Leadership Quality of Kumar Mangalam Birla Essay

Are we doing everything we can to help people be the best they can be? † asked Birla in the Q203 issue of The Smart Manager. The question is close to his heart. Since he took over the reins at the Birla Group he has focused on fine tuning the group’s talent pool. If this meant taking hard decisions Birla did not shy away. More than 350 senior managers left the group. Some through natural attrition, others through counseling, leaving space for new faces and new talent. Management means attracting talented people, nurturing them, developing them, and giving them space,† asserts Birla, â€Å"decisions need to be made at every level and decisions need to be quick. So, we have to spot, incubate and groom talent at every level of the organization, because more people need to be making high quality decisions. † To build this culture in the group, Birla has created a system based on meritocracy. His HR initiatives fall under three broad heads: learning and relearning, performance management and organizational renewal. For example Gyanodaya, the group’s learning center falls in the first category. It helps in the transfer of best practices across group companies thus sharpening the group’s competitive edge. The training calendar is accessible to employees via Aditya Disha, the group wide intranet, and the teaching programs consist of a mix of classroom, outreach, and e-learning initiatives. Birla has also instituted The Organisational Health Survey (OHS) which tracks the satisfaction levels of 8,670 managers across the group. A direct result of such initiatives is that today his brand as an employer has enhanced significantly, allowing Birla to access to some of the best minds and talent available in the country. The group is considered among the top 20 preferred employers in Asia. For performance management Birla instituted the Aditya Birla Sun awards an annual internal awards system. Here each group company makes an open presentation on their successes and failures to a group of 400 managers drawn from different group businesses. This leads to information sharing and also encourages healthy competition in the group. Birla believes that star performers need appreciation and recognition. â€Å"It is very important for people who are doing well to be told they are doing well,† he says. He insists that performance levels jump considerably higher after a person/team receives an award. The Aditya Birla award is for teams while the chairman’s award is for individuals. A group company that has won numerous such awards is Hindalco. Birla has transformed Hindalco into a globally competitive non-ferrous metals company. The first step was to merge the copper division of Indo Gulf with Hindalco unifying the group’s non-ferrous metals business under one company with 40% market share. He acquired 74. 6 % equity stake in Indal for Rs 10 bn to make it a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindalco. This made him the largest producer of aluminum in India and today Hindalco-Indal command a 70% market share. Having made Hindalco competitive now Birla is pursuing market growth. He recently entered the Rs 2. 50 bn branded foil market. Within a year of launch Hindalco captured a 40% market share and put a robust distribution in place. Last year Hindalco launched of as many as five branded products. The launch of â€Å"Aura† Alloy Wheels in early 2002, uniquely positioned as â€Å"dress code for your car†, was followed by the launch of its kitchen utility range – Freshwrapp aluminium foil and Freshpakk semi-rigid containers, and Everlast roofing sheets. Hindalco also introduced â€Å"Al Planet†, a unique exhibition format highlighting products from the secondary aluminium industry. For organic growth Birla has embarked on an Rs18 bn brownfield expansion at Hindalco’s integrated complex in Renukoot to increase aluminum metal capacity from 100,000 TPA to 342,000 TPA. This will ensure Hindalco’s leadership position in the domestic market and improve its export markets as well. But while Birla was revamping Hindalco, a move towards untangling the cross-holdings among group companies, a legacy of the ‘licence raj’, was also initiated. He unified his diverse companies under the Aditya Birla Group head. â€Å"If one were to encapsulate it (the group strategy) in a single word – the dominant strategic theme over the past four years has been consolidation,† says Birla. The process was threefold. Birla rearranged the companies, consolidated market presence in the different industries and then went on an acquisition spree to further strengthen leadership position. The result is a streamlined group with all aluminium companies merged under Hindalco, cement companies under Grasim, copper companies under Birla Copper and textiles and garments under Indian Rayon. Losing some of its loss making divisions also made Indo Gulf a debt free fertilizer company. In the process the group’s revenues have risen from Rs 72 bn to Rs 270 bn in eight years. â€Å"Our strategy dictates that we get out of businesses where we are bit players and strengthen the businesses where we have clear competencies, so that we get to the top of the league or consolidate our position there, as the case may be. This leads to a sharper and tighter business portfolio with our firepower being better targeted,† says Birla. Birla began with Grasim in 1995. His first step was to move the cement division of Indian Rayon to Grasim, thereby integrating the cement holdings within the group. Then in 2003 he acquired the cement division of Larsen & Toubro for Rs 22 bn increasing Grasim’s total capacity to 31 MTPY. Today Grasim is the largest producer of cement in India and the seventh largest in the world. Similarly the copper division of Indo Gulf was divested and incorporated into Birla Copper. Then Birla increased the smelter capacity of Birla Copper from 100,00 to 150,00 MTPY and acquired two copper mines in Australia. Birla has been nicknamed the ‘non-ferrous general’ by the industry: his aluminium, copper, and carbon black units are ranked among the top three in their respective segments. Indian Rayon also saw dramatic changes in portfolio. Its cement division was demerged. Then it acquired Madura Garments, the apparels and garments division of Madura Coats for Rs 2. 6 bn in January 2000. This takeover gave Indian Rayon ownership of prominent brands — Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Byford, Peter England and San Frisco. This marked a dramatic change in focus for the commodity based group. Though a major player in textiles, Birla had not been able to impact the branded menswear market. Building brands from scratch takes time as well as money, and the easiest way was to acquire an established one. â€Å"The apparels business is one in which we want a leadership position. We will make a focused entry into the high-value, ready-to-wear segment. This acquisition as well as the acquisition of certain overseas brand rights has catapulted the group to the top of the league in the branded apparels market,† says Birla. Today after a long period of negative growth Madura Garments has reported a 14. % increase in revenues. As a part of the restructuring process he sold Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals to ONGC. â€Å"The exit from MRPL indicates our firm resolve to rationalized the Group’s portfolio of businesses with a view on the future, and also bears testimony of our commitment to a key group of stakeholders: our lenders,† says Birla. The other major restructuring at Indian Rayon was demerging the insulator business into a new JV with Japanese company NGK to sustain leadership position and to acquire a global marketing network for the insulator business. The consolidation initiative has allowed each company to emerge with a stronger balance sheet. The three largest companies in the group, Grasim, Hindalco, Indian Rayon, turned in a cumulative net profit of Rs 10. 55 bn in FY03, a jump of 2. 1% from FY02. Their combined sales increased to Rs 110. 45 bn in FY03, an increase of 36% over the previous year. The group’s overall revenues touched Rs 2,700 bn. Management style Birla is his father’s son, but he has gradually developed his own personal management style. Commonalities include performance orientation, a strict eye for detail, close attention to budgets. Differences include more informal interaction with managers from top to bottom; a greater gap between personal and office life; and a strong emphasis on financial performance. For example he has replaced the old Parta system, which focused only on production with the Cash Value Added method, which emphasizes profitability, asset productivity and growth. Birla is a firm believer in meritocracy. In his father’s time, there were several marwaris in top management. Today there are plenty of non-marwaris. He places a lot of emphasis on HR and hired Santrupt Mishra from Hindustan Lever to spearhead the groups HR initiatives. A 360 degree feedback program that allows managers to question even Birlas own leadership style and does away with the ‘babu culture’ prevalent in the group. But while on one hand Birla nurtures employees, on the other he is very careful about performance measures. Birla is equally adamant about strict adherence to policies and procedures that have been discussed and approved. For example he introduced a retirement policy, similar to the one Ratan Tata introduced over at the Tata  Group. While a cresendo of unhappiness was heard at Bombay House, peaceful silence reigned at Industry House. At Lever House, no doubt Vindi Banga is closely watching these events. Birla’s retirement policy saw 325 senior executives, between the ages of 62 and 65, step down after years of service. Though the policy was drafted in 2001, he took a year to implement. He then hired 190 young executives to infuse fresh and out of the box thinking in the group. â€Å"I think its been one of the most important decisions I’ve had to make,† says Birla. People skills are Birla’s biggest strength. He has the ability to get on with both the old guard and the new turks. Soft spoken and insistent Birla likes to be directly involved. For example he sends individual notes to employees regarding their performance. Debu Bhattacharya currently the managing director of Hindalco and another former Hindustan Lever employee says, â€Å"it won’t be an exaggeration to say that I joined this group because of Mr Birla. For somebody who is from a highly respected MNC in the country, going to an Indian business house, I had a lot of reservations. My reservations came from that perception of the group. But I was so overawed with his simplicity, his genuineness, and his ability to explain simple things without trying to sell the job. If I had to take that decision all over again I’d do the same. † For all this Kumar is a low profile person, with a sense of humor and the rare ability to laugh at himself. This ease spills into his business relationships. For example the stalemate between the houses of Tata and Birla is now history. Ratan Tata recently invited Birla to join the board of Tata Steel, and Birla just as easily accepted.

Development of Nude Photography Essay

The paper attempts to critically examine, albeit briefly, the impacts of socio-cultural structures in the development of nude photography as an art form. It highlights the broad comparison of Asian and Western nude photography by showcasing some leading photographers specializing in nudist photographs. The workings of the social norms and societal structures, including conservative state apparatuses in some cultures, will also be briefly illustrated as far as they affect the form and content of works of the respective artist-photographers. A. Development of nude photography across cultural divide and time Nude photography is a distinct branch of art photography using humans in still position as subjects. Majority of art critics hold the dominant view that nude photography studies the human body and not the person. The latter pertains to portrait photography, which is a significantly different form. As will be illustrated later, this dominant view is being continually challenged, notably Araki Nobuyoshi, a controversial and highly prolific Japanese photographer. Nude photography is dissimilar from erotic photography, which is actually suggestive of erotic and sexual contents. Although there are established criteria in differentiating one from the other, an evaluation of whether a photograph is a valid nudist photo or a pornographic material remains largely with the viewer. More liberal and aggressive photo styles and techniques blur further the already thin dividing line between art and pornography. Nude photography did not develop as one single movement. It began as separate changes in individual preferences of various notable photographers, particularly in the early 20th century. Nudity, however, has been a favorite subject of paintings and sculpture, famously beginning with classical Greek sculptures and Renaissance paintings. Admittedly, artist-photographers in Western countries were the first to explore the use of nude women as subject, owing largely to more liberal atmosphere compared to their Asian counterparts. Some of the leading initiators of the new photography art form were Felix-Jacques Moulin, Edward Weston, Ruth Bernhard and Jerry Avenaim. Asian nude photography developed albeit later than its Western counterparts did. Conservative mores and restrictive culture impeded smoother and faster evolution of nudity as both an art form and content. Societies that were largely dictated by highly formal familial structure did not provide the ideal environment for the rapid development of nude photography. Such situation can be viewed differently, however. On the one hand, the restrictive atmosphere discouraged many promising professional photographers in exploring the use of nude subjects, fearful of being rejected by the society and ostracized in the art community. Since most of the photos were featured in local photo exhibits, they took the limited form of publication, allowing the government to exercise prior restraint measures, such as censorship. The case of Nobuyoshi is particularly interesting, because no less than the literal physical might of the Japanese government, supposedly as a repository of public interest and welfare, prohibited the exhibition and publication of some of his relatively controversial art works. On the other hand, the earlier social restrictions on nudist art photography unwittingly provided also a good breeding ground for defiance, with varying outcomes. Nobuyoshi, aside from being a highly prolific photographer, emerged as a controversial public figure because of his experimentation of nudist photos, sometimes including sado-masochistic contents and strong visual imagery of the human genitalia. Extending the limits of the society is still a powerful weapon of the oppressed. Economic development also came much later among countries in Asia. Most of these countries experienced socio-political upheavals as they strived to free themselves from colonial bondage. They also struggled in eventually demolishing whatever remaining post-colonial structures controlled by local elites who replaced their previous colonial masters. Art, in general, was just one of the tools used by those who wanted to reform their societies. Photography, along with other visual arts, is a powerful medium that could effectively increase the potency of the message reformists want to embed in the public psyche. One study conducted by Willem van Schendel of the University of Amsterdam and International Institute of Social History is particularly enlightening. The study involved a minority indigenous group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a district in Bangladesh. The study reveals how photography was utilized as a potent tool against the localized colonial onslaught by more economically dominant Bangladeshi districts and cities—a grim reminder of the country’s colonial history. It also showcases the adverse impacts of what Schendel calls as â€Å"enforced nudity†. B. Edward Weston and other leading Western nude photographers Edward Weston was an American photographer born towards the end of the 19th century. He was born at the time when the artist community started reviving the Renaissance cultural legacy and reached the zenith of his career as an artist-photographer at the time when the so-called â€Å"Sexual Revolution† was slowly beginning to invade the United States. Weston started exploring photography as an adolescent using a camera given to him by his father. Although born of a family with a relatively strong intellectual tradition, he dismissed the virtue of completing formal education and began concentrating on photography and exploring various techniques that eventually led him to fame. When Weston was already embarking on his photography career, the prevailing art genre was pictorialism. Pictorialist photography is characterized by the suppression of finer details through photo manipulation. Some people called it as the abstract painting version of photography. Photography then was not considered strictly as an art form, unlike the typical paintings and sculptures. Pioneering artist-photographers wanted to emulate the painting as a legitimate art form, hence the manipulation of the photo outputs to mimic abstract paintings. Pictorialism was essentially used as a critical vehicle in the eventual acceptance of photography as a valid art. The leading figure in the said art movement was Alfred Stieglitz, notably starting with his Camera Work publication from 1913-1917. Weston eventually abandoned Pictorialism in favor of straight photography. Together with other notable colleagues, such as Ansel Adams and William Van Dyke, Weston founded the Group f/64, then initially composed of seven 20th century-photographers based in San Francisco, US. The group wanted to offer an alternative paradigm, employing unadulterated and purist version of photos, with subjects usually confined to those naturally existing objects. Western nude photographers were relatively not adversely affected by socio-political upheavals experienced then in less developed societies around the world. They enjoyed more liberal atmosphere, allowing them wider breadth to explore unusual and more controversial subjects. One specific issue, however, hounded Weston, in particular. At the time when he was slowly building his budding career, he was relatively located apart from his fellow photographers, mostly living and exhibiting in New York and other areas in the east coast. At that time, Weston was living in California. Photo reproduction was then still a developing technology, mostly relying on photo templates that required greater task in reproducing them. The state of technology and his physical location provided the fertile ground for the development of his unique ideas on photography. To a certain extent, Weston is considered by art historians as the primary precursor of purist nude photography in the United States. C. Araki Nobuyoshi briefly showcased Nobuyoshi is a leading and highly controversial Japanese photographer born in 1940 in Tokyo. He started his passion in photography when he was employed by Dentsu, Inc. , an advertising company. Soon, he embarked on a more independent career path, submitting majority of his works to leading magazines and other publications in Japan. Nobuyoshi is a seemingly interesting case. Despite living in a much-developed country compared to Japan’s neighboring countries in Asia, he was not exempted from the restrictive government regulating arms, largely influenced by the dominant socio-cultural and moral tenets. In fact, as recent as 1992, police officers raided a photo gallery where his famous book by Nobuyoshi, entitled â€Å"Erotos†, was being sold. Police personnel arrested various people behind the event on obscenity grounds. A year earlier, he was slapped with a 300,000-yen fine because of erotic photos in a photo exhibit titled â€Å"Photo-maniac Diary†. In stark contrast to the repressive state censorship of his works in Japan, â€Å"Erotos† was widely acclaimed in Western countries, with the book’s Austrian publisher expressing shock and utter disappointment. Weston and Nobuyoshi share one specific photo style. Unlike most other nude photographers who remain focused on the body shape and not the person as the dominant subject, Weston and Nobuyoshi took many photos depicting even clearly showing the human face. It was a substantial departure from the prevalent and more careful technique that gives lesser emphasis on the human face, cognizant of the blurry line dividing nude photography and pornography. Nobuyoshi went even further by taking countless photos of the human genitalia, explaining largely why he is both loved and hated by art critics in his own country. Conclusion As elucidated earlier, the evolution of nude photography as another legitimate art form did not come about as a sudden explosion of defiance against the dominant genre in photography. The state of technology in photo reproduction and existing socio-cultural tenets dictated the pace of development of nude photography as an alternative art form. Western countries, with better equipment and more liberal atmosphere, were responsible in the initial appearance of nudist photos as distinctly different from erotic and pornographic materials. Photos of nude women gained wider and smoother acceptance among the literati in these countries. Asian nude photographers have an entirely different experience. As indicated in the case of Nobuyoshi, they were struggling against repressive social structures that were consequently translated into literal censorship of their works by government authorities. Despite the economic boon Japan was experiencing as late as the 1990s, oppressive and conservative structures and mindset had then yet to be demolished and replaced. Bibliography Hirsch, Robert, â€Å"Seizing the Light: A History of Photography. † NY: McGraw-Hill, 2000 â€Å"Nude Photography. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nude_photography â€Å"Pictorialism. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pictorialism van Schendel, William. â€Å"A Politics of Nudity: Photography of the ‘Naked Mru’ of Bangladesh. † Cambridge Journals. http://journals. cambridge. org/action/displayAbstract? fromPage=online&aid=100313

Television Essay

Television has Made our Lifes Better Nowadays, television is our main source of news and current events around the world. It is indefinably the most popular media in society today. By watching TV,we are kept updated of the various events and dealings occurring around the world. It provides us with broadcasts of the news and weather stations and many more,therefore helping us not to be dropped back from the world of information. People need to be aware of whats going on around them and to keep on top of current affairs,and television allows us to do so.Without it we would be an outsider in society and totally cut off from the happenings in our local area as well as the political world(Palmer,2010). Not only this, but it helps us increase our feeling of humanity towards other people and provides us with crucial knowledge and information. This essay however will discuss both the positive and negatives roles television has in our lives today. Each positive aspect will contrast with a neg ative showing the different opinions.The essay will convey how television makes us more intelligent,assists us to lose weight,acts as a catalyst in the family home,provides us with knowledge how to do certain things and also how it is a great form of entertainment. On the otherhand we will see the downfalls television brings to society such as is it dumbing down our society? Is it making us gain wait rather than lose it? Are we abandoning are families to watch our favourite programmes or Is it just a waste of time?. These topics will all be seen throughout.Many people will agree that watching television makes people more intelligent for instance people that watch educational television such as documentaries,discovery channels,national geographic,science and history channels are very benefited, as it may encourage people who take an interest in them to make a career out of it. Educational TV does not only benefit adults but children aswel. Children can watch shows such as â€Å"Sesa me Street†,†Dora the Explorer†,â€Å"Indiego go†,â€Å"Bear in the Big Blue House† and many more which entertain them and educate them at the same time.Several programs and movies reguire a lot intelligence to follow and understand,these shows are very beneficial as they get our brains working and encourage us to look at things in different ways. In other programs we obtain information which we may not have known before. From watching TV we can learn something new everyday. However, in contrast to television being a great advantage to our intelligence levels, it is also argued that television is merely dumbing down our society. We need only watch some of Americas reality TV shows and we can see why its effecting our youth. A study conducted in 2005 and published in the Archives of Adolescent and Pediatric Medicine showed that kids who had their own television set scored lower on mathematics tests†Numerous other tests have supported this informat ion to make it almost clinically proven. Its very important to encourage our youth of today to read and get involved in other various arts which will help them with their academic studies. (Leong M. D. ,2008) Television is also very helpful in the form of excercising. When using exercise equipment such as an exercise bike or treadmill for example,we all know it can get very boring.This is where the TV comes in to play as it takes our mind-set from the running or power walking perhaps to that of the happenings on the television screen. We understand that reading is difficult because of the movement and therefore is less appealing. When we listen to the radio or our ipods, we are entertained but still our mind is not fully occupied as we have nothing to look at, this being the reason why the majority of gyms have televisions rather than radios. (Jennifer Wagner,2009) Another way in which television makes exercising a lot easier,are the exercise and workout videos which are available t o buy.This way you don’t have to spend as much money on gym membership fees or a personal trainer for that matter,you can just do it at home. (Palmer,2010. )On the otherhand,people may also argue the opposite to this point. As stated by Kristie Leong, she claims by sitting in front of the tv set actually makes you make on the pounds rather than lose it,†burning a paltry 68 calories per hour. Not exactly a formula for good health and fitness†. She also argues that the majority of people whilst watching television consume many high calorie foods,making matters even worse.Television is also a great way of representing togetherness. Its a simple reason for family to spend time together. Setting aside some hours specifically for family viewing encourages conversation,interaction and a certain sense of togetherness. Television brings many different conversation topics both in to a family home and work. It helps people who may have little in common, to talk and therefore acts as a good catalyst for family interaction(Keanney,2010). From time to time, something which occurred on TV can lead to discussions of something that happened in our own daily lifes hich is a great conversation starter. (Wagner,2009) Furthermore, this is not everyones frame of mind as many people believe that family life and interaction is negleacted beacause of television. It’s often the case that a family could sit in the one room for hours on end without actually speaking to each other. Sitting there like zombies totally engaged in whats happening on the TV and not even acknowledging each other. Not only that but many people,children in particular eat their dinners in front of the television screen.This means that conversation of a family around the dinner table is totally gone and if our youth do it,it doesn’t leave much hope for the future. (Banks,2008) Television has various benefits and another one being the useful way in which it tells you how to do certai n things. Whether it’s a cooking receipe you need,or how to arrange flowers in our gardens right as far as how to build a shed. There seems to be a channel to suit everyone. We can become very skilful in our everyday lifes by watching certain programs. Television is here to teach us and improve our ideas.Another point,â€Å"with cable channels such as HGTV and the Food Network, you can actually learn how to do almost anything to or for your home†. (Wagner,2009). Television helps us to broaden our knowledge of everyday life,teaching us right from wrong,and also the correct manner in which to act. It enhances our spiritual lifes in many ways. With the variety of language teaching programs we are provided with nowadays we are given the chance to learn any of the world’s most popular languages. For children in particular TV can be very enriching in their academic life.The History channel can expose children to people,places and cultures they would not have encounter ed otherwise. It engages them, and teaches them different ways of life all over the world. This can be very helpful for a childs development,introducing concepts which are both complex and intellectually stimulating. It encourages the child to be more aware of their surroundings, leading them to be more engaged and involved in classes that deal with those specific topics. (Keanney,2010). Dissimilarity,people argue that television is merely a waste of time.As Kristie mentions if people only knew the amount of time the waste watching television they would be shocked horribly. They could in fact make a list of more productive activites to do, for example spend time with family and friends,play a sport,take up a hobby or even test yourself by learning a new language. People discover there is a lot more to life than watching the latest happenings on the reality TV programmes. (Leong M. D. ,2008) Television is most definitely our greatest form of entertainment to date.With all the various types of programmes there is something to suit each individual. Comedy programmes for instance are a great source of entertainment,as they make us laugh and enjoy ourselves. As the saying goes â€Å"laughter is the best medicine. It has been discovered to lower blood pressure,increase circulation and so on†. With other programmes such as cartoons,discovery channels,movies,sports,weather and many more you will never be bored. The television can be seen as our companion when we are home alone with nothing to do. Without it we would be lost.For those who adore nature and like to watch scenery abroad but cannot afford to travel with recent circumstances,the television is a great source to just sit back,switch on a travel station and enjoy the beautiful nature and scenary of the world. (Mehta,2008). In contrast however, there are certain aspects to television which should not be broadcasted. A lot of television material is not properly monitored making it easier for inappropriate content to be shown on TV,for example violence or inappropriate sex scenes which should not be viewed by the public eye.Not only could this damage society but also our youth of today who need to be protected from such behaviour. (Kulkarni,2009) In conclusion,we can see how the positive aspects of television outweigh the negative. A lot more good comes from TV rather than bad but nevertheless,we are still aware of the negative. What it has done, is made peoples lifes change for the better providing people with more entertaining,exciting and in fact more educated lifes. It brings people together and is something all individuals can share and relate to.Its no doubt a great resource which has turned the world upside down for the better,opening a whole new outlook on life. Reference List: Palmer,B. Break Studios Contributing Writer(2010) â€Å"Benefits of Television†,(Made Manual Instructions for Life (www. mademan. com/mm/10-benefits-television. html) Leong,Kristie M. D,featured contributer in health and wellness(2008) â€Å"The Disadvantage of Television Viewing†,( http://voices. yahoo. com/the-disadvantages-television-viewing-) Wagner, J. (2009) â€Å"Top Ten Benefits of Watching Television† www. connectwithyourteens. net) Keanney,I (2010) â€Å"Advantages for Children to watch TV† (LIVESTRONG. com) Banks,A (2008) â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of Television† (http://www. fictionpress. com/s/2482693/1/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-television) Mehta,N (2008) â€Å"Advantages of Watching Television† (http://voices. yahoo. com/advantages-watching-television) Kulkarni,A(2009) â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of Television† (http://www. infobarrel. com/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Television)

Study of diary products supply chain with its various components and Essay

Study of diary products supply chain with its various components and aspects - Essay Example We ensure that the amount of fat is reduced and this fat which has been removed is used in the making of products such as butter and cream, all these being the ingredients found in cheese, which will be our primary focus in this paper. Good manufacturing practices such as hygiene, quality assurance and marketing are critical (Andreas & Carl, 2011). Production requirements Cheese storage area capacity is predominantly determined by the target cheese types which are intended through put plans. The equipment which will be necessary for cheese making depends on the type of cheese being produced and facilities which are specifically designed are required, and advice/factory design should be sought. According to the nature and complexity of making cheese, which usually requires precision if one is considering going into cheese making, proper training is a basic requirement. The key areas for consideration in the manufacturing of cheese are pasteurization process of milk, quality control, h ygiene and finally marketing and distribution (Andrew, Dan, & Tom, 2006). Legal requirements There are stringent hygiene regulations to be adhered to since safety is an important consideration in the cheese business as is in any other food business. ... Cheese is a complex food comprising of only a few simple ingredients. There are thousands of varieties of cheese around the world developed by cheese makers, each with a unique taste, texture and nutritional profile. Absolutely, no cheese is similar and we have a large number of standards, due to the existing ways in adjusting the basic recipe of products such as mozzarella, Brie, blue, Swiss, Cheddar and many more. There are two basic types of cheese which we deal with and they are: Natural cheese which comprises of about four ingredients which are basic and they include salt and milk among others. The cheese nutrients such as calcium, protein and phosphorus are due to the milk being the main ingredient. Salt is required for the final transformation of liquid milk into cheese while also acting as a natural preservative. Processed cheese which is made from high-quality natural cheese. Therefore, it also comprises of the said nutrients (calcium, phosphorus and protein). One of its maj or differences with natural cheese is that processed cheese can be modified to have more calcium as well as extra vitamin D. For processed cheese, the processing is known to stop the aging process, thus maintaining its flavor, texture and smoothness over extended periods of time. Processed cheese can be customized for flavor and qualities such as a smooth melt responsible for making it versatile, tasty and easy-to-use food. There has to be careful application of amount of salt used since it will impact its firmness, flavor, food safety and preservation crucial for our customers. Supply Chain At the start of cheese supply chain, we have the farmers who supply the milk. There are well known unions who we deal with and have been in operation for well over a decade, who specialize in dairy

Weight Watchers and their Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Weight Watchers and their Benefits - Essay Example Weight watchers have a comprehensive move in a right direction with the best possible options listed below: These e tools enable you to keep a check on your food choices, help you see regular updates on your weight loss progress with a graphical representation, give you a BMI calculator to let you know how much you need to lose, facilitates you to have fitness sessions, salsa dance, yoga, aerobics etc through videos. Weight watchers offer a choice in the food plan. With the flexible food plan you can choose amongst the various options available with the food points. You just need to maintain the total day points and keep having various combinations. The core plan though does not give this option; it has a list of various low calorie food choices to keep you healthy and filled throughout. Through the rich experience of weight watchers, they have a clear understanding that men have women have different needs for weight loss. Moreover, the frequency of loss and the tendency also vary. Weight watchers have designed specific tools for men keeping in mind the specifics attached to their needs. It is of course understand to have dietary measures while weight loss, but one cannot keep starving when he is hungry or just feels like eating. Weight watchers keep your food needs in mind and give you various recipes which would let you keep your taste buds satisfied and the calorie intake intact. There are different options for different kinds of meals and the choice is enormous to let you have nice lunch, dinner and snacks. Weight Watchers have meetings for its members where there is a leader who has lost weight in such sessions. Here, there are discussions about the best ways of losing weight, acting in a healthy way in a particular situation. These 40-45 minutes meetings also let you learn through the experience of others. Moreover, this is more a platform of learning with regular guidance. You can

Bioinformatics assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bioinformatics - Assignment Example Tasks 1-7 are related to the material in Section B. Task 8 is to be found in Section C and uses the peptide sequence that was allocated to you. Marks are shown in parentheses. Task 1 (no marks) Write down the peptide sequence (near the start of section B) in single letter format (put a space between each letter): C G L V P V L A E N Y N K S Task 2 (8 marks) What do you conclude about the top seven matches for the peptide sequence? The results show that the matches are all peptide sequences which code for transferrin protein, except for one match, ICA, which codes for an inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase in pigs. The sequence matches code for different forms of transferrin proteins in various species. For example the 14 amino acid sequence is codes for serotransferrin in humans while it forms part of the protein code for lactotransferrin in horse. This shows that the same peptide sequence codes for the same protein in different species. Task 3 (1 + 1 marks) Write down: a) The number of amino acid residues: 698 b) The relative molecular mass (Mr): 77,064 Task 4 (2 marks) What are the details against TITLE? Protein Chain A: 329 residues Ligands: CO3 338(A) Metal: FE 339(A) Water: ?138 Task 5 (1 + 2 + 1 + 4 marks) a) What is the number of cleavages for pepsin (at pH 1.3)? 214 b) Why is the pH quoted? The pH can affect the catalyst activity of an enzyme. Extreme pH can denature the active site of the enzyme. pH also gives an idea of the optimum temperature at which the enzyme is able to work. Changes in pH affect the actions of the enzyme. Therefore, at different pH, the hydrolytic action of the pepsin differs. Therefore, it is important to quote the pH. c) What is the number of cleavages for trypsin? 79 d) By reference to average peptide fragment lengths, which of the above two enzymes would be better for producing peptides for amino acid sequencing (and why)? Pepsin can cleave at a greater number of sites than trypsin. This means that cleavage by pepsin can produce much shorter peptide fragments compared to cleavage by trypsin. For amino acid sequencing, usually if the peptide is less than 50 amino acid residues, there is no need to further cleave the peptide. The peptides which are 50 AA residues or less can be sequenced by a cyclic procedure, where the AA is first labelled, cleaved and indentified; the process is then repeated on the shortened fragment. However if the peptide is longer than 50 residues, there is a need to first shorten the protein chain before the cyclic procedure is carried out. This means that the enzyme which makes smaller fragments is suitable for sequencing in this case. Calculating the length of the peptide fragments: Pepsin: 698/214? 3 AA Trypsin: 698/79?8 AA In this case, pepsin makes a fragment which is equal to a single AA. This means that pepsin is more suitable. Task 6 (1 + 1 + 4 marks) a) What is the name of the amino acid residue to which carbohydrate is attached? Asparagine b) What is the position number of th is amino acid in the protein’s amino acid sequence? 432 c) How are sugars attached to proteins? Via glycosidic bonds Task 7 (1 + 1 + 1 + 4 marks) a) Number of disulphide bridges: 8 b) Number of strands: 13 c) Number of helices: 15 d) Why are disulphide bridges important for those proteins that have them? Disulphide bonds have an important role in the stability of proteins. They also help to bring about folding in the proteins. The disulphide bond lowers the entropy of the unfolded form of the protein, thus lowering its

Quality Assurance in Banking Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Quality Assurance in Banking Investment - Essay Example In view of the importance of quality assurance in the investment banks, the process is carried out to strengthen the procedure and standards at corporate level, promoting efficient utilization of available resources so that different functions are carried out in an expeditious and cost effective manner and make recommendations for enhanced customer satisfaction. As investment banking is a service oriented business with most of the profits coming through the investments in businesses and acting as consultant to many businesses, it is necessary that investment banking adopt suitable techniques, theories and principles related to quality assurance for customer satisfaction and retention. Banking Investment or investment banking is part of the financial services industry that offers wide variety of services to corporations and organizations all over the world. The range of products and services is increasing rapidly that has made it difficult to distinguish the most important services because investment banks offer their services in different forms (Turnbull and Moustakatos, 1996)1 The service is an area that helps companies in funds acquisition, advising for wide range of transactions for future businesses (www.wisegeek.com).2 As it is clear that the investment banking deals with providing financial assistance to the companies for business matters, it is essential to ensure quality service in the area. Therefore quality assurance is the main pillar of any business including profit and nonprofit organizations, government and nongovernmental organizations as it affects the level of success in the business. The quality assurance further helps in conducting other evalua tion processes like standards compliance evaluations, brand assurance evaluations, customer or guest experience evaluations, etc. which makes it essential and important in any business organization to maintain a dominant position in the industry market (www.totalqualityassuranceservices.com). In view of the importance of quality assurance, the present paper is intended to discuss the issues and importance related to banking sector particularly in investment banking. Investment Banking Investment banks have multilateral functions to execute in favor of various companies. The service mainly deals with companies like helping private and public corporations in issuing securities in the primary market, guarantee by standby underwriting or best efforts selling and foreign exchange management. (www.economywatch.com).3 Further it is committed towards providing assistance to capital markets as intermediary. These are the institutions that are regarded as counterparts of banks in the capital market in the function of intermediation in the process of resource allocation (Subramanyam, 2004, p.72)4 Need for Quality Assurance in Investment Banking Williamson (1988, p.55) stated that investment banking has been and will continue to be an increasingly intensively competitive business in order to strive in the market which is mainly dominated by the changes as part of strategy in the capital and securities industry. The changes in the market include emergence of institutional investors, internationalization, innovative technology enabling investment banks and their customers to organize and distribute