Google and its Evil Face Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Google and its Evil Face - Essay Example The world declares the search engine as a mine for information, but fails to look at the down side to it since in reality Google is a corruption of the world in relation to information, privacy and security. Google states its mission as the organization of the world’s information so that it can be reached by anyone in the world. However, even when it provides plenty of information to the reader, this search engine is the worst thing to have happened to our society in relation to worsening of peoples’ reading habits, where there is no more reading in books. This is affecting comprehension of content acquired from reading books and read from Google search results. Google is a great tool to get any form of information; however, it is creating negative tendencies in our society. This is concerning Google users becoming careless on the information they search for and the safety concerns on privacy (Staff and Agencies). For this reason, searching for information on Google sho uld involve allocation of enough time in order to search for adequate information and resources, while putting into consideration privacy and security concerns. In fact, what society gets by using Google is quantity information, and not quality, which is what people instinctively want. Therefore, the public gets into a comfort zone, which it does not intend to leave due to the ease of operation for humans in that level. For instance, on a five-year research program the British Library and one by a U.K. educational consortium, they found out that people get obsessed with looking for information once they log on (Carr). In such cases, the users search for articles and journals that they do not necessarily read or intend to read, but instead keep searching. After this, the focus lies in skimming through the articles without taking the time to understand the concept. Consequently, people do not go to libraries to find information in books or from the periodicals rooms. As a result, Goog le is affecting the society through giving them quantity and by that, people stop reading books because; with only typing in Google search what they need, it would be an instant when they get the answers and all the necessary information requested. Google as any other social network wants to control what the users do. Therefore, they would not go and join other search engines, which provide email and the location where they are. Google is controlling the users by buying new markets and expanding in new areas, they get new features, a faster search and there is no one that can compete with this search engine (Rooketix Ltd). Similarly, bringing of Chrome for Android into the market has revealed how Google is potential of remembering all our browsing history and their capacity to transfer it into the cloud (Moreni). Therefore, if anyone is logged into a Google account, it is stated in the Google privacy policy that any service used will be able to track universally by using the e-mail address and your current location. Moreover, they are able to track everything you search for, and as long as you look for that same topic repeatedly, advertisements will start to appear on the sides according to the most current topics every user searches (Davies). Google based on its mission statement has gone as far as attempting to collect as much information as it can. This is in relation to creating a form of online storage the documents and other files that people have. Following the mission statement of Google, it seeks to create a database of all the knowledge that exists in the world and place it in a central place for all to access free of charge. In light of this, Google has come up with Google Drive, which saves up to five gigabytes of user documents;

Dell's Value Chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dell's Value Chain - Essay Example It has allowed its suppliers to view their orders and the current of inventory at the company. This allows for planning and providing components that are only needed. Besides, the strategy helps the company avoid excessive costs of market promotion. While it has remained a policy of reducing operational costs, this has enabled the company to establish to order model. Additionally, the company continues to expand its model through allowing consumers to seek queries and make purchases on the web platform. Although this comes with an additional transportation cost, it has over time proved relatively cheaper. In the current market where forces of demand and ever-changing customer specification, the company has shifted to internet sales and direct engagement of the prospective clients. Through virtual space, the company has continued to expand its sales and attract specific clients who value choice. Moreover, the company has expanded this chain through the creation of tracking system. The web pages have been customized. This allows bigger suppliers and larger customers to keep monitoring their purchases and make new orders. Notably, by investing in web pages and internet supply chain, it has created a unique customer base in addition to its traditional consumers. Blending to order supply chain help in reducing long chains that are often costly, inconvenient and ineffective. The web-based chain remains a critical-order supply chain. †¨ To measure process performance, three elements are of great importance. The priority is responsiveness to customer’s demands and changing the competitive environment. The company has improved its operations efficiency by customizing its web pages; this has allowed large businesses to view existing inventory and make orders based on informed point of view (Kumar & Craig, 2007). In addition, the company has adopted customer order tracking system that enables it to assemble its products upon

Assessment of carnival cruise lines competitive position

Assessment of carnival cruise lines competitive position Carnival Cruise Lines is certainly the leader of their industry. They are the industry standard for quality, have massive revenues, and the largest growth. In fact, the company continues to set new passenger number records. The first thing I will do in evaluating the companys competitive position is to do a SWOT analysis. Some of the companys main strengths include: cruise capacity levels, branding, variety of activities, price compared to other vacation options, and their ability to stay frugal and efficient. The main weaknesses I have identified were they were still considered to be an expensive option for vacations, perceptions of lower-quality (despite major quality improvements), perceptions of being geared to certain demographics, and some IT issues. Certain opportunities available to the company include a chance to narrow the gap between quality and perception of quality, direct marketing through new intermediaries, and more growth in their industry. Major threats to the compa ny are the economy, fuel prices, and hurricane seasons. Overall, looking at the SWOT analysis, it is easy to see why CCL is the industry leader. They have many strengths, only a few weaknesses, opportunities to work on their weaknesses, and threats that affect many industries, not just their own. Looking at the five competitive forces model, I believe CCL is in a strong competitive position. The only threat I think is a big deal for the company at this point is the threat of fierce competition. Ten brands control 95% of the market, and despite the bad economy those companies are also showing growth. Not only does CCL compete against other cruise ships, they also compete against other forms of vacation entertainment. Some examples mentioned in the case include the vacation opportunities in the Orlando and Las Vegas markets. To make sure they handle this competition, the company must continue to improve in order to dominate the market. The threat of new entrants is weak because of the major start-up costs in their industry and the importance of brand-recognition in their industry. The bargaining power of the buyers is moderate-to-weak because switching costs for customers are high when considering the value they get with CCL despite possible substitutes. Bargaining power of sup pliers is getting weaker as travel agencies are going away and costs of dealing with the customer are being minimized. It is possible that CCL will have to deal with the threat of substitute products because there are viable options beyond CCL. However, CCL has positioned themselves very well to deal with this competition through giving the customer great value for the price. They mentioned in the case that their goal with each customer is to exceed the customers expectations to the best of their ability. Doing so will add value to firm because it will likely increase the customers willingness to pay. Another way to continue to improve the company will include using a virtual value chain with online intermediaries rather than travel agents in order to lessen the costs of booking customers and to directly market to prospective customers. I believe this can add great value to the firm by decreasing the cost of doing business through intermediaries and increasing customer awareness of vacationing with CCL. If they can take advantages of their opportunities, their competitive position will continue to be strong. Question 2: Should CCL implement a CRM strategy? (Justify your answer). If so, how would you implement it? If not, what other enterprise systems would you recommend instead? (Justify your answer). Perform a security and privacy risk assessment related to your recommendation. For each major risk, what should the company do? There are positives and negatives for CCL implementing a CRM strategy. I will use this chance to make an argument for implementing a CRM strategy, highlight the positive aspects of this strategy and explain how this strategy makes up for the negative aspects. They are the industry leaders in almost every aspect of their business except for lagging information systems. If they improve this aspect of their business, they can possibly increase their strategic advantages for the long-term future. For now, CCL enjoys a strong relationship with travel agents who refer their clients to CCL regularly. This has been a very valuable relationship for CCL over the years. The market is changing in the travel and tourism industry because of the development of intermediaries on the internet who make direct connections from customer to business. This trend is going to be the dominant way of doing business in the short-term and long-term futures of the industry. CCL management argues in the case that they want to balance this relationship with travel agents with this new wave. I argue that travel agents are on their way out of business and it should not be a focus for the company in the long-term. Having a CRM strategy will improve their abilities to reach out to the customer base on the internet and should transform their value chain completely to virtual means. This will cut their costs dramatically and will help the bottom line. This also allows the customer to ask for services directl y from CCL. This can result in greater customer service for CCL. It mentioned in the case that the handoff of information from CCL to travel agent to customer was often slow. Eliminating the need for travel agents and dealing directly with customers will also improve customer service by making it a much faster and more efficient process. To me, it makes a lot of sense for CCL. This CRM strategy will not be an overnight process and neither will the demise of the travel agent business, so the strategy they have for now should serve their needs well until they develop this strategy to an acceptable level. There were quite a few other key points I read in the case that stand out to me in supporting a CRM strategy. Management stressed the importance of fitting their services to customers changing tastes. This is a reasonable goal. If this goal is truly important, developing a successful CRM strategy can help them track these changing tastes in the most effective way. This includes a possible improvement in the check-in process for customers boarding the cruise ship. The current process requires hours for each customer in order to pass through security. If they can update their information systems to hold security information and some biometrics, security can be quicker and possibly of better quality. The case also pointed out that CCL has a wide variety of customers unlike their competitors. This can be a great advantage to the company if CCL can utilize their information systems in a way that provides the company with information about the mix of customers they have for a certain cruis e. Planning for a customer base that is homogenized is much easier than making strategic plans for a customer base that is diverse. It would certainly be an advantage to CCL to have a CRM strategy that helped them with this diverse customer base. They mention in the case that customer loyalty is a great strength of the company and they hope to continue to increase customer loyalty. Having a CRM strategy that can help improve customer service and improve the services offered to customers and can certainly create loyalty. One aspect of their CRM strategy I would not be as concerned with is developing a highly detailed rewards program to go along with it. The company has experimented with this idea and has a simple system they use. I think it would be fine to continue with something simple like this but do not see any reason to create a detailed plan. I believe the degree of customability is low for this industry and the repurchase rate for customers is typically once a year. Therefore, investing in a rewards program would result in a low payoff. Also, competitors in their industry have tried using rewards programs and the results have not been positive for these companies. At this point, I do not see a major need for CCL to develop their rewards program further. So I have argued for a new CRM strategy. How does CCL implement such a strategy? First, it has to be realized that CRM strategies are only strategies, not technology. In order to effectively implement this kind of strategy, it is imperative that there is an information technology infrastructure in place. This means that the databases have to be strong and the information has to be reliable. This is the first step of the process for implementation. According to the case, CCL already has the databases there for use, including Oracle databases called Property Management Systems (PMS) and Point of Sale (POS). The problem right now with their infrastructure is issues they have with data integrity and availability, as pointed out on page 412. Regardless of whether or not CCL implements a CRM strategy, issues with data integrity and availability are major issues that should be dealt with to have good information and security. The second step of implementing the new CRM strategy is to change the database design in a way that can improve customer and transactional data so the company can use the information. Having this data funnel into one data store can help the company get the most out of the relationships they build with the various intermediaries they will have online as well as through their website. Certainly, at this point implementing a CRM strategy will require major considerations for funding and how this information system will be created or bought. For funding initiatives within this new CRM strategy, the steering committee will have to figure out what would add the greatest value to the firm and what they will do to create the information systems that fit this strategy. At this point, I do not think I have enough information in order to have an opinion on how to do this. As I mentioned earlier in the paper, security and privacy risk seems to be a major issue for this company. It was mentioned in the case that information integrity and availability are not at acceptable levels. This has to be addressed immediately in order to have good information, which is imperative for effective information systems. Security and privacy are not just IT issues; they are issues that go the very top of management. Therefore, measures have to be put in place to protect the information that CCL obtains from using this CRM strategy. The information systems created because of this strategy will likely contain very sensitive information such as credit card numbers. In accordance with the importance placed on privacy, the company should look to obtain a trust seal from TRUSTe, WebTrust, or the Better Business Bureau. Also, a privacy statement should be drafted for the site in order to help gain the customers trust. Beyond that, I think the major issue will be preventing hac kers from getting sensitive information from the companys information systems and I think one step that will help is hiring a third party to conduct an information systems audit. This will help the company identify weaknesses that they can improve. Policies and training for employees will also need to be evaluated in order to prevent phishing or social engineering. If they can continually assess their security and privacy needs with the suggestions I have made, their security and privacy should be fine. It will then be up to the company to straighten out the mess they made with their information quality.

Essay --

Oprah Winfrey once said, â€Å"The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude† (Flanagan 118). This quote is a testimony to her personal life. Born in 1954 whenever African Americans were still fighting for equality, Winfrey had racism to endure. Additionally, her family faced much economic hardship. During her childhood, Winfrey encountered physical and sexual abuse. Somehow, she persevered against all odds to become one of America’s most significant philanthropists. Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration to all because of her dexterity to conquer her adversities to attain any goal. Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, was only 18 years old whenever she gave birth. Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, was unaware that he had a child until months after she was born. He was excluded from Winfrey’s life originally, for he was a soldier away in Mississippi. That meant that Oprah would be receiving care from her mother and grandmother in the deepest of poverty (Weston 13). Winfrey said, â€Å"I am grateful for living in poverty because it makes success so much more rewarding† (â€Å"Dave and Oprah Recap†). After a few years, Winfrey’s mother traveled to Milwaukee for a job opportunity as a maid. She left Winfrey under the sole supervision of her grandma, Hattie May Lee. Winfrey later said, â€Å"I am what I am today because of my grandmother; my strength, my sense of reasoning, everything† (Weston 14). Hattie May had grown too sick to care for Winfrey, so she was sent to live with Lee in Milwaukee. Her new home was one room in a boardinghouse. Winfrey said, â€Å"I felt like I was an outcast. I don’t know why my mother ever decided she wanted me. She wasn’t equipped to take care of me. I was just an extra burden ... ...ty. She has transformed from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, all by having faith and perseverance. She believed that she had a higher purpose in life, and that God was leading her on the path to change the world. In fact, her final words on the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show, â€Å"To God be the glory† (Flanagan 106). Though she stumbled on this path due to resentment and anger, she returned to her good ways with the stern love from her father and a second chance at life. Winfrey was able to achieve great things by believing in herself and in others. She has contributed millions of dollars to help women, families, and children to be supported in education and in life. What makes Winfrey such a remarkable being is that she was able to overcome her adversities to achieve any goal. Her selfless acts are appreciated by the millions of people that she influences.

Industrialization by Invitation

Industrialisation is the process of social and economic change whereby a social group is transferred from a manual labor based structure to a more technologically driven society and where the economy gains much more capital via manufacturing industries. Caribbean economies have been labeled as weak and dependent, and controlled by stronger foreign states and institutions (The Plantation Economy). Sir Arthur Lewis, St. Lucia? s first Nobel Prize winner, has released several publications on the issue of underdeveloped nations in the Caribbean and solutions to correct this underdevelopment.Of these publications is the concept of ? Industrialisation by invitation?. Lewis felt that this was a step needed to be taken for the British West Indies to develop. Sir Arthur Lewis policy aided in the development of the B. W. I but the policy itself also hindered development as well as left out major aspects of development. After Lewis studied the system known as Operation Bootstrap (policy of deli berately inviting foreign direct investors) in Puerto Rico, he set out to adopt and implement similar in the British West Indies.The economies of the British Caribbean were mainly agricultural and there was a need to stimulate industrial growth and trade in manufactured goods, to diversify the economic base, since these economies were mainly monocrop economies. This term not only refers to the dependence on sugar and bananas, it also characterizes the dependence on tourism or the oil industry. Lewis therefore proposed the strategy to invite foreign investment as a way to stimulate growth, not only in industry but also agriculture, and therefore to reduce the dependency on the export sector.He reasoned that the British West Indies had a great abundance of unskilled labour in agriculture and amongst the unemployed. These countries did not have much capital. Thus multinational corporations (MNCs) with millions of dollars at their disposal were to be invited to the British West Indies w here they could earn huge profits by employing cheap surplus labour from agriculture. They would also benefit from tax holidays for the first five or ten years of their operations, and other concessions such as subsidies.In other words incentives would be offered to encourage these corporations to invest . Caribbean governments popularly adopted this policy in the 1960s. Several foreign based companies that are established today in the Caribbean are the result of Sir Lewis’ policy. This is most apparent in the tourist industry many foreigners have invested in hotels which employ the majority of people. Several countries within the Caribbean have attempted Sir Arthur Lewis? concept of ? Industrialisation by Invitation? with the outcomes being mixed. This meaning that it expanded direct foreign investment, injecting capital into local institutions. However, this increase in foreign investment brought about a higher dependency level on technology, raw materials and capital from abroad. Without these investments, the Caribbean would still be in a pre-industrialised state, with little growth in the economies. It has been argued that Caribbean economies have achieved a lot of growth; however without or in fact limited development.Yes, the region? s infrastructure has improved dramatically but their industries and companies are mainly foreign and therefore a substantial amount of profits made are sent abroad. Development therefore has been limited with the major organizations within the economy being foreign and not indigenous. Sir Arthur Lewis? concept of ? Industrialisation by Invitation? was not completely successful since the ? development? of the countries? economies did not reach the limits Lewis predicted.Currently the world market has a major negative effect and influence on the Caribbean economies due to the region? s dependence on foreign investments. Example of an essay on industrialization invitation theory Arthur Lewis Industrializagtion by invita tion To what extent can it be argued that Sir Arthur Lewis policy of ‘Industrialisation by Invitation’ aided in the development of the B. W. I By Jennine Small. According to Nassur Mustapha development is defined as, ‘the progressive process of human, cultural, political, economic and social change, which shapes people’s lives. The southern countries particularly the Caribbean have been classified as developing countries, which are still somewhat dependent on the metropolis which once colonized them. Sir Arthur Lewis in the immediate post- World War II period advocated industrialization of the British West Indies, he adopted a policy called ‘ Industrialisation by Invitation. ’ He felt that this was a step needed to be taken for the British West Indies to develop. Sir Arthur Lewis policy aided in the development of the B. W. I but the policy itself also hindered development as well as left out major aspects of development.The Industrial Revoluti on was one of those historical events which drastically changed societies all over the world. Despite the revolution having its roots in Europe , particularly Britain it then spread to places like the U. S. A and later the Caribbean. Industrialization became the mechanism used for a society to make the transition from a traditional, labour intensive economy based on agriculture (agrarian) to a more capital- intensive economy based on manufacturing by machines , specialized labour and Industrial factories.Sir Arthur Lewis recognized the importance of Industrialisation but realized that the British West Indies could not do it on their own, they would need financial aid, in the form of investments which could stimulate Industrialisation. After Lewis studied the system known as Operation Bootstrap (policy of deliberately inviting foreign direct investors) in Puerto Rico, he set out to adopt and implement similar in the British West Indies.The economies of the British Caribbean were main ly agricultural and there was a need to stimulate industrial growth and trade in manufactured goods, to diversify the economic base, since these economies were mainly monocrop economies. This term not only refers to the dependence on sugar and bananas, it also characterizes the dependence on tourism or the oil industry. Lewis therefore proposed the strategy to invite foreign investment as a way to stimulate growth, not only in industry but also agriculture, and therefore to reduce the dependency on the export sector.He reasoned that the British West Indies had a great abundance of unskilled labour in agriculture and amongst the unemployed. These countries did not have much capital. Thus multinational corporations (MNCs) with millions of dollars at their disposal were to be invited to the British West Indies where they could earn huge profits by employing cheap surplus labour from agriculture. They would also benefit from tax holidays for the first five or ten years of their operatio ns, and other concessions such as subsidies.In other words incentives would be offered to encourage these corporations to invest . Caribbean governments popularly adopted this policy in the 1960s. Several foreign based companies that are established today in the Caribbean are the result of Sir Lewis’ policy. This is most apparent in the tourist industry many foreigners have invested in hotels which employ the majority of people. In Antigua for example, 50% of the population is employed in the tourism industry.In addition to this, infrastructure such as roads and transportation has been developed by governments to complement these businesses. Foreign investors have introduced the latest technologies and influenced the improvement of public services. On the contrary, the policy is very much economically based , its aim is for countries to achieve economic growth. However development also includes other aspects, there is no indication on how foreign investers may positively impa ct the quality of life , welfare or education.Therefore this policy cannot be seen as aiding development in the British West Indies as a whole , as the policy was based primarily on the stimulation of economic growth. In addition, most of the money earned by these investors have been repatriated to their home countries thus money is not invested in the economy, this is a grave issue with serious implications for the tourism industry. The policy eventually failed in the British West Indies, mainly because the Caribbean governments invited the MNCs but did not control them.When the initial period of the tax-free holidays were up they ‘closed up shop' and moved on. They were mainly capital-intensive industries, virtually no provisions were made for training citizens to organize and run similar plants, such as the assembly of motor vehicles and small appliances. Hence no sustainable development. Neo-marxists who came up with the dependency theory, also initially developed their th eory in Latin America. Andre Gunder Frank and Samir Amin were the two theorists associated with this school of thought .Both argued that the third world countries are classified as the Peripheries and the Western/ Industrialised capitalist countries are the core. The former being largely dependent on the latter. The development of the core countries caused the underdevelopment of the periphery since economic surplus was transferred from the latter to the former for expansion purposes. These sociologists recommended that the peripheries need to break the link between them and the core in order to be self- sufficient and independent.Therefore the MNCs can be seen as detrimental according to this perspective dependence is an undesired state and situation . It only causes, injustice, unfairness and exploitation. Following from the dependency theory, we can assert that foreign companies therefore would not be aiding development but hindering it for their metropolis benefit. They would en courage the mindset of preference for foreign goods thus maintaining dependence.It can be seen that the Industrialisation by Invitiation policy is indeed a controversial one when considering whether it has aided development in the Caribbean. There is no doubt that MNCs are an important means to economic development. However in order for a country to develop, the country must have control of its own businesses and resources, move away from traditional economic models that make them dependent on foreigners and also perpetuate the legacy of colonialism in how the Caribbean economy is structured.Grade Profile Knowledge & Understanding – 7/10 Interpretation & Analysis – 7 /10 Synthesis & Evaluation – 7/10 The student demonstrates a very good understanding of the subject matter under examination. Interpreted and evaluated the question well. Student should have named some Companies or a company that emerged as a result of IbyI in their territory and explain the advanta ges and disadvantges of the policy using the ‘live' example as the base. Altogether however this was a good

Is persuasion ethical? Essay

This simple question has engaged scholars and practitioners alike. Aristotle and Plato discussed it. Machiavelli touched on it. So have modern communication scholars and social psychologists. And you can bet that practitioners—Tommy Hunger, Phil Knight, Donna Karan, even Michael Jordan—have given it a passing thought, no doubt on the way to the bank. Yet persuasion ethics demand contemplation. As human beings we want to be treated with respect, and we value communications that treat others as an ends, not a means, to use Immanuel Kanf s famous phrase. At the similar time, we are practical creatures, who want to achieve our goals, whether they are financial, social, emotional, or spiritual. The accomplishment of goals—money, esteem, love, or religious fulfillment— requires that we influence others in some fashion somewhere along the way. Is the need to influence contrary with the ethical treatment of human beings? Some scholars would say it always is. Plato, who regarded truth as â€Å"the only reality in life, † was offended by persuasive communication (Golden et al. , 2000, p. 17). As, he regarded rhetoric as a form of adulation that appealed to people’s worst instincts. Although Plato did believe in an ideal rhetoric estimably composed of truth and morality, he did not think that ordinary persuasion measured up to this standard. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant would view persuasion as immoral for a diverse reason: In his view, it uses people, treating them as means to the persuader’s end, not as appreciated ends in themselves (Borchert & Stewart, 1986). This violates Kant’s ethical principles. In a similar fashion, Thomas Nilsen (1974) has argued that persuasion is immoral because a communicator is trying to encourage someone to do something that is in the communicator’s best interest, but not essentially in the best interest of the individual receiving the message. As considerate as these perspectives are, they set up a rather high bar for human communication to reach. What’s more, these authors tend to lump all persuasive communication together. Some communications are certainly false, designed to manipulate people by appealing to base emotions, or are in the interest of the sender and not the receiver. But others are not. Some messages make very intelligent appeals, based on logic and evidence. Additionally, not all persuaders treat people as a means. Therapists and health professionals ordinarily accord clients a great deal of respect. The best counselors treat each person as unique, an inexplicable treasure to be deciphered and understood. Many people who do volunteer work—such as those who counsel teens in trouble or AIDS victims—do not receive great financial benefit from their work. Their communications can be extremely much in the best interest of those receiving the message. On the other extreme are philosophers who argue that persuasion is basically moral. Noting that people are free to recognize or reject a communicator’s message, conservative thinkers tend to embrace persuasion. Believing that people are adequately rational to distinguish between truth and falsehood, libertarian scholars argue that society is best served by diverse persuasive communications that run the gamut from completely truthful to totally fallacious (Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm, 1956). Persuasion, they say, is better than coercion, and people are in any incident free to accept or reject the communicator’s message. There is some understanding in this perspective. However, to say that persuasion is intrinsically moral is an extreme, absolute statement. To suppose that people are capable of maturely rejecting controlling communicators’ messages naively neglects cases in which trusted but evil people exploit others’ vulnerability. What of men who trick or seduce women and then take advantage of their dependence to demand added sexual and emotional favors? Perhaps we would argue that the women chose to get involved with the men—they’re persuaded, not coerced—but it would be heartless to propose that such persuasion is moral. Moreover, the idea that all communication should start somewhere and that the individual or organization that it starts from influences the way the communication is expressed (Forsyth, D. R. , & Kelley, K. N. 1994). The idea that all communication goes somewhere that the sender’s view of what the audience is like will influence how they frame their communication, but that the receiver will also tend to take their own meanings from the communication, despite of what was intended in the first place. Just as students on a course must have to work in a variety of formats, so also they should have to deal with a diversity of audiences so that the effect of audience on what is said and how will be reinforced. All communication is put together with some purpose in mind, whether or not the sender is fully aware of what this is. Again, one can understand the communication and its effects better if one is fully aware of what the real purpose of it is. It must become apparent that what we think someone’s purpose is, is more significant than what it actually is. The pupils will come to understand that we act on postulations when decoding messages. The physical or social situation in which the communication takes place will constantly affect how it is understood, and will perhaps affect how it is put together in the first place. In terms of interpersonal and group communication, it is at least helpful to discuss or simulate examples which may be described as public or private situations so as to get across the force of this concept. Try getting a pupil to role-play behaviour in public that they would usually use at home, and the point will have been made (Dunbar, N. E. , & Allen, T. H. 2003). All communication has to be put into some form such as speech or pictures. Diverse forms have diverse qualities, and different advantages and disadvantages. The form used affects how the communication is put together and understood. Effective communicators weigh up the compensation of the various forms of communication accessible to them. It is often the case that we use more than one type of communication at a time. The number of forms that may be used through the medium of television in an evening news broadcast is a case in point. Students must be allowed to make decisions concerning the use of forms of communication during their course. They must practice the conventions of the form or format. On a more sophisticated level they should grapple the idea that the medium is indeed the message, and that the same message is transformed in various ways once cast in a form other than its original. References: Borchert, D. M. , & Stewart, D. (1986). Exploring ethics. New York: Macmillan. Canary, D. J. , & Spitzberg, B. H. (1990). Attribution biases and associations between conflict strategies and competence outcomes.Communication Monographs, 57, 139-151. Cooper, M. D. , & Nothstine, W. L. (1998). Power persuasion: Moving an ancient art into the media age. (2nd ed. ). Greenwood, IN: Educational Video Group. Dunbar, N. E. , & Allen, T. H. (2003, May). Toward a message-centered approach to attributions regarding interpersonal conflict. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association, San Diego, CA. Forsyth, D. R. , & Kelley, K. N. (1994). Attribution in groups: Estimations of personal contributions to collective endeavors. Small Group Research, 25, 367-3

Essay Starbucks Financial Statements

Essay Starbucks Financial Statements Essay Starbucks Financial Statements Starbucks Financial Statements Analysis 1. Starbucks is a globally well-known brand of specialty coffee over 60 countries. Founded in 1985, Starbucks has high reputation for selling high quality coffee as well as tea and other beverages and fresh food through a well decorated and elegant in-store environment. The main initiative for Starbucks is to â€Å"maintain Starbucks standing as one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world.† Aiming to achieve this goal, the globally disciplined expansion and continuous new coffee and categories are two main methods. 2. As the CEO mentioned in letters to shareholders, â€Å"First, we will remain committed to our coffee core. Second, we will exercise relevant, timely, and courageous innovation.† The most significant internal strengthen of Starbucks is the attention focused on core business-high quality and premium handcrafted coffee. In order to achieve this, Starbucks’s company-operated store in U.S. is about 61%. The internal weakness is also obvious, which is the price. Starbucks’s price is apparently higher than other competitors, which could easily lose customer in times of economic hardship. â€Å"In the China and Asia Pacific region in 2012, we once, again posted strong annual returns, including 11 consecutive quarters of double-digit comparable store sales growth.† The global expansion strategy of Starbucks enables Starbucks to compete in a worldwide stage and leverages the revenue with a huge potential, which is a considerable external opportunity. The major threat is from Starbucks’s competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts. They are both offering low ends coffee and challenging Starbucks based on their large scale of sale. 3. In Starbucks case, the auditing firm offered unqualified opinion, which means† states that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the entity, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.† 4. The net sale of 2012 was strong and achieved $6,630.5 million compared to $5,882.4 million in 2011 and $5,231.2 million in 2010. The selling, general and administrative expenses also increased modestly from $1,457.6 million to $1,596.2 million. Due to the strong in sale, the operating income rose to $782.1 million from $630 million in 2011. Moreover, the interest expense, net reduced from $5.6 million to $2.9 million as a consequence of reducing short term borrowing in order to achieve a more conservative capital structure. The net income achieved $488.3 million in 2012, compared to past two years was a great success due to the outperforming sale. Therefore, the basic net income per share ended with $4.06 per share and $4.03 diluted net income per share which was impressive. 5. The cash reduced slightly from $311.2 million in 2011 to $288.3 million in 2012. The short term investments turned to zero at 2012 compared to $174.8 million in 2011 as a way to slow down the domestic expansion. Besides, the long–term debt remained identical in the past year. The merchandise increased from $803.1 million to $867.4 million during 2012. Meanwhile the property, land and plant increased greatly from

How To Ramp Up Results Even When Your Industry Lags With Ted Horan

How To Ramp Up Results Even When Your Industry Lags With Ted Horan Different industries directly impact the marketing processes, tactics, and tools that prevent marketers from being productive, organized, and focused. Is your industry leading or lagging in marketing and technology consumption? Today’s guest is Ted Horan, vice president of marketing in eCommerce at RDO Equipment Company. Ted describes how the company overcomes makeshift marketing to be a leader in the construction and agriculture industry.   Candid Customer: What works and what doesn’t with tool Farmer to Founder: Ron Offutt’s entrepreneurial spirit for equipment business Evolution of Equipment Industry: Sales-heavy, outdated, one-man operation Catch up vs. Keep up: Create a digital presence to sell more and be relevant   Ultimate Goal: Become a strategic partner with those driving revenue every day Ever-changing Tech Environment: Rely on tools to react, pivot, and adapt Pop-up Projects: Prioritizing flow of ideas and fire drills depends on budget, resources, and capacity Qualifiers: Find tools to manage/optimize workflow in a way that makes sense Are you winning? Surround yourself with a strong team and necessary skill sets   Links:   RDO Equipment Company John Deere Vermeer Microsoft Teams Gartner for Marketers (formerly CEB) The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson The Challenger Customer by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson New Marketing Suite If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Ted Horan: â€Å"Marketing has evolved out of necessity. When those commodity prices dipped, it created a perfect storm. In many industries, it exposed opportunities.†Ã‚   â€Å"These tools are only as important as the capacity we have to use them.† â€Å"There’s really no cookie-cutter tool that speaks to my team to the extent that it answers all our challenges and issues.† â€Å"You have to understand so much about today’s buyer and the journey they’re on to be successful. That is challenging.†

Black Genocide Essay Example for Free

Black Genocide Essay Essay Topic: African American , Abortion â€Å"Black Genocide in the 21st century† also called â€Å"Maafa† is an anti-abortionist documentary made in 2009 that speaks about the relevance of birth control, White America and Black America, Planned Parenthood and how it was established, also, the conspiracy behind abortion. The movie also deeply discusses the argument between abortion being genocide and it specifically targeting African Americans. Black Genocide was a very intriguing and interesting piece of material that filled my knowledge with much more than I had intended it doing. Before watching this video, I knew a little about abortion but not about the black genocide part. You see, I knew that abortion was a way for the government to obtain legal rights to abort children who weren’t able to be cared for but I didn’t know the government was using abortion as a way to limit the black population. I also knew that African Americans were having a lot of abortions and there were, and still is a lot of abortion facilities but never put together the idea of how they were getting access to this information, furthermore, the connection between eugenics and genocide. During the film, I learned so much information that is disgusted me and changed many of my views toward abortion and other things. I learned that in the early 1800’s, Americans feared retribution and resurrection because slavery was supposed to have ended. Intermarriage also lead to the loss of international purity and for that, they had a plan of colonization. Colonization was an affect that took place, and caused African Americans to be sent back to Africa. After the colonization, the new philosophy was established and was called â€Å"eugenics†, the perfect solution to what was known as â€Å"negro dilemma.† I also learned that Eugenics believed that Africans were inferior and without guidance, they couldn’t make it. Margaret Sanger was the founder of the â€Å"American birth control league† and was successful for promoting abortion and birth control. After watching the 21st century of black genocide, I wanted to know more about the situation with the NAACP and why the government still hasn’t publicly announced the conflict between the protesters and there undercover targets. I’d also like to know more about the positive and negative eugenics and why White America was considered positive eugenics when it was used to try and dominate the black parts of America and used as a companion to exterminate African Americans. I’d also like to know more about Planned Parenthood and to see if the facilities were still being targeted in minority places. I’d also like to know more about White America and the Planned Parenthood meetings, and also if Planned Parenthood groups still targeted low poverty neighborhoods of different race, such as Caucasians. Black Genocide. (2016, Apr 12).

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Assignment - Essay Example Controlling obesity is more about changing one’s lifestyle, incorporating healthy activities in daily routine. So maybe lawmakers need to consider making bicycles and gym memberships cheaper. Besides, it is a universal phenomenon that children are inclined to do what they’re told not to, and considering obesity is on the rise in children aged 2 to 19, it is really not a smart idea to tell them their favorite food items are expensive and therefore call for a rebellion. According to me, taxing pizzas and sodas is unfair to the consumers who are conscientious about their choice of toppings and who actually take time to pick out the lesser of the evils for personal benefit. Even the healthy eaters will bear the brunt of this legislature, if passed, leaving many unsettled consumers. If the government actually is this concerned about peoples well being then they should consider bringing down the prices of healthy commodities. This article very rightly also raises the question of what food items are considered â€Å"healthy† and which ones aren’t and also who decides this. Chips are considered high-calorie, but then again you also have oven baked varieties. It all comes down to making a choice, which should be an individual’s own. References Berr, Jonathan. Daily Finance. "First a Soda Tax, Now a Pizza Tax: The Food Police March on".

Summary of the Article - Government and Poverty Research Paper

Summary of the Article - Government and Poverty - Research Paper Example In the scenario, the author also makes a mention of the more recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The author defines poverty as the dearth of the necessary resources that enable the people to meet their basic needs and extends the commensurate statistics regarding the urban, suburban and rural incidence of poverty. The author does support the extension of government aid to the deserving, while taciturnly mentioning that many people suffer from poverty because they are lazy. The writer also blames the indulgence in substance abuse like tobacco and alcohol as the reason as to why the poor remain poor. Yet, the writer again contradicts one’s assertion by saying that a great number of the poor receiving the government aid do tend to be employed. In the end, the writer conclusively asserts that the government should spend money on imparting skills and education to the poor, rather than wasting the taxpayers’ money on extending nutrition, health and housing. Overall the approach of the writer seems to be discernible against the government funding of the poverty alleviation programs. The poor tend to remain poor because they simply do not have a place in the national financial chain and many times, as said by the author, they lack the skills, education and connections to be able to fit into the national financial dynamics. Hence the government spending on the poverty alleviation programs is the most efficient way to make way for the allocation of the national wealth in favor of the impoverished segments of the society. The government has a self-interest in doing so in the sense that allowing the poverty to rise beyond a certain limit could lead to an unstable society marred by political unrest and crime (Lal & Myint 8). It is rightly said that the hungry minds are angry minds. Hence, state expenditure in poverty alleviation programs allows the government to channelize the skills, abilities and energy of poor sections of the society towards self-development and nation-building. State sponsoring of the poverty alleviation programs is not a choice but an important n ecessity and requisite. Hence, there is no scope or possibility for casting doubts on the relevance or necessity of the government spending on the poor or poverty alleviation programs. The writer himself conveyed that a majority of the poor people receiving government help does have jobs and they tend to work. Hence, the tongue in cheek assertion that the poor people are poor because they happen to be lazy is utterly nonsensical and biased. Poor people, in fact, happen to be poor because they do not have a say in the national and international policy-making procedures and frameworks, where they could chalk out the apt policies that would help them have a share in the process of wealth generation and allocation (Global Issues 1).

MGT 302 MOD 1 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MGT 302 MOD 1 SLP - Essay Example Hence management of the company can introduce newer ways and techniques of imparting the training information to the employees (Buchanan and Huczynski). This will keep the employees interested in the training. Introducing games, or other interactive sessions in the sessions as well as making the employees participate allows for better performance in the training programs. It is up to the management to focus on the employee needs and to identify the various elements that motivate them. Using these methods will help the trainers make the sessions more interesting, interactive and will automatically lead to better performance for most employees. Theory X & Theory Y – Relation to work: Based on the test the score of the management totaled to 38 which clearly shows ‘Generally X Theory management’, while my preferences gave the result of 67 which clearly indicates, ‘strongly prefers Y-theory management’ (Business Balls). Based on these scores it is clear th at as an individual my choice of behavior is very different from that what is presented by the management (Buchanan and Huczynski). I prefer to be recognized and to contribute to the company. It is clear that the management does not pay too much heed to the employees and their needs. This clearly leaves a sense of dissatisfaction and also leads to reduced interest in the work as well (Robbins and Judge).

Foundations of scholarship&research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Foundations of scholarship&research - Essay Example This paper examines the basis for business ethics and zooms in to examine the realities in the international markets and why organisations fail to honour the high ethical standards they observe in their home countries (especially in Europe and North America) when they operate in poorer nations like Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. The paper examines the history of international business from colonial times. It looks at the elements of colonialism that discouraged ethical behaviour in international trade and also traces this to business in the modern era. It then goes to critically evaluate the reasons why ethical behaviour varies across the globe. This is followed by a practical analysis of how non-ethical acts are perpetrated by multinationals in the real world. The paper ends with recommendations for improvements in observing ethical behaviour amongst international businesses. Every human being and entity has two inalienable rights: the rule against bias and the need for fair hearing in judicial matters (Harris & Partington, 1999). This concept has become the basis on which constitutions and judicial systems around the globe have been founded. It is now the basis of best practices in most transactions and operations of entities around the globe. However, the way it is practised around the globe varies considerably. People and entities are required in all situations to treat other people with fairness and equality. When other people are accused of doing the wrong thing, they have the right to a fair trial and this is a two-way thing. With organisations and businesses being entities, they are expected to observe these laws of natural justice in all aspects of their operation. Organisations are legal entities that have the right to sue and be sued (Harris & Partington, 1999). Effectively, organisations/businesses take inputs from the society, process them and sell them out to external parties (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington,

Advertising and Pricing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Advertising and Pricing Strategies - Essay Example This feeling is as a result of Apple’s price skimming strategy that excites late adopters who are able to get their expensive products at a bargain price. This not only creates good will for the company, but also increases their revenue. Moreover, late adopters increase its market share. According to Perreault, Cannon and McCarthy (2011), a price skimming strategy focuses on profit maximization by charging a high price for early adopters of a new product then reducing the price to attract thriftier consumers. Apple has adopted this strategy because it helps them to create an aura of prestige around their products while generating a lot of profits. Moreover, it allows them to reduce their prices to encourage consumers to buy. The purchase decision was informed by a number of factors. First, the affordability of the product. Second, the utility of the product. The iPhone 5c has a lot of features that add value to the consumer. Third, the uniqueness of the brand. Apple products have a beautiful design. Moreover, they are elite products because their high price discourages most people from buying. The research process involved a comparison of different mobile phone reviews online. In addition, conversations with friends and family members reinforced the decision to purchase an iPhone

MGT 302 MOD 1 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MGT 302 MOD 1 SLP - Essay Example Hence management of the company can introduce newer ways and techniques of imparting the training information to the employees (Buchanan and Huczynski). This will keep the employees interested in the training. Introducing games, or other interactive sessions in the sessions as well as making the employees participate allows for better performance in the training programs. It is up to the management to focus on the employee needs and to identify the various elements that motivate them. Using these methods will help the trainers make the sessions more interesting, interactive and will automatically lead to better performance for most employees. Theory X & Theory Y – Relation to work: Based on the test the score of the management totaled to 38 which clearly shows ‘Generally X Theory management’, while my preferences gave the result of 67 which clearly indicates, ‘strongly prefers Y-theory management’ (Business Balls). Based on these scores it is clear th at as an individual my choice of behavior is very different from that what is presented by the management (Buchanan and Huczynski). I prefer to be recognized and to contribute to the company. It is clear that the management does not pay too much heed to the employees and their needs. This clearly leaves a sense of dissatisfaction and also leads to reduced interest in the work as well (Robbins and Judge).

Advertising and Pricing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Advertising and Pricing Strategies - Essay Example This feeling is as a result of Apple’s price skimming strategy that excites late adopters who are able to get their expensive products at a bargain price. This not only creates good will for the company, but also increases their revenue. Moreover, late adopters increase its market share. According to Perreault, Cannon and McCarthy (2011), a price skimming strategy focuses on profit maximization by charging a high price for early adopters of a new product then reducing the price to attract thriftier consumers. Apple has adopted this strategy because it helps them to create an aura of prestige around their products while generating a lot of profits. Moreover, it allows them to reduce their prices to encourage consumers to buy. The purchase decision was informed by a number of factors. First, the affordability of the product. Second, the utility of the product. The iPhone 5c has a lot of features that add value to the consumer. Third, the uniqueness of the brand. Apple products have a beautiful design. Moreover, they are elite products because their high price discourages most people from buying. The research process involved a comparison of different mobile phone reviews online. In addition, conversations with friends and family members reinforced the decision to purchase an iPhone

Business Structure Advice Essay Example for Free

Business Structure Advice Essay Owner- Congratulations for taking the first step in starting your own business. I am confident that I can provide you the necessary information that you need in order to help you make the best decisions for you and your new business venture. Developing a detailed business plan is key in starting a successful business. When forming a business you will first need to decide on the business structure. In your email you stated that you were on whether or not you wanted partners. You have the following options for business structures: sole proprietorship or partnership. A sole proprietorship is the basic type of business structure. It would consist as you being the owner only to run and operate the business. The advantages of this business structure is that it is easy to start-up, the start-up costs are low and the owner receives all profits from the business. Also, the owner can upgrade to a partnership or corporation easily in the future. A disadvantage to this business structure is the proprietor is responsible for debts and obligations. Business earnings for a sole proprietorship is taxed once, thus making filing taxes not complicated. Funding for a sole proprietorship is usually from personal finances and friends and families. This is due to limited financial opportunities from lending institutions and investors. A partnership involves you and at least one other person. There is two types of partnerships: general and limited. In a general partnership owners are equal and split responsibilities accordingly. In a limited partnership the limited partner have a limited role. The advantage of a general partnership is that the business is easy to start and profits and losses are divided among the partners. A disadvantage is that all partners are liable for debt. Another disadvantage is that all partners are bound to actions or decisions made by one partner. Last, this is not a good structure if the partnership wants large capital. For this type of business structure, each partner is taxed. A limited partnership is ideal for who has a preference of not having an active role in the company. Advantages include: minimum government regulations, limited partners not held responsible for debt and liabilities, and gener al partners have complete control. Disadvantages for a limited partnership are: more expensive to create compared to a general.

Balanced scorecard is strategic planning

Balanced scorecard is strategic planning INTRODUCTION Balanced scorecard is strategic planning and management system used for business and industry, government, non profit organizations worldwide. it is used for business activities like vision and strategy of organization to improve internal and external communication to monitor organizations performance against goals. Balanced scorecard is designed by Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton for performance measurement in their series of articles in Harvard Business review. It is designed for executives and managers to get balanced view of organizational performance. In early balanced scorecard was only used for simple performance measurement system. The new system transforms an organizations strategic plan from attractive document into marching orders for organizations on a daily basis. The balanced scorecard system is totally works on:- -Companys Mission Companys Strategic Plan -The financial status of organization The level of expertise in the organization. -Customer satisfaction level. In the past, the organizational growth was measured in financial measures only, which were not adequate to measure the performance. However, to look into future with great value, companies must have to invest through customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology and innovation. The balanced scorecard has emerged as a effective tool in the process to allow organizations to implement different strategies successfully. Organizations all around the globe has benefited by balanced scorecard like increased financial returns, employee alignment in with overall growth, improved collaboration and focus on strategy. BALANCED SCORECARD PERSPECTIVES Balanced scorecard divided into mainly four perspectives. Learning and Growth Perspective The Business Process Perspective The Customer Perspective The Financial Perspective VISION AND STRATEGY LEARNING AND GROWTH FINANCIAL CUSTOMER INTERNAL BUSINESS PROCESSES BALANCED SCORECARD PERSPECTIVES 1. LEARNING AND GROWTH PERSPECTIVE:- This perspective mainly includes training and growth of employee potential as well as their practical skills. Now days, there is a rapid changes in new Technologies, so the employee must be in the continuous learning mode, so that they can learn new technologies and apply it. In this perspective, it is searched that, is there correct level of expertise for the job? Employee turnover ratio analyzed in this perspective, so that job satisfaction among the employees can be measured and corrective action can be taken. The learning and growth perspective concentrate on learning rather than training, because it includes tutors and mentors in the organization so that there will be easy flow of communication and problems can be solved within organization. 2. THE BUSINESS PROCESS PERSPECTIVE:- This perspective consists of internal business processes. By using this perspective managers can know that how well their business is running, whether its products meet to customer needs and demands or not. The process alignment is checked that it is right department. The process should carefully design to meet standards of product that meets customer requirements. 3. THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE:- In recent studies, it has been seen that customer satisfaction and customer focus are important for success of any business. If customer is not satisfied then they will find any other supplier who satisfies their needs. These will surely the failure of the business that doesnt meet to the customer needs. Delivery performance, quality performance, customer satisfaction, customer percentage in market and customer retention rate are some of the important aspects of customer perspective. 4. FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE:- Financial perspective is very important to measure success of any company. When financial objectives reached, only then organization can exist successfully in the long run. This perspective expressed in the terms of budget and target achievements. This perspective focuses on the quarterly or yearly financial results, return on investment, cash flow, etc. Q. 1. Why change and how balanced scorecard approach different? The business environment in now days is very competitive in terms of product quality, market share, customer satisfaction and volatile than ever been. In order to survive in the market, organizations need to be far more efficient in the use of their resources, should understand needs of their customers, should organize their internal system and procedure, and have employees who have a far level of interpersonal skills than in the past. The financial system was mainly backward looking, focusing upon reporting achievements rather than upon the attainment and pursuit of objectives. The financial system was paying attention to fulfill short term objectives rather to fulfill long term objectives. This system need to in corporate data capture and analysis of non-financial measures, such as customer profiles, customer satisfaction, employee performance, employee satisfaction, product quality, service quality, organizational transformation and development. So, organizations need to think beyond the historical perspective of their traditional financial reporting systems. The financial system has limitations because of considering limited factors. To improve performance evaluation, there was a need to change old financial system with the more balanced and which bridges strengths of the traditional financial measures of past performance with the benefits of measuring factors that impact upon or drive future performance. Q.2) Discuss in general terms the information which would be required by a manager to implement this approach to measuring performance. The balanced scorecard approach is mainly consists of four approaches: financial, customer, internal processes and learning and growth. The balanced scorecard focuses mainly towards common goal. The process of developing balanced scorecard gives an organization a clear picture of future and path to reach there. To implement balanced scorecard, manager need to implement its four perspectives and also needs information of its key elements as follows:- Financial perspective: Financial objectives are used to represent long term goals of organization. In this perspective of balanced scorecard, a manager need to identify financial objectives of an organization and develop measures that indicate how successful the organization achieving those objectives. In this aspect of balanced scorecard, manager needs information of following measures: return capital employed return on net assets Bad debts of company Account receivables Gearing rate. Customer perspective: The customer perspective is designed to measure how well the company is meeting the demands of customers and market. The major goal of an organization is to supply for the demands of customers. In todays environment company must provide a quality product, and also timely delivery, and customer service following the sale. There are some more information which also to be considered like, The very important price of the product Customer satisfaction Customer retention Increasing customer base Delivery times Rate of goods returned by customers Customer relationship. The Internal business processes perspective: This perspective focuses mainly on internal processes to deliver the goals of customers and shareholders. This aspect works within the company. The information needs is related to: Quality control rejection rate Production lead times Level of production capacity utilization. Learning and growth perspective: This perspective identifies human relations and works to improve the Skills of employees, infrastructure and innovation. Employees are very important part of the organization and key to innovation. re Sources must be allocated to educate them on the processes of company and mission of company. This education should be coupled with the motivation. This starts with autonomy to employee so that they can suggest changes in organization. The manager should know information of this aspect: Employee capabilities Information system capabilities Level of spending per head on employee training Employee absenteeism rate Staff turnover rate Range of products This information is very important to implement the balanced scorecard approach within the organization. By having this information, manager can implement this approach in the organization to measure performance. Q.3) Comment on three specific examples of performance measures which could be used in service industry. 1. Balanced scorecard in the Hotel industry: The balanced scorecard derives its name primarily from the way it provides a structured focus upon the main organizational performance dimensions: the financial, customer, internal processes and learning and growth. Balanced scorecard thinks far beyond the traditional financial system, so that hotel appears the appropriate setting for implementation of the balanced scorecard. The first step in developing a balanced involves is determining a mission or vision. A vision outlines the purpose of an organization. After vision, we need to determine what strategy will be employed to achieve the mission. After strategy we need to translate this strategy into specific strategic objectives. If the strategic objective of staff is to be regarded among most friendly, appropriate performance measures could include: hours s pent to train staff on politeness and friendly customer engagement, customer survey ratings with respect to perceived friendliness of staff. As strategic objectives and performance measures would need to be developed for each of four balanced scorecards key perspectives. a] Financial perspective in hotel: The financial perspective contains strategic objectives that are developed from shareholders perspective. Kaplan and Norton suggest these objectives can be developed by answering the question: To succeed financially, how should we appear to our shareholders! Once these objectives have been developed, a set of financial measures generated. The financial measures includes departmental cost, cost of providing a room night, hotel profit, profit of market segment, revenue per available room, share price, revenue growth compared to budget, sales mix, operating profit compared to prior year, ROI, etc. b] Customer perspective: This comprises strategic objectives that are developed by customer point of view. To achieve our objectives, how should we appear to our customers! Once these objectives developed, a set of customer related performance measures can be developed. This includes: customer loyalty, proportion of returning customers, customer complaints, customer profitability, new customer acquisition, market segmentation, market share etc. These factors are considered while measurement of customer related performance. c] Internal process perspective: This perspective concerns the development of process related objectives that are consistent with achieving financial and customer objectives. These objectives can be developed by responding to question, to achieve our internal objective which types of processes should we undertake! A set of performance related measures are: customer billing errors, time taken to check-in, restaurant service errors, workplace safety, customer database availability, internal control practices, etc. d] Learning and growth perspective: This perspective concerns the development of organizational capability goals that are consistent with achieving financial and customer objectives. Possible learning and growth measures includes: training investment per employee, absenteeism, employee motivation index, employee satisfaction, personal growth of staff, internal promotion levels, staff retention, staff empowerment, frequency of training, etc. The balanced scorecards group-wide application has greatly increased opportunities to use the achievements of best practice hotels. Balanced scorecard provides focused approach towards the common objectives of a hotel. By using above all performance measures, we can use balanced scorecard successfully in the hotel. Refrence online book:- Accounting essentials for hospitality managers by Mr. Chris Guilding 2) Balanced scorecard in the Insurance sector:- Now days insurance sector is very competitive industry among the service industries. There are different types of insurance like car insurance, general insurance, medical insurance, etc. this sector is totally customer oriented sector and totally depends upon needs of customers. The performance Measurement of this sector by balanced scorecard is consists of measurement of its four perspectives. The mission and strategy of an insurance company is determined by board of director of company. After the strategy, the objectives and targets are set by management for the particular period of time. Then the company operates to fulfill those objectives. The measures of the insurance sector according to four perspectives are as follows: 1. Financial perspective:- The major financial perspective in the insurance sector is the share holders perspective because share holders are the important part to provide capital for the business. The measures contain cost of employees, incentives as percentage of salary, annual salary, increase in training cost, the cost per insurance, total profit earned, operating costs, total sales, share price, Etc. 2. Customer perspective:- Customer perspective focuses totally towards customer satisfaction and customer retention. Customer is leading indicator in the insurance sector, if he satisfied then only company can earn profit. The customer perspectives measures are number of referrals generated from the customers, number of customer focused products developed, decrease in customer complaints, and percentage of upgraded policies, etc. 3. Internal process perspective: This perspective works totally on developing internal processes to meet customer needs and demands, so that customer can be satisfied with the service. It improves on negative aspects of the internal system and try to improve it. The possible measures can be percentage of renewed policies to the number of policies sold, number of sales targets achieved, percentage of decrease in employee turn over, types of insurance policies generated. 4. Learning and growth perspective:- This perspective works on the employee development and corporate cultural attitudes related to both company and self improvement. It works on improving sales efficiency of the sales force. The possible measures comes under this perspective can be number of training sessions, number of brain storming sessions, number of motivational sessions, number of quality feedback from the employees, etc. 3) Balanced scorecard in the banking industry:- Balanced scorecard received a wide range of use and promotion by global business organizations and some international banks have successfully implemented this approach to measure and increase their performance. In response to different problems faced by the global banking industry like the recession of the year 2008, balanced scorecard research helps to solve those problems effectively and results in the profit. In the rapid innovation and development of financial sectors, the banking industry facing intense competition. The measures of banking Industries according to the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard are as follows:- 1. Financial perspective:- Balanced scorecard is not only indicator of appraisal system but also strategic management tool. The balanced scorecard breaks the traditional financial measurement system. It adds future value to the financial measures. The measures of the financial perspective can be improvement of product quality, time to complete orders, productivity, new product development, customer satisfaction into increased sales, reduction in operating cost, economic value, added bank profits, the per capital profit, net interest income, marketing cost, income ratio, office expenses, labor costs, loan, etc. 2. Customer perspective:- Due to intense competition, customer has become very important aspect of the banking industry. Attracting customers towards bank is very important so that the strategy of the bank should be customer focused. The possible measures of bank performance according to customer perspective can be: Market share, customer retention rate, rate of new customer, customer satisfaction, customer profitability level, customer complaints, etc. 3. Internal processes perspective:- In order to retain target customers and to meet the requirements of shareholders about financial returns, managers need to focus on customer satisfaction and improve internal processes and establish measurable indicators. In this perspective balanced scorecard not only paying attention to a simple process to improve but also confirms request of customers and shareholders as a starting point to satisfy both customers and shareholders. Measures are: product and service innovation, new product and service revenue, the new loan rate and increasing rate, the number of internal regulations, responsibility of accidents, etc. 4. Learning and growth perspective:- It includes an investment which the organization must be carried out to achieve long term performance in the future, like ability of employees, organization information system, employee satisfaction, staff violation rate, pass rate of status examination, professional development program, staff training sessions, etc. These are measures of a bank for performance measurement on the basis of the balanced scorecard approach. We can evaluate the performance of the bank by using these measures. Refrence: www.academypublisher.com REFRENCES:- www.google.com ( google books ) Magna Cara College online Library University of Wales online library Frank Wood and Alan Sangster Business Accounting 2 Chris Guilding Accounting essentials for Hospitality Managers www.magnacartacollge.org (moodle) www.academypublisher.com ( article)

Computers and Communication :: Technology Essays Papers

Computers & Communication Today, more than ever people, are using technology in many different ways. Some people are using technology for leisure purposes while others are making technology work for them. Rapid advancements in technology are forever changing the way that we as people, react with the rest of the world and with each other. My parents, and the parents of many other college students, had little exposure to computers throughout their college education. It is up to the current generation of educators and students to harness the benefits of technology so they can be applied to many aspects of life, from work to communication, and from recreation to leisure. Within the context of this paper I will give some examples of technology (generally computer related) and how it has benefited the way we interact in society. Along with the benefits there are always some kinds of drawbacks, and I would like to touch on a few of those. In an attempt to make some chronological sense I will start off with some to the most basic technological advancements that are helping people like myself to conduct simple tasks such as word processing and so on. Computers, along with their input devices (such as keyboards) and their output devices (such as monitors and printers) allow us to do things in a more efficient manner than in times past (O’Leary 119). For instance, if I were to have typed this paper on a standard typewriter, and decided that I wanted paragraph number three to go where paragraph number four was at, I would have to retype the whole page, if not the entire paper again. Programs like word processors simulate a typewriter in a way that the data is editable for future corrections without ruining what is currently on the virtual page. Word processor programs have ingenious tools that come with them, such as spell checking. Spell checking can be a double-edged sword when it comes to the English language. It is all fine and dandy that your finished text can come out free of spelling errors, but I have noticed that spell checking can weaken ones ability to spell on their own terms using traditional paper and pencil. We must be able to use technology in a way that it does not hinder our skills as human beings. The advent of the word processor is eating away at the use of pen and paper during rough draft procedures, and it is common to see many students starting their rough drafts via computers.

Robert Frost Essay -- essays research papers fc

â€Å"Good fences makes good neighbors,† is a small portion from the Mending Wall written by one of modern times most proficient writers, Robert Frost. Two of the critical articles I examined were quite helpful in gaining a better understanding of the â€Å"Mending Wall† and also of Robert Frost’s poetry. The Gale Research shows the best and most effective understanding of the â€Å"Mending Wall,† mainly because it deals specifically with that poem. It basically states that the poem is built around two attitudes, that of the speaker, which the Gale critic presumes is the poet, who is imaginative and an independent thinker and that of the neighbor, who prefers not to question anything (Gale). The other article deals more with other poetry that Robert Frost has written and helps explain common themes. One critic states that Frost’s poetry contains a theme of nature and mankind being one entity (Wagner 12).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Gale Research article, the poet is describing the relationship between the two different men who have the same common interest in repairing the wall. It goes on explaining how they walk on each of their sides of the wall, picking up stones and replacing the oddly shaped and shattered ones. It shows the mental differences between the speaker and the neighbor by stating that the speaker, the more imaginary one, wanted to use a spell to fix the oddly shaped stones, while the more down to earth one wanted to use his hands and labor (Gale).   &...

Psychology Case Studies Essay

According to the diathesis-stress model there are many things that seem to be able to relate to the anxiety disorder that Winnie has. As for the biological factors some of the issues could have arise from Winnie spending her first three weeks of life in the neonatal intensive care unit where it would be impossible for her to bond with her mom and have the typical bonding experiences that occur with a newborn. Therefore Winnie would have a harder time with feeling security and could have some separation anxiety as part of her biological make up of not being with her parents during those first few weeks for bonding time. Biologically it could be suggested that since she was having a hard time breathing and having the â€Å"blue spells† that her mother talked about there could have also been some brain development or psychological damage from this. As for life experiences being factored into her issues with social anxiety there are many different experiences in her life that could be a part of this. One of these issues could have been the fact that she was not with her parents and in the intensive care unit. There are different studies and theories as to whether or not this would be considered a biological or a life experience factor in this case, for these purposes it is being left as a biological factor. When Winnie was very young and her mother had the two miscarriages and suffered depression and then suffered some side effects of the medications there would have been strain on Winnie as her mother would not have acted the same as she did prior to these instances. For a developing child at these ages there are many reasons to believe that this could cause permanent damages for the child’s confidence and ability to feel secure as this is the time when so many developments are taking place. Also the experience of Winnie’s friend moving away could have caused some of the social anxiety and some of the issues with her innate fear that something would happen to her mother when she was not around. These different factors could explain her social anxiety through the Diathesis-stress model. 2. The separation anxiety disorder can be explained through the behavioral perspective. The explanation would be that there are so many various factors that could affect a child which would have caused her to have these negative learned behaviors. When the mother was depressed and then agitated from the medications the child could have learned to stay quiet and to keep to herself in order to be able to manage her feelings and still have her mother be happy around her. Another explanation on this theory could have been that the mother might have rewarded the child for quiet play. When the child’s friend suddenly moved away the learned behavior might have been that someone can leave and never return. This would have taught the child to keep her mother close by in order to ensure that her mother would not be leaving and never coming back. Also when the mother gave her more attention for throwing a fit the first time then it would explain how she ended up throwing fits each day as she was hoping to be rewarded by getting that extra time with her mother. As for her overall separation anxiety and treatment for it, it could be suggested that the child be enrolled in some play therapy where she could discuss her real fears and the sources of her fears with the therapist in order to be able to reassure her that things were okay. Also there could be some indications that the child would also benefit from a very set and scheduled routine and some reassurance from her mother in the form of a reward of some sort. The reward would be to reinforce positive behaviors for instance if she was able to not throw a fit and if she were able to be okay when her mother left her then she would be able to manage her feelings in some positive manner (Cliff’s Notes Behavioral†¦). As for the cognitive perspective and the issue of Winnie’s separation anxiety, there are many factors that can be examined in order to explain the problems. The way that this perspective could be applied is through the ways that Winnie is interpreting and looking at things having to do with the separation of her mother. Since Winnie has spent her primary amount of time with her mother there is reason to believe that some of the problems could have to do with her father not being around her perception on what he is doing when he is not home since he is admittedly thinking about work much of the time when at home. Her perception might be that he is not really there for her and that he is not really able to be there for her on a regular basis. She might have a larger fear from some of the other issues occurring like that if her mother leaves she might not ever see her again after her perception that her friend left and she didn’t see her either. As for her fear of something happening to her mother while she is gone, there are many reasons to think that her mother could have a hard time without her. It could be questioned as to why she has this fear if something has happened to someone she knows or the content of the television programming that is being watched around her. Some of these things are because there seems to be a lot more to her perceptions and why she is so fearful of losing her mother. Some treatments that might be suggested in this case are family therapy. There could be a lot gained from Winnie understanding that both of her parents care about her well being and that both of them are dedicated to taking care of her. Some other treatment could be to monitor the family’s television and to not allow Winnie to be in the room when viewing any type of movie dealing with death and also there could be some benefits from Winnie spending some quality time with her father (Garvy and Spoor). The psychodynamic perspective for child development would suggest that the separation anxiety as coming from Winnie’s infancy and her being separated from her parents during her first crucial weeks of life. This perspective would suggest that Winnie was unable to be without her parents and had such a large fear of being away from them because she was unable to bond with them during the first few weeks of her life and she had to be alone during this time as well. Also the separation of Winnie from her young friend would suggest that there were more issues to this than originally thought as there were many times when Winnie would not have been able to process these thoughts. Also Winnie’s mother had commented that Winnie did not talk about this friend moving and not having this friend around. This is crucial as there are many reasons to believe that Winnie should have in some way expressed that she was upset about being separated from her friend and that she needed some reassurance which she did not get during this time as she had not asked for it. Through this perspective it is possible to conclude that Winnie would not have understood or known what to ask for in this situation (Van Morgan 2009).

American Jail Systems

The American jail system is said to be one of the most overcrowded in the world something that hampers the rehabilitation process of the offenders. Due to this fact, managing jails have become an uphill task. The American government in trying to make these systems to be effective has come up with a plan of building more prisons and jails but this has also proved to be ineffective. For this reason, this system incarcerating offenders has greatly been criticized. It is nit the best way of controlling crime infact, there is not any evidence that proves that is so.Because of this it should be replaced with other alternative methods such as community service, parole, death penalty and putting them in rehabilitation institutions such as probation schools. According to a report that was released by the Bureau for Justice Statistics revealed that in US, the number of prisoners has almost doubled recently and this has been witnessed even in the past period. For example in 1996, there was an i ncrease in the number of inmates in United States by 55,900 criminals and by the end of that year; the carrying capacity was already exceeded by 16-24 percent.The most affected prisons were the federal ones which had a 25 percent increase of inmates. Today despite the fact that the US government has constructed more and more prisons the problem still persists as the jails are still overcrowded. There are dangers that are associated with overcrowding and some of these are; escape attempts increase, the states’ budget is further strained, the prisons become understaffed this is because the inmates – staff ratio goes down as the number of prisoners outdo that of the staff.Overcrowding in prisons leads to the release of unhabilitated dangerous criminals before their due period is over. This causes these criminals to turn to be recidivists for they are released before they have completed their jail term. (Romano J. 1991) This problem has a domino effect on other government sectors for example the tax payers become overburdened with taxes so that the government can meet the need of those imprisoned though they are considered as social misfits and yet this money could be used in other sectors that of the government that are in dire need of financial assistance.These are institutions such as hospitals, schools, libraries and parks that are in dire need of assistance. The government spends a lot of money in building more jails in an effort to address the issue of overcrowding for example in 1992 it spent 94 US Dollars on civil and criminal justice. (Cornell, G. December 1, 1990) This domino effect results because when overcrowding becomes a common thing, the effectiveness in correcting the behaviors of the offenders goes down. Many people repeat the same mistakes and end up in the same jails.This tends to overburdening of the prosecutors, juries, public defendants and other support agencies. The overburdening of cases leads results to commitment of seriou s mistakes in the judicial execution process something that causes dissatisfaction, anger and tension to the citizens. In turn, this results to them committing even more crimes. The overcrowding problem in the uni9ted States is caused by the high rate of recidivism which is caused by ineffectiveness of the jail systems. There are various correctional methods that if used then 5the rate of recidivism would scaled down.This could be achieved if and only if the issue of overcrowding is properly addressed and this cannot be solved by building more prisons and jails as this has already proved not to be effective in the past. The best way forward is to use other alternative correctional methods such as community service, fines, parole, counseling the offenders, use of more harsh punishments and finally use of capital sentence punishment rather than life sentence. I believe the future of reforming criminals lies with other alternative methods but not in incarcerations.One effective method that should be used is assigning offenders to the community service. If some of the offenders who are taken to the prisons and yet they have not committed some serious crimes are given some work to do in the society, the rate of overcrowding in the prisons would be reduced. This is based on the fact that some offenders who are convicted with very minor charges end up in jails and that is why in US today there are about two million people in jails and this number keeps increasing.By assigning offenders to community service will not only help the government in resolving the problem of overcrowding but will also help in cutting the cost it spends on hiring people to work in hospitals, cleaning streets and slashing grass on the compound. This would be beneficial in that these offenders would do that work there by helping the government to save some money. Another method is use of parole. This is a system where by the first offenders who are convicted of committing small mistakes instead of them being jailed, they are released on condition that they would not repeat the same mistakes.Though they are released they are closely monitored by the government officials who are assigned to them just to monitor their moves. If it is noted that they are not keeping the promise, then they should be arrested and imprisoned. (Marek M. K. 2004). The other method that should be used as an alternative method to incarceration would be the use of capital sentence as opposed to the current system of life sentence. Most states in the United States do not advocate for capital sentence but if other methods have proved not to be ineffective then it should be used as the last option.The prison statutes should be amended to allow die hard criminals such as robbers, rapists, murders and terrorists to be executed. If this is implemented then the current stalemate would be solved for once and for all. Se of death sentence would be like killing two birds with one stone at the same time as the government would cut the cost that it spends on maintaining these prisoners would be reduced. Still another method that should be used as an alternative to incarceration is the use of fines.Offenders who are convicted of committing less serious crimes should instead of being incarcerated be fined heavily. This would address the problem of overcrowding and at the same time deter crimes. This is why the Hudson County has introduced use of fines as an effective means of collecting revenues as the traditional methods have proved to be ineffective. (Romano J. 1991) Counseling of offenders would also be an effective method of reducing overcrowding in the United States prisons. This method would also address the problem of recidivism.When the offenders are properly counseled they get reformed and the prospects of them repeating the same mistakes are reduced for many turn to crimes due to being frustrated in life. Indeed the American jail system has failed in correcting the behaviors of the offenders. These people are released when they are halfway reformed and that is why they turn to be recidivists. There are other alternative methods that are more effective than incarcerating prisoners that should be applied. If these are applied, then the problem of overcrowding and of recidivism would be addressed and the crime prevalence would go down.Reference: Cornell, G. December 1, 1990. Rehabilitation Statistics: Study on Effectiveness of Prison Ministries. The Wilson Daily Times. Accessed on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at http://www. prisonministry. org/stats. htm Marek M. K. 2004. Games Prisoners Play. Princeton University Press. Romano J. October 27, 1991. County Uses New Tactic On Criminals' Unpaid Fines. New York Times. Accessed on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9D0CE7D8113DF934A15753C1 A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

Autism 2

Autism 2 Essay There are many diseases and disorders that plague todays society, but one of the most serious of those disorders is autism. Autism is not nearly as widely known as the familiar Downs Syndrome, yet, surprisingly, autism is far more widespread. In fact, autism is the third most common developmental disability, affecting 400,000 people worldwide (Autism Society of America). As of yet there is no cure for this debilitating disorder, only a variety of treatments. Autism is a developmental disability, not a mental illness, that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects 15 of every 10,000 individuals. No one is certain why it occurs, but researchers have found that MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans of people with autism show abnormalities in the structure of the brain. Significant abnormalities include differences in the cerebellum and in the size and number of Purkinje cells within the brain. Sometimes there is a pattern that exists within families from generation to generation. This indicates the possibility that autism is genetically related. However, no gene has been found. Every person with autism is different and there is no set type or typical person with autism. This is because autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that symptoms and characteristics of the disorder can present themselves in a variety of ways, from mild to severe. Usually children with autism have deficiencies in both verbal and non-verbal communication. Their language develops slowly or not at all and they have very short attention spans. They often lack social skills and will spend time alone, rather than with others. In more severe cases, children have unusual reactions to physical sensations such as being overly sensitive to touch or under responsive to pain. Most commonly, children with autism lack imagination and imitate others ideas, rather than initiate their own. Lastly, behavior is greatly affected by autism. They may be overactive or very passive and throw frequent tantrums, injuring themselves, for no apparent reason other than to gather attention. They often lack common sense and show aggressive or violent behavior. While some people only show one or two symptoms, others have all or nearly all and find it extremely difficult to function in society. People with autism do live normal life spans and the behaviors associated may change or disappear over time. As of yet, there is no cure for autism. However, with the proper treatment, many of the behaviors can be positively changed. Some of the treatments include behavioral training, teaching of communication and social skills, auditory training, medications, and a change in diet. Behavioral training or modification, as it is also called, deals with changing or extinguishing inappropriate behaviors and increasing positive behaviors. A few methods are used to do this. One way is self-management where the individual monitors their behavior and receives self-reinforcement. Another method used is modeling. This is when the teacher or therapist demonstrates what is being done so the child can model the steps. Behavioral training is effective in stopping self-inflicted pain by shaping and distributing positive reinforcement. The teaching of communication and social skills is an integral part of treating autism. Speech therapy may include gaining language skills or learning sign language. Some devices are used frequently such as picture communication boards. Another device is used with a trained professional supporting the hand or arm of the person helping them to punch keys on a device. This technique, called facilitated communication, is highly controversial because it is sometimes thought that the facilitator is directing the persons arm unknowingly. One of the main characteristics of autism is the lack of understanding of social cues (Autism Society of America). The person with autism may be taught how to communicate in social situations or respond to certain facial expressions and emotions. If the emphasis is on social communication, a speech therapist will work closely with the child to ensure proper communication in social situations. Auditory training is sometimes used for those individuals who are oversensitive to sound. An audiologist plays a different variety of sound frequencies in this therapy. Food allergies and sensitivities have been shown to produce a variety of symptoms associated with .