Report on Usha Martin

ON SALES PROCEDURES & LOGISTICS PREPARED FOR AND PRESENTED TO (WIRE & WIRE ROPE SPECIALITY DIVISION, RANCHI) UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Mr. ARUN KUMAR DEY (Assistant Manager) (Sales Co-ordination) SUBMITTED BY NIKHIL KIRAN BBA, BIT MESRA, RANCHI. (2008-11) ANKIT KHANDELWAL BBA, BIT MESRA, RANCHI. (2008-11) VIKASH KUMAR DUBEY BBA, BIT MESRA, RANCHI. (2008- 11) DECLARATION CERTIFICATEThis is to certify that the work presented in the project entitled â€Å"SALES PROCEDURES AND LOGISTICS OF USHA MARTIN† in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION of Birla Institute Of Technology Mesra,Ranchi is an authentic work carried out under my supervision and guidance . To the best knowledge, The content of this project does not form a basis for the award of any previous degree to any one else. (A. R. SRIVASTAV) Dept Of management Birla Institute Of Technology Lalpur Extension Centre Ranchi CERTIFICATE OF APPROVALThe foregoing project e ntitled â€Å"SALES PROCEDURES & LOGISTICS OF USHA MARTIN LTD. † Is hereby approved as a credible study of research topic and has been presented in satisfactory manner to warrant its acceptance as perquisite to the degree for which it has been submitted. It is understood that by this approval, the undersigned do not necessarily endorse any conclusion drawn or opinion expressed therein, but approve the thesis for the purpose for which it is submitted. Intenal Examiner External Examiner Head Of The DepartmentAcknowledgement The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of the work would be incomplete unless I mention the people, as an expression of gratitude, who made it possible and whose constant guidance and encouragement served as a beacon of light and crowned my efforts with success. This report would have been impossible but for the support and guidance that we received from various people at different stages of the project. Our sincere thanks to MR. A. R. SRIVASTAV whose excellent guidance, encouragement and patience has made possible the successful completion of this project.Last but not the least we extend my sincere thanks to the entire team for providing me their time and active co-operation and all who have helped me directly or indirectly in this project. CONTENTS SI. No. | Description| | Industry and Company Profile| | | | a) Vision| | b) A brief History | | c) Other Particulars | | d) Competitors | | The Project Profile| 1| | 2| Sales procedure and System| 3| Sales procedure and form| 4| Quality analysis Testing| 5| Dispatch | | The Project-Background & Methodology| 1| Research Topic| 2| Research Objective| | Research design | 4| Information Requirement| 5| Sampling | 6| Limitations| | Analysis and Recommendation| 1| Logistics | 2| Analysis of process involved in loading cycle | 3| Findings / Suggestions| 4| Analysis of Monthly Dispatch of wire and rope | 5| Findings / Suggestions | 6| Swot Analysis for UML| | Conc lusion| | BIBLIOGRAPHY| | | VISION In our chosen business, we shall retain market leadership in India and shall be globally competitive through customer orientation and excellence in quality, innovation and technology. Looking Back – A Brief History 960 – The Company was incorporated as Usha Martin Black (Wire Ropes) limited having its wire rope plant at Ranchi. The name was changed to Usha Martin Black Ltd. in 1979 and further changed to Usha Martin Industries Ltd. (UMIL) in 1983. 1962 –the production was started and the turnover that year was 996 MT and Rs. 22. 34 lakhs respectively. 1965 – UMIL promoted Usha Ismal Ltd. (UIL) in collaboration with CCL Systems Ltd of UK for the manufacture of fittings and accessories, equipment for pre-stressed concrete system, wire ropes and wire ropes splicing equipment at Ranchi.UIL merged with UMIL in 1990 and became a division of the company 1969-promoted Usha Brecko Ltd. To design, construct and erect Arial ropeway . 1971 – UMIL promoted Usha Alloy Steels Limited (UASL) for the manufacture of billets at Jamshedpur. UASL merged with UMIL in 1988. 1975 – UASL acquired an ongoing rolling mill at Agra. 1975 – UMIL set up its Machinery Division at Bangalore for the manufacture of Wire Drawing and allied machines in technical collaboration with Marshall Richards Barcro Limited (MRB) of UK. 1979 – In order to obtain steady supply of wire rods for its wire rope plant, UASL set up a Wire Rod Rolling Mill at Jamshedpur. 980-Promote Usha Siam steel industry Ltd. in Thailand to manufacturing wire, wire rope , and auto control cables. 1986-Promote Usha Beltrone Ltd. To manufacture Jelly filled. 1987 – UMIL, along with Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation, promoted Usha Beltron Ltd. (UBL) in collaboration with AEG KABEL of Germany for the manufacture of Jelly Filled Telephone Cables. 1993-Promoted Usha Martin Pvt. Ltd. a joint venture, to provide cellular, pagin g and Telecom services. 1994-Setup software division to provide IT solutions for communication application. Setup Usha Martin Europe Ltd. a distribution center at Glasgow, U.K. 1996-Promoted summit Usha Martin Finance Ltd. a joint venture to proved financial services. 1997 – UMIL merged with UBL i. e. 1st October 1997. 1998-Setup Usha Martin amerces inc. , distribution center in Houston. Setup UMLcor, South Africa, a manufacture unit and distribution center in Johannesburg. 2000 – Acquisition of specialty wire rope manufacturing plant in UK â€Å"BruntonShaw†. Commissioning of 25 MW thermal power plants for captive consumption. 2001 – – Commissioning of 2nd SMS to enhance capacity and produce quality specialty steel. 2003 – Usha Beltron Ltd Changed its name to â€Å"Usha Martin Limited (UML).UML created Fine Cord Plasticated coated Fine wires, household wire, Polymer coated wire, Fine Ropes & Bright Bars manufacturing facilities in Tatisilw ai- Ranchi. 2004-The company successful commissioned DRI and WHRB power plant at its steel division in Jamshedpur. 2005-The company signs an MOU with Joh. Pengg for manufacturing of the specialty oil tempered spring steel wire. Commences iron ore mines successfully. Railway siding commenced. 2006-Pursuant to B. T. A. the company acquired the business of Usha construction steel ltd. , Rolling mill at Agra w. e. f. 1st-dec- 2006 as a part of the steel segment. 007- Peng Usha Martin collaborates with Jo-Peng, Austria in 2007 for Special Wire. 2008-. In this year Usha Martin Limited has awarded for excellence in consistent TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) in 2008 by Japan Institute of plant maintenance (JIPM), and CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) 2009- In this year company sets some more plants inside the Tatisilwai wire and wire rope plant and the construction and upgradation is continued, like 20MW power plant is under construction which will increase the monthly production of the unit. A 3000 tn capacity LRPC plant was established in this year at Tatisilwai plant.The company acquired Netherland based distribution and Rigging Company De Ruiter Stackable B. V. Successfull commissioning of wire rope plant at Houston, America. Other Particulars IN USHA MARTIN L. T. D Location Chotanagpur Plateau Plant Area112 Acres Nearest TownRanchi (13 Km) Nearest Railway StationTatisilwai (1 Km) Nearest Airport Ranchi (17 Km) Nearest HighwayN H-33 (8 Km) Nearest PortKolkata (412 km) PowerContracted demand 8000 KVA Source-JSEB Water2400-3200 m3/day SourcesSubernekha River . Competitors for Usha Martin Ltd. GLOBAL COMPETITORS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS COMPANYCOUNTRY Kiss wireKoreaBritish RopeU. K. Haggier randSouth Africa FedgerSwitzerland Austria droughtAustria CasarGermany BridonGermany DietzGermany John ShawU. K. RedaelliItaly SFESpain TeufelbergerAustria PfeifferSwitzerland DOMESTIC COMPETITORS IN INDIA South India wireKerela Bombay Wire RopesMaharashtra Bharat Wires Ropes Maharashtra INTRODUCTION ON SALES PROFILE Sales Co-ordination Department occupies a strategic position in USHA MARTIN LTD. It spreads the organization’s effort to supply customer with ever increasing qualitative of product at profitable price. Good products at competitive price are not enough.Company’s success is affected by the dealings and association of the sales Co-ordination department with customer and public, sales Co-ordination department with other department with other department influence the company’s reputation with public. So each and every department is able to maintain a healthy relationship with sales department. QUALITY OBJECTIVES OF SALES CO-ORDINATION DEPARTMENT VISION: QUALITY WORK WITH LOWEST COST SALES PROCEDURE FLOW CHART ENQUIRY: First of all enquiry is made about the product required i. e. whether the company has required product of required size, length, weight, rate, delivery etc.QUOTATION: In Quotation Company gives detail info rmation on certain matter to the customers. The quotation includes: > Product variance > Rate > Lead time > Delivery > Making time PURCHASE ORDER: Purchase order gives the complete of the product demanded by the customer. Purchase order is packed to the Head office of the company. Along with the covering letter, the Purchase order is forwarded to the planning Department of the company and accordingly sales order is prepared. It contains following information: * Name of the customer with address. * Place, the products are to be delivered (consignee). * Reference no. hich is used as order number by the company. * Name of the product. * Size of the product. * Construction of the product. * Coating and core of the product. * Rate/price of the product. * Quantity of the product. * Remark. SALES ORDER: Sales order is prepared in the planning department with the help the existing system (BAAN). It contains entire information as given in the purchase order. Sales order is send to branch off ice, Kolkata marketing, quality assurance, sales co-ordination Department with the help of BAAN. BAAN is an intra organizational network connected with the computer and is automatically updated.SALES ORDER CONTAINS: * Customer address with code. * Order acceptance no. * Customer’s order no. * Quotation. * Order no. * Date. * Branch Name. * Consignee. * Taxes & Duties. * Postal address. * Other expenses. (Insurance, octroi, advance, commission) * Banker. * Payment terms. PRIME STOCK Prime stock is the MIS of finished goods. It is prepared by production department. It provides the clear picture of what products have been produced and their composition and thus it facilitates in analyzing. Prime stock report is sent to sales co-ordination department. It provides the following details: Sales order. * Project & lot. * Length of the product. * Weight of the product * Reel used for packing and its weight. * Type, size & construction of the product. * Coating lay, tensile. * Lubrican t used in the product. * Closing sheet date & status of the product. * Rate and value of the products. * Information regarding party code, consignee & Destination. * Inspection and age of the product. IMPORTANCE: a) Prime stock assists sales co-ordination department to take the decision in b) What ratio dispatch will be made. c) It helps in making the dispatch advice or rough challan no. ) It helps in knowing the detail specification of the products to be dispatched. PRODUCTION PLAN After the sales order has been made, the company plans about the raw materials to be purchased, the raw materials in stock, container requirement, delivery time etc. It contains the following plan: * Monthly production plan. * Quantity wise production plan. * Order wise production plan. * Raw material wise production plan. * Number of Man power needed. * Nos. of Reels, Bobbins required. * Machine planning. PRODUCTION: After production plan the actual production takes place in the production department.Th e following production process is followed: Rod Ironing Pickling Denting Wire Mill (rod is drawn to make wire) ROD WIRE STRAND ROPE WIRE * Galvanized (zinc or lead) * Black Rope: Construction: * 6/36 i. e. it contains 6 strands & one strand contain 36 wires. There are many Other constructions like 1/7, 6/7 , 6/26, 8/36 , 6/ 19 etc. * It may be G/S (Galvanize Steel) , B/S (Black Steel), G/F (Galvanize Fibre coat) etc. Q A Testing: The product produced is send to the QA department and when QA passes it certificate of test is released and then closing stock is ascertained. DISPATCH: For dispatch of goods following planning is done: * Advance dispatch plan * Container requirement. * Container Fumigation (Methyl bromide). * Loading . . . . . . . . LOGISTICS IN USHA MARTIN LIMITED The major elements of market logistics in UML are: * Order Processing * Ware Housing * Inventory * Transportation * Information Monitoring * GPS (Global Positioning System) . The Transportation System Introducti on The transportation system is the physical link connecting a company customers, raw materials suppliers , pants ,warehouses and channel members the fixed point in a logistics supply chain.The fixed points in the logistic system are where some activity temporarily halts the flow of goods in the logistics pipeline. The Role of Transportation In Logistics. Bridge over buyer-seller gap: Conceptually, a company’s logistics supply chain is a series of fixed points where the goods come to rest and transportation links. The transportation link permits good to flow between the various fixed points and bridges the buyer-seller gap. Value added: Transportation is the physical thread connecting the company’s geographically dispersed operation.More specifically, transportation added value to the company by creating time and place utility; the value added is the physical movement of goods to the place desired and at the time desired. Global impact: As supply chain becomes increasi ngly in our global economy, the transportation function is connecting buyers and sellers that may be tens of thousands of miles apart. The Transportation Selection Decision The carrier selection decision is a specialized purchasing process whereby a film purchases the service a carrier to provide the necessary link among logistics facilities.It must also consider the other costs associated with how the transport method’s services affected the facility operation. The transit time, the greater the inventory level the company requires to protect against stock outs until the next shipment arrives. Modal choice: Carrier selection is a twofold process. First the firm selects a transportation mode. The choice includes the basic mode of rail, water, trucks, air, and pipeline. In addition, intermodal transportation, which used two or more modes to provide services over a given traffic lane, is available.The most common forms of intermodal transportation include rail-truck (piggyback), truck – air and rail water. Specific carrier choice: the second step in the decision is to select a specific carrier from within the chosen mode or intermodal form. The specific carrier selection requires the firm to choose the legal carrier type: common, regulated, contract, exempt or private. , . MODE OF LOGOSTICS DEPARTMENTS Intermodal Transportation Intermodal transport services refer to the use of two or more carriers of different modes in the through movement of a shipment. PiggybackPiggyback is a specialized from in which rail and motor transport coordinate. In piggyback, the carrier places the motor carrier trailer on a rail flatcar, which moves the trailer by rail for long distance. A motor carrier combines the long- haul, low-cost advantage of rail with the accessibility of motor. Rail Truck Pipeline Water Air . . . TRANSPORTATION IN USHA MARTIN LIMITED The process adopted in UML for transportation under logistics are :- 1. ) Basic Mode Roadways 2. ) Specific type a) By Truck b) By trailer ) By container Specific Type Trailer Container Truck Mainly for Export 10 Wheeler 6 Wheeler Wheeler Diff. trailer with diff. capacity 30 ton 15 ton Open top Close on Fig- Flow chart of specific type of transportation TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT: UML is delivering the outgoing finished goods to the domestic customer through roadways and railways. Roadways cover the maximum delivery to the customers. But for the international customers UML is sending the finished goods through waterways (i. e. shipping). As we know that the water is the one of the cheapest means of transportation.Some times UML is meeting the customer’s need through airways, (the cost is to be paid by customers) when there is a quick delivery needed. Fig. Overall Process of Transportation In Usha Martin Limited (From sales Department) Process involve in Loading Cycle 1. ) Main gate security :- The truck / trailer reports to the main gate. The security officer inspects the vehicle no. , t ransport name, driver’s name and license no. the owner book and in time of the trucks. 2. ) Weigh bridge :- Here trucks are weighted before loading the material and a slip is given to the driver of tare weight. 3. Transporter reports to the sales officer :- The transporter reports to the department after the arrival of trucks inside the factory premises so as to prepare the loading advice. 4. ) Trucks reports to dispatch area :- After reporting to the main gate security and weight- machine the truck reports to the dispatch area to inform the department of its arrival. 5. ) Sales release the loading advice :- Soon after the transport reports, the department releases the loading advice so that the loading process starts. 6. ) Trucks are loaded as per the loading advice :- The dispatch section segregated material as per loading advice memo.The materials are loaded in such a way that the packing does not damaged during loading and in transit. 7. ) Loaded truck reports to weight b ridge :- After loading the trucks again reports to the weight machine. Here again a ship of grand weight and net weight is given to the driver. 8. ) Sales releases the dispatch documents :- The sale department releases the dispatch documents that consist of transporter note or receipt, excise / custom gate pass, packing list, certification of test, road permit that are attached to the invoice before handling over the documents to the transporter 9. ) Main gate security :-The second interactions clears or checks the party name and address, material description, quantity, invoice of the loaded truck and keep record of out time the loaded trucks. Fig. Flow of Transportation within Factory Premises (For Finished Goods) Distribution Network of UML, Ranchi EXPORTS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS BY UML Works Usha Martin Limited Ranchi Kolkata PortHaldia Port Mumbai Port Usha Martin, AmericaUsha Martin, Scandinavia Mid East Countries Usha Martin, Europe, UKUMLCOR, Africa To Different Customer Fig . Process of Export rope dispatch used by Usha Martin Limited (By sales Department)ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION USHA MARTIN INDUSTRIES assess the logistic function, which help the raw material which is purchased and then it is planned accordingly for the production and when the production is finished good is kept in the stock godown from there it is despatched according to the demand of the customer through the efficient distribution channels to the destination or warehouse accordingly. From Purchase Department:- Purchase department deals with the purchase of raw materials like wire rod and lubricants (from Jamshedpur), chemicals from (Mumbai) like, HCL Borax, etc.Propane gas (from GILO, Zinc lead (from Kolkata. ) In this department relevant information are incorporated in the purchase orders so that product supplied by the sub-contractors, meet desired quality requirements. The product is reviewed and approved by management representative and issued by head of quality system. The re sponsibility of implementing and maintaining the procedural steps of this procedure rests with in charge of purchase department. From planning Department:- Planning Department deals with the allocation of work according to product Planning Department review the purchase order.After receiving it becomes the sales order. It includes all the necessary details regarding product and also the address of the consignee. On the basis of this a W. P. S. (Work Plan Schedule) is prepared Plan horizon of UML is 15 days W. P. S. includes schedule of each and every day. That is from the day despatching of the product. Something advance planning is made for the products, which are always in, demands (for e. g. fishing rope). From production department:- The main manufacturing plants that U. M. I. contains are wire, strand and rope. Its wires and ropes are used for various purposes. For e. . fishing rope, engineering ropes etc. U. M. I. is specialists of L. C. W. R. ropes, which is mainly used, in m ining industries U. M. I. ropes have to go through a tensile strength test before DESPATCHING. Research Topic Before we start our research, it is necessary to have at least some idea of what to do? This is probably the most difficult and yet the most important component of the research project. Without being clear about what we are going to research it is difficult to plan how to research? Therefore formulating and clarifying the research topic is the starting point of any research project.Taking into account the above matter, the research topic is formulated as such: â€Å"SALES PROCEDURES & LOGOSTICS† Research Objective The research may begin with a general focus as a base from which to right a set of research objective. Objective is more generally acceptable as evidence of the researcher’s clear sense of purpose and direction. A research objective requires more rigorous thinking which derives from the use of more formal language. Therefore the broad objective of the study is : * To analyses the dispatch of wire & rope. * Control of loading cycle time. To obtain the required knowledge of the subject. * To study the existing Sales procedures & Logistics of UML. * To find out the related problem in its system and recommend solution as per the findings. * To analyse the working & function of the sales dept. or systems to know how well the manpower is utilized. * To study the distribution network. * To find out the lacunae in the functioning of the logistic department. * To find out whether the present distribution network need some changes. * To study the consumer's behaviour ; to find out which area needs improvement. To suggest corrective measures to tighten the loose threads in the area of study Sub-objective: These would be related to Sales Procedure and Logistics which contains the study of transportation. It would reveal: * Whether the sales procedure and Logistics are properly followed by UML or not. * If not, then where the improvement is required. * Is the existing system sufficient with some modifications and improvement or does it need’s to be changed to do the products well in the market and to increase the sales volume. Altogether the hypothesis / sub-objectives developed are: To analyze the performance of the approved transporter. * To reduce the loading cycle time. * To find out the fluctuation of transportation rates. * To find out the time in documentation while releasing the loaded truck. * To upgrade the existing system concerning flow of material related to the transportation. * To analyze the activity of dispatch section insuring loading and dispatch of correct material so that these are delivered at customer’s end in good condition. Research design: A research design is simply a frame work or plan for a study that guides the collection and analysis of data.It is a blue print that is followed in completing study the main purpose of the study is to maintain flexibility and to discover ideas and insights not previously recognized therefore the study has been conducted in two phases. * Exploratory study * Conclusive study Exploratory study: This research is often conducted because the problem has not been clearly defined as yet. It allows the researcher to familiarize himself with the problem or concept to be studied. It helps to determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects.It has been aimed to study the basic know how about the Usha Martine Ltd. This has been done through making an introductory visit to all the functioning department of the company specially the sales co-ordination department. Conclusive study: This research is meant to provide information that is useful in reaching conclusions or decision making. The research relies on both the secondary data and the primary data. It has been conducted through interacting with various people of sales co-ordination, expertise, interviews, observations, data collection, office reco rd, questionnaires etc.Information Requirement In a broader sense we can say that the two types of data available to a research are Primary data and Secondary data. Primary data are generated when a particular problem at hand is investigated by the researcher employing mail, questionnaire, telephone surveys, personal interview, observation, experiment. The primary data which were required for the research and to get the information, done through the help of survey. The survey thus conducted, applying the various tools, to get the information . These are done though I. Observation.II. Questionnaire. III. Interview. The process by which the trucks are loaded and in accordance the data which were collected, is done through the help of observation, questionnaire, and personal interview let the researcher to know about the loading cycle time, fluctuation in transportation rate, loading and dispatch of correct material, documentation process, transporter view , employee ideas etc. Seconda ry data includes those data which are collected for some earlier research work and are applicable in the study, the researcher has presently undertaken.Secondary data include both quantitative and qualitative data, and they can be used in both exploratory research and conclusive research . There are variety of classification for secondary data. It may be documentary data, survey based data and those compiled from multiple sources. Documentary secondary data include written document of the organization. These records or the document include:- 1. Operating procedure of sales coordination department that are: a) Dispatch of wire. b) Packing of wire. c) Marking of wire. d) Dispatch of rope. e) Packing of rope or reel for Domestic / Export ) Packing of rope in coil for Domestic / Export. g) Calculation of the sub Contractor / Transporter performance rating. h) Approval of transporter. i) Handling storage and disposal of customer returned material. 2. Monthly dispatch figure of finished p roduct. 3. Daily dispatch figure of each product. 4. Organization websites. 5. Reports of committees. 6. Annual reports of the company. 7. Book. 8. Internet. 9. Domestic wise transportation rate per metric ton. 10. Dispatch documents consisting Invoice, Rough challan, Transporter consignment note, Guarantee certificate, Certificate for test, Road permit etc. 1. Placement and dispatch of containers and trucks. Sampling Generally when field studies are undertaken in practical life , consideration of time and cost need to a selection for the researcher and that is selection of few items. Sample Technique The items which are selected is called sample and the process which involves in selecting the sample is called sample technique. In this research, technique which is used for the collection of data is judgmental sampling. Before starting rational judgment is taken and the sample should be the representative of the entire transportation under logistics. Sample SizeThis refers to the no. of items to be selected. It should be neither excessively large nor too small, it should be optimum. The optimum sample is one which fulfills the requirement of efficiency, representatives, reliability and flexibility. The samples which are selected for the information collection are:- a) Monthly dispatch figure of last three years. b) Times taken by each truck for loading and also for the container were in number of five. c) Single truck / container each day for 5 days. d) Destination wise rates of transport for last three years. e) Performance rating of last quarter, ending of financial year 07 .Limitations The primary limitation of the project was the duration of one months that was set to complete the assignment. Lost of data had to be collected and analyzed for collecting the data regarding transportation. Many existing transporter could not interviewed. The secondary limitation was regarding to the secondary data collected from the internal sources of the company about the ap proved transporters, their products, loading cycle etc. because there was huge work pressure on managers as well as on supervisor Self visiting was not allowed by the company for collecting data.The company guide does have less time to spend with us because of busy schedule of sales-coordination department. Chart of time taken by each truck Findings From the entire study on total loading cycle time, it is observed that the total time taken by the trailer (including taking the empty container) and truck exceed the normal time frame. The normal time taken is more than 5 to 6 hrs. this variation ranges from 5 hrs to 22 hrs. There are more areas that have taken in to consideration which create delay in delivery.These are as follows:- * Late dispatch of documents led to late delivery of loaded trucks. The dispatch documents generally release after 4’o clock in the second half of the day and therefore even the trucks are fully loaded it waits for the document to get, before living the factory. * As per late preparation of’ certificate of test ‘by Quality assurance department the entire documentation process moves slow ; make delay. * The sample size taken to calculate the total loading cycle time of fine trucks / container shows that not a single vehicle is loaded , within a time period of five to six hrs. Delay in arrival or in time placement of trucks or trailers. * The way which involves the loading cycle is so complicated that even the transporter wants to arrive quickly, it takes enough time. * The trucks generally wait in queues because the trucks which have arrived earlier are there for loading the material / goods at loading point. * As soon as the truck reports to the factory the two way process starts, the one by the transporter and the other by truck driver. Transporter reports to the sales office and the truck to security then weigh bridge and so on. UML uses only a single mode of transportation and that is the road ways. * Trucks are loaded as per loading advice memo. Time varies in loading different types of material. For domestic supply the loading of material takes less time but for the export it takes enough time. Time also varies in loading the material which generally are product wise, size wise, and order wise. * On few occasion printing and painting of reels is done after placement of lorry. The loading cycle time in the whole process is greater and it is a lengthy procedure this time needs to be reduced.Suggestion / Recommendation While undergoing the study various flaws regarding documentation process, loading point, dispatch area, transportation was observed. During this period of our study various pit falls and problems in existing system we found ,so to provide UML a better future various options has been chalked out . * As per our analysis loading cycle time can be reduced by on-line system entry. As the truck reports the truck no. , transporter name etc. must be entered into the system by the sec urity officer. The information provided is uploaded by sales dept.The sales dept. then makes the loading advice memo entry in system accordingly and the dispatch dept. generates this loading memo and starts further process. * There should be a foolproof system of controlling, approving the placement of vehicles by logistics section to work under a committee comprising of 2/3 persons with empowerment to take decision. * Road permit, certificate of test ; other papers concerned with transportation should be arranged well in advance so as to avoid any type of delay in dispatching which might also avoid any type of delay in delivery. Painting ; printing of the reels should be done well in advance before the placement of lorry. Also material should be traced well in advance. * There should be some substitute for the weigh bridge in charge in case if he goes for lunch ; other miscellaneous activities. * There should be a provision to develop more loading points at each dispatch sections o f wire ; ropes , so as the trucks should not wait much to come to its turn for loading. Product wise, size wise, order wise, time varies for loading of different material , therefore there should be more loading point to tackle or overcome such difficulties. There should be a change in layout of loading cycle which creates some problem for heavy vehicle to weigh. This arrangement should be made easy and straight so that the process involved take less time. For example the weigh bridge should be placed near gate no. 3 which surely reduces the time in this period i. e. loading cycle period. * This entire process reduces the loading cycle time upto great extend and the work can be done effectively ; efficiently. Analysis of Monthly Despatch of Wire ; Rope 2007-10 (Quantity in MT) Month| 2009-10| 2008-09| 2007-08|April| 8150| 7750| 7533| May| 9369| 11295| 8279| June| 11399| 10686| 11960| July| 10474| 10679| 9342| Aug| 11614| 11547| 8667| Sep| 12955| 11827| 12326| Oct| 10148| 9818| 7595| Nov| 11197| 10889| 9070| Dec| 13721| 9266| 12366| Jan| 11189| 7467| 9026| Feb| 11133| 9070| 8380| Mar| 15643| 12019| 13344| Total| 136986| 122313| 117888| Monthly despatch figure from 2007-08 to 2009–10 Sale in Domestic Market for Year 2009-10 Month| Quantity(In MT)| April| 5870| May| 5988| June| 7157| July| 6948| August| 7240| September| 7698| October| 7224| November| 7369|December| 9533| January| 7814| February| 8083| March| 11451| Total| 92375 | Sales in Domestic market 2009-10 Sale in Domestic Market for Year 2009-10 Month| Quantity(In MT)| April| 5870| May| 5988| June| 7157| July| 6948| August| 7240| September| 7698| October| 7224| November| 7369| December| 9533| January| 7814| February| 8083| March| 11451| Total| 92375 | Sales in Domestic market 2009-10 Sale in Export Market for Year 2009-10 Month| Quantity(In MT)| April| 2280| May| 3380| June| 4241| July| 3525| August| 4374| September| 5257| October| 2924|November| 3827| December| 4187| January| 3374| February| 3050| March| 4192| Total| 44611| Sales in Export market 2009-10 SALES PERFORMANCE IN THE YEAR 2009-10 Fig. Sales Performance in the financial year 2009-10 Fig. Sales Performance in the financial year 2009-10 (in MT) SWOT ANALYSIS OF USHA MARTIN LIMITED STRENGTH: * Usha Martin Limited has a good brand image. * Usha Martin Limited produces good quality product. * Usha Martin Limited is one of the few producers in the world and in India as well which produces few specialty products like wire and wire rope. Usha Martin Limited has a good financial position. * Usha Martin Limited has a wide range of product. * It has big customer like Coal India, SAIL, TISCO, HEC, ONGC, ACC, CCL, BHEL, L;T etc. * Usha Martin Limited has a strong export market. * Usha Martin Limited has implemented TPM (Total Productive Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) in 2000-01 with the objective of increasing productivity, raising quality, and reducing costs. * In the Wire Rope division, the company entered Australia and South East Asia * The company acquired Brunt Shaw Ltd. a leading U. K. Wire Rope manufacturer, to source logically – advanced Ropes and access European Market. * Usha Martin Limited has a sound workforce infrastructure. * It has sound commercially viable infrastructure. * Usha Martin Limited has a prompt good Management Information System. * Usha Martin Limited performs many welfare activities for their employee by providing them medical facilities, bus facilities, and other welfare like canteen facility, vehicle advance and medical advance. * Usha Martin Limited has the second position in the world in producing specialty products. Usha Martin Limited has got a good market share of its product range in domestic market. WEAKNESS: * Usha Martin Limited. Products are available at higher price. * It has lack of warehouse and distribution centres. * Its machines and tools have become old and obsolete. * Lack of morale has been seen among the employee of the UML. OPP ORTUNITY: * It can increase its sales by reducing the cost, so that it can sell its product at lesser price. * It can upgrade its position if it makes alliances or merges with small rivals, which are doing well at different zones of the country. Usha Martin Limited can increase its profit if it gives more emphasis on direct marketing with the customer. * Usha Martin Limited should look for areas, where there is no supplies at all * Usha Martin Limited should market its products and services on a broader horizon. * Usha Martin Lmited should forge into those product ranges, which is feasible for its diversification. * Usha Martin Limited should seek for new market globally, where things are favourable for it. THREATS: * Small rivals are emerging at different parts of the country. *Low prices of the rival's product are a great threat for the Usha Martin Limited * Timely deliveries of the product by the competitors are putting more threat to the Usha Martin Limited. * Government always changes its policies & it brings a great threat to this organization. * Due to excess bundhs and chakka jams organised by the political parties and naxlites it is a big threats for this organisation. * Bad roadways of Jharkhand state results in late delivery of raw material and finished product and availability of raw materials at the right time. CONCLUSIONEvery organization stands on some pillars. These pillars are Finance, Marketing, operations and Human resources. To maintain the current position in the respective industry the organization has to be competent in all these areas. In case of UML, it is currently leader in the domestic market and no. two position in global market of wire rope industry. To maintain its current position at all the front as discussed above. After studying the sales procedure and systems of UML, it has been found that certain procedures are lengthy which can be reduced for effective functioning of the organization.And certain Jobs need to be off-loaded so that the manpower is utilized efficiently. It helps in coordination and functioning of the organization effectively, thus enhancing the productivity & profitability of the company. (1) Web sites concerned ———–(a). www. ushamartin. com (b). www. wirerope . com (c). www. google. com (2). Company Journal ———– (a)Annual report of UML (b)Office document (c) Usha News (3). Books Research Methods for Business Student —— Philip kotler

Islamic Women Essay

At the beginning of the 21st century, many Islamic women are deprived equal rights with men suffered from oppression and family violence. The example of Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia show that violence and abuse are still the major problems faced by Islamic women. The main problem is that law in Islamic communities does not come into force being violated. In many communities women are not legally protected and have no possibility to protect themselves: sexual, physical and emotional violence are the major weapon of intimidation of women. In some communities, family violence is a result of traditions and values as an integral part of cultural development. In contrast to India and Indonesia, in Saudi Arabia women have no rights and freedom of choice. The main problem is that in Saudi Arabia rights of women are constitutionally granted by most of them do not come into force and violated. â€Å"Like millions of other Saudi women, Munif hoped she would be allowed to vote — since nothing in the law excludes it. But after a year of debate, the government told women to wait† (Women Speak Out In Saudi Arabia, 2005). Today, the main rights of women in India and Indonesia concern birth control, civil rights, education and work. Today, individual freedom of American women means much more than the absence of physical coercion but an equal social status. Still, similar to Saudi Arabia women, many women in India and Indonesia suffer from domestic violence and sexual abuse. Indonesian women are the most unprotected category which experiences violence within the institution of marriage. Among this group of women sexual abuse and physical violence are the main forms of humiliation and oppression. Similar to Saudi Arabia, in Indonesia women have constitutional rights, but face discriminated. Similar to India, Indonesians have job opportunities and high social status than women in Saudi Arabia. â€Å"Compared to the lives of their mothers, sisters and even brothers who stayed in the village these factory women have gained a strong advantage in terms of wages and conditions† (Indonesia, n. d). In Saudi Arabia women are not legally protected and have no possibility to protect themselves. Women have no equal opportunities with men in pay and work conditions. Most of them take low administrative positions or considered as common labor. In Saudi Arabia, religion dogmas and values play the dominant role determining the destiny of a woman and her social position. In contrast to Indonesia and India, in Islamic countries women deprived the right to use contraception and safe abortions. The main problem caused absence of freedom and rights is that abuse is the part of the culture. In India, â€Å"among Hindus, polygamy too was rampant† (Bhandare 2004). In contrast to Islamic countries, India accepts liberal laws and regulations which give women more rights and freedoms. The main preventive measures against family violence include social programs organized by women’s organizations, legislative initiatives accepted in the national level, petitions, publicity. In Saudi Arabia, women are still lived under double oppression, cultural and legal. Similar to Indonesian women, Indian women have a right to divorce, but in reality it takes a long time and a long legal battle while men can divorce at will in a short period of time. Also, there is a great threat for a woman not to receive children because she does not have a possibility to earn for living. Women in India and Indonesia are deprived of many rights and freedom, but they are free to choose their work, receive education and divorce. In contrast to these groups, Saudi Arabia women are deprived these rights living under state and family oppression. â€Å"For instance, events like a soccer match are strictly for men. In public, there are separate sections where they eat, where they work, and where they pray† (Women Speak Out, 2005). In sum, Women in India and Indonesia are free to choose profession and work conditions, broad employment opportunities and equitable wages; they have equal rights with men to be promoted and appraised. The examples of women in Saudi Arabia show that specific gender roles determine the way of living and cultural norms of several generations of people and strong enough to be changed in a short period of time. Works Cited Page 1. Bhandare, M. C. Women’s rights and wrongs. 2004. Available at: http://www. expressindia. com/fullstory. php? newsid=34277 2. Indonesia. N. d. Available at: http://www. onlinewomeninpolitics. org/indon/indodoc. htm 3. Women Speak Out In Saudi Arabia. Available at: http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2005/03/23/60minutes/main682565. shtml.

Stateless Nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Stateless Nation - Essay Example this research will be, â€Å"The past, present, and future prospects of the Kurds and Kurdistan.† The Kurds have lived in the hilly regions of Turkey and Iran for more than two thousand years. However, this typical group of people with an Indo-European background has never secured a home or national status (West 1). The Kurds, in the 1990s, the Turkish state evicted the Kurds. This stood as a resettlement rather than just an eviction, and the Kurds had to move out of their urban and rural entities that they initially had (Jongerden 4). The following disciplines will assist in researching about the Kurds on this topic: politics, historical, and behavioral. The Kurds have a rich history and this study will highlight their past struggles and illuminate reasons behind their statelessness. Many nations are also involved in the statelessness of Kurdistan. Researching on this aspect will elucidate the political factors intertwined with the Kurdistan (West). Finally, looking into the behavioral aspects of the Kurdistan will present the life these peoples life and impact of their statelessness on their information seeking behavior (Meho and Haas). Meho, Lokman I., and Stephanie W. Haas. â€Å"Information-Seeking Behavior and Use of Social Science Faculty Studying Stateless Nations: A Case Study.† Library & Information Science Research 23.1 (2001):

Chemistry of Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chemistry of Depression - Essay Example Depression is mainly seen among females even though it is common among males also. Medical science was confused about this discrepancy in the occurrence of depression among males and females. However, recent studies have shown the reasons. â€Å"Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, showed that the brain's serotonin systems in males and females are different. They think they might have found one of the reasons why more women are affected with depression and chronic anxiety than me† (What Is Serotonin? What Does Serotonin Do?).Apart from Serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, melatonin, insulin and prostaglandins are some other chemicals which affect mood and emotions. Dopamine is also an aromatic compound in organic chemistry. It is a kind of neurotransmitter which controls the movement of emotional responses. Dopamine deficiency can cause not only depression, but also other disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease etc. â€Å"Pharmacological trea tments support the idea that an overactive dopamine system may result in schizophrenia: Medications that block dopamine receptors, specifically D2 receptors, reduce schizophrenia symptoms. The brain regions known as the thalamus and the striatum are affected by dopaminergic activity† (Gromisch).The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) and the dopaminergic neurones play an important role in schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease (PD). A decrease in DA in the substantia nigra of the brain has been implicated as the cause of PD.

On Maximising Profits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

On Maximising Profits - Essay Example The desire to maximise profits does not form a clear and unique behaviour prescription. Enke (1965, p.54) adds that consequently, the economist cannot make individual-firm predictions in the short run.1 When the future outcomes of present decisions are uncertain, motivation does not constitute a criterion for each entrepreneur. To clarify motivation and criterion, Enke (1965, p.53) provides the following extreme gambling example. Suppose that one gambler might be given a hundred dollars and is told to make a single bet at a roulette table and "maximise profits" whereas another player might similarly be given one hundred dollars but then to "maximise losses." If they are obedient, both gamblers will play a number than a colour because, if they are ever to secure the maximum profits and maximum losses that they respectively seek, the longest odds provide profits or losses at the highest rate; if they both played a colour, they would be acting that is inconsistent with their instructions. Unless people have beliefs concerning the likelihood of certain future events occurring, a specific motivation cannot provide them with criterion for selecting one alternative from one another. The economist cannot predict how an entrepreneur will act if the economist does not know the entrepreneur's assessments of future pr obabilities (Enke 1965, p.55). Baumol (1961, p.193) also provides an example as to why the profit-maximising assumption does not hold for all firms. A small firm that is run by its owner may seek to maximise the proprietor's free time subject to the constraint that his earnings exceed some minimum level, and, indeed, there have been cases of overworked businessmen who, on medical advice, have turned down profitable business ventures. According to Anthony (1965, p.61), if a firm is to maximise its profits, the businessman must set a price such that the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost. This means that as a minimum he must be able top estimate the demand at all prices and the marginal cost at all volumes, and he must further estimate the extent to which demand is interdependent with cost because of advertising and other order-getting expenditures. In practice, states Anthony, is a "fantastically" [emphasis mine] difficult task, so difficult that is rarely attempted in practice. In Anthony's words: "who can accurately estimate the demand for a product at even one price" Another critic of the profit maximising firm is the "denigration" of the importance of managerial activity or to imply that it is without significant difficulties. Baumol (1993, p.3) defines the manager as the individual who oversees the ongoing efficiency of the continuing processes. In its generic and simplest form, the theoretical firm must choose among alternative values for a small number of rather well-defined variables: price, output, perhaps advertising outlay, and occasionally, a few others. The firm is then to perform a mathematical calculation which yields the optimal (profit maximising) values for all of its decision variables that the theory declares the firm's vector of decisions. Until there is such a shift in one of the relationships that define the problem, the firm is taken to replicate

Network Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Network Security - Research Paper Example In this regard, network security comprises the measures a company can take to protect its computer network, and it is a prime concern for every company that uses computers. On the other hand, if a company does not implement appropriate network security then an attacker or opponent can get access and utilize the important or secret data and information, probably causing data destruction or damage, or even the entire destruction of the computer network. In addition, the revolution of internet has modernized our lives. However these technologies as well have introduced some of the severe safety as well as confidentiality problems. These issues can be tremendously devastating for private information. In this scenario network management systems and procedures are used for the effective management of various aspects regarding network security (Kaminsky and Foster; Armoni; Kaminsky and Foster; Bhattacharya and Ghosh). This paper will present a detailed overview of network security, network security policy, importance of network security policy, its implementation and design considerations for network security. At the moment, network security is a hot topic for the organizations as well as individuals. This research is aimed to highlight technology involved in network security, future trends of network security, companies adopting this issue, regulatory issues in network security and global implications. Network Security Policy The security policy is essentially an arrangement, describing in detail the organization’s decisive resources as well as how well they are organized. Additionally, the basic purpose of building a security policy is to offer the employees with a concise summary of the "satisfactory utilization" of some of the business information and resources. In addition, the intention behind this policy is to proficiently describe the allowable rights of users and consequently employing them in protecting the business sensitive and critical information systems. The security plan behaves like a "must interpret" basis of company information for everybody exploiting in some approach, computer and network resources considered as possible targets. However, a high-quality and superbly established security policy ought to tackle a number of these subsequent fundamentals: (Danchev; Kim, Lee and Han; Bakry) How susceptible business data must be managed How passwords and other credentials have to be upheld effectively How to react to a possible safety event, interruption efforts, etc. How to utilize computers as well as internet technology in a safe way How to suitably exploit the business communication infrastructure On the whole, the prime causes following the formation of a safety policy is to set a business’s sensitive data and information security basics. Another aspect is to clarify to employees how they are liable for the security of business resources and assets, and emphasize the significance of taking benefit from protected business communications when the business activities are being conducted through web based technology (Danchev; Kim, Lee and Han; Bakry). The Need of Network Security Policy Since forming a high-quality security policy offers the basics for the flourishing application of security allied activities in the upcoming period. In this scenario, the initial movement in improving a business’s security is the performance of a specific however

Operation Managment Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Operation Managment Report - Essay Example The Board of executives remains as the head officials followed by the branch supervisors who are appointed over the different operational activities of the said technological group. Through the assistance of the said system of authorization, the different activities of the organization becomes more and more progressive suggesting the fact that the officers indeed put their efforts forward for the sake of organizational success procedures. It could be noted that the strategy of management that the said organization deals with certainly portrays the fact that the officials put their best in assisting the whole team in becoming effective performers in their own responsibilities in the operations of the organization. Holding full control of their human resources has also been the key factor that brought the said organization the success that they particularly needed from operating in business. The management divisions see to it that they are able to provide their people with the satisfaction and the motivation that they ought to receive from the higher management of the organization. The people then in return perform at their best to be able to return the favor to the organization. The two major branches of the organization primarily deal with the best procedures of dealing with their human resources through the utilization of reasonable policies and effective procedures of helping the people force reach their goals through the reasonable efforts that they devote for the completion of their appointed jobs. The groups is obviously hoping for a better future which they primarily sourced out from believing that the governance of their organization would be effective enough to handle the said advancements in the future. Through this, the members of the group believe that they are capable of facing the future with much confidence that they would be the main organization who would help the human

Operations Management Forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations Management Forecasting - Essay Example Throughout the past two decades more as well as more businessmen have learned the value of using financial forecasts in preparation the affairs of the companies which they administer. The increasing receipt of formal financial forecasts by management may be attributed to a wide diversity of causes. In the primary place, young men educated in the theory of trade and financial administrations have achieved positions of liability in many companies. Moreover, the excellent courses in industry administration and economics, given in American universities and colleges, have affected the decision-making techniques employed in modern venture. Men trained in these institutions have been tending to get hold of the most comprehensive facts obtainable concerning the factors which mainly determine the results of their production ventures. As a result, the operations of more trade have been subject to the influence of men who try to reduce the effect of chance as an issue determining success or failure. Probably the mainly significant single forecast used by the management of commerce is the sales forecast. A confidentially owned business exists to create and sell commodities at a profit in competition by means of other enterprises. It follows that the measure of goods to be produced and the price at which such merchandise will be sold are significant measures of the action of the venture and affect the scale of the profits obtained. As a result, practically all other forecasts used in planning the relationships of a trade enterprise depend on a sales forecast. This is true of approximation which may be made concerning prospect profits, modify in products, capability requirements, organization, bloodthirsty effort, capital necessities, inventories, etc. no doubt, these may be termed the "internal" forecasts, because these are approximation of the situations inside a single company which are completely or mainly convenient by the management. Forecasting in framework On the other hand, the sales forecast is based on additional forecasts concerning future financial conditions, likely efforts by competitors, political situations, modify in technology, cultural growth, etc. These approximations may be termed "external" forecasts, because the situations would exist even if the corporation concerned did not, and, so, they are outside to a company. Qualitative Forecasting Methods Forecasts consequence from ruling and supposition made by management. Actually a helpful forecast is the result of a huge number of judgments which have been made concerning many dissimilar matters. Because lots of the situations which will affect a forecast are not exactly determinable, the judgment of the forecaster often must be based on unfinished or

The Most Pressing Environmental Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Most Pressing Environmental Problems - Essay Example For the last several years, ocean acidity has increased by about 30%. In the next century, scientists expect the acidity to increase by 150%. The acidification is a threat to sea creatures and can result in the extinction of some species (Harris 2012). Population increase is perhaps the most disturbing environmental issue. In the last 70 years, the world’s population has tripled placing stress on all other aspects of the environment. Forests occupy more than 30 percent of the land and play a significant role in cleansing carbon emissions. They are also home to wildlife and protect us from flooding and sandstorms. For the last century, deforestation has been on the rise, and its effects are profound. Cutting trees threaten wildlife and contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions. The last stress is climate change that arises from the adverse use of natural resources by man (Harris 2012). Business should help solve the problems by promoting environmental friendly production methods. They can, for example, minimize water usage to avail it for human consumption. Businesses in the industrial sector can treat wastes released into the oceans to prevent water pollution. To curb climate change, manufacturing companies can reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. In other words, putting regulations and the use of best practices in business operations can provide effective solutions to the environmental problems.

As per the details Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

As per the details - Coursework Example Today, rapid diffusion of social media use is ushering in new possibilities for organizations to communicate with and engage the general public. The ability for any organization such as Brunel Business School no matter how small – to adopt cutting-edge social media application presents substantial openings for a more level playing field. Thus, it potentially ‘changes the game’ about the kinds of resources and capacities the school requires and the strategies they might adopt in order to capitalize efficaciously on their social media presence (Peacock, 2011 p., 71).The growing popularity of social media is making its mark on many organizations as well as a general public. With more than 500 million individuals using Facebook, for instance, organizations have realized that it is necessary to be next to those they serve (Ryan, 2011 p., 153). The potential benefits of social media for schools like are several: in addition to customer contact, social media can be used Brunel Business School for facilitating students and parents as they are aiming to make the correct choice and at the same time provide knowledge work within the organization. In spite of the possibilities social media offers for the school, many times the school also associated problems and challenges with its adoption. These challenges in reality may arise from social media being more than just another information system implemented and a new tool or by the organization. Social media come with it a new way of reasoning about schools management. As a result, the school adopting social media has to surrender some of the absolute control they earlier had over their web presence. In some schools such as Brunel Business School, this kind of alteration from a closed to an open setting marks a significant step and change in the school culture. Brunel Business School often faces challenges with the adoption and use of information systems,

Childhood Obesity in America Essay Example for Free

Childhood Obesity in America Essay Ahhh there is nothing better than waking up at noon to the smell of some freshly cooked bacon and a heaping pile of blueberry pancakes. Mom makes them fresh every weekend morning. Usually the bacon and pancakes don’t quite do the trick so the pantry is raided next. At the top of the pantry next to the family size bag of Doritos, which will most likely be consumed later in the night, lays the hardest decision that will have to be made all day long. Which one of these sugary cereals shall be devoured this morning and fill up the rest of this already overstuffed belly? Reese’s Puffs, Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs or the tasteless Raisin Bran that Mom and Dad prefer. You can definitely count out the Raisin Bran. Cocoa Puffs it is. After grabbing the largest bowl that could be found in the house, the Cocoa Puffs are smothered in chocolate syrup to make the already chocolate milk even more chocolaty and delicious. After every last puff goes down the hatch it is time to chug the extra chocolaty milk right from the bowl. Now that the belly is completely stuffed it is time for a nap. A nap is necessary after a long night of online gaming on the brand new Xbox 360 that mom bought last week. The other players don’t stand a chance after a week non-stop gaming with a few breaks here and there for the much needed meals and bathroom breaks. After the well- deserved napping session it is back to the big screen. Only this time it is not to play video games because the carpel tunnel is acting up in the left hand again. This time it is to watch the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives marathon on the Food Network. You just can’t get enough of the food network. But all this talk about food is making the stomach rumble and it is time for lunch. Mom promised that she will take us to the McDonalds that is right down the street if the chores were done. Little brothers are great. After slipping him a whole two dollars, the chores are done in no time and a McDonald’s double quarter pounder with extra cheese is all that is on the brain. The clerk at the counter asked, â€Å"Would you like to Supersize that sir?† After thinking for a  second about the giant container of fries and the bucket of coke the answer was easy, â€Å"Yes, Ma’am!† But why stop there? It is March and all those commercials about the new Shamrock Shake make it nearly unbearable. After a delicious lunch the only thing on the mind on this beautiful Saturday afternoon is getting back to that big screen TV and playing the brand new Call of Duty game. While all the other kids are outside running around pretending to shoot each other, the real action is inside this intense videogame. After an exhausting night, it is time to go to bed with plans for tomorrows day on the mind. Obesity is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the Un ited States. The article, â€Å"Obesity in America: What’s Leading the Epidemic?† states that nearly one thousand people are killed each day from obesity. Obesity is measured by BMI or Body Mass Index. This measures how much body fat someone has based on their height and how much they weigh. The author, Harvard Men’s Health Watch states that a BMI of twenty five or more qualifies as overweight and a BMI of thirty or more qualifies as obese. About 63% of Americans are considered overweight and about 31% are considered to be obese (Harvard Men’s Health Watch 2012). These numbers are strikingly large. This article only focuses on the adults that are obese in the United States and doesn’t focus much on the children. The children are what America should really be focused on because some day they will make up majority of the population. The most obese child in the world is Jessica Guade who is seven years old and weighs four hundred and eighty two pounds. That is heavier than a majority of people in the entire world. Every single day she drinks ten thousand calories in Coca-Cola and consumes fifteen hamburgers. She can’t even walk and gets around by rolling. How can a parent do this to their child? Are they afraid to say no or do they just not care about their child’s health? This is what the American life is doing to children. These numbers will continue to go up and we will see more children like Jessica if nothing is done about this epidemic. American life is changing and people are adapting to new culture which is making them focus less on their weight and appearance. The main factors that contribute to the obesity outburst are the lack of exercise, watching way too much television, and eating too many foods that are high in calories and fat. With the changes in television and advertising on television, Americans crave things that they see on TV. When you are watching TV you will see countless fast food advertisements where they make the food look so delicious and look like it was prepared in a five star restaurant. This is just one of the many tricks that advertisers use in order to get people to buy their products. The sad part is that most of the time it works. Americans see all of these advertisements on TV and all they want to do is go out and buy it. These days children are watching so much television rather than playing outside. Young children are the main target for some advertisers like McDonalds and Burger King. In all of their commercials they show images of children eating their food and it makes children want to go and get it. Not only are there a lot of commercials about fast foods, but there are commercials about snacks and drinks as well. According to M. Mello in their article, â€Å"Federal Trade Commiss ion Regulation of Food Advertising to Children: Possibilities for a Reinvigorated Role†, a majority of the food and drink advertisements on television are advertising things that are unhealthy for the human body to consume (Mello 2010). The amount of these advertisements is ridiculous and according to this article the FDA has had to start cutting the airing of a lot of them. Not only are the advertisements on TV a problem, but the amount of television that children watch is an even bigger one. These days’ kids would rather stay inside and watch TV and play video games rather than going outside and playing sports like the past generations. The video games of this generation have made it possible for children to virtually play any sport that they want instead of going outside and physically breaking a sweat and playing them. Television has made Americans so much lazier than they used to be. People don’t get out of the house nearly as much as they used too. Instead of going out to the ballpark and watching baseball games, they just go out and buy big screen televisions and sit on their butts and watch them. Children look up to their parents and will adapt these kinds of habits from them. This is a huge reason why children are becoming so obese in America. The amount of television that kids watch and how many video games they play has a direct correlation to the lack of exercise in America these days. To children, a videogame or cartoon show is much more appealing than running around outside and exercising. Also, the developing culture of America as a whole has added to the lack of exercise in Americans.  Technology has simplified nearly every aspect of human life. Rather than walking everywhere like our ancestors did, everyone drives, or takes the bus, or does anything that keeps them from using up their energy and breaking a sweat. As the parents of children are doing this, their children adapt to that lifestyle and in turn they end up doing the same thing and start to live the way that their parents live. In the old days you would see people walking all over the streets, but now that there are automobiles the streets are just lined with traffic. As cities are bec oming more civilized and advanced, there are less and less places for people to work out, and for kids to run around and play outside. In the article, â€Å"Contributions of Built Environment to Childhood Obesity† by, T. Rahman, R.A. Cushing, and R.J. Jackson, it states that the neighborhood the child lives in has a huge impact on their health. For example, if there are bike paths and places to play outside and run around, the child will be more physically active, but if these things aren’t in place, then the child is more prone to stay inside and watch television and gain weight as a result of that (Cushing 2011). While watching television they don’t have to get up to do anything anymore. Remote controls have changed the world. You can change the channel on the television, turn on and off the lights, and answer the phone right from your chair without getting up to do anything. The only thing that people have to get up to do is go and get more food from the fridge. Less and less children are becoming involved in athletics and exercise. Going outside and running around is much less appealing to children then it used to be. Lack of exercise is a huge contributing factor to obesity and children and something needs to be done about it. Fast food is so easy, quick, and convenient. Most Americans live a lifestyle th at is always on the move and always busy. It is very easy for them to turn to fast food and grab a quick meal before they go to work. Not only is it fast and easy, but there are so many fast food restaurants in the United States. In 1970 McDonalds operated close to one thousand establishments; in 2002 nearly thirty-five thousand restaurants were being operated. An estimated two thousand new McDonalds are opened each year. That is the road that most Americans choose rather than trying to sit down and eat a home cooked meal. That goes along with the laziness of Americans. In this article from CBS news â€Å"Fast Food linked to Child Obesity†, it states that â€Å"Every day, nearly one-third of U.S. children  aged 4 to 19 eat fast food, which likely packs on about six extra pounds per child per year and increases the risk of obesity† (CBSNEWS 2010). Fast food is so much faster and easier than going to the grocery store and getting all the ingredients needed to cook a nice healthy meal for your family. Instead most parents resort to the greasy, salty, and fatty foods that fast food establishments have to offer. According to J.Hariss’s article â€Å"Television Viewing and Unhealthy Diet: Implications for Children and Media Interventions†, â€Å"Humans possess an innate preference for sweet, high-fat, and salty foods, and a reluctance to try unfamiliar foods† (Hariss 2011).Although some fast food restaurants offer substitutions like how McDonalds offers apples instead of French fries, most people do not choose these substitutions. People are more concerned about taste then health and to them, greasy salty foods taste better than apples. The only time that children would choose to eat the healthier choice is when their parents are with them. According to M. Stutts in their article, â€Å" Nutrition Information and Childrens Fast Food Menu Choices†, when children go into fast food restaurants alone, they will choose to eat whatever they want regardless of the fat content. When their parents went with them they influenced them to choose the healthier items on the menu (Stutts 2009). The problem with the items on the fast food menus is that they are full of calories. The recommended calorie intake for a thirteen year old child that weighs ninety pounds is about thirteen hundred calories each day. A McDonlad’s cheeseburger happy meal with a low fat milk as a drink has approximately seven hundred calories. That is half of the amount of calories that is needed in one day. On top of that most children th ese days aren’t exercising at all and all of those calories turn straight into fat. Fast food in general is so unhealthy for your body and if it was cut out completely, the number of obese children would be reduced dramatically. There are so many factors that play into why children are becoming so obese, but eating too many foods that are high in calories and fat is the number one reason why they are so obese. Most people in the world worry about the way they look when they look in the mirror. They will do anything to make themselves â€Å"look skinnier† and make themselves look more attractive. Nobody every worries about what is going on inside of their body. Most Americans do not realize that being overweight or obese can have some serious negative health effects  on the body. There are so many aspects of life that are affected by obesity. Your metabolism, health of your muscles, bones, organs, and other parts of your body can be greatly affected when you are at an unhealthy weight. In the article â€Å"Obesity in America: Large Portions, Large Proportions,† the author talks about some of the health risks that are involved with obesity. Some of the health risks are coronary artery disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, many forms of cancer, osteoarthritis, fatty liver, and depression (Large Portions, Large Proportions 2006). Obesity can ultimately lead to a shorter life span from the health risks. It is obvious from this article that there are some major health risks from obesity that can affect your body in a very negative way. It is important that people take care of their bodies so that they can live happy and healthy lifestyles. A huge part of the childhood obesity problem is that the children have no idea what they are doing to their bodies by not exercising and having unhealthy diets. The author of this paper had the opportunity to educate children on the proper nutrition and recommended hours of exercise daily through a service learning project that was completed with the help of a middle school from their hometown. Service learning is defined as â€Å"a method of teaching and learning that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities† (What is Service-Learning, 2008). The author was given the chance to strengthen the community and inform young children about the dangers of obesity. The author did so by creating an informative brochure that the principle of Rosa Parks Middle School Dr. Donna Redmond Jones enjoyed and agreed to hand out to students around the school. The brochures were also made available in the health room where students can just come in and pick one up. In completing the service learning project, the author was able to gain a lot of knowledge on obesity, more importantly the health risks and ways to prevent them. The author also gained the fulfillment that he had informed young students about these risks and was able to benefit the community. The service project was ultimately successful because the author was able to re-teach the knowledge that he had gained from research to the children that the research was about. The information that has been provided in this paper demonstrates how a lack of exercise, watching too much television, and eating too many foods high in calories and fat, has lead to the obesity epidemic that is in America today. The number of obese children in American is an absurd number. Children in America these days don’t worry about their image and their weight as much as they used to. All they are worried about is what TV show they are going to watch next, what video game they are going to play, and what type of fast food they are going to eat today. The idea of going outside and exercising never crosses their mind. If parents gave their children a little motivation to get involved in sports and exercising, the number of obese children in America would decrease substantially. Parents don’t motivate their kids because they are doing the same exact thing as them. Not only are there a lot of obese children in America, but there are an incredible amount of obese adu lts as well. Children are prone to learn from what their parents do and inherit the bad habits that they have. So therefor if a parent is eating fatty foods and sitting around watching TV all day, their children will do the same thing. There are so many health risks that can come from obesity that you would think people would be more worried about it. Do people not pay attention to the warnings and health risks? Do they not really care about the way they look and the negative effects that it can have on the body? The prevalence of technology in America has changed the world greatly. It has made things so much easier, but in turn it has made Americans so much lazier. Everything can be done from a seat on the couch without having to get up at all. Watching too much television, lack of exercise, and eating too many foods that are high in calories and fat are the three biggest factors that play into the amount of obese children these days, but there are a ton of factors that play into why Americans are so overweight. Something needs to be done about this epidemic before we see more serious side effects from obesity. References La Merrill, M., Birnbaum, L. S. (2011). Childhood Obesity and Environmental Chemicals. Mount Sinai Journal Of Medicine, 78(1), 22-48. doi:10.1002/msj.20229 Anzman, S. L., Rollins, B. Y., Birch, L. L. (2010). Parental influence on childrens early eating environments and obesity risk: implications for prevention. International Journal Of Obesity, 34(7), 1116-1124. doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.43 Harris, J. L., Bargh, J. A. (2009). Television Viewing and Unhealthy Diet: Implications for Children and Media Interventions. Health Communication, 24(7), 660-673. doi:10.1080/10410230903242267 Rahman, T., Cushing, R. A., Jackson, R. J. (2011). Contributions of Built Environment to Childhood Obesity. Mount Sinai Journal Of Medicine, 78(1), 49-57. doi:10.1002/msj.20235 Stutts, M., Zank, G. M., Smith, K. H., Williams, S. A. (2011). Nutrition Information and Childrens Fast Food Menu Choices. Journal Of Consumer Affairs, 45(1), 52-86. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01192.x Mello, M. M. (2010). Federal Trade Commission Regulation of Food Advertising to Children: Possibilities for a Reinvigorated Role. Journal Of Health Politics, Policy Law, 35(2), 227- 276. doi:10.1215/03616878-2009-051 Obesity in America: Whats driving the epidemic?. (2012). Harvard Mens Health Watch, 16(7), 5-7. Anderson, S. E., Whitaker, R. C. (2010). Household Routines and Obesity in US Preschool-Aged Children. Pediatrics, 125(3), 420-428. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0417 Obesity in America: large portions, large proportions. (2006). Harvard Mens Health Watch, 10(6), 1-5. Fast Food Linked to Child Obesity. (2009) The Associated Press. CBS News.

The Agrotourism In Malaysia Tourism Essay

The Agrotourism In Malaysia Tourism Essay Agrotourism is also known as agritourism and farm-based tourism. Agrotourism is actually the collaborations between tourism and agriculture since the visitor go to travelling as tourist to enjoy, relaxation, spend time and money for joyfullness and happiness in addition to visiting agricultural area, doing agricultural-related activities like harvesting, planting, fishing, and etc. It is a form of tourism in agricultural areas such as orchards, agroforestry farms, herbal farms and animal farms. According to World Tourism Organisation (WTO, 2002) that agrotourism is part of rural tourism and relates to tourism on farms. It gives farmers the opportunities to expand their activities and also to increase their income. Agrotourism is just a small part of rural tourism and agricultural practice worldwide, excluding in some European countries such as Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland, where the number of farms that offer some form of tourism is remarkably large. Agrotourism has differe nt definitions in different parts of the world. In Italy, it refers to farmstays. However in other parts of the world, agrotourism includes a wide range of activities which comprises of buying produce direct from a farm stand, navigating a corn maze, picking fruits, feeding animals or staying at a BB (bed and breakfast inn) on a farm. Agrotourism covers a wide range of agriculture-related activities about which visitors learn and can try them out by themselves. In ASEAN countries like Thailand, rice farming, flower growing, vegetable and herb cultivation and livestock farming are some common examples of agrotourism. Agrotourists or visitors are exposed to agricultural practices in a more leisure fashion, such as by joining picturesque canal tours or strolling through shady fruit orchards (tasting the fruits right from the trees) and working in rice farms. Almost all the agricultural research and study centres scattered throughout the country are supporting the agrotourism. Visitors are allowed to tour the centres, watch the demonstrations or take part in the hands on activities. Agrotourism and ecotourism are also closely-related. Agrotourism is when a native person or locals of the area offer the tours to their agriculture farm to allow a person to view them growing, harvesting and processing locally grown foods such as coconuts, pineapple, sugar cane, corn or any produce the person would not encounter in their home country. The farmers would also offer a homestay programme and education for the visitors. Activities that usually be offered to agrotourists or visitors: Opportunities for interaction between hosts and guests (visitors) Horseback riding Demonstrating and participating in daily farm work Providing courses in organic farming and gardening Demonstrating or offering classes in making traditional local crafts Demonstrating food processing, serving typical local dishes and offering cooking lessons Organising cultural events Offering excursions to natural and cultural attractions in the surroundings Exhibitions of agrotourist products Agrotourism in many European countries consists primarily of lodging and meals on the farm. Farm buildings are often remodeled by the farm families into rustic lodging facilities, and operate them as a type of bed and breakfast (BB) inn. Some farms especially in Switzerland, do little more than clean out a barn and spread straw on the floor, upon which people roll out sleeping bags. Other farms will provide fairly upscale accommodations for the visitors. Visitors are also able to tour the farms, help out with some farm chores and have meals with the farm family. Invariably, they experience life on the farm genuinely. In England, 23% of farms provide some type of commercial leisure service enterprise such as fishing, nature trails, picnic sites and so forth whereas 24% of English farms provide overnight accommodation and/or catering (Turner and Winter, 2003). In countries like France, hikers and cyclists can follow a network of trails around the country that leads from farm to farm. In the Netherlands and some other European countries, the farmers have centralized clearinghouses for contacting and booking stays services on working farms. Agrotourism, while new to many types of American agriculture, has been a major part of the development of the American wine industry for decades. Many wineries are part of organized regional wine tours, and some special events such as concerts, festivals, and weddings are also held for attractions. And another form of agrotourism that has been around for decades is dude ranches. Dude ranches are more common in the United States and Australian Outback. It offers vi sitors the opportunity to work on cattle ranches and the chance to take part in the cattle drives. In Australia, Canada and the Philippines, agrotourism is deemed as a growth industry. Reynolds (2005) mentions that agrotourism is a type of businesses conducted by farmers whose working agricultural operations for the enjoyment and education of visitors. Since it can complement farmers income and contribute to local economic development, agrotourism is being conceptualized as a business model in terms of product diversification. Referred to as agriturismo in Italy, sleeping in the straw in Switzerland, farmstays in New Zealand, and farm holidays in England, agrotourism is well established throughout Europe and in many other countries (Rilla, 1999a). Agrotourism enterprise as a business conducted by a farm operator or farmer for the enjoyment and education of the public beside promoting the products of the farm, and generating additional farm income (Hilchey, 1993:4). Although the farmers may not always have the time, moneys and necessary skills and expertise to develop the tourism p otential of their business, agriculture and public sector tourism organizations are always promoting agrotourism (Stephen J. and Getz, Don (eds)). Trends of Agrotourism Agrotourism was recognized as a part of ecotourism formerly as both have similar principles to conduct nature attractions (Rilla 1999). Both have been identified as the fastest tourism development model in the world. They have been widely developed in developing countries as a potential development models as natural resources and support of local society economically (OTA, 1992). At the moment, agrotourism has successfully developed in many countries, for instance Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Netherlands, Australia, and Austria (Rilla 1999). In Indonesia, there are eight provinces trying to develop agrotourism such as North Sumatera with rubber and palm plantations, Riau with cacao plantations, West Java by botanical gardens, Central Java and Daerah Istimewa Yogjakarta by salak pondoh agrotourism in Sleman, East Java by sugar plantations, Nusa Tenggara Barat by Rinjani ecotourism, Middle of Kalimantan and West of Kalimantan by palm plantations. Currently, they are still simply managed with limited facilities and are not developed on community-based model, and have not been well promoted (Indonesian Agriculture Department, 2005). Previously, agrotourism attraction was only interpreted as panorama attractions and plantations area, but now agrotourism has been interpreted as a linkage system between tourism and agriculture sectors as well as a model of region development (Indonesia Agriculture Department, 2005). Application of Agrotourism Agrotourism is highly dependent on the type of agricultural activity that is practiced in that particular area. In other words, this means that not all agrotourism destinations in the world provide the same agricultural activities. So in this subtopic, we are going to introduce and discuss about some famous agrotourism destinations in our country, Malaysia. This will definitely exposed us the similarities and differences among the agrotourism destinations throughout the world. First of all, let us look at Malaysias agrotourism spots. There are some famous examples of destinations such as: (i) Cameron Highland (ii) Taman Pertanian Sabah (iii) Parit Jawa Johor (i) Cameron Highland Cameron Highlands is Malaysias premier hill resort. Located in the state of Pahang, on the Main Range of Peninsular Malaysia, at 1524m above sea level, it is the largest of the Malaysian hill resorts. Much of its appeal lies in the net sprawling tea plantations which date back to 1929, as well as terraced flower gardens, strawberry farms, orchard and vegetable gardens. Being a popular hill resort, Cameron Highlands is well-developed with visitor amenities, tourist attractions, activities and a range of accommodation for a comfortable, leisurely holiday in cool invigorating climate. The cool climate which never ranged more than 20 degree Celsius, along with its fertile soil also attracts tourist from various places. Initially, the virgin jungle cleared for cultivation of tea bushes. Thus began Boh Estate, the first highland tea plantation in the country. Subsequently, other tea estates were opened, among them, the Blue Valley and Bharat plantations. The highland was also found to be conducive for the commercial cultivation of vegetables, flowers and fruits such as oranges and strawberries. The increasing popularity of Cameron Highlands in recent years has attracted the development of more tourism facilities and spots to cater to the growing number of visitors. The practice of agrotourism can be observed in various agricultural places which is well equipped with facilities in Cameron Highlands. This is important as the combination of both agriculture and tourist attraction forms agrotourism. There are many activities and places to be visited in Cameron Highlands in the context of agrotourism such as: (a) Sungai Palas Tea Estate It is one of the four tea states on the highlands, also produces the world famous BOH TEA. Tourists may travel 1 km into this estate where the factory is located. Resident guides will introduce the complex processes involved in the production of fragrant tea. These include the picking of tea leaves and the intricate art of brewing a good cup of tea. Tourists can even purchase some tea, the main produce of the highland, as a souvenir. (b) Apiary- Honeybee Farm Apiary- Honeybee farm is a small cottage industry for the production of honey. It is a garden ere some 25 varieties of flowers have been cultivated not for sale, but as a food supply for honey bees in search of nectar and pollen. Honey, believe it contain amazing ingredients for treating ailments such as insomnia, lethargy, skin diseases and even impotence. (c) Strawberry Farm Strawberries are another unique and proud product of the Highlands, seen as a trademark of the hill resort. The variety is known as FRESNO. Tourist will not leave the farm without a jar of strawberry jam. (d) Flower Nurseries Fresh flowers are cultivated in the highlands and are a leading export. Most of the flowers are grown in Brinchang. Bloom like roses, chrysanthemum, carnations, dahlia, geranium and everlasting flowers are grown in the nurseries. No visit to the highlands is complete without purchasing some of these colourful cuts to take back home. (e) Vegetable Farm Cameron Highlands is the nations prime producer of fresh vegetables, with some of the produce exported to neighbouring countries. Most of the vegetable farms can be spotted from the road along Brinchang to Tringkap. Cabbages, cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, leeks, parsley and pepper are grown here. Purchases can be made at the vegetable stalls. (ii) Taman Pertanian Sabah Taman Pertanian Sabah is part of the 1500 acres of the Agriculture Research Station, Lagud Sebrang Tenom which is administered and owned by the Agriculture Department Sabah. It is a complex consisting of the Agriculture Research Station, Seed production Centre for Cash Crop, Farmers Training Centre and Taman Pertanian Sabah itself. The Park sprawled over an area of 500 acres. The park was first opened to visitors in October 2000, and was officially launched by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on the 25 March, 2001. With its rich biodiversity, the Park has a magnificent collection for indigenous and introduced plants species. It is also a conservation centre for native Orchids of Borneo. This park would become a heritage for the next generation and this will help to educate people in nature conservation and the preservation of natural rainforest through cultivation of trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. The lush greenery, multitude species of plants or flowers of endemic to Borneo Island and very rare, panoramic view of the lakes, captivating landscaped gardens provide an excellent base to expand your knowledge and ideal environment for those who seek peace, quiet and tranquility away from stressed and urban noise. This park also provides a great trekking ground as well as nature walks and jungle activities. The park is blessed with Mother Natures treasures. The park is a showcase of integrated activities carried out by all the Departments and Agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Industry. It also serves as a training and education centre for agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, seed production, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry. It is divided into four key areas: (a) Agriculture This included Living Crop Museum, Demonstration Farms, Agro forestry, Bee Centre and Germplasm collection. (b) Horticulture This include Native Orchid Centre, Hybrid Orchid, Evolution garden, Model Garden and Ornamental Garden (c) Animal Husbandry This included Animal Park and Animal Farm. (d) Fisheries This included Freshwater Fishing. Objectives of Taman Pertanian Sabah are firstly, as a major Agrotourism centre in the state. Secondly, to provide demonstration farms for Agricultural activities, Animal breeding and Fisheries. Thirdly, to serve as a centre for training and demonstration on Agriculture, Horticulture, Fishery, Apiculture, Seed Technology, Forestry and Animal Husbandry. Next is to provide facilities for nature-based recreational activities and the final objective is to promote awareness and love for nature. (iii) Parit Jawa Johor The following agrotourism destination that i recommended is a place which situated On the western coast of Johor, lies a small town called Parit Jawa. The main attraction here especially during the October-March migration season, is the birdlife. Despite the busy river mouth near the jetty the bird fauna seems unperturbed. The most noticeable of the birds are the Lesser Adjutants of the family of Storks, by sheer virtue of their endangered status and size. Standing at 120 cm tall, with a white body and dark grey wings this species is unmistakable. Its head is virtually bald, apart from a sparse covering of fine hair-like feathers. There are only 2000 odd numbers left in the world and its cousin, the Greater Adjutant, not found in Malaysia, is critically endangered with only 500 odd left in the wild. To be able to sight these amazing prehistoric looking birds is worth the weekend to this classic, pre-war-looking town of Parit Jawa. Birdlife The main attraction of Parit Jawa, especially during the October-March migration season, is the birdlife.  Though there is a regular traffic of fishing boats winding its way through the muddy channels, and though there are local people going about their business near the jetty the bird fauna seems unperturbed.  The most noticeable of the birds are the Lesser Adjutants, by sheer virtue of their size.  Standing at 120 cm tall, with a white body and dark grey wings this species is unmistakable. Comically, its head is virtually bald, apart from a sparse covering of fine hair-like feathers.  Ã‚   Active during the day, these storks feed on fish and amphibians such as the Crab-eating Frog. Once seized, the prey is subjected to a series of stabs with its powerful beak, before being swallowed whole.  At nights the storks roost in mangrove trees along the coast.   Nesting occurs mainly during the dry season, either in small colonies or as single nests.     Ã‚  Other shorebirds not commonly seen in Malaysia but which may be sighted at Parit Jawa include the Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, the Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata and the Grey-tailed Tattler Heteroscelus brevipes.  Ã‚   Egrets and smaller herons are easily seen, including the Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus.  The Striated Heron Butorides striatus is very common, and is often seen perched close to the jetty or stalking small fish around the moored fishing boats.   Flocks of terns are often seen following fishing vessels back to harbour, swooping down to pluck small fish from the waters churned up by the boats propellers.   Kingfishers are common too, including migrants such as the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis and the Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata; there are numerous sticks or posts close to the jetty where they like to perch.  Ã‚   Fishing Village For visitors unfamiliar with the laid-back charms of rural Malaysia the fishing village of Kuala Parit Jawa serves as a fine example.   The tidal inlet is crowded with wooden vessels which fish the muddy waters of the Straits of Malacca, and there are a number of open-air seafood restaurants specialising in spicy fish recipes.   Add to that a couple of brightly coloured Chinese temples and modest Malay kampung houses surrounded by banana, papaya and durian orchards and you have a scene of rural tranquility. Mud and Mangroves Beyond the rickety wooden jetty at the mouth of Kuala Parit Jawa is a wide expanse of mud, which is  exposed at low tide.   The coastal mudflats of the Straits of Malacca are rich in organic content, supporting an abundance of invertebrate life including worms, snails, bivalves, crabs and prawns.   In turn these food groups support a rich web of higher species including fish such as mudskippers, reptiles such as water snakes and monitors, and a wide range of bird species.  Ã‚  Mammals too live in the adjacent mangroves; groups of  Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis regularly venture out of the mangroves and onto the mudflats, probably to feed upon crabs hence their other name Crab-eating Macaque.   The Oriental Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinerea can also be sighted here.   Implications of Agrotourism Agrotourism has contributed much to both the economic and social sector in our country development. However, there are positive and negative implications of agrotourism. First of all, agrotourism contributes lots in improving the economy of the local communities. When we are promoting about agrotourism, we are actually promoting both the agriculture and tourism as they are combined in this sector. Places of agriculture will sell the products and induce the tourism of the place at the same time. As a result, tourists will buy the agriculture products and spending for tour cost such as accommodation as well. Besides, agrotourism will help to increase the value of the village. For instance, the residents can provide home stay-themed-accommodation for the tourists. Home stay is a form of program that allows the tourists to live with a local family to experience their lifestyle. Besides this program, by spending on the service provided or products bought, the tourists can increase the incomes of the residents in rural area. This additional income will help to raise the status of the residents. Thus, the poverty rate in rural area can be decreased. Other  opportunity  generated from agrotourism is providing local employments. The residents of rural area, especially the youths, can work on accommodation service, tour guide service, restaurant or handicraft industry. This will decrease the migration of youths to cities. Thus, agrotourism helps improving the social situations, particularly poverty alleviation, decreasing unemployment and declining urbanization. Generating agrotourism-related businesses  is the most potential opportunity of agrotourism development. Due to the increasing amount of the tourists, traditional cakes or chips are produced in order to introduce the local food to them. In the handicraft industry, souvenir such as batik and canes products are made to sell to the tourists. To maintain the amount of visitors, agricultural product improvements and stimulations of tourism-related  enterprises are done. Last but not least, abandoned land can be developed in the practice of agrotourism. The development of agrotourism brings about the utilization of lands. These lands can turn out to be a new tourist attraction spot. They can be used as aquaculture rearing, orchard farm or recreational park. Nevertheless, agrotourism has its negative effects towards the environment when it is over-developed. Climatic change is one of the major problems which the agrotourism sector caused. Recently, we can see the global temperature is increasing drastically from year to year. The best example is Cameron Highland, a place that practice agrotourism. It was known as a cold place but now, the temperature is actually increasing. This has caused the crop yield of the agriculture products such as vegetable and fruits to decrease because these plants are only suitable in temperate condition. Another negative effect that we can see is the pollution problem. Extensive agrotourism activities have released polluting by-products which results in environmental problems. The increasing number of tourists causes air pollution in a particular area as they using vehicles which release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These polluting gases are emitted into the atmosphere and translate into the acid rain. Acid rain has adverse affect on the plants, fresh water and soil because it can kills some of the living organisms. Besides, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides also result in soil pollution. Excessive use of chemical pesticides which exceed permissible limit causes undesirable health effects and reduces biodiversity. Continuous use of fertilizer that contains heavy metals such as cadmium in phosphate rocks will pollute the soil and render the crops to be toxic. When the rain falls, the pollutants in soil will be brought to the river along with the rain, which will then cause water pollution. In addition, increases in use of chemical fertilizer results in higher level of nitrates being washed from the soil into the water ecosystem. This causes an excessive enrichment of the water, eutrophicaton, leading to rapid algal growth that creates oxygen deficit and killing of aquatic life. This chain reaction will further affect our ecosystem and biodiversity. When agrotourism is allowed to develop without proper planning, deforestation might happen. As this sector is growing rapidly, more and more land is required. So, the limited availability of land will lead to deforestation. Deforestation will brings to decrease in the wildlife population and at a more critical state, the biodiversity of the area will be affected. Consequently, there will be agricultural mismanagement which results in less arable land for agriculture and at the meantime, affect the agrotourism sector. Constraints of Agrotourism Lack of promotion is another constraint of agrotourism. Advertisement related to agrotourism is not established to a wider range of places. People will not have much information about the agrotourism places. Besides, the pamphlets that provide incomplete information will confuse the tourists. The information given may not be interesting or fascinating enough to attract the tourists. Furthermore, many places are lack of tour guides to introduce the places to the tourists. These will deter them from visiting the agrotourism spot. The authorities should promote the uniqueness of each village to strengthen the destination by combining with other related activities to reach the goals of agrotourism. Facilities also play an important role in the development of agrotourism. The hardest barriers of agrotourism development are inadequate infrastructures, limited public facilities and imperfect human resource skills. It will be a trouble when the facilities such as transportation, hotel and toilet do not fulfill the tourists demands. Another problem in agrotourism is insufficient government supports. Due to the small amount of governmental expenditure on research and development of agrotourism, technical assistance and support, as well as agro-marketing, agrotourism always faces problems in developing. Government empowerment, investment in agricultural sectors, infrastructure development, human skill improvement, public facilities development, and local communities empowerment and involvement need to be immediately committed to apply an ideal agrotourism. Besides, the younger generation is the important factor in the development of agrotourism. However, they are not concerned and interested about the greenery. From their point of view, agrotourism spot is not an interesting place to travel and it is not worth to go for such an unmemorable and uncomfortable trip. Water World or Extreme Park will draw more attention from them. Also, they are not interested to work in the agrotourism sector. Fresh graduates are not enthusiastic about the job in agrotourism as they thought it is not well-paid compared to the professional sector. As a consequence, there is no new generation to take over this sector. Lastly, scarce investment is a big problem for agrotourism sector. It is more risky to invest in this sector compared to the other sectors which are stable in development. Investors are less likely to invest in agrotourism as this sector is not a popular trend in the world yet. All in all, the government, non-governmental organizations, and even the people of our country should do their best to contribute to agrotourism. The government should not just fork out money in maintenance. Instead, they should find alternatives in supporting the development of agrotourism. Solutions to solve the constraints and implement to improve this sector should be their priority concern. Ways to Improve Agrotourism In Malaysia Agrotourism and homestay programmes provided opportunities for local involvement and additional sources of income. A total of 19 agro-tourism locations were developed with the participation of farmers and fishermen during the Seventh Plan period. The products included day visits, farm-stay and agro-tourism packages. Agrotourism is rapidly carving a niche in Malaysia, especially as the country has a wealth of products to offer locals and visitors alike. Agricultural tourism, as it is formally known, helps by improving incomes and economic potentials of small farms, rural communities and agro-based ventures throughout the country. Visitors can also help with the locals daily chores, feeding the ducks, tending to the vegetables and see how the local communities thrive in todays fast-paced world. There are also homestays where visitors can discover more of local agrotourism practices. There are also fruit farms and parks where locals and visitors can learn more of agroutourism in Malaysia. In Malaysia, an agriculture park measuring over 10000 hectares has been opened, showing visitors how Malaysian agriculture has developed. For example, Cameron Highland located at Pahang and Dusun d Paradise that is situated in Melaka. These places have become tourist hotspot as it offer variety of activity and different experience for tourist. Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism ( MAHA ) is the main organization that promotes the practice of agrotourism. Today, the industry is still growing and need a lot of improvement to achieve optimum benefit. Supportive government policies are one of the ways of improvement. It maintains a business environment with oppurtunities for growth and profits have made agrotourism in Malaysia an attractive sector. The private sector in Malaysia is encouraged to become partners with the public sector in achieving the nations development objectives. Governments commitment to maintain a business environment should be the main objective that provides companies with the opportunities for growth and profits. Government can also pay constant feedback from the business community through channels of consultation such as regular government- private sector dialogues. These allow the various business communities to air their views and to contribute towards the formulation of better agrotourism. Air, land and sea transportation will be continuously upgraded to facilitate accessibility and the growth of the tourism industry. The comfort, safety and security of tourists are crucial for the success of the agrotourism industry. The government will increase security patrols, especially in remote tourist resorts, to ensure the safety of tourists. At the same time, adherence to safety measures in the transportation of passengers by road, rail, sea and air will remain a top priority. Operators, guides and instructors in the tourism business will need to be more conscious of the well-being of tourists and strive to ensure their comfort and safety. In addition, further efforts will be made to provide tourists with quality goods and services at reasonable prices. Over the years, extensive promotional campaigns have been engineered both locally and overseas to attract tourists from around the world. Despite the economic slowdown, the tourism industry remains strong. Today, Malaysia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia. This will allow the agrotourism industry to continuously expanding. Government must take initiative, which are undertaken by its official tourism promotional board, Tourism Malaysia. This will create potential investment opportunities in many areas. Tourism Malaysia has established video clips in local television programme to promote agrotourism. Stable political condition is also essential for marketing in agrotourism even for major tourist attractions. Government should ensure the political condition is always stable so as to allow the continuous of tourist flowing into the country, thus promoting agrotourism. Besides that, this will make investor feel secure and allow them to expand the field safely. Malaysia government should offers investors a young, educated and productive workforce at costs competitive with the other countries in Asia. This will allow the investors to develop and practice agrotourism in a more convenient way. Thus, this will attract more investors to develop in Malaysia and directly contribute to the countrys economy. The investors also need to play their role to improve the practice of agrotourism. They should provide better infrastructure for their customers such as transports, accommodations and catering facilities. They must provide good transport links because even attractive regions can be almost impossible to market for tourism if they are not accessible from the population centres. Investors should ensure that the agriculture they planted must be in healthy condition and always fresh to attract more people to come and have a tour. Investors can cooperate with government to create partnership with travel agency of other country to promote local agrotourism. Tour agency can provide attractive tour packages and promotion for the tourist where is the investor will give cheaper price for the agent. This is a form of symbiosis interaction between the tour agent and investor. Both parties will get benefit from the interaction. Investor must provide wide d