Team Ground Rules and Guidelines Essay Example for Free

Team Ground Rules and Guidelines Essay Members should be on time with assignments and responsibilities agreed to. If they are not going to be on time, post a message ASAP stating late or absent. They should check the Learning Team Forum every day for questions and late/absent notices. Lastly, communicate when you are having trouble or struggling and need assistance. Expectations for Time Management and Involvement (Participation, communication with the team, accessibility, etc) Communicate, communicate, communicate! If you will be absent or out a particular day of that week communicate on Monday of each week when you will be out. If a member is struggling or needs assistance, ask right away. Always check the learning team ‘A’ forum everyday to see if there are questions or help needed. I think we need to step-up a team secretary\admin posting sections, assignments, and updates, etc. If no one volunteers, I will be happy to do it. What to do if a team member cannot be reached or isn’t participating to the satisfaction of the team? Again, communication is key. If we do not here from a member by Wednesday 6pm on their contributions each week, we divvy up the sections that need a volunteer. A time line and due dates should be set for each task. If someone has misses a deadline then a message is posted and we finalize the missing assignment. Also, a message is posted to professor Rita Solomon-Moore, as she should be our corporate boss and he needs to know when a member is slacking so credit is assigned appropriately. Special Considerations What do you, as a team, agree will make this team experience different from past team experiences. I have only been a member of 2 previous teams now which was a horrid experience in the first team because we went from 4 assigned members to two actual participating members and I felt I pulled most of the weight on the team of 2. So, it was not a team, but just a group of members. The 2nd team was better, but didn’t follow our charter. I hope that this team builds on the definition of a team – â€Å"a group of people organized to work together†. Communication is key allowing a group of people to work together. So, if there is no communication from a member for 3 consecutive days within the Learning Team A forum, we send a note to that member. If there is no response for a day, we notify the professor.

Tescos Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Tescos Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) Strategic human resource management bridges business strategy and human resource management and focuses on the integration of HR with the business and its environment. The main rational for strategic HRM thinking is that by integrating HRM with the business strategy employees will be managed more effectively, organizational performance will improve and therefore business success will follow (Holbeche, 1999). Stroh and Caligiuri (1998) suggest that strategic HR departments are future-oriented and operate in a manner consistent with the overall business plan in their organizations. Such departments assess the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the future and institute staffing, appraisal and evaluation, incentives and compensation, training and development to meet those needs. According to this approach, people are a key resource and a critical element in a firms performance since they build organizational effectiveness (Holbeche, 1999). Now this report will make an attempt to explain the importance of strategic human resource management in organizations and then it will assess the purpose of SHRM and how it contributes to the achievement of Tescos organizational objectives. Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK and the third largest retailer all over the world. Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen and became Tesco plc in 1983. It has 4811 stores worldwide and 472,000 employees (Tesco annual report, 2010). Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic HRM adds value to organizational effectiveness by linking people, strategy, values and performance (Becker et al., 2001).Past research suggests that an organizations employees can be a source for sustained competitive advantage and can determine the ultimate success of their organizations (Pfeffer, 1994; Prahalad, 1983).Given the importance of people in organizations; most strategic human resource departments consider the management of the competencies and capabilities of these human assets the primary goal. SHRM tends to employ progressive human resource practices in which the emphasis is on assessing the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the future and to institute staffing, appraisal and evaluation, incentive and compensation, and training and development programs to meet those needs (Cascio, 1995). Huselid (1995) refers to these strategic HR practices collectively as high-performance work practices. Burack et al. (1994) suggests several ways that organizations can maintain high commitment and high performance among employees and ultimately organizational effectiveness: by promoting the organizations credibility with employees; encouraging the use of participative management and employee involvement programs; focusing on high achievement, mutual trust and commitment; and developing a combined group/entrepreneurial approach to management, thereby creating an organizational culture in which individual employees are encouraged to be adaptive, competitive and successful. Research by several scholars has shown a close association between these high performance work practices and organizational effectiveness. MacDuffie (1995), for example, found that the presence of integrated strategic HR practices was related to higher productivity and higher quality in automotive assembly plants. Terpstra and Rozell (1993), studying a variety of industries, found that the presence of strategic staffing practices was positively related to an organizations annual profit and its profit growth. Finally, in a study of more than 1,000 organizations, Huselid (1995) found that a relationship existed between high-performance work practices and such positive employee outcomes as lower tumover and higher productivity, as well as better corporate financial performance. Research has also shown that executives company-wide view strategic HR departments as more effective partners in directing their organizations larger business plans (Dyer, 1983). One could conclude, therefore, th at, when an organizations HR strategy is linked to its business strategy, organizational effectiveness should improve (Dyer, 1983; Stroh and Reilly, 1994). Purpose of Strategic Human Resource Management in Tesco One of the key goals of strategic human resource management is to link an organizations business strategy to its human resource strategy (Lundy and Cowling, 1996).Besides, the greater goal of strategic human resources is to support, manage and maintain high-commitment and high-performance employees (Burack et al., 1994). In addition, a strategic HR agenda is likely to have a number of key goals relating to the attraction, development and retention of talent. Further, the enabling of high performance is likely to be a key target for strategic HRM (Holbeche, 1999). However, In spite of economic down turn Tesco is expanding its business and increasing its profit year to year. The key issue behind this is its successful strategic HRM policy. Tesco has a well-established and consistent strategy for growth. The rationale for the strategy is to broaden the scope of the business to enable it to deliver strong, sustainable long-term growth by following customers into large expanding markets at home such as financial services, non-food and telecoms and new markets abroad, initially in Central Europe and Asia and more recently in the United States (Tesco, 2010). To materialize its growth strategy Tesco invests huge amount of money in its people which links its business strategy to HR strategy. Tesco has a five-year people strategy that it continually develops and update. Top management of Tesco asks its people every year whats important to them and they consistently reply the same four things: a manager who helps them, opportunities to get on, an interesting job and to be treated with respect. Tescos whole strategy is focused on how to get better at these (Pinkerfield, 2007). That means Tesco ensures a careful supervision of its employees, offers a good career prospect, provides motivational forces for performance improvement and values its employees. In a nutshell, the purpose of Tescos strategic human resource management is to get the full potential of its employees through its HR strategy for achieving its business growth strategy. 1.3 Evaluation of Tescos Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organizational performance (Paauwe Boselie, 2003). As an International organization, Tesco has strategically integrated HR into its overall business plans. Managers have been to utilize aspects of HR in their decision making. This has shown high commitment to HR, attempting to gain acceptance from all employees, and offering to all employees basic and extended training (Beardwell, 2004).Tesco is committed to providing opportunities for people to get on and turn their jobs into careers. Last year it had more people on development programs than ever before. Tesco has continued to develop apprenticeship training in the UK. Tesco believes that even in difficult times it is essential to invest in future talent. Thats why this year, while many other businesses were cutting their graduate schemes, Tesco increased its graduate intake to 810, including 535 in Asia. As a l eading global company, Tesco aims to offer the very best training and development for all its employees. The Tesco Academy helps provide an opportunity to get on for its entire people. It develops thousands of world-class leaders through excellent training in leadership, managemental employee to understand their role and importance within the organization (Tesco, 2010). There is an increased need for a higher value to be placed on employees, and therefore get the best performance from the employees. Tesco views that No-one tries harder for customers and it treats people how they like to be treated. These values are interlinked and underpin everything going on at Tesco. Tesco realizes that by managing people well in a culture of trust and respect they will in turn try their hardest for customers. By offering competitive pay and benefits and an opportunity to develop a long-term varied career with good training, Tesco is able to keep its people motivated, committed and excited about working at Tesco (Tesco, 2010).   By todays standards, supermarkets are labour-intensive businesses, which mean that how they manage, develop and reward staff, really matters (Carrington, 2003).The successful strategic HRM of Tesco is one of the main reasons behind its success. Attracting, retaining and motivating staff is core to Tescos people strategy. One of the key developments in the way supermarkets do business has been the close correlation they now draw between employees and customers. As Clare Chapman, head of Tesco HR, points out, staff loyalty is directly related to customer loyalty. What she says she wants is not the functional loyalty whereby people turn up to work every day, but the emotional loyalty that means they bring their brains in which them. The way to get this she suggests is by constantly reviewing how you reward your staff and by listening to them (Carrington, 2003). From the above discussion of Tescos strategic HRM this report can conclude that the strategic HRM of Tesco plays a significant role in achieving its organizational objectives. In this age of economic down turn Tesco is increasing its customers, expanding its scope worldwide, and increasing its revenue because of mainly having its well-trained, valued and motivated workforce. The people of Tesco build a sustainable reputation for the organization through better customer service which in turn contributes in retaining its market share worldwide. Task 2 2.1 Business Factors that underpin Human Resource Planning at Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, a global automotive leader based in Dearborn, Michigan-USA, manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents with about 198,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide. Now this report will analyze the business factors that underpin the human resource planning at Ford Motor Company. Economic recession Now the world is facing economic downturn. The automotive industry is one of the main sectors to suffer from economic recession. As the financial crisis persist, both credit availability and consumers weakened confidence have contributed to a drastic decline in vehicle sales. So, the demand for vehicle sales goes down. Consequently, Ford Motor Company reduced its employees for reducing overhead cost and improving its balance sheet.So, the HR planning of ford is greatly affectedly by economic recession. Demographic Factors The changing characteristics of workforce or demographic projections have significant implications for managing human resources, thereby increasing the importance of human resource planning. The changing demographics mean there will be fewer entry-level employees, so competition among employers will increase. In addition, the changing demographics signal changes in the abilities, skills, interests, and values of tomorrows work force. From its inception Ford always emphasize on creating a diverse workforce which underpins its HR planning process. Customer preference and technology Consumer demand for more fuel-efficient and cleaner vehicles continues to grow. To accomplish fuel-economy goal, Ford is focused in the near term on implementing the most cost-effective fuel-efficiency technologies across a large volume of vehicles and on introducing new products that offer improved fuel efficiency without compromising style or performance. In 2009, for example, it began implementing the EcoBoost„ ¢ engine, a key technology in its fuel-efficiency strategy that uses gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology. EcoBoost will deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy, 15 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions and superior driving performance compared to larger-displacement engines.  Besides, Ford is continuing to design and introduce advanced technologies that improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and lessen dependence on foreign oil (Ford Sustainability, 2008/09). Initiating new technology and new products require multi-skilled human resources wh ich affect the HR Planning of Ford. Growing or declining organization Human resource planning is greatly influenced by whether the organization is growing or declining position. In a growing organization human resource planners just look for needed skills and abilities. But in a declining organization they need to look at the cost associated with employees. During the third quarter of 2008, Ford reduced its salary-related costs by about 15 percent, which included the involuntary layoff of some salaried employees as it faced huge amount of loses at that time because of recession (Ford Sustainability, 2008/09). 2.2 Role of HR in Acquisition Now this report will assess the expansion of Ford Motor Company through acquisition of Land Rover, a British four-wheeler luxury brand, and how HR plays an important role in this expansion. During the end of 19th century the automobile industry was subject to serious macroeconomic pressures. The major trends of global consolidation and fragmenting consumer demand, fuelled by rising incomes and increasing development costs driven by tighter environmental legislation and increasing competition, provided the backcloth for strategic decision-making. Ford wanted to extend its market to include the growing and potentially profitable luxury car sector. The Ford brand itself was, and is, associated with mass-market vehicles rather than luxury vehicles. Its US-based luxury brands, Lincoln and Mercury, do not sell well outside the United States and were associated with an ageing buying population. The option of creating a new brand was rejected on the grounds of cost and the time needed to est ablish a new brand successfully in a highly competitive market (Scheele, 2004). The remaining option was external acquisition of existing luxury brands. In this situation ford acquired Land Rover in 2000 from BMW. Ford initiated a new HR plan for Land Rover to become successful because nine months earlier its then owners, BMW, had made some fairly far-reaching changes in Land Rovers management team. Most of the old directors had been removed and replaced with BMW nominees (Dover, 2004).This exceptional situation cleared the way for the introduction of an entirely new team responsible for integrating the company and enacting the necessary changes. Ford assembled a very strong team of Ford insiders from around the globe, and Bob Dover, from Aston Martin, was sent to run the company. To soften the impact of an international influx of new people and demonstrate opportunity, internal staffs were promoted into senior management roles (Lummis, 2004). Mergers will be more successful if companies have the ability to appoint an implementation team from both traditions who enjoy complementary functional backgrounds capable of enacting necessary change within the right timescale (Krishnan et al., 1997).Besides, it is essential to build a leadership team capable of implementing change and aligning businesses around common values in situations in which people from different national cultural backgrounds can work together (Testa and Morosini, 2001). The integration approach adopted by Ford for the Land Rover acquisition was a hands-on approach. Ford developed a multi-cultural leadership team for land Rover who were able to respond quickly to any macro and micro environmental changes. 2.3 Human Resource Plan for Ford Motor Company There are different types of human resource planning-short-term, intermediate-term and long-term, in different types of organization. Here this report will develop a short-term HRP for Ford Motor Company. Forecasting demand and supply The demand of jobs involves predicting which employees will leave the job and creates vacancies, which jobs will be eliminated and which new jobs will be created. For identifying job demand Ford will collect data about how many jobs created last year and will project it for the planning year. Besides, Ford will receive line managers Predictions about how many and what types of jobs will be eliminated or created in the short term. For supply side, Ford will determine the desired characteristics of employees who fill (or vacate) the jobs of interest. Then the availability of those characteristics in the organizations current work force and in the external labor market must be assessed. The particular characteristics of current and potential employees that is inventoried and tracked by human resource planners. Objectives of HRP at FORD Short-term human resource objectives at Ford include increasing the number of people who are attracted to the organization and apply for jobs (increase the applicant pool); attracting a different mix of applicants (with different skills, in different locations, etc.); improving the qualifications of new hires; increasing the length of time that desirable employees stay with the organization; decreasing the length of time that undesirable employees stay with the organization; and helping current and newly hired employees quickly develop the skills needed by the organization. Recruitment Selection For getting the right people Ford will advertise its requirement through different channels: website, newspaper, employee templates or notice board for internal recruitment. Ford normally practices ethnocentric staffing policy in its international operation. After getting applicants Ford selects the right person through different test: psychological test, personality test, technological skill test, aptitude test, etc.Diversity is the key priority in Fords recruitment planning. Training and Development To get better service from its newly recruited employees Ford will arrange huge range of training and development programs for employees. All employees are encouraged to invest in their own professional development by developing an Individual Development Plan, or IDP, to help them meet current and future goals. Ford will provide a comprehensive range of learning and development resources that align with ONE Ford. These include web-based and classroom training, special projects and task forces, as well as mentoring and coaching to foster functional and technical excellence, encourage teamwork, promote Ford values and enhance its ability to deliver results. Ford has created internal colleges that provide education and training in areas ranging from finance and information technology to product development and marketing. IT will also offer the Salaried Supervisor Institute/Program (SSI) for new or experienced leaders who want to enhance their ONE Ford skills. In conclusion it can be said that Ford Motor Company takes a defensive strategy in their human resource planning as the companys balance sheet was not enough well in last few years due to economic recession. As a result it downsizes its some plants to reduce employee cost and just recruited new people who are highly technically efficient. 2.4 Evaluation of Human Resource Plan The human resource plan of a company can evaluate to identify how well the objectives were achieved. Ford implemented its HRP in its business strategy. Most importantly, it established a number of Employee Resource Groups (ERG) as a part of HRP to support, outreach and develop employees who share ethnicity, race religion, life experiences, disabilities or backgrounds (Ford, 2008/09). In January 2008, it announced One Ford, which aligns its efforts toward a common definition of success. One Ford provides consistent goals and expectations for employees, whether they work in Michigan or Shanghai, with a clear focus on the skills and behaviors must demonstrate to accomplish One Team, One Plan, and One Goal. All members of the global team are held accountable for incorporating One Ford into their daily work (Ford, 2008-09). One Ford is designed to help every employee achieve his or her fullest potential as they work together to move the business forward. Over the last year, it has incorporated One Ford into its people processes, beginning with employee development. It revamped its employee leadership and professional development programs to align with One Ford, providing employees with Web-based and classroom training to foster functional and technical excellence, encourage teamwork, promote Ford values and enhance its ability to deliver results. Fords performance management processes ensure that employee objectives and behaviors align with One Ford. In the current economic environment, it is more important than ever to invest in employees, strengthen their leadership skills and recognize them for delivering results that cultivate success. Consequently, Ford became profitable in 2009 2010 and its successful HRP significantly contribute to this success. 3.1 Purpose of Human Resource Management Policies It is universally acknowledged in the corporate world that HRM policies play a significant role in achieving the objectives of an organization. In this phase the report will analyze the purposes of HRM policies in Nokia telecommunications. With more than 100,000 employees in more than 100 countries, Finnish-based Nokia is the largest maker of mobile telephones in the world.Nokia has achieved 40 percent market share of the global handset market and industry-leading profit margin of 20-25 percent during the transition period of technological change and intense competition and its HRM policies played a pivotal role in this achievement. Motivate and engage employees are the key purposes in Nokias HRM policies.Nokia HRM policies comprises four elements to motivate and engage the employees and maintain his or her satisfaction and well-being at work. They are: The Nokia way and values; Performance-based rewards; Professional and personal growth; and Work-life balance. The Nokia way and values The company emphasizes the importance of: respect treating colleagues with trust and dignity, in order to help to build an open and honest spirit at the workplace, and also respecting customers, business partners, the environment and the community; achievement recognizing and celebrating individual and shared successes; renewal fostering change and development, and having the passion and courage to look for new ideas beyond existing products, services and ways of working; management and leadership creating commitment, passion and inspiration through collaboration and coaching, and ensuring focus and efficiency by setting targets, fulfilling goals and reviewing results; and employee participation encouraging open discussion and debate through, for example, the annual globally conducted Listening to You employee survey, and Ask HR feedback channel on the companys human-resources Intranet, where every employee can comment or ask questions about Nokias people practices and processes, even anonymously, and receive a prompt and openly published response. Performance-based rewards Nokias total-compensation package is tailored to each country and typically consists of elements such as annual base salary, incentives, bonuses, possible participation in equity-plan and other local benefits. Nokias total compensation is based on a pay-for-performance philosophy. Results through consistent performance and proven, relevant competencies are rewarded.Nokia aims to provide a competitive global reward structure that uses international and local market information, but also takes into account the employees overall position and any significant economic influencers. Professional and personal growth Nokia employees are encouraged to create their own development plans, take part in on-the-job learning, and take advantage of the various courses and other learning opportunities available. Through its global network of learning centers, Nokia aims to offer a consistent standard of training and development to all its employees. The Learning Market Place Intranet contains information on all Nokias learning opportunities, including e-learning and classroom training. The company also has a full suite of training programs for new and experienced managers. All Nokia vacancies, with the exception of very senior positions, are advertised internally. Employees are encouraged to improve their competencies through job rotation. Internal job opportunities, the possibility to register on the companys internal candidate pool and other services for job-seeking inside the company are available through the company Intranet. The Nokia performance-management system, named Investing in People (IIP), is closely aligned to the companys strategy and planning processes. It involves formalized discussions between employees and their managers, twice a year. Employees are encouraged to own their IIP, to understand what is expected of them and how their individual achievements support the companys overall strategy. Work-life balance Nokia offers various services, programs and guidelines to support employees efforts to achieve a healthy work-life balance that reflects their changing needs and life situations. The various aspects may alter by country according to local needs, legislation, employment market and common practices. Typically, they include teleworking, mobile working, flexible working hours, sabbaticals, study leave, health-care services and recreational activities (Pollitt, 2004). Finally it can be concluded that Nokias employees are satisfied working at Nokia as they are  respected, reasonably paid, and offered a sustainable career. The purpose of Nokias HRM policies is to value employees and achieve organizational objectives. 3.2 Impact of Regulatory Requirements Human resource policies of Nokia in different countries are influenced by the legal requirements of those countries. Now this report will analyze the impact of regularity requirements in UK on Nokias human resource policies.Nokia-Uk, develops its pay structure according to the Employment Act, 2008 and never pay below minimum wages to any hourly employee. According to Sec 19a (1) of this act, A notice of under-payment must, subject to this section, require the employer to pay a financial penalty specified in the notice to the Secretary of State within the 28 day period. In this case Nokia is trustworthy company to the UK authority. Some of the UK Acts which affect HRM policies of Nokia are mentioned as follows: Human Rights Act 1998: The Human Rights Act 1998 was brought into effect in Nokia.The Act provides among other issues, a right to fair trial and a right to respect family life. It provides for the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms under the European Convention of Human Rights without discrimination on specified grounds, including sex, race, color, language, religion, and national or social origin. According to this act, Nokia offers flexible working hours to its employees, allows paternity and maternity leave, different safety services, study leave, etc. Race Relations Act 1976: This makes both direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of race, color, nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origin unlawful. The law covers people from all racial groups, including white people.Nokia HRM policies strongly discourage any activity relating to racial discrimination. Equal Pay Act 1970: This deals with equal pay and prohibits different pay for men and women doing the same work, work rates as equivalent, or work of equal value.Nokia is always liable to this act and develops its payment structure accordingly. Trade Unions and Labor Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992: This legislation protects employees from discrimination on the grounds of trade union activities or membership, or of non trade union membership.Nokia encourages the voice of trade union as a part of its HRP policies. Employment Relations Act 1999: This Act includes a number of Family Friendly measures and includes legislation to cover the European Parental Leave Directive. The objective of the Parental Leave Directive is to provide a balance between work and home life. The Act provides employees with rights to parental leave, time off work in family emergencies as well as simplifying and improving maternity rights. In the previous section, HRM policies of Nokia have been covered and from the analysis of different regulatory requirements it can be concluded that a number of HRM policies of Nokia in UK has been derived from these regulatory acts and legal environment. Task 3 4.1 Impact of Organizational Structure on Human Resource Management Organizational structure means three things: the formal division of the organization into sub-units (horizontal differentiation), the location of decision-making responsibilities within that structure (vertical differentiation) and the establishment of integrating mechanisms (Hill, 2005). Organizational structure affects significantly on HRM of different organizations. Now this report will analyze the organizational structure of Unilever and its impact on HRM. Unilever is one of the worlds oldest multinational corporations with extensive product offerings in the food, detergent and personal care businesses. In 1996, Unilever introduced a new structure based on regional business groups instead of a decentralized structure. Within each business group are a number of divisions, each focusing on a specific category of products. Thus, within the European business group is a division focusing on detergents, another on ice cream and frozen foods and so on. These groups and divisions have been given the responsibility for coordinating the activities of national subsidiaries within their region to drive down costs and speed up the process of developing and introducing new products. The regional or divisional structure of Unilever has enabled the company to develop specialized workforce. Because of specialization Unilever offers handsome pay structure to the employees. For developing specialized skilled workforce Unilever develops a succession planning. Each division of Unilever has got autonomy and divisional manager reports to the regional manager. It allows the regional manager to analyze the performance of divisional managers and employees. As each group works as a team, there exists a good relationship among management and employees and ultimately employees are offered flexible working hours, different health and safety scheme, etc. 4.2 Impact of Organizational Culture on Human Resource Management Organizational culture is the norms and value systems that are shared among the employees of an organization. Just as societies have cultures, so do organizations (Hill, 2005). Unilevers success has been based on mainly high levels of employee productivity and product quality. The company attributes its productivity to a strong organizational culture and an incentive scheme based on performance.Unilever always practices a participative management culture where employees are encouraged in decision making process. There is an open door HR policy between workers and managers which boost employee morale and performance.Unilever believes that any gains in productivity should be shared with employees in the form of higher pay. In Unilever, production workers have been awarded a semiannual bonus based on an employees level and quality of product. That means the organizational culture of Unilever shapes its payment and reward structure. All the employees are considered equally to the company irrespective of gender

Designing an automated lawn mower

Designing an automated lawn mower Chapter 1: Introduction to the study Background to the research The first lawn mower was contrivance in 1827 and patented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding, an engineer from Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. He got this idea after seeing a machine in a textile industry, they used a cutting cylinder (or bladed reel) mounted on a bench to trim cloth to make a smooth finish after weaving. Budding realized that a similar concept would enable the cutting of grass if the mechanism could be mounted in a wheeled frame to make the blades rotate close to the lawns surface. First lawn mower was all made of cast iron and featured a large rear roller with a cutting cylinder (reel) in the front. Cast iron gear wheels transmitted power from the rear roller to the cutting cylinder. These machines were remarkably similar to modern mowers. By 2000, robotic are most important things in the future, no matter if they are used to work in industry or at our homes, mimic some of the human capabilities, or used to access dangerous environments, launched to space, or simply used to play with. They are help to reduce human dependencies in performing a task and to reduce time for production while maintaining consistent quality of production outputs. Robotic devices are commonly used in manufacturing industries and for domestic use as well. Modern houses normally garden with grass need to be maintained at a short height, is most user upset. Traditional lawn mowing is often a trouble, dangerous and time consuming in cutting the grass. The task of manual lawn mowing can be replaced by automatic lawn mower using a robot programmed to perform such task. A automatic lawn mower is designed and installed in this project. Automatic Lawn mower also can act as an aid to homeowners who can no longer perform physically demanding tasks, such as the elderly or disabled. On the residential side, many elderly and disabled enjoy lawn maintenance, but are no longer able to enjoy the satisfaction of maintaining their own lawn due to the physical demands of traditional lawn mowing equipment. These researches (automatic lawn mowers) are very elderly and disabled friendly with the simple. Automatic lawn mower also has the Perfect Balance Between Eco-friendly and Practicality. Robots are very expensive, not any people really want to buy costly robotic devices. Create a low cost inexpensive automatic lawn mower will allow house owners to maintain their lawn without spending much time and money. An autonomous robot can mow the lawn of a given specific area of the garden without any human supervision. Research problem / Research question However with the continuous development, several resources also make the arbitrary abuse. Oil coal resources are depleting shortages of energy and serious pollution. In the 20th century, energy crisis is any great bottleneck (or price rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy. It usually refers to the shortage of oil and additionally to electricity or other natural resources. An energy crisis may be referred to as an oil crisis, petroleum crisis, energy shortage, electricity shortage or electricity crisis. The near future, the petroleum crisis already is a very big problem. Globality by way of disburden, they would increase the petroleum price, and debase their expense. Still got another country, hit sb. when hes down increase the petroleum price, and gain profit. Market failure is possible when monopoly manipulation of markets occurs. A crisis can develop due to industrial actions like union organized strikes and government embargoes. The cause may be over-consumption, ageing infrastructure and sometimes bottlenecks at oil refineries and port facilities restrict fuel supply. That crisis involves the industry, business, carrying trade, until economic policy. In response to the petroleum crisis, the principles of green energy and sustainable living movements gain popularity. This has led to increasing interest in alternate power/fuel research such as fuel cell technology, liquid nitrogen economy, hydrogen fuel, biodiesel, solar energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy, wave power, and wind energy, and fusion power. Rotary mowers can throw out debris with tremendous force is one of the most dangerous tools around the home. Each year, approximately 80,000 people with injuries caused by power mowers were treated in emergency departments. More than 9,000 of the people hurt were younger than 18 years. Lawn mower injuries include deep cuts, loss of fingers and toes, broken and dislocated bones, burns, and eye and other injuries. Some injuries are very serious. Both users of mowers and those who are nearby can be hurt. More than 20 percent of lawn mower injuries involving the hands, fingers or wrist. Some time the users want to adjust the height of the mowers wheels, forget pull out the spark plug after that the lawn mower suddenly turns on. When the user use lawn mower also need to make sure all debris (rocks, sticks and toys) are removed from the yard before you begin mowing. Loose objects can project out of the lawn mower and cause serious injury. Aims and objectives In the course of design and installation of an autonomous robot, the following criteria are set to fulfill its objectives: The robot must cutting grass in the surface area The robot must not be too costly and be affordable to all The lawn mower cutting tool can be adjustable with servo motor The robot also can be rechargeable energy with solar planer. To provide an automated lawn mower which follows a programmed path of data point without the use of calibration marker, lights, wires, or buried conductors To provide an automated lawn mower that is versatile in programming such that it can be maneuvered to follow any physically possible path including crossing over itself and reversal of direction Justification for the research On the residential side, many elderly and disabled enjoy lawn maintenance, but are no longer able to enjoy the satisfaction of maintaining their own lawn due to the physical demands of traditional lawn mowing equipment. These researches (automatic lawn mowers) are very elderly and disabled friendly with the simple. Methodology Automated lawn mower, are mower automatically along the edge of a swath which has been cut within or around an area of uncut grass. That includes a sensor assembly mounted on the front of the mower to detect the edge of the swath by sensing the different in height between uncut grass and the cut grass in the swath. In front of the lawn mower, also got a one touch sensor, that means it will be automatic avoid collision with obstacles along its pathway. Automated lawn mower also can adjustable the cutting tool about 1cm~3cm, this function is let the user choose which height with the grass. This mower using the solar planer to generate the power, and rechargeable lithium battery, let the mower moving more time. Conclusion Automatic grass cutters are environmentally friendly (no petrol, oil or emissions). No need bagging and disposal of clippings is eliminated. It also can healthy and beautiful looking lawn. In addition to environmental protection, also can save user time and money. Chapter 2 : Literature review Most people do not associate air pollution with mowing the lawn. Yet emissions from lawn mowers, snow blowers, chain saws, leaf vacuums, and similar outdoor power equipment are a significant source of pollution. Todays small engines emit high levels of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. They also emit hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, pollutants that contribute to the formation of ozone. While ozone occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere and shields the earth from harmful radiation, ozone at ground level is a noxious pollutant. Ground-level ozone impairs lung function, inhibits plant growth, and is a key ingredient of smog. Each weekend, about 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines, which have had unregulated emissions until very recently, emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nations air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a traditional gas powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new cars each is being driven 12,000 miles. Among various types of outdoor equipment, lawn mowers are an important contributor to community noise, with the blades contributing up to 50% of noise (Tauro Mann III, 1997). Lawn mowers can be just as loud as leaf blowers. According to the Canadian Hearing Society (1991), lawn mowers can emit 80-96 dB(A) when measured at a distance of three feet. Like gas-powered leaf blowers, gas-powered lawn mowers emit air pollutants. As indicated in Table 4 below, these air pollutants include hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These emissions represent less than 5% of the total emissions of these individual pollutants in Canada, except for hydrocarbons, which are nearly 14% of total hydrocarbon emissions (Environment Canada, 1994). Two-stroke lawn mowers tend to be more polluting than four-stroke models. For example, one study found that lawn mowers with two-stroke engines emit hydrocarbons at an average rate in excess of seven times the rate of emission from lawn mowers with four-stroke engines (Priest et al., 2000). Evaporative fuel emissions from lawn mowers are estimated to be 5.8 grams/day (Wong, 2001). Lawn mowers can be more polluting than driving a car. One half-hour of lawn mowing with a typical walk-behind mower produces as much hydrocarbon emissions as driving a 1995 automobile for about 100 miles or 160 kilometres (California Air Resources Board, 2000). A Swedish study found that the emissions produced from a lawn mower engine during one hour of operation were around 4000 ÃŽÂ ¼g/h; this is comparable to driving more than 150 km in a car with a three-way catalytic converter (Christensen Westerholm, 2001). Both lawn mower users and bystanders can be exposed to noise and air pollutant emissions. Figures from Statistics Canada indicate that there were 5,850,000 lawn mowers in Canada in 1985, the majority of which were gas-powered (73.3%). There were comparatively fewer electric (23.9%) and push mowers (2.8%) (Environment Canada, 1994). Most lawn mowers that are available in the Canadian marketplace are imported (Maillette, 2001). According to information obtained from Statistics Canada, 126 walk-behind lawn mowers were imported into Canada during 1996-1999. Figures on domestic production of lawn mowers are not available from Industry Canada (Maillette, 2001). Automatic lawn mower (e.g., lawn mowers) contribute to noise and air pollution that can adversely affect human health and the environment, minimize noise, exhaust and evaporative emissions from lawn/garden equipment and protect public health. Chapter 3 : Concept development and evaluation Timing Belt Belt driver are provides a convenient means for transferring power from one shaft to another. Belt are frequently necessary to reduce the higher rotative speed of electric motors to the lower values required by mechanical equipment. But in this project are contrary, because the cutting tools need a top speed to operate. Normally in industrial, are using two general type of belt driver, v-belt and timing belt (synchronous belt). Since the cost of v-belt is relatively low, the power output of a v-belt system may be increased by operating several belts side by side. All belts in the drive should stretch at the same time rate in order to keep the load equally divided among them. When one of the belts breaks, the entire group must usually be replaced. The drive may be inclined at any angle with a tight side at either the top or bottom. Since belts can operate on relatively small pulleys, large reduction of the speed in a single drive are possible. E:ycUCTIUC4F1012MEFinal Year ProjNew folderScreenHunter_08 Feb. 12 22.14.gifE:ycUCTIUC4F1012MEFinal Year ProjNew folderScreenHunter_06 Feb. 12 21.53.gif Pitch diameter of a pulley P = No teeth on pulley x Drop distance d = Belt contact angle ÃŽÂ ± = arc sin [C = centre distance] Belt fall length fl = Contact length small pulley CL2 = Contact length big pulley CL1 = Belt length L = 2(fl) + CL1+ CL2 Total number of teeth on belt = Big pulley, P1 = No teeth on pulley x = 38 x = 61.4465mm Small pulley, P2 = No teeth on pulley x = 18 x = 29.1063mm Drop distance, d = = = 16.1701mm Belt contact angle, ÃŽÂ ± = arc sin [C = centre distance] = arc sin = 7.87Â ° Belt fall length , fl = = 116.9815mm Contact length small pulley, CL2 = = = 41.7221mm Contact length big pulley, CL1 = = 61.4465 = 104.9601mm Belt length, L = 2(fl) + CL1+ CL2 = 2(116.9815mm) + 104.9601mm + 41.7221mm = 380.6452mm E:ycUCTIUC4F1012MEFinal Year ProjNew folderScreenHunter_04 Feb. 12 21.49.gif Using micromagic system software determine the belt length. E:ycUCTIUC4F1012MEFinal Year ProjNew folderScreenHunter_05 Feb. 12 21.53.gif Imperial XL section ht = 1.27mm p = 5.08mm hs = 2.30mm Spur gear E:ycUCTIUC4F1012MEFinal Year ProjNew folderScreenHunter_01 Feb. 15 11.03.gif Spur Gear Formula 14 degree Pressure Angle 20 and 25 degree Pressure angle Addendum, a a = a = Dedendum, b b = b = Pitch diameter, D D = D = Outside diameter, Do Do = Do = Number of teeth, N N = D x P N = D x P Tooth thickness, t t = t = Whole depth, ht ht = ht = Clearance, c c = c = Center distance, C C = C = Working depth, hk hk = hk = Chordal tooth thickness, tc tc = D sin () tc = D sin () Chordal addendum, ac ac = a + ac = a + Diametral pitch, P P = P = Center distance, C C = C = Ball and roller bearings A ball bearing usually consists of four parts: an inner ring, an outer ring, the balls and the cage or separator. To increase the contact area and permit larger loads to be carried, the ball run in curvilinear grooves in the rings. The radius of the groove is slightly larger than the radius of the ball, and very slight amount of radial play must be provided. The bearing it thus permitted to adjust itself to small amounts of angular misalignment in the assembled shaft and mounting. The separator keeps the balls evenly space and prevents them from touching each in the sides, where their relative velocities are the greatest. Ball bearings are made in a wide variety of type and size. Single row radial bearings are made in four series. Extra light, light, medium, and heavy, for each bore, as illustrated in Fig 1

Exploration of Mortality, Sexuality, and Humanity in Ferris Beach :: McCorkle Ferris Beach Essays

Exploration of Mortality, Sexuality, and Humanity  in Ferris Beach  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the journey of life, each person experiences events, emotions, and consequences that cannot be explained. Situations do not always turn out for the best, and it is human nature to attempt to come to some type of understanding or answer as to why things are the way they are. In Ferris Beach, a bildingsroman, or the story of a girl's coming of age, Kate Burns grapples with questions of life and death as she seeks some sort of explanation for her problems. Her fight to comprehend the events in her life are shown in her exploration of mortality, sexuality, and humanity. Death is always a hard concept with which one must deal at some point in life. Kate wonders what is loose in the world and why people close to her are taken away forever in the deaths of Mo Rhodes and her father Fred. On Independence Day, the fateful beginning of the catastrophe unfolding, Kate experiences her first adult troubles. Similar to Jem and Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, Kate moves through her innocence into experience with some obvious and some inconspicuous brushes with the adult world. As she sits with Misty observing the fireworks, she senses the troubles in her best friend. I turned to Misty, ready to ask her why her parents had left, but she was sitting there hugging her knees with her head dropped back as she stared up at the sky...there was something in her silence that made me hold my question, and instead I inched over closer to her, hugged my knees, and stared up just as she was doing (McCorkle 81-82). Kate is aware that something has gone awry but she does not accurately know what the situation is. Despite the distractions of the fireworks, her father's comments, the boys fighting on the beach, and Mrs. Poole's endless chatter, Kate focuses on the most important (though silent) thing going on with Misty. The faint hint of disarray in Misty precedes Kate's reaction to Mo's death. Kate, throughout the novel, "watches" different people and, from her house, she can see into the Rhodes's and Hucks's houses. She "watches" Misty's house after Mo's car accident and comments that Misty "...looked so pale" and that the whole family "...froze like the end of a play"(McCorkle 91).

The Theme of Black Leadership in Invisible Man Essay -- Ralph Ellison,

     Ã‚   Ralph Ellison's interest in effective black leadership is directly reflected in Invisible Man. The characterization of Bledsoe in the beginning of the story is that of a ruthlessly self-serving black leader (McSweeny). In chapter five, a "mythic model" for black leadership is outlined in the eulogy of the founder of the college, which is given by Homer A. Barbee (McSweeny). While Invisible Man is residing in the apartment of Mary Rambo, she drills into his head the importance of leadership and responsibility. In chapter thirteen the anger of the crowd watching the eviction begins to rise, and as one onlooker observes that "All they need is a leader" (Ellison 274). These events lead to Invisible Man's first act of leadership when he delivers a spontaneous speech to the crowd. Invisible Man comes to realize that the fundamental problem confronting a potential black leader is the lack of an infrastructure (McSweeny). He states, "...we had no money, no intelligence apparatus, either in government, business or in labor unions; and no communications with our own people excep...

Changing Role of Women

Since the end of world war two, in 1945, Australian society has witnessed many dramatic changes in the rights and freedoms of women. Women, who had been encouraged to take on men’s jobs during the war were expected to vacate these positions and return to their traditional vocation in â€Å"home making†. Throughout the 1950’s and early 1960’s women were expected to either stay at home or work in underpaid â€Å"women’s jobs†. Women’s wages were significantly less in comparison to the wages awarded to men who performed the same task. The Commonwealth Arbitration Court ruled in 1949, that a women’s basic wage should be set at 75% of the male rate. This was the practice throughout the 1950’s when there was a large growth in the textiles, clothing, footwear and food processing industries depending on the cheap labor that women provided. The view that a woman’s place was in the home was reflected in and shaped by the Australian education system. The emphasis of the limited schooling available to girls was in the home sciences . i. e. cooking and sewing. The lack of educational opportunities for women only reinforced sex role stereotyping and gave women little chance to achieve their potential. The introduction of the oral contraceptive pill in 1961 gave women the chance to achieve their potential. It gave them the freedom to choose when and if to bear a child. It provided women with the opportunity to concentrate on furthering their working careers, where available, thus leaving the domestic housewife image behind. It provided women with power over their bodies for the first time; they were in control of their sexual relationships. Thus, by the end of the 1960’s, women were actively seeking greater rights and freedoms in society and in the workplace. Demonstrations and protests were a feature of this movement, known as the woman’s liberationist movement (today referred to as feminism). The female liberationists aimed to overturn the notions of female inferiority and male dominance in Australian society. Their dream was to free women from the restraints society placed upon them; to challenge the status quo. Zelda D’Aprano was one Australian woman who formed the Woman’s Action Committee in 1969. She chained herself to the doors of the Commonwealth Building in Melbourne demanding equal pay for both sexes. Germaine Greer was also an outspoken liberationist whose book â€Å"The Female Eunuch†, 1970 , challenged the thinking of conservative male dominated society. There was a diverse range of women’s liberationist groups formed to campaign for specific issues revolving around three main areas: equal pay, discrimination in the workplace and equality of opportunity in the workplace and society. Specific issues included: †¢Child Care †¢Equal pay for women †¢Family Planning †¢Divorce †¢Discrimination in the workforce and from lending institutions The causes, clear arguments and outspoken activism of these groups attracted much media attention and faced resistance from traditional and conservative sections of society. For example church leaders were outraged when women’s liberationists called for legalized abortion. Equality in the workplace has been and still is an important issue. In theory, the federal Equal Pay Case of 1969, determined that women receive â€Å"the same wage as men for the same work†; but this principal would not apply where the work was essentially or usually performed by women. By 1972, the Liberal government continued the debate, suggesting in Cabinet that wage rates should take into consideration â€Å"training, skills and other attributes required for the satisfactory performance of the work†. See Source A, which is a copy of a Cabinet document, dated 24 October 1972, demonstrating this stance of the Liberal government in relation to calls for Equal Pay. By December 1972, the Labor Government had come to power and it promised to implement the Equal Pay for Equal Value principle in female dominated industries; though such a principal has proven difficult to implement. Equal opportunity has been and still is another important issue. In 1972, the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) was founded. WEL sought out politicians views on woman’s issues. It has had a major role in lobbying and influencing governments to pass laws friendly to woman in areas such as woman’s health and child care. See Source B, a photograph of a demonstration in Sydney in 1979, in which WEL activists are advocating for Medicare funding for abortions. By the beginning of the 1980’s, the fruits of the labor of the women’s movement could be seen in many of Australia’s legal reforms: †¢The family law act 1975 had established the principle of No Fault Divorce; removing the social stigma associated with woman and divorce. †¢The anti discrimination act 1977(NSW) which made it illegal to discriminate on terms of gender, marital status or pregnancy Sex Discrimination Act 1984 a commonwealth act banning discrimination against woman. †¢The Affirmative action act 1986 that was later replaced in 1999 by the equal opportunity for woman in the workplace act. By the end of the 1990’s most woman believed that their struggles for equal rights and freedoms with men in society had been won, but that is not necessarily the case. While women’s rights may have been enshrined in law, it is women’s freedoms in society that have yet to be fully realized.

Growing Number of Kindergarten Franchises to Drive Revenues of China Preschool Industry: Ken Research Essay

The preschool market is the fastest growing sector of the education industry in China presently. Over the span of last seven years, the industry has grown at an annualized rate of 10. 3% from 2006. The industry showcased increasing revenues in the period of 2006-2012, owing to the inflating tuition fees charged by the growing number of the private kindergartens. The enrollment figures have also shown a progressive trend throughout the years, instigated by the growing market presence and awareness about the importance of the pre-primary education amongst masses. Kindergartens in China are responsible for providing both childcare and preschool education to the children aged 3-6 years. The transition of Chinese economy from publicly administered to market-run has put a great impact on the kindergarten market of the country. Private sector funded kindergartens have gained increasing hold over the overall market and had accounted for a dominant share in 2012. Rural areas of China host the maximum of the kindergartens which are primarily run by the education department or are publicly funded. However, with a rising number of private entities adopting the franchised business model to operate in the underpenetrated market of China preschool industry, the urban areas have showcased an increasing share of enrollments over the years. The preschool industry of China is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation with increasing number of players implementing acquisition expansion strategies to build on their market shares. RYB Education, Oriental BabyCare, Gymboree Play and Music are some of the chief brand names operating in the market. Other emerging players include Noah Education holdings, Beijing Hongying Education group, I Love Gym etc. A significant number of publicly led kindergartens also are prominent in China which includes players such as Huijia Kindergarten and Hong Huanlan Education Group. Increasing number of working mothers has led to an increasing demand for the kindergartens in the country. Additionally, the large population base of the country promises an increasing cohort of children aged under- six, which presents huge opportunities for the foreign and domestic investors to attain growing levels of revenues in coming years. Additionally, the talent-based trainings provided in the kindergartens of China, has also welcomed a growing number of children to participate in the preschool programs. However, the trend of bilingual kindergartens is being most prominently witnessed in this sector, stressing the growing importance of early language training, as preferred by parents. The report â€Å"China Pre-primary Education and Childcare Industry Outlook to 2017† provides detailed overview on the preschool industry from various perspectives. The report encloses a comprehensive analysis of the various segments of the market reflecting the present scenario and future growth affected by changing industry dynamics in coming years. Additionally, the report also entails information about the government rules and policies, rational analysis of the macroeconomic factors, along with the competitive landscape of the pre-primary education and childcare industry. The report will help industry consultants, companies and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in future. For more information on the industry research report please refer to the below mentioned link: http://www. kenresearch. com/education/pre-school-education/china-pre-primary-education-market-research-report/401-99. html.