Essay on Is Social Networking Ruining Our Society

Social networking sites like Myspace, Twitter and Facebook have literally exploded in popularity in just a few short years. With more than 60 million active Facebook users and an average of 250,000 new registrations per day, it is evident that the world is turning to social networking. At the moment Australia is the fourth largest user of Facebook in the world and the phenomenon is only growing. Social networking is providing people of the world with an online community in which we can talk to our friends from all over the world simultaneously. Some debate that Facebook, and other social networking sites are undermining our ability to communicate and the use of such sites dehumanise what is an important part of community life and living†¦show more content†¦The updates are available for the world or for your select group of followers to see. It gives you the ability to prattle on about your day, share links with the world or post photos of your Moroccan chicken casserole you had for dinner that night, all while feeling assured that the people who are following your posts really care. It’s a fun, ongoing conversation and definitely feeds the ego a bit. With over two hundred thousand active users per week and three million Twitter messages a day, the site allows the user to communicate to a large group of people with ease. Celebrities aren’t as unreachable as they once were, with fans easily being able to contact their favourite singers and actors with the possibility of even receiving a reply. Twitter has also helped boost brand recognition and also aids in promotion of television shows and new music. For instance, the character of Sue Sylvester on the comedy musical television show Glee, has her own very humorous Twitter account with updates such as â€Å"Health insurance is for the weak. I perform all my own medical procedures† and â€Å"Sylvester/Palin 2012†. Usage of the site has increased dramatically in the past year, with estimates of around three million active accounts in total. Sites like these do not just help us communicate with each other. There are many ways our lives and the world are improved by technology - and Twitter - like mostShow MoreRelatedAre Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society Essay1670 Words   |  7 PagesLiliana Katiana English I May 18, 2013 Are Social Networking Sites Good For Our Society? Many people in our society can relate. We wake up, check our phones. We go to school, check our phones. We go home, check our phones. And right before we go to bed, we check our phones. And for what? What are we constantly checking? Imagine logging out of social networking sites for one day. How would you feel? You would probably feel disconnected and want to log back on as soon as possible. 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Today kids are tweetingRead MoreEffects of social media on communication skills1675 Words   |  7 Pages The Effects of Social Media on Communication Skills May 20, 2013 Abstract This paper summarizes the effects of social media on hindering communication skills and reducing social activity in the world. Each reason is supported by evidence by referring to four published books and some articles online. It focuses mainly on social media via the Web, such as, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, to which many of the youth are exposed to nowadays, and this exposure has led to addiction. ThisRead MoreSocial Media Policies, Concerted Activity, And Hr Management1320 Words   |  6 PagesCase Study: Social Media Policies, Concerted Activity, and HR Management DeVry University â€Æ' Introduction Social media is one of the newest technological advances that have found its way into the foundation of our lives. Part of our lives is how we make a financial living. For some people what we post online can find it s way into our work environment. Sites like LinkedIn have been able to improve business relationships and Facebook advertising has weaved its way into almost every marketing planRead MoreThe Effects Of Being Addicted And Why Is Bad For Humans1736 Words   |  7 PagesDefine that social media is an addiction→ relate it to other addictions. However, I begin to discuss the negative effects of being addicted and why that is bad for humans. It strays more from addiction, into how the addiction is ruining us or taking us in a bad direction. So maybe figure out a way to bring it back. The addiction manifests the idea that we never have to be alone → that is detrimental to SOCIETY MORE THAN ANYTHING. Many people have gotten used to using social networks asRead MoreEffects Of Social Computing On Society1243 Words   |  5 Pages Effects of Social Computing Micah Torres Csci 103-Survey of Computer Science Instructor Xiong Effects of Social Computing Social computing has created the ability for anyone to be made available for direct communication to strangers and friends by way of the internet. Social media sites allow people stay updated with information in real-time, and they provide for constant contact between users and their followers. With the rise in mobile computing technology, many people

Analysis Of The Book My Dungeon Shook By James Baldwin

African Americans have been inferior to Whites for nearly 100 years. Moreover, experiencing the forefront of brutality, racism, and discrimination of this great nation. Baldwin, King, and Coates write informative letters addressing the lifestyle forced upon blacks, due to the misguided tradition. The authors express the benefits of the injudicious customs for Whites at the price of slavery, injustice, and violence towards Black Americans. Each letter argues that a person should not be discouraged or dismayed, but to have faith in the system because you too will live the American Dream. Baldwin, King, and Coates overflow their letters with hope, faith, and love to educate people when they’re in their darkest hour. â€Å"My Dungeon Shook† by†¦show more content†¦They may know their ways are wrong but refuse to acknowledge it because it goes against the tradition that’s been established. Baldwin states, â€Å"You must accept them and accept them with love ; for these innocent people have no other hope, they are in effect still trapped in a history which they do not under; and until they understand it they cannot be released from it† (pp.2). Baldwin asserts not to transform oneself, rather remain humble and hopeful. The second letter, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, Martin Luther King Jr. aim is civil disobedience, nonviolence, and the church. He believes it is the church responsibility to ensure equality and integrity for all mankind. He argues, â€Å"In spite of my shattered dreams of the past, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religion leadership of this community would see the justice of our causes and with deep moral concern serve as the channel through which our grievance could get to the power structure; I had hope that each of you would understand; But again I have been disappointed† (pp. 5). Kings assert that the main problem captivating society is injustice and segregation of Black Ame ricans. Moreover, he states, â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny; whatever affects one directly affects all

Strategy for Modern Competitive Environment - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theStrategy for Modern Competitive Environment. Answer: Introduction: Strategy is the very important concept that has been studied since years. For making improvements in the business, strategic approach by management in every function is important. This assay deals with the discussion of the strategy and its importance for business and for a non-profit organization. The later part of the essay discusses about the challenges faced by the organizations in developing and implementing the strategy. The concept of modern competitive environment and its relation with strategy is also discussed in the essay. Strategy: Strategy is the concept that has been adopted in businesses by military. Strategy can be defined as the set of activities that bridges the gap between the means and the ends. The term strategy has entered the business area by describing the activities or the steps that the company takes in order to compete in the industry and to enhance the customers base (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley and Schaefer, 2009). Strategy is the result of the decision that has been made by the companys top management regarding the process or the policies that needs to be followed by the organization in order to work effectively. It can be defined as the patterns of the actions that are being implemented in order to perform (Ireland, 2007). It can simply be explained as the direction in which the company performs in order to achieve its goals. Importance in business: Strategy provides direction to the company: as discussed that strategy is the set of activities that needs to be conducted in the company in order to perform the tasks. These strategies provide the direction to the company to achieve its gaols. Thus it is very important for the business to make the strategies to perform each and every task. Strategy helps in using the resources optimally: making the strategy also helps in using the resources effectively and intelligently (Johnson, Langley, Melin and Whittington, 2007). There are many resources available with the organza tin. Excessive use of these resources may increase the cost of production. Thus, framing the strategy helps in using those resources effectively so that cost of production can be maintained. Enhancing business and customers retention: Strategy needs to be framed by the company in every function such as marketing, sales, HR, operations etc. making the strategy for different function results in enhancing the business practices and also helps in retaining the customers as the customers also prefer to associate with the company having proper functioning (Gobble, 2012). Example: Woolworth is the company that operates in supermarket retail industry in Australia. It is one of the leading companies in the industry and its strategies are its competitive advantage. Its effective strategies allow the company to compete with its competitors. The company evaluates the industry and the market and develop the strategies accordingly. The recent strategy of the company is to reduce the prices and cater the market (Dos Santos, 2011). As far as the expansion strategy is considered, the company focuses on developing new stores in Australia so that customers reach can be enhanced. Importance in NPO: The importance of strategy in Non-profit organization is slightly different from the for profit organization. This is because the success of the strategy in for-profit organization can be measured by its revenue, sales etc. Non-profit organizations also need strategy but their aim is different (Nestorovska, 2013). The effectiveness of strategy in this organization can be determined by the large number of people the organization is serving. Effectiveness: Strategy helps in making the process effective in the non-profit organizations. This is because if the processes of these organizations are effective then only the organization can attract more number of people (Doole and Lowe, 2008). Fund raising: Non-profit organisation need funds and cash inflow, which they cannot earn but have to get it from the other organizations (Teece, 2010). This process also required the company to make strategy so that more and more profit organization invest and support the non-profit organization. Planning: It is one of the major advantages the non-profit organization has by making the strategies. Planning is not only important for non-profit organization but also for the for profit organizations. Different non-profit organizations have different gaols and have different strategies to achieve the same. Some runs their firm to support the animals, some support the poor people. So, this organization works for a social cause. Oxfam is one of the NPO in Australia that believes in implementing different strategies to cater the service to the people. As far as the recent strategy of the company is considered, they are concentrating on empowering women so that the social cause of domestic violence can be removed (Eyben, Kidder, Rowlands and Bronstein, 2008). Thus making strategy of educating the women and supporting them has supported them to achieve the gaols. Challenges in developing strategy: for business and for NPO Environmental challenges: the major challenge that the organizations face in order to develop the strategy for the company is environmental challenge (Dul, Bruder, Buckle, Carayon, Falzon, Marras, Wilson and van der Doelen, 2012). The internal and the external environment of the company affect the strategy development of the same. This is because the change in the internal environmental of the company and the variations in the industrial environment have to be considered when the strategy of the company needs to be developed. Challenges of resource availability: It is very important for the companies to make use of the resources available in optimum manner (Freeman, 2010). This is because if the company does not use the resources optimally then it may raise their cost of production. The availability of the resources is also challenge for the company as the company needs to make the strategy according to the resource available to them. Sustainability as a challenge: These days, sustainability is the big challenge faced by the organizations (David, 2011). This is because the practices of the companies are harming the nature and the atmosphere. Thus making the strategy according to the sustainability laws in mind is necessary. Legal and governmental policies: different policies area framed by the government for different industries. Thus, the organization needs to frame the strategy in accordance with the legal policies made by the government (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2012). Challenges in implementing strategy: Insufficient partner buy in: implementing the strategy requires the process to be followed. Kit has been analysed that it is not necessary that every partner needs the change or can adapt the change effectively. Thus, it is very difficult to make the changes or implementing the strategy in the process. Insufficient leadership attention: implanting strategy requires effective leadership. This is because here the leaders have to pay their part in implementing the strategy and helping thee people to adapt the same. Implementation of the strategy fails when there is weak leadership. Weak strategy: for implementing the strategy effectively, it is required to make strong strategy that is appropriate to achieve the desired gaols (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). If the strategy that has been made is not related to the goals that have been set then it is not possible to get the desired outcome and thus the implementation of the strategy also fails. Making the strategies that are appropriate and aligned with the objectives that need to be achieved then the implementation of the strategy become very easy as it automatically gives best results. Resistance of change: there are employees in the organization that resist the changes that have been made in the companys process (Peppard and Ward, 2016). This is because the change in the processes requires the organization to make changes in the associated function as well. The employees need to adapt those changes and require to get trained in new processes and skills. Some of them resist these changes as they need to make so much effort to adapt such changes. Example: Oxfam is the non-profit organisation that has faced many issues at the time of implementing the strategies. One of the issues or the challenge is the weak management role. This is the major challenge that has been faced by the company called Oxfam (Eyben, Kidder, Rowlands and Bronstein, 2008). Some of the other problems are unaligned structure of the company, lack of communication between the department etc. these problems need to be resolved so that the strategies cam be implemented easily in the company. Modern competitive environment: A modern competitive environment can be defied as the external system that affects the practices of the company or the business. It is the environment where all the companies function and compete with each other to get large customers base and market share. If there are large numbers of sellers in the market then the industry has to face large competition as the customers have many choices. In other case if there are less number of sellers than customers have fewer choices and thus the competition is also low in that industry (Wheelen and Hunger, 2011). This competitive environment also involves the competitors that can be divided into two categories. First one is the direct competitors. These are the competitors who sell the similar type of products while the indirect competitors are those who sell different types of products but still compete with the other companies. For any business, it is very necessary to conduct competitive environment analysis so that information about the in dustry and the competitors can be analysed in order to frame the strategy. There are many factors that affect the competition the industry. Two of the factors are indirect and direct competitors. The third factor that affects the competitive environment in this modern world is the regulators elements. Government makes different policies for different industry. The last element that makes the environment competitive is the social and technological trends. The social and technological trends are changing and thus making the environment more competitive for some of the companies. This is because the companies have to change their processes according to the new technology. Relevancy of strategy in modern competitive environment: Strategy formation is that major function that needs to be conducted in the organization and environment of the industry is major component that affect the formation of the industry. This is because the change in the environment and the level of competition in the industry allow the company to make changes in its strategies so that it can compete in the competitive environment of the industry. It has been analysed that porters five forces is the technique that helps the organization to analyse the five factors that makes the environment competitive such as the threat of competitors, substitutes and new entrants and the bargaining power of seller or buyers. Change in these factors affects the level and intensity of the competition in the industry. For example, the fast food industry is becoming highly competitive these days (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley and Schaefer, 2009. This is because of the changes in the demands and choices of the people from the fast food companies. McDonalds have realised that the environment is becoming competitive and thus developed the strategy of serving the people with different types of meals other than burgers such as McPuff, McFlurry etc. this facilitates the company to cater big market and customers base. There are many companies such as Woolworth and Coles who understands the competition level in the market and this make the strategy accordingly. Conclusion: It has been concluded from the report that Strategy is the very important concept that has been studied since years. For making improvements in the business, strategic approach by management in every function is important. Strategy is the concept that has been adopted in businesses by military. Strategy can be defined as the set of activities that bridges the gap between the means and the ends. It has been analysed from the report that strategy is very important for the business and for the Non-profit organizations as well. This is because for running the business and achieving the desired goals, it is required by the company to frame the strategies that provide direction that needs to be followed. References: Besanko, D., Dranove, D., Shanley, M. and Schaefer, S., 2009.Economics of strategy. John Wiley Sons. David, F.R., 2011.Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Peaeson/Prentice Hall. Doole, I. and Lowe, R., 2008.International marketing strategy: analysis, development and implementation. Cengage Learning EMEA. Dos Santos, M.A., 2011. Minimizing the business impact on the natural environment: a case study of Woolworths South Africa.European Business Review,23(4), pp.384-391. Dul, J., Bruder, R., Buckle, P., Carayon, P., Falzon, P., Marras, W.S., Wilson, J.R. and van der Doelen, B., 2012. A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: developing the discipline and profession.Ergonomics,55(4), pp.377-395. Eyben, R., Kidder, T., Rowlands, J. and Bronstein, A., 2008. Thinking about change for development practice: a case study from Oxfam GB.Development in Practice,18(2), pp.201-212. Freeman, R.E., 2010.Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge university press. Gobble, M.M., 2012. Innovation and strategy.Research-Technology Management,55(3), pp.63-67. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R.E., 2012.Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning. Ireland, R.D., 2007. Strategy vs. entrepreneurship.Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal,1(1?2), pp.7-10. Johnson, G., Langley, A., Melin, L. and Whittington, R., 2007. Strategy as practice.Research directions and resources. Cambridge. Nestorovska, T., 2013. The role of the human resources in the creation of the competative advantage in the modern buisness environment.European Scientific Journal, ESJ,9(34). Peppard, J. and Ward, J., 2016.The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy. John Wiley Sons. Teece, D.J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation.Long range planning,43(2), pp.172-194. Wheelen, T.L. and Hunger, J.D., 2011.Concepts in strategic management and business policy. Pearson Education India.

Self Relaince Essay Example For Students

Self Relaince Essay ESSAY II Self-Reliance I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment they instill is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost,- and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment. Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato, and Milton is, that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men but what they thought. A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another. There is a time in every mans education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows w hat that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried. Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none. This sculpture in the memory is not without preestablished harmony. The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope. Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, t he connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark. What pretty oracles nature yields us on this text, in the face and behaviour of children, babes, and even brutes! That divided and rebel mind, that distrust of a sentiment because our arithmetic has computed the strength and means opposed to our purpose, these have not. Their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered, and when we look in their .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 , .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .postImageUrl , .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 , .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:hover , .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:visited , .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:active { border:0!important; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:active , .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678 .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uec6b02b9ffa02d79d1b5cbc94cb57678:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Reproduction: A-Courting to Nature! 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Political Machines free essay sample

Machines In the 1800’s the process of industrialization began in the U. S. The creation of many new inventions and the economic structure of this era made this possible. This caused millions of people to migrate to the United States from different country’s in search of better paying jobs, and a better living standard. The excessive growth of people in city’s and the diversity between rich and poor in this society were the main benefactors to the rise of political machines. This organization of politicians started by controlling the under-developed government’s, the people, and later this city‘s. Would you say that their practices had a negative affect on these city’s? Well of course they did. By the end of the 1900’s they did nothing that helped the city’s long-term besides bringing fourth greed, violence, and corruption between themselves. When the U. S industrialized, the urban population grew as much as these factories, corporations, and industries did. We will write a custom essay sample on Political Machines or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With these great opportunities of money, came great responsibilities of city management. It became too much for one person to run these city’s, so political machines were created to take the place of an under-developed government. Political machines had the power to provide necessities like; shelter, food, and, work to the poor immigrants in these city’s and, all they wanted in return were votes. The bosses that were in control of the political machines wanted votes because if they won in elections they would gain a lot more power and it would lead to a lot more money. When all these immigrants were bought with the basic needs of surviving, they would go and do what they were told which was to vote for their leader, and if they didn’t they would pay. For example: in document 1, second to last paragraph, it states â€Å"Political machines could be greedy and vindictive and often stole millions from the tax-payers in a form of graft. † Which in this case it was a form of collecting money, through an illegal way. After they have gotten the power they needed, and they have controlled the people by using intimidation and violence, all that was left was the city’s. So, these political machines ended up buying and bribing city officials like judges, police, and workers for their own personal benefits. In Document 4, titled â€Å"Why the Ward Boss Rules† it states how easy it can be for these ward bosses, people in control of city votes, to buy out these judges so they can get charged for small crimes when arrested, but really their serious ones. As well as the ones abiding a certain topic, there are always the ones who contradict it. When the economic structure brought in these â€Å"leaders† to the people of the city’s there were the immigrants who really liked the political machines because of all the help they were provided with. But then their were the ones that ended up figuring out that the help they were receiving came from self-interest and they despised being controlled that led to the bosses personal use. It was really easy for these â€Å"leaders† to gain what they wanted too especially knowing that many people in this society were ignorant to understand the value of their purposes, or simply there value of contributing to their purposes. For Example in Document 1, paragraph 4, it states â€Å"They helped immigrants to gain citizenship†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Many of the jobs for public-works projects were distributed by members of the political machine to their supporters.† meaning that they gave out great help to these people, and portrayed these bosses as social, political, politicians. George Washington Plunkitt, a member of Tammany Hall, also stated in Document 7 that what they do for the people is philanthropy, and that the poor are the most grateful people in the world, and they have a lot o f poor friends so everybody they know will eventually vote for their leader in elections. Which is relevant that these â€Å"leaders† provide a benefit for these people and they get a benefit out of it. And their gaining millions for doing this. In the real-world of where we live in, when a certain structure gets out of control with the amount of power they have, there is always a new form of power created to destroy, or stabilize it into an equal state. Besides the rise of political machines, also came the rise of Reformers. Reformers did exactly what political machines did. They tried to help the needs of the poor and they tried to fix the social problems that were affecting these cities. But without all the greed and corruption of course, reformers worked in a more civilized manner. Political machines started to crumble in this society when certain reformers specialized in what these â€Å"leaders† were doing to these city’s. They made political cartoons to represent what was going on. For instance in Document 3 titled, ‘Twas Him, the famous reformer Thomas Nast brought down the Tammany Hall political machine with his very detailed political cartoon, where it shows Boss Tweed and all of the other corrupt workers, pointing around and not admitting as to who stole the peoples money. Not only did it grab the peoples attention but also the governments. Progressives came into the picture when they thought it was best for the government to take more serious actions to the social problems that were created. As soon as the reformers did what they needed to do the structure of political machines slowly started to fade away. For example in Document 2, paragraph 2-3, it states â€Å"municipal government were another innovation made by reformers† and â€Å"Reformers advocated†¦.  issuing secret ballots printed by the state† meaning that if by creating municipal governments it can cause the power of these bosses to spread out to others and, that if they issue private ballot boxes, then no immigrant has to be scared in voting, and they could naturally vote for whoever they wanted. In conclusion these political machines; corruption, greed, and self interest did nothing to contribute a good cause to these people. Instead they were lied too, stolen from, a nd some lived in fear. It was a common good to their wealth. Its quite ironic how this era of industrialization came to unfold, I consider it a ladder. The first section was the cause which was the immigrants, the second section was the effect which was the political machines, and the third section was the solution which was the reformers. It had its own steps to leading to a better society. Imagine if our world never had a solution, like the reformers in this example. The high extent of power within these political machines are all solved because of a set of people who actually did something to stop this. I’ma apply this to the dictators back in the days. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini all rose to power, because they had the perfect opportunity for it, and its what they wanted, if there was never a solution or someone brave enough to do something about it, then imagine how corrupt our world would’ve been, under the hands of one and all mighty ruler. Doesn’t sound right does it? Well yeah life does need solutions, and in order to arrange that solution, there is an effect and a cause right behind that.

Understanding Congestive Heart Failure essays

Understanding Congestive Heart Failure essays Congestive heart failure is the most common health problem with the elderly. Some health organizations believe that men are more prone to congestive heart failure than women. In a study performed on 3,000 men, it was determined that men can inherit heart disease from their fathers through the Y chromosome, but, as to which gene causes this problem, it is not known yet. Dr. Maciej Tomaszewki states, "We are very excited about these findings as they put the Y chromosome on the map of genetic susceptibility to coronary heart disease." In an earlier inquiry it was stated that heart disease is the number one killer in females, which is true, but it is also a problem for men. Males are more likely to experience heart disease earlier in their lives than females. Dr. Virginia Miller, a heart disease researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,Minn. noted that this finding, "This sheds a new light on heart disease concerning men." We all know men who have not taken care of their health and who have lived with the effects of heart disease. Counter-intuitively, at the same time, we all know men who have not smoked, or drank, or ate poorly but who, instead, have lived healthy, active lifestyles, yet who have died from a heart attack, just the same. Dr. Thekkoott Deepak of the Cardiovascular Institute of the South discusses how family history plays a vital part in heart disease. Also, the lifestyle that you lead does have a strong impact upon how healthful you will be. Smoking, drinking, partying, not getting enough rest, all come into focus when it comes to predicting a person's health and longevity. Uncontrolled high blood pressure,obesity and diabetes also play a major part in heart disease. Everyone choices to make in life about how they are going to conduct their lives. Living a healthy lifestyle should be paramount. People of African decent are at a higher risk of congestive heart failure and are more li...

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

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Sociology of Marriage and Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sociology of Marriage and Family - Essay Example As Andrew Sullivan has argued, if the future of marriage is a critical ground of contestation in the wider world, it is hardly surprising that lesbians and gays should focus their demands on it. If parenting is perceived as in major need of rethinking, then why should non-heterosexuals be excluded from the debate? They should be given equal rights and norms like heterosexuals. If families get ever more complex as a result of divorce, remarriage, recombination, and step-parenting, why should the chosen families of lesbians and gays be denied a voice? Even the ghost of uncontrolled homosexuality has been downplayed in today’s recent sexual world, it is amazing that despite the greater public presence of homosexual couples, researchers suggest that self-identified non-heterosexuals from a tiny percentage of a given population. There is still a surprisingly high degree of stability in family relationships, even if, as the form is changing. One of the most fundamental issues lies in the decline of the traditional heterosexual centrality of marriage as it is seen that heterosexual marriages involve the contribution of two partners more tended towards the family issues. At its most evocative, this type is seen as a haven of trust, mutual involvement and shared responsibilities, which many argue offers the best hope for a communitarian culture. But the fact, which is neglected today, is this haven of trust which builds communitarian culture serves as the basis for today’s major issues like a break-up, divorce, separation etc.... If families get ever more complex as a result of divorce, remarriage, recombination and step-parenting, why should the chosen families of lesbians and gays, composed of lovers, ex-lovers and friends, be denied a voice (Catherine, 2001, p. 25) Even the ghost of uncontrolled homosexuality has been downplayed in today's recent sexual world, it is amazing that despite the greater public presence of homosexual couples, researchers suggest that self-identified non-heterosexuals form a tiny percentage of a given population. There is still a surprisingly high degree of stability in family relationships, even if, as the form is changing. (Catherine, 2001, p. 25) One of the most fundamental issue, lies in the decline of the traditional heterosexual centrality of marriage as it is seen that heterosexual marriages involves the contribution of two partners more tended towards the family issues. At its most evocative, this type is seen as a haven of trust, mutual involvement and shared responsibilities, which many argue offers the best hope for a communitarian culture. But the fact, which is neglected today, is this haven of trust which builds communitarian culture serves as the basis for today's major issues like break-up, divorce, separation etc. So, in these circumstances what is the harm if one seeks his/her satisfaction in homosexual affair. The privileging of homosexual patterns is vividly apparent even in the most liberal discussions of the family and sexual diversity. On the one hand, many theoreticians give verbal recognition to the variety of family forms, and shift their concerns to the quality of relationships, and to the care of

Four basic characteristics of a successful strategy

Four basic characteristics of a successful strategy 2.1.1 What is Strategy? So, what is strategy? Or, better, what it is not? According to Grant (2005) strategy is not a detailed plan or program of instructions; it is a unifying theme that gives coherence and direction to the actions and decisions of an individual or an organization. Furthermore, there are four basic characteristics of a successful strategy: goals that are simple, consistent and long term; profound understanding of the competitive environment; objective appraisal of the resources; and, effective implementation. Other definitions of strategy include:  · the determination of the long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals (Chandler, 1962),  · the pattern of objectives, purposes, or goals and the major policies and plans for achieving these goals, stated in such a way as to define what business the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is to be (Andrews, 1971),  · the match an organization makes between its internal resources and skills à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and the opportunities and risks created by its external environment (Hofer and Schendel, 1978),  · the pattern or plan that integrates an organizations major goals, policies and action sequence into a cohesive whole (Quinn, 1980). To simplify things we could say that strategy is when a firm assesses its internal organization and external environment, sets its goals and objectives, and designs the action plan to accomplish them. 2.1.2 A Brief Presentation of some Strategic Concepts The concepts and theories of business strategy have their antecedents in military strategy. The term strategy derives from the Greek word strategia, meaning generalship, itself formed from stratos, meaning army and -ag, to lead. Another early contributor to the forming of the concept of strategy is the Chinese Sun Tzu (about 500 B.C.) with his classic piece of work The Art of War, which is regarded as the first thesis on strategy. In modern times, the field of business strategy has largely been shaped around a framework first conceived by Andrews (1971) in his classic book The Concept of Corporate Strategy. As weve seen above, Andrews saw strategy as the match between what a company can do on one hand (organizational strengths and weaknesses) within the universe of what it might do on the other hand (environmental opportunities and threats). This is how the famous concept of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) has emerged. This concept is examined further in the following chapter. Although the power of the SWOT framework was recognized from the outset, managers were given very few insights about how to assess either side of the equation systematically. The first important breakthrough came from Porter (1980) in his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors where he introduced the concept of the five forces model. This model focuses on the external side of the SWOT strategic balancing act, helping firms to understand those forces in an industry that give rise to opportunities and threats. In this framework, strategy becomes a matter of choosing an appropriate industry and positioning the firm in that industry according to a generic strategy of either low cost or product differentiation. Again, this concept is examined further in the following chapter. Fig. 2.1(1) The Five Competitive Forces Porter These theories have been criticized mainly because they do not help particular firms to identify and leverage unique and therefore sustainable advantages. Furthermore, studies have shown that internal characteristics of particular firms within an industry can make a difference in terms of profit performance. Based on these experiences, a new perspective, known as the capabilities approaches, which is focused on the internal, organisational part of the SWOT equation, has emerged. Based on this theory, firms are exhorted to compete based on their unique or distinctive capabilities, competences and resources. These approaches assume that the roots of competitive advantage lie within the organization and that the adoption of new strategies is constrained by the current level of companys resources. In this framework, external environment received little (if any) attention. Finally, another approach which tries to bridge the two parts (internal organizational element and external environment) and fulfill the promise of Andrews framework is the resource based view. Like the capabilities approaches, the resource based view acknowledges the importance of company specific resources and competences, yet it does so in the context of the competitive environment. It sees capabilities and resources as the heart of a companys competitive position, subject to the interplay of three fundamental market forces: demand (does it meet customers needs and is it competitively superior?), scarcity (is it imitable or substitutable, and is it durable?) and appropriability (who owns the profits?). 2.1.3 Towards a Knowledge Strategy Model Strategic management models have traditionally defined the firms strategy in terms of its product / market positioning (the products it makes and the markets it serves). The resource based approach, however, prescribes that firms position themselves strategically, based on their resources and capabilities rather than on the products and services derived from those capabilities. Resources and capabilities, especially organizational skills and practices learned over time, can become highly unique to a particular firm and hard to imitate by others. Therefore, competitive advantage based on these resources and capabilities is potentially much more sustainable than that based on product and market positioning. Products and markets may come and go, but the firms capabilities are more enduring. Creating a strategy based on unique resources and capabilities provides a more long-term view of strategy than the traditional approach, and one, which is more robust in todays uncertain and dynamic competitive environment. In modern business, knowledge is being considered the most important strategic resource, and the ability to create and apply it the most important capability for building and sustaining competitive advantage. The firm that knows more about its customers, products, technologies, markets and their linkages, performs better. This view is leading to a further development in the resource based theory called the knowledge based view of the firm. The firm is seen primarily as a vehicle for creating, integrating, storing and applying knowledge. Firms embracing the knowledge based view of the world have many difficult questions to answer in formulating their knowledge strategy. If we update the original model of strategy to reflect todays knowledge intensive environment, knowledge strategy becomes the way in which the firm balances its knowledge resources and knowledge processing capabilities with the knowledge required to create its products for its markets in a manner superior to its com petitors. In essence, firms need to perform a knowledge based SWOT analysis. Identifying which knowledge is a unique and valuable resource, which knowledge processes represent unique and valuable capabilities, and how those resources and capabilities support the firms product and market positions, are the essential elements of a knowledge strategy. The firm must identify what it has to know for a given product / market position. Every firm requires some level of knowledge about its technology, markets, products, customers and industry merely to participate and hold its own in its industry. The strategic choices that companies make regarding these factors directly influence what the firm and its members must know to effectively compete. Furthermore, these choices all set the stage for the development of future knowledge through the processes of learning and innovation. Conversely, the firm, given what it knows, must identify the best product and market opportunities for exploiting that knowledge. The creation of unique, strategic knowledge takes time, forcing the firm to balance short and long-term strategic resources decisions. The firm must therefore determine whether its efforts are best focused on knowledge creation, exploitation, or both, and then balance its knowledge processing resources and efforts accordingly. Other critical issues in knowledge strategy include organizational learning (the ability of an organization to learn, accumulate knowledge from its experiences, and reapply that knowledge is itself a skill or competence that can provide strategic advantage), the competition (the firm must assess the knowledge resources and capabilities required by its industry merely to play the game, those required to be competitive and those required to be uniquely innovative) and how easily the firms knowledge can be imitated (on the one hand, knowledge must be made explicit and transferable to share it among the firm, while, on the other hand, once made explicit it is subject to being appropriated by other firms, reducing or eliminating its competitive value). 2.1.4 Knowledge Strategies It has become clear, especially during the last few years, that the term Knowledge Management (KM) has been applied to a very broad spectrum of activities designed to manage, exchange and create or enhance intellectual assets within an organization. In other words, there is no widespread agreement on what KM actually is. For example, information technology applications that are using the term knowledge management in their title range from the development of highly codified help desk systems to the provision of video conferencing to facilitate the exchange of ideas between people. The one fact that there does seem to be agreement on is that different situations require different KM strategies. In this section we will examine a number of proposed different KM strategies and consider how they can be classified. Then we will look into a range of different driving forces behind the strategies and propose how we can select a suitable knowledge strategy. The main difference between the various approaches in knowledge strategy is that they emphasize different aspects of KM: some focus on the knowledge (content), others on the business processes / areas and some on the end results. (A) Knowledge Matrix One of the most widely accepted and widely quoted approaches is that of the knowledge matrix of Nonaka Takeuchi (see Figure 1.3-2 in chapter 1.3.1). This matrix classifies knowledge as explicit or tacit, and as either individual or collective. Nonaka Takeuchi also propose corresponding knowledge processes that transform knowledge from one form to another: socialisation (from tacit to tacit, whereby an individual acquires tacit knowledge directly from others through shared experience, observation, imitation and so on); externalisation (from tacit to explicit, through articulation of tacit knowledge into explicit concepts); combination (from explicit to explicit, through a systematisation of concepts drawing on different bodies of explicit knowledge); and internalisation (from explicit to tacit, through a process of learning by doing and through a verbalisation and documentation of experiences). Nonaka Takeuchi model the process of organisational knowledge creation as a spiral in wh ich knowledge is amplified through these four modes of knowledge conversion. It is also considered that knowledge becomes crystallized within the organisation at higher levels moving from the individual through the group to organisational and even inter-organisational levels. (B) I-Space In another well-known application, Boisot proposes a model of knowledge asset development along similar lines to that of Nonaka and Takeuchi. In Boisots scheme, knowledge assets can be located within a three dimensional space (Information Space or I-Space) defined by three axes from uncodified to codified, from concrete to abstract and from undiffused to diffused. He then proposes a Social Learning Cycle (SLC) that uses the I-Space to model the dynamic flow of knowledge through a series of six phases: 1. Scanning: insights are gained from generally available (diffused) data 2. Codification Problem-Solving: problems are solved giving structure and coherence to these insights (knowledge becomes codified) 3. Abstraction: the newly codified insights are generalised to a wide range of situations (knowledge becomes more abstract) 4. Diffusion: the new insights are shared with a target population in a codified and abstract form (knowledge becomes diffused) 5. Absorption: the newly codified insights are applied to a variety of situations producing new learning experiences (knowledge is absorbed and produces learnt behaviour and so becomes uncodified, or tacit) 6. Impacting: abstract knowledge becomes embedded in concrete practices, for example in artefacts, rules or behaviour patterns (knowledge becomes concrete) Fig. 2.1(2). Boisots I-Space I In his model, Boisot develops an interesting application of the laws of thermodynamics. This thermodynamic analogy points to the elusive and dynamic nature of knowledge. It seems that what is happening is a cycle in which data is filtered to produce meaningful information and this information is then abstracted and codified to produce useful knowledge. As the knowledge is applied in diverse situations it produces new experiences in an uncodified form that produces the data for a new cycle of knowledge creation. (C) Wiig Model Moving on to the business process side, one of the most widely accepted KM models is that of Wiig and the APQC (American Productivity and Quality Center). Wiig identified six emerging KM strategies in a study of organisations considered to be leading the way in this area. The strategies reflect the different natures and strengths of the organisations involved:  · Knowledge Strategy as Business Strategy A comprehensive, enterprise-wide approach to KM, where knowledge is seen frequently as the product  · Intellectual Asset Management Strategy Focuses on assets already within the company that can be more fully exploited or enhanced  · Personal Knowledge Asset Responsibility Strategy Encourage and support individual employees to develop their skills and knowledge as well as share their knowledge with each other  · Knowledge Creation Strategy Emphasises the innovation and creation of new knowledge through RD. Adopted by market leaders who shape the future direction of their sector  · Knowledge Transfer Strategy Transfer of knowledge and best practices in order to improve operational quality and efficiency  · Customer-Focused Knowledge Strategy Aims to understand customers and their needs and so provide them with exactly what they want. (D) Day and Wendler of McKinsey Company Along the same lines, Day and Wendler of McKinsey Company, identified five knowledge strategies employed by large corporations:  · Developing and Transferring Best Practices Like the Knowledge Transfer Strategy identified by Wiig and the APQC above, this strategy focuses on identifying best practices within an organisation and spreading them across a dispersed network of locations  · Creating a new industry from embedded knowledge This approach is to recognise that an organisation may have knowledge, which it can exploit in new ways. In particular, it may have built up knowledge about its customers, which reveals a gap in the market for a new product  · Shaping Corporate Strategy around knowledge This strategy was identified from the experiences of Monsanto, which encompassed two very different business groups: a chemicals group and a life sciences group. The chemicals group was focused on best practice while the life sciences group was an innovation-based business. The knowledge strategies for these two groups were perceived to be so different that Monsanto decided to sell off the chemicals group and concentrate on the life sciences business. This is an interesting example of the tensions between two very different KM strategies  · Fostering and Commercialising Innovation Similar to the Knowledge Creation Strategy identified by Wiig and the APQC above, this strategy focuses on establishing a competitive position by increased technological innovation and reduced time to market  · Creating a standard by releasing proprietary knowledge The cited example is Netscape who responded to the rapid decline of its market share in the internet browser market by making its source code publicly available at no cost. The strategy is an example of the Intellectual Asset Management Strategy identified by Wiig and the APQC study. In this case, Netscape felt that it could capitalise on a key asset (its source code) by giving it away. In return, it hoped to establish its browser as a widely used standard (increased by the adaptation to new specialty areas) and gain indirectly, by securing its share of a complementary product, namely: server software. (E) Three Value Disciplines (Treacy and Wiersema) Moving to the area of strategies based on the end results, we could refer to Treacy and Wiersema who proposed three value disciplines, as a way to focus an organisations activities. In this model, successful organizations concentrate their efforts on a particular area and excel at it, rather than trying to be all things to all people and failing to excel at anything. The three areas are:  · Customer Intimacy  · Product Leadership  · Operational Excellence These value disciplines reflect the fact that value is determined as a trade-off between convenience, quality and price. It is the inherent tension between these three qualities of a product that makes it necessary for an organisation to focus on excelling at just one of them. There are a few organisations that have managed to become leaders in two disciplines, but they have done this by focusing on one area first before turning to a second one. At a simplistic level, there are three primary elements to any competitive business: the business itself, its product(s) and its customers. Each of these components represents the focus of attention for one of the value disciplines. The focus is on the customers and their needs and desires when pursuing Customer Intimacy; the focus is on the product(s) when pursuing Product Leadership; and the focus is on the organisation itself and its delivery processes, when pursuing Operational Excellence. Some organizations will concentrate on their relationship with their customers (to increase customer satisfaction and retention by better understanding the customers needs and preferences). Other organisations will focus on their products (constantly developing new ideas and getting them to market quickly). The third group of organisations focus primarily on themselves and their internal processes (sharing best practices between different units, reducing costs and improving efficiency). (F) Zacks Strategy Another approach to identifying what KM strategy to take is proposed by Zack. He proposes a framework which helps an organisation make an explicit connection between its competitive situation and a knowledge management strategy to help the organisation maintain or (re-) establish its competitive advantage. He makes it clear that while each organisation will find its own unique link between knowledge and strategy, any such competitive knowledge can be classified on a scale of innovation relative to the rest of the particular industry as: core, advanced or innovative:  · Core knowledge is a basic level of knowledge required by all members of a particular industry. It does not represent a competitive advantage, but is simply the knowledge needed to be able to function in that sector at all.  · Advanced knowledge gives an organisation a competitive edge. It is specific knowledge that differentiates an organisation from its competitors, either by knowing more than a competitor or by applying knowledge in different ways.  · Innovative knowledge is that which enables a company to be a market leader. It allows an organisation to change the way a sector works and represents a significant differentiating factor from other organisations. Having identified the organisations competitive knowledge position, Zacks approach is to use a SWOT analysis to identify the strategic gaps in an organisations knowledge. This allows the organisation to identify where it has knowledge which it can exploit and where it needs to develop knowledge to maintain or grow its competitive position. This is achieved by analysing the organisations knowledge position along two dimensions:  · Exploration vs. Exploitation This is the degree to which the organisation needs to increase its knowledge in a particular area vs. the opportunity it may have to leverage existing but under-exploited knowledge resources.  · Internal vs. External Knowledge This refers to whether the knowledge is primarily within the organisation or outside. Some organisations are more externally oriented, drawing on publications, universities, consultants, customers, etc. Others are more internally oriented, building up unique knowledge and experience, which is difficult for competitors to imitate. Putting these two dimensions together, Zack describes organisations which are more exploitative of internal knowledge as having a Conservative KM Strategy while those that are more innovative (exploring external knowledge) have a more Aggressive KM Strategy. However, he points out that a KM Strategy cannot be made without reference to competitors. Thus, some industries (where knowledge is changing more rapidly) tend to be characterized by more aggressive firms, while other industries are generally more conservative. Summary Given that the classifications by knowledge listed above (Nonaka Takeuchis knowledge matrix and Boisots I-Space model) focus on the process of knowledge transformation and that most real world processes operate on a continuum rather than a step transformation, it is perhaps not surprising to find that some researchers have suggested that explicit and tacit knowledge should be considered to be at the ends of a spectrum of knowledge types rather than being the only two categories on that spectrum. Beckman has suggested that implicit knowledge is an intermediate category of knowledge that is tacit in form, but is accessible through querying and discussion. Nickols proposes that Nonaka Takeuchis categories should be further broken down according to whether they focus on declarative or procedural knowledge. What is needed is a classification that proposes a spectrum of knowledge management approaches. If this spectrum can accommodate the various approaches suggested previously, then it can be considered to be sufficiently comprehensive to be useful. Derek Binney provides a framework, the KM Spectrum, to help organisations make sense of the large diversity of material appearing under the heading of KM, and to help them assess where they are in KM terms. His focus is on the KM activities that are being carried out, grouped into six categories:  · Transactional KM: Knowledge is embedded in technology  · Analytical KM: Knowledge is derived from external data sources, typically focussing on customer-related information  · Asset Management KM: Explicit management of knowledge assets (often created as a by-product of the business) which can be reused in different ways  · Process-based KM: The codification and improvement of business practice and the sharing of these improved processes within the organisation  · Developmental KM: Building up the capabilities of the organisations knowledge workers through training and staff development  · Innovation/creation KM: Fostering an environment, which promotes the creation of new knowledge, for example through R D and through forming teams of people from different disciplines. Binneys analysis is interesting because it reflects aspects of both the knowledge-centred classification of KM and the business perspectives classification of KM. In terms of business perspectives, Binneys categories reflect activities that support particular perspectives; for example, Asset Management KM matches Wiigs intellectual asset management strategy, while Innovation and Creation KM reflects Treacy Wiersemas product leadership strategy. Yet, Binneys categories also form a progression from the management of explicit knowledge at one end to tacit knowledge at the other. So, for example, Transactional KM involves codifying knowledge and embedding it in applications such as Help Desk Systems or Case Based Reasoning systems, while Innovation and Creation KM focuses on facilitating knowledge workers sharing and creating new knowledge which rests in a tacit form in their heads. For each element of the spectrum, Binney also lists a set of enabling technologies used to implement those kinds of KM Applications. This provides an alternative way to identify KM activity already being undertaken within an organisation, even if not previously perceived in KM terms (Table 1). Table 1 Enabling technologies mapped to the KM Spectrum (Binney, 2001) Transactional Analytical Asset Management Process Developmental Innovation Creation Expert Systems Cognitive Technologies Semantic Networks Rule-based Expert Systems Probability Networks Rule Induction Decision Trees Geospatial Information Systems Intelligent Agents Web Crawlers Relational and Object DBMS Neural Computing Push Technologies Data Analysis and Reporting Tools Document Management Tools Search Engines Knowledge Maps Library Systems Workflow Management Process Modeling Tools Finally, we should note that the latest developments in the field suggest that the KM strategy in a modern, rapidly changing business environment should be dynamic, meaning it should change to follow the developments in the way the business functions or the competition is progressing in the industry. Scholars even go on to propose different KM strategies for different departments of the same organization.

Manuel Noriega :: essays research papers

Playing All Sides Of the Fence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of the Central American country of Panama, rose to power through the art of destruction deception and detail. Manuel Noriega was able to profit and flourish as Panama’s new leader because of the Cold War environment. Due to the Cold War, its geographical positioning, and financial liberties, Noriega was able to manipulate all parties involved while making him very wealthy, powerful, a political asset, and finally a threat to the United States National Security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Manuel Noriega was born in 1934 in Panama City, Panama. Noriega grew up very poor and could not afford any high level of education. Like most who could not afford schooling he attended a military college in Peru. His schooling in Peru would ultimately give him his start to gaining contacts, friends, and most importantly American connections.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To understand Noriega’s rise to power first you must understand the environment in which he did so. After World War II a communist movement began to slowly spread throughout the world. This went against America’s belief in democracy and created a riff between the Soviet Union and The United States creating the Cold War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What importance does this have to Noriega and Panama? On January 1, 1959 Fidel Castro led a successful coup against the government in Cuba which at the time was controlled by Fulgencio Batista. By Castro taking control of the Cuban government, he placed communism within a close range of America. This was important because it was feared by most Americans that this takeover by Castro would lead a domino effect throughout Central America, and third world countries further extending the arm of Communism and the reach of the Soviet Union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the same time Castro took control of Cuba, Noriega was in the Peruvian military school. America fearing that these third world military schools would be a breeding ground for future communist leaders, implanted many agents to keep watch over them. One of these recruitment’s would be Manuel Noriega. America first employed Noriega in these early years to inform them on the schools leftist teachings and slowly helped and inspired him to become one of America’s best assets and later their worst enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After returning home to Panama, Noriega furthered his studies by taking courses in America and also at American bases in Panama. Some of his courses included “military engineering, jungle engineering, and counter insurgency Battle'; (Kempe 58).

Green Marketing Examples

GREEN MARKETING PRACTICES OF INDIAN FIRMS Introduction According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing. Thus â€Å"Green Marketing† refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption an disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment with growing awareness about the implications of global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, harmful impact of pollutants etc. , both marketers and consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to the need for switch in to green products and services. While the shift to â€Å"green† may appear to be expensive in the short term, it will definitely prove to be indispensable and advantageous, cost-wise too, in the long run. Why Green Marketing? It is really scary to read these pieces of information as reported in the Times recently: â€Å"Air pollution damage to people, crops and wildlife in he US totals tens of billions of dollars each year†. â€Å"More than 12 other studies in the US, Brazil Europe , Mexico , South Korea and Taiwan have established links between air pollutants and low birth weight premature birth still birth and infant death†. As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is inevitable. There is growing interest among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. Thus the growing awareness among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of the environment in which they live, People do want to bequeath a clean earth to their offspring. Various studies by environmentalists indicate that people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior pattern so as to be less hostile towards it. Now we see that most of the consumers, both individual and industrial, are becoming more concerned about environment-friendly products. Most of them feel that environment-friendly products are safe to use. As a result, green marketing has emerged, which aims at marketing sustainable and socially-responsible products and services. Now is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and environment-friendly goods. This has become the new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs of consumers and earn better profits. Green marketing is the process of developing products and services and promoting them to satisfy the customers who prefer products of good quality, performance and convenience at affordable cost, which at the same time do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. It includes a broad range of activities like product modification, changing the production process, modified advertising, change in packaging, etc. , aimed at reducing the detrimental impact of products and their consumption and disposal on the environment. Companies all over the world are striving to reduce the impact of products and services on the climate and other environmental parameters. Marketers are taking the cue and are going green. Green marketing was given prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings of the first workshop on Ecological marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in 1975. Several books on green marketing began to be published thereafter. According to the Joel makeover (a writer, speaker and strategist on clean technology and green marketing), green marketing faces a lot of challenges because of lack of standards and public consensus to what constitutes â€Å"Green†. The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of green marketing has three phases. First phase was termed as â€Å"Ecological† green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems. Second phase was â€Å"Environmental† green marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. Third phase was â€Å"Sustainable† green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000. Green marketing is a vital constituent of the holistic marketing concept. It is particularly applicable to businesses that are directly dependent on the physical environment; for example, industries like fishing, processed foods, tourism and adventure sports. Changes in the physical environment may pose a threat to such industries. Many global players in diverse businesses are now successfully implementing green marketing practices. MARKETING MIX OF GREEN MARKETING When companies come up with new innovations like eco friendly products, they can access new markets, enhance their market shares, and increase profits. Just as we have 4Ps product prices, place and promotion in marketing, we have 4ps in green marketing too, but they are a bit different. They are buttressed by three additional Ps, namely people, planet and profits. A. PRODUCT: The products have to be developed depending on the needs of the customers who prefer environment friendly products. Products can be made from recycled materials or from used goods. Efficient products not only save water, energy and money, but also reduce harmful effects on the environment. Green chemistry forms the growing focus of product development. The marketer's role in product management includes providing product designers with market-driven trends and customer requests for green product attributes such as energy saving, organic, green chemicals, local sourcing, etc. For example, Nike is the first among the shoe companies to market itself as green. It is marketing its Air Jordan shoes as environment-friendly, as it has significantly reduced the usage of harmful glue adhesives. It has designed this variety of shoes to emphasize that it has reduced wastage and used environment-friendly materials. B. PRICE Green pricing takes into consideration the people, planet and profit in a way that takes care of the health of employees and communities and ensures efficient productivity. Value can be added to it by changing its appearance, functionality and through customization, etc. Wal Mart unveiled its first recyclable cloth shopping bag. IKEA started charging consumers when they opted for plastic bags and encouraged people to shop using its â€Å"Big Blue Bag†. C. PLACE Green place is about managing logistics to cut down on transportation emissions, thereby in effect aiming at reducing the carbon footprint. For example, instead of marketing an imported mango juice in India it can be licensed for local production. This avoids shipping of the product from far away, thus reducing shipping cost and more importantly, the consequent carbon emission by the ships and other modes of transport. D. PROMOTION Green promotion involves configuring the tools of promotion, such as advertising, marketing materials, signage, white papers, web sites, videos and presentations by keeping people, planet and profits in mind. British petroleum (BP) displays gas station which its sunflower motif and boasts of putting money into solar power. Indian Tobacco Company has introduced environmental-friendly papers and boards, which are free of elemental chlorine. Toyota is trying to push gas/electric hybrid technology into much of its product line. It is also making the single largest R&D investment in the every-elusive hydrogen car and promoting itself as the first eco-friendly car company. International business machines Corporation (IBM) has revealed a portfolio of green retail store technologies and services to help retailers improve energy efficiency in their IT operations. The center piece of this portfolio is the IBM SurePOS 700, a point-of-sale system that, according to IBM, reduces power consumption by 36% or more. We even see the names of retail outlets like â€Å"Reliance Fresh†, [email  protected] Fresh and Desi, which while selling fresh vegetables and fruits, transmit an innate communication of green marketing. Green marketer can attract customers on the basis of performance, money savings, health and convenience, or just plain environmental friendliness, so as to target a wide range of green consumers. Consumer awareness can be created by spreading the message among consumers about the benefits of environmental-friendly products. Positing of profiles related to green marketing on social networks creates awareness within and across online peer groups. Marketing can also directly target the consumers through advertisements for product such as energy saving compact fluorescent lamps, the battery –powered Reva car, etc. WHY IS GREEN MARKETING CHOSEN BY MOST MARKETERS? Most of the companies are venturing into green marketing because of the following reasons: a. Opportunity In India, around 25% of the consumers prefer environmental-friendly products, and around 28% may be considered healthy conscious. There fore, green marketers have diverse and fairly sizeable segments to cater to. The Surf Excel detergent which saves water (advertised with the message—†do bucket paani roz bachana†) and the energy-saving LG consumers durables are examples of green marketing. We also have green buildings which are efficient in their use of energy, water and construction materials, and which reduce the impact on human health and the environment through better design, construction, operation, maintenance and waste disposal. In India, the green building movement, spearheaded by the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) – Godrej Green business Center, has gained tremendous impetus over the last few years. From 20,000 sq ft in 2003, India's green building footprint is now over 25 million sq ft. b. Social Resoponsibility Many companies have started realizing that they must behave in an environment-friendly fashion. They believe both in achieving environmental objectives as well as profit related objectives. The HSBC became the world's first bank to go carbon-neutral last year. Other examples include Coca-Cola, which has invested in various recycling activities. Walt Disney World in Florida, US, has an extensive waste management program and infrastructure in place. c. Governmental Pressure Various regulations rare framed by the government to protect consumers and the society at large. The Indian government too has developed a framework of legislations to reduce the production of harmful goods and by products. These reduce the industry's production and consumers' consumption of harmful goods, including those detrimental to the environment; for example, the ban f plastic bags in Mumbai, prohibition of smoking in public areas, etc. d. Competitive Pressure Many companies take up green marketing to maintain their competitive edge. The green marketing initiatives by niche companies such as Body Shop and Green & Black have prompted many mainline competitors to follow suit. e. Cost Reduction Reduction of harmful waste may lead to substantial cost savings. Sometimes , many firms develop symbiotic relationship whereby the waste generated by one company is used by another as a cost-effective raw material. For example, the fly ash generated by thermal power plants, which would otherwise contributed to a gigantic quantum of solid waste, is used to manufacture fly ash bricks for construction purposes. BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING Today's consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to consumers' aspirations for environmentally less damaging or neutral products. Many companies want to have an early-mover advantage as they have to eventually move towards becoming green. Some of the advantages of green marketing are, * It ensures sustained long-term growth along with profitability. * It saves money in the long run, thought initially the cost is more. * It helps companies market their products and services keeping the environment aspects in mind. It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying competitive advantage. * Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an environmentally responsible company. PROBLEMS OF GREEN MARKETING Many organizations want to turn green, as an increasing number of consumers' ant to associate themselves with environmental-friendly products. Alongside, one also witnesses confusion among the consumers regarding the products. In particular, one often finds distrust regarding the credibility of green products. Therefore, to ensure consumer confidence, marketers of green products need to be much more transparent, and refrain from breaching any law or standards relating to products or business practices. PATHS TO GREENNESS Green marketing involves focusing on promoting the consumption of green products. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the companies to adopt creativity and insight, and be committed to the development of environment-friendly products. This will help the society in the long run. Companies which embark on green marketing should adopt thefollowing principles in their path towards â€Å"greenness. † * Adopt new technology/process or modify existing technology/process so as to reduce environmental impact. Establish a management and control system that will lead to the adherence of stringent environmental safety norms. * Using more environment-friendly raw materials at the production stage itself. * Explore possibilities of recycling of the used products so that it can be used to offer similar or other benefits with less wastage. Marketing Strategies The marketing strategies for green marketing include: – * Marketing Audit (including internal and external situation an alysis) * Develop a marketing plan outlining strategies with regard to 4 P's *Implement marketing strategies Plan results evaluation CONCLUSION A clever marketer is one who not only convinces the consumer, but also involves the consumer in marketing his product. Green marketing should not be considered as just one more approach to marketing, but has to be pursued with much greater vigor, as it has an environmental and social dimension to it. With the threat of global warming looming large, it is extremely important that green marketing becomes the norm rather than an exception or just a fad. Recycling of paper, metals, plastics, etc. in a safe and environmentally harmless manner should become much more systematized and universal. It has to become the general norm to use energy-efficient lamps and other electrical goods. Marketers also have the responsibility to make the consumers understand the need for and benefits of green products as compared to non-green ones. In green marketing , consumers are willing to pay more to maintain a cleaner and greener environment. Finally, consumers, industrial buyers and suppliers need to pressurize effects on minimize the negative effects on the environment-friendly. Green marketing assumes even more importance and relevance in developing countries like India. References Chopra, S. Lakshmi (2007), â€Å"Turning Over a New Leaf†, Indian Management, Vol-64, April-2007 Ottman, J. A. et al, â€Å"Avoiding Green Marketing Myopia†, Environment, Vol-48, June-2006 www. greenmarketing. net/stratergic. html www. epa. qld. gov. au/sustainable_ industries www. wmin. ac. uk/marketing research/marketing/greenmix. html http://www. coolavenues. com http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Green_marketing Presented by MD. Mudhassir P. Swapna

models of memory essays

models of memory essays The multi-store model of memory takes an information-processing approach to the study of memory, and is usually associated with the work of Atkinson and Shiffin. The model assumes that the human memory is an information processor that first has incoming information inputted into it, which is then processed and stored so that it can be outputted or retrieved at a later date. This three-step guide is the basis of the model. The model also states that there are a number of separate stores in memory, the sensory buffer store, the short-term memory store and the long-term memory store. Information moves through the different stores in a linear way, (only forward, not backward,) and thus it is described as a linear model of memory. The stores differ in the form of capacity, duration information can be held and the type of coding it is stored in. As information from the external world enters the store, it automatically passes into the sensory buffer store, and if attention is paid to this, it will continue into the short-term store where it can last for up to 30 seconds. If not, the information will be discarded and lost. But, if the information is rehearsed it will be recoded and transferred into the long-term memory store. Information that is un-rehearsed would be quickly lost from long-term memory, but can be retrieved from the long-term memory store via the short-term memory store, although retrieval cues may be needed to do this. Thu multi-store model of memory is supported by studies from Jacobs, Peterson + Peterson, Baddeley and Bahrick which all suggest that there is a difference between short-term memory and long-term memory in terms of capacity, duration and coding. However, studies by Craik + Tulving show that it is how we process memory and not where we store it that affects recollection after a period of time. This contrasts with the multi-store model. Case studies of people suffering brain damage indu ...

Managerial Finance essayEssay Writing Service

Managerial Finance essayEssay Writing Service Managerial Finance essay Managerial Finance essayIn actuality, the activity based costing is one of the widely-spread accounting methods. At the same time, in spite of its popularity, this method still evokes criticism from the part of opponents of this method, who believe the activity based costing to be unreliable accounting method. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the application of the activity based costing in the accounting depends on the nature of business and organisations. At any rate, the empirical study shows that the activity based accounting may be successfully applied in some organisations, although it may fail in others. Therefore, the activity based costing is applicable but its efficiency differs depending on the particular organisation, the essence of its business, industry, business environment and other factors that may affect the efficiency of the activity based costing.In its essence, the activity based costing (ABC) is the accounting method that involves the assessment of activities performed by a company and on the ground of such assessment indirect costs are assigned to products of the company. In such a way, companies conduct the assessment of their indirect costs on the ground of the analysis of costs of different activities which are directly or indirectly related to the production of certain products or services. As a result, the ABC involves the analysis of all activities within the organisation that ultimately affect the costs of the production of the organisation.At the same time, it is worth mentioning the fact that the analysis of all costs implies the analysis of all activities, which is not always directly related to the production process or manufacturing of particular products. The ABC orients on activities of organisations and their costs rather than on the direct costs of certain products or costs of their production. In such a way, ABC method uses the indirect analysis of costs of products or, to put it more precisely, it involves the analysi s of indirect costs of products and their production.The major advantage of the ABC method is the recognition of the close relationships between costs, activities and products. In such a way, the revelation of indirect costs with the help of ABC can help to assess indirect costs related to specific products. The analysis of indirect costs is very important for organisations, especially in case of companies that have a complex organisational structure, such as multinational corporations (Mocciaro, Destri, Picone Min, 2012: 94). Large companies have the complex organisational structure that means that they have multiple costs which are not directly related to the production process or to specific products. As a result, companies have difficulties with the adequate assessment of their costs and, therefore, costs of specific products.At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that, if companies cannot define accurately the costs of the particular product, including indirect costs, they cannot set absolutely fair price. In other words, companies may set either too high price that would be unfair in relation to customers and put the companies into a disadvantageous position compared to rivals, who may sell the similar product at the lower price. Or, on the contrary, companies may set the price at the too low level. In such a case, sales of the product will not cover the costs of its production, including indirect costs, to the full extent. As a result, the company will suffer financial losses and deteriorate its marketing position in a long-run perspective.However, critics of the ABC method of accounting (Sapp, Crawford Rebishcke, 1990: 1223) argue that it is not always possible to assign certain costs to specific products. For instance, it may be difficult to trace the correlation between managerial costs and a particular product manufactured by the company. In fact, if a company cannot trace accurately the correlation between specific activities and their co sts and relate them indirectly to the costs of specific products, the company may face difficulties with the adequate and accurate assessment of the costs of production and specific products (Drucker, 2009: 129). In such a situation, companies face the high risk of errors in the course of the accounting based on the use of the ABC method. As a result, many companies prefer other methods, including traditional ones, to calculate their costs and conduct their accounting, being uncertain in the reliability of the ABC method.Therefore, being good in its intention to reveal the close correlation between costs, activities and products, the ABC method is still imperfect and the criticism of this method is, to a significant extent reasonable. In this respect, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that errors in accounting may be intentional and unintentional. In this regard, the ABC creates the risk of the emergence of intentional errors in accounting, when companies want to increas e or decrease their costs pursuing their business goals, for instance, to attract investors. Moreover, top executives of companies may manipulate with accounting using the complexity of the ABC assessment of indirect costs of specific products. As a result, such top executives can create schemes with the help of which they can increase or decrease indirect costs to hide substantial financial losses of their company, for instance. In such a way, drawbacks of the ABC can create the ground for manipulations and intentional errors in accounting. At the same time, there is a risk of unintentional errors in accounting, when companies just fail to assess accurately indirect costs of products and correlate them to diverse activities conducted within the companies.On the other hand, the criticism of the ABC method does not necessarily mean that this method cannot or should not be applied successfully. On the contrary, today, the ABC method has become particularly popular in the manufacturing sector, where it is easier to trace the direct relationship between costs, activities and specific products manufactured. In actuality, many companies operating in the manufacturing sector use the ABC successfully and conduct the accurate assessment of indirect costs of their products. The popularity of the ABC method in the manufacturing sector is the result of the specificity of the manufacturing sector and the ABC method. To put it more precisely, the manufacturing sectors involves activities which are all directed at the production process. As a result, the assessment of costs of those activities almost always lead to the revelation of indirect costs of specific products because there are no alternative activities that are not related somehow to the production process and to the manufacturing of the specific product.At the same time, limitations of the ABC method prevent its wide use in the service sector and some other sectors, where it is difficult to trace the direct correla tion between specific activities, their costs and services or products provided by the company for customers (Velmurugan, 2010: 12). The unwillingness of companies operating in the service sector to use the ABC method is also the result of the specificity of the sector and the ABC method. Unlike the manufacturing sector, the service sector cannot always provide accountants with the accurate information on various activities performed by companies which are directly or indirectly related to the costs of particular products. As a result, accountants face difficulties with the identification of all indirect costs and all activities related to the production of specific services or products. In such a way, companies operating in the service sector and some other sectors prefer refusing from the ABC and using traditional methods of accounting to ensure the high accuracy of accounting and prevent the risk of errors.Thus, the activity based costing is an effective and popular method of acc ounting, which though cannot always be applied successfully. In actuality, the ABC method is very popular in the manufacturing sector but companies operating in the service sector, for instance, prefer using traditional methods instead of the ABC because they consider those methods more reliable. Such disparity in the use of the ABC in different sectors is the result of the specificity of the accounting method because the ABC method focuses on the analysis of indirect costs of products through analysis of costs of activities performed by the company which are directly or indirectly related to specific products. The more difficult it is to trace such correlation the less accurate the ABC method becomes. In the manufacturing sector it is easier to trace such correlation compared to the service sector, for instance. Hence, the ABC method is popular in this sector.