Thursday, May 21, 2020

Why does the Number of Sexual Assaults Continue to Increase in the Military - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 589 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/02/20 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: Sexual Assault In The Military Essay Did you like this example? The purpose of this essay is to inform you the reasons of why sexual assaults continue to increase in the military. Sexual assault occurs in the military with the combination of high stress environment, loneliness and alcohol, that possibly may end in mental illness. Which thanks to the policies, regulations and training of SHARP, the reports of assaults have increased. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Why does the Number of Sexual Assaults Continue to Increase in the Military" essay for you Create order During this writing I will give you the information of why sexual assault occur supported by articles from trusted resources. In addition, I will inform if the SHARP (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention) training reduces (or not reduce) the risk and how do we end sexual violence in the military. Sexual assault occurs with the combination of high stress environment, loneliness and alcohol that possibly may end in a mental illness. As stated in an article by Elisabeth Bumiller from New York Times in 2007 to 2008, there was an 8 percent of increase in reported assaults, with a 11 percent of increase in combat areas, principally Iraq and Afghanistan. After this time the quantities of soldiers affected by sexual assault had a vastly increment. Given by the Department of Defense SAPRO (Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office) in 2007 the numbers of soldiers affected by sexual assault was 2,846. Last report provided (FY 17) reflect 6,769 soldiers affected. Ms. Kaye Whitley (Director of Pentagon’s SHARP office) said that the typical cases of soldiers was an assault by 18- to 25-year-old junior enlisted service member with alcohol involved. As stated in the DoD SAPRO history, In January 2005, DoD presented to Congress a comprehensive policy on prevention and response to sexual assault. The policy provides a foundation for the Department to improve prevention of sexual assault, significantly enhance support to victims and increase reporting and accountability. According to the data collected by DOD exactly that is what happened in the past 13 years. A large increase in reports of sexual assault. This clearly shows that the programs, training and policies submitted had results. The results have been more reports, it means that the trainings have not helped to lower the number of people affected by sexual abuse. But it has helped these people to get oriented and know the necessary steps, regulations and policies which protect them to help overcome any mental illness or disorders that may have been caused by sexual abuse. Sexual assault occurs in the military with the combination of high stress environment, loneliness and alcohol, that possibly may end in mental illness. Lets talk about how we can end sexual violence in the military. As stated in the article by Joseph Grenny from TIME magazine â€Å"we must start measure safety, not just assaults†. It means that leaders must begin to change the rules and not just adjudicate justice. Two good examples would be enforcing the use of alcohol in military installations and improve the track of the mental assessment of soldiers. It means that instead of a multiple answer sheet, have a proper evaluation with a mental specialist can be helpful. The combination of high stress environment, loneliness, alcohol and mental illness are the primary reasons of sexual assaults in the military. After this writing clearly conclude that the implementation of SHARP policies, regulations and training increased the number of reports of sexual assault. That helped the victims to overcome any mental illness or disorders that they may have been caused by sexual abuse. Finally, I highly recommend leadership to start looking measure safety, not just assaults and begins to start looking new alternatives to end with sexual harassment/assault in the military.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Diageo Capital Structure Essay - 1141 Words

1. What do you think about the capital structure policies Diageo has pursued in the past. Do they make sense? How does it compare to Diageo’s competitors’ policies? Which competitors would make for the best comparison? (40%) Diageo was formed from the merger of Grand Metropolitan plc and Guinness plc. Before the merge, both companies used little debt (based on the book D/E ratio and net debt to total capital in the table below) to finance themselves which helped them gain and maintain high credit rating (A and AA respectively). After the merge, Diageo wanted to take the same path by maintaining the interest coverage between 5 and 8 (through actions such as new debt issuance, share repurchase programs shown in figure 1) and having†¦show more content†¦* Diageo’s book gearing (59%) is slightly lower than average spirits’ segment figure, higher than the average book gearing of competitors in beer and beverage industry, lower than package food and fast food industry averages. * Diageo’s market gearing (25%) is slightly lower than average spirits’ segment figure, higher than the average market gearing of competitors in beer, beverage and package food industry averages. Given its current prospects and strategy, the appropriate credit rating targeted by managers is an A. Exhibit 2 shows that spirits and wine is the best profitable business and we know Diageo’s plan to focus on this business. Let’s compare it with Allied Domecq, one of its major rivals in the alcoholic beverage industry. Allied Domecq has a way higher book gearing and a slightly higher market gearing. However, it has a credit rating of A-. With its positive and increasing net income, this could mean that Diageo may take up more debt (probably up to its competitor ratio level) without having to fear about a potential downgrade. 2. Why is Diageo selling Pillsbury and spinning off Burger King? How might value be created through these transactions? (20%) Exhibit 2 shows that Pillsbury represents 24% of Diageo’s operating profit in FY00 while Burger King represents 10%. Spirits and wine is the biggest division (high operating margin) of the firm and also the fastest growing with sales growth of 8% for the year. Guinness wasShow MoreRelatedCapital structure for Diageo1977 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction and Background Diageo was formed in 1997 through the merger of two consumer product companies Grand Metropolitan plc and Guinness plc under the strategy of reducing costs through marketing synergies, cutting overhead expenses and increasing production and purchasing efficiencies. The new merger wanted to concentrate solely on the beverage alcohol business, so it sold its packaged foods (Pillsbury) and fast food (Burger King) businesses. While the mandate for Managing for Value cameRead MoreEssay on Diageo Capital Structure Case665 Words   |  3 PagesIntroduction Diageo was created when Grand Metropolitan, plc and Guiness, plc merged in 1997. While the Diageo name is not well known to consumers, its brands are among the most famous including Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Cuervo. The company recently decided to focus on a strategy to grow through its spirits, wine and beer businesses and divest of its Pillsbury and Burger King subsidiaries. This case study will focus on the proposed capital structure decisions of Diageo. 2) Is Diageo’sRead MoreDiageo Essay1160 Words   |  5 PagesDiageo Case 1. How has Diageo historically managed its capital structure? Diageo sought to maintain the low-debt (conservative) financial policies of the Guinness and Grand Met with goals to keep * its interest coverage ratio (EBITDA / Interest Payments) between 5 and 8 and * its EBITDA / Total Debt around 30-35% Although not quite as conservative as other UK firms (with Equity/Assets ratios of 42%), it was successful in achieving these goals and retaining a credit rating of A+ (aRead MoreDiageo Plc1436 Words   |  6 Pages1. How has Diageo managed its capital structure? Do you agree it is conservative? Diageo was born as the result of merging Grand Metropolitan plc and Guinness plc. Since the beginning the newly formed company maintained conservative financial policies inherited from the two parent companies; and in general from the British financial management style. There are many indications that confirm that Diageo has managed its capital structure using a conservative approach. Firstly, it is worth mentioningRead MoreDiageo Plc1446 Words   |  6 Pages1. How has Diageo managed its capital structure? Do you agree it is conservative? Diageo was born as the result of merging Grand Metropolitan plc and Guinness plc. Since the beginning the newly formed company maintained conservative financial policies inherited from the two parent companies; and in general from the British financial management style. There are many indications that confirm that Diageo has managed its capital structure using a conservative approach. Firstly, it is worth mentioningRead MoreCapital Structure Of Debt And Equity1607 Words   |  7 PagesI. Capital Structure Overview The capital structure refers to the proportion of debt and equity by which a company is financed. In fact, shareholders are the ones that provide the company with equity financing, whereas bond investors and banks provide it with debt through bonds and loan contracts. Actually, it could be an issue for a company to decide on an optimal debt to equity mix, and there are a few different theories that explain that. Here, it is important to say that an optimal debt toRead MoreDiageo Plc1169 Words   |  5 PagesDIAGEO PLC 1. What do you think about the capital structure policies Diageo has pursued in the past. Do they make sense? How does it compare to Diageo’s competitors’ policies? Which competitors would make for the best comparison? 2. Why is Diageo selling Pillsbury and spinning off Burger King? How might value be created through these transactions? 3. Based on the results of the simulation model, what recommendations would you make for Diageo’s capital structure? Does the model capture all of theRead MoreDiageo Case Study1411 Words   |  6 PagesI. Executive Summary Diageo, one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies, was formed from the merger of GrandMet and Guinness. In 2000, the company announced its intention to sell its packaged food subsidiary, Pillsbury, and 20% of its Burger King subsidiary. Because of the restructuring opportunity, the company wanted to rethink its financing mix. In this case, the tradeoff between the costs and benefits of different leverage policies will be discussed. A simulation model was createdRead MoreDOW CHEMICALS6171 Words   |  25 Pages9 - 2 0 1- 0 3 3 REV. AUGUST 6, 2003 GEORGE CHACKO PETER TUFANO Diageo plc Ian Cray, Diageo plc’s Treasurer, looked out of his office window onto the busy streets of London in October 2000. The London-based consumer goods company Diageo had recently announced its intention to sell its packaged food subsidiary, Pillsbury, to General Mills. Earlier in the year, Diageo also announced its intent to sell 20% of its Burger King subsidiary through an initial public offering during 2001, toRead MoreDiageo Plc Financial Analysis1907 Words   |  8 Pagesor not to invest  £1 million in the company â€Å"Diageo plc†. This report is divided into five parts. First, the company profile is introduced. Second, the performance overview of Diageo will be summarized. Third, the financial ratios analysis is presented. Then, I have analysed industry competitors comparing with Diageo. Final, after considering key relevance factors, the conclusion of the investment will be revealed. â€Å"DIAGEO† Company Profile Diageo plc is the world’s leading premium drinks business

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Cultural Values Of This Group Revolve Around The...

The cultural values of this group revolve around the Islamic religion, which is a monotheistic religion that is the third-largest and fastest growing in the world. Islam has five pillars, with the first being a declaration of belief in Allah or God. The second is prayer, and Muslims have a requirement to pray five times a day, with Friday being their sacred day (equivalent to the Christian Sunday). In other countries, weekends fall on Thursday and Friday to account for this, and it may be appropriate for counselors to consider their prayer times. The third pillar is charity. The fourth is fasting from food, water, and pleasures during daylight hours of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month long holy month, and counselors should consider how fasting from food and water can impact the day-to-day life of a Muslim, with mood being one obvious factor. There are also restrictions placed upon eating pork and consuming alcohol year-round (Ali, Liu, Humedian, 2004). Finally, the fifth pillar is the jo urney to Mecca, which Muslims are expected to make once in their life, unless they find it impossible by financial or physical means. There are subcultures of the Islamic faith, with the most notable being the divide of Sunni and Shi’a. About 85-90% of Muslims consider themselves to be Sunni, with the rest being Shi’a (Turner, 2011). The main difference is their belief about religious leaders, but there are tensions among these groups, with a civil war among them in Iraq, that have made theShow MoreRelatedThe Threat Of The Islamic State971 Words   |  4 PagesIn recent years, ISIS has been breaking out everywhere instilling fear into people all around the world. In recent events, they attacked Brussels, Istanbul and Paris killing a large amount of people. The major thing that we have to remember is to not fear the Islamic State. They only way we can defeat them is if we show no fear of them. Is it said to believe that many people like the Iraqi government’s di scriminatory policies against Sunnis, Bashar al-Assad’s suppression of secular Syrian protestersRead MoreSchool Of Business, Blaine Campus1343 Words   |  6 PagesReligion: Islam Nicole Hedblum Intercultural Communications Minnesota School of Business, Blaine Campus Islam is a religion that has come into the spotlight in recent years, partly because of charges that have been brought against its members. The most notable mention of Islam today is that of the Islamic State (ISIS), which seeks to build a caliphate in Syria. It is, therefore, crucial to understand the religion of Islam itself in order to be better guided in information about the religionRead MoreThe Cultural Norms Of Ethiopia1545 Words   |  7 PagesAfrica is globally recognized for its broad cultural and diversity. Many countries in Africa have distinct cultures. In the case of Ethiopia, it has gained an obscured reputation globally hence the need for learning about their cultural norms for military considerations. When it comes to Ethiopia, or the entire African continent, most bad things are affiliated with the region especially due to the things that people see and hear on television, including starving children, kids without parents, adultsRead MoreThe Story Of Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi1414 Words   |  6 Pagesassociated with the Islamic religion are widely assumed as extreme and very convoluted. The average person has only heard rumors about what exactly the Quran says or how Sharia law is interpreted and implemented. The story of Persepolis sheds light onto some of the inner workings of how Islamic life and Sharia law affected a population and shaped the Islamic Revolution in Iran. This story is staged during a time of extensive change within Iran, Marjane Satrapi documents this occurrence through herRead MoreReligion s Terms Of Social And Cultural Issues1575 Words   |  7 Pages Religion In Terms Of Social and Cultural Issues in the UK Case Study: Christianity and Islam Outline I. Introduction A. Brief description of Christianity B. Brief Description of Islam II. Social Issues with Christianity A. Abortion B. Bioethics C. Euthanasia D. Fostering E. Family and marriage F. Education III. Social Issues with Islam A. Drinking B. Marriage with Non-Muslims C. Poverty D. Education IV. Cultural Issues with Christianity A. Losing their ChristianRead MoreThe Social And Cultural Issues Of The Two Mainstream Religions, Christian And Islam1740 Words   |  7 PagesThis essay will discuss the social and cultural issues of the two mainstream religions, Christian and Islam specifically in the UK. In advance of discussing these issues, the two mainstream religions need to be described briefly. According to (source, year), Christianity is religion that is a form of Abrahamic monotheism which is on the basis on the life and experiences of Jesus Christ and this is shown in the New Testament. Christianity is one of the largest religions in the world with more thanRead MoreThe Patterns Of Majority And Minority Interaction1376 Words   |  6 Pagesideas and prejudice ideas. When someone is ethnocentric, they believe their own values and customs to be superior to other cultures. From these ethnocentric ideas, which have been displayed throughout history, prejudice ideas occur. Prejudice ideas occur when a person makes a pre-judgment or assumption in regards to another ethnicity. Therefore, when one makes a pre-judgment they assume that they are unlike the group that they are judging. Bigotry on the other hand plays into the idea of discriminationRead MoreAfghanistan s Geography : Afghanistan1527 Words   |  7 PagesAfghanistan’s Geography: Afghanistan is a country that is rich in history and war. Going back to early human civilization, many empires resided in this country. This country’s history is so vast some experts say that the relics and artifacts are just a grand as the artifacts from Egypt. â€Å"Lying along important trade routes connecting southern and eastern Asia to Europe and the Middle East, Afghanistan has long been a prize sought by empire builders, and for millennia great armies have attempted toRead MoreThe Gender Roles1630 Words   |  7 PagesIn every religion, culture and country there are many different roles for each gender. From the day we are born, we are led and pushed towards what the normal female or male does on a daily life. Gender roles have always existed even before history was written. The roles in gender is always going to shift whether the female has more power than the male. Though in many ancient societies men have been more dominant then the female. Gender roles are not de fined, but are impressed upon us by family,Read MoreCulture And Its Influence On Culture2079 Words   |  9 Pageshave their understanding of culture. According to my understanding, culture can be defined as people s way of life. This includes their values, customs, beliefs, languages as well as traditions. In general, the concept of culture is well reflected in the history of people, their heritage and how they express their ideas as well as their creativity. The culture of a particular group of people can be used to assess the quality of their life, their vitality and the health of that society. Through culture

Power of E-Commerce over Traditional Mall Shopping

POWER OF E-COMMERCE OVER TRADITIONAL MALL SHOPPING i. Most people with different ages can easily browse the internet for several reasons; however, the online shopping considered being one of the most amazing motives. Internet revolution and growing of online marketing shifted most of consumers’ preferences to rely on online shopping instead of the usual traditional mall shopping especially when it comes to convenience, easiness, and globalization. ii. Convenience a. Convenience is the key motivation for most online shoppers. Save gas time during shopping. Also, online store never close! b. Life is busy! Going for shopping malls is a hassle. It is difficult to compare prices as well as rigid working hours. iii. Easiness a.†¦show more content†¦When it comes to people with special need, such as older or handicapped, they might suffer while driving, parking, and walking to the targeted store, or they will ask for assistance during shopping. Extra merits go to online shopping, such as future reordering, which is allowing customers to place the same previous order over and over again. Also, since all purchasing is processed electronically, all transactions and receipts will be emailed to the customer, so there is no need to worry about losing receipts ever again. On the other hand, most stores will never accept to return and/or exchange without receipts. Unlike the boring approach of waiting in long lines to checkout or dealing with customer service in the retail shops (mainly during holidays and special occasions), the online stores are always ready to check a customer out whenever he/she is ready. When it comes to globalization, online shopping broadened the market to be between customers’ hands and makes shopping available for everyone. Nowadays, anyone can shop from foreign stores outside USA, such as European, Asian, or just any online store in the world. A person can shop and ship the desirable item(s) witho ut obstacles right to his/her door using reasonable shipping methods and rates. In fact, traditional stores do not have the ability to bring something from outside of the country. Stores, no matter how luxurious they are, they are still local stores. Definitely, the United States keeps theShow MoreRelatedThe impacts of TAOBAO(business to customer) on E-business in China.1646 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿The impacts of TAOBAO(business to customer) on E-business in China. Introduction In the last few decades, an increasing number of consumers are willing to choose online shopping rather than traditional purchase methods, such as supermarket and mall. The website named TAOBAO is a newly developing online shopping website, based on business-to-customer(B2C). This system can be defined as one model of electronic business (E-business) and that includes â€Å"Selling individual products to individual buyersRead More- Brick and Mortar Business to an E-Business Essay1615 Words   |  7 Pagesforce of efforts put in by many members and employees. Wal-Mart adopt E-business What business processes were changed? Possibly the single greatest success story of e-business and B2B implementation is that of the rise to dominance by Wal-Mart in the North American retail market. Wal-Mart has impressive growth in such a short time span and the single most important factor in this rise was their harnessing of the power of e-business. Wal-Mart built an inventory and supply chain management systemRead MoreAmazon, By Jeff Bezos1641 Words   |  7 Pagesspecialist on Wall Street in New York City. After considering many products to sell he decided on books. Amazon exploded onto the market as the premier website to buy, sell, and rent books. Bezos pioneered the industry with innovations like one click shopping, online customer reviews, and order verification emails. The company’s revenues soared to $15.6 million dollars by the end of 1997. Despite the tremendous revenues Amazon failed to turn a profit until the last quarter of 2001. Jeff Bezos focus remainedRead MoreAttitude of Indian Consumers Tow ards Online Shopping7049 Words   |  29 PagesATTITUDE OF INDIAN CONSUMER TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING A Project Presented to University Business School, Panjab University CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the Report entitled â€Å"Attitude of Indian Consumers towards Online Shopping† has been made for the partial fulfillment of the Marketing course by Bandeep Kaur, student of MBA Marketing, under my guidance. I confirm that this Report truly represents her work. This work is not a replication of work done previously by any other person and hasRead MoreBarnes and Noble Strategic Audit6762 Words   |  28 Pagesis a key player in the Book Retail Industry. This mature industry has been experiencing slow growth over the last several years, much slower than overall retail sales. Barriers to entry into this industry are quite high, and suppliers have modest influence over booksellers. The introduction of the Internet has brought about many changes to this industry. It has increased rivalry, buyer power, and substitutes. Spending time surfing the net is one of many substitutes to reading books nowadaysRead MoreThe Impact Of Fashion Industry On Business Environment1874 Words   |  8 PagesOver the last twenty years, Fashion Industry has significantly evolved (Djelic and Ainamo,1999). Globally fashion industry has undergone considerable change due to change in business environment. Rapid increase in market demand and changing dynamics of the industry has forced suppliers to look to feasible, high quality and quick to the market with better strategies to achieve higher profitability. According to author named Sinha (2001) constant change in design, capital investment in form of betterRead MoreThe Impact of Online Apparel Stores on in-Store Shopping3618 Words   |  15 PagesThe impact of online apparel stores on in-store shopping: A complement rather than a substitute Abstract Due to the fast development of the Internet and the growing popularity of online shopping, some argue that the online shopping will substitute store shopping ultimately. For some products such as books and tickets, that might be true, however, for product like apparel - a kind of high-risk and hedonistic product, it is not the case. This essay demonstrates why it isRead MoreThe Industry Environment : Walmart s Competitiveness1616 Words   |  7 Pagesvery well. In order to analyze the industry environment logically, Porter s five forces model should be the main analysis guide. This model includes threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of customers (buyers), bargaining power of suppliers and intensity of competitive rivalry. Here we focus on the five aspects to analysis the environment of retail industry and Walmart s situation in this industry environment. For threat of new entrants, the influenceRead MoreImpact of Direct/Online Selling on Traditional Channels3291 Words   |  14 Pagesselling of their products. This paper critically analyzes the impacts of this transformation on the traditional channels and customers thereby focusing on future of the world markets. The research is backed by critical analysis on various aspects related to marketing channels around the world. At the end there are some useful guidelines for the online buyers. IMPACT OF DIRECT/ONLINE SELLING ON TRADITIONAL CHANNELS Ââ€" A CRITICAL APPRAISAL INTRODUCTION Wars play a vital role in restructuring of theRead MoreImpact Of Digital Marketing On E Commerce9734 Words   |  39 PagesPROJECT REPORT ON â€Å"IMPACT OF DIGITAL MARKETING OR E-COMMERCE IN CURRENT BUSINESS SCENARIO† (A CASE STUDY OF TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES) SUBMITTED BY ANKUR NARANG ENROLLMENT NO.: 1321000782 UNDER SUPERVISION OF MR. SUPREET SINGH Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for qualifying P G PROGRAMME IN MANAGEMENT In (MARKETING) INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CENTRE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING GHAZIABAD MAY, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER CONTENTS

Reflection Paper on School Counselor’s Skills Free Essays

School Counselors’ Perception of Required Workplace Skills and Career Development Competencies John Barker Ph. D, Jamie Satcher, Ph. D The journal is about a research made to examine US counselors’ perception about the workplace skills and career development for the high school students who are going either work-bound or college bound. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflection Paper on School Counselor’s Skills or any similar topic only for you Order Now Researchers used a questionnaire with a participant of 152 high school counselors nationwide. It was defined from the study that work-bound students are those who are going to work right after high school while college-bound students are those who will pursue a degree after their secondary schooling. Workplace skills and career development competencies were essential for the high school students because according to their department of education, the students need to have a clear understanding of their future occupations. Results of the research indicated that high school counselors view work- and college-bound students as more similar than different in their need for developing required workplace skills and competencies. Moreover, the acquisition of said skills and competencies were recognized to be vital for both group of students. There is only a discrepancy when it comes to acquiring skills for according to the results, counselors believed that the work-bound students need to have more idea when it comes to skills so it will be easy for them to look for some jobs. The study emphasized on the great need of acquisition for high school students when it comes to work skills and career competencies as a part of their secondary school experience. Westerners have always been competitive when it comes to pursuing a career. The study was done in December 2000 and it is great to find out that they are already studying about the needs of career development for their high school students. On the other hand here in the country, counselors were just starting off making career programs, not to mention that most schools in the Philippines only have career talks. It is not that I am being judgmental when it comes to counseling programs in the country. It so happened that I realized how behind the Philippine schools when it comes to these programs. In fairness with some schools, they have a good guidance program particularly when it comes to placements. Problem here is that not most schools have a career program, so most students get into a course that they really do not like. An example of this is the boom in the nursing profession in our country. Several years ago, there was a big demand for nurses abroad. Almost every graduating secondary student was talking about it and how easy it will be for them to go to the other country for there is a greener grass there. Almost half of the population of each secondary school took the course. After four years of being in the college and passing the board examinations, their next question is â€Å"What now? † Since most of the students took the same course, the demand decreased already and most of them ended up being jobless. I always look back on these days and I feel bad every time I think of it. I wished that there is someone who could have guided these people when they were choosing the course. Most of the nursing graduates that I know keep on saying that they regret the course they took and that they could have chosen another one. The Commission on Higher Education should really do something about it. On the lighter side of this issue, it is great news that schools are now starting to develop career guidance programs. These programs are even starting as early as pre-school. The National Career Assessment Examination is a great help in identifying their future career. A follow-up form the counselors is a bigger help in shaping their future goals. How to cite Reflection Paper on School Counselor’s Skills, Papers

Building Maintenance free essay sample

Encarta Dictionary (2009), defines allocation as an act of giving or earmarking something to or set something aside for a purpose. It defines maintenance as work that is done regularly to keep a machine, building, or pieces of equipment in good condition and working order. It defines it further as the general condition of a facility with respect to repairs making it unchanged or unimpaired. It defines resources allocation as the act of deciding how resources such as money, assets, and personnel (labours) should be used in order to achieve a particular aim. Maintenance resources allocation is thus a very important topic describing how human and material resources are logically assigned to structural facilities such as buildings and roads with the sole aim of making such facilities retain their initial construction value. The decrease of resource allocation for building maintenance activities urges the professions to develop solutions on reducing the maintenance costs. Thus, it is vital to identify the cost characteristics and other resources requirement of preventive maintenance, includes scheduled maintenance and condition-based maintenance through literature review. The characteristics of preventive maintenance always affect the maintenance cost performance. Therefore, relationships between characteristics of preventive maintenance and maintenance cost performance must be established to understand and take into consideration, the maintenance planning stage. At the end, the significant relationship will be able to help the industry practitioners in selecting appropriate maintenance strategy with optimal maintenance expenditure, yet improving the maintenance outcome. The building maintenance costs are rising rapidly from time to time due to poor maintenance in the past. In UK, total spending on building maintenance had a dramatically increase of 66% in the past 10 years. In Malaysia, the development plan allocation for repair and maintenance works in building sector increased from RM296 million during the Eighth Malaysian Plan to RM1,079 million during the Ninth Malaysian Plan. However, the development plan allocation for repair and maintenance works in the Tenth Malaysian Plan has decreased to RM500 million. Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure that uses process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a buildings life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the design team, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, the common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by: †¢Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity †¢Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation from dilapidated facilities Building maintenance resources typically considered to be green include lumber from forests that have been certified to a third-party forest standard, rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal (see: copper sustainability and recyclability), and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, an d/or recyclable (e. . , Trass, Linoleum, sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, compressed earth block, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, seagrass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fibre plates, calcium sand stone, concrete (high and ultra high performance, roman self-healing concrete), etc. ) The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also suggests using recycled industrial goods, such as coal combustion products, foundry sand, and demolition debris in construction projects. Most building construction materials are imported to the country as there is great level of lack of confidence in our locally made materials making such materials scarce for various repair works. Energy efficient building materials and appliances are promoted in the United States unlike Nigeria through energy rebate programs, which are increasingly communicated to consumers through energy rebate database. This rebate exercise minimises waste, maximises recycling thereby having a significant positive effect on maintenance works as dilapidated components are collected for reprocessing into something useful as its initial purpose. A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other related topics include sustainable design and green architecture. Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Although some green building programs dont address the issue of the retrofitting existing homes, others do. Green construction principles can easily be applied to retrofit (maintain) work as well as new construction. Types and characteristics of managerial inputs from the operational level are not known. This creates barriers in agreeing on the maintenance resources, and has impacts on the efficiency and effectiveness of construction industries. From the financial perspective, most of the previous arguments of maintenance works identified are always without sufficient resources.. Previous studies seldom investigate the reasons why maintenance resources are allocated. Types of criteria for maintenance management decisions are also outstanding. It is important to investigate how the maintenance personnel justify their maintenance objectives. Moreover, studying about how PPM is connected with organisational objectives is limited. It is suggested addressing how maintenance objectives are related to maintenance strategy, which have influences on the building maintenance operation processes. Maintenance objective is one of the organisational sub-business objectives, and is dominated by the organisation strategy. Planning of maintenance objectives have impacts on the facility management operation in terms of using different maintenance strategies, which are influenced by the cost, quality and process directly and indirectly. On the contrary, whether the top management is concerned with the maintenance strategies are not known. Building maintenance objectives are the fundamental element to describe the scopes, purposes and aims of the maintenance activities, as well as the relationships with the organisational objectives. However, maintenance personnel are criticised for narrowly focusing on the technical issues. The links between building maintenance operation and organisation is an important issue and was recognised by most of the researchers for achieving organisational goals effectiveness. Investigations about how the maintenance objectives are established and the relationships between building maintenance and the business objectives are limited. It is also important to know how the relationships between the strategic level and the operational level are established. Studying alignment map between these two levels is to achieve a better planning of maintenance activities and resources allocation. However, mismatching between the two levels still exists when the basic of the links and the maintenance objectives are not known, or not clearly defined. Some organisations have not clearly defined their maintenance objectives, and are even without maintenance objectives. It is concluded that arguments of maintenance strategy, standard and resources are due to the lack of justification of building maintenance objectives. Thus, the preliminary investigation of research question can be focused on the investigation of ‘How do maintenance personnel at the operational level develop building maintenance objectives? ’ Following with this main question, it is recommended to collect the data and information about how maintenance personnel develop building maintenance objectives, and the following data and information is recommended:- †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œ What are the generic building maintenance objectives? – What are the factors influencing planning of building maintenance objectives? †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œ What are the reasons for the prioritisation of building maintenance objectives? †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œ What are the challenges from the top management and the gaps between building maintenance objectives and organisational objectives? Understanding the relationships between the top management at the strategic level and maintenance personnel at the operational level are considered important for better man agement of building maintenance operation processes. 4. 2 RECOMMMENDATION Construction and maintenance materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation. Where possible, building elements should be manufactured off-site and delivered to site, to maximise benefits of off-site manufacture such as; minimising waste, maximising recycling (because manufacture is in one location), high quality elements, better OHS management, less noise and dust. In the facility life-cycle process, costs are incurred in construction, operation, maintenance, and disposal of a facility. Past emphasis during the planning, design, and construction phases has been on estimating initial construction costs. The operating and maintaining shouldn’t be left out. In many cases, the operation and maintenance (OM) costs are far greater than initial construction costs. Building owners are should not majorly be concerned with the total initial construction costs of facilities rather, they should be more concerned about the life cycle costs of such structure. Maintainability is a key area where the industry needs to achieve improvements. This study identified two key factors that would enable the industry to achieve the desired improvements. Knowledge that would allow the issue of maintainability to be addressed as well as the tools to assess building performance in terms of its maintainability are indispensable and building maintenance strategy and policy in relation to maintenance resources allocation However, it is clear the different parties to the construction contract are reluctant to assume further responsibilities and liabilities which shouldn’t be so. All data regarding product or design’s maintainability should be made readily available. This would require the relevant party to invest in research and development and this create further challenge in an industry that is driven by â€Å"lowest cost† mentality. This would require clients and their advisers to make informed decisions thereby enhancing allocation of maintenance in construction industry.