Ma in Management †Strategic Analysis Module Essay

SAA 1 – Evaluating the Suitability of EasyJet’s strategy EasyJet’s existing strategy can be characterised as low price/low value added (route 1 on the strategy clock) concentrating on Luton and Liverpool hubs (not the main UK airports) and targeting routes with little direct competition from other airlines (which builds up elements of access and variety based positioning). EasyJet exploited the major environmental change that resulted from the initial liberalisation of the EU airline market. The attractiveness of this â€Å"low cost† strategic group within the market has brought in new competitors (like BA’s GO) so the industry structure is changing. EasyJet’s decision to buy new aircraft and open new routes can be seen as an attempt to pre-emptively protect and build on their current position. The deals with Geneva airport and TEA also allow them to exploit an EU â€Å"open skies† agreement with Switzerland if finalised using the same strategic approach. The strategy is largely expanding upon existing capabilities in operating a low cost airline. Expanding the fleet of aircraft potentially offers cost efficiency advantages in terms of economies of scale and scope across a bigger number of routes. Standardising on new Boeing 737-300s and 737-700s should also help minimise operational costs as well as the purchase economies from the deal (discounts). Other parts of the value chain are also consistent with this low cost approach – headquarters at Luton rather than a more expensive location (although not mentioned in the illustration the HQ is pared down to a minimum to reduce overheads. Aircraft maintenance is also contracted out). As EasyJet is privately owned then the massive increase in gearing implied by the financing of new aircraft is perhaps less unattractive to investors than would be the case if the company was public. Ideally, it would be helpful to have more information on EasyJet’s current value chain and its capabilities to deliver the â€Å"low cost† approach. The big strategic issue to be resolved is the extent to which their current positioning is defensible if they start to expand – with risks from competitor reaction, perhaps from airlines previously unaffected by their strategy and the capabilities of EasyJet to deliver the same strategic approach on five-times the scale. SAA 2 – Evaluating the Acceptability of Easyjet’s strategy The risks of the new strategy are related to the extent of expansion – both strategically in terms of their ability to deliver on a bigger scale (a five-fold expansion of operations) and financially in terms of the impact of long-term gearing (loans from the banks). Their existing capabilities in this type of business (they were one of the first in Europe) and the potential use of equipment trust certificates to re-finance the purchase at a later date might help. There are few details about the potential returns in the illustration, but this seems to be an expanding sector in which EasyJet already has an established position. It seems to make strategic sense in terms of both protecting their existing position and creating the potential to exploit new opportunities (Switzerland) but more information on projected passenger volumes and revenues would help in assessing both returns and risks (e.g. ROCE, NPV, payback and break-even). As a privately owned airline then the number of key stakeholders is at least reduced by not having shareholders, Stelios Haji-Ioannou is the owner and chief executive. However, the banks are going to be particularly interested in the company given their exposure in terms of gearing – though they should be supportive providing the revenue flows increase as planned! Given the leanness of the organisation then the employees are likely to have a strong input. Governments are likely to be supportive of EasyJet’s approach as it encourages competition – though some may have closer ties to â€Å"national flag carriers† who are potential competitors. SAA 3 – Evaluating the Feasibility of EasyJet’s strategy EasyJet has built up experience as a successful â€Å"low cost† airline and the proposed strategy is an extension of existing capabilities. The cultural web of the organisation is also not likely to see major changes and create problems of managing implementation. The question is whether the system can be stretched into a five-fold expansion. The expansion into Switzerland, with the deals with Geneva airport and TEA, including the switch to Boeing 737s, would seem to be strategically sensible given the potential â€Å"open skies† agreement. The alliance, with an option to acquire TEA, should also offer synergies whilst reducing the risks of further stretching the existing EasyJet system. Financing is a major issue for this strategy – the cash flow for the aircraft deposit and long-term bank loans may indicate adequate financial resources, but conclusions depend upon an examination of this part of the deal in terms of impact on the company’s capital structure (gearing) and cash flow projections. Given the banks have leant the money then some judgements can be implied but, in practice, this would be a critical part of the overall strategy evaluation.

Investigation Into The Theme of Entrapment in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932 to Austrian parents. She studied at the prestigious Smith College with a scholarship and in 1955 she went to Cambridge University where she met and later married Ted Hughes. Plaths life was one of success, and intense ambition and perfectionism. In an early journal entry, aged 16, she described herself as ‘The girl who would be God'. Her desire to be a perfect writer and a perfect woman is set however in her understanding of the constraints placed on women in the 50's. The early death of her father when she was just 8, and the combination of fear and adoration she felt towards him had an immense and lasting effect on her life, and subsequently he appears as a major theme in both her poetry and prose works. The Bell Jar was first released in England in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. It received lukewarm reviews with most critics highlighting the personal yet detached voice of novel. An anonymous review stated ‘it read so much like the truth that it is hard to disassociate her from Esther Greenwood, the ‘I' of the story, but she had the gift of being able to feel and yet to watch herself: she can feel the desolation and yet relate this to the landscape of everyday life'. This shows how the novel was seen to be autobiographical even before it was known who the author was, and before comparisons of plot construct and the life of the author could be made. This shows how the tone, which some may say is confessional, leads readers to analyse the work from a psycho-biographical standpoint. You can read also Analysis of Literary Devices of Jane Eyre Laurence Lerner equates the detachment, which the anonymous reviewer highlights, with Esthers neurosis deriving from her role as satirist of the world around her, and he sees her ‘Bell Jar' as one of a detached observer. Critics also compared it to JD Salingers ‘The Catcher In The Rye', because of the interpretation of it as a critique of college life and establishing identity, and also the existential undertones of the dominant voice are similar in both texts. Robert Taubman wrote in The Statesman that The Bell Jar was a ‘clever first novel†¦ he first feminist novel†¦ in the Salinger mood. ‘ Linda Wagner saw The Bell Jar as ‘in structure and intent a highly conventional bildungsroman ‘, or a rites of passage novel, with the construct focusing entirely on the: ‘education and maturation of Esther Greenwood, Plath's novel uses a chronological and necessarily episodic structure to keep Esther at the centre of all action. Other characte rs are fragmentary, subordinate to Esther and her developing consciousness, and are shown only through their effects on her as central character. No incident is included which does not influence her maturation'. Modern criticism also focuses on political and feminist criticisms of the novel. Alan Sinfield explores ideological intersections between society and the arts, and recognises Plath as critiquing the construction of gender role arguments, taken up by many contemporary feminist critics. Plath is seen as articulating many of the thoughts and feelings many women have about the constraints, opportunities and contradictions of women's role in society. Many have interpreted The Bell Jar as semi-autobiographical. It is impossible to ignore the similarities between the life of Plath and that of Esther, the main protagonist of the novel. The novel parallels her twentieth year almost perfectly. Plath was awarded a spot as a â€Å"guest editor† at Mademoiselle magazine during her junior year at Smith, as Esther won a fashion magazine competition to work on it in New York for a month. Both had been, on the surface, a model daughter, popular in school, earning straight A's and winning the best prizes. She even went to Smith on scholarship; endowed by Olive Higgins Prouty, perhaps the model for Esther's patron, Philomena Guinea. That summer, however, she nearly succeeded in killing herself by swallowing sleeping pills, paralleling the suicide attempt in the novel. After a period of recovery involving electroshock and psychotherapy Plath seemed to become â€Å"herself† again, graduating from Smith with honours and winning a Fulbright scholarship to study at Cambridge, England. However, her troubles returned to haunt her throughout her life, and she committed suicide in 1963. Plath recognised her own inability to write about anything other than her own experiences. In her journals she referred to this as the ‘curse of my vanity'. She talked of, ‘my inability to lose myself in a character, a situation. Always myself, myself, myself. ‘ This makes any reading into The Bell Jar all the more poignant, because Plath's few prose works are more directly related to real life than most fiction. The theme of entrapment forms the central image of The Bell Jar. Plath constructs the analogy in Chapter 15 where Esther, the central character, concludes that ‘I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air'. Plath's use of the sibilant words ‘stewing' and ‘sour' evoke strong sensual reactions in the reader as if they were hit by a pungent sickly smell. The Bell Jar represents the entrapment Esther feels at the hands of society and its expectations of women, and also entrapment by men and the possibility of entrapment by children. The first of these could be understood as representing Esther's suffocation at the hands of societal pressure and the general oppressive atmosphere of the 50's, especially for women. It must be noted that at the end of the fifties the average age of marriage had actually fallen to 20, and was still dropping. It was not uncommon for girls to drop out of college or high school to marry, in fact education was sometimes seen as a bar to marriage. During all of the forties and fifties housewifery tasks were glorified as ‘proof' of a ‘complete' woman in the media. In America at the end of the fifties the birth rate was overtaking India's. Increased affluence allowed people to have four, five, six children, shown in the novel by the inclusion of Dodo Conway, a catholic neighbour who has 6 children; she fascinated Esther because of her ever increasing family and stoic acceptance of her situation. By the 1960s, the employment of women was rather the norm than the exception, but they were holding mostly part-time jobs, to help put their husbands through college, or widows supporting families. For such an ambitious and talented woman like the protagonist of the novel this would inevitably cause a clash of ideals between those of wider society and her own. Society assumes a woman will marry. The heroine of the novel is besieged by the influences that propagate the myth that the purpose of a woman's existence is a husband, a house and having children. After Esther's release from the mental hospital, Buddy's final words to her are: â€Å"I wonder who you'll marry now . . . you've been here. † This is similar to the feelings of Esthers mother, for being in a mental institute has a certain social stigma attached to it. The opinion that no man will want a woman with baggage or problems is similar to the view presented by Mrs Willard that no man would want a woman with sexual experience. This adds up to the opinion that all women should be clean, pure, innocent and naive for their men. Also, if Esther were to choose not to marry and not follow the guidelines society attempts to entrap her in, is to go against society's expectations and to commit a kind of sin. Writing to her mother from Smith, Plath agonised over ‘which to choose? ‘-meaning: a career or a family? The central metaphor of The Bell Jar, the ‘fig tree', is Plath's literary portrayal of this dilemma. Each fig represents an option, a future: to be a famous poet, an editor, or to be a wife and mother. Each is mutually exclusive and only one can be picked. As Esther (very much an extension of her creator here) hesitates, debating with herself, â€Å"the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at her feet. † Rejection of any option was difficult because she wanted it all. The conclusion that the figs rot and die aligns the image tonally with the rest of the novel. Esther shows her desire to have it all and her refusal to limit herself when she says to Buddy, ‘I'll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days. In her own life, Plath attempted to achieve both career and family. There were times, her letters and the remembrances of her family and friends reveal, that domestic life alone seemed to fulfil her. She was a perfectionist at housekeeping as she had always been at her college work and at writing, but at other times the routine infuriated her and the ‘viciousness in the kitchen' that she describes in Lesbos sets in. At ti mes she revelled in being â€Å"cowlike† and maternal, but resentment against their demands on her time and her creativity is evident too. Esther concludes that the societal pressure that she feels at her prestigious College, where the girls pocketbook covers must match the material of their dresses and all the girls wait with excitement for their invitations to the proms, is not so different to the pressure she feels in the asylum. ‘What was there about us' she wonders ‘so different from the girls playing bridge and studying in the college . . . Those girls too sat under a bell jar of a sort'. Plath explicitly shows the reader that the Bell Jar is not simply one of depression, but also one of conformity. The entrapment that Esther feels is also sexual. This is partly caused by Buddys sexuality and power, for Esther and Joan react to him and eventually rebel against him by exploring alternative sexual methods. Joan becomes a lesbian (though whether this is a direct result of her and Buddys relationship is debatable), and Esther asserts her sexual freedom through getting birth control. For her this symbolises female empowerment. In contrast to her previous attempt to free her sexuality by allowing Constantin to seduce her, she will be her own active agent of change in freeing herself from the strict social codes for women. Esther begins to feel a disillusionment with men, after her realisation that Buddy Willard is a ‘hypocrite', she concludes ‘I knew that in spite of all the roses and kisses and restaurant dinners a man showered on a woman before he married her, what he secretly wanted when the wedding service ended was for her to flatten out underneath his feet like Mrs Willards kitchen mat'. This kitchen mat which is a utilitarian object, easily repaired or replaced, is used as a metaphor for a woman. This introduces a central theme of the novel, that of women being dominated by men. The image of being ‘flattened' is used many times in the novel to show the effect of men on women. It is used again in Chapter 5 when Esther describes how she felt ‘dull and flat and full of shattered visions' after a disappointing date with Buddy. The ‘kitchen mat' that Esther describes is a beautiful hand made rug that Buddys mother made. She spent lots of time making this mat, but when she is finished she just puts it on the kitchen floor for people to wipe their feet on. Esther sees this as a symbol of male oppression and the subsequent feeling that nothing a woman makes or does is of any merit. It is when around Buddy that Ether seems most repressed. This adds to the overall sense of confinement that Esther feels, but this aspect is wholly self-inflicted. One obstacle that Esther must overcome is her idealised and fairy-tale view of romantic relationships, in which she defines her and Buddys relationship in terms of a single kiss. The word ‘flattened' evokes connotations like beaten, weak and subjugated. Esther is, as most women during the fifties, expected to marry. Esther Greenwood sees herself as something other than primarily a housewife, and she uses a lot of her energy to try to avoid marrying the one she is expected – Buddy Willard. The word ‘bell' written ‘belle' was used during the nineteenth century for the ‘belle' of the ball. It was meant to be a positive term in American culture, and was used to describe a ladylike southern woman with many suitors. This was a woman who knew her role and was happy to be the desired object of her lover and to put all her energies into looking after her man and her family. In this interpretation, the ‘Belle' Jar could represent societal pressure to conform to this ideal and the trapped feelings these women my encounter. Buddy is the main representation of dominant oppressive male sexuality. He stifles her intellectually, telling her a poem is just ‘a piece of dust', and plays a dominant sexual role by exposing himself to her. Marco is a much more violent depiction of male sexuality, a ‘woman-hater' who attempts to rape Esther. He holds power over her, he is ‘invulnerable' because of his financial power and threatening sexuality, and brands her a slut. Critics have interpreted him as simply a more violent extension of Buddy Willlard, aggressive in his contempt for Esther and her sexuality, whereas Buddy is more subtle and passive. Plath parallels the earlier proposal by Buddy. Whereas Buddy asks for Esthers hand in marriage in exchange for her identity and freedom, Marco offers her a diamond, a symbol of marriage, in exchange for her sexual independence. This feeling or entrapment by men is related to a form of domestic entrapment. One way this is shown is in Esther's outlook towards having children. Plath presents having children as another form of entrapment. When describing child birth language from the semantic fields of confinement and unnaturalness are used. Esther describes childbirth itself as ‘a long, blind, doorless and windowless corridor of pain . . . waiting to open up and shut her in again'. This shows how she sees children as diminishing perception and confining their mothers in a trap they cannot even see out of because it is so all encompassing. The mother is described in inhuman terms with her ‘spider-fat stomach and two little ugly spindly legs' while making an ‘unhuman whooing noise'. This makes the reader feel sympathy towards this grotesque but pitiful monster. Robert Scholes interprets the language Plath uses in the childbirth as that of defamiliarisation. In this scene, for example, the narrator describes the delivery as if it were happening for the first time in history. From the point of view of the uninitiated observer, childbirth seems to be a frightening ritual in which a â€Å"dark fuzzy thing† finally emerges from â€Å"the split shaven place† between the woman's legs. It could be construed that Plath is trying to show the reader that having children is a form of martyrdom, sacrificing your self-identity for your children. A woman dies as a particular kind of woman when she bears a child, and she continues to die as the child feeds literally and metaphorically on her. Indeed, many of her poems depict childlessness as a kind of perfection. In Edge (Ariel), ‘The woman is perfected . . . Each dead child coiled . . . She has folded them back into her body'. This childless ‘perfection' also often signals death in her poetry, showing the view that a woman has no choice but to procreate, because if she does not, or if she changes her mind ‘folding them back into her body', she must die. Plath's fear of procreativity was, in large part, a fear of a resultant loss of creativity. Esther voices Plath's fear, â€Å"I . . . remembered Buddy Willard saying in a sinister, knowing way that after I had children I would feel differently, I wouldn't want to write poems any more. So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterwards you went about numb as a slave in some private, totalitarian state. † The inclusion of totalitarianism evokes even stronger feelings of entrapment and being controlled by extraneous forces. Children are also shown to represent entrapment in the inclusion of the miscarried babies in bottles that Buddy takes her to see. These images represent women's traditional choices in life and the subsequent entrapment. Esther describes these in her usual detached voice, ‘the baby in the first bottle had a large white head bent over a tiny curled up body the size of a frog'. These ‘bottles' are similar to the central image of the ‘Bell Jar', and further highlight the reading that children lead to entrapment. This is also shown in Stopped Dead (Winter Trees), ‘A squeal of brakes. Or is it a birth cry? ‘. It seems Plath has the opinion that the minute a baby is born the mother's life ends in a squeal of brakes. Domestic entrapment can also be a trap of routine and chores. In Chapter 7 Esther notes how she cannot cook, or dance, or sing or know short hand, all the things that she would need to live her life by her mother's standards. Plath's letters to her mother and her novel both make it explicitly clear that Plath was confused and frustrated by the necessity of defining herself as a woman. In 1949, at age seventeen, she wrote, ‘I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day–spare me from the relentless cage of routine and rote. I want to be free. ‘ Plath herself wrote in her journal that it was â€Å"as if domesticity had choked me†. It could be said that her decision to finally end her life by sticking her head in a gas oven is a perfect symbolisation of that aspect of her experience. Plath's two-dimensional characterisation of Mrs Greenwood as a hard working and well intentioned woman, but one very much controlled by the guidelines society gave her regarding her role as a woman. She feels that Esther's English Major will not help her get a job, and that the only way that she will get a career is by learning shorthand. Esther would then be ‘in demand among all the up and coming young men', but she instinctively rebels against this view, ‘I hated the idea of serving men in any way. I wanted to dictate my own thrilling letters'. She is aware of the injustice in the occupational sphere, and refuses to abide by this unfair apportioning of status in society. The Bell Jar could also be construed as the ‘bell jar' of the character's depression. Depression and mental illness are almost universally described by the imagery of entrapment, from Bertha Mason, the mad alter ego of Jane trapped in the attic in Jane Eyre to the imagery of depression as a suffocating ‘black cloud' by Elizabeth Wurtzell in her 1996 portrait of depression. Esther's depression begins to fully emerge in Chapter 2, where she describes how she begins to feel while watching Doreen, her sexually voracious friend and Lenny ‘get more and more crazy about each-other'. She compares herself to ‘a black dot' signifying a feeling of insignificance, shame and dirtiness. Plath uses the analogy of travelling away from Paris on an ‘express caboose' to describe Esther's increasing feeling of detachment and unimportance: ‘every second the city gets smaller and smaller, only you feel it's really you getting smaller and smaller and lonelier and lonelier, rushing away from all those lights and that excitement at about a million miles an hour. ‘. This gives the reader the feeling of Esther helplessly falling into a deep depression, where the ‘excitement' of everyday life does not affect her. On Esther's way to Buddy at the sanatorium she describes the bleak land-scape and its effect on her mood. ‘ . . . the countryside, already deep under old falls of snow, turned us a bleaker shoulder, and as the fir trees crowded down from the grey hills to the road edge, so darkly green they looked black, I grew gloomier and gloomier'. Snow is often used to symbolise death, it could have been used in this instance for many reasons. Firstly, it could be because she is travelling to a TB sanatorium where many must have died. This illness and death that she is travelling toward is inextricably linked with sin in The Bell Jar, with Buddy being punished for his affair with a waitress by his TB and Esther punished for losing her virginity by haemorrhaging, so this blanket of death is particularly profound. Secondly, the snow could also foreshadow Esther's later suicide attempt from an overdose or sleeping pills in Chapter 13. The ‘crowding' ‘fir trees' could have been used to depict a feeling of entrapment. Esther's depression is later shown by her lack of motivation to do anything, even change her clothes or wash her hair. This melancholic inertia is shown in the paragraph: ‘I crawled back into bed and pulled the sheet over my head. But even that didn't shut out the light, so I buried my head under the darkness of the pillow and pretended it was night. I couldn't see the point of getting up. ‘ Esther feels trapped by her depression, it sedates her so fully that she does not even see any way out of it. Recurrent mirror and light images measure Esther's descent into the stale air beneath the bell jar. In the first chapter, when Esther returns from Lenny's apartment and enters the mirrored elevator of the Amazon Hotel, she notices â€Å"a big, smudgy-eyed Chinese woman staring idiotically into my face. It was only me, of course. I was appalled to see how wrinkled and used up I looked. † As she becomes increasingly trapped by her own mental state, her relationship with her own identity becomes increasingly disembodied, and the reflection in the mirror gradually becomes a stranger. Esther's depression and subsequent breakdown could be interpreted as a gradual abandonment of societal norms. It entails a series of rejections or separations from women who are associated with a stereotypical aspects of womanhood that Esther finds unacceptable. The novels heroine projects components of herself that represent patriarchally defined expectations of women onto other characters: her mother, Dodo Conway, Mrs Willard, then through her rejection of these characters she discards the aspects of herself that they personify. Every character can be seen as created to represent aspects of the world which confines Esther; with Buddy representing dominant male sexuality and broader forces of society, Dodo representing pressure to have children, Jay Cee being the pressure to have a successful career. The end of the novel sheds all of these forms of entrapment, societal, domestic, sexual and intellectual, virtually entirely. The ultimate chapter chiefly uses imagery of cleanliness and freedom. A ‘pure, blank sheet' of snow is described, but the reader now interprets the snow as representing a fresh start. She compares forgetfulness, that may help her ‘numb and cover' her memories, to ‘a kind snow', allowing her freedom from her worries. When Esther readies herself to meet the board of doctors who will certify her release from the hospital, she behaves as if she is preparing for a bridegroom or a date; she checks her stocking seams, muttering to herself â€Å"Something old, something new. . . . But,† she goes on, â€Å"I wasn't getting married. There ought, I thought, to be a ritual for being born twice – patched, retreaded, and approved for the road, I was trying to think of an appropriate one. . .† Critics who have been willing to see a reborn Esther have generally done so without ever questioning the appropriateness of the reference to a â€Å"retread† job. Susan Coyle writes that the tire image â€Å"seems to be accurate, since the reader does not have a sense of Esther as a brand-new, unblemished ‘tire' but of one that has been painst akingly reworked, remade†. Linda Wagner, for example, ignores this passage and concentrates on subsequent paragraphs, where the image of an â€Å"open door and Esther's ability to breathe are,† Wagner writes, â€Å"surely positive images. The ability the breathe serves as a contrast to the ‘sour air' under the Bell Jar. There is no doubt that the novel has a fairly high level of closure with most possibilities eliminated. The reader also knows that she had children, we become aware of this very early on in the construct of the story, so Esther obviously settles down into some sort of domesticity. Plath does not concede that Esther is fully cured, Esther even finally wonders whether she may be trapped by the bell jar again, but the novel concludes on a very optimistic note; that Esther is feel from the constraints that she previously felt.

Not June Cleaver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Not June Cleaver - Essay Example This paper explores women experiences and their contributions in the post-war American society by reviewing I Wanted the Whole World to See written by Ruth Feldstein and The Sexualized Woman written by Donna Penn. I Wanted the Whole World to See Ruth Feldstein tells the story of a young teenager who came face to face with the seriousness of racial segregation in Mississippi, in August 1955. Emmett Till was a bright and bold 14-year-old boy who met his death for flirting with a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. Although the boy and his peers seemed to care about the likely repercussions of flirting with a white woman, they immediately forgot about it, at least before his assailants caught up with him. Roy Bryant and John William Milam approached the boy in the company of Mose Wright and drove off with him. Three days later, the badly disfigured body of Emmett Till was found dumped in the Tallahatchie River.1 At first, the community was united, despite racial differences in expressing shock and condemned the heinous murder of the young boy. Bryant and Milam were apprehended for kidnapping soon after they drove away with the boy. In the verdict, it was argued that identity of the corpse could not be identified. Bryant and Milam also claimed that they had let Emmet Till free and did not kill him. Feldstein through this essay shows the challenges that women faced, especially African Americans. Emmett’s mother, Mamie Bradley, sought to nationalize her grief and therefore generally the challenges facing the African American women in the country. She did this by first making Till’s funeral service public. The service was conducted with an open casket shown. In this manner the world was able to see what had happened and equally significant the pain that African Americans experienced in Mississippi. The action of making the funeral service public and specifically the bold step of letting the casket remain open in the course of the funeral service had far reachin g effect – it helped to tell the world, in the most powerful and persuasive way, the evils that were taking place in Mississippi against African Americans. Feldstein described the scenes of the savage repression of women, especially African American women, by the media. The story covered various scenes of pain and suffering that the boy and his mother went through as well as the shock and disbelief expressed by members of the society. Mourners from African descent saw the badly mutilated body of Emmett Till, and quickly recounted brutal repression which they had went through in the past.2 Additionally, it was evident from the story that many more African American women within the society had not yet come across such incidents or heard of them at all for that matter, because some of the regions in the United States like Chicago were more liberal compared to Mississippi.3 The discourse in the essay draw many similarities from June Cleaver’s scenario: for example, the suf fering of black females as was the case for Mamie Bradley points to the fact that many African American women suffered in silence. The publication of pictures depicting various scenes in the murder of Emmett Till and his funeral touched the hearts of almost all members. Additionally, like the June Cleaver’s experiences, women still faced monumental resistance from men and agents of the status quo, despite a significant role of the media in highlighting the scenes of

Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Economics - Research Paper Example In addition, the research will seek to identify the various benefits and disadvantages that are brought about by unemployment in USA. Unemployment in this case is described as a state of a person who is able and willing to work at the available rates and is actively seeking a job but is unable to acquire an income-generating job. Unemployment is always accompanied by unemployment rate. Unemployment rate is described by economists as the total number of unemployed persons in the country divided by the total number of the labor force (Rappaport 5). Unemployment can be defined depending with the different circumstances that underlie the situation. The United States is one of the countries that face a high unemployment rate in the world as compared to other European countries such as Germany, United Kingdom, and France. This research paper seeks to ascertain the level of unemployment in USA. Moreover, the researches will establish the disadvantages of unemployment in USA as well as identify the causative agents of unemployment in the country (Rappaport 5). Unemployment is a situation that occurs when people are willing and able to work and cannot find a job. This research is confined to unemployment in the USA. The research will focus on factors that cause unemployment in USA and the increasing trend towards unemployment in the country (Hornstein and Thomas 8). Moreover, it will focus on the challenges facing unemployment in USA as well as suggesting possible solutions for the factors identified. Unemployment situation occurs when a person who is actively seeking for a job is unable to obtain a job. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the country, commonly known as unemployment rate. Unemployment rate is the total number of unemployed persons in the country divided by the total number of the labor force. When an economy is undergoing recession, the rate of unemployment is usually very high. Recent statistics shows that

PESTEL of Arsenal Football Club Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PESTEL of Arsenal Football Club - Essay Example The economic condition of the club is really good compared to other clubs; the club has sold players in the recent past at a good profit. The transfer of Samir Nasri from Arsenal to Manchester City was a really good deal for the club, the transfer of Fabregas from Arsenal to Barcelona was also a really good transfer for the club money wise. Economically the club is quite sound, they also generate revenue by selling season tickets and their stadium is arguably one of the best stadiums in Europe. â€Å"Socially the club is really famous and has a large fan base but the fan base can always improve, Arsenal can tap the untapped markets. India is a largely untapped market and Arsenal can easily tap the Indian market but a lot of homework needs to be done in order to do so.† (Hornby, Nick, 1992) Technologically Arsenal is far ahead of most clubs, the club offers all the latest facilities to the players and the coaching staff. The gym is equipped with the most modern of all facilities so that the players can make the full use of the resources available. Environment wise Arsenal needs to do more, the fans often leave trash after almost every game and this is degrading the environment to a large extent, they do not use bins and end up polluting the environment. This needs to be sorted out by the club so that they do not play a role in degrading the environment. ... Legally the club is in safe hands, the financial fair play regulations brought in by UEFA will not affect the club because it does not spend money excessively, this rule will take a toll on clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and so on. SWOT Analysis of Arsenal Football Club Arsenal football club is a very famous club based out of England. It is located in North London and has a very huge fan following. It is also known as the Gunners, the club has gone from strength to strength. Arsene Wenger is the present manager and he has done a fantastic job at the club. The club used to play at Highbury earlier but they have invested a lot of money in building a new stadium â€Å"Emirates Stadium†. The club does not shell out big money in the transfer market and still finish in the top four more often than not in the Barclays Premier League. Arsene Wenger has made some very sagacious signings off late, Arshavin was bought from Saint Petersburg Russia and he has been a sensational signin g for the club. Other major signings include Gallas who was bought from Chelsea, Thomas Vermaelen who was bought from Ajax. Strengths Emirates Stadium: â€Å"The new Emirates Stadium is one of the biggest strengths of Arsenal Football Club; the revenue generated is huge from the tickets and other exhibition events that take place at the stadium. The club can invest a little more in the stadium so as to accommodate more supporters, this will fetch more money through tickets and the club will end up making more revenue.† (Joy, Bernard,  1952) Players: Some of the players who play for Arsenal are world class players and the club should capitalize on the same. A lot of money can be generated through

Role of Public Administrators to Interpret the Constitution and Research Paper

Role of Public Administrators to Interpret the Constitution and Develop New Laws as Pertains to Same Sex Marriages - Research Paper Example The constitution is the supreme document of a State and incase of conflict between two statutes, the ruling of the constitution prevails. Public administrators have a role as pertains to same sex marriage since they are individuals bestowed with the responsibility of enacting laws as pertains to various issues facing the State. With this insight, this research paper will be aimed at delineating the role of public administrators to interpret the constitution so as to develop new laws specifically to the issue of same sex marriages (McVeigh, & Diaz, 2009). Outline of Importance of the Issue to Public Administrators Technology has led to the invention of surgeries and discoveries as pertains to the sexuality of individuals. Moreover, the constitution and the rights of individuals illuminate into the notion that there is freedom of expression hence association of individuals of the same sex. This has led to the performance of surgeries aimed at changing the sexual orientation of an indiv idual and hence judicial challenge as pertains to the legalization of same sex marriages. It is important for the public administrators to be involved in such issues as same sex marriages since they are bestowed with the responsibility of enacting laws that regulate a State. ... Public administrators need to be involved in defining the society and avoiding issues that may hamper the inviolability and cause apprehension; same sex marriage is such an issue that needs to be addressed (McVeigh, & Diaz, 2009). SECTION 2: BACKGROUND INFORMATION History of the Issue and Current Trends Decades have witnessed the trial to redefine marriage by incorporating same sex marriage into law. This however has not yet been achieved and has translated to enormous failure to religious attachment to the sanctity of marriage. This has been witnessed by individuals who have gone surgically restructuring of their sexual identity and their change of sexual orientation was disapproved by the court system. However, it was in 1993 in Hawaii that the issue of same sex marriage began being given much thought by the court system. This resulted from the reinterpretation of the constitution that as pertains to the privacy, protection, and privileges that is accorded to citizens of a State. T his was aimed at re-evaluating the statute that was applied as pertained to marriages between individuals of the same sex (McVeigh, & Diaz, 2009). This was the first uprising in support of marriages between individuals of the same sex and was followed by an Alaska court in 1998 and a Vermont court in 1999. The attempts in these two courts were both aimed at inculcating marriages among individuals of the same sex into the marriage statues. The Hawaii judicial uprising led to unrest in the country as pertained to the constitutionality of marriage among individuals of the same sex. The federal government in an attempt to quell the situation adopted DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) which was aimed at encouraging the States to amend their constitutions and hence protect the customary

Business financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business financial management - Essay Example In the year 2004, this amount increased by about 9%, while in 2005 it fell by 19%. This suggests that this amount responded as the sum of long-term debt fluctuated. Also, the company's gearing policy, as suggested by above ratio is to maintain a mixed structure of capital and rely on equity funds more than the borrowed capital, because debt demands fixed payment of interest to the lenders whereas dividends are decided by the management according to their future plans. The gearing ratio of Baa plc reveals that the company's debt at market value is about 95% of the total funds invested by the shareholders. It also means that the company has kept the level of debt slightly below the equity capital so as to avoid interest payments. Koch and Shenoy (1999, p18) posit that, "an increase in leverage due to a debt offering will initially provide more cash for possible over investment, but over time the higher interest expense will decrease the cash available for over investment". Hence, the company might have adopted this strategy to keep the interest payment at a minimum level. The gearing policy of the company as illustrated in part A also reflects that the company has opted to continually decreas... In the year 2004, this amount increased by about 9%, while in 2005 it fell by 19%. This suggests that this amount responded as the sum of long-term debt fluctuated. The amount of long-term debt was 49% of the total capital invested in the company for the year 2003, which rose to 53% in 2004 and declined to 52% in 2005. This suggests that about half the company's total capital comes from external sources i.e., lenders and other outsiders. This in turn also reflects the gearing policy of the company to keep the level of long-term debt in the company at a balanced level Also, the company's gearing policy, as suggested by above ratio is to maintain a mixed structure of capital and rely on equity funds more than the borrowed capital, because debt demands fixed payment of interest to the lenders whereas dividends are decided by the management according to their future plans. Part B: Gearing Ratio Baa Plc 2005 Market Value Debt 4,150 = 95% Total Shareholders' Equity 4,374 The gearing ratio of Baa plc reveals that the company's debt at market value is about 95% of the total funds invested by the shareholders. It also means that the company has kept the level of debt slightly below the equity capital so as to avoid interest payments. Koch and Shenoy (1999, p18) posit that, "an increase in leverage due to a debt offering will initially provide more cash for possible over investment, but over time the higher interest expense will decrease the cash available for over investment". Hence, the company might have adopted this strategy to keep the interest payment at a minimum level. The gearing policy of the company as illustrated in part A also reflects that the company has opted to continually decrease the percentage of long-term debt in the total

The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara - Essay Example The story â€Å"The Lesson,† by Toni Cade Bambara elucidates the situations of trials and tribulations in the life of blacks. What a contrast of life in different parts of the same city! The type of hardships undergone by Sylvia and her friends in the slums of New York, the type of environment they were brought up and the glaring imbalance as compared to the ambience of the Fifth Avenue can lead to two types of reactions. One is the black children may be fired with ambition to excel in life, improve their economic prospectus and achieve the rewards comparable to life in the Fifth Avenue. The other could be one of jealously and revenge. Evaluate the reaction of Sugar, an innocent child who says, â€Å"You know, Miss Moore, I dont think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.†(cai.ucdavis.edu) This is the pointer to the standard of life of the black children. Bambara creates poignant story how a college educated black woman arrives at the slum neighborhood on weekends and takes the children to a sort of picnic to posh areas like Manhattan. From the time the children leave from their slums until they return home, what are their feelings after being exposed to richness and luxury? How disturbed could be their emotional world comparing own plight and the affluence they saw throughout the day? How disturbed could be their emotional world comparing own plight and the affluence they saw throughout the day? The plot of the story is simple, but the philosophy behind it is profound.

Nurse-Authored features that use Web 2.0 applications Assignment

Nurse-Authored features that use Web 2.0 applications - Assignment Example http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2605032/ While the use of media can be very important to the nurses and other providers of health care there have been more concerns about the use of the social media. Indeed, the use of Web 2.0 tools may derive legal or ethical issues. The use of Web 2.0 tools may jeopardize the privacy and confidentiality of both the employers and the patients. Nurses can breach privacy and confidentiality by posting a photo of the patient on the social medial or comment about a patient (Younger & Morgan, 2011). According to an American research, it is eminent that several nurses have been exposing their patient’s information on public websites. The nurses ended up facing disciplinary measures for their actions. It is also unprofessional for the nurses to use Web 2.0 tools inappropriately. For instance, a nurse can use the media to bully a colleague, this results from online criticism of colleagues. This breaches the code of conduct. This behavior can result in taunting the image of the healthcare professions (Younger & Morgan,

Silence of The Lambs Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Silence of The Lambs Research - Essay Example However, this involves a greater effort and hard work from the whole team working at the project, as the technique of writing a novel is very different from the usual movie scripts, and directors have to be very careful about handling the story. It is a dangerous gamble, and very risky. More than often a movie fails just because the director did not provide that flow to it that should keep the audience on the edge of their seats, a very important factor in the success of any movie, or because the proper treatment was not given to the storyline. The genres that have proven to be the most grossing at the box office have been horror and thrillers_ action, suspense, and mystery inclusive, as they provide that crucial adrenaline shots to the audiences and find a common pulse with them, giving them a chance to escape into the world of fantasy and reel life, and an opportunity to unwind. A recent addition to this genre is the concept of psychological thrillers. For long film makers have relied on camera tricks and special effects, and costumes and scary background score when it comes to horror movies as the sole technique of being true to this category. Sometimes, theological themes and fantasized versions of mystical stories are woven into the plot to make it sound more believable and so more scary. The exorcist was and still is to this day the pinnacle of success in this regard, and still stands out to be the top most name in the list of scary movies of all times. But psychological thrillers bring in something more to horror than just the monsters; they bring to it the human factor. Audience worldwide have the tendency to relate to stories that are more in synch with their emotions, thinking patterns and psychology, and touch upon the matters of the human soul and spiritual development of people. Movies that explore this aspect hold a special place in the history of cinema. Weave it together with the essence of horror and suspense, and you have the perfect blend of cinematic taste that will be intensely savored by the audience, given that it is handled very sensitively and extremely carefully, for as much as it is the formula of success, if negligence be a part of it, it can fall flat on its face in the box office. Case in point of an all time success is the movie The Silence of the Lambs. In the winter of 1991 came a movie that went on to be nominated for scores of awards and claimed many accolades, a proof of its tremendous success. The distributors were the Orion Pictures, and the director was Jonathan Demme. The cast was an impressive combination of

Counseling Children in a Community Setting Essay Example for Free

Counseling Children in a Community Setting Essay This article deals with the effects of loss on children of both a primary and secondary nature. Events such as the death of a parent or friend and the resulting consequences can be difficult for a child to deal with, depending on what stage they are at developmentally. Other losses such as personal possessions, those resulting from abuse or a sudden change in a childs life can also be difficult (Goldman, 2004). The author also discusses, according to Piagets developmental theory, how children deal with loss. Younger children can often have trouble understanding why a loved one died may connect an event to the death that is not even related. Older children are curious as to the events and reasons for the loss, tending to seek answers as to why the death occurred. It is recommended that when speaking to children about death, an age-appropriate explanation should be used. Children need to have information that clearly defines specific type of death that has occurred, such as a murderer or an accident (Goldman, 2004). To help children effectively cope with a sudden loss, Goldman proffers several options that can be productive. Having a team that focuses on supporting the child can be very beneficial to bereavement counseling. This team has members from: the family, school and includes the counselor. The team assesses exactly what losses have occurred to the child and what developmental stage the child is at. Based on this information, the team can set up a plan for supporting the child (2004). Other methods that can be used to help the child include helping the family communicate about the death, support groups, play therapy and focusing on early intervention. The author stresses the importance of having an all-around knowledge of the circumstances and that considering the consequences that the loss will have on a childs whole life experience (Goldman, 2004). References Goldman, Linda. (2004). Counseling with children within contemporary society. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, Volume 26, no. 2, 168-187.

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur