Quality Management in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quality Management in Business - Essay Example Under this principle, the business will adopt a pricing strategy that suits the quality of their product. Another definition of quality states that quality is the process of satisfying the customer’s implied and stated needs. This is where the business creates products in accordance to the needs and expectations of the customers. The business would carry out market researches and consider what kind of products and services are being expected by the customers, and then the quality of the products will be determined. The levels of quality and pricing strategies also depend on the needs of the customers. For example if the customer is ready to use a product of high quality and high price, the business will produce only high quality products, but if there are customers who want to spend less and compromise on quality, then the business will produce the same product with varying levels of quality (Black, 2011, p. 736). Another definition states that quality is the combination of process power and people power. It is linked to the efficiency in production and the improvement of processes. It may also include the technical processes, designs, engineering and management processes. The features and characteristics of the tools and materials provided by the suppliers also include in the quality of the product. In manufacturing businesses, quality can be regarded as the process which is free from defects, delays and deficiencies. The quality assurance processes include all activities that prevent, detect and remove all the defects that tend to occur in between the business processes. The processes include several steps to ensure that the delivery of products and services is being carried out efficiently. The steps include plan, do, check and act. In the plan stage, the business has to ensure that a plan is made in an order keeping in consideration all the processes, activities and methods to be used. The next step is doing, where

East of Eden Essay Example for Free

East of Eden Essay East of Eden deplores many religious matters, specifically, the concepts of sibling rivalry and the age old battle between good and evil. In the biblical Book of Genesis, the brothers Cain and Abel offer God the father a sacrifice. God favors the shepherd Abels sacrifice of his best lamb over the farmer Cains grain. Subsequently, in a Jealous rage, Cain kills his brother Abel, only to be marked by God and banished to wander the earth. Stanford dropout, John Steinbeck applies the story of Genesis heavily in East of Eden; the concepts of this iblical allusion are evident in both generations of brothers. In each generation, one of the Trask brothers is moral and good while the other brother behaves badly and immorally, already we see how the Trask family parallels Genesis. Because the good Trask brothers are favored, the bad Trask brothers develop envious tendencies and a recurrent theme of sibling rivalry appears throughout the book. The first generation of Trask brothers, Charles and Adam, follow the Cain and Abel biblical model from the very beginning. .. its awful not to be loved. Its the worst thing in the world t makes you mean, and violent, and cruel. (Steinbeck 347). This quote epitomizes the root of all evil in the Trask generations- lack of recognition to one of the sons. When their deadbeat father Cyrus favors Adams birthday gift of a puppy over Charles expensive knife, Charles nearly beats Adam to death. Although Charles does not kill Adam, he is a clear allusion to Cain. While Adam wanders the Earth in the army, it is Charles who remains on the farm, where like Cain, h e becomes marked with a dark brown scar. Adam therefor, is reflected as Abel. Humans are caught†in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too†in a net of good and evil. (127). This quote is a clear representation of the Adam and Charles relationship throughout the novel. The incident that occurred over a simple birthday gift sparked a Jealous rage that caused Charles and Adam to remain at odds with each other throughout their entire lives despite their love for each other. The next generation of Trask brothers, the dark haired Cal and fair-haired Aaron, also carry out the dynamics of the Cain and Abel tale. Cals Jealousy towards Aron is due to the favoritism that Aron receives from their father Adam; this is especially seen through an episode that resulted in Aarons death. For some reason, Adam favors Aron over Cal and when Cal offers his father a birthday present of $1 5,000 to help him recover his financial losses, Adam scorns him for making the money during a war-time economy. In a rage, Cal takes his brother to isit the notorious prostitute that birthed the two boys. Emotionally traumatized, Aaron runs away to the army during World War l, and dies soon after. Cal lies to Adam when asked about Aarons whereabouts. Where is he? How do I know? said Cal. Am I supposed to look after him? (p. 562). This sequence between Cal and Adam portrays the emotional barrier between the two that seems to bring out the untruthfulness in Cal that reflects his ancient parallel, Cain. Thus, the biblical tale plays out with Cal, although inadvertently, killing his brother. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a the concept of timshel. While psychologically shattered Adam reminisces over Cathy, Lee and Samuel share philosophical discussions over the ancient Hebrew word timshel. Timshel defies the pattern in the Cain and Abel tale, rather than condemning the less favored brother to a life of sin it pursues the issue of free will and grants Cal the strength to depart from the inherently bound evil motives that ossessed him at an early age.

Computer Creativity in Soccer :: Technology Artificial Intelligence Essays

Computer Creativity in Soccer Studies concerning computer creativity in art and music have been central issues in the field of Artificial Intelligence for over thirty years, and several scholars of computer science are optimistic that computers will eventually be able to create original works (Miranda, 16), but not until recently had any computer programmer pursued Artificial Intelligence in athletics. This is a particularly daunting field because our knowledge of robotics is still very primitive, but this does not merit neglecting further investigation. Robotic soccer has emerged as a new challenge in Artificial Intelligence, but the question remains of whether robots playing sports has anything to do with true â€Å"intelligence,† or the level of creativity that is necessary to produce something artistic. The study of robotic soccer is similar to that of computer-composed art in several ways, the simplest parallel being that the more intelligent a computer is, the more it excels at each of the fields. After a certain point, raw computing power will not help a computer to improve anymore at either soccer or art, but the ability to think originally will be essential in bringing out true talent in a machine. The concept for robotic soccer originated in 1994 at an AI conference when professor of computer science at University of British Columbia, Alan Mackworth, presented a team of motorized miniature Porsches with computer chips that chased a ball around, trying to knock it into a goal. The motorized cars were equipped with only a vision system and some basic programming, but much to the excitement of the crowd of European and Japanese spectators, they were completely independent of any human control. Mackworth had originally come up with the idea only a few years earlier, after learning of MIT and IBM’s joint project to build Deep Blue, the most advanced chess-playing computer program that became better than any human player after beating grandmaster Kasparov in a best out of five game match. Mackworth realized how simple it was to construct a computer that could outwit a human opponent at chess, commenting that, â€Å"chess computers sit in a room and stare at a board. I thought AI should raise the bar.† (Preville, National Post) Chess seemed to be tailored towards computers - it is a single-player, strategical game in which players have no time constraints when thinking through all possible moves, and it does not necessitate mobility.

Plain English at Work: A Guide to Business Writing Speaking by Edward Bailey Essay

Edward Bailey conveys deep yet simple approach to writing and communicating effectively. A comprehensive guide to writing, the book is in the first-person perspective and Bailey’s style to writing simply conveys his thoughts to the reader through simple and understandable words and sentences. The feel of the book is as if Bailey directly communicates with the reader, talking or addressing in a simple way. His aim is to write simply, avoiding complex words and wordy paragraphs that provide clear understanding on the part of the reader. Chapter 1: What is plain English writing? The first chapter of the book discusses the essentials of English writing. Bailey first defined what plain English is: ‘a way of expressing your ideas clearly in writing and speaking.’[1] He then enumerated three principles in plain English writing:  · Style: This involves writing in clear, readable, and simple sentences rather than complex ones. As Bailey suggests: ‘write more the way you talk.’[2]  · Organization: The main idea or topic is immediately written at the start to avoid confusion of ideas or redirecting the flow of the topic.  ·   Layout: Lastly, this principle is merely an organization of thoughts into a bullet form, subtitles or headings that can be helpful, visually. Bailey then discussed the different forms of plain writing as he compared and contrasted plain writing from businessese or business writing. He used businessese as a form of writing dialect which he compared to ‘academese, leaglese, bureaucratese’ etc. Writing should be plain and simple, as presented in the example where business writing often uses wordy sentences on a simple idea that confuses its main point and is sometimes prone to misinterpretation. Plain writing encourages reader to prefer simple words rather than complex one since, according to psycholinguists, the comprehension of complex and simple words of the human mind is a few hundred milliseconds but does not contribute to strain on short-term memory which helps better understanding.[3] He then presented several institutions in society that encourages plain English writing like the US military, federal agencies, and even lawyers. At the end of the chapter, true to his notion of organization and layout, he presented the overall structure of the book and enumerated the ideas that are to be found in the succeeding chapters. Chapter Summary Bailey presented the idea of plain English writing as a means of communicating effectively as well as providing a clear understanding of the main topic or idea. Plain English is easy to read and write that can be used to provide understanding on a simple or complex idea. Wordiness and highfaluting words often contribute to misunderstanding or misinterpretation. The aim of speaking and writing is to directly convey to the reader the main subject or idea, especially on the perspective of business writing. The application of this method is true, especially on business writing since it is essential for members of the working industry to directly convey the message of intent so as to avoid confusion or misinterpretation. In addition, the notion of simple or plain writing may seem unacceptable to some standards of writing because of simplistic use of words. However, the point of writing is to directly convey the message of the writer, and through the use of simple words, ideas ranging from easy to complex can be easily explained through proper organization of thought, word usage, and such. Chapter 2: Style: writing a readable sentence The chapter discusses the first principle Bailey mentioned in effective, plain, English writing. For Bailey, style involves utilizing the way one talk or speaks. ‘Write more the way you talk – with ordinary words, a variety of punctuation, personal pronouns and contractions.’[4] For the author, the most effective way of plain writing is to ‘write the way you talk’ –write as though you are directly communicating with the reader. One should also write in an organized and polite manner. However, the problem with writing as though you talk may sound simplistic or simple-minded. However, Bailey countered this argument by simply writing on the level of how one would communicate with the other. Basically, the difference between talking to a five year-old to a 25-year old is the way one talks. Therefore, writing entails the process of how one would commune themselves to the other. Tips on Talking and Writing[5] †¢ Imagining oneself communicating with the reader minus the phonetic punctuations like uhhs, and ums. Speaking and writing go hand in hand. †¢ Use ordinary words. Wordiness contributes to confusion. o Example: instead of commence, use begin †¢ Variety of punctuation (Question marks are a good way to eliminate monotonous sentences) o Example: The main point is that the defective computer disks are not the responsibility of the manufacturer. = Just who is responsible for defective computer disks? †¢ Use more personal pronouns: It enables using the active voice rather than passive voice. †¢ Use more contractions o Example: Can’t, won’t, don’t, that’s. Rules on Writing Bailey suggested that the use of contractions and the aforementioned tips in writing may slightly deviate from the rules set during the formative years in school. However, Bailey argued that not all rules are followed. He categorized them into three: rules we all agree with, rules few people agree with, and rules amateurs follow and professional don’t. Rules People Follow Bailey mentioned the use the universal rules of writing and grammar. ‘We all know to start sentences with capital letters and end them with periods or other terminal marks of punctuation.’[6] These rules are not the object of controversy in most writing cases since people know these rules and follow them. Rules Few People Agree With Bailey mentioned a case on pop-grammar where he cited an example from the writing styles of The New York Times. â€Å"The Soviet Union evidently is not able to convince Cairo to accept a rapid cease fire.†[7] The use of pop-grammar in this sentence refers to the usage most pop-grammarians argue about. These are the grammar experts who have the know-how on the rules of usage. Rules Amateurs Follow and Professionals Don’t Basically, these rules are used by professionals that sometimes do not follow the standard rules of writing and the issues on pop-grammar. Bailey mentioned John Trimble in his book Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing; list ‘Seven Nevers’[8] 1. Never begin a sentence with and or but. 2. Never use contractions. 3. Never refer to the reader as you. 4. Never use the first person pronoun I. 5. Never end a sentence with a preposition. 6. Never split an infinitive. 7. Never write a paragraph containing only a single sentence. To Bailey however, the way to simple writing is eliminating the ‘never’ in the aforementioned rules. Professional writing often involves spoken English, and these rules are not often followed, even by professionals. Chapter Summary Bailey enumerated several uses on style. The main argument of the chapter focuses on writing as one would speak. This enables an effective way of communication through simple word use, contractions, and questions as well as putting one’s shoes on the perspective of the writer directly talking to the reader. On the subject of contractions, the use of which may not be acceptable to the standards of formal writing or journalism. It is preferable for these contractions (can’t, won’t) to be spelled out (can not, will not) in order to be considered appropriate usage, especially on academic writing or journalism. Though contractions may not suit formal standards of writing, its usage does not make it wrong or inappropriate. The main theme of the book is to write as though one would speak, and the use of contractions helps in directly conveying messages by being simple and easy to understand. Chapter 3: Organization: getting to the point Chapter Summary In lieu of simple English writing, the main topic or subject should be easily spotted, preferably at the beginning of every paragraph, though not necessarily as the first sentence. This involves what the writer wants to readers to do, purpose or opinion. Often, if main ideas are not placed at the beginning of a paper or article, it confuses and frustrates the reader as they are lost reading through pages of paragraphs without ever realizing what the whole topic is all about. Therefore it is preferable, according to Bailey, that main ideas should be placed up front. Common problems why main ideas are placed at the end:  · to make readers read the entire document: to build the case so reader will more likely to accept the main point  · to re-enact how the writer learned something  · to delay bad news However, most readers do not bother finishing the entire document if main ideas are nowhere to be found up front. Readers bored with the pointless arguments of preceding paragraphs jump to the end in order to understand the main point. In the case of delaying bad news, the whole mood of the paper is compromised as tension and suspense build up – not really the intention of proper business writing. Stating bad news also involves proper tone usage. â€Å"With bad news, tone becomes extremely important. You probably want to say something with a less rude tone than: You’re fired.†[9] The proper way to convey bad news is to directly mention it at the beginning. Why Main Ideas Should be Placed in the Beginning  · It avoids frustration on the part of reader. The reader immediately grasps the idea instead of having to read countless paragraphs without understanding the main idea.  · It directly conveys the message of the writer (to do something, expectation, etc.)  · In writing chronologically, the main idea should be placed at the beginning since it would take time to know what really happened. Readers do not want a blow-by-blow account of what happened. Chapter 4: Layout: Adding Visual Impact Layout is â€Å"something that appears open and inviting.†[10] A good layout of a paper or work encourages readers to plough on through the paper’s entirety and also helps in the organization of thoughts and ideas. Three Layout Techniques  · Short paragraphs: Writing through short paragraphs instead of writing a block of text encourages readers to read more in between spaces instead of having to look at text crammed in one page. The ‘text-heavy’ concept is applied in newspapers as the layout of articles is placed in between-ads or pictures so as not to appear boring.  · Headings: This provides an organized way of arranging thoughts instead of numerous paragraphs. By dividing different thoughts or ideas into ‘subtitles’, it gives a visually appealing look for the reader and also a proper organization of thoughts (e.g. newspapers, textbooks).  · Bullets/Lists: Similar with the use of headings, bullets and lists provide an organized detail of a main subject or idea rather than incorporating all ideas into a long paragraph. On the case of numbered lists, this can be used when providing steps or instructions. Chapter Summary Through the use of the aforementioned thought organization techniques, these methods help the writer in organizing thoughts and ideas in a manner that will catch the attention of the reader and would encourage to read on. In addition, the use of these techniques is not only applied in the business perspective but also in journalism and other forms of writing. It is important, especially on business writing, to organize thoughts or details to directly convey the message and to avoid confusion. This rule also applies to writing in general, as proper writing involves clear and concise thoughts, proper word usage, and organization of thoughts, not merely a hodgepodge of ideas.

On Compassion Summary and Response

Kaitlyn Riesland English 101 T. McCann October 2, 2012 Summary Response 2 Summary & Response: Barbara Lazear â€Å"On Compassion† In â€Å"On Compassion† Barbara Lazear shows three main examples on how people in the Manhattan area show compassion for the homeless people in their community. After she gives the three main examples she then goes on to question whether they are actually showing compassion or if they are showing pity, care, or simply just selfishness. She also goes on to wondering if the people who are doing good things for the homeless people in the community are doing them just out of fear itself.One example of this is when the lady with the stroller gives a homeless man money while he is staring at her baby, she brings up the point that she may have just given him the money so he wouldn’t do anything to her or her baby. While wrapping up the end of the story she discusses how she believes that compassion is not something that someone is born with b ut rather something that you have to learn throughout your life. What is the difference between empathy and compassion? (Provide examples) In today’s world there are two words that are very easily confused for one another.These words are empathy and compassion, two words with similar meanings but one is more deep then the other. By definition empathy is one person’s ability to realize the feelings of another person. Another way to put that is you can physically see that someone else is going through something that causes them to have emotions. An example of empathy would be if you were crying and someone realized that you were sad, that would be empathy. However Compassion is when you are feeling the emotion that another person is feeling.The other way of explaining compassion is that you are going through the same emotions that another person is feeling and going through. An example of compassion would be if you see that one of your friends is mourning the death of a family member and you start to feel sad and get filed with emotions because you know what they are going though so you are sad as well. I think that empathy is felt more towards someone that you really don’t know that well because you may not know all of the details going on in their life. Most likely you only know the surface problem or emotion being felt.Whereas compassion is something that is felt more towards people that you are closer with in your life because you know about the emotion or emotions that they are feeling in more depth and you are more open to them then you would be with a stranger. However the line between empathy and compassion is a very thin line that could be crossed in the proses of being with someone. As you are with someone they might tell you more about their emotions being felt and you may open up more and feel the same emotions that they are feeling at the time.