Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital Essay Example

Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital Paper This essay discusses and explores the terms Human Capital, Human assets and Intellectual capital. Human capital is a way of defining and categorizing peoples skills and abilities as used in employment (Economic Review, 2004). According to Robert Heller, A business can realize the benefits of its greatest asset by winning the hearts, minds and spirit of people. Human assets are those personal qualities and characteristics that enhance the individual health, happiness and well being of each family member. The intellectual capital refers to the knowledge and knowing capability of a social collectivity such as an organization, intellectual community or professional practice (1998:245). The essay also focuses the way in which these terms are beneficial to HR managers to use these terms to assist themselves and communicating and planning human resource management strategies. Human capital is a way of defining and categorizing peoples skills and abilities as used in employment and otherwise contribute to the economy. It is a stock of asset one owns, which allows one to receive a flow of income, which is like interest earned. Human capital is substitutable i.e. it will not replace land, labor or capital totally, but it can be substituted for them to various degrees and be included as a separate variable in a production function. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer While explaining human capital by the unique characteristics of knowledge: it is expandable and self generating with use. For example, a doctor gets more experience, her knowledge base will increase, as will her endowment of human capital. A free worker cannot sell human capital to receive money revenues, even a slave, whose human capital can be sold, does not earn an income himself or herself instead the slave owner gets the income under capitalism, to earn an income, a worker must submit to the authority of an employer who want to hire for a specified period of time. This means that the employer must be receiving an adequate rate of profit from his or her operations, so that the workers must be producing surplus-value i.e. doing work beyond that necessary to maintain their labor power (www.marxist.org) Following Becker, the human capital literature often distinguishes between Specific and General human capital. Specific human capital refers to skills or knowledge that is useful only to a single employer, who will be likely willing to pay for it, where as general human capital such as literacy is useful to all employers. Thus human capital represents the single greatest potential asset and the single greatest potential liability that an organization will acquire as it goes about is business. While there are intangible assets, human capital is the only intangible assets that can be influenced, but never completely controlled, invested in wisely or wasted thoughtlessly and still have tremendous value. These distinguishing features are what make human capital unique. A business can realize the benefits of its greatest asset by winning the hearts, minds and spirit of the people (Robert Heller 2001). Human assets are those personal qualities and characteristics that enhance the individual health, happiness and well being of each family member. They include our health, values, talents, heritage, attitude, habits and time. While in case of a firms human assets consist of the employees and the collection of their knowledge, skills and abilities also known as human capital. The firm can buy the human capital by hiring employees and the firm can achieve human capital through, training, job experience etc. Most of the capabilities that a firm possesses can be linked to human capital and therefore this form of asset is considered critical for creating and sustaining competitive advantage (managing human assets in a uncertain world, 1999). However human assets, like other forms of assets have several uncertainties associated with it. The future value of human assets can be uncertain for example performance of employees may go down over time or job responsibilities may change causing a misfit between the person and job. The number of employees demand may fluctuate according to the market conditions. There may be demand unexpected for skills that the employees do not possess. Also, the costs of human assets in the form of wages, salaries, benefits etc, may also be uncertain. Human assets like other forms of assets have several uncertainties associated with it. There are three types of uncertainties in human assets uncertainty of return, uncertainties of volume and uncertainties of cost. Uncertainty of return. The future value of human assets can be uncertain. For example performance of employees may go down overtime or change in job responsibilities. Uncertainty of volume and combinations The number of employees demanded may fluctuate according to market conditions or unexpected demand for skills that the employees dont possess constitutes this uncertainty. Uncertainties of cost- They are associated with the high and fixed cost of employees especially when revenues are volatile. The top 10 areas to measure human assets, as recommended by Jack Fitz-enz, chair of the Saratoga Institute (now part of Spherions Human Capital Consulting Group), in a recent issue of Workforce magazine (www. workforce.com), wont all apply to your company, but some will: 1. Your most important issues: These are the targets of all lower-level measures. Focus on them and ensure that your metrics lead in a direct line to them. 2. Human capital value added: How do your workers optimize themselves for the good of the company and for themselves? This is the primary measure of an individuals contribution to profitability. 3. Human capital ROI: This is the ratio of dollars spent on pay and benefits to an adjusted profit figure. 4. Separation cost. How many people are leaving? From which departments? What does it cost the company? The average cost of separation for an employee is at least six months equivalent of revenue per employee. 5. Voluntary separation rate: Lost personnel equal potential lost opportunity, lost revenue, and the cost of workers having to fill the gaps under greater stress. Cutting the separation rate saves the cost of hiring and keeps customer service quality high. 6. Total labor-cost revenue percentage. This is total benefits and compensation cost as a percentage of organizational revenue and shows how much of what you are taking in through revenue goes to support the companys total labor cost, including temporary, seasonal, and contract or contingent workers. This metric can help you track changes in your workforce. Best approach: Compare it to your revenue factor and compensation, benefits, and contingent off-payroll costs. If the metric is rising, determine whether compensation or benefits costs are up or revenue is down. This will help you decide what actions to take. 7. Total compensation revenue percentage: This is the percentage of the companys revenues allocated to the direct costs of employees. It excludes costs for off-payroll employees who receive a 1099 form (as does the metric in number 6, above). Before creating strategies to address concerns, compare this metric to your revenue factor, compensation costs, and benefits costs to analyze what is happening with workers. 8. Training investment factor. Basic skills are crucial: Workers who cannot read, write, do simple calculations, or talk intelligently with customers need to have these skill deficiencies addressed. 9. Time to start. Recruitment will continue to be a challenge. The amount of the time it takes from approval of a job requisition until the person is on the job is a strategic indicator of revenue production. 10. Revenue factor. This is the basic measure understood by managers. The accumulation of exceptionally talented individuals is not enough for the organization. There must also be a desire for the employees to invest their skills and expertise in the organization and their position. The individuals must commit or engage with the organization if effective utilization of human capital is to happen. In addition, therefore, to human capital, there must also be social capital and organizational capital. These three forums of capital contribute to overall concept of intellectual capital. For Nahapiet Ghoshal (1998), intellectual capital refers to the knowledge and knowing capacity of a social collectivity, such as an organization, intellectual community or professional practice (1998:245) Intellectual capital consists of both people and systems. The stock of human capital consists of human i.e. the knowledge skills and abilities of people social capital is the valuable relationships among people and the organizational capital is the processes and routines within the firm. (Wright et. Al, 2001:716) Developing human capital therefore requires attention to these other complementarities. For a competitive advantage is to be achieved there must be integration between human, social and organizational capital, social capital increases the efficiency of action and aids cooperative behavior (Nahapiet Ghoshal 1998) Social relationship has an important influence on the development of both human and intellectual capital. For example individuals with better social capital and stronger contact networks will earn higher rates of return on their human capital (Garavan et.al 2001:52). Attending to the conditions, under which people are prepared to share and act upon their knowledge is a major component of human capital management. The principle role of organizational capital is to link the resources of an organization. Together into process that create value for customers and sustainable competitive advantage for the firm (Dess Picken 1999:11). Thus the connections between human capital, social capital and organizational capital will produce intellectual capital. The suggested measuring approaches for intangibles fall into four main categories of measurement approaches. These categories are an extension of the classifications suggested by Luthy (1998) and Williams (2000). 1. Direct Intellectual Capital methods (DIC) Estimate the $-value of intangible assets by identifying its various components. Once these components are identified, they can be directly evaluated, either individually or as an aggregated coefficient. 2. Market Capitalization Methods (MCM) Calculate the difference between a companys market capitalization and its stockholders equity as the value of its intellectual capital or intangible assets. 3. Return on Assets methods (ROA) Average pre-tax earnings of a company for a period of time are divided by the average tangible assets of the company. The result is a company ROA that is then compared with its industry average. The difference is multiplied by the companys average tangible assets to calculate an average annual earning from the Intangibles. Dividing the above-average earnings by the companys average cost of capital or an interest rate, one can derive an estimate of the value of its intangible assets or intellectual capital. 4. Scorecard Methods (SC) The various components of intangible assets or intellectual capital are identified and indicators and indices are generated and reported in scorecards or as graphs. SC methods are similar to DIS methods, expect that no estimate is made of the $-value of the Intangible assets. A composite index may or may not be produced. These terms Human Capital, Human Assets and Intellectual Capital are inter related. They are very much useful to HR Managers for communicating and planning human resource management strategies. As human capital has uncertainties, a firm needs to manage these uncertainties. So that they do not affect the overall performance of the organization. Firms typically respond to adverse business conditions by down sizing, thereby losing valuable human capital with potentially adverse effects on the firms performance (Cascio, 2002). Human resource practices are mechanisms through which the human capitals of the firm are acquired. Human capital helps the HR managers to keep the employees motivated, maintained and acquired. HR practices have many positive impacts on the firm. HR options are investments in the human capital pool of an organization that provide the capability to respond to future contingent events. Human resource managers deploy human capital in order to limit downside risk and create opportunities for greater returns in the future. The HR options lie in allowing the firm to respond actively to uncertainties of human assets. Many of the HR practices are aimed at building a human capital pool able to deliver returns in the current time period under current conditions. However HR practices are also aimed at building a human capital capability to respond to future uncertain events (Wright and Snell, 1998). HR practices helps to build or maintain culture and communication. A company needs its managers to manage properly its human capital and human assets under various circumstances. Risks in returns for investments in human capital cannot be ignored and to do so would result in greater, rather than less variability in relationships with employees over time. HR options generate the capability for use managing changes incriminatingly. The extent use of HR options and their usefulness will depend upon the extent of risks associated with the human capital of the firm. In conclusion, many corporations around the world have found that measuring and managing intellectual capital can provide them with a competitive advantage. Adam Smith determined that human capital in different localities is valued in different ways. Human can be developed and cultivated, but it can also decide to leave the organization, become sick, disheartened and even influence others to behave in a way that may not be to the advantage of an employer. The performance of an organizations human capital, human assets or intellectual capital is not predicable or within the control of the employer.

Improving Cvs Inventory System Essays

Improving Cvs Inventory System Essays Improving Cvs Inventory System Essay Improving Cvs Inventory System Essay The purpose of this project was to gain experience in quality improvement by working with an organization to identify a business problem, analyze the causes, develop an improvement plan, implement changes, and to verify the effectiveness of the solutions. For this project we had to keep scope in mind. This project had to follow certain criteria, such as: that it is a manageable project with a local organization, it can be completed within the time frame of the course, it has a direct impact on external customers, it is relatively simple, and that it is not something that is currently undergoing major changes. The partner organization that our group worked with was CVS Pharmacies, and our main problem had to do with their current inventory process. Through problem identification tools, that helped us determine the what, when, where, how and who of the problem, as well as through tools such as SIPOC, catter plots, CE diagrams and KPIV/KPOV diagrams we were able to develop a focused problem statement. Our focused problem statement says that due to a poor inventory process, it takes too long for employees to find items that are out of stock (on the shelves), that have been requested for by customers, resulting in lost productivity, as well as frustration by customers, employees and ma nagement. This lost productivity results in poor quality that can be associated with a cost, as poor quality has a cost. We used a DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) approach to help us with this project. The define portion was used to identify the nature of the customer service problem, the measure phase was used to determine key service metrics, during the analyze stage we analyzed the reasons for poor service, within the improve stage we established new service protocols and implemented training strategies, and during the control phase we implemented controls to maintain the improvements that have been made. Some of the major results/findings of the report can be found in the graphs below. They show a summarization of data collected before and after recommendations have been made, in order to determine if any improvements have taken place. In conclusion we were able to make dramatic changes within the CVS we partnered with regarding their inventory process, we were able to reduce average times by 54%, range reduced by 70%, and standard deviation reduced by 50%, it can be concluded that the implementation plan we have instilled within the organization has made improvements to the overall inventory process. Recommendations for the CVS organization include two main ideas, organization and employee motivation. It is crucial that CVS maintain the current organization of their overstock area, with each isle having its own place within overstock, making it much easier for employees to find items. Also the CVS must keep their employees both well informed and motivated. Their employees must understand how important it is to have an organized stockroom, and must be taught how to maintain it. Also employers must motivate their employees to keep a more organized inventory, and also help motivate them to try and keep the shelves stocked, preventing them from even having to go in the overstock inventory area. In conclusion: due to an improved inventory process, it now takes less time for employees to find overstock items, this results in more productivity, a reduced cost of poor quality, as well as less frustration by customers, employees and management. Improvement Opportunity: The Define Phase The purpose of this project was to gain experience in quality improvement by working with an organization to identify a business problem, analyze the causes, develop an improvement plan, implement changes, and to verify the effectiveness of the solutions. For this project we had to keep scope in mind. This project had to follow certain criteria, such as: that it is a manageable project with a local organization, it can be completed within the time frame of the course, it has a direct impact on external customers, it is relatively simple, and that it is not something that is currently undergoing major changes. The company that our group has partnered with for this project is CVS Pharmacies. We looked into this company to see if there were any areas for improvement within the organization that would have an impact on external customers. Within this define stage is when we did exactly that, we defined the problem. One problem that we found within the CVS Pharmacy, that would be easy enough to handle given the scope of the project, concerned the stores current inventory (overstock, backstock) system. It seemed that currently there was no formalized process with regard to placing items in overstock, resulting in an unorganized and unconventional overstock area. This created a problem because it made it harder for employees to find items within overstock, once they have been requested by a customer. For example, a customer wants to by an item, but that shelf is empty, they then ask an employee to check overstock to see if there are any more of the requested items, but due to the lack of organization it takes a long time for employees to find these items, if they even find them. This is a problem because it results in lost productivity from employees, since they spend much time looking for overstock items, as well as frustration from customers, who must wait; frustration from employees who struggle trying to quickly find items; and managers who are angered because their employees are frustrated, and by the loss of productivity. The main key measure that was used to evaluate success was time. It was agreed that the easiest way one could measure and later evaluate and compare data for this project was by minutes. Minutes it takes for employees to find overstock items for customers. This way one could compare averages and deviations from both before and after an attempt to relieve this problem, to determine if any improvements to the process have been made. One of the ways our group used to determine our problem and to get a better understanding of the entire process was through the development of a SIPOC diagram. A SIPOC diagram helps identify the key Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers of the situation. Our developed SIPOC Diagram is seen below. Performance: The Measure Phase During the measure phase our group collected data that indicated the what, when, and where of the problem. The define stage helped as well in the identification of key input and output variables through the use of KPIV and KPOV diagrams. Also during this stage is when the identification of a target performance level was found, as well as a quantification of the current performance level, and a measurement systems analysis. What we measured was the amount of time in minutes in takes employees to find overstock items for customers. This measurement was timed from the moment the customer engaged the employee until the moment that customer received the status of the requested item, with it either being located or deemed unavailable at that location. The figure below is the KPIV and KPOV diagram, this diagram was used to identity both key process input variables as well as key process output variables. Some of the key process input variables include management, employees, customers, and current information systems. In retrospect some of the key process output variables include customer service, better time management for employees, and other tasks that need to be completed. In summary this process has problems because it is taking too long for items to get from overstock to the customer. Also during this measure phase we gathered data. The data gathered for this project as aforementioned was time in minutes it takes employees to retrieve items from overstock. For this our group collected over thirty points of data. A summary of the data we collected can be seen in the figure below, and raw data can be found within the appendix. We analyzed this data to determine the average time it takes employees to find items from within overstock; we also calculated the range of times, as well as the standard deviation. Summary of Data| Â  | Average| | 2 min 55 Sec. | Range| | Â  | | Low| 1 min 20 Sec. | | High| 12 min 20 Sec. | Standard Deviation| 1 min 38 Sec. | Another item measured was how much time on average an employee spends looking for requested items in any given shift, in order to determine the cost of this poor quality. It turned out that out of 18 hours worked, a total of two hours was spent by one employee looking for requested items, averaging out to roughly 48 minutes per eight hour shift. With this information a cost of this poor quality was determined. It was found by multiplying that 48 min per eight hour shift times five days per week, times 50 weeks for the year and lastly multiplying it by the average wage rate of CVS employees of $10 per hour. The projected cost of poor quality was found to be a loss of 203 hours per employee per year, with a rough cost of $2030 per employee per year as well. Later this data can be compared to future data to determine if any quality process improvements have been made. Analysis Findings: The Analyze Phase During the analyze phase, our group started off by developing the focused problem statement. We developed this statement by using a when, where, who, and how analysis. This analysis can be seen below. * What – Employees take too long to find items requested by the customer in overstock when the item is not on the shelves. This results in frustration among the customers as well as the employees. When – The problem takes place during operational hours of the store. * Where – The problem occurs on the sales floor as well as in overstock. * Who – The people involved in the process are the employees, customers, and management. * How – This problem takes place because of a poor inventory process with no set procedures. The next step was to determine the root cause of the problem. We did this by asking the 5 whys to get to the core of why customers and employees were experiencing unnecessary wait times to find the merchandise they were looking for: 1. Why is the process taking so long? The products are not on the shelf. 2. Why are the products not on the shelf? The stockroom is unorganized. 3. Why is the stockroom unorganized? Management has not implemented an effective process to organize the stockroom. 4. Why hasn’t management implemented an effective organization process? Management has not found the problem significant enough to make a change to the current process. 5. Why doesn’t management find it important to change the current process? Management is either not using or does not have the information about the possible losses from the current unorganized state of the stockroom and the possible gains from implementing a new system to organize the stockroom. Next, we brainstormed the potential factors that were causing the extended wait times into a cause-and-effect diagram. As shown below, the main four major categories involved were the equipment, process, people, and management | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | EQUIPMENT| | | | PROCESS| | | | | | | | | | | | Scanner Gun| | | No formalized process| | | | Once a Week| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Employee motivation| | Inconsistency| | | | | | and competency| | | | | | | | | | | Not uniform| | | | | Customers| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PEOPLE| | | MANAGEMENT| | | | | We believed that there were three theories of causes, which were the people, management, and the process itself. First, the people factor was a main source because of the lack of employee motivation. Employees would either be frustrated with trying to find the merchandise, possibly causing them to quit searching altogether, or would simply lack the motivation to want to find the items in an unorganized stockroom. Also, since there was no formalized procedure in place, each employee had their own technique in trying to retrieve items from overstock to the sales floor. Next, management is a potential theory of cause because they may not have seen that a problem existed and did not take steps to fix or analyze that there may have been a problem. Last, there was no formalized process. When the customer would request an item, many items were left in overstock when the item could have been on the shelves to prevent wait time. Next we used a scatter plot (which can be seen below) to see if the isle number and the time taken to find each item had any correlation. From the scatter plot below, there did not seem to be any correlation between the isles where the items were positioned in the store and the time it took to find each item. The Improve Phase Possible Solutions: While brainstorming for this project our group came up with four possible solutions to the problem of finding out of stock items at CVS. They were; Organization of the back room, manager and employee involvement, the regular filling of outs, and more frequent resupply. * Organization of the back room simply means what it says, to organize the on hand inventory in such a way as to make it easier to find an item that is out of stock on the sales floor. * Management and employee involvement is to get the staff at the CVS to create a culture of maintaining the sales floor and on hand inventories more closely, and to strive to not have the problem of having to find the items in the first place. Filling outs regularly means to go through the sales floor periodically though out the day and fill the empty spaces on the shelves with the appropriate merchandise. * Resupplying more often was thought to have more frequent deliveries of merchandise to prevent selling out of items and possibly to help maintain a smaller on hand inventory in the back, possibly along the lines of JIT. Tests of Theories: To test the organization of th e back room the area was organized by aisle and the merchandise that would belong on that aisle grouped in that area. It took a little while to complete but was fairly simple and straight forward. The reorganization was done in an afternoon and the staff was reminded to maintain the placement of the stock. Manager and employee involvement was trickier. The concept had to be presented to CVS management in such a way as to get their attention and cooperation. Improved customer service and resulting sales were the key points. Unfortunately, there was a lack of interest on the part of both management and employees to change their current behaviors. To get the outs filled regularly the employees (or more specifically, Phong) were instructed to walk the sales floor though out the day and to fill any outs they came across. This one tied in closely with management and employee involvement and as such there was trouble in getting the employees to remember to continue checking and filling outs. They would do it perhaps once during the day, not enough to make a serious impact. For the more frequent resupply the on hand inventory was monitored to see what items were running out and how fast, as well as how long it took to receive new shipment of those items. It was discovered though that only a few items would ever completely run out. And the cost that would be incurred to reschedule deliveries and quantities for a few small items far outweighed the inconvenience of them being out of stock. While these were being implemented the time it took to find an item for the customer was being documented to compare to the previous data collected at the beginning of the project. Select Best Solution: While we were testing the possible solutions it became clear that some simply would not work. The more frequent resupply was not worth the effort and quite simply beyond the capabilities of the group to implement. Without being able to generate a culture of involvement with the managers and employees not only did it make improvement difficult to achieve and maintain it also affected the plan to frequently fill the outs on the shelf, as staff members simply were not involved at a necessary level to perform. As simple as that solution was it was not being effective. The best solution turned out to be to reorganize the back room. It was done in one day and was easy to keep staff members continuing to use it once it was done. As well it was not much different from the past, simply better organized. As well as our data showed the time it took to find an item did in fact decrease. Improvement Plan and Implementation: In a way the plan and implementation are already complete. The times to find items have already improved and the organization of the back room has already been done so the real plan now is to make sure that the CVS staff maintains the back room in that order and does not let it return to its previous disorganized stated. Hopefully over time this first step will foster a more proactive attitude towards the on hand inventory and actions such as filling the outs regularly will come naturally. Measures of Results: The data below was collected before implementation and after implementation. The average time before implementation was 2. 99 minutes and after implementation the average was 1. 34 minutes. The average time it took to locate items dropped dramatically with a reduction of 54%, which average time dropping from 175 seconds down to 80 seconds. Also the range has been reduced by 70%, with range being reduced from 11 minutes down to 2 minutes 40 seconds. The low of the range was brought down by a full minute, and the high was reduced by roughly nine minutes. Also we compared our two standard deviations and found a reduction of 50%, going from 1 minute 38 seconds down to 49 seconds. But what about the cost of poor quality, has that been reduced? Yes, it has. Originally our cost of poor quality was calculated within the measure phase of the project and was projected at $2030, or 203 lost hours per employee per year, but with the new processes in place these numbers have been reduced to $930, or 93 hours. This reduction of the cost of poor quality saves CVS on average $1100 per employee per year. The Control Phase Several steps need to be taken to maintain the improvements made on CVS’s inventory system. It needs to start with upper management. Upper management needs to create a culture of quality and set an example for the employees. Upper management should set new standards and procedures for the employees to follow. The employees should receive training equivalent to at least 1 day of work throughout the workweek for a period of 1-2 weeks to ensure full comprehension of the new formalized inventory process. The sales floor should be checked twice a week for items out of stock and items running low in stock on the sales floor. When either situation occurs, the safety stock from the stockroom should be used to fill in the empty shelves. Employees should be given scanner guns to determine if the items are available on the spot for the customer before they have to walk to the stockroom. The appropriate reorder point should be determined to prevent running out of safety stock, reducing the risk of stock-outs. Several lessons were learned from deciding to implement an organization process for a stockroom. The best way to organize a stockroom is by using shelves and pallets. First, we need to place food items on food shelves and paper items on paper shelves. Canned goods should be placed together in rows containing specific foods. Any bulk items should be placed on the top shelves. Next, extra containers and shelving should be purchased to ensure the stockroom has a place for everything including future shipments. The best way is to make exactly another front store in the backroom so we know where the items are when we need to find them for customers. Several lessons were learned from the overall project. The first was to understand the DMAIC process of Six Sigma and using it to solve problems. It is a valuable tool in solving significant business problems and identifying and removing defects to improve quality, ultimately saving the business costs associated with poor quality. We also learned to use a team approach to problem-solving. The DMAIC process requires a team effort from top management to lower-level employees and works best when everyone involved contributes their efforts to improve a process. Finally, the time spent on the project taught us to apply the appropriate problem-solving tools throughout the entire process. Conclusion After working with the CVS organization for several weeks, we were able to make a comparison of are original data and are second set of data that was collected during the improve phase. This was done to see, if in fact we have made some sort of quantifiable improvement to the process. One of the easiest ways to do this is through data comparison. As you may recall, we originally measured how long it takes for employees to retrieve items from overstock once they have been requested by the customer. We then calculated average, standard deviation, and the range of the data. The original data as well as the second data set can be seen below. Once one has all the quantifiable data available for comparison, it is easy to determine whether or not an improvement to the system and process has been made. By looking above it can easily be seen that an improvement has been made. The average time it took to locate items dropped dramatically with a reduction of 54%, which average time dropping from 175 seconds down to 80 seconds. Also the range has been reduced by 70%, with range being reduced from 11 minutes down to 2 minutes 40 seconds. The low of the range was brought down by a full minute, and the high was reduced by roughly nine minutes. Also we compared our two standard deviations and found a reduction of 50%, going from 1 minute 38 seconds down to 49 seconds. But what about the cost of poor quality, has that been reduced? Yes, it has. Originally our cost of poor quality was calculated within the measure phase of the project and was projected at $2030, or 203 lost hours per employee per year, but with the new processes in place these numbers have been reduced to $930, or 93 hours. This reduction of the cost of poor quality saves CVS on average $1100 per employee per year. In conclusion the recommendations that we applied to this process has had an overall improvement to the inventory system at our partner CVS location. Through the use of the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) process and with the help of several tools such as SIPOC diagrams, Cause and Effect diagrams, as well as tools to help identify key players such as the KPOV/KPIV diagrams, and through the implementation of a better formalized process; we were able to dramatically improve the inventory process for our CVS partnership store, with average time reduced by 54%, range reduced by 70%, and standard deviation reduced by 50%, it can be concluded that the implementation plan we have instilled within the organization has made improvements to the overall inventory process.

Principles of Health and Social Care Practice Essay - 1

Principles of Health and Social Care Practice - Essay Example Social and healthcare professionals working within the home also need to understand that they have a sense of duty to the vulnerable people that they serve. Service users can be vulnerable because of their cultural, religious, social, economic, and state of their physical health (British Association of Social Workers 2012). The vulnerable population in need of health and social services within the care home must have their human rights protected by care givers. In some cases, a prescribed mode of treatment for a vulnerable care service user might expose him or her to harm or possible abuse of their human rights. Social and healthcare professionals at the home need to understand all the implications of the any kind of care that they devise for each and every individual at the home.   Practitioners need to check on the merits and merits of certain care procedures before adopting them for different people that need care services at the home. This process ensures that people that are b eing taken care of are not subjected to any form of abuse by care givers. A case in point can be that of a care service user that has a terminal illness like cancer. Cancer treatment involves using chemotherapy. Chemotherapy has its adverse impacts on the health a persons especially the repeated chemotherapy can accelerate the side effects of the care service. As a healthcare or social service provider at the care home, one needs to use a consultative approach to making a decision on whether certain medical procedures can be good.

What did Christopher accomplish in his quest of finding the truth on Essay

What did Christopher accomplish in his quest of finding the truth on who killed the dog - Essay Example You also have to understand how machines work and I’m good at understanding how machines work. You also have to be someone who would like being on their own in a tiny space-craft thousands and thousands of mile† quote from chapter 83 Quote 3. â€Å"Mr. Jeavons said that I liked maths because it was safe. He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems, and these problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a uncomplicated answer at the end. And what he meant was that maths wasn’t like life because in life there are no straightforward answers at the end.† Explanation of collage. Pictures from 1 to 5 is the plot of the story from finding the mystery of the dog’s death then going further to the complicated life of Christopher and his discoveries. Being an autistic child, it was hard for him to accept the truth of his father’s lies, and he had to go away to find his place outside of his father’s authority. The story does not end in finding who the real killer was, but in discovering truths hidden from him. Finally, we find Christopher escaping and finding his place in the real world, where he excels in. Justifications for chosen quotation. Quote no. 1 is appropriate as it signals beginning of the story and investigation. Although far from murder, Quote 2 in picture 3 is chosen as it showed Christopher’s desire to get out after he discovered the truths. Quote 3 suggests that he finds solving problems in math easier to do than solving mysteries in life. Then Quote 4 finds Chris dreaming he is alone and finding life easier when those bothering him are gone. Quotes and scenes came from (Haddon,

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming - Essay Example Nitrous gas, ozone and water vapor. This is called the greenhouse effect where the short wavelength radiations are allowed to pass through the gases but the long wavelength radiations reflected by the earth’s surface are blocked from penetrating by these gases and are reflected back to the earth. This raises the over the surface temperature above the average and this has had major affects on different aspects in the world. Effects of global warming on: Plant life; global warming and climatic change have become the major cause of the change in the functioning and the distribution of plant life. This change has led to the problem of speciation and extinction of plants. The plants thrive under certain conditions which when altered my reverse or terminate the process while their physiological functioning like that of their life cycles is defined. The way the plants synthesize is affected in that there is increased water intake efficiency, increased growth of these plants and also increased capacity to photosynthesize the result of this is the thickening of the plant community structure and functioning. North Gerald R J Schmandt Jclarkson eds. (1995) ni their book, the impacts of global warming, highlighted that, depending on the environment, there are different responses which may result to competition among different species of plants. In addition to this, there may result to a change in the herbivore nutrition due to the variation in the Carbon Nitrogen ratio. The rise in the climate has increase the rate of pests and disease multiplication. The organisms have shifted their range forward to higher elevations. The butterflies, dragons, beetles and moths are now living at higher latitudes and altitudes where survival was previously not possible due to the cold that infested these regions. More so, they arrive earlier in the spring season and take longer than usual to depart. These insects have terrorized the plants found in the world as heir multiplication a nd survival has been favored. The changes in the climatic conditions for example the temperature shifting may cause the phenology of the plants to change like the flowering of the plants. J.T Houghton.L.G.MJ FilhoD.J GriggsK. Maskell. (1997) observed that the flowering annual plants have been seen to flower earlier than the perennials while the insect pollinated plants flowering before those which are pollinated by wind and this will have an ecological effect. The change in the climatic conditions has had a tendency of altering the species composition in certain regions. While other place species fail to thrive under these changed conditions, other s may find it favorable and start developing in these regions. The result is an inevitable relative abundance in the composition of species. On animals: The animals have suffered an adverse effect due to global warming. Most of these effects are like those of the plants but the animals may face a worse deal as the extinction of some plant s may also cause the animals to cease in existence. The major effects of this problem is that the climatic change may change the composition and distribution of the animal species, a variety of stresses including the destruction of food sources like for polar bears and the polar ice melting plus the destruction of the glaciers may result to the fish which is its food to lack, thus leading to the polar bear extinction. The other result of stress is that the animals may be forced to migrate to other regions. This may

Utilisation of Grasscutter for Household Protein Intake

Utilisation of Grasscutter for Household Protein Intake Abstract   Sustainability in Nigerian Agriculture with preference to grasscutter production was examined in this study. The study is considered necessary due to insufficient information on the subject, ineffective reforms embarked upon by government, individual and donor-sponsored animal production projects in the tropics at various levels and scale of production the stock that has little impact. Grasscutter is an herbivore and so can feed conveniently on some forages, crop residues (e.g. rice straw), agro-industrial by-product and kitchen leftovers. Some fodder species that can also be fed to the animals are Pennisetum purpureum (elephant grass) and Panicum maximum (guinea grass). It is concluded that grasscutter production which is suitable for backyard family production offers a great potential for increased food security, income generation, employment opportunities and above all, provision of high quality animal protein intake. INTRODUCTION Animal protein intake is dismally low in less-developed countries than in the developed countries. The Food and Agriculture and Organization (FAO) recommends a minimum of 70g of protein daily per caput, out of which at least 35g (50%) should come from animal protein, but the average Nigerian consumes 10g of protein with 3.2g of this amount from animal protein. Pathetically, Nigeria with population of about 140 million, the highest in Africa, has the highest number of under-five mortality. These deaths occur because of low protein intake. To bridge this gap therefore, all reasonable and practical options deserve thorough consideration. Micro-livestock such as rabbit, guinea pig, grasscutter, giant rat, iguana and pigeons have been suggested by Vietmeyer (1984) as rapid means of obtaining animal proteins. The grasscutter is the second biggest wild rodent after porcupine in Africa. About 40,000 tons grasscutter meat per year is consumed in West Africa of which only 0.2% is provided by d omesticated grasscutters. Its meat, said to resemble that of piglets is greatly appreciated and highly favoured in West and Central Africa (Adjanohoun, 1988). The grasscutter belongs to the mammalian order and family of Rodentia and Tyronomyidae, respectively and is genetically more closely related to the porcupine than to the rat. The expanded demand for grasscutter meat currently poses the greatest threat to its very genetic survival, although the species is currently classified as unthreatened according to the FAOs world watch list (FAO, 2000). The populations of wild grasscutters in West and Central African countries are declining due to over-hunting and destruction of their habitat. In order to ensure their sustainable existence and use, their domestication at this juncture is therefore innevitable,  given the fact that some success in domestication has been achieved in this region (Mensah, 1985). Physical Characteristics of grasscutter Grasscutters are strictly herbivores, and prefer mainly thick-stemmed grass species (Schrage and Yewadan, 1999). Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) also known as cane rat among some people is one of the best animals now domesticated in Nigeria as well as in other sub-Sahara part of Africa. With grasscutter farming, income generation from the initial establishment would continue to flourish because of its fast generation of income. The animal has many traditional names depending on the tribe. Among the Yorubas, it is known as Oya, while some people called it Obije, Nohi as well as Gafya. It is a heavy, compact and the largest African rodent after the porcupine (Hystrix Cristata). When fully grown, the body length varies between 42 and 58cm. its tail measure between 22cm and 25cm and standing height is between 23cm to 30cm. The average adult weighs about 3kg for female and 4.5kg for males making grasscutter to have an outstanding weight than average matured broiler with lesser capit al involvement. Breeds Although many varieties of grasscutter have been described, they belong to two different species: Smaller grasscutter (Thryonomys gregorianus), as described by Thomas (1894) which is smaller in size and may reach 8 kg and a body length of 50 cm and has a shorter tail. They are found in savannas in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Zaire, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and southward to Rhodesia while Larger  grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) Thomas, 1922 which is of greater size, weighs 9 kg or more and has a head-body length up to 60 cm, a rather long tail and spread from Senegal to South Africa (all countries of west, east, and southern Africa). Breeding and Reproduction Grasscutters are induced ovulators (Stier, et al. 1991; Adjanohoun, 1993; Addo, et al. 2001) and breed all year round (Asibey, 1974). Therefore no consideration was given to the time of mating. The female grasscutter is known as doe while the male is known as buck. Puberty in female is attained from 5 month and male from 7th month. The female should not be put to service until 6 month of age and live-weight of about 1.5kg while male can be used for first service from age of 8 months upwards at about 2kg. Some important factors that can affect the reproductive performance of grasscutter are nutrition, lighting regime, stress, and lack of water. The pregnancy or gestation period is 145-167 days with an average of about 150 days (5 months). The gestation period reduce with successive pregnancies. The grasscutter is capable of breeding two times a year. The litter size (number of young ones per birth) varies between 1-7 with an average litter of 4. The doe has no definite oestrus cycle. The incidence of post partum oestrus (i.e. occurrence of oestrus just after giving birth) suggests that the grasscutter can be mated immediately after parturition (giving birth). The recommended mating ratio is one male for every three to six females. MANAGEMENTAL PRACTICES Housing Before the purchase of grasscutter, a place to house them must have been provided. Under the  intensive system, grasscutter may be housed in a container, hutches or deep litter. However, house or building is required for grasscutter. Grasscutter buildings are built to protect the animals against rain, winds, theft, predators, and escape etc. Buildings (houses) should be located in clean and stress-free areas. The infrastructures consist of stable and pens equipped with cages and/ or floor hutches. Other stable and pen equipment indispensable to successful grasscutter husbandry in the intensive system of rearing include feed troughs/mangers, watering place and restraint cages Cane- rat housing should be located far from very noisy environment to avoid stress, should be far from bad odour to prevent illness, and should be close to the residence of the breeder to ensure security, close monitoring and supervision. There are two main types of cages Colony Cages: used for rearing grasscutter in groups and individual cage: used for rearing uncastrated adult male grasscutter and also a quarantine area for sick or injured grasscutters. Colony cages dimension: L * W * H : 2m * 1m * 0.4m. Entrance : L * W : 30cm * 25 cm. Two entrances on each side is recommended. Individual cages : Dimension :- L * W * H : 0.5m * 0.45m * 0.30m. Entrance :- L * W 18 *18 Feeding management Grasscutter are herbivorous animals whose source of food is basically 70 to 80 per cent from the forest. Their major food is Elephant or Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum). They also love to eat certain gramineous plant with thick succulent stalks such as Sugar cane (Saccharum spp), Guinea grass (Panicum maximum), Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus), Congo grass  (Brachiaria ruziziensis) as well as dried leaf of Leucaena leucocephala i.e. hybrid tamarind. The animal also like Gliricidia sepium, herbaceous legumes like Stylo (Stylosanthes gracilis) and Pueraria phaseoloides. The root and pitch of oil and coconut palms, bark of the anacardium and fruits such as half ripen pawpaw, plantain, pineapple, mango etc are their delight. Food crops such as groundnut, rice, maize, grain legume, tubers like cassava, sweet potato etc also make part of their food. They can also be fed with formulated concentrates like pellet as well as other processed by-products like wheat bran, corn bran, groundnut, soya, oilseed, cotton seed cakes, brewer yeast, grain legume pods, brewers grains, maize and cobs, brewers yeast etc as feed supplements.Fresh formulated feed should be placed in the feeder every day. Irrespective of the kind of forage, grasscutters eat stalks before any other part, the next is the bark of twigs and finally some leaves. This eating habit causes wearing of the animals teeth which unfortunately leads to high forage wastage. The grasscutter does practise coprophagy, when it is hot, water intake is reduced, and when the outdoor temperature is low, the animal drinks much more. (Baptist and Mensah, 1986; Holzer 1986; Holzer et al. 1986; Adjanohoun 1988; Mensah et al. 1986; Mensah 2000). The reason for this rather unexpected behaviour is however not yet fully understood and should be a subjected for further research. Water Consumption: This is determined by an environmental factor (the quantity of water in the atmosphere) low temperature and less forage leads to high rate of water been consumed, and vice versa. HEALTH AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT Preventive measures In order to prevent grasscutter from diseases, the following principles must be adhered to strictly: Only healthy stock should be acquired. Grasscutter should not be raised together with other types of animals in the same building. Rats and wild birds are agents of diseases and should be kept out of the animal house. Adequate control of temperature, humidity and ventilation in the animal house should be maintained. Keep the house (within and outside) clean. Feeding and water troughs should be washed regularly. Restrict movement of visitors in and out of the house. Isolate any sick animal from the group. Any dead animal should be removed immediately. Feed nutritionally balanced diet. Observation and proper records can also be of help. Significant Diseases of Grasscutter Enterotoxaemia: This is caused by bacterium Clostridium perfrigens. The organism produces toxins which are absorbed into the circulatory system of grasscutter causing mortality. Vaccine against this condition is available. Antibiotics can be used for treatment. Coccidiosis: This is caused by organism of the Eimeria family. Symptom of the disease include  diarrhea and prostration. Drugs for treatment are available. Staphylococcaemia: This is caused by a bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus. Most of the signs of this disease are seen at post mortem but discharges from the nostrils and vagina could be seen. Antibiotics are also employed in its treatment. Pneumonia: This is caused by a bacterium, Diplococcus pneumonia and it is prevalent during the cold weather. Aspiration pneumonia could also occur through the inhalation of feed dust. Worm infestation and Ectoparasites like ticks can also affect grasscutter Influence of Grasscutter Production on Sustainable Agricultural Production in Nigeria Grasscutter can serve as a source of food or protein, as the meat of grasscutter can be compared favourably with those of domesticated livestock species. According to Olomu et al. (2003) grasscutter had the highest protein content and lowest fat of 22.7% and 4.2% respectively when compared with rabbit 21.0% and 6.5%; chicken 19.2% and 6.1% and pig with 15.1% CP and 31.0% fat . The meat is also preferred for its tenderness and taste. It can also serve as source of income and employment, as one can depend on grasscutter for his livelihood. In fact, grasscutter can provide job opportunities for both urban and rural dwellers who can be engaged in various aspects of grasscutter production like rearing, processing, transporting, cold storing, hutches building and marketing of grasscutter products. Pancreas of grasscutter is believed to have high concentration of insulin which is a good material in the pharmaceutical company for the local preparations in the treatment of diabetes. Recommendations Government, Non-Governmental agencies and religious bodies can help to organize training in grasscutter production in order to eradicate idleness and hopelessness in the country. Financial crises and crime rates can be reduced in the country when larger citizen especially the unemployed are self employed through grasscutter production. The government should establish a national grasscutter Program with the broad aim of boosting grasscutter production in Nigeria. Grasscutter keepers should also organize themselves into cooperatives where they can have access to some loans and subsidies. Marketing of grasscutter and their products need to be promoted to sustain the economic initiative of the producers. Unemployed youths can be motivated by government, Non-Governmental agencies and religious bodies by training them and making funds available to them. Conclusion Grasscutter production can provide impoverished urban population and the poor rural dwellers the opportunities to meet part of their total protein intake and earn additional income. The grasscutter can be a potential money-spinner if properly managed. In order to achieve this, government, Non-governmental agencies, academics, individuals and planners will have to prepare a well-coordinated action plan to promote grasscutter production.

John Lockes Second Treatise on Civil Government Essays -- Second Treat

Locke's Second Treatise of Government, by far, is his most influential and important piece of writing. In it he set forth his theory of natural law and natural right. He shows that there does exist a rational purpose to government, and one need not rely on "mysticism and mystery." Against anarchy, Locke saw his job as one who must defend government as an institution. Locke's object was to insist not only that the public welfare was the test of good government and the basis for properly imposing obligations on the citizens of a country, but also that the public welfare made government necessary. Locke believed that the mind is blank upon birth. As a person grows and develops, so does their mind. He urged individuals to formulate theories and to test them through experiments. The fundamental claim is that human knowledge begins with sense experience and primarily is derived from it. Locke begins his philosophical examination of knowledge by trying to disprove the claim that some of our knowledge is original, in the sense that it comes from ideas which are innate or inborn. Locke's attempted refutation depends on a questionable assumption: if an individual has an idea, then that individual would understand it and assent to its content. Also, Locke believed in religious freedom and the separation of church and state. He thought that God established divine law. This could be discovered by reasoning, and to disobey it was morally wrong. He also held the opinion that no one should dictate the form of another's religion. But Locke points out that there is widespread disagreement over the concept of God. Furthermore, it does not seem to be present at all in small children. We form ideas as the endpoint of the action of physical bodies on our own bodies. Locke points out that sometimes he uses 'idea' to refer to the end product, what exists in the mind, and sometimes he uses it to refer to the quality in the body which causes the idea. The ideas of sense are the first ideas we have. Once the mind begins to be populated with them, it can operate upon them. Locke classified ideas as simple and complex. All complex ideas are said to be made up, ultimately of simple ideas, and their complexity is the work of the mind. A simple idea is "one uncompounded appearance," said Locke. But it should be noted that the relation of simple to complex ideas is not... ...st of the members of the society. The government is given its power to act by the property owning portion of the population, not by the society as a whole. Another point that makes Locke's theory different is that society has the power to overthrow the government. Since a majority created it, they have the power to remove it. Locke stated that society could overthrow the government without returning to the state of nature because the social contract would still be in effect. All that was needed would be for the society to elect another government, by majority rule, to replace the old one. This introduces the idea that government should be accountable to the people. Locke was in favor of a limited government. The importance and autonomy of the individual in society was of very importance to Locke. The extent to which this was true is that people existed as individuals before societies and governments came into being. They each possessed certain rights, and all had the freedom to do as they pleased, unrestrained and with some restrictions placed upon them by God, according to Locke. This freedom of the individual was important, for it was the foundation for modern liberal democracy.