Final Marketing Plan Presentation Essay

The Allstate Corporation is the largest publicly held personal lines property and casualty insurer in America. Allstate provides insurance products to approximately 16 million households. Allstate was founded in 1931 and became a publicly traded company in 1993. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ALL and widely known through the â€Å"You’re In Good Hands With Allstate ®Ã¢â‚¬  slogan. (Suite 101, 2013). Being such a large provider of consumer protection takes hard work and dedication from every individual in the company to provide consumers with the highest level of customer service. While Allstate was trying unsuccessfully to diversify, rivals were revolutionizing the auto insurance business, which Allstate still counts on for most of its sales. Auto premiums generated 55% of its $31.4 billion in revenue last year.Geico and Progressive Corp. found a new formula for growth in the relatively mature business. They crafted a lower-cost model combining direct sales over the Internet and telephone with heavy television advertising. Offering lower prices and more convenience, they grew rapidly at the expense of Allstate and other insurers that sell mostly through agents.Allstate’s second-place share of the auto insurance market fell to 10.4% from 11.3% over the past five years, while Chevy Chase, Md.-based Geico jumped two points to 8.7% and Progressive climbed to 7.9 %( Suite 101, 2013). State Farm Insurance the largest car and home insurer in the U.S. and a mutual company owned by its policyholders consistently rated better for claims handling and service than Allstate. The claims department of Allstate has some of the most critical interaction with the consumers because it is during a time of need. Consumers contact the claims department when they have suffered a loss to establish a claim. The claims adjuster has the responsibility of obtaining claim pertinent information from the consumer to effectively evaluate the loss. At Allstate Insurance claims departments are separated according to customer needs. Large claims offices known as Market Claim Offices, MCO, are strategically located to provide adequate coverage across the nation. A Market Claim Office presides over a few states or an individual state depending on claim volume and consumer coverage. Allstate has specialized offices that handle claims for the entire nation but only if they meet certain criteria. The Hudson Express Office out of Hudson, Ohio is an office with a focus on handling claims with a reduced cycle time or the  time from claim submission to claim settlement. A starting to examine the external factors impacting customer expectations, which may or may not be off-kilter with necessary protocols and the terms of coverage insurance in general, is the media’s unflattering portrayal of the i ndustry; especially in light of post Katrina claim controversies and litigation. Aside from merely being a nuisance, the media also contribute to customer apprehension, which invariably affects the entire claim experience, starting with the initial exchange. Customer leeriness combated, comfort level enhanced easily by treating the customer and the claim with care and speed. To meet this reduced cycle time the Hudson Express Office only handles smaller claims with a total loss under $10,000. Everything within the Hudson Express Office is completely in house with no need for outside adjusters. A challenge area that arises because there are no outside adjusters is to efficiently write an estimate for structure damages and example of this comes from a customer’s review: (Five Weeks and Still Waiting, Jan 18 2013)†. I was broadsided by a driver who didn’t stop at a stop sign at a 4 way intersection. My car was left un-drivable. She didn’t have her insurance card with her. After a lot of investigating I found out who her insurance company was and called them myself. They told me an adjuster would be out to look at my car. No one showed up. I have called every day since. I have been told that as soon as they receive the police report and accept liability, they will put me in a rental car. It has been almost 5 weeks!† Description of the new product of service Allstate aims to compete more effectively with Geico and Progressive on their turf. After a successful four state pilot of the new Claim Satisfaction Guarantee for auto insurance across the country. Will Shorten claim cycle time ultimately results in higher customer satisfaction because the consumer can resume life as usual sooner rather than later. Allstate Insurance has implemented a new web-based customer service center to in able consumers to provide claim pertinent information via their computer through the use of the customer website. Consumers are able to enter file notes into the claim as well as submit a list of stolen or damaged items through the customer website that can be instantly attached to the claim. An opportunity area for decreased cycle time is with regard to property estimates. An in house  estimating system is utilized by inside adjusters to create a preliminary damage estimate. For smaller less complicated damage areas a web based estimating system would allow consumers to generate their own estimates. A simple web page can include multiple selections for damage areas including fences, doors, and windows. Once a damage area has been selected, multiple choice questions would allow consumers to describe the damaged area as well as the style and material the damaged area. If a consumer does not know the material or style, a default or average style and material would allow an initial estimate to be completed. Once the consumer receives an estimate or invoice from a contractor to complete the work, the claims department can review it for validity and issue any supplemental damages incurred. On simple claims, a consumer could file and settle a claim online without waiting for a call from a claims department representative significantly decreasing claim cycle time. SWOT Analysis The idea of developing a page on an insurance claim and being able to submit your complaint and receiving an instant response sounds great; Allstate needs to ensure that claims are being handled in a way in which will not create the webpage to become overloaded, it has to be user friendly and appropriate for any age group .Other considerations include the cost effectives of this type of service and how it will benefit the consumer and profitably for the brand.New automation also lists the opportunity in cost saving measures such as employee down sizing. Other key item to consider when marketing this type of service can be Advertisement on social media, newspapers,word of mouth, Blogs etc†¦ which are all great ways of promoting the new product and it also provides an opportunity to identify other forms of the same productoffered by the competitor. Target market including geographic Target market is middle market emerging affluent and mass affluent consumers with retirement and family financial protection needs. Priority status at the network repair shops and with our Service Centers. saving time and effort by having Allstate manage the entire repair process. Using the online system with real time updates to electronically monitor your vehicle at the repair shop. Progression updates are given on repairs so you can  spend time doing other things. working to minimize the repair time, which means a quicker reunion with your car. Quality factors including the quality of repairs, Guaranteeing repairs for as long as you own or lease the vehicle is one market point. If a policyholder has a burning question about a claim at 2 a.m., they are able log in to the online service site at any time to check the status of the claim. Porter’s five competitive forces model Allstate’s Consumer Segmentation Strategy When purchasing insurance or any other product or service, consumers have more choices than ever before and they know it. But decision making power is not in the customer’s hands alone. A company can build tremendous customer loyalty over time by making it a top priority to understand and meet its customers’ needs. As a result, Allstate will continue to refine its product offerings, marketing outreach and customer service based on careful research. Allstate serves four different consumer segments with distinct interaction preferences (advice and assistance versus self-directed) and brand preferences (brand-neutral versus brand-sensitive). Marketing research is an approach conducted to evaluate particular strategies.As well as the tactics used toward the web-based estimating system. The marketing research will help to connect with the consumers to analyze what is needed to research opportunities and evaluate marketing actions. This will also help to prevent uncertainties for the new service provided. The market research will allow the chance to determine how well the system is working. The competitive intelligence will help to identify what competitors are doing and how Allstate can differentiate service to gain customer loyalty. Marketing research will aid in developing a strategy that will increase the satisfaction of our new product of service. Allstate is working to provide quality service and conveniences. Therefore, the quantitative research will touch base on many incentives needed to process the claims. Other approaches will involve the act of identifying any other areas of concern. In which could relate to technical issues and a collection of data needed to estimate totals. The marketing research approach described will enhance the quality and promotion for Allstate’s new web-based system. The overall marketing plan should ensure the quality of each area of the  product and should provide the opportunity for clients to get on the site with hassle free problems and get the service that each individual needs. The mission should be to provide the best customer services and to ensure that the client gets what is needed in the end. Positioning statement Our Shared Vision provides the â€Å"why, how and what† behind everything we do at Allstate. It provides the road map for our continued success. Through this vision, we will truly put the customer at the center of everything we do (Allstate, 2013). We will become an even more valuable company to our customers, associates, investors, our communities and society a company with strong earnings potential and financial performance that sets the benchmark for our industry. We are the Good Hands: We help customers realize their hopes and dreams by providing the best products and services to protect them from life’s uncertainties and prepare them for the future. Deliver substantially more value than the competition by reinventing protection and retirement to improve customers’ lives. Put the customer at the center of all our actions. Utilize consumer insights, data and technology to serve customers and generate growth and attractive economic returns. Take an enterprise view of our people and processes and work as a single team to advance Allstate rather than our individual interests. Strategy and Position Description An automated online estimating system needs to be easy to understand and easy to use. The first element to the estimating tool is it needs to be easy to understand as well as aesthetically pleasing. When a customer logs on to his or her internet profile the option to choose an action needs to include selecting an existing claim on the insurance policy. Once the claim has been chosen, there will be a selection for estimating system. When the estimating system is chosen, the customer will be prompted regarding the damages he or she has sustained. For example, a customer was a victim of a recent theft loss where the front door was kicked in. The customer will select the damage option for entry door which will lead to a chain of questions regarding the  door. Options for the door will include material in which the door is made such as wood, metal, or fiberglass and whether or not the door is painted. Next, the customer will indicate the size of the door, if the customer does not know how to measure a door there will be a help icon that will advise the proper ways to measure a door. Style is another important factor in the cost of entry doors, options such as flush, panel, French, or security are the most common doors available. The next area of focus will include the damage sustained, whether the door, frame, or both are damaged will determine the proper repairs. The last area of concern for an initial estimate is whether the hardware is damaged and what type of hardware the customer currently has. When all of the information has been entered the estimating system will automatically construct an estimate for the removal and replacement of damaged property as well as the disposal of any debris. When the estimate is finished a disclaimer will be needed to inform the customer that the estimate is only a preliminary estimate and if any discrepancies arise when a contractor has seen the damage to inform the claims department for a review of the estimate. Since claims are being filed online, the movement on this is a little quicker. First of all, it reaches the company faster. The need to have the customer come in and get the information then in-putting it into the computer and have it looked at by the investigating agent, then processed, prepared for payment (if need be). Instead, you are cutting out the getting information process, and the inputting it into the computer by the agent. Instead you call or go online and put the information yourself and then let it get processed and then get paid. The affect it has on the movement is that it gets through quicker, you get faster response time from the company, and you get as accurate information as possible. The life cycle in a sense lasts shorter. Instead of taking a few weeks (possibly), it could take up to a week or less. So the life cycle in this case is a shorter one, which is good much better for the company overall. The only downside to this is that even though you get pretty accurate information, you then need to process it into insurance terminology so to speak, in which case you have an agent process the information. It’s also a good thing, because the agent is proof reading it so to speak to make sure that the information posted or given is  correct, and is process correctly, and is given to the proper division within the company. It’s sort of a backup plan and a much needed help for the customer who really has little to no knowledge on how insurance claims work. So overall, it is a faster and easier process which is set up to help the customer, and speed up the process to get claims paid quicker. Over time, while it does become easier, eventually other companies will begin to do this as well, and people will switch to whoever is cheaper. Service Packaging Packaging is not needed for our products or services. Instead we are offering our customers an easier way to file insurance claims. Normally a client would have to call in to the hot line number in order to file a claim. Once the operator answers then the client is expected to listen to numerous options and select which one applies to their personal needs at that moment. This process can be time consuming and aggravating depending on how many clients the customer service representatives the operators are assisting. The next step would be to explain the situation to the operator and wait for them to file the claim for the person. The on line website will be a fast working, easy to navigate website. There is nothing more aggravating then trying to complete information on a website that is slow and takes a long time to accept information. With technological advances, being able to file on line may be more convenient for those who do not have time to call the hot line and file claims. Clients will be able to access the website from laptops, cell phones, iPad, or any other media devices that allow access to the internet. Add value because it will be less time consuming for customers, if a follow-up is needed then the information may be easier to retrieve due to the pre-online registration. With every question there will be a detailed explanation of what information is required for that particular question. The question and additional information will be explained thoroughly to customers without them having to wait on hold in the phone for long periods of time just to speak with a live operator. This will add value to the customers in three ways. The online website will save time. Allow customers to have a more hands-on experience with the editing of claim information. Product Life Cycle Over the lifecycle of a product, a company’s differentiation and positioning strategy would need to change as the market, competitors, and product change. â€Å"When we say that a product has a life cycle we assert four things; Products have a limited life, Product sales pass through district stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities and problems to the seller, Profits rise and fall at different stages of the product lifecycle, and Products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life cycle stages† (Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC), 2014, p. 1). â€Å"Product life cycle (PLC) deals with the life of the product in the market with respect to business or commercial cost and sales measures† (Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC), 2014, p. 1). There are â€Å"five stages of each product lifecycle: product development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline† (Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC), 2014, p. 1). During the introduction stage, Allstate will be launched into the market. Sales grow slowly in this time, and informative advertising is done (Dinesh Bakshi, n.d.). Many firms do not earn profits in this stage. There wouldn’t be much price skimming because our product is not a new invention and does have competitors. Due to the amount of competitors in the insurance market, competitive pricing is used. Sales rapidly grow during the growth stage, so we use persuasive advertising to gain customers. Competition is stiff at times prices may be reduced to stay a top competitor. Even though competition may be stiff, firms start to earn more profits in this stage. Our sales increase slowly and the highest figures are reached during the maturity stage of the product cycle. Since competition is at its max level, it would be in Allstate’s best interest to implement promotional pricing. Our profits are also at their highest level. We use competitive advertising to attract and retain our customers (Market Force, 2005-2014). Next we enter the decline stage where sales and profits decrease. During this stage, we must determine if the decline is temporary or permanent by conducting marketing research. Production may be stopped if the decline is considered to be permanent. If the decline is temporary, extension strategies are  implemented. The extension stage comes into play to come back from the decline. Original products may be reintroduced in other variations by changing the design, starting a new advertising campaign, and more (Dinesh Bakshi, n.d.). Pricing The price strategy of the web based system. The primary goal is to assure that this meets the needs of our loyal customers and anticipated customers. Moreover the pricing of our new web based system is an essential part of the marketing piece. Indeed this product of service can be very successful through proper indications of the pros and cons. Other price strategies could relate to what new services are provided by our competitor’s. However, researching the value, quality and conveniences of the product of service is essential. Pricing strategies with our new service can work to help gain satisfaction from the customers. Consequently, if the market research is not implemented correctly; this can work against the organizations overall plan. Contingency plans will also help the guide the new product in the process of service. Most of all pricing factors outline important steps of the web based system. In which will differentiate us from other insurance organizations such as Sta te farm. Furthermore one of all states insurance pricing strategies would involve a small fee. This fee will be deducted from the insurance holders policy every month or every six monthly. The web based system will be done as a package deal. Therefore customers will have the option to participate or not. The new product of service will also be explained to every customer .As well as step by step instructions to give a better understanding of how to use the system. Ultimately the use of the system operates to have claims estimates completed in a timely manner. Customers immediately have an opportunity of seeing the breakdown of damages and cost online. Overall the web based systems pricing is a concern that customer will have a choice to speed the process of with their claim .Although there are some people who may prefer to wait to speak with a claims adjuster. Most of all the new product of service will eliminate many problems with the process of claims. Customers will have an opportunity to view their own claims, and get a compete estimate without waiting for a call back from a claims adjuster. Although  this is a preliminary estimate of the claim, this is a positioning factor that gives Allstate’s customers satisfaction. Pricing figures are major factors towards marketing as well as the competitors. Promotional Strategy Allstate has several online competitors (Progressive, eSurance and Geico) that equate themselves as easy and fast. One of Progressives main thing is â€Å"price match†, which allows consumers to compare rates without providing too much personal information. Many people are reluctant to participate in many online services such as this because they think they will bombarded with spam and other marketing tactics. Generally, customer just a roundabout amount of what they would have to pay for car insurance based on their specific coverage needs. Allstate has identified this problem and created an innovative solution. First and foremost, Allstate designed a new way for customers to shop for quotes and have them delivered. According to â€Å"Marketing Edge† (2014), quotes would be delivered â€Å"anonymously (no personal information required), fast and easy, helpful (accurate), contemporary, and intuitive† (para. 4). Allstate needed to spread the word on this innovation, and the best way was to implement a campaign. This campaign included banner ads online and other tools designed to focus on online shoppers. Allstate needed to market themselves differently than their competition in order to stand out, excite consumers, and provoke attention. According to â€Å"Marketing Edge† (2014), â€Å"The new anonymous quote tool was the centerpiece of the program. Once it went live on the www.allstate.com site, DRTV, paid search, and online advertising campaigns were implemented in order to drive traffic to it. The DRTV campaign used a unique URL, â€Å"getallstate.com† for tracking purposes. Online banner ads linked directly to the site so visitors could be tracked through initiation and completion of a quote. The Program Objective: Develop and market a category-unique online shopping/quoting tool and introduce it to consumers in a way that cost-effectively invites greater shopping/quoting in the direct channel† (para. 7). This creative strategy had continued to allow online shoppers the freedom  and convenience to stay anonymous. Customers do not even have to provide their name to receive a quote (estimate). There is no application to feel out and no surveys to take. All of the other necessary information is gather by simply inputting your zip code. There are helpful tools strategically placed to assist customers, and the web site design is contemporary but not too flashy. According to â€Å"Marketing Edge† (2014), Based on their information, shoppers are presented with an array of estimates in a matrix that allows them to compare different features and levels of coverage that meet their unique needs. And it provides a price for each option. The tool demonstrates throughout the ease with which consumers can obtain the customized price and coverage information they want† (para. 10). Professional Selling Effort In order to market the new automated system for making claims, Allstate needs to express to the customers exactly how beneficial it will be to them. The best approach would be to build the value to the customer. They would have to show the customer exactly how it would benefit them to manage their claims online rather than deal with a claims adjuster right from the get go. Several people will find it convenient to be able to fill out the accident forms right from their mobile device, like their smart phone or tablet, while others will not be so prone to using technology as they are not technologically advanced. We will show the customers not to be afraid of the new systems, and that they are a benefit, not a burden. Initial Budget The budget is a financial plan for Allstate that quantifies the resource allocation plan for the years to come. To start, Allstate would have to create a specific amount, generated from how many people are going to be monitoring the online claims, and how many hours those individuals are going to be putting in. A sum of $208,000 will needed for ten individuals needed for the new system, all set at 40 hours per week and being paid $10 per hour. Allstate will have to create a budget for the person or company putting together the mainframe for putting together the portal for online claims, and setting up the website. Allstate will have to keep in mind that it is going to be a process to put this together and a lot of storage is going to be needed for their clientele. Generally, websites and web design  are going to cost Allstate anywhere from $1,000 t $2,500. Allstate will create jobs for this new system, and they will have to advertise or promote within in order to fill those jobs, b ut this will be very minimal cost to Allstate. The company expects to have a gross profit in the first year of $250,000-$500,000 due to the amount of claims that are not going to need claims adjuster to visit sites to assess the damage personally. The targeted output rate is 1,000,000, and with the average of 86% of all applicants that start the claim online actually finish it, that leaves 860,000 people that use the online claims and pricing. Allstate does not expect any losses with the new market plan. Success Plan Measurement There are several ways to measure the success of Allstate’s marketing plan. For Allstate to accurately measure their success plan they must â€Å"start with the end in mind† (Dyke, 2014). One of the first things to do is ask why the project began and what the goals are. Companies cannot lose sight of why they started something. Once that drive is lost the campaign goes under and the company is next. Numbers do not lie, so if the marketing plan is working it will show in revenue. Dyke (2014), â€Å"Measure success on your marketing program’s ability to meet the needs or desired outcomes of an objective. Remember your business planning here – start with setting your goals, list objectives that meet these goals and then identify tactics that will achieve your objectives. The best objectives are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and tangible)† (para. 13). To start tracking progress and success, Allstate must determine who their audience is. having a newsletter can be the turning point for a business. You can see which articles have the most readers and track statistics. Dyke 2014, † Begin to gather intelligence around the reader’s interest in the topic, taking the newsletter from a passive strategy to an interactive strategy, and one that can be measured. At the bottom of each online article, give readers several options. They can comment or ask questions, request that a lawyer call them, request a white paper or a helpful form or  checklist you’ve developed, or they can register for topical events. Remember, your responsiveness to requests is critical in developing relationships† (para. 20). Next, reducing that amount spent on proposals and pitches will help to increase rates in other areas. get to know clients rather than just what they think they want. Allstate must stay one step ahead of the competition to succeed. Many say the â€Å"perception is reality†, so it is imperative to know exactly what Allstate’s clients think about them. This can be done by implementing satisfaction surveys for the clients to ensure all their needs are met. All threats or problems acknowledged or revealed by the client must be handled swiftly. Allstate must â€Å"market for the sake of revenue, not for the sake of marketing – and take the momentum of your success and apply throughout all your marketing initiatives† (Media coverage: grabbing the bull horn). Ethical Issues Reference Dinesh Bakshi. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dineshbakshi.com/igcse-business-studies/marketing/revision-notes/814-product-life-cycle Dyke, S.V. (2014). CBA Practice Link. Retrieved from http://www.cba.org/cba/practicelink/mt/measureefforts.aspx http://www allstate.com/claims/report- Insure Me. (1993-2014). Retrieved from http://www.insureme.com/insurance-agent/marketing-tips Market Force. (2005-2014). Retrieved from http://uk.marketforce.com/price-checking/ Marketing Edge. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.marketingedge.org/marketing-programs/collegiate-echo/challenge-history/dma-international-echo-showcase/winner-allstate Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. (2009). Basic Marketing. A marketing Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC) . (2014, Summer). Textile Learner, (1), 1. Retrieved from http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2013/12/product-life-cycle-stages-and.html Strategy Planning Approach. (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Company

Craig Lockhart Essay

Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the First World War; in 1917 he was admitted to Craig Lockhart hospital with shell shock. He had previously written poems pre 1917 but whilst in the hospital he met Siegfried Sassoon; Sassoon had a huge influence on the way Owen wrote his poems. Owen’s main message in his poems was ‘to warn’ the public about war, as well as dis-agree with other writers such as Jessie Pope and Rupert Brooke who presented war as noble; Owen was completely against this idea of war, especially the message these other writers tried to convey. In Owen’s poem ‘Exposure’ the readers’ expectation is reversed; we expect the poem to be about exposure to enemy fire but what the men in the poem are really exposed to is the weather; this weather will eventually kill them as they die from hypothermia. In the poem the men are suffering from psychological trauma; ‘projecting’ their own madness onto nature. The reader starts to sense Owen’s own questioning of his religion, Christianity, as he can no longer believe there is an after life and presents his theme of the futility of war. The opening of ‘Exposure’ establishes the theme of psychological trauma, which is a reversal of the reader’s expectation because we expect the men to be ‘exposed’ to enemy fire; this is the first thought the reader had when thinking about ‘Exposure’. The opening line of the poem is ‘Our brains ache’, which signals to the reader a new idea and a reversal of the original expectation we have and we sense the men are ‘worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous’. The word ‘Our’ shows that collectively their ‘brains ache’ and suggests the idea of the universality of war and the fact that on both sides, the British and Germans, many men suffered from psychological trauma. Another idea could be that the men are constantly worried (paranoia) about being heard or coming under attack, hence their ‘brains ache’ with worry. Also, the use of sibilance throughout the opening creates an uneasy atmosphere and we can sense that the men themselves are uneasy; the sibilance creates a whispering sound; this constant paranoia surrounds the men that if they talk too loud they will die, which in turn creates psychological problems. This conveys the, perhaps uneasy, horror of war because what if affecting the men the most is not the constant ‘Exposure’ to enemy fire but the constant fear that they are going to be shot at. ‘Spring Offensive’ confirms Owen’s sincere lack of faith in an ‘after life’ as he questions God’s existence throughout the poem. He suggests that the hundreds, perhaps thousands of men are not going to heaven as some would like to believe but simply just dying. The consolatory myth that many once used to believe is forgotten on the front line, as the men can no longer believe in the existence of such entity. Owen suggests that there is no Christian ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’ but that man have created a hell on earth; there is constant dying and murder yet these men do not go anywhere. This highlights that perhaps this is the most poignant horror of war, the futility of war. In ‘Spring Offensive’ the theme of psychological trauma is again established in the opening stanza; the idea of the futility of war is also introduced. ‘Many there stood still to face the stark blank sky beyond the ridge’, shows that the men are perhaps afraid of going ‘over the top’ for the fear that if they die they will go nowhere, no heaven or hell. Owen’s own fading belief in religion and an afterlife is introduced. The men in the poem are scared about what they are going to face when the go over the ridge (trench), as they have problems with what they are going to have to do when they go over the top of the ‘ridge’; they do not like the idea of killing over people. The use of sibilance is used in the poem, as in ‘Exposure’, to effectively create a sense of unease. This is a contrast to those who ‘carelessly slept’ as they do not mind killing others in order to save themselves and at the end of ‘Spring Offensive’ we learn that these were the ones who, eventually, survived. This perhaps suggests that they themselves have no social conscience in that they are quite happy to kill human beings like themselves and perhaps have psychological problems of a different kind. The ‘stark blank sky’ could also, perhaps, be a link to astrology, with the idea from the past that the sky could show you what was in store for you in the future. A sunny day would suggest something good would happen to you and you would be fine, for example. However, the fact that they ‘face the stark blank sky’ could be because they have no future, this is the end of their lives and that their own future is stark, blank; there is no hope of them going to the Christian ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’, as Owen is trying to suggest that neither of these places exists, which strengthens the reader’s idea that Owen has a lack of belief in Christianity. The idea that the men are ‘stood still’ is also a link to ‘Exposure’; the men are passive in the war in that they cannot affect what is going on, which also presents the theme of the futility of war. In the opening of ‘Spring Offensive’ Owen successfully presents the themes of the futility of war and of psychological trauma and starts to establish his own belief that there is no such thing as ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’ in a subtle but effective manner. In ‘Exposure’ the men ‘project’ their own madness onto the wind and have a strong belief that nature, especially the wind, is against them; this comes from their psychological problems. Owen personifies the wind when he says ‘winds that knive us’ and the men start to think of the wind as ‘mad gusts’, as well as suggesting that the bullets being fired at the men are ‘less deadly than the air’.

An Evaluation of the Relevance and Utility of Lean Manufacturing Approach to the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Principles of Lean manufacturing in supply chain management Lean thinking is a concept that describes a production philosophy aiming for progressive elimination of waste whist safeguarding the critical value (Ende 2011). According to (Sople 2012: 113), the principles of Lean manufacturing are â€Å"customer value, value stream analysis, demand pull, continuous flow, and waste elimination.† The purpose of a Lean supply chain network is to bring the lowest cost in differential customer value, which can be met through collaborative priorities in demand, real-time information on markets, and logistics delivery efficiencies, to name a few. The concept of networks of supply chain partners suggests that the success of companies is through their constant origination from new networks of supply chain partners in order to meet certain objectives. As a general rule, these constantly developing networks can act in response to the dynamic characteristic of customer demand (Sople 2012). The manufacturing function must not be the only domain to whic h Lean principles must be applied. Rather, it must also be applied across organisations in the supply chain to decrease the wastes usually associated with supply chain operations. The full benefit of Lean manufacturing and supply chain management necessitates that the scope of Lean implementations must go beyond a single function and must be structured as a part of managing relationships with customers and suppliers (Lambert 2008). It may therefore be analysed that with the adoption of Lean techniques, the management is tasked to align corporate activities with Lean manufacturing in supply chain management across organisational functions. Lean thinking also allows the organisation to direct business relationships with customers and suppliers. Application of Lean Principles Lean thinking is apparently applicable to pharmaceutical development and manufacturing (Wigglesworth and Wood, 2012). Lambert (2008) states that whilst the various material flows as well as flows of goods and information are the focus of Lean supply chain operations, Lean application to the management of supply chains is further from the physical flows of inventory. It also takes account of the entirety of the business relationship amongst firms. When a firm applies Lean manufacturing concepts to its supply chain management, it begins to focus on value drivers; revenue development; asset efficiency, and reductions in cost, inventory, and working capital. All of these are apparently beneficial to an organisation. Applying Lean thinking to supply chain management is very likely since both of them share commonalities, such as long-term perspectives, value and customer creation; systems view; and structured business relationships;amongst others (Lambert 2008). These commonalities indicate how much Lean thinking and supply chain management lend to each other. Based on this, one can conclude that Lean approaches are aligned to supply chain management and that the two are generally not in contrast with each other. Potential advantages of Lean approach to managing quality and efficiency in the pharmaceutical industry One of the potential advantages of Lean approach in the pharmaceutical industry is the reduction of cost of goods in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. The implementation of Lean thinking can be carried out by developing workflows and infrastructures to reduce inventories (Ende 2011), which are in fact a target of quality and efficiency efforts within pharmaceutical companies. The concept of continuous manufacturing in pharmaceutical companies deals with the challenge of overproduction, which leads to surplus inventory and longer cycle teams. These are the focus of efficiency on which pharmaceutical companies must be engaged. Its significance is seen in the fact that excess inventory is considered the greatest waste because it brings upon itself certain costs related to the management, storage, and transport of inventories adding to the waste (Schneider 2010). Therefore, when Lean techniques are used, such wastes are reduced, if not totally eliminated within the pharmaceu tical firm. Novartis and H. Lundbeck case studies Novartis is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms (Abreau 2013). The upstream part of its supply chain indicates flow of information and full visibility. Novartis uses product-to-demand technique based on demand, whereby its daily variable demand stream is integrated to production (AMR Research 2006). Between its levels of supply chain are limited visibility and flow of information (Abreau 2013). Despite being ranked number 2 behind Pfizer in cost of goods sold in 2006, Novartis decided to take on Lean principles and become the â€Å"Toyota of pharmaceuticals.† Using Lean principles, the company is focused on reducing its cycle time to 70 per cent and reducing spending by 40 per cent, as well as pursuing continuous manufacturing with raw materials going in one end of the chain and finished products coming out the other (AMR Research 2007). Along with this is the reengineering of every process and role, leveraging information technology, and setting up process-oriented teams in the absence of first-line supervisors so that personnel would report directly to one team leader (Shanley 2004). Here, one can see the application of Lean techniques to Novartis’ supply chain, thereby helping the company to improve its internal processes and eliminate waste. Lundbeck, on the other hand, is an international pharmaceutical firm that began its Lean adoption in 2005. The company went through certain phases in its Lean adoption, such as building consensus in the management group and running a range of Lean events and building a culture around these events. In the first phase, Lundbeck implemented 40 Lean events assisted by external experts, followed by 70 to 80 Lean events each year, with all personnel in the supply chain being involved (Simpler Consulting 2010). Through its adoption of Lean principles in its supply chain, the company was able to cut costs by 25 per cent. Workflow analysis within the organisation is also aided by video cameras, which leads to further improvements. Part of its Lean techniques adoption is the use of large bags instead of small box packaging, which reduced production delays from four hours to only an hour (Miller 2012). Is Lean appropriate to the pharmaceutical supply chain? Yes, Lean techniques are appropriate to the pharmaceutical supply chain. Despite Lean thinking’s origination from Toyota manufacturing, its adoption is still suitable to the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, its applicability is seen in the number of pharmaceutical companies that continue to adopt Lean manufacturing techniques. Although many of these techniques cannot be taken on to the more complex pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, their adoption mirrors the pursuit of increased optimisation (Shanley 200). Boyer and Verma (2010) surmise that whilst the original focus of developing Lean thinking is the manufacture of automobiles, it can still be applied to other industries. This is because Lean approach is more than a set of techniques but is a mindset for all personnel and managers who are focused on waste elimination and reduction of variability in the entirety of the business process. The advantage of Lean’s adoption in the pharmaceutical industry is the ability of pharmaceutical companies to experience logical rhythm through the supply chain. With the Lean enterprise, adaptive supply chain is carried out, causing the whole organisation to possess real-time process visualisation (Hafeli 2006). Argument for agility in the pharmaceutical supply chain Pharmaceutical companies are inclined to be bureaucratic, which results in several wastes in internal processes. With the application of Lean principles, pharmaceutical companies are able to strengthen their relative agility (Radeka 2013). This would mean that despite the relative limitation of the application of Lean principles in the pharmaceutical supply chain as pointed by WCI Consulting Limited (2011), the result is still improved agility in the supply chain. Apparently, the need for agility in supply chain management is founded on decreasing product life cycles and demand patterns of increasingly volatile markets. Sweeney (2009) points out that Lean is not enough, that agility in supply chain is required because of emphasis on speed, with time being a major competitive weapon. This argument is reasonable given the rapidly changing market in which pharmaceutical companies operate. However, as emphasised above, Lean thinking is also applicable to the pharmaceutical industry. An argument arising about the adoption of Lean thinking in the pharmaceutical industry is the risk that goes with it. Such adoption is said to put the supply chain to increased vulnerability to disruptions and unpredictable events due to lack of slack on which to withdraw. With Lean techniques making the supply chain vulnerable, a question that may come up is whether this would mean Lean is not suitable at all. The answer is pharmaceutical companies can apply Lean techniques to cut costs and adopt agility in order to obtain supply chain resilience, as pointed out by WCI Consulting Limited (2011). Conclusion This paper provides a critical analysis of the relevance and utility of Lean techniques in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Lean thinking allows the elimination of wastes and cost reduction in pharmaceutical companies. Lean supply chain considers the entirety of the business relationship amongst firms. Reduced costs of goods and reduced inventories are the potential advantages of Lean approach in the pharmaceutical industry. Novartis and Lundbeck case studies provide an example where Lean techniques and supply chain management become integrated. Despite the effectiveness of agility in supply chain management, Lean cannot be set aside as a valuable tool. References Abreau, P. E. M. (2013) An ANP Model to Support Decision-Making in a Portuguese Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. Reterived on March 22, 2014 from http://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/10724/1/Abreu_2013.pdf AMR Research (2006) Supply Chain Saves the World. US: AMR Research, Inc. AMR Research (2007) Risk!: Navigating an Uncertain World. US: AMR Research Inc. Boyer, K. and Verma, R. (2010) Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century. First Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Ende, D. J. (2011) Chemical Engineering in the Pharmaceutical Industry: RD to Manufacturing. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Hafeli, R. (2006) Enabling Lean and Compliant Manufacturing at Novartis with SAP. Denver: SAP Adaptive Manufacturing Summit, September 28. Lambert, D. M. (2008) Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance. Sarasota, FL: Supply Chain Management Institute. Miller, G. (2012) Lean Earns Lundbeck Big Prize, Cost Cuts. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/lean-earns-lundbeck-big-prize-cost-cuts/2012-01-18 Radeka, K. (2013) The Mastery of Innovation: A Field Guide to Lean Product Development. NW: CRC Press. Schneider, O. (2010) Adding Enterprise Value: Mitigating Investment Decision Risks by Assessing the Economic Value of Supply Chain Initiatives. Zurich: vdf Hochshulverlag AG Shanley, A. (2004) Novartis Goes Lean. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.pharmamanufacturing.com/articles/2004/111/ Simpler Consulting (2010) Lean Management of the Pharmaceutical Sector Brings Increased Efficiency and Improved Quality While Increasing Profits. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.simpler.com/success-stories/Lundbeck_Case-Study.pdf Sople, V. V. (2012) Supply Chain Management: Text and Cases. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd. Sweeney, E. (2009) Lean, Agile and Resilient Pharmaceutical Supply Chains: Jargon or ActionIrish Pharmachem Buyers Guide (September), 38-39. WCI Consulting Limited (2011) Keeping the Supply Chain Agile. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.wcigroup.com/Nostrapharmus/Keeping%20the%20supply%20chain%20agile.pdf Wigglesworth, M. and Wood, T. (2012) Management of Chemical and Biological Samples for Screening Applications. Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag Co. An Evaluation of the Relevance and Utility of Lean Manufacturing Approach to the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Principles of Lean manufacturing in supply chain management Lean thinking is a concept that describes a production philosophy aiming for progressive elimination of waste whist safeguarding the critical value (Ende 2011). According to (Sople 2012: 113), the principles of Lean manufacturing are â€Å"customer value, value stream analysis, demand pull, continuous flow, and waste elimination.† The purpose of a Lean supply chain network is to bring the lowest cost in differential customer value, which can be met through collaborative priorities in demand, real-time information on markets, and logistics delivery efficiencies, to name a few. The concept of networks of supply chain partners suggests that the success of companies is through their constant origination from new networks of supply chain partners in order to meet certain objectives. As a general rule, these constantly developing networks can act in response to the dynamic characteristic of customer demand (Sople 2012). The manufacturing function must not be the only domain to whic h Lean principles must be applied. Rather, it must also be applied across organisations in the supply chain to decrease the wastes usually associated with supply chain operations. The full benefit of Lean manufacturing and supply chain management necessitates that the scope of Lean implementations must go beyond a single function and must be structured as a part of managing relationships with customers and suppliers (Lambert 2008). It may therefore be analysed that with the adoption of Lean techniques, the management is tasked to align corporate activities with Lean manufacturing in supply chain management across organisational functions. Lean thinking also allows the organisation to direct business relationships with customers and suppliers. Application of Lean Principles Lean thinking is apparently applicable to pharmaceutical development and manufacturing (Wigglesworth and Wood, 2012). Lambert (2008) states that whilst the various material flows as well as flows of goods and information are the focus of Lean supply chain operations, Lean application to the management of supply chains is further from the physical flows of inventory. It also takes account of the entirety of the business relationship amongst firms. When a firm applies Lean manufacturing concepts to its supply chain management, it begins to focus on value drivers; revenue development; asset efficiency, and reductions in cost, inventory, and working capital. All of these are apparently beneficial to an organisation. Applying Lean thinking to supply chain management is very likely since both of them share commonalities, such as long-term perspectives, value and customer creation; systems view; and structured business relationships;amongst others (Lambert 2008). These commonalities indicate how much Lean thinking and supply chain management lend to each other. Based on this, one can conclude that Lean approaches are aligned to supply chain management and that the two are generally not in contrast with each other. Potential advantages of Lean approach to managing quality and efficiency in the pharmaceutical industry One of the potential advantages of Lean approach in the pharmaceutical industry is the reduction of cost of goods in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. The implementation of Lean thinking can be carried out by developing workflows and infrastructures to reduce inventories (Ende 2011), which are in fact a target of quality and efficiency efforts within pharmaceutical companies. The concept of continuous manufacturing in pharmaceutical companies deals with the challenge of overproduction, which leads to surplus inventory and longer cycle teams. These are the focus of efficiency on which pharmaceutical companies must be engaged. Its significance is seen in the fact that excess inventory is considered the greatest waste because it brings upon itself certain costs related to the management, storage, and transport of inventories adding to the waste (Schneider 2010). Therefore, when Lean techniques are used, such wastes are reduced, if not totally eliminated within the pharmaceu tical firm. Novartis and H. Lundbeck case studies Novartis is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms (Abreau 2013). The upstream part of its supply chain indicates flow of information and full visibility. Novartis uses product-to-demand technique based on demand, whereby its daily variable demand stream is integrated to production (AMR Research 2006). Between its levels of supply chain are limited visibility and flow of information (Abreau 2013). Despite being ranked number 2 behind Pfizer in cost of goods sold in 2006, Novartis decided to take on Lean principles and become the â€Å"Toyota of pharmaceuticals.† Using Lean principles, the company is focused on reducing its cycle time to 70 per cent and reducing spending by 40 per cent, as well as pursuing continuous manufacturing with raw materials going in one end of the chain and finished products coming out the other (AMR Research 2007). Along with this is the reengineering of every process and role, leveraging information technology, and setting up process-oriented teams in the absence of first-line supervisors so that personnel would report directly to one team leader (Shanley 2004). Here, one can see the application of Lean techniques to Novartis’ supply chain, thereby helping the company to improve its internal processes and eliminate waste. Lundbeck, on the other hand, is an international pharmaceutical firm that began its Lean adoption in 2005. The company went through certain phases in its Lean adoption, such as building consensus in the management group and running a range of Lean events and building a culture around these events. In the first phase, Lundbeck implemented 40 Lean events assisted by external experts, followed by 70 to 80 Lean events each year, with all personnel in the supply chain being involved (Simpler Consulting 2010). Through its adoption of Lean principles in its supply chain, the company was able to cut costs by 25 per cent. Workflow analysis within the organisation is also aided by video cameras, which leads to further improvements. Part of its Lean techniques adoption is the use of large bags instead of small box packaging, which reduced production delays from four hours to only an hour (Miller 2012). Is Lean appropriate to the pharmaceutical supply chain? Yes, Lean techniques are appropriate to the pharmaceutical supply chain. Despite Lean thinking’s origination from Toyota manufacturing, its adoption is still suitable to the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, its applicability is seen in the number of pharmaceutical companies that continue to adopt Lean manufacturing techniques. Although many of these techniques cannot be taken on to the more complex pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, their adoption mirrors the pursuit of increased optimisation (Shanley 200). Boyer and Verma (2010) surmise that whilst the original focus of developing Lean thinking is the manufacture of automobiles, it can still be applied to other industries. This is because Lean approach is more than a set of techniques but is a mindset for all personnel and managers who are focused on waste elimination and reduction of variability in the entirety of the business process. The advantage of Lean’s adoption in the pharmaceutical industry is the ability of pharmaceutical companies to experience logical rhythm through the supply chain. With the Lean enterprise, adaptive supply chain is carried out, causing the whole organisation to possess real-time process visualisation (Hafeli 2006). Argument for agility in the pharmaceutical supply chain Pharmaceutical companies are inclined to be bureaucratic, which results in several wastes in internal processes. With the application of Lean principles, pharmaceutical companies are able to strengthen their relative agility (Radeka 2013). This would mean that despite the relative limitation of the application of Lean principles in the pharmaceutical supply chain as pointed by WCI Consulting Limited (2011), the result is still improved agility in the supply chain. Apparently, the need for agility in supply chain management is founded on decreasing product life cycles and demand patterns of increasingly volatile markets. Sweeney (2009) points out that Lean is not enough, that agility in supply chain is required because of emphasis on speed, with time being a major competitive weapon. This argument is reasonable given the rapidly changing market in which pharmaceutical companies operate. However, as emphasised above, Lean thinking is also applicable to the pharmaceutical industry. An argument arising about the adoption of Lean thinking in the pharmaceutical industry is the risk that goes with it. Such adoption is said to put the supply chain to increased vulnerability to disruptions and unpredictable events due to lack of slack on which to withdraw. With Lean techniques making the supply chain vulnerable, a question that may come up is whether this would mean Lean is not suitable at all. The answer is pharmaceutical companies can apply Lean techniques to cut costs and adopt agility in order to obtain supply chain resilience, as pointed out by WCI Consulting Limited (2011). Conclusion This paper provides a critical analysis of the relevance and utility of Lean techniques in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Lean thinking allows the elimination of wastes and cost reduction in pharmaceutical companies. Lean supply chain considers the entirety of the business relationship amongst firms. Reduced costs of goods and reduced inventories are the potential advantages of Lean approach in the pharmaceutical industry. Novartis and Lundbeck case studies provide an example where Lean techniques and supply chain management become integrated. Despite the effectiveness of agility in supply chain management, Lean cannot be set aside as a valuable tool. References Abreau, P. E. M. (2013) An ANP Model to Support Decision-Making in a Portuguese Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. Reterived on March 22, 2014 from http://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/10724/1/Abreu_2013.pdf AMR Research (2006) Supply Chain Saves the World. US: AMR Research, Inc. AMR Research (2007) Risk!: Navigating an Uncertain World. US: AMR Research Inc. Boyer, K. and Verma, R. (2010) Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century. First Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Ende, D. J. (2011) Chemical Engineering in the Pharmaceutical Industry: RD to Manufacturing. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Hafeli, R. (2006) Enabling Lean and Compliant Manufacturing at Novartis with SAP. Denver: SAP Adaptive Manufacturing Summit, September 28. Lambert, D. M. (2008) Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance. Sarasota, FL: Supply Chain Management Institute. Miller, G. (2012) Lean Earns Lundbeck Big Prize, Cost Cuts. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/lean-earns-lundbeck-big-prize-cost-cuts/2012-01-18 Radeka, K. (2013) The Mastery of Innovation: A Field Guide to Lean Product Development. NW: CRC Press. Schneider, O. (2010) Adding Enterprise Value: Mitigating Investment Decision Risks by Assessing the Economic Value of Supply Chain Initiatives. Zurich: vdf Hochshulverlag AG Shanley, A. (2004) Novartis Goes Lean. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.pharmamanufacturing.com/articles/2004/111/ Simpler Consulting (2010) Lean Management of the Pharmaceutical Sector Brings Increased Efficiency and Improved Quality While Increasing Profits. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.simpler.com/success-stories/Lundbeck_Case-Study.pdf Sople, V. V. (2012) Supply Chain Management: Text and Cases. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd. Sweeney, E. (2009) Lean, Agile and Resilient Pharmaceutical Supply Chains: Jargon or ActionIrish Pharmachem Buyers Guide (September), 38-39. WCI Consulting Limited (2011) Keeping the Supply Chain Agile. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.wcigroup.com/Nostrapharmus/Keeping%20the%20supply%20chain%20agile.pdf Wigglesworth, M. and Wood, T. (2012) Management of Chemical and Biological Samples for Screening Applications. Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag Co.

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

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An evaluation of contemporary leadership and governance challenges Research Paper

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An Unforgettable Experiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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LOVE - Essay Example The implementation of Adam Smith’s ideas of a free market economy, where the invisible hand would determine how, what and how much to produce in what quantities was a radical concept, as was his assertion that saving is better than consumption, giving rise to a capitalist economy. It was supported by David Ricardo’s Theory of Comparative Advantage as the basis for international trade and exchange. Modern societies depend on elected leaders and thinkers as they try to find solutions to our communal problems and bring a sense of order and belonging to our daily lives. This involves the formulation of policies that are in the public interest. In fact the degree of evolution of society can be traced to the quality of its laws, policies, procedures, ethics and morals that define and perpetuate its existence. A qualifying criticism that can be leveled against policy makers is that they tend to act in their own self interests rather than in the public interest. In other words, power tends to corrupt the best of individuals as they tend to seek what is best for them rather than society at large. F.A. Hayek saw these deficiencies in the mechanism of socialist economies as well as a capitalistic system. He argued that it was liberalism that needed to be included in the system to make it work better (Hayek, 23). Ronald Coase would interject that social costs would also enter into the equation of deciding the price of a good, as few entrepreneurs or capitalists have the capacity or talent to produce goods themselves (Coase, 12). The answer to this quandary would therefore lie in public and private watchdogs, professional and private agencies that make it their duty to point out the good and bad points of evolving laws and policies- much like a Board of Governance in a modern organization. The only caveat is that they should be answerable to no one but society at large. If we truly acted principally in the public interest and not just our own, we would soon realize that

Has zero-based budgeting gone out of fashion Dissertation

Has zero-based budgeting gone out of fashion - Dissertation Example Aside from allowing the organisational leaders to come up with a detailed information presented in each of the proposed budget plan, the use of zero-based budgeting is effective in terms of reducing bureaucratic ambiguity, inefficiencies, or duplication in budgeting. Likewise, the use of this method promotes communication among the budget decision makers. The use of zero-based budgeting method in the UK industries has lost its fame for the reasons that the use of this method is time-consuming, triggers the development of resistance-to-change, and is very costly. Even though zero-based budgeting is no longer applicable when managing the short-term budget in companies throughout the United Kingdom, the method of zero-based budgeting can still be used when making more important long-term busines investment. Table of Contents Executive Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 Table of Contents †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 I. ... 9 II. Literature Review †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 a. Brief Overview with Regards to What Zero-Based Budgeting Is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 b. Stories behind the Success and Failure of Zero-Based Budgeting †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 c. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using the Zero-Based Budgeting †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 c.1 Advantages of Zero-Based Budgeting †¦.. 17 c.2 Disadvantages of Zero-Based Budgeting . 22 d. Comparison between the Advantages and Disadvantages of Zero-Based Budgeting and Activity-Based Budgeting †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 24 III. Research Methodology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 30 a. Primary Research Method †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 30 b. Research Survey Questionnaire Design †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 33 c. Target Population, Sample Size, and Research Venue †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 34 d. Research Evaluation Method †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 35 e. Ethical Considerations when Conducting a Primary and Secondary Research Study †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 36 IV. Research Findings and Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 38 V. Conclusion and Future Study Recommendations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 50 Appendix I – Quantitative and Qualitative Research Survey Questionnaire ............................................... 52 Appendix II – Quantitative Research Survey Results .................... 53 Appendix III – Summary o f Demographic Data Results †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 54 Appendix IV – Qualitative Research Survey Results ..................... 55 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 57 - 61 Chapter I – Introduction Zero-based budgeting has been one of the most researched and talked about

The Supply Chain Department of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd Essay

The Supply Chain Department of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd - Essay Example The company’s mission was to provide quality and innovative healthcare products for people and have a strong ethical stand culture in its business operations which help the company to give the maximum benefit to the stakeholders, shareholders and also to the society. Watson Pharmaceuticals is the major competitor for the company as they produce the similar products and also have a strong overall process. The company has shown a good growth rate in the previous few years and also has come up with new products launching them in the market (Ahmed, Tabassum and Hossain 2005:93). Supply chain management is a very strong and important part for the successful running of any company and mainly for companies which are in the pharmaceuticals business as they need to take care of all the members and also the information flow play a vital role in the market demand and changing trend in the market. It involves the overall flow and maintenance of the materials, information and the finance that is involved in the process which moves from the supplier to the company then to the retail and distributors from there to the end customers. The main objective of supply chain management is to reduce the inventory stock as a result reduces the additional cost of maintaining the stock. The company’s market share is 16.23% having a good growth rate of around 14.9% and in 2004 it had shown a growth rate of 11% in the country among all the competitors. The company’s market share is the highest among all other competitors and it enjoys the position of being a market leader. The company has enjoyed this position over the years because of the strong strategies that it has followed from last two decades which has got the company’s growth to go up in an exponential manner (Baligh 2006:56). The company has always maintained a strategy to provide good quality products to its customers and have a transparent medium in

A Symbolic Look at Hillary Rodham Clinton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Symbolic Look at Hillary Rodham Clinton - Essay Example There are some who fear strong woman, while there are also those who revere them. The question is should someone like Hillary Rodham Clinton be celebrated for her intellect and accomplishments, or should she not and for whatever reason Mrs. Clinton for arguments sake is a very strong willed and determined person who knows what she wants, and knows how to get it. In reading personal biographies of her it can be assessed that she came from a strict upbringing in Chicago, and would ultimately finish out her education at Yale Law school where she would meet the future President of the United States William J. Clinton. Ms. Rodham at the time was probably what you would have called a 'traditional Yankee', while her soon to be husband was what most would call a "southern boy". Both exhibiting strong brains and wills, these two would join together and form one of the most powerful political relationships in modern history. During the course of their marriage Mrs. Clinton would stand by her husband as he served as such things like Governor of Arkansas, and then the ultimate prize of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Observers of Hillary can note that the most important role to her is that of mother to their daughter Chelsea who tu rned 25 in February of 2005. Mrs. Clinton has come to be known for her positives, as well as her negatives. Mot notably being the failed health care package that her husband had put her in charge of in 1994 to get it passed through Congress. As most know, it not only did not pass through Congress, but it also gave the members of the Republican party enough ammunition to sail through the midterm elections that year, and retake control of both the House and the Senate. Hillary Clinton is symbolic in that she also reaches out there, often times risking her own credibility, in order to see something succeed. She stuck her neck out as well during the 2000 Senate race in New York when the GOP took advantage of the "carpet bagger" moniker, and tried to use it against Mrs. Clinton to their full advantage. She of course would end up victorious, and continues to serve the state of New York until her term is up in 2006, and has given all inclination that she will seek another term. To be someone that would be considered to be symbolic, they would have to be a person who through action separates themselves from those around them in a notable way. Someone whose actions clearly distinguish themselves from others due to their nature, and the nature in which the perpetrator went about perpetrating the action. Their action(s) prove as a symbol for which they are as a person, and what they stand for on any given issue. Along with her fellow First Lady's, Mrs. Clinton is immortalized through the White House's database of biographies for both the Presidents and their wives. In her biography, the author writes of Mrs. Clinton that, "As the nation's First Lady, Hillary continued to balance public service with private life. Her active role began in 1993 when the President asked her to chair the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. She continued to be a leading advocate for expanding health insurance coverage, ensuring children are properly immunized, and raising public awareness of health issues. She wrote a weekly newspaper column entitled "Talking It Over," which focused on her experiences as First Lady and her observations of women, children, and families she has met around the world. Her 1996 book It

Why was William successful Essay Example for Free

Why was William successful Essay When William was crowned King of England he had actually only captured the Southeast. The rest of England was all still Anglo-Saxon. In 1066/1067 William, according to the Normans was the legitimate King of England. He had got Edward the Confessors promise that he would be King. He also had a kinship with Edward, which made it that much easier to become King. It didnt hurt Williams cause when Harold apparently usurped the throne and took it for him self it gave William a legitimate reason for invading. Then after William had gained control of the Southeast the rulers of England submitted to him at Little Berkhamstead. Then they allowed him to be crowned King of England with an Anglo-Saxon Service. This shows their acceptance of William as their King. BUT William had made a mistake. He assumed that once he had been crowned King everyone would follow him as their King. William had not gone West of Faringdon and North of Bedford. It just so happened that the remainder of Harolds family was in the West and Edwin and Morcar (the Northern Earls) who were in the North. Both of these groups had not really submitted to William as their king and were willing to start a rebellion to stop William becoming even more powerful. The rebellions started because when William went back to Normandy. He had to leave regents in his place to rule for him. He chose Bishop Odo and William fitzOsbern. These two people were kinsmen of Williams and so he knew that he could trust tem. But according to Oderic Vitalis: behaved in a violent and cruel fashion and so because of the violent and cruel fashion in which they behaved rebellions started to spring up. The first rebellion was in Exeter and involved Harolds family. This is the first time that William shows his policies for rebelling against him. William reacts decisively and with great force. He marches to Exeter, building castles along the way. When he got to Exeter he brings out a hostage and blinds him in front of the walls so that everyone could see it. Then he lays siege to the city. After 18 days the city submits. All William does is to build a castle in the city its self and garrison it. This is Williamss policy: He will act with violence (the blinding of the hostage) and he will build castles. The violence scares the people and the castles ensure that the area around them is secure. So far William has been successful against the rebellions against him because he has got superior technology (castles which the Anglo-Saxons have not come up against before) and because he has acted decisively and with violence. He has scared the common people that he has come up against so much that they will not do it again. 1068 was a far more serious year for William. This took place in the Earldoms of Mercia and Northumbria. Edwin and Morcar decided that they had had enough of William and that they were going to join the Welsh. William once again marches up as fast as he could, only stopping off to build castles. The key one being at Warwick which he entrusted to Henry of Bomont. Initially he manages to make peace with Edwin and Morcar, and he pardons the Earls. Whilst all this has been happening Edgar ? thling had deserted William and had gone to Scotland. Once in Scotland he persuades the King, Malcome, to marry his sister and so joining them together. The Northumbrians with the Scots seize York. So William once again sets off, again building castles wherever he goes. William then marches on York and captures it. The only thing that he does is to build a castle in York its self. There were many more rebellions on 1068, and all of these William squashed and then built castles all over the area, thus making sure that all the problem parts of England were covered with Castles. William seemed obsessed by the idea of covering the face of England with castles. That also coupled with the face that he took charge personally were ever he could and got to the heart of the revolt as quickly as possible meant that there was not really too much damage. The rebellions of 1067 1072 failed, in my view, because of the fact that they were all so spur of the moment and so dispersed form one another. If they had joined up together and planned together, then they might have had a chance. Especially of they had joined up with the Vikings that came and invaded in 1069. The Vikings gave William the most trouble, but because William already had a series of castle sin place all over the country it wasnt as bad as it could have been. William completely destroyed the area around York, so that the Vikings and his other enemies could not make use of it. He destroyed them so badly that the effects were still apparent in the Doomsday book, written many years later. Williamss ferocious suppression of the north of England in 1069 1070 in response to the English and Scandinavian resistance is often regarded as the darkest deed in his reign. William eventually had to pay the Danes to go away so that William could deal with the English rebels him self. So William was successful against the rebels in 1067 1072 purely because he was more ruthless than they were and because he had access to greater technology, mainly castles building. William terrorised the English so much that they didnt dare rebel again.

Culture Influence proposal Essay Example for Free

Culture Influence proposal Essay Saudi Arabia has a well developed healthcare system incorporating private and private facilities. Largely, there are healthcare centers that offer universal healthcare services incorporating emergency, preventive as well as basic services to the culturally rich Saudi Arabian population (Marshall, 1999). Largely, the government is quite instrumental in the provision of healthcare to its citizens. The government has put in place a referral system that has over three hundred hospitals offering both general and specialized facilities. Thus, vetting and placement of the staff is undertaken by the government. The cultural influences are quite significant as they determine specific roles accorded to men and women medical professionals and practitioners (Mansour Al-Osaimi, 2003). This document presents an in depth study and research of the way the rich Saudi Arabian culture influences the human resource management as well as quality of service delivery of the healthcare facilities. Introduction to the problem The Saudi Arabian culture is based on the Islamic law and religious teachings, thus there is a disparity in the manner in which men and women are treated. Largely, women are discriminated against in regard to the employment opportunities a well as management of healthcare facilities. Saudi Arabia’s law is based upon such Islamic Shariah premises of equality, justice and consultation (Baldo, 1995). Nonetheless, women are not accorded similar equality as their male counterparts. Although, the cultural stipulations play a significant role in setting the gender roles and expectations, sometimes women prefer to work in segregated areas willingly. Through close guidance of the highlighted research questions, this study will explore the cultural influences that impact management styles and staff selection in the healthcare sector. Purpose of the study In any society, cultural practices are critical in determining and influencing personal thoughts, behaviors as well as emotions. More often than not, culture shapes the perceptions and socialization of individuals as both the sub cultural and socioeconomic differences determine the levels of interaction and the manner in which activities are carried out. Data and information obtained from this research will be used to explore the impact that culture has on the way human resources management as well as service delivery in the healthcare sector is undertaken. Literature review The Saudi Arabian Ministry of health is tasked with provision of comprehensive as well as integrative healthcare to its citizens which complies with the stipulated Islamic principles (Long, 2007). Largely, the government ensures that the health care sector is upgraded through provision of qualified employees who not only ensure health care awareness is achieved but also provide the best services to its citizens. The government boasts a wide range of healthcare facilities. According to Long, (2007) in such healthcare sectors as maternal healthcare and immunization, significant improvement in the quality and service delivery has been recorded. The government ensures that employees have appropriate training and good remuneration that ensures they are well motivated thereby able to undertake the specified tasks. Cultural and social complexities are quite prevalent in Saudi Arabia with extensive gender segregation being exhibited in the country. Women are expected to be fully veiled while in the presence of male counterparts and avoid any from of contact from unrelated males. According to Ali Mahmoud (2003), a complete veil popularly known as niqab and abaya is meant to ensure that women maintain moral behavior as well the honor of their family is upheld. Ambika, (1998) asserts that for convenience purposes it is common to have women working in separate offices so as to unveil their faces and hair without being subjected to any form of harassment. Women are not allowed to undertake outside assignment except while in the company of their male relatives popularly referred to as Maram (Littlewood Yousuf, 2001). Largely, women are employed in sectors where they will offer medical help to women clientele while male practitioners are restricted in areas where they will serve male clients. Nonetheless, in the even that a female patient requires specialized treatment which can only be effected by a male doctor, then the male doctor is allowed to offer the services under close watch of a female nurse. Research questions This research is intended to establish the correlation between cultural influences in Saudi Arabia and the management practices that are in existence. Primarily, the research question that this research will be pegged upon therefore is: †¢ Does Culture influence the gender roles and management practices of the Saudi Arabian health care system? In order to further widen the scope of this primary research question, other specific questions will also be incorporated. These specific questions are outlined below; †¢ What is the prevalence of male and female managers in public and private sector hospitals? †¢ Does culture have any influence on management roles of public hospitals in Saudi Arabia? †¢ Do religious beliefs have any impact on gender roles? †¢ Does personal behavior and legal procedures influence selection and placement of staff to manage of healthcare facilities? †¢ Has modernity had any influence on the management of healthcare facilities? Scope of the study This research will focus primarily on the public healthcare sector. The main reason why the study will be concentrated in the public sector is because in Saudi Arabia, most of the population relies on the public hospitals for provision of healthcare services. Largely treatment is provided free of charge in the public hospitals although patients maybe required to purchase prescribed drugs (Khoja Kabbash, 2007). In public healthcare facilities, Islamic rules and culture influences are adhered to strictly during staff placement process and are also the guiding principles in the daily running of the facilities (Khoja Kabbash, 2007). The public sector will essentially present an ideal backdrop upon which the research will be based. Research methodology This segment details the data collection modalities that will be used to analyze highlighted research questions. Largely, the research will incorporate live interviews and questionnaires to collect data which is not only reliable but also valid. Interviews are reliable as the interviewed medical professionals will provide original data obtained from their specific work stations. It will also put the researcher at a advantageous position as the researcher will not only collect the data but will also observe the respondents. Additionally, the questionnaire will be structured in such a way that the research questions will be met and will therefore make data interpretation process easy. Through the use of questionnaires, the researcher is assured of obtaining detailed data that is essentially useful in the analysis of the research questions. Interviews will essentially provide up to date data as the interviewed respondents are those currently operating in the public healthcare facilities. Additionally, interviews essentially enrich the data interpretation process especially because some respondents are likely to share in depth insights regarding the management of the healthcare facilities. Interviews will also work to collect conclusive data especially because questions that may be misinterpreted in the questionnaires can be easily addressed. Interview Schedule In order to have valid data collected on the research questions, it is essential that only reliable respondents are interviewed. Largely, the bulk of respondents will be the former and current public health care management officers as they are aware of the modalities that are put in place to ensure efficient management of the facilities (Marshall, 1999). In this regard, the interviewer has approached over twelve respondents namely; †¢ Two Saudi Arabia Ministry of health Human resources officers †¢ Two public hospitals Chief Executive officers. †¢ Four male Public health doctors †¢ Four female public health doctors Additionally, the researcher has developed a questionnaire with the specific research questions that the respondents will be expected to respond to. The targeted respondents have expressed outmost willingness to provide required data. Reflection on limitations The researcher is well aware of the limitations associated with collection of the required data. For instance, getting respondents who are willing to offer required information in the projected time span is a challenge. The targeted respondents are medical professionals who have tight and busy schedules and it’s possible that they will be handling patients. Nonetheless, in order to counter this setback, the researcher will incorporate technological advancements such as web teleconferencing thereby be able to undertake online interviews. Another challenge that maybe exhibited through the use of questionnaires is the misinterpretation of research questions. In this regard, the researcher will ensure that the research questions are terse and straightforward in order to avoid any irrelevant responses. Ethical concerns Any credible research must adhere to strict ethical standards. Thus, the researcher has put in place principles to ensure contemporary ethical standards are adhered to. Firstly, the researcher will ensure anonymity of all respondents through concealing all identities. Secondly, respondents will not be coerced to provide required data; rather they will provide all information willingly. Thirdly, respondents will be informed beforehand the data collection procedure as well as the risks associated with the research process. Lastly, respondents will have an opportunity to validate data collected as the researcher will avail copies of the research to the respondents. Conclusion This research will rely on primary data collection procedures namely interviews and questionnaires to collect valid data essential in making inferences regarding cultural influences in the management of healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia. All the targeted respondents are involved in the management of the healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia; hence there is no doubt that collected data and research analysis will be valid. Upon receipt of feedback on this proposal, the researcher will formulate interview schedules that will help investigate the culture impact on human resource management as well as quality of service delivery in Saudi Arabia healthcare facilities. Time schedule This Grant schedule will guide the time durations essential for accomplishment of the total research.

Procedure For Analysis And Simulation Using Ansys

Procedure For Analysis And Simulation Using Ansys This section describes the overall workflow involved when performing dynamic transient structural analysis in the Mechanical application by using ANSYS Workbench 12.0. Each step will include with figure that show how the analysis and the result been prepared. 5.2 Create Analysis System There are several types of analyses you can perform in the ANSYS Mechanical application. However, in this chapter only Transient Structural Analysis procedure will be cover to determine the dynamic response of a structure under the action of any general time-dependent loads. The following steps explain how to build a system in ANSYS Workbench. The appropriate group in the Toolbox has been selected with the Analysis Systems group. The appropriate template has been selected which is Transient Structural (ANSYS). The template in the Toolbox has been double-click, or drag it onto the Project Schematic. All possible drop locations has been preview by using a drag-and-drop operation. Alternatively, right-click in the Project Schematic whitespace and select the type of analysis you want to add. During creating a new system, the name of the system is automatically highlighted and ready for editing. If you wish to change the name, simply type the new name. You can change the name later by double-clicking the name to highlight it and typing the new name, or by selecting the Rename option from the context menu (available via right-mouse click on the header cell). Figure 5.2: New Analysis System has been created for Transient Structural (ANSYS) which is shown the location of the Toolbox and Project Schematic. Also shown the step to import geometry. If necessary, define appropriate engineering data for your analysis. Right click the Engineering Data cell, and select Edit, or double-click the Engineering Data cell. The Engineering Data workspace appears, where you can add or edit material data as necessary. Attach geometry to your system or build a new geometry in DesignModeler. Right click the Geometry cell and select Import Geometry to attach an existing model or select New Geometry to launch DesignModeler. Figure 5.3: Windows for attaching geometry from SolidWorks 2009 file to the system. Define all loads and boundary conditions. Right click the Setup cell and select Edit. The appropriate application for the selected analysis type will open the Mechanical application. Set up your analysis using that applications tools and features. You can solve your analysis by issuing an Update, either from the data-integrated application youre using to set up your analysis, or from the ANSYS Workbench GUI. 5.3 Engineering Data Engineering Data is a resource for material properties used in an analysis system. The Engineering Data workspace is designed to allow you to create, save, and retrieve material models, as well as to create libraries of data that can be saved and used in subsequent projects and by other users. Engineering Data can be shown as a component system or as a cell in any Mechanical analysis system. When viewed as a cell in a Mechanical analysis system, the workspace shows the material models and properties pertinent to that systems physics. To access Engineering Data: Insert an Engineering Data component system or a Mechanical system into the Project Schematic. Select Edit from the Engineering Data cells context menu, or double-click the cell. The Engineering Data workspace appears. From here, navigate through the data for the analysis system, access external data sources, create new data, and store data for future use. Figure 5.4: The Engineering Data workspace is designed to allowed to create, save, and retrieve material models. 5.4 Geometry Use the Geometry cell to import, create, edit or update the geometry model used for analysis. For this analysis, the geometry has been import from SolidWorks 2009 assembly file format .SLDASM to the DesignModeler and there no need to be redraw again and proceed to the next step. Before Attaching CAD geometry to the Mechanical application, specifying several options that determine the characteristics of the geometry you choose to import. Figure 5.5: Selecting desired length unit option before start DesignModeler workspace. Procedure attaching CAD geometry to the Mechanical application in condition CAD system is running: Select the Geometry cell in an analysis system schematic. Right-click on the Geometry cell listed there. Double-click on the Model cell in the same analysis system schematic. The Mechanical application opens and displays the geometry. If required, set geometry options in the Mechanical application by highlighting the Geometry object and choosing settings under Preferences in the Details view. Figure 5.6: DesignModeler workspace with successfully imported from SolidWorks 2009 assembly file format which can be adjust as desired. 5.5 Stiffness Behaviour In addition making changes to the material properties of a part, designate a parts Stiffness Behaviour as flexible or rigid. Setting a parts behaviour as rigid essentially reduces the representation of the part to a single point mass thus significantly reducing the solution time. For this analysis, the cylindrical workpiece will be a rigid body and thus both top and bottom clamp will be define as flexible body. This is because the analysis itself is to determine the response of the clamping to the time-vary load. A rigid part will need only data about the density of the material to calculate mass characteristics. Note that if density is temperature dependent, density will be evaluated at the reference temperature. For contact conditions, Youngs modulus has been specified. Figure 5.7: Shown the Details view for rod 16-2-1 changing the Stiffness behaviour of the cylindrical workpiece to the Rigid. 5.6 Define Connections Connections include contact regions, joints, springs, or beams. Contact conditions are formed where bodies meet. When an assembly is imported from a CAD system, contact between various parts is automatically detected. In this analysis there are only two type of connection that will be used which is contact regions and joints. 5.6.1 Contact Regions The differences in the contact settings determine how the contacting bodies can move relative to one another. This is the most common setting and has the most impact for this analysis. Most of these types only apply to contact regions made up of faces only. Bonded: This is the default configuration and applies to all contact regions (surfaces, solids, lines, faces, edges). If contact regions are bonded, then no sliding or separation between faces or edges is allowed. No Separation: This contact setting is similar to the bonded case. It only applies to regions of faces (for 3-D solids) or edges (for 2-D plates). Frictionless: This setting models standard unilateral contact; that is, normal pressure equals zero if separation occurs. It only applies to regions of faces (for 3-D solids) or edges (for 2-D plates). A zero coefficient of friction is assumed, thus allowing free sliding. Rough: Similar to the frictionless setting, this setting models perfectly rough frictional contact where there is no sliding. It only applies to regions of faces (for 3-D solids) or edges (for 2-D plates). Frictional: In this setting, two contacting faces can carry shear stresses up to a certain magnitude across their interface before they start sliding relative to each other. It only applies to regions of faces. The model defines an equivalent shear stress at which sliding on the face begins as a fraction of the contact pressure. Once the shear stress is exceeded, the two faces will slide relative to each other. The coefficient of friction can be any non-negative value. Choosing the appropriate contact type depends on the type of problem that are trying to solve. Modelling the ability of bodies to separate or open slightly is important and/or obtaining the stresses very near a contact interface is important, nonlinear contact types (Frictionless, Rough, Frictional) has been considered to be used. However, using these contact types results in longer solution times and can have possible convergence problems due to the contact nonlinearity. When determining the exact area of contact is critical, finer mesh has been considered to be used (using the Sizing control) on the contact faces or edges that will be explain on the next sub chapter. Friction Coefficient: Allows you to enter a friction coefficient. Displayed only for frictional contact applications. Scope Mode: Read-only property that displays how the contact region was generated. Automatic Program automatically generated contact region. Manual Contact region was constructed or modified by the user. Behavior: Sets contact pair to one of the following: Asymmetric: Contact will be asymmetric for the solve. All face/edge and edge/edge contacts will be asymmetric. Asymmetric contact has one face as Contact and one face as Target (as defined under Scope Settings), creating a single contact pair. This is sometimes called one-pass contact, and is usually the most efficient way to model face-to-face contact for solid bodies. The Behavior must be Asymmetric if the scoping includes a body specified with rigid Stiffness Behavior. Symmetric: (Default) Contact will be symmetric for the solve. Auto Asymmetric: Automatically creates an asymmetric contact pair, if possible. This can significantly improve performance in some instances. When you choose this setting, during the solution phase the solver will automatically choose the more appropriate contact face designation. Of course, you can designate the roles of each face in the contact pair manually. Figure 5.8: Shown are the summary of the connection in Worksheet view including contact information, joint DOF checker, and joint information. 5.6.2 Setting Contact Conditions Manually Manual contact regions represent contact over the entire extent of the contact scope, for example, faces of the contact region. Procedure to set contact regions manually: Click the Connections object in the Tree Outline. Click the right mouse button and choose Insert> Manual Contact Region. You can also select the Contact button on the toolbar. A Contact Region item appears in the Outline. Click that item, and under the Details View, specify the Contact and Target regions (faces or edges) and the contact type. See the Contact and Target topics in the Scope Settings section for additional Contact Region scoping restrictions. 5.7 Joints A joint typically serves as a junction where bodies are joined together. Joint types are characterized by their rotational and translational degrees of freedom as being fixed or free. For all joints that have both translational degrees of freedom and rotational degrees of freedom, the kinematics of the joint is as follows: Translation: The moving coordinate system translates in the reference coordinate system. If your joint is a slot for example, the translation along X is expressed in the reference coordinate system. Once the translation has been applied, the center of the rotation is the location of the moving coordinate system. 5.7.1 Types of Joints You can create the following types of joints in the Mechanical application: Fixed Joint Revolute Joint Cylindrical Joint Translational Joint Slot Joint Universal Joint Spherical Joint Planar Joint General Joint Bushing Joint 5.7.2 Applying Joints Procedure to add a joint manually: After importing the model, highlight the Model object in the tree and choose the Connections button from the toolbar. Highlight the new Connections object and choose either Body-Ground> {type of joint} or Body-Body> {type of joint} from the toolbar, as applicable. Highlight the new Joint object and scope the joint to a face. Reposition the coordinate system origin location or orientation as needed. The Body Views button in the toolbar displays Reference and Mobile bodies in separate windows with appropriate transparencies applied. You have full body manipulation capabilities in each of these windows. Configure the joint. The Configure button in the toolbar positions the Mobile body according to the joint definition. You can then manipulate the joint interactively (for example, rotate the joint) directly on the model. Consider renaming the joint objects based on the type of joint and the names of the joined geometry. Display the Joint DOF Checker and modify joint definitions if necessary. Create a redundancy analysis to interactively check the influence of individual joint degrees of freedom on the redundant constraints. Procedure to move a joint coordinate system to a particular face: Highlight the Coordinate System field in the Details view of the Joint object. The origin of the coordinate system will include a yellow sphere indicating that the movement mode is active. Select the face that is to be the destination of the coordinate system. The coordinate system in movement mode relocates to the centroid of the selected face, leaving an image of the coordinate system at its original location. Click the Apply button. The image of the coordinate system changes from movement mode to a permanent presence at the new location. Procedure to change the orientation of a joint coordinate system: Highlight the Coordinate System field in the Details view of the Joint object. The origin of the coordinate system will include a yellow sphere indicating that the movement mode is active. Click on any of the axis arrows you wish to change. Additional handles are displayed for each axis. Click on the handle or axis representing the new direction to which you want to reorient the initially selected axis. The axis performs a flip transformation. Click the Apply button. The image of the coordinate system changes from movement mode to a permanent presence at the new orientation. You can change or delete the status of the flip transformation by highlighting the Reference Coordinate System object or a Mobile Coordinate System object and making the change or deletion under the Transformations category in the Details view of the child joint coordinate system. When selecting either a Reference Coordinate System object or a Mobile Coordinate System object, various settings are displayed in the Details view. 5.8 Meshing In this stage, the model need to be mesh in order to analyze the model. The goal of meshing in ANSYS Workbench is to provide robust, easy to use meshing tools that will simplify the mesh generation process. These tools have the benefit of being highly automated along with having a moderate to high degree of user control. 5.8.1 Physics Based Meshing When the Meshing application is launched from the ANSYS Workbench Project Schematic, the physics preference will be set based on the type of system being edited. For a Mechanical Model system as in this analysis, the Mechanical physics preference is used. For a Mesh system, the physics preference defined in Tools> Options> Meshing> Default Physics Preference is used. Upon startup of the Meshing application from a Mesh system, the Meshing Options panel shown below in figure 5.5. This panel allows to quickly and easily set meshing preferences based on the physics are prepared to be solved. Remove the panel after startup, the panel can be display again by clicking the Options button from the Mesh toolbar. Figure 5.9: Meshing option in Mechanical application. The first option the panel allows to set is Physics Preference. This corresponds to the Physics Preference value in the Details View of the Mesh folder. Setting the meshing defaults to a specified physics preference sets options in the Mesh folder such as Relevance Center, midside node behavior, shape checking, and other meshing behaviors. ANSYS Workbench meshing capabilities, arranged according to the physics type involved in the analysis. For this analysis, Mechanical physics is used, the preferred meshers for mechanical analysis are the patch conforming meshers (Patch Conforming Tetrahedrons and Sweeping) for solid bodies and any of the surface body meshers. 5.8.2 Using 3D Rigid Body Contact Meshing This section describes the basic steps for using 3D rigid body contact meshing. Procedure to define a 3D rigid body for contact meshing: Open the model in the Mechanical application. In the Tree, expand the Geometry object so that the body objects are visible. Click on the body that you want to define as a rigid body. In the Details> Definition view for the body, change the value of the Stiffness Behavior control to Rigid. If you wish to control the mesh method, insert a mesh method by right-clicking on the Mesh object in the Tree and selecting Insert> Method. In the Details View, scope the mesh method to the rigid body. If desired, change the value of the Element Midside Nodes control. Generate the mesh by right-clicking on the Mesh object in the Tree and selecting Generate Mesh. Figure 5.10: meshing result for current design analysis. 5.9 Establish Analysis Settings In transient structural analysis includes a group of analysis settings that allow to define various solution options customized to the specific analysis type, such as large deflection for a stress analysis. Default values are included for all settings. Procedure to verify/change analysis settings in the Mechanical application: Highlight the Analysis Settings object in the tree. This object was inserted automatically when you established a new analysis in the Create Analysis System overall step. Verify or change settings in the Details view of the Analysis Settings object. These settings include default values that are specific to the analysis type. Accept these defaults. In this analysis involves the use of steps, by refering to the procedures presented below. Procedure to create multiple steps: Highlight the Analysis Settings object in the tree. Modify the Number of Steps field in the Details view. Each additional Step has a default Step End Time that is one second more than the previous step. These step end times can be modified as needed in the Details view. Adding more steps simply by adding additional step End Time values in the Tabular Data window. . Figure 5.11: The following demonstration illustrates adding steps by modifying the Number of Steps field in the Details view Procedure to Specifying Analysis Settings for Multiple Steps: Create multiple steps following the procedure To create multiple steps above. Most Step Controls, Nonlinear Controls, and Output Controls fields in the Details view of Analysis Settings are step aware, that is, these settings can be different for each step. Activate a particular step by selecting a time value in the Graph window or the Step bar displayed below the chart in the Graph window. The Step Controls grouping in the Details view indicates the active Step ID and corresponding Step End Time. Figure 5.12: The following demonstration illustrates turning on the legend in the Graph window, entering analysis settings for a step, and entering different analysis settings for another step. To specify the same analysis setting(s) to several steps, select all the steps of interest as follows and change the analysis settings details. To change analysis settings for a subset of all of the steps from the Tabular Data window: Highlight the Analysis Settings object. Highlight steps in the Tabular Data window using either of the following standard windowing techniques: Ctrl key to highlight individual steps. Shift key to highlight a continuous group of steps. Click the right mouse button in the window and choose Select All Highlighted Steps from the context menu. Specify the analysis settings as needed. These settings will apply to all selected steps. To specify analysis settings for all the steps: Click the right mouse button in either window and choose Select All Steps. Specify the analysis settings as needed. These settings will apply to all selected steps. Figure 5.13: The following demonstration illustrates multiple step selection using the bar in the Graph window, entering analysis settings for all selected steps, selecting only highlighted steps in the Tabular Data window, and selecting all steps. Figure 5.14: The Worksheet tab for the Analysis Settings object provides a single display of pertinent settings in the Details view for all steps. 5.10 Joint Load When using joints in a Transient Structural (ANSYS) analysis, use a Joint Load object to apply a kinematic driving condition to a single degree of freedom on a Joint object. Joint Load objects are applicable to all joint types except fixed, general, universal, and spherical joints. For translation degrees of freedom, the Joint Load can apply a displacement, velocity, acceleration, or force. For rotation degrees of freedom, the Joint Load can apply a rotation, angular velocity, angular acceleration, or moment. The directions of the degrees of freedom are based on the reference coordinate system of the joint and not on the mobile coordinate system. A positive joint load will tend to cause the mobile body to move in the positive degree of freedom direction with respect to the reference body, assuming the mobile body is free to move. If the mobile body is not free to move then the reference body will tend to move in the negative degree of freedom direction for the Joint Load. For the joint with the applied Joint Load, dragging the mouse will indicate the nature of the reference/mobile definition in terms of positive and negative motion. Procedure to apply a Joint Load: Highlight the Transient environment object and insert a Joint Load from the right mouse button context menu or from the Loads drop down menu in the Environment toolbar. From the Joint drop down list in the Details view of the Joint Load, select the particular Joint object that you would like to apply to the Joint Load. You should apply a Joint Load to the mobile bodies of the joint. It is therefore important to carefully select the reference and mobile bodies while defining the joint. Select the unconstrained degree of freedom for applying the Joint Load, based on the type of joint. You make this selection from the DOF drop down list. For joint types that allow multiple unconstrained degrees of freedom, a separate Joint Load is necessary to drive each one. Joint Load objects that include velocity, acceleration, rotational velocity or rotational acceleration are not applicable to static structural analyses. Select the type of Joint Load from the Type drop down list. The list is filtered with choices of Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration, and Force if you selected a translational DOF in step 3. The choices are Rotation, Rotational Velocity, Rotational Acceleration, and Moment if you selected a rotational DOF. Specify the magnitude of the Joint Load type selected in step 4 as a constant, in tabular format, or as a function of time using the same procedure as is done for most loads in the Mechanical application. On Windows platforms, an alternative and more convenient way to accomplish steps 1 and 2 above is to drag and drop the Joint object of interest from under the Connections object folder to the Transient object folder. When you highlight the new Joint Load object, the Joint field is already completed and you can continue at step 3 with DOF selection. Figure 5.15: All load applied to the structural for current design analysis including Earth Gravity, Horizontal Joint Load and Vertical Joint Load. 5.11 Solve This step initiates the solution process. The solution has been carried out on the local machine. Since transient solutions can take significant time to complete, a status bar is provided that indicates the overall progress of solution. More detailed information on solution status can be obtained from the Solution Information object which is automatically inserted under the Solution folder for all analyses. Figure 5.16: More detailed information on solution status can be obtained from the Solution Information in Worksheet view. The overall solution progress is indicated by a status bar. In addition the Solution Information object has been used which is inserted automatically under the Solution folder. This object allows to: View the actual output from the solver, Graphically monitor items such as convergence criteria for nonlinear problems and Diagnose possible reasons for convergence difficulties by plotting Newton-Raphson residuals. 5.12 Review Results For this transient structural analysis, the interested will be in total deformation and maximum shear results. The Results in the Mechanical Application will show as figure and tabular data. Procedure to add result objects in the Mechanical application: Highlight a Solution object in the tree. Select the appropriate result from the Solution context toolbar or use the right-mouse click option. Figure 5.17: Shown the right-click mouse option to add result in Mechanical application for Total Deformation. Procedure to review results in the Mechanical application: Click on a result object in the tree. After the solution has been calculated, review and interpret the results in the following ways: Contour results Displays a contour plot of a result such as stress over geometry. Vector Plots Displays certain results in the form of vectors (arrows). Probes Displays a result at a single time point, or as a variation over time, using a graph and a table. Charts Displays different results over time, or displays one result against another result, for example, force vs. displacement. Animation Animates the variation of results over geometry including the deformation of the structure. Stress Tool to evaluate a design using various failure theories. Fatigue Tool to perform advanced life prediction calculations. Contact Tool to review contact region behavior in complex assemblies. Beam Tool to evaluate stresses in line body representations. Figure 5.18: A contour result of Maximum Shear Stress for current design. All the contour colour indicate different value of shear stress over a geometry.