Social Media Impact on How We Interact Research Paper

Social Media Impact on How We Interact - Research Paper Example For example, improved technology in information systems nowadays contributes to increased terrorism activities globally as it also helps in curbing the activity. However, apart form global issues, there are legal, social, and ethical issues resulting from the use of information technology in daily activities. The work that follows shows how security as a global issue relates to consumption of digital media or how the world incorporates digital media to present information. Most undertakings in the current world have adopted and started using the rising technology in information. Technology has even spread in areas that are desperately poor. There are many issues associated with global security which affect the world given that insecurity is now an issue of concern in the world. The rising insecurity in the world is a major concern that needs all countries’ preparation to curb its rise. ... Rise in global insecurity has led to introduction of education to fight terrorism and other related practices for example, studies on criminology is as a result of increased rates of insecurity. Information technology acts as a medium and opportunity for learners and educators to access information on various curriculums on fight against insecurity or crimes. This is because literacy in information technology offers scholars information on doing more compared to doing things that they did by hand for example, data processing, retrieving or passing information from one person to another (Menten, 2013). Digital media nowadays allows scholars to participate in the most sophisticated global experiences in education. How does Digital Media help students in Education? 1. Global Media Literacy Proper utilization of Information technology, if well utilized can help students studying criminology and other security related curriculum. Development of media literacy globally helps students to ac cess media from different countries around the world which contain news from international angles. This helps them evaluate how different countries fight insecurity, information which other countries can apply to their fight against insecurity because mass media brings out various’ countries perception on various issues. 2. Opinions on Global issues Exposure about other countries’ opinions helps students to evaluate how the countries argue regarding fight against insecurity. It is only through improved information technology such as social media that students have access to these arguments (Menten, 2013). Menten gives an example where Muslim students design digital audio slideshows of the

Islamic Banking Essay Example for Free

Islamic Banking Essay Islamic Banking is interest free banking, in which there is no fixed rate of return. Islamic banking is the banking system which is run in accordance with the Islamic laws and the Shari a’ board; that guides the institutions. This Shari a’ board authorizes the products that whether these are Shari a’ compliant or not. Islamic banking is the banking that is guided by Islamic law (Shari a’) principles and guided by Islamic economics. In particular, Islamic law prohibits usury, the collection and payment of interest, also commonly called Riba in Islamic discourse†. Islamic banking also finds its roots in Islamic finance and all type of transactions are interest free of risk sharing. The interest is probihited in Islamic ways of banking as it is also obvious from Quran. In Quran, in Sura Al-Iman, Allah said that; â€Å"O you who believe! Do not devour Riba multiplying it over and keep your duty to Allah that you may prosper† (3:130). Same kind of prohibition regard fixed interest is also lead in sura Al-Rum(39), Al-Nisa (160-161) and Al-Baqarah (275-281) of Quran. Riba and Gharar are illegal under Islamic law. Riba refers to fixed rate of interest. Gharar refers to fixed rate of interest. Gharar refers to speculation. Islamic banking shows dramatic improvements and developments in Pakistan. Islamic banking is taken as national policy and it is supported but there exist dual banking structure in the Muslim countries. Mostly the banks of conventional system are also opening their separate Islamic banking divisions and branches. The expectation of increase in growth of networking of Islamic banking system is increasing. The Islamic banking has increased in terms of branches, deposits, capital funds, sources. The ratio of income to expenses is high which indicates increasing profitability of the sector. Riba in Hadith â€Å"Every loan that derives a benefit (to the creditor) is riba†. (Hazrat Ali Radi-AllahuAnhu). Abu said al Khudri Radi-AllahuAnhu narrated that Holy Prophet ( peace be upon him) said: â€Å"Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt, like for like, payment made hand by hand. If anyone gives more or asks for more, he has dealt in Riba. The receiver and giver are equally guilty. If the creditor received a goat as mortgage from the debtor, the creditor may use its milk to the extent he has spent in providing fodder to the goat. However, if the milk is more than the price of the fodder, the excess is riba. â€Å"Usmani, para 99). For Usamah ibn Zayd : â€Å"There is no riba except in nasi’ah (waiting). â€Å"Bukhari, Kitab al-Buyu, Bab Bay al-dinari bi al-dinar nasa’an, ( : 386); also Muslim and Musnad Ahmad). There is no riba in hand-to-hand (spot) transactions. † (Muslim, Kitab al-Musaqat, Bab bay’I al-ta’ami mithlan bi mithin; also in Nasa’i). What is the significance of Islamic Banking in a post recession world? Islamic banking is gaining popularity in emerging markets after helping some financial institutions avoid the worst of the economic meltdown. Islamic banks have been less affected than many conventional banks in the current global recession. This is mainly because unlike conventional banks, the Islamic banks have not been exposed to losses from investment in toxic assets nor have they been dependent on wholesale funds since these practices are not in accordance with the principles set out in the Sharia Law. Moreover, recent years have already indicated that there is an interest in Islamic banking beyond Islamic investors. The UK is one of the leading centres for Islamic banking in the world, yet only 5% of its population is Muslim. And lastly, governments and regulators in a variety of countries have already recognized the importance of Islamic banking as a feasible alternative to conventional banking. The global recession brought about by the collapse in credit supply saw many of the globally accepted models of investment disappeared almost overnight with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. It is well accepted that the credit crunch was essentially caused by gambling and inadequate regulation. The radical change in the investment dynamics of the market and a clear question of the morality of the investment industry signify a clear turning point in the development of regional and global investment markets. That will provide new boost to the already burgeoning Islamic private equity and venture capital industries. Thus, surely a system in which gambling is banned, where everything must be backed by tangible assets should be significant in a post recession world. In this era of scarred savers and investors, everyone shall move their money over to this low-risk system. A post-crisis market is more realistic and searches for an ethically based approach to investment. The new investment markets, after the crash, will see a growing demand for a far more partnership approach to private equity and venture capital investment. In private equity, the investor shares both the risks and the rewards, which replicates the basic principles of Islamic investment. Even before the full attack of the global downturn, the characteristics of Islamic private equity and venture capital ensured the sectors enjoyed increasing attention from regional and global investors. The merger of companies, as a means of meeting the operational and strategic challenges of the economic downturn, will show a growing demand for a far more partnership approach to private equity and venture capital investment. Islamic investment should be made on the basis of partnership and investment also to be made in largely infrastructure-orientated projects, such as transport, energy, healthcare and education, as these sectors not only offer asset backed investment but also long term investment into societies. Thus, in the post recession world, where the market and society is demanding that the investment industry provide a responsible form of investment, Islamic private equity and venture capital are both ideally suited to meet this demand.

Assistive Technology On Disabled Students Impact Education Essay

Assistive Technology On Disabled Students Impact Education Essay Abstract This study proposes to determine the impact of Assistive Technology (AT) on disabled students in South African higher institutions. The disabled people in any society are generally facing many debilitating quandaries, including physical, emotional and physiological degradation. As a result, empowering people with disabilities to realize their self-esteem as well as enhance their skilling and employability represents an interesting and challenging task to government, industry, interest groups and individuals worldwide. However, the emerging assistive technology provides a unique opportunity to alleviate the challenges of people with disabilities. Exploiting this novel technology, our current goal is to determine the impact of AT on disabled students in South African higher institutions. Randomized control group pre-test and post-test experimental design will be used for impact determination. Cronbach alpha will be used to measure the reliability of the data solicited from participatin g students in a kind of participatory survey. Bootstrapping statistics will be used to analyze the result of the experimental design and correlation will be used to discover relationship between data samples. As a case study, we would like to validate our design using randomly selected students from University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology and University of Witwatersrand, which due to their closeness to the researchers makes the study cost-effective. We are hopeful that our design would be systemic enough to be easily extrapolated into other institutions. The expected contributions of this study are to: (a) explore different types of AT available to disabled students, (b) determine the user-friendliness of the AT, (c) compare the performance of disabled students with non-disabled peers and (d) determine the impact of AT on disabled students in South African higher institutions. Keywords: Assistive Technology, disabilities, South Africa, disabled students 1. Introduction The disabled people in any part of the world are generally facing many debilitating quandaries and they are not experiencing the kind of comfort, dexterity and optimism that most non-disabled people enjoy. The number of people with disabilities, continuous to insistently increase due to high rate of accidents, natural disasters, diseases and increasing number of aging people. For instance, disabled people in South Africa account for 5% (2  255  982) of the total population (Statistics South Africa, 2001), which significantly outgrows the previous statistics of (please supply previous statisticsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.) and in many parts of the world, the story is sympathetic. As a result, the impact of having some more people with disabilities in our society than ever before is immeasurable. The South African government has embarked on encouraging initiatives to have more disabled South Africans obtain formal education as a way to provide succour so that disabled people are better empowe red in the society. For example, the Ministry of Education improvises that South African schools should provide AT services and equipments for disabled students to enable a balanced (free and appropriate) public education. These initiatives make the use of AT practically relevant in our schools be it higher or lower institutions of learning. An emerging AT is any mobile device or infrastructure that can be used to maintain or improve the capabilities of individuals with disabilities (IDEA, 1990). With careful planning and guidance, the vast number of AT devices and software can be potentially beneficial to disabled students (Duhaney Duhaney, 2000). AT can enable people who are suffering from a wide range of natural disabilities to enjoy more comfortable lives. These technologies are being used at home, schools, work places and also in communities as a whole by disabled people (Howell, 1996). The use of AT is allowing people with disabilities to be more independent, productive, self-confident and for them to easily integrate into the mainstream society. The technology, for example, can enable a student with physically impaired hands or arms to be able to operate a computer with a switch or an onscreen keyboard, a mute student to communicate using a device that speaks and a student who cannot walk can be assisted to do so with specialised mechanical devices (Mirenda, 2001). As a result, the impact of AT on disable students in South Africa is undoubtedly enormous. Moreover, not only is AT beneficial for teaching and learning purpose, the living style of disabled students can be greatly improved socially by allowing them, for instance to play games and communicate fluently. However, many issues and obstacles such as lack of AT knowledge, training, funding, poor coordination between service providers and technology developers as well as fear of these technologies are hindering the successful application of AT in the society at large. That is why this study proposes to evaluate the impact of AT on disable students in South African higher institutions. 1.1. Problem Statement and Research Questions Today, the greatest challenge confronting the South African students with disabilities is to smoothly integrate into the society, participate in a competitive educational system and be equipped for the professional economic world. A number of emerging technologies: assistive and adaptive have been developed to cater for disabled students. But, very little literature has been written about these novel technologies. Additionally, the evaluation of their impact on the end-users has also not been widely reported. One way to ensure best outcomes for disabled students in South Africa would be to evaluate the impact of AT on these students. To do so, different types of AT would have to be identified and equal opportunities would have be given to disabled and non-disabled students to compete. Thus, a participatory research is necessary to determine the impact of AT on disabled students in South Africa. The main research question to solve in this study is: what is the impact of AT on disabled students in South Africa? To answer this question satisfactorily, first it is important to identify various AT available and determine their contributions towards improving the academic performance of disabled students in South Africa. As result, following research sub-questions will be squarely addressed in order to solve the main research question. What are the different types of AT are available to disabled students? How user friendly are the available AT to disabled students? Does AT smoothly integrate disabled and non-disabled students? Does the use of AT improves the academic performance of disabled students? How is AT used by disabled students to facilitate social networking? What influence is AT playing in the life of disabled students? 1.2. Goals and Objectives of the Study The core goal of this study to determine the impact of Assistive Technology (AT) on disabled students in South African higher institutions. This could help to uncover some unresolved issues introduced by disabled students on the impact of AT in their learning environments. This goal will be accomplished by implementing the following primary objectives. To identify different types of AT that are available to disabled students in South African higher institutions. To determine the user-friendliness of the available AT to disabled students in South African higher institutions. To determine whether the use of AT smoothly integrates disabled students with non-disabled students. To determine whether the use of the AT improves academic performance of disabled students in South African higher institutions. To determine how is AT used by disabled students to facilitate social networking. To determine the influence that AT is playing in the life of disabled students? 1.3. Expected Deliverables Within a 2 year project leading to an award of MTec degree, it is important to ensure that there are clear expectations for what can be delivered in these timescales. We hope to deliver the following. A comprehensive account of disabled students learning experiences and a clear documentation of the impact of AT on disabled students. A set of recommendations for practitioners, support staff, institutional managers and program developers on ways to manage the challenges of disabled students in the society. 2. Literature Review Most of the recent literature focusing on the impact of ICT on students in Universities across the world can be classified into three sources: Literature and case studies that have been developed from publicly funded studies to determine the impact of AT in higher education exist in academic domains and are mostly inform of case studies (e.g. Skills for Access, DART, ALERT).Other studies that support this include Seale(2006). Research studies that have explored the general education experiences of disabled students exist in both academic and non-academic domains (e.g. BBC, OUCH, SKILL). Other studies that support this include; (Mortimer Crosier, 2006), Shelving et al. 2004 and (Fuller et al. 2004). Research studies that have explored the specific e-learning experiences of disabled students Have generally been conducted in the UK,an example of this is Draffan et al. (2007) in a survey of the use of and satisfaction with AT by disabled students in UK higher institutions. Another survey by Cobham et al. (2001) also tried to explain the specific experiences of disabled students when using AT. The important conclusion from these studies is whether their findings are true for all students, especially the disabled students who may need emerging technology such as AT effective learning? The unique novelty of this study in relation to these studies listed above are abvious.With the use of participatory research methods, this study shall; (a) be a voice for the disabled students; (b) get raw (first hand) information from the uses themselves. This enables to answer the paradigm of Nothing about me, without me since the users are involved in every phase of this study. The important conclusion from these studies is whether their findings are true for all students, especially the disabled students who may need emerging technology such as AT effective learning? In particular, some of the most significant change in the education of students with disabilities in South Africa has been the initiative to adapt the inclusive education theory into their education system (Patton, 1992). This form of initiative is mainly a collaborative setting that includes a content specialist paired with a learning specialist and then leads to sharing of the teaching responsibilities, which will later benefit the education of all students. The use of inclusive education may change from one institution to other, but it clearly indicates that it is extremely important as enabler for students to achieve their ultimate educational goals. The rapid developments in innovative ICT infrastructure, particularly in the field of AT rekindles the hope and aspiration for those who have so long been deprived of opportunities with which life has burdened them: visual impairment, physical disability, hearing impairment and Communication impairments (Levin Scharffenberger, 1990) . More importantly, disability is being recognized as a social construct created by ability-oriented and ability-dominated environments. Traditional methods for studying the impacts of AT on disabled students in South African higher education includes: (a) interviews, (b) questionnaire surveys and (c) focus groups. However, in recent time, there has been a need to develop methods and practices that enable the student voice to be more focus on AT studies (Levin Scharffenberger, 1990). However, it should be clarified that efforts to include disabled students in studies of the impact of AT in the learning environments may need new alternative methods besides the traditional methods. Researcher can draw their learner-centred AT research studies from two related filed methods to analyse the impact of AT on disabled students in universities, these include: (a) participatory design and (b) participatory research. These methods are commonly used for designing AT and to incorporate the related fields of user-centred design, co-design and inclusive design (Hanson, et al., 2007). Participatory design according was defined as th e involvement of disabled students throughout the entire phases of the study (Hanson et al. 2007). This study involves: (a) working directly with the disabled students to fully participate in the study from phase one throughout to last phase, (b) involving the real disabled students in their real contexts, ignoring window dressing to keep the deficiencies of their school secret, (c) a continuous cycle of development and evaluation phases until both the researcher and research participants (disabled student in this case) reach an agreed solution, (d) dual participation between participants (disabled students) and designers in development of key AT methodologies. The benefits of participatory design methods are obvious when researching intensive study on the disabled students and how they use these technologies in daily activities (Davies et al. 2004). The strong in-depth analysis offered by such methods appears to be highly applicable to research studies focusing on hearing the stude nt voice. This study, therefore nominates participatory methods to be used to explore the impact of AT on disabled students in three higher education institutions in South Africa, taking three universities: (a) University of Pretoria, (b) University of Witwatersrand and (c) Tshwane University of Technology as a case study. This study advocates that there is the need for research to be written from the disabled students perspective and that is why participatory research is an appropriate approach for this study. Although most of the educators in south Africa are trying to make sure that the disabled students use the same technology as non-disabled, it has been hard for the disabled students to deal with the fact that most of the software being developed do not accommodate the aspect of inclusive education and design for all (Fischer, 1995). Research Design and Methodology The methodology of this study will try to demonstrate how the use of participatory methods of research will be used to show how the goals and objectives and problems questions of this study were meant. The most common forms of participatory methods are by use of interview plus, questionnaires and focus groups. The first objective (to identify different types of AT that are available to disabled students in South African higher institutions.), this study shall design a template of various AT from different literature study on AT. This AT template is then presented to the research participants (disabled students) to choose what are the different types of assistive technologies they are currently using. The second objectives (to determine the user-friendliness of the available AT to disabled students in South African higher institutions), this study proposes to include in the questionnaire a question that enables the disabled students to select one option from 1-10 how user friendly they think the AT they are using are. The higher the number, the more use-friendly that participant feels about that AT. The third objective (to determine whether the use of the AT improves academic performance of disabled students in South African higher institutions), this study proposes, after ethical approval has been granted from the various university, this study shall ask the University Authorities to provide academic transcripts of the research participants, to see if using these ATs have helped them improve on their academics. The fourth objective (to determine how is AT used by disabled students to facilitate social networking), this study proposes with the use of a questionnaire and interview plus, the research participants will be asked to choose or list the social networks that they are using at that current state and how much easier ATs have helped these students while using these social networks. The fifth objective (to determine the influence that AT is playing in the life of disabled students), this study proposes to have a controlled and experimental sample of participants. Since the South African government encourages the use of inclusive design, most of the ATs are used by both the disabled students and their non-disabled peers. During the interviews and answering of questionnaire, the research participants shall be asked to list how they feel ATs have helped them; both negative and positive responses shall be encouraged. Thus study will encourage these participants to even include non-academic influences of ATs on them. The focus group and interview plus shall be mainly used when the participants and answering to the questionnaire. These forms of participatory research methods shall also be used to enable the research participants to provide any additional information that they feel that this study might have left out. This study shall during the first focus group meeting provide each research participant with the proposed questions that this study intends to use. Each participant shall be asked to first tick which questions they feel are relevant to this study. Using an excel sheet, every question shall be listed in one column and another column showing how many students have chosen a particular question. This number is then divided by the total number of research participants to determine the mean score. The higher the mean score, the more relevant a question is to this study. The same format shall be used when deterring the best relevant data collection tool to use. These mean scores can also be classified as alpha scores. 3.1 Overview of data collection tools The data collection tools that will be used in this project consist of (a) interview plus (b) questionnaire and (c) focus groups. The use of these tools is not unique to research that uses a participatory approach; several general studies of disabled students in higher education have employed these methods. However, what is unique about the use of these data collection tools in this study is that participation influenced the nature and focus of each tool: 4. Project Plan 4.1 Summarised Project Plan WORKPACKAGES March April May June July August September October November Startup/Project Planning Communication Questionnaire Student recruitment Phase 1 all inclusive Phase 2 purposive Data collection Data Analysis Evaluation /Reporting Table 1:Project Plan 4.2 Master Project Plan Work package and activity Outputs Start date End Date WORKPACKAGE 1: Startup/Project Planning Objective: To provide project management for the project 1. Produce project plan, workpackages, and dissemination plan. march Ongoing 2.Reading of project material Gathering literature from library and internet March Ongoing 2. Choose of University to use List of University March March 3. Write Chapter One Presentation of Proposal March June WORKPACKAGE 2: Communication Objective: Maintain communication with Cordinator, and external interested parties Team Communication with Cordinator Minutes of meetings/emails weekly March Ongoing Academic and Student Services Staff University of Minutes of meetings/emails weekly March Ongoing External interested parties (Disability South Africa) Minutes of meetings/emails weekly March Ongoing Focus Groups Minutes of meetings/emails weekly July Ongoing WORKPACKAGE : Questionnaire Objective: Develop questions that will answer the Goals and Objectives Developement of Assisitve Technology Types Questionnaire Questionaire May May Developement of Goals and Objectives related questions Questionnaire May June Revised Chapter One Hand in Research Proposal(Chapter One) June July WORKPACKAGE 3: disabled Student recruitment Phase 1 all inclusive Objective: Participation of max available of disabled students Student Services support and Ethics Committe Acceptance of outline questions and support of project July July (Re)formulate interview questions with disabled students Pilot / Questionnaire acceptable to participants and evaluation of changes made. July August Data Analysis from initial questionnaires and contact with students from Phase 1 Analysis and report on outcomes of initial questionnaire, e-mails and discussions with students. August August WORKPACKAGE 4: Phase 2 purposive Objective: Recruitment of students who agreed to participate during Phase 1 Participatory research of methodology initial discussions,on-going evaluation and implementation Analysis and report on Methodologies August September Interviews/ participation/development of artefacts Analysis of interviews summary report September September WORKPACKAGE 5: Data collection Objective: Systematic Storage and re-formatting of data Collection of Data from participants Raw data available to team September September Accessible Multimedia artefacts Data available to team with captions, text descriptions, etc. September September WORKPACKAGE 6: Data Analysis Objective: Evaluation of all the data and other artefacts collected Analysis of interview data from Phase 2 Synopsis of transcripts accepted by individual participant September October Analysis of all artefacts provided by participants Agreement with participants, as to which artefacts are used for dissemination. Ocotober October Analysis of all external the data gathered in relation to the project. Agreement with team as to inclusion of external data relating to the project e.g. accessibility guidelines etc. October October WORKPACKAGE 7: Evaluation /Reporting Objective: Evaluation of methodologies used and completion of progress and final reports Progress report Draft to Advisory Group and Team Itemised report of progress to date October November Final evaluation of the questions used and Research Question Report Draft summary report detailing how the research questions have been addressed and drawing out lessons learned from the particular institutional context; October November Methodology Critique and analysis Draft report of a critique of the chosen methodology November November Recommendations/Guidelines on impact of the use of Assistive Technologies Draft recommendations and guidance for practitioners, support staff, institutional managers, learners, content providers, instructional designers, technical and program developers November November FINAL THESIS Hand in final research paper November November Table 2:Master Project Plan showing the activities that will be involved

The Matrix Essay -- Argumentative Movie Film Matrix Essays

The Matrix The Matrix is a science fiction movie about artificial intelligence computers replacing mankind. I believe that this movie is a common type of display from the media is common paranoia so that they can get a reaction from people and sell their story. In the case of The Matrix, the movie dazzles people with awesome special effects using modern computer technology, which I find ironic. I find it self-conflicting and hypocritical for the media to use modern computer technology for their own good to show people how bad technology is. Amy Bruckman and Howard Rheingold would probably find this movie interesting in that it disagrees and agrees with certain aspects about their beliefs about the use of computers. The Matrix specifically shows how advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) may one day get out of the control of the people and become a dangerous enemy to mankind. It turns out that in the movie people believe that they are living normal lives in the 90's as common businessmen and families as we do today, when in reality the time is later in the 21st century and people are hooked up to machines in pods where they are merely interpreting electrical signals which tells them that the they are alive in the 90's. They call this set up The Matrix. The artificial intelligence machines put these people in these pods for their whole lives where they never use a muscle in their body; they only think that they are moving and living normal lives.The reason why the artificial intelligence machines put people into pods is because the sky is scorched and there is no source of electricity, so the A.I. units found an alternate source of energy: humans. The star of the Movie, Neo, is enlightened by one of ... ...ul people can benefit people. Personally, I don't believe that true artificial intelligence can ever be reached. I believe that a computer can be so advanced that it may appear to be thinking on it's own, but only because a man programmed it to think in such away. I don't think that a computer can teach itself common sense and the true ability to reason between right and wrong like humans can. And since I believe this, I see no problem in expanding technology and making online communities as Rheingold and Bruckman would. Works Cited The Matrix. Larry Wachowski, DVD, Warner Brothers, 1999 Bruskman, Amy. "Finding One's Own in Cyberspace" Composing Cyberspace Edited by Rich Holeton, San Fransisco: McGraw Hill, 1998, 171-180 Rheingold, Howard. "The Heart of the Well" " Composing Cyberspace Edited by Rich Holeton, San Fransisco: McGraw Hill, 1998, 151-163

Gambling casino Essay

Companies in the gambling industry include those that offer gambling or gaming activities. These may be casinos, casino resorts and hotels, betting and lottery companies. Though legally restricted by many governments all over the world, gambling industries are a major source of revenue to the government. The gambling industry has also helped in eradicating unemployment as it has created new job opportunities and often with higher wages. Major gambling companies in this industry globally are MGM Resorts, William Hill, Caesars Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands among others. The gambling industry is one of the most competitive and risky industries all over the globe. The demand for gambling is influenced by consumer income growth and state spending (â€Å"Hoovers†, n. d). Effective operations and marketing strategies of individual companies in this industry determines the profit rates and levels of the companies. Large gambling operators in this industry can be able to make large investments in gambling facilities and efficient computer operations, and are also exposed to cross-marketing opportunities (â€Å"Hoovers†, n. d). Small gambling operators, on the other hand, are not well exposed like the large gambling operators. They operate in their local areas and centers where the locals may not afford travel to major gambling facilities. SWOT Analysis Strengths The gambling industry has distribution and sales network that enable them to reach everybody. These networks allow the firms to distribute their products and services effectively. The management in the gambling industry is growing as the employees are receiving training. Lower costs in products lead to higher profits to the gambling industry. Technology acts in favor of the gambling industry as they enable them meet the needs of their customers (Jueves, 2013). THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY 3 Unique products of the gambling industries enable them to differentiate themselves for their competitors. High tax and fee to start gambling companies enables the strong to survive in this industry and kills unnecessary competition. Bigger companies tend to have more resources than their minorities making them to pursue new markets and secure themselves against rivals. Weakness The industry is marked by inefficiencies in work as the goods and services are not being utilized properly. Online presence by these companies is important displaying their information and products to customers. Most of the gambling companies are not present online and those that are present do not have proper websites. Supply chains that are weak tend to delay arrival of consumer’s products in gambling spots. Opportunities The gambling companies can take a step and manipulate the online market where most of the customer base is found nowadays. This enables the companies to expand. New products and services can enable the companies to increase their customer base. Gambling companies can tap the untouched markets available in other countries that do not have or have fewer gambling facilities. Threats A strike by workers and the government’s requirements of the industry’s participants to increase the income of their employees tends to act as a threat to the industry. Increased income leads to reduced profits by the firms. Government regulations against the industry is also a big threat to the companies. Rising companies within the industry act as threat as they pose stiff competition. A shift of customers’ taste from one company to another lead to losses. THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY 4 STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES ?Distribution and sales network that exist. ?Potential strong management. ?Monetary assistance is guaranteed. ?Cost advantages. ?Technology. ?Unique products. ?Barriers to entry of market. ?Domestic market. ?Size advantages. ?Work inefficiencies. ?Online presence ?Supply chains that are weak ?Lack of scale as cost per unit of output is quite high. ?Structure of cost that are high compared to competitors. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS ?Online market. ?New products ?New services ?Increasing income levels ?International expansion. ?Venture capital ?Increment in labor costs ? Currency tends to make gambling investment complicated. ?Regulations from the government ?Fast rising competition and lower profitability. ?Tax charges. ?Business risks from external environment. Every customer and guest that goes to gambling spots or facilities always looks to have an exceptional experience. An experience that keeps them coming to this facilities even if they will always leave with little money than they came in with. This therefore calls for good customer service and innovativeness in the way the customers are treated. Change in the gambling industry is difficult. Customers do not want to play new games or gamble on new things that they have no knowledge of. This aspect is the same to everybody as no person is open to change unless it is a major or there is some good reason to change (Baird, 2002). Due to this, when managers in gambling facilities try to develop a new customer service culture among employees, it fails or does not happen quickly. Change in gambling facilities takes THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY 5 a high repetition level and people need to be interested in it. Therefore for customers to adapt to new changes and like them, the gambling facilities owners should make the change to be very interesting to both the employees and consumers. Trained employees in gambling facilities are an important asset. Most gambling facilities choose the best candidates to fill in their empty job positions but fail to train them on how to handle customers and heighten their experience in the gambling facilities. Gambling facilities should invest in training programs for their employees so that customers get to experience good customer service. Hiring and firing of employees’ wastes a lot of time and funds, and many gambling facilities do this (Baird, 2002). The training programs should be involving and fun for the employees being trained for them to grasp every aspect of the program. Good training program translates to good customer service and great customer satisfaction which is good for business. Improving retention strategies for consumers in gambling is one area that needs improvement. If these strategies are improved, the gamblers’ lifetime value and loyalty is increased and guaranteed. Improving the efficiency of customer service is one such strategy. The gamblers can also be motivated by boosting their confidence. Customer experience can also be advanced by introducing mobile applications and social media platforms that allow the gamblers and the gambling joint owners to interact. This boosts the confidence of the customers and encourages them to visit the gambling joints whether physically or through online services. The gambling industry has its own strategic evaluation marked with its own goals and objectives. The industry has recommendations on gambling research methods, ways to educate and prevent harm to gamblers and treatment. Within the gambling industry, research is being THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY 6 done to identify and minimize the risks and harms associated with high stake, high prize gaming machines and support for harm prevention strategies and projects (â€Å"Responsible Gambling†, 2012). The following are the goals for gambling industries via their strategic evaluation: creating public awareness to the general public mass of the potential and associated risks with gambling. This is by informing the mass about the problem of gambling issues and helping them know responsible gambling and making them aware of ways to make healthy choices. This is through education and training. Another goal is to deliver gambling in a manner that promotes responsible gambling and informed choices among gamblers and potential gamblers. This is can be backed up by developing policies that encourage responsible gambling and improving the skills and knowledge about responsible gambling among gamblers. Finally, the industry tries to provide treatment and support to those gamblers impacted by the problem of gambling (â€Å"Ministry of Public Safety†, 2011). Barriers to effective strategic evaluation in the gambling industry include; high taxes that gambling companies are charged by the government, intense competition and the rising labor costs. High taxes levied against the industries tend to make it hard for the companies to make their evaluations effective as most of the money assembled is charged by the government in form of tax. Intense competition amongst the gambling companies also acts as a barrier to evaluation as some companies are facing reduced profits from losing customers. The high cost of labor tends to reduce the profit levels of the companies too. With increased labor requirement for growth and the increase in labor costs, gambling firms are facing a loss of some funds. With the free and global access to the internet, the gambling industry can use this medium as a way to make their strategies effective. Some industries have built platforms on the THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY 7 internet such as websites where they can reach their customers from anywhere in the world. Online gambling games can also be created. Applications that can be installed on mobile phones and computers are being developed to enable gamblers to play their favorite games on their accessories. References Hoovers. (n. d). Gambling Report Summary. Retrieved from http://www. hoovers. com/industry- facts. gambling. 1431. html Martin Baird. (2002). Seven Keys to Improving Casino Guest Service. Retrieved from http://www. urbino. net/articles. cfm? specificArticle=Seven%20Keys%20to%20Improving %20Casino%20Guest%20Service Jueves.(2013). Casinos in the World: SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://casinosintheworld. blogspot. com/2013/02/swot-analysis. html THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY 8 Responsible Gambling Strategy Board. (2012). Responsible gambling strategy prioritises its focus for the next three years. Retrieved from http://www. rgsb. org. uk/press- releases/responsible-gambling-strategy-prioritises-its-focus-for-the-next-three-years. html Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. (2011). B. C. ’s Responsible Gambling Strategy and Three Year Plan (2011/12 – 2013/14). Retrieved from https://www. gaming. gov. bc. ca/reports/docs/plan-rg-three-yr-2011-2014. pdf.

An Online IT Degree Can Change Your Future Essay Example

An Online IT Degree Can Change Your Future Essay Example An Online IT Degree Can Change Your Future Essay An Online IT Degree Can Change Your Future Essay Even as layoffs plague most career fields, those in the computer industry seem to be holding their own. While they might not be immune entirely, the need for computer experts is still very high. If it’s time to take control of your future, retraining in this particular field can be wise. An online IT degree can make it possible. Going back to college in the online world can be a little less intimidating than having to sit in a classroom. When you choose to go this route for computer training, nonprofit management or even an online business degree, the differences between this style of learning and traditional college campuses will likely amaze. For would be IT professionals especially, computer-based training just makes sense. Pursuing a masters in education, an online MBA or IT training online is probably not what you think. The schools that now back and offer these programs are reputable and accredited. The courses are designed to teach and challenge. The flexibility, however, is what really makes this option shine. Going back to school in the online arena will enable you to stay on your current schedule and still work in classes. The IT field is a great one to look into for a number of reasons. While some career fields are shrinking, the computer industry is still seeing growth. Experts remain in high demand. The key to breaking in, however, is having the right training backed up with proper accreditations. Getting these things while needing to work another job can be tough. It is much easier to work in classes when they take place at home on your schedule. Getting an online IT degree can open doors for a future that’s more secure. When it’s time for a change, going back to school can make all the difference in the world.

The team and its organization

The team and its organization Teams form part of the larger organization, this implies that both the team and the organization can have a significant influence on one another. Effective team management entails having an in depth understanding of the interaction between teams and their respective organizations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The team and its organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Teams interact with their organizations in various capacities including external and internal levels. External activities usually entail how the different teams in an organization interact with external entities. In its broadest sense, external activities can be divided into ambassador, task coordinator, scout and guard. Teams within an organization can partake one activity or integrate two or more activities as in the case of comprehensive teams. A significant characteristic of a successful team is their engagement in ambassadorial activities. Te ams that have high levels of task-coordinator activities have also been reported to be successful. This implies that successful team leaders should primarily engage themselves in ambassadorial and task-coordinator activities. Scouting activities do not significantly affect the success of a group. It is evident that the success of an organization is significantly determined by the way a team interacts with an organization as a whole. It is also imperative to view the organization as a single team consisting of smaller teams within it; this is why the teams’ interaction with the larger organization is important in determining the success of an organization and the success of the team. Supportive culture is an important aspect for a team that operates within the limits of the larger organization. The most important element of supportive culture incorporates the belief that the individuals in an organization are an important asset to the organization. Another significant characte ristic of supportive culture is that the staff should be categorized in an appropriate grouping that is according to their individual requirements and their behaviors. It is also important that the organization should highly discourage isolation, and most importantly, roles assigned to individuals should match their skills. The effectiveness of an organization is also determined by the levels of hostility in the working environment. Organizational cultures should be viewed from three perspectives: culture as types, culture as symbols, culture as shared beliefs, cultures as networks and culture as systems. The principles for the success of an organization are usually based on a bias for action; this implies that individuals in an organization lay more emphasis on ensuring that appropriate actions are undertaken in an appropriate manner.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In such as setting, task-coordinator activities are common coupled with the increasing need for experimentation. The second principle that determines the success of an organization is its closeness with the potential and already existing customers. The third success principle that an organization should deploy is the use of autonomy and entrepreneurship. This is usually fostered through the use of flexibility and ensuring dynamism in the work force. Other principles that ensure excellence in an organization include a hand on value with a value driven approach, maintaining a simple form with a lean staff and the upholding of concurrent loose-tight attributes. It is important that there exists cohesion among the various teams and individuals in an organization; this can be fostered through effective team building strategies, without impairing the distinctiveness in the identities of each team. For an organization to be effective in the execution of its processes, there should be we ll laid strategies that are aimed at fostering a strong organizational culture that is in line with the business processes of an organization. Organizational change is inevitable to any organization that prioritizes success. It is the responsibility of the organization and the individual teams to adapt to the changing nature of the business environment. The major requirements for effective organizational change include the establishing of clear targets, allocation of adequate resources, sufficient training and technical support, and regular feedback.

Dolci and Stomer essays

Dolci and Stomer essays Over the centuries, picturing religious events in the form of artwork was still very popular and important. However, the way or style in which the events were pictured changed. The cultural production of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries is often described as the baroque period. Among the most noted Italian Baroque painters were Caravaggio and Carracci, whose different styles were both in line with the period. Through copies of their paintings and styles being taught in art schools, their influence on later artists inside and outside of Italy has been enormous. Carlo Dolci and Mathias Stomer are each painters that were influenced by the style of Caravaggio and Carracci. Stomers painting, The Judgment of Solomon (1640), shows an influence of Caravaggio, where Dolcis painting, Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist (1636) shows an influence of the style of Carracci. Stomers style of painting is closely related to that of Caravaggio (1573-1610). Caravaggio, an Italian baroque painter, naturalized both religion and the classics in his art where he reduced them to human dramas played out in the cruel and grimy settings of his time and place. He often used perspective and chiaroscuro to bring viewers as close to the action of the painting as possible to give viewers a feel as if they were actually participating. Caravaggio also used dark setting that enveloped their occupants called tenebrism or shadow manner. Upon first glance of the painting, The Judgment of Solomon, the viewers eyes are taken to a single point of illumination near a picture of a beautiful new born hanging upside down by a man ready to slaughter it. There is great attention given to shading and the illumination of light. Stomer shows great talent in painting muscular figures by the look of the man holding the sword and of the two infants. The clothes on each person are pictured as free ...

Lit review on'Small Business growth is solely dependent on the skills Essay

Lit review on'Small Business growth is solely dependent on the skills of the entrepreneur and their attitude towards risk.' - Essay Example According to Schumpeter, an entrepreneur identifies and seizes business opportunities then converts these opportunities into viable and marketable ideas. Being one of the factors of production, an entrepreneur combines the other factors of production, that is, land, labour and capital. He or she then assumes the risks involved in order to realize a profit. Small businesses have developed into economy drivers over the last two decades. This is the period when most governments have been liberalizing their previously closed market. Before then, the government corporations were the economic growth agents but since the markets are now freer, many small businesses have spruced up. Their massive number has however, stunted their growth because of stiff competition (Hubbard, 2009). This necessitates possession of an array of special skills and characteristics that are possessed by an entrepreneur. Any person can start a business, but the successful ones persevere to see the business navigate tough times and eventually succeed and grow. Some of these skills are tackled in this paper. It is, however, imperative to note that even though the entrepreneurs are painted as the more successful people when it comes to small business growth, they still experience a high failure rates. The studies conducted by Business Growth Index showed that the failure rate stood at 75% (Shiu et al, 2007). A business failure can be defined as the inability of the business to get the required return on investment. Since the business is small, and most of the time funded through personal savings or through debt financing after leveraging individual’s property, starting a small business with such a high failure rate becomes too risky. However, this is one of the major characteristics separating a business person and an entrepreneur; an entrepreneur is alert for opportunities that an ordinary business person ignores or does not see; most importantly, an entrepreneur assumes risks that an or dinary business person is reluctant to assume (Minniti, 2013). Risk according to many people has a negative connotation, and rightly so because many start up businesses have ended up declaring bankruptcy after assuming unnecessary risks. But to entrepreneurs, a risk is a positive force; it is an opportunity in disguise and a challenge that needs to be tackled. Beneath the risk the entrepreneur sees the rewards which are the profits (Lowe and Marriott, 2006). Being a risk taker rather than risk averse like most business persons does not mean being reckless, it only implies taking calculated risks to realize profits. This requires some expertise in combining factors of production, utilizing innovation and creativity wells of the business, entrepreneurial skills and patience. There are millions of small businesses started every year, but their mortality rate is just as high. Most of those that weather the storms are those that were started by entrepreneurs (Gabardi and Tichy, 2013). Th ese businesses do not just seek to be operational but also, as a main objective, to grow. Entrepreneurs, through their skills, are the agent of small business growth (Minniti, 2013). The following are some of the skills possessed by successful entrepreneurs that have helped in growing of their small businesses. The first skill possessed by

Discuss the impact of industrialization in 18th century Britain Essay

Discuss the impact of industrialization in 18th century Britain - Essay Example This was an encouraging wave for everyone around as they started to invest more, search more, invent more and got involved in much more economic activities than the past history. During the 18th century, through industrialization, the average income increased to over 10-folds especially in Great Britain. This was due to the ingenious inventions of machine based manufacturing that put the manual labor to rest and saved time and animal labor. This increased the rate of mining, textile production and helped in revolutionizing iron making methods. This industrial growth helped in creating trade routes within the country and outside of Great Britain during the 18th Century. The industry of railways and roads then went on a boom as through steam engines that helped in having faster trade as well as elevated the production, which helped in creating more jobs and more income for the people of Britain. 1 As people mostly wanted to live near their jobs, the concept of Urbanization then occurred and housing started to become more modified and work oriented. As the communication structure through roads was still going under the industrialization phase, people needed to be near to their jobs for faster access and more productivity. Mentally and socially, industrialization had a larger impact. While British public was starting to grow the malnutrition was becoming a problem. With having life expectancy of 35 year before the industrialization era, this Malthusian trap was then soon recovered through better agricultural practice and the life expectancy was increased to 40-45 years of age. Socially the per capita income through many other jobs increased and people around Britain started to live a prosperous life as compared to the 17th Century. Now having better housing facilities as compared to when people lived in shanties and shacks, this changed the people who moved into the

Law Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law Project - Essay Example Additionally, the law protects the employers from irresponsible employees (Gulf News. 2013). In this case, this research indents to find out the relationship between employee rights to be informed prior to being fired and the authority of employers to terminate employees’ responsibilities without notice. To analyze the situation of employer termination procedures, a case study on ABC v. XYZ (pseudo named as a classified case) in which the claimant, ABC, accuses the defendant, XYZ, to pay the periodical allowance (Small Claims Tribunal, 2012). This research makes use of article 61 and article 102(1-7), which deal with employee work termination. This research makes use of secondary data through the use of a case study. Case studies are accounts relating to a topic of interest about a specific entity. In this case, a case study is used in the analysis of recorded data regarding a real life situation. Since information is already published, a case study is considered a secondary source unless a live coverage through the use of primary data collection method, observation, is used. In order to access information relating to UAE labor law, the internet will be utilized since it provides relevant and recent information sources unlike print materials (Gulf News. 2013). The rationale of using the case study method in this case is to ensure that various other sources on the background of the case can be provided. In the analysis of legal data, this research makes use of FIRAC analysis method where facts, issue, rule, analysis, and conclusion are the legal analysis variables considered in this case. The nature of the data presented in the case study is in literature, descriptive format, and descriptive analysis is selected as the most appropriate method of analysis. The chosen case study to support the objectives of the research project include ABC v. XYZ case as well as two articles from the UAE

Offenses Against the Public Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Offenses Against the Public - Assignment Example Introduction Lippman, (2010) defines bribery as the practice of receiving, offering, soliciting, and giving something of significance for purposes of influencing the act of an official in charge of his or her, legal public duties. It can also be said to be an illicit gain advantage. The Federal General Statute Bribery is responsible for punishing the bribery offenses in the United States. The law pertaining bribery punishes whomever indirectly or directly, offers, gives, or promises anything of worth to an officer in charge of public duties with an aim of influencing the official deed will be committing a bribery offence. In this regard, this paper aims at describing bribery as well as expounding on the laws that pertain to it. Question 1: Description of public trust crime (Bribery) Bribery can be described by a wide variety of conducts and in most cases; it is a crime that has a structure and white-collar situations. Some of the obvious bribery examples are release of an arrestee, a cquiring a contract of the government award and vote from a legislator on one’s bill. Scheb (2012) explains the traditional perception of the public servants by knowing the bribery potential in political parties’ ranks. Money is what comes to mind of many when bribes are requested or offered. There are many forms of bribes that are offered or sought. Therefore, bribe does not only include cash or its equals, but also intangible or tangible benefits as sexual favors, vehicles, homes vacation and other price benefits. Consequently, bribes can occur in a number of disguised or subtle ways like; selling of property for a smaller price than its worth value, where the main aim of the seller is to benefit the person who is purchasing property in order to influence his government official actions. Bribery is in white-collar crimes category because it is nonviolent and focuses on the social background of the person involved in the act. Lippman (2010) argues that White-collar cr ime is an illegal act which employs concealment and deceit rather than force application in order to obtain service, property or money. This is what bribery aims at; it does not involve any form of violence but rather takes an advantage to avoid loss or payment of cash in order to obtain a professional or business advantage. The bribery offenders occupy professions, responsibility positions, civil organizations, and government trusts. Bribery can also be described according to the form of its activity. For example, it has an advantage of seeking the attention to consumer and tax fraud as well as other offenses. Individuals who commit this crime are from various backgrounds socioeconomically. Another form of bribery as Scheb (2012) clarifies is commercial bribe which involves, offering or giving indirectly or directly, something of worth to an employee, private agent or fiduciary without the employer’s knowledge, in order to influence the employee’s or agent’s ac tions in relation to the affairs of the employer. Travel bribery is another form of bribery crime whereby; an individual decides to interstate or use facility with an aim of promoting, facilitating or establishing a promotion of any activities unlawfully is guilt of bribery crime. Conducting activities, which are unlawful, is therefore, bribery in the United States. Therefore, bribery as a crime includes many

Public History Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public History Project - Essay Example The paper will explore various aspects of this museum and its significance in providing to us the historical context of American Civil War in relation to abolition of slavery in America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Freedom House Museum is situated in the state of Alexandria in United States. It is based on the building that was originally possessed by a trading firm that used to deal in slaves. It was back in 1800’s when this company came into being to fulfill the requirements of people who wanted to own slaves for money. The slaves were basically Blacks who were deprived of any right to claim their freedom and were thus treated as slaves by birth. It was the result of the lack of realization of basic human rights in that era. The slavery had been started from 1706 with the advent of trade with Africans. The Africans were forced to the other areas where people purchased them on account of money. However, the advent of domestic slavery took place in 1860’s where natives Amer icans were being held captives. Not only adult men and women were enslaved but children were also being kept as slaves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The historians have narrated various incidents, which shed light on the type of treatment slaves had to go through. The people visiting Freedom House Museum can witness the artifacts providing an overview of the life of slaves before the start of Civil War in America. The people bought as slaves were treated worse than animals and were whipped often. There was no difference being considered among the enslavement of an adult and a child. In a book, ‘Slavery and the Making of America’, the author throws light on the pathetic life of slaves by narrating heartrending tales by slaves themselves. The book describes the torture the Black slaves had to undergo that was based on occasional beating, chaining down with other severe punishments that were being imposed on a minor mistake committed by the slave. The slaves were forced to do a ny kind of work their master assigned them and were not appreciated for their work. Instead, it was considered their duty to please their master without questioning anyone about their slavery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The slaves were used for various purposes among which using them as laborers to work in fields or other jobs was a common practice by Americans. They were also made to construct buildings that were basically the earliest ones to be constructed. Moreover, there was a high demand of slaves for working in cotton fields which was met by the slave trading firms that provided domestic slaves on payment of money. Nearly 1000 slaves were being sold by a trading firm by Franklin and Armfield in a year. In the museum, there are numerous artifacts with pictures of the owners of slave trading firm. There are heavy iron shackles as well that were used to chain down the slaves. The area brings to one’s mind the sad aspects of history where the value of a human being was lesser than an animal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While going through the Freedom House Museum, one gets an insight into the history of US Civil War as well which was caused to end slavery from America. Abraham Lincoln once the president of America is credited with the abolition of slavery who initiated a campaign to end the enslavement of Blacks. A civil war came into place from 1861 to 1865 that resulted in the deaths of thousands of militants and innocent civilians. The Northern America succeeded in civil war that was

MDCM IT Strategy. Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MDCM IT Strategy. Case study - Essay Example Consolidation in the medical device industry had also slowed market growth. As a result MDCM had shifted its growth strategy from geographical reach to diversification through acquisitions. The type of business that MDCM operated in was contract manufacturing. In this business, the manufacturer had pioneered the process of creating close partnership arrangement with customers to maximize their success with MDCM’s products. MDCM had decades of experience in the business. However consolidation in the industry had given greater bargaining power to the customers so that the company could not price competitively. MDCM’s competitive position was further weakened by a lack of cost control. There was lack of coordination among departments, suppliers, logistics so that expected synergy gains from the acquisitions could not be realized. By focusing upon acquisitions, MDCM was in effect implementing the strategy of diversification into related products. This made the company more globally diversified, enabling it to better serve large customers who were also becoming globally diversified. However MDCM’s operating and profit margins continued to fall in a compe titive market. Because MDCM operated in an industry which was consolidating and which had more efficient competitors, the company continued to decline in market share and profits. As mentioned in the case, even though MDCM was the largest company in the industry, it had the worst operating and profit margins. ... The overall strategic goals of this firm at this time are to implement operational and cost improvements and to focus on IT integration. The two goals are related since operational and cost improvements can be realized from IT integration. As indicated in the case, the management was facing problems with the cost structure, sales and marketing and production scheduling. These problems could be addressed by the right IT implementation plan. The implementation plan should be aligned to the overall strategic goals of the firm which are to implement operational and cost improvements in medical device contract manufacturing. The company had recently lost its competitive advantage because of its high internal costs which hampered the company’s ability to price competitively against smaller, more efficient rivals. As a result sales and profits continued to decline. Therefore the top priorities at this time were to undertake a project related to IT strategy synchronization that would lead to improved information flow which would facilitate operational and cost improvements. The industry had gone through a consolidation process which reduced the number of customers. Because there were fewer larger customers, they had more pricing power. Therefore, in order to remain competitive, MDCM would have to access more information about its business processes, thus enabling the managers to take corrective action which would turn around sales and profits. The critical success factor at this time was tight coordination between the different business functions. Traditionally the strategic focus of the company had been to locate close to the customer. However this strategic focus had been changed as a result of the Horizon 2000

Offenses Against the Public Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Offenses Against the Public - Assignment Example Introduction Lippman, (2010) defines bribery as the practice of receiving, offering, soliciting, and giving something of significance for purposes of influencing the act of an official in charge of his or her, legal public duties. It can also be said to be an illicit gain advantage. The Federal General Statute Bribery is responsible for punishing the bribery offenses in the United States. The law pertaining bribery punishes whomever indirectly or directly, offers, gives, or promises anything of worth to an officer in charge of public duties with an aim of influencing the official deed will be committing a bribery offence. In this regard, this paper aims at describing bribery as well as expounding on the laws that pertain to it. Question 1: Description of public trust crime (Bribery) Bribery can be described by a wide variety of conducts and in most cases; it is a crime that has a structure and white-collar situations. Some of the obvious bribery examples are release of an arrestee, a cquiring a contract of the government award and vote from a legislator on one’s bill. Scheb (2012) explains the traditional perception of the public servants by knowing the bribery potential in political parties’ ranks. Money is what comes to mind of many when bribes are requested or offered. There are many forms of bribes that are offered or sought. Therefore, bribe does not only include cash or its equals, but also intangible or tangible benefits as sexual favors, vehicles, homes vacation and other price benefits. Consequently, bribes can occur in a number of disguised or subtle ways like; selling of property for a smaller price than its worth value, where the main aim of the seller is to benefit the person who is purchasing property in order to influence his government official actions. Bribery is in white-collar crimes category because it is nonviolent and focuses on the social background of the person involved in the act. Lippman (2010) argues that White-collar cr ime is an illegal act which employs concealment and deceit rather than force application in order to obtain service, property or money. This is what bribery aims at; it does not involve any form of violence but rather takes an advantage to avoid loss or payment of cash in order to obtain a professional or business advantage. The bribery offenders occupy professions, responsibility positions, civil organizations, and government trusts. Bribery can also be described according to the form of its activity. For example, it has an advantage of seeking the attention to consumer and tax fraud as well as other offenses. Individuals who commit this crime are from various backgrounds socioeconomically. Another form of bribery as Scheb (2012) clarifies is commercial bribe which involves, offering or giving indirectly or directly, something of worth to an employee, private agent or fiduciary without the employer’s knowledge, in order to influence the employee’s or agent’s ac tions in relation to the affairs of the employer. Travel bribery is another form of bribery crime whereby; an individual decides to interstate or use facility with an aim of promoting, facilitating or establishing a promotion of any activities unlawfully is guilt of bribery crime. Conducting activities, which are unlawful, is therefore, bribery in the United States. Therefore, bribery as a crime includes many

MDCM IT Strategy. Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MDCM IT Strategy. Case study - Essay Example Consolidation in the medical device industry had also slowed market growth. As a result MDCM had shifted its growth strategy from geographical reach to diversification through acquisitions. The type of business that MDCM operated in was contract manufacturing. In this business, the manufacturer had pioneered the process of creating close partnership arrangement with customers to maximize their success with MDCM’s products. MDCM had decades of experience in the business. However consolidation in the industry had given greater bargaining power to the customers so that the company could not price competitively. MDCM’s competitive position was further weakened by a lack of cost control. There was lack of coordination among departments, suppliers, logistics so that expected synergy gains from the acquisitions could not be realized. By focusing upon acquisitions, MDCM was in effect implementing the strategy of diversification into related products. This made the company more globally diversified, enabling it to better serve large customers who were also becoming globally diversified. However MDCM’s operating and profit margins continued to fall in a compe titive market. Because MDCM operated in an industry which was consolidating and which had more efficient competitors, the company continued to decline in market share and profits. As mentioned in the case, even though MDCM was the largest company in the industry, it had the worst operating and profit margins. ... The overall strategic goals of this firm at this time are to implement operational and cost improvements and to focus on IT integration. The two goals are related since operational and cost improvements can be realized from IT integration. As indicated in the case, the management was facing problems with the cost structure, sales and marketing and production scheduling. These problems could be addressed by the right IT implementation plan. The implementation plan should be aligned to the overall strategic goals of the firm which are to implement operational and cost improvements in medical device contract manufacturing. The company had recently lost its competitive advantage because of its high internal costs which hampered the company’s ability to price competitively against smaller, more efficient rivals. As a result sales and profits continued to decline. Therefore the top priorities at this time were to undertake a project related to IT strategy synchronization that would lead to improved information flow which would facilitate operational and cost improvements. The industry had gone through a consolidation process which reduced the number of customers. Because there were fewer larger customers, they had more pricing power. Therefore, in order to remain competitive, MDCM would have to access more information about its business processes, thus enabling the managers to take corrective action which would turn around sales and profits. The critical success factor at this time was tight coordination between the different business functions. Traditionally the strategic focus of the company had been to locate close to the customer. However this strategic focus had been changed as a result of the Horizon 2000

Integrative Therapy Essay Example for Free

Integrative Therapy Essay I started my first class of counselling today. I was very nervous and excited at the same time. I was nervous because I had not been in formal education for the past ten years and excited because I was going to do something for myself after 3 years of sitting at home and focus on something other than domestic issues. I arrived to my first class late and that made me more apprehensive. Looking around I noticed that there were people from different age and background. I started the class by telling others about myself and listened to them. I felt like I was in a group therapy, in a way it actually was because we were using our listening skills, which I believe is essential part of counselling. As it happened at the end of the task I was less nervous than I was at the beginning. Our next task was to find a partner and talk about ourselves to each other. We talked about our lives and it was up to us how much to tell our partner and to share it with the rest of the group. Again here, our listening skills were tested. This task also acted as ice breaker where the atmosphere of the class become more relaxed as we listened to each individual’s life and their achievements as well as their aspirations. I realised that most of the people who attended the course were there because of their life experiences propelled them to this course and that they felt they have something to give back as counsellor, or that they may learn some counselling skills to help them with their own lives. As for myself, since studying counselling as part of my degree course 10 years ago, I have wanted to become a counsellor. I always was motivated to help others. My only inability is and has been my lack of confidence. This is not because I don’t have the ability to listen and help others, but just that I am not a confident speaker and my communication skills needs to be enhanced and by doing this course I am hoping to overcome both and be prepared for further qualifications in counselling. During the class in groups we also discussed, what we want from rest of the group and what is required of me. There were some points, such as, Respect, Confidentially, Honesty, Being non- judgmental, etc, that we all agreed on. We ended the class by â€Å"checking out†, where we said how we felt and what we learned, like me, the rest of group was also more relaxed and were looking forward to the rest of the course. I see this course as learning route, where by the end of it I have learned some counselling skills, hopefully I will also overcome my own issues, which might have an impact on my role as a helper.

How Does Culture Impact On International Business Management Essay

How Does Culture Impact On International Business Management Essay Introduction The study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002) examines the effect of dimensions of national and organizational culture differences on the performance of international joint venture (IJV). They used the data from a survey of executives from joint ventures between Indian partners and partners from other counties to do the research. Finally, Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Chen, Park (2002) found that there is a negative effect from culture distance on the performance of international joint venture originates from differences in national culture and differences in organizational culture. Whats more, they found that the presumed negative effect from culture distance on the performance of international joint venture originates more from differences in organizational culture than from differences in national culture. Therefore, from the study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002), we can know that differences in national culture have a negative impact on the performance of international joint venture. Moreover, differences in organizational culture also have a negative impact on the performance of international joint venture. Now, we know that differences in national culture and differences in organizational culture both have a significant impact on the performance of the international business. Differences in culture between partners have a significant impact on the international business. Therefore, it is very important and necessary for the international business people to study and understand how culture impact on the international business. Moreover, Sirmon and Lane (2004) said that when the domain of a social group is closer to the value-creating activities of an alliance, cultural differences between the partners members of that social group will be more disruptive. From Sirmon and Lane (2004), we can know that when cultural differences between the partners are very relevant to the value-creating activities of an alliance, cultural differences will significantly affect the performance of the international business. Therefore, it is very important and worthy to study how the cultural differences between the partners impact the performance of international alliance. Whats more, Sirmon and Lane (2004) found that when the domain of a social group is closer to the value-creating activities of an alliance, organizational culture differences between the partners members of that social group will be more disruptive than national culture differences. Furthermore, they also found that professional culture is the most relevant t o the value-creating activities of an alliance. Therefore, when the domain of a social group is closer to the value-creating activities of an alliance, the professional culture differences between the partners members of that social group will be the most disruptive. From the study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002) and the study of (Sirmon and Lane, 2004), the culture differences have a significant impact on the international business when the domain of a social group is closer to the value-creating activities of an alliance. This essay will discuss how the culture impact on the international business. Moreover, this essay will discuss how the culture differences impact the international business based on three main readings: (Morrison, 2006, p.168), the study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002) and the study of (Sirmon and Lane, 2004). Section 2 is definition of culture and international business. Section 3 is discussion and analysis of how the culture differences impact the international business. Section 4 is the conclusion and some suggestions. Section 2 Definition of Culture and International business Culture In order to discuss how the culture differences impact the international business, we must understand what culture is first. Culture can be broadly defined as , a learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meanings provide a set of orientations for members of a society (Terpstra and David, 1991, p.6). From (Morrison, 2006, p.169), we can know that culture has many aspects, for example, value, behavior, beliefs, communication, sport, music and customs. International Business In order to discuss how the culture differences impact the international business, we should also understand what international business is. From (Morrison, 2006, p.5), we know that an international business forms when business activities of a company straddle two or more countries. A global business forms when a company expands to the extent that a large portion of its business is outside its home country (Morrison, 2006, p.6). Salk and Shenkar (2001, p.163) said that International alliances reside at the confluence of different cultures which include national, organizational and occupational cultures. Therefore, it is very important to study and understand how different cultures impact on the international business. Section 3 Discussion and analysis of how the culture differences impact the international business. Pothukuchi et al. (2002) found that partners cultural differences may have more influence on the performance of international alliance as those differences become more directly related to the alliances primary value-creating activities. An international alliances performance is driven by the alliances effectiveness in achieving its primary value-creating activities. Moreover, Harrison et al. (2001) said that resource complementarity between partners of international alliance is often a necessary condition to optimize this value creation. Therefore, in order to share, combine and leverage complementary resources, the partners employees must interact effectively. Many researchers found that national and organizational culture differences between these employees affect their interactions. This means that differences in national and organizational culture have a significant impact on the performance of international business. It is very important and necessary for the international busin ess people to study and understand different national cultures and organizational cultures. (Morrison, 2006, p.168) also said that culture differences can directly impact the success or failure of a project. He also said that achieving a successful outcome will depend on sensitivity to differences in cultures between partners. This means sensitivity to differences in norms of behavior, value systems and languages between the partners will impact the success or failure of a project. Whats more, Trompenaars (1994) also said that for international business, grasping the interacting cultural dynamic between the global and the local is the key to be successful. Therefore, for international business, sensitivity to differences in cultures and grasping the interacting cultural dynamic between the global and the local is very important because culture differences can directly affect the success or failure of a project. Moreover, Sirmon and Lane, (2004) said that cultural differences stems from national, organizational and professional cultures. The differences in national, organizational and professional culture can inhibit international alliance partners employees ability to interact effectively. This essay will discuss how the culture differences affect the international business from three different aspects: national culture, organizational culture, and professional culture. National Culture We know that different countries have different cultures. From (Morrison, 2006, p.172), nations are distinguishable from each other by a shared cultural history, for example, religion, language, or racial identity. Moreover, all these distinguishing characteristics blend into a national culture. Common language, shared religious, shared moral values, shared history, relationship between the individual and group, and attitudes to education are all the elements of national culture. National culture relates primarily to deep-seated values (Hofstede et al., 1990). National culture influences family life, organizational culture, education, and economic and political structures (Morrison, 2006, p.172). Sirmon and Lane, (2004) also said that the influence of national culture is strong and long lasting. Organizations, while they may develop their own specific values and behavior, are also highly influenced by the national culture of their home country (Morrison, 2006, p.202). Moreover, Hofst ede (1991) found that national culture explains 50% of the differences in managers attitudes, beliefs, and values. Albert (1991) said that national culture differences are clearly seen in economic and political systems, educational systems, and other institutions. Therefore, Sirmon and Lane, (2004) said that national culture differences between partners of the international alliance can challenge the development of successful relationships. Park and Ungson (1997) said that these challenges stem partially from the lack of shared norms or values. Moreover, this lack of common understanding may undermine the partners interpretation of each others strategic intent, which is crucial in global markets and partnerships (Hitt et al., 1995). Whats more, Hennart and Zengs (2002) research findings also suggests that differences in national culture can disrupt collaboration and learning between partners of the international alliance. Furthermore, Sirmon and Lane, (2004) said that a lack of shar ed values and norms may reduce effective communication, trust and knowledge sharing in joint ventures. They said that all these problems have been found to lead to lower the performance of the international business. However, differences in national culture can be beneficial. For example, when the managers work with the foreign partners, they will spend more effort on avoiding misunderstandings in international alliances than they would in domestic alliances. In this case, differences in national culture can lead to high-level communication and a more sustained collaboration. Therefore, differences in national culture also have a good and positive impact on the international business. Whats more, Chui et al. (2002) and Gibson (1999) also said that National culture has been shown to impact on major business activities, from capital structure to group performance. Now, we know that differences in national culture have a significant impact on the international business. Therefore, it is very important to study and understand how the national culture impact on the international business. This essay will also discuss how the national culture impact on the international business by discussing and analyzing how language and religions impact on the international business. (1). Languages Common language is an element of national culture. Language is the basic means of communication between people. Language facilitates social interaction and fosters a system of shared values and norms (Morrison, 2006, p.174). If partners of international alliance cannot have common language to communicate, they cannot cooperate and interact because they cannot communicate. Business people cannot do business with the people who speak different languages. Nowadays, the importance of English as a global language extends far beyond the number of native speakers. English as a global language and common language helps people who speak different languages to communicate. English language is an intercultural means of communicating. Business people can use English in their international business activities. Business people now can do business with the people who speak different languages by using English. English helps the business people overcome the problems of intercultural communication in their international business activities. Therefore, having a common language is a very important necessary condition for international business. Today, most of South America is Spanish-speaking, moreover, in recent years Spanish companies have expanded in the region, attracted by a perceived affinity with these markets derived from a common language(Morrison, 2006, p.175-176). Moreover, in a low-context culture, communication is clear and direct, such as America. In a high-context culture, much goes unsaid because ambiguity is the norm and directness is avoided, such as Asian cultures (Morrison, 2006, p.174-175). Difference in language culture will also impact international alliance partners employees communication and inhibit their ability to interact effectively. Therefore, knowing and understanding the partners language culture well is also very important for international business. (2). Religions The system of values and beliefs that characterizes a culture may be embodied in a particular religion (Morrison, 2006, p.179). As well as religious power, religion may exercise considerable political power. It can form a major unifying force in society. In countries where religion is a major element of the cultural environment, sensitivity to local religious beliefs and practices is particularly important in building business relations (Morrison, 2006, p.180). Research has identified over 15,000 distinct religions and religious movements among the worlds population (Barrett, 1997). Therefore, there are many people who have religious beliefs in this world. Knowing the local religious beliefs and the business partners religious beliefs well is very important for the international business. Moreover, many social associations and political parties in many countries are commonly based on religious affiliations. Moreover, these form an essential dimension of the business environment. For example, the growth in membership and influence of large churches in parts of the US impacts on the social and cultural environment of the communities in which they are located. If there is an established religion in a location, a business must take account of its wide ramifications. If there are multiple religions in locations, a business as a good corporate citizen should not discriminate (Morrison, 2006, p.181-182). Knowing the business partners religious beliefs well will help to achieve good outcomes. Do not know the business partners religious beliefs well may lead to the failure of your business. Therefore, we can know that it is particularly important and necessary for the international business to know the business partners local religious beliefs well. Whats more, many aspects of business life are directly (or indirectly) affected by religious beliefs and practices. For example, particular foods that are forbidden such as beef for Hindus; ban or restrictions on consumption of alcoholic drink; religious festivals during which work may be forbidden; clothing requirements; requirement for women and men to be segregated in the work environment in Muslim societies; and the ban on Sunday shopping in some countries (Morrison, 2006, p.187). Organizational Culture From the study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002), we know that the negative effect on the performance of international joint venture originates more from differences in organizational culture than from differences in national culture. Whats more, from the study of (Sirmon and Lane, 2004), we know that when the domain of a social group is closer to the value-creating activities of an alliance, organizational culture differences between the partners members of that social group will be more disruptive than national culture differences. Therefore, from the study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002) and the study of (Sirmon and Lane, 2004), we can know that organization culture has more impact on the international business. Organizational culture is very important for the international business. Therefore, in order to discuss how the culture differences impact the international business, we must understand what organizational culture is. From (Morrison, 2006, p.195), organizational culture or corporate culture, like national culture, focuses on values, norms and behavioral patterns shared by the organization. An organizational culture is one that is deliberately fostered among employees, who may have come to the company from a variety of different cultural background. Characteristics of organizational culture include that, for example, common language, shared terminology, norms of behavior, and dominant values of the organization. Hofstede et al. (1990) said that whereas national culture relates primarily to deep-seated values, organizational culture relates primarily to shared beliefs in organizational practices and processes. Weber et al. (1996) found that different organizational cultures between acquirer and target could decrease top managers positive attitudes toward the merger and decrease their cooperation. Therefore, Sirmon and Lane, (2004) said that organizational culture is very important for the success of mergers and acquisitions. They thought that when the partners have the same organizational culture, satisfaction, learning and effectiveness of interactions will be increased. Therefore, same organizational culture between the partners has positive impact on the success of mergers and acquisitions. Whats more, they also thought that if the partners have different organizational cultures, satisfaction, learning and effectiveness of interactions will be decreased. Moreover, from (Sirmon and Lane, 2004), we know when learning, satisfaction and effectiveness of interactions are decreased, the business processes used to share combine and leverage resources will be inhibited. Sirmon and Lane, (2004) said that it will be more difficult for partners who have different organizational cultures to effectively achieve the primary value-creating activities. Professional culture From (Van Maanen and Barley, 1984; Jordan, 1990 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ºBrown and Duguid, 1991; Lave and Wenger, 1991), we know that professional cultures develop through the socialization. Individuals receive the socialization during their training and occupational education. Then this socialization will be reinforced through the individuals professional experiences and interactions that lead to a broad understanding of how their occupation should be conducted. Moreover, Trice and Beyer (1993) said that professional cultures form as people, who span individual organizations, share a set of norms, values and beliefs related to their occupation. Sirmon and Lanes (2004) research findings suggests that professional culture differences are often the most relevant and salient cultural differences that the interacting employees face, and thus professional culture differences are the most disruptive to the alliances effectiveness in achieving its primary value-creating activities Section 4 Conculsion This essay discussed and analyzed that how the culture impact on the international business. Moreover, this essay discussed how the culture differences impact the international business based on three main readings: (Morrison, 2006, p.168), the study of (Pothukuchi, Damanpour, Choi, Chen, Park, 2002) and the study of (Sirmon and Lane, 2004). After discussing how the culture differences impact the international business, we know that: An international alliances performance is driven by the alliances effectiveness in achieving its primary value-creating activities. Moreover, resource complementarity between partners of international alliance is often a necessary condition to optimize this value creation. In order to share, combine and leverage complementary resources, the partners employees must interact effectively. However, national and organizational culture differences between these employees affect their interactions. Therefore, partners cultural differences may have more influence on the performance of international alliance as those differences become more directly related to the alliances primary value-creating activities. Achieving a successful outcome will depend on sensitivity to differences in cultures between partners. This means sensitivity to differences in norms of behavior, value systems and languages between the partners will impact the success or failure of a project. Therefore, culture differences can directly impact the success or failure of a project. Cultural differences stems from national, organizational and professional cultures. The differences in national, organizational and professional culture can inhibit international alliance partners employees ability to interact effectively. Differences in national culture lead to the lack of shared norms and value. The lack of shared values and norms may reduce effective communication, trust and knowledge sharing in the international business. Moreover, this lack of common understanding may undermine the partners interpretation of each others strategic intent, which is crucial in global markets and partnerships. All these problems have been found to lead to lower the performance of the international business. Therefore, differences in national culture can disrupt collaboration and learning between partners of the international alliance. Differences in national culture may have a negative impact on the performance of the international business. In some circumstance, differences in national culture can lead to high-level communication and a more sustained collaboration between the partners. Differences in national culture also have a good and positive impact on the international business. Therefore, differences in national culture can also be beneficial for the international business. Knowing and understanding the partners language culture well is also very important for international business. In countries where religion is a major element of the cultural environment, sensitivity to local religious beliefs and practices is particularly important in building business relations. When the domain of a social group is closer to the value-creating activities of an alliance, organizational culture differences between the partners members of that social group will be more disruptive than national culture differences. Therefore, the negative effect on the performance of international joint venture originates more from differences in organizational culture than from differences in national culture. Moreover, different organizational cultures between acquirer and target could decrease top managers positive attitudes toward the merger and decrease their cooperation. Organizational culture is very important for the success of mergers and acquisitions. Professional cultures form as people, who span individual organizations, share a set of norms, values and beliefs related to their occupation. Professional culture differences are often the most relevant and salient cultural differences that the interacting employees face, and thus professional culture differences are the most disruptive to the alliances effectiveness in achieving its primary value-creating activities. Some suggestion for the international business which reside at the confluence of different cultures: Morrison, (2006, p.202) said that in the international environment, a polycentric approach will make it easier for the international organization to adapt to the different cultural environments of foreign operations. (Morrison, 2006, p.168) also said that joint ventures is a good way to make international business relationships successful. Whats more, cultures are not fixed and static. Cultures can change. Therefore, organizations should be capable of change as they expand internationally because there are interactions between cultures and growth of international markets and global brands. Albert, M. 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