ExpatriConcerns of a Global Company and Human Resources

ExpatriConcerns of a Global Company and Human Resources Free Online Research Papers In this high competitive environment, a multinational company must have global perspective and international knowledge in order to keep competitive advantage.(Babara et al., 1995).So expatriate performance management is very important for the success of multinational enterprises( MNEs). But the management of international companies look like more critical than domestic companies (Tung, 1984). Most people have less understanding of expatriate employees management than other employees.(Dowling et al.,1999,Tung, 1998). In this situation, more research about how to improve the performance management of international employees is necessary for all MNEs. Hence, in this study, we focus on performance management and performance appraisal of international employees. When people trying to make a decision about expatriate performance, several factors are very important for their consideration. These facts including compensation package, nature of expatriate job, host environment and culture adjustment.(Peter J. Denice W.,2004) Compensation When expatriate employees trying to accept the posting, they will think predictable financial benefits, the career progression potential related with the assignment (Peter Denice 2004). Therefore the compensation package is one of the most important factors that affect expatriates’ decision (Barnch, 2004). As discussed before, successful expatriates can lead the competitive advantage for the global organization in today’s exceeding competitive market. So compensation of expatriates is one of important component in the efficacity of MNEs (Lowe et al., 2000) In this research, we analyse this part from two orientations: â€Å"how† and â€Å"why† of expatriate compensation (Robert et al.) â€Å"To keep employees whole† is the goal of expatriate compensation (Omig,1999, p40). In order to maintain expatriates’ feeling â€Å"wholeness†, organizations need to consider following factors (Robert et al.) Host country market cost of living Scholars suggest that cost of living in the host country is the greatest impact on expatriate compensation (Frazee, 1998b, Overman, 2000). Also housing, children’s education, and healthcare costs are the details need to be discussed when people considering the cost of living in the host country (Robert et al). For example, an expatriate family leaves their own country American and move to Japan. Maybe their home used to be a big house located in a quite suburb. But now their rooms are small apartment stated in central area in Tokyo. It will be a big changing for them and it is very hard for these family members to start their new life. (Omig,1999). Also expatriate employee can not do his(her) assignment very well. In order to make sure expatriates’ working quality, compensation package should include the detail about housing change, introduce the new environment, list advantage and disadvantage of these changing. Then expatriates know what will happen in the future and also they can do lots of prepare to adopt the new home. Then about healthcare, healthcare is also one of important factors of compensation package according the research by Frazee (1998a).Lots of international company have different insurer between home country and expatriate. For instance, the expatriate worked in Hong Kong, while the insurer is Australian .In this situation, normally the claims document is finished in Chinese. But it is so inconvenient for the Australian headquarters reading this work. It should be translated and will take a long time (Franzee, 1998a). So these days, some enterprises contracting with insurance company which have special plan for expatriates. These plans including special progress to deal with expatriates’ claim more quickly than normal insurance company (Robert et al.) In addition, researcher indicates there are two main approaches to developing international compensation: the Going Rate Approach and the Balance Sheet Approach.(Peter Denice, 2004) Firstly, the Going Rate Approach is simple and easy to understand .But it can be easily variation between same nationality expatriates in different locations. For example, Towers Perrin make a survey about the compensation for CEOs: â€Å" USA: US$ 1932580 Argentina: US$ 879068 Canada: US$ 787060 China(Hong Kong SAR): US$736599 UK : US$668526 Singapore: US$645740 Italy: US$ 600319 Australian: US$546914 Secondly, there are more than 85 percent of organizations use the Balance Sheet Approach from the research (Overman, 2000; Wentland , 2003). â€Å"The Balance Sheet Approach provide equity between expatriates of the same nationality† and it is easy to communicate (Peter Denice 2004). Furthermore, the balance sheet approach help to â€Å"provide equivalent purchasing power abroad†(Overman, 2000, p88) Nature of the expatriate job The nature of the expatriate job is very important for the whole expatriate management system (Tahvanainen,2000). Expatriate employees want to achieve different tasks based on the different nature of their job(His-An Shih et al.,2003). This also means â€Å"expatriate performance appraisal should according to the nature of the expatriate mission† (His-An Shih et al.,2003). The difficult part for the expatriate manager is that the nature of their job is defined by their home country, but performed in host country (Peter Denice 2004). Especially when the expatriate need to complete important tasks and stay at host country for long time, the host country manager will be involved more in the expatriate objects’ decision (Tahvanainen, 2000). Scholars do some research about expatriates of four information technology industry who worked in Taiwan. They found different nature of the expatriate’s mission related to different goal-setting arrangement. Hitachi(Japan), Philips(Dutch), Samsung(Korea) use the same way: the host country manager approbate the goals set by expatriates (His-An Shih et al.,2003). â€Å" I need to set my own work goals every six months and discuss them with my direct supervisor here (Philip).† â€Å" We have to set our own performance goals and get our(host) manager’s approved?(Samsung)†. But Applied Materials Taiwan’s expatriates set their performance after they satisfied their clients. â€Å" We are also evaluated by our clients for instance, part of my performance goals is decided jointly by my boss and my client firm’s executives(AMT)† (His-An Shih et al.,2003). These findings provides hypothetic support to EPM model which suggested by Tchvanciner(1998). And this model can help MNEs improve their global management to get competitive advantage. Culture adjustment From past experience, hard to accept the new environment and difficult to operate effectively are main problems for most expatriates (Brewster and Harries, 1999). Pre-departure training, like language and sensitive training is very important for improving expatriates’ culture awareness and cross-culture suitability (Dowling et al., 1999). However, lots multinationals’ cross-culture training is not enough. Some are insufficient, some are incomplete ( Brewster,1995; Waxin et al.,1997, Selmer, 2000). Why these things happen? Because it’s very hard to evaluate the effectiveness of such training (Marie-France Waxin et al) Teaching expatriate employees from one culture to coordinate with people of another culture is the goal of cross-culture training (Brislin and Peterson, 1986; Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991) For example, these days more and more multinational companies enter Chinese market. There is one crucial reason decide success or failure of multinational enterprise. This reason is culture difference (zhuang, 2003) Scholars suggest expatiates managers should pay attention to two aspects, â€Å"how to handle culture difference, how to effectively communicate with staff members.†(Yuan qiang, zhou et al.,) Also there are some research about one American company and one European company conduct in China. The American company believes training is a good way to make expatriate employees recognize the host country culture and communication is useful to reduce the gap of difference. The European company considers culture fusing by training and providing opportunities, like business travels and making people appreciate different cultures. Communication is the most useful way to deal with the misunderstanding problems between expatriate managers and local staffs (Yuan qiang, zhou et al.,). Both of these companies have common sense on the culture identification. They all believe culture identification should be realized through training and daily influence ((Yuan qiang, zhou et al.,). Also some global company offer extensive pre-departure training, such as culture awareness programs: â€Å" I attend Chinese classes three months before my assignment here (Samsung manager) In conclusion, researches show cross-culture training already has positive effect on culture adjustment. Performance appraisal of international employees After we discussed the variables influence performance , now we will focus on research about expatriate managers’ performance appraisal (Peter Denice, 2004). It include performance criteria, issues surrounding the use of multiple raters, methods and use of performance appraisal (Peter W.et al.) Performance criteria Criteria should be balanced between â€Å" achievement in relation to objectives, behaviour on the job as it relates to performance and day to day effectiveness† (Armstrong, 1994,p93). â€Å"Achievements in relation to objectives† represents by â€Å"hard† criteria. How such criteria be determined? Scholars suggest returned expatriates should be involved in developing the appropriate criteria (Peter W. et al.). Furthermore, this action should occur every five years. Otherwise the performance evaluation criteria will not make sure to remain current with the overseas environment (Peter W. et al.). Day to day effectiveness is more difficult to measure the expatriate manager (Black et al.,1999). So people call it â€Å"soft† criteria. Normally, â€Å" soft† criteria tend to be like leadership style or interpersonal skills (Peter Denice, 2004). For example, an American company expatriates work in India. They should choose odd or erratic demands for delivery in order to follow India’s culture. But no one notice this, in this situation, the US suppliers can’t operate the right way. So there should be an interview ask returned expatriate about the technical nature of their work which related to the company’s interrelation. Also the home country human resource manager can ask the expatriate these questions every three or six months (Gary Mark, 2000) Appraisal rater Normally, the immediate supervisor will evaluate the employee’s performance (Marply and Cleveland, 1995). But Jackson and Schuler suggest expatriates’ performance can be evaluated by multi about several international IT companies with subsidiaries in Taiwan shows all these companies use multiple raters. They combined self-rating and immediate supervisor’s rating. â€Å" I need to conduct a self-appraisal on how well I meet my goals since the previous evaluation period ( Winbond). â€Å"?My self-evaluation will be reviewed by my immediate supervisor here and sent to the divisional general manager in the home office, who write my final performance appraisal report (Samsung). But Philip’s organizational structure is the performance rater. Under our company’s organization structure, we enjoy certain autonomy here (Philip).And ATM regard as clients as rater. â€Å"Doing so is necessary, I spend over half of my working time in my clients’ factory during my expatriate assignment(AMT). (His-An Shih et al.,2003) In conclusion, every company arrange their performance rater based on practical reasons, whole structure and parent company’s culture. Performance forms The standardized or customized performance form can make comparisons between expatriates around the world more easy. Gregerson et al(1996) do some research about empirical evidence. They make a conclusion that more than three-quters of survey sample used a standardized performance form. Also the research about five famous global industries , they all use the same appraisal form. â€Å" Before my assignment here( in Taiwan), I had another expatriate experience in Singapore. They use the same performance appraisal form to evaluate my performance(AMT).† â€Å" In our company , the performance appraisal procedure for expatriates is largely the same as that used in our headquarters (Samaung). In summary, both Western and Asian companies may use standardized appraisal forms used by headquarters. But the disadvantage is these forms without adjustment to cooperate host country. (His-An Shih et al.,2003) ation Repatriation Research Papers on ExpatriConcerns of a Global Company and Human ResourcesAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Project Managment Office SystemMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesDefinition of Export QuotasTwilight of the UAWNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NicePETSTEL analysis of IndiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Globalization of the Korean Auto Industry Research Paper

Globalization of the Korean Auto Industry - Research Paper Example State also opted for industry restructuring/ regulating, and concentrated on export led strategy. Rise in domestic demand due to the betterment of economic condition of the country, further enhanced the auto industry of Korea. It took Korea barely three decades to move along the learning curve and secure the place of fifth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. It is notable that exports and foreign auto manufacturers have played a key role in supporting and pulling through the industry in the worst times. This paper throws light on the road taken and success achieved by the Korean automobile industry along with its impact on the economy of Korea. It also aims to explain the reasons for its global competitiveness and what distinguishes it from American automobile industry. The next section of the paper would compare the Korean and American automobile industries which would then be elaborated by an example. It would be followed by the challenges faced currently by the Korean au tomobile industry. Lastly, the paper would conclude with some recommendations to tackle the challenges. Korean Auto Industry Development The history of Korean Automobile Industry can be traced back to 1960s when the Government of Korea took a policy decision to develop auto industry in the country. In the first five year plan of the country, initiated in 1962, emphasis was laid on the creation of indigenous automotive industry. In its initial phase, i.e. in 1960s, the automobile majors were largely involved in assembling of semi knocked down and fully knocked down kits which were nothing but imported components of automobiles. To ease out the conditions for the development of the industry, the state banned import of fully assembled cars although it encouraged foreign partnerships for transfer of technology to the domestic players. With the support of the state, the industry progressed to give rise to four major players which were Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo and Samsung Motors. Hyundai was formed in 1967 with the aim of manufacturing a wholly indigenous car. It started on the learning curve by creating an assembly line to assemble fully knocked down kits. It tied up with Ford, Mitsubishi and Honda for technology transfers in order to initiate local manufacturing of automobiles. It was not until 1976, that Korea achieved the feat of manufacturing automobiles domestically. After eighteen technology transfers, from its foreign partners, Hyundai launched ‘Pony’, in 1976. Pony was the first Korean developed automobile (Korean Development Bank 175). It also holds the distinction of being the first Korean car to be exported. In 1985, Hyundai achieved the landmark quality certifications to meet the quality requirements of EEC, Canada and America which enabled it to export to these geographies also apart from Middle East and Africa. Kia, another automobile firm owned by a chaebol (large Korean business house) was established in 1971. Kia started its product line w ith three wheeled trucks and in a span of three years graduated to manufacture four wheel vehicles. Kia produced its first passenger car ‘Brisa’, in 1974 in technological partnership with Japan’s Honda. Similarly Shinjin Motors (now Daewoo) tied up with Japan’s Toyota to acquire capital and technical knowhow in automobile production. In 1972, Toyota’s share was taken over by General Motors which steered the firm to become the largest automobile

E-procurement and E-supply Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E-procurement and E-supply - Coursework Example Internet and e-business has become so much popular these days and a lot of business is moving towards e-business. This is specially the case with both large and small business. People like to market their product or project online as it takes less cost and benefits are much higher if properly planned. E-business and marketing are indispensible to each other, if one has a marvelous goods, products or services but he doesn’t have accurate and strong market skills; there are less chances of its success. On the other hand, if a person has normal quality products but he knows how to market them at economical rates, its results will be much better. E-procurement is an accommodative procurement of products, services and tasks using any electronic procedure in every stage for boosting in efficiency & transparency of the goods or services. Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology According to Venkatesh et al. (2003), there is a requirement to improve business’s men kno wledge of technology Utilization by investigating newer applications, accounting for additional difference in usage attitude and connecting it to individual usage results. the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) that incorporates major drivers and balks of web systems usage for e-procurement, investigates the consequence of such usage on corporate buyers and heightens the overall view of the UTAUT. It is calculated that eighty to ninety percent of the deals conducted over the Internet are business-to-business deals (Rosen and Howard, 2000). Although, little research has incorporated on web systems utilization from the point of view of corporate buyers. Figure 1: Research Model E-procurement has many objectives, few of them are: To perform as the catalyst for procurement reclaim, to improve transparency, supervising and manage in procurement procedure, to add in economies of scale via accumulation of demand, to cut off the cost of doing business for both suppli ers and government, to launch level playing field and â€Å"fair† private-enterprise platform for the suppliers. E-tendering is the second concept of e-procurement, features of e-tendering are: Publication of NIT, downloading of tender documents by contractors and suppliers, bids opening, Auto-bid evaluation, award publication. There are some famous examples of e-procurement: Public procurement service, Korea, Gebiz Singapore and Indian railways. E-procurement methodologies include software that allows purchasing agents to book their required items from various locations and generate invoices, purchase orders, receipts and request for quotations. Online auctions are another tool of e-procurement. Cathy-Pacific had a good plan to e-procurement but there are some flaws in their plan. Website marketing and online auction, selling is one of the best options via the web but it needs proper management, they had focus on –procurement but they didn’t focus on management and maintenance of such a long project. No doubt, their plan is good for cost reduction but some areas need proper attention like ticket booking and seat allocation needs extensive care and proper management as if it becomes tough, passenger will surely face issues at the time of travelling. No matter, which method they have used but by applying proper and accurate e-procurement technology they could gain a lot

Christo and Jeane Claude Essay Example for Free

Christo and Jeane Claude Essay Christo and Jeane Claude are a husband and wife team. These two artists are famous for transforming the ordinary into fabulous artwork, such as wrapping buildings. They accept no government grants or funding, no donations, their only income is from the sales of their artwork. Nearly all of their artshows take place outdoors, often in public parks requiring no admission fees. Their identity or famous slogan as the wrapping artists came from their controversial work named Wrapped Reichstage, Berlin, 1971-1995, an entire German Parliament Building in silver fabric looking like a wedding cake. (Sternbergh,no date). Many significant national symbols have been transformed and giving new identities by many artists. Buildings, nature’s creations, world events have become best selling books, movies, musicals, songs and plays. Anytime an artist develops anything, adding their identity to it, the item takes on that new image. The Christos saw buildings in a way no one else saw it. The Reichstage building in Berlin became a piece of sculpture or artwork when Christo and Jeane Claude wrapped the building. Artwork expands on natural traditions, allowing others to use their imaginations to interpret the meanings. â€Å"The Christos have created some of the most breathtaking works of the 20th century using fabric in, over through and around natural and constructed forms† Powell, director of national art gallery. The Christos use fabric to give an original style to traditional paintings, sculptures and buildings† (no author, 2002).Wrapping the Reichstage building, giving the illusion of a wedding cake transformed the building into an artistic sculpture. Notes; Sternbergh, Adam (no date) The passion of the Christos; New York Entertainment; nymag. com date retrieved July 24, 2007 http://nymag. com/nymetro/arts/features/10897/ No author (2/4/2002) First American Survey of Christo and Jeanne Claude; artdaily. org; Date retrieved; July 24, 2007 http://www. artdaily. com/section/news/index. asp? int_sec=2int_new=48b=Christo%20and%20Jeanne-Claude

My Personal Ethics Essay -- being an ethical decision maker

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, ethics is defined as â€Å"moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior.† Therefore, in an ideal world, ethics should play the ultimate role when making a decision. If ethics are the principles which guides one’s behavior then, ideally, all decisions should be made entirely based on ethics. Unfortunately, such is not always the case. A few problems arise when one tries to make an ethical decision, especially as a leader. First, ethics may mean different things to different people. For example, my religious and spiritual beliefs are the foundation for what I deem ethical. However, for someone else, ethics might be based on laws or their own personal understanding of what is right or wrong. Generally, I do believe there are some behaviors that all can agree upon as being ethical or unethical. For example, most people understand that stealing from someone or murder is wrong. However, it is difficult, at times, to have similar ethical expectations of others as one does of themselves because of these differences in the understanding of ethics. Additionally, there are times when it might be easier for a leader to make an unethical decision for an immediate gain or to appease the wants of others. Examples of these include leaders who embezzle money or use other schemes to make money quickly or unlawfully. For most leaders, making ethical decisions tends to be the goal. I firmly believe that more often than not, leaders do make ethical decisions for the betterment of their organization or business. There are cases when making an unethical decision might be easier, but the true character of a leader is tested when they are confronted with such a decision. Making the easier ... ...ply share with others what I believe and value. I also communicate my personal ethics through my actions. If my decisions are made according to my ethical beliefs, then others should be able to recognize, through my behavior, what my personal morals are. Overall, being an ethical decision maker is important to me. As a leader, I understand that I play a part in establishing what is considered right and wrong, based on my actions and decisions. My hope is to always be an example, and being ethical is the foundation of setting a good example for others. The old adage, â€Å"actions speak louder than words† rings true in relation to ethics. I aim to show people what my moral principles are based on my actions. At times, it can get difficult because I might let emotions cloud my judgment, but after all, doing the right thing for the sake of others is most important to me.

History of Matches Essay

A match is a small stick of wood or strip of cardboard with a solidified mixture of flammable chemicals deposited on one end. When that end is struck on a rough surface, the friction generates enough heat to ignite the chemicals and produce a small flame. Some matches, called strike-anywhere matches, may be ignited by striking them on any rough surface. Other matches, called safety matches, will ignite only when they are struck on a special rough surface containing certain chemicals. History The first known use of matches was in 577 during the siege of a town in northern China. Women in the town used sticks coated with a mixture of chemicals to start fires for cooking and heating, thus allowing them to conserve their limited fuel by putting the fires out between uses. The details of this technique were subsequently lost to history. It was not until 1826 that John Walker of England invented the first friction matches. Walker’s matches were ignited by drawing the heads through a folded piece of paper coated with ground glass. He began selling them in 1827, but they were difficult to light and were not a success. In 1831, Charles Sauria of France developed a match that used white phosphorus. These matches were strike-anywhere matches and were much easier to ignite. Unfortunately, they were too easy to ignite and caused many unintentional fires. White phosphorus also proved to be highly toxic. Workers in match plants who inhaled white phosphorus fumes often suffered f rom a horrible degeneration of the jawbones known as â€Å"phossy jaw.† Despite this health hazard, white phosphorus continued to be used in strike-anywhere matches until the early 1900s, when government action in the United States and Europe forced manufacturers to switch to a nontoxic chemical. In 1844 Gustaf Pasch of Sweden proposed placing some of the match’s combustion ingredients on a separate striking surface, rather than incorporating them all into the match head, as an extra precaution against accidental ignition. This idea—coupled with the discovery of less-reactive, nontoxic red phosphorus—led J. E. Lundstrom of Sweden to introduce safety matches in 1855. Although safety matches posed less of a hazard, many people still preferred the convenience of strike-anywhere matches, and both types continue to be used today. The first matchbook matches were patented in the United States by Joshua Pussey in 1892. The Diamond Match Company purchased the rights to this patent in  1894. At first, these new matches were not well accepted, but when a brewing company bought 10 million matchbooks to advertise their product, sales soared. Early match manufacturing was mainly a manual operation. Mechanization slowly took over portions of the operation until the first automatic match machine was patented by Ebenezer Beecher in 1888. Modern match manufacturing is a highly automated process using continuous-operation machines that can produce as many as 10 million matches in an eight-hour shift with only a few people to monitor the operation. Raw Materials Woods used to make matchsticks must be porous enough to absorb various chemicals, and rigid enough to withstand the bending forces encountered when the match is struck. They should also be straight-grained and easy to work, so that they may be readily cut into sticks. White pine and aspen are two common woods used for this purpose. Once the matchsticks are formed, they are soaked in ammonium phosphate, which is a fire retardant. This prevents the stick from smoldering after the match has gone out. During manufacture, the striking ends of the matchsticks are dipped in hot paraffin wax. This provides a small amount of fuel to transfer the flame from the burning chemicals on the tip to the matchstick itself. Once the paraffin burns off, the ammonium phosphate in the matchstick prevents any further combustion. The heads of strike-anywhere matches are composed of two parts, the tip and the base. The tip contains a mixture of phosphorus sesquisulfide and potassium chlorate. Phosphorus sesquisulfide is a highly reactive, non-toxic chemical used in place of white phosphorus. It is easily ignited by the heat of friction against a rough surface. The potassium chlorate supplies the oxygen needed for combustion. The tip also contains powdered glass and other inert filler material to increase the friction and control the burning rate. Animal glue is used to bind the chemicals together, and a small amount of zinc oxide may be added to the tip to give it a whitish color. The base contains many of the same materials as the tip, but has a smaller amount of phosphorus sesquisulfide. It also contains sulfur, rosin, and a small amount of paraffin wax to sustain combustion. A water-soluble dye may be added to give the base a color such as red or blue. The heads of safety matches are composed of a single part. They contain antimony trisulfide, potassium chlorate, sulfur, powdered glass, inert fillers, and animal glue. They may  also include a water-soluble dye. Antim ony trisulfide cannot be ignited by the heat of friction, even in the presence of an oxidizing agent like potassium chlorate, and it requires another source of ignition to start the combustion. That source of ignition comes from the striking surface, which is deposited on the side of the matchbox or on the back cover of the matchbook. The striking surface contains red phosphorus, powdered glass, and an adhesive such as gum arabic or urea formaldehyde. When a safety match is rubbed against the striking surface, the friction generates enough heat to convert a trace of the red phosphorus into white phosphorus. This immediately reacts with the potassium chlorate in the match head to produce enough heat to ignite the antimony trisulfide and start the combustion. Match boxes and match books are made from cardboard. The finned strips of cardboard used to make the matches in match books are called a comb. The Manufacturing Process Matches are manufactured in several stages. In the case of wooden-stick matches, the matchsticks are first cut, prepared, and moved to a storage area. When the matchsticks are needed, they are inserted into holes in a long perforated belt. The belt carries them through the rest of the process, where they are dipped into several chemical tanks, dried, and packaged in boxes. Cardboard-stick matches used in match books are processed in a similar manner. Here is a typical sequence of operations for manufacturing wooden-stick matches: Cutting the matchsticks 1 Logs of white pine or aspen are clamped in a debarking machine and slowly rotated while spinning blades cut away the outer bark of the tree. 2 The stripped logs are then cut into short lengths about 1.6 ft (0.5 m) long. Each length is placed in a peeler and rotated while a sharp, flat blade peels a long, thin sheet of wood from the outer surface of the log. This sheet is about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) thick and is called a veneer. The peeling blade moves inward toward the core of the rotating log until only a small, round post is left. This post is discarded and may be used for fuel or reduced to wood chips for use in making paper or chipboard. Stripped logs are placed in a peeler, which cuts a sheet about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) thick, called veneer, from the log. The veneer proceeds to the chopper, which cuts it into small sticks. The sticks are soaked in a dilute solution of ammonium phosphate and dried, removing splinters and crystallized solution. The matches are dumped into a feed hopper, which lines them up. A perforated conveyor belt holds them upside down while they are dipped in a series of three tanks. The matches are dried for 50-60 minutes before they are packaged. 3 The sheets of veneer are stacked and fed into a chopper. The chopper has many sharp blades that cut down through the stack to produce as many as 1,000 matchsticks in a single stroke. Treating the matchsticks 4 The cut matchsticks are dumped into a large vat filled with a dilute solution of ammonium phosphate. 5 After they have soaked for several minutes, the matchsticks are removed from the vat and placed in a large, rotating drum, like a clothes dryer. The tumbling action inside the drum dries the sticks and acts to polish and clean them of any splinters or crystallized chemical. 6 The dried sticks are then dumped into a hopper and blown through a metal duct to the storage area. In some operations the sticks are blown directly into the matchmaking facility rather than going to storage. Forming the match heads 7 The sticks are blown from the storage area to a conveyor belt that transfers them to be inserted into holes on a long, continuous, perforated steel belt. The sticks are dumped into several v-shaped feed hoppers that line them up with the holes in the perforated belt. Plungers push the matchsticks into the holes across the width of the slowly moving belt. A typical belt may have 50-100 holes spaced across its width. Any sticks that do not seat firmly into the holes fall to a catch area beneath the belt and are transferred back to the feed hoppers. 8 The perforated belt holds the matchsticks upside down and immerses the lower portion of the sticks in a bath of hot paraffin wax. After they emerge from the wax, the sticks are allowed to dry. 9 Further down the line, the matchsticks are positioned over a tray filled with a liquid solution of the match head chemicals. The tray is then momentarily raised to immerse the ends of the sticks in the solution. Several thousand sticks are coated at the same time. This cycle  repeats itself when the next batch of sticks is in position. If the matches are the strike-anywhere kind, the sticks move on to another tray filled with a solution of the tip chemicals, and the match ends are immersed in that tray, only this time not quite as deeply. This gives strike-anywhere matches their characteristic two-toned appearance. 10 After the match heads are coated, the matches must be dried very slowly or they will not light properly. The belt loops up and down several times as the matches dry for 50-60 minutes. Packaging the matches 11 The cardboard inner and outer portions of the match boxes are cut, printed, folded, and glued together in a separate area. If the box is to contain safety matches, the chemicals for the striking strip are mixed with an adhesive and are automatically applied to the outer portion of the box. 12 When the matches are dry, the belt moves them to the packaging area, where a multi-toothed wheel pushes the finished matches out of the holes in the belt. The matches fall into hoppers, which measure the proper amount of matches for each box. The matches are dumped from the hoppers into the inner portions of the cardboard match boxes, which are moving along a conveyor belt located below the hoppers. Ten or more boxes may be filled at the same time. 13 The outer portions of the match boxes move along another conveyor belt running parallel to the first belt. Both conveyors stop momentarily, and the filled inner portions are pushed into the outer portions. This cycle of filling the inner portion s and pushing them into the outer portions is repeated at a rate of about once per second. 14 The filled match boxes are moved by conveyor belt to a machine, which groups them and places them in a corrugated cardboard box for shipping. Quality Control The chemicals for each portion of the match head are weighed and measured exactly to avoid any variation in the match composition that might affect performance. Operators constantly monitor the operation and visually inspect the product at all stages of manufacture. In addition to visual inspection and other normal quality control procedures, match production requires strict attention to safety. Considering that there may be more than one million matches attached to the perforated belt at any time means that the working environment must be kept free of all sources of accidental ignition. The Future The use of matches in the United States has steadily declined in the last few decades. This decline is the result of several factors: the availability of inexpensive, disposable lighters; the decrease in the use of tobacco products by the general public; and the development of automatic lighting devices for gas-fired stoves. Of the matches that are sold, book matches far outsell wooden stick matches because of their advertising value. Worldwide, matches will continue to be in demand for the foreseeable future, although their production will probably follow the demand and migrate to other countries. Where to Learn More Books Bennett, H., ed. The Chemical Formulary, Vol. XV. Chemical Publishing Company, Inc., 1970. Periodicals Bean, M.C. â€Å"History of the Match,† Antiques and Collecting Hobbies. September, 1992, pp. 42-44. — Chris Cavette

Research Proposal - 1690 Words

KNUTSFORD UNIVERSITY COLLEGE | CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR | Research Proposal | | OYENIRAN ABIOLA OLAYINKA (KBS00 178) | 11/17/2010 | | CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Prior to the liberalization of the telecommunication sector of Ghana’s economy, the mobile telephony sector of the economy was non-existent. The only telecommunication service available to the populace was limited fixed lines provided by the Ghana Postal and Telecommunication Corporation (GPamp;T), which had a monopoly. The rate of access to phone in homes was 3 phones per 1,000 inhabitants and its distribution was skewed in favour of urban dwellers especially those in Accra. This led to the springing up of communication centers which†¦show more content†¦Most of the strategies are geared towards dominating the market. Whilst some over adopted the strategy of innovation (a leaders), others have adopted the strategy of copying what others have done (follower). Meanwhile others have also adopted the strategy of being a challenger and nicher. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY A close observation of the mobile telephony sector of Ghana reveals the looming of a heightened competition, the research therefore seek to address following; 1. To examine competitive environment of the mobile telephony sector? 2. Identify and analyze the strategies the various mobile operators adopted in the wake of tight competition? 3. To examine the impact of these strategies on customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty? The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of the tight competition witnessed over the past few years has on mobile operators and their customers and how customers have reacted to this phenomenon. In my opinion the tight competition which has resulted in a price war between these mobile operators goes to the benefit of mobile customers who have been underserved for long. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY The focus of this research is on the impact of the marketing strategies adopted by mobile operators in Ghana on their customers which makes it importance to individuals, the players in the market, and corporate entities. Aside adding to theShow MoreRelatedResearch Proposal661 Words   |  3 PagesTO: Professor Sara Cutting FROM: Kiersten McCaffrey DATE: February 18, 2014 SUBJECT: Begin Business Plan for Potential Future Investment Background In the beginning of the semester you requested that I research a topic related to a personal decision such as a future goal. I am currently employed at a yoga studio and have a general understanding of the hard work that goes into running a small business. At the same time, I also directly see the benefits of owning a successful business.Read MoreProposal For A Research Proposal814 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is it? A typical research proposal is used by scholars and students who have an interest in your field. This usually happens as part of a grant application, postgraduate application (PhD), or for a final year dissertation. It usually ranges from 1,000-3,000 words and is a summary of what is being proposed to study. It is usually judged by content and proposal format. A Research proposal should†¦ Clearly set out what the research is going to be about. 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The Royal College of Nursing completed research on the issue of euthanasia initiating change in their policy of opposition to euthanasiaRead MoreParts of a Research Proposal2853 Words   |  12 PagesPARTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL Typical parts of a research proposal are: Title (or Cover) Page Abstract Table of Contents Introduction (including Statement of Problem, Purpose of Research, and Significance of Research) Background (including Literature Survey) Description of Proposed Research (including Method or Approach) Description of Relevant Institutional Resources List of References Personnel Budget The Title (or Cover) Page. Most sponsoring agencies specify the format for the title page,Read MoreDifferences Between Formal Research and Business Proposals1403 Words   |  6 PagesDifferences between â€Å"Formal Research† and â€Å"Business Proposals† There is a great difference between a formal research proposal and a business proposal. In fact these two types of proposals seem to be very similar but there are critical differences in the overall purpose, uses and goals. With such distinct differences for a writer it helps in understanding for writing the formal research proposal or business proposal more effectively. The general purpose of a proposal is the identify a particularRead MoreDesign Research Proposal1022 Words   |  5 PagesResearch Design The research question for this research proposal is: is participation in a Housing First program effective in preventing reoccurrences of child maltreatment with families who have a history of housing instability? This research proposal will examine the hypothesis: Families with a history of instability will be less likely to commit child maltreatment when they are enrolled in a Housing First program as compared to those who are not enrolled. A longitudinal design study will be usedRead MoreGuidelines on Writing a Research Proposal2565 Words   |  11 PagesGuidelines on writing a research proposal Introduction This is a guide to writing M.A. research proposals. The same principles apply to dissertation proposals and to proposals to most funding agencies. It includes a model outline, but advisor, committee and funding agency expectations vary and your proposal will be a variation on this basic theme. Use these guidelines as a point of departure for discussions with your advisor. They may serve as a straw-man against which to build your understanding