Operation Management (Assignment) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operation Management (Assignment) - Essay Example The present context narrows our interest lies in focusing to two of the points, these are: In all industry and services the supervisor has traditionally used some form of measurement to lay down norms or objectives for the workers to attempt to achieve. These objectives were based on arbitrary averages of the past performance and while some workers found it easy to achieve these, some just could not cope. This method put a limit to what could or should be accomplished based on the supervisors perception of what was good or bad for the organization. Deming pointed out that counting and inspection of the end product presumed that there would be defects and mass inspection would only identify the defect that would need to be reworked or the product scrapped. There is no way that identifying a defect or shortage at the end of the process can help in improving quality. Management should instead shift focus to inspection of the systems and processes that go into the production of the article or service. Numerical quotas or norms or objectives do not assist in identifying the capability of the workers and systems they only measure what exists. Historically management has looked at producing larger volumes under the mistaken impression that more volumes meant lower cost of production per unit. In the push to produce larger quantities quality was lost sight of. The second error that was made was to measure a product or service against preconceived ideas of quality, determined internally, without understanding what the customer wanted. This resulted in the process now producing larger volumes of re-work and scrap and the worst of all, a product that the customer did not want. Cost of poor quality can be 25-30% of sales revenue (Ross, 1999, p167). This leads us to the next mantra of the TQM gurus, 'Don't inspect the product - Inspect the process' but what does 'inspection of the process' imply Information is the key to understanding any situation or process and any action taken on the basis of such information shall be directly in proportion to the quality of the information, its relevance, authenticity and timeliness. Information needs to be gathered and collated in the form of data that lends itself to easy interpretation, identification of trends and analysis. Data is fact recorded as numbers and no one can argue with numbers. Data instils a sense of confidence and, is the only way to 'change' all that which is blocked by entrenched perceptions (Jurow, 1993, p113-115). Most of all data helps in motivating everyone involved in the process when they see the progress being made enabling them to identify with the change and push to extend their individual capabilities as also of the organization. 'Measurement is just a habit of seeing how we're going along' Philip Crosby, TQM guru (Jurow, ibid, p 115) Measurement also helps in deciding the feasibility of a particular effort. If it is not possible to measure critical elements of the present situation then how will we ever know how well or indifferently we are progressing and how will it ever be possible to know when we arrive at the desired goal. Finding

Examination of Clinical Psychology Essay Example for Free

Examination of Clinical Psychology Essay Clinical psychology has a full history that dates back to the early days of Greek philosophy. The combination of philosophy, current psychology and science has created a specific discipline in clinical psychology. Research continues to improve and evolve this branch of psychology. There are certain distinctions that set clinical psychology apart from other areas of this discipline and this paper will explore not only those distinctions but also the history of clinical psychology. The History of Clinical Psychology The beginnings of psychology in general can be found in the era of Greek philosophy. Early philosophical thinkers saw the connection between the mind and body including the influence that relationship had concerning emotional sickness. Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle were a few of those that recognized the soul or spirit as being the primary force of the body. They also recognized that problems within the soul could manifest in physical illness (Plante, 2011, p. 34). In the middle ages, any kind of mental, emotional or physical sickness was thought to be characteristic of sin or evil and treatments of such issues were dealt with on a spiritual level. The following Renaissance era was all about scientific research and discovery taking the previous beliefs on spiritual origins and disproving them. Illness was established as something more explainable by scientific research rather than spiritual and metaphysical beliefs (Plante, 2011). As the nineteenth century rolled in, members of psychological study started to have a more accurate understanding of the connection between the body and mind. Sigmund Freud was one such forward thinker and he promoted theories that unconscious thoughts of the mind can hold a strong influence on one’s health drawing on the original beliefs of the Greeks (Parsons, 1958). The actual emergence of psychology began with the development of the first laboratory and book of psychology by Wilhelm Wundt. Development was quick after this first large step even though the new concepts and principles of psychology were being applied to peoples’ issues. Also the wars of our history provided a platform for the world of clinical psychology. Service members emerged in war required specialized treatments which led to the development of psychometric assessments. Later developments led to the creation of evolved models of guidelines and training for the education of clinical psychologists (Plante, 2011). Clinical Psychologys Evolving Nature Clinical psychology has a fundamental instrument that develops its evolving nature which is described by its relationship with modern medicine and used of scientific methods (Kazdin, 2008). Clinical psychology continues to develop applications as new scientific evidence mounts. Contemporary clinical psychology embodies the scientific advances of science mixing in a deep understanding of the mind. The relationship of practice and research continue to come together to facilitate continual improvements in treatments and this relationship is a necessary element to the evolving nature (Kazdin, 2008). The only possible challenge for clinical psychology and research is the challenge of trying to customize treatment to meet the patient’s individual needs when there really is no defined outline of every individualistic need for each individual patient (Kazdin, 2008 p. 17). The Role of Research and Statistics in Clinical Psychology Research is a vital aspect of any psychology and clinical psychology is no different. Research provides the empirical foundation to answer questions with validity. Statistics is a vital part of this research since this area of the research facilitates researchers being able to conclude if the information is substantial and relevant. Research is also vital because to clinical psychology because it boosts therapy methods which leads to the improvement of one’s life and it also helps discover effective methods to diagnose and treat human behavioral issues (Plante, 2011). The scientific method of empirical study also benefits the researchers themselves enabling them to gain critical thinking skills. Research is one of the most fundamental practices that allows for the betterment of clinical psychology (Plante, 2011). Clinical Psychology as it Differs from Other Disciplines The primary differences between other disciplines and clinical psychology involve the targeted training, area of focus and possibly even the educational requirements. Some psychologists participating in the area of clinical diagnosis, such as a school psychologist or social worker, generally must earn a masters degree but other specialized areas of clinical psychology might require a doctorate (Plante, 2011). School psychologists also specialize primarily in working with children and society’s youth whereas social workers can serve a more broad population and work in hospitals, schools or even county programs. Areas of counseling psychology are very similar to clinical psychology and there is the belief that the two separate groups do not even need to exist separately (Kazdin, 2008). There are also psychiatrists who have the added, extensive education and training in the medical arena and for all intended purposes they are physicians. They not only counsel as psychologists but are allowed to issue psychiatric medicine. Then there are other various mental health care professionals such as psychiatric nurses, specialized counselors, and industry and organization counselors who all provide clinical services. Even though clinical psychology differs in some aspects from other counseling professions, all of them have the purpose of using psychological principles to understand human behavior, helping individuals to live healthier and happier lives (Plante, 2011). Conclusion As this paper has laid out, there are many various contributions to the formation of clinical psychology becoming its own discipline. The evolution has traveled a long road but it has been steady and continuous with new information being discovered through scientific methods. Philosophy kicked off the curiosity that lead to future contributions by pioneers such as Freud and his psychoanalytic methods. Clinical psychology does hold its differences amongst other disciplines of psychology but the overall goal of all disciplines still remains to serve the general human population, attempting to give everyone a chance at a better quality of life. References Kazdin, A. E. (2008). Evidence based treatment and practice: new opportunities to bridge clinical research and practice. American Psychologist, 63(3), 146-159. Parsons, T. (1958). Social Structure and the Development of Personality: Freuds Contribution to the Integration of Psychology and Sociology. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes, 21(10), 321-340. Plante, T. (2011). Contemporary clinical psychology (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons.

The History of the Darling Theatre Company :: London Theatres Acting Drama Essays

The History of the Darling Theatre Company This theatre company came into being in 1979 when a famous old London theatre went bankrupt and the owners of the building attempted to sell it to property developers. George Darling, a well known stage actor, launched a campaign to save the theatre and, with the help of many famous friends in the acting world, created strong public support for retaining the building as a theatre. However no existing theatre company was in a position to take over the building and the owners suggested to George Darling that he use his connections to set up his own company. After a vigorous fund-raising campaign enough money was collected to save the theatre and set up the Darling Theatre Company. The actors and actresses who had helped in the campaign agreed to appear in Darling productions for a fraction of their normal fees – but were interested only in appearing in theatre classics rather than commercial productions so the policy of the company from the beginning was to stage classics for short runs of three to six weeks so that there would be ten or so new productions each year. In order to keep costs down the company had as few full-time staff as possible, hiring directors, designers, technical crews and actors for each production only, and, by subsidising less popular plays with successful runs, often of Chekhov (‘He’s the Monet of theatre,’ George would say, ‘ everybody loves him’) managed to break even for the first few years. However in the mid-eighties the company hit a bad patch and George was obliged to find extra funding to survive. When his application for an Arts Council subsidy was rejected he turned to sponsorship and discovered that he was good at persuading wealthy companies to back his productions. The key to this, he realised early on, was providing company executives with access to famous actors and actresses and while there were protests at these ‘extra performances’ George was usually successful in arguing that the company could not survive otherwise. BACKGROUND TO THE COMPUTER SYSTEM Throughout its twenty-five years the company’s administrative procedures were primitive and chaotic. George was interested only in the artistic side of the company and had little or no concern for practicalities but his personal charm was so great that staff were prepared to put up with the constant problems caused by poorly-defined procedures and non-existent communication. Then in the new century George’s health began to fail and he was frequently not around to resolve mix-ups and disputes. In addition the regulations governing theatres and public performances and the hiring of part-time workers

How Film Technology Impacted Cinema’s Evolution Essay

Over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, cinema technology advanced greatly—and with an ever-growing history of movies from which to draw reference, film-makers have increasingly approached productions from fresher perspectives, while always employing the most modern equipment, in order to better serve the audiences of their days. In Visions Of Light, a series of interviews with directors and cinematographers explores how the evolution of microphones, lighting, film, staging, cameras and mounts has affected the translation of story into cinema in a variety of ways. When sound was first introduced, for instance, actors were forced to lean in closer to microphones that were hidden on the sets, in order to be better heard—thus affecting their physical impression on camera (Bailey, VL). Also, the advent of sound affected the mobility of cameras—and it was years before directors began taking moving shots again. Only after technology improved, and the practice of adding audio in post-production took hold, did cameras become fluid once more (Bailey, VL). In Visions Of Light, Zsigmond even goes so far as to claim the advent of sound might have affected film’s ability to rise to a higher form of art. Furthermore, in the early years, the onset of color film collided with the aesthetic prerogatives of directors from the black-and-white era of cinema. The dark-and-light stark contrasts of early film had always supplied directors with a strong foundation in a medium built on more abstract emotions—being more removed from reality, due to their lack of color (Daviau, VL). The introduction of red, yellow and blues, however, gradually eroded that surreal nature of young cinema—and left film-maker’s with a new spectrum of visuals to explore that were more rooted in reality—yet took away the artsier fare of the colorless picture (Daviau, VL). Finally, as the studios began to give way to more location shoots, and more independently ground-breaking and inventive movie-making, more experimental cinematography began taking place, including the increased use of techniques adopted from unintended effects of technology—and instructional mistakes on set. Inventiveness and new cameras and lenses wedded to create unprecedented waves of evolution in cinema. The more relaxed embracing of happy accidents, such as random camera â€Å"flares† for instance–and other unique lighting effects (Hall, VL), eventually led to the deeper medium today, where visual artisans have a century’s worth of rich and varied cinema to emulate, be inspired by—and pay homage to—in order to further expand upon the apparent human motion to improve the film experience. Visions Of Light is an inspiring look into the history of film—and a revelatory expose of the methods by which we attempt to translate our greatest tales into the constructs of cinema—and how technology and history have shaped the medium. By the time a movie is played on screen, one is witness to countless lifetimes of work, both in the perceived piece—as well as the endless sub-texts of cinema that came before it. The improvements of technology over time have both strengthened and handicapped cinema, enabling it to more accurately capture reality, while also rarifying the more abstract forms of black-and-white film and silent pictures. Future directors, of course, may yet return to the black-and-white medium, in order to test the depths of their art—but they may also find it more challenging than filming in color (Daviau, VL). Similarly, while sound changed movies from a purely visual form into a mixed discipline—directors who were to attempt to make a silent film today might find it more difficult to execute. Technology has allowed film to record reality better—while also blunting or limiting its inherent ability to translate more basic human emotions, through less colour or sound. Furthermore, as cameras have become more sophisticated and economical—the increased use of an independent, hand-held approach will change the look-and-feel of film for the coming generations, lending to it a more reality-based frame—and for that very same reason, a more difficult platform from which to craft the abstract. Overall, as technology advances, film evolves into a much different form from the shape it started out. It is now a fuller and more complex medium—although perhaps less of a straightforward one. With each mounting generation, directors have to grapple with the new and profound questions about how to approach the entertainment and education of an audience. They have to learn how to emulate the traditional paths of film’s past auteurs—but also, and equally importantly, to test the limits of the undiscovered country and new technology in cinema. Film-making as an art-form is ever-evolving and re-engaging its audiences in newer and more gripping ways. The language of the motion picture, however, is fundamentally limited by the science which allows it—and so, in order to direct most effectively, every last available trick of modern film-making must be employed, toward the end of showing people something they haven’t seen before, and creating a synthesis that succeeds in overwhelming the sum of its parts. Newer technologies and angles must be embraced, in order to achieve a more honest form of surprise and catharsis, so that audiences are finally moved and enlightened. For as technology evolves, so too does our tool set in the medium—providing an endless art-form to perfect and exercise up to the heights of cinema, as modeled by Citizen Kane. No patterns from past directors can ever be totally relied on, of course, in order to achieve the freshest cutting edge of new cinema—but those who are willing to learn the trade as well as take risks and experiment in the non-traditional forms are the ones who will always create original and inspiring works. Thinkers and shapers who are keen to test tomorrow’s technologies and exploit their own mistakes are the ones who will consistently set the bar higher—and allow the younger audiences to be livened up by the unexpected. Film’s suspension of disbelief, after all, dwells in the camera’s ability to capture the world around us—but also, in the editing room, where unnecessary redundancies of past pictures are trimmed back–and re-hashed tricks of the trade are left on the cutting floor. Only the bare bone advances of new cameras and exciting visual storytelling will seduce the eye and mind long enough to engage future audiences. Only the visionaries of light and sound will remind people of their daily existences deeply enough to be enthralled by the verisimilitude of it all—while simultaneously transporting them far enough away from themselves, that they will ultimately leave the theaters changed forever. Works Cited Vision Of Light. Samuels, S. ; Glassman, A. ; McCarthy, T. ; Glassman, A.. Daviau, A. ; Almendros, N. ; Bailey, J. ; Hall, C. ; Kovacs, L. ; Nykvist, S. ; Storaro, V. ; Wexler, H. ; Willis, G. ; Zsigmond, V. ; DVD. CBS FOX, 1993.

Hasty Generalisation

Hasty generalization (Anecdotal) Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small). Stereotypes about people (â€Å"librarians are shy and smart,† â€Å"wealthy people are snobs,† etc. ) are a common example of the principle underlying hasty generalization. Example: â€Å"My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard! † Two people's experiences are, in this case, not enough on which to base a conclusion. The person committing the fallacy is misusing the following type of reasoning, which is known variously as Inductive Generalization, Generalization, and Statistical Generalization: 1. X% of all observed A's are B†s. 2. Therefore X% of all A's are Bs. The fallacy is committed when not enough A's are observed to warrant the conclusion. If enough A's are observed then the reasoning is not fallacious. Tip: Ask yourself what kind of â€Å"sample† you're using: Are you relying on the opinions or experiences of just a few people, or your own experience in just a few situations? If so, consider whether you need more evidence, or perhaps a less sweeping conclusion. (Notice that in the example, the more modest conclusion â€Å"Some philosophy classes are hard for some students† would not be a hasty generalization. ) Here are some more examples of hasty generalisations fallacies. See if you can identify the fallacy and write this in the following format â€Å"A means B. † We will then discuss what is wrong with each one: 1. Bill: â€Å"You know, those feminists all hate men. † Joe: â€Å"Really? † Bill: â€Å"Yeah. I was in my philosophy class the other day and that Rachel chick gave a presentation. † Joe: â€Å"Which Rachel? † Bill: â€Å"You know her. She's the one that runs that feminist group over at the Women's Center. She said that men are all sexist pigs. I asked her why she believed this and she said that her last few boyfriends were real sexist pigs. † Joe: â€Å"That doesn't sound like a good reason to believe that all of us are pigs. † Bill: â€Å"That was what I said. † Joe: â€Å"What did she say? † Bill: â€Å"She said that she had seen enough of men to know we are all pigs. She obviously hates all men. † Joe: â€Å"So you think all feminists are like her? † Bill: â€Å"Sure. They all hate men. † 2. â€Å"Our English teacher made us ready read some poetry last year, and it was really boring. I know now that I will never like poetry† 3. Fred the Australian, stole my wallet. Thus, all Australians are thieves. 4. I asked six of my friends what they thought of the new taxes and they agreed that they are a good idea. The new taxes are therefore generally popular. 5. All swans are white. 6. Critical thinking is not part of my university application therefore Critical Thinking has no value After the discussion write 2 or 3 examples of ad hominem/tu qouque’s of your own. India is the country with the largest population therefore Indian people love to have sex Han Eol is good at badminton therefore all Koreans are good at badminton The Virginia Tech Massacre was done by a Korean, therefore all Koreans are terrorists James Koay gets good grades therefore all Asians are smart Blondes are dumb therefore Carrie Sharp is dumb