The Restructuring of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Essays

The Restructuring of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Essays The Restructuring of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Essay The Restructuring of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Essay Application Exercise Strategic Management Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), where I am employed, is engaged and exploration, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum product across the country. In downstream product marketing BPCL, has bouquet of products on offer, ranging from Petrol, Diesel, to Aviation Fuel, to Cooking Gas to Auto Lubricants. It is a global major and ranked 225th in the Fortune Global 500 rankings of the worlds biggest corporations for the year 2012. The ChangeOpening up of the Indian economy in the nineties brought with it more competition and challenges to BPCL, kindled by the phased dismantling of the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) on petroleum products and emergence of additional capacities in the region in refining and marketing. Increasing globalisation, new products and services, and innovative marketing resulted in a very market savvy consumer. The production-based success philosophy of marketers was replaced by a customer-oriented philosophy.Bharat Petroleum took cognisance of this situation well in time and took radical steps to keep itself attuned to the changing times, realising that the future belongs to those who listen and adapt to their customers. Application of 7-S Framwork To assess the effectiveness of the implementation approach in BPCL in late 90s, I have applied below the 7-S Framework, which is based around seven key elements of any organisation, with the view that in order for it to operate successfu lly, all the elements in this model must align synergistically together.The factors are split into two groups: hard or soft. The hard elements are those that can physically be seen when in place, whereas the soft are more intangible and cannot readily be seen. Hard Elements| Soft Elements| Strategy| Shared Values| Structure| Skills| Systems| Staff| | Style| Shared Values Shared values are the pinnacle of the model and therefore in any organisation. They form the underpinning culture, strategy, effectiveness and performance, linking to every other element in this framework.They link all that is of the organisation: how people behave, the structure, its systems and so on. Getting this balance right means getting the culture right. In 1996, Bharat Petroleum went through a process of visioning, involving people at all levels, which evolved a shared vision and a set of shared values. Visioning exercise started with the board, facilitated by external consultants. The exercise was extended across the organization in a snowball approach flowing from top management to the junior management, facilitated by the external experts, specifically trained for this purpose.Thus emerged the core of the vision for BPCL which was owned by every management staff. The core of vision as articulated by the organisational members across the organization is given below – Be the Best| Make the workplace exciting| Improve boundary management| Fulfill social responsibilities, be ethical| Apply the best technology| Make systems strong and dynamic| Establish first-class brands and corp. image| Excellent customer care amp; service| Go for excellent performance and operational efficiency| Make people source of improvement|The visioning exercise the provided for articulation and aspirations of the people. The process brought the whole organization out of lethargy, increased the energy levels and expectations on individuals, teams and the organizations. Since, the vision was iterated thro ughout the organization, there was greater buyin for the change. Strategy Bharat Petroleum recognised that all strategic initiatives must conform to the overall vision of the Corporation and improve the economic value.Based on the assessment / visioning exercise carried out across the BPCL, following strategic gaps and opportunities emerged – 1. Collective dissatisfaction with status quo 2. Low customer focus and customer orientation 3. Huge gap between the vision and capabilities to achieve it a. Increase refining capacities to reduce the dependence on other oil PSUs for product support. Invest in refineries to cater to marketing aspirations in south, east amp; north India. b.Backward integration to invest in exploration and production to make up for the margins pressure in down stream activities. BPCL relentlessly worked towards fulfilling these gaps by taking following initiatives – Product Security Initiatives: To improve product security, BPCL acquired two standal one refineries – Kochi refinery (9. 5 MMTPA) in South and Numaligarh Refinery (3 MMTPA) in Assam. Investment in 9 MMTPA refinery in joint venture with Oman Refineries in Madhaya Pradesh to cater to Northern India, where BPCL was dependent on other PSUs for product support.Backend Integration Initiatives: Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL) was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary company of BPCL with the objective of implementing BPCL’s plans in the upstream exploration and production sector. The exploration and production activities of BPRL and its subsidiary companies extend to 26 exploration blocks where they hold participating interests (PI). Of this, 11 blocks are in India and 15 are abroad. Besides India, BPRL has blocks in Australia, Brazil, East Timor, Indonesia, Mozambique and the United Kingdom.BPRL’s total acreage in all these blocks is around 68,000 sq. km, of which approx 89% is offshore acreage. These blocks are in various stages of exploration w ith definite finds. Brand Initiatives: In the highly competitive scenario, it has become imperative to own dominant brands. BPCL introduced new generation branded fuels Speed, Hi Speed Diesel and Speed 97, to introduce premium fuel brands in the Country, keeping pace with the technological advancements in the automobile industry leading to introduction of new generation vehicles.BPCL also recognized the customer need for pure quality and correct quantity of fuel for their vehicles and launched the flagship initiative of Pure For Sure (PFS) offering the guarantee of pure quality and correct quantity of fuel to our customers. The petrol pumps displaying a prominent Pure For Sure signage became landmark destinations. Automotive Lubricants Initiatives: Bharat Petroleum launched the full range of Automotive Engine Oils, Gear Oils, Transmission oils, Specialty Oils and Greases under the umbrella brand MAK, offering range of benefits to the users of present day modern vehicles.Structure Th e older structure was functionally organized. There were mainly four functions – Refineries, Marketing, Finance, and Personnel – each headed by a Functional Director. Other support departments like corporate affairs, legal, audit, vigilance, coordination and company secretary were directly under Camp;MD. Whole of India was divided into four regions and further in 22 divisions. Each region was headed by Regional Manager who was incharge of all activities within the region. Across the marketing function, every individual and role was focused on multiple customer segments.Hence, there was low customer awareness in terms if unique needs of different customer segments and marketing strategy was formulated by people who were far from the customer and had low understanding of customers they were targeting. Thus the old structure had created a bottleneck between strategy formulators and implementers in terms of regional structure and between the field staff and the corporate o ffices and the refinery. The early traumatic experience of huge loss in market share amp; profitability in auto lubricants, after it’s deregulation in 1990, forced the strategists for due reflection.BPCL then embarked upon the journey of restructuring. Bharat Petroleum realised that, in the long run, success can only come with a total reorientation and change in approach with the customer as the focal point. In a proactive move to adapt to the emerging competitive scenario and support the emerging strategy (discussed earlier), function-based structure was carefully dismantled and replaced with a process-based one. This made the company more responsive to its customer needs. BPCL therefore was restructured into a Corporate Centre, Strategic Business Units (SBUs) and Shared Services and Entities.The organisational design comprising of five customers facing SBUs, viz. Aviation, Industrial and Commercial, LPG, Lubricants and Retail and one asset based SBU, viz. Refinery, is based on the philosophy of greater customer focus based on the specific needs of each customer segments. Systems Bharat Petroleum has always been on the forefront of harnessing technology initiatives for BPCL has been on forefront in harnessing technology, maximising efficiency and achieving greater customer satisfaction.Bharat Petroleum became the first PSU to implement Enterprisewide Resource Planning (ERP) solutions SAP. The challenge of SAP implementation was to ensure that all the integrated elements work seamlessly across the length and breadth of the country, including the remote locations. Bharat Petroleum reaped huge benefits of the integrated system in many areas of its operations like, tracking customer-receivables, monitoring credit-management, inventory management, besides easing the operations in a large number of areas. SkillsAs a Strategic Business Partner, HR supports skill-upgradation and multi-skilling of staff by identifying target segment and requirements from each SBU, evaluation of on the job performance post deployment in the job requiring those skills sets. BPCL designed Structured Standard programs’ which is implemented across the organization on BPCL Core Values amp; Culture / Identification and Development of Talent / Coaching Skills / Understanding of PMS Process and its timeliness / Understanding of New Manager Assimilation Process for Senior Managers having experience of handling a team.Impact of training is assessed and evaluated through proper framework. HR designed integrated Talent Management process with 360 degree assessment of all management staff on competencies, engagement and aspiration. Based on these inputs, individual development plans are designed. The purpose of the exercise is to ensure that talent is retained, encouraged and groomed to take over leadership position in near future. Staff Various HR initiatives were also taken by BPCL. Some of them are listed below –Engaging Employees: BPCL realizes tha t event based engagement is not sufficient instead employees needs continuous engagements so that their grievances are addressed, they are hand held, if needed, feel secured and appreciated and get committed to their work and corporation. Performance Planning amp; Appraisal System: PMS system in BPCL facilitates achievement of the Vision and Business Plans of the Corporation and foster development of every management staff, thereby gaining competitive advantage in the industry.The objectives of PMS in BPCL is to create awareness of Corporate and SBU/ Entity goals, translate such goals into tangible objectives and measures at the individual level through discussions between Appraiser and Appraisee, identify managerial attributes/ competencies for each role necessary to achieve the goals, establish a formal process of continuous feedback on performance and identify developmental plans to enhance performance.Manpower Planning: Based on inputs from SBUs / Entities, HR either relocate th e already employed resource from other facility, based on the strength of the employee and the job requirement or initiate the process of recruitment. Career Planning: To bring HR closer to work place, BPCL has embedded HR with each SBU / Entity, who hand hold these set-up in HR matters in consultation with central HR set-up.Every year, embedded HR, alongwith corporate HR to discuss the talent development, career planning of individual staff to decide on inter-functional movement and short to long term career path. Conclusion The Quantitative impact of re-structuring, which placed BPCL ahead of its time among Oil PSUs, has been amazing over the period of time and helped it embark on path of successive progress.

What Colleges Should I Apply To Making a College List

What Colleges Should I Apply To Making a College List SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With almost 4,000 colleges to choose from across the country, you may be asking yourself, "What colleges should I apply to?" How do you narrow thousands of schools down to just ten?The best way to streamline your college list is to divide it roughly equally between safety schools, matchschools, and reach schools. This guide will go over exactly what these terms mean and how tochoose the best schools for you. Before taking you through the process step by step, let’s review the research process as a whole. Making Your College List: Full Process This guide will go over a few important points, all for the purpose of helping you make your college list. Ultimately, your mission is to choose a few safety schools, a few match schools, and a few reach schools. First, you must understand what colleges are looking for in their applicants.To make your list, youshouldfocus most on yourGPA and SAT or ACT scores. Grades and scores typically aren’t the only important pieces of your application, but they’re sufficient to give you an estimate of your admissions chances.Once you know what your college expects, you can use PrepScholar's admissions calculator to see how yourcredentials stack up. This guide will go over each step of this process, starting with an explanation of how colleges evaluate candidates. As you read, keep in mind your primary mission: to make your idealcollege list. What Determines Your Chances of Getting Into College? If you’ve started down the college admissions road, then you probably have a good sense of what colleges look for in applicants. Most colleges fall into one of two categories when it comes to admissions decisions, those that use assured admissions and those that take a holistic approach. Read on to learn about both. Assured Admissions Assured admissions are pretty much based solely on grades and test scores. If you have a minimum SAT or ACT score and GPA, then the college will let you in. Oklahoma State and Washington State are two schools that use assured admissions. Several others offer assured admission for in-state residents, including state schools in California, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, and Nevada. If you live out of state, then other factors will become important too. Holistic Admissions Many other colleges take a holistic approach. In addition to your grades and test scores, they consider your extracurricular involvements, community service, and any internships, as well as the academic and personal qualities that come through your recommendation letters and personal essay. These colleges are seeking to get to know the â€Å"whole person,† including his/her interests and goals. Because these other elements come into play, it’s tough to make an exact prediction of whether or not you’ll get into a school. Competitive schools, like those in the Ivy League, can especially bea gamble. Even if you can’t know for sure whether you’ll get accepted, you can still estimate your chances of admission based on your GPA and SAT or ACT scores. Before delving into how to do this, let’s review why estimating your chances is a key part of making your college list. Colleges that use holistic admissions go beyond the numbers to learn about you from lots of different angles. Estimating Your Chances of Admission By understanding what colleges look for in their applicants, you can figure out which schools qualify as safety, match, or reach schools for you. You can focus on the average SAT/ACT scores and GPA of accepted students, while keeping in mind the other factors that come into play for holistic admissions schools. If your own scores and GPA are much higher than those of the average accepted student, then you might consider the school a safety. If the reverse is true, then it might be a reach school. To help you more precisely estimate your chances, we've developed a handy admissions calculator. Before showing you how to useit to make your list, let’s go over the different ways you canresearchyour colleges of interest. How Can You Find Data on Your Prospective Colleges? To estimate your chances of getting in, you should compare your grades and test scores to that of the average accepted student. So where can you find this information? There are three main sources: college search engines, official college websites, and PrepScholar’s college database. Let’s start with the search engines. 1. Use College Search Engines When you first start to research schools, college search engines can be your best friend. They let you set various filters, like GPA, test scores, location, and college size, to learn about schools. You can set as many or as few filters as you like and then explore what comes up. As you read, research, and perhaps visit campuses, you’ll start to narrow down your list to the top contenders. After using search websites, you might compile a list of 20 schools or so. Of course, sending 20 applications would takea lot of time and money, so you probably want to narrow it down to your top eight or nine. By taking a closer look at the schools’ expectations, you can further narrow down your list. Find out more about each school on its official website and PrepScholar’s database of schools. 2. Check Out the Official College Admissions Websites Your college research is sure to lead you to your college’s website pretty quickly. You can learn a lot about a college on its website, especially its admissions section. Most colleges publish data on the average GPA and SAT/ACT scores of accepted students each year. To find this info directly, you could try searching for â€Å"college name + average SAT scores† or â€Å"college name + average GPA.† To give you one example, the following graphic is lifted from NYU’s website. It shows the average GPA, SAT (math), and ACT of incoming freshmen. Every admissions site is different, and some only offered limited information. To find this data right away, head on over to PrepScholar’s database. Not only will you find information on your schools, but you’ll also find theadmissions calculator to estimate your chances! 3. PrepScholar’s Database and Admissions Calculator PrepScholar has a streamlined way for you to find the average test scores and GPA for your colleges. Simply search for the name of your college of interest plus PrepScholar to find this information, along with all the other application requirements. For instance, here’s PrepScholar’s information on NYU’s average SAT scores. In addition to learning what scores and grades you need, you can also use PrepScholar’s admissions calculator to estimate your chances. Simply input your grades and test scores. The example below shows the admissions chances of a student with a 2020 SAT score and 3.7 GPA. As you can see, a student with a 2020 on the SAT and 3.7 GPA has almost a 32% chance of admission. Of course, this is just an estimate as other factors come into play for a school like NYU that uses holistic admissions. As mentioned at the beginning of the guide, figuring out your admissions chances is a key step in making your college list. By understanding your chances, you can narrow down your list into safety, match, and reach schools. Read on for a precise definition of each and the steps for finding yours. Like a pup in his security blanket, make yourself comfortableby applying totwo to three safety schools. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. What’s a Safety School? Making your college list requires you to do someresearch on the colleges you’re interested in. Once you have a sense of their requirements, you can sort them into safety, match, and reach schools. Let’s start with your safeties. You might choose two to three safety schools for your final list. A safety school is one where your academic credentials are much stronger than thoseof the average accepted student. You feel relatively confident that you’ll get accepted. You might have an 80% or higher chance of admission, an estimate you can makewith ouradmissions calculator. As you saw above, some schools have assured admissions for all applicants or in-state residents. If you have one of these on your list, then you could consider it a safety school. Safety schools usually aren’t your first choice, but they should still be schools that you’d be happy to attend. So how can you go through the research process discussed above to find your two to three safety schools? How to Find Your Safety Schools As discussed above, you can look for information on your college’s official website and PrepScholar’s database. Let’s say, just to give an example, that you’re interested in the University of Mississippi. On its official website, you’ll find this information about regular admission: If you’re a resident of Mississippi and meet the GPA and test score requirement, then you have automatic acceptance (aka, assured admission). If this describes you, then you can definitely consider the University of Mississippi to be a safety school. If this doesn’t describe you or you still want to find more information, then you can consult PrepScholar’s database. You’ll find that the average GPA for the University of Mississippi is 3.46, the average SAT ranges from 980 to 1190 (excluding the Writing section), and ACT scores range from 21 to 27. Let’s say you’ve got a 1200 on your SAT and a 3.6 GPA. Plug in these stats to calculate your admissions chances, like so: As you can see, a student with these scores and GPA has an 81.33% chance of getting accepted. Since that’s greater than 80%, this student can consider the University of Mississippi to be a safety school. Go through this process and use the admissions calculator to find two to three safety schools where your chances of getting in are 80% or greater. Next, you can choose two to three match schools. Pick a match, but not just any match. Also, what kind of magic trick is this? Looks dangerous. What’s a Match School? Match schools, also known as on target schools, are schoolswhere you have a good, but not guaranteed, chance of getting accepted. Your academic credentials line upwith those of the average accepted student. While your safety schools might not be your first choice, match schools are typically ones you’d be excited to attend. So how can you pick out your match schools? These should be the schools where you have somewhere between a 30% and 80% chance of admission. Those on the lower end may be borderline reach schools, while those on the higher end are borderline safeties. Read on for a step-by-step example of finding a match school. How to Find Your Match Schools As mentioned above, you could consider a college to be a match school if you have between a 30% and 80% chance of getting in. Research your colleges’ requirements and head over to PrepScholar’s admissions calculator to estimate your chances. For instance, here’s a student interested in Purdue University. She has a 3.5 GPA and 1700 SAT score. So what are her chances of getting in? With this GPA and SAT score, the student has about a 39% chance of getting in. Remember that other factors come into play, so her extracurriculars, essay, and recommendation letters might boost (or weaken) her chances. Choose about three match schools across this range of 30% to 80% chance of admission. Once you've done that, you can finish your college list with a few reach schools. The final spots on your college list are reserved for reaches. This kid's actually reaching for a frisbee, not a college application. He's ten. What’s a Reach School? Once you’ve selected your safety and on target schools, you can pick a few reach schools. Often, reach schools are the ones that you aspire to and would love to attend, but can’t count on the fact that you’ll get in. Ivy League schools, by the way, should be considered a reach for just about any student, even if you have a perfect GPA and SAT/ACT score. Beyond the Ivies, you might consider any school where you have a 30% or less chance of getting in to be a reach school. For reach schools, the credentials of the average accepted student are stronger than yours. At the same time, they’re not so much higher than you have zero shot of getting accepted. Let’s go through an example of researching a reach school. How to Find Your Reach Schools Reach schools will make up the last one-thirdof your college list. In this next example, let’s consider Boston University. BU accepted students average a 3.59 GPA and 2080 SAT. A student with a 3.5 GPA and 1800 has about a 20% chance of getting in. Her chances aren’t impossible, but they’re certainly not guaranteed. While you should carefully craft all your college applications, you especially want to makea strong showing toreach schools. If your grades and test scores fall below expectations, then you should consider how you can present other aspects of your candidacy to give you an edge. Once you’ve chosen your reach schools, you should be just about finished with your college list! You’ll have about two to three each of safety schools, match schools, and reach schools. While your chances of getting accepted will help you narrow down your list, there are several other considerations when picking your colleges. Let’s review a few of the most important. In addition to estimating your chances of getting accepted, make sure to research financial aid! Some colleges these days seem to think this is what theaverage student's dorm room looks like. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Making Your College List: 3 Extra Tips So far, this guide has mainly focused on the hard data of picking schools. To help you make concrete choices about your safety, match, and reach schools, you can focus on the numbers: average SAT/ACT scores, average GPA, and your chances of admission. Beyond estimating your chances, you should also consider other factors when making your college list. There are a number of factors to think about, but for the purposes of this guide,let’s focus on three main tips. Consider Financial Aid Financial aid is a huge factor for many students. If you’re one of them, then it should definitely factor into your application plans. In addition to figuring out your chances of admissions, research your schools’ financial aid policies. While you can’t always predict what your financial aid package will look like, you can get a sense of how much each school will meet demonstrated financial need. If you get in and can’t afford to attend, then the notions of safety, match, and reach schools are irrelevant. Make sure your schools representrealistic options. On a similar note, make sure that all the schools on your list are ones that you’d be reasonably happy to attend. Only Apply to Schools That You’d Like to Attend While your excitement about schools is sure to vary, you should still be reasonably excited about all of them. Students sometimes treat safety schools as throwaways, but that approach is unwise. Your safeties are on your list for a reason, and you don’t want to end up feeling stuck or without options. There are tons of schools throughout the country. If you haven’t found at least two to three safeties, match, and reach schools that you like, then keep looking! Find YourBest Fit Finally, a lot of other factors go into your college search than estimating your chances of admission. When you start using college search engines, you’ll start to think about what you’re looking for, in terms of school size, location, majors, extracurricular offerings, or even internship or study abroad opportunities. While you might not be sure what you plan to do or study, you should still take advantage of this time to self-reflect. Consider what excites you and what you like to study and do. Some students are swayed by a school’s reputation or prestige, but they should consider the level of fit even more seriously. Fit is a two-way street. Find a place where you think you’ll enjoy studying and living for the next four years of your life! In closing, let’s go over the key points to remember about making your college list. As long as you do your research, you can feel confident about your college list! Conclusion: What Colleges Should I Apply To? There’s no magic number of colleges to apply to, but a good total for most students is between eight and ten. About one-thirdof these can be safety schools, one-third can bematch schools, and the remaining one-third can bereach schools. To figure out your safeties, matches, and reaches, you shouldresearch your chances of admission. PrepScholar’s admissions calculator offers a great way to plug in your GPA and test scores and estimate your chances. Over 80% chance of admission qualifies as a safety, between 30% and 80% falls into a match school, and under 30% is a reach. Highly selective schools, like the Ivies, are pretty much reaches for everyone, even students with perfect grades and test scores. By taking advantage of data and the admissions calculator, you can gain a realistic understanding of your chances and put together a well-researched college list. Once you have your schools chosen, you can focus on putting together the strongest application you can! What’s Next? What other factors go into choosing a college? If you’re wondering which college you should attend, check out this great guide on how to choose! Will you be applying for financial aid? This comprehensive guide takes you through the FAFSA application process, step by step. Are college applications a financial burden for you? Learn about how you can get a college application fee waiver here. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Should the U.S. Stop Buying Some Imported Foods Essay

Should the U.S. Stop Buying Some Imported Foods - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that in recent years there has been increasing consumer demand for imported food within the U.S., with a desire for numerous varieties of exotic food and out-of-season foods, fueling the controversy over whether allowing so much imported food into the U.S. is in our collective best interest. Legislation has been passed to improve inspection of imported food, but it would be too expensive to inspect all of it. My position is that the U.S. should stop buying food imported from some countries because it puts our public health at risk, undermines the U.S. economy, and puts the U.S. at increased risk for bioterrorism. Imported food increasingly puts our public health at a greater risk   One reason for this is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety testing has been cut in half since 2003 and the number of FDA employees involved in food testing has dropped 12 percent.   Only 1.3 percent of imported food was inspected in 2006. This has been enough to erase the gains made in inspections following 9-11 when concern about the safety of imported food was the highest. Imported food faces the same health risks as food grown locally, which in recent times has caused E. coli and Salmonella food poisoning illnesses. But it would be much more expensive for FDA inspectors to inspect the farms and other sources of tainted food when it is overseas if they were even given the authority. These problems make limiting imported food appears to be a wise choice, in order to avoid outbreaks of disease.

Different elements of a contract Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Different elements of a contract - Assignment Example The next element of a contract is the acceptance. An acceptance is â€Å"an expression of absolute and unconditional agreement to all the terms set out in the offer. It can be oral or in writing. The acceptance must exactly mirror the original offer made†(Smithies, 2007). The offer should be accepted without any conditions. If there are any changes, modifications or additions in the original offer made, it is considered as a counter-offer which must also be accepted by the offeror. A counter-offer cannot be considered as an acceptance. An example of this is when the offer price for a car is $20,000 and the offerer gets back at the offeror and asks that the price instead be $18,500. The legal consideration is that thing of value which the parties to a contract must receive(Smithies, 2007). A contract will only be binding if it is supported by something of value. For a contract to be valid, the persons entering into a contract should have the legal capacity to do so. This means that they should not have any mental impairment; they must be of legal age, i.e. they are not minors and must not be prisoners(Fitzroy Legal Service Inc., 2010). For example, a person who is suffering from autism cannot enter into a contract with another person because of his mental impairment. He might be entering into an agreement which he does not fully understand, which is not fair for him and the other party.

Software Requirement Specifications

Software Requirement Specifications 2.1.1 Proposed Method Fig.2.1 Block Diagram of D.A.P.S It is dependent on core Harvard Architecture and ARM9263 choosing individual data and command buses. The ARM9 processor commands are accomplish by means of the five stage pipelining. The clock frequency of the ARM9263 processor is too high evaluated to ARM7 processor. ARM9263 processor might accomplish the instructions in a single clock cycle. This processor also chains gazelle equipment which supports java byte codes. Data acquisition processes, as the name consult to appliances and procedures utilized to accumulate the suggestions. In the most basic form, a technician working the temperature of a range on a section of paper is carrying out data acquire. Development has enhanced, this type of strategy has easy and produced more appropriate, important and effective through electronic apparatus. Data acquiring appliances serve as an significant point in a system. Data Acquisition strategy tying along a wide variety of appliances, such as detectors is used to show temperature, flow level and demand. Communication is depending on the information acquisition appliances, those appliances are interfaced with a device through the transmission port. The more frequently used communicating interface for the inadequate distances is RS-232. In RS-232 the correspondence is serial communication for one appliance to one computer by using communication port. The performance of the RS232 up to 115 K baud (bits per second).RS422 and 485 equally will have the capability to interact more distances with the numerous units. Two common parallel communication interfaces are generally the Centroid and IEEE-488. An analog to digital Converter is a device that can transfer the unbroken physical assortment to a digital number that symbolizes the quantitys shift. The substitution involves concerning quantizing of the input. It is appropriate to propose a small measure of error. An ADC performs the conversion (samples the input) occasionally. The consequences will be the sequence of digital values that have modified a continuous-time and continuous-amplitude analog signal to a discrete-time and the discrete-amplitude digital signal. An ADC is characterized by its bandwidth and its signal to noise. The DAPS cell is analyzed for negative ions recognition. The design RDX TNT are launched into the assortment, as a unique sample and incorporate sample. In equally the cases estimated result is described. The first condition of a DAPS system is a appropriate ion source. The source is usually a beta emitter. In a dry air system the ionic species generate are pre-dominantly N+2 or O+2Positive ions and O−2 negative ions. These ions are referred as reactant ions. When molecules of the illustration species are introduce into the ion source region these molecules will be interact with the reactant ions. A charge transfer will take place creating ions of the sample species. TNT will experience charge transfer reactions, TNT + A → TNT Â ± A, RDX will give the ion-molecule reactions with the reactant ions, RDX + A− → (RDX Â ± A). The abridged ion mobility time corresponds to the molecular weights of the addition compounds [RDX-O (H2O)] −,[RDX-O2]−. Therefore, the resultant IMS plasma gram of RDX contains 4 distinct peaks. These ionic species will move in the direction of the ion gate under the authority of the electric field. The polarity of the final controls, unstable substances form negative ions, most of the narcotics, like heroin and cocaine, form positive ions. In the float region the test ions move subordinate the determine of the utilized electric field. Because to the collision among the sample ions and the substance gas molecules, the interval will be proceeding counting on the mobility of the test ions. Ions with a greater mobility will travel the distance of the substance region in a shorter time. The mobility of the ions might count on their size, mass and shape of the ions. For the individual opening of the electronic gate, a produce of the electronic charge symbolizing assorted ionic species in the preview will arrive at the ion collector detached in time. The range of the ion current is consult to as a plasma gram. The ion mobility spectrometrys distinguished strength is the performance at which separations happen typically on the prescribe of tens of milliseconds. This ability combined with its convenience of use, very high sensitivity, and highly efficient design have authorized IMS as a commercialized product to be used as a schedule tool for the field recognition of explosives, drugs, and chemical weapons. Significant manufacturers of IMS testing devices utilized in airports are Morph and Smiths Awareness. The ion source in the submit IMS is depending on the corona discharge in aim to plane geometry. The happening chamber is created of Teflon cylinder with 50 mm inner diameter. A power in the form of parallel tungsten wires (diameter 100 Â µ m) with comparative distance of 1 mm signifies the plain electrode of the corona discharge. The detail electrode is made of tungsten wire (diameter 50 Â µ m) which is installed in a ceramic tube situated in the axis of the release chamber. The position of this tube is to hold the aim electrode in the demanded position and it also acts as a gas inlet. The range amongst the tip of the wire and the popular electrode can be modified by transferring the ceramic tube together the axis of the discharge chamber. In prescribe to accomplish the maximal ion present was the point to plane length varied in the range 3 12 mm. In the excellent corona the maximal current was discovered at 4 mm point to plane range and the ignition voltage was in the range 2-2. 5 kV. The optimum ion current is restricted by the recombination of ions on the plane electrode (corona grid). The proportion of the ions found by the grid to the ions that move the grid is proportional to the ratio E2/E1, where E1 is the strength of electric field in the move tube and E2 is the strength of electric field in the release chamber. The response region consists of several parallel electrodes, divided by Teflon seals. The extent of the reaction region can be diverse, based on number of used electrodes. The first electrode in the response region is particularly designed and its work is to avoid the dissemination of the test gas into the discharge chamber. Two ports for the gas recess and for the gas outlet are generating into this electrode. The majority of the electrodes have the requirement dimensions similar with the electrodes utilized in drift tube. An electric shutter network is placed at the end of the response region. The shutter grid is one of the most significant parts of the IMS. Its role is to keep the ions in response region and to inject the ions into the drift region. The grid is made of similar wires, located in one plane perpendicular to the axis of the spectrometer. The wires are on the electric potential , where VD is the potential of the drift tube at the place of the shutter, and is closing potential between adjacent wires. This potential creates an electric field perpendicular to the electric field formed by the drift tube. As the ions pursue electric field, they hit the grid wires and lose their charge due to recombination processes. If a short circuit is created between the grid wires then the electric potential of the wires is VD and there is no perpendicular electric field generated by the grid, the cover up is opened. The ions are able to enter the drift region. The generating of the secured grid might manage the resolution and understanding of the spectrometer. This is because of to the influence of the normal electric field to the float electric field. The important electric field immediate the grid is offered by deposition of these two fields. If the vertical field is to strong the gate diminution effect occurs. If the normal field is too weak, the quickly ions can go using into the drift location even if the gate is blocked. A constant position in the spectra is existential in this case. The adequate value of the shutter grid electric field is in the aspect from 1 to 10 of the electric field in the float tube. 2.2 Purpose The objective of these software requirement specifications is to capture the customer requirements both functional and non-functional for the project. This serves as the input for the Software Design Document. 2.2.1 Assumptions Connectivity between ADC board and AT91 board will be available. Continuous illustrations are coming from ADC and are stored on AT91 board memory. Porting the submission from one platform to another platform is potential with difficulties. Interfaces of LCD, TS (touch screen) are in the working condition. 2.2.1.1. Definitions, Abbreviations and Acronyms 2.3 Ion mobility spectrometer data acquisition display unit IMS show unit conveys, analyses and demonstrates the wave and capabilities of explosive test created in the Drift tube sampler unit. Fig.2.2 Block diagram of IMS Unit Fig.2.3 IMS Unit Experimental layout Functional Description 1. As the unit is switched ON observe the Power LED (green) ON the front panel of the IMS display unit. 2. To calibrate the TFT TS LCD touch the dot sequence will be appearing on the Screen. 3. Touch the CAPT button to start sampling of explosive material placed in sampler. 4. Although the selections of the explosive information are being accumulated and came out, when the examples collection is more than and notice the bursting material recognized in Red colour combined with buzzer move and majority of all other components in green. (In the understanding software will do assessment of data recorded with the accumulated explosive library to understand the occurrence of explosive in the design introduced. If explosive is recognized, software estimate drift-time. If the data grabbed matches with any of the bursting library, the individual explosive screen will modification RED from GREEN. With screen proceeding RED, it’s an evidence of occurrence of explosive and the buzzer will blow. To stop the buzzer audio push CLRB button. 5. To view the wave and characteristics of the material detected touch the material appeared in Red color. Zoom option is provided to view the graph clearly by touching Zoom button. 6. To navigate from any page to main page touch on Menu button. Data acquisition is the process of sampling the signals that to measure real world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into digital numeric values. These values can be manipulated by the computer. Data acquisition systems typically convert the analog waveforms into digital values for their processing. The components of data acquisition systems include: The Sensors that they will convert the physical parameters to the electrical Signals. A Signal conditioning circuitry is used to convert the sensor signals into a form that can be converting to the digital values. Analog-to-digital converters, which converts the conditioned sensor signals to digital values The Data acquisition and processing samples of explosives represents the detection of explosive materials like TNT, RDX, NACRO etc. it is generally called as Ion-Mobility Spectrometer .It is used to detect the explosives based on the drift velocity of the generated ions. Drift tube generates the ions from the samples placed. Based on the drift velocity of the ions, generated current will vary. As Drift tube output is connected to the pre-amplifier, the drift tube output voltage in turn depends on the drift velocity of samples. The pre amplifier output is connected to the ADC board (THS1206), which is integrated with the ARM board (AT91SAM9263). ADC converts the continuous analog signal to discrete Digital values. DAPS appropriate the output voltage of the pre amplifier utilizing ADC, depending on the peak appreciate of the accumulated ADC sample data, move time is calculated. Drift Time chosen by the pattern is opposed with the obtainable library data. If the move time utilized by the sample complements with any of the move time values chosen in the library, alarm will be round and the name of the sudden detected is exhibited along with the Attributes like ADC peak voltage benefits (in volts) time (in milliseconds). The Complete unit kept in a big chamber and that is having high voltage power supply.

The Future of Food

THE FUTURE OF FOOD You might think you know everything about the foods that you eat or place on the plates for your family, but you have no idea. The Future of Food is a documentary that reveals appalling or should I say shocking information regarding our crops that are grown in the U. S. today and how big corporations are taking over and altering the foods that we eat through science, all because of corporate greed.What’s even more terrifying is that majority of consumers have no clue that genetically modified foods are everywhere including the shelves at their local grocery stores. These big biotech agricultural companies are genetically modifying our foods with dangerous pesticides, viruses and foreign DNA, not knowing or really caring about what effects this will have towards the consumers and our ecosystems in the future. Well if you thought that was bad news let me just say that’s only the tip of the iceberg and also to let you guys know that what’s worse i s there is no laws in the U.S. that requires these companies to label the GMO foods. What these large companies do is go and patent every seed they can claim, not just in the U. S. but the entire world, basically stealing the creations of nature and claiming them to be their own, a process known as â€Å"biopiracy. † We all thought we were safe because that’s what the USDA, EPA and FDA are here for, to protect us and make sure that our foods that we ingest are safe, harmless and not contaminated.I’m sorry to say that the same people who run the USDA, EPA, and FDA are the same most powerful leaders of these big agricultural companies. This documentary was such an eye-opener to what is going on with our food supply industry. After watching this film I was so sickened on what our country has become. I mean to be apart of these big biotech agricultural companies, you must be really demonic, no heart and especially no conscience at all. How do these people at the top just keep doing what they’re doing treating the masses like lab rats?I love science and how its contributed so much to our world, but people who take advantage of it such as these large corporations have really taken it to the next level. These biotech agricultural companies are claiming to come to a rescue with a new breed of genetically modified crops that can produce more food for the world, but news flash last I heard was that there are still millions of people out there starving with no food availability.In the documentary they stated that the, â€Å"FDA continues to insist that the U. S. public has no right to know which foods are genetically modified because it might confuse them. † Wow, do I feel insulted as a fellow American. I mean is that what our society has become? Practically everyone in the world including Europeans and Canadians have actually banned any type of genetically modified exports from the U. S. but we are still on this GMO food ban wagon or w e’re just really naive people who have no clue what is going on with our world. As of today, I still can’t believe our own people at the top of our society would exploit their own fellow Americans, but thanks to this documentary for making me aware and educating me as a consumer about these GMO foods. I would definitely recommend this documentary to everyone and maybe the more people that become aware the faster we can ban these genetically modified crops in our food supply.

A3 Civil Rights Citizenship And Participation - 1216 Words

Unit 3: Civil Rights, Citizenship, and Civic Participation This Unit Activity will help you meet these educational goals: Inquiry Skills—You will identify and analyze real-world public problems, contribute appropriately to public deliberations, evaluate and use evidence, develop explanations and make persuasive arguments in support of your conclusions, and communicate your conclusions. 21st Century Skills—you will employ online tools for research and analysis, use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, independently raise questions and pursue leads, and communicate effectively. Introduction This unit ties together the ideas of individual rights and civil rights that is protected by the Constitution. In the first task of this†¦show more content†¦That really changed my views on people I would hope our country could change and work on that to make this country a better place. b. Next, find out who represents you in the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, or your state congressional body. If you don’t already know who represents you, use this find your representative tool to identify the various people who represent you. In the space below, note which representative you have chosen and why. Type your response here: I choose Georgia Hiller because she is a woman and she is a representative and it shows that women can have power too. c. Now that you’ve chosen your topic and someone to write to, write your letter. Use the Process section below to help you figure out how to approach your letter. Make sure your letter includes an explanation of the issue you’ve picked and why it is important to you. Suggest at least one way you think the issue could be addressed by your congressperson or by the government. Optionally, have a fellow student do a peer review of your letter before you turn it in. Once your teacher has graded your letter, send it on to your representative. __________________________________________________________________________ Process Follow the steps below to complete your essay, and use the links provided to assist with your research and writing. When you have finished your essay,Show MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesCredits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any formRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesYork ß Oxford University Press 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database r ight Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproductionRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 PagesAptara ®, Inc. and printed and bound by Courier/Westford. The cover was printed by Courier/Westford. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright  © 2009, 2006, 2004, 2001, 1998, 1995, 1992, 1989, 1986, 1981, 1976 John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108Read MoreHuman Resources Management150900 Words   |  604 Pages†¢ HR Planning †¢ Job Analysis †¢ HR Information and Assessment Systems EN VI R O NM L TA EN Employee and Labor/Management Relations Equal Employment Opportunity †¢ Compliance †¢ Diversity †¢ Affirmative Action †¢ HR Policies †¢ Employee Rights and Privacy †¢ Union/Management Relations S IZ E Health, Safety, and Security †¢ Health and Wellness †¢ Safety †¢ Security GOALS †¢ Productivity †¢ Quality †¢ Service Staffing †¢ Job Analysis †¢ Recruiting †¢ Selection CU †¢ Wage/Salary AdministrationRead MoreStrategic Human Resource Management View.Pdf Uploaded Successfully133347 Words   |  534 PagesStrategic Human Resource Management, Second Edition by Charles R. Greer Copyright  © 2001, 1995 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. A Pearson Education Company Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Compilation Copyright  © 2003 by Pearson Custom Publishing All rights reserved. This copyright covers material written expressly for this volume by the editor/s as well as the compilation itself. It does not cover the individual selections herein that first appeared elsewhere. ii Permission to reprint these