Cyclermate Report Group Essay Example for Free

Cyclermate Report Group Essay Many striking features of Cyclermate Company are shown clearly through its expertise workforce. It has skillful engineers gathered together to meet the volume on time. Besides, the high quality of the hand-made product is another crucial reason making its business expand. In addition, the word-of-mouth reputation is another major factors help this business succeeds. Furthermore, it takes advantages of the relatively low prices of commercial and industrial property. B. WEAKNESSES It is obvious that shambolic production process has heavily damaged the sales and profits gained. Unsuitable roles and duties division can be blamed for this problem. Some have to manage so many duties and tasks while others own so much spare time. Furthermore, the aging workforce endangers the productivity level. Another obstacle worsens the condition is the weak  training system. Fred, who is 18 years old, is a new worker in the field so it takes so much time to train him which also harms the production recently. Also, old machinery such as traditional spaying technique, painting and low-quality stock control technology needs updating as soon as possible if the business hopes to improve the production and sales in the coming time. Moreover, decline in sales show that marketing strategy of this company has problems. Apparently, it should be considered to be changed to online selling or online promotion immediately because globalization is widespread and making use of cyberspace is not a bad idea at all, in fact, many companies mostly succeed thanks to effective marketing campaign and successful advertising methods. Traditional adverts on national papers are no longer popular in our modern times. Besides, the managerial system also has matters. The managerial system inside the company such as company cultures, employee behavior, etc requires strict control, however, Lewis Llewellyn focus more on production issues and Dai on external relations. Obviously, the company is in serious shortage of labor and executive managers. Lastly, financial matters such as loss of profitability and rising overdraft are causing bad reputation and rapid fall in the share price. C. OPPORTUNITIES The product they selected was a â€Å"traditional† upright cycle, following a design typical of the 1940’s and 1950’s which created a strong niche market for this such product and would be given the upsurge in interest in cycling and the increasing consumer interest in â€Å"retro† styles. Another opportunity is that there would be a strong growth in their business because of the decrease in the number of people using cars. The opportunity created from the meeting between Amstrong and Owen helps him to have some expertise in new technologies that might be an interesting way to develop product. The upcoming changes in human resource, followed by Mr Jones who interjected that the quality problems could probably all be solved if the directors would allow the employment of more staffs in the factory and the plans for future directions, including development of the product range, and the introduction of new ways of working, new materials and possible outsourcin g of manufacture parts of the product manufacture point out the new development of their business. D. THREATS It can be seen that the biggest trouble Cyclermate is facing is their bad credits toward the bank. In 2010, the business is in trouble, the demand keeps going down despite the price reduction. This significant decrease in sales together with the increase in costs may last for the coming year. Therefore, Cyclermate’s overdraft is now becoming the major concern of the bank manager. So far, it is not easy for them to borrow money and this cause a lot of problem especially when they really need money to save their business. Besides, they also need to deal with their sales. Their customers demand high quality products and to meet this, they have to upgrade their producing system which will cost a lot. But, as the fact that they almost depend on their world-of-mouth reputation so it may be completely strange and challenging for them at first. 2. PEST analysis A. POLITICAL FACTORS Strict safety standard and consumer protection laws are Cyclermate’s priority. By 2010, their products continuously cause accidents. Customers keep complaining about the quality and faults in the products. One even got risk and intends to sue the company due to an accident purportedly caused by incorrectly assembled front brake. These mistakes made Cyclermate become a target of health and safety agencies. They have to improve the quality or else they can be stuck in authorized issues. On the other hand, they also need to achieve higher standard in manufacturing to meet requirements of the market, especially foreign markets. B. ECONOMIC FACTORS In a condition of high petrol prices recent years, many entrepreneurs find difficulties in producing and running their own business. Electricity is not an exception. Moreover, with the high cost in during manufacturing such as materials, facilities, the cost of products in the market does not avoid increasing. That is also the essential reason explaining the consumption in the world is in downward trend High costs also influence on delivery of this company, it prevents to expand the brand name and products to customers who live far away. Furthermore, it also interfere the import or export process because of tax, and ship costs. Finally, after wasting much money to purchase materials, or investing facilities and technology, spending on  marketing or delivery and paying salaries for their workers, the last profits of Cyclermate Ltd cannot be good and high. If the sales of this company are not able to improve, the worst case will happen is to go bankrupt, seriously. Cyclermate Ltd receives high competition from market because many rivals open more and more factory to produce bicycles in England, such as Carrera, Charter Lea. The competitiveness is higher and higher when there are new styles, color and reasonable price from competitors. The customers have lots of choices to select and purchase a bicycle which is stylish and suitable price. Another factor in economics that affects to the development of Cyclermate Ltd is labor. The unemployment rate is increasing, therefore, this is a good chance for this company to choose worker more easily, and employ them easily with affordable price. C. SOCIAL FACTORS High-speed innovation as well as the increasing demands of consumers requires Cyclermate to change and improve every day. Firstly, living standard of clients can affect to their choices. The higher income distribution they get, the higher demands they require. For example rich people want to ride an expansive and showy retro bicycle, but another client with medium wages just want to ride a nice quality bicycle. This point makes Cycler mate to diversify their price which is suitable for everyone in this communication. Besides price, design and color could be elements would make people to buy Cyclermate bicycle. The variation in design as well as color will attract children and teenager and give clients more options. Moreover, helpful accessories and functions are also important things that will affect to the survival of Cyclermate. A useful bicycle which is light and keep money in or save space in house will be the best choice for everyone. In addition, a friendly-environment Cyclerma te bicycle will be more popular and keep up with the friendly-environment trend in the world. D. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS In parallel of development of economics, high technology involves specifically the Internet. The Internet is used worldwide and it becomes a necessary tool for many customers to order online. It is extremely convenient and quick to book or order in the Internet instead of calling or going directly to offices. Cyclermate Ltd is using the oldest way to  advertise their products by posting advertisement in traditional newspapers. It has limited their goods to the customers. Instead, this company can set up its own website. They can post products, events, activities of company in to that page in order to customers following easily. Facebook is the possible choice of any entrepreneurs, because the customers can catch the new trend in this page. Moreover, the Internet is the cheapest method for advertising. More and more clients require high quality of products. Therefore motivation or investment money on modern manufacturing system is extremely important. It reflects not only the assura nce about quality but also confirm the level position of company. With high level and the most modern machinery, the company will surely create trust to customers. 3. Financial Ratios Analysis A. THE DIFFICULTIES: Liquidity and debt ratios: †¢ Current ratio = Current assets/Current liabilities =0.85 †¢ Quick ratio = (Current assets – Inventories) / Current liabilities = 0.76 †¢ Debt ratio = Total debt / Total assets = 0.38 By analyzing the financial ratios, it is easy to recognize that the quick ratio is less than one, which means the chance that the company can pay off its debt by using most liquid assets is quite low. Besides, it shows that the majority of inventories are stored and not effectively managed, that is why current ratio is at such high level, which also means low sales and low revenue gained. Moreover, the company relies on the bank loan as the main monetary support. B. SOLUTIONS: First of all, there is one obvious answer to the financial difficulty is that Cyclemate Ltd can lease or mortgage their freehold land costing $160,000 to gain more money and solve the situation right away. Therefore, it can prove their strength to survive in the future so the company gain more trust from the bank for future investment. Secondly, the company is in severe lack of cash (only $675 left) so of course any borrowing loan from the bank could easily turned down. The solution to this issue is that they should strictly resolve and for the trade debtors to repay the loans as soon as possible. The amount of $200,571 would help the financial situation better in the  coming time. Once their assets are raised through and their liquidity are proved to be valuable enough to afford the loan, it will be beneficial for them to borrow money from the banks. Additionally, cost in selling and distribution could be possible declined to save more money for the company such as cutting cost for postage and courier charges by substituting by cheaper service, as well as the travelling and hospitality. Those indirect costs contribute such high cost to the manufacturing of the cycles, restricting them would help boost the sales with cheaper price. Last but not least, the aging workforce is also another worry. If we can lay off some workers and hire cheaper labor for cleaning and other odd activities, it could save money for paying wages. In the meantime, experienced workers still remain the same with appropriate amount of salary; no necessary change should be applied. 4. Manufacturing procedure and improvements A. IMPROPER WORKFORCE IN MANUFACTURING: Unreasonable workforce division is one of the most serious problems of Cyclermate Ltd. Besides, lack of experienced employees and the aging workforce are worrying the production process and raising a big question for a more effective training system. First of all, the inappropriate division of duties obviously had made such a burden on many workers. In particular, Dai Armstrong has to deal with many tasks such as making all the frames, factory manager and business director at the same time. He himself also finds it hard to keep up the level of production (approximately 8 frames/day) because it requires the harsh physical demands. Moreover, assembly is a complex process, which takes 2 or 3 hours for one person. Janice Jones and Ffred Gregory often have to work overtime to catch up with the progress. As a result, their health and time issue could be heavily damaged. Also, packaging is not responsibility of certain worker, anyone who has spare time can do that. If nobody has to complete their own part, without any time to do this, the packaging won’t be accomplished on time. ↠ A good answer for this problem is that the company should require clear division to who is able to undertake and separate arrangement of duties. Specifically, assigning other qualified person on frame-making position so that Mr. Dai could concentrate and dedicate himself to external relations business only. Assuming that the financial situation of the company gets  better, the company should consider hiring more experienced labor for assemble line and frame-making because Mr Dai can no longer put up with the physical requirement of the task. With those simple tasks like packaging, it is acceptable for free hand employees to help out, but only when they finished all their tasks. Besides, the fact that workforce is getting older is also causing big troubles for the company because the manufacturing requires adaptation to changes and new demands every single day. Meanwhile, some workers are close to retired age. For example, Idris Pugh undertakes wheel manufacture; however, he is now in his seventies. Therefore, low efficiency always appears in the factory even Idris is a perfectionist, whose wheels are always absolutely true, and never causing any complaints ↠ In this case, the company can consider employ cheaper labor that are suggested by Maldwyn Jones: Chinese or Taiwanese labor to make the machine for them- much better quality but half the price and move Idris Pugh to higher position as a supervisor for the whole wheel-making process. Last but not least, the training system creates such obstacles for the assembly process. Typically, Fred, who is 18 years old, is a new and un-experienced person, the training for him is necessary, however, not easy at all. It takes so much time to instruct Fred in traditional way which is apparently the cause of slow production recently. ↠ In order to solve it, Fred needs to be on-the-job trained and separately from working hours. Perhaps letting Idris Pugh to be a trainer for Fred is the best measure to take because with such experience, he can taught Fred who is 18 years old and save time for others people focus on completing their own tasks. By doing this, assembly area could be worked with maximum speed and capacity without interruption. Production activity can maintain its working pace.

macbeth translation Essay -- essays research papers

Scene i: Play opens on eerie, macabre note in "an open place," where we see the three witches, the "weird sisters." In a dozen lines, they announce their evil nature by saying "Fair is foul,and foul is fair/Hover through the fog and the filthy air," and their intention to meet with Macbeth once the "hurly-burly" of a battle between the forces loyal to the King Duncan (led by Macbeth) and a rebels army (led by the current Thane of Cawdor) comes to an end. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene i) Scene ii: At the camp of the Scottish King Duncan, a wounded officer tells the king and his son, Malcolm, about the heroism of Macbeth and his friend Banquo in the fight against the rebels. News shortly arrives that the battle has now been won. Duncan orders the execution of the captured Thane of Cawdor and then transfers this title and estate to Macbeth, the new Thane of Cawdor.(Jump to the text of Act I, Scene ii) Scene iii: Set on a heath, the three witches coven together again. They brag about their unnatural deeds and their powers over the supernatural world. Macbeth and Banquo appear on what Macbeth describes as an unusually, "foul and fair" day. The three witches predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and ultimately king of Scotland, and that his cohort Banquo will never rule. Macbeth pleads with them for more information about his future, but they vanish. Two of the king's men (Rosse and Angus) tell Macbeth about his elevation to the position of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo are taken aback by the accuracy of the witches' prediction. For his part, Macbeth is by now inclined to believe that it is his fortune to become king. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene iii) Scene iv: At Duncan's castle, the king, Malcolm and another of the king's sons, Donalbain, greet Macbeth and Banquo. Duncan announces that he will visit Macbeth at the new Thane's castle near Inverness, and then names his oldest son Malcolm as successor to the throne. Macbeth says that he will go to Inverness in advance to prepare for the king's arrival. But in a stage aside, Macbeth speculates that Malcolm is an additional obstacle to his attainment of the throne as prophesied by the witches. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene iv) Scene v: At Macbeth's Inverness castle, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband, in which he convey... ...ane. Macbeth realizes what this means in terms of the prophecies, but vows to fight on, still assured that no man born of woman can kill him. (Jump to the text of Act V, Scene v) Scene vi: Malcolm, Macduff and a lord of their party, Siward, prepare to assault the walls of Macbeth's castle. (Jump to the text of Act V, Scene vi) Scene vii: Macbeth appears in armor and kills Siward. He encounters Macduff and the two duel throughout the remainder of the scene. (Jump to the text of Act V, Scene vii) Scene viii: As the fight between them continues, Macduff tells Macbeth that he is not a "natural" product of his mother's womb, that he was prematurely ripped from it and (technically) is "not of woman born." Macbeth faces the challenge bravely, telling his foe to "Lay on, Macduff." Macduff does just that and kills Macbeth. Macduff appears carrying Macbeth's severed head and hails Malcolm as the new king of Scotland. Malcolm says that when he is crowned, he will make Macduff and his supporters Earls of the realm as they all celebrate the triumph over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the evil that they wrought in Scotland. (Jump to the text of Act V, Scene viii)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Essay

   The setting in both books is mainly in the 18th century where there wasn’t anything too modern which helped add the theme of gothic horror to the reading audience as in those times it was a lot darker and more horrifying. In an Interview with a vampire the story is set over 200 years. Showing as the theme of gothic horror in the book decreases, as the book becomes more modern. This is shown when Lestat is scared of the modern world and the artificial lights as he thinks they are sunlight scaring him into hiding. There are various themes in both books for example they have written one of the characters acting like God, Lestat in Interview with a vampire and Victor in Frankenstein. This was especially scary in Frankenstein 1816 as the people took religion very seriously and to talk about gods in this way was known as evil, which scared the people who read the book Which would inspire terror into the people who read it. When in Frankenstein the creature says † I am thy creature, I ought to be thy Adam† And in Interview in the vampire when Lestat acts as god by creating Louie and also when Lestat says they are the same as God when he says † Gods kill, and so shall we† This shows the God theme as Lestat connects being a vampire to being Gods which is shown in the quote. Another thing in both books they deal with the themes of outsiders. In Frankenstein when the creature is looking in â€Å"On examining the dwelling, I found that one of the windows of the cottage had formally occupied part of it but the panes had been boarded up with wood. In one of these was a small and almost imperceptible chick, through which the eye could just penetrate. Through this crevice a small room was visible. † Also in Interview with a vampire Louie became an outsider when he became a vampire. † I said goodbye to the sunrise and went out to become a vampire† The two texts are very similar though in many ways. First of all in both texts the main character is an outsider, Louie as a Vampire as he is different from everyone else as he is a vampire and Victor as an outcast to everyone else as he created this monster and is a criminal for doing so making him an outsider and different to other people. Also both authors have lost a child which may have helped write the book using their life experiences to help them writing the book. Both books have roughly the same plot when Louie or the creature both have a natural birth and find it hard to survive. Also in both books they murder when the creature kills people or Louie kills people for blood. As when Louie said, † Now I am guilty of murder. † I think the authors of these two texts have don’t an excellent job in dealing with the theme of outsiders in the text as the setting, the characters and what’s happening around them all make them outsiders. Also what the characters are and how they act and what they do which inspires terror or horror into the reader create the genre of Gothic horror and make it stand out. But what most of all stuck into my mind were the words from Louie, which really made me think Gothic horror and outsiders, was â€Å"I wanted love and goodness in this which is living death’ I said ‘ It was impossible from the beginning, because you cannot have love and goodness when you do what you know to be evil, what you know to be wrong† and also in Frankenstein when Victor said † It was necessary that I should return without delay to Geneva, there to watch over the lives of those I do fondly loved; and to lie in wait for the murderer, that if any chance led me to the place of his concealment, or if he dared† Both showing the Gothic horror in their words like when they say â€Å"murderer† and â€Å"evil† creating the gothic horror feeling. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Corruption Through Aestheticism

The Picture of Dorian Gray: Corruption Through Aestheticism The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel, the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully affects his life forever. If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that (Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil that Dorian sells his soul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not only as something external to Dorian, but†¦show more content†¦For Dorian, this is the ultimate evil act, the desire to rid himself of all moral sense. Having failed the attempt to escape through good actions, he decides to escape by committing the most terrible of crimes. Aestheticism has claimed its final victim. Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian Gray what I would like to be - in other ages, perhaps (Hart- Davis 352). Because of the endings he creates for these characters, Oscar Wilde proves that he does not envisions himself in the immoral characters of this story nor is he attempting to promote their lifestyles. Of all the characters whom he creates, he sees himself as Basil, the good artist who sacrifices himself to fight immorality. It was his beauty that had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had prayed for (Wilde 242). Contrary to Wildes claim in the preface that, there is no such thing as a moral or immoral book (vii), this novel has a deep and meaningful purpose. The moral is that an absence of spirituality, of faith, of regard for human life, separates individuals like Wildes Dorian Gray from humanity and makes monsters of them (West 5831). W.H. Auden feels that the story is specifically structured to provide a moral. He compares the story to that of a fairy tale, complete with a princess, a wicked witch, and a fairy godmother.Show MoreRelatedThe Picture of Dorian Gray 1823 Words   |  8 PagesAestheticism is a philosophy in which its followers practice complete self-indulgence. Aesthetic principles teach that the arts, beauty, and youth are absolute over anything else. People who follow this philosophy are very egotistical, and are extremely concerned with appearances. It is often associated with jewelry, painting, music, and perfumes. (insert quote to prove) All followers of Aestheticism put activities pertaining to beauty above anythin g else. Their priorities hold beauty above attributesRead MoreAestheticism in The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay2257 Words   |  10 PagesAestheticism was a popular dogma in the late 1800s that centered on the belief that art should exist for beauty alone. 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The novel mainly dealsRead MoreA Treatise Of Human Nature1562 Words   |  7 Pages Frankenstein (1823) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) are all consumed by the innate passion that Hume defines as ‘morality’, yet pivot around the social conventions of their respective eras, broadly identified as ‘reason’. While Hamlet is embodied by his tendency to reason and rationality, Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray’s conformity to the values of their era functions to ill uminate the irrationality of their actions. Hamlet, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray are all protagonists who grappleRead MoreThemes, Motifs and Symbols in Oscar Wilde’s the Picture of Dorian Gray1436 Words   |  6 PagesOscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray The only published novel by Oscar Wilde, which appeared in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890, was seen as immoral and scandalous, so the editors of the magazine censored about five hundred words without Wilde’s knowledge. Even with that, the novel was not received very well. Disappointed with this, Wilde revised his novel, added a preface, where he explains his philosophy of art, and six new chapters. Since Wilde was devoted to aestheticism, he believedRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1432 Words   |  6 PagesIn The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, we see how the different characters show their love of beauty and pleasure and the affects they have on the main character: Dorian Gray. Each of the three main characters, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton, and Dorian Gray portray a part of how the author felt about himself and the world around him. â€Å"Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian what I would like to be- in other ages, perhaps† (qtd. in Bloom pg. 117)Read MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1950 Words   |  8 PagesIn the â€Å"Picture of Dorian Gray†, Oscar Wilde prefaces his only novel by examining the value of art and the artist. After a short examination, Wilde concludes that â€Å"All art is quite useless† (Wilde, 2), contradicting the principles of the Aesthetic Movement, a contemporary to Wilde and Dorian Gray, that became popular during the fin-de-sià ¨cle English Victorian society. Aestheticism believes in imitating art and living life experiencing the pleasures of the world, adopting the hedonistic way of livingRead MoreAn Analysis of Marius the Epicurian and the Picture of Dorian Gray2332 Words   |  10 Pagespreface of The Picture of Dorian Gray that to reveal art and to conceal the artist is the arts aim but art inevitably reveals artist since it is the mirror of artists unreachable depths. And #253; assert that whatever #253; give birth is my child and resembles me. Thus artists are all parents and their children resembles them. So in this paper, I will try to scrutinize these resemblances between the parents Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater with their children The Picture of Dorian Gray and other worksRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Aestheticism Analysis935 Words   |  4 Pagesart can exist for the sake of its beauty alone is the essence of aestheticism, a n ineteenth-century arts movement that had a significant impact on the writings of Oscar Wilde; in particular, his enrapturing novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is an insightful narration that expresses many of the central elements of this aesthetic philosophy. Centered on the life of an attractive young man named Dorian Gray, the novel details how through the influence of others, he becomes morally depraved, and sellsRead More Inner and outer beauty in Dorian Gray Essay1495 Words   |  6 Pagesresult of the association of beauty with good and ugliness with evil. Through the outer appearance we make a general opinion about a given person. Such a way of thinking may be very misleading. In order to get to know the person we need to look to the inside – into the soul. This is the place where the real beauty and ugliness are hidden. The notion of inner and outer beauty is perfectly presented in the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. The story described in this book shows how the external