Rap Lyrics And The Elements Of Poetry Essays - Rhyme, Busta Rhymes

Rap Lyrics And The Elements Of Poetry MUSICAL LYRICS AND POETRY Poetry is language that is more intense than the ordinary language. The elements of poetry make it recognizable that there are techniques and styles that add to this intensity. These elements can be found in the lyrics of many rap songs, especially within the lyrics of ?What's It Gonna Be? by Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson. Rhyme is the most practiced element of poetry. It is defined as being the repetition of sounds in language. You can find this repetition within many verses of ?What's it Gonna Be?. For example, in verse one ?Baby just tell me how you feel, we livin it and just givin it to you real?. The two ending words ?feel? and ?real? gives the song a rhyming effect. Another example of rhyme is in lines eight and nine of verse one. These lines say, ? To my people who regulatin the dance floors, better step in yo business and handle yours. ?Floors? and ?yours? also add the rhyming effect of this song. The rhyme in ?What's it Gonna Be? classifies this song as being somewhat poetic. Poetry communicates experience, and experience comes to us largely through the senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and touching). Imagery is a mental and visual impression that appeals to one of the five senses. Visual imagery is a sense thats expressed throughout ?What's it Gonna Be?. For example, verse two line twelve says, ?Paintin a picture I see it's hot on the window?. ?See? is the keyword in line twelve that shows visual imagery. Hearing is another sense that's used frequently within this song. For example, the chorus says ?Gonna make, gonna make, your body scream out yeah!? This verse is very effective in expressing the sense of hearing. When it is read, the exclamation mark brings this verse alive. If the exclamation mark wasn't there the keyword ?scream? still classifies this as an example of imagery. Voice is another element of poetry that this song seems to have. The speakers in ?What's it Gonna Be? are Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson. The chorus is sung by Janet and the verses are rapped by Busta Rhymes. The tone of ?What's it Gonna Be? is somewhat excited and fast paced. When you read the chorus it gives you an energetic feeling. For example, ?Gonna make, gonna make, your body wet. Gonna make, gonna make, your body scream out yeah!? When reading this the commas and exclamation mark speeds up the pace of the song. Theme is the overall idea expressed within a story, song, or poem. The primary theme of ?What's it Gonna Be? is sex. Busta Rhymes and Janet are telling the listeners of this song all the things they can do sexually. An example of this is, ?And makin you women say (ahh) baby come on?. Busta Rhymes has a somewhat ?cocky? approach to sex. Janet Jackson also has this same ?cocky? approach. For example, ?Gonna make, gonna make, your body cream?. When Janet refers to ?cream? she's saying that she can make someone reach their sexual peak. Overall this song's theme has a very strong sexual meaning. Figurative language is defined as words that mean something other than the actual meaning. The majority of rap songs have a large amount of figurative language. ?What's it Gonna Be? has a abundant amount of this. For example, ?full fledge hittin with Busta Rhymes and Janet and you know its...?. The word ?hittin? means sex, so in other words this verse is saying ?full fledge sex with Busta Rhymes and Janet?. Another example of figurative language is, ?Making you people just wanna bounce and get busy?. ?Bounce? refers to leaving and ?get busy? means having sexual intercourse, so this verse says ?making you people just wanna leave and have sex?. In conclusion, ?What's it Gonna Be? has very strong poetic elements. This song had rhythm, theme, imagery, and voice. Actually I couldn't find that many figures of speech, such as a metaphor or a simile, but I could find some figurative language. Overall I feel that this assignment made me realize how poetic some rap songs can be. This assignment also made me become familiar at recognizing the elements of poetry. Poetry Essays

Bead Bar Business Case

Bead Bar Business Case Free Online Research Papers The Bead Bar is company that has three divisions: (1) studios, (2) franchises, and (3) Bead Bar on Board. The studio division oversees the company’s six bead bar studios. Along with the original, there are now two studios in New York City, one on Long Island, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Boston, Massachusetts. The franchise division sells a complete beading supply package to businesses that want to open their own bead studio. The division is responsible for fulfilling franchisees’ supply requirements. The company still uses paper-based forms. The Bead Bar is now large enough that the paper-based system is inefficient and has caused some problems, including lost orders, incorrect invoicing, and fulfillment delays (Malaga, 2005). Information systems allow globalization. If the Bead Bar were to establish a website where people could purchase beading products, they could end up with larger profits. People from all over the world can purchase beading products easily and conveniently because the role of information allows the possibility to convert currencies and languages over the Internet. Information systems also allow each franchise to interact with each other or clients conveniently, as well, via email and/or teleconference, etc. Also, information systems allow for networking so that each franchise can share information with each other in a short amount of time. Information systems could also stop the Bead Bar from losing business. Since the Bead Bar is growing and yet still using a paper-based system, they will run into organization problems. The loss of orders, incorrect invoices, and delayed fulfillments will definitely cause unhappy customers. These unhappy customers will then tell others about their less than satisfactory service they received with the Bead Bar. Thus, giving the Bead Bar a bad reputation. Information systems allow a more organized and efficient way to handle customer orders, in a timely manner none-the-less. Information systems will also make it easier to handle finances and accounting, as well. DBMSs perform many functions for the business community. One of these functions is to manage data storage. Databases can hold a large amount of data, for companies. Companies use DBMSs to store all information on their customers, and their suppliers, as well. Databases can also manage inventory, which is essential to companies, so that they know when to order new products. This will allow companies to know which products are used most, or in retail, which product are best sellers. It will also be able to tell one which products are not selling enough to make a profit. This will tell the person who orders inventory what not to order again in the future. DBMSs also allow us to access this data relatively quickly, which is important. People want things done quickly, and they want their information retrieved quickly (Malaga, 2005), and DBMSs allows this to happen. Databases are imperative to the business community. I can only imagine that as businesses receive more and more information, they will need more and/or bigger DBMSs. Since the Bead Bar is going to be global they should use an enterprise DBMS. This will allow Bead Bar executives to hold a large amount of various data, provide security so that data cannot be compromised, and allow other Bead Bar executives to access the database and view data that they need to be aware of. The Bead Bar should use a distributed enterprise database since they have 5 franchises (especially if they plan to build more) and are about to start an online store. A distribute enterprise database is more reliable, and much faster than a centralized database. They will also permit each store to automatically know the prices that the main store sets. The local databases report their sales, inventory levels, and so on to the main store, which then sends price changes and the like to each database (Malaga, 2005). The Bead Bar should use a relational model database. The relational model is flexible and much easier to use than the network model (otherwise, I would have recommended the network model instead). I think that the relational model is best because each executive of the Bead Bar has a different use for a database, and the relational model will provide the tools they need for each of their uses. The relational model can also handle multiple tables and actually relate the tables to each other. This will prove to be a huge convenience for the Bead Bar. The Bead Bar is just beginning to really go global, and before they know if their business will really take off on the World Wide Web they should keep costs at a minimum. Therefore, I believe the Bead Bar should use a bus topology. In a bus topology, all of the devices on a network are connected to a common central cable called a bus or backbone. A backbone is the main portion of a computer network that is capable of carrying the majority of traffic on the network (Malaga, 2005). The backbone is commonly used to connect large networks or companies together. The major advantages of the bus topology are that it is relatively inexpensive and it is easy to add new devices to the network by simply connecting them to the bus. If the main cable fails, however, the entire network will shut down, and it may be difficult to determine why the cable failed. Due to its low cost and simple configuration, the bus topology would be the appropriate choice for the Bead Bar. I recommend a client/server type of architecture for the Bead Bar. It will help to control that can operate what feature, and will allow organized information from clients to be sent. In networks with a client/server architecture, certain computers act as providers of services, or servers, and others act as requesters of services, or clients. A server is a powerful computer with a fast processor and a lot of memory that is capable of handling simultaneous requests from clients. Some servers may be set up to provide shared data for clients, some handle only printing, and others might provide a variety of services (Malaga, 2005). Networking can be extremely complex. It takes a lot of planning and configuration, and the Bead Bar has a chance to make huge profits by going global. However, the Bead Bar executives cannot get ahead of themselves. They should invest in information systems, databases, and network topologies that are of low cost, and yet do the job that needs to be done. As the Bead Bar becomes more stable, and brings in a secure income then the Bead Bar should upgrade to more reliable information systems that would not fail as consistently, yet however, cost much more. If the Bead Bar waits for the stable income, they will be able to afford the upgrades without any financial troubles. References Malaga, R. (2005) Information systems technology. Prentice Hall. Pearson Education. Research Papers on Bead Bar Business CaseBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemDefinition of Export QuotasIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductGenetic EngineeringResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized Testing

Jenny Lind - Swedish Opera Singer Promoted By P.T. Barnum

Jenny Lind - Swedish Opera Singer Promoted By P.T. Barnum Jenny Lind was a European opera star who came to America in 1850 for a tour promoted by the great showman Phineas T. Barnum. When her ship arrived in New York Harbor, the city went crazy. A massive crowd of more than 30,000 New Yorkers greeted her. And what makes that especially astounding is that no one in America had ever heard her voice. Barnum, who relished being known as The Prince of Humbug, had managed to create incredible excitement based purely on Linds reputation as The Swedish Nightinagle. The American tour lasted for about 18 months, with Jenny Lind appearing in more than 90 concerts in American cities. Wherever she went, her public image of a virtuous songbird who dressed modestly and donated money to local charities gained favorable mentions in the newspapers. After about a year, Lind split from Barnums management. But the atmosphere created by Barnum in promoting a singer no one in America had even heard became legendary, and in some ways created a template for show business promotion that endures to the modern era. Early Life of Jenny Lind Jenny Lind was born October 6, 1820 to an impoverished and unmarried mother in Stockholm, Sweden. Her parents were both musicians, and young Jenny began singing at a very early age. As a child she began formal music lessons, and by the age of 21 she was singing in Paris. She returned to Stockholm and performed in a number of operas. Throughout the 1840s her fame grew in Europe. In 1847 she performed in London for Queen Victoria, and her ability to make crowds swoon became legendary. Phineas T. Barnum Heard About, But Had Not Heard, Jenny Lind The American showman Phineas T. Barnum, who operated an extremely popular museum in New York City and was known for exhibiting the diminutive superstar General Tom Thumb, heard about Jenny Lind and sent a representative to make an offer to bring her to America. Jenny Lind drove a hard bargain with Barnum, demanding that he deposit the equivalent of nearly $200,000 in a London bank as an advance payment before she would sail to America. Barnum had to borrow the money, but he arranged for her to come to New York and embark on a concert tour of the United States. Barnum, of course, was taking a considerable risk. In the days before recorded sound, people in America, including Barnum himself, had not even heard Jenny Lind sing. But Barnum knew her reputation for thrilling crowds, and set to work making Americans excited. Lind had acquired a new nickname, â€Å"The Swedish Nightingale,† and Barnum made sure that Americans heard about her. Rather than promote her as a serious musical talent, Barnum made it sound like Jenny Lind was some mystical being blessed with a heavenly voice. 1850 Arrival in New York City Jenny Lind sailed from Liverpool, England, in August 1850 aboard the steamship Atlantic. As the steamer entered New York harbor, signal flags let crowds know that Jenny Lind was arriving. Barnum approached in a small boat, boarded the steamship, and met his star for the first time. As the Atlantic approached its dock at the foot of Canal Street massive crowds began to gather. According to a book published in 1851, Jenny Lind in America, â€Å"some thirty or forty thousand people must have must have been collected together on the adjacent piers and shipping, as well as on all the roofs and in all the windows fronting the water.† The New York police had to push back the enormous crowds so Barnum and Jenny Lind could take a carriage to her hotel, the Irving House on Broadway. As night fell a parade of New York fire companies, carrying torches, escorted a group of local musicians who played serenades to Jenny Lind. Journalists estimated the crowd that night at  more than 20,000 revelers. Barnum had succeeded in drawing enormous crowds to Jenny Lind before she had even sung a single note in America. First Concert in America During her first week in New York, Jenny Lind made excursions to various concert halls with Barnum, to see which might be good enough to hold her concerts. Crowds followed their progress about the city, and anticipation for her concerts kept growing. Barnum finally announced that Jenny Lind would sing at Castle Garden. And as demand for tickets was so great, he announced that the first tickets would be sold by auction. The auction was held, and the first ticket to a Jenny Lind concert in America was sold for $225, an expensive concert ticket by today’s standards and a simply staggering amount in 1850. Most of the tickets to her first concert sold for about six dollars, but the publicity surrounding someone paying more than $200 for a ticket served its purpose. People across America read about it, and it seemed the whole country was curious to hear her. Lind’s first New York City concert was held at Castle Garden on September 11, 1850, before a crowd of about 1,500. She sang selections from operas, and finished with a new song written for her as a salute to the United States. When she had finished, the crowd roared and demanded that Barnum take the stage. The great showman came out and gave a brief speech in which he stated that Jenny Lind was going to donate a portion of the proceeds from her concerts to American charities. The crowd went wild. American Concert Tour Everywhere she went there was a Jenny Lind mania. Crowds greeted her and every concert sold out nearly immediately. She sang in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Richmond, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina. Barnum even arranged for her to sail to Havana, Cuba, where she sang several concerts before sailing to New Orleans. After performing concerts in New Orleans, she sailed up the Mississippi on a riverboat. She performed in a church in the town of Natchez to a wildly appreciative rustic audience. Her tour continued to St. Louis, Nashville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and other cities. Crowds flocked to hear her, and those who couldn’t hear get tickets marveled at her generosity, as newspapers ran reports of the charitable contributions she was making along the way. At some point Jenny Lind and Barnum parted ways. She continued performing in America, but without Barnum’s talents at promotion she was not as big a draw. With the magic seemingly gone, she returned to Europe in 1852. Jenny Lind’s Later Life Jenny Lind married a musician and conductor she had met on her American tour, and they settled in Germany. By the late 1850s they moved to England, where she was still quite popular.  She became  ill in the 1880s, and died in 1887, at the age of 67. Her obituary in the Times of London estimated that her American tour had earned her $3 million, with Barnum making several times more.

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 5

Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example mance that works as a motivating factor for employee productivity, and also ensuring that the management is able to plan and also control the manner in which activities are carried out in the organization. In the case of Alleco, the organization has been effective in choosing the most appropriate way of performing the marketing activities. It is true that if the organization disregards wholesalers through selling its products directly to the final consumers, it is likely that the wholesalers may not find reason for stocking these commodities. This relationship with wholesalers and creation of awareness amongst consumers is significant in maintaining high sales volumes. Salaries are some of the motivating factors for employee productivity. It helps in retaining skilled workers and attracting professionals in to the organization. In terms of determining who is to receive a bonus when an organization achieves its targets, it is important to consider all the employees who played a role in facilitating the organization’s accomplishments (Edwards p 79). Giving bonuses to the senior management alone demoralizes the rest of the workers, which lowers their overall productivity. The organizations that maintain happy employees usually achieve their targets sooner than those that disregard their efforts. Workers with an optimistic attitude more often than not take pleasure in the work that they do and feel encouraged and acknowledged for their participation. That worker who is not contented and does not in actual fact get pleasure from the work, but is basically working for a take-home pay generally produces at a low level. Such a worker develops a negative outlook and normally pulls others down. The productivity of a worker is dependent on his rapport with his direct manager (Chapman 2007 pp. 21-24). Health issues for the employees and their families are vital for their productivity. Unhealthy employees are generally unhappy and distressed. Poor health is naturally a

Continued Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Continued Professional Development - Essay Example They easily conform to the changes in the practice and uphold the ethical standards all of which enhance both the safety of the clients thereby improving the quality of the practice (Blegen, Vaughn & Goode, 2011). I do agree with the research findings. Education is vital in nursing which is a holistic yet dynamic practice. Nurses have to conform to various changes in the practice owing to the change in the prevalence of diseases and the technological development in the practice. Nurses without adequate education are always more likely to resist change a feature that would slow down the quality of service delivery. Nurses with baccalaureate degrees are professionals just like the doctors. As such, they may always demand better pay and friendly working environment. The management of the health facilities must acknowledge such and therefore motivate the nurses appropriately. This way, the nurses will provide the best service by conforming to the new technologies. Additionally, such nurses would readily advance their education thereby bettering their service, which in turn resonates in enhanced safety of the patients thus an improved quality of the

How to Have Effective Communitcation

How to Have Effective Communitcation Lets throw some light upon what Communication is all about: According to Allen, Communication is the sum of all the things, one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of others. It is the bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding. IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: Effective communication is important because one needs to express his ideas clearly and needs to be understood very clearly while communicating. The receiver should understand the message in the same perception as intended by the sender of the message. This is what we call an effective communication. Interestingly though, there are other facets to effective communication when it comes to written communication, popularly known as Seven Cs of Effective Communication. THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IN AN ORGANISATION: Communication is the key to motivation, it helps in informing and illuminating the employees about the task to be carried out, the manner they should be performing their task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. An Effective Communication is the best source of information to the members of organization for decision-making process as it helps identifying and evaluate alternative course of actions. Communication also plays a fundamental role in altering an individuals attitude, i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employees attitudes. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. Human is a social animal and survival without communication is neither possible nor fruitful. Communication also assists in controlling process in a big way. It helps controlling organizational members behavior in various ways. It is the art of getting work done. There are various levels of hierarchy, certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their roles efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management. TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: Letters Memos Circulars Bulletin Reports Instruction cards Manuals In Order to perfect the art of written communication, we have a helping hand known as the Seven Cs Of Communication The principles advocated by Francis J. Bergin. These principles provide guidelines for choice of content, style of presentation, how much is too much etc. Lets take tour of the same. THE SEVEN Cs OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATON For transmitting effective communication written or oral messages, certain principles must be followed. These principles advocated by Francis J. Bergin. Bergin provides guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation adapted to the purpose the receiver of the message. They are also called as Seven Cs of communication. They are: Completeness Conciseness Clarity Correctness Concreteness Consideration Courtesy COMPLETENESS Every communication must be complete and adequate. Incomplete messages keep the receiver guessing, creates misunderstanding and delay actions. Every person should, therefore, be provided with all the required facts and figures. For example, when the factory supervisor instructs workers to produce, he must specify the exact size, shape, quality and cost of the product. Any assumptions behind the message should also be clarified. While answering a letter, all the questions raised in the letter must be replied. A complete message offers the following benefits: Complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results without the expense of additional messages. They can do a better job of building goodwill. Messages that contain information the receiver needs show concern for others. Complete messages can help advert costly lawsuit that may result if information is missing. Communication that seems inconsequential can be surprisingly important if the information they contain is complete and effective. It is advised that while answering a letter one should make sure that all the questions are answered. The message is not complete, if it fails to answer questions like : What is the meeting about? When is it? and Where? CONCISENESS In business communication, you should be brief and able to say whatever you have to say in fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C qualities. A concise message is complete without being wordy. Conciseness is desired because of the following benefits: A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and receiver. Conciseness contributes to emphasis; by eliminating unnecessary words, you let important ideas stand out. When combined with a YOU-VIEW, concise message are inherently more interesting to recipients as they avoid unnecessary information. There is no hard and fast rule for the length of a letter. A two page letter seems short, while a ten line letter may seem all too long depending upon the event and situation. CLARITY The message should be put in simple terms to ensure clarity. Words must mean the same thing to receiver as they do the sender. Complex issues must be compressed in to themes, slogans or stereotypes that have simplicity and clarity. In order to ensure clarity in oral communications, you should use accurate and familiar words with proper intonation, stresses and pauses. Thoughts should be clear and well organized. The important considerations in attaining clarity are as follows: Choose precise, concrete and familiar simple words. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs. In short, simple and short words are more effective than pompous and heady words. Using the K-I-S-S Method Keep It Short and Simple! If the message does not help recognizes who actually the person is? It may be possible to have many people with same name in an organisation. What great work he/she has done? When? And what he/she is expected to do now? It is not a clear message. CORRECTNESS The term correctness, as applied to business messages means right level of language and accuracy of facts, figures and words. If the information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose credibility. Transmission of incorrect information to superior will vitiate decision making process. Transmission of incorrect messages, grammatical errors should also be avoided. All the messages must be transmitted and responded to at the most appropriate time. Outdated information is useless. Since communication is an expensive process, transmitting outdated information involves wastage of time, money and human resources. The principle of correct timing also stipulates that you communicate your message at a time when it is likely to prove most effective. CONCRETENESS Concreteness of messages is an essential requirement of effective communication. It means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. In oral communication, we cant draw tables, diagrams, or graphs to make our statement vivid, but we can precise words to convey the correct messages and support it by relevant facts and figures. If the message is specific, there would be increased likelihood that the message is interpreted by the receiver as intended by sender. For sending concrete messages, the following guidelines should be followed: Use concrete expressions. Use specific facts and figures. Put action in your verbs. Choose vivid, image-building words. Facts lend credibility to our communication since it is not possible to refute them. Concrete expressions create visual images that are easy to register. So instead of vague, generalized statements, definite facts should be given. The statements with no passion, no vivid detail, having nothing that creates emotion and nothing that tells people in the audience why they should care does not work well. CONSIDERATION Consideration means preparing the message with the receiver in mind. In order to communicate effectively, the sender should think and look from the receivers angle. He should adopt a humane approach and understand the emotions and sentiments of the receiver. The socio-psychological background of the receiver must be understood. The golden rule First understand than be understood should be followed. It should be noted that consideration underlies the other 6 Cs of the communication. Four special ways to indicate considerations are as follows: Focus on You instead of I and We. Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver. Emphasis positive, pleasant facts. Show empathy. Ask how you would feel if you were to receive this message. Consideration also requires emphasizing positive and pleasant facts. To say no, sorry,regret,disagree should not be used in direct and straight forward manner. COURTESY Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of please and thank you, although applying socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy. Rather it is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others. In business discussions, you should say things with force and assertiveness without being rude. The following guidelines should be observed to ensure courtesy: Thank generously for a favour. When someone does a favour to us, acknowledge it promptly and thank the person. Apologize for an omission. If you had committed a mistake, express regret promptly and sincerely. Avoid irritating expressions. Words and expressions having negative connotation should not be used in the message. Use of non-discriminatory expressions that reflect equal treatment of people regardless of gender, race, ethics, origin and physical features. Below mentioned are some useful guidelines to advice staff members in the organization on how to best communicate effectively: 12 guidelines: Take sufficient time to effectively communicate. Care. Learn to be empathic. Be honest and sincere. One of the cruelest things one can do to another person is to not acknowledge that person. Develop a sense of belonging when interacting with others. Be welcoming and inclusive. Regularly, in your daily life, interact with persons whose culture, race, ethnicity and other identifiers and important characteristics are different than your own. Welcome persons with disabilities. Person with a disability is the preferred manner of speech, versus disabled person. Place the person before the disability. Spend quality time with persons whose backgrounds are different than yours. Set an example by being welcoming and inclusive to everyone. Learn to pronounce names correctly. Make a concerted effort to do so and to remember names.

Scheduling Manufacturing Operations

ABSTRACT Without true finite capacity scheduling, any implementation for manufacturing execution, whether it is ERP, SCM, or MES, cannot realize the goal of enterprise efficiency and agility. All aspects of OM for manufacturing execution fall behind the lead of FCS, which is the bridge between planning and execution. Real tangible return on assets rests with FCS. INTRODUCTION Integrating a diverse collection of resources to accomplish a goal is an issue that has faced humankind since the first city arose and food and services needed to be provided to the populace.The modern challenge for operations management (OM) is the speed and volume that data is presented to OM systems. This explosion of data holds the promise of efficiency and agility unrealized in the past, but it forces the attention of analysts and engineers to convert the flood of data into a useable form to move from planning to action. All the systems such as MES, SCM, and ERP are information hungry beasts that must be fe d with the right information at the right time to direct enterprise resources. OM requires a well-coordinated dispatch of its resources to realize efficiency and agility.This paper addresses the need to look at OM from an information-centric perspective as a necessary complement to emerging process-centric views. This discussion moves to the execution systems, also treated from an information-centric perspective, and concludes with a discussion as to why finite capacity scheduling (FCS) is the key to OM for manufacturing execution. WHEN DATA BECOMES INFORMATION Despite the advances in information technology, notably object-oriented software, systems continue to be defined by functional decomposition.Functional decomposition creates complex definitions with fragile coupling and cohesion that are on one side of a great chasm from the reality of the methods that are used to build modern information systems. Information itself is an under designed component of modern systems. Informatio n is a series of objects made from atoms of data. Data becomes information only through context and inferences derived from context. A good example is the use of spreadsheets to attempt to understand data rather than the use of application software designed to with the operational context in mind. Figure 1: Hierarchy of Data Fusion InferencesFigure 1 shows the hierarchy of inferences through a process called data fusion. Data fusion simulates the cognitive processes used by humans to continuously integrate data from their senses to make inferences about the external world. Information systems collect data though sensors and other assets, and in the hierarchy of data processing, multiple data sources are combined to approximate or estimate the condition of some aspect of the enterprise operation. This is the first translation of data to a level of inference. Parametric data is processed to begin specific identification of a situation.As more parametric data are collected, different a spects of the situation come together to allow a contextual analysis of an increasingly complex set of conditions. Once integrated, the situation can be compared to the goals or desired state of the system. Parallel to the types of data processing are the types of inference. With raw data an inference can be made of the general condition. While this level of inference rarely points to a specific correction action, it does begin to isolate what subsystems require attention. The next level of inference will reveal a specific characteristic behavior of the system.With more integrated data, the identity of an operational system or process is revealed. The next inference is the behavior of a process, which then leads to an assessment of a situation. At the highest levels of inference, the performance is assessed to determine the deviation from the performance goals, acceptable risks, or desired state. Data fusion is not a new concept, having its origins in simple scouting, but has come i nto its own since WWII. The use of data fusion systems as an information springboard for systems design places execution aspects of OM firmly into a modern framework of information systems engineering.WHAT WAS OLD IS NEW AGAIN As mentioned in the introduction, operations management has been, and remains, one of the greatest organizational challenges throughout history. OM arises from the need to coordinate diverse resources to meet the needs of a complex system. The concept of the plan-execute-control model, a â€Å"discovery† made by analysts in the late 1990’s, appears in the historical records of systems management, one of the earliest mentions circa 4th century BC in China. One of the more versatile models in modern systems management appeared in 1977 as a result of a joint effort between Dr J.S. Lawson of the Naval Electronic Systems Command and Dr. Paul Moore of the Naval Postgraduate School. Figure 2 shows the Lawson-Moore model, adapted by the author for genera l resource management. SENSE is the collection of raw data or other collateral information about the observed environment. PROCESS takes the data through the inference hierarchy, integrating data within the context of the tasks required of the managed resources. The situation as best can be determined with the resources is then compared to the DESIRED STATE.The DESIRED STATE is the result of planning, which drives the allocation of resources to tasks. The plan exists in generalities, except for enterprises where goals are achieved with simple tasks assigned to few or uncomplicated resources. DECIDE is the point where the comparison of the situation to the goals will dictate what corrective actions are needed to bring the performance of the enterprise in line with the plan. ACT is the direct management of resources to alter enterprise performance to close the gap between the current state and the DESIRED STATE.The Lawson-Moore model is a closed-loop execution model, continuously inte grating data, making inferences about the environment, and managing resources to meet goals of the plan. The Lawson-Moore model does not address planning, but it does unite planning and execution. To develop an execution system, it is important to understand the distinction between planning and execution. Figure 2: Lawson-Moore Model (aka Lawson Model) PLANNING AND EXECUTION Planning and execution are related, but not one and the same.Planning does not occur during execution; the plan should be formulated to allow for variations and alternate execution strategies. Business (or manufacturing or service) processes are set in place, serving as doctrine that unites actions within the enterprise. Processes should be compiled for all resource management, and serve as a set of procedures designed to achieve the best results from a united enterprise, while allowing for inspired actions and initiatives. The enterprise doctrine exists so that laborious planning for each individual operation n eed not repeated with every new plan.The more complex or unstable composition of enterprise resource, the greater the need for standardized procedures. This becomes the foundation of repeatable performance, reducing human variations to the least contributor of performance variations. Planning cannot deviate greatly from doctrine, and execution will fail without doctrine. It is possible that execution will look so different from the plan that the uninitiated will see no similarity, but if the goals of the plan are achieved, then the execution is successful.The next section will unite the inference model with the Lawson-Moore model to develop an information-centric execution model. DATA FUSION AS OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Figure 3 shows the execution system that arises from merging inference and the Lawson-Moore model. For main components exist in this system: information collection, execution environment, human-machine interface (HMI), and evaluation. Information collection includ es sensors and all other information gathering, and is a critical component to the resources managed by the OM system.The HMI is the primary means by which operators interact with the OM system. Evaluation is the component that applies performance measurements and other measures of effectiveness to determine the degree to which the execution system is meeting the goals of the plan. The execution system performs the data fusion, situation definition, and resource management. Figure 3: Data Fusion as Execution Environment Data flows from sensors contained in resources through data filtering to begin building inferences. Filtered data enters three levels of information processing.Level 1 processing aligns data in time, insures consistent units of measure, and accounts for any other physical aspects of the data. Data from different sources are aligned or correlated in order to develop meaningful inferences (e. g the color of the box has little to do with its volume, but its height, leng th, and width has a direct bearing on computing volume). The final function of Level 1 is identifying the situation for further processing in Levels 2 and 3. Level 2 assesses the situation within the context of the fusion process in use and available information from Level 1.Level 2 may require algorithms to augment sparse or missing data. Level 3 evaluates the situation and may direct actions to modify the use of resources to minimize deviations from plan goals. The communications between the three processing levels is continuous, forming an information loop within the execution environment to adapt to changes in the external environment. Short term and long term (historical) databases form the decision support system for the OM system. Corrective action can be automatic or require operator intervention as dictated by operation procedures.THE COMMON DENOMINATOR The integrated systems view for the enterprise is emerging as analysts focus on process-centric models and away from produ ct- and information-centric models. Evidence is the REPAC model from AMR, shown in Figure 4. Recognizing the shortcomings of the functions intense MES and SCOR models, AMR developed a model that is focused on the business processes while supporting component assembly. Comparing that process-centric model with the information-centric model, common elements emerge.The main theme in REPAC COORDINATE is the need to schedule detailed activities from PLAN, utilizing feedbacks from EXECUTE and ANALYZE. These are the same themes addressed by the Lawson-Moore model. In both models, the key element is the ability to manage resources at the individual operations to achieve the goals set by the plan. This level of resource management is achieved by dynamic capacitated scheduling, supported by the real-time data from the environment and comparisons to the desired state established by the plan. Figure 4: AMR REPAC Model FCS: THE KEY TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENTWhether OM is approached from a process- or information-centric model, finite capacity scheduling drives how resources are deployed to perform the tasks required to achieve the goals of the plan. The sequence of operations, the materials and labor required for operations, and the output of the operations all require supporting resources to act in sync with the business of implementing the plan. Finite capacity scheduling with the ability to account for multiple resource constraints and complex scheduling goals will be scalable to schedule both the lowest level of operation and the supporting resources.Planning is at best an approximation of the resource needs because planning cannot develop a precise quantification of labor, material, or time to meet the goals. Execution cannot begin until the set of actions, well matched to the available resources, is developed to load the operations and develop a timeline for the actions. Execution cannot continue unless the scheduling component can receive the feedback from the resourc es and develop alternative sets of actions that will best meet the goals of the plan.Only true finite capacity scheduling, design for real-time use, can integrate the planning and execution together to meet the enterprise objectives. CONCLUSION For manufacturing OM to achieve the goals of efficiency and agility, all aspect of planning, execution, and control are necessary to create an effective system. The bridge from the plan to the actions of the organization is dynamic resource management. For an organization with any degree of complexity, procedures need to be in place to establish the general guidelines of operations. In this imperfect world, the plan and procedures must be flexible enough to adapt.The control side provides data and accepts corrective action, but a dynamic element must exist in the OM system that allows for accepting a situation assessment and rapid response to degrading performance. The planning side requires feedback from the OM layer to create future plans. The baseline provided by planning drives the selection of enterprise operations, but the synchronization of these operations, and the alternative actions needed when the exceptions arise, comes from the power of true finite capacity scheduling. FCS is the means by which OM for manufacturing execution becomes a reality.