Monday, August 19, 2019

The Important Role of News Reporters Essay -- Exploratory Essays Resea

The Important Role of News Reporters Every morning when I get up, the very first thing I do is turn on the TV--but not for cartoons or MTV. It has become a habit for me to watch the news in the morning. I feel the need to know what is going on because I know that no matter where the news happens, 99 percent of the time it will, directly or indirectly, affect me or people I care about. The broadcast media has become a part of my life and the lives of almost everyone in the Western world. We may not know the names of our senators, but Katie Couric or Tom Brokaw are familiar names in every American household. Not many of us realize, however, that the job of the news reporter is not as glorious as we imagine. This paper will offer you a closer look on what goes on behind the TV screen or radio microphone. Like all other discourse communities, news reporters have their own jargon. It consists mostly of technical terms describing different aspects of news production. In radio, there are voicers, readers, Q&A's, and packages--all of these are types of stories. Voicer is a news story voiced by a reporter; reader is a script of a news story read by a news anchor; Q&A is an interview; and package is a news story produced and read by a reporter that also includes parts of interviews or natural sound. A particular feature of a news reporter's jargon is that very often there are a couple of different terms for one concept. For example, other words for "package" are "wrap" and "feature"; "cut," "bite" (or "soundbite") and "actuality" all refer to a part of an interview. But in most cases, the jargon of the news reporters is much more understandable to an outsider than, for example, the specialized language of chemists. The goal of repo... ...oofness hurt press credibility, ABC's Cokie Roberts says." Freedom Forum Online News. http://www.freedomforum.org/freedomforum/news/971003ca.html (9 October 1997). Germer, Fawn. "How Do You Feel?" American Journalism Review June 1995: 36-42. Kemkes, Michelle. " 'If it bleeds it leads,' isn't the motto at KVUE-TV." Minnesota News Council Newsletter, Summer 1996. http://www.mtn.org/newscouncil/Summer96/KVUE.html (9 October 1997). Rather, Dan. "Journalism and the Public Trust." Humanist Nov./Dec. 1990: 5-8. Scanlan, Frank. Personal interview. 10 October, 1997. Shaw, David. "Beyond Skepticism: A Negative Spin on the News." Los Angeles Times 17 April 1996: Al. Shook, Frederick, et al. The Broadcast News Process. 5th ed. Englewood: Morton Publishing, 1996. Valente, Judith. "Do You Believe What Newspeople Tell You?" Parade 2 March 1997: 4-6.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Outsourcing and Offshoring of IT to India :: Workforce Work Jobs Globalization

Outsourcing and Offshoring of IT to India Introduction One of the hottest trends today for big corporations is outsourcing and offshoring. Outsourcing simply means a company based in one nation will hire from other nations in order to more efficient accomplish its goals. It makes sense on the part of the corporation, why pay a programmer in the US $80,000 a year when they can pay a programmer in India less than 1/10th of that salary, and make him a very happy man. This because even when he is earning 1/10th of the US salary, he is still earning more money than he ever hoped to get in that industry in India. It seems like a win-win situation1, but there is still a loser: The growing unemployed population of the US. As more jobs go overseas, more US citizens are finding themselves becoming obsolete. Recent History of IT in the US Between 1987 and 1997 imports used in US manufacturing rose from 10.5% to 16.2%2 and in High Technology rose from 26% to 38%. The US has a long history of outsourcing blue-collar jobs, including those that are intermediate steps within business processes in many industrial sectors. Manufacturing’s outsourcing success can be attributed to the lower cost structures found in many East Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia and others2. These countries not only provide a lower cost structure, but also have a highly educated work force and business friendly environment. Outsourcing of blue-collar jobs has increased the demand of white-collar jobs in the US. The focus on white-collar jobs by US firms has pushed US profitability upwards. The outsourcing trend continues to eat up the value chain from blue-collar jobs to white collar jobs3. The software industry is experiencing an outsourcing trend to countries such as China and most significantly to India. The proliferation of the Internet has opened easier access to information and collaborative environments. Previously communication costs and access to mind power was limited. The Internet made communication costs virtually free and collaboration with groups around the makes software engineering and collaboration tasks easier. In additional, liberalization of free markets across international lines has made it easier for companies to set up and outsource engineering tasks throughout the world. Business-process and software outsourcing rely on cheaper cost structure as found in East Asia with manufacturing4.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Government Welfare

Obviously not, Welfare, at the government level, is mainly monies given to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need. This would include survivor benefits given to the widow/widowers of service-members. I don’t feel all areas of welfare should be abolished for instance the WIC program which provides vouchers to low income mothers to assist in buying formula and healthy foods in which would not be possible without the program.The price of baby formula can be very expensive in which millions of children would suffer from hunger, unhealthy diets and other health problems in regards to nutritional factors. Sometimes, it's just a matter of helping someone who's down on their luck for a short time, and then there are cases where you've got an elderly person who is all alone and needs some assistance. However, corporate welfare should be abolished, and regular welfare should be better managed. Anyone who is on welfare should be required to work or go to sch ool 40 hours a week to get their check; welfare should be a hand up, not a hand out.I think some people definitely need help. Sometimes, it's just a matter of helping someone who's down on their luck for a short time, and then there's cases where you've got an elderly person who is all alone and needs some assistance. However, corporate welfare should be abolished, and regular welfare should be better managed. Anyone who is on welfare should be required to work or go to school 40 hours a week to get their check; welfare should be a hand up, not a hand out.The system is so bloated and unmanageable that it allows many people to abuse it. Abolishing welfare would truly be one of the most unthinkable things to do to our fellow men and women not to mention the children involved who weren’t quite as â€Å"Lucky† as many of us have been in life. The Family Support Act, America's most recent effort at welfare reform, begins to take effect this year. The new law seeks to get si ngle mothers off welfare through a combination of job training, work requirements, child care subsidies, and child support enforcement.Cutting the welfare rolls is, in turn, supposed to save the taxpayer money while enhancing the self-respect of single mothers and their children. ( http://prospect. org/article/real-welfare-problem) Some Democrats believe the 1996 welfare reform is better than the recommendations of the Obama Administration. â€Å"The House voted Thursday (September 20, 2012) to block the Obama Administration's unilateral weakening of welfare's work requirements, and political reporters are writing it off as a partisan primal scream if they notice at all.† (Unknown, 2012)All Republicans and nineteen Democrats showed their dislike of the current administrations path down the welfare reform road with an astounding 250-164 rout over welfare reform recommendations. That’s one-tenth of the Democratic caucus joining with the Republicans to say our people need welfare in its current state during these hard economic times. The Reform Act was started during the Clinton Administration in August of 1996. However, welfare has been a controversial issue since the 1960’s.It was not until the late 1980’s, when the citizens were concerned and asking for some kind of reform to the welfare system. I do think that over the years there have been many changes to welfare programs. Many of these changes have been good, although some have been bad. The current welfare program will not see any beneficial changes until someone offers a more beneficial way of doing things. Unfortunately there have been very few ideas to change the welfare system. Hopefully in the future this changes.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Plain View/Open Fields Case Study Essay

In the case of the purse which was dropped by a suspect who had been running from the police officers, the plain view and the open field doctrines were both applicable. According to the law, the Plain View Doctrine is applied when a police officer comes upon a contraband which is in â€Å"plain view† in any area where the presence of said police officer is legal. In such a situation, the officer could legally seize the contraband on the spot without the need of a warrant and arrest its owner for illegally possessing the substance. Only one condition should be established: that before seizing the object, said police officer should establish â€Å"probable cause† that the object is unquestionably contraband. Under such circumstances, the owner of the object in question is not protected by the Fourth Amendment (FindLaw, n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, according to the Open Fields Doctrine, the owner of an object located out of doors where it could be plainly seen or accessible to anybody who is on foot, from inside any motor vehicle, or a low-flying aircraft, could not seek the privacy protection under the Fourth Amendment. This means that even if a dwelling unit is protected by a fence, the fenced-in ground is still considered an â€Å"open field† if people can easily peep through cracks in the fence, or if the fence is low enough for people to have a clear view of the ground inside without standing on their toes or on top of any object in order to have a clear line of sight. The protection against intrusion exercised by the owner such as a locked gate is also taken into consideration. Open fields include streets, sidewalks, bodies of water, outdoor fields, or even the â€Å"cartilage† of a fenced-in residential building if it is in plain view of people standing outside the fence (FindLaw, n.d.). The purse was dropped in a place which was accessible to anybody at all times of the day, being a back alley where residents deposit their trash for the garbage collectors to pick up. In other words, the presence of any person in that area, including police officers, could not be considered unlawful. These circumstances made that particular alley an open field. The doctrine on open fields is therefore applicable. In addition, when the purse was dropped, it sprung open and spilled most of its contents on the ground, including the marijuana sticks. In other words, the police officer immediately saw the marijuana sticks when he came back for the purse after failing to catch up with the escaping man because they were in â€Å"plain view.† Given that the place where the purse was dropped could be considered an open field and that the marijuana sticks were in plain view of the officer in a place where the presence of said officer is not unlawful, the open field doctrine as well as the doctrine of plain view could both be applied to the case of the dropped purse. This being the case, the marijuana sticks could therefore be legally seized and used as evidence to justify the arrest of the owner of the purse. Had the purse stayed tightly closed when it was dropped and the marijuana sticks remained hidden from plain view, it could not have been the subject of a legal seizure proceeding. In the case of the two boys who were fighting inside a fenced-in residence, the two doctrines were again applicable. When the officers who failed to catch up with the suspect went back for the purse which was dropped on the alley, it was then that Officer Nelson heard the commotion inside a fenced-in yard. When he went near the fence of the nearest residence, he found that he could easily see into the fenced-in ground of the house without having to stand on his toes or on top of any object. The fenced-in ground, therefore, fell under the open field doctrine because what was happening inside could easily be observed by anybody passing by the fence. Then, since Officer Nelson saw the violent incident involving two teenage boys, it became his duty, being a peace officer, to break up the fight and prevent further physical damage to the boys involved. He therefore felt duty-bound to enter the premises. The fact that the gate to the backyard was not locked proved that his entry was not forced therefore he did not violate the Fourth Amendment. This is because an unlocked gate is an indication that the owner of the premises did not expect too much privacy by not restricting entry into an â€Å"open field.† In addition, â€Å"no entry† signs were not posted either on the fence or on the gate. In U.S. v. Thomas, supra, the court ruled that police officers who entered an apartment through an open gate were not violating the rights of the owners under the Fourth Amendment, noting that the open gate indicated that entering did not require permission from the owner or occupant of the apartment. It also pointed out that there was no other indication or warning that unauthorized entry was not allowed. All things considered, the court ruled that the gate only served as the entrance to the apartment and not as a means of preventing people from entering simply because it was open (as cited in State vs. Ramaekers, 1999). The circumstances which attended U.S. v. Thomas were identical to the circumstances present in the case study: There was a fence, and a gate, but the latter was not locked, and no â€Å"do not enter† signs were posted. The ruling in U.S. v. Thomas is therefore applicable to the case study when the police officers entered the fenced-in ground. The Open Field Doctrine, however, was applicable only as far as the breakup of the fight between the two boys was concerned. Since Officer Nelson did not yet see the baggies when he was outside the fence, it could not be applied to the baggies which contained the contraband. However, when he approached the door to the patio to call the guardians of the boys, he saw the baggies in â€Å"plain view† on top of the table near the door. At that point, the discovery of the white substance fell under the doctrine of plain view. It was discovered by Officer Nelson â€Å"inadvertently† in a place where his presence was legitimate. It should be emphasized that Officer Nelson’s presence in the area was to break up a fight which he had observed from the alley outside the fence of that residence. In addition, it was not necessary for the officer to establish probable cause that the white substance was contraband because the woman who came out of the house in response to his call immediately confirmed that the substance was indeed contraband. The seizure was therefore lawful under the Plain View Doctrine and the contraband should be admissible as evidence in court (Findlaw, n.d.).

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Sony Strategy Analysis

SONY Strategy Case Analysis Executive Summary Sony is currently faced with the problem of low operating margin and stagnant market share in the videogame console industry. PlayStation3 of Sony is competing with Xbox360 of Microsoft and Wii of Nintendo. Despite the high technology, Wii outsells PlayStation in the market. This shows that the traditional strategy of Sony based on hardware should be reviewed according to the new trend. Considering gradually increasing market size and harsh competition, Sony should invest more on creating new customers and software. AnalysisAfter experiencing the five or six cycles defined by advancement of underlying technology, there are currently three main competitors in the videogame industry: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. The PlayStation of Sony and the Xbox360 of Microsoft can be characterized by high technology and interoperability with other electronic products. Meanwhile, the Wii of Nintendo emphasizes innovative and user-friendly capabilities such as wireless motion-sensing controllers. Therefore, the Wii could appeal to more widespread customers such as senior people including traditional gamers.Based on enthusiastic reactions to Wii, the leading market share of PlayStation in the prior generation is replaced by the Wii of Nintendo. As of 2008, the Wii substantially outsells the two rivals. According to Five Forces Analysis, Sony has been faced with the following characteristics in the game industry. Suppliers: The bargaining power is relatively high since videogame console makers outsource the manufacturing of console. Also, they need the support of game developers. In this respect, the one of the main reasons why the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 could succeed as a new entrant would be the supplier-friendly strategy of Sony.Sony took the policy to license any PlayStation software as far as it does not clash with hardware. Also, Sony provided third-party developers with various development tools and soft libraries. Buy ers: Compared with past customers who could enjoy the limited game console suppliers, current customers could enjoy the various types of game platforms. Also, based on the high technologies, the games for every age or demographic are coming out to the market. Therefore, game console makers should ensure as many customers as possible to enjoy the economy of scale in the increasing market size.This gamer-friendly environment results in the high bargaining power of customers. Regarding customer-based viewpoint, Sony failed to captivate the people from all levels. Even though PlayStation software is targeted at a more mature audience, PlayStation of Sony has been usually used by the traditional gamers of young age. Threat of new entrants: In the game industry, the possibility of new entrants to succeed is very slim because new platform based on high technologies requires high cost and risk.Therefore, small or medium sized companies are very difficult to finance R&D and marketing. Also, it is very difficult for new entrants to find game developers. Three giant companies (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) overwhelmingly dominate the market of videogame console and there exists a big entrance barrier. It is the reality that a small company cannot help being pushed out by three major companies. Since Sony got into the game industry, the biggest threat of new entrants would be the appearance of new contender, Microsoft, in 2001.Threat of substitute products: There exists the high possibility of substitutes from other industries. Personal computers or mobile handheld devices could be the potential substitute of videogame consoles. The reality is that many people are enjoying games using other devices such as I-Phone or I-Pad over time. In addition, consumers don’t have to bear the additional cost when they change from game consoles to other substitutes. Considering the high diffusion rate of personal computers or mobile devices, potential substitute products could be hi gh threat to selling game consoles.Positioning among current competitors: Definitely, Sony is the major entity in the game console market. However, the market situation is not so bright as the past over time. As a new entrant in 2001, Sony could get a huge success through giant money, high technology, stylish design and support of game developers. However, Sony is now suffering from negative operating profit and turned over the status of top maker to the Wii of Nintendo. So, Sony needs to set up new strategies in the videogame industry. RecommendationFirst of all, Sony should broaden customer scope from traditional gamers to the general public. Game industry is still growing although the attractiveness is waning over time. Sony is trying to position the PlayStation as the ultimate hub for digital living room. However, the people are still not familiar with PlayStation and consider it just game machine. Therefore, Sony needs to enforce the marketing for family-friendly game console m aker. The one of the main reasons for Wii’s success is that Nintendo targeted the niche market that other competitors have ignored.Nintendo focused on the general public with the easy and simple game consoles instead of expensive and complicated ones. Wii contributed to letting the public general realize the fun of game. Now, Sony needs to leverage the opponent’s assets as a Judo Strategy as Sega did in the past. If the family-friendly image is added to the high technology of Sony, the PlayStation could appeal much more to the general public. Lastly, Sony needs to more invest on its software. Sony has been focused on the product itself based on high technology and attractive design.As Nintendo makes high margin based on the customer-friendly software forgoing high price of console, Sony needs to broaden available games for PlayStation. A wide range of Adult users could bring new Blue Ocean of profits. Utilizing the advantages of PlayStation, the high technology and int eroperability with other electronic devices, Sony could set up the new digital hub replacing TV and Computer at home. To do this, above all, Sony should establish the affluent in-house software associated with developers as Apple make additional profits through various apps.

Mini Motor Homes Manufactured Essay

This case is about Mini Motor Homes Manufactured by Jim Ballenger in Kalamazoo, Michigan. According to the case, Jim Ballenger has a problem to make a decision to change his current inventory system to JIT system. From the current inventory system, Jim has spent a lot of cost on his inventory system. This is because mostly of the component used in manufactured are bought from other vendor and his company actually only manufactured very few of it component. Because of this, the transportation and inventory cost contribute to a relatively large portion of its component part of expenses. Jim Ballenger was very aware on the cost that may arise once the JIT system adopted. The cost that he may be aware to arise is the cost of management standpoint, the shipment of the component and the rate of the component purchased. Besides that, he also has inquiry about the component purchased will be arrived on time or not or the duration taken of delivering the component. This is because, if the component are not suitable to use, his team has to replace it and it will entail expensive rush order for the replacement component or the downtime for the entire plant. Jim Ballenger also concern about his relationship with his suppliers. He thought that his supplier may difficult become one part of his team. Since the supplier will expect to have special effort on their quality control or delivery flexibility on behalf of one of its almost miniscule discount. Jim Ballenger has been rent a public warehouse near his plant to keep his inventory that cost $500,000 to $1,000,000, which he paid more than 1. 5% per month from the borrowed funds to buy it. Since he starts to producing the different model, and using so many different appliances, the cost of the safety stock increased day by day. The JIT presume table has drawn with two considerations. Since the major component, chassis can be purchased at one time basis from the local supplier and out of stock situation is hardly happen, thus this component has excluded from using JIT system. The two considerations will be (1) Ballenger’s inventory carrying costs of are assumed to be 20% per year on the average investment in inventory on hand comprising acquisition and transportation costs, (2) those components that can obtain from closer sources, one week of the safety stock is sustain, if the component is further form the stock, two weeks to one month of safety stock should be available.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Applications of Total Quality Management Essay Example for Free

Applications of Total Quality Management Essay Total Quality Management (TQM) is a philosophy of management that strives to make the best use of all available resources and opportunities through continuous improvement. TQM means achieving quality in terms of all functions of the enterprise. Many researchers attempted to analyze how IT and TQM can jointly add value to organizations and the purpose of this first post on TQM is to evaluate the practicality of TQM in an IT service. In this evaluation, a balance of the service management needs with the reality of bottom-line effectiveness is provided. The post also provides a list of critical success factors to consider in a change management initiative engaged by an IT service. The essence of quality is to do it right the first time, and to satisfy customer requirements every time by involving everyone in the organization. The works of Crosby and his colleagues on the evolution of TQM cut across all pervasive philosophies of management. TQM has been a key business improvement strategy since the 1970s, as it has been deemed essential for improving efficiency and competitiveness. TQM aims to achieve an overall effectiveness which is higher than the individual outputs from the sub-systems such as design, planning, production, distribution, customer focus strategy, quality tools and employee involvement. This philosophy of management strives to make the best use of all available resources and opportunities through continuous improvement. As a management philosophy, TQM makes use of particular set of principles, practices, and techniques to expand business and profits and provides a bypass to enhanced productivity by avoiding rework, rejects, waste, customer complaints, and high cost. This can be achieved by emphasizing the organization’s commitment from data-driven, problem-solving approaches to quality accruing. The five basic pillars of TQM are : a) top management commitment for quality enhancement, b) customer centric advancements of processes and building a long-lasting trustworthy relationship between the organization and the customer, c) relentless development by setting goals and deadlines, d) benchmarking with several specific tools and quality-adding techniques, and e) strengthening the employee base by concentrating at any stage of a process on quality, where customer satisfaction is stationed. Table 1 provides a summary of the key dimensions that constitute TQM. 1. Top management leadership : Top management commitment is one of the major determinants of successful TQM implementation. Top management has to be the first in applying and stimulating the TQM approach, and they have to accept the maximum responsibility for the product and service offering. Top management also has to provide the necessary leadership to motivate all employees. 2. Customer relationships : The needs of customers and consumers and their satisfaction should always be in the mind of all employees. It is necessary to identify these needs and their level of satisfaction. 3. Supplier relationships : Quality is a more important factor than price in selecting suppliers. Long-term relationship with suppliers has to be established and the company has to collaborate with suppliers to help improve the quality of products/services. 4. Workforce management : Workforce management has to be guided by the principles of: training, empowerment of workers and teamwork. Adequate plans of personnel recruitment and training have to be implemented and workers need the necessary skills to participate in the improvement process. 5. Product design process : All departments have to participate in the design process and work together to achieve a design that satisfies the requirements of the customer, which should be according to the technical, technological and cost constraints of the company. 6. Process flow management : Housekeeping along the lines of the 5S concept. Statistical and non-statistical improvement instruments should be applied as appropriate. Processes need to be mistake proof. Self-inspection undertaken using clear work instructions. The process has to be maintained under statistical control. 7. Quality data and reporting : Quality information has to be readily available and the information should be part of the visible management system. Records about quality indicators have to be kept, including scrap, rework, and cost of quality. TQM and Change Management Initiative for IT Performance : A business firm achieves world-class status when it has successfully developed operational capabilities through TQM to support the entire company in gaining a sustained overall performance over its competitors. Although there is insufficient statistical evidence to conclude significant simple relationships between TQM and IT services quality performance, many studies investigated the notion that TQM practices provide approaches to improve the economic position in the service sectors in general. Both IT and TQM had, and will continue to have a significant impact on most organizations. I only regret the lack of empirical research on the relationship between the two and how they both relate to business performance. Applications of Total Quality Management. (2016, Nov 15).