Impacts of Business Environment Change Essay Example for Free

Impacts of Business Environment Change Essay IP/MIP techniques have been used most often to aid supply chain configuration decisions and there have been many successful applications [9]. Two recent articles [9; 11] made comprehensive reviews about facility location models relevant to global manufacturing operations. This review section focuses on optimization models which are closely related with impacts of business environment cost parameters on the design of manufacturing networks. Cohen and Lee [12] developed a MIP model for a global manufacturing and distribution network. It demonstrated significant impacts of changes in the foreign exchange rate. Cohen and Moon [13] used a MIP model to analyze impacts of changes in a firm’s cost environment. It was found that scale economies, scope economies, and transportation costs could alter optimal facility network design strategies. Vidal and Goetschalckx [14] analyzed impacts of uncertainties on global supply chains through a MIP model. Foreign exchange rate was identified to be influential on global supply chain configurations. Using a two-stage optimization model, Kulkarni et al. [15] evaluated trade-offs between risk pooling and logistics costs in a multi-plant network with commonality. Their analyses showed that impacts of operational cost parameters may be significant and non-intuitive. All these models suggested that cost parameters have significant impacts on manufacturing facility location decisions, and may even alter supply chain configuration strategies. However, they only considered a single objective of profits or costs. The consideration of both costs and responsiveness was seen in the reconfiguration of global manufacturing and distribution network at Digital Equipment Corporation. It used a bi-objective model to minimize total costs and activity days. The model was implemented successfully with savings over $100 million [10]. However, the application did not explore impacts of changes in cost parameters. Overall, there is a lack of using a bi-objective approach to analyze impacts of business environment changes on the configuration of GMNs.

Gender and Coming of Age in Shakespeare’s As You Like It Essay

Gender and Coming of Age in Shakespeare’s As You Like It Shakespeare introduces the protagonists of his comedy, As You Like It, as youths mourning the absence of their fathers: Orlando remarks on the consequences of his father’s death and Rosalind first appears despairing over her father’s exile. He closes the play with the marriage of these youths. The absence of their respective fathers centrally figures into their courtship and preparation for marriage. Even more noticeable is the absence of all mothers—not a single mother or older wife appears in the play. The young women, Rosalind and Celia, enter adulthood, seemingly without any female role models. Such responses impact the development of the young protagonists, causing the two friends, Rosalind and Celia, to be remarkably independent of gender conventions and the constraints of older generations. The absence of elder influences allows Rosalind and Celia to shape their adult lives, particularly as they forge their own unique approaches towards marriage and realiz ations of the institution. In the absence of natural fathers, different characters volunteer as surrogate fathers for Orlando, but not for Rosalind. Without soliciting it, Orlando receives help and guidance from Duke Senior and Adam. For example, the ravenous Orlando interrupts Duke Senior’s banquet and orders them to stop eating, demanding food for Adam and himself. Duke Senior asks him why he so rudely demands food and then advises Orlando that â€Å"gentleness shall force / More than your force move us to gentleness† (2.7.101-102).* Warmly inviting the embarrassed Orlando to his table, the Duke offers him his friendship as he takes Orlando aside to speak privately. Orlando receives such unsolicited help from ... ...ns emotional maturity. Orlando finally achieves social adulthood and Rosalind achieves personal maturity. While the Shakespearean era certainly structured gender roles quite differently from our own, many women today find themselves, like Rosalind and Celia, in a forest of men without female role models. Though decrying the lack of female role models has become trendy, it is important to remember that the leadership of the older generation comes with its own constraints. As each generation forges its own identity, perhaps it is the very absence of such role models and the freedom to wear a man’s hat or a beggar’s cloak that allow the most independent expressions of adulthood to emerge. Work Cited *Shakespeare, As You Like It, in The Complete Works of Shakespeare, ed. David Bevington, 4th ed. (New York: Longman, Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1997).

Facts about Jose Rizal Essay

Jose P. Rizal, a man of exceptional talent and intelligence, is the National Hero of the Philippines. That’s a fact (and might be the only fact) that every Filipino knows about Jose Rizal. One might ask, â€Å"How about his name?† Well, that might be uneasy because his full name is Josà © Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. Let’s be honest that if we will be asked by some people about some things related to Rizal without the help of any references, we can only say less. If that’s make you curious, then here are several interesting facts about Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Most Filipinos don’t know about these trivia about Jose Rizal – verify it yourself if you’re a Filipino. At age two, Jose Rizal could already write and read. He wrote his first poem at the age of 8 entitled ‘Sa Aking Mga Kababata’ (To My Fellow Youth). Just like other Filipinos who are eagerly trying their luck to win the lottery, Rizal also joined such type of gambling where he won one-third of the grand prize (Php 18,000.00) with ticket number 9736. He gave a portion to his father, a friend in Hong Kong and he spent the rest buying agricultural lands in Talisay. He mastered 22 languages: Hebrew, Filipino, Ilokano, Bisayan, Subanon, Chinese, Latin, Spanish, Greek, English, French, German, Arabic, Malay, Sanskrit, Dutch, Japanese, Catalan, Italian, Portugese, Swedish and Russian. Rizal was too small for his age and made him a target of Pedro’s bullying, insulting Pepe in front of the other students at the school of Maestro Justiniano Cruz. Equipped with his Uncle Miguel’s teachings about the art of wrestling, Rizal challenged Pedro to a fistfight. Rizal won and became popular as he proved himself a worthy opponent. Rizal could show too much sarcasm because of his love for his country. Why  and how? Back in Dapitan when he received three visitors in his house in Talisay, he offered the woman named Donya Manuela with Bagoong. The lady ignored the bagoong saying that they do not eat bagoong in their country because it contains worms. With that, Rizal responded saying that he had been in her country and people there eat little birds without taking out intestines. During his exile in Dapitan, he was able to establish a school where he had 21 pupils who were never asked to pay for tuition but was required by Rizal to work for the community. During the class discussion, when his students couldn’t answer his questions correctly, he would jokingly pinch his students. Rizal is one of the few recognized ‘Renaissance man’ in the world. A Renaissance man is a well-educated person and one who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields. He was an anthropologist, ethnologist, economist, sociologist, educator, architect, engineer, sculptor, painter, playwright, novelist, historian, journalist, farmer, dramatist, ophthalmologist, martial artist, and a cartographer, among other things. Three animal species were named after Rizal; Draco Rizali, a species of flying dragon, Rachophorous Rizali, a species of toad and Apogonia Rizali, a beetle species. Jose Rizal graduated in Ateneo Municipal de Manila as one of the nine students in his class declared as ‘sobresaliente’ or ‘outstanding’. However, he didn’t really top his class when he was in high school. They were 10 in class and only 2 of them got low grades. So basically, the rest earned the same grade Rizal did. Considering that he lived during the latter part of the 19th century where the only means of long distance travel is by ship, he can be considered a very well traveled man. He traveled extensively and had been to the United States, Spain, Great Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy, Singapore, Borneo, Hong Kong, China and  Japan. Not even a millionaire today could afford the numerous and extensive travels of Jose Rizal during his time. Rizal’s most famous quotation: ‘Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda’. (He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish). Monuments in honor of Jose Rizal were not only erected in the Philippines but also in various parts of the world like Madrid, Spain; Wilhelmsfeld, Germany; Jinjiang, Fujian, China; Chicago, Cherry Hill Township, San Diego, Seattle, U.S.A.; Mexico City, Mexico; Lima, Peru; Litomerice, Czech Republic; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Did you know that Rizal was addressed by his European lover as the ‘little bad boy’? Filipinos are truly honest with themselves saying Rizal was not that handsome – and given the fact he was a man of medium height and small built. However, Jose Rizal had his way with women – it might be his humor, knowledge or the way he present himself. On the series of letters that were discovered to be love messages for Rizal, a Belgian woman named Suzanne wrote: ‘There will never be any home in which you are so loved as that in Brussels. So, you little bad boy, hurry back.’ (Partly related with Fact #13) There are rumors that Rizal was a playboy having a lot of girls mentioned in his autobiography and until now many believe that he really had a lot of girlfriends but the truth is that he only had few real relationships. The other girls were all just flings. and some were just plain friends. His poem Mi Retiro (My Retreat) was written when he was sick and could not work. A religious sect named the Rizalista – members of Cruzado, claims that Jose Rizal is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. They believe that the execution in Bagumbayan was just a phase that he had to endure to be in the presence of God. They also believe that Rizal is still alive and lives deep in the  forest of Mount Makiling. There are rumors that Rizal’s book entitled El FIlibusterismo was inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo considering that it was actually one of Rizal’s favorite stories. Quite unusual for a man about to be executed, but his pulse proved to be normal when the Spanish surgeon general requested to take his pulse moments before Rizal’s execution. Rizal was indeed ready and unafraid of his fate. Because of his famed reputation as a Casanova, it was believed that he was involved with a beautiful woman living somewhere in the border of Germany and Austria making people spread statements that Adolf Hitler of Germany and Mao Zedong of China were sons of Jose Rizal. The dam he built in Dapitan was built using burned shells and bricks that were made from the machine he built. In his letter to his best friend, he said that the dam was built by him and fourteen young boys (his students). Filipinos believe that the reason why Rizal was really intelligent is because he was born with a big head. Ambeth R. Ocampo, a multi-awarded Filipino historian, got a hold of Rizal’s original writings which revealed Rizal’s markings and side notes of male organ of different sizes that were drawn all over the book. Rizal was never really a licensed doctor. He never graduated medicine. Technically, he couldn’t really be called Doctor. Rizal was never really a dentist. He just did some self-studying and ‘pretended’ to be one. When Rizal came back, Olimpia, his most beautiful, pregnant sister, was his first patient. He assisted her delivery. Olimpia died as well as her child due to profused bleeding. And Rizal noted in his diary: ‘She would’ve died anyway†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Well, that might be a pain reliever joke of him.)

Prehistoric Life During the Miocene Epoch

The Miocene epoch marks the stretch of geologic time when prehistoric life (with some notable exceptions in South America and Australia) substantially resembled the flora and fauna of recent history, due in part to the long-term cooling of the earths climate. The Miocene was the first epoch of the Neogene period (23-2.5 million years ago), followed by the much shorter Pliocene epoch (5-2.6 million years ago); both the Neogene and Miocene are themselves subdivisions of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present). Climate and Geography As during the preceding Eocene and Oligocene epochs, the Miocene epoch witnessed a continuing cooling trend in the earths climate, as global weather and temperature conditions approached their modern patterns. All of the continents had long since separated, though the Mediterranean Sea remained dry for millions of years (effectively joining Africa and Eurasia) and South America was still completely cut off from North America. The most significant geographic event of the Miocene epoch was the slow collision of the Indian subcontinent with the underside of Eurasia, causing the gradual formation of the Himalayan mountain range. Terrestrial Life During the Miocene Epoch Mammals. There were a few notable trends in mammalian evolution during the Miocene epoch. The prehistoric horses of North America took advantage of the spread of open grasslands and began to evolve toward their modern form; transitional genera included Hypohippus, Merychippus and Hipparion (oddly enough, Miohippus, the Miocene horse, actually lived during the Oligocene epoch!) At the same time, various animal groups — including prehistoric dogs, camels, and deer — became well-established, to the point that a time traveler to the Miocene epoch, encountering a proto-canine like Tomarctus, would immediately recognize what type of mammal she was dealing with. Perhaps most significantly, from the perspective of modern humans, the Miocene epoch was the golden age of apes and hominids. These prehistoric primates mostly lived in Africa and Eurasia, and included such important transitional genera as Gigantopithecus, Dryopithecus, and Sivapithecus. Unfortunately, apes and hominids (which walked with a more upright posture) were so thick on the ground during the Miocene epoch that paleontologists have yet to sort out their exact evolutionary relationships, both to each other and to modern Homo sapiens. Birds. Some truly enormous flying birds lived during the Miocene epoch, including the South American Argentavis (which had a wingspan of 25 feet and may have weighed as much as 200 pounds); the slightly smaller (only 75 pounds!) Pelagornis, which had a worldwide distribution; and the 50-pound, sea-going Osteodontornis of North America and Eurasia. All of the other modern bird families had pretty much been established by this time, although various genera were a bit larger than you might expect (penguins being the most notable examples). Reptiles. Although snakes, turtles, and lizards continued to diversify, the Miocene epoch was most notable for its gigantic crocodiles, which were nearly as impressive as the plus-sized genera of the Cretaceous period. Among the most important examples were Purussaurus, a South American caiman, Quinkana, an Australian crocodile, and the Indian Rhamphosuchus, which may have weighed as much as two or three tons. Marine Life During the Miocene Epoch Pinnipeds (the mammalian family that includes seals and walruses) first came into prominence at the end of the Oligocene epoch, and prehistoric genera like Potamotherium and Enaliarctos went on to colonize the rivers of the Miocene. Prehistoric whales — including the gigantic, carnivorous sperm whale ancestor Leviathan and the sleek, gray cetacean Cetotherium — could be found in oceans worldwide, alongside enormous prehistoric sharks like the 50-ton Megalodon. The oceans of the Miocene epoch were also home to one of the first identified forebears of modern dolphins, Eurhinodelphis. Plant Life During the Miocene Epoch As mentioned above, grasses continued to run wild during the Miocene epoch, especially in North America, clearing the way for the evolution of fleet-footed horses and deer, as well as more stolid, cud-chewing ruminants. The appearance of new, tougher grasses toward the later Miocene may have been responsible for the sudden disappearance of many megafauna mammals, which were unable to extract sufficient nutrition from their favorite menu item.