FORCES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

FORCES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS - Case Study Example Religion and language are also important cultural factors that influence international business. Natural resources forces explain the significance of natural geography, topography, natural endowments, climate and sustainability of energy resources use on international business. The political system in the country reflects the will of the country in determining its course of economic growth. Political stability in the country is essential for long term prospects of business. Many countries now are more open to privatization of business. A country's economic health will determine demand for goods and services and availability of infrastructure and other resources for doing business. Maturity of legal system in a country will determine the risk of doing business in the country and is essential for fair transactions. The country's financial position in terms of balance of payments, exchange rate, inflation etc will help multinational companies to draw up strategies on investment, managem ent of finances etc. Availability of labour and labor market trends will be important in determining setting up operations in a country. The Case of Coca Cola operations in India indicates how these seven forces influenced the company in its operations and how it reacted. The company had to face ethical dilemma of operating its plant in remote locations and face accusations of making profits at the cost of depriving locals of natural resource. Socio-Cultural forces Culture affects all business functions. Hofstede's cultural dimension model will be a useful starting parting to understand how culture influences business ((Hofstede, 2001).The power distance factor could indicate how bureaucracy operates in the country. If it is high it will mean a highly centralized decision making structure and very little delegation of powers to local authorities. This knowledge will help a company in doing negotiations. Very often this also defines the relationship between consumer and seller. This will also have an important bearing on organizational design. For example an organisation which tries to bring in its organizational value of empowered decentralized decision making to its employees from a cultural background of high power distance, will face difficulties in implementation (Meade 2005, p 95). Uncertainty avoidance may influence attitudes to entrepreneurship in society and inclination to take risks in financial institutions. Individualism vs. collecti vism dimension will indicate the level of influence of unions and labors attitude to collective bargaining. This will also determine the predominance of task or relationship in interpersonal management. Religion has a strong influence on commerce. Religion is responsible for many beliefs and attitude affecting behaviour, which is brought into business and organizations by people (Ball et al 2008). Attitude to work, accumulation of material wealth

Obama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Obama - Essay Example In the US state of Ohio, there was great resonance between President Barack Obama’s arguments and those of the voters regarding the economic woes that America has experienced in the recent years as a result of the Bush government (â€Å"Fox News Exit†). On the national level, President Barack Obama’s campaign played a very important role opposing the supposed war on women by Romney. This gained President Barack Obama heavy support of the female voters whereas Mitt Romney gained no more than a point from the 2008 performance of John McCain. In addition to that, President Barack Obama also approved of the gay marriages in America understanding the fact that gays are growing in population in America. This gained him the support of the gay community as well and has contributed to his presidency for the second time. I personally think that President Barack Obama won the re-election fundamentally because he is black by ethnicity. The blacks in America have grown in population over the years and they see President Barack Obama as their own representative in such a prestigious institution as the government. Equality of races in America has been a growing concern since the end of slavery, but since then, the blacks’ rights have been subjugated at different levels, though not as overtly and openly as they were in the time of slavery. A vast majority of the black Americans voted for President Barack Obama because they did not want to lose their representation in the most powerful seat in America. The white Americans, on the other hand, were not quite as conscious about being represented in the government as the black Americans were because the former have always been more than sufficiently represented everywhere in America. So the white Americans primarily based their decision of voting betwee n President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on the basis of their evaluation of their individualistic strengths and weaknesses. Understandably, some white Americans did find

Research In Human Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research In Human Relations - Essay Example Let us now define research through its characteristics. Research begins with a problem or a question followed by the setting of goals and devising of a method or specific plan. The main problem is expounded by a hypothesis and assumptions regarding the cause or possible solutions are accepted as part of the research process. Research is not only about data gathering, but it is likewise concerned with the interpretation of data as a means to arrive at a solution to the problem or an answer to the main question (Andersen). There are four basic research design elements. These elements include treatments, measures, time and groups or individual. We shall focus on the time element for the purposes of this paper. Time is very important as it determines the degree and quality of observed changes. There are two classifications of research design under the time element: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. A cross-sectional study is carried out at one instance, while a longitudinal study occurs over a period of time with a series of measurements (Trochim, 2006). A cross-sectional study includes observation of diverse groups of people of various age levels or a cross-section of a population. A longitudinal study involves observing and gathering information from the same group of people over a period of time. The focus of cross-sectional studies is on the differences between groups at a certain point in time, while the focus of longitudinal studies is on individual change over an extended period of time (A Research Typology, 2004). Since a cross-sectional study is done at only one instance, the expenses and time needed to gather data are very minimal. This is an advantage of the cross-sectional strategy. It is more convenient for both the participants and the researcher because there is only one period for data gathering (King, 2001). The participants need not go back for other sessions and researchers do not need to maintain contact with participants and sustain a budget for data collection over a long period of time. Another advantage is the large amount of diverse data that can be collected at one time. This data is very useful to the researcher in the immediate analysis and solution of a problem, and may also be very helpful to other researchers searching for similar data. A major di sadvantage though of this strategy is its failure to measure the actual individual changes that will occur or may inevitably be experienced by the subjects. It is a static representation of the variables and causes and effects cannot be measure accurately. In attitudinal or perception studies more often used in Psychology, a cross-sectional study is not dependable because many factors may affect the disposition or attitude of a person at a given time. Personal problems or emotionally disturbance experienced by subjects very close to the data gathering session may affect their responses. The elimination of outside factors can be done through a longitudinal study where subjects are contacted at different periods where their experiences and personal dispositions are varied. The main advantage of a longitudinal study is its ability to determine actual changes and trends that happen over a vast interval of time because it documents information from each subject at specific age levels and records comparisons between subjects across different timelines. Patterns of changes and causes of

Human resources. Recruitment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Human resources. Recruitment - Essay Example 12). She pointed out that there are three recruitment stages. These stages include the efforts by the organization to extend to the applicant populace to influence a little segment of them to become applicants. Another phase includes the efforts of the company to convince applicants to continue to be engrossed in the organization and to carry on following the job opportunity in anticipation of the organization determining whether to propose to them a position. Another phase is the attempts to influence people to accept job offers. Barber (1998) characterizes these phases as producing applicants, sustaining applicant standing, and controlling job preference. This study will examine what kind of competence does Norrona as a company searching for their new employees. The study will also explore the challenges in meeting the standards and qualifications of each position in the company. The second part of the study will evaluate the challenges of the demands of the candidate's competence in Norrona. Norrona is a small-medium business that was started by the managers grandfather in 1947. The company distributes catering equipment (range includes, cutlery, china, glassware, tableware, bar products, utensils, fryers, ranges, burners, grills, fridges, ware washing, furniture. At present, they are one of the largest company in Norways, their head office is in Stavenger also have other branches in Oslo, Kristiansand, Harstad and Bodo. The HR concept defined earlier will be related to various HR alternate approaches. One of these approaches is the recruitment and selection of the employees. These approaches are two important human resource activities and typically the first steps done in hiring employees. Usually, the initial operations of an organization are made of informal recruitment and selection processes. However, as the organization becomes more mature, the need for a well-established human resource practice becomes realized. This is where the concept of HRP becomes integrated. Through the HRP, formal recruitment and selection processes have been established and practiced; with this integration, organization are able to attract more suitable applicants for specific jobs. According to Cummings (2001), the introduction of more formal human resource recruitment and selection practices resulted to a more extensive use of private and government employment agencies, referrals as well as newspaper advertisements for offering job opportunities. This turnout was confirmed by more recent researches (Burnes, 1996); this finding was even correlated to the continuous growth of several organizations. For selection procedures, interview was the most common technique used by organizations. However, so as to screen the applicants more effectively with fewer errors, multiple selection techniques had also been employed. Barbeschi (2002) concluded that in both large and small firms, employees are selected through one on one interviews. In addition to this technique, some organizations even use panel interviews and written examinations in selecting employees. I. Since Norrona is one of the biggest companies in Norway, it intends to employ more workers every year. Being one of the companies with the most number of branches, this number is considerably accurate for the operations of

The most importnt issues or problems in Humn Resources in the United Essay

The most importnt issues or problems in Humn Resources in the United rb Emirtes t the present time - Essay Example ccording to n estimte by the l-Iktissd Wl-ml (1997) mgzine, no less thn 95 per cent of the new jobs in the 1995-2000 period were in the privte sector. There re four interrelted resons for the privte sector's resistnce to Emirtistion. The first fctor is lbour cost. The influx of chep foreign lbour during the pst three decdes led to the development of lbour-intensive privte sector, whose continued profitbility hinges on being given free hnd in the utilistion of foreign workers. lthough, since the mid-1990s, United rb Emirtes hs incresed the cost of the ltter by introducing compulsory helth cre for foreign workers, locl workers still re very much more expensive to hire (Fshoyin, 2000). It hs further been lleged tht locls will demnd bout six times the slry skilled foreign worker would be prepred to ccept nd 'will not work s hrd' (Fshoyin, 2000). Foreign workers from developing countries ccept reltively low slries becuse they cn still ern more thn they could ern in their home countries. Furthermore, the mjority of foreign workers re young mle bchelors nd therefore do not hve fmily to support. For locl workers, however, the high cost of living in United rb Emirtes mkes the level of wges offered by the privte sector in cpble of providing n cceptble living stndrd for locl workers (tiyyh, 2003). Second, socil nd culturl perceptions towrds... In United rb Emirtes, the type of work, sector of employment nd socil interctions t work determine the socil sttus of the worker nd his fmily (Mellhi, 2000). Hence, workers plce gret del of importnce on the effect of their work on their socil recognition. For instnce, most of the jobs in the privte sector re mnul jobs which rb Emirtes society holds in low esteem. Even before the influx of foreign workers, these jobs were llocted to people with low socil sttus nd socil interctions with them were severely restricted. tiyyh (2003) reported tht in rb Emirtes: For youngsters leving school the brriers ginst desirble creer pths re lmost mythicl. They will not ccept jobs s slesmen becuse this does not befit their socil sttus; they will not tke workshop jobs where there is thret of physicl dnger. Low slries re n insultthe rb Emirtesyouth hs too much pride to swllow.The third fctor is discipline nd control. Reserch on the mngement of foreign workers in United rb Emirtes supports the view tht foreign workers re esier to control nd more disciplined thn locl workers (tiyyh, 2003). This could be result of the fct tht work permits in United rb Emirtes re often vlid for one yer nd foreign workers do not qulify for permnent residency or nturlistion, regrdless of the length of their sty, therefore employers hve few obligtions towrds foreign workers who cn be lid off nd sent home t short notice. In ddition, foreign workers hold work permits for specific occuption with specific employer nd therefore they cnnot move freely between employers or sponsor wit hout the consent of their employer or sponsor-Kfeel. Hence, lbour turnover nd job-hopping mong foreign workers do not exist. Tble 1: Comprison between HRM prctices for United rb Emirtes HR nd

Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Industrial Revolution Essay The business environment has transformed drastically since the advent of new technology and Industrial Revolution became a period of radical change from manual work to automated technology and advancement, which kept making life simpler with time. Some of the greatest organizational and socioeconomic revolutions in history occurred as a consequence of innovations in communications technology and media. The contraption of the printing press, for instance, in the mid-fifteenth century by the German typographer Johann Gutenberg initiated the knowledge revolutions in science and technology, commerce, engineering, law, and politics. Ultimately, the print medium gave rise to the market economy based on paper and given to the industrial revolution. The development of electricity in the nineteenth century instigated a series of other revolutions that transformed industrial society in reflective ways. It led to an extensive range of electrical and electromechanical inventions, including the light bulb, the dynamo, the electric motor and hundreds of electric machines based on it, as well as the telegraph, the telephone, radio, and television. These diffused all through the economy, influencing the nature and location of production, the structure and operation of business organizations of Europe in 1900, including offices and factories and the marketplace itself. Eventually, they came to comprise the technological underpinnings of the hydroelectric and communications and transportation infrastructures we know today. These, in turn, inclined the evolution of the mass production, mass consumption, and mass communications society of the twentieth century. Business organizations have undertaken extreme restructuring by modifying their means of communication and synchronization of work activities. New technology has made it promise for companies to work on a real-time basis, whereby products and services are conveyed to the right place at the right time. Since then, information technology has propagated and has undergone significant improvements. Costs have sustained to decline as these new technologies have emerged. A business not supported by a network of computer systems (primary information technology) is more or less destined to fail, since it will be incapable to compete efficiently in todays complex and dynamic environment. The invention of the telegraph instigated the first truly electronic communications revolution and gave rise to the age of instantaneous global electronic communications. Besides representing a thriving commercial business itself, the telegraph became the foundation of a number of significant new business ventures. One of these was a printing telegraph invented in 1855 by David Hughes in which messages were typed out at the transmitted and receiving ends. It provided the incentive for P. J. von Reuter in Aachen, Germany, to form his own company in 1849 to transmit commercial intelligence including stock market information across Europe. The telegraph had an unusual impact on business in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By making information obtainable instantly across the markets of the world, it integrated local, national, and international markets, thus obliterating the monopoly power and control that numerous business organizations had over local and regional markets. The telegraph transformed the spatial and temporal organization of economic activity all through the world and came to synchronize the social, economic, and political activities of one and all across space and time. The telegraph provided the crucial and cumulative break of the identity of communications and transportation, wrote James Carey, author of three books and over 100 articles and essays on mass communications and the media. The telegraph became a model of and a mechanism for the control of the physical association of things, specifically for the railroad†¦ [It]†¦ brought a decline in arbitrage, [that is,] the buying cheap and selling dear by moving goods around in space . . . [and it affected] the practical awareness of time through the erection of standard time zones. (Carey 133-137). The development of the telephone precipitated the second electronic communication revolution in the late nineteenth century. Because it was a two-way medium and as it carried voice, the telephone initiated a more publicly and economically considerable communication revolution than the telegraph. The telephone is a wonder of technical and engineering design and operation, and it became the first true worldwide, instant, global, and personal, information, and communications medium. These days, the telephone system interconnects hundreds of millions of people around the world and provides them with the means to communicate instantaneously by voice, written message, computer, and facsimile whether they are at home, in the office, or in a car, a truck, or an airplane. The telephone became one of the most significant social and economic technologies in history by providing a medium for exchanging personal and business information, coordinating social, economic, and political activities, facilitating decision making, and merely keeping in touch. In addition, it does this with little or no human involvement. Developments in radio communications ushered in the age of commercial public broadcasting after the First World War. For nine months commencing on February 23, 1920, Guglielmo Marconi, commonly referred to as the â€Å"Father of Radio†, broadcasted a regular news service from his transmitter at Chelmsford in England. These developments are significant in retrospect because they are not unlike the wave of mergers and acquisition and strategic alliances that leading manufacturers, network operators, suppliers of software, content, and services are implementing today in an all-out effort to create and dominate the electronic superhighways of the future. The postwar period witnessed the spread of telephone networks into the rural and remote regions of industrialized countries and the linking of all of them into a nationalized telecommunications infrastructure. At the same time, this infrastructure was ongoing to undergo transformations as a consequence of major innovations in switching and transmission systems, many of which were developed by the Bell System also known as â€Å"THE telephone company†. One of the biggest technological breakthroughs was the prologue of automatic, electromechanical switching. As it was automatic, it was faster and more efficient than manual switching, and it transformed the telephone business from an extremely labor-intensive to a highly capital-intensive one; one of the consequences was the drastic cut of telephone operators. Electromechanical switching progressively gave way to fully electronic switching in the sixties and seventies, and these ultimately to the computerized switching systems of today with their highly automated, software features that give them the capability to process voice, data, and image communications, route traffic optimally throughout the network, and to monitor, detect, diagnose, and repair problems as they arise. Both local and long-distance communications were further transformed as a result of innovations in multiplexing and microwave radio and coaxial cable transmission systems. Both of these developments increased transmission competence and also improved economics by orders of magnitude that resulted in major reductions in the price of long-distance telephone service as well as stimulating a consequent increase in the demand for service. Multiplexing, invented by Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1927, was a way of modulating higher frequency transmission signals with lower frequency voice signals so that copper, for example, could carry several voice conversations concurrently. This meant a reduction in the use of copper and in the cost of local and long-distance services. The former transatlantic radiotelephone link was installed by ATT between the United States and England in 1929, and radiotelephone links were also recognized between North and South America. In 1933, European engineers began using microwave communications to transmit telephone signals across the English Channel, a distance of a dozen miles. But radiotelephone communications were not very reliable, and the quality of the signal was often poor for very long-distance transatlantic or transoceanic communications. A mass production, mass consumption culture, however, could not have advanced without the development of mass communications. Radio, television, newspapers and magazines, and advertising brought information, news, entertainment, and cultural content to an information-starved society, but all played fundamental roles in creating a mass consumption and mass production society. One of their most significant effects was through advertising. In the book, Communications in History, William Leiss, Stephen Kline, and Sut Jhally wrote, â€Å"The developed phase of the market industrial society is the consumer society†¦ What marketers had realized was that, with the population as a whole having far greater discretionary income, leisure time, and employment security than ever before, work was no longer the focus of everyday life. The sphere of consumption could take its place. By linking consumption through electronic media to popular entertainment and sports, marketers and advertisers eventually fashioned a richly decorated setting for an elaborate play of messages, increasingly in imagistic or iconic form, about the way to happiness and social success† (Leiss, Kline, Jhally 176). To keep their factories operating at maximum capacity and efficiency, in effect, to move the goods cascading off their assembly lines, business had to increase its selling efforts, and this meant tremendous investment and expenditures on advertising. Advertising played a big role in creating a consumer society in the early twentieth century. According to Daniel Pope, an expert on the history of American advertising, marketing, and consumer culture, as early as 1920, the lead in advertising had passed to manufacturers of nationally distributed brand-named goods†¦ it was in the formation of the national consumer market that the advertising industry as we know it these days was born and nurtured (Pope, 1983). Companies are not the only ones who have gained from advances in modern information technology. Consumers and interest groups have created strategic alliances and now capable to coordinate their activities as well as exchange ideas and thoughts through a number of database and network systems. For instance, owners of personal computers can subscribe to a computer network and, without difficulty, retrieve information concerning the products and corporations online. Such information can also be transmitted to other users without problems. This huge use of technology by both consumers and companies affects the way business is run today. These consumer strategic alliances know no geographical limitations; oftentimes, they are global in nature, particularly among the industrialized nations. As companies can get in enormous profits from the better coordination, greater product elasticity, improved quality, leaner production, and more time-based competitiveness that information technology offers, they also facades the threat that can come from these consumers strategic alliances. For instance, corporations can no longer ignore consumer demands for constant product quality, reliability and respect for the environment, or timely delivery of services. As we move towards an increase in advanced technologies, the labor force must be retrained. This training must not only expose workers to the technical matters adjoining the new process, but also to the new focus of the organization. They have to be made responsive of the importance of advanced technology in improving work methods and in remaining competitive and therefore employee compulsion to the new process is imperative. Advanced technology by itself adds little or no value to an organization. There should be organizational, as well as employee dedication, to exploit the technology to the maximum level. For instance, with an ever-increasing use of computer-integrated manufacturing systems, and the stream of technical documentation that accompanies it, employees have to be skilled in recognizing the critical information at the right time. Once that information is recognized and properly interpreted, there must be an organizational dedication to use the information to make better decisions. Without this potential, the organization cannot take advantage from new technologies. Human resources’ management, therefore, will persist to be a critical factor in the survival of any organization. We sum up the influence of information technology on human resources as follows: †¢ Information technology transforms the mode of communication and work processes. †¢ Custom or standardized operations are replaced with skilled and multi-skilled workers. An extremely trained labor force is desired to manage information technology. †¢ Worker motivation and satisfaction might improve since workers are no longer restricted to routine operations, enjoy management powers, and can contribute to developments in their work processes. New technology also has an impact on the organization itself, as follows: †¢ Organizational reformation is required. This reformation makes the organization flat. Decision-making powers are decentralized. †¢ Communications are better and the organization is capable to make timely responses to its environment. †¢ Introduction of new products and services is improved and varieties of products can be efficiently introduced and marketed by the organization. †¢ The organization is competent to improve its efficiency, quality, and competitiveness. Todays advanced technology can, conversely, easily become a basic technology. A rapid increase of new technologies also brings rapid obsolescence of earlier technologies. Policies concerning technology must not be static; they must keep evolving. George Stalk Jr, a writer of the Ivey Business Journal (1988) points out that competitive advantage is a persistently moving target†¦The best competitors, the most thriving ones, know how to keep moving and always stay on the cutting edge. A company should be able to evaluate potential new technologies quickly. The goal must be to remain competitive, and effective management of technology is a vital step in achieving this. With an increased focus on customer satisfaction, technology is a decisive means for achieving customer satisfaction. Browning, a writer for the Economist Magazine (1990) notes that a learning organization uses technology incessantly to refresh its knowledge of its customers’ wants and to work out new ways of satisfying them. This commitment to be a learning organization needs vast resources, however. For example, Browning also points out that building a learning organization necessitates new skills, clever people and capable machines. Noticeably, technology and human resources should be used together for the organization to stay competitive. Vincent Barabba and Gerald Zaltman, authors of Hearing the Voice of the Market (1991), note that hearing the accent of the market and making constructive use of it with respect to the voice of the firm is a learning progression. Essentially, the voice of the market has to be interpreted into facts and tasks that will lead to suitable products or services to satisfy customer needs. This is related to the application of quality function deployment, whereby the organization expands its strategic plans to assure customer needs. Thus, a learning organization should also be a caring organization. As a caring organization, its major objective is to please its stock or stakeholders, its customers, and employees, and also to be collectively responsible. The traditional organization, with the focus on satisfying stockholders alone, is varying to this new form, with a sophisticated stakeholder group. Thus, technology and human resources’ management are recognized as key variables that facilitate an organization to improve its productivity, quality, and competitiveness. A critical constituent is the information technology, which offers both opportunities and challenges. The organization should show understanding to its environment via its policies, and be learning and caring organization, as time and reliability influence competitiveness. Finally, organizations should innovate and constantly move to achieve new targets, particularly in view of todays rapidly developing new technologies. This is not to deny that the extent of interaction has increased gradually over time, though the time involved has been centuries somewhat than the last few decades. The diverse industrial revolutions paced this up. Basically, once two societies trade, they become mutually dependent. The stock markets subside in New York in 1929 triggered the Great Depression in all parts of the world because of their momentous economic relationships with the United States. Interactions were closer than they had been previously and they were to become even faster. The complex capitalist economies were tied intimately together in the long run, even if short-term fluctuations were less rapidly passed on (Aiki 83-87). Though, is speed of such enormous important? We have a global stock market today, where the information from a stock market in one part of the world is broadcasted instantly to those in others. Ever since the start of the electronic communication era this has been the case. For example, information in London about the New York Market passed far more gradually before 1939 and even more slowly before 1914. It was slower in spreading around and was far less comprehensive than it is now. Nevertheless, big movements in the stock markets were known and reflected in the stock markets of the world. Short-term and small fluctuations are imitated all through world markets today, much more rapidly than they were in the thirties, but big and long-term fluctuations have always been reflected around the world once markets had become consistent (Collins, Porras. 1991). We can go even a further back and argue that globalization, in the logic of a growth in interconnectedness between members of different states, is itself only a special case of something more universal. In medieval Europe, most people typically did not stray from the area they were born in. They inspired mainly local goods and primarily produced either for themselves or for a very local market (Schlossberg H. 1992). Economies were mainly local. Trade over considerable distances took place on water either by sea or river, which accounts for the inconsistent number of towns and villages that were either by the sea or on rivers. Human beings have had a steady urge to detach themselves from the area as much as the technology of the day permitted. Certainly there have always been big movements, due to populations looking for better circumstances or due to conquerors building new empires. Under the Roman Empire, for example, large parts of Europe were ‘globalizing’ in this sense and the degree of globalization declined with the Empire’s retreat. The medieval Church could be seen as a globalizing force but the degrees of interaction and interdependence were much reduced in the so-called Dark Ages.

Rapid Tooling For Technology For Injection Moulding

Rapid Tooling For Technology For Injection Moulding Rapid Tooling describes the process where a Rapid Prototyping (RP) model is used as a master pattern to create a mould rapidly. The Rapid Prototyping model may also be used directly as a tool. The two halves of a tool are referred to as the core and cavity. Rapid Tooling (RT) first evolved in the early 90s with the introduction of RTV silicone tooling from SLA master patterns, the mid 90s saw the introduction of investment casting tooling, direct AIM tooling, sand casting and metal SLS tooling. By the late 90s die casting and laminate tooling were introduced.4 The difference between Rapid Tooling and conventional tooling is: A time reduction of up to 1/5th is made when using Rapid Tooling. Rapid Tooling can cost less than 5% of the conventional tooling cost. Conventional tools generally have a longer life cycle. Larger tolerances for Rapid Tooling than for conventional tooling.  [1]   The two types of RT method available are Direct and Indirect tooling. Direct tooling is a soft tooling method which uses an RP model directly as a tool for moulding whereas indirect tooling is where the RP model is used as a master pattern to create a mould or die. Reasons for Rapid Tooling Within the last 25 years market trends have changed greatly, the product life span of many products such as mobile phones has been reduced drastically with updated models being released as often as every 3 to 4 months. The variation and complexity of products available has dramatically increased with manufacturers under increased pressure to reduce the time to market for these products. Taking all of this into account it is clear to see that parts need to be produced cheaper and quicker, therefore enhancing the need for manufacturers to adopt RT methods.4 Two of the most important things that toolmakers need to consider are if and when to adopt RT methods. RT has many advantages over conventional tooling methods: Speed: The majority of RT techniques offer an increase in speed compared to conventional tooling methods. A tool with ribs and bosses may take multiple operations i.e. CNC programming, CNC milling and EDM; however with RT the same tool may be done in one swift operation.  [2]   Cost effective for complex tooling: With RT methods it is possible to create complex geometries which would not difficult to produce by conventional methods. Automation: Automation of many of the RT processes means tooling can be build 24 hours a day without any human interaction. This improves productivity, and more tools are produced without the increased amount of manpower it would take to produce the same number conventionally. Human error: Human error can be significantly reduced by adopting RT methods and building a tool directly from the master pattern. Conventional methods may incur incorrect CNC programming or misinterpretation of CAD/technical drawings.2 Design possibilities: It is possible to integrate conformal cooling channels into complex tooling inserts when using RT methods. Tool design is not limited to designing tools which can be conventionally machined.2 Figure Rapid Tooling Vs Conventional shows the typical time savings which can be made by employing RT techniques oppose to conventional machining techniques. Rapid injection molding vs. conventional injection molding Figure Rapid Tooling Vs Conventional Tooling  [3]   Direct Tooling Direct AIM Tools Direct AIM (ACES Injection Moulding) is the process whereby tools are created directly on an SLA machine. The tools are initially designed using CAD software and the process involves creating a part by SLA which is basically a shell on the underside. The purpose of the shell is to leave a cavity so that each half of the mould can be filled with a backing material such as an epoxy resin, metal or ceramic. By backfilling the mould a thermal conduit is provided for the heat exchange process and it is also possible to add any cooling channels to the mould at this stage.  [4]   The surface of the moulds is finished to improve the quality of the surface. Using this method it is possible to create up to 100 parts with an accuracy of  ±0.15 0.3mm. Typical application for this type of tool would be for smaller parts, mainly prototype injection moulding tools, low volume wax injection tooling and low volume foundry patterns.  [5]   Advantages A relatively fast process a mould can be designed and built within a 2 week period. Cheap process for small tools, such as mobile phone and mp3 player casing. Building large parts on an SLA machine is not cheap. Disadvantages A CAD model of the tool is required as this has to be saved as an stl file in order for the SLA machine to build the 3D tool. Low durability the complexity of the tool and thermoplastic material used to build the tool all affect its life cycle. Moulds produced this way can create as little as 10 parts. Moulds typically degrade gradually with each part that is moulded on it. Laser Sintered Tooling Tooling inserts made by sintering are initially designed using CAD software and then produced by using DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) or SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) methods. SLS Rapid Steel Rapid steel powder is used to directly build a tool cavity using laser sintering; the powder consists of a stainless steel particles coated in a polymer binder. The parts which are produced are called green parts which are then put into a furnace. The furnace removes the polymer binder and infiltrates bronze into the mould to create a dense 60 (steel)/40 (bronze) part. The tooling inserts are then finished and fitted to a bolster. Advantages A relatively fast process which will produce a strong metal tool. Conformal Cooling channels can be built into the tool. Possible to create complex geometries. Disadvantages Finishing and polishing is required. Poor accuracy. Equipment cost is high. Size limitations, max 200 x 200 x 100mm Copper Polyamide Tooling A Copper and polyamide powder is sintered to form the tool. Only the polyamide particles in the powder are actually sintered. The advantage to this process is the tool strength and heat transfer compared with other methods. Copper provides the tool with these characteristics, allowing the tool to be used at high pressure and temperature.  [6]   This method is suitable for several hundred mouldings.5 DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) Using a laser sintering machine, metal in the form of powder is sintered to produce a tooling insert. The two available materials are Bronze and Steel based, the bronze based material offers a higher definition of features than the steel based one.6 Laminated Tooling Laminated tooling is very similar to the LOM (Layer Object Manufacturing) process as slices of a CAD model are replicated by layers of cut sheet metal. The steel laminations are laser cut or cut with a water jet. Tooling inserts are initially designed using CAD software; the CAD model must represent the cavity of the tool in order to produce the mould. The slices of the cavity are cut in sheet metal which has a thickness of 1mm and then bonded, clamped or brazed together. The use of a thick laminate results in a poor surface finish so the tool must be finish machined.3 Typical application for this type of tool would be large complex tools and aerospace tooling.2 Advantages Efficient use of material due to layers being cut to the exact size required. Conformal Cooling channels can be built into the tool easily if required. Standard steel sheet is used, making the process relatively quick and cheap. Good for large tools up to 2000 x 1000 x 500mm Design of parts can be easily changed by replacing a laminate layer as long as it has not been bonded. Disadvantages Tools have to be finish machined to remove the step like features to obtain accuracy. The joints between each lamination provide the tool with a weak link. Part complexity is dependent upon layer thickness. Indirect Tooling Rigid Cast Resin Tooling This process manufactures a tooling insert using aluminium filled epoxy resin as the tool material. A master RP model is initially manufactured and the part is set up on a split line. The resin is then cast onto the model which is within a bolster. The resin is then left to cure, a release coat is applied to the mould, the shut-off material removed and the process is repeated for the other half of the mould. When both halves of the mould have cured, the shut off material is removed and a bolster and ejector pins are added.2,4 Typical application for this type of tool would be a small sized tool, low volume RIM (Resin Injection Moulding) tools or low volume press tools. Accuracy of the tool is dependent upon each step within the process so shrinkage and deformation must be taken into account when reviewing the overall accuracy. Advantages Quick to produce, 2-3 days. Cost is typically 40% less than with conventional tooling.  [7]   Quick repair on tools is possible. Disadvantages Flash can occur resulting in more effort required to trim mouldings. Difficult and slow to mould Fragile and easy to break. Repairs are not long lasting. Distortion is possible with larger tools due to exothermic processes. Cast Metal Tooling Sand Casting A master pattern is placed in Green sand to create a mould, the pattern is removed and the cavity of the mould is filled with molten metal. The metal is left to cool and the sand mould is broken away to leave a finished casting. Investment Casting A master pattern is created from wax or a material which can be melted. The wax pattern is then dipped in slurry consisting of plaster of Paris, binder and silica repeatedly to create a surface on it. The mould is then heated up in an oven leaving the wax to melt away. The completed mould can then be filled with a molten metal to create the part. Rubber Plaster Casting A master RP pattern is created and shut off, silicone is cast in the shape of the tool. Liquid plaster slurry is poured around the silicone, once cured the silicone is removed. Molten metal is then poured into the plaster mould.  [8]   Advantages Solid metal tools are produced. Conformal cooling is possible. One master can allow multiple tools. Steel tools can be made but with increased difficulty. Disadvantages Tools may need to be finish machined and polished. Difficult to hold tolerances. http://www.crptechnology.com/sito/images/stories/ElementiFissiHome/rapid-casting.jpg Figure Investment Casting, RP model on left.  [9]   Metal Spray Tooling This method is used to produce soft tooling inserts. A master pattern is produced and shut-off; a thin shell of 1-2mm of zinc is sprayed over the pattern, this shell is then removed and backed up with an epoxy resin or ceramic to make the mould more rigid. This is then repeated for the other half of the tool. The surface of the metal shell is usually polished and even sealed. Electric Arc Spraying In this process two conductive metal wires are melted by means of an electric arc. The metal melts, and the molten material is atomised by a gas and propelled on to the surface of the pattern. The molten particles on the pattern rapidly solidify to form the metal coating of the shell.  [10]   High Velocity Oxygen Fuel Metal powder particles are injected into a high velocity jet. The jet is formed by oxygen and fuel combusting and heating and accelerating the molten metal towards the surface of the pattern. Metal coatings produced this way are strong and very dense allowing a thicker coating to be applied to the pattern compared to electric arc spraying.  [11]   Advantages High quality surface finish. Relatively quick. Fine detail such as graining can be achieved. Conformal cooling is possible. Large scale tools can be produced. Disadvantages Line of sight limitations impossible to spray undercuts or narrow slots. Surface is porous so may need to be sealed to reduce infiltration. Any repairs and modifications are very difficult to undertake. Special equipment and operating environment is required. Figure H.V.O.F process  [12]   Electroformed Nickel Tooling Nickel Shell Tooling This method involves a nickel surface being created on an RP model. A master RP pattern is produced and shut-off, the part is then put in an electroplating bath to form a nickel shell on the surface. Once plated, the part is removed from the bath; the nickel shell is removed and backed up with a thermally conductive ceramic material. Cooling channels, typically made from copper can be built into the mould at this time.  [13]   Typical application for this type of tool would be large production vacuum forming tools and composite forming tooling for the aerospace industry. Advantages Detail from the master model is picked up almost perfectly. Nickel provides a smooth surface which is dense and hard. Low thermal stress compared to metal spray techniques. Disadvantages Slow process which can take up to 6 weeks to produce a 6mm shell. Line of sight limitations Nickel Vapour Deposition (NVD) This method converts Nickel Carbonyl gas (NiCO4) into a solid Nickel shell. A master pattern is created from aluminium or steel, and placed into a special chamber which heats the pattern up to 110-180oC. Nickel Carbonyl gas is passed over the pattern, and nickel is deposited onto the pattern to create a metal shell. The pattern is then removed from the chamber; the shell is backed up and removed from the pattern. This process is then repeated for the other half of the mould. Advantages Extremely fast, 0.25mm/hr (20 times faster than electroforming).  [14]   A more uniform wall thickness than electroforming.8 No line of sight limitations. Conformal heating and cooling is possible. Disadvantages A dangerous process which can be explosive. The master pattern must be heated evenly. Indirect Sintered Tooling 3D Keltool Process Keltool is the name given to the powder metal sintering process which involves the infiltration of a fused metal part with copper alloy.  [15]   An RTV mould is created from an SLA master pattern. When the pattern is de-moulded, slurry consisting of A6 tool steel and tungsten carbide is poured into the RTV mould. Once cured this mould is infiltrated with copper and sintered to cure the mould and increase its strength. The completed tool can be machined and has a hardness similar to A6 tool steel.9 Using this process it is possible to create a tooling insert, from master pattern to the finished product in under two weeks. Tool life expectancy can be anything between 100,000 to 10,000,000 shots dependent upon material being moulded.9 Typical application for this type of tool would be small tooling inserts. Advantages Good for complex mould geometry. Extremely fast process. Disadvantages Size limitations 6 in all directions. Difficult to machine detailed designs. Figure 3D Keltool parts  [16]   Tool Considerations When designing a tool, a number of considerations must be taken into account: Wall Thickness. Sliding Cores. Size and location of runners and ejector pins. Gate design. Size and number of cooling channels if required. Split line position. Shrinkage Wall Thickness It is possible to create walls with various thicknesses. A wall with an uneven thickness can cause problems for the tool designer, as thicker walls cool much slower than thin walls therefore resulting in greater shrinkage at the thicker sections. A uniform wall thickness will minimise any defects caused by uneven cooling. Shrinkage will also occur at wall intersections (tees).  [17]   Sliding Cores Sliding cores allow undercuts to be made; sometimes it may be possible to relocate the split line to reduce the number required. Sometimes it may be a case of re-designing a feature in order to reduce tooling costs. Any additional cores will just increase the overall cost and complexity of the tooling insert. Figure Redesigning a feature18 shows a hinge feature which has been redesigned to eliminate the requirement for the sliding core shown on the left. Figure Redesigning a feature  [18]   Ejection Methods Ejector pins are placed in the cavity or core of the mould and push the solidified moulding out of the mould. This is the most common method of ejection, the ejector pins are carried in an ejector plate which is in the mould. These pins should be positioned at points with good strength to avoid any lasting damage to the part.5 Other methods of ejection may use plates or some method of gas or air ejection to ease the part out of the moulding. Gate Design A Gate is the opening in the mould where the resin will enter from. The design and placement of gates is an extremely important factor to consider. Resin is injected into the mould at pressures of up to 20,000 psi. The immense pressure can cause gas to be forced into the liquid resin, which when cooled results in bubbles being formed in the solidified moulding. To eliminate this problem it may be necessary to add vents within the mould to allow air to be displaced as the resin is injected.  [19]   Gates should be positioned at the thicker areas of the part; the thinner areas will lose heat quicker causing the resin to cure before it reaches the thicker areas. Knit lines occur when the flow of resin is split by a core in the mould. Where the resin rejoins there may be a slight defect due to cooling and the two edges not fully merging together to create a smooth blend. This will result in a visible line which may affect aesthetics or structure of the part. A more structured gate placement may improve the resin flow and eliminate any knit lines.17 Conformal Cooling Cooling channels for Moulds are traditionally drilled in a secondary machining operation. These cooling channels are only able to follow straight lines, if a complex cooling channel is required, the mould is split into segments and channels milled into each segment. The segments are then welded back together so the channels align producing a cooling channel which is not straight.  [20]   Conformal cooling channels follow the shape of the mould and allow temperature to be distributed uniformly in the moulded material. This method is only available when using RT methods to create a mould. Conformal cooling can save money when thermal management is extremely difficult via traditional tooling methods. Recent studies have shown a 30-60% reduction in cycle times compared to conventional methods.  [21]   Figure Conventional Vs Conformal Cooling18 shows the same mould with traditional drilled channels on the left and conformal cooling channels on the right. The conformal cooling channels follow the curves of the mould closely. Figure Conventional Vs Conformal Cooling18 Split Line The split line is the line at which the two halves of the mould meet. In some cases the tooling may not be precise allowing the mould halves to open and close without any precision. The high pressure injection process will cause resin to creep into any gaps between the mould halves; this material is referred to as flash. Strategic positioning of the split line is necessary to improve part quality and to facilitate with ejection. 22 shows the same part but with the split line (red line) at different locations. On the image on the left, the walls of the part are in the bottom half and are slanting to allow the part to be ejected. This leaves the wall at the base being much thicker. If conventional methods of tooling are used, the deep narrow cut may have to be made wider to allow the machine tool full operation resulting in an even thicker wall.19 On the image on the right the top half of the tool is the core which forms the walls. This results in walls with a uniform thickness. If conventional methods are used, tooling is made easier as larger sized cutting tools can be used.19 http://www.protomold.com/designtips/2006/2006-05_designtips/images/fig1.jpg Figure Split line at different locations.  [22]   Shrinkage The majority of tooling methods involve a change of phase. A material is transformed from a liquid to a solid or solid to a liquid and back to a solid. In each case, the phase change results in a decrease in volume therefore results in shrinkage.  [23]   All of the tooling processes involve some level of volumetric shrinkage therefore some sort of shrinkage compensation is usually given for each process. It is usually a case of measuring the linear shrinkage for a given material in a particular process and then applying a shrinkage compensation factor to any other part dimensions produced this way. A part is intentionally built oversized so that when shrinkage occurs, the part will be the correct size.20 In principle this sounds great but in practice it is not so easy to achieve precise dimensions through shrinkage compensation. Case Studies Thermoplastic composite (GMT) forming tooling using thermal spraying Zinc.5 The aim of this project was to find a way to reduce the time taken to produce tooling by evaluating a different method using thermally sprayed zinc, backed with ceramic. The GMT floor pan assembly required 5 parts: Main floor, 2 cross beams, battery box and lid. The master pattern was machined and thermal sprayed with a 2mm layer of zinc. The shell was then put in a steel bolster and copper cooling channels were added. The zinc shell was then backed with a chemically bonded ceramic. The die was then ready for moulding. Moulding trials took place with a 1000 tonne press. It took 8 weeks to produce using a metal spray tooling technique oppose to the 16 weeks it would of taken using traditional machined tools. The total cost was  £80,000 a saving of  £170,000.5 Feasibility study of arc spray welding onto a master RP model.  [24]   The model used for this project was a handheld phone. Overall dimensions of the model were 100 x 50 x 20mm. An ABS RP master was fabricated and put into a bolster, and then arc sprayed to create a shell of 1.5mm thickness. Aluminium epoxy was used to back the shell; this took 24 hours to cure. The process was then repeated for the other half of the mould. The surface of the shell was polished to improve surface finishing then it was ready for injection moulding. Tool development cost ITEM COST ($) RP Master 200 Bolster 500 Sand Blasting 100 MMA resin system 500 Arc metal spraying 800 Sprue bushing 200 Reinforcement block 50 PVA 50 Labour ($20/h) 20 x 89hrs = 1780 TOTAL = $4180 Estimated cost of the tool was $4180, a traditional tooling shop quote was between $10,000 -$15,000 for the same tool. An approximate time and cost saving of 50% was achieved, the tool was also completed in less than 2 weeks. Kodak reduces tooling costs.20 A project being run at Kodak needed 25 different plastic injection moulded geometries. By using rapid tooling as a method of bridge tooling they reduced lead times by up to 85% compared with CNC/EDM generated tools. By using a composite aluminium filled epoxy they were able to create tooling inserts capable of moulding in excess of 1000 parts. in some case product development cycles were cut by a year. 20 By employing RT methods, Kodak are typically saving about 25% in tooling cost compared with traditional methods. They are able to: Test, iterate, retest and proof multiple designs far more rapidly. Form, fit and function can be tested with true prototypes which have been injection moulded with the desired end use material.20 Conclusions Rapid Tooling is a growing area which still has room for improvement and development. In the future, reducing the cost of tooling will play an important role in enabling smaller runs of parts to be made as well as allowing more product customisation for niche markets. Developments in Rapid Tooling will mean product development can be initiated closer to market entry time meaning manufacturers can gather more up to date market trends before the product is manufactured. From the research conducted and case studies viewed it is clear to see that time and cost savings can be made and productivity increased when employing Rapid Tooling techniques. The production time of tooling inserts can be shortened by a near fully automatic procedure from start to finish. Rapid Tooling is not however cheap, cost of the RP machine and other machinery such as Arc welding equipment and resins has to be taken into account. The future development of SLA resins and further improvements in Rapid Prototyping machines will only aid in the development of Rapid Tooling. Rapid Tooling still has a lot to offer, this is just the beginning; future improvements in CAD software will allow the whole process to become far more efficient.