A Tale of Two Classes

A Tale of Two Classes How do you go from taking 5 classes a term to only taking 2? You would think its easy, but its really not. So this semester is the FIRST SEMESTER EVER that Ive taken less than 48 units. So what am I taking you ask? 7.06: Cell Biology Lecture: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 11 am Recitation: Friday 11 am Professors: H. Ploegh and T. Orr-Weaver Biology of cells of higher organisms: structure, function, and biosynthesis of cellular membranes and organelles; cell growth and oncogenic transformation; transport, receptors, and cell signaling; the cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix, and cell movements; chromatin structure and RNA synthesis. Commentary: We watched this video the first day of lecture. Possibly one of the best science videos ever. 2.008: Design and Manufacturing II Lecture: Monday and Wednesday 12:30 2 pm Lab: Wednesday 2 5 pm Professors: J. Chun Integration of design, engineering, and management disciplines and practices for analysis and design of manufacturing enterprises. Emphasis is on the physics and stochastic nature of manufacturing processes and systems, and their effects on quality, rate, cost, and flexibility. Topics include process physics and control, design for manufacturing, and manufacturing systems. Group project requires design and fabrication of parts using mass-production and assembly methods to produce a product in quantity. Commentary: WE GET TO MAKE YO-YOS IN THIS CLASS. And the professor gives us chocolate halfway through lecture. Sidebar Commentary: So this is the first time in my life that Ive participated in Lent. For the record, Im giving up sweets and complaining. The last time I did anything for several days back to back was senior year of high school when a few friends of mine and I decided to see how long we were willing to wear the exact same outfit to school (yes, we did shower and yes, we washed our clothes). Scene: 2.008 Lecture on Wednesday Professor Chun begins to distribute chocolate to the class. I dig through the bag for my favorite piece of chocolate. I bite in. Me: Oh crap. Im not supposed to be eating this. Rob: That would be correct. Rob takes the chocolate from me and eats it. This is going to be a rough 40 days. So the reason I only wanted to take 2 classes this term is because I expected applying to graduate school to take up a lot of my time this semester especially having to fly out for interviews. Surprisingly, this strange thing has been happening lately. I get an invitation to interview at a school. I confirm. In the interim time between the invitation to interview and the actual interview, I get accepted. This happened yesterday with UC Berkeley right before I went up on stage at the Medlinks date auction (to be blogged tomorrow). It happened with UPenn about 3 weeks ago. Its a nice feeling. So for the record: Applied to 8 Schools Accepted to 5 Interviews at 2 others Havent heard a thing from the last one Oh, and about Berkeley? Did anyone watch the OC Series FinaleBen? What will I ever do with my Thursday nights?

Sappi And Sustainability Sappi North America - 990 Words

Sappi and Sustainability Sappi North America owns a paper mill in Skowhegan, Maine and another in Westbrook. The article I read was predominantly about the Skowhegan Sappi Mill, which has been ranked among the worst polluters in the state of Maine. Sappi North America came out with their sustainability report for 2015 back in May after a tax agreement was completed with the town of Skowhegan. I live in Madison, which is the next town over from Skowhegan, and our paper mill stopped production of is paper this past May soon after Sappi released their sustainability report. The issue of taxes is something the town of Madison is still dealing with and something Skowhegan hopes they will not have to deal with. This, however, seems inevitable as evaluations continue to drop the value of mills in the state, forcing towns to find money somewhere else. There are three major issues Sappi must deal with. The first problem is the closing of other paper mills in the area. The Madison Mill, along with four other paper mills in Maine, have shut down over the past couple of years (Harlow, 2016). This is a result of better technology including laptops, tablets, email, instant messaging, and online shopping. People do not need paper for writing letters, printing assignments, or looking through catalogs anymore, causing the demand for paper to drop. Companies that still use paper for catalogs and magazines have start to buy paper from mills in other countries, such as Canada, which offShow MoreRelatedCase Analysis-Arauco3446 Words   |  14 Pageslong-term cooperation relationships with many developed and developing countries, which would do great help in promoting the development of foreign trade because of the tax-free incentives. For example, as a free trade partner with European Union and America, Chile had achieved fruitful results, es pecially from the recovery of American economy. Furthmore, it was well known that the exchange rate was vital for the development of economy. In 2002, the exchange rate between dollar and peso moved from 1:688Read Morecorporate social responsibility motivations and country factors3504 Words   |  15 Pageshonoured by the company in goodwill so as to position oneself as a positively value-driven entity (Swanson 1995; Wood 1991). CSR initiatives can be derived out of self-interest, or external pressure from institutional economics (Meyer and Rowan 1991; North 1992) or when a company decides to rise above its economic function to help and aid stakeholders (Trevino and Nelson, 2004). While there are many reasons for a company to engage in CSR, it ultimately assists the corporation in enhancing its legitimacyRead MoreCase 11 Mabindra Mabindra B 10337 Words   |  42 Pagescompany stormed into the global limelight with the formidable success of its Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV)-the S.c orpio.,,3 Going forward, MM planned to expand its global reach by launching its vehicles in the international markets including North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, analysts said it This case study was written by Syeda Maseeha Qumer and Vandana Jayakumar, under the direction of Vara Vasanthi, IBS Hyderabad. It is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather

Diversity Training And Its Effectiveness - 1240 Words

Diversity may be defined as recognizing and respecting the similarities, differences and unique characteristics an individual employee contributes to the workplace. Diversity training and its effectiveness in the workplace has been met with differing conclusions as to the positive or negative impact this type of training may have on an organization. Today, change in the workplace is inevitable and diversity training in the workplace has become common across the globe. Companies now realize that the need for diversity training has increased tremendously and that if diversity is not valued in the workplace, cost and productivity may be negatively impacted. In 2010, researchers found that minorities made up half of the new employees hired†¦show more content†¦Tools such as the internet and email are good ways to eliminate cultural barriers, improve communication and understanding, and employee knowledge sharing. New approaches to how business is conducted such as virtual em ployees also contribute to the diversification of the workplace. Diversity training is not only necessary in the U.S., but now includes many countries around the globe. There are generally 2 reasons diversity training in the workplace is necessary; changes in the make-up of the population and globalization. Increases in the immigrant population and minority births have contributed to the increase in cultural diversity in the workplace. According to (Teixeira, 2013) In the 90’s, 58 percent of net workforce growth came from native born Americans who were not children of immigrants (that is, second generation or later Americans). In the 2000’s, that figure dropped to just half its previous level (29 percent). In this decade, projections indicate the figure will erode only slightly to 28 percent, but that will be followed by another sharp drop to just 3 percent in the 2020’s. In that decade, essentially all (97 percent) of workforce growth will come from immigra nts and their children (Immigrants and Minorities Are Powering America’s Workforce Growth, para. 3). U.S. and global competition means that companies must compete internationally as well as compete for and retain the best possibleShow MoreRelatedWhat Do You Define Diversity Within A Workplace?791 Words   |  4 Pages How do you define diversity in a workplace? Do you fall victim to a non diversified workplace where everyone seems out of place? Many people have different views on this the topic of diversity, but do not necessarily understand it fully in a workplace. If your job has numerous age groups, races, religious beliefs, and equal amount of gender, then your job is practicing diversification. A lot of companies are making it more known that they enforce diversity in their workplaces. Three top companiesRead MoreThe Manager Conducts Team Building Activities1694 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to Cox and Blake (1991), the management of diversity involves a whole div ersity philosophy and this includes the establishment of a sound organization culture that values inclusion. The effectiveness of the activity begins with sound aims and objective. In this regard, the manager had instituted a companywide team building initiative that is aimed at changing the employees mind set about diversity; address intersections of diversity, influence on culture, gender as well as age differencesRead MoreWork Related Cross Cultural Training1017 Words   |  5 Pagesconcept of cross-cultural training, a method which has been supported by many advocators as a proper and efficient mean of facilitating the above problems coupled with supporting increased diversity (Brislin, 1981; Landis Brislin, 1983; Mendenhall Oddou, 1986). Under the right circumstances, cross-cultural training could be proven a method for addressing prejudice, stereotyping and many other biases (King et al. 2010). From the one hand, one more general definition of training has defined it as â€Å"anyRead MoreThe Five Person Group Into Sub Teams1465 Words   |  6 Pagesregular basis aided in my ability to view the situation from a 30,000 foot level. I helped to formulate the organizational analysis questions: How does the goal of diversity training align to organizational objectives and strategy? Why is diversity training important for ZF to conduct? How does ZF define diversity? Do you need to leverage diversity for performance improvement? I was sensitive to picking up clues on what was in it for the HR Director, her departmental goals, as well as personal motivationsRead MoreAn Effective Compensation And Benefits Package1248 Words   |  5 Pageshealthy for the business. 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The following top-eight HR challenges - while seemingly complex - actually have relatively simple solutions for companies with the right software and organisational cultures that emphasize leadership, engagement, diversity and flexibility: 1. Retaining Top Talent Most companies view recruitment as the most important of their HR challenges, but retaining the talented people whom you already have certainly ranks higher than organic recruiting. Employee retention notRead MoreManagement : Management Careers And Diversity Essay1744 Words   |  7 PagesManagement Careers and Diversity Introduction Ongori and Agolla (2007) state that managing workforce diversity in an organization is a complex phenomenon. They suggest that with the current organizational transformations being implemented across the globe, management of workforce diversity cannot be downplayed. 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English Is the Only Foreign Language Worth Learning Free Essays

English is the only foreign language worth learning I likely diasgree with this statement. Every language is worth learning because it is how we communicate with each other. English is third most spoken language in the world, after Chinese and Spanish. We will write a custom essay sample on English Is the Only Foreign Language Worth Learning or any similar topic only for you Order Now I think English is leading language on this planet because Chinese and Spanish are spoken only in few countries. There are approximately 370 million native English speakers all around the world. On top that, there are roughly the same amout who use English as second or third language. And let’s not forget about technologies. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a device without built-in English interface. Is is also considered as the language of international business. In my honest opinion, I’d recommend to learn as many languages as possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean or any other language. It breaks the language barrier between people. Few years ago, some teacher of mine told me that I have to learn as many languages as possible because it is my treasure. The treasure that cannot be taken away from me. Since then I usually visualize language as a key that unlocks the world to me. Knowing other languages greatly increases the number of people on the globe with whom you can communicate. You can have friends, pen pals and spouses from all over the world. In addition, people with multilingual skills look more attractive to employers. Chances are that knowing languages will open up employment opportunities that you would not have had otherwise. With greater language skills you can easily raise the amount of your salary. There are other advantages of learning languages. If you know foreign language it gives you the opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and have a deeper understanding of foreign cultures through books, songs and other aspects of culture. Any language is wonderful way to expand your horizon. In conclusion, we are only in the beginning of the journey through our life. Let’s not waste our time and learn languages so we can interact with as many people as possible. Any new language is a new opportunity for you. How to cite English Is the Only Foreign Language Worth Learning, Essay examples

Managerial Economics and Globalization free essay sample

This research is the direct result of Domino Pizza’s’ interest in entering the marketplace in our community. Conducting this demand analysis and forecast for pizza will aid in the decision as to whether or not Domino’s should establish a presence in our community. There are many variables relevant to a company’s major business decisions and success. Independent variables or experimental variables as they are sometimes called is the variable being manipulated in the experiment to show the effect on the dependent variable. The dependent variable also known as the response variable is the variable being observed in the experiment. A change in the independent variable is what causes the change if any in the dependent variable, which is the purpose of the experiment. Marketing departments use demographic variables like income level, gender, location, race, and family size, as an important input when formulating target customer profiles. Research for the demographics in this report were taken from the 2012 United States Census Bureau for Darlington, South Carolina and include average yearly income, total population and number of people per household. We will write a custom essay sample on Managerial Economics and Globalization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The remaining variables for this report include pizza and soda costs. The data for this report is as follows; population: 68,139, number of people per household: 2. 56, average income per household: $38,567, price large meat lovers pizza -feeds approx. 3-4 people: $12. 10 after taxes, price per Sierra Mist 2L soda: $2. 5, number of households: 26,279 (United States Cesu Bureau, 2012). Using Excel or other calculation software, input the data you collected in criterion one to calculate an estimated regression. Then, from the calculation provided, interpret the coefficient of determination indicating how it will influence your decision to open the pizza business. The law of demand simply says that when the price of a good rises, the amount demanded falls, and when the price falls, the amount demanded rises. An increase in demand means that the demand curve will shift to the right. A decrease in the price of the product will not shift the demand curve, but will increase the quantity demanded (Henderson, 2008). The Coefficient of Determination Interpretation is the accuracy of the predictor of the independent variable on the dependent variable value. The coefficient of determination is calculated as the square of the correlation coefficient between the sample and predicted data. How well a regression model fits the data is shown through the coefficient of determination. The value of the coefficient of determination shows the percentage of variation that can be explained by the regression equation and is used to show how accurately a regression model can predict future outcomes (Mahvish Zehra, n. d. ). The interpretation of each independent variable coefficient is as following. There is a decrease in the demand for pizza. The coefficient of the cost of pizza is, – 3,174. 060 and the coefficient of the cost of soda is, -2,266. 36 this shows a negative impact on demand. Although small, the coefficient of total population . 579, and the average income per house hold of . 035 which shows that Average income per house hold has a positive impact on demand and as income increases the demand of pizza increases. No other variables are needed to improve the coefficient of determination. The coefficient of determination of the independent variables is almost 80pe cent and demonstrates the efficiency of the regression model and can be used to predict demand and future business decisions. Forecast the demand for pizza in your community for the next four months in your community, using the regression equation including the assumptions that were used to create the demand. Justify the assumptions made related to the forecast. We calculated demand for the first year and second year as follows. Based on our forecasted demand for the first four months which did not generate little to no sales we think it would be a bad idea for Domino’s Pizza to establish its presence in our community.

Organizational Change †Challenger Disaster

Organizational Change – Challenger Disaster Free Online Research Papers A review of the external and internal threats will help determine the weakness of the problem analysis related to the launching of space shuttle Challenger. At the time of the accident, the country was experiencing an economic slowdown. Considering the economic climate, Congress wanted to know if the American people still support the huge requirements of the program. The government ruled out increase in taxes being an election year. Simultaneous to the congressional investigation was a launch of space shuttle Challenger. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wanted a successful launch. A no-launch situation might convince Congress to slash the program’s budget. Furthermore, Americans were anticipating the first female astronaut-teacher crewmember. Internally, NASA undertook cost-cutting measures and approved the use of materials approved by sister industries. At the time of the launch, engineers expressed concern over two factors: a) The o-ring which is not designed to operate at the existing temperature of -32 degrees Fahrenheit; b) There was a question on the stability and predictability of engine propulsion. Given the above problem considerations, NASA formulated two alternative decisions: launch now or wait for better weather conditions. NASA was faced with decision traps, the framing trap and the confirming evidence trap (Langlois, H, 2007). Unfortunately, it was not able to identify and cope with them. NASA management argued a successful launch would guarantee congressional budget approval (framing trap). There was a presumption the launch will be successful, as previous launches before. This line of thinking blocked the consideration of safety factors. It only considered the external threats. In this case, the reframing trap would have been resolved if the framing option considered the internal technical weaknesses related to the planned launch. Other possible outcomes could have surfaced with the reframing of the problem. At this point, it is not important if ultimate problem was one of the possible outcomes. What is valuable to NASA is that there is free flow of communication among its employees who are receptive to ideas due to the logic of any proposed outcome. The group of administrators led by Dr. Loyal downplayed the technical considerations and believed launch should proceed. It got support from smaller groups involved in the lobbying efforts – who naturally would like the launch to proceed as scheduled (confirming evidence trap). Getting the support was a selfish move since the outcome would definitely be in Dr. Loyal’s favor. The internal goals of each group should have been considered in the decision. The administrative group anted a launch while the engineering group wanted a postponement. Are they the only groups a giant organization NASA has? Truly, other groups in NASA, with their respective interest, exist and who may help add to the factors for consideration. On these bases, alternatives generation can improve. Two questions that may have cropped up: Will a launch postponement result in a budget slash? Will a launch problem endanger the very existence of the space shuttle program? Some theories in organizational behavior stress the importance of organizational resiliency and learning. Caralli (2006) said that the success of an organization relies on its resiliency and ability to adapt to changes in its environments. They define resiliency as the organization’s capability to change business processes, tactics and strategies as called for by its environments. The procedures in the previous successful launches were obviously not followed. It is surprising that NASA administration disregarded available competent technical information prior to the launch. Politics predominated the internal technical launch processes and this partly explains the failure. The organization’s reaction was focused on budgetary concerns. Budget is a valid concern, but it disregarded the success of its main function and that is to launch the space shuttle into outer space safely. McShane and Von Glinow (2005) define organizational learning as the internal corporate business process that facilitates the acquisition, sharing and use of knowledge within the whole organization. By doing so, the organization is able to achieve its tasks and mission. Technical people are also at fault. How did faulty o-rings get installed in the space shuttle? Why was engine propulsion unreliable even at the last moment, when the whole launch process is dependent on this factor? With all its technical capabilities, it seems the NASA organization has a problem in managing the flow of internal technical information. Problem Framing and Decision Making The external threat of a budgetary slash was capably handled by the groups assigned. The same group will be assigned to explain the highly technical processes of the space shuttle program to the congressional committees concerned. They have to explain in laymen’s language that the level of technicality requires that all the millions of parts of the shuttle has to function effectively and efficiently. These include small parts such as nuts and bolts and o-rings. Any question on the integrity of any of its parts requires the postponement of launch. The ability to monitor and trace each of these parts explains why the budgetary requirement of NASA is so huge. Any cut in the budgetary level endangers the safety of the technical crew and the astronauts, themselves. Remember one of them was a chosen schoolteacher whose participation in that planned space journey was highly anticipated by the American people. With this reasoning, the congressional committees involved will mos t likely leave the proposed budget untouched. The same group can explain further that even with such a huge budget, NASA has undertaken cost-cutting measures in order to maximize the use of the people’s money in the program. The cost-cutting measures should initiate the search for cheaper alternatives. By setting acceptable quality standards, all proposed replacement parts shall be subject to tests. Due to the highly technical requirements of the space shuttle, all possible replacement parts will be tested without exception. The performance of parts which pass the tests will be compared to that of the original parts. In this manner, the performance data of the new part is anchored on the performance data of the old part. Resulting problems will be exhaustively discussed along the organizational hierarchy in order to extract all possible points of view within the organization. After this process, the problem will be framed and defined accordingly. To solve the problem, all alternatives will be considered and decisions formulated. As part of NASA leadership, the cultural and power structure of the organization shall be taken into consideration when assessing the various points of view of the individuals and groups in the organization. This practice provides a safety net from heuristic traps that tends to block or limit the ideas coming from the men and women of NASA. An organization composed of one of the brightest minds in America. The leadership’s responsibility is to guide the NASA organization in the achievement of its mission and vision. The existence of NASA or any of its projects is not the decision of NASA itself. The fact that it is funded by the government means that the American people decide on these matters. Therefore, the leadership can only follow what the people say and this is voiced through its various branches: executive, legislative and judiciary. The fact that the administrative group within NASA was able to influence the launch decision deserves a review of the power structure of the organization. People with expertise in administration and finance should not be involved in the launch decision. Leadership should be able to establish a system where the integrity of the decision made is based on the right parties. By maintaining this policy, corporate politics will not interfere with the professional work of each group. The technicians and engineers will also be limited to their area of expertise. The leadership should also see to it that information is handled objectively. New knowledge will be absorbed through a systematic process that is anchored on old knowledge. The objective for NASA is actually to transform it into a truly a learning organization. In this way, errors of the past can be avoided. As modernization moves fast forward, information will play a key part in the survival of organizations. It is essential that organizations have the capacity to learn as an organization so that new knowledge can be acquired, adopted and used. Reference CARALLI, R. 2006. Sustaining operational resiliency: A process improvement approach to security management. Networked systems survivability program, CERT coordination center. Available: cert.org/archive/pdf/sustainoperresil0604.pdf [7 January 2008]. LANGLOIS, H. 2007. The challenge of changing, part II. Massachusetts: Cambridge [Course notes.] Available: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic203996.files/Challenge_in_Changing092507B.ppt [January 8, 2008]. MCSHANE, S.L., VON GLINOW, M.A. 2005. Organizational behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace revolution, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia). Research Papers on Organizational Change - Challenger DisasterResearch Process Part OneIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

A Timeline of the Building of the Chunnel

A Timeline of the Building of the Chunnel Building the Chunnel, or Channel Tunnel, was one of the largest and most impressive engineering tasks of the 20th century. Engineers had to find a way to dig under the English Channel, creating three tunnels under the water. Find out more about this amazing engineering feat through this Chunnel timeline. A Timeline of the Chunnel 1802 French engineer Albert Mathieu Favier created a plan to dig a tunnel under the English Channel for horse-drawn carriages. 1856 Frenchman Aimà © Thomà © de Gamond created a plan to dig two tunnels, one from Great Britain and one from France, that meet in the middle on an artificial island. 1880 Sir Edward Watkin began drilling two underwater tunnels, one from the British side and the other from the French. However, after two years, the British publics fears of an invasion won out and Watkins was forced to stop drilling. 1973 Britain and France agreed on an underwater railway that would link their two countries. Geologic investigations began and digging started. However, two years later, Britain pulled out because of an economic recession. November 1984 British and French leaders once again agreed that a Channel link would be mutually beneficial. Since they realized that their own governments could not fund such a monumental project, they held a contest. April 2, 1985 A contest to find a company that could plan, fund, and operate a Channel link was announced. January 20, 1986 The winner of the contest was announced. The design for a Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel), an underwater railway, was chosen. February 12, 1986 Representatives from both the United Kingdom and France signed a treaty approving the Channel Tunnel. December 15, 1987 Digging began on the British side, starting with the middle, service tunnel. February 28, 1988 Digging began on the French side, starting with the middle, service tunnel. December 1, 1990 The linking of the first tunnel was celebrated. It was the first time in history that Great Britain and France were connected. May 22, 1991 The British and French met in the middle of the northern running tunnel. June 28, 1991 The British and French met in the middle of the southern running tunnel. December 10, 1993 The first test-run of the entire Channel Tunnel was conducted. May 6, 1994 The Channel Tunnel officially opened. French President Francois Mitterrand and British Queen Elizabeth II were on hand to celebrate. November 18, 1996 A fire broke out on one of the trains in the southern running tunnel (taking passengers from France to Great Britain). Although all the people on board were rescued, the fire did a lot of damage to the train and to the tunnel.