Total Quality and Human Resource Management Essay Example

Total Quality and Human Resource Management Essay J. N. Bradley Central Washington University ABSTRACT Total Quality Management (TQM) has been defined as a system designed to satisfy customers requirements, a philosophy that stresses a team approach to achieving quality and continuous improvement and a total change in organizational culture. Unfortunately, most Human Resource Management (HRM) systems/activities generate, or at least allow for, inconsistencies in the quality of outcomes. Consequently, an important question that should be considered is whether using a systems engineering approach would be beneficial in the integration of the two activities? INTRODUCTION Total Quality Management (TQM) has been defined as a system designed to satisfy customers requirements (Sashkin Kiser, 1991), a philosophy that stresses a team approach to achieving quality and continuous improvement (Lawler, 1994b), and a total change in organizational culture (Ross, 1993). If management accepts these definitions and attempts to implement TQM within an organization, the success of the program relies heavily on the strategic application of human resources in the organizations quality transformation process while attending to its own transformation of quality. (Hart Schlesinger, 1991). Unfortunately, most Human Resource Management (HRM) systems/activities generate, or at least allow for, inconsistencies in the quality of outcomes. Consider the following selection of personnel is typically based on individual job requirements and not organizational values (Barrett, 1995; Blackburn Rosen, 1993); job analysis is a static (or consistent) process that takes place within a dynamic environment (Cardy Dobbins, 1992; Hamstead, 1995); performance appraisals usually compare individuals to one another instead of the system; and the typical pay system rewards individual performances not organizational goals (Dobbins, Cardy, Carson, 1991). We will write a custom essay sample on Total Quality and Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Total Quality and Human Resource Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Total Quality and Human Resource Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Furthermore, Deming (1986) claims that performance appraisals (P/As) are one of managements deadliest sins and that their use should be totally eliminated. Given the above perspectives, important questions that should be analyzed and answered are whether TQM and HRM can combine in a synergistic manner that results in a positive contribution to organizational improvement and achievement of objectives? And, whether using a Systems engineering approach would be beneficial in the integration of the two activities? Problems with HRM Processes Selection Cascio (1991) states that the typical objective in traditional personnel selection processes is that of capitalizing on individual differences in order to select those persons who possess the greatest number of key attributes judged necessary for job success. Dobbins, Cardy, Carson (1991) further state that the objective of the traditional selection process is the differentiation of applicants on one or more dimensions such as knowledge, skill, ability, or motivation. However, they state that a problem arises, from a system perspective, when employees are selected based on individualistic or differentiated characteristics, but are evaluated on system-related criteria and measures. Thus, HRM departments may be reinforcing counterproductive processes when they select (or recommend for selection) personnel based on individualized job analyses and then attempt to evaluate them under a TQM or system-wide performance structure or criteria. According to Blackburn and Rosen (1993), some past winners of the Baldrige quality award are still engaging in traditional selection practices. These companies admit to hiring the best candidates for a position based on individual job specifications, and that they hope these individuals can be socialized into the TQM environment at some later point in their tenure. However Blackburn and Rosen feel that, because of the changing culture within organizations towards continuous quality, the selection process must allow for the candidate to show skills in customer satisfaction, self-direction, self-development and team-development. Accordingly, the selection process must enable management to assess (or predict) the aptitudes and abilities that will allow an employee to adapt to an environment of constantly changing customer requirements, and to look for a successful assimilation within the existing organizational culture. According to Bowen, Ledford, and Nathan (1991), the use of selection based on organizational fit Rill increase due to a new selection model that is emerging. This model is based on considering the whole person in relation to the specific organization culture. The benefits of employing this process are greater job satisfaction, organizational commitment, team spirit, better job performance, reduced absenteeism, and greater support for the organization as a system and culture. The issue of organization-person fit does raise some interesting questions. For instance, what types of people fit within what types of organizational culture, and is there any truly measurable benefit to the organization or employee? Research conducted by OReilly, Chaiman, and Caldwell (1991) attempted to answer these questions. Although they acknowledge that quantifying cultural attributes is extremely difficult, they did find that individuals with high achievement needs prefer more aggressive, outcome oriented culture. Individuals with high needs for autonomy show distinct preferences for innovative cultures and negativity towards organizational support and teamwork. Additionally, while they were not able to generate specific measurement criteria, they were able to identify that when a strong organization/person fit is achieved, there was a significant improvement in commitment, job satisfaction, and retention. Job Analysis According to prominent authors in the HR field (Cascio, 1991; Schneider Schmidt, 1992: Heneman Heneman, 1994, and Mathis Jackson, 1994) job analysis is the process of studying jobs in order to gather and analyze information about the content of a job, the human requirement, and the conditions within which the job is performed. Furthermore, by breaking the job down into task and sub-task components the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the tasks can be identified. Job analysis also links to performance appraisal and compensation by defining the performance standards and outcomes measured in the evaluation process (Cascio, 1991). However, as stated by Dobbins et al. (1991), the primary focus of traditional job analyses is on an individual employee level and, therefore, individuals are viewed as isolated units within the organization, each with individually defined responsibilities. By extending this perspective, one can see that selection and evaluation of employees is based on individual criteria. This, then, would tend to pit one employee against another in an attempt to highlight individual performance during the competition for raises and promotions. It is this process that Deming argues is counterproductive to a team and system approach to quality output. Deming suggests that job descriptions should establish limits on performance variations instead of detailing specific tasks and duties. If an organization is dissatisfied with the level of an employees performance, management should then change the system to allow for increased performance. Waldman (1994) suggests that organizations consider organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) as flexible job content for evaluation. In this context, OCBs are pro-social role behavior that enhance the group and organizational processes. Blackburn and Rosen (1993) continue this recommendation by citing how some Baldrige Award winning organizations have elements of job descriptions which include innovation, creativity problem solving, customer service competencies, and cross-functional work teams striving for quality, not quantity. Finally, Cardy and Dobbins (1992) suggest that a job analysis should focus on a persons ability to match (or fit within) the organizations overall need for flexibility, change, innovation, and job cross-functionalism. Key questions concerning generic and flexible job descriptions need to be addressed. For instance, what types of industries, organizations, and jobs lend themselves to generic job descriptions? Would descriptions for routine, lower-level, line and staff positions need to very broad? And finally, can generic job descriptions work in a unionized environment? Although no specific answers currently exist, there have been some encouraging signs recently. For example, Blackburn and Rosen (1993) report that union- management teams work together at Cadillac Motor Division, a Baldrige Award winning company, to determine efficient areas of cross-training for their employees. Performance Appraisal The traditional process of reviewing individual performance differences is conducted via the performance appraisal, with the usual assumption that a large percentage of variance in actual performance is due to person variables instead of system variables (Dobbins, Cardy, Carson, 1991). This approach assumes that employees differ in contributions to the organization and that these differences are due to the individuality of employees (Dobbins et al. , 1991). Most of Demings (1986) arguments against performance appraisals are directed at the assessment of performance variance based on individual criteria/ characteristics and not on those of the system. According to Deming (1986), approximately 90% of an individuals performance variation is due to system defects, not employee variables. System defects would include such items as defective machinery, management planning, lack of adequate resources, inconsistent working conditions, and faulty or inconsistent measuring criteria (Bannister Balkin, 1990). Since these factors fluctuate randomly over time, Deming (1986) stated that measuring an individuals performance at any moment in time is akin to a lottery based on random events. Deming further states that raters are typically incapable or unwilling to distinguish between person-caused versus system-caused performance variances. Waldman (1994) states that current research in quality theory does attempt to show how system variables such as leadership, processes, job design, person/system fit, and situational constraints can affect an individuals performance rating. Dobbins, Cardy, PlatzVienos (1990) found that organizational variables moderate the relationship between appraisal characteristics and satisfaction. Additionally, Judge and Ferris (1993) found that subjective social factors such as the demographic similarity and the relationship between the supervisor and subordinate effect the performance rating. These studies appear to lend support for Demings assertions that, not only are system factors involved in the performance appraisal process, but raters are either incapable or unwilling to acknowledge the influence of system factors, opting instead to manage by their feelings instead of by the facts (Blackburn Rosen, 1991). Due to the lack of recognition of system factors, Bowen and Lawler (1992) state that performance appraisal represents the most significant area of conflict between current traditional HRM practices and the recommended practices of TQM proponents. The conflicts between the two areas arise when HR practitioners attempt to merge TQM elements with traditional performance appraisal practices. For although quality measures can be a part of performance appraisal factors, the assignment of system defects as individual areas of correction violate TQM principles. Dobbins et al. (1991) point to Demings assertion that this false assignment of variance responsibility causes damage by encouraging managers to focus on correcting individual behavior instead of isolating and correcting problems within the system. Dobbins et al. (1991) maintain that both the feedback and goal setting elements of typical performance appraisals focus on the worker as the source of performance variance. Although they note that higher degrees of feedback specificity and goal difficulty can produce higher demonstrated performance, the degree of measured performance increase relative to an individual would be nominal when compared to the possible increase in system performance, given an equal amount of management attention and energy. Lawler (1994a) agrees with Demings assertions regarding the flaws of traditional performance appraisal, but is reluctant to discard them altogether. Instead he suggests that current practices can be modified to: 1) separate job performance appraisal from skill development and tie compensation to skill based pay, 2) eliminate merit, incentive, or pay-for-performance plans, and focus performance appraisals on performance only and 3) create fully or semi-autonomous teams responsible for selection, skill development, discipline and pay administration with supervisory oversight. Compensation and Reward Systems Organizations typically design and implement compensation and reward programs as a means of focusing employee attention on specific behaviors that the Organization considers necessary to achieve its desired outcome or objective (Henderson, 1994). Accordingly, employees then receive compensation based on their individual Performance in comparison to some Preestablished objective. As previously discussed the assessment of individual performance to objectives is usually flawed. In response to this problem, Deming (1986) states that work standards, management by objectives, and numerical goals should be eliminated. Since most individualized objective/incentive programs are based on expectance and/or reward theory, the assumption is that motivation to achieve the objectives increases when rewards and incentives are associated or linked with their achievement (Henderson, 1994). However, if the objective is the reduction of errors and the increase of quality, the consideration of system variance factors becomes an essential consideration in order to correctly reward individual performance. For according to Deming (1986), no amount of employee motivation, hard work, or objective setting can change the variance of system performance. Given this reality, rewards are then distributed through a generally random process in which employees who just happened to function near a system component that function positively received a positive reward. Group gain-sharing is an attempt to create a compensation and reward system which can overcome some of the problems cited above and encourage teamwork (Osterman, 1994). In gain-sharing, group incentives encourage employees to be concerned about the groups performance and to search for means of reducing cost while improving productivity. For many organizations, gain-sharing can be coupled with a profit-sharing plan to create a sense of unity throughout the entire organization (Lawler, 1987). Pay-for-knowledge is also an attempt to recognize the limitations of pay-for-performance programs that review performance strictly within traditional job descriptions (Osterman, 1994). The pay-for-knowledge approach tends to encourage employees to gain a broader range of knowledge, skills, and abilities by the utilization of formal/informal training and cross-training. By so doing, the employees typically gain a better undemanding of the overall organizational objectives. However, Bowen and Lawler (1992) warn that any compensation or reward system must encourage both team and group work in addition to quality improvements. SYSTEMS ENGINEERING APPROACH TO HRM Most HR professionals have no prior education or experience in systems analysis or engineering. Consequently, the concept of using a systems engineering approach in the implementation of TQM within HRM processes is, based on an information survey of over fifty HR professionals, generally considered to be foreign. In a traditional systems design or analysis process, the recognition of three key areas is essential: a set of elements; a set of interactions; and a set of boundary conditions. In an HRM/TQM setting, the elements that would need to be recognized would be those activities, functions or people that were involved with both TQM and HRM programs. The interactions can be of any type and should not be considered as being restricted to a physical interaction (e. g. sharing information telephonically/electronically, project or department meeting minutes shared by mail). The boundary conditions are the interactions between the elements and all other objects (internal or external to the organization) that produce some effect on the elements (singly or in combination). The boundary conditions can also be divided into subsets in order to recognize a specific influence or contribution (e. g. input/output, environmental conditions, etc. ) (Aslaksen Belcher, 1994). The utilization of a systems engineering process drives the overt recognition and consideration of these three areas (Reilly, 1993). The ultimate benefit of this process would be where HRM and TQM professionals are better equipped to address differing demands on their combined systems, policies, and processes and where efforts to improve the integration of TQM and HRM lead to greater efficiency, productivity, and employee satisfaction (Sage, 1992). The most significant drawback to utilizing a systems engineering approach to process improvement and management is the additional education and training necessary to equip participants and decision makers with sufficient knowledge, skill, and ability to utilize and manage a systems engineering process. However, the downstream benefits of utilizing a systems approach should certainly outweigh the initial training costs. CONCLUSION The information reviewed for this paper strongly suggests that a broader approach be used when attempting to integrate TQM into HRM processes. And in order to achieve any reasonable degree of success. a systems perspective should be utilized. HR Managers are usually well aware of the importance of accurate job analysis. employee selection, performance assessment, and compensation management. However, the relationship of these processes to achieving TQM objectives quickly becomes discordant when individualized job analyzes and evaluations are integrated with TQM measures and processes. The strength of current HRM process lies in their potential for modification and adaptation within a TQM framework. With the adoption and utilization of a systems perspective, performance criteria can be developed that will accurately reflect both individual and system performance variances. Then, the distribution of financial (or non- financial) rewards will be more reflective of actual individual employee performance and less representative of a company lottery system. Additional research is needed in order to determine the if HRM/TQM program can demonstrate real benefits (e. g. reduction in activity cost, system or implementation errors, /or time; and improved cooperation understanding) by the use of a systems engineering approach.

The Topic Of This Research Is, Yoga Is A Physical And Mental Process,

The Topic Of This Research Is, Yoga Is A Physical And Mental Process, The Topic Of This Research Is, Yoga Is A Physical And Mental Process, And How Is It Creative And – Annotated Bibliography Example Annotated Bibliography of Annotated Bibliography Tomporowski, P. D., Davis, C. L., Miller, P. H., & Naglieri, J. A. (2008). Exercise and children’s intelligence, cognition, and academic achievement.Educational Psychology Review,  20(2), 111-131.The research explains about the effects of exercise on the mental and cognitive abilities of an individual. It also includes the effects of yoga which can help in developing mental and creative capabilities of young people and adults. Goldberg, L. (2004). Creative Relaxation SM: A Yoga-based program for regular and exceptional student education.  International journal of yoga therapy,  14(1), 68-78. The source explains how Yoga fosters creativity and intellect among those who exercise it. It helps in providing insight about yoga among the masses and boosts their creative capabilities which are useful for the research. Kirkwood, G., Rampes, H., Tuffrey, V., Richardson, J., & Pilkington, K. (2005). Yoga for anxiety: a systematic rev iew of the research evidence.  British Journal of Sports Medicine,  39(12), 884-891.The research has been conducted regarding different pressures which are sustained by human brain and leads improper functionality. It also explains how yoga heals those unhealthy activities and helps in developing intellectual and creative capabilities of human beings. Telles, S., Reddy, S. K., & Nagendra, H. R. (2000). Oxygen consumption and respiration following two yoga relaxation techniques.  Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback,  25(4), 221-227.This research explains about the relaxation techniques which are followed in Yoga. Brain needs oxygen to perform well and through yoga oxygen intake increases which helps in relaxing and developing the brain letting it free from stress which is detrimental to its growth.Gura, S. T. (2002). Yoga for stress reduction and injury prevention at work.Work: A journal of prevention, assessment and rehabilitation,  19(1), 3-7.It explains about benefi ts of yoga on an individual’s brain. It is said to burn out stress. Yoga helps in regeneration and development of brain cells which helps avoiding mental weakness and stress leading to more intellectual and creative work being depicted by an individual at work place.

Self-Publishing a Family Memoir

Self-Publishing a Family Memoir Self-Publishing a Family Memoir Having previously published many children's books, Malaika Rose Stanley is no stranger to publishing. Yet with Loose Connections, she attempted something completely different from her usual style of writing. Read on to know what it was like for her to  self-publish her book and go on a familiar yet new adventure.Loose Connections is my first independently published book, my first book for adults and my first non-fiction book. But I have a history of writing traditionally published books for children dating back to 1996. I had to look back and check - and I’ve completely shocked myself with the realization that I’ve been involved in this writing and publishing malarkey for twenty years!‘Write what you know’ is a well-worn authorial snippet of advice, a clichà ©. At times, I’ve taken heed but at others, I’ve totally ignored it. My motivation for Loose Connections and for all my books has been to write what I love, to write what stirs my soul ; I don't plan them so much as channel what flows through me.My sons were born in the 1980s and I started writing children’s books when I realized that the lack of diversity in children’s and young adult books had persisted from my childhood to theirs – and I wanted to do something about it. I started to write Loose Connections because I wanted to tell another invisible story - of my mother’s incarceration in a mental hospital as an unmarried mother of a mixed-race child, and of what came before and after. At first, I tried to write the story as fiction; I tried to write it without including myself so the transition to ‘creative non-fiction’ and ‘family memoir’ was a lengthy process. I have files buried on my hard-drive that are at least ten years old.Why I chose self-publishingI decided to go down the route of self-publishing partly because I am familiar with and realistic about the barriers into traditional publishing for peop le like me. I’m not a bright, young thing with a literature degree from Oxbridge or a creative writing master’s degree from East Anglia or City East, at the beginning of my writing career.I’m not seen as ‘commercially viable’ or ‘marketable’ with a blog with thousands of followers, a huge social networking platform or a reality TV fan-base. I’m more likely to be perceived as a grizzled old cynic, with a chip on my shoulder and an axe to grind.It’s not true, of course - I’m actually rather delightful, with a story to tell! Loose Connections was published at the beginning of June - and my first Amazon review says it’s a ‘†¦wonderfully moving book†¦ really well written, clear and simple but heartbreaking too.’ Also true! I decided to self-publish even though I didn't have a huge social networking platform or fan-base. The Reedsy experienceThe Reedsy marketplace was a revelation. Although there is an option to ‘shortlist’ up to five professionals, I quickly narrowed down my choice to two editors and sent them a request for a quote for a structural edit together with a synopsis and the first chapter of my book. They both responded very quickly and it was clear that they were highly skilled and experienced. I thought either would be able to do a good job so my final choice came down to cost, although I definitely struck gold with Gillian Holmes. She did a first read-through, followed up with a phone call about possibly libelous content and my overall intentions for the book, a few minor copy editing corrections and queries about continuity, proposed cuts and a couple of gaps, in tracked changes – and then a detailed restructuring proposal. Wow! Her recommendations were straightforward and simple but I clearly hadn’t been able to see the wood for the trees – excuse th e continuing lumberjack analogies – and her suggestions were spot on!How to Write a Memoir: Breathe Life into Your Story in 8 Steps Read post What were, for me, the unforeseen advantages of self-publishing have been huge: creative control of my own work, choosing my own editor and designer and yes, compared to traditional publishing, which can take months – or years – even the speed of the process from word doc manuscript to e-book download and beautifully typeset, beautifully packaged paperback book! I would definitely recommend Reedsy and the self-publishing option to any new and aspiring authors and to grizzled old cynics alike. Two months ago, I swore blind I would never do it again, but now I’m already planning my next project, an anthology.Loose Connections  is available on both  Amazon US and Amazon UK, get your copy now!Ever thought of writing a family memoir? Would you self-publish it like Malaika did? Leave your  thoughts and experiences, or any questions for Malaika, in the comments below.

The Portrayal of Brazil In The U.S. News Media Thesis

The Portrayal of Brazil In The U.S. News Media - Thesis Example This sresearch study will focus on the leading print news media in the United States - The New York Times and Washington Post. This is a valuable topic as it attracts the foreign affairs, policies and global issues between the United States and Brazil in the international platform. This is the main reason for choosing this subject matter as a research topic.From the report it is clear that  Brazil has seen two consecutive two-term Presidents: Fernando Henrique Cardoso and his successor Luis Inà ¡cio Lula da Silva. These two administrations were paramount in strengthening the Brazilian economy and in bringing about a consolidation of a strong democracy. They impacted the way this â€Å"BRIC country†   is perceived everywhere in the world, and especially in the U.S.  In recent news publication, BBC has quoted that Brazil is the biggest democratic country and economic giant and is South America’s most significant country. The mutual knowledge between U.S. and Brazil is increasingly important, given Brazil’s recent insertion into the international system and the fact that Brazil is a more active international player than most other countries of its economic stature.  In the Post-Cold War period, Brazil has begun to think of itself, and to some extent to behave, as a regional and global power. The U.S. is beginning to take account of the fact that for the first time another country in the American continent has serious aspirations to become both a regional power – in South America, perhaps even in Latin America, a region in which the United States has been the undisputed leader for more than a century –as well as a global power.... Role of Brazil in the World’s Economy Brazil has seen two consecutive two-term Presidents: Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995 to 2002) and his successor Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (2003 to 2010). These two administrations were paramount in strengthening the Brazilian economy and in bringing about a consolidation of a strong democracy. They impacted the way this â€Å"BRIC country† (grouping acronym that refers to the related economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, coined by Goldman Sachs in 2003) is perceived everywhere in the world, and especially in the U.S. Little is known about how the US news media portrays Brazil’s image (Sotero, 2007, p. 1). There is a lack of research and analysis on how both countries perceive and portray each other. For instance, as stated by Sotero (2007) in one of his studies, â€Å"historically, the United States has been disproportionately more relevant for Brazil than Brazil has been for the United States† (-p. 3). This a symmetry of interests, true for most countries in the world vis-a-vis the United States, lead one to conclude that U.S. scholars and intellectuals have not followed Brazil’s growth over the last two decades. In recent news publication, BBC has quoted that Brazil is the biggest democratic country and economic giant and is South America’s most significant country (BBC, 2010). The mutual knowledge between U.S. and Brazil is increasingly important, given Brazil’s recent insertion into the international system and the fact that Brazil is a more active international player than most other countries of its economic stature. According to Brazilianist Andrew Hurrell, beginning with Fernando Henrique Cardoso and quickening with Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, the perception has grown that Brazil has finally assumed its

Leroy Nikky Barnes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leroy Nikky Barnes - Research Paper Example this life imprisonment was changed to 35 years of sentence when Barnes became a valuable government informant and began to expose myriad secrets of other drug lords and crime bosses. This research paper seeks to explore the character, status, and life journey of Nicky Barnes. Barnes had extremely conniving and astute skills which he used to spread crime in the country. It was in the prodigious world of crime that he found his shine and glory. Crime was where his mind worked the best and developed ingenious strategies to advance his interests. Research suggests that only a few other drug dealers were bigger than Barnes â€Å"during the Harlem heroin plague of the seventies† (Jacobson, 2014). He is 80 years old now and lives a quiet sober life, but he made a lot of headlines in myriad newspapers around the globe in his youth and adult life. He was the ringleader of the very notorious criminal organization named â€Å"The Council.† He himself laid foundation of this organization which under his guidance grew to become a highly powerful network. The centre of main function was Harlem, a large neighbourhood in New York City, where the heroin trade was controlled. An important thing worth mentioning here is that the name Barnes is not all about c rime because he is so much more than just that. Obviously, crime describes him and the first thing that comes up in anyone’s mind upon hearing the name Leroy Barnes is image of a powerful drug lord. But, research suggests that Barnes has long stopped worrying over drug mafia and heroin trade, rather â€Å"he is a doting family man, concerned only with his daughters and grandchildren† (Capeci, 1999). Also, not many people know that Barnes used to be a very smart student when he was young until forced to elope from home to avoid living with an abusive and alcoholic father. He remained involved in drug-dealing for a long time to support himself. It was only when he was sentenced to jail for drug-dealing that he gave up his

Impact of the Discovery of the Vaccination

Impact of the Discovery of the Vaccination An important Discovery in Microbiology Edward Jenner   Discovery of the vaccination Thesis: The discovery of the vaccine was extremely important to the lives of both humans and animals. There are many discoveries that are extremely important to the advancement of microbiology currently today. Micro-organisms cannot be seen with the naked eye their discovery was linked to the production of the microscope. The first person to see micro -organisms was a microscope maker Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in 1964. (Madigan et al 2003) Centuries after that discovery, a man called Edward Jenner discovered vaccination. He achieved this by eliminating small pox back in the eighteen century. In the eighteenth century, this disease was a fatal disease that accounted for 10% of deaths. That with the most part of the disease effecting young children and the killed 20-50% of those that was effected. And those that survived was led to blindness with the small poxs. (Smith 2011) I believe this is the most important discovery in microbiology to date, and this is what I am going to be writing about in my essay. Edward Jenner was a scientist who invented the small pox vaccination back in 1798. He discovered that by using a material from cow pox this would prevent many people from getting infected with small pox. This man started the science of immunology (Smith 2011). Pox viruses are the most complex and largest viruses and are not able to metabolize on their own. By the achievement of Edward Jenner, the application of this vaccine, has eradicated in the wild and is the first disease to be eliminate in this way. (Madigan et al 2003) Edward Jenner grew up in the countryside and this is where he achieved his early studies of smallpox and first inoculation. This is where he immunized the power of the cow pox. He collected any information form the milk maids about the disease, and then observed the milk maids for 10 years and then brought about his own experiment by inoculating a young boy. This young boy never had small pox and Jenner inoculated him with cow pox. The infected young man became ill, but after a few days made a full recovery with no side effects (Mc Nally 2001). This young boy became resistant to this disease because he was exposed to the disease, this is called passive immunity. Passive immunity occurred here because the young boy was exposed to the antigen which was the small pox. Edward Jenner achieved this when he injected the young boy with the material of the antigen. The young boy that Jenner injected acquired the infection and became immune to the disease. When the disease was introduced into the body the immune cells produced a large quantity of the antigen specific immune effector molecules that caused the immunity. The herd effect had an major impact on the termination of the small pox disease, the uptake of large amount of vaccines into different amounts of people caused the vaccine to become eradicated. Edward Jenner is said to be the father of immunity, and he achieved this by preventing deaths during the seventeen century. He was a pioneer to many other scientists and demonstrated that his inoculations saved many humans lives. Many years after this a second vaccine was discovered by a scientist called Louis Pasteur wanted to portray the same idea as Edward Jenner only Louis Pasteur did not want to save the lives of humans but the lives of animals. Louis Pasteur developed a vaccine against chicken cholera a disease that was terminating chickens caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida. This concept of using an attenuated organism for a vaccine happened by accident in the lab of Pasteur and his fellow scientists. When he inoculated the chickens with the bacteria they became ill and when he injected them accordingly days after this they didnt become ill. (WU X et al 2011). This showed that there was 75% of the infected diseases were zoonotic and this showed there was a vaccine ag ainst rabies a disease which was infecting both humans and animals. Initially Pasteur injected a series of increasingly viral solutions, that contained infected spinal cord from rabbit in suspect animal, mainly dogs that he used for his purpose. (Baer et al 2007). During Pasteur s experiment he increased the volume of rabies which meant that there was an increase in the death of his patients. Improvements of this experiment in 1911 by another scientist called Sir David Semple. He produced a vaccine that was produced by sheep brain tissue that was activated a substance that could inactivate all the virus in the vaccine. In 1955 an American scientist introduced another improvement in the vaccine. He took brain tissue from suckling mice. He completed this as he wanted to eliminate the neurological sides effects of the disease that was concerned with the myelin in the brain tissue of adult mice. (Schneider t al 1994). The amount of myelin was greatly reduced but there still was side eff ects that was occurring. This was the way in which the discovery of the vaccines became as essential need for the protection of both humans and animals. In the past centuries, we have seen a vast amount of vaccines that have been produced. Ranging from chicken poxes to hepatitis. In addition, there are vaccines being developed today which have a dramatic effect in developing countries such as malaria and meningococcal vaccines. (Wilby et al 2012) (Kristiansen et al 2013). In these developing countries there as a higher rate of disease which causes the population to experience a greater loss of human lives. These vaccines have been proven successful because of the changes in technology which has saved millions of lives. Vaccinations are the most important achievement in the 20th century according to the The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Scudder 2013). The benefits of successful vaccinations are very clear, not only direct protection but also has indirect effects on the unvaccinated individuals in the case of animals in groups or herds. (Doherty et al 2016) Proven to be protection in the herd. The herd immunity is a way in which the vaccine benefits beyond the animal being injected. The indirect protection of the unvaccinated person is when the injected suspect immunity prevents the circulation of the infectious disease into the populations. (Kim et al 2011) The death rate of not just humans but animals would have been dramatically increased and this would have a huge effect on the environment that we live in today. This is an important discovery in microbiology because this cured many diseases that not only affected human health but affected animal health. There are multiple vaccines now produced today that prevent many diseases such as Chickenpox (Varicella),Diphtheria, Flu (Influenza), Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hib, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Measles in humans and DHPP (vaccines for distemper, adenovirus [hepatitis], parainfluenza, and parvovirus), rabies, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), Tetanus, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, leptospirosis, BVD, Rhinotracheitis and Calicivirus in animals. These examples are only some of many vaccines discovered, to prevent death. This discovery according to me is defiantly a vial discovery to life today. The work of both Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur is greatly known to be very valuable work to the health of humans and to help maintain the pathogenic bacteria. References:   Baer G.M,2007, The history of rabies A.C. Jackson, W.H. Wunner (Eds.),Rabies, Elsevier, Inc., Oxford pp. 1-22. Doherty M., Buchy P. , Standaert B., Giaquinto C. , Prado-Cohrs D. 2016, Vaccine impact: benefits for human health Vaccine, 34 pp. 6707-6714 Kim T.H., Johnstone J., Loeb M., 2011, Vaccine herd effect Scand J Infect Dis, 43 ,pp. 683-689 Kristiansen P.A., Diomandà © F., Ba A.K., Sanou I., Ouà ©draogo A.S., Ouà ©draogo R., Sangarà © L., Kandolo D., Akà © F., Saga I.M., Clark T.A, 2013, Impact of the serogroup A meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenAfriVac, on carriage and herd immunity Clin. Infect. Dis. 56(3) pp 354-363. Madigan T. Micheal , Martinko M. John, Parker Jack, 2003, Pearson education Inc, International edition ,10th edition Brock Biology Of Microorganisms pp 540 -7779 Mc Nally Joseph,2001, The life of Dr Edward Jenner Seminars in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Vol 12, No 1: pp 81-84 Schneider M.C. , Santos-Burgoa C.,1994, Treatment of human rabies: a summary of its history Rev Saude Publica, 28 , pp. 454-463 Scudder L, 2013, The importance of vaccinations The Journal Of Nurse Practitioners,9, pp A7-A8 Smith Kendall, 2011, Edward Jenner and the small pox vaccine Front. Immunol pp 1-4 Wilby K.J., Lau T.T., Gilchrist S.E., Ensom M.H. Mosquirix (RTS, S), 2012, a novel vaccine for the prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria 46(3) pp 384-393. Wu X , T.G. Smith, C.E. Rupprecht,2011, From brain passage to cell adaptation: The road of human rabies vaccine development Expert Rev Vaccines,vol 10 pp. 1597-1608

Hamptonshire Express: Problems 1-3 Essay

Problem #1 A. How many newspapers should Sheen stock? Use the simulation in the spreadsheet â€Å"Hamptonshire Express: Problem #1† to identify the optimal stocking quantity. What is the profit at this stocking quantity? Optimal Stocking Quantity: 584 Expected profit at Optimal Stocking Quantity: $331.43 B. Verify that the value derived in part (a) is consistent with the optimal stocking quantity in the Newsvendor model = mean = 500 = Standard Deviation = 100 = Overage Cost = $0.20†$0 = $0.20 = Shortage Cost = $0.20†$1.00 = †$0.80 = 1†.8 = .2 ïÆ'   corresponding z†value = .84 . âˆâ€" Problem #2 A. How many hours should Sheen invest daily in the creation of the profile section? The optimal amount of hours Sheen should invest results in optimal profit/day at: 4 hours With optimal stocking quantity: 685 And expected profit/day: $371.33 B. What explains Sheen’s choice of effort level h? Since the marginal cost of her effort is $10/hour and the marginal benefit of her effort is equal to: 8 * 50 = 10 ïÆ'   h = 4 2√ The hours invested will be optimized when marginal cost = marginal benefit, in this case h = 4. C. Compare the optimal profit under this scenario with the optimal profit derived in Problem #1. Optimal Profit in #1 = $331.43 @ 584 units = $0.5675/unit Optimal Profit in #2 = $371.33 @ 685 units = $0.5421/unit Although the optimal profit is increased from scenario 1 to scenario 2 by $39.90 the per unit profit is down by 0.0254/unit produced, however since overall profit is up, the added hours invested is still optimal. Problem #3 A. Assuming h=4 what would Armentrout’s stocking quantity be? Armentrout’s optimal stocking quantity is 516 B. Why does the optimal stocking quantity differ from the optimal stocking quantity identify in Problem #2? Is the result here consistent with the newsvendor formula? The optimal stocking quantities differ because there is a new player involved and new costs associated with overages and shortages. These results are still consistent with the newsvendor formula since the new model looks like: = mean = 600 = Standard Deviation = 100 = Overage Cost = $0.80 = Shortage Cost = $1.00†$0.80 = $0.20 = 1†.8 = .2 ïÆ'   corresponding z†value = †.85 . âˆâ€" C. Now try varying h†¦ How does her optimal effort in this question differ from the answer in question 2? Why? In Question 2, Sheen’s profit is maximized at optimal effort = 4. In Question 3, Sheen’s profit is optimal when h = 2 because her profits are being shared with Armentrout and the amount of hours Sheen invests determines the amount of copies that Armentrout will purchase depending on his demand. D. How would changing the transfer price from the current value of $0.80 per newspaper impact Sheen’s effort level and Armentrout’s stocking decision? Transfer Price Increase from $0.80 to $0.90 = Sheen’s Effort = 2.25 to 3.063 Armentrout’s Stocking Decision = 491 to 459 Sheen’s incentivized to put in more effort and therefore reap more profit but Armentrout’s stock will decline and make less profit if transfer price is increased. Transfer Price Decrease from $0.80 to $0.70 = Sheen’s Effort = 2.25 to 1.563 Armentrout’s Stocking Decision = 491 to 510 If the transfer price is decreased, Sheen’s incentivized to put in less effort because she is making less profit and Armentrout’s stock will increase since his costs are lower allowing him to make a higher profit. E. What conclusion can you draw about stocking and effort levels in a differentiated channel vis†Ãƒ  Ã¢â‚¬  vis an integrated firm that manufactures and retails its product? Stocking and effort levels are optimized throughout the chain in an integrated firm that manufactures and retails it’s products because there is a direct benefit and because incentives are aligned between manufacturing and retailing. They want to put forth the optimal effort to produce the maximum amount of units that will optimize profits. Optimal Profit in Problem #2 @ h=4: $371.33 @ 685 Units with fill rate 98% In a differentiated firm when there is an added level, in this case a level to retail, the manufacturing and retailing parties do not share the same goals, therefore stocking and effort levels are not optimized. Supplier only wants to produce as much as retail will buy at the minimum effort level and retail only wants to buy as much as will make them an optimal profit, I because stocking excess will incur losses. Optimal Profit in Problem #3 @ h=4 @ 516 Units with fill rate of only 86%