Beauty and Brain

Beauty is not about having a beautiful skin, or body. It's about what's within. If you have a good and a pleasing personality, then you have to consider yourself beautiful from within. In behalf of being beautiful, let's Just don't forget about having a well- functioned brain. Like for example, Joining beauty pageant. People would probably say What is beauty if brain is empty' when Judges must asked you a question. So we must study hard to consider ourselves Beauty and Brain. Beauty is not about having a beautiful skin, or body.It's about what's within. If you have a good and a pleasing personality, then you have to consider yourself beautiful from within. In behalf of being beautiful, let's Just don't forget about having a well-functioned brain. Like for example, Joining beauty pageant. People would probably say What is beauty if brain is empty' when Judges must asked you a question. So we must study hard to consider ourselves Beauty and Brain. From within. In behalf of being beauti ful, let's Just don't forget about having a well- example, Joining beauty pageant.People would probably say What is beauty If brain ourselves Beauty and Brain. Beauty Is not about having a beautiful skin, or body. It's about what's within. If you have a good and a pleasing personality, then you have to consider yourself beautiful from within. In behalf of being beautiful, let's Just don't forget about having a well-functioned brain. Like for example, Joining beauty pageant. People would probably say ‘What Is beauty If brain Is empty' when Judges must asked you a question. So we must study hard to consider ourselves Beauty and Brain.

Hr Scorecard

International Bulletin of Business Administration ISSN: 1451-243X Issue 4 (2009)  © EuroJournals, Inc. 2009 http://www. eurojournals. com/IBBA. htm The Application of Human Resource Scorecard: A Case Study of Public Hospitals in NTT Province, Indonesia Riana Sitawati Accounting Department, STIE Dharmaputra Sodikin Manaf Accounting Department, STIE Dharmaputra Endah Winarti Accounting Department, STIE Dharmaputra Abstract Together with regional autonomy development, regional performance management becomes one of the most important factors to be considered. Regional public hospital becomes a regional government asset that should manage itself therefore it can prepare transparent performance measurement report for the benefit of the hospital itself and also the society or other interest parties. However, as a service organization, human resource competency becomes key factor in a public hospital that also needs to be improved. For achieving this aim, then this paper describes human resources performance measurement steps for the hospital particularly regional public hospital which consisted of preparing Activity Value Chain, Job Description, Job Specification, Job Performance Standard, and Job Performance Scorecard. Those steps had been implemented in public hospitals in NTT province, Indonesia. In the end, hopefully it can provide alternative standard for measuring a whole organization performance. Keywords: Public hospital, performance measurement, Activity Value Chain, Job Description, Job Specification, Job Performance Standard, Job Performance Scorecard, East Nusa Tenggara Province 1. Introduction The early years of the 21st century are proving to be a period of profound transition business world. This transition is being driven by a number of key trends including: global interdependence; diverse, diffuse, and asymmetrical security threats; rapidly evolving science and technology; dramatic shifts in the age and composition of population; important quality of life issues; the changing nature of our economy; and evolving government structures and concepts. These trends also contribute to a huge, longer-range fiscal and budgetary challenge around the world. Given these trends and long-range fiscal challenges, we are now seeing increased attention to strategic human capital management (U. S. General Accounting Office, 2002). While human capital is the foundation for creating value in the new economy, human assets are the least understood by business leaders and therefore the least effectively managed. Furthermore, there is exceptional about human resource function, which is that is less prepared than many other functions (such as finance or information system) to quantify its impact on business performance (Yeung & Berman, 1997). Since the Indonesian government determined regulation about regional autonomy in 2002, there were efforts to arrange specific policies for government owned institution in each Indonesian region. Those specific policies also included performance measurement area that the government institutions in local region can manage their own performance report but still have obligation to report their performance condition to central government. That independent performance management is based on Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia (Indonesian Regulation) no. 17 / 2003 that applies the implementation refers to the activity area of the government institution activity. Refers to the regional public hospital that also becomes regional government institution, this institution also has obligation to prepare an independent performance report system. In fact, there are not many public hospitals that had implemented performance measurement report system refers to Indonesian generally accepted accounting principle. This caused by the bureaucracy culture in Indonesia that can not be removed easily particularly in government institution environment and lack of skilled human resources that has sufficient knowledge to make a good financial report. Although there are many problems resulted in preparing an independent public hospital, but it will be better if the public officer that works at Health Department, Regional Government, or Public Hospital begins to take real steps in improving financial system at public hospital. It becomes more important refers to Indonesian bad economic condition after multi dimension crisis so that public hospital should find its own core business rather than depend on government budget (Subanegara, 2005). This condition had been applied at developed countries which have their own business unit, such as laundry facility that are provided for general society with tariff that relatively the same with market price. Moreover, the hospitals also have specific pavilion for sound patient where room price and medical service are based on higher tariff compared with regular class so there is subsidy for the poor patient. As a public institution, main goal of public hospital is to provide medical service to local patient particularly the poor ones. Therefore, profit is clearly not the main goal of public hospital. With such character, it is not surprising that there are so many public hospitals that complain about their lost in operating activities because of their social responsibility service. Based on the above factors, we can see the importance of good measurement management system for regional public hospital. Until recently, public hospital only depends on central government or local government funding and management system without tries to find out any efforts to be more independent. This opinion should be changed therefore hospital can produce its own performance measurement report that still can support its social service function which always become its main mission. Refers to this condition, then it is necessary to understand how to arrange a good performance report therefore the hospital knows for sure its own advantages and disadvantages as a foundation to decide strategic action in order to manage better and more professional public hospital financial and non financial aspect. Therefore a performance measurement that is capable to measure not only financial but also non financial aspect will be more supportive. 2. Problem Statement Although the application of a complete Balanced Scorecard as one of Strategic Management Accounting performance tools had produced enormous studies and practices, but there is still lack of focus on its application at Indonesian public sector. This also occurs especially in an organization which provides service such as medical organizations which have social responsibility and see human resources as the main organization asset. That background inspires author to describe author’s experience related with human resource performance measurement at Indonesian public hospitals. 3. Theoretical Background 3. 1. Performance Measurement Performance can be considered as a â€Å"relative and culture-specific concept†, one of those â€Å"suitcase words in which everyone places the concepts that suit them, letting the context take care of the definition†(Lebas, Euske, 2002). We could use the same words to describe performance measurement. Different people give different meanings to performance measurement. Adams, Kennerley and Neely defined performance measurement as â€Å"the process of quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of past action† (Neely, Adams, Kennerley, 2002). The author considers this definition clear and meaningful. We can argue that quantifying only the efficiency and the effectiveness dimensions of the action could be too limiting. We can argue that performance measurement doesn’t mean only quantifying but also comparing to a reference. But we should agree that the definition they gave sounds quite linear, appropriate, reasonable and useful. As it happens with other processes, the purpose of performance measurement is not univocal. Performance measurement is a sort of primary process: it can be considered as a basic element of larger and different processes like: †¢ internal performance evaluation †¢ external performance assessment †¢ performance management So the aims of performance measurement could be quite different. In the past decade performance measurement has been a topic that has received growing attention in the Public Sector. To encourage a performance-driven culture, a lot of public organizations have adopted a performance measurement system to measure, assess, report their performance and compare it with the performance of other organizations (performance evaluation and benchmarking). Just few of them have adopted it to manage their performance (performance management). For the author the difference between the two approaches is a fundamental issue to point out. In the former, measures are used to evaluate ex-post, at the end of a period of time, what has been done during the period and whether the desired outcomes have been achieved at the end. Here the purpose of measuring is to help to make a judgment about the performance of the organization at the end of a period. In the latter, measures are used to manage the performance within the period, identify issues and problems before correction becomes difficult or impossible and support decision-making processes in order to really achieve the desired outcomes at the end of the period. The purpose of measuring is to help people, accountable for performance, to make the right decisions within the period of time used as the reference. Both in the Private and Public Sector, using performance measurement just for evaluation s â€Å"one of the main barriers that people need to overcome if the organization wants to move from measurement set to judge to measurement consciously adopted to support decision making process†(Bocci 2004). If we talk about performance measurement just in terms of reviewing and assessing, we can not inspire people and align them with the strategy and t he overall goals of the organization. People will not understand the needs of measuring their performance and will consider measures used to find fault and punish someone (Kaydos, 1998): any performance measurement system we try to implement will be boycotted in some way. Performance evaluation is important but it does not tell us the true and complete story. That is why organizations should focus on adopting performance management systems. If organizations continue to use measurement just for assessing their performance, they can not achieve the consensus that allows them to effectively manage their performance. 3. 2. The Balanced Scorecard Application in Public Sector The Balanced Scorecard method (Kaplan & Norton, 1992) forms a conceptual measurement model for assessing an organization’s performance. This model complements financial measures of past performance with measures of drivers of future performance (Gaspersz, 2002). Unlike other accounting models, the Balanced Scorecard incorporates valuation of organization’ intangible and intellectual assets such as (Walker & MacDonald, 2001): †¢ High – quality products and services †¢ Motivated and skilled employees †¢ Responsive internal processes †¢ Innovation & productivity The original Balanced Scorecard model developed by Kaplan and Norton can be seen at the following figure. Figure 3. 1: Balanced Scorecard FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE VISION & STRATEGY INTERNAL BUS. PROCESS PERSP. LEARNING & GROWTH PERSPECTIVE (Source: Niven, 2005) As mentioned above, Kaplan and Norton introduced 4 perspectives from a company activities that can be evaluated by management as follows : 1. Financial Perspective : how we can satisfy stakeholder? 2. Customer Perspective : how we can satisfy customer? 3. Internal Business Perspective : what processes that we should offer in order to achieve company success? . Learning and Growth Perspective : how we can maintain ability to face company changes? The BSC concept is not only applicable to private sector but also public sector including public health sector. Indonesian economic system that experiences disaster recently is mostly caused by government system mismanagement that usually known as KKN (Corruption, Collusion, and Nepotism). Therefore it needs a performance measurement tool for its public organization to im prove economic system condition. Based on the different character between private sector and public sector, we can compare the 4 perspectives of Balanced Scorecard as follows. Figure 3. 2: Balanced Scorecard Perspectives: A Comparation Between Private Sector and Public Sector Perspective Financial/Operational Efficiency Customer Learning and Growth Private Sector How we can give value to the stakeholder? How customer will evaluate our performance? Can we continue to improve and create value to the customer, stakeholder, employee, management and organization? What should we proposed from our process and product? Internal Process and Product Public Sector How we can give value to the society and tax payer? How public service user evaluate our performance? Can we continue to improve and create value to the society/tax payer, public officer, public organization, and stakeholder? Does the implemented development program can bring results refers to the expectation? (Source: Gasperz, 2002) Those differences in balanced scorecard perspectives between private sector and public sector encourages us to modify the implementation of balanced scorecard at public sector. This modification is necessary because of the following reasons: 1. Main focus of public sector is the society and certain interest groups while main focus of private sector is customer and stakeholder. 2. Main goal of public sector is not to maximize financial result but the balanced budget responsibility through service to stakeholder refers to its vision and mission. 3. Defining indicators and target in customer perspective needs high concern as consequency of public sector role and needs clear definition and strategic result. 3. 3. Human Resources Scorecard The Human Resource Scorecard approach used slightly modifies the initial Balanced Scorecard model, which at the time was most commonly used at the corporate level. However, the approach remains focused on long-term strategies and clear connections to business outcomes. The Human Resource Balanced Scorecard can be classified into four perspectives (Walker & MacDonald, 2001): a. Strategic Perspective This perspective measures company success in achieving 5 strategic thrusts (talent, leadership, customer service and support, organizational integration, and Human Resource Capability). . Operations Perspective This perspective measures Human Resource success in operational excellence. The focus here is primarily in three areas: staffing, technology, and Human Resource processes and transactions. c. Customer Perspective This perspective measures how Human Resource is viewed by company key customer segment. Survey results are used to track customer perception of se rvice as well as assessing overall employee engagement, competitive capability, and links to productivity. d. Financial Perspective This perspective measures how Human Resource adds measurable financial value to the organization, including measures of ROI in training, technology, staffing, risk management, and cost of service delivery. Many leading organizations use their performance management systems as a key tool for aligning institutional, unit, and employee performance; achieving results; accelerating change; managing the organization on a day-to-day basis; and facilitating communication throughout the year so that discussion about individual and organizational performance are integrated and ongoing (U. S. General Accounting Office, 2000). We also can see some examples of previous research studies in Human Resource in the following table: Table 3. 1: Summary of Major Research Studies in HR – Organizational Performance Relationships Research Studies MacDuffie & Krafcik (1992) Methodology Studied 70 automotive assembly plants representing 24 companies and 17 countries worldwide Key Findings †¢ Manufacturing facilities with â€Å"lean production systems† are much higher in both productivity and quality than those with â€Å"mass production systems† (Productivity: 22 hours vs. 0 hours in producing a car; Quality 0. 5 defects vs. 0. 8 defects per 100 vehicles). †¢ While the HR strategy of a mass production system is used to create a highly specialized and deskilled work-force that supports a large-scale production process, the HR strategy of a lean production system aims to create a skilled, motivated, and flexible workforce that can continuously solve prob lems. The success of a â€Å"lean production system† critically depends on such â€Å"highcommitment† human resource policies as the decentralization of production responsibilities, broad job classification, multiskilling practices, profit/gain sharing, a reciprocal psychological commitment between firm and employees, employment security, and a reduction of status barrier. Studies that demonstrate business impact by adopting the following highperformance work practices are summarized: †¢ Employee involvement in decision making. Compensation (profit/gain sharing) †¢ Training programs †¢ Constellation of high-performance work practices †¢ Contradictory to traditional strategy literature, these five companies are neither in the right industry (based on Porter’s industry structure analysis) nor are they market leaders in these industries (based on Boston Consulting Group’s learning curve). †¢ Instead, these companies share a set of hi gh commitment work practices such as employment security, selectivity in recruiting, high wages, incentive pay, employee ownership, information sharing, participation and empowerment, teams and job redesign, cross-training, etc. Empirically identified two distinct HR configurations: control and commitment systems. †¢ Control systems aim to reduce direct labor costs, or improve efficiency by enforcing employee compliance with specified rules and procedures and basing employee rewards on some measurable output criteria. †¢ Commitment systems aim to shape desired employee behaviors and attitudes by forging psychological links between organizational and employee goals. †¢ The mills with commitment systems had higher productivity, lower scrap rates, and lower employee turnover than those with control systems. Based on his sample, Huselid found that if firms increase their highperformance work practices by one standard deviation (SD), their turnover would be reduced by 7. 0 5%, productivity increased by 16%. †¢ In terms of financial impact, a one-SD increase in high-performance work practices leads to a $27,044 increase in sales, an $18,641 increase in market value, and a $3,814 increase in profit. †¢ Developed an overall HR Quality Index based on the aggregate ratings of all HR activities adopted by a firm. †¢ Based on the HR Quality Index, firms are grouped into four categories based on their percentile (i. . , bottom 25%, second 25%, third 25%, and top 25%). †¢ Firms that score higher in the HR Quality Index consistently outperform firms with a lower index in four financial measures: market/book value ratio, productivity (i. e. , sales/employees), market value, and sales. U. S. Department of Labor (1993) Summarized all major research studies regarding the HR-firm performance relationship Pfeffer (1994) Identified the five topperforming firms (based on percentage of stock returns) between 1972 and 1992 and assessed their common Arthur (1994) Conducted a survey research from 30 U. S. steel minimills Huselid (1995) Utilized both survey research and financial data of 968 firms Ostroff (1995) Conducted a survey research jointly sponsored by Society of Human Resource Management and CCH Incorporated (Source: Yeung and Berman, 1997) 4. The Case Study Application of Balanced Scorecard is a new progress in Indonesia particularly in public sector as there is no standard for measuring public sector performance until recently. Moreover as a fact, most of Indonesian public hospital administration and financial activities has not applied generally accepted accounting principle which is main accounting system (Alkatiri&Setiyono, 2001). Therefore author’s experience in building a performance measurement system in 3 (three) Nusa Tenggara Province public hospitals will be described at the following case study. In general, road map for measuring the performance is: Figure 4. 1: Roadmap for Performance Measurement ROADMAP OF HOSPITAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & DEVELOPING UNIT PERFORMANCE SCORECARD MEASURES MEASURABLE THEORY OF PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT W EIGHT RELIABLE SCORECARD UNIT TRANSPARENT TARGET (Source: Ferdinand, 2003) Figure 4. 1 above shows that theory of performance measurement such as Balanced Scorecard (BSC) provides 3 standards in making indicators, which are measurable, reliable, and transparent. Measurable means the indicators should be a matter of quantitative, not abstract. Reliable means the indicators can be trusted. Transparent means the indicators should be socialized to all parties. Then after determining the indicators, we should pay attention to the measures (indicators), weight of each indicators, and target that should be achieved. In the end, it will produce scorecard for each hospital unit. Detail steps of producing this scorecard can be followed at the following sections. 4. 1. Preparing Activity Value Chain The initial step in making performance measurement standard should begin from preparing activity chain for each staff. In order to make it, we should know our Achievement Generating Factor which is the main task of a job position. In order to make clear description, the example of activity value chain can be seen on the Appendix-Figure 1 for Head of Medical Committee. The activity details that belong to the Activity Value Chain are all activities that are done regularly. For example, routine activity for a lecturer is teaching a class. But the lecturer also has supporting activity such as giving suggestion to his/her students if they are experiencing problems in their study. This different type of activity should be clearly understand in defining activity value chain as a first step before move further to other steps. . 2. Preparing Job Description After determining routine activities in value chain, the following step is making job description. Job description is a description of a job that should be completed by a person in certain position. The example for this Job Description can be seen on the Appendix-Figure 2. In order to formulate good job description, we should pay attention to these factors: 1. Job a ssignment should be detail and concrete. 2. State the assignment in information type so it can be implemented and evaluated. The presented information can be input information or output information. . Determine Information Source that we use to state information type of a conducted assignment. This information source can be officer with whom we cooperate, and what form we use to state the information. 4. Determine the time frame and the person who should implement the informed assignment. 5. Decide how information distribution is implemented. Information distribution can be done by assigning person / department that receives the information and time schedule when the information should be delivered. 6. We also need to determine success measurement criteria for implemented task. . It is our obligation to determine development requirement to be completed by the implementer person so they can do their job competently. 8. It is also suggested that we determine responsibility person for fixed asset whether in unit or monetary form so all staffs feel responsible. Job Description can be implemented if the people who sit on certain position fulfill the required specification. Therefore a job description will be more meaningful if continued by job specification for potential candidate of a position. 4. 3. Preparing Job Specification Job specification is a criteria or requirement for a certain position. There are 2 main classification in Job Specification which are: (See Appendix-Figure 3) a. Initial Requirement It is organization demand to the position holder candidate. b. Development Support After someone fulfills the requirement to sit on a position, then it becomes organization responsibility to develop this position holder. The development support can be in the form of training and education therefore the position holder can be developed and succeed in doing his/her job now or in the future. 4. 4. Preparing Job Performance Standard The previous Job Description will be more meaningful if management has certain scoring tool that can be used as performance measurement for a position holder. In order to have that scoring tool, then it needs to develope a standard which called Job Performance Standard. In making Job Performance Standard, we will determine performance score criteria. The common score standard is as follows: Performance Criteria Very Good Good Average Bad Very Bad Code VG G A B VB Score 5 4 3 2 1 Job Performance Standard consists of: (See Appendix-Figure 4) a. Performance Criteria Scorecard . Job Description c. Performance Indicator d. Performance Criteria e. Target Description By having Job Performance Standard, then it will decrease job evaluator subjectivity so that the evaluated staff and the evaluator person have the same guidance in understanding the performance. Performance Indicator or Performance Measures aims to determine success criteria of a job that bein g implemented by a position holder. This Performance Indicator/Measures can be measured from 2 aspects which are Lagging Indicator and Leading Indicator. a. LAG Performance Indicator is a Final Result Indicator of an activity. For example, Lag Performance Indicator for a Salesman activity: recording sales to achieve target is recording accuracy and timeliness. b. LEAD Performance Indicator or Process Performance Indicator is indicator for supposedto-be-done activity. If this activity can be done, then the Lag Indicator tends to be achieved. As an example for the salesman above, in order to make recording sales activity run well, then it needs some activities such as: (1) Checking data and report completeness and (2) Preparing supporting facility and information to make report. 4. 5. Preparing Job Performance Scorecard Job Performance Scorecard is an achieved performance result of a staff in certain period. From Job Description, Job Specification and Job Performance Standard, then it can produce Design of Management Performance Scorecard that can be used as a tool to measure organization managerial performance. Therefore the organization has a measurement tool that can be used as a guidance to measure overall organization performance. The scorecard can be seen at the Appendix-Figure 5. As a performance report, this Job Performance Scorecard should be published regularly as a complement of hospital financial report. This report can be foundation for management to make decision on what they should do related to their staff performance. Therefore this scorecard should be applied to all management levels from operational level until strategic level so it might run well. 5. Conclusion It is not surprising that Indonesian public hospital still provide minimum medical service with minimum funding support from the government. However, Public Hospital as a public service institution needs a condusive human resource performance measurement system to determine its worker ffectiveness and efficiency weaknesses so it can achieve good corporate governance in the future. Balanced Scorecard has provided a foundation for both private and public sector to measure both sector performances. This foundation can be used by Indonesian public sector particularly regional hospital to improve its performance so in the end it might produce scorecard report regularly that is reliable. All steps from making Activity Value Chain, Job Description, Job Specification, Job Performance Standard, and Job Performance Scorecard can be easily followed as a standard for implementing the BSC into the public health sector. However, this paper is only limited on success story at three Indonesian public hospitals in Nusa Tenggara Province. Therefore future research should be more generalized to other public hospitals or other public sectors in Indonesia. Bibliography [1] [2] [3] Alkatiri, A. & Setiyono, V. (2001). Manajemen & Akuntansi Rumah Sakit. Fa. Sinar Bahagia, Jakarta. Bocci, F. (2004). Defining Performance Measurement. A Comment. PMA Newsletter Vol 3 Issue 1/2 September, pp. 20. Ferdinand, A. (2003) Module for Performance Monitoring: Supervisory Monitoring Scorecard. Training for Hospital Performance Management at East Nusa Tenggara Regional Public Hospitals, a joint programme between EPOS Health Consultant Germany, East Nusa Tenggara Health Department, and AGF Consulting Indonesia Gaspersz, V. (2002). Balanced Scorecard dengan Six Sigma untuk Organisasi Bisnis dan Pemerintah. PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, Chapter 1. Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. (1992). Translating Strategy into Action: the Balance Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Kaydos, W. (1998). Operational Performance Measurement: Increasing Total Productivity. CRC Press, pp. 98. Lebas, M. & Euske, K. (2002). A Conceptual and Operational Delineation of Performance in Business Performance Measurement: Theory and Practice. Neely, Andy Editor, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Neely, A. , Adams, C. , and Kennerley, M. (2002). The Performance Prism: The Scorecard for Measuring and Managing Business Success. Financial Times Prentice Hall, London 2002 Niven, P. R. (2005). Balanced Scorecard Diagnostics: Maintaining Maximum Performance. John Wiley&Sons, Inc. Subanegara, H. P. (2005). Diamond Head Drill & Kepemimpinan Dalam Manajemen Rumah Sakit. Penerbit Andi, Yogyakarta. Sugiri, S. (1992). Pengantar Akuntansi, Edisi Revisi. AMP YKPN, Yogyakarta. Undang-Undang RI No. 17 Tahun 2003 Tentang Keuangan Negara. BP Cipta Jaya, Jakarta. U. S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Key Principles From Nine Private Sector Organizations, GAO/GGD-00-28. Washington, DC. : Jan. 31, 2000 U. S. General Accounting Office, Managing for Results: Using Strategic Human Capital Management to Drive Transformational Change, GAO-02-940T. Washington, DC. : July 15, 2002 Walker, G. & MacDonald, J. R. (2001). Designing and Implementing an HR Scorecard. Human Resource Management, Winter; 40, 4; pp. 365-377. Yeung, A. K. & Berman, B. (1997). Adding Value Through Human Resources Reorienting Human Resource Measurement to Drive Business Performance. Human Resource Management, Fall; 36, 3 : p. 321-335 [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] Appendix Figure 1: Activity Value Chain Name of Position : HEAD OF MEDICAL COMMITTEE Main Goal of Position : Achieve optimum Medical Service Coordination in accordance with medical science and technology and medical profession ethic. VALUE CHAIN DIAGRAM ACTIVITY DETAIL JOB CHARACTERISTIC Head of Medical Committee 1 8 2 3 4 7 6 5 1. Make Medical Committee plan 2. Make Committee and Team, and ascertain duty implementation of Committee and Team 3. Ascertain duty implementation of SMF (Functional Medical Staff) refers to service standard 4. Coordinate SMF education and training 5. Coordinate research and development for SMF medical area 6. Approve Credit Proposal and make DP3 for Head of SMF 7. Make report and conduct evaluation on Medical Committee activities AT AT AT AT AT AT AT Note: AT = Routine Accountability Figure 2: Job Description Division Position Main Activity Make Medical Committee plan : Medical Committee : Head of Medical Committee Job Characteristic AT Information Type Input : Director SK PHO IDI Information Source Person Format †¢ Director †¢ Minister of Health †¢ IDI/ Professional Organisation Relevant person †¢ Letter †¢ Book †¢ Book Head of Medical Committee Annually †¢ Director †¢ Head of SMF On December Job Implementer Time Result Distribution Person Time Success Criteria †¢ †¢ Plan finishing time accuracy (POA) Plan content completeness (POA) Make Committee and Team, and ascertain duty implementation of Committee and Team AT Ascertain duty implementation of SMF (Functional Medical Staff) refers to service standard AT Coordinate SMF education and training AT Coordinate research and development for SMF medical area AT Approve Credit Proposal and make DP3 for Head of SMF AT Make report and conduct evaluation on Medical Committee activities AT uput : POA of Medical Committee Input : POA of Medical Committee Ouput : †¢ Committee SK †¢ Committee Activity Report Input : POA of Medical Committee Ouput : Service Standard Compliance Report Input : POA of Medical Committee Ouput : Activity report of SMF Education and training Input : POA of Medical Committee Ouput : Activity report of SMF Research and Development Input : †¢ Keppres (President Desicion) †¢ SK of Menpan Ouput : †¢ DP3 of SMF Head †¢ Promotion proposal Input : †¢ SK Director †¢ POA Committee Medis Ouput : †¢ Activity report and evaluation of Medical Committee Book Director Letter Head of Medical Committee Annually †¢ Director †¢ Head of SMF On December †¢ Relevant Person Letter Book Activity report time accuracy Director Book Head of Medical Committee Annually †¢ Director †¢ Head of SMF Relevant Person End of January at following year †¢ Reporting time accuracy Form Director Book Head of Medical Committee Annually †¢ Director †¢ Head of SMF Relevant Person End of January at following year †¢ Activity report time accuracy Form Director Book Head of Medical Committee Annually Director †¢ Head of SMF Relevant Person End of January at following year †¢ Activity report time accuracy Form President Menpan Letter Head of Medical Committee Docume nt †¢ Letter †¢ Book Head of Medical Committee 1 month ahead Semi annually †¢ Director 1 month ahead †¢ Arrangement time accuracy Relevant Person †¢ Director †¢ Director Annually †¢ Director †¢ Reporting time a ccuracy Relevant Person Head of SMF Form Figure 3: Job Specification Position : Head Of Medical Commitee Initial Requirement 1. S1/General Practitioner 2. Has 2 years experience at the relevant area Technical Competency 1. Medical basic skill 2. Ability to supervise medical committee task 3. Ability to make decision Managerial Development Competency Support 1. Ability to lead medical 1. Advance study committee S2/Specialist 2. Ability to make plan 2. Training of and policy in regards hospital with medical operational committee task management 3. Ability to make report 3. Training of and evaluation arranging job performance measurement Job Description 1. Make Medical Committee plan 2. Make Committee and Team, and ascertain duty implementation of Committee and Team 3. Ascertain duty implementation of SMF (Staf Medis Fungsional/Functional Medical Staff) refers to service standard 4. Coordinate SMF education and training 5. Coordinate research and development for SMF medical area 6. Approve Credit Proposal and make job performance measurement for Head of SMF 7. Make report and conduct evaluation on Medical Committee activities Figure 4: Job Performance Standard Position : Head of Medical Committee Very Good Score = 5 100% complete 100% from target 100% from target 100% from target 100% from target 100% from target 100% from target Very Good Score = 5 100% complete 100% from target Always Available 100% complete 100% complete 100% from target 100% complete 100% from target 100% complete Date 5 of the following month Good Score = 4 90 – 99% 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% from target Good Score = 4 90 – 99% 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% 90 – 99% 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% 90 – 99% from target 90 – 99% Date 6-9 of the following month Average Score = 3 80-90% 80 – 90% from target 80 – 90% from target 80 – 90% from target 80 – 90% from target 80 – 90% from target 80 – 90% from target Average Score = 3 80-90% 80 – 90% from target Sometimes unavailable 80-90% 80-90% 80 – 90% from target 80-90% 80 – 90% from target 80-90% Date 10 of the following month Bad Score = 2 70-79% 75 – 80% target 75 – 80% target 75 – 80% target 75 – 80% target 75 – 80% target 75 – 80% target Bad Score = 2 70-79% 75 – 80% target 70-79% 70-79% 75 – 80% target 70-79% 75 – 80% target 70-79% Date 11-15 of the following month Very Bad Score = 1

Mcdonalds India Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management SUPPLY CHAIN ASSIGNMENT ON SUBMITTED TO- MS HARLEEN SAHNI SUBMTTED BY- ANKKIT RAJ McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of  hamburger  fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by  Richard and Maurice McDonald and in 1948 they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using  production line  principles. Businessman  Ray Kroc  joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955.He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth. A McDonald's restaurant is operated by either a  franchisee, an  affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporation's revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald's revenues grew 27 percent over the three years ending in 2007 to $22. 8 billion, and 9 percent growth in operating income to $3. 9 billion. Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both  counter service  and  drive-through  service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating.Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, Pay and Drive, or â€Å"McDrive† as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders, though the latter two steps are frequently combined; it was first introduced in Arizona in 1975, following the lead of other fast-food chains. The first such restaurant in Britain opened at  Fallowfield,  Manchester  in 1986. McDonald's Corporation earns revenue as an investor in properties, a franchiser of restaurants, and an operator of restaurants.Approximately 15% of McDonald's restaurants are owned and operated by McDonald's Corporation directly. The remainder is operated by others through a variety of franchise agreements and joint ventures. The McDonald's Corporation's  business model   is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary  franchise  fees and marketing fees, which are calculated as a percentage of sales, McDonald's may also collect  rent, which may also be calculated on the basis of sales.As a condition of many franchise agreements, which vary by contract, age, country, and location, the Corporation may own or lease the properties on which McDonald's franchises are located. In most, if not all cases, the franchisee does not own the location of its restaurants. The United Kingdom and Ireland business model is different than the U. S, in that fewer than 30% of restaurants are franchised, with the majority under the ownership of the company. McDonald's trains its franchisees and others at  Hamburger University  in  Oak Brook,  Illinois.In other countries, McDonald's restaurants are operated by joint ventures of McDonald's Corporation and other, local entities or governments. As a matter of policy, McDon ald's does not make direct sales of food or materials to franchisees, instead organizing the supply of food and materials to restaurants through approved third party logistics operators. McDonald's restaurants are found in 119 countries  and territories around the world and serve 58 million customers each day. McDonald's operates over 31,000 restaurants worldwide, employing more than 1. million people. The company also operates other restaurant  brands, such as Piles Cafe. Focusing on its core brand, McDonald's began  divesting  itself of other chains it had acquired during the 1990s. The company owned a majority stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill  until October 2006, when McDonald's fully divested from Chipotle through a stock exchange. Until December 2003, it also owned  Donatos Pizza. On August 27, 2007, McDonald's sold  Boston Market  to  Sun Capital Partners. MCDONALDS INDIA INDIA AS A MARKETIn 1996, McDonald's opened in  India  for the first time, a country where the majority of the population was Hindu and vegetarian, and the cow was sacred. Many saw it as just another example of the relentless spread of Western corporations into every nation, creating a global system in which wealth was drained out of local economies into the hands of a very few, very rich elite. McDonald's opened its doors in  India  in October 1996, demonstrating what the McDonald's experience was all about. McDonald's in  India  was a 50-50 joint venture partnership between McDonald's Corporation (U.S. A. ) and two Indian businessmen. Amit Jatia's company, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. , owned and operated McDonald's restaurants in Western  India, while Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. , headed by Vikram Bakshi, owned and operated the North Indian operationsi. These companies signed their joint-venture agreements with McDonald's in April 1995 and along with their Indian management team trained in McDonald's restaurants in Indonesia and the U. S. A. before opening the first McDonald's restaurant in  India. The entry of McDonald's in  India  was perfectly timed.The market had begun to open up. The economy of the country was growing stronger. The customer markets were eager to acquire newer products and use newer forms of services. Foreign brands were valued and perceived to be superior in quality. According to a report of AC Neilson, among the world's consumers, Latin Americans and Asians were the biggest supporters of globalisation and the value that it added to the various aspects of their livesii. It was a favourable situation for McDonald's because at the time when they entered,  India, the Asian Tiger was awakening to the global call.The Indian customer was enthusiastic about the market situation which provided them with numerous choices to choose and pick. In a way McDonald's revolutionized the food retailing business in  India. It introduced the Indian customers to service standards which were available in th e western world for years. These service standards were visible and noteworthy and hence triggered quick acceptance within the customers. McDonald's positioning in  India  as a family restaurant further fuelled its success. DIVERSITY IN THE INDIAN MARKET India  as a market was a unique example of diversity.Divided into 28 states and 7 union territories, the vegetation, climate, religion, language, clothing, and food varied from one state to another. With the combination of spices in a unique way, food of these states reflected their traditions and culture. Hence the biggest challenge to any food business in  India  definitely was about balancing the diversity and the product offerings. McDonald's got clearance from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of  India  in 1991. But it was only after five years of preparation, that the first restaurant became operational in 1996.It worked on developing local relationships with local partners to facilitate the raw material . Indian companies for their operational convenience had divided the Indian subcontinent into four zones, the progressive West, the powerful North, the traditional and culturally rich, South and East. McDonald's opened their first restaurant in the capital of  India  which is Delhi. The second restaurant was opened in the financial capital of  India, Mumbai. McDonald initially concentrated in the West and North regions.Later the company exhibited ambitious plans for expansion in Eastern and Southern regions. McDonald's real influence had been in establishing organizational systems of complete control at every stage from raw product to factory, from worker to consumer – backed by incessant media hype. McDonald's had been a successful global food corporation at refining, co-coordinating, standardizing and developing such processes into a total system. It had set up these practices in every country it had moved into, and many other companies followed their suit.What Ford M otor Company did for cars, travel and the urban environment; McDonald's had done for food and eating habits. McDonald's expansion was criticized and resisted by trade unionists, local residents, nutritionists and many others in almost every town and country where they planned a new store – despite their highly developed and expensive marketing effort about being a benefit for the community. They were resisted for what they represented, and remained a focus of controversy. CHALLENGES FACED BY MCDONALDS IN INDIA Vegetarianism: The major issue was beef.Cow being sacred and worshipped, beef could not be served. Muslims did not eat pork. The challenge was to change the form of the worldwide popular Hamburger to make an entry into  India. With 25-30% of the population being lacto vegetarian and a large majority eating meat, an alternative to beef and pork was necessary. Competition from Local Food Retailers: The competition from the local food retailers was intense. The food reta ilers had been doing business for years. Their familiarity with the market and the understanding of the local taste gave them a competitive edge.There were numerous eating joints which offered snacks and meals with affordable price tags. Target Marketing: Operation Excellence Food Innovation Value propositions had to be directed to the right target market to establish a new product. An interesting question was who would eat at McDonald's? In order to develop the marketing strategy, it was important for any company to understand the consumer market. The more one knew and understood about consumers, the more effectively one could communicate and market to them Brand Trust Pricing MCDONALDS SUPPLY CHAINAn effective supply chain is an intricate network of suppliers, distributors and customers who share carefully managed information about demand, decision and performance, and who recognize that success for one part of supply chain means success for all. McDonald’s is the single la rgest food chain  service retailer in the world. It serves around 45 Million customers everyday in 121 countries. It has 29,000 restaurants worldwide. It is also the single largest real estate owner. In India, McDonald’s  Ã‚  made its presence felt in the year 1996.It has 30 restaurants in 5 different cities In India. 95% of the ingredients/products used by them are sourced locally. McDonald’s restaurants in the south and west of India function under Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited which is a Development Licensee. Amit Jatia is the Vice-Chairman of the company. For the north and east of India, McDonald’s has formed a joint venture with Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited of which Vikram Bakshi is the Managing Director. These two companies monitor, scrutinize and judicially promote the brand of McDonald’s in the country.The main business comes from Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Pune and Mathura. McDonalds had been working on its supply chain ev en before it opened its first joint in the country. McDonalds, an international brand which was trying to make inroads into the country, developed its Indian partners in such a manner that they stayed with the company from the beginning. McDonald’s spent around 6 years in setting up its supply chain in India. The philosophy of its supply chain is nothing but partnering with its suppliers, so that a win-win situation can be achieved and both can earn evenue, the total logistics and other cost can be lowered, expertise of the supplier will give an advantage etc. The main factors to focus here are supplier partnering elements – shared information, expectations, risks and payback, long term commitment, periodic reviews, compatible culture and the most important mutual understanding. The success of McDonalds India was achieved by sourcing all its required products from within the country. To ensure this, McDonalds developed local businesses, which can supply it highest qual ity products.Today, McDonalds India works with 38 different suppliers on a long term basis and several other stand alone restaurants for its various other requirements. McDonald’s distribution centres in India came in the following order: Noida and Kalamboli (Mumbai) in 1996, Bangalore in 2004, and the latest one in Kolkata (2007). McDonald’s entered its first distribution partnership agreement with Radha Krishna Foodland, a part of the Radha Krishna Group engaged in food-related service businesses. The association goes back to July 1993, when it studied the nuances of McDonald’s operations and requirements for the Indian market.As distribution centres, the company was responsible for procurement, the quality inspection programme, storage, inventory management, deliveries to the restaurants and data collection, recording and reporting. Value-added services like shredding of lettuce, re-packing of promotional items continued since then at the centres playing a vi tal role in maintaining the integrity of the products throughout the entire ‘cold chain’. While the supply chain of McDonald’s at first glance appears simple, its diverse components are both critical and multi-layered. Food ingredients are supplied by two categories, Tier-I and Tier-2 suppliers.Tier-2 suppliers comprise growers and processors who include importantly, lettuce and potato growers, poultry farms and companies which manufacture coating systems that coat the vegetable and chicken patties. The ingredients are supplied to Tier-I suppliers who process them, for instance, into vegetable and chicken patties — this is done by Vista Processed Foods Pvt. Ltd. or potato products like French fries, potato wedges and hashbrowns which are expertly churned out by McCain Foods India Pvt. Ltd. The products are then transported in a dedicated fleet of refrigerated trucks to the company’s Distribution Centers.Multi-temperature and single temperature truck s then transport the fast food swiftly to the 217 McDonald’s restaurants across the country. The supply-chain of McDonald’s has also been expertly devised to include the significant aspect of return logistics. They have a large component of return logistics. The buns are packed in plastic crates to ensure their quality. These crates have to go back to the logistics facility, that’s where return logistics comes in. From there they are sent to the bakeries. Supply of Ingredients Special vegetarian sauce Quaker, Cremica, Phillaur, PunjabSesame seeds Ghaziabad, UP Iceberg Lettuce Ferrocoa Farms, Dehradun Buns Shah & Sons,Khopoli,MH & Cremica Industries, Noida Vegetable Patty Kiltran Foods, Taloja, Maharashtra Batter & Breading Cremica Industries, Ludhiana, Punjab Ingredients from across the country DISTRIBUTION CENTRES The fast food chain has four Distribution Centers across the country to serve its 217 restaurants. The DCs have segued seamlessly with the vision of the company which has embarked on a period of roller coaster growth, with one McDonald’s outlet being launched every ten days in the country!The company owns DCs in Noida and Mumbai which are primary Distribution Centers. The other two Distribution Centers are in Bengaluru and Kolkata and are housed in leased properties. The supply-chain of the fast food chain is in effect a hub-and-spoke model because the DCs act as hubs. The transportation of McDonald’s has been completely outsourced and since 80 percent is refrigerated truck movement, the company has a dedicated fleet which transports their goods. OUTSOURCING The success of the supply-chain model of McDonald’s can be directly attributed to its unique concept of outsourcing work.Unlike other corporate heavies, the company has a 100 percent outsourced supply chain. McDonald’s believes that they should outsource everything to a company who are experts in their subject matter and then monitor their perform ance in a proper fashion so that Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are not affected at all. This is how McDonald’s operates not just in India, but everywhere. Underlying the suppleness of its supply-chain are three principles to which the company adheres unwaveringly, the principles of trust and collaboration between the brand, the owners or operators, and the suppliers. It’s like a three-legged stool. Each leg (principle) has to be equally strong so that there’s no collapsing foundation. McDonald’s also believes in a culture of partnership and transparency with its suppliers. They have 100 percent transparency in everything that they do which is very critical for them when they work with their suppliers. McDonald’s has 14 core suppliers who supply directly to the fast food chain and they are known as Tier-I suppliers. Examples of Tier-I suppliers are Vista Processed Foods Pvt. Ltd. , the Dynamix Group, Mrs Bectors, etc.The other suppliers forward ingredients to the Tier-I suppliers first and they are termed Tier-2 suppliers. The fast food chain has a total of 40 suppliers from whom it sources its ingredients. Most of the suppliers are local, but some are internationally famous foreign brands like McCain Foods India which set up shop in India when McDonald’s ventured into the fast food business in the country. For a McDonald’s supplier the terms of work are rigorous. A company’s stellar credentials are not enough; the supplier’s job does not end when the product leaves his premises, rather it ends only when the customer consumes it.McDonald’s expects its suppliers to personally ensure the quality of their products to skirt the risk factor. Suppliers like Coca Cola which is McDonald’s beverage partner also, for instance, take water management classes in its restaurants to ensure potable quality of drinking water. Sole Distribution Partner McDonalds’ products are distributed by R adhakrishna Foodland Pvt. Ltd which is the only distribution partner of the fast food chain. RK Foodland manages the four DCs and since it has a transport division, handles the truck movement in the supply-chain right through the country.McDonald’s expects its distribution partner to meet its standards of ‘cold, clean and on-time delivery ’. RK Foodland expertly manages the mundane day-to-day activities of the fast food chain like raising purchase orders to suppliers, invoicing, keeping an astute eye on working capital management, timely delivery, payments, etc. They are like a one-stop shop for the restaurants. Anything that is required, from a bulb that needs to be changed in a restaurant to training material, is sourced directly from RK.There are only two products, buns and Cokes, which are sent directly to the restaurants. Buns have a limited shelf life, hence they are sent directly to the outlets, while Coca Cola has a well-oiled distribution system which en sures quick dispatch of its products. As with its suppliers, McDonald’s has no legally documented Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with RK Foodland. The fast food chain carefully calibrates the performance of its distribution partner, measuring it against its own KPIs to ensure its performance does not dip below its own exacting standards.The DCs are assessed on several factors like administration efficiency, the total number of cases managed per man hour, warehouse efficiency, overtime as a percentage of the total number of hours worked and in the case of transportation, the number of cases handled per trip, truck utilization, etc. McDonald’s constantly scrutinizes the performance of RK Foodland against these KPIs; if its distribution partner is unable to meet certain benchmarks, together they devise solutions which would enable them to achieve set goals. COLD CHAINA marked feature of McDonalds’ supply-chain is that the entire network consists of movement of goo ds through a cold chain. In effect, the suppliers are also a part of this cold chain and in certain cases, for instance, the lettuce growers, the cold chain begins with the Tier-2 suppliers. McDonald’s have the largest refrigerated movement of products in India. An interesting and innovative feature of this cold chain is that the same truck can carry products at different temperatures, ranging from frozen products at -18C to -25C, chilled products from 1C-4C and dry products at ambient temperatures.Apparently, McDonald’s is the only company whose supply-chain network is characterized by this successful experimentation. The inbound supply chain of McDonald’s now consists of dedicated reefer trucks supported by dedicated and trained manpower. As the store numbers and distances increased, they decided to come out with a design of multi-temperature vehicles which could carry all three temperature products. They are installed with automatic temperature controller. Tr uck containers were made with two side doors in addition to the rear door.The side doors are used to unload products without disturbing the products in the other temperature zones. The delivery window is +/-2 days. The products are of three types i. e. frozen products, chilled products and dry products. The frozen products need the temperature from -15 to -25 deg C, the chilled products from 1 to 4 deg C and the dry foods from 24 to 30 deg C. This finesse and attention to detail has helped McDonald’s achieve its own USP of ‘quality, standards of service, cleanliness and value. McDonalds’ efficiency and effectiveness are also due to the fact that it has a ‘pull-supply’ chain. The restaurant issues orders to the Distribution Center which, in turn, routes the order to the supplier and only then does the supplier produce it. The supplier thus maintains barely any extra stocks; only if there is a contingency, like the overhaul or servicing of machinery, w ill the supplier produce surplus stocks. Cold Chain was one of the unique concepts of McDonalds supply chain in India, on which it had spent more than six years to get the system into place.This system brought about a veritable revolution, immensely benefiting the farmers at one end and enabling customers at retail counters get the highest quality food products, absolutely fresh and at great value. Through its unique cold chain, McDonalds has been able to both cut down on its operational wastage, as well as maintain the freshness and nutritional value of raw and processed food products. This has involved procurement, warehousing, transportation and retailing of perishable food products, all under controlled temperatures.The following list of suppliers, who build up the major supply chain of McDonalds, reveal how this ‘Cold Chain’ works and contributes towards the efficiency of McDonalds. * Dynamix Dairy Industries (Supplier of Cheese): Dynamix has brought immense benefi ts to farmers in Baramati, Maharashtra by setting up a network of milk collection centres equipped with bulk coolers. Easy accessibility has enabled farmers augment their income by finding a new market for surplus milk.The factory has: * Fully automatic international standard processing facility * Capability to convert milk into cheese, butter/ghee, skimmed milk powder, lactose, casein & whey protein and humanized baby food. * Stringent quality control measures and continuous Research & Development From farm two degrees Celsius in 90 minutes is the first step to quality. For example, the Rs 262-crore Dynamix Dairy Industries, located in Baramati in Pune district of Maharashtra, manufactures cheese slices for McDonald’s at 10 metric tonnes per month.Dynamix has helped set up 15 bulk cooling centres throughout the district from which it purchases milk. Each cooling centre, which is equipped with modern measuring and testing equipment and a large cooling tank, is not more than a few kilometers away from local dairy farms. A farmer can deliver milk even twice a day on his bicycle and get a printed receipt on the spot, which also lists the quality of the milk supplied by him as per fat content, colour and solids content. If the milk is sub-standard or adulterated, it is rejected on the spot. A batch of milk can vary from one litre to 10 litres, or more.Each batch is mixed in one large stainless steel cooler and chilled immediately to two degrees Celsius to stop bacterial growth and preserve freshness. From this point onwards, until just before the burger is actually served in a McDonald’s restaurant hundreds of kilometers away, the temperature is never allowed to increase. When the refrigerated milk arrives at the Dynamix plant at Baramati, the milk in every single tanker is thoroughly tested and rejected if found sub-standard, adulterated or contaminated. The sophisticated testing lab can check fat content with an accuracy of 0. 1 per cent.It can eve n detect minute traces of pesticides or antibiotics administered to cows. This instant feedback and the rejection of the entire tanker-load forces farmers to follow the best practices in terms of animal husbandry, use proper feeds, cut down on the indiscriminate use of pesticides and animal medicines and completely stop even the slightest attempts at adulteration. * Trikaya Agriculture (Supplier of Iceberg Lettuce): Implementation of advanced agricultural practices has enabled Trikaya to successfully grow specialty crops like iceberg lettuce, special herbs and many oriental vegetables.Farm infrastructure features: * A specialized nursery with a team of agricultural experts. * Drip and sprinkler irrigation in raised farm beds with fertilizer mixing plant. * Pre-cooling room and a large cold room for post harvest handling. Refrigerated truck for transportation. Trikaya Agriculture, a major supplier of iceberg lettuce to McDonald’s India, is one such enterprise that is an intrin sic part of the cold chain. Exposure to better agricultural management practices and sharing of advanced agricultural technology by McDonald’s has made Trikaya Agriculture extremely conscious of delivering its products with utmost care and quality.Initially lettuce could only be grown during the winter months but with McDonald’s expertise in the area of agriculture, Trikaya Farms in Talegaon, Maharashtra, is now able to grow this crop all the year round. McDonald’s has provided assistance in the selection of high quality seeds, exposed the farms to advanced drip-irrigation technology, and helped develop a refrigerated transportation system allowing a small agri-business in Maharashtra to provide fresh, high-quality lettuce to McDonald’s urban restaurant locations thousands of kilometers away.Post harvest facilities at Trikaya include a cold chain consisting of a pre-cooling room to remove field heat, a large cold room and a refrigerated van for transporta tion where the temperature and the relative humidity of the crop is maintained between 1? C and 4? C and 95% respectively. Vegetables are moved into the pre-cooling room within half an hour of harvesting. The pre-cooling room ensures rapid vacuum cooling to 2? C within 90 minutes. The pack house, pre-cooling and cold room are located at the farms itself, ensuring no delay between harvesting, pre-cooling, packaging and cold storage.With this cold chain infrastructure in place, Trikaya Agriculture has also a plan to export this high value product to other international markets, especially to McDonald’s Middle East and Asia Pacific operations. McDonald’s expertise in packaging, handling and long-distance transportation has helped Trikaya to do trial shipments to the Gulf successfully. In addition to export, McDonald’s assistance has enabled Trikaya Agriculture to supply this crop to a number of star-rated hotels, clubs, flight kitchens and offshore catering compani es all over India. * Vista Processed Foods Pvt.Ltd. (Supplier of Chicken and Vegetable range of products including Fruit Pies) A joint venture with OSI Industries Inc. , USA, McDonald’s India Pvt. Ltd. and Vista Processed Foods Pvt. Ltd. , produces a range of frozen chicken and vegetable foods. A world class infrastructure at their plant at Taloja, Maharashtra, has: * Separate processing lines for chicken and vegetable foods. * Capability to produce frozen foods at temperature as low as -35 Degree Cel. to retain total freshness. * International standards, procedures and support services. Vista Processed Foods Pvt. Ltd. McDonald’s suppliers for the chicken and vegetable range of products, is another important player in this cold chain. Technical and financial support extended by OSI Industries Inc. , USA and McDonald’s India Private Limited have enabled Vista to set up world-class infrastructure and support services. This includes hi-tech refrigeration plants for manufacture of frozen food at temperatures as low as – 35 ° C. This is vital to ensure that the frozen food retains it freshness for a long time and the ‘cold chain’ is maintained. The frozen product is immediately moved to cold storage rooms.With continued assistance from its international partners, Vista has installed hi-tech equipment for both the chicken and vegetable processing lines, which reflect the latest food processing technology (de-boning, blending, forming, coating, frying and freezing). For the vegetable range, the latest vegetable mixers and blenders are in operation. Also, keeping cultural sensitivities in mind, both processing lines are absolutely segregated and utmost care is taken to ensure that the vegetable products do not mix with the non-vegetarian products.Now, at Vista, a very wide range of frozen and nutritious chicken and vegetable products is available. Ongoing R&D, both locally and in the parent companies, work towards innovation in taste, nutritional value and convenience. These products, besides being supplied to McDonald’s, are also offered to institutions like star-rated hotels, hospitals, project sites, caterers, corporate canteens, schools and colleges, restaurants, food service establishments and coffee shops. Today, production of better quality frozen foods that are both nutritious and fresh has made Vista Processed Foods Pvt.Ltd. a name to reckon within the industry. * Radhakrishna Foodland (Distribution Centres for Delhi and Mumbai) An integral part of the Radhakrishna Group, Foodland specializes in handling large volumes, providing the entire range of services including procurement, quality inspection, storage, inventory management, deliveries, data collection, recording and reporting. Salient strengths are: * A one-stop shop for all distribution management services. * Dry and cold storage facility to store and transport perishable products at temperatures upto -22 Degree Celius. Effective process control for minimum distribution cost. McDonald’s local supply networks through Radhakrishna Foodland, which operates distribution centres (DCs) for McDonald’s restaurants in Mumbai and Delhi. The DCs have focused all their resources to meet McDonald’s expectation of ‘Cold, Clean, and On-Time Delivery’ and plays a very vital role in maintaining the integrity of the products throughout the entire ‘cold chain’. Ranging from liquid products coming from Punjab to lettuce from Pune, the DC receives items from different parts of the country.These items are stored in rooms with different temperature zones and are finally dispatched to the McDonald’s restaurants on the basis of their requirements. The company has both cold and dry storage facilities with capability to store products up to -22? C as well as delivery trucks to transport products at temperatures ranging from room temperature to frozen state. * Amrit Food (Supplier o f long life UHT Milk and Milk Products for Frozen Desserts) Amrit Food, an ISO 9000 company, manufactures widely popular brands – Gagan Milk and Nandan Ghee at its factory at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.The factory has: * State-of-the-art fully automatic machinery requiring no human contact with product, for total hygiene. * Installed capacity of 6000 ltrs/hr for producing homogenized UHT (Ultra High Temperature) processed milk and milk products. * Strict quality control supported by a fully equipped quality control laboratory. All suppliers adhere to Indian government regulations on food, health and hygiene while continuously maintaining McDonald’s recognized standards.As the ingredients move from farms to processing plants to the restaurant, McDonald’s Quality Inspection Programme (QIP) carries out quality checks at over 20 different points in the Cold Chain system. Setting up of the Cold Chain has also enabled it to cut down on operational wastage Hazard Analysi s Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a systematic approach to food safety that emphasizes prevention within its suppliers’ facility and restaurants rather than detection through inspection of illness or presence of microbiological data.Based on HACCP guidelines, control points and critical control points for all McDonald’s major food processing plants and restaurants in India have been identified. The limits have been established for those followed by monitoring, recording and correcting any deviations. The HACCP verification is done at least twice in a year and certified. The relationship between McDonald’s and its Indian suppliers is mutually beneficial. As McDonald’s expands in India, the supplier gets the opportunity to expand his business, have access to the latest in food technology, exposure to advanced agricultural practices and the ability to grow or to export.There are many cases of local suppliers operating out of small towns who have benefited from their association with McDonald’s India. Pictorial Description McDonalds India sources its ingredients from local suppliers who are an integral part of the cold chain. Refrigerated trucks with multi temperature facility divided into 3 zones –freezer, chiller and ambient to ferry product demanding varying temperature from supplier’s location to the distribution centre.Distribution centre is also divided into multi-temperature zones like trucks with freezer at 0 degree F to 33 degree F. Restaurants have in-built cold storage units subdivided into same aforesaid zones- freezer, chiller and ambient. IN A NUTSHELL Forecasting Demand Equally impressive is the accuracy of the demand forecasts. The restaurants give a three-day to one-week forecast to the Distribution Center. The DC, in turn, has a three-month rolling forecast with the suppliers which enable them to plan their production schedules meticulously.For extensive long-term planning, McDonald’s has devised the 31Q system—3 stands for the three years that the fast food chain will keep checking its plans, 1 represents the detailed forecast of the next year and Q symbolizes the quarterly monitoring of these forecasts. While preparing the annual budget, they include their suppliers in the budgeting process, briefing them on the new products and restaurants to be launched. Using this information, the suppliers roll out their production schedules. The schedule for the next year is carefully fixed and then stringently monitored.Once the forecasts are closed and the budgets fixed, the plan schedules and performances are monitored every quarter, also to ensure that there is no dip in performance. With 217 restaurants scattered across the country, lead times for delivery assume critical importance. But McDonalds’ supply-chain network is everything it is supposed to be to ensure spot on distribution. Every restaurant manager knows the exact time of arrival of each product w hich enables the supply chain team to work backwards to ensure timely distribution. They have fixed locations of suppliers and restaurants and their own fleet of dedicated trucks and cleaners.They can predict the amount of time it takes for a product to reach from an X location to a Y location. If a truck takes four or five days to travel between a supplier’s premises in Taloja, Maharashtra, to Noida in the National Capital Region, dedicated McDonalds’ trucks will accomplish it in two days due to non-stop running of the fleet. This ensures that the lead times for their trucks and deliveries are pretty much predictable. With a maximum inventory of ten days in its system, McDonald’s maintains an efficient inventory turn ratio of 36.Tech Prowess The supply-chain network of McDonald’s, which appears to work effortlessly, is powered by various IT systems which enhance its effectiveness. Vista Processed Foods Pvt. Ltd use SAP, Tier-1 supplier of the chain. Dist ribution Centers of RK Foodland are on RAMCO Marshall ERP with Cobra software. These systems are used to directly upload store orders. At the restaurant level, the fast food chain has in-house developed technologies which track day-to-day sales, enables restaurants to schedule staff and send forecast orders to DCs.

Physical therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physical therapy - Essay Example Communication and interpersonal skills are necessary in the assessment of the patient’s condition and preparation of the most suitable plan of rehabilitation, as well as interact with the patient and his/her family. I am also willing to work in any environment whether in an outpatient clinic, hospital, nursing home, residential home, school, sports/fitness facility, or company (Physical Therapy – Topic par. 3). I am in a good physical condition and can very well lift and support the patient during exercises. As a hardworking and diligent student, I can maintain a satisfactory academic standing. I performed well in the science subjects (e.g. biology, chemistry, physics) I took. Thus, I will be able to hurdle higher science subjects needed in the course (e.g. biomechanics, neuroanatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of disease, therapeutic procedures) (McKay par. 3). I am also planning to take advance studies or specialization in order to better serve the patients (par. 4). I have keen analytical sense and observation, as well as problem-solving skills (Physical Therapy par. 5) which are necessary in making diagnosis and evaluation and providing the appropriate care and intervention. Lastly, I would subscribe to the ethical canons prescribed for Physical Therapist. Primarily, I enjoy working with other people and help them alleviate their plight. I believe that through Physical Therapy, I will be able to help them alleviate their pain, and rehabilitate and restore them to their former functioning. I am also inclined to advocate and educate people on injury prevention or treatment. Moreover, through this profession, I can help my family and relatives who may suffer from mobility and functioning impairment due to disease or accident. This career also offers a wide opportunity for employment and can treat patients from infants to older adults. I have interacted with people from

Visual Arts Manet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Visual Arts Manet - Research Paper Example We are then going to look at the difference in thinking between the artist and the public opinion. We are finally going to conclude by airing opinions, on whose thinking creates an insight to the human population (Sturken & Cartwright, 2008). As I had mentioned, we shall start by analyzing Manete’s work, of 1862-3. Le dejeuner sur l'herbeis is one of the initial artistic wok that Manet ever did. He made this painting in 1862-3. It generated substantial debate amongst many young painters, who desired to create impressionism in art. Together with Olympia, they marked the genesis of modern art. In English, this piece of art means the luncheon on the grass. It is a sketch like art, which comprises of two men and one woman. The men are well groomed in black coats and superb pairs of trouser. On the other hand, the lady is entirely nude. On the other end, there is another woman seem to be washing something in a river. The whole setting is in the wild. The three (i.e. the two men and the naked lady) appear to be discussing something. The lady is more aligned to the man on her right side, and his legs are crossing under hers. There is a basket of fruits, and some snacks by their side. The food stuff is in a disorganized ma nner, which is suggestive that they have already dealt with it, though there are some remainders. This piece of art was out rightly rejected in 1863, at the Paris salon (Herbert,1991). After the rejection, it was exhibited at â€Å"salon of the rejected† later in the same year. Emperor Napoleon instigated this salon, after the rejection of more than 4,000 paintings, during that year’s salon. Another thing that led to its rejection is the fact that it had a sketch-like handling and innovation. This piece of art reveals that Manet had studied previous arts. This is evident through the fact that the main figures in this art were similar to those of Judgment of Paris. Judgment Paris is an engraving by Raimondi’s. It was made in c.1515 and was grounded on Raphael’s drawing. He also seems to have borrowed a leave from the tempest. The tempest was developed in c.1510. He also seems to have taken some idea from the pastrol concert. In the pastrol concert, two fully groomed men, and a nude woman, seated on some grass while making some music. All the artistic wo rks we have mentioned above seem to be carrying some vital cultural information. For instance, there is the common message of gender, and gender role in portrayed in them. They portray the role of a woman in the traditional, western society. The woman is portrayed as the minor, while men are portrayed as senior. This is shown through the act of drawing the women naked, while the men are fully groomed. The roles of a woman are also portrayed in Manet’s oil painting, whereby the woman is doing some washing, while the men and the other naked woman, are just seated down. In addition, it seems to pet ray the traditional western culture, and their way of living, and entertainment. For instance, they would go out into the natural world; in this case the forest, where they would have their meals/snacks. For instance, in the pastrol concert, the characters enjoy playing music, while seated on the grass. Apparently, in their culture, it was a form of entertainment to see naked women. F antasy rape â€Å", is a recent (2007) advertisement, which triggered a pronounced debate amongst many people. It is a print advertisement, wh

Economic Issue Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic Issue - Assignment Example In other words, as competition increases in the market, the cost of labor becomes of essence. Considering that the discriminatory employers would go for particular employees who necessarily do not guarantee the least cost of labor, the result is that their business is likely to have higher labor costs as compared to businesses of non-discriminatory employers. Eventually, labor discrimination will decline as business which discriminate find it hard to operate in a competitive market where cost of labor plays a critical role. Employer discrimination may still persist despite efforts to break down barriers and introduce competition for two main reasons. First, it is almost impractical to create perfectly competitive markets. This is based evidenced by the decade long continuity of labor market discrimination in high-income countries. As regards to developing counties, monopolistic power is quite of essence, which permits indulgence in market discrimination. Secondly, even though competition lives on in virtually all markets, it is not by itself a sufficient reason for the elimination of discrimination. Therefore, market discrimination in a competitive market will still exists as long as all the employers have a taste for

Organizational Behavior Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Behavior Principles - Essay Example If there is no conflict within a group, the question is whether the group is actually in total agreement or whether the members of the group lack innovative thinking and are therefore willing to accept any project set forth At this group's level of management, it seems unlikely that either of these situations exists. Therefore, where there is conflict, there must be resolution. Otherwise, the unresolved conflict will build with time, and success of the team will be compromised (Heathfield, 2002). Team Work - In any team, diversity can be an issue. The personalities of the team members, gender, ethnic background, and attitude all must be considered in creating a working relationship with fellow team members. Understanding and appreciating differences becomes a major consideration in resolving conflicts, as well as the ability of the team to reach an agreement when looking at a new proposal. Teams must have respect for each other and show a willingness to listen to other solutions, rather than considering one's solution to be the only one (Becton, Wysocki, Kepner, 2002). Cooperation and Compromise - In discussing suggestions for project ideas to be present

Food, The Transmitter of a Cook's Emotions Research Paper - 1

Food, The Transmitter of a Cook's Emotions - Research Paper Example The cook who prepares our food understands this linkage between food and emotion. In addition to the cook’s personal passion for the job, the cook also have a deep understanding that particular foods can make us feel in certain ways; that we will always connect a certain sense of our well being with food (Anon, 2004). This explains why cooks are exerting tremendous effort when they prepare our food. They knew that foods do not only feeds and nourishes the body but also makes us â€Å"feel† in certain ways. Cooks can be considered as â€Å"food artists†. In the same way that a painter can convey emotions with his or her masterpieces, cooks can also transmit his or her emotion through food. In fact, cooks can even transmit a stronger emotion to the consumers than what a visual artist does because the experience in partaking food prepared by the cook is more personal and satisfying compared to an artist who only makes emotional impression with its audience. Ways a cook can transmit emotions through food As stated earlier, food stimulates a â€Å"web of association within us. Foods appeals to our senses and arouses certain emotions that link us to certain people, times, and other places (McDonald, 2007) and being such, is able to transmit emotions to us.

Could the leaders of Europe have prevented the Holocaust Essay

Could the leaders of Europe have prevented the Holocaust - Essay Example berg Law of 1935, the violent riots against Jewish businesses on ‘Kristallnacht’ in 1938, the confinement of Jews to Ghettoes in 1940, their killing in concentration and labor camps in 1941 and culminated in their whole scale massacre in the extermination camps from 1942. They were transported by railroads and eliminated in gas chambers in Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald and Maulthausen.1 Approximately six million Jews lost their lives in the Holocaust, which was described by Winston Churchill as â€Å"the greatest and most terrible crime ever committed in the whole history of the world.†2 Hitler’s rabid anti-Semitism was the prime instigator of the Holocaust, but it was also perpetrated by the Western Allies policy of appeasement, which was motivated by self-interest. Anti-Semitism has long been a part of human history and can be considered a cultural phenomenon, prevalent in Europe and America as in the rest of the world. It can be attributed to many factors: jealousy of the economic prosperity of the Jews, resentment of their claims of being the ‘chosen people,’ their vilification as the killers of Christ and 2racism. They have been used as convenient scapegoats for disasters such as The Black Death, subjected to massacres during the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition and to pogroms in Russia and Poland. Hitler advocated world dominion by the pure Aryan races through the elimination of ‘inferior races,’ such as the Slavs, Gypsies and particularly the Jews. He set about this genocide with military precision, aided by the reluctance of Western Europe and America to take decisive measures to stop this horrendous crime against humanity. Britain and France unabashedly followed a policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany due to several factors, which were related to their perceived self-interest. World War 1 (1914 – 1918), with its’ 7 million European casualties, had a deep impact on public opinion, particularly in

Human intellectual curiosity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Human intellectual curiosity - Essay Example Geography is also the study of the planetary variation of both natural and human phenomena on Earth. Study of Geography is as old as human history. It was systematically studied by the ancient Greeks, who also developed a philosophy of Geography. The most prominent of them were Thales, Eratosthenes, Aristotle, Strabo, and Ptolemy. The Romans also made contributions to Geography by doing the mapping of previously unknown lands. The Arabs also bequeathed in the progress of Geography during the Middle Ages. Human beings have always been involved in pondering over Nature. The real initial recorded achievements were those of the Greeks. Thales was the first philosopher whose mythology was used to explain the nature of the physical world. He introduced Geometry and was a prominent astronomer. He was also the first man who started the real process of pondering and predicting. Raphael Sanzio was the great painter and philosopher whose name is used for the famous "Raphael's The School of Athens". During those days of the 16th century, the meaning of the great old ages was being rediscovered and absorbed in Europe. His painting shows the constellation of great Greek philosophers in a beautiful way. The two great scholars, Plato and Aristotle, are present at the centre of his painting. Plato and Aristotle were two of the great Greek philosophers. ... , with Plato holding his hand upright as if to indicate, "Look to the perfection of the heavens for Truth," while Aristotle holds his arm straight out, implying "Look around you as if you would know the Truth." Plato was also a good astronomer. He was among the first few great scientists who studied the sky with his limited resources and revealed many facts that are still relevant with some minor amendments. Meterorologica, 340 B.C. Aristotle's Meteorologica is considered to be the oldest study on meteorological subjects. The bulk of information proved incorrect according to modern research, but it was considered to be authority in those days up to recent years. The Greek philosophers developed their theories just by observation and mere intellectual pondering, but they never did any experiments to prove them. Yet their theories -while not quite correct- helped a great deal in the foundation of the modern scientific knowledge. For example, some theories and theorems by the great philosopher Pythagoras are still relevant. Plato was deeply interested in Pythagoreanism, even though he was reserved about him. He only mentioned him once by name in all his writings, and all we are told then is that he won the affections of his followers in an unusual degree by teaching them a "way of life," which was called Pythagorean. Aristotle also wrote a special treatise on the Pythagoreans, which has not come down to us, but som e of its quotations are found in later writers. These are of great value as they deal with the religious side of Pythagoreanism. Antikythera Mechanism. The level reached by the Greeks in Astronomy and Engineering is impressively shown by the Antikythera mechanism. In 1901, divers working off the isle of Antikythera found the remains of a 2,000-years-old

Fostering Ethical Behavior Essay Example for Free

Fostering Ethical Behavior Essay Ethical conduct in today’s work environment is extremely important as it not only affects the climate of the workplace but can also make a major impact on the output of the employees who work for you. As Kreitner and Kinicki state, â€Å"Improving workplace ethics is not just a nice thing to do; it also can have a positive impact on the bottom line† (Organizational Behavior, 2009, p. 25). But the discussion on how to foster more ethical conduct can oftentimes be a tricky question to answer. First, my firm belief is that you have to start from the top of an organization and work down. If a CEO or upper level manager acts unethically in his/her practices then how can you expect another employee to not react in the same manner? â€Å"Managers are potent role models whose habits and actual behavior send clear signals about the importance of ethical conduct. Ethical behavior is a top-to-bottom proposition†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Organizational Behavior, 2009, p. 25). Secondly, an organization should maintain a strong and respected code of ethics that all employees would be required to adhere, train and reinforce in the workplace. Unethical behavior to get ahead can be a poison to any organization. â€Å"Behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated, whereas behavior that is not reinforced tends to disappear. Ethical conduct too often is ignored or even punished while unethical behavior is rewarded. † (Organizational Behavior, 2009, p. 25). It should be the number one goal of any top management to foster a working environment where ethical behavior is rewarded and I feel that leading by example from the top down will result in a positive outcome in the workplace.

Pragmatism and the Environment Essay Example for Free

Pragmatism and the Environment Essay The environment is at stake. The world we live in is a state of slow death—that the world is dying everyday just as the human body loses body cells every minute. Every natural resource of the world is continually abused without thought of the consequences. In a way, human beings are that of a virus, a systemic biological specie that consumes an abundant and relatively beneficial part, destroys it, moves on to another area, and leaves the consumed, worthless, and decimated. However, human experience teaches us that we cannot always deny the natural law because as intelligible beings capable of understanding, we have the natural ability to adapt to any environment given and finding ways and means to survive. As such, the development of the human race is not possible if not for our natural inclination of adaptability, protection of species, and survival. In the essay Pragmatism and Environmental Thought by Kelly Parker (1996), she mentions â€Å"what we must not try to do is not to master the natural world, but to cultivate meaningful lives within various environments. † This coincides with the natural law of adaptability, in which human beings need not defy standards as defined by nature but to harness it and provide necessary means of survival. Pragmatic Knowledge and Environmental Issues Pragmatism heavily relies on factual understanding rather than the complete belief in the innate ideas of the human mind. William James, John Dewey, Charles Pierce, among other founders of American pragmatism during the start of the century, argued that there are no innate beliefs in which knowledge is based. This means that knowledge is not innately transposed upon the human mind. Rather, experience confirms this â€Å"baseless† knowledge through factual and concrete understanding—that an ideology is only accepted as true if it is to be found practical in application. Human experience is then the basis of such practicality and its truthfulness is defined through practical solutions. The environment is not detached from the pragmatist or any other being. The environment is part of the experience, that there is a symbiotic relationship between the two biological systems as well as other life systems. Parker (1996) emphasized this point in her essay: â€Å"environment, in the most basic sense, is the field where experience occurs, where my life and the lives of others arise and take place† (p. 29). Every circle must have definite bounds in which it interacts and from that interaction is where experience revolves. Through these experiences, there have been developments in the field concerning the environment, especially on ethics. The development of environmental ethics is based on the pragmatic movement. More specifically, the interaction between the two different world views of nature leads to the eventual development of these ethics. These ethics later become moral standards for people until they become a â€Å"norm† of living for most. Based from these practical experiences, these social norms transform into methods of newer forms of social responsibility and enhance environmental awareness such as new laws and legislations concerning the environment, grassroots activism, among others. The Ethical/Global Problem As inferred by the pragmatic view, pragmatism’s role with the environment is more on application rather than theorization. In a more general perspective, human beings have the natural tendency to abuse their surrounding and not to take into account their own actions against different ecological systems around them. This coincides with the debate on moral pluralism and anthropocentrism. Moral pluralism specifies â€Å"no single moral principle or over-arching theory of what is right can be appropriately applied in all ethically problematic solutions† (Parker, 1996, p. 31). There is no ultimate and essential set of moral laws governing every scenario of moral problems. Because of the subjectivity of experience, it cannot be applied to any moral problem because of the lack of objectivity. In relation to environmental cases, there are different moral standards (i. e. , culture, geographical location) that must be taken into account in order for a set of moral/environmental laws to be applied. These different subjective inquiries on what should be protected, allowed, or banned come into a moral dilemma—whether it would be practical or not. Moral pluralism is also related to the problem of anthropocentrism—the prioritization of values for human beings. Human life is placed on greater importance rather than other outside factors. In her article, Parker (1996) further explains this line of reasoning: Again, this is not to say that human whim is the measure of all things, only that humans are in fact the measurers. This must be a factor in all our deliberation in all environmental issues. We can and should speak on others behalf when appropriate, but we cannot speak from their experience (p. 2). The essay proposes that we create standards and laws by speaking for ourselves and for the things that we want to protect based on our own experiences and judgment. For instance, the advocates of endangered species or an ecological subsystem represent their â€Å"party† to other human being. It is through the advocates that these creatures are represented in the debate over human need. The Global Challenge With the looming threat of global warming, greenhouse gas, and other ecological concerns, what we should do is concentrate more on proper action and proper representation of all the numerous aspects of the environment. We have already identified several problems that cause environmental distress recently and from these problems, there should be a formulation of steps to quickly counteract these issues. If left ignored or continually debated upon without any concrete formulas of implementation, these problems will continue to grow until they become uncontrollable. The proper need of identifying these problems will help in creating different strategies as well as formulating legal actions that will help protect and preserve environmental issues. The factual and general perspective is the world is dying and it continues to deteriorate as the number of human population increases. The matter of proper action comes into play through the environmental advocacies all around the world that supports of revitalizing planet earth. However, there remains the fact that human beings generally view the environment as something that can be planted, created, destroyed, and recreated again. This cycle implies that even with human intervention, the natural law of nature will still take its place. Society, especially today, should learn to adapt and live harmoniously with the environment in order to create a symbiotic relationship between the two. We also have to address the apathy of humans towards its environment. We should remove from the human mindset that the ecological system that we live in is not infinite and it will soon vanish if we are to let our actions not reflected upon. By examining our actions, we may come to a realization that everything that we do may affect the environment in ways that we might not even know. Removing this unconscious reinforcement may well be one of the keys in solving our environmental problem. The depletion of our natural resources, the unnatural effects of greenhouses gases and the growing number of human population are just a few of many environmental issues that should be given importance. Although these problems are already experiencing drastic developments for the last six years, we already have the initiative and the technology to somehow lessen its steady increase and may eventually, although not essentially eradicate, balance the gap between human state of living and the environment. Living with an ecological system, we must learn how to balance our actions and lifestyles in order to build a beneficial relationship. In this way, everybody wins. Reference Parker, K. (1996) Pragmatism and Environmental Thought. In A. Light E. Katz (Eds. ) Environmental Pragmatism. London and New York: Routledge (21-37).