The Errors in Affirmative Action :: Critical Thinking Essays

Although much of the reasoning behind Affirmative Action is good, it goes wrong in a few major ways. Affirmative action is meant to bring an end to discrimination. In trying to do so, though, it elevates the so-called disadvantaged minorities above other groups. In addition, the members of the particular minority groups are stereotyped according to the group they are in rather than being looked at as an individual. Affirmative action also makes the assumption that minority groups are, in fact, disadvantaged. Another result is that the tables are turned and whites are discriminated against. Lastly, and most importantly, Affirmative Action can force people to go against their religious beliefs, and in doing so, it breaks the First Amendment to the Constitution. To begin with, Affirmative Action is meant to bring an end to discrimination. In reality, it creates more discrimination in many different ways. For example, members of minorities are elevated above those in other groups. As the book states, Affirmative Action "seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged. Favoring one group isn't any way of solving discrimination problems; it just creates more dissension between groups. According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, discrimination means "to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of." Affirmative Action directly creates discrimination. People of minority groups are stereotyped, often incorrectly, as being disadvantaged, simply because they are a member of that group. Not only is it stereotyping of minorities, but also of whites. It creates the assumption that whites are better off than minorities. Affirmative Action looks at the members of a group and makes assumptions, stereotyping the members in the group rather than taking each member of the group and examining that person. Members of minority groups often feel inferior because, as members of those groups, they get special privileges. According to the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the government cannot make laws "respecting an establishment of religion." The government cannot both support Affirmative Action and uphold the first amendment at the same time. The goals, actions, and restrictions resulting from Affirmative Action can easily be against a person's religious beliefs. Take, for example, beliefs on homosexuality. What happens to a religious organization that is against homosexuality and wants to have only straight members of their religion hired. According to Affirmative Action, they can't discriminate based on sexual orientation or religion.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Various

Sleep deprivation is a common occurrence in modern culture. Every day there seems to be twice as much work and half as much time to complete it in. This results in either extended periods of wakefulness or a decrease in sleep over an extended period of time. While some people may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they need, this belief is false. Sleep, by definition, is the natural periodic suspension of voluntary bodily functions and complete or partial suspension of consciousness, during which the powers of the body are restored (Ratcliff & Van Dongen, 2009). Only in the last century have the psychological and scientific areas of study began to investigate and explore the nature, purpose, and properties of sleep. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the value and effect of sleep deprivation on cognition. The majority of articles describe partial sleep deprivation as having negative effects on cognitive, behavioural, physiological, and emotional measures. From this information, it is derived that various cognitive abilities will affect productivity and performance. Therefore, it is hypothesized that sleep deprivation affects cognitive, behavioural, physiological and psychological measures because it increases and worsens stress, impairs cognitive function and emotional stability. How an individual responds to sleep loss, whether it is partial deprivation (sleeping less than 5 hours in one 24-hour period), short-term total sleep deprivation (no sleep for 24-48 hours),and long-term total sleep deprivation (no sleep for more than 48 hours) can vary. Ratcliff et al. 2009) indicate that sleep deprivation has been shown to impact negatively on a wide range of cognitive abilities, such as behavioural, physiological and emotional. For example, mood changes including irritability, fatigue, difficulty in concentration, and disorientation to short-term memory alterations are due to decreased attention, concentration lapses, and decreased motivation. Similar results were published by Alhola & polo-Kantola (2007). The study concluded that the person deprive d of total sleep experiences negative mood, sleepiness, fatigue, and decline in alertness and performance. Some sleep-deprived individuals report visual hallucinations or distortions and feelings of paranoia. Systematic studies of total sleep deprivation have revealed some temporary cognitive deficits but no permanent effects. Kloss, Szuba & Dinges (2002) discovered the most significant effect of sleep loss is the physiological sleepiness, or the tendency to fall asleep when there is a lack of stimuli. Sleepiness becomes extreme after the loss of a single night of sleep. Without competing stimuli, an individual lacking a night’s sleep can fall asleep within 2 or 3 minutes the next day. This can cause dramatic affects on productivity. After about 48 hours without sleep, microsleeps become increasingly more common even when participants are physically active (Kloss et al. , 2002). Microsleeps are essentially several seconds of actual sleep with delta waves that interrupt the regular EEG of a person who is awake, which impairs his or her continuity of cognitive function (Kloss et al. , 2002). Therefore, as sleepiness increases, an individual must increase effort to maintain a stable level of performance because microsleep generally happens directly before performance failure occurs. In addition to the impairment of cognitive functions, adult symptoms of sleep deprivation may vary from those of a child. Yawning constantly, dozing off while watching a television show, poor concentration and grogginess while waking up are some of the symptoms adults display when they are deprived of sleep (Dahl, 1999). The symptoms of a sleep-deprived child include irritability, daytime naps, tantrums, hyperactive behaviour, and moodiness. Getting out of bed in the morning is a problem for children who experience sleep deprivation. Adolescents also experience a change in their sleep patterns that their bodies want to stay up late and wake up later, which often leads to them trying to catch up on sleep during the weekend (Dahl, 1999). This sleep schedule irregularity can actually aggravate the problems and make getting to sleep at a reasonable hour during the week even harder. According to Dahl (1999), following sleep loss and hyperactive behaviour, changes in attention and performance also represent a complex area of investigation in children and adolescents. Sleep loss is associated with brief mental lapses in attention during simple tasks that can be partially offset by increased effort or motivation. Sleep deprivation can sometimes mimic or exacerbate symptoms of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including distractibility, impulsivity, and difficulty with effortful control of attention. There is also emerging evidence that sleep deprivation has marked influences on the ability to perform complex tasks or tasks that require attention in two or more areas at the same time (Dahl, 1999). Therefore, a teenager should try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, allowing for at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep. On the other hand, many people are suffering from daytime sleepiness so pervasive that it interferes with their daily activities because they do not get the optimal amount of sleep they their bodies need. Lack of sleep and sleep problems can have serious, life-threatening consequences, as well as a significant impact on productivity (Alhola et al. , 2007). Many people suffering from routine sleep loss are not even aware of it, and many who do realize they are not getting enough sleep are not aware of what it is costing them. Sleep loss creates sleepiness, which can be associated with decrements in vigilance, reaction time, memory, psychomotor coordination, information processing, and decision-making (Rosekind et al. , 1996). With increasing sleepiness, individuals demonstrate poorer performance despite increased effort, and they may report indifference regarding the outcome of their performance. Even severely sleep deprived people are still able to perform to some degree on a verbal learning test. This implies that some other area of the brain must become active to compensate for the loss of temporal lobe functioning. Even though they can perform to some degree, sleep deprived people still do not perform as well on these tests as do fully rested subjects Rosekind et al. (1996) illustrate that not getting enough sleep affects the people in several ways, such as problem solving skills are impaired. Sleep loss noticeably impairs our ability to comprehend apidly changing situations, increases the likelihood of distraction, makes us think more rigidly and less flexibly, and reduces our ability to produce innovative solutions to problems. In addition, our communication skills also suffer because sleep loss reduces the words in vocabulary both verbally and in writing (Rosekind et al. , 1996). Learning and memory suffer as sleep loss diminishes scores on tests of memory, verbal fluency and overall creativity (Rosekind et al. , 1996). Therefore, if a person is not able to get a full night's sleep after learning something new, he will not remember the new knowledge well. He will not fully assimilate the new ideas or task until he is able to go through a complete night of uninterrupted sleep cycles. In relation to our communication and memory skills, being sleepy on the job, whether the cause is simple sleep deprivation or an undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorder, can also have a vital impact on how well workers can do their job. For example, night-shift workers have poorer daytime sleep, reduced night-time alertness and performance, and an increased accident rate (Williamson & Feyer, 2000). Since sleep deprivation causes individuals to feel so sleepy during the day, their concentration and performance suffer significantly. For example, sleep deprivation often leads to an increase in the incidence of motor vehicle accidents. One study found that individuals suffering from fatigue due to sleep apnea are six times more likely to have a motor vehicle accident than persons who are not suffering from fatigue (Williamson et al. , 2000). This is partly due to the person being groggy or sleepy due to lack of rest. It is also partly due to the fact that sleep deprived people tend to fall into sleep for very brief periods at unforeseen times. They also are more disposed to industrial accidents than non-apnea workers (Kloss et al. , 2002). Therefore, there is a direct connection between sleepiness and impaired hand-eye coordination. The degree of impairment has led researchers to compare it in severity to drunkenness and this can be represented by having an untreated sleep disorder such as insomnia, narcolepsy, or sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of having a motor vehicle accident. Since sleep deprivation increases the likelihood of having a motor vehicle accident, sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally (Landsness et al. , 2009). After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly affecting a person's behaviour. Some organs, such as muscles, are able to regenerate even when a person is not sleeping so long as they are resting (Landsness et al. , 2009). This could involve lying awake but relaxed within a quite environment. Different parts of the brain are rested and regenerated during different phases of sleep. During some phases of sleep, the neurons in the cerebral cortex regenerate (Landsness et al. , 2009). If sleep is interrupted so that this regeneration cannot occur, speech may be affected, since the temporal lobe of the brain is what controls speech (Alhola et al. , 2007). People who do not get enough sleep often have slurred speech. There is also measurably less activity in their temporal lobes than in those of well-rested people (Alhola et al. , 2007). During Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, memories are consolidated and categorized by the brain (Ellenbogen, 2010). New synaptic connections are also formed during REM sleep, aiding learning. If REM sleep is cut short, long-term memory may be affected and new knowledge might not be retained (Ellenbogen, 2010). Conversely, short-term memory might be better in the sleep deprived person because the part of the brain that controls short-term memory contains memories that are still fresh. In order to counteract sleep deprivation effects, the brain works harder but the effectiveness is low. There is a drop in the concentration level and it affects memory too (Lim & Dinges, 2010). The effects of sleep deprivation include slurred and fragmented speech and slowing down of mental reaction time. Problem solving and decision making abilities of the brain are affected. Due to rigid thought patterns of the brain, new problem solving ideas do not get generated, and hallucinations are common for people who have insufficient rest (Kloss et al. , 2002). Sleep deprivation causes deterioration in emotional mood of human beings. Irritability and short temper are two common symptoms of sleep deprivation (Dahl, 1999). Consequently, emotional outbursts and even violence are noticed among people who are deprived of sleep because of a loss of emotional control (Dahl, 1999). Sleepiness leads to rise in stress and anxiety levels of these individuals. Stress and anxiety in turn will lead to insomnia and this kind of vicious cycle will lead to anxiety disorders and depression, if left unchecked. Our emotional moods are affected by exhaustion and fatigue. This condition in turn will lead to pessimism, sadness, stress and anger (Jennings et al. , 2003). To function effectively, the frontal cortex of our brain needs sufficient sleep. The ability to control speech, problem solving and accessing memory is all controlled by the frontal cortex and if there is not enough rest, these abilities are affected (Landsness et al. , 2009). One thing is for certain, that chronic sleep loss may lead to deterioration of mood and motivation, decrease in attention, energy, and concentration. It also causes an increase in fatigue, irritability, tension, anxiety, and depression (Jennings et al. , 2003). Any one of these consequences of sleep deprivation can seriously affect productivity and performance. There is no question about it that the problem of sleep loss and fatigue is one that impacts significantly on the professional and personal lives of all humans. In association to all these studies, the purpose of this essay was to analyze the importance of sleep deprivation on cognition. There is considerable evidence to support the hypothesis that sleep deprivation has negative effects on neurobehavioural (sustained attention, reaction time, and vigilance) and cognitive (memory and reasoning) performance in humans (Rosekind et al. , 1996, Williamson et al. , 2000, Kloss et al. , 2002 & Alhola et al. , 2007). In some ways, sleep deprivation studies help us to study and understand the relationship between the brain and behaviour in a very unique way by observing how a person's behaviour changes as the brain shuts down. Just like a person cannot jog for three continuous days, a person's brain cannot operate without rest breaks. Since different regions of the brain rest during different stages of the sleep cycle, sleep cannot be cut short (Landsness et al. , 2009). Therefore, too little sleep can influence our intellectual capabilities, emotions, and motor performances, which creates major issues for sleep deprived drivers because they are falling asleep at the wheel. To reduce our behaviour in sleep deprivation, it is important for us to manage our activity so that we have more time to sleep. So, to have a good quality and quantity of sleep, time management is the key.

How Important Is Culture - 1528 Words

How important is Culture According to Maya Angelou, Amy tan, Chia-Fang (Sandy) Hsu, Janell Hobson, Yong Chen, Felicia F. Thomas, and Fuchs Lawrence, culture is what brings a community together as one. In â€Å"Champions of the World,† â€Å"Fish Cheeks,† â€Å"Acculturation and communication Traits: A Study of Cross-cultural Adaptation among Chinese in America,† â€Å"Between History and Fantasy: Harriet Tubman in the Artistic and Popular Imaginary,† â€Å"Recreating the Chinese American Home through Cookbook Writing,† â€Å"African American and Socialization,† and â€Å"Immigration, Multiculturalism, and American history†. All the authors mention and talk about how important is to know once culture. For generation culture has been what makes America so unique among†¦show more content†¦If Louis had lost the fight that day, it would have been a step back for all African Americans. Which would had lead them back to being nothin g but idle, stinky, rubbish, and dirty people (Angelou 106). However, by winning the fight he confirmed that Africans Americans are strong and have the same capacity and will as white Americans. This goes to show how culture can bring a community together as one. â€Å"Fish Cheeks,† an essay written by Amy Tan, emphasizes the importance of accepting once customs and surpass embarrassment. It relates the humiliation she went through as a teenager for Christmas Eve, when her family invites her crush, and his family to enjoy a Chinese traditional meal. The affection she had towards the minister’s son blinded her from seeing her families effort. Indeed, Tan was focusing on what others would think of her appearances and customs. The quote â€Å"Your only shame is to have shame,† is the lesson imparted by her mother, meaning she should be a shame of not accepting herself, her family, and traditions (Tan 111). In the article â€Å"Acculturation and Communication Trait s: A study of Cross-Cultural Adaptation among Chinese in American,† the author Chia- Fang (Sandy) Hsu, did a study base on how communication affected the culture of Americans and Chinese. When a Chinese person moves from china to the United States, the first thing they do to adjust themselves to their new atmosphere, is learning how to communicate. According to Fang

The Post-War Economic Boom After WWII

Many Americans feared that the end of World War II and the subsequent drop in military spending might bring back the hard times of the Great Depression. But instead, pent-up consumer demand fueled exceptionally strong economic growth in the post-war period. The automobile industry successfully converted back to producing cars, and new industries such as aviation and electronics grew by leaps and bounds. A housing boom, stimulated in part by easily affordable mortgages for returning members of the military, added to the expansion. The nations gross national product rose from about $200,000 million in 1940 to $300,000 million in 1950 and to more than $500,000 million in 1960. At the same time, the jump in post-war births, known as the baby boom, increased the number of consumers. More and more Americans joined the middle class. The Military Industrial Complex The need to produce war supplies had given rise to a huge military-industrial complex (a term coined by Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as the U.S. president from 1953 through 1961). It did not disappear with the wars end. As the Iron Curtain descended across Europe and the United States found itself embroiled in a ​Cold War with the Soviet Union, the government maintained substantial fighting capacity and invested in sophisticated weapons such as the hydrogen bomb. Economic aid flowed to war-ravaged European countries under the Marshall Plan, which also helped maintain markets for numerous U.S. goods. And the government itself recognized its central role in economic affairs. The Employment Act of 1946 stated as government policy to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power. The United States also recognized during the post-war period the need to restructure international monetary arrangements, spearheading the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — institutions designed to ensure an open, capitalist international economy. Business, meanwhile, entered a period marked by consolidation. Firms merged to create huge, diversified conglomerates. International Telephone and Telegraph, for instance, bought Sheraton Hotels, Continental Banking, Hartford Fire Insurance, Avis Rent-a-Car, and other companies. Changes in the American Workforce The American workforce also changed significantly. During the 1950s, the number of workers providing services grew until it equaled and then surpassed the number who produced goods. And by 1956, a majority of U.S. workers held white-collar rather than blue-collar jobs. At the same time, labor unions won long-term employment contracts and other benefits for their members. Farmers, on the other hand, faced tough times. Gains in productivity led to agricultural overproduction, as farming became a big business. Small family farms found it increasingly difficult to compete, and more and more farmers left the land. As a result, the number of people employed in the farm sector, which in 1947 stood at 7.9 million, began a continuing decline; by 1998, U.S. farms employed only 3.4 million people. Other Americans moved, too. Growing demand for single-family homes and the widespread ownership of cars led many Americans to migrate from central cities to suburbs. Coupled with technological innovations such as the invention of air conditioning, the migration spurred the development of Sun Belt cities such as Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix in the southern and southwestern states. As new, federally-sponsored highways created better access to the suburbs, business patterns began to change as well. Shopping centers multiplied, rising from eight at the end of World War II to 3,840 in 1960. Many industries soon followed, leaving cities for less crowded sites. Source This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

The Teacher Who Changed My Life Essays - 1067 Words

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The truism To teach is to touch a life forever is one that all of us have heard, but very few can identify with.nbsp; Almost every student has had at least one teacher who he or she despises, or one who has left his or her positive impression upon the student.nbsp; In my case, it was Mrs. Rudra, my sixth-grade homeroom and English teacher. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Remember those first days of a new school year?nbsp; You dont know who your teacher is going to be, or which of your friends youll get to have in that class?nbsp; It was just such a day for me.nbsp; Our school had a new teacher who had transferred from a military school.nbsp; Her husband had retired from the Army, and they had†¦show more content†¦Josephs class?nbsp; No.nbsp; Mrs. Samuels class?nbsp; No.nbsp; With only three classes for sixth grade, I knew that my and twenty-three other girls fate was sealed.nbsp; Twenty-four crestfallen girls made their way to Mrs. Rudras room.nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; At the door waiting to greet us was the new terror of Bishop Cotton Girls School.nbsp; Like young ladies, or should I say young cadets, we filed in and took our seats. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Good morning, Mrs. Rudra, we said in unison. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Good morning, girls, she replied in a voice that was as smooth as silk.nbsp; Probably all that smoking gave her voice that quality, I thought.nbsp; I was particularly terrified.nbsp; As I have said earlier, my fifth-grade teacher had left a lot to be desired.nbsp; She never had time for students who were slow.nbsp; Not only was I slow, but I couldnt speak a sentence straight without getting tongue-tied.nbsp; My severe stuttering tried her patience.nbsp; And now, here I was in sixth grade with a teacher who was from military school.nbsp; How much worse could it get? nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; After taking attendance, she announced our first assignment.nbsp; We all had to write an essay about what we did over summer vacation.nbsp; Then, she proceeded to make clear her acceptable and unacceptable norms of behavior, and the consequences of anyShow MoreRelatedThe Teacher Who Changed My Life1247 Words   |  5 Pagesbreak was over, and it was the time to go back to school to my eleventh grade. School for me wasn’t that different as my summer break. I never felt like not going to school after a long summer break because I used to have a lot of fun in school. School for me was a place where you would socialize, gossip, brag, drive attention, miss conduct, daydream, text students, sing, ask silly questions and flirt with girls. I think now you know how my days at school used to be. However, a day has come that IRead MoreThe Teacher Who Changed My Life Essay753 Words   |  4 Pages As I walked into my World History class as a sophomore, I was unsure what to expect from the notorious Coach Scott Stein. I knew him as a football and wrestling coach, but I had heard stories about him being a killer in the classroom. It did not take long for me to really enjoy this class, to look forward to each session and to be genuinely excited about World History. Of course, I hated it at first. About two weeks into the course, Stein told us that the first test was in a few days and thatRead MoreThe Teacher Who Changed My Life Essays2374 Words   |  10 Pagesthrew things, and broke pencils in his teeth. He terrified a class of 10 year-olds to the point of nightmares, and he was the greatest teacher I ever had. I was finishing fourth grade, having spent the year with a teacher named Mrs. Polyp. That was really her name-like a fleshy growth, or a sea creature-and my parents could barely keep straight faces at teacher conferences. Mrs. Polyp had a giant beehive hairdo that rained lost pencils if she turned her head too quickly, and a penchant for theRead MoreI Am Studying For New Degree856 Words   |  4 Pagesfor new degree in U.S. While I m living in another city with my family, but I have never forgotten my high school. This summer, I went back to my country to visit my grandparent and travel. I promised with myself go back to visit my high school, that I could find on my childhood that my childhood associated with high school, where I considered my second home. In the afternoon, I rode on the bike around these streets, and my city changed a lots. The coffee shop in the streets, where I went to schoolRead MoreDuring my years in high school, I have had the privilege to meet incredible teachers who have all600 Words   |  3 Pages During my years in high school, I have had the privilege to meet incredible teachers who have all been mentors: however, there is one teacher that will always hold a special place in my heart. That teacher is Mrs. Peterson, and she is my mathematics teacher this year. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to become a teacher. I still want to pursue this career now, and the reason why is because of this amazing mathematics teacher. The teacher that I mentioned above is truly exceptionalRead MoreRichard Rodriguez : The Son Of Mexican Immigrants977 Words   |  4 Pageslives incompatible to each other – his life at home and school. Rodriguez revered his teachers and aspired to be like them, mimicking many of their opinions and physical gestures. At an early age, Rodriguez realized there was a separation between his school life and home life. There were certain things that could only be shared at home or at school. When Rodriguez read The Uses of Literacy by Richard Hoggart, he encountered a term that described his way of life – the scholarship boy. Rodriguez wasRead MoreEducation Is Suffering From Narration Sickness1638 Words   |  7 Pages changed and this particular journal also helped emphasis this change. I’ve learned through my own personal experiences that some students don’t learn the same way. Many of the teachers that I have had, have always presented the information through powerpoint or just lecturing, kind of like college, but not all students learn the best through this way. One of Freire s quotes from the article is, â€Å"Education is suffering from narration sickness.† This is an important quote to me from this articleRead MoreMy Mother and Her Sacrifices Helped Me Learn to Play an Instrument and Improve My Grades765 Words   |  3 PagesAlthough I have many people who impacted my life, the most significant one life is my mom. She is the sole person who is responsible for making me who I am today and shaped the life I lead. My mother taught me how to read, write, play the violin and piano, and study. With her guidance, I can go to school to increase my knowledge and make friends. Be cause she did all of this for me out of love, she has changed my world and the opportunities to come my way. When I was attending to kindergarten, I startedRead MoreMy Schooling Experiences Formed A Positive Outlook On American Education1666 Words   |  7 Pages My schooling experiences formed a positive outlook on American education. Throughout my schooling, I was fortunate to have the most influential teachers that assisted me into becoming who I am today. I was a student who struggled until the 8th grade. Luckily, my teachers took their time to tutor me one on one after and before school. One teacher, in particular, had the greatest impact on my education and is the reason why I did not give on learning. Reading and writing were my worst subjects

Hum/114 Wk 1 Individual †Drill or Not to Drill Free Essays

To Drill or Not to Drill HUM/114 October 25, 2010 To drill or not to drill is large debate that many Americans are not sure how to answer. Many people are upset about the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and have been discussing that we could invest in alternative sources of energy more, but without knowing the facts. Unfortunately, misfortunes like this happen all of the time, it is a part of life and all we can do is discover from our mistakes and move forward. We will write a custom essay sample on Hum/114 Wk 1 Individual – Drill or Not to Drill or any similar topic only for you Order Now One of the main complaints is that â€Å"Offshore drilling poses environmental risks. Yes the environmental danger of off shore drilling gradually has affected our wild lives and fish stocks. Researchers argue that this is not just a short-term effect because the remaining species can obtain new diseases and not be able to fight them because of lower heterozygosity index. In addition they are afraid that it will lead to the extinction of a variety of species. Due to today’s new technology that is continuously updated the new drilling rigs have considerably reduced the risk of potential accidents. In the most recent situations that have occurred due to oil rigs BP being one and the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 off the coast of Alaska being another. Researchers were able to discover that there were several factors that stacked up in order for these accidents to occur. Once of the main causes involved highly negligent practices such as strained workers, unfulfilled promises of advanced technology equipment and several safety regulation violations. BP has been known to have an appalling track record concerning safety and has been fined 760 times in comparison to one of our leading oil drilling companies ExxonMobil, who has been only fined once and has had no incidents. Another argument is how long can we honestly rely on oil? In the long run researchers are saying that our dependence on oil must end entirely. This is most likely a true statement; however, it is reality that even with scrupulous development of these energy resources they are far from eing able to produce the energy needed in today’s world. I strongly support renewable energy, but researchers are a long way away from being able to convince us that it is possible much less feasible. As we stand the reality of the matter is that we do need additional energy and while scientist are in the process of getting all of the resources together, offshore drilling is a very sensible and practical way of obtaining energy. I do realize that oil is not sustainable but believe until it is diminished we should continue using it in the most efficient way possible. References By: Stone, Brad; Williams, Elisa. Newsweek, 11/17/2003, Vol. 142 Issue 20, pE22-E25, 3p, 2 Color Photographs, 2 Diagrams; Reading Level (Lexile) By: Kintisch, Eli. Discover, Jan2007, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p20-23, 4p; Reading Level (Lexile) Congressional Digest, Sep2008, Vol. 87 Issue 7, p196-224, 4p By: Khermouch, Gerry. Architectural Record, May2004, Vol. 192 Issue 5, p169-176, 6p, 4 Color Photographs, 1 Diagram; Reading Level (Lexile By: Dresselhaus, M. S. ; Thomas, I. L.. Nature, 11/15/2001, Vol. 414 Issue 6861, p332, 6p, 4 Color Photographs, 1 Diagram By: Hartley, Frank. Offshore, Feb2006, Vol. 66 Issue 2, p32-32, 1p, 1 Chart By: TARA MAC LEAN SWEENEY; SPECIAL STAFF ASSISTANT OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR; STATE OF ALASKA. FDCH Congressional Testimony, 03/12/2003 How to cite Hum/114 Wk 1 Individual – Drill or Not to Drill, Essay examples

Capacity Management for Freight Industry -Free Samples

Question: Describe about the Capacity Mangement for Freight Industry. Answer: 1. The costs which are relevant for Overland Trucking for adding two additional loads per week will be Fuel, Insurance Oil lubricants Tolls Parts and Small Tools Hourly Wages: drivers Trailer Pool Expense These costs are relevant because the company will have to bear additional costs if the additional loads were added to existing fleet. The costs which are relevant for Overland Trucking for adding two additional loads per week will be Fixed Insurance cost Security cost Salaries: Garage and office Accounting Fees Supplies and Computer maintenance. These costs are not relevant because the company will bear these costs even if the additional loads were not added. Adding these two loads will not make any change in these costs and hence they are irrelevant costs. 2. Given, Revenue: FHP offered revenue per mile including FSC and miscellaneous = $2.15 Expenses: Insurance = 0.06 Fuel = 0.78 Oil Lubricants = 0.01 Tolls = 0.01 Parts and Small Tools = 0.07 Hourly wages: Drivers = 0.44 Trailer Pool Expense = 0.02 Total Variable Expense = 1.39 Thus, Contribution per mile = Revenue Variable expense = $0.76 Total Contribution = no. of loads* miles per week* no. of weeks* Contribution per mile = 2* 1500* 52* 1.24 = 118560 Increase in contribution margin = 118560/ 15638480 *100% = 0.758% Thus if the fixed cost does not increase by a greater than the contribution margin then it makes sense to add the additional loads to the fleet. 3. The implications of expanding the fleet size are The company will have to raise debt to fund the additional loads and the current economic conditions are not favorable to raise debt. The routes suggested by FHP will be in new and unfamiliar environment for the Overland which can face issue with the terrain and new markets increasing unexpected costs. The Overland management might become inefficient with the sudden increase in the fleet size and newer routes and hence may not be able to handle the existing system as efficiently as it used to. Thus all the above factors are the risks involved in the expansion of Overland. 4. Given, Increase in fixed costs = 50000 Revenue from FHP per mile = 2.20 Contribution Margin = Revenue Variable cost = 2.20 - 1.39 = 0.81 Thus break even = Fixed Costs/ Contribution Margin = 50000/ 0.81 = 61728.39 miles The company needs to sign 5-year contract with FHP. Miles per year to be travelled = no. of weeks * miles per week = 52* 1500 = 78000 Total additional miles the company needs to travel = No. of years* miles per year= 5* 78000 = 390000 Additional income in 5 years = Contribution per mile * number of miles fixed costs = 0.81* 390000 -50000 = 265900 Additional income per year = 265900/5 = 53180 Increase in profitability = 53180/ 3681810* 100% = 1.444% 5. Given, Wage to independent contractor per mile = 1.65 Increase in fixed costs = 20000 Revenue from FHP per mile = 2.20 Contribution Margin = Revenue Variable cost = 2.20 - 1.65 = 0.55 Thus break even = Fixed Costs/ Contribution Margin = 20000/ 0.55 = 36363.63 miles The company needs to sign 5-year contract with FHP. Miles per year to be travelled = no. of weeks * miles per week = 52* 1500 = 78000 Total additional miles the company needs to travel = No. of years* miles per year= 5* 78000 = 390000 Additional income in 5 years = Contribution per mile * number of miles fixed costs = 0.55* 390000 -20000 = 194500 Additional income due to outsourcing per year = Contribution per mile * number of miles in one year fixed costs = 0.55* 78000 -20000 = 22900 Increase in profitability from FHP contract= 22900/ 3681810* 100% = 0.622% Thus, if the company is willing to add the loads for FHP contract it should use own trucks instead of independent contractors. 6 a. Over-land might choose independent contractors even if the variable cost is high because the company needs to invest additional amount in the purchase of the vehicles. The current economic conditions are not very favorable to incur a debt which will add burden to the balance sheet of the company. Also the current management feels that it is working to its full capacity and will not be able to manage the additional load ad it can affect the efficiency of the company. Thus in these cases they may want to choose independent contractors to take advantages of the contract and not affect the existing system. 6 b. The management will be indifferent between choosing independent contractors or owning it themselves if the net additional income from both the cases are equal. Over-land will incur a cost of 50000 if it purchases additional equipment for the contract. If the company also has to bear costs apart from the cost of procuring the equipment which reduces its net income from the contract from 53180 to 22900 then they will be indifferent to both options. Also if Over-land finds the indirect costs which have affected the overall net income of the company due to purchase and management of the new rigs and the net income after purchasing the rigs is same as the net income with independent contractors, it will be indifferent to both the alternatives. 7. The Landstar trucking Company uses independent contractors and hence the major expense incurred by the company is in renting the transport from the independent contractors J B Hunt Transportation Services on the other hand uses its own rigs and company drivers. Thus the major expenses for the company are purchasing the rigs and payment to the drivers. In case the economic demand is high, J B Hunt will produce higher profits as the contribution margin for the company is higher than the Landstar trucking Company. This is because the company owns the vehicle and can reduce the various expenses it incurs in running the vehicle whereas in case of independent contractors, the same is not possible as they have already fixed the rates and hence no economies of scale can be applied to it. The cost structure of Landstar trucking Company is less risky than the J B Hunt Transportation Services if the economic conditions are poor. This is because the company does not own any rigs and hence will not incur fixed costs when there is a low demand. Whereas J B Hunt Transportation Services owns the rigs and thus the fixed costs due to depreciation costs, employee wages, etc. will be high even if the demand is low. Thus it is riskier compared to The Landstar trucking Company. 8. Capacity of a firm is defined as the highest sustainable output rate. Thus for Over-land, the capacity is the maximum number of miles a rig can travel without drop in efficiency and incurring additional costs. The challenges Overlands management faces while defining and managing capacity are Mismatch of supply and demand: The company needs to estimate the number of rigs it requires to cater to the demand accurately as more number of rigs will lead to additional costs to the company whereas less number of rigs can affect the service level provided by the company. Linking capacity to decision making: Over-land management team should be able to closely link the existing capacity of the company to the various strategies and must consider the impact of capacity utilization in taking decision for future expansions. Expansion challenges of capacity: The management needs to decide when the company should increase its capacity. The company should take into account the various factors as increase in demand, cost of procuring new equipment, cost of debt, cost of choosing independent contractors, other alternatives and other challenges while deciding expansion. The capacity of the Over-land is the potential miles it can travel in a given time period. The company owns 90 trucks. In the year 2013, the number of miles travelled by all the Over-land trucks combined = 11250000. Thus each truck travelled mile per year = 11250000/ 90 = 125000 Actual capacity per week = 125000/ 52 = 2403.82 miles The company utilizes only 85 % of the potential miles per year. Thus the potential number of miles per year = 125000/ 0.85 = 147058.82. In one week, potential number of miles that can be travelled = 147058.82/ 52 = 2828.05 miles. Thus for one driver per rig the theoretical capacity will be 2828.05 miles Practical capacity = 0.85* 2828.05 = 2403.84 miles. References Capacity Mangement. (n.d.). Retrived from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capacity-management.asp?layout=infiniv=5Eorig=1adtest=5E Capacity issues among challenges facing the freight industry. (n.d.). Retrived from https://www.cts.umn.edu/Publications/catalyst/2014/february/freightindustry J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT SERVICES, INC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/728535/000143774914002605/jbht20131231_10k.htm