Jit in Indian Automobile Industry

INTRODUCTION Just In Time: The traditional concepts of Quality and customer satisfaction have been challenged in the recent years. Customer choices and perceptions have also been changing continuously. Japanese manufacturers were the first to meet these challenges by introducing many innovations in manufacturing systems and management, one of which is the philosophy of â€Å"Just in Time†. Just-in-time (JIT) refers to a collection of practices that is designed to eliminate waste and achieve manufacturing excellence. These organizational practices encompass the entire logistics flow of materials from purchasing through production and distribution. The elements of JIT may include shared product design with suppliers and customers, movement toward single sourcing, proximate suppliers and customers, reduced set-up times, preventive maintenance, reliance on analytic tools to identify sources of defects and plant optimization layout (re)configurations, among others Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing systems have attracted the attention of industries all over the world. The perceptible impact of JIT lies in attaining productivity and quality standards. The real challenge before Indian managers is to establish priorities among potential JIT techniques to achieve best possible advantage of JIT implementation in Indian industries.. With the variety of products on offer increasing with customization and evolving customer needs, it is but important that a manufacturing facility embraces the advantages of JIT in making the operations lean and flexible. Indian Automobile Industry: India currently has approximately 40 million vehicles. In February 2009, monthly sales of passenger cars in India exceeded 100,000 units. Current low penetration, rising prosperity and the increasing affordability of private vehicles along with importance to exports offer a healthy prospectus for the Indian automobile industry. (Source: http://www. kpmg. de/docs/Auto_survey. pdf) Several Indian automobile manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra, have expanded their domestic and international operations. India's robust economic growth led to the further expansion of its domestic automobile market which attracted significant India-specific investment by multinational automobile manufacturers. Due to strong Global competition Indian companies started focusing on adopting new techniques and technologies which enabled manufactures to improve their processes and products JIT IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY OF OTHER COUNTRIES Many countries have got leverage by implementing JIT techniques in their respective automobile industries. Peter Turnbul, [1] analyzes the trends in the UK automotive industry during the 1980’s, giving special focus to the adoption of JIT and TQM principles. This includes development from within the organization and relations between suppliers. Also the implications of adopting Japanese techniques on Information systems have also been looked into. It was found out in the study that Japan was way ahead of UK and US in terms of productivity and Quality in the cars manufactured due to successful implementation of JIT and TQM techniques and US and UK companies are gradually bridging this gap. Bo Hou, [2] conducted a research on the benefits and difficulties faced in implementing JIT for an automotive company in China. An international automotive company with factory located in China was taken for the Case study, examining the pre and post JIT implementation experiences. In order to collect data Semi-structured interviews were organized. Most interviewee’s support that proper design of information systems could assist JIT systems. According to the interviews, Kanban is a primary management method in the case company’s JIT model. It was found after the interviews that inventory can be maintained at a reasonably low level. Performance indicators have been employed to examine the achievement of suppliers in quality, on-time delivery etc. , in order to encourage suppliers to participate in the JIT program. JIT IMPLEMENTATION IN INDIA Several Indian companies have initiated JIT implementation into their systems or are claiming to have implemented many key features if JIT. While studying the implementation of JIT in India the following factors have to be considered. 1) Size of the firm ) Indian economy (only opening up in early 1990’s) 3) How MNC’s having manufacturing operations in India are Implementing JIT In a Survey of JIT practices conducted by Mahadevan[3], Questionnaires were sent to 400 companies but only 43 of them responded usefully. Fourteen critical factors were identified and participating organizations were asked whether these factors were important for JIT implementation in their firm s. Quality circles and cellular manufacturing have been rated low while TQM was rated very high. Vikas Kumar [4], explains the interrelationship between the different JIT elements. According to him the elements of JIT important to India are Buffer stock removal, Cellular manufacturing, Kanban and Error prevention Garg D [5] conducts a case study in JIT implementation of an Indian tractor assembly. It started implementing JIT purchasing in the mid 1980s. Initially, the company received discouraging results in almost all the areas for several years. Later on everything was streamlined and management began achieving significant results in terms of reductions in inventory, material movement, space, manpower, work in process and lead time, and an increase in productivity and quality. It can be said that in spite of old machinery, the company is sustaining its competitiveness in the tractor market by applying JIT. Vikas [6] conducted a survey on 34 Indian firms with the aim to find: 1) Those elements of JIT that might be difficult to implement in Indian Industry. These have been found to be Buffer stock removal, Error prevention, Frequent and reliable delivery, Kanban system, Multi functional worker, short lead time, Small lot size, Zero defect etc. ) Reason for slow implementation of JIT in India which have been found to be High cost of implementation, Informal and casual Auditing, Lack of support from suppliers, Lack of training, Lack of understanding of JIT techniques, shortage of multi functional workers Garg D [5] explains that the key steps in JIT implementation were: extensive training of employees on pull concepts; identification of key performance parameters; new layouts based on U-shaped cells ( wherever applicable) ; standardization of operations; a mai ntenance plan for each machine; housekeeping; visual control; and multi-skill training. Vikas Kumar [4], Several Indian industries are implementing the JIT with belief that it would be helpful to face the global competition. Yet, its effectiveness would depend upon qualities, attitudes and values of Indian work force. The paper gives focus to work culture of the organization. Some of the elements of work culture desirable for JIT are flexible workforce, Cross training, long term employment, Job enlargement and Labor unions, Work force involvement etc. Benefits Vikas Kumar [4] identified that the Potential benefits of JIT include reduced setup cost, labor cost, and move distances According to Chandra[7] the major benefits of JIT manufacturing system in ascending order are Reduction in inventory, Quality improvement, Increased productivity, Increased profit margin, Improved competitive position. Vikas Kumar [6] Highlights the most expected benefits of JIT which are Improved equipment utilization, improved quality control, worker efficiency, inventory turnover, flexibility, productivity, Profit margin, Team work, Low scrap rate etc Disadvantages of JIT Some of the disadvantages of JIT as highlighted by Vikas [6] are: * Implementation if JIT does not automatically translate to profits as many direct and indirect costs are involved in JIT implementation. Also JIT requires appropriate fit between manufacturing activities, organizational design, processes etc. * JIT programs need continuous check and control for sustained improvement * The timely of delivery of goods is extremely important which might be difficult to achieve in some parts of India * JIT may demand unrealistic commitment from employees. Managerial powers are extended to the workers JIT IN INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY With respect to the Indian Automobile Industry JIT purchasing, a few elements of JIT production and JIT Logistics are given focus in this research paper. Purchasing In industries like the automobiles, where the cost of raw material accounts for almost 50-60% of the cost of the final product, Purchasing is a key element to focus for cost reduction [Haritha Saranga (8)]. According to Sultan Singh. 9] Purchasing involves determining the need, selecting the supplier, and arriving at proper price, terms and conditions, issuing the contract or order and to follow-up to ensure proper delivery on time According to Sultan Singh, Dixit Garg. [10] The traditional approach to purchasing is at the root of many problems that business faces today. High inventory levels, soaring costs, adverse relationships with suppliers and quality issues which either stop production or results in poor products are just a few of the pr oblems with the current way of purchasing JIT Purchasing Sultan Singh. [9] has found that Just-in –Time Purchasing has received an increasing amount of attention throughout the world due to its potential for quality improvement and cost saving. Jocclyn Drolet. [10] found that many studies indicate that the JIT purchasing function is of paramount importance for successful JIT implementation According to Sultan Singh, Dixit Garg. [10] The four basic principles of JIT purchasing are: * Elimination of waste * Employees involvement in decision making * Supplier participation Total quality control Sultan Singh. [9] Found that JIT purchasing has been implemented in many industries of several countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Korea etc. Today many reputed Indian industries have also switched to the Japanese JIT Purchasing concept to improve their product quality and productivity. In traditional purchasing importance is given mainly to the price of the product. Supplier relationship building, quality, deliv ery time, supplier satisfaction etc are in the back seat. Sultan Singh. 9] States that Japanese JIT Purchasing is an uninterrupted flow of 100% acceptable materials delivered on due dates and time at optimal cost 100% of time. In JIT purchasing environment purchasing is carried out in small lots with frequent deliveries in small standard containers used to hold exact quantity and to the required specifications from a nearby local single supplier with a long-term contract. The company relies more on performance specifications Consistent quality and delivery performance is most important parameters in the supplier evaluation while price is an important one. This area includes supplier’s management, inspection of incoming raw materials/ semi finished / maintenance components etc. The expectations of the buying firm in JIT Purchasing Dixit Garg [5] conducted a survey to identify the important attributes of JIT Purchasing with respect to the Indian Context. The importance of JIT purchasing attributes in a decreasing order as were High Quality, Mutual trust and Co-operation, Reliable delivery, Exact quantity and Increased customer support. Jocclyn Drolet. 11] Stated that the most frequently mentioned benefits are the reduction in lead times, the decrease in inventory levels, waste elimination, and improved quality of incoming parts, raw materials and the delivery process. In fact, these four benefits have been so widely cited in analytical studies, and cross validated in empirical studies, that we believe that they may no longer belong to the domain of hypothetical benefits but must be taken as factual benefits. Sultan Singh, Dixit G arg. [2] States that in JIT Purchasing no percentage of rejects from supplier is acceptable. The supplier is also encouraged to be more innovative. Jocclyn Drolet. [11] Stated that some of the success factors of JIT purchasing are JIT supplying Partnership, Restructuring supplier network, Quality of purchased products, Long term and exclusive agreement with suppliers, Proximity etc. He emphasizes that partnership is a catalyst for other JIT purchasing success factors Problems encountered in JIT purchasing implementation in India Sultan Singh. [9] Found that most serious problems, however, are not operational in nature. They are â€Å"people problems†- stemming from attitude and orientation, past experience and practices, and the passive factors of interpersonal relations. The suppliers may not fully support JIT purchasing program because of following reasons: * Lack of incentives for suppliers to adopt JIT delivery. * Lack of commitment from buyers. * Considerable strain on suppliers on JIT delivery. Sultan Singh. [9] Has found Evidences which shown that JIT purchasing can be beneficial in Indian context. The supplier is encouraged to be more innovative. He is given â€Å"loose specifications â€Å". The company relies more on performance specifications than on product design. Counting and receiving inspection of incoming parts is eliminated. Formal paper work is reduced to minimum delivery schedule or quantity can be changed by simple telephone calls/fax/telex message. Supplier is evaluated by consistence in quality, delivery performance and price. It can be concluded that JIT Purchasing is a key element for the successful implementation of JIT. The benefits of JIT purchasing can be summarized as reduction in lead time and inventory levels, improved quality of raw materials and better delivery process. Also there are increased supplier participation and employee involvements. Many companies in different countries have successfully implemented JIT purchasing. Some of the problems which Indian companies encountered were Lack of support from suppliers, Lack of support and commitment from Top management, Low product Quality, Employees resistance to change and Lack of communication. Maruti is focusing on Supplier development and sharing its quality and manufacturing practices with them. Mahindra and Mahindra is now working to minimize supply constraints through advanced capacity planning, long term contract with suppliers and capacity enhancement. JIT Production According to Vikas[4], The major elements of JIT production in Indian context include Buffer stock removal, Cellular manufacturing, Kanban, Error prevention and others. In this research paper the attributes taken for study are Cellular Manufacturing and Kanban. Cellular Manufacturing Mahadevan [12] infers that there has been an increasing demand for more variety in the recent years thereby pushing volumes down. It is estimated that 70 % of manufacturing industries will have mid-volume, mid-variety scenario. Cellular manufacturing provides a solution for the mentioned situation. According to Frost ; Sullivan [13] Cellular manufacturing is based on the Group Technology concept and involves the use of work cells. A Work Cell is a group of equipment and workstations arranged in the logical sequence of production, which can produce a product (or part of a product). To successfully maintain One-piece flow in manufacturing cells companies employ quick change over techniques The key factors that affect the design of an efficient cell can be grouped broadly as the number of process required, number of products that fit into the cell, market segments/requirement, and degree of automation. Mahadevan [12] mentions the benefits of Cellular Manufacturing as: * Production planning and control become easier as it is similar to breaking the Manufacturing process into smaller units which are independent and more manageable. * Material handling and traceability becomes easier as materials seldom go outside the respective cells for processing. Work enrichment: Employees would be in a position to better relate to the workplace and make improvements The benefits as mentioned by Frost ; Sullivan[13] are: improved resource [both man and machine] utilization reduced lead times, improved product quality, better space utilization, lesser blocked capital in inventory, and an overall improved work space. Timothy[14] identifies the disadvantages of cellular manufacturing as: * Increased capital expenditure * Decreased machine utilization * A breakdown can cause work stoppage in cell Shishir Bhat [15] analyses the impact of cellular manufacturing in a Gear manufacturing Machine shop. The evaluation was done based on two outputs, throughput and flow time. It was found that the average monthly throughput [order completed in a month]for Main Gears before implementation of Cellular Manufacturing was 59. 5 and that after implementation was 90. 5. Also the average flow time [man hours a product spends on shop floor ] for main gears reduced from 58 to 30. The paper shows that when a job shop manufactures a group of products with similar characteristics and stable demand, Cellular Manufacturing is an effective way for performance improvements. Kanban Kanban is a system of continuous supply of components, parts and supplies, such that workers have what they need, where they need it, when they need it. Kanban facilitates elimination of waste and is one of the most powerful tools of the â€Å"Toyota Production System†. Kanban is designed for quick response to actual consumption and ensures material availability at all times even in the face of temporary demand swings. Improved material availability helps achieve agility and flexibility in production. Kanban Systems are usually custom designed for each client and each item. A good design takes cognizance of all relevant factors such as consumption level, lead time, transit time, optimum shipping lot, and desired delivery frequency. It can be quickly adjusted in response to seasonality of demand. Inventory reduction is regarded as one of the key strategic levers to improve productivity and profitability of the firm in theory and practice (Lieberman and Demeester 1999, Chen et al, 2005). Kanban which facilitates visual control was originally designed for manual operation. This encourages employee involvement at all levels. However it can be integrated with any ERP system. Many tasks can then be automated, thus increasing the speed of material flow and accuracy of transactions. B. Vijaya Ramnath,C. Elanchezhian and R. Kesavan [16] wrote a paper which deals with implementation of lean manufacturing in Engine valve machining cell in a leading auto components manufacturing industry in the South India. The main objective of the paper was to present an overview of manufacturing wastes and introduce the tools and techniques that are used to transform a company into a high performing lean enterprise. Value stream mapping was a main tool used to identify the opportunities for various lean techniques. One of the methods used for reduction of waste was the Kanban system. A Kanban job Flow is arrived at which is used for building the future state of Value stream mapping. The elimination and or reducing of wastes is by making the process improvements in the current manufacturing line by adopting some lean tools like JIT, set up time reduction, WIP reduction etc. JIT Logistics Today Indian Automobile players seek to increase their global footprint and supply chain for many of these companies extends across several countries. Hence Logistics is a key area Indian Automobile companies are focusing on. According to Kee-hung Lai. [17] Just-in-Time (JIT) which has been effective in manufacturing operations can also contribute to cost and service advantages in Logistics. However, the potential of JIT has not been widely recognized in logistics. Kee-hung Lai. [17] has identified the major areas in Logistics in which JIT can be applied such as 1) Transportation management 2) order processing 3) Inventory management 4) Customer service, and a number of supporting lements including materials handling, packaging, purchasing and warehousing. 1) Transport Management: Typically materials were ordered in large lot shipments to obtain economies of scale. Similarly full truckloads or railcars were more efficient. For less than full truckloads loads of different companies having similar destinations were combined. Ken alternburg. [18] States that In JIT Transport all the three parties i. e. the supplier, the carrier and th e customer work more closely with one another. One option is formation of Transport partnerships just like supplier partnerships. The carriers would be single source for a family of businesses that will treat these carriers as in-house carriers. In some JIT Environments the parts manufacturing facility is constructed at or near the final assembly plant, allowing small deliveries of parts to be made with greater control over timeliness. Ken alternburg. [18] Suggests that where local manufacturing is not feasible, closed loop transportation is employed in which delivery trucks make stops at various suppliers on a predetermined schedule. Disposable packaging can be replaced with reusable containers and racking compatible with assembly line use, eliminating the costs of removing and disposing of packaging materials and simplifying and speeding the loading and unloading processes Materials can be unloaded at or near final point of use in JIT System as inspection is eliminated. Costs associated with equipment used to speed the delivery process, such as specially configured trucks, containerization, and unloading equipment, are offset by improvements in efficiency as implied by Ken alternburg. [18] Ken alternburg. [18] States that JIT environment has affected transportation providers, requiring them to change and streamline their methods of operation, and make long-term investments in technology, 2) Order Processing: According to Kee-hung Lai. [17] JIT adopts technologies such as Logistical Information System [LIS], often in the form of Electronic Data Interchange [EDI], Internet, Value Added Network etc so that different parties in the logistics processes can gain access to the needed information for decision making 3) Customer service: Kee-hung Lai. 17] states that In JIT logistics, all the activities that take up motion time, for example, order picking, shipment arranging, transporting and so on, need to be managed efficiently. The aim is to meet customer service requirements at the lowest possible cost KPMG conducted a survey on the Indian Automotive supply chain to analyze the key challenges faced by different sections of the Industry, identify the areas that need attentio n and also identify opportunities. A primary survey was done among the heads of supply chain of some major Indian Auto companies. KPMG [19]) The participants of the survey identified the following as the key challenges in order of priority: Integrating the end-to-end supply chain and managing it as a single integrated entity: While past efforts of OEMs have been focused on streamlining and improving different areas of the supply chain independently, through efforts in dealer management, operations planning, vendor rationalization, IT package implementation etc, it is expected that the linking up of these activities is expected to provide significant benefits to players Managing Inbound Logistics/JIT Supplies: is a key concern which faces challenges related to reliability of data, lead time and absence of quality logistics players on the upstream side. Respondents felt that as OEM and Auto component players become more global in nature it would have a significant impact on automotive supply chain. Managing costs: Cost, Quality and Timely delivery continue to become the key concern area for players. Many OEM’s have implemented JIT inbound logistics which is not by increased visibility across the supply chain and improved planning, it has only resulted in the burden of inventory getting shifted from OEMs to their Tier-I vendors. The Key initiatives taken up by the companies to address these challenges according to KPMG [19]) are: Increased Investment in IT and processes: Implement Integrated IT systems [such as ERP], but survey revealed that they were not able to leverage on such systems as their business process were not streamlined or aligned with the needs of the IT System. Vendor/Dealer rationalization: Many respondents agreed that Indian Industry has not evolved into fully tierized structure where Tier-I vendors take on responsibility for modules / sub-assemblies Outsourcing to logistics service providers: Outsource key activities along the supply chain to logistics players, in an effort to reduce costs and increase focus on their customers and core activities. Most OEMs and large Tier-I suppliers have already outsourced their outbound logistics activities. These activities include carrying out ‘milk runs’ to collect and deliver parts to OEMs on a daily basis, transferring materials across hubs and warehousing/inventory management. Key logistics players have started maintaining warehouses in close proximity to OEMs’ plants, and supplying materials on a JIT basis. Related services being provided by large third party logistics service providers (3PLs) include consolidation of materials, packaging, incoming inspection, cleaning, etc (KPMG [19]) JIT at Maruti Udyog Limited: Maruti was the first Indian company where Japanese Manufacturing culture was implemented from top to bottom. At the Maruti factory in Gurgaon the eight typical wastages at each operational point (over-production, man movement, material movement, idle time of  operator,  work-in-process, machine  availability,  waiting  time and  needless  processing) had been measured by observation and even videos. The bottlenecks have been identified and a lot of work has been done to streamline the process. In 1995, when Maruti had 4,800employees, it was producing at the rate of 730 cars a day. Later with 4,500 employees, the plant was producing at the rate of 1,700 cars a day. Simultaneously, the supply chain system is being modified. A delivery instruction system places orders with the vendors for the next day's production target. Maruti is now working with an inventory of four hours maximum for local items and six days average for imported materials. The inventory to sales turnover ratio, on the scale of 100 in 1999-2000, is now down to 41. Maruti has also started working with its vendors  to reduce their cost of  production so that its own cost can be reduced. It has also launched a quality enhancement scheme, called the Quality Gate system. Maruti has implemented JIT for some of its major suppliers. Some others are in the process of doing so. There is a stress on quality in this highly competitive industry. The bargaining power of suppliers of some components is high, because of capacity constraints. This makes them accept only large orders, and therefore makes it difficult for assemblers to implement JIT CONCLUSION With India emerging as one of the important markets for Automobiles it is imperative for Automobile manufactures to gain production and cost efficiency. JIT would help the companies in achieving this end. The Japanese had perfected the implementation of JIT. Based on research material available it can be concluded that JIT has been successfully implemented in Automobile companies of many other countries such as United States, United Kingdom, China to name a few. Indian Manufacturing environment has huge prospects of advancement through JIT. Some of the key aspects of JIT important for the Indian industry are Total Quality management [TQM], Cellular Manufacturing, Kanban, Error Prevention to name a few. Some of the reasons for slow implementation of JIT in India can be concluded as High cost of implementation, Lack of support from suppliers, Lack of understanding or conviction in JIT techniques leading to non effective implementation. Also work culture plays a crucial role for JIT. JIT would require a work force that is flexible, can engage in cross training, and would be committed to their work on providing long term employment prospects. The Major benefits identified by the implementation of JIT are Improved Quality, reduction in inventory, increased productivity and flexibility. There is enough evidence to prove that Indian companies who have implemented JIT [at least partly] successfully have reaped the benefits. The Case study of Tractor assembly factory and Maruti are testimony for the same. Also Mahindra and Mahindra had implemented JIT techniques during the 1990’s to their advantage. To gain the benefit of JIT, Indian Automobile Industry must be willing to modify their procedures and processes References: 1) Peter Turnbul, Nick Oliver, Barry Wilkinson (1989), â€Å"Recent Developments in the UK Automotive Industry: JIT/TQC and Information systems†, Technology and Strategic Management, Vol 1 No. 2, pp. 09 2) Bo Hou, Hing Kai Chan, and Xiaojun Wang (2011), â€Å"A Case study of Just-In-Time System in the Chinese Automotive Industry†, Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering, Vol I 3) B Mahadevan, (1997),â€Å"Are Indian Companies ready for Just In Time†, Manage Rev, July-September, pp. 85-92 4) Vikas Kumar, (2010), â€Å"JIT Based Quality Management: Concepts and Implications in Indian Context†, International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol. 2(1), 2010,pp. 40-50 5) Dixit Garg, S. G. Deshmukh (1999), JIT Purchasing: Literature review and implications for Indian Industry, Production Planning and Control, Vol 10 , No 3, pp. 276-285 6) Vikas Kumar, Dixit garg, N P Mehta(2004), â€Å"JIT Practices in Indian Context: A survey†, Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, Vol 63 ,pp. 55-662 7) Chandra, Kodali (1997),†Implementation if JIT manufacturing System: An Overview†, Productivity, Vol 38, pp. 312-321 8) Haritha Saranga, Arnab Mukherji & Janat Shah, â€Å"Determinants of Inventory Trends in the Indian Automotive Industry: An Empirical Study†, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India 9) Sultan Sin gh, Dixit Garg (2011),† Comparative analysis of Japanese Just-in-Time Purchasing and Traditional Indian Purchasing System†, International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST), vol. 3, no. 3 10) Sultan Singh, Dixit Garg ,† Attributes in JIT Purchasing†, Akgec Journal Of Technology, vol. 2, no. 11) Jocclyn Drolet, Rene Gelinas, Real Jacob (1996),† Just-in-Time purchasing and the partnership strategy†, European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management , vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 39-45 12) B. Mahadevan (2010),† Operations Management : Theory and Practice† 13) Frost & Sullivan , (2010), â€Å"Cellular Manufacturing makes Plant Operations Lean and Flexible†, http://www. frost. com/prod/servlet/press-release. pag? docid=202718293 14) Timothy J. Greene , Randall P. Sadowski ,† A review of cellular manufacturing assumptions, advantages and design techniques† 15) Shishir Bhat, (2008), â€Å"Cellular manufacturing-t he heart of Lean manufacturing†, Advances in Production Engineering and Management, Vol 3 , No 4 16) B. Vijaya Ramnath,C. Elanchezhian and R. Kesavan, (2010) Application of kanban system for implementing lean manufacturing (a case study), Journal of Engineering Research and Studies, Vol. I/Issue I/July-Sept. 17) Kee-hung Lai and T. C. E. Cheng , â€Å"Just-in-Time Logistics† 18) Ken alternburg, Debbie griscom, Jack hart, Frank smith, Gary wohler [1999],† Just-in-time logistics support for the Automobile industry†, Production and inventory management journal—second quarter 19) KPMG (2006), â€Å"Indian Automotive Supply Chain KPMG† 20) http://amitsinghbisht. articlesbase. com/marketing-articles/maruti-udyog-limited-managing-competition-successfully-723310. html

How Barbaric were the Barbarians Really? Essay

The books have claimed the Mongols to be barbaric, but how barbaric were they? The barbarians have earned the title barbaric. The barbarians were people who didn’t belong to a certain culture or group of people, and pretty much did what they pleased. The Mongols were barbaric with their laws, punishments, and the amount of battles and deaths caused in their presence. The barbarians were barbaric in many different ways. The Mongol Empire was bigger than the continental U.S., being 4,860,000 square miles of conquered land (Doc 1). The Mongol Empire was more that three times bigger that the amount of land Adolf Hitler conquered during his time (Doc 1). With the empire being this big, there would need to be laws. There were laws on hospitality, adultery, drinking, and marriage. With these laws came punishments. For example, if you committed adultery, you would be executed, even if there were no earlier convictions (Doc 10). There were also laws made by Genghis Khan that were enfor ced during battle situations. If you were a soldier and you got scared and ran away from battle, if you were found, the rest of your group of 10, including you, would be executed. If your whole group of 10 flees, the group of a hundred you were in would all be executed along with you. You were expected to stay with your group throughout battle, or your consequence would be death (Doc 2). In battle, if you were a prisoner or war, that was not desired to be a slave, or were an artisan, the law was to put you to death with the axe (Doc 3). The number of deaths caused by the barbarians, is not countable. Many people were killed and or captured by the Mongols. Along with the people, their towns were also demolished. Through the years 1220-1258, there were 5,107,000 plus deaths alone (Doc 4). In 1221 in Nishapur, Persia, there were 1,747,000 deaths according to a Persian chronicler (Doc 4). The Mongols tore the city apart and in the process, â€Å"severed the heads of the slain from their bodies and heaped them up in piles†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc 4). There weren’t many options for punishments, not that the people got to choose their punishment, and people who were punished were probably a big part of the number of deaths caused the barbarians. Punishment and death wa s very common in the Mongol Empire. The Mongol leaders might have this punishment to make clear that they are in charge and to intimidate others. There was always a punishment for rule breaking. Most often, the punishment was death. There were different ways of  killing people, or to sound nicer, putting them into a deep sleep in the Mongol Empire. In the Empire there were different forms of being killed, or put to death. You could just be executed, you could have you head chopped off, you could be shot multiple times with arrows, you could even be buried alive upside down (Doc 5,4,3,2). Killing was very common with these peoples. The Mongols overall were very violent. They could be organized at times, but they were more barbaric by following the rules that were organized by the emperor. The Mongols conquered many lands, but killed and lost others they knew in the process. The laws were partially barbaric because of the different parts involved in them. If you committed a crime, there wasn’t anyone to help you get out of your punishment. The most barbaric thing is that mostly everything resulted in death. If you committed a horrible crime, such as adultery, the way you are killed might be worse, but if you got drunk more that three times a month, you could possibly be put to death (Doc 10). The barbarians were a barbaric people. As you can tell, they did what the pleased. The laws made by Genghis Khan that were used for battle situations were barbaric because if one person or a small group of soldiers left because they were scared, everyone else and them included, were killed (Doc 2). There was pretty much only one punishment in the whole Mongol Empire, and that was death. This punishment is barbaric for the people who didn’t commit huge and serious crimes. Death was a big part in the success of the Mongol Empire. If they, the barbarians, hadn’t killed the people from the cities they captured, there could have been revolts against the Mongols. The Mongols were barbaric because of many things, but mostly for the amount of death they caused. The Mongol Empire set the example for the other empires to follow. Again I ask, how barbaric were the barbarians really? The Mongols were barbaric enough for them to be called barbarians and with the number of deaths cau sed by them, it would be safe to say that the barbarians were pretty barbaric.

Electronic Waste Popularly Known As E Waste Environmental Sciences Essay

Electronic waste, popularly known as e-waste can be defined as electronic equipment or merchandises linking with power stopper or batteries which have become disused due to advancement in engineering, alterations in manner, manner and position. â€Å" E-waste is a popular, informal name for electronic merchandises approaching the terminal of their utile life † ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) . This includes cast-off computing machines, telecastings, VCRs, stereos, duplicators, facsimile machines, electric lamps, cell phones, audio equipment and batteries. Electrical and electronic waste ( e-waste ) is one of the most rising issues that has caught the attending of assorted parties including policy shapers, non-governmental organisation ( NGO ) and the general public globally. This turning concern is due to the of all time increasing volume of e-waste being generated ensuing in activities such as collection, leveling and disposal of e-waste that has caused environmental pollutions and inauspicious impact on public wellness ( Rosnani, 2010 ) . â€Å" E-waste in Malaysia is being regulated under the Environmental Quality Act ( Scheduled Wastes ) Regulations 2005 that came into consequence on 15 August 2005 † ( Rosnani, 2010 ) . The inclusion of e-waste the 2005 ordinance is to adequately command the direction of these wastes generated in the state every bit good as to enable Malaysia to forbid importing of used electrical and electronic equipment either for renovation or recovery merely for short term use, following which equipment is disposed off. Today, it is often cheaper and more convenient to purchase new machine to suit the newer coevalss of engineering than it is to upgrade the old. Expanding e-waste particularly nomadic phone and computing machine in all sort of sectors doing the increasing of the measure of e-waste. E-waste contains important measures of toxic waste. â€Å" Each computing machine or telecasting show proctor contains an norm of 4-8 lbs of lead. Monitor glass contain about 20 % lead by weight. About 70 % of heavy stuffs like quicksilver and Cd found in landfill come from electronic equipment discard † ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) . These heavy metals and other risky substances found in electronic can pollute groundwater and present other environmental and public wellness. Furthermore, â€Å" the wellness impacts of the mixtures and material combination in the merchandises frequently are non known † ( Noraida, 2010 ) . The production of semiconducting materials printed circuit board, disc thrusts and proctors used peculiarly risky chemical. Therefore, one of the aim of this survey is to happen out the applicable direction of e-waste around the universe and their effects to human wellness. There are assorted issues of concerns with respect to e-waste disposal and recycling. This research proposal overview the issues specifically related to the export for recycling. Particularly, it discusses documented effects on human wellness and the environment that have been tied to insecure recycling patterns in developing states. It besides provides an overview of assorted factors necessary to be understand why e-waste disposal has become a concern on each states. Therefore, it is of import to hold a good e-waste direction in order to guarantee that it will non harm to human and environment. If we non make the recycling, these e-waste will be disposed off. There are several methods to dispose e-waste either landfill or incinerator or unfastened combustion. However, if we look at to it closely, all this method will give negative impacts to human and environment. Other than that, job related to installations and location of e-waste disposal is happening. â€Å" When we landfill the e-waste, it will pollute groundwater. If we incinerate e-waste, it will bring forth risky smelt and left risky residue. If we recycle the e-waste, it will harm the recycle squad. Last, we export the e-waste to other state † ( Noraida, 2010 ) . Now, we have no pick and scientist today should make more research on these job. E-waste direction demand to carry through different aims which go beyond pure proficient execution. Particularly in developing states and states in passage, which a lacking legal and institutional model, every bit good as losing substructure, e-waste direction demands for a comprehensive and structural attack. This has been echoed by assorted international organisations and enterprises, including the United Nation Developing Organization ( UNIDO ) , the United Nation Environment Programmed ( UNEP ) , the Basel convention, the Solving the e-Waste Problem ( StEP ) . Several development cooperation undertaking adopted a three measure attack.[ 1 ] Understand the current model status Developing a structured scheme in a multi-stakeholder attack Implementing the scheme through a roadmap with assigned duties and a timeframe The research will give good to all community. Government can either seek to avoid all the methods that can give negative impacts or if non, merely expression for the better direction we have around the universe that besides included in this proposal. It besides can give public consciousness for those concerns. . It is hoped that these research proposal will help in the better apprehension and direction of e-waste and a prompt action can be taken by the authorities to better what we have now before it is excessively late.Aimto happen out the issues and challenges on developing and implementing e-waste direction To happen out the applicable direction of e-waste around the universe and their effects to human wellness. To analyze the recommended actions that can be taken to undertake the e-waste issuesLiterature reappraisalAnalyzing E-waste Related Legislations and RegulationsIn its list of recommendations to battle illegal dumping of E-waste, the Basel Action Network ( BAN ) â€Å" urges authoritiess to coerce makers to take toxic chemicals from merchandises every bit shortly as possible. BAN besides calls on rigorous enforcement of the Basel Convention[ 2 ]and extol Australia for its attempts in that respect † ( Michael, 2012 ) . Sing issues in Australia, it requires full testing of electronic waste to attest that it complies with the Basel Convention before it is exported. The BAN study on dumping in Lagos calls the U.S. â€Å" the worst histrion † among developed states that perpetuate dumping of risky waste in developing states. Other topographic point, â€Å" Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection province that cathode beam tubing no longer be accepted at transportation Stationss, landfills or landfill operators or a punishment of USD 25000 for each discourtesy † ( Iswalah, 2008 ) . Transboundary motion of risky waste is con-trolled by the Basel Convention, which entered into forcein 1992.[ 3 ] In Malaysia, authorities statute laws have been introduce to command this state of affairs. First under Environment Quality Act! 974 Sect. 18 ( 1 ) . There are ; E-Waste classified as Scheduled Waste and given the codification of SW 110 E-Waste can merely be handled by accredited contractors. Act enforced by Department of Environment. Enforcement-oriented instead than Facilitation-oriented. ( PEWOG, 2009 )[ 4 ] Second is under ‘Public Cleansing and Solid Waste Management Act ( 2007 ) , it province that all waste belongs to the authorities or its contractor ‘ ( PEWOG, 2009 ) . The inquiry is the present of aggregation and processing activities illegal because all waste belongs to the authorities or its contractors. Then, confusion and uncertainness Begin to drift. Besides utilizing the Environmental Quality Act ( 1974 ) to pull off these wastes, the DOE is besides utilizing the â€Å" Custom Order ( Prohibiton of Import/Export ) Order 2008 to command the importing and export of e waste † ( Ong, 2009 ) .2. Issues And Challenges On Developing And Implementing3R ( Reduce, Reuse and Recycle )There are several methods to pull off all these e-waste stuffs. â€Å" The most safe, promote and cheapest is by 3R that are cut down, reuse and recycling † . it can be summarized as follows ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) : aˆ? Reduce: effort to cut down the sum of waste generated reduce/eliminate usage of toxic substances like lead and quicksilver. aˆ? Reuse: repeated usage of points or parts of points which are still useable aˆ? Recycle: usage of waste itself as resource Since e-waste recycling is mostly unregulated, accurate informations sing the terminal markets, both domestic and abroad, are non publically available. Therefore, it is hard to cognize how much e-waste that is collected for recycling is really exported for processing ( Linda, 2010 ) . In the waste direction hierarchy, 3R is high on the precedence list and state analysis paper by Malaysia in one of its forum[ 5 ]province that Malaysia is capitalising on engineerings which are environmentally friendly, proven and be effectual to heighten its 3R coders and activities in the state. The analysis paper besides province that the building, operation and care of workss utilizing such engineerings involves high capital and cost. The banking sector is rather loath to supply the fiscal support particularly when new engineerings are involved. We still have failing in recycling system around the universe. The substructure like web of waste aggregation, transit, and screening activities is still being developed. Then continue to the existent processing on the e-waste, if compared to recycling of paper, glass, and plastic, the procedure is more dearly-won and expensive. Most local governments in Malaysia did non hold a sound fiscal resources to pay for all the new engineerings carried out to handle and dispose the waste. Without the federal authorities intercession or committedness to supply the bridging finance, the debut of environmentally friendly and modern engineering will confront an acclivitous undertaking.[ 6 ] Then other job on the state of affairs when e-waste may be processed domestically after aggregation is besides limited. â€Å" A company that operates as a â€Å" recycler † may really be a waste consolidator that sends the waste to another seller. † Those downstream sellers may divide the units for reuse, ship whole units abroad for processing, or procedure it domestically to some other utilizations ( Linda, 2010 ) . Good intelligence is the electronics makers are presently driven by assorted forces to do their merchandises more easy reclaimable and with fewer risky components.[ 7 ]â€Å" Any future alterations to electronic devices have no impact, nevertheless, on the 100s of 1000000s of devices presently in usage or disused devices presently in storage † ( Linda, 2010 ) . Finally those devices will do their manner to the disposal or recycling markets.Disposal ( Incineration, Open Burning Or Landfilling )Incineration means destroy something particularly godforsaken stuff by firing. It is â€Å" associated with a major hazard of bring forthing and scattering contaminations and toxic substances † ( Mathias, 2010 ) . The gases released during the combustion and the residue ash is frequently toxic. Municipal solid waste ( MSW ) province that incineration workss have shown that Cu, which is present in printed circuit boards and overseas telegrams, â€Å" act as accelerator for dioxin f ormation when fire retardents are incinerated † ( Gongkia, 2000 ) . At this clip incineration of toxic e-waste is taking topographic point without much limitation around the universe, particularly in poorer states. Incineration of electronic waste should be the last resort and should be at a lower limit if non wholly banned ( April, 2010 ) . Lapp goes to open firing which releases many pollutants into environment Since unfastened fires burn at comparatively low temperatures, they release many more fume than in a controlled incineration procedure ( Hawari and Hassan, 2010 ) When we landfill the e-waste, the jobs comes by the leachate produces. It is frequently contains heavy metals and other toxic substances which can pollute land and H2O resources. Even state-of-the-art landfills which are sealed to forestall toxins from come ining the land are non wholly tight in the long-run ( Singh et al. , 2012 ) . Significant impacts from landfilling could be avoided by conditioning risky stuffs from e-waste individually and by landfilling merely those fractions for which there are â€Å" no farther recycling possibilities and guarantee that they are in state-of-the-art landfills that respect environmentally sound proficient criterions † ( Gongkia, 2000 )Exportâ€Å" In America, harmonizing to National Safety Council ( 1999 ) , presently the cheapest e-waste recycling option in the US is to direct e-waste overseas † ( McCarthy, 2002 ) . Harmonizing to the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) , up to 80 % of American recycle e-waste is exported to poorer states. â€Å" However, how it is used or disposed of there is mostly unknown † ( McCarthy, 2002 ) . Example in Guiyu[ 8 ], China, the Personal computers and peripherals organizing mountain and overruning into streets, with its people doing a life depriving off PC portion with their bare custodies. Ministry of environment in India showed no consequences refering study of e-waste, but the ministry admits that a 100 % controls of the boundary lines is non possible. What complicate the job is that computing machine waste, which does non hold any resale or reuse value, is openly burned or disposed off in landfills. Although it is hard to cognize precisely how much e-waste collected for recycling is exported, it appears that India or developing states in Asia or Africa are most likely to have e-waste. In these country, kids and grownups are non have oning safety to level the e-waste in order to sell salvageable points. The remainder of the stuffs are burned or buried. In Ghana, China and India, many of the workers are kids, possibly well exposed to these risky stuffs ( Kevin, 2007 )[ 9 ].3. Management of E-waste in Malaysia.Malaysia has been seting a batch of attempt to eliminate this job before it gets relentless and out of control. â€Å" The ‘Recycle Personal computer ‘ run, spearheaded by the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia ( PIKOM ) and waste direction company Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd[ 10 ], is picking up steam since its launch in March 2005 † ( Vatis, 2005 ) . This run aims to make environmental consciousness by promoting the populace and admin istrations to recycle Personal computers and the peripherals. Between the period of March 10 and April 30, 2005, Alam Flora has collected 816 computing machines and peripherals. This includes 194 computing machine proctors, 147 cardinal treating units ( CPUs ) 428 pressmans, and 47 assorted Personal computer constituents ( Karim, 2005 ) Panasonic Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. is among the first corporations to reply the call to recycle when it handed over 60 used Personal computers and laptops to Alam Flora within a hebdomad from establishing the Personal computer recycling run. The Nipponese engineering giant besides pledged to donate more Personal computers to the Recycle PC run each clip its embarks on a Personal computer upgrading exercising. Alam Flora has assigned aggregation points and recycling centres all over the state for people to drop off their old Personal computers ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) . Malaysia is non a finish for others states put their e-waste. The non-systematic exportation and disposal of e-waste will give menace to our environment. Because of that, Department of Environmental is undergoing a research on ‘take dorsum policy ‘ specifically for promote the manufacturer companies to take back the electric and electronic that do non desire to be used any longer for being recycle or dispose in safety ways ( Douglas, 2010 ) . Scrap computer/ television/ mobile phone and other e-waste Free/ sell Scrap aggregator Middlemen/ junkshops Recycling Centres 2nd manus point Disposal installation Sell e-waste recylers Pre-treatment ( separation ) Scrap plastics/ others Natural stuffs Main board Electronic constituent Export market/ reassembling Local market Re-furnish/ recondition recycling Figure 1: Materials flows of e-waste in Malaya ( Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2005 ) Presently, â€Å" there are 138 e-waste recovery installations in Malaysia. 16 out of them are the full recovery installations and the other are the partial recovery installations † ( Rahman, 2008 ) . The chief engineering employed to retrieve e-wastes in footings of cherished metal in Malaysia is still limited to wet chemical procedures and electrolysis.StatePartial recovery installationFull recovery installationJohor 17 3 Kedah 12 1 Melaka 12 3 Negeri Sembilan 5 1 Perak 4 0 Pulau Pinang 37 6 Sarawak 5 0 Selangor 25 2 Wilayah persekutuan 5 0 Entire 122 16 Grand sum 138 Table 1: distribution of e-waste recovery installations in Malaysia. ( Rahman, 2008 ) But some of them that do non traveling to recycle are required to be transported by accredited contractors and dispose off in the centralized scheduled waste intervention and disposal installation in Bukit Nanas, Negeri Sembilan. ( Theng, L. C. , 2008 )[ 11 ] The Bukit Nanas Waste Management Centre in Bukit Pelanduk, Negeri Sembilan, has the state ‘s sole landfill for risky waste. Here waste that has been treated, stabilized and packed in membranophones or lasting plastic bags are buried in the landfill.4. Effectss On Environment And Human HealthHarmonizing to Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) , more than 3.2 million dozenss of e-waste ended up in us landfills. European surveies estimate that the volume of e-waste is lifting by 3 % to 5 % per twelvemonth, about three times faster than municipal waste watercourse. Therefore, early action demands in order to undertake this job before it is traveling up in our state. From Basel Action Network ( BAN ) , estimate that the 500 million computing machines in the universe contain 2.87 billion kgs of plastics, 716.7 million kg of lead and 286700 kg of quicksilver. Table 2 shows some of the risky stuff that contain in the computing machine and their effects to human and the environment. Hazardous stuff Location Effectss Lead Soldering of printed circuit boards and other electronic constituent Glass panels in computing machine proctors ( cathode rays tubing ) Damage to the cardinal and peripheral nervous system, blood system and kidney in homo. effects to the hormone system negative effects on the development of the encephalon in kids have been good documented ( Howell, 2001 ) . Cadmium SMD bit resistances, infrared sensors and semiconducting materials. Possible hazard of irreversible effects on human wellness ( Howell, 2001 ) . Easily be accumulated in sums that cause symptoms of poisoning Mercury Batteries, switches/ lodging, and printed wiring board. Causes chronic harm to the encephalon. Polyvinyl Chloride ( PVC ) Cabling and computing machine lodging. Cause of dioxin[ 12 ]formation. Brominated Flame Retardant Printed circuit board act as endocrinal disrupters cause an increased hazard of malignant neoplastic disease to the digestive and lymph systems cut down degrees of the endocrine tetraiodothyronine[ 13 ]in open animate beings. Table 2: toxic chemicals contain and their effects ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) . Assorted scientific observations indicate that polybrominated diphenylethers ( PBDE ) might move as endocrinal disrupters. The degrees of PBDEs in â€Å" human chest milk are duplicating every five old ages and this has prompted concern because of the consequence of these chemicals in immature animate beings † ( Howell, 2001 ) In add-on, administration for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1993 province that hexavalent Cr besides exists in some of e-waste. It can easy go through through membranes of cells. It causes strong allergic reactions even in little concentrations. Asthmatic bronchitis is another allergic reaction â€Å" linked to chromium VI. Chromium VI may besides do DNA harm † ( Howell, 2001 ) The incineration, land-filling, and illegal dumping of electronic wastes all contribute toxic chemicals to the environment. Environmental impacts includes taint of all local environmental media like dirt, air, surface H2O and land H2O. For illustration, the primary risky recycling operations in Guiyu involve ; Metallic recovery that involves in unfastened combustion of wires to obtain steel and Cu, cathode beam tubing checking to obtain copper-laden yokes, perturbing and combustion of circuit boards to take solder and french friess, and acid depriving french friess for gold. Plastic recycling through splintering and thaw ; and dumping of stuffs that can non be further processed ( such as leaded CRT glass and burned circuit boards ) and residues from recycling operations such as ashes from unfastened burn operations, spent acerb baths, and sludges ( Yan, et Al, 2009 ) . Children in Guiyu were found to hold blood lead degrees ( BLL ) that were significantly higher than those in the adjacent small town. Elevated BLLs in Guiyu kids were common as a consequence of exposure to take taint caused by crude e-waste recycling activities ( Xia, 2007 ) .. Prevents Options To Undertake The E-wastesIn this subdivision, some actions that can be adopted are reviewed. Almost all of these actions have to be carried out at the same time. Someof them are targeted to make a wider consciousness amongst the end-users.Adhering buying with take-back merchandise dutyThe purpose of drawn-out manufacturer duty is to promote manufacturers to â€Å" forestall pollution and cut down resource and energy usage in each phase of the merchandise life rhythm through alterations in merchandise design and procedure engineering â€Å" ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) . Hence, the manufacturers have a great trade of duty to take back their merchandises and recycle them at the terminal of the merchandises ‘ operational lives. It puts full fiscal duty on manufacturers to put up aggregation, recycling and disposal systems. In Malaysia, suited â€Å" take strategy on e-waste will heighten the direction of e-waste † ( Rahman, 2008 ) . He province that Voluntary take back strategy of e-wastes has non been implemented widely by the producer/ importer of electronic and electrical equipment, therefore a mandatory demand of return dorsum strategy through statute law is required.Political campaign to increase consciousnessIf E-waste causes jobs, the first precedence should be to cut down its coevals. In this respect, â€Å" consumers in exporting states should alter their life styles † ( Moriguchi et al, 2006 ) Other we can make by giving some â€Å" wages to the populace to promote them affect in 3R and the wages is non necessary in sort of money † ( Iswalah, 2008 ) . The end-user should reach the local or province authorities representatives, â€Å" explain to them why he or she is concerned and inquire them to acquire involved in developing solutions † ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) . â€Å" By donating used electronics, schools, non-profit organisations, and lower-income households can afford to utilize equipment that they otherwise could non afford † ( Hawari and Hassan, 2008 ) .Swiss Association for the Information, Communication and Organizational Technologies ( SWICO ) systemThis system compared to other is one of the most best direction of e-waste nowadays.The system considers material flows related to electronic equipment from the point where it becomes waste until the point where the fractions ensuing from screening, leveling, recycling and disposal processes become secondary natural stuffs or are disposed of in a landfill ( Doka, 2003 ) . So, how its work? Harmonizing to Muller and Esther ( 2009 ) , Manual dismantlement is the first measure, more traditional manner to divide risky stuffs from reclaimable stuffs, and to bring forth reclaimable stuffs from electronic waste. In a pre-sorting procedure, the incoming e-waste foremost is separated into the different classs. Then, mechanical dismantlement, the typical constituents of it works oppressing units, shredders, magnetic centrifuges and air centrifuges. The exhaust gases are clean up in waste gas purification workss and the dust generated collected with dust filters. And for refinement, it is included mechanical, thermic and chemical procedures and typically performed for fractions such as batteries, ferric and non-ferrous metal, reclaimable plastic and printed boards.MethodologyMost of the methodological analysis of my research proposal is by making library and internet research. It is of import to acquire background information and to analyze the past research. It is besides utile to do the literature reappraisal. I will travel through some of the diaries, articles, studies and undertakings at that place. To acquire better apprehension, I will acquire some interviews with the workers at Department of Environtment ( DOE ) to acquire inside informations informations about how e-waste is pull offing in Malaysia and by and large around the world.. I besides will travel for interview with Prof. Aghamuthu[ 14 ]( lector in UM ) for his sentiments. By utilizing recording equipment, all the conversations and duologues will be recorded. Survey is besides utile to acquire the information. It will be distributed them to the workers that work in landfill site particularly in Bukit Nanas, Negeri Sembilan. The study contain more on look intoing their organic structure ‘s wellness and to be related with the symptoms due to toxic discarded from e-waste. Site visit besides involved in my methodological analysis. It will take up to a to the full twenty-four hours for me to see all the procedure. It is besides to do certain that I will non go forth behind all the of import information. Along the visit, camera will be used to take exposures at that place to assist me acquire a better analysis.Expected end productThere still a batch of issues that should be see in pull offing the e-waste..Work PlanThe work program start in hebdomad three and it takes about 11 hebdomads to complete it.WeeksActions3 Choose the rubric To do certain that the rubric is non to contract or wide, and to do certain it can be done on the clip given. 4-7 Library and internet research By collected, take note, and borrows the stuffs from them before farther analyse. 8-10 reappraisal and Analyse informations Form all the information into the construction of research proposal and associate the information of one reading to another. 11-13 Presentation work Fix the slide that summarize the research proposal. 14 Submit study Make some fix on the deficiency and remark from presentation.BudgetEstimated budget:ItemPrice ( RM )Transportation system – for fuel and public transit 100.00 Prints – for study ‘s paper, and all the reading stuffs that can non be borrowed. 20.00 Gift – for interviewers 30.00 entire 150.00

Discuss and compare the five market orientations that a company may Essay

Discuss and compare the five market orientations that a company may adopt when carrying out its marketing activities. illustrate your answer with examples - Essay Example To start there was the Production Orientation. The centre of this orientation is to mass-produce with ease. A well-understood sample of Product Orientation is the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford added to the Model T Ford; an auto car that was quiet inexpensive during its production2. This item was mass created so that the creation expenses could be lessened empowering it to be more reasonable to clients. One of the constraints to this introduction is that new market contestants have the capacity to recreate the low-cost mass item turning out to be coordinate rivalry and at times very nearly kicking others out of the business arena. Moreover, General Motors had made this practicality real to the onlookers when it almost kicked Model T Ford out of business. Taking after the Production orientation was the Product orientation. This kind of orientation expects that shoppers will be attracted to an item that has the most positive execution, quality, and creative highlights. The orientation can in any case be seen largely at work aural the Apple Company. Apple is celebrated for its current innovation progress, continually presenting new patterns aural the cell telephone industry. Apple concentrates on creating new items that shoppers do see the significance, and afterward markets these items as excellent must-haves3. Likewise, with each orientation the item orientation has its burdens. An impediment to this orientation is it may prompt marketing myopia. Marketing myopia is the course in which organisations fizzle because of lack of concern and a foolish personality set of completely comprehension what business they are in. For example, rail lines; however, illustrations are obvious today all over, for example, the daily paper and phones. Following the Product Orientation was the Sales Orientation. The Orientation stipulates that with a specific end goal to accomplish vast volumes of yield it must concentrate intensely on sales promotion. This disposition created

Budgeting and financial systems in the public sector Article

Budgeting and financial systems in the public sector - Article Example In general, a public budget comprises of four setting. Firstly, a political factor allots the limited public resources to the social and economic needs. Secondly, it is a managerial and administrative factor as it strategises the various ways in which the public will be provided with their needs through setting appropriate programs and services, their costs, their evaluation and implementation methodologies (Bamishigbin, 2012). Thirdly, it is an economical factor as it determines the various ways the town shall engage in growth and development. Lastly, it is an accounting factor as it holds the town`s top executive accountable for the funds allocated to them by the government for expenditure (Blidesel, Popa, & Pop, n.d.). Every budget has two significant elements, capital and recurrent estimates. For the recurrent budget, it comprises of the recurrent revenues and expenditures (Bamishigbin, 2012). This is the segment of the city`s budget that is comprised of the budgeted cash for run ning the government operations and consumptions. Capital budget is the section of the city`s budget, which consists of capital receipt and expenditure. This is the capital translated into development programs and services to city dwellers (Blidesel, Popa, & Pop, n.d.). There are various forms of budget. For instance, line item budget is the traditional type of budget. Performance budgeting requires a performance as a measure of budget item. The programmed budget focuses on achievement of each program provided to the users (Bamishigbin, 2012). Zero budgeting determines the cost benefit; the value for money to be invested in a given activity before making decision. This paper discusses the problems associated with the old budgetary method employed in Jakarta City. It discusses the challenges the city leaders faces and it proposes solutions to the problems. With the adoption of the performance-based budget, the city can change the face of its budgeting process. The performance based bu dgeting will ensure the previous unclear funds allocation will show their allocation in budget. This is one way through which the city shifts from politicians’ dominance for the city`s benefit into an approachable, clear, and answerable public spending management mechanism. Problems at Jakarta City Budget The budgetary account of Jakarta City features constricted and comprehensive items of expenses. The budget items include items such as motor vehicles, clerical workers or realms of papers needed in the city`s agencies and they do not refer to the aim of spending (Bamishigbin, 2012). They use this as their basis from which the audit team will determine the city agencies’ compliance to the budget requirement. The city`s budgetary format is of the below form. Expenditure item salaries materials other expenses total Last year Current year Next year Problems Associated with this Budget The city`s board is unable to utilize 98 percent of the 2013 Jakarta city`s budget. The main reason behind this is difficulty in acquiring land for development, auctioning problem, government policies, and inadequate technology for facilitating electronic cataloguing to ensure timely service and good delivery. Consequently, the unused budget resulting from this is estimated will reach Rp 7.28 trillion, which is equivalent to 15 percent of 2014 proposed budget of Rp 50.1 trillions. The cited causes to increase in the budget include the new needs of infrastructure and innovation to the public service.

Women Suffrage Movements Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women Suffrage Movements - Term Paper Example Participation of women in a countries decision-making process is a social issue that is experienced in the political field. This is because their participation depends on how they participate in making decisions at the domestic level. Their ability to make decision at the domestic level determines their chance of making decision at the national level through the voting process. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the question of whether women have a chance to vote was a major question in European politics1. Women suffrage could not have achieved success if women did not fight for their rights. This essay will therefore analyze European women suffrage between the late nineteenth century and the dawn of the twentieth century. The essay will focus on major movements, key figure, and beliefs of women suffrage across Europe. The French revolution of 1789 is believed to have been the source of the notion of citizenship. This notion changed people view and attitude towards their cou ntries2. The notion of citizenship caused people to have interest and responsibility over their home countries. Voting in a national election comes as a responsibility as well as an obligation for every citizen. After the French revolution, women in most European countries started to consider themselves responsible for their country’s development and decision-making.... at took place during the upper half of the nineteenth century are considered to have paved way for major changes and revolutions across European societies. The ideology of nationalism during the dawn of twentieth century also contributed to the field. As an ideology, nationalism identified people according to their national boundary, ethnicity, political boundaries, history, and culture3. The rise of nationalism and French revolution are considered as the main factor that triggered women suffrage. Although the two movements seemed insignificant to women suffrage campaigns, they laid a foundation that other future movements could use to launch their campaigns for women rights in European societies. This indicates that establishing women’s rights in governance was a demanding issue. Different ideologies across Europe determined women’s suffrage across various European countries. The rise of ideology paved way for actual campaigns for women’s rights across Europe wi th their emphasis being the right to vote among women. Although women’s suffrage campaign had a common source, the campaigns were different across the different European countries. This is because each individual country had its own unique political system. Countries with hereditary monarch system of government such as Austria, Russia, Spain, and Hungary did not have voting rights for both their men and women4. Lack of national unity was also a common issue in some European countries such as Denmark, Germany, and Ireland. This implies that establishing women’s rights in such country was a complicated as well as a difficult issue. Lack of national unity and democracy in most European countries hindered women's suffrage movements. Absence of democracy and national unity in European countries also

Ethical Philosophy in Lives of the People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 104

Ethical Philosophy in Lives of the People - Essay Example For example, I never lie to the people. In spite of the fact that it may be difficult at times, there is a fine logic behind it: I do not lie to the people because if I start lying, everyone could start lying. As a result, there will be no one that can be trusted in the society. This means that lying should not be made a universal law and it should be excluded from my behavior. Another aspect that I would like to mention is treating people as ends only, not as means. It is often suggested that the quality of personal relationship has deteriorated in the contemporary world; it is attributed to the fact that people try to stay autonomous and see others as way to achieve their goals. I despise this kind of thinking. Of course, some of my friends are able to help me with different tasks. However, they are not my friends because they can be useful to me, they are my friends, because we have similar interests and so on (Cornman & Lehner, 1992). In other words, I never think about my friends from this point of view. Finally, I also would like to highlight the concept of good will. The latter means that a person performs an action out of the desire to follow the universal law and behave ethically, not pursuing any other goals. Indeed, I know that sometimes my actions can be beneficial for me; for example, if I report a mistake of a waiter, I will be able to get a bonus from a restaurant. If I see a mistake I would most certainly report it not because I expect some sort of benefits, but because I truly believe that by doing so I help the organization improve their quality of service. Having examined all the points that were mentioned, I might conclude that my ethical philosophy is consistent with Kant’s moral philosophy. First of all, it utilizes the concept of universal law and rejects any action that can’t be made one.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 44

Marketing - Essay Example A research conducted by the City analysts has predicted that Sainsbury’s is likely to register a decline in its grocery sales by 2.5% for the preceding three months. This is with the exclusion of fuel. This is going to be a big setback for Salisbury’s given that it has, for the last decade, registered only an increase in the sale of its groceries. Salisbury’s used to record all these profits until the consumers in the U.K changed their shopping habits. This was also due to the emergence of Aldi and Lidl which are discount chains. It is also noted that the prices of food fall considerably. With these changes in the markets, the big four supermarket chains in the U.K, Salisbury’s Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, have lost their market share was almost a fifth in the previous two months. Despite the fall in the market share, Morrisons is however indicated by the latest Kantar sales figures to be growing. This is unlike the other three chains of supermarkets. James Anstead, who is an analyst at Barclays, has predicted that predicted that the sales in like-for-like products for Salisbury’s are likely to drop by 25%. This is due to the coming on board of the discount chains which have offered immense competition to the supermarkets. It is indicated also that the brand of Aldi is more worth than that of Tesco. Tesco having reported a similar decline as Salisbury’s, it therefore means that the brand of Aldi is also more worth than that of Salisbury. It is predicted that in the next five years, the sales for the supermarkets are going to drop as the discounters and online shopping double their sales. The increase in sales for online shopping and the discounters is estimated at 92.9% and 82.2% respectively. This is unlike the supermarkets whose sales are expected to drop by 2.9% until the end of the year 2020. The increase in the

Decision on the New System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision on the New System - Essay Example Specifically, HRMS encompass payroll, work time, administration of benefits, HR management system which covers the course from the employees' application to retirement, recruiting, and training. In consideration of how this new system will be installed in the business organization, it is imperative that it consider the cost and benefits of developing in-house versus outsourcing. In order to do so, we will look at the processes that the company will need to undertake in each alternative. For a decision to outsource, the company will simply search for a reliable company in the market which can supply it with an already existing system. The demand for HRMS has already generated manufacturers which gained expertise in building this system. In recognition of the differing needs of companies, these manufacturers also offer customizable systems to suit the preferences of their clients. Thus, it is possible for the company to find a supplier which will make possible the design of an HRMS which is specifically tailored for its needs. Haag and Cummings outline the major processes of software development within a company which include: project planning; feasibility study, and initiation stage; recruitments gathering and systems analysis; systems design; building; testing; installation, implementation or deployment; and maintenance.

Black people Income Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Black people Income - Research Paper Example Also, wealth is critical in enabling families to weather emergencies and move along a path of long-term financial opportunity and security. As such, extreme wealth inequality especially between races implies that a disadvantaged race will be unable to benefit from opportunities associated with wealth and this will hamper the community’s economic growth and that of the nation as a whole (Institute on Assets and Social Policy 1). Statistics by government agencies and non-government agencies show that there is a huge wealth inequality between black people compared to the white people in the United States. This research paper will discuss this inequality and why this inequality exists and what are the possible ways of closing the racial income gap. Statistics on Racial Income Inequality The black people in the United States continue to earn far less income compared to the white people. According to the statistics released by the United States Census Bureau, per-capita income of th e black people in 2008 was $18,054, which was just 57.9 percent that of the white people which stood at $28,502. While this was a slight improvement over the 56.4 percent reported in 2007, it was down the 2005 statistics which as 59.3 percent (Christie para 1). The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics also indicate that the white people earn a median of $756 per week, which is 25 percent more compared to the black people who earn $607 weekly. In 2011, available data indicate that the median income for the black households was approximately $32,000. This amount was 61.7 percent of the median income of white households in the same year. What is more worrying is the fact that this was about the same percentage in 1970 which stood at 60.9 percent. This implies that there has been virtually no change in regard to income between the whites and the backs (Institute on Assets and Social Policy 5). This lack of notable change comes as a surprise considering that there have been visible i ndicators about the improvement of black people income situation. Factors or Causes of the Income Inequality between the Black People and White People Numerous studies have found out that there are a significant number of causes or factors contributing to low income among the blacks compared to the whites. It has been found out there are contemporary and historical causes that have resulted to this situation (Barsky, Bound, Charles and Lupton 663). The situation of income disparity is further compounded by the fact there us a very unequal income distribution among black households; it is even more unequal compared to the income distribution among white households. It should be noted that there some black people who earn pretty high income, even higher income than some of the top white households. This can be attributed to the benefits they have obtained in the recent years (Oliver and Shapiro 78). However, extremely large black population segment earn very low incomes. The weakening of labor unions and the long-term minimum wage reduction are some of the factors that have harmed the income of many black people. Other factors such as mass incarceration of black men, as well as the consequent exclusion from mainstream economy have significantly hampered black

A Study of Musical Theatre’s Gilbert and Sullivan Essay Example for Free

A Study of Musical Theatre’s Gilbert and Sullivan Essay Theatre, as we know it, always aims to provoke its audience through emotions, by invoking the muses of comedy and tragedy, and everything else in between. Many names are synonymous to the history and success of theatre, but none comes close to the iconic contributions of Britain’s most illustrious duo, collectively known as Gilbert and Sullivan. Sharp, clever wit and brilliant rhyme have found their rightful places in the theatrical masterpieces composed by renowned playwright William S. Gilbert, and his equally-profound partner, composer Arthur Sullivan. The 1870s marked the beginning of a new ideology in musical theatre, as the partnership brought to the fore previously unheard-of standards that were identified by a mix of intelligence in satire and silliness, as well as melodic instrumentations that complement the passion and creativity of the written word. Such was the success of the outcome that Gilbert and Sullivan managed to pioneer and influence generations of theatre innovations, and eventually, become a solid pillar in both British and American popular culture. Musical comedy writers, Broadway lyricists, literary authors and composers—and even important names in politics and government—are just some of those who have credited Gilbert and Sullivan for a number of their works. Through the excellent vision of production genius Richard D’Oyly Carte, the impressive collaborations of Gilbert and Sullivan were set to stage. The Savoy Theatre in London, Carte’s headquarters, became the setting for many of the duo’s memorable musicals. Innovative from the beginning, The Savoy was the first theatre in the world to utilize electricity, and summoned theatre-goers all over to sample this taste of technology as well as the brilliance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works, which were later aptly named â€Å"Savoy Operas† (Kenrick, 2000-2003). The Gilbert and Sullivan era spanned from 1871 to 1896, and between them they were able to create fourteen critically-acclaimed and hugely popular masterpieces—counting The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and H. M. S. Pinafore as the most widely-received. II. William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, The Beginning The young William Gilbert (1836-1911) was the son of a naval surgeon by profession, and a writer by interest. He jumpstarted his son’s juvenile career by allowing the boy to accompany his articles with illustrations; William soon found his own talent for writing, and came up with his own compositions. These writings, called Bab Ballads, would later find their way into some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most acclaimed musicals. Gilbert’s Bab Ballads were known for their unique use of humor played out through logic (Classic Gilbert and Sullivan). Mike Leigh, English film and theatre director, concludes this style to be decidedly one that had Gilbert’s signature, where the establishment of the strange, absurd, and otherwise unacceptable concept would be expertly formed into perfect examples of reason and truth—all done with a bite of silliness metamorphosing into deadpan prose. On the other hand, the musical inclinations of Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) also had strong parental influences—his father was a bandmaster with the military, and the then 8-year-old Arthur had already become expert in all the band instruments. In 1856, after concluding his initial attempts of composing songs and anthems in school, Arthur proceeded to claim the first Mendelssohn Prize, and took further studies in composition and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, as well as in Leipzig. He performed his 1861 graduation piece, an ode to William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, at the Crystal Palace; this earned him the prestige of being heralded as the country’s most promising young composer. Among Sullivan’s applauded works early in his career were The Masque at Kenilworth (1842), The Prodigal Son (1869), On Shore and Sea (1871), and a ballet entitled L’lle Enchantee (1864) (Classic Gilbert and Sullivan). William Gilbert’s and Arthur Sullivan’s paths crossed as they attended a rehearsal of the play Ages Ago, where the composer Frederic Clay made introductions. A couple of years after that, Gilbert and Sullivan made their first foray as co-creators of what would be a uniquely wonderful style admired by the whole world. III. Gilbert and Sullivan and the Comic Opera A staple of English theatre during the Edwardian era, the comic opera’s origins come from 18th-century Naples, in Italy. Known as intermezzi, short comic routines were used to end the bigger acts, and enjoyed much popularity that they were later written to exist on their own. The final output was the comic opera, the concept of which was soon transported to Paris, where it easily claimed the approval of French dramatists and audiences. However, the same could not be said upon its arrival on English territory, for theatre professionals and enthusiasts at the time were still more interested in evolving the popular Ballad Opera and the newer form of Music Hall; the latter was introduced to fill the need for a lighter, less serious entertainment style. Finally, in 1871, the comic opera was launched in London’s Gaiety Theatre, through the production of Thespis; or the Gods Grown Old. This not only marked a new chapter in British theatre, but also the first entry of the long-running collaboration of musical theatre’s most prestigious partnership—Gilbert and Sullivan. It all started with the efforts of John Hollingshead, then manager of the Gaiety Theatre, who employed Gilbert’s expertise to write the libretto of his theatre’s 1871 Christmas musical. They had worked together once before, on the burlesque Robert the Devil which also ran in Gaiety. To complete the requirement for the musical, Hollingshead contacted Sullivan, who was then still inexperienced in stage production. This first encounter produced Thespis, but was initially given much criticism and low confidence in the team. Four years later, the producer Carte would bring them back together to create Trial By Jury; the resulting 300 performances declared it a resounding success, as well as a much-awaited approval of the partnership. Perhaps the foremost appeal of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works had much to do with their ability to poke fun and humor at establishment, as well as current social and political issues. This was a high time for patriotism in Britain, and the British audience’s validation of the comic operas sealed the career success of the duo. Much of the credit would also have to go to the newness of concept and execution of each piece, that even foreign audiences understood and appreciated the essence of every performance. To this day, comic opera will always be defined by Gilbert and Sullivan—they truly made it their niche, and those that attempted to surpass or equal their achievements failed to do so (Gillan, 2007). Of the fourteen collaborative works of the famed partnership, many were lauded as icons of comic opera. These were the celebrated productions of Thespis: or the Gods Grown Old, Trial By Jury (1975), The Sorcerer (1877), and of course, the previously-mentioned The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and H. M. S. Pinafore. Thespis: or the Gods Grown Old, being Gilbert and Sullivan’s first collaboration, had no real indications of the phenomenal future awaiting its two creators. Yet the classic Gilbert and Sullivan format was already applied in the work, by setting the opera in the mythical Mount Olympus. In the story, the gods have all grown old and the celestial buildings were all in a state of ruin. Then a group of actors and their leader named Thespis went up the mountain to have a picnic, and noticed the sad condition of the place. Thespis gets into a deal with Jupiter, agreeing that his group would take on the work of the tired gods, provided that Mercury would remain to brief them of their duties. But things do not go as planned, and Mercury only noted all complaints. When the gods on break finally return, they discover the unsatisfactory results and banish the group back to earth. 1875’s Trial By Jury made use of an old legal procedure as the main idea, specifically a ‘breach of promise’ trial. This often took place in earlier times, when a man could be summoned to court and sued for taking back a marriage proposal. The characters included a dashing, worldly bachelor and the woman who called for the hearing, a maiden dressed in wedding attire. An all-male jury and an unscrupulous judge round up the cast, with the woman directing her flirtations toward the jury but would end up receiving a proposal from the judge himself—as a way to resolve the case. The storyline established prevailing comic themes that would later be present in most of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works: (1) true and undying love may come from and end in unexpected sources and directions; (2) the existence of politicians who achieved their public status by charming and lying their way through, and (3) aversion for mature women, specifically those over 40—which is, in truth, a nod to patriarchy and sexism. Two years later, Gilbert and Sullivan produced The Sorcerer, which featured a man of magic who brings chaos and confusion to a tiny English village by creating a love potion. In many ways, The Sorcerer made a satire of class distinction and social propriety, which were standard elements in Victorian society. Yet in true Gilbert and Sullivan style, the output was of inimitable wit and class that the references were not declared offensive at all—so much was its success that aside from its own numerous showings, The Sorcerer was staged even as far as America, albeit unauthorized. And while the opera’s theme could have been translated by the French through a multitude of sexual innuendos and references played out by unreal, fantastic characters, Gilbert and Sullivan designed The Sorcerer with roles that were utterly believable and credible—the kind of people that actually exist in everyday life, that the British audience could identify. The penchant for poking fun at British social conventions became Gilbert and Sullivan’s running objective, and in 1878 they again succeeded in producing a successful show that audiences celebrated. H. M. S. Pinafore once again uses love as a theme, but a deeper reading would reveal that the opera tackles the discussion of England’s class society. With the narrative centering on the daughter of a naval captain’s rejection of the Secretary of the Navy—the highest-ranking man of uniform—for the affections of a common sailor, H. M. S. Pinafore showcases the reality of a person born into a particular class, and the availability of options based on this system. It is also a criticism of their society’s double standard on the issue of marriage; they patronize literature’s ideals about love conquering all, while in real life they disapprove of unions between people of different social classes. This time, audiences were not as forgiving as they were with The Sorcerer—the prevailing adherence and respect for the British class system caused low ticket sales. That, as well as the unrelenting hot weather pulled Gilbert and Sullivan’s celebrity down—for a moment. During Sullivan’s summer concerts, he came up with the smart strategy to include several medleys of his Pinafore score; the result was a revived interest in the opera, and eventually sales and attendance reached phenomenal heights. Such was the success of the opera that it encouraged Carte to involve Gilbert and Sullivan in the actual business, dividing all production expenses and sales profits among the three of them. From this point on, Gilbert and Sullivan were given decision-making authority in all their productions. However, because of the opera’s impact on the British audiences, many unauthorized production of Pinafore were staged, particularly in the United States, where international copyright laws were not yet in place. To assert ownership, Carte brought the production overseas where it enjoyed a brief yet successful run in Broadway, and made sure that Gilbert and Sullivan’s works were covered by copyright laws in the country. Carte had this foremost on his mind when Gilbert and Sullivan came up with yet another opera destined for iconic status, 1880’s Pirates of Penzance. This time, Carte protected the production rights both in Britain and New York, which established the legal precedents still observed today. The move has benefited playwrights and writers all over the world, with this initial case on intellectual property rights. Love as an ideal is again the running theme in Penzance, as the story explores the adventures of a young man named Frederick who, by no choice of his own, worked under the tutelage of a group of pirates. As luck would have it, he falls for the daughter of a Major General—a momentous experience that drove him to make up for his previous deeds by eliminating the pirates he used to be associated with. The pirates in question actually turned out to be noblemen who made the wrong choices in life; in the end, they, including Frederick, all take the Major’s many daughters as their wives. There was no stopping the success of Gilbert and Sullivan, and they forged on to firmly claim their place in popular culture. Several productions were created, among them Patience (1881), which told of the poet’s charm and magnetism, a surefire way to get his way with the women, except for the one he wants—who is but a simple milkmaid. Written as a comedy, Patience ultimately focused on aestheticism, which referred to an artist’s or writer’s obsession with beauty. Carte employed a brilliant marketing strategy to promote the production, with the assistance of famed writer Oscar Wilde. The writer was tasked to do the lecture circuit around the United States, to provide a full background on this new ideology, and to ensure public awareness of the opera. Not surprisingly, this tactic resulted in positive financial reaction. With Patience, Gilbert and Sullivan introduced another innovation, this time with the characters of the opera narrative and the songs assigned to them. In their previous works, the duo’s main goal to put a message across was met; the technical level of the story itself remained the way it was from their early projects. Not the kinds to stay within their comfort zones, Gilbert and Sullivan expanded their competencies as playwrights by integrating the characters with music—producing songs and personalities that were exclusive to each other, and the situations they were in. Comic opera was what people called the Gilbert and Sullivan theatre style; in reality, it was the birth of the integrated musical. The partnership, while perfect on an intellectual realm, was slowly revealing its cracks caused by the personal differences of the two artists. Gilbert was apparently so taken with the love potion plot—which he successfully delivered in The Sorcerer—and wanted to create another opera using the same idea. This was not taken positively by Sullivan, who soon decided, on impulse, to focus more on serious projects. Of course, Gilbert did not take this well either, and the beginning of what would be a personal feud between the two took its place. Carte tried to remedy the situation by staging a rerun of The Sorcerer, only as a stopgap measure for further rifts that may damage company existence and operations. Fate once again played a major role in the succeeding events, because the partnership was saved by a mundane object—a Japanese sword. It fell from the wall of Gilbert’s study and almost hit him, but instead of dismissing the incident, Gilbert took inspiration from it. This set the tone and plot for Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular opera to date. The Mikado, staged in 1885, carried the same elements that had made the duo famous: love, and social commentary; with a generous helping of humor and wit. The plot itself was hilarious—it was a scenario questioning what would happen when the Emperor of Japan, know as the Mikado, passes a decree declaring flirting as illegal, and punishable by law. The townsfolk of Titipu refused to follow the new ruling, and consequently appointed Koko, a condemned tailor, as Lord High Executioner. Strangely, the condition for this appointment was for Koko to be beheaded, as he was proven guilty of violating the new law, unless he finds someone to behead first. Koko manages to find someone to execute, and that was the traveling minstrel named Nanki-Poo, who actually agrees with Koko only if he is allowed to marry the beautiful Yum-Yum—Koko’s fiance. Nanki-Poo was given a month to enjoy the wedded life before he was beheaded and Koko can finally marry Yum-Yum. But soon an old woman named Katisha appears, a representative of the royal court, and announces that Nanki-Poo is really the crown prince—guilty of the crime, as he had flirted with her and tried to escape execution by hiding in the small town. Eventually, the Mikado himself arrives and declares that his goal for decreeing such an inane ruling was to let the punishment fit the crime. More misunderstandings and deceptions came afterwards, but in the end everyone lives happily ever after. Gilbert and Sullivan decided to use Japan as a setting to create a satire about the British penchant for all things Japanese, during the 1880s. And because it was brilliantly written and the references to British pretensions and petty customs subtle and discreet, audiences failed to make any negative observations and promptly applauded the performance. Exporting The Mikado to the United States was the right thing to do, for it replicated the success of H. M. S. Pinafore and drove Americans into a Japanese frenzy. The Mikado is the sole musical by Gilbert and Sullivan that had been performed in a variety of languages, and is also their only work that spawned a diplomatic controversy. In 1907, the Crown Prince of Japan came over for a state visit, and immediately the British government ordered a ban on The Mikado; only to discover that one of the Prince’s objectives in visiting Britain was to watch the musical. To this day, The Mikado is still widely produced and staged worldwide. However, the problem with having a major success in one’s name is the pressure to produce another one of equal or greater impact. In 1887, Gilbert and Sullivan staged Ruddigore, which entailed more melodrama than their previous collaborations. It truly was an accomplished piece, but audiences kept comparing it with The Mikado. Once more, Sullivan was disheartened by this turn of events and threatened to leave the industry altogether and focus on classical compositions instead. Gilbert tried to change his mind with a new libretto, one that was not an echo of their old work. With The Yeomen of the Guard, an operetta set during the reign of Henry VIII, romance was played out within the constraints of political controversies, as well as the possibility of execution. Sullivan, satisfied with the proposition, proceeded to create a score punctuated with melodrama and emotion, while Gilbert reinvented himself and his style by veering from his usual whimsical comic dialogue. Serious was the best word to use to describe Yeoman, and this became a personal favorite of Sullivan. The monarchy did not escape the sharp wit of the two, either. In 1889, Gilbert and Sullivan resurrected their signature comic style with the staging of The Gondoliers. A story of a couple of anti-royalist gondoliers from Venice who ironically discover that they have suddenly become kings of a country in the midst of a revolution, Gilbert and Sullivan once again mixed fun and comedy to discuss the idiosyncrasies of the royals and the issues of democracy. The Gondoliers became an instant international hit. No less than the public-shy Queen Victoria requested for several private performances of The Gondoliers, which validated the immense contribution of Gilbert and Sullivan to musical theatre. But the personal differences between the two icons continued to get in the way of their professional relationship. Some were serious concerns, yet some were downright trivial—such as the argument over the cost of newly-installed carpets in the Savoy Theatre. Carte and his wife ultimately chose to take Sullivan’s side, which resulted in their production of Ivanhoe, Sullivan’s grand opera. However, this project failed to achieve any semblance of financial success; which was a mirror of Gilbert’s own experience when he went back to writing his own plays. Several years later, the three business partners tried to put everything aside and reconcile, but sadly, they were never able to bring back their glory days. Still, they managed to produce Utopia Limited (1893), another satire of Britain’s unsuccessful efforts in its dealings with other countries; and The Grand Duke (1896), featuring a theatre group’s attempts to claim power in a problematic Germany. Both productions were of the same make and quality as their previous ones, but neither enjoyed substantial performance durations because of expensive production costs. More than that, it was already apparent that Gilbert and Sullivan no longer had the fresh and intriguing style and creativity that had earned them the respect of audiences worldwide (Kenrick, 2000-2003). IV. Reviews Interesting to note are the reviews made for each of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas, as made by many critics and journalists during the time. Some of the takes of these writers were documented and used as reference, in order to validate the creative contribution given by the duo. One review for Thespis on its opening night in 1871 commended Gilbert and the magnificent storyline he created, as well as the audience’s superb reception of the play. Credits were specifically given to the talent showcased (Perry, 2001). A Trial By Jury review was not truly exciting—while the critic commended the acting and singing done by the performers, it was the â€Å"lateness of the hour† that possibly accounted for the audience’s lackluster reaction (Perry, 2001). H. F. Frost reviewed The Sorcerer in 1877, and emphasized the effective combination of literary merit and dramatic consistency as created by Gilbert and Sullivan, except that their attempts to subtly mix burlesque and opera was not entirely acceptable. Points were given to the theme of exploring human nature’s weaknesses and imperfections (Perry, 2000). It is evident that H. M. S. Pinafore was a huge crowd favorite, as revealed by a review published in 1878. Pinafore was commended for the use of burlesque but had more humor and charm over Trial By Jury and The Sorcerer. The satire and libretto were both noted, and gave Gilbert and Sullivan credit for managing to pull it off without great offense to the public. The actors were also adjudged suited to their roles, and the musical one that will remain in the bills for a long time (Perry, 2001). A review made in 1880 of Pirates of Penzance saw it as having several allusions to H. M. S. Pinafore, particularly in the similarities of some of the characters. But the audience was not put off by that observation, and still applauded the cynicism and wit of Gilbert’s words as well as the charm of Sullivan’s music (Perry, 2000). V. The Final Years Though they never really regained their old camaraderie, Gilbert and Sullivan remained civil to each other until the end. In 1888, Sullivan was granted knighthood, and the former colleagues shared the same stage once more during revivals of their old classics were produced. Later, Sullivan collaborated with other writers to produce several critically-acclaimed operas, including The Emerald Isle in 1900. Sullivan finally passed away at the age of 58, due to a bout of severe bronchitis. Gilbert, on the other hand, got his second wind at the dawn of the new century, with a notable output of librettos and plays. He eventually received his knighthood in 1907, which was long overdue, but allowed him to experience being touted as a British national living treasure. At age 74, while saving a girl from drowning in his own estate, Gilbert was struck by a fatal heart attack. This happened in late May 1911. The great producer Carte succumbed to the permanent effects of illness in 1901, but his opera company was continued by Helen, his wife, and their son Rupert and his wife. They revived the most acclaimed works of Gilbert and Sullivan throughout the years, until the company closed in 1983 due to financial problems. But Bridget, Rupert’s wife, left a considerable amount of money to allow a new group of theatre producers to form a new company, which still stages revivals of the famous musicals of Gilbert and Sullivan to this day. VI. The Gilbert and Sullivan Legacy The achievements of Gilbert and Sullivan were nothing less than national milestones, particularly in the reality of class-conscious Britain. The brilliant wit, humor, and music created by the duo gained popularity with all class levels of society, which was a feat it itself. Apart from that, the team’s theatre philosophy transformed the standard musical preferences to be more attune to popular music, and less concentration on the obscure and exclusive. However, Carte’s company refused to grant performers and directors the freedom to modify each production—every staging had to adhere to the set guidelines of the original team. Critics and audiences could only imagine how fresh eyes and new voices would be able to interpret the tried-and-tested pieces (Wren, 2001). Britain respected the legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan, and their standards of musical theatre bore into all productions made in the late 1800s. George Edwardes, a producer of comic operas, proved to be the duo’s strongest competitor. He started with the success of Dorothy in 1886, which included a ballad entitled â€Å"Queen of My Heart†, that broke all records—even running longer than any of Gilbert and Sullivan’s musicals. But what made Edwardes a respected name was his discovery of a new technique with his production of The Gaiety Girls, a musical named after the famous London theatre. This musical comedy featured many of Gilbert and Sullivan’s standard elements, making it a manifestation of the partnership’s influence on the art. The Gaiety Girls, like most of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas, carried a theme of love gained and lost. But these musicals only had two general narratives—a poor girl in love with a rich man, and wins him in the end, even in the presence of adversities; and a poor girl who attempts to get out of a marriage she did not want, prompting her to involve other characters on a chase. The music and titles of these musicals all had the same essence, which were really just variations on a theme. Interestingly, the seeming monotony of these musicals were greatly appreciated by the audiences and critics, who preferred them exactly as they were. But these productions could never stand up against the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, particularly those that had traveled to the United States. This fact awakened the British audience from their stupor, as they had to acknowledge the international receipt of their own culture (Morley, 1987). Needless to say, the Gilbert and Sullivan operas consistently received much acclaim from their American audiences; the staging of H. M. S. Pinafore started a nationwide craze aptly called â€Å"Pinafore-mania†. Typical of Americans, the music and songs of Pinafore quickly entered the realm of popular culture, and were included in regular talk. The classic line â€Å"What never? Well, hardly ever! † from Pinafore became standard replies of people all over, and the phrase â€Å"short, sharp stock† that was used in The Mikado to mean â€Å"of severe punishment† was borrowed by various writers, artists, commentators and bands. Perhaps the most celebrated American production of a Gilbert and Sullivan original was Pirates of Penzance, which found its way to Broadway in 1981 and enjoyed a run that broke production and staging records. Gilbert, in particular, would often be cited by popular American writers, such as Johnny Mercer, Larry Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, and Stephen Sondheim. Mercer was even quoted as saying, â€Å"We all come from Gilbert†, and Sondheim made a tribute to the famous librettist in â€Å"Please Hello† from his work Pacific Overtures (1976). It is probably not far-fetched to assume that Gilbert and Sullivan’s work lent sophistication and class to the existing brand of musicals then; soon after, new generations of musical talents appeared, putting the USA on top of the list. The Boston Ideal Opera Company, more popularly known as The Bostonians, made the rounds of theatres all over the country, and were received well for their outstanding performances. They included in the repertoire several original American musicals, but were known for their productions of Gilbert and Sullivan works. A listing of American originals that took after the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition is as follows: El Capitan (1896) by John Philip Sousa The Begum (1887) and Robin Hood (1891) by librettist Harry B, Smith and composer Reginald DeKoven The Highwayman (1897), again by Reginald DeKoven (Gillan, 2007). VII. The Gilbert and Sullivan Influence The influence of Gilbert and Sullivan extended all the way to other forms of art ad communication, which included literary works of famous writers. References to their collaborations are found in the work of writer Isaac Asimov, who wrote a number of stories centered on the puzzles and mysteries of the duo’s operas. One such story was of time travel, where one had to go back in the 1800s to rescue the score to Gilbert and Sullivan’s Thespis (Asimov, 1978). â€Å"The Year of the Action† engaged a debate over the actual date of the action in Pirates of Penzance. A story in Asimov’s famous I, Robot, â€Å"Runaround†, had a character singing parts of songs from Ruddigore, Patience, and Pinafore. Cleverly, Asimov concluded his homage to the duo with his story â€Å"The Up-To-Date Sorcerer†, which was obviously a parody of The Sorcerer. Legendary British author P. G. Wodehouse was also known to cite Gilbert and Sullivan in his writings, and more often exclusively referred to Gilbert. His novels and short stories included numerous allusions to the team’s work, many to Gilbert’s early Bab Ballads (Robinson, 2006). The film industry also found the works of Gilbert and Sullivan great material for a wealth of movies. Many of their musicals were adapted into films, including the actors who originally performed in the theatre versions. The Mikado was adapted into a movie in 1939, in full color, for which it won several awards. Also, many films made use of scores composed for a number of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals, including The Matchmaker (1958), I Could Go On Singing (1963), The Naughty Victorians (1975), The Bad News Bears Go To Japan (1978), Chariots of Fire (1981), The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1989), The Browning Version (1994), and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (1992). Television is also another medium that has embraced the Gilbert and Sullivan talent. From The Simpsons to Frasier, from Angel to The West Wing, the duo’s music has been showcased in a variety of scenes and episodes. There was even a show dedicated to spoofs of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals, entitled The Star of Christmas. Video games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas also had visual references of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works, particularly of Pirates of Penzance. Outside of media, many personalities in politics also found good material in the team’s celebrated works to promote their platforms and ideologies. A â€Å"short, sharp stock† remains to be a popular mainstay in many manifestos and debates. VIII. On A Personal Level Though their professional partnership was truly accomplished and proven time and again, it was the personal relationship of Gilbert and Sullivan that had suffered the most. Collaborations may or may not be successful if the participants are friends; however, artists like Gilbert and Sullivan probably see no boundaries between who they are and what they do. Sullivan was not rich, and as he grew up he mad it a point to mingle with the rich and influential. He met Gilbert, and immediately discovered the parallels in drive and talent in both of them. However, he also saw something else—that Gilbert’s friendship could be the means for him to make his career flourish. Sullivan had many other powerful friends, including Queen Victoria, who advi