Business Information System written assignment Essay

Business Information System written assignment - Essay Example According to the case, it is clear that the firm needs to use an enterprise resource planning system to manage its operations. In acquiring a business system, the business can acquire a system for each of the functions that it has, or it can acquire an information system that cuts across all the functions of the business. An enterprise resource planning system is a system that is designed to centrally manage all the process of the business. In other word, information is shared across all the departments in the organization. This is achieved by installing a system that incorporates all the functions of the business. If a business acquires this kind of a system, it means that all data from all its departments is centrally collected and managed which makes it easier for each department to collaborate more easily and also eliminates redundancies in functions. A customer relationship system is crucial to make sure that customers are managed properly. According to Gravely (2003, p.12), customer relationship management is a process of finding, identifying, acquiring and maintaining the most dependable customers for the business. In a modern business environment, customer management is important, and the CRM will help BMW in a number of ways. First, it will make it easier to maintain a close relationship with customers. Given the kind of products that the firm is selling, it is clear that its customers are long time customers who are going to remain using the products of the firm for a long time. Being able to have a close business as well as a personal relationship with the customers will be of importance to BMW in the long run and the CRM will help in this. The sales department will benefit from the CRM and the sales staff will be able to interact better with customers, both current and potential customers. A CRM will also help in getting and processing

Environmental Analysis Essay Example for Free

Environmental Analysis Essay Introduction This essay will discussed one of the most controversial environmental issue climate change along with some of the facts including how people first discover that climate change does existed; as well as legitimation in climate change globally; public debate; and the way in which government response to this issue. Furthermore this paper will discuss the role of science to identify the existence of climate change. Identification and legitimation of the issue Climate change is one of the biggest environmental challenges that the world encounters. It has obvious impact on our planet causing higher temperature, shifting seasons, sea levels rising. These phenomenon are closely tide up with world’s economic as it affect businesses around the world. The British government report warned if no action is taken to control carbon emissions climate change would cost 5 to 20 percent of the annual global gross domestic product. (Climate change impacts, 2011). The United Nation’s intergovernmental Panel on Climate change published a report in 2007 regarding the discovery of Global Warming since the 20th Century. (IPCC, 2011). The possible reason for this phenomenon may be caused by human activity. The appropriate definition is explained by the IPCC, which states that climate change is â€Å"a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.† (IPCC, 2012) Many countries have taken the initiative to legislate appropriate regulation regarding climate change. In 2010 a published article noted that â€Å"Qinghai† is one of the first province to establish a regulation that holds local government and state owned enterprises response in coping with climate change (Xinhuanet, 2010). The statistic have shown that â€Å"Qinghai† ‘s temperature in general has been rising by 0.35 centigrade every ten years compare to the world’s average of 0.13 centigrade. (Mu Xuequan, 2010). This regulation will stress the importance and specified the local government’s responsibility on climate change. Public Debate The argument around the topic of climate change is one of the most controversial topic because it involved in whether climate change is man made or its simply nature forces. Some scientist believes that the temperature of earth is actually getting colder not warmer due to the cycle of the sun. This is known as the â€Å"Sunspot cycle†, sun gets a little bit hotter and colder every 11 years and when it gets colder it causes the temperature of earth to get colder too. Other scientist argued that the change of temperature is so small that it can barely be detected. Most scientists agree that an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming. They argued about the details of the effects of global warming on the earth. However it is generally agreed that it will lead to worldwide changes in weather patterns, gradual melting of the ice caps and rising sea levels. These changes will impact on your lifestyle, agriculture and the survival of other organism. (Haire, M et al, 2000). Energy savings, emissions reductions and water resource conservation and many other works related to climate change need to be considered Government policy response Recent years many countries have impose law relevant to combat climate change. Energy savings, emissions reductions and water resource conservation and marketing â€Å"green† have been the primary goal amongst most organization. Country like Australia is promoting energy efficiency measures through a wide range of programs and rebates. The election of Kevin Rudd in 2007 especially shows a major change of the Australian government policy through Australia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. In terms of some specific initiatives the Australian government also continue the measure of mandatory renewable energy target scheme. And since 2010 the Government also established a climate change committee with the main purpose of investigate â€Å"options for implementing a carbon price and help build consensus on how Australia will tackle climate change† (Parliament of Australia, 2012) Role of science Science has played an important part in proving the existence of climate change by observation and experiment. This graph above depicts the global change in sea level since the end of the last ice age. During this 15,000 year period sea level has increased approximately 125 meters. Conclusion By evaluating the historical development of climate change we can conclude that climate change is the most important and challenging environmental issue. Regardless of the disagreements, climate change has been proven exist by scientific research. It has drawn the public attention and requires international cooperation among different governments. Reference Haire, M et al (2000). Core Science3. Singapore: Kyodo. P110-111. IPCC (2011) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [online] Available at; http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_cn.pdf [Accessed: 27 Jul 2012]. Parliament of Australia (2012) Australian government response to climate change. [online] Available at: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Browse_by_Topic/ClimateChange/Governance/Domestic/national [Accessed: 27 Jul 2012]. Sunspots and climate (2000) Sunspots and climate. [online] Available at: http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap02/sunspots.html [Accessed: 27 Jul 2012]. The Nature Conservancy (2012) Climate Change Impacts. [online] Available at;

Financial analysis of the worldwide performance of Starbucks

Financial analysis of the worldwide performance of Starbucks The aim of this financial analysis of Starbucks is to obtain a deep knowledge of annual financial reports and other corporate information, which can provide us measurable conclusions about the company. It is essential to understand the nature of companys business, by analyzing its economic and financial environment and strategy choices made in the past. This report will begin with industry and company description, followed by financial performance overview and projection of company development over the next two years. Conclusions drawn from above analysis will support managers in making a decision whether to invest in the company. 2. The industry description The coffee industry is growing since 2002, and in recent years there was a boom caused by consumers becoming more educated about espresso-based drinks and how they are made (H. Holmes, 2004). The coffee industry includes 20,000 outlets with combined revenue of $11 billion. Approximately 20 million people work in the coffee industry worldwide. Market is very concentrated at the top with the 50 companies taking up 70% of the sales, and fragmented at the bottom. Starbucks is the market leader (Franchise direct, 2010). 2.1. Starbucks description Starbucks Corporation is involved in: purchasing, roasting, and sale of whole bean coffees, cold-blended beverages, various food items, selection of teas, and beverage-related accessories and equipment, primarily through its company-operated retail stores. It was established in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. In 1986 Howard Shultz, Retail Sales and Marketing Manager, left the company to start his own retail coffee outlet, Il Giornale. In 1987 the original investors of Starbucks bought Peets Coffee and sold Starbucks to H.Shultz, who renamed Il Giornale to Starbucks. Firm expended with shops in Chicago and Vancouver. Starbuck was the first coffee company to offer employee stock options in 1991 and went public in 1992. In 1990s Starbucks started distributing coffee through department stores, bookstores, hotels, supermarkets and online; it signed contract with PepsiCo, AOL and Dyers and opened stores in Japan, Singapore, and UK. (Hoovers.com, 2008) Starbucks has built one of the worlds most powerful and recognizable brands and the image of a unique Starbucks Experience. Its mission statement was to revolutionize the coffeehouse industry by building a perception of a coffee shop as the third place between work and home. Wi-fi internet access in all stores makes it a place where customers can work. The companys goal was to make each location a community center for higher-income crowd of the young and college-educated, a group that tends toward higher luxury-consumption levels. (Wikinvest.com, n.d.) 2.2. Competition Starbucks close competitors include other specialty coffee shops, doughnut shops, and restaurants. Starbucks holds a dominant position in the coffeehouse market which is dispersed among the thousands of independent or small-chain coffee shops. Their largest direct competitors are Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds. Both offer specialty coffee at a lower price. Main competitors short description: Dunkin, specializes in fresh baked goods, but began offering coffee in 2005. Their level of sales is at $4.3b. Currently, their coffee sales start to exceed food sales, 5-10% of total sales are from espresso-based drinks. Dunkin has a 22.9% market share. (Starbucks in the aggregate category controls a 24.7% market share) McDonalds entered the coffeehouse industry in 2007, offering coffee at its flagship stores and opening its espresso-centric McCafe concept in some markets. McDs coffee sales generate $813m in additional annual income. Current revenue from coffee is around $490m, about 6-6.5% of Starbucks coffee sales. Their price point is at 18% discount on Starbuckss. The two competitorss targets are slightly different from Starbucks. They focus on cheaper coffee to go, whereas Starbucks is providing a premium experience for a luxury price. Consequently, they compete with each other more directly than with Starbucks, however McCafe has a negative impact on Starbucks. Analysts believe that competitors will settle into separate niches, McDonalds being the better value proposition and Starbucks offering higher quality experience. 3. Financial Performance 2007-2009 3.1. Overview of Starbucks performance 2007-2009 In the fiscal year 2007, Starbucks achieved a solid performance. All goals like new stores opening, total revenue growth, comparable store sales growth and considerable cost rises from dairy products were completed. The consolidated operating income in 2008 was $503.9 and operating margin 4.9%. This was a significant decrease compared with the past few years, the reason for decrease was a changing of structure. In 2009, Starbucks faced many challenges caused by unexpected economic environment and more intense competition, which had impact on the revenue, comparable store sales, operating income and margins. 3.2. Income statement analysis 2007-2009 While net revenues of Starbucks havent been stable from 2007 to 2009 (first increasing then decreasing), its total operating income have also been moving in 2008 it decreased by 52,2% and it was $503.9 million, 4.9% of total net revenues. The reason for decrease was high distribution costs and high rent expenses. In 2009 it increase again by $58.1. Main reason for this improvement was the restructuring charges which contain: assets impairment, lease exit and severance costs. In 2008 and 2009 while net revenues were $10,383 million and $9,774.6, total operating expenses were $9,992.7 million in 2008 and $9,334.5 in 2009 that means expenses were highly eating up more than 96% of the net revenues. The company suffered a major loss of 113.185% in net earnings between 2007 and 2008. Starbucks realized that he need to re-think its business strategy. In 2008, the company incurred restructuring charges of $266.9 million due to store closures in the US and Australia and reduction of the work force. Starbucks Company derived 84% of total net revenue from the company-operated retail stores. They opened 681 new stores in the last 12 months and this offset -3% losses in comparable store sales. Total net revenue of 2009 was showed a decrease of 5.9%, stayed at $9,774.6. The company-operated retail also went down. In detail, there was a change of nearly 6.7% in comparable, for 4% decrease in transactions and a 2% decrease in the average value per transaction. Figure : Net Revenue of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbucks annual financial report) Figure : Operating Income of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbucks annual financial report) Figure : Net earnings of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbuck annual report) 3.4. Balance sheet In term of assets, the total assets for the three years kept staying around $5,600 million. The total current assets in 2009 were $2,036 million. This was higher than in 2008 and 2007 due to the high cash and cash equivalents in 2009. The marketable securities in 2007 were $157 millions so in 2007 the company had more short term investment. On the other hand, the total liabilities in 2008 were the highest in three years because of the commercial paper and short-term borrowing in 2008. Additionally, there was no short-term debt in 2009 but it was the highest accrued expenses during the three years. The shareholders equity in 2009 was the highest in three years owing to the additional paid-in capital. 3.4. Ratio analysis: By doing ratio analysis, the company performance would be evaluated more clearly. As we can see the current ratio for the 2009 was higher than 2008 and 2007. In 2008 and 2007, the current ratio was under 1. That means Starbucks was not in good financial health in these two years. However, this situation didnt exist for a long time but it was not a good sign. The current ratio for 2009 was 1.29, so the company had 1.29 times more current assets than current liabilities. That means Starbucks was able to cover its own obligations. As the Exhibit 1 shows the quick ratio was low for 3 years that is all below 1. This indicates that the company had difficult to turning their inventory into cash like a short-term liability which the company could not pay off immediately. In 2007, the profit margin of Starbucks was 7.15%. This means 7 cents of each dollar is companys profit. In the next two years, the profit margin decreased by nearly 3 percent. That means the net income in 2009 was visibly lower than 2007. It may mainly caused from the increase of the restructuring charges. The return on assets ratio in the year 2007 was 13.77% while the ratio declined to 6.95% in 2009. From this we know Starbucks earned more in 2007 and the net income in 2007 was higher than in 2009. The reason for this decrease results is also from increase cost of the restructuring and innovation in 2008 and 2009. In terms of leverage ratio, to measure its ability to meet financial obligation from 2007 to 2009 the debt ratio was around 50%. That means nearly 50% of funds for assets came from debt. This does not seem good for the company and the most liabilities were long-term liabilities. The debt to equity ratio from 2007 to 2009 was pretty high and the highest point was in 2007, so in 2007 more debt was used. Interests earned ratio in Starbucks during the 3 years was extremely high like in 2007, the ratio was nearly 28 times, but finally in 2009 the ratio was around 15 times a year. It could be a really good margin since the company was able to cover its interest expenses 15 times with operating income. 3.5. Cash flow Operating activities: the net cash provided by operating actives in 2009 was highest during the 3 years. The main part of activities was depreciation and amortization. Same as in 2008 the company spent $604.5 thousands on depreciation and amortization. Investing activities: the net cash used by investing activities in 2007 was $-1201.9 thousands. The main costs here were addition to property, plant and equipment and the company also spent money on purchasing available-for-sale securities. But in 2009 the net cash used by investing activities was $-421.1 thousands. This was much less than in the 2007. The reason for this was the company spent less money on additions to property, plant and equipment. Financing activities: the net increase/ (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in 2009 was $330.0 thousands. That means Starbucks gained money from financing activities in 2009 while in 2008 and 2009 they had losses in financing activities. The reason for the gain of money in 2009 was the profit in short-term borrowing and nothing spent on the issuing of long-term debts. 4. Forecasting 2010-2011 In order to project the next two fiscal year performance of Starbucks, particularly to construct the pro forma income statements of 2010 and 2011, establishing the revenue (or sales) projection should be the first task of all. In the next steps, the rest items of the statement would be projected by the percent of sales method since it does provide simple, logical estimate of many important variables (Higgins, 2009). In fact, there was a visible growth of Starbucks revenue in both volume and speed during the period of time from 2000 to 2009. Especially, from 2000 to 2007, the annual company sales increased in steady pace in the range of 20% to 29%. This impressive growth of Starbucks revenue was a sophisticated proof for its great business strategies during the beginning of this decade. However, the story had some changes since 2008. At the end of this fiscal year, Starbucks finished with $10,383 million revenue, in comparison with 2007, the growth ratio was 10.3% only, the lowest rat io since 2000. Continuously, in the midst of the US economic crisis, Starbucks sales got negative growth at 5.9% after finish the fiscal year 2009, stay at $9,744 million. Figure : Starbucks Sales chart in 2000-2009 (in Millions) Obviously, the trustable estimation should be the sophisticated one, that normally came from data base statistic analyses. Specifically, with the availability of the last ten years data of Starbucks revenue, it was possible to apply most of time series forecast methods such as moving average, weighted moving average, exponential smoothing, and so on. Since each method had its own advantages and limitations, it is necessary to compare how every method would reflect the same provided data (Exhibit 4). The value of W3 (for the Weighted moving average method) and ÃŽÂ ± (for the Exponential smoothing method) were decided high at 0.6 and 0.3 due to the emphasis of the closest time period in term of its impact to the next following year. As a result, the forecasts for 2010 sales were quite low though there was still a slightly growth than 2009. Among the three methods, the weighted moving average method seems to be the most appropriated one since it had the smallest value of the Mean Absolute Deviation. Basically, it proved that this method had less forecasting error than others and might be the best choice of all. To be clear, the plot chart was established base on the result of the three forecast methods in Figure X. Figure : Plot of Actual Sales and Forecast Sales for 2010 in three different models (in $ Million) Visibly, the line created from weighted moving average method was the closest one to the actual sales line. Its trend reflected almost similarly to the actual during the period of time from 2003 to 2009. That is why this method was chosen to determine the 2010 Starbucks sales instead of the two methods remaining. Objectively, $9,920.81 million may not be a number that Starbucks shareholders and investors really expect, even it showed slightly growth at 1.5% than 2009. However, in some levels, it seems to reflect quite appropriately the reality of the economic conditions as well as the Starbucks status. In spite of many positive signs of the economic recovery, Starbucks is still continuing its plan to close 800 retail stores over two year 2009 and 2010. Since the 566 stores had already released in 2009, another 244 are expecting to be cleared in fiscal year 2010. Thus, it could be hard to see a rapid growth in revenue of Starbucks at the end of fiscal year 2010. In regard to fiscal year 2011, since all of the three forecasting method above only allowed forecaster to see the result of 2010 revenue, the Linear Regression method was applied to estimate the sales in 2011. By collecting the sales data from the last three years (2007 to 2009) in quarterly, by the calculation of the regression line (Exhibit 11), the value of a ( the y intercept) and b (slope of regression line) were found. These two values were use to determine the dependent variable (y). The regression forecast of sales in equation is: y = a + bx (Exhibit 5 ). The forecast results of $10,078.21 and $10,189.41 for each year of 2010 and 2011 once again confirmed about the growth trend of Starbucks sales in the next two year. Nonetheless, base on the Starbucks plan of opening over 500 new stores in US and over sea during 2011, there should be a stronger increase in sales of Starbucks in this year. Subjectively, the authors believed that Starbucks revenue would increase no less than 15% in 2011. In other words, if the 2010 revenue was forecasted at $9,920.81 million, the same item in 2011 would be around $11,408.93 million. This result was also determined base on many positive factors that Starbucks could get benefits from such as the economic recovery in higher volume and speed, the more effective operating of Starbucks after the reorganizing process in its retail stores system as well as the objective increase in customers demand. Moreover, the volume of average transaction would be higher due to the increase in cost of goods sold and the im pact of inflation. In the Exhibit 6, all the operating performances of Starbucks from 2005 to 2009 were displayed in detail by the percent of total revenue. Base on those historical data and theirs visible trends, it was possible to anticipate logically the operating results for next two fiscal years 2010 and 2011 (Exhibit 7). According to the Exhibit 14, the net income of Starbucks stays at $466.27 and $479.18 million for each of 2010 and 2011. This may be considered as the acceptable results in regard to the challenges of the current circumstance. In fact, the forecast net income of 2010 is 19.3% higher than 2009. Since the revenue of 2010 did not rise in a strong level (only 1.5%), this impressive net income mainly came from the reducing the stores operating expenses and the more effective tax rate. In 2011, the operating expenses are expected to increase and stay at 95.2% of total sales, this is an objective fact that many items in operating expenses areas are in trend of steady increase year by year accompany with the business enlarge strategy of Starbucks, such as store operating expenses or general and administrative expenses. However, this ratio might be less in the next following years if the restructure process of Starbucks would get its aims of improving efficiency of cost control in various act ivities. Conclusion and recommendation Starbucks has been the largest specialty coffee retailer in its industry, but due to the problems with our economy, it has been seeing an effect on its sales and profits. The economic situation has affected consumers spending at Starbucks and other luxury goods. Starbucks also raised prices by an average of 9 cents a cup in July of 2007, causing U.S. customers who face higher food, fuel and housing expenses to go to McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts for cheaper coffee. These issues have affected Starbucks stocks performance in the market and are slowly making this stock an unfavorable one for potential investors. My recommendation for potential investors would be to hold off on purchasing stocks from Starbucks at this moment because now is not a good time to invest in them. I would advise these investors to keep looking into this stock until they see a positive change in its market pattern and that would be when I would advise them to purchase the stock; before its price increases higher t han the average market price. My recommendation for investors holding the share of the company would be to hold on to it until they can see for certain if Starbucks stocks will continue to go down and become a loss or maybe potential go back up and become profitable as they once were. After conducting my research, I believe the Starbucks stock will eventually start going up again after they put into effect their plans for the upcoming year. This stock is definitely a valuable one that I would not let go of if I owned shares in it. Starbucks hold value to its stock, which is why my advice to shareholders is to hold off on selling their shares until they see how the upcoming year goes for the company. In a response to the McDonalds challenge Starbucks is teaming up with Burger King, which has announced that by September 2010 it would begin selling Starbucks Seattles Best Coffee in about 7,250 U.S. outlets it would launch its first national advertising campaign. India, Russia, and China represent key areas of focused future expansion.

Observation in Daisy Miller Essay -- Henry James, Daisy Miller

He said to himself that she was too light and childish, too uncultivated and unreasoning, too provincial, to have reflected upon the ostracism or even to have perceived it. Then at other moments he believed that she carried about in her elegant and irresponsible organism a defiant, passionate, perfectly observant consciousness of the impression she produced. (43) The socialites in Daisy Miller's world aspire to a perfection, a nobility, and a superlative of character. But character is a misleading word; interiority is important only insofar as it reflects the assumed depths that come with an appearance of refinement, for the relationships in "Daisy Miller: A Study" are formed by observation, not by conversation. Winterbourne's penetrating gaze dissects and complicates Daisy's appearance and, subsequently, personality, beyond what her own projection of an personality warrants. The narrator of Henry James's story furthers this atmosphere, peppering visual and even abstract sentences with modifiers and other syntactical strokes to force a system of visual refinement on the reader. The reader, however, must engage his imagination to form a picture of Daisy, her most evident quality, while he is kept privy to her relatively blank consciousness, thus ensuring an emotional detachment from her which allows him to "see" her as she really is. The heroi ne captivates Winterbourne, on the other hand, for most of the story, because he can only surmise as to the mystery, or "riddle," as the narrator calls it, of the "ambiguity of Daisy's behavior" beneath her deceptive exterior (46). His recognition of his reliance on the gaze, and on Daisy's vacuity otherwise, triggers his final disgust and enables him to select an answer from the ... ...he right way of regarding Miss Daisy Miller. (46) The vocabulary of observational terms which can double as evaluative verbs†¹"reflecting," "regarding"†¹strikes the philosophical change in Winterbourne's literal outlook, as does his using her full formal name as a way of sapping her of any suggestive mystery behind the ambiguous "she." He later repents slightly after Daisy's death, but seems not to take the lesson to heart. The real "study" of "Daisy Miller: A Study," then, is Winterbourne, whose faltering attempts to "study" Daisy we follow until his brief redemption, and of whom the final line of the narrative†¹reinforcing his return to the gaze, albeit now directed at an ostensibly more deserving, but still "very" refined foreigner†¹should come as no surprise: "...he is "'studying hard'†¹an intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign lady" (50). Observation in Daisy Miller Essay -- Henry James, Daisy Miller He said to himself that she was too light and childish, too uncultivated and unreasoning, too provincial, to have reflected upon the ostracism or even to have perceived it. Then at other moments he believed that she carried about in her elegant and irresponsible organism a defiant, passionate, perfectly observant consciousness of the impression she produced. (43) The socialites in Daisy Miller's world aspire to a perfection, a nobility, and a superlative of character. But character is a misleading word; interiority is important only insofar as it reflects the assumed depths that come with an appearance of refinement, for the relationships in "Daisy Miller: A Study" are formed by observation, not by conversation. Winterbourne's penetrating gaze dissects and complicates Daisy's appearance and, subsequently, personality, beyond what her own projection of an personality warrants. The narrator of Henry James's story furthers this atmosphere, peppering visual and even abstract sentences with modifiers and other syntactical strokes to force a system of visual refinement on the reader. The reader, however, must engage his imagination to form a picture of Daisy, her most evident quality, while he is kept privy to her relatively blank consciousness, thus ensuring an emotional detachment from her which allows him to "see" her as she really is. The heroi ne captivates Winterbourne, on the other hand, for most of the story, because he can only surmise as to the mystery, or "riddle," as the narrator calls it, of the "ambiguity of Daisy's behavior" beneath her deceptive exterior (46). His recognition of his reliance on the gaze, and on Daisy's vacuity otherwise, triggers his final disgust and enables him to select an answer from the ... ...he right way of regarding Miss Daisy Miller. (46) The vocabulary of observational terms which can double as evaluative verbs†¹"reflecting," "regarding"†¹strikes the philosophical change in Winterbourne's literal outlook, as does his using her full formal name as a way of sapping her of any suggestive mystery behind the ambiguous "she." He later repents slightly after Daisy's death, but seems not to take the lesson to heart. The real "study" of "Daisy Miller: A Study," then, is Winterbourne, whose faltering attempts to "study" Daisy we follow until his brief redemption, and of whom the final line of the narrative†¹reinforcing his return to the gaze, albeit now directed at an ostensibly more deserving, but still "very" refined foreigner†¹should come as no surprise: "...he is "'studying hard'†¹an intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign lady" (50).

Business Rules Essay

Among other things, define what they are, main sources for them, why they are important, and what you would do with them. Include a brief explanation of what your company does and some of its important Business Rules. Business Rules, as defined by our textbook are a description of policies, procedures or principles of an organization written in a simple and concise format. These rules are used to create the necessary structure for which the organization will operate within. They cover every aspect of the Business and define even the most menial tasks. Customer interaction, how employees are hired, how products are developed and how products are shipped are some examples of Business Rules. The Business rules once they are defined are then able to be converted into database entities, attributes, relationships and constraints. These items are then used in the database design for the company. From these entities and attributes relationships are created that correspond to the defined Business rules. Any rules that specifically name a person, place or thing will become attributes or entities in the database. Constraints are placed on the data to maintain the integrity and they are also derived from the Business rules. Examples of these are the days and times that the Business is open and how much an employee is allowed to make in a certain job function. My company, Maquet, is an international medical supply company started in 1853. They began by making operating tables and operating room lamps. Today they make a wide gamut of products from complete operating rooms systems, to balloon pumps and other life-saving equipment. One of our quips is that if you see our equipment, you are really in trouble or you’re a doctor or a nurse. Since we design and manufacture medical supplies, we are regulated by the FDA and are under constant scrutiny and monitoring. Because of this constant monitoring we have to register and address any complaint about our equipment. We have to work on validated systems, our training on clean room access and other safety features are tracked and we keep emails going back to seven years. Some important Business Rules I believe we have are actually many of our constraints. For instance we have clean room training that needs to be completed on a yearly basis. We must complete this training by a certain date to maintain compliance and to be able to enter a clean room and service the computer. We have rules that define how long we can take to respond to a ticket or how long we can keep a ticket open based on a certain status of low, medium or high. These Rules are in place to make sure we don’t contaminate anything when we enter a clean room or we acknowledge and resolve issues in a timely manner. Business rules define the constructs with within an organization operates. They help show the guidelines that employees and managers need to function within to keep the Business successful. Business rules are beneficial to everyone as long as they are properly defined and in the best interest of everyone.

Importance Of Pragmatics In Communication Skills Education Essay

I teach particular instruction and most of the pupils that I service are with me for reading and written look. I have several English linguistic communication scholars and many of them are at different degrees of linguistic communication acquisition. However, I have had some trouble distinguishing their direction to turn to their specific linguistic communication degrees until I took this class. Bing a particular instruction instructor implies that I am inherently able to distinguish pupil direction. However, before taking these two categories, I lacked specific preparation in schemes for English linguistic communication scholars. These classs jogged my memory as to the huge facets of merely larning any linguistic communication. My particular instruction coursework included the reading, composing, hearing, and talking spheres of linguistic communication, but most of the particular instruction direction focused to a great extent on reading and composing direction, with less accent on speech production and hearing.First IdeaThe first thought that I found insightful was the importance of pragmatics in communicating accomplishments. I did non pass a batch of clip believing about the usage of linguistic communication in societal state of affairss and the specific map of how linguistic communication may be used. The critical facet of propinquity was enlightening. That instructors should be after activities to learn English scholars the appropriate distance for conversation with grownups was fresh to me, as I was non really cognizant that in the United States colloquial distance is one arm & A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s length apart.Second IdeaThe 2nd thought that I gained from this class is the significance of semantics in linguistic communication and how that relates to English linguistic communication scholars understanding of specific words and their relationship in overall linguistic communication acquisition. In my schoolroom direction I have struggled with the ind ication and intension of words. I find that pupils frequently have trouble with words that have two or more significances and it is particularly hard for them to retrieve to utilize the word in the appropriate context when speech production or discoursing a narrative or specific subject.Third IdeaThe 3rd thought that I gleaned from this class was about specific schemes for English linguistic communication scholars to develop Tier III vocabulary. I knew small about blood relations and their usage in learning with shared Latin and Greek rooted vocabulary. I am already utilizing bilingual lexicons in my category, nevertheless the word-books are a scheme that I was unfamiliar with and have late implemented in my reading and composing direction.Fourth IdeaIdeas sing idiomatic linguistic communication and the effectual schemes to learn parlances to English linguistic communication scholars were really helpful. The highlighting activity every bit good as the Loop games that allow English s cholars to pattern appropriate parlance use are enlightening and I found both schemes resourceful.Fifth IdeaThe 5th thought I found important involved equality versus equity and the Supreme Court instance Lau vs. Nichols which refined the definition of just instruction for pupils specifically for English linguistic communication scholars. The picture explained the construct of equality as each pupil being given the same installations, course of study, text editions, and instructors does in no manner supply a meaningful instruction to English scholars. However, with the construct of equity, every pupil may non have the same thing, but alternatively their instruction is tailored to run into their specific demands. This tribunal instance appears to hold paved the manner for differentiated direction.Why Identified Ideas are Important to My Teaching AssignmentAll of the thoughts I identified are of import to being an effectual instructor. Lau vs. Nichols is basically important for non me rely English linguistic communication scholars, but for pupils having particular instruction services. Equity is the foundation of differentiated direction, which I pattern daily as all of my pupils are at different instructional degrees and it is indispensable to develop effectual lessons that address academic shortages for each single pupil. Parlances are besides rather hard for pupils with larning disablements and by larning schemes and activities to heighten pupil apprehension of idiomatic linguistic communication will doubtless increase overall comprehension. English linguistic communication scholars with larning disablements will necessitate the necessary cognition to voyage and understand the huge sum of words or phrases that have multiple significances. Ultimately, my end as a particular instruction instructor is to assist pupils develop vocabulary and many of the Tier III vocabulary schemes and activities will help pupils with larning disablements learn new vocabulary in the same manner that English scholars will larn new words.How to Implement Three Ideas into Current Teaching AssignmentThree thoughts I plan to ab initio implement are either separately or in a little group puting. First, during reading direction and composing direction it will non be hard to present the word books to heighten deeper vocabulary apprehension among my pupils with larning disablements that are besides English scholars. Several of my pupils enjoy pulling and art and by leting them to take ownership of their word books through the usage of illustrations, images and exposures, I think this can be a fun hands-on activity that will be ongoing throughout the remainder of the school twelvemonth. I am still learning at a twelvemonth unit of ammunition school and this is a good clip to implement non merely word books, but several other schemes that I learned in this class. Now that I have a deeper apprehension of pragmatics in linguistic communication acquisition, I plan to learn specific societal communicating accomplishments and propinquity through direct direction, mold, and role-playing assorted scenarios. Many of my pupils stand excessively near to their instructors, equals, and other staff members. I hope that by specifically doing it a point to learn appropriate propinquity to English linguistic communication scholars, they will be able to see immediate success. I have already begun learning idiomatic linguistic communication to several pupils by foregrounding phrases I have found in needed reading stuffs. Besides, the Loop games are planned for this hebdomad and I hope the games will heighten overall apprehension of several often used parlances.Expectations and Immediate Results of Implementation of Specified IdeasBy implementing the aforesaid thoughts, I surely expect my pupils to increase Tier III vocabulary, idiomatic linguistic communication activities and pragmatics affecting propinquity preparation. Additionally, by increasing my instructional focal point on supplying the English linguistic communication scholars diagnosed with larning disablements non merely talking and listening chances, but integrating new activities with authorship applications and written look from the really beginning of reading direction. Besides by previewing cardinal vocabulary before listening and prompting the pupils more pointedly on what to listen for dur ing an audio-taped narrative or text, I expect a more favourable result necessary for them to larn non merely appropriate English communicating accomplishments, but furthermore a deeper apprehension of vocabulary word significance. Furthermore, since I have taken this class, I began holding my pupils maintain their ain personal word book with their pick of illustrations, exposures, and/or icons in concurrence with their ain short definitions to help them in remembering the significance of a word. By giving pupils extra authorship pattern with the word book, I hope to better their overall authorship ability. Recently, I began to reexamine the needed narratives from the course of study that my English linguistic communication scholars use and highlight any idiomatic phrases or looks that the pupils may be fighting with on the overhead projector in a little group puting where I can discourse and examine them for understanding.Long Term Results of Implementing Specified IdeasWith the authorization of No Child Left Behind, schools are under utmost force per unit area to show that all pupils will do equal annual advancement toward prescribed educational ends. As a extremely qualified instructor, I am responsible for presenting meaningful direction that meets the demands of all pupils. By implementing specified thoughts, schemes, and activities the long term consequences will be that all pupils will hold a purposeful instruction taking them to a productive and comfortable life, every bit good as being able to pass on efficaciously across a assortment scenes.

Free Essays on Development Of Technology To Increase Human Beings Welfare And Prosperty

"Welfare and Prosperity of human beings!" These two things are among the most important thing man tries to achieve these days. He tries many ways and methods to be able to achieve them. One of these methods is Technology. He tries to invent new things to make life easier for him. Technology spreads and develops in life to increase humans' welfare and prosperity by many different ways and sorts starting by the invention of the computers, then the technological revolution and ending by the invention of robots. The beginning of technology started in the twentieth century. It started by inventing the first computer. It was huge in size; it was about the size of two tennis courts. People used large generators in order to make it operate properly in addition to a huge cooling system to decrease its temperature, as it used to release huge amount of heat energy the could damage its components. The first computer invented was very huge and slow compared to nowadays computers that are very fast and could make millions of operations in few seconds and much smaller than the first one, in the size of a small notebook even a hand. The first computer was considered to be a great invention and it opened the door for new inventions and development of computer in humans' life. After that great development occurred. Scientist tried to achieve and find new methods so that they could make it easier for people to use the computers. They developed many new things and invented new computers with more ca pabilities, its size have decreased greatly and it uses normal power supply to operate. Also it became easier for everyone to use it. After these achievements and developments. A great progress occurred in life nowadays. This progress leads to the Technological Revolution. All sorts of life use technology. The progress is very fast and is increasing rapidly. A new invention is found everyday. If a computer was invented which is ... Free Essays on Development Of Technology To Increase Human Beings Welfare And Prosperty Free Essays on Development Of Technology To Increase Human Beings Welfare And Prosperty "Welfare and Prosperity of human beings!" These two things are among the most important thing man tries to achieve these days. He tries many ways and methods to be able to achieve them. One of these methods is Technology. He tries to invent new things to make life easier for him. Technology spreads and develops in life to increase humans' welfare and prosperity by many different ways and sorts starting by the invention of the computers, then the technological revolution and ending by the invention of robots. The beginning of technology started in the twentieth century. It started by inventing the first computer. It was huge in size; it was about the size of two tennis courts. People used large generators in order to make it operate properly in addition to a huge cooling system to decrease its temperature, as it used to release huge amount of heat energy the could damage its components. The first computer invented was very huge and slow compared to nowadays computers that are very fast and could make millions of operations in few seconds and much smaller than the first one, in the size of a small notebook even a hand. The first computer was considered to be a great invention and it opened the door for new inventions and development of computer in humans' life. After that great development occurred. Scientist tried to achieve and find new methods so that they could make it easier for people to use the computers. They developed many new things and invented new computers with more ca pabilities, its size have decreased greatly and it uses normal power supply to operate. Also it became easier for everyone to use it. After these achievements and developments. A great progress occurred in life nowadays. This progress leads to the Technological Revolution. All sorts of life use technology. The progress is very fast and is increasing rapidly. A new invention is found everyday. If a computer was invented which is ...

buy custom Effects of Urban Environment essay

buy custom Effects of Urban Environment essay In the United States alone violence at school is about a quarter of all the violence that has been reported. In the past years one could not picture that school violence will end up in shooting, rape, murder and robbery the way its turned out to be. Research that has been done indicated that children in urban centers tend to grow in rampant poverty and as a result many of them opt to engage in criminal actions in order to survive. High levels of poverty fosses youngsters to take part in drug incidence as well as abuse of alcohol and some of these behaviors are great influences of violence. This is the reason the incidences of teenage pregnancy and crimes are very rampant in this places (Benbenishty Astor, 2005). Urban environment is characterized with rampant poverty which greatly contributes to the violence that is being witnessed at school. Joblessness and irregular employment is the daily norm of urban environment. As a result many of these youngsters lie idle most of the time and that is the reason they opt to take part in anything that will eliminate the boredom within them. This is the condition that the urban children adapt to and the people they interact with become their role models. Because these children are modeled by people of this caliber they end up being like them. They learn to handle weapons and use them at a tender age another character of these children is that they are easily provoked therefore they lack the ability to solve simple issues because they have been taught to use weapons. These trends continue to take root in the urban children from poor neighborhood and for these reasons such students do not see any problem in taking part in violent activities at school. There tend to see no issue in carrying fire arms to school because that is the only way that they know best in expressing themselves or making their points known to others. To urban children in poor areas crime is the only way of life that such children have ever known. Assessment of the family income of children that take part in violent actions at school has been estimated to be less than $7,500 per annum. Research has indicated that urban environment causes some risk factors to its dwellers. Some of the risk factors that were identified include individual risks, school risks, community risks as well as family risks (Schier, 2008). Risks that are considered individual includes aggressiveness of a person, delinquent friends, lower intelligence, abuse of substance, poor parental monitoring as well as absence of expectations by parents. Other times parents to these children maybe drug traffickers and these results in neglect and abuse of the child. Some of the risk factors that fall under the community include availability of drugs, broken families, drugs and weapons, economic deprivation as well as many transient populations. School risks may include academic failure, early delinquent character, gang involvement as well as lack of commitment at school. Therefore a productive rescue mission is the one that should involve community service, students, teachers as well as parents. Its also important to develop an evaluation system that is able to assess the happenings at our schools. On the other hand a proper communication system is necessary for efficient monitoring. In the United States violent behavior in school going children is on an increase thogh the research that has been done on the overall indicates that school crime have significantly reduced. Statistics that were done by the criminal department indicated a rise in school violent incidence from seventy one to eighty one percent in the past ten years. The results that were obtained also indicated an increase in the number of students who admitted that there were gangs at their schools. The presence of gangs at school and in the society greatly contributes in the number of violent incidents that are happening at the learning institutions. Violence at schools is not only limited to students because teachers have admitted that they have been threatened at least twice in every month with violence within the school premises (Schier, 2008). About two percent of all American teachers have been victims of school violence. On addition to that a good number of deaths have been reported at elementary schools as well as secondary schools as a result of violence. One of the points that the justice office has put forth is that most of this students do not naturally have criminal minds and for this reason this happens because of their surroundings. Some California professor commended that children of our time are prone to being raised by a parent who is a drug addict, been arrested a number of times; a parent that is not responsible of his children. One of the major issues that todays children face is abandonment, poverty and messed up parents. This explains why the modern children have developed violent behavior. For these reasons its important for communities to realize that something needs to be done urgently. Besides that they should learn to respect the desires of other children who are not involved in violence and have not fallen victims of violence. There are children who only seek to find a better life therefore the community should provide an environment that is conducive for learning and development. Education research that has been done indicated that school violence emanates from possession of weapons, cyber abuse, media violence, personal alienation, community and school environments as well as family environments. Between 1980 and 1990 more teens were reported to be accessible to fire arms and that is the reason there were more shots in school at that time. In a few years back about hundred students died violently at school and seventy percent of those deaths were fire arms incidents (Miller, 2008). Recent report that was published by the National youth Violence Prevention centre indicated that the number of teens who carry fire arms at school has significantly reduced. For this reason the harm at school has also reduced. The interviews that were done by this group indicated that 42% of all the students that were interviewed were assessable to guns, 17% have taken firearms to school with them whereas 28% have handled a gun without the consent of a grown up. Children reportedly access guns because about 35% of all United States families with teenagers have a minimum of one gun. Its therefore clear that about eleven million children come from families that possess firearms. A study that was done in 2007 indicated that children are able to illegal purchase guns. Therefore the American show rooms have become centers for illegal activities because they are busy selling guns to the wrong people. For these reason a bill has been passed to prohibit mentally ill patients, criminals as well as minors from accesssing firearms. Children tend to learn more from what they see than what they are taught and that is the reason why children that watch violent cartoon as well as real violent are prone to becoming more violent. Researchers have concluded that verbally aggression behavior as well as violence is on the increase due to media exposure. Youths develop violent emotions as well as thoughts from the videos and films that they keep watching (Miller, 2008). Cyber abuse is another factor that has led to school violence. Internet, messaging, e-mails have continually contributed to character erosion in school going children. Famous video games contain some forms of violence and this is one of famous practice among the students. Psychologists through research has concluded that children that spend most of their times watching video game tend to develop hostile personalities. For instance such children do not believe in forgiving because they know violence is the way forward. Messaging done through the cell phones as well as emails have provides grounds for initiation for more violence. Cyber bullying has become a common thing among the adolescents. In this case the adolescents threaten; taunt their peers through the usage of the media. The public health sectors have been able to single out a few cases as the cause of school violence and among them are issues like race, income levels as well as ethnicity. Some of the anti-social behaviors that may contribute to aggression include heavy drinking and smoking as well as suicidal attitude. This information is of great importance to the public health sectors since they are able to assess the health risks of young people. Family relationships as well as the type of friends a teenager associate with can also greatly influence their behavior. In brief the environment around the youth for instance the community, school, peers, and families have the capabilities of exerting influence of the behavior and attitude of an adolescent (Watson Skinner, 2004). The overall research that has been conducted has confirmed a fifty percent surety of schools becoming a violent breeding zone. This is in exemption of all other factors that have been singled to contribute to violence at school. Though, few teenagers are likely to join gangs its evident that there are gangs at schools. Discipline erosion is rampant in schools with high population. The likelihood of a big school having indiscipline is very higher than in small schools. Statistics have revealed that schools with a population of over a thousand students report high cases of indiscipline as opposed to schools with a population of less than a thousand students. The students who are likely to be affected by school violence are middle school students. The students who are more likely to avoid school because of bullying are eighth grade students. About 22% of all urban students between twelve and eleven years know someone of their age that belongs to a gang. A good example of such a scenario is a seventh grade boy who is attacked by a fellow seventh grade student. Research shows that there is high rate of violence at this age because the children at that age are at a tough adolescent stage. Another reason for this trend is that young teenagers do not have enough knowledge of social behavior and they are therefore hypertensive. The fact that these children interact for the first time their different backgrounds brings many issues (Watson Skinner, 2004). Buy custom Effects of Urban Environment essay

This assignment will consist of a critical and evaluative intellectual Essay

This assignment will consist of a critical and evaluative intellectual biography of a contemporary leading thinker - Essay Example Norton is a consultant as well as a speaker withregard to strategic performance management and a founder of Palladium group. The profession group mainly deals with performance measurement and management and before founding andbecoming the group’s director he engaged in Renaissance Solutions a consulting company he founded together with Robert Kaplan in 1992. The balanced scorecard aims at helping the development and management of strategy through focusing on the way key measures relate in tracking progress. In the paper Kaplan and Norton believe only adherence to quarterly financial returns and bottom line does not offer an organization the overall strategic view. However, the balanced scorecard goes beyond only the exploitation of financial measures through incorporation of three other essential perspectives. These other perspectives include customer perspective, internal business perspective and the learning or innovation perspective. Customer perspective addresses the way customers consider an organization while internal business perspective requires an organization to establish what is needed for it to excel; moreover, the innovation perspective addresses what is needed in an organization to improve and create value in future. Through evaluation of the present and offering indications of future drivers, the scorecard is capable of m easuring and motivating business performance (Kaplan& Norton, 1992). Kaplan and Norton published Strategy Maps, in this book they show that despite the increased significance of knowledge based assets, many organizations still focused on measuring short term financial performance. The book elaborates strategy as a notion by describing it in terms of its relationship referred to as strategy map. The book shows shifting trend from product-driven economy toward a knowledge economy values intangible assets in organizational performance. However, at the time of writing the book there was no literature offering

The Business Case for Diversity Literature Review

The Business Case for Diversity - Literature review Example The different theories and approaches of diversity management have been developed to understand the concept of business diversity in a better manner. These theories and approaches have been widely appreciated and supported by academics, managers and diversity consultants. Business Diversity Defined The business case for diversity management can be better understood if it is divided in three sections (Nicholas, Sammartino & Lau, 2007): 1. The HRM Business Case for Diversity Management According to the HRM business case of diversity management, unmanaged diverse human resource only results in increasing the business costs by reducing the job satisfaction, increasing turnover and absenteeism rate and creating conflicts in team members. The sound management of diverse human resource results in creating a competitive edge for the organization. 2. The Knowledge Case for Diversity Management The knowledge case for diversity management basically takes in to account the system of information and knowledge flow. It finds ways and strategies to facilitate knowledge creation and transmission. 3. The International Business Case for Diversity Management This business case works to determine how to exploit cross cultural capabilities in favor of the organization and business success. This business case illustrates that effective management of diversity has the potential to result in positive international orientation of a firm by strengthening international networks and improving mutual business decision making. Initially the diversity management was regarded as a tool to legally safeguard an organization that it is complying with the legal requirements of equality and not discriminating against any class (Ongori & Evans, 2007). However the recent years have seen a change in the perception of diversity by managers and recruitment agencies. It has evolved to become a more proactive concept with significant bottom line advantages. Many corporation and organization are making a point to make sure that their workforce is well diversified to facilitate unique, innovative and creative ideas for problem solving which translate in better overall performance of the organization (Allen et al., 2004). A case study of Botswana emphasized the need of business diversity. The society of Botswana is multicultural with a large number of immigrants coming from all across the world. It means that the organizations operating in Botswana does not have choice but to be work force diversified. Their competitiveness, level of innovations, profits and business success are all dependent on how well it manages its diverse workforce both within and across the organizational boundaries (Barker and Hartel, 2004). The issue of business diversity is gaining more interest of the researchers and politics because of the slow shifting of trend of economies from manufacturing to services. There is a greater need in the services market to communicate and network with different organization and people which have further emphasized the need of today to manage business diversity well (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). Advantages of Business Case of Diversity The business case for diversity works to provide a competitive edge for any organization (Karsten, 2006). The question that might be raised now is

Analyze the Conventional Wisdom Regarding the Iliegal Immigration Essay

Analyze the Conventional Wisdom Regarding the Iliegal Immigration Debate - Essay Example Besides, the arguments on illegal immigration deeply influence the development of conventional wisdom on the same subject. Thesis statement: The conventional wisdom regarding the illegal immigration debate in America is deeply influenced by the arguments in favor of and against illegal immigration and the related problems. Arguments in favor of illegal immigration The scope of the policy of amnesty and illegal immigration As pointed out, the arguments in favor of illegal immigration deeply influenced the conventional wisdom regarding the illegal immigration debate. To be specific, the people of America are aware of the fact that their lineage is rooted in immigration from European nations, African continent and some parts of the Asian continent. One can see that the native population of the American continent consists of the American Indians. Almost all the other racial groups in America are related to immigrant population. Therefore, those who are in favor of illegal immigration arg ue that illegal immigration must not be considered as illegal because economic disparity is the main reason behind it. Steiner opined that â€Å"More likely, illegal immigration rose because the United States economy demanded it, and illegal immigration would have risen even if amnesties had not been granted† (41). Those who try to immigrate to America are not aware of the problem of illegal immigration. ... They believe implementation of laws and regulations related to illegal immigration can reduce the problem in future, and the current laws cannot solve the problems faced by the illegal immigrant in America. In addition, those who are not in favor of illegal immigration argue that the illegal immigration must be considered as an international problem, not as a regional or national problem. Humanitarian consideration/ human rights and illegal immigration Those who are in favor of illegal immigration argue that deportation or similar actions against the so-called illegal immigrants are a violation of human rights. The liberal humanitarians including the working class in America consider that the government must take apt measures to reduce the problems faced by the illegal immigrant population in America. Hill stated that â€Å"It is little wonder that these kaleidoscopic overlaps and divergences lead some to argue that the real divide in the immigration debate is between educated and d efenders of the U.S. poor and working class† (196). Besides, those who are in favor of illegal immigration argue that illegal immigrants face marginalization in the American society. They argue that governments must try to amalgamate the illegal immigrants into the core of the mainstream society. At the same time, the strict implementation of laws related to illegal immigration/human trafficking can reduce the scope of problems related to illegal immigration. Arguments against illegal immigration Barbed-wire fences and border security As pointed out, the conventional wisdom regarding the illegal immigration debate is influenced by anti-illegal immigration arguments. The history of

Strategic Global Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Strategic Global Operations - Essay Example INCAT entered into joint venture with AFAI of Hong Kong against its previous strategy of licensing shipyards to build vessels in different countries. INCA is globally knows for its two high-speed ferry designs. It enjoys excellent reputation for its customer service and the safety of its vessels. Although INCAT had initially licensed shipyards, it entered into joint venture in 1996 due to heightened global demand. The growth of the company has taken place through innovation, diversification and globalization as competition has intensified and as economic situation has worsened (Wickham, 2005). This paper evaluates why INCAT chose to enter into joint venture against licensing for building catamaran vessels. Depending upon the equity participation desired, the technology transfer, the risks and controls, the costs involved, an organization chooses to either enter into licensing agreement, joint ventures, or have a wholly-owned subsidiary. Licensing is a contract in which the licensor provides the licensee with access to one or a set of technologies in exchange for financial compensation (Rajan & Pangarkar, 2000). In this agreement there is very little equity stake by the licensor or the multinational unit. Licensing requires a high level of technological competence. INCAT would just receive the royalty in exchange for the technology but would have little control over the quality. When technology is transferred to new and uncertain markets, the transaction cost is high and hard entry mode is preferred (Zhao & Decker, 2004). INCAT and AFAI had worked together for several years and developed a relationship of trust and commitment. INCAT received inclination from several shipbuilders located in Malta, England, China and Sweden but it preferred AFAI for several reasons. Cultural distance can pose an obstacle in the management of joint ventures and this can be reduced through experiential

Desribing a Social Institution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Desribing a Social Institution - Essay Example In the institutions of man, aided by God’s guidance and graces, there are already installed safeguards and answers that if we only know how to discern, we would not go far or divert from where we are really going. One of these groups that have become institutions and instruments of God’s propagation of faith and love is the so-called charismatic group. From the small parishes spring small organizations or groups, others are called church-mandated organizations like the Familia, and other smaller groups that require assistance and cooperation of the so-called laity, such as the charismatic groups, or the traditional Cursillos in Christianity. In my journey to these groups in the Christian faith, I was most attracted to the charismatic group. I was so intrigued by the actuations of some of the members that I tried to observe their activities. From the start, I thought they were overacting their faith because in their actions they were trying to goad people into joining their seminars and â€Å"indoctrination†. Some members who are friends of mine have asked me to join their so-called healing sessions and prayer groups. Indeed, they laid their hands on me and on anyone who ask their prayer and help, like they were â€Å"real saints†. I attempted and I was really puzzled. So I tried to give them some time. And not only did I join them but later I became a part of them. Weekly prayer meetings, fellowships, and later on seminars filled up my activities. I soon forgot what I was previously busy about – the material things of this world. Soon I learned what this group was all about. The charismatic religious activity, whose members are the parishioners or the community members, is one of the phenomena in religious gatherings, in these times when other activities are perceived boring to the believers. Somehow the Church – to my opinion – has injected some lively touches into the

Portfolio Project Part 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Portfolio Project Part 5 - Essay Example amiliar with the physical railroad distinctiveness including passenger stations, the decline, and incline the locomotive to the right way and the speed is confined. Alongside conductor, the engineer observes time not to leave the station early, nor fall behind schedule. The speed of the train must be decreased when behind other trains, variable time over road to keep away from arriving early, or approaching route diversions (Patzak, 171). The engineer can assume the conductor’s duties and responsibilities if the conductor is sick or injured. The locomotive engineer is demanded of him to have a clear knowledge of railroad geometry that includes signal positions to control safely the train. Retaining concentration is of significant importance in this role. In various US railroads, the progression of career is one that begins as an assistant brakeman, then conductor and lastly, an engineer. The U S, engineers need accreditation and re-accredited after every 2 to 3 years. The least instructive prerequisite for a locomotive engineer is at least a high school diploma or its equivalent, two years college and another two years of public contact experience. Potential engineers should be at 21 years and above of age and in good bodily condition, not have drug or alcohol addiction troubles. Most training for this profession is on the job, through a simulator experience, hands on instruction and combination of classroom lessons. Students must normally pass training class for a conductor before being permitted to begin the locomotive engineering program (Rajegopal, et al 189). Train engineer is needed with a federal license to drive passenger or freight locomotive. After the completion of training program for engineers, potential applicants pass a written exam that tests their knowledge of train operations and skills performance test. Licensed applicants are required to pass a vision and hearing test, a surprise operational test that measures engineers’ reaction to

Strategic Global Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Strategic Global Operations - Essay Example INCAT entered into joint venture with AFAI of Hong Kong against its previous strategy of licensing shipyards to build vessels in different countries. INCA is globally knows for its two high-speed ferry designs. It enjoys excellent reputation for its customer service and the safety of its vessels. Although INCAT had initially licensed shipyards, it entered into joint venture in 1996 due to heightened global demand. The growth of the company has taken place through innovation, diversification and globalization as competition has intensified and as economic situation has worsened (Wickham, 2005). This paper evaluates why INCAT chose to enter into joint venture against licensing for building catamaran vessels. Depending upon the equity participation desired, the technology transfer, the risks and controls, the costs involved, an organization chooses to either enter into licensing agreement, joint ventures, or have a wholly-owned subsidiary. Licensing is a contract in which the licensor provides the licensee with access to one or a set of technologies in exchange for financial compensation (Rajan & Pangarkar, 2000). In this agreement there is very little equity stake by the licensor or the multinational unit. Licensing requires a high level of technological competence. INCAT would just receive the royalty in exchange for the technology but would have little control over the quality. When technology is transferred to new and uncertain markets, the transaction cost is high and hard entry mode is preferred (Zhao & Decker, 2004). INCAT and AFAI had worked together for several years and developed a relationship of trust and commitment. INCAT received inclination from several shipbuilders located in Malta, England, China and Sweden but it preferred AFAI for several reasons. Cultural distance can pose an obstacle in the management of joint ventures and this can be reduced through experiential

Portfolio Project Part 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Portfolio Project Part 5 - Essay Example amiliar with the physical railroad distinctiveness including passenger stations, the decline, and incline the locomotive to the right way and the speed is confined. Alongside conductor, the engineer observes time not to leave the station early, nor fall behind schedule. The speed of the train must be decreased when behind other trains, variable time over road to keep away from arriving early, or approaching route diversions (Patzak, 171). The engineer can assume the conductor’s duties and responsibilities if the conductor is sick or injured. The locomotive engineer is demanded of him to have a clear knowledge of railroad geometry that includes signal positions to control safely the train. Retaining concentration is of significant importance in this role. In various US railroads, the progression of career is one that begins as an assistant brakeman, then conductor and lastly, an engineer. The U S, engineers need accreditation and re-accredited after every 2 to 3 years. The least instructive prerequisite for a locomotive engineer is at least a high school diploma or its equivalent, two years college and another two years of public contact experience. Potential engineers should be at 21 years and above of age and in good bodily condition, not have drug or alcohol addiction troubles. Most training for this profession is on the job, through a simulator experience, hands on instruction and combination of classroom lessons. Students must normally pass training class for a conductor before being permitted to begin the locomotive engineering program (Rajegopal, et al 189). Train engineer is needed with a federal license to drive passenger or freight locomotive. After the completion of training program for engineers, potential applicants pass a written exam that tests their knowledge of train operations and skills performance test. Licensed applicants are required to pass a vision and hearing test, a surprise operational test that measures engineers’ reaction to

Interview and Interrogation Essay Example for Free

Interview and Interrogation Essay Interviews and interrogations should be structured around the investigatory elements of the incident or crime. The need for careful planning and advance preparation cannot be overstated. It is one of the most difficult but most interesting phases of criminal investigation and detection. It is the confrontational battle of wits between the investigator and the suspect. It is a mental combat where the weapon is intelligence and the use of the art. Victory depends upon proper and effective use. The purpose of interrogation on the part of the suspect, it is to extract a confession or admission. On the part of the uncooperative or unwilling witness, it is to extract the information he possesses. While interview a simple and skillful but friendly questioning of a person who is believed to the possessing a knowledge that is official interest to the investigation; for the purpose of obtaining information. In a preliminary interview at a crime scene, officers have extremely limited time for such planning. Consequently, they need to know their priorities in advance. They should obtain as much information as possible, identify and locate the offender (s)and broadcast the information or alert other officers and department about the offense and identity of the offender(s). Officers should not use police terminology when interviewing or interrogating people because it will increase the incriminating atmosphere of the questioning. A polygraph, which literally means â€Å"many writings† scientifically measures and records a subject’s physiological reactions to specific questions in an effort to detect deception. As a polygraph operator asks a series of predetermined questions, changes in the subject’s respiration, depth of breathing, blood pressure, pulse and electrical resistance of the skin are measured and graphed for analysis. According to Paynter (1999). A polygraph might be used to clear suspects; confirm victim, witness and informant statements; or locate evidence. Sometimes used as part of an exploratory exam to further investigate the criminal involvement of someone already in custody for a different offense. In addition , it can help screen applicants for employment, such as police officer candidates, and can be used to monitor the activities of probationers and parolees, who must submit to and pass periodic polygraph exams, as a condition of their sentence. No matter what type of technology is used, the result must always be used as an investigative aid, a supplement to a thorough investigation- never as a substitute for it. Akers, Ronald. 1997. Criminological theories. California: Rexbury Publishing Company. Bartol, C. R. 1985. Criminal behavior. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs. Bonn, Robert. 1984. Criminology. New York: McGraw-Hill Book of Company. Hess, Karen. 2006. Police operations. Singapore: Thomson Learning Manwong, Rommel k. 2006. Fundamentals of criminology. Singapore: Thomson Learning.

To which extent do host country effects influence HRM

To which extent do host country effects influence HRM In the past century, globalisation became a buzzword. The economy growth entailed workplaces and standards of living. National based companies became multinational companies, which included a change in the old fashioned way of doing business. Nowadays, companies have to face the local needs of different countries while focusing on the companys global goals. Finding the right mix of these two forces is one of the main challenges for the Human Resource (HR) management department of a multinational company. Discussion Facts about cultural differences There are different ways of responding to the local needs of different countries. Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are companies which have mostly autonomic subsidiaries in their operating countries. These subsidiaries work independent and are so called stand-alone businesses. They want to satisfy local needs and address the customers directly. However, MNEs are still influenced by the parent company, but, vice versa, the subsidiary also affects its parent company (institutional effects). Multinational companies have a high responsiveness and a low global efficiency (Snell Bohlander, 2007). The high responsiveness affects the Human Resource department of a company. The main challenge for the HR department in a multinational enterprise is to find the balance of global standardization and localization. Global standardization mainly focuses on the companys culture and its strategy and structure, which finally leads to its goals. Localization is more concerned on the host country itself including cultural and institutional environment. Both modes deal with the firm size and maturity (Zagelmeyer, 2010). The cultural environment of a country consists of the education, social structure, values and ideologies, communication, and religion (Snell Bohlander, 2007). These factors are very important for company decisions. Therefore, it is the task of the Human Resource departments to face the five factors, which are defined by Geert Hofstede: 1 Power distance, which deals with how power is distributed in a country and how the inhabitants accept this distribution. 2 Uncertainty avoidance, which is about how uncertainty is tolerated in a country. 3 Masculinity describes the role of genders in a country. 4 Individualism examines to which extent people are integrated into a group. 5 Long-term orientation is about the degree to which people plan and consider the future and how important values and traditions are for them (Nevins, Bearden Money, 2006). Other factors which influence cultural differences are: 6 Human orientation which refers to the degree to which inhabitants of a country are fair, altruistic, generous, caring and kind to others (Zagelmeyer, 2010). 7 Assertiveness is about the degree to which inhabitants are assertive, confrontational and aggressive in the relation with others. 8 Future orientation, to which degree people behave future oriented. 9 Performance orientation discusses to which degree people are able to receive and give performance outcomes analyses (Zagelmeyer 2010). Impact of cultural and institutional differences on HRM All these nine factors define the culture of a country and the company operating in this country and therefore Human Resource management should adapt when needed. To get a closer understanding of how these factors influence Human Resource management, we have to analyze its different practices. It starts with recruitment and selection. In countries like the United States, the Human Resource departments look for employees who are able to work in a collectivistic work environment. Team players are highly wanted. Here, collectivism plays a major role whilst it is the opposite in countries like China as these societies are low in group-collectivism (Zagelmeyer, 2010). The Human Resource department would look for someone who is able to accept decisions and rules from above without questioning them. Past individual achievements are very important for job selections in individualistic countries. The different education systems (public and private) also influence the recruitment and selection process. This also affects the training and development practice, which is another Human Resource management task. The challenge is to find the right mix of masculinity in a country. In some countries like the United Kingdom it is normal that women are in high positions, whilst other countries like Japan do not accept females in such an extent. The compensation of employees also differs from country to country. The main task for HR is to find the balance between a fixed- or a performance-based salary depending on the uncertainty levels of the host country. High on uncertainty avoidance implies that employees tend to prefer a fixed salary and in societies with low on uncertainty avoidance, employees are more risk tolerated and therefore accept performance-based salary like bonus payments (Zagelmeyer, 2010). Countries with high uncertainty avoidance are for example Russia and Japan, which stand in contrast to countries like Sweden and Great Britain. The institutional effects are influenced by state regulations such as minimum wages, which HR has to take into consideration, too. The last Human Resource management assignment is about task completion. In this tool, collectivism versus individualism plays a major role. In a country like the United States, tasks are often completed in groups where teamwork is very important. In China, this is rather unusual as individual performance is much more important. In terms of the institutional context, this means that tasks are gender divided according to the host country. These are just some examples how host countries effects influence Human Resource management. These examples show that there is a high effect on Human Resource management, especially if countries differ in their dimensions. Generally, it is easier for a parent company to open a subsidiary in a country with similar cultures, traditions and regulations. Conclusion Nowadays, companies have to go abroad to stay competitive, and therefore a country analysis like the one made by Geert Hofstede can help to identify potential conflicts and define different approaches to individual tasks. However, one has to say that the effect of a host country towards Human Resource management is huge and comprises a high degree of potential conflicts but nevertheless there are many ways to balance these issues. As mentioned above, finding the right mix between companys interests and cultural awareness is crucial to survive in a globalized world.

Benedict :: essays research papers

Monte Cassino proved to be a most difficult location for Benedict’s new monastic community as many obstacles and impediments were cast in his path along the way to success. But Benedict was able to overcome each obstacle found in his path and became a better man because of his troubles and eventual triumph.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first of Benedict’s plights on the way to the founding of Monte Cassino proved to be a slight obstacle, but a foreshadow of what was to come. Benedict’s monks had been hard at work building cells in the abbey of the community, in the way of the continuance of the building was a large rock. The monks tried and tried to remove the rock with their own strength, but the rock simply would not budge. The reason for this hardship was simple in the eyes of the monks; the devil was hard at work. They then sent for the man of God, Benedict. With a simple blessing Benedict was able to dislodge the rock, making it quite easy for the monks to continue the building of the cells. Not only did this help in the actual physical building of the community, but it also gave the monks a glimpse of what was to come and a reinforced faith in their God and their leader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After this first obstacle it was clear that there were many more to follow. During the next stage of the building process the monks were hard at work building a particular higher. Benedict at the time was praying to God, when all of a sudden the Devil appeared to him and told Benedict that he was going to the monks. The monks unaware of this message continued to work when the next crisis occurred. The newly finished wall was toppled, and landed on a young child, who was a monk, instantly crushing him to death. The monks thinking this was an accident, reported the terrible news to Benedict. Benedict, a man of God, then bade the monks to bring the boy, in whatever state, to him. The monks obeying Benedict, did this and left Benedict to his prayers, and in that very hour, through prayer Benedict was able to revive the boy and set him and his monks back to work on the toppled wall! This recent triumph of Benedict not only proved to his monks that he was indeed an incr edible man of God, but it also proved to them that through the help of God Benedict would protect his monks and his community for the of the evil that is the Devil.

How Can Illegal Drugs Be Prevented From Entering Prison? Essay

How Can Illegal Drugs Be Prevented From Entering Prison? The American prison system has many different interpretations. Some people think it is a place for rehabilitation. Others may feel it is solely a punishment for making bad decisions, and there are those who see it as a method of revenge. Regardless of how the prison system is viewed, one element that may be a shock to everyone is the use of illegal drugs by the inmates. There are also a surprising number of unpublicized deaths among the inmate population due to drug overdoses that could have been prevented. The public deserves answers to the following questions: 1. How are illegal drugs infiltrating the prisons? 2. How are inmates creating their own substances? 3. What is being done to prevent drugs from coming in to prisons? Answering these questions will provide a bigger picture of the ongoing and growing problem of substance abuse within the prison system, and the knowledge to discuss potential solutions. Although inmates are housed in prisons for crimes against society, it is law enforcement’s responsibility to ensure their safety and that the illegal temptations of the outside world do not breach the prison walls. How Are Illegal Drugs Infiltrating the Prisons? Prisons are designed primarily to keep people inside, and less focus is placed on what is coming in. Regardless of the emphasis, the expectation of a facility that has full control over the population should be a drug free environment. However, drugs and other illegal contraband find their way inside undetected. There are many ways illegal drugs are introduced into the prison population. The article (How Common Are Drugs in Prison?, 2011) refers to friends or relatives of an inmate who bring in drugs a... ...far gone that they are beyond hope? In the current turbulent state of the world, and the anemic economy, there is no relief in sight for our crumbling prison system. It is important to understand that degrading prison conditions, combined with gang drug activity, overcrowding and violance go hand in hand. The worse the conditions, the greater the violance. Bill Arrigo notes, â€Å"Measures of poor conditions, such as inadequate prison management and lack of prison programs due to overcrowding, are associated with hight levels of prison violence† (Arrigo, 2006, p.116) . In conclusion, it is going to take a firm commitment and a lot of money to exercise the demons out of our prison system. However, more than that, it is going to take a commitment to the inmates, and the realization that the way we treat our prisoners is a direct reflection on our society as a whole.

Civic Duties of Teenagers

Quinn Bailey 3/4/2013 Civic Duties of Teenagers Introduction Civic duty is the obligation to each of us to leave our community in a better condition than we found it. Every person in our country has rights, and with those rights come responsibilities. That is what civic duty is, your rights and responsibilities that help contribute to society. Every single day we perform these tasks to help better our country as a whole. Teenagers have a huge role in this circle, whether they believe it or not. The civic duties that teenagers perform are a crucial part of our society, because they are the ones who grow up to be the next generation.Rights of a Teenager As a teenager, you are entitled to your rights. It’s easy to think that teens have no power over anything, even their own lives. However, teenagers have more rights than you might think. Many of a teenager's rights stem from having the ability to make a wise decision without parental consent. Every single day, teenagers everywher e are blindly fulfilling their civic duties. When a teenager goes to school, they pledge allegiance to the flag. They are basically making a pledge to the United States of America stating that they will fulfill their civic duties.I like to think of this as ‘signing a contract’, and most of them do it without even knowing it. Some of a teen’s rights are lawful rights, meaning they are permitted by law. One lawful right is going to school. Children have the right to a free public education beginning at age six. Teens sixteen and older have the right to decide if they want to attend school or not. In most states, a parent is required to sign agreeing with this decision. Another lawful right teenagers have is being able to have a job. Some states allow you to begin working as early as age fourteen.Another lawful right that teenagers have is the right to feel safe. A teen has the right to feel safe from all emotional and physical harm. If a teenager does not feel safe , they have the legal right to be taken out of the situation and placed in a safer one. Teenagers also have unwritten rights, or norms. These rights aren’t lawful, meaning they are a choice. One unwritten right is the right to drive. In most states, when you turn fourteen you can obtain an instructional permit if you pass a written test. With this permit, you learn to drive with a licensed adult in the car.Then, when you turn sixteen you can get a drivers license if you pass a driving test. Responsibilities of a Teenager From the point of view of a teenager, â€Å"Every generation has a role they need to play in society, and whether they think so or not, teens have one too† (Simpson, Nealle). Eventually, the teenagers are going to turn into adults. As you progress through your teen years, you gain more rights. This teaches you to make good decisions, many times without parental consent. â€Å"I don’t think teenagers should be expected to do more things,† said Nealle. They already have enough on their plates. † In America, teenagers are very well off. In many other parts of the world, teenagers have few rights compared to Americans. â€Å"In some countries, girls get married as early as fourteen†¦ †she stated. â€Å"And the worst part is that they don’t even get to choose who they marry! † From the point of view of a middle aged person, â€Å"Teenagers should share their burden of society duties† (Simpson, Jud). Every teenger should contribute so that a successful society can exist. â€Å"When you’re a teenager you kinda just shuffle your way through life,† said Jud. It’s a great time to make mistakes, but it’s also essential to learn from those mistakes. † Jud says that when he was a kid, rules were much more strict, and they were disciplined harder and more often. â€Å"Teens aren’t taught to be as respectful now a days,† he said. From the point of view of a senior, â€Å"Teenagers serve as better role models to other teenagers than adults† (Bailey). â€Å"If kids see another kid doing it, they think it’s cool, so they try it. Rarely do teens listen to adults about what’s in and what isn’t,† explains Bailey. In America, a decent percent of teenagers often volunteer in their community, but Bailey has a different pinion. â€Å"I think teenagers should volunteer more often,† he said. The definition of civic duty is literally ‘the activities that one does to serve their community. ’ â€Å"Teens don’t often think about how big their role is in society†¦ † said Bailey. â€Å"When I was younger, I was in all sorts community projects. † Bailey would like to see more teens signing up to volunteer, but he is very strong about his opinion that it should be a choice. He thinks adults should steer teenagers in the right direction, and then let them make the decisions.Being a teenager is a good time to learn how to make responsible decisions. â€Å"It should be voluntary,† says Bailey. â€Å"You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. † My Civic Duties I find myself very lucky to live in the United States of America. Sadly, in many other countries teenagers like me are much less fortunate and have fewer rights. What is even more sad to me is that many teenagers take for granted the rights they inherit as U. S. citizens. One example is that some teens actually take up the opportunity to drop out of high school whenever they get the chance.It upsets me that they don’t continue with their education and become a better educated citizen, especially considering it is free. As an American, I share the right of free speech with all other citizens. I also reserve the right to drive. As of age fourteen, I am legally able to drive after going through proper instruction. I also have the right to own an imals. I am very lucky to be able to say that I have the right to an education. In some other countries, like Mexico, they do not have free public education. I think this is partly what makes America so successful.In Alaska, when I turn fourteen I have the right to employment. I believe that this is a nice aspect of our society in America, because it teaches teenagers like me to learn how to work with others and manage expenses. In turn, they can grow up to be responsible with money. They will also grow up to be cooperative when working with a group of people. As a citizen, I also have the right to travel abroad with a U. S. Passport. Another right I have is the right to exercise my religion. I am able to live freely and express my religion without consequence.Where there are rights, there are responsibilities. I feel like many teenagers my age think that they get all of these rights without having any responsibilities. One example is cleaning up after themselves. Many teens expect things to be clean for them, yet they never clean up after themselves. I often see teenagers littering, whether it be leaving plastic bottles on the side of the road, or simply just leaving wads of gum under the table. One of my responsibilities is to attend school. Not only must I attend school, I must also complete all of my work in order to learn and be a successful student.I have the responsibility to stay informed about things like current events and politics on local, state, national and worldwide levels. Being successful with my education will lead to my becoming a literate and productive citizen. I have the responsibility to learn how to drive, and how to drive responsibly. The government promises me protection, and in turn I must abide by the laws and be a good citizen no matter where I am. When traveling abroad, I have the responsibility to be a good ambassador for the United States. Even though I have the right to exercise my religion, that does not mean I can disrespect other people’s religions.I have the responsibility to respect all other religions, and in turn other people should also respect my religious views. Conclusion In conclusion, I believe that teenagers have a consequential role in our society. It is of utmost importance for us as teenagers, the next generation, to recognize that although we are given a host of very enjoyable and enticing rights, we must uphold the responsibilities that couple these rights. If we fail to meet our responsibilities, the results could be disastrous, and we will create an undesirable, unsafe, unstable and unhealthy society for us and future generations to live in.