Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Pharmacy Personal Statement Essay Example for Free
Pharmacy Personal Statement Essay I selected pharmacy as a career because I believe that it is caring, it is an art, a science, client centered, holistic, adaptive, concerned with health promotion, health maintenance, and health restoration and most of all I firmly agree that pharmacology is a helping profession. It is the pharmacistââ¬â¢s responsibilities to take care of the client who are in need of health attention. We should be able to help the client relieve his feelings of pain or in other words to alleviate the sufferings of the client. Moreover, the PharmD also further my learning in pharmacy that will make me more competitive and equip so I can serve my clients efficiently and effectively. On the other hand, I am an extremely goal ââ¬â oriented person. I am a kind of an individual too who finds education very significant to manââ¬â¢s life. I set goals for myself in order to be successful in everything I do. I am not afraid to venture on new things as long as I know it is for my growth and development. If I am failure of something that I do, I do not pout in the corner and easily discourage. But instead, I try again and always think positive. I constantly remind myself that everything happens to me has a purpose and I should take things easily. I am not critical on things that are not on my side and even not critical with the people around. I would say that I am a hard- working, persistence, and patient individual. These characteristics have helped me to do my best to pursue my career goal no matter what difficulties have existed on my way. In addition, I make my baby girl as my inspiration to pursue my dream a pharmacist someday and later a pharmD. She is 10 months old now and I am hoping that before she starts schooling, I already obtain my desired degree because her future depends on it. Yes, I have a husband who supports our needs however he does not make much money and on top of that he likes to gamble on. So with these, I am more encouraged and determined to strive hard so I can help my family and my future clients/patients.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Living And Just Being Alive
Living And Just Being Alive Is there a difference between living and just being alive. And is it ever morally okay for a life to be ended. Physician Assisted Death can be broken down into two categories; Active Euthanasia and Passive Euthanasia. Active Euthanasia is defined as the active acceleration of a good death by use of drugs etc, whether by oneself or with the aid of a doctor. (Medterms) Passive Euthanasia is defined as a form of euthanasia in which medical treatment that will keep a dying patient alive for a time is withdrawn. (Medterms) Euthanasia is an ethical issue that has been in question for a long time. It is currently legal in some parts of the United Kingdom and in the United States it is only legal in Oregon. Moral philosopher James Rachels did many writings on his view of Active and Passive Euthanasia as well as writings on Moral Philosophy. This paper will view Rachels opinions and my response to what he thinks. In James Rachels writing, The End of a Life, he begins by telling the story of Hans Florian and his wife. Mrs. Florian has Alzheimers disease and slowly but surely her brain began to deteriorate and she began to lose control of her motor skills and other body functions. She got to the point where Mr. Florian needed to put her into a nursing home for her own safety. Mr. Florian shot her dead instead, to keep her from suffering any longer. James Rachels then goes on to play the devils advocate. Was it wrong for Mr. Florian to have killed his wife? (Rachels, The End of a Life) He was found not guilty legally, but still, was it immoral? He purposely killed an innocent human being and according to our moral traditions, that is always wrong. This traditions comes mostly from the Christian teachings. They believe that every human life is sacred because each one is in the image of god. So killing somebody, no matter how sick etc, is bad in the eye of God (Rachels, The End of a Life). Other t raditional views believe that sometime killing a human is justified, depending on whether or not the human is innocent. Capital punishment, for example, are sanctioned because the person who is being killed is not innocent (Rachels, The End of a Life). The most interesting of the traditions, according to Rachels, is the distinction between killing people or letting them die. On this view, even though killing innocent people is forbidden, sometimes, letting them die is allowed. James Rachels then offers an alternative view. There is a big difference between having a life and simply being alive (Rachels, The End of a Life). Being alive in the biological sense, is relatively unimportant. Ones life, by contrast is immensely important; it is the sum of ones aspirations, decisions, activities, projects, and human relationships. (Rachels, The End of a Life) From his moral point of view, it is the protection of the lives that is important and because most humans do have lives, killing them is wrong. Yet, some humans who are unfortunate, such as Mrs. Florian, are alive, but they dont have lives. This makes killing them a different matter, morally. If the life, in the biographical sense, is not being destroyed or adversely affected, the rule against killing offers no objection (Rachels, The End of a Life). In the case of Mrs. Florian, although she was still alive, her life was already over when her husband decided to shoot her. He didnt destroy her life, Alzheimers disease already did that. In which case, Hans Florian did not behave immorally. This alternative approach of Rachels sees being moral as a matter of doing what is best for somebody who will be affected by our actions rather than being a matter of faithfulness to rules or laws. If we should not kill, it should be because in killing somebody is it harming them. In another of rachels writings called Active and Passive Euthanasia, Rachel challenges the conventional doctrine that says Passive is sometimes permissible, but active is always forbidden. He puts up many arguments but the one he focuses most on is when he said that in many cases, active euthanasia is more human than passive euthanasia in many cases (Rachels). Rachel then focuses in deeply on his first point. What if there is a patient dying of a incurable disease and is in terrible pain. He is definitely going to die within a few days even if treatments continue, but he doesnt want to go on living because the pain is so unbearable. Suppose the doctor agrees to withhold the treatment like the conventional doctrine says he can. Yet, if he simply withholds treatment, it may take longer for this patient to die which would actually make him suffer more than if more direct actions were taken and he was given a lethal injection. His point being, that the process of being allowed to die can be very slow and painful compared to being given a lethal injection that is relatively quick and painless. I absolutely agree with James Rachels in every aspect. To start, when Rachel says that there is a difference between living and being a life, I believe that is absolutely right. One can be alive without actually living. If a teenager gets into a car accident and becomes brain dead from head trauma, no doubt he is alive, but never again will he get to experience the things normal kids should get to. Hell never get to go to prom, graduate high school, get married, have kids, he will be stuck in this vegetable like state, hell never actually live. Likewise, I also fully agree on his stance on whether or not it is ever morally okay to end a life. I believe that in certain cases, when you have a person that is terminally ill and has absolutely no chance of getting better even if care is continued, that person should have the right to end their lives. Or like in the case of Mrs. Florian or the brain-dead teenager, family should be able to make that decision as long as no harm will be done to the victim. Lastly, I believe in many cases, active euthanasia is much better than passive. If passive euthanasia is going to cause extreme pain, it would make much more sense to give them a lethal injection that will quickly and painlessly end their suffering. I believe no person in that state should have to suffer if there is a way to end it. In conclusion, there is a difference between being a live and just living, in certain cases it is morally okay to end a life and in many cases active euthanasia is more humane than passive euthanasia. James Rachels makes many good arguments to all aspects of these topics. Rachels, James. Active and Passive Euthanasia. QCC. N.P. 9 January 1975. Web. 17 April 2013. Rachels, James. The End of Life. James Rachels. N.P. 1986. Web. 17 April 2013.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Imagining the Future in Iraq Essay -- Politics Political Iraq Essays
Imagining the Future in Iraq The future of Iraq remains unclear. There are those who have tried to categorize the current conflict as the next Vietnam. Others have dubbed it the next Afghanistan, and others still see a future for Iraq unlike any seen in history. In the midst of all this speculation, one thing is certain: eventually, the US military must withdraw from occupied Iraq. As a matter of history, occupation does not last unless there is a concomitant colonization and/or a significant population influx. Since the latter is absent from the current situation in Iraq, it holds that an eventual American military withdrawal is inevitable. Interestingly enough, the U.S.'s "divide and conquer" method, i.e. one which attempts to polarize Iraq and hence cause an instability that will require a U.S. presence, seems not to have the intended effect originally postulated by the neo-conservatives who are running the show in Washington. Recent clashes in Fallujah and Najaf have shattered prior claims from the White House that laid blame for Iraqi resistance exclusively on Sunni, pro-Saddam residues within the country. Indeed, the resistance is phenomenon shared by several Iraqis, and Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld' s recent call for ten thousand new troops to enter the country doesn't help the situation. Already, Iraq has 115,000 American troops within its borders (compare that to Afghanistan's 13,500), and clashes between the resistance fighters and American troops are at a high. Despite claims that the White House publicizes regarding its intention to subvert terrorism, the increasing military presence in Iraq is the strongest catalyst for the sort of anti-American political religiosity that might manifest itself in... ...is do the same based on their own moral convictions. In The Word for World is Forest, the occupied Athsheans were driven to the point of harming their occupiers for the sake of their own independence. Like the Athsheans, the Iraqis are being pushed to new levels of animosity against the occupying coalition forces, and the American public must be wary of the potential risks that come with their presence in the region. Aggressive action could spell for us an economic downturn, loss of life, and diplomatic crisis if things are permitted to go out of hand. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1986. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950. Le Guin, Ursula. The Word for World is Forest. Rpt. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. Orwell, George. 1984. Rpt. New York: New American Library, 1984.
Fairness In The Workplace Essays -- Workplace Essays
Fairness In the Workplaceà à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à American society is slowly, but surely, moving towards equality in the workplace. In the past decade laws have been passed that prohibit discrimination in hiring, retaining and promoting employees based on race, gender, disability and religious beliefs. Although not all groups have been included yet, the movement towards a more just workplace is evident. Nowadays, almost every single employer will have the sign 'Equal Opportunity Employer' under the name of the company, especially when recruiting. However, even though companies have adopted these standards as a part of their corporate culture, not all people are able to fully appreciate and accept diversity in the workplace. Although there are many different issues to be considered, I believe that the most prominent issue is that of socialization - the way people were taught and learned to interact with the society at large and its members. This issue has many various aspects that can help understand the difficult y of accepting diversity. These issues include unfair and outdated expectations of others, fixed views on certain issues, and unwillingness to admit that problems exist and that they need to be dealt with. à à à à à The concepts of expectations and fixed views intersect in a few places. Fixed views are not what one expects of someone, but how the person relates and perceives that someone. Strong views are often followed by expectations. For example if one thinks that someone else is a violent person, he/she will expect to see outbursts of violence. If one has been ?conditioned?, by which I mean that through interaction with society on has learned a particular view or behavior, to think that homosexual relationships are ?disgusting? or at least that they are not ?normal?, one will probably find difficulty with dealing with such instances in the workplace. Williamson, in his article ?Is this the Right Time to Come Out, discusses a situation that a young homosexual employee faced at work. His boss was unable or maybe unwilling to understand the parallels of homo- and heterosexual relationships. In this particular instance, the employee had a chance to tell his employer how he fe els. Unfortunately, there are man situations where homosexual employees are afraid of being ridiculed or made uncomfortable about their sexual preference. As the article me... ...nt. However, the most difficult obstacle in removing the above two issues is the unwillingness to admit that those issues exist and deal with them. Some people might be afraid of lawsuits; it is understandable that nobody comes out shouting, ?I hate women, what are we going to do now. However, if such problems exist, they will not be removed until they are confronted. McIntosh mentions in her article that men are unwilling to admit that they are privileged and that white people are unwilling to admit that as well. This can be difficult for those who did not have as many or any privileges. I believe that such behavior is the biggest obstacle to solving problems in the workplace. à à à à à Corporations should actively participate in the quest to make the working environment a better, less intimidating place. I believe that this goal can be accomplished through further development of diversity in corporations. Ellen won respect from men in Bahrain only after they started working closely with them. Hopefully, through closer interaction we can start addressing and changing certain views and expectations that will make the new improved corporations feel almost like Aristotle?s ?polis?.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
International Adoption Essay -- Social Issues, Adoption
The necessity of adoption in the world is astounding. Currently, there is an estimated 143 million orphans worldwide (Wingert, vol.151). As of 2007, there were 513,000 children living in foster care within the United States alone (Rousseau 21:14). International adoption in the United States was jumpstarted post World War II as a way of helping those children who were left homeless, after war had taken their parents. Although there are thousands of healthy children awaiting adoption in the United States, several American couples still turn to foreign adoption when seeking potential children. Americans often fail to realize the need for intervention within their own country and their duty to take care of domestic affairs before venturing to other countries to attempt to rescue foreigners in need. International adoption in the United States must be abolished, since it is detrimental to prospective parents and their potential children. Injustices surrounding international adoption often results in a harmful impact on the children involved. Hollingsworth examines the harmful implications that are associated with international adoption: The adoption of children from other countries by U.S. families presents the risk that these children will be deprived of an opportunity to know and have access to their birth families- an infringement on the basic rights of these children compared with more advantaged children in their country of origin or in the United States. (48:209) International adoption can result in a lost connection to a childââ¬â¢s culture. This loss of culture confuses the child who is now forced to grow up in an American society that is so different than what they are used to. Children, who can be domest... ...at is only seeking to profit, instead of to unite children with families who care. For young children ââ¬Å"to be removed from oneââ¬â¢s family of origin or be killed or forever ostracized is not a choice that should be imposed on the worldââ¬â¢s childrenâ⬠(Hollingsworth 48:209). Just because the faces of the neglected youth of America are not flashed across the television screen or plastered on posters, does not mean they do not exist. The ignored youth of America need people to care for them as if they were born into their family. Hollingsworth expresses his realization that ââ¬Å"childrenââ¬â¢s rights to be raised in a safe healthy environment by their biological families and in their cultures of origin are primary and should be equally available to all childrenâ⬠(48:209) especially those in the United States, where the protection of the youth is crucial.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Deception Point Page 99
Pickering sighed. ââ¬Å"NASA, for all its flaws, must remain a government entity.â⬠Certainly she can understand the dangers. Privatization would send NASA's best minds and ideas flooding into the private sector. The brain trust would dissolve. The military would lose access. Private space companies looking to raise capital would start selling NASA patents and ideas to the highest bidders worldwide! Rachel's voice was tremulous. ââ¬Å"You faked the meteorite and killed innocent peopleâ⬠¦ in the name of national security?â⬠ââ¬Å"It was never supposed to happen like this,â⬠Pickering said. ââ¬Å"The plan was to save an important government agency. Killing was not part of it.â⬠The meteorite deception, Pickering knew, like most intelligence proposals, had been the product of fear. Three years ago, in an effort to extend the NRO hydrophones into deeper water where they could not be touched by enemy saboteurs, Pickering spearheaded a program that utilized a newly developed NASA building material to secretly design an astonishingly durable submarine capable of carrying humans to the deepest regions of the ocean-including the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Forged from a revolutionary ceramic, this two-man submarine was designed from blueprints hacked from the computer of a California engineer named Graham Hawkes, a genius sub designer whose life dream was to build an ultra-deepwater submersible he called Deep Flight II. Hawkes was having trouble finding funding to build a prototype. Pickering, on the other hand, had an unlimited budget. Using the classified ceramic submersible, Pickering sent a covert team underwater to affix new hydrophones to the walls of the Mariana Trench, deeper than any enemy could possibly look. In the process of drilling, however, they uncovered geologic structures unlike any that scientists had ever seen. The discoveries included chondrules and fossils of several unknown species. Of course, because the NRO's ability to dive this deep was classified, none of the information could ever be shared. It was not until recently, driven yet again by fear, that Pickering and his quiet team of NRO science advisers had decided to put their knowledge of the Mariana's unique geology to work to help save NASA. Turning a Mariana rock into a meteorite had proven to be a deceptively simple task. Using an ECE slush-hydrogen engine, the NRO team charred the rock with a convincing fusion crust. Then, using a small payload sub, they had descended beneath the Milne Ice Shelf and inserted the charred rock up into the ice from beneath. Once the insertion shaft refroze, the rock looked like it had been there for over three hundred years. Unfortunately, as was often the case in the world of covert operations, the grandest of plans could be undone by the smallest of snags. Yesterday, the entire illusion had been shattered by a few bioluminescent planktonâ⬠¦ From the cockpit of the idling Kiowa, Delta-One watched the drama unfold before him. Rachel and Tolland appeared to be in clear control, although Delta-One almost had to laugh at the hollowness of the illusion. The machine gun in Tolland's hands was worthless; even from here Delta-One could see the cocking bar assembly had kicked back, indicating the clip was empty. As Delta-One gazed out at his partner struggling in the Triton's claws, he knew he had to hurry. The focus on deck had turned completely to Pickering, and now Delta-One could make his move. Leaving the rotors idling, he slipped out of the rear of the fuselage and, using the chopper for cover, made his way unseen onto the starboard gangway. With his own machine gun in hand, he headed for the bow. Pickering had given him specific orders before they landed on deck, and Delta-One had no intention of failing at this simple task. In a matter of minutes, he knew, this will all be over. 122 Still wearing his bathrobe, Zach Herney sat at his desk in the Oval Office, his head throbbing. The newest piece of the puzzle had just been revealed. Marjorie Tench is dead. Herney's aides said they had information suggesting Tench had driven to the FDR Memorial for a private meeting with William Pickering. Now that Pickering was missing, the staff feared Pickering too might be dead. The President and Pickering had endured their battles lately. Months ago Herney learned that Pickering had engaged in illegal activity on Herney's behalf in an attempt to save Herney's floundering campaign. Employing NRO assets, Pickering had discreetly obtained enough dirt on Senator Sexton to sink his campaign-scandalous sexual photos of the senator with his aide Gabrielle Ashe, incriminating financial records proving Sexton was taking bribes from private space companies. Pickering anonymously sent all the evidence to Marjorie Tench, assuming the White House would use it wisely. But Herney, upon seeing the data, had forbidden Tench to use it. Sex scandals and bribery were cancers in Washington, and waving another one in front of the public only added to their distrust of government. Cynicism is killing this country. Although Herney knew he could destroy Sexton with scandal, the cost would be besmirching the dignity of the U.S. Senate, something Herney refused to do. No more negatives. Herney would beat Senator Sexton on the issues. Pickering, angered by the White House's refusal to use the evidence he had provided, tried to jump-start the scandal by leaking a rumor that Sexton had slept with Gabrielle Ashe. Unfortunately, Sexton declared his innocence with such convincing indignation that the President ended up having to apologize for the leak personally. In the end William Pickering had done more damage than good. Herney told Pickering that if he ever interfered in the campaign again, he would be indicted. The grand irony, of course, was that Pickering did not even like President Herney. The NRO director's attempts to help Herney's campaign were simply fears over the fate of NASA. Zach Herney was the lesser of two evils. Now has someone killed Pickering? Herney could not imagine. ââ¬Å"Mr. President?â⬠an aide said. ââ¬Å"As you requested, I called Lawrence Ekstrom and told him about Marjorie Tench.â⬠ââ¬Å"Thank you.â⬠ââ¬Å"He would like to speak to you, sir.â⬠Herney was still furious with Ekstrom for lying about PODS. ââ¬Å"Tell him I'll talk to him in the morning.â⬠ââ¬Å"Mr. Ekstrom wants to talk to you right away, sir.â⬠The aide looked uneasy. ââ¬Å"He's very upset.â⬠HE'S upset? Herney could feel his temper fraying around the edges. As he stalked off to take Ekstrom's call, the President wondered what the hell else could possibly go wrong tonight. 123 Onboard the Goya, Rachel felt lightheaded. The mystification that had settled around her like a heavy fog was lifting now. The stark reality that came into focus left her feeling naked and disgusted. She looked at the stranger before her and could barely hear his voice. ââ¬Å"We needed to rebuild NASA's image,â⬠Pickering was saying. ââ¬Å"Their declining popularity and funding had become dangerous on so many levels.â⬠Pickering paused, his gray eyes locking on hers. ââ¬Å"Rachel, NASA was desperate for a triumph. Someone had to make it happen.â⬠Something had to be done, Pickering thought. The meteorite had been a final act of desperation. Pickering and others had tried to save NASA by lobbying to incorporate the space agency into the intelligence community where it would enjoy increased funding and better security, but the White House continuously rebuffed the idea as an assault on pure science. Shortsighted idealism. With the rising popularity of Sexton's anti-NASA rhetoric, Pickering and his band of military powerbrokers knew time was running short. They decided that capturing the imagination of taxpayers and Congress was the only remaining way to salvage NASA's image and save it from the auction block. If the space agency was to survive, it would need an infusion of grandeur-something to remind the taxpayers of NASA's Apollo glory days. And if Zach Herney was going to defeat Senator Sexton, he was going to need help.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Taco Bell: Reengineering
| | |[pic] | |Taco Bell- A Reengineering Success Story | |A Reengineering Success Story | | | | | | | Contents 1. About Taco Bell3 2. The Problem Starts3 3. Reengineering to the Rescue3 4. The After Effects6 About Taco Bell The franchise, Taco Bell is an eatery that needs no introduction. Taco Bell Corp. based in Irvine, California is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. , and the United Statesââ¬â¢ leading Mexican style quick-service restaurant. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos signature Quesadillas, grilled stuft burritos, nachos, and other specialty items such as the Crunchwrap Supreme, in addition to a wide variety of Big Bell Value Menu items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion consumers each year in the more than 5,800 restaurants in the US. In 2005, Taco Bell generated sales of $1. 8 billion in company restaurants and $4. 4 billion in franchise restaurants. More than 80% of their restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. There are currently more than 278 restaurants operating in Canada, Guam, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Asia, Europe and the Philippines. The Problem Starts In 1983, analysis showed that the Taco Bellââ¬â¢s total cumulative growth since 1978 was a shocking negative 16% compared to a positive 6% of the total industry. This prompted the management to pinpoint immediately what was going wrong and where. This led them to identify the following factors: â⬠¢ Lack of business vision for the company â⬠¢ Reliance on obsolete management and operational practices, which focused more upon the processes rather than the customers themselves â⬠¢ Top-down structure with multiple levels of management â⬠¢ Following traditional approaches, which assumed what customers wanted without even asking them All the above factors were resulting in slower and costlier service. Having identified some of the key areas that needed improvement, Taco Bell started reengineering itself out of troubled waters. The more they listened, the more they found out that what customers wanted was very simple- good food, served fast and hot, in a clean environment and at a price they could afford. Reengineering to the Rescue The old system of operations at Taco Bell was based upon traditional operational practices, which were grossly insufficient for the economic and business climate of the 21st Century. This entire set-up was based upon certain assumptions, which include the following: â⬠¢ Assuming that the restaurant knew what the customer wanted without even asking them. This led them to falsely believe that the customer wanted fancier decor, broader menus, outdoor playground etc. , instead of quality food at affordable prices. Investing in large kitchen areas, which in some instances covered over 70% of the total area in the mistaken belief that it would improve customer satisfaction â⬠¢ Operating the restaurant along the lines of a manufacturing company rather than a retail outlet. Doin g away with this concept led to the development of novel ideas like K-Minus and TACO. â⬠¢ Believing that the only segment they could target was the one within the restaurantââ¬â¢s premises. This translated into $78 million, whereas outside the restaurant, the total market came to about $600 billion in the USA alone. â⬠¢ Limiting themselves to the goal of becoming a value leader in the quick-service restaurant industry rather than the value leader for all foods for all occasions. Reengineering the setup at Taco Bell involved several steps, including: â⬠¢ Complete reorganization of human resources â⬠¢ Dramatic redesign of operational systems â⬠¢ Doing away with entire levels of management â⬠¢ Creation of jobs like ââ¬Å"market managerâ⬠â⬠¢ Replacing area supervisors with market managers and reducing their numbers â⬠¢ Eliminating district managers and promoting restaurant managers â⬠¢ Reduction in the costs of everything about the business except the cost of the food and its packaging The management process was completely and dramatically reengineeredââ¬âthree layers were eliminated, including the entire ââ¬Å"district managerâ⬠supervisory level. Every job in the system was redefined. Restaurant managers were given greater latitude to run their own businesses, and ultimately became ââ¬Å"Restaurant General Managers. â⬠In short, Taco Bell followed only one rule during the entire process of reengineering- ââ¬Å"Enhance those things that bring value to the customer and change or eliminate those that donââ¬â¢t. â⬠With this motto their corporate vision became clearer, ââ¬Å"We want to be number one in the share of stomach[1]. â⬠This was a vision of the company becoming a leader in the restaurant business and not just the Mexican food business was articulated. They also changed their restaurant structure by: â⬠¢ Limiting kitchen area from 70% to 30% â⬠¢ Increasing the customer area from 30% to 70% â⬠¢ Doubling the seating capacity in the area available Additionally, reengineering led Taco Bell to introduce two new methodologies, namely K-Minus and TACO (Total Automation of Company Operations). [pic] Figure 2 Taco Bellââ¬â¢s two new methodologies K-Minus means kitchen less restaurant, based on the nature of the company. All of their food was cooked outside the restaurant in central locations. This stemmed from the concept that food should be retailed instead of manufactured. TACO (Total Automation of Company Operations) provides each restaurant with a Marketing Information System (MIS) and empowered the employees with computer know-how. It eliminated paper-work and allowed more time to be spent on customers. It helped keep track of sales minute by minute. Such programs served as agents of change for more innovative ideas such as new and varied points of distribution (like street corners and concessions stands) etc. This case study brings forth the following conclusions: Reengineering businesses is very much a reality and is not limited to the confines of a textbook. If done properly, it can virtually turn around any business; be it consumer goods (Kodak), restaurants (Taco Bell) or financial institutions (IBM Credit). The customer must be the starting point for all reengineering methods, concepts, ideas and processes. Resistance to change must be anticipated and appropriate steps must be taken to deal with it. Every company that seeks to be reengineered should seek a motto that makes its corporate vision clear, like that of Taco Bell. The After Effects These changes have had a huge impact on the company. Taco Bell went from a failing regional Mexican -American fast food chain with $500 million in sales in 1982, to a $3 billion national company 10 years later, with a goal to expand further to $20 million. While the environment was not a factor in Taco Bell's reengineering, it has benefited through the reengineering process. For example the TACO program (Total Automation of Company Operations) provides sophisticated MIS technology for all employees, saving thousands of hours of paperwork ââ¬â and thus paper ââ¬â as well as promoting self-sufficiency and reducing time spent on administration. The K-Minus program, or kitchenless restaurant, established a system where the large majority of food preparation occurs at central commissaries rather than in the restaurant, pushing 15 hours of work a day out of the restaurant, improving quality control and employee morale, reducing employee accidents and injuries, and resulting in substantial savings on utilities. The K-Minus program saves Taco Bell about $7 million a year. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â [1] The company introduced a new performance measurement called ââ¬Å"the total share of stomach. â⬠Instead of measuring success as market share of the fast-food market, Taco Bell set the goal of becoming the value leader for all foods for all meal occasioned. That created a broader vision and stimulated the development of new innovations.
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