The Princess Bride Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The Princess Bride Film - Essay Example ployed in the film; it is expected that the selected scenes from the movie will provide useful insights to learners regarding the various camera shots, movements, sound effects, music and dialogues as shown in the movie. The students need to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding of film through an analysis of selected scenes from the movie and the assessment tasks are carefully planned to meet the language needs of the learners too. 1. Students are asked to submit a portfolio at the end of the unit for teacher feedback and the portfolio should comprise of their understanding of the various themes of the movie and how the character sketch of each of the major characters are revealed in the movie from the scenes shown to them. 2. The class task asks the students to make a write up of the importance of dialogues and sound effects in the movie. For this, students are shown certain scenes in the movie without any sounds. Students need to construct appropriate dialogues based on the actions and later they can be shown the same scenes with all the dialogues and sound effects. a) Pre-viewing Activities that will provide the students with an understanding of the basic factors associated with the genre of film, the various categories of films and the major actors/actresses of the movie. 1. Discussion: The teacher organizes an open discussion in the class. Initially, the teacher asks each one what they know about films in general. Each one contributes to the discussion by adding a different point. The students are asked to take notes whenever a new idea is being discussed. Students can also ask for clarifications, examples and substantiation on what others have pointed out. The activity goes on until the students have shared all their previous understanding of the genre of films. The teacher can then intervene to divert their attention to new information on films and can carefully elicit their responses. This would pave way for another creative discussion

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Research Paper - 2

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Research Paper Example In many cases, the victim may not register any complaints about the sex harassments and hence the number of the actual sex harassment cases is extremely higher than the number of the reported cases. Sexual harassment is considered as employment discrimination if it takes place at the workplace. Earlier sex harassment incidents at workplaces were mostly happened against the women employees. However, at present even male workers are complaining about the sexual harassment they are facing from their female superior employees. In other words, both males and females are equally suffering from the sexual exploitations at workplace. Nature of sex harassment incidents at workplace Sex harassments can take place in the workplace in different forms. Sex harassments can take place physically, psychologically, verbally or nonverbally. Even some of the gestures can categorize in the sex harassment lists. In most of the cases, sex harassments start verbally. The culprit often tries to catch the at traction of the victim with the help of comments with sexual overtones or remarks sexual nature. Chaudhari (2006) has pointed out an incident in which a senior doctor used verbal sexual harassment even in the operation theatre. A female doctor of 34 years of age said â€Å"ah† when the operation theatre needle accidently pierced her hand. In response to that the senior doctor said â€Å"You are making a sound like you are having sex† (Chaudhari, 2006, p.11). In this case, the senior doctor tried to harass the junior doctor even in the operation theatre which shows that sex harassments are happening even at workplaces where one would never anticipate such activities. The culprit often analyzes the response of the victim to the initial verbal... This essay stresses that sexual harassment is an act of intimidation, bullying or coercion for in an effort to force a person to engage in sexual activities. In many cases, the victim may not register any complaints about the sex harassments and hence the number of the actual sex harassment cases is extremely higher than the number of the reported cases. This paper declares that earlier sex harassment incidents at workplaces were mostly happened against the women employees. However, at present even male workers are complaining about the sexual harassment they are facing from their female superior employees. In other words, both males and females are equally suffering from the sexual exploitations at workplace. Sex harassments can take place in the workplace in different forms. Sex harassments can take place physically, psychologically, verbally or nonverbally. Even some of the gestures can categorize in the sex harassment lists. In most of the cases, sex harassments start verbally. The culprit often tries to catch the attraction of the victim with the help of comments with sexual overtones or remarks sexual nature. The culprit often analyzes the response of the victim to the initial verbal assaults microscopically before deciding whether to continue his/her activities or to stop it there. In the above incident, if the junior doctor r esponded or seems to be responded favorably to the comments of her senior doctor, sex harassment will enter the second phase of unwanted body touches or physical activities.

Hitler’s Life and what he did Essay Example for Free

Hitler’s Life and what he did Essay Adolf Hitler was a German politician who was born in Austria. He fought for the German army during the First World War, becoming one of the most decorated veterans. After the war, he joined a political movement that was later to become the infamous Nazi Party (Kershaw 5). That was in the year 1919; and by the year 1921, he had become the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, abbreviated as NASDAP or simply the DAP from its German name (Giblin 52). Adolf Hitler was later to become a very instrumental figure during the build-up to the Second World War, and during the war itself. He is remembered in bad faith as one of the main architects of the holocaust. In this paper, I aim to discuss his life in detail and how his rise to power influenced world affairs. Early Life Adolf Hitler was born in a town known as Braunau-am-inn in Austria near the German border to Alois, a customs officer and Klara on the 20th of April, 1889 (Kershaw 5). At the age of six, he was already attending school around the town of Linz, which is located to the east of his birthplace. Hitler’s performance in school was however pathetic, and this forced him to abandon school without completing his courses with the ambition of becoming an artist (Kershaw 6). Between the ages 16 and 18, Hitler did not have any employment. He solely depended on his mother for his upkeep since his father Alois had died when Adolf was merely thirteen; but at eighteen years, he had acquired a keen interest in politics and managed to successfully apply for admission at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts (Kershaw 7). Adolf Hitler the Orphan When Adolf Hitler was 19 years old, his mother died of cancer (Kershaw 9). He had no relatives either able or willing to support him; and his predicament prompted him to move to Vienna hoping that he would somehow manage to make ends meet. That was in the year 1909; and in Vienna, things did not go so well for the young vagrant. Within a year, he was sleeping in shelters for the homeless (Kershaw 9). He had vehemently refused to accept any form of regular employment but readily took up any menial jobs that would come his way and also sold some of his paintings so that he could provide himself with subsistence. Adolf Hitler in the First World War By the year 1913, Adolf Hitler was still homeless and broke. In the hope of bettering his life, he moved to Munich, Southern Germany (Welch 5). This relocation coincided with the outbreak of the First World War that broke out in 1914. Adolf Hitler volunteered to serve in the German military and was accepted into the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regimen (Welch 31). His tenure into service of the state had officially begun, and no one could imagine that he would once rise to lead his nation into war against the world. During the course of the war, Adolf Hitler fought so bravely that he became widely recognized. He was duly promoted into Corporal, getting decorated with the military honors of the Iron Cross Second Class and the Iron Cross First Class (Giblin 54). He wore the latter up o until the day he died; but the irony was that the officer who recommended him for the second award was a Jewish regimental, a race he was going to persecute severely after his rise to power. In 1981, he was temporarily blinded by a gas attack orchestrated by the British. He however made a quick recovery and returned to his regiment, based in Munich, in December 1918. Adolf Hitler Ventures into Politics (Welch 24) Adolf had his first stint in politics between December 1918 and March 1919 while he was working at a camp for prisoners of war before returning back to his regiment in Munich (Housden 66). After his return, he witnessed an incident in which local communists attempted to take over political authority before the army effectively quashed their attempt. During the proceedings of an investigation, which was established to inquire into the incident, Adolf Hitler was called in as a witness. Afterwards, he was appointed into a local organization within the army whose function was to persuade soldiers who were returning from the war not to convert into either communism or pacifism (Housden 67). While serving in the organization, Hitler greatly developed his oratory skills. His job description also involved him conducting espionage activities on some political groups, which were mushrooming in the background of the Munich political scene (Welch 41). One day, he attended a meeting organized by the German Workers’ Party and when one of the members stood to deliver a keynote address, Adolf Hitler was so infuriated that he burst out, delivering a charged harangue to the speaker. The founder of the German Workers’ Party, Mr. Anion Drexler, was so impressed with Hitler’s outburst that he spontaneously asked him to join their party. Hitler, though hesitant at first, agreed to join the organization and became its seventh official in the September of 1919 (Welch 41). Hitler became a vocal official of the German Workers’ party and addressed a crowd of over two thousand people in Hofbrauhaus, Munich in February 1920 where he managed to get the attention of the people (Welch 41) . Leader of the Nazi Party Involvement with the DAP meant that Adolf was discharged from the army. He then engaged into an extensive campaign increasing his influence inside the party, raising funds for its mechanisms and winning in supporters and sympathizers (Hauner 32). He increased the strength of the Nazi party and even attempted to overthrow the government. In the melee, he and other leaders of the National Socialist German Workers Party, which was now the name of the Germany Workers’ Party, were arrested and detained. Upon his release after six months in Jail, the mechanism of the Nazi party had been crippled. Hitler himself found out that he had been banned from delivering any public speeches. However, the great depression in the mid-1920s brought a new opportunity for Hitler and his party to convince the people of Germany. He participated in the 1932 election but lost, even though the winner of the election did not last long owing to external pressure (Housden 71). Adolf Hitler’s party formed a coalition after securing a parliamentary majority and used their bargaining power to prevent the formation of any other government until Adolf Hitler was named chancellor in 1933 (Kershaw 17). Having secured the highest political seat in the nation, Adolf proceeded to consolidate his grip by convincing the German people that he was their savior from the economic woes external aggression and other undesirable minorities. He and the Nazi party eliminated opposition to their rule. Hitler and the Build-up to the Second World War  The Nazi regime immediately embraced aggression as a foreign policy to stamp its authority in the world. It formed alliances that were later to group nations during the war. Adolf denounced the treaty of Versailles and made an alliance with Austria. In international peace forums, Hitler would preach peace and claim that the destruction of the First World War made Germany need a lot of time before she could be in a position to re-arm for war; but back home, he placed priority in military armament (Victor 59). He could not even allow funds to be diverted to creating employment if his military budget was not satisfied. It is this arms race that was later to lead to the greatest war mankind had ever known, the Second World War. Hitler and the Holocaust Hitler embraced a philosophy known as racial hygiene that was based on the concept of racial purity under which all â€Å"life unworthy of life† was to be exterminated from the face of the earth (Victor 63). Through a program named Action T4, he ordered for the killing of all children with developmental and physical disabilities. These were his first victims. Because of public outcry, Hitler created an impression that the killings had been stopped, but in a period spanning six years from 1939, between 11 and 14 million people were killed (Hauner 71). Among these were six million Jews. Many victims died from diseases and starvation while enslaved in national and private German ventures while others were either gassed or burned. Among the Jews, other population groups targeted in the holocaust were political opponents, gays and lesbians, the physically disabled and mentally retarded, trade unionists and psychiatric patients.

Operational Management approaches by Shell Company

Operational Management approaches by Shell Company The chosen company to evaluate the operation management approaches employed in an energy company is Royal Dutch Shell Company. Shell a British-Dutch company that provides oil, gas, petroleum products and renewable source of energy to the world. This company is one of the largest companies around the world that maintains and supplies the world with its fuel, oil and petrochemical products. The Royal Dutch/Shell Group is the worlds biggest and oldest joint venture, formed in 1907 when the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd of the United Kingdom merged their operations. It operates in over 140 countries, providing fossil fuels and green fuels like Hydrogen fuel cells. Some of the facts related to Shell are: has 102,000 number of employees worldwide, provides 2% of oil worldwide and 3% of gas, has 45,000 service stations, 10 million customers worldwide and one of the top fortune 500 companies. Shell has five core businesses: exploration and production, gas and power, refining and marketing, chemicals, and trading and shipping. Source: http://www.annualreview.shell.com/2008/servicepages/downloads/files/entire_shell_review_08.pdf 2 Shells Operation Management System Operation management: Definitions: Management Of the conversion process which transforms inputs such as raw materials and labour into outputs in the form of finished goods and services (Davis, Aquilano Chase, 1999). Schroder (2007) defined operation management as: Operations is responsible for supplying the product or service of the organization. Operations managers make decisions regarding the operations function and its connection with other functions. The operations managers plan and control the production process and its interfaces within the organization and with the external environment (Schroder, 2007). Operation management (OM) is basically the set of activities that creates goods and services by transforming input into output. Activities creating goods and services take place in all organization. In manufacturing firms, the production activities that create goods are usually quite obvious. In them we can see the creation of a tangible product such as Sony TV or a ford Taurus. In organizations that do not create physical products, the production function may be less obvious. It may be hidden from the public and even from the customers. An example is the transformation that takes place at a bank, hospital, airline office, or college. Regardless of whether the end product is a good or service, the production activities that go on in the organization are often referred to as operations or operation management. Operation management is associated with number of areas linked with an organization as how does the organization establish customers requirements, transformation of customers requirement in to product and services, what operations systems/ processes are in place to satisfy the product/services requirement of customer, decision associated with capacity planning, inventory, quality of product etc All these decisions come under the umbrella of operation management. Identification of Customer Requirements: We know that the basic existence of an organization depends upon the product or services it provides to the society. However, with the changing consumer taste and the limited lifecycle of products companies must be looking for new product development. It is a companys life blood. Both profits and growth are affected without aggressive product development. Operation managers give high value to the strong communication between customers, product, processes and suppliers that result in a high success rate for their products. All companies need to search out their customers wants and requirements in order to fill any gaps in the market. A successful market research for new product development comes from knowing what customers value. 3 Shells Operation Management System Product decision: One of the important decisions of operation management is the selection, definition, and design of products. Heizer and Render (2005, pp-132) discussed the product decision in their work as it concerned with the development and implementation of a product strategy that meets the demands of the marketplace with a competitive advantage that can be achieved via differentiation, low cost, rapid response, or a combination of these. Product development system: Product development system may well determine not only product success but also the firms future. Product development goes through a series of steps, starting with ideas that may come from either internal or external sources and ending with the evaluation of new products. Heizer and Render (2005, pp-137) considers two tools that are particularly helpful in the early stages of product development are (1) creativity and (2) identifying customer wants. The former can be addressed via creative, open organizations and brain storming and the second with quality function development. Organizing for product development: According Heizer and Render (2005, pp-141), There are different approaches to the product development. The traditional U.S approach to product development is an organization with distinct departments. These departments are: First research and development department to do the necessary research; then an engineering department to design the product: then a manufacturing engineering department to design a product that can be produced; and finally, a production department that produced the product. A second and popular approach is to assign a product manager to champion the product through the product development system and related organization The third and perhaps the best, product development approach used in the U.S. is the use of teams. Such teams are known variously as product development teams, design for manufacturability teams, and value engineering teams. The Japanese bypass the team issue by not subdividing organization into research and development, engineering, production and so forth. Consistent with the Japanese style of group effort and team work, these activities are all in one organization. Game Changer: Shell Game changer is an internal shell organization which looks for new and innovative ideas that addresses a demand or significant problem in the energy industry. Game changer helps entrepreneurs to convert ideas into products by sponsoring them. Ideas can range from new oil exploration techniques to improved production tools, or even new form of energy. It provides a sheltered testing zone where an idea is developed, tried and improved upon. It also helps to get it to market. 4 Shells Operation Management System Areas of focus are: Increasing energy production Carbon management Energy conversion, storage and distribution Fuelling transportation Working of Game changer: Game Changer screens the novel, early stage idea. If the idea has any potential and game changer agree, it will take it through some important steps and provide the funding and support to get it to proof-of concept. Although game changer grew up on ideas from Shell employees, it also invests in those originating from beyond Shell such as from academics and other entrepreneurs. Game changer primary criteria: Novelty Is the idea truly and fundamentally new and different? Value Could the idea create substantial new value if it works? Credible Plan Is there a plan to manage primary risks prudently by qualified people? Game changer process: The first step in entering the GameChanger process is submission of a short description of the idea through the shell website. A selection panel formed by a group of full-time Shell professionals with diverse backgrounds in the energy industry carries out assessment of all proposals. They assess the proposal at three different levels [7]: Pre-Screening: If a person is an entrepreneur from outside Shell then, after the initial assessment of the idea, a member of the panel will contact the entrepreneur to allocate a Shell technical counterpart to him. This person will then be entrepreneurs co-proponent of the idea and help him through the screening process. Screening Panel: The Screening Panel consists of (any) two members of the GameChanger team. They will listen to the presentation of inventors idea and ask questions in order to obtain a complete understanding of the proposal. The GameChanger panellists will consider the merits of the proposal and within 48 hours decide if the idea could potentially mature into a GameChanger project. If this is the result, the inventor will then be invited to prepare a more detailed presentation for the Extended Panel. Extended Panel: The Extended Panel consists of three members of the GameChanger team and at least three experts who are not members of the GameChanger team. This group will attend the presentation on the inventors proposal and work plan. The panellists will ask questions and the experts will give opinions on the merits of the proposal. The GameChanger panel will then come to a decision on whether to go ahead and fund the development of the 5 Shells Operation Management System idea. Game changer will strive to communicate this decision to the inventor and the co-proponent within 48 hours. If funding is awarded, it is often with a time span of 2- 3 years. The inventor will then use the funds to develop the idea in accordance with an agreed plan. At agreed tollgates, progress and continuation are discussed with proponents and panel experts. Selection Criteria: GameChanger ideas have the potential to effect a significant improvement in the profitability of a business or open up opportunities for growth. The GameChanger panel funds these projects through to their proof-of-concept stage. The final step: Going to the market place If proof-of-concept is reached successfully, GameChanger may also be able to help take the invention a further stage. There are three potential forward paths [7]: Proprietary -The idea is graduated into Shells internal RD funnel or another Shell business for direct use by Shell. Licensing -The idea is licensed to an existing technology provider other than Shell. This is usually applied when complementary capabilities are required to further develop and deploy the idea. Venturing -A new company might be set up to bring the idea to commercial market. In short, once an idea is considered a true GameChanger it will not be shelved and all options will be considered to ensure the GameChanger idea reaches the marketplace. Before digging deep into the operation management system employed within Shell, we need to first understand the following concepts: Process: Process refers to the physical process or facility used to produce the product or service. It includes the type of equipment and technology, process flows, layout of the facility, job design, and workforce policies. Process strategy: A process or (transformation) strategy is an organizations approach to transform resources into goods and services. The objective of the process strategy is to find a way to produce goods and services that meet customers requirements and product specification within cost and other managerial constraints. Virtually every good or service is made by using some variation of one of the four process strategies Process focus: A production facility organized around processes to facilitate low volumes, high variety production.75% of all global production is devoted to making low volumes, high variety products in places called job shops. Such facilities are organized around performing processes. In factory, these processes might be departments devoted to welding, grinding, and painting. In office, the processes might be account payable, 6 Shells Operation Management System sales and payroll. Such facilities are process focused in terms of equipment, layout and supervision Repetitive focus: A product-oriented production process that uses modules (parts or components of a product previously prepared, often in a continuous process. It falls between the product and process focuses. The repetitive process line is the classic assembly line. Widely used in the assembly of virtually all automobiles and household appliances. Fast food firms are an example of a repetitive process using modules Product focus: a facility organized around products; a product oriented, high volume, low variety process. They are also called continuous process, because they have long continues production runs. Shell uses product focused approach for its oil refinery processes. Mass customization: rapid, low cost production that caters to constantly changing unique customers desires.Mass customization brings us the variety of products traditionally provided by low volume manufacturer (a process focused) at the cost of standardized high volume (product focused) production. Operational Systems and Processes at Shell: Shell is involved in production of many products and services. It claims that We provide transport fuel to around 10 million customers each day through our 45,000 service stations worldwide. We are working to deliver cleaner burning and more efficient fuels. Our products and services are also designed to meet the needs of businesses from the construction industry to aviation, chemicals to shipping. [1] (Shell.com) Shell is best known for its service stations and for exploring and producing oil gas on land and at sea. Shell delivers a vast range of energy solutions and petrochemicals to customers; produce and sell petrochemical building blocks to industrial customers on a global scale; invest in making renewable and lower-carbon energy sources; involved in transporting and trading oil and gas; marketing natural gas; producing and selling fuel for ships and planes and generating electricity and providing energy efficiency advice. As mentioned earlier, shell is involved in five core businesses and each business involves number of processes within. To limit our scope, we will discuss the oil gas exploration and production business. Oil Gas exploration and production cycle involves oil exploration, drilling, refining and production of petroleum products. Oil exploration process: In this phase, the initial step is to find the oil. This is of huge importance and Shell invests a lot of money to use statistical analysis to determine the location of oil. This survey process is known as Seismic Surveying. There are three components in Seismic Surveying: 7 Shells Operation Management System A seismic source Sensors Recording equipment During this survey, the scientists create a picture of the rock layer structure beneath the earth and the data collected is carefully examined and interpreted to decide whether to further analysis would be need or to start the exploration process. Once the location of oil is determined, Shell draw up exploration contracts with the countries within whose boundaries the oil was first established. Once the contracts have been approved and negotiations agreed the company can then start its drilling process. Drilling process: Once the oils location is identified, the next step is to drill. Well play fundamental role in recovering oil and gas. With the advancement of technology, new drilling techniques and technology has been developed that helped Shell in drilling wells from few metres to more than 10 kilometers. Wells are not only drilled vertically but also horizontally, can turn corners and snake from one pocket of oil to another. Souce: http://www.shell.com/home/content/innovation/meeting_demand/getting_more/smartfields/smartfields.html As drilling is vital part during oil extraction process, however the issue of planning and operating of wells is of greater importance. Shell realizes that as part of its operations it needs to research into whether a well would produce oil, gas or both. During the late 90s Shell introduced Drilling the Limit methodology which allowed the company to focus attention on how efficiently wells are planned, drilled and managed as a process. The main reason for introducing such a scheme was to limit costs and reduced to time it take to drill. Shell also have introduced a Smart Fields ® program providing both the knowledge and the control by integrating digital information technology with the latest drilling, seismic and reservoir monitoring techniques. 8 Shells Operation Management System Furthermore, Shell has introduced the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technology to squeeze out the extra oil that would have been left behind in the oil fields due limited access and hard to get them out. Estimation shows that by recovering just 1% extra throughout the world would equate to 20-30 billion barrels of oil oil that may have been left behind. [5] (Shell.com) Scouce: http://www.shell.com/home/content/innovation/meeting_demand/getting_more/eor_ccs/eor.html Shell is using three techniques: injecting steam into reservoirs to heat and make the oil more fluid, and ease its flow; injecting gas to push oil out or to thin it, or injecting chemicals that free trapped oil. Refining process: Refining is the manufacture of petroleum products from crude oil extracted in the drilling process. Refining process can be classified into three major processes: separation processes, conversion processes and the chemical treatment processes. Refining involves separating crude oil into the desired components depending on the final processes chosen and the available crude oil selected. Separation Processes: Its the first stage of petroleum refining. During this process the crude oil is separated into some of its fractions. This stage involves three separation processes: Fractional Distillation: In the process, the crude oil, which is a mixture of many types of hydrocarbons, is boiled and re-condensed to separate the crude oil into components based on ranges of boiling points. The components with low boiling point are evaporated and collected in the upper part of the chamber known as Distillation column, while the component with higher boiling points are heavier and collected in the 9 Shells Operation Management System lower part of the distillation column. The components collected at the top of the chamber are known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Solvent Extraction: This process involves the separation of oil into parts by adding chemicals to dissolve the unwanted substances to the crude oil. The main solvents used in this process are furfural, phenol and benzene. Refineries use this method to improve the quality of lubricating oils. Crystallization: This method is mainly used to remove wax and other semi-solid substances from heavy fractions or components. The components are cooled to a temperature at which them become solidify or crystal. They are then put through a filter that separates the solid. Conversion Processes: Petrol is obtained through this process. Conversion process involves to processes: Cracking process and combining process. Cracking Process: It involves breaking up of large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller molecules using a combination of heat and catalytic action. These processes not only increase the production of petrol but also improve its quality and results in products like Cat Cracked Gasoline (CCG) etc. Combining Process: This process is the opposite of cracking. It combines simple hydrocarbons to form more complex fractions. This process results in different products like LPG, Coke (used to generate steam and electricity). Chemical Treatment Processes: Hydrogen Treatment: This process is used to remove the impurities like sulphur compounds by mixing the components with hydrogen. Blending: This is the last stage of refining process. This stage dealt with the mixing of various hydrocarbons, formed in the refining processes, together to make the final product as required by the customer. The final product is tested before sold to the consumer. Capacity Planning and Inventory Management System: Inventory represents a major investment for many firms. Inventories are of four types (Heizer, Render 2005) Raw material and purchased components Work-in-process (WIP) Maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) Finished goods 10 Shells Operation Management System All organizations have some type of inventory planning and control system. In case of physical products, the organization must determine whether to produce goods or purchase them. Once the decision is made, the next step is to forecast demand. Then operation managers determine the inventory necessary to service that demand. Operation manager establish systems for managing inventory. Vendor Managed Inventory: VMI is an abbreviation of vendor- managed inventory. Shell offer VMI. Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is more beneficial for the chemical buyers. In this system supplier warehouses the product till customer uses it. In this way Buyers are able to reduce a large portion of inventory from their books. They also benefit from the reduced paperwork, phoning in product orders and following up to see that they are delivered where and when theyre needed. VMI often results in the development of more efficient inventory and supply management, which can shave significant savings off the total cost. VMI takes inventory out of the production equation for buyers. Buyers no longer have to worry about tank levels or when to schedule new shipments. The supplier handles that. By monitoring the customers tank (often using sophisticated telemetry equipment), suppliers know when inventory levels are low. When they reach a certain point, usually agreed upon with the customer, the supplier schedules a deliv ery and the truck shows up at the customers site to replenish the tank. In November of last year, Shell Chemical Corp., Herndon, Va., went into an agreement with ControlSAT, under which ControlSAT would be Shells exclusive telemetry supplier. The agreement has helped the shell a lot because of the compatibility of ControlSATs technology to Shells Supplier Inventory Management Order Network (SIMON), which was developed by Shell Services, the technology arm of Shell Corp. (Reilly, 2000) ControlSAT Telemetry system: ControlSAT, is a technology company that manufactures and markets satellite -based inventory monitoring telemetry systems (system based on cellular and radio wave transmission). Working of ControlSATs System: Orbocomm Global, L.P., ControlSATs parent company, owns a network of 36 del fluorocarbon satellites orbiting the Earth. The satellites are spaced to orbit the polar planes, tropical planes, equatorial plane and about 45 degrees in between, providing total coverage of the Earth. (Reilly, 2000) ControlSAT installs hardware on customers tanks designed to relay inventory data to those satellites. Then, once per day, data is sent via the satellite network to a central monitoring computer, then on to the supplier through a secure Internet link. Data that suppliers receive show their customers inventory levels in tanks around the world. When product inventory levels fall below a certain point, the supplier receives notification to replenish the material in the tanks. In this way, the supplier can proactively 11 Shells Operation Management System schedule its own deliveries. With its daily running inventory and materials needs forecast it can streamline supply. SIMON: SIMON is a Lotus Notes-based software program that provides process industry suppliers with information and analysis tools. SIMON monitors and tracks inventory and consumption and then generates demand forecasts, minimum inventory requirements and re-supplies schedules. As a result, suppliers benefit from an improved ability to control facility and warehouse costs, increased inventory turns, streamlined administrative processes, and better focus on production capabilities. Through ControlSATs tank telemetry service, the SIMON database automatically incorporates timely, accurate and reliable inventory data without the need for manual intervention. Before SIMON and the telemetry supplied by ControlSAT, Shells inventory monitoring used to require a lot of phone calls, faxes and interaction between the customer and Shell. Any Information related to the customers inventory position would be initiated by the customer. Automating the process allowed the supplier to be more proactive in meeting the customers needs (in terms of getting the right product in the right location at the right time) and eliminate the need for time spent faxing and phoning in orders, etc. Shell currently provides the service only to customers that are sole-supplied by Shell, where a very strong business relationship has been developed and where there is a strong, demonstrated opportunity for cost savings through inventory monitoring. One of Shells customers currently using the program agrees that it can save a lot of time in product procurement. Balmoral Marine Inc., a petroleum and industrial gas drilling company based in Houston, Texas, is supplied by Shell and is currently using Shells SIMON and ControlSATs inventory management systems for supply of a particular resin product. (Reilly, 2000) Feature of the new system: Through SIMON, Shell Chemical keeps vital inventory; customers pay upon use for what is consumed. Shell Chemical is the sole source supplier, tied to a supplier/customer business model. Customers reduce safety stocks to bare minimums. Lotus-based SIMON Extracts data on amount of product consumed in past 24 hours. Determines the amount of new product that arrived and was unloaded in same period. Draws information on current and anticipated product schedules. Compares data against known changes to schedules. Data is replicated back to central customer service centre for automatic reconciliation with SAP/MRP systems, generating an automatic re-supply plan. 12 Shells Operation Management System SIMON Features: †¢ When plan indicates a stocking level below accepted minimum, electronic purchase order and shipment is initiated. All information pertaining to status is accessible to customers. Invoices are issued monthly, based on consumption, not shipments. Introduced to 23 of the most strategic customers. Short-term (12 months) results were plus $20 million in product sales. Customer Benefits: Eliminates excess safety stock, reducing working capital and carrying costs. Facilitates timely, low-cost re-synchronization of supply chain. Ensures product is on site when needed. Creates shorter response time to changing conditions. Reduces transaction costs data entry, invoicing, payables, etc. Smoothes erratic order patterns. Reduces order management costs. Streamlines financial accounting. Monitoring and Evaluation of Operations at Shell: Shell has heavily invested in monitoring and evaluation of each of its processes and operations because every process in this business is very much crucial and need careful attention. During the initial stage of oil exploration and production cycle, Shell conducts Seismic Surveying to confirm the presence of oil beds beneath the earth. Otherwise drilling is very much cost intensive process and failure to the initial stage may results in heavy lose to the organization. To determine whether the well would produce oil, gas or both Shell introduced Drilling the Limit methodology which allowed the company to focus attention on how efficiently wells are planned, drilled and managed as a process. Significant reduction both in drilling cost and drilling time has been seen over the decades with the introduction of Drilling the Limit methodology. Shell has introduced a Smart Field program which controls the ongoing drilling, seismic and reservoir monitoring from the separate place equipped with information technology. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Combined with the experience of geologists, engineers and others, Smart Fields ® can help increase the total amount of oil recovered from a field by 10 per cent and gas recovery by 5 per cent, while also boosting the rate of production. [4] (Shell.com) Furthermore, Shell has formed a department under the name Shell Global Solution. Shell Global Solution provide business and operational consultancy, technical services, catalyst and research development expertise to its global customers as well as provide its assistance to Shell in many operational areas such as exploration and production, refining, gas and LNG etc. 13 Shells Operation Management System Conclusion: Shell is one of the largest companies around the world that maintains and supplies the world with its fuel, oil and petrochemical products. In this report we tried to explain how Shell establish its customer requirements, its product development decisions, different operational systems involved in oil and gas exploration and production, inventory management systems and monitoring and evaluation strategy by Shell. As Shell is involved in number of businesses (exploration and production, gas and power, refining and marketing, chemicals, and trading and shipping) and each business has number of operations and processes that need to be maintained. To limit the scope of this report, we only focused our study on the oil exploration and production business.

Energy and the Environment :: Environmental Pollution Science

Energy and the Environment As I read books and magazines to prepare for this essay, I have become much more familiar with energy and the environment. I was always aware of my surroundings, but studying the issues further has allowed me to see how my life is involved with this area and how it actually impacts it. I think it was first made clear to me when I looked at the actual energy processes that take place every single moment of every day, and how very little disturbances can change environmental processes substantially. I never really understood the fact that certain environmental, and human, processes can actually convert energy into many different forms in certain situations. And also, all of the types of energy can be converted in an infinite amount of ways. An example of this is how "mechanical or electrical energy is, for instance, produced by many kinds of devices, including fuel-burning heat engines, generators, batteries, fuel cells, and magnetohydrodynamic systems" (Encyclopedia Britannica). In this example, fuel burning heat engines are used to produce mechanical energy, but in the process chemical energy is turned into thermal energy which is then converted into mechanical energy. As you can see, this is just one of countless processes that convert energy many different times. Another way I started to look at these topics was from an economists' point of view. I started to think more about how we may deplete certain resources and how certain alternatives are helping to aid with this problem. Another area is the distribution of resources and the certain decisions that must be made when deciding what and how much to use. An example of this is the fact that "schools spend more on energy than on computers and textbooks combined" (www.ase.org). If scientists could develop new methods of energy conversion, maybe schools and other areas of interest can decrease their spending on resources and ultimately energy usage. All-in-all, I think that the biggest topic of interest involved with energy and the environment is how much we actually consume (resources, energy, etc.) and how we can try to decrease this figure. To think about how much energy we actually use, and how this number has increased, consider the fact that in the past 54 years we have increased our energy usage from 29 quadrillion Btus to about 84 quadrillion Btus (Annual Energy Review). This figure is constantly increasing, which is one of the biggest environmentally-related problems that we are faced with today.

Angels Essay -- Spirituality Religion Christianity Essays

Angels An angel is a pure spirit created by God. The Old Testament theology included the belief in angels: the name applied to certain spiritual beings or intelligences of heavenly residence, employed by God as the ministers of His will. HISTORY Are Angels ambassadors sent from God to guide us, protect us or bring messages from heaven? The word angel comes from the Greek word "angelos" which means messenger. The Bible says that God has appointed many angels to those who love God and call to Him, "Psalms 91:11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways." The bible refers to different types of angels, with varying duties such as ugides, protectors, messengers and angels of the Lord, or as Cherubim, Seraphim, or Archangels, and not to be worshipped for they are "creatures" Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; 22:9. The meanings of angels, their appearance and purposes vary throughout history and the world. Artists have given us their visions of angels as winged creatures, usually beautiful figures that are glowing, shining, floating, in human form or as a voice. Saints as well as everyday people tell about being visited by or helped by angels In the bible, angels have appeared as messengers, guides, and healers. They also make up the celestial court. "And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the number of them was thousands of thousands." - St. John, the Evangelist. Angels are even recorded in the Koran, "You shall see the angels circling around the throne, giving glory to their Lord". The world's great literature and art tell us about many angel characters - some we're familiar with and some obscure to us now. Yet, the common thread that weaves amongst the legends and the lore is the undeniable influence that angels have had upon nearly every culture and religion known to man Types of Angels There are different types of angels depicted in the bible that have varying degrees of divine missions, different names and descriptions. First of all they are said to be with God Angels are found throughout the Old Testament and also in the New Testament, though less often. Origen, one of the earliest biblical scholars living at the time of the first Century, recognized the notion of Guardian Angels. St. Jerome told us that each of us is given a Guardian Angel a... ...s a legend that Raziel is the author of a great book, 'wherein all celestial and Earthly knowledge is set down.' W hen the angel gave his tome to Adam, some envious angels stole it away and threw it in the ocean. After it had been recovered by the primordial angel/demon of the deep, Rahab, the book passed first to Enoch, who apparently claimed it as his own, then to Noah, who learned how to make his ark from it. Solomon, too, was thought to have possessed the book, which allowed him his unusual knowledge of magic and control over the demons." "The Zohar, the major work of Jewish mysticism, claims that set in the middle of Raziel's book there is secret writing 'explaining the fifteen hundred keys [to the mystery of the world], which were not revealed even to the angels.' Other Jewish mystics report that 'each day the angel Raziel, standing on the mount of Horeb, proclaims the secrets of men to all mankind'." "What we didn't know when we began this book, but what Abigrael, our recording angel, told us later, is that Raziel is its boss." SANDALPHON "The sonorously named angel prince Sandalphon, who some say, Elijah became after his death." Bibliography: www.angels.com

The Protagonist Victor in “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” by Sherman Alexie

Victor In the very first sentence of Sherman Alexie's â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,† you can assume that the main character, Victor, is facing a hard life. Not only did he lose his job, he also lost his father to a heart attack the same day. The story tells the journey of Victor and an old friend, Thomas Builds-the-Fire, traveling to Phoenix to pick up his father's ashes, pickup truck, and money from his savings account. Victor did not have any money and neither did anyone else living on the reservation, â€Å"Who does have money on a reservation, except the cigarette and fireworks sales-people? (page 275) Victor has to turn to the tribal council for money, but they are also low on funds and can only give him one-hundred dollars. Thomas is considered the town’s outcast and he is the only one willing to help Victor. Victor goes on to say that he used to be friends with Thomas until they were about fifteen and then Victor turned his back on him bec ause everyone else thought he was weird. He also talks about their childhood and the memories they share and the fact that Thomas knew about Victor’s father wanting to leave before it ever happened. Once, when they were seven years old, when Victor’s father still lived with the family, Thomas closed his eyes and told Victor this story: â€Å"Your father’s heart is weak. He is afraid of his own family. He is afraid of you. † (page 275). Thomas ends up giving Victor the rest of the money he needs, but only if Victor allows Thomas to go along. The author never really gives any physical traits, but you know he is an Indian, does not have a lot of money, just lost his father, and lives on a reservation.The author does not specially tell you how old Victor is. There is no mention of any other family besides his mother, â€Å"†¦and the rest of his family didn’t have any use at all for him. † (page 275) Even though Victor’s father did no t play a big part in his life, â€Å"there still was a genetic pain, which was soon to be pain as real and immediate and a broken bone. † (page 275) Victor is a dynamic and round character because he slowly begins to change throughout the story. Victor is continuously complaining about Thomas or making fun of him.When they are on the plane and Thomas is talking to the gymnast, â€Å"Victor was ready to jump out of the plane. Thomas, that crazy Indian storyteller with ratty old braids and broken teeth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (page 278) I think that Victor is somewhat ashamed of his Native American background because he did not want to turn out like Thomas. Throughout the course of their trip, Victor begins to accept Thomas and understand him more. When Victor agrees to listen to just one of Thomas’ stories, â€Å"Just one time when I’m telling a story somewhere, why don’t you stop and listen?Thomas asked. Victor waved his arms to let Thomas know that the deal was good,† (page 282) the reader begins to see the new, more accepting Victor. The old Victor would be too afraid of what others were thinking about him to stop and listen to Thomas tell a story, but now he accepts who he is and also who his cousin Thomas is. â€Å"Victor was quiet for a long time. He searched his mind for memories of his father, found the good ones, found a few bad ones, added it all up, and smiled. This is another turning point in the story because this is where Victor finally accepts his relationship with his father and is at peace. â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† shows the true value of friendship. In the later part of their relationship, Victor was a really bad friend to Thomas, but Thomas has been there for Victor so many times throughout their childhood, and even now that they are adults. Although Thomas was not physically by Victor’s side, he was there the whole time waiting to come to Victor’s rescue.The story go es back and forth to show how Victor and Thomas were once friends. Thomas even made a deal with Victor’s father to watch over Victor, â€Å"But he said I had to watch out for you as part of the deal. † (page 279) Victor is in debt to Thomas and even gives him some of his father’s ashes. By the end of the story, Victor finally realized the true meaning of friendship with his own cousin Thomas, and that all those other guys that made fun of him for being friends with Thomas when they were children were not true friends.At the end of the story Victor realizes how hurtful he has been to Thomas when in reality; Thomas was the only one who stood by Victor’s side and in return â€Å"all Thomas had ever wanted from his whole life,† (page 282) was for someone to just stop and listen to him tell one of his stories. I think Victor became a man at the end of the story. He finally learned to accept Thomas, his relationship with his father, and his Native Americ an heritage.