Cultural Management Issues in International Business Essay

Cultural issues in business are a phenomenon born by globalization of the market where companies invest in a foreign country to bring the culture of the host country and the company’s culture into contact. Today, numerous international companies have rushed to invest in abroad to gain additional profits from worldwide customers. The market today is defined by global market that permits sharing of customers worldwide. However, during fierce competition, the market winners become the companies that who understand the Chinese culture. Cultural human resource management is critic for international companies in such situation. The market globalization has resulted to multinational practices and enterprises for additional profit and opportunities. There is myriad literature on cross-cultural human resource management that guides international companies. Practically, some companies lost managing of cultural human resource which makes them fail. Summary of the Case Study In April 2003, top managers and programmers working for a start-up internet B2B company known as Alibaba in the south of Chinaware summoned by the company founder and given a secret mission. They were told to develop a C2C Internet auction site within three months as a counter attack to the much-celebrated eBay entry into the Chinese market. The new company was named Taobao, to mean treasure hunting. Similarly, the mission was impossible. eBay became the goliath of the e-commerce world, with success recorded in the US and the prowess in the international operations and marketing (Hang, Wenjiang, Xing & Ziwei, 2013). Besides, the company is adequately armed in the pockets and developers. Meanwhile, Alibaba was just an internet starting company and had less knowledge on international venture investors than the most of the consumers in china and is still struggling to overcome the aftermath of the dot com cash. By the end of 2006, Taobao announced its possession of 30 million active account users, while it was estimated at 75% of the total C2C user markets in china. Besides, the total number of transactions exceeded 16 million RMB, estimated at $ 2.07. Conversely, eBay china announced in December 2006 that it would negotiate a joint venture with a local company (Hang, Wenjiang, Xing & Ziwei, 2013). Therefore, it transferred its C2C operation to the joint venture in exchange for a 49% stake is the joint company. At the same time, the C2C marketing had experienced explosive growth from 6 million users to 40 million users. The company stakeholders included the highly educated, professional elite and experienced employees, and executives experienced in western education and are hired worldwide. Besides, the stakeholders of Taobao included highly motivated college students who considered each as brothers and sisters in the company and were only promoted within the company. The executives were lo cal graduates and most promoted from the local company. The case study explores the question why the international internet firms suffered a setback and defeats in trying to grow in the emerging Chinese e-commerce market. Additionally, the essay offers some insights into how multinational firms could compete with the local companies. The case study is based on the two explore rivals in china: eBay and Taobao. Theory Analysis Cultural issues in business management are geared towards the establishment of the business goals through efficient and effective organizing, coordinating, planning, staffing, directing and controlling the resources of the organization. To detail, most business entities differ in a new environment for cultural management. Theoretically, the five culture dimensions clearly tell the similarities and differences in cultures of various countries. According to Professor Geert Hofstede’s research that was conducted on international business management, he concluded four culture dimensions. Individualism IDV, power distance index PDI, uncertainty avoidance index UAI and masculinity MAS, however, he later summarized with the long-term orientation LTO. The research was done to analyze the influence on cultural issues that affect international business. The Context of the Theory Power Distance Index The PDI tells how much the less powerful country’s people respect and accept the uneven power distributed. The societal inequality if followed by the difference in people’s earlier life experiences such as norms and values. The PDI often connects to centralization of power, decision making and leadership in businesses. Companies with high PDI, employees and subordinates rely on their leader and high power distance is formed thorough the habits of obeying and relying of subordinates to the managers (Hang, Wenjiang & Xing 2013) . However, the less powerful employees will make efforts to bring down the gap between them and the manager. International business faces challenges of meeting various cultures with dissimilar power distance culture. The table below represents the analysis of the companies’ power distance index and the related problems that may exist. low power distance Italian managers high power distance subordinates Chinese problem that may exist people with more and less power can be friends there is no friendship between the low and high power distance people the managers feel the challenge of getting close to employees managers seen as making decisions in consultation with the subordinates subordinates fear to disagree with the managers decision making styles are less good and cannot match people should rely on each other Source: [Hofstede, 2011: 351 – 360] Individualism Referring to Hang, Wenjiang, Xing & Ziwei, (2013) cultures inclined in individualism and collectivism is mainly focused on a person’s values, needs, and serves their individual interest. The relations from other persons are regarded as less significant than oneself. In comparison with individualism, inclined business culture is focused on a combination of social organizations divided into outside and inside groups. Employees hope to be cared for by the people inside the group in exchange of their loyalty and can sacrifice for the group. Consequently, the individualist emphasizes on the importance to themselves in the business, and they hope to be watched by the stakeholders. The individualists, therefore, strive to do better and better and become the best, overvalue their ability and gaining strong upward mobility. The table below represents individualism in international business definition of the self structure of goals emphasis on norms versus attitudes emphasis on rationality versus relatedness Italian individualism managers autonomous and interdependent from groups priority to personal goals attitudes supersede norms emphasize on rationality Chinese subordinates independent with others priority to in-group goals attitude equals to norms emphasize on unconditional relatedness problems loss spirit of team work managers are seen not to care of the business objectives managers easily show attitude when norm employees make mistakes due to relationships Source: [Hofstede, 2011: 351 – 360] Masculinity Masculinity shows the difference between the roles of different genders of the society. High masculine society’s men are tough, assertive and focus on material success; however, the women are expected to be tender, modest, and concerned with life quality. In this society, men have a responsibility to earn money for the family and work hard to be successful in the society. Women take care of the housework such as cleaning and cooking. This society is reflected in the market departments and business human resource management (Goddard 2005). The human resource management is responsible for recruiting correct staff and properly positions them so that the marketing docket can take good care of the human resources and make profits for the business. In feminine society, both men and women can go out and look for money for the family. Masculinity Problems in the Company high masculine Italian managers high masculine Chinese subordinates problems life is for work life is for work consensus achievement motivation achievement motivation consensus greater value of difference between men and women for the same job greater value of difference between men and women for the same job consensus Source: [Hofstede, 2011: 351 – 360] Uncertainty Avoidance Index UAI The human life is uncertain which leads to anxiety for human. The society has created procedures of avoiding uncertainty, for instance, the use of technology. Different societies have different mechanisms of adapting to uncertainties. In the business, the high uncertain avoidance society worries more on the future and any uncertainty, hence, more ways to defend anxiety. However, low uncertainty avoidance business society has fewer worried on the future and anxieties and develops fewer business rules. The table below represents the uncertainty avoidance for the case company. high UIA Italian managers low UAI Chinese employees problems ask for more written rules adopt few rules Managers are seen as a timid individual and waste of company’s opportunity. time is money time is free employees are seen as loafers work hard hard work is not virtue employees lack upward mobility Source: [Hofstede, 2011: 351 – 360] Long-Term Orientation The long-term and short-term orientation describes the difference in values of future. Values inclined in long-term orientation are perseverance and thrift. The values associated with short-term orientation are fulfilling social obligations and respect for traditions faces. The long-term orientations in the case company may be represented as below Italian bosses high LTO Chinese subordinates problems cannot understand perseverance stubborn employees cannot understand sense of shame is rampant unconfident employees cannot understand relationships dictated by status blind obedience Source: [Hofstede, 2011: 351 – 360] Conclusion and Suggested Solutions for Culturally Based Problems in Business Cultural Perspective The culture is never defined by developed or developing, inferior or predominant but instead, culture is historically old. It presents the people’s values, norms, thoughts, behaviours and habits. Therefore, international businesses, managers and employees in the foreign and local country must treat different culture right. Cross-Cultural Training This is the principal method of eliminating conflicts of culture for effective cultural business management. It decreases culture conflicts the business may face. Cultural training enables businesses to maintain cohesion and spirit of the company, stable interpersonal relationships and strengthens team spirit (Goddard 2005). This includes local culture training and coming culture training for local managers and subordinates. Expatriate Selection A god expatriate provides work geared towards the profitability of the business. The expatriates should be easily adaptable to changing cultural environment. Changing the working environment provides culture shocks. Bad adaptability will cause pain to the employees and cause job dissatisfaction. Changes in environment may also have health complications on the expatriate, hence the need for right selection. References Barnett, J. B. (2008). A study of the second career culture at Send International. Columbia, SC, Columbia International University. Goddard, J. (2005). Institutional Management and Engagement with the Knowledge Society. Higher Education Management and Policy. 17, 23-44. Hang, Z., Wenjiang, C., Xing, S., & Ziwei, W.(2013). Taobao vs. eBay: The fight between a local nobody and a global giant. In P. Ramburuth, C. Stranger, & M. Serapio (Eds.), Asia – Pacific Business Cases Dynamics of International Business. Melbourne Cambridge University Press Hofstede, G. 2001. ‟s Consequences, p. 351-360 Source document

School wark

The Wall-Mart stores model were not visual appealing to South Korean costumers, since Korean are use to see neat and sophisticated department stores, Product mix: The American consuming patterns of electronics, clothing, and process foods did not match the South Koreans preferences. Promotion strategies: Walter kept its American approach of promoting through friendly and warm layouts, while the South Korean are more likely to be sold for aggressive and exuberant strategies of promotion. Pricing: Since South Koreans do not distinguish the deference between discounts ND regular prices.Generally Wall-Mart marketed Items like electronics, when South Koreans prefer to spend their money on food and drinks, But the main task that must be taken is for companies to local needs and desires in mind when entering into any foreign country area In the world. In my opinion there is a lot of options that could be helpful for the case of Walter in south Korea. 1- Changing the Walter location: I think it is one of the good solution because there from the most populations to a place has more opportunity to get improved. Expert: That could be another solution to having an expert by helping to now more about the consumer and the culture in south Korea. 3-Changing kind of product: That will be one of the best solutions for Walter in South Korea by having more domestic products and especially more fresh food or sea food and to having the BIG 502: Applied Business Research and Communication Skills Steven Samara Martina Instructor: Peggy Bilberry Consumers demands ,that will have the Korean accepting Walter product more and will support it with the time.Steven Samara Martina Southern State University BUY-502 What are some limitations of the SOOT matrix and analysis? We cannot say that the SOOT strategy is the final strategy to achieve the desired goals. However, the SOOT strategy is considered as a starting point to develop other strategies that could support the SOOT strategy in order to progress and development on an ongoing basis of the desired goals. Although SOOT strategy is one of the most successful strategies, it must have some gaps that require us to constantly re-examine our SOOT strategy.Because of the previous observation, it is very important to search for other strategies in order to get the best results. If you decide to use a SOOT matrix for your Yahoo case-study, can you defend why? I absolutely will use a SOOT matrix strategy because it is considered to be direct and clear for all of its objectives that are strengths, weaknesses and threats. In addition, through these objectives, we can examine and develop additional strategies to support and convert as much as possible weaknesses points to strengths once.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer Research Paper - 2

Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer - Research Paper Example An early examination may reveal the disease on the first stage that will allow curing cancer. Different forms of breast cancer cause different symptoms. For example, cancer invasion in small lymph vessels irritate skin and is a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer. This kind of cancer causes pain, itching of the breast. Paget's breast cancer causes disease of the breast eczematoid skin changes, such as skin irritation and mild peeling of the nipple skin. Breast cancer is a metastatic disease that can spread all over the organism and affect different organs, thus it is considered to be incurable. It is not possible to stop the process. Metastatic spread of lumps can lead to weight loss, neurotic disorders, fever and other diseases (Kemeny, 1992, p. 13). As far as it is seen, breast cancer’s symptoms are different and destroy female organism step by step. Probably, this disease was named ‘cancer’ not in vain. Cancer opens its hostile feelers and entraps every victim. The global character of breast cancer is an intimidating tendency of modern society (Kemeny, 1992, p. 130). Female health needs care and professional doctor’s advice. Therefore on-time diagnostic can be salvational on the initial stages of the disease. Diagnostic methods are the following: breast palpation by a professional doctor, mammography, and aspiration cytology (Finkel, 2005, p. 34). A combination of these three diagnostic methods results in an accurate verification of breast cancer existence in every particular case. Aspiration cytology is similar to a biopsy. In the case of aspiration cytology a fluid inside a lump is checked for cancer cells; in case of biopsy, a piece of a lump or the whole lump is removed from the breast. Treatment of breast surgery is following: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of all these methods (Ogden, 2004, p. 54). Breast cancer is sometimes treated first with surgery, and then with chemotherapy, radiation, or both. Treatment is chosen in accordance with the intensity of progress of the disease. Â  

Kraft Foods Corporation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Kraft Foods Corporation - Assignment Example Kraft Foods Corporation, launched in 1903, is the leading drinks and cuisines firm in N. America and the subsequent most prominent corporation globally. Therefore, nothing speaks to the Kraft Foods corporate values more than the company’s relentless concern on safety of food. The company ensures that it consumers use its brands with confidence and without fear of contracting some health problems. Â  In connection to this, environmental, anti-biotech team tests have concluded that taco shells brand contained a certain protein (Cry9C), a pesticide is unproven for consumption by human, ((Kraft Foods Co., 1995).. The corn now only approved for utilization in animal feed since the issue concerning whether the product could cause unhealthy reactions to human beings is unclear. Test provided by an environmental, anti-biotech team confirmed harmful corn traces in a taco shell brand, which had been bought in the suburb of Washington, and laboratory tests by Kraft Company confirmed sim ilar results, (Kraft Foods Co., 1998). Â  Therefore, in response to this claim, Kraft Foods Company, a Phillip Morris Company division, announce an intentional recall of the whole Taco Bell line of production such as Taco shells home original 12 and 18 and taco kits and seasoning 12, until the company will be confident that genetically modified corns are no more in the company meals. Irrespective of the claims, Kraft Company affirms that there are no human health threats from the corn (Kraft Foods Co., 1998).

The development of privacy laws in the states of America. Missouri Essay

The development of privacy laws in the states of America. Missouri - Essay Example Privacy laws in the United States have their origins in the British common law, which protected individuals from only the interference with their lives and with their property. This came to be further developed in the United States with the institution of state laws and statutes, which further expanded this crime to include the interference with the emotional wellbeing of a person. With the coming and continuous development of mass media, there seems to be very little privacy being left to individuals and this has ensured that the current state privacy laws continue to evolve to make sure that the privacy of individuals is protected (Sullivan, 2010). The Missouri Revised Statute No. 565.253 states that a person will have committed the crime of invasion to privacy of the second degree if such a person deliberately views, films, or takes another person’s photographs without the latter person’s awareness or permission (Missouri Revised Statutes, 2010). Moreover, this crime will be said to have been committed if the person being filmed or photographed is in a state of nakedness or partial nakedness and if this person is in a place where he or she would anticipate a reasonable belief of their own privacy. Furthermore, this statute states that a person shall be considered to have committed the crime of invasion of privacy if he secretly takes photographs or films another person using a concealed camera or camcorder without the latter’s consent. ... These laws were later broadened to include the right of a person to be left alone and property was further defined as comprising of all forms of possessions, both tangible and intangible. Some scholars believe that the historical common law concerning privacy can still be applied today especially in situations where the right to privacy cannot be clearly defined by the current laws (Thaemert, 2002). They believe that the common law is much broader than current laws and that it would be best if it were to be taken seriously in matters concerning privacy and not disregarded as it is today. Common law privacy torts are very rarely used today and in fact, they are not applicable in cases where the affected person is considered newsworthy despite the fact that they provide a broader range of options than the Fourth Amendment. In the United States, the protection against the invasion of privacy varies from state to state and the American constitution itself does not provide strong penaltie s against it. Some states have a high level of protection against the invasion of privacy while some are more relaxed and a suspect may get off the hook easily (Siegel et al, 2009). This is not the case with common law which not only protects the right of individuals to be left alone but it also ensures that their property if protected. The common law is more specific in its application because it protects an individual from the invasion of their privacy from both the government and private citizens (Clapman, 2003). The evolution of the current laws and statutes has been largely influenced by the advent of mass media all over the world and the hunger that many people have for sensational news. Most of this highly demanded news requires that those pursuing it invade the

Consultants Report Telecommuting at IBM Indiana Essay

Consultants Report Telecommuting at IBM Indiana - Essay Example Half of the company’s business volume was spread out worldwide. It was in the mid-1980s, however, that the company started to have problems. The profits of the company had started to plunge down. Analysts concluded that the reasons behind the downfall were not many but were strong enough to shake an established company. They were: the bureaucratic and slow-moving setup of the company, maintenance of old business strategies and reluctance to replace them with newer ones, incorrect assessment of business risks. As said by Ducker (1993), it is a business sin to sacrifice tomorrow’s opportunity on the altar of yesterday. This was precisely the reason why IBM got off-track its road to success. Though IBM did try to cope up with the growing trends of the market by introducing a PC in the market almost overnight after Apple introduced the first PC in the mid-1970s but they could actually never get out of the MAINFRAME mask that they had put on themselves. Then the time came wh en IBM was being administered by JOHN AKERS who was a career IBMer in the ear 1985. Since the downfall of the company had already begun several steps were being taken by the administered in order to downsize the company. A summary of the downsizing of the company can be viewed in the attached table. The administered however resigned in the year when despite all his efforts the company continued to lose stocks and suffered major losses in the year 1992.Louis V. Gerstner then replaced the former head of the company. Further downsizing of employees was then consented upon by the management of the company. The establishment of the company’s office in the state of Indiana was an evident example of the problem the company was facing overall. The Indiana office reduced its number of employees to about 30% in the year 1992. The General Manager Operation s for the State of Indiana was foreseeing another cut in the number of employees.  

SWOT Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SWOT Analysis - Case Study Example Prior to the implementation of this strategy, the company had been in financial trouble. The admission of this issue had lead to a decrease in the employee's happiness, and then eventually, this lead to a labor relations issue. Acme, because of its business type, had to employ a wide variety of different workers because of its use of highly skilled technology. Therefore, it had geologists, geophysicists, engineers, (referred to as "the brains")as well as semiskilled labor (referred to as "the brawn") working together to create a functional business. In 1994, these two different levels of employees clashed in a very serious way that also became distressingly public. Engineers at the plant in Wichita locked out union workers and left them outside in the hot Kansas summer. The press got a hold of the story and the media went awry with the issue, and most employees felt that the press went far overboard with its push of the story. However, the bad publicity caused a change of the chief e xecutive, and Bill Daniels was brought in. Daniels displayed talent previously and had experience with teamwork and change. He wound up being a very good selection for the company. Daniels was good with the media, for one, so he was able to deflect some of the bad publicity. Second, he was able to restore the hurting company within his first year by getting rid of unnecessary parts of the business to save money. He was able to change management's tactics and created a shared-services department which focused on total quality management, and Jimenez became in charge of this group. Daniels had wanted Jimenez to improve the moral at the company's five extraction sites, as morale was low all around. Wichita was the only site where things had come to such a head, but the two individuals still felt that all sites needed to be considered in this re-organization project. Jimenez was ready to go; she had an M.B.A. and had also worked with a consulting firm prior to coming to Acme. She had worked at Acme for ten years, and had much experience with the company. She was provided with a team to assist her and she focused on a morale strategy. First, they team focused on Wichita, which had been the company's severe problem area. The plant had other issues other than the "brains" and the "brawn" infighting in the company; the plant was also performing below average, and the former CEO had considered getting rid of the plant altogether. All the change programs the old management had tried had failed, but Jimenez felt that these program's failures were fairly predictable since they had posed unrealistic expectations in the first place. With this in mind, Jimenez was able to fix the labor relations problem. Things were not as smoothly as they could have been, but the plan still worked and things were successful overall. Daniels had bragged about this early suc cess to the stakeholders and ensured that this success could be performed at the other plants. When moving the strategy to Lubbock, Jimenez could have been overconfident. She sent one of her people out there with two other staff in order to implement the strategy. Several problems began to occur after that. In Lubbock, issues that hadn't occurred in Wichita began to occur. The employees seemed reluctant to participate in any of the problem-solving and team-building concepts the company had put

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Assignment Example This is because referrals, detentions, and disciplinary measures are not effective on the side of such students. ESOL students tend to experience difficulties in learning, which is not the case with the native speakers of the language. From my experience, these students fail regularly in their classes. I, therefore, concluded that ESOL students require more than normal lectures can offer so as to help them in their understanding (Stoynoff & Chapelle, 2005). The idea that an individual could require special education is mostly derived from the medical history of the student. However, it is worth noting that students with special needs can perform as their normal peers with little assistance (Special Education and Student Services, 2012). Special education programs are divided into several categories such as the visual students and the auditory students. As the students’ ability differ, the approach to different subjects with regard to special students also varies. The first les son to consider is measurement. Measurement is about the idea of a number that is used to show the size or the amount of something (Measurement Index, 2013). The major objectives of determining measurement include ensuring that a precise measurement is recorded as it could be used in other calculations. The procedures of determining measurements are diverse and unique to the unit whose measurements are being determined. There are many things that can be measured, but the common ones are length, area, time, volume and mass. Specific instruments are used to measure these elements. For instance, with respect to length, an instrument such as a ruler can be used to determine short lengths. To engage the students, in this subject, I would begin by asking suggestive questions such as what a ruler is and what it is used for. The next step could be explaining the meaning of words such as mass and volume to the students. While explaining volume, to make it easy for the students to understand, it would be appropriate to use the model approach. This is where a small version of a large object is used to show how measurements are taken, and how to use them in calculating the subsequent volume. This would also serve as a perfect way to introduce the lesson to the students. Besides the theory part, for better understanding bearing in mind that these are special students, practice is essential to their understanding. Therefore, the teacher should be involved in the initial stage of the practice as the guided practice to show individual students how to use various instruments in acquiring accurate measurements. As a teacher, after I am satisfied that the students have understood the concept, I leave them to discuss with their peers on the subjects then answer any possible questions the following day. It is of extreme importance to realize that there exist different types of special students. With regard to the visual students, the teacher should concentrate much on visualizing the subject. This incorporates using labeled diagrams in the classroom and multimedia such as power point animations and video clips showing the procedures of obtaining the measurements. With respect to auditory students, it would be important to use the practical part of the lesson when showing the student how to acquire the measurement. Since

Ethical implications and theories about a new technology Essay

Ethical implications and theories about a new technology - Essay Example Sample (2007) reports that scientists working in the field of neurology have developed a system with which they are able to look into a person’s mind and see their intentions even before they are carried out. Essentially, it allows them to bug the mind of an individual much like a telephone can be bugged. The methodology is based on taking high resolution scans of the brain to identify the activity in certain areas of the brain which can be translated into the actual thoughts of the person. A brain image of this kind could reveal a person who is lying, having violent thoughts, has racial prejudices, or any other negative or positive emotions. While the process can be used to help in interrogation and crime solving it could easily turn into an Orwellian tool much like the thought police. Of course the brain scan could also be used to prove the innocence of an individual who has not committed a crime but the invasion of privacy and the violation of civil rights certainly bring up interesting questions. The technology is still several years away from being perfected but it is going towards a direction where hiding thoughts might be impossible. In a few years, scientists will be able to tell if an individual is lying or not simply by looking at their brain activity. In fact, we might even be able to know a person’s emotional state, background thoughts as well as their hopes and dreams with a good enough scan of their brain. The idea does have its positive applications since computers could be controlled with the brain and machinery could also be controlled with thought alone to provide the disabled with an unprecedented degree of movement. Thought controlled wheelchairs or artificial appendages could make losing an arm or a leg less debilitating than it is now. Clearly, there are both positive and negative sides to the debate on the reading of thoughts. To better grasp the situation in ethical terms,

Fast food restaurant Essay Example for Free

Fast food restaurant Essay Introduction †¢ Franklin Pierce College was founded in 1962 by Frank S. DiPietro †¢ This research project was conducted from September to December of 2004 for the population of Franklin Pierce College. †¢ The population of our survey was based on the 1,591 Franklin Pierce College students on the Rindge campus. 2 Problem Statement Our research team came to the conclusion that there is a lack of fast food facilities in the Rindge area. We came to the conclusion that: Research is necessary to determine if Franklin Pierce College students would patronize a fast food chain in Rindge, NH 3 Research Objectives. †¢ Determine what criteria are important to consumers with respect to patronizing a fast food establishment. †¢ Determine which fast food restaurant would be most successful in the area. †¢ Determine fast food spending habits. 4 Methodology †¢ First, our team identified the problem of the lack of fast food restaurant choices in the area. We conducted primary research on the fast food industry, as well as speaking to others on campus to determine the fast food demand. †¢ We then created our problem statement. †¢ We then created our research objectives, and created our survey with our objectives in mind. †¢ We used convenience sampling, by handing out surveys to 30 students (15 boys and 15 girls) of each class standing, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. †¢ We analyzed our data using SPSS software, which created our results so that we could determine our conclusions and recommendations. 5 Survey Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Are you on the Meal Plan? How many times a month do you go to the Raven’s Nest Pub? Please circle your response. Which fast food restaurant do you most prefer? Please Rate the following statements: I get hungry between the hours of 10pm and 3 am. I travel outside of Rindge for food. I patronize fast food establishments. I prefer fast food restaurants with the drive-thru option. Based on your own experiences which of the following restaurants has the best customer satisfaction? 6 Survey Continued 9. 10. 11. 12. If there were more fast food options in the Rindge area would you patronize them? What fast food chain would you like to see come to Rindge, New Hampshire? Check the appropriate gender. What’s you current class standing? 7 Are you on the Meal Plan? 25% Yes NO 75% Mode= 1 (yes) 8 How many times a month do you go to the Raven’s Nest Pub? 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 3 6 9 MEAN 9 Which fast food restaurant do you most prefer? 12% 2% Papa Johns 14% McDonalds 11% Wendys Subway 23% 38% Mode= 3 (Wendy’s). Burger King Other 10 I get Hungry between the hours of 10pm and 3am. Mean 2. 13 Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 11 I Travel outside of Rindge for food. 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree 2. 38 Disagree Strongly Disagree MEAN MEAN 12 I prefer fast food with the drive-thru option. Mean 2. 53 Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree 0 10 20 30 40 13 I Patronize fast food establishments. MEAN 2. 37 Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 0 10 20 30. 40 14 Which of the following restaurants has the best customer satisfaction? 15% 8% 14% Papa Johns McDonalds 8% Wendys Subway Burger King 29% 26% Other Mode= 4 (Subway) 15 Cross Tabulations A you on the meal plan? * What i s your current cl ass standing? Crosstabulation re Count Are y ou on the meal plan? y es no Tot al What is y our c urrent class standing? Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior 30 30 14 16 16 14 30 30 30 30 Tot al 90 30 120 Case Processing Summary N Are you on the meal plan? * What is your current class standing? Valid Percent 120 100. 0% Cases Missing N Percent 0 .0% N Total Percent 120 100. 0% 16 Cross Tabulations. Case Processing Summary N Based on y our own esperiences, which of the f ollowing retaurant s has the best c ustomer sat isf action? * C heck the appropriate gender: Valid Percent 102 85. 0% N Cas es Missing Percent 18 15. 0% N Tot al Percent 120 100. 0% Based on you r o wn esp er ien ces, whi ch of th e fo llo win g r etaur an ts has th e b est cu sto mer sati sfactio n ? * C heck the ap pr o pr iate gen d er : Cr o sstabu latio n Count Based on y our own esperiences, which of the f ollowing retaurant s has the best c ustomer sat isf action? Tot al Papa Johns McDonalds Wendy s Subway Burger King Check t he appropriat e gender: Male F emale 6 4 7 10 15 16 16 18 6 4 50 52 Tot al 10 17 31 34 10 102 17 Cross Tabulations Case Processin g Summary N Which f ast f ood restaurant do y ou m ost pref er? * If t here were m ore f ast f ood options in the Rindge area, would y ou patronize t hem ? Valid Percent 106 88. 3% N Cas es Missing Percent 14 Tot al Percent N 11. 7% 120 100. 0% Wh ich fast fo od restau rant do you most p refer? * If th ere were more fast foo d o ptio ns in th e Rin dg e area, wou ld yo u p atro ni ze them? Cro sstab u latio n Count Which f ast f ood restaurant do y ou m ost pref er? Tot al Papa Johns McDonalds Wendy s Subway Burger King. If t here were more f as t f ood options in the Rindge area, would y ou patronize them? Y es No 2 12 5 37 9 21 7 12 1 84 22 Tot al 2 17 46 28 13 106 18 Limitations †¢ Small sample size †¢ Time †¢ Confusion of questions by our respondents (question 9) †¢ Lack of knowledge of SPSS software 19 Conclusions †¢ Based on our results the top three restaurants students selected to their preference were : Wendy’s with a 38. 3% rating. Second was Subway with 23. 3%, and McDonald’s with 14. 2%. †¢ 64. 2% reported that they travel outside of Rindge for food. †¢ 59. 2% students reported that they patronize fast food restaurants. 20 Conclusions Continued †¢ 78. 3% of students reported that they would patronize a fast food establishment in Rindge. †¢ Subway was recorded as having the highest customer satisfaction ratings at 28. 3%, Wendy’s followed with 25. 8%. 21 Discussion †¢ More than 87. 5% of respondents surveyed replied strongly agree, agree, or neutral when asked if they would patronize a fast food restaurant. †¢ We found that our research for our literature review stated that McDonald’s was the top choice for favorite fast food restaurant. Our survey showed that students would prefer a Wendy’s. †¢ We also found that our research stated that Papa John’s had the highest rating for customer service. Our survey respondents had little to no knowledge of the Papa John’s restaurant. 22 Recommendations †¢ A fast food restaurant should open in the Rindge area, preferably close to campus. †¢ There should be a drive-thru option based on our surveys results of 50% of students strongly agreeing or agreeing with this option. †¢ There should be a fast food establishment which offers late night service for students. Our survey resulted that 70. 8% of students strongly agreed or agreed that they get hungry between the hours of 10pm and 3am. 23 The end Thank you for your time Any Questions? 24.

Cell Phone Industry

Cell Phone Industry INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to explain the innovation and evaluate the innovations benefits in a particular industry. The subject of my assignment is the company of Research In Motion (RIM) and RIMs product which is called Blackberry in cell phones industry. All industries need to creative new products or improve their products to satisfy the costumers. By this reason innovation is very important issue in todays competitive business world. The RIM produce innovate the e-mail wireless system and in this point Blackberries are one of the best smart phones in cell phones sector. This assignment also makes some estimates about Blackberry and its position in the cell phones sector. THE HÄ °STORY OF CELL PHONES INDUSTRY In the past centuries, nowadays communication technology was only a dream. Cell phones, internet chat, e-mail were very extreme machines or system for the people. However depend on the improving of communication technology all these dreams has been becoming real. (M. Woods 2005). During the 1940s, the radio technology was developed and this was constituted the first step of cell phones history. The beginning of cell phones was based on the innovation of radio communication which was used especially in taxi caps, police cars and other means of transportations to provide two ways communicate one to another or communicate only the central base. And also individual radios help to improving cell phone communication technology with patching into a phone line via live operator to make a phone call. Swedish police used the first official mobile phone in 1946. There was a link between telephone network and the new technology and the new system was very different from two way radio system. But it was not sufficient enough, only 6 phone calls were done before the battery was finished. The modern cell phones technology was created by the same time with creation of hexagonal cells in 1947. Moreover the development of cell phone technologies naturally has been following the improving of technologies and first electronics cell phone developed during the 1960s. The problem of these cell phones is; the user had to stay one cell area because cell areas which were serviced by a base station were unable to hand off cellular phone calls from one base station to another. While you could make a phone call, you werent able to continue the call after you reached a set range. This problem was solved by A. E. Joel in 1970, call handoff system was built up and this system provides the user carrying on the phone call from one place to another without switching off the phone. Following decades the cell phones technologies continue the improving. The cell phones can be classified with three groups; first, second and third generations. First Generation Cell Phones: In 1983, the first portable cell phone was presented to world by Motorola and the name of this product was Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. The cost of research to improve the cell phone was over 100 million dollars and it took about 15 years to prepare it for market. It looked like brick and it weighed about 28 ounces. Until the beginning of the 1990s the popularity of cell phones increase due to innovations in cellular networks. However, most common style of using was in car like a car phone because of its dimension. Second Generation Cell Phones: During the 1990s, due to new system such as GSM,IS-136 and IS-95 cell phones skipped the second generation (2G). The new digital mobile phones started to use in the United State in 1990 and in Europe by 1991. 2G mobile phones enabled to get network signal faster, the quality of calls was better and the amount of dropped calls decrease by the digital system. The size of 2G phones absolutely smaller than the â€Å"brick† phones which were produced former decade. 2G phones were usually in the range of 100 to 200 grams; in addition, most of them did not need large batteries. With these innovations also provided remarkable increase the amount of cell phone user. Third Generation Cell Phones: The most common name of third generation is 3G and these phones available today. Only few years after 2G, 3G phones were improved. Due to many innovations in technology and services, standards for 3G are usually different depending on the network. Todays cell phones are not only using for handle text messages and such contacts book. The new cell phones include GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity and motion sensors. These phones are able to get the e-mails, connect the computers and provide the videophone. According to Andy Jones, head of information security research at British Telecommunications, â€Å"Mobile phones are becoming a bigger part of our lives†. â€Å"RESEARCH IN MOTION† AND BLACKBERRY The History of Research in Motion: In 1984, a pair of engineering students, one each from the Universities of Waterloo and of Windsor found the Research in Motion. The technology of RIM created the most common Blackberry mobile communication tool. RIM was the first wireless data technology developer in North America and created several wireless products, including wireless Point-of-Sale devices, radio modems, and the first two-way messaging pager. In 1998, the small portable wireless handheld was produced by RIM and the name of the machine was RIM 950. RIM 950 handled e-mails contacts and calendaring with a fitted QWERTY keyboard. The first Blackberry two-way was produced in 1999 but the opportunity of pushing e-mail and SMS was allowed on the world in 2002 with 5810. Businesses soon saw the power of the QWERTY keypad handsets as an office tool, and havent looked back since, with the first colour models in 2003 and first packing Wi-Fi in 2004. Today, the Blackberry phone is one of the leading cell phones in the market and the popularity of the Blackberry has been increasing day by day. The user of Blackberry phones take significantly advantages, especially business who needs an advanced phone to communicate with their office when staying outside. The blackberry earned the many professionals confidence by the way of answering their needs. Also business world not only one market which Blackberry sold, many people interest in using smart phones to connect internet or GPS, take and share photos with the phone. INNOVATION According to management expert Peter Drucker, innovation is change that creates a new dimension of performance. One of the most important things is creativity for innovation. The foundation of innovation is new ideas and new criteria and also personal success. The source of creativity is statement of new ideas and new solutions. In addition, innovation get agreement from the others to be successful and the idea of innovation influence the other people ideas. All industries need innovation every time to improve their influence areas and to reach their target. Customers always have some future expectations and organizations want to answer these demands with new innovations. To make a successful innovation, recognize and estimate the new opportunities is playing significant role. Creativity involves transformation such as dramatic change in form, structure, process, appearance or character of a person, a product, or an environment. In other words, creativity involves the making change f rom present situation to future for greater returns. Form creativity new life begins in business world. (Marci Segal 2003). The results of innovation are hard to measure. It is so complicated to understand. There are many sorts of dimension that include a diversity of activities. The main point of innovation is about product, it should be new. Moreover it may also be a new process of production, alternatives of a cheaper material, include improvement for this issue and uncovered product, open for the improvement and have a easy way to developed more innovations. The transformation process to provide technological and economic consideration from innovation is also complex. (R. Landau, N. Rosenberg 1986). INNOVATION OF BLACKBERRY The innovation of Blackberry maybe creates a question about is it radical innovation or a step-change innovation. Although the e-mails are sent by computer, it is significant to note that blackberry provide an opportunity to send and receive e-mails while moving or out of office. Also the size of blackberry is very small it is exactly a smart phone and obtains important advantages to users. As a result, blackberry is a radical innovation for those corporate executives, government officials and emergency driven professionals for whom doing business has changed. Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO state an opinion about importance of time. If the blackberry had represented earlier, it may not have been very popular because e-mails did not use very common. â€Å"It was the right time for us to do that because the offering and the market opportunity and the value proposition and uniqueness stood on its own merit. We did it at the time and we certainly have no regrets. It appears, in hindsight, to have been a very wise strategy,† he says. The benefits of blackberry against laptop and the mobile phone are a little bit complicated. The position of Blackberry lie between laptop and mobile phone in other words the value of Blackberry is in the middle of these two devices. However the security of data being directly erasable if the Blackberry is lost and the management of sophisticated images are more than for the laptop and mobile phone. Moreover, time is very important in todays competitive business world. Blackberry considers using time more efficiently with providing business to check e-mails and complete their transaction out of the office without computer. (Swastik Nigam 2007). It is certain that Blackberry is one of the most powerful devices which bring the wireless technology to daily life use. The person who is carrying this extreme machine will never become out of contact. The Research In Motion (RIM), the producer of Blackberry, after the first device which called Interactive Pagers hit the market in the summer of 1998 has been becoming of a phenomena in market. THE REPORT OF RIM AND FUTURE EXPECTATÄ °ONS As I mentioned before the first RIM product hit the market at 1998. After that producing Blackberries models was followed this improvement. In a short time, Blackberry have came a popular and also RIM sales have increased sharply. The RIM started to sell the Blackberry firstly in USA and after a time period the Blackberry spread all over the world. 2009 Market 2008 Market Company Shares Sales (%) Shares Sales (%) Nokia 14,911.2 42,1 14,588.6 45,1 Research in Motion 7,233.6 19,9 4,311.8 13,3 Apple 3,938.8 10,8 1,725.3 5,3 HTC 1,957.3 5,4 1,276.9 4 Fujitsu 1,387 3,8 1,317.5 4,1 Others 6,896.4 18,8 9,094.8 28,1 The table above indicates that the smart phone sales increased from first quarter of 2008 to first quarter of 2009. Garther analysts illustrate the significant success in Research in Motion and Apple sales. â€Å"Much of the smart phone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touch screen products, both in midtier and high-end devices,† said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. Touch screen is not only one reason for this increasing, people all over the world wants mobile e-mail, music service and also internet from their phone with depending on the technological development in smart phone industry. (Stamford, Conn., May 20, 2009) Comparison with Apple: The major competitor of Research in Motion is Apple iPhone. The cost of latest version Blackberry smart phone, which is called Blackberry Storm, has a higher production cost than iPhone 3G. According to iSuppli, a research firm in electronics market, one unit of Blackberry Storm cost is $ 202.89 although an iPhone cost is $174.33. Despite the cost difference and popularity of Apples best-selling device, RIM still tops the league of smart phone sales. RIM said that it shipped 4.4 million Blackberry handsets in the fourth quarter alone, bumping up total numbers to about 14 million for the 2008 fiscal year, and more than doubling sales of 6.4 million for fiscal 2007. By comparison, Apple has said that it sold 2.3 million iPhones in the three months to December 29, and a total of about 4 million in the six months since the devices US launch. Blackberry accounted for 41 per cent of all smart phones sold in the US in the fourth quarter, compared with the iPhones 28 per cent share, according to the Reading-based researcher Canalys. With this successful year RIM recently started targeting to become a leader in consumer market. The RIMs chief executive Jim Balsilie added that despite of the global credit crunch they goals the increase the revenue and they will make more profit from the Blackberry sells. (Times Online, April 03, 2008). The Blackberry producer Research in Motion declared that they beat the analysts expectations in forth quarter of 2009. RIM made a $ 518.3 million profit in the forth quarter and a 26 percent increase from the same period last year. The revenue for the forth quarter of 2009 was $ 3.46bn, up 84 percent from a year ago. According to co-chief executive at RIM Jim Balsillie, the company is very happy about their success of Blackberry products sales in forth quarter of 2009. (Tom Young Computing, 03 April 2009). Future Plans of Research in Motion: Additionally, RIM also has some future plans to improve their products and reach their target. The company wants to add some new facilities to Blackberry. The company will add application of Java and Adobe Reader to provide the costumer better smart phone especially in internet world. With these applications consumers, who are using the Blackberry could access all information easily. The format of data will not be a problem for the Blackberrys owners. The most effective innovation might be occur in the future is; RIM thinking to do a deal with T-mobile to provide costumers better service. Although the credit crunch, according to co-chief of RIM they will try to not lose their market position and continue the improvement of their products. CONCLUSION Today, Research In Motion Limiteds Blackberry is the leading product of representing wireless e-mail for the smart phone. The Blackberry are sold across North America and Europe and nowadays it is taken root the Asia Pacific. The Blackberry is a big innovation for the cell phone industry by provides the easiest way to connect e-mail with wireless to the costumers. As far I am concerned that innovation should include some new ideas and creativity. Although wireless technology was being used by computers, the RIMs Blackberry meets the wireless to the smart phones at first time. Now, all smart phones user expects from the phones to connect internet and want to check their e-mail while buying a new one. RIM was founded in 1984 by two engineering student. The firm started to produce Blackberry in 1998 and sharply became popular in the smart phones market. Also RIMs Blackberry has some competitor in todays rivalry market such as Nokia and iPhone but the target of company is to become a leader in this sector. These days, the RIM is looking for new innovations to improve the Blackberry. All industries need to develop and create new innovation to answer costumers expectations. Following the improvement in technology products has been becoming more and better and if an organization wants to reach top or to increase the sales, they innovate new products. References 1. Michael Woods. â€Å"The History Of Communication†, Lerner Publication, First Edition 2005 2. http://www.tech-faq.com/history-of-cell-phones.shtml 3. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427301.100-the-pocket-spy-will-your-smartphone-rat-you-out.html?full=true 4. http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/8041.aspx 5. http://experts.thelink.co.uk/2008/12/19/a-brief-history-of-blackberry/ 6. Kathryn Vercillo. â€Å"History of Major Blackberry Models from RIM 96†, available at: http://hubpages.com/hub/History-of-Major-Blackberry-Models-from-RIM 7. Marci Segal. â€Å"Quick Guide to the Four Temperaments and Creativity: A Psychological Understanding of Innovation†, Telos Publication, 2003. 8. Ralph Landau, Nathan Rosenberg, National Academy of Engineering. â€Å"The Positive sum strategy: harnessing technology for economic growth†, Conference publication, 1986. 9. Swastik Nigam, â€Å"Understanding New Product Innovation: Research in Motions Blackberry† ,available at: http://insightory.com/view/231//understanding_new_product_innovation:_research_in_motion%27s_blackberry 10. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2008/id2008044_416784.htm 11. Tom Young Computing, â€Å"Blackberry maker sees strong profit growth†, 03 April 2009, available at: http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2239782/blackberry-maker-sees-strong 12. Stamford, Con., â€Å"Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Declined 8.6 Per Cent and Smartphones Grew 12.7 Per Cent in First Quarter of 2009†, available at: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=985912 13. http://laptopcom.blogspot.com/2009/01/apple-iphones-are-less-costly-to.htm 14. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3676963.ece

The Death Of Liberal America Essay -- essays research papers

Americans seem to have lost any sense whatsoever of what liberalism means and what it strives to insure. Liberals have insisted that tyranny can only be combated by the multiplication and fragmentation of power. A free society is one in which there are various centers of power, various positions from which people have the ability to influence decisions. That’s the whole point behind creating three branches of government, the vaunted â€Å"separation of powers.† Liberalism aims to insure peace and prevent tyranny in pluralistic societies. Liberalism strives to place lots of individual actions outside the pale of politics and beyond interference from the state or other powers. And, culturally, it strives to promote tolerance, where tolerance is, at a minimum, indifference to the choices and actions of others and, at best, a recognition that diversity yields some social benefits. Liberalism guarantees through freedoms of speech, the press, and association, and through the institutional mechanisms of election, jury trials, and legislative deliberations, the active engagement of citizens with one another. Liberals should promote in every way possible the existence of a vibrant, accessible, and uncensored civil society. In short, liberalism proliferates the occasions where citizens of different opinions, backgrounds, creeds etc. mingle with one another, express their views, and argue about specific issues. And in some, but not all cases, these settings have to move to a decision that is then accepted, even when not very satisfying, by all the parties involved. Democratic procedures of decision making which guarantee to all interested parties their chance to say their piece (their chance to sway others by argument), and use the vote and majority rule to adjudicate differences, are a vital liberal expedient for keeping the peace. That’s because democracy, amazingly enough, has proven an astoundingly effective way to get people to accept - peacefully - the fact that they have ended up on the losing side of a political debate that was resolved by a vote. Liberalism, we might say, relies to some extent on the desire of all the participants to maintain the social peace. But even more fundamentally, it expects that the process of deliberation will move participants to an appreciation of the others involved, and the desire to come to an eventual decision that satisfies as m... ... strife. There are few things worse in this world than sectarian violence. Do the Republicans really know what fire they are playing with when they encourage sectarian divisiveness? And just look at the electoral map of the past two presidential elections. The South and the West are lined up against the Pacific Coast States and the North. We haven’t had such a regional divide since 1860. How long can California and the Northeast be shut out from national power? A population hardened into set divisions, a population without a big percentage of swing voters is in bad shape; a population where those divisions correspond to geographic boundaries is really courting disaster. If the South and West maintain their current coalition, we have a reversion to the regionalism that culminated in the Civil War. Certainly, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the South continues to be the fly in the ointment of American democracy. It has never been as fluid in its awarding of votes in national elections as the other regions, and that has been a constant problem. The fact remains â€Å"If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention.† Seems like a lot of people aren’t paying attention.

To Forgive or Not to Forgive Essay -- essays papers

To Forgive or Not to Forgive Debt is a substantial problem facing many countries in the world today. Some of the more economically stable countries are able to pay off their debt through strategic budget planning. However, there are many countries that constantly struggle to solve their debt problems. In response of this issue, the IMF and the World Bank have designed a framework to provide special assistance for heavily indebted poor countries that pursue IMF and World Bank supported adjustment and reform programs. This framework has been called the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative; it is also known as the HIPC Initiative. In this paper, I will explain the advantages and disadvantages of the HIPC Initiative. My main objective will be to explain why I think it is an appropriate obligation for the IMF and World Bank to make. To do this, I will describe the initiatives of the World Bank and IMF along with the reasons for its creation, its successes and challenges, economic advantages and disadvantages of the debt relief program, and finally some biblical perspective on debt forgiveness. First, it is important to look at what the HIPC Initiative is. The HIPC Initiative is a comprehensive approach to debt reduction for poor countries that requires the participation of all creditors. Its goal is to ensure that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. Central to the HIPC Initiative is each country’s continued effort toward macroeconomic adjustment and structural and social policy reforms. In addition, the initiative focuses on ensuring additional finance for social sector programs, primarily basic health and education. Following a comprehensive review of the HIPC Initiative, a number of modifications were approved in September 1999 to provide faster, deeper and broader debt relief and strengthen the links between debt relief, poverty reduction and social policies. The Initiative is not a universal remedy. Even if all the external debts of these countries were forgiven, most would still depend on significant levels of concessional external assistance; their receipts of such assistance have been much larger than their debt-service payments for many years. So, why was the HIPC Initiative created? It has been well recognized that the external debt situation for a number of low-income countries, mostly in Africa, has become ex... ...tential to do a lot of good for the economy as a whole. I believe it will help not only developing nations but the developed nations as well. It also has the potential to help reduce poverty in the world as Delechat describes. Also, on a Biblical perspective, I believe it clearly states that we are to forgive the debts of our neighbors. Therefore, this is why I think the HIPC Initiative is an appropriate obligation for the IMF and World Bank to have. Bibliography: Works Cited Cheru, Fantu. (January, 2001). The Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative: a human rights assessment of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP). HIPC: well intentioned but flawed? (2001, October 15). Delechat, C. (2001). 100 Percent Debt Cancellation? A Response from the IMF and the World Bank. (2001, October 15). The Holy Bible – New International Version. Exodus 22: 25-27. Deuteronomy 15:1-11. Leviticus 25: 1-43. (2000, October 12). Forgiving Their Debtors. Wall Street Journal, p. A26. (2000, November 29). The Impact of Debt Reduction under the HIPC Initiative on External Debt Service and Social Expenditures. International Monetary Fund. (2001, October 15).

Leoh Ming Pei & Eero Saarinen :: Art

Leoh Ming Pei & Eero Saarinen The architects that I am comparing came from two different parts of the world and yet, in some ways the message(s) behind their work and the incorporation of engineering, geometrical and sculptural elements into their designs and their new identity as â€Å"Americans† brings them closer together. Leoh Ming Pei was born in Canton, China in 1917 and came to the United States for his further education. Because of his fathers influence on him, who always encouraged Pei in designing, he attended MIT and it was finally in Harvard that he got his architectural degree. Being brought up in a different culture also had an impact in his design for his approach towards it was different from most of his American classmates whose approaches towards design were mostly very traditional. At Harvard, Le Corbussier’s â€Å"Expressive Modernism† influenced him in his use of simple geometric shapes and forms. Gropius also had a great deal of influence on Pei for he developed a reliance on abstract form and materials such as stone, concrete, glass and steel and later developed his own approach to design in which he exhibits interest in the Avant Garde. My next architect is (1910- 1961) who was born in Finland, a son of an architect father and a sculptor and architectural model-maker mother. His parents’ professions influenced him very much into being an architect and he enrolled in Cranbrok Institute of Architecture and also Yale University after his family moved to the United States. He also went to Europe for a year to study sculpture and over there, he was greatly influenced by the sculptors there of that time and this sculptural influence is seen in almost every one of his designs. Like Pei, he was also a first generation American and having being brought up in a different country also had a great impact on the way he looked at design and his concepts towards it. After he finished his architectural degree, he developed a theory of treating architecture as sculpture, an engineering monument and three-dimensional geometry. I have to say Pei’s Grand Louvre Pyramid In France and Saarinen’s TWA terminal in New York have both been figures of splendor, admiration, and equally-- controversy. Both structures have sculptural and engineering elements in them and both incorporate modern materials into their design. Even the concepts as to why they look the way they are just as intriguing. Leoh Ming Pei & Eero Saarinen :: Art Leoh Ming Pei & Eero Saarinen The architects that I am comparing came from two different parts of the world and yet, in some ways the message(s) behind their work and the incorporation of engineering, geometrical and sculptural elements into their designs and their new identity as â€Å"Americans† brings them closer together. Leoh Ming Pei was born in Canton, China in 1917 and came to the United States for his further education. Because of his fathers influence on him, who always encouraged Pei in designing, he attended MIT and it was finally in Harvard that he got his architectural degree. Being brought up in a different culture also had an impact in his design for his approach towards it was different from most of his American classmates whose approaches towards design were mostly very traditional. At Harvard, Le Corbussier’s â€Å"Expressive Modernism† influenced him in his use of simple geometric shapes and forms. Gropius also had a great deal of influence on Pei for he developed a reliance on abstract form and materials such as stone, concrete, glass and steel and later developed his own approach to design in which he exhibits interest in the Avant Garde. My next architect is (1910- 1961) who was born in Finland, a son of an architect father and a sculptor and architectural model-maker mother. His parents’ professions influenced him very much into being an architect and he enrolled in Cranbrok Institute of Architecture and also Yale University after his family moved to the United States. He also went to Europe for a year to study sculpture and over there, he was greatly influenced by the sculptors there of that time and this sculptural influence is seen in almost every one of his designs. Like Pei, he was also a first generation American and having being brought up in a different country also had a great impact on the way he looked at design and his concepts towards it. After he finished his architectural degree, he developed a theory of treating architecture as sculpture, an engineering monument and three-dimensional geometry. I have to say Pei’s Grand Louvre Pyramid In France and Saarinen’s TWA terminal in New York have both been figures of splendor, admiration, and equally-- controversy. Both structures have sculptural and engineering elements in them and both incorporate modern materials into their design. Even the concepts as to why they look the way they are just as intriguing.

Backlash Films

Over twenty years after its release, Fatal Attraction continues to inspire discussion and controversy. While the movie comfortably takes its place as one of the biggest blockbusters of the 1980s and one of the most unforgettable thrillers in cinematic history, there are many that contend it contains a slew of anti-feminist overtones. The female lead and her traits as an otherwise archetypal career woman combine with her psycho-sexual obsession with the male lead to create a character that some may see as tragic and insane, while others see as a direct attack on the feminist movement itself.With its portrayal of the stalking career woman that victimizes a hapless man and his innocent wife, Fatal Attraction contains many elements that reflect a â€Å"backlash† against the feminist movement, as well as dark male fears over the proliferation of career-minded women. Fatal Attraction, released in 1987, written by James Dearden and directed by Adrian Lyne, was conceived as a film abo ut the consequences of infidelity. The film’s main character, Dan Gallagher, played by Michael Douglas, is a New York lawyer with a seemingly happy family that includes a beautiful wife Beth, played by Anne Archer, and daughter.When Dan’s wife and daughter go away for the weekend, Dan meets the independent and sultry Alex Forrest, played by Glenn Close, at his law firm. The two soon engage in what Dan believes to be a casual and temporary affair. When Dan attempts to end the affair, Alex’s refusal to accept it turns dramatically negative. Alex begins to stalk Dan, showing up where he does, calling him until he refuses to take her calls. Eventually, realizing that Dan truly wants nothing to do with her, she tells him that she is pregnant with his baby.The growing obsessive madness of Alex peaks after she spies on Dan and his family from the bushes in his yard, and later breaks into the house when the family is out and boils the pet rabbit of Dan’s daughter . Because he can no longer hide his transgressions, Dan tells Beth about the affair, and she eventually forgives him. Alex crosses the final line with Dan and his family when she kidnaps his daughter only to return her unharmed later. It becomes apparent to all involved that something must be done, and for Alex, that means killing Dan’s wife so she can take her place.In a final climatic scene, Alex, Beth, and Dan physically fight as Alex attempts to kill Beth with a butcher knife. Dan is forced to drown Alex in the bathtub, but she only appears dead and attacks him again, when Beth, using a gun Dan purchased for protection, promptly guns her down. While many of the plot points in the movie can be seen as simple movie suspense, the deeper one digs the easier it is to find subtle allusions to the place of women in society. The role of the female characters in Fatal Attraction show diverging archetypes for the ideal woman, as viewed by traditionalists and progressive feminists.O n the one hand is Alex, the calculating career woman; on the other hand is Beth, the faithful wife and mother. The main female characters show the dichotomy between the traditional social roles of women and the ultramodern. According to Gerrig, â€Å"A social role is a socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person when functioning in a given setting or group† (Gerrig and Zimbardo 574). The portrayal of each can be seen as a representation of a provincial masculine view of femininity, in essence a backlash against feminism. Feminism has long been a misunderstood concept, by women and men alike.Beginning in the late nineteenth century with the rise of â€Å"the New Woman,† the First International Women’s Conference in Paris in 1892 coined the word after the French term feministe, to represent a belief in and advocacy of equal rights for women based on the idea of the equality of the sexes (Haslanger and Tuana). At the time, it was a call for su ffrage and equal justice for women and represented the beginning of the â€Å"First Wave† of feminism, which in America culminated in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote.By the time Fatal Attraction was released, feminism was in the midst of a strong new wave of feminism, which began in the late 1960s. In the â€Å"Second Wave† of feminism, feminists pushed far beyond the first wave by asking for more than just equal political rights but also greater universal equality in the workplace, education, at home, and with their own bodies (Haslanger and Tuana). The proliferation of birth control added to this wave and the growing independence of women reached a zenith in the 1980s, with women achieving equality in almost every sense of the word, with prominent women politicians, artists, and world figures.The character of Alex Forrest seemed to suggest a dark side to this rise of feminism, that the irrational female psyche will eventua lly overrule the mindset of even the most successful women, granted that they failed to have the things traditionally considered the most feminine: a family. The stability of the idealized traditional wife and mother, Beth, provides a stark contrast to the nightmarish descent into madness of the progressive single woman, Alex. While this could be nothing more than a dramatic coincidence, some see it as a deliberate expression of masculine fear of female empowerment.Fatal Attraction seems to suggest an almost misogynistic fear of the independent career woman that she seeks to destroy families and will stop at nothing to do so: â€Å"In its representation of a crazy career woman out to destroy the nuclear family, the film is a perfect example of the era’s conservative backlash against independent women† (Benshoff and Griffin 281). Alex participates in stalking, which is traditionally associated with men, and she possesses many of the same dominant tendencies of men.In he r book, High Contrast: Race and Gender in Contemporary Hollywood, Sharon Willis critiques Fatal Attraction, taking the position that films like it suggest that â€Å"feminine force seems to arise at the direct expense of masculine power and bodily integrity† and that femininity becomes inextricably linked to masculinity, a position widely shared by feminist film critics. Willis claims that films like Fatal Attraction focus â€Å"on an urgent effort to reinscribe the border of sexual difference at exactly the divide between domestic interior and public space† (Regester 52).Alex engages in behavior that, even in the 1980s, was deemed uniquely masculine. Women have long suffered the double standard of adhering to strict sexual mores, and her promiscuity exemplifies the lack of maternal qualities that most men look for in a mate. However, men like Dan use biological precedent to rationalize their constant desire to spread their seed. Dan is equally responsible for what occ urred, but it is almost as if he is forgiven for his gender’s predilection for sexual promiscuity, however erroneous.The most obvious feminist critique of Fatal Attraction is how it portrays Alex, the professional, single woman in her thirties as domineering, man-obsessed, and driven to insanity by her quest to achieve a long lasting relationship with Dan. The movie vilifies her and on the opposite end of the spectrum, sanctifies Beth, the devoted wife and mother. As with all the strong popular icons before her, Alex â€Å"becomes the screen upon which an audience of thousands projects their fears and fantasies† (Nguyen â€Å"The Legend of Billie Jean†).Through all of this, Dan is portrayed as almost more of a hapless victim that succumbs to the wiles of a siren than what he really is: a cheating spouse. The author of the story, James Dearden contends that he meant no deliberate anti-feminist overtones in his work, which began as a 1979 short film, â€Å"Divers ion. † According to Dearden, he merely borrowed from life to create a minimalist story about the perils of adultery: â€Å"My wife was out of town for the weekend, and I thought what would happen if a man who has just dropped his wife at the railroad station rings this girl who he’s met at a party and says, ‘Would you like to have dinner?’ But, then it all gets ugly† (Forsberg). According to the man who created the story, it was nothing more than a simple suspense story, and the criticisms that label it as anti-feminist and woman fearing are unfounded: â€Å"I don’t see that Alex symbolizes the New Woman and is therefore made to appear ghastly to sabotage the New Woman’s cause. She has a career because she lives in New York, where it’s difficult to survive without one. For me, it was a fable about the irrational creeping into the everyday† (Forsberg).He also examines the possibility of his own fears towards women and the p revalence of men that fear women in his script: â€Å"I don’t think I fear women, but there’s a certain archetype – the temptress who undoes heroes of Homeric legend who is as predatory sexually as the man – which men find hard to deal with because they’re used to being in the dominant role. Women certainly have an equal right to be dominant, but I don't like very dominant males or females period† (Forsberg).While it can be said that Fatal Attraction sought to express the male anxieties about the emerging female, as well as a rejection of feminism as a social force, to the movie aficionado it remains merely a suspense movie filled with gimmicks and plotlines as old as cinema itself. The immense success of Fatal Attraction may have entered it into the feminism conversation, but it realistically remains nothing more than a dramatic examination of adultery and obsession.The idea of the femme fatale is nothing new, and the movie simply showed th at, man or woman, there is no such thing as sex without consequences. Looking at Alex Forrest as a backlash against feminism is a fair criticism, however it is unfair to believe that a fictional suspense movie like Fatal Attraction could influence anybody that saw it free of any preexisting agendas. The movie may be simply a reflection of the ambitions that drive everyone mad, whether male or female, career or sexual, decent or indecent.Works Cited: Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. London: Blackwell Publishers, 2003. Forsberg, Myra. â€Å"James Dearden: Life After ‘Fatal Attraction’. † The New York Times. 24 Jul 1988. 16 Dec 2008. . Gerrig, Richard J. and Zimbardo, Philip G. â€Å"Social Norms. † Psychology and Life. 17th ed. 2005.Haslanger, Sally & Tuana, Nancy. â€Å"Topics in Feminism. † Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 15 Mar 2004. 16 Dec 2008. . Nguyen, Mimi . â€Å"The Legend of Billie Jean. † WorseThanQueer. com. 1 Aug 2005. 16 Dec 2008. . Regester, Charlene. â€Å"Review: High Contrast: Race and Gender in Contemporary Hollywood Film by Sharon Willis. † Film Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 2. Winter 1998; pp. 51-52.

Loans with Interest in Early Christianity and Islam Essay

When an individual thinks of religion, the first thing that comes to a believer’s mind is the nonnegotiable worship of a supreme being(s) as a source of tranquility whenever he/she is in distress. On the other hand, to a pro-secularization individual, religion only causes pricey conflicts between different cultures and is considered an outdated practice which should not have a place in today’s society. What people in general tend to forget about religion is that it their respective figures like Prophet Muhammad and Jesus wanted to promote a way of life that would aim to achieve a standard of living that would see all members of the community equal. And a big part of any way of life is fair trade and decreasing the gap between the rich and the poor. This essay will compare and contrast the early Christian and the current Muslim prohibitions against lending money at interest in the context of today’s constant recession-threatening environment. In order to be able to relate both the Muslim and Christian stance on the topic of lending money at issue it is integral to highlight the why countries tend to fall into a recession. In 2008, the US recession related to Americans buying houses they could not afford. In North America, investing in real estate is seen as a bullet-proof way of making money; making a low down payment expecting the value of their house to increase but it didn’t which leads foreclosure and eventually huge losses for banks. Today, movements such as Occupy Toronto protest the lack of social responsibility of bankers who give out mortgages knowing the client would not be able to pay it off – it’s an economical concern of using money people simply don’t physically have. In Islam, the term for interest is Riba which literally means a gain in the Arabic language. â€Å"The Prophet said, ‘The selling of wheat for wheat is Riba (usury) except if it is handed from hand to hand and equal in amount. Similarly the selling of barley for barley is Riba except if it is from hand to hand and equal in amount, and dates for dates is usury except if it is from hand to hand and equal in amount. † (Umar). From an economical perspective, what the Prophet of Islam is referring to here is the idea that only the actual value of dates should exist in any trade transaction. For example, a bank giving out a loan for 100,000 dollars with an interest of 10% means that the 10,000 interest to be paid does not actually exist in the economy and hence to the prophet this is considered riba because the bank is gaining money out of nowhere. In the Sharia, the modern day solution to this banking issue is Islamic banking which offers; â€Å".. more just and equitable distribution of resources; more responsible and profitable lending due to the necessarily closer bank-client relationship; less volatile business cycles; and more stable banking systems. † (Evans, 1987) Similarly, early Christianity has the same general view of usury, â€Å"In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God. † (Exekiel 22:12). However, Islam tends to be stricter about preserving authenticity of teachings of Allah or Prophet Muhammad because the teachings were meant to be implemented in the governing of the Islamic state; shariah. Ambiguity, over time, has led to an equivocal view of usury in the Christian faith, â€Å".. to the extent that Christian doctrine rested on an Aristotelian foundation it was vulnerable to the charge of being, at heart, anti-trade and commerce. Aristotle adopted the view, later followed by the Physiocrats, that the natural way to get wealth is by skillful management of house and land. Usury was diabolical and clearly the worst way of making money. But there was also something degraded about trading and exchanging things rather than actually making them,as summed up in the medieval saying,‘Homo mercator vix aut numquam Deo placerepotest’– the merchant can scarcely or never be pleasing to God. By contrast, the Holy Qur’an endorsed trade, so long as it was not usurious. † (Lewis, 2007) On the contrary, with the when Islam and Muhammad did rise to power in the Arabian region, trade was something the Arabs were known for and was also religiously encouraged; there were virtually no disputes or new philosophies. A lack of a solid implementation of the no usury rule (which only strictly existed in Early Christianity) lead to more lenient rule as times changed and the numerous Scriptures were considered more and more ambiguous. As the ages progressed since early Christianity, it went from no exceptions to usury to exceptions made such as allowed usury as long as the interest rate for the loan was fair and reasonable. In one of Ruston’s books he mentioned; â€Å"usury passed from being an offence against public morality which a Christian government was expected to suppress to being a matter of private conscience [and] a new generation of Christian moralists redefined usury as excessive interest† (R, 1993) Hence, since Islam and Christianity are both Abrahamic religions, the view on the concept of usury is fairly similar in essence however politics has always had an influence on trade since the beginning of time. In today’s world, with Muslim nations trading with Christian and secular nations and likewise with banking, it has become increasingly difficult to impose shariah or the teachings of Jesus in our interdependent global economy. Globally, the concern of usury has transformed to become more of a concern of social responsibility and social justice. While Islamic and Christian share similarities and some slight political differences with regards to interest, it remains an important moral reminder of preserving financial stability even if it might sound a little too unrealistic and utopian in our world today.

Bathing an Infant and a Small Child

You may also choose a time of the day hen someone else Is with you to assist at least until you and your baby become more comfortable with the process. Free bath time of distractions no TV, loud music or phone interruptions this is not a time to update your Backbone. This will guarantee your focus is on only your infant and keeping them safe during their bath. I know that the first baths can be a memory you may want to capture on film, in this case make sure to have someone else to assist you by standing near and taking the photos.Remember things get easier with practice, bath time can be difficult at first your infant my hate the Idea of being stripped of their clothes and being placed In a tub of water but in time you will have confidence in yourself and you both will grow to enjoy bath time. In the first few months of life it may be easier to use the kitchen sink or an infant bath tub placed on the counter; you can use the large bath tub but until you are comfortable giving the ba th it maybe be awkward to kneel over the tub while hold your infant and washing them.If you do choose to use the bathroom tub using a bathing seat may make It easier. One last reminder NEVER leave your Infant unattended In the bath, not even for a second If you need to leave the tub area take your baby with you. Gather your supplies. These items should be gathered prior to starting to bathe your infant. Everything should be within an arm's reach to prevent you from having to stop, remove your baby and go fetch something just to have to reenter your little one in the water and start again.You bath items should include: A baby tub, or shallow basin to soak the infant in A small towel(washcloth) or sponge for washing Gentle liquid baby soap Monsoons and Johnson head to toe or lavender baby wash which works great to help soothe babies. ) A small plastic cup Two dry towels preferably one with a hood made for small children Clean clothes Clean diaper A warm blanket Baby lotion (optional) A bath thermometer (optional) Set up the areas. Lay out the towel without the hood on a flat surface in a warm place the counter, a changing table, on your bed or even the floor if it is warm enough and free of danger.Place the clean diaper, clothing, warm blanket and lotion if you choose to use beside the towel. This area will be where you bring your bathed baby to dry and dress after his or her bath. Now set up the bath location make sure your soap, washcloth and cup are all within your reach of the sink or baby tub. Prepare baby. The temperature should be about 92 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where a water thermometer comes in handy but is not necessary you can also use your inner wrists to feel the water. Lay out the hooded towel out near the bath. Get your baby ready to enter the bath.Make sure you have everything ready and in arm reach of the tub. And then Lay your baby on the hooded towel and strip him or her of all their clothes and remove the diaper and slowly lower your bab y into the water. Washing your infant. Before adding soap start with washing your babies face dip one corner of the washcloth in the warm water and wash one eye from the inner corner outward and then use another corner and repeat to wash the other eye. Make sure to use little to no pressure and if there are stunk on crusty spots dab then with the wet wash cloth to soften and they should wipe way do not scrub or use pressure.Wet the entire wash cloth and wash the rest of your baby's face, behind ears, and mouth and don't forget their neck where dripping milk likes to hide. After washing your baby's ace use a dime size amount of soap and begin by washing your baby's head if he or she has a lot of hair you can add the soap to your hands and rub it softly through their hair use the cup to rinse out the soap. If you infant doesn't have much hair or none at all you can add the soap to the washcloth and gently rub your baby's head and rinse with the cup. Always make sure to wash your infan t from head to toe.After the head is washed and rinsed move to your baby's tummy. You can wash around the umbilical cord if it's still in tacked and back. Thoroughly wash your child genital area f you have a little girl make sure to gently wash her folds if you have a boy make sure if he is uncircumcised to fold back the fore skin and clean well and if he is circumcised follow the instruction give to you by the doctor to cleaning the area each case is depended on how well your child takes to the procedure and how long it has taken your baby to heal from the procedure.Once the genital area is thoroughly clean wash your infants bottom, legs and toes. After your baby is washed. Rinse your baby of any remaining soap using the cup and warm water. Remove your infant from he water and lay him or her on the hooded towel and wrap them up and snuggle them keeping them close and warm while moving to the dry towel area you set up with his or her clothes and diaper. Drying and dressing.Remove yo ur infant from the wet towel to the new dry towel and pat your baby making sure to dry all their fold and not to rub them with the towel and simple Just pat away the moisture. Now would be the time to apply the lotion if you choose to, lotion helps assure to keep your baby skin moisturizer and soft but it is optional. After your baby is dry put on the diaper then dress in the clothes you have laid out. After your baby is dressed wrap them in the warm blanket and snuggle.Remember like all other new things you learn as a parent giving your infant a bath will become part of your normal routine and in time will become a fun and enjoyable for both you and baby. At first bath time may not be one of your baby's favorite times and them crying or even screaming is normal, removing their clothes getting the wet and chilled Just isn't pleasurable. But once you become comfortable with the step of bathing your baby it will get easier. Now enjoy snuggling your wonderful smelling little one!

Minor Parties

Impact of Minor Parties In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of minor parties. Minor parties are political parties who have little to no impact on elections due to the amount of supporters and/or money is put into the party. However, in the United States, minor parties sometimes have a huge impact on politics and elections, whether it’s just getting their word out there and the major parties actually listen and discuss their issues, or they can even change which major party wins the election. Whatever the case may be, it shows that minor parties are just as effective as the major parties, although they have never come out on top.Just because they are minor, does not mean they have no say or no impact in government. They are just as important as the major parties, and they should always be taken into consideration during election time. In my opinion, I think minor parties are great for this country. They bring in different views and ideas, and I like to hear what some of them have to say. The United States is a free country, and in the first amendment of the Constitution, it allows us the right of free speech. This means anyone can express their thoughts and views on just about anything, and the minor parties do just that.They have gotten a say in politics, and the major parties sometimes bring the minor parties’ issues into discussion because they agree that their issue is a serious problem, and it needs to be fixed. I think it’s good that we don’t always have to hear the same boring stuff about issues we already know about. Even though they may never win a presidential election, at least there is some party out there that understands the issues that the major parties nor the majority of the United States citizens never really thought about.There has been a long history of minor party candidates running for President, starting with the Anti-Masonic Party led by William Whit in 1832, and ending with the Reformist Party led b y Ross Perot in 1996. There have even been very successful minor parties. Some examples are Theodore Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party in 1912, John Breckenridge’s Southern Democrat Party in 1860, and the most successful and recent one of our time Ross Perot’s Independent Party in 1992. All of these parties I mentioned made an impact on their respected elections, and because of them, they brought in new ideas and have shaped our current government.In this paragraph, I am going to discuss the 1992 election, and how a minor party greatly effected this election. In 1992, the Independent Party led by Ross Perot was running up against George W. Bush Sr. of the Republican Party and Bill Clinton of the Democratic Party. Perot was a member of the Republican Party prior to the election, but because of his disagreements with both of the parties’ issues, he decided to run as an independent. Bush Sr. was the current President, and was a shoe in for this election, but beca use of Perot’s switching of parties and how vocal he was, Bush lost supporters, while Perot gained a lot.Because of this, Clinton won with only 43% of the popular vote, while Bush had about 37%, and Perot had about 20%. This was one of the only times a President was elected into office without the majority vote. This became the turning point on how the people viewed minor parties, and ever since, the government has started to listen to their views more often. There are even two independents in the Senate right now, taking the impact of minor parties another step further. With these minor parties there are supporters of them and there are people who are against them.The supporters of minor parties in the United States are obviously the minor parties themselves and the people who support them because they want a say in politics so the current government can discuss them, and possibly change things around a little to their benefit if necessary. Another supporter would be the maj or party who got into office in an election because of the minor parties because if it weren’t for the minor parties and their popularity at the time, the major party’s candidate may have not gotten into office.The people who oppose them would probably be the major parties who lose an election due to the minor parties because the minor parties screwed them over from winning a presidential election. For example, the Republican Party was more than likely very angry at Perot for not only leaving their party, but also costing them the 1992 election. The Democrats were obviously very happy because if it weren’t for Perot, Clinton would have never been President that year. In conclusion, minor parties are great for our country. Even though they never win, they still have an impact on politics and sometimes the elections.The only alternative I would suggest would be for the major parties to listen more to the minor parties because as of right now, nothing good is being done for this country to be turned around. There is a great deal of partisanship in the government right now, and no one is willing to work with one another because they are only concerned with their views and their party’s views, without taking others’ views into consideration. A minor party may have a good idea that both parties like, and it may be able to bring some bipartisanship back in the government and even help our economy a little bit.There is nothing wrong with minor parties in this country, and I hope the major parties listen to more of their ideas in the future. Works Cited Leip, David. â€Å"1992 Presidential General Election Results. † US Selection Atlas. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. Lightman, Max. â€Å"The Role of Minor Parties in Politics. † Slideshare. N. p. , 30 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. Salka, William M. â€Å"The Impact of Minor Parties on Electoral Competition: An Examination of US. † N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.

E-business and business analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

E-business and business analysis - Assignment Example Com has given me the opportunity to view the fashion apparel in 360 degree manner and also gives me the suggestion about ideal fashion line for me. I personally believe e-Business is extremely helpful in daily life also. Unique feature of e-Business is it’s time saving capability. For example, customers do not get the opportunity to check merchandise in retail outlets during the holiday seasons due to long queue and small store capacity while the same person can check merchandise in a relaxed manner while using the websites like Amazon, e-Bay and others. I believe e-Business has not only increased the buyer power but also increased product option for customers. E-Business Company like e-Bay has given the opportunity to customers to auction their merchandise without appointing any third party agents and I believe this facility has increased the transparency in transaction (ebay, 2012). I believe as a student that e-business has great importance in our studies. Home delivery fac ility of online shopping has also increased convenience for students like me. I also like the simple and easy payment options of e-business companies. Question 2 Cloud computing is the latest buzz word in the field of web technology. The technology provides various benefits like free installation and updating of software and email service, large backup space, free software access, creating document (read Google Drive) and saving the document in virtual space, customized calendar scheduling through Info Street and many others. The application has disadvantages like frequent server downtime, low privacy concern and few others. Overall Cloud computing is a beneficial option for small firms complemented with low financial resources. Small firms can compensate their resource scarcity by acquiring much needed data resources in cost effective manner through cloud computing. Small businesses owners have the opportunity to use Social media as fifth element of integrated marketing communicati on to promote their brand and generate awareness. They also can use social networking sites like LinkedIn in order to select candidates for jobs and it will save costs associated with recruitment process. Social media technology not only helps small business owners to increase brand equity but it also helps them to save costs. Small business owners need to use the mobile phones as potential medium to increase reach of the advertisements. They have the opportunity to integrate the advertisement message with latest Smartphone applications in order to generate maximum penetration. Mobile marketing provides various benefits like high response rate, direct communication with customers through text messaging, customization of services and many others hence small business owners should bank on these opportunities to achieve future business growth. Smartphone like Apple iPhones, Nokia Lumia, Samsung Galaxy has incorporated various features in the phone in order to fulfill customer requireme nt. Smartphone manufacturers are integrating latest technology in order to enhance customization in the offering. Small business owners can use the Smartphone applications in order to decrease both fixed and variable cost associated with certain office equipment and value chain integration (Ward, 2012). Question 3 The study will compare and contrast two social media marketing models such as Marketo’s sample plan and HubSpot’