TRIANGLE The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle Essay

TRIANGLE The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle - Essay Example The Triangle factory was not the best example of its kind in New York, but it was not the worst either. In a single working day, a thousand blouses would take shape, involving the work of machine operators, quality checkers, foremen, bookkeepers, shipping clerks, taking up their places on the top three floors of the ten storey Asch building which were devoted solely to the production of shirtwaist blouses. Factory owners and town planners had a duty, in theory at least, to observe general principles of safety and health, but everyone knew that â€Å"in reality, no one - contractors or city authorities - paid meaningful attention to laws against crowding.† (Drehle, p. 47) In the rush to produce ever more blouses, and of course to bring in ever greater profits, the bosses used to cut corners and push their workers to the limits. In some cases there were signs that they even went beyond the limits, as for example when they short-changed the workers’ pay, or tampered with t he clocks to make sure lunch breaks were short, and working days were long. (von Drehle, p. 7) After all, the more money the company made, the more secure the jobs were, and the more money the workers made also. The terrible events that occurred on the afternoon on Saturday, March 25, 1911 have caused citizens across America to stand up for their rights and demand that bosses be held responsible for the safety of their workers. This single dreadful fire which caused the deaths of almost 150 loyal workers could and should have been prevented by proper fire alarm systems, and by ensuring that sufficient fire exits are available at all times to allow people working on the upper floors to descend to the street both quickly and safety. The newspaper reports speak of locked doors, broken fire escapes, and a total absence of a plan for the evacuation of the personnel. Some have argued that the design of the Triangle factory was progressive and modern, since it had lofty roof spaces and a l ayout that allowed for the use of efficient new machinery. The machines made clothing faster, but at the same time there were dangers in every sharp angle, and every unguarded cutting edge, every moving needle. It is marvellous what modern science can do but at the same time this event shows that there is just as big a need to use our skills to design and implement systems for the protection of the workforce. It is just not acceptable that we have the knowledge to build sprinkler systems and fireproof stairways (Von Drehle, p. 195) but that we choose not to use it just because of the trouble and cost that they add to the construction costs of the workplace. The Triangle disaster points to one of the biggest problems that face twentieth century America: the greed for profit which is sought at the expense of individual workers’ rights. Each person who died in that factory had a family back at home, who now will suffer for the rest of their lives from the memory of what happened , and the traumatic events that were described by the police and rescue services. Most of the people who died were young and they had their whole lives before them, and yet they were wiped out because of the drive for profit which was made at the expense of their futures. There is one

Introduction to management science coursework Research Paper

Introduction to management science coursework - Research Paper Example better analysis, we have separated the data into Small debtors (250 customers owing in total $86,370) and Big debtors (30 customer owing in total $43,630). This division resulted in significant increase in correlation coefficient for both groups in comparison to the general population. Correlation coefficient values (0.780 and 0.655) indicate strong positive relationship between amount of debt and number of days. That means that customers who receive bigger amount of credit tend to pay later compared to the group's average. An average big debtor pays back later than the average small debtor (19.2 vs. 14.1 days on average). It is recommended: To implement stricter credit policy and receivables collection for high amounts of credit for each group separately (e.g. more than $500 for small debtors and more than $1,500 for big debtors); To concentrate on big debtors as, on average, they pay later and own significant amounts (less than 11% of customers owe 33.6% of the total amount of receivables). 3. 'All-For-Kids': i. Storage costs: one pack gets allocated the cost of renting 1.5/15 = 0.1 feet (10) Let S be average stock throughout the year. Then annual holding stock cost is: 0.15*2.50*365*S + 10*S = 146.9*S Storage cost constitutes 10S/146.9S = 6.8% out of total holding stock cost. ii. The quantity ordered should equal to 2S. With the optimal order schedule the cost of order-handling and shipment would offset the cost of holding one more additional day of stock: 0.15*2.50*S + (10/365)*S = 30 Solving we find S = 75. The optimal order should be 2S = 150 packs and made every three working days. iii. It has been assumed that when the new order is delivered the actual quantity on stock is zero. It is not very realistic with regard to real businesses because of demand...However, the two distinct groups in the set can be seen and, for purpose of better analysis, we have separated the data into Small debtors (250 customers owing in total $86,370) and Big debtors (30 customer owing in total $43,630). This division resulted in significant increase in correlation coefficient for both groups in comparison to the general population. Correlation coefficient values (0.780 and 0.655) indicate strong positive relationship between amount of debt and number of days. That means that customers who receive bigger amount of credit tend to pay later compared to the group's average. An average big debtor pays back later than the average small debtor (19.2 vs. 14.1 days on average). iii. It has been assumed that when the new order is delivered the actual quantity on stock is zero. It is not very realistic with regard to real businesses because of demand fluctuations and safety stock that is usually kept. Conducting the similar analysis for lower limit of every range, we see that in all cases additional costs are higher than additional savings and the store's manager should keep the order level at 150 packs.

Leadership and Management for Service Improvement Essay

Leadership and Management for Service Improvement - Essay Example This stage of our group formation had been lagging for a while before I emerged as a facilitative leader. When this stage passed, our relationships became more harmonious with agreed upon values and rules of operation. Each member began to take responsibility, as they understood their other team members, with the group leader taking a back seat to proceedings. As the group leader, I think I took up a democratic style of leadership. These types of leaders make decisions at the final stage but include the other team members in the process of decision-making (Gillam, 2011: p65). While I took care of coordinating the team and their work delivery, I allowed them to carry out their research without giving instructions. However, whatever went into the report was finally decided upon by me, with any additional material needed communicated to the team member responsible. The benefits of this sort of leadership are numerous. The team members got job satisfaction since they all participated in drafting the final assignment. This style also helped to develop their research skills. The members of the team felt that they controlled the destiny of their assignment marks thus felt more motivated to do their best (Hartley & John, 2010: p26). However, since participation by all members takes time, the decision-making process was slow. Coulin’s absence caused the assignment’s timeline to stretch. ... Overall, this leadership style made me feel in charge although giving everyone a chance to give their opinion brought on some conflict. During the initial stages of the holiday, my inability to access the University’s homepage on my computer proved to be a hindrance. It actually raised a storm with some of the members when I told them that I had not handed in the assignment because of this problem. In the future, it would be better if this sort of assignments were held face to face rather than online since team members are generally least interested in the assignment over the internet. It is possible that some had multiple pages on their computer screens and were multi-task during teamwork (Muller et al, 2006: p9). The team’s five-team members could be fitted into at least five Belbin’s team roles (Gold et al, 2010: p15). Ken could be considered a resource investigator, as he was enthusiastic, extroverted, and communicative. He explored the different sources of i nformation that we had and, through his contacts in the library, was able to get more information sources. Stacy was the implementer, as she was efficient, conservative, reliable, and disciplined. Danny was the shaper, given her dynamic and challenging nature. She never lacks the courage and drive to overcome obstacles. I acted as the leader and doubled up as the coordinator. My confidence and maturity cut me out of this, in addition with my clear goals, promotion of decision-making and proper job delegation. Finally, Coulin was supposed to be the plant, especially given her unorthodox, imaginative, and creative mind. However, she was rarely available and brought about a lot of frustration for the other team members. On the days when she showed up for meetings, though, she was very

Critical Thinking Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Thinking Exercise - Essay Example The brand collectively has over 33,000 restaurants, franchises and outlets serving on a daily basis over 68 million people in almost 120 countries. (About McDolands) The business model of franchising helps McDonald’s to convey reliable, quality oriented and locally-relevant eating experiences to its customers. The total assets of the company amount to $32,990 million including a $22.8 billion of fixed assets. The current assets of the company amount to $4.4 billion and a goodwill of $2.6 billion. The proportion of the current assets over the total assets is 13% and the net identifiable and tangible assets of the company have a proportion of 69.2% which indicates a healthy backing of tangible assets. The major portion of the company’s liabilities is the long-term debt of the company which amounts to $12.1 billion and takes 65.24% of $18.6 billion of the total liabilities. The current liabilities of the company, which majorly include payroll and trade payables, has a low standing as compared to the current assets as the current liabilities amount to $3.5 billion as at December 31, 2011. The company has generated total revenue of $27 billion for the year 2011 and $18.3 billion of that revenue has been generated through company operated restaurants while the remaining from franchised restaurants generating an operating profit of $8.4 billion whereby the operating expenses majorly include food, payroll and other operational expenses such as the ambiance and maintenance related costs of the company. These expenses make up a total of $14.8 billion out of the total $18.5 billion operating expenses. The net income of the company after tax is $5.5 billion for the year which is quite attractive for such a company operating in such a competitive environment. The company also declared a dividend of $2.6 billion for its common shareholders. The company was able to maintain the same level of cash as last year as the company’s total cash was $2.34