Business Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Economics - Essay Example As such, it is argued that, unemployment is directly related to economic growth of any given state or country. Consequently, economists argue that, unemployment is an issue that affects every state or country in the world with varying percentage rates (Srinivasan and Sivagnanam 2010). In light of this, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States of America are the three countries that have experienced major unemployment issues in the world. Essentially, the percentage rate of unemployment in these three countries has been in a close watch in for the last five years with major similarities and differences being displayed in this duration of time (McCord 2011). In January 2008, the percentage rate of unemployment was relatively similar in the United States of America and the United Kingdom with a variation of 0.1 % in the captured statistics. However, European Union experienced a higher percentage rate at 1.6% more as compared to UK and the United State of America mean ing that, in that year the EU was leading in percentage rate. In the beginning of 2009, the three countries experienced an increase in the percentage rate, where the rate in United Kingdom increased with 1.9 %, the European Union increased by 1.8%, and the United States of America increased by 3.6%. ... In addition, European Union moved from 8.6 % in the previous year to 9.7 % while the United States of America moved from 8.7% to 9.8%. In a general sense, between 2008 and 2010, the three countries have witnessed a significant increase in the rate of unemployment where each had a disparity of more than 2.0 %. In the beginning of 2011, the United Kingdom insignificantly reduced at 0.2%, the European Union increased insignificantly at 0.1%. However, the United States of America experienced a significant decrease of 0.9 %. The entry into the year 2012 saw a return of the two; United Kingdom and European Union countries into an increase mode. In contrast, the United States of American witnessed a constant decrease from the previous year. In January 2013, the overall percentage rate of the United Kingdom would best be described as fluctuation in terms of increase and decrease. In particular, the country had a decrease compared to the previous year. Layard, et al 2011 argues that, in relat ion to the United States of America, the unemployment level was at its highest of 9.8% in 2010, although the rest of years were covered by a fluctuation between 5.1% and 7.6%. Conversely, the European Union is the leading country among the three in the unemployment rate for the last six year where a significant increase has been noted, the United States of America comes in as the second while the United Kingdom is the last in line. The UK Domestic and International factors Causing Variation in Unemployment Rates in the UK, the EU and the USA Domestic Causing Variation in Unemployment Rates According to the graph, it is apparent that, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is relatively lower as

Communication and organizational Performance Essay

Communication and organizational Performance - Essay Example As a result, they have been forced to adopt strategies and behaviors that can help them improve their performance and profitability and therefore remain relevant. Over the years, communication has proved to be one of the most central factors to individual and organizational performance (Abugre, 2007, p. 42). Effective communication has the potential of significantly improving individual and organizational performance. On the other hand poor communicant can considerably compromise individual and organizational performance. Communication is indeed any organization’s lifeblood. Communication directly influences employee trust, productivity, and morale (Ng et al, 2006, p. 474). Studies have shown that effective communications can maximize efficiency, company operations, increase organization’s overall success, and accelerate the corporate strategy execution. Most managers have realized the essence of communication in organizational performance and are extensively using corp orate communication to achieve organizational goals and objectives (May and Mumby, 2005, p. 29). This paper will critically evaluate the extent to which managers use corporate communication to manipulate understanding and encourage compliance with management direction. Corporate communication enables corporate organization to relay information to its employees, shareholders, stakeholders, agencies, media, and the general public. It is important that an organization communicate the same message to its publics and especially its employees in ethical, credible, and coherent manner. According to Robson, Skarmeas and Spyropoulou (2006, p. 585), corporate communication enables employees of an organization to coordinate tasks, learn from each other and help them to create and maintain viable relationships. Several studies have shown that corporate communication is linked to improved performance in the sense that it enhances employees’ commitment in the workplace, provides opportunit y for learning, and is critical in enhancing employee satisfaction (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010, p. 70). While corporate communication in itself is central to individual and organizational performance, it is not enough for an organization to have corporate communication as part of its strategies. Corporate communication of any organization should be designed in such a way that it achieves its objectives and significantly contributes to the achievement of overall organizational goals and objectives. It should be packaged in such a way that it has huge and positive managerial impacts; in other words it should be a channel to flow of information, policies, and even resources (Cornelissen, 2011, p. 18). Corporate communication is a managerial tool that is often expected to coordinate activities, share information, policies, and resources with employees, reduce unnecessary managerial rules and burdens, and eventually improve organizational performance (Robson, Skarmeas and Spyropoulou, 2006, p. 589). In the absence of corporate communication, organized activities of organizations would cease to exist and organization would have many uncoordinated activities which in return would lead to poor organizational performance (Abugre, 2007, p. 45). It is in the light of this fact that managers use corporate communi

Technical Communication Essay Example for Free

Technical Communication Essay Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication. Communication is the exchange of thoughts, message or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior. Derived from the Latin word â€Å"communis†, meaning to share. Communication requires a sender, a message, and a recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender’s intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distance in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender. Technical Communication would mean a communication specific to the sender and the recipient and both would be from the same field of knowledge. This communication may not be understood by any others in the sense that the messages passed across are in a language that can be understood by persons from once field of knowledge. Here the importance subset of such a communication. Technical Communication is the flow or exchange of information within people or group of people sharing a common platform of similar knowledge or people from the same field with or without the technical knowledge. Means of Communication 1. Verbal Communication: Spoken and pictorial languages can be described as a system of symbols (sometimes as known lexemes) and the grammars (rules) by which the symbols are manipulated. The word â€Å"language† also refers to common properties of languages. Language learning normally occurs most intensively during human childhood. Most of the thousands of human languages use patterns of sound or gestures for symbols which enable communication with others around them. Languages seem to share certain properties although many of these include exceptions. There is no defined line between a language and a dialect. Constructed languages such as Esperanto, programming languages and various mathematical formalisms are not necessarily restricted to the properties shared by human languages. Communication should also include the display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia, as well as written and plain language, human –reader, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication technology. Manipulative Communications are intentional and unintentional ways of manipulating words, gestures, etc. to â€Å"get what we want â€Å", by demeaning, discounting, attacking or ignoring instead of respectful interaction. Sarcasm, criticism, rudeness and swearing are examples. 2. Non Verbal Communication: A variety of verbal and non-verbal means of communicating exists such as body language, eye contact, sign language. Nonverbal communication describes the process of conveying meaning in the form of non – word messages. Research shows that the majority of our communication includes chronemics (use of time) , haptics (using the sense of touch),gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing , hairstyles, architecture, symbols infographics, and tone of voice as well as through an aggregate of the above. Speech also contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage. These include voice lesson quality, emotion and speaking style as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts include nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words and the use of emoticons to convey emotional expression in pictorial form. 3Oral communication: Oral communication, while primarily referring to spoken verbal communication, can also employ visual aids and non verbal elements to support the discussion, and aspects of interpersonal communication. As a type of face-to face communication, body language and choice tonality play a significant role, and may have communication also garners immediate feedback. Historic Stages in Written Communication: 1. Pictograms in the form of stone graphics hence immobile. 2. Written form on papyrus, paper, clay tablets. Introduction of common alphabets and also the invention of printing in the 15th century made the written form a very strong means. 3. Transfer of information through controlled waves and electronic signals. Effective Communication All communication, intentional or unintentional, has some effect. This effect may not be always in communicator’s favor or as desired by him or her. Communication that produces the desired effect or result is effective communication. It results in what the communicator wants. Effective communication generates the desired effect, maintain effect increase effect. Effective communication serves its purpose for which it was planned or designed. The purpose could be to generate action, inform, create understanding or communicate a certain idea/point etc. Effective communication also ensures that message distortion does not take place during the communication process.

The Case Of Ryanair In Airlines Commerce Essay

The Case Of Ryanair In Airlines Commerce Essay This case is about Ryanair which is the first budget airline in the Europe headed by Michael OLeary who was the CEO of Ryanair. The case further explains how Ryanair the most profitable airline faced various challenges during the time period of 2004 to 2007 including the backdrop of the European airline industry. Main objectives of this assignment are to provide recommendations to senior management team of Ryanair with strategic choices and recommend new strategic initiatives and areas for improving strategy implementation. In order to accomplish those objectives a strategic analysis of environment, industry as well as the internal performances of Ryanair will be conducted. 3.1 About Ryanair Ryanair was founded by Ryan family in 1985. It has changed from a fully service conventional airline to the budget airline segment with the great turbulence they had faced in 1990. Now it has become the worlds most profitable airline. Ryanairs mission statement Ryanair will become Europeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²s most profitable lowest cost airline by rolling out our proven `low-fare-no-frillsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² service in all markets in which we operate, to the benefit of our passengers, people, and shareholders (Mayer, 2007) It is possible to identify Ryanairs current business scope from that statement. (Thompson Strickland, 2003) They are the Europes most profitable low cost airline who provides low cost no frill services to their customers who are according to (Mayer, 2007) within Europe and price-sensitive with a lower income level or other preferences and less willing to pay for the add-on services onboard. According to (Strategy, n.d) Ryanairs main objective is to firmly establish itself as Europes leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low fares service. Their other objectives includes providing best customer service, providing point to point short haul routes to secondary airports around major population destinations and travel destinations at the lowest possible cost by lowering the operating costs. According to the case they have some future growth plans also. Critical Issues It is possible to identify many critical issues when analysing the case. Among them main issues would be high customer dissatisfaction and poor labour relations. Other issues may include failure to acquire their Irish rival Aer Lingus, announcement of its CEO Michael OLeary to leave the organisation. Models and Theories Used To analyse the macro-environment of European aviation industry, PESTEL analysis, Porters Diamond model and strategy drivers of globalisation will be used. European aviation industry and especially the low cost airline industry will be analysed using Porters Five Forces model and Strategic Grouping method. After analysing external environment, internal analysis of Ryanair will be conducted using VRIO model and Porters Value Chain analysis. Finally a SWOT analysis will be done to review the findings. External Environment Analysis Organizations do not operate in a vacuum. It is been affected and affects the environments in which it operates and so the strategy of an organization. In a highly competitive market it is necessary to analyse the environment an organization operates and assess the impact to its strategy. Finally this analysis would lead to identify opportunities and threats that are facing by the organisation. When analysing the external environment it can be divided into 2 parts, macro-environment and industry environment. Macro-Environment According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) macro-environment consists of all relevant forces outside an organisation and those factors are far beyond the control of the organisation. Since they have a big impact on an organisations strategy, analysis is very important. 6.1.1 PESTEL Macro-environment can be analysed using the PESTEL analysis. It helps to identify each factor of macro-environment and its effects on the industry in which an organisation operates. This includes the following components (PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment, 2007); P Political This analyses how political decisions, government policies, etc affects businesses. E Economic This considers economic factors like interest rates, taxation, and economic growth. S Social This analyses how changes in social life styles affects demands and businesses T Technological Technology is changing and improving faster. It affects businesses in many ways. New technology can be used to improve product quality and reduce costs. Also new technology creates new products and markets. E Environmental This considers the environmental factors like climate changes, and impact of industrial outputs on the environment L Legal This relates to the legal environment in an organisation operates. Detailed analysis of the PESTEL analysis for Ryanairs external macro-environment and key drivers for changes including environment created opportunities and threats is included under Appendix 1 6.1.2 Globalisation Drivers of Strategy A detailed analysis of how globalisation created opportunities and forced aviation industry to go international especially in Europes context is conducted under Appendix 2. (Jatuliaviciene Kuanskiene, 2006) 6.1.3 Porters Diamond This model has been developed by Michael Porter to understand the competitive position or advantages that certain nations or geographic regions posses in global competition. According to this model certain nations possess competitive advantages over other nations as an outcome of the combination of interlinked advanced activities or factors between related companies in a geographic location. As this model explains governments play an important role in possessing competitive advantage through proactive actions. (Diamond model Michael Porter, 2010) (Diamond model Michael Porter, 2010) According to (Diamond model Michael Porter, 2010) Porter has identified factors for competitive advantages for regions or countries as follows. 1. Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry 2. Demand Conditions 3. Related Support Industries 4. Factor Conditions A detailed analysis of how Europe possessed competitive advantage for aviation industry as a region and how it created opportunities for Ryanair is analysed under Appendix 3. Industry Environment Traditionally after conducting a macro-environmental analysis industry analysis is conducted to analyse the level of competition a business likely to face. (The Industry Environment Analysis, n.d) According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) the level of competition within an industry is depends upon 5 factors. Profitability of an industry is determined by the collective strength of those forces. Those can be analysed using the Porters Five Forces model. Porters Five Forces (The Industry Environment Analysis, n.d) According to Porter competitive forces are as follows; The threat of entry of new competitors. The seriousness of the threat of entrance of new competitors depends on the barriers presents in a particular industry. If barriers of entry are high and the new comer expects high reactions from existing firms, new firm will think twice before entering. Some barriers to entry are as follows; economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirement. (Pearce Robinson, 2005) The bargaining power of buyers. When buyers have more power than sellers they can force down the price and thereby affecting the profitability of an industry. (Aaker, 2005) The bargaining power of suppliers. In situations like when suppliers sell for too many customers and when the supplier switching cost is high from the buyers perspective the bargaining power of suppliers can be high.(Aaker, 2005) The threat of substitutes. Firms from different industries can have close competition if their products substitute each other. According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) competitive pressure from substitute products depends on factors like price of substitutes are attractive, whether substitutes provide satisfactory performance, etc. The Rivalry among competitors in the industry. According to (Aaker, 2005) intense of competition from existing competitors depends on factors like, the number of competitors, their size, similarity of their product offerings and strategies, high fixed costs of businesses and existence of high exit barriers. A detailed analysis of Porters Five Forces model and how each force impact the profitability of the Ryanairs industry which is low cost airline industry is conducted under appendix 4. 6.2.2 Industry Life Cycle Analysis Life cycle stage strongly affects the industry growth rate (Thompson Strickland, 2003). Organisations will have to change their strategy when they move from different stages of life cycle. Analysis of Europes aviation industry is included in Appendix 5. 6.2.3 Strategic Grouping According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) a strategic group consists of those rival firms with similar competitive techniques and positions in the market. Using strategic group concept can help analysis of competitors in an industry. Reducing the number of competitors into manageable groups certainly make it easier the analysis than analysing large number of competitors (Aaker, 2005). Appendix 6 contains a strategic groping map for the aviation industry in Europe. 6.2.4 Key Success Factors Analysis According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) KSF are prerequisites to success in a particular industry. They can include particular strategy element, product attribute, resources, competencies, competitive capabilities. KSF can be identified from the industry analysis. A detailed analysis of KSFs of budget air line industry in Europe is provided under Appendix 7. 6.3 EFAS (External Factors Analysis Summery) According to (Fletcher, 2003) after finding main external factors that can affect a business by conducting external environmental analysis EFAS table will be used to organize those factors into opportunities and threats and measure the perceived importance of particular factors. Ryanairs EFAS is attached in Appendix 8. Internal Environment Analysis An internal analysis is a must to identify organisational strengths and weaknesses which are essential in strategy formulation. (Pearce Robinson, 2005) Understanding business in depth is the goal of an internal analysis. This analysis would have more emphasis on the analysis of performances. (Aaker, 2005) Internal analysis can begins with analysis of financial performances. Financial Performances According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) there are four basic groups of financial ratios. Those include liquidity ratio, leverage ratio, activity ratio and profitability ratio. Liquidity Ratios these ratios are used to measure whether organization is in a good position to meet its short term obligations. Leverage Ratios this ratio is used to identify the firms source of capital either owners or outside creditors. According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) the most used leverage ratio is total debt divided by total assets. Total debt includes current liabilities and long term liabilities. Activity Ratios these are to be used to analyse whether an organisation utilizes its resources effectively or not. According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) it is possible to establish an organisations efficiency of its operations by comparing revenues with the resources used to generate them. Profitability Ratios According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) profitability is the final result of larger number of strategies and decisions made by an organisations management. The profit margin is calculated by the widely used ratio of return on sales (ROS). And other useful ratio is ROI (return on investment). Financial analysis of Ryanair is attached under Appendix 9. Resources and Capabilities analysis The difference between resources and capabilities is defined by (Gallagher, 2004) as resources, what companies have, versus capabilities, things companies can do. Resources and capabilities can take many forms they range from tangibles to intangibles, examples may include plant and equipments, financial resources, technology a company posses, brand and reputation and even expertise an organization posses. (Gallagher, 2004) According to (Fletcher, 2003) tangible resources can be listed in the balance sheet and they become rarely competitive advantages because of their nature and intangible resources can often play big role in competitive advantage creation. In there the organisational capabilities are defined as complex combinations of both tangible and intangible resources. According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) a companys competencies become a meaningful competitive capability customers value them as valuable and beneficial. Core competencies are resources and capabilities that serve as a source of competitive advantage over rivals. (Internal Analysis Competencies, 2009) Ryanairs resources and capabilities analysis is included in Appendix 10. VRIO analysis and Competitive Advantages This model says that in order core competencies and resources to become sustainable competitive advantages for an organisation, they should have characteristics as follows (Gallagher, 2004); Valuable A resource will become valuable if it can help the organisation to face threat or capitalize on an opportunity. Most importantly those should be valued by customers. Rare If resources are scarce or they are not available to an organisations competitors they become rare resources. Inimitable This means that resources cannot be easily imitated or substituted. Usually intangible resources or capabilities like a good brand image cannot easily be imitated. Organized There is no use from a valuable resource if it is not well utilized by the organisation. Therefore it should be very well organized to be utilized. A complete analysis of Ryanairs resources and competencies using the VRIO model to identify Ryanairs competitive advantages is included under Appendix 11. Value Chain Analysis Value chain proposed by Michael Porter analyses systematically the series of activities an organisation performs to provide products or services to customers (Pearce Robinson, 2005). A firm can achieve competitive advantage over their competitors by performing these strategically important activities better than competitors. According to (Gallagher, 2004) many processes that are identified in value chain analysis can be a potential source of VRIO resources. (Morrison, 2007) Major categories of activities are grouped in to primary activities and support activities. Primary activities help directly the physical creation of products where support activities provide inputs or infrastructure to help primary activities to take on ongoing basis. Primary activities that are identified by this model are as follows (Pearce Robinson, 2005); Inbound logistics activities that are associated with receiving, storing inputs to production Operations activities related to transforming inputs into products Outbound Logistics activities that are related to distributing products towards customers Marketing/Sales activities associated with informing customers to encourage the purchasing Service Activities that undertake once products are sold to customers to enhance or maintain the value of products. Support activities that are identified by this model are as follows (Pearce Robinson, 2005); Procurement activities that are done within the firm to provide inputs across entire value chain Technology development activities that are done to improve the product as well as the way each activity is performed Human resource management activities conducted in order to ensure the availability of human resources to each primary activity. Infrastructure activities like accounting, management that are essential to perform all activities in the value chain. Value chain analysis of Ryanair is included in Appendix 12. IFAS (Internal Factor Analysis Summary) According to (Fletcher, 2003) after finding main internal factors that can affect the current and future competitiveness by conducting internal analysis of an organisation, IFAS table will be used to organize those factors into strengths and weaknesses and measure the perceived importance of particular factors. IFAS of Ryanair is included in Appendix 13. SWOT Analysis According to the findings of external and internal environment analysis SWOT analysis would be as follows. Strengths Strong brand image (as the first budget operator and number one in the budget industry) Web site (enabled them to on line bookings, promotions) Financial strength Low cost strategy Advantages of economies of scale and experience curve Innovative promotional techniques used at a lower cost Same fleet of airplanes New more efficient airplanes Weaknesses Customer dissatisfaction Poor quality of services Poor employee relations Decrease in employee morale Some secondary airports are too far from city centres Opportunities Budget airline market is growing Revenue generation from ancillary services Web site can be turn into a revenue generator Can apply low cost no frill into long haul Spread their business to more countries Increase customer base Acquisition of Aer Lingus is a growth opportunity Threats Security issues like terrorism Rapid increase in oil price and unpredictable fluctuations Intense rivalry among competitors Changes in customer demographics Pressure from environmental protection groups Costly new EU regulations Conclusion Ryanair as the most profitable airline in the world and the number one budget sector airline in the Europe is not without facing any challenges as it is the nature of the highly competitive modern business world. It was possible to identify many critical issues that were facing by Ryanair like high customer dissatisfaction and poor labour relations and many other threats which are externally created when analysing the case. Macro-environment, industry and internal analyses were conducted to analyse the current situation of Ryanair. From the external environment analysis it was possible to identify many opportunities that were created by the environment like growth in the budget airline industry in Europe and opportunities created by internet, etc. Also they were facing many threats like new EU regulation, environmental concerns, fluctuating oil prices and terrorism threats. Further from the internal environment analysis it was possible to identify number of strengths that are possessed by Ryanair like strong brand image, their financial strengths, efficient operations, etc and their weaknesses like customer dissatisfaction, poor employee relations, etc. In the analysis it was found that there is a huge growth potential in Europe and they could successfully win over the competition if they utilize their strengths like brand image and financial strength to beat competition and if they can minimize weaknesses like customer dissatisfaction there will be no chance to competitors like easyJet to outperform Ryanair. Therefore it can be said that the management of Ryanair needs to consider adjusting their existing strategies or if required formulate new strategies to capitalize on the opportunities using their strengths and more importantly to minimize the weaknesses and face externally created threats using their available strengths and opportunities.

Pentecostalism :: Religion, Informative

Pentecostalism The first "pentecostals" in the modern sense appeared on the scene in 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas in a Bible school conducted by Charles Fox Parham, a holiness teacher and former Methodist pastor. In spite of controversy over the origins and timing of Parham's emphasis on glossolalia, all historians agree that the movement began during the first days of 1901 just as the world entered the Twentieth Century. The first person to be baptized in the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues was Agnes Ozman, one of Parham's Bible School students, who spoke in tongues on the very first day of the new century, January 1, 1901. According to J. Roswell Flower, the founding Secretary of the Assemblies of God, Ozman's experience was the "touch felt round the world," an event which " made the Pentecostal Movement of the Twentieth Century." As a result of this Topeka pentecost, Parham formulated the doctrine that tongue was the "Bible evidence" of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He also taught that tongue was a supernatural impartation of human languages for the purpose of world evangelization. Henceforth, he taught, missionaries need not study foreign languages since they would be able to preach in miraculous tongues all over the world. Armed with this new theology, Parham founded a church movement, which he called the "Apostolic Faith" and began a whirlwind revival tour of the American Middle West to promote his exciting new experience. It was not until 1906, however, that Pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention through the Azusa Street revival in

Ethics of Civil Disobedience Essay -- Ethics Morals Philosophy Rationa

Ethics of Civil Disobedience Ban animal cruelty! Give aid to the poor! Save the rainforests! Obey the law! As a human race we must strive to fulfill these commands, for they are our moral duties and obligations. Our obligation to morality sometimes leads to a dilemma. What happens when a law contradicts the morally right thing to do? Would it be moral to act illegally by breaking the law? No matter how drastic the measure, we are still required to act morally--even if one must break the law to do so. But why is it so important to be moral that one could justify something as serious as breaking the law? If morality is so significant that one could justify breaking the law we must consider the importance of being moral in the first place. The question â€Å"Why be moral?† is difficult for many philosophers to answer. Just by our attempt to answer this question we would already be displaying the need to act morally. This is more clearly seen with the difficulty is asking a similar type of question, â€Å"Why act rationally?† According to Singer many philosophers reject the question â€Å"Why act morally?† because it is parallel to this question of acting rationally. It would take rationality to explain why one should act rationally. Thus defeating the need to explain the importance of rationality in the first place. â€Å"†¦it needs no justification, because it cannot be intelligibly questioned unless it is already presupposed† (Singer 316). Similarly â€Å"why be moral?† asks for a moral reason to act morally. Modern Kantianism considers acting rationally to be the same as acting ethically. If this is true, one could rationalize a need that is in their own self interest, yet at the same time against the interest of another individual. Since this c... ... is the only means of preventing greater violence would be responsible for the greater violence they fail to prevent† (Singer 307). Pacifism can be seen in the same way as the omission approach to euthanasia. Although you are not directly killing, by refusing to step in you are allowing to die. Since the ends can justify the means, even something as radical as violently breaking the law can be the moral thing to do. Above all we desire a meaning to life. We can find meaning by acting morally. Therefore, one is not obligated to obey a law that contradicts morality. After all, it would be morally wrong of the government to deny anyone meaning in life. Works Cited * Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics, 2nd edition. 1993. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press * Rachels, James. â€Å"The Elements of Moral Philosophy,† Fourth Edition. McGraw Hill, New York, 2003.

The Kenya Flourspar

The fluorite (CaF2) deposits were discovered by prof. Al Amin in 1967 in the areas of Kimwarer, Choff and Kamnaon. He was searching for semi-precious stones, and initially mistook the purple fluorite for gemstone. He therefore collected the sample and took them for analysis in Mombasa. It was later found to be fluorite.A hand-mining operation was started and the fluorspar was supplied to the Bamburi Portland Cement Company in Mombasa. At its peak, the operation, which relied on donkeys to transport the fluorspar, produced around 400 tons per month of high grade fluorspar. In 1971 the Fluorspar Company of Kenya (FCK) was established, under the auspices of the Kenya government, to exploit the deposits on a larger scale. Crushing and jigging plants were later put up at mining site for large scale production of the metallurgical grade. Kenya fluorspar was a state parastatal upto 1996 when it was privatized.It is currently owned by local and foreign investors. The company has seven active mining sites available from which ore can be mined depending on the grade and quality required. In 2003 the company obtained made a major investment in earth-moving equipment and plant upgrading. The deposit has been commercially mined since 1971. Initially, metallurgical grade fluorspar was produced. In 1975 a 100,000 ton per annum acid grade fluorspar concentrator was commissioned and by 1979 metallurgical grade fluorspar was no longer produced as primary product, but can still be produced as secondary product for smaller consignments.The Kimwarer ore deposit has now been mined for over 35 years It is an EPZ (Export processing zone). LOCATION Kenya Fluorspar is a concern based in the Kerio Valley in the district of Eldoret and Iten. FORMATION OF FLOURITE (CaF2) The fluorite is an industrial mineral formed 150 to 200 million years ago. It is formed by replacement reaction known as mesomatism. The magma or hot water containing fluorine and other minerals was forced up from deep wit hin the Earth. When this brine reached the calcium rich, limestone bedrock (CaCO3), fluorite crystals formed along the walls of fractures and voids in the rock.Flat layers of fluorite also formed parallel to the limestone beds, replacing the host rock. The fluorine replaced the CO32- from the CaCO3 to form CaF2. The CO32- was dissipated as CO2 and water. This process is further elaborated in equation below: Ca2- + F22- CaF2 (fluorite) GEOLOGY AND OCURRENCE Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. Crystal twinning is common and adds complexity to the observed crystal.The fluorite deposits are believed to be of hydrothermal origin in the Post-Miocene era when lavas formed a protective cap over Precambrian rocks in the area. The main deposit of fluorite is located at Kimwarer and is exposed on a series of five hills, four of which have been mined. Two other minor deposits knows as Choff and Kamnaon are approximately 2 to 5 km north of the present mine site and have been partially mined in the past for the production of metallurgical-grade spar. The Kimwarer ore bodies contain by far the largest ore reserves. The ore body contacts are distinct due to the buff colour of the ore in contrast to he grey gneiss, white marbles or pegmatites. Typically the fluorite is finely crystalline and disseminated through a siliceous matrix. Zones of high grade ore are often purplish or creamy yellow in colour with cavities filled with distinct cubic crystals. The Choffs have two ore bodies running parallel to each other for more than 3 km. The Choffs are separated by ridges and dips. The ore body pinches and swells and its width varies between 4 metres and 26 metres. This ore is soft and friable hence easy liberation in the plant and provides a good yield. The phosphate in this vein is medium to high.The Kamnaon ore bod y has more than five partly parallel veins with varying dips of between 35-45 degrees. There are a number of other sites which are yet to be explored. The Fluorite at Kerio Valley occur as a vein deposit, especially associated with galena, sphalerite, barite, quartz, calcite and metallic minerals, where they often form part of the gangue (the surrounding â€Å"host-rock† in which valuable minerals occur). It is a common mineral in deposits of hydrothermal origin and has been noted as a primary mineral in granites and other igneous rocks and as a common minor constituent of dolostone and limestone.The deposit at Kerio Valley is steeply diping at 40o, with strike varying with mine: Mine| Strike| Percentage CaF2| No. of mines| mines operating| Cheberen| North-South| 37%| 1-6| 1and3| Kamnaum| North west-South east| 40%| 1-5| 1| Choff| East-West| 50%| 1-12| 6and9| The deposit is stratified from Kamnaum to Cheberen1. The fluorite is polychromous i. e occurs in different colours dep ending on the trace elements. The different colours include: * Colourless * Orange * Green * Purple * Base yellow. GRADES OF FLOURSPAR The fluorite can be processed into grades depending on the use: 1.Acid grade: This grade is used in the manufacture of Hydrofluoric acid (HF). 2. Metallurgical grade: This grade is used as flux in steel and cement industry. 3. Ceramic grade: This grade is used in the manufacture of ceramics. Only the acid grade is currently produced by Kenya Fluorspar. Metallurgical grade was also produced but stopped. MAJOR IMPURITIES AVAILABLE IN FLUORITE 1. Silica (silicon dioxide), SiO2 2. Calcite (calcium carbonate), CaCO3 3. Phosphorus pentaoxide , P2O5 4. Iron(III)oxide, Fe2O3 STAGES IN MINING AND PROCESSIG OF FLOURITE (CaF2) 1. Exploration 2. Overburden removal 3. Mining . Processing EXPLORATION This is normally done to obtain sufficient information about the deposit in order to enable a safe and economic design and to avoid difficulties during mining of the fluorite. The Kenya Fluorspar utilizes the diamond core drilling machine to obtain the drill cores. This machine can drill upto 140m-180m depth. The drill cores are then logged upto beyond the fluorite zones. The drill cores are then taken to laboratory for testing. The cores undergo through assessment, determination and classification. Diamond core drilling equipment. LAND CLEARING AND OVERBURDEN REMOVALLAND CLEARING This involves the removal of all the trees and stumps including the roots from the mining site. In Kenya Fluorspar, currently land clearing and overburden removal is done at choff 9. The main equipment used for land clearing at choff9 is a D355 Komatsu tractor-mounted dozer. The brush is disposed by dumping in gullies. D355 dozer. OVERBURDEN REMOVAL This involves the removal waste soil or rock that overlies the ore. At Kenya Fluorspar the overburden depth depends on the stripping ratio and dipping angle. Dozer is the main equipment used for stripping the overburden at choff 9.This equipment pushes the overburden over the high wall. After the overburden has been stripped by the dozer, it is loaded onto trucks by a hydraulic hoe excavator for dumping in gullies. The waste is then pushed into gullies by the D355 dozer. Overburden is removed at a ratio of 3:1 to 8:1 (waste to ore) depending on the ore body, with over 700,000 tons of waste being stripped per annum at current production levels. Overburden is normally trucked away using 25 ton trucks provided by contractors. Overburden stripping continues until the fluorite is exposed. ORE EXTRACTION (MINING) Mining is by open cast methods.The exposed ore is extracted by drilling and blasting. A total of approximately 360,000 tons of ore is mined annually. The geology has indicated that the ore body extends beneath the valley floor level and an open pit is being planned. Drilling and blasting The Kenya Fluorspar utilizes two types of drilling equipment (rig) to drill holes. These include: 1. Down the ho le hammer (DTH). This is mainly used in solid hard formations. The hammer is just behind the bit. 2. Top hammer drill rig (TH). This is mainly used in loose formations. The hammer is on top of the drill string (pipes).Crawler mounted DTHTop hammer drill rig The drill pattern to be applied depends on the: 1. Size of the drill bit to be used. 2. Geological condition of the area. All the bits are 102mm The drill pattern is square, 3m by 3m (burden by spacing) when there is a free face and staggered in absence of a free face. The depth of the drill holes differs, with most holes 10m and others 7m and 4m. Subdrilling is normally 3m. Both the DTH and TH are crawler mounted with TH complete with compressor mounted on it. Kenya Fluorspar has 3 operating crawler mounted drilling machines (2 DTH and 1 TH).BLASTING This operation involves the following stages: 1. Preparation of ANFO 2. Hole charging 3. Initiation of explosives PREPARATION OF ANFO This involves mixing the ammonium nitrate with fuel (diesel) in the ratio 0. 075ml of diesel for every 1kg of ammonium nitrate. This operation is done by an explosive mixer in Kenya Fluorspar. HOLE CHARGING This process involves placing booster/ primer at the bottom of the drilled hole. The boosters normally used include: cast booster, pentolite booster and gelignite. The Kenya fluorspar utilizes the pentolite booster for the priming purposes.Before placing the primer it is connected to a detonator. These detonators include: 1. Plain detonators 2. Instantaneous electric detonators. After placing the primer, ANFO is added depending on the hole depth as shown in the table below: Hole depth| Height of ANFO| Stemming| 10m| 7m| 3m| 7m| 5. 5m| 1. 5m| 4m| 3. 5m| 0. 5m| These holes charged are then connected by 25MS (millisecond) nonel shock tubes, short period detonating delay (SPDD) type. The rows are connected by 17MS surface trunk lines (also nonel shock tubes). The nonel shock tube has the following advantages: 1.Produces low noise and vibration 2. It has less fly rock. It is because of the above advantages that make it useful near factory where less vibration are required. The nonel shock tube is very expensive. INITIATION OF EXPLOSION Once charging is complete the explosion can be initiated depending on the detonator used. Initiation can be done using the following: 1. Safety fuse which burns at a rate of 2 minutes per metre. This is used incase of plain detonators 2. Blasting machine incase of electric detonators. Secondary blasting is also done incase large boulders are produced in the primary blasting.Large boulders can also be broken using the rock breakers. LOADING AND HAULAGE The blasted ore is loaded into trucks by an hydraulic excavator (Komatsu) hoe. The loaded ore is hauled a short distance of between 2 km and 7 km by contracted trucks to the crushing plant. These trucks range from 10tons to 20tons. The ore stock pilled separately depending on the source. PROCESSING OF FLOURITE (CaF2) The processi ng of fluorite at the processing plant involves the following stages: 1. Blending 2. Crushing 3. Grinding 4. Conditioning 5. Floatation 6. Thickening 7. filtration 8. Stock pillingBLENDING Blending in normally done at the primary crusher by a wheel loader before feeding into the crusher in ratio of: 2cheberen:1choff:1kamnaum This blending ratio ensures that the feed is 40% CaF2 CRUSHING Types of crushers 1. Primary crusher: Jaw crusher 2. Secondary crusher: cone crusher 3. Tertiary crusher: cone crusher PRIMARY CRUSHING The ore feed to the hopper through a 12in grizzly screen. It is then feed to the primary crusher through an apron feeder and belt conveyor. The ore is first crushed in a primary stage crushing plant from a feed of 350 mm to less than 30mm in size.The ore that is less than 60mm but more than 30mm is passed through the cone crusher where it is further reduced to less than 30mm. Any material that is more than 30mm is passed through the tertiary crusher. GRINDINGTypes mi lls used in Kenya Fluorspar 1. Rod mill 2. Ball mill 3. Re-grind mill. It is then conveyed to the grinding circuit where the material is added to a rod mill along with water to form slurry. The rod mill instantly grinds the ore after which it is sized using a hydrocyclone. Any oversized material is passed to the ball mill for a further grinding to the desired size of 80%.The ore is now ready for conditioning and flotation. CONDITIONINGThis process takes place in the conditioner. This where the depressants and collectors are added. 1. Depressants a) Sodium fluorite which depresses the P2O5 b) Sodium bifluorite which also depresses the P2O5 2. Collectors a) Betacol b) TapiocaThis process renders the fluorite hydrophobic by the addition of a surfactant or collector chemical. FLOATATIONFlotation is the process that concentrates the ore. This is done by agitating the ore slurry in cells with air bubbles.By adding a combination of fatty acid reagents, the fluorspar in the ore attaches its elf to the air bubble to float to the top of the cell. This product is skimmed off leaving the waste in the bottom of the cell. The process is conducted in a series of rougher, scavenger, and cleaner cells that successively concentrates the ore from 40% CaF2 in the feed material to a minimum of 97. 0% CaF2 in the final concentrate. The water in the final product is then removed in a thickener and a rotary drum filter. This produces a filter cake concentrate containing approximately 11. % moisture. The samples are analyzed in the company's assay and research laboratory. The waste product is pumped to the tailings dam and settled water is recycled to the plant for reuse. A FLOATATION CELLPERCENTAGE CaF2 CONCENTRATED PER SERIES OF FLOATATION CELL FLOATATION CELL| PERCENTAGE CaF2 CONCENTRATED| ROUGHER CELLS| 80%| SCAVANGER CELLS | 85%-87%| CLEANER CELLS| 97%| FLOATATION CIRCUITDEWATERINGThe water in the final product is then removed in a thickener and a rotary drum filter. This produces a filter cake concentrate containing approximately 11. % moistureTHICKENER ROTARY DRUM FILTEROperational Sequence * Cake Formation With the overflow weir set to a maximum the â€Å"apparent submergence† is normally 33-35% so the slurry levels between 0400 and 0800 hrs. Once a sector enters submergence vacuum is applied and a cake starts to form up to a point where the sector emerges from the slurry. The portion of the cycle available for formation is the â€Å"effective submergence† and its duration depends on the number of sectors, the slurry level in the tank and the bridge setting which controls the form to dry ratio. Cake Washing and Drying After emerging from submergence the drying portion of the cycle commences and for non-wash applications continues to about 0130 hrs where the vacuum is cut-off. If cake washing is required the wash manifolds will be located from about 1030 to 1130 hrs and the remaining time to vacuum cut-off at 0130 is the portion allocated to final cake drying. * Cake Discharge After vacuum for the entire sector is cut-off air blow commences at about 0200 hrs in order to facilitate cake discharge.The blow, depending on the position of the tip of the scraper blade, will cut-off at approximately 0300 hrs. Drum filters are normally operated with a low pressure blow but on certain applications a snap blow is applied and to avoid the snapping out of the caulking bars or ropes wire winding of the cloth is recommended . Blow is used on scraper and roll discharge mechanisms but on belt discharge filters vacuum cuts-off when the filter media leaves the drum. The final product has composition shown in the table below: PRODUCT| PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION| Fluorite, CaF2| More than 97%|Silica, SiO2| Less than 1%| Carbonate, CaCO3| Less than 1%| Iron III oxide, Fe2O3| Neglible| Phosphorus penta oxide, P2O5| Less than 0. 5%| TAILINGS DAMTailings, also called slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fluorite from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of the ore. These are the wastes from the floatation cells. Tailings are distinct from overburden or waste rock, which are the materials overlying an ore or mineral body that are displaced during mining without being processed.The tailing are pumped from the processing plant to the to tailings dam for disposal. The height is about 15m and dimensions are 150m by 30m. it is trapezoidal in shape. The dam also has drain pipes to remove the seepage water. Hydraulic cyclones are used to build the dam. The cyclones separate the tailings into fine and coarse material. The coarse materiel from the cyclone underflow is used to build the wall of the dam will the material and water is disposed into the dam. The water is recycled and pumped back for reuse into the factory. The will built until the dam touches the adjacent hill.LABORATORY QUALITY CONTROLL SECTIONThe company conducts two types of tests – chemi cal and metallurgical. The chemical section performs wet chemistry analysis (mainly titration) and operates 24 hrs a day throughout the year and each shift is headed by a qualified chemist. The metallurgical section mainly concentrates on research and development work. The sample (pellet) is subjected to an XRF machine which scans the sample imparting energy to it. The sample then radiates heat of various wavelengths. The wavelengths are analyzed by a computer program which displays the information instantly on the screen.Strict quality control of run-of-mine ore, exploration and final product analysis is maintained by sampling. KFC prides itself in the quality of its assays, which are always crosschecked with those of European laboratories, namely SGS (Netherlands), HOFF and BSI in the United States. Weight sampling and analysis:   All analyses are being performed by SGS Kenya Ltd (Swiss company) at the cost of the company. Apparatus in the laboratory: a) Two Jaw crushers (14in. and12in. ) b) Pulverizer c) Oven for drying d) Splitter e) XRF machine f) Analytical balance g)A pilot plantSample preparation i. Drying ii. Splitting iii. Crushing iv. Pulverizing. CARGO CONDITIONThe fluorite is Chemically inert, non-reactive, non-flammable, non-hazardous mineral sand. No hazard labelling required in accordance with IMO regulations. No special precautions for storage however, in order to maintain the purity of the material, it must not be allowed to be contaminated by any other material as it is used as the base product in sensitive chemical processes to produce other products and substances.TRANSPORT Once the acid spar is produced, the fluorspar is loaded into 10 ton trucks and hauled to the railway siding at Kaptagat, a distance of 37km. From here it is loaded into 36 ton rail wagons for the 860 km journey to the Mbaraki wharf at Mombasa. The wagons are offloaded at the wharf where the fluorspar is stockpiled and covered while awaiting shipment. The storage capac ity at Mbaraki is approximately 25,000 tons. The process of off-loading of wagons and trucks is labour intensive by means of manual labour.Loading of the vessels is conducted using an automatic Demag Ship Loader, owned and operated by Bamburi Portland Cement Company. An average rate of 2,500 tons per day can be loaded on a continuous basis even on public holidays. The quantity loaded and moisture analyses are conducted by an independent surveyor on a continuous basis to ensure a representative result of the product loaded. Since Mombasa is one of the main ports in East Africa, chartering of vessels to carry bulk cargoes to any destination in the world can be easily arranged. |