Thursday, October 24, 2019

A Fast Way to a Fast Food Essay

According to a recent survey, the UK is particularly fond of fast food. Many people turn to fast food as it is quick, convenient, and relatively cheap even though there are many concerns over public health and obesity. With a large number of fast food chains available, how do likes of McDonald’s, Subway, and Pret. A merger maintain their market share at a time when people are cutting back on their spending? In the 10 largest UK cities, the number of fast-food outlets increased by 8,2 percent, to 1.456 in 2009 (the highest growth occurred in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow). Among the UK’s biggest chains, Subway grew faster than others. The number of Subway restaurants increased by 25,9 percent to 734 in 2009. In the same year, Domino’s pizza (DPZ) increased its outlets by 19,8 percent to 260 and E A T increased its outlets by 17,8 percent to 86. The growth of these chains is considered as a success particularly when competing against other giant chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Wimpy’s. Although fast food chains provide quick and efficient service, their operation models are different. In the traditional model, like Mc Donald’s, customers enter the restaurant, study the menu panels for a short period, and stand in the shortest line (behind the many counters). When the customer reaches the front of the line, he or she places an order, pays at the register, and collects the food within few minutes. When, a customer requests a nonstandard item, for example a burger with no tomatoes or extra bacon and cheese, the order is not available in the prestocked food area. The counterperson calls the order in to the production area. The item is then prepared to order as a priority. The waiting time is a bit longer in this case. Not all fast food chains in the UK follow the same customer service operational model. They have tried some innovative ideas to serve customers quicker and have more options and flexibility. In Subway, sandwich is prepared right in front of the customer, where the customer can select what type of bread, size, and sandwich fillings. The sandwich is normally ready in a couple of minutes and passed to the customer as soon as the customer pays for the food. Domino’z Pizza offers home delivery for a wide range of its pizzas, which can be personalized as well, in less than 20 minutes, while it does not charge for the delivery. Pizza Hut offers an open buffet as part of its service, to reduce the workload on its staff and give its customers more options with less price. In Pret A Manger and EAT, a set of sandwiches, salads, and desserts are assembled each day and stocked in the front of the shop where the customers select and pay for their meals. The stock level is then replenished during the day in line with demand. The aim is to continually meet the high quality and freshness standards. If any of the product assembled that day have not sold by the time the store closes, they are given to local charities rather than being stored and sold the following day.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Hybrid technology Essay

Rising oil prices, relatively rigid mileage limits, and a huge oil imports have forced the world to search for alternate and efficient transportation technologies. A number of options have been searched and looked for in this respect that range from electric, ethanol, fuel cell to solar energy operated vehicles. Among all the technologies developed and tried, one of the most promising and industry popular technology is hybrid vehicle technology that is finding support among government and public as well for its environment friendly and economic advantages. Hybrid Technology. As the name suggests, hybrid technology combine dual technologies in vehicles for their operation. Technically they are hybrid electric vehicle with an electric motor that drives the vehicle (Hoogma, Kemp, Schot and Truffer, 2002, 41 ). In the case of a typical electric vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell or chemical batteries such as advanced sealed lead battery, nickel cadmium and lithium ion are used for auxiliary power (Aldrich, 1996). However in the hybrid electric vehicles, the electric drive technology is combined with a gasoline-based power generator for running the electric motor and charging the batteries. Hybrid vehicles are either full hybrid or mid hybrid. A full hybrid vehicle can move forward from standstill purely on electric power while a mid hybrid requires gasoline power for initial movement, although both technologies concentrate on maximum utilization of electric motor power while reducing the use of gasoline as far as possible (Hoogma, Kemp, Schot and Truffer, 2002, 41). The electric motor and internal combustion engine (ICE) are connected either in parallel or in series in a hybrid vehicle. In parallel hybrid cars, power to engine is supplied by both the electric motor and internal combustion engine while in the series hybrid car the gasoline engine powers the electric motor and batteries to generate electricity, without directly providing power for the vehicle (Aldrich, 1996). There is another category of hybrid vehicles, called as ‘plug-in hybrid’ that can operate as a full electric vehicle. They require some additional batteries and use electricity net to charge the batteries thereby minimizing gasoline use to its lowest possible levels (Aldrich, 1996). All hybrid electric vehicle use computer that constantly monitors speed, power required and charge conditions of batteries (Aldrich, 1996). Hybrid vehicles offer numerous benefits over the conventional gasoline based ICE, some of which are (; Sanna, 2007, 12; Aldrich, 1996, 88 ) 1. Hybrid vehicles are extremely fuel efficient, with most of the driving thrust coming from electric power. 2. Unlike electric cars, they offer unlimited range of traveling and transportation 3. Hybrid technology is combination of the proven technology of ICE with electric motors, thus giving it reliability in the market. 4. Hybrid technology can be used in various sectors of transportation, from personal vehicles to heavy duty vehicles. In fact, both the major US car manufacturers, GM and Ford have come out with a range of hybrid vehicles, that are successful in market. 5. Plug in -Hybrid technology is even more fuel conserving and environmentally benign, cutting down CO2 emission by more than 30 % while using minimum possible use of gasoline. Hybrid vehicles offer the most reliable alternate technology which US can capitalize upon without risking any major upheaval in its current fuel-technology structure. These vehicles promise to drastically reduce fuel oil consumption, reducing the needs of oil imports, meanwhile purchasing time for completely oil free technology. Reference Aldrich, Bob.. ABCs of AFVs: a guide to alternative fuel vehicles. California Energy Commission, Sacramento-CA. April 1996. 1st Feb 2007 http://www. p2pays. org/ref/26/25156. pdf Sanna Lucy. Driving the Solution: Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles. EPRI Journal. 1st Feb 2007. Hoogma Recmo, Rene Kemp, John Schot, Bernhard Truffer. Experimenting for Sustainable Transport: The Approach of Strategic Niche Management. : Spon Press: New York: 2002. 36.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Educating Rita Essays

Educating Rita Essays Educating Rita Essay Educating Rita Essay Essay Topic: Literature Educating Rita is a play about a woman who is determined to get a liberal education which will open a full new life for her. Educating Rita was a play written by Willy Russell in 1985 and the play is set at a university in the North of England. There are many themes that run through the play including: Personal relationships, Educating, Contrasts and clashes of culture and Differences. Willy Russell was born in Liverpool from a working class background. As a youngster Russell first was a hairdressers apprentice but later made and ran his own salon. Only when Russell became an adult did he begin to think about further education. Now Russell is a very famous play write and novelist and has constructed many fine plays and novels throughout his career including: the blood brothers, our day out and many more. The leading characters in the play Rita follows Russells background we know this because Russell before himself was a hairdresser and then though about further education as does Rita. The Play has only two characters Frank and Rita and only one setting; Franks office at the Open University. This unique feature of Russells play is very effective in building a relationship between the audience and his main characters. By having only two characters he allows the audience to fully engage themselves in the lives and personalities of each character and understand them in depth. Furthermore by have only two main characters this makes the whole play easier to follow and understand since having several characters can be confusing. This is an example of visual humour. When Rita bursts through the door, it is very loud humour, and quite dramatic. There is no way that you could miss the hilarity of it. When Rita opens the door to find Frank surrounded by tea chests, it is bittersweet humour. Frank looks lost, and apart from the initial humour of the amusing picture of him surrounded by tea chests, there is sadness behind it. The entrances represent the power switch from Frank to Rita. When Rita cannot open the door, it shows the class barrier that she has to break through to follow her dream. When she manages to get through the door and bursts through it, it shows her eagerness to get started. The way that she was not used to the handle on Franks door shows the way that she was in new surroundings, which she is not yet comfortable in. When she confidently opens the door in the final scene, it shows that as she has become more confident and comfortable with her surroundings, Frank has continually become more lost. He is now the one who needs help, not Rita. Man who shifts a lot of booze and the quote from Rita from 2,7 is If you had threepence back for all these bottles, you could buy Australia! When reading the stage directions, you have to remember that the audience watching the play would hear the slurred voice of Frank, and not just be told how it would sound. When the audience saw Frank in 2,7, it would be funny for them to see all the empty whisky bottles hidden amongst his bookcase. This is an example of visual humour. This shows the change in relationship. In 1,1 we are laughing light-heartedly at Frank in his drunken state, but n 2,7 we are laughing ironically at Frank, as we cannot help thinking about what Rita said. We know that if he had not drunk all the bottles of whisky in the first place, then he would not be going to Australia in the first place. In some of the play, humour comes from confusion. It also comes from Rita being uneducated, ignorant and having a limited vocabulary. An example of this is when in 1,1, Frank asks for Ritas name using the phrase You are? Rita replied with Im a what? . Rita also confuses Forster with Foster. In 2,7 Frank says that Fosters lager is named after H. E Forster, but spelt wrong. When Rita is being laughed at, the humour comes from confusion, and the audience can understand the mistakes being made. When Frank makes the joke about Fosters beer, its fully intentional, and we laugh, unusually, at someone other than Frank or Rita. We laugh at the Australians. This reflects the power share because in 1,1, we laugh at Rita because she is neither sure of herself nor educated. When we laugh at Frank it is because he is beginning to become out of place where we believed he belonged. The mistakes, which Rita made, were written in this way because of her background. Willy Russell believes that The masses have not accepted literacy. This applies to Rita because what she reads may be classed as trash by some, and would not be classed as literature by anyone else. As far as Willy Russell is concerned, she is one of the masses who is trying to accept literature. This accounts for her lack of knowledge. Painting mental pictures also plays a part in the humour in Educating Rita. In 1,1, Rita allows us to paint a mental picture of her swearing at her customers Y know when Im in the hairdressers- thats where I work- Ill say something like, Oh, Im really fucked, y know, dead loud. It doesnt half cause a fuss. In 2,7, Frank describes to us his very drunken night out. When the audience are watching the play, this is the type of humour, which allows them to do the imagining for themselves. In 1,1, they laugh at Rita because of her unsophisticated ways in her old life, just how she is at the beginning of the play. When Frank tells them the story of his drunken night out, our immediate reaction is to laugh at a Geriatric Hippie out on the town. Once this initial picture has left the minds of the audience, they realise it is a weak Frank, sinking down in the world. Sex and swearing also created humour in Educating Rita. In 1,1 you hear Ritas reaction on observing a painting, and bluntly saying Look at those tits! When she hears the book title Howards End she thinks that it sounds rude. In 2,7 she uses the phrase Bugger the bursar. They are both the humour of embarrassment. We still get embarrassed when others talk about sex and swear, especially in a formal setting such as a theatre, where we would be in front of others. Even though we are happy enough to talk about sex, and swear amongst ourselves. Even the two examples in 1,1 are different. The first quote is open and direct. It leaves little to the imagination. The second quote is a sexual innuendo, which we have to work out ourselves. In 2,7 the phrase Bugger the bursar may cause a giggle from the audience as they see a picture of this in their heads. This shows the change in relationship, as in the beginning Rita spoke her mind outright. Towards the end, she began to think more about what she was saying. And even though the phrase about the bursar she used sounds like something she may have said in the beginning, one has to remember that in a sense she is just quoting Frank from 2,3,, Willy Russell shows the difficulties that lower class citizens faced when trying to get an education. He believed that there was with-holding of culture carried out by the upper class towards the lower class. In this play, he shows the success of a lower class woman, two factors which would have provided a hindrance to Rita at the time, in getting a good education, and whilst doing this, showing the failure of a well educated upper class man, who would have been thought of at the time as at the top end of society. This play shows Willy Russell trying to break the mould of who could get an education, and similarly that just because you have a good education, it doesnt mean that you will be a success. I think that these two scenes, even though they use similar types of humour, are extremely distanced, both in content and in the roles of the characters in the scene. This is because the humour is changing direction from one scene to the other. In both of the scenes, the type of humour the character uses expresses their personal feeling successfully. In the first scene, we laugh at Rita because she seems so out of place. In 2,7 we laugh at Frank ironically, because he seems to have lost everything. The tone of the humour also changes. In 1, it is light-hearted and fun. In 2,7 it is ironic, bittersweet and more serious humour, which even though we laugh at, we know we should be feeling sorry for Frank, even though he has bought everything upon himself.

Monday, October 21, 2019

20 Essay Topics on Microeconomics

20 Essay Topics on Microeconomics Understanding Microeconomics is almost as daunting as composing an argumentative essay on it. But it becomes close to effortless to compose one if you have an opportunity to choose from a coherent list of options   which is what this guide is all about. In this second guide, we have not only included 20 microeconomics essay topics, but also a sample essay that’ll allow you to understand how an argumentative essay should be structured. But before you head on, we strongly recommend you to check out our first guide, 10 facts for an argumentative essay on microeconomics, where we have shared some credible facts on the subject. These ideas will definitely help you to compose your argumentative essay as you’ll be using them as information and references. Furthermore, after you are done reading this guide, we recommend you to read our final guide before you start writing. Our third/final guide, writing on point argumentative essay on microeconomics, is all about the methodologies and techniques of how an argumentative essay is outlined, structured and composed. By reading all of the guides, before you start writing, you’ll yield a beautifully sublime argumentative paper, which   your professor, instructor or teacher will admire. We are ready to present you our choice of Microeconomics topics: The Impact of Supply and Demand on Prices How Does Economy Change With the Change of Seasons An Argumentative Essay on the Microeconomic Market Structures How Do Different Microeconomic Market Structures Affect Supply? The Impact of Labor Market and the Labor Union on Supply and Demand. How Does Consumer Purchasing Ability Affect Pricing System? The Use of Advertising in Microeconomics and How it Affects Customer’s Decisions The Benefits of Creativity and its Significance to Lead a Company to Success The Advertising Problems Leading to a Company’s Demise. What are the Pros and Cons of Starting a Company in the Modern Market? An Argumentative Essay on Privatized Health Care Centers – The Pros and Cons Does the Cost of Health Care Affect Taxes? The Economic Struggle for Maximal Use of Natural Resources and its Reasons Why Nature is the Biggest Victim of Industrialization and How it Affects Economics Natural, and Industrial and Household Interactive Conditions Required for a Practical Implementation of the Microeconomic Model The Influence of Ecological Costs on the Principles of Industry Location How â€Å"Dirty† Industries Gain Profit by Moving into a â€Å"Clean† Area or Location. The Modern Ecological Problems that U.S. and Europe Are Facing with Planned Economies Today. The Microeconomic Problems and Their Correlation with Pollution. The Impact of a Local Industry on the Society and the Environment Finally, now you have 20 relevant microeconomic topics from which you can choose whichever suits you best. We have composed   these topics to be complementary to your essay by making sure that their tone is argumentative. Furthermore, we have included the references from where we have chosen these topics. Not only that, we have also written a sample essay on one of the topics above, so you can have a deeper understanding of how an argumentative essay should be constructed. A Sample Essay on the Microeconomic Problems and its Correlation with Pollution Between 1970 and 2012 the U.S. economy has doubled, but this profit led to some troublesome issues, and pollution was one of them. Although the United States came up with   several anti-pollution policies, which resulted in 12% reduction (approx. 730 metric tons of air pollutants a year from 2007 to 2012) of carbon dioxide emissions, pollution remains a major problem. But still, other problematic environmental issues are left untouched. Before we head on further, we should know how microeconomics considers pollution in its terms, which is why we have to know what an externality is. In economic terms, there are two types of an externality: positive externality and negative externality. Externality basically is the effect that affects third-party individuals who are not a part of the action. For example, if you live in a neighborhood, where, most of the time, country music concerts are held; and you don’t even   take part in them,   but still hear the music (due to its loudness) – you are considered to be an externality. Based on your preference, this externality can be positive (if you like country music) and negative (if you don’t like it or if it disturbs your sleep). Pollution is considered to be a negative externality because it doesn’t have any positive effect on humans, animals or the planet in general. On the other hand, it has a substantial   negative impact. Today, the production of demanded products has led to the inevitable production of pollution, and it was   passed on society. The contamination can be suppressed if the production is lowered, but in the current consumer-oriented economy it’s not gonna happen. . Economists have theorized that the cost of production should include the cost of pollution, which is: the impact of pollution on human health, property values, recreation possibilities, wildlife habitats, etc. Let’s consider the following example: If a firm produces a refrigerator, which costs about $600 per production (including all the expenses), and it costs about $100 more to produce the product without causing pollution, the quantity of the production would significantly decrease   as the prices would be high i.e. $700 per product. Now, if an individual has to compare a $600 refrigerator to a $700 one that has the same specs, but it’s only about minimizing the pollution – chances are, that particular individual would go for the cheaper one. So the reality is that this negative externality exists in economics. To reduce or completely exterminate the production of pollution, all of the microeconomic firms have to take an anti-pollution step, which would equalize the costs of the production, globally. It will   lead to a better, and healthier environment. That’s it! Now you have almost exhaustive list of topics, along with a sample essay that can help you start writing immediately. References: David Besanko, Ronald R. Braeutigam, (2011) â€Å"Microeconomics, 4th Edition† – John Wiley and Sons, Inc. http://econ.tu.ac.th/archan/supawat/EE311/2.%20%5bDavid_Besanko,_Ronald_Braeutigam,_Ronald_R._Braeu.pdf Libby Rittenberg, Timothy Tregarthen, Untitled Document – Saylor.org https://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/14/14.01SC/MIT14_01SCF11_rttext.pdf Hugh Gravelle, Ray Rees (2004) â€Å"Microeconomics, 3rd Edition† – Pearson Education Limited.  https://ignorelist.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/microeconomics-gravelle-and-rees.pdf Gilpin, Alan. (2000). Environmental Economics: A Critical Overview. Chichester, UK: John Wiley Sons. Pearson, Charles S. (2000). Economics and the Global Environment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Baumol, W. J., Blinder, A. S. (2015). Microeconomics: Principles and policy. Cengage Learning. Bowles, S. (2009). Microeconomics: behavior, institutions, and evolution. Princeton University Press.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Most vs. Almost

Most vs. Almost Most vs. Almost Most vs. Almost By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders why some speakers write â€Å"most everybody† when what they mean is â€Å"almost everybody.† For example: Most everyone agrees that children benefit from living with two caring parents. â€Å"Most everyone† is commonly heard in colloquial speech but is avoided in formal speech and writing because most is a superlative. Most refers to the greatest part, number, amount, or extent of something: I have finished most of my chores. Most dogs have tails. That’s the most awesome song on the album. Almost is used to convey the idea of something nearly completed or close to being finished: Mr. Henry has almost finished building the bridge. We almost won the game. Almost everyone agrees that children benefit from living with two caring parents. The objection to â€Å"most everyone,† and â€Å"most anyone† is that most applies to quantities capable of being separated. One can say â€Å"Most dogs have tails,† but not â€Å"Most dog have tails† or â€Å"Most dog have a tail.† Apart from surgery or mutilation, dog is not divisible. Neither are words like everybody, everyone, all, and any. The use of most in the following examples is nonstandard because the word is being used to qualify something that is not divisible: Incorrect: Most everyone agrees that cheating is bad. Correct: Almost everyone agrees that cheating is bad. Incorrect: I think most everybody will agree that summer flies by too fast. Correct: I think almost everybody will agree that summer flies by too fast. Incorrect: I feel like most all of my friends are fake. Correct: I feel like almost all of my friends are fake. If you find yourself writing most when what you mean is nearly or approximately, change it to almost. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcDoes "Mr" Take a Period?What’s the Best Way to Refer to a Romantic Partner?

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Religious-Discrimination Claims on the Rise Article

Religious-Discrimination Claims on the Rise - Article Example Managers are torn between respecting strict religious doctrines observed by employees and balancing between codes of dressings as envisaged in the firm’s organizational culture. The continued intermixing of work and faith creates a complex scenario for managers. The situation is worse when employees are expected to perform their duties that contradict with their faiths. For instance, transportation companies are finding it difficult to have Muslim and some Christians drivers transport alcohol and other products that contradict their faith. One of the factors that have been said to lead to employees’ increased advocacy for their rights is increased immigrants in the country. As people sharing a similar faith increase, they gain power and courage to sanction managers to respect their religious rights in organizations. This explains the doubling of religious discrimination cases in the last 15 years, as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. However, cons idering that most religious discrimination cases are brought by immigrants, the reported cases are way below other discriminations based on age and sex. The low figures may also be explained from the view that most people are afraid of negative publicity and losing their jobs. Employees in such a case will carry out their duties to maintain their careers. On the same, note most reported cases involve the code of dressing and objection to carrying out duties that contradict with one’s faith of allegiance, compared to a case that involve refusal to observe worship days. This is because organizations do try to observe days of worship for different employees, though the code of dressing affects the company’s looks to its clients, and refusals to carry out allocated duties may imply absconding from duties. For instance, a Muslim faithful expected to transport alcohol from one point to the other is deemed by the company to have absconded from duty if he/she refuses to comply with such orders. This is the reason behind increased cases of religious discrimination reported to the EEOC. Federal court rulings have increased managers’ dilemmas as they have interpreted the law against discrimination in favor of the complainant, requiring companies to pay fines for not respecting people‘s beliefs. For instance, Abercrombie was required to pay a $71000 fine for refusing to hire two women wearing a hijab. To the company, such hijab were against their culture but to the federal courts, the company discriminated against the two women. This has added to the precarious situation that most managers face today. However, though EECO has tried to minimize such cases by talking to companies about the right to observe religious beliefs, companies have found a loophole to win these cases. Abercrombie got a reprieve from the Federal Appeals Court, which observed that the complainants had not indicated in writing that the head scarfs were of religious significan ce. Therefore, the company had not discriminated against the two. Therefore, the main requirement for such employees to get the right to exercise their religion is to request for accommodation, which the company would consider granting or not based on written submissions. Though the Civil Right Act of 1964 requires that employees accommodate employees from different faiths unless such accommodation may lead to hardships, the act is vague in the description of hardships. Consequently, it is upon the company to advance enough

Friday, October 18, 2019

Coca-Cola HBC Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coca-Cola HBC Case - Essay Example al understanding on giving high importance for customer value, CCHBC was able to formulate essential moves in order to achieve its strategic aims through its operations management practices. In great detail, the success of CCHBC in achieving its strategic aims includes its operation strategy, operation model, operation process and supply network. One important reason why operations management practices of CCHBC enabled it to achieve its strategic aims is simply made possible by activating control within its target market, an integral part of its supply network operation. This is made evident by ensuring that its supply chain management (SCM) could function efficiently. When it comes to what is efficient, CCHBC was able to invest in technology, infrastructure and organisational practices especially in its demand-driven SCM. The main point of CCHBC is to reach its target market at a highly affordable cost so it is important that its service delivery together with its associated custome r value is controlled through its efficient SCM. Product availability, operational performance and reliability, the nature of demand are some of the most important factors to be considered in understanding the nature and implementation of efficient SCM (Mentzer, 2001; Li, 2007). For instance, CCHBC wants to optimise positively some certain costs associated with inability of certain products so it is important that primary attention should be focused on product availability and monitoring. In fact, this is one of its reasons why there is a need to diversify its product offerings up to certain range anywhere and at any time ensuring availability whenever customers would need them. Its operation management practices enabled the company to put everything in order to meet the organisation’s... The intention of this study is Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC) as a company that essentially looks forward to how it could present the best part it could offer to its customers. In today’s highly advanced economy, every firm or organisation is faced with the need to achieve their competitive advantage through giving focus on providing value for customers and ensuring teamwork and efficient working organisational structure and system. This paper tries to establish some important strategic issues associated with Coca-cola HBC (CCHBC), one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic beverages in Europe. In this paper, the proponent discusses relevant issues concerning how CCHBC provides value for its customers, its capacity management, issues concerning its suppliers, and the role of management information system and data mining in improving its effort to increase the value it provides for its customers. Creating the best value for customers is therefore tantamount to ac hieving the right possible approach within the bound of both internal and external business environment and including economic and non-economic factors and other related business concerns. It is therefore recommended that CCHBC has to explore further in great detail other relevant strategic moves that could help enhance its capacity of creating the best value for its customers. At some point, it is important on its part to explore more about the impact of MIS and sophisticated data mining approach on its strategic objectives prior to understanding its customers and creating a need and value for them.