A “Brave New World”-perspective analysis Essay

Imagine Brenda, a woman who will not under any circumstances trade her life in order to be conditioned, and then live as a Beta in the Brave New World (BNW), universe. If this is the case, then Brenda could not consistently accept Hedonism. This is due to the definition of Hedonism, the amount and intensity of bodily pleasure in Brave New World (BNW), and the amount and intensity of bodily pleasure here in real life. The definition of Hedonism leads one to maximize the amount of pleasure and minimize the amount of pain: The only thing intrinsically good in life is pleasure, and the only thing intrinsically bad in life is pain. Other things in life have extrinsic value – they can lead to either pain or pleasure, but do not produce the sensations by themselves. However, Hedonists are only concerned with pleasure and pain, as these are the only intrinsic values. The distinctive factor that determines a better life from a worse one, is the amount of net pleasure in one’s life. The net pleasure is determined by subtracting the amount of pain in one’s life from the amount of pleasure. Notice that Hedonism only determines better lives from worse ones, not good from bad. To make the distinction between good and bad is an arbitrary decision and cannot be measured through a comparable medium such as net pleasure. Quantitative Hedonism states that quantity and intensity are the only criteria that determine just how good a certain pleasure is. If all pleasures differ only in quantity and duration, then the world in BNW is a dream for hedonists. One’s life in BNW is conditioned to be content and happy with one’s, job, class in life, and the daily schedule of life. This schedule for one’s life never changes and so delivers a maximum amount of pleasure due to being happy and content. High pleasure in BNW also comes from the open sexual relations between people. Basically, it is encouraged from childhood to have as many sex partners as possible, therefore maximizing the amount of pleasure from sex. The drug of choice in BNW is called Soma, and it delivers an amazing feeling without any hangover effect like alcohol. This drug is distributed daily at one’s work to maximize one’s amount of body pleasure. With all of these factors enhancing pleasure, it is also important to state that not much causes pain for one’s life in BNW. There are no personal relationships to cause pain, jobs and education are  given specifically for people, and life is very much planned and repetitive. This repetition is what maximizes the amount and duration of pleasure in BNW lives. In real life, there does not exist anything like the above mentioned pleasures, in either quantity or duration. Therefore, when comparing the net pleasure of a life in BNW to a real earthly life, a hedonist finds that BNW lives have a higher net pleasure, and are thus far better. This is because they in BNW have much more intrinsically good pleasure, and much less disappointment and intrinsically bad events. So, if Brenda refuses to trade her life in order to be conditioned and live a BNW life, then she could not consistently accept hedonism because trading her life would give her a higher net pleasure, and by definition , a better life. Brenda still could accept hedonism if she accepted qualitative hedonism, based on Mill’s distinction between ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ pleasures. According to Mill’s, certain pleasures have a distinct higher value than other pleasures. This can be due to a mere preference for one pleasure over another, with the preferred pleasure having more intrinsic value because it is preferred, and thus more net pleasure. This can also be due preferring higher intellectual ‘mind’ pleasures, as opposed to body pleasures like those in BNW. Mill’s distinction goes hand in hand with qualitative hedonism, which adds quality to the criteria distinguishing pleasure (intensity and duration). Higher quality pleasure are generally thought to be intellectual and creative pleasures as compared to bestial pleasures. Intimate relationships can also be thought of as being a higher quality pleasure. It is not substantial, however, that these higher pleasures merely exist – for a hedonist, these higher pleasure must contribute to a higher net pleasure in life in order to be of value. Since there are absolutely no intellectual or intimate pleasures in BNW, the argument could be made that the intellectual and intimate pleasures in real life give higher net pleasure, and thus a better life. This theory also takes into account the pain that may be caused by relationships or by not attaining certain intellectual milestones. However, the argument can be made that the pleasure derived from these higher pleasures far surpasses any pain caused by them and guarantees a higher net pleasure than any life in BNW. If Brenda adopts this method of thinking, then she could both accept hedonism and still not  want to trade her life for a life in BNW. A qualitative hedonist, in order to consistently believe that actual life is better, must claim that the overall net pleasure one receives in real life is more than the net pleasure one receives in the BNW universe. One must claim that experiences in actual life, including but not limited to intellectual and intimate pleasures, produce more net pleasure than a life of bestial pleasures in BNW. This includes all of the pain and hardships experienced in real life, but not in BNW. The argument is that even with all of this pain, the net pleasure is still higher in real life. This is also what Brenda must adhere to if she wishes to not trade her real life for a conditioned BNW life.

McDonalds Corporation Essay

McDonalds Corporation is the world’s number 1 fast food chain, Richard and Maurice McDonald started this business with a restaurant in San Bernardino California in 1940. Now a days McDonalds serves more than 56 million customers every day. There are more than 30,000 restaurants operated by McDonalds worldwide in which more than 80% are operated as a franchise and less than 20% are owned by company. McDonald’s main selling products are hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, big Mac burgers, quarter pond burgers, tasty burgers and mc flurry’s Company profile McDonalds is the words largest fast food corporation, serving more than 57 million people in 119 countries daily with more than 31,000 restaurants worldwide in which 6,899 are owned by company and 20,499 are operated as franchise and 3,960 are operated by affiliates.Andrew j. McKenna is the chairman of McDonalds Corporation since April 2004, Aprill Harrell Perrine president of blur cross and blue shield of Florida, Jim Dalton vice president of the Dalton agency, Ryan Schwartz the treasurer of Zurich insurances,inc. bill van zante the secretary of McDonalds.â€Å"The corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by franchises, McDonalds revenues grew 27% over 3 years ending in 2007 22.8 billion and 9% growth in operating income to 3.9 billion†. History of Mc. Donalds ‘I m Loving it’ is a tagline known to every segment of the market, from kids and youngsters to the elderly people. McDonalds is a global foodservice industry, which began its operations in the 1940’s. The concept of McDonalds was introduced by Dick and Maurice McDonald, by opening a ‘hamburger stall’ in San Bernardino, California. They introduced an idea of selling their food cheaper than competitors by persuading customers to go to a counter to order their food. This concept helped in faster turnaround of the customers. This innovation proved successful and popular among the customers. They focused on burger cooking as a production line. The staff of McDonalds were committed to one task at a time. When Mr. Ray Kroc came across a McDonalds burger, he had never seen so many people served so quickly. He was quite impressed by the speed of service that they used in catering their customers. Kroc suggested that open more outlets of their stall, but they refused as they were quite busy with their own store and were not in a position to open any other store. Kroc volunteered to run a new outlet himself, by paying them royalties for using their concept of business. The McDonald brothers agreed and a new McDonalds retail outlet was opened, which was a franchisee. Kroc was a person with aggressive and risk taking attitude. He realized that small things were often valued more by customers than some of other things. He introduced a concept of Cleanliness in his store. He termed cleanliness not only a symbol of hygiene but it also showed its customers that the business cared about details. He started growing his business and started giving franchises to other people. With the help of Ted Turner, Kroc visioned that the key success of McDonald’s expansion was to offer franchises. The major domestic growth of McDonald’s in USA began in 1960’s, as there was a demand of cheap takeaway food. Through the franchise concept, McDonald’s made a move toward worldwide success. Today the Company operates in more than 117 countries worldwide, serving more than 50 million customers per day. The company’s retail outlets are either owned by the company or by franchisees. The company focuses on delivering high quality and value to its customers through its services, product range and constant quality check of its products The Success Factors How did the chain grow from a single restaurant into the massive corporation it is today? There are three characteristics that stand out about the success of McDonald’s: consistency, innovation and resiliency. Consistency It doesn’t matter if you’re visiting a McDonald’s in South Africa or Zimbabwe, you’re going to have a similar experience wherever you are. This highlights Ray Kroc’s vision for McDonald’s from the beginning. â€Å"Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value† was Kroc’s motto. His belief in this motto was so strong he went on to found a training school. Consistency, of course, is the key factor in any franchise Customers know what to expect and can take comfort in that knowledge when making a decision on where to eat. McDonald’s success came from customers expectations of producing food at a quick pace. Innovation You can tweak your product without causing disruptions, and potentially better serve your customers. Innovation comes from responsiveness to customers needs or wants. For example, in 1975 a group of potential McDonald’s customers had a problem: at that time, soldiers in a certain places weren’t allowed to get out of their cars while wearing their uniforms. After learning this problem, McDonald’s came up with a solution: add a drive-thru. Resiliency Many of the challenges McDonald’s has faced over the years are related to health concerns, particularly related to children. In response to these concerns, McDonald’s formed the Global Advisory Council (GAC) in 2004. The GAC is an international team of independent experts assembled by McDonald’s to provide us with professional guidance in the areas of nutrition and children’s well-being. In spite of these controversies, McDonald’s ranked in the top 10 overall, and number one in food services, in CNNMoney.com’s survey of the World’s Most Admired Companies for 2011. Mission & Values McDonald’s brand mission is to be the customers favourite place, way to eat and drink. Their worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, that centres on an amazing customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. They are committed to continuously improving their operations and enhancing their customers experience. McDonald’s Values †¢They place the customer experience at the core of all that they do. †¢They are committed to their people. †¢They believe in the McDonald’s System. †¢They operate their business ethically. †¢They give back to their communities. †¢They grow their business profitably. †¢They strive continually to improve. Sustainability From the start, they’ve been committed to doing the right thing. Their sustainability efforts ensure that their business practices and policies continue their rich heritage of making a positive impact on society. McDonald’s footprint is significant. So too are the opportunities and expectations. With approximately 1.8 million employees working for McDonald’s and over 5,000 franchisees, thousands of committed suppliers and the more than 69 million customers who visit us every single day in 119 countries, we can use our scale, scope and talent to make a positive difference in the world. Together for good.

Depend on business plans you analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Depend on business plans you analysis - Essay Example The outline given in the textbook on how to write a business plan has the following segments; Objectives, budget, income statement, cash flow, balance Sheet, Break even analysis, examples, and a summary. These two companies’ business plans have different elements compared to the outline given in class. The only common elements were the costing and the financial analysis. However, there are varied differences with the Ford Motor Company and AMREF business plans. The business plan by AMREF has an executive summary that has a description of the companies plan. An introduction, the mission, and values of the company follow. The partnership descriptions, strategic fundraising, strategic directions, management of the business planning process, monitoring, evaluation and costing are the elements in the plan. On the other hand, the Ford Motor company business plan has an introduction that contains main aspects of the company, its aims, and policies. It has an analysis of the current business environment and its viability plan. The last aspect in the plan is a summary of the issues raised in the plan and responses to questions that had been raised. The style used in the business plan is the official recommended style of writing. In the two online sources, they capture background information about the company, the vision, and objectives. It also contains the business details of the company, services, and products, and financial analysis of the company. The two plans have been written using first pronoun and no cited references. A convincing business plan must be official, written in first-person and in cases where information is outsourced it should be well referenced. The details of a business plan are critical. The way the details have been presented should be in an organized, flawless, and systematic way. This is essential if the plan is to be

Academic Environment in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Academic Environment in the United States - Essay Example The three groups: the Woodson Foundation, a nonprofit organization; the Washington D.C. public schools system; and the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE), which act as a representative for parents on behalf of the PTA; concurrently enjoin to achieve the ultimate objective of improving academic outcome. The structure of the case study is clear-cut and straight forward. The discourse would initially present a brief summary of the background information crucial for greater understanding of the triumvirate’s thrusts. The roles and each organization were emphasized to give credence in supporting their commitment and interest in achieving a unified goal. In addition, a development team with selected team members or candidates to oversee the progress of achieving the defined goal was presented. The team is composed of representatives from the three associations: two from the Washington D.C. public school system, two from Woodson Foundation, two parents and one social worker to provide balance representation. A summary of problems was eventually determined with effective methods recommended for resolving conflicts that would likely arise.

Consider theoretical interpretations of the 'uncanny' in relation to Movie Review

Consider theoretical interpretations of the 'uncanny' in relation to the British film THE WICKER MAN andor DON'T LOOK NOW - Movie Review Example For Freud, then, this is the origin of the terror that has come to be associated with things that are 'uncanny'. It should be clear from the above that, if we are to apply the notions of the uncanny to the horror film genre, then we must be quite precise about which theoretical formulation of the uncanny we are to apply. If we are to follow Jentsch's lead, and suppose that the uncanny arises purely from a cognitive lacuna, an absence knowledge, then we could say that the uncanny is utilized by almost every example of horror film. Horror relies on the unknown to create its atmosphere of terror; for example, it relies on the audience not knowing precisely when the ax-wielding murderer is about to leap out from behind the sofa. But surely this kind of scare is not precisely the same as a feeling we can call 'uncanny'. Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street may be very effective in making us scream (as too, I suppose is Scream), but we do not exit the cinema with a residual feeling of uneasiness that one might call 'uncanny.' As such we must come to the same conclusion that Schneider does in his st udy of the uncanny in film horror: "since not every monster that successfully instills in us a sense of horror or uncanniness is 'categorically interstitial,...incomplete, or formless,' cognitive threat could not be a necessary condition of uncanny feelings." In other words, we should turn to Freud's work and accept that the concept of the uncanny includes an element of repression, that this particular type of fear arises only when something we have repressed begins to make its influence felt once more in the forefront of our consciousness. If we do so, then the examples available to us from film history become much less common, and we must narrow our field down to the few that display a more subtle talent for terror. Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now and Robert Hardy's The Wicker Man, are two such works and, something that is hardly coincidental, are both considered cinematic greats of the horror genre. Their critical acclaim stems, in part, from their ability to create unease, as well as outright terror. They work on the level not just of film aesthetics, but of psychical processes. Before I begin our discussion of the two films in question, it may be helpful to orientate them in relation to Freud's seminal 1919 work, "The Uncanny". As we have already discussed, the point where Freud parts company with Jentsch is on the origin of the feeling of the uncanny. After an exhaustive study of the definition of the word un-heimlich in German, Freud comes to the conclusion that its meaning has evolved in such a way that, as well as meaning something that is un-homely (i.e. something untamed, frightening), it is also something that "ought to has remained hidden but has come to light" (156). It is also (and here Freud analyzes

Hewlett-Packard Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hewlett-Packard - Coursework Example In line with this merger, many have stated that this endeavor is both beneficial to the company. Upon analyzing the performance of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq as separate entities, these two are making waves for their markets specifically those of IT in nature. The merging of the company created a US$ 19 Billion value of the company, which signaled a big boom in the financial markets with high hopes and expectations regarding the company's operation formed by two IT giants. The company's future undertakings made me more interested in this study. The website www.news.com, also cited that this company would dictate a whopping 81% share in the US PC Market. One question was still unsettled, " will this merger eliminate all doubts and speculations during the negotiations of these giants to merge" Making profit out of the production if we are to deal with the IT industry is not the main goal of it nor it would justify the productivity of the company. In this regard, the threat of extinction among the big names in the IT industry is inevitable. The said companies (HP and Compaq) are making profit in this field, however, to compensate the needs of these companies and for them to be stable, they must increase their production above the projected number of these companies in order to compensate the demands and high rising cost of maintaining an IT company. To add to that, competitors like DELL, IBM, Toshiba, Sony and Sun Microsystems are some of the many competitors who divides the market of HP and Compaq. These premises made HP and Compaq decide to join forces in order to dominate the IT world. There are numerous mergers in the IT industry, which these mergers were intended to dominate the Market, wherein the common thinking during that time is " the survival of the fittest." Below is the timetable of the merger of these two companies. Table A Due to rising competition among different It companies, merger seems to be only option left fro the market of the company to expand and survive. REASONS FOR THE MERGER: Dealing with IT market is a great task to deal with. Innovations and related strategies is an important component to fare with other activities that are dominated by some firms. To further analyze the problem, it is essential to know different components concerning this. There are main reasons on why merger took place regarding the merger of the said companies. 1) Servers- Perhaps this is the main reason on why competitions in the IT industry is a though thing to deal with. Market leaders in this sector are the HP Alpha 9000 series servers with UNIX playing a dominant role as well. Other noteworthy firms in this sector are IBM and Dell but they are far behind from HP. Compaq is not a factor in this sector. 2) The rise of digital gadgets- Printers, Scanners and Digital cameras is indeed dominating the world of technology. In this regard, innovations concerning these gadgets are fast rising and these challenges are among the main reason of being obsolete from these things compared with the products and services offered by these two companies. 3) IT Services- The importance of this kind of service play a vital role not only in the World of technology, but the business world who needs it badly which is their primary

Gun control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun control - Research Paper Example The basis of the gun control debate lies squarely at the feet of the 2nd amendment. Created in 1791, the 2nd amendment states: "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed". The purpose of the 2nd amendment was to allow individual states to form their own militias to protect themselves and their country in the event of an attack from outside sources. Such an amendment was deemed necessary by the founding fathers due to the fact that the Revolutionary War had ended several years earlier, and by necessity, civilian men (and at times boys) needed to take up arms as a matter of defense. During the civil war, African American men were also called upon to join militias in an effort to defend the South from the invading Union soldiers. After the Civil War ended, there was much debate on whether the freed slaves should still be permitted the right to bear arms as a means of protection for themselves and their assets. The 14th amendment was drafted as a means to quelling the uncertainty surrounding the rights of former slaves in regards to the possession of firearms (Wilson 163). ... The 1856 Supreme Court decision in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford denied African Americans the right to full citizenship. Due to this denial of full rights, African Americans were prohibited from carrying weapons and firearms of any sort. It wasn't until 1866 when the Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress that carrying a firearm became legal for all citizens despite their ethnic background (Wilson 164). Since that time gun control policy has been scrutinized for various reasons, but none stemming from racial or ethnic bias. Gun Control Policy 1900-2008 Since the year 1900, there have been reviews of gun control policy in the United States. During the early 1900's, terrorist factions, such as the mafia began to take hold of major cities across the United States. Gun violence was erupting on a daily basis as crime bosses fought their battles to control the streets. Many individuals who were not involved in criminal activity were losing their lives. As a response to the increase in gun violence across the country, the Supreme Court passed the National Firearms act. The National Firearms Act of 1934 imposes an excise tax on those firearms believed to be used routinely in criminal activity (Lott 125). This excise tax was imposed on the manufacturer of the firearm as well as the individual selling the firearm. Guns such as machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns and hand grenades topped the list of those firearms subjected to the increased excise tax. Congress first mandated that guns less than 16 inches would be considered short barreled, and thus subjected to the tax, but in 1960 the National Firearms Act was amended, changing the mandated barrel length to 14 inches (Lott 183). The assassination of several prominent

Evaluation of a Weight-Loss Plan or Program Assignment

Evaluation of a Weight-Loss Plan or Program - Assignment Example SENSA is a product that you sprinkle on your food prior to eating. It works on the concept of smell, triggering the brain that you have had enough and making a person want to eat less. It is advertised as containing no stimulates or diuretics. It is made up of only FDA approved ingredients and is said to keep the food cravings and the feeling of hunger away (http://dm.trysensa.com). One of the concepts is to make bland food taste better making it more appealing for people to eat (www.sciencedaily.com). This is supposed to cause people to eat healthier because SENSA makes the food taste better. The research done on this product, through clinical trials, shows that SENSA users average 30 pounds of weight loss as compared to control groups who only lost two pounds over six months (http://dm.trysensa.com). However, there is some question about the credibility of the study that was conducted. Other researchers question how the participates were selected and the range of weight that was actually lost by the participants (Woolston, 2011). Another concern, stated by Alan Hirsch, MD, the director of the SENSA study, is that the amount of food that the participants ate was not tracked (www.sciencedaiy.com). The program is flexible in that the product can be put on any food that a person wants to eat. It is easily transported, so it can easily fit into the most active person’s lifestyle. It is simple to use in that anyone can sprinkle the product on their food no matter if they are eating at home, at a party, at a business function or at a restaurant. The product itself does not provide variety, but the user can eat any food they want, thus getting all the variety they desire. A downfall to SENSA is that there is not a plan for maintenance after the initial weight los. In fact, no where on the SENSA website promoting their product is maintenance mentioned. Their focus is simply on losing weight, not

Analytical essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analytical - Essay Example It was seven pm and Chris was still at work, after a long wait I decided to go ahead along with my friends. Music was on but was not rocking enough really to dance with joy, seeming as though it was a heart breaking moment leaving another year behind. I took my place at one corner leaving all my friends aside, with a drink in my hand and thoughts wandering in my mind. All my friends had their love by their side, holding one another smiling softly feeling every moment of that night. I wish I had my love too as it was ten in the night. We were done with our dinner, drinks and play. I was unable to pretend any longer, tears just roll off my eyes when I did see flowers showered over my head. Chris grabbed my shoulders to lift me up and wiped off the tears and was sorry to keep me waiting for some time. I just stood by unable to explain how much hard it was to be away from him on this specially arranged night. All I could do was to just lay my head on his shoulder and spend the rest of the night in his arms. The dance floor was on with couples dancing by and when the clock ticked 12 midnight there was the blast of music and crackers all around. Crowd just shouted in a single tone â€Å"Happy New Year 2006† after the count down was done. I turned up to Chris to wish him a bright and prosperous year ahead, but there was something special in store for me tonight. Chris go down on his knees to ask me share his life, this was the moment I started to cry once again but this time the tears were rolling out of joy. Now I see myself by his side unable to believe how these long years just flew. Everything around seems to be the same with all the dazzling stars and the moon shinning to the brightest in the clear

Self analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Self analysis - Essay Example I listen to teachers who give animated stories and real life examples instead of just presenting theories. In retaining what I have learned, I need to make a â€Å"learnable package†. This entails writing notes which have concrete and relevant examples like case studies and applications of principles or abstract concepts. I need to put in several pictures or illustrations. Talking to another â€Å"kinesthetic† learner will also help, as both of us can enjoy remembering details of our experiential learning. The Humanmetrics Test I took yielded an ISTJ profile for me. People who belong to this personality type are described to be ambitious, loyal, responsible, modest, traditional and conventional, sensible, thrifty, careful and wise with both money and possessions. ISTJ people also see projects through to the end and are good time managers. We are considered good and prudent stewards of resources and can be reliable as we make practical and realistic decisions regarding how we spend time and resources. ISTJ people like staying in their comfort zones. We do not have qualms about living in the same neighborhood for a very long time and develop a sense of loyalty, accountability and citizenship to our communities. In terms of learning, ISTJ people possess good memories for specific facts that are relevant and meaningful in their everyday lives. We rely on repeated experiences that have been proven trustworthy. New facts and ideas are accepted if a past experience provides relevance and realism for it. The Belbin Test results imply that I am a creative and thorough worker. I welcome tasks that challenge me to work to high standards. Thus, activities which focus on planning, research, and development would suit me well. The test also suggests that I may perform better behind the scenes than in the spotlight. However, once I have something definite to show for my efforts, then I can be willing

Human Heart Essay Example for Free

Human Heart Essay The human heart is by far one of the most vital organs of the body. It has a mass that ranges from 250 grams to 350 grams. Its contraction and expansion results in 2000 gallons of blood being pumped through the body’s blood vessels per day. It’s located in the middle of the chest protected by the ribcage. Its building blocks are a unique type of muscle known as the myocardium, and it’s enclosed by a double-walled membranous sac known as the pericardium. The double-walled membrane houses the pericardial fluid which cushions the heart preventing shock and nourishing it. It’s divided into four chambers and has a large network of arteries and veins. The chambers are known as the atrium and ventricles. A special kind of muscle called the septum divides the right cavity and the left cavity. Normally the expulsion of blood from one cavity would result in a subsequent amount of blood flowing into the adjacent cavity. The left ventricle is the strongest and largest chamber since its tasked with pumping blood to all parts of the body through the aorta. The right cavity of the heart which is composed of the right atria and right ventricle receives deoxygenated blood from all parts of the body and pumps this blood to the lungs for oxygenation (pulmonary circulation). The left cavity composed of the left atria and left ventricle receives the oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps this blood to all body parts through the aorta (systemic circulation). The heart has four valves that regulate the flow of blood through its chambers. Blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle is regulated by the tricuspid valve. The pulmonary valve regulates blood flowing into the pulmonary artery from the right ventricle. Oxygenated blood from the lungs passes through the mitral valve situated between the left atrium and left ventricle. The aortic valve regulates oxygenated blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta for delivery to the body. One of the greatest threats to the hearts proper functioning and subsequently to a person’s survival is a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when the heart is not able to pump blood effectively due to arteries clogging. Deposition of fatty cells in arteries will lead to their constriction inhibiting the flow of blood leading to a heart attack which is fatal in most cases.

Wal Mart organizational change management analysis

Wal Mart organizational change management analysis Organizational Change Management encompasses all activities aimed at helping an organization successfully accept and adopt new technologies and new ways to serve its customers. Effective change management enables the transformation of strategy, processes, technology, and people to enhance performance and ensure continuous improvement in an ever-changing environment. A comprehensive and structured approach to organizational change management is critical to the success of any project that will bring about significant change. Organizational change is a reality of the modern world, and that reality isnt likely to change anytime soon Organizational change is the implementation of new procedures or technologies intended to realign an organization with the changing demands of its business environment or to capitalize on business opportunities. Organizational change typically encompasses the introduction of new and perhaps unfamiliar processes, procedures, and technologies, which represent a departure from what affected individuals generally view as the established, practical, and familiar ways of doing their work. Thus, at the individual level, change can engender emotions and reactions that range from optimism to fear, including anxiety, challenge, resistance, ambiguity, energy, enthusiasm, helplessness, dread, motivation, and pessimism. Organizational change management is the process of recognizing, guiding, and managing these human emotions and reactions in a way that minimizes the inevitable drop in productivity that accompanies change. WAL-MART AT A GLANCE Wal-Mart, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, is one of the world largest companies by market capitalization and number of people employed and touching millions of customers everyday. There are more than 7,800 Wal-Mart stores and Sams Club locations in 16 markets worldwide and there are more than 2 million associates serving more than 100 million customers per year (About Us, n.d.) It is the largest grocery retailer in the United States with an estimated market share of around 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business. To be able to efficiently operate such a complex operation at such a large and do it consistently would only be possible by the huge effort by Wal-Marts associates as its employees are called. Companys Principle Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) has enjoyed success by adhering to three basic principles since its founding in 1962. The first principle is the concept of providing value and service to our customers by offering quality merchandise at low prices every day. Wal-Mart has built the relationship with its customers on this basis, and we believe it is a fundamental reason for the Companys rapid growth and success. The second principle is corporate dedication to a partnership between the Companys associates (employees), ownership and management. This concept is extended to Wal-Marts Vendor Partners who have increased their business as Wal-Mart has grown. The third principle is a commitment by Wal-Mart to the United States and the communities in which stores and distribution centers are located. Wal-Mart strives to conduct its business in a manner that reflects these three basic principles and the resultant fundamental values. Each of our Vendor Partners, including our Vendor Partners outs ide the United States, are expected to conform to those principles and values and to assure compliance in all contracting, subcontracting or other relationships. Saving people money to help them live better was the goal that Sam Walton envisioned when he opened the doors to the first Walmart more than 40 years ago. Today, this mission is more important than ever to our customers and members around the world. Companys Profile: Wal-Mart: the worlds leading supermarkets. Founded in 1962 by the Walton brothers, former employees of Ben Franklin supermarket, Wal-Mart is now the leading supermarket group in the world. With what has become a real empire of more than 5,300 superstores, supermarkets and stores, Wal-Mart distributes every product we need in life (from food to beauty products, together with clothes, electronics, domestic appliances, sports equipment and so on) whether it be under the Wal-Mart name or under that of SAMs Club, a members-only store dedicated to SMEs and the general public, or that of ASDA in Great Britain. Not to mention its on-line sales service. Originally aiming to set up stores in medium-sized towns in the United States, Wal-Mart has since taken on the international market, from Mexico, Brazil, and Canada to Great Britain, as well as Japan with the 2002 take-over of Seyu, the fifth-placed Japanese supermarket chain, without forgetting Europe with the Great-Britain and the Germany. Companys Mission Through careful search, I have established that Wal-Mart does not officially have a mission statement. In retrospect, the mission statement is its slogan, Always low prices, always! The CEO of the company has said that people are not concerned with their mission statement as much as they are their prices. Companys Structure Sometimes I find myself reading through the court documents for lawsuits filed against Wal-Mart. Usually those documents are filled with a bunch of garbage posing as factual information. Occasionally, though, some interesting information is found. Below is a description of Wal-Marts operating structure which was published in a court document in 2003. The only advantage to reading the text here is that I removed all of the legal cross references and footnotes to make the text readable. The following should be taken with a grain of salt in that this information was produced from an anti-Wal-Mart lawsuit and does not come from the companys official filings. There are a total of 41 regions: 35 Wal-Mart regions and six Sams Club regions. Each region is supervised by a Regional Vice President (RVP), who is based in Bentonville and travels for three weeks out of each month to the region. Because the regional management is based in Bentonville, Wal-Mart has an unusually high concentration of executives and managers based in the Home Office. Each region, in turn, contains approximately eleven districts; each district contains approximately six to eight stores. Each district is run by a District Manager, who lives in the field. The highest level hourly manager at Wal-Mart is Support Manager. The next step up is to management trainee, a four-to-five month program which prepares employees for positions as Assistant Managers. The first salaried management position is Assistant Manager. Each store has several Assistant Managers, varying with the size of the store. The next level is Co-Manager, a position used only in larger stores. The top store p osition is Store Manager, called General Manager in Sams Clubs. The stores contain 40-50 different departments. Companys Vision SAFETY EYEWEAR PROGRAM An estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in American workplaces every day, caused by employees not wearing eye protection or wearing the wrong kind of eye protection for the job. Flying particles, flying or falling objects, or objects swinging from a fixed or attached position (like tree limbs, ropes, chains or tools) are just some of the hazards that lead to accidents. Most people dont realize that an eye can be destroyed in a fraction of a second. The smartest and most effective safeguard against these risks is always wearing suitable eye protection. Many workplaces today are required by OSHA to ensure their employees wear safety glasses meeting the new ANSI Z87.1-2003 standard for personal protective eyewear. OPTI- DIRECT VISION PROGRAM Discover a simple, cost-effective way for your company to provide vision benefits for your employees without the complexities of an insurance vision plan. The Opti-Direct program can mean an average savings of more than $70 per year, per employee in comparison to a traditional vision insurance plan. Companys Characteristics Wal-Mart is almost certainly not an example of pure competition. Pure competition is characterized by a very large number of sellers each with an almost infinitesimally small market share selling a non-differentiated product. Wal-Marts market share is immense (as you stated) and they differentiate their product through branding measures that include everyday low prices, convenient hours, etc. There can be tough competition in every market structure (except monopoly) but that does not mean that the market meets the definition of pure competition. Company Products Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., like most large retail and grocery chains, offers store brands, commonly referred to as house brands or generic brands, which are low-priced alternatives to name brand products. Wal-Mart has numerous store brands, each catering to a different consumer need or desire. Almost all products offered under Wal-Mart brands are private label products, and can be found in almost every category at Wal-Mart. Major Names: Sams Choice: Sams Choice originally introduced as Sams American Choice in 1991, is premium retail brand in food and selected hard goods. Named for Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, Sams Choice forms the premium tier of Wal-Marts two-tiered core corporate grocery branding strategy that also includes the larger Great Value brand of discount-priced staple items. Most Sams Choice beverage products (excluding Grapette and Orangette) are manufactured for Wal-Mart by Cott Beverages. Other products in the line, including cookies, snack items, frozen meals, and similar grocery items are made by a variety of agricultural and food manufacturers. Great Value: Great Value was launched in 1993 and forms the second tier, or national brand equivalent (NBE), of Wal-Marts grocery branding strategy. Products offered at Walmart through the Great Value brand are claimed to be as good as national brand offerings, but are typically sold at a lower price because of minimal marketing and advertising expense. As a house or generic brand, the Great Value line does not consist of goods produced by Wal-Mart, but is a labeling system for items manufactured and packaged by a number of agricultural and food corporations, such as ConAgra, which, in addition to releasing products under its own brands and for Wal-Mart, also manufactures and brands foodstuffs for a variety of other supermarket chains. As Wal-Marts most extensively developed retail brand, covering hundreds of household consumable items, the Great Value line includes sliced bread, frozen vegetables, frozen dinners, canned foods, light bulbs, trash bags, and many other traditional groc ery store products. The wide range of items marketed under the Great Value banner makes it Wal-Marts top-selling retail brand. The new redesign also includes over 80 new items including thin crust pizza, fat free caramel swirl ice cream, strawberry yogurt, organic cage-free eggs, double stuffed sandwich cookies, and teriyaki beef jerky. Walmart changed the formulas for 750 items including: breakfast cereal, cookies, yogurt, laundry detergent, and paper towels. The new brand was tested by over 2,700 people.[1] Other retailers are following suit with their private label packaging as well. MARKETING ENVIRONMENT The Wal-Mart and all of the other actors operate in a larger macro environment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company. There are six major forces Demographic Environment Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation, and other statistics. It is of major interest to marketers because it involves people and people make up markets. Demographic trends are constantly changing. Economic Environment The economic environment of Wal-Mart are those factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns Natural Environment The natural environment involves natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. During the past two decades environmental concerns have steadily grown. Some trend analysts labeled the specific areas of concern were: Shortages of raw materials. Staples such as air, water, and wood products have been seriously damaged and non-renewable such as oil, coal, and various minerals have been seriously depleted during industrial expansion. Increased pollution is a worldwide problem. Industrial damage to the environment is very serious Government intervention in natural resource management has caused environmental concerns to be more practical and necessary in business and industry. Leadership, not punishment, seems to be the best policy for long-term results. Instead of opposing regulation, marketers should help develop solutions to the material and energy problems facing the world. Technological Environment The technological environment includes forces that create new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities. Political Environment The political environment includes laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. Various forms of legislation regulate business. Marketing Strategy of Wal-Mart Wal-Marts marketing strategies are based upon a set of two main objectives that have guided the firm through their growth years. The customer is featured in the first objective; Customers would be provided what they want, when they want it, all at a value. Team spirit was emphasized in the second objective, Treating each other as we would hope to be treated acknowledging our total dependency on our associate partners to sustain our success. I agree with Wal-Marts two main objectives. The customer objective includes giving the customer what they want at a reasonable value. The second objective covers the foundation of the company; its employees. Employees are the basis for success of the company and drive the day-to-day operations. Wal-Marts employees, feeling like associate partners, gives them a feeling of empowerment and pride that drives the companys culture. Wal-Mart has launched successful marketing strategies that considered factors like social and environmental causes.. CHANGE PROCESS IN THE ORGANIZATION Change is a complex process, and also included with a time of anxiety and uncertainty for the workforce. Organizations need to clearly articulate the merits of change and present a clear process for achieving change, if they are to win the commitment and enthusiasm of people. Wide involvement in and communication of the change project can assist with employee understanding of the what and how of change. ORGANIZATION LIFE CYCLE Before planning a management strategy is important to carry out organizational life cycle to identified in which stages the organization are. After analyzing it if identified that Wal-Mart are in Elaboration of structure phase because it ensures Managers seek ways to streamline any excess bureaucracy that has cropped up during the previous phase. Decisionmaking becomes de-centralised, allowing individual departments to get organised along specific product/services lines or projects. Often the need at this phase is to revitalise the organisation. Innovation Fig: 1: The Organizational Life Cycle of Wal-Mart BUSINESS PROCESS TRANSFORMATION MODEL Business process modeling is a technology aimed at modelling business processes and analyzing them with the objective of using the analyses to drive process transformations. Business process modeling tools have underlying capabilities such as simulation that helps business analysts to understand and quantify the impact of different process transformations on process Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Even though business process modeling is widely used, analytic capabilities such as simulation are used to a much lesser degree because developing and running simulation models and interpreting their results is seen as a complicated activity by a majority of business analysts. As a result, many business analysts consider such tools as only suitable for experts in the field and are hampered in unlocking the full potential of business process modelling for identifying and assessing business process transformation options. Hence, there is a need for researching approaches that enable busine ss analysts to use quantitative analysis methods easily towards the overall objective of business process transformation.. Business process transformation is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed Business process Transformation is a top-down approach. It is not about projects carried out in isolation to examine a specific activity. Business process transformation is about looking at entire processes, rather than at specific activities or functions. It also needs to be customer-centric and look at the chain of activities leading to the customer output (whether that is service or product). Wal-marts mission statement: Wal-mart mission is to enhance and integrate our supplier diversity programs into all of our procurement practices and to be an advocate for minority- and women-owned businesses. To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people BEHAVIOURS THAT NEEDED FOR ACHIEVE THE MISSION AND AIM Optimize resource capacities This pattern results in potential reduction of operating costs, by reducing resource capacities in different roles. Optimize resource scheduling policies This pattern results in potential improvement in service and reduction in cost, by refining the scheduling policies governing the allocation of resources to different activities. Combine roles This pattern results in potential reduction in operational costs, by creating new roles in the process, by aggregating multiple existing roles. Change branching probability This pattern results in potential operational improvements, by modifying the probability that a specific branch is chosen by a token. The change in probability may in turn be realized by different means, such as employing improved technologies for managing flows, etc. Introduce business integration solutions, IT (InformationTechnology) systems This pattern results in potential improvement in operating costs, by automating the process using business integration and other information technology STAKE HOLDER ANALYSIS The purpose of stakeholder analysis is to inform the Project Board and Project Manager who should contribute to the project, where barriers might be and the actions that need to be taken before detailed project planning. Key stakeholders of Wal-Mart A Key stakeholder is a stakeholder whose interest in the project must be recognised if the project is to be successful. In particular, those who may be positively or negatively affected during the project or upon successful completion of the project Shareholders The management authority of the BPL Employees Physicians / Doctors Related banks Participants The retailer The distributor Supplier The non key stakeholder A Non-key stakeholder is a stakeholder who does not need to be recognised in order for the project to be successful, but will be identified as s result of the process of identifying all stakeholders Pressure group Taxation authority The Standard testing Institute Local community Political influences International policy SYSTEM MODELING The 7-S-Model The 7-S-Model is better known as McKinsey 7-S. This is because the two persons who developed this model, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, have been consultants at McKinsey Co at that time. Thy published their 7-S-Model in their article Structure Is Not Organization (1980) and in their books The Art of Japanese Management (1981) and In Search of Excellence (1982). The model starts on the premise that an organization is not just Structure, but consists of seven elements: Strategy Actions a company plans in response to or anticipation of changes in its external environment. Structure Basis for specialization and co-ordination influenced primarily by strategy and by organization size and diversity. Systems Formal and informal procedures that support the strategy and structure. Style / Culture The culture of the organization, consisting of two components: Organizational Culture: the dominant values and beliefs, and norms, which develop over time and become relatively enduring features of organizational life. Staff The people/human resource management processes used to develop managers, socialization processes, ways of shaping basic values of management cadre, ways of introducing young recruits to the company, ways of helping to manage the careers of employees Skills The distinctive competences what the company does best, ways of expanding or shifting competences Super ordinate goals These represent the aspirations of the organisation, the beliefs, the principles and aims which should pull it towards success. A shared view of this within the organisation is a powerful competitive advantage for an organisation to develop Resources: Recourses needed for achieving the new markets Established a new plant for production Ensure better quality Set up new marketing channel specially for the international markets New management and trained staff Finance Political support Marketing environment IMPLEMENTATION Implementing the Change A practical understanding of how people and organizations respond to change. This is received by a exporters to understanding how change unfolds helps reduce the amount of unproductive behavior that may accompany the implementation of a new technical solution by reducing the amount of uncertainty involved in change. Reduced uncertainty alleviates surprises and better equips people to focus time and energy on the technical solution. The manner in which change unfolds can be broadly grouped into seven key concept areas. These areas are: Nature. The impact of change on the individual. Process. The typical flow of change. Roles. The positions that are central to change. Resistance. The reactions that accompany change. Commitment. The process by which individuals and organizations align with change. Culture. The organizations past and present ways of doing things and the influence of these behaviours on the change. Synergy. The impact of teamwork on the change. Making Good Decisions Decisions are the alignment of an organizations current and planned changes with the resources available for implementing the initiatives. For an organization to be successful in implementing change, it must ensure that the demands created by its change initiatives do not exceed the organizations capacity for executing the changes. When change demands exceed the organizations capacity for change, key resources become overwhelmed by the number of changes competing for their time. The result is an increase in dysfunctional behavior that detracts energy from the implementation effort and, in many cases, impedes its process. Ensuring adequate capacity for existing and planned change demands generally involves: Inventorying current and planned changes and evaluating them to determine their potential value, impact, and resource requirements. Prioritizing changes according to this evaluation. Determining current capacity to implement changes. Trimming current and planned changes as necessary according to capacity limits. Developing and implementing strategies to increase overall change capacity to expand organizational adaptability. Structured Implementation Architecture: The structured plan for achieving the desired goals through implementation of the perceived change solution. Following a structured, yet flexible, implementation framework reduces errors and oversights and allows a team to proactively address issues that are routinely associated with the failure of organizational changes. Such a structured framework consists of seven phases which, when applied as a system, facilitate successful implementation of an initiative. The seven phases are: Clarification. Development of a comprehensive vision and measurable outcomes that are wholly shared by key leaders. Announcement. Development and execution of a detailed communication plan. Diagnosis. Assessment of critical risks and key levers associated with the change. Planning. Development of comprehensive strategies to mitigate risks and use levers identified in the diagnosis phase. Execution. Implementation of developed strategies. Monitoring. Continuous assessment and augmentation of an implementation sequence. Evaluation. Assessment of a complete implementation sequence, and documentation and transfer of key learnings. Recommendations I feel that Wal-Marts most challenging issue involves the publics resentment. Wal-Mart has wiped out numerous retail establishments (too many to count) and will continue to do so unless stopped. So far, some big box opponents have stopped Wal-Mart from specific expansions but Wal-Mart is definitely fighting back. From Wal-Marts point of view, I think more focus should be spent on global expansion. If specific areas are so against having a Wal-Mart that they pass laws to stop Wal-Mart from building in their area, I think Wal-Mart should stay away. For example, Wal-Mart would have a terrible time expanding into Oakland. I would assume that with the laws that were passed, a great deal of negative press also took place. The time and effort to get a Wal-Mart built in Oakland may not be worth the trouble. This is one of the reasons I feel Wal-Mart should focus on international expansion. There were 1,355 international Wal-Marts in 2004. I definitely feel that expanding this number sounds l ike it could be very lucrative. Another issue facing Wal-Mart is the federal lawsuit regarding sex discrimination. From the numbers quoted in the case study, it sounds as though Wal-Mart is clearly discriminating against females. This is somewhat surprising but will hopefully be fixed. Wal-Mart is very thorough in their strategy, maybe they need to be more thorough and/or detailed in their compensation and incentive policies. Wal-Mart definitely needs to end the discrimination. In order to avoid future discrimination, monitoring of wages and salaries should be established. This is especially true for upper management employees, where females are paid significantly less than males in similar positions. Last, I feel that the compensation and benefits offered to Wal-Mart employees are somewhat of an issue. If only about 60 percent of employees have health coverage (compared to 72 percent in the retail industry as a whole), I think their benefit package needs to be revaluated. The case study claims that the reason many employees did not sign up for health coverage is because they obtained it through a member of their household. Im sure that is the case for some, but not all. Furthermore, Wal-Mart does not pay any health care costs for retirees. I feel that both examples are methods Wal-Mart uses to cut costs and both need to be reconsidered. CONCLUSION Management change in the organization is the key to adopting with new technologies. Though it a complex and continuous process but every organization should practice this new techniques to manage and operate he organization successfully.

Parameter Dependencies: Problems and Solutions

Parameter Dependencies: Problems and Solutions Abstract This masters thesis concerns development of embedded control systems. Development process for embedded control systems involves several steps, such as control design, rapid prototyping, fixed-point implementation and hardware-in-the-loop-simulations. Another step, which Volvo is not currently using within climate control is on-line tuning. One reason for not using this technique today is that the available tools for this task (ATI Vision, INCA from ETAS or CalDesk from dSPACE) do not handle parameter dependencies in a satisfactory way. With these constraints of today, it is not possible to use online tuning and controller development process is more laborious and time consuming. The main task of this thesis is to solve the problem with parameter dependencies and to make online tuning possible. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Volvo technology (VTEC) is an innovation company that provides expert functions and develops new technology for â€Å"hard† as well as â€Å"soft† products within the transport and vehicle industry. Among other things VTEC is working with embedded control systems. For one of the embedded control systems particularly â€Å"Climate Control Module (CCM)†, VTEC is working with the whole chain. VTEC does this for Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Construction Equipment, Renault Trucks and Land Rover. The work process for embedded control system developmet is typically as follows: Control Design Rapid Control Prototyping Fixed-Point Implementation Hardwar-In-the-Loop Simulation Online Tuning. It is an iterative process, but there is one problem for the last step, which limits the possibilities of working iteratively. Control design is typically made in MATLAB/Simulink and Fixed-Point implementation is typically made with a tool such as TargetLink. During these steps the parameters may be handled in an m-file. When going to the on-line tuning step however, the parameters are handled in a tool such as ATI Vision, INCA or CalDesk. Once you have taken this step the connection to the m-file is lost. Therefore the last step is somewhat of a one-way step. It is not completely impossible to go back to the earlier steps in the development chain, but the iterative process is not well supported by available on-line tuning tools of today. The following m-script instructions are examples of parameter dependencies that will cause the mentioned problems: Heating = [ -100, -20, 0, 20, 100 ]; BlowerHt = [ 12, 5, 4, 5, 10 ]; Blower_min = min[ BlowerHt]; Defrosting = [ 0, 20, 100 ]; BlowerDef = [ Blower_min, Blower_min, 10 ]; Using the above vectors in interpolation tables, one table with Heating as input vector and BlowerHt as output vector and another table with Defrosting as input vector and BlowerDef as output vector would cause problems during on-line tuning process. Three of the elements are meant to have identical values, but the tools, as it is today would allow them to be tuned individually. This is just one of many constructs, which may be very useful as long as you are in the MATLAB environment but causes problems during the on-line tuning process. 1.2 Goals and objectives The main goals of this masters thesis are: To investigate the problem of parameter dependencies. To find possible solutions. To make online tuning possible for dependency parameters in the development process of embedded control systems.. 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 EMBEDDED SYSTEMS 2.1.1 History of Embedded Systems In the era of earliest development of computers i.e. 1930-40s, generally computers were capable of doing a single task. Over time with the advancement in technology, traditional electromechanical sequencers presented the concept of programmable controllers using solid state devices. â€Å"One of the first recognizably modern embedded systems was the Apollo Guidance Computer, developed by Charles Stark Draper at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory.†[1] After the early applications in 1960, the prices of embedded systems have come down and their processing power has been increased dramatically. A standard for programmable microcontrollers was released in 1978 by National Engineering Manufacturing Association. This standard was for almost any computer-based controllers for example event-based controllers and single board computers. When the production cost of microprocessors and microcontrollers fell, it became feasible to replace old, big and expensive components like potentiometers and varicaps with microprocessor read knobs. With the integration of microcontrollers, the application of embedded systems has further increased. The embedded systems are being used into areas where generally computers would not have been considered. Most of the complexity is contained within the microcontroller itself and very few additional components are needed. So because of this most effort is in software area.(last sentence is difficult to understand). 2.1.2 Common Characteristics Embedded Systems have several common characteristics. Uni-Functional: Embedded systems are usually designed to execute only one program but repeatedly. For example, an ordinary scientific calculator will always do only calculations. While on the other hand, a laptop computer can execute an enormous number of different programs, like web browsers, word processors, programming tools and video games. New programs or softwares are added very frequently. Tightly constrained: All computing systems have constraints on design metrics, but these constraints can be very tight for embedded systems. A design metric is defined as, â€Å"a measure of an implementations features, such as cost, size, performance, and power†. Embedded systems are often desired to cost just a few dollars, they must be designed for minimum size to fit on a single chip, they must be able to perform fast processing in order to process real-time data, and they must consume minimum power in order to extend battery life or may be to prevent the requirement of a cooling fan. Reactive and real-time: Many embedded systems should be able to continually react to changes in the systems environment. They must also compute certain results in real time without too much delay. For example, a cruise controller in cars have to monitor and react to speed and brake sensors continuously. It must compute acceleration or decelerations repeatedly within quite limited time; a delay in computation of results could result in a fatal failure to maintain control of the car. On the other hand, a desktop computer generally focuses on computations with comparatively infrequent reactions to input devices. In addition, a delay in those computations may perhaps be inconvenient to the user but that does not result in a system failure. 2.2 Model Based Design Model-Based design in short MBD is a mathematical and visual method of addressing problems associated with designing complex control systems. It is used in many industrial equipment designing, automotive and aerospace applications. Here in this thesis our focus is on climate control of new vehicles. This methodology is used in designing embedded software. Embedded software development consists of four steps: Modeling a plant. Analyzing and synthesizing a controller for the plant. Simulating the plant and controller. Integrating all these phases by developing the controller. Model-based design is quite different from the conventional designing method. In this methodology designer use continuous and discrete time building blocks instead of using long and complex software coding. This model based design enables designer to fast prototyping, testing and verification. Along with all these advantages, dynamic effects on the system can also be tested in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation mode. Some important steps in model-based design approach are: By choosing appropriate algorithm and acquisition of real-world system data, various types of simulations and analysis can be performed before producing a real controller. The model produced in step one is used to identify characteristics of the plant model. Then a controller can be made based on these characteristics. Using this model, the effect of time varying inputs can be analyzed. In this way the possible errors can be eliminated and it is very convenient to change and test any other parameters. Last step is deployment. Advantages of model based design compared with the conventional approach are as follows: Model based design provides common design environment which is important for development groups from the view point of general communication and specifically for data analysis and system verification. Model based design enable engineers to detect and correct errors in early phase of development. This is crucial point for minimizing time and financial impact of system. Model based design can be reused later for upgrading and for derivative systems which are capable to expand. 2.3 ECU DEVELOPMENT 2.3.1 Conventional Approach for ECU Development The conventional approach for electronic control unit, ECU, development is summarized in following four steps: Some experienced personal define the functions and system architecture and then the hardware engineer design the hardware circuit. Control engineer design the control algorithms and a programmer generate a handwritten code for that algorithms. Then these control algorithm program codes and hardware are integrated and tested by system engineer or maybe hardware engineer. Then on the engine test bench the complete system is tested. There are few problems with this conventional approach for ECU development. First and very major problem is that the hardware circuits are made before the confirmation of control rules and results. Only this factor adds a big risk in the process of ECU development. Secondly if some error is encountered during the program code testing, it is very difficult to judge whether the error is because of software codes or in the control algorithms. This programming of the control algorithm is itself a very time consuming process and it take additional time when some errors are encountered and the process of debugging. Since many people from different field of work are involved in this process so coordination between them also take time and it makes the development cost to increase. [2] Thats why the conventional development process can not satisfy the demand of modern age and its requirements. 2.3.2 Modern ECU Development On the bases of integrated development environment, the modern development of electronic control units can be efficiently completed and tested. Using model based simulation and hardware-in-the-loop simulation it is very easy and convenient to eliminate software errors and to modify the control algorithms. Due to this the development cost is reduced and development efficiency is improved. This modern development process is called V-cycle development process. This process is illustrated in Ffig. 1. (when you use figures from other publications, you have to get permission from the auther. It is not enough to put a reference) Fig. 1. The V-Cycle of model-based software development. [2] This process is summarized as follows: Using very sophisticated tools like MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow and dSPACE TargetLink, the control algorithms are modeled. These control algorithms are confirmed using off-line simulations. The ANSI C code is produced using code generation tool. The one we are using is dSPACE TargetLink. The code produced in above step is compiled and downloaded into the control module and simulation is done in Hardware-in-the-loop mode, which confirms the credibility of the control algorithms. This tested program code of control algorithms is downloaded into the electronic control unit for further test and modification. Finally calibration of the whole control system is done. 2.4 Universal measurement and Calibration Protocol (XCP) â€Å"XCP is a standardized and universally applicable protocol with much rationalization potential. It is not only used in ECU development, calibration and programming, it is also used to integrate any desired measurement equipment for prototype development, functional development with bypassing and at SIL(define) and HIL(define) test stands.†[16] For calibration and measurements, it is common practice to connect electronic control units in a *CAN* network. For this purpose CAN calibration protocol is used extensively. With increasing demands of more sophisticated controllers, new electronic control units are becoming more and more complex and for that reason new networks are being developed such as, FlexRay, TTCAN etc.(give references) To meet the needs of new networks, the measurement and calibration protocol should be more generalized and flexible. This generalized and flexible protocol is XCP (Universal measurement and calibration protocol). XCP is independent of transport layers. So in XCP, â€Å"X† generalizes the various transport layers that * Details about CAN are provided in Appendix A. are used by the members of the protocol family e.g. [9] XCP on CAN XCP on FlexRay XCP on Ethernet XCP on USB and so on (you have to refere to each figure) Fig. 2. XCP support for different transport layers [10]. 3 PROBLEM INVESTIGATION This chapter will give answers to the following questions: What is parameter dependency problem? What is the effect of parameter dependency problem on tuning of embedded control systems? What are the difficulties to solve the problem at different platforms? Note: All examples used in this report are only for illustration purposes and are NOT the actual parameters used in climate control module of Volvo Cars and Volvo Trucks. 3.1 Complete process for developing embedded control systems The complete process for developing embedded control systems is illustrated in Ffig. 3. First step of this development process is to define parameters and that can be done in the m-file. These parameter values are loaded into MATLAB base workspace from where TargetLink/Simulink model fetches these values to simulate the process. After checking the simulation results and doing some modifications if required, C-code is generated by TargetLink. That C-code contains all the information about the control algorithm and input values. In the next step the auto-generated C-code is compiled using a Green Hills Suite. Fig. 3. Complete Production(rapid prototyping process?) Process. Green Hills software together with GNU Make and VBF converter is used to generate a map file and VBF file (Volvo Binary Format). This vbf file is downloaded in the embedded controller. The map file is used to generate A2L file using TargetLink. This A2L file is required by the calibration tool (for this project ATI VISION is used for calibration) and then using this calibration tool we can do parameters modifications in ECU. These modifications are also called tuning. 3.2 Parameter Dependency As all parameters are defined in a m-file, some parameters depend on the values of some other parameters. It may also be possible that the values obtained as a result of calculation between two or more parameters are used in the definition of other parameters. So, all those parameters which contain some other parameters or calculations of some other parameters in their definitions are called dependent parameters e.g. In above example parameters: Parameter 2 is dependent on parameter 1. Parameter 4 is dependent on parameter 2 and 3. Parameter 6 is dependent on parameter 2 and 3. 3.3 Reasons for introducing parameter dependencies Thinking of parameter dependencies a question may arise in minds that, â€Å"Why do we need to introduce parameter dependencies at the first place?† Answer to this question is that, when designing a control algorithm in a tool such as Simulink, it is convenient to use named parameters (variables) instead of hard coded numbers (constants). For instance, if the highest fan available corresponds to a voltage of 13.5V. Designer may want to have a parameter for this, so that instead of using the value 13.5 at many instances of algorithm, the name of parameter specified for that value can be used. If one day that hardware is needed to be changed and for new hardware 13.4V is the maximum that can be used for highest fan level, then it is easier to change one parameter value rather than changing many hard coded values at different instances. Sometimes it is good to have one parameter depending on another. For instance in a look-up table, there are several values in each vector and these values may depend on other parameters. It would be rather limiting if a vector or a matrix could only contains hard coded numbers. So, the use of dependent parameters helps keeping a good structure in the algorithm. It makes easier to work with the parameters. 3.4 Statistics about parameter dependency There are quite significant numbers of parameters which are dependent on other parameters. For instance in Climate Control P3, total number of parameters is 1618 out of which 227 parameters are dependent on other parameters and 1391 parameters are independent. We call independent parameters as â€Å"Base Parameters†. Fig.4 Percent of Dependent parameters 3.5 Parameter dependency problem in development process To analyze the problem of parameter dependency, lets walk through the development process of embedded control systems and find out what exactly is the problem with parameter dependencies. As the process starts with parameter definitions in m-file, so the investigation starts from m-file, see Fig. 5.. To visualize this process, an illustration with an example of parameter with dependencies in its definition is shown as follows: Fig.5. Example of parameter definition in m-file. After defining all parameters, the m-file is run in MATLAB. In this step all the values of dependency parameters are evaluated by MATLAB and are loaded into MATLAB base workspace. Precisely during this loading process the dependencies are replaced by their values and any information about the relation of a parameter with dependency parameter is lost. Fig.6. Dependency loss in MATLAB base workspace. As now the dependency information is lost, so this loss will propagate through all the further steps, for example in C-code generation, A2L file and in strategy(?) file. Following F fig 7. shows that the propagation of dependency information loss. So in C-code there is no information with the help of which we can trace dependency parameters. Fig.7 Propagation of dependency loss from MATLAB to C-code. 3.6 Effect of parameter dependencies on development process The problem caused by parameter dependencies comes to the surface during the calibration step. During calibration the values of parameters are tuned. When the information of parameter dependencies is lost, then we have to tune each parameter value individually. This is shown in the Ffollowing fig 8. Fig.8. Effect of dependency loss on development process. So if a parameter is used, for instance, in the definitions of five different parameters, then we have to tune the value of that parameter at those five locations individually. If there is any calculation involved in any parameter definition, then we must do it manually and update the value. This process of changing values manually is very time consuming and error prone. There is another possibility that to avoid doing these calculations and tuning parameter values individually. We can change the parameter values in the original m-file, where we have all parameter definitions and repeat the complete process again. This is very laborious work and it also takes a lot of time, so this possibility is not so feasible. 4 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS As the complete process for developing embedded controllers is a multistage process and it depends on four highly sophisticated software platforms. So there can be different approaches to solve the dependency information loss. Following are the possible platforms for doing modifications in order to handle the dependency loss problem. MATLAB TargetLink model C-code Calibration tool Separate windows application Following is the in depth analysis of above mentioned platforms and possibility of finding a feasible solution. 4.1 Parameter dependencies and MATLAB When m-script, containing all parameter definitions, is run in MATLAB, all parameter values are evaluated and stored in MATLAB base workspace. Right at this first step dependency information in m-script is lost. The Rreason of this loss is that MATLAB base workspace support values belonging to only one class type. That can be â€Å"char†, â€Å"double†, â€Å"struct† or any other class but the values can not belong to a mixture of two or more class types, i.e., values cannot consist of two elements of an array belonging to â€Å"char† class and other elements of array belonging to â€Å"double† class.(I guess that a struct can consist of chars as well of doubles) Fig.9. Supported Class types in MATLAB base workspace. In our case of parameter dependency for example, we have an array of eighth elements. Second element and eighth element of our example array are names of some other parameters, so these names belongs to char class and rest of elements of that array are numerical values belonging to double class. So MATLAB evaluates the values of dependency parameters and replace all names with their corresponding values and our dependency information is lost. Although there is a function in MATLAB called â€Å"eval† and this function can be used instead of dependency parameter name but this does not solve our problem because this function will evaluate the values of those parameters and eventually its the value of parameter which is updated in the base workspace and dependency information is still filtered out. Moral of the story is that we can not do anything in MATLAB to save our dependency information until unless MathWorks do some changes in MATLAB so that base workspace would be able to support values belonging to different classes in same definition. 4.2 Parameter dependencies and TargetLink In TargetLink we can use custom lookup tables and we can include custom code. Let us suppose for a moment that by adding these custom lookup tables and using some extra blocks we manage to introduce lost dependency information in TargetLink model. But when TargetLink will generate C-code, most probably it will evaluate all those values and resulting values will be included in C-code. There are two reasons for this behavior of TargetLink: First reason is that, TargetLink work inside MATLAB so all the calculations are done in MATLAB and we face the same problem as described previously. Second reason is that, dSPACE claims that TargetLink generates C-code in the most efficient way, because this C-code is flashed into controller in binary format, so it is the maximum effort of TargetLink to keep C-code as small as possible because of the limited memory of ECU and demand of high operational speed. So TargetLink does not generate extra variables and pointer in C-code until unless some significant changes are done in TargetLink by dSPACE. 4.3 Parameter dependencies and C-code C-code generated by TargetLink can be modified and it is possible to add any kind of extra information but there are two reasons which make this possibility impracticable. First reason is that, this C-code will be flashed into ECU and there is very limited memory in the control unit and bigger C-code will result into a less efficient embedded controller. Second reason which makes this possibility impracticable is that. iIt requires a lot of manual labor every time we change something. This is also error prone. 4.4 Parameter dependencies and Calibration tool In calibration tool like ATI VISION, there is an option to use script written in Vision scripting language or in Visual basic. Instead of doing manual calibration we can automate calibration using the script. In our case, we have matrices with dependencies. So in order to do calibration using thescripting option we have to write function for doing matrix calculations and then that script must be able to evaluate dependencies according to new values. So this option is not so feasible. 4.5 Separate windows application After analyzing all possibilities only one option is left. That is to develop a separate windows application which will extract dependency information from m-script, calculate the values of dependency parameters according to the values tuned in calibration tool and will implement those new values of dependencies back in calibration tool. 5 SELECTED SOLUTION After analysis of all possible solutions, it is deducted that the most feasible solution to the dependency loss problem is a separate windows application which: Extracts dependency information from m-file. Gets tuned parameter values from calibration tool. Calculates all values corresponding to those tuned parameter values. And implements updated values of dependency parameters back in calibration tool. 5.1 Reasons for selecting this solution Among other solutions we have selected development of â€Å"separate windows application†, as a feasible solution. Major reasons for selecting this solution are as follows: Selected solution which is developing a separate windows application does not need any modification of present softwares. This solution is fast, no extra licenses are required for this and it works just according to our requirements. If we choose any solution which includes modification in software tools, then that involves the involvement of tool makers. That process of convincing toolmakers to modify their software according to our requirements and if they agree then the process of developing and releasing new version of software may take very long time. Tool makers would charge a great sum of money to make specified changes or for making an add-on application for the softwares. 5.2 Overview of solution The solution is an application named â€Å"Dependency Calibrator†. It works in two steps. In the first step the m-file is parsed and the information of dependency parameter along with their location in parent parameter areis extracted and rearranged in a way that it can be used in the second step that is calibration. During the second part of the process, first of all the application will import data from VISION so that if user has tuned any value in calibration tool, that data will be updated in MATLAB and then the application will do calculations in MATLAB after that new values obtained as a result of those calculation will be updated again back to VISION. This cyclic process from VISION to MATLAB and back to VISION will update parameter values. If user has changed values which was used by other parameters, those new values will be updated on all locations where they are used. This is shown in the following figFig. 10.. Fig. 10. Overview of solution. The application â€Å"Dependency Calibrator† is divided into two parts. Parser Calibrator Detailed explanation of how this application isn working is as follows. 5.3 Required Softwares Parser works without any requirement of external software but in order to run â€Å"Calibrator† following softwares must be installed on your system: MATLAB R2007b ATI VISION 3.5.3 MATLAB is automatically launched by the application but make sure to launch ATI VISION before you use â€Å"Calibrator† part of â€Å"Dependency Calibrator† application. 5.4 Project file Project file is a key to control the â€Å"Dependency Calibrator† application. Instead of using hard coded paths for different files used in this application, an option is given to the users to select their desired locations. These locations can be specified in a separate file which is named as project file. In this project file the instructions can be given after certain tags. One must be very careful because these tags should not be altered. While user inputs can be given after the symbol â€Å"@†. â€Å"Dependency Calibrator† application is in fact capable of handling multiple m-files and multiple c-files. Directory path for these files can be specifies in project file. Project file contains following tags: VISIONs Device Name @ : After this tag, name of the hardware device which is used in the VISION device tree, should be given. For example, VISIONs Device Name @ PCM Or VISIONs Device Name @ CCM Path of m File @ : After this tag the full path for m-file should be given. If number of m-files is more than one, then this tag followed by file path of those m-files should be given on a new line. Parser will read all these files and will merge them into one file. For example, Path of m File @ C:FolderNamesubFolderFile_Name.m Path of m File @ C:FolderName2subFolder2File_Name2.m Root directory for c files @ : In general practice c files can be generated in different folders but their root directory remains same. So in order to avoid repeating same address and to minimize the chances of error this tag is introduced in project file. So after this tag path of root directory for c files should be specified. Please note that there should be no â€Å"† at the end of root directory path. For example: Root directory for c files @ D:ABC_XYZsubFoldersubSub Folders containing c-files @: After this tag the names of folders which contain c files should be specified. If there are more than one folder containing c files then those folders names should be added after a comma â€Å",†. The parser will then search these folders for all c files contained in them. For example: Folders containing c-files @ FolderMedCfiles,subFoldercFolder Root Output Directory @: This tag should be followed by the path for required location where the user wants the application to generate all files. For example: Root Output Directory @ C: Extra File for calibrating non-calibratable parameters @: After this tag, there should be the path for the file containing names of those parameters which are not calibratable but they are desired to be calibrated in VISION. Those names should be exactly the same as defined in m-file, followed by underscore â€Å"_† and followed by any desired word or character. For example: Extra File for calibrating non-calibratable parameters @ C:ExtraParNames.txt 5.5 Parser The F first part of the complete dependency calibration process is the parser. When â€Å"Parser† is executed, a window appears showing two options, â€Å"Load Project Fil

Significance of Pericles Death Essay -- Ancient Greece Greek History

Significance of Pericles' Death The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war. As can be expected from pioneer governmental institutions, Athenian democracy was not perfect. In fact it was far from it. It resulted in the establishment of poor policies by aggressive populists who sought "...private ambition and private profit...which were bad both for the Athenians themselves and their allies." (Thucydides). These self interested populist leaders with personal gain in mind established extensive internal political instability "...by quarrelling among themselves [and] began to bring confusion into the policy of the state." (Thucydides). Repeated opportunities to accept terms of peace after the battles of Pylos (425), Arginusae (406) and Aegospotami (405) were ignored by the inefficient Athenian demos eventually resulting in the devastation of the once dominant city-state. Internal political strife can also be attribu... ...ericles had lived, he may have actually hindered Athenian attempts to find some way out of the stalemated war." (http://www.warhorsesim.com/epw_hist.html). Pericles' death was significant. The Athenians had lost one of their greatest leaders. But even if the policies of Pericles had not been abandoned by the feeble Athenian democracy, the cost of the war would have proved too great and thus Athenian defeat was inevitable. It was a series of consequential events, spurred on by democratic failure, not one key turning point, that resulted in the decisive defeat of the Athenians by the Peloponnesians, with the aid of Persia. Because of democratic fickleness, with or without Pericles the Athenians were doomed for defeat, and therefore the death of Pericles was not the key turning point, rather it was only a factor which determined the length of the Peloponnesian War.

Hard as a Rock Writing :: Writing Technology Technological Papers

Hard as a Rock Writing Can anyone ever create a â€Å"new† writing technology from items found in nature? Is it possible to â€Å"invent† something to write with and on that had not been thought of in the past? These were the questions I pondered as I sat outside my house wondering what to do for my â€Å"Invent Your Own Technology† project. At first, I thought I would somehow distill the pollen from the daffodils growing in my front yard. Then I wondered, â€Å"What could I use to write on with my new yellow â€Å"ink†? How long would it last? And what could I write with?†. After that I explored the idea of binding twigs together with weeds and creating letters. I could create a portable alphabet this way. Then again, without a permanent base to affix my letters to, they would scatter with the wind. After yesterday’s wind, I am glad I decided against that idea. Finally, after much deliberation and searching in my yard, I came upon a lasting idea. I was sitting in the grass and suddenly spotted a very sharp stone. â€Å"If only I could find something to etch my words into†, I mused. It was then that I came across a much larger, dark, flat stone. Then I experimented. Indeed, I could use one stone to â€Å"write† on the other stone. The idea was simple. It was almost too simple. My initial questions rushed back to me. Certainly, this writing technology was not new. However, anything I could think of would not be new. It might be a new use of materials for me, but ultimately, somewhere, someone at one time or another has thought to use flowers for ink, dried reeds for parchment, a stick as a stylus, and stones to carve words on to other stones. Even as a child, I remember using shells to write words and draw pictures in the sand at the beach. Suddenly, what to write became the focus of my internal debate. Then I remembered Mark Twain reminiscing, in his article â€Å"The First Writing Machines† about sitting at his typewriter typing over and over, â€Å"The boy stood on the burning deck† (501). Could it be that the technology suddenly became more important then the content of Twain’s writing? Was it the same for me, only in reverse? The technology was so simple; I was at a loss for words.

Female managers at Nagel

One of the most important issues concerning the workforce at Nagel Partners is its gender demographic. The proportion of male to female employees is approximately even at the lower levels. However, the number of female role models available to these women employees is disproportionately low, amounting to only about 10% at the executive levels. Nagel Partners’ executives have expressed concern about the profitability of training more female employees to fill managerial and executive positions, and this concern is justified. However, it would prove very beneficial to this firm to embark on such a training scheme, since many women do tend to give out their best performance under situations that are generally different from those that male leaders and managers are able create. One of the major divisions in leadership type is between task-oriented (production-oriented) and relationship-oriented (employee-oriented) leaders. While a task-oriented leader tends to focus on the accomplishment of production goals, relationship-oriented leaders are foremost concerned with the well-being of their subordinates (Lewitz & Bem, 1983). However, once the task has been accomplished, the task-oriented leader is usually better able to focus on relationships. The opposite is true for relationship-oriented leaders, who are able to facilitate the optimal completion of tasks once it has been established that needs of subordinates (or of the group) have been met (1983). In a firm like Nagel Partners, which focuses on a predominantly task oriented job (accounting), task orientation is a necessity. However, considering that employees are human beings, a holistic look at management would warrant the inclusion of a more relationship-based orientation. The type of leader that a woman will prove to be (whether task- or relationship-oriented) may have an impact on her performance as a manager. Though this cannot be considered true in all instances, women have generally been perceived as being more relationship-oriented than men (â€Å"Masculine and Feminine,† 2005). This has also been seen by many as having the ability to affect productivity as a manager in a task-oriented firm. However, in a firm with such a large population of valuable women workers as Nagel Partners, it can be seen that women do have the capability to perform tasks well. Furthermore, it has been stated by several leadership researchers that leaders who are relationship oriented lead divisions that perform as well as those of leaders who are task-oriented (2005). One of the keys behind this is the fact that relationship-oriented leaders are capable of creating an atmosphere in which tasks can be performed at optimal levels (2005). Since women generally have a natural proclivity toward being relationship oriented (â€Å"Masculine and Feminine,† 2005), then the need for such a leader might be considered to be very large at Nagel Partners. Females workers trained to occupy leadership positions are likely to have a positive effect on the productivity of their female subordinates, as they have a natural inclination toward creating the atmosphere in which these persons can produce their best work. Training would, however, likely be necessary in an effort to increase these female managers’ tendency toward the more task-oriented goals of giving directions to and setting standards for employees. The ability for employees to identify with those in leadership positions is also an important component in a manager’s power or influence with employees. The large proportion of women on the payroll at Nagel Partners would allow for increased identification, were more women to be trained and placed in managerial and executive positions. Despite this fact, it has also been shown that many females have trouble subordinating men (Lewitz & Bem, 1983). Some women may have an innate problem with this, while others might come across male employees who are reluctant to behave subordinately toward a female manager. Since as many men as women work at Nagel Partners, training is necessary to improve prospective female managers’ ability to relate well to both sexes. This is an especially good idea since it has been shown that training has the ability to transform less assertive women by increasing their assertiveness in given situations. Women were able to increase the efficacy of their performance in mixed-sex groups as a result of such intervention (1983). Therefore, training women to become managers in this firm would prove beneficial. One possible challenge to be faced by increasing the number of female managers is that in the workforce culture of the United States, masculinity as a leadership type seems to be generally given a higher value. First of all, this operates under the assumption that achievement and assertiveness are masculine traits. While this is not always the case, when training female leaders, considerations should be made regarding methods of enhancing (or, if need be, instilling) those attributes. The fact that these women will be leading other women makes any inherent femininity traits an invaluable leadership tool. However, the fact that these women would also be leading men makes it necessary that those who do not already possess masculinity traits be trained in that area. All these factors would make the training of female managers very beneficial to Nagel Partners. References â€Å"The ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ sides of leadership and culture: perception vs. reality.† (2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leadership and Change. October. U. of Penn. Retrieved on February 23, 2007 from Lewittes, H. J. & S. L. Bem. (1983). â€Å"Training women to be more assertive in mixed-sex task-  Ã‚   oriented discussions.† Behavioral Science. 9(5), 581-596.