Strategy and Competition of Swissair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy and Competition of Swissair - Essay Example The rapid expansion which was supposed to bring Swissair out of its financial worries only served to make the situation worse eventually leading to liquidity problems for the company. Further, the manner in which Swissair spent money and made investments clearly shows that the management often had other interests in mind rather than the best interests of the company. Â  The SWOT Analysis of the company shows that while the strengths of the business were exploited, the weaknesses and were not accounted for and those weaknesses eventually led to the threats to the company becoming realities. The SWOT analysis created with the information presented in the case study shows the elements as follows. Â  Porter’s 5 Forces shows an interesting picture for the airline industry and it is clear that it is not easy to be a new entrant into a market which is dominated by heavy competition and rising costs. Profit margins for many airlines are becoming thinner as fuel costs and taxes are increased internationally which means the only determinant of new entrants is how easy or difficult it is for them to secure significant lines of capital. Even with price competition, an airline which has a strong brand name might be able to charge a premium for the same services as other airlines. Getting that brand name, however, requires continued service quality and a long history of excellence. The power of suppliers is also quite high since Boeing and Airbus dominate the supply side while the power of the buyers is quite low with regard to them simply needing planes if they are to call themselves as an airline. The threat of substitutes becomes low when we consider international travel but it remains quite high when local and regional travel is considered.

Operations Process Design Essay Example for Free

Operations Process Design Essay Operations process design 1. Introduction The assignment will be on the manufacturing of concrete stone paving. This product has been chosen because its demand is growing rapidly as most people are concerned about the need for decorating their homes, businesses, municipalities are involved in small town regeneration programmes and there is growth in development buildings and malls in the Eastern Cape. Concrete stone paving is preferred instead of other forms because it is versatile, aesthetically attractive, functional, cost effective and requires little or no maintenance if correctly manufactured and laid. Sellers of concrete stone paving in East London are sourcing it from other provinces or countries, there are very few manufacturers and yet the demand is high. The company which will be started for the manufacturing of stone paving will develop a business strategy and mission and the operations mission and objectives will be aligned to them. The operations’ mission will be to provide quality and value for money stone paving in an effective and efficient way. The distinctive competence is the fact the local manufacturing that will offer customer opportunity to order desired designs instead of choosing from the available designs. The company will also capitalise short lead times as the product is locally manufactured and has highly skilled and experienced cross functional team that is innovative. 2. Product/service design In designing the product the company will adopt an inter-functional view, meaning that a product must meet the market needs and also have a technical advantage. This will be easily accomplished by the company as it possess a team of highly experienced specialists. Strategy for the stone paving is to differentiation and a product in which a customer finds value for money. In designing that product a cross functional team will be formed as this will benefit the organisation to make  the product a success. The team will be composed of all relevant representatives who have expertise in different fields like marketing, operations, engineering and supply chain management. Suppliers and customers will be included in the design phase of the product. Similar criteria will be used for selection of suppliers that will be involved in the project. The criteria to be used will be technical expertise, capability, capacity and low risk, thus only suppliers who demonstrate these attributes will be considered. Shruder, et al. (2013) suggests that collaboration with customers in the design process is essential as it results in a smooth running of the processes. The collaboration with customers will be considered for the development of the stone paving and different methods will be used to encourage participation like aligning incentives for customers to share knowledge and including them as advisors in the design team. While the stone paving is developed the manufacturability and value engineering activities which are concerned with improvement of design and specification at the research, development, design and production stages of product development will be considered. The foreseen benefits of implementing manufacturability and value engineering are cost reduction, reduced complexity of the paving, reduction of environmental impact and additional standardisation amongst others (Heizer and Render, 2011). Literature suggests different techniques that can be used in the design of products throughout the product life cycle, for the stone paving product techniques that will be used are: o robust design – this will allow small variations in the production of the paving to be done without affecting the product. o computer aided design – the computer will be used to develop and document the different types of paving. o value analysis successful products will be reviewed during the production process to ensure improvements. The aspects of design for paving that will be considered include the sizes, types and colours of paving to be manufactured. Further consideration will  be how the product must be manufactured, its quality and market acceptance. The specifications of the product will be meticulous in order to ensure efficient production. Heizer and Render (2011) states that it is vital to define, design and document a product as it determines the equipment, the layout and human resources required. Engineering drawings will be prepared for the stone paving to show dimensions tolerances, materials and finishes of components. Then a bill of material will list the components, their description and the quantity to make one unit of each type of stone paving. The assembly drawings, assembly charts, route sheets and work orders will be used to assist in the actual production of the paving. The laws and industry standards applicable to the product will be adhered and the product will be produced and delivered in an ethical and environmentally sound and sustainable way. 3. Process design According to Schroeder, et al. (2013) there are different types of processes (batch, assembly line, continuous, job shop, and project) each being suitable for a specific product produced. The concrete paving slabs are a low to moderate volume and will be produced in different types, sizes and colours, therefore the batch process will be more suitable. The factory layout will be designed such that it increases the efficiency and reduces the bottlenecks in the process. As different types of paving will be manufactured, e.g. budget manufactured stone, standard manufactured stone, premium manufactured stone and premium natural stone amongst others, the type of order fulfilment which will be appropriate is the make to order so as to reduce the costs of inventory, storage and damage. The suppliers will also be arranged such that the orders for supply like concrete and aggregates are delivered just in time for manufacturing. The process for the manufacturing of paving will be according to the stages detailed below. 3.1 Batching Aggregates will be used for making the various types of paving. The different aggregate types will be stored separately and so that they are well drained at all times. They will be protected from rain so as to stay dry before being mixed with the cement, thus ensuring that the optimum moisture content is not exceeded. The cement will be weighed to an accuracy of 1% except when batched by whole bags. Aggregates will be weighed to an accuracy of 2%. The weight of the aggregate batched will be adjusted in order to make allowance for moisture contained in the aggregates. 3.2 Mixing After batching, the aggregates and binder will be discharged separately or simultaneously, together with pigment if required, into the mixer and thoroughly mixed before any additional water is added. If a mix has high fines contents it may require longer mixing. Based on measurement of the variable moisture content of the aggregates or visual assessment by operators, water must be added to the mixture to bring it to optimum moisture content. Uniformity is important because differences in water content from batch to batch will result in differences in quality. After mixing, the mixture is stored in hoppers ready for dispensing into the moulds. 3.3 Filling of moulds Two basic principles will be applied for the production machines. The first method takes an amount of mixture and progressively compacts it under vibration until a predetermined height has been reached. In the second method, a gauged quantity of mixture is compacted for a set period. Care has to be taken for variations in density which may result if the gauged quantities are not consistent or the mixture is not uniformly distributed within the mould. Previbration is often used to facilitate filling and any gaps in moulds are thereafter topped up with a second filling of mixture. 3.4 Compaction The standard optimum period of vibration is 3 to 12 seconds and the same standard will be applied when compacting. Concrete pavers with a thickness greater than 80 mm will not be manufactured. Frequency and amplitude of vibration will be optimised for the specific materials being used and the number of blocks being moulded per cycle. 3.5 Curing The quality of concrete pavers is improved by water curing. Curing can be effected in one of three ways: moisture retention, steam curing and thermal insulation. The methods that will be used are detailed below: Moisture retention This is the least sophisticated method, is effective for blocks that are less dense and thus tend to lose moisture rapidly. Loss of moisture from newly made blocks is prevented by wrapping them in plastic sheeting. Thermal curing Newly moulded paving blocks are placed in an insulated chamber for a period of 24 hours. Temperature is increased by the heat of hydration of the cement and no additional heat is provided. The method is therefore inexpensive. 3.6 Quality control Control measures will be implemented at various critical points during the process and specific tests will be undertaken so as to ensure that the end product is of high quality. 4. Layout The company will have a layout strategy that will support its differentiation and value for money strategy. The layout strategy is aimed at developing an effective and efficient layout that will meet the organisation’s competitive requirements. According to (Slack, et al., 1998)  the layout design must consider the achievement of the following:- o maximum utilisation of space, equipment and people o improved flow of information, people or material o improved employee morale and safer working conditions o improved customer interaction, and o flexibility to accommodate changes and innovation 4.1 Manufacturing equipment Batching equipment Weight batching will be performed to ensure that a uniform product is obtained and for smaller projects, whole bags of cement will be used if the sizes of batch and mixer are compatible. Mixer Because a semi-dry mixture is used to mould concrete paving blocks, effective mixing will be done with pan and trough mixers. The size of the pan mixer will be related to production so that batches are used up within a reasonable time. Moulding machine Paving blocks must have fullest possible compaction achieved therefore the equipment must be capable of a high degree of compaction and satisfactory output. Stationary plants using the pallet system will be used as they provide the necessary high levels of vibration and pressure. LINE 1LINE 2LINE 3 5. Staffing If an organisation is to achieve it’s corporate as well as operations strategy and objectives, machines and equipment are not enough. People are needed to perform the operations of the business so that ultimately a product is produced and sold to the customers, thereby making money for the business. Important decisions have to be made regarding the jobs to be performed and the type of skills and competencies people who perform those  jobs should have. The development of the organizational structure should follow after the development of the strategy and the Human Resource department in collaboration with other departments should ensure that the right people are employed and retained for the productivity and sustainability of the business. This business‘s structure will be composed of the core business functions which are engineering, operations/manufacturing, marketing and sales, finance, human resources and administration as well as information communication technology. Below is a typical organizational structure that will ensure that the organization fully functions and cross functional teams will be used to ensure utilization of skills and contribution by many towards achievement of the organizational goals. Organisational Structure 6. Capacity planning Capacity refers to the number of units that the organisation can hold, receive store or produce in a period of time, this assist in assessing whether the demand will be satisfied or whether facilities will be idle. It is critical to determine the size of the business with the aim of achieving high levels of utilisation and high return on investment. The choice of equipment and the capacity decisions must be aligned to the organisation’s mission and strategy. Nigel, et al. (1998) suggests that the following factors be considered in order to obtain good capacity planning, o accurately forecasting the demand,  o understanding the equipment, processes and capacity increments, o finding the optimum operating size, and  o ensuring the flexibility needed for adjustments in technology, product features and mix as well as volumes. A number of techniques are available and useful for making capacity decisions and those are bottleneck analysis, good forecasting, breakeven analysis, cashflow and net present value amongst others. Currently the trends show that in East London in the Eastern Cape, the demand for the paving tiles exceeds the supply as a result the prices charged are very high compared to other cities or to other provinces. The places that are selling the tiles only buy them from other provinces or countries there is only one manufacturer. Therefore by maximising on the location economies and focusing at the Eastern Cape market, one could be able to have the desired market share. A risk management plan has to be in place and an aggressive marketing strategy will be designed to ensure customers become aware of our products and the value that can be derived from sourcing paving locally. Bottleneck management will be paid attention to by the Operations Manager as this will impact on the efficiency of the system and utilisation of resources. The four principles of bottleneck management will be taken cognisance of, the principles are: o release work order to the system at the pace set by the bottleneck’s capacity. o the bottlenecks should always be kept busy with work. o Non-bottlenecks should have planned idle time, as increasing their capacity has no impact on the system’s overall capacity. o Increasing capacity of the bottleneck increases capacity for the whole system. Illustration of capacity analysis with parallel processes 30 min60 min60 min60 min 28days 1 day Break –even analysis The break-even analysis will be calculated to determine how many products must be produced before profit can be made. Efforts to reduce the variable costs will be undertaken so that production can be maximised. 7. Location choice Location is the geographical positioning of an operation relative to the input resources, other operations or the customers with which it interacts (Slack, et al., 1998). The objective of a location strategy is to maximise the benefits of location of the organisation. The strategies used can either be location and costs or location and innovation, for this paving manufacturing company the location and costs strategy will be the focus, innovation will be a long-term factor to be considered. The manufacturing of concrete paving slabs requires cement, aggregates, water chemical admixtures, pigments and people amongst other factors. The company will have to identify all the necessary factors that may impact on the business financially and otherwise in order to select the location for manufacturing. A number of methods of evaluating location alternatives can be used to reach an informed decision, the table below shows the factor rating method used to select an appropriate site. Based on the scoring for factors considered important for the site, site A will be the best choice. Factor rating method for two sites |Key success factor |Weight |Site |Site | | | |A |B | |Proximity to suppliers |0.3 |60 |50 | |Proximity to customers |0.3 |65 |70 | |Labour pool |0.2 |45 |52 | |Climate |0.05 |60 |45 | |Wage rates |0.05 |73 |66 | |Community factors |0.1 |50 |30 | |TOTAL | |58.2 |54.9 | The optimum choice will have to be a balance of supply side and demand site factors that are considered important by the organisation for it to maximise its profits. The centre-of gravity method, locational break-even analysis which is a cost-volume analysis to make economic comparison of location alternatives and transportation model can also be used to assist in the choice of location (Heizer and Render, 2011). The company will be located in South Africa and within the Eastern Cape and the above analysis will assist with choosing the specific site. 8. Supply chain design According to Heizer and Render (2011) competition is no longer between companies but with supply chains. A range of suppliers will be interacted with in the manufacturing and marketing of the product and therefore an integrated approach to supply chain management must be used. Supply chain is determining factor of the product’s product costs, quality, responsiveness and differentiation. A number of supply chain strategies can be used like many or few suppliers, joint ventures, vertical integration, virtual companies amongst others. The company must should strategies that will support its objectives, provide competitive advantage and ensure satisfaction of its customers. 9. Quality management In order to offer quality products to the customers thereby improve revenues and reduce costs, the organization will ensure that quality is managed and continuous improvement efforts are implemented. A variety of techniques can be used to ensure quality is managed, this will start with ensuring that suppliers provide products that meet required standard e.g. cement should comply with SABS EN 197-1 . This will be the norm for other products as well in order minimise the risk of a poor end product. The ISO 9000 process certification, inspections and statistical process control will be implemented. The Operators and Quality Assurers will have to be trained on quality standards and methods for checking. The company like other companies will adopt the both the lean and six sigma process improvement approaches as  these have proved to assist most organizations. Quality control Quality control is defined as the stabilisation and maintenance of a process to produce consistent output (Schroeder, et al, 2013, p210). Throughout the processes critical control points will be defined to control and improve the processes. Control measures will be implemented to:- o Monitor changes in materials so that timely changes can be implemented in manufacture. The control measure will be regularly monitoring of changes in grading and moisture content of aggregates, monitoring mix consistence and measuring wet density of blocks. The causes for a change in density will be investigated in order to ensure correction of the root cause. o Routinely monitor the quality of the product for compliance with the specification. The more routine quality and compliance tests will be the checking on dimensions of blocks, testing strength of blocks and carrying out abrasion tests at an appropriate age. 10. Conclusion The company will achieve its business strategy and maximise profits if it has a clear and well defined operations strategy that is aligned to the business strategy. The use of cross-functional teams and supply chain strategy will assist it to gain competitive advantage and continuous improvement. The product design, process design, layout and supply chain should also support the operations of the company and lead to maximisation of profits. Quality must be managed throughout the processes and risks should be mitigated as the environment internally and externally is rapidly changing and technological advancement results in introduction of new products. 11. References Heizer, J. and Render, B., 2011. Operations Management. 10th Ed. London: Prentice Hall. Schoeder, R.G., Goldstein, S., and Rungtusanatham, M.J., Operations Management in Supply Chain. 2013. 6th Ed. New York: MacGraw-Hill. Slack, N., Chambers, S., Harland, C., Harrison, A., and Johnston, R., 1998. Operations Management. 2nd Ed. London: Pitman Publishing. Samples of products to be manufactured [pic][pic] START BATCHING MIXING MOULDING COMPACTION CURING PACKAGING CEO Marketing and Sales Specialist Human Resource and Administration Specialist Financial Specialist Operations Specialist Engineering Specialist Sales representatives x 2 Engineering Technician Supervisors x 2 Packers/ Loaders x 4 Quality Assurers x 3 ICT Technician Machine Operators x 4 Maintenance x 2 Drivers x 2 Packagingg Curing Compaction Moulding Mixing Batching Storage Order Packaging Curing Compactionnnn Mixing Moulding Batching STORAGE Administrator

The Use of Heritage in Everyday Use and A Pair of Tickets :: Alice Walker Amy Tan Papers

The Use of Heritage in Everyday Use and A Pair of Tickets A key factor in Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use,† and Amy Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets,† is heritage. Throughout both stories the use of heritage can be seen easily. Walker’s avoidance of heritage in her writings and Tan’s understanding of heritage in her writing. Through this readers can see the true meaning of heritage. Understanding both sides of these two stories gives readers a chance to explore their own heritage and reflect on how they accept their past. By contrasting the family characters in â€Å"Everyday Use,† Walker illustrates lost heritage by placing the significance of heritage solely on material objects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an example that heritage in both knowledge and form passing from one generation to another through a learning experience connection. However, by a broken connection, Dee the older daughter, represents a misconception of heritage as material. Dee, the â€Å"heritage queen† portrays a rags to riches daughter who does not understand what heritage is all about. Her definition of heritage hangs on a wall to show off, not to be used. Dee’s avoidance of heritage becomes clear when she is talking to Mama about changing her name, she says, â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me† (Walker 75). Thus resembling that Dee just takes another name without even understanding what her original name means. She tr ies to explain to Mama that her name now has meaning, quality, and heritage; never realizing that the new name means nothing. Changing her name bothers Mama and Maggie because Dee’s name is a fourth generation name, truly giving it heritage. Dee likes to gloat to her friends about how she was raised, so she tries to show off by decorating her house with useful items from her past. Her argument with Mama about taking quilts that were hand stitched as opposed to sewn by machine gives readers a chance to see Dee’s outlook of heritage is short lived. Dee says to Mama, â€Å"But they’re priceless. . . Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!† (Walker 77). Mama will not allow her daughter to take the quilts because she has been saving them for Dee’s sister, Maggie, and she wants the quilts to be put into everyday use. By helping

Court System Structure

The state court system and the federal court system have similar codes of conduct, but they do have their differences. The state court system hears way more cases than the federal courts, and get more personally involved due to the issues being right in their own backyard. The state of California has 58 superior courts (trial courts) which reside in each of the 58 counties. It is here where any, and all, issues pertaining to civil and criminal cases, as well as family, probate, and juvenile cases are heard. This is where the bulk of California’s judiciary justice is served. If a case is appealed it is taken up the ladder to one of California’s six Courts of Appeal. According to courtinfo. ca. gov (2011), â€Å"The State legislature divided the state geographically into six appellate districts, each containing a Court of Appeal. † (About California Courts, para. 2). The Supreme Court of California sits at the apex of authority in the state's judicial system (courtinfo. a. gov, 2011). Cases that have been questioned in the Court of Appeal must be reviewed by the Supreme Court, as well as any case in which a trial court has issued the death penalty. The federal court system has a similar structure to the state court system. The lowest level is the federal district court. The district court hears the civil and criminal cases that pertain to the potential unconstitutionality or impartiality of a specific state court. Federal accusations of fraud and drug crimes can also be seen here. The next level, similar to the state court system, is the U. S. Court of Appeals. This is the intermediary appellate court level where cases that have been appealed are reviewed. Atop this is the United States Supreme Court, the highest form of authority in the country. It is here where few cases are officially sent to trial, but instead cases may be reviewed by one or a group of the justices and sent back down the line.

Ethics Case Study Essay

Utilitarianism Utilitarianism would not qualify Tom falsifying data as unethical, as it would have the greatest benefits to the larger quantity of stakeholders whilst only bringing a limited amount of harm. This can be seen through the stakeholders who benefit from Tom gaining full-time employment such as; his parents, the child receiving the life-saving sponsorship, the charity and the government, as Tom could start paying his HECS debt. One stakeholder who would be harmed by Toms dilemma is the small accounting firm in Milton. Ultimately the risk of this actually harming the business due to his lack of experience would be minimised due to Tom being tightly supervised for the first year of work. Egoism also maintains that the agent should do whatever they ought to do if it benefits themselves. In Toms moral dilemma, if he falsifies his CV in order to achieve full time work, he is acting on the natural instinct of self promotion that egoism sees as ethical. Kantian ethics Kantian ethics maintains that there are some things that are deemed wrong in themselves, apart from their consequences. This means that Tom should regard the act of lying as wrong; regardless whether it brings about good results. Kants categorical imperative states â€Å"I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal good† (Kant, 1996). In universalising a law that is not in relation to specific circumstances, it allows moral issues to be solved by pure rationality. When applying Toms situation to Kants universalisation theory, a maxim for Toms situation could be â€Å"one should falsify data if it benefits them†. This could not be accepted as a law universally as falsifying data could not be consistent, as eventually all data would be deemed tainted and therefore unusable, leading to the act of giving information to its own demise. If it  were ethical for Tom to falsify data, Tom would have to accept that it would therefore be ethical for everyone to do so. If everyone was free to fake data, universal lying would weaken trust in communication. Kant also states â€Å"act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply means† (Kant, 1996). If Tom falsified his CV, it would result in disrespect as the owners of the accounting firm are basing crucial business decisions on inaccurate data, which is unethical. Virtue ethics Applying virtue ethics is based on evaluating how virtuous Tom is, not just the actions or consequences of his moral situation. A virtue that can be applied from Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean is ‘indifference’ meaning good deeds are done for their own sake and not for personal recognition. The two vices of indifference are false modesty (deficiency) and careerist (excess). Assuming Tom decided to fake his CV he would display characteristics in the vice of excess meaning he is a careerist and would not be classified as virtuous, and therefore unethical. Ranking of Ethical Theories 1. Utilitarianism/Egoism Utilitarianism is in line with many fundamental morals that society intends for us to adopt. For example, two fundamental ethical principles are that we must avoid doing harm to others and aim to do good. When I consider certain actions or decisions, I usually evaluate them in terms of their consequences. Although it disregards the ethical element of an action, it looks at the benefits it can cause in solving my moral dilemmas. Egoism also  usually takes part in most of my moral decision making. I usually base many of my decisions on the consequences I can achieve, therefore find this most useful. 2. Virtue Ethics I use virtue ethics to solve some moral issues due to the benefit of gaining insight into emotional and personal values in relation to the action. I believe people are emotionally involved in ethical reasoning making virtue ethics a better way to assess whether an action is ethical or not. I find this theory somewhat useful as I believe every situation cannot be branded under absolute rules, as in Kantian Ethics. 3. Kantian Ethics Although Kantian seems like the ‘right’ moral structure to follow it is extremely idealistic and would not necessarily result in good outcomes for me or the greater good of everyone. I think due to it being a rigid system, in certain situations for my moral dilemmas, it could not be used as Kantian ethics does not factor the importance of character and motivation in making ethical judgements. Therefore I don’t believe I would assess the ethics of a dilemma accurately, finding this least useful. PART B Socially responsible organisations should aim to minimise their negative impacts, but the fast food industry faces extreme public criticism due to the effects it is having on some main stakeholders; consumers and communities. Fast food consumption is potentially harmful and if businesses adopt Friedmans’ shareholder theory by only focusing on short-term profit goals, the long-term welfare of customers is compromised. For example, Bowman, Gortmaker & Ebbeling (2004), indicate that â€Å"energy derived from fast  food is  10% of a child’s average recommended daily intake, 5 times more than the 1970’s†. This highlights the need for somebody to not only take responsibility but action. â€Å"Advertisers spend 100s of billions of dollars a year worldwide encouraging, persuading and manipulating children into a consumer lifestyle† (Beder, 1998), leading to devastating consequences. The narrow view by Friedman, where businesses adopt the ‘let the government do it’ theory is criticised as society now has a greater concern for a better quality of life which businesses could help achieve. Supporters of Freeman maintain that fast food corporations have a responsibility to their stakeholders and should acknowledge potential health risks associated with consuming fast food. Highly advertised food corporations should have responsibilities beyond enhancing their profits, because they have great social and economic power in society. This undeniable power discounts Friedman’s theory that the ‘business can’t handle it’. If corporations have such power, they should also take responsibility for its actions in these areas. Nature Neuroscience published a study linking â€Å"effects of fast food to those of addictive substances such as cocaine, heroin and nicotine† (Klein, 2010). If tobacco packaging in many countries legally have to display health warnings due to smoking being addictive, why does fast food packaging not have responsibility to do the same? Businesses who adopt a narrow view on CSR compromise stakeholders welfare. For example, on January 1954 in the US â€Å"main tobacco companies published a statement named ‘A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers’ reaching an estimated 43,245,000 Americans† (Cummings, 2002). The advertisement promised consumers that cigarettes were safe and denied all health risks to consumers. This resulted in millions of people dying due to lacking concern stemming from the companies understating health effects in a blind effort to create profit. This scenario could almost determine the future of fast food industries being irresponsible about  marketing to addicted consumers. If major food corporations don’t undertake measures to outweigh unhealthy promotion to children and society, they might too face the same consequences.

The Noun is Plea, the Verb is Plead

The Noun is Plea, the Verb is Plead The Noun is â€Å"Plea,† the Verb is â€Å"Plead† The Noun is â€Å"Plea,† the Verb is â€Å"Plead† By Maeve Maddox Some writers are using plead as a noun. Its a verb. One meaning of the verb plead as a legal term is To put forward any allegation or formal statement forming part of the proceedings in an action at law. In general use, the verb plead means to make an earnest appeal, entreaty, or supplication; to beg, implore. The noun plea has similar legal and general meanings: plea: 1. A suit or action at law; the presentation of an action in court. An urgent, emotional request, an entreaty; (also) an unarticulated appeal. Used as a verb in place of plead, plea can be regarded as a regionalism (Chiefly Eng. regional [north.], and Sc. Now also U.S.): If you plea guilty and then later in another hearing say th(at you didnt do it, can you be charged with perjury? example of U.S. usage in OED Using the verb form plead for the noun plea, however, is jarringly nonstandard: A Plead to Sinners title of a poem on a religious site A plead to ban homophobia headline on a college site A plead for help part of a blog title In each of these examples, the word wanted is plea. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. Had80 Idioms with the Word Time20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting

The Periodic Properties of the Elements

The Periodic Properties of the Elements The periodic table arranges the elements  by periodic properties, which are recurring trends in physical and chemical characteristics. These trends can be predicted merely by examing the periodic table and can be explained and understood by analyzing the electron configurations of the elements. Elements tend to gain or lose valence electrons to achieve stable octet formation. Stable octets are seen in the inert gases, or noble gases, of Group VIII of the periodic table. In addition to this activity, there are two other important trends. First, electrons are added one at a time moving from left to right across a period. As this happens, the electrons of the outermost shell experience increasingly strong nuclear attraction, so the electrons become closer to the nucleus and more tightly bound to it. Second, moving down a column in the periodic table, the outermost electrons become less tightly bound to the nucleus. This happens because the number of filled principal energy levels (whi ch shield the outermost electrons from attraction to the nucleus) increases downward within each group. These trends explain the periodicity observed in the elemental properties of atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, and electronegativity. Atomic Radius The atomic radius of an element is half of the distance between the centers of two atoms of that element that are just touching each other. Generally, the atomic radius decreases across a period from left to right and increases down a given group. The atoms with the largest atomic radii are located in Group I and at the bottom of groups. Moving from left to right across a period, electrons are added one at a time to the outer energy shell. Electrons within a shell cannot shield each other from the attraction to protons. Since the number of protons is also increasing, the effective nuclear charge increases across a period. This causes the atomic radius to decrease. Moving down a group in the periodic table, the number of electrons and filled electron shells increases, but the number of valence electrons remains the same. The outermost electrons in a group are exposed to the same effective nuclear charge, but electrons are found farther from the nucleus as the number of filled energy shells increases. Therefore, the atomic radii increase. Ionization Energy The ionization energy, or ionization potential, is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion completely. The closer and more tightly bound an electron is to the nucleus, the more difficult it will be to remove, and the higher its ionization energy will be. The first ionization energy is the energy required to remove one electron from the parent atom. The second ionization energy is the energy required to remove a second valence electron from the univalent ion to form the divalent ion, and so on. Successive ionization energies increase. The second ionization energy is always greater than the first ionization energy. Ionization energies increase moving from left to right across a period (decreasing atomic radius). Ionization energy decreases moving down a group (increasing atomic radius). Group  I elements have low ionization energies because the loss of an electron forms a stable octet. Electron Affinity Electron affinity reflects the ability of an atom to accept an electron. It is the energy change that occurs when an electron is added to a gaseous atom. Atoms with stronger effective nuclear charge have greater electron affinity. Some generalizations can be made about the electron affinities of certain groups in the periodic table. The Group IIA elements, the alkaline earths, have low electron affinity values. These elements are relatively stable because they have filled s subshells. Group VIIA elements, the halogens, have high electron affinities because the addition of an electron to an atom results in a completely filled shell. Group VIII elements, noble gases, have electron affinities near zero since each atom possesses a stable octet and will not accept an electron readily. Elements of other groups have low electron affinities. In a period, the halogen will have the highest electron affinity, while the noble gas will have the lowest electron affinity. Electron affinity decreases moving down a group because a new electron would be further from the nucleus of a large atom. Electronegativity Electronegativity is a measure of the attraction of an atom for the electrons in a chemical bond. The higher the electronegativity of an atom, the greater its attraction for bonding electrons. Electronegativity is related to ionization energy. Electrons with low ionization energies have low electronegativities because their nuclei do not exert a strong attractive force on electrons. Elements with high ionization energies have high electronegativities due to the strong pull exerted on electrons by the nucleus. In a group, the electronegativity decreases as the atomic number increases, as a result of the increased distance between the valence electron and nucleus (greater atomic radius). An example of an electropositive (i.e., low electronegativity) element is cesium; an example of a highly electronegative element is fluorine. Summary of Periodic Table Properties of Elements Moving Left → Right Atomic Radius DecreasesIonization Energy IncreasesElectron Affinity Generally Increases (except Noble Gas Electron Affinity Near Zero)Electronegativity Increases Moving Top → Bottom Atomic Radius IncreasesIonization Energy DecreasesElectron Affinity Generally Decreases Moving Down a GroupElectronegativity Decreases