 8-10, 1999. [11] R. Want, A. Hopper, V. Falcao, and J. Gibbons, The active bad

Getting Sober :: Expository Cause Effect Essays

Getting Sober To recognize that they have drinking problems, alcoholics have to be completely miserable and willing to change. When they get to this point, it is called their "bottom." There are "high bottom" and "low bottom" drunks, but it doesn't matter as long as they get sober. There are many different reasons why an alcoholic decides to get sober, but in my own case, I lost my self-esteem, I couldn't control my drinking, and my life became unmanageable. The first thing that made me think about getting sober was that I lost my self-esteem. I always used to cut myself down in front of people and never knew how to accept compliments- sure signs of low self-esteem. The biggest symptom I had of low self-esteem was that I wasn't comfortable in my own skin or around people unless I was drunk because the only way I could stand myself was when I drank. I also never cared about my appearance, so I wouldn't wear make-up, fix my hair, or bathe regularly. Still, low self-esteem was something I would never have guessed I had-that is, until I thought about killing myself. Then I knew something might be wrong. The second thing that made me want to get sober was the realization that I couldn't control my drinking-it had become a mental and physical obsession. Since my first drink at the age of twelve I couldn't go a day without a drink, and I could never have just one. By the age of seventeen I was used to drinking a case and a half of beer a day, and for the next two years I lived in a drunken fog. I could not go to school, work, or anywhere else outside my front door without a drink or the promise of one. I finally realized something had to be done when I couldn't get a drink one day and swallowing my own spit made me violently sick. I was forced to drink NyQuil to keep from throwing up because it was the only alcohol in the house. But the main reason I got sober was that my life became unmanageable. The first thing that made me notice I was out of control was getting kicked out of high school two weeks before graduation.

What Anti-Individualists Cannot Know A Priori :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

What Anti-Individualists Cannot Know A Priori ABSTRACT: The attempt to hold both anti-individualism and privileged self-knowledge may have the absurd consequence that someone could know a priori propositions that are knowable only empirically. This would be so if such an attempt entailed that one could know a priori both the contents of one’s own thoughts and the anti-individualistic entailments from those thought-contents to the world. For then one could also come to know a priori (by simple deduction) the empirical conditions entailed by one’s thoughts. But I argue that there is no construal of a priori knowledge that could be used to raise an incompatibility problem of this sort. First, I suggest that the incompatibilist a priori must be a stipulative one, since in none of the main philosophical traditions does knowledge of the contents of one’s thoughts count as a priori. Then, I show that under various possible construals of a priori, the incompatibilist argument would be invalid: either a fallacy of eq uivocation or an argument without a plausible closure principle guaranteeing transmission of epistemic status from premises to conclusion. Finally, I maintain that the only possible construal of the property of being knowable a priori that avoids invalidity is one that fails to generate the intended reductio. I Compatibilism, or the attempt to hold both Burgean anti-individualism and common intuitions about privileged self-knowledge, appears to entail that a person (say, Oscar) could come to know a priori the premises of arguments of this sort: B 1. If I am now thinking that water is wet, then water exists. 2. I am now thinking that water is wet. Therefore, 3. Water exists. Naturally, from such premises Oscar could come to know a priori that water exists (i.e., by simple deduction) — yet nobody can know that a priori! Some take this to be a reductio of compatibilism (call them "incompatibilists"). But I shall suggest how anti-individualists could retain common intuitions about self-knowledge, without fearing that their views would entail unacceptable claims about the epistemic status of empirical propositions. First I shall ask why incompatibilists hold that, given both anti-individualism and privileged self-knowledge, each premise of inferences such as (B) are knowable a priori. I shall then argue that there is no plausible construal of "a priori" that could be used to generate the alleged reductio. II First, consider (B)'s second premise: could Oscar come to know a priori the proposition that he is thinking that water is wet, according to the criteria for "a priori" knowledge in the main philosophical traditions that invoke knowledge of this sort?

Analysis of Neil Perry :: essay papers

Analysis of Neil Perry "Carpe diem boys, seize the day!" Robin Williams' character exclaims in the film "Dead Poets Society". Williams portrays passionate English professor John Keating, whose lessons go far beyond the classroom. Keating teaches his students to follow their own hearts and minds instead of the conformist ideals taught at their strict boarding school. Several of Keating's students take his lessons to heart and resurrect the Dead Poets Society, a secret club that meets late at night to read and discuss poetry. "Carpe Diem", the theme of the movie, soon becomes a popular maxim on campus, and the students start applying it to their every day lives. Charlie changes his name to Nuwanda and risks expulsion repeatedly. Knox finds the girl of his dreams and tries to woo for from her boyfriend. Todd is extremely shy, but tries to come out of his shell. Then there is Neil, who decides to play the part of Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"-against the wishes of his father, who ta! kes this theme to heart and the effect it had on his life ultimately cost him his life. Neil is a non-conformist. He does not want anything to do with the plans his father has set forth for him, which is to become a doctor. Instead, Neil wants to be his own person and wants to do what he wants. Reluctantly, though, he follows his father's wishes. He is afraid to stand up to his father and take control of his own life. For example, Neil quits the school annual, something Neil wanted to do just because his father told him so. As the movie goes on, Neil starts to take control of his life, with the help of his English professor John Keating, who imbeds the phrase "Carpe Diem" into the minds of his students. Neil decides to audition for the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Neil receives the part as Puck, one of the main characters. Neil finally feels he is taking control of his own life. He decides he wants to be an actor. A day before the play was to open, Neil's father comes to visit him. Mr. Perry tells Neil to quit the play and concentrate on his studies. Neil tries to talk to his father but with no avail. Neil does the play any way, but is caught by hid father, to tell Neil he is off to military school. Neil fed up with his father controlling his life, commits Analysis of Neil Perry :: essay papers Analysis of Neil Perry "Carpe diem boys, seize the day!" Robin Williams' character exclaims in the film "Dead Poets Society". Williams portrays passionate English professor John Keating, whose lessons go far beyond the classroom. Keating teaches his students to follow their own hearts and minds instead of the conformist ideals taught at their strict boarding school. Several of Keating's students take his lessons to heart and resurrect the Dead Poets Society, a secret club that meets late at night to read and discuss poetry. "Carpe Diem", the theme of the movie, soon becomes a popular maxim on campus, and the students start applying it to their every day lives. Charlie changes his name to Nuwanda and risks expulsion repeatedly. Knox finds the girl of his dreams and tries to woo for from her boyfriend. Todd is extremely shy, but tries to come out of his shell. Then there is Neil, who decides to play the part of Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"-against the wishes of his father, who ta! kes this theme to heart and the effect it had on his life ultimately cost him his life. Neil is a non-conformist. He does not want anything to do with the plans his father has set forth for him, which is to become a doctor. Instead, Neil wants to be his own person and wants to do what he wants. Reluctantly, though, he follows his father's wishes. He is afraid to stand up to his father and take control of his own life. For example, Neil quits the school annual, something Neil wanted to do just because his father told him so. As the movie goes on, Neil starts to take control of his life, with the help of his English professor John Keating, who imbeds the phrase "Carpe Diem" into the minds of his students. Neil decides to audition for the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Neil receives the part as Puck, one of the main characters. Neil finally feels he is taking control of his own life. He decides he wants to be an actor. A day before the play was to open, Neil's father comes to visit him. Mr. Perry tells Neil to quit the play and concentrate on his studies. Neil tries to talk to his father but with no avail. Neil does the play any way, but is caught by hid father, to tell Neil he is off to military school. Neil fed up with his father controlling his life, commits

Alliant Health System: A Vision of Total Quality Essay

1. Is Alliant’s strategy Sound? What does it have to do well to succeed? a. No strategy is totally sound.b. On paper, Alliant’s strategy would seem sound but, even though over the past five years they have made progress, Alliant has hit a few snags along the way that has prevented their strategy from becoming truly sound. i. They have only been able to lay down a foundation.c. Alliant is faced with â€Å"a culture and a climate that is inhospitable to the TQM philosophy.† ii. CEO Wolford states the he cannot â€Å"point to any one area that demonstate[s] we are substantially better than our competition.†d. â€Å"Alliant had achieved breakthroughs in organizational learning at each step in their TQM journey.† e. CARES+ – â€Å"basic outline for quality goal-setting and review†; bureaucraticf. EQUIP – â€Å"employees used it as a substitute for talking to their managers about day-to-day issues† g. Quality Improvement Teams – weren’t able to â€Å"bite off little pieces† and instead tried to solve â€Å"world hunger† problems; only able to come up with programs but was not capable implementing them; some have been â€Å"going on for over a year with nothing to show for it† h. Critical Paths – Unable to monitor rate of compliance, statistics was anywhere from 2% to 70% i. Have to do well to succeed:iii. Alliant needs to get everybody on board with Total Quality Management (TQM) for their strategy to succeed. 1. The quality process still needs a jumpstart.2. Some physicians are reluctant to adopt the new way of thinking. iv. Implement an IT system that â€Å"support[s] TQM and provide[s] Alliant with the information it need[s] to manage its evolution into the health care organization of the future.† v. Create a central quality organization that could come up with programs and implement them. 2. How well have they implemented the quality strategy? j. Alliant came up with guiding principles and a 10-point action plan to help introduce TQM to the organization through quality management teams (QMT). vi. Alliant was thorough in making sure their quality strategy was implemented systematically through targeted programs and processes that would help their â€Å"organization achieve a competitive advantage based on the management of quality. â€Å" vii. They implemented the quality stategy well in the first year because after Petersdorf died in 1987, â€Å"quality had already taken root† and â€Å"one of the board’s primary selectin criteria for Petersdorf’s replacement was a commitment to total quality management.† k. In the second year of implementation, Alliant saw their most profitable year in the history of the company. l. Four components of TQM strategy were implemented pretty well: viii. CARES+ process â€Å"diffused rapidly across Alliant†; Were â€Å"making the transition from traditional planning to quality improvement†; found quality planning process to be highly effective ix. EQUIP allowed employees to voice their ideas; helped communicate between employees, managers, and executives x. Quality Improvement Teams â€Å"prescribed specific analytical tools and walked a team from problem statement through actions, results, and future plans†; drilled right to the core of performance issues; applied statistical process control techniques to cash flow to bring the receivables range down xi. Critical Paths worked; was able to shorten length of hospital stay for coronary artery bypass graft surgeries from 17 days to 13 days and reduced average costs from $41,863 to $35,843; saved Alliant almost $1 million in 1990; moves process along if everyone works with the same time frame in mind 3.  Assess Alliant’s information technology agenda/strategy. m. Believed information technology (I/T) is a key in the future strength of TQM n. Need â€Å"expert systems – computers to help the mind†Ã‚  o. â€Å"Was a shift in focus: to patient-oriented systems rather than functional, â€Å"stove pipe† applications that met narrow departmental needs. p. Physicians, clinical support professionals, and administrators could share information and drive continuous improvement in service q. â€Å"HELP offered advice on possible diagnoses, cost-effective treatments, resource scheduling, and drug contraindications.† r. New I/T strategy offered significant advantages over Alliant’s existing patchwork of stand-alone systems: xii. System worked concurrently – advice was available as patient was being treated xiii. Had the potential to improve coordination dramatically by collecting data from  all corners of the hospital into a single patient-centered system 3. This would minimize patient costs and stay and the quality of care would be improved by eliminating â€Å"inappropriate procedures, unnecessary waiting time, and ineffective treatments.† 4. Would you proceed with HELP? s. Yes xiv. HELP would bring together Alliant’s hospitals and technically make it one working unit by providing a single patient-oriented system that had all data of a patient from every area of the hospital in one computer making Alliant efficient, productive, and quality focused. xv. This would allow information to be shared and eliminate all repeat and unnecessary procedures and allow a shorter waiting time because information would not have to be collected again. xvi. In effect, HELP would improve quality. 5. What would you do to make sure the implementation is successful? t. Make sure that the process works for us rather than us work for the process u. Take everything one step at a time; analyze little by little instead of taking in everything at once v. Make sure everybody was on board with Total Quality Management by restructuring the culture and climate in making TQM more hospitable w. Train managers with a familiar interface as that of HELP  xvii. This would help with a smooth short-term transition and involve fewer hiccups. xviii. â€Å"Stabilize the existing infrastructure, lay the foundation for HELP, and begin to make some progress on automating support for TQM†