Troubled Asset Relief Program Essay Example for Free

Troubled Asset Relief Program Essay When assessing the values of the proposed legislation, lawmakers knew that the bill was going to be very complex in that it is dealing with very difficult issues. The public was assured that much time and effort had gone into assessing these issues such as: â€Å"†¦fairness and equity, banking regulation, executive pay, job losses†¦moral hazard, 401(k) values, and the proper role of the state (Couch, Foster, Malone, Black, 2011). †After all things considered, it was realized that the motivation behind most cast votes was hardly as complicated as expected. In actuality, it was quite simple (Couch, Foster, Malone, Black, 2011). In November 2008, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson indicated that stimulating the market for consumer credit would be a major priority in the second allocation. December 2008, President Bush used executive authority to declare that funds from the TARP program be spent any way Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson deemed necessary to ease the financial burden. Mid January 2009, Paulson issued temporary rules for reporting and record keeping requirements under the executive compensation standards of the Capital Purchase Program. Paulson also announced a new set of guidelines disclosing conflicts of interest with TARP contracts. The Senate accepted the changes to TARP that regulated firms from paying out bonuses with TARP funding. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut proposed this amendment to the economic stimulus act. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was nationalized by the Federal Reserve and Treasury department, the world’s largest insurance company, AIG, was bailed out. This alone extended the insurance deposit to $3. 4 trillion dollars in money market funds for the government. Levinson, 2009) Then Paulson set out for the largest government save in history by buying out $700 billion dollars of contaminated securities from troubled banks. In Paulson’s original 3 page plan, Wall Street would have had uncontrolled access to public revenues at very little cost (Levinson, 2009). The original version was rejected by the House and then modified by the Senate (Levinson, 2009). Banks that were not in desperate need could make loans and supply liquidity was to get TARP funding. OneUnited Bank did not meet the requirement to receive the TARP funds. The bank was in trouble financially but was involved with two major legislators: Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts and Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California. These two served on the House Financial Service Committee as chairman and the third highest Democrat in seniority respectively. Waters husband at one point was a director at the bank. Waters had made investments with the bank and her husband had owned stock in the firm (Schmidt, 2009). Waters called the Treasury Department on behalf of OneUnited and the bank received $ 12 million in funds from TARP. This was made possible by a special provision written into the bailout. Wall Street Journal reporter Susan Schmidt explained, A provision designed to aid OneUnited was written into the federal bailout legislation by Mr. Frank, who is chairman of the financial services panel. Mr. Frank said he inserted the provision to help the only African-American owned bank in his home state (Schmidt 2009). The American financial system had changed over the last decade. Wall Street, an independent investment bank that relied on high leverage, is no more. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, what used to be the fourth largest investment bank in the United States has went bankrupt. On September 15, 2008 Lehman Brothers filed Chapter 11. This was caused by a massive exit of a large portion of its clients, major loss in stock, and depreciation of assets by credit rating agencies. Barclay agreed to purchase Lehman’s North American banking and trading divisions, along with the headquarters building in New York. All other Lehman Brothers franchise’s was bought out as well by Nomura Holdings (Levinson, 2009). An automobile task force was formed by President Obama that was chaired by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Larry Summers. Members of this newly created task force included: Secretaries of Transportation, Commerce, Labor, Energy, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the administrator of the EPA, the director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change and lastly the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. Stephen Rattner was selected to head the team (Shepardson and Trowbridge, 2009). Chrysler and GM were instructed to submit plans of restructuring to the group for approval. Rattner recognized the complication of the task and also that his team was inexperienced in the automobile industry. He said, â€Å"We’ve learned a lot about how car dealers work, and how companies get paid when they sell a car to a dealer, and why there are a certain number of dealers more than are optimal† (qtd. in King and Stoll 2009). Obama seemed pleased with the progress the group he created was making. In a radio interview Obama criticized Bush and his actions but praised his own efforts. Obama made reference to not just writing GM and Chrysler a blank check but holding these companies accountable for the funds they received. The task force had rejected the initial plan that Chrysler had submitted but accepted its revised plan. Chrysler filed Chapter 11 and as a condition closed 789 of its dealerships. A list of dealers that was subject to closure was sent out to all dealerships with a messaging stating: â€Å"With regret, this letter is to inform you that on May 14, 2009, we are filing a motion in bankruptcy court rejecting the Sales and Service Agreement (s) between Chrysler Motors LLC and the dealerships listed above† (qtd. n Valdez-Dapena 2009). Company officials realized that the decision to close dealerships, in particular those with franchises, was difficult but needed. The vice chair said at the time it was the most difficult decision in business that he had ever made. The criteria used to determine which dealerships was to be closed was never made clea r. The process was suppose to be a function of the numbers, data driven matrix assessed with a number of key metrics is the terminology used by Steven Landry, executive vice president (Shepardson and Trowbridge 2009). Dealerships owned by McLarty-Landers-Johnson were not closed even though they did not meet Chrysler’s performance data. Robert Johnson, former owner of Black Entertainment Television, is one of the firms owners and a major contributor to the Democratic Party. Mack McLarty, a former aide to Bill Clinton, is another owner. After this was brought to the public eye, accusations were being made that dealerships owned by individuals with ties to the Republican Party was becoming targets and would be closed (Shepardson and Trowbridge 2009). The Treasury Department made statements that the federal government had not played a role in which dealerships were set for closure. Chrysler officials made claim that it became clear that there was no wisdom in closing twenty five percent of its dealers and that it really was not their decision. Officials made reference that they were under pressure from the Obama task force (Shepardson and Trowbridge 2009). It is well known that most everything surrenders to pressure or political pressure to be more specific. Bureaus and agencies are no exception. Examples of such surrender have been noticed in IRS audits and enforcement activity, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and by antitrust authorities. The noted influence of politics dates back to the Vietnam War (Couch, 2011). â€Å"Public-choice theory asserts that politicians are motivated by a desire for reelection and that this desire shapes which policies are pursued and how they are implemented (Couch, 2011). As a result of this desire to please voters, governmental policy goals are misguided. Their purpose is not to find a solution but instead to build a forum in which to base their next winning election. Other examples of political pressure include things such as Obama’s automobile task force, and governmental branches. â€Å"In short, politics trumps economics† (Couch, 2011). An investigation of the Chrysler dealership closing was done for the percentage of votes cast for Obama in each state. Electoral votes at state level and the number of congress persons in the House of Representatives for the dealerships district was used as additional measures for political influence (Couch, 2011). Also factored are the individual dealership characteristics, like profitability and level of customer service. If a dealership was located in a highly depressed area with high unemployment rates it would more than likely be closed (Couch, 2011). When all the facts had been put together it was evident that dealerships offering political support for Obama would remain open. This evidence was gathered at both state-level and dealership-lever. This would suggest that the Obama administration was more than just concerned with the long-term success of Chrysler, but was most concerned with protecting the Obama supporters from negative consequences (Couch, 2011). The US Treasury Department to buy preferred stock with funds from TARP within approved institutions earning a 5% dividend for the government. The plan was to stimulate the economy by making the right hand side of the balance sheet of the institution be matched with increased bank business loans. The institutions were being pressured by regulators to not increase or to reduce the liabilities of the assets. The economy in the United States has improved since the TARP was employed. The 2010 fourth quarter GDP had a 2. 8% growth (Gabby, 2011). The financial markets are signaling progress in the economy: â€Å"Between March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose approximately 62% from 7,609 to 12,320 and for the four largest banks JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup their March 31, 2011 vs. March 30, 2009 share prices were: $46. 10 vs. 24. 85 (+86%); $13. 33 vs. $6. 03 (+121%); $31. 71 vs. $13. 37 (+137%); and $4. 42 vs. $2. 31(+91%); respectively† (Gaby, 2011). The United States four largest banks had a combined total of $4. 8 trillion in assets as of March 31, 2009. If these four had failed the loss to tax payers would have been in excess of $2 trillion. TARP injected $239. 5 billion into roughly 35 financial institu tions and 23 of the institutions earned a 5% dividend. By the end of the October 2010 78% of the TARP funds had been repaid. If interest and dividends are included the percentage rises to 102% (Gabby, 2010). If the smallest of the four largest banks had failed there could have been theatrical to the US banking system and could have had global impacts as well. A modest benefit of the program was that CIT was able to continue lending to small firms during the bankruptcy filing and reorganization. The TARP provided brief support the US banking system and the global financial system. The modern administration has veered from the Constitution. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 created the Troubled Asset Relief Program. This was going to strip 200 pages of pork, tax preferences, and various oversights. Section 101 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution, on such terms and conditions as are determined by the Secretary† (Lawson, 2010). Troubled Asset Relief Program is a constitutional mess; many of the issues with it are common with the current administrative state. Congress did not have the power to enact the program. It violated the non-delegation doctrine. Both the President and Congress may have violated the Appointment Clause during the enactment of the program. Bush also exceeded his constitutional executive power when he implemented TARP (Lawson, 2010). The major issue with TARP is that there is no Troubled Assets clause in the Constitution. There are other clauses like the Bankruptcy Clause, Copyright Clause but not a clause authorizing the Congress to give power to the government to become a mortgage broker. Government buying mortgages and securities backed by mortgages in not a guideline of commerce with foreign countries (Lawson, 2010) The ability to spend in the Constitution comes from the Necessary and Proper Clause: appropriations of funds are laws necessary and proper for carrying into Execution other federal powers. But in the context of Troubled Asset Relief Program, one has to find some detailed power that is suitable to buy mortgages that can necessarily and properly carry into execution. The entire TARP venture was unconstitutional from the start (Lawson, 2010). We can look back on the financial situation and try to determine the central problem; global imbalances of savings or imports and exports, the Fed’s low rates, a housing bubble, subprime mortgages was not really the issue. In September 2008, the signature event of this financial crisis came to light. Short-term credit became frozen, inter-banking lending was froze as well as commercial paper markets. If panic had not occurred it is likely that economic contraction after the housing burst would have been no worse than a mild recession (Cochrane, 2009). The most current recession comes from the banking system not lending money and the normal way of doing business is almost extinct. The short-term credit crunch has ended. The recession now seems to be moving into recovery (Cochrane, 2009). Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for TARP, told the Center for Public Integrity that his office conducted 142 ongoing criminal and civil investigations. Over the past 2 years the SIGTARP has recovered approximately $152 million in stolen assets. The agency has also saved another $555 million through prevention of fraud. The office investigated the potential of fraudulent use of TARP funds at 64 financial institutes, from small banks to large banks (Hallman, 2011). Barofsky’s most prominent investigation has led to civil securities fraud charges last year against Bank of America Corp. ormer chief executive officer Ken Lewis. The charges were for not disclosing major losses at Merrill Lynch to shareholders. The complaints allege that the bank and its officers hid losses at Merrill in order to complete the 2008 merger of the two institutions, and that the defendants also lied to the government to obtain tens of millions of dollars in TARP funds (Hallman, 2011). From a business manager’s view a program like TARP allows for a company to be ran as poorly as possible and still stay in business. Programs like TARP allow for companies to be irresponsible and very loose with their money. In some cases TARP would allow a company to file Chapter 11 but still continue to function on a daily basis. To a business manager this would benefit him under many circumstances and allow for big bonus money to be paid out to upper management even if the company is not as profitable as it once was. Bailouts like the TARP allows for bad business practices to continue and managers to continue allow it. References Couch, J. F. , Burton, P. A. , Malone, K. D. , amp; Black, D. L. (2011). Government behind the wheel more a Matter of politics than of economics.

Critically Analyse The Social Penetration Theory Psychology Essay

Critically Analyse The Social Penetration Theory Psychology Essay Social penetration theory was first proposed by Altman and Taylor in 1973. There after it was further developed by Altman. This theory is a general approach to interpersonal attraction that looks at the development of an interpersonal relationship from acquaintanceship to close friendship as a gradual and systematic process. It also looks at how friendship moves from peripheral and superficial levels of exchange to intimate friends (Green 219). The growth of relationship is influenced by three main factors namely; situational factors, personality and cost. Therefore, when future and actual outcomes are favorable, penetration develops to more intimate areas. Social penetration theory describes the growth of personal relationships as rooted in the self disclosure. The theory explains that the increase in intimacy in relationship is as a result of individuals sharing increasingly information about themselves with each other. When people meet for the first time, they tend to share information which is general and impersonal thus limiting the range of the topics they discuss. As these people learn about each other and time passes the depth of their disclosure increases thus revealing personal information. The breadth of disclosure increases and the individuals are able to discuss a range of topics. The authors of this theory suggest that the growth of a relationship continues if the regards that each partner gets are greater that the costs they believe they incur. Social penetration theory depends mostly on the positive association between disclosure and the degree to which partners are emotionally committed in their relationship. Thus partners who freely disclose more information to each other have greater relational satisfaction and stability. More so, there is a linear relationship between intimacy and disclosure. For example partners experience dialectical tensions between being open and closed on what they discuss with each other. The social penetration theory holds one important assumption that mutual profit from the partners interaction acts as a vehicle to the level of exchange and grows over time in a given relationship (Nicotera 103). The theory is mostly concerned with information exchange though it also makes use of expression of positive and negative effect in mutual activities as other forms of exchange. Situational influence, personality and rewards are factors which help in promoting social penetration process which is retarding. Also, the intensity and extent of self disclosure act as operation measure of social penetration. Self disclosure measure is used in measuring personality traits that affect disclosure thus providing intimate information about a person. Situational factors are mostly concerned with the ability to enter or get out of a relationship freely. It is also concerned with the level of such relationship to another person (Altman and Arnold 345). Relationships are perceived to develop symmetrically. Interpersonal exchanges develop from superficial to non-intimate area to deeper degrees of selves of the interacting people. In this case, individual therefore evaluate the balance of rewards and costs of the past and present exchanges. This evaluation is used as a basis of forecasting the cost and reward implication for future exchanges which may be made. Social penetration theory is different from other exchange theories because it brings forward the issue of the self and also gives special attention to the issue of self disclosure. Social penetration is achieved through disclosure which shows the real self in providing the proper context for the facilitation of disclosure (Nicotera 103. Research using the theory Longitudinal studies have been carried out in attempt to investigate the functions of the social penetration theory. The study revealed that there was a pattern of reciprocal exchange over time as well as an equity norm which is related to the intimacy level of the disclosure. The study also revealed that short patterns were part of the larger fluctuations. Considerable evidence indicates that through out young adulthood and adolescence, self disclosure is an important factor in of formation of friend ship and its maintenance. This is because self disclosure increases both in depth and breadth as relationships develops. Therefore, the growing intimate formation shows the mechanism through which formation of relationship is done as well as a reflection of the level of closeness. Several studies using strangers show that individuals who engage in intimate disclosure are more liked than those individuals who restrict disclosure to topics which are not intimate. Consistent with social penetration theory, this explains that people are getting attracted to other people who are free to disclose their personal information. This is because such disclosure signs cause the desire for closeness. However in the early stages of a relationship, disclosures of intimate information can act as a hindrance to the development of a relationship (Green 219). Cases of disliking have been witnessed where a stranger disclose his intimate information. There is some indication that within a single conversation, personal information revealed later in the relationship is received better than a persons information revealed earlier. Meill and Duck conducted a study which shows that the studies on strangers generalize friendship formation in the real world. These researchers asked some college students how they would collect information about a probable friend, how they would decide to pursue the relationship and modulate the rate of development. Students gave a report that friendship formation process operate in interactions with probable friends until a decision is made on whether to continue with the relationship or not. Many studies on friendship formation support many of the propositions of by Altman and Taylor. For example, the research on the college students was consistent with the social penetration theory (Littlejohn 121). College student roommates who developed the closest friendships reported to have exchanged more information and more intimate information across all categories. Self disclosure is a process through which friendship is initiated and also it is through it that people try to maintain their relationship. Studies have shown that young adults deliberately use intimate disclosure as a way of sustaining their relationship. A research by Rosenfeld and Kendrick supports the social penetration theory. The research indicates that the most common reasons that young adults had for disclosing their personal information to friends were friendship enhancement and maintenance. The study shows that friends can be differentiated from non-friends in terms of both the quality and quantity of their disclosure (Husain 78). Very close friends not only disclose more of their personal information than strangers, but they also disclose more intimate information. The research also indicates that best friends are more likely to receive highly personal disclosures than none intimate friends. There is more superficial and casual disclosure among friends than intimate discl osure. Young adults exchange the most personal information but on the other hand friends only exchange moderate personal information. Critique of social penetration theory Altman and Taylor came up with social penetration theory in an attempt to explain peoples relationships. The degree of self disclosure has a major task in the grown of relationship. Their theory is very direct and simple thus making it possible for one to understand. In addition, in this theory the authors have used many aspects which can relate to the real world. The social penetration theory outlines what people go through when forming a relationship. This is clearly shown by the authors when they said that people will continue or discontinue with a relationship depending on the costs and rewards involved. In this theory it is very easy to predict what will happen in future. This is because if the costs involved in information exchange are more that the rewards received, then the individuals or partners will end the relationship (Littlejohn 121). On the other hand, if the rewards involved in information exchange are more than the cost involved, then the partners will continue with the relationship. In addition this theory is very easy to understand. This is because it only has four hypothesis and three variables involved. Altman and Taylor based their theory of social penetration theory on cost and reward. This indicates that people first evaluate a relationship on the basis of the rewards and costs involved and then decide whether to continue or not (Husain 78). This is not true because one should not be in relationship just because of the benefits expected. Relationship should therefore be evaluated on many other factors but not only on gains and costs. The authors try to suggest that people will always form a relationship if they are guaranteed that there are some benefits to be earned from it. Most people are selfless and will form a relationship regardless of whether there are costs to be incurred or benefits to be earned from it. Altman and Taylor associate people who are engaged to a communication process to onions. The authors state that when people meet for the first time, they hide their information just like the onion layers (Green 219). As people continue to meet, they share their personal information and thus shed off the layers making it easy to understand one another. The layers of self disclosure have different levels of depth and breadth and this can be reached through the topics shared and the nature of information in these topics. Social penetration theory shows the status of a person is changed from public to private. Therefore, a person at some time may disclose more personal information than other times. A person may still not share any personal information with a private person if the person is not pleasing at all. This therefore indicates that according to the social penetration theory, it is not guaranteed that a relationship will develop positively from time to time (Altman and Arnold 345). The social penetration theory gives a possibility of differentiation between the different types and forms of the relationships by providing the notions of personality breadth and personality depth. The theory also gives a description of the different phases involved in a relationship. The relationships development is explained by the dimensions of the social penetration process (Littlejohn 121). A social relationship develops through interactions that let the relationship entities discover new elements of the counterparts personality. The personality element that get shared among the relationship parties are structured into two dimensions. These dimensions include personality breadth and personality depth. The breadth of personality has two further dimensions which include the categories and the frequencies of interactions. The frequency states the number of interactions within such a category. On the other hand, the depth of the personality represents a layering element within the entitys personality. The outer layers of the personality have more elements. According to the social penetration theory, the inner layers are more personal and fewer where the central characteristics of ones personality are found. The disclosure of elements of higher personality depth gets more difficult with further advancements as these inner elements are better protected and a disclosure can be associated with risk.

A horseshoe magnet

A horseshoe magnet A-1 Horseshoe magnet red silver iron A horseshoe magnet (A-1) has a north and south pole. If a piece of carbon steel contacts both poles, a magnetic circuit is created. In an electromagnetic brake, the north and south pole is created by a coil shell and a wound coil. In a brake, the armature is being pulled against the brake field. (A-3) The frictional contact, which is being controlled by the strength of the magnetic field, is what causes the rotational motion to stop. All of the torque comes from the magnetic attraction and coefficient of friction between the steel of the armature and the steel of the brake field. For many industrial brakes, friction material is used between the poles. The material is mainly used to help decrease the wear rate. But different types of material can also be used to change the coefficient of friction (torque) for special applications. For example, if the brake was required to have an extended time to stop or slip time, a low coefficient material can be used. Conversely, if the brake was r equired to have a slightly higher torque (mostly for low RPM applications), a high coefficient friction material could be used.[1] In a brake, the electromagnetic lines of flux have to attract and pull the armature in contact with it to complete brake engagement. Most industrial applications use what is called a single-flux two-pole brake. The coil shell is made with carbon steel that has a combination of good strength and good magnetic properties. Copper (sometimes aluminum) magnet wire, is used to create the coil, which is held in shell either by a bobbin or by some type of epoxy/adhesive.[2] To help increase life in applications, friction material is used between the poles. This friction material is flush with the steel on the coil shell, since if the friction material was not flush, good magnetic traction could not occur between the faces. Some people look at electromagnetic brakes and mistakenly assume that, since the friction material is flush with the steel, that the brake has already worn down, but this is not the case.[3] [edit] Basic Operation There are three parts to an electrmagnetic brake: field, armature, and hub (which is the input on a brake) (B-2). Usually the magnetic field is bolted to the machine frame (or uses a torque arm that can handle the torque of the brake). So when the armature is attracted to the field the stopping torque is transferred into the field housing and into the machine frame decelerating the load. This can happen very fast (.1-3sec). Disengagement is very simple. Once the field starts to degrade flux falls rapidly and the armature separates. A spring(s) hold the armature away from its corresponding contact surface at a predetermined air gap.[4] V-1 Right hand thumb rule If a piece of copper wire was wound, around the nail and then connected to a battery, it would create an electro magnet. The magnetic field that is generated in the wire, from the current, is known as the right hand thumb rule. (V-1) The strength of the magnetic field can be changed by changing both wire size and the amount of wire (turns). EM clutches are similar; they use a copper wire coil (sometimes aluminum) to create a magnetic field. The fields of EM brakes can be made to operate at almost any DC voltage and the torque produced by the brake will be the same as long as the correct operating voltage and current is used with the correct brake. If a 90 volt brake had 48 volts applied to it, this would get about half of the correct torque output of that brake. This is because voltage/current is almost linear to torque in DC electromagnetic brakes. A constant current power supply is ideal for accurate and maximum torque from a brake. If a non regulated power supply is used the magnetic flux will degrade as the resistance of the coil goes up. Basically, the hotter the coil gets the lower the torque will be produced by about an average of 8% for every 20Â °C. If the temperature is fairly constant, and there is a question of enough service factor in the design for minor temperature fluctuation, by slightly over sizing the brake can compensate for degradation. This will allow the use of a rectified power supply, which is far less expensive than a constant current supply. Based on V = I R, as resistance increases available current falls. An increase in resistance, often results from rising temperature as the coil heats up, according to: Rf = Ri [1 + aCu (Tf Ti)] Where Rf = final resistance, Ri = initial resistance, aCu = copper wires temperature coefficient of resistance, 0.0039 Â °C-1, Tf = final temperature, and Ti = initial temperature. [edit] Engagement Time There are actually two engagement times to consider in an electromagnetic brake. The first one is the time it takes for a coil to develop a magnetic field, strong enough to pull in an armature. Within this, there are two factors to consider. The first one is the amount of ampere turns in a coil, which will determine the strength of a magnetic field. The second one is air gap, which is the space between the armature and the coil shell. Magnetic lines of flux diminish quickly in the air. The further away the attractive piece is from the coil, the longer it will take for that piece to actually develop enough magnetic force to be attracted and pull in to overcome the air gap. For very high cycle applications, floating armatures can be used that rest lightly against the coil shell. In this case, the air gap is zero; but, more importantly the response time is very consistent since there is no air gap to overcome. Air gap is an important consideration especially with a fixed armature design because as the unit wears over many cycles of engagement the armature and the coil shell will create a larger air gap which will change the engagement time of the brakes. In high cycle applications, where registration is important, even the difference of 10 to 15 milliseconds can make a difference, in registration of a machine. Even in a normal cycle application, this is important because a new machine that has accurate timing can eventually see a drift in its accuracy as the machine gets older. The second factor in figuring out response time of a brake is actually much more important than the magnet wire or the air gap. It involves calculating the amount of inertia that the brake needs to decelerate. This is referred to as time to stop. In reality, this is what the end-user is most concerned with. Once it is known how much inertia is present for the brake to stop then the torque can be calculated and the appropriate size of brake can be chosen. Most CAD systems can automatically calculate component inertia, but the key to sizing a brake is calculating how much inertial is reflected back to the brake. To do this, engineers use the formula: T = (WK2 ?N) / (308 t) Where T = required torque in lb-ft, WK2 = total inertia in lb-ft2, ?N = change in the rotational speed in rpm, and t = time during which the acceleration or deceleration must take place. Inertia Calculator There are also online sites that can help confirm how much torque is required to decelerate a given amount of inertia over a specific time. Remember to make sure that the torque chosen, for the brake, should be after the brake has been burnished. [edit] Burnishing What Is It and Why Is It Important? Burnishing is the wearing or mating of opposing surfaces. When the armature and brake faces are produced, the faces are machined as flat as possible. (Some manufacturers also lightly grind the faces to get them smoother.) But even with that the machining process leaves peaks and valleys on the surface of the steel. When a new out of the box brake is initially engaged most peaks on both mating surfaces touch which means that the potential contact area can be significantly reduced. In some cases, an out of box brake may have only 50% of its torque rating. Burnishing is the process of cycling the brake to wear down those initial peaks, so that there is more surface contact between the mating faces Even though burnishing is required to get full torque out of the brake it may not be required in all applications. Simply put, if the application torque is lower than the initial out of box torque of the brake, burnishing would not be required; however, if the torque required is higher, then burnishing needs to be done. In general this tends to be required more on higher torque brakes than on smaller lower torque brakes. The process involves cycling the brake a number of times at a lower inertia, lower speed or a combination of both. Burnishing can require from 20 to over 100 cycles depending upon the size of a brake and the amount of initial torque required. For bearing mounted brakes where the rotor and armature is connected and held in place via a bearing, burnishing does not have to take place on the machine. It can be done individually on a bench or as a group at a burnishing station. Two piece brakes that have separate armatures should try to have the burnishing done on the machine verses a bench. The reason for this is if burnishing on a two piece brake is done on a bench and there is a shift in the mounting tolerance when that brake is mounted to the machine the alignment could be shifted so the burnishing lines on the armature, rotor or brake face may be off slightly preventing that brake from achieving full torque. Again, the difference is only slight so this would only be required in a ver y torque sensitive application. [edit] Torque Burnishing can affect initial torque of a brake but there are also factors that affect the torque performance of a brake in an application. The main one is voltage/current. In the voltage/current section we showed why a constant current supply is important to get full torque out of the brake. When considering torque, the question of using dynamic or static torque for the application is key? For example, if running a machine at relatively low rpm (5 50 depending upon size) there is minimal concern with dynamic torque since the static torque rating of the brake will come closest to where it is running. However, when running a machine at 3,000rpm and applying the brake at its catalog torque, at that rpm, is misleading. Almost all manufacturers put the static rated torque for their brakes in their catalog. So, when trying to determine a specific response rate for a particular brake, the dynamic torque rating is needed. In many cases this can be significantly lower. It can be less than half of the static torque rating. Most manufacturers publish torque curves showing the relationship between dynamic and static torque for a given series of brake. Electromagnetic-Power-Off-Brake Over excitation is used to achieve a faster response time. Its when a coil momentarily receives a higher voltage then its nominal rating. To be effective the over excitation voltage must be significantly, but not to the point of diminishing returns, higher than the normal coil voltage. Three times the voltage typically gives around 1/3 faster response. Fifteen times the normal coil voltage will produce a 3 times faster response time. With over excitation the in rush voltage is momentary. Although it would depend upon the size of the coil the actual time is usually only a few milliseconds. The theory is, for the coil to generate as much of a magnetic field as quickly as possible to attract the armature and start the process of deceleration. Once the over excitation is no longer required the power supply to the brake would return to its normal operating voltage. This process can be repeated a number of times as long as the high voltage does not stay in the coil long enough to cause the coil wire to overheat. [edit] Wear It is very rare that a coil would just stop working in an electromagnetic brake. Typically if a coil fails it is usually due to heat which has caused the insulation of the coil wire to break down. That heat can be caused by high ambient temperature, high cycle rates, slipping or applying too high of a voltage. Most brakes are flanged mounted and have bearings but some brakes are bearing mounted and like the coils, unless bearings are stressed beyond their physical limitations or become contaminated, they tend to have a long life and they are usually the second item to wear out. The main wear in electromagnetic brakes occurs on the faces of the mating surfaces. Every time a brake is engaged during rotation a certain amount of energy is transferred as heat. The transfer, which occurs during rotation, wears both the armature and the opposing contact surface. Based upon the size of the brake, the speed and the inertia, wear rates will differ. With a fixed armature design a brake will eventually simply cease to engage. This is because the air gap will eventually become too large for the magnetic field to overcome. Zero gap or auto wear armatures can wear to the point of less than one half of its original thickness, which will eventually cause missed engagements. [edit] Backlash Some applications require very tight precision between all components. In these applications even a degree of movement between the input and the output when a brake is engaged can be a problem. This is true in many robotic applications. Sometimes the design engineers will order brakes with zero backlash but then key them to the shafts so although the brake will have zero backlash theres still minimal movement occurring between the hub or rotor in the shaft. Most applications, however, do not need true zero backlash and can use a spline type connection. Some of these connections between the armature and the hub are standard splines others are hex or square hub designs. The spline will have the best initial backlash tolerance. Typically less than 2 degrees but the spline and the other connection types can wear over time and the tolerances will increase. [edit] Environment / Contamination As brakes wear they create wear particles. In some applications such as clean rooms or food handling this dust could be a contamination problem so in these applications the brake should be enclosed to prevent the particles from contaminating other surfaces around it. But a more likely scenario is that the brake has a better chance of getting contaminated from its environment. Obviously oil or grease should be kept away from the contact surface because they would significantly reduce the coefficient of friction which could drastically decrease the torque potentially causing failure. Oil midst or lubricated particles can also cause surface contamination. Sometimes paper dust or other contamination can fall in between the contact surfaces. This can also result in a lost of torque. If a known source of contamination is going to be present many clutch manufactures offer contamination shields that prevent material from falling in between the contact surfaces. In brakes that have not been used in a while rust can develop on the surfaces. But in general this is normally not a major concern since the rust is worn off within a few cycles and there is no lasting impact on the torque. [edit] Other Types of Electromagnetic Brakes Electormagnetic Power Off Brake Spring Set Introduction Power off brakes stop or hold a load when electrical power is either accidentally lost or intentionally disconnected. In the past, some companies have referred to these as fail safe brakes. These brakes are typically used on or near an electric motor. Typical applications include robotics, holding brakes for Z axis ball screws and servo motor brakes. Brakes are available in multiple voltages and can have either standard backlash or zero backlash hubs. Multiple disks can also be used to increase brake torque, without increasing brake diameter. There are 2 main types of holding brakes. The first is spring applied brakes. The second is permanent magnet brakes. How It Works Spring Type When no electricity is applied to the brake, a spring pushes against a pressure plate, squeezing the friction disk between the inner pressure plate and the outer cover plate. This frictional clamping force is transferred to the hub, which is mounted to a shaft. Permanent Magnet Type A permanent magnet holding brake looks very similar to a standard power applied electromagnetic brake. Instead of squeezing a friction disk, via springs, it uses permanent magnets to attract a single face armature. When the brake is engaged, the permanent magnets create magnetic lines of flux, which can turn attract the armature to the brake housing. To disengage the brake, power is applied to the coil which sets up an alternate magnetic field that cancels out the magnetic flux of the permanent magnets. Both power off brakes are considered to be engaged when no power is applied to them. They are typically required to hold or to stop alone in the event of a loss of power or when power is not available in a machine circuit. Permanent magnet brakes have a very high torque for their size, but also require a constant current control to offset the permanent magnetic field. Spring applied brakes do not require a constant current control, they can use a simple rectifier, but are larger in diameter or would need stacked friction disks to increase the torque. [edit] Electromagnetic Particle Brake Magnetic Particle Brake Introduction Magnetic particle brakes are unique in their design from other electro-mechanical brakes because of the wide operating torque range available. Like an electro-mechanical brake, torque to voltage is almost linear; however, in a magnetic particle brake, torque can be controlled very accurately (within the operating RPM range of the unit). This makes these units ideally suited for tension control applications, such as wire winding, foil, film, and tape tension control. Because of their fast response, they can also be used in high cycle applications, such as magnetic card readers, sorting machines and labeling equipment. How It Works Magnetic particles (very similar to iron filings) are located in the powder cavity. When electricity is applied to the coil, the resulting magnetic flux tries to bind the particles together, almost like a magnetic particle slush. As the electric current is increased, the binding of the particles becomes stronger. The brake rotor passes through these bound particles. The output of the housing is rigidly attached to some portion of the machine. As the particles start to bind together, a resistant force is created on the rotor, slowing, and eventually stopping the output shaft. When electricity is removed from the brake, the input is free to turn with the shaft. Since magnetic particle powder is in the cavity, all magnetic particle units have some type of minimum drag associated with them. [edit] Electromagnetic Hysteresis Power Brake Electomagnetic Hysteresis Power Brake Introduction Electrical hysteresis units have an extremely wide torque range. Since these units can be controlled remotely, they are ideal for test stand applications where varying torque is required. Since drag torque is minimal, these units offer the widest available torque range of any of the hysteresis products. Most applications involving powered hysteresis units are in test stand requirements. How It Works When electricity is applied to the field, it creates an internal magnetic flux. That flux is then transferred into a hysteresis disk passing through the field. The hysteresis disk is attached to the brake shaft. A magnetic drag on the hysteresis disk allows for a constant drag, or eventual stoppage of the output shaft. When electricity is removed from the brake, the hysteresis disk is free to turn, and no relative force is transmitted between either member. Therefore, the only torque seen between the input and the output is bearing drag. [edit] Multiple Disk Brakes Electromagnetic Multiple Disk Brake Introduction Multiple disk brakes are used to deliver extremely high torque within a small space. These brakes can be used either wet or dry, which makes them ideal to run in multi speed gear box applications, machine tool applications, or in off road equipment. How It Works Electro-mechanical disk brakes operate via electrical actuation, but transmit torque mechanically. When electricity is applied to the coil of an electromagnet, the magnetic flux attracts the armature to the face of the brake. As it does so, it squeezes the inner and outer friction disks together. The hub is normally mounted on the shaft that is rotating. The brake housing is mounted solidly to the machine frame. As the disks are squeezed, torque is transmitted from the hub into the machine frame, stopping and holding the shaft. When electricity is removed from the brake, the armature is free to turn with the shaft. Springs keep the friction disk and armature away from each other. There is no contact between breaking surfaces and minimal drag. Architecture of an Electromechanical Braking System General architecture of an electromechanical braking (EMB) system in a drive-by-wire car is shown in Fig. 1. The system mainly comprises five types of elements: Processors including an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) and other local processors Memory (mainly integrated into the ECU) Sensors Actuators Communication network(s). Once the driver inputs a brake command to the system via a human-machine interface HMI (e.g. the brake pedal), four independent brake commands are generated by the ECU based on high level brake functions such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) or vehicle stability control (VSC). These command signals are sent to the four electric calipers (e-calipers) via a communication network. As this network might not be able to properly communicate with the e-calipers due to network faults, HMI sensory data are also directly transmitted to each e-caliper via a separate data bus. In each e-caliper a controller uses the brake command (received from ECU) as a reference input. The controller provides drive control commands for a power control module. This module controls three phase drive currents for the brake actuator which is a permanent magnet DC motor, energised by 42V sources. In addition to tracking its reference brake command, the caliper controller also controls the position and speed of the brake actuator. Thus, two sensors are vitally required to measure the position and speed of the actuator in each e-caliper. Because of the safety critical nature of the application, even missing a limited number of samples of these sensory data should be compensated for. [edit] Voting A brake-by-wire system, by nature, is a safety critical system and therefore fault tolerance is a vitally important characteristic of this system. As a result, a brake-by-wire system is designed in such way that many of its essential information would be derived from a variety of sources (sensors) and be handled by more than the bare necessity hardware. Three main types of redundancy usually exist in a brake-by-wire system: Redundant sensors in safety critical components such as the brake pedal. Redundant copies of some signals that are of particular safety importance such as displacement and force measurements of the brake pedal copied by multiple processors in the pedal interface unit. Redundant hardware to perform important processing tasks such as multiple processors for the electronic control unit (ECU) in Fig. 1. In order to utilize the existing redundancy, voting algorithms need to be evaluated, modified and adopted to meet the stringent requirements of a brake-by-wire system. Reliability, fault tolerance and accuracy are the main targeted outcomes of the voting techniques that should be developed especially for redundancy resolution inside a brake-by-wire system. Example of a solution for this problem: A fuzzy voter developed to fuse the information provided by three sensors devised in a brake pedal design. [edit] Missing data compensation In a by-wire car, some sensors are safety-critical components, and their failure will disrupt the vehicle function and endanger human lives. Two examples are the brake pedal sensors and the wheel speed sensors. The electronic control unit must always be informed of the drivers intentions to brake or to stop the vehicle. Therefore, missing the pedal sensor data is a serious problem for functionality of the vehicle control system. Wheel speed data are also vital in a brake-by-wire system to avoid skidding. The design of a by-wire car should provide safeguards against missing some of the data samples provided by the safety-critical sensors. Popular solutions are to provide redundant sensors and to apply a fail-safe mechanism. In addition to a complete sensor loss, the electronic control unit may also suffer an intermittent (temporary) data loss. For example, sensor data can sometimes fail to reach the electronic control unit. This may happen due to a temporary problem with the sensor it self or with the data transmission path. It may also result from an instantaneous short circuit or disconnection, a communication network fault, or a sudden increase in noise. In such cases, for a safe operation, the system has to be compensated for missing data samples. Example of a solution for this problem: Missing data compensation by a predictive filter. [edit] Accurate estimation of position and speed of brake actuators in the e-calipers The caliper controller controls the position and speed of the brake actuator (besides its main task which is tracking of its reference brake command). Thus, position and speed sensors are vitally required in each e-caliper and an efficient design of a measurement mechanism to sense the position and speed of the actuator is required. Recent designs for brake-by-wire systems use resolvers to provide accurate and continuous measurements for both absolute position and speed of the rotor of the actuators. Incremental encoders are relative position sensors and their additive error needs to be calibrated or compensated for by different methods. Unlike the encoders, resolvers provide two output signals that always allow the detection of absolute angular position. In addition, they suppress common mode noise and are especially useful in a noisy environment. Because of these reasons, resolvers are usually applied for the purpose of position and speed measurement in brake-by-wire systems. Howev er, nonlinear and robust observers are required to extract accurate position and speed estimates from the sinusoidal signals provided by resolvers. Example of a solution for this problem: A hybrid resolver-to-digital conversion scheme with guaranteed robust stability and automatic calibration of the resolvers used in an EMB system. [edit] Measurement and/or estimation of clamp force in the electromechanical calipers A clamp force sensor is a relatively expensive component in an EMB caliper. The cost is derived from its high unit value from a supplier, as well as marked production expenses because of its inclusion. The later emanates from the complex assembly procedures dealing with small tolerances, as well as on-line calibration for performance variability from one clamp force sensor to another. The successful use of a clamp force sensor in an EMB system poses a challenging engineering task. If a clamp force sensor is placed close to a brake pad, then it will be subjected to severe temperature conditions reaching up to 800 degrees Celsius that will challenge its mechanical integrity. Also temperature drifts must be compensated for. This situation can be avoided by embedding a clamp force sensor deep within the caliper. However, embedding this sensor leads to hysteresis that is influenced by friction between the clamp force sensor and the point of contact of an inner pad with the rotor. This hys teresis prevents a true clamp force to be measured. Due to the cost issues and engineering challenges involved with including the clamp force sensor, it might be desirable to eliminate this component from the EMB system. A potential opportunity to achieve this presents itself in accurate estimation of the clamp force based on alternative EMB system sensory measurements leading to the omission of a clamp force sensor. Example of a solution for this problem: Clamp force estimation from actuator position and current measurements using sensor data fusion. A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the instrument. Magnetism varies from place to place and differences in Earths magnetic field (the magnetosphere) can be caused by the differing nature of rocks and the interaction between charged particles from the Sun and the magnetosphere of a planet. Magnetometers are often a frequent component instrument on spacecraft that explore planets. [edit] Uses Magnetometers are used in ground-based electromagnetic geophysical surveys (such as magnetotellurics) to assist with detecting mineralization and corresponding geological structures. Airborne geophysical surveys use magnetometers that can detect magnetic field variations caused by mineralization, using airplanes like the Shrike Commander.[1] Magnetometers are also used to detect archaeological sites, shipwrecks and other buried or submerged objects, and in metal detectors to detect metal objects, such as guns in security screening. Magnetic anomaly detectors detect submarines for military purposes. They are used in directional drilling for oil or gas to detect the azimuth of the drilling tools near the drill bit. They are most often paired up with accelerometers in drilling tools so that both the inclination and azimuth of the drill bit can be found. Magnetometers are very sensitive, and can give an indication of possible auroral activity before one can see the light from the aurora. A grid of magnetometers around the world constantly measures the effect of the solar wind on the Earths magnetic field, which is published on the K-index.[2] A three-axis fluxgate magnetometer was part of the Mariner 2 and Mariner 10 missions.[3] A dual technique Magnetometer is part of the Cassini-Huygens mission to explore Saturn.[4] This system is composed of a vector helium and fluxgate magnetometers.[5] Magnetometers are also a component instrument on the Mercury MESSENGER mission. A magnetometer can also be used by satellites like GOES to measure both the magnitude and direction of a planets or moons magnetic field. Further information: Spacecraft magnetometer [edit] Mobile phones Magnetometers are appearing in mobile phones. The Apple iPhone 3GS has a magnetometer and comes with a compass app for showing direction. It can also reorient maps to show the direction youre facing.[6] [edit] Types Magnetometers can be divided into two basic types: Scalar magnetometers measure the total strength of the magnetic field to which they are subjected, and Vector magnetometers have the capability to measure the component of the magnetic field in a particular direction, relative to the spatial orientation of the device. The use of three orthogonal vector magnetometers allows the magnetic field strength, inclination and declination to be uniquely defined. Examples of vector magnetometers are fluxgates, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), and the atomic SERF magnetometer. Some scalar magnetometers are discuss

Maya Angelou at Rutgers :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maya Angelou was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. She is a poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director. She lectures throughout the United States and abroad and is Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has published ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and delivered a poem at his 1993 Presidential Inauguration. She also wrote and delivered a poem in 1995 titled 'A Brave and Startling Truth' in honor of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. Angelou, who speaks French, Spanish, Italian and West African Fanti, began her career in drama and dance. She married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo where she was editor of The Arab Observer, the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East. In Ghana, she was the feature editor of The African Review and taught at the University of Ghana. In the 1960's, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and by President Jimmy Carter to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the evening of Monday, October 28th, 2002, this great woman visited the faculty, staff, students and guests at Rutgers University. To enter the little gymnasium on College Avenue, where the event would be held and would eventually house nearly 2,000 people, everyone needed a ticket, a ticket that I did not have because they had sold out so quickly. Nevertheless, I was determined to be there. So I adorned myself in the appropriate attire, left my apartment, and at 6:45 found myself on College Avenue in a line that spanned from the doors of the gym all the way to Au Bon Pain. No one seemed to care that it was 30 ° outside that night. Up and down the line you could hear snippets of conversations resonating excitement and anticipation of the night’s event. For some who had seen Dr. Angelou in the past it would be an added treat, but for me it would be a first. I was going through ideas of things to say to the doorperson so they would let me in without a ti cket.

The Lost Tools of Learning :: Teaching Education

The Lost Tools of Learning "The Lost Tools of Learning" was first presented by Dorothy Sayers at Oxford in 1947. It is copyrighted by National Review, 150 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016, and reproduced here with their permission. That I, whose experience of teaching is extremely limited, should presume to discuss education is a matter, surely, that calls for no apology. It is a kind of behavior to which the present climate of opinion is wholly favorable. Bishops air their opinions about economics; biologists, about metaphysics; inorganic chemists, about theology; the most irrelevant people are appointed to highly technical ministries; and plain, blunt men write to the papers to say that Epstein and Picasso do not know how to draw. Up to a certain point, and provided the the criticisms are made with a reasonable modesty, these activities are commendable. Too much specialization is not a good thing. There is also one excellent reason why the veriest amateur may feel entitled to have an opinion about education. For if we are not all professional teachers, we have all, at some time or another, been taught. Even if we learnt nothing--perhaps in particular if we learnt nothing--our contribution to the discussion m ay have a potential value. However, it is in the highest degree improbable that the reforms I propose will ever be carried into effect. Neither the parents, nor the training colleges, nor the examination boards, nor the boards of governors, nor the ministries of education, would countenance them for a moment. For they amount to this: that if we are to produce a society of educated people, fitted to preserve their intellectual freedom amid the complex pressures of our modern society, we must turn back the wheel of progress some four or five hundred years, to the point at which education began to lose sight of its true object, towards the end of the Middle Ages. Before you dismiss me with the appropriate phrase--reactionary, romantic, mediaevalist, laudator temporis acti (praiser of times past), or whatever tag comes first to hand--I will ask you to consider one or two miscellaneous questions that hang about at the back, perhaps, of all our minds, and occasionally pop out to worry us. When we think about the remarkably early age at which the young men went up to university in, let us say, Tudor times, and thereafter were held fit to assume responsibility for the conduct of their own affairs, are we altogether comfortable about that artificial prolongation of intellectual childhood and adolescence into the years of physical maturity which is so marked in our own day?

Economic Growth and Workers Essay

What basically the article of Mehring would want to states into the public would be the adverse effect of the economic growth on the labour market [workers]. It was states on his paper entitled â€Å"Vital Signs: A Not-So-Great ‘08† that market analysts predicts, as 2008 comes, the economy to be more dependent on the consumption level of the consumers. In this light, Mehring stressed that this would be impossible considering the current condition of one of the primary sector in the economy- housing. For the past years, housing sectors has been performing so badly after the end of 2005 as the demand of consumers for housing units declined dramatically giving the housing firm a hard hit on their financial capabilities. In this regard, members of the housing sectors were forced to lay-off some of their workers. Furthermore, the financial sector of the economy has not been performing well making the recovery of the housing sector to slow down. At the end of the day, it is the consumers, workers at the same time, which receives the entire burden since there is a big possibility for them to be fired from their jobs and/or to receive lower wages as the economy continuous to perform badly. From November last year up to the present, the number of jobless people continuously keeps on rising. Even though there are a lot of jobs that has been created at the start of this year, around 70,000 jobs, those are still not enough to compensate the job losses that occur in the labor market. Due to the fact that there workers receives lower incomes, logically, they can only consume less thus making the profit of the businesses to decline. It was identified that retail stores experienced significant drop on their sales even during the holiday season. Due to this, their profitability and outlook in the economy started to become dependent on the performance of the consumption level of the consumer group. Since the profit of the producers are negatively affected by the lower consumption of the consumers, as well as due to the fact that there is a large pool of unemployed people available in the labor market, there is a leeway for businesses to offer lower wages to their employees, and the cycle of burden goes on. Although, export market keeps on lowering down the bad performance of the economy through convincing the investors that there is still hope for our economy for avert the negative effects of recession to the entire economy. Because of the alarming effects of the bad economic performance of the country, the government has been identifying ways on how to increase the growth of the labor sector to improve the consumption levels of the consumers and thus improving the profitability of the business firms operating in the market especially those coming from the construction and housing sector. There are already around 350,000 job losses that occurred by the end of December 22 and the current level that we have is higher than with the average level of 2007. Meanwhile, most of the job growth falls under the service sector and they are accounted for around 150,000 of the 192,000 jobs that are added in October last year (Mehring 4). Inside the service sector, it is the professional services, health care, leisure and entertainment that contributes for the improvement of the service sector. In order for the government to fully address the problem regarding unemployment, they must focus their policies and programs for the betterment of the financial sector, private as well as the providing measures on how to increase the growth rate of the labor market. In short, finds ways on moving the economy away from the midst of recession and secure the concerned sectors of the economy for a sustainable economic growth. Critique and Insight Based from the article of Mehring, there is a clear relationship of economic growth and the labor sector which is comprises by the working class. Actually, Mehring presented in his paper how the cycle of recession and unemployment exists in our economy nowadays. Actually, it is a good thing that he mentioned it in his paper since it provides us of the reasons why the government is actually bound of which party they would protect the most, is it the private or the consumer group which could also be classified as workers. The not-so-good- performance of our economy for the past two years has been imposing serious threats to major industries and one of this is the housing industry. Here is the logic, by the time the demand housing units declined by the end of 2005, members of the housing industry starts to experience lower profitability. Due to this scenario, this housing industry starts to become incapable of sustaining the current level wage rate and what they will do is to either lay-off some workers and/or lowers down the wage rate that they pay for their workers in order to secure their profitability which eventually further decaying the income and purchasing power of the consumers [workers] and the cycle continuous. There have been studies saying that in order for the economy to progress impressively, the government must find ways to maintain a lower unemployment rate. But what is happening in our case would be a different one considering the response of the consumer group and the market condition of major business sectors. Here, the government must not only focus on the unemployment rate but also considering the welfare of the business firms in making actions to address the problem. There are times wherein the government is too much engross in solving the unemployment rate but sacrificing the welfare of the businesses and at the end of the day the problem still remain and become worse. I think, it would be better for our government to find solutions to increase the rate of job growth that will not affect negatively the businesses in the economy like lowering down the restrictions of FDI into the country in order for the foreign investors to be encourage establishing their businesses here, thus, making creating more jobs. Moreover, the government could lower down the taxes of the taxes of the domestic companies in exchange of not laying-off of workers. Another possible solution that the government could implement would be to lessen the trade barriers of the government to give way for the multinational companies to set up their branches here in the country and thus creating more jobs to the economy. The reason why I have been to much in particular of solving the problem regarding unemployment because when a person has a job he could earn an income and used it to his needs or simply as consumption. By the time consumption improves, then, businesses starts to perform better and so with the entire economy. In this scenario, we could see that economic growth and workers are really related to one another. Moreover, it is good that Mehring identified in his paper the connection of the financial sector in revitalizing not only the growth of the business firms but also its importance on upgrading the financial capabilities of the consumers. Growth of businesses firms [economic growth] as well as upgrading of financial capabilities of consumers [workers] is made possible by the financial sector if they would lower down their interest rate from borrowing in order for the businesses and consumers to borrow money from them and used this money to increase their purchasing power and their budget for operation. Since in this scenario consumer will be having more money [through borrowing], then, their consumption level will improved and so with the profitability of the business firms especially the housing and construction sectors which are currently in bad shape in terms of demand and profitability. In this regard, it would be necessary to say that economic growth and workers are interrelated to one another, and the performance of one could affect the other through various economic factors such as consumption pattern and supply level.

Shopping mall

Unfortunately, life has a way of dictating its own terms to the CEO and they are seldom ones that he expects or desires. Around 10 am, Lukas was dragged away from reviewing sales trends by a phone call. The receptionist had a prospective client interested in the company's products and asked whether she should the call through. The conversation lasted about 40 minutes. He put the phone down annoyed with himself for still not having worked out a procedure for handling prospective clients. Each new caller is put through to him instead of a sales person who could service the client professionally.No sooner had the call ended than the daily grind began. Problems in Getter's retail outlets started springing up like mushrooms. And, as usual, Impressions was the only person deemed capable of resolving them. As if all this was not enough, he had to make decisions connected with export sales (new client, new transaction procedures) and the technology department urgently required his assistance . Last but not least, Lukas had to find time to manage Getter's export department. And so it went on into the evening.The events of the passing day made it clear to Lukas that he had to delegate his mommies sales operations duties, including the retail store network management, to someone else. Lukas cannot bring himself to appoint a Country Sales Director to take over the Coo's duties in that area, even though the company has had a Sales Department for several years. For the time being, Lukas is not only the CEO of Getter but also the Head of the Sales Department. It is patently obvious that this is far too much work for which one person can cope.Delegating part of the sales work to a Sales Director would mean that Lukas could finally perform his duties as Getter CEO much more effectively. He could finally stop worrying about missing out on market opportunities because of his daily routine tasks. Given more time, he might even go a step further and, instead of trawling the market f or opportunities, he could go out and create them for Getter himself. All this, though, requires a clear head. Unfortunately, the decision to appoint a new Sales Director is not an easy one.Getter is a family business established by Lukas Imprecision's parent's and handing over one of its key areas of operation to a total stranger is emotionally difficult. It is an enormous challenge to trust someone with no family ties to be as omitted to the development of the organization as had been his parent's and Lukas himself. Another important decision regarding the recruitment of the new should the position be advertised on the open Job market? From Mushroom Grower to Meat Processing Plant The story of the Mineworkers is that of a typical Polish family business.Their family meat processing plant Getter is currently run by the founders' son Lukas who had gradually taken over the everyday management of the company from his parent's. Getter is classified as a medium-sized company with 144 emp loyees and the organizational structure was becoming more and more elaborate. The family business now consists of two business entities – Getter, a sole proprietorship set up by Mr. and Ms Impressions (Ukase's parent's) and its daughter company Mercy-Meat, a limited liability company established by Lukas himself. Lukas is the CEO of both companies.Getter is engaged in pig, cattle and horse slaughtering, and the fabrication of primal cuts of pork, beef and poultry. The company offers meat cuts (pork and beef quarters) to satisfy the domestic market and individual customer orders. Cured meats processing is another of its key business operations. The past business achievements of Mr. and Mrs. Impressions, and their son Lukas as well, are the direct result of staying true to their chosen path, being consistent in action and remaining open to risk. The Mineworkers started their business soon after they got married.Their first business venture was a mushroom farm which, they built up from scratch. Without any financial resources of their own, they applied for a bank loan, which made it possible to get started. This business was their first opportunity to main experience in company management, including export sales. Over time, however, the business gradually became less profitable as market conditions changed. Eventually, the Mineworkers were forced to make a difficult decision as to what to do next. Their next step was to establish Getter meat plant in 1992, while phasing out the mushroom business.The founders remained unchanged but the activity was completely new. Getter – Change after Change The Mineworkers' choice of business activity was largely influenced by the region in which they were living (a rural area approximately 100 km from Warsaw), as well as a heritage of meat products in Poland in the early sass. They decided to meet the market's needs and taking advantage of their location they founded a meat manufacturing plant which initially deal t primarily in pig slaughtering. Apart from the many obvious opportunities opening up for the company, there were also significant threats that could not be ignored.By entering a new market sector, the Mineworkers were back at square one, both with regard to business contacts and building a market presence. However, they still had the business experience that they had gained while farming mushrooms. Getter dealt primarily in pork production during its first four years of operation and the company distributed its product to meat processing plants. Having researched the prevailing market trends, the Mineworkers came to the conclusion that they would have to do more if they wanted to move their business forward.They soon purchased meat processing technology together with several core product recipes which, according to Lukas Impressions, â€Å"turned out to be â€Å"bluebells†. The production technologies were imported from the West but the product recipes were meats. Employing an expert with extensive experience in a large meat processing Lana was a major decision and one that was to have a huge impact on the success of the business. Drawing on his previous experience, this professional successfully implemented the newly purchased technology, procedures and recipes at Getter.Meat processing commenced in 1996, the year Getter cold cuts meats first appeared on the market. The Mineworkers stayed focused on ensuring that the needs of customers were met while the meat plant was in its early stages of development. Indeed, they were so overwhelmed with keeping their new business alive that they did not recognize future expansion opportunities. Arguably, the volatile and bearish business environment, the radical economic changes taking place and the protracted birth of a market economy in Poland all militated against making long-term plans.Until 2001 , the Mineworkers had remained convinced that their operations would be limited to the local domestic market. Unf ortunately, as they say, change is the only certainty in life. The Mineworkers, despite having worked out a course of action, were once again faced with a crucial decision regarding their company's continued existence. This time the agent generating the change was the forthcoming accession o the European Union, and in particular, its directives regulating the operations of the meat sector adopted in 2001-2002.The legislation set out requirements that meat producers had to meet in order for their products to be sold on the EX. market (the directives stipulated requirements concerning the adjustment of local procedures to EX. veterinary standards and production technology, the implementation of the HACK system and other quality certificates). Any meat producer that failed to adjust its operations to comply with EX. legislation was not permitted to operate after the ruinations period expiring in 2005. This was a major shock to the Polish meat and cured meat producers, including the Min eworkers.By the time new directives were in force, the Mineworkers meat plant had been renovated but it was able to meet EX. requirements only partially, with technological process lines still below required standards. The Impressions family was confronted with the problem of what to do next. They could do nothing and be confined to the domestic market after 2005, and additionally have their output restricted by regulations, or they could modify their operations so hat Getter could sell its products anywhere in the ELI.The Mineworkers held a brainstorming session in which a representative of the next generation – their son Lukas – took an active part. The meeting concluded with a decision to respond to the Ex.'s challenge and not give up. The Mineworkers and their son set about adapting the company's operations to comply with EX. standards. The result was that a new large plant was soon designed. The company decided to finance the investment with EX. funds and a bank l oan. Lukas Impressions prepared an application for EX. funds to subsidies the construction. And so, once again, the Mineworkers, in the words of their son Lukas, â€Å"went for broke†.Construction of the new plant was completed in 2004. The plant was equipped with state-of-the-art technology the family had seen in similar factories in Denmark and Switzerland, and the machinery was likewise purchased from those countries. The new plant had two independent process lines for pork and beef and poultry (these do not come into contact with each other as per plant succeeded in obtaining all certificates required under the applicable EX. Directives including HACK certification. Production was progressively moved to the ewe plant between late 2004 and early 2005.The old premises were then converted into a warehouse and other facilities. It should be noted also that the activities undertaken by the Impressions family went beyond restructuring the company in terms of technology and EX. quality requirements. One important aspect of the change was the recruitment of new staff with appropriate qualifications and experience. In 2004, some 50 new people who had previously worked in plants with similar production systems were employed. One of the most important development steps Getter ever took was to consolidate TTS position on the domestic market by launching its own retail chain.However, development of the retail network was put on hold while the new plant was being built and equipped in line with EX. standards. After 2005, the Mineworkers once again became involved in opening retail outlets and started building their network of wholesale and retail clients. It is interesting to note that Getter does not work with large commercial chains on the domestic market. The reason for this is that the company fears Jeopardizing the goodwill associated with a brand associated with top quality products.The high price the consumer would have to pay for such quality products was another factor that hampered such cooperation. Human Resources Management at Getter The accumulated experiences of Getter with regards to human resources management indicate that filling any knowledge gaps that had been identified within the company has been a core criterion in selecting new employees. This was certainly the case when Getter made the move to expand into cured meats in 1996. A specialist who had the necessary expertise and experience of having previously worked in another meat processing plant was hired.The company owners soon liaised that hiring an experienced professional was the right decision. The same decision was taken when the new HACK certified production plants opened in 2004-2005. Workers previously employed in similar businesses where HACK had been in operation and who possessed the necessary qualifications were hired (approximately 50 people in 2004). Hiring a professional Export Sales Director from another company with extensive past export experience w as another major decision the company made when it launched its export business in 2006.It is worth noting that Getter has not always factored in prior meat industry experience when hiring ewe staff. For instance, none of the staff hired in the Domestic Sales Department had ever worked in the meat business before. These people had to learn the basics of the meat industry from the bottom up. Getter uses a variety of sources and meaner to recruit new staff, depending on need. The current practice for less responsible positions such as lower level production workers is to post Job advertisements and then have the Production Manager conduct a recruitment and selection process.Potential employees are often recommended by existing staff members when Job advertisements are published (but only as required). Many of the candidates now applying for these positions are people returning from abroad and who have gained industry experience in other EX. countries. Meanwhile, personal professional and/or positions. The Export Sales Director (who was not only attracted by the financial incentives but by the challenges and the opportunities for professional development) is a case in point.Lukas realizes that the â€Å"business acquaintance factor† will cease to be sufficient in future and that the company will have to turn to professional head- hunting companies to find senior personnel as confidentiality considerations may ole out Job advertisements as a selection tool. Graph One: Getter's Organizational Structure Lukas is aware that, despite having been successful in building up a good team – evidenced by the relatively low turnover of senior staff and the moderate turnover of junior staff – finding the right people for the right positions, especially senior management positions, is not an easy task.In the case of senior staff, the question of making the right choice is further complicated by the fact that the founders of Getter have been managing the com pany with their son for a long time. Ceding the rower and authority that they have exercised so far has not been easy. Nor will it be easy to entrust the running of any further large elements their business to a stranger. The transfer of obligations to a person from outside the family always Production plants Domestic Sales Department Getting CEO Lukas Impressions Cured meats plant Administration A network of 25 retail outlets Export Department (Mercy-Meat SP. 0. 0. ) Slaughter plant induces stress and uncertainty as to their management style, but the company's rapid expansion leaves the Imprecision's with little choice. Lukas remembers only o well that he and his parent's were responsible for everything when the new plant was launched in 2004- 2005 and that it took a tremendous personal toll on them. In view of the complexity of the venture, they wanted to retain as much power as they could; they wanted to have maximum control over everything that went on within the organization so that they could immediately detect any issues that required improvement.This was a particularly difficult period in their lives. In time outsiders – professionals who began to incrementally take over part of their duties – Joined the many. In 2009, Lukas Impressions was faced with another HER management challenge. His parent's, who were becoming old and infirm, gradually started to withdraw from the business while leaving the company management in the hands of their son Lukas. He was not exactly alone as one of Illus.'s brothers was now in charge of Getter's technical operations, although he was not a member of the top management team.His sister and his other brother are still at school and it is hard to say whether they the time being, Lukas is the only Impressions family member entrusted with full authority over the business and responsible for the future of the family company. Getter's staff management involves a certain amount of trust in its employees and this ha s contributed to the character of the business. This is exemplified by a casual working style and a lack of strict supervision. This approach is rooted to a great extent in the fact that the owners made it a rule to encourage their employees to feel responsible for their work from the outset.Everyone hired by Getter was apprised of his or her responsibilities immediately. This approach also resulted in the staff identifying strongly with the company. Constantly developing and raising the qualifications of its workforce is an important dimension of the Getter approach to HER. To a large extent, this is achieved through the application of internal resources. Junior workers undergo basic training conducted by more senior workers who hold the necessary licenses. Depending on individual needs, higher level personnel may attend external training courses. This, however, is not common.The scope of internal training at Getter is limited and outsourced training is a rarity (e. G. One training course was devoted to acquiring laity certificates). The Getter CEO deems the existing knowledge base satisfactory but staff development and the need to expand organizational knowledge resources are still major issues. After all, the company is continually expanding. That is why one of the most important tasks on the checklist of things to do in the nearest future is to deal with the issue of employee training in a more efficient and well thought-out manner.As far as the motivation of employees is concerned, money bonuses are the prime motivator at present. No motivation system meeting all staff requirements has yet been devised. Nobody is responsible for HER management at the company at present. Any activities that come under this heading are deemed to be staff-related administrative matters and are handled by two people. The Sales Department Lukas Impressions set up a Sales Department to handle domestic sales at the end of 2004 when he returned to the business after completing hi s university education.The core activity of the Sales Department is to manage a network of retail outlets in Ammonias Videodisc. Lukas was the brains behind the project. He came up with the idea of establishing such stores in 2001 when he was studying management. Four stores had already been set up by 2004 but creating the Sales Department accelerated the growth of the network. Twenty five outlets had opened by the beginning of 2010 and there are plans afoot to open even more in the very near future. In 2005, Lukas hired Anna to work in the newly created Sales Department and support the development of the retail network.Anna soon turned out to be a valuable employee. She had relatively little experience in sales and little knowledge of the meat sector, but this was more than compensated for by her openness to new challenges and her willingness to get up to speed on the industry. She acted as Illus.'s assistant and, through working together with him, got to know the rules governing t he meat market and his management style. For his part, Lukas gave her a free hand over a wide range of activities in view of her rapidly expanding competence and knowledge about both the market and the company.He placed and her creative input in the development of the network was what he valued most. Together they recruited competent store managers and sales assistants for their retail outlets. Anna had a good intuition about people and Lukas consulted her when hiring staff. The selected candidates were always the best choice, thanks to Anna's excellent knowledge of the company and her insight. Today, her Job description encompasses managing the retail outlets she is in charge of so that they operate efficiently and effectively.Anna is also involved in setting up new outlets. In late 2009 and early 2010, for instance, she was responsible for the opening of 3 new stores, the selection and recruitment of staff (store manager and 4 to 6 sales assistants in each store), the interior dec oration and the procedures for having them approved by the relevant authorities (e. G. Sanitary authorities). Lukas delegated most of the contacts with the stores' various service providers (from contacts with media suppliers to store equipment producers) to her.Apart from all that, all of the store managers report to Anna and she also manages the remainder of the sales team, which currently consists of two other people (one was hired in 2007 and the other in 2010). There are already enough headaches for her now with 25 outlets and roughly 140 employees. Each is employed as a Sales Representative, receives a monthly salary, and is responsible for approximately 8 outlets. They are monitoring the market trends. This particular market has its own idiosyncrasies and is highly volatile, especially when it comes to prices.The sales representatives have to be alert at all times and cannot afford to take their eyes off the competition. The speed with which Getter can react to market changes depends to a great extent on their vigilance. Anna is clearly the De facto head of the Sales Department and is responsible for the company's retail outlets. Yet it is Lukas who makes all the decisions. He is the one everybody goes to whenever a problem arises and he is the one who comes up with all of the solutions. Anna only takes over once Lukas masticates his solutions to her.But this can take a lot of time and the daily operation of the retail stores is already time consuming enough. Retail Outlets – Key Company Resource Getter owns a network of meat retail outlets which it is intent on developing by opening new outlets and by ensuring that each shop offers high-end customer service, as well as top quality products. Getter shops offer a complete range of pork, beef, poultry and cured meats. The company has supplemented its product range with bread (frequently baked on the premises) and spices to fulfill all the needs of its customers.Getter has been selling a line of CEO meats (a line of 7 â€Å"Premium† high end top quality products with salt as the only preservative) for over a year. Getter guarantees that the meats offered in its retail shops are of the utmost quality. Quality assurance has always been the Impressions families top priority. Getter's top quality products require the best available employees and the requirements laid down for store staff are strict. That they are selling top quality products and that quality comes at a premium is drilled into them from day one.This applies to sales staff as much as it does to store managers. In practice, this meaner that each and every customer should leave the shop knowing that he or she has Just bought a top-quality product. The staff of each shop consists of a manager and between 4 and 6 sales assistants. Remuneration of shop workers is based on commission. Lukas will visit the shops himself occasionally. This is partly to check whether everything is running smoothly and in line with his expectations, but mostly to meet his staff and customers in person.This is what Lukas says of these visits: â€Å"l like to do a little tour of the shops when there is time. It's nice to talk to the staff in arson sometimes and to see how our products are showcased, to listen to what our customers have to say about our meat and to talk to them. I often get a chance to meet the staff hired by Anna in person during these visits. † According to Lukas, the potential of the domestic market is still not being fully exploited given the quality of Getter products. He is considering expanding the Ammonias Videodisc retail chain and increasing domestic sales.The company is planning more retail outlets over the next few years. This will mean more sales representatives. The company would like to have one representative per 10 stores. For practical purposes, this will also mean more problems in the daily operation of the Sales Department and the individual stores. The current sales repre sentatives relate well to the company and problems are rare. Not having full control over their work is one nagging concern he has. The more sales representatives, the more supervision they need.And dealing with this problem will chew up a lot of the Sales Director's time. There are already enough headaches now with 25 outlets and roughly 120 employees. Lukas knows this better than anyone. Some days, every one of the 25 stores will ring him with problems. Everyone knows that Anna is responsible for stores but they still call him. There seems to be a problem in communicating the information that Anna is the person to call for day-to-day problems. This invisible communication barrier will have to go before there can be any more stores.Ukase has also set himself the goal of expanding beyond the existing retail network and establishing a nationwide presence. Virtually all products are sold through company stores. On one hand, because of the high quality of its products, Getter is not in terested in working with large retail chains that value price over quality. On the other hand, reaching wholesale stores and wholesale networks who might be interested in selling Getter's top quality products requires dedicated promotional activities addressed to these stores. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is nobody in the company responsible for market promotion.Apart from a few rudimentary sessions, the company does not engage in this type of promotional activity. There is nobody in the company responsible for producing any kind of catalogue containing a full and up to date product portfolio or for updating the website. Ukase does not eave time to deal with this aspect of the business and all attempts to outsource these services have so far proven disastrous (because, in the Coo's opinion â€Å"website designers cannot meet the company expectations as the company does not know what it wants†).Another key problem is to nominate a sales team member responsible for handl ing prospects and answering their questions. Lukas is adamant that the right person for the Job is not him. A Challenge for the CEO of Getter The business development plans for Getter and the requirements they generate have made it clear to the CEO that the decision to appoint a Sales Director and revealing state of affairs where Anna is unofficially responsible for the department and the retail chain is highly inefficient. Lukas has often found himself, and not Anna, as the primary contact person when problems have arisen.It goes without saying that the decision to have the Sales Department managed professionally has to be taken soon but the question of how to find the right candidate for the position remains unanswered. At first viewing, Anna seems to be the obvious candidate. She has the longest period of service in the Sales Department, she is familiar with the Coo's management style, she knows the company inside out and her intuition has been vindicated on the numerous occasion s that she has selected the best candidates for Getter. She was also actively and effectively involved in setting up the retail chain.Unfortunately, Lukas believes that there is a huge question mark hanging over her. Lukas is uncertain about Anna's future and her commitment to the Sales Department as she is considering having another baby. He knows from prior experience that when her child needs attention, Anna has to leave work to deal with the matter, so having another child would possibly add to this difficulty. Lukas knows that he could be accused of being sexist for thinking this but he suspects every owner of an SEEM goes through this dilemma.He also knows that he should judge Anna's ability to do the Job based on her professional abilities and not on her personal life. He believes that he is an understanding person with a positive attitude towards other people but he wonders if he can let his family business be affected by any competing claims on Anna's time that parenthood b rings. Employing someone from outside of the company might be problematic because of Getter's location. Both the company and the production plant are situated near mall cities like Pullouts or Castro? ¬aka, both approximately 100 km from Warsaw.Another issue with employing an outsider is that the successful candidate would have to pick up the specifics of the company and start thinking â€Å"the Getter way' very quickly. This is crucial as Getter's products are of very high quality, which translates into higher prices, which in turn makes the acquisition of new clients harder than it would be in the case of regular quality meat (large chain stores are more interested in low prices than quality). The potential Sales Director should have experience in the eat industry and a sound knowledge of the market.He or she also needs to have ‘know-how, which is what Getter needs most at this moment. Another question is how would Anna react when she finds out that a new Sales Director i s being recruited from outside? Will this denominate her or, in the worst case scenario, prompt her to leave the company? Lukas has to decide how to conduct the recruitment process and what resources should he use – head hunters, press advertisements or some other option? The CEO is also faced with the challenge of devising and implementing effective control mechanisms for the new Sales Director ND the Department.On one hand, these measures should give the director a large degree of autonomy, but on the other they need to give Lukas a sense of security that the department is working effectively and that the results meet the expectations of the company's owners. This is especially important given that the development of the retail outlets is one of Getter's key objects. Lukas feels that it is important for the new monitoring mechanism not to Jeopardize its identity of a family company and great deal of freedom but, at the same time, he has made sure that everyone knows the pre cise scope of their responsibility.Impressions is aware that the company's further growth may render this approach inadequate and make effective control mechanisms necessary. Ukase has attempted to make internal company communication more formal. In view of the specificity of the market and the considerable price fluctuations of meat products, management needs to be apprised of such matters as soon as new information becomes available if the company is to function effectively. The solutions adopted tussah have proved ineffective. The current regimen of sales staff meetings held every Monday or every other Monday is not producing the expected results.Either the meetings are cancelled because something urgent crops up or the volume of data collected by the sales representatives is so great that it is difficult to extract the most important facts and figures. The next area that needs to be worked out is the design and implementation of support procedures for the retail outlets. Some pr oblems are not limited to a single store, as can be seen from the company's track record. Therefore, the development of a single manual or code of conduct containing ways of dealing with the most frequently encountered problems would streamline the work of both store managers ND Sales Department staff.It would also give them more time to spend on other tasks. The Sales Director would also benefit as he or she could finally focus on expanding the retail chain and looking for new locations. Officially delegating the management of the Sales Department onto a newly appointed manager wo