Thursday, December 26, 2019

Parenthood Should Continue Funding Planned Parenthood

Defunded Parenthood Congress has sparked a debate as to whether or not the government should continue funding Planned Parenthood. Too many people are uneducated about the many services Planned Parenthood offers to those who would not be able to afford it otherwise. The debate began after a heavily edited video was released accusing Planned Parenthood of selling fetal organs for a profit. The selling of any body part is against federal law. CNN released an article confirming to the public that it was indeed an edited video by inputting the original and comparing it to the altered one. Planned Parenthood does donate tissue, but only for scientific research, and solely acquires reimbursement for the expenses. Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization. There is a common misconception that Planned Parenthood is a center for abortions, and that’s it. Only three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services relate to abortions. Planned Parenthood receives $500 million in feder al funding and it is illegal to spend any of that money on abortion services. Planned Parenthood provides reproductive health care, and vital sex information to teens, woman, and men nationwide. Planned Parenthood is the world’s largest provider of sex education. It offers contraception (birth control, condoms), STD testings and treatment, health care information, all for free or an affordable price, and is easy to access. If the government decides to defund the organization entirely, it would primarilyShow MoreRelatedShould The Federal Government Continue Funding Planned Parenthood?1501 Words   |  7 PagesShould the Federal Government continue funding Planned Parenthood? Planned Parenthood is an organization that has been around since at least 1921. Recently, it has been in the limelight due to the on-going Presidential debates leading up to the 2016 election. It appears that the Republicans want to take away all federal funding to shut down the clinics where as the democrats believe that the republicans are misguided in their claims. The â€Å"Planned Parenthood Federation of America† is a non profitRead MoreShould The Government Defund Planned Parenthood?1693 Words   |  7 PagesShould the Government Defund Planned Parenthood? About a century ago, a small birth-control clinic was opened by Margaret Sanger in Brooklyn, New York. Women and families travelled to this clinic to learn about contraceptives and the perils of self-administered abortions. This was unheard of at the time, to teach a woman how to stop pregnancy in a world where the highest aspiration of a woman was supposed to become a mother. However, very soon after this clinic opened, Sanger was put incarceratedRead MorePlanned Parenthood1299 Words   |  6 PagesPlanned Parenthood Planned Parenthood federation of America (PPFA), better known as Planned Parenthood, is a non-profit organization that provides healthcare and family planning services. Planned Parenthood is the nations leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate (Planned). Planned Parenthood receives federal funding to help practice the services they provide, but some groups believe that funding this organization is morally wrong. Critics of Planned Parenthood say theRead MorePersuasive Essay On Planned Parenthood1216 Words   |  5 Pages Planned Parenthood was founded on the revolutionary idea that women should have the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives and fulfill their dreams — no ceilings, no limits (Planned Parenthood). With over 600 health centers, the people of Planned Parenthood have dedicated themselves to keep women informed, healthy, and educated in sexual education, and sexual health (Planned Parenthood). While all seemingly good intentions, Planned Parenthood has been A topic of controversyRead MoreThe Supreme Court Case Roe V. Wade1417 Words   |  6 Pagesthen, 23 cases on women’s reproductive rights have been through the Supreme Court, five of which have directly involved Planned Parenthood as the petitioner or respondent. Each of these has posed some threat to Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide abortion and have had the potential to deal a serious blow to women’s reproductive rights as whole. Nonetheless, Planned Parenthood has persevered and retained their ability to provide a full range of reproductive services to women. However, the politicalRead MoreExamining the Issue of Planned Parenthood between Republicans and Democrats959 Words   |  4 Pagesnearly shut down because the Democrats and Republicans were struggling to agree upon, among other issues, what to do with Planned Parenthood. The Republicans wanted to stop federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which clearly shows â€Å"that they simply don’t care about the health and safety of American women (Planned Parenthood).† The Democrats strongly support Planned Parenthood and were not willing to accept the Republican’s proposal. However, the Republicans did not care whether a shut down couldRead MoreParenthood Is A Health Care Provider1730 Words   |  7 PagesPlanned Parenthood is a health care provider that focuses on supplying women and men of all ages and backgrounds with health care and sex education. This includes, but is not limited to, contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, screenings for cancers, sexual education courses, and, most notably, abortions. Planned Parenthood finds itself at the center of much controversy specifically for its role in terminating pregnancies, as well as providing students with sex educationRead MoreFunding Of Planned Parenthood And The Services1184 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"pros† or â€Å"argu ments for† that position? The topic I chose to research was the funding of Planned Parenthood, and the services they provide. One of the positions on this topic was to defund Planned Parenthood. The article, by Sarah Torre, Congress Should End Federal Funding to Planned Parenthood and Redirect It Toward Other Health Care Options discusses the idea that PP should not receive any government funding to its clinics. A main argument established by Torre is that the flow of federal taxRead MoreParenthood Is Affordable, The United States Department Of Health, Education, And Welfare1025 Words   |  5 PagesMany men and women in America don’t have insurance or simply cannot afford health care. Planned Parenthood does have professional doctors who specialized in many reproductive health services. Planned Parenthood is affordable, the program takes a patient whether they have insurance or not, not only that, they charge you by how much income you make. Low income Americans have access to these services too. â⠂¬Å"The United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, for example, created a federalRead MorePlanned Parenthood : Parenthood, Family Planning, And Reproductive Problems1020 Words   |  5 PagesAs you may have heard, Planned Parenthood is what the government officials are talking about recently. The Republicans want to take away the government funding for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is an organization that does scientific research and offers advice on contraception, family planning, and reproductive problems. Currently, the government funds the organization with the tax payer’s dollars. (Planned Parenthood at a Glance, 2014.) I am going to explain the history of the problem,

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Food, In Itself, Is A Social Concept, A Perception Of An

Food, in itself, is a social concept, a perception of an idea that is constructed through cultural and social practice. Food is constructed through cultural practice, defined by its particular usage and representation among particular ethnic and cultural groups. Therefore, food’s significance is much more than simply satiating hunger. Take religious restrictions on pork, for example. What reason caused Islam’s belief in the pig as haram, considering it is eaten by the vast majority of the world? Simply put, why do Muslims avoid pork? This can be rationally analyzed, and is attributed to the climate and geographical limitations of foodways in the Middle East. However, as Islam spread throughout the world, the habitual action of avoiding†¦show more content†¦Taking into consideration the stigmas and stereotypes such as â€Å"a woman †¦ to evoke the idea of the kitchen† (Parasecoli, 288), food preparation and cooking has been a source of attention on h ow gender inequality, or more specifically, hegemonic masculinity, is reproduced in both the everyday home activities and in the professional realm of celebrity chefs and hosts. It must be noted that although food habits in today’s world are reflected in the development and expression of male masculinity, there is little to no attention towards how the male identity is affected by food preparation and food culture. The current state of knowledge and attention in scholarly articles remain, for the most part, on how masculine identity discourse is displayed through specific mediums such as food shows. This mock research paper attempts to address this hole using survey interviews. The research questions I ask are: â€Å"How does masculine identity influence food habits?† and â€Å"How have food habits affected participants’ body image and masculine ideals?† State of Knowledge Throughout the history of mankind, food has always been connected with male identit y, especially in a male-dominated patriarchal society where â€Å"cooking in our society remain deeply linked to gender† (Swanson, 141). What one eats and how one is seen by society in regards to food habits affect male behaviour in their development and expression of identity. The current state of knowledge brings attention towards theShow MoreRelatedCorporate Social Responsibility : Ethical Responsibility1529 Words   |  7 PagesCorporate Social Responsibility: Should we, or should we not. Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R.) is a theory practiced in the business sphere since fifty years. It refers to the duty of business organizations to adopt certain activities that will benefit the society in some way. Charity, health-awareness campaigns are few examples that a business undertakes to fulfil its objectives of C.S.R. According to this ideal, it is important for various corporations today to undertake such social activitiesRead MoreMultinational Companies : The New Standards, Quality Goods, And Low Prices870 Words   |  4 Pages1. Introduction 1.1 Background Going global has become an obvious choice for multinational companies. But spreading across the globe is not a secret to success or revenue generation, on itself. The opportunities in international markets have shown significant growth and potential for multinational companies. The capital, technology and skills of multinational companies invested in the local markets have created a good economic situation in the host countries. The developing countries have benefittedRead More Perception of McDonald’s Essay examples940 Words   |  4 PagesPerception of McDonald’s McDonald’s has expanded globally into 31,000 worldwide outlets and employed more than 1.5 million people in more than 119 countries (Kulkarni, Lassar, Sridhar Venkitachalam, 2009). Nevertheless, McDonald’s always faces negative perception and commonly related in serving unhealthy and junk foods amongst its customers around the world (Currie, Dellavigna, Moretti, Pathania, 2009). It is not only the negative perception of public, but McDonald’s have been attacked andRead MoreThe Computational Theory Of Mind1657 Words   |  7 Pagessophisticated chips and with billion of neurons, you ended up with one powerful computational device, which is brain. Brain is one hunk of matter that is intelligent things that allows human beings to have cognitive equipment to processes of human perception, problem solving, and decision making. The â€Å"demons† is a system that contains a memory and reflexes. These demons are triggered by information and connected to sense. The mind is a product of natural selection and in that sense, the mind is ourRead MoreMarketing Strategy For Green Marketing915 Words   |  4 Pagesaddition, social marketing has become an essential consideration in a marketing perspective, as consumers are increasingly concerned about the environment, they tend to favor green brands and the environmental practices of the firm. Therefore, creating green marketing and branding is very significant for the firm to increase its visibility in green operations, which can be done by the followings: ââ€"  Set objectives goals The firm could set its goal based on the ‘Triple bottom lines’ concept, which composedRead MoreSurrealism and Film Essay1653 Words   |  7 PagesFirst World War. Many French artists were displaced during the war, and embraced ideals that spoke to their dissatisfaction with the results of rationalism, in their eyes a cause of the war itself (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-surrealism.htm). These artists called themselves â€Å"Dadaists† and believed in the concept of â€Å"Anti-art†, a rejection of previous values tied to rational or bourgeoisie ideals. Upon their return to Paris after the war these artists brought the idea of anti-art and began expressingRead MoreWhat Was Technology Before The Information Era?998 Words   |  4 Pagesand manufacturing, the idea of technology is considered to be a flexible and progressive term that portrays itself to have a variety of purposes relates to everything mankind has created. By revealing the semantic changes in the connotation of the word technology and providing a chronological sequence of related conceptions, we can acknowledge how current technology changes our perception of the term. From the first usage of the term â€Å"technology,† it has always been related to the constructing orRead MoreExamples Of Companies Marketing Activities1176 Words   |  5 Pagesexamples of companies marketing activities adapted to fit different countries/ analyse/ no individual country specific When going global, and in order to succeed in international business, understanding consumer behaviours based on their values and perception of other countries is key for implementing a proper winning marketing strategy. Cultural dimensions help managers and multinational companies respond effectively and positively to values and behaviours that shape a given nation and that might beRead MoreCustomer Service Coming Right Up : A Thematic Analysis On Factors That Influence Customer Satisfaction1533 Words   |  7 Pagestake-out, dine-in, or fast food each of these are some sort of restaurant. All paying customers have expectations when going to a restaurant. There are factors that are different from person to person but some trends may exist. Some factors in a restaurant that can affect the customer satisfaction could be the pricing, service by the employee or server, food quality, and atmosphere of the restaurant. Service quality is a complex, indescribable, subjective and intellect ual concept, which means differentRead MoreInfluences consumer behavior1461 Words   |  6 PagesSo Vinamilk made products to meet the needs of all objects, such as milk for children, adult milk, milk for mothers, milk for those who are slimming, ... 2. Perception: People have perception are always ready for action. The problem is how they will act in the fact also influenced by their perception about the situation at that time. Perception is not only dependent on the physical factors but also depends on the relationship of the factors that for ambient conditions and the individual within it.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

OZ Supermarket Management

Question: Discuss about the Business Operations and Improving Customer Services OZ Supermarket . Answer: The OZ Supermarket retail market was opened recently. They are offering various types of product, such as family products, stationary products and non-perishable items (Turolla, 2016). They have tried to set up alternative methods for the customers to buy and purchase the products. The authorities at the supermarket have identified that it is very irritating and time consuming for the customers to stand in queues for billing procedure of their purchases at the supermarket. In addition to this the shopping process also becomes very complex and problematic. Hence, the supermarket has introduced this new method of billing system for their customers. This new method would make the customer happy and satisfied and would encourage them to opt for the supermarket more often. In the new procedure of the billing system the supermarket decided to abolish the system of making the payment via cash (Ngu Scott, 2015). They tried to opt for cashless procedures. In addition to this the supermarket has also tried to introduce the automatic billing system. The authorities have considered using the espouse Pay Wave Technology for the implementing the system they are intending to use for the billing purpose in the future. This system would allow the buyers to simply walk into the store grab their products and the billing would be done automatically. This new concept would change the idea of the billing system in the entire retail chain business in the world. In the process that is to be followed in the supermarket the shopper can simply walk into the market complex and take an item and simply put it in their trolley. Now, the trolley that are present in the supermarket have been equipped with the RFID or the Radio Frequency Identification system (Yang et al., 2014). The RFID does the labeling and tagging procedure of the products. For the labeling procedure of the items of the market a chip is used which is installed in the products. These chips would contain all the details of the products such as, the name of the product, the product id, the price of the product and the status of the product. In addition to this, a radio wire is placed with the tag of the products. The products can be traced with the help of the chips that is placed in them. In addition to this the chips that are fitted in the trolley can detect the chips that are installed in the products. Thus when an item is kept in the trolley the chip in the trolley detects the item and register it in the bill of the person that is buying the product (Wang et al. 2014). In this process the total bill is summed upped for the buyer as the buyer purchases more products. The total sum is deducted from the balance of the buyer when the buyer exits the shopping complex. In addition to this the details that are tracked by the chip are updated instantly in the company database. And also, if the customer do not require the item anymore, then they can place it back to the place they took it from and the details of the item would be removed from the account of the customer. In addition to this, the customer is provided with the PayWave card. As soon as the customer reaches the exit doors with the products the customer is billed for the products, and the bill is deducted from the balance of the customer. The system also has methods in the system to stop the people from illegal activities and prohibit them from stealing or procuring the items without paying the money (Amendola et al., 2014). The system has an alert system which goes off if the bill of the customer exceeds the balance of the customer. However the system has proper methods to tackle the situation. In case the customer does not have the proper amount of balance in the card with which he wants to buy a product, the customer can simply go to the front desk and refill the balance in the card. In addition to this if any customer does not have a Paywave card enrolled to his name, then he would be provided with a temporary card from the supermarket in which the customer can recharge it with cash and purchase the products of his needs. In case the customer has extra balance in his card it would kept I accounts and carried forward for his next visit. In addition to this the supermarket also has some policies for the parking system in the market (Ellickson, 2013). For aiding the financial side of the business, these policies have been adopted by the authorities. In the peak season the supermarket charges high rate of parking fee from the customers, while in the lean seasons the parking rates are lowered significantly. In addition to this the parking charges for the disabled and the handicapped are waived off. Recommendations Although the supermarket has some excellent operational tactics in place, but some recommendations are provided for the company. Enhanced Billing system: Firstly, in addition to the prepaid policy the super market has in place they can also have some credit policy in place for the Paywave card (Rothman Zimmer, 2013). It will allow the customers to purchase items even if do not have and a card or cash with them in the moment of emergency. This would allow the supermarket to credit them the balance and charge them later on when they refill the balance in their card. This would allow the supermarket to maintain proper business relationship with the customers and also enhance the perspective of their business. Staff satisfaction: Secondly, if the supermarket adopts these policies for implementing the operational changes in the business a large number of staffs would lose their jobs (Bornemann-Shephered, 2015). Hence, supermarket should look to assign the staffs in some different positions or activities in the Supermarket. This would increase the efficiency of the business of the supermarket and also keep the staffs satisfied. Monitoring: Thirdly, it should be seen that all the detection components are used are working properly and are to be kept under proper monitoring procedure (Crabtree, Zappala Tavner, 2014). This would maintain the efficiency of the business. The planned changes that are thought of are very apt and suitable for the supermarket. It has increased the ease of access for the customers of the supermarket. This is because no kind of business can survive in the market with only the financial efficiency, they also require the customer satisfaction that will increase the reputation of the company. The authorities of the supermarket had taken note of this fact and looked into the matter with great eagerness and developed a plan for improving the billing system of the supermarket. As a result of this the customers can easily come into the supermarket and complete their shopping very easily without the fear of standing in the long queues for the billing of the products that they had purchased. In addition to this the supermarket also can implement a feedback system in place where they would receive the feedback from the customers after the purchase. This system would help the supermarket to rectify the areas where the customers feel that, there are issues that they need to solve to make the system more efficient. The supermarket can take certain measures to implement this procedure: Product and Service rating System. In this the supermarket can take feedback from the customers about their product and the servicers (Ghobadian et al., 2016). In this system the customers should have an option about providing rating for the service they receive at the supermarket. In addition to this they should also have a product rating system in place so that they can provide the product rating after the use. The customers of the supermarket are to provide the service rating as soon as they exit the supermarket and provide the product rating only after they use the products. The system should calculate the overall ratings of any type of product and calculate and post the result so that they would be helpful for both the customers and the supermarket authorities. It would act as a guideline for both the customers and the experts in that audit with the product reports. Hence, it would increase the overall product efficiency for the supermarket. Online Portal for the customer feedback. The authorities should look and implement a customer feedback system for the supermarket where the customer can provide the ratings and the feedback regarding the services and the product of the supermarket (Tanpure, Shidankar Joshi, 2013). The portal should be online and active 24/7. In this portal the customers should also be able post queries and concern regarding the service and the products of the supermarket. This would help the customers to communicate with the supermarket officials more easily. And hence, a healthy communication relationship would be maintained in between the customers and the supermarket. This would be increasing the overall customer satisfaction towards the supermarket. Implementation of website for the company and provision of customer services in it. The company should implement a website in which the details of the company are provided for the customers to gain information from it (Cappel Huang, 2014). The information such as the operational activities of the supermarket, the list of working days or the days when the company would be closed. In addition to this the website would also be post the advertisement for the supermarket as of the products and the new facilities that the supermarket are providing. The advertisement about the products could be about the sale of the products or introduction of newer products into the supermarket. In addition this the time of the seasonal sales can also be notified to the customers. In order to perform this activities the customers would require to create an account of themselves in the website. The account would provide information about the customers on the website. There can various types of information such as, information about the PayWave card, which are the balance in the card, the validity of the card. In addition to this the customer should also be provided the details about the history of the purchases that they have made from the supermarket and also the details about the exchange of the products if they have made any. In addition to this the website of the supermarket should also have an of the customer service that would provide the customers to contact the customer care executives at moment of time clear out their doubts about any kind of the operations of the supermarket. As a result the overall reputation of the supermarket would be enhanced efficiently. Customer Support System within the Supermarket In addition to all the online services that customer are to be provided with, the customer support system inside the supermarket should also be implemented (Jaakkola Alexander, 2014). There should be implementation of customer service exclusive for the customers who purchase the products in addition to the existing customer services desk. These desk would have staffs who would help the customers with the products that they would like to exchange and also make the customers understand the exchange policies of the supermarket very aptly. The staffs would concerned with the exchange methods of the products. They should properly check the items and note the defects in the items and also the customer grievances that are related to the items. In addition to this they should see to it that the customers are provided with a replaced product of same specifications. In addition if any customer wants to return the products and would want of procure the price of the product, then the staffs sho uld also act to the situation. In this they should make the customers understand the product return policy of the supermarket aptly and perform the process of returning the product efficiently. In addition to this section of the supermarket should also contain a drop box system, in case a customer wants to provide reviews for the product and the services anonymously and do not want to reveal their identity. Hence, this would enhance the overall relationship with the customers for the supermarket. References Turolla, S. (2016). Spatial competition in the French supermarket industry.Annals of Economics and Statistics/Annales d'conomie et de Statistique, (121-122), 213-259. Yang, L., Chen, Y., Li, X. Y., Xiao, C., Li, M., Liu, Y. (2014, September). Tagoram: Real-time tracking of mobile RFID tags to high precision using COTS devices. InProceedings of the 20th annual international conference on Mobile computing and networking(pp. 237-248). ACM. Wang, L., Da Xu, L., Bi, Z., Xu, Y. (2014). Data cleaning for RFID and WSN integration.IEEE transactions on industrial informatics,10(1), 408-418. Amendola, S., Lodato, R., Manzari, S., Occhiuzzi, C., Marrocco, G. (2014). RFID technology for IoT-based personal healthcare in smart spaces.IEEE Internet of Things Journal,1(2), 144-152. Ellickson, P. B. (2013). Supermarkets as a natural oligopoly.Economic Inquiry,51(2), 1142-1154. Rothman, M. M., Zimmer, V. (2013).U.S. Patent No. 8,561,138. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Bornemann-Shepherd, M., Le-Lazar, J., Makic, M. B. F., DeVine, D., McDevitt, K., Paul, M. (2015). Caring for inpatient boarders in the emergency department: improving safety and patient and staff satisfaction.Journal of Emergency Nursing,41(1), 23-29. Crabtree, C. J., Zappal, D., Tavner, P. J. (2014). Survey of commercially available condition monitoring systems for wind turbines. Ghobadian, A., Stainer, A., Liu, J., Kiss, T. (2016). A computerised vendor rating system. InDevelopments in Logistics and Supply Chain Management(pp. 103-112). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Tanpure, S. S., Shidankar, P. R., Joshi, M. M. (2013). Automated food ordering system with real-time customer feedback.International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering,3(2). Cappel, J. J., Huang, Z. (2014). THE EFFECT OF PREDICTOR VARIABLES ON SELECTED WEBSITE NAVIGATION AIDS.ASBBS Proceedings,21(1), 159. Jaakkola, E., Alexander, M. (2014). The role of customer engagement behavior in value co-creation: a service system perspective.Journal of Service Research,17(3), 247-261. Bertazzi, L., Bosco, A., Guerriero, F., Lagana, D. (2013). A stochastic inventory routing problem with stock-out.Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies,27, 89-107. Jarvis, J. E. (2016).Strategies for improving first-line supervisor problem-solving abilities in the retail supermarket industry(Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Gmez-Lobo, A., Jimnez, J. L., Perdiguero, J. (2015). The entry of a hard discount supermarket: price effects/La entrada de un supermercado de descuento duro: efecto sobre precios.Investigaciones Regionales, (31), 143. Saleheen, F., Miraz, M. H., Habib, M. M., Hanafi, Z. (2014). Challenges of Warehouse Operations: A Case Study in Retail Supermarket.International Journal of Supply Chain Management,3(4). Ngu, M., Scott, C. (2015, April). How secure are contactless payment systems. InRSA Conference, San Francisco, USA.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Ups Essays - Express Mail, United Parcel Service, UPS Airlines

Ups At 12:01 a.m. August 04,1997, 185,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest and historically most powerful unions in the U.S., struck against the United Parcel Service, the company which ships 80 percent of all packages in the country. It was the first nationwide strike in the 90-year history of UPS, and involves more workers than any strike in this decade. It's Our Contract, We'll Fight for It said Teamster signs. It's more than just a contract dispute, and what's needed is a fight to win this key labor battle. We're striking for every worker in America, said a picketing UPS driver in Atlanta. He's right, and then some. All working people, minorities, immigrants and every other oppressed sector in this country have a stake in this struggle. We must prepare now to come out and defend the UPS strikers against the blows that the bosses and their government are already preparing. A 21-year UPS driver picketing outside the UPS Metro facility at 43rd Street in Manhattan told The Internationalist: this is a standoff between labor and management--here it's UPS, but it's almost everywhere. The management at UPS looks at us with contempt. Deep-seated resentment against the highhanded UPS bosses and the sheer power of the unionized work force make this a chance to turn the tide of the more than two decades of defeats that the unions have suffered. UPS was founded in 1907 by a 19-year-old Seattle teenager who employed a team of boys to deliver luggage, parcels, and store purchases, UPS matched company growth with innovation. The company pioneered the idea of consolidated delivery, which streamlines performance by combining packages addressed to the same neighborhoods. UPS introduced its service to the general public after World War II, and had its national network in place by 1975. Its international network was set up soon after. In 1988, UPS received approval to operate as an independent airline, and it is currently the nation's ninth-largest, even offering weekend charter flights. Package delivery for retail stores became the company's focus, and in 1913 Jim merged with a competitor, Evert (Mac) McCabe, and the American Messenger Company changed its name to Merchants Parcel Delivery. Charles W. (Charlie) Soderstrom joined the firm and helped manage the company's growing fleet of delivery vehicles. During this period, the company also pioneered the concept of consolidated delivery, combining packages addressed to a certain neighborhood onto one delivery vehicle. The company extended operations to Oakland, California, and later to Los Angeles. In 1919, the name United Parcel Service was adopted. United because shipments were consolidated, and Service because, as Charlie Soderstrom observed, Service is all we have to offer. In 1929, the company opened United Air Express, offering package delivery via airplane to major West Coast cities and as far inland as El Paso, Texas. All UPS vehicles were painted the now-familiar Pullman railroad brown color. By the 1930s, UPS provided delivery services in all major West Coast cities, with a consolidated delivery service in the New York City area. The first mechanical system for package sorting was developed, and a 180-foot-long conveyor belt was installed in Los Angeles. By the early 1950s it was clear that contract service to retail stores was limited and UPS managers began looking for new opportunities. They decided to expand their services by acquiring common carrier rights to deliver packages between all addresses, for any customer, private or commercial. This decision placed UPS in direct competition with the U.S. Postal Service. In 1953, UPS resumed air service, offering two-day service to major cities on the East and West coasts. The service, called UPS Blue Label Air, grew and in 1978 the service was available in every state, including Alaska and Hawaii. To ensure dependability during the time of federal deregulation of airlines, UPS began to assemble its own jet cargo fleet, the largest in the industry. With growing demand for faster service, UPS entered the overnight air delivery business, and, by 1985, UPS Next Day Air service was available in 48 states and Puerto Rico. Alaska and Hawaii were added later. UPS entered a new era with international air package and document service, linking the U.S. and six European nations. In 1988 UPS received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate its own aircraft, thus officially becoming an airline. UPS Airlines was the fastest-growing airline in FAA history, formed in little more than one year with all the necessary technology and support systems. In 1990, UPS introduced scheduled service to Asia