How can Nandos increase its Productivity Essay Example

How can Nandos increase its Productivity? Essay Nandos is a restaurant chain which is all over the world. Nandos first began in 1987 as a small restaurant near Johannesburg in South Africa, although it has a Portuguese theme. The Founders of this restaurant were Fernando Duarte and Robert Brozin. Nandos is worldwide with restaurants in over 400 different locations. Although the Nandos in the UK was set up by Robbie Enthoven and Capricorn Ventures in 1992.These Nandos were set up as a stand-alone company and is set apart from its original restaurant in South Africa. In the UK alone Nandos has over 100 branches. Nandos is a quick serving restaurant which specializes in chicken dishes and other Portuguese foods. Each branch has a basic design which is then adapted and changed according to that branch and its location. The branch I have chosen to look at specifically is Nandos at Bluewater Water Circus. This restaurant is near the Showcase cinema in Bluewater Shopping centre. (Full address can be found in Appendix). There are two Nandos restaurants in Bluewater Shopping centre, the one I will be looking at is the first one that was built there. This restaurant is in an area where there are other restaurants of all sorts; fast food, Spanish restaurant, Chinese restaurant and many more. This shows that Nandos is located in a popular place, but also has to compete with many restaurants to get customers in. We will write a custom essay sample on How can Nandos increase its Productivity? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on How can Nandos increase its Productivity? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on How can Nandos increase its Productivity? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Main Investigation Every business no matter what they do have an aim which is to stay competitive in the market and be aware of their competition. Productivity is output per worker or output per machine to see how efficiently your employees are working and how well your business. Productivity can be calculated by looking and measuring a various number of things. The main point when looking at productivity in a business is looking at how effectively and efficiently the input (resource) turns into an output (good or service). Even when productivity increases the implications it has on different parts of the business are different. The main reason for measuring productivity is to find out or to realise the main areas that need improvement, those areas which have strengths and those which have weaknesses. One way of measuring productivity is by counting the amount of customers. This is a simple but yet effective of measuring productivity as it can be done without doing any calculations. This allows you get a basic idea of the amount of customers that are coming in. By using this as a way of measuring productivity you must do this during regular intervals so that you have something to compare your data to. With this data you can then further investigate why there are more customers at that certain time of the day. There are a few disadvantages to this, one of which is that mistakes can easily be made. Some businesses have overcome this problem for example in some shops there are automatic customer counters which count the amount of customers which have come into the shop. If customer counting is done manually it can become time consuming, so it is not a quick and efficient way of measuring of productivity. Also this way of measuring productivity cannot be used in all businesses, for example this would be pointless in a factory as you dont get customers walk in and out of a factory. This would be good for a shop or a restaurant as you get people come in and out all the time. Return in Capital Employed (ROCE) shows how much profit the business is making in comparison to the amount of capital that is put in the business. The higher the ROCE the better the business is doing as this shows that more profit is being made in contrast to the amount that is being invested into the business. The main advantage of measuring ROCE to check productivity is that it is a way of telling how well the company are spending their money in comparison to the profit they are making. Another advantage is that the figures are easier to compare as they are in percentages. A main problem with ROCE is that you cannot see how productive an individual worker or individual machine is, it shows sales compared to money being spent. It does not show sales compared to individual worker input. Special offers are a controversial way of measuring productivity as some people may say it is not efficient and others may say it shows them what they want to see. This can be advantage as it allows you to see if the offers actually have an effect on the productivity, if the sales are increasing with the offers then this shows that productivity is increasing. To further this if the special offers have an effect and are bringing in more customers you can then see if the workers are able to cope with the rush hour. This can allow you to observe every worker individually on the job. Although, when using special offers as a way of measuring productivity you have to ensure that you are still making profit. Also different offers may focus on different areas of the business and cannot be applied to everything. The productivity of the business will only change during the time that the special offer is on, so productivity may stay the same during the time that the special offers are not on. Again special offers can vary in every business so they may be used for different things. Another way of checking productivity is by checking how much a machine or worker produces under a certain time limit. This allows you to see and observe every individual; the main problem is that it is time consuming. This helps you to see whether that specific machine needs repairing, replacing or updating. When observing a worker and measuring how much they can produce under a certain time limit you can get an understanding of how much each worker is producing in comparison to each other. However, this does not help to show how much of the input there is of an individual worker compared to the sales of the company. Another disadvantage of this is that this way of measuring productivity can only be used when looking at productivity in a work environment such as a factory, when marketing it is not always ready for the consumer to purchase it immediately this is where restaurants are at an advantage where they can market and produce the food.

If We Must Die by Claude McKay. An analysis of his rhyme and rhythm scheme, alliteration and repetition, and animal imagery.

If We Must Die by Claude McKay. An analysis of his rhyme and rhythm scheme, alliteration and repetition, and animal imagery. In the poem "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay, the author cries out to his audience -to his men at arms- to fight back against those that oppress them and are intent to kill them. Though not as rich in poetic symbolism as the poems by Emily Dickinson and George Herbert, McKay's poem evokes a stronger and more inspiring emotional reaction. He achieves this through his rhyme and rhythm scheme, through alliteration and repetition, and through animal imagery. They shall be examined in reverse order.The first two lines of McKay's poem, "If we must die, let it not be like hogs / Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot," establishes an animal theme, which is continued throughout the rest of the poem. McKay reaches out to the audience with intent to inspire them to action. The audience becomes a hunted animal. In lines three and four, "While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, / Making their mock at our accursed lot," McKay portrays the adversary as a pack of wild dogs intent on killing th e speaker and his "kinsmen."Death Valley Sand Dunes

EMPLOYMENT LAW Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

EMPLOYMENT LAW - Case Study Example Equal treatment in school and in the workplace is a civil right under federal and state laws†. In this given problem, the sexual advances made by Jami’s boss constitute sexual conduct in the work environment. The traumatic ordeal she had to go through forced her to seek medical and psychiatric treatment to overcome the sexual abuses she had experienced in the hands of her employer. In the case of Smith V. First Union National Bank (202, F. 3d 234,242, 4th Cir. 2000), sexual harassment was defined as a situation when â€Å"a work environment consumed by remarks that intimidate, ridicule, and maliciously demean the status of women can create an environment that contains unwanted sexual advances.† Jami, who is a victim of sexual harassment should file a complaint against Mr. Clark, her boss before the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or file the case before the federal or state court. During the hallway review, Mr. Hallway even insisted that she can go b ack to her work only if she dropped the charges against him. Clearly, this harassment by the boss continued to persist because he knows that Jami is in dire financial distress because she was supporting her ailing mother. The former boss still places her in a hostile situation even if they no longer had a working relationship. The acts committed against Jami undoubtedly falls within the context of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991), which â€Å"prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin with respect to compensation, terms, conditions and privileges of employment†. In a number of occasions in the work place of Jami manifested that sexual harassment was present. First, the colleagues who commented on her physical attributes, like her body; and Second, the offensive gesticulation of Mr. Clark, the Vice-President of the company who stared at her body parts in a provocat ive manner, are indicative signs of sexual harassment. It is evident that a sexually hostile atmosphere was present in the work place. The illicit invitations made by Mr. Clark on Jami for lunch and out-of-town getaways on one weekend at his cabin, constitute sexually obnoxious behavior. These instances are severe enough to form the basis for a legal claim of sexual harassment. Although Jami accepted the invitations made by her boss on two occasions, her refusal to give in to his sexual demands such as kissing to maintain her present position in the company is an indication that she does not consent to the immoral acts. The case of Smith V. First Union National Bank (202, F. 3d 234,242, 4th Cir. 2000) stated that: â€Å"It was sexual harassment for a male supervisor to tell a female employee that women are too emotional to be in the workplace, that they need sex in order to perform well, and that violence may be the only way to keep a woman in line†. In the similar case of Sc hmidt V. Smith (684 A.2d 66, 1996), the Supreme Court ruled that: â€Å"This falls within the purview of sexual harassment when a young New Jersey woman left her job after six weeks, because the President of her company, among other things, constantly asked her to have sex with him, and on several occasions, grabbed her and tried to kiss her.† The situation of Jami is undoubtedly indicative of a sexually aggressive and antagonistic work atmosphere. However, due her current financial situation, she was forced her to reconsider giving in to the sexual favors of her boss in to retain her job. However, in the end, she refused to give in to the sexual innuendos of the boss in exchange for her position in the company. Thus, her rejection resulted to her demotion and reduction of her pay per year, and earned her a poor evaluation

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY-CASE STUDIES IN POLICY PowerPoint Presentation - 2

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY-CASE STUDIES IN POLICY DECISION - PowerPoint Presentation Example Afar from the international politics of power, the general realization is that there was no practical, strategic and military justifications for the development of a weapon with such huge prospects of destruction. The development of a Hydrogen Bomb just for the sake of proving a point was in no way practical considering the resources that were utilized in the development of such a weapon. Furthermore, the possibility of using such an immensly destructive weapon was unethical and inhumane by any standards even during wars. However, Dr. Edward Teller speculated that the fear aroused by the existence of such a weapon would drive humanity to engage in more reasonable politics rather than the politics of destruction (Groot, 2004, p.164). In a letter to the President, Lewis Strauss stressed that the public opinion was already against the development of such a weapon due to the heavy costs (Strauss, 1950). However, Teller also outlines that the success of such a weapon in checking power and possibly preventing a war, would only be successful when another country like the Soviet Union possessed the same weapon. The question is what happenns when the balance of power is broken when some unruly third w orld country or a terrorist organization gains possession of such a technology? Gizewski (1996, p.399) adds that the move of making such a destructive weapon would tarnish the image of any nation in international politics due to the emotions harbored after the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombings. The military/strateic justifications further make the development of hydrogen bomb unreasonable. According to Groot (2004, p.182), the arms race that was experienced among the developed nations during the cold war could have only been stopped when nations ceased from making destructive weapons and filling up their arsenals. The United States had realized that it could not make

Critical Thinking Questions - Project Management Essay

Critical Thinking Questions - Project Management - Essay Example In studying a project life cycle, one will find that the phases within a project create deliverables and these deliverables allow the project to move forward to the next step or allow the project to be terminated based on quality outcome or condition of the phase deliverable. If we consider the project life cycle, with its one or more intermediate phases, we would find that projects do share many characteristics. A project is a unique endeavor to produce a set of deliverables within clearly specified time, cost and quality constraints. It is different from standard business operational activities as well as from processes as they: 1) are unique in nature without any repetitive processes; 2) defined by a timescale; 3) have an approved budget; 4) have limited resources; 5) involves an element of risk; and, 5) achieves beneficial change. (Westland 2006, p. 2) Meanwhile, all projects, from technology to architecture, are composed of processes – the series of actions with a common, parent goal in order to create result. It is important to highlight the aspect that people perform processes. Processes within project management monitor and move the project phases along. There are two types of processes. These are the product-oriented processes, the activities that complete a project’s phase and life cycle; and, the project management processes, which are the activities that are universal to all projects. (Phillips 2003, p. 85) One of the major problems in project planning is identifying how long tasks will take and what it will cost to accomplish them. Inaccurate estimate is a major threat to a project’s success and that missed cost targets could cause trouble and recrimination in project management. The Work Breakdown Structure or WBS is the most useful tool in addressing these problems. The idea of this method is to subdivide a complicated task into smaller tasks, until one reaches a level that cannot be further subdivided. Through this

Self-Assessment on Group Work

Self-Assessment on Group Work The End or The Beginning? Donald J. Peters Doug Flemming Introduction This module has served as a reminder that I should not give up on group interaction. I need to embrace the dynamics so I can be a better manager, leader and group member. We have learned about the significance of groups and that a large part of our professional life fundamentally relies on our group interaction skills. Improving group interaction skills can be very satisfying to all group members and advance the business organizational model as well. There are also some significant difficulties and hurdles intertwined with small group interaction. This makes groups a crucial focus for study, examination and action. The goal of this summary paper is to identify key concepts or topics that we have discussed, examine why we study group interaction, a self-analysis of our ability, and a discussion on how group OL313 is functioning. Topic 1 Discussion Background factors The first subject I want to discuss is background factors. By definition, background factors are attributes that existed prior to the groups formation and will probably endure after the group no longer exists. Some relevant background factors include personalities, age, health and values. Personality is one of the most important background factors in small group interaction (Tubbs, 2009). I am a member of a modification proposal working group and attend monthly meetings for my organization. In this working group, we discuss issues and the perceived failures of the modification proposal process. The normal attendees from the Tinker AFB location include both government and civilian employees who were purposely selected by the working groups senior member and government manager. There are various subject matter experts who also attend based on leaderships selected topics and questions. I was directed to attend and support this working group as I have been anointed the subject matter expert for these issues. My office has the responsibility to receive the modification proposals from the initiator and insure approval in a timely manner. Often this is not as easy as it appears. The working group chairperson is one of the high-ranking government employees in our building. Questions are asked at the meetings and the answers are not listened to. These processes are documented by the Air Force and there is very specific guidance detailed in the instructions. It is my observation that the chairperson has a need to control or influence the process to the point that it is interfering with the outcomes of the group. Due to my perceptions of the chairperson and the group in general, this meeting is basically a time killer for me. I continue to provide information as requested but I no longer have the patience to deal with the point counter point discussions which keep the process moving in a circle. There have been interactions with other group members who have noticed that there is a difference in my attitude when I attend this meeting. I would say I need to do a better job of camouflaging my attitude while attending this meeting. I dont believe I can bypass my attitude without engaging the source. Personality appears to be the most relevant background factor in this situation. It appears that the chairperson has trained themselves to look for opportunities for improvement without regard for the documented process. I was trained to follow the documented process for repeatable, sustained results. I have conceded that the documented processes may be too restrictive for our purpose, but there is also a process to seek relief from said restriction. Situationally, I have determined that this could be a personality issue, at least on my part. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular method of measuring personality, revealed that I demonstrated a high tendency towards introversion. Some of the ways introverts are described include, more reserved, like to be alone and more focused. I have learned, that although I dont see this as my fault, I have been a contributing factor to the problem or issue at hand. I have been a hindrance to the working groups goal of resolving the modification proposal issues. I have set a personal goal to try and resolve this conflict. I may not be able to fix a problem within a working group but I should be able to control my actions and set an example to follow. Topic 2 Discussion Circumstance and Structure I work in a windowless building but the technology used in some of our conference rooms is our window to the world of the B-2 bomber. Normally the atmosphere of the building I work in feels restricting. A dreary place where the atmosphere never changes. The conference rooms however, are very well maintained and tastefully decorated. It gives off a good vibe when you attend meetings in these conference rooms and I believe it effects the way people act and react to the information discussed in these venues. The meetings that I normally participate in take place in three large, well maintained conference rooms located throughout the building. There are normally several large rectangular tables set up in a horseshoe design and the chairs are very comfortable. The horseshoe layout allows dignitaries or the head of the meeting to sit at the head of the table. This position allows all participants to view the leader of the meeting. Due to the number of personnel, there is an overflow area established on both sides of the tables. One large advantage we utilize in our conference rooms is the ability to video teleconference (VTC) between geographically separated units. The attendees can view each locations speaker if they share the same equipment architecture. The conference rooms also have the capability to push briefing slides, normally power point, across multiple locations and that ability allows all participants to share data. I enjoy the capability to observe the VTC briefers as they provide their information to the group. It helps me remember that they are people like me, and not just another voice with a tasker or an assignment. The VTC capabilities also help to reduce travel expenses that would otherwise be accepted as the normal cost of doing business. During the last five years, I have noticed that people tend to sit in the same locations when attending meetings in these conference rooms. I also sit in the same locations depending on the meeting content and my role during the meeting. There are meetings when I am required to brief information to the group and its during those meetings when I sit at the table. That seat is as close to the VTC camera as possible so I am off camera to the group, but located near a microphone so I can be heard. Another meeting I attend puts me more in a support role and I try to sit away from the table, but close enough to the briefer to assist with questions or clarifications. These perceived seating assignments appear to be accepted as the norm by all attendees. I have needed to sit in other locations than my normal place and there have been times when the meeting chair did not think I was in attendance. The size of the group does have an impact on discussion. Smaller groups, less than ten, appear to be more relaxed and willing to facilitate the exchange of ideas or speak up when required. The larger groups, to include the offsite attendees, lose focus on the discussion topic and start sidebar conversations. Theses sidebar conversations can be very distracting and limit the exchange of ideas and reasoned answers to topics at hand. I personally think I perform better in the smaller groups and need their feedback to help my performance. The larger groups are a challenge for me as I dont always know who the players are and how they normally function. It appears or feels as if there is no cohesion or unity. The communication network that I see demonstrated during these meetings, using our wonderful VTC system, is the wheel. In this case the leader is viewed as the central person, or hub of the wheel and all communication and comments must pass through the hub or leader (Tubbs, 2009). The leader of the meeting is in control of the technology and responses are restricted to the leader of the meeting. The other offsite users appear to manage their meeting in the same fashion. I think it works very well in preventing people talking over one another while using the technology. The ability to have productive meetings is related to many different factors. From the setup of the conference room tables to your territorial seat at the meeting, these influences can contribute or impede the groups ability to operate. Some organizations have grown very adept at the use of this technology and I feel that its use provides everyone with more feedback on the items discussed. Although it appears our leade rship is using a restrictive communication network described as the wheel, it seems to work well for the groups using this technology. Why Study Group Interaction At the basic level interaction is simply communication. Small group interaction is the process by which three or more members of a group communicate, verbally and non-verbally, to influence one another (Tubbs, 2009). Why does an organization or individual need to educate themselves about interaction? The answer appears to be straight forward in that almost every business requires some form of interaction or communication. For that communication to be successful, it requires certain skills and capabilities. The continued study of communication will refine your skills and competencies which, in turn, will allow you the opportunity to become a more effective manager, leader and team member. This knowledge can save the organization time and limit expenditures. Self-Analysis The first thing that comes to mind is how much time has passed since I have been in a classroom. The experience has initiated a reassessment of my abilities as a student, learner and team member. As a student, I realize I need to improve my study skills and practice interaction daily. After retiring from the military, I intentionally sought out employment that would limit interaction. I did not want to be in leadership or management as I did not want to have that responsibility again. As I have progressed through the current company, I require those skills once more if I hope to be promoted. My ability to learn has not changed and for that I am thankful. But knowledge application has suffered. This course has shed light on some communication issues I am experiencing at work and that identification has led me to a new goal. That goal is to participate in the process through interaction and communication. Im not sure if I can reverse any of the negative interaction trends I have noticed, but I am sure I want to be a person that contributes, not a person that detracts from the group goals. Once I wrapped my head around what the professor expected and the teaching style, I enjoyed the class. I am a slow starter with new information but my interest in the subject matter increased with each week of instruction. Group OL313 Another module down and the group is that much closer to completing the objective of a college degree. I dont presume to know what the rest of the class thinks but I for one am very comfortable being part of this group. The fact the most of us have either had military experience or have worked close to the military complex seems to be the one thing we all share; other than being human I mean. I do not recall one instance where we had an issue within the group. As the oldest member of the group, I have faced technology challenges during instruction. Everyone in OL313 has helped or offered to help me sort out those issues. There have been several in our group who appear to have shown a marked improvement in communicating and interacting. It has been a pleasure to witness those changes for the better. I appreciate working with a group of this caliber and look forward to the few months we have remaining in this program. Conclusion To conclude, I have briefly discussed the background factor of personality and that it is the one of most important factors to small group interaction. Personalities exist prior to group formation and will likely remain the same after dissolution. The topic of structure was addressed with discussion centered on seating arrangements and technology. A brief self-analysis of my skills and where I think I need to go from here; as well as some thoughts on why we need to study small group interaction. And finally, I closed with analysis if how I think the OL313 group is performing. References Tubbs, S. L. (2009). A Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction. New York: McGraw-Hill.

The History of Capitalism Essay -- Essays Papers

The History of Capitalism Capitalism is based on the same principles as mercantilism. The accumulation of means, materials, land and other things, this accumulation is called capital and â€Å"the property-owners of these means of production are called capitalists† (Hooker 2). Productive labor, human work that is necessary to make goods and distribute them, takes the form of wage labor. â€Å"The means of production and labor is manipulated by the capitalist using rational calculation in order to realize a profit† (Hooker 2). Mercantilism is the earliest form of capitalism. Mercantilism can be simply defined as the allotment of trading goods for profit. Rome is credited with the first formation of a mercantile society. As the Rome Empire expanded, mercantilism expanded with it, spreading into the Middle East and Western Europe. Due the localizing nature of European economies this enabled mercantilism to expand and was not part of the European culture. Thus by the fifteenth century, when the Roman Empire began to retrench so did mercantilism (â€Å"Hooker†). In contrast to Europe, the Arabic economies grew around a thieving mercantilism. They lived on trade routes between three magnificent empires: Egypt, Persia and soon after the Byzantium, and they found that stealing products, then selling them, to be very lucrative. Thieving mercantilism spread swiftly through Spain, Asia, Middle East, and Northern Africa, where â€Å"Arabic mercantilism assumed an unprecedented global character† (Hooker 1). During the Medieval Age is when the European culture expanded its mercantilism, taking trading to lands far beyond its shores. From the 1300’s onwards, the Europeans would push â€Å"their mercantile practices† forward, (Hooker 1) causing social up... ...ural production of human nature. Of all the economic systems tried to date, Capitalism appears to be the only system that has endured many tests, and has grown to dominate the world. The fact that communism in Russia failed during the 1980 and 1990’s proves that capitalism is the outcome of human nature. Capitalism conforms to the natural laws and conditions of humanity and that anything that falls out of these conditions can only brings misery (â€Å"Wood†). Works Cited - Kan, Fang et al. An Economic History of the Major Capitalist Counties. New York: East Gate, 1992. - Hooker, Richard. â€Å"Capitalism†. The European Enlightenment Glossary. 1996. 8 Nov 2004. - Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. The History of Capitalism Essay -- Essays Papers The History of Capitalism Capitalism is based on the same principles as mercantilism. The accumulation of means, materials, land and other things, this accumulation is called capital and â€Å"the property-owners of these means of production are called capitalists† (Hooker 2). Productive labor, human work that is necessary to make goods and distribute them, takes the form of wage labor. â€Å"The means of production and labor is manipulated by the capitalist using rational calculation in order to realize a profit† (Hooker 2). Mercantilism is the earliest form of capitalism. Mercantilism can be simply defined as the allotment of trading goods for profit. Rome is credited with the first formation of a mercantile society. As the Rome Empire expanded, mercantilism expanded with it, spreading into the Middle East and Western Europe. Due the localizing nature of European economies this enabled mercantilism to expand and was not part of the European culture. Thus by the fifteenth century, when the Roman Empire began to retrench so did mercantilism (â€Å"Hooker†). In contrast to Europe, the Arabic economies grew around a thieving mercantilism. They lived on trade routes between three magnificent empires: Egypt, Persia and soon after the Byzantium, and they found that stealing products, then selling them, to be very lucrative. Thieving mercantilism spread swiftly through Spain, Asia, Middle East, and Northern Africa, where â€Å"Arabic mercantilism assumed an unprecedented global character† (Hooker 1). During the Medieval Age is when the European culture expanded its mercantilism, taking trading to lands far beyond its shores. From the 1300’s onwards, the Europeans would push â€Å"their mercantile practices† forward, (Hooker 1) causing social up... ...ural production of human nature. Of all the economic systems tried to date, Capitalism appears to be the only system that has endured many tests, and has grown to dominate the world. The fact that communism in Russia failed during the 1980 and 1990’s proves that capitalism is the outcome of human nature. Capitalism conforms to the natural laws and conditions of humanity and that anything that falls out of these conditions can only brings misery (â€Å"Wood†). Works Cited - Kan, Fang et al. An Economic History of the Major Capitalist Counties. New York: East Gate, 1992. - Hooker, Richard. â€Å"Capitalism†. The European Enlightenment Glossary. 1996. 8 Nov 2004. - Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999.