Philip Johnson's Glass House Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philip Johnson's Glass House - Research Paper Example The Glass House, his most unique, acclaimed and popular creation, constructed in the year 1949, is still considered as an architectural marvel of all times. It can be perceived as the trend setter for architectural constructions in steel and glass. Outdoor and Interior Appearances and Its Relationship with Natural Environment: The Glass House, set on a luxuriant landscape, illustrates style over substance and rather than a habitat it serves the purpose of a lifestyle component, apart from reflecting Johnson’s philosophy of architecture being â€Å"expressive of and compatible with modernity’s machine processes.†5 The exterior of the construction exists in a serene and peaceful ambience of natural elements. It is mostly done in glass and charcoal colored steel with a brick floor that stands about 10 inches from ground level. The lawn is an exquisite green with lush green growth of grass, and the entire structure is again set against the greenery of trees and shrub s. From a distance when one looks at the Glass House, it gives an impression of open space as the transparent glass walls allow an unobstructed view of the other side, the repetition of a lush green abundance. The main focus of the interior is the flow of natural daylight, which the transparent glass structure permits in rich abundance and it sort of blurs its boundaries with the exterior. The interior comprises mainly open spaces, with cabinets made in walnut wood. Brick has been used on in the construction of a cylindrical structure that accommodates a bathroom on one side and a fireplace on the other. The interior of Glass House can further be perceived as the manipulation of the systems of domestic occupation especially in the context of large areas indirect illumination and glazing and Johnson has on several occasions admitted that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe â€Å"served as a prime†¦source† for his design of the Glass House.6 Moreover, Johnson has considered Mies, who had â€Å"employed similar forms† in his design of the Farnsworth House, as a mentor. The influence of Mies also reflect in the furnishings of the interior, the designs of which have apparently emulates his style. As can be evidenced from the above image, the interior is sparsely but elegantly done with a barely minimum furnishing that matches the sleekness of the glasswork. It is also relevant that both the components of the exterior and the interior are selected and placed in such a deft manner as to complement one another and enhance the aesthetic appeal of each. Style and Materials: The construction style of the Glass House is â€Å"so spare in form† that it provides little clue to the â€Å"variety of ideas† or the hard work that has gone behind its conceptualization and execution.7 Its plan necessitated drawing up of 79 â€Å"schemes and variations† that Philip has devised with 27 â€Å"clearly distinguishable approaches†

Discussion topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion topic - Assignment Example There are experiments that require low alpha levels like in cases that may lead to death, maim or serious defects occurring. In such experiments, the researcher wants to avoid a situation whereby the null hypothesis is true and rejected. Therefore, if 0.05 chance of being wrong cannot be tolerated then a much lower level of significance like 0.001 can be used. For example performing a clinical study of a new drug on people, it will mean that a researcher does not want to take chances if adverse drug reactions are noted on an individual. A Higher level of alpha like 0.10 is rare in practice because it increases the chance of making type I error. Higher levels may be used when doing an experiment the researcher is at ease of accepting the null hypothesis (Shi, Levinson, & Whittemore, 2008). For example, when a researcher insists that there is no significant difference between intelligence among male and female nursing student in a nursing

If I Was Given a Gift as Money Essay Example for Free

If I Was Given a Gift as Money Essay If I were given money as a gift and had a choice between buying a piece of jewelry that I like or tickets to a concert that I want to attend, I would most likely choose the concert tickets. It actually depends on what kind of concert it is but if it was about music, for example a live performance of a famous musician, I would probably choose the concert tickets. This is because the jewelry can be bought any time when you can afford it but attending a concert has a much more rare chance. Eventually I would probably choose to attend the concert I wanted. Most of all, a piece of jewelry can be pretty and you might feel good when you wear it, but music is a lifelong interest that I will continue to have throughout my life. Going to a live concert can be a wonderful experience that I will remember for a long time, but when I buy a piece of jewelry, the good feeling I get from buying it will last only a short time. The gift of going to a concert can keep on giving even after the concert is over. If I enjoy the concert, I can buy the music that I saw live on a CD and listen to it many times over or record it by video tape and relive the experience. Each time I listen to the music, I might find a new detail that I did not notice before, but a piece of jewelry will be always the same. In addition, having a jewelry will not be able to share the feeling; your friends will be jealous of you instead, where as you might be able to attend the concert with your friends. It is always nice to listen to music, but it is made even more enjoyable when it is seen live with friends. By going to a concert together we would be able to strengthen our relationship. Over all I would prefer to attend a concert using the gift of money. In conclusion, even though having a new piece of jewelry is nice, I would prefer to buy tickets for a concert if I were given money as a gift. The reasons why I would choose the concert tickets over a piece of jewelry are that going to a concert can be a wonderful and lifelong experience, and that I can improve relations with my friends by attending a concert.

Rhyniophytes Seedless Vascular Plants Characteristics

Rhyniophytes Seedless Vascular Plants Characteristics Rhyniophytes are a group of fossil plants, which compose the first land flora, These seedless vascular plants that developed during the early Devonian period and during the Paleozic era, occurred in the Rhynie Chert deposit. Some signs of this appeared as early as in the Silurian period as well. The first land flora is a clasificationof three extinct earlyvascular plant groups (the Rhyniophytes, the Zosterophyllophytes and the Trimerophytes), that flourished around 425to370million years ago. Despite the fact that these were very simple plants containing no seeds, flowers, and were even leafless, they bear a very striking resemblance to the plants we see today. The vascular tissue was comprised of a protostele or of one vascular bundle. A number of unicellular organisms were preserved in this location, such as fungi primitive plants and arthropods, leading researchers to believe that conditions were perfect for the process. The Rhyniophyta are notorious thanks to the prominent fossil record held in the village of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Rhynia, one of the most notable plant groups, are primarily characterized by their moderately small structure and dichotomous branches, with various lateral branches, most of which was common in all three groups with minor differences in size and location of sporangia. In the Rhynia, the sporangia were located mainly at the top of the main branches, but were usually overtaken by the growth of lateral branches. The sporangia present in the fossils found, contain enough cellular detail to tell which plants are the sporophyte generation. Significant unique features, like reproductive structures, can be seen connected to their parent plants, thanks to the fact the plants were buried in-situ. Fossils also showed first indication of wounding by insects in the form of penetrating wounds, likely by arthropods. Another important characteristic to take note of is homospory, each plant having the same size spores. This gives resear chers more information into the kind of ecosystems these early plants evolved. During the second land flora or the coal age in specific regions of the globe, such as North America and Europe, were covered by shallow seas and swamps where favorable conditions yielded year-round growth with a tropical climate. Given these conditions five groups of plants thrived during this period, three of which were seedless vascular plants ferns, lycophytes, and equisetophytes. The other two dominante plants were of the gymnospermous type, the seed fern and the cordaites. These more complex groups dated from the late Devonian (375 million years ago) through the Carboniferous (290 million years ago). During the carboniferous period plants such as these grow high it the sky producing forests, but became extinct due to a time of increasing tropical drought during the Late Paleozoic. Leaving behind only a few relatives such as the herbaceous, several groups of ferns, and the conifers; some of these plants such as the fern and the herbaceous still exist today. The plants of this pe riod were classified by having more modern characteristics, things like pseudomonopodial branching, monopodial branching, microphyllous leaves, and sporophylls leaf that covered the sporangia. Even ferns, had developed megaphyllous leaves and eusteles. The third flora more commonly known as the gymnosperm flora signifies a sequence of evolutionary lines of seed baring plants. Late into the Paleozoic era the progymnosperms existed, which is considered to be the intermediate between the seedless vascular plants and the gymnosperns that predominantly characterize the later period. The progymnosperms carried some of the traits for their predecessors as well as their successors, with the production of secondary xylem similar to living conifers and reproducing by means of freely dispersed spores, but most importantly the presence of a bifacial vascular cambrium. Progymnosperms became extinct around 340 million years ago in the Mississippian period. Evidence suggests that seed plants developed from similar plants such as these. Gymnosperm, which means naked seed, is a broad expressive term for plants like conifers, which have seeds that are borne naked, the primary characteristic of the classification. They are pollinated by wind. It was the global climate change that brought an end to the Carboniferous Period and the succeeding growth of the third major land flora, set apart by forests of gymnosperms. The extinct gymnosperms existed from Devonian period up until the Jurassic and range from a number of groups and characteristics. The Ptericdospermales or seed ferns and Cordaitles varied in form, from plants that looked like tree ferns to smaller slender branch plants. There are also a number of extinct Mesozic plants that are included with the gymnosperms on occasion, with seed ferns as well as a series of other Carboniferous and Devonian seed ferns being inclded. There is also some debate as to the lineage of the Bennettitales, which was an enigmatic group of Mesozoic gymnosperms characterized by its palm like leaves that faded out during the Cretaceous period. The four phyla of gymnosperms that came about still have existing representatives, which including the Coniferophyta, Cycadophyta, Gnetophyta and Ginkgophyta. The relationship between the four groups is still uncertain. Gymnosperm forests grew dominate for almost 150 million years, well into the Cretaceous Period where they began to diminish in size, around 145 million years ago. They became overshadowed by the flowering plants that emerged and ultimately rose to dominance around 90 million years ago. What resemble modern day cycads and cycadeoids first emerged at the end of the Paleozoic Era, approximately 290 million years ago and became plentiful in the Mesozoic Era, characterized by the dominate trait of the period the cone. Cycadeoids fell to extinct before the end of the Cretaceous period, but conifers being the most abundant group of gymnosperms, still live on today with around 7 families and ap 600 species. Conifer is a woody plant and most are evergreens. The leaves of conif er are long, thin and needle-like such as pine. Ginkgophyta is a monotypic phylum that lives on through one species, Ginkgo biloba or more commonly known as Ginkgo, which has spanned over 150 million years. It has reproductive qualities like the cycads and vegetative qualities much like the conifers. Gnetophytes are considered to be the closest existing relations to the flowering plant, dating back all the way to the early Cretaceous. Angiosperm, which literally means covered seed, is a broad expressive term for flowering plants whose ovules or seed are covered by the ovary. The angiosperms comprise only a single phylum, while gymnosperms consist of several phyla. The phylum consists of two major classes, Monocotyledones and the Eudicotyledones as well as a much less sophisticated and primitive group called Magnoliids, all of which encompass approximately 235,000 different species of plants. Flowering plants started to appear during the Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago. They are considered to be the most successful vascular plants to evolve, since they are the largest, most widespread, and diverse. Some of the possible causes for the flowering plants success include a range of adaptations for drought confrontation, together with the development of the deciduous habit, as well as, possibly the most important, the evolution of resourceful and specific systems for pollination and seed distribution. The first recognized flowering plant was the Archaefructus, which was only recently discovered. It has many of the major characteristics of angiosperms including slight roots, floral axes with sealed carpels on top as well as sealed stamens at the bottom, and bisected leaves, Angiosperms major characteristics consist of the most concentrated megagametophytes and microgametophytes of the vascular plants, fruits, flowers, ovules with two integuments, and double fertilization. Vessel elements are present in flowering plants xylem and in their phloem there are sieve tube elements. Some plants like the primitive class mentioned earlier lack these cell types. Sporophylls are leaves that folded to enclose the sporangia, which was most likely a defense mechanism to protect the reproductive materials. Different sporophylls undertake different jobs, while some produced male sporangia which became the stamens, others produced the female reproductive structure or pistil and some that dont produce reproductive sporophylls became the petals and sepals. The anther, which are the folded sporophyll that are positioned at the tip of the stalk or filament, are the location of the male sporangia. In the sporangium, spores are formed which divide almost instantaneously to gen erate gametophytes. Once mature, the anthers open to discharge the mature male gametophytes or pollen grains. The pollen grain is carried by wind or by animal to the female gametophyte. When the male gametophytes find a well-matched stigma, a pollen tube develops to reach the female gametophytes, through the pistil and into the carpel. Flowering plants rely predominantly on insects for pollen transfer. Insects get a sweet nectar reward and as flowering plants discharge odors to draw bees, beetles, butterflies, and wasps to their blossoms. Other larger pollinators include bats, mothhawks, and hummingbirds. There has been a co-evolution of flowering plants and their pollinators as modifications of plants and pollinators have been a key factor in the success of the flowering plant, which can be seen with an look at the flowering plant visitors.

Phoenix Suns :: essays research papers

The History Of The Phoenix Suns   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I chose to write about the Phoenix Suns basketball History mainly because they have gave me, â€Å"the fan† great memories. The Suns introduced me to a whole new world of sports. When I watch their Basketball games it’s probably different from any other fan’s viewpoint. I tend to analyze their games and try to think what their next move is going to be. Other fans just cheer which is alright. Throughout the Phoenix Suns existence, they have had many great years as well as many down years. When I was introduced to the sport of Basketball, the first team I watched was the Chicago Bulls; I was completely intrigued by this sport. Each member of the team on the court always seemed to be giving it their all. It was only for a year that I was a Chicago Bull fan; this was because I had not yet found out that Arizona had, and â€Å"The Team† of course, is the Phoenix Suns. I was quickly converted to a Suns fan (now I now what you’re thinking; you think I’m one of those people who just moves around cheering the team that wins†¦. well I’m not I was just a little kid who just found out that there was a professional basketball team in the state he lived in, and I just started cheering for them.) This team is great they are always playing their hearts out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Well before the beginning of the 1968 draft two Teams (the expansion teams) Milwaukee and Phoenix got select players from other teams this is known as the Expansion draft. The other teams were basically giving away low quality players . Before the team was even created there was a contest to see what the teams name was going to be. There were names like: The Moon Shooters, The Nitros, The Hoopsters, The Dudes, The Gransuns, Desert Rats, Desert Cats, The Sun Dials, And how about The Phoenix White Wing Doves?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The eventual winner was Selinda King she acquired $1,000 dollars plus season tickets to the suns first inaugural season. In the expansion draft the Suns selected Dick Van Arsdale, which turned out to be a great pick because he ended up averaging 17.6 points a game for Phoenix. Other players selected by Phoenix were: Gail Goodrich, Neil Johnson, David Latin, Stan McKenzie, McCoy McLemore, Dick Snyder, and George Wilson.

The History of Art Essay example -- essays research papers

The History of Art   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we think of history we don’t often think of art. We don’t realize how the history of art can help us learn more about the people, the cultures, and the belief systems of those who lived hundreds and thousands of years before us. Art has developed, influenced, and contributed starting from the great Stone Age to the present day. Art gives an insight into the changes and evolution that man and culture have gone through to become what is today. Art is culture, art is the essence of the people who make it and the best way to appreciate art is to look at the history of it and it’s evolvement through time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Great Ages consists of four distinct ages: The Old Stone Age, The New Stone Age, The Bronze Age, and The Iron Age. These four Great Ages is the complete history of art from the beginning to the present day. Each age is named characteristically for the type of material used for that time. Stone was used in the Old and New Stone age, bronze in the Bronze Age, and iron in the Iron Age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Great Ages began with The Old Stone Age starting at 100,000 BCE. The people lived in tribes and clans and often moved from place to place, hunting and gathering to live. They believed all life was sacred and all beings were divine, including animals. The tribal teachings taught that man and nature are one. Hunting and gathering was a sacred ritual because they would often believe they were at one with the animal being hunted. Shamens and shamenesses, spiritual healers and seers between the people and spirits of animals, would often lead hunts and call forth the spirit of the animal to which they would ask the animal to offer their life willingly for a successful hunt. An illustration in Art Through The Ages, 1-4, (Hall of the Bulls found in Lasacux, c 15,000-13,000 b.c. Largest bull approx. 11’6† long) a beautiful cave painting of Bulls. It shows how sacred these animals were to the people. The painter took the time not only to paint such a true to nature image but also purposely put it in a remote location hundreds of feet above the entrance. The location of the painting suggest that it was used as a spiritual image that perhaps shamans would use to communicate with the spirit of the animal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Shamans were necessary to the t... ...ng alongside the edifice and stained glass windows that were mystically illuminated with the sun’s rays. 13-29 (Interior of Ste.-Chapelle), 13-33 (St. Martin, St. Jerome, and St Gregory, c. 1220-1230, from the Porch of the Confessors, Chartres Cathedral France.). The beginning of the Renaissance around 1500 CE is considered the start of the Late Iron Age, which is still on going. The Renaissance was the age of enlightenment the rebirth of learning and culture where men were going beyond their ability, where artists were considered geniuses, and private pleasure became the subject of art. Great artists like Leonardo de Vinci, Raphael, and Titian emerged from the great period of the Renaissance; they were not only geniuses, but also great individual intellects, who defined the greatness of art. Individualism still prevails today and is the very core of modern society. Male-dominated societies still exist, but slowly the demand for equality is changing that. During the Four Great Ages, many things have changed, many things have been lost, but time has not taken a sudden halt, nor the art; people, cultures, and mentalities continue to grow and change, and from growth comes greatness.

BMW Operations Management Essay

1. Executive Summary This report will describe a named organisation in terms of a general introduction and background of that organisation. For the organisation described, there will be a detailed account and critique of quality management and capacity management issues within the business. This will then be backed up with relevant academic theory and models; in addition to this there will be a description of their relevance in the business environment, citing examples of their use. The report will then finish with a conclusion and possible recommendations for the chosen organisation in regards to their operational management style and how it could be improved. 2. Introduction 2.1 Background BMW is primarily a German automobile company. It also has operations in aircraft engine production; electronic systems and hardware production; finance; and service. It had revenues of more than $27 billion and net profits of nearly $700 million in 1990, with about 65,000 employees. Bayerische Maschinen Werke GmbH as it is otherwise known was the surviving entity of a merger in 1955 between BMW and Allegemeina Flugzeug Werke (AFW). BMW has a history dating all the way back to the early 1920s when it was founded as a machine shop on the outskirts of Nuremberg. The AFW part of the company was founded in 1910 and was one of the major contributors of military aircraft during the First World War. The automobile industry can be very volatile and mistakes in decision making can prove to e extremely costly. BMW has proved over time that through careful management the number of errors a firm makes can be greatly reduced. BMW’s operations management is also of a high standard; it designed a production system where new parts can be produced in small amounts and only result in a moderate cost. 2.2 Methodology Research will have to be done in developing the report before any reflection can be made on its contents. There are a number of sources available to get the relevant information from; a many number of books are accessible that go into great detail on each subject within operations management. These will provide a range of academic theory and models which can then be applied into business terms. The internet also provides a vast amount of information that can be used as a reference in the writing of the report, it not only refers to academic theory but also other authors reflections on certain topics which can then be used to draw ideas and apply them to the report. 2.3 Structure of the Report This report will describe a named organisation in terms of a general introduction and background of that organisation. For the organisation described, there will be a detailed account and critique of quality management and capacity management issues within the business. This will then be backed up with relevant academic theory and models; in addition to this there will be a description of their relevance in the business environment, citing examples of their use. The report will then finish with a conclusion and possible recommendations for the chosen organisation in regards to their operational management style and how it could be improved. 3. Findings The operations management task is defined as the day-to-day production of goods that continually requires decisions to be made and the implementation of changes. Operations Management is different to that of other management topics such as strategy, marketing or finance. Whereas these fields are based on theory such as economic, social, and mathematical factors; Operations Management is much more difficult to pin down to a specific aspect. It takes into account a vast array of academic and practical applications that when communally put together produce a basis from which decisions can be made. Operation managers that work inside an organisation work on the foundation of balancing the quality of the service that they provide against the resources they currently have available to them. They are required to be highly skilled in managing their current capacity output so that it can cope with the ever changing levels of demand placed upon their organisation. There are many ways that managers cope with the levels of demand; a manufacturing manager such as BMW would attempt to influence the demand through an assortment of different marketing techniques. In any organisation there will be a relationship between their capacity management, quality management, and their resource productivity. There are a number of issues that arise when trying to manage the organisations supply and demand. Managers must keep to their productivity targets without adversely affecting the quality of the product that they produce; striking a balance can prove difficult especially in the automobile industry where mistakes can prove to be very costly. 3.1 Capacity Management Capacity management is finding the balance between the demand from customers and the capability of the organisation in satisfying that demand. There is a great need for managers to forecast what they think the demand might be in the future so they can sufficiently change their capacity to cope with the change. Where the capacity of the organisation is limited the focus will be on influencing the demand to be in line with the available capacity, this is referred to as level strategy. The opposite of this is chase strategy; this is where the supply can be changed to meet the fluctuating level of demand. Managers can direct their operational control by altering the capacity of the organisation, hold items in inventory in case of a sudden increase in demand, oblige customers to wait for their product, or attempt to influence the demand themselves. In the automobile industry it is possible for an organisation to produce cars in advance of demand and hold it in inventory. Operations managers must at all times be wary of their current capacity, to what degree it can be changed, the costs involved in changing that capacity, and the speed in which the change can happen. This is most important in organisations where profitability is linked to that of capacity and the prices charged for their product or service. BMW is already a leader in the niche car segment of the automobile industry. To retain that status BMW built a $660 million Research & development centre and plans to invest more than $1 billion each year in finding new ways to exploit their position as a market leader. BMW are aware of the fact that they are not one of the biggest companies in the industry and can’t mimic the bigger companies who have far greater capacity and financial power. BMW try to innovate new ways to stay ahead of their competitors. They designed a new manufacturing plant where the cars would move down the assembly line on an independently powered gantry. The new technology would produce sound waves so that collisions can be avoided, thus reducing the need for more workers and also reducing the risk of unwanted accidents in the plant. The output achieved by any capacity management system depends on a number of factors that relate the resources currently available to the actual output of the organisation. It is sometimes inevitable in the niche car segment that an organisation will run out of capacity to cope with the ever changing levels of demand. If this problem occurs then the management can carry out two possible courses of action: o Allow the quality of the product to decline o Attempt to influence the demand so it doesn’t affect the organisation in the long term. In the scenario where the capacity of the organisation is in excess of the demand, this can lead to lower efficiency and a lower quality service to the customer. 3.2 Quality Management BMW believe that quality is of key importance in every stage of the manufacturing process, from product conception to customer feedback. They base their working principles around consistency and complete coverage of all requirements throughout the development and production process. Quality control within BMW is achieved through a system of quality audits at every stage of the manufacturing process; the productions of parts, components and in the assembly plant are all thoroughly maintained. These same quality control principles also apply to their suppliers of materials and components, with all of BMW suppliers agreeing to work to specific specifications of quality. Once cars arrive in the distribution centre, they take on a quality check and have a full pre-delivery inspection before being delivered to the customer. Quality driven organisations are more likely to integrate human resource management into their strategy as employee participation can be seen as key to bolster quality. The BMW management structure allows for teams, comprising of employees from all levels, to react quickly if a fault is found and work together immediately on a problem if one should occur. BMW also benefits from excellent personnel management that allows them to motivate their employees and create a friendly working environment. It provides its workers with a highly competitive pay package and supplies special contracts that allow certain workers to work four-day weeks. Every member of staff is fully responsible for the quality of their work and this well help lead to job enrichment for every member of the workforce. The company has never lost its focus or attempted to spread itself across the entire automobile industry. This is an example of quality management because if the management had been slack, BMW would have lost its focus and attempted to make products for everything and everyone. Manufacturing firms, such as BMW, are always searching for new and innovative ways to cope with global competition in the ever changing business environment. One such process that has been implemented at BMW is that of a focused factory. The complexity that comes with an automobile manufacturer can provide a barrier to managing these facilities, thus the creation of a focused factory solves this problem. The focused factory is a â€Å"plant established to focus the entire manufacturing system on a limited, concise, manageable set of products, technologies, volumes, and markets precisely defined by the company’s strategy, its technology, and its economics.†( APICS Dictionary 1992). Manufacturing companies implement this technique to improve the organisations productivity, quality, and responsiveness. BMW can focus their equipment, employees, and technology one specific tasks rather than using the same technique for all of their different projects. Implementing focused factories make it easier to manage production systems, reduce inventories, and reduce manufacturing space and investment requirements. As BMW have a strong quality emphasis with more attention being given to the performance of the organisation, the use of appraisals is crucial to the requirements that lead to producing a quality product. They place customers at the centre of attention as it is in any organisation that takes quality so seriously. The appraisal process necessitates the employees to evaluate each of their peers so that it encourages them to produce quality work and so to satisfy their customer-supplier relationship. 4. Conclusion Successful automobile manufacturers in the future will need to maximise efficiency, eliminate waste, adapt to change and implement strategies that stay in line with their customer requirements. BMW will need to keep modernising their internal operations to keep up with the constant changing in the automobile industry. Streamlining their plants will facilitate the balance between supply and demand while keeping the quality of their product high. Decisions within BMW are now made throughout the organisation, from the factory floor up to the chief executives. This has increased the communication between all levels of the organisation making it more flat and thus increasing the quality of the automobiles. Jobs have become more diversified with the need for new knowledge and skills becoming more crucial, as the global competition increases, more needs are placed on the company to provide products that meet consumer desires. The main link between the customer and organisation has always been the shop floor assistant. Performance feedback, audit results, and customer opinion surveys are the ways in which organisations know if they are doing there job to satisfactory standard. BMW make sure that the assembly workers are aware of the consumers’ requirements by providing suitable training and sound environment so that those requirements can be met. Organisations that cut down on investment in employee development will suffer a decrease in employee performance due to the close relationship between the two, and this will ultimately filter down to the consumers. Operations management in relation to automobile manufacture is crucial in defining priorities and identifying possible problems. One possible problem that might be confronted in the near future is that of overcapacity in terms of passenger cars. It is seen that other cars such as sport-utility vehicles don’t suffer from overcapacity as they are usually custom made to the consumers’ preferences. Passenger cars are normally batch produced on a production line in their thousands and organisations have a wealth of stock kept in their inventory. Automakers usually add capacity in the 100,000s so the market is never satisfied precisely; there is either a demand lag or a saturation of the market. Costs remain vitally important in making strategic product-line decisions. Regardless of the preferred quality or productivity quota, BMW must stay concerned with the continuous improvement of the business by improving quality, productivity, customer service, and delivery. 5. References Quality management: How four European companies succeeded? Nguyen, Andrea, Kleiner, Brian H. Business Credit. New York: Nov/Dec 1994.Vol.96, Iss. 10; pg. 32, 3 pgs Chrysler and minivans: Are we there yet? Vido, Adrian. CMA. Hamilton: Nov 1993.Vol.67, Iss. 9; pg. 11, 6 pgs The ‘coping’ capacity management strategy in services industry Armistead, Colin G, Clark, Graham. International Journal of Service Industry Management. Bradford: 1994.Vol.5, Iss. 2; pg. 5, 18 pgs Continuous improvement through the focused factory Elmore, Robert C, Natarajan, R, Rezaee, Zahihollah. CMA. Hamilton: Feb 1995.Vol.69, Iss. 1; pg. 21, 4 pgs The two worlds of operations management research and practice: Can they meet, should they meet? Nigel Slack, Michael Lewis, Hilary Bates. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Bradford: 2004.Vol.24, Iss. 3/4; pg. 372 Tools and Techniques – A Current Responsibility Miller, John A.. CMA. Hamilton: Feb 1992.Vol.66, Iss. 1; pg. 34, 1 pgs http://www.bmweducation.co.uk (Accessed 16th March 2005) http://www.bmw.co.uk (Accessed 16th March 2005) APICS Dictionary, 7th Edition, APICS, Falls Church, Virginia, 1992. Sam Bench 03169230