Review the key elements of educational thinking that have brougth into Essay

Review the key elements of educational thinking that have brougth into focus the role of reflective thinking and their impact on how we understand the learning and teaching process - Essay Example It is said that man is a social animal and the society demands that in order to live properly and harmoniously an individual needs to posses certain qualities, namely, solicitousness, responsibility and creativity. It is very naturally understood that a person, who has all these qualities in him, is of strong ethical and moral principle. He also has deep reflection over other issues, including politics, economic and moreover, aesthetics. The philosophy of education depends over the process of distribution of knowledge from microcosmic to macrocosmic level and vice-versa. Through this natural way a person gradually educates himself. It also helps him to develop an educational thinking, at the same time that in the longer run contributes to the development of his individual reflection over the incidents, happening around him. Once an individual explores this reflective self, it automatically leads him to understand and analyze the learning and teaching process. Students’ failure to understand the learning or teaching process is a very common phenomenon these days at the level of higher education. There are certain factors, which act as obstacles in their process of learning. It is important, at the primary level, to introduce novel ideas that would help the students to explore their reflective self and at the same time, become capable of developing their educational thinking in order to understand properly the learning and teaching process. A person, who is sociable and educated from inside, automatically implies that he is solicitous, creative and responsible. While some people come to the earth by inheriting all these virtues, others acquire it from their acquaintances as well as from their surrounding. A child develops seeds of all these features in his childhood and as he grows mature, these qualities are also nourished accordingly. Hence, it can be said that these virtues are essential ingredients of educational thinking.

Agency Problem Essay Example for Free

Agency Problem Essay Financial Management (Agency problem) Prepared by: Sami Hassan Saeed Singabi August 2008 Introduction Economic science teaches us that due to their subjective needs, individuals have subjective preferences, and hence different interest. Occasionally different subjective interests give rise to conflicts of interest between contracting partners. These conflicts of interest may result in turn, in one or both parties undertaking actions that may be against the interest of the other contracting partner. The primary reason for the divergence of objectives between managers and shareholders has been attributed to separation of ownership (shareholders) and control (management) in corporations. As a consequence, agency problems or principal-agent conflicts exist in the firm. Agency theory deals with such problem. Agency theory is concerned with how these agency problems affect the form of the contract and how they can be minimized, in particular, when contracting parties are variously informed (or uncertain). Agency problem A problem arising from a conflict of interest between principals such as investors and agents acting for them, such as brokers or managers. Agency problem refers to a conflict of interest arising between creditors, shareholders and management because of differing goals. It exists due to problems in corporate governance. A typical problem is that of senior management of a company, who are charged with running the business in the interests of shareholders; choose instead to operate to maximize their own interests. A simple example is the hired anager who fills his pockets at shareholders expenses. For example, an agency problem exists when management and shareholders have conflicting ideas on how the company should be run. Agency problems that arise in a corporation have troubled economists for some time. There are a number of mechanisms that have been used to try and reduce these agency problems. Many of these mechanisms try to link the managers compensation to the performance of the firm. Typical examples include performance shares, restricted stock grants, and executive stock options. This dissertation is an empirical study of whether the use of executive stock options has in fact reduced the agency problems between managers and stockholders. In this dissertation, two different testing methodologies are used to address the agency problem reduction issue. One methodology looks at some significant event such as a merger or divestiture to see if an executives holding of stock options affect what decisions are made. For example, do larger holdings of stock options motivate managers to take on riskier investments? By increasing the risk of the firm, managers can increase the value of the stock options. Another question of interest is whether in taking on risky investments; do executives increase the leverage of the firm? By increasing the leverage of the firm, the executive might increase the risk of the firm and thus the value of the option holdings. An agency relationship An agency relationship arises whenever one or more individuals, called principals, hire one or more other individuals, called agents, to perform some service and then delegate decision-making authority to the agents. The primary agency relationships in business are those :- (1) Between stockholders and managers and 2) Between debt holders and stockholders. These relationships are not necessarily harmonious; indeed, agency theory is concerned with so-called agency conflicts, or conflicts of interest between agents and principals. These relationships are not necessarily harmonious; indeed, agency theory is concerned with so-called agency conflicts, or conflicts of interest between agents and principals. Expansion increase potential agency problems, if you expanded to additional locations you could not physically be at all locations at the same time. Consequently, you would have to delegate decision-making authority to others. Creditors can protect themselves by: (1) Having the loan secured. (2) Placing restrictive covenants in debt agreements. (3) They charge a higher than normal interest rate to compensate for risk. Agency cost A type of internal cost that arises from, or must be paid to a manger acting on behalf of shareholders. Agency cost arises because of core problems such as conflicts of interest between share holders and management. Shareholders wish for management to run the company in away that increases shareholders value, but management may wish to grow the company in away that maximize their personal power and wealth that may not be in the best interest of shareholders. Agency costs are inevitable within an organization whenever shareholders are not completely in charge; the cost can usually be best spent on providing proper material incentives and moral incentives for agents to properly execute their duties, thereby aligning the interests of shareholders (owners) and agents. The principals (the shareholders) have to find ways of ensuring that their agents (the managers) act in their interests. This means incurring costs, ‘agency costs’, to (a) monitor managers’ behavior, and (b) create incentive schemes and control for managers to pursue shareholders’ wealth maximization. Various methods have been used to try to align the actions of senior management with the interests of shareholders, that is, to achieve ‘goal congruence’. Linking rewards to shareholder wealth improvements: Owners can grant directors and other senior managers share options. These ermit the managers to purchase shares at some date in the future at a price, which is fixed in the present. If the share price rises significantly between the dates when the option was granted and the date when the shares can be bought the manager can make a fortune by buying at the pre-arranged price and then selling in the market place. The managers under such a scheme have a clear interest in achieving a rise in share price and thus congruence comes about to some extent. An alternative method is to allot shares to managers if they achieve certain performance targets, for example, growth in earnings per share or return on shares. Sackings: The threat of being sacked with the accompanying humiliation and financial loss may encourage managers not to diverge too far from the shareholders’ wealth path. However this method is seldom used because it is often difficult to implement due to difficulties of making a coordinated shareholder effort. Selling shares threat and the take- over: Most of the large shareholders (especially institutional investors) of quoted companies are not prepared to put large resources into monitoring and controlling all the firms of which they own a part. Quite often their first response, if they observe that management is not acting in what they regard as their best interest, is to sell the share rather than intervene. This will result in a lower share price, making the raising of funds more difficult. If this process continues the firm may become vulnerable to a merger bid by another group of managers, resulting in a loss of top management posts. Fear of being taken over can establish some sort of backstop position to prevent shareholder wealth considerations being totally ignored. Corporate governance regulations: There is a considerable range of legislation and other regulatory pressures (e. g. the Companies Act) designed to encourage directors to act in shareholders’ interests. Within these regulations for example, the board of directors is not to be dominated by a single individual acting as both the chairman and chief executive. Also independently minded non-executive directors should have more power to represent shareholder interests; in particular, they should predominate in decisions connected with directors’ remuneration and auditing of firm’s accounts. Information flow: The accounting profession, the stock exchange, the regulating agencies and the investing public are continuously conducting a battle to encourage or force firms to release more accurate, timely and detailed information concerning their operations. An improved quality of corporate accounts, annual reports and the availability of other forms of information flowing to investors and analysts such as company briefings and press announcements help to monitor firms, and identify any wealth-destroying actions by wayward managers early. Conclusion Diffuse ownership of publicly held companies reduces the owners’ ability to monitor managers because they would have to bear the full monitoring costs while gaining only a small marginal benefit. Managers may therefore act to maximize their wealth through personal use of corporate assets, stock manipulation and sub optimal decisions at the owners expense. Thus agency theory practical mechanism is weak, because it is unable to provide practical conclusions with regard to agency problems. References: 1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. htm 2. www. referenceforbusiness. com 3. Financial-dictionary. The free dictionary. com

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mechanical Joining Engineering Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mechanical Joining Engineering Essay Mechanical joining is the part method to joint components together, which mechanical joining is accomplished have expanded, the number of joints produced continuous to grow and the performance demands and expectations are becoming greater. The joining process can remain the prolific, pervasive, and important of joining process. There has two type of this process such as mechanical fastening and integral mechanical attachment, or simply integral attachment. Mechanical joining involves the attachments of components in an assembly or elements in structure through the either an integral of the components or elements or use of the supplement device called a fastener, which resulting in integral mechanical attachment and mechanical fastening. Mechanical joining is used joining or install structure from details parts and structural elements. For the both manifestations of mechanical joining, load are transferred from one component or element to another strictly through the development of pu rely mechanical forces rising from the interlocking and resulting interferences or vice versa of two or more components or components and fasteners. There are no dependences on the development of any primarily or secondary atomic, ionic, or molecular bonds between the components materials. Mechanical is the components to fabricated from different materials to be joint, There is no has for chemical and physical interaction. If the interaction occurs when seen as problematic such as galvanic corrosion or galling and seizing during adhesive wear. Mechanical joining is used to create assemblies or structures from detailed parts or structural elements. Mechanical joining offers many advantages compare to other fundamental joining process. The first advantages of mechanical joining is this process unique in that is primarily dependent on the structures to be joined, and only dependent on the materials which these structures are composed. No bonds need to be formed to accomplish joining, nor do any need to be broken to accomplish disassembly. Where, mechanical joining methods or technique uniquely allow simple practical disassembly without damaging the parts involved. The second advantages is uniquely allows intentional disassembly without damaging parts involved. Where, this is very frequently essential for the purpose of portability, maintenance, services replacements, of damages parts, modification, of the assembly or structures. The third advantage is no bonds formed. Where, is the most form of mechanical fastening and some form of integral attachment permit relative intentional motion between joined parts. The fourth advantage i s mechanical joining may no changes to the chemical composition or microstructures the materials compare the parts being joined. Where, this is because the forces needed to hold the joint components together. And no atomic à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬level bonding are created and no chemical interaction. The fifth advantage is this joining allows the different materials to be joined together such as metal to glass, and metal to polymers. The sixth advantage is provides a simple of achieving of structural damage tolerance beyond inherent material damage tolerance. Mechanical joining also has disadvantages such as, all mechanical joining fastening and integral attachment is that stress concentrates at the point of fastening or attachment. For example of fastener requiring hole is screw, key, bolt, rivet and pin. The hole can create the stress concentration unless the fastener is interference is specially process to create a compressive residual stress to offset tension stress. For other type is virtually all integral attachment, stress concentrates at the point of attachment. Stress concentration is particular concern in fatigue critical structure, but it can more aggravate accelerate corrosion. The second disadvantages of mechanical joining is mechanical joining related to above mentioned stress concentration is that the utility of mechanical joining. Stress concentration can lead to fastener hole or attachment feature distortion and loss of effectiveness. The utility of mechanical joining can be limited by materials anisotropy, particularly i f that anisotropy leads to weakness through the fastening thickness, as in most laminated composites. The result can be fastener pull through or pull out. The third disadvantages of mechanical joining can be the open nature of the joint between points of fastening, around fasteners and between points of attachment. Such as joint allows moisture, water, air, fluid intrusion, permits leaks, and can accelerate corrosion in the oxygen starved crevice and dissimilar electrochemical nature of the joined materials or any residual stresses. For example, the ever present stress concentration. Other disadvantage of mechanical fastening is more intensity for assembly can be high, especially for high performance system. There can also be a weight when compare to integrally attached as welding, brazing and soldering. The joining can loosen in service as a result of vibration. Most cost or other process can be higher for some integral attachment method. It also can experience loosening and disass embly from flexing especially during impact from dropping, or material stress relaxation. As stated earlier, most joint are critical element of assembly and structure. They can be the weakest links in some assemblies or structures, thereby being the most likely areas of an assembly and structure to fail. Therefore, joints demand careful design for all forms of joining, including mechanical fastening and integral attachment. The most important aspects of the design joints is identifying the sources and estimating the magnitudes and directions of applied internally generated loads. The sources of loads can be weight or force, example from snow, water, wind, or other parts of the structure. The forces from interacting structures, internal inertial forces, vibrations, transients, especially from startups, shutdowns, and faults, temperature changes or thermal excursions, fluid pressures, prime movers. The joint element is held together by shear in the fastener and the bearing force or stress in the joint elements created by the fastener. For example of fastener properly used f or bearing-type shear-loaded joints are nails, rivets, pins, and key. When these joint is operating properly, the frictional force developed precludes the fastener from having to carry and apply a bearing force by not allowing slip of the joint element. Bolt can be used for joining such as a rivet is used on occasion. Because of the mechanical fastener is a stress and develop a stress concentration in the joint element. Mechanical fastener also relative to one another help distribute loading and also to edge of the joint elements. Shear loaded types of joints and fasteners being described here, and for tension loaded types of joints and fasteners to be described in the next subsection. Bearing force is imposed by this type of fastener hole and plastic deformation of the material surrounding the hole on opposing structure elements. The bearing force also tear and slugs of material from the join element. This can occur under static loading and the situation can be even worse for dynam ic loading by impact fatigue. Mechanical joining is used to joining or install of structure from details parts and structural elements. For the both manifestations of mechanical joining, load are transferred from one component and also the element to another the development of purely mechanical forces and rising from the interlocking, and result can more components and fasteners. There are no dependences on the development of any primarily or secondary atomic, ionic, or molecular bonds between the components materials. Mechanical allows components fabricated from different materials to be joined, since there is no need for chemical or physical interaction. If the interaction occurs it is usually seen as problematic such as galvanic corrosion or galling and seizing during adhesive wear. The procedure for design shear loaded fastened joint is the allowable stress design procedure. This procedure can be more fasteners are assumed to carry on equal share of the applied force and load. This procedure also is only truly valid for joint that are composed of perfectly material, which is not real case and at least valid for joint containing multiple row of fasteners. This procedure is generally accepted and is perfectly safe when conservative allowable are used, such as the result of imprecise analysis. Shared loading also depend on all fastener being same size and material. Shared loading also has fitting with equal tightness in fastener hole. Empirical used to determine the maximum working stress that can be allowed in the fastener. Under the stress design procedure for bearing type shear loaded joints, the various elements of the joint such as including structural members and fasteners and must be sized so that the following conditions are satisfied, the fasteners can be not damage in shear by overload, the joint plate can be not damage in tension by overload, the fastener holes cannot be deformed by bearing loads from the fasteners, and the fasteners will not tear out of the joint plates at edges. These various modes of potential failure are shown schematically. None of these modes will occur if the appropriate allowable stresses are not exceeded in the fastener, for example shear. The advantage of the allowable stress design procedure is not precludes failure under any conditions such as although it does so under normal operating condition, but that it allows the designer to choose the mode by which the structure would ultimately damage. This procedure allows the designer to choose the low joining in the structure. The double-lap shear is composed of ASTM A36 steel, contain five 22 diameter ASTM A325 steel bolts arranged as shown although the specific pattern does not matter for symmetrical loading, the bolts have a thread pitch of 2mm per thread or, in the Unified system. Shear plates in the double lap joint the unthreaded portion and one passes through the threaded portion of each bolt. The problem is to determine the various stresses produced in the fastener and in the joint plates by a load of 300kN (67,000 lbs. force). The shear stress produced in a fastener given load depend on the actual cross sectional area of the fastener, and this is affected by whether the fastener is threaded and unthreaded in the region through which a shear plane in the joint elements passes. For example, the shear stress where F is the force in kilo Newtonà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s (or lbs. force), b is the number of shear planes that actually pass through the unthreaded fastener or portion of the shank of a fastener. Joint is critical elements of assemblies and structures. They can be weakest link in some assemblies or structures, thereby being the most likely areas of an assembly or structure to damage or low joining parts. Joints demand careful design for all forms of joining, including mechanical fastening or integral attachment. The most important aspects of the design of all joints is identifying the sources and estimating the magnitudes and directions of applied and internally generated loads. The loads also can be static, for example for steady or unchanging and dynamic in combination. The sources of loads can be weights or forces as from snow, water, wind, or other parts of the structure. The forces from interacting structures, internal inertial forces, vibrations, and transients especially from startup, shutdown, and the temperature can be changes in thermal excursions, fluid pressures, prime movers. The joint element is shear in the fastener and the bearing force. Stress also created by the fastener. The examples of fasteners properly used for bearing type shear loaded joints such as nails, rivets, pins, and keys . In friction shear loaded joints, the fasteners must create a significant amount of clamping force on the joint, holding the joint elements together and prevent any motion and slip. The resulting friction created between the joint and the result of their coefficient of friction and applied normal force. When these joints are operating properly, the frictional force developed precludes the fastener from having to carry and apply a bearing force by not allowing slip of the joint elements. Only bolts can be properly used for such joints, certain rivets are used on occasion. The shear stress in bearing type connections is related to the arrangement of the pieces or structural elements comprising the joint. The advantages of single-laps are ease of assembly and cost, and the advantages of double laps are elimination of eccentric loading and reduction of shear stresses at each of the multiple shear planes in the fastener in bearing type joints. Finally, the designer must ensure that fasteners will not tear out of the joint plate. This can only occur if the fasteners are located so close to the edge of the plate that the shear stress developed by bearing exceeds the ability of the plate material to sustain that stress over all shear planes from the fasteners to the edge. In fact, tear out cannot occur if there are multiple rows of fasteners, given sharing of load by all fasteners. This is because a slug of material near the edge could not tear out if the strain to elongation at the fastener holes, because by bearing did not exceed the strain needed to cause shear overload over all the aforementioned planes. In this illustrative example there are multiple rows of fasteners, so tear out could not occur and the holes on the second and third rows from the edge would have to elongate in bearing by enough to cause tear out of slugs between the first row and the edge. If there were three bolts in a row, there would be six shear planes such as on areas to cause tear out. For friction joint, the design analysis is slightly different than for bearing type joint. Friction joint also the intent to have an appropriate fastener, for example a bolt or machine screw or, sand rivet to apply a clamping load high enough to cause sufficient frictional force to applied the load, The fastener is protect from ever having to carry shear or cause bearing. The necessary slip resistances, as the frictional force to apply in this way is called, depend on greatly of the surface conditions of the structural joint element materials at their joint faying interface. Typical slip coefficients of friction can be found. V alues can be seen to be highly dependent on the treatment and condition of the joint surfaces, which must be carefully stipulated and controlled for such friction-type joints to work reliably. For example, surfaces cannot be painted unless painting is called for and an approved paint is used. No lubricants can ever be used if not planned for at the design stage. One even needs to worry about water infiltration in such joints, since water acts as a lubricant and drastically lowers the slip coefficient of a joint consider being dry during operational service. The ultimate strength of a friction type joint is considered to be the low of resistance or bearing strength. The bearing strength is more strong by using the same equations as in IE 2.2, except that one would enter the related stress for each material used in the joint plates and fasteners and apply the force that would be required to produce a stress to cause shear overload in the fasteners, tensile overload in joint plates, el ongation such as in bearing overload and can be fastener holes in every part joint plates, or fastener tear-out from the joint plate near its edge. The low force is then compared the force to cause slip because to earlier for an assumed value of average fastener joint preload. The lower of these determines the ultimate load-carrying capacity of the friction-type joint. Mechanical allows components fabricated from different materials to be joined, since there is no need for chemical or physical interaction. If the interaction occurs it is usually seen as problematic such as galvanic corrosion or galling and seizing during adhesive wear. Mechanical joining is used to create assemblies or structures from detailed parts or structural elements. Mechanical joining, load are transferred from one component or element to another strictly through the development of purely mechanical forces rising from the interlocking and resulting interferences or vice versa of two or more components or components and fasteners. There are no dependences on the development of any primarily or secondary bonds between the components materials. Mechanical joining is actually processing in a locking feature plastic deformation. Such joints can only be employed with materials that exhibit plastic deformation, yet still retain their strength or mechanical integrity. Ductile metals and thermoplastic polymers are the two example such as formed in folded tabs, crimps, hems, and punched stakes are good example in metals, and crimps, hems, and punched or heat set stakes are example in thermoplastic polymers. Mechanical joining is allows parts to assemb ly to move relative to one another to provide needed system functionality, while maintaining part arrangement, proximity, and orientation. The process causes no chemical and microstructure will be changes in the material being joined, so dissimilar types can be combine easily, and all can be intentionally disassembled to allow maintenance, service, repair, upgrade, ultimate disposal, or portability The joining parts assemblies and a structure element is joining in structures mechanical joining, which involves two major subclasses of mechanical fastening and integral in mechanical attachment. Mechanical joining is to attachment of components in an assembly to use of either an integral feature is used the part to install the supplemental device called a fastener resulting in integral mechanical attachment and mechanical fastening, respectively. Mechanical joining is a load to transfer from one parts or element to another strictly and the development of purely mechanical forces arising from the interlocking and resulting interference of two or more components, or component and fastener. Mechanical is the components to fabricated from different materials to be joint, There is no has for chemical and physical interaction. If the interaction occurs when seen as problematic such as galvanic corrosion or galling and seizing during adhesive wear. Mechanical joining is used to create assemblies or structures from detailed parts or structural elements.Mechanical joining has been critical to engineering such as in manufacturing, structure, and also in construction. Mechanical joining is very important because the result more fastener from other process. Mechanical joining has more advantages. The detailed methods by which mechanical joining is accomplished have expanded, the number of joints produced continues to grow, and the performance demands and expectations are becoming greater.

The Draft in the USA Essay -- Army Military War Essays Papers

The Draft in the USA The draft is a taboo subject in America, but regardless of its controversy it is a subject that must be examined. The daft, however rash, is essential for America in case of a national emergency. Many people in this age of America lack patriotism for their country. Of course, many citizens ignore the fact that they are living in one of the only countries that offer you freedom and the choice to succeed as far as you want. However, â€Å"Of those to whom much is given, much is required† (Mackenzie) and all that is asked of you in America is to give yourself to her when asked. Many people would not risk their lives for America. That is when the government should put a call to action and reinstate the draft to insure the safety of American citizens. The people that oppose the draft believe that it segregates the poor from the rich and it cuts America right down the middle. â€Å"†¦poor blacks, Hispanics, and rural whites should not serve so disproportionately in the ranks of the military and that those in the ‘upper classes’ should also serve†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Akil) the opposed believe it’s unfair to decide by wealth. They believe that if the draft is to be reinstated it should not be in regards to race, wealth or any discriminatory trait. The draft may be prejudiced but it doesn’t mean it is not needed. There are many flaws in it, but there are also flaws in government, society, in every individual. These flaws are fixable, and in the future they will be corrected now Am...

Strategic Management Analysis of Saudi Aramco Ltd.

To: Prof. Dr. M. Mahmodul Hasan. Course Instructor, Faculty of Business, AIUB. Re: Submission of Term Paper on Saudi Aramco. Dear Sir, It is a grand contentment for us that we have been capable to submit the report. It’s been an enormous practice for us to bring about such a job and we took pleasure in the whole term paper making actions. We tried our degree best with our knowledge to make a full pledged report by analyzing all the available information. We hope that we have fulfilled all the requirements you have asked for. We would be delighted if you kindly accept the report and oblige us thereby.On behalf of the group ‘Jeener Badshah’ With Best Regards, Plaban Roy. Id. No. 11-94732-2. MBA Course: Strategic Management. Section: A. Department of Business Administration. Contents of term-paper as follows: 1. Acknowledgement Letter 2. Executive Summary 3. Definition of Strategy 4. Most Strategic Management Model 5. Company Detailed Profile including mission & visi on and Organogram 6. PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 7. SWAN Analysis & TWOS Matrix 8. Value Chain Analysis 9. ViSA Model & SMARTER Model 10. The BCG chart 11.PURE Objectives & GREAT Model 12. Market Analysis including Market Segmentation 13. EFE Matrix 14. CPM Matrix 15. QSPM Analysis 16. Financial Analysis 17. Competitor Analysis 18. Breakeven Analysis 19. KSF Analysis (Industry Key Success Factors) 20. Strategy Evaluation and Contingency Plan 21. Recommendation 22. Conclusion 23. References 2. Executive summary: Saudi Aramco (Arabic: ?Aramko s-Sa? udiyyah), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to US$10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels (4. 1? 1010  m3), and largest daily oil producti on. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco operates the world's largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas System. Its yearly production is 7. 9 billion barrels (1. 26? 109  m3), and it managed over 100 oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia, including 279 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas reserves.Saudi Aramco owns the Ghawar Field, the world's largest oil field, and the Shaybah Field, one of the world's largest oil fields. Operations: Saudi Aramco is headquartered in Dhahran; and its operations span the globe which include exploration, producing, refining, chemicals, distribution and marketing. Objective of the study: 24. PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 25. SWAN Analysis ; TWOS Matrix 26. Value Chain Analysis 27. ViSA Model ; SMARTER Model 28. The BCG chart 29. PURE Objectives ; GREAT Model 30. Market Analysis including Market Segmentation 31.EFE Matrix 32. CPM Matrix 33. QSPM Analysis 34. Financial Analysis 35. Competitor Analysis 36. Breakeven Analysis 37. KSF Analysis (Industry Key Success Factors) 38. Strategy Evaluation and Contingency Plan 39. Strategy Evaluation and Contingency Plan 3. Definition of strategy: Strategy (Greek â€Å" † – strategia, â€Å"art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship†) is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. Strategy becomes ever necessary when it is known or suspected there are insufficient resources to achieve these goals.Strategy is also about attaining and maintaining a position of advantage over adversaries through the successive exploitation of known or emergent possibilities rather than committing to any specific fixed plan designed at the outset. Henry Mintzberg from McGill University defined strategy as â€Å"a pattern in a stream of decisions† to contrast with a view of strategy as planning [2] while Max McKeown (2011) argues that â€Å"strategy is about shaping the fu ture† and is the human attempt to get to â€Å"desirable ends with available means†. Good Strategy + Good Strategy Execution = Good Management . Most strategic management model: 1. PEST analysis 2. STEER Analysis 3. Five Forces Model 4. Strategic Group Map 5. SWOT analysis 6. Blue Ocean Strategies 7. Open innovation 8. seven S model 5. Company detailed profile including mission ; vision: The world’s need for energy is growing, but so too is our ability to meet that demand. Our teams have been discovering new and better ways of delivering petroleum energy since 1933. Find out more about our leadership, our history and the people who make us the world’s leading integrated petroleum enterprise.Who we are Not only is Saudi Aramco the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are also a fully integrated,  global petroleum and chemicals enterprise  and a world leader in exploration, production, refining, distribution, shipping and marketing. We manage the world’s  largest proven conventional crude oil and condensate reserves  of 259. 7 billion barrels. Our average daily crude production in 2011 was 9. 1 million barrels per day (bpd). We also have stewardship over the  world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves  of 282. trillion standard cubic feet (scf). Saudi Aramco’s downstream accomplishments include our rank as the8th largest refiner in the world, with a worldwide refining capacity of 4. 02 million barrels per day (including domestic refineries, and domestic and international joint and equity ventures). We are also theworld’s top exporter of natural gas liquids  (NGL). Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco and its subsidiaries have offices throughout the Kingdom. We also have offices in North America, Europe and Asia.Our subsidiaries and affiliates are located in Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, India, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Ara b Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our operations span the Kingdom, including its territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, with production and distribution linking all market areas around the world. Vision: * Future of energy * Reliable supply * Contributing to the economy * Developing human potential * Sustainability * Wellness Powering possibilitiesAt Saudi Aramco we’re leading the drive to solve some of the issues that matter most to the global energy industry. We consider it our responsibility – to the Kingdom and the world. Transforming for the Future By 2020, Saudi Aramco will have evolved from being the leading oil and gas company that it is today, into a  fully integrated, truly global energy and chemicals enterprise  with extensive operations across the globe. What we aim to be tomorrow will facilitate a  diversified and sustainable expansion  of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economy and enable a globally compet itive and vibrant Saudi energy sector.Our vision for the future is best described through the company’s 2020 Strategic Intent: * Shaping our business portfolio through  establishing an integrated value chain approach  in our crude oil mix, further develop the Kingdom’s unconventional gas resources and become a leading global chemicals and refining company. * Supporting the Kingdom in building a vibrant energy industry by promoting an energy efficient economy,  developing alternative energy options, and building a technology portfolio. Delivering an agile, flexible, and efficient organization  to achieve operational excellence and world-class reliability and safety performance through improved operational efficiency, agile decision-making and budgeting activities, insightful performance measurements, and business process improvement. * Building capacity, knowledge, and skills to improve our processes and systems of leadership selection and development, performan ce evaluation, innovation, and research and development. We will take the lead in developing a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia.In short, we aim to unlock the potential of our people and our enterprise to transform from a company of which the Kingdom is proud into a company of which the world is proud. 6. Five Forces Model The five forces model is a framework that analysts use to evaluate the interior factors affecting competition and the external factors affecting bargaining power. This helps to understand the industry and what strategies are needed to gain a competitive advantage Rivalry Among Existing Firms (Low) 1. Threat of New Entrants 2. Threat of Substitute Products 3. Bargaining Power of Customers . Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Suppliers * High competition among suppliers | | | | * Volume is critical to suppliers | Bargaining Power of Customers | | * Product is important to customer| | * Large number of customers | Intensity of Existing Rivalry * Government limits competition| | * Large industry size | | | Threat of Substitutes * Substitute is lower quality | | * Substitute has lower performance | | * Limited number of substitutes| Threat of New Competitors * Strong distribution network required| | * High capital requirements| | * High learning curve | | Entry barriers are high | SWOT analysis Strengths * Spending on alternative energy. * Investment in high profile project. Weaknesses * Declining sales of refined products, resulting in lowering top line growth. * Declining replacement rates in recent years. Opportunities * Growing Asian-Pacific population and expansion of their economy will lead to greater demand for energy * Bio-fuels and alternative energy methods Threats * Prolonged global recession * International Union Strikes and other global political events (Environmental issues) SWAN Analysis StrengthThe brand image they have created sustaining over 80 years. Management who are highly skilled and to operate the com pany Weakness Declining profit over the years Unable to cope up with the existing competitors to become the leader in the industry Achievements Have major achievement in taking out the oil from deep of the desert Emerged as one of the biggest supplier of Oil Next Step Achieving the global leadership Beating the close competitors Developing the skill of the local employees. TOWS Matrix Factors| Weight| Rate| Weighted Score| Opportunities|   |   |   |Better management of product lines| 0. 18| 3| 0. 54| Globalization| 0. 21| 4| 0. 84| Environmental concerns| 0. 21| 4| 0. 84| | | | | Threats| | | | Fierce competition| 0. 2| 3| 0. 6| War and terrorist attack impact| 0. 2| 3| 0. 6| Total| 1. 00| | 3. 42| | | | | Strength| | | | The brand image| 0. 22| 3| 0. 66| Skilled management| 0. 13| 2| 0. 26| Enriched natural resources| 0. 15| 3| 0. 45| | | | | Weaknesses| | | | Improper utilization of natural resources| 0. 25| 3| 0. 75| Lack of local skilled labor| 0. 08| 2| 0. 16| Local techn ological non advancement| 0. 17| 2| 0. 34| Total| 1. 00| | 2. 62|

Sten Gun in World War II

Sten Gun in World War II The Sten submachine gun was a weapon developed for use by British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. It takes its name from the last names of its designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin, and Enfield. Intended to be simple to build, the Sten was employed across all theaters of the conflict and was retained by many militaries for several decades after the war. The Sten also saw extensive use by resistance groups in Europe during the conflict and its easy to construct design permitted some to produce their own variations. Development During the early days of World War II, the British Army purchased large numbers of Thompson submachine guns from the United States under Lend-Lease. As American factories were operating at peacetime levels, they were unable to meet the British demand for the weapon. Following their defeat on the Continent and the Dunkirk Evacuation, the British Army found itself short on weapons with which to defend Britain. As sufficient numbers of Thompsons were unavailable, efforts moved forward to design a new submachine gun that could be built simply and cheaply. This new project was led by Major Reginald V. Shepherd, OBE of The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, and Harold John Turpin of the Design Department of the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield. Drawing inspiration from the Royal Navys Lanchester submachine gun and the German MP40, the two men created the STEN. The weapons name was formed by using Shepherd and Turpins initials and combining them with EN for Enfield. The action for their new submachine gun was a blowback open bolt in which the movement of the bolt loaded and fired the round as well as re-cocked the weapon. Design Problems Due to the need to quickly manufacture the Sten, construction consisted of a variety of simple stamped parts and minimal welding. Some variants of the Sten could be produced in as few as five hours and contained only 47 parts. An austere weapon, the Sten consisted of a metal barrel with a metal loop or tube for a stock. Ammunition was contained in a 32-round magazine which extended horizontally from the gun. In an effort facilitate use of captured 9 mm German ammunition, the Stens magazine was a direct copy of one used by the MP40. This proved problematic as the German design utilized a double column, single feed system that led to frequent jamming. Further contributing to this issue was the long slot along the side of the Sten for the cocking knob which also allowed debris to enter the firing mechanism. Due to the speed of the weapons design and construction it contained only basic safety features. The lack of these led to the Sten having a high rate of accidental discharge when hit or dropped. Efforts were made in later variants to correct this problem and install additional safeties. Sten Gun Cartridge: 9 x 19mm ParabellumCapacity: 32-round detachable box magazineMuzzle Velocity: 1,198 ft./sec.Weight: approx. 7.1 lbs.Length: 29.9 in.Barrel Length: 7.7 in.Rate of Fire: 500-600 rounds per minuteSights: Fixed peep rear, post frontAction: Blowback-operated, open bolt Variants The Sten Mk I entered service in 1941 and possessed a flash hider, refined finish, and wooden foregrip and stock. Approximately 100,000 were produced before factories switched to the simpler Mk II. This type saw the elimination of the flash hider and hand grip, while possessing a removable barrel and shorter barrel sleeve. A rough weapon, over 2 million Sten Mk IIs were built making it the most numerous type. As the threat of invasion eased and production pressure relaxed, the Sten was upgraded and built to a higher quality. While the Mk III saw mechanical upgrades, the Mk V proved to be the definitive wartime model. Woman worker poses with finished Sten submachinegun, 1942. Library and Archives Canada Essentially a Mk II built to a higher quality, the Mk V included a wooden pistol grip, foregrip (some models), and stock as well as a bayonet mount. The weapons sights were also upgraded and its overall manufacture proved more reliable. A variant with an integral suppressor, dubbed the Mk VIS, was also built at the request of the Special Operation Executive. On par with the German MP40 and U.S. M3, the Sten suffered the same problem as its peers in that its use of 9 mm pistol ammunition severely restricted accuracy and limited its effective range to approximately 100 yards. An Effective Weapon Despite its issues, the Sten proved an effective weapon in the field as it dramatically increased the short-range firepower of any infantry unit. Its simplistic design also allowed it to fire without lubrication which reduced maintenance as well as made it ideal for campaigns in desert regions where oil could attract sand. Used extensively by British Commonwealth forces in Northern Africa and Northwest Europe, the Sten became one of the iconic British infantry weapons of the conflict. Both loved and hated by troops in the field, it earned the nicknames Stench Gun and Plumbers Nightmare. American officer and French partisan with a Sten crouch behind an auto during a street fight in a French city, 1944. National Archives and Records Administration The Stens basic construction and ease of repair made it ideal for use with Resistance forces in Europe. Thousands of Stens were dropped to Resistance units across occupied Europe. In some nations, such as Norway, Denmark, and Poland, domestic production of Stens began in clandestine workshops. In the final days of World War II, Germany adapted a modified version of the Sten, the MP 3008, for use with its Volkssturm militias. Following the war, the Sten was retained by the British Army until the 1960s when it was fully replaced by the Sterling SMG. Other Users Produced in large numbers, the Sten saw use around the world after World War II. The type was fielded by both sides of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Due to its simple construction, it was one of the few weapons that could be produced domestically by Israel at that time. The Sten was also fielded by both the Nationalists and Communists during the Chinese Civil War. One of the last large-scale combat uses of the Sten occurred during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. On a more notorious note, a Sten was used in the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.