Health Record Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Health Record Worksheet Essay In 150 to 350 words, explain the importance of the health record. Support your explanation using your assigned readings. The importance to health records is that it is easier to treat a patient if you already have the history of the patient illnesses and what medications have helped in the past as well as it will tell them anything they are allergic. They are also important for you don’t have to retake the same test over again if you already have it on file at the hospital you went too. Now with the electronic health care they are heping to make the paients experience better for them with less wait time and questions. Also with the electronic health records it helps the doctor to be reminded of when a new test needs to be done or when a prescription needs to be filled as well. I think that all health records are good because your doctor can go back and see what you were treated for and what has helped you in the past that can help you now.   Use the following table to identify and list at least five key components of the health record. Additionally, include a 50- to 100-word description of each component. Support your descriptions using your assigned readings. Component of the health record Description Adminerstrative system component This where the patient gets registered, admitted, and discharged this information is very important without this in health records it would make it a lot harder to get the patient seen. This is why it is a key component to health care because without this it wouldn’t run as smoothly. Laboratory system component This is where the doctor can put in orders to get lab work done then someone will bring the sample to the lab to get processed. Then later the doctor can find the results and figure out a diagnosis of the patient or order more labs to get done on the patient. Radiology system component This is where the doctor can order a xray of a patient and then the patient gets sent down to Radiology to get xrayed. Then the radiologist will send the pictures to the doctor after they are processed. The doctor will tell the patient why they are in pain and the next steps for them. Pharmacy system component This is where the doctor can order perscriptions and send them to the pharmacy without writing out a prescription and giving them a paper to bring to pharmacy. Also will help make sure that there are no forgery with any of orders. That way the patient doesn’t lose it as well. Clinical documentation This where the patients information goes so it is easily found by the doctor to access it. Also is where the description of the events that happened of each visit with the patient and what has worked and what did not work as a solution. Also can find the patients contact information here. Use the following table to identify and list at least five structured coding systems. Additionally, include a 50- to 100-word description of each system. Support your descriptions using your assigned readings. Structured coding system Description International classification of diseases  this would be different coding they use between other countries and the United States. This is when I believe a patient comes to America with the disease already in them so they talk about it to others they use a code instead of just plainly saying it out loud in front of the patient. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders This is what doctors use to label someone with a mental disorder whether it was from birth or from a substance abuse. Every patient would have a code with them instead of labeling them they just used codes to tell them apart in a hospital. Also easier to keep track of who is who. Current procedural Terminology This is when you have a patient in the examing room and need to tell your nurses what is happening and what needs to be done so they use code names instead of the regular terms so it does not scare the patient they are working on. Also makes it so there is less to say.

The Competitive Elements Of Illovo Malawi Business Essay

The Competitive Elements Of Illovo Malawi Business Essay Critically assess the strategic context within which your firm operates using any conceptual framework, which you think is appropriate, and explain which are the most important general business trends and competitive elements. Which of these should strategic decision makers in the company of your choice consider the most and why? Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd is a subsidiary of a South African company Illovo Sugar South Africa. Illovo Sugar Malawi is the countrys largest sugar producer. There are two other companies that have just set up within the previous two years, however, they can not be acknowledged as of yet as they are yet to commence operations. Illovo sugar is a large multinational company that spans across six African countries that include Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa. They are the largest sugar producers within each respective country that they are present in. Illovo Sugar operates through subsidiaries within each of the mentioned countries. When we analyse to total volume of sugar produced amongst all the facilities that Illovo owns, it shows that they are the largest producer of sugar within the African subcontinent. Illovo Sugar is listed on the Johannesburg Stock exchange and on the Malawian and Zambian Stock Exchange respectively (as subsidiaries). The majority ownership of Illovo Sugar, 51% of it, belongs to a FTSE 100 Company Associated British Foods Plc. Illovo Sugar Malawi, along with its other subsidiaries within Africa, have shown year on year consistent growth for the entire Illovo Group in Africa, it is this level of performance which has labelled Illovo the largest sugar producer in Africa. PESTEL Analysis: I will now outline a PESTEL analysis for Illovo Sugar Ltd, within which I will cover all the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects that affect Illovo Sugar. Political: Political stability within Malawi has been an issue for Illovo Sugar Malawi during 2012. The autocratic rule of the former president came to an unexpected end when he died due to cardiac arrest. This meant that Illovo had to form new connections with the new president (former vice president) who had her own political party. Doing so, it would give Illovo access right to the top of the tree; it could therefore exercise this communion whenever it needed to. When the government attitude is looked upon, due to the economical problems in Malawi, the extreme lack of forex has led to many problems and it has crippled the economy. The current regime is on the move to increase exports in order to generate the much-needed forex, this being a direct presidential initiative. Due to Illovo Sugar Malawi being one of the top exporters within Malawi, it is therefore one of the favourable organisations directly from the offices of the president. Corrupt governments usually impact organisations when they make decisions at firm levels. The impact of corrupt ministers and even presidents in some cases prove to be a vital political problem to a large company such as Illovo Sugar. In this case, as far as it can be noted, it seems that Illovo Sugar Malawi has steered away from being influenced by such people or governments. Economical: Malawi is currently enduring one of the harshest conditions related to its economy. It has literally crippled, from being the second fastest growing economy in the world in 2008, it has fallen at such an alarming rate, at the expense of the autocratic rule of the former president who despised the western donor countries. It led to intense shortages of forex within Malawi, and with Malawi being a predominantly importing country, it crippled many sectors and inflation started to rise at an alarming rate. The biggest cause for concern is the devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha it will increase costs from all aspects for Illovo Malawi, however, due to the floatation of the currency within the international markets, it will therefore obtain better prices for its commodity on the international market. Credit availability and interest rates are also a problem for Illovo Sugar Malawi. The credit is available but due to liquidity shortages of the Malawi kwacha, the Reserve Bank of Malawi has put high interest charges on credit facilities. Due to this problem, Illovo Malawi will take out as little credit facilities as its needs in order to avoid high interest charges  [1]  . When the overall industry growth is analysed, it can be compared, volumetrically, that Illovo Sugar Malawi has continued to grow despite all the problems it faces. It continues to be the largest contributor to the Illovo Sugar Group at 39% of its overall operating profit  [2]  . Therefore, the industry continues to grow and the prospect for the future for Illovo Malawi looks good in terms of an economical aspect. Social: Illovo Sugar Malawi operates two relatively large facilities within Malawi. They employ approximately 5400 people fulltime and around 4500 seasonal employees. They provide employment to local Malawians with added benefits as part of their corporate citizenship scheme. Illovo Sugar Malawi also works hard in maintaining their corporate social responsibility image. They have built schools and medical centres within the local communities. Every employee has access to medical and educational care, with his or her dependants included too. Apart from this, they provide housing to over 4500 people with amenities such as running water, electricity and waste management services  [3]  . Apart from the above, Illovo also carries out other social acts of charity in the form of donations to hospitals and of aid to relief victims of natural disasters within Malawi. Apart from maintaining its own sugarcane growing facilities, Illovo plays a socially responsible role when it comes to purchasing sugarcane from local smallholder farmers. They account for up to 13% of Illovo Malawis total raw material volume  [4]  . Technological: Illovo Sugar, as mentioned is the largest sugar producer in Africa, therefore they are bound to keep their technological mind-set at its peak performance. In the current world, technology is known for making processes much simpler and carried out faster and efficiently. In regards to plant and machinery at Illovo, which is the core of the entire business, they will pay the highest attention to new technological entrants within the market. Efficiency, cost saving and speed is what drives any manufacturing business and it is the same with Illovo Malawi. New process technologies within this line of business can rapidly give the edge over competitors and Illovo can utilise this to their advantage. If a new technological concept is trialled on one site, if proven to be successful, provided all factors are considered, they can easily apply this to all their sites and reap the benefits. Illovo grows their own sugarcane and technological advances in farming methods are constantly advancing, therefore they are always developing and making the entire process easier in order for the stakeholder to gain maximum benefits, i.e. maximum output of raw material. Environmental: Illovo Sugar Malawi consumes a lot of electrical power, in order to be environmentally efficient, they use the waste material known as bagasse to generate the needed levels of electricity. The bagasse is a bio-renewable fuel source and it helps to keep the environmental impact of the entire operations at a minimum. In this way, Illovo is also totally self sufficient in terms of electricity supplies. Illovo also controls all wastewater from the sugar making process; it treats and recycles the water for use in its cane growing operations  [5]  . Both sites of Illovo in Malawi annually plant new trees in order to counteract environmental degradation and soil erosion that may be caused during the farming stages  [6]  . As a by-product of the sugar making process, various alcohols can be extracted from the process. Illovo Malawi therefore contributes to fuel alcohol distilleries in Malawi and they produce ethanol, which is an alternative bio-fuel. Legal: Health and Safety is one of the legal challenges that Illovo faces. They run a large health and safety campaign in order to prevent any incidents. They continue to influence the mind-set of all its employees on the various health and safety aspects to be safety conscious. They also design safety programmes for the wider communities spread across the two estates thereby increasing safety awareness and improving safety habits. General Business Trends: Within Malawi, Illovo operates on two tremendously large sites that are situated within the southern and northern districts of Malawi respectively. Illovo Sugar Malawi Produces, on average, 300000 Metric Tons of Sugar within the two sites combined. Almost 60% of this is sold within Malawi itself due to the high demand throughout the year. The remaining 40% is supplied to neighbouring markets, with Zimbabwe being the largest buyer. Through the remaining 40%, it either ends up within the European markets or within the local regional countries, i.e. Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda  [7]  . Illovo Sugar Malawi is the highest contributor within the entire Illovo group, by virtue of its operating profit. When analysed, it is the third largest out of six subsidiaries in terms of volumetric sugar production, however one can only come to the conclusion that Illovo Malawi is fetching better prices for its refined, non refined and speciality sugars within the international market. The percentage of internationally supplied sugar is expected to increase from 40% and valuable markets such as the EU are showing high potential due to good prices being achieved. According to the 2012 Annual report, market conditions were considered by strong demand from European importers who recognise Malawis quality standards and ability to deliver contracted consignments on time. (Annual Malawi reports 8). Competitive Elements: Identifying the competitive elements of Illovo Malawi will show that it has two main elements that prove to also be two valuable advantages over their rivals. The quality and standards of the products that are manufactured by Illovo Malawi are second to none, as mentioned above; it is one of the main factors upon which the European customers look for and value. Due to the differences between quality standards in Africa which are lower than European and worldwide standards, Illovo can easily sell the highest quality goods within the European and north American market and obtain high prices while at the same time sell medium quality products which in the African region are regarded as the top quality, it therefore puts them in a sort of win-win situation. The second element that gives Illovo Malawi a competitive advantage is the logistics system it has. As mentioned above, European buyers value commitments more than anything else. Receiving their shipments on time is of utmost importance when they are competing in strong markets where time and money play the most crucial goal. Abiding to their commitments is therefore the elements that gives Illovo Malawi the advantage in this scenario. Question 2: Identify the stock of internally developed assets, resources and competences in the company of your choice. In your view, how do these compare with the companys most immediate (maximum 3) competitor firms in the industry? Do they or do they not allow your firm to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, and in which areas? Answer: Illovo Sugar Malawi has various assets that include two large sugar mills in the northern and southern districts of Malawi. Along with the two high capacity sugar mills, they also own their own sugar plantations at both respective sites. According to the 2012 annual report for Illovo Sugar Malawi, their valuation of property, plant and machinery stands at 8.6 Billion Malawi Kwacha and their sugar plantations are valued at 10.1 Billion Malawi Kwacha. When we look at the total area that has been leased from the government of Malawi for 99 years amounts to 34,250 Hectares approximately. When we analyse the resources of Illovo Sugar Malawi, we can split it and analyse it via financial, physical and human resources. Financial resources: Illovo Sugar Malawi is listed on the Malawi stock exchange and this plays a vital role when it comes to attracting investment or capital into the company. Apart from attracting investment, if Illovo were to increase production or output, they would require the financial resources to be able to meet that strategy. Financial resources therefore play an important role in aiding the overall strategy that the company may be implementing. If the strategy requires additional funds to be raised, Illovo Malawi would easily be able to raise the needed funds, simply due to the investment returns that current investors are receiving, it will seem like the most viable investment to new and potential investors. Therefore it can be said that the attractiveness of this particular market is high as can be seen from the continued year-on-year growth at Illovo Sugar Malawi. Human resources: Human resources play a vital role in any strategic decision that the company makes, since it is this very workforce that will endeavour to accomplish the strategy that it has set out to achieve. Human resources also identifies all the skills-base of a business, the skills it possesses through its workforce and whether or not they are sufficient enough to meet the strategy. When it comes to analysing the human resources at Illovo Sugar Malawi, upon reading the profiles of the senior management from the annual report, it is easily noticed that experience is a key denominator amongst employees at Illovo. Illovo employees have vast knowledge and experience, that is absolutely vital to this industry and it is highly possessed at Illovo. It is these vital factors that allow Illovo Malawi to perform at it level best and this is shown via its continual growth and the financial profits it achieves. Illovo also maintains a high business morale and reputation that it strives to maintain, as Africas largest sugar producer it has to have an immense reputation that allows it to dominate markets and give it an edge over its competitors. Apart from this, employees at Illovo also possess vast amounts of experience when analysed. The experience varies from business through to manufacturing, refining, farming and other key tasks within the business. People within each sector will possess varied amounts of experience that help it add value within the entire business. Illovo firmly believes in maintaining an employee development programme which will prove to be highly important in regards to the future sustainability of the business, it has therefore setup staff training programmes to further develop their technical skills. (Malawi report 8). According to Prahalad and Hamels work, they mention the following Core competencies are the glue that binds existing business. They are the engines for new business development  [8]  . In regards to competency at Illovo, the first major achievement that is being accomplished is the quality of the products manufactured. High quality products will meet high quality standards set by international regulatory authorities and Illovo Sugar Malawi is currently producing such products that continually meet the stringent requirements. It is this level of competence that attracts the right customers for its product; it therefore serves high profile customers who are willing to pay the price for value added high quality products manufactured by Illovo. The prices and profits therefore obtained from such customers help Illovo to grow year-on-year. It is the above reasons that give Illovo an edge over its competitors, they strive to produce high quality products, which therefore give them increased revenues as compared to their immediate competitors, and this is also the reason as to why Illovo Malawi is the leading contributor to Illovo groups operating profits. Illovo Sugar Malawis two competitors are small firms that have recently set up in Malawi. They have sugarcane plantations of both 850 (planned 5000) and 200 hectares respectively. Limphasa Sugar Corporation, the first and direct competitor will likely become the number two producer of sugar in Malawi and with an export market already lined up to be supplied, they are awaiting final installations and plan to produce 90,000 tons of sugar a year at full capacity, however upon analysing Illovos operations, its highly doubtful that they will achieve that level at such an early stage as they will not have enough sugarcane. The second competitor Mtalimanja Sugar Corporation have only 200 hectares of sugarcane and they are only a small producer, which also aims to support smallholder farmers. Mtalimanja has recently run into problems and they are awaiting engineers to fix their plant at the moment. Therefore, when we analyse the two direct competitors of Illovo Malawi, it is fair to say that Illovo is miles ahead in terms of production of sugarcane and sugar based products. They are fully capable of handling large volumes in both categories and that it would take a good number of years for their competitors to catch up to them. However, this does not guarantee that there are not any threats towards Illovo, if their competitors produce high quality products they will find themselves competing for customers. However, for the current outlook, its fair enough to say that Illovo still maintains the number one spot in the market and due to its experience and the strategies it sets out to achieve, it keeps itself ahead in the market. Conclusion: Upon further reading within the group report, Illovo group clearly outlines that their primary strategic objective is to improve earnings and remain as the market leader. Their secondary aims included increasing sugar production to 1.8 million tons, increase domestic market presence and increase revenues by sales to higher priced markets  [9]  . (main report 8).Increasing capacity and output at Illovo Malawi will help it to producer larger volumes which will help it serve higher priced markets better and obtain better prices and increase profits. References: (2012) Illovo Integrated Annual Report. [Report] South Africa: Illovo Sugar Ltd, p.10. 2 (2012) Illovo Integrated Annual Report. [Report] South Africa: Illovo Sugar Ltd, p.10. 3 (2012) Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd Annual Report. [report] Malawi: Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd, p.12. 4 (2012) Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd Annual Report. [report] Malawi: Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd, p.7. 5 (2012) Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd Annual Report. [report] Malawi: Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd, p.12. 6 (2012) Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd Annual Report. [report] Malawi: Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd, p.12. 7 (2012) Illovo Integrated Annual Report. [Report] South Africa: Illovo Sugar Ltd, p.10. 8 Prahalad, C. K. and Hamel, G. (1990) The Core Competence of the Organization, Harvard Business Review, (5). 9 (2012) Illovo Integrated Annual Report. [Report] South Africa: Illovo Sugar Ltd, p.8.

How certain characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another

How certain characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another Rules of Mendelian Genetics Mendels Law is the study about how a certain characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another in an organism. This study was derived from an Austrian monk, Gregor Mendel (1822 C 1884) who is considered as the father of genetics. He believed that natural laws such as those that govern inheritance could be explained as mathematical relationships. In his experiments, Mendel used ordinary pea plants to study the traits, he pair these pea plants with considering the control over each reproduction to prevent the pea plant from self fertilizing. The traits that are being observed are the colour of a plants flower, the location on the plant, the shape and colour of the pea pods, the shape and colour of the seeds and the length of the plant stems. Pea plants are used because they are easily available and can be manipulated in large amount within a short period of time. (Starr, Evers Starr, 2010) Mendels approach for his experiment was to transfer pollen from the stamen (which is the male reproductive organ that contains male sex cells) and to the pistil (the female sex cell which contain female reproductive organs) of another pea plant. In the first experiment, he took two pea plants with true breeding variant; one with round seed and another with wrinkled seed. The offspring that were produced in the first generation (F1 generation) had all round seeds. This shows that the pea plant will only take the dominant trait that is the round seeds. Next, Mendel crossed two of the F1 generation plant together, he obtained a result of 75% of the plant is round seeds whereas 25% of the pea plants are wrinkled seeds. Based on this result, a ratio of approximately 3:1 will be deduced for the traits in F2 generation. As a result of these experiments, Mendel was able to state three generalizations about the way characteristics are transmitted from one generation to the next in pea plants. (Science Clarified, 2010). From this pea plants experiment, Mendel derived 3 theories that support on genetic inheritance ? Mendels first principle of genetics, the law of segregation states that the sex cell of a plant or animal may contain one factor (allele) for different traits but not both factors needed to express the traits. Each offspring, however, would only display the characteristics of one parent and not a blend of the two different characteristics of the parents. ? Mendels second principle of genetics, the law of independent assortment states that characteristics are inherited independently from other characteristics. Any trait in a generation is independent of other traits if the parents of the generation have two or more traits that vary from each other. ? Mendels third principle, principle of dominance states that each inherited characteristic is determined by two heredity genes, one from each parent which determines whether a gene will be dominant or recessive. This means that the trait of one parent must be dominant over the trait of the other parent, and so the dominant trait would be displayed by the offspring. (Minnesota State University, 2010; Nigel, D. P.,2006 ). Introduction to traits of family There have been variations in different characteristic in my family genes. The variations of the genes are mainly caused by inheritance from my parents who carry a genotype of certain traits; this trait is passed on from one generation to another. The dominant allele of the traits of the genotype would be the phenotype of the offspring. I have chosen to look into the appearance of one-sided dimples and blood types in my family genes. Cheek dimples occur when the muscles underneath the surface of the skin are shorter than the skin on top, so when you smile, the muscle pulls the skin at its attachment point, thus folding the top skin as it is pulled back. Chin dimples are actually a cleft chin in which the bones do not fuse completely and the outer skin lies on top of the cleft bone, revealing the structure underneath. In most cases, facial dimples appear on the cheeks, and they are typically not visible until someone smiles. However, some people only have a dimple on one side; this physical trait can actually be rather endearing (Smith, S. E., 2010). The look of dimples can also vary; as an inherited trait, unusual dimples can be passed on through multiple generations of a family. Dimples occurrence can be relatively related to genetic inheritance, dimples are dominant trait that will be pass on from the parents (K-show, 2008). If you inherit the genes for dimples, there may be other factors during your developmen t that could lengthen the muscles, or allow full closure of the cleft chin. Next, all humans can be typed for the ABO blood group. There are four principal types: A, B, AB, and O. There are two antigens and two antibodies that are mostly responsible for the ABO types. The specific combination of these four components determines an individuals type in most cases (Dennis ONeil, 2010). Every individual inherits one blood type allele from each their biological mother and their biological father. Based on the alleles of a person, the blood group genotype of the person can be determined. The O allele is the recessive allele amongst the blood group alleles. A person with blood group A can have either IA IA or IA IO as their genotype. Type B blood is produced when an individual has either genotype IB IB or IB IO. Genotype IO IO results in type O blood while type AB blood results from genotype IA IB (Windelspecht, 2007). Analysis Based on the phenotype occurrence in my family, I have come out with a research based on the traits on genotypes in my family. In this research, Ive taken consideration of the variation in traits from my parents and siblings; my brother and sister. One-sided dimples In my family, my father carries the gene of one-sided dimple, my mother do not contain dimple, my sister contains one-sided dimple and my brother and me do not contain dimple. Based on the data I had collected, a pedigree chart is drawn to illustrate the traits in my family. Figure 1 : pedigree chart on one-sided dimple of my family Since one-sided dimple is considered to be an autosomal dominant traits. From this pedigree chart illustrated above, my father have a phenotype of one-sided dimples, he would be either be carrying a homozygous dominant (DD) or heterozygous dominant (Dd) genotypes. On the other hand, my mother would be carrying the homozygous recessive (dd) genotype. My sister also carries the one-sided dimple trait; therefore she also be either having the genotype of DD or Dd. My brother and I do not have dimples, therefore why we would have carried the dd trait. Since, allele of our genes cant be seen; therefore we could only predict which of the possibility outcome the genotype of each individual belongs to. Based on the different possible allele, I have built a Punnets square to list out all the possibility outcomes of the genotypes outcome of the offspring from my parents depending on which genotype my parent possesses. D d d Dd dd d Dd dd D D d Dd Dd d Dd Dd ( ii ) ( i ) ( ii ) Figure 2 : Punnet square based on parents genotype? Based on the Punnet square ( i ), the possibility of homozygous dominant allele is being used. From this point of view, the outcome of a mixture of DD and dd would result in a Dd gamete. Therefore, based on the result, the offspring produced would be heterozygous dominant (Dd). The probability of the offspring produce by my parents to be heterozygous dominant would takes up 100%, this means that there would not be any possibilities of any offspring not having one-sided dimples. In addition, no offspring would also me homozygous dominant to one-sided dimples. On the other hand, in Punnet square ( ii ), heterozygous dominant (Dd) allele is being used, the possibility outcome of allele from the combination of Dd and dd would result in a Dd or dd offspring. The probability of a heterozygous dominant (Dd) gamete would be 50%, whereas the probability of the homozygous recessive (dd) gamete would also be 50%. There would not be any homozygous dominant offspring with one-sided dimple being produced. After analysing both the Punnet square, I came to conclusion that that my family follows the genotype of Punnet square ( ii ). This is because in my family, among the siblings, we have a variation between having one-sided dimples and not having dimples. Therefore, from the possibility of Punnet square ( i ), all the offspring would have dimples. Nevertheless, in my family, my brother and I do not have dimples whereas my sister have one-sided dimple. So, it can be said that the possibilities in Punnet square ( ii ) would be much more accurate. It shows that there are variations between gametes which have and have not got one-sided dimples. This could clearly explains why the occurrence of one-sided dimples only on my sister. Blood type A blood test had been carried out to determine our blood type in my family. From the result, it is shown that my father is tested to be blood group O, my mother is tested to be blood group A, my brother is tested to be blood group O, my sister is tested to be blood group A and lastly I am tested to be blood group O. Based on the data I had collected, a pedigree chart is drawn to illustrate the traits in my family. Figure 3 : Pedigree chart of blood group in my family From the pedigree chart, my father has blood group O, the possible genotypes for his allele would be IoIo. This would also apply to my brother and I, we both also contain the possible genotype allele of IoIo. On the other hand, my mother has blood group A, the possible genotypes for her allele would be IAIA or IAIO. My sister also has blood group A, she would also have the possible genotypes for her allele is IAIA or IAIO. By sorting out the possible genotypes in the allele, the data will be analysed into a Punnet table for a clearer outlook on all the possibilities from the combination of both the genotypes from my parents. The Punnet square will show the different combination that will result in a variation of offspring. IO IO IA IOIA IOIA IO IOIO IOIO IO IO IA IOIA IOIA IA IOIA IOIA ( i ) ( ii ) Figure 4 : Punnet square based on parents genotype Based on the Punnet square ( i ), the genotypes of my fathers allele is IOIO , whereas my mothers possible genotype is stated as IAIA . The outcome of this mixture results in the possibility of an offspring with only IOIA, which is blood group A. The probability of the offspring becoming a blood group A would then be 100%. None of them would be of blood group O. In Punnet square ( ii ) the genotype of my fathers allele is IOIO, whereas my mothers possible genotype is IAIO . The possible genotypes of the offspring produced by this combination of alleles will be genotype IOIO and genotype IAIO. The offspring could have a variation of blood type O or blood type A. The possibility of getting blood type O is 50% and the possibility of getting blood type A is also 50%. After analysing both the Punnet square, I can conclude that my family follow the genotypes as stated in Punnet square ( ii ). This is because in my family, among the siblings, we have a variation between blood group A and blood group B. Therefore, from the possibility of Punnet square ( i ), all the offspring would result in having blood group O. Nevertheless, in my family, my sister has blood group A whereas my brother and I have blood group O. So, it can be said that the possibilities in Punnet square ( ii ) would be much more accurate. It shows that there are variations between gametes which have the different group type. This could clearly explain why the occurrence in variance of different blood type within different people. ? Conclusion The study of Mendels Law leads us to enhance more on our genetic inheritance. Knowing our inheritance may help us to study a large range of different traits; like hair colour, iris colour, dimples, and eyes. We will be able to notify and recognize the different genetic variation, which will also help in preventing certain disorder from spreading through reproduction. A few of the disorder that are genetically inheritance are like Downs syndrome, Turner syndrome, sickle-cell anemia, colour blindness and haemophilia. Prevention towards this kind of disorder will widely safe many misfortune life of infants. Mendels Law do not only emphasis on human trait, it is used in many agricultural field to improve the production of crops. The seeds of the corn plant is modified and paired genetically to improve its taste, colour, quantity and quality. These seed are being paired to obtain better traits from different types of fruits. The seasonal fruits can be planted all year round now, the fruits are mostly seedless; all these are from the discovery of genetic inheritance. Not only that, Mendels law had also helped me in this research regarding the genotype of different traits in my family. For one-sided dimples, Ive found out from the Punnet square that, my father is heterozygous dominant pairing with my mum with homozygous recessive that will result in a mixture of heterozygous dominant and homozygous recessive offspring. For the blood type, Ive found that my father is is IOIO, whereas my mothers possible genotype is IAIO. In conclusion, Mendels law can be used to illustrate inheritance traits; the Punnets square can help us visualize all the genotype of the traits. This enables us to learn our genotypes based on our phenotypes shown, that is the one-sided dimple and blood type. It is important for us to study and understand our patterns of inheritance.

Social Hysteria in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay example -- Shir

Social Hysteria in The Lottery Tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs. The black box represents virtually the only part of the original ritual that has been preserved since the lottery began. It is there not only to hold the papers that will be drawn, but also to represent to the townsfolk the tradition. The black box is constructed of pieces of the original box, a link to the time when the purpose of the lottery was clear. Most of the old custom has been forgotten: wood chips have been replaced with paper slips, and on one can remember the recital and ritual salute that had previously been part of the lottery; but the o...

Sense And Sensibility Book Review Essay -- essays research papers

Book Report - Sense and Sensibility 1.) In Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, the title is a metaphor for the two main characters Elinor and Marianne. Elinor represents sense and Marianne represents sensibility.We find out early that Elinor does not share her feelings. When Edward comes into the story, there was an immediate attraction. She tells no one of her feelings. It was just assumed that they are meant for each other. When Edward has to leave, Elinor says nothing. Edward does promise he will come down and give Margaret an atlas. When the atlas comes and not Edward, the one who ends up crying was Margaret and not Elinor. We do learn, however, that Elinor can get emotional too. When Marianne was playing the piano at their new cottage, Elinor cries as she listens. She said the song was her late father's favorite. Later on in the story, Marianne kept on nagging Elinor for not sharing her feelings. Finally, Elinor shows her emotions by telling her that she did have a broken heart after she found out that Edward had a fiancee - Lucy. Elinor would definitely represent sense. She keeps her thoughts to herself. Maybe it is because she thinks she will not end up hurting so bad as Marianne did. Marianne, on the other hand, represents sensibility. She follows her heart. She does not let anything come in the way of showing her emotions. When she first met Colonel Brandon, it is obvious that he was in love with her at first sight. Marianne, shows very clear that she was not interested in such an old man like him. However, when Marianne meets Willoghby, it was like a hero rescuing his princess. They fall in love with each other. Marianne does not hide her emotions about Willoughby to anyone, However, in the society that they were in, Willoughby did not think he could marry Marianne because of the social class. In the end, this almost kills Marianne. As Marianne realizes that the Colonel has always been there, she falls in love with him. 2.) My favorite character is Colonel Brandon. I think in a way he is very much like Elinor. He does not show his emotions a whole lot, but he does talk to people about his problems. There were so many instances when he asks Elinor about the relationship between Marianne and Willoughby. He was always depressed to hear and to know that there was no way of getting his lover from Willoughby. However, that does not stop his ... ...old. I also learned that when things do not turn out the way we expected, or when things all the sudden turn down-side, we should react with calmness and composure and not just cry and burst out with our immediate feelings. Patience is the keyword. With patience it is much easier to deal with painful situations. Most of the time, it turns out pretty well if you can think optimistically'. J6.) Yes, I am glad I read this book because it is one of the well-known classics. I see no harm only benefits in reading a book. Sense and Sensibility has given me a better understanding of the women and lifestyle during that time-period. Most of the women back then are pretty much like Elinor and Marianne. Education for them wasn't viewed as highly as now. It seems their parents just want to marry them off to some rich and upper class man so that they may lead a luxurious life without bothering their parents anymore. Also, women back then are a lot more artistic than women now. Most of them play the piano "really" well; if not, they have some sort of other artistic talents. Personally, I'm glad I am born late in this century. I do not know how I could survive if I lived back then!!

Type of particles with dimensions

Nanoparticles include any type of atoms with dimensions of less than 500 nanometres. Nanoparticles play a major function in a assortment of Fieldss including advanced stuffs, pharmaceuticals, and environmental sensing and monitoring, as stated by ( J.B. Donnet et Al 1998 ) . Nanoparticles classified as one of two types, engineered or nonengineered. Engineered nanoparticles are deliberately designed to run into the demands of specific intents, such as chemical or biological. They can be end merchandises of a procedure eg.pharmaceuticals, or ultrafine atoms have tradition ­ally been used by the aerosol research and occupational and environmental wellness communities to depict airborne atoms. Nonengineered nanoparticles are accidentally generated or of course produced, such as burning from firing wood fuel or gasoline from vehicle emanations in the ambiance. Exposure of workers in different environments to assorted hazards nanoparticle engineering exists is legion. Nanoparticle engineering are applied in assorted industries, such as chemical industry catalysts, adhesives, car industry fuel additives, abrasion immune pigment, Health attention, pharmaceuticals, biocompatible stuffs, and building industry merchandises bettering wear-resistance. Occupational exposure bound ( OEL ) is an of import instrument for decrease of exposure to occupational jeopardies and bar of occupational diseases as stated by, M.I. Mikheev ( 1995 ) Toxicology Letters Vol. 77 ( 3 ) , pp 183-187. The intent of ( OEL ) is to move as a precaution in protection of the wellness of individuals in their several working environment from exposure to concentrations good over their allowable exposure bounds. The chief paths of occupational exposure to nanoparticles include inspiration, transdermic desorption and consumption ( BORM et.al, 2005 ) . Harmonizing to ( HOET et.al, 2004 ) the most common and investigated signifier of occupational exposure to nanoparticles is inspiration. A possible hazard arises when a individual within the working environment illustration, chemical industry performs everyday procedure where conditions as possible jeopardies exist. The hazards of nanoparticles are present and enter the human organic structure through one of the assorted paths of exposure and there are interactions of the stuffs with the organic structure ‘s biological systems. There can be inauspicious wellness hazards following exposure to the peculiar substance. Acute and Chronic exposure of the substance associated with the magnitude and dose of the exposure, good above the threshold value and continuity of the stuff in the organic structure. The built-in toxicity of the stuff, and the exposure or wellness position of the individual exposed along with age, sex, will find the type of wellness consequence impacting the worker. Hardman R ( 2006 ) A toxicologic reappraisal of quan ­tum points VOL 2, pp165-172.According to ( Duffin et al. 2007 ) which made mention to the fact that harmonizing to the substance of engineered nanoparticles features will change in footings of toxicity in the biological system of the organic structure and that there are uncertainnesss because the features of nanoparticles may be different from those of larger atoms with the same chemical composing. Inhalation is the most common signifier of exposure taking to respiratory diseases in footings of lung infection due to sedimentation of particulate affair within the respiratory piece of land over a period of clip due to dosage from point of beginning. ( Daigle et al. 2003 ) has made mention to the fact that ultrafine nanoparticles are deposited in the liner of the lungs which is the epithelial cells, to a greater extent than larger atoms of the same substance. The sum deposited in to the lungs increases with take a breathing rate due to strenuous activities and alteration from rhinal pit to talk external respiration. This tends to worsen individuals with bing lung conditions illustration occupational asthma and chronic effects can be linked to mesothelioma or lung malignant neoplastic disease, silicosis. Based on surveies, distinct nano ­particles may come in the blood stream from the lungs and disperse to other variety meats ( Takenaka et al.2001 ) . These indissoluble or low solubility atoms deposited in the pneumonic system are eliminated from the respiratory system by transporting them elsewhere in the organic structure. The motion of these ultrafine atoms in the blood stream could impact endothelial map and promote thrombosis in the arterias and other blood system jobs, including increased blood curdling ( Nemmar et al. 2002 ) , which leads to cardiovascular upsets. Expelled atoms from the lungs into the blood watercourse have effects on cardiovascular physiology, with changes of cardiac beat and arterial diameter. Several epidemiological surveies ( Wichmann et al. , 2000 ) which made mention to ultrafine atoms can go through through the extrapulmonary variety meats via the blood stream. Some atoms can be transported along the centripetal axons to the cardinal nervous systems which affect the encephalon doing neurological effects. The possible for neural consumption and translocation of inhaled particulates and pathogens to the encephalon was researched by ( Oberdorster et al. 2005 ) . Consumption may besides attach to inspiration exposure because atoms that are cleared from the respiratory piece of land via the mucociliary escala ­tor may be swallowed, ( Chen, Z et Al. 2007 ) . Nanoparticles can be straight ingested from H2O, nutrient, pharmaceutical drugs. Consumption can happen from unwilled manus to talk transportation of stuffs, this has been found to go on with established stuffs, and it can be assumed that it besides could go on dur ­ing managing nanomaterials. Harmonizing to research done by ( Behrens et al.2002 ) after consumption ultrafine atoms can be transferred across the enteric wall easy than larger atoms of the same substance. Surveies suggest that nanoparticles could come in the organic structure through the tegument during occupational exposure or through cosmetics. ( Tin ­kle et al. 2003 ) illustrated that atom smaller than 1  µm in diameter may pene ­trate into stamp tegument of the organic structure, and farther stated that it perforate the stratum core ­num barrier by inactive diffusion and local ­ize within the cuticular and cuticular beds within 24 hours. ( Lademann et al. 1999 ) stated that atoms making the corium can be transported to the lymphatic system by macrophages and dendritic cells. This leads to the release of in ­flammatory cytokines, oxidative emphasis, and reduced viability ( Monteiro-Riviere et al. 2005 ) . Skin annoyance has been noted for a few atom types, illustration for semisynthetic mineral fibers. This consequence is greater for larger fibers than smaller fibers. Within the working environment there are hazards, with mention to nanoparticles such as a chemical province as indissoluble atoms or fibers nanoparticles and ultrafine atoms, Diesel fumes, and semisynthetic mineral fibers. Harmonizing to Hannah, W. ( 2008 ) Nanotechnology, hazard and the environment Journal of Environmental Monitoring VOL.10 pp291-300. Research workers agree that ultrafine atoms pose the strongest emerging hazard with respects to occupational exposure. Hazard appraisal is an indispensable measure to find what command degree must be implemented to restrict emanations in the air or H2O and prevent a toxic substance from impacting certain mark variety meats in workers. The control measures must be relative to the hazard ( Roberge et al. 2004 ) . Measures must implemented to guarantee that associated hazards are minimal to workers who might be exposed to nanoparticles through inspiration, transdermic desorption and consumption. There must be applications of hazard appraisal methods from bing informations to the peculiar working environment which is under reappraisal for appraisal. From the appraisal 1 must determine a description of the nanomaterial whether it is engineered or nonengineered, its chemical composing, H2O solubility, aspect ratio, surface alterations and its intended use as stated by ( Aitken RJ et Al. 2006 ) . There must besides be hazard designation in which information is collected about the nanomaterial and its effects on the volume of emanations on the environment, and scattering to environing countries thereby doing wellness effects to individuals at the immediate point of release and besides long range scattering. Helland, A. ( 2008 ) Reviewing the environmental and Human wellness cognition base of C nanotubes Vol.115 pp 1125-1131 The jeopardies which are identified must be categorised, an epidemiological survey in footings of who will be affected that is the workers in the environment, consumers, and other individuals in the general populace. ( Schulte et al. 2008 ) . Invitromethods which refer to local effects on the oculus and tegument, skin pervasion and genotoxicity, invitro proving refers to illustration, possible effects in the respiratory system, particularly the lungs. Inflammation, cytotoxicity or genotoxicity, which contribute to lung toxicity in vivo ( such as fibrosis or tumour formation ) are examined. ( Hess et al.2005 ) . Another jeopardy exists when there is exposure which occurs when a individual within the working environment comes into direct contact with a nanomaterial during a normal procedure or when a nanomaterial is released into the air, H2O, dirt, deposit, nutrient, or a merchandise. Exposure may be followed by existent entry into the organic structure via intake inspiration or consumption or transdermic soaking up though other open tissue, such as the oculus. The nature of the nanomaterial based merchandise may take to assorted paths of exposure. ( Nasterlack, M. et al 2008 ) . Potential hazards must be evaluated and quantified due to the nature and frequence of the jeopardy that is intake emanation concentration and maximal workplace concentration in footings of a high or low dosage. The hazard degree must be adjusted harmonizing to the badness or uncertainnesss of the documented hazard. Harmonizing to ( Singh, S.et al 2007 ) sometimes due to a low frequence of the jeopardy or exposure informations a full quantitative and qualitative appraisal of hazards, can be done, this may be done by comparing the trial stuff to a stuff with well-characterized toxicity judged to be more terrible as a benchmark. After the information would be assessed for divergences in stuff and applications. Risk direction involves cut downing hazard of nanomaterial procedures or merchandises to worlds and the environment. A hazard direction appraisal would supply the sequence to supervise activities, procedures, and dispose of or recycle the merchandise. It besides minimises any possible inauspicious impacts towards individuals and the environment. The degree of protection must be determined and command steps should be proportionate with the hazard. Decisions should be based on bing criterions of wellness and safety, and the effectivity of the chosen control method in cut downing exposure to below the maximal degree determined acceptable in the hazard rating harmonizing to ( Paik, S.Y. ( 2008 ) Application of a Pilot Control Banding Tool for Risk LevelAssessment and Control of Nanoparticle Exposures Vol 52 pp419-428.Health jeopardies identified above illustrates the demand to look into thorough hazard appraisals and fix protocols which include steps for minimising staff exposure. Such s teps include administrative controls and direction determinations for nanoparticles and other risky chemicals must be included in the appraisal. Engineering control techniques such as insulating the gen ­eration beginning from the worker and lo ­cal fumes airing systems must be effectual for restricting airborne nano ­particles. The usage of good work patterns helps in understating worker exposures to nanomaterials, such as forestalling the ingestion of nutrient or drinks in workplaces where nanomaterials are handled. The instruction and preparation of workers in protocols of good work patterns reduces incidents although hazards are present at different procedures. The development of processs and rating of types of exposure to find the choice and type of PPE for employees. Although nanoparticles are present in many workplaces, from beginnings such as procedures, burning, vehicle emanations, when a hazard appraisal is undertaken trying methods may be given to take readings at points other than atom beginning doing it hard to dif ­ferentiate between incidental and caused emanations. Harmonizing to ( Silkoff et al. 2005 ) persons with asthma and long term wellness effects have early noticeable symptoms can non wholly be attributed to nanoparticles, illustration, and familial cistrons. From the research of ( Takenaka et al.2001 ) at that place needs to be detailed research saying if the ultrafine nanoparticles which transrelocate to variety meats organic structure from the lungs are more prevailing to engineered or non engineered and if the ultrafine are more toxic than the larger versions of the said substance which causes amendss to cell construction. Although from the research done by ( Tin ­kle et al. 2003 ) , which gave a value of atom smaller than 1  µm in diameter may pene ­trate the cuticular beds of the tegument it does non print information as to the concentration of toxicity towards the several beds of the tegument to do annoyance and besides research on the cuticular exposure of nanomaterials is ongoing. ( Wichmann et al. 2000 ) in their research made reference of ultrafine atoms altering location from organ to organ via the blood watercourse but did non uncover any informations about the continuance of these within the organic structure peculiarly the liver and kidneys, since these organ remove toxins from the blood watercourse, or after digestion as most nanoparticles are expelled from the system via faces. Little is known about possible inauspicious effects from the consumption of nanomaterials. Another country which warrants research is the transportation of nanoparticles across the placenta, the exposure which is critical to fetal development. Within some states Government face an inevitable undertaking in maintaining up to day of the month with the hazards which nanomaterial airs to the population and the environment due to inefficiency of information. There are betterments in nanoparticles development which offer a broad scope of chances particularly in footings of medical research for sensing, diagnosing and intervention of diseases. Research has besides begun in utilizing nanoparticles in term of environmental decontamination.

ZARA’s IT for Fast Fashion

Ezra, a trendy Spanish clothing retailer founded in 1975 by Manioc Ortega in La Curran. It is a flagship retail store of Inedited Group, a holding company that owns other fashion brands such as Misaims Audit, Berserk, Pull and Bear, Strabismus, Kiddy's Class, and Shoo. The company still lives by the simple idea of Amoco Ortega to link customer demand to manufacturing and link manufacturing to distribution, which ultimately able to respond very quickly to the demands of targeted customers, who are young and fashion-conscious city dwellers.Inedited operates 1,558 stores in 44 countries, of which 531 stores are part of Ezra chains. Ezra generates a majority of Indies's sales accounting for 73. 3%. Of the three departments inside Ezra, Women accounted for 60% of sales, with the rest evenly split between Men and Children division. In 2002, Inedited posted a net income of ? ¬ 438 million on revenues of ? ¬3,974 million, which is a net margin of 1 1. 02%. Overall, the company shows net margin continuously growing indicating profitable growth. As a result, the company's earnings have tripled since 1996. To reach consumer's demands quickly and accurately, Ezra established a recurring process of ordering, fulfillment, and design and management. Each section (Women, Men, and Children) of a Ezra store places an order to headquarters twice a week on the store's PDP devices. The orders include both replenishment of an existing item and requests for a new items. Store managers determined replenishment quantities by walking around the store and determining what has been selling by counting garments and talking to salespeople.Fulfilling each store's demands of clothes involves group of commercials from headquarters, who are responsible to match up the supply of finished clothes coming from factories to distribution centers then finally to the stores. The commercials works with two types of information – aggregated orders from all stores and the total supply of invent ory in the distribution centers at the same point in time. Finally, Ezra introduces new design collections at the start of fall/winter and spring/summer buying periods. In addition to that, they continuously introduce new items throughout the year, allowing them to be ahead within the industry.Note: Detail information for design and management is in â€Å"Competition† Section). SUPPLIERS: Ezra owns a group of factories in and around La Corona to do the initial production of dyeing and cutting cloth. However, they sent out the cut fabrics that needs to be sewn into garments, to network of small local workshops (not owned by Inedited) in Galatia and northern Portugal, which guarantees quick turnaround time. Finally, the sewn garments are sent to a Ezra facilities, where they are ironed, inspected, tagged, and sent to a distribution centers.COMPETITION: Ezra faces competition from multinational clothing retailers such as Gap, H&M, and Benton, Combined, these companies has over 2 00,000 employees, operating in 140 countries with net income of ? ¬1,067 million or a net margin of 15. 3%. What separate's Ezra from its competitors is it's unique approach to its marketing and business operation. Unlike its competitors, Ezra virtually does no marketing. The company place ads twice a year promoting sales and to announce the opening of new stores. As a result, their marketing expenditures average 0. % of revenue, instead of 3%-4%, which is typical for competitors. They also always make sure their stores are located in a city prime retail district and the prices for their items are established for the Spanish market. Prices for other countries is set at a fixed percentage of this baseline, taking into account distribution costs and market condition. Ezra also priorities time-to-market through vertical integration enabling them to constantly introduce new items throughout the year in a short period of time.In a typical year, Ezra introduces approximately 11,000 new items, were as its competitors average 2,000 – 4,000 items. Consequently, Ezra does not try to produce classics† clothes that would always be in style. They intend their clothes to have a fairly short life span. About 75% of the merchandise in the average store is changes over three to four weeks, resulting in their experience shoppers to visit the stores often to purchase the new items. Furthermore, Sara's senior managers takes advantage of their employee's intelligence and trust their Judgment in decision making.Store Managers are given responsibilities to deal with customers, contractors, landlords, and decisions in garments should be on sale at their individual stores. They place orders for the teems they think would sell, rather than simply accepting and displaying what headquarters decide to send them. Ezra has minimum invested in IT budget and has no formal process to set decisions for specific technology investments or projects. Usually senior management decides what new systems, if any, is required.Overall, there is very little Justification for IT efforts, which results in having no cost/benefit analysis for current and future projects. Also, Sara's business model uses POS terminal that runs on an outdated DOS operating system, which is not supported by Microsoft. This makes the operations such as ordering, fulfillment, design and manufacturing, and in-store operations inefficient. They also use handheld Pad's for ordering and for tasks such as handling garment returns to distribution centers and conveying information from headquarters to all stores. This causes redundancy.The POS terminals also makes it difficult to check in-store inventories, check inventories in other stores, and share information. The store managers would have to call to check for available SSW, which is a time consuming process. Finally, Ezra makes no use of the internet to make sales. The website is only there to maintain a presence. The issue for lack of internet sales is because the company's distribution center is not configured for picking up small orders and shipping to consumers. And, it is complicated to handle returns of merchandise bought online.The challenges above shows where Ezra can make the use of proper IT/IS infrastructure. Currently, Ezra has continued to use their systems without any changes to it. However, they have the opportunity to improve its infrastructure by investing in new IT systems. This proper implementation can also provide great opportunity for Ezra to improve its value ham operations. Before Ezra makes any decision regarding the upgrade of their old information system, they need to analyze the costs and benefits of the new system.A new operating system such as Linux, Windows, or UNIX, it will allow Ezra to develop capabilities on the outdated DOS software for POS terminals. As they install the new operating system on all the computers, they need to consider the costs of each operating system. For example, Linu x does not have one-time license cost, while Windows has a one-time license cost of ? ¬140 and UNIX of ? ¬160 per CUP]. Linux may offer the cheapest implementation costs for Ezra, but they have a higher ongoing costs, such as service contract cost that ranges from ? ¬10-? ¬150 per CUP].To upgrade the system Ezra will also have to install new hardware and replace the old POS terminals. The cost of POS terminals is ? ¬5000 per store, which will also require installation of new cables, routers etc. The wireless routers and Ethernet cost, staff training cost, software installation and maintenance cost, and the connectivity cost per store, will also add to the upgrade costs. Overall, if Ezra decides to use Linux operating system, the total cost for the initial year will be ? ¬ 56 million.This includes ? ¬ 379 thousand of operating cost and ? ¬ 2,777 million for non-operating (fixed), which is purchase of new POS terminals, wireless router and wireless Ethernet. If they us e Windows or UNIX, total initial cost will be ? ¬ 3,167 million or ? ¬ 3,175 million, respectively. This may be a very costly for the company, but it is a direct expense, which meaner the cost will depreciate over the years. For example, the total operating cost for Linux, Windows, and UNIX will decrease to ? ¬ 371 K, ? ¬ KICK, and ? ¬ ASK in the second year, respectively.The benefit of a new system will improve Sara's efficiency, which will directly influence their revenue. With the smooth communication among the stores and the headquarters, Ezra can better predict the future needs of material, and save cost by hedging them at a low cost. The system will also allow them to make clothes prototypes at a quicker rate and get a faster response from the customers. Therefore, there will be more sales, less cost, more revenue, and ultimately more profit. RECOMMENDATIONS I would recommend Ezra to upgrade their current system gradually. In the short term, there is no immediate nee d to upgrade the system.However, they need to make the changes over a long period of time. First, senior management should develop a formal IT department by hiring a COT to set decisions. Second, the new IT team should develop a strategy for the change. Third, they should develop a budget for implementing the whole upgrade. Once they have the strategy and budget in place, they should stop any more investments in the current systems and conduct a pilot test at one of their flagship store to collect data of its outcomes. Ezra should make the investments in stages. For example, the current Pads used for ordering are inconvenient.They should be replaced with convenient equipment such as the PC's. In addition, the Pads and POS are not connected. In order to improve the networking capabilities at each store, Ezra should switch from modem-based network to a broadband-based network. This will allow them to stay connected with the other stores as well as with the headquarters. POS terminals that operates on the outdated DOS system needs to be updated with a more modern and compatible operating system. As a result POS should have the customer based functionalities that will scored sales, returns, exchanges, etc.POS system should also handle functions such as inventory control, purchasing, and receiving and transferring of products to and from other locations. After the final stages, I strongly recommend to run the old and the new systems side by side, until the new system is operating smoothly. Finally, Ezra should use the internet to make online sales, and take advantage of the social media to promote itself. This can enhance their operations and ultimately increase revenue. Also, it will give them more competitive edge with the new competitors and the existing competitors. ZARA’s IT for Fast Fashion Ezra, a trendy Spanish clothing retailer founded in 1975 by Manioc Ortega in La Curran. It is a flagship retail store of Inedited Group, a holding company that owns other fashion brands such as Misaims Audit, Berserk, Pull and Bear, Strabismus, Kiddy's Class, and Shoo. The company still lives by the simple idea of Amoco Ortega to link customer demand to manufacturing and link manufacturing to distribution, which ultimately able to respond very quickly to the demands of targeted customers, who are young and fashion-conscious city dwellers.Inedited operates 1,558 stores in 44 countries, of which 531 stores are part of Ezra chains. Ezra generates a majority of Indies's sales accounting for 73. 3%. Of the three departments inside Ezra, Women accounted for 60% of sales, with the rest evenly split between Men and Children division. In 2002, Inedited posted a net income of ? ¬ 438 million on revenues of ? ¬3,974 million, which is a net margin of 1 1. 02%. Overall, the company shows net margin continuously growing indicating profitable growth. As a result, the company's earnings have tripled since 1996. To reach consumer's demands quickly and accurately, Ezra established a recurring process of ordering, fulfillment, and design and management. Each section (Women, Men, and Children) of a Ezra store places an order to headquarters twice a week on the store's PDP devices. The orders include both replenishment of an existing item and requests for a new items. Store managers determined replenishment quantities by walking around the store and determining what has been selling by counting garments and talking to salespeople.Fulfilling each store's demands of clothes involves group of commercials from headquarters, who are responsible to match up the supply of finished clothes coming from factories to distribution centers then finally to the stores. The commercials works with two types of information – aggregated orders from all stores and the total supply of invent ory in the distribution centers at the same point in time. Finally, Ezra introduces new design collections at the start of fall/winter and spring/summer buying periods. In addition to that, they continuously introduce new items throughout the year, allowing them to be ahead within the industry.Note: Detail information for design and management is in â€Å"Competition† Section). SUPPLIERS: Ezra owns a group of factories in and around La Corona to do the initial production of dyeing and cutting cloth. However, they sent out the cut fabrics that needs to be sewn into garments, to network of small local workshops (not owned by Inedited) in Galatia and northern Portugal, which guarantees quick turnaround time. Finally, the sewn garments are sent to a Ezra facilities, where they are ironed, inspected, tagged, and sent to a distribution centers.COMPETITION: Ezra faces competition from multinational clothing retailers such as Gap, H&M, and Benton, Combined, these companies has over 2 00,000 employees, operating in 140 countries with net income of ? ¬1,067 million or a net margin of 15. 3%. What separate's Ezra from its competitors is it's unique approach to its marketing and business operation. Unlike its competitors, Ezra virtually does no marketing. The company place ads twice a year promoting sales and to announce the opening of new stores. As a result, their marketing expenditures average 0. % of revenue, instead of 3%-4%, which is typical for competitors. They also always make sure their stores are located in a city prime retail district and the prices for their items are established for the Spanish market. Prices for other countries is set at a fixed percentage of this baseline, taking into account distribution costs and market condition. Ezra also priorities time-to-market through vertical integration enabling them to constantly introduce new items throughout the year in a short period of time.In a typical year, Ezra introduces approximately 11,000 new items, were as its competitors average 2,000 – 4,000 items. Consequently, Ezra does not try to produce classics† clothes that would always be in style. They intend their clothes to have a fairly short life span. About 75% of the merchandise in the average store is changes over three to four weeks, resulting in their experience shoppers to visit the stores often to purchase the new items. Furthermore, Sara's senior managers takes advantage of their employee's intelligence and trust their Judgment in decision making.Store Managers are given responsibilities to deal with customers, contractors, landlords, and decisions in garments should be on sale at their individual stores. They place orders for the teems they think would sell, rather than simply accepting and displaying what headquarters decide to send them. Ezra has minimum invested in IT budget and has no formal process to set decisions for specific technology investments or projects. Usually senior management decides what new systems, if any, is required.Overall, there is very little Justification for IT efforts, which results in having no cost/benefit analysis for current and future projects. Also, Sara's business model uses POS terminal that runs on an outdated DOS operating system, which is not supported by Microsoft. This makes the operations such as ordering, fulfillment, design and manufacturing, and in-store operations inefficient. They also use handheld Pad's for ordering and for tasks such as handling garment returns to distribution centers and conveying information from headquarters to all stores. This causes redundancy.The POS terminals also makes it difficult to check in-store inventories, check inventories in other stores, and share information. The store managers would have to call to check for available SSW, which is a time consuming process. Finally, Ezra makes no use of the internet to make sales. The website is only there to maintain a presence. The issue for lack of internet sales is because the company's distribution center is not configured for picking up small orders and shipping to consumers. And, it is complicated to handle returns of merchandise bought online.The challenges above shows where Ezra can make the use of proper IT/IS infrastructure. Currently, Ezra has continued to use their systems without any changes to it. However, they have the opportunity to improve its infrastructure by investing in new IT systems. This proper implementation can also provide great opportunity for Ezra to improve its value ham operations. Before Ezra makes any decision regarding the upgrade of their old information system, they need to analyze the costs and benefits of the new system.A new operating system such as Linux, Windows, or UNIX, it will allow Ezra to develop capabilities on the outdated DOS software for POS terminals. As they install the new operating system on all the computers, they need to consider the costs of each operating system. For example, Linu x does not have one-time license cost, while Windows has a one-time license cost of ? ¬140 and UNIX of ? ¬160 per CUP]. Linux may offer the cheapest implementation costs for Ezra, but they have a higher ongoing costs, such as service contract cost that ranges from ? ¬10-? ¬150 per CUP].To upgrade the system Ezra will also have to install new hardware and replace the old POS terminals. The cost of POS terminals is ? ¬5000 per store, which will also require installation of new cables, routers etc. The wireless routers and Ethernet cost, staff training cost, software installation and maintenance cost, and the connectivity cost per store, will also add to the upgrade costs. Overall, if Ezra decides to use Linux operating system, the total cost for the initial year will be ? ¬ 56 million.This includes ? ¬ 379 thousand of operating cost and ? ¬ 2,777 million for non-operating (fixed), which is purchase of new POS terminals, wireless router and wireless Ethernet. If they us e Windows or UNIX, total initial cost will be ? ¬ 3,167 million or ? ¬ 3,175 million, respectively. This may be a very costly for the company, but it is a direct expense, which meaner the cost will depreciate over the years. For example, the total operating cost for Linux, Windows, and UNIX will decrease to ? ¬ 371 K, ? ¬ KICK, and ? ¬ ASK in the second year, respectively.The benefit of a new system will improve Sara's efficiency, which will directly influence their revenue. With the smooth communication among the stores and the headquarters, Ezra can better predict the future needs of material, and save cost by hedging them at a low cost. The system will also allow them to make clothes prototypes at a quicker rate and get a faster response from the customers. Therefore, there will be more sales, less cost, more revenue, and ultimately more profit. RECOMMENDATIONS I would recommend Ezra to upgrade their current system gradually. In the short term, there is no immediate nee d to upgrade the system.However, they need to make the changes over a long period of time. First, senior management should develop a formal IT department by hiring a COT to set decisions. Second, the new IT team should develop a strategy for the change. Third, they should develop a budget for implementing the whole upgrade. Once they have the strategy and budget in place, they should stop any more investments in the current systems and conduct a pilot test at one of their flagship store to collect data of its outcomes. Ezra should make the investments in stages. For example, the current Pads used for ordering are inconvenient.They should be replaced with convenient equipment such as the PC's. In addition, the Pads and POS are not connected. In order to improve the networking capabilities at each store, Ezra should switch from modem-based network to a broadband-based network. This will allow them to stay connected with the other stores as well as with the headquarters. POS terminals that operates on the outdated DOS system needs to be updated with a more modern and compatible operating system. As a result POS should have the customer based functionalities that will scored sales, returns, exchanges, etc.POS system should also handle functions such as inventory control, purchasing, and receiving and transferring of products to and from other locations. After the final stages, I strongly recommend to run the old and the new systems side by side, until the new system is operating smoothly. Finally, Ezra should use the internet to make online sales, and take advantage of the social media to promote itself. This can enhance their operations and ultimately increase revenue. Also, it will give them more competitive edge with the new competitors and the existing competitors.