Cantaloupe Description

The Cantaloupe At first glance, the cantaloupe looks round and light grayish-tan, with a hint of green. From afar it looks round and plain, about the size of a peewee soccer ball. On approach, the circular shape is less perfect with subtle dents and bumps all around. Surrounding the sphere shaped fruit are light tan lines like a dense city map with all the streets intertwining and curving around without any significant pattern, not geometric like gridlines. On the surface, there are small matchbook sized patches color the skin, some more yellow and other patches that are darker green.A particular indention looks like the fruit might have laid on a rock on the ground while it was growing. One end, where the flower might have once been, is the palest of yellow circles. On the opposite edge, the stubby vestige of a stem remains. This dried up nub is the brown and shriveled, slightly indented from the rest of the globe. Surrounding the stem is a dark circle of hunter green. Picking it up from the counter, the weight of this globular object seems significantly heavier than it looks, like a mini bowling ball.Despite the volume, it feels that the weight is not solid which is proven by the hollow sound the fruit makes when tapped, like patting a child on the head. The delineated lines feel like webbing and give the fruit a rough feel, but it’s not an uncomfortable roughness. The experience is somewhere in between a prickly cactus and a furry peach. At this point my mind starts to wander. Should I cut it open now or wait? Should I take a break? I look outside at the fat flakes of snow coming down outside and remind myself to get back to the task at hand.There is no resentment or anger. I look again at this object I have assigned myself to detail. When I am at a loss as to how to describe something in particular my mind wandering happens more frequently. I continue to focus my attention back to the cantaloupe as soon as I realize I’ve been distracted. I hol d the cantaloupe to my eye. There is a faint line of brownish green that runs through the net-like lines covering the fruit. Some of the spaces between the lines look like parks because they’re darker green, while others ook grey like the concrete of a parking lot. My mind wanders again and I start to look to see if there are any recognizable maps in squiggles. I see a roundabout that reminds me of an intersection in England and another resembles the neighborhood where I grew up. The intertwining layers of the lines remind me of overgrown vines on a wall covering another layer of skin. The underneath layer has the vague look of green splotches, almost veins, like the streaks that run through blue cheese. I thump the cantaloupe again. It substitutes as a drum to make a tune.Apparently it has different thicknesses inside because the sound it makes when you knock it on the end is a higher pitch than when you rap it in the middle. One spot must be particularly thick because the s ound is more substantial. Rubbing the skin makes the same sound as rubbing your hands together on a dry winter day. I try to make other noises using the produce, but intuition tells me that the only way to get another sound is to drop it on the floor. I’m not willing to do that. Before cutting into the orb, I notice a whiff of eau-de grocery store produce aisle a bit past its sell-by date.The smell isn’t strong and it’s only when I touch the fruit to my nose that I smell this. I then sniff each different area of the outer layer and notice that where the flower once might have been the smell is much stronger and sweeter. I scratch my finger nails on the rough skin, but it doesn’t affect the scent the way it would with an orange or lemon. It’s time to cut into the orb. Even as the knife makes the first gouge, clear pale orange juice escapes. I lick my fingers and find the sweet taste refreshing and different.Although the juice is the color of a Satsu ma mandarin or a commercial worthy carrot, it tastes nothing like either. Slicing the melon in half, the cantaloupe now resembles a geode, with a plain outside and a brightly colored exotic inside. It’s filled with seeds and goo in the center. The slimy innards resemble the finest angel hair pasta, but instead of being the color of regular noodles, they are varying shades of orange, some even translucent. I carve out this gooey inside and the sweet smell now fills the air with its cloying tropical fermented flower mell. Friends who have been watching a movie in the other room come to see if they can have some, the smell having tempted them away from what they are doing. Ironic, because I’m no longer interested in the cantaloupe and ready to toss it into the composting bin. I send everyone away so that I can continue on. The meaty flesh isn’t too tough, nor is it too soft. I take a bite and let the flavor rush across my tongue. The taste reminds me of summers on the farm eating the freshest fruits and vegetables straight out of the garden still warm from the sun.There’s a touch of salt in the taste, but the sweetness overpowers it. In spite the firm texture, the fruit feels soft and chewy and the volume of nectar is astounding. The tissue is softer and moister than the similar essence of a pumpkin and more compact than the inside of a fig. Squishing the orange flesh with my fingers, it all but dissolves into juice. What little remains is the finest of strings as soft as silk. I find a seed still attached, that I missed. The kernel is a flat oval with semi-pointed ends. Like a flat football with the air taken away, but miniscule in comparison.It’s almost as though the surrounding fibrous slime is dissolving in the air as I watch. I break open a seed using my fingernail. It’s soft and waxy, not much there. I take a wedge of the sliced cantaloupe and look at the difference between the skin and the edible meat. Like a rainb ow, the color changes from thick rind on the outside to the orange moist, fleshy core on the inside. Like the color spectrum, the differences in shades are subtle, but quick. A yellow stratum is the most predominant, but considering the layer in question is less than an eighth of an inch thick, this golden subcutaneous layer isn’t very big.I make sure there isn’t anything I’ve overlooked and to check my notes for missing descriptive words. I’m shocked to look at the clock and see that more time has passed than I would have expected. I went several hours without checking my watch; something I can only do when I’m not bored. Learning to look beyond the obvious is something I already knew how to do. I enjoy observing people and watching facial expressions for meaning. What I’m not good at it is sitting still and holding my attention for long periods of time. Exercises like this help to train my brain to â€Å"settle own, focus, and catch upâ⠂¬  as local monologuist Josh Kornbluth says. While I had to make a few self directed corrections along the way, I was fairly pleased that I was able to block out a significant amount of what was going on with family and friends in the other rooms and outdoors. Yes, there were a few times that my attention wandered, but I was back on track in seconds rather than hours or days. The reward at the end was to finish a paper I was happy with and to share the small remainder of the cantaloupe with my friends while on a weekend away. Mission accomplished!

Managing Role Stress as a nurse Essay

Role Stress is the number one reason nurses leave the nursing field (Chang, Hancock, Johnson, Daly, & Jackson, 2005). Role Stress happens when you find yourself experiencing things that you did not expect to happen to you as a nurse. It is the difference your perception of a role versus the reality of your role. You might first experience this as a new grad Nurse without confidence, facing unrealistic expectations, and value conflicts. You could also experience Role Stress due to a lack of job control, high demands, and work overload. We are now being faced with shorter and shorter hospital stays equaling more work to be done in less time. (Blais & Hayes, 2011, pg. 27 ) A nurse experiencing Role Stress might end up with Role Strain. â€Å"An emotional reaction accompanied by psychological responses, such as anxiety, tension, irritation, resentment, depression, and job dissatisfaction† (Blais & Hayes 2011, pg. 27). A stressor that one might experience as a substitute school nurse is the lack of consistency on policy from one school to another. A good way to manage the stress caused by the inconsistency is to research school nurse policies in the state you are in, and work under those regulations. Also, voicing your concerns to those involved can help if done politely. This was shown to be effective, thus eliminating stress. In another example; one may not realize the emotional stress of a job. Death in the ED can take a toll on both staff and family. It can produce feelings of guilt, anger, failure. One might become numb and develop emotional defenses to cope with the way they feel. To help with this special education or training can be given to the nurse, which can help improve wellness and performance (http://emedicine. medscape.com/article/806280-overview). In every different nursing environment we will eventually run into stressors, that can cause role strain. There are fortunately some strategies that can help manage stress. A plan of care to manage stress might be helpful to all working in the health care field. The following interventions might help reduce stress: Learn how to identify problems and solve them, have good time management skills, delegate well, and learn to not procrastinate. It is also helpful to not assume too many roles, to arrive early, and prepare ahead of time to eliminate any work overload stress. (Blais & Hayes, 2011, pg. 29). A short term goal could be to arrive early to work everyday which in return could prevent some additional stress.. A long term goal would be the reduction of stress through applying the above strategies, as well as doing something healthy for yourself, such as a walk, exercise, alone time, or perhaps a good book. Using community resources and help available through specialist and friends can also be beneficial. In summary, it is first necessary to take care of yourself, then you will be in a position to apply the many other helpful techniques enabling you to care for others. References Blais, K.K. & Hayes, J.S. (2011). Professional Nursing Practice: Concepts and Perspectives (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc. Chang, E.J., Hancock, K.M., Johnson, A., Daly, J., & Jackson, D. (2005). Role stress in nurses: Review of related factors and strategies for moving forward. Nursing and Health Sciences, 7, 57-65. Medscape. (2009). Grief Support in the ED. Retrieved September 4, 2013, from http://emedicine,medscape.com/article/806280-overview)

Implementing innovation in organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Implementing innovation in organizations - Essay Example m, in his innovation implementation article, an organization’s first step should entail knowing the ideal definition behind successful innovation for it to be on the safe side. The introduction part starts with the statement that ‘Successful innovation is turning ideas to money’, which depends on ones comprehension of the statement (Woods 2011). Essentially, the outcome should not necessarily be money but successful innovation should give something that is valuable in return to the organization or specific facets of it. Definitely, understanding innovation comprehensively forms a foundation for successful implementation, which is profitable to the organization in long term or short-term basis depending on the organizational goals. Decisively, I think that the understanding section should also entails evaluating your organization’s strategies, culture and other equally significant aspects such as size and core objective. This way one can relate how different approaches would apply in their organization, a factor that the article does not cover in depth. After forming a basis for implementation through utter comprehension, the next step in the article is determining the type of innovation the organization aims at achieving (Woods 2011). The statement is baffling but Tim goes ahead to explain what this step should involve. The innovation process can entail incorporation of new practices to the older ones or an exclusively new practice to bring value to the organization. I think this is essential because different corporations are in varying fields and markets; however, it is important that the way an organization chooses reflect on their needs. It is an important step, especially as the second because it relates with understanding innovation and the organization. However, the author does not give examples of how this step practically applies, which would give significant assistance to the readers. The author is keen to state out that organizations should

Climate change Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Climate change - Coursework Example Part of the problem with America’s stance on climate change is that many Americans are, as yet, unconvinced about the authenticity of the claims that the earth’s temperature having an effect on global weather conditions. It does not help when some of these skeptical people are sitting members of the United States Congress. If the people in charge of debating laws do not approve of international efforts to deal with climate change, then there can be little hope for the rest of us. The key thing with global warming is that there is a joined international effort to stop it. Because it affects the whole world, each country is forced to deal with the problem on its own. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the first step to solving the problem. It may not be perfect, but it is a start. It is time that America stood up and realized this fact so that it can do something about

Individual Business report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Individual Business report - Essay Example (ABGL 2008). Company operates on B2B business model and resells its product i.e. biodiesel to different fuel blenders for onward resell to commercial, government as well as retail users within the country. ABGL is intending to further exploit growth opportunities into those markets. As a part of its future expansion plans, the company is planning to enter into Malaysian Market where it intends to assist different project developers in setting up biodiesel plants by entering into a project which will allow it to manufacture its entire product in Malaysia. Malaysia witnessed one of the most predictable and stable political government in the region with Dr. Mahathir Mohammed at the helm of affairs for almost 22 years however after his resignation in 2003, country’s political system does not seem to stable and predictable as country’s political leaders are still facing strong differences in create a potential replacement of Dr. Mahathir. (Jacques, 2008). Malaysia is a Federal parliamentary Monarchy with Prime Minister as the head of the State. The country is a multiple party in nature with more than 25 registered political parties actively participating in the politics of the country. Australia and Malaysia share a very frictional history of relationship between them as historically the relations did not remained cordial however recent initiatives signaled change into the relationship of both the countries. The trade ties are increasingly becoming friendlier and there is now significant cross border trade between both the countries. (Baker, 2004). Malaysia achieved unprecedented economic growth in past and is often considered as a leading economy within Muslim world. Being in closer proximity with Australia, country provides one of the most lucrative options to build good economic relations. Though, during Mahathir’s era,

Case study #1 HRD #394 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

#1 HRD #394 - Case Study Example tance of repairing the machines and also improve the conditions and the equipments that would help reduce the cases of accidents and injuries in the work. The programs of behavioral based safety focus the employees as the main cause of accidents and injuries at workplaces. In this, many employees blame their employees for most of the accidents at workplaces, in most cases; however, behavioral based safety targets improving the safety behaviors in the workplaces by the use of employee involvement. It involves identifying the employees practices and behaviors that would help in reducing the risk of injury. Management accountability and engineering control both affect safety issues at workplaces, managers should understand that the safety of their employees also fails in their hands. They should understand that they have the responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. Management should also ensure that the organization has adequate resources focused towards ensuring that the organization meets the safety and health implementation strategies and objectives. With this in mind then the management is accountable to all its employees in regard to health and safety. Engineering control also affects safety issues at the workplace; regular fixing of the engineering systems in an organization reduces the incidences of accidents and injuries at the workplaces. This fixing of the engineering systems helps improve the hazardous conditions and equipments that help eliminate the potential causes of accidents. This paper concurs with the critics of behavior based safety, the critics of the BBS state that the employees are not always responsible for the accidents and injuries as the advocates put it. Injuries and accidents in the workplaces mainly rise from the unsafe conditions with bad designs, the failure of the organizations to provide the safeguards required and the failure of the organizations to take the best preventive measures. This proves

Benjamin Franklins Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benjamin Franklins Autobiography - Essay Example He attended school for only 2 years despite his passion for reading. When he was 12 years old, he joined his brother James to become an  apprentice  at the print shop. He wrote his first  newspaper  in Boston when he was 15 years. He wrote several letters and finally announced that he was the  writer  when the letters became a hit. He ran away to Philadelphia at 17 when his brother was  furious  about his writing (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 1). He was amongst the  naissance  fathers of the United States.  He was an  inventor, a representative, a scientist, a  principal  writer and above all, he was a theorist.  He loved doing experiments and this  was well shown  in the experiments he did regarding  power  and lightning after experimenting on kites in an event of a lightning storm.  He also published â€Å"Poor Richard’s Almanac’’ and the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1733 (Franklin 45). In the Continental legislature, Benjamin served as the Postmaster General before becoming a  famous  abolitionist and this illustrates his active participation in politics.  Some of the  scientific  inventions that he made include the lightning stick, swimfins, Franklin Stove after inventing the Pennsylvania Fireplace in 1743 and eyeglasses and these earned him much credit. He  was associated  with the renowned phrase like Almanac like  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœa  penny saved is a penny earned†.  Following Benjamin Franklins  death  April 17,1790, a year later, there was the publication of his autobiography and  was entitled  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Memories De La Vie Privee† in  paris, March 1791.  Later on there was a  translation  of the same in the English version named ‘’The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin†Ã‚  initially  written by him (Franklin 58). Benjamin Franklin was successful in his attempt to self  improvement  because he  put  so much effort in his work and  put  less time to  leisure  because he never valued leisure.  The major  declaration  to fame

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Finance - Essay Example Then it will be followed by a literature review of 5000 words to extend the direction of my topic either in theoretical, methodical, or analytical manner pertaining to the promotion of Islamic banking. I am going to write 5000 words in the research stage for primary and a secondary research of published studies and reports. The data collection will be followed by an analysis and discussion for 2500 words in which I am going to establish an understanding of the data and say what it means. The final stage of the plan is the concluding chapter (1000 words) in which I am going to answer all raised questions and draw all the details together into a whole. The last is the 500 words recommendation based on my analysis that includes the steps that should be done, needed resources, and feasibility of the proposal. Action Plan: 1. The principles of Islamic banking can be fully promoted among Muslims and non-Muslims by investing heavily on academic discipline, and research and development (R&D) . The Islamic Foundation in UK had established the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (MIHE) just like the Islamic Financial Services Programs (IFSPS) in Australia, and Islamic Finance Professional Certificate (IFPC) in Malaysia. 2. Encourage different countries to capitalise Islamic banking and finance by giving seminars, workshops, trainings, etc. to their people. In fact, international orientation and conferences has been positively accepted in all parts of the world such as Europe, U.S., Africa, and Asia. â€Å"The main aim of these programmes is to provide a central platform and communication channel for researchers, academicians, business leaders, and financial industry practitioners to meet and discuss critical issues and ideas relating to Islamic banking and finance† (Ahsan, n.d., p. 118). Banks That Will Be Going to Research: Banks that can be considered for research are those that offered Islamic financial services in Saudi such as Al Rajihi Banking & Investmen t Corp, Islamic Development Bank, and Saudi British Bank, and in UK such as the Islamic Bank of Britain, HSBC Amanah Bank, and Lloyd TSB. To prove that promoting Islamic banking in the banking sector is worthy then comparing these banks with some of the conventional banks in Saudi Arabia like The National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi American Bank and Saudi Investment Bank, and major UK-based banks like Standard Chartered, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group are helpful. Islamic banks are growing rapidly at a rate of 10-15 percent annually (FSA, 2006). Procedure: As education elevates financial literacy on Islamic banking and conventional banks, the plan needs considerable amount of capital for financial institutions might think twice of this trial and error means because of the ongoing recession. Profit is also uncertain brought by the reality that Islamic banks have incurred lucrative losses when they entered the real economy as they are more prone to risk. The challenges f or conventional and Islamic banks are the same as both of them are expected to implement new ways of improving their financial performance at a higher rate. However, they differ in principles considering that Islamic banks operate in accordance with Shariah which is to promote profit-and-loss in line with the

Wk10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wk10 - Essay Example This research essay is an accountof educational technology use -- internet, presentation, and podcast technology -- within this organization, assesses its efficacy, and considers its shortcomings, One of the most pervading uses of educational technology in my institution is the use of the internet. Every teacher has a computer connected to the internet in their classroom and is required to check their school email daily for administrative announcements and parent, staff, or student emails. A number of teachers have begun implementing the internet in regards to lectures as well. While the school internet connection excludes use of YouTube videos, by submitting a request to the administration it is possible to get temporary access to specific video links. These videos have been incorporated into the broad spectrum of lesson planning, from as diverse subjects as home-economics cooking videos, to the watching of sports techniques in the physical education courses. I have witnessed YouTube videos employed as means of demonstrating historical events – Nixon/Kennedy Presidential debates, State of the Union addresses – as well as in analysis of music videos, or advertis ements. Chris O’Neal (http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-youtube-teaching-video) demonstrates that one need only do a brief user search to discover countless health education field videos on nutrition, exercise, or disease, all of them replete with upbeat music and editing that is able to maintain students’ attention spans where out-dated VHS or DVD public service presentations are not able or are not willing. YouTube has even been used in professional development at the institution. At departmental meeting a group of teachers presented on more effective means of constructing ‘word walls’ – these are walls of relevant terminology that go up in all the classroom. They opened their presentation with an attention grabbing video, and then proceeded

Impact of Employee Retention Essay Example for Free

Impact of Employee Retention Essay Griffeth Hom (2001) have argued that employee turnover is assuming crisis proportions for many employers who struggle to retain people in the tightest labour market. Griffeth Hom (2001, Pg 1) 52% of companies report that their turnover is increasing and quit rates are running high of 1.1% a month.† Turnover can be a real problem in many organisations. Companies spend a great deal of time and money recruiting and training employees and the cost of replacing staff members lost through turnover are great. The monetary cost of replacing one employee is generally estimated to range from 50 percent to 200 percent of the annual salary for the position, and may even be higher in very specialized fields. Furthermore, poor employee retention can have a negative impact on workplace productivity, job satisfaction, and also on the overall morale of the organisation. It is proven that a high turnover percentage can cost employers a great deal of financial distress. Depending on the size of the company, to many employers it can make the difference in staying or going out of business. Phillips (2003,Pg 4) noted that, â€Å"of late employee retention has captured the attention of the business, financial, and executive community as a critically important strategic issue that can have a dramatic effect on productivity and profits.† Cascio, 2000 and Johnson,1995 cited in Griffeth Hom, Retaining Valued Employees (2001), are of the opinion that, human resources professionals and researchers project that the cost of one turnover incidence ranges from between 93% to 200% of a leavers salary, depending on his or her skill and level of job responsibility. Labour turnover has a negative impact on the organizations. Although every manager and team member is aware of problems associated with high turnover, a review of its foremost consequences puts employee retention in the appropriate perspective. Patricia (2002, pg 4, 5) noted that â€Å"employee turnover has a serious impact on organisations. Firstly high financial costs, which is both in terms of direct and indirect costs and the performance of companies has been inhibited in many ways by high turnover rates. Sometimes the costs alone causes turnover to become a critical strategic issue. Secondly, in terms of survival as an issue, where in a tight labour market in which the company depends on having employees with critical skills, recruiting and retaining the appropriate talent can determine the success or failure of the organisation. Thirdly in terms of productivity loses and workflow interruptions , where an employee who quits abruptly not only leaves a productivity gap but also causes problems for others on the same team and within the same flow of work. Fourthly in terms of loss of know-how especially with regards to knowledge industry, where a departing employee may have the critical knowledge and skills needed for working with specific software. This can be a negative impact at least in the short run. Fifthly, turnover can have a serious impact on the image of the organisations.† Patricia (2002) also noted that some of the other impacts of turnover on organisations may be with regards to loss of business opportunities, administrative problems, disruption of social and communication networks, and job satisfaction of remaining employees. Patricia (2002) noted that it is important to remember that turnover can have a negative impact on the individual, particularly if an employee is leaving because of problems that could have been prevented. Furthermore, Patricia (2002) noted that a voluntary turnover because of problems that could have been avoided creates a variety of consequences such as loss of employee benefits or job seniority, financial difficulties, loss of social network, relocation costs, wasted efforts and uncompleted projects, and even more in terms of career problems. Branham (2005) noted that employees quit because of the disengagement process and deliberation process. Branham (2005) also noted that there are 7 reasons as to why employees leave organisations. They are as follows: 1. The job or the workplace was not expected. 2. The mismatch between job and person. 3. Very little coaching and feedback. 4. Few growth and advancement opportunities. 5. Feeling devalued and unrecognised. 6. Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance. 7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders. There is no set level of employee turnover that determines at what point turnover starts to have a negative impact on an organisations performance. Everything depends on the type of labour markets in which you compete. Where it is relatively easy to find and train new employees quickly and at relatively little cost (that is where the labour market is loose), it is possible to sustain high quality levels of service provision despite having a high turnover rate. By contrast, where skills are relatively scarce, where recruitment is costly or where it takes several weeks to fill a vacancy, turnover is likely to be problematic for the organisation. This is especially true of situations in which you are losing staff to direct competitors or where customers have developed relationships with individual employees. Some employee turnover positively benefits organisations. This happens when a poor performer is replaced by a more productive employee, and can happen when a senior retirement allows the promotion or acquisition of welcome fresh blood. The more valuable the employees in question the more damaging the resignation, particularly when they move on to work for competitors. Moderate levels of staff turnover can also help to reduce staff costs in organisations where business levels are unpredictable month on month. When business is slack it is straightforward to hold off filling recently created vacancies for some weeks. Staw (1980 cited in Griffeth and Hom (2002), argues that turnover is not always bad. For instance, vacating employees or employees who quit can increase promotional opportunities for other employees or can infuse new ideas and technologies when new employees replace those who left. Dalton, Krackhardt and Porter (1981cited in Griffeth and Hom (2002), are of the opinion that certain kinds of jobs exits or quits among marginal perfor mers are even desirable. Abelson Bay singer (1994, cited in Griffeth and Hom (2002) that a certain quit rate might be tolerated as a cost of doing business in a particular industry. Stephen Taylor (2002, Pg 15) noted that for many HR specialists, rising staff turnover is seen as being an important organisational problem. It follows that improving retention rates should be high on the management agenda, and it is proper for resources to be devoted to achieving this aim. However a certain amount of turnover is actively welcomed by many managers. â€Å"Nonetheless, Griffeth Hom (2001) have noticed that organisational-level research and corporate studies report that high exit rates generally worsen organisational effectiveness. Though there are diverse opinions from various authors, and taking the above argument into consideration, it is clear that employees play a fundamental role in the success of any organisation and therefore by retaining talented or rather key employees is a very important task that the managers should undertake. Phillips Connell (2002) noted that, some organisations do a superb job of managing retention, whereas others fail miserably. The issues are not always externally driven but often lie within the organisation.

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay The world is considerably very small because of globalization. The virtual closeness of the countries has made the trade and commerce an international event. Global businesses make every community more closely around the world. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. In this case, the situation surrounding Unilever will be taken into consideration. The following annotations and propositions discussed in this discussion are supported by claims on journals, books and Unilever website. The modern technology is really helping those businesses where is using a Management Information System in the various level of managerial approach. The chosen company is Unilever to describe in this report how Unilever is benefitting using Management Information System in various level of the company. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Background of the company 4 Analyzing Mission Statement 4 PESTEL Analysis of Unilever 4 Political Factors 4 Economical Factors 5 Socio-Cultural Factors 5 Technological Factors 5 Environmental Factors 5 Legislative Factors 5 SWOT Analysis of Unilever 5 Strength 6 Weaknesses 6 Opportunities 6 Threats 7 Recommended Information Systems 7 Strategic Level 8 Management Level 9 Knowledge Level 9 9 Operational Level 9 Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever 10 Conclusion 11 References: 12 Background of the company Unilever is a Dutch-British multinational company which acquired many consumers product brands in foods, ice-creams, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever got two headquarter one in Rotterdam, Netherlands and other one in London, United Kingdom. The Unilever is a dual listed company which has same directors and runs effectively. The current non-executive chairman of Unilever is Michael Treschowand and Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive. The main Competitors for Unilever are Proctor Gamble, Nestle, DANONE, Reckitt Benckiser, Kraft Foods, S.C Johnson and sons and Henkel. Analyzing Mission Statement The mission statement of Unilever UK represents two dimensions of their company, one is how Unilever products attached to the people everyday life and the other part is what Unilever wants to do in the nearest future. Everyday around the world, more than 150 million people in over 150 countries using Unilever products because people know they can help themselves feel good look good and can get more out of life, a few examples, Flora helps keep hearts healthy, a cup of PG Tips refreshes, Magnum gives an indulging treat, Persil to clean familys clothes, Domestos keeps germs free, Sure helps unbeatable protection and hair wash with Sunsilk helps looks great also gives confidence to take on life. The company is committed to provide a healthy lifestyle, variety, taste, quality products, enjoyment supporting increasingly precious commodity. The company is also committed to the vitality of the environment and the communities. The Unilever doing business in a responsible way has a positive b enefit also working in partnership with governments, international agencies (such as, UNICEF) and nongovernmental organizations (such as, WWF) to make a difference. PESTEL Analysis of Unilever Political Factors Unilever operating their businesses in globalise environment around the world. Unilever now operates their business over 150 countries around the globe. The performance of Unilever is highly influenced by legislative and political conditions of individual serving countries. If consider the employment legislations, the rules is different for every countries there need to be followed a rules for providing a mix job opportunity including flexible, lower paid locally based jobs, higher paid centrally located jobs etc. Also there has to be meet a demand from vast population categories like students, working parents and senior citizen, disabled people. Economical Factors Unilever is concern about economic factors because this is related with demand, costs, prices and profits. There is another most influential factors of economy is high unemployment which is directly related with the demand of many products and adversely affected on that may products. Those kinds of economic factors can not be controlled by the Unilever Socio-Cultural Factors The consumers demand the type of goods and services on the basis of consumers social condition, consequent attitude and beliefs. Now a day, the consumers are more aware of health related matters and the attitudes towards products are constantly changing. Technological Factors Technology is a macro-environmental variable which help the development of the Unilever products. The new technologies are beneficial for both companies and the customers; customer satisfaction rises because products are readily available. Unilever uses latest technologies for example wireless devices, intelligent scale, radio frequency identification etc. The use of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Fund Transfer systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities etc. (Finch 2004) Environmental Factors There are some issues threatening the producers and retailers have been environmental factors. In 2003, there was an increased pressure on many companies and managers to acknowledge their responsibilities to the society and act in a way which can help society (Lindgreen Hingley 2003). Unilever corporate social responsibility has to be concerned in this way where any organization exceeds minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through the regulation. (Johnson Scholes 2003) Legislative Factors There is the law of land and policies have a direct impact on the performance of Unilever. There is an enforceable Code of Practices have to be followed to set up banning many of current practices, for example, the payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices . (Mintel Report, 2004) The powerful competitors established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and a strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector such controls on license requirements and limits on access to raw materials. (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). SWOT Analysis of Unilever Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weaknesses and protect against internal vulnerabilities and external threats. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis helps businesses to understand overall business environment and exploit new opportunities more faster than any other competitors. Strength The market Share is increasing day by day because of playing a great profitable contribution the world economy. High reputations for quality products are a key strength. Unilever got excellent product safety in health, beauty and foods. Unilever is a global business which do business more than 150 countries around the world. There is a high performance of distribution where the suppliers are located around the UK. Competitive pricing is also a key strength in Unilever. Unilever uses latest technology which helps the company to introduce consumers good products. Unilever got experienced and qualified research and development team for product development. Weaknesses Brand image some time affect the common customer. High pricing for various products causes low earning customer to buy another companys less price products. Customer Relationship Management must be a qualified team as there have no retail shop company business always depends on sole distributors. Lack of market research in Unilever reduces total sales figure in a financial year. They do not have retail and online shop, it some time causes high pricing of products in the distributors retail shop. Depends on the distributors where some time does not take proper initiative to increase the sales. Opportunities Increasing market share comparable to the competitors is really a good opportunity which can help company to increase the growth rate. Unilever can open retail shop which will help to approach direct consumer. Increasing brand value by providing good quality of products. Unilever can acquire more companys brands and services which can be a key step to increase the value in the market. Greater promotion of some products can get more customers to use their products. Threats All successful businesses attract competition so the competitors would be a threat. International competitors may also intrude as Unilever expands. Every products can not be marketed every countries because of different race of people around the world. Natural disaster could damage many area of the business, for example, earthquake in Haiti and Chile. Recession causes loss of jobs where people less use of branded products, for example recent recession in USA, UK and Europe caused a vast impact in world economy. Recommended Information Systems The following cross-functional system concepts and how they can provide significant business value to Unilever will be discussed in this document: The operational level is for taking day to day decision. Transaction Processing System can help to take operation level decision like supermarket, Biometric device etc. The knowledge level of decision is takes for research, design and procurement. Knowledge Work System can help to take knowledge level decision. The tactical or managerial control level decision takes for 1 to 3 years, it is for resource allocation. Management Information System or Decision Support System can help to take the managerial level decision. The strategic level decision takes for 3 to 10 years, it is for long term. Executive Information System can help to take the strategic level decision. Figure 1 Strategic Level Complex Mathematical Model: Unilever can use a Complex Mathematical Model for monitoring operations, costs, revenues, market shares, share prices etc. Unilever is categorized as fast moving consumer goods, quick acquisition, processing of market information. The information of market is usually collect from research companies, historical data and individual analysis. Enterprise Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence Solution: In order to gain a clear view of business performance across Unilevers companies in around the world. Unilever Information Program: When transformation is taking place in the organisation, information systems are inevitably involved. Currently Unilever is reshaping operational responsibilities for greater clarity between what is better done by the local company, at regional level or global organisations. The Unilever Information Program (UIP) is to develop an infrastructure to support the Path to Growth strategy, with the key priority of finding a quick data integration solution to allow user access to any number of data sources for in-depth analysis. Management Level Supply Management Information System: Unilever can integrated a supply management information system which will helps local, regional and global supply managers make appropriate sourcing of decisions, allowing them to collate and analyze informations more quickly and easily. The system enables managers to negotiate with suppliers in a transparent and efficient way where benefiting both parties. Knowledge Level Procurement System: The procurement is inevitability for future supply chain optimisation the supply market, particularly in Europe is still suffering from under-development. The Procurement System can help total supply chain operation rather than just transactional activity. The Procurement System provides a catalyst for positive improvement in supply management profiles. Supply-Chain Management Systems: The using of a variety information system and several other supply chain management technologies, Unilever can enhance the usability of the supply chain. Research Development System: Used for formula development Operational Level Specifications System: Specification System will help in packaging, formula, raw material, finished products and process specification. Manufacturing Planning System: Manufacturing Planning System can help in production orders, purchase orders, standard costs, inventory, financial transactions, and production reporting. Planning System: Planning system can help in Demand Planning (DP), Demand Requirement Planning (DRP), Constrained Product Planning (CPP), Finite Scheduling. Order and Cash System: Order and Cash system can help in order entry management, terms of sale, deduction tracking, stock allocation and invoicing. Finished Goods Management System: Finished good management system can be used for shipping, warehouse, transportation, production and traceability. Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever A new technology introduces some new ethical dilemmas. Computer technology is used for gathering, storing, manipulating data and spread the processed data which is information. Information system uses local and global networks, databases, programs for processing information. Information is a key to prosperity and it is a source of power also. This is very important to think about ethical considerations, how information will be used in an information system because there is social and political issues involved. There are severe social problems exist today because government and business organisations have failed to uphold the highest ethics standard in Management Information System use. These problems exist in such forms as invasion of privacy and software piracy. The most widely publicized classification of human rights in the computer area is Richard O. Masons PAPA. The letters in PAPA stand for Privacy, Accuracy, Property and Accessibility. (McLeod and Schell, 2001) Privacy: The right of privacy is threatened by two forces. One is increasing ability is of the computer to be used for surveillance and other one is the increasing value of information in decision making. Decision maker sometime invade someones privacy to get the information. Unilever need to do market research in need to know what type of products customers really need or what they use. There is a ethical issue concerned because of Data Protection Act, UK 1998. Accuracy: The Management Information System is given credit for making possible a level of accuracy and which is not unachievable in manual system. Most of the time errors cost much greater. Property: There is some intellectual property like computer programs. The software or the systems Unilever using are they copyrighted, agreed to use from the vendors. Access: There are some information is available to the general public in the form of printed documents or microform of images stored in libraries which includes news stories, results of scientific experiments, government statistics and so on. Access right is required to access some other databases to get information. A right to access is a Modern-day ethical issue. Conclusion Finally it can be said that Unilever can make their market position stronger than before by using different information system at different level. But Unilever must have enough consideration in various sectors to use Management Information System.