Furniture Scenerio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Furniture Scenerio - Essay Example The sheet is very helpful in ascertaining the advantages and disadvantages of each course of action. An example of this is the data that compares the "benefits cost" among the alternatives. The data shows that indeed, the "broker" option yields the largest savings in wages, which can be very essential information if labor cost is forecasted to continuously increase. On the other hand, if equipment prices will continue to rise, the data will also be helpful in identifying the disadvantage of "hi-tech" and broker options. The Assets, Liabilities and Equity Information basically provide a glimpse on the financial health of the company. Particularly, it tells about the company's liquidity which may allow it to invest in hi-tech equipment or its liabilities record which can guarantee a source of leverage in case the current cash standing is not enough. The Accounts Receivable is also useful in determining possible source of cash in the future, while the equity information gives information into the ownership of shareholders in the company. The budget data and variance analysis helps to distinguish which of the inputs to production needs to be economized and which among these are kept within the budget. Similarly, variance analysis helps keep the cost within the budget. ... ct of interest for Guillermo as he also carries his own brand and his own type of products which are comparable and which may be in direct competition with the products that he distributes for other companies. As was stated, he still has the desire to retain hid high-end customer particularly for his flame retardant and stain resistant furniture, in which only he has the patent. Although, it was stated that the market for this is smaller compared to the finished coating, Guillermo has all the reasons to push more for his product than that of the foreign business partner. The conflict of interest might pose a serious ethical problem in the future which might ruin his relationship with the foreign manufacturer. Being a representative of another company whose product is in competition with your own will definitely affect your loyalty to the company. In fact, it is often a business policy for employees or business partners to avoid conflict of interest, such as Blue Cross' policy of avoiding situations where personal interests can run in contrast to the interest of the company (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois). Conflict of interest, if not resolved, can create impropriety that can undermine confidence in the conflicted individual or organization (Wikimedia Foundations, Inc, 2009). The income information is still the most relevant information especially that it gives the direct comparison of the benefits and costs of each of the alternatives. It reveals specific details such as production capacity, direct costs and indirect costs incurred for every alternative. Looking at the future of the company, this information would be relevant and essential. In the field of Economics, each alternative represents the opportunity cost of the other decision. Comparing the benefits

World War I Essay Example for Free

World War I Essay The economy of Christiania steadily grew until before World War I. When the First World War broke out in 1914, Norway declared its neutrality. However, Christiania benefited economically from the war by carrying British cargoes inspite of the loss of Norwegian lives and ships that were caught in the war (Compton 610). After the war Christiania settled back to its normal life. In 1924, Christiania was renamed back to Oslo (â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). Second World War On April 9, 1940 Oslo was defeated by the Germans almost with only a slight resistance due to the betrayal by Norwegian Officer and Fascist politician Vidkun Quisling who collaborated with the Nazis. As a result, the city was only slightly damaged during the war (Halsey 239). In 1942, Germany installed a puppet government in Norway under National Union leader Vidkun Quisling. However, the Norwegians resisted the Germans and its puppet regime. Oslo became a place of opposition strikes. Other citizens were secretly involved in the large-scale industrial sabotage and espionage on behalf of the allied powers. (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). During their occupation of the city the Nazis used Akershus as a prison and place of execution for those convicted of allied conspiracy and today its the site of Norways Resistance Museum, which provided a detailed account of German takeover and the Norwegian struggle against it (Thodock 2003). The German forces that overran Norway surrendered in May 8, 1945 enabling the exiled King Hakon VII to return to Norway from London in June. Oslo then began to rebuild its ruin buildings while at the same time prosecuted â€Å"about 90,000 alleged cases of treason and defection†. Convicted traitors faced execution foremost of which was Vidkun Quisling (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). When it came to The Cold War, that is the postwar to World War II, two major alliances were created. Although, in World War I a system of alliances did not work, the systems of alliances that formed after World War II were bigger and they werent buddy-buddy alliances. These two alliances were formed to bring peace throughout the world, to end The Cold War, and to prevent anymore future high scale wars. Toward the end of the war, hostility between Norwegians and the German occupying forces grew considerably stronger. A prime cause was the German withdrawal from all fronts. Retreating German units from the fronts in the north, the USSR and Finland, withdrew to Norwegian territory. In the autumn of 1944, the Red Army followed the Germans into Finnmark, where it liberated Kirkenes and the northeastern areas. As the occupying troops retreated, they ordered an evacuation of the entire Norwegian population in Finnmark and in Troms south to Lyngen. In Lyngen, three German army corps dug in. Then the entire region north of Lyngen was burned and destroyed. The destruction included 10,400 homes, bridges, power stations, factories, fishing vessels, telephone facilities and other types of infrastructure. The scorched earth area was much larger than all of Denmark. After the Soviet Red Army crossed into North Norway, a Norwegian military mission and a small number of Norwegian soldiers from Great Britain and Sweden followed. The Russians withdrew from Norway in September 1945, a few months after the German capitulation. When the costs of the war were estimated in Norway, the tally showed that 10,262 Norwegians had been killed, including 3,670 seamen. The Germans had executed 366 and tortured 39 to death. Among political prisoners and members of the underground, 658 died at home and 1,433 abroad. After the war, legal proceedings were initiated against those who had betrayed their country. About 46,000 persons were punished for treason. Among these, 18,000 were sentenced to prison terms, 28,000 were fined and deprived of their rights as citizens. A total of 45 Norwegians and Germans received death sentences, 37 of the executions were carried out. It did not take long for the country to recuperate from the effects of World War II. Industrial production and the gross domestic product were greater in 1946 than in 1938. Three years later, the countrys national wealth had also returned to its pre-war level. Part 3: Major Event in the modern Era of the City The world over there is no other coveted price that comes even in comparison to the Nobel peace prize. It is one of a kind and its importance and value can not be underrated. Oslo helped to promote the preservation of worldwide peace when it was chosen to be the place for the annual awarding of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Alfred Nobel, a renowned Swedish inventor of the dynamite, left in his will dated November 27, 1895 the order to use some of his fortune as a prize for any individuals, irregardless of his race, who helped promote peace in the world. The Nobel peace was to be specifically awarded to person or persons who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses. In 1901 the first Nobel Prize was awarded to International Red Cross founder Henry Dunant and International Pacifist Frederic Passy. In succeeding years Nobel Peace Prize according to an Oxford Dictionary of Twentieth Century World History, became The worlds most prestigious prize. † The prize was to be awarded by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting†. The members of the committee are all Norwegians and for more than a hundred years the committee members were able to generally make a respectable and decent selection although controversies were also present. The criteria for choosing the recipients have enabled the world to get acquainted with Norwegian perception or definition of peace. In the study of the recipients of the award, it can be said that the values that Nobel Prize committee members adhered to represented the â€Å"Norwegian version of Western liberal internationalism. Thus, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has been a strong believer in international organizations, from the Inter-Parliamentary Union to the League of Nations and the United Nations†. Moreover, Norwegians believed that â€Å"small nations almost instinctively prefer international law to the might they do not possess, and they believe in the arbitration, mediation and peaceful solution of international disputes†. In this context, the Nobel Prize actively encouraged and awarded humanitarian assistance to the weak and the poor especially with the exercise of their human rights as well as the control of military power that may threatened the peace and order of the world. In a more personal level, Nobel left no explanation as to why he chose the Norwegians to award the Nobel Peace Prize. Educated inferences were presented to explain his action. Nobel may have been aware of the close ties between Sweden and Norway since the latter was once ruled by the former. Aside from that he may have admired Norway’s participation in settling international disputes of the 1890’s. Perhaps he may have regarded Norway as a more peace-oriented and more democratic country than

Problems of Uninformed Voters

Problems of Uninformed Voters Did you know many Democrats are opposed to standardized testing? Did you know many Republicans don’t believe there should be a set minimum wage? Many people don’t even know what the parties and candidates they are voting for represent. In the 2012 Presidential Election, Bipartisan Policy Center estimated there were about 126 million voters. Voting is essential in a democracy. Voting is the definition of a democracy. A democracy is a form of government in which people elect leaders by voting according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Throughout American history, thousands of people have fought for this right to vote. We advocated for men of all ethnicities to be able vote, and later we extended this right to women. However, a democracy functions best when informed citizens vote. Unfortunately, much of today’s population is not quite as informed as they should be. Many adults lack the crucial knowledge to make informed political decisions, like voting. First, we will examine how uninformed voting is a problem today. Second, we will discuss why uninformed voting occurs as often as it does. Finally, I will offer a solution for this perpetual problem.   Ignorant voters hurt democracy. You cannot run an effective democracy when the citizenship is weak. Voting is a crucial aspect of citizenship. It is how you display commitment and respect to your country and form of government. People do not take this responsibility seriously enough. When people vote impulsively or don’t put enough thought into their decisions, our democracy is not a true reflection of what the people want. A survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2012 to determine how knowledgeable the public was on the presidential campaign. Their findings were alarming. Only 60% of registered voters were aware that Romney opposes gay marriage. Only 66% of registered voters knew of Obamas policy that allows undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as juveniles to remain here and apply for work permits. Additionally, in a 2006 Zogby Poll, 73% of Americans were able to identify the names of The Three Stooges, while a whopping 42% could identify the three bra nches of government. 77% of Americans could name off two of Snow White’s Seven Dwarves. On the other hand, 24% of people could name off two of the nine Supreme Court Justices. As sad as it is, the average voter probably spends more time becoming informed on which car to buy than who they want to run their country. Who you elect into office has such a huge impact on the future of all Americans, not just yourself. So don’t you agree we should be somewhat familiar with the candidates stances on current issues? And that we should understand the basic setup of our government and the officials that run it before we vote? Not knowing crucial details of a candidates intentions, you may be disappointed when they do something you weren’t expecting. And unfortunately, once your ballot is casted, you cannot take it back. For this reason, voters need to stay relatively updated on campaign issues, current events, and general workings of the U.S. political system.   Obviously, you can see how prevalent uninformed voting is in today’s society. But why is this happening so frequently? Well, think about like this. From the moment children are born, their lives are being shaped by those around them, in other words children learn what they live. And they spend the first eighteen years of their lives, some of the most influential ones, living with their immediate family. Inevitably, families who vocalize their political beliefs will naturally sway their child in that direction. Furthermore, their circle of friends will play a factor too. In my American Civics class last year, we put on a mock trial. Before the trial, we had to determine our political affiliation. As a class, we had to get up and divide ourselves into groups based on which party we wanted to represent in the trial. I observed that everyone just so happened to fall into the same group as their friends did. There were cliques within the parties. No one had the confidence to sp lit from their friends and represent their individual ideas. Family and friends can inhibit people from forming their own opinions. This results in a biased political perspective which may not reflect your core values. In other cases, it’s simply that people don’t care enough to become informed. They just vote to because they feel obligated to, but don’t give the decision much thought. People have disengaged themselves from politics because they don’t think it directly affects them. However, this could not be further from the truth. U.S. government and politics regulates so many aspects of our lives. It funds our public school, provides grants and loans for higher education, builds and maintains the roads we drive on everyday, provides the water that runs through our homes, and determines how much we pay in taxes. Most citizen have at least one political interest or concern. By voting, you can have a say in it. So take advantage of this opportunity and ta ke it seriously.   Now, how do we go about addressing this problem? Ideally, people would take matters into their own hands. You would perform research on the issues and stances of the politicians running for office. Once you establish where you stand, then you can compare the politicians views with your own and the one you are most compatible with is the politician you should vote to elect. It would also benefit you greatly to follow significant world-wide events. You should also be able to accurately depict the functioning of our government and which branches are responsible for which tasks. Reading the politics section in your paper, flipping to the news channel every once in a while, tuning into electoral debates during campaigns, and subscribing to magazines like Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News and World Report will keep you in the know. For someone who is apathetic in politics, the motivation to become informed has to come from within you. And to be brutally honest, many people would hear this a nd it would go in one ear and come right back out the next. As a last resort, we could require that all registered voters pass a comprehension test to prove their knowledge of politics. If we threaten to take the option to vote away from the uninformed, it could be just the spark we need to get them thinking seriously about politics. Amendments 15, 19, 24, and 26 to the Constitution only say that you cannot deny someone a vote on account of race, sex, failure to pay tax, or age after the individual reaches 18. Immigrants have to pass a test before being allowed to vote. Why do we assume that that all American-born citizens already know everything they need to know before voting? We have now analyzed the consequences of being an uninformed voter, the root cause of uninformed voting, and potential solutions to the problem. Winston Churchill once said, â€Å"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.† It doesn’t have to be that way. We can all become more informed.

The Enron Implosion and the Loss of Respect for the Accounting Professi

The Enron Implosion and the Loss of Respect for the Accounting Profession On the surface, the motives behind decisions and events leading to Enron’s downfall appear simple enough: individual and collective greed born in an atmosphere of market euphoria and corporate arrogance. Hardly anyone—the company, its employees, analysts or individual investors—wanted to believe the company was too good to be true. So, for a while, hardly anyone did. Many kept on buying the stock, the corporate mantra and the dream. In the meantime, the company made many high-risk deals, some of which were outside the company’s typical asset risk control process. Many went sour in the early months of 2001 as Enron’s stock price and debt rating imploded because of loss of investor and creditor trust. Methods the company used to disclose its complicated financial dealings were all wrong and downright deceptive. The company’s lack of accuracy in reporting its financial affairs, followed by financial restatements disclosing billions of dollars of omitted liabilities and losses, contributed to its downfall. The whole affair happened under the watchful eye of Arthur Andersen LLP, which kept a whole floor of auditors assigned at Enron year-round. In 1985, after federal deregulation of natural gas pipelines, Enron was born from the merger of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, a Nebraska pipeline company. In the process of the merger, Enron incurred a lot of debt and, as the result of deregulation, no longer had exclusive rights to its pipelines. In order to survive, the company had to come up with a new and innovative business strategy to generate profits and cash flow. Kenneth Lay, CEO, hired McKinsey & Co. to assist in developing Enron’s business strategy. It assigned Jeffrey Skilling to the task. Skilling, who had a background in banking and asset and liability management, proposed a revolutionary solution to Enron’s credit, cash, and profit worries in the gas pipeline business: create a â€Å"gas bank† in which Enron would buy gas from a network of suppliers and sell it to a network of consumers, contractually guaranteeing both the supply and the price, charging fees for the transactions and assuming the associated risks. Thanks to the young consultant, the company created both a new product and a new paradigm for the industry—the energy derivative. Lay was so impressed with Skilling’s ... ... excellence stand in satirical contrast to allegations now being made public. Personally, I had referred several of our best and brightest accounting, finance and MBA graduates to Enron, hoping they could gain valuable experience from seeing things done right. These included a very bright training consultant who had lost her job in 2000 with a Houston consulting firm as a result of a reduction in force. She has lost her second job in 18 months through no fault of her own. Other former students still hanging on at Enron face an uncertain future as the company fights for survival. The old saying goes, â€Å"Lessons learned hard are learned best.† Some former Enron employees are embittered by the way they have been treated by the company that was once â€Å"the best in the business.† Others disagree. In the words of one of my former students who is still hanging on: â€Å"Just for the record, my time and experience at Enron have been nothing short of fantastic. I could not have asked for a better place to be or better people to work with. Please, though, remember this: Never take customer and employee confidence for granted. That confidence is easy to lose and tough—to impossible—to regain.†

College Athletes Should be paid Essay

Today, professional sports are no longer just fun and games like they used to be, they are a business. And college sports are the same. High-level college sports provide a majority of a universities’ income. From ticket sales to television contracts, universities are making millions from their sports. And while this is all happening, the athletes are receiving a scholarship and little more. Although a full ride to college may be nothing to complain about; when the situation is more closely examined it is realized that for some athletes, that isn’t enough. If universities are making millions of dollars off of their superstar’s jersey, then he should be entitled to some of those earnings. That money is rightfully his or hers and college athletes deserve the money that they earn through their hard work and dedication just as the professionals do. College athletes need to be paid because the universities are using their talent for money opportunities, for some athlet es the pros isn’t guaranteed, and an injury on a sport scholarship could set some up for failure. The biggest controversy with all the revenue â€Å"The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over $845 billion last year due to their players’ ability to entertain and perform to their fullest extent at all times.†(Sonny) College Athletes Should Be Paid Today, professional sports are no longer just fun and games like they used to be, they are a business. And college sports are the same. High-level college sports provide a majority of a universities’ income. From ticket sales to television contracts, universities are making millions from their sports. And while this is all happening, the athletes are receiving a scholarship and little more. Although a full ride to college may be nothing to complain about; when the situation is more closely examined it is realized that for some athletes, that isn’t enough. If universities are making millions of dollars off of their superstar’s jersey, then he should be entitled to some of those earnings. That money is rightfully his or hers and college athletes deserve the money that they earn through their hard work and dedication just as the professionals do. College athletes need to be paid because the universities are using their talent for money opportunities, for some athletes the pros isn’t guaranteed, and an injury on a sport scholarship could set some up for failure. The biggest controversy with all the revenue â€Å"The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over $845 billion last year due to their players’ ability to entertain and perform to their fullest extent at all times.†(Sonny) College Athletes Should Be Paid Today, professional sports are no longer just fun and games like they used to be, they are a business. And college sports are the same. High-level college sports provide a majority of a universities’ income. From ticket sales to television contracts, universities are making millions from their sports. And while this is all happening, the athletes are receiving a scholarship and little more. Although a full ride to college may be nothing to complain about; when the situation is more closely examined it is realized that for some athletes, that isn’t enough. If universities are making millions of dollars off of their superstar’s jersey, then he should be entitled to some of those earnings. That money is rightfully his or hers and college athletes deserve the money that they earn through their hard work and dedication just as the professionals do. College athletes need to be paid because the universities are using their talent for money opportunities, for some athlet es the pros isn’t guaranteed, and an injury on a sport scholarship could set some up for failure. The biggest controversy with all the revenue â€Å"The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over $845 billion last year due to their players’ ability to entertain and perform to their fullest extent at all times.†(Sonny) College Athletes Should Be Paid Today, professional sports are no longer just fun and games like they used to be, they are a business. And college sports are the same. High-level college sports provide a majority of a universities’ income. From ticket sales to television contracts, universities are making millions from their sports. And while this is all happening, the athletes are receiving a scholarship and little more. Although a full ride to college may be nothing to complain about; when the situation is more closely examined it is realized that for some athletes, that isn’t enough. If universities are making millions of dollars off of their superstar’s jersey, then he should be entitled to some of those earnings. That money is rightfully his or hers and college athletes deserve the money that they earn through their hard work and dedication just as the professionals do. College athletes need to be paid because the universities are using their talent for money opportunities, for some athletes the pros isn’t guaranteed, and an injury on a sport scholarship c ould set some up for failure. The biggest controversy with all the revenue â€Å"The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over $845 billion last year due to their players’ ability to entertain and perform to their fullest extent at all times.†(Sonny) College Athletes Should Be Paid Today, professional sports are no longer just fun and games like they used to be, they are a business. And college sports are the same. High-level college sports provide a majority of a universities’ income. From ticket sales to television contracts, universities are making millions from their sports. And while this is all happening, the athletes are receiving a scholarship and little more. Although a full ride to college may be nothing to complain about; when the situation is more closely examined it is realized that for some athletes, that isn’t enough. If universities are making millions of dollars off of their superstar’s jersey, then he should be entitled to some of those earnings. That money is rightfully his or hers and college athletes deserve the money that they earn through their hard work and dedication just as the professionals do. College athletes need to be paid because the universities are using their talent for money opportunities, for some athlet es the pros isn’t guaranteed, and an injury on a sport scholarship could set some up for failure. The biggest controversy with all the revenue â€Å"The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over $845 billion last year due to their players’ ability to entertain and perform to their fullest extent at all times.†(Sonny) College Athletes Should Be Paid Today, professional sports are no longer just fun and games like they used to be, they are a business. And college sports are the same. High-level college sports provide a majority of a universities’ income. From ticket sales to television contracts, universities are making millions from their sports. And while this is all happening, the athletes are receiving a scholarship and little more. Although a full ride to college may be nothing to complain about; when the situation is more closely examined it is realized that for some athletes, that isn’t enough. If universities are making millions of dollars off of their superstar’s jersey, then he should be entitled to some of those earnings. That money is rightfully his or hers and college athletes deserve the money that they earn through their hard work and dedication just as the professionals do. College athletes need to be paid because the universities are using their talent for money opportunities, for some athlet es the pros isn’t guaranteed, and an injury on a sport scholarship could set some up for failure. The biggest controversy with all the revenue â€Å"The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over $845 billion last year due to their players’ ability to entertain and perform to their fullest extent at all times.†(Sonny)

Why Should We Honor Our Veterans Essay Essays

Why Should We Honor Our Veterans Essay Essays Why Should We Honor Our Veterans Essay Paper Why Should We Honor Our Veterans Essay Paper A veteran is someone who fought in a war as a soldier, sailor, etc. However, this definition is not close to describing he heroism of these veterans, who lay down their lives for American freedom. Jeff Miller once said, move willingness of Americas veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. On Veterans Day, we gather to honor those who have served our country, whether it was five years ago, or fifty. Whether they served in the Persian Gulf, or Bosnia, we gather to revere them and give them the respect and the thanks that they deserve. We thank them for protecting us from those who mean to do us harm. After all they have done for us, medals seem insufficient. All veterans deserve to be recognized for their valiant actions. Veterans, who have served in wars, such as Vietnam, the Korean Expedition, and most recently, the war in Iraq, had to spend months at a time, not only away from their family, but also in very dangerous battle zones. In 2010, Sergeant Salvatore A. Giant sprinted through heavy fire to get his squad leader to safety in Afghanistan. He fired at the enemy while running straight through their lines. Like this, they had to be willing to compromise their lives in order to save a fellow soldier or innocent civilian. With every war we have fought, some of these people have died, been wounded or have been driven mad from mental anguish and are forced to relive their traumatic experiences. Veterans are true heroes, and they will always be in the hearts and memories of all Americans. Everyone in the United States should use this one day not as a day to relax, but as a day to honor the veterans who have strives to work towards protecting our freedom. Veterans who willingly put their lives in danger to ensure our freedom, deserve to be recognized as heroes in my eyes, as well as everybody else.

Why Crocodiles Havent Changed Much in 200 Million Years

Why Crocodiles Haven't Changed Much in 200 Million Years Of all the reptiles alive today, crocodiles may be the least changed from their prehistoric forebears of the late Cretaceous period, over 65 million years ago- although the even earlier crocodiles of the Triassic and Jurassic periods sported some distinctly un-crocodile-like features, such as bipedal postures and vegetarian diets. Along with pterosaurs and dinosaurs, crocodiles were an offshoot of the archosaurs, the ruling lizards of the early to middle Triassic period; needless to say, the earliest dinosaurs and the earliest crocodiles resembled one another a lot more than either resembled the first pterosaurs, which also evolved from archosaurs. What distinguished the first crocodiles from the first dinosaurs was the shape and musculature of their jaws, which tended to be much more deadly, as well as their relatively splayed limbs- as opposed to the straight, locked in legs of theropod dinosaurs. It was only well into the Mesozoic Era that crocodiles evolved the three main traits with which theyre associated today: stubby legs, sleek, armored  bodies, and marine lifestyles. First Crocodiles of the Triassic Period Before the first true crocodiles emerged on the prehistoric scene, there were the phytosaurs (plant lizards): archosaurs that looked very much like crocodiles, except that their nostrils were positioned on the tops of their heads rather than the tips of their snouts. You might guess from their name that phytosaurs were vegetarians, but in fact, these reptiles subsisted on fish and marine organisms in freshwater lakes and rivers worldwide. Among the most noteworthy phytosaurs were Rutiodon and Mystriosuchus. Oddly enough, except for the characteristic  location of their nostrils, phytosaurs looked more like modern crocodiles than the first true crocodiles did. The earliest crocodiles were small, terrestrial, two-legged sprinters, and some of them were even vegetarians (presumably because their dinosaur cousins were better adapted to hunting for live prey). Erpetosuchus and Doswellia are two leading candidates for the honorific of first crocodile, though the exact evolutionary relationships of these early archosaurs are still uncertain. Another likely choice is the reclassified Xilousuchus, from early Triassic Asia, a sailed archosaur with some distinct crocodilian characteristics. Whatever the case, its important to understand just how confusing the facts on the ground were during the middle to late Triassic period. The portion of the supercontinent Pangea corresponding to modern-day South America was crawling with dinosaur-like crocodiles, crocodile-like dinosaurs, and (presumably) early pterosaurs that looked like both crocodiles and dinosaurs. It wasnt until the start of the Jurassic period  that dinosaurs began to evolve along a distinctive path from their crocodile cousins and slowly established their worldwide dominance. If you went back in time 220 million years ago and were swallowed whole, you probably couldnt tag your nemesis as a crocodile or a dinosaur. Crocodiles of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras By the start of the Jurassic period (about 200 million years ago), crocodiles had mostly abandoned their terrestrial lifestyles, probably as a response to the terrestrial dominance achieved by dinosaurs. This is when we begin to see the marine adaptations that characterize modern crocodiles and alligators: long bodies, splayed limbs, and narrow, flat, tooth-studded snouts with powerful jaws (a necessary innovation, since crocodiles feasted on dinosaurs and other animals that ventured too close to the water). There was still room for innovation, though. For example, paleontologists believe that Stomatosuchus subsisted on plankton and krill, like a modern gray whale. About 100 million years ago, toward the middle of the Cretaceous period, some South American crocodiles had begun to imitate their dinosaur cousins by evolving to enormous sizes. The king of the Cretaceous crocodiles was the enormous Sarcosuchus, dubbed SuperCroc by the media, which measured about 40 feet long from head to tail and weighed in the neighborhood of 10 tons. And lets not forget the slightly smaller Deinosuchus, the deino in its name connoting the same concept as the dino in dinosaurs: terrible or fearsome. These giant crocodiles probably subsisted on equally giant snakes and turtles- the South American ecosystem, on the whole, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Skull Island from the film, King Kong. One way in which prehistoric crocodiles were indeed more impressive than their terrestrial relatives was their ability, as a group, to survive the K-T extinction event that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the earth 65 million years ago. Why this is so, remains a mystery, though it may be an important clue that no plus-sized crocodiles survived the meteor impact. Todays crocodiles are little changed from their prehistoric ancestors, a telling clue that these reptiles were, and remain, extremely well adapted to their environment.

Does your resume pass this key checklist

Does your resume pass this key checklist Life is better with checklists: Highly Organized, Bilingual Administrative AssistantSummary:  This is a short list (or brief paragraph) of the key bullet points that make you most qualified for this particular job. This is a place where you can really tailor the content to the job description, to grab the attention of the reader (or robot reader seeking keywords). You can also use it to highlight your most relevant skills. A summary works best for job seekers who have deep experience or skills in their field.Objective:  This is a short statement letting the reader know your goal(s), coupled with your top-level qualifications. It’s basically a formula: Strong traits + The role you want to fill + Good fit for the company = Objective. The objective works best for people without a lot of experience, or experience in a different field (changing careers).This section sets the tone for the rest of your resume, and can help make the difference between someone reading through the r est of the resume or tossing it aside.The Meat-and-Potatoes Section (Skills and Experience)This is the heart of your resume, so it’s extra important to make sure you’re not leaving anything out. You should include:Your Skills:  Whether you put these before or after your experience (depending on which you want to emphasize for the reader), it’s important to include a standalone section of bullet points describing your relevant skills. Be sure you’re only including the most relevant ones. Your abiding love and talent for playing the tuba may be a huge part of your life, but if it’s not directly relevant to the job for which you’re applying, leave it out.This section should include any applicable hard skills (specific job-related technology or certifications) and soft skills that can be directly applied to the job at hand.Work Experience:  These are separate listings for your most relevant jobs, working backwards through your career. Each w ork experience section should include:Job titleCompany nameDates worked4-6 bullet points outlining your most relevant duties there. As much as possible, describe achievements over simple tasks or responsibilities. You should also be choosy about which jobs you include. If you’ve already held two or three full-time jobs in your career, you can start leaving out part-time jobs or internships that you held in the past. If you need to include a job so it doesn’t look like you have large gaps, you can do that, but you don’t have to include too much information about your job unless it’s relevant to the one for which you’re currently applying. You can use those instead to highlight particular skills you used/developed.The Education Certifications SectionEducation is one of your best assets in a job search, and you should sing it loud and proud on your resume. Just make sure you’re including the most relevant education information, moving back in reverse order. If applicable, you should include:Professional training programs:  If you’ve completed a non-degree course or training program related to your field, include it here.Professional certifications:  If you have a license or certification in your field, include it here.College, university, or professional training program:  Unless you’re in high school, or you’re specifically asked about it, there’s no need to include information about your high school education here. You also don’t need to include graduation dates if you don’t want to do so- employers are forbidden from asking you about your age, so if you feel like this would be offering too much info, you can just include the school name and the degree you received.The Nice-to-HavesIf you have room after including everything outlined above, then there are some other pieces of info you can include on your resume, if they’re applicable to the job.Volunteer experience :  Are the skills or experience from this volunteer position relevant to the job you’re seeking? If so, include. If not, leave it out.Hobbies:  Again, make sure these are relevant to the job for which you’re applying.The Style ChecklistOnce you’ve got all your core info included in your resume, it’s time to take another pass and see how you’ve done, writing-wise. Is your resume:Saved as a standard document format?  Is your resume saved as an uncommon file extension, or one that most computers will readily recognize (like .doc or .pdf)?A short read?  Brevity is key here. We’ve all heard the â€Å"one page† rule, but if you simply have too much experience for one small page, make sure you haven’t gone overboard, length-wise.Organized in a clear and readable way?  The resume should be laid out in a clear, relatively uncrowded outline, so that the reader can easily follow what’s going on. If you’re seeing ma ssive chunks of narrative text, go back and revise it into more manageable bullets. Margins should be no less than 1 inch all around, for readability. Your font should also be consistent all the way through, easy to read, black, and between 10-12 points.Full of action verbs?  Strong verbs can not only grab interest, they can help you cut down on your overall word count by getting straight to the heart of what you want to say.Customized for the job?  Generic resumes are not fun to read, and a one-size-fits-all behemoth may not get you the interview opportunity you want. Take the time to make sure that your skills and experience especially are directly relevant to the job/company for which you’re applying.Proofread?  This one is non-negotiable. No matter how eagle-eyed you may be, we all miss small mistakes in our own writing occasionally. Find a trusted friend or family member to check your resume for mistakes.Taking the time to check these elements help ensure that your final product ends up looking just as smooth and professional as you are.The Un-ChecklistIf you have any of these things on your resume, time to take them out. You should not include:Pictures or visual elements:  Unless you’re doing a portfolio or a visual resume, don’t illustrate your basic resume. And you definitely don’t need to include a picture of yourself.Lies:  Just don’t do it! If anyone questions you or catches you in a falsehood, I don’t think you need me to tell you that it would not be good for your hiring prospects for this job.References:  If the hiring process gets to the point where you need to provide references, you’ll be asked for them. There’s no need to include them upfront and take up valuable space on your resume.References to age, gender, or family status  This information really isn’t necessary, and could introduce potential discriminatory elements, even though employers are forbidden from aski ng you about them.So†¦there you have it, your checklist for building a full and successful resume. Does your resume check all the right boxes?

The first piece of coursework requires you to assess an ecommerce Assignment

The first piece of coursework requires you to assess an ecommerce business solution for your chosen organisation - Assignment Example Hennes & Mauritz operates in more than 38 countries across the globe with its main operations in North America, Europe and Asia. The headquarters of Hennes & Mauritz is located in Stockholm in Sweden. Currently, Hennes & Mauritz is one of the global leaders in the business of fashion products and is highly renowned for the robust strategic management processes employed by the management of the company over the many years of its operations. The valuation of the company is over USD 100 billion as of 2013. The electronic commerce market is a high potential market which is experiencing exponential growth (Laudon and Traver, 2003). As such, Hennes & Mauritz has focused in tapping in the large online marketing domains, especially in the delved countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The company has introduced the electronic commerce business wing from 2010 when it had started selling its products through its corporate electronic commerce website. The online shopping website of H&M, was launched in the year 2010 which offered online retail sales only in the European countries. The electronic commerce wing of H&M was launched as a part of their strategic management function. The main aim of launching the electronic commerce business in the company was to ensure higher levels of competiveness and sustainability in the dynamic business environment, the fact that the electronic commerce domain of businesses across various industries had been experiencing a boost in the last 10 years had made it necessary for Hennes & Mauritz to invest and focus on this part of conducting business so as to ensure higher levels of competitiveness in the global markets of operation of the company (Dave, 2008). The company used to operate with 2200 physical stores locate in diverse geographical locations across the globe. However, currently, Hennes & Mauritz has also entered into the electronic commerce business domain by providing internet based services to its

Forensics Research Project 2 Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forensics Project 2 - Research Paper Example It can be stated that the aforesaid tactics would generally provide broader explanation to various legal aspects relating to the preservation of a computer and its data. Key Steps to Ensuring Legal Success in a Courtroom in a Forensics Case In order to determine the key steps ensuring legal success in a courtroom in a forensics case, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that forensic readiness is often represented as the capability of an organization to increase its prospective to use modern digital evidences and at the same time, reducing the costs of an investigation by a certain degree. In this similar concern, the key steps towards ensuring legal success in a courtroom in a forensics case have been outlined below. Describing the business circumstances that need digital evidence Identifying current sources & different kind of potential evidence Determining the evidence based collection obligation Establishing a strategy for secure storage plan & handling of possible evidence Identifying the circumstances when a full formal investigation need to be initiated Documenting an evidence-related case explaining the incident and its manifold impact Ensuring legal appraisal to take necessary actions in response to the happening of any incident (Rowlingson, 2004). Conditions That Require Inclusion of Law Enforcement With regard to conclude the conditions that require inclusion of law enforcement, it can be affirmed that computer crime may be conducted through the violation of the policies associated with information technology relating to the preservation of a computer and its data. Generally, there pertain numerous conditions of crime related to the information technology that lays the requirement of the inclusion of law enforcement agencies. In this regard, according to Section 13 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012, law can be enforced against any individual linked with preservation of computer data. The truthfulness of traffic data & subscriber information relating to communication services shall be preserved for a minimum of six months. Moreover, content information shall likewise be preserved for a period of six months from the date of the order received from law enforcement authorities obliging its preservation. It can be stated that law enforcement system may provide extensions for the conduct of the aforesaid activities. It has been apparently observed that one of the conditions that require inclusion of law enforcement is that once computer data is preserved, conveyed or stored by a service provider, the data would be accessible only to authorized users It is the service provider who requires to preserve digital data as well as to keep those confidential and most significantly maintain their compliance by a certain degree. It is to be affirmed that if any computer operator violates or not comply with the order provided by the service provider, then the respective task will be regarded as a crime as and the operator will be punis hed under section 13 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012 (The Office of the President of the Philippines, 2012). Possible Actions to Protect the Employer In accordance with the mentioned case, one of the possible actions could be the introduction of various data prevention plan which might protect the employer by a certain degree. In this similar concern, it can be affirmed that the employer can take the help of a law enforcement group for collecting as well as

MACROECONOMICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MACROECONOMICS - Essay Example has an affect upon the macro economics as it is the tool to attract more consumers towards the banking instruments, not only from the domestic investors but also from the foreign investors. At interest rates r0 and r1, investment levels in (a) will be i0 and i1. To produce equilibrium in the item for consumption market, level of income must be at y0 and y1 respectively. Therefore, interest rate income combines r0, y0 and r1, y1, which are the equilibrium points along the IS schedule, slopes downward towards right. With investment being responsive to alterations in the interest rates, the investment plan i (r) on (a) is moderately flat. A decrease in interest rate will raise investment by a huge amount. Therefore, a large increase in income, y0y2, is necessary to re-establish the product market equilibrium. Consequently, the IS schedule in part (d) will be flat. The level of investments by firms is highly affected through the monetary policy of the government. The raise in the interest rate will force the investment level to increase by firms. To increase the investment level by different firms the monetary policy was implemented by the UK government. When the consumer confidence index falls, there is an increase in the level of savings and many firms decide to reschedule or push back the capital investment spending projects because of uncertainties over a shortcoming of demand and there is a fall in the expected rate of profit on investment. This affect is upturned down through the monetary policy of the government by implementation of the interest rate policy. The increase in the interest rate will increase the confidence index of investment and the expectation level of investing firms will be higher as there is more return through the financial instruments. This rise in the confidence index and investment increases the investment in capital projects that helps the economy to grow. In application with the Fisher’s equation it is know that, as the income

Writing Express Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing Express Reflection - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that the subject involved the role that chief nursing officer plays in relation to the staff nurses, which was made easier through the internet searches. Sometime ago, the reporter would have had to scan a book or article to get this information and see whether the information was related to the subject. In addition, taking the writing express course has helped me appreciate that he prefers a visual style of learning, rather than an auditory one. For instance, the author learnt more about the subject by reading related material and viewing graphics and charts. Since the writing express class was mainly visual as an online course, he was happy that this was his preferred learning style.This essay declares that  the writing express course has also helped him to understand and appreciate himself better, while it has also given him skills and abilities that the reporter can use in his future courses. For instance, his is better equipped to collect resea rch and identify related resources; while he will also be able to order articles and books online.  While using my research skills in finding articles related to CNOs and their roles around the staff nurses, the author also found very helpful tutorials and he now knows that the internet has numerous resources that he can use in his future courses if any questions arise.  The writing express course also aided me in identifying and achieving work-related goals.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Tourism-Related Hospitality Dissertation

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments in Beijing, China - Dissertation Example ignificance of the Study 9 1.4 Purpose and Research Questions 9 Chapter 2 – Review of Relevant Literature and Research 12 2.1 Reasons Why Customer Relationship Management is Important for Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments 13 2.2 Information and Computer Technologies and Customer Relationship Management Systems 15 2.3 Forces that Influence Customer Relationship Management Implementation Efforts in Organisations 17 2.4 Customer Relationship Management in Restaurants 18 2.5 Customer Relationship Management in Airlines 20 Chapter 3 – Methodology / Methods Used 23 3.1 Research Approach for the Dissertation Project 24 3.2 Preparation of a Literature Review 25 3.3 Design and Administration of the Survey Questionnaire 26 3.4 Analysis of the Survey Data 27 Chapter 4 – Data Analysis and Discussion 31 Chapter 5 –Conclusions, Recommendations and Suggestion for Further Work 122 Appendix A – Survey Questionnaire 125 Appendix B – Raw Data for the S urvey 135 Bibliography/ References 146 List of Figures Figure 4.1: Histogram depicting location of Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments from Beijing Included in the Survey 34 Figure 4.2: Histogram depicting Annual Turnover of Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 36 Figure 4.3: Pie Chart depicting Number of Employees at Hospitality Establishments in Beijing Included in the Survey 37 Figure 4.4: Histogram depicting Designation of those responding to Survey Questionnaire from Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 38 Figure 4.5: Pie Chart depicting Departmental Affiliation of those responding to Survey Questionnaire from Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 39 Figure 4.6: Pie Chart depicting Satisfaction with Efforts made for Implementation of CRM Initiatives at Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 40 Figure 4.7:... From the research it can be comprehended that it is now important for hospitality establishments from around the world to understand how best to effectively manage relationships with customers. Times are difficult, and the rapidly changing business environment is highly competitive. Thus, it makes sense to try to retain customers and to make the right impression on all those who have had a first experience with a hospitality establishment, especially for establishments serving clients combining business with pleasure who may return. It is far more expensive to try to attract new customers than to try to retain the existing and during tough and competitive times, it is best for hotels to try to ensure that its clientele remain loyal. Thus, although academic literature and practical implementations of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) do not present a clear indication about what CRM is, it is clear that to know the customers and to serve them better it is important for a hospitali ty establishment to present superior interactions and knowledge about the customer. The use of information and communications technologies with data mining for knowledge gathering is now apparent in many hospitality establishments for supporting Customer Relationship Management and formulation of management strategy. Because CRM is about getting to know customers and their needs better, it is about implementing specific Information and Communication technology projects within an organisation to process organisational data to deliver knowledge about customers and their needs.

Marketing communication and consumer behaviour Essay

Marketing communication and consumer behaviour - Essay Example However, usually this communication flow is disturbed by the presence of noise or distractions. This results in failed communication. All marketing communications are carried out keeping a certain objective in mind. These objectives can range from informing the consumer about the product to persuading the consumer to buy the product. (Michael, Gary, Soren and Margrate, 20) Marketing communication has been used to establish social control in many different areas. It has been especially useful in influencing public opinion for religious and political campaigns. However, before embarking on a communications journey; the marketing mix must be in place for a product. The marketing mix consists of 4Ps, namely product, place, price and promotion. Product refers to the essential feature of the product including packaging, place refers to distribution and where the product will be available while promotion is the element concerned with marketing communications. For a company to excel, its promotional effort must be in coordination with the marketing. Therefore the advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations must all convey the same message. As a child I was very fond of the movie E.T and the movie went on to become a super hit with audiences all over the world. Kraft foods utilized this opportunity to plan a three-sixty degree approach to marketing its products, teaming up with ET. E.T was featured on all Kraft Foods products across eight product categories, there were E.T related in package premiums in all Kraft foods, sweepstakes were conducted with prizes which included trips to Universal Studios, providing point of purchase stand alone displays to be used by retailers and developing of E.T related television advertisements linking E.T, the sweepstakes and Kraft Foods. Needless to say Kraft Foods became a favourite with E.T lovers all over the world. IMC however requires an understanding of the target audience, the use of a mix of promotional tools, coordination of all promotional tools and a carefully timed continuous flow of information. Companies which do not follow the IMC properly often end up confusing the consumer no end and this results in confused positioning of the brand. An example is of Burger King which insisted on using different taglines all the times which confused the consumer no end, thereby the fast-food joint had no clear positioning and gave no reason to the consumer to eat there. (Michael, Bruce and William, 28) Communications are concerned with products and brands. There is a significant difference between the two. In ancient times branding was known to be the act of burning a mark on the flesh of your sheep to claim ownership. A brand is a set of attributes both tangible and intangible that distinguish one product from another and create a distinct identity for a product. This is how people perceive the same milk with a different name, differently. Volvo and BMW are both essentially cars which have the same function. However to the consumer they are distinguished entities; while BMW is the drive machine, Volvo stands for safety and reliability. Also significant are the values and personality associated with a brand. Coca-Cola has values such as fun, music and friendship associated with it. While

Writing Express Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing Express Reflection - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that the subject involved the role that chief nursing officer plays in relation to the staff nurses, which was made easier through the internet searches. Sometime ago, the reporter would have had to scan a book or article to get this information and see whether the information was related to the subject. In addition, taking the writing express course has helped me appreciate that he prefers a visual style of learning, rather than an auditory one. For instance, the author learnt more about the subject by reading related material and viewing graphics and charts. Since the writing express class was mainly visual as an online course, he was happy that this was his preferred learning style.This essay declares that  the writing express course has also helped him to understand and appreciate himself better, while it has also given him skills and abilities that the reporter can use in his future courses. For instance, his is better equipped to collect resea rch and identify related resources; while he will also be able to order articles and books online.  While using my research skills in finding articles related to CNOs and their roles around the staff nurses, the author also found very helpful tutorials and he now knows that the internet has numerous resources that he can use in his future courses if any questions arise.  The writing express course also aided me in identifying and achieving work-related goals.

Marketing communication and consumer behaviour Essay

Marketing communication and consumer behaviour - Essay Example However, usually this communication flow is disturbed by the presence of noise or distractions. This results in failed communication. All marketing communications are carried out keeping a certain objective in mind. These objectives can range from informing the consumer about the product to persuading the consumer to buy the product. (Michael, Gary, Soren and Margrate, 20) Marketing communication has been used to establish social control in many different areas. It has been especially useful in influencing public opinion for religious and political campaigns. However, before embarking on a communications journey; the marketing mix must be in place for a product. The marketing mix consists of 4Ps, namely product, place, price and promotion. Product refers to the essential feature of the product including packaging, place refers to distribution and where the product will be available while promotion is the element concerned with marketing communications. For a company to excel, its promotional effort must be in coordination with the marketing. Therefore the advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations must all convey the same message. As a child I was very fond of the movie E.T and the movie went on to become a super hit with audiences all over the world. Kraft foods utilized this opportunity to plan a three-sixty degree approach to marketing its products, teaming up with ET. E.T was featured on all Kraft Foods products across eight product categories, there were E.T related in package premiums in all Kraft foods, sweepstakes were conducted with prizes which included trips to Universal Studios, providing point of purchase stand alone displays to be used by retailers and developing of E.T related television advertisements linking E.T, the sweepstakes and Kraft Foods. Needless to say Kraft Foods became a favourite with E.T lovers all over the world. IMC however requires an understanding of the target audience, the use of a mix of promotional tools, coordination of all promotional tools and a carefully timed continuous flow of information. Companies which do not follow the IMC properly often end up confusing the consumer no end and this results in confused positioning of the brand. An example is of Burger King which insisted on using different taglines all the times which confused the consumer no end, thereby the fast-food joint had no clear positioning and gave no reason to the consumer to eat there. (Michael, Bruce and William, 28) Communications are concerned with products and brands. There is a significant difference between the two. In ancient times branding was known to be the act of burning a mark on the flesh of your sheep to claim ownership. A brand is a set of attributes both tangible and intangible that distinguish one product from another and create a distinct identity for a product. This is how people perceive the same milk with a different name, differently. Volvo and BMW are both essentially cars which have the same function. However to the consumer they are distinguished entities; while BMW is the drive machine, Volvo stands for safety and reliability. Also significant are the values and personality associated with a brand. Coca-Cola has values such as fun, music and friendship associated with it. While

Unethical advertising Essay Example for Free

Unethical advertising Essay Generally speaking, advertising is the promotion of goods, services and ideas, usually by an identified sponsor. Marketers see advertising as part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. Advertisement Advertising is a form of communication whose purpose is to inform potential customers about products and services and how to obtain and use them. Many advertisements are also designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinforcement of brand image and brand loyalty. For these purposes advertisements often contain both factual information and persuasive messages. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers, video games, the Internet, and billboards. Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company. Definition of Advertisement Description or presentation of a product, idea, or organization, in order to induce individuals to buy, support, or approve of it. Sponsored informational public notice appearing in any of the print communications media that is designed to appeal to a mass audience in order to persuade, inform, promote, motivate, or otherwise modify behavior toward a favorable pattern of purchasing, supporting, or approving a particular product, service, idea, or organization. When the advertisers message appears in the broadcast media , it is called a commercial . The first advertisement on record in an American newspaper appeared in the Boston News Letter on May 8, 1704. It described an estate for sale in Oyster Bay, Long Island. HISTORY A print advertisement from a 1913 issue of National Geographic However, commercial In ancient times the most common form of advertising was word of mouth. messages and election campaign displays were found in the ruins of Pompeii. Egyptians used papyrus to create sales messages and wall posters. Lost-and-found advertising on papyrus was common in Greece and Rome. As printing developed in the 15th and 16th century, advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print ads were used mainly to promote books (which were increasingly affordable) and medicines (which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe). Quack ads became a problem, which ushered in regulation of advertising content. As the economy was expanding during the 19th century,  the need for advertising grew at the same pace. In America, the classified ads became popular, filling pages of newspapers with small print m essages promoting all kinds of goods. The success of this advertising format led to the growth of mail-order advertising. In 1843 the first advertising agency was established by Volney Palmer in Philadelphia. At first the agencies were just brokers for ad space in newspapers, but the 20th century, advertising agencies started to take over responsibility for the content as well. The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern, more scientific approach in which creativity was allowed to shine, producing unexpected messages that made advertisements interesting to read. The Volkswagen ad campaign featuring such headlines as Think Small and Lemon ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a position or unique selling proposition designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewers mind. Today, advertising is evolving even further, with ,Guerrilla promotions that involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message. MEDIA One effective advertising method is to pay people to hold signs in public places. Transit advertising is combined with experiential marketing using pedapods in Australia. Commercial advertising media can include billboards (outdoor advertising), street furniture components, printed flyers, radio, cinema and television ads, web banners, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, taxicab doors and roof mounts, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, stickers on apples in supermarkets, the opening section of streaming audio and video, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an identified sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising. Covert advertising embedded in other entertainment media is known as product placement. A more recent version of this is advertising in film, by having a main character, use an item or other of a definite brand an example is in the movie minority Report, where Tom Cruises character Tom Anderton owns a computer with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top comer, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective  mass-market advertising format and this is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as much for its commercial advertisements as for the game itself, and the average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached 2.5 million Increasingly, other mediums such as those discussed below are overtaking television due to a shift towards consumers usage of the Internet as well as devices such as TiVo. Advertising on the World Wide Web is a recent phenomenon. Prices of Web based advertising space are dependent on the relevance of the surrounding web content and the traffic that the website receives. E-mail advertising is another recent phenomenon. Unsolicited bulk E-mail advertising is known as spam. Some companies have proposed to place messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station. Controversy exists on the effectiveness of Subliminal advertising (see mind control), and the pervasiveness of mass messages (see propaganda). Unpaid advertising (also called word of mouth advertising), can provide good exposure at minimal cost. Personal recommendations (bring a friend, sell it by zealot), spreading buzz, or achieving the feat of equating a brand with a common noun (Xerox photocopier, Kleenex tissue, Vaseline petroleum jelly, Kotex tampons, Maxi pads sanitary napkins, Scotch Tape Clear Tape, Band-aid bandage, Visine eye drops, Q-tips cot ton swabs, Rollerblades inline skates) -.- these must provide the stuff of fantasy to the holder of an advertising budget. The most common method for measuring the impact of mass media advertising is the use of the rating point (rp) or the more accurate target rating point (trp). These measures refer to the percentage of the Universe of the existing base of audience members that can be reached by the use of each media outlet in a particular moment in time. The difference between the two is that the rating point refers to the percentage to the entire universe while the target rating point refers to percentage to a particular segment or target. This becomes very useful when focusing advertising efforts on a particular group of people. For example, think of an advertising campaign targeting a female audience aged 25 to 45. While the overall rating of a TV show might be well over 10 rating points it might very well happens that the same show in the same moment of time is  generating only 2.5 trps ( being the target women 25-45). This would mean that while the show has a large universe of viewers it is not necessarily reaching a large universe of women in the ages of 25 to 45 making it a less desirable location to place an ad for an advertiser looking for this p articular demographic. IMPACT Billboard, New York City The impact of advertising has been a matter of considerable debate and many different claims have been made in different contexts. During debates about the banning of cigarette advertising, a common claim from cigarette manufacturers 3.5 that cigarette advertising does not encourage people to smoke who would not otherwise. The (eventually successful) opponents of advertising, on the other hand, claim that advertising does in fact increase consumption. According to many media sources, the past experience and state of mind of the person subjected to advertising may determine the impact that advertising has. Children under the age of four may be unable to distinguish advertising from other television programs, whilst the ability to determine the truthfulness of the message may not be developed until the age of eight . PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING The same advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation, religious recruitment, and deforestation. Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest , it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes. Attributed to Howard Gossage By David Ogilvy Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, Cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications techniques ( generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and initiatives. In the United States, the granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service advertising. Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of several U.S. government agencies. SOCIAL IMPACT There have been increasing efforts to  protect the public interest by regulating the content and the reach of advertising. Some examples are the ban on television tobacco advertising imposed in many countries, and the total ban on advertising to children under twelve imposed by the Swedish government in 1991. Though that regulation continues in effect for broadcasts originating within the country, it has been weakened by the European Court of Justice, which has found that Sweden was obliged to accept whatever programming was targeted at it from neighboring countries or via satellite. In Europe and elsewhere there is a vigorous debate on whether and how much advertising to children should be regulated. This debate was exacerbated by a report released by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in February 2004 which suggested that food advertising targeting children was an important factor in the epidemic of childhood obesity raging across the United States. In many countries namely N ew Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and many European countries the advertising industry operates a system of self-regulation. Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media agree on a code of advertising standards that they attempt to uphold. The general aim of such codes is to ensure that any advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful. Some self-regulatory organizations are funded by the industry, but remain independent, with the intent of upholding the standards or codes (like the ASA in the UK). Critiques of the medium Advertising wrapped around a train. Minnesota, US As advertising and marketing efforts become increasingly ubiquitous in modern Western societies, the industry has come under criticism of groups such as Ad Busters via culture jamming which criticizes the media and consumerism using advertisings own techniques. The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption. Some advertising campaigns have also been criticized as inadvertently or even intentionally promoting sexism, racism, and ageism. Such criticisms have raised questions about whether this medium is creating or reflecting cultural trends. At very least, advertising often reinforces stereotypes by drawing on recognizable types in order to tell stories in a single image or 30 second time frame. Recognizing the social impact of advertising, Media Watch, a non-profit womens organization, works to educate consumers about how they can register their concerns with advertisers and regulators. It has developed educational  materials for use in schools. The award-winning book, Made You Look How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know , by former Media Watch president Shari Graydon, provides context far these issues for young readers. Public interest groups and free thinkers are increasingly suggesting that access to the mental space targeted by advertisers should be taxed, in that at the present moment that space is being freely taken advantage of by advertisers with no compensation paid to the members of the public who are thus being intruded upon. This kind of tax would be a Pigovian tax in that it would act to reduce what is now increasingly seen as a public nuisance. Efforts to that end are gathering momentum, with Arkansas and Maine considering bills to implement such taxation. Florida enacted such a tax in 1987 but was forced to repeal it after six months, as a result of a concerted effort by national commercial interests, which withdrew planned conventions, causing major losses to the tourism industry, and cancelled advert ising, causing a loss of 12 million dollars to the broadcast industry alone. PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE MEDIUM Billboard in Lund, Sweden, saying One Night Stand Over the years, the public perception of advertising has become very negative. It is seen as a medium that inherently promotes a lie, based on the purpose of the advertisement to encourage the target audience to submit to a cause or a belief, and act on it to the advertising partys benefit and consequently the targets disadvantage. They are either perceived as directly lying (stating opinions or untruths directly as facts), lying by omission (usually of terms unfavorable to the customer), portraying a product or service in a light that does not reflect reality or even making up realities where their product has a new role. EFFECTS ON COMMUNICATION MEDIA Another effect of advertising is to modify the nature of the communication media where it is shown. The clearest example is television. Channels that get most of their revenues from publicity try to make their medium a good place for communicating ads. That means trying to make the public stay for long times and in mental state that will make spectators not to switch the channel through the ads. Programs that are low in mental stimulus and require light concentration and are varied are best for long sitting times and make for much easier emotional jumps to ads, that can become more entertaining than regular shows. A simple way to understand the objectives in television programming is to compare contents from channels  paid and chosen by the viewer with channels that get their income mainly from advertisements. FUTURE With the dawn of the Internet have come many new advertising opportunities. Popup, Flash, banner, and email advertisements (the last often being a form of spam) abound. Recently, the advertising community has attempted to make the adverts themselves desirable to the public. In one example, Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Rolex watches and BMW cars featured in recent James Bond films. Each year, greater sums are paid to obtain a commercial spot during the Super Bowl. Companies attempt to make these commercials sufficiently entertaining that members of the public will actually want to watch them. Particularly since the rise of entertaining advertising, some people may like an advert enough that they wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their adverts to anyone wishing to see or hear them.

Advantages And Disadvantages of Offshore Outsourcing

Advantages And Disadvantages of Offshore Outsourcing The advantages and disadvantages of offshore outsourcing to the western countries (and workforce) and emerging-market countries(and workforce) is discussed based on the context of Western countries outsourcing a part of their business process to vendors primarily from developing countries like China, India, Indonesia, Philippines etc. ADVANTAGES OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING TO WESTERN COMPANIES AND WORKFORCE IN WESTERN COUNTRIES Offshore outsourcing benefits the outsourcer to have an edge over the other competitors in terms of cost reduction, increased productivity and profits by relegating some of its functions to other countries third part contractors and concentrating mainly on their core business (Bahrami 2009). The exploiting of geographical location advantages such as low cost (lower prices for input), availability and quality of resources, larger pool of skilled labours, transportation costs, trade restrictions creates a repositories of valuable rents thus enhancing productivity(Bahrami 2009; Bunyaratavej 2008; Gereffi 2005; Prola 2004). Wells Fargo VISA,a US based company uses contact centres of Mahindra-Satyam, India to make marketing calls to their potential customers in Seattle due to availability of inexpensive labour, abundance of educated English-speaking workforce and government incentives. Philips, Dell, Motorola are buying digital device designs completely from Asian developers. Both these examples are in consistency with the RBV (Resource based view) which suggests that the competitive edge for the firm is gained through maximization of the long-term profits by developing and exploiting resources (Javalgi 2009). The flexible labour laws and time zone difference in developing countries helps to speed up the business process by employees working round the clock in various shifts. The U.S companies like Dell, American Express and Eastman Kodak offer 24/7 customer care services by outsourcing such services to developing countries like India. According to Edwards (1998), cited in Bahrami (2009), by offloading a part of the repetitive business processes to the emerging market workforce, the skilled labour in the western labour pool gets an opportunity to be innovative and hone managerial techniques which helps in productive utilisation of resources thus leading to the profitability of the company. The workforce in western countries who would have lost their job to foreign vendors are trained and reallocated to an advanced level of working which in turn helps in developing new skills and techniques contributing to an improved set of domestic resources (Kedia and Mukherjee 2009). DISADVANTAGES OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING TO WESTERN COMPANIES AND WORKFORCE IN WESTERN COUNTRIES There is a misconception that offshore outsourcing to low wage countries reduce cost because of cheap labour. According to UNCTAD (2005),in some cases considering hidden costs like taxes, duties, management attention, communication and co-ordination expenses etc,the venture turns out to be expensive. The geographical distance and cultural differences act as a barrier for clients to monitor the quality of suppliers work. This can be resolved to an extent if a manager from the western company keeps visiting the vendor location in person (Khan et al. 2003; UNCTAD 2005). It has been recognised by Javalgi (2009) that the absence of global laws or enforcement about intellectual property rights and privacy laws acts as a major threat to the outsourcer companies. The confidential data of outsourcers are at risk in developing countries where these laws are not strictly enforced. When Taiwans BenQ was given a contract by Motorola for designing and manufacturing mobile phones, Ben Q violated the contract and created its own brand and Market in China for selling mobile phones (Bahrami 2009). As a measure to avoid such fraudulent cases Khan (2003) suggests joint venture between the outsourcer and overseas supplier as an option which binds the supplier to handle their customers data with utmost care as the supplier will also be a partner in this case. The loss of western country jobs to foreign providers might lead to negative publicity of the company. Examples about the accusation faced by the US companies like Dell, IBM, City Group for exporting jobs overseas leading to job losses in the USA (Hill 2007, cited in Bahrami 2005) demonstrates this issue. The unethical practices followed by suppliers will have an impact on the reputation of western companies. Nike and Adidas being criticized by the media because of their Indonesias supplier sweatshops poor workplace standards attracted negative publicity and thus reduced sales. To avoid such issues, companies are now taking precautionary measures like initiatives to improve existing poor conditions and also signing contract only with ethical suppliers. For companies involved in outsourcing their engineering and design technologies overseas, keeping abreast with current technological developments will be very difficult since the company will not be directly involved in the process which might lead to diminishing value of the firms competitive advantage, level of expertise and competencies (Kotabe1998, cited in Kotabe and Mudambi 2009).For example, General Electrics (US based company) heavy dependency on Samsung (South Korean Company) for manufacturing its Microwaves ultimately led to the success of Samsung in the same field(Javalgi 2009). Western companies management might benefit in terms of cost reduction by sub-contracting its work to an emerging market country firm, on the flip side it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on their own workforce due to replacement with the equally skilled lower wage overseas employees and also builds an intense competition as they will be competing with the global workforce (Shao and David 2007). The labour force sustainability in any economy is inter-dependent. If technologists for IT activities are outsourced, even the Human resource personnel and other support jobs become redundant in the home country (Shao and David 2007). During 2003 400,000 US jobs have already gone offshore (Ford 2003).This job shift impacts all sectors of western workforce. Also the older western workers failing to acquire new skills or failing to search for alternate jobs would leave the workforce and become a financial burden to the society (Bahrami 2009). ADVANTAGES OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING TO EMERGING MARKET COMPANIES AND WORKFORCE IN EMERGING MARKET COUNTRIES New business opportunities available to emerging market companies puts them in limelight and aids in global recognition by being a part of global commodity chain which would attract more clients and hence enhance its reputation. For example, Tata consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro are the top three India based information service companies which have carved their niche in the global market mainly by serving US clients. The services offered by emerging market companies are expected to be of high standards to match requirements of western companies and to rope in new customers. Hence quality and capability standards of the labour pool (i.e. language, computer skills etc.) will be improved not just to match the requirements but also to attract Multi-national companies from other countries. The stimulation of growth and starting of local vendors due to new company establishments would increase the infrastructure, availability of human resource jobs and also the job opportunities and wages thus improving standards of living in developing countries (Farrel et al. 2006). DISADVANTAGES OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING TO EMERGING MARKET COMPANIES AND WORKFORCE IN EMERGING MARKET COUNTRIES Emerging market companies heavily relying on offshore clients for their survival will have its profitability entwined with the western economic and political stability and hence will be affected when there is fluctuation in foreign currency rates or any political instability (Birou and Fawcett 1993; Huchzermeier and Cohen 1996; Cho and Kang 2001; Kouvelis 1999; Chopra and Sodhi 2004, cited in Canbolat et al. 2008). For example, credit-crunch during 2008 had an adverse effect on all the globally spread companies dependent on the US market. The strong market players might overexploit their offshore suppliers through their high bargaining power. Wal-Mart, the US retailer, approximately subcontracts 6000 global suppliers and 80% are from China which imposes strong buyer power on its china suppliers by setting price for some of the products they buy (PBS-Frontline- Is_Walmart_Good_for_America.mpg). The cultural and linguistic barriers might pose as a problem to communicate and co-ordinate effectively for both the western companies and the developing world companies. The cream of the workforce will be lured and employed to work for the benefit of the companies of developing countries which would lead to enclaved development and international brain drain'(Kobrin 1999) thus widening the economic gap in the society. The offshore outsourcing business is a dynamic and highly competitive strategy. India, which once had the highest number of contact centre jobs, is recently being out paced by Philippines.The Philippines now leads India in call-centre jobs, employing 350,000 compared with Indias 330,000 (Yun and Chu 2011).Replacement of the low wage outsourced vendors due to automation also poses as a threat to emerging market workforce (UNCTAD 2005). The effect of polarization, dualism and geographical isolation would lead to unequal distribution of wealth amongst the developing countys workforce (Kobrin 1999). Like anti-globalists argue, offshore outsourcing (contributor to the process of globalization) benefits only to those developing countries with a comparative advantage to thrive economically and the others remain neglected. This is the same with respect to the workforce in fewer cities of a country enjoying the limelight and the others being left out. Bangalore and other metropolitan cities in case of India and Shangai in China which are the hotbed for offshore outsourcers enjoy top class services and amenities while the majority of the rural workforce of India and China still faces issues like unemployment and poverty. CONCLUSION Offshore outsourcing can be a win-win situation for both western and emerging market countries if a balance between capitalizing the benefits and adopting measures to counteract the drawback is achieved. The international divisions of labour on a global scale which is the result of the capitalist-world system(Gereffi 2009) can lead to what Amable(2000, p.656), cited in(Gereffi 2009) describes as institutional complementarily i.e. Multilateral reinforcement mechanism between institutional arrangements the existence of western companies facilitating the existence of the vendors in developing countries and vice versa.

Mindless Machines :: Essays Papers

Mindless Machines The official foundations for "artificial intelligence" were set forth by A. M. Turing, in his 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" wherein he also coined the term and made predictions about the field. He claimed that by 1960, a computer would be able to formulate and prove complex mathematical theorems, write music and poetry, become world chess champion, and pass his test of artificial intelligences. In his test, a computer is required to carry on a compelling conversation with humans, fooling them into believing they are speaking with another human. All of his predictions require a computer to think and reason in the same manner as a human. Despite 50 years of effort, only the chess championship has come true. By refocusing artificial intelligence research to a more humanlike, cognitive model, the field will create machines that are truly intelligent, capable of meet Turing's goals. Currently, the only "intelligent" programs and computers are not really intellige nt at all, but rather they are clever applications of different algorithms lacking expandability and versatility. The human intellect has only been used in limited ways in the artificial intelligence field, however it is the ideal model upon which to base research. Concentrating research on a more cognitive model will allow the artificial intelligence (AI) field to create more intelligent entities and ultimately, once appropriate hardware exists, a true AI. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines intelligence as the capacity to apprehend facts and propositions, to reason about them, and the ability to understand them and their relations to each other. A. M. Turing had this definition in mind when he made his predictions and designed his test, commonly known as the Turing test. His test is, in principle, simple. A group of judges converse with different entities, some computers and some human, without knowledge of which is which. The job of the judges is to discern which entity is a computer. Judges may ask them any question they like, "Are you a computer?" excepted, and the participants may answer with anything they like, and in turn, ask questions of the judges. The concept of the test is not difficult, but creating an entity capable of passing the test with current technology is virtually impossible. Current AI entities are only different applications of algorithms already in heavy use and are not actually intelligent.

The First World War (WWI) :: World War 1 I One

Chapter 1: The Right to Make War Since 1795, when Immanuel Kant published in his old age his treatise on "Perpetual Peace," many have considered it an established fact that war is the destruction of all good and the origin of all evil. In spite of all that history teaches, no conviction is felt that the struggle between nations is inevitable, and the growth of civilization is credited with a power to which war must yield. But, undisturbed by such human theories and the change of times, war has again and again marched from country to country with the clash of arms, and has proved its destructive as well as creative and purifying power. It has not succeeded in teaching mankind what its real nature is. Long periods of war, far from convincing men of the necessity of war, have, on the contrary, always revived the wish to exclude war, where possible, from the political intercourse of nations. This wish and this hope are widely disseminated even today. The maintenance of peace is lauded as the only goal at which statesmanship should aim. This unqualified desire for peace has obtained in our days a quite peculiar power over men's spirits. This aspiration finds its public expression in peace leagues and peace congresses; the Press of every country and of every party opens its columns to it. The current in this direction is, indeed, so strong that the majority of Governments profess--outwardly, at any rate--that the necessity of maintaining peace is the real aim of their policy; while when a war breaks out the aggressor is universally stigmatized, and all Governments exert themselves, partly in reality, partly in pretense, to extinguish the conflagration. Pacific ideals, to be sure, are seldom the real motive of their action. They usually employ the need of peace as a cloak under which to promote their own political aims. This was the real position of affairs at the Hague Congresses,[1] and this is also the meaning of the action of the United States of America, who in recent times have earnestly tried to conclude treaties for the establishment of Arbitration Courts, first and foremost with England, but also with Japan, France, and Germany. No practical results, it must be said, have so far been achieved. We can hardly assume that a real love of peace prompts these efforts. This is shown by the fact that precisely those Powers which, as the weaker, are exposed to aggression, and therefore were in the greatest need of international protection, have been completely passed over in the American proposals for Arbitration Courts.

Economic Growth Essay

In any nation, the government policies, institutions, and laws collaborate to create a growth infrastructure which coordinates, enables, and encourages the economic behavior that results in the accumulation of human capital, physical capital, natural resources, and technology. These resources have a role in generating sustained long-run economic growth. Physical capital refers to the tools that are used to leverage the productive ability of an average worker. Physical capital includes transportation equipments, computers, machinery, and factories which facilitate the production of goods and services. They expand the capacity of an economy to produce goods in the future, thereby promoting economic growth. (Jones, 2002) Human capital refers to the numerous abilities that enable an average worker to apply and understand new, productive knowledge. An increase in the stock of human capital is achieved through education and on the job training. This equips workers with the appropriate skills to increase production, and, therefore, increasing economic growth. Natural resources provide the raw materials that are used in the production of goods and services. A nation that is endowed with adequate natural resources and has tools to extract them, can acquire the necessary raw materials for production and improve its economic growth in the long-run. Technological knowledge is used to bring scarce resources together to produce the required services and goods. Technology facilitates the production of better and more output from a given quantity of scarce economic resources, and this is what sustains the economic well-being, and drives economic growth of a nation. (Jones, 2002) The government through its policies and institutions can discourage or contribute to long-run growth. The government can encourage growth by developing power, transport, and other utilities. Growth can also be encouraged by using policies that will result in stable and low inflation. Heavy taxation by the government will discourage economic growth as it will reduce investments in the economy. Reference Jones, I. C. (2002). Introduction to economic growth. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.