Toyota’s Production Process

Many companies have tried to understand and replicate the production process at the various Toyota facilities, but until you stop just looking at the surface and take a deeper look you won’t fully understand all the positive aspects to the production line. Toyota is known for their distinctive practices and precision work throughout the years and their amazing use of internal benchmarking to help the company continue to move forward. Because of the positives within the company’s dynamics Toyota has comfortably been on top of other companies in their industry.Toyota is not shy when it comes to show and giving ideas to other manufacturers to improve their own processes, but very few actually accomplish the success that Toyota has. Not because it is too trying to do, but because the manufacturers that come into to evaluate confuse the tools and practices they see on their plant visits with the system itself. The process at Toyota isn’t a process that you can simply look at and understand; you truly have to get a closer look and really dissect it.A study was done to understand the process completely including service functions like equipment, maintenance, workers’ training and supervision. All of these sections were taken into a count because the service functions help and are responsible for the whole process moving the way that it does. Toyota, like other manufacturers has many specifications set to create everything correctly, but only thing that Toyota does to get those specifications where they need to be is using a hypothesis method. It is a rigorous problem solving method, but it has shown to be very beneficial to the company.The article summaries the four rules that they believe to underlie the Toyota production system. Rule 1: How People Work; all work shall be highly specified as to content, sequence, timing and outcome. This rule is implemented well because it doesn’t just target senior workers or supervisors; it is set in place to be accomplished by all workers no matter the hierarchical role. Although this may seem obvious that a manufacturer would complete every task this way it actually is the case at most companies.Other companies are completing the tasks presented, but they aren’t following through and making as precise measurement and protocols as Toyota does. For each ‘station’ there are timings to when things should be done to complete in a timely manner while making sure things are done correctly. The detailed step through every process keeps Toyota moving smoothly and efficiently. Rule 2: How people Connect; every customer-supplier connection must be direct, and there must be an unambiguous yes-or-no way to send requests and receive responses.Toyota has created outstanding relationships between each person and the individual who is responsible for providing that person with each specific good or service. An outcome to this is that there is no discrepancy with the tim ing of shipment and who is making the shipments. This rule extends to the consumer as well. For instance if something is wrong with the product there is no problem figuring out who will assist with the problem that arose. The number of workers within a team is set out based on the number of problems that may occur during the process.Toyota exemplifies a direct and effective method through each step of the development process. It is designed that people are suppose to respond within a certain time frame and with this provision it doesn’t allow for errors to occur and if they do arise then it will be dealt with timely manner. Toyota stresses helping others through the process so it is everyone’s responsibility for things to be completed on time and with no errors. If help is needed, help must be received in the time it would to complete the task that is in need of some help.By doing this problems are hidden or pushed to the side, but rather called attention to and fixed as soon as possible. Rule 3: How the Production Line is Constructed; the pathway for every product and service must be simple and direct. The production line links each person who contributes to the production and delivery of the product, form the Toyota factory. This rule simply means that the process isn’t just moved from person to person, but more specific. The job is moved from specific person to specific person to make it more efficient and reliable.When this is applied to every ‘station’ of the development process there is less of a chance of error or variance among the workers. This doesn’t slow down the process by any means; instead it actually speeds up the process because the process doesn’t need to be stopped for fixing or maintenance. Within Toyota’s plants the pathway for assistance is three, four or even five links long, which connects the workers to the floor managers. In the past Toyota experimented with the method of just mov ing the process to the next available person, but this system showed to not benefit Toyota’s production line.When Toyota implemented the idea of moving it to a specified person rather than just the next person the process was more productive and less likely to cause error. Rule 4: How to Improve; any improvement must be made in accordance with the scientific method, under the guidance of a teacher, at the lowest possible level in the organization. Toyota really stress the fact that training is necessary to complete any task, not just by senior employees, but an actual training clinic. In the Toyota plant for example workers were adjusting and perfecting their problem solving skills by redesigning their own work.Managers were training the employees to frame the problem better and to formulate and test a hypothesis, which is an example of the scientific method. If the employees in the company think that the process could be more productive if they were to change something in th e process then it is expected, by the managers to explain the process change and the logic behind why it would work better than the process before. Frontline workers make the improvements to their own jobs, and their supervisors provide direction and assistance as teachers.This process remains the same even at higher levels and more complex jobs within the company. This means that the learning and the problem solving done takes place in all areas of the company not just one. When looking at Toyota’s production system you can see a direct correlation between their process and a lean development process. A lean development process is about doing more with less and doing it with speed and right the first time around. This is exactly what Toyota exemplifies.There are four distinct components to lean processing; customer relationships, production development, order fulfillment and supply chain. Those four components coincide with the four rules set out in the article. Toyota compl etely uses the less is more policy by using less time, inventory, space, people and money as stated in lean processing. Because the line runs smoothly at Toyota it takes less time to actually assemble products and this is directly related to the specifications set out at each ‘station’ and the team work that is involved with finishing the product.Toyota saves a lot of money as well because they aren’t going back and fixing the process repeatedly and the chances of errors are rare. At Toyota they also try to have a limited number of inventories because inventory costs a lot of money for a company. Instead of having inventory Toyota uses the just in time method. This method is used to make products to order right when the customer needs the product. Overall the process at Toyota is efficient and hard to immolate. Toyota is a prime example of a productive lean process that has shown to help a company and put the company on top in the industry.

Retired Teacher

Implementing Time To Teach Using a Flow Chart D’Ette Griffin March 11, 2013 EDU 618 Dr. Thinh Nguyen Learning Setting: The learning setting is a middle school in rural Espanola, New Mexico. The school is only 8th and 9th grade, about six hundred students. Having only two grades causes some of the discipline problems of the school to be exaggerated. Schools with only two grades set up unique problems, missing the third grade which balances the school. Eighty five percent of these students are on the free lunch program, many of their families are on welfare, unemployment, disability or have very low paying jobs.The poverty rate in Espanola, New Mexico is very high. The racial break-down is about 49% Hispanic, 28% Native American, 20% Caucasian and 3% African American. The school’s staff has noticed that many of the students lack positive character traits, low level discipline problems; they have low test scores and a huge bullying problem. The administrators and staff hav e decided to bring in a classroom management program that will address these issues. The program the principal has decided to implement is called Time To Teach. The principal has hired a trainer and the dates have been set.This paper will explore the process of choosing and implement a classroom management program by using the project logic model. â€Å"The program logic model is defined as a picture of how your organization does its work – the theory and assumptions underlying the program. A program logic model links outcomes (both short- and long-term) with program activities/processes and the theoretic assumptions/principles of the program. †(Kellogg, 2004 p. 111) The goal of an educator is to educate, but every administrator and educator knows that that is easier said than done.The goal of education is often hindered by inappropriate behaviors that stop teaching, stop learning and are a waste of time. Initial attempts to combat this problem begin with posting all t he school-wide rules and expectations and a list of what the consequences for failure to follow the rules. Schools wanting to create a positive learning environment and sense of community to must go beyond the basic rules and communicate the vision of the school. The vision should be shared among staff, students and the community and all stakeholders need to â€Å"buy-in†.The students must be ‘buy-in’ the importance of good behavior and character, furthermore become active participants in making their school better. The behavioral expectations will be displayed in every classroom as the ‘expectations will posted throughout the campus as well as the schools vision. It is â€Å"equally important to remember to periodically update the vision as necessary to maintain personal and cultural relevance. †(Dahlgren, Malas, Faulk and Lattimer,(2008, p. 188) When choosing a vision for your school it may take on many varied forms the authors continue, there is n o right way to have it, â€Å"the important thing is just to have it. (p. 189) Finally they suggest Vision and Mission statements should be revisited in three to four years to reflect the cultural changes and relevance of the times. Mission Statement The mission of Carlos Vigil Middle School is to guide students to become productive and contributing members of society. Carlos Vigil Middle School will provide strong academic and co-curricular programs. The staff shall coordinate resources of the school and community so that students will respect themselves and others, while appreciating the value of diversity, individuality, creativity.Recognize that problems are opportunities of change. We seek a set of moral standards and character traits that allows them to thrive in the world. Students will be taught with â€Å"Unconditional Positive Regard† and teachers will model appropriate behavior. Students will experience the joy of learning as a lifelong process. The value system t hat underlies efforts to accomplish this mission includes these beliefs and student Expectations: †¢ The school community will be a safe and caring environment that promotes respect, self-worth, creativity, and academic growth. All members of the school community work collaboratively. This process includes good communications, shared decision-making and accountability. †¢ Learning is a process in which all can participate and succeed. Inherent in the process is innovation, risk-taking, and the challenge of one’s personal limits. †¢ The school community should foster the intellectual, emotional, and physical well-being of each student. †¢ Diversity should be welcomed for the strength it brings to the education of all members of the school community. Education should be celebrated as a lifelong process that fosters person and positive growth. The staff and administration and a group of students worked on a committee that helped plan and develop the vision an d mission statements for Carlos Vigil Middle School. Finally, the school will hold a contest to develop a â€Å"Character Logo† that will be in every classroom and part of the school community. The winning design will be made into huge posters, banners, and will represent what we as a school are our most important character traits.Once the vision and mission statements have been decided upon the next step would be to present the ‘Logic Model’, and the flow chart will be explored throughout this paper. The logic model as described by W. K. Kellogg in his Logic Model Development Guide: â€Å"In general, logic modeling can greatly enhance the participatory role and usefulness of evaluation as a management and learning tool. Developing and using logic models is an important step in building community capacity and strengthening community voice.The ability to identify outcomes and anticipate ways to measure them provides all program participants with a clear map of th e road ahead. Map in hand, participants are more confident of their place in the scheme of things, and hence, more likely to actively engage and less likely to stray from the course – and when they do, to do so consciously and intentionally. Because it is particularly amenable to visual depictions, program logic modeling can be a strong tool in communicating with diverse audiences – those who have varying world views and different levels of experience with program development and evaluation. (Kellogg, P. 111) Logic Model Development Guide The school system including the principal, counselors, administrators, and a group of teachers collaborated on helping to decide on the program that would be implemented â€Å"Time To Teach† and which behaviors that we were going to â€Å"Teach To† if we plug these behaviors into the flow chart model each segment will have a chart that represents that particular behavior or character trait. A typical flow chart will incl ude the following:Assumptions| Input| Activities| Outputs | Short & Long Term Outcomes| Impact| Conduct Needs assessment | Money for Staff development and Title 1 monies | Staff training & training activity| Five core beliefs | Students will have better self-esteem| Successful student-teacher relationships | Secure Training facility | Equipment needs | Classroom ecology analysis | Self-control | Improved Test scores | Increased Test Scores by a measurable percentage | Classroom management program will address behavior issues and character traits. Selection of the Time to Teach Program | Teaching classroom expectations & Refocus Establish a base of support Establish â€Å"buddy teachers†Teach Refocus Process Produce Refocus forms | Classroom by Design Teach To’sStudents learn â€Å"expectations† | Lower principal referrals Intended OutcomesStudent Mood Awareness & Rapid Teacher Response (SMARTRTM)Clear classroom expectations â€Å"Teach-To’s†Student s with good self –esteem ~ Unconditional Positive Regard Lower Principal referrals Improved Test Scores| Students will recognize the good in each other and will accept each others differences, there will be less bullying because they are treating each other with the respect that the receive from staff and each other. | Before any program can be implemented the principal will be doing certain activities to get ready for implementing the program. A needs assessment must be completed to determine to what the goals are and what activities are going to be done to reach these goals.After conducting the needs assessment, the principal can determine the goals for the program. Once they have chosen a program, then they must budget for the training, that means acquiring funds. The next activity is choosing a venue to have the training session and planning for lunch and or snacks. Activities â€Å"are the procedures, techniques, tools, events, technology, and actions of the planned pro gram. †(Kellogg, 2004,p. 8) The author continues, â€Å"These may include products-promotional materials and educational curricula; services education and training, counseling, or health screening and infrastructure –structure, relationships, and capacity, used to bring about the desired results. (p. 8) Activities will include students designing character logos and banners, after the implementation of the program. The Time to Teach classroom management program can be implemented into the school system as soon as the training session is over; all the components can be implemented the following school year. The next school year will begin with all the â€Å"classroom expectations† posted in the hallways, classrooms and on the buses. Starting on the first day of school and will continue until all classrooms, school library, cafeteria, behavior on the bus, the first week to two weeks will be spent teaching the expected behaviors to the students.As teachers we cannot afford to assume that students know how to behave properly in need to be taken to prepare for the professional development training program and for implementing strategies after the training has been completed. For example, Implementation activities are â€Å"included for each component of a program logic model. † (McDavid, Huse, & Hawthorn, 2013) These implementation activities teachers can use to immediately start using the techniques of the program. Here is the three classroom integrity classroom questions teachers can mentally ask themselves, â€Å"Am I able to Teach? Are the other students able to learn? Is the student in question able to learn? † (Dahlgren & Hyatt, 2007) This is just a quick sample of a starting point for teachers. Outputs:Outputs can be described as in â€Å"terms of the size and or scope of the services and products delivered or produced by the program. They indicate if a program was delivered to the intended audiences at the intended ‘ dose. †(Kellogg, 2013) The Time To Teach would have to be viewed by the teachers to start to implement the â€Å"product† which in this case it would be the training session. Once the teachers have participated in the training/product they can return to the classroom and begin to implement the Time To Teach strategies and activities so that they can get the desired outcome. The desired outcomes will include ‘buy-in’ by all staff members, parents and teachers.There must be a shared sense of purpose among the staff, students, parents and community. (Dahlgren, & Hyatt, 2007) The authors continue when there is a failure to achieve this ‘buy-in’ by one or more of the stakeholders than there will be limited policy effectiveness and it may even become useless. When the Time To Teach program has been properly implemented and there is ‘buy-in’ by all participating parties then the likely outcomes will be successful. The Five Core Beliefs th at the Time to Teach philosophy incorporates, Self-Control, Classroom by Design, Teach To’s, Refocus, and the student teacher relationships or Unconditional Positive Regard.If the stakeholders do ‘buy-in’ to the program then they end up with 30% higher test scores, better behaved students and lower principal referrals. (Dahlgren & Hyatt,2007) Outcomes: When planning for your program you can demonstrate your programs progress by projecting outcomes. â€Å"Outcomes identify the short-term and long-term outcomes you expect to achieve for each activity. †(Kellogg, 2007p. 14) Outcomes can further be defined as â€Å"specific changes in attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, skills, status, or level of functioning expected to result from program activities and which are most often expressed at an individual level†(p. 8) The activities that are planned ultimately bring the outcomes that are trying to accomplish. The activities approach model also connects progra m resources and activities but does so in great detail. Each outcome is usually dealt with separately by the activities and events that must take place to keep on track. †(p. 12) The intended outcomes for the Time to Teach program will be discussed throughout the rest of this paper. Time To Teach! is an evidence based classroom management program that uses proven, practical, and powerful strategies. These strategies are researched based and ready to be put to use in the classroom. The Five Core components of Time To Teach! mirror what many esteemed researchers say works. Many leading researchers define classroom management in similar terms.Robert Marzano (2003) defined effective classroom as â€Å"the confluence of teacher actions in four distinct areas: (1) establishing and enforcing rules and procedures,(2)carrying out disciplinary actions,(3)maintaining effective teacher and student relationships, and (4) maintaining an appropriate mental set for management†(88-89) C lassroom management was rated as the most important variable in building and sustaining a high achieving classroom in nearly every major study on academic achievement. (Dahlgren, Malas, Faulk, and Lattimer,2008) Once Time To Teach! has been implemented, teachers should be able to read student mood and respond calmly and quickly, as needed. Teachers will correctly read social and emotional cues and correctly perceive students responses to their behaviors. Specifically, when a student becomes disruptive, it is the teachers job to respond calmly and appropriately. Teachers who exhibit this kind of self-control can read their room and will react swiftly, calmly, and compassionately. We call this the SMARTR TM response- Student Mood Awareness and Rapid Teacher Response. †(Dahlgren et. al. ,p. 6) Projected outcome of the Time To Teach! once the program has been implemented students will be taught what the classroom expectations are and the teachers will not how to teach classroom ru les and routines with success. The term Teach To’s was first coined almost four decades ago. (p. 6) With today’s students showing up for class not knowing how to act or what is expected of them is the norm while having students who show up knowing how to act is the exception.The good news is that there is that even if we have students that have bad behaviors that affect the classroom functioning, when successfully â€Å"teaching-to† your classroom rules and routines, â€Å"you will be guaranteed a more effective instructional climate. †(Dahlgren et. al. ,p. 7) The authors continue, â€Å"Teaching-to† behaviors are a foundational and powerful component of the Time To Teach! Program. We have been doing it for forty years. †(p. 7) Conclusion: Students should gain more confidence as teachers continue with the program and as they begin to ‘buy-in’ in to the system. School-wide behavioral- management and character education in todayâ⠂¬â„¢s world is a must. Every classroom in every school can find a room with the rules posted, and talked about once, but these programs â€Å"expectations† will be posted everywhere and will be talked about and taught until every student gets it.Students will be taught how to act and what is expected of them in a positive respectful way with unconditional positive regard. Students will be asked to compete in a contest to design the â€Å"character logos,† whoever wins will receive a prize of some sort and school wide credit. Because somewhere in this face paced world, of video games, cell phones, tablets, and laptops, these latch key students have not been taught how to act appropriately and it is our responsibility as teachers to teach them character traits and behavior management skills. The school administrators have a tough job. They have to try to please the district offices, teachers, parents, students, the community and the government, all while trying to do wh at’s best for the education of the student.In today’s world it is increasingly apparent that it is essential to incorporate the behavior management skills. â€Å"It is important to understand that teaching behavior is as important as teaching academics. †(Dahlgren et. al. ,p. 198) The authors continue, that â€Å"on a school-wide basis, children must be taught these expectations until they understand these expectations, and finally they should be held accountable for these expectations. † (p. 198) Thanks to Time To Teach for making these expectations a reality. References Dahlgren R. , Dahlgren A. , Faulk J. , Lattimer M. , Ludwig. (2011) Associate Training Manual Time To Teach. , Dahlgren R. & Hyatt J. (1994-2007). Time To Teach: Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom. Hayden Lake, ID. , CTE, Center for Teacher Effectiveness. Dahlgren R. , Malas B. , Faulk J. , & Lattimer M. (2008). Time To Teach! The Source for Classroom Managemen t. , Hayden Lake, ID. , CTE, Center for Teacher Effectiveness. W. K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Using Logic Models to bring together planning, evaluation, and action: Logic Model Development Guide. , Retrieved from http://www. wkkf. org/~/media/36693510092544928C454B5778180D75/LogicModel. pdf McDavid J. C. , Huse I. , & Hawthorn R. L. , (2013) Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement An Introduction to Practice. , Second Edition. , Thousand Oaks, CA. , Sage Publications.

Organisational Behaviour of Nestle Company Essay

Organisational Behaviour of Nestle Company - Essay Example The management of day-to-day activities is handled by executive board members. This report aims at giving a detailed analysis and discussion of how the organization is managed and specifically, to how it manages teams and how it makes decisions. This is to evaluate whether the company management practices are in line with management theory as pertains to teamwork and decision making. As such, the report will discuss theory on effective teams and decision making in organizations, examine how the company actually conducts those practices, establish the gap between theory and practice and finally, make recommendations on best practice. I have not worked for the company before but I have researched and obtained enough information to guide the analysis from the company website and other sources such as former employees. BUILDING AND MANAGING EFFECTIVE TEAMS IN THE WORKPLACE EXPECTED Rosenhauer (2005 p. 36) defines a team as â€Å"people who work together in close proximity with each othe r and who interact with other teams in the workplace.† A team is formed to carry out a specific goal. A team can be functional or cross-functional depending on the organization structure and also on the management principles. A functional team comprises of members of same department or who carry out similar functions while cross-functional teams are formed by employees from different functions. Whatever the type of the team, its effectiveness is very crucial in ensuring organizational success. An effective team has various defining characteristics. First, it must have clear purpose or expectations (Heathfield, 2012). While building the team, management should explain to the team what is... This essay aims at giving a detailed analysis and discussion of how the organization is managed and specifically, to how it manages teams and how it makes decisions. This is to evaluate whether the company management practices are in line with management theory as pertains to teamwork and decision making. As such, the essay also aims to discuss theory on effective teams and decision making in organizations, examine how the company actually conducts those practices, establish the gap between theory and practice and finally, make recommendations on best practice. The researcher have not worked for the company before, but he has researched and obtained enough information to guide the analysis from the company website and other sources such as former employees. At Nestle Company, most of the tasks are performed by various departments such as research and development, management, human resources and production. As such, each department works as a team in order to achieve the overall objec tive of the organization. Effective teamwork and sound decision making are key to organization success. Nestle has been successful in various areas but still more needs to be done if it needs to be recognized as a world leader in Nutrition, Health and Wellness and be trusted by all its stakeholders. Nestle has a culture of shared values which guides all its actions but sometimes it may hinder success. Nestle needs to engage employees by involving them in decision making and also train the management on team management and decision making skills.

Levendary Cafe case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Levendary Cafe - Case Study Example However, the failure of this company and other companies in the Chinese market is not due to poor management. The failure has primarily resulted from failure to carry out a concise and thorough research. For example, Pretzel Time was unsuccessful in the market as a result of ignorance of proper sitting arrangements. This company overlooked the need to study and adapt decent decor. Hence, the tile dà ©cor they used in its establishment was for a bathroom. The failure by the designer of this company made it lose many potential customers. In addition, the other element which needs to be noted concerning entry into the market revolves around the VP’s decision to select many locations across the country. One can easily assume that VP’s objective for the entry was to ensure that the businesses succeed even during their first year of operations. The assumption is null, since your objective seems to have been to come up with a reliable market niche. From this, the business would have been expanded further. It seems that Chen’s choice of locations depended on their prices. Therefore, he wanted to reduce costs at all levels, so as to come attain his desired goal of achieving a successful business. It is also important to note that the plans to enter the Chinese market were poorly implemented. The poor implementation of the plans is depicted by how this company took long to realize its need to adopt GAAPs for accounting purposes of revenue collected. The VP considered this step to be so expensive. 1. The company needs to close down Chinese-like restaurants and to replace them with those restaurants that assume an American concept. This decision will be effective since competitors such as McDonalds and KFC have remained in foreign markets and still have a good customer base. 2. The headquarters, under your leadership, can embrace a mixed concept aspect. The aspect needs immediate change of the services offered so that at least two menus are served in

Team Conflict Case Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Team Conflict Case - Term Paper Example Two of our number – Tanu and Cyndy (me!) - also excelled at research, which meant that we had little trouble acquiring the information we needed. Writing was also another one of our collective strengths courtesy of John, and both Powerpoint and video presentations were equally achievable for our group due to the presence of Vishal and Venkat, our leader. Even Nader, the one among us who, at first glance, had no overt specialties, more than pulled his weight by assisting the rest of the group at whatever needed to be done. Overall, our group could be said to be very well-balanced, which meant that our objectives could be achieved with little to no difficulty, at least in theory. However, as we quickly found out, what is theoretical does not always match up with the actual results. Various difficulties did in fact get in our way, and will be elaborated upon in the following anecdotes. For instance, the very first obstacle our group had to get around was the calendar. Since ours was a virtual team, our members all hailed from different backgrounds and territories, and by extension, different time zones. This meant that, for instance, if it was daytime where I was, it may not necessarily follow for my teammates. And conversely, ‘daytime’ for my teammates could mean differently for me, ranging from ‘sunrise’ to ‘sundown’ and even to ‘midnight’. Needless to say, scheduling our work hours and online conferences proved to be quite a chore in the beginning. When it comes to groups, each member is usually given his or her own tasks and/or roles to perform. In this case, tasks and responsibilities can either be assigned 1) all at once, from the very beginning of the project; or 2) every step of the way. In a group such as ours, where each member had a different sleeping and waking schedule, the former would have been the intuitive and therefore most

Operations of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations of Management - Essay Example Management also leads to better organization of resources, resulting in higher output and sales. Apparently, the firm will drift and eventually fail and the business cannot succeed without the much-needed management. The basic roles of management involve planning, organizing, coordinating, commanding and controlling. Management involves taking risks and requires critical decision-making regarding strategic, tactical or operation matters. Operations Management: Operations management is a branch of management which deals with supervising, designing, and redesigning business operations when producing goods and services. Its main purpose is to be as productive efficient as possible by using as little resources needed for the production of goods and services. It is responsible for being effective in meeting customer requirements. The process of converting inputs into outputs comes under operations management. (Borrington, Stimpson. 2006) Operations management helps to increase the substan ce of value-added activities in any process of the business. But for optimal enterprise performance, a business must co-align these value-adding activities with possible marketing opportunity. It is mainly concerned with the technical functions of a business like the development, production and manufacturing of goods and services. ... It has to decide upon the best marketing mix for each and every product and make sure that this is put into effect. It will keep records of the sales of each product/service so that decisions can be made about extensions strategies or taking products off the market. A business will fail without effective marketing. The marketing managers have an important role in meeting customer requirements. Organization: Unilever. Introduction: Unilever is a giant multinational with its headquarters in London, and operating companies in many countries of the world for example Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India, to name a few. It was first established in 1930 when Lever Brothers of UK and Margarine Unie of Netherlands merged. Since then it is providing consumers with the best of hygiene, personal care and nutrition products all over the world. The Marketing Department: In Unilever most of the decisions are made by the Upper Management and they make decisions regarding the market ing of their products like advertising and promotion. It has such a vast size because of the fact that it is a multinational, that organizing is probably the most critical of all functions of its management. It is important that their employees are motivated and inspired to work efficiently and make sure that all departments are working according to their goals and instructions assigned to them. All the progress has to be evaluated to increase the output and results and overcome any conflicts and problems. The role of marketing managers: The marketing manager of all Unilever companies has to perform many interpersonal roles of which, liaison is the most important. He has to act as a leader and an

TV Advertising Strategy for Teenage Makeup Research Paper

TV Advertising Strategy for Teenage Makeup - Research Paper Example Therefore, it would be most logical to tie the makeup advertisement with the television programs that are highly popular among the target audience – teenagers. Contrary to the common belief that conventional advertising doesn’t resonate attract teenagers, it has been observed that â€Å"once an ad breaks through the clutter, teens are much more likely to ‘like’ an advertisement than their older counterparts† (Nielsen, 2009, â€Å"Messaging to Teens†). It has been reported that the most popular networks among American teenagers include â€Å"MTV, Disney ®, Cartoon Network ®, Fox, ABC Family, Nickelodeon/Nick at Night ®, Comedy Central ®, and MTV2† (Malinowski, 2010, â€Å"Television†); however, it is worth mentioning on a more particular note that younger female teenagers have more liking for Disney ®, and their older counterparts favor MTV. Hence, these channels should be chosen for the purpose of advertising teenage makeup, due to their obvious popularity among female teenagers in America. It has been observed that the television shows which enjoy maximum popularity among the American teenagers comprise â€Å"Full House, Family Guy, and Hannah Montana. One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, and Greys Anatomy† – more importantly, these are also the programs that are liked the most by older female teenagers. Apart from these, it has been found that non-white teenagers prefer â€Å"Degrassi, Charmed, and Friends† (Malinowski, 2010, â€Å"Television†). It has been reported that advertisements pertaining to hair products and cosmetics are among those that â€Å"did the best job of breaking through the clutter to teen viewers† (Nielsen, 2009, â€Å"Advertising†). Therefore, the most logical strategy will be to tie the advertisements with these programs in order to enhance the impact on the teenagers. Owing to the fact that the world is transforming into a global

LOG503 Managing Logistics Operations (MOD 2) SLP Essay

LOG503 Managing Logistics Operations (MOD 2) SLP - Essay Example The logistical system of Wal-mart must work flawlessly so as to be able to manage such a big store. Wal-mart has a distribution system that distributes nearly 85 percent of the total wares sold in its own stores (Atchmeyer, 2002). Wal-mart’s major aim is to sell its goods at the lowest price possible (Atchmeyer, 2002; Mohan, 2003). To achieve this, Wal-Mart obtains goods directly from the manufacturers and sells them directly to its retail customers bypassing all intermediaries (Mohan, 2003). Thus Wal-mart has its own distribution centers strategically located at different locations all over the US. The strategy employed here is that one distribution store can serve 150-200 stores (Atchmeyer, 2002). This has made sure that the stores no matter how far they are are within one day’s driving distance (Atchmeyer, 2002). The distribution centres operate 24 hours a day because the conveyer belts are laser-guided (Atchmeyer, 2002). An advanced opportunistic cross-docking procedure is in use; as the goods are picked directly from the manufacturer’s premises and directly taken to the retail consumers. This ensures that the systems are very efficient as well as they do not need to store the material (Atchmeyer, 2002). It is basically from the stores directly to the shelves. The company owns a fleet of over 12,000 trailers 3,000 trucks (Mohan, 2003). In contrast to its competitors who subcontract the trucking services (Magretta, 2002). Additionally, the company is quite meticulous in hiring its drivers. For a driver to qualify to work for Wal-Mart, they got to have a track record of over 300,000 accident free miles without any major traffic violations (Mohan, 2003). Wal-Mart has developed a number of methods to individually deal with each of its stores inventory (Magretta, 2002). The solutions are tailor made for each individual store in order to cover the logistical challenges posed. These measures

Love - Law-Copyrights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Love - Law-Copyrights - Essay Example The law was later reviewed to include even works found in the cyberspace (Smith 2007). This law can therefore be used to charge Maruta. If Maruta is found guilty of copyright infringement, he may have to pay damages of over $250,000. This is the minimum damages paid in case the law against copyrighting is infringed. This may however vary depending on the duration of copyright and the average number of copies sold. If they are found to be high, then the damages will increase and may go up to millions of dollars to be paid to the owner of the copyrighted material. The second scenario cannot go to court and be charged with copyright infringement since he used the copied material to teach students. This is allowed in the Copyright Act section 106 which allows fair use of the copyrighted material in different situations and teaching is one of the situations. This therefore means that Maruta in this scenario was not acting against the law and hence cannot be charged or even be required to pay damages. The increase in internet connectivity and cyberspace expansion has led to an increase in the copyright infringement. Many cases are being presented in courts of copyright infringement. This has also led to a lot of money being spent by guilty individuals to pay the literary works owners’ damages for the infringement. One such case took place in Minneapolis in June 2009. This was a case where the defendant Jammie Thomas-Rasset was found guilty on copyright infringement by the court for illegally sharing over 1700 songs all which amounted to over $80,000 (Sandoval June, 2009). The case was filed by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2007 for the 1700 songs copyrighted. They later however cut down that number to only 24 songs. The court ordered Jammie to pay damages to the recording company amounting to $1.92 million. This was because of the strict copyright infringement

Is Democracy the best type of Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is Democracy the best type of Government - Essay Example In these societies, democracy only served to further the interests of a certain elite who had always been in power. The entry of new faces to the seats of governance was rare and often short-lived. For instance in Vietnam’s case, the country was run by a democratically elected government where the Prime Minister was a cousin of the emperor of Vietnam (Halberstam & Singal, 2008). The democratic policies initiated by this democratic government led to the alienation of large parts of the population, who eventually tilted over to the communist camp and began an insurgency. The democracy under Nguyen Phuc Buu Loc was unable to shelter the interests of the many against the interests of the few. It has to be kept in mind that Vietnam is not the only nation to have suffered a democratic fate due to class divide and lack of equality. The quagmire in West Africa and the Horn of Africa is yet another example of democratic failure that has ruined millions of lives. The democratic system i n these nations allowed the power hungry elite to broker power to themselves leaving millions in desperation. The resulting governments led to the estrangement of the masses which in turn led to bloody civil wars and consequent anarchy (Bassey & Oshita, 2010). The outcomes of democracy in these nations signalled a major change in the very definition of democracy. What Abraham Lincoln declared to be â€Å"of the people, by the people, for the people† at Gettysburg (Wilson, 2006) has become â€Å"of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%† in the twenty first century (Stiglitz, 2012). Attempts at promoting democracy across borders have often proved not only difficult but also unmanageable and dangerous. People spearheading the cause of democracy for foreign nations fail to account for socio-economic and historic peculiarities that shape each nation. A society composed of tribal systems already has its own version of governance though there are no bravura democratic assemblies and parliaments to show the rest of the world. Imposing a foreign system that the local people are not aware of will never work in such a situation. The recent failed experiments at democratic implantation have failed miserably in both Iraq and Afghanistan (Shadid, 2005) (Hopkins, 2008). A democratic system requires nourishment from the grass root level to flourish. If the roots of the system fail to support it, then the democratic system is open and vulnerable to exploitation. Typically democratic systems are exploited not from the bottom but from the very top. Democracies provide the power hungry elite with multiple avenues to manipulate people at all levels in society. Stieglitz (2012) has rightly declared democracies to be representative of the top 1% of all people in a society. The people at the helm of affairs in a democracy possess the right tools and skills to manipulate the masses through propaganda. It is ironic and paradoxical to realise that the very people who forced Wall S treet to crash were the very people who were bailed out by the democratic government (Byrne, 2012). Hordes of common people looking to occupy Wall Street to prevent further economic exploitation were rounded up by state machinery using the very resources that these ordinary people had paid for in terms of taxes. It is regrettable that in the so claimed representative system of democratic governance, the very people w

Tourism Country Analysis-Germany Essay Example for Free

Tourism Country Analysis-Germany Essay Introduction Germany is a country with astounding diversity with one of the richest historical heritage in the world, standing out as one of the tourist attraction features. Germany is the most centrally placed in Europe among all the European countries. It has a history of a disunited nation having distinct states and tribes. For this reason, Germany more that any other European nation bears different names depending on the language used. For example it is called Deutschland within Germany; in French it is called ‘Allemagne’ and ‘Niemcy’ in Polish. (Country profile) On October 3rd 1990, Western Germany was unified with the German Democratic Republic. The leaving standards in the latter could not march those ones of the former; it has been a major challenge to do this because of the inherent industrial enterprise inefficiencies that characterized the German Democratic Republic. Another major factor that has posed challenges include the difficulty in East Germany of resolving property ownership and the lack of infrastructure and the environmental degradation that occurred during the communist rule. (Berghahn V. R. 1987) The extremist violence especially from the political right that is usually witnessed in East Germany is always related to the economic uncertainty in this region. Most times the violence is directed towards foreigners and in particular non-Europeans. (Berghahn V. R. 1987) Politics Germany is considered to be a Federal, Parliamentary, and representative democratic Republic. The ‘Grundgestz’ or the Basic Law is the framework that was laid down in 1949 that guides the German political system up to today. For any amendments to take place in the Grundgestz, a two-thirds majority in Parliament is required. (Country profile) The Chancellor heads the Government and the position is currently held by Angela Merkel and she exercises executive powers that are similar to a Prime Minister’s. Parliament that consists of the Bundestag and Bundesrat (Federal Council) is vested with Federal legislative Powers. Members of the Bundestag are elected directly and members in the Bundesrat represent the governments of the 16 states. These members are appointed by the state cabinet, which possesses the power to remove them any time. (Country profile) The Christian Democratic Party Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany are the dominating parties since 1949. However there’s existence of other smaller parties, which include the Free Democratic Party and the Alliance 90/ The Greens (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union). The President of Germany also doubles up as the Head of State and is normally elected by the Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung), which is the institution made up of members of the Bundestage and some members of the State delegate. The President of the Bundestag is the second highest official and the Bundestag itself elects him/her. His/her responsibilities include the overseeing of the body’s daily sessions. The Chancellor on the other hand doubles up as the head of Government and is the third highest official who is nominated by the Germany President and then is elected by the Bundestag. A constructive motion of no confidence by the Bundestag is what is necessary to remove the Chancellor.( Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union) Economy In Europe, Germany’s National Economy is the largest. It is ranked the third largest in the world by nominal GDP, but ranked fifth in regards to gross domestic product. As per 2006 statistics, the average growth stands at 2.8% per annum. Germany has been renowned world over since the industrial age as one of the best motor innovators and has greatly benefited from the globalized world economy. (Berghahn V. R, 1987) One of its major drivers of its export economy is the trademark â€Å"Made in Germany,† which the world has continuously associated with sturdiness and durability. This has turned out the country to be the world’s top exporter with the export figures as at 2006 standing at $ 1.133 trillion generating a trade surplus of approximately â‚ ¬165 billion. 70% of its total GDP is generated by the service sector with 29.1% contributed by the industrial sector and agriculture falling behind with about 0.9%. (Berghahn V. R, 1987) Germany’s automobiles, machinery, metals, and chemical goods contribute greatly to the export portfolio. In solar and wind turbine technology, Germany leads the world (Global Wind Energy Market ).   Amongst its most popular brands include Siemens, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Nivea among others. Germany uses the common market currency the Euro and the country stands out as a major advocate for the European Union. Society (People and Culture) The majority German population is made up inhabitants of ethnic Germans and over 7 million foreigners. Majority of the foreigners are made up of the so called â€Å"guest workers† who were mostly Turkish workers, who in the 1950s and 60s were invited to fill in for the labor shortages, Germany thus has quite a good number of ethnic Turks. Many political and economic refugees from the world over especially the developing world choose Germany as a prime destination. (Country profile) Germany boasts of having one of the world’s highest levels of education with exquisite technological advancement coupled with an unrivaled economic productivity. University enrolment has steadily risen and has more than tripled since World War II; the trade and technical schools that are sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany support the universities. The majority of the population is made up of the middle class with a per capita income standing at $ 28,700, this is combined with a comprehensive social welfare system that caters for the universal medical care and unemployment care besides other social needs. (Berghahn V. R, 1987) Culturally Germany is usually called â€Å"the land of poets and thinkers† (Wasser J. 2006). Religious and secular currents that have taken place in Europe for a long time have continuously shaped the German culture. One of the most famous German classical music composers is Ludwig Van Beethoven (Wasser J. 2006). Geography The geography of Germany is rich and diverse ranging from the high Alps in the South, the Bavarian plain, and the flowing hills of central Germany to the coast of the North and Baltic Sea. This makes the country’s countryside scenery worth visiting, â€Å"it all looks like a miniature train landscape packed with the nicest of old towns, medieval houses, gothic churches and small villages; its exotic!† (Country profile) Global Position Germany has continued to play a very important role in the formation and the continued strengthening of the European Union and has continued to cultivate a very close relationship with France. One of Germany’s closest allies has been the U.S, whose help was quite invaluable during the 1948 Marshall Plan to rebuild Germany after World War II. Ties with America have gone to other areas like trade where a more balanced trade relationship has continued to flourish. (Country profile) REFERENCES Berghahn, Volker Rolf. (1987) Modern Germany: Society, Economy, and Politics in the 20th Century. 2d ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union: Retrieved on 6th March 2008 from U.S. Library of Congress:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ,   Global Wind Energy Market 2006-2011, Retrieved on 6th   March 2008 from www.windtech-international.com: Wasser, Jeremy. (2006) Spà ¤tzle Westerns Spiegel Online International: Retrieved on 6th March 2008 Country profile: Germany: Retrieved on 6th March 2008 from   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1047864.stm:

Maintenance And Redevelopment Of Aged Public Housing Estate Construction Essay

Maintenance And Redevelopment Of Aged Public Housing Estate Construction Essay Since the fire in Shek Kip Mei on 25 December 1953 that made 53,000 people homeless, due to the shantytowns of the China immigrants were destroyed. As the population growth of Hong Kong is very fast from the five decades ago due to the immigrants and birthrate. At present, Hong Kong Government is facing the problem of density populated. For this reason, Hong Kong Government assigns Hong Kong Housing Authority to develop public housing program of multi story building for immigrants to living there. Therefore, Hong Kong Housing Authority has been turn into the biggest public housing developer and the single proprietor in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, the housing condition and the practicability is the important consideration of the district, because the main concept of public housing is satisfy the basic and real need of townspeople, who cannot afford the private housing requirement. Nowadays, there are many public housing estate are out of the current standard and outmoded owing to the time is elapse. So, Hong Kong Housing Authority launches the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme to make an improvement of living quality to the tenant that living in old public housing estate, there are 566 target block about 231,403 flats which was built before 1973 are demolished and the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme was completed in January 2010. Otherwise, the Housing Authority carry out the Total Maintenance Scheme in 2006 approximately covering 600,000 flats, the Housing Authority article showing that the main concept of this scheme is Proactive and comprehensive approach to identify maintenance problems, then Prompt response to emergencies and tenants requests, finally, Enhanced promotional and educational programmes to improve the maintenance quality and service in public housing estate and enhance the quality of living environment to the tenant. At this moment in this time, Hong Kong Housing Authority had made two different programme which are maintenance and redevelopment in different period to enhance the living quality of public housing estate. Building maintenance is a method to sustainable of keeping and enhances the function of facilities of aged public housing. Redevelopment is a method that demolish the outmoded building and redevelopment, it is very complicated, because there are many factors are contained, (e.g. psychology affect of tenant, use of time, cost of finance, availability of the land). For this reason, the purpose of this study is research the benefit and disadvantage of maintenance and redevelopment of aged public housing, express the different and difficulties to precede the redevelopment and maintenance and bring up my recommendation that base on the opinion of public and the feasibility study on the actually condition for the future building management for Hong Kong, . Introduction In this study, I will first provide some background information of aged public housing in Hong Kong. Then, I will present a clear conceptual background of maintenance and redevelopment, such as the definition of maintenance and redevelopment, and critically review the condition of aged public housing in Hong Kong. Then, I will evaluate and examine the intention of government policy for choice between maintenance and redevelopment of aged public housing, in order to make the best decision between adoption of maintenance and redevelopment of aged public housing in Hong Kong. In addition, I will outline and discuss the factors contributing to the decision. Besides, I will mainly focus on three factors, economic, environment and structural safety. And, I will then outline the advantages and disadvantages of maintenance and redevelopment, which can affect the decision between adoption of maintenance and redevelopment of aged public housing. Finally, I will summarize the factors which can affect the decision making and provide some recommendations for the future decision making and redevelopment for public housing estate. Aims and Objective The aim of this dissertation is to review and evaluate the decision for the old public building between maintenance and redevelopment of Hong Kong. Objective: A historical review the background of public housing in Hong Kong. A literature reviews the definition of maintenance and redevelopment and compares the factor which determines the decision between redevelopment and maintenance. Carry out research and interview with selected target building and group. Selection of public building for case study. A critical data analysis and information based on the conclusion drawn from all review and research. Conclusion and recommendation based on the critical analysis and result of the research. History of public housing in Hong Kong The appearance of public housing in Hong Kong mainly due to the fire in Shek Kip Mei on 25 December 1953, the fire destroyed the makeshift homes of refugees from Mainland China, leaving 53,000 people homeless. After the fire, and facing a surge of immigrant population, then the government launched a public housing program to introduce the idea of multi story building for the immigrant population living there, thus commencing a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes. Some scholars have argued that the government has been overstating the role of the fire in the history of public housing in Hong Kong. Nowadays, public housing facility is the weightiest position of the society. Public housing estate major provided a home for peoples who cant afford the private accommodation in real need, because the rates of public housing are really lower than private housing. At present, there are 169 public housing estate (about 656,000 public rental flats and residence around 2.2 million people) under the Housing Authoritys (HA) management scope. Research methodology and significant of study Research is a process, which is the way to get the answer and question to hypothesis in different way of this study and support the conclusion from information of the research. Furthermore, methodology is use for prove the truth of the assumption, the methodology that is choose from literature review (e.g. news, article, journal, book) and investigation for target person (e.g. group interview, individual interview, questionnaire). Chapter outline Chapter one is the Introduction of this study, in this part, the history of Honk Kong public housing estate is introduced first, then define the main focus of this study clearly and explain the source of information about this study. Therefore, a clear concept of this study provided for the reader from this chapter. Chapter two is the Literature Review, in this chapter, the definition and characteristic of maintenance and redevelopment are identify by literature or article or journal, after that, the factor of influence that between maintenance and redevelopment is recognize base on the concept findings of maintenance and redevelopment, the important information from the article or journal are recap and compare the data on the most relevant. Chapter Three is the Methodology, in this part is to make a critical review on the decision for the old public building between maintenance and redevelopment of Hong Kong. The methodology consists of a literature review, followed by questionnaire survey and the subsequent interview. The conclusion from the analysis of the results of questionnaire and interview surveys would be served as a ground for formulating the recommendations. Chapter Four is the Findings and Data Analysis, in this part all information and data that collected would be organized in this chapter and detailed discussion and analysis would be presented from the interview and the questionnaire. Chapter Five is the Conclusion and Recommendations, in this chapter, final conclusion and recommendations will be made based on the discussion, collected information and analysis made in Chapter three and four. Literature review Definition of Maintenance According to British Standard 8210 defined maintenance as the combination of all technical and administrative action intended to retain an item in, or restore it to, a state in which it can perform its required function. And the previous version of British Standard (BS 3811: 1964) stated that maintenance as a combination of any actions carried out to retain an item, or restore it to, an acceptable condition. There are few components are identified from the above definition. According to the British Standard stated that Action not only related to the physical execution of maintenance work, also concerned with its initiation, financing and organization. The notion of an acceptable condition, which implies and understanding of the requirement for the effective usage of the building and its parts, which in turn compels broader consideration of building performance, Chartered of Institute of Building offer the followings definition of maintenance: Works undertaken in order to keep, restore or improve every facility, e.g. every part of building, its services and surrounds, to an agreed standard, determined by the balance between need and available resources. The committee on Building Maintenance recommended the adoption of the followings: Definition of maintenance: Work undertaken in order to keep, restore or improve every facility e.g. every part of building, its services and surrounds to a currently acceptable standard and to sustain the utility and value of the facility. Proper maintenance can extend the useful life of a building substantially. Renovation of old buildings is sometimes a viable alternative to redevelopment as it causes much less disruption to the affected residents. It can also improve the environment and reduce the need for urban renewal from the Planning environment and Lands Branch, 1996 British standard (BS 3811: 1984) classified maintenance as three parts as follow, i. Planned maintenance; described as organized maintenance and carried out with forethought, control, and the use of records to predetermined plan. ii. Preventive maintenance, it is carried out at predetermined or to other prescribed criteria and intended to reduce the likelihood of an item not meeting an acceptable condition. iii. Running maintenance, which can be carried out whilst an item is in service. Definition of Redevelopment Redevelopment means that the society shall demolish and redevelop the old dilapidated building with poor living condition into a productive and desirable use in order to utilize the land resources. Hong Kong Housing Authority described that the redevelopment and clearance aims to improve the living standard for residents in older estates and to ensure that facilities and benefits do not lag too far behind the newer estates. The opinion focuses on demolishing old and dilapidated buildings which providing poor living conditions and improving living conditions by assembling large pieces of land for comprehensive planning and the restructuring of the community through providing better and appropriate community facilities and open space. (P.K. Kam 2002) Housing Authority stated that the land use within the community, new opportunities may be identified which may lead to better planning and development within the district, including opportunities for housing. (HKHA) Redevelopment as an effective means to comprehensively revamp an old area by upgrading the street design and the community amenities as well as to better utilize the in shortage supply of land resources. (Urban Renewal Authority) Comprehensive housing renewal can provide greater open space and community facilities. Typical objective include: suitable re-housing; increased amenities; community preservation architectural conservation and fiscal outcomes, among others that base on Couch 1990, Rapkin 1980 Factors which Determining the Decision between Redevelopment and Maintenance The reason for redevelopment mainly as the following: Replacement of whole elements of components When the whole elements of components are functionally unsatisfactory; incur high maintenance or running costs and aesthetically unacceptable (Lee Maintenance Management), the components will be redeveloped. 2. Design constraints, lack of amenities Since, the publics expectation for improving the standard of living environment is rising. A redeveloped component will provide a better living environment to the residents. Areas concern such as to improve the condition, value and life span of public housing assets, enhance local communities and support the local construction industry. 3. Maximize the usage of land Redevelop a component not only can increase the efficiency of land usage, but also provide a better integration of transportation and commercial facilities and the provision of new district facilities. 4. Change of plot ratio Plot ratio control was under the Building Ordinance is a device used by planning authorities, to restrict the amount of floor space provided in new building in relation to their site area. The population grows at (the rate of population growth is roughly one million per decade in Hong Kong) roughly a million every decade in Hong Kong. With limited land resources, further increase in density in high of housing development is inevitable. In addition, provide more occupancy ratio, the occupancy ratio of 2.23sq m per person that had been established in the 1950s and changed over time to 4.25sq m per person in the 1980s, up to date, the current occupancy ratio stands at 7 sq m per person. Economy The large assembly of land through the Comprehensive Development Area (CDA) comcept has two major benefits from the planners point of view, Booth (1996) and Listokin (1974); Waver and Blabcock (1979); all cited by Tse (2001) The CDA sites can achieve the maximum plot ratio; It can achieve a better designed layout and block disposition and provide adequate communal facilities for the development. structural and building safety American Planning Association elaborated that the building in which it is unsafe for persons and unhealthy to live or work due to dilapidation; deterioration; defective design or physical construction; inadequate utilities; lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities contamination by hazardous substances and redevelopment might be considered. The reasons for maintenance mainly as the following: 1. Environmental impact Environmental impacts arising from the demolition, construction and operation of the redevelopment project and related activities, therefore the environmental impact of maintenance works are much better to avoid and minimize the potential environmental impacts to the public. 2. Long time for the completion of new estates The total lead-time for the completion of new estates is about 4 years including: planning, design, tendering and construction. 3. Lower operation and maintenance cost in the long run Preventive maintenance concept has developed in Housing Authority. In view of the fact that regular repair and maintenance cannot fundamentally solve the problems arising from ageing, such as water seepage in the balcony, rusting of water pipes, wear and tear of concrete, etc. the Housing Department is exploring ways to upgrade or maintain aged estates comprehensively in order to improve tenants living environment Building rehabilitation is one of the options being explored in dealing with aged estates. 4. High construction costs are not cost-effective Tight budget of Housing Authority incurring such high construction costs is not cost-effective and will also affect the environment during construction stage. Advantages of redevelopment There are several benefits for the Housing Authority during redevelopment First of all, the rationalization of land use and the opportunity for increasing housing production, particularly for Housing Authority redevelopment site where boundaries may be modified to optimize development intensity. The ability to bring in other resources to facilitate redevelopment of existing public housing estates, including the private sector and other quasi-government agencies. This could enable some older estates to be redeveloped for higher and more productive uses that would otherwise remain for a long time due to a lack of suitable reception housing. One of the benefits is that the improvement to the physical conditions of the area that would benefit existing public housing residents and at the sme time enhances the attractiveness and desirability of Housing Authority developments. Besides, the grater diversity of land use and type of developments will assist in improving the secio-economic mix in the area and provide housing residents with more choices and housing opportunities. Furthermore, construction jobs created by the development of new buildings and new infrastructure and the remodeling in existing buildings Redeveloping building can stop the spread of deterioration and blight of aging building and improving the safety and environment of adjacent areas Deficiencies of redevelopment Governments redevelopment programs have the following deficiencies: Migration of vast number of people is a complicated process requiring detailed planning, monitoring and documentation. A high percentage (up to 40%) of Hong Kong population is housed in Public Housing Estates. An extensive re-housing and redevelopment program is required, which exerts heavy pressure on manpower, time and money. Demolition of a building is a costly process. Moreover it creates construction waste undesitably unavoidably. The waste, if unsuitably reused, can result in pollution of the environment and depletion of resources. Also noise and visual pollutions can become nuisances to nearby residents. New estate designs are often based on economic values. Also, cost efficiency and high practicality had been the approach adopted in the new developments, lacking in the encouragement of communal interactions. The new estates have more monotonous and self-enclosed living environment. Significances and Advantages of Maintenance According to David Highfield (2000) defined that the cost of refurbishing and re-using and existing building is generally considerably less than the cost of demolition and new construction since many of the building elements are already constructed. One of the principles advantages of opting of refurbishment and re-use of existing building rather than demolition and construction is that, in he majority of cases. The renewed or redeveloped accommodations will be available in a much shorter time. And the shorter contract duration reduces the effects of inflation on building costs, also the overall development period could be shorter and reduces the cost of financing the scheme The work required refurbishing and existing building would normally take considerably less time than the alternative if demolition, site clearance and the construction of a new building. Time savings, during the pre-contract design, planning permission and building works phases of development. The client obtains the building sooner and therefore begins the earn reveue from it (e.g. rentals, retail sales of manufacturing profits) at an earlier date. With the increasing cost of new-build work, effective maintenance of existing building stock is become more important and building maintenance now represents a significant proportion of construction output. About unstable supply of construction works, according to Patricia Hillebrandt (2000) stated that the determination of demand for construction activity is a very complex affair and heavily depends on the policy of government either directly through its intervention in the public sector, or through its influence on the general level of economics activity in the private sector. The standard of maintenance achieved has an important influence on the quality of the built environment and there seems little doubt that society will continue to expect higher standards in new and existing buildings. Nowadays, maintenance is a significant and important part of the work of the constrctuion industry. The environmental advantages, one of the many ways in which energy consumption can be reduced is to recycle and re-use exising resouces as much as possible, in preference to consuming even more energy by replacing them. E.g. when major alterations are made, will generally use less energy than demolition and new build. Housing Authority stressed that maintenance can facilitate early defect deteration and rectifection. This canavoid the additional expenses arising from further deterioration and it enables building elemets and services installations to be replaced at the optimum time in order to achieve the maximum serviceable life (Press Release: Home CARE Maintenance for Public Housing Estate, 1 March,2001) Disadvantage of Maintenance Although maintenance is beneficial to the aged building and many articles are supporting this view, but there are no perfect views of any matter, so in this part, the disadvantage of maintenance is shown as the follows: The resultant standard of living may not live up to contemporary expectations. Very limited potential for positive impact with regard to lad use and building performance. The current mismatch in housing type supply and demand and the general inefficient layout of the site would remain. This approach dose not count for the relatively short life span of the existing housing. Deterioration and Obsolescence The life cycle analysis by Flanagan (1989), which includes the following items: Physical deterioration; economic obsolescence; functional obsolescence; technological obsolescence; social obsolescence; location obsolescence; legal obsolescence; aesthetic and visual obsolescence; image obsolescence; and environmental obsolescence. Base on Aikivuori (1995) asserts that the defects of building are relative, not absolute and therefore difficult to measure objectively. The replacement due to obsolescence is not technically rational since it does not optimize the use of structures until the end of their durability. Since corrective replacement is defined as the project aimed at deteriorated structures in unacceptable physical condition. According to Taylor (1980) proposes that deterioration has no part in the accumulated inferiority caused by obsolescence and the deterioration and obsolescence are 2 separable issues. Both Taylor (1980) have categorized the causes of replacement into these 2 classes, e.g. deterioration and obsolescence. Thus, Aikivuori (1995) view the reasons for the decision to initiate a redevelopment project as a basis of the demand. The phenomena causing redevelopment are classified into 5 categories in his study as follows: failure in the building due to deterioration: change in use: optimization of economic factors: subject features of the decision maker: and the change of circumstances. Life Span of Building Components Base on the main theme of this study, the life span of building components is a very critical part to provide the sustainable development environment and enhance the value and practicability of the aged building. Also, it is a critical part to affect the decision between maintenance and redevelopment, so the building components should be coordinate with the methodology to present result that meet the international standard, the methodology is really simple to included multifarious application and give a suitable advice of the analysis or review for different type of building in Hong Kong or other country. According to the related RICS journals Assessing the Life Expectancies of Building for Life Cycle Costing by Ashworth (1996) bring up the idea is about the rate of depreciation of building components depend on different information or data supporting and the selection of relevant life span reviews. Base on the theory from this journal, the expectancies may be uncertain, due to a proper design and maintenance arrangement or physical deterioration and obsolescence affect or the quality of refurbishment phase. Anyhow, different types or use of building have different refurbishment lives and the argument of expectancies incidence is important than overall building life span. Macdonald (2003) indentified the building requirement and intention of life is at least 50 years or above, if there is good workmanship in construction stage and arrange inspection and maintenance work on cycle. Actuality, most of the building may be demolished before the end of time and rebuild, if there is any economical profit of that place or may be change the use of building to meet the new requirement. Base on the information from RICS, the serviceable life span of aged public housing can be extending about 10-15 years, due to a systematic and cycle maintenance arrangement. Therefore, the aged public housings are structurally safe, that mean it is unnecessary to demolish and redevelopment. . The life span components of public housing estates as follow: Building Components Life Span (year) Window glazing 20 Plumbing 25-30 External wall tile 20-25 Vinyl sheet or tile 20-30 External paint 5-10 Internal wall paint 5-10 Waterproofing, bituminous coating 10 Wooden door 20-30 Hence, there are many factors affecting the life expectancy of building components and need to be considered when making replacement decisions, including the quality of the components, the quality of the installation, level of the maintenance, weather and climatic conditions and intensity of their use. Some components remain functional but become obsolete because of changing styles and styles and taste or because of product improvement. RICS defined that the building structure may be designed using materials, components and technology that may last for about 100 years or more, depending on the quality and standards expected from users. Methodology Research aim This research aims is to evaluate and critical review on the factor contributing to the decision between the adoption of maintenance and redevelopment of aged public housing estate in Hong Kong with determine the decision between maintenance and redevelopment in public housing estate from the questionnaire and interview and technical record of the building structure life span. The methodology consists of literature research, survey through questionnaires and interviews and reviews the opinion of tenant and government. With a view to do this, I will use the questionnaire and case study in the dissertation respectively. As a new research area, the researcher adopted a multi-faceted approach employing multiple methods for the collection of research materials. There are several methods to do the research. The first method is to visit relevant government departments and officials in order to have a deep understanding to the research. The second method is that, by reviewing some electronic and printed documents as well as participant observations in order to have an up-dated and comprehensive understanding of the issues. The main methodologies used for the dissertation are documentary review on relevant public housing policies particularly on the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme (CPR) and Home CARE Maintenance in both printed and electronic form has been conducted. Besides, case study is used to examine the intention of government policy for redevelopment and maintenance for old public housing estate. The reasons for choosing the above case study for this dissertation can be specifically elaborated into 2 aspects: financial and environment impacts between redevelopment and maintenance that take place in public housing estates. Furthermore, questionnaires were also used to serve the purpose of providing a through understanding of the old public housing estates physical environment, where the tenants live and socialize and their true-wish or desires on maintenance and redevelopment. Research the existing old public housing estate in Hong Kong In 2010, the public housing estate in Hong Kong which is less than 30 years old nearly 87% and about 13% estates were built before 1980. The most common aged public housing estate is Choi Hung Estate, Kwai Shing Estate, Lai King Estate, which is over 35 years old. With a view to maintain the housing standards, public housing estates which are 30 years old or above are require upgrading by improvement measures or facilities. However, some other 30 plus years old public housing estates require to have redevelopment, because its structure is not fulfill the safe standard or becoming uneconomical to take maintenance. For the reason that the oldest block design Mark I to Mark VI public housing estates and the former government low cost housing estates built in the 1950s and 1960s are obsolete by todays standards, the above block designs were cleared for redevelopment in June 1999. The Government started to redevelop these buildings in the 1970s. Up to 31 December 2004, 694 blocks of these estates containing some 249,360 households were redeveloped. Review of building conditions in public housing in Hong Kong In this section, I will present an overview of the current status of old public housing estates in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the remaining early authority estates included, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Fuk Loi Estate, Choi Hung Estate. Although the living environment basically can meet the normal standards, it is not a fine condition in comparing with the public housing estate which built after 70s. In the 1960s, there were some marginal improvement for the public housing design. The improvements not only increase a little more living space in the public housing units, but also the community facilities were significantly improved. Besides, the building block is bigger than before, the stories were increased to 16 and corridors were moved indoors, but neighborliness was discouraged by the long monstrous slab blocks. Nowadays, all units in the ageing public housing estates are self-contained with basic facilities such as shower tray and water closet in the toilet, cooking bench and sink in the kitchen, drying rack, electricity, not and cold water supplies etc. In order to upgrade the facilities, a more energy-saving lift system will be introduced. Also, a security system will be installed in all rental blocks, which includes electronically controlled security gates and door phones for each unit and television surveillance system in common areas from the security counter next to the main entrance on ground floor. Questionnaires Survey In this questionnaire, there are 10 questions to collect tenant opinion on this topic of Choi Hung Estate and Lai King Estate, also, it can collect more basic information of the selected estate In order to ensure accuracy in the collected data by all interviewers, structured questionnaires was adopted in which similar ques

WordPress Plan for My Gaming Site

WordPress Plan for My Gaming Site Dami Olayemi Introduction The purpose and rationale behind my gaming site will be discussed. To start with, the purpose of this website is to help gamers learn the strategies for this game and also enjoy playing the game. As well as have a way for people to discuss the game and confirm if the strategies work. Target Audience I am going to run a WordPress site that is targeting males and females gamers who are in their 18 to 25 years old. They are males and females who desire to know more strategies for the game they play; as well as how to improve their scores. Other people might also follow this account, and see the value of it. It would or could include young/inexperienced gamers in their 18 to 25 years of age to want to learn more about the game. Layout / Design The page layout for each of the web pages is as follows. First of all, the home page has rollovers, so people can scroll to what will be focused on the site. In addition, the home page will have a design, so there will be simple look to it. On the other hand, the about us page will have a slightly different layout. It will have a mix of two to three columns in each. There will be a slider showing the website owner and other aspects of the blog. In addition, in certain boxes discussing how the site came to be, and the person who owns the site. For the strategies page there will be codes discussed for each of the different games in different boxes. On another note, the blog pages will have three posts showing a Top 5, checklist, and a tutorial. People who check out the site can comment for this page and the strategy page. Also, for all the pages there will be a Facebook feed at the bottom, logo at the top, and along the social media icons. Finally, the contact page will allow people to either subscribe to the website or voice their concerns and suggestions. Therefore, this is the layout for the web pages. The colours I will be using are red and black for a few different reasons. To begin with, red is a very eye catching color and this makes it useful in case I want to draw some attention to my website theme. Furthermore black will be the main colour of the font, so it will easier for readability for people who are looking through the website. Altogether, these are the colours for the website overall. The types of images that I will be using are as follows. Firstly, the home page will have images of the game that will be discussed on the website. The about us page will have images of the website owner and pictures of each character on the game discussed on the website. The blog page will have images that are incorporated into the blog posts in the web page. Also, the strategy page will have some tactics to winning the game which it could be difficult. Finally, the contact page will have an image of where to find us. For all the Webpages at the top there will be the logo and social media icons on the bottom. All in all, these are the images that I might be using on my gaming website. The font size and type I will be using are as follows. The font type that is going to be used is Open Sans. It is easy to read, so individuals that have vision difficulties can have an easier time. The main size for the font is 16px. Also, the site title font size is 36px, so people can identify the web page they are looking at. In addition, there are similar fonts to this in the games discussed on the website. So, that will create a theme to connect everything together. All in all, Open Sans will be a suitable font for the website. The overall ideas of what I am trying to achieve with this layout will be discussed. First I will try to interest the target market that I am attracting. Also, trust the colour scheme to motivate my interest to the genders and ages I chose. Furthermore, grow my interest from males and females who play more video games, PC games, and mobile games. Lastly each web page will have a slightly different style to the website. Therefore, this will hopefully help to achieve the overall idea for my layout. Page Content Home Home page for gamers who like to use all the great champions for their strategy. When the public comes to the site, the first thing they will see is the homepage. Which there will be pictures in the slider of the game that will be discussed? This page will give a rundown of what will be on each of the page such as the strategies and the blogs. Also I will have a Facebook feed attached to this page to let individuals know other ways to find out about the site. Furthermore it will be an interesting and eye-catching experience for people who are going to look at this website. In addition, there will be a social media link and a logo of the game. Additionally, there will be a navigation bar on the right side of the page for the other webpage. All in all, this will be the public facing content on the Home page. Blog Blog that will show you all the tutorials, Top 5s, and checklists for certain champions to use in the game. Furthermore, when customers come to this page of the website, they will also see the Blog page. Which there will be a slider at the top below the logo and the social media symbol? Also, there is a title to interest my target audience to look through the posts. Additionally, the first post will have a How-to build up your ranking in the game that is going to be discussed. As well as, the next post will be a Top 10 of the champions for the game discussed on the website. To close with, the final post will be a video that shows one of the champions moves. All in all, the content on this page will definitely interest my target market. Story   Story of how this website started to help out gamers who love fierce competition. When customers come to this page of the website, they will be able to see all the stories of the game. Also there will be a slider at the top of the page, where the picture is included in that slider of the website. Furthermore there will be more information about the owner and pictures of the heroes from the game. Next there will be a title and a paragraph of how the website came to be. Lastly, to end with, I will show where to purchase the game. Altogether, the public facing content for the Story will be exciting and enlightening. Contact Contact the website owner and the way to subscribe to our emails. Finally, on the contact us page, the public will be able to see the companies phone number, address, and email. Also for the address part there will be a Google maps to show the location of the business. Right beside it will be the contact form to let people make suggestions, or raise some concerns, which it will have a very simple, yet professional look for this webpage.   Blog Posts Social Media

Comparing Foreshadowing in Train from Rhodesia and Dead Mens Path Essa

Foreshadowing and Alliteration in Train from Rhodesia and Dead Men's Path Authors often use literary devices to appeal to their audience without their awareness. By doing so, certain parts of a story or book will seem more important, in a very private way. They won't scream for attention, but they will stick, for they are catchy. Sometimes, authors are not aware that they are using a device to persuade their audience, it occurs naturally. Common literary devices and elements are metaphors, similes, alliteration, perhaps even couplet rhyming. Though foreshadowing is not necessary a literary device, it is often an element that many authors use in their work as well. Foreshadowing through adjectives and alliteration are two devices used in both "The Train from Rhodesia" by Nadine Gordimer and "Dead Men's Path" by Chinua Achebe. "The Train from Rhodesia" by Nadine Gordimer shows foreshadowing elements through it's adjectives and other important words. It alludes to the end mood of the story through adjectives used throughout. At the end of "The Train from Rhodesia", there is an overwhelming feeling of emptiness, perhaps even a persistent sadness. Throughout the story, many of the adjectives point to that. The words "pale" and "dead" in the sentence, "...on either side of a uniform railway vase with it's pale dead flower." (p. 909) and even the word "uniform" points to the emptiness which will prevail toward the end of the story. "Empty" may seem like a word to describe "the empty sand." (p. 910) but it also points to the emotion of the girl at the end. Words that show uncertainty, basted in melancholy occur all over the book, like "waiting", "wandered", "faint", "da... ...more vibrant than a fulfilled smile, and the way a school should be run contains power within the statement. There is no doubt that Achebe did not use alliteration gratuitously, but to show the reader which elements of his story he feels are the most powerful-to serve a purpose. "The Train from Rhodesia" by Nadine Gordimer and "Dead Men's Path" by Chinua Achebe both employed foreshadowing through adjectives and alliteration in their stories. The use of these devices was not to be charming, or cute, but to instill purpose and meaning to their stories. A story without purpose is simply meaningless drivel, and a story with a purpose that cannot be remembered because of a lack of devices is also equally as meaningless. The devices used in both stories illustrate the author's point as concisely as possible. Both stories have maintained their purpose.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Encyclopedia Extract :: essays research papers

Shilstone, F.W.(1996). Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. In World Book Encyclopedia (Volume 2, pp. 655-656). Chicago: World Book, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the best-known poets of her time. The oldest of twelve children in an upper middle-class family, she received no formal education, but a desire for knowledge enabled her to learn eight languages on her own. She began writing poetry as a child, and by the time she reached adulthood she had published four immensely popular volumes of verse. Though a longtime illness made her something of a recluse, Barrett was able to meet many of the leading writers of the day. In 1845, she began to receive letters from the poet Robert Browning, who, after five months of correspondence, paid her a visit. They fell in love, and when Elizabeth’s stern father refused to allow her to spend the winter of 1846 in Italy as her doctors had advised, she and Browning “married secretly'; there (Shilstone, 1996, p.656). In 1849, their son was born, whom they nicknamed Pen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elizabeth Barrett Browning used many different emotions when writing her poetry. In the collection, Sonnets from the Portuguese (1849), Elizabeth let the love for her husband speak. The whole collection is forty-four poems written to Robert Browning. Aurora Leigh (1857) is yet another example of love being prominent in Elizabeth’s writings. Another element in Elizabeth’s writings is statements about faith and her illness/death. In the closing line of her “most famous sonnet'; (p.656) Sonnet 43 Elizabeth says, “and if God choose,/ I shall but love thee better after death.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 19th century, Elizabeth Barrett Browning helped to revive the sonnet cycle, which is a series of sonnets loosely connected by a common subject or theme.

Satan :: personal Narrative Religious Essays

Satan On a winter’s evening in 1967, I drove crosstown in San Francisco to hear Anton Szandor LaVey lecture at an open meeting of the Sexual Freedom League. I was attracted by newspaper articles describing him as â€Å"the Black Pope† of a Satanic church in which baptism, wedding, and funeral ceremonies were dedicated to the Devil. I was a free-lance magazine writer, and I felt there might he a story in LaVey and his contemporary pagans; for the Devil has always made â€Å"good copy,† as they say on the city desk It was not the practice of the black arts itself that I considered to he the story, because that is nothing new in the world. There were Devil-worshiping sects and voodoo cults before there were Christians. In eighteenth-century England a Hell-Fire Club, with connections to the American colonies through Benjamin Franklin, gained some brief notoriety. During the early part of the twentieth century, the press publicized Aleister Crowley as the â€Å"wickedest man in the world.† And there were hints in the 1920s and ‘30s of a â€Å"black order† in Germany. To this seemingly old story LaVey and his organization of contemporary Faustians offered two strikingly new chapters. First, they blasphemously represented themselves as a â€Å"church,† a term previously confined to branches of Christianity, instead of the traditional coven of Satanism and witchcraft lore. Second. they practiced their black magic openly instead of underground. Rather than arrange a preliminary interview with LaVey for discussion of his heretical innovations, my usual first step in research, I decided to watch and listen to him as an unidentified member of an audience. He was described in some newspapers as a former circus and carnival lion tamer and trickster now representing himself as the Devil’s representative on earth, and I wanted to determine first whether he was a true Satanist, a prankster, or a quack. I had already met people in the limelight of the occult business; in fact, Jeane Dixon was my landlady and I had a chance to write about her before Ruth Montgomery did. But I considered all the occultists phonies, hypocrites, or quacks, and I would never spend five minutes writing about their various forms of hocus-pocus. All the occultists I had met or heard of were white-lighters: alleged seers, prophesiers, and witches wrapping their supposedly mystic powers around God-based, spiritual communication. LaVey, seeming to laugh at them if not spit on them in con-tempt, emerged from between the lines of newspaper stories as a black magician basing his work on the dark side of nature and the carnal side of humanity.

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 11

The next few hours were the worst of Phil's life. First and foremost was his mother. As soon as shewalked in, Phil's priorities changed from wanting herto comfort him to wanting to comfort her. And ofcourse there wasn't any comfort. All he could do was hold on to her. It's too cruel, he thought dimly. There ought to be a way to tell her. But she would never believe it, andif she did, she'd be in danger,too†¦. Eventually the paramedics did come, but only afterDr. Franklin had arrived. â€Å"I called him,† James said to Phil during one ofthe interludes when Phil's mom was crying on Cliff. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"To keep things simple. In this state, doctors can issue a death certificate if they've seen you withinthe last twenty days and they know the cause ofdeath. We don't want any hospitals or coroners.† Phil shook his head. â€Å"Why? What's your problemwith hospitals?† â€Å"My problem,† James said in a clipped, distinctvoice. â€Å"is that in hospitals they do autopsies.† Phil froze. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. â€Å"And in funeral homes they do embalming. Whichis why I need to be around when they come to pick up the body. I need to influence their minds not toembalm her, or sew her lips shut, or-â€Å" Phil bolted for the bathroom and was sick. Hehated James again. But nobody took Poppy to the hospital; and Dr.Franklin didn't mention an autopsy. He just heldPhil's mother's hand and spoke quietly about how these things could happen suddenly, and how at leastPoppy had been spared any pain. â€Å"But she was so much better today,† Phil's motherwhispered through tears. â€Å"Oh, my baby, my baby.She'd been getting worse, but today she was better. â€Å" â€Å"It happens like that sometimes,† Dr. Franklinsaid. â€Å"It's almost as if they rally for a last burst of life.† â€Å"But I wasn'ttherefor her,† Phil's mom said, andnow there weren't any tears, just the terrible gratingsound of guilt. â€Å"She was alone when she died.† Phil said, â€Å"She was asleep. She just went to sleepand never woke up. If you look at her, you can seehow peaceful it was.† He kept saying things like that, and so did Cliff andso did the doctor, and eventually the paramedicswent away. And sometime after that, while hismother was sitting on Poppy's bed and stroking herhair, the people from the mortuary came. â€Å"Just give me a few minutes,† Phil's mother said, dry-eyed and pale. â€Å"I need a few minutes alonewith her.† The mortuary men sat awkwardly in the family room, and James stared at them. Phil knew what wasgoing on. James was fixing in their minds the factthat there was to be no embalming. â€Å"Religious reasons, is that it?† one of the men saidto Cliff, breaking a long silence. Cliff stared at him, eyebrows coming together.†What are you talking about?† The man nodded. â€Å"I understand. It's no problem.† Phil understood, too. Whatever the man was hearing, it wasn't what Cliff was saying. â€Å"The only thing is, you'll want to have the viewingright away,† the other man said to Cliff. â€Å"Or else a closed casket.† â€Å"Yes, it was unexpected,† Cliff said, his facestraightening out. â€Å"It's been a very short illness.† So nowhewasn't hearing what the men were saying. Phil looked at James and saw sweat trickling down his face. Clearly it was a struggle to controlthree minds at once. At last Cliff went in and got Phil's mother. He ledher to the master bedroom to keep her from seeing what happened next. What happened was that the two men went into- Poppy's room with a body bag and a gurney. Whenthey came out, there was a small, delicate hump in the bag. Phil felt himself losing rationality again. He wantedto knock things down. He wanted to run a marathonto get away. Instead, his knees started to buckle and his visiongrayed out. Hard arms held him up, led him to a chair. â€Å"Hangon,† James said. â€Å"Just a few more minutes. It's al most over.† Right then Phil could almost forgive him for being a bloodsucking monster. It was very late that night when everyone finallywent to bed. To bed, not to sleep. Phil was one solid ache of misery from his throat down to his feet, andhe lay awake with the light on until the sun came up. The funeral home was like a Victorian mansion,and the room Poppy was in was filled with flowersand people. Poppy herself was in a white casket with gold fittings, and from far away she looked as if shewere sleeping. Phil didn't like to look at her. He looked insteadat the visitors who kept coming in and filling theviewing room and the dozens of wooden pews. He'd never realized how many people loved Poppy. â€Å"She was so full of life,† her English teacher said. â€Å"I can't believe she's gone,† a guy from Phil's football team said. â€Å"I'll never forget her,† one of her friends said,crying. Phil wore a dark suit and stood with his motherand Cliff. It was like a receiving line for a wedding.His mother kept saying, â€Å"Thank you for coming,†and hugging people. The people went over and touched the casket gently and cried. And in the process of greeting so many mourners,something strange happened. Phil got drawn in. Thereality of Poppy's death was so real that all the vampire stuff began to seem like a dream. Bit by bit, hestarted to believe the story he was acting out. After all, everybody else was so sure. Poppy hadgotten cancer, and now she was dead. Vampires were just superstition. James didn't come to the viewing.- Poppy was dreaming. She was walking by the ocean with James. It waswarm and she could smell salt and her feet were wetand sandy. She was wearing a new bathing suit, thekind that changes color when it gets wet. She hoped James would notice the suit, but he didn't say anything about it. Then she realized he was wearing a mask. That was strange, because he was going to get avery weirdtan with most of his face covered up. â€Å"Shouldn't you take that off?† she said, thinkinghe might need help. â€Å"I wear it for my health,† James said-only itwasn't James's voice. Poppy was shocked. She reached out and pulledthe mask away. It wasn't James. It was a boy with ash blond hair,even lighter than Phil's. Why hadn't she noticed hishair earlier? His eyes were green-and then they were blue. â€Å"Who are you?† Poppy demanded. She was afraid. â€Å"That would be telling.† He smiled. His eyes wereviolet. Then he lifted his hand, and she saw that hewas holding a poppy. At least, it was shaped like apoppy, but it was black. He caressed hercheek withthe flower. â€Å"Just remember,† hesaid, still smiling whimsically.†Bad magic happens.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Bad magic happens,† he said and turned andwalked away. She found herself holding the poppy.He didn't ‘leave any footprints in the sand. Poppy was alone and the ocean was roaring. Clouds were gathering overhead. She wanted towake up now, but she couldn't, and she was aloneand scared. She dropped the flower as anguish surged through her. â€Å"James!† Phil sat up in bed, heart pounding. God, what had that been? Something like ashout in Poppy's voice. I'm hallucinating. Which wasn't surprising. It was Monday, the dayof Poppy's funeral. In-Phil glanced at the clockabout four hours he had to be at the church. Nowonder he was dreaming about her. But she had sounded so scared†¦. Phil put the thought out of his mind. It wasn'teven hard. He'd convinced himself that Poppy wasdead, and dead people didn't shout. At the funeral, though, Phil got a shock. His fatherwas there. He was even wearing something resembling a suit, although the jacket didn't match thetrousers and his tie was askew. â€Å"I came as soon as I heard†¦.† â€Å"Well, wherewere you?† Phil's mother said, thefine lines of strain showing around her eyes, the way they always did when she had to deal with Phil's father. â€Å"Backpacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nexttime, I swear, I'll leave an address. I'll check my messages†¦.He began to cry. Phil's mom didn't sayanything else. She just reached for him, and Phil'sheart twisted at the way they clung to each other. He knew his dad was irresponsible and hopelesslybehind in child support and flaky and a failure. But nobody had ever loved Poppy more. Right then, Philcouldn't disapprove of him, not even with Cliff standing there for comparison. The shock came when his dad turned to Phil beforethe service. â€Å"You know, she came to me last night,† he said in a low voice. â€Å"Her spirit, I mean. She visited me.† Phil looked at him. This was the kind of weird statement that had brought on the divorce. His fatherhad always talked about peculiar dreams and seeingthings that weren't there. Not to mention collecting articles about astrology, numerology, and UFOs. â€Å"I didn't see her, but I heard her calling. I just wishshe hadn't sounded so frightened. Don't tell yourmother, but I got the feeling she's not at rest.† Heput his hands over his face. Phil felt every hair on the back of his neck standup. But the spooky feeling was drowned almost immediately in the sheer grief of the funeral. In hearingthings like â€Å"Poppy will live on forever in our heartsand memories.† A silver hearse led the way to ForestPark cemetery, and everyone stood in the June sunshine as the minister said some last words overPoppy's casket. By the time Phil had to put a rose on the casket, he was shaking. It was a terrible time. Two of Poppy's girlfriendscollapsed in near-hysterical sobs. Phillip's motherdoubled over and had to be led away from the casket.There was no time to think-then or at the potluckat Phil's house afterward. But it was at the house that Phil's two worlds collided. In the middle of all the milling confusion, hesaw James. He didn't know what to do. James didn't fit intowhat was going on here. Phil had half a mind togo over and tell him to get out, that the sick jokewas over. Before he could do anything, James walked up and said under his breath, â€Å"Be ready at eleven o'clock tonight.† Phil was jolted. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"Just be ready, okay? And have some of Poppy'sclothes with you. Whatever won't be missed.† Phil didn't say anything, and James gave him an exasperated sideways look. â€Å"We have to get her out,stupid. Or did you wantto leave her there?† Crash. That was the sound of worlds colliding. For a moment Phil was spinning in space with his feeton neither one. Then with the normal world in shards around him, he leaned against a wall and whispered, â€Å"I can't. Ican't do it. You're crazy.† â€Å"You're the one who's crazy. You're acting like itnever happened. And you have to help, because I can't do it alone. She's going to be disoriented at first, like a sleepwalker. She'llneed you.† That galvanized Phil. He jerked to stand up straightand whispered, â€Å"Did you hear her last night?† James looked away. â€Å"She wasn't awake. She was just dreaming.† â€Å"How could we hear her from so far away? Evenmy dadheard it. Listen.† He grabbed James by thelapel of his jacket. â€Å"Are you sure she's okay?† â€Å"A minute ago you were convinced she was dead and gone. Now you want guarantees that she's fine. Well, I can't give you any.† He stared Phil down with eyes as cold as gray ice. â€Å"I've never done this before, all right? I'm just going by the book. And there are always things that can go wrong.But,†he said terselywhen Phil opened his mouth, â€Å"the one thing I doknow is that if we leave her where she is, she's goingto have a very unpleasant awakening. Get it?† Phil's hand unclenched slowly and he let go of thejacket. â€Å"Yeah. I'm sorry. I just can't believe any ofthis.† He looked up to see that James's expressionhad softened slightly. â€Å"But if she was yelling last night, then she was alive then, right?† â€Å"And strong,† James said. â€Å"I've never known a stronger telepath. She's really going to be something.† Phil tried not to picture what. Of course, Jameswas a vampire, and he looked perfectly normalmost of the time. But Phil's mind kept throwing outpictures of Poppy as a Hollywood monster. Red eyes,chalky skin, and dripping teeth. If she came out like that, he'd try to love her. Butpart of him might want to get a stake. Forest Park cemetery was completely.different at night. The darkness seemed very thick. There was a sign on the iron gate that said, â€Å"No visitors after sunset,† but the gate itself was open. I don't want to be here, Phil thought. James drove down the single lane road that curvedaround the cemetery and parked underneath a hugeand ancient gingko tree. â€Å"What if somebody sees us? Don't they have aguard or something?† â€Å"They have a night watchman. He's asleep. I tookcare of it before I picked you up.† James got out andbegan unloading an amazing amount of equipmentfrom the backseat of the Integra. Two heavy duty flashlights. A crowbar. Some old boards. A couple of tarps. And two brand-new shovels. â€Å"Help me carry this stuff.† â€Å"What's it allfor?†But Phil helped. Gravelcrunched under his feet as he followed James on oneof the little winding paths. They went up some weathered wooden stairs and down the other sideand then they were in Toyland. That was what somebody at the funeral had calledit. Phil had overheard two business friends of Cliff'stalking about it. It was a section of the cemetery where mostly kids were buried. You could tell without even looking at the headstones because therewere teddy bears and things on the graves. Poppy's grave was right on the edge of Toyland. Itdidn't have a headstone yet, of course. There was only a green plastic marker. James dumped his armload on the grass and thenknelt to examine the ground with a flashlight. Phil stood silently, looking around the cemetery.He was still scared, partly with the normal fear that they'd get caught before they got finished, and partlywith the supernatural fear that they wouldn't.Theonly sounds were crickets and distant traffic. Treebranches and bushes moved gently in the wind. â€Å"Okay,† James said. â€Å"First we've got to peel this sod off.† â€Å"Huh?† Phil hadn't even thought about why therewas already grass on the new grave. But of course itwas sod. James had found the edge of one strip and was rolling it up like a carpet. Phil found another edge. The strips were about sixfeet long by one and a half feet wide. They wereheavy, but it wasn't too hard to roll them up and off the foot of the grave. â€Å"Leave 'em there. We've got to put them on againafterward,† James grunted. â€Å"We don't want it to lookas if this place has been disturbed.† A light went on for Phil.†That'swhy the tarpsand stuff.† â€Å"Yeah. A little mess won't be suspicious. But if weleave dirt scattered everywhere, somebody's going towonder.† James laid the boards around the perimeterof the grave, then spread the tarps on either side.Phil helped him straighten them. What was left where the sod had been was fresh,loamy soil. Phil positioned aflashlight and picked upa shovel. I don't believe I'm doing this, he thought. But he was doing it. And as long as all he thoughtabout was the physical work, the job of digging a hole in the ground, he was okay. He concentrated on that and stepped on the shovel. It went straight into the dirt, with no resistance. It was easy to spade up one shovelful of dirt and drop it onto the tarp. But by about the thirtieth shovelful,he was getting tired. â€Å"This is insane. We need a backhoe,† he said, wiping his forehead. â€Å"You can rest if you want,† James said coolly. Phil understood. James was the backhoe. He wasstronger than anyone Phil had ever seen. He pitchedup shovelful after shovelful of dirt without even straining. He made it look like fun. â€Å"Whydon't we have you on any. of the teams atschool?† Phil said, leaning heavily on his shovel. â€Å"I prefer individual sports. Like wrestling,† Jamessaid and grinned, just for a moment, up at Phil. It was the kind of locker-room remark that couldn't be misunderstood from one guy to another. He meantwrestling with, for instance, Jacklyn and Michaela. And, just at that particular moment, Phil couldn't help grinning back. He couldn't summon up anyrighteous disapproval. Even with James, it took a long time to dig thehole. It was wider than Phil would have thought necessary. When his shovel finallychunkedon somethingsolid, he found out why. â€Å"It's the vault,† James said. â€Å"Whatvault?† â€Å"The burial vault. They put the coffin inside it so it doesn't get crushed if the ground collapses. Get outand hand me the crowbar.† Phil climbed out of the hole and gave him thecrowbar. He could see the vault now. It was made ofunfinished concrete and he guessed that it was just a rectangular box with a lid. James was prying thelid off with the crowbar. â€Å"There,† James said, with an explosive grunt as he lifted the lid and slid it, by degrees, behind the concrete box. That was why the hole was so wide, toaccommodate the lid on one side and James on theother. And now, looking straight down into the hole, Philcould see the casket. A huge spray of slightly crushedyellow roses was on top. James was breathing hard, but Phil didn't think itwas with exertion. His own lungs felt as if they werebeing squeezed flat, and his heart was thudding hardenough to shake his body. â€Å"Oh, God,† he said quietly and with no particular emphasis. James looked up. â€Å"Yeah. This is it.† He pushed theroses down toward the foot of the casket. Then, inwhat seemed like slow motion to Phillip, he began unfastening latches on the casket's side. When they were unfastened, he paused for just aninstant, both hands flat on the smooth surface of thecasket. Then he lifted the upper panel, and Phillip could see what was inside.