Process Design & Analysis

A Process can be defined as a collection of equipment, methods, people, and systems used together to produce the products/ services required. A Process Strategy in an organization’s approach is to transform resources into goods and services. The objective of the process strategy is to build a process that meets customer requirements and product specifications within cost and other managerial constraint. The process selected will have a long term effect on efficiency and flexibility of production, as well as on cost and quality of goods produced. Therefore much of the company’s operations strategy is provided at the time of process decision. Within a given facility, several strategies may be used. These strategies are often classified as: Fig. 1 Process-Focused Repetitive-Focused Product focused Process-Focused Strategy The characteristics: facilities are organized by process, similar processes are together (example: all drill presses are together), low volume, high variety products, ‘Jumbled’ flow. Products follow many different paths. Other names for process focused strategy are intermittent process or Job shop. Process-Focused Strategy Examples: Machine Shop, Hospital, and Bank. Custom Woodworking shop Advantages: 1. Greater product flexibility 2. More general purpose equipment 3. Lower initial capital investment Disadvantages: 1. High variable costs 2. More highly trained personnel 3. More difficult production planning & control 4. Low equipment utilization (5% to 25%) Repetitive Focused Strategy Characteristics: Facilities often organized by assembly lines, Characterized by modules, Parts & assemblies are made previously; Modules are combined for many output options. Other names are Assembly line, Production line E. g. auto-manufacturing, personal computers, house-hold appliances, etc. Assembly line example Product focused strategy Characteristics: Facilities are organized by product which require High volume and low variety ; Conversion or further processing of undifferentiated materials such as petroleum, chemicals, or beer; Follows a predetermined sequence of steps, but flow is continuous rather than discrete – highly standardized. Also known as line flow production or continuous production. Examples include paper making, light bulbs, soft drinks, etc. Advantages 1. Lower production cost per unit 2. Lower but more specialized labour skills 3. Easier production planning and control 4. Higher equipment utilization (70% to 90%) Disadvantages 1. Lower product flexibility 2. More specialized equipment Types of flow system Continuous flow It is characterized by a streamlined flow of products in the operating system. The Conversion process begins with input of raw material at one end, progresses through the system in an orderly fashion to finally become finished goods at the final stage. Production process is sequential and the required resources are organized in stages. Examples are several chemical processing industries such as manufacture of Petrochemicals, steel, pharmaceutical, cement and glass. It ia also used in a discrete manufacturing industry high volume production of very few varieties (such as electrical bulbs or spark plugs) Intermittent flow It is characterized by mid-volume, mid-variety products/services. It increases the flow complexities. The flow and capacity balancing are difficult but important in intermittent type of flow system. Process industries use batch production methods while discrete industries use alternative methods of designing layout issues. The capacity estimation is hard and production planning & control is complex. Process design for intermittent flow in Discreet Manufacturing Jumbled Flow System It occurs on account of non-standard and complex flow patterns characteristic in certain systems. Items are highly customized here and customer orders for one or a few products. Operational complexity arising out of jumbled flow is high. Discrete manufacturing with Jumbled flow uses a Job Shop structure Examples are turnkey project executor such as BHEL or L&T, customized manufacturing systems such as PCB fabricators, sheet metal fabricators, tool room operators and printing and publishing. Process flow in job shops Complex issue is capacity management of jumbled flows 1. Considerable time is lost due to repeated setup of processes 2. Due to jumbled flow, crisscrossing of jobs in the system results in poor visibility. 3. Problems are often hidden and build up of work in process inventory takes place 4. Cost accounting and estimation systems are crucial as there is a constant need to quote for specific customer orders Process analysis and design Organizations have realized that the first step in achieving success is to analyse and define their operations processes. An operations process is a set of related activities that combine to deliver something of value to a customer or to the organization. There are a number of methods of analysing process designs. Some of them that are discussed here are Flow diagrams, Time-Process-Function mapping, Value stream mapping, process charts and service blue printing. Process flow chart A process flow chart is an instrument that visualises and analyses the various systems and procedures (e. g. delivery of services, decision-making, funds allocation, accountingand monitoring) within an organisation. What can you do with it? The flow chart analysis helps to identify the bottlenecks in the different processes within the organisation. It identifies unnecessary involvement of people, loopholes in decision making or unnecessary delays in the process. It assists to make the organisation more efficient in its operations. The process flow chart helps to design new processes for the primary process, support processes and supervisory processes, and helps to analyse the bottlenecks in existing procedures. It is very useful to help participants understand the interrelation of the work activities and to realise how the work of one person influences the others. Steps in making a process flow chart 0. Formulate the (sub-) question that you want to answer by making a process flowchart. Aims for which a process flow chart is suitable are: ? ? ? To decide how to optimise core processes (operational planning and strategic decision making) To prepare strategic choices, identifying strengths and weaknesses (step to strategic decision making) To judge organisation suitability and performance (to make funding and programme positioning decisions) 0. Define the field of analysis. Decide whether you depict: ? ? ? ? ? Current practice (daily practice; the informal reality) Current design (how it should happen according to ‘the books’) Redesign (establishing the desired process) Clearly distinguish current practice from current design and/or redesign Analyse the redesign (and even current design) only after the current practice 1. Choose the process. ? ? ? ? Which process are you going to analyse? Unique or standard Define the starting point Specify the outcome/result of the process 2. Describe the process as indicated below, using the indicated symbolism: ? ? ? State the start and end point (outcome/result) Divide the process in 5-10 activities of the same level of analysis. If you have more than 10 steps: Cluster them or Make more than one flow chart Identify decision moments. Describe these decision moments inyes/no questions. Check that both the â€Å"Yes†-side and the â€Å"No†-side have a follow-up activity (arrow that leads somewhere), ifthat is reality. For example: Proposal approved? Yes: Proceed + Send confirmation to client No: File the proposal + Inform client with reasons ? Identify the responsible person/unit for each activity (this may not be the same as the implementing person). All activities/decision moments that follow the symbol are the responsibility of the person/unit indicated. Therefore, if the responsible person/unit stays the same, you need not repeat the in-charge. ? Identify the information coming into the process and all information going out of the process. The arrows of the connecting lines indicate whether the information is going in or out ? Connect the symbols with arrows that indicate the flow of the process. Include loops to show that an earlier activity should be repeated 3. Add key information and write it next to the activities/decisions or arrows ? ? Volume: The quantity of the product or service you process in a certain period of time. This indicates the magnitude of the subject Time/Cost: The average or annual time/cost (expenditure) involved in each activity (write next to step). This indicates the organisation efficiency Duration: The (average) time that passes between two steps (write next to arrow). This indicates the responsive ness to clients 4. Identify possible bottlenecks. Ask questions like: ? ? ? Why does the activity/decision take place? Why does the activity/decision take place at this point in the sequence? Why does the activity/decision (or the time between them) take the time it takes? ? ? ? ? ? (Why) is the activity/decision difficult to carry out? Why is this person responsible for this activity/decision? Who co-ordinates and supervises at different moments? What is the effect of external (information, input, and means) dependencies? What are the risks (what can go wrong) in the activity/decision? 5. Assess options for improvements. Check each option considering: ? ? ? ? Can you leave out activities, decision points or information? Can you combine/change activities, decision points or information? Can you simplify activities, decision points or information? Can you change the responsible person? 6. Evaluate improvements, considering whether the options result in: ? ? ? ? ? Less effort (better methods, upgraded staff, better means and inputs) needed Less time (better sequence or screening, less rejection) needed Better quality service/product (better guidelines, control) Less resources (optimising expenses and quality) needed Better working conditions (more safety, fulfilment, less stress) 7. Draw conclusions, in relation to your (sub-) question. Write strengths and weaknesses (judged from the point of view of your question) on green and red cards respectively. Figure below shows a process flow chart for electrical fittings manufacturing. Time based process mapping (TBPM) Process mapping allows the identification of business processes, organisational roles and financial accountabilities, and how these inter-relate between functions, with a view to their subsequent re-engineering and improvement. However, conventional process mapping techniques do not focus on the important metric of time. Time Based Process Mapping is a tool for visually representing and analysing the key interconnecting processes which collectively constitute the supply and manufacturing chain in relation to the consumption of time. It must be emphasised that TBPM is quite different from the traditional ‘Time and Motion' studies as practised by generations of Industrial Engineers. TBPM concentrates on the speed of progression of specific components through the production cycle, whilst time and motion studies are only concerned with the labour output and utilisation rates of employees. Time Based Competition Time-based companies reduce cost indirectly through compressing time. When a company attacks time directly, the first benefits to show up are usually shorter cycle time and faster inventory turns. So when a company goes after time reduction in the right way, it tends to get both time and cost out. The reverse is not always so. Successful companies have shifted the focus of their source of manufacturing compete over the past few decades. Time Based Competitive Advantage The increased emphasis over the past few years on, the Order Winning Criteria of delivery time can be considered to be a new competitive paradigm. The subject of ever shortening product lifecycles and rapid market obsolescence has received considerable academic attention and a wealth of literature has been published. The compression of time provides organisations with a distinct competitive cost advantage. Companies discover that costs do not increase when lead times are reduced – they decline. Costs do not increase with greater investment in quality-they decrease and also costs do not go up as product variety increases and response times reduce – they go down. Key features of organisations that compress time are that they place high emphasis on: customer focus, responsiveness, R&D and innovation. Objectives of TBPM The three main objectives of TBPM are to: i) ii) iii) Fully define and simplify the production route, Compress the production cycle time, and Reduce the non value adding activities & Increase the value adding proportions of the process. What data is necessary? Key questions that need to be asked to gather the required data are: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) What is the process? Where does it start and finish? How long does it actually take from the first input to the last output? Does the process require a decision, how long does it take? How long should it take? How much time is spent on queuing prior to being processed? How much time is spent on rework? The figure below shows the service blueprint for Overnight Hotel Stay Service Process Charts The charting of work flows, working processes, systems and procedures is a useful way of recording the essential features of a work situation for subsequent analysis. Process Charts are one of the simpler forms of workflow charting and are still in regular usage but are less common than they once were. A variety of process charts have been designed to meet the needs of a particular level or stage of analysis; they can be used at a detailed level (recording activity at a specific work station or workplace), but also at the wider system, process or procedure level. The different kinds of process chart share a common core set of symbols, though some have additional symbols for specific and specialised process steps. The common symbols (of hich there are only five) were first promulgated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and have become known as the ASME symbols. OPERATION: a main step, where the part, material or product is usually modified or changed INSPECTION: indicates a check for quality or quantity TRANSPORT: the movement of workers, materials or equipment STORAGE: controlled storage in which material is received into or issued fr om a store, or an item is reference purposes DELAY or TEMPORARY STORAGE: indicates a delay in the process, or an object laid aside until required These symbols are simply linked together in a vertical chart representing the key stages in a process; it is usual to place a commentary in an adjoining column recording contextual/environmental information. e. g. against a Transport symbol would be recorded, start of journey, end of journey, distance and mode of transport. The simplest form of process chart is known as an outline process chart and records an overview or outline of a process. Only those steps of a process that can be represented by the ASME symbols of operation and inspection are recorded. An outline process chart is often a useful first step to identify key areas of concern before recording (part of) the process in more detail. In a â€Å"full† process chart, where all symbols are used, it is common to chart the process from the â€Å"viewpoint† of the material being processed, the worker carrying out the work or, less commonly, a piece of equipment. Thus, the same symbols can be used in different ways. As a simple example, a piece of equipment can be represented on an equipment-type flow process chart as a delay because it is not in use; while a material-type flow process chart of he same process would show the material being transported to the next work station, and a man-type chart could show the operator involved in another operation on another machine. The chart to be used may be determined by the purpose of the investigation or by the relative costs involved in the process – a highly capital-intensive process may focus more attention on the equipment being used. Process charts may also be used at a more micro level of analysis. An example is the two-handed process chart which records the motions performed by both hands during a task. The sequence of motion of each hand is charted using the same symbols as before. There are slight changes to the meaning of the symbols, however. The delay symbol is used to indicate that the hand is waiting to carry out its next task. The storage symbol is used to indicate that the hand is holding on to a piece of material or a document. Two-handed process charts are usually drawn on a pre-formatted diagram. Their use has generally been superseded by the analyses involved in the use of low level pre-determined motion time systems. The figure below shows the process chart for Requisition of Petty Cash Value Stream Mapping Value Stream Mapping is a method of creating a â€Å"One page picture† of all the processes that occur in a company, from the time a customer places an order for a product, until the customer has received that product in their facility. The goal is to depict material and information flows across and throughout all Value-Adding Processes required to produce and ship the product to the customer. Value Stream Maps document all of the processes used to produce and ship a product, both Value-Adding and Non-Value-Adding (Waste) processes. Why Value Stream Map? During the team creation of a Value Stream Mapping, business and manufacturing waste that occur in the processes can be easily identified. Once the Current State Value Stream Mapping is created, it becomes the baseline for improvement and for the creation of a Future State Value Stream Mapping. The FSVSM can then be used as a World Class Manufacturing implementation road map. The steps to implement value stream mapping are: Step 1 – Determine the product or service to be analyzed. Step 2 – Author a value stream map that depicts the process steps, information flows, and timelines that are required to create the product or service being analyzed. The mapping can either be a design, production, or service flow and may use standardized value mapping process symbols. Step 3 – Examine the process streams on the value stream map to determine if there are any redundancies or wasteful steps and mark them for modification or deletion. Step 4 – Redraw the mapping as a future state value stream map with the wasteful steps removed. Step 5 – Implement process changes in the organization to work towards the new value stream mapping. The figure below shows value stream map of a typical manufacturing firm Service Blue Printing The service blueprint is a technique used for service innovation. The blueprint shows processes within the company, divided into different components which are separated by lines. Service blueprints are maps or pictures that precisely portray how a service process is built up. It is used to provide individuals, which are involved in the process, help to understand and to deal sober with certain circumstances. Blueprints are especially useful, when it comes to developing and designing new services. It visualizes the service simultaneously depicting the visible components of the service, the roles of employees and customers, the intersections of customer contact, and the process of service delivery. The blueprint provides a way to divide a service into logical elements and to picture the tasks or steps in the process, the guideline how customer experience a service, and the instruments by which the tasks are accomplished. Blueprinting is already used in different techniques and fields, including computer systems analysis. The service blueprint consists of 5 components: 1. Customer Actions 2. Onstage / Visible Contact Employee Actions 3. Backstage / Invisible Contact Employee Actions 4. Support Processes 5. Physical Evidence 1. Customer Actions This component contains all of the steps that customers take as part of the service delivery process. This element is always on top of the service blueprint. 2. Onstage / Visible Contact Employee Actions This element is separated from the customer actions by a ‘line of interaction’. These actions are face-to-face actions between employees and customers. . Backstage / Invisible Contact Employee Actions The ‘line of visibility’ separates the Onstage from the Backstage actions. Everything that appears above the line of visibility can be seen by the customers, while everything under the line of visibility is invisible for the customers. A very good example of an action in this element, is a telephone call; these is an action between an empl oyee and a customer, but they don’t see each other. 4. Support Processes The ‘internal line of interaction’ separates the contact employees from the support processes. These are all the activities carried out by individuals and units within the company who are not contact employees. These activities need to happen in order for the service to be delivered. 5. Physical Evidence For each customer action, and every moment of truth, the physical evidence that customers come in contact with is described at the very top of the service blueprint. These are all the tangibles that customers are exposed to that can influence their quality perceptions. Building a blueprint The process of structuring a blueprint involves six steps: 1. The identification of the service process, that is supposed to be blueprinted 2. The identification of the customer segment or the customers that are suppose to experience the service 3. Picturing the service from the customer’s perspective 4. Picturing the actions of the contact employee (onstage and backstage), and/or technology actions 5. Linking the contact activities to the needed support functions 6. Adding the evidence of service for every customer action step The figure below shows the service blueprint for Overnight Hotel Stay Service Service processes What is a Service? A Service is the value provided to the customer through a set of interactions and impacts on the input from the customer. The service process is implemented and executed by the service provider. The input to the service process from the customer may be in form of information, belongings or even the person of the customer itself. The service and service process are designed to reach a goal which has been defined by the stakeholders, especially the customer and the service provider. The service, its goal, the service process, the customer, the service provider and the resources are embedded into an environment which is source of legal compliance requirements etc. All together they constitute a service system. Service processes and their properties There are a number of crucial differences between service and business processes. 1. There are intense interactions with the customer: For example, it may be necessary that the customer provides some information to allow the further proceeding of the process. It is important to emphasize that a service process must describe the interaction between customer and service provider. 2. Service processes differentiate two areas, front stage and back stage. The front stage contains the activities of the customer and the service provider’s activities that are visible to the customer. The back stage contains the activities not visible to the customer. 3. Service processes need to represent the handover of resources and information from the customer to the service provider and the restitution vice versa. Furthermore, service processes are often cross-organizational. A top-level service process that is responsible for providing the service to the customer coordinates a number of sub processes. Fig. 2 Product Process Design (top) v/s Service Process Design (bottom) Characteristics of services ? Services are tangible ? Service output is variable ? Services have higher customer contact ? Services are perishable ? Services are inseparable from delivery ? Services tend to be decentralized and dispersed ? Services are consumed more often than products ? Services can be easily emulated Many services come as part of a larger package of bundle of things. The service-product bundle consists of 1) The physical goods or facilitating goods, 2) The tangible service provided or explicit service, and 3) The psychological service or implicit service For example, at a winter ski resort. The facilitating goods are the chair lifts, buildings and mountain itself at the resort. ? The explicit service is primarily the skiing experience, but you also have the interaction with employees and the visual experience in the shops and sleeping quarters. ? The implicit service pertains to the fun generated, the sense of security you have and the excitement of the skiing. It is important to pay attention to all these experiences . Service recovery is the ability to quickly compensate for the failure of service delivery and restore, if possible, the service required by the customer. Obviously, service failure should be held to a minimum, but the recovery can also mean the difference between success and failure of the company service Guarantees help the company in clearly defining the process of service delivery and specify the extent of service recovery, if needed. Thus a process can be designed to provide consistent service. Service Process Design Service process design refers to the arrangement of service facilities where the service is provided and the processes through which the service operations are structured and delivered. Lovelock classified service process by the extent of demand fluctuations and the extent to which supply capacity is constrained. When demand is highly fluctuated and peak demand regularly exceeds capacity, managers must consider altering either demand pattern or supply capacity so that service can be delivered without incurring long customer waiting time. In case demand pattern cannot be altered, managers could consider operations-oriented strategies to control the level of service supply, such as scheduling parttime workers and cross training service personnel. The way in which the service process is designed determines, to a large extent, the wait that customers experience. Any reductions in customer waiting time by better management of process design can certainly help lower both customer dissatisfaction and defection. Often, managers have a number of alternatives to choose from when shaping the design of their service delivery process. Fig. 3 Service Design Process The Service Matrix As the popularity of Service Learning grows, the need to have a common language for discussion is critical. Currently there are a tremendous amount of resources on Service Learning, but often these resources are complex and abstract, leading to difficulties in describing and defining quality service learning experiences. In order to address this problem, The Service Matrix was created. The Service Matrix was designed to plot individual contributions to a particular service effort but is not intended to plot an entire service effort. With these parameters in mind, the X axis measures the value of a service effort to the community, while the Y axis measures he formal learning that occurred during the service effort. These axes intersect and provide the framework for the four quadrants of The Service Matrix. The following examples best describes these four quadrants of The Service Matrix. Quadrant One: Basic Volunteerism (Lower Formal Learning, Lower Value to the Community) Anthony attends a blood drive and gives a pint of blood. This example is considered basic volunteerism because Anthony l earned very little (lower formal learning) and the individual pint of blood is small when compared to the overall need for blood in the community (lower value). Quadrant Two: Community Service (Lower Formal Learning, Higher Value to the Community) In this example, Chloe brings 10 of her friends to the blood drive. Although, Chloe’s formal learning has not increased (Lower Formal Learning) with this example, due to her efforts she has now increased her value to the community (Higher Value to the Community) by meeting the need with greater impact. Chloe’s contribution is considered community service; however, her friends remain in the basic volunteerism quadrant. Quadrant Three: Community-Based Learning (Higher Formal Learning, Lower Value to the Community) Carlos is a high school senior enrolled in a Certified Nursing Assistance (CNA) class. As part of his coursework, he is assigned to attend a blood drive and observe nurses drawing blood. As a result, Carlos saw firsthand how his course work applied to real life situations (Higher Formal Learning), although his individual contribution to the community was insignificant (Lower Value to the Community) because there was no service performed on his behalf. Quadrant Four: Service Learning (Higher Formal Learning, Higher Value to the Community) Pauline is in a marketing class at her high school. After learning basic marketing principles, her assignment is to apply her knowledge in a way that would benefit the community. Pauline reads in the local paper that there is a need for blood in the local blood banks and hospitals. Responding to this need and using her marketing knowledge, Pauline organizes a blood drive at her high school. Putting theories into ractice, Pauline was able to internalize and reinforce her marketing knowledge (Higher Formal Learning). At the same time, because of Pauline’s efforts, 100 pints of blood were collected. (Higher Value to the Community) Objectives 1. By using The Service Matrix, individuals will gain a clear framework for understanding the different levels of service, including service learning. 2. Individuals using The Service Matrix as a reflection tool will be able to evaluate the quality and imp act of their individual contribution(s) to a particular service effort. Customer Waiting Time The total elapsed time between issuance of a customer order and satisfaction of that order. Ideally, CWT will include all customer orders, regardless of commodity or source, immediate issues, and backorders (and) include issues from wholesale and retail stocks as well as various other arrangements. Consumers today are more constrained by time than ever before. In an intensely competitive world the pressure, expectation and need to accomplish more in less time is unlikely to diminish. Service providers understand the premium that consumers place on time they view as wasted while waiting for the delivery of services. A customer waiting in line for service is potentially a lost customer. As such, managers of service operations constantly strive to shorten customer waiting time during service delivery. Firms across a variety of industries have introduced numerous peripheral service elements to the service package experience of their customers, in an attempt to shorten customer waiting times. Such efforts are best illustrated by retail stores that have check-out registers which automatically print the date, amount and name of payee on the cheques customers use when making payment. More recently, new technology offers even more opportunities to improve service process and thus customer service in various industries. For instance, the practice of â€Å"e-ticketing† in the airline business has definitely made a huge impact on ticket purchasing as well as airport check-in processes. Productivity Productivity is the ratio of outputs (goods and services) divided by the inputs (resources such as labor and capital). It differs from Production in that production is a measure of the output and not the efficiency. Productivity = Units produced / Input used ? Measure of process improvement ? Represents output relative to input ? Only through productivity increases can our standard of living improve Example: Improving Productivity at Starbucks A team of 10 analysts continually look for ways to shave time. Some improvements: 1. Stop requiring signatures on credit card purchases under $25- Saved 8 seconds per transaction 2. Change the size of the ice scoop- Saved 14 seconds per drink 3. New espresso machines- Saved 12 seconds per shot Operations improvements have helped Starbucks increase yearly revenue per outlet by $200,000 to $940,000 in six years. Productivity has improved by 27%, or about 4. 5% per year. Multi-Factor Productivity Productivity = Output / Labor + Material + Energy + Capital + Miscellaneous ? Also known as total factor productivity ? Output and inputs are often expressed in dollars Labor Productivity Productivity = Units Produced / Labour hours used Service Productivity ? Typically labor intensive ? Frequently focused on unique individual attributes or desires ? Often an intellectual task performed by professionals ? Often difficult to mechanize ? Often difficult to evaluate for quality Work Measurement Work Measurement refers to determining the output in quantitative terms. It implies measuring the volume of work completed and the time spent in completing it. It involves the study of the time required for performing each element of an office operation. Thus, work measurement includes the analysis of each operation, identifying its elements of parts and measuring the time taken by an employee in performing each element of the operation. This technique used for work measurement is known as â€Å"Time Study†. Besides determining the actual time taken in performing any operation, time study also enables time standards to be set for performing the operation. Although the main objective of office work measurement is to aid management n planning and controlling office operations, yet some of the other objectives of work measurement are: a) Decide the number of employees in each department b) Determine the standard work-load for each employee c ) Measure the performance of individual employees d) Help decide appropriate methods of motivation e) Simplify work systems f) Increase individual efficiency g) Reduce the cost of office services St eps in Work Measurement The following steps should be taken by the office manager before work measurement is undertaken in an office: a) Planning b) Work improvement c) Standardisation of office work measurement and standardisation of activities d) Listing of tasks to be measured e ) Defining unit of measurement and methods of measurement f) Securing subordinates' willing co-operation g) Executing the programme. vQuick Check Mark True or False 1. One of the objectives of work measurement is to evaluate the year-on-year output produced. (ANS:F) 2. Labour Productivity is defined as Output per unit of Labour. (ANS:F) 3. Service Productivity is difficult to mechanise and evaluate. (ANS:T) 4. Simplifying work systems is an objective of work measurement. (ANS:T) Importance of Office Work Measurement 1. Planning and Scheduling Work 2. Appraisal of Employee Performance 3. Estimation of Manpower Requirement 4. Cost Calculations 5. Improved employee motivation and morale Techniques of Work Measurement in Office 1. Past Performance Basis 2. Time Study 3. Work Sampling Time Study Time Study is the most widely used and best known technique of work measurement. Time study method helps in setting time standards for work. This method is also known as a ‘stop watch study' method to measure work. Time study or ‘stop watch study' is the process of recording and analysing systematically the time required to perform office operations by an average employee working at average speed under standard conditions, using standard methods. Essential requirements for time study are: 1. Skilled analyst 2. Standardisation of work methods 3. Standard conditions under which work has to be performed 4. Selection of well-trained employees who are acquainted with the purpose of the study 5. Determining the duration of the study The following steps are to be taken for conducting a time study programme: i) Identify the job to be studied and break down the relevant tasks into basic elements. For example, the task of mail opening nvolves five elements, that is, picking up envelope, cutting the edge of envelope, removing the contents of the envelope, connecting the cover with papers contained in the envelope and placing the letter in the tray. ii) Determine the number of work cycles to be obser ved and design the time date sheet for recording time elements for each time cycle. iii) Record the time taken for each element of the work process on the designed time date sheet. A stop-watch is generally used for determining the time taken. This process has to be repeated as per (ii). iv) Calculate the average time for each element from the work cycle readings (iii). v) Add allowances for delays, fatigue, etc. i) On the basis of above steps (iv& v) work standards can be determined and report drafted/ This method is simple and can be adopted without much additional cost. But the data collected are subject to the nature of conditions and the competence of employees; hence, the standards set so may not be much reliable. However, scope of improvement in this method is not ruled out. Summary A process strategy is used by organizations to build a production process that meets customer requirements and adheres to product specifications within cost and other constraints. An efficient pro cess strategy helps the organization to develop a competitive advantage over other organizations. Various process strategies can be classified under one of the four broad process strategies: namely process focus, repetitive focus, product focus and mass customization. The choice of process strategy depends upon the type of product to be produced. In order to determine which process is most suited to transform resources into goods and services, operations managers compare various aspects of the process such as maximization of customer value, competitive advantage etc. There are a number of tools which can be used to understand the complexities of process design and redesign. Some of these tools are flow diagrams, time-process-function mapping, value-stream mapping, process charts and service blueprinting. Each of these five process analysis tools has its strengths and variations. Service processes, unlike production processes, are heavily dependent on customer interaction and customization according to customer needs. Although customer interaction often affects process performance adversely, it can’t be done away with in case of service processes. The effectiveness of a service process depends upon the level to which the manager can accommodate the special requirements of a customer. Service processes having high labour intensity can be improved by focussing on human resources whereas services involving low labour intensity benefit from innovations in process technology and scheduling. Equipment and technology are other important factors that need to be considered during process design or redesign. These decisions can be complex because of availability of large amount of alternatives in both production and service processes. Some of the production technologies that are widely used today are machine technology, automatic identification systems (AISs), process control, vision systems, robots, automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRSs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) and computer integrated manufacturing (CIMs). The choice of technology depends upon the type of product and the budget constraints. Technology advancement has taken place in service design as well. Industries such as hospitality, airlines and even food & beverages have seen a rapid change in technology which has resulted in more efficient and therefore better quality of services. Consumer demands are dynamic and therefore keep changing with time. Consequently, business processes also need to be redesigned from time to time in order to cope up with changing demands. Effective redesign depends upon questioning both purpose and underlying assumptions of a process and addressing the issues. Process redesign can also address issues of expanding a business, improving the quality or efficiency of a process, or adding variety to the type of products manufactured. Redesigning of a process casts aside all notions of how a process is currently being done and focuses on improvements in customer value, cost, and time. Another important aspect of process design which has caught attention is the ethics and environmental friendliness of a process. As businesses are becoming more and more socially responsible, ethical and environment friendly processes are the need of the hour. Some of these actions are legally required, such as pollution control, while others are done by businesses as part of their corporate responsibility towards society. In future, the main focus of businesses will be to make their processes socially responsible, i. . helping in the welfare of the society along with making profits for the business. Short-Answer Questions 1) What is a process strategy? Why is it useful for an organization? 2) Name different kinds of process strategies. Write short notes on each explaining the types of products for which they can be used. 3) Mention three differences between product focused and process focused strategies. 4) What are the factors that need to be considered while analyzing and designing processes? 5) How is time-function mapping different from value-stream mapping? 6) Briefly explain the difference between production process design and service process design. ) Write short notes on Flexible Manufacturing Systems and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems. Point out the difference between them. 8) Give two examples of technology improvements in service sector. 9) What is process redesign? When is it required in an organization? 10) Demonstrate the importance of ethical and environmental factors to businesses with at least two examples. Long-Answer Questions 1) Briefly describe mass customization process indicating the instances where it can be used. What are the requirements to make mass customization work in an organization? 2) Describe an instance where product focus can be used. Draw flow diagram for the exa mple given. ) What are crossover charts? Briefly explain how they can be used to compare various process strategies. 4) Write brief notes on: a) Flow Diagrams. b) Time-Function Mapping. c) Value-Stream Mapping. d) Process charts. e) Service Blueprinting. 5) What are different production technology tools available to businesses today? Write a short note on each of them. Also, give examples of products where each of the production technology tools can be used. Multiple choice Questions 1) Process focused strategy is used for a; Low volume, low variety products b; Low volume, high variety products c; High volume, low variety products d; High volume, high variety products ) Product focused strategy is used for a; Low volume, low variety products b; Low volume, high variety products c; High volume, low variety products d; High volume, high variety products 3) Mass customization strategy is used for a; Low volume, low variety products b; Low volume, high variety products c; High volume, l ow variety products d; High volume, high variety products 4) Crossover charts are used for a; Comparison of process choices b; Design of process choices c; Both comparison and design of process choices d; None of the above 5) Which among these is not a focus point while designing process strategies? a; Customers ; Products c; Suppliers d; Technology 6) Product focussed facility is a a; Low fixed cost and low variable cost facility b; Low fixed cost while high variable cost facility c; High fixed cost while low variable cost facility d; High fixed cost and high variable cost facility 7) Which of these is not a process analysis and design tool? a; Time-function mapping b; Human-resource mapping c; Vale-stream mapping d; Service Blueprinting 8) Which of the following is not a production technology area? a; Automatic Identification Systems b; Flexible Management Systems c; Layout Management Systems d; Computer Integrated Manufacturing 9) Service Blueprinting focuses on a; Time taken to complete individual processes b; The processes which result in adding value to the product c; Customer and the provider’s interaction with the customer d; Symbols which are used to differentiate between activities 10) Which among these is not a process strategy? ; Product focus b; Process focus c;Mass customization d;Process control 11) The decision to be kept in mind while analyzing and designing processes are a; whether the process minimizes total cost b; whether the process saves time c;whether the process adds value as perceived by the customer d;All of the above 12) Equipment utilization in case of a process-focused facility is in the range of a; 5%-25% b; 25%-45% c; 50%-70% d; 75%-95% Numerical-Problems 1) XYZ ltd. has 3 alternatives to produce 30000 units of a certain product X. The total fixed and variable costs related to each alternative are mentioned in the table below: Alternative 1 Total Fixed Cost Total variable Cost/ Unit 40000 18 Alternative 2 90000 16 Alterna tive 3 130000 15 On the basis of the data given above, answer the following questions: a) Draw a cross-over chart reflecting each alternative. ) Which alternative is best for producing product X? c) Which alternative will be the best one if the units to be manufactured are 45000? d) Determine the economic volume for each process. 2) An automobile repairing garage has an average of 30 cars turning in for maintenance every day. The annual fixed costs of repair & maintenance is Rs 730,000 and variable cost of maintenance per car is Rs 50. A new technology has come up in the market which will reduce the variable cost per car to Rs 40 but will increase the annual fixed costs to Rs 109500. Is it advisable for the owner of the garage to switch to new technology? Assume negligible installation costs and 365 days in a year. ) Clean-tech washing machine manufacturers have four options to produce their washing machines. The costs involved in each process have been tabulated below: Process Cont rol Annual Fixed Costs 150000 Direct Material/Unit Direct Labour/Unit Power Expense/Unit 32 56 34 51 28 49 27 47 34 Robots 180000 33 FMS 200000 35 CIM 220000 34 The number of units manufactured annually is 4500. Answer the questions below: a) Draw crossover chart reflecting each process and find out the indifference points. b) Which alternative is best for producing the washing machines? c) If the number of washing machines manufactured annually changes to 8000, which one would be the best alternative? ) Draw flow diagrams for: a) An iPod b) A Mercedes-Benz c) Johnny-walker scotch whisky 5) Prepare process charts, time-function maps and service blueprints for the processes mentioned in Q-4. Case Studies: Case Study 1: Simulation modelling for manufacturing of major Boeing components using FMS, MCM and AGVs Every Boeing commercial airplane is customized for a specific customer. Manufacturing processes of some major components are desirable to follow the FMS concepts in a customized m anufacturing environment. In the case study that follows, a wing assembly process is examined by means of discrete simulation modelling. There are more than thirty complex processes applied to more than fifteen machine classes. Most processes require a different number of labour entities from various labour classes. The overall pace of the whole system (i. e. , the system take time) is desired to be a variable that impacts the process time of all related processes, as well as the number of assigned labourers. A modular approach to MCM system design will not only benefit the overall performance of a flexible MCM system, but will also enhance simulation-modelling exercises. Discrete event simulation technology employs the same platform concept as in modelling highly flexible and rapid reconfigurable production lines. Such modelling methods reflect manufacturing processes according to the ever-changing customized demands. Many fundamental manufacturing process parameters, such as layout reconfigurations, and resource re-allocations, can be derived ahead of time from the simulation models. A high-level process flow of the simulation model is shown below in figure 1, where source 1 generates incoming parts according to the system take time with optional statistical distributions. Buffer S receives incoming parts via the only crane resource in the system. The part will then be lifted by the crane to the machine B where multiple processes will be performed by multiple resources. The part then continues to move from the machine B to the machine P, the end of the process line. Multiple processes are assigned throughout this line on each machine. An additional process is needed in the middle of the line where the part will be transferred to the buffer A followed by a couple of external processes. Figure 1: The simulation model process technique Afterwards, buffer A receives the part and calls for the overhead crane to transfer the part back to buffer T where the part will continue through the rest of the process. At the end of the line, the part goes from the machine P to the buffer A then to the sink, which is the final destination of all parts in the simulation model. Two different part-carrying platforms are involved in the system. The â€Å"high speed† dolly transfers parts to and from buffer A. The â€Å"low speed† dolly carries one part at a time from machine B all the way to machine P. Additional components are introduced to the system from source 2 and 3 at different stages of the process line. Figure 2: An aircraft major component assembly line simulation model Resource class types in this model consist of labour, machine, and Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) elements. The machine class stands alone for each machine, while the labour and AGV classes are managed by their respective controllers. Those thirty plus processes that are stand-alone objects can be assigned to multiple machines. Thus, each machine has from two to six assigned processes. Processes run at all times in an endless do-loop as part of the nature of this modelling environment. As soon as a condition is met for a process, it will execute its logic and its assigned time duration on the machine where it resides. After the last process sequence of the last machine class has been executed, the part is transferred to the sink class where it will be logically destroyed and removed from the modelling system. The approach of this simulation modelling successfully manages a flexible customized manufacturing system in a flexibly modulated and customized fashion. For each complicated customized scenario, it is comprehendible that traditional manual modelling modification will take much longer effort than this technique. As compared to alternative approaches to this MCM application, benefit of this innovative methodology is evident in the following points: †¢ Customizable †¢ Ease of deployment †¢ Scalable Additional detailed verification between simulation models and flexible MCM exercises on the shop floor remain to be fully performed once this conceptual process development turns into reality. Nevertheless, approaches and methodologies presented in this work illustrate unparalleled advantages in operating flexible and customized manufacturing systems. Authors: Dr. Guixiu Qiao, Computer Scientist Manufacturing Systems Integration Division National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive, MS 8260 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8260, USA [email  protected] nist. gov [email  protected] com Tel: 301-975-4735 Roberto F. Lu, PE, Associate Technical Fellow Boeing Commercial Airplanes Manufacturing R & D The Boeing Company PO Box 3707 Mail Code: 6X-TR Seattle, WA 98124-2207, USA roberto. f. [email  protected] com Tel: 425-234-4049 Charles McLean, Computer Scientist Manufacturing Systems Integration Division National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive, MS 8260 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8260, USA [email  protected] nist. gov Tel: 301-975-3511 Case Study 2: Computer Integrated Manufacturing in Small Companies Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) technology provides companies with an excellent opportunity in order to compete in the present global context. The actual situation also favours small companies in developing and implementing CIM applications, due to many concurrent factors (de Venuto et al. 1994; Gupta and Brennan, 1995): †¢ availability of low cost hardware and software tools, with better performance and quality, makes CIM solutions accessible even to limited budget companies; †¢ technical improvement in the fields of networking and personal computers allows for reliable distributed information systems, providing the opportunity to use an affordable stepby-step approach while safeguarding integrity; †¢ Increased awareness, at management level, of the competitive potential offered by CIM solutions; †¢ actual turbulence of markets requires small companies to continuously increase performance, such as production flexibility, timely purchasing and delivery, process and product quality, in order to avoid the risk of quickly being overshadowed by more farsighted competitors. As a consequence, the introduction of CIM technologies may represent, particularly for small companies, one of the most promising strategies to acquire and maintain a competitive edge, from product development to marketing and distribution. The case study presented concerns CIM introduction in a small company (Italpneumatica Sud) working in the area of pneumatic components with the trademark SMC (one of the leading producers in the world). Like many other small medium-sized companies, Italpneumatica Sud has to solve integration problems on a limited budget. The strategic requirements to be met are as follows: †¢ Need to guarantee customer service by reducing lead times: this involves timely information, accurate delivery times and a reliable logistic system; †¢ Need to guarantee product and process quality: this requires accurate operations and process control to make quality certification possible (EN 29000); †¢ need to guarantee the setting up of a safe and timely corporate information system able to supply each user with online data required for operational and decision-making procedures. The main problems in this case study can be summarized as follows: †¢ High throughput time; †¢ Production management practically characterized by no scheduling; †¢ Excessive reliance on paper support for information exchange; †¢ Low level of process control; †¢ Scarce visibility of manufacturing process at management level; †¢ Accumulation of work in process inventory at shop floor level; †¢ Stock levels not optimized; †¢ Actual production costs not foreseeable. Prepare a detailed Computer Integrated Manufacturing System for Italpneumatica Sud. Authors: A. C. Caputo, G. Cardarelli, M. Palumbo and P. M. Pelagagge Reference: Industrial Management & Data Systems 98/3 [1998] 138–144 References i) Naughton, S. (2000) Understanding Service Learning. Wellesley, MA: National Institute on Out-of-School Time at Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. ii) http://www. uwex. uwc. edu/service-learning/documents/ideasSheet. pdf iii) MDF. 2003. Process Flow chart. http://www. toolkitsportdevelopment. org/html/resources/2F/2FD8A4 BAA5B8-4C7C-A4A4-FC8022D81E69/14%20Process%flow%20chart. pdf. (accessed November 16 2011. ) iv) Magnier,Ph. 2003. The Lean Enterprise Value Stream Mapping. http://www. nwlean. net/ tools CD/VSM/4%20steps%20to%20VSM. pdf. (accessed November 16 2011. ) v) Clarke,D. 1997. Time Based Process Mapping, Process Capability And Business Benefits. 5th International Conference on FACTORY 2000, 2-4 April 1997, Conference Publication No. 35 vi) Institute of Management Services. 2011. Process Charts. http://www. ims productivity. com/page. cfm/content/Process-Charts/( accessed November 16 2011. ) vii) viii) ix) x) http://media. wiley. com/product_data/excerpt/48/04713472/0471347248-4. pdf http://personal. georgiasouther n. edu/~gburke/6%20Process%20Strategies. pdf Hayes, Robert, and Steven C. Wheelwright. â€Å"Link Manufacturing Process and Product Life Cycles. â€Å"Harvard Business Review, January-February 1979, 133–140 Ahmad, Sohel, and Roger G. Schroeder. â€Å"Refining the Product-Process Matrix. † International Journal of Operations and Production Management 22, no. 1 (2002): 103–124.

Operator In A Call Centre In India

Suppose you are working as an operator in a call centre in India and receiving calls from Americans and Londoners. How would you handle such calls? Ans: As an operator first thing which I would try and ask politely would be that what is the route cause of the problem of the customer and would try and give time for explaining or removing out the frustration after which the customer would then have patience in listening to what we would try and explain.As an operator I would rectify the problem by all the better means and try to explain the customer in a better way that he would get convinced completely with the solution which could rectify the same. I would also make sure that the customer has any doubts or clarifications regarding the same and reconfirm the same from the customer about the solution explained to him was clear. As an operator I would co-operate with the customer to completely resolve the problem which ultimately satisfy the customer.I would also thank the customer for having the patience and giving us an opportunity to troubleshooting the issue and getting it rectified. I don?t want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the US,† hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a Bangalore call centre tried to be as polite as she could. At another call centre, another day, another young girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, â€Å"Young lady, do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs? † The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly.Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and women taking calls at these outsourced job centres. Supervisors tell them to be „cool?. Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based consultancy firm says, â€Å"Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone. † Vashistha says Indi an call centre?s should train their operators how to handle such calls. Indeed, the furor raised by the Western media over job losses because of outsourcing

Local Environmental Issues

The environmental problem that is significant in my city would be the water having chemicals in it that causes different parts of town to be on a boil water alert quite often. Due to industrial facilities, large amounts of toxic chemicals and other pollutants are being released into our water. This causes problems for the fish in the ocean and it contaminated our drinking water. This can also cause health problems for the persons consuming the water and even for those swimming in it. In order for a stop to be put to this, we need to have laws enforced in order to protect our rivers and beaches. The waterways are continually used for dumping grounds for toxic chemicals by polluters. This is causing a great health hazard that can be prevented if laws were put in place. There are several processing plants that contribute to the toxic chemicals being placed into the waterways. Industrial facilities also contribute to the chemicals polluting the water which is also linked to cancer that is being put into the St. John’s River. This problem is liable to cause birth defects or even fertility problems. Some of the chemicals discharged are lead, mercury, and dioxin. Not only do the toxins contaminate drinking water but it also contaminates the fish that we as people normally eat. There needs to be a law put in place that will not allow these pollutants to enter into our waterways with the probability of causing cancer or other health problems. There should be a reduction in the toxic chemicals discharged to safer alternatives. Permits should be issued with limits on the amount of toxins discharged by giving penalties and warning letters to those that don’t abide by it. Policies should be adopted that allow for water to be clean so that we as the people can be healthy.

Keflavik Paper Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Keflavik Paper Company - Case Study Example These capital outlays may include a purchase of new machines, modernization of equipments or even introduction of a new product. The capital budgeting process involves commitment of funds by a company in order to receive cash inflows in the future (Baker, 2011). Since funds available for these purposes are limited and the investment opportunities are many, screening and thorough evaluation is the best way to establish whether a proposed project outlay meets a number of set standards for acceptance.Screening entails the process of grouping projects into categories of acceptable and those that are not acceptable. Then from the alternatives, a preference decision is made by selecting the best courses of actions. This procedure also ranks them in order of desirability (Baker, 2011). If this planning is ignored, and the company goes ahead to endorse investment projects without analyzing them, problems are bound to occur. a) Problems Related with Excessive Reliance on a Single Screening Technique.Keflavik Paper will rely on a number of screening and evaluation techniques in order to determine which project to add to their projects portfolio. There are various criteria, which they can employ to determine whether a particular project meets the requirement to invest funds to implement it. Most of these projects will include expansion and diversification investment decisions or even replacement and modernization decisions (Allen, 2010). These projects are aimed at increasing production and also improve operating efficiency and reduce cost. This is reflected in increased profits and where firm replaces obsolete assets with those that operate more economically. The capital budgeting decisions are quite important since their effects continue for many years and entails large amounts of money investments into projects. These resources invested are committed for a long period and it may become hard to mitigate the effects of poor decisions. Thus, the success or failure of the company may rely on a single or relatively few investment decisions (Allen, 2010). Erroneous forecast of requirements of the assets can have grave consequences. If Keflavik Paper Company invests too much into these projects, it may end up incurring unnecessarily high depreciation and expenses. As a result the company may end being less competitive and eventually lose market. Like any other company, Keflavik Paper has scarce capital resources and thus timing is of essence. The various investment decision rules or investment criteria are divided into two distinct categories. First, there are the discounted cash flow techniques, which include net present value, profitability index and internal rate of return. Secondly, there are non-discounted cash flow methods, which comprise criteria such as payback period (Clear, 2011). Non-discounted cash flow techniques can be used to identify the ideal project to include into the company project portfolio. However, these methods of project appraisal do not take into account the project time value of money. Over reliance on these criteria to selecting and screening of projects could cause problems to the company. Payback period criteria attempts to measure the time that a certain project will take into the future to recoup the cost invested into the project. To approve a project the company would have a maximum allowable payback period within its policies, within which investments projects are compared (Allen, 2010). Excessive reliance on pay-back-period as a screening and evaluation technique would result to development of a pool of projects that no longer benefit the company after some years of operation. This is because the criteria do not consider projects’

Putting In the Hours Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Putting In the Hours - Essay Example The reader is likely to be hooked into reading this article because it gives insight into certain things that are often overlooked by many people when they look at the work of the professors. The author is an expert in this field because he vividly describes different types of professors and how they schedule their office hours when they are not delivering lectures in classrooms. The author’s main idea in this particular article is that work schedules for the professors depend on how they wish to spend their office hours in a productive manner. Some prefer to schedule their office hours early in the morning while others like to use their time during the day. Different professors display attitudes that differ from person to person depending on how they wish to conduct their office business. The author’s main purpose of writing is to enlighten the readers about different types of professors found in North America. He wishes to emphasize the point that a work schedule is e ssential when one is to successfully carry out tasks related to teaching and dealing with students during office hours. It may not be possible to simply approach the professor during his office hour since he or she may be somehow committed with other tasks. The author tries to portray a professor in North America as someone operates according to a schedule which ought to be maintained in order for him or her to achieve the desired goals. The author uses descriptive vocabulary in the article and the tone is intended to compel the readers to share the same ideas and opinions with him. For instance, the author describes different types of professors using descriptive terms and these make it quite simple for the reader to imagine what he is trying to say. Lang (207) describes the professor who prefers to use their office hours in consultation with the students as â€Å"Early bird† while those who do not want to be disturbed as â€Å"Door closer.† This type of vocabulary ma kes the reader imagine how this person looks like and the way he or she is likely to behave. Some of the terms used to describe the different types of professors by the author are self explanatory and they are quite simple to understand. For example, the Early bird derives from the adage: â€Å"The early bird catches a fat worm.† This implies that he who performs his work early is likely to achieve the desired goals on time. On the other hand, Lang (208) uses the phrase, â€Å"Door closer† to describe a person who closes the door when he or she does not want to be disturbed. Through this phrase, the reader is compelled to imagine the behaviour of such kind of person and how she or he is likely to impact on the students’ perception about them. The author’s presentation is valid in the sense that he uses information that was derived using the observation method. This method is reliable in that first hand information is obtained when one observes the action of a particular person. Lang (207) says, â€Å"Working our way up and down the halls of one faculty office building, checking out the office hour schedules posted below the nameplates and observing the work and leisure of these specimens...† and this statement reveals that the article is based on real observation of how the professors schedule their work. In presenting his argument, the author tries to convince the reader that this article is

Economic performance of Russia and India (2010-2012) Essay

Economic performance of Russia and India (2010-2012) - Essay Example ate 2012 2011 2010 Russia 6.0% 6.5% 7.5% India 9.9% 9.8% 10% Source: CIA, 2013b; Statista, 2013a, b Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross domestic product (GDP) is defined as â€Å"the sum of market value of all final goods and services produced in a country during a specfic period of time, generally one year†7 (Dwivedi, 2010, p. 5). In Russia, the country’s GDP has signficantly increased from $2.322 trillion in 2010 up to $2.509 trillion in 20128 (CIA, 2013a). The signficant growth rate in Russia’s GDP somehow explains why this country had a gradually decreasing unemployment rate. Since demand for final goods and services increases, demand for more jobs also increases. In India, the country’s GDP also increased from $4.205 trillion in 2010 as compared to $4.735 trillion in 20129 (CIA, 2013b). In general, the real GDP values considers the impact of inflation rate on GDP whereas a nominal GDP values does not. For this reason, figures that are related to real G DP is considered as a more accurate economic indicator as compared to the nominal GDP values. In line with this, the GDP’s real growth rate in India (5.4% in 2012) is much higher as compared to the GDP’s real growth rate in Russia (3.6% in 2012)10, 11 (CIA, 2013a, b). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 2012 2011 2010 Russia $2.509 trillion $2.422 trillion $2.322 trillion India $4.735 trillion $4.492 trillion $ 4.205 trillion Source: CIA, 2013a, b GDP – Real Growth Rate 2012 2011 2010 Russia 3.6% 4.3% 4.3% India 5.4% 6.8% 10.1% Source: CIA, 2013a, b The per capita real GDP is part of the macroeconomic indicator that focuses on dividing the real GDP with the number of population in each country12 (Boyes and Melvin, 2013, p. 359). As of 2013, the total population in Russia is only 141.44 million as compared to... This paper is the best example of comparison of economic development of India and Russia in terms of economic growth during 2010-2012 Key economic indicators are commonly used to determine the overall economic performance of a country. Using marcro-economic indicators such as unemployment rate, inflation rate, and balance of payment among others, it is possible to detect whether or not there is an economic growth in each country. Economic growth is defined as the increase in production of goods and services that occurs over long periods of time This report is composed of two major parts. The firts part will focus on applying and discussing the significance of macro-economic indicators such as unemployment rate, inflation rate, balance of payment, exchange rate, and growth indicators like gross domestic product (GDP) in the case of Russia and India. The second part focus on discussing the domestic and foreign factors which triggers fluctuations in some of these economic indicators. Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed people who want to have a job but do not have one Gross domestic product (GDP) is defined as the sum of market value of all final goods and services produced in a country during a specfic period of time, generally one year Inflation rate is defined as the percentage change in some measure of the price level from one period to the next the balance of payment is defined as the â€Å"statistical statement that systematically summarizes, for a specific period of time, the economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world The research conducted clearly shows that Russia was benefiting from a good economic growth whereas India was experiencing a worst economic growth.

Discussion u10d1, u10d2, u10d3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Discussion u10d1, u10d2, u10d3 - Coursework Example On April 5, 1998, when Mars Global Surveyor flew over Cydonia for the first time, Michael Malin and his Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team snapped a picture ten times sharper than the original Viking photos. There was no alien monument after all. The Face on Mars is located at 41 degrees north martian latitude where it was winter in April 98 -- a cloudy time of year on the Red Planet. The camera on board MGS had to peer through wispy clouds to see the Face. Perhaps, said skeptics, alien markings were hidden by haze. Nevertheless, on April 8, 2001 -- a cloudless summer day in Cydonia -- Mars Global Surveyor drew close enough for a second look. Malins team captured an extraordinary photo using the cameras absolute maximum resolution." Each pixel in the 2001 image spans 1.56 meters, compared to 43 meters per pixel in the best 1976 Viking photo. The first feature to arouse the interest of both the scientific community and the general public was the detection of a â€Å"face-like† anomaly in the area known as Cydonia, a plain in a transitional region between heavily cratered southern highlands and the smooth northern lowlands; the so called â€Å"Face of Mars†. It was photographed by the Viking 1 Orbiter in July 1976 while making detailed imaging for the selection of the landing site for the Viking 1 Lander. The image of the â€Å"Face† gained immediately great publicity and a keen interest in, along with various speculations on, the origin of the familiar looking formation. There are strong advocates for the interpretation that this feature with a length of 2,5 kilometres and a height of 250 metres is artificial, being some kind of a vast monument or perhaps a cenotaph. Later images taken by various orbiters having instruments with higher resolution than those onboard Viking 1 has lent credence to the view of the Face being a natural formation, a rocky hill or mesa with crevices on top simulating the features of a giant face

Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics - Research Paper Example Research ethics can be defined as the application of basic ethical principles to the subject of study. It includes designing and implementation of the research, human trialing, experimentation on animals, and various other aspects of research. It is also very much crucial to consider the ethical codes prior to carry out the task of research design for data collection. Generally there are three objectives in a research ethics they are protecting the participants, conducting the research in such a way that it serves the purpose of the society on a whole and finally to ensure that research actions are ethically sound. However in the context of social and behavioral research there are many incidents where we find there is a lack of ethical soundness in the research. History of Ethical Principles in Research The Nuremberg trial addressed the experimentation of human being in the context of patient’s right and protection of the human subjects. The code includes:- a) Researches that are based on human must be trialed on animals. b) Risks should be according to the perceived benefits. c) The researches that are based on humans must be carried out by qualified research. ... Belmont Report The Belmont report was developed by ‘National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research’. It was issued during the year 1979 (â€Å"The Belmont Report†). The report summarizes the primary ethical principles and guidelines that should help in the process of determining the ethical issues. The report is divided into two sections namely 1) Limitations between research and practice. 2) Fundamental ethical principles. Regulations and Social and Behavioral Sciences A research review committee is an Institutional Review Board (IRB) must make certain that human research subject needs to be protected. Therefore the questions that should be asked are:- Is the subject of study reasonable? Whether the risks are minimized or not? Whether the risks are justified according to the benefits? Is there a map to control and monitor the security and safety of the subject of study? Assessing Risk in Social and Behavioral Scienc e There are many associated risks with the study of social and behavioral science. Therefore some of the possible risks could be violation of confidentiality, breach of the procedure of study, inaccurate predictions and also the gauged result. However the risks are actually psychological, social, economical and sometimes physical. Informed Consent The participants of the research study must be given sufficient information regarding the study so that they can decide whether to take part or not. They should be informed because the research needs continuous involvement of the participants. Privacy and Confidentiality Any psychological or behavioral research needs high privacy as it mostly deals with secret matters. Moreover discretion and solitude is an important factor in research (Dantzker and

Process Of Change And Specific Change Strategies In The Coca-Cola Essay

Process Of Change And Specific Change Strategies In The Coca-Cola company - Essay Example However, there are several different criteria for creating the design and making action plans for implementing the same. This includes the readiness of the organization to accept the change, its present change capabilities, the organizational culture and power distributions, and finally the skills and abilities of the change agent. There are different kinds of organizational diagnosis which are based on their individual outcomes, such as human process interventions at the individual, group and total systems level. Besides the above, there are planned change interventions for modifying the organizational structure and technology; human resource interventions are aimed at improving the performance and wellness of members, strategic interventions aimed at managing the relationships within the organization with the external environment and the internal processes and structures which are required for supporting the strategies. The final stage of the change interventions is evaluating the effects of the same and managing institutionalization of the change so that persists and continues to be sustainable in the long run in the organization. The project makes an analysis and critical review of the change strategies undertaken in the Coca Cola Company and arguments are presented with the regards to the extent to which the change strategies have been successful in the organization.... Critical review of process of change and specific change strategies used in the organization The critical analysis and evaluation of the change process in Coca Cola can be conducted with the help of two models, namely Weisbord's Six-Box Model and Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model. Weisbord's Six-Box Model Following is the diagrammatic representation of this model. Figure 1: Weisbord's Six-Box Model (Source: Aspire, n.d., p.1-3) In this model, the two most crucial factors for the purpose box are goal clarity and the degree to which the organizations are clear about their mission and purpose, the agreements of goals and the extent to which people support’s the organization’s purpose. With regards to structure, the model seeks to find the fit between the structure and purpose of the organization. It is seen that the planned change implementation has been effective with regards to the fitness of the organizational structure of Coca Cola with the purpose of the change. Organiz ational leaders have particular researched extensively for the designing and development of organizational hierarchy and effective teams which can contribute maximum to the change processes. The different design options with regards to the restructuring of the company’s headquarters were particularly effective in achieving high level of balance between the global and the local governance of groups and geography. Moreover the process of designing groups and teams was particularly effective and a learning experience (Hatch, 2005, p.14). With regards to relationships, the model contends the importance of three main types of relationships, i.e. relationships between individuals, relationships between departments and units performing

Sexual Offenders Registration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sexual Offenders Registration - Essay Example Registering sexual offenders is similar to indication that they are not welcomed back to society even after serving their sentences. Registering sexual offenders with local authorities amounts to interference with their personal freedoms. Sexual offenders should not be registered with local authorities. Sexual offenders should not be registered with local communities after they serve their sentences whether in prison, juvenile centers or probation centers. When sexual offenders are served with sentences, it means that the justice system has given a ruling that is just both to the offender and the person that was offended. Therefore, when the offender serves his or her sentence and comes back to society, the local authorities should not register them because this is a way of indicating that the sentences they served is not enough and that they have not paid for they did the way they should (Meiners 32). The system of registering sexual offenders is approved because it is seen as one w ay that will prevent sexual offenders from repeating the mistake they did because the local authorities will be able to monitor them. However, this is a wrong assumption because when a sexual offender is sentenced, he or she serves the sentence term while undergoing rehabilitation and treatment where he or she learns that a mistake was done and should never be repeated again. Therefore, rehabilitation and treatment programs are enough because if they offer the right treatment and rehabilitation, then the offender should be able to rehabilitate and live a normal life in the society. Therefore, the need to register them becomes unnecessary. Moreover, in case treatment and rehabilitation programs fail, then registering them for the reason of monitoring will not work in any way. This is because registering a sexual offender does not mean that he or she will be followed anywhere he or she goes or anything they do every time. Therefore, when sexual offenders are served with sentences, whi ch they serve, registration with local authorities is not helpful because the justice programs remain with their records (Levenson, et al. 138). Registering sexual offenders is similar to indication that they are not welcomed back to society even after serving their sentences. Each person does a mistake at a certain point in his or her lives whether it is seen as a serious mistake or a minor one or whether a person knows it or not. However, for people to coexist peacefully in society, forgiveness must exist where people forgive each other for the mistakes they do at one point. Without this, the society will be a place of commotions where people cannot live peacefully. Thus, registering sexual offenders with local authorities amounts to stating that the sexual offenders are not forgiven and they are not welcomed back in society. The justice system has a role in the society to provide justice for everyone irrespective of whether one is an offender or the offended person. When the just ice system serves a sentence to sexual offenders, this should be enough for the sexual offenders to serve their sentence, undergo through rehabilitation and treatment and integrate with the society without difficulty. Registering offenders makes them feel unwanted in the society because of a mistake they may have done knowingly or unknowingly. In fact, registering offenders is like putting those who were sentenced wrongly, those who actually did it knowingly, and others unknowingly

Case study about John F kennedy and the bay of pigs , cuban missile

About John F kennedy and the bay of pigs , cuban missile crisis - Case Study Example However, this president could later on be seen as living up to the policies of his predecessor; Eisenhower. This was clearly evident when he decided to adopt the Bay of Pigs Invasion and gave a go head to his military without giving it much thought. President J. F Kennedy became a leader during the era of nuclear war. He believed that no nation could confidently win a nuclear war. According to Kennedy, the main cause of war and civil strife in the 20th century was Miscalculations. He, therefore, with the counsel of his Intelligence agency, designed and employed a military strategy that was known as the Flexible Response. This strategy was put in place with the anticipation that it would reduce such wars that result from miscalculations. Even though J. F Kennedy had been regarded by many as one of the most flexible and rational presidents of the United States, there had been criticism that he was not as prudent as Eisenhower and, had made the USA even worse. However, these arguments are subjects of a heated debate as there are no diplomatic records on this topic2. By the time Kennedy came to power, the Soviet Union had made several steps ahead of the US in the space exploration. The Soviet had already acquired considerable skills in nuclear war and was becoming a threat to the US, which was at that time very vulnerable to the missile attacks. Soviet Prime Minister, Nikita Khrushchev, in one of the speeches, had announced that their nation was ready for any liberal war3. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a planned attack on Cuba by the American Central Intelligence Force. It was during the time when Cuban government, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, was experiencing defection from the government officials and the citizens4. United States of America, therefore, decided to take advantage of this situation and arranged to attack Fidel in disguise of the defectors. The invasion had been planned before President Kennedy took over from Eisenhower.

Truth in Management and Power Relationships Essay Example for Free

Truth in Management and Power Relationships Essay Throughout history, philosophers have come up with their versions of the actual definition for ‘truth’. The Greek philosopher Aristotle had explained truth as â€Å"To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true† [1]. Aristotle explains that truth can be described as that something that is definite and distinct in its own form, nature or identity. Another Greek sophist and philosopher Protagoras held the view that â€Å"man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, and of things that are not that they are not†[2]. According to him, every person’s opinion of truth is based his or her own perception of truth. In the famous Greek poet Homer’s epic Odyssey, there is one instance when the Greek hero Odysseus did not actually reveal the truth when he says â€Å"I will tell you all the truth†[3]. In his epics, there are characters that hold back information or tell lies. In the present day management, we have to be cautious as to how we go about telling the truth to our subordinates or colleagues. There are multiple scenarios that we have to consider before revealing the truth. Sometimes, we may end up in situations whereby we have to cover up the truth to protect our integrity and position in the company or organization. Socrates, an Athenian Greek Philosopher once quoted: â€Å"You, my friend, are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of yourself which you never regard or heed at all? [2]† We can relate to his quote in today’s fast paced times, when in the quest for power, wealth and reputation, we tend to forget our very basic virtues of being righteous and truthful. I can quote an example of my personal experience whilst working in a semiconductor company where my supervisor and colleague were from Philippines. I used to have reservations initially in opening up to my colleagues and then as the months passed, I started confiding with my Filipino colleague regarding a couple of problems I had with the company management style and extremely long working hours. He then later betrayed the faith that I had in him when he passed on all the complaints over to my supervisor behind my back. Since then, the company management started to ignore my inputs and started giving me disapproving eyes at every meeting. The lesson we can learn from that was to ensure that certain truths however cumbersome they may be to carry around, we have to ensure that they stay hidden away due to the competitiveness and lack of trust among employees in today’s management. The Greek philosopher Plato once said â€Å"You should not honor men more than truth[4]† but in today’s world of management, the key areas of output and performance are valued more highly than the truthful principles at work. Power relationships play a very important role in management in the present day. These relationships have taken on a very aggressive dimension nowadays with the current crop of power hungry managers. In my opinion, we need to build such relationships with our colleagues as well as our superiors to firstly sustain ourselves for the long run and then to ensure that we maintain a steady progress throughout our careers. From my personal experience while working with my previous employer, I used to notice that my team consisted of mainly Filipinos, Indians, Malaysians and Chinese. They used to split up into their respective nationality groups and stay together always while doing work and used to provide assistance and useful advice only to their countrymen when in need. Those groups kept trying out negative organizational politics against each other to ensure that none of them could grow in the company so as to attain overall power. The organizational politics at my company even went upto the higher management where in the promotions were dedicated only to their respective countrymen and was not based on ability or performance. The higher management even had absolute control of the human resource (HR) department whereby the hiring of new staff was prioritized based on nationality of the hiring manager or supervisor rather than giving priority to the qualification and experience of the new recruits. Quoting from Plato, â€Å"The measure of a man is what he does with power[4]†, in management terms, his words signify that a true ability of a manager can only be determined by how he utilizes his power effectively in the context of an organizational environment. The Greek Philosopher Socrates had once said: â€Å"Esteemed friend, citizen of Athens, the greatest city in the world, so outstanding in both intelligence and power, arent you ashamed to care so much to make all the money you can, and to advance your reputation and prestigewhile for truth and wisdom and the improvement of your soul you have no care or worry[2]†. This quotation is apt in describing the insatiable need for wealth among the Athenians in those days for gaining reputation and prestige at the cost of their moral values like truth and wisdom. Socrates’ words can even be applied with respect to today’s management style. In the current times, taking into account the fallout from the financial crisis and its impact on the organizations, managers get even more reluctant to follow the truthful ideologies and instead strongly engage in strengthening their power relationships with other hierarchical members within their organizations to establish a strong foothold for themselves in the industry. References: 1. Owens, J., Doctrine of Being in the Aristotelian Metaphysics. 3rd ed1978, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. 2. Spillane, R. , An Eye For An I: Living Philosophy2007, Melbourne: Michelle Anderson Publishing. 3. Thiselton, A. C. , The New international dictionary of New Testament theology, ed. B. Colin. Vol. 3. 1978, Exeter: Paternoster Press. 4. Stavropoulos, S. , The Beginning of All Wisdom: Timeless Advice from the Ancient Greeks. 1st ed2003: Da Capo Press.

The Role of a Midwife in Domestic Violence Cases

The Role of a Midwife in Domestic Violence Cases Domestic violence and public health The role of the midwife. Why is domestic violence a public health issue for midwives?The latest triennial maternal mortality report (CEMACH, 2004) reveals that for the years 2000-2002 eleven new mothers were murdered, within six weeks of giving birth, by their partners. The report highlights that domestic violence is a risk factor for maternal death from all causes. In this report 14 percent of all the women who died had declared that they were subjected to domestic violence. This translates to 51 women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the three year period. If progress is to be made in reducing maternal mortality careful note needs to be taken of all the risk factors.   Risk assessment is currently a means by which the type of care received by the woman in pregnancy and labour is determined. This midwifery role is already well established for antenatal and intrapartum care. Epidemiology Domestic violence has a high prevalence. Crime figures for a single day, 28th September 2000, were obtained and publicised form British police forces. On that day there were 1 300 calls to the police reporting domestic violence. Extrapolating from this there is an incidence of domestic violence every six to 20 seconds. Most of the victims are women. According to Home office figures two women die in Britain each week from violence by either their current or their previous partner (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). A study in London found in a sample of women on antenatal and postnatal wards a 23% lifetime experience of domestic violence. Three percent of these women were encountering domestic violence in the present pregnancy (Bacchus, 2004). The impact of domestic violence What constitutes domestic violence varies tremendously. It does not have to be physical violence. This is problematic. Collection of statistics is hampered by the blurring of the boundaries between the abuse severity. Whilst it can be agued that no level of abuse is acceptable some distinction needs to be drawn. Pregnancy may act as a trigger for domestic violence; it may start at this time or change in nature sometimes becoming mental rather than physical but sometimes being more focussed on blows to the abdomen. The puerperium is a time of particular vulnerability (CEMACH, 2004). The high prevalence of domestic violence impacts economically on society. The costs of dealing with 100,000 women seeking medical help annually due to domestic violence and the fact that of applications for shelter on account of homelessness 17 per cent are caused by domestic violence may be costing London alone approximately  £250 million each year. Support systems are overstretched; there are 7 000 women and children looking for places of safety every day (Seymour, 2001). Physical violence to a pregnant woman increases the risk of miscarriage, premature labour, low birth weight and intrauterine fetal death. Domestic violence may increase the likelihood of a pregnant woman smoking, drinking alcohol or taking drugs with deleterious effects on the pregnancy and fetus. Domestic violence is associated with depression and suicide attempts. Trauma to the abdomen incurs risk of life threatening placental abruption, rupture of the uterus or other internal organs in addition to the fetal risks. Women incurring domestic violence are less likely to be able to access antenatal care, many book late and a significant proportion not at all. They have problems accessing care and often default on visits, change addresses and have no reliable means of being contacted. Often the partner will exercise stifling control over them and accompany them during visits to the midwife, answer questions for them and remain present during examinations (Mezey, 2002). Initiatives to address the problem The Department of Health’s National Service Framework (2004) for Children, Young people and Maternity Services states the importance of identifying victims of domestic violence and includes pointers for recognition and action during pregnancy and recommends that staff should be aware of the importance of these aspects. Some emphasis is put on the supportiveness of the environment and the sensitivity of the enquiry about the abuse. The Government has looked closely at the issue of domestic violence (The Government’s Proposals on Domestic Violence, 2003). Parliament has legislated via the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. This has extended police powers of arrest for common assault under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. This has had some effect with a dawn raids to intercept offenders (Bird, 2004). Dimond (2005) argues that to really tackle the issue of domestic violence people in general must become involved and this includes health care providers. It is already the case that following an assault which leads to miscarriage the offender can be charged under s.58 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (Bristol Evening Post, 2004). Where the assault leads to premature delivery from which the child dies the charge is one of manslaughter. The Home Office is taking the lead on behalf of the Government on this issue. Specialist domestic violence courts are planned. In Leeds it is pil oting a Domestic Violence Cluster Court. The aim is to make the process of dealing with the perpetrators faster and to make custodial sentences longer. In 2000, the Department of Health advocated routine questioning of pregnant women about domestic violence. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and NICE all requested that this should happen. In a position paper in 1999 the Royal College of Midwives recommended that abuse be recognised and documented and also that such women should be given information to choose for themselves what to do.   It is recognised that it is important for a woman to be able to find the help that she needs when she is ready (Smith, 2005). Whilst the woman can be assured of confidentiality it is important that the extent and limitations of this are made clear. For instance if she already has children and there is a risk that they may suffer domestic violence then confidentiality will have to be broken. If there is a real danger to the fetus once it is born then again the confidentiality between the woman and the midwife will have to be broken. Up until the moment of birth the fetus does not have any right of its own in law. In Wales and in Bristol there have been significant projects to screening pregnant women for domestic violence and following through the positive answers. There have also been initiatives in Leeds and also in London. A study done in Bristol (Salmon 2004) and funded by the Department of Health showed that where midwives were trained to ask about domestic violence more women disclosed it. Midwives wanted further training and without this only 10% of midwives would ask about domestic violence by choice. Midwifery training in asking the question increased midwives’ confidence in this area(Baird, 2005). The Bristol research was important to determine the impact of the routine questioning about domestic violence on midwifery education. The multi-agency involvement of the work and education was apparent. A vitally important aspect of the work on disclosure was talking to the woman alone, specifically without the presence of her partner (Merchant, 2001). The question is unlikely to be of benefit if the woman is not asked alone or if there is no effective follow up (Ward and Spence, 2001). Sometimes the only time the abusive partner will allow the woman to be alone is when she goes to the toilet. Therefore posters must be available in this location detailing contact numbers of women’s refuges, social services, victim support etc. Information can also be pre-printed on maternity records so that if a partner sees it it is obviously not aimed specifically at that woman and she is then not likely to suffer further abuse on account of him seeing the information. Another aspect, which might be considered, is to have in the women’s toilet a poster indicating that if the woman is being abused she may mark her routine urine container in some way that alerts the midwife but no one else that she is in danger from domestic violence. Women from ethnic minorities where English is not spoken by the woman pose particular difficulties. It is important to use an inte rpreter who is not a family member. The Bristol study was a pilot to inform about education needs of midwives when asking about domestic violence. It was not designed as a study to gather evidence about whether it is effective to promote disclosure and whether subsequent information and support giving is beneficial in reducing the problem. London based initiatives Mezey studied 892 pregnant women at St George’s Hospital, south London. Midwives were trained to ask the question about domestic violence. Women were more likely to admit to domestic violence when directly questioned about it. Women’s fears of loss of confidentiality or that their children might be removed from them hampered disclosure. Some midwives found asking the question was distressing and some feared reprisal from the woman’s partner. It was clear from the study that midwives cannot tackle this problem alone. Considerable back up from other agencies is vital and all agencies must work together. The strengths of the work and initiatives so far include the understanding and acceptance that whilst midwives play a pivotal role in this opportunity to screen women for domestic violence they cannot tackle the problem alone. It is accepted that training of midwives can enhance the percentage of women abused who disclosure this. Other strategies around enhancing disclosure also have a positive effect. To be critical the major weakness of the initiatives is that they are not of proven benefit. Statistics are always going to be difficult to collect in this area. Concentrating on this problem may be detracting from other important midwifery aspects and studies have not addressed this aspect. Training given to midwives has not been universal and the wider aspects of continuing professional development and training of other members of the multi disciplinary team have not been set up. Just admitting to domestic violence does not mean that the woman’s life is going to improve. To bring the problem out into the open may upset the woman’s family and result in isolating her from them both physically and emotionally and in some situations may do more harm than good. A targeted approach needs to be fostered and work needs to be done to evaluate how we can spot the domestic violence cases where intervention would really make a difference. It is doubted whether this is a midwifery role since skills within the field of criminology would seem appropriate. What improvements could be made? A recommendation of the 2000-2002 maternal mortality report (CEMACH, 2004) is that midwives require adequate training both pre registration and as continuing professional development to ensure that they can effectively assess women who suffer domestic violence. A further recommendation is that all pregnant women should be asked if they suffer domestic violence presently or previously (but that the question be deferred until midwives have received the relevant training and multidisciplinary support services are in place). Asking about domestic abuse is generally done poorly in social history taking (Foy, 2000). The most difficult part seems to be the midwife asking the question about domestic violence (Scobie and McGuire, 1999; Price and Baird, 2003; Mezey et al, 2003). The default position would seem to be that they midwife is reluctant to ask and the patient feels unable to talk about it (Ashton, 2004).   The educational aspect is important. Both theory and practical skills are involved. The work around domestic violence is multidisciplinary and multi-agency and clearly this needs to be reflected in the midwife education and continuing professional development courses (Baird, 2005). There needs to direction from the nursing and Midwifery Council and the Royal College of Midwives about what the training will consist of and what comprises the required level of competency. Education should be of proven benefit to practice. The reluctance to answer the question is not supported by women being offended; generally they accept it (Price, 2004). Approximately 90% of women asked are in favour of being asked (Leeds Inter-Agency Project, 2005). On average a woman will suffer domestic violence 35 times before she contacts the police. This is of concern and highlights the degree to which women are trapped in the violent situation. Factors within themselves, for instance fears of reprisals from the partner, compounded with a lack of confidence in the police, social services and the legal system contribute to this problem. Pressure cannot be put on the woman to leave the violent situation (Bewley C and Gibb, 2001). Initiatives aimed at these problems are needed. How midwives can be involved in this public health initiative Thirty percent of domestic violence towards women starts whilst they are pregnant (CEMACH, 2004). Asking all pregnant women about domestic violence as a routine question has advantages over asking only a selected group, for instance; it helps with the changing attitude to domestic violence; it helps women feel they are not being picked on and it is lees likely to jeopardise the safety of an abused woman (Tacket, 2004). The key areas of involvement of midwives to best support these women include; Asking all women directly whether they have been domestically abused and facilitating disclosure Documentation and allocating those with positive responses to high dependency care Giving information to affected women thereby enabling them to access specialised help Supporting women when they are making a change away from the violent situation Inter-agency working (Hepburn M McCartney, 1997) Peer review Midwives do agree with the concept of questioning pregnant women about domestic violence and approximately 80% also agree that it should be the midwife who does this (Price, 2004). However in clinical practice only about 60% are happy about asking the woman this question (Price, 2004). The reasons the midwives gave for these problems were practicalities such as a lack of time or lack of staff or difficulty getting privacy with the woman and personal problems with asking the question (Leeds Inter-Agency project, 2005). ConclusionWith the increased awareness and increased stance of non-acceptability of domestic violence it is to be hoped that people in general will have a common awareness about how they can seek help. Pregnancy is still going to be a vulnerable time from the point of view of the physical stage of mother and fetus and the fact that such a high percentage of abuse situations develop during pregnancy. Midwives are therefore still going to be pivotal in this area. Another important aspect from the midwifery point of view is that a woman may be better motivated to make a change to her situation whilst she is pregnant. Perhaps the role of the midwife in aspiring to solve the problem of domestic violence will be moving away from just asking the question and giving information (since women will largely already have this knowledge) towards encouraging the woman to make a change that really is for the better. It should be recognised at this stage in time that greater challenges lie ahead and we should plan for them now.   ReferencesArticles Aston G The silence of domestic violence in pregnancy during womens encounters with healthcare professionals. Midwives 2004 vol 7 no 4 April Bacchus L Domestic violence and health. Midwives 2004 vol 7, no 4 April 2004 Baird K, Salmon D and Price SLearning from the Bristol Pregnancy and Domestic Violence Programme British Journal of Midwifery, November 2005, vol 13, no 11 p692-6 Bewley C and Gibb A MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 2001 vol 11 no 2 183-187 Bird S Police hold 150 in domestic violence raids. The Times8 December 2004 Bristol Evening Post 18th December 2004, report on Nycoma Edwards. Dimond B Protecting victims of domestic violence. British Journal of Midwifery February 2005, vol 13, no 2 p105 Foy R et al Antenatal detection of domestic violence. The Lancet 2000 vol 355, p1915 Hepburn M McCartney S Domestic Violence and Reproductive Healthcare in Glasgow. In: Bewley S Friend J Mizey G (eds) Violence Against Women London: RCOG Press, 1997: 233 Leeds Inter-Agency Project (2005) Health and social care project report: promoting good practice in health service responses to women and children experiencing domestic violence Marchant S Davidson L Garcia J et al Addressing Domestic Violence through Maternity Service-Policy and Practice. Midwifery 2001 vol 17 164-170 Mezey G Bacchus L Haworth A et al Midwives’ perceptions and experiences of routine enquiry for domestic violence. Br J Obstet Gynaecol2003 110: 744–52. Price S Routine questioning about domestic violence in maternity settings. Midwives 2004 vol 7, no 4 April   Price S and Baird K Domestic Violence: An audit of professional practice. Pract Midwife2003 vol 6 no 3 15–8 Salmon D Baird K Price S et al An impact evaluation of the Bristol Pregnancy and Domestic violence Programme to promote the introduction of routine antenatal enquiry for domestic violence at North Bristol NHS Trust 2004 www.northbristol.nhs.uk Scobie J McGuire M The silent enemy: domestic violence in pregnancy. British Journal of Midwifery1999 vol 7 no 4 557–62 Seymour J Pregnancy No Protection From UK Epidemic Of Domestic Violence. 1st November, 2001   Panos-UK/1 http://www.panos.org.uk/global/featuredetails.asp?featureid=1039ID=1005 Smith N Training is vital to domestic abuse screening. British Journal of Midwifery Nov 2005 vol 13, no 11 p676 Ward S and Spence A MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 12, 2002; Supplement 1, S15-S17. Papers Mirrlees-Black C Home Office, Domestic Violence: Findings from a New British Crime Survey Self-Completion Questionnaire, London, 1999. Royal College of Midwives (1999) Domestic abuse in pregnancy: Position Paper 19a (London: RCM) Reports CEMACH Why Mothers Die. Confidential enquiry into maternal deaths 2000-2002. RCOG press 2004. London   Department of Health (2000) Domestic violence: a resource manual for health professionals. 2000 London: Department of Health   Ã‚   Department of Health (2004) National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services: Part 111 Maternity Standard (London: Gateway ref. 3779) Taket A Tackling Domestic Violence: the role of health professionals. 2004 Home office Development and Practice Report 32 The Government’s Proposals on Domestic Violence. Home Office Safety and Justice: June 2003 Home Office;http://www.domesticviolence.gov.uk Websiteswww.doh.org.ukwww.rcm.org.ukwww.rcog.org.uk