Timberlands Model Essay Example for Free

Timberlands Model Essay 1a) How would you characterize Timberlands exercise of its corporate power in society? Timberland uses its corporate power in society not only to make a profit, but to help others. It is a rarity for a company to go as far as Timberland has gone to make a huge difference in society. Whether participating in its City Year to Service program that serves its communities; or becoming carbon neutral, Timberland has paved the way and reflects a company that not only cares about its communities, but also cares about the environment. 1b) Is Timberland engaging multiple stakeholders in its business operations? If so how? Yes. Timberland’s Chief EarthKeeper and CEO Jeff Swartz, hosts regular stakeholder engagement calls to inform, inspire, and engage others about Timberlands corporate initiatives. They allow stakeholders to dialogue in a public forum. Past calls have covered topics such as corporate climate strategies, responsible sourcing, eco labeling, community greening, and the current state of corporate responsibilities. 2a) Has Timberland balanced its economic and social responsibilities through its various programs, such as the Path to Service program and sustainability goals? Yes, Timberland planned to build 15 community gardens worldwide and refurbish 80 playgrounds by 2009, utilizing the more than 76,000 employee volunteer service hours. The company contributes 2% of its pre-taxed income annually and makes grants to many non-profit organizations, including many of those it aids through its service projects. They advocated an ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2010, meaning they would eliminate or offset its own carbon footprint by reducing emissions at its facilities and this can be seen in its Ontario, CA distribution center where 60 percent of its power is generated through installation of new solar panels. The solar installation reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 480,000 pounds annually. In the Dominican Republic plant, Timberland installed a wind turbine and solar heating panels to provide approximately 30,000 kilowatt-hours of clean renewable energy each year. 2b) Are the companys programs examples of enlightened self-interest? Yes, because Timberland considers what they call earthkeeping, common sense. Earthkeeping allows them to make their products by using recycled materials and also allows them to use renewable energy in their facilities. Earthkeeping is second nature to them. Their belief is that earthkeeping will help them create and sell better gear for customers to enjoy the outdoors and to protect the outdoors by being environmentally responsible. 3. What impact do you think that the current economic recession may have on Timberlands social programs? With the recession, most companies are cutting back on company-sponsored programs to stay profitable. There is no doubt that this has affected the Timberland Corporation as well. However, as the article noted, with 95% of employee participation in the companys sponsored program, if the company could no longer sponsor the program, greater than 50% would most likely stay. 4. How would you improve Timberlands corporate social responsibility program? Timberlands corporate social responsibility program, although great, could improve by involving its shareholders in its green efforts. Timberland could promise dividends if its green-goals are met quarterly. This would give its shareholders a vested interest in ensuring Timberland continues its corporate social responsibility programs. Update: Even after the economic slowdown in 2007 through 2009, Jeffrey Swartz has continued to look for ways to not only improve the communities his company affects, but also to improve the company. He has turned his monitoring inward on his factories and launched improvement programs that have improved working conditions for his employees. As he stated in Timberlands 2009 Earthkeeper Report, The results from our remediation efforts also support our belief that going beyond monitoring and beyond factory walls is critical to addressing workers’ needs. The article also mentions that they have eliminated high-risk issues from some of their footwear sourcing channels and seen their business partners increase their scores on Timberlands Code of Conduct assessments which help measure working condition improvements. References Retrieved from http://www.timberland.com

About Dyslexia Essay Example for Free

About Dyslexia Essay Dyslexia is a severe mental disorder which deals with a person having difficulties learning. This medical syndrome occurs in all ethnicities and age groups. Dyslexia is not all about low intelligence, and a lot of people with dyslexia are very creative and gifted like prodigies. Around 15% of United States population is affected by learning disorders and the numbers are drastically increasing. One of the main causes of Dyslexia has to do with Genetics and two popular symptoms are incapability of relating symbols with sounds and repeated word guessing. Two treatments for dyslexia are Allopathic treatment and an organized language program which deals with letter sound system. I will demonstrate and describe Dyslexia’s medical aspects as well as it’ psychological and sociological features. According to the academic article â€Å"Dyslexia† written by Patricia G. Mathes and Jack M. Fletcher on page 289 â€Å"Dyslexia was first described more than 100 years ago.† At that time the cause of Dyslexia was by complexity in stocking up imagery impersonation of words. The first theory of dyslexia was called the strephosymbolia which was introduced by Samuel Orton and it acclaimed that children were having a hard time building control in the brain which lead to failure of suppressing mirror visual counterparts. However, Samuel Orton’s theory is not proven accurate but it persuaded other theories to come about as well as new treatments. (Mathes and Fletcher 289) â€Å"The underlying assumption being that by activating the auditory, tactile, and Kinesthetic modalities of learning, students are able to compensate for inherent weaknesses in the visual domain.† Even nowadays the Orton-Gillingham process of teaching reading is still used. See more: Sleep Deprivation Problem Solution Speech Essay These programs mainly focus on educating alphabetical interpretation and this also explains any success achieved by the patients. Treatments that do not involve multisensory methods but teach alphabetical decoding have also been successful. The results from these studies showed that imagery perception has nothing to do with reading skills and also that dyslexic and normal people have the same capacity of imagery perception. However, the precise cause of dyslexia has not been found yet but researches have shown that dyslexia is strongly bonded with genetics; this information is based on the article â€Å"Dyslexia† by Patricia G. Mathes and Jack M. Fletcher on page 291 â€Å"Studies of the heritability of dyslexia show that there is a strong genetic link for reading and reading disabilities.† A good example that proves this point is that an infant whose parents had reading or writing issues is really likely to have learning problems. Fraternal twins with genetic deficit being diagnosed with dyslexia are 50% and over 80% for Identical twins. Based on age, schooling and other traits the approximation of genetic involvement in dyslexia is anywhere from 50% to 80%. Chromosomes 6 and 15 have been recognized as the two genes involved in the cause of dyslexia. Studies have showed that Genetics is not evidently connected with dyslexia but with the reading skills. This research also illustrates that environment plays a huge role in deciding the reading conclusion in children. The development of reading issues in a child with genetic disposition for dyslexia also depends very much on what kind of reading facilities is the child offered at school and home. According to the article â€Å"Dyslexia† by Katy Nelson, N.D. on page 651†Diagnosis is difficult in part . . . rather than as a disease.† What makes is so hard to detect dyslexia is the fact that when during an examination of dyslexia the brain of the patient results in misunderstanding causing the patient to make mistakes and inaccurate information is taken. Based on the text â€Å"Dyslexia† by Ian Smythe it is stated on page 42 â€Å"It should be remembered that dyslexia has a genetic basis, and that at least one of the parent is at increased risk of being dyslexic.† This should be taken seriously and any signs intellectual problems of the parents should be analyzed carefully to eliminate any potential threats of dyslexia. The examination procedure will contain many cognitive tests like working memory and phonological treatment tasks. One of the main exams is for non word spelling in which anonymous words will be used. Many dyslexics are possibly recognized by the schools but there are plenty of instances where the doctor might be the first to be aware of the issues because due to their literacy inabilities numerous kids suffer from nervousness and stress. Symptoms of dyslexia may include difficulty understanding instructions, problems remembering sequence of things, seeing letters in reverse and reading below the expected level of the age of the child. According to the article â€Å"Dyslexia† by Katy Nelson, N.D. on page 651 it is mentioned â€Å"Ronald D. Davis, writing in the Gift of Dyslexia outlines . . . rather than through his or her physiologic eye†. In this paragraph Ronald D. Davis is tells us about one of the treatments of dyslexia which is called the â€Å"moving point of view† mode. Through this treatment a person diagnosed with dyslexia see what he or she thinks they see instead of what their eyesight actually sees. Dyslexics do this very fast so this leaves them puzzled to what the actual word says. How this process works is that the person with dyslexia has to instruct the mind’s eye to go back to a learned standpoint when they understand that it is being seen by the mind and not with their eyes. This can be achieved with evaluation examination by one on one exercise that teaches new mental insight pathways. Gifts of dyslexics such as their unique and enhanced imagination and inquisitiveness are put to use at these exercises consisting of innovative physical activities. This procedure also involves utilizing modeling clay called â€Å"koosh† used for retraining neuropath ways in the brain of a person with dyslexia. Another applicable treatment is the Allopathic medical treatment and it engages the use of anti motion drugs, this concentrates on the symptoms of balance and coordination which results from visual perception modification. Medication such as Cylert or Ritalin affect symptoms of restlessness, distractibility and low self esteem, nootropic drugs are considered to progress cognitive function. The stimulant drugs might be more successful for people with ADD OR ADHD than dyslexia. Side effects for the stimulants are insomnia, nervousness and are contraindicated with allergies, blood pressure and epilepsy. Long term side effects in children may lead to loss of consciousness, changes in nervous system and growth. Dependence might also be caused by decreasing normal levels of stimulants in the brain. Dyslexia can also be viewed through sociological perspective and racism as it is mentioned in the text â€Å"Race and dyslexia† by Asher Hoyles and Martin Hoyles. On page 214 there is an assertion that West Indian children with strong accents, whom the teachers couldn’t comprehend were sent to classes for children with special assistance. African American students have to deal with a syllabus that has less strictness and this leads them to special education. They also have to compete with white opportunities and racism in the shape of the curriculum. On page 214 Maud Blair explains how African American students feel about their teachers and the school which is that black students verified that they consider that they are being treated unjustly. They feel that the teachers function stereotypes which are degrading. Teachers discriminate against them, have low anticipation for them and also don’t listen to them. On page 215 current statistics have shown that black Caribbean students are three times more likely to get expelled from school then white students. Only 15% of the expelled students go back to school. There is very less other educational options which gets them engage in criminal actions. It is very difficult not to notice a relationship between dyslexia and racism. In June 2005 research from the Department for Education and Skills confirmed that 80% of the students expelled from school were dyslexic and 64% of them had special needs. Even the famous actor Danny Glover had to face racism when he was young he said â€Å"Kids made fun of me because . . . came out differently† this is stated on page 215. Psychology is deeply associated with dyslexia on the basis of neuroanatomy and neurolinguistics. Neuroanatomy is the study of arrangement of the nervous system and its composition. Neurolinguistics is the study of neural mechanism in the human brain that manages the fabrication, understanding and acquisition of language. Based on the article â€Å"Dyslexia: Neuroanatomical and Neurolinguistic Perspectives† by George W. Hynd and Cynthia R. Hynd on page 489 neurosciences concur that the whole brain is engaged in reading. This model of reading assumes that the visual matter is included in the occipital lobes where connections are made amongst visual stimuli and words or letters. Data is distributed with input from other sensory modalities in angular gyrus. The authentication proof for the existence of this functional system comes from the case study literature and the electroencephalographic. The variation between normal people and dyslexics with reading is examined by a computerized program which provides a diagram of regional brain electrical actions. The shared electrical activity was the same for dyslexics and normal people while the brain was resting. The brain of dyslexics in the areas hypothesized to be occupied in the functional system of reading illustrated less electrical activity than in normal people. (Hynd and Hynd, 490) dictates that the researches Cytoarchitectonic studies of dyslexic brains point out that dyslexics do not fully use the part of the brain which is significant in reading. The supposition is that this is because of some neuropath logical deficit. It is straightforward for educators and psychologists to visualize different allocations for reading accomplishment, math achievement, IQ and plenty more but for neurological development it appears nearly impossible for these specialists to imagine a separate distribution. It is almost as if a hypothesis is made that everyone was born with a perfect cerebral cortex. Some people even suggested that if the brains of the dyslexics were inspected no faults would be found. The reality is that not all brains are created the same and developmental anomalies in brains are present. (Hynd and Hynd, 491) states that â€Å"Gross and microscopic examination revealed abnormalities only in the left hemisphere.† This sheds light on the Galaburda and Kemper (1979) autopsy report that microscopic irregularity were discovered mainly in the left temporal and parietal regions. A fundamental idea to grasp from these researches is that brain damage doesn’t cause abnormalities. (Hynd and Hynd, 491) it is stated â€Å"These developmental abnormalities may be attributable to congenital factors, autoimmune disease, or, even speculatively, to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.† Neurodevelopment insufficiencies created by these aspects are possibly evident arbitrarily based on the level neurological development. The symptoms originated by trauma are copied from the effects of these deficiencies. (Hynd and Hynd, 491) mentions â€Å"A second but nonetheless important point is that the pattern of these neurodevelopment deficits appears primarily in the region involved in the functional system of reading.† The single pattern was unalike in every case but the efficient neurolinguistic structure was troubled by the abnormalities. The finest operation of the cortical regions concerned with reading skills is dependent on the power of the weakest bond. A breakdown might be brought upon by any deficit in the foundation of cortical regions which is appointed with reading. This clearly clarifies that dyslexics represent many symptoms; a reading malfunction of a distinct child is possibly resulted from a distinct sharing of neurodevelopment abnormalities. (Hynd and Hynd, 491) â€Å"Marshall and Newcombe (1973, 1980) have proposed a neurolinguistic model is reading that takes into account different reading skills deficits they have noted in their work with alexic adults with known brain lesions.† By corresponding examined reading deficits with restricted brain damage in their patients neurolinguistics have progressed their hypotheses. Diagrams of the brain damage of all the patients displaying comparable reading deficiencies by this method to figure out the general source. A dysfunction in the occipital lobe may be the reason for patients who have trouble entering the visual spatial features of words. (Hynd and Hynd, 492) â€Å"Taylor, Fletcher, and Satz (1982) have argued that the same type of model could be applied to children.† Reading complications would be depicted by the examples of reading actions demonstrated by dyslexic children and not by the neuropsychological symptoms. To build a neurolinguistic anatomical model these reading actions could then be related to the neuropsychological data. The neruolinguistic anatomical model is very significant because it has realistic functions and it helps researchers to comprehend the causes of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a very stressful disorder because it upsets the person diagnosed with it for the reason that he or she cannot read even if they are placed in the best education facility. There are many people who have dyslexia around the world and are affected by it immensely. Many people are influenced sociologically by dyslexia because they have to face the issue of self esteem and racial discrimination as it is briefly demonstrated in the article â€Å"Race and dyslexia† by Asher Hoyles and Martin Hoyles. Another discipline that involves dyslexia is psychology because there have been many researches on dyslexia and its treatments based on Neuroanatomical and Neurolinguistic standpoints, this information is stated in the text â€Å"Dyslexia: Neuroanatomical/ Neurolinguistic perspectives† by George W. Hynd and Cynthia R. Hynd. Everyone who has dyslexia should be treated because it can jeopardize their future.

Happiness And Thought Disorder Philosophy Essay

Happiness And Thought Disorder Philosophy Essay Everyone in life should be happy and the thought of happiness being a disorder should not be a thought someone have in there mind. In A proposal to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder, Richard Bental argues that happiness is a major affective disorder. Although Richard Bental includes many arguments, I will focus on his argument that happy people have been shown to exhibit biases judgments that prevent them from being realistic and unrealistic opinions, and that happy people are not psychiatrically disordered. I will explain my opinion on happiness give reason in why happiness should not be called a disorder. I will argue that Richard P. Bental makes an argument that he believe must be true, but doesnt seem to be and the argument seems to be unsound. Realistically, people in life will not think of there state of happiness being a disorder that need attention, Therefore Happiness should not be considered a major disorder with bad side affects. First I argue that happiness is not a cause for therapeutics concern. Statistically not many people have made a doctor visit for being happy all the time. I make more sense for people to go to therapy for stress and miserable about things. Without signs of happiness and smile you can not attract many relationships and friends in life. Good Form Test: The argument seems to be deductive. Without a doubt the author sticks to his thought of happiness being a disorder. I argue that it is not likely for to attend therapy concerning problems with being happy. Although the author seems to have researched the topic, it is not proven that the disorder and side affects of happiness are anyway a bad side affect that affects that person life. In life when people seem to be happy and live a great life, it has almost always given them better chances of living than unhappy people. True premises test: I believe the Author thought of happy people needing therapy if controversial and false. The author goes on and explains research and why people should go to therapy but statistically I do not believe many happy people will seek therapy. Many people seek therapy when there seems to be greater problems that a doctor will have concern about. I believe the author would accept my argument after looking over statistic and talking to a therapist to view that average of how many people visit for problems on happiness. S2: Happiness is known for having low stress and good work performance, therefore it does not seem to be the type of stress the Bental explains. I will argue that a better term called Generalized Happiness Disorder is a better explanation than Bental view on disorder.(Sabah,Karima)GHD is now as a large part of the population and the effects are low stress, productive work, and positive social relationships. I believe more people can relate to this view point of happiness being a disorder versus Bentals. Bental believes that happiness is a disturbance of the nervous system and is very rare in some parts of the world. I believe that everyone finds ways to be happy in there own way, and at some point of time everyone will find ways in life to be happy. Good Form Test: The argument seems to be deductive. There is an article that explain happiness and a disorder with nothing but positive outcome which is opposite as the authors explanation. The author gives examples of what other people thinks of happiness which is more of a positive case. Bental still believes that happiness can cause abnormalities and bad nervous system. I this is invalid. True Premises Test: Again I believe the author is controversial and his premises for the argument seem false. Based on the Generalized Happiness Disorder happiness is a good state on being and the effect are not related to Bentals S3: People being happy in life does not require them having to take medication therefore, happiness should not be considered a disease that disturbs the body. When people smile it is a sign of happiness and smiling takes less muscles in your body than frowning. It is statistically proven the depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease by 2010. After reading over percentages like this it is not likely that a person wants to compare there happiness to a disorder or disease. Good Form Test: This argument seems to be deductive. The author seems to make and invalid point but believe you cannot deny his conclusion. When happiness enters the body it is a healthy change for the body and its not harmful. Unless a person is abnormal he/she does not need medication for a happy condition. True Premises Test: I believe the authors argument is controversial and false. Based on the facts about depression more people are known to take medication and have complication in life fro m sadness and depression. I believe my arguments are also Deductive and pass the true Premises test. Many people in life would disagree in going to therapy for reason of happiness and, many people would agree with the Generalized Happiness Disorders rather that Bentals viewpoint Overall the state of being happy is more acceptable to people as a Generalized Happiness Disorder rather that psychiatric disease that needs therapeutic attention. Happiness may cause changes to you body but will always make better changes that sadness. Happiness is not a disorder that need attention, but its a disorder that people should look at in a good way. The GHD is the best was to explain happiness as a disorder. You should ignore that concept feeling the need for therapy and help in a happy state of being.

The Cultural Revolution Essay example -- essays research papers

Mao Ze Dong started the Great Cultural Revolution in 1966, in what appeared to be a massive cleansing policy to ensure the final victory of Mao and his supporters over the rest of the Chinese Communist party. Mao Zedong officially launched the Cultural Revolution at Eleventh Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee. Over the next decade, literally millions of people were destroyed, imprisoned and blamed for previously hidden 'bourgeois tendencies' while tens of thousands were executed. Mao Zedong also attempted to change the beliefs and old ways of the Chinese people by changing the education in schools. Mao Zedong made the amount of time a child needed to spend at each level or grade shorter so that the youth would explore more of their own beliefs instead of the older ones. Mao Zedong also fired all elderly teachers because he believed that they would continue to teach the Chinese children the "old way". He also changed the curriculum of the schools to fit his beliefs and to encourage more pride amount the Chinese youths for their country. Mao adopted four goals for the Cultural Revolution: to replace his designated successors with leaders more faithful to his current thinking; to rectify the Chinese Communist Party; to provide China's youths with a revolutionary experience; and to achieve some specific policy changes so as to make the educational, health care, and cultural systems less elitist. He initially pursued these goals through a massive mobilization of t...

The Others :: essays research papers

The Other   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gananath Obeyesekere argues that â€Å"one cannot escape the politics, ethics, and quandaries of representation even as we try to describe the Other.† This argument has lead to a great debate between him and another anthropologist, Marshal Sahlins. Obeyesekere believes that even though we try to give an objective portrayal of another, we cannot help judging them by our own standards. Sahlins on the other hand, says that it is possible to describe other people in an objective way, as long as you have evidence. These anthropologist’s arguments were focused around the apotheosis of Captain Cook. The major debate between the two resides in the idea of representation, and an outsider’s ability to understand another culture. This debate on the concept of representation can be applied to the movie, My Son the Fanatic, in which two cultures are represented- Western and Muslim.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie My Son the Fanatic, we see two cultures being represented. The first is that of a Western Capitalist, racist- acted out by the character, Schitz, who was a German businessman. The other culture was that of violent, Muslim fundamentalists- acted out by Farid, the son of Parvez. This movie was written by Hanif Kureishi who was the son of a Pakistani father and an English mother. Because Hanif was a Pakistani, it is expected that he would be able to objectively portray the Muslims in the movie. I think that he did a good job at doing so. He showed that some of the Muslims were violent fundamentalists such as Farid, and he also showed examples of Muslims that were not so extreme such as Parvez. Farid led violent riots to destroy the prostitutes, burned down their house and attacked Bettina, a prostitute that was also Parvez’ friend. If this was the only type of Muslim portrayed throughout the movie, it would have been a stereotypical film; however, Hanif also showed that there were Muslims such as Parvez that were not violent fundamentalists- Parvez even befriended a prostitute.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unlike his un-bias representation of Muslims, Hanif lacked objectivity in the representation of the Western culture within the film. This culture had only one character that was portrayed as being evil; it seemed very stereotypical on this behalf. The character of Schitz was portrayed as a Western Capitalistic, racist. Schitz was personified as being very selfish, only thinking about his on pleasures and money. The idea of Westerners being all about money is a major stereotype.

Biological Determinism :: essays research papers

Biological Determinism 1. According to the author of the article "All in the Genes?", there is no intrinsic causality between genetics and intelligence. The author analyses different aspects of biological determinism, and supplies many examples, which illustrate aspects of this problem that are being discussed since the time when these ideas became popular. He does not agree with biological determinist that the intellectual performance of a person depends on genes inherited from his parents. There are a lot of different theories about intellectual capabilities. All these theories reflect different points of views, depending on the period of time the authors of these theories lived. The author argues for the theory that in the nineteenth century , artificial barriers in social hierarchy prevented people from achieving higher intellectual performance. In the end of XX century, in most places these barriers were removed by the democratic processes, and nothing artificial can stand between the natural sorting process and social status of the people. These changes can not be considered as historical because the age of democracy is just two hundred years , and the time when inequality between classes and between people was a natural situation is almost as long as the history of the world . The author insists that there is no connection between environmental differences and genetics. In support of his idea the author state that any Canadian student can perform better in mathematics than some ancient professors of mathematics. The author comes to the conclusion that changes in a cultural environment are the main factor that determines level of intellectual performance, not inherited combination of parent's genes . He argues that genetic differences that appear in one environment may easily disappear in another. A theory that twins were raised in different social conditions will have the same level of intellectual performance because identical genetics constitution was used by the ideologist of biological determinism. The author rejects this theory because from his point of view, all these cases cannot be considered as always reliable on a close look, in most cases, twins were raised by the members of the same family or in other words, not in a diametrical opposite level of society. The author believes that there is no convincing measure of the role of genes in influencing human behavioural variation. During the argumentation of questions of biological determinism, the author supports his idea with numerous examples. He gives examples of supporters of bio determinism and outlines that these examples are not reliable. One of the fallacies of biological determinism is the result of IQ testing. According to some scientist only 20% of performance depend on environment and other 80%

A Look At Eliyahu Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints Essay

Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Theory of Constraints was devised by Eli Goldratt. It states that in every organization there is a constraint that slows down its performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper will delve on the Theory of Constraints of Eli Goldratt.   A Look At Eliyahu Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Theory of Constraint is a management philosophy originally developed by Eliyahu Goldratt and discussed in his book, The Goal. The basic concept behind the theory is that a chain will always have its weakest connection. In any organization or any complicated system for that matter, there will only be one component of that system that will restrict its capacity to attain its objectives. In order for such system to have any significant progress, the constraint must be located and the entire system must be manipulated with it in consideration (Thomas Group, n.d). Application of the Theory of Constraint   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Theory of Constraints, profit-oriented organizations should have at least one constraint that hinders the system from achieving improved performance in connection with its goal. The Theory of Constraints is founded on the premise that the rate of income generation is restricted by at least a single constraining process. Only by enhancing the throughput during bottleneck will the overall process be improved (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In summary, the main components of the Theory of Constraints are: Complex systems should have at least one constraint otherwise it would be earning unlimited income. Constraint, therefore, is defined as anything that restricts the system from improving its performance compared to its goal (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). Constraints provide systems with an opportunity to develop and improve (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006) Theory of Constraint versus Lean Manufacturing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lean manufacturing is a concept that is often compared with Goldratt’s Theory of Constraint. Lean manufacturing was derived from the successful method being used by Japanese car maker Toyota. The method received international acclaim through the Womack & Jones book The Machine That Changed The World. Lean manufacturing is focused on elimination of waste (Moore, 1998).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While TOC and Lean have varying principles, there are certain areas wherein the two philosophies have a commonality (Moore, 1998). In both lean and TOC, the perception of the customer as value is critical. In Lean manufacturing, it is the customer who determines value. In TOC, there is no throughput until the payment for a certain product has been cleared by the bank (Moore, 1998). Lean and TOC both acknowledge the fact that the ultimate goal of any organization is to convert inventory into throughput(Moore, 1998) TOC and lean underscores the importance of flow throughout the system. Both philosophies believes that the flow plays an important role in the system (Moore, 1998). For both TOC and lean manufacturing, the pull of the market dictates the needs for manufacturing. In lean marketing, manufacturing of goods or services will not take place unless there is a demand for it by the customer. In TOC, the pull is the driving force behind the Drum-Buffer-Rope method (Moore, 1998). Lean manufacturing and TOC drives the workers to aspire for perfection or improving their efforts. The role of the workers in the improvement of the system cannot be discounted (Moore, 1998). During the past 25 years, there were three TOC paradigms that were developed namely logistics, global performance measures, and thinking processes. Recently, Boyd and Gupta changed these paradigms into decision making, performance measurement, and organizational mindset (Moss, 2007). The Logistics Paradigm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The logistics paradigm was derived from the scheduling program called Optimized Production Technology (OPT) which has nine rules (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006): Flow should be balanced rather than capacity The utilization level of non-bottleneck resources is not dependent on its potential but on other constraints within the system Use and activation of a resource are not synonymous to each other One hour lost during the bottleneck translates to an hour lost for the entire system An hour lost at a non-bottleneck is just minor Bottlenecks determine throughput and inventory The transfer batch may not, and in most instances, should not be the same with the process batch. The process batch should vary, not constant Schedules should be determined without looking at all the constraints at the same time. Lead times are the outcomes of a schedule and cannot be determined in advance The Major Steps in the Logistics Paradigm Identifying the constraint. These may involve physical barriers such as physical or managerial (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). Exploiting the constraint by increasing utilization and efficiency. For instance, physical constraint can be utilized by making it as effective as possible (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). Subordinating all other processes to the constraint process. This implies that other aspects of the system must support the total effectiveness of the constraint. If the resources that are not causing the constraint are utilized beyond their productivity level, they will not increase the throughput but increase unwanted inventory (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006) Elevating the constraint. If the present constraints are the most crucial elements of the system, implementing rigorous improvement measures will enhance its performance. Improved performance leads to better realization of the potentials of the nonconstraint resources which would lead to an improvement in the overall performance of the system (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006) Rinse and repeat (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). The implementation of the logistical paradigm is best exemplified in the drum-buffer-rope methodology. There are three concepts worth explaining in this method. The drum refers to the pace at which the constraints operate. The rope establishes the communication between the critical control chains to ensure that they are synchronized. The buffer is the strategically positioned inventory to safeguard the output of the system from that differences that may take place within the system (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). The drum-buffer-rope technique is a simplified version of its predecessor the Optimized Production Technology (OPT) and the newer Advanced Planning and Scheduling Systems (APS), which are utilized in firms engaged in manufacturing and production (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). Using the Drum-Buffer-Rope method leads to the synchronization of resources as well as the utilization of materials in an organization. It is worth knowing that resources and materials are used only in a degree that would lead to the capacity of the organization to attain their throughput (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since random disruptions are likely in any organization, the drum-buffer-rope method will provide a tool for securing total throughput by using Time Buffers, which contains inventories and safeguards constraint schedules from the impact of disruption at non-constraint resources (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The process of using time buffers as a mechanism for effective management and improvement of throughput is called buffer management. It provides details based on planned and actual performance and is utilized for checking the inventory of a protected resource as a comparison for actual and planned performance (Mahapatra & Sahu, 2006). Application of the Logistics Paradigm in Service Firms   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The logistic paradigm or five step processes is applied to various processes and procedures of a service firm. The advantage of a service firm is that it is used to enhance service time, flow of information, as well as in re-engineering administrative functions (Moss, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the military as well as in the medical field, the logistics paradigm is being utilized to generate more sales (Moss, 2007). Drum-Buffer-Rope Method Applied to Manufacturing and Service Firms   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The drum-buffer-rope method of scheduling is applicable in both manufacturing and services sector. In the field of manufacturing, the drum-buffer-rope technique is useful in scheduling equipments. For the service sector, DBR is applicable in scheduling personnel within the organization, setting appointments with customers, and forecasting lead-times for customers (Moss, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Schragenheim and Ronen, DBR should be used in determining problems and flaws that will disrupt the flow of the system. There are suggestions that the drum-buffer-rope method should be used in the management of supply chains (Moss, 2007). Global Performance Measures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the global performance measure of the Theory of Constraints, all company performance efforts are geared towards the objective of earning money now and in the future. In order to accomplish this, there are three things that should be done. First, increase the throughput. Second, reduce inventory. Third, minimize operation costs (Moss, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughput refers to the rate at which the system earns a profit through sales while inventory is the term used to denote the money which the system will invest in buying things which they plan to market and sell. Finally, operational expense which is the money spent by the system in converting inventory to throughput (Moss, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From these concepts, three global measures have been derived namely net profit, return of investment, and cash flow. Net profit is determined by deducting the operating cost from the throughput. Return of investment or ROI is obtained from the ratio of net profit and inventory. Cash flow, on the other hand, is used as a survival tool. As long as the company has money, they will survive (Moss, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most companies prefer to have only a few operational measures since this will provide convenience to the company as far as the assessment of the effects of various decisions (Moss, 2007). The Thinking Process   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When it comes to constraints existing in the company, Goldratt identified three important decisions: What to change? What to change to? How to effect the change? In order to provide solutions to these problems, Goldratt devised the thinking process. During the last 10 to 15 years, managerial processes have been at the helm of corporate constraints. This is the purpose of the thinking process (Moss, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the strengths of the Theory of Constraint is that it provides various tools and techniques to help companies solve a certain problem. Although each method can be used separately, they can likewise be integrated in order to better answer problems concerning Consensus and Focus, Construction of a Complete Solution, and Communication and Collaboration. For each process, there are different tools that can be used (Focused Performance, n.d). Consensus and Focus The Current Reality Tree (CRT) is a series of logical steps that describes present situations. The aim of CRT is to come up with a cause-effect relationship among unwanted symptoms as well as core conflicts that the company would like to remove (Focused Performance, n.d). Construction of a Complete Solution The Evaporating Cloud. The evaporating cloud or conflict resolution diagram is a logical tool which aims to determine aspects of conflict that generates non-compromise win-win solutions. While its validity is acknowledged, the purpose of the evaporating cloud is to unearth underlying assumptions which turns out to be invalid (Focused Performance, n.d). While the evaporating cloud is already useful by itself, this tool can be integrated with a CRT since the seemingly difficult problems pointed out in the CRT are often the results of underlying conflict (Focused Performance, n.d). Future Reality Tree. The FRT is an effect-cause-effect logic structure which aims to show how recommended changes would have an impact on reality particularly how and why these proposals are expected to create a positive result. It is a paper-based simulator that assesses the ability of the proposed change to produce the desired outcome. Likewise, it is used to test the propensity of the proposed change to generate new and unwanted outcomes (Focused Performance, n.d).   Communication and Collaboration Negative Branch Reservations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are instances when undesirable effects are treated as potential results of a proposal and are often detected by another individual other than the originator of the proposal (Focused Performance, n.d).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With Negative Branch Reservations (NBR), logical expressions are used to address certain reservations through additional actions that would complete the original proposal and cutting down the â€Å"negative branches† from the proposed FRT (Focused Performance, n.d). Prerequisite Tree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The prerequisite tree or PRT is a logical structure that describes all the barriers to accomplishing a goal as well as the alternative courses of action. The PRT likewise depicts how certain actions when combined with current reality will achieve new and expected results and why these actions would achieve the required outcomes (Focused Performance, n.d).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Categories of Legitimate Reservation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Categories of Legitimate Reservation is a group of tests used for verifying the cause-effect logic which is at the heart of the Thinking Process. CLRs serve the purpose of scrutinizing and modifying the logical trees (Focused Performance, n.d). The Thinking Process Applied to Manufacturing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The thinking process can be effectively applied to the manufacturing and service sector. For the service sector, the guiding management philosophy should center on improving process. The problem-solving tools of the thinking process provide most of the benefits to the service sector (Moss, 2007). Throughput Accounting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughput accounting, which is based on Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, plays a major role in management decision making. It changes an organization’s view of income recognition as well as costs and profitability. Thus, throughput accounting is responsible for refining the figures used for making decisions which potentially modifies Management Accounting (Goldratt, n.d). Advantages of Throughput Accounting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Using throughput accounting as a measurement and decision making tool, organizations can have the following advantages (Goldratt, n.d): Shift their sales efforts on products that will generate more income Make better decisions on which investment will generate more income Come up with decisions that are determined by real effects on the bottom line Develop a clear understanding of the role of sub-systems in the entire system Make realistic efforts regarding the effectiveness of the entire system relative to the goal of the company which is to gain a profit. Most of the distortions that are present in traditional management accounting can be corrected with throughput accounting. Distortions arise as a result of traditional management accounting using similar measures used in judging an entire system or organization as well as daily decisions by dividing the system into sub-systems and activities (Goldratt, n.d).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughput accounting is a substitute to cost accounting. It is not derived from standard costing or Activity-Based Costing. It is not concerned with costing or allocation of costs to products and services but rather as a strategy for maximizing profits. The main objective of throughput accounting is to hasten the velocity at which products are moved in a company by removing bottlenecks (Puthran, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughput accounting helps enhance a company’s profit performance through improved management decisions (Puthran, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Usually management decisions are based on assessing the impact of proposals on the throughput, investment, and operating expense. In a traditional management accounting, the cost of any proposal is commonly the initial and sometimes the only thing being considered, which results to poor decisions on the part of the management (Puthran, 2006). The Basis of Throughput Accounting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughput accounting is based on the fact that there are bottlenecks in organizations. Microsoft Encarta defines bottleneck â€Å"a delay in progress due to one part of the process or system being slower than the others which results to the delay in the overall process.† (Microsoft Encarta) What are the Factors used by throughput accounting in computing income and expenses? Throughput is the rate at which the process or system generate â€Å"goal units.† When the â€Å"goal units† involves money, the throughput is derived by deducting the price of raw materials with the income generated from the sale. However, throughput is only applicable to activities that involves selling products or services. Warehouse manufacturing is not included in throughput accounting (Puthran, 2006). Investment is the money associated with the process or system. It includes inventories, equipments, infrastructure or facilities, and other assets and liabilities (Puthran, 2006). Operating expenses refers to the money which the system uses in purchasing â€Å"goal units.† In the case of tangible products, the operating cost includes all the expenses with the exception of the price of raw materials. Operating expenses includes cost of maintenance, utilities, rental expenses, taxes, payroll, among others (Puthran, 2006).   Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints states that in a complex organization, there will be instances when constraints will slow down the entire process. In order to for the system to achieve its overall performance, the constraint hindering the entire system should be removed from the equation. References Mahapatra, S.S., & Sahu, A (2006 July 27). Application of Theory of Constraints on Scheduling of Drum-Buffer-Rope System. The Apache Jakarta Project. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://dspace.nitrkl.ac.in:8080/ Moore, R (1998). Theory of Constraints and Lean Manufacturing: Friends or Foes? Chonnam National University. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://pm.chonnam.ac.kr Moss, H (2007 March 1). Improving Service Quality With The Theory of Constraints. All Business.com. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/operations-customer/5508402-1.html Problem Solving with the TOC Thinking Processes – Consensus, Construction, Communication and Collaboration (n.d). Focused Performance. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://www.focusedperformance.com/toctp1.html Puthran, S (2006 December 17). Throughput Accounting. Management Accountant. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://managementaccountant.blogspot.com/2006/12/throughput-accounting.html Theory of Constraints (n.d). Thomas Group. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://www.thomasgroup.com/enterprise-solutions/tools/theory-of-constraints.aspx Throughput Accounting (n.d). Goldratt. Retrieved August 9 2008 from http://www.goldratt.co.uk/resources/throughput_accounting/index.html