...Applying the 8 Elements of Thought In the WMD Report 1 Applying the 8 Elements of Thought In the WMD Report HLS-355 October 20, 2012 Applying the 8 Elements of Thought In the WMD Report 2 There are eight elements of thought that are used when analyzing a document. These “Eight basic structures are present in all thinking: Whenever we think, we think for a purpose within a point of view based on assumptions leading to implications and consequences. We use concepts, ideas and theories to interpret data, facts, and experiences in order to answer questions, solve problems, and resolve issues (Criticalthinking.org)”. The eight elements of thought are think about the purpose, state the question, gather information, watch your inferences, check your assumptions, clarify your concepts, understand your point of view, and think through the implications. These eight elements of thought come from Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul. We will use Dr. Elder’s and Dr. Paul’s eight elements of thought to analyze and discuss about The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. This is also known as the overview of the WMD Report. The main purpose of this report is to determine and expose the lack of critical thinking that was used by each of the intelligence agencies that assumed that Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program, had biological weapons, had mobile biological weapon production...
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...Project Feasibility GEANINA POPESCU CASE STUDY PREMIERE MOISSON BAKERY ELEMENTS OF THE SOLUTION Introduction Dear Madams, Sirs The attached report contains PM Consulting Inc’s study concerning the opportunities of implementation and distribution of the Premiere Moisson Bakery products. As required the options of a product market expansion were considered and they were analyzed for their present and future economic feasibility. Based on the information that you provided to us, we concluded that there is a market for your products and that the project will be financially feasible. We will recommend as a go to seek and negotiate partnership in the cities of Ottawa and Quebec however we recommend that the United States should be approached in an ulterior phase at a future date. SITUATION We, PM Consulting Inc were able to identify three specific phases of Ms Lilian Colpron business evolution. These are: 1. Liliane Colpron started her own business at the age of 30 years while having three children and being divorced. She started by negotiating a partnership with a French baker and she opened a little bread shop. She learned how to make and bake bread as well as how to package and deliver bread. Liliane Colpron owned this little bakery for twelve years and then she sold it when she was making sales of $1,000,000 per year. 2. Once the frozen raw bread dough was starting to be the new “it” on the market, Liliane Colpron decided to exploit this new...
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...ideas were never something I thought of that would affect the business. Understanding these concepts, I see now how I could have applied them to my previous job. Understanding the cost of maintenance from both a short and long term, previous purchases, all of these different cost now made more sense with what I was able to control, direct and indirect material cost. I began to see the bigger picture of what it would take to run a plant. Applying these concepts to my business, MS Furniture Group, I begin with the different classifications of the cost that I will incur with my business, which can lead to cost saving opportunities for my overall bottom line. First step, I can classify my business as mass customization. I will have a high volume of training tables to produce, but offer different customization options, dependent on what the customer wants. This will help in delivering a quality product to customers that meet their specific needs. Looking at my direct cost of labor, I have a very controllable cost, that with improved management of labor, including better management of overtime, and labor per piece, I can look at some cost saving opportunity. I also have a controllable cost in my material handling aspect of the business. Coordinating better with manufacturing to have material available at peak times, will show give a better management of labor. One of the newer concepts from reading the material is opportunity cost and sunk cost. With how my product is made, machine...
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...AUTONOMY In this essay we will present how the managements concept was developed from F.Taylor concept to contemporary management concepts. We will point to a few selected aspects of strengths and weaknesses of scientific management. From craftsmanship to mass production. Scientific management.- breakthrough in the industrial production. Until F.Taylor published his book 'Principles of scientific management' in which he laid down fundamental principles of large-scale manufacturing through assembly-line factories, good production was based mostly on the work of crafts. "Production efficiency methodology that breaks every action,job, or task into small and simple segments which can be easily analysed and taught. Introduced in the early 20th century, Taylorism (1) aims to achieve maximum job fragmentation to minimize skill requirements and job learning time, (2) separates execution of work from work-planning (3) separates direct labour from indirect labour (4) replaces rule of thumb productivity estimates with precise measurements, (5) introduces time and motion study for optimum job performance, cost accounting,tool and work station design and (6) makes possible payment-by-result method of wage determination.”1. ( reference). Application in industry scientific management methods a specially assembly-line factories made it possible to mass production of goods. Many products previously inaccessible for a mass audience, such as for example cars have become available...
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...2nd law of motion and identify the forces involved in uniform circular motion. Discussion of Related Physics Concept An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. This law is often called "the law of inertia". This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they're doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object in motion will maintain this state of motion. According to Newton's second law acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object). Everyone unconsiously knows the Second Law. Everyone knows that heavier objects require more force to move the same distance as lighter objects. Newton's second law was used to analyze a variety of physical situations. The idea was that if any given physical situation is analyzed in terms of the individual forces that are acting upon an object, then those individual forces must add up as vectors to the net force. Furthermore, the net force must be equal to the mass times the acceleration. Subsequently, the acceleration of an object can be found if the mass of the object and...
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...Abstract Theory of constraints (TOC) is about thinking in logical, systematic, or structured processes similar to the PDCA learning loop and also about analyzing cause and effect, verifying basic assumptions, exploring alternatives and process improvement. The goal of TOC is to maximize the efficiency of a process selectively at the most critical points (constraints) and thereby maximize profitability. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive descriptive study on applying “Theory of Constraint” principles in improving the effectiveness of the service process that was limiting the entire service system. We have studied based on Schmenner’s classification of service organizations into four quadrants of service process matrix. Clear explanations supplemented by examples for each quadrant define how the theory works, why it works and what issues are resolved and what benefits are accrued. Introduction Operations management of services talks about how to plan, execute and improve service delivery so that more services are delivered faster and reliably with same/similar resources without compromising on quality. Services, in general, can be any of – Public Services, Professional Services, IT Services, Healthcare services, Banking/Insurance etc. Theory of Constraints, as proposed by Eli Goldratt, works well in a Manufacturing setup, but to replicate in a Service model requires adaption more than adoption. It should be accepted that trying to force a service organization...
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...1. Stragetic Marketing In its strategic role, marketing focuses on business’s intentions in a market and the means and timing of realizing those intentions. The strategic role of marketing is quite different from marketing management, which deals with developing, implementing, and directing programs to achieve designated intentions 1.1 Concept of strategic marketing As shown above, the marketing function plays at different levels in the organization. At the corporate level, marketing inputs (competitive analysis, market dynamics, and environmental shifts) are essential for formulating a corporate strategic plan. Marketing represents the boundary between the marketplace and the company, and knowledge of current and emerging happenings in the marketplace are extremely important in any strategic planning exercises. At the other end of the scale, marketing management deals with the formulation and implementation of marketing programs to support the perspectives of strategic marketing, referring to marketing strategy of a product/market. This time, marketing strategy is developed at the business unit level. |Marketing’s Role in the Organization | |Organizational level |Role of Marketing |Formal Name | |Corporate |Provide customer and competitive...
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...Essay In this essay I will be applying the information from Item A and my own knowledge to evaluate Marxists views on how culture has evolved in the UK society. Marxist theory was based on the writings of Karl Marx in 1818-1889. Marxists believe that we are socialized into a traditional gender, working role. This benefits the Bourgeoisie, ruling class who seek to own the means of production and impose a state of false class consciousness on the working class through ruling ideology. They believe certain cultures have negative impacts on society. Marxists believe one type of culture that has a negative impact on society is mass culture. Mass culture creates an unthinking, uncritical working class. This is shown in item A as it says "dumbing down", this suggests a lower quality of products is made as they are massed produced as they look inferior because they will have little value and are short lived compared to high culture products. This makes the working class feel content within their social positions so a lower quality of culture is created. The lower quality offers easy pleasure from its simplified types, therefore it stops people appreciating more complex forms of culture. This is shown in today's society as we have a capitalist system who creates false needs for the working class population where they produce vast profits through advertising and consumerism. However, this can be criticized as it could be what the 'masses' want to watch, dumbed down products that are...
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...The Ethics of the NSA Mass-Surveillance Program University Name Student Name Course Number/Name Professor Name Date Introduction One of the most explosive scandals of the 21st century was involved the National Security Agency (NSA), and the revelations that the agency had set up a robust, warrantless mass surveillance program in the years after the 9/11 attacks. Designed to pick up bits of intelligence that could be used in order to thwart future 9/11 attacks, critics of the program argued that not only was it unconstitutional given the lack of warrants obtained prior to engaging in the program, but that it was ineffective at stopping any kind of real terrorism. Supporters pushed back that the program was an essential tool for fighting terrorists who had become more advanced digitally, often using the internet in order to communicate with each other. Much of the discussion on the program related to the ethical appropriateness of the NSA’s activities. This paper will summarize the NSA’s surveillance program and discuss it from the perspective of utilitarianism and Kantian ethics; in addition, the paper will discuss the author’s personal viewpoint of the program. Summary of the Program The NSA spying program, named the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” by the New York Times, focused on monitoring the communications of between 500 and 1000 people within the United States with suspected ties to Al-Qaeda (Dunn, 2015). Many of these individuals were American citizens,...
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...Introduction Globalization is a common word of a major issue in today’s world. It may be referred to many phenomenon consuming politics, technology, corporate strategy, markets, trading, and consumer behavior (Nooteboom 1999, 56). This article is to understand the concept and behavioral changes as a result of globalization towards tourism and hospitality industry in order to construct wider understanding of its negative and positive impacts. Globalization, as a meaning of its term, clearly stated the understanding of product or service market involving two or more countries to serve the worldwide market outside their local networks. It may be referred as the highest commercial development for any company internationally (Teare, Boer 1993, 194). Product trading and media communication, which makes information as a trade good are the division of two main principal or concept in order for a company to further spread their trading power towards utilizing globalization benefits. Globalization is mostly involved by Mega Corporation, multinational and the consumer themselves. Under the economic perspectives, it clearly shows that globalization referred to the increasing of market interdependent and production in two or more countries through trading in goods or service (Teare, Boer 1993, 194). As the trade radius become international, globalization gives an increase of labor workforce- in which international division of labor is achieved by the fragmentation of international production...
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...Chapter 1 – Materials Engineering Concepts * 1.1 Economic Factors * Availability and cost of raw materials * Manufacturing costs * Transportation * Placing * Maintenance * 1.2 Mechanical Properties * Loading conditions * Static load – A sustained loading of the structure over a period of time * Dynamic load – A load that generates a shock or vibration in the structure (periodic – repeats itself with time, random- load pattern never repeats, or transient- impulse load applied over short interval) * Dead load- Static load, always applied (weight of the structure) * Live load- Dynamic loads, (people in a building or movable objects) * Stress-Strain Relations * Stress : σ=FA (psi, ksi, kPa, MPa, GPa) * Strain: ε=Change in LengthOriginal Length (%, in/in, mm/mm) * Elastic behavior * Elasticity- instantaneous response (deformation to load) and must return to its original shape when the load is removed. Stretches the bonds between atoms-doesn’t change arrangement of atoms * Young’s Modulus (Modulus of Elasticity)- Slope of the linear portion of the stress-strain curve E=σε * Poisson’s ratio- Ratio of the lateral strain to the axial strain (must be between 0.0(compressible material)-0.5(does not change volume when load applied)) Usually between 0.1 and 0.45 ν=-εlεa * Generalized Hooke’s Law * εx=σx-ν(σy+σz)E ...
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...in the future, and HR’s desired and actual role in addressing them. What we found was that while HR leaders generally feel their ideal role is one of broad leadership, their assessment of the current role often is far less than that. Our research at the Center for Effective Organizations was conducted with a consortium of 11 large companies: Citrix Systems Inc.; Electronic Arts Inc.; Gap Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corp.; Mattel Inc.; Rockwell Automation; Royal Bank of Canada; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Unilever; UPS Inc.; and The Walt Disney Co. Twenty to 30 HR professionals within each company participated in the consortium. We examined the trends of globalization, generational diversity, sustainability, social media, personal technology, mass customization, open innovation, big data and gamification. Beyond Tradition: Reach Out, Venture Out, Seek Out, Break Out Our findings suggest that human resources can make great progress by simply allocating more time, budget and expertise to the emerging trends that have the greatest potential effect on organizations. However, at a larger level, lasting change will require fundamentally rethinking how the HR profession and the HR function operate. This includes: Reaching out: By infusing talent from other disciplines such as marketing, finance, logistics and engineering, and bringing those disciplines to bear on HR issues such as the employment value proposition, options-based leadership development, optimized talent supply chains...
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...connect the factual data of the tangible sources since the latter ones often come in the form of fragments, related to a particular aspect of the happening. Ideally, reasoning, applied to the interpretation of historical data, should be impersonal, unaffected by predominant views and opinions and completely untainted by political agenda. Yet, it is hard to imagine that throughout the centuries those who held power would willingly allow the contemporary historians relate to the masses the adequate information on the details of their governing techniques and actions. As Winston Churchill pointed out, “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Therefore, it is up to an individual to interpret the language, deduce information through applying reasoning, incorporate other areas of knowledge such as science, sociology, psychology and arrive to conclusions in attempts to comprehend historical developments in question. It is important to point out that we frequently perceive...
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...the CSSA. In the symbolic interactions perspective, the cause of social problem is related to how meaning is created and given to that problematic behavior by the individuals in relation to his/her own self-concept/ interest. That can be explained by labeling theory. I am going to talk about the causes and effects of Labeling of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme. First of all, the Government starts to create labeling the CSSA recipient for reducing their expenditure or other purposes. In 1998, there is a review on CSSA was done by Social Welfare Department.[1] The review is full of “Having a job is better than none”, “Low wage is better than no wage”,”CSSA should be the last choice” and these kinds of statements against the CSSA recipients. Actually, those negative and misleading messages are continuously spreading to the public by the government by different means from the past to now. Thus, the public have an image that there were many people abusing CSSA, “CSSA feeds the lazy”. As we all know, Hong Kongers believed on self-reliance. When the Government implies that CSSA feeds the lazy, Hong Kong people would have negative feeling on CSSA recipients as their act was against the beliefs of Hong Kong people–self-reliance. Secondly, the Mass Media had helped the labeling act. The reports done by the media about the CSSA recipients are mostly negative, e.g. abuse of CSSA, crimes of the CSSA recipients, the increasing expenditure of CSSA which claimed...
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...in the case of general studies. All this constitutes a challenge. It is vital to understand that an essay is a reflection of the personality - ideas, views, analysis, assessments and inferences, values, attitude, aptitude, orientation and communication (written) abilities, all the attributes that are wanted by UPSC in an aspirant. An essay is considered a complete composition. The essentials of essay writing would be the format (framework, structure), information (content, substance), language (expression, presentation), and logic (analysis and information). The conventional design of looking at essay writing in terms of the introduction, body and conclusion is only the format. Although, this is fundamental to essay writing, the concept of an essay is quite intricate. An essay is expected to be a topical text that is self-explanatory and comprehensive, concise, composite and unambiguous, informative and logical. For every effective composition one should ideally begin with clarifying the purpose of the composition to oneself. This is true about all written and spoken communication. It's best that this principle be applied to essay writing. Although, the question cues that are recommended at this point may appear archaic, they are useful and often overlooked. At every critical juncture, while writing a topical text all applicable queries must be asked to oneself about the issue in question, e.g. who,...
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