Experience of Mosque Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experience of Mosque - Assignment Example I visited the ICM on Friday and went to ‘Jumuah’ petition at 1.30 pm. In addition, I experienced the petition schedule to discover the specific time of ‘Jumuah’ on the grounds that my strict confidence is not quite the same as Islam. In addition, this helped me to go to the congregational petition that began at 2.00 pm. One can see that mosques are overwhelmed by devotees on Fridays. Along these lines, I left my vehicle at Lot ST8 and strolled to the ICM. Entering the mosque, I saw that the greater part of the guests are understudies. Additionally, the main recognizable contrast in dress is the top or ‘Taqiyah’. In any case, a large portion of the guests were not wearing ‘Taqiyah’. Also, jeans and shirt/shirt is the normal dress among the guests. Along these lines, one can see that there is no exacting clothing standard executed by the specialists in light of the fact that a large portion of the adherents are understudies. The mosque’s outside isn't so not the same as different structures in the area. To be explicit, the outside doesn't speak to the customary mosques in the Middle East. Entering the mosque, I saw that the fundamental corridor utilized for supplication intention is emblematic of present day development in light of the fact that there are less images or pictures that imply Islamic engineering. Yet, the main distinction is that there is a different office for womenfolk to implore. Additio nally, the recognizable image of Islamic design inside ICM is the ‘minaret’ type distension on the structure. As the devotees know about the guidelines inside mosque premises, there are no exacting standards to be followed at ICM. Moreover, quiet during supplication time, legitimate dressing, ‘hijab’ (state, for womenfolk) are general standards. My discussion with an African American and an Indonesian understudy demonstrates that they feel happy with the petition administrations at the ICM. Still the discussion shed light into the contrasts among Islamic and Christian beliefs. Renard (2011) states that, â€Å"In actuality, a Christian going to administrations on Sunday could

Buddhism Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhism Reflection - Essay Example It is a result of this advancement and changing ways of thinking that creates turmoil with regards to better understanding the basic elements associated with the journey of man to accomplish self-salvation. In the first place, the greater part of the ways of thinking are joined in the possibility that there are 4 Noble Truths that can control the lifestyle of an individual who is planning to accomplish Nirvana or a Buddha like status of self-salvation. These four certainties incorporate (â€Å"Buddhas Four Noble Truths†) : Recognizing the previously mentioned realities of Buddha is the start of edification of an individual. Through contemplation, self-assessment, and self-reflection, one can find when of life he is at comparable to the four certainties and simultaneously, assist him with examining how he may push ahead from his present purpose of being. Just by developing as an individual, through the accomplishment of the four certainties can an individual case to have accomplished self-salvation. Notwithstanding which way of thinking you buy in to in Buddhism, be it the India or Chinese based school of proselytyzing, the objective of each school is the equivalent, individual salvation. A feeling of salvation that originates from inside an individual who, through the modifying of his lifestyle, has at long last figured out how to liberate himself from the requirements of the material world so as to accomplish a higher feeling of scholarly and otherworldly accomplishment. This specific feeling of salvation must be reached by the individual once he acknowledges that our reality isn't changeless and subsequently, ought not be clung to. This will at that point permit an individual to clean his musings and activities with an end goal to accomplish a Zen like status throughout everyday life. The Four Noble Truths that direct the way of a Buddhist is the thing that likewise encourages him disentangle how he can develop himself so as to profit others. Buddhism, as I would like to think, once saw from the perspective of an advantageous, aware connection between people, drives us to

I like romantic things like music and art

I like romantic things like music and art DID YOU KNOW? Andre 3000, from OutKast, has a son (by Erykah Badu) named Seven. I wonder if that makes his name 73000? Dre was also named Sexiest Vegetarian of the Year 2004 by PETA. So maybe one of these days youll go to an information session at an ivy league university, or maybe youll be watching something on television, or Weird Als White and Nerdy on YouTube, or maybe youll be just sitting around the table with your parents having frank and open discussions of your future and college plans, and youll hear something that might make you think MIT students just sit around all day culturing cells and building killer death robots and putting fire engines on the top of buildings, and although all of those are kind of cool, they end up not knowing anything about the fine arts or history or any of that lame-o stuff. Well, today I woke up at 8 AM to start sweating the onions for my award-winning apple cream of butternut squash soup. It was time for the nth annual Burton-Conner Apple Bake, a culinary competition for which my floor routinely cranks out about a third of the dishes and takes home about a half of the prize money and though I didnt go quite as crazy as last year, I still found time to present a total of 6 dishes for tasting and judgment. I was incensed that my SAM: Spaghetti, Apple, and Meatballs didnt win the award for most creative dish, especially considering I used the super-secret Sams Moms family meatball recipe and executed it fairly faithfully. But, to paraphrase Martin Scorcese when he lost the academy award to Three 6 Mafia, We should feel lucky that we even get to bake apples anymore. But I didnt even have time to go accept my award for the soup! No no, as soon as I was finished with that (and pulling some flaming apple hamentaschen out of the oven) I had to jump on my bike and race halfway across campus to a practice room so I could work on a performance of Bachs Ricercare a 6 from A Musical Offering. Now, since I kind of suck at piano, Im one of six people working together to play this Ricercare tomorrow in 21M.500: Senior Seminar in Music, but since Ive never worked in a small group on music like this, its actually a pretty cool opportunity. Hopefully Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer John Harbison will be really tired and wont notice that I get lost every ten measures or so. And now Im writing a blog entry to you just to put off the fact that I have to study 20th-century German economic history, from arbeitsloesigkeit to bargeldlose wirtschaft for a quiz tomorrow for which I am woefully unprepared. Heck, the only time I even spent in lab today was when I snuck over to my UROP to steal an industrial-strength heat gun so I could melt the sugar on the top of my apple crv ®me brv?lv ©e. And OF COURSE I made Laura take a picture, which you will see soon enough.

The Mechanisms Employed by an Individual to Enjoy Profound Benefits by Proper Utility of the Challenges Free Essay Example, 1750 words

People s perception of failure and weakness can be a major milestone in future success and growth. In essence, success is a journey that starts from an unknown point and ends in the unfathomed destination. Apparently, success is a complex subject to address since there exist numerous strategies that can be used to achieve success (Gladwell 96). For instance, some sports team and other organized groups choose to stick to the old formulas despite the emergence of new conventional techniques. An evaluation of the factors that drive sports teams and other organized groups to continue using the old formulas or techniques reveals that a variety of reasons contribute to the practice. For instance, old formulas have been tested, and the outcomes are known. Moreover, the structures and policies of utilizing the old formulas or techniques are already established and, therefore, it becomes easy to apply. It is imperative to recognize that underdogs seek new approaches to doing things for vario us motives. For instance, they want to explore new opportunities and experience its impacts. In addition, they tend to adopt new ways to adjust to changes and fit in the changing environment. The Redwood City style of playing basketball was up to the standard and the results achieved were quite impressive. We will write a custom essay sample on The Mechanisms Employed by an Individual to Enjoy Profound Benefits by Proper Utility of the Challenges or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

Mgm And Corporate Social Responsibility - 1378 Words

MGM and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) MGM Resorts International is a gaming, hospitalist and entertainment company based out of Paradise, Nevada. MGM was formally known as MGM Grand Inc. (1986-2000) and MGM Mirage (2000-2010). Their 15 properties spread across America and China. Within the company, the sense of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) runs deep in it’s roots. Their values break down into three sections, Diversity inclusion, Environmental sustainability, Philanthropy and community engagement. MGM believes in a diverse workforce, and has inclusion programs that creates acceptance of other races within their workforce. In addition, they support events that represent diversity and supports minorities. It’s beliefs in Philanthropy and community engagement is explained by how much they give back to the community, the military and the people of America. MGM is recognized by the Las Vegas food bank, as well as the Nevada Military Support Alliance. MGM although a hospitality and entertainment company has methods to reduce water consumption and has introduced the switch to solar energy to all their properties within Las Vegas. When the Las Vegas properties are co mbined MGM consumes more water and engird then a small town, which was the reason for their switch to solar energy and their method introduced to reduce water consumption. MGM Resorts’ Community Engagement and Philanthropy MGM Resorts has been nationally recognized for its community engagement andShow MoreRelatedMgm Resorts : An International Hospitality Company1210 Words   |  5 Pages MGM Resorts Name Course Course title Course instructor Date MGM resorts are an international hospitality company featured in the Fortune 500 as one of the top global hospitality companies. The company is known to operate a portfolio of destination resort brands all over the globe. 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Based on the literature, the non-financial measures used in this study are competitiveness, quality of service, innovation, community social responsibility, supplier performance resource utilization, and flexibility. This study supports the argument of Chan by noting that the link between the procurement process and the organizational competitiveness is that procurement is a cycle of which weRead MoreWorking On A Corporate Customer Service Program For All Mgm Resorts Dealers2414 Words   |  10 Pagesworking on a corporate customer service program for all MGM-Resorts dealers. He told me that he thought we some fantastic ideas, and the he might be able to incorporate some of them into his corporate program. After several months I was told that Mr. Kirby attended a corporate event were Greg Chase presented his customer service program â€Å"Table Games Guest Workshop†. Mr. Kirby took for the meet the accompanying literature the Mr. Chase gave to the attendees. The similarities between Mr. Chase’sRead MoreThe Studio System Essay14396 Words   |  58 Pagesthe global corporate entities which produce and distribute most of the films we watch. Starting in 1920, Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, over the decade of the 1920s helped to fashion Hollywood into a vertically integrated system, a set of economic innovations which was firmly in place by 1930. For the next three decades, the movie industry in the United States and the rest of the world operated by according to these principles. Cultural, social and economicRead MoreMattel Inc3110 Words   |  13 PagesQuestion One: Do manufacturers of products for children have special responsibilities to consumers and society? What are these responsibilities and how well has Mattel met them? Provide evidence of Mattel’s strengths and weaknesses in this area. Yes. As Mattel’s products are designed primarily for children, it must be sensitive to societal concerns about children’s rights. Strengths Responsibility towards the community * Mattel recognizes international environment, different legal systemsRead MoreBasic Philosophy of Supply Chain Management(Sony)4960 Words   |  20 PagesAbstract This paper describes the basic philosophy to supply chain management in order to develop and implement comprehensive supply chain strategies for Sony Corporation in global operation. Sony is committed to fulfilling its responsibility to society as a corporate citizen, including managing its supply chain in a responsible manner. To achieve this goal, Sony is working with its business partners, suppliers and subcontractors to help ensure that they adhere to the same high standards as SonyRead MoreBasic Philosophy of Supply Chain Management(Sony)4953 Words   |  20 PagesAbstract This paper describes the basic philosophy to supply chain management in order to develop and implement comprehensive supply chain strategies for Sony Corporation in global operation. Sony is committed to fulfilling its responsibility to society as a corporate citizen, including managing its supply chain in a responsible manner. To achieve this goal, Sony is working with its business partners, suppliers and subcontractors to help ensure that they adhere to the same high standards as SonyRead MoreCasino Industry Strategy Case Study Essay6573 Words   |  27 Pagescontrol, cash procedure ï  ® Special and Intelligence Investigations: crime, gambling problems ï  ® Electronic Services: monitoring slot ï  ® Tax and License: tax, license fees ï  ® Economic Research ï  ® Enforcement: 24 hours inspection, arrest Social/Cultural Casinos have a major role in the dynamism of US tourism. Indeed, 65% of Americans and 84% of tourism professionals believe that the casino industry has a major importance for the whole US tourism industry. Moreover 82% of tourism professionalsRead MoreStarbucks Company Analysis9593 Words   |  39 Pagesincrease production that, in turn, contributes to a more sustainable supply of the high quality coffee that customers demand. To ensure this quality, Starbucks partners with C.A.F.E. Practices suppliers and Fair Trade Certified cooperatives (Social Responsibility, 2006). Further examples of their superior quality are Starbucks’ coffee buyers, tasters, and its quality control team, who taste an average 1,000 cups per day (Horovitz, 2006). Starbucks’ third distinctive competency is the innovation of

Teacher Internship Paper Free Essays

My Public Policy and Administration Program Internship took place at California Common Cause. I began as a volunteer in February of 2006, which quickly turned into an internship, followed by a fellowship. I have now been working at California Common Cause as its Northern California Organizer since January 2007. We will write a custom essay sample on Teacher Internship Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now California Common Cause is a non-profit, non-partisan citizens’ lobby organization working to hold public officials and public institutions accountable to the people. California Common Cause’s current focuses include redistricting reform, public financing of elections, and media reform. Its budget is composed of membership donations and grant funding. It has offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles with six paid employees, including myself. California Common Cause is the state organization for the national Common Cause. While California Common Cause provides state support for national issues, it mainly focuses on the state and local level within California. I was very excited to have the opportunity to volunteer for California Common Cause and am thrilled that it has turned into a full time position. I have been a member for many years, during which I was always impressed by the organization’s work. I particularly like its emphasis on remaining non-partisan, working solely for the common good of all Californians. Due to the small number of employees and the diversity of the work, I was able to participate on a huge variety of projects, including redistricting reform efforts, researching state campaign contributions, summarizing state bills and drafting letters of support or opposition of bills, writing sample letters to the editor and political officials for CCC members, organizing public financing efforts in the San Jose region, writing CauseNets, our â€Å"Action Alerts†, and updating the website. Redistricting Reform One of California Common Cause’s main focuses is promoting redistricting reform. Currently, the State Legislature draws political districts for state and Congressional representatives. California Common Cause sees this as a clear conflict of interest. Politicians are basically picking and choosing whom to include in their own districts, allowing the m to draw districts that will be most beneficial to their reelection. As such, California Common Cause has been working with a coalition of various interest How to cite Teacher Internship Paper, Papers

Managing Information Systems

Executive Summary Information analysis forms the basis for making decisions in an organisation. A large amount of information compels organisations to employ many employees if they do not utilise information management systems (MIS).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Information Systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From the perspective of Med-Lab Company, such an approach introduces ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in decision-making, especially where decisions from different departments are fed into a central platform to arrive at an overall decision to execute a given task. The current paper proposes ERP as a working MIS solution to handle customer relationship, supply chain, and manufacturing function problems that lead to low profitability at Med-Lab Company. Background Every organisation seeks strategic plans for growth in terms of size and productivity levels. Growth leads to increased difficul ties in handling customer and supply chain complaints due to the large amount of information that requires analysis and synthesis using the existing information systems. Med-Lab Company currently experiences this situation. Based in New Jersey, Med-Lab manufactures medical equipments, which it sells within the US after sourcing manufacturing materials from a myriad of suppliers who are located across the US. Apart from sales of the products, the company also gets revenue from the customer support services such as maintenance of the medical equipments. In 2010, its annual pre-tax profit was US$229 million. After expanding by twice its production capacity and increasing employee by 20% between 2011 and 2012, it reported an annual profit of US$307 in the financial year that ended in December 2012.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Forecasts made in July 2011 indicated that the co mpany’s profits would also double upon doubling the company’s production capacity. The failure to achieve these forecasts compelled management to look for answers. Evaluation of the design and development organ of the company indicated immense consumer information that was unincorporated in the production to suit consumer needs. Med-Lab has a hierarchical management structure. Commands flow from the top to bottom. Decision-making processes use information flowing from customers, suppliers, and other organisational stakeholders to and from Med-Lab. The strategic plan of the company targets to exploit the global market. To achieve this goal, Med-Lab values employees as the most important assets available to realise its strategic plan. With the difficulties in incorporating all customers’ concerns in re-designing of its products, Med-Lab believed that it could deploy the sales-push approach through marketing to create demand for its products successfully in the glo bal market. As part of an organisational culture, employees are required to respond to both customers and suppliers’ concerns with immediate effect in terms of registration of complaints. Without customer satisfaction, Med-Lab would have run out of business due to intense competition from its rivals. Operating in a competitive business environment compels Med-Lab to look constantly for solutions that facilitate both urgent and quick decision-making processes, especially in its efforts to engage in the global trade. This problem became even more significant upon the speculation that the failure to incorporate the suggested improvements on the products made by customers could explain the malfunction to double the profitability of the company after doubling its production capacity.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Information Systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The pre-analysis of this challenge suggested that the 20% increase in employees could not analyse and/or synthesise customer and supplier information in an effort to respond quickly to their complaints as stipulated in the organisational culture. The management was caught up in the dilemma of whether to increase the number of employees or seek alternative solutions to speed up expedition of suppliers and customers’ information. A major concern has been that increasing the number of employees will require committing organisational resources in reward, training and development, and motivational programmes to increase productivity. Med-Lab also had to hire more HRM personnel. Therefore, such a move increased the cost of running a business both in the short and long-term in opposition to the company’s strategic plan of lowering its costs to capitalise on low-cost strategy to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace. Setting the Stage Med-Lab’s operations encountered a number of problems, even b efore the company’s expansion, in the continued effort to resolve urgently supply chain and customer problems and complaints. Fui-Hoon and Lee-Shang (2001) contend that the urgency in the resolution of customer complaints presents a major problem that hinders the success efforts of a company operating in a highly competitive market. Business strategy not only accounts for success or failure, but also determines its survival (Grant, Hall, Wailes Wright 2006, p.5). Thus, Med-Lab should establish mechanisms of responding and ensuring ardent reaction to marketplace demands or risk losing its competitive advantage.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Increasing the number of customers who are attended by Med-Lab has created problems such as quick location of the customers and the determination of their frequency of purchase in the recent past. Consequently, making decisions on market targeting proves problematic. This makes the company suffer from the inability to forecast its production accurately. Making target marketing decisions in good time aids in determining the appropriate alterations to business practices to woe more customers (Grant, Hall, Wailes Wright 2006, p.7). Using the current information management systems, which are highly dependent on the interaction of human decision makers (department heads and general managers) with segregated information systems running on different computers, location of past records that involve customer communication is hard to access. This challenge leads to slowed resolution of customer disputes. In effecting the transactions between the suppliers and the organisation, the fact that information is held on different computers makes it difficult to prepare urgently all documents relating to specific transactions (Kraemmerand 2003, p.229). This situation hinders the attainment of the strategic plans of the Med-Lab. Time spent in editing or paperwork generation increases the departure of the employee productivity from the ideal situation (Head 2005, p.71). Therefore, the solution is necessary to enhance speedy preparation of documents ranging from invoices, shipping labels, purchase orders, receipts, and customer communication to preparation of manufacturing plans based on customer demands. With excessive dependency on human decision makers and increased paperwork generation, 20% increase in the number of employees upon doubling of the production capacity cannot effectively address the issue of increased customer complaints without an additional mediation to enhance speed in both data collection and analysis. Case Description People Perspective Incommensurate incre ase in profitability of Med-Lab with an increase in resource commitment in the expansion of its production capacity has attracted various concerns from organisational stakeholders. Med-Lab’s people such as organisational stakeholders, who are influenced by the current state of information management systems, put management under pressure to look for a working solution to mitigate risking their investments. Due to the challenge of efficient and effective management of the immense customer information, Med-Lab has learnt that customers are conceiving it as overlooking their orders. Med-Lab is concerned that it may lose dissatisfied customers to its competitors in the industry. This move will hinder the achievement of its strategic focus on going global due to the decreasing competitive advantage. In building good and working customer relationships as a way of retaining them amid the persistent challenges at least in the short-run before a solution is sought, customer communicat ion sends individualised messages to explain the circumstances for order delivery delays together with other issues related to customer service. Nevertheless, in this process, several clients introduce the challenge of sending messages sometimes to unintended customers. In some situations, messages are sent to the right customers, but with the wrong preferred option. In the case of suppliers, staff members are incapable of making purchases for raw materials from suppliers who offer the best deal and quality. This challenge emanates from the incapacity of Med-Lab to maintain track of various suppliers who offer the best deals on various materials that are used in the production process. A challenge also exists in situations where an urgent replenishment of suppliers is required to meet the urgent demand. This replenishment goes into costing the organisation more money, thus raising the production costs, which expose the strategy of pursuing low costs at risk. Organisational Perspecti ve It is worrying the management that customer complaints and challenges in keeping track of the best suppliers will impair the success of Med-Lab. With increasing customers following the expansion of the production capacity, the ability of employees to handle the entire customers efficiently and effectively with the current state of information management system is a major problem. Board of directors together with the respective line managers meet to discuss the way forward. The meeting upheld the necessity of developing a working MIS intervention in an effort to ensure that the company developed the capability for handling even more quality and time cautious customers across the globe. From an organisational perspective, the most preferred strategy is the one that results in low costs in the end while ensuring satisfaction of customers with both Med-Lab’s products and services. Technology Perspective Med-Lab currently deploys information management technology that is custom ised for each department. For instance, the manufacturing department makes decisions based on the inventory level of raw materials, materials in the process, and the finished products. Med-Lab does not intend to hold large stocks of finished products. Therefore, information from the sales department is essential in determining manufacturing decisions. Unfortunately, the information technology systems are customised at departmental levels. The manufacturing department depends on the analysed customer information from the sales department before consulting with consumers. This process translates to delayed order executions and delivery. To raise the sales levels, Med-Lab has developed a web-based sales strategy. However, the strategy faces a challenge since web customers encounter challenges in choosing a product that profiles the one they are searching without information on its existence (Vilpola 2008, p.58). From a technological perspective, MIS technology that integrates all funct ions of the Med-Lab’s departments may help to solve many of the encountered challenges. Solution Design Options Considering the problems faced by Med-Lab, integration of the information management systems is required to enhance rapid decision-making. In fact, organisations that have a large number of stakeholders whose concerns influence their activities require quick decision-making (Dehning Stratopoulos 2003, p.213). In the case of Med-Lab, this goal can be attained in three main ways. Design a decision support system Design and implement a transaction processing systems Designing and implementation of integrated MIS systems Solution Selection The choice of either system is based on its SWOT analysis. The decision support system has the strength of helping to make various decisions based on analysis of data and statistical projections. Transaction processing system strength encompasses the provision of a means of collecting data, its storage, modification, or cancelation of transactions (Mureell 2001, p.9). Decision support system creates an opportunity for improvement of quality of the decisions made by organisations’ managers as opposed to their replacement. Through transaction processing system, an organisation gains an opportunity to permit multiple transactions to occur simultaneously (Davenport 2003, p. 124). Data collected by the system can be held in databases. It can later be deployed in report production including billing, reports for scheduling manufacturing, wage reports, production and sales summaries, inventory reports, and check registers. Decision support system and transaction processing system share common threats since their security constitutes a big issue. The major weakness of the transaction processing system is that the appropriateness of the transactions is overly dependent on the accurateness of the information maintained in the databases. Comparably, the decision support system is slower in helping to arrive at a d ecision (Fryling 2010, p.395). It interacts with human decision makers. However, this process is a major challenge that leads to low speed of expedition of customers and suppliers’ information at Med-Lab Company. Upon considering both decision support system and transaction processing system’s strengths and opportunities, Med-Lab needs to exploit strengths and opportunities of both system designs. Therefore, an integrated information system is preferred for design and implementation. The specific preferred system is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Solution Implementation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) needs to be implemented such that Med-Lab Company develops the capacity to integrate all its production and management functions to facilitate quick decision-making while responding to all the company’s stakeholder concerns in real time. Figure 1 below schematically depicts the process of modelling ERP version that is planned for implementation at Med-Lab. Fig. 1: Modelling an ERP System Source: (Turban 2008, p.300) Implementation Methodology Solution implementation entails the construction of the ERP system to be introduced to Med-Lab. The construction involves physical development of both hardware and software applications. Hardware and software can be developed in-house following the modelling approach that is shown above. It can also be sourced from a vendor who can customise it to suit Med-Lab Company’s requirements. This option is preferred to reduce the challenges associated with new MIS platforms such as system learning and high probabilities of occurrence of bugs that may lead to failure of the system soon or after its implementation. The Bidding Process Bidding is the first step in the process of sourcing ERP software. Selection of the successful bidder will follow the ‘low-price bidder’ basis. However, the supplied ERP software must support external and internal management information integration throug hout Med-Lab Company. It should have modules for management of manufacturing functions, service and sales, modules for management of customer relationships, inventory controls, production planning and forecasting, and procurement. Another important consideration in the bid selection process is the capacity of the ERP system to allow and enhance information flow between various business functionalities within and outside Med-Lab boundaries while at the same time facilitating connectivity between Med-Lab and its external stakeholders. ERP is an expensive MIS in the short-run. Hence, Med-Lab Company needs to cut on the costs of hardware. The supplied ERP software must have compatibility with the current Med-Lab Company’s hardware, which supports Windows NT, UNIX, and mainframe. This eliminates the need to source hardware from external agents. No bidding for hardware is required. Successful bidder must also have the capability to customise his or her software to meet the needs of Med-Lab Company. System Customisation Med-Lab Company does not have a technical team to facilitate the implementation of the MIS. This claim underlines the necessity to hire a third vendor to evaluate its customisation needs. Fig. 2 shows Med-Lab Company’s customisation needs. Fig 2: Med-Lab ERP Software Customisation Requirements Upon considering the areas of customisation requirements, ERP scope involves significant alterations of staff work practices and working processes (Monk Wagner 2009, p.56). Thus, a complete understanding of various processes before initiation of implementation may reduce probabilities of the system to failure. Introducing the New MIS After selection of the successful bidder for the software, introduction of the new system follows. This step requires change management. The new MIS system calls for alteration of the processes that employees were utilising to conduct Med-Lab Company’s business. Since many operations that were previously execu ted by the employees manually, or with partial interventions of computers, will now be integrated and automated, employees will require retraining on how to use the new system. Fui-Hoon and Lee-Shang (2001) confirm that upon the introduction of a new MIS, employees require training on how to share common practices and information throughout the enterprise in addition to how to access and produce reports in real time. The implementation methodology follows Markus and Tanis’ ERP life cycle that includes, ‘chartering, project, and Shakedown’ phases (Markus Tanis 2000, p.173). The chartering phase comprises the evaluation of various decisions that lead to ERP project funding. The main players in this phase are vendors, organisations’ executives, and consultants together with Med-Lab Company’s IT specialists. The main activities include initiation of the ideas, making decisions to proceed with the project, and scheduling and planning of the project. Pro ject phase entails accomplishing tasks such as rollout and system configuration. The main crucial stakeholders are â€Å"the team members of the project, internal information technology specialists, vendors, and managers from the functional areas and business units that are planned for integration through ERP† (Markus Tanis 2000, p.175). The activities of the phases include software configuration, testing, integration, training, rollout, and conversion of processes. ERP system monitoring conducted in this phase ensures complete elimination of bugs. Conclusion Faced with the problem of unequal increase in profitability with increase in production capacity, Med-Lab Company has to develop effective solutions to the problem. When the volume of organisations’ clientele goes up, a large amount of data has to be processed to ensure a timely fulfilment of orders and/or improving products consistently with customer requirements. This concern accounted for the reduced profitabi lity for Med-Lab Company, thus prompting the necessity for designing and implementing an integrated information management system. References Davenport, T 2003, ‘Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 121-131. Dehning, B Stratopoulos, T 2003, ‘Determinants of a Sustainable Competitive Advantage Due to an IT-enabled Strategy’, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, vol. 12 no. 3, pp. 202-241. Fryling, M 2010, ‘Estimating the impact of enterprise resource planning project management decisions on post-implementation maintenance costs: a case study using simulation modelling’, Enterprise Information Systems, vol. 4 no. 4, pp. 391–421. Fui-Hoon, F Lee-Shang, J 2001, ‘Critical factors for successful implementation of enterprise systems’, Business Process Management Journal, vol. 7 no. 3, pp. 285-296. Grant, D, Hall, R, Wailes, N Wright C 2006, ‘The false promise o f technological determinism: the case of enterprise resource planning systems,’ New Technology, Work Employment, vol. 21 no. 1, pp. 2–15. Head, S 2005, The New Ruthless Economy: Work and Power in the Digital Age, Oxford UP, Oxford. Kraemmerand, P 2003, ‘ERP implementation: an integrated process of radical change and continuous learning’, Production Planning Control, vol. 14 no. 4, pp. 228–248. Markus, L Tanis, C 2000, The enterprise system experience from adoption to success, Pinnaflex Educational Resources, Inc., Cincinnati, OH. Monk, E Wagner, B 2009, Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, Course Technology Cengage Learning, Massachusetts, Boston. Mureell, S 2001, E–Business and ERP: Rapid Implementation and Project Planning, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY. Turban, M 2008, Information Technology for Management, Transforming Organisations in the Digital Economy, John Wiley Sons, Inc., Massachusetts. Vilpola, I 2008, ‘A method for improving ERP implementation success by the principles and process of user-centred design’, Enterprise Information Systems, vol. 2 no.1, pp. 47–76. Appendix: Definition of Terms Bugs: Errors that may lead to failures or lower functionality of a software application Chartering: A decision that entails the definition of business problems and constraints of the possible solutions Customisation: Configuration of MIS systems to meet the clients’ business needs Decision support systems: A type of MIS that enables managers to make decisions based on statistical projections and data analysis. ERP: A software application that enables organisations to manage effectively and efficiently the utilisation of resources including human resource, financial resources, and material resources among others Project phase: A phase in the implementations of MIS that entails the running of a system under implementation by the end users to determine its efficiency and effecti veness Shakedown: Removal of bugs in the systems under implementation This essay on Managing Information Systems was written and submitted by user Esperanza French to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Analysis of Robert Frosts Fire and Ice

Analysis of Robert Frosts Fire and Ice Free Online Research Papers In the first two lines Robert Frost’s â€Å"Fire and Ice† (Arp 103), the speaker presents two options for the end of the world: one by fire and the other by ice. Many scientists, like Harlow Shapley, hold the belief that the end of the world will come in two forms, â€Å"either the earth would be incinerated, or a permanent ice age would gradually annihilate all life on earth† (Hansen 1). Although one interpretation of the poem may be the geological destruction of the Earth, there are also several other interpretations. Initially, Frost wants the reader to contemplate the destructive powers of fire and ice. By changing the tense of the poem, Frost forces the reader to look back at the first two lines and consider a new meaning. The speaker goes on to relate fire to the human emotion of desire and ice to hate. Looking back at the third line, the use of â€Å"I† shows a personal connection to the emotions of desire and hate. Putting this poem in the context of a relationship, desire and hate are emotions that people often feel. The final line of the poem shows that human emotions of fire (desire) and ice (hate) are equally harmful and can easily bring about the â€Å"end† of a relationship. In order to effectively communicate the darker feelings felt in a relationship, the poet uses the following poetic devices: imagery, denotations and connotations, figurative language, musical devices, rhythm and meter, and the structure of the poem. Imagery. The speaker utilizes images to help emphasize a person’s feelings in a relationship. The first image of fire is used both in the title and twice in the poem. Fire, when uncontrolled, viciously consumes all around it, wanting more and more as it grows. In a relationship, this fire can be set off in an instant. Desire, or jealousy, can occur in a relationship, and consequently can consume an individual until there is nothing left to burn. The second image of ice is also used in the title and twice in the poem. In Dante’s Infernal, the freezing temperatures of hell attempt to drive the life out of a person (Serio 1). Similarly, hate forces the other person away, driving the life out of a relationship. When left uncontrolled, these darker emotions can bring about the end of a relationship. Denotations and Connotations. The poems meaning is also communicated by the denotations and connotations of words. The poet uses words that mean or suggest passion/consumption, knowledge/experience and death/destruction. Passion and consumption are suggested by the words â€Å"fire,† â€Å"desire,† and â€Å"taste.† The words â€Å"some say† represent knowledge of a group of people; while the first person â€Å"I know† suggests personal experience. â€Å"End,† â€Å"fire,† â€Å"ice,† â€Å"perish† and â€Å"destruction† all denote death and destruction. Figurative Language. The use of figurate language further adds to the meaning of the poem. The primary source of figurative language is through the use of symbolization. Tom Hansen states that â€Å"fire is directly equated with desire, the kind that kindles antagonism and conflict† (1). The symbolism of fire, along with the denotations and connotations, further add to the meaning of the poem. Another use of symbolism is through the use of the word â€Å"ice.† Ice represents hate. Finally, the poet uses â€Å"the world† as a symbol for a relationship. All of these symbols help to tie together the poem by making desire and hate feelings felt in a relationship. In addition to the use of symbols, the poet also uses understatements to add to the tone. The poem ends with the line â€Å"And would suffice† which oversimplifies the meaning that has been created. By using this line, the poet emphasizes the harm of desire and hate in a relationship. Las tly, paradox is used in the line: â€Å"But if I had to perish twice†. While a person is unable to die two times, the line is used figuratively to demonstrate that desire is equally as harmful as hate. Musical Devices. Throughout the poem, the poet uses musical devices to continue to add to the meaning. The use of the long â€Å"i† sound in â€Å"fire† and â€Å"ice† helps to slow down and simplify the poem. This is euphonies with the use of the long â€Å"a† sound in â€Å"hate† and â€Å"great.† The use of these musical devices is important because the effect is a nursery rhyme feeling that presents a simple and plain truth. In the first and second lines, the use of alliteration is found with the repetition of the â€Å"s† sound, emphasizing the simple form of the poem. Alliteration is also used in â€Å"favor fire† (Line 4). The repetition of the â€Å"f† sound places importance upon fire, and suggests the great harm that desire can cause. Emmet Rosenfeld notes that the use of alliteration in Fire and Ice creates a sing-song effect that helps to establish the mood of the poem (1). The most important musical device that the poet utilizes is that of rhyme. Although the poem does not contain end rhyme, the last word in every other line has the repetition of an accented vowel sound. The first rhyme scheme is the long â€Å"i† sound in â€Å"fire,† â€Å"desire,† and â€Å"fire.† Another rhyme scheme is the harsher long â€Å"i† sound used in â€Å"ice,† â€Å"twice,† â€Å"ice† and â€Å"suffice.† Finally, the long â€Å"a† sound is repeated in â€Å"hate† and â€Å"great.† â€Å"The last, understated word in Frosts poem, ‘suffice,’ clinches the meaning by rhyming with the two lines that end in ‘ice’ and enclosing that thematic word within itself† (Meyers 1). The use of this rhyme scheme is important because it emphasizes the words that are rhymed. In addition, the use of alternating end rhyme is similar to the rhyme scheme in nursery rhymes. This is important because it further adds to the effect of knowledge and experience. Rhythm and Meter. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, but is varied several times to emphasize the meaning of the poem. The first change occurs in the second line when the pentameter is replaced by dimeter. This is effectively used to force the reader to contemplate the first two lines of the poem. Another breaking point in the poem occurs on the fifth line where the meter is changed to tetrameter. The poet switches back to dimeter in the last two lines of the poem, placing emphasis on both lines. This is important because it is used to show that desire and hate are both powerful forces and have the potential to end a relationship. Although the meter is changed several times throughout the poem, the rhythm is unchanged. The regular beat that is created suggests a simple tone, similar to that of a nursery rhyme. The rhythm is only interrupted by the change of meter. The change in meter is used to place importance on certain parts of the poem. Because of the brief dimeter lines, an additional use may be to force the reader to look back and interpret the preceding lines. Pattern. The poem consists of nine iambic pentameter lines with every other line being a couplet. The use of the couplets in combination with the change in meter places emphasis on the themes of passion/consumption, knowledge/experience and death/destruction. This short nine line poem is most comparable to that of a nursery rhyme. The simplicity that Frost writes the poem with supplies a simple truth about feelings in a relationship. Is this poem suggesting that the end of the world will either be by fire or ice? Or through the use of poetic devices and interpretation, does Frost express his own opinions about the darker feelings felt in a relationship? Whether or not the reader accepts one of these views or an entirely different view, the use of imagery, denotations and connotations, figurative language, musical devices, rhythm and meter, and the structure of the poem undeniably supplement the total meaning of the poem. Arp, Thomas R. Perrine’s Sound and Sense. 10th Edition. Forth Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1997. Hansen, Tom. Frosts FIRE AND ICE. 59: 27. EBSCO. Century College, White Bear Lake, MN. 18 Mar. 2008. Keyword: fire and ice and Robert Frost. Meyers, Jeffrey. Robert Frost: a Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. 18 Mar. 2008 . Rosenfeld, Emmet. HELP WORDS WAKE UP AND DANCE. Sylvan Learning. 17 Mar. 2008 . Serio, John R. Frosts Fire and Ice and Dantes Inferno. 57: 218. EBSCO. Century College, White Bear Lake, MN. 18 Mar. 2008. Keyword: fire and ice and Robert Frost. Research Papers on Analysis of Robert Frost’s "Fire and Ice"Mind TravelAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeHip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XCapital Punishment

Mexican American War - An Overview

Mexican American War - An Overview Mexican-American War Summary: A conflict that occurred as the result of Mexican resentment over the US annexation of Texas and a border dispute, the Mexican-American War represents the only major military dispute between the two nations. The war was fought primarily in northeastern and central Mexico and resulted in a decisive American victory. As a result of the war, Mexico was forced to cede its northern and western provinces, which today comprise a significant portion of the western United States. When was the Mexican-American War?: Though Mexican-American War was occurred between 1846 and 1848, the majority of the fighting took place between April 1846 and September 1847. Causes: The causes of the Mexican-American War can be traced back to Texas winning its independence from Mexico in 1836. At the end of the Texas Revolution following the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexico refused to acknowledge the new Republic of Texas, but was prevented from taking military action due to the United States, Great Britain, and France conferring diplomatic recognition. For the next nine years, many in Texas favored joining the United States, however Washington did not take action due to fears of increasing sectional conflict and angering the Mexicans. Following the election of the pro-annexation candidate, James K. Polk in 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union. Shortly thereafter, a dispute began with Mexico over the southern border of Texas. This centered around whether the border was located along the Rio Grande or further north along the Nueces River. Both sides sent troops to the area and in an effort to lower tensions, Polk dispatched John Slidell to Mexico to begin talks regarding the United States buying territory from the Mexicans. Commencing negotiations, he offered up to $30 million in exchange for accepting the border at the Rio Grande as well as the territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and Alta California. These attempts failed as the Mexican government was unwilling to sell.   In March 1846, Polk directed Brigadier General Zachary Taylor to advance his army into the disputed territory and establish a position along the Rio Grande. This decision was a response to new Mexican President Mariano Paredes declaring in his inaugural address that he sought to uphold Mexican territorial integrity as far north as the Sabine River, including all of Texas. Reaching the river, Taylor established Fort Texas and withdrew towards his supply base at Point Isabel. On April 25, 1846, a US cavalry patrol, led by Captain Seth Thornton, was attacked by Mexican troops. Following the â€Å"Thornton Affair,† Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war, which was issued on May 13. Causes of the Mexican-American War Taylors Campaign in Northeastern Mexico: Following the Thornton Affair, General Mariano Arista ordered Mexican forces to open fire on Fort Texas and lay siege. Responding, Taylor began moving his 2,400-man army from Point Isabel to relieve Fort Texas. On On May 8, 1846, he was intercepted at Palo Alto by 3,400 Mexicans commanded by Arista. In the battle that ensued Taylor made effective use of his light artillery and forced the Mexicans to retreat from the field. Pressing on, the Americans encountered Aristas army again the next day. In the resulting fight at Resaca de la Palma, with Taylor’s men routed the Mexicans and drove them back across the Rio Grande. Having cleared the road to Fort Texas, the Americans were able to lift the siege. As reinforcements arrived through the summer, Taylor planned for a campaign in northeastern Mexico. Advancing up the Rio Grande to Camargo, Taylor then turned south with the goal of capturing Monterrey. Battling hot, dry conditions, the American army pushed south and arrived outside of city in September. Though the garrison, led by  Lieutenant General Pedro de Ampudia, mounted a tenacious defense, Taylor captured the city after heavy fighting. When the battle ended, Taylor offered the Mexicans a two month truce in exchange for the city. This move angered Polk who began to strip Taylor’s army of men for use in invading central Mexico. Taylor’s campaign ended in February 1847, when his 4,000 men won a stunning victory over 20,000 Mexicans at the Battle of Buena Vista. Taylors Campaign in Northeastern Mexico War in the West: In mid-1846, Brigadier General Stephen Kearny was dispatched west with 1,700 men to capture Santa Fe and California. Meanwhile, US naval forces, commanded by Commodore Robert Stockton, descended on the coast of California. With the aid of American settlers and Captain John C. Frà ©mont and 60 men of the US Army who had been en route to Oregon, they swiftly captured the towns along the coast. In late 1846, they aided Kearny’s exhausted troops as they emerged from the desert and together forced the final surrender of Mexican forces in California. Fighting was ended in the region by the  Treaty of Cahuenga in January 1847. Scotts March to Mexico City: On March 9, 1847, Major General Winfield Scott landed 12,000 men outside of Veracruz. After a brief siege, he captured the city on March 29. Moving inland, he began a brilliantly conducted campaign that saw his army advance deep into enemy territory and routinely defeat larger forces. The campaign opened when Scotts army defeated a larger Mexican army at Cerro Gordo on April 18. As Scott’s army neared Mexico City, they fought successful engagements at Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. On September 13, 1847, Scott launched an attack on Mexico City itself, assaulting Chapultepec Castle and capturing the gates of the city. Following the occupation of Mexico City, the fighting effectively ended. Scotts March on Mexico City Aftermath Casualties: The war ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty ceded to the United States the land that now comprises the states of California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. Mexico also renounced all rights to Texas. During the war 1,773 Americans were killed in action and 4,152 were wounded. Mexican casualty reports are incomplete, but it estimated that approximately 25,000 were killed or wounded between 1846-1848. Aftermath of the Mexican-American War Notable Figures: General Zachary Taylor– Commander of US trops in northeastern Mexico. Later became President of the United States.General President Jose Lopez de Santa Anna – Mexican general and president during the war.General Winfield Scott – Commander of the US army that captured Mexico City.General Stephen W. Kearny – Commander of US troops that captured Santa Fe and secured California.

Survey and analysis of recent and emerging malware (viruses, spyware, Essay

Survey and analysis of recent and emerging malware (viruses, spyware, trojans - Essay Example Moreover, cyber criminals or hackers have been discovering effective codes, by the day, to enhance the hacking tools that are required to break into confidential information like website customer details or bank passwords etc. Eventually, ‘the mission critical data’ is exposed, causing severe losses for organizations. These scenarios occur due to deficiency of security. Internet searches make available a thousand or more definitions to describe ‘security’. The definition of security, in the context of data theft on the internet, consists of concerns linked to i) communication privacy on the network, ii) data confidentiality over the network, iii) unauthorized access to classified data, iv) entry into prohibited network domains and v) internet utilization for hidden communication. A proposal will be put forward that encompasses issues associated with data theft and its effects on Internet users. The consequent part will highlight effective approaches and tact ics to eradicate data theft. In addition, a few famous Internet crimes will be attached in the proposal in relevance to issues concerning privacy of data and Internet security. If an organization is affected by a security breach, in some cases, it is complex to calculate risks related to information assets present on the network. Likewise, it depends on the severity of the threat that may have caused large disruptions in network-based services. This is the point where digital forensic expert are incorporated for identifying the threat, impact and network incidents caused by it. Organizations experience new techniques and methods from an ongoing investigation by a digital forensic expert. Likewise, the point of interception, methodology and protection etc. are considered to be critical. Moreover, financial institutions are keener to adopt forensic analysis, as this domain including business model and nature of the data, cannot compromise on security. For instance, master card,

The Mendoza community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Mendoza community - Essay Example In addition, living and associating with colleagues in a manner that promotes the mission and vision of the school is vital, as this is an indication of exemplification of the community’s values. For a professional, organizational excellence remains equally critical as an individual tenet that can as well be exemplified in different ways. Adapting well to the organizational culture is highly critical. It is also important that professionals adhere to all the organizational rules and standards in order to promote the attainment of the organizational objectives. In my previous work experience, I contributed significantly to organizational objectives. For instance, my input to the Linda firm contributed to the company’s 20 percent increase in the volume of tax return compared to the previous year. My input in an organization, therefore, counts and contributes to organizational excellence. First is by having a positive influence on the people that one interacts with in scho ol and at work. A concern for common good ensures that a person works on the collective interests and not on personal interests only. In this regard, self-centeredness is a major hindrance to the exemplification of this individual tenet. As a student, participating in academic group discussions and offering academic assistance to any needful colleague is an exemplification of concern for common good. Apart from being beneficial to the individual, concern for the common good has a positive influence on other people and generally the community.

International Entrepreneurship Leading To Greater Cultural Understanding Commerce Essay

International Entrepreneurship Leading To Greater Cultural Understanding Commerce Essay Globalization of the world market brings new possibilities as well as enormous hurdles for both established and young businesses. With the emergence of international entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs are concentrating on specific issues that they face operating in complex environments affected by diverse national cultures and institutional influences (Johanson Vahlne, 2009). New global entrepreneurs depend on global networks for resources, distribution, and designs for growth. International entrepreneurs realize that success in a new marketplace requires agility, ingenuity, and certainty with a global viewpoint to acquire sustainability. Thus, global thinking is beneficial since foreign business clients can choose ideas, products, and services from many countries and cultures. However, entering into a foreign environment and culture can also become an obstacle psychologically in and of itself for the individual international entrepreneur (Mitchell et al., 2002). This paper will examin e two areas that focus on the importance of cultural understanding in international entrepreneurship. The first will comprise of how entrepreneurs who expand into international markets must know how to think globally in order to design and adopt strategies for different nations as a business ventures into an uncertain market. The second part will explore how psychological adaptation of the individual entering a foreign culture is interconnected with the international entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs can expand their business by participating in the global market; as every year thousands of small business enterprises are actively engaged in the international field. International entrepreneurship studies have started to focus on specific topics that confront entrepreneurs as they expand their new ventures (Zahra, Korri, Yu, 2005). The definition of international entrepreneurship in this paper will focus on the process of creatively discovering and exploiting opportunities that lie outside of a firms domestic markets in the pursuit of competitive advantage (Zahra George, 2002); across national borders, to create future goods and services (Oviatt McDougall, 2005). This meaning incorporates the process aspect of international entrepreneurship, which focuses on a central issue of why some individuals exploit international opportunities while others equally well placed do not act on them (Zahra, Korri, Yu, 2005). Globalization is a process fuelled by increasing cross border flows of goods, services, money, people, information, and culture (Held et al., 1999, p. 16). However, the use of this term will refer to Guillà ©ns (2001) definition of globalization as a process leading to greater interdependence and mutual awareness among participants in general. Guillà ©n (2001) combines the understanding of globalization as the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole, and as the diffusion of practices, values and technology that have an influence on peoples lives worldwide (Guillà ©n, 2001). Noticing opportunities is normally more difficult in international settings, and the level of uncertainty that the potential entrepreneur must undergo will also be greater. Entrepreneurs able to function successfully in international settings may be both more skilled at noticing opportunities and have a greater capacity to endure the uncertainty associated with international entrepreneurship (Lu Beaamish, 2001). Noticing opportunities is normally more difficult in international settings, and the level of uncertainty that the potential entrepreneur must endure will also be greater (Coviello, 2006). Oviatt and McDougall (2005) emphasized that international entrepreneurs display the intention to compete in multiple locales at the inception of the firm to exploit existing international opportunities and would have the intention to do so when they started their firms (McNaughton, 2003). Starting a firm is a difficult process under the best of circumstances. International business scholars have traditionally argued that internationalization is difficult because firms had to overcome a liability of foreignness, although Johanson and Vahlne (2009) have recently acknowledge that being part of an effective network and prior knowledge can greatly accelerate the international entrepreneurship process. This liability of foreignness was based on the fact that firms and entrepreneurs lacked knowledge about doing business in other countries, which meant they had to endure the costs of learning and the discomfort of uncertainty (Lu Beaamish 2001). However, by positioning themselves in relevan t networks, or because of their past experience, many entrepreneurs have high levels of operational knowledge about foreign markets. In this manner, the traditional approaches for dealing with the liability of foreignness of either imitating local firms or by transferring unique organizational or managerial competences to their foreign unit (Sapienza et al., 2006) have been supplemented with a knowledge component, which is more related to uncertainty. There has been an acknowledgement that firms could begin to internationalize sooner and Sapienza et al. (2006, p. 915) suggest that the earlier a firm internationalizes, the more deeply imprinted its dynamic capability for exploiting opportunities in foreign markets will be. Others have pointed out the benefits of internationalizing earlier, or at least exporting at an earlier stage (Kundu Katz 2003). This may be because although there is a cost to learning, early entrants begin this process sooner (Autio, Sapienza, Almeida, 2000) an d at least some suggest they should do this before they actually start the firm (Coviello, 2006). An entrepreneur who would like to take advantage of international markets may have to study a foreign language, may have lived abroad and may be face with culture shock. Entrepreneurs must realize their companys competitive advantage such as: technology, price, financial superiority, or marketing, product innovation, an efficient distribution network or possession of exclusive information about the foreign market (Sapienza et al., 2006). Declining market conditions at home may cause entrepreneurs to seek foreign markets to help their business. Successful global entrepreneurs should have the following characteristics: a global vision, international management experience, innovative marketing or technology processes, a strong international business network, and effective organizational coordination worldwide (Lee, Peng, Barney, 2007). When global opportunities occur, entrepreneurs are likely more open-minded about internationalizing. The advantage of international trade is that a companys market is expanded much and growth prospects are greatly raised. Other advantages include minimizing seasonal slumps, reducing idle capacity, getting knowledgeable about products not sold in target markets, technology used in other countries, and learning about other cultures (Johnson, Lenartowicz, Apud, 2006). Before going to a foreign market, it is essential to study the unique culture of the potential consumers. Concepts of how the product is used, psychographics, demographics, and political norms as well as legal normally differ from an entrepreneurs home country (Miller Parkhe, 2002). De Tienne Chandler (2004) suggest that entrepreneurs must consider five factors relative to the country and cultures that the business venture will inhabit. First, they must study foreign government regulations: patent, import regulations, t rademark laws, and copyright that affect their products. Second, they must know political climate: relationship between business and government or public attitudes and political events in a given country affect foreign business transactions. Third, they must consider infrastructure: packaging, distribution system, and shipping of their export product. Fourth, they must research distribution channels: accepted trade both retail and wholesale, service charges and normal commissions, distribution agreements and laws pertain to agency. And fifth, they must study competition: number of competitors in target nations and their market share, as well as their price, place, product and promotion. Additionally, they must find market size: of their product stability, size, country by country, and know what nations are markets expanding, opening, maturing, or declining (De Tienne Chandler, 2004). Eventually, entrepreneurs must understand culture of their products. Small businesses can study int ernational cultures by business travel, participating in training programs, reading the current literature, and undertaking formal educational programs. Small business, who wants to sell product on a worldwide basis must realize different standardization in each country. In some cases, goods must be adapted for different local markets if it is to be accepted and consumer goods always require much more adaptation (Johanson Vahlne, 2009). One issue related to international opportunity is why individuals in home countries are not the ones that take action on these opportunities, which would seem logical, as they are better positioned to notice. This question is especially important because research indicates that local firms usually have higher levels of performance than do foreign firms (Miller Parkhe, 2002). While the matter of liability of foreignness is present in some cases, this relates to firms competing in the same industry. Thus, when locals begin to imitate the foreign firm, they may in fact end up with higher levels of performance, because of factors such as lower lawsuit awards (Mezias, 2002). However, national average levels of entrepreneurship to uncertainty, opportunity, and cognition uncertainty avoidance are not identical across countries (Hofstede, 2001). This suggests that although it is possible that both a local and foreigner notice a specific opportunity at the same time, the local may not act fo r both the fear of failure and stigma attached to that failure in certain cultures (Lee, Peng, Barney, 2007). Thus, the potential entrepreneur must also be willing to endure the uncertainty associated with acting on these opportunities. To gain insight into effective professional task performance across cultures, an understanding of effective communication and psychological adaptation has to be complemented by an exploration of the effect of culture on task process. Over the last few years studies on cross cultural competencies in different professional fields have started to emerge. Examining the relationship between national culture and entrepreneurship is an important emerging subject matter in international entrepreneurship (Hayton, George, Zahra, 2002). The sociological viewpoint on entrepreneurship proposes that entrepreneurs are intertwined in a social framework and their cognitive process and behaviours are shaped by the interactions between the environment and entrepreneur (Zahr, Korri, Yu, 2005). There is also evidence of the impact of national cultural values on the characteristics and behaviour of individual entrepreneurs (Mitchell et al., 2002). Mitchell et al. (2002) confirmed that entrepreneurs share a set of cultural values, regardless of their national origin or cultural background. However, it appears that whilst some core values are shared across different countries and cultures, some of the behaviours of individual entrepreneurs reflect the value system of their respected national culture. With regards to adaptation in international entrepreneurship, entering into a foreign environment is not a transition for the business venture alone. The actors, international entrepreneurs, involved are also plunging into same the foreign environment (Hofstede, 2001). Entering a new culture means commencing to share a pattern of thinking, feeling, reacting, and problem-solving (Saee, 1999). Cross-cultural psychology argues that unfamiliar cultural territory negatively affects an individuals affective, both the sense making and cognitive mechanisms, and undermines the appropriateness and effectiveness of their behavioural responses (Maznevski Lane, 2004). This happens when individuals are unable to accurately perceive and interpret the alien cultural environment, nor explain or predict the behaviour of people with different cultural backgrounds (Maznevski Lane, 2004). Evidence suggests that exposure to a foreign cultural environment can cause culture shock, a psychological conditio n which adversely affects psychological and affective states (Johnson et al., 2006). Saee (1999) contends that opportunity identification competencies developed in an entrepreneurs home cultural environment may not be sufficient to perceive a high level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy about performing the task of identifying opportunities across borders and cultures. Cross-cultural studies have explored the challenges that a foreign cultural environment poses to human behaviour, cognition, and professional performance. Human behaviour is considered the coping mechanism that individuals consequently develop. Some researchers suggest that building this coping mechanism, in individuals, amounts to developing a global mindset or cultural intelligence (Maznevski Lane, 2004; Early Mosakowski, 2004). According to Maznevski and Lane (2004, p. 172), a global mindset is the ability to develop and interpret criteria for personal and business performance that are independent from the assumptions of a single country, culture, or context; then to adequately implement those in different countries, cultures, and contexts. Cultural intelligence is seen as the ability to interpret the foreigners behaviour the way the foreigners countryman would (Earley Mosakowsi, 2004). Cross-cultural competence is defined as the appropriateness and effectiveness of ones behavi our in a foreign cultural environment (Mitchell et al., 2000). Psychological adaptation is considered the centre point of personal traits and attributes that help generate internal responses in an unfamiliar environment by managing stress (Saee, 1999). Successful adaptation to a host cultural environment requires the abilities to be mindful, to tolerate ambiguity, and the ability to explain and make accurate predictions of strangers behaviour (Saee, 1999). This also includes the levels of anxiety and uncertainty that affect the intercultural encounter (Saee, 1999). CONCLUSION: International entrepreneurs actually face greater uncertainty than is generally common in more established businesses, which benefit from learning and experience, because international entrepreneurship is about the implementation of a new innovative business. There is an uncertainty to entrepreneurship and the role it plays in initiating the process. Mitchell et al., (2000) observes that entrepreneurial action is a result of overcoming and paralysis that is caused by the uncertainty that precedes the entrepreneurial act. Guillà ©n (2001) adds that the key concept that entrepreneurs create new combinations, which become the innovations that are the engine of economic growth. The entrepreneur is likely to see the opportunity as relatively certain. This is important with regards to international entrepreneurship in that exploiting an international opportunity requires more than dealing with operational certainty; there is also a high level of cultural uncertainty that the entrepreneur has to endure to ensure the new ventures prosperity. The volume of research on international entrepreneurship supports the notion that a period of domestic development is no longer necessary for many firms and that international entrepreneurship is possible at the time the firm is established or shortly thereafter. However, consideration must be taken with respect to the foreign culture a venture will go into and the psychological affects upon the entrepreneurs joining in the venture. Effective operation in the globalised economy requires that entrepreneurs develop new skills and competencies. Some of these skills and competences are needed to deal with national and regional cultural differences that are becoming intense with the continuance of globalisation (De Tienne Chandler, 2004). (Authors) believe that current and future international entrepreneurs need to develop cross-cultural competence to successfully identify business opportunities.

Ethical Issues Affecting Each Component of the Marketing Mix Essay

Ethical Issues Affecting Each Component of the Marketing Mix Ethical issues in businesses among other related issues like conflicts or success revolves around relationships. In today’s business world, it has become inevitable to built strong and effectives between all the key players in businesses. Key player in this case include shareholders, investors, customers, suppliers and managers who are responsible for the development of strategies aimed at attaining success (Carroll et al 403). The board of directors in every business has the mandate of giving direction and oversight making sure that the business does not stray from its course and remains relevant in achieving its objectives in a socially acceptable, legally acceptable and ethical manner. In many instances of unethical business conduct, there exists a certain degree of compliancy and knowing corporation which acts to perpetuate the acceptance of such conduct. Importantly, most ethical issues come into existence due t o conflicts in belief patterns and value conflicts regarding what is wrong or what is right. This occurs because ethical standards are a derivative of deeply-rooted personal believes and societal morals which may not be universally agreed upon. Ethical issues exist in all functional areas of the businesses including; finance, accounting, production, marketing, operations and even management. They involve practices like product safety, human resource management, plant safety, business practices and environmental problems among others (Carroll et al 412). The elements of the marketing mix are important aspects of the business which can be evaluated in the light of ethical issues. Marketing mix encompasses all the major areas of decision making affecting the marketing process and when carefully blended, desirable results for the organization are obtained. Marketing mix is important for all businesses as it shapes the function of marketing in both non-profit making and profit making organizations. As marketing managers make decisions about the overall process of marketing, they have to consider the specific elements of the marketing mix which include price, promotion, product and place and in other instances they are even supposed to consider the sub-elements in each element in order to satisfy the wants and needs of the customers. Marketing mix holds a special place in businesses in that it is the hub identifying the best and suitable marketing strategy. Its purpose is balancing all the elements in order to come up with an ideal mix of all the controllable  variables. As the markets demands change, the marketing mix also has to be changed in a manner which allows alignment with the goals and objectives of the organization. The external environment therefore plays a critical role in necessitating alterations and other changes in the marketing mix. One of the most fluctuating variables of the external environment is the customer; whose preferences and tastes change swiftly among other factors like brand loyalty (Stone 51). Given the importance of the marketing mix and the fact that all important aspects of the business revolves around it, it becomes a rather sensitive area in ensuring that regardless of the ambitions of the business, the management does not go overboard to affect its relationships with the oth er stakeholders who have any form of interest in the business (Tittle 12). Ethical issues usually arise when some of these relationships are affected or the moral fiber as defined by law or the society in which this business exists is coarsened. This means that the business has a responsibility of providing the society with good made adhering to all ethical issues and also of high quality. In looking closely at all the elements of the marketing mix and how ethical issues can affect them, it is important to point out that the essence of the businesses is not only to maximize profits but also to take care of consumers of the products, the employees and the environment. The product, which is one of the elements of the marketing mix, is a sensitive component with regard to ethical issues (Swarbrooke and Horner 30). The whole product life cycle is vulnerable to ethical issue right from the development to its elimination. Ethical issues may arise from product packaging. Since businesses survival depends on attracting and retaining customers, some businesses use p ackages which do not actually represent what they are offering. This may be in terms of underweight packaging or the use of colorful packages which do not really depict what’s inside. Ethical issues may also arise from the product testing especially for products like medication which must have many guidelines. Testing products on people is unethical and is prohibited by most societies. Cases of selling of banned goods are also many and this also involves the crossing of many ethical lines. It is highly recommended to ensure that all products entering the market are safe. Although â€Å"safe† in this case is subject to diverse interpretation, it is recommended that businesses disclose all the known harmful effect of product. This also touches on the  sensitive issue of genetically modified products which must be clearly labeled to warn the buyers. A very good example of ethical issues arising from particular products was coke’s crisis of 1999 to 2001. In this case, ethical dimensions were explored when people fell ill after consuming this soft drink. Much controversy also surrounded this case because school children fell ill after consuming this drink as the company had signed school contracts as a means of promoting the drink among the school children. The company took responsibility and recalled over 5 million cans under recommendation from the Belgium Ministry of Health. This ethical issues also touches on possible ethical issues which might arise in promotion as another factor in marketing mix. Pricing, which is one of the most regulated areas in marketing, has many possible unethical practices which might even not include illegality. There is price discrimination; transfer pricing, legal prohibitions, predatory pricing, and government price-fixing among other factors which might draw attention of ethical issues as far as ethical issues are concerned. There should be valid reasons governing the increase of prices of products to avoid taking advantage of the customer. The subjective and emotional nature of pricing avails many avenues of misunderstanding between the buyer and seller which might cause ethical problems. Common issues of this nature involve failure to disclose the actual price of the product and price fixing. Other acts pertaining pricing include dumping which is the selling of goods at a loss with the aim of increasing market share but do away with competitors and bid rigging. A case which was well explored was that of Ryanair which is an airline company. This company was faced by much controversy due to their pricing and advertising. Bodies like Advertising Standards Authority claimed that this airline company did not advertise the actual prices it was charging. Further criticism was raised because of the fact that, they were charging very low prices with the intent of spoiling the market opportunities for other players and resulted to great losses in the 2008/2009 financial year even for British airways. Although many of these companies claimed that it was due to increased fuel prices, Ryanair was the root cause because it did not hike the prices accordingly. Promotion employs different strategies like mass selling, personal selling and sales promotion to ensure the target market is informed of the existence of this product and the benefits if  using such product (Fraedrich et al 24). Since it involves modes of persuasive communication and the fact that it involves visibility advertising, it is frequently criticized part in marketing. One true fact about advertising is the fact that the earliest use of advertising was based on genuine reasons and practices which had no ethical issues. Currently however, many issues are coming up which has forced governments and other bodies to introduce regulations to avoid misleading of customers. The content in the promotions must meet high standards of advertisement maintaining truth and honesty. Honesty issues were well explored in the early 1950s when the advertisement of tobacco came under much criticism as it was being alleged in advertisements that is promotes health (Carroll et al 5). This of c ourse was found to be untrue and laws were set regarding false advertising. This is a very good example of unethical conduct which arose due to promotion and attracted a lot of attention from the press and government. It therefore became paramount that all the promoters tell the truth about their products to avoid offence against morality and also the law. Advertisements especially those which will be seen by children must not contain aspects of sex, violence or profanity as they might cross many ethical lines. Still in promotion, it is considered ethically inappropriate and illegal to promote products through negative advertising strategies such as attack advertising. Adverts should not directly attack the disadvantages of the competitor’s goods but should focus on advantages of their own. With advent of the internet, other forms of advertisement have also emerged some of which are considered unethical in nature. These include spam advertisements among other pop up windows which are unsolicited. Direct mail may also infringe on personal rights and therefore cross some ethical lines. The last element of the market mix to be considered is place. Place in this case covers many aspects leading to availing the product to the target market (Shimizu 13). Any product or service is of no value to the customer if it is not available at the right time and place. Ethical issues in the place element arise due to conflicts in the intermediaries of the distribution channel. The relationships in the channel of distribution cause much ethics related issues and these are brought mainly by power imbalance in these relationships. Ethical issues may come in as a result of listing fees which may be hiked and provide a discrepancy between the operations of  large suppliers and small suppliers. Corruption also comes in as a relevant ethical issue which can come in to the supply chain. Violation of the workers’ rights and the use of child labor and other practices like production in sweat shops or ignoring the safety, health or environmental standards can present an ethical problem in the element of place. Sweatshops have been a subject to much controversy in global business ethics. Examples of large corporations which have been implicated in this issue include Reebok, Gap and Nike. Wal-Mart’s case however has been much publicized where employees have been overworked or forced to work for extra hours without pay. Although Wal-Mart has been constantly denying this, there is mounting evidence especially from cases filed in 2005 which suggest that according to the company policy overtime should not be paid. The 1996 Wal-Mart Lee collection was also publicized when it was found that, many of these clothes were made in Honduras in sweatshops with worker laboring for up to 20 hours per day. Discrepancies in pricing of the same item from one place to another are also other forms of unethical acts arising in the element of place. At such a time when there is heightened capitalization of the economy, ethical issues have become critical and the consumer can no longer be ignored. All decisions regarding marketing planning must therefore uphold high ethical standards. Unethical corporate have the capability of inflicting much suffering to investors, employees and consumers. Works Cited Carroll, Archie, and Buchholtz, Ann. Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management. Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008. Fraedrich, John, Ferrell O. C., Linda Ferrell. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2009 Shimizu, Koichi. Advertising Theory and Strategies.16th ed, Souseisha Book Company: 2009. Stone, Phil. Make marketing work for you: boost your profits with proven marketing techniques. Small business. Oxford: How to Books Ltd, 2001. Swarbrooke, John, and Horner, Susan. Consumer behavior in tourism. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007 Tittle, Peg. Ethical issues in business: inquiries, cases, and readings. New York: Broadview Press, 2000.

Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe - 1204 Words

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall. There is an Igbo saying that when a man says yes, his chi, or spirit, says yes also. The belief that he controls his own destiny is of central importance to Okonkwo. Later, several events occur to undermine this beli ef, and Okonkwo is made bitter by the experience. As often happens with tragedy, the catastrophe comes through a complex mix of external forces and the character s choices. In the first place, it may be argued that what ultimately causes Okonkwo’s downfalls is the result of blind fate. Okonkwo’s various misfortunes may find their explanation merely in the random events of the universe. For instance, his exile arising out of his accidental killing of Ezeudu’s son at the old man’s funeral may be regarded as the product, not of someShow MoreRelatedThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1415 Words   |  6 Pagesbook Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe does just that. This book should be taught in schools because it shows the values and traditions of Achebe’s Igbo culture, persistently teaches life lessons throughout the book, and shows the darker reality of European colonialism in Africa. Chinua Achebe is known as one of the most influential and famous authors to ever write. Chinua Achebe originates from an Igbo background and he expresses that through his writings very well including Things Fall ApartRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe1324 Words   |  6 Pages Chinua Achebe chose to write his novels in English to reveal a deep response of his people to colonisation and to make that response understood to people all over the world. Things Fall Apart was written in English to teach people worldwide of the struggles he faced and the people of Nigeria faced growing up. Many authors and critics have written about Achebe’s ‘Things fall apart’ adding their valued opinion on what he was trying to say and his decision to write in English. In the followingRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1203 Words   |  5 Pages who took their land for monetary gain. This was a dark period of time for Africans that live there. 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Coming off the heels of our Imperialism unit, this post-colonial novel provides very helpful context on different civilizations’ perspectives throughout the Age of Imperialism; aside from analyzing death tolls, descriptions of conflicts, and names of countries, it was previousl y hard to envision what life was actually like during thatRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 735 Words   |  3 PagesThings fall apart. Achebe. Ernest Gaines once said, â€Å"I write to try to find out who I am. One of my main themes is manliness. I think Im trying to figure out what manliness really is.† Indeed, every society or culture has its own understanding of an ideal man. Even though these characteristics are different in various parts of the world, the significance of masculinity can never be overestimated. â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe is considered as one of the best examples of a riseRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe692 Words   |  3 Pagesthe way to go. 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Although the women were claimed to be weaker and seemed to be treated as objects, in the Igbo culture the women still provided qualities that make them worthyRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1851 Words   |  8 Pageschoice and styles are critical not only to the reader’s understanding of the text but to his appreciation as well. How language is effectively manipulated in their writings enhances the reader’s valuing of the works. The selected novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a representation of Igbo culture and their language. It explores the life of an Igbo tribe at the time of when colonization hit Africa. It could be considered as a post-colonial text, as the protagonist of the story and the other

The Theological Aspects Of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research is currently being conducted in numerous countries around the world. There are two main types of stem cells currently in use for research, adult and embryonic. This report will discuss the theological aspects of embryonic stem cell research in the United States. As the name implies an embryonic stem cell is harvested from a human embryo. Embryonic stem cells are obtained in two separate ways. One way is to use discarded embryos from in vitro fertilization, where fertilized eggs are donated for research. The second way is when embryos are created specifically for stem cell research. As a Christian it is my view that obtaining stem cells for research from discarded embryos should be encouraged and continue, whereas†¦show more content†¦At this stage, the stem cells are pluripotent - they can develop into almost any cell type.†2 These cells are then removed from the embryo, which destroys the embryo in the process. This is the reason that many people h ave a problem with embryonic stem cell research. The people opposed to stem cell research do not differentiate where the embryos come from. When an embryo has been created for in vitro fertilization and later not used for that purpose, it should be available for stem cell research. In the You Tube video â€Å"The Ethics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research†3 the author presents a number of arguments both for and against the use of embryonic stem cells. As I was watching the video I became convinced that there may be no way to have both sides come to an agreement. There is a cartoon in the video with a man in his doctor s office who is completely against stem cell research. He then find out that he needs a stem cell procedure. This caused me to wonder, I wonder what he decided when he found out a stem cell procedure may save his life? The video shows that with positive benefits there is also a down side. One question that the video asks is â€Å"Is it acceptable for an embryo to be destroyed in an attempt to save suffering people?†3 That question seems to take on different meaning depending on which side of the suffering you are on. While I am sure there are some people who would say no to stem