Reflections on Styles and Context of News Reporting Essay

Reflections on Styles and Context of News Reporting - Essay Example This meant that events happening would take several hours or even days before becoming public knowledge. Presently, great changes have occurred and this reflective essay reviews these changes and advances in my own eyes and experiences. Reflections My experiences in journalism, news, and event reporting include using multimedia like video, photos and recorded voice to capture news, which I then send to the editorial office from whichever location through the world wide web and sometimes live via satellite television. The news is quickly edited before being relayed to audiences as ‘breaking news’. I have experienced live events being simultaneously shown to audiences through different media including television, cable and on the internet while the events are happening as happened during the Soviet revolution in the early nineties. I can use my mobile phone or portable to capture, edit, and send news all over the world via social networking through the internet and relay l ive pictures and commentary, occasionally just a few seconds behind the real event as Zahid (2010) avers. This is unlike the earlier days of journalism when reporting involved using notebooks and a camera or a video recorder with tape which was followed by sometimes a long journey to the main office, upload pictures (or develop them if taken on film), edit video using a long cut and paste process before compiling a news feature. Events occurring yesterday are reported as today’s news. Technology has changed all this, as I am now able to post news articles online, have a quick electronic version of the print newspaper posted on the news company’s web page where people can read the news and even post their own comments and views. So while in the olden days news reporting used to be a one way communication system (at least in the short term) where people just read what was printed and comments would take from days to weeks, presently readers can comment on news through bl ogging and comments on the web 2.0 platform. Watching and following the Egyptian revolution, I not only saw and experienced people power but importantly, but at a personal level experienced a new way in relaying information and following events that have forever changed my journalism practices. I can integrate news and information using the internet, mobile phones as well as traditional telephone and print media to distribute information, cheaply confirms Krotoski (2011). Through the Egyptian revolution, I have come to discover that not just governments and editors have control over what news and the public consumes information; the cost of distributing and sharing news has been greatly reduced thanks in no small part to technology and web 2.0. I can capture and share news with the world using only a cell phone with a decent camera. I have discovered that consumers of news, be it through print or electronic media, want news as they are happening and want to be able to easily alert f riends and other people instantly on what is happening so they can also view what is happening. The advent of the internet makes this possible; I could be relaying breaking news from the news site using my cell phone onto the newspapers’ or TV stations’ Twitter, Facebook or You tube page, and a reader logged in gets the news and tweets or chats with their friends about what is happening, all in just a few seconds. The news is transmitted so fast and in real

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

None - Essay Example However, at the end of his life, he was forced to live; he decided to leave a written record of his life so that someday his family might know about his hidden appreciation of relations (Mauriac, 1933). This paper will attempt to integrate the Lewis’s theories of love with the story named Vipers’ Tangle and focus on finding out the application of these theories at various stages of the story. Lewis identified two important forms of love people experience during their life span. These are Gift and Need Loves (Lewis, 1960); respectively, the first form of love drives an individual to work in order to provide a safe future to his or her family, and the second one compels a person to share his or her worries with the close ones. However, these two loves should keep moving parallel to each other and co-exist in harmony because if an individual shows only need-based love, this will make the family consider him or her as apathetic and unwilling to struggle for his familyâ€⠄¢s better future. On the other hand, if a person keeps on earning millions while devoting virtually no time to his or her family, the family will consider a person greedy, mean and indifferent. The relation between Louis and his son Hubert took a series of interesting turns during Louis’s life. ... At the same time, Louis unsuccessfully tried to give Need Love to his son, but it was too late. Nevertheless, Hubert and Louis’s tendency to care for each other could not play a significant role in bridging the gap between them. So these men lived apart due to their ego, which hindered both of them from accepting their mistakes of the past (Mauriac, 1933). In the light of this story, it is important to appreciate the supportive role of family in the time of difficulty because warmth of family is an effective stress lifter. However, Louis lived away from love of his family and had to face a great deal of stress while fulfilling his professional obligations (Rupert et al., 2012). As a result, his life satisfaction dropped significantly, which made him become agitated. Due to these reasons, his loneliness grew intense in the last years of his life. In Lewis’s view, Louis kept demonstrating Gift Love towards his family members during the all his life, which resulted in his painful loneliness. However, Louis attempted to show his Need Love for his family, but it proved ineffective. In general, both characters had some changes in the kinds of love that they showed; each one of them started with either Need Love or Gift Love and ended up with the other. At first, Louis only showed Gift Love to Hubert, and this is why he was considered as mean, for he was not close to his family. However, after he had become old, Hubert was compelled to provide for him, which is a change from Need Love to Gift Love, whereas Louis, even though it was too late, started giving his son Need Love as he could no longer offer Gift Love. Conclusion Vipers Tangle’s theme is that humans are fundamentally

Adapting the Law to the Online Environment Essay Example for Free

Adapting the Law to the Online Environment Essay Formulating unique conception of the Web in â€Å"Weaving the Web† Berners-Lee emphasized that the intention was to create a system with â€Å"one fundamental property: it had to be completely decentralized.† In the vision of Berners-Lee: â€Å"That would be the only way a new person   somewhere could start to use it [the Web] without asking for access from anyone else†[1]. In the initial years of the Web’s functioning, Berner-Lee’s ideal of a highly decentralized universal system has been shared by tens of millions of people around the world who have appreciated and marveled at an invention that makes it unexpectedly easy for anyone with a computer to connect with anyone else with a computer, anywhere in the world, and to store and send information almost at will. But the Internet and the Web have also moved to the center of attention for governments, business leaders, lawyers and judges, police forces and military establishments, and anyone else dependent on the rule of law and authority structures in modern society. This is a result of the ability and tendency of Internet users to simply skirt or leap over many of the rules and institutions designed to maintain order in the pre- Internet world. Previously designed rules and legal structures enacted for slower-paced, relatively public tangible transactions in a world rimmed everywhere with borders (local, provincial, national) suddenly were challenged as never before when the Internet made it physically conceivable to carry out transactions of almost any kind in a manner simultaneously immediate, anonymous, inexpensive, and seemingly borderless. However, the process of certain democratization, overcriminalization and simply lazier-affair went beyond predictable limits – internet identity theft, credit card fraud, controversies with gambling and online porn reveal significant need to adapt the law to online environment, to analyze the specifics of cyber crimes and to create effective regulatory norms. Traditional Crime and Cyber Crime: Defining Boundaries From the primary perspective, the Internet imitates and, in most cases, runs parallel to what is often happening in normal life, therefore, it is no wonder that the law had to take account of this new parallel of real life. Hence the frequent appeals for â€Å"cyberlaw† or â€Å"cyberspace law.† Simultaneously, the imitation of life by the Internet does not completely transcend existing forms of activities in their entirety. Thus while electronic forms of information are the hallmark of the Internet and tend to undermine tangible media, or even render them obsolete, prior forms of information may coexist alongside them, albeit uneasily and suffering permanent corrosion. In so far as it is not possible to divine the extent to which the Net will generate parallel or independent forms of activity, the development of the appropriate law cannot be predictable. One has to determine in each specific sphere of activity how far the parallels go and how big or small the change over the normal may have been before working out the legal response. Consequently, the lack of time or resources cannot be the main reasons for the non-development of Internet law, as Edwards and Waelde suggest[2], although they recognize, somewhat indirectly that the Internet is still developing and so must the Internet law. Edwards and Waelde view â€Å"Internet Law† as being a result of (the usual) adaptation process that the law undergoes to catch up with new technological phenomena. They regard Internet Law as a necessity, contrary to the â€Å"core pragmatic† perception of those they refer to as looking upon the Internet as law-free.[3] And although the regulation of Internet content, transactions and activities seems to be logical and self-evident, the problems start appearing from the very definition of cyber crime. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a â€Å"crime† as a â€Å"social harm that the law makes punishable; the breach of a legal duty treated as the subject-matter of a criminal proceeding.†[4] Anglo-American crim ­inal law has for centuries possessed a set of definitions of â€Å"crimes† that encompass the varied categories of social harms humans can inflict on one another, for instance homicide, rape, robbery, arson, vandalism, fraud, child abuse, etc. According to Susan Brenner, crimi ­nal law does not typically differentiate offenses based upon the instrumentalities that are used in their com ­mission; we generally do not, for example, divide homi ­cide into â€Å"murder by gun,† â€Å"murder by poison,† â€Å"mur ­der by strangulation† and so on.[5] As Brenner points out, criminal law does treat the use of certain instrumentalities as â€Å"aggravat ­ing factors,† the use of which can result in an enhanced sentence upon conviction; this is how criminal law gen ­erally deals with using a firearm or other dangerous in ­strumentality in the commission of a crime.[6] This approach could, perhaps, have been taken with regard to cyber crime; we could simply define hacking as a type of trespass, analogous to real-world trespass. The â€Å"crime† of real-world trespass is gaining access to a physical space a building or a parcel of land without authorization. We could have pursued hacking in an analogous fashion, perhaps prosecuting it as tres ­pass and then characterizing the use of computer tech ­nology as an aggravating factor.[7] However, that is not the approach the law has taken and is tak ­ing to the use of computer technology to inflict social harms. What is emerging is a division between tradi ­tional crimes (trespass, burglary, theft, stalking, etc.) and cyber crimes. The latter encompass the use of com ­puter technology to commit either (a) social harms that have already been identified and outlawed generically (trespass, burglary, theft, stalking, etc.) or (b) new types of social harm that do not fall into traditional â€Å"crime† categories. It is necessary to adopt cyber crime-specific laws for the first category of conduct because, as Brennan’s hacking-trespass example illustrates, computer tech ­nology can be used to commit social harms in ways that do not fit comfortably into our existing offense categories. Another Brennan’s example of a denial of service attack[8] simply eludes conventional crimi ­nal law: it is not theft; it is not extortion; it is not black ­mail; it is not vandalism or trespassing or any other â€Å"crime† that has so far been defined. We must, therefore, define new â€Å"cyber crimes† to encompass denial of service attacks and other â€Å"new† varieties of criminal activity. In conceptualizing the varieties of cyber crime, it is helpful to divide them into three categories offered by Marc Goodman: crimes in which the computer is the target of the criminal ac ­tivity, crimes in which the computer is a tool used to commit the crime, and crimes in which the use of the computer is an incidental aspect of the commission of the crime.[9] When a computer is the target of criminal activity, the perpetrator attacks an innocent user’s computer or computer system either by gaining unlawful access to it or by bombarding it from outside. Cybercrimes that fall into this category include simple hacking (gaining access to a computer system or part of a computer system without autho ­rization) and aggravated hacking (gaining access to a computer system or part of a computer system without authorization for the purpose of committing a crime such as copying or altering information in the system). The target cybercrimes also include denial of service attacks and the dissemination of viruses, worms and other types of malware. The cyber crimes in this cate ­gory tend to be â€Å"new† crimes and therefore generally require new legislation. A computer or computer system can also be the in ­strument that is used to commit what is essentially a traditional crime. Cybercrimes in which a computer is the tool used to carry out criminal activity include online fraud, theft, embezzlement, stalking and harass ­ment, forgery, obstruction of justice and the creation or dissemination of child pornography. These are conven ­tional crimes, but it may be difficult to prosecute online versions of these crimes using existing substantive law; a jurisdiction’s theft statute may not, for example, en ­compass a â€Å"theft† of intangible property when the theft consists of copying the property, instead of appropri ­ating it entirely. In State v. Schwartz, Oregon State of Appeal held that â€Å"†¦by copying the passwords, defendant stripped them of their value.†[10] Jurisdictions may therefore find it necessary to amend their existing substantive criminal law to ensure that it can be used against these cy ber crime variants of tradi ­tional crimes. The last category consists of cyber crimes in which the use of a computer or computer system is incidental to the commission of the crime. This category includes, for example, instances in which a murderer uses a com ­puter to plan a murder or lure the victim to the murder scene; it can also include a blackmailer’s using a com ­puter to write extortion letters to his victim or a drug dealer’s using a computer to monitor his sales, inventory and profits. Here, the computer is merely a source of evidence and new substantive criminal legislation is generally not needed. The cases in this category can, however, require new law to resolve procedural issues such as the processes used in gathering evidence of cyber crimes. The basic federal cyber crime provision is 18 U.S. Code  § 1030; among other things, it criminalizes hacking, cracking, computer fraud and the dissemination of viruses, worms and other types of malware. The statute accomplishes this by directing its prohi ­bitions at conduct that targets a â€Å"protected computer† and then defining â€Å"protected computer† as a computer encompassed by federal jurisdiction.[11] Section 1030 defined a â€Å"protected computer† as either (a) a computer used exclusively by a financial institution or the federal government or used nonexclusively by a financial institution or the federal govern ­ment if the conduct constituting the crime affects its use by the financial institution or federal government; or (b) a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication.[12] The notion of basing the statute’s prohibitions on conduct directed at a â€Å"protected computer† was introduced when  § 1030 was a mended in 1996; until then, it criminalized con ­duct that was directed at â€Å"federal interest computers,† i.e., computers used by the federal government or lo ­cated in more than one state.[13] The 1996 amendment broadened  § 1030’s reach; it now encompasses conduct directed at any computer con ­nected to the Internet. In 2001, the Patriot Act amended  § 1030 to make it clear that the statute can be used to prosecute criminal conduct which occurred outside the United States, a position the Department of Justice had long taken, for instance in case United States v. Ivanov. The Patriot Act expanded the definition of a protected computer to include com ­puters used in interstate or foreign commerce that are located outside the United States if they are â€Å"used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States.†[14] Problematic Aspects: Copyright, Child Pornography, Identity Fraud in Internet In order to address the problems in regulation of online environment more effectively, this paper aims to focus on several most problematic aspects of the issue – copyright violations, child pornography and identity theft or credit card fraud. Defined by Culberg, copyright is â€Å"a legal device giving the author (or holder of the copy ­right) the exclusive right to control the reproduction of his or her intellectual creation† for a specific period of time.[15] Copyright law in the United States derives from the U.S. Constitution and is therefore exclusively federal; states do not have the authority to legislate in this area.[16] Defenses to a charge of criminal copyright infringe ­ment are, first, that the offense cannot be prosecuted be ­cause the five year statute of limitations has run.[17] Other defenses are the â€Å"first sale† doctrine and an argument that the defendant did not act â€Å"will ­fully.† The first sale doctrine lets one who purchased a copyrighted work freely distribute the copy she bought.[18] Under the doctrine, however, the purchaser can only distribute the copy she bought; she cannot copy the purchased item and distribute the copies.[19] Since most computer software is distributed through licensing agreements, the first sale doctrine typically does not apply when someone is charged with software piracy.[20] With regard to the claim that a defendant did not act â€Å"willfully,† there is some ambiguity as what is required to show â€Å"willfulness.† Courts disagree as to whether it requires an â€Å"intent to copy or intent to infringe.†[21] The newest weapon in the federal arsenal of copy ­right statutes is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which added two sections to title 17 of the U.S. Code. Section 1201 makes it unlawful to circumvent measures used to protect copyrighted works, while  § 1202 makes it unlawful to tamper with copyright management in ­formation. Another new section, 17 U.S. Code  § 1204, creates criminal penalties for violating either sections 1201 or 1202 of the DMCA. The first criminal prosecu ­tion under the DMCA was filed in 2001 against Dmitry Sklyarov, a Russian citizen, and his employer, Elcom ­soft, Ltd.[22] They were charged with violating 17 U.S. Code  § 1201(b) (l) (A), by trafficking in technology designed to circumvent the rights of a copyright owner, and with violating 17 U.S. Code  § 1201(b) (l) (C), by trafficking in technol ­ogy marketed for use in circumventing technology that protects the rights of a copyright owner. Another area that is a high priority in federal com ­puter crime prosecutions is child pornography. To un ­derstand the current state of the law outlawing child pornography, it is necessary to understand the First Amendment, which states, in part, that Congress is to make â€Å"no law abridging the freedom of speech.† The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this part of the First Amendment as prohibiting the criminalization of any but a very few limited categories of speech: â€Å"[T]he First Amendment bars the government from dictating what we see or read or speak or hear. The freedom of speech has its limits; it does not embrace certain cat ­egories of speech, including defamation, incitement, obscenity, and pornography produced with real chil ­dren.†[23] From the critical as well statistical perspective, child pornography appears a relatively recent addi ­tion to the list. However, the rise of com ­puter technology raised concerns about â€Å"virtual† child pornography, i.e., pornography created using morphed or other artificial images of children, and in 1996 Congress adopted the Child Pornography Prevention Act, codified as 18 U.S. Code  § 2251. This Act extended the prohibitions on manufacturing, possess ­ing and distributing child pornography to encompass pornography that featured not only â€Å"real† children but what â€Å"appeared† to be a real child.[24] In 2001, a coalition of free speech advocates challenged these provisions of the federal child pornography statutes; they argued that because no â€Å"real† children are harmed in the creation of â€Å"virtual† child pornography, it does not fall under a category of speech that cannot constitutionally be criminalized.[25] When the case was before the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice argued that virtual child pornography can be criminalized because (a) pedophiles use it to seduce children into sexual acts and (b) it stimulates pedophiles into molesting chil ­dren.[26] The Supreme Court rejected these arguments and held that the prohibition of virtual child pornogra ­phy violated the First Amendment, so the statutory provisions at issue were unconstitutional and unenforce ­able.

Factors Determining Layout And Design

Factors Determining Layout And Design Facility layout and design is an important component of a businesss overall operations, both in terms of maximizing the effectiveness of the production process and meeting the needs of employees. The basic objective of layout is to ensure a smooth flow of work, material, and information through a system. The basic meaning of facility is the space in which a businesss activities take place. The layout and design of that space impact greatly how the work is done-the flow of work, materials, and information through the system. The key to good facility layout and design is the integration of the needs of people (personnel and customers), materials (raw, finishes, and in process), and machinery in such a way that they create a single, well-functioning system. FACTORS DETERMINING LAYOUT AND DESIGN Small business owners need to consider many operational factors when building or renovating a facility for maximum layout effectiveness. These criteria include the following: 1. Ease of future expansion or change-Facilities should be designed so that they can be easily expanded or adjusted to meet changing production needs. Although redesigning a facility is a major, expensive undertaking not to be done lightly, there is always the possibility that a redesign will be necessary, Therefore, any design should be flexible. Flexible manufacturing systems most often are highly automated facilities having intermediate-volume production of a variety of products. Their goal is to minimize changeover or setup times for producing the different products while still achieving close to assembly line (single-product) production rates. 2. Flow of movement- the facility design should reflect recognition of the importance of smooth process flow. In the case of factory facilities, the editors of How to Run a Small Business state that ideally, the plan will show the raw materials entering your plant at one end and the finished product emerging at the other. The flow need not be a straight line. Parallel flows, U-shaped patterns, or even a zigzag that ends up with the finished product back at the shipping and receiving bays can be functional. However, backtracking is to be avoided in whatever pattern is chosen. When parts and materials move against or across the overall flow, personnel and paperwork become confused. 3. Materials handling-Small business owners should make certain that the facility layout makes it possible to handle materials (products, equipment, containers, etc.) in an orderly, efficient-and preferably simple-manner. 4. Output needs- the facility should be laid out in a way that is conducive to helping the business meet its production needs. 1. Space utilization-This aspect of facility design includes everything from making sure that traffic lanes are wide enough to making certain that inventory storage warehouses or rooms utilize as much vertical space as possible. 2. Shipping and receiving-counseled small business owners to leave ample room for this aspect of operations. While space does tend to fill itself up, receiving and shipping rarely get enough space for the work to be done effectively, 3. Ease of communication and support-Facilities should be laid out so that communication within various areas of the business and interactions with vendors and customers can be done in an easy and effective manner. Similarly, support areas should be stationed in areas that help them to serve operating areas. 4. Impact on employee morale and job satisfaction-since countless studies have indicated that employee morale has a major impact on productivity, owners and managers to heed this factor when pondering facility design alternatives: Some ways layout design can increase morale are obvious, such as providing for light-colored walls, windows, space. Other ways are less obvious and not directly related to the production process. Some examples are including a cafeteria or even a gymnasium in the facility design. Again, though, there are costs to be traded off. That is, does the increase in morale due to a cafeteria increase productivity to the extent that the increased productivity covers the cost of building and staffing the cafeteria? 5. Promotional value-if the business commonly receives visitors in the form of customers, vendors, investors, etc., the small business owner may want to make sure that the facility layout is an attractive one that further burnishes the companys reputation. Design factors that can influence the degree of attractiveness of a facility include not only the design of the production area itself, but the impact that it has on, for instance, ease of fulfilling maintenance/cleaning tasks. 6. Safety-the facility layout should enable the business to effectively operate in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines and other legal restrictions. Facility layout must be considered very carefully because we do not want to constantly redesign the facility, Some of the goals in designing the facility are to ensure a minimum amount of materials handling, to avoid bottlenecks, to minimize machine interference, to ensure high employee morale and safety, and to ensure flexibility. Essentially, there are two distinct types of layout. Product layout is synonymous with assembly line and is oriented toward the products that are being made. Process layout is oriented around the processes that are used to make the products. Generally, product layout is applicable for high-volume repetitive operations, while process layout is applicable for low-volume custom-made goods. AN IDEAL LAYOUT 1. Transport: Movement of materials is a waste. Minimize the amount of movement by arranging processes in close proximity to each other. Factory layouts can often be the fundamental cause of excess transportation. When appropriate, re-laying out the machines within a factory from a functional to a cellular layout has been found by many companies to help not just reduce transportation waste but also reduce WIP and waiting. Items being moved unnecessarily incur a cost. 2. Inventory: Many companies produce above what is required to fulfill the order, this may be due to quality problems along the production process or the often mistaken belief that is saves money by manufacturing larger quantities. Too little inventory can lose sales; too much inventory can hide problems. 3. Motion: Generally, this waste applies to production personnel having to move out of their work area to locate tools, materials, etc. Remove unnecessary motion of the operations and improve the ergonomics of the workplace. People moving unnecessarily also incur a cost. 4. Waiting: Minimize waiting time (operators waiting for machines or products waiting around in factories either as finished goods or work in progress) Aim for a smooth flow. 5. Overproduction: Always aim to make exactly what the customer orders, just in time, to the correct quality standard. On the shop floor, this generally occurs because changeover times are high, equipment is unreliable, the process is unreliable (causes defects), and standard cost accounting metrics are used. However, probably the biggest reason for overproduction is poor information flow (communication) between facilities. 6. Over Processing: Use machines which are of an appropriate capacity and capable of achieving the required quality standard. This usually refers to using larger scale equipment than necessary; it also refers to building in rework to a process. It can also refer to using the wrong suppliers and/or the wrong process. 7. Defects: Reducing the number of defects directly reduces the amount of waste. Aim for zero defects. The efficiency of production depends on how well the various machines; production facilities and employees amenities are located in a plant. Only the properly laid out plant can ensure the smooth and rapid movement of material, from the raw material stage to the end product stage. Plant layout encompasses new layout as well as improvement in the existing layout. It may be defined as a technique of locating machines, processes and plant services within the factory so as to achieve the right quantity and quality of output at the lowest possible cost of manufacturing. It involves a judicious arrangement of production facilities so that workflow is direct. Plant layout refers to the arrangement of physical facilities such as machinery, equipment, furniture etc. within the factory building in such a manner so as to have quickest flow of material at the lowest cost and with the least amount of handling in processing the product from the receipt of material to the shipment of the finished product. The overall objective of plant layout is to design a physical arrangement that most economically meets the required output quantity and quality., Plant layout ideally involves allocation of space and Arrangement of equipment in such a manner that overall operating costs are minimized. IMPORTANCE Plant layout is an important decision as it represents long-term commitment. An ideal plant layout should provide the optimum relationship among output, floor area and manufacturing process. It facilitates the production process, minimizes material handling, time and cost, and allows flexibility of operations, easy production flow, makes economic use of the building, promotes effective utilization of manpower, and provides for employees convenience, safety, comfort at work, maximum exposure to natural light and ventilation. It is also important because it affects the flow of material and processes, labour efficiency, supervision and control, use of space and expansion possibilities etc. ESSENTIALS REQUIREMENTS An efficient plant layout is one that can be instrumental in achieving the following objectives: a) Proper and efficient utilization of available floor space. b) To ensure that work proceeds from one point to another point without any delay. c) Provide enough production capacity. d) Reduce material handling costs. e) Reduce hazards to personnel. f) Utilize labour efficiently. g) Increase employee morale. h) Reduce accidents. i) Provide for volume and product flexibility. j) Provide ease of supervision and control. k) Provide for employee safety and health. l) Allow ease of maintenance. m) Allow high machine or equipment utilization. n) Improve productivity. FACTORS INFLUENCING LAYOUT While deciding his factory or unit or establishment or store, a small-scale businessman should keep the following factors in mind: a) Factory building: The nature and size of the building determines the floor space available for layout. While designing the special requirements, e.g. air conditioning, dust control, humidity control etc. must be kept in mind. b) Nature of product: product layout is suitable for uniform products whereas process layout is more appropriate for custom-made products. c) Production process: In assembly line industries, product layout is better. In job order or intermittent manufacturing on the other hand, process layout is desirable. d) Type of machinery: General purpose machines are often arranged as per process layout while special purpose machines are arranged according to product layout. e) Repairs and maintenance: machines should be so arranged that adequate space is available between them for movement of equipment and people required for repairing the machines. f) Human needs: Adequate arrangement should be made for cloakroom, washroom, lockers, drinking water, toilets and other employee facilities, proper provision should be made for disposal of effluents, if any. g) Plant environment: Heat, light, noise, ventilation and other aspects should be duly considered, e.g. paint shops and plating section should be located in another hall so that dangerous fumes can be removed through proper ventilation etc. Adequate safety arrangement should also be made. Thus, the layout should be conducive to health and safety of employees. It should ensure free and efficient flow of men and materials. Future expansion and diversification may also be considered while planning factory layout. DYNAMICS OF PLANT LAYOUT Plant layout is a dynamic rather than a static concept meaning thereby if once done it is not permanent in nature rather improvement or revision in the existing plant layout must be made by keeping a track with development of new machines or equipment, improvements in manufacturing process, changes in materials handling devices etc. But, any revision in layout must be made only when the savings resulting from revision exceed the costs involved in such revision. Revision in plant layout may become necessary on account of the following reasons: a) Increase in the output of the existing product b) Introduction of a new product and diversification c) Technological advancements in machinery, material, processes, product design, fuel etc. d) Deficiencies in the layout unnoticed by the layout engineer in the beginning. APPLICABILITY OF PLANT LAYOUT Plant layout is applicable to all types of industries or plants. Certain plants require special arrangements which, when incorporated make the layout look distinct form the types already discussed above. Applicability of plant layout in manufacturing and service industries is discussed below. In case of the manufacturing of detergent powder, a multi-story building is specially constructed to house the boiler. Materials are stored and poured into the boiler at different stages on different floors. Other facilities are also provided around the boiler at different stations. Another applicability of this layout is the manufacture of talcum powder. Here machinery is arranged vertically i.e. from top to bottom. Thus, material is poured into the first machine at the top and powder comes out at the bottom of the machinery located on the ground floor. Yet another applicability of this layout is the newspaper plant, where the time element is of supreme importance, the accomplishment being gapped in seconds. Here plant layout must be simple and direct so as to eliminate distance, delay and confusion. There must be a perfect coordination of all departments and machinery or equipment, as materials must never fail. Plant layout is also applicable to five star hotels as well. Here lodging, bar, restaurant, kitchen, stores, swimming pool, laundry, shaving saloons, shopping arcades, conference hall, parking areas etc. should all find an appropriate place in the layout. Here importance must be given to cleanliness, elegant appearance, convenience and compact looks, which attract customers. Similarly plant layout is applicable to a cinema hall, where emphasis is on comfort, and convenience of the cinemagoers. The projector, screen, sound box, firefighting equipment, ambience etc. should be of utmost importance. A plant layout applies besides the grouping of machinery, to an arrangement for other facilities as well. Such facilities include receiving and dispatching points, inspection facilities, employee facilities, storage etc. Generally, the receiving and the dispatching departments should be at either end of the plant. The storeroom should be located close to the production, receiving and dispatching centers in order to minimize handling costs. The inspection should be right next to other dispatch department as inspections are done finally, before dispatch. The maintenance department consisting of lighting, safety devices, fire protection, collection and disposal of garbage, scrap etc. should be located in a place which is easily accessible to all the other departments in the plant. The other employee facilities like toilet facilities, drinking water facilities, first aid room, cafeteria etc. This can be a little away from other departments but should be within easy reach of the employees. Hence, there are the other industries or plants to which plant layout is applicable. The importance of a layout would be better appreciated if one understands the influence of an efficient layout on the manufacturing function: it makes it smooth and efficient. Operating efficiencies, such as economies in the cost of handling materials, minimization of production delays and avoidance of bottlenecks all these depend on a proper layout. An ideally laid out plant reduces manufacturing costs through reduced materials handling, reduced personnel and equipment requirements and reduced process inventory. The objectives or advantages of an ideal layout are outlined in the paragraphs that follow. The advantages are common to all the plants, irrespective of age; and whether a plant employs 50 workers or 50,000 makes no difference in so far as the applicability of the plant layout advantages is concerned. Some of these advantages are: Economies in Handling Nearly 30% to 40% of the manufacturing cost is accounted for, by materials handling. Every effort should, therefore, be made to cut down on this cost. Long distance movements should be avoided and specific handling operations must be eliminated. A cynic may say that the cheapest way to handle materials is not to handle them at all. But, in a factory, materials have to be handled; and therefore, it all depends on the layout. Effective Use of Available Area Every inch of the plant area is valuable, especially in urban areas. Efforts should therefore be made to make use of the available area by planning the layout properly. Some steps for achieving this end are: location of equipment and services in order that they may perform multiple functions; development of up-to-date work areas and operator job assignments for a full utilization of the labor force. Minimization of Production Delays Repeat orders and new customers will be the result of prompt execution of orders. Every management should try to keep to the delivery schedules. Often, the deadline dates for delivery of production orders are a bug-a-boo to the management. Plant layout is a significant factor in the timely execution of orders. An ideal layout eliminates such causes of delays as shortage of space, long-distance movements of materials, spoiled work and thus contributes to the speedy execution of orders. Improved Quality Control Timely execution of orders will be meaningful when the quality of the output is not below expectations. To ensure quality, inspection should be conducted at different stages of manufacture. An ideal layout provides for inspection to ensure better quality control. Minimum Equipment Investment Investment on equipment can be minimized by planned machine balance and location, minimum handling distances, by the installation of general purpose machines and by planned machine loading. A good plant layout provides all these advantages. Avoidance of Bottlenecks Bottlenecks refer to any place in a production process where materials tend to pile up or are produced at a speed, less rapid than the previous or subsequent operations. Bottlenecks are caused by inadequate machine capacity, inadequate storage space or low speed on part of the operators. The results of bottlenecks are delays in productions schedules, congestion, accidents and wastage of floor area. All these may be overcome with an efficient layout. Better Production Control Production Control is concerned with the production of the product of the right type, at the right time and at a reasonable cost. A good plant layout is a requisite for good production control and provides the production control officers with a systematic basis upon which to build organization and procedures. Better Supervision A good plant layout ensures better supervision in two ways: 1. Determining the number of workers to be handled by a supervisor and 2. Enabling the supervisor to get a full view of the entire plant at one glance. A good plant layout is, therefore, the first step to good supervision. Improved Utilization of Labor Labor is paid for every hour it spends in the factory. The efficiency of a management lies in utilizing the time for productive purpose. A good plant layout is one of the factors in effective utilization of labor. It makes possible individual operations, the process and flow of materials handling in such a way that the time of each worker is effectively spent on productive operations. Improved Employee Morale Employee morale is achieved when workers are cheerful and confident. This state of mental condition is vital to the success of any organization. Morale depends on: (a) Better working condition; (b) Better employee facilities; (c) Reduced number of accidents; (d) Increased earnings. Plant layout has a bearing on all these. Avoidance of unnecessary and costly changes. A planned layout avoids frequent changes which are difficult and costly. The incorporation of flexibility elements in the layout would help in the avoidance of revisions.

The Beet Queen :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Louise Erdrich, the author of The Beet Queen, is the oldest of seven children. Erdrich, was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, on June 7, 1954. The daughter of a French Ojibwe mother and German American father, Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Erdrich's large extended family lived nearby, affecting her writing life from an early age. Her father introduced Louise to William Shakespeare's plays and encouraged Louise and her sisters to write their own stories. Erdrich attended college at Dartmouth and John Hopkins before marrying author and anthropologist Michael Dorris. When she married Dorris, he had three adopted children and later the couple had three more children of their own. When the two separated in 1995, Erdrich moved six blocks down the street in order to share custody of their children. On March 29, 1997 Dorris committed suicide. Erdrich now lives in Minneapolis, MN with her three children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On a spring morning in 1932, Mary age eleven and Karl Adare age fourteen arrive in Argus, North Dakota. Having parted and going separate ways Mary having gone to live with her aunt, while Karl goes on to explore and live on the wilder side. These children were orphaned in a strange way; their mother took off with an airplane stuntman. Haunted by disturbing images of her mother, Mary seeks refuge and stays with her mother's sister Fritzie, which with her husband Pete, run a butcher shop. This begins the forty-year saga of abandonment and unstinting love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The novel, The Beet Queen, deals with the elements involved to create plot movement. First off is exposition, since every chapter in The Beet Queen is narrated by a different character in the book it tells the story of each character in first person and in great detail chapter by chapter. It tells you the story from their point of view. It is very effective it allows you to be in their mind thinking along with them seeing what they are going through and feeling. At the conclusion of each chapter you want to keep reading to see what will happen to a specific character when it is there turn to narrate again. One event in The Beet Queen is when Sita is put into a psycho ward because she pretended to lose her voice, and ever since then her neighbors and everyone she came in contact with would have to read her lips.

Export Strategy Belgian Chocolate Factory

Table of contents Introduction 1? Presentation of the company 1. 1? History 1. 2? Philosophy 1. 3? Organization 1. 4? The company’s activities 1. 5? Activities concerned by the exportation 2? Macro economic analysis 2. 1? LE PEST C analysis 3? Export strategy 3. 1? The reasons of the company’s international opening 3. 2? The current exporting strategy 4? Export abilities 4. 1? The export diagnosis 4. 1. 1? The production tool 4. 1. 2? The finance 4. 1. 3? The products 4. 2? Analysis of the German market 4. 2. 1? The Four C framework 4. 2. 2? Satisfyer 5? Dolfin’s SWOT analysis 5. 1. 1? Explanations of Swot 6? Recommendations 6. 1? Competition on the German market 6. 2? Distribution problems 7? Conclusion 8? Bibliography 1? 2? 2? 2? 2? 3? 3? 5? 5? 7? 7? 8? 10? 10? 10? 10? 10? 11? 11? 13? 14? 14? 17? 17? 18? 19? 20? Introduction In this report, we have chosen to analyze Dolfin, a Belgian company that has been producing fullflavoured chocolate bars since 1989. We will be analysing the exports of Dolfin, which nowadays is exporting to 22 countries around the world. The purpose of this report is to make an export audit in order to check if the company meets the necessary requirements. The main objective of this report is to build a SWOT analysis regarding the export of the company in order to propose development strategies linked to it. In order to do so, we have divided our work into 5 parts: first an analysis of the company, secondly we will focus on the international environment of Dolfin. After that we will move on to its export strategy before developing its export abilities. Finally, we will analyse Dolfin’s management of international operations in order to conclude with recommendations. The country we have chosen to explore is Germany, firstly because it is one of the biggest consumers of chocolate in the world1, and secondly because recently Dolfin has faced some issues in order to export to this country. Besides, Germany is Dolfin’s main exporting country. PONTILLON, J. ,( coordinateur),Cacao et chocolat : production, utilisation, caracteristiques, Paris , Editions TEC et DOC, 1998, p25. 1 ? 1 1 Presentation of the company 1. 1 History Two Belgian brothers – Michael and Jean-Francois Poncelet – who decided to follow in their father’s footsteps, created Dolfin in 1989. Both of them grew up with a fascination for the process of making chocolate. 2 â€Å"Always bearing in mind this craftsman's approach, forcing the tool to meet the demands of quality, rather than the other way around, the sales have been rising steadily, amounting to 220 tonnes in the year 2000. The top-of-the-range bars and Neapolitan chocolate squares are now on offer in prestigious emporiums such as Selfridges in London, La Grande Epicerie in Paris, the KDW in Berlin and the Sony Plaza in Tokyo†. 3 1. 2 Philosophy4 For the master chocolate makers of Dolfin, chocolate is a passion. They dare to create the most unexpected combinations, to invent the subtlest harmonies, searching as a team for the finest ingredients selected from the best that nature offers. Their chocolate coverings are made of exclusive recipes, constant in quality and taste. Dolfin also offers a wide range of chocolate, from 32% cocoa in milk chocolate to 88% in the bitterest. Containing less sugar, less fat and more cocoa than traditional recipes, Dolfin’s products concentrate the nutritional and therapeutic qualities of chocolate. Simple and authentic, chocolate is stored naturally for a long time (one year without any preserving agent). 1. Organization Dolfin is a Belgian private limited company with a turnover of 3. 000. 000 â‚ ¬ and a net profit of 429. 237 â‚ ¬ in 20085. WORLD WIDE CHOCOLATE, Dolfin chocolates and chocolate bars, URL address: http://www. worldwidechocolate. com/shop_dolfin. html (viewed 16th November 2009). 3 Dolfin – Dark chocolate, URL address: http ://www. finedarkchocolate. com/Chocolate/Dolfin/index. asp (viewed 16th November 2009). 4 DOLFIN, Philosophie, URL address: http://dolfin. be/index. php? lang=En=philosophie (viewed the 16th November 2009).? 5 NATIONAL BANK OF BELGIUM, Comptes annuels en euro, 2008, 18p. , URL address : http://banquenationale. e/pub/ (viewed the 20th November 2009) 2 ? 2 Organization chart: General chocolates Company Holding Dolfin S. A. 5 Shareholders JJ. de Gruben Administration Finance Marketing R Production Purchase Quality Sales department 1 person 1 person 2 persons 12-15 pers. 1. 4 The company’s activities The main activities of the company are: – Gourmet squares with personalised packaging: The original activity of Dolfin is to make chocolate bars for companies with a personalised packaging in order to be used as gifts or as advertisement. Nowadays, even though this activity has decreased, it still represents 25% of the turnover. As a small company, Dolfin is more flexible and can offer tailor made products. – The Dolfin chocolate range offers chocolate bars of 30 and 70 grams, Gourmet squares, chocolate flakes and dark chocolate petals with flowers, Jacqmotte coffee chocolate bars. – Tohi brand: this new Dolfin’s brand created in September 2008, is organic certified (controlled by Certisys) and fair trade (controlled by Max Havelaar). 1. 5 Activities concerned by the exportation ? 3 – Dolfin chocolate bars are exported in more than 22 countries, often in specialised  « delicatessen  ». It is considered as fine chocolate, and it is sold in the most luxurious and prestigious place in trendsetter’s cities such as Paris (Lafayette), London, New York, Berlin†¦ – The Tohi brand is only exported in health food shops to make sure people trust the brand before selling it in other shops. ? 4 2 Macro economic analysis 2. 1 LE PEST C analysis In order to understand clearly the environment in which our organisation works, it’s important to make a â€Å"LE PEST C Analysis†. This one ensures Dolfin to adapt its strategy to each specific market taking account of the external environment. Legal aspects: There are 3 specific laws and norms: The HACCP norms in Belgium (â€Å"Hazard Analyses Critical Control Points†) regulate the quality of food industry products by preventing, managing and controlling the production chain6. The ISO 22000 â€Å"specifies requirements for a food safety management system where an organization in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption. †7 This norm is applicable to all organizations, regardless of the size, which are involved in any aspect of the food chain and want to implement systems that consistently provide safe products. European Directive: The labelling and the presentation of chocolate and cocoa products are regulated by the E. C (directive 2003/13/EC and 2000/36/EC). On a global view, pre-packed foodstuffs (to be delivered to the final consumers) must comply with compulsory standards on labelling and advertising. On the packaging must appear: – the name under which product is sold – a list of ingredients – the potential allergens – the durability date – the conditions for keeping – the place of origin FOULON L. , Hygiene et technologie de chocolaterie, Bruxelles, CERIA, syllabus, 2009-2010, p. International Organization for Standardization, URL address: http://www. iso. org/iso/catalogue_detail? csnumber=35466 (viewed the 02nd of November 2009). 8 Idem 7 6 ? 5 Each of these indications must be written in an easily understood language (official language of the country of marketing), especially for the chocolate or cocoa derivatives, we should also mention if there is a use of vegetable fats9. Ecological With the growing concern about the environment, Dolfin has to take into account various environmental pressures. For several years now, it decided to cut its greenhouse gasses emissions and has become the first neutral carbon chocolate factory in Belgium. Moreover, a lot of specific materials are now forbidden and companies have to adapt. Due to that, Dolfin has made contracts with some firms specialized in ecological packaging. Political The political stability and the good relationship between Belgium and Germany are crucial. Economical: Globally, Germans are scared of the inflation level10. The sector is dependent on cocoa which is quoted on the stock exchange market and very sensitive to speculation. Moreover, it’s a seasonal product and there is a slack period from March to June. Sociocultural: Here is a growing concern for several years with healthy food and obesity which can lead to a change in food habits and the need of specific products (less sugar, more cocoa). Technological For all new projects, Dolfin has to think about environmental pressures. Competitivity: The competition in the sector is tough. Dolfin is a mid-upscale product and have to compete with multinational companies and other upscale product. Furthermore, in this sector, the competition is all the more intensive as products can be easily imitated. After launched a new one, competitors can copy the recipe without difficulty. ?EUROPA, Etiquetage, presentation et publicite des denrees alimentaires, URL address : http://europa. eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packaging/l21090_fr. htm, (viewed 1st November) 10 GERMAN CULTURE, Germany in the World Economy, URL address : http://www. germanculture. com. ua/library/facts/bl_germany_world_economy. htm (viewed on the 15th of November).? 9 ? 6 3 Export strategy 3. The reasons of the company’s international opening Dolfin didn’t really aspire to export in the beginning but it came out as a good solution. On the one hand, the brand (Dolfin and Tohi) can keep their own shops in Belgium in order to boost the sales and to improve the brand awareness among potential new customers. On the other hand, Dolfin can export its products on the international market, which appeared to be the best solution because Belgian chocolate has a worldwide good reputation abroad. The three main countries where Dolfin is exporting are: Germany, France and the United States of America. As explained before we have decided to focus on the German market. To understand the situation we will first have a look at the evolution and how they penetrated the market in 2001. In 2001, at the Ism fair (one of the most important fairs for chocolate makers) in Germany, German importers showed interest to import the company’s products. We could say that Dolfin did not really have a strategy ready for that. They decided to export in order to satisfy this demand. They started with 2 distributors: Feinkost (confectionery) and Suesswaren (delicatessen). They had exclusive contracts with these 2 distributors. By 2005, according to Nathalie Trachte, one of the administrators of Dolfin, the interest for quality food in Germany is increasing. This means they prefer to pay more for high quality chocolate bars than eating a huge quantity of bulk chocolate. By that time, Dolfin realised they had no commercial strategy in Germany and that they had very few market shares. In 2006, the turnover of the German exportations dropped off by 15%. The reasons are first, because both distributors became competitors; secondly, it was due to the increasing number of new chocolate products on the German market. 1 In 2008, despite the crisis, the price of raw materials and the cultural fear for inflation in Germany, the exportations remained at a certain level. Moreover specialised shops decided to focus on bestsellers like Dolfin. However, the turnover kept on decreasing. In 2009, because of the very long summer, the season started a bit later. 11 Belcolade Conference, Salon de Paris 2009 (14th – 18th October 2009) ? 7 Belgian export to Germany (code SH18-cacao)12 : (M â‚ ¬) Chocolate and Cocoa Total export 2002 202,87 2003 199,60 2004 217,878 2005 240,18 2006 249,03 2007 278,49 2008 281,42 9. 402,07 31. 067,38 34. 037,69 35. 271,04 38. 451,03 38. 727,10 42. 605,73 This graph demonstrates an evolution in the Belgian exports of chocolate and cacao towards Germany between 2002 and 2008. This represents an increase of about 38% in 6 years. This means that Dolfin is acting in a growing market and that there are still opportunities to seize. 3. 2 The current exporting strategy Dolfin started to rethink the way it was exporting to Germany. In 2007, they decided to use the 5 P’s theory: – Product: launching new products and combining new flavours. Price: the price is higher than other standard chocolates as they sell quality products. However, it is not as expensive as premium chocolate. They didn’t want to change the price as they consider it as a fair one for a mid-upscale product. As we are talking about a niche product, changing the price wouldn’t be a suitable action to take. Communication by mail with Mrs Stas Marie, Service Evaluation et Strategie, Agence Wallonne a l'Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers, 3/11/09 ? 12 ? 8 – Place: Dolfin started to look for suitable places for their products in order to create a luxury, exclusive image. They decided to work with only one of the 2 distributors. – Promotion: Dolfin decided to advertise, to promote, to organize tastings in shops, releasing more press articles, etc†¦ – People: the question was: â€Å"are they working with the right people and do they know them enough? † As a response they increased the number of visits to distributors. In a nutshell, Dolfin is using direct exports selling its products straight to distributors. ? 9 4 Export abilities 4. 1 The export diagnosis 4. 1. 1 The production tool The production capacity Dolfin exports today 85% of its total production out of the Belgian territory. However, it’s only using half of its production capacity. The production adaptability Each exporting market has its own demand specificities and likings, that’s why Dolfin pays special attention to analyze the product and make sure it will be suitable for most of the export markets. 4. 1. 2 The finance Dolfin gets its money mainly from the shareholders. They get subsidies from AWEX for the set up of the website, transport for fairs, stands, catalogues, etc. Dolfin doesn’t invest a lot in investigation. They actually wait for potential customers to come to them. 4. 1. 3 The products The Bio-physical characteristic Chocolate has 6 main enemies: humidity, temperature shocks, too high temperature, light, insects and smells†¦ The transport should also prevent strong smells to reach the chocolate because the cocoa butter is very sensitive to the smells. Chocolate is a perishable commodity with an average life time going from 12 to 18 months (depending on the flavours). Therefore, it is essential to assure, on the one hand, a quick transportation and, and on the other hand, good transport conditions to hamper the chocolate to become white if the temperature is not suitable. The regulatory criterion Chocolate being an alimentary product, several norms and regulations are in use worldwide. As seen before, in Belgium we have the HACCP norms and companies also apply the ISO 22000 along with the European directives. ? 10 4. 2 Analysis of the German market 4. 2. 1 The Four C framework From the mid nineties to the late nineties, Germany was considered as a â€Å"mass market† as well as a very compressed â€Å"price market†. Indeed the Germans were known to be big consumers of milk chocolate buying low quality chocolate. However, in the late nineties, beginning of 2000, interest for quality increased and Germany became a connoisseur market. That is when Dolfin entered the German market. â€Å"Marketing is a system for identifying and satisfying customer needs and wants†¦profitably  »13. In order to do so, businesses have got to be customer oriented, which means they have to think in their point of view. In fact, the four P framework we analyzed previously will be now converted into C’s: Product = Customer Solution †¢ Quality products are of great interest as well as organic certified products as it is a growing trend. †¢ Design and packaging of Dolfin’s products are attractive to target audience and they are original. For the packaging, they respect the European directives concerning languages that must appear on the label. Indeed, in the case of Germany, customers can read the ingredients and other type of information in German, but also in French, English and Dutch. Doing this, Dolfin can use the same packaging for Belgium or other countries where these languages are spoken. †¢ 59% are loyal to their brand14. Price = Customer Value †¢ Does price matter? For some, absolutely: Germans are the most price-conscious chocolate buyers (35%)15. But Dolfin suits its prices to the audience it targets, so there is no change TLATLI F. , Behaviors of the actors of the market, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010. BARRY CALLEBAUT, Survey, 2008, URL address : http://www. barrycallebaut. com/56? group=,year=,lang=en,keyword=,page=1,release =4072,read=en (viewed 15th November) 15 idem 14 13 ? 11 needed regarding this. Furthermore, according to Nathalie Trachte: the costs related to the chocolate production don’t enable them to lower their price. 16 †¢ Regarding the payments, they act different towards European and non-European customers. Indeed, customers inside Europe like Germany have to pay the first 5 orders in advance. After this period they’ll get 30 days credit for each order. If the customer doesn’t pay after those 30 days, Dolfin won’t accept any order from them. Outside Europe, another policy is applied in order to hedge risks. They won’t deliver products, unless they have received the counter-part and this for every order. †¢ Nathalie Trachte also pointed out the fact that prices or payments negotiations are difficult and long but once they are achieved, they do not discuss them again. Place = Convenience †¢ In Germany, Dolfin sells its products through different channels. The company is represented in small specialized shops but also in high class supermarkets. Their geographical coverage is very large. Indeed, you can find Dolfin’s Chocolates almost everywhere but only in luxurious places. This is very important for the image of the brand. In Germany you find them next to competitors such as Domori, Valrhona, etc. †¢ Concerning the transport of the goods, they use the Incoterms Ex Works, which means that â€Å"the seller, in this case Dolfin, puts the goods at the disposal of the buyer in his accommodations†17. As seen previously, the transport has to take into account the bio-physical characteristics of chocolate. Futhermore, we will analyze the reason of this choice in the SWOT analysis. Promotion + PEOPLE = communication †¢ They especially emphasize on this concept. Indeed, satisfied customer is the best advertising. In terms of P’s, promotion and especially people are of great importance since they allow Dolfin to establish a good dialogue between both their suppliers and customers. As analyzed previously, due to the crisis the company had to review its strategy and in order to do so, they focused their attention on communication. This permits Dolfin to be closer to their distributors and hence their customers. Personal interview with Nathalie Trachte, Administrator and Marketing responsible, Dolfin, Bruxelles, Belgium, 27th October 2009.? 17 HEINEN M-L. , Managing International Operations, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010, p. 39. 16 ? 12 4. 2. 2 Satisfyer Dolfin has to know how to develop its customers’ satisfaction. They are looking for global satisfaction to have total happiness. Because it is not only at the point of sales, but most of all while consuming the product that the customer becomes satisfied, Dolfin is concentrating its efforts on the intangible elements, the most important part of satisfaction. Indeed, for them, launching new quality products with original recipes is important but not only: they also have to invent other elements around that product in order to differentiate it from the competition with the aim to bring customer’s satisfaction. Within this concept of intangible elements, we distinguish the basic ones and the dynamic ones. As regards Dolfin’s basic intangible, quality is of great importance. That’s why, they stress on good services and constant quality to deliver what they promised to the customer. To ensure that, Dolfin’s production methods conform to the strictest and most up-to-date standards of quality and cleanliness. One of the priorities of Dolfin is not only to make sure ingredients come from considered and concerned sources, but also to stay up-to-date in respect to the environment. In fact, Dolfin became the first CO2-neutral Belgian chocolate maker. Related to that quality, Dolfin is trying to create continuity. Indeed, focused on the future, they have to make sure the customer will remain loyal to them. To do so, they are also trying to launch and deliver their new creations on time as well on the market as to the customers. This can only work if Dolfin can trust its customers, but also it has to have good relationships inside and outside the company. Inside the company, everybody knows each other as they are only 15. Outside the company, they are working with suppliers and distributors they have known for a long time. For the dynamic intangible, we can say that it is a prestige product for which the customer knows he will spend more money than for a standard chocolate, but in exchange, he gets a good feeling eating it. ? 13 5 Dolfin’s SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses – Organic and Fair-trade Brand : Max Havelaar & – Organic:? ifferent production schedules â€Å"Organic farming† certified – Packaging : language, experience, resistance and traceability – Respect of sanitary rules: A. F. S. C. A – No allergens contained (targets wider audience) – Small company: faster decision making – Present in trendsetter cities – No intermediaries (closer to customer) – Tastings, workshops, exhibitions in shops – Production capacity not fully used – Not in charge of the transport (Ex Works) – CO2 neutral ? more controls (Max Havelaar) – Low financial backup – Not in charge of the transport (Ex Works) Opportunities – Few competition for Belgian organic chocolate – Growing demand for fine dark chocolate in Germany18 – Good reputation of Belgian chocolate19 Threats – Cocoa is quoted on the stock exchange – Profit linked to cash flow management – Competitive market – Copying of packaging and recipes – Seasonal product – World wide economical crisis 5. 1. 1 Explanations of SWOT Since some of the elements were not seen before or could be misunderstood, we would like to add more information. STIGSET M. , German Chocolate Market Is `Saturated,' Association Head Says, URL address : http://www. loomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601100=aosOXeX9FzD4=germany (viewed 17th November 2009) 19 MERCIER, J. , la tentation du chocolat, Belgique, Editions Racines, 2007, p82-101. 18 ? 14 Strength: – Their packaging is the same for Belgium as for Germany because it is written in 4 languages. Besides, the experience in packaging is due to their first activity in the chocolate business, in which they were making private label range products with Dolfin chocolate in it. They are very conscientious regarding traceability. Therefore, every packaging has a batch on it. Within their new export strategy, they focus on the promotional aspect. Indeed, Dolfin organises tastings, workshops †¦ to attract the customer in an original way. – The production capacity not being fully used, the company could increase the production without spending too much money on new machinery. Consequently, the company could raise its production capacity very quickly and respond faster than competitors to an order. – In most cases, Dolfin doesn’t organize the transport. They use the Incoterms Ex Works. This allows them to focus on their production and not on transport issues. Besides, their customers (importers) are used to transport and know better how to do it. Nevertheless, Dolfin sometimes recommends a transport company to its customers. – In 2008, Dolfin took the initiative to reduce its emissions of CO2 by 15%. Moreover, they took part in a project in Rajasthan to offset their remaining CO2 emissions20. That way, Dolfin became the first CO2 neutral company of Belgium. Weaknesses: – Having an organic and fair-trade brand does include some disadvantages. Firstly, the production schedule will have to be modified in order to prevent contamination between both conventional and organic production. Secondly, Max Havelaar (fair trade) and Certisys21 (organic) check the production to make sure it is worth its organic and fair-trade certification. – The disadvantage of an Ex Works system is that customers may want a full service. However, Dolfin sometimes makes exceptions for some customers. Opportunities: – There is a growing demand for higher-quality dark chocolate in Germany22. Germans are becoming connoisseur and prefer quality. DOLFIN, Environnement, URL address: http://dolfin. be/index. php? lang=En=philosophie (viewed the 20th November 2009).. 1 CERTISYS, Organic Guarantee – Certisys, URL address: http://www. tohi. be/En/home. php? lang=En (viewed the 16th of November). 22 STIGSET M. , op. cit. , p. 12 20 ? 15 Threats: – The cocoa is quoted on the stock exchange in Pounds per ton. This means this raw material is very sensitive to speculations. Furthermore, the production of cocoa depends on the weather, the climate previsions (droughts, floods, p lants diseases†¦) but also the political situation in the producing countries. 23 In addition to that, other raw materials are also quoted (milk powder, sugar†¦ ). As regards the profit of the company, it is inked to the purchase of raw materials because the cocoa price is very volatile. Unfortunately, a price increase cannot fully be rejected on the client, and the company has to bear the burden of this problematic situation. – A good cash flow management is of great importance. It is capital to get paid from customers before paying suppliers. Therefore, Dolfin has to manage well its purchases and sales cycles: they need to have a positive net working capital. – In the chocolate sector, we observe a lot of copying of both the packaging and recipes. Indeed, during fairs for example, it is common to spy on the competition. Therefore, industrial companies copy the ideas of smaller chocolate makers. – Recently, because of the crisis, the bankruptcy of a big customer has consequences on the financial situation of Dolfin. 23 PONTILLON J. , op. cit. , p. 1.? ? 16 6 Recommendations In order to propose recommendations, it is of interest to analyze the history of the current export strategy of Dolfin. We have seen that in 2001 Dolfin started to export to Germany on the demand of two German importers. In fact, Dolfin didn’t plan to export at that time and they didn’t develop any export strategy in order to do so. They just did it, and, until 2007, business went good – sales and turnover increased every year. But in 2007 things went on differently. Dolfin started to loose market shares, and business didn’t go on better in 2008. Starting from that point, we are going to build our recommendations. By interviewing Nathalie Trachte, administrator and manager of the marketing department of Dolfin, we tried to find out the reasons of the current situation. Out of the discussion appeared two essential facts: the competition on the German market has strongly increased and Dolfin is facing distribution problems. . 1 Competition on the German market As developed previously in the cross-cultural analysis, we have to think and act in terms of customer solution and not the other way around. Recent surveys of Barry-Callebaut24 reveal some figures about the German chocolate consumers. Here are some interesting conclusions: – 60% prefers milk chocolate – only 37% consumes dark choc olate (less than all other Europeans) – German consumers are especially keen on change: 25% of German chocolate lovers surveyed regularly try different types and flavours. Among a trend towards premium chocolate, original, organic and fair trade chocolates are becoming increasingly popular. To be able to offer customer solutions to the German consumers, we would recommend: – to increase the amount of milk chocolate products it offers. For example, currently, only 5 out of the 17 flavours of the chocolate bars of 70 grams are made with milk chocolate. – to develop the marketing around Tohi. Indeed, as fair trade and organic food become more popular on the German market, we shall respond to this demand. This should be done through smart advertising. As we noticed before, Germans are sensitive to good quality products and keen to change 24 BARRY CALLEBAUT, op. cit. , p. 11 ? 17 as mentioned above. Therefore, it is of great importance to increase the customer’s awareness regarding the combination of quality – organic- and fair trade, with a particular stress on the quality of Tohi’s product. With these 2 recommendations we hope to respond to the problem concerning the increase in competition. 6. 2 Distribution problems To address the second problem relating to the distribution, we shall focus on ommunication: – We believe that frequent meetings between distributors and Dolfin’s employees would improve the established dialogue. Indeed, by doing this, they can share the knowledge concerning Dolfin range of products, and also the philosophy and strategy of the company. This would be particularly interesting when new creations are launched. This enables Dolfin to have a more coherent strategy and to achieve cohesion between Dolfin, distributors and customers. This way, the message the company is sending will be understood the right way. This might take time and money to be implemented, but it is worth a try. Let’s now focus on possible openings: First, hotel-catering trade (Horeca) is an attractive sector. In Belgium, the company has a partnership with â€Å"le pain quotidien†. We believe it would be interesting to seek for similar cooperation in Germany. Secondly, since chocolate sales are high during specific events such as Christmas, birthdays, Saint Valentine days, mothers/fathers’ days, etc†¦ They should develop new/original ideas in order to respond to this demand. That’s why we came up with the idea that a package including flowers and chocolate could satisfy the specific demand during those special days. However, it is important to point out that it would be a difficult business to develop since laws and norms concerning foodstuffs are very strict. Finally, as the e-business is spreading all around the world, we thought Dolfin should develop a new strategy regarding this. On the one hand, it would enable the company to reach new customers and on the other hand, it allows being closer to their already loyal distributors/customers. Nevertheless, this implies hiring new employees who can manage properly both businesses and the creation of a new department. In addition to that, it is difficult, through the web, to be close to their clients and to establish a good communication. ? 18 7 Conclusion We have reached the end of our analysis and it is now time for us to conclude the work. Firstly, we want to thank Nathalie Trachte for her devotion and vital information. By doing this paper we’ve learned to think in terms of international market and export. We’ve encountered 2 main problems during this assignment: the distribution and the competition on the German market. In order to tackle these, we have relied on the SWOT-analysis which we have built up, in order to develop recommendations. We do hope these will be suitable for Dolfin. For each of the 2 problems, we have tried to find possible solutions. In addition to that, we have also intended to be more creative, considering other possible market openings. Nevertheless, we have to bear in mind the fact that we are not professionals with an experienced background and we may have forgotten to take some aspects into account for the analysis. Furthermore, to make a relevant export audit, more time and more information, especially regarding the German market, would be required. ? 19 8 Bibliography 8. 1 Books †¢ FOULON L. Hygiene et technologie de chocolaterie, Bruxelles, CERIA, syllabus, 2009-2010, 35p. †¢ MERCIER, J. , la tentation du chocolat, Belgique, Editions Racines, 2007, 240p. †¢ PONTILLON, J. , Cacao et chocolat: production, utilisation, caracteristiques, Paris, Editions TEC et DOC, 1998, 638p. 8. 2 Websites †¢ BARRY CALLEBAUT, Survey, 2008, URL address : http://www. barrycallebaut. com/56? g roup=,year=,lang=en,keyword=,page=1,release=4072,read=en (viewed 15th November) †¢ CERTISYS, Organic Guarantee – Certisys, URL address: http://www. tohi. be/En/home. php? lang=En (viewed the 16th of November). Dolfin – Dark chocolate, URL address: http://www. finedarkchocolate. com/Chocolate/Dolfin/index. asp (viewed 16th November 2009). †¢ DOLFIN, Philosophie, URL address: http://dolfin. be/index. php? lang=En=philosophie (viewed the 16th November 2009). †¢ EUROPA, Etiquetage, presentation et publicite des denrees alimentaires, URL address : http://europa. eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packag ing/l210 90_fr. htm, (viewed 1st November) †¢ GERMAN CULTURE, Germany in the World Economy, URL address: http://www. germanculture. com. ua/library/facts/bl_germany_world_economy. htm (viewed on the 15th of November). International Organization for Standardization, URL address: http://www. iso. org/iso/catalogue_detail? csnumber=3546 6 (viewed the 02nd of November 2009). ? 20 †¢ NATIONAL BANK OF BELGIUM, Comptes annuels en euro, 2008, 18p. , URL address : http://banquenationale. be/pub/ (viewed the 20th November 2009) †¢ STIGSET M. , German Chocolate Market Is `Saturated,' Association Head Says, URL address : http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601100&sid=aosOXeX9FzD4&refer=german y (viewed 17th November 2009) †¢ WORLD WIDE CHOCOLATE, Dolfin chocolates and chocolate bars, URL address: http://www. worldwidechocolate. om/shop_dolfin. html (viewed 16th November 2009) 8. 3 Interview †¢ Personal interview with Nathalie Trachte, Administrator and Marketing responsible, Dolfin, Bruxelles, Belgium, 27th October 2009. 8. 4 Others †¢ Belcolade Conference, Salon de Paris 2009 (14th – 18th October 2009) †¢ Communication by mail with Mrs Stas Marie, Service Evaluation et Strategie, Agence Wallonne a l'Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers, 3/11/09 †¢ HEINEN M-L. , Mana ging International Operations, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010, p. 39 †¢ TLATLI F. , Behaviors of the actors of the market, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010 ?

Philosophy of Religion Essay

In this paper, I will evaluate the argument Richard Swinburne offered in support of theism. I will first explain the distinction between regularities of co-presence and regularities of succession and why their understanding is necessary in understanding Swinburne’s argument. After this, I will present the arguments I have derived from the passage given, derived from Swinburne’s book. I will then proceed to identify the issues that determine whether his is a sound theory or not by explaining the premises Swinburne bases his argument on, and conclude by giving reasons why I think these objections succeed. Richard Swinburne bases the argument he offers in support of theism on regularities of succession by first stating that prior attempts by philosophers and theologies of the eighteenth century to prove the existence of God failed because they largely based their arguments on regularities of co-presence. The distinction of these regularities, according to Swinburne, is that while regularities of co-presence are patterns of spatial order at a specific instant in time, regularities of succession are the simple patterns of behavior exhibited by objects because of the external influence by the forces of nature. For example, the orderliness of the various organs within the human body and how they perform in perfect synchrony to complement each other’s functionalities is a regularity of co-presence. Regularities of succession are based on empirically derivable laws of interaction. The action of attraction and repulsion that occurs within the sub-atomic particles within an atom, and how these forces end up determining the formation of matter by biding many atoms together is an example of a regularity of succession. Swinburne offers the natural balance of the universe brought about by the mutual attraction of planetary bodies with respect to the distance between them and their weights as an illustration of the action of regularities of succession. The following is an outline of Swinburne’s argument in favor of theism. All objects within the universe, living or dead, always behave strictly according to the laws of nature (1). This is not however sufficient enough to be the basis of concluding that theism is true. There is a need to establish the cause of regularities of succession. All regularities of succession exist due to the operation of scientific laws (2), but the most fundamental regularities cannot be given an empirical explanation, and since for the purpose of this argument they must be explained anyway, this explanation must be based in the rational choices of free agents. A dancer’s movements are determined by the rhythm of the tune he or she is dancing to, and this being a regularity of succession is proof that all regulations of succession must have an agent. Similarly, an agent must be responsible for the harmony exhibited by the universe as it behaves according to the laws of nature. The universe is so harmonious and it is very wide, the powers of the agent controlling it must be very immense compared to those of the dancer who, with the freedom of choice, moves in synchrony to the rhythm of a tune (3). The most fundamental of scientific regularities, which are regularities of succession, cause other regularities of succession, and even these most fundamental regularities must have a causative agent. There can be no better explanation to the most basic regularities of succession, so we conclude that an agent bestowed with power and intelligence just like men but at a much higher degree is most likely responsible for their action, thus the proof of theism. Swinburne attributes the existence of regularities of succession to an ultimate causative agent. In his argument, he draws a comparison between the rational choice of a free agent in the simpler term and the much more complex operation of the universe, which he himself portrays as very puzzling. In his argument, infinite attributes are assumed to be simpler than infinite attributes. Furthermore, the agent controlling the universe, if its operation is similar to the exhibition of regularities of succession by simpler free agents like men, must also have had a cause. He fails to explain the cause of this agent and his argument in proof of theism contradicts itself, making it unsound. The premises Swinburne raises are largely valid until the conclusion. A reader of his work will find premise one true since scientific research has empirically established the laws of nature which define the action of objects thus making premise (1) believable. It is true, taking human beings as example that regularities of succession are exhibited as the result of rational choice. A dancer will not move to the rhythm of a tune without having made the choice to dance, and this cause-effect approach makes premise (2) very coherent. If then a being is rationally controlling the universe, his powers must be very immense making premise (3) a convincing conclusion developed from the first two premises. Swinburne argues for theism by equating simpler attributes to complex attributes. In premise (3), he inductively derives a higher probability that God exists, but as with all probabilities, any outcome is likely. Simpler attributes to the actions of objects are not given an explanation to why they are true. Swinburne fails to claim that he proves the existence of God is more probable than his non-existence. He builds his argument on the causation of regularities of succession by more fundamental regularities, but fails to give an explanation for the most fundamental of these regularities: that an immensely powerful agent is rationally controlling the universe. There is thus sufficient ground to successfully object to his argument. In this paper, I evaluated an argument Richard Swinburne offered in support of theism. I first explained the distinction he creates between regularities of co-presence and regularities. I then proceeded to explain his argument and the reasons why it is valid. After this, I considered the reasons a person would choose to think that the premises he based his argument on are true and finally presented my objection to the argument by identifying and explaining why premise (3) is not necessarily valid. My conclusion was that Swinburne did not offer a sufficient reason to believe that theism is true. ? Works Cited Swinburne, Richard. â€Å"The Argument from Design†. Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology of Contemporary Views. Ed. Melville Y. Stewart. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1996. 233-246.