Applied Operations
This work intends to examine what business has learned from the disasters that occurred on September 11, 2001, and during Hurricane Katrina and how these events changed the way that business managers should plan for business continuity.

Hurricane Katina -- Lessons Learned

Hurricane Katrina is stated to have been the first Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and was of such force that left approximately five million individuals without power and more than 1,200 dead with damage estimated in excess of $200 billion. More than a million people were reported to be displaced as Hurricane Katrina "created a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the history of the U.S." (Striedl, Crosson, and Farr, 2006) Striedl, Crosson, and Farr (2006) report that lessons learned include the following:

(1) Lesson #1 -- Improve and enhance disaster preparation and crisis response plans through worst-case scenario testing and exercising…...

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References

Osborn, John E. (2006) What If A Hurricane Or Other Catastrophic Event Hits New York: Insurance Preparation And Recovery. 1 Dec 2006. The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. Retrieved from:  http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=December&artYear=2006&EntryNo=5970 

BENS Business Force: Business Executives for National Security (2006) Washington DC. Retrieved from: http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/pandemic/handout_bens.pdf

Surviving the big one: 7 lessons learned from the decade's deadliest disasters (2008) ComputerWorld. 31 Mar 2008. Retrieved from:  http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/314381/Surviving_the_Big_One_7_Lessons_Learned_From_the_Decade_s_Deadliest_Disasters 

Streidl, Paul, Crosson, Jim, and Farr, Leah (2006) Association of Contingency Planners: Observations of Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned January 31, 2006. Retrieved from:  http://www.disastersrus.org/katrina/ACP_Hurricane_Katrina_Observations.pdf

Applied Operations
Planning and Control in the Operation Management of McDonald's

"To provide unmatched consistency in operations in support of high product quality. This must be accomplished with adequate speed, low cost, and process innovation to accommodate changes in consumer tastes."

~Operations Strategy of McDonald's

Operations management is a critical aspect of business that helps govern and determine the success and general efficacy of the business itself. Operations management encompasses numerous aspects of business functions and can be divided into several elements such as marketing/sales, corporate strategy, organisational design, and operations & process management. For the purposes of this paper, the organisation of focus will be the international chain of fast food restaurants, famously known as McDonald's. This is a fast food chain that originates from the United States of America. To date, there are over 33,000 McDonald's restaurants in 118 countries on Earth. The author of this paper has been an employee of…...

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References:

Earley. S., Kellond, M., Kraich, H., Phillips, E., Sadeq, R., & Van, T. (2004) McDonald's Restaurant: Survey of Operations Management. Web. Available from 2012 January 25.

Jain, S. (2010) Operations Management: McDonald's Case Study. Web. Available from 2012 January 29.

Slack, N., Chambers, S., & Johnston, R. (2010) Operations Management. Essex, England, Pearson Education Limited.

The tragedies of the families involved made the subject of several films. However, one of the most interesting on this theme is Cautiva, a 2004 foreign film which depicts the drama of a young girl whose destiny is affected by the actions of the Condor Operation. However, in fact, the story represents a symbolic image of the way in which Argentine manages to cope with its communist and totalitarian past. The story revolves around a fifteen-year-old teenager who discovers that the persons she has been living with her entire life are her adoptive family. More importantly however is the fact that the government is the element which allows her to discover that, by matching her blood tests with that of her real parents. In real life Argentina, such stories are becoming more and more often due in part to the official desire of the government to restore negative effects of…...

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Works Cited

Gotkine, Elliott. "Vital rights ruling in Argentina." BBC. 2004. 30 April 2008  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3596316.stm 

McSherry, J. Patrice. "Tracking the Origins of a State Terror Network: Operation Condor" Latin American Perspectives, 2002, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 38-60.

Mcsherry, Patrice. "Operation Condor: Clandestine Inter-American System." Social Justice, Vol. 26, 1999.

Operations Management
A microbrewery in Colorado is growing rapidly. There is a long lead time for the purchase of new equipment, so management must make a demand forecast for the next couple of years in order to ensure that it has the capacity it needs to continue expansion. There are constraints, however, in particular with respect to access to key inputs. This casts uncertainty on the demand forecasts, such that simple extrapolation of current growth rates is going to be insufficient. A decision tree is used to help with the demand forecasting, taking into account different scenarios with respect to the growth patterns and the growth constraints.

This paper is based on a real world situation. The situation at hand is that of a small microbrewery, operating in Colorado. The microbrewery is five years old and has expanded annually since its inception. The brewery produces five beers regularly, and these are available…...

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References:

Morgan, J. (2013) Alaskan Brewing discontinues pale ale due to hop shortage. Craft Brewing Busines. Retrieved July 24, 2013 from  http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/ingredients-supplies/alaskan-brewing-discontinues-pale-ale-due-to-hop-shortage/ 

Welch, D. (2007). Hops shortage likely to boost price of beer. NPR. Retrieved July 24, 2013 from  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16245024 

Brewers Association. (2013). Craft brewing facts. Brewers Association. Retrieved July 24, 2013 from  http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/facts

eferences:

Brinlee, D., MP inventory management, Inventory Management, http://www.askdeb.com/inventory-management/mrp / last accessed on February 7, 2012

Heathfield, S.M., How to change your culture: organizational culture change, About.com, http://humanresources.about.com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture_change.htm last accessed on February 7, 2012

Johnson, .W., Phased retirement and workplace flexibility for older adults: opportunities and challenges, Focus on Workplace Flexibility, http://workplaceflexibility.org/images/uploads/program_papers/johnson_-_phased_retirement_and_workplace_flexibility.pdf last accessed on February 7, 2012

eh, F.J., Managing change: managing people's fear, About.com, http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MngChng092302.htm last accessed on February 7, 2012

2010, EP software history -- disadvantages of MP and emergence of EP, EP Software, http://www.erpsoftware411.com/erp-software-history-disadvantages-of-mrp-and-emergence-of-erp / last accessed on February 7, 2012

2011, Material requirement planning, SM Thacker and Associates, http://www.smthacker.co.uk/MP1.HTM last accessed on February 7, 2012

2012, MP -- a planning system? Advanced Planning, http://www.advanced-planning.eu/advancedplanninge-342.htm last accessed on February 7, 2012

Customer focused low cost leadership strategy, Alagse, http://www.alagse.com/strategy/s10.php last accessed on February 7, 2012

Materials requirements planning (MP), Institute for Manufacturing, http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/process/mrp.html last accessed on February 7, 2012...

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References:

Brinlee, D., MRP inventory management, Inventory Management,   / last accessed on February 7, 2012http://www.askdeb.com/inventory-management/mrp 

Heathfield, S.M., How to change your culture: organizational culture change, About.com,   last accessed on February 7, 2012http://humanresources.about.com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture_change.htm 

Johnson, R.W., Phased retirement and workplace flexibility for older adults: opportunities and challenges, Focus on Workplace Flexibility,   last accessed on February 7, 2012http://workplaceflexibility.org/images/uploads/program_papers/johnson_-_phased_retirement_and_workplace_flexibility.pdf 

Reh, F.J., Managing change: managing people's fear, About.com,   last accessed on February 7, 2012http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MngChng092302.htm 

It is natural that suppliers forecast their own demand, and where long-term relationships have developed, there is a greater potential for the supplier to make the loan for cost. Furthermore, where Riordan is a major customer for that supplier, there may be a greater willingness to fulfill the order, and put that customer before smaller competing firms in terms of priority. If Riordan are ordering from a firm they do not regularly use, there will not be the same level of forecasting, and a supplier may need to obtain relevant inputs before making a delivery.
The situation of the supply themselves will also be relevant. Smaller organizations are likely to have more cash constraints, and have a lower level of inventory on hand, as inventories tie up capital. This problem may be particularly pertinent where organizations lack financial stability. If the organization is small, the influence of production constraints may…...

The second area of waste is seen when the customer is asked if they want help for a new product or an existing product, where there is an exiting product query the costumer is taken to a different member of staff. This occurs despite the fact most of the staff have a very good knowledge f the existing products, undertaken as part of their training. This also increases the complexity and staffing requirements of the scheduling to ensure both sections of the store are staffed. It may create a disjointed feeling for the customers who have a query on an existing product; it also increases the costs due to the staff arrangements and lack of inter-changeability when the staff are working.

The last area of inefficiency is seen when a sale is made. If the customer wants a printed receipt it is sent wireless from the hand held sales unit to…...

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Slide 4

In the improved process each of the inefficiencies are improved. The smallest change is with the first weakness, where customers are left alone. A simple change here will be with the sales staff simply informing the customer that if they need help just to let them know; a simple, but small change.

The second change is the biggest change. In the new process once a customer is asked of they would like some help and they tell the sales person what help they need, they are then able to help the customer regardless of whether it is for a sale or for support on an existing product. In the majority of cases the sales people can help, this will reduce the need to differentiate the staff on each shift between sales and support, as they have had the same training. The empowerment of the staff in this way may also increase motivation, as they are able to do more (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). It may also reduce the wasted labor needed to staff

The areas where there is a divergence from the desired outcomes can then be examined to identify why there is a divergence and assess how that divergence may be decreased (Breygogle et al., 2001).
Different approaches to implementation of 6 Sigma exist, DMIAC is one of these, with the different stages being define, measure, analyze, design and verify.

Slide 4

The definition of the issue for Riordan is how to improve the supply chain. It is a key aspect of the firms' ability to manufacture fans, if there are delays in the supply of goods there will be delis in manufacturing. As the firm has a level supply strategy for the majorly of the products, and goods are supplied out of stock when they are ordered, a delay due to supply chain issues may create delays in supplying customers,. Furthermore, to overcome this, the firm may need to invest more in inventory…...

This course has enabled me to understand the actual description and meaning of public policy and its significant concepts. Generally, public policy is an action taken by the government through its executive branches in response to a specific public issue. Government agencies and organizations develop and implement public policy with the intention of protecting the society and providing benefits to the populations. Notably, such actions are taken based on the provisions in the Constitution and institutional traditions.
The most significant concepts learned in this course are the instrumentation, tools, and modes of operation of public policy. The significance of public policy instrumentation has been emphasized throughout the course because it shows the theoretical relationship between governing and the population. Secondly, knowledge regarding the tools and modes of operation of public policy has provided information on how every instrument comprise of strong knowledge regarding social control and various ways of implementing…...

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References:

Kimery, A. (2012, July 12). 'Fast and Furious' Ignored Pleas to Track Guns with Technology,

Some Insiders Say. Retrieved August 7, 2013, from  http://www.hstoday.us/blogs/the-kimery-report/blog/fast-and-furious-ignored-pleas-to-track-guns-with-technology-some-insiders-say/f115959a222459b18b7a28cc5af44040.html 

Lascoumes, P. & Le Gales, P. (2007, January). Introduction: Understanding Public Policy

through Its Instruments -- From the Nature of Instruments to the Sociology of Public Policy Instrumentation. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, 20(1), 1-21. Retrieved from  http://graduateinstitute.ch/files/live/sites/iheid/files/sites/developpement/shared/developpement/cours/Atelier_Politiques_Publiques/PP%20legales-Lascoumes.pdf

Project Management
The author of this short response report is asked to answer two primary questions as they relate to project management. The first question asks the author how project management influences other departments such as marketing, finance, accounting, human resources and others. The second question asks what difficulties and/or limitations exist as they pertain to PERT and CRM in an organization. The author of this response shall endeavor to address and answer both questions.

Questions Answered

As for how project management affects, influences and guides departments like human resources and accounting, the answer to this question is quite clear for anyone well-versed on what project management is and what it can do for an organization when done correctly. It can also be a train wreck waiting to happen for a company that does it poorly. In short, projects are any short-lived changeover process or shift in how a process is done and/or…...

Human Development and Education Theory
Behavioral psychologists and developmental theorists have traditionally categorized various periods of childhood and adolescence that correspond to VEY specific stages of cognitive and emotional development. While various experts differ widely in their characterization and analyses of the human developmental stages, modern educators recognize the importance of certain elements of behavioral and emotional development as equally important to early education as age-related cognitive stages of purely intellectual growth.

Traditional primary and secondary education programs are based on teaching methods and concepts designed in the nineteenth century and earlier. While the academic curricula expanded considerably during the course of the last hundred years' of American education, many of the methods still relied upon by modern educators mirror the principles designed primarily just to teach elementary reading and writing skills, which was the main (if not the sole) focus of the early education even well into the twentieth century.…...

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References

Smith, M.K. (2002) Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences.

The Encyclopedia of Informal Education, Accessed July 6, 2004 at   updated: 2/14/04)http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm .(Last

Gerrig, R., Zimbardo, P. (2001) Psychology and Life 16th ed.

Allyn & Bacon, New Jersey

, 2008, p. 83). In addition, softwae enginees have also ceated a new flight scheduling model fo Delta Ailines and U.S. Aiways and othe eseaches ae examining ways to use existing aispace moe efficiently though othe softwae solutions (Hasan & Hammad, 2010).
Conclusion

Flight scheduled was shown to be faught with oppotunities fo delays, including aivals and depatues, en oute congestion, en oute sevee weathe, and aipot weathe, and unexpected eventualities in any of these aeas can ceate significant delays and flight cancellations. The eseach was absolutely consistent in showing that such flight delays ae costly to both passenges and ai caies alike, but the eseach also showed that even the most sophisticated softwae solutions cannot ovecome aipot congestion caused by ai caies scheduling thei flights without egad fo the impact of these decisions on thei domestic and intenational competition. In the final analysis, all types of tavel have thei inheent potentials…...

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references: An axiomatic approach. Southern Economic Journal, 77(3), 543-545.

Cohen, J.P., Coughlin, C.C. & Ott, L.S. (2009). Auctions as a vehicle to reduce airport delays and achieve value capture. Review - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 91(6), 569-570.

Guzhva, V.S. (2008). Applying intervention analysis to financial performance data: the case of U.S. airlines and September 11th. Journal of Economics and Finance, 32(3), 243-244.

Hasan, M.K. & Hammad, a.A. (2010). Intercity bus scheduling for the Saudi Public Transport

Company to maximize profit and yield additional revenue. Journal of Service Science

S. Supreme Court's decisions in Escobedo v. Illinois (Escobedo v. Illinois, 1964) and Miranda v. Arizona (Miranda v. Arizona, 1966). These two cases dramatically altered how police treated criminal defendants subsequent to their arrests and forced police agencies throughout the United States to develop new procedures. The reading of what have become to be popularly known as Miranda rights has become a routine part of every arrest. Like it has in many areas of criminal procedure, the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the application of Miranda and gradually chipped away at the rights originally granted by the Court that decided the case. Two of the more significant cases were decided in 1984 when the Court allowed an exception to Miranda in the case of New York v. Quarles (New York v. Quarles, 1984) so that police can use Miranda statements in situations involving public safety. Additionally, in a companion case…...

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References

Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (U.S. Supreme Court 1964).

Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S.643 (U.S. Supreme Court 1961).

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S.436 (U.S. Supreme Court 1966).

New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649 (U.S. Supreme Court 1984).

Role of Operations Manager in Business
The Operation Management's Role in Business Today

The role of an operations manager is an important one in any business no matter how big or small the business is. According to the Houston Chronicle, the operations manager needs a "wide range" of interpersonal and professional skills in order to do the job (Farnen, 2010). The operations manager handles the management of raw materials and personnel, and -- in many cases -- the operations manager conducts the interviewing and hiring of employees and oversees the actual assigning of employees to specific tasks (Farnen, p. 1).

Operations managers also play an important part in the budgeting process, and it other aspects of a company's finances, Farnen continues. Also, operations managers are part of the goal-setting process in a business, and operations managers cooperate with other department managers to coordinate sales promotions and they typically help resolve disputes or…...

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Works Cited

Bouraad, F. (2008). IT Project Portfolio Governance: The Emerging Operation Manager. Project Management Journal, 41(5), 74-86.

Farnen, K. (2010). The Role of an Operations Manager. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August

13, 2013, from  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-operations-manager-14234.html .

Riordan Manufacturing. (2008). Manufacturing Inventory Management. Retrieved August 14,

IT Operations
Agree or disagree: Standard financial investment information and criteria are all that is needed to effectively evaluate IT outsourcing decisions.

Over the last several decades, outsourcing has become an effective tool for many companies to reduce their costs and increase their profit margins. As time went by the reduction in trade barriers and availability of highly skilled workers (in select locations) made these practices more acceptable. This has resulted in an increasing number of jobs being outsourced to different countries (i.e. China and India). (Buck, 2011)

Evidence of this can be seen with data provided by Statistics Brain. They found that in 2011 there were a total of 2.27 million American jobs outsourced to these locations. There are a number of different reasons as to why this is occurring. The below table is highlighting the most common factors influencing the decision to outsource various services. ("Job Outsourcing Statistics," 2012)

Factors as to…...

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References

Job Outsourcing Statistics. (2012). Statistics Brain. Retrieved from:  http://www.statisticbrain.com/outsourcing-statistics-by-country/ 

Bucki, J. (2011). Introduction to Outsourcing. About.com. Retrieved from  http://operationstech.about.com/od/costsavingstrategies/a/OutSrcDefine.htm 

Bucki, J. (2011). Top 6 Outsourcing Disadvantages. About.com. Retrieved from  http://operationstech.about.com/od/outsourcing/tp/OutSrcDisadv.htm 

More, R. (2009). How GM Lost Its Focus. Ivy Business Journal. Retrieved from:  http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/strategy/how-general-motors-lost-its-focus-%E2%80%93-and-its-way#.UHCX7VE2iZQ