Charge of the Light Brigade Essay Example for Free

Charge of the Light Brigade Essay Compare the ways the poets present ideas about power in ‘Hawk Roosting’ (page 49) and in one other poem from Con? ict. Compare the ways the poets present the destructive impact of con+ict in ‘The Yellow Palm’ (page 37) and in one other poem from Con? ict. Compare the ways poets show how con+ict and war a/ect feelings about a place in ‘At the Border, 1979’ (page 39) and in one other poem from Con? ict. Compare the methods poets use to present their points of view in ‘next to of course god america i’ (page 48) and in one other poem from Con? ict. Compare how poets present the e/ects of war in ‘Mametz Wood’ (page 36) and  in one other poem from Con+ict. Compare how poets present bravery in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (page 43) and in one other poem from Con+ict. Compare how poets use language to present strong feelings in ‘Poppies’ (page 41) and one other poem from Con+ict. Compare how poets show attitudes to war in ‘Futility’ (page 42) and one other poem from Con+ict. Compare how poets present the e/ects of con+ict in ‘Belfast Confetti’ (page 40) and one other poem from Con? ict. Compare how poets present the experience of soldiers in ‘Bayonet Charge’ (page44) and one other poem from Con? ict. Prev Page Next Page Search TOPICS IN THIS DOCUMENT Affect, Ancient Rome, Charge of the Light Brigade, Poetry, Prime number, Rhyme, Translation RELATED DOCUMENTS questions Organizations: Behaviour, Structure, Processes Pre-sighted examination questions and notes on the examination Semester 3, 2013 QUESTIONS Section A Question A1 will be offered in the exam without any change and you will have to answer this question. As a guide, approximately three pages long relevant answers should be sufficient for this question. It is worth 20% of the total grade for this course. 207 Words | 7 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Poetry Essay ? Rodrigo Ramos August 2nd, 2013 Megan Haugh The Voice is What Matters Poetry is unique compared to other literary works in that in order to close the gap of emotional distance within the individual reader, the voice needs to be sincere. When a character is not relatable to the reader, it destroys the art of poetry. Berg explains in his essay â€Å"The Poetry Does Not Matter†, â€Å"I detest that man, who hides one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks 207 Words | 6 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Poetry how is the theme of loss and separation explored in remember, a mother in a refugee camp and poem at thirty nine? The three poems Remember written by Christina Rossetti, A Mother In A Refugee Camp by Chinua Achebe and Poem at Thirty-Nine by Alice Walker share the same negative theme of loss and separation. Remember explores the pain felt by losing loved ones. A Mother In A Refugee Camp emphasizes the relationship between a mother and her child living in a refugee camp. Poem at thirty 207 Words | 5 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Poetry [Name] [Course Title] [Instructor Name] [Date] Interpretation of Invictus by William Ernest Henley Introduction No one can ever sufficiently justify William Ernest Henry’s indescribably touching and heartbreaking poem â€Å"Invictus†. It would be prudent to remark how his sorrows in life paved a path for him to think beyond and maneuvered him to become a celebrated poet. In spite of his affliction from an early age he did not succumb to his disease. Henley’s Invictus is a gamut of infinite 207 Words | 3 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Poetry English Poetry Explication April 9 2014 Biography Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) was called a â€Å"silver poet of his time because of the way he did not conform to the poet writing style of the Renaissance era. He became fairly popular with Queen Elizabeth I and was knighted in 1585. But he fell out of her good graces when he secretly married ladies without her permission. The queen locked him in the Tower of London for some time, and while he was locked up he was writing 207 Words. READ FULL DOCUMENT Poetry however, the author’s reason for giving a masculine identity to nature must be because of the malignant role it is playing. Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet 75 from Amorreti is not only an exquisite piece of Elizabethan times, it portrays the quintessential poetry of the time as well. His optimal employment of literary techniques of form, rhyme, imagery, personification and alliteration give the sonnet a wholesome structure and an pleasant quality. Theme : When he writes her name on 207 Words | 5 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Poetry Love Poem Analysis: Linda Pastan is an American poet of Jewish background. She was born in New York on May 27, 1932. Today, she lives in Potomac, Maryland with her husband Ira Pastan, an accomplished physician and researcher. She is known for writing short poems that address topics like family life, domesticity, motherhood, the female experience, aging, death, loss and the fear of loss, as well as the fragility of life and relationships. Love poem is a very simple poem yet it has 207 Words | 6 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT poetry writ in sand’ suggesting that her love is stronger than Kate’s. The echoed structure in the final stanza – that Kate has ‘not got’ and is ‘not like to get’ the gift of a child – emphasises the speaker’s sense of triumph. Language The speaker’s questions in the first stanza express her anger and confusion at the experiences she has had to endure: ‘Why did a great lord find me out†¦ Why did a great lord find me out? ’ She suggests that before the arrival of the ‘great lord’, 207 Words | 4 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT CITE THIS DOCUMENT APA (2014, 11). POETRY QUESTIONS. Retrieved 11, 2014

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn In his episodic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain fabricates a journey as the platform for the narrators symbolic rite of passage. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, discovers the true colors of his individuality, as he voyages through his many adventures and gains priceless experiences. While he matures and advances, Huck discards his disposition as an ignorant and juvenile adolescent craving for joy and peril and becomes a man, being able to firmly identify and establish his morals and ethics. During this intricate process, he develops a comradeship with a Jim, a runaway slave, ultimately learning the true horrors of the flawed society, in which he lives in. As a role in Hucks learning process, Mark Twain realistically utilizes the social perception of whites during the time period to assist Huck in discovering the blemishes of slavery, rejecting many critics assumption that he is a racist. Huck, a thirteen-year-old son of a drunkard, is recurrently strained to survive on his own wits where sometimes it contradicts societys standards and laws. As he seems to trek down the Mississippi River, he also journeys down his inner mentality, as Huck encounters challenges between his social conscience and individual conscience. Huck always seems to look up to the educated, the high and mid-class. He appeared to make himself believe that his judgment was inferior or abased to theirs because he was illiterate, and not truly part of society or a civilized human being. He blindly follows Tom Sawyer, due to the fact that he was educated and brought up in a refined urbane setting. As the novel opens, Huck is forced to be integrated in society and civilization. Though he struggles, he persuades himself to sublime in. In the beginning, Huck is perplexed by the fatuous purpose of religion. As Widow Douglas and Miss. Watson try very hard to reform Huck to become sivilize, he doesnt see the purpose of heaven and hell. Its these first signs of society (religion) that plays an impact on Huck, where he makes a connection that his actions will determine his destination after death. Huck also can be portrayed as an innate philosopher, where he is very skeptical of the societal dogmas (religion) and in fact perceives these ideas in his own ways, as he tries to reform. This is seen with Hucks idea that hell might actually be a better place than the Widow Douglass heaven. Thus this issue only engenders Hucks moral development. When Huck encounters Jim on Jacksons island, and attends his story of a runaway slave, Huck sees Jim as a human being rather than a slave. Huck feels empathy and remorse, as he hears Jims sad tale of his family being ripped apart. Huck, who just wasnt able to properly fully mold with society, and Jim, a run-away slave, both were alienated from society in fundamental ways. Both now in some form freed from the insincerity and injustice of society, but knew this would not last long. When Huck realizes that his fate was wrapped around Jims, he questions the morality of helping a run-away slave, this in which was against law, and breaking a law would lead him to hell. More subtly, Twain criticize the American South for its phony romanticism and hypocritical Christianity. Huck decries the idea that the Christianity of the South is a living contradiction. Huck does not comprehend the fact how society accepts slavery yet ignores the Biblical notion of the equality of all believers. (The Adve ntures of Huckleberry Finn pg1). Nonetheless, Huck conceded and acknowledged that he would go to hell, in which a sacrifice he was willing to make. In further context, Twain in his works is not a racist. In the manner he depicts Jim as a real person, who carries feelings and emotions, shows in fact that Twain is an opponent of slavery. Huck had the common sense to see how slavery was a genuine blight to humanity. Contrarily the so called sophisticated society accepted it, even the good people such as Miss. Watson. Huck matures further as he breaks that mask that society gave Jim, and accepts him as a normal person. Huck refers to Jim, I knowed he was white inside. (Twain, pg 46). It shows how Huck, who was brought up in a very bigoted section of the country, that ingested all the hypocrisy of slavery, was still able to transcend it by just knowing this one nigger, Jim. Furthermore, Hucks character changes as Jim teaches him about friendship. Their relationship becomes tighter, after the Hucks joke about him never had gone missing in the fog. Huck learns that Jim is a person is with feelings, and ultimately Jim induces this movement into Hucks maturity. This is the critical point of Hucks transformation, where Huck apologizes to Jim. Hucks voyage down the Mississippi taught him much, but was mainly a frolic. But once it resumes, when Huck is taken up the Grangerfords, he journeys to the dark side of American civilization. The benevolent family who offer Huck to stay is in a burning feud between another family, the Shepherdsons. Twain uses these two families to employ in some deriding absurdity and to mock an overly romanticizes ideas about family honor. Ultimately, the families sensationalized feud gets many of them killed. Huck truly refutes society once he saw his new friend Buck, be shot and killed. Twain uses this incident to comment on all systems of principle that rebuffs the humanity of another set of people. Huck becomes befuddled in this episode. The Grangerfords are a mix of contradictions where they treat Huck well, but they own slaves and behave more foolishly with other family by killing one other. Is this what society dawns upon? In the denouement, Huck transmogrifies into a full adolescent who now truly believes in his values, and deems that it should not be tractable and tarnished by societys laws. Near the conclusion of the novel, Huck and Tom make an attempt to free Jim who is held captured. After Toms ludicrous plan fails, everyone learns that Jim was actually a free man for weeks (because Miss. Watson, in her will, allow Jim to be free when she died). This idea of freeing a free black man had a special resonance at the time Twain wrote this novel. Blacks during this time had much trouble integrating with society because of the racial subordination that was still present preceding the Civil War. Work Cited The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay. Novelguide.com. December 14, 2009. . Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. United States: Bantum Books, Inc., 1884.

Post Enlightenment European Culture: Metropolis (1927)

Post Enlightenment European Culture: Metropolis (1927) Final Paper: Metropolis (a 1927 German film) 14210568 Many people are used to the image as a way to receive information, through the film is the story. Film is not just the life of entertainment, as a media form, is presented in conjunction with a lot of culture produced by an art type images. The film â€Å"Metropolis† is a significant German silent science-fiction film released in 1927 by Fritz Lang. It able to represent and portray the culture, political and social ideologies in Germany during that time. Since the remarkable work of â€Å"Metropolis†, it is regarded as one of timeless classics that withstand the test of time. The film â€Å"Metropolis† explicitly demonstrated different aspects of European culture since the Enlightenment, including the working class culture, totalitarian culture and the worship of technology. First of all, the relation between the working class and the bourgeoisie is revealed. In the film, the city was vertically separated into two spaces clearly, implying the differences of lifestyle between the working class and the capitalists, by sharply contrast of spatial distribution and configuration. The film opens by showing the city of the workers which is below the ground. Workers who wearing monotonous uniforms have to work day and night as a machine in the factories where are completely dark. Conversely, there is an entirely subversive life on the ground. It is the world of the bourgeoisie which is a thriving metropolis. It is a magnificent, gigantic city with gleaming skyscrapers linked by aerial highways, suspension bridges, and bustling street. People live in comfort and plenty, with huge stadiums and pleasure gardens. These effusive and energetic images show the life of the bourgeoisie are full of technology and possibilities. Also, the presence of the sentence â€Å"As deep as lay the workers’ city below the earth, so high above it towered the complex named the ‘Club of the Sons,’ with its lecture halls† in the film also revealed the mirroring yet opposite environments in which the labor and the capitalists live in. Such high distinction emphasizes the social relationship of bourgeoisie and proletarians, and the rulers and the exploited. Working people are seen as a labor force, and usually regarded as passive victims of laissez faire as well as the capitalism (Thompson, p.3). For the purpose of working for the chosen elite Joh Federsen, the ruler of Metropolis, they are the masses of nameless workers who have to labor in an industrial complex to accomplish repetitive and dull tasks, and just served as a cog in a machine or a tool or production without emotional expression and communication, in order to sustain Metropolis. It seems that the film â€Å"Metropolis† portrays the working class culture which workers are always in alienation, and squeezed and exploited by the rulers, in particular their labor forces, by comparing the lives of workers to capitalists. Besides, the pictures drawn in the movie indicates that the workers has class-consciousness (Thompson, p.1). For instance, Freder is not accepted by the workers when he attempting to integrate into the working class since the workers recognize him as Joh Fredersen’s son. Apart from the working class culture, totalitarian cultures are also demonstrated in â€Å"Metropolis†. Totalitarian movement and government are characterized by aiming at total domination and resting on mass support (Arendt, p.351). Totalitarian regimes seek to hold the total authority over the society and dominate all aspects of public and private life wherever possible. In the film, Metropolis is ruled by wealthy industrialists (capitalists), led by Joh Fredersen, a king in a suit, also the commander-in-chief. Joh Fredersen is the â€Å"head† of the city, is to give commands to the machine systems (i.e. the workers), in order to keep the city runs. He is the leader of the â€Å"elites† who holding most of the resources and managing the working class. However, underground-dwelling workers have to toil constantly to operate the machines, and they have no choice. The workers were only the â€Å"hand† of the city, just like robots, â€Å"one command, one a ction†. They are not be respected and cared by the ruler; instead, they are just considered as the means of production. For example, when Freder told his father about the industrial accident that resulted in death of workers, Joh Fredersen first seen to be no response and tried to ignore him, and later he said the workers should belong to the depth where it was not they belonged to. It seems that no actions should be taken since Fredersen think those workers are just the tool operating the machine system. On the other hand, the workers did not have complaints and actions against the commander, even still continued to work as before as nothing was happened. It reveals that the working class is living worthless, and is dominated to work for serving the capitalists. Metropolis is obviously a totalitarian regime as the working class is managed by Fredersen, and they have been isolated and ignored. Furthermore, the worship of technology and science and its relation with the bourgeoisie are also reflected in the movie. â€Å"Capitalism is the first mode of production in world history to institutionalize self-sustaining economic growth.† (Habermas, p. 247) It leads to an extremely fast rate of economic growth, which can increase living conditions and lead to a more prosperous country, therefore, legitimacy of the state can also be provided. And technology and science is the dominating force in the capitalist society. Metropolis is obviously a kind of capitalist society. In the film, there are lots of tall skyscrapers touching one another with roadway fingers and buzzed about by airplanes and blimps, in particular the Tower of Babel, and thus it is technology-driven. In order to enhancing the economic growth, the leader of Metropolis as well as the capitalists will emphasize work as an important force; technology plays a major part of the society in sustaining the city. The refore, no longer is work part of the subsystem of the society, work becomes the driving force in the society. For example, when the grievances of the workers broken out, with strike, revolt and revolution, the Metropolis has to face the suffering from the attack of underground water. It seems that there will be the collapse of the society when the action of work, the dominating force in the capitalist society and is prompted by the bourgeoisie who are profit-seeking, is not functioning. The machine system used to sustain the city is fail as the strike of the workers. On the other hand, Fredersen also cannot build, control or monitor the city without technological power and the work-flow of information supported by technology.He has to depend on technology for his control of Metropolis. It seems that technology and science become the ideology of Metropolis, the capitalist society, to maintain the city operates. For the movie â€Å"Metropolis†, the scene showing the two clocks vertically strike me most. The bottom clock counts off the time in ten hour increments for the workers, while the upper clock uses a 24-hour system, for managers, engineers and administrators. I think these two clock is about the interpretation of time, reflecting the two social classes which is the working class and the capitalists, also implying work is the driven force of the society. This scene is fully illustrated the working class culture. The clock emphasizes the control of time over the workers. Just as a machine is always under the control of an external influence, the worker is controlled by the system of Metropolis. They just know they should work day by day, and denied the rhythms of daylight and night. Unlike the capitalists on the ground, their lives is work, no other things. For them, time is not important and even meaningless. The exploitation of the workers, and as the passive victims of capital ism are the significant characteristics of the working class culture. To conclude, different aspects of European culture since the Enlightenment are demonstrated by the film â€Å"Metropolis†. Not only that, the movie also represent and reveal the current working condition of labors in the certain extent. In some workplace, especially in the developing countries with cheap labors, workers are much easier in alienation, only working relationship and exploitation but no meaningful communication and mutual care between them and the capitalists. Same as the film portrayed, no one will leave their sphere. No one thinks about how the other half lives. No one is curious. The interaction becomes less important, and many of the social and cultural attributes of society fall apart. This is an unhealthy social phenomenon that should be aware and addressed.

Lets Rank the Clique :: essays research papers

Let's Rank the Clique! In case you don't know, the Clique was an infamous backstage of friends (Triple H, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall and X-Pac/Sean Waltman) who reportedly managed to find ways to manipulate Vince McMahon and the WWF's booking to their own advantage for a few years during the mid-90's. They were all members of the WWF's "Next Generation" of superstars who were supposed to usher in a new era of WWF product. They were all being pushed as young and cool. Not as cool as the Official Ninja Homepage (http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~rahjr79/ninja.htm), but whatever "cool" was to Vince McMahon at the time. Keep in mind, this is the same guy who built an angle on his second biggest PPV around a guy in a turkey outfit. So which member of this group of backstage politicians will make it to the top? Which one will be the undeniable "leader" of this infamous backstage faction? That's the question we will answer today! So let's break this down in a scientific manner.... Most Memorable Moment: Triple H: Steals Stephanie McMahon on WWF TV, then dates her in real life Shawn Michaels: Beating Bret Hart for WWF title Kevin Nash: Formed NWO in WCW X-Pac: Return to WWF in Spring '98 Scott Hall: NWO debut, ladder match with HBK at 'Mania Most Embarassing Moment: Triple H: Breaks kayfabe during infamous MSG incident in '96, gets hung out to dry by fellow Clique members and is depushed for a year Shawn Michaels: Gets ass kicked by "9 regular guys" at bar in Syracuse. Loses smile. "Injures" knee in '97. Cries in locker room after Hart screw job on "Wrestling with Shadows", hung out to dry after appearing in WWF locker room "unready to work" (according to WWF management) last year.................... Kevin Nash: Totally flops as WCW booker, sends company further on road to hell X-Pac: Invented Bronco-Buster and crotch-chop. Ten year olds everywhere begin telling teachers to "suck it" Scott Hall: Post-Divorce party that lasted from 1996 to 2000 Turning Point of Career: Triple H: When he was rehabbing knee injury in '98 and found a way to suddenly get bigger Shawn Michaels: Taking a bad bump from the Undertaker during a casket match in '98, led to career-ending back injury Kevin Nash: Given WWF title after squash win over Bob Backlund at WWF house show X-Pac: Injured his neck and had to give up his trademark high-flying style Let's Rank the Clique :: essays research papers Let's Rank the Clique! In case you don't know, the Clique was an infamous backstage of friends (Triple H, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall and X-Pac/Sean Waltman) who reportedly managed to find ways to manipulate Vince McMahon and the WWF's booking to their own advantage for a few years during the mid-90's. They were all members of the WWF's "Next Generation" of superstars who were supposed to usher in a new era of WWF product. They were all being pushed as young and cool. Not as cool as the Official Ninja Homepage (http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~rahjr79/ninja.htm), but whatever "cool" was to Vince McMahon at the time. Keep in mind, this is the same guy who built an angle on his second biggest PPV around a guy in a turkey outfit. So which member of this group of backstage politicians will make it to the top? Which one will be the undeniable "leader" of this infamous backstage faction? That's the question we will answer today! So let's break this down in a scientific manner.... Most Memorable Moment: Triple H: Steals Stephanie McMahon on WWF TV, then dates her in real life Shawn Michaels: Beating Bret Hart for WWF title Kevin Nash: Formed NWO in WCW X-Pac: Return to WWF in Spring '98 Scott Hall: NWO debut, ladder match with HBK at 'Mania Most Embarassing Moment: Triple H: Breaks kayfabe during infamous MSG incident in '96, gets hung out to dry by fellow Clique members and is depushed for a year Shawn Michaels: Gets ass kicked by "9 regular guys" at bar in Syracuse. Loses smile. "Injures" knee in '97. Cries in locker room after Hart screw job on "Wrestling with Shadows", hung out to dry after appearing in WWF locker room "unready to work" (according to WWF management) last year.................... Kevin Nash: Totally flops as WCW booker, sends company further on road to hell X-Pac: Invented Bronco-Buster and crotch-chop. Ten year olds everywhere begin telling teachers to "suck it" Scott Hall: Post-Divorce party that lasted from 1996 to 2000 Turning Point of Career: Triple H: When he was rehabbing knee injury in '98 and found a way to suddenly get bigger Shawn Michaels: Taking a bad bump from the Undertaker during a casket match in '98, led to career-ending back injury Kevin Nash: Given WWF title after squash win over Bob Backlund at WWF house show X-Pac: Injured his neck and had to give up his trademark high-flying style

Addressing Unethical Behavior in the Criminal Justice System Essay

To understand the ethical challenges in the criminal justice system, I took a look at the three parts of criminal justice, Policing, Courts, and Corrections. In doing so I found that this is quite a large topic. The areas I would like to touch on are; those areas in which the newly hired police officer, lawyer, and corrections officer my face. Having only the training he/she was given in their respective academy’s or in the case of attorneys Law School, and with the Oath of office they had just sworn to, hopefully still in, and the men and women they are placed with to guide them; above all their own sense of ethical behavior and morality. Ethics is a very personal thing; it means many things to many people. There is the mind set of â€Å"do unto others as you would have done to you†, the golden Rule, most of us learned early on in life. But as we go through life we start to get our own sense of ethical and moral behavior. We see others acting in a manner in which we would like to act, and wonder how to become more like that person, more times than not, this starts with a parent or sibling, or close family friend. At this early time we are developing our ideas of right and wrong, as well as healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Another area in which some are given a great deal of their ethical and moral values are religion, there is always a reward for doing the right thing, and a punishment for the wrong. Ethics and morality go hand in hand. The ethical and moral values we gather in the early stage of life stay with us though out our adult life. This is where the training in ethics and morality stops. For most of us we go on to live good l... ... solemn oath has a long lasting history, and is held in high regard by many, but few know its meaning. "A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for truth of what is affirmed. The appeal to God in an oath implies that the person imprecates his vengeance and renounces his favor if the declaration is false, or if the declaration is a promise, the person invokes the vengeance of God if he should fail to fulfill it. A false oath is called perjury."(Webster Dictionary 1828) Works Cited Dr. Frank Kardasz â€Å"Ethics Training For Law Enforcement: Practices and Trends. (2008) Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Verlag Richard W. De Shon â€Å" Police officer’s Oath of Office a Question of Knowledge† Eastern Michigan University. March 31, 2000 Available at: http://www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/Unsorted/OATH%20&%20ETHICS.pdf

Cisco Systems Inc Implementing ERP Essay

Cisco was far away the biggest software vendor customer supporting the application that supported order entry, manufacturing and financial. Cisco wanted to grow from $500 million to $5 billion plus company, but the application was not proving the degree of maintainability, reliability and redundancy are needed. Moreover, Cisco was not able to make the needed changes to the application anymore to meet their business needed because it was too customized (n.a 146). Difficulties in system replacement of the functional areas further perpetuated deterioration of the legacy environment of Cisco. Moreover, system outages were a routine, and this was exacerbated by product shortcomings that made it difficult to recover from the outages. Finally, the legacy environment of Cisco dramatically failed in January 1994 that it was hard to ignore the shortcomings of their existing systems leading to shut down for two days. The struggle, to recover by Cisco from the shutdown, made the managers of Cisc o conclude that there was a need for an alternative approach, hence the decision to deploy ERP system (n.a 147). What are the main reasons for Cisco to select Oracle as an ERP vendor? Before selecting Oracle as an ERP vendor, Cisco and KPMG went to the software market to identify the best packages of software. They oriented their process of selection to what people were actually using and in two days narrowed down to five packages. After evaluating the packages for a week, the team settled on two candidates, another major player in the market of ERP and oracle. The decision was also based on the fact that the vendors were not to be significantly smaller than Cisco. Finally cisco settled on oracle because of numerous factors (n.a 148). Cisco’s project was strongly being driven by manufacturing and Oracle has a better capability of manufacturing compared to other vendors (n.a 148-149). Oracle also had many promises concerning the long term package functionality development. Moreover, Oracle was flexible and was close by in addition to a belief that Oracle was highly motivated to the success of the project (n.a 149). How did Cisco form its ERP implementation team? In forming the ERP implementation team, Cisco sought the very best to include in the project from its core of 20 to about 100, to represent a cross section of the business community of Cisco. Recruitment to the team was for a short term duration and not a career change to the selected candidates. Cisco also extended relationship with KPMG because of the firm’s performance through the selection process of the software and its continued commitment to provide seasoned personnel to the project (n.a 151 para 2). The Cisco’s team members were placed into five â€Å"process area teams† (tracks) with each track comprising of Cisco business leader, Cisco information systems leader, IT and Business consultants from either Oracle or KPMG, and other personnel as team members from the business (para 3). The management of the tracks was being done from the office of the project management which comprised of KPMG project manager Mark Lee, and Tom Herbert, Cisco’s business project manager. Sitting on top of the whole structure of project management was the Executive Steering Committee which included VP of customer advocacy, VP of manufacturing, Corporate Controller, Partner in charge of the KPMG’s West Coast Consulting, and Oracles senior VP of Applications (para 4). References Pearson Custom Business Resources. New York: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2010. Print. Source document

Quality Management within Toyota Motor Company Essay

Abstract This paper explores multiple published articles discussing Toyota Motor Company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A review of Toyota’s decisions to hide important information prior to recalls leads us to a discussion of where Toyota can go from here. The paper includes recommendations for Toyota Motor Company in order to move forward after their 2010 recalls. In addition, organizational changes will assist Toyota Motor Company in overcoming their recall problems. Quality Management within Toyota Motor Company After a number of discouraging recalls at Toyota Motor Company in 2010, a number of quality management techniques were implemented. Toyota Motor Company’s SWOT Analysis played into the newly implemented quality management techniques. Toyota’s strengths allowed them to fight back quickly against these recalls that could have ultimately led to Toyota’s fall from one of the top motor company’s. Toyota Motor Company’s strengths include dominant position in the marketplace, strong brand recognition, strong focus on research and development, and broad production and distribution network. In addition to Toyota’s strengths, their weaknesses were reviewed in order to find opportunities to capitalize upon. The recalls were obviously a large weakness at Toyota. Opportunities were reviewed which included the growth of the global automotive industry. Last, Toyota’s threats were reviewed. Here it was found that powerful competition is a worry for To yota Motor Company. After the review of Toyota Motor Company’s SWOT Analysis, the issue of the recalls was assessed. Analysis shows the issue within Toyota Motor Company did not appear overnight. However, secretive management styles let the company astray. A diagram was created by functional area to summarize how Toyota has responded to these recall problems. The functional areas reviewed include management, production design and safety, quality, and manufacturing. Last, the analysis of Toyota Motor Company’s recall and quality management issues are discussed from a point of solving the problem. Recommendations are discussed that will help Toyota Motor Company to turn their weaknesses into strengths. Method Discussion SWOT Analysis Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses Product †¢ Dominant position in the marketplace †¢ Strong brand recognition †¢ Strong focus on Research & Development †¢ Broad production and distribution network †¢ Product recalls have the ability to negatively affect brand image †¢ Declining sales in crucial geographic areas External Factors Opportunities Threats Competition †¢ Growth of the global automotive industry †¢ Potential benefit from partnering with BMW †¢The outlook for the new global car market is strong †¢ Powerful competition †¢ Appreciation of the Japanese Yen †¢ Environmental regulations †¢Natural disasters Strengths. Toyota has a number of internal product strengths as noted in the SWOT Analysis table above. Toyota’s market share in 2011 was 16.5 percent,  its highest market share in 4 years. This strong market share allowed Toyota to hold a competitive advantage against their competition. In addition to holding a dominant position in the marketplace, Toyota possesses strong brand recognition through a number of brands. These brands include Toyota, Lexus, Prius, Corolla, Yaris, Camry, Sequoia, 4Runner, Scion tC, Highlander, Land Cruiser, and a number of other brand names. These brands are some of the most desired premium brands in the world according to the Company Profile report for Toyota Motor Company documented by MarketLine. Another strength of Toyota is their strong attention to research and development. According to the Company Profile report, Toyota’s focus on research and development is pointed towards the creation of new and improved products. Research and development operations are conducted at 14 facilities located around the world. This strength has allowed Toyota to increase the technology included in existing products. One of these products, a Pre-collision System (PCS) helps drivers avoid collisions. Overall, the strong focus on research and development has been a big strength for Toyota. Last, Toyota’s production and distribution network has been a big strength for the company. Toyota produces automobiles, related parts, and other components through more than 50 manufacturing companies throughout 27 countries and regions, not including Japan. As mentioned on the Toyota Motor Company website, major locations include Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Thailand, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil. As reported by Toyota Motor Company, during fiscal year 2013 the company had consolidated vehicle sales totals of 8.871 million units (TCM, 2013). As reported by Toyota Motor Company, this was an increase of 1.519 million units compared to the previous fiscal year. In addition to the widespread production of Toyota products, the company has a large distribution network. Toyota’s distribution network is one of the largest in Japan encompassing four sales channels (Toyota, Toyopet, Corolla, and Netz). In 2012 the distribution network of these channels was comprised of 283 dealers. In addition to this network, Toyota operates over 170 Lexus sales channels in Japan. As reported by Toyota Motor Company, in fiscal year 2013 these networks accounted for the following vehicle sales: Japan sales totaled 2.279 million units In North America vehicle sales totaled 2.469 million units In Europe vehicle sales totaled 799,085 units Asia came in at total vehicle sales of 1.684 million units Central and South America, Oceania and Africa came in at 1.640 million units As you can see, Toyota’s distribution network is widespread allowing for diversification and a wide reach of clientele, ultimately boosting revenues and sales. Weaknesses. A large focus of the case study focuses on the weakness of Toyota’s product recalls. As many are aware, Toyota has encountered a number of recalls in the recent past. It is a concern that these recalls could negatively affect Toyota’s brand imagine ultimately leading to decreased sales for the company. When searching for Toyota recalls it was easy to find a few recent recalls. The most recent is a recall of 700,000 Toyota Prius models which were recalled over electronic issues in the United States (csmonitor.com, 2014). Another very recent recall includes certain versions of the Lexus RX crossover. In this case, more than 261,000 vehicles are being recalled due to a brake issue (csmonitor.com, 2014). In addition to the many recalls, Toyota has been involved in a number of lawsuits. In December 2012, Toyota settled a suit by paying $17.4 million to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to settle claims related to the June 2012 recall of potential accelerator pedal entrapment issues. This bad press will ultimately result in a negative effect on consumer’s confidence in Toyota’s brand. In addition, the settlement of suits ultimately decreases Toyota’s profits. As a result of this bad press Toyota saw a decline in 2012 sales in important geographic areas. Declining sales in fiscal year 2012 were seen across North America, Asia, and Europe. Opportunities. As reported by the article, Global automotive industry to experience modest growth in 2012, a number of opportunities exist in the global automotive industry (2012). The Japanese auto industry responded from natural disasters which had caused reduced inventories and production. It is forecasted that the industry will continue to grow increasing Toyota revenues. In June of 2012, BMW and Toyota signed a long-term partnership. The two companies are partnering on the developments that will help to increase market share and sales. This relationship is expected to increase technology between the two companies as  well as result in new product development. In addition to these opportunities, the new car market is experiencing moderate growth which will assist in increased sales and profits. Threats. Intense competition in the worldwide car market has become very competitive. This competition will likely increase in the upcoming years as competitors add more technology and increase developments. In addition to the intense competition, the appreciating Japanese Yen has become a big concern for Toyota. Last, environment regulations have the potential to increase production costs. Emissions regulations that are updated periodically could cause issues in new car production. Evolvement of Quality Management Issues At first glance, it seems that Toyota’s gas pedal issue appeared overnight. However, upon further research, evidence was found to prove the opposite. As reported in the article Secretive Culture Let Toyota Astray, evidence that Toyota cars could suddenly speed up had been piling up for years (2010). At the time of the recalls, Toyota had known about this gas pedal problem for more than a year. The problem was stated to be Toyota’s secretive corporate culture in Japan which ultimately conflicted with United States requirements that auto makers disclose safety threats. New initiatives brought to the table by Toyota have attempted to correct the previous secretive culture of Toyota. Total quality management initiatives have been put in place to assist in better customer service and safety and repair issues. According to Jacobs and Chase, total quality management can be defined as managing the entire organization so that it excels on all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer (Chase and Jacobs, 2014, p. 296). The table following this discussion addresses the steps Toyota has taken in response to its recent quality recall problems. Functional Area Quality Management Steps Management †¢ Managing Director names to oversee any safety-related issues †¢ Top down management approach Product Design & Safety †¢ Troubleshooting teams known as Swift Market Analysis Response Teams work to  find any safety issues that need to be reported Quality †¢ TAQIC – Toyota Advanced Quality Information Center staffed by a group of employees who compile repair reports from dealerships worldwide †¢ 1000 engineers hired to spot-check quality Manufacturing †¢ No drastic changes to assembly lines Results/Discussion Problem Solution As discussed in the diagram above, there were many opportunities for Toyota after their encounter with the recall situation. Akio Toyoda, the head of the company, acted quickly by implementing a top down management approach instead of the more popular Japanese â€Å"bottom up† approach that slows down the decision making. In addition, Akio cut board of directors by fifty percent and cut out management layers. Akio also began meeting with his top five advisers on a weekly basis. In these meetings decisions were made quickly. Akio pushed his team to make â€Å"always better cars.† This change in the way the organization is managed helped Toyota to stay on top even through the recalls. Recommendations Many recommendations have been made to assist Toyota Motor Company in improving the recall situation they encountered in 2011. Some recommendations Toyota should follow include as recommended by the North American Quality Advisory Panel include the following: Give North American operations more independence in making recall decisions Strengthen quality control processes Extend development time of new products to include more safety tests Create a role of Chief Safety Technology Officer Create and launch a Safety Research Center focused on protecting the most important clientele (children, teens, and seniors) These ideas follow the concept of total quality management which focuses on two fundamental goals: Careful design of the product (in the case of Toyota Motor Company, the vehicle) Ensure that Toyota Motor Company systems can produce this design  in a consistent manner Quality at the source seems to be a great way for Toyota Motor Company to proceed. Quality at the source means that the person who is doing the work is taking the responsibility for making sure the work meets specifications. As previously discussed, safety control will be a huge initiative for Toyota Motor Company going forward. If implemented, these recommendations can do a lot to help Toyota Motor Company increase their organizational effectiveness. As previously discussed, many organizational steps were taken by Akio Toyoda after these recalls. It seems that Toyota could greatly benefit from organizational learning. As stated by Operations and Supply Chain Management, â€Å"it has been argued that organizational learning is critical to sustaining a competitive advantage† (Chase and Jacobs, 2014, p. 138). Organizational realignment was important to Toyota Motor Company after the 2010 and 2011 recalls. According to a Toyota news release in December of 2008 organizational changes include the establishment of the below: A Government and Public Affairs Group which was focused on quick response to inquiries from around the world while also unifying public affairs functions. An Accounting Group aimed at strengthening the business management and financial management system of Toyota Motor Company. A Europe and Africa Operations Group intended to assist with business planning in African and Central Asia. The group was also established to conduct business promotion events in both Europe and Africa. A Production Engineering Group aimed at increasing the strength of the quality control system for semiconductors for hybrid vehicles. The recommendations made are important to Toyota’s future. Reorganization and creation of new groups within the organization will help Toyota to overcome these recalls. References Ingram, A. (2014, Feb 12). Toyota recall: 1.9 million Prius vehicles recalled to fix software glitch. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2014/0212/Toyota-recall-1.9-million-Prius-vehicles-recalled-to-fix-software-glitch Jacobs, F. R., & Chase, R. (2014). Operations and supply chain management. (14 ed.). New York, NY: