Free Essays on Emile Durkheim

EMILE DURKHEIM Functionalism as a Sociological Perspective Functionalism is often referred to as ‘consensus’ theory because it doesn’t address the issue of conflict in society, rather it projects and ideal picture of harmonious social relationships. Historical Background It emerged in Europe in the 19th century as a response to what was perceived as a crisis of social order. This crisis seemed to be the result of two developments: - 1. The emergence of a new industrial society with it’s subsequent loss of community – poor working conditions, increase in crime, growth of housing slums, poverty etc. 2. The French revolution which suggested ideals of equality, happiness and freedom of the individual. 3. These historical conditions which were seen to approximate a crisis of economic and political order thus gave rise to a very conservative type of sociology which reflects a concern with the need for social order and integration. This is necessary if the social and economic crisis was to be overcome and controlled. Main ideas in Functionalism The starting point of all Functionalism is that all societies have certain basic needs - Functional requirements which must be met if a society is to survive. Functionalists are therefore concerned with the contribution the various parts of a society make towards those needs. All Functionalism is concerned with the basic need and desirability for social order and stability to prevail in society. Explaining Social Order In explaining the basis of social order in societies the starting point for Functionalists is to look at whole societies and not the individual; they explore the ways in which the various parts which make up a society function to maintain social order. Emile Durkheim Emile Durkheim draws an analogy between the way a biological organism works and society. The various organs of a living thing work together in order to maintain a healthy whole in much the same way that... Free Essays on Emile Durkheim Free Essays on Emile Durkheim EMILE DURKHEIM Functionalism as a Sociological Perspective Functionalism is often referred to as ‘consensus’ theory because it doesn’t address the issue of conflict in society, rather it projects and ideal picture of harmonious social relationships. Historical Background It emerged in Europe in the 19th century as a response to what was perceived as a crisis of social order. This crisis seemed to be the result of two developments: - 1. The emergence of a new industrial society with it’s subsequent loss of community – poor working conditions, increase in crime, growth of housing slums, poverty etc. 2. The French revolution which suggested ideals of equality, happiness and freedom of the individual. 3. These historical conditions which were seen to approximate a crisis of economic and political order thus gave rise to a very conservative type of sociology which reflects a concern with the need for social order and integration. This is necessary if the social and economic crisis was to be overcome and controlled. Main ideas in Functionalism The starting point of all Functionalism is that all societies have certain basic needs - Functional requirements which must be met if a society is to survive. Functionalists are therefore concerned with the contribution the various parts of a society make towards those needs. All Functionalism is concerned with the basic need and desirability for social order and stability to prevail in society. Explaining Social Order In explaining the basis of social order in societies the starting point for Functionalists is to look at whole societies and not the individual; they explore the ways in which the various parts which make up a society function to maintain social order. Emile Durkheim Emile Durkheim draws an analogy between the way a biological organism works and society. The various organs of a living thing work together in order to maintain a healthy whole in much the same way that... Free Essays on Emile Durkheim Emile Durkheim was born in the eastern French province of Lorraine on April 15, 1858. He was the s on of a rabbi and descending from a long line of rabbis, he decided early that he would follow the family tradition and become a rabbi himself. He studied Hebrew, the Old Testament, and the Talmud, while following the regular course of in secular schools. He soon turned away from all religious involvement, though purposely not from interest in religious phenomena, and became a freethinker, or non-believer. At about the time of his graduation he decided that he would dedicate himself to the scientific study of society. Since sociology was not a subject either at the secondary schools or at the university, Durkheim launched a career as a teacher in philosophy. Emile Durkheim made many contributions to the study of society, suicide, the division of labor, solidarity and religion. Raised in a time of troubles in France, Durkheim spent much of his talent justifying order and commitment to or der. Durkheim was a pioneer French sociologist, taught at Bordeaux (1887-1902) and the University of Paris (1902-17). He introduced the system and hypothetical framework of accurate social science. Durkheim was author of The Division of Labour (1893), Rules of Sociological Method (1895), Suicide (1897), Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1915). Emile Durkheim has often been characterized as the founder of professional sociology. He has a great closeness with the two introductory sociologists, Comte and Saint-Simon. Durkheim willingly noticed the ideas of the Division of Labor and the Biological Analogy. Both ideas which had been differently well developed by Comte and Saint-Simon. Durkheim’s holism approach said that sociology should focus on and study large social operations and cultures. He used functionalism, an approach of studying social and cultural phenomena as a set of interdependent parts, to find out the roles these institutions and processes pl...

Application of Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management Essays

Application of Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management Essays Application of Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management Paper Application of Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management Paper Application of Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management Anoop P. S. Abstract: This paper hypothesises that, whilst Six Sigma as a change and improvement strategy is delivering significant business benefit to practitioner organisations, it has not been successfully adapted to deliver similar benefits across supply chains. It demonstrates by reference to the literature that most published applications of Six Sigma in supply chains are related to the application of traditional internal Six Sigma methodologies to the internal processes of a supplier to the â€Å"Six Sigma Organisation†. In this paper, the issues particular to an application of Six Sigma in a broader supply chain context are discussed, with reference to specific supply chain issues. It is concluded that Six Sigma does have something novel to offer organisations over and above the contribution of existing approaches to supply chain improvement, and a conceptual model is proposed that is consistent with the literature and has potential to support such an introduction. Although rooted in the supply chain realm, SCOR adherents see a role for the methodology as the gatekeeper – identifying the projects most likely to render ROI using SCOR, Lean or Six Sigma. There is already a natural link between Lean and Six Sigma at the program and project execution level. The model integrates the Balanced Scorecard, SCOR model (Supply Chain Reference model) and Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyse and improve) methodology in a two-level framework. This is a strategic-level cycle, developing focused projects to generate maximum business benefit, and an operational-level cycle, applying Six Sigma and lean tools in a DMAIC cycle to deliver supply chain improvements. Cautions and requirements for the success in practice of such a model are discussed and it is concluded that the model should be tested in practice to validate and develop further the methodology. Keywords: Six Sigma; Supply chain improvement; Lean; SCOR model; Variability reduction 1. 0INTRODUCTION 1. 1 General Introduction Six Sigma Process Improvement is a rigorous approach to improving business processes by addressing the underlying causes of variation that lead to poor performance as experienced by the ‘customer’, who is the recipient of the outputs. The early exponents were Motorola and GE in the 1980s. Since then, many organisations ranging from manufacturing to service in all sectors, have successfully deployed Six Sigma to deliver measurable cost, quality and time based improvements. 2. 0 LEAN SIX SIGMA In the past, Lean and Six Sigma have at times been viewed almost as rival methodologies, with some companies choosing one or the other as their primary improvement vehicle. Two of the most powerful forces in manufacturing and now the broader supply chain are â€Å"Lean† and â€Å"Six Sigma. Traditionally, many companies have adopted one or the other as their primary approach to operational improvement, or in some cases used both but as fairly independent tools. Increasingly, however, companies are seeing the benefit of combining the two techniques into a more integrated strategy that uses the best of each approach, which can be highly complementary. Many believe this â€Å"Lean Six Sigma† strategy is the best w ay to improve overall supply chain results and tackle process improvement more holistically. Lean, the name given to the Toyota Production System in the book The Machine that Changed the World, has traditionally been associated with the elimination of waste in business processes. Lean was originally focused on improvement on the factory floor, but has since been used in some cases to power broader supply chain improvements. European retailer Tesco, for example, used Lean principles to engineer improved store replenishment processes. Six Sigma is a quality improvement methodology that in general seeks to reduce process and results variation. Originally focused on improving the quality of manufactured components, the approach has also been expanded for use in improving almost any business process. Drug wholesale McKesson, for example, has used Six Sigma to improve a variety of supply chain processes, such as inbound trailer cycle times and pick face replenishment efficiency. 2. 1 Adding Value With SCOR Developed by the not-for-profit Supply-Chain Council, SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) is a model that links process elements, metrics, best practices and features associated with supply chain execution. It helps to identify and quantify critical opportunities for improvements not only within the supply chains of a single company but also between multiple trading partners. It describes a continuum of processes: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return. SCOR works best with companies that have an enterprise information platform that can carefully track this continuum through KPIs and scorecards or at least provide the data so that a qualified enterprise platform can acquire the data, analyze it and surface it to the people who need to see it. Although rooted in the supply chain realm, SCOR adherents see a role for the methodology as the gatekeeper – identifying the projects most likely to render ROI using SCOR, Lean or Six Sigma. There is already a natural link between Lean and Six Sigma at the program and project execution level. Six Sigma has the project tracking and financial accountability elements. Lean helps â€Å"surface the rocks† that become ideal targets for Six Sigma. The two combined provide a powerful results-driven program. The opportunities for Six Sigma and Lean application in SCM are numerous. Specifically in warehousing management you may want to look at metrics around fill rates, pick and pack defects and dock-to-stock or dock-to-bench type metrics. Start with Lean and look for opportunities to get the dock-to-stock (time from material unloaded on dock to put away on shelf) cycle times down (this impacts availability rates to the production floor). Take a walk through the warehouse and if you see lots of boxes and pallets sitting around, you know you have opportunities! Once your cycle times are lower, then take a look at defect rates in the other areas of standard warehouse metrics. Let me know if you have some questions I have extensive experience in this one. 3. 0 Bringing Lean and Six Sigma Together Industrial giant Honeywell was among the first to recognize the power of combining Lean and Six Sigma disciplines. When Honeywell acquired Allied Signal in the late 1990s, under the leadership of legendary CEO Larry Bossidy, it created a mechanism for combining Lean and Six Sigma that it called â€Å"Six Sigma Plus. The company hoped to improve processes and results by using Lean to streamline processes and eliminate waste, then improve the consistency and reliability of those processes using Six Sigma. 3M is another pioneer in the application of Lean Six Sigma. When Jim McNerney took over as CEO of the company in 2001, the former GE executive quickly helped drive a Lean Six Sigma program throughout the company. â€Å"Lean Six Sigma always starts by defining value from the supply chain from the eyes of the customer,† says Paul Husby, a former VP of Supply Chain Services at 3M. Every business has either an explicit or implicit strategy and needs the operational supply chain to provide specific performance to support that strategy. Lean Six Sigma has a primary goal of significantly improving operational excellence, and should also greatly improve a companys competitive advantage with key customers and markets. † There are several principles that drive the strategy of bringing Lean and Six Sigma together: Lean cannot bring a process under statistical control Six Sigma alone cannot dramatically improve process speed or reduce invested capital Both enable the reduction of the cost of complexity, but in complementary ways In the past, Lean and Six Sigma have at times been viewed almost as rival methodologies, with some companies choosing one or the other as their primary improvement vehicle. With Lean Six Sigma, that f alse conflict can be formally removed, and companies can benefit from the best of both approaches. The two methodologies can interact and reinforce one another, and there is much evidence that total improvements in a process is larger if Lean and Six Sigma are implemented together. The opportunity is to reduce the variability in value-adding processes,† said SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore. â€Å"Lean should eliminate the non-value added process steps, and then Six Sigma can be applied to tighten up the execution of those processes. † So, from a Lean perspective, what Six Sigma adds is the ability to reduce process variability. From a Six Sigma perspective, what Lean adds is often greater process and cycle time velocity, as well as lower operating costs. It can also be said that Lean focuses on reducing Time variability, while Six Sigma focuses on reducing Process variability. Lean tends to generate more â€Å"Quick Fix† solutions, while Six Sigma takes a more â€Å"Root Cause† approach. It is also possible to think of applying Six Sigma principles at the â€Å"pursue perfection† stage of one popular six-step Lean model. Some companies are taking the concept even further, adding in Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC) methodology as another tool, usually front-ending TOC before both Lean and Six Sigma. This three-way combination is sometimes referred to as TLS (TOC, Lean, Six Sigma). Companies that have focused on either Lean or Six Sigma as a primary strategy to the exclusion of the other, or that use both but as very separate tools, should consider whether there is opportunity to deliver better results from a Lean Six Sigma strategy. 4. 0 THINGS NEED TO KEEP IN MIND 4. 1 Is our data integrated, clean and in one location? Data sitting in silos, incompatible or duplicative data, and – most importantly – data that requires the intervention of the IT department to retrieve will make any business improvement program much more costly than necessary. A robust business intelligence solution is a must. 4. 2 Can I quickly see what is working in quality programs? If you would like to report to Wall Street analysts that a Six Sigma initiative saved $1 million on a new product, do you need to deploy a portion of your staff to dig through information, or is that information readily available on a dashboard? More importantly, is the information up to date? Can a portal tell at a moment’s glance what the quality programs are doing for the company’s bottom line and how they compare to one another? 4. Can my staff visualize the results of quality projects? Six Sigma Black Belts parachute into departments they don’t work in. Being able to show how a process could be improved helps win over reluctant team members to the results of a project. An easily integrated visualization application is an important component. 4. 4 Do I have an application powerful enough to analyze and (especially when using Lean) forecast? Can my st aff – without any programming skills – create â€Å"what if† scenarios that will help identify the best methodology for improving quality and performance? Using SCOR to align corporate goals and develop and execute a plan for improvement targets, and then employing Lean or Six Sigma or both to the prioritized projects, is a way forward for companies that recognize that survival is truly the provenance of the fittest. Just having these methodologies under the roof isn’t enough. They need to be converged and integrated methodologies working off the same platform. A focus on integration will provide the organization with optimized yields and improvements. The trend toward converging methodologies is really about change management and its logical extension to platform status. After all, change is not a one-time event or even a series of one-time events but must be a culturally ingrained part of the organization’s DNA. Organizations want to embrace change, but doing so requires an integrated approach to using methodologies and a strong enterprisewide platform that goes beyond business intelligence to include data integration and analytics.

Tourism Demand to the Portfolio of a Developing and Developed Country Research Paper

Tourism Demand to the Portfolio of a Developing and Developed Country - Research Paper Example Tourism is defined as travel for the purpose of business, leisure or recreation. However, tourism is a very important sector for several economies because of the resultant inflows of huge amounts of money in business activities as well as creation of employment opportunities in services associated with tourism such as hospitality services, cruise ships, entertainment, airlines and transport. This paper has examined the different aspects of tourism demand and after having defined the concepts and models of tourism, a detailed analysis has been made of the demand for tourism in Switzerland and Indonesia. In arriving at the different conclusions, this paper has mainly relied on journals, magazines and books that are available on the internet. Tourism is understood as the activity related to people moving away from their normal environments for reasons that are diverse from their work or profession. Tourism is not a new phenomenon and was favored with individuals that wished to enhance t heir education while the wealthy class traveled largely for pleasure, for socializing or to personally visit destinations that were widely described in the literature or reported by travelers. With the improvement of transport systems in terms of speed and comfort, the flow of visitors increased even to far flung areas. In recent times the traveling habits of people have increased considerably primarily because of: Fast, secure and comparatively cheap modes of transport Increasing interests relative to knowing of new cultures Widespread information about the attractiveness of different places Increasing disposable incomes and leisure time in several parts of the world The earliest attempts to study tourism were made by Ogilvie (1933) who held that the word tourism was the result of the curiosity of language because till that time there was no such word in the English language. He wrote that it can be used to describe an individual that simply leaves his home or country with the obje ctive of coming back to his home after some time. His definition of tourists was, â€Å"all people who satisfy two conditions, that they are away from home for any period of less than a year and second, that while they are away they spend money in the place they visit without earning it there† (Ogilvie, 1933, p.5). In considering Ogilvie’s definition, Burkart and Medlik (1981) identified four major characteristics of tourism: They are people who undertake journeys to stay in various destinations (Burkart and Medlik, 1981, p.42). Their destinations are distinct from their normal place of residence and work so that their activities are not the same as those of the residents and working populations of their destinations (Burkart and Medlik, 1981, p.42). Their intention is to return within a few days or months, so the journey is of a temporary and short term nature (Burkart and Medlik, 1981, p.42). Their purpose for undertaking the journey is other than to take up permanen t residence or employment remunerated from within the destinations (Burkart and Medlik, 1981, p.42). A socialist approach has been adopted by Cohen (1974) in defining a tourist as, â€Å"a voluntary, temperory traveler traveling in the expectation of