Hallucinations and the Human Consciousness Essay -- Biology Essays Res

Hallucinations and the Human Consciousness The idea of consciousness has been contemplated throughout the course of neurobiology and behavior. When does it begin or end? And what, precisely, is consciousness? Though researchers may only approximate the answers to these questions, a few things may be inferred. Since the subconscious mind is the sleeping mind, the conscious mind can be thought of as the awakened mind, the mind which shows itself to others most often. (1) This is not to say that the conscious mind is reality, because (as will later be explained) reality is quite subjective. (1) It is just that the conscious mind is the one most people associate with reality. For example, people who experience an event while dreaming will refer to it as a dream, because it occurred in their subconscious. Whereas, if the event had occurred while they were awake-in their conscious mind-frame, then it would be considered as an actual experience. The designation between subconscious and conscious or reality and dreamlike states seem to be cut and dry. However altered mind-sets confuse the line and cause hallucinations. When we dream, our thinking is mostly pictorial and depends on memory. (1) We may hear words, but we understand most of the dream through pictures and people from the past or present. As we awaken, our mind switches from pictorial thinking to word-based thinking. (1) Hallucinations occur when the mind does not completely switch, or switches back, to the conscious state. (1,2) The first thing to note about hallucinations is that they have long been associated with mental illness because many people become confused as to what they are seeing or experiencing. (2) Though hallucinations do occur in mentally ill peo... ...ana demonstrates how hallucinations are not necessarily negative events. Though the mind is being distorted to a certain degree, the cause of the hallucination is more important than the hallucination itself. If drug use or a mental illness brings about the hallucination, the causes themselves are problematic. However, if one chooses to hallucinate because of a culture or religion, as in the cases of meditation and peyote, their behavior is justified. There is still much to be researched in this area of neurobiology and behavior. Not only because little is known, but also because it is far more common than most people would like to think, since psychologically and biologically ill people as well as normal people may hallucinate from time to time. Internet Sources: http://bluezoo.org/ http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper1/Ebbitt.html

David Lachapelle Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

The work of David LaChapelle can be seen everywhere you turn, be it on a magazine rack, album cover, advertisement, or even a music video. Dubbed the "New Surrealist", LaChapelle's vivid, colorful, bizarre, and humorous images have been admired by millions and have made him one of the most famous photographers alive today. Since the start of his professional career, LaChapelle's work has attracted the attention of many other artists, celebrities, journalists, and regular people. I first noticed his work on advertisements in magazines several years ago. I immediately felt drawn to his images- they are photographs I could stare at for hours, playing out in my head the story each photograph is telling and what it says about the character of the individual he is portraying. I am amazed at how he is able to pick up certain quirks in his subject's personality and build entire scenes around the unusual parts of their character. Each piece of work he creates is anything but mundane- even his simpler images tell a story. Born in Connecticut in 1969, David LaChapelle learned to love the art of photography at an early age. He grew up observing his mother, a non-professional photographer with a flair for appropriating a fantasy life onto film, whose influence can still be seen in his work today. He began taking photographs in High School, where he stated his original inspiration was "white-trash culture". Upon graduation, he moved to North Carolina to attend the North Carolina School of Arts, where he trained as a fine artist. A short time later at age nineteen, David LaChapelle made the decision to move to New York's Lower East Side and enrolled in both the Arts Student League and the School of Visual Arts. Although he was receiv... ...how in Las Vegas. The show has received many four-star reviews, including one from Rolling Stone magazine, which states "David LaChapelle fashioned a dizzying sexy, emotional spectacle that both parodied expectations about Vegas glitz and put new life and meaning into fifteen of John's strongest songs". With all of these achievements, it's easy to see why David LaChapelle has captured the attention of millions, including his own favorite photographer, Helmut Newton. He has essentially started a new genre of photography, and his work has become an inspiration for many up and coming photographers, including Michael Anthony, Frizzy Cube, and more. It's hard to believe that David LaChapelle could get any more amazing. The world can only expect more amazing things from this talented artist in years to come, and I think it's an honor to do my paper on this living-legend.

Ethical Issues on Confidentiality Essay

Ethical Issues on Confidentiality: Research and Medical Procedures A guiding principle followed by most administrators and health care providers is the concept that ethical principles must match the values of the whole organization. This belief should serve as a continuous teaching to all staff so that the organization’s goals may be uniformly achieved. Healthcare administrators must be fully competent in adhering to the ethical principles of patient and employee confidentiality in order to promote trust, respect, and the protection of individual’s rights concerning health information. This is one of the main objectives of the Privacy Rule or HIPAA, and a breach to this rule is one of the most common ethical issues. When administrators demonstrate capable ethical decisions in guiding the flow of services in the organization, there may only be a few disorders that will be encountered in the operations as a result of ethical perplexities. In the article, Ethics of Stem Cell Research (Siegel, A., Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Spring2013), the ethical dilemma of confidentiality in research pales in comparison to the dilemma posed in destroying human embryonic cells. A great dispute is presented on the use of human embryos and whether researchers are dealing with a human being or not. The question on the permissibility or the impermissibility to destroy human embryos is fully explored without the full ethical answer being presented. Confidentiality, research, and medical procedures all impart ethical dilemmas that complicate organizational activities. Problems of the Affected Population: Patients and Participants In the procurement of embryotic cells for example, research subjects are not considered the same way as patients and regarded differently in terms of confidentiality and privacy issues. According to the article, HIPAA, the Privacy Rule, and Its Application to Health Research (2009), â€Å"Health research is not the focus of HIPAA.† and, â€Å"Because a great deal of health research in the United States is also subject to the Common Rule- the federal rule that governs most federally funded research conducted on human beings and aims to ensure  that the rights of human subjects are protected during the course of a research project, historically focusing on protection from physical and mental harm by stressing autonomy and consent.† (HIPAA and Research, Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research, 2009). Many research institutions are not considered covered entities and therefore the subjects are not covered by the Privacy law. Nevertheless, all subjects must submit personally identifiable health information and in the course of research or procedure, a subject may be harmed. This is an uneven application of confidentiality and the Privacy law that gives more benefit to a patient than a research subject. Medical research in particular has a participant and some experimental procedures are accomplished with the patient as the subject in the belief that the experiment could bring positive results to the patient specially, when there is no definite answer to a needed treatment. According to Fremgen B.F. (2009), ethical issues arise when there is harmful effect to the patient from experimental procedures. Lack of understanding and communication remains a big barrier to ethical issues. Somehow the creation of the Privacy Law did not consider the welfare of the research subject, yet they are likened to a patient who undergoes procedures, submits identifiable health information, and when procedures are not perfect, may also suffer harmful consequences. The other bothersome issue is when the bodily parts contributed by the participant are sold, reused or endorsed to other institutions for other purposes. Other issues pertain to the interest of the researcher placed above the interest of the patient (B.F.Fremgen2009). Informed and voluntary consent from participants are used as shield in order to further the research activities, but privacy and confidentiality are both compromised on research participants and must also be incorporated. Proposed Solutions In California, where the biggest budget for stem cell research is allocated, the California Institute of Regenerative medicine (CIRM) in their objectives has encouraged institutions and researchers on the development of best practices in hSC projects. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at each research institution must be responsible for the proper review of projects involving human participants. The regulations of the CIRM implies that donor  consent must be understood fully by the participant, maintain a clear record of every embryo, strict accounting of donated cells, and must always be consistent with existing laws. In fairness to the donor, any medical complication must be treated fully, and the donor must not bear any cost for any treatment (G.P Lomax, Z. Hall, B. Lo, Responsible Oversight of Human Stem Cell Research: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, 2007) The foundation for all procurement of biological materials can be summed in informed consent. Authorizations and voluntary consent must be explicitly understood by the donor and must be presented with choices they can understand including the information regarding the destruction of the cells, commercial application and sharing (L. P Knowles, Issues in Procurement of Embryonic Stem Cells: Informed Consent and Conflict of Interest, n.d.) Information management system must be in place for protection of confidentiality. In most instances, the system must protect the anonymity of the donor to safeguard privacy. There will always be people who would donate biological materials for their own reasons beyond ones understanding. These individuals must be informed fully of the consequences and possible risks. In some places, inducement of monetary consideration is prohibited. However, there are instances when the donor sincerely commits to help in exchange for some requirements like burial assistance when deemed terminally ill. Ethical issues and personal choice of the donor must be taken into consideration at all times and the option to donate must be free from pressure. In some parts of the globe, there are ads roaming related to procurement of organs from individuals who are impoverished and destitute. The government and the public must be vigilant in exposing this black market trade of organ trafficking so as to safeguard the dignity, confidentiality, and humanity in general. The mainstream media must be cooperative in relaying to the public not only the positive implications of medical research but also the contrary, so that that knowledge and understanding of present scientific advancement and problems may be learned. The Administrator and Ethical Issues An administrator who is engaged in a healthcare institution where research activities are occurring commits to a heavier burden of maintaining the place for it to be free of ethical issues. Aside from the issue of  patient care, privacy, lack of resources, maintaining regulations, and promoting goodwill, the needed knowledge on the requirements or regulations on research must be understood. The administrator must be adept at ethical analysis and organizational policies. Many have not been through a lot of experience related to research institutions but according to Fremgen B. F. (2009), â€Å"Adherence to bioethical principles involves the entire healthcare team, not just the physicians† (pg. 251). The ethics of the institution must be in accord with the staff and conflicting values should not prevail. The administrator must know how to initiate educational sessions and communicate the ethical values even with the integration of research and experimental procedures. References Siegel, A. Ethics of Stem Cell Research, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, rev. Jan 28,2013 Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stemcells/#EthDesHumEmbForRes Knowles, L.P. Issues in Procurement of Embryonic Stem Cell: Informed Consent and Conflicts of Interest, Retrieved::http://www.stemcellnetwork.ca/uploads/File/whitepapers/Inf Consent-and-Conflicts-of-Interest.pdf Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information: The HIPAA Privacy Rule; Nass SJ, Levit LA, Gostin LO, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009.Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9573/ Lomax GP, Hall ZW, Lo B (2007) Responsible Oversight of Human Stem Cell Research: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Medical and Ethical Standards.Retrieved http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0040114 B.F. Fremgen, Medical Law and Ethics (Third Ed. 2009)

Osce Scenarios

OSCE Scenarios ONE You are a 72 year old lady. This morning you were hanging your freshly laundered curtains, when you suddenly felt dizzy and you remember nothing after that, until your friend was calling your name. You have no idea how you ended up on the floor. You have had a few dizzy spells No SOB or chest pain. You have the odd â€Å"missing heart beat† not too troublesome. Otherwise you are fit and well. You were not incontinent during the attack. TWO You are a 42 year old professional trombone player. You are rehearsing for a tour abroad. Last night you seemed OK just a bit tired and possibly had a bit of a fever. This morning you woke up with severe left sided chest pain aggravated by deep breathing and coughing. You are very frightened because your sister had a pulmonary embolism after the birth of her baby. There is no sputum or haemoptysis. You had slight asthma as a child. You haven’t got much of a cough, but feel SOB and frightened to breathe deeply. Your general health is good and you’ve had no serious illnesses in the past. THREE You are a 35 year old man who came to A&E with pain when passing urine and discomfort for 3-4 days. You think that there was a little blood in your urine once. You are gay and not practice safe sex. (DO NOT VOLUNTEER THIS INFORMATION UNLESS YOU ARE ASKED. ) You are not particularly bothered about HIV. Generally your attitude is rather cavalier and have had several sexual partners in the past. FOUR You are the wife of an 82 year old man and you brought him into A&E because you are frightened and worried about him. For the last 3-4 days he’s been increasingly confused and today he started to get verbally abusive. He has never had psychiatric problems. This is most unlike his normal self. He feels a bit hot to you and his urine has been a bit smelly. He has mild, diet controlled diabetes and â€Å"some prostate problem† otherwise he has been remarkably healthy. FIVE You are the father of a 3 year old girl. Your wife and you separated 2 years ago and she is the main carer for the child. You have her every other weekend. You are rather vague about the child’s health, mainly because she does not live with you. DO NOT VOLUNTEER THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: You have been sexually abusing the girl for some time and obviously don’t want your ex-wife to find out, or anyone else for that matter. Therefore, you want this problem sorted out now. SIX You are a 72 year old heterosexual man. For the last few weeks you have noticed increasing difficulty with passing urine, terminal dribbling and a pressure feeling in your lower abdomen,. Your general health is fairly good but lately you have lost some weight and you’ve become impotent. SEVEN You are the mother of a 3 year old boy. This afternoon he fell off the slide in the park (about 2m high). He was sick once about 5 minutes after the accident, he was NKOD but has complained of headache ever since. He is alert and had something to eat about half an hour ago which stayed down. You are worried about the effects of the injury and have no idea what to look out for. EIGHT You brought your 6 month old baby to A&E as you are very anxious about her. She developed a cold, cough and temperature 3 days ago. She has not been eating well but she has no D&V. This morning you noticed that she is covered in a rash from head to foot. She is up to date with her immunisations (BUT DO NOT VOLUNTEER THIS INFORMATION. ) In a nearby school there are three confirmed cases of measles. You are convinced that your child has meningitis and you know this can be a fatal illness. Therefore, you think she should be admitted to hospital. NINE You are a 30 year old unemployed man. You have been abusing a variety of drugs, including diazepam, dihydrocodeine, amphetamine and cocaine in the past. You have an agreement with your GP that he will prescribe 90 tablets of Diazepam 5mg a month. However, recently you have been quite agitated and been taking more than the prescribed dose. When you are broke for money you also sell some of your tablets on the black market. You came today asking the receptionist to reissue your prescription saying that the previous was stolen from you. You are determined not to leave until you get some more tablets. Anyway, you can’t see what all the fuss is about. A few more tablets are neither here nor there and you are fed up with these dragons, called receptionists. You decided to duff them up a bit! TEN You are the mother of a 12 year old boy. He fell and cut his knee this morning at school. You brought him to A&E and after a long wait one of the junior doctors stitched his knee. The A&E charge nurse checked that your son has not had a tetanus booster since he was 3 years old and informed you that he needs a booster today. You agreed to this. The young doctor proceeded to administer the injection that the nurse gave him. The young doctor was very friendly and nice to your son but appeared nervous with shaky hands. After he gave the jab he seemed very anxious and it transpired that it was the wrong injection. He hasn’t checked the vial before administering the vaccine. You are flabbergasted and furious and threaten to sue the hospital. ELEVEN You are a27 year old man from the Ivory Coast. You have been resident in the UK for 3 years and recently returned to your country for a family visit. As you lived in Africa most of your life you did not think it was important to take malaria precautions. You’ve been feverish and felt rotten for two days with the light hurting your eyes, your neck and back of your head and you have terrible griping pains in your upper abdomen on both sides. DO NOT VOLUNTEER THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE JUST COME BACK FROM AFRICA! TWELVE You are a 29 year old woman who works as a solicitor in a big city law firm. This is a very prestigious job with high pressure and long working hours. Your main way of de-stressing is going to the gym at night. Two days ago your â€Å"back went† for the third time in six months and this morning you could hardly get out of bed and get dressed. The pain is really severe, especially when you bend down and at times like a knife in your back. You are not too bad at rest. The pain does radiate down your buttock to the back of your leg, but you have no pins and needles, loss of motor function or abnormal sensation. You are fed up and worried you might lose your job if you keep taking time off. One of your friends is a doctor and he told you that X rays are useless and you must have an MRI scan to see if you’ve got a slipped disc. You won’t budge unless the A&E doctor agrees to do this. YOU WON’T BE FOBBED OFF! THIRTEEN You are a 58 year old Pakistani man,. You were diagnosed as a diabetic in 1999 and hypertensive in 2001. You take metformin, gliclazide and enalapril. Last week you came to the practice nurse for a blood test and this morning the practice receptionist rang you to say that you must come in to see the doctor to discuss the result of your recent blood test. You are really worried and think there is something horribly wrong. Your mother and aunt were both diabetic and died

Lenovo’s Product Life Cycle Essay

As a global leader in the PC market, Lenovo’s success rests on its ability to deliver consumer centric innovations in products that deliver a blend of mobility, performance and price. Design is an infrastructural element that helps define every aspect of a company, including Web site, stores, customer support, packaging, and messaging as well as its products. Lenovo has a well-earned industry reputation for delivering superior quality products. Quality is a fundamental component and commitment to customer satisfaction by delivering products that are of superior quality to comparable offerings from their competitors is the key to Lenovo’s success. In recent years, Lenovo relies heavily on local manufacturing strategies to shorten ship requirements and had achieved an award-winning use of thermoplastics and other recycled packaging materials. Lenovo-a consumer product Lenovo is a business that is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Its products range from exceptionally engineered laptops, ultrabooks, tablets, desktops and servers. It’s ThinkPad and IdeaPad that are the most popular among all of them. Lenovo’s systems are designed with extended battery life with up to 10 hours on some systems and with extended battery options that can last as long as 30 hours with the lithium ion technology. Smart air flow system allows the laptops to run cool which takes battery little power. Enhanced Windows 7 with Intel multi-core processors, One-key data recovery, ambient light sensor which automatically dims the system when not in use and VeriFace face recognition software for password login are among the few novel functional features that are available in Lenovo products. Lenovo has powerful security protection tools that prevent malicious malware, and viruses from swarming into the computers and can even locate and control PCs that have been stolen. Lenovo’s security begins with their core technology and award-winning ThinkVantage technologies that are exclusive to Lenovo. Their secure and private cloud files access allows sharing or streaming files without the need to store them locally. The premier X1 Carbon is the latest in ThinkPad’s and its island style X1 keyboard, light design which weigh less than 3 pounds and is only 18mm thin is truly considered the best. Its quality and simple design immediately reveals trendy and fascinating ThinkPad perception. Branding and design are to a large extent inseparable as a brand is not just a logo but it’s a gut feeling people have about a particular product and I believe that Lenovo is providing that to its customers with their latest innovative products. Packaging and Support Services Customers benefit from many of the advances that have been made in packaging. Lenovo is committed to offering environment friendly packaging for its products. Over the past several years, Lenovo has had a strong focus on increasing the use of recyclable materials in packaging; reducing the size and expanding the use of bulk and reusable packaging. Recent research estimates that Lenovo has totally eliminated over 1000 tons of packaging consumption by weight through design optimization and refinement across all Lenovo product shipments. The new packaging material, made from 100 percent recycled thermoformed cushions, enables PCs to be stacked together and requires less packaging material. This new material also helps minimize shipping costs. In addition, on many Lenovo notebook product lines Lenovo has implemented the use of 100% post-consumer molded fiber (paper pulp) packaging, which can typically be readily recycled in municipal waste streams. Lenovo is currently in the process of assessing the global availability of FSC certified packaging to support manufacturing facilities in all geographic regions. Lenovo’s Asset Tagging Service that is executed in production ensures that a user PC is easily identifiable and traceable right out of the box. Lenovo provides flexible options to meet personal or variable business needs. Lenovo’s reliability and its ability to provide speedy maintenance and repair deserve further emphasis. Lenovo’s Priority Technical Support service provides anytime direct access to the right level of tech support on the first call. Its accidental damage service offers protection from operational or structural damage due to common accidents like drops, spills, electrical surges or failure of the integrated screen which saves its customer the cost of repairs or a new PC purchase. Parts, labor repair and coverage of expenses while shipping to the repair center are all paid for by Lenovo as well. Warranty extensions are available for periods of up to five years. Accidental damage insurance, online tech support, on-site or in-home service of parts and labor coverage is also provided. User guides and manuals are readily available on Lenovo’s website for the customer’s convenience. Product Life Cycle Lenovo has a Transition service that saves its customers valuable time and resources, its hardware refreshes, and purchase through deployment to aged asset recovery. According to research, Lenovo’s PC management tools help users reduce costs that capture 80% of a PCs full lifecycle beyond the hardware price. Its ThinkVantage technologies reduce machine downtime and provide data security and their PC lifecycle analysis helps reduce the running and ownership costs. Lenovo helps customers manage the complete PC lifecycle and maximize the productivity and usefulness of devices; they do this by covering each phase of the typical PC lifecycle including planning, procurement, deployment support, asset management and disposal. Given the extent of technological advances both in hardware and software, nowadays a typical life cycle of the PC is estimated to be 3-4 years. According to Lenovo’s internal research, their customers have recorded consistent savings of up to $691 per PC over its lifecycle. Product issues and Warranty, Branding, Packaging considerations Packaging is an area where managers face issues of social responsibility, including concerns about the role of packaging in pollution, global warming, and resource use. The ink to print the package graphics often has toxins that later creep into the soil and water. Although Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act provide guidance on many packaging issues, many areas still require marketing managers to make ethical choices as even small changes can add up to big improvements. Lenovo is committed to ensuring that their products are safe throughout their life cycle as its products comply with the laws and regulations in each country that they ship to. Lenovo products are designed, tested and approved to meet the correct worldwide standards for product safety, electromagnetic compatibility, ergonomics and other regulatory compulsory requirements when used for their intended purpose. In addition, Lenovo maintains a series of specifications and standards that capture product environmental design requirements, including restricted and reportable materials, energy requirements, labeling and recycling. Lenovo has implemented a comprehensive product recycling programs worldwide to meet their customers’and legal requirements. Branding means the use of a name, term, symbol, or design or a combination of these to identify a product. A brand is the real asset to the company and Lenovo has a well-earned industry reputation for delivering superior quality products. Recognized brands make shopping easier and the more popular a brand name is the more control of target market there can be for that product. Successful branding should include easy identified label, dependable and widespread availability, and favorable shelf locations or displaying space in stores. In general, consumers are willing to pay a premium for well known branded products and Lenovo has used this to its advantage and has established a well deserved niche with its customers. A warranty explains what the seller promises about its product and a marketing manager should decide whether to offer a specific warranty, and if so what the warranty will cover and how it should be communicated to the target market. This is an area where legal, environment as well as customer needs and competitive offerings must be considered. Lenovo’s uses warranties to improve the appeal of their products as a marketing strategy and all the products carry written warranty agreements.. Most of the Lenovo’s laptops carry standard one-year warranty to fix your laptop for optimal speed and overall performance in the comfort of your own home. Marketing research needs Promotion and distribution of the product to its target market is very essential to the marketing mix. A target market of price conscious customers can be influenced by advertising campaigns that positions the company in consumers mind as value oriented product. Lenovo is already excelling in it marketing needs and will continue to adapt its marketing mix in response to evolving competition and customer needs. Even seemingly trivial differences in buying behavior are important because success often hinges on fine-tuning the marketing mix. Lenovo streamlines their distribution with the goal of providing consumers better service. Its fast global expansion is due to committed innovativeness, entrepreneurial spirit and teamwork across various cultures. Lenovo is committed to the goals of achieving customer satisfaction by delivering superior products, solutions, and services and ensuring they meet customer requirements. Lenovo frequently acquires inputs on design and product features fro m its customers and partners. Consumers are very observant and cautious of their products and consumer trust is one thing that is very difficult to establish nowadays. Lenovo’s global Quality Management System, which has received ISO 9001 certification, ensures the continual delivery of design improvements into Lenovo’s current and future products. Focusing on quality and sustainability in everything is how Lenovo gives back to the communities. References http://www.lenovo.com/social_responsibility/us/en/GreenPaper_Packaging.pdf http://www.lenovo.com/social_responsibility/us/en/Lenovo_ISO9001 Corporate_Certificate.pdf http://www.lenovo.com/social_responsibility/us/en/FY2011_Lenovo_Sustainability_Report.pdf# page=16&view=fit http://www.fastcompany.com/1830073/9-principles-great-branding-design http://www.doyoumatter.com/ http://www.lenovo.com/services_warranty/US/en/pdf/lenovo-warranty-services.pdf Lenovo Reveals ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Shakes Up Ultrabook Market Lenovo Reveals ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Shakes Up Ultrabook Market

Pyrex Case Study Essay

The current dilemma with World Kitchen is to continuing making Pyrex themselves, or to contract the manufacturing out and buying it that way. This problems has arisen because of the aging Pyrex plant in Charleroi needs an upgrading and they have decided to look at it to see if it is better to outsource it or to upgrade the plant and continue to make it. Pyrex was first started in the early 1900’s by Corning Glass Works. It was made by mistake when Bessie Littleton the wife of a Corning chemist ask her husband to bring home s some strong shatterproof glass for her to use in the kitchen. What her husband did was bring two jars home, made of low- expansion glass. Bessie had cooked a sponge cake in one of the glasses and she found out that the cooking time was shorter, it did not stick to the glass, the flavor washed off of it and did not stick to the glass, and she could see through it to see how the cake was baking. The Chemist then took the cake to his work the following day an d had his coworkers look at what she had made with the glass he took home. They then began a two year process to perfect the glass and to start selling it. So in 1915 Pyrex started to hit department and China stores everywhere. World Kitchen was formed in 2000 and is the current owner of Pyrex. World Kitchen already outsources a bunch of their products and this is so they can stay competitive with the competition. That is because with a lot of their current products they are made cheaper overseas versus the cost it would be to make them in the states. By 2006 World Kitchen only owned two plants in United Stated the Pyrex one in Charleroi and a Corelle Plant. The two plants use different forms of technology, the Charleroi plant uses tempering the thick translucent glass while the Corelle plant uses a processes by pressing three layers of thin strengthened opaque glass together. In the Charleroi plant they have a furnace that has to run 24 hours a day and it is extremely costly to run. So if they were to keep the Charleroi Plant the first thing that they would have to change is the furnace and find a better way to heat the glass. That way they would not have to constantly run it and they could slow down and speed up production accordingly. Since World Kitchen currently outsources the manufacturing of a lot of their other products they  have existing relationships with potential manufacturers t hat might be interested in making the Pyrex Line. The problem is that there might not be a foreign plant that can meet the demand for the Pyrex line of products. Also with contracting the product and making it overseas, in order for World Kitchen to get the product back in the United States they will be paying Tariffs and those Tariffs vary from country to country. World Kitchen is currently a privately owned company which is better because with the decision to either continuing to manufacture Pyrex or to outsource it will be done directly by the head CEO’s and they will not need to worry about what stockholders think. According to market research done in 2006 it was an estimate that 79 percent of homes owned at least one Pyrex product. It also showed that Pyrex held a 75 percent share of the current market. World Kitchen s market share was dominant among makers of glass makers, the Pyrex products was also compared to no glass products such as metal, plastic, and ceramic bake ware. So we are going to look at the pro’s and cons that are associated with continueing production at the Charleroi plant or if it will be better to outso urce the production of Pyrex. 1. What are the pros and cons of continuing production at the Charleroi plant? When a supply chain is choosing a manufacturer or a product to carry, one of the things they usually look at is where it is made. This is because depending on the location there are different pro’s and con’s that can be associated with the product. For example Pyrex is made in Charleroi, Pennsylvania and I am going to talk about the pros and the cons of Pyrex continuing the production here. One of the main good things about continuing the production at the Charleroi plant is that you can manage the production and the quality on a day to day basis or however you like. If it was somewhere out of the country than you would not be able to visit the plant as often and assure the same standard of quality that was suspected of it. Another good thing about continuing production here is that is has the stamp â€Å"Made in the USA† which is a good marketing strategy within itself. That is because people in the US like and are willing to buy a product more if it was made on it’s on soil. The logistics of transporting the goods will be cheaper and you will not have to jump through the hoops of importing  it into the states. This will mean that you will always have the same delivery time for an order to whomever you are sending it to. If it is made overseas there are a numerous number of things that can delay an order that is out of the manufacturers and buyers hands. A lot of states offer companies tax credits for having a plant in the state and creating jobs for people within that state. Another thing about continuing production at the Charleroi plant is that Pyrex will not have to change anything it is currently doing with production, logistics, and personnel. When you change something that you are currently manufacturing and the way it is made you are risking the possibility of a drastic change to the product. There are also costs related to changing the location and bringing in people to help make that happen. Along with the good things about having the Charleroi plant in operation there are also a number of cons that haunt this. One thing is that you might lose some of the market because the competition will be selling a product that is cheaper and this is because it is cheaper to make overseas. You might not be able to compete with the price and thus lose customers. Another downside would be having to deal with unionized workers in the US, if they do not like their pay or some type of labor condition they could go on strike which will than put production on a halt and money and product will be lost. Another downside about the Charleroi plant is the furnace and the costs to operate it each year. They stated one year they were to make 41 million pieces of Pyrex and the cost to make the pieces would be 39 million. So making that much product you would only have a 2 million dollar profit, which isn’t bad but the labor and the costs of paying the workers is the most expensive thing and can be cut down or even out if there are better and cheaper ways to make. Along with the expense you do not have the flexibility to operate the furnace when you want and you do not have the flexibility to change the speed of production that much either. You cannot control how many products and how much time it takes to make as well and this is because the furnace controls that because you cannot speed it up or slow it down. The furnace is the bottle neck of the batch process and even to upgrade it and make it a better process is going to cost Pyrex quite a bit of money and time. Probably the main con about continuing production here is the cost that is going to be associated with upgrading the facility. Just rebuilding the furnace alone is going to cost an estimated 12 million  dollars. While you are rebuilding the furnace and upgrading the facilities you are going to have to look at a different location to help with the production of Pyrex anyways. This goes in hand with the current profit margin which was only 2 million dollars off of 39 million dollars’ worth of product. This is because of the high costs that was associated with making the Pyrex at the Charleroi plant. 2. What downside might there be with the offshore outsourcing production of the Pyrex product line to oversea suppliers. One of the major downsides of offshore outsourcing of the product lines to different countries is getting the product back in the United States. This is called Tariffs and they can range from 22.5 percent to 4 percent depending on the country and what the US import rate is for that country. So that is something that will overall make the product price somewhat even out. You will have the cheaper labor and not-so strict manufacturing guidelines in some other countries but you will have to pay the tariff to get it back here. One of the major and first things that they need to look at though is to make sure that the over sea companies will be able to match the productivity with the demand of the product. If they are not able to manufacture enough of the product in a certain time than Pyrex will be losing money to the competition that might have the similar type of product in stock. Another thing that the suppliers quoted were the lead times that it could take them to get the product to the distribution center. These times ranged from 4 days to 36 days, depending on what country the product would come from. These can change from day to day according to the situation as well, because there might be a delay at the inspection to get the freight into the United States or a storm holds off the shipment on the other side of the world. So orders will need to be put in almost 2 months ahead of time. This is possible as we have learned in previous chapter, to do but will not be as accurate versus 2 weeks ahead of time. So this can lead to either an over or understock of items. This is because the demand for the product can change on a weekly basis based off many factors. If the work and process is outsourced than you also run the possibility of another country or company getting the process and making a copycat product. This was actually done in China when they were searching for glass manufacturers  there. This is because other countries might not follow or have the strict patent laws that the US follows. This is one reason why there are a lot of â€Å"fake† items made in other countri es. In China, they uncovered companies claiming to be the producers of the product and even used the Pyrex logo on their website. Another thing that I mention in question number one is they will not have control over the manufacturing of the product as much as they do now. If they contract it out overseas, unless they hire someone to always be at the plant they will not know if the contractor is making the product like it was originally made and if the contractor takes short cuts than the product will lose its originality and quality possibly. That means the recipe to make the product can be changed and with something like glass, when you barely change the way it is made it will drastically effect the quality. If you have a strict contract that states the product will be made for a number years the exact same way, you cannot just change it in the middle of a contract when you contract it overseas. That means if market research shows the product can be more effective or cost effective made a certain way, you have to wait until the contract ends with the current manufacturer before you can change anything about i t. If it still made by the company in the states you can change the product however you want whenever you want. That includes if you want to start manufacturing a new line of products with the Pyrex quality and name. It will be much longer because you will have to negotiate the process and prices with the contractor versus just getting the numbers and materials yourself and starting it when it is the most appropriate. 3. If the recommendation is to offshore outsource, what issues have to be addressed with the Charleroi plant? If Pyrex decides to go to offshoring outsourcing the product than the Charleroi plant has to have some type of shutdown procedure. These procedures are important because it is a plan that will help lay off or redistribute the workers as well as the products and equipment. One of the biggest problems is to retain and layoff the workers once they find out the Charleroi plant is being shut down. Shutdowns are usually announcements that the company or organization will tell everyone so they can prepare what to do next. They need to retain a number of workers though while they look for and implement their outsourced manufactures to  start making the products. A lot of workers will start looking for new jobs and quit to start those new jobs, this can be good because the company will not have to lay off a bunch of workers. They might be able to transfer some workers to the New Yor k Plant though. They do need to give some workers an incentive to stay though until the shutdown is complete. Next all of the equipment used to make the product will either need to be sold or sent to the new operations facilities. They need to figure out if the old equipment is worth keeping or if they want to upgrade it to make a better product. They do not want to sell the equipment to possible competitors though because then they will be able to copy their process of making the Pyrex. We also need to look at and make sure that the overseas plant will be able to completely fulfill the orders and if not than the Charleroi plant might not have to shut down completely. They might be able to keep it and operate it only at 10 percent to help with increased orders or high demand, that is only if the outsourced manufactures cannot produce enough of the product. After everything is out and the plant is shut down the company needs to look at if they want to keep the building or not. If the New York plant is still running and the shipment of the products overseas need a place to stay before they are sent to stores, than the building might be able to be turned into a warehouse. Which than Pyrex needs to determine how they can transfer the manufacturing plant into a warehouse because of the unpredictability of the shipping of the products from overseas, Pyrex needs to be able to get products to customers fast. They also need to figure out how much it is going to actually cost to shut down the plant because at the same time the company is going to be spending a lot of money on getting the new manufactures up to speed on the product. So there are a number of issues that need to be addressed when shutting down the Charleroi and they are the rearranging of personnel, how long it will take to shut the plant down, what to do with all the assets inside the plant, and even what to do with the building after everything is gone and shutdown.

W6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

W6 - Essay Example It takes a relatively long time to accomplish the objectives of quality assurance, and to ascertain that the manufactured goods are within the accepted standards. On the other hand, the main objectives of manufacturing are to reduce the cost of production and factory expenditures and increase the output within the minimum period of time (Thompson 2003). Quality assurance is therefore seen as a factor that can reduce the desired output due to the time it consumes. Manufacturers are faced with the challenge of establishing new methods of designing, producing, selling and distributing products. Automated data collection technology is used by many industries in order to ensure that products conform to the accepted International Standards of Quality while maintaining the manufacturing throughput (Perrow 1967). Failure to adhere to quality standards may lead to reduced marketability of manufactured goods. Throughput in this case is the amount of good quality products produced over a short period of time. Miles and Snow (1978) postulated that the manner in which industries decide to deal with the problem of market share management, manufacturing problem as well as the managerial problem, determines its strategies. My organization uses the strategies of defender organizations. It is usually faced with the problem of managing its market share. However the operating environment has turned out to be stable, which is one of the factors required by such organizations in order for them do perform well. It has measures for enhancement of cost leadership which helps in solving the entrepreneurship issues. It specializes in one area of production, manufacturing consumer goods only, whereby it focuses on the down market which is well established, and helps it to accomplish the objective of offering products at low prices. It accomplishes efficiency through maintaining vertical integration. The organization maintains centralized operations, official procedures