Internal combustion engine Essay Example for Free

Internal combustion engine Essay There is a big debate about the future of the auto industry. The new big topic is electric cars. Ads emphasize how much less pollution these cars put out, but the truth is that many people do not realize the downside of these cars. For instance, did you know that average battery cost for electric cars is between $18,000 and $20,000? Also, these cars produce significant more amounts of sulfur dioxide compared to traditional internal combustion engines, and what about the factories that burn billions of tons of coal everyday to produce electricity to charge these cars? Yes, these cars do produce little carbon dioxide directly, but the main source of pollution comes indirectly from the power plants that power these cars. Electric cars are not the best environmental solution in the long run because they still cause pollution while charging and producing them, there is no safe place to dispose of the batteries, and they are extremely expensive (Hogan). The first major issue with electric cars is that the process of manufacturing and charging these cars produces billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The EPA’s research shows that for an average size car, electricity’s emissions are about three times higher than the emissions of gasoline (Inside Climate Staff). Electric cars do not produce much pollution directly. Instead the pollution is rather created at the source of the energy, power plants. Pollution is caused when manufacturing and producing these cars too. In addition, large amounts of pollution are produced while mining for the metals found in the new types of batteries. All of the mining machines and vehicles are powered from fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, and diesel fuels. A great amount of energy is lost in the process of transmitting the electricity from the power source to your car. Also, electric cars emit significantly higher amounts of sulfur dioxide into the air compared to internal-combustion engines. Sulfur dioxide is the main component that causes acid rain. Acid rain can cause damage to lakes, streams, forests, car paints, copper, stone, and other building materials. Acid rain soaks into the soil and roots of plants, and causes slowed growth, and loss of leaves or needles. In the Great Smoky Mountains, acid rain has actually killed one-hundred or more of the Frazier Fir and Red Spruce trees (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency). Furthermore, in the Northeastern United States. , such as in the Kesterson Reservoir in the San Joaquin Valley, acid rain caused hundreds of fish populations to vanish from lakes (Davis). Acid rain can contaminate our own drinking water without us even knowing it; it tastes, and looks like regular water! When sulfur dioxide is inhaled, it can cause damage to your heart and lungs, causing disorders such as bronchitis and asthma (National Parks Service). Additionally, battery disposal is a key issue. The average life of this new type of batteries is twenty-five to thirty thousand miles before they will have to be replaced. If electric cars are going to be a thing of the future, there will become an excess of batteries in landfills and other disposal sites. Presently, landfills are not designed to handle the millions of batteries that would need to be disposed of if millions of people were driving electric cars. If these batteries are not properly disposed of, toxic chemicals could leak into the environment. Also, recycling these lithium-ion batteries doesn’t appear to be in the future anywhere soon. The cost of collecting, organizing, and shipping these metals to a recycler far outweighs the value of the scrapped material, so for the time being, most of these metals will be thrown away in landfills and junkyards (Mitchell). Another obstacle with these materials being tossed in landfills is the possibility of corrosive chemicals leaking into streams, rivers, and lakes. The process of refining metals for these batteries also releases pollutants into the environment. Once the refiner gets what metal they need from the ore, they discard the other materials into the nearby ecosystems. When this happens, our drinking water could be contaminated, and it could also damage, or kill the wildlife in that area (Bacher). Lastly, these cars are extremely expensive. Because the batteries only last for about a hundred miles, this means you would have to charge them about three times for every full tank of gas that you would normally buy. Also, with this low charge capacity, it would be virtually impossible to take long trips. You would have to stop frequently to charge the battery, which takes about nine hours to completely charge. This would turn a normal two-hundred mile, four hour drive into at least a thirteen hour trip, assuming that you could find an open charging station! Another reason that these cars are so expensive is that you have to replace the battery in your car about every twenty-five to thirty thousand miles. This is a very costly expense, especially since each new battery is about eighteen to twenty thousand dollars! This is $80,000 for batteries alone if you drive 100,000 miles in your car! The price of charging an electric car is less than what a full tank of gas would cost you, but you end up paying for it in the long run when you have to replace the battery. Electric cars are expensive from the start. The average retail price of most electric cars is in the thirty to forty thousand dollar range. Most middle class individuals cannot afford to pay this price for this new technology, which is why this will not be the best economical solution in the long run. These cost projections assume that both the car and the battery work correctly for the duration of their lives, but what if the battery breaks, or stops working, forcing you to replace it? The technology is new and underdeveloped, which means that there might still be some problems or â€Å"bugs† that the designers haven’t had a chance to fix. That’s $20,000 right there that you would have to pay in addition to the purchase price. That’s close to half of what you originally paid for the car! Since these cars are less, there are fewer mechanics that are qualified to work or operate on them, so the price of operation will be very high. Electric cars were released around 2010, which means there hasn’t even been enough time for a mechanic to get a four-year degree in operating on electric cars (Hogan). The problem with automobile pollution definitely needs to be addressed and solved, but fully-electric cars are not the best solution. They are made out to be better than they actually are, and they definitely have major disadvantages. First of all, they will have to become a lot cheaper for people to be able to afford them. The general public cannot afford to pay $20,000 for a new battery every 30,000 miles. Designers also need to find a way to lengthen the range of these cars. With only a 100 mile range, it is just not practical for most people. In addition, these cars still produce pollution, just not directly. All of the pollution is created indirectly, at coal-burning electricity power plants. Another unaddressed issue is that these cars emit large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which is what combines with water to become acid rain. Lastly, there is no good place to dispose of batteries. If millions of people are going to be driving these cars, there will be tons of toxic batteries in landfills and disposal sites, which can cause harm to the wildlife, and the surrounding environment. If you accidentally miscalculate the charge left in your car, you will be stuck. Unlike a gas-powered vehicle, you cannot simply fill up your car with a gas can. With electric cars, there is no way to replenish the energy in your car on the side of the road. The fully-electric car was a good idea, but in the long run, it is not the best answer. The automobile companies need to continue to improve internal combustion engines to decrease their carbon dioxide emissions. Works Cited Cultrona, R. L. Pros and Cons of Electric Cars. 1999-2012. 18 March 2012. . Davis, Jay. Marine Bio. 1998-2012. 18 March 2012. . Hogan, Micheal C. The Encyclopedia of Earth. 21 February 2012. 18 March 2012. . Mitchell, Robert L. Computer World. 22 August 2006. 18 March 2012. . National Parks Service. 28 October 2010. 18 March 2012 . Staff, Solve Climate. Inside Climate News. 1 April 2010. 18 March 2012. . U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. 8 June 2007. 18 March 2012. .

Ntozake Shange :: Male White Dominance Essays Prejudice

Ntozake Shange After spending a semester looking at Gardner's limited selection of people, I became frustrated at his blatant message that White male creativity is the only one to exist. With his obtrusive message in mind, I felt the need to challenge Gardner and his model to become less Euro-centrally male driven. In order to confront him, I have chosen a person who is neither, White nor male. Instead, she is a Black American woman who I can consider to be, in many aspects, a creative genius. Although I find it incredibly hypocritical to try to fit Ntozake Shange into Gardner's creativity model, for all intensive purposes for the class I will first point out how she does meet his model. Next, in accordance with Black feminists, I will examine why she does not fit into Gardner's creativity model and frankly, why it does not matter that she is not shaped into the model. Further, I will confront the issue that marginal people are rejected society's cannon (i.e. the white male cannon), and how Gardner, in the position of a writer he could have broken down some of these barriers. Ntozake Shange does fit into five of the seven intelligences in Howard Gardner's model. As a performance artist, poet, musician, writer, and politician, Shange's intelligences span the interpersonal, spatial, kinesthetic, musical, and verbal talents. She blends music, drama, and poetry to characterize the Black experience in America, particularly the Black female experience. Her works empower women to take responsibility for their lives by learning to love themselves and challenge their oppressors. Shange's life and works give clarification and direction to the current feminist movement (Black Women in America). Furthermore, her supportive back-ground fits her into Gardner'stheory that, "the roles of family and teachers during the formative years, as well as the roles of crucial supportive individuals during the times in which a creative breakthrough seems imminent" through the lives of creative people (8). Paulette Williams was born to Eloise and Paul Williams on October 18th, 1948. Later in life, Paulette Williams changed her "slave name" to an African name, Ntozake Shange. Ntozake means "she who comes with her own things" and Shange means "who walks like a lion" (Current Biography 1978). However, in her earlier life, Shange lived a seemingly comfortable life. Her mother was a psychiatrist/social worker and her father was a surgeon. Despite their Blackness in a times of segregation, Shange was given violin and dancing lessons while exposed to other artistic activities as well.

Marketing Ppt

PROJECT REPORT OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT GUIDED BY:PRESENTED BY: Prof. T. T. NIRANJANNITIN BANSAL 129278039 RANJAN SAHU 129278041 ROHIT MANGAL 129278053 SAURABH SINHA 129278057 Project Report On| | | | Taxonomy of Implementation Problems in VMI| | Contents Executive summary3 Introduction4 Under the typical business model:4 Vendor Managed Inventory model:4 Consignment Inventory:4 Vendor Managed Inventory and Stakeholder’s Challenges5 Challenges faced in implementation of Vendor Managed Inventory7 Analysis of Cases of implementing Vendor Managed Inventory9 Conclusion11 References12 Executive summaryThe goal of Vendor Managed Inventory is to provide a mutually beneficial relationship where both sides Customer and Vendor will be able to control the availability and flow of goods more smoothly and accurately. In  VMI  a manufacturer or distributor assumes the role of inventory planning for the customer. Extensive information sharing is required so that the manufacturer/distributor can maintain a high degree of visibility of its goods at the customer’s location. Instead of the customer reordering when its supply has been exhausted, the supplier is responsible for replenishing and stocking the customer at appropriate levels.Wal-Mart has mastered  VMI  and is the company against which many other organizations benchmark themselves. This report covers various issues that are to be considered to implement the Vendor Managed Inventory. It is realized in the report that several risks are to be considered while executing VMI. The proper analysis is done in seeking the scenarios where one issue becomes a key factor in deciding to implement VMI or not. Both Marketers and Distributors have their own issues to challenge the implementation of VMI. Focus of the report is to determine taxonomy of implementation problems in VMI.Introduction A means of optimizing Supply Chain performance in which the manufacturer is responsible for maintaining the distributorâ€℠¢s inventory levels. The manufacturer has access to the distributor’s inventory data and is responsible for generating purchase orders. We can see the differences in maintain inventory as: Under the typical business model: When a distributor needs product, they place an order against a manufacturer. The distributor is in total control of the timing and size of the order being placed. The distributor maintains the inventory plan.Vendor Managed Inventory model: The manufacturer receives electronic data (usually via EDI or the internet) that tells him the distributor’s sales and stock levels. The manufacturer can view every item that the distributor carriers as well as true point of sale data. The manufacturer is responsible for creating and maintaining the inventory plan. Under VMI, the manufacturer generates the order*, not the distributor. *Note: VMI does not change the â€Å"ownership† of inventory. It remains as it did prior to VMI. Consignment Inventory:When the supplier places inventory at a customer’s location and retains ownership of the inventory. Payment is not made until the item is actually sold. A VMI relationship may or may not involve consignment inventory. Vendor Managed Inventory and Stakeholder’s Challenges Vendor Managed Inventory primarily have various stakeholder’s involved which includes Vendor/Manufacturer or distributor and retailer. Let us examine challenges faced by each: Challenges in VMI Implementation from vendor’s side High administrative costs: – Suppliers would have to face higher administrative costs.They will have to allocate additional staff resources to properly manage the replenishment activities that were previously managed by the retailer. So to overcome these additional costs, vendors must have to save enough money from the inventory costs and sufficient sales volumes and gross margins Loss of market share due to less shelf coverage: – VMI would help in reducin g the inventory which could lead to the less coverage of the shelf space on the retailer’s shop which might lead to the reduction in the market share for that product.To resolve this issue, vendor can provide more stock keeping units of the same product to fill the shelf space and to maintain the market share. Challenges in VMI Implementation from retailer’s side Loss of Control: – If VMI is implemented, then there is always a fear in the mind of the retailer that he would loose his control over the operations management. All the decisions like when to order, how much to keep as inventory and when to sell the product would be managed by the vendor now which can also have some impact on the profit margin of the retailer.Eg. In many cases, Vendor gives discounts to the retailer if they buy in bulk and hence above mentioned questions become crucial for the retailer from financial point of view. In case of products with high shelf life, he might want to order in bul k once, instead of ordering in small lots. Danger of being replaced: – Retailer would be afraid that after implementing of VMI, when almost all the operations management related decisions are taken by the vendor, then the vendor might also think of forward integrating.Hence he would not be fully cooperative in sharing of the data and he would always try to make his presence felt in decision making to show the importance of his role. Fear of losing other vendors: – The retailer would be afraid of losing other vendors, since in the FMCG business; retailers get products from a lot of vendors to maintain variety for the customers. It would be difficult to choose the vendor who will manage the inventory, because the same vendor would be biased towards his products.This would lead to the development of bad relationship between the retailer and the other vendors. After implementation of VMI, forecasting of demand is done by the manufacturer, not by the retailers or distributo rs and it might hit back, if manufacturer is not competent in judging the patterns of the consumer demand. Challenges faced in implementation of Vendor Managed Inventory Personal Factors Trust: – One of the most important factors which can contribute to the success of the VMI is trust and good relationship between the vendor and the downstream retailer.But in the FMCG sector, where there are a lot of products in the same segment, most of the retailers are unwilling to share their data related to their sales with anyone, even with their supplier. This leads to the ineffective communication between them and both have to incur huge inventory and management costs. Work ethics and cultural differences: – Each company has its set of work ethics and work culture and if the difference is huge for a vendor and the retailer, then their decisions would not be aligned. Technical IssuesTechnology is one of the most critical factors in facilitating the implementation of VMI which ca n also stand as a challenge in the implementation of VMI. A lot of technical systems would have to be installed for the effective working of the VMI. Some of the technical solutions that can facilitate an effective VMI arrangement include: †¢ Electronic data exchange (EDI). EDI transactions can enable suppliers to efficiently manage customer inventory levels remotely. †¢ Replenishment software. These applications allow customers to accurately assess projected service levels (i. . the percentage of requests that can be filled from stock) based on various inventory investments. †¢ Bar coding or radio frequency identification (RFID). These technologies â€Å"tag† products for tracking purposes and can dramatically improve the speed and integrity of the collection and reporting of consumption data. †¢ Forecasting software. These applications gather and analyze information from sales, accounting, order entry, and other business systems, using sophisticated algo rithms and predictive modeling techniques to generate fast, accurate demand forecasts.Investment- A lot of investment would be required to install and maintain any of these systems. Properly equipped manpower would be required to operate these tools. Investment would also be required to integrate these tools with each other for efficient functioning of the VMI operations. All this cost would have to be incurred by the vendor and to compensate this cost, he must get returns from the efficient inventory management and higher sales volume due to less stock-outs. Testing- It requires a lot of time and money in testing the various VMI systems after installing them.An extensive testing has to be done for the EDI system before giving it a final green flag for the VMI system. Analysis of Cases of implementing Vendor Managed Inventory Let’s discuss some cases where VMI is implemented: Barilla Spa Case Barilla is largest manufacturer of â€Å"fresh† and â€Å"dry† pasta p roducts with more than 1000 SKUs. It has sales of around $2B and very stable demand at retail level. Challenges it was facing are as under: Retailers didn’t have large inventories to accommodate new products introduced from time to time.Stock outs are quiet frequent at DO’s. Thin margins for both manufacturers and retailers are adding to the problem. Solution offered through VMI: Downstream distribution Center (DC) reports inventory and sales data electronically to Barilla on a daily basis. Barilla is managing the inventory of DC and decides how much to ship to them. According to  Industry Week's Best Plants 2006 Statistical Profile, 56% of the top 25 plants between 2002 and 2006 have used â€Å"resident suppliers† to manage or replenish inventory.However, the average percentage of purchased materials and components (dollar volume) managed by on-site suppliers is only 13. 7%. So, it seems, there is a time and place for vendor-managed inventory. For example, if you've got an expensive manufacturing line and you ask one of your key suppliers to put in the systems and develop the expertise to supply the goods you need on a just-in-time basis, they will do that if they receive a significant portion of their revenues from you, says Steve Banker, service director of supply chain management at ARC Advisory Group, Dedham, Mass. However, you may have a lot of suppliers where you are only 1% of their total revenue — you are not their biggest priority,† Banker says. â€Å"The chances that they will take on added responsibility and costs to manage your inventory is low. † So we can see that size of the business does matter in determining the feasibility of implementing VMI.In addition, there is a certain amount of IT integration that has to go on in order to make the VMI relationship work. For suppliers, they need to be able to get your forecasts on a regular basis, make intelligence out of them and have visibility into your inve ntory levels on an ongoing basis,† says Banker. â€Å"Turning that into useable intelligence is kind of difficult. Small and midsized companies often don't have the dedicated IT resources to make that happen, so they struggle. † â€Å"Resident Suppliers† Manage/Replenish Inventory (% Of Plants) Year| No| Yes| 2002| 44| 56| 2003| 52| 48| 2004| 48| 52| 2005| 32| 68| 2006| 44| 56| 2002-2006| 44| 56| Source: Industry Week's Best Plants 2006 Statistical ProfilePercentage Of Purchased Materials And Components (Dollar Volume) Managed By On-Site Suppliers Year| Median| Mean| Minimum| Maximum| 2002| 5. 0| 24. 4| 0. 0| 100. 0| 2003| 0. 0| 12. 2| 0. 0| 100. 0| 2004| 4. 0| 15. 2| 0. 0| 70. 0| 2005| 6. 0| 13. 8| 0. 0| 67. 0| 2006| 4. 2| 15. 1| 0. 0| 95. 0| 2002-2006| 3. 0| 13. 7| 0. 0| 100. 0| Source: Industry Week's Best Plants 2006 Statistical Profile Similarly, we have case of P&G which successfully employed Vendor managed Inventory while ODLO isn’t so successful in implementing the same.Also companies like RUAG aren’t having any financial or strategic benefit out of implementing VMI and hence didn’t go for it. If we analyze the sector in which they operates we come to know, RUAG which is in Airlines sector involves comparatively simpler inventory to maintain while the risk involved in giving away the details was higher. On the other hand, with the scale of business P&G is in, it is beneficial for both manufacturer (vendor) as well as distributor (or Retailer) to implement VMI. It can be seen both scale and sector favors P&G.GRENDENE, one of the world's largest footwear manufacturers, implemented Agentrics' Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution and aligned its product replenishment process with the real demand of regional distributors/customers, thus increasing service level, optimizing stocks and boosting sales. ACHIEVED RESULTS: Increase of accuracy in sales forecasts; Increase of sales by 47% for participating retailers; Imp roved management of a product mix, by reducing or discontinuing low-performance and low-turnover products;   Streamlined replenishment of high-performance products;Excellent overall result with customers using the solution. VONPAR With Agentrics' VMI solution, acquired a full, web-based supply chain KPI tool. Vonpar Refrescos, Brazil's fourth largest Coca-Cola bottling company with products reaching 14 million consumers, implemented Agentrics' Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution and with it acquired a complete web-based KPI tool. KPI's track internal and client stock levels, demand planning, order administration, as well as automation of Vonpar's product replenishment process, improving service and optimizing stock levels, while improving customer relationships.ACHIEVED RESULTS : Average sales increase of 26 percent in the first 12 months after the solution's implementation; Significant increase in sales of juices, tea and beer, which reflects improved stock planning for great er availability of products at store level; Maximized speed in the exchange of sales information at store level; Stock optimization allowing Vonpar to have the right product at the right time in the right place; Commercial team freed up to focus on avoiding out-of-stocks. SYNGENTA Implemented Agentrics' VMI solution to manage stock jointly with its suppliers.Syngenta, a world-leading agri-business committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology, implemented Agentrics' Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution to manage stock in conjunction with its suppliers ACHIEVED RESULTS: Reduction of communication errors through process automation and visibility to inventories. â€Å"Today, our customers say that for the first time in the agricultural market, a company is able to co-manage inventory demand like large retail chains,† says Marcos Mazza, Supply Chain Manager. NeoGrid has a solution that perfectly suits our business model; Syngenta did not have to adapt to the tool, as the solution metall our needs. † Marcos Mazza, Supply Chain Manager. Conclusion The main purpose of this report is to highlight the taxonomy of implementation problems in VMI. From the cases visited, we can deduce that various factors play key roles in determining whether to go for Vendor Managed Inventory as there are lot of issues and cost involved in implementing the same.Size of the business, Sector of the business in operation, inter-relationship among stakeholders all plays equally important role in the actual decision making. Though there is no clear cut understanding on whether to implement VMI or not but one can easily concur with increasing role of technology and with dynamic demand it is only going to rise.References Williams, M. (1998). Making Consignment and Vendor-Managed Inventory Work For You. APICSInternational Conference. Schreibfeder, J. (1997). Vendor Managed Inventory: there’s more to it than just sell products. Effective In ventory. com Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment Committee. (1998)  Jointly Managed Inventory Approach Provides a Lower Level of Detail. CPFR. Org http://www. scm. ethz. ch/publications/Practitioner_publications/Niranjan_etal_2011_Are_you_ready_for_VMI. pdf http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1620974;show=abstract http://openarchive. cbs. dk/handle/10398/8229 http://www. supplyon. com/vendor-managed-inventory_at_zf. html http://www. industryweek. com/procurement/vendor-managed-inventory-size-matters

Funding For Education For Public Schools - 1761 Words

When you think of gambling, what image do you see? If you are a politician or business leader in a depressed area, such as ours, you might see a casino bringing increasing employment. You may see new tax profits that would possibly develop roads and offer public assistance. If you are worried about funding for education, you might see profits from state lotteries for public schools. If you are concerned about the age of the community you may see Las Vegas, with its theme parks and kids’ play rooms. However, if you are a restaurant owner you might see your business closing and your employees laid off, because you are not able to compete with the bargain meals casinos use to entice patrons. You may worry about seeing your friends lured by†¦show more content†¦Issues can become muddy with fears and concerns. This makes it difficult to clearly see what to do next. Regular consideration of Scripture opens the heart of God to the reader. Learning and loving God’s hea rt changes us, placing the will of God into our heart through the Holy Spirit. As we contemplate, meditate, and memorize the Scriptures, clarity will come. By then we will be walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). There is a biblical basis for the moral involvement of churches in their communities. One of the first revelations of Scripture is that God is the Creator of all that is and â€Å"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good† (Genesis 1:31). But God’s created order did not remain pure for long — sin corrupted the earth (Genesis 3). Yet, God, the Creator and Governor of the world, is also God the Redeemer who works and is working to transform the kingdoms of this earth into the kingdom of God (Revelation 21). The Old Testament prophets proclaimed the need for social justice and community righteousness (Isaiah 1:15–17; Amos 5:21–24). Micah declared, â€Å"He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God† (Micah 6:8). The New Testament continued this concern for social justice. Jesus confirmed His intent not to â€Å"abolish the Law or the Prophets ... but to fulfill them† (Matthew 5:17). Christians are