Lightweight Aggregate Concrete (LAC)

Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1: Foreword Aggregate and cement concrete drama a critical function in the civil technology where the building of constructions both for domestic and commercial intent is dependent upon the quality and scientific features of the concrete used as argued by Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) [ 1 ] . This is apparent from the fact that concrete is used in many applications apart from structural applications including insularity, make fulling etc†¦ In this study a critical analysis on the lightweight sum concrete ( LAC ) is presented to the reader. The research will supply a comprehensive penetration on the scientific facets environing LAC and the demand for utilizing LAC in structural applications. 1.2: Purpose and Aims The purpose of this study is to show a critical analysis on the Lightweight Aggregate Concrete ( LAC ) and research on its structural applications and farther developments. The above purpose is achieved by encompassing the study on the undermentioned aimsTo carry on a comprehensive overview on the Lightweight Aggregate Concrete ( LAC ) by supplying the history, definitions and economic factors environing the applications and usage of LAC in civil constructions.To supply a critical overview on the production of cement and its belongingss in the visible radiation of LAC and its application in civil constructions.To show a scientific analysis on the belongingss of LAC utilizing different composing stuffs including both the mechanical and chemical belongingss.To look into on the ordinances refering to LAC and their effects on a specific composing of LAC in a given geographical part.To look into on the LAC production and usage in Greece.1.3: Research Scope The presence of concrete in civil technology is thorough in nature and therefore the research range is limited to the composing of the LAC and its application in civil construction applications. The cardinal facets of the LAC and its industry in Greece is besides included in the range of the research although a planetary research on the LAC industry and ordinances refering to LAC is out of range of this undertaking. The research range besides includes the probe of the general ordinances adhered in the Europe including the ACI-318 and design considerations in the visible radiation of Seismic Design. 1.4: Research methodological analysis The nature of the research is dependent on the analysis and findings environing the LAC which is used in civil constructions. Since constructing a civil construction is non portion of the undertaking due to be and resource restraints, the research methodological analysis is strictly dependent on qualitative analysis utilizing secondary research informations. The qualitative attack to research in instances of the technology analysis is advised as a dependable attack as the findings from the research on the secondary resources are already published therefore supplying a validated beginning of information for analysis. This is farther justified by John W. Creswell ( 2002 ) [ 2 ] . Hence the research methodological analysis in this study is qualitative research utilizing published resources including diaries, text books and scientific documents. The Internet is used as the chief hunt infinite for roll uping information to execute the qualitative analysis. 1.5: Chapter Overview Chapter 1: Introduction This is the current chapter where the reader is provided with a brief debut on the subject, research purpose and aims, range and methodological analysis. The chapter sets the phase for the overall research presented in the study. Chapter 2: Literature Reappraisal In this chapter a historic overview on the concrete and the usage of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete ( LAC ) is presented to the reader. This is so followed by the definition of the LAC and its application in the civil structural applications from a historic position. The chapter is concluded with an overview on the economic factors and benefits realised through the usage of the LAC in the civil construction applications with illustrations. The economic overview besides throws visible radiation on the cardinal facets of LAC that benefit the overall concrete composing in structural applications every bit good as supply a elaborate reappraisal of the assorted LAC composings used in the yesteryear during the initial phases of LAC’s usage in the building industry. Chapter 3: Concrete Production This chapter presents a elaborate overview on the modern concrete production techniques and the development of the production techniques over the old ages. The two popular techniques used in the production viz. the rotary kiln and the sintering procedure with penetration on the fluctuations is presented to the reader in this chapter. Furthermore, the lightweight sum production and the cardinal production methods used in the commercial applications including the advantages associated are presented to the reader. Chapter 4: LAC – Properties, Regulations and composing analysis based on geographics. This chapter presents a critical analysis on the belongingss of LAC and the assorted combination of lightweight sum that is used in different classs of the building. The research throws visible radiation on the assorted composings of lightweight sum and their distinguishable characteristics that help accomplish the coveted benefits in a structural application. The chapter so presents a critical overview on the ordinances refering to the LAC followed by the composing analysis based on the stuffs that are available locally to a given geographical location. The chosen geographics for this research is Greece. Chapter 5: Decision This chapter reviews the aims of the research followed by supplying the decision to the study. Chapter 2: Literature Reappraisal 2.1: Historical overview Concrete, typically a mixture of sand, crushed rock and cement day of the months back to ancient history when ruddy calcium hydroxide was used as a cementing constituent in doing concrete ( Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra, 2002 ) . This makes it clear that the current mixtures of concrete have evolved over the historic periods to provide assorted technology demands with the developments in scientific discipline and the inventions in technology as argued by Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) . A classical illustration for the development of concrete since the ancient history is the usage of concrete by Romans in 300 BC when they found that blending a pink sand-like stuff which was volcanic ash they obtained from Pozzuoli with their normal lime-based concretes resulted in a far stronger stuff. The history behind the usage of sum to do concrete mix day of the months back to every bit early as the early the Roman period when the Romans used advanced methods in fixing concrete mixes with different sum stuffs to accommodate the structural demands and strength. The classical illustrations for the above statement include the usage of lightweight sums as in the roof of the Pantheon, and embedded support in the signifier of bronze bars as argued by Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) . The engineering in concrete utilizing different sums every bit good as accounting for thermic and other physical qualities of re-enforcing stuffs to do concrete mixes that provide the coveted strength is apparent throughout history although the industrial revolution and the addition in the technology and the function of steel in the 20Thursdaycentury have increased the invention every bit good as developments around the engineering of doing the right concrete mix. Concrete is non merely a critical component in the civil structural applications but besides a cardinal component in many other applications environing the building concern doing it one of the of import and most sought after merchandise in the technology concern itself as argued by Fu-Tung Cheng and Eric Olsen ( 2002 ) [ 3 ] . This is of course because of the fact that concrete is non merely a constituent in the building of civil constructions but besides a design ingredient in make up one's minding upon the strength, truss and other physical elements that govern the stableness of a given edifice. This is besides justified in the statements of Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) . The definition of cement in technology footings refers to pulverize stuffs which develop strong adhesive qualities when combined with H2O. This makes it clear that the cementing action of volcanic ash that was used to do concrete by the Romans autumn under the cement. It is farther apparent that concrete is referred to as a composite edifice stuff made from the combination of sum and cement binder. From the above it is clear that the developments in the quality of cement and the innovation of Portland cement, gypsum plaster, etc†¦ have a direct influence on the development of the concrete engineering although the aggregative constituent of the concrete composing plays an every bit of import function in assorted mixes of concrete that serve a coveted intent as argued by Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) . Another component of greater significance to the development of concrete engineering in the recent old ages every bit early as the 1900s is the development of concrete boats during the 2nd universe war where the lightweight sum concrete played a critical function in the design and building of the ships itself as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) [ 4 ] . It is besides interesting to observe that the importance of concrete has increased with the demand for refined and purpose specific concrete mixes where the function of concrete has been non merely to supply the structural support but besides the coveted strength at the needed physical conditions that is set in the given geographical location as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2002 ) . The growing of the expanded clay and shale industry since the morning of the 20Thursdaycentury and the developments during the Second World War when the lightweight sum concrete utilizing clay and shale was used to build the war ships marked the accelerated growing of the usage of lightweight aggregative concrete as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . 2.2: Definition of lightweight sum In order to specify the lightweight sum – the subject under research in this thesis, it is indispensable to show the basicss environing the lightweight sum. Hence this subdivision foremost presents a brief research on sum, its function in building as portion of the concrete mix and so travel towards the nucleus subject ( i.e. ) the definition of lightweight sum. Aggregate is the footings used to jointly mention to the ingredients in doing a concrete mix that gives strength and texture to the overall concrete composing made of sand, cement and sum as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . Aggregate is the composite stuff of the concrete that is aimed to defy compressive emphasis doing it clear that the size, strength and weight of the aggregative stuffs are critical constituents for the overall efficiency of the concrete to pull off the compressive emphasis as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . The modern twenty-four hours concrete utilizations Portland cement as the cementing component and the sum that is held together by the cement and H2O to plan concrete for different grades of strengths, lastingness, heat & A ; sound insularity, and H2O stringency as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . This makes it clear that the sum is the critical constituent of the concrete that attributes to observe merely the strength and quality of the concrete but besides dictates the nature of the applications and the extent to which invention in technology can be taken to. The cardinal physical quality of the sum is the compressive strength that it can back up for a given composing. The lightweight sums that are researched in this study typically attribute to up to 80 lbs per square inch which is used chiefly applications that demand lightweight concrete by virtuousness of the placement or for the support, insularity etc. specific gravitation is another critical component in depicting the quality of sum as the specific gravitation off the substance is straight relative to its emphasis and squeezability factors as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . A typical combination and most popular in the building industry for the sum is the crushed rock and sand mix at different sizes and squeezability that are used in high demand building structural applications as argued by Glenn A. Black. Hence sum in concrete is defined as the constituent of concrete that attributes to the strength, lastingness, squeezability and insularity properties to back up the coveted building application. Lightweight Aggregate Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) says â€Å"The term â€Å" Lightweight Aggregate † describes a scope of particular usage sums that have an evident specific gravitation well below normal sand and crushed rock which were at one clip used in about all concrete† . From the above it is clear that the lightweight sum is one of the critical elements that makes concrete flexible and various to do the overall structural design and specifications as to run into the building demands as argued by Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) . It is besides interesting to observe that the lightweight sum in the concrete that is made utilizing light weight stuffs besides provide an appreciable degree of squeezability every bit good as possess strength that can be defined based on the composing therefore doing it a versatile and cost effectual procedure in the production procedure itself. The scope of lightweight sum is extended in nature from highly light stuffs used for insularity and non-structural concrete all the manner to expanded clays and shales used for structural concrete. This makes it clear that the lightweight sum in the concrete is chiefly aimed to accomplish high degree of physical stableness and squeezability through efficaciously using the physical qualities of the aggregative stuffs. This is farther justified in the statements of Leif Berntsson Satish Chandra ( 2002 ) who argues that the lightweight sum in the concrete is a major measure towards invention in the field of technology itself. The strength and the air trapped in each single atom of the constituents of the aggregative stuffs are reciprocally relative to each other therefore doing it clear that in order to derive lightweight aggregate the sum of air trapped in the single atoms must be high therefore doing it clear that the strength of the concrete therefore obtained is low. The above relationship stated provides the counsel to guarantee the balance between the air trapped and the strength required in the concrete mix therefore doing the overall lightweight sum concrete customisable to run into the structural demands of the application on manus. Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Spectrum The concrete spectrum ensuing from the usage of the lightweight sum is highly diverse in nature runing from really lightweight sum concrete up to high strength sums dedicated for specific bespoke applications as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . The ace lightweights scope of aggregative concrete that are derived from Vermiculite and Perlite are the capable of presenting weights every bit low as 15 to 20 lbs per three-dimensional pes therefore doing it clear the application of lightweight sums in the technology concern provides a diverse scope of applications for concrete. The natural sums, Pumice and Scoria for illustration can be used to do concrete deliberation at approximately 25 to 30 lbs per three-dimensional pes and extended every bit high as 65 lbs per three-dimensional pes as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . Furthermore, the usage of coal clinkers and expanded shale, clay and slate sums produced utilizing rotary kiln method can present weights in a varying scope from 75 to 120 lbs per three-dimensional pes. Another popular production method for this scope of sums includes the sintering where the weights are delivered typically runing from 90 to 120 lbs per three-dimensional pes. The high terminal applications of aggregative concrete include the production of sums capable of presenting weights up to 150 lbs per three-dimensional pes utilizing the air-cooled scoria sums and the hard-rock sums such as sand and crushed rock and crushed rock, which produce conventional concretes as mentioned by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . From the above it is clear that the sums that lie in the lower terminal of the weight that have lower compressive strength are used chiefly for insularity intents whilst those in the in-between spectrum are used for insularity and filling. The high terminal of the lightweight sum concrete spectrum are used in a broad scope of structural applications that demand high compressive strengths every bit good as efficient direction of weight as argued by Glenn A. Black. The concrete spectrum for the lightweight sum concrete is presented in the figure below Fig 1: Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Spectrum ( Beginning: Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) ,Lightweight Concrete history, Applications and Economics,Indiana University ) 2.3: Economicss environing lightweight Aggregate Concrete The cardinal facets of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete that attribute to the economical and structural benefits derived through the structural applications utilizing LAC include the undermentioned 2.3.1:Fire opposition– Resistance to fire is one of the critical elements that is expected in concrete to guarantee that the fire opposition and the structural stableness of the civil construction is maintained through the usage of aggregative concrete as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) [ 5 ] . The fire opposition of lightweight sum is higher compared to the typical concrete sum chiefly because of the fact that the aggregative stuffs composing the lightweight sum have lower thermic conduction, lower coefficient of thermic enlargement as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . The fact that the aggregative stuffs possess built-in fire resistant belongingss is the cardinal component that is emphasised and strengthened in instance of the lightweight aggregates where the aforesaid heat opposition belongingss help accomplish higher fire opposition. It is besides interesting to observe that the built-in fire stableness of sum is high and in instance o f the lightweight sum it is at a heat of over 2000 grades Fahrenheit. As it is stated in the â€Å"ACI 216 â€Å" Standard Method for Determining fire Resistance of Concrete and Masonry Construction Assemblies † , when slab thickness is determined by fire opposition and non by structural standards ( Goists, waffle slabs e.g. ) , the superior public presentation of lightweight concrete, will cut down the thickness of slabs ensuing in significantly lower concrete volumes† , ( John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm, 2006 ) . From the above it is clear that the fire opposition belongingss of the lightweight sum straight contributes to the overall structural stableness and the decrease in the volume occupied by the concrete in the structural applications. This justifies the various nature of the lightweight sum therefore enabling it to be used in advanced structural applications as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . 2.3.2: Service Life of the Structure– The service life of the construction is another critical component that is used as step of economic usage in instance of measuring the concrete and the aggregative efficiency against the capital invested as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) further provinces that the lastingness of lightweight sum is high and the life of the constructions constructed utilizing lightweight sum prove to hold higher life lastingness. The historical grounds to warrant the aforesaid include popular constructions likeThe Port of Cosa –built about 273 B.C. where the builders used lightweight concrete made out of natural volcanic stuffs,The Pantheonthat was finished in 27 B.C that incorporates concrete changing in denseness from underside to exceed of the dome and the most popular Amphitheater, built in 75 to 80 A.D. where the foundations were cast as lightweight concrete utilizing crushed volcanic lava as argued b y John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . From the above statements it is apparent that the lastingness of the constructions designed utilizing the lightweight concrete is extended in nature. Looking into the more modern illustrations to warrant the service life of the lightweight sum used in concrete for building include the lightweight concrete ships built by the American Emergency Fleet Corporation during the First World War. The compressive strengths of the concrete used were in the scope of 5000 pounds per square inch ( 35 MPa ) obtaining a unit weight of 110 lb/ftJ ( 1760 kg/mJ ) or less utilizing the rotary kiln produced expanded shale and clay sum as identified by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . The service of these lightweight concrete boats during the universe wars and their subsequent in the merchandiser ships warrant the lastingness and service life of the lightweight sum used in concrete building applications. Furthermore, the fact that the higher degree of air trapped in the atoms make the submergence efficient in instance of the marine applications makes lightweight sum as a natural pick for the Marine applications although the usage of lightweig ht concrete extends to commercial structural applications in many Bridgess across the United States of America where the structural efficiency and stableness on Bridgess that were deemed unserviceable due to hapless burden bearing capablenesss was improved through the usage of lightweight aggregative concrete as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . Furthermore, the critical component that attributes to the service life of the lightweight concrete is the heat opposition, opposition to environmental corrosion and its lightweight that reduces the burden on the construction doing its service life longer than the typical concrete applications. 2.3.3: Economic sustainability John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) argue that the structural applications in the modern yearss are judged against the cost, functionality, aesthetics or a combination of these as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . This makes it clear that the costs associated with the building of the construction every bit good as the running costs associated with care, infinite and fix are the critical elements that attribute to the pick of a given concrete mix over another. The lightweight sum that is used in the LAC is higher in costs compared to the typical concrete mix as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . This is of course because of the demand to bring forth the concrete mix utilizing stuffs of alone physical belongingss and the extent of research and development involved with the overall design of the building application. Alongside, the cost is treated as the cardinal component in instance of commercial execution of building applications preponderant ly because of the fact that the step on the returns in footings of return on investing is attributable when compared against the costs associated with the building of the construction. John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) say that although the capital involved with the building of lightweight constructions is high, the fact that the low care costs and costs associated with other back uping constructions during the buildings like the decrease in steel, girders and besides the decrease in the slab thickness will equilibrate the costs with the production of the LAC concrete mix itself. This farther justifies that the economic sustainability where the return on the investing and the optimal pick for building is accomplishable utilizing lightweight sum as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) The statements of Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) that the lightweight sum besides has the benefit of lower degree of care and negligible fixs associated due to its lastingness features farther justify that the effectivity of the lightweight sum in accomplishing economic sustainability is high. Hence the lightweight sum is extremely recommended in the building of critical structural applications like Bridgess and commercial edifice where the burden bearing is high and the infinite is a critical component to salvage costs. 2.3.3: Energy ingestion and energy nest eggs– The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive of the European Union is a classical illustration for the justification that the composing of the concrete and the belongingss of the constituents consisting the construction of constructing commercial and domestic contribute straight to the overall energy ingestion as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . This is farther justified in the statements of Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) [ 6 ] where the writer has justified that the concrete mix and the design of the overall construction to accommodate the structural demands have a direct impact on the energy ingestion. Alongside, the heat immune belongingss of the lightweight sum and the ability to pin down higher sum of air within the atoms consisting the sum further do the lightweight sum to be able to run into the warming and chilling demands in a given construction as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . It is besides interesting t o observe that the energy public presentation efficiency in the edifice particularly in the West where a major part of the energy is used for heating intents justify that the concrete mix and the aggregative composing to do the concrete mix are critical for the successful energy nest eggs in the edifices as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . The lastingness, stableness and other physical belongingss including the squeezability of an aggregative stuff property to the ability of the concrete used in the edifice to retain heat therefore cut downing the ingestion of energy for interior warming intents as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . It is besides a good known fact that the decrease in the concrete denseness increases the thermic opposition therefore doing it clear that the lightweight sum will increase the thermic opposition due to the lower specific gravitation of the aggregative composing that reduces the denseness of the concrete used in the building of the construction. A typical illustration is the concrete denseness of 90lb/cubic pes will hold a opposition ( R value ) of 0.26/inch whilst the R value for a denseness of 135lb/cubic pes is about 0.10/inc therefore doing it clear the energy efficiency is greatly increased through the usage of lightweight sums as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . Chapter 3: Concrete Production 3.1: Overview The production of concrete mix utilizing the sum is achieved through the commixture of the sum, sand and cement with right sums of H2O to bring forth the concrete mix of the necessary strength. The concrete commixture is dependent upon the quality of the sum every bit good as the cement used to accomplish the coveted denseness, strength and squeezability of the concrete for the structural application. In this chapter a critical overview on the cement production followed by the production methods for lightweight sums is presented to the reader. 3.2: Cement Production The chief ingredient for the production of cement is limestone of changing chemical composings that are freely available in the preies as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . The lime rock is processed and farther chemicals are added to derive the cement of the necessary strength and squeezability. The undermentioned explains the production procedure briefly The natural limestone of changing chemical combinations is foremost collected to fix the natural mix where the limestone is assorted with minerals of minerals incorporating Ca oxide, Si oxide, aluminum oxide, ferrous oxide, and Mg oxide. This mixture is prepared to a all right mixture which forms the natural mix for a typical Portland cement. This is so blended to organize the natural blend where the natural mix is formulated to a really tight chemical preparation to derive the coveted strength from the finished green goods of the cement as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . The natural blending procedure is conducted in a manner where the comparative content of each oxide in the chemical composing is kept changeless throughout the production procedure in order to guarantee that the belongingss of the concluding merchandise is non altered. It is besides argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) really little alterations to the Ca content in the natural mix may take to big alterations in the ratio of alite to belite in the cinder, and to matching alterations in the cement ‘s strength-growth features ( Sarah Gaventa, 2006 ) . This makes it clear that the effectual control of the natural mix is critical for the production of consistent quality cement to run into the demands of the structural application. The following phase is the preparation of the cinder where the blend natural mixture is put through a complex chemical reaction procedure in a big cement kiln with temperature increasing over the length of the cylinder as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . The concluding merchandise of the procedure is called cinder which is the concluding merchandise of the cement produced in the solid signifier at the coveted chemical combination. This is so put through a cement crunching procedure where the cinder that is produced is assorted with little sums of Ca sulfate to crunch the cement to the desired coarseness in order to back up the structural application. Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) further argues that the major constituents that decide on the strength and quality of cement include the undermentionedCinderGypsumLimestoneBlast Furnace SlagThe Blast Furnace Slag is one of the critical elements in lending to the stableness of the chemical reaction in the cement kiln as argued by Sarah Gaventa ( 2006 ) . Another interesting component with the blast furnace scoria is the fact that the effectual usage of the scoria in the cement production procedure besides allows to command the specific gravitation of the cement when assorted with aggregative and H2O to organize concrete every bit good as the ability to make the coveted strength of the cement concrete through the right combination of limestone and gypsum. The schematic of the cement production procedure is presented in the fig 2 below. Fig 2: Cement production Schematic ( Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cimnat.com.lb/Production/Model.gif ) 3.3: Sum production The aggregative production is the following critical component in the lightweight concrete readying as the lightweight sum is one of the major elements that must be produced at a higher degree of preciseness in order to guarantee the coveted degree of strength and specific gravitation are achieved as argued by John P. Ries and Thomas A. Holm ( 2006 ) . The rotary kiln method is a traditional method of production which is popular since 1946 as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . The procedure of the production involves the application of heat to shale, clay and slate under controlled conditions. The conditions include the force per unit area and other features that trigger chemical reactions in order to accomplish the preferable specific gravitation and denseness of the sum constituent which is so land to the needed coarseness as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) . The sintering method every bit good as the rotary kiln method typically use the similar base natural stuff that comprise of a extremely silicious clay or shale that exhibits a bloating characteristic which is achieve through gas-forming minerals which release gas on exposure to the desired degree of heat as argued by Glenn B. Black ( 2004 ) . It is besides interesting to observe that the readying of the sum is dependent upon the extent to which the force per unit area and the external temperature is controlled that set the temperature-based chemical reactions as argued by Glenn A. Black ( 2004 ) .

Case Study †Mr Rakesh Sharma Essay

The case study given is about a fresh graduate, Mr. Rakesh Sharma joined Modern Industries Ltd. (MIL) in Bangalore as a trainee against a projected vacancy in the Paints Application Department for one-year training. Mr. Sharma has been performed very well. The Department Manager and the Training Manager were satisfied with his performance in the first two quarters. However, when stepping in to the third quarter, Mr. Sharma raised an issue about curtailing his training period. The request has not be entertained and Mr. Sharma’s behavior started to change and became unacceptable. Counseling session and warning letter have been issued to him and the situation did not turn good. One of the primary objectives of the Training Department is to recruit who have good potential and train them to be effective persons in different department. The Training Manager clearly known that Mr. Sharma is a potential trainee but he failed to train him in different department and caused Mr. Sharma only have one choice of department to stay which is the Paint Application Department. The Training Manager have to struggle on his rational decision whether to terminate or not to terminate Mr.  Sharma. There are five issues discussed in this report. These five issues are the main causes to the problem that the Training Manage has to decide whether he should terminate Mr. Sharma or not. The five issues are communication, employees behavior, compensation and benefit, company policy, training and development. Moreover, we also discussed five options to the Training Manager other than termination of Mr. Sharma. These five options are apply employee engagement program, training and coaching system, giving short period to show improvement, reevaluate performance of Mr.  Sharma and communicate and persuade the parties involved. HRM issues that cause to the problem Issue 1: Communications Effective communication is essential to business success. â€Å"You can tie back almost every employee issue attendance, morale, performance, and productivity to communication,† says Fred Holloway, an HR adviser in Medford, Oregon. Businesses without effective staff communication suffer from lost profits, poor productivity and poor employee morale. In order to solve many business problems, employees need to be able to collaborate and cooperate effectively. Good communication can encourage employees to work harder, solve problems together and work towards a common goal. It is the job of every manager to ensure employees and superior are communicating effectively with each other. In the cases of MIL, we found that there is some communication problems between shop manager and Mr. Sharma; Training Manager and Mr. Sharma as well. More interaction / communication between trainees has to be established especially for performance appraisal purpose. Reviewing trainee performance once at the end of every quarter is too long for training manager to review their performance accurately. Trainees’ performance might not be consistent from time to time and advise might need to be given to them. Also, training manager might lack of clearer understanding about their overall performance and problems they faced. Hence, this lack of communication between training manager and trainees including Mr. Sharma caused manager hardly to observe their actual performances, problem faced and what they really want or do they deserve to enjoy more benefit? These are all the grey areas that left out by performances review. Besides, Department Manager should be communicate and discuss with Mr.  Sharma before file a complaint on him to Training Manager. Department Manager obligated to understand employee problem and assist it to cope with problem faced. However, department manager failed to do so. This shows there is lacking of communication between Mr. Sharma and Department Manager. Listening and responding is how we understand the feelings and thoughts of the other person. There is no skill more important for effective communication than taking into consideration the other person? s perspective. Try standing in someone else? s shoes; it will considerably improve your communication with that person. In this case, Training manager doesn’t seem to communicate well with Mr. Sharma when Mr. Sharma voice out his request. The manager’s reply upon Mr. Sharma is more considered as a perfunctory to Mr. Sharma. This caused Mr. Sharma to feel that the request and problems were not being taken seriously by management. As a result, it de-motivated Mr. Sharma to keep on with training. Manager should standing in employee’s shoes to understand better their exact situation and their needs. It certainly assists a lot to improve communication between manager and employees. Hence, we suggest that manager should really look into the matter if any of the subordinate especially trainee voicing out opinion and requests. Manager should investigate and evaluate such matter deeply upon Mr. Sharma’s request to decide whether his performance is good enough to curtail his training period to 7 months and absorb him as engineer. Also, to look into trainee’s benefits whether it reaching satisfactory level for trainees or whether the matter is only happened on Mr. Sharma since there is an issue has been voice out by him. Issue 2: Employee’s behavior Employee’s behavior is referring to the way the employee responses toward his/her job. Generally, employee’s behavior can be classified into either positive or negative. A positive behavior indicates a strong employment engagement towards company whereas an employee with negative behavior shows low employment engagement. In this case, one of the issues found is the personal behavior of Mr. Sharma. When Mr. Sharma is being informed that his request to become a regular employee was disapproved, his attitude started to change differently. He then started to become de-motivated and started rejecting to perform in some task which assigned to him, telling that the assigned work should be done by ‘regular workers’ instead of a trainee. Such action did not receive any attention in the initial period but it then become erratic and unacceptable at last. We think that Mr. Sharma portrait an attitude of egoism. Mr. Sharma only focuses on self- interest without being considering for others. In this case, Mr. Sharma tried to demonstrate to the company by practicing de-motivate attitude in work. Employees in company supposed to work together as a whole and team work certainly the most important criteria. Unfortunately, Mr. Sharma failed to practice it in this case. Another sub-issue of the case is employment engagement. Mr. Sharma showed a low employment engagement to the company by becoming less aggressive and progressive towards the job as well as refusing to work on some task assigned to him. An employee with low engagement to company eventually lowers down the productivity and efficiency. We think that Mr. Sharma should have a long term view rather just focusing on short term benefits. As a part of the company, he should show an active, progressive and aggressive attitude towards his work to convince training manager that he deserved to curtail his training period and get promoted to regular employee. Issue 3: Compensation and Benefits Compensation and benefits is an effective tool and method to motivate and reward a employee based on their performance. However, it could be a sensitive issue between employer and employee while discussing the content of the compensation and benefits. In this case study, Mr. Rakesh Sharma requested that his training period be curtailed to 7 months only and to absorb him as an Engineer. He argued that he had been performing like a regular employee in the department for the last one quarter. He indicated that he would gain seniority as well as some monetary benefits as the trainees were eligible for a stipend only. The regular employees were eligible for many allowances like conveyance, dearness, house rent, education, etc. which was a substantial amount as compared to the stipend paid to a trainee. According to Mr. Sharma’s request, one of the main factors that he would like to be absorbed as a regular engineer is monetary benefits. Hence, the differences between his on-the-job training benefits and regular employee benefits have caused him to come out with the request. This is also one of the issues that lead to the eventual problem of termination. Employee compensation is the employee incentives and rewards that can make all the difference when it comes to retaining good workers. Generally, compensation and benefits for a regular employee will divided into four categories which are: 1. Guaranteed pay: Monetary reward paid by an employer to an employee based on employee/employer relations.  Generally, it also known as basic salary. Besides, there is other pay elements which are paid based solely on employee or employer relations, such as seniority allowance. 2. Variable pay: Monetary reward paid by an employer to an employee that is contingent on discretion, performance or results achieved. For example, bonuses, commissions, dearness, and so on. 3. Benefits: Programs an employer uses to supplement employees’ compensation, such as paid time off, medical insurance, company car, and more. 4. Equity-based compensation: A plan using the employer’s share as compensation. The most common examples are stock options. These are the compensations and benefits that will received if you are a regular employees of a company. However, Mr. Sharma is not a regular employee yet as his on-the-job training is still on-going and only 5 months left. Hence, he still considered as a trainee in the company. Although a trainee is not an official employee of a company, he or she might not have salary. But, trainee may receive compensation and benefits from company. Trainee will receive a fixed compensation of monthly payment from company. Depends on respective company, some company will afford trainee fringe benefits. For example, they will issue stipend for trainee, free meal is available for trainee. Besides, some company might issue health and medical subsidy for trainee too. Yet, a trainee compensation and benefits are still not persuasive when compare with a regular employee. Same with the case, Mr. Sharma requested to be promoted to a regular engineer is not because of his good performance on the job, it is also because of the compensation and benefits of a regular employee are more sufficient and attractive.

How Does Knowledge of the Foundations and History of Nursing Provide a Context in Which to Understand Current Practice? Essay

Without an understanding of basic nursing there is no room for improvement. â€Å"By understanding the history and foundation of nursing nurses can develop a sense of professional identity and build a better future for the profession and the people they serve† (lc.gcumedia.com, 2013). We also have a better appreciation for the nursing profession and what it has evolved into today. Three trends that were demonstrated by the interactive timeline were: 1.Nursing was for the undesirables. â€Å"Ill individuals were taken care of by â€Å"sinners, saints, or mothers† â€Å"(lc.gcumedia.com, 2013). Florence Nightingale was born in a wealthy English family and had educational opportunities; however she would still often find herself wanting to help the poor. Soon after completion of nursing school she travelled to the Crimea War. There she suggested there were â€Å"five essential components to an optimal healing environment; pure air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanl iness and light† (Kelly, 2012, p. 2397). With those changes alone the mortality rate decreased and the meaning of nursing was forever changed into what we know today. 2.Nursing was predominately for males. Like every profession in the past, men would work while women stayed at home. During war men would act like nurses by treating injured soldiers and attempting to save others lives. Florence Nightingale once again changed nursing from the past to what we know today by walking on the battle fields rendering aid to those who were wounded. 3.The birth of the American Nurses Association. The American Nurse Association (ANA) was founded in 1896. The ANA has enabled nurses to achieve higher education and given them more opportunities by providing routes to become credentialed in certain specialties and â€Å"published a vast collection of material on nursing practice and the profession† (lc.gcumedia.com, 2013). These trends have influenced me by making me thankful to all who have made nursing what it has become. Today’s nurse has evolved from a profession of the â€Å"undesirable† to the â€Å"honorable†, changed from a profession that was predominately male to n ow include females and lastly grown from only an individual’s perspective to having a huge voice within a major organization (ANA). The nursing profession has come a long way and there is always room for improvement but without the knowledge of foundations and history it wouldn’t be where it is today. References http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/couseMaterialPages/nrs430v_timeline.php. Kelly, J. (2012). Editorial: What has Florence Nightingale ever done for clinical nurses?. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 21(17/18), 2397-2398. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03455.x

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Business Plan Assignment

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Business Plan - Assignment Example r is going to produce high quality and natural fruit juice using three different fruits appropriate for every age group and will be based on the fact that fruits and fruit juices are popular among Kuwaitis. The fruit bar will serve coconut, pure melon, and sugarcane juice in clear cups in a way that no one in the market is doing. The target market for Fruiti Oasis Juice Bar is the upper and middle class people of Kuwaiti City, particularly those who are working in the City for both males and females. The business will be able to target the elderly who do not want to take additional and fancy ingredients, as well as the younger generation between 25 and 45 who would are increasingly health conscious. Moreover, there are mothers who do not want their children to use products that are unnatural. It is the business management’s opinion that this will allow the juice bar to target a wide range of demographic customers, including children, young people, and the elderly. A PEST and SWOT analysis are also carried out to determine market suitability. Kuwaiti City does not have exclusive juice bars and, although businesses like ice-cream parlors, bakeries, fast-food shops, and restaurants also serve fruit juices, they only do so as an alternative to their main business. Kuwaiti City does not have exclusive juice bars and, although businesses like ice-cream parlors, bakeries, fast-food shops, and restaurants also serve fruit juices, they only do so as an alternative to their main business. Media used for promotion will include billboards, newspapers, and the internet. The business will be located in a highly visible retail location, which will either be within a mall-type setting in an area with high traffic or as a stand-alone property that is in an area with high human traffic. This property is going to be a rented one because it would be unwise to buy property, as property prices in Kuwait City are very high. With regards to layout, the logo for the company will be

Conflict Resolution - Mediation 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Conflict Resolution - Mediation 2 - Essay Example Unlike arbitrators, the mediator has no legal authority of imposing any decision rules but relies on persuasion in order to reach an agreement to the dispute. The process involves confidential meetings with the participants where the mediator has no liberty to reveal what the participant said during the meeting without the express consent of the participant. The mediation process involves key steps which include the opening statement at the meetings, education phase, options (alternatives) generation phase, negotiation phase and closing phase (Billikopf 1). The opening statement involves setting the rules of engagement like confidentiality requirements and ground rules of approaching the negotiation phase. The education phase of the mediation phase entails setting the perspectives of the dispute, the key needs of each disputant and feelings of each party to the dispute. At this stage, the disputants are required to relive themselves of any negative feelings towards each other and con fidently state their desired outcome towards the dispute. The alternatives seeking stage involves brainstorming and searching for the viable alternatives of ending the dispute. The negotiation parties explore the alternatives of ending the dispute at the negotiation stage while the final stage includes closing the dispute with the most viable and mutually agreed solution of settlement (Billikopf 2). Transformative dispute mediation style involves an opportunity for moral growth and empowerment of the parties to the dispute. The mediator will encourage the debate to the conflict and direct the process while adhering to the ground rules set by the parties. Problem solving mediation sees the conflict as a short term situation that needs a solution whereby the mediator acts as an expert in finding the solutions to the settlement. The mediator can adopt a party controlled approach whereby discussions include broad questions and allowing emotions or an evaluative approach whereby emotions are limited and have authority to direct the discussions. Some principles to mediation include openness, balanced approach, resourcefulness, inspiration and tactfulness in approaching the mediation process. The mediator should remain impartial and neutral during the mediation process while disclosing any potential instances that may cause conflicts of interest. The mediator should build confidence to the process by showing his confidence and trust which is demonstrated by his or her ability to smile, listen, remain tactful and build cordial relationships with all the disputants. The mediator should undertake the responsibility of ensuring no potential instances that contribute to conflict of interest which can jeopardize his impartiality and neutrality to the mediation process. Emotions such as anger, sadness and shame should be avoided during the mediation process since they may result to defensiveness or criticism during the mediation process. During a party-mediated process, the mediator should conduct the mediation process in a manner which ensures competence and mutual respect to all the disputants. Some levels of resolution which are critical include the end to behavioral fighting, settlement of conflict issues, eliminating the emotional tensions and reconciliation of the outstanding disputes between the disputants. Party directed mediation is mainly useful when poor communication, and personality conflicts exist which threaten the ongoing interpersonal relations. The purpose of

ECONOMIC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ECONOMIC - Essay Example But is it possible that good looks can make huge salary differences? Does it affect the productivity level as well? To test these hypotheses research was conducted by Daniel S. Hamermesh, Amy Parker (2004) in which a comparatively larger group of teachers and students was selected and to check that how far looks and beauty can influence the earnings of an individual several measures were identified which later helped in making the analysis and conclusions. In a research conducted by (Sussmuth, 2006) the results indicates that in the German educational and working environment the looks of a teacher and his/her perceived appearance has a very weak relationship with the instructors performance and productivity level. In contrast to this the conclusions made by (Mobius and Rosenblat 2006) on a study work based on the same subject states that the good and attractive appearance of a person increases his/her confidence level which ultimately leads to increased wages and salaries. While appo inting any teacher the management usually judges him/her on the basis of qualification, experience and teaching worth. However it is analyzed through several studies that students extend their goodwill towards teachers who are exceptional in their looks and maintains a beautiful personality. This compels the appointing authorities to favor those teachers who have better rating at the evaluation forms. These teachers ultimately enjoy an elevated economic position in the society. The research article has examined the impacts of beauty on the performance of undergraduate teachers with respect to their students. Students rated the teachers on their performance which was analyzed to evaluate the effect of beauty on teacher’s productivity. Persico, Postlewaite and Silverman (2004) have put forward another element in this regard that the tall height of an individual in the adolescence leads him to make achievements and accomplishments in the later life as tall height is a key factor in inducing confidence and self fulfillment in an individual. Teachers are assessed on their performance by the management in the last weeks of semesters in the University of Texas, Austin, where this research was conducted. The assessment was made through a form given to the students in which they had to rate their instructors according to their own satisfactory or unsatisfactory level about the course in absence of the teacher. Snaps of the faculty members were uploaded on the websites of their particular departments in order to record students’ ratings based on teacher’s looks. 16,957 students out of 25,547 successfully completed their evaluation forms. Additional information to increase the validity of research was also acquired by the students which included: gender of the teacher, residency in this field, status and the educational background in terms of the native language at the undergraduate level. Students’ ratings on the teachers’ pictures was recorded by a 10 to 1 scale. Through which the researchers evaluated the impacts of beauty on productivity. A model was devised for the evaluation purpose in which there were mainly two categories namely X and Z. The X category included the components such as gender, minority or majority level, English speaking skills and the term path. The innermost variable was the fused evaluation of beauty and looks. The Z category

Direct Digital Synthesis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Direct Digital Synthesis - Research Paper Example Direct digital synthesis is about storing waveform data points in digital format, and then recreating them with the use of digital to analog converters from the stored data. Essentially, the speed with which the synthesizer is able to regenerate the waveform is correlated with the waveform frequency. Digital techniques for mapping waveform data point into digital formats for storage and retrieval and are at the heart of DDS systems. In essence the basic components of a DDS system are the phase accumulator, the waveform map, the digital to analog converter or DAC, and the low pass filter, which sums up the DDS process from the mapping of the waveform signal into digital data, to the recreation of the analog waveform via the use of a DAC and a low pass filter to perfect the waveform. The illustration below details this simplified DDS system [1]: An even more simplified version of the DDS architecture shrinks it into two essential components, the phase generator/accumulator, which is time discrete, and the phase-to-waveform converter, for recreating the appropriate output signal of the DDS [2]: In the image above, the low pass filters and the waveform map that is part of the previous diagram are assumed to be present in the background, as peripheral components [1] [2]. On the other extreme is a more detailed diagram representing the basic functions of a DDS system, that expands on the first diagram above, and includes the waveform map and low pass filter [3]: The idea behind DDS is that waveforms of various kinds are easily implementable and can be easily recreated from digitally stored waveform data, and the freedom that this gives to designers includes that whereas in the past, more and more complex analog components were needed to recreate more and more complex waveforms, in the case of DDS systems all that is needed is stored digital data.