What is the relationship between quality and productivity?

Quality experts such
as W. Edwards Deming have stated that quality is positively associated with productivity because
as the quality of a product or service increases, there is less need for correcting work or
fixing mistakes, so productivity improves. However, many experts disagree with Deming's view and
instead believe that as quality improves, the cost of production goes up. The result is higher
prices and reduced productivity. 

Other experts believe that quality can only
be increased through Total Quality Management (TQM), a process that requires an overhaul of
systems and behaviors. The idea is to make organizations more competitive through improving the
quality of the product or service and to improve the organization's ability to meet the
customer's needs through continuous improvement of the process. TQM is a process that aims to
improve productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction. Therefore, to increase both quality
and productivity, an organization can use a process of continuous improvement that addresses
both goals simultaneously.

Source:

Kontoghiorghes, C. (January 2003). "Examining the association between quality and
productivity performance in a service organization." Quality Management Journal,
Vol. 10 (1).

In "A Raisin in the Sun", why does the author go to such lengths to describe the furnishings of the Younger family's apartment?

Hansberry gives a vivid, extensive
description
of the Youngers' apartment on the South Side of Chicago, which represents the

family's struggles. The furniture in the Youngers' apartment is worn out and old, and
Hansberry
writes that the primary feature of the apartment is that it is too
small to accommodate that
many people. Hansberry uses words like "weariness"
and "depressing" to
describe the apartment's features, which correspond to
the emotions and feelings of the Younger
family.

There is
also very little natural light and virtually no privacy in
the cramped
apartment. The Youngers' worn out apartment creates anof restriction, tension,
and
stress. The family is sick of living in close quarters and is anxious to
improve their living
situation, which explains the attitudes and behaviors of
each character.is weary, and her
husband is anxious to use the $10,000
insurance check to establish his liquor business, which he
hopes will improve
the family's financial status.also wishes for her family to live in a

comfortable, accommodating home, which is why she purchases the house in Clybourne
Park.
Overall, Hansberry's extensive description of the Youngers' tiny
apartment furthers the
portrayal of their suppressed, tired emotions and of
the motivation Lena has to purchase a new
home.

How does Kazuo Ishiguro present Tommy to make the audience feel sorry for him?

Tommy is
presented as one of life's outsiders, a chronic misfit who doesn't really belong anywhere. By
showing Tommy as a victim of merciless teasing and mockery, Ishiguro makes him a sympathetic
character, despite his regular childish tantrums.

Although Tommy attended
Hailsham along with the rest of the clones, there was always a sense that he was somewhat apart
from everyone else. This would explain why he was always marginalized and singled out for
bullying. For Ruth and the other clones, their whole identity is intimately bound up with their
time at Hailsham. If Tommy was never a "real" Hailsham studentas Ruth seems to
thinkthen the implication is that he lacks the kind of stable identity enjoyed by the others.
Our sympathy for Tommy is heightened by the fact that he...

Who is the swamper in "Of Mice and Men"?

Candy is
the "old swamper" in 's novella . The term "swamper"
simply refers to the fact that he literally "swamps" or washes out the bunkhouse where
the men on the ranch live. When we first meet Candy in chapter two, he is carrying a broom in
his left hand because he lost his right hand in a work related accident. Steinbeck describes
him,

The door opened
and a tall, stoop-shouldered old man came in. He was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a big
push-broom in his left hand. 

He's followed around by a "a drag footed sheepdog" with
"pale, blind old eyes." He seems happy enough in the beginning and is used by
Steinbeck to describe the various characters on the ranch, including the Boss, Slim, Crooks,
Curley and Curley's wife.

At the end of chapter two, however, Candy's life
takes a depressing turn as Carlson, a "powerful, big stomached" worker on the ranch
suggests to Slim that Candy's dog is too old and decrepit and should be put out of its misery.
He wants Slim to give Candy one of his puppies (one of them is given to ). Slim, being the de
facto leader of the men approves Carlson's idea, and in chapter three Carlson shoots Candy's
dog.

The old swamper becomes despondent over the loss of his dog untilbegins
to describe the "little piece of land" he and Lennie hope to one day have. Because
Candy received a settlement from the ranch over the loss of his hand he has $350 which he can
contribute. He tells George:

Spose I went in with you guys. Thas three hunderd an fifty bucks Id put in. I aint
much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some. Howd that
be? 

George agrees and the "thing they had never really
believed in was coming true." Candy also serves to providefor the ending of the book as he
tells George,

I
ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldnt ought to of let no stranger shoot my
dog.

Rather than let Curley or one of the other men kill Lennie,
George takes Carlson's gun and shoots his friend in the back of the head. With the dream gone,
Candy expresses his bitterness over the loss his future as he stands over Curley's
wife,

You done it,
dint you? I spose youre glad. Everbody knowed youd mess things up. You wasnt no good. You aint
no good now, you lousy tart. He sniveled, and his voice shook. I could of hoed in the garden
and washed dishes for them guys. 

 

World War II brought new prosperity to many Americans. Who benefited most from the wartime economy? What financial limitations did various members of...

The answer
to this would be substantially different if you are asking about the impact ofas a whole than if
you are asking about the economy during the years 1941 to 1945.  In other words, WWII certainly
brought new prosperity to many Americans, but it brought that prosperity to different Americans
in the actual war years than it did in the years after the war.

After the
war, prosperity came to many Americans as a result of the war.  This came about in large part
through the GI Bill.  The GI Bill allowed many Americans from all classes of society to go to
college.  This allowed them to become part of the middle class.  It also allowed many Americans
to buy their own homes for the first time.  This...

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Do you think Mr. Harvey is a developing character?

The
term character development can be used in two
senses, and one sense is sometimes used interchangeably with
. In the first sense,
character development refers to the facts and information
revealed about a character in various parts of the narrative, or over the course of the story,
in order to make clear the character's inner and psychological traits and qualities, beliefs,
values, motivations, and intentions (intent). [This sense is sometimes used interchangeably with
the term characterization.] These revelations
may all be consistent with each other. In other words, what the character thinks, believes,
wants, understands, etc. may be the same at the end of the story as they are at the beginning.
On the other hand, what a character wants, believes, etc. may undergo an alteration, or
change, through the course of the narrative. This leads to the second sense in which
character development is used.

In this second sense, character
development is used to indicated the alterations, or changes, a
character undergoes throughout the course of a story in response
to other characters and events over time as time is represented by the
story in the narrative. In other words, this sense of character
development refers to the way or ways in which a character comes to
believe or want different things as a result of a revelation or epiphany; to understand
something different about life, the world, themselves or other people; to develop different
psychological dynamics, motives, or intents; etc.

In the first
sense of the term, Mr Harvey
does have character develop throughout the
course of the story because new traits are revealed over time, for example, after Lindsey breaks
in to his house and when he decides to end Lindsey's life. In the second
sense of the term, Mr. Harvey does
not have character development throughout the course of the story
because his psychological dynamics, his motives, his beliefs, his desires, his intents remain
the same (though details may vary, e.g., Lindsey instead of Susie; retaliation murder instead of
otherwise; etc.) from the beginning of the story throughout to the end of the
story.

Give an example of a humorous introduction in any literary text.

The use of a humorous
opening is very important when the author is trying to gain the attention of the reader. Given
that many readers decide if the text is worth reading within the first few pages of a piece, an
author can use humor to capture the reader. Examples of humorous first lines in texts are as
follows.

1. "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is
unhappy in its own way." (Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)

- This is humorous based upon the fact that it speaks so honestly about
families.

2. "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing
you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how
my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of
crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the
truth." 
(The Catcher in the Rye by J. D.Salinger)

-This opening contains humor based upon the fact that Holden is telling his story, but
does not wish to go into it.

3. "It was the day my grandmother
exploded." (The Crow Road by Iain M. Banks)

- Theof
a grandmother exploding, while morbid, is funny.

4. "Once upon a time,
there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." (Back
When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler)

-This opening can be found
humorous based upon the fairytale-like opening.

5. "Most really pretty girls have
pretty ugly feet, and so does Mindy Metalman, Lenore notices, all of a sudden."
(The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace) -Here, the
"fact" that pretty girls have ugly feet is quite hilarious. 6. "Granted: I am an
inmate of a mental hospital." (The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass) -This
opening forces the reader to see the humor in the story about to be told given it is being told
by a mental patient.

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