Fashion Cycle

What is the fashion cycle? Fashion cycle – a period of time or life span during which the fashion exists, moving through the five stages from introduction through obsolescence. – When a customer purchases and wears a certain style, that style is considered accepted. The acceptance leads to the style becoming a fashion! Fashions do not always survive from year to year GOAL: The ability to gauge the timeliness or occurrence at the right time, of a fashion is critical in the development and marketing of fashion products. Stages of the Fashion Cycle Fashion moves through different stages during its cycle of existence.Not only design but special features also go through a cycle such as color, texture, and fabric Introduction Stage Designs first previewed during fashion weeks at the major design centers New styles, colors, or textures are introduced – begin an upward slope Limited number of people accept them Fashion leaders wear the styles Offered at high prices and p roduced in small quantities. Rise Stage Manufacturers who copy designer clothes will reproduce the styles as apparel that costs less by using less expensive fabrics or minimal detail. In the initial incline, fashions are accepted by more people because they can afford hem.Mass Production reduces the price of the fashion, and more sales result Peak Stage Top of the hill Fashion is at its most popular and accepted stage. Mass production but prices are not necessarily low, prices vary at this stage It can survive longer if the fashion becomes a classic. Updating or adding new details of design, color, or texture to the look can keep it in the peak stage. Decline Stage Consumer demand is decreasing, going down the slope. Fashion items available have saturated the market. People do not want to pay a high price. Fashion retailers mark down the rice of merchandise.Obsolescence Stage The end of the fashion cycle, the bottom of the hill Consumers are no longer interested in the fashion and f ind new looks. Price of the fashion product may be low at this point, but consumers may not buy the product. Fashion-cycle Life Span All fashions follow the life-cycle pattern, but it varies with each fashion. Very difficult for fashion marketers to predict the life span The length of time is determined by the consumer's willingness to accept the fashion. Fashion Movement Fashion movement – the ongoing motion of fashions moving through the cushion cycle.Economic and social factors influence consumer interest in fashion. New fibers and fabrics Advertising techniques can cause consumers to change in fashion. Budget Fashion for Bargain Hunters Budget brands include Joe Fresh, Walter, and Sellers, as well as Maroons and Old Navy. These stores have done a good Job of challenging the fashion cycle and offer fashion that would be classified more at the peak area of the cycle. However, before Jumping into a budget buy keep in mind the quality aspect, budget items aren't always made o f the nicest fabrics or constructed ell, so don't buy anything budget that you want to last.Moderate Fashion for the Masses Moderate falls under the beginning of the name brand category, stores that offer at the Moderate price point have seemed to explode on the scene recently, possibly in an attempt to appeal to a wider market. This category is a little harder to define and usually includes stores like the Gap, RAW & Co, and Smart Set; They carry fashion that is appealing to a mass market, they feature fashions in the â€Å"peak† section and basics. The quality in this category improves somewhat but not greatly from some of the Budget lines.These stores are definitely popular as they are affordable to a wide variety of consumers, and don't come with the stigma of being a budget retailer. Better Merchandise for the Brand-conscious Better merchandise falls into the peak section of the fashion cycle but can also be found in the fashion forward Rise section; items here are begin ning to enter higher fashion. Garments are constructed with more natural fibers, more attention has been paid to the fit, and garment details like buttons, beads, and special stitching are of a better quality.Lines of this nature pour ore money into advertising and have a high value for brand identity, lines like Lactose, Jones New York and Lucky Brand Shares fall into this category. People spend money on these lines based on a mixture of brand loyalty and prestige, they have cost the consumer a more than average amount of money for the item and the tag says it all. Bridge Apparel for Lovers of Contemporary Designer Labels Bridge apparel is another booming section of the fashion industry; it is the attainable designer merchandise that keeps on trend.Usually provide the quality, style and cut of a designer item without the couture price tag. This fashion includes designer merchandise that couture labels have created in the form of secondary lines which mimic their current collections at a smaller price, by way of using less expensive materials and add ones. Lines of this category include Marc By Marc Jacobs, DENY, Ralph Lauren Classics, and Perry Ellis Portfolio.Other designers who don't produce couture can also fit into this category, they directly produce garments to the requirements of this section and they include labels like lisle, By Malone Berger, and Tara Jargon. These designers can be classified as â€Å"Contemporary' their lines are not serially categorized by their price point but by their fashion forward nature. This class of fashion is aimed at women who are style conscious and are looking for high quality apparel; contemporary lines are a combination of classic and trend making them wearable for years to come.Quality is still a priority in these lines, and the cut of the garment is at its best form in terms of standard sizing. Silhouettes, color palettes and general styling reflect their couture counterparts in these collections and while they ma y not be the original couture pieces, they are more functional and wearable for everyday life. Designer Haute Couture Fashion – the Creme De la Creme Designer Couture is every woman's dream; it comes with a certain prestige due to its limited availability and the limited amount of people who can afford it.Designer merchandise is carefully constructed of the finest materials and provides the wearer with a custom fitted, high quality investment garment that is sure to last them a lifetime (providing they don't fluctuate in size). However; these pieces come with a hefty price tag that can soar upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and maintaining a constant body size for the rest of your life is an almost impossible task. Designers of this category include YES, Christian Dior, Christian Laconic, and Viviane Westwood to name a few.So realistically we can admire their designs from afar and wait until the â€Å"trickle down effect† takes over the ready to wear collect ions. Leading the Fashion Way Fashion leaders – the trendsetters, or individuals who are the first to wear new styles, after which the fashion is adopted by the general public. May be high profile people who get media attention. Used to be royalty or the very wealthy, but now they are media celebrities. Theories of FashionMovement Trickle-Down Theory Trickle-Up Theory Trickle-Across Theory Each theory focuses on a different set of fashion leaders Trickle-Down Theory A hypothesis that states the movement of fashion starts at the top with consumers of higher socioeconomic status and moves down to the general public. The oldest and most accepted theory of fashion change Trickle-Up Theory A hypothesis that states the movement of fashion starts with consumers on lower-income levels ad then moves to consumers with higher incomes. Athletic Apparel Style – during the sass and sass Hair Style – â€Å"Beetles†, Punk StyleTrickle-Across Theory A hypothesis stating t hat fashion acceptance begins among several socioeconomic classes at the same time, because there are fashion leaders in all groups. Elements of Design When you describe something you see, you use words that tell about the lines, shapes, colors, textures, and spaces. Line Lines can be horizontal, vertical, dotted, gig-gag, curved, straight, diagonal, bold, or fine. Lines can show direction, lead the eye, outline an object, divide a space, and communicate a feeling or emotion. Shape Shapes are made by connecting lines. Circle, square, triangle, and freedom are words used to identify shapes.Look at the objects around you and describe their basic shapes. Are they one shape, or are they a combination of many shapes? After doing this several times, you will begin to understand what shape really is. Line creates two dimensional or flat shapes. When shapes are three dimensional, we call them forms. A circle is a shape; a ball is a form. A square is a shape; a cube is a form. A drawing is a flat shape; a sculpture is a three-dimensional form. Color Color is described with the words hue, value, and intensity. Hue refers to the name of the color?red or blue, for example. Value tells the lightness or darkness of a hue.Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a hue. You can use a color wheel and learn how colors work together. Texture Texture is the surface quality of an item. It's how something feels when touched, or looks like it would feel if touched. Sandpaper is rough. Velvet is smooth. A drawing of a tree stump could show rough outer bark and a smooth inner surface. Search for ways to add texture to your projects. Texture adds variety and interest. Space Space refers to the area that a shape or form occupies. It also refers to the background against which we see the shape or form. Space can be defined as positive and negative.The positive space of a design is the filled space in the design?often it is the shapes that make up the design. Negative space is th e background. The negative space in design is as important as the positive area. Rhythm You have felt rhythm in music. Rhythm is also a part of things you see. It allows the eye to move from one part of a design to another part. Rhythm can be created by: Repeating a color, shape, texture, line, or space when designing. Varying the size of objects, shapes, or lines in sequence (small to large). Using a progression of colors from tints to shades (light blue to dark lull). Ђ Shifting from one hue to a neighboring hue (yellow to yellow-orange to orange to red-orange to red). Principles of Design Some combinations of design elements (line, shape, color, texture, and space) work better than others. Here are some guidelines to help you understand why some combinations work and others do not work as well. These guidelines?rhythm, proportion, emphasis, balance, and unity? are the principles of design. Proportion Proportion refers to the relationship between one part of a design and anoth er part or to the whole design. It is a comparison of sizes, shapes, and quantities.For example, the relationship between the vertical and horizontal measurements of a wall hanging may be pleasing because the unequal lengths produce an interesting contrast. Emphasis Every design needs an accent?a point of interest. Emphasis is the quality that draws your attention to a certain part of a design first. There are several ways to create emphasis: Use a contrasting color. Use a different or unusual line. Make a shape very large or very small. Use a different shape. Use plain background space. Balance Balance gives a feeling of stability. There are three types of balance.Symmetrical, or formal balance, is the simplest kind. An item that is symmetrically balanced is the same on both sides. Our bodies are an example of formal balance. If you draw an imaginary line from your head to your toes dividing your body in half, you will be pretty much the same on both sides. Designs that have a radi al balance have a center point. A tire, pizza, and a daisy flower are all examples of design with radial balance. When you look through a kaleidoscope, everything you see has a radial balance. Asymmetrical balance creates a feeling of equal weight on both sides, even though the sides do not look the same.Asymmetrical designs also are called informal designs because they suggest movement and spontaneity. Asymmetrical balance is the hardest type of balance to achieve and often takes experimenting or moving elements around until balance is achieved. Unity When things look right together, you have created unity or harmony. Lines and shapes that repeat each other show unity (curved lines with curved shapes). Colors that have a common hue are harmonious. Textures that have a similar feel add to unity. But too much uniformity sometimes can be boring. At the same time, too much variety destroys unity.

Christ in the Old Testament Essay

The Old Testament was like a world where God would unexpectedly appear to humans and interact with His creations. The main reasons for this particular action was to inform that person of what He was about to do. God would also use his appearances as a way to to strengthen and encourage his people. In this world, where God sneaks down to conform into the physical form of a human, was for the purpose so that His creations would be more easily able to relate to Him and receive His message more adequately. These appearances are known as Christophanies, and are shown throughout the Old Testament. James Borland writes a book named Christ in the Old Testament. Borland paints a detailed picture of what this world of Christophanies consisted of during that time. Appearances of God date all the way back to the early chapters of Genesis. Even though God appeared several times in throughout the book, not all those appearances are considered theophanies. It is difficult to find a comprehensive definition of what theophany is. For an example, God’s brief appearances to Abraham, Joshua, and Gideon are different than the appearances made in Shekinah, or as Jesus the Messiah. Borland quotes The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, which states â€Å"the idea of theophany is something temporary and not permanent† (15). There are Several different connotations of the term theophany, that will help better formulate the term Christophany. The different connotations can be distinguished in dreams, visions, shekinah glory, incarnation of Christ, after his resurrection, his second coming. They all differ from Christophany. Borland presents the idea of Christophany as concrete reality of the time before God began to reveal an ample amount of the Scriptures. The book is divided into different chapters that are in logical order. In the beginning of the book Borland first defines a Christophany, distinguishing and making it clear from other types of God’s manifestation. The primary difference between the Old Testament Christophany and the incarnation of Christ according to Borland,â€Å"Is not only in the transitory nature of the one and the permanency of the other. More importantly the incarnation of Christ involved a permanent union between God and complete manhood†(20). Christophany and incarnation are two different ideas. Christophanies were actual occurrences. They were not imaginary, or a hallucinatory experience. Borland said that a Christophanies must stand or fall with the entire word of God and cannot be separated out as later additions to legitimatize certain holy places (21). These were very special events. Some Characteristics of a Christophany that were included in the book: Christophanies could only be initiated by God, and He revealed Himself as He willed. Christophanies were revelatory or revealing. Each had an immediate purpose, such as the assurance of promises, warnings, or instruction. Christophanies were for individuals rather for multitudes, That is why the incarnation of Christ would not be considered a theophany. Christophanies were intermittent occurrences. There was no predictability as to when a Christophany might occur. They were random. Christophanies only lasted several minutes and they were always audible and visible. The recipient were not â€Å"hearing things† as the world today might say if a Christophany were to happen. Because of the incarnation of Christ, Christophanies are no longer necessary today (33-34). In the other chapters Borland offers several proof that the Old Testament Christophanies were actually appearances of God, Such as Scriptural, and theological. the person that appeared in the Old Testament was all deity and was proved to be the Father Son and the Holy spirit. The author often addresses the objections of various dissenting theologians, and various Scriptures that seem to preclude Christophanies. In the case such as in the book of Joshua where the text explains that Joshua saw a â€Å"man†, Borland is convinced that this is still an appearance of God, or Jehovah. In the last few chapters Borland explains the form of Christophanies. He explains that they are visible and were not through a vision. They were audible, and completely put in a human form in every and any recognizable way. Borland examines in depth several individual passages in where God appears or speaks. Borland also focused on the theology of the Christophany in the last few chapters, relating these appearances to four major forms of theology: bibliology, theology proper, Christology, and biblical theology. The main point that is made is that God had a purpose for revealing Himself in each Christophany. The world that existed during the time of the Old Testament is evident that it is not the same world that exists in the New Testament. Throughout the years since the Old Testament, God has appeared to humanity in different ways. Ways that are not considered Christophanies. It is amazing how God is willing to step out his throne and step down to communicate to a sinful person. The whole idea of God making an effort to communicate with his creation Whether it was in the old testament or in modern times, demonstrates his humility and love. As Christians we should respect and honor him for that. In writing this book James Borland did a wonderful job writing this book. It was very informational, and this book should be passed down for generations to come.

Betta Value Stores

Betta value stores meeting report: The first issue in the meeting that we discussed was that at the store enterance, there are too few shopping baskets, and any available trolleys are of the wrong type. The store has problems with persuading shoppers to return them to the trolley park at the main entrance of the store. We had quite a debate on this issue as Zara and Ahmed had quite strong ideas. Ahmed had the idea of nectar points and that every time you put your trolley back you will get points on your card. And in the end you can trade your points for a item sold in the store.In the end we decided that this would be too much of a hassle so instead we went with Zara’s idea. Which was to firstly buy more trolleys so there are plenty available but to buy the ones you have to put a pound in. This way people will return their trolleys so they can have their pound back. We thought a disadvantage for this would be that we would have to replace all existing trolleys with ones which have slots for moneys. In the end we decided this would be a good thing to invest in as it will be very beneficial in the end. The second issue that we discussed was that staff are seen to be unhelpful.That checkout operators do not know the location of items, people are still seen to be stacking shelves after the store has opened for the public and that younger employees are offhand with dealing with the public. For the solution of this first problem about people carry on stacking the shelves we came to a clean conclusion of started stacking shelves earlier and for them to train to stack the shelves faster. The solution to the checkout operators we were torn between two. One idea was that we give a sheet of paper to the checkout operators outlining where most of the goods in the store are located.The other idea we had was that we have a touch screen computer in which you type in the key words of the item and it will tell you its location. We said that initially it would cost quite a bit but in the end it well be very beneficial. Thirdly we discussed the fact that most customers suggested that we should offer a lot more services rather then just selling household goods and groceries. Some services and facilities they suggested included having lottery kiosks, newspaper stalls, shoe repairs, cash points etc.We had quite a debate about this but one thing we all agreed at was that we would offer some of these services rather all of them and we agreed that this would be a top priority as we would not want to lose customers to other businesses who provide these services. In the end we all agreed on the fact that we should for now work towards getting a lottery kiosks and stand for newspaper. We would see if this would improve the business as a whole and meet customer needs after assessing this we would re-evaluate of what other services we should provide for customers.Another important issue that was on the minds of a lot of customers was that no allowances are made for shoppers who have mobility problems or small children or who speak little English. At first we were lost as to solve this problem and could not generate many solutions. In the end though we decided that we would employ some employees that were bilingual and maybe put signs up that are in other languages as well as English for all to understand. We also decided that a ramp out side of the building would be appropriate.

Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 15

Art History - Essay Example Case in point, an iconographic picture of God would be spoken to in the inner part roof emulated by lesser creatures, for example, heavenly attendants and holy persons that were spoken to beneath God. These delineations were regularly spoken to in frescoes and mosaics intended to portray the ideal request of the universe. Frescoes and mosaics were frequently shown one-dimensionally and would speak to religious assumes that had serious looks to intimate appreciation and convention. Religious craftsmen wished to attention these figures profoundly instead of physically displaying them from three-dimensional viewpoints. Byzantine specialists likewise took part in making enlightened compositions that were books or archives that were designed with sumptuous Byzantine materials (Cunningham, John and Lois 94). Case in point, numerous vital Bibles was frequently made into enlightened original copies and had exceptional spreads, weaved pages, and gold linings. Hagia Sophia is a previous patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a gallery, in Istanbul. Acclaimed precisely for its monstrous arch, it is regarded as the embodiment of Byzantine structural planning and a standout amongst the most wonderful structures on the planet. It was the biggest basilica on the planet for almost a thousand years, until the fulfillment of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was initially built as an audience somewhere around 532 and 537 on the requests of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was indeed the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to involve the site (the past two had both been wrecked by mobs) (Jeffreys and Steven 117). It was outlined by two planners, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained an expansive gathering of heavenly relics and accentuated, in addition to everything else, a 50-foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. This was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religiou s

Assignment /4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

/4 - Assignment Example No matter how good grammatical and phonetic skills of a speaker are, without developed lexical skills it is hard to build sentences and comprehend messages, whether oral or written. When one learns a new word and starts using it in speech, he/she might notice that this word appears more often in oral and written contexts. This phenomenon is not unique to learners of a second language and frequently happens in ones native language context as well. In case a learner starts using new word often he/she cant help ignoring the new word in every cluster of speech that contains the word. The thing is the new word could have been often overlooked by the learner before he/she fully understood the meaning of the word and learned to identify different connotations of such a word within a specific context. In my opinion, noticing the new word more often, both in oral and written contexts, depends largely on the learners perception. A learner starts recognizing the new word and pays attention to its specific meaning when he/she knows its general meaning. For instance, the word "destination" can have lots of connotations, such as a goal or a mission, but a learner frequently uses this word only in a specific context and doesnt notice using it much. Thus, one tracks the word down every time he/she experiences the new connotation of the word. This, in turn, builds up the feeling that such a word is more frequently used by other speakers than before. As a matter of fact, people always tend to identify things they know something about in the first place and neglect things they know little or nothing about. The same is true when it comes to the learning and using of new words, both in a native language and in a second language

An improvement Approach to Quality Education In the United States of Research Proposal

An improvement Approach to Quality Education In the United States of America - Research Proposal Example This essay declares that the common aim of the entire US educational system must be established as the Deming philosophy applied to education suggests that each school in its educational setting is a component of the whole educational system in America and each school is obligated to accomplish the overall aim of the system, rather than focusing exclusively on maximizing its own performance. Otherwise, the effort among schools will be fragmented and the system will be sub-optimized; each and every school must exist to accomplish the common aim – to educate students to be equal American citizens, equal not only in political or social rights but also in educationally determined abilities to be both self-supporting and contributing American citizens. This paper makes a conclusion that the Japanese system did not develop without drawbacks or flaws that have had to be eliminated as the country became able to afford the solutions economically. Nevertheless, the emphasis on co-operation at all levels, a necessity within environments having extremely scarce resources, has contributed tremendously to raising the educational standard of the entire population in Japan. Perhaps for the first time in American experience, resources are becoming scarce and encouraging individuality and competition is incompatible with providing quality education at minimum cost; we must re-evaluate co-operation as a most efficient and cost effective approach to providing quality education equally to all students in American state schools.

Performance and Reward Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance and Reward Management - Assignment Example Organizations need HR data in order to make rational and informed decisions for adequate performance management. In order to make sure that hardworking employees are rewarded and disloyal and unproductive employees are penalized, it is imperative that HR data is collected and maintained. Such data includes but is not limited to employees’ attendance, their productivity in terms of goal achievement, their discipline and conduct, and their professional growth and skill development. Having detailed recorded information of all these aspects enables the managers to quantify the results and ensure that the resources are adequately utilized for the benefit of the organization. Collecting data related to employees’ performance helps HR admin in rational decision making. Resources in an organization are limited. In order to achieve organizational goals, it is essential to assign these resources proportionately among the employees considering their needs and past performance. HR admin needs employees’ performance data during the performance appraisal process. This data helps HR admin reach the decisions of promoting certain employees and demoting others, offering increments to certain employees and decrements to others, and selecting employees to be sent as expatriates to other countries. Data related to sick absences is needed by the HR admin not only for monitoring the productivity of employees but also to ensure the provision of adequate medical care to the employees. An employee with a lot of sick absences clearly displays signs of poor productivity and wastage of time and resources. Besides, the organization might incur significant costs in paying the increased insurance premiums for such employees. It is the responsibility of the HR admin to watch out for employees who are using organizational resources for personal gains and report them to the top management. Electronic record storage, as the name implies, is the storage of information in a

Mergers and acquisitions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Mergers and acquisitions - Coursework Example This paper seeks to examine examples of companies in the USA that were involved in a merger. Mergers often look forward to ensuring profits rather than losses in the business combination. The selected company that involved itself in a merger is the Continental Airlines Company. The company was involved in the merger with another airline company. The two companies were the entities in the merger. An entity in business or in mergers and acquisitions (M & A) describes the organization, company or corporation that is acquired by another organization, company or corporation or that merges with the other in order to ensure a successful business in terms of profits, quality of products and competition and its continuous and long term survival in the world's competitive markets (Harwood, 2005). In the year 2010, an airline company in the U.S, Continental Airlines, merged or was rather acquired by another company, United Airlines (UAL) Corporation, also an airline holding company in the U.S w hich had its headquarters in Chicago in the state of Illinois. The two airline companies merged to form the United Continental Holdings in October 2010. The merger took place to ensure that the new company founded posed stiff competition to other airline companies around the world. The merge was also to ensure better services than the services provided before by the individual airline companies. After merging, the founded airline, United Continental Holdings became the largest airline company in the world as was confirmed by revenue passenger miles (New York Times, 2010). Mergers and acquisitions are often accompanied by transaction prices and payment terms. At the time of the merger between Continental Airlines and UAL Corporation, there were several factors that were involved in determining the transaction price and the payment terms for each of the individual companies after the merger. The first factor that determined the payment terms was the presence of other potential bidders who would provide better payment terms. United Airlines initially held merger talks with the US Airways. It is said that a deal was close between the two companies (New York Times, 2010). Unfortunately the merger talks broke off paving way for talks between the United Airlines Corporation and other airlines. On the other hand, the Continental Airlines also held merger talks with the Star Alliance and even merged. However the two airlines later on separated. This paved way for merger talks between the Continental Airlines and the United Airlines Corporation. Better payment terms were put in place bearing in mind that there were other potential bidders in case of a break off of the merger talks. The second factor that determined the transaction price and the payment terms between the two companies was the share deal that was signed by both entities. When the United Airlines and the Continental Airlines announced their merger in 2010, they struck so many deals. One was of a new name o f the company to be formed which was named the United Continental Holdings. Secondly, the two companies struck deals to share the losses and profits. This share deal was the key factor which was strongly involved in determining the transaction price and payment terms during their merger. The third factor that determined the transaction price and the payment terms was the taxes to be imposed on the newly formed company by the US government. Taxes imposed on a certain company greatly influences the payment terms. In case of friendlier taxation, the two entities could enjoy sharing in large amounts of the profits incurred. However, in case of harsh taxation by the US governm

Humans Rights - World Torture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Humans Rights - World Torture - Essay Example Nagan and Atkins (2001) inform that torture was not always a defined prohibition in international, national and regional legal regimes. On the contrary, historically, social order dictated that those who were charged with the responsibility of engineering the social order were willing to â€Å"use torture as an instrument† for exercising â€Å"effective control over others† (p. 92). Complicating matters, elements of culture, religion and ideology supported the use of torture by those in power. As a result torture was previously implicitly tolerated as necessary for promoting and safeguarding the larger interest of society. As Nagan and Atkins (2001) explain: ...the predisposition to torture requires for its efficacy that it be displaced on public enemies with a religious, cultural, or ideological mechanism of overt or tacit validation of an alleged community interest (usually public order, security, or law and order) (p. 92) At common law, torture was an established part of the legal process. It was used for the administration of oaths and proof of the truth of a matter could be established by the use of torture. The trial by ordeal stands as a manifestation of the historical support of the judicial use of torture. Langbein (2006) the use of â€Å"judicial torture† under the Roman-Cannon statutory regime which permitted â€Å"the use of physical coercion by offers of the state† for the purpose of gathering â€Å"evidence for judicial proceedings† (p. 3).... 92) At common law, torture was an established part of the legal process. It was used for the administration of oaths and proof of the truth of a matter could be established by the use of torture. The trial by ordeal stands as a manifestation of the historical support of the judicial use of torture. Langbein (2006) the use of â€Å"judicial torture† under the Roman-Cannon statutory regime which permitted â€Å"the use of physical coercion by offers of the state† for the purpose of gathering â€Å"evidence for judicial proceedings† (p. 3). State officials using torture pursuant to the truth and for maintaining the social order often rationalized the use of torture in other ways. It was largely believed that the tortured would be redeemed and thus experience some form of â€Å"moral cleansing† (Nagan and Atkins 2001, p. 92). Essentially, torture found currency with states on the basis that it was necessary for discovering the truth. The pain associated with t orture was also rationalized on the basis that it benefitted the tortured by providing â€Å"moral and spiritual† benefits (Nagan and Atkins 2001, p. 92). Waisel (2010) explains that torture was legal for â€Å"long periods of history† (p. 280). Foot (2009) identifies four primary reasons that torture was historically used as a legal instrument of social control and order. Firstly, torture was used by the state pursuant to an ideology that accepted that subhuman factions existed. For instance, Greeks and Romans believed that torture was the best method for abstracting truth from slaves. Secondly, torture was believed to be the best method for obtaining the truth. Thirdly, there was

Post project appraisal of Woody 2000 (project of The Custom Assignment

Post project appraisal of Woody 2000 (project of The Custom Woodworking Company) - Assignment Example Professional project management and control techniques were not used during execution and close-out. The project encountered time and cost overruns, and project cash flows were not financed efficiently. The Custom Woodworking Company launched project Woody 2000 in the spring of 1989. The project encountered several problems in conception and execution with substantial cost and time overrun. After the completion of the project, an external project management consultant was hired to conduct post project appraisal. A typical project include three phases, viz., Initial, Intermediate, and Final. The first phase involves conceptualization and planning, while the intermediate phase constitutes execution and monitoring, and the final phase includes project close out. The cost and staffing is lower at the initial phase of the project. During this period, the level of uncertainty is the highest and the risks of failing to achieve the objectives are the greatest. The certainty of completion progressively gets better as the project continues. The ability of the stakeholders to influence the project is highest at the initial phase and gets lower towards the final phase. The contribution of the project to the strategic goals of the company was never objectively quantified. ... 2. Woody project failures The major problems identified during the audit are detailed below. Conception & scope: The contribution of the project to the strategic goals of the company was never objectively quantified. Gate reviews were not conducted and the cost estimation and risk mitigation efforts were half-baked. The cost estimation for the project was done during a single meeting without considering any supplier quotes and probably without involvement of estimation professionals. Risk analysis was not done, and no contingencies were added at this stage. The project scope was not defined objectively, and seemed to have been influenced by personal bias; there was no reason to include office renovation within the scope of this production capacity enhancement project. Planning & control: The contingency was developed after the project was authorized, and was done without any formal assessment of risk. The monthly cash flow was done on an ad-hoc basis without the involvement of the project manager. The cash flow was developed without reckoning the project schedule and the actual spending pattern. Without this vital information, there was no way Spencer could have actually mobilized the necessary funding for this project. This cash flow was never used for the purpose of monitoring and controlling. There was no project plan to address the key issues, and no Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) or project schedule was prepared. In absence of a baseline plan it became impossible to monitor the project progress. There was no cost control process in place; without use of proper cost performance index, it was impossible to predict to cost overrun. Contracting strategy: Spencer decided on a cost plus basis for contracting the work.