Ge- Introduction and Corporate Strategies over the Years free essay sample

Brief history of General Electrics. In the year 1876 Thomas Alva Edison started laboratory in New Jersey that dealt with electrical devices. By 1890 Edison establish a company called Edison General Electric Company. It was at the same time that a competitor established themselves in the market. Thomason-Houston Company started to dominate the market. Soon both the companies found it difficult to rely solely on their patents and technologies. Hence in 1892 both the companies merged and called the company General Electrics. Through the years General Electrics has seen 10 leaders and yet managed to grow and make a name for its self in the world. The first GE Appliances electric fans were produced at the Ft. Wayne electric works in 1890s, while a full line of heating and cooking devices were developed in 1907. GE Aircraft Engines began in 1917 when the U. S. government began its search for a company to develop the first airplane engine booster for the fledgling U. We will write a custom essay sample on Ge- Introduction and Corporate Strategies over the Years or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page S. aviation industry. Thomas Edisons experiments with plastic filaments for light bulbs in 1893 led to the first GE Plastics department, created in 1930. The journey of General Electrics has had many ups and lows but even till today have managed to maintain their reputation in the market due to the factor such as * Leadership, * Adaptability, * Talent, * Influence and * Networks. These five points have been the key ingredients for the success of General Electrics. One of the earliest projects of the new lab was to defend the companys primary asset — incandescent lighting — through innovation. In 1908, GE scientist William Coolidge invented the ductile tungsten filament that made the GE incandescent lamp significantly more durable than the original design. The invention secured GEs technological leadership in the market and epitomized the role of the GE research lab — bringing innovation to the marketplace. GEs leaders through the years have built a diverse portfolio of leading businesses; a stream of powerful company-wide initiatives that drives growth and reduces cost; financial strength and Controllership that allow it to capitalize on opportunities through numerous cycles; and a set of common values that allows it to face any environment with confidence. General ElectrGE was formed by the 1892 merger of Edison General Electric of Schenectady, New York and Thomson-Houston Electric Company of Lynn, In 1896, General Electric was one of the original 12 companies listed on the newly formed Dow Jones Industrial Average and still remains after 115 years, the only one remaining on the Dow (though it has not continuously been in the DOW index). public company:23 Ton diesel electric locomotive made at the General Electric Corp. lant in Schenectady, New YorkIn 1911 the National Electric Lamp Association (NELA) was absorbed into General Electrics existing lighting business. GE then established its lighting division headquarters at Nela Park in East Cleveland, Ohio. Nela Park is still the headquarters for GEs lighting business. In 1935, GE was one of the top 30 companies traded at the London Stock Exchange. [11] computing: GE was one of the eight major computer companies through all of the 1960s GE had an extensive line of general purpose and spe cial purpose computers. Among them were the GE 200, GE 400, and GE 600 series general purpose computers, the GE 4010 Corporate affairs Classic GE neon signGE is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut. Its New York main offices are located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center, known as the GE Building for the prominent GE logo on the roof. NBCs headquarters and main studios are also located in the building. Through its RCA subsidiary, it has been associated with the Center since its construction in the 1930s. The company describes itself as composed of a number of primary business units or businesses. Each unit is itself a vast enterprise, many of which would, even as a standalone company, rank in the Fortune 500[citation needed]. The list of GE businesses varies over time as the result of acquisitions, divestitures and reorganizations. GEs tax return is the largest return filed in the United States; the 2005 return was approximately 24,000 pages when printed out, and 237 megabytes when submitted electronically. [30] The company also spends more on U. S. lobbying than any other company. [31] In 2005 GE launched its Ecomagination initiative in an attempt to position itself as a green company. GE is currently one of the biggest players in the wind power industry, and it is also developing new environment-friendly products such as hybrid locomotives, desalination and water reuse solutions, and photovoltaic cells. The company plans to build the largest solar-panel-making factory in the U. S. ,[31] and has set goals for its subsidiaries to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. 32] On May 21, 2007, GE announced it would sell its GE Plastics division to petrochemicals manufacturer SABIC for net proceeds of $11. 6 billion. The transaction took place on August 31, 2007, and the company name changed to SABIC Innovative Plastics, with Brian Gladden as CEO. [33] BusinessesMain article: List of assets owned by General Electric GEs divisions include GE Capital, GE Energy, GE Technology Infrastructure, and GE Home ; Business Solutions Through th ese businesses, GE participates in a wide variety of markets including the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity (e. . nuclear, gas and solar), lighting, industrial automation, medical imaging equipment, motors, railway locomotives, aircraft jet engines, and aviation services. It co-owns NBC Universal with Comcast. Through GE Commercial Finance, GE Consumer Finance, GE Equipment Services, and GE Insurance it offers a range of financial services as well. It has a presence in over 100 countries. GE gauges to control a railway locomotive at a museum near Saskatoon, Canada[35]GE also produces General Imaging digital cameras. 36] In 2010, General Imaging released the Bridge Camera GE X5 with 14MP and 15x optical zoom. [37] In 2011, it is replaced by 16MP GE X500 with optional red color in Japan besides traditional black or white color in world wide. [38] Since over half of GEs revenue is derived from financial services, it is arguably a financial company with a manufac turing arm. It is also one of the largest lenders in countries other than the United States, such as Japan. Even though the first wave of conglomerates (such as ITT Corporation, Ling-Temco-Vought, Tenneco, etc. fell by the wayside by the mid-1980s, in the late 1990s, another wave (consisting of Westinghouse, Tyco, and others) tried and failed to emulate GEs success. It was announced on May 4, 2008 that GE would auction off its appliances business for an expected sale of $5–8 billion. [39] However, this plan fell through as a result of the recession. Corporate recognition and rankingsIn 2011, Fortune ranked GE the 6th largest firm in the U. S. ,[7] as well as the 14th most profitable. [8] Other rankings for 2011 include the following:[9] #7 company for leaders (Fortune) 5 best global brand (Interbrand) #82 green company (Newsweek) #13 most admired company (Fortune) #19 most innovative company (Fast Company). GE Guiding Principles GE challenges its spirit of innovation and dedi cation to integrity to produce benefits that extend beyond building their own business. They also aim to address the difficult challenges that affect the lives of the communities and people who are touched by their business. Their goal is to make money (strong, sustained economic performance, make it ethically and make a difference. In most (large) corporations there are several levels of management. Corporate strategy is the highest of these levels in the sense that it is the broadest applying to all parts of the firm while also incorporating the longest time horizon. It gives direction to corporate values, corporate culture, corporate goals, and corporate missions. Under this broad corporate strategy there are typically business-level competitive strategies and functional unit strategies. Corporate strategy refers to the overarching strategy of the diversified firm. Such a corporate strategy answers the questions of which businesses should we be in? and how does being in these businesses create synergy and/or add to the competitive advantage of the corporation as a whole? Business strategy refers to the aggregated strategies of single business firm or a strategic business unit (SBU) in a diversified corporation Functional strategies include marketing strategies, new product development strategies, human resource strategies, financial strategies, legal strategies, supply-chain strategies, and information technology management strategies. The emphasis is on short and medium term plans and is limited to the domain of each department’s functional responsibility. Each functional department attempts to do its part in meeting overall corporate objectives, and hence to some extent their strategies are derived from broader corporate strategies. CORPORATE STRATEGIES OVER THE YEARS STAGE ONE- LIVING BETTER ELECTRICALLY This period began in the late 1870s with the original Edison General Electric Company founded and led by thomas alva edison. This led to key investors (Henry villard and J P Morgan) taking leadership and merged the company with Thomas Houston to form the General Electric Company. Beginning with the leadership of Charles Coffin and later pushed by Swope and Young GE instituted very powerful resource systems and permitted the company to develop a strong, loyal and trained bench of professionals and leaders. This was a period where the focus was on building a strong foundation team. STAGE TWO- DIVERSIFICATION AND DECENTRALIZATION Ge moved from being a pure electrical company to a highly comple and diversified company and it instituted unique management systems and human resource programs. Post World war 2 GE transformed into a massive successful and diversified company focusing on interna development and organic growth. Ralph Cordiner in early 1950s focused on training managers who could manage any business regardless of the industry or size. He frmulated a professional management training program. He believed that both organised labor and Big government were major threats to the companys success so he instituted an aggressive and adversial anti labor and anti big government program. He hired Ronald Regan an acto rto serve as the corporatae spokesman when exposed it adversely affected the credibility of GE leading to a big scandal including a price fiing scandal leading to GE aiming all its processes at fixing what had been undone. Fred Borch took over and initiated what was called a groth council to identify growth opportunities and hence pursue nine major new growth areas. These growth areas included four product oriented ventures and five service opportunities further leading to diversification and decentralization. STAGE 3 JACK WELCH Speed, Simplicity, Self-Confidence (GE 1995). These values would reflect not only in the organisation’s systems and processes but also in GE’s products and services through their simple and highly functional designs. * Sustained attack on bureaucracy. * sought to instil a culture of openness, confidence, leadership and creative thinking at every level of the organisation. Nuetron jack was his nickname for ruthlessly eliminated several layers of management and shed a large number of jobs Welch declared that the organisation’s true core competency rests in the ‘global recruiting and nurturing of the world’s best people and the cultivation in them of an insatiable desire to learn, to stretch, and to do things better’ (GE 2000). GE’s performance evaluation system was famous for * its ‘rigour and ruthlessness’ (Grant 2008, p. 308) * Welch clearly recognised that GE’s best asset was its human capital. WHAT IS WORK OUT? * A quick, simple concept aimed at getting unproductive work out of the process of decision making and decision implementation by harnessing the intellegence of the workers closest to the problem. In the middle of 1988 Jack Welch and Jim Baughman, head of the management-development center at Crotonville, New York, visited the various GE plants concerned about poor quality and low productivity in the major appliancs business. They met groups of frontline workers, usually without their managers and vice versa. Everwhere he heard the same thing which was workers had ideas but no authority to act on it and managers had the authority but no time to evaluate or approve the ideas of workers. GEs clogged organizational arteries posed a threat and hence Welch decided to remake one of the most successful companies in the world by demanding that each business unit has to either first or second in the world. If not the manager had to fix, sell or close the unit. To get rid of bureaurcracy he removed organizationall layers including the corporate strategy planning staff and decisions were ade by the people themselves an by Welch himself. The feedback from the drastic downsizing and absence of bureaucracy initially led to constant pressure as there was now too much work and too few people as the strategy, structure and cost base of GE had changed but not the way day to day work gets done. Besides that mrale was low too. Tired of the complaining Jim Baughman and Welch decided to convert an idea called work out into action with 30 management thinkers. The behavior of 13 business leaders and heads of the corporate staff groups had to be changed to change the underlying management culture of GE and hence Work Out was not only about reducing work but also changing the management culture simultaneously. The management team recruited leadership development and change management experts to help out who weere handpicked in a way that the senior business leaders of GE would consider them credible enough to work productively with them. The management teams goal was to appoint one lead consultant for each GE business as well as one for major corporate staff units. The idea converted to action and management leaders were roped in to sprea the virus to 13 business units at the time and by 1989 speed, simplicity and self confidence was the product of Work Out. BOUNDARYLESS ORGANISATION Information from multiple parts of the enterprise at our fingertips, all integrated to suit our specific needs, instantly available, across geographies, time zones and organizational structures. In order to achieve that and to enable the information age to realize its full potential, we need to allow for what The Open Group calls â€Å"Boundaryless Information Flow†- a continuous securestream of information seamlessly flowing within and among enterprises, across permeable boundaries. Welch believed that the key to translating diversity into a competitive advantage was the ‘frictionless transfer of best practices and learning within the organisation, and the close partnership relations with its suppliers’ (Grant 2008, p. 10). The Boundaryless Organisation initiative aimed to blur GE’s internal and external boundaries through information sharing, crossbusiness learning and the integration of key suppliers into GE’s end-to-end processes. It facilitated the flow of information and assisted learning across the organisation by providing a safe forum for the open expression of opinion. This would have helped staff overcome their competitive motives and assisted knowledge transfer. The blurring of boundaries had another important strategic purpose, namely, the unlocking of synergies from GE’s diversified portfolio of businesses and achieving substantial economies of scope by sharing knowledge, resources and capabilities common to different businesses. The organisation captured some of the benefits of its diverse knowledge base. GLOBALISATION Globalisation was aimed at exploiting international economies of scale across GE’s business portfolio and taking advantage of global opportunities as they arose. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis GE invested acquired distressed assets in the region in order to leverage off an eventual upturn. This approach had paid off for GE in the past during the US and European recessions in the 1980’s and the Mexican crisis in the mid 1990’s, allowing the company to accumulate quality assets at discount prices. The Globalisation initiative allowed the organisation to exploit global economies of scale and helped GE capitalise on learning opportunities across geographical locations. To the extent that knowledge from one GE business or location could be readily applied to another there was always a potential for synergy gains from the organisation’s global diversification. DIGITISATION This initiative was introduced in 1999 with the launch of Welch’s destroy-your-business. com program where line managers were encouraged to visualise how their business might be ‘crushed by the dotcom juggernaut’. Digitisation allowed further improvements in internal process and the discovery of profitable new market opportunities. The Digitisation initiative led to the widespread discovery of new opportunities not only in the improvement of internal knowledge management but also in customer service. Further, in combination with the breaking down of GE’s hierarchy, SIG SIGMA Six Sigma. The methodology, developed by Motorola, was implemented by GE on an unprecedented scale throughout the whole organisation. It is a comprehensive quantitative system for defining, measuring, analysing, improving and controlling every aspect of corporate processes. Among the claimed benefits of the system is its focus on achieving measurable financial results from any project to which it is applied. GE’s target was reducing defects to 3. 4 per million therefore aiming at flawless products and no room for mistakes. With the deployment of Six Sigma Welch clearly demonstrated his awareness of the importance of creating value for customers and its strategic role for GE. He was quoted as saying, ‘We want to make our quality so special, so valuable to our customers, so important to their success, that our products become their only real value choice’ (Bock, W. 001). This reflects Welch’s desire to lock in GE’s customers into perpetual dependence, making it more difficult for them to switch. Key Concepts of Six Sigma * Critical to Quality:Attributes most important to the customer * Defect: Failing to deliver what the customer wants * Process Capability:What your process can deliver * Variation: What the customer sees and feels * Stable Operations:Ensuring consistent, predictable processes to improve what the customer sees and feels * Design for Six Sigma:Designing to meet customer needs and process capability STAGE 4 Jeff Immelt 1. Focus on consumers and the need to use the process to satisfy customers and drive the growth of the company and diverge in to going big for GE i. e Diversification 2. Generating new idea and developing the capabilities to make them a reality-Innovation 3. Great technology. The main aim being the need to have best products, conten,t and services 4. Commercial excellence for developing world class sales and marketing talent 5. Globalization aims at creating opportunities everywhere and expanding in developing global markets 6. Growth leaders who can inspire and develop people who know how to help customers grow and help GE grow GE Production Strategies 1. Big moats Strategy When it comes to castles, â€Å"big moats† are tougher and more costly to build — but they’re also much better at keeping people out. With manufacturing, big investments that bring to market advanced technologies can have the same effect — keeping the competition from ever getting close. As  The New York Times  underscores in its in-depth story, ‘G. E. Goes With What It Knows: Making Stuff,’ a â€Å"big moat† manufacturing strategy is precisely what GE is successfully pursuing right now. It centers on â€Å"heavyweight products that take patience and piles of cash to develop, weigh tons and last for years — next-generation jet engines, power turbines, locomotives, nuclear plants, water-treatment systems, medical-imaging equipment, solar panels and windmills. The costs and complexities of such businesses†¦ make it hard for just any company to compete. † Essentially, these are markets, that have â€Å"big moats,’† GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt told the paper. â€Å"They’re tough to get in. † But the pay-off is that big-moat businesses can also be quite lucrative. â€Å"Mr. Immelt points to G. E. ’s jet-engine business as an example, saying that it has higher profit margins and returns on capital than the leading banks. ‘It doesn’t happen every quarter or every year,’ he says. ‘But over a 10- or 20-year time period, the businesses that are hard to do had the best returns. So the arithmetic works over time. ’† 2. High – end technology based manufacturing. That focus on â€Å"technology-based manufacturing† is also turning into jobs, with the  Times  noting that more than 4,000 have been created by GE over the last 18 months, including â€Å"new factory jobs in Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Alabama and Mississippi, for making products including energy-thrifty washers and dryers, fluorescent light bulbs, sodium batteries, environmental coatings and jet engines. And the company is opening a research center in Michigan for advanced manufacturing technologies. † As Immelt explained, the key is focusing on what he calls â€Å"large-scale entrepreneurship† by â€Å"identifying long-term market shifts — ‘what’s next,’ he says — and then marshaling the company’s research, manufacturing and marketing resources to capitalize on the opportunity. â€Å"It’s about using the scale of G. E. , the majesty of the company, to drive growth and change,† he says. 3. Innovation When work first began on the LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engine in 2005, the objective was clear: to create a high-bypass turbofan jet engine that dramatically increases the fuel efficiency of the narrow-body planes we fly. The  year was 2005. Today, the news is official: Just ahead of next week’s 49th International  Paris Air Show, Carrier Virgin America has officially launched the LEAP engine by ordering it for 30 of its  new Airbus A320neo planes. Virgin also announced that  the existing CFM56-5B  engine will power the 30 currently-flying A320s in its fleet. The combined order totals $1. 4 billion. By achieving 15 percent more fuel efficiency gains over existing tech, the A320neo and LEAP engine will save Virgin America $1. 9 million in annual fuel costs per plane while also offering double digit reductions in greenhouse gas NOx emissions. Both the LEAP and the CFM56 are made by  CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and French engine manufacturer Snecma. The new airplanes will begin delivery in 2016. Henson said GE has a three step process to help the company reach the 8% annual growth targets set by CEO Jeffrey Immelt. The three steps are: 1. Identify the trends shaping the business landscape. Every year the company surveys whats happening in the world around it. This information then shapes how it will proceed with its growth and innovation efforts. This year, the company identified the rise of emerging markets, infrastructure growth (in large part enabled by the emerging markets), large demographic shifts, and environmental awareness in consumers. . Apply business goals that are unachievable if the units stay focused on the current business environment. This step related to a point Govindarajan made earlierthat business focus can be drawn into three segments: 1) managing the core business 2) moving into adjacent markets and 3) creating entirely new businesses. 3. Lay out the challenges, the trends, the targets, and have a discussion with key team members. The company convenes leaders from each of its units and surveys the above information and crafts the plans it will need to meet the goals. These innovation projects are then reviewed by the chairman once a month, which raises the profile of these efforts throughout the company and reinforces the importance of innovation. Asked by an audience member where the innovation process gets messy, Govindarajan said It gets messy when you go to execute on breakthrough ideas. Thats where the challenges lie. To meet the challenges of executing on innovative ideas, Govindarajan suggests companies employ three key tenets: 1. Forget  the rules that govern the core business. 2. Borrow  the key components of the core business that will give the new business competitive advantage. 3. Learn  how the breakthrough business should run- spend a little, learn a lot through testing your assumptions. Ultimately, said Govindarajan, building a breakthrough business is less a technology challenge than it is an organizational challenge. - Empowering Your CPG Business Strategies How Do You Accelerate Operating Strategies? Through our long history we’ve continually enhanced our solutions to deliver value where you need it. Whether you’re engineering more flexible assets to keep pace with product innovation, or driving structured continuous improvement programs to drive down inventories and manage costs, our solutions fit with your goals. Operational ExcellenceTo achieve both plant and supply-chain level efficiencies, a solid foundation of reliability and predictability is needed. Tap into our experience and see how our solutions have helped our customers secure and build on their progress along a consistent set of improvement milestones: * Process/Production Visibility – Using HMI and control systems to empower operators and maintenance with line-side metrics nd machine data * Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – Using the Proficy suite to integrate data assets along production routes, and adding dimensions of analysis for a more complete understanding of factors affecting throughput * Process Reliability – Incorporating rich quality information to extend loss analysis an d prevention, and to maximize material usage * Standardized Work Processes – Ensuring consistent work processes with structured task execution, event management and line-side supporting information * Enterprise Operational Excellence – Extending analytics across the production network; integrating performance and event data to enterprise systems for improved planning and execution| | | http://www. ge-ip. com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/cpg_customer_strategies Profitable and Product-Safe Supply Chain As Consumer Packaged Goods companies increasingly face the need to manage multiple new SKUs while ensuring high product quality, our Proficy software suite delivers maximum flexibility and operational reliability—critical to addressing changing consumer demands in today’s competitive marketplace. Providing the right IT architecture and helping you leverage valuable, hidden manufacturing data, Proficy seamlessly integrates key production information with in your existing infrastructure, from the plant floor and across your enterprise. It enables increased manufacturing visibility to help you make better decisions that drive results: * Increased productivity and efficiency * Reduced costs * Improved quality and safety * Better regulatory compliance Manufacturing Sustainability With increasing costs for utilities and permits, resource conservation is as much about the bottom line as it is about stewardship. Yet in the pursuit of a lower impact business, the quality of your product cannot be compromised. Our portfolio of solutions delivers the information needed to understand how to manage these competing needs – enabling you to mix continuous improvement strategies with capital expenditures for a balanced outcome. Advanced Automation – Ensuring precise control of delicate processes, so energy, water and other key inputs are consumed appropriately * Open ; Layered – Visualization, data collection and reporting/analytical tools designed to integrate with diverse assets and other systems – u nlocking the information in your processes * Comprehensive Analysis – Manage utility or chemical inputs in the same framework as standard materials – correlating all machine, ingredient and process information against consumption for deep insight into improvement opportunities HR STRATEGIES GENERAL ELECTRIC HR STRATEGYGE employs over 13,000 people in India. †¢Rewards and BenefitsGE strives to provide competitive employee benefits packages in the various regions and industries. Their wide range of employee services, retirement, health and other benefit plans are designed to help eligible employees make the best decisions for themselves. Through HEALTHAHEAD, GE has further committed to improve the health of their employees and their families by creating a culture of health which will deliver on-site and on-line programs, education, tools and services. †¢Leadership and LearningGE believes in developing the talent of new employees with programs designed to give in-depth experience and build skills that are crucial to their long-term success. They invest more than $1 billion annually in training and education offerings. †¢The GE Women’s Network is a voluntary organization to support the professional development of women at GE. Development is focused on leadership, advancement and career-broadening opportunities through a variety of tools, including information, education, leadership interaction and networking with other women to share and learn best practices †¢The â€Å"SPIRIT ; THE LETTER†are two of the ways that GE keeps open channels of communication and makes clear their policies and expectations of employees. †¢GE policies and initiatives also include day care centers, mother’s resting rooms in offices, safer transportation and son. †¢RESTARTis a program that focuses on hiring women scientists and engineers who have taken a career break and wish to get back to work. †¢Recently, in 2011, GE introduced â€Å"GE India Innovation Award† to honour those employees who exemplify the concept of ‘imagination at work’. Dipak Bharali who invented an accessory in conjunction with the Jacquard hand loom became the first winner of this award. Marketing strategies 1. Investing and tapping the internal market within the reach of the company. To promote this strategy, GE invests in their employees by providing good working environment and providing necessary tools required to perform various tasks in the organization. By being highly valued and appropriately compensated, the employees at GE are usually the first customers to purchase and promote any product rolled in the market. Another important consideration in this strategy is the involvement of employees in developing a quality approach the work they do in the company. Every employee has the responsibility of promoting production of quality products within the business. 2. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT In seeking the external market, the company considers several factors such as fiscal, economic, technological developments, legal requirements and the business environment Attention is also paid to existing and potential competitors in the business within the external environment. The micro and macro environment for the company’s business are also put into consideration. The microenvironment is the combination consisting of customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in the company . GE is a huge company that treats suppliers as insiders and crucial partners in the running of the business. The customers of GE are not seen just as potential people willing to spend their money in the business but the company has put efforts of integrating the company’s view and the view of the customers. Customer service is very core in GE and all multinationals dealing under GE is supposed to adopt this view. Three components are cited as crucial with regard to quality afforded to customers. These include the employees, the process and the customers themselves Another strategy implemented by GE is relationship marketing among its major consumers. This strategy basically aims at retaining existing customers This trategy concentrates on building long term relationship with the customers which is regarded as very vital in the running of business. This strategy is based on the business recognition that customers build relationship with people rather than products . To build thi s relationship, frequent contact with the customers is enhanced and the customers are encouraged to keep on making enquiries within the business. In its efforts to build strong relationship with the customers, GE has established a modern state of the art answer centre, which is regarded as one of the best in the world where customer’s gets free personalized attention around the clock. The center has been able to create opportunity for GE to be in contact with customers for longer time and hence creating the opportunity for tapping even customers who may get dissatisfied in the course of doing business. This contact helps the customers of GE to understand the company’s commitment to them and the value they attach to their customers. This has the effect of improving and cementing the very crucial relationship that GE attempts to build. The knowledge obtained from customer’s interactions provides relevant information with regarding to sales and marketing and possibilities of new products development * Diversification strategy Another crucial strategy adopted by GE is diversification. Recently, the company diversified to offering financial services. This diversification is adopted in the company’s efforts to ensure that it can offer all services that its customers deem necessary. This attempt was initially started as a credit financing stream where customers would obtain financing for the products they wanted if they didn’t have enough money. Ways in which the company can improve its international marketing strategy The international market is considerably different as compared to local and regional markets. This is because it entails the possibility of meeting different markets dominated by different cultures. To achieve success in effective international penetration, several ways can be adopted and utilized. The first strategy would be comprehensive market survey that would effectively establish the needs that potential customers of that market are . The survey should be carried out by professionals who should include as part of their team local professionals well oriented with local market. The survey would help the company establish the kind of products that it can offer to such markets. The other consideration would be to use other companies existing in the local markets as frontiers of the company in such markets either as dealers or franchises The other strategy would be recruitment and training of employees sourced from the local markets. Such employees would give the company the advantage of being conversant with local languages and the general trends of business within their local environments. Use of print and electronic media would also be very crucial in establishing international markets and this would call for establishment of liaison between major media sources and the company . Advertisement in the media should be professional and should portray the integrity and presence of the company Recommendations GE is a global company. The achievements made by the company over the last couple of decades show the firms commitment to achieving global presence in all corners of the world. Since the company has a wide capital base, it has potentials to reach a wider market than it has currently achieved It is recommended here that; * The company should invest in high level business surveys in upcoming markets to expand its market base * The company should engage local professionals in their targeted regions who would help actualize the real customer needs in such markets. * The company should adopt up to date technology to help fast track its services and product logistics in its wide markets. This calls for adequate training for employees on ways and modalities with which new technology should be used. Such technology could be in the area of communication, international money transfer, shipping and logistics and effective diplomacy necessary to maintain budding foreign relations Five Ingredients of GE’s success: Success Factor 1: Leadership * GE Leaders: Dynamic in their own way. All contributed to the institution some enormous power and rewards * Their belief in shared leadership and team approach Note: GE leaders once retire step down from all the responsibilities, allowing the successors to lead independently Success Factor 2: Adaptability * GE’s management has anticipated and responded successfully to major market shifts * It has adopted â€Å"strategic portfolio† management and decision making approach. Adapting to situations and thus cracking the most attractive opportunities which has come their way * Current leader Jeff Immelt follows the same pattern of â€Å"Systematic Change† Success Factor 3: Talent * They consider employees as a valuable resource and asset * GE’s success has been selectivity in all aspects * Their sensitive and caring nature towards their valued employees and stakeholders Success Factor 4: Influence * Influencing the stakeholders Stakeholder groups – Investors, Stockholders, management, employees, customers * GE leaders have been consistent in trying to ensure that their interests have been satisfied Success Facto r 5: Networks * GE from its inception has pursued highly conservative, discipline financial policies that have also earned the company accolades * To implement these policies they have set up an integrated set of management systems which are â€Å"Networks† * GE has always made constant efforts to build up strong networks, as it has never directly communicated with the consumers it has made additional efforts to be in the good books of the middlemen PR STRATEGY The Big Picture GEs approach to corporate citizenship and to business are driven by a common understanding of the role we can play in helping to solve the worlds toughest problems. Our goals are to make money (strong, sustained economic performance), make it ethically (rigorous compliance with financial and legal rules), and make a difference (ethical actions, beyond formal requirements, to advance GE’s reputation and long-term health). GEs corporate citizenship strategy is defined by three key pillars of energy and climate change, sustainable healthcare and community building, and underpinned by a foundation of operational excellence in the way that we do business. We highlight our citizenship performance with data points, metrics, actions and progress made in the following priority areas: * Our People * Our People: Health Safety * Compliance Governance * Public Policy * Environment * Our Suppliers * Human Rights * Our Products Services * Our Customers * Our Communities Perspectives GE invites a range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis to provide their opinions on key issues and challenges GE and other multinationals face in the area of corporate citizenship. Metrics As part of our citizenship reporting, GE sets many benchmarks to measure performance on issues that support GEs commitment to the themes that drive our business strategy. Features We have great stories to tell from our perspective as a global citizen. We’re working to be part of the solution in solving some of the worlds toughest problems. Our Priorities We identify citizenship progress by priority areas that range from the environment and human rights to our people, products and communities.

Wovoka essays

Wovoka essays In the late 1880's, the Native American people were a nation in trouble. These people suffered through the Trail of Tears, starvation, and illness. Throughout all this, they managed to grasp something that they could believe in. Unfortunately, this something resulted in mass murder. Since the white man first set foot on these shores, the Native American population has had to endure gross atrocities. It started with the upheaval from their land, pushed out west. This lead to what is now known as the Trail of Tears. A large group of Indians were forced to march from Fort Defiance to their new home on reservations out west. They were forced to make this march in the middle of winter and lost one-third of the people by the time they reached their new home. The Government, in order for the Indians to agree to relocate, promised that the reservations where they were to live would receive food and supplies. Unfortunately, corrupt Indian agents made their plight worse. Because the white man had systematically wiped out the buffalo, their main source of food, the Indians had to rely on the Government for their survival. The Indian agents, whose job it was to distribute the food and supplies, gave the people rotten food or no food at all. They sold the inventory and pocketed the money. Soon after, the Indian population began to starve and fall ill due to the lack of medical supplies. Finally, there was a glimmer of hope. A young Indian named Wovoka had a vision that the Native American people would emerge from their trying times to a paradise on Earth. He began to speak of God and the coming of Christ, traditionally Christian beliefs. But he went a step further and spoke of the white man disappearing or being integrated into the Indian population. This concerned various Indian agents, who saw Indians traveling from far away to hear this messiah figure speak. Their concerns grew mor...

Arbitration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Arbitration - Essay Example In fact, many courts require that some parties engage in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms before permitting trial for the cases by the parties (National Paralegal. 2005). The increased popularity of the approaches comes from the expansion of traditional courts caseload and the perception that the approaches impose fewer costs as compared to  litigation and have a confidentiality preference. In Conn Super LEXIS 1 (2005) Lasalla v. Doctor’s Assoc., 2005, the defendant is the Subway sandwich shops franchiser. The plaintiff settled to develop a number of properties issues. In the 1986 original contract, the calculation of plaintiff’s compensation was on basis of taking into account revenues, and subject to â€Å"modifiers† resulting in final compensation amount. The initial dispute was the interpretation of the modifier. The court award confirmation allowed the parties to continue with the process about the same issue (National Paralegal. 2005). The issue was whether the lead arbitrator in the subsequent arbitration was under compulsion to apply the res judicata  doctrine in the circumstance. Connecticut court observed that awards of arbitration are for the presentation of similar effects as court decisions in further civil actions. Therefore, the second arbitration’s arbitrator need not engage  res judicata  to initial arbitration award. In Conn. Super LEXIS 3409 (2004) for Gordon v. Amica Mutual Insurance Company, 2004 the use of â€Å"party arbitrator† system resulted in procedural impropriety where the court vacated the arbitration award. The plaintiffs’ home in Glastonbury, which created the financial institutions of the Burglary stream, unintentionally filled in Goal of 2002. When the proceedings did not believe the fact that on an evaluation amount for the loss, the evaluation mediation stipulation of the insurance plan started in (National Paralegal. 2005). It is this catchall supply, which permitted the

Biography on Christian Andreas Doppler & The Doppler Effect Term Paper

Biography on Christian Andreas Doppler & The Doppler Effect - Term Paper Example Doppler started teaching temporarily at the University of Vienna after two years at the University. It was at this time that he published his first four mathematics papers. For several years, he tried to apply for a permanent teaching position in various schools, universities, and colleges (Maulik, 2005). All this while he was supporting himself by working as a bookkeeper at a local cotton spinning mill. Life became too hard for him as he was not getting the permanent job he wanted, so he decided to pack and go look for better pastures in America (Kinsella and Pertoff, 2004). However, just before he left, he received a job offer in Prague at the Technical Secondary School. However, he soon found himself bored and yearning for something that was more exciting than elementary mathematics. He, therefore, applied for a job as a teacher of higher mathematics. In the meantime, he did not let his mathematical skills rust away. He ensured that his mathematics skills were always sharp by doing part-time work at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute (Coman, 2004). Doppler did not have to wait for long before a major job opportunity presented itself to him. While working as a part-timer at the Vienna Polytechnic, the position of Geometry and Mathematics Professor became vacant and he applied for it, confident that he would get the job. Getting the job, however, was not as smooth a ride as Doppler had hoped it would be. He had to fight off competition from several other top contenders (Baxter, Allan, and Morley, 1999). This situation affected him and he began to experience poor health. The strain of teaching added to his health woes. Soon his students were complaining about his tests which they said were too unfair and harsh. He eventually asked for sick leave, and it is during this time of rest that Doppler presented one of his most famous papers.

Long Span Roof Construction

Long Span Roof Construction 1.0 INTRODUCTION A roof, which is the one of the most essential parts of a building, is the covering on the uppermost part of the building that protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather i.e. rainfall, heat, sunlight, cold and wind depending on the nature and intended design of the building (Wiki n.d; Foster and Greeno 2007). The span of a roof is a major consideration amongst other factors including functional requirements and considerations of speed and economy of erection. This can be classified in relative terms as short (up to 7.5m), medium (7.5 m 25m) and long-span (over 25m) according to (Foster and Greeno 2007). The focus of this report will be on long-span roof structures. The idea of utilizing long-span roofing systems in structures was probably developed based on a need to satisfy aesthetical as well as functional requirements of particular buildings such that a balance is reached. Buttressed by Indianetzone Constructions (n.d) opinion, a span is considered to be long-span when as a consequence of its size; technical considerations are placed so high on the list of architectural priorities such that they significantly affect the aesthetic treatment of the building. Long-span buildings create unobstructed, column-free spaces greater than 30 metres (100 feet) for a variety of functions. These include activities where visibility is important for large audiences (auditoriums and stadia), where flexibility is important (exhibition halls and certain types of manufacturing facility) and places where movable objects are housed (Indianetzone Construction n.d). Pushing the boundaries of long span structures has always been a field of interest to the public as well as to professional engineers. Of course lightweight and long-span are relative terms and greatly influenced by the materials used and the technology of the times. Westminster Hall was a huge feat of engineering in the 14th century and in the 19th century; St Pancras station roof was the largest span in the UK for many years. These spans seem very modest now with roofs spanning 200 or 300 m and bridges reaching several kilometers!'(Liddell 2007). An example of a novel long-span roof designed by the architect Edward Durell Stone in the 1950s based on the steel cables used in suspension bridges was the U.S. Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels Worlds Fair (Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica 2010). 2.0 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF ROOFING SYSTEMS It is known that a roof primarily provides a covering over an enclosure, protecting it from the external environmental influence and action by wind, sunlight, snow, temperature, rainfall and other harsh climatic effects. In order to adequately support the actions of these natural disturbances imposed on it by the prevailing environmental conditions including the likely futuristic effect of climate change, the roof has to be efficiently designed to satisfy certain functional requirements as outlined in the work by (Foster and Greeno 2007; Harrison et al. 2009). These include the following: Strength and stability, which is vital to the performance of the structure as a whole. Weather resistance including prevention and discharge of rain, snow and condensation. Thermal resistance involving regulating internal environments by solar heat loss balance, air temperatures, energy conservation and ventilation. Fire resistance including fire safety measures and/or precautions to keep distribution of fire from source at a minimum and provision of adequate lighting. Sound insulation involving maintaining adequate noise levels. 2.1 Strength and stability The roof system functions to provide a great deal of structural rigidity and stiffness in buildings and other areas where they may be applied. A simple case is the tying effect the roof gives to simple buildings with short clear spans where the roof tends to hold the load-bearing walls together such that they do not tear apart. The situation is seemingly different and more difficult to handle when the area of space to be covered by the roof increases in dimensions. According to (Foster and Greeno 2007), the main factor affecting the selection of materials employed in the design of a particular roof system chosen from a wide range of roof types is the span. Principles of modern building (1961) as cited in Harrison et al. (2009) states that there are three basic structural systems that can be used over an opening: the chain, the arch and the beam, of which the chain is the best form for supporting loads over long spans. According to them, roofs can be made out of secondary systems derived by a careful mix of these three basic systems. However, every roof needs to be sufficiently strong to carry the self-weight of the structure together with the intermittent loads for example those due to environmental effect (e.g snow or wind) or maintenance and it must do this without undue distortion or damage to the building, whether perceptible or imperceptible to its occupants. (Harrison et al. 2009). These expectations are codified in provisions contained in various national building regulations including the Building Regulations 2000 as cited in the work by (Harrison et al. 2009), which is specifically for application in England and Wales. A cursory look at the history of roof performance in existing buildings (Harrison et al. 2009) dating back to the eighteenth century, considering the effect of loading reveals that prehistoric dwellings recorded a relatively low performance with respect to the overall loading compared to more recent roof systems (Table 1). This is probably due to advancement in research and technology in this area. Data from a national house condition survey conducted in England as cited by (Harrison et al. 2009) in Tables 2 and 3 respectively shows details of structural problems recorded in dwellings more than a decade before 2006 and within the year 2006. All over the world, engineers and builders are constantly faced with the challenge of establishing cost-effective, adaptable solutions in the design of roof systems to support the loads that come on them. The aim is to seek and find the optimum, economically-feasible method of transferring loads on the roofs to the supporting super-structure beneath over spans of variable magnitudes (Foster and Greeno 2007). They further argue that, in order to make huge cost savings in materials utilized in the design and construction of the roof, a balance has to be reached such that there is an overall reduction in the total dead load to be carried by the roof, which will result in a situation where light weight materials carry majorly imposed loads over great spans. With the reduction in the total load to be carried by the roof, materials are saved and smaller, lighter sections can be used to support loads over long spans. This however, will have significant implications on the serviceability req uirements of deflection, which must be checked during design of the roof structure. As a corollary to this weight effect, (Foster and Greeno 2007) pointed out that one of the inherent structural difficulties in the design of long-span roof structures is reducing the dead/live load ratio, expressed as load per square metre of area covered by the roof, to a safe level thereby improving the efficiency of maximum load carried. Following their argument, increase in spans of roof systems generally result in significant increase in the dead weight of the roof which will lead to a corresponding increase in the ratio and an overall decrease in the efficiency loads carried by the structure. However, these problems can be solved by keeping two key factors as discussed by (Foster and Greeno 2007) in mind when making choice of materials to be employed in the design: the characteristics of the material to be used including the strength, stiffness and weight and the form or shape of the roof. They argued that if the strength is high, smaller volume of material is required to carry loads; also if the stiffness is high the depth of section required will be small as the material will deform under small impact loads; finally, a lightweight material will result in an overall reduction in the weight of the structure. These factors, if carefully considered in the selection of materials will help to develop the most efficient load carrying system where the dead/live load ratio is reduced to a minimum. Another important action apart from effects of weight which is critical in the design of roof structures is wind effect. Gales, extremely strong winds, pose adverse effects on buildings especially roofs in the UK (Harrison et al. 2009). Records by them show that since the wake of the early 90s up till now, about 1.1million houses have affected adversely by gales. This resulted in marked modifications in the codes of practice to give a more robust code BS 6399 Part 2 as cited in (Harrison et al. 2009) for wind load calculations on roof, which takes into consideration various building parameters necessary for a good design unlike the previous publications. The application of the code in the design of roof ensure that certain factors like velocity of wind, height of building ground level, locality of the building, altitude, gust, wind direction and seasonal factors (Foster and Greeno 2007; Harrison et al. 2009). There is some evidence (Foster and Greeno 2007) that wind pressure and suc tion has a harmful effect on roofs supported by buildings especially on the windward end where its effect is greatly felt. As such, for lightweight roofs particularly ones with distinct overhangs, the uplift is extremely undesirable and should be designed with careful consideration given to the joints and connections to the ties, walls and columns as the case may be to prevent the roof from being thrown off (Foster and Greeno 2007). 2.2 Weather resistance As may be given in the provisions of the Building Regulations (2000) document H3 for England and Wales as cited in Harrison et al. (2009), a roof should be adequately designed to perform such that there is zero-tolerance on seepage of rainfall, snow and/or any form of moisture into buildings. In order to achieve this, Harrison et al. (2009) suggests that drainage systems (gutters) with adequate drain capacities be installed in line with the provisions of the building regulations above by considering factors such as: the rainfall intensities (litres/sec/m2), the orientation of the roof and the effective drained surface area. Furthermore, they stressed that the orientation of the gutters should be such that it slopes to the closest drain outlet to prevent excessive loading of the structure in the event of an overspill. They recommend that in cases where overspills are expected, adequate provisions should be made for the design of the drain in accordance with the performance requirement s as stated in BS EN12056-3 and design guidance including testing, maintenance and commissioning in BS 8490 both cited in (Harrison et al. 2009). 2.3 Thermal resistance Thermal resistance of a roof, which could also be expressed as thermal insulation is a key consideration made in the design of roof so as to strike a perfect balance between prevention of heat loss and removal of excessive undesirable heat from dwellings when necessary. Thermal performance of any roof is an important requirement for the design of roof against thermal effects (Harrison et al. 2009). These requirements as encapsulated in the new Approved Document (AD) L as cited in (Harrison et al. 2009) are to be adopted in a more flexible way in a bid to conserving energy, promoting more energy-efficient buildings and roofs as well as reaching carbon emission targets as stipulated in the relevant standards. This, as stipulated by (Harrison et al. 2009) can be maintained by installation of roof lights and roof windows. For the case of solar radiation on roofs (Harrison et al. 2009) has suggested that the roof materials should be ones with reflective surfaces such that in periods of su mmer where the intensity of the sun radiation on the earth is greater consequent upon the effect of global warming, there is an overall reduction in heat absorption transmitted to the interior parts of the building. 2.4 Fire resistance The major safety requirement for roofs is to reach an optimum performance that fire attack will not immediately bring down the roof and will not affect all other parts as in a domino effect (Harrison et al. 2009). The requirement for dealing with roof fires as cited by (Harrison et al. 2009) is covered by test methods in BS 476-3. This test procedure determines the fire performance in roofs by effects of penetration and spread of flame which is denoted by two letters. In order to prevent fire, (Harrison et al. 2009) have stipulated quick guidance for fire protection including cavity barriers, smoke detectors, sprinklers and smoke extraction systems, which help to maintain an acceptable level of fire safety. 2.5 Sound insulation Unwanted sound, which could be termed as noise can be undesirable to dwellers especially when it emanates from an external source. Sound level which is described on a logarithmic scale in decibels (dB) vary in loudness, frequency and time (Harrison et al. 2009). They opined that noise could arise from various weather generated sources like rain, snow, sun, wind or hail. However, they pointed out that these effects can be controlled by applying some general noise reduction principles like coating the underside of the roof with a thicker layer of a weaker material, damping and introduction of PTFE washers between joints. 3.0 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS/GUIDE ROOF ONSTRUCTION/ERECTION (Griffis 2004) highlights some of the factors which should be taken into account in the design and construction of long-span roofs. He equally outlined strategies, knowledge of which in addition to a pretty good understanding of the structural behaviour of long span structures and careful implementation, will reduce the incidence of collapse of long span structures as well as eliminate some of the concomitant problems of erection of long span structures. These strategies are presented below: Major project personnel and their roles and responsibilities should be identified at the start of the project in order to determine the correct chain of command and reporting hierarchy This will ensure that proper project management procedures are applied to prevent friction amongst parties concerned, eliminate budget overruns and ensure that project delivery timelines are met. It is advisable to involve the fabricator/erector team at the start of the project This will not only be beneficial to the project cost and time schedules but also enable the team adequately familiarize themselves with certain construction requirements, specifications and details which have been prepared in line with the codes of practice at design stage. These include, but are not limited to agreement on the grade of steel, connection type, bolt size and grade, welding procedures and processes, erection sequence and method, paint type and construction deviation allowances. Huge overall cost savings can be made on the structure from materials used in the construction e.g steel by employing high strength steel of the best quality such that light weight materials are used. Adequate environmental studies should be conducted and results of these should be employed in the estimation of the wind and snow load on the structure. Accuracy of load estimation has a long-term saving effect in cost of the structure. Whether using reinforced concrete or purely steel work, struts and truss chord of the roof structure should be framed in order to produce light weight structures. It is never advisable to use movement joints in roof structure because of the inherent difficulties it brings along. Allowance should always be made in the initial design of the roof system to take into cognizance additional dead loads which may arise from replacement of roof cladding and other materials in the future. Careful thought should be given to factors such as material shrinkage, support settlements and temperature effect including erection processes when making initial designs and construction planning procedures. So long as the architectural shape and line of vision of the roof structure is not impaired, much attention should not be paid to deflections and camber effects of long span roofs. Careful treatment should be given to diaphragm stresses, choice of diaphragm bracing of structural members and diaphragm attachment, which are important for resisting lateral effects of wind and seismic loads by reaching a decision on the system to use based on considerations of economy and risk. Bolted field connections on shop-welded/built steel members are always the best and should be employed in the construction of long span roof systems. This is good practice which can reduce delays and downtime in construction leading to timely completion of project. In as much as the designer needs to start communicating with the fabricator early enough to incorporate shop practices to support design calculations, he should never allow the fabricator to take on his primary responsibility of designing the roof system. This may result in conflicts on site. For simplicity of design/details and avoidance of confusion on site, steel sections should be selected such that one size fits all! This will reduce overall cost of materials and facilitate fabrication. Where possible a detailed documented erection method should be outlined to ensure clarity to all parties concerned and uniformity of installation procedure. The structural engineer should bear in mind that any structure designed should be analyzed and that built should be designed. Also he must ensure that careful supervision of the erection process on site is carried out properly to confirm that results of the design are reflected on site. 4.0 PROBLEMS WITH LONG SPAN ERECTION/CONSTRUCTION. The design of long span structures for erection with constructability in mind often poses challenges on the designers which are related to both technological and aesthetical aspects (Kawaguchi 1991). Some of the key questions a designer should find answers to in order to overcome these challenges as outlined by Ruby (2007) are: What is the loading trajectory for the structural system to be developed? How can the productive use of the structural members in terms of span, size, quantity of shop pieces and constructability be optimized? How can the bracing system determined from a structural perspective be efficiently incorporated into the initial architectural layout? How can shop fabrication be efficiently utilized to reduce haulage cost, if it will be shipped and not field-built? What will be most effective construction flow order? At what strategic locations would ephemeral bracings be placed while construction and erection is still in progress? How will the determined construction flow order be applied to minimize the use of temporary props for truss during erection? All these questions, carefully evaluated will guide the designer in preparing functional designs which can easily be integrated in the construction and erection process to achieve the best results at reduced overall costs with prompt project delivery. A look at the typical problems associated with long span roof construction will be presented below using a case study of a large single storey building with long span roof as presented by Khup (2009). 4.1 Description of the entire structure This case study illustrates the construction of a large single-storey, long-span industrial building with external dimensions 200m x 60m. The 10.8m high roof which is sustained by rc beams and columns is a 59m span structure with 29 individual steel components at 10.8m maximum height. Main members were double angle steel sections connected back to back. 4.2 Erection of the truss The truss as shown in Figure 4 below was erected by lifting truss units, 3 at a time, to the required height starting from the centre of the building and effectively supporting adjacent truss units against each other while providing temporary shoring towers for props at the bottom chords of the truss assembly. 4.3 Analysis of the failure Shortly after the first two trusses were erected, they failed and all came down Figure 5 shows the details. The immediate cause of the catastrophic collapse of the slender truss was the removal of the temporary shoring towers soon after installation of the truss in position. Some of the remote causes include: commencing installation at the centre of the building rather than at the firm gable end wall, omission of a number of tie beams and purlins close to the shoring towers in order to create allowance for the great lift, non-utilization of temporary diagonal bracings to provide sufficient lateral support and torsional rigidity considering the slender nature of the truss, no continuity in the web angle cleats at the knee-joint support due to obstruction from the holding-down bolts at that point which made the support behave as a pin-joint, eccentric loading and non-uniform distribution of stresses and forces at the joints due to the irregular order of construction, angle cleats which connects the purlins to the truss as well as all key truss members were not provided as a continuous strip along the its length to hold the double angles in position and omission of a diagonal strut which made the truss collapse/fail in flexure. 4.3 Lessons learned Khup (2009) has drawn out learning points for further action which could be noted for correction and application in future jobs. These are: The effect of overall dimensions and section properties of the truss must be considered when dealing with trusses to avoid issues linked with torsion and lateral Adequate site monitoring and effective supervision should be the ultimate responsibility of the engineer as has been highlighted as one of the design considerations given earlier in this report by (Griffis 2004) to ensure erection is done to design specification. Members with slender forms e.g. purlins with angle sections should be properly battened along its entire length to provide sufficient stiffness and braced for lateral stability. Temporary props, if used for erection of the truss should be supported on relatively rigid members like concrete cores within the building frame. All shoring towers should be designed against accidental lateral or gravity loads that may occur during erection of the truss. Details of connections at joints should be clearly provided such that there are no eccentric moments arising from induced forces as result of misinterpretation of details by the fabricators. 5.0 DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR LONG-SPAN ROOF SYSTEMS 5.1 Structural design rules For the design of roof systems, The Corus (2010) has recommended BS 5950-6 (1995) for full design rules and test procedures used by various manufacturers of roof systems, the basis on which the respective load/span tables are generated. The design rules for metal roof cladding systems have not yet been included in the Eurocode 3 published earlier in the year, April, 2010. As a guide for assisting engineers and practitioners especially in the UK to make quick, approximate designs for their roof systems, reference can be made to BS5950-6 (1995) as cited in (Corus 2010). 5.2 Loading limits Designs will be done normally based on the flexural strength at ultimate limit states and deflection will be checked to ensure that it is satisfactory at serviceability states by applying the appropriate serviceability loads such that the roof system performs satisfactorily and fulfils its intended purpose without collapse during its entire design life (Corus 2010) 5.3 Serviceability and deflection limits (Corus 2010) advices that significant distortions or deflections in the structure is absolutely undesirable and must be checked at design stage in order to prevent complications such as: Poor drainage systems and ponding in specific locations Damage to sealants at overlap sections of the roof system Excessive strains at regions of overlaps or other interconnected parts such as interior coverings General external deformations or distortion in the regular shape or profile of the roof systems. Corus (2010) has specified, according to the code BS 5950 Part6 (1995), the permissible values of deflection for satisfying the serviceability limits as shown in the Table 4 below. A limiting value of L/200 is however recommended for use where L is the span which is a function of the span of the structure as will be obtained from the load/span tables used by the respective manufacturer of the particular roof system employed in construction. 5.4 Ultimate limit states At ultimate limit states, the critical load or the worst load case is used to determine the design value of load at failure where the material yield or the structure collapses. Corus (2010) has specified two likely modes of failure: tensile fracture and compressive buckling, concluding that the probability of the former occurring is close to zero while the latter is prevalent in web-strengthened flanges subjected to high compressive stress levels leading to buckling at yield. This must be taken into account when carrying out design calculations. For shear, Corus (2010) documented that shear failure is improbable for small sections of long span members but could be present in deeper sections especially when used over short spans. This can be controlled by use of web stiffeners. 5.5 Roof load calculations 5.5.1 Concentrated imposed load Though relevant software packages are now available for calculation of these loads, Corus (2010) has specified quick guidance for calculating loads from human activities in line with provisions of BS 6399-3 as cited in (Corus 2010): Roof with access (for maintenance purposes only) greater of 0.9kN or effective snow load Roof load for all purpose access greater of 1.8kN or the effective snow load. 5.5.2 Dead load Load due to the self weight of the entire roof system which acts downwards like a gravity load. 5.5.3 Uniform imposed load This relates to snow loading which is extremely difficult to calculate due to the variability of meteorological data. Corus (2010) suggests that extra concern should be given to estimation of this load especially for application at altitudes greater than 500m. As cited in (Corus 2010), BS 6399-3 (1988) is the recommended code for calculating uniform imposed loading on roof systems. 5.5.4 Wind load Wind force has two momentous effects: the positive lateral imposed wind pressure acting on the walls and the negative vertical suction pressure acting majorly on the roof (Foster and Greeno 2007). Roof system as such must be designed against these effects. BS 6399-2(1997 or 2002 latest version) as cited in (Corus 2010) is the recommended code for calculating these loads. 5.6 Design loads Corus (2010) has summarized a quick reference in Table 5 for determining design loads to be applied to buildings by confirming the relevant load case and calculating the design load using the worst loading situation: Loading combination/situation Load case Wind load (imposed or suction) Snow load (uniformly distributed or redistributed) Uniformly distributed load (kN/m2) Concentrated load (kN) Roof with access Determined from BS 6399 Part 2 Determined from BS 6399 Part3 1.5 1.8 Roof without access Determined from BS 6399 Part 2 Determined from BS 6399 Part3 0.6 0.9 Walls Determined from BS 6399 Part 2

Ernie Pyle Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Ernie Pyle ;When a machine-gun bullet ended the life of Ernie Pyle in the final days of World War II, Americans spoke of him in the same breath as they had Franklin Roosevelt. To millions, the loss of him was as great as the loss of the wartime president. Since WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle was so famous, his death on the battlefront came as a shock to people around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Taylor Pyle was born August 3, 1900 to Will and Marie Pyle. He was born an only child on the Same Elder farm just southwest of Dana, Indiana. His father, Will Pyle, was a tenant farmer because he couldn’t make a steady living from being a carpenter, which is what he really liked to do. Pyle described his father, â€Å"He never said a great deal to me all his life, and yet I feel we have been very good friends, he never gave me much advice or told me to do this or that, or not to.† Marie Pyle filled the role of family leader. She enjoyed tasks at hand: raising chickens and produce, caring for her family and serving the neighbors. Pyle describes her, â€Å"She thrived on action, she would rather milk than sew; rather plow than bake† (Tobin 6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through school Pyle loved to write. During high school he was reporter, then editor, then editor in chief for his high school newspaper. When he graduated high school, he too was caught up in the â€Å"patriotic fever† of the nation upon America’s entry into WWI (Whitman 2). He enlisted in the Naval Reserve but before he could finish his training an armistice was declared in Europe. After that he attended the University of Indiana to study journalism, but left before he graduated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernie Pyle persued his love for writing, and became a cub reporter for â€Å"LaPorte Herald.† For months later he was offered a $2.50-per-week raise to work for the â€Å"Washington Daily News.† He wrote the countries first daily aviation column for four years before becoming the papers managing editor. Pyle was a reporter, copy editor, and aviation editor until 1932, when he accepted a job for the â€Å"Scripps-Howard† newspaper chain. Pyle loved to travel and persuaded Scripps-Howard executives to allow him to be a roving reporter. Ernie Pyle was very excited to be a roving reporter:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s better than a million dollars. It’s a new ... ...ncarta Encyclopedia 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CD-ROM. 2000 ed. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ernie Pyle State Historic Site.† Indiana State Museum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and Historic Sites. 2 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Tobin, James. Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness To   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War II. New York: The Free Press, 1997. 4. Whitman, Mark. â€Å"Ernie Pyle.† Access Indiana Teaching and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Learning Center. 1997. 5 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wilson, Ellen. Ernie Pyle: Boy From Back Home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indianapolis Ernie Pyle Essay example -- essays research papers fc Ernie Pyle ;When a machine-gun bullet ended the life of Ernie Pyle in the final days of World War II, Americans spoke of him in the same breath as they had Franklin Roosevelt. To millions, the loss of him was as great as the loss of the wartime president. Since WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle was so famous, his death on the battlefront came as a shock to people around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Taylor Pyle was born August 3, 1900 to Will and Marie Pyle. He was born an only child on the Same Elder farm just southwest of Dana, Indiana. His father, Will Pyle, was a tenant farmer because he couldn’t make a steady living from being a carpenter, which is what he really liked to do. Pyle described his father, â€Å"He never said a great deal to me all his life, and yet I feel we have been very good friends, he never gave me much advice or told me to do this or that, or not to.† Marie Pyle filled the role of family leader. She enjoyed tasks at hand: raising chickens and produce, caring for her family and serving the neighbors. Pyle describes her, â€Å"She thrived on action, she would rather milk than sew; rather plow than bake† (Tobin 6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through school Pyle loved to write. During high school he was reporter, then editor, then editor in chief for his high school newspaper. When he graduated high school, he too was caught up in the â€Å"patriotic fever† of the nation upon America’s entry into WWI (Whitman 2). He enlisted in the Naval Reserve but before he could finish his training an armistice was declared in Europe. After that he attended the University of Indiana to study journalism, but left before he graduated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernie Pyle persued his love for writing, and became a cub reporter for â€Å"LaPorte Herald.† For months later he was offered a $2.50-per-week raise to work for the â€Å"Washington Daily News.† He wrote the countries first daily aviation column for four years before becoming the papers managing editor. Pyle was a reporter, copy editor, and aviation editor until 1932, when he accepted a job for the â€Å"Scripps-Howard† newspaper chain. Pyle loved to travel and persuaded Scripps-Howard executives to allow him to be a roving reporter. Ernie Pyle was very excited to be a roving reporter:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s better than a million dollars. It’s a new ... ...ncarta Encyclopedia 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CD-ROM. 2000 ed. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ernie Pyle State Historic Site.† Indiana State Museum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and Historic Sites. 2 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Tobin, James. Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness To   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War II. New York: The Free Press, 1997. 4. Whitman, Mark. â€Å"Ernie Pyle.† Access Indiana Teaching and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Learning Center. 1997. 5 March 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wilson, Ellen. Ernie Pyle: Boy From Back Home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indianapolis

The Symptoms of Asthma

Asthma is a chronic (long-term) disease that inflames and narrows the airways. The airways produce extra mucus and breathing becomes difficult. Asthma causes tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. Asthma affects people of all ages but usually starts in childhood. For some people asthma may just be a minor inconvenience for others it is a major problem that interferes with daily activities. Those that have severe asthma could incur a life threatening asthma attack. The symptoms of asthma range from person to person and vary from minor to severe. A person may have symptoms primarily at night, during exercise or when they may be exposed to certain triggers. Some people have asthma symptoms all the time others may have infrequent attacks and between flare-ups feel completely normal and have no trouble breathing. Situations that may induce an asthma flare up are: Exercise-induced asthma occurs during exercise and may be worse when the air is cold and dry, Occupational asthma is caused by breathing irritants such as chemical fumes, gases or dust, Allergy-induced asthma is triggered by particular allergens, such as pollen, molds and pet dander. Asthma is a very common disease. Twenty-two million Americans suffer from asthma, of that six million are children and the number of people being diagnosed grows each year. Factors that may increase your chance of developing asthma are: Having a blood relative (parent or sibling) with asthma, being overweight, being a smoker or exposure to second hand smoke, mother that smoked while being pregnant, low birth weight, exposure to exhaust fumes and other pollution such as chemicals used in farming/harvesting and manufacturing. Having an allergic condition such as allergic rhinitis (hay fever) or atopic dermatitis can also be a factor in having asthma. Other causes or risk factors may be exposure to allergens, certain germs or having some types of bacterial or viral infections. Research on these triggers is required to find out what role they play in developing asthma. Diagnosis of asthma can be difficult. In order to rule out any other conditions such as wheezy bronchitis, pneumonia or reactive airway disease, a doctor can perform a physical exam and ask you questions about your signs and symptoms. Lung (pulmonary) function tests can determine how much air you move in and out of your lungs. Several tests include: A Peak flow meter which measures how hard you can breathe out, Spirometry a test that measures the narrowing of your bronchial tubes by checking the amount of air exhaled after a deep breath and how fast you can breathe out. Other tests that can be done after your initial lung function test is normal are Methacholine challenge and Nitric oxide test. Asthma is an incurable disease that can be controlled by medication. The right medications depend on a number of things, including your age, your symptoms, your asthma triggers and what works best for an individual to keep it under control. Treatment usually involves learning to recognize the triggers and taking steps to avoid them, and tracking your breathing. Prevention and long -term control is the key to preventing asthma attacks.