Poverty in Our Own Backyard - 1677 Words

Poverty in Our Own Backyard Poverty has many faces, it can be the sad face of a little girl that sits next to your child in class who doesn’t have enough money to buy lunch again, the woman with a haunted stare, standing next to you on the elevator who has an overdrawn bank account and the bank is threatening to foreclose, and it could even be the family of five that lives next door that doesn’t have enough money to put supper on the table again tonight. There is the pleading veteran dressed in dirty rags on the street holding a sign stating â€Å"will work for food†, the newlywed husband, working for minimum wage and doesn’t have enough money left from his paycheck to buy formula and diapers after paying the rent, and the sullen single mom who has just received her notice of eviction due to non-payment of rent. Poverty can happen anywhere at any time and to any person. Everyone has their own definition of what poverty is to them. For most Americans, the word â€Å"poverty† refers to near destitution, which is believed to be the inability to provide healthy food, clean clothing, and safe shelter for one’s family (Rank). Poverty is seen differently through the eyes of others, poverty to a millionaire could mean a family of four living in a three bedroom home in the suburb, while the average inner city family can only dream of having such a home. Poverty defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is the condition of having little or no wealth or few material possessions; indigence,Show MoreRelatedThe Growth Of The Global Commercial Sex Industry1151 Words   |  5 Pages As we enter the 21st century, the world is still experiencing poverty and hunger in their fragile environment. Slavery has been abolished for over 60 years and the list of these human rights violations is long. Furthermore, one of the most infamous crimes in recent ye ars recaptured our attention is human trafficking, which is known as, buying and selling people. Trafficking humans have existed since the beginning of civilization, but in recent years the scourge of trafficking, has exponentiallyRead MoreElectronic Waste: A Growing International Problem1116 Words   |  5 Pagesboth the companies and individuals in developing countries. Developing nations such as China, India, and Ghana hold the largest digital dumping grounds in the world. Hundreds of millions of tons of electronics are shipped and processed in homes, backyards, and large open fields. In her article, Environmental policy analysis, Luther, states Proliferation of and increasingly rapid technological advances in electronics mean that the volume of e-waste generated in the United States is large and growingRead MoreThe War On Poverty And Poverty1149 Words   |  5 PagesThe War on Poverty Poverty in the United States would appear to be an oxymoron. Considering the United States of America is one of the most prolific economies in today’s global market. However, according to the US Census Bureau forty-seven million Americans live in poverty today. â€Å"Poverty condemns millions of people throughout the world to live in deplorable and inhuman conditions. These people are trapped in a cycle of poverty, living in places offering little protection from the rain, wind, andRead MoreU. S. Essay809 Words   |  4 PagesAlmost everyone around the world have their own idea of how U.S is like, possibly through Hollywood, news channel and maybe they heard from friends and family. I had my expectation, my own ideas but once I arrived my mind just exploded. Like many people around the globe, to me U. S. used to mean New York, Washington D.C. Chicago, Los Angeles, all the metropolis, skyscrapers and busy street. When I arrived at Kansas Missouri it was late at night, the place was shining meeting my expectations,Read MorePoverty Between Poverty And Middle Class1454 Words   |  6 PagesPoverty is visible anywhere and it happens everywhere, from the richest nations to the poorest. From the youth to the elderly, poverty can dramatically affect anyone. Some grow up in poverty, while others end up in it. Poverty has increased drastically over the years. The blame for the increased poverty has become an extremely controversial subject, as there are many contributing factors to spite each side. It is evident that it is the people in poverty themselves that is the underlying cause ofRead MorePoverty Is The State Of Being Extremely Poor1205 Words   |  5 Pageswhat about bigger issues like Poverty. Poverty is one that doesn’t really s tick out to a lot of individuals, but it should be addressed. Poverty is the state of being extremely poor, but what does it mean to be poor? Poverty is the children who don’t have a home and children who go to bed hungry each and every night. Poverty is our friends and our neighbors who have to beg for money because they can’t afford to pay off their home payment. Poverty is in our backyards, it’s right here in America. AmericaRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility in the Philippines1221 Words   |  5 PagesFinancial crisis pushed more Filipino families into poverty. Thus in year 2000 onwards, pushed by new challenges such as increasingly critical consumers of products and services who demand more from the companies that produce them. Companies are now being scrutinized as never before and they are made to measure up to standards of environmental sustainability, ethical behavior and governance structures. Questions arise on what else they can do to make poverty history given their access to talent, resourcesRead MoreWater Scarcity Is An Environmental Problem That Reaches1446 Words   |  6 Pagesare underdeveloped and aren t as privileged as we are. Only 2.5 percent of Earth s water is fresh water, of which industrial uses account for 22 percent of available fresh water, domestic use requires only 8 percent, and the rest-over two-thirds of our demand-is used for agriculture. Water is said to be a right for all living things, however, many underdeveloped countries in the world, such as Ghana or Rajasthan, are victims of corporations who come into their country and use their water for profitRead MoreHow to Survive on a Limited Budget Essay539 Words   |  3 Pages Many families and single people are forced to live on a budget. The process of living within a budget takes will and determination but to reach happiness and avoid poverty, it is worth the sacrifices. There are man y economic reasons, such as a new baby in the household, job loss or change, the children’s education expenses or retirement. All of these occurrences can cause financial burdens and, the need to control and tightened spending. Even the wealthy, have to budget and arrange theirRead MoreHuman Trafficking : An Evolving Global Phenomenon1719 Words   |  7 Pagesand the true meaning of human trafficking. Human trafficking hides in the shadows of the world which leaves no room to educate people of the dangers and effects that come with this issue. Nancy Mulvihill, author of â€Å"Human Trafficking: It’s In Our Backyard†, writes that the educating of people about human trafficking begins with the educating of medical professionals (Mulvihill 66). By educating the medical professionals, they alone will be better equipped to notice when a patient displays signs

Racial Discrimination Against Non-whites Essay - 1180 Words

Racial Discrimination Against Non-whites During the time of War World II, many group of nonwhite race faced unfairness in the United States. Among all the minorities that were being discriminated against, the two most well known races were the African American and the Japanese American. They were treated unfairly due to their color and culture. Even though they are two totally distinct groups with different customs and backgrounds, they felt similar the way they were being treated. Both group were denied of their right as U.S. citizen. Despite the fact that many African Americans and Japanese Americans were born and raise in the United States, the U.S. government questioned their loyalty due to their ancestry. As for†¦show more content†¦Many of them know and love U.S. more than Japan, the country of their original ancestry. Some of them are so Americanize that they cannot even understand or speak Japanese. Nevertheless when the war broke out between Japan and U.S., they were asked to fill out a form from Selective Service to prove their loyalty. Number 27 and 28 were two crucial questions, asking if they were willing to serve the army of U.S. in a combat duty and also if they were willing to swear alignment to U.S. government. The people that answered no to both questions were considered as no-no boys, and immediately put in jail. Many Nisei and Sanseis were unhappy about these two questions, because the questions implied that they were at one time loyal to the emperor. As for the Isseis, since they cannot become U.S. citizens, if they swear alignment to U.S government that means they would become stateless people. Even though many Japanese did not pledge loyal to Japanese Emperor, they still answered no to both questions. For those who agreed to fight in combat for U.S., some were even send to Japan to fight against their own blood and kin. Among all the discriminatory actions taken against Japanese American one of the most severe one is the internment camp. There are several reasons that cause this incident. One of the reasons being the successfulness of Japanese in the west coast in the agricultural field. The whites felt that they are being threatened. Thus, executive ordersShow MoreRelatedBlack And White Racism : Racism1189 Words   |  5 PagesName: Course: Tutor: Date: Black and White Racism Introduction For a long time, racism has occurred as a controversial and hotly debated topic in the American society. Racism has infiltrated the way individuals behave, think, and act in different capacities. It is a grievous insult in referring somebody to as a ‘racist’. Black Americans have accused whites, the nation’s ethnic majority for racism, whereas whites have also accused blacks of racism. Widespread uncertainty, disagreement, and confusionRead MoreEssay on Discrimination and Liberty1183 Words   |  5 PagesDiscrimination and Liberty How much should we care if people discriminate? In answering this question, maybe its a good idea to say what we mean by discrimination. The most internally consistent definition is that discrimination is the act of choice. Thus, discrimination is a necessary fact of life - people do and must choose. When one selects a university to attend, he must non-select other universities - in a word, he must discriminate. When a mate is chosen, there is discrimination againstRead MoreThe Complexities And Processes Of Racial Housing Discrimination877 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"The Complexities and Processes of Racial Housing discrimination† by Vincent J. Roscigno, Diana L. Karafin, and Griff tester, the main concept of racial disparity and inequality among neighborhoods is discussed, and how those inequalities became to be. They first highlight the wide range of potentially exclusionary practices, through qualitative and quantitative data comprised of over 750 verified housing discri mination cases (Roscigno, p. 162). Citing the U.S. Census, it is found that BlacksRead MoreHuman Rights Discrimination927 Words   |  4 PagesHuman rights- discrimination against black people DEFINE: Discrimination is the detrimental treatment of different categories of people, particularly on the grounds of race, age or sex. Discrimination occurs when people see black people as threats, when they don’t have cell phones, don’t have any lunch and the worst one their skin colour. The skin colour of someone changes everyone’s point of view; some people can’t see past the colour of another person’s skin. Discrimination against black peopleRead MoreWhy The Incarceration Rate So High For Young Black Males?1428 Words   |  6 Pagesage 20-24 was 39,000 white males, 40,100 Hispanic males, and 68,400 black males (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013). This paper will focus on why such racial disparities exist in the U.S. prison population. Research on prison sentencing can identify if there is discrimination in sentencing and imprisonment; however it is geographically limited to studying â€Å"hot spots†. Also the methodology and factors considere d may be different. There are many causes that contribute to racial disparities in prisonRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Ethnic Minorities812 Words   |  4 PagesStatement Discrimination of Racial/Ethnic Minorities Racial discrimination is rooted in U.S. history. The enslavement of Blacks and murders of Native Americans, by the early Europeans, are representative of this. The context of America’s history with race shapes the minds of physicians both implicitly and overtly (Feagin Bennefield, 2014). Studies have shown that physicians believe White patients are â€Å"more intelligent†, Black patients â€Å"lack the drive† to adhere to instructions, and non-White patientsRead MoreRacial Diversity by Nancy Devan1417 Words   |  6 PagesRacial Diversity by Nancy DeVan Racial Diversity: Historical Worksheet Racial Diversity ETH/125 Nancy DeVan March 1, 2013 Associate Program Material Racial Diversity: Historical Worksheet Answer the following questions in 100 to 250 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. †¢ Throughout most of U.S. history, in most locations, what race has been in the majority? What is the common ancestral background of most members of this group? The  United States  isRead MoreWhat Should Cynthia Mitchell Do?893 Words   |  4 PagesThe following sections will help to generate alternative solutions to discuss what Cynthia should do regarding Steve’s case, whether it is ever right to discriminate against individuals for their own goods, and whether it is a manager’s obligation sometimes to violate against their personal ethics to make decisions. What Should Cynthia Mitchell Do? In other words, should she terminate Steve? Should she have placed him in this position to begin with? (Humphreys, 2009.) First of all, Steve’s performancesRead MoreDiscrimination Lives Within Everyone Essay1013 Words   |  5 PagesRacial discrimination has affected the world in many ways. Historically in the United States there have always been racial issues between the African Americans and white Americans. Most African Americans were sidelined in all areas of economic, political and social growth. Whites were seen to be more superior, which led to segregation of housing, schools, restaurants, hotels, and transportation. Equally concerning, are the instances of religious discrimination that still occur in this countryRead MoreThe Civil Rights Movement in 20th Century America1738 Words   |  7 PagesThe Civil Rights Movement Until the 1950s, African Americans had experienced discrimination in all aspects of their lives. They were no longer slave, but they were definitely not equal citizens. During the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans, along with a number of other racial groups, embarked on a campaign to change this situation. This campaign challenged discrimination and fought to achieve the objective of equality that the American constitution promised for its entire people. It composed a

Tourism Brazil’s Location Free Essays

string(179) " Brazil is not a tourism-dependent nation, tourism indicates one of the most vital areas for the successful Brazilian economy as well as the constant country’s development\." Brazil which is the biggest country in the South America is a unique country with wonderful destinations and attractions. With half of South America’s land and one-third of the population of all Latin Americans, Brazil is a land of the marvelous, transcendent and the tragic. The gross area of Brazil covers approximately half of South America as it is the mainland’s biggest nation. We will write a custom essay sample on Tourism: Brazil’s Location or any similar topic only for you Order Now At just over 3. 3million square miles, it is slightly larger than the continental United States (Eakin 1997). It extends 4,772 km from North to South and 4,331 km from east to west. Also, border of Brazil meet other nations on the continent excluding Ecuador and Chile. The east side of Brazil is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The north side of Brazil is surrounded by Guyana, French Guiana, Venezuela, and Suriname. On the northwest, Colombia edges Brazil. On the west, Brazil is edged by Bolivia and Peru. On the southwest, Argentina and Paraguay edge Brazil. On the south, Brazil is placing Uruguay (Infoplease 2000). The population composition of Brazil. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2013) which is the government statistical agency, Brazil’s population had increased to approximately from139. 8m in 1990 to 175. 9m in 2003. Also, it is predicted to reach about 200. 3m in 2020. Thus, it is obviously that Brazil’s population has been continually increasing. Brazilian society progressed from succeeding waves of immigration from Europe and Africa. As illustrated by the 1996 census, 83m Brazilians are of European origin including about 60m of mixed race. The black inhabitants are of 7. m and Brazilians of Asian origins are about 700,000. Also, indigenous Indians who live in Brazil are about 162,000. Furthermore, the massive majority of research on racial dynamics in Brazil concentrates on the black-to-white variety. Brazil’s large-scale social surveys usually use three ethnic or color to capture the variety of identifications on this continuum including white (branco), brown (pardo, or â€Å"mixed†), and black (preto). It was surveyed that about 99% of the Brazil’s population included in one of these three classes in the three polls 1991, 2000, and 2010 (Stanley et al. 013). ?The cultural and economic features of Brazil Brazilian identity has been mainly formed by the Portuguese, who delivered its major language and religion. However, it has been shaped by also native indios, Africans and the many migrants from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. According to Burity (2008), even though Indigenous culture has frequently overlooked by urban Brazilians, it has assisted to shape modern Brazil and its traditional myth, dance as well as music. The influence of Afric an culture is also obvious, particularly in the Northeast. Portuguese brought not only a large number of black slaves but also their religion, music and cuisine which have developed a part of Brazilian identity. It is obviously that Brazil is a very racially and culturally compound nation. Brazil’s economy has become a major object of speculation for international stakeholders, researchers, specialists, and policymakers over the world. With filled natural resources, and gradually energetic global corporations, Brazil has been notably selected as BRIC which are the four very large, rapidly emerging economies countries including Russia, India and China. There are several major factors that Brazil can be emerged as a rising star. Those are the strong global demand for the country’s key products, wide-reaching successes for the country’s main corporations, and proper economic policies which have improved confidence. Although once Brazil’s economy stagnated with debt crisis, macroeconomic volatility and high inflation during the 1980s, today, Brazil is more intensely incorporated with the global economy than at any time in the past half century (Brainard Martinez-Diaz 2009). Brazil’s economic management has been respectable however, public debt quiet remains high, which may pressure on government finances and menace social security. This is one of the major issues in Brazil’s sustained economic strength for the future and sustaining growth to generate employment and reducing government debt can be considered (St Louis 2010). ?Features of Brazil’s natural environment Brazil boasts some of the most marvelous plant and animal life in the world. Brazil has the world’s largest rain forest, as well as the greatest wetlands. Rain Forest covers much of the Amazon river drainage basin while Wetland which is the largest fresh water swamp in the world, is half the size of France. This is mainly flooded grasslands from the River Paraguay which starts in Brazil and flows south to Argentina. This area is called the Pantanal. In Brazil, around 55,000 species of plants, 3000 freshwater fish, 770 amphibians and 520 mammals are found. More than one-third of the reptiles and over half the amphibians take place nowhere else and new species are being discovered constantly. Brazil has five principal biomes which are Amazonia, Atlantic rain forest, Caatinga, Cerrado and the wetlands of the Pantanal. Brazil is huge country and its flora and fauna are scattered across vast regions (St Louis 2010). ?The history of tourism in Brazil Although Brazil is the biggest country in South America and has an abundance of cultural and environmental diversity, tourism has been generally ignored by both policy makers and the private division (Santana 2000). As the challenge of fostering the socioeconomic development by increasing the number of tourists, there was something the federal government took up only in the beginning of 1990s. Its application involved a series of public and private investments which have transformed both the region and social relationships in the areas directly influenced. Until the 1966 establishment of the Brazilian Tourism Institute named EMBRATUR, there was fundamentally no authorized policy of supporting tourism. EMBRATUR regulated several terms which can be considered as the creation of a national tourism policy. However, the initial role allocated to EMBRATUR was inadequate to consolidating the internal market and increasing external demand. In the beginning of the 1990s, an institute made the basic agent for developing official policies for the sector (Bartholo et al 2008). ?The place of tourism in the economic life of Brazil Although Brazil is not a tourism-dependent nation, tourism indicates one of the most vital areas for the successful Brazilian economy as well as the constant country’s development. You read "Tourism: Brazil’s Location" in category "Papers" According to Santana (2000), the tourism industry in Brazil has also been generally recognized as a promoter of social and economic development by the introduction of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism. With supported by increasing economic development, most tourism indicators had experienced extraordinary growth by 1998. The deregulation of air transport helped out to raise domestic travel to record levels in 1998 the number of air passengers rose by 25 percent between 1997 and 1998. Also domestic travel increased by 43 percent over 1997, when 38. million Brazilians travelled within the country. The contribution to overall tourism receipts in 1998 was significant, with over US $6 billion. The economic stability and strong currency have also made it possible for Brazilians to travel abroad. In 1997 Brazil experienced an unprecedented tourism deficit that destabilized the country’s balance of payments. More than four million Brazilians went abroad compared to 2. 9 million international arrivals. According to the EMBRATUR, domestic and international tourism contributed over US $billion to the Brazilian economy, or 3. percent of the nation’s GDP (Santana 2000). Therefore, it is expected that there is a significant correlation ship between Brazilian tourism and Brazilian economic. Factors influencing tourists’ choice of Brazil as a destination ?Push factors that create tourist demand for tourism in Brazil Push factors refer to the fundamental necessary for engaging in tourism that is for using the facilities provided by the tourism industry (Weaver Lawton 2006). There are several push factors that create a demand for tourism activity in Brazil. First of all, natural environment such as abundant natural resources are widely used to promote the nation’s tourism. International tourists inclined to be attracted by Brazilian regions which have various attractions such as rivers, waterfalls, national parks, beaches and native forests. These attractions strengthen Brazilian local economy. Also economic and technological development has made Brazil become the world’s fourth-largest internal flight market in terms of the number of travelers transported on scheduled airlines. The number of total internal air travelers in Brazil reached about 77. 4 million in 2011. Furthermore, infrastructure quality affects destination competitiveness in important ways. The quality of a destination’s infrastructure may serve to attract tourists. In the process of choosing a destination, the image of infrastructure will play important role. Another factor can be a political issue that tourists should have the approval of their government to enable them to travel to Brazil. The Brazilian government concludes a number of open skies contracts with several countries during 2009 and 2010 to open its air transportation provision and draw more foreign visitors into Brazil. Furthermore, the development of social tourism can be one of the factors. Vilela de Almeida (2011) mentions that in contemporary society, social tourism has been emphasized because, social tourism provides opportunities for travel and holidays for Brazilians who do not have access to large amounts of discretionary income. There have been attempts by the Brazilian government to provide holiday opportunities for low income local people, for elderly people and for students. Those mentioned factors can be significant roles to develop Brazilian tourism. Components of the tourism supply-side in Brazil ?The ways in which Brazil and its attractions are promoted and interpreted The Brazil’s military government created Embratur, the Brazilian Tourist Agency, with the purpose of reshaping the tarnished image of the country, caused by reports of torture and abuse by the dictatorship. Thus, Embratur became an important instrument for the formation of Brazil’s image abroad (Bandyopadhyay Nascimento 2010). Also Filho (2005) mentioned that in its advertisements Embratur emphasized Brazilian woman’s physical assets such as big bottoms, their tanned skin and ease of being seduced. Furthermore, Alfonso commented that Embratur, the governmental body responsible for the regulation of the national tourist sector, disseminated images of almost naked women, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, in leaflets and banners. This city and symbols like the mulatta and samba, representing the beauties of Brazilian beasches and the national carnival were chosen to structure Brazil’s image in the international market between 1970s and 1990s. However, today public and private officials are trying to revitalize tourism image as part of more diversified tourist products which includes fishing within rural and eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is promoted in the media by marketing the Pantanal as a ‘paradise’, an ‘El Dorado’ and an ‘ecological sanctuary’. Officials are keen on developing ecotourism in a more planned way which would be coherent with maintaining local natural and cultural resources rather than encourage mass tourism which could provoke the opposite. The development of local rural and eco-tourism was first promoted by government tourist agencies and then taken up by the regional residents (Araujo Bicalho 2009). ?Services available to tourists in Brazil including transport and hospitality Sustainable services which include transport and hospitality is one of the most significant component of the tourism supply-side in Brazil. Lowry (2012) reports that the tourism plan for the FIFA World Cup 2014 which is developed by the World Cup Executive Group (GECOPA), provide better tourism information to tourists. Also it offers quality services and accommodation, and promotes tourism destinations in Brazil. The plan provides for the construction, renovation or expansion of tourist service centers, the establishment of tourist signage, and civil construction projects to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities. Also Araujo and Bicalho (2009) mentioned that there has been constantly development of amenities for tourism in Pantanal. A new airport was constructed in Bonito municipality and another new airport is scheduled for Porto Murtinho municipality. A paved freeway was built across the Pantanal between Corumba and the state capital Campo Grande. Existing roads within the swamps have been converted into park routes. Also a historic railway between Campo Grande, Miranda and Aquiduana has been restarted as a tourist attraction since 2009. Also there is a network of tourist services in urban and rural areas which include hotels, restaurants, night clubs and other attractions. Furthermore, urban facilities were demanded by tourists so that since 1995, electricity has been available to remote rural areas. Most lodges started to install electric lighting, running water, air conditioning, cable television, internet and mini-refrigerators in the guest rooms and saunas and swimming pools for guests. Tourist facilities also include parking lots, public bathrooms, and access roads to lakes for recreation fishing so it allows tourists easy and safe access to natural attractions. Tourist experiences in Brazil ?performance experiences Many international tourists visit Brazil to get virtuous tourist experience and to gaze the Brazil’s image through Carnival which is the best well-known festival in Brazil and has developed a national event of huge sizes. The country breaks for almost a week and events inclined to be intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities. Carnival in Brazilian culture is considered as much more than a simple celebration. Delgado (2012) mentioned that it is one of the pieces that make up the Brazilian identity. To establish an identity is meaningful to Brazilian. It is through the difference with respect to each other that the idea of unity of the nation is built. Thus, the carnival is an element of differentiation with respect to each other, serving as a mark of a Brazilian. There was naturally basic characteristic change over time in terms of a traditional carnival; however, the contact with tourists as well as the growing popularity of communication, technologies and globalization has accelerated the process. There is plurality of identities, constructed by different social groups in different historical moments. Thus, similar to authentic identity, the original representations are built up and modified as changes social and historical moments. The importance for the Brazilian carnival is undeniable, most popular party in the country which is a place where the transgression is possible, the world of street is transformed temporarily into space. ?Photography Hillman (2007) defines that the photography generates and transmits images and tourist symbols such as sites, memorials and masterpieces and its important role is to construct and interpret the tourist destination image in special historic, social and cultural background. The use of postcards, tourist leaflets, and photographic evidence of journey by tourists is a way of justifying their journey and tourism experience through visual authentication. Also the expanding spaces of cameras and video increasingly are able to represent themselves both to tourist and academics. The best-known example is probably the Kayapo in Brazil. They were supplied with video cameras after work with visual anthropologists and Amazonian Indians in Kayapo are represented by broadcast (Crang 1997). The vivid images of life of Amazonian Indians makes people actually travel around the area. Then they will go back to home with the proof of travel to distant and exotic places, and visual authentic verification that they were actually present in the location. ?Slum experience In Brazil, there is a special place where tourists can have a slum experience. The name of place is Rocinha which is the largest favela in Latin America, and is located in Rio’s South Zone. It has not been well-known since until slum tourism have become a recognized form of dark tourism. Ma (2010) contended that slum tourism provides a distinctive experience that today’s traveler seeks meaning in their vacations and is moving away from the trend of fun and pleasure. Freire (2008) commented that one of the most popular slum tour organizations is Favela Tours which has seen an average of 3,000 tourists per month for the past ten years. A total of 98% of its market is foreigners, a trend seen across all organized slum tours. Also, Frenzel Koens (2012) mentions that more than 50,000 tourists participated in organized favela visits in Rio in 2011. And a number of tourists will probably growth with the coming FIFA World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016. More recent year the favela tours are also offered in Sao Paulo and Salvador de Bahia. The figure from Brazil indicates that slum tourism is already a highly professionalized business in the country. Apart from guided tours, the destination also offer elements of adventure tourism such as bicycle and motorbike tours, accommodation in the slum and specialized tours focusing on music, food or ecological aspects. Therefore, it is expected that slum tourism stimulate local entrepreneurship and local economic development, and support poverty alleviation. Impacts of tourism on tourists and the host society ?Impact of tourism on Brazilians The impacts of tourism on Brazilians can be both a positive and negative. Tourism has increasingly become a key economic activity for Brazilian. According to Puppim de Oliveira (2003) especially Northeast region possesses a significant potential for the development of tourism such as a warm climate year round, cultural diversity and over 2. thousand kilometers of seashore with attractive beaches. Thus, tourism in this area improves the regional economy, attracting investments, creating jobs and generating income to diminish poverty. Similarly, tourism activities can bring positive externalities to society. For instance, the infrastructure for tourism can be used for other purposes as well. Airports can also be used by locals who want to travel. Roads can be used for transportation of local passengers, and agricultural or manufactured products. In the State of Bahia, Brazil, the paving of the touristic road connecting the small town of Itacare to the arger town of Ilheus allowed the creation of new bus lines. Before the construction, Itacare had only few bus routes so that there were always limited transportation options of the local population. The new road increased access by the local population to Ilheus for shopping, recreation and medical purpose. Therefore, it is clear that tourism industry can improve local economic and employment benefits. On the other hand, there is negative tourism impact on Brazilians. The local environment and society has a limited capacity to absorb and recover from impacts of tourism. If these impacts exceed the carrying capacity, their effects on the environment and local society can become permanent and cause serious environmental, social and cultural problems. Also uncontrolled competition within the tourism industry over environmental resources such as water, land, environmental amenities, can generate undesirable impact on the whole industry. An increasing demand for an attractive unexplored beach can produce a growing construction of hotels and houses at the sea side that can degenerate the primary environmental quality of the beach. This can also cause a series of environmental problems such as deforestation, air and water pollution, degeneration of the landscape, which can negatively affect the quality of tourism or even the whole tourism industry in a region. For example, the Pantanal wetlands face serious threats, including the rapid spread of intensive soy, cotton and sugarcane farming on Brazil’s central plains, which are the source of most of the Pantanal’s water. Furthermore, on Brazil’s coasts, growth of cities and growing tourism developments threaten many delicate coastal marine ecosystems (St Louis 2010). Thus, an uncontrolled growth of tourism in one region can potentially undermine its tourism by damaging its environmental or cultural resources, if proper intervention is not in place. Conclusion ?What are the prospects for the future of Brazil as a tourist destination and what should be done to ensure a successful future for Brazil? As it mentioned above, there is no doubt that Brazilian tourism already shows a major role in the Brazilian economy and that it also represents a substitute for development. There is a constant development of infrastructural in tourism area based on exotic natural environment to attract tourists. Therefore, it is boosting a significant increase of a number of international tourists in Brazil. With 2014 Brazil world cup and 2016 Brazil Olympic, it is expected that tourism industry will be more developed and a number of tourists will be more visited ever before. However, unfortunately, Brazil is now also renowned for the destruction of its natural environment that all of its major ecosystems are threatened and over 200 animal species are endangered. Thus, the amount of protected territory continues to grow. At least 20 new national parks have been created since the late 1990s (St Louis 2010). Also, there is also another negative issue that the sexual exploitation of women and children has made a Brazil portrayed as a sexual playground (Bandyopadhyay Nascimento 2010). Likewise, the country’s reputation as an erotic playground continues to attract the wrong type of tourist with special tour purpose. Thus, it is obvious that protecting Brazil’s natural wonders and changing tourism image should be resolved as essential for Brazilian tourism future. To ensure successful future for Brazil, all stakeholders of Brazilian tourism including government should have an important role to play that not only ensures tourism development which minimizes harm to the ecology, but also provides an economic incentive which encourages preservation and protection. Brazilian tourism has the potential to be beneficial in the several sectors in national economic and local development; however, the tourism also has the potential negative impacts such as some negative images and environmental issues. Thus, the tourism is needed several implications in order to be sustainable. Therefore, to improve Brazilian tourism, this report recommends that firstly it should be enhanced a destination’s competitiveness through the target market’s awareness of the destination and through its positive image. Also, it should be developed a desirable plan to adopt a comprehensive approach which integrates tourism economic development, international or inter regional trade, social development and other marketing goals into an integrated strategy. Secondly, the environmental problems can be minimized by the governments which generate governmental environmental organizations and educate government officials in environmental issues, and enforce environmental regulations. Furthermore, it is important to control of development and tourist flow and creation of protected areas by Brazilian governments which are responsible for creating protected areas for providing incentives for private actions towards environmental protection. How to cite Tourism: Brazil’s Location, Papers

Exploring the Anatomy of Modern Society- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theExploring the Anatomy of Modern Society for Online Scam. Answer: Online Scam And Information Technology The principle of Catholic social teaching regarding Human Dignity specifies that each one of us is Gods image. Every individual has an inborn dignity, which nobody can just take away (Catholic Church 2001). One of the major concerns of twenty first century is the relation between human dignity and the information technology. To be more precise, the unethical challenges or issues are being faced by the citizens of the society. It questions human dignity and common good (Heyer, Rozell and Genovese 2008). On one hand information technology has helped us in many ways; on the other it has also questioned the ethical issues of the society. The issues can be intimacy, scamming, accuracy, privacy, pornographic issues, accessibility to ones personal information, plagiarism and many more. In this globalized world, technological evolution along with fierce competition has significantly led to a creation of those who are rich with information. The knowledgeable hackers can easily hack ones system sitting at the furthest corner of the world (Grace 1996). This leads to severe consequences and loss of common good and dignity, the results are disastrous. It is recommended to use technology tools in an effective manner as at times; it can lead to imbalances and universal access. Furthermore, being a responsible citizen, it is important to think about the society. Aware people, who are still naive regarding such issues, think about the vulnerable society and common good (Collier 1995). Online scamming has become very common in modern days. Scammers may post pop up messages, call you, set up websites which are fake or even offer free scanning; all these are to make you believe that the computer which you are using is infected. Majority of the scammers claim to be associated with some renowned companies like Apple or Microsoft. Some even use pop up messages to warn the users regarding computer problems. They fool the users by saying that viruses or malware have been detected on the users computer or laptop. Faking it, they claim to be the tech support for getting accessibility to the system of the user. Eventually, they diagnose the problem which doesnt even exits and fool the users by asking them to pay unnecessarily. Often they provide harmful services which cause threat to the users device (Audi 2012). It is very crucial to keep in mind that unexpected pop ups, spam emails and calls or any other urgent messages are not to be given importance. Just stop and think once, dont just click on the links which are suspicious, stop giving control of your system to any unknown person and dont send money unnecessarily. Users get easily scared and fall prey to the online scammers convincing power. They feel that the problems and issues are real and give them unnecessary access to the systems. Look out for reliable companys information online and recognize your responsibility towards the common good, society and environment. Moreover, Scammers are pretentious, their motive is to hack the users computer and get information. They may act like something serious has happened and pretend to be from a renowned company, like Apple or Microsoft. By using some unknown technical terms, they try to gain the customers trust and faith. Dont share your passwords and give full authority to someone who intentionally contacts you. If you are already scammed by some unknown person, getting rid of malware is necessary. Download or update security software which are legitimate and scan the device. Delete each and everything, which the software claims to be a problem. Changing passwords is also necessary, as they are already being shared to someone (Donley et al. 2006). Moreover, if any user has already paid for some bogus services using a credit card, he/she should immediately call the credit card company and tell them to reverse the respective charges. Statements need to be checked and the whole matter should be reported to ftc.gov/complaint. Furthermore, being a responsible citizen, it is important to think about the society. Aware people, who are still naive regarding such issues, think about the vulnerable society and common good (Collier 1995). So in future, if anybody gets a call like this, just hand up, ignore it a nd most importantly, report it. References Audi, R., 2012. Virtue ethics as a resource in business.Business Ethics Quarterly,22(2), pp.273-291. Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001.Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good. USCCB Publishing. Collier, J., 1995. The virtuous organization.Business Ethics: A European Review,4(3), pp.143-149. Donley, S.R., Grandjean, C., Jairath, N. and McMullen, P., Nursing and the Common Good November-December 2006. Grace, G., 1996. Leadership in Catholic schools.The contemporary Catholic school: Context, identity and diversity, pp.70-88. Heyer, K.E., Rozell, M.J. and Genovese, M.A. eds., 2008.Catholics and politics: The dynamic tension between faith and power. Georgetown University Press.

United States Postal Service Essay Example

United States Postal Service Essay The U. S. Postal Service It is important for the U. S. Postal Service to have a high volume of mail to process in order to follow the mission statement. An organization mission is its reason for existence and is expressed in the mission statement (Stevenson 42). Mission of the Postal Service: The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities (USPS 1998). For the Postal Service to â€Å"bind the Nation together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  they would need a high volume of mail from across the country to process on a daily basic. The more mail means a more successful business. Productivity improved at the Postal Service due to the increased use of automation and introduction and later expansion of zip codes. The technological advancements allowed for postal rates to remain low and maintain rapid delivery. Technology is not enough for productivity to increase. We will write a custom essay sample on United States Postal Service specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on United States Postal Service specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on United States Postal Service specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer There needs to be proper planning or else technology can reduce productivity (Stevenson 58). Competition from delivery companies such as, FedEx and UPS put pressure on the United States Postal Service to increase productivity to keep rates low and maintain rapid delivery. Operations Management makes point that pricing is very important to consumers in the selection process and that there is a trade-off between price and quality (Stevenson 40). Having lower prices and/or rapid delivery will determine whether someone will choose to mail their package with the Postal Service or the competition. The United States Postal Service took several steps to remain competitive, first starting with customer service. The Postal Service began working to better identify their customer’s needs; this included adding customer service managers, expanding retail hours, and measuring customer satisfaction. The text explains that â€Å"Identifying consumer wants and/or needs is a basic input in an organization’s decision making process† (Stevenson 40). The Postal Service also underwent a reorganization where management positions were eliminated and divisions were consolidated to reduce overhead. These measures all lead to increased production and speedier delivery to remain competitive. The results of the Postal Service’s changes were very successful. The reduced bureaucracy and overhead lead to improved service, customer satisfaction and reduced the need to increase postage rates. The reorganization eliminated some programs, cut cost, attracted new business, and reduced the Postal Service’s projected deficit. The Postal Service employed a quality-based strategy to accomplish these goals. They focused on improving the quality of its organization, as quality is maintains and attracts new customers (Stevenson 50). The increased use of e-mail has an inverse effect on the Postal Service’s production. The more mail that is sent electronically means less mail is being processed by the Postal Service. The less mail being processed equals decreased productivity (Stevenson 53).

Descartes & matrix essays

Descartes & matrix essays Matrix is an interesting movie because it examines very basic questions of philosophy. The existence of human being, the reality of this world we live and the questions of the reliability of human mind are examined during the movie. When examined deeply, it is found that the philosophy of Matrix has very common features with the philosophy of Descartes. The dream metaphor, the deception of people by a malignant demon, the reliability of certain physical truths, and split of mind and body are the most significant ones. But there are also some significant differences, since the possibility of dreaming is remained as a possibility for Descartes whereas in the movie it is realized. Moreover, the existence of God is another big difference since Descartes is a strong believer but movie ignores the existence of God. In the movie Matrix, before Neo discovers the reality, Morpheus asks Neo Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? and he continues, What if you were unable to wake from that dream, Neo? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world? In the movie, the dream, which Neo woke, was his own life. He could not sense that the world in which he is living is just a dream. The whole story of the movie is started up by the wake-up of Neo and some other people from their dreams, namely the Matrix. The most surprising similarity between the Matrix and the philosophy of Descartes is the dream metaphor. Descartes, similarly, asserts that we might be in a dream in which, even if we realize that we are dreaming we could not wake up. Descartes started to build his argument by giving examples of real life such as How often, asleep at night, am I convinced of just such familiar events - that I am here in my dressing gown, sitting by the fire - when in fact I am lying undressed in bed (75). The objects in our dreams are sam...

Evaluate what managers do so as to manage the organisational Essay

Evaluate what managers do so as to manage the organisational environment - Essay Example alize the fact that business is a consistently changing world and in this context only the people who are ready to acclimatize themselves would be hailed as successful. Thus to put it in the related context, change is the only constant in the world and in the business scheme of things, changing to suit the will and desire of the customers and/or the stakeholders as well as doing one last bit to bring in more revenues and profits for the company just plays the right trick for the business to succeed both in the short term as well as in the long run. Similarly, managing any sports organization could be a Herculean task. This is because managing the sports enterprise means understanding the psyche of the players, the attached officials and team trainers, coaches, people who make the management regimes work in a smooth manner as well as a whole lot more. (Reeves, 2000) Sports management has come to the fore with the increasing viewership of sports within the world with the global audiences touching close to 2 billion people at a single time. This is equally true for soccer events, rugby matches, the Olympics and many other sporting tournaments and events. Within the sporting tenets, managers need to uphold work and staff quality at all times which means that the work done by the workers and the employees alike should match some pre set standards and there is no alienation as far as this point of view is concerned. Sports managers need to plan in a sound manner the different things, control these activities and tasks and make them plot against short term gains rather than having a long run perspective and integrate the activities so that there is a complete mesh in the related ranks and the synchronization is pretty apparent at the end. Sports managers look out for constant changes that happen within the realms of a sports organization in essence. (Duke, 2003) This means that the change factor has to be studied in the light of the consistency basis since as the maxim

Transferable Learning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Transferable Learning - Assignment Example This paper intends to examine into details the external and internal factors that promote or demote the continuity of the company. The analysis is intended to be done by use of PESTEL analysis. Moreover, the Porters Diamond Concept is intended to be applied in examining the strategic planning; the five forces of an industry set up and value chain because of differentiation advantage particularly in creating and sustaining the market niche (POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, 2009). Centrica’s market niche is complex because it occupies both local and global market spaces. Numerous factors of sustaining the market nice will be discussed. Furthermore, the paper intends to explore diverse competition mechanisms used by the company’s management in sustaining the competition level with other players in the same industry. It is imperative to note that, the dynamic nature of the global market the overall company development ion diverse sectors requires specific skills to full realize the whole potential of resource utilization (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST, 2009). The said skills should be embraced by the managers who are required to possess exemplary abilities to detect the company’s trends and act in tandem with the market demands within the same industry (POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, 2009). The managers should not only rely on the internal resources but also the attributed environmental considerations, which affect the operations and trends of the company. Some of these factors include fundamental market features, whic h can affect and dictate the strategic business implementation and sound decision making from available options. The forecast of subsequent political, social, economic and technology implications in tandem with the company’s vision and ambition will ensure successful and purposeful development of the

Disscussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disscussion questions - Essay Example Further, it also instills in the mind a keen familial bond with the innate family and even the motherland giving the person strong roots to stand firmly to find his appropriate place in the world. Something negative about this country is that it is not so much financially a strong country like the U.S. therefore its standard of living is not so much high. In global dimensions, in the field of assertiveness Indian people are moderately assertive in comparison to the people of U.S.A. However, from the Future Orientation dimension which stresses about the delay of the immediate gratification so that something maybe achieved in future, Indian people lead in comparison to U.S.A. This is because in this particular country the people think a lot and care a lot about their family. They are very family oriented therefore they tend to hoard money so that it can be invested in the future for the betterment of their family. Global Footprints,. (2007).  The global dimension in action A curriculum planning guide for schools  (1st ed.). Retrieved from

Automotive Industry Lean Model Analysis

Automotive Industry Lean Model Analysis Introduction In any organization there are essential activities which need to be run effectively: production, quality, logistic, and so on. These activities are the means for the main purpose of any company which is to make money (Goldratt, 1993:41). Today the companies are facing a fierce market place: set the production with customer demand, in variety and quantity, and pursuit superior quality. To reach this is a high goal for any company, reach that and being effective is the core of nowadays strategy plan. The financial crisis that exploded the last year led many companies analyze the way they were operating in, and seek how to be more effective and make the company sustainable in the medium and long term. Reduction of cost is important at any time but reduction in time of crisis is essential. The way to escape the pitfalls faced in the mass production requires a redefinition of the production management system which eliminates the waste and pursuit the efficiency of the company as a whole. This dissertation is a case study base in an industry of automotive  industry. This sector has the characteristic of being very influential in the development of emerging trend in management.  From Henry  Fords  and the introduction  of the  moving  assembly to Toyota Production Systems many innovations have been development in this sector. Taiichi Ohno (1988) was the first person to identify seven inefficiencies which do not contribute to the goal of any company. These inefficiencies of wastes are denominated as muda in the Toyota Production System. It was after the book The machine that changed the world?, 1990, when the term Lean began to be known all over the world. Lean thinking is the medicine for companies suffering from inefficiency, and is Lean because it provides a way to do more with less; less human resources, less equipment, less time and less space, (Womack J. et al., 1990:15). All this reduction measures could be easily translated into money hence when a company is making money it has a future to plan. Another  characteristic  of  automotive industry  is  the  low  margins. The company, in which is based the dissertation, as  many  of  others  automotive manufacturers, is struggling  with  low  or  negative  profits. Through the application of Value Stream Mapping, Cell layout, and Takt time is the intention of the research to show and encourager the company to swap from traditional production into lean manufacturing Confidentiality   The company where the case study is bases is a sensitive phase of change. Due to this reason this dissertation will not display the company name, name of persons working at the company and other pieces of information that can be derived from the research. Therefore the company is referred throughout all dissertation as the company. Aims and objectives The main objective of this dissertation is to study and understand lean model and revealing the efficiency of lean techniques by applying them in a case study. These objectives can be summarised as the following: To carry out an extensive literature review about the lean model. To study the different elements and techniques of lean Draw the potential new ways to seek the processes and process layout. Outline potential improvements in the points below which contribute to solve the problem of the current highly expensive processes. Quality Lead Time Space Inventory Workers required This study intends to show the benefits of lean approach application and be used as an internal feasibility study of the potential application of this philosophy into the company. Nevertheless, whether the company finally decides to apply these principles or not is not the purpose of this project. Methodology The methodology for the first three chapters involves and intensive literature search and review on the lean philosophy. The source of this information was from extensive range of information sources as: written literature; books, journals, and the internet resource; also detailed discussions with lecturers and colleges who had knowledge on the topics. An important part of the literature review was to understand the concept of the lean and how can be applied. Secondary data is based in review documentation provided by the company. Primary data collection is based on the observation of how the company is currently working and after the working procedure are know lean approach will be applied starting with Value Stream Mapping, and the subsequence tools and techniques, described in more detail in the next chapters. Nevertheless a deep explanation to this topic will be found in the methodology chapter. Limitations One of the most important limitations for this dissertation is time limit, driven in part for the limitations time that the research had to the company. The research will be focus to a small area, but the same steps can be applied for all areas/families. No consideration will be taken, about potential issues derived from this research concerning to material handling. Another limitation is the confidential agreement between the research and the company, for this reason relevant information data could not be publicly released. The distance to the company being researched and the researcher is clear limitation for the arrangement of appointments with the company. Nevertheless this limitation known beforehand and a planning was agreed with the company in the first meeting; both sides agreed to make three on site visit of 3 working days each and another visit for presenting the research. 13,14,15 of Aprilà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  1 toma de contacto y anÃÆ' ¡lisis de la situaciÃÆ' ³n actual 21,22,23 of Juneà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  2 Implementation de VSM, cell layout, takt time,. 13, 14, 15 of July à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  3 seguimiento de las mejoras applicadas 24 of Augustà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   4 Ajustes y presentacion del projecto a la compaÃÆ' ±ÃƒÆ' ­a. Research structure This dissertation is divided into 8 chapters, with a brief outline below; Chapter 1 Introductionà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  This chapter explains about the nature and the background of the dissertation objectives. Chapter 2 Literature reviewà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Is included here a study of the background literature on lean manufacturing. Chapter 3 Tools and techniquesà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   This chapter explains the tools and techniques used under the umbrella of lean manufacturing. Chapter 4 Methodologyà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   This chapter gives the overall view of the research design taking into account the methodology under taking to do the primary research and explain the type of research, data and tools used. Chapter 5 Company overviewà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   This chapter discuss the current situation of a second tier car company which is faced a crisis. Chapter 6 Implementation of lean Chapter 7 Data result and analysis Chapter 8 Conclusion and recommendations. This page is left blank on purpose Literature Review Origins of Lean Manufacturing Any new management approach that emerges will undoubtedly contain pieces from the knowledge from the past. Therefore we can find characteristic of lean were addressed in the past like: interchangeable parts developed by Ely Whitney (1765-18825), the work standardization made by Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915), or the time and motion studies made by Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924), where he pursuit the elimination of non-value elements. But without any doubts the most influence person in the development of Lean was Henry Ford, he organized all the elements of a manufacturing system; people, machines, tooling and raw materials, in a continuous flow system, for manufacturing the famous model T by applying this methodology the factory achieve to rise the effectiveness in the assembly process and by 1920 he achieved to reduced the price of the model T at 34% of the original price in 1908. Kiichiro Toyoda travelled to EEUU (1929) in his search for learn the American Way. Fords assembly line provided the flow idea upon which Kiichiro Toyoda based his early car production, but soon he realized the need to adapt it to the market conditions and the culture in Japan. They knew that they could not compete with the giants like Ford in foreign markets. Therefore, they were producing only for internal market, and bring the raw materials from outside, for that reason Toyota could not lower cost by exploding economies of scale, thats why they build a systems upon an strategy: to make many models in small numbers (Ohno, 1988). They pursuit the cost reduction through the elimination of the inefficiencies; defined as muda, Japanese word for waste. (W. J. Hopp et al, 2000) Henry Ford vision about systematic elimination of waste, standardization and elimination of process variability, Quality at the source, and so forth was so inspirational for Ohno and the definition of TPS. In the book Toyota Production System; beyond large-scale Production, 1988, Ohno quoted the Fords book Henry Fords Today and Tomorrow in different chapter as a key to the development of lean principles. In 1945, after Toyoda Kiichiro set an ambitious goal: Catch with America in three years (Ohno, 1988). In order to achieve this goal Toyota production system was developed as a respond to the severe competition imposed by mass production and offered an alternative production system according with the restrictions of the moment. Under these conditions Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) was brought into the company as a leader to translate the ideas of Kiichiro Toyoda into action. He was working for the company since 1932 but wasnt until 1943 when he went transfer to Toyota Motor Company, where he became Machine-shop manager in 1949. During that period the company was fighting on bankruptcy hence major investment or massive inventories werent affordable. For many years the western companies had cut the cost by increasing the production but after oil crisis, explore around 1973, rapid growth stopped and the principle if you can make it, you can sell it (Ohno, 1988, p2), most of the Japanese industries had losses, but Toyota overcame these problems. The capability of Toyota to overcome the crisis was the trigger for eyes opener to Japanese companies and implement the TPS. The Toyota Production System (TPS) was first denominated in the West as Just in Time (JIT).After the initial visits of industries from western countries to Japanese industry, the people returning with stories of factories which produced only what was needed, when needed, without any Just In Case expensive stock. Later, we realised that there was more than this, and the JIT was worked because was part of a more global management system, TPS. A system in fact useful to reduce costs and from that time the TPS became very popular. (Y. Monden 1993). But this system got popularity in the western countries after a researcher made in 1990 for Massachusetts institute of technology (MIT) by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. This five year research about the future of the automobile makers, revealed a gap between the conventional mass production and the new trend used in Japanese industries. This book coined the term Lean as a description of the Toyota Production System. Definition of Lean As is described above, Toyota Production System was born in Toyota (1945). This system is sustained for two pillars: Just in Time and Autonomation or Jidoka. The name of Lean manufacturing was given in a research published by Massachusetts institute of technology (MIT) in 1990. Ohno make three statements in his book Toyota Production System; beyond Large-Scale Production, 1988, taken together we can use as his definition: The basis of the TPS is the absolute elimination of waste. The two pillars needed to support the system are: Just in Time and Autonomation (Jidoka) (Ohno, 1988 p4) Cost reduction is the goal (Ohno, 1987 p8) After World War II, our main concern was how to produce high-quality goods. After 1955, the question became how to make the exact quantity needed (Ohno, 1987 p33). We can conclude that for Ohno the TPS consist of many techniques that are designed to reduce the cost by removing the waste and providing the right product, at the right quantity at the moment is required. Using less of everything this statement was made in the book The machine that change the world (Womack et al. 1990) as a definition of Lean production. Another important contribution of TPS was a new approach of looking at the equation formed by: Price, Cost and Profit. When TPS was developed, the western was using the following equation to obtain price of a product: Price=Cost + Profit In this formula if the cost increase, the best way to maintain the same profit is by raising the price, is based on the principle that is the company who fix the price. By offering more feature, quality or service they can raise the price. By another hand, Japan proposed the next expression: Profit=Price â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Cost In this equation is the market, the final customer who is fixed the price. The companies used the voice of the customer as a means to design the new features of a product, and the price they are willing to pay for it. With this equation the only way to obtain better profits is by reducing the cost as much as possible (fig. 3.1). This equation leads the companies to pursuit internal improvement if they want to keep or raise the profit in the current market situation. (J. Santos, et al. 2006). Figure 3â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 Equation price-cost benefits (adaptation of J. Santos et al 2008) Price fixed by the customer Cost Profit Summarizing we can conclude that Lean is a theory of management that consider the uses of resources for any means other than the creation of value from customer point of view is a waste (defined below); and pursuing the elimination waste as a means of achieving greater efficiency of the process. (Y. Monden, 1993) Seven types of Wastes Muda is a Japanese means waste. According to James P. Womack (2003) any activity which absorbs resources but creates no values is called waste. Lean thinking provides a way to identify the value, defined by the final customer, and analyze the value stream in the search for not added value action in order to eliminate and based in Continuous improvement, where the search for new improvements is never ending. (Womack et al., 2003) The wastes defined by Ohno include parts not right the first time, piles of products made in Just in case, processing step that no one had analyzed, to realized that they are not needed, transporting goods thought work floor, workers, machinery or material waiting to the next step in the process, and so forth. (Womack et al., 2003, p16). There are many types of waste; some are easy to discern others difficult. An important thing to remember is that to eliminate waste, you must find it first, towards eliminating it. The seven wastes (7Ws) addressed by Ohno (1988) are detailed below, with the addition of the one defined by Womack, 2003. Overproduction Manufacturing companies, sometimes produce more than they have sold, some times because they want to build an inventories, in the expectation that the market requirements arise, another times with the purpose to keep everyone busy and / or to achieve a high used of the facilities. Whatever the reason is, making products for which there is no demand is waste and can drive the company out of business. The key point to found this waste is compare what is produced versus what is sold. (J. Nicholas, 1988) Waiting This waste will include delay between the end of one activity and the start of the next activity. This waste can take many forms: operators or machineries waiting for orders, parts, materials, parts for the preceding process, equipment repairs, and so on. Contrasting with the previous waste, this one it is easy to identify. As It was explain above, some companies minimizing the waste of waiting by keeping the workers and the machines active all the times, incurring in that way in the previous waste; overproduction. Stopping the machines and allowing workers to be idle in occasion, is less costly than producing products with no orders. Another advantage of these spare times is that the workers can used it to search for improvements. (J. Nicholas, 1988) Transporting It is any kind of unnecessary transport of workers, parts, products, etc moved from one location to another. There two things that determine the transport through the factory; the layout facility and the sequence of operations. (J. Nicholas, 1988) No value is added in any items while they are moving around, therefore all time and facilities involve in that are wastes. Rearranging the layout and putting sequential equipment together allow us to minimize this waste. Too much machining; over processing. A process may itself contain steps that are ineffective or unnecessary. When company use expensive or high precision equipment where investing in smaller and more flexible equipment would be adequate. This often results in poor plant layout because The monuments are located far away from the process and making the process incur in waste such transportation, wait and in addition overproduction (in order to set high utilization, and justify the investment). Inventories Ohno in his book Toyota Production System, Beyond Large Scale Production (1988), qualify the inventory as the root of all evil because covers other kinds if wastes and inefficiencies and encourages to wasteful practices. Inventories represent items waiting for something to happen, where there are many associated and hidden costs (storage space, handling, management, insurance, lost of opportunity, and so forth). John Nicholas (1988) identifies that many companies even when they recognize the high cost of the inventory they justify them for dealing with issues such: To cover fluctuations in future demand, where more accurately forecasted are necessary. To cover the delay in lead times caused by breakdowns or delivery delays, where a Preventive maintenance plan would be necessary as well a close relationship with the suppliers. To cover long setup times, where an improvement in standardization as well as a study of the setup times made the big batch unnecessary. We can use the analogy of a ship on water (figure 2.1) to clarify the idea of hidden costs and problems incurred with high level of inventory. As inventory is reducing, problems are exposed, which can be resolved. After that, the inventory is lowered again, in order to get more problem appear and management has to resolve them in order for the system to work. Figure 3â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 Analogy of water and inventory Worker absenteeism Work load imbalance Downtime Quality Scrap Rework Out of spec. materials Set-up Times Process variation Inventory level is hidden all problems By reducing the inventory, production problems arise WIP The research is agreed with Ohno (1988) when he argued that people tend to build some inventory as a respond of their farming roots. Our ancestors grew rice for subsistence and stored it in preparation for times of natural disasters (Ohno, 1988) this type of accumulation is no longer practical from the moment that we can find everything that we need from the corner shop. Nevertheless, break this habit in the day to day factory habits is difficult, is requires a change of attitude. But we need to keep in mind that reduction of inventory is not an end itself; it is a mechanism for revealing problems and wasteful practices in the production system. Moving People in work often confuse being in motion with working. A worker in constant motion all day may actually be doing little work; we should consider which portion of the motion is actually added value to the product. This waste is related to ergonomics and the objective is to obtain that the 100% of the motion is work; added value. Hence pursues the elimination of wasteful motion, but not by increasing work. Motions as bending, stretching, walking, lifting, reaching, picking up, transporting, loading, and so forth take workers time and increase the cost, but not add value. (J. Nicholas, 1988) Making defective parts and products. The simplest form of waste is products that do not meet the specification. Manufacturing products right at first time requires no money. Defects in any product are a major source of waste, hold up production and increase production lead times avoidable if products were done right the first time. Quality defects result in rework or scrap and involve a remarkable cost to organizations, along with the associated costs such: re-inspecting, rescheduling quarantining inventory, and capacity loss.   The key point is attain Quality at the source or Quality Assurance where the parts are made right the first time, transforming the old idea of Quality Assurance; where the parts are inspected at the end of the line. In order to achieve this we can use tools such: Poka Yoke, Kaizen, and so forth. (Y. Monden, 1993) Underutilization of Employees In the book Lean Thinking by James P Womack and Daniel T. Jones (1996), was added another wasted, added to the seven defined by Ohno (1988); which was denominated by them as Underutilization of employees. The companies hire employees for the physical skills, and sometimes the managers forgot to take an advantage of the brainpower that they hired with those skills. Some common causes of inability to see this waste may result in mudas such high employee turnover, inadequate hiring practices, and so forth. Not Used the employees as an experts of the process in which they are working is a waste of creativity and the improvement ideas that they can generate, this waste deserved the same important than the previous seven described above. Tools and Techniques There are many definitions that refer to lean; as Toyota Production System, Just in Time, Jidoka, flexible workforce, Kanban, TQM and so forth; partly because for many years had been confusion and many practitioners; mix up the purpose with the means. Lean production may be viewed as a bunch of all this practices/tools, and all underneath subsystems give the necessary support to the main system. The main systems Ohno (1988) described as two pillars are: Just inTime Autonomation with human touch, or Jidoka The tools/techniques of lean, as supporting subsystems can be said as; Kanban Poka-yoke Visual Control, Andon Value Stream Mapping Standard Operations One Piece Flow 5S Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Levelling Production Benchmarking SMED Multifunctional Workers Kaizen Some of the most relevant for the research purpose are explained below. The two pillars of Lean: Just in Time In 1950 Toyota was near to bankrupting, as a consequence they couldnt afford major investment in new machineries or substantial inventories. In 1956 Ohno travel to America, where he got the perspective of Just-In-Time in the American supermarket. He was interested in way the supermarket were working; by providing to customer what they need, when they need and in the quantity they need. Ohno transfer this idea down to the process, and he developed a system that is working like a coordinate chain of small supermarket, where all processes are transformer in customer for the previous step and supplier for the next step and every step is only produced the quantity needed for the next step, with perfect quality and no waste. The system was denominated as pull system. TMMK (7may2010) JIT was developed in the framework of TPS and evolved due to the need of the Japanese industry to survive in the post-war global market. Soon, the value of the system was proven into the manufacturing industry and a large number of companies worldwide hastened to implement this model to their own production systems (Monden, 1993). Ohno developed a number of methodologies to support the Just in Time system; one of the best known is the Kanban system, detailed below. Pull system and Kanban The traditional mass production system is the one denominate as push production system, where every station start to assembly a part when the raw material arrive to the work station. The way to manage production system is usually based in forecasting. The parts usually are processes in batches according to a schedule for each process (fig 2.2). The materials must usually wait until the workstation complete the previous work and is performing the changeover necessary. Changes in schedules, breakdown in machinery and other incidents, make a planning inaccurate. (J Nicholas, 1988). When a problem occurs at one stage, the problem will not be notice in the rest of the system, because an inventory between the workstation are insulated the problems in each workstation, and dependency between workstation was low. Figure 4â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ3 Push System Retention points Process 1 Retention points Process 2 Inspection Retention points inspection Information and material flow High variability in lead times, long lead times, large Work in Progress inventory, and a numerous quality issues are arisen in this system. Besides with the problems associated with maintaining valid scheduled, made by the forecasting office, which is far a way from the shop floor and all the problems that arise in the manufacturing process. By contrast the pull production is sometimes called stockless, because is minimized the work in progress, pursuit the one piece flow. It seeks to have every stage in a process produce and deliver materials downstream in the exact quantities and the exact times requested. (J Nicholas, 1988). Figure 4â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ4 Pull System Process 2 Inspection Material Flow Process 1 Inspection Max Min Delivery point Max Min Max Min Information Flow Refer to the figure 2.3, when a customer order arrives to the delivery point, this work station sends a production order to the downstream process, in order to refill the product had been delivered. The work station 2 in the moment is used more than two parts, and let the buffer with the minimum quantity, then sends a production order to the work station 1. Just in time pursues the zero inventories; the system that is describing here is used a buffer, in that way any process shouldnt wait to have the necessary material to start producing an order. Refer to the figure 2.3 each work station begins de production as soon as the order upstream is received. (J Nicholas, 1988). In contrast with the Push production system, any problem in any work station is affected the whole system, so that all stage are working together in order to resolve the problem, increasing the chances of solving the root problem. Kanban is a subsystem to support of the JIT system and was developed by Toyota in the early stages of TPS. Kanban is a Japanese word for card, but not necessarily need to be a card, sometimes can be a signboard, container, empty space, and so forth. The broadly idea is to use the Kanban, whatever the form is takes, as a signal to produce a specific number of parts request for the next process. (N. Slack et al, 2004). The system is not used a complicated and expensive computer schedules. The theoretical operation of Kanban is no one product is manufacture until is demanded for the final customer. Therefore the signal Kanban is used as a trigger for a production. There are different types of Kanban; Conveyance Kanban, also know as a move Kanban, whose purpose is to move the goods along different production stages. The Production Kanban, work as a signal to a production process that can start producing a part to be place in the inventory. (N. Slack et al, 2004) There are two procedures of using Kanban system; dual-card (used both production and conveyance) this is the original Toyota method, and the single-card, explained below (used only the production, but acting as both move and produce authorization), is more often used the last one, for the simplicity of use. (N. Slack et al, 2004) Figure 4â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 Kanban system. Process 2 Inspection Material Flow Process 1 Inspection Delivery point Max Min Kanban Max Min Kanban Max Min Kanban Information Flow Order to the supplier To explain the concept we can use the example in figure 2.4, where each process made two piece batches. When the delivery point sent two finished parts, the operator takes a Kanban card from the container and sends it back down to the previous workstation; process 2,where that part is assembled. When the Kanban card is received, the previous work station start to assemble new batch of 2 parts, and consequently it sends downs to the previous process the Kanban card in order to refill the parts used in the last operation. This chain or work orders is repeated until an order is sent to the supplier of raw material. This system keeps to minimum the paperwork, provides a self-manage workstation and one the more important achievements is that the inventory of Work in Progress is kept to a minimum. The parts are assembled only when a need for them and WIP is reducing by dropping the number of cards into the system. The two pillars of Lean: Jidoka Jidoka is a Japanese word meaning automation with a human touch, refers to the automatic control of defects under the supervision of an employee; or as is described by Ohno (1988) Autonomation. Is refers to a process that has incorporated mechanism to detect non conformances and not allowed the process to pass a product if there isnt a conformance with the requirements.   Sakichi Toyoda began to used Jidoka, also known as Autonomation; he invented the automatic looms that stopped immediately when any thread broke. In that way one operator was able to manage many machines with no risk of producing outside specifications. This pillar of TPS is a â‚ ¬Ã‹Å"Proactive Systematic Approach. That is means instant detection of non conformances at the root source, pursuing the prevention is chosen over correction for problems after its occurrence. Through this principle we ensure that hundred per cent of the products are free defects, and when a defect is found this is fixed directly, otherwise the worker had the authority to stop the line, in order to resolve it.(J. Nicholas,1998).No OK parts are very important in JIT, when a one short part can cause the stoppage of the whole factory, just to remember one of the quotation for define JIT The exact product in the exact moment that is required (Ohno, 1988) This authority to stop the line meets resistance in western managers, because they are afraid that this can cause a delay in the lead time. But that is only the negative side, by another hand should be viewed as improvements in the process, the root of many quality issues are discovered and as a result they are resolved. Thought Jidoka principles the employees are more aware of quality issues and the related problems, and the number of defects and rework drop at the end of the line. (Nicholas, 1988 Automotive Industry Lean Model Analysis Automotive Industry Lean Model Analysis Introduction In any organization there are essential activities which need to be run effectively: production, quality, logistic, and so on. These activities are the means for the main purpose of any company which is to make money (Goldratt, 1993:41). Today the companies are facing a fierce market place: set the production with customer demand, in variety and quantity, and pursuit superior quality. To reach this is a high goal for any company, reach that and being effective is the core of nowadays strategy plan. The financial crisis that exploded the last year led many companies analyze the way they were operating in, and seek how to be more effective and make the company sustainable in the medium and long term. Reduction of cost is important at any time but reduction in time of crisis is essential. The way to escape the pitfalls faced in the mass production requires a redefinition of the production management system which eliminates the waste and pursuit the efficiency of the company as a whole. This dissertation is a case study base in an industry of automotive  industry. This sector has the characteristic of being very influential in the development of emerging trend in management.  From Henry  Fords  and the introduction  of the  moving  assembly to Toyota Production Systems many innovations have been development in this sector. Taiichi Ohno (1988) was the first person to identify seven inefficiencies which do not contribute to the goal of any company. These inefficiencies of wastes are denominated as muda in the Toyota Production System. It was after the book The machine that changed the world?, 1990, when the term Lean began to be known all over the world. Lean thinking is the medicine for companies suffering from inefficiency, and is Lean because it provides a way to do more with less; less human resources, less equipment, less time and less space, (Womack J. et al., 1990:15). All this reduction measures could be easily translated into money hence when a company is making money it has a future to plan. Another  characteristic  of  automotive industry  is  the  low  margins. The company, in which is based the dissertation, as  many  of  others  automotive manufacturers, is struggling  with  low  or  negative  profits. Through the application of Value Stream Mapping, Cell layout, and Takt time is the intention of the research to show and encourager the company to swap from traditional production into lean manufacturing Confidentiality   The company where the case study is bases is a sensitive phase of change. Due to this reason this dissertation will not display the company name, name of persons working at the company and other pieces of information that can be derived from the research. Therefore the company is referred throughout all dissertation as the company. Aims and objectives The main objective of this dissertation is to study and understand lean model and revealing the efficiency of lean techniques by applying them in a case study. These objectives can be summarised as the following: To carry out an extensive literature review about the lean model. To study the different elements and techniques of lean Draw the potential new ways to seek the processes and process layout. Outline potential improvements in the points below which contribute to solve the problem of the current highly expensive processes. Quality Lead Time Space Inventory Workers required This study intends to show the benefits of lean approach application and be used as an internal feasibility study of the potential application of this philosophy into the company. Nevertheless, whether the company finally decides to apply these principles or not is not the purpose of this project. Methodology The methodology for the first three chapters involves and intensive literature search and review on the lean philosophy. The source of this information was from extensive range of information sources as: written literature; books, journals, and the internet resource; also detailed discussions with lecturers and colleges who had knowledge on the topics. An important part of the literature review was to understand the concept of the lean and how can be applied. Secondary data is based in review documentation provided by the company. Primary data collection is based on the observation of how the company is currently working and after the working procedure are know lean approach will be applied starting with Value Stream Mapping, and the subsequence tools and techniques, described in more detail in the next chapters. Nevertheless a deep explanation to this topic will be found in the methodology chapter. Limitations One of the most important limitations for this dissertation is time limit, driven in part for the limitations time that the research had to the company. The research will be focus to a small area, but the same steps can be applied for all areas/families. No consideration will be taken, about potential issues derived from this research concerning to material handling. Another limitation is the confidential agreement between the research and the company, for this reason relevant information data could not be publicly released. The distance to the company being researched and the researcher is clear limitation for the arrangement of appointments with the company. Nevertheless this limitation known beforehand and a planning was agreed with the company in the first meeting; both sides agreed to make three on site visit of 3 working days each and another visit for presenting the research. 13,14,15 of Aprilà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  1 toma de contacto y anÃÆ' ¡lisis de la situaciÃÆ' ³n actual 21,22,23 of Juneà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  2 Implementation de VSM, cell layout, takt time,. 13, 14, 15 of July à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  3 seguimiento de las mejoras applicadas 24 of Augustà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   4 Ajustes y presentacion del projecto a la compaÃÆ' ±ÃƒÆ' ­a. Research structure This dissertation is divided into 8 chapters, with a brief outline below; Chapter 1 Introductionà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  This chapter explains about the nature and the background of the dissertation objectives. Chapter 2 Literature reviewà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Is included here a study of the background literature on lean manufacturing. Chapter 3 Tools and techniquesà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   This chapter explains the tools and techniques used under the umbrella of lean manufacturing. Chapter 4 Methodologyà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   This chapter gives the overall view of the research design taking into account the methodology under taking to do the primary research and explain the type of research, data and tools used. Chapter 5 Company overviewà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   This chapter discuss the current situation of a second tier car company which is faced a crisis. Chapter 6 Implementation of lean Chapter 7 Data result and analysis Chapter 8 Conclusion and recommendations. This page is left blank on purpose Literature Review Origins of Lean Manufacturing Any new management approach that emerges will undoubtedly contain pieces from the knowledge from the past. Therefore we can find characteristic of lean were addressed in the past like: interchangeable parts developed by Ely Whitney (1765-18825), the work standardization made by Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915), or the time and motion studies made by Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924), where he pursuit the elimination of non-value elements. But without any doubts the most influence person in the development of Lean was Henry Ford, he organized all the elements of a manufacturing system; people, machines, tooling and raw materials, in a continuous flow system, for manufacturing the famous model T by applying this methodology the factory achieve to rise the effectiveness in the assembly process and by 1920 he achieved to reduced the price of the model T at 34% of the original price in 1908. Kiichiro Toyoda travelled to EEUU (1929) in his search for learn the American Way. Fords assembly line provided the flow idea upon which Kiichiro Toyoda based his early car production, but soon he realized the need to adapt it to the market conditions and the culture in Japan. They knew that they could not compete with the giants like Ford in foreign markets. Therefore, they were producing only for internal market, and bring the raw materials from outside, for that reason Toyota could not lower cost by exploding economies of scale, thats why they build a systems upon an strategy: to make many models in small numbers (Ohno, 1988). They pursuit the cost reduction through the elimination of the inefficiencies; defined as muda, Japanese word for waste. (W. J. Hopp et al, 2000) Henry Ford vision about systematic elimination of waste, standardization and elimination of process variability, Quality at the source, and so forth was so inspirational for Ohno and the definition of TPS. In the book Toyota Production System; beyond large-scale Production, 1988, Ohno quoted the Fords book Henry Fords Today and Tomorrow in different chapter as a key to the development of lean principles. In 1945, after Toyoda Kiichiro set an ambitious goal: Catch with America in three years (Ohno, 1988). In order to achieve this goal Toyota production system was developed as a respond to the severe competition imposed by mass production and offered an alternative production system according with the restrictions of the moment. Under these conditions Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) was brought into the company as a leader to translate the ideas of Kiichiro Toyoda into action. He was working for the company since 1932 but wasnt until 1943 when he went transfer to Toyota Motor Company, where he became Machine-shop manager in 1949. During that period the company was fighting on bankruptcy hence major investment or massive inventories werent affordable. For many years the western companies had cut the cost by increasing the production but after oil crisis, explore around 1973, rapid growth stopped and the principle if you can make it, you can sell it (Ohno, 1988, p2), most of the Japanese industries had losses, but Toyota overcame these problems. The capability of Toyota to overcome the crisis was the trigger for eyes opener to Japanese companies and implement the TPS. The Toyota Production System (TPS) was first denominated in the West as Just in Time (JIT).After the initial visits of industries from western countries to Japanese industry, the people returning with stories of factories which produced only what was needed, when needed, without any Just In Case expensive stock. Later, we realised that there was more than this, and the JIT was worked because was part of a more global management system, TPS. A system in fact useful to reduce costs and from that time the TPS became very popular. (Y. Monden 1993). But this system got popularity in the western countries after a researcher made in 1990 for Massachusetts institute of technology (MIT) by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. This five year research about the future of the automobile makers, revealed a gap between the conventional mass production and the new trend used in Japanese industries. This book coined the term Lean as a description of the Toyota Production System. Definition of Lean As is described above, Toyota Production System was born in Toyota (1945). This system is sustained for two pillars: Just in Time and Autonomation or Jidoka. The name of Lean manufacturing was given in a research published by Massachusetts institute of technology (MIT) in 1990. Ohno make three statements in his book Toyota Production System; beyond Large-Scale Production, 1988, taken together we can use as his definition: The basis of the TPS is the absolute elimination of waste. The two pillars needed to support the system are: Just in Time and Autonomation (Jidoka) (Ohno, 1988 p4) Cost reduction is the goal (Ohno, 1987 p8) After World War II, our main concern was how to produce high-quality goods. After 1955, the question became how to make the exact quantity needed (Ohno, 1987 p33). We can conclude that for Ohno the TPS consist of many techniques that are designed to reduce the cost by removing the waste and providing the right product, at the right quantity at the moment is required. Using less of everything this statement was made in the book The machine that change the world (Womack et al. 1990) as a definition of Lean production. Another important contribution of TPS was a new approach of looking at the equation formed by: Price, Cost and Profit. When TPS was developed, the western was using the following equation to obtain price of a product: Price=Cost + Profit In this formula if the cost increase, the best way to maintain the same profit is by raising the price, is based on the principle that is the company who fix the price. By offering more feature, quality or service they can raise the price. By another hand, Japan proposed the next expression: Profit=Price â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Cost In this equation is the market, the final customer who is fixed the price. The companies used the voice of the customer as a means to design the new features of a product, and the price they are willing to pay for it. With this equation the only way to obtain better profits is by reducing the cost as much as possible (fig. 3.1). This equation leads the companies to pursuit internal improvement if they want to keep or raise the profit in the current market situation. (J. Santos, et al. 2006). Figure 3â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 Equation price-cost benefits (adaptation of J. Santos et al 2008) Price fixed by the customer Cost Profit Summarizing we can conclude that Lean is a theory of management that consider the uses of resources for any means other than the creation of value from customer point of view is a waste (defined below); and pursuing the elimination waste as a means of achieving greater efficiency of the process. (Y. Monden, 1993) Seven types of Wastes Muda is a Japanese means waste. According to James P. Womack (2003) any activity which absorbs resources but creates no values is called waste. Lean thinking provides a way to identify the value, defined by the final customer, and analyze the value stream in the search for not added value action in order to eliminate and based in Continuous improvement, where the search for new improvements is never ending. (Womack et al., 2003) The wastes defined by Ohno include parts not right the first time, piles of products made in Just in case, processing step that no one had analyzed, to realized that they are not needed, transporting goods thought work floor, workers, machinery or material waiting to the next step in the process, and so forth. (Womack et al., 2003, p16). There are many types of waste; some are easy to discern others difficult. An important thing to remember is that to eliminate waste, you must find it first, towards eliminating it. The seven wastes (7Ws) addressed by Ohno (1988) are detailed below, with the addition of the one defined by Womack, 2003. Overproduction Manufacturing companies, sometimes produce more than they have sold, some times because they want to build an inventories, in the expectation that the market requirements arise, another times with the purpose to keep everyone busy and / or to achieve a high used of the facilities. Whatever the reason is, making products for which there is no demand is waste and can drive the company out of business. The key point to found this waste is compare what is produced versus what is sold. (J. Nicholas, 1988) Waiting This waste will include delay between the end of one activity and the start of the next activity. This waste can take many forms: operators or machineries waiting for orders, parts, materials, parts for the preceding process, equipment repairs, and so on. Contrasting with the previous waste, this one it is easy to identify. As It was explain above, some companies minimizing the waste of waiting by keeping the workers and the machines active all the times, incurring in that way in the previous waste; overproduction. Stopping the machines and allowing workers to be idle in occasion, is less costly than producing products with no orders. Another advantage of these spare times is that the workers can used it to search for improvements. (J. Nicholas, 1988) Transporting It is any kind of unnecessary transport of workers, parts, products, etc moved from one location to another. There two things that determine the transport through the factory; the layout facility and the sequence of operations. (J. Nicholas, 1988) No value is added in any items while they are moving around, therefore all time and facilities involve in that are wastes. Rearranging the layout and putting sequential equipment together allow us to minimize this waste. Too much machining; over processing. A process may itself contain steps that are ineffective or unnecessary. When company use expensive or high precision equipment where investing in smaller and more flexible equipment would be adequate. This often results in poor plant layout because The monuments are located far away from the process and making the process incur in waste such transportation, wait and in addition overproduction (in order to set high utilization, and justify the investment). Inventories Ohno in his book Toyota Production System, Beyond Large Scale Production (1988), qualify the inventory as the root of all evil because covers other kinds if wastes and inefficiencies and encourages to wasteful practices. Inventories represent items waiting for something to happen, where there are many associated and hidden costs (storage space, handling, management, insurance, lost of opportunity, and so forth). John Nicholas (1988) identifies that many companies even when they recognize the high cost of the inventory they justify them for dealing with issues such: To cover fluctuations in future demand, where more accurately forecasted are necessary. To cover the delay in lead times caused by breakdowns or delivery delays, where a Preventive maintenance plan would be necessary as well a close relationship with the suppliers. To cover long setup times, where an improvement in standardization as well as a study of the setup times made the big batch unnecessary. We can use the analogy of a ship on water (figure 2.1) to clarify the idea of hidden costs and problems incurred with high level of inventory. As inventory is reducing, problems are exposed, which can be resolved. After that, the inventory is lowered again, in order to get more problem appear and management has to resolve them in order for the system to work. Figure 3â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 Analogy of water and inventory Worker absenteeism Work load imbalance Downtime Quality Scrap Rework Out of spec. materials Set-up Times Process variation Inventory level is hidden all problems By reducing the inventory, production problems arise WIP The research is agreed with Ohno (1988) when he argued that people tend to build some inventory as a respond of their farming roots. Our ancestors grew rice for subsistence and stored it in preparation for times of natural disasters (Ohno, 1988) this type of accumulation is no longer practical from the moment that we can find everything that we need from the corner shop. Nevertheless, break this habit in the day to day factory habits is difficult, is requires a change of attitude. But we need to keep in mind that reduction of inventory is not an end itself; it is a mechanism for revealing problems and wasteful practices in the production system. Moving People in work often confuse being in motion with working. A worker in constant motion all day may actually be doing little work; we should consider which portion of the motion is actually added value to the product. This waste is related to ergonomics and the objective is to obtain that the 100% of the motion is work; added value. Hence pursues the elimination of wasteful motion, but not by increasing work. Motions as bending, stretching, walking, lifting, reaching, picking up, transporting, loading, and so forth take workers time and increase the cost, but not add value. (J. Nicholas, 1988) Making defective parts and products. The simplest form of waste is products that do not meet the specification. Manufacturing products right at first time requires no money. Defects in any product are a major source of waste, hold up production and increase production lead times avoidable if products were done right the first time. Quality defects result in rework or scrap and involve a remarkable cost to organizations, along with the associated costs such: re-inspecting, rescheduling quarantining inventory, and capacity loss.   The key point is attain Quality at the source or Quality Assurance where the parts are made right the first time, transforming the old idea of Quality Assurance; where the parts are inspected at the end of the line. In order to achieve this we can use tools such: Poka Yoke, Kaizen, and so forth. (Y. Monden, 1993) Underutilization of Employees In the book Lean Thinking by James P Womack and Daniel T. Jones (1996), was added another wasted, added to the seven defined by Ohno (1988); which was denominated by them as Underutilization of employees. The companies hire employees for the physical skills, and sometimes the managers forgot to take an advantage of the brainpower that they hired with those skills. Some common causes of inability to see this waste may result in mudas such high employee turnover, inadequate hiring practices, and so forth. Not Used the employees as an experts of the process in which they are working is a waste of creativity and the improvement ideas that they can generate, this waste deserved the same important than the previous seven described above. Tools and Techniques There are many definitions that refer to lean; as Toyota Production System, Just in Time, Jidoka, flexible workforce, Kanban, TQM and so forth; partly because for many years had been confusion and many practitioners; mix up the purpose with the means. Lean production may be viewed as a bunch of all this practices/tools, and all underneath subsystems give the necessary support to the main system. The main systems Ohno (1988) described as two pillars are: Just inTime Autonomation with human touch, or Jidoka The tools/techniques of lean, as supporting subsystems can be said as; Kanban Poka-yoke Visual Control, Andon Value Stream Mapping Standard Operations One Piece Flow 5S Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Levelling Production Benchmarking SMED Multifunctional Workers Kaizen Some of the most relevant for the research purpose are explained below. The two pillars of Lean: Just in Time In 1950 Toyota was near to bankrupting, as a consequence they couldnt afford major investment in new machineries or substantial inventories. In 1956 Ohno travel to America, where he got the perspective of Just-In-Time in the American supermarket. He was interested in way the supermarket were working; by providing to customer what they need, when they need and in the quantity they need. Ohno transfer this idea down to the process, and he developed a system that is working like a coordinate chain of small supermarket, where all processes are transformer in customer for the previous step and supplier for the next step and every step is only produced the quantity needed for the next step, with perfect quality and no waste. The system was denominated as pull system. TMMK (7may2010) JIT was developed in the framework of TPS and evolved due to the need of the Japanese industry to survive in the post-war global market. Soon, the value of the system was proven into the manufacturing industry and a large number of companies worldwide hastened to implement this model to their own production systems (Monden, 1993). Ohno developed a number of methodologies to support the Just in Time system; one of the best known is the Kanban system, detailed below. Pull system and Kanban The traditional mass production system is the one denominate as push production system, where every station start to assembly a part when the raw material arrive to the work station. The way to manage production system is usually based in forecasting. The parts usually are processes in batches according to a schedule for each process (fig 2.2). The materials must usually wait until the workstation complete the previous work and is performing the changeover necessary. Changes in schedules, breakdown in machinery and other incidents, make a planning inaccurate. (J Nicholas, 1988). When a problem occurs at one stage, the problem will not be notice in the rest of the system, because an inventory between the workstation are insulated the problems in each workstation, and dependency between workstation was low. Figure 4â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ3 Push System Retention points Process 1 Retention points Process 2 Inspection Retention points inspection Information and material flow High variability in lead times, long lead times, large Work in Progress inventory, and a numerous quality issues are arisen in this system. Besides with the problems associated with maintaining valid scheduled, made by the forecasting office, which is far a way from the shop floor and all the problems that arise in the manufacturing process. By contrast the pull production is sometimes called stockless, because is minimized the work in progress, pursuit the one piece flow. It seeks to have every stage in a process produce and deliver materials downstream in the exact quantities and the exact times requested. (J Nicholas, 1988). Figure 4â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ4 Pull System Process 2 Inspection Material Flow Process 1 Inspection Max Min Delivery point Max Min Max Min Information Flow Refer to the figure 2.3, when a customer order arrives to the delivery point, this work station sends a production order to the downstream process, in order to refill the product had been delivered. The work station 2 in the moment is used more than two parts, and let the buffer with the minimum quantity, then sends a production order to the work station 1. Just in time pursues the zero inventories; the system that is describing here is used a buffer, in that way any process shouldnt wait to have the necessary material to start producing an order. Refer to the figure 2.3 each work station begins de production as soon as the order upstream is received. (J Nicholas, 1988). In contrast with the Push production system, any problem in any work station is affected the whole system, so that all stage are working together in order to resolve the problem, increasing the chances of solving the root problem. Kanban is a subsystem to support of the JIT system and was developed by Toyota in the early stages of TPS. Kanban is a Japanese word for card, but not necessarily need to be a card, sometimes can be a signboard, container, empty space, and so forth. The broadly idea is to use the Kanban, whatever the form is takes, as a signal to produce a specific number of parts request for the next process. (N. Slack et al, 2004). The system is not used a complicated and expensive computer schedules. The theoretical operation of Kanban is no one product is manufacture until is demanded for the final customer. Therefore the signal Kanban is used as a trigger for a production. There are different types of Kanban; Conveyance Kanban, also know as a move Kanban, whose purpose is to move the goods along different production stages. The Production Kanban, work as a signal to a production process that can start producing a part to be place in the inventory. (N. Slack et al, 2004) There are two procedures of using Kanban system; dual-card (used both production and conveyance) this is the original Toyota method, and the single-card, explained below (used only the production, but acting as both move and produce authorization), is more often used the last one, for the simplicity of use. (N. Slack et al, 2004) Figure 4â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 Kanban system. Process 2 Inspection Material Flow Process 1 Inspection Delivery point Max Min Kanban Max Min Kanban Max Min Kanban Information Flow Order to the supplier To explain the concept we can use the example in figure 2.4, where each process made two piece batches. When the delivery point sent two finished parts, the operator takes a Kanban card from the container and sends it back down to the previous workstation; process 2,where that part is assembled. When the Kanban card is received, the previous work station start to assemble new batch of 2 parts, and consequently it sends downs to the previous process the Kanban card in order to refill the parts used in the last operation. This chain or work orders is repeated until an order is sent to the supplier of raw material. This system keeps to minimum the paperwork, provides a self-manage workstation and one the more important achievements is that the inventory of Work in Progress is kept to a minimum. The parts are assembled only when a need for them and WIP is reducing by dropping the number of cards into the system. The two pillars of Lean: Jidoka Jidoka is a Japanese word meaning automation with a human touch, refers to the automatic control of defects under the supervision of an employee; or as is described by Ohno (1988) Autonomation. Is refers to a process that has incorporated mechanism to detect non conformances and not allowed the process to pass a product if there isnt a conformance with the requirements.   Sakichi Toyoda began to used Jidoka, also known as Autonomation; he invented the automatic looms that stopped immediately when any thread broke. In that way one operator was able to manage many machines with no risk of producing outside specifications. This pillar of TPS is a â‚ ¬Ã‹Å"Proactive Systematic Approach. That is means instant detection of non conformances at the root source, pursuing the prevention is chosen over correction for problems after its occurrence. Through this principle we ensure that hundred per cent of the products are free defects, and when a defect is found this is fixed directly, otherwise the worker had the authority to stop the line, in order to resolve it.(J. Nicholas,1998).No OK parts are very important in JIT, when a one short part can cause the stoppage of the whole factory, just to remember one of the quotation for define JIT The exact product in the exact moment that is required (Ohno, 1988) This authority to stop the line meets resistance in western managers, because they are afraid that this can cause a delay in the lead time. But that is only the negative side, by another hand should be viewed as improvements in the process, the root of many quality issues are discovered and as a result they are resolved. Thought Jidoka principles the employees are more aware of quality issues and the related problems, and the number of defects and rework drop at the end of the line. (Nicholas, 1988