Home video game industry analysis Essay

History In 1949 the video game was thought of for the first time by an engineer named Ralph Baer but it would be years before video games would enter the spotlight. 1 In 1972 Steve Bushnell started the first gaming company Atari. Until 1978 there were very few games for the home system. In 1982 Atari releases a newer version and sales start to sore. In 1985 Nintendo enters the market with the NES. Nintendo still outsells both companies 10 to 1. In 1995 Sega releases Sega Saturn three months before the projected date and there are not enough games released because of this and sales are dismal. The same year Sony releases the Playstation at $100 less than expected with a variety of different game titles, sales are strong. In 1996 Nintendo releases the N64 which is received well by the public. Sega lowers prices to stay competitive. In 1999 Nintendo and Sony are in an intense pricing war on their competing systems. Microsoft also announces they will be entering the market with the X-Box. Nintendo releases the Gamecube and the Gameboy advance the same year. X-Box is released in 2001 and is received well and is out of stock most places. With all of the systems and game prices very high, piracy is becoming more and more of a problem with Mod Chips being developed that allow for pirated games to be played on all consoles. In late 2005 Microsoft releases the X-Box 360. 2 The following year Nintendo releases the Wii and Sony releases Playstation 3 and the problem of piracy still continues to this day. SWOT Analysis Industry strengths include well developed brand image for the leading three competitors. Each of the three leading competitors has successfully exploited its target consumers in age categories. They all have excellent advertising campaigns and have high corporate attention and resources. Industry weakness include rising cost of materials and R&D, the expenditures for developing additional high tech systems and games for the system at a reasonable price is becoming increasingly difficult leaving much lower profits for corporations. Opportunity exists when entry into the market is preceded by all others in the industry. Industry trends are leaning towards older population who appreciate graphics and complexity of games and have the resources to pay more for those games. Many gamers are ready to upgrade systems as new technology emerges. Threats to the industry include strong market competition, rapid development of technology, the cost of technology and the rating system given to games. Sub-markets are also gaining popularity including the handheld market and online gaming, which threaten market share. Business and Corporate Strategy Corporate and business level strategies for this industry are equivalent. The inferred industry mission is to provide entertainment through interactive technology. The industry as a whole falls into the maturity segment of the life cycle. Generic competitive industry average is differentiation among games, graphics, and abilities/extras of the game console. In the beginning the strategy focused on the hardware to make profits. 3 The strategy has shifted to software for increased growth. Functional strategies include; superior quality in game graphics and well built hardware. Games have evolved from single applications to cartridges to CD-ROM. Graphics have evolved similarly from 8 to 16 to 32 bit. Threats stated in the SWOT analysis can be minimized by staying at the forefront of the competition in R&D and finding ways to keep down cost while offering superior products. A venture into a â€Å"back to the basics† approach with the Wii has proved successful to attract female and novice users. Structure and Control Systems Strategic managers in the Video Game industry have developed a set of strategies to build competitive advantage to achieve their goals. Then an organizational structure has been put in place to use resources to create a competitive advantage. To evaluate how well the strategy and structure are working, managers developed specific performance measures. The four building blocks of competitive advantage are efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers. Recommendations With the home video game industry evolving, there are a few things that need to be in mind as you try to improve. You need to stay technologically advanced by continuing to change games, software, and new models. These adjustments require this technology to be low cost to be successful in this industry. If costs are high, not only will the customer be lost but you may lose your competitive edge. Competitive advantage in this industry is a critical factor. If you are ahead in the industry at one point, another company can come out with the next best selling product with new features and graphics capturing market share. Furthermore, being competitive in the sense of efficiency, quality, and response to the customers is critical in this industry. It influences a customer to buy your product rather than the competitors. If you have good quality and low prices, the customers would be willing to upgrade to the newer product line. With the industry constantly changing, you need to be on top of your game to be on top of the home video gaming industry.

Character Analysis of Mrs. Wright in “Trifles,” by Susan Glaspell Essay

Mrs. Wright is a character not present at the scene, but for me, posed a great importance in the whole story. In the Story, Mrs. Wright was the wife of the murdered John Wright. She was the primary suspect, since she was the only person with the Mr. Wright when he was murdered, at his case, strangled to death. Mrs. Wright, as told by Mr. Hale, was the person he stumbled upon when he came in looking for John Wright. It was also Mrs. Wright who told him that John was dead, strangled to death while she was sleeping beside him. She showed no expression of grief or shock when she was telling this to him, and even managed a laugh when she was asked where John was. She was arrested in the end, and that was when the scene in the story started. There are several elements to consider when analyzing the character of Mrs. Wright. There are more things than what meets the eye, which is why it is necessary to scrutinize the things she was with and the things she was doing in the story. In order to do this, there was a need to introduce two characters that explore Mrs. Wright’s personality. These characters were Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Throughout the story, it was through these two that the readers were able to understand Mrs. Wrights character more, even though she wasn’t present in the scene. One of the first elements that could be associated with Mrs. Wright’s character was the rocker she was sitting on, when Mr. Hale arrived and was looking for John Wright. The rocker represents Mrs. Wrights feeling at that time, wherein she seemed to be at peace, but continued to rock in the stillness of everything around her. When she was questioned by the people who came into her house, she seemed confident with what she is saying. She was calm when she answered that John wasn’t around, and even managed a laugh when she said that John was dead already. She was calm in the inside, but deep inside her, she was troubled, rather, indifferent of her present situation. Another element that serves useful for the exposition of Mrs. Wright’s character was when Mrs. Peters remembers the young Mrs. Wright, where she used to be a choir member and wore pretty dresses. And that it all stopped when she became the wife of John Wright. This explanation has opened a door for the audience to think about the life Mrs. Wright is living. Is she happy being the wife of the murdered John Wright? Or does his death liberate her of some sort from the unhappiness that she was feeling when she was with him. The skirt that Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale gathered for Mrs. Wright also gave an understanding of her past, wherein she wore pretty clothes and looked pretty herself, and that it seems like she was being deprived of the happy and beautiful things in life when she was with her husband. Another exposition of Mrs. Wright’s personality was shown by the disarray in her house, of the unfinished tasks she seem to have started yet have found no time to finish. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale had shown the audience a better understanding of what it feels like being a housewife, how one would feel uncomfortable with things left unfinished. This showed that there is definitely something wrong going on with the life of Mrs. Wright, something that could really be useful in solving the case of the murdered Mr. Wright. The two are convinced that Mrs. Wright has no problems at all with being a housewife, since she has started doing things that a typical housewife would do. Mend clothes, cook, do kitchen work. But because of an undisclosed reason, she wasn’t always able to finish those tasks. And that made the two ladies suspicious of the case. The turning point of the exposition of Mrs. Wright’s character was when the two ladies saw the birdcage without any bird. They were somewhat curious why the cage had no bird in it, since it would make sense that a bird is a perfect companion for a housewife like Mrs. Wright. When they closely examined the cage, they found that it has a broken cage door; something that made their suspicion grew larger. If you carefully analyze what they were able to discover, the broken door wouldn’t make sense if there was no bird there. The broken door is a manifestation of force being used to pry opens the cage, who did it, was still unknown. The situation that ended their suspicion was when they found out about a dead bird wrapped in cloth that has its head and neck deformed because it was strung up. This was also the missing piece that solved the puzzle of Mrs. Wright’s character. They found out that Mrs. Wright really had a motive to kill her husband. Mrs. Wright was a person deprived of happiness whenever she was with her husband. Her carefree young days ended when she married John Wright. She stopped singing, she stopped wearing beautiful clothes, and eventually lost all hopes in her life. The bird represented her remaining sanity, her remaining hope in her life. But when it was taken away from her, she also snapped. When the bird stopped singing, Mr. John Wright also stopped living. Reference: Glaspell, Susan. â€Å"Trifles†. 1916. July 15 2007. .

Dark Tourism - understanding visitor motivations Thesis Proposal

Dark Tourism - understanding visitor motivations - Thesis Proposal Example (Beech 2000, p. 32). Such places symbolize the harsh realities of human history. Darkness, cruelty, crime and blood is reflected in the very nature of such sites. However, despite all these elements, such sites also make very good visiting places for tourists and are of great significance not only to the ministry of tourism, but also to the whole society in general and the government in particular. Dark tourism sites are very important for the economic strength of a country given the large number of tourists they attract. The places exhibiting dark tourism are not limited only to actual places where some accident took place in the past but there is also a range of places that are considered to be in the domain of dark tourism sites that are in some way related to horrific events. These may be museums or other places of cultural and historic significance displaying elements memorizing bad moments in the past. There may be times when a cinema projecting movies based on accidents of the past like Titanic might also be quite related to the subject matter. Given the widespread popularity of dark tourism among the people all over the world, dark tourism sites have huge potential of adding a lot to a country’s GDP provided that government strategically plans to increase the opportunities for tourists interested in dark tourism. This requires careful analysis of all the factors that influence and are influenced by the dark tourism that include but are not limited to age of people, imminence and severity of the incident and its cultural and national significance Before getting into an in-depth analysis of the purpose and the study design to be adopted for this research, it is customary to define the dark tourism. Dark tourism was initially referred to by John Lennon and Malcolm Foley as â€Å"†¦the phenomenon which encompasses the presentation and consumption (by visitors) of real and commodified

Personal Research Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal Research Project - Essay Example Strindberg et al. (2011), said that it brought challenges as well as opportunities to the region’s Islamist movements through a wave of uprisings and revolutions. Amin et al. (2012), was somehow tempted to ascribe it to unemployment especially among the youths and suppression of political options. However, Beinin & Vairel (2011) believed that it acted as a transition from dictatorship to democracy. In addition, Pollack et al. (2011) believed that it might have been brought up by the continuous reign of some individual for a long period due to lack of democracy. Lastly but not least Peter (2012) shows that this Arab Spring enabled the European Union and the United States to collaborate with various stakeholders in the region to promote human rights as well as bring democracy in those region. So far, none of the scholars has studied the role that the international bodies play in the Arab spring. In addition, none of the scholars has studied on whether the intervention of this international organization on the Arab spring is necessary or not and whether the results that were achieved showed success or failure in the process. This makes this research to be a very important one and that is why I decided to undertake it. This research was conducted using observation and review of various relevant literatures as the methods of information collection. We also collected some data from the internet about the countries that have experienced the Arab Spring to determine which percentage of them was successful. Using these methods the researcher identified a group of Arab states and used observation technique to discover what has been going on in those states as a result of the Arab Spring. To supplement his information the researcher will visit the internet and find the most current literature related to the Arab Spring written by other scholars. The information that will be collected using these three means will be combined and will help us

Paradise Lost vs. Heart of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Paradise Lost vs. Heart of Darkness - Essay Example Marlow’s narration about his journey to the Congo in Africa is the central subject of the novel. Marlow is employed as a ferry-boat captain by a Belgian trading company. His job is to carry ivory downriver, but the main task assigned to him is to bring Kurtz back to his society. Kurtz is a rebel who has moved away from his own civilization and settled in deep jungles of Congo. The character of Kurtz is revealed by Marlowe’s narration inducing a mixed feeling of hatred and sympathy for him. In the epic poem, â€Å"Paradise Lost† by John Milton, the poet recounts the events that led to the downfall of mankind. Adam and Eve, the first human beings to be created by God lived in the Garden of Eden. The beauty of the Garden of Eden was so enchanting that it was also called as Paradise. But Satan who was keen to avenge God, lures Eve to consume the forbidden fruit. On the knowledge of Eve’s horrendous act, Adam also eats the fruit for he is not ready to leave Eve alone in her suffering. Adam and Eve are expelled by God from the Garden of Eden as a chastisement for their act of disobedience. The title of the poem refers to the lost purity of Adam and Eve. The two characters that make one to feel sympathetic towards them are Kurtz in the novel, â€Å"Heart of Darkness† and Adam in the poem, â€Å"Paradise Lost†. Kurtz has gained control on the tribes of the jungle and taken over the territory. He has a great influence on the native tribes who worship him. The company is not ready to accept any threat to its own control over the region and assigns Marlowe to bring Kurtz back to his own civilization. Kurtz has settled in jungles as an act of defiance against the cruel ways of the company but he is not able to keep himself away from the temptation of power. He utilizes the natives to conduct brutal incursions in the neighboring regions to procure ivory. Though Kurtz is living amidst the

Analyze the 1992 L.A. Riots from a multi-racial perspective. Include Essay

Analyze the 1992 L.A. Riots from a multi-racial perspective. Include in your discussion sources of racial conflict and unity - Essay Example The melee of huge destruction had left the state and the country at the cross road of bewilderment. The root cause of such massive violence needs to be rationalized. The paper would be making efforts to analyze the riots. The riots had erupted after the court verdict had acquitted the four policemen who were accused of killing a black motorist, Rodney King. The peaceful demonstration in front of the Los Angeles Police Headquarter turned violent with rock throwing that later transformed into bloodied trail and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure and killing of innocent citizen. After three full days of carnage and bruised public emotions, National Guards were called in to control the violence, when the local machinery failed to curb the rising unrest. The rationalization of 92 riots is difficult for a myriad reason primarily because there was no single reason but comprised of multipronged issues that had finally catapulted into mass destruction of lives and property. The demographic geography of the region becomes one of the most compelling facets of the issue. The 70s onwards had seen rapid transformation in demographic segmentation of blacks, Latinos and other ethnic minorities. The region had become more heterogeneous with Whites population coming down to 41% in 1990. The Hispanic population increased to 37% from 15% and Asian population going from 2.5% to 10.5% (Simon, 1992). The central LA which was worst affected had seen decreasing Afro-American population and corresponding increase in Hispanic population. It is observed that upwardly mobile black population migrated to other parts of the country and made no contribution to improve the status of the community in any manner. While the Asian population was educated and relatively well placed in the society, the Blacks and Hispanics remained low educated with huge unemployment. The

Analysis, design, implementation and testing of a web developing Dissertation

Analysis, design, implementation and testing of a web developing company - Dissertation Example From the research it is clear that web development has become today a common requirement of many individuals, groups or organizations wishing to delve into electronic commerce. However, there are many challenges to â€Å"purchasing† web content, features, and the whole thing. This project will be focused on creating a web-developing company, where proper analysis, design, implementation and testing will take place. First of all, the main point for the project will be it being web-based web developing company. This means that all of the services will be provided on the website. This web-developing company will target mainly small and medium businesses, which do not have or want to improve their current websites to something better and more attractive. The main idea will be to provide the entire web developing services such as webhosting, consulting, creating online stores, logos, content, design, and adding new staff such as QR code - in one-stop. For example, a small Panini sh op in Oxford needs to compete with the big companies such as â€Å"Grace† stores or with â€Å"Dominos† pizza etc. This small Panini shop cannot afford expensive luxury website but it is not a good idea to just have â€Å"whatever† website which will make clients back off or be disappointed. So, our service will be somewhere in the middle, but for less money: we will provide attractive new websites with all of the benefits, which this technology era provides us. Also, the website company will provide different offers from the product portfolio. This project when finished should be able to deliver good, reliable and cheap websites for the smaller and medium business, so they can be differentiated on the market and they can attract more customers by targeting a wider range of consumers. By having free internet adverts in pages such Facebook pages or Twitter providing target customers the daily menu, plus having a reasonable good, modern website will be only advant age for the local business and on really low costs. All of this will be our care and it will really work to have a loyal customer base and to attract new customers. 1.1 Rational At the end of my study year I feel highly motivated and confident that this project I have chosen is really my aim for the future. Having a four-year course in IT management for business, I had a wide range of subjects to go through. And the most significant for me was Internet Commerce, that is why I feel really prepared for this new project as building websites and doing electronic commerce is really great fun for me. 1.2 Objective and goals The main objective of the project is to be able to deliver the proper service, which is required. To be able to achieve this, the main objectives have to be broken down in certain goals and smaller aims which have to be conquered first. This means that analysis have to be done first, then the design of the main website of the project company. Third step will be impleme ntation of the whole project and finally testing. Specific Objectives: Analysis of the web market in Oxford. Creating a list with the retailers with no websites or with bad websites. This will be our future client. Design the project website using the required methods and skills Create a wider range of portfolio product/service Have a unique web developing company for the Small/Medium local businesses 1.4. Background Having a website is today a prerequisite of every business whether they sell 24/7 or during certain office hours. While previously, websites are considered information sources for certain companies especially international ones, it has come to a time that even small or

Alzeimer's Disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Alzeimer's Disease - Research Paper Example Alzheimer’s disease, also known as Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type is a brain complication, which results in deteriorated brain functionality (American Health Assistance Foundation, 2011). It is the most reported case of dementia complication and develops gradually in a victim. The main effects of the disease are a permanent damage on neurons, which leads to intellectual incapacitation through loss of memory and rationality. As the disease develops in a person, it impairs brain related functionality leading to poor judgment and rationale in making decisions (Nordqvist, 2009), (American Health Assistance Foundation, 2011) The two major causes of Alzheimer’s disease are family history and age (Crystal, n.d.). Although developing Alzheimer’s disease is not a part of normal aging (Crystal, n.d.), it has been proven that age increases the risk of developing this disease (Crystal, n.d.). Family history also plays a major role in Alzheimer’s disease and having a close blood relative such as mother, sister, a brother; etc who has developed Alzheimer’s disease increases the risk of developing this disease. Other unproven causes of this disease include a history of head trauma, long-standing high blood pressure, and female gender (Nordqvist, 2009). There are two major types of Alzheimer’s disease, which have been identified according to the age of the patients: Early Onset Alzheimer’s not very common and is said to occur when a patient displays symptoms of the disease before reaching the age of 60 (Kantor, 2010). Late Onset Alzheimer’s is however very common and is said to occur when a patient aged 60 years or higher displays symptoms of the disease. The two types are both fatal (Kantor, 2010). The basic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are language and memory problems (forgetting familiar names, words, routes etc), flat moods, and personality changes (Kantor, 2010). A more in-depth discussion about the

Controlling the Cyber-conduct of Young People Research Paper

Controlling the Cyber-conduct of Young People - Research Paper Example depends on reciprocal expectations concerning what the other agents will do in a situation where a decision whether or not to conform is at stake† (3). â€Å"Gimalda and Sacconi’s model in particular sees compliance as the consequence both of agents’ participation in choosing the norm in a social contract setting under a veil of ignorance and of the existence of expectations about reciprocal willingness to conform† (5). â€Å"Proposed the â€Å"sense of justice† as a solution for the stability problem of a well-ordered society-i.e. a society whose institutions are arranged according to the principles of justice chosen under a veil of ignorance† (8). Statements: Sources two, four and seven work to prove the opposite argument that it is an uncanny proposition to regularly observe and impose restriction on the internet and mobile use of teenagers to control issues like cyber-bullying and sexting. The claims by Bristow and Paton will argue that restrictions on the internet use of children are offering an unrealistic preparation to face the society in which they will have to function independently. The claim will be that as children are encouraged to be self-dependent in the real world, restricting the same opportunity in the cyber-world is a bizarre idea with no visible benefits. However, using sources, I will prove how the activities of children remain under constant observation in the real society though they perceive themselves to be free and how social conformity and family influence the way they behave. The briefing by the American Psychological Association will show that people under the age of 20 do not have a brain that is mature enough to take wise decisions. The work by Cialdini and Goldstein will show how the society influences the behavior of adolescents, and Mahalihali’s work is used to describe how the influence of family members, especially parents, decides a child’s

Increased Competition in the Field of Robotics Essay Example for Free

Increased Competition in the Field of Robotics Essay If desired, calibrate the virtual process to reflect physical conditions and download optimized robot programs. By simulating your process you can always be sure to have the right combination of robot, gun and fixtures. After all, in virtual reality, bumping in to car parts and fixtures does not really matter. Arc Geometric simulation enables accurate arc weld robot programs with optimized gun angle against the seam. Also, it is easy to evaluate guns with different swan neck angles for best reachability. Spot When working on-line it is not an easy thing to program a spot welding robot to weld perpendicular to a surface. With the aid of geometric simulation systems, this is ensured, with improved quality and a durable weld as a result. Evaluating and designing spot weld guns is effectively done in a virtual environment. Laser Laser technology has made many processes more efficient. Robotized laser applications really deserves state of the art manufacturing simulation technology as a companion. Truly these technologies is for the future. Painting When programming a paint robot on-line, there are often difficulties associated with where and how to store robot positions in order to get the best result. Off-line programming reduces many of these difficulties. Features such as paint thickness simulation and the fact that you actually see where you are aiming truly help. Consumption of paint, products, and above all time needed for on-line touch up dramatically decreases. Handling and assembly Simulation can also be used in robotized handling and assembly operations. The product can be checked in fixtures and grippers and together with other products. Kinematics can be added to products. During simulation of handling processes reachability can be checked and collisions can be detected and provided. Simulation can also be used to optimize the layout by checking the placement of fixtures, racks and other equipment. Simulation of human operations Not only robot operations can be simulated, also human operations are possible to simulate. Simulation of human operations is important in an ergonomic point of view. Reachability and accessibility can be analyzed in an early stage of the project, before any physical verification is possible. Different sizes of the human model can be used to point out if changes in layout, process equipment or product are necessary. By using simulation, difficult and/or impossible operations can be eliminated. The purpose of these analyses is to prevent harmful operations. The result of the simulations can also be used in an educational purpose. 4. Robots in place of Human in Food Industry. Robots to solve end-of-line issues in food industry. They face a number of challenges in their end-of-line packaging operations. In a manual process, they must deal with ergonomic issues, labor availability, and the uncertainty of increasing costs associated with recent and potential future legislation. In an automated process, accommodating rapid-fire package changes driven by sustainability initiatives and shelf impact, as well understanding and improving key performance measures such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), are key. And in any process, food safety is an overriding concern on the minds of processors, as the consequences of foodborne illness and/or massive product recalls have affected a wide range of food categories. . Current Robotic Trends in Packaging Industrial robots have emerged as a valuable end-of-line tool to help address these challenges for food manufacturers, as the performance and user-friendliness of the technology has increased while costs have decreased. Growth in vision-assisted robotic applications is especially notable, as vision enables a robot to emulate the flexibility of human hand-eye coordination and perform a number of in-process product inspections for quality assurance. A number of statistics point to increased adoption of robotics in the industry: The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) Statistics Department, which provides information on world-wide trends in robotics, reports optimistically about robotics industry growth in the coming years. According to the Robotics and Automation Society, whose goal is to †advance innovation, education, and fundamental and applied research in Robotics and Automation, † (1) says that †Nearly every major user industry increased its purchases in the opening quarter of 2010. Especially strong gains were seen in robot sales to the semiconductor/electronics/photonics industries as well as food consumer goods. † In addition, â€Å"Material handling remains the largest application area for new robot orders, accounting for some 60% of the units sold. Many food companies and packaging machinery manufacturers have successfully applied robots in a wide variety of processes in the dairy, meat, baking, confection, frozen, snack, beverage, and even produce industries.

Demographic Analysis for Associations with Poverty

Demographic Analysis for Associations with Poverty 3. Socio-economic Characteristics In this paper, demographic characteristics such as age, sex and education as well as socio-economic characteristics such as household assets and livelihood activities are assessed. These characteristics provide an overview on the background of the respondents, which in turn provides an overview about the suitability of the study population. Without necessarily being the source of poverty, it has been pointed out that having a particular characteristic may be associated with poverty. For example, most households that depend on agriculture, livestock and fishing keeping are more likely to be poor. We have also collected data about their profession that how they manage fishing. Also, data has been collected about their economic activities like have they received microcredit or do they pay any usury. Here in the following table we show their professional activities. Non-Users of mobile phone number is 53 out of 205, which is 25.85% and number respondent using mobile more than 1 year is 92 out of 205, which is 60.53%. These characteristics are described in table 1, 2 and 3. Table 3: Information (Qualitative) about Mobile Phone of the User Subject Number of User Percentage Length of using mobile phone 18 11.8% 7 to 12 months 42 27.6% >1 year 92 60.5% Reason of using mobile phone Family 20 13.2% Business 93 51.2% Other 39 25.7% The level of literacy rate is 30.7 % which is less than rural Bangladesh illiteracy rate 50.6% (BBS, 2013). Mobile phones are easy to afford and do not require the user to have much technological knowledge or even to be able to read or write, so this group with primary or no education can operate this. Table 4: Income Status For Mobile Users (N = 152) Variable Income Before use mobile Income after mobile use Income [Mean ( ±S.D.)] (Bangladeshi taka) 13068.39 ( ± 11840.35) 20854.72 ( ±22868.66) Household monthly income N (%) N (%) Lower Income (0-10000) 87 (42.4 %) 75 (36.6 %) Average Income (10000-15000) 34 (16.6 %) 13 (6.3 %) Higher Income (>15000) 84 (41.0 %) 115 (56.1 %) For Non-Mobile Users (N = 53) Variable Last Year Present Year Income [Mean ( ±S.D.)] (Bangladeshi taka) 4666.97 ( ±11390.37) 4134.08 ( ±9743.71) In order to understand the socio-economic status of the households, a number of household assets and livelihood activities were assessed through multiple-response questions. As all respondents are fishermen, so their main earnings are from this occupation. At the same time, they are also involved in some agricultural productions. Also, some respondents are partly involved in business. As we collected the whole information of their family, so the other source of income with fishing by the other members of the family are also involved. The other member either may be migrated or jobholder or may be involved in business like storekeeper. So, in our data, all of the income earnings through these income sectors are also included. The Income group are separated in three groups with their monthly income. The lower income group with the income from 0 to 10000 taka, average income group with the income from 10000 to 15000 taka and higher income group with the income higher than 15000 taka. For mobile phone user, the average income before mobile phone use was 13068.39 taka where after the use of mobile phone this average income raised to 20854.72 taka. For the non-user of mobile phone we collected the data about income for the previous year. The estimated average income of the last year was 4666.97 taka where in present period this income has decreased to 4134.08 taka. The estimated income of the mobile phone user and non-user are given by the following Table-4. 4. Impacts of Mobile Phone Use on Fishing Community’s Business The study has sought to identify the impacts of the mobile phone in fishing community life. Impact refers to the difference that access to the mobile phone has meant to the individuals in the study areas. Assessments of impacts are based on the self-reported advantages of mobile phone access that the interviewees have indicated. Access to the mobile phone has above all meant the creation of more opportunities and choices, but it has also provided help in managing uncertainty. Moreover, existing business relations have been strengthened. We have asked several questions related mobile phone use in their business and they answered (Table- 5). The advantages that the users feel the mobile phone has given them in business transactions is above all relate to the reduced access time to information. Reduced communication expenses are also important to many. Table 5: Business related advantages of mobile phone users (N=152) Mobile phone has helped in: Agreed Easy to use 125 (82.2%) Easy to access market information 128 (84.2%) Reducing search cost and improve market knowledge 110 (72.4%) Reducing risk 119 (78.3%) Most of the respondents say that they call mostly for their business purpose. Before introducing mobile phone they had to accept the middleman’s price offer for fishes because they had no other way to know the market price for fishes in the bigger markets. Mobile phone gave them the opportunity to verify the market price of fishes. Now, before sell fishes to middlemen, they do verify the market price in the nearby markets and only agree to sell when they get a good price. Now they feel much more confident as they have gained bargaining power with the middle men who mostly deprive them from their profit. Table 6: Business information of mobile phone users (N=152) Business Related Questions Agreed N (%) Strongly Agreed N (%) Neither Agreed nor Disagreed N (%) Disagreed N (%) Strongly Disagreed N (%) After using mobile phone income has increased 102 (67.1%) 5 (3.28%) 31 (20.39%) 14 (9.21%) 0 (0%) After using mobile phone savings have increased 78 (51.32%) 6 (3.95%) 33 (21.71%) 35 (23.03%) 0 (0%) After using mobile phone expenditure has increased 82 (53.95%) 17 (11.18%) 37 (24.34%) 14 (9.21%) 2 (1.32%) After using mobile phone, 67.1 percent fishermen have agreed that their income has increased, 3.28 percent have strongly agreed. Again, about the increase in savings, after mobile phone use 51.32 percent have agreed, 3.95 percent have strongly agreed. Finally, about the increase in expenditure. 53.95 percent agreed that their expenditure has increased, 11.18 percent have strongly agreed. 24.34 percent are indifferent whether 9.21 percent have disagreed and 1.32 percent strongly disagreed about the increase in price (table- 6). They are agreed mostly that the impact of mobile phone on rural market is that the rural suppliers could more easily get market information, they could more easily get price information and they find out that the market is expanding. Also they find out that the introduce of mobile phone strengthening their relationships with business partners, motivating himself in taking new initiatives and creating new economic or income generating opportunities. Findings of table- 7 suggest that contribution of mobile phones were enabling rural households in Sylhet region to overcome vulnerabilities related to social exclusion .The phones were also reducing travel times and monetary costs; decreases physical risks; and increases the outcomes of those necessary journeys. Furthermore, increased temporal accessibility enables people to manage several activities regardless of their physical location. Table 7: Qualitative information about mobile phone user’s (N=152) business Livelihood and development aspects Agreed N (%) Does mobile phone can reduce risk? 119 (78.29%) Do you get the assistance of health service initializing mobile technologies? 35 (23.03%) Do mobile application and practices can increase the benefit to women? 68 (44.74%) Do you face any harassment by others? 37 (24.34%) Do your productivity rise? 103 (67.76%) 5. Empowerment Empowerment is the reduction of dependency, owners as well as users have experienced a variety of changes after access to the mobile phone. In rural Bangladesh, people have very little scope for choice in work or social relation but remain confined to the village and its limited income earning opportunities. Economic empowerment refers not only to increases in income but also to having control over resource and resource management, decision making power, involvement in and control over economic transactions. Mobile phone, besides financial gain, could also facilitate the economic empowerment of women. Mobile phone has created an income generation opportunity for rural women. It has also provided scope for interacting with a wider cross-section of people. Obviously, mobile phone as a business venture provides an opportunity for financial gain for the users. Almost most of the fishermen 70.38% (Summation of â€Å"agreed† and â€Å"strongly agreed†, table- 6) have said their income have increased through mobile phone. In the majority of cases the income of the fishermen has increased with the length of the mobile phone owning period. The greater the length of ownership, the higher has been the increase in income. So, apparently, as an income opportunity, the mobile phone has b een a success for the fishermen. 6. Results and Discussion 6.1 Probit Regression Probit regression analysis attained in table-8 suggested mobile phone has a significant impact on social and economic condition. Table 8: Probit Regression: Dependent Variable- Probability of using mobile phone Variables Coefficient Constant -0.24 (0.47) Age -0.01335 (0.0085) Education 0.89** (0.29) Maritaul Status 0.29 (0.23) Otherych 0.0018** (0.0008) Fishych 0.0024*** (0.0007) Credit 0.06 (0.23) Sellall 0.97*** (0.29) Number of observation 205 LR chi2 (7) 59.28 Prob > chi2 0.0000 Log likelihood -88.560767 Note: (1)*, ** *** denote 10%,5% and 1%level of significance respectively, (2) Standard Error is repeated in parenthesis. (3) Otherych=Income from other source; Fishych = Income from fishing; Credit= Micro-credit; Sellall = Sell all fish Probit regression suggested that an increase in Age decreases the predicted probability of mobile phone use by 0.013. However, it can be easily seen that age has no significant influence on probability of mobile phone use. The coefficient ofâ€Å"Education†shows that an increase in education increases the probability of using mobile phone by 0.89. This result was significant at 5% level. Another coefficient ofâ€Å"marital status†was 0.29,which means that there is a positive impact of marriage in the predicted probability of income. One of the most important coefficient â€Å"income from other sources† (Otherych) was 0.00175, the result was significant at 5% level. This means that increase in income from other source than fishing cause increase in total income. The coefficient of â€Å"income from fishing† (Fishych) was 0.0024. This means the increase income from fishing increases the total income. This result was significant at 1% level. The coefficient of â€Å"microcredit† (Credit) was 0.06. This means that an increase in receiving microcredit causes an increase in total income. Coefficient of â€Å"selling all fish† (Sell all) was 0.97. This means that the increase in selling all fish causes an increase in total income. This result was significant at 1% level. The constant term is -0.24 which describes that predicted probability of income of the fishermen through mobile phone is extremely low if all of the predictors (Age, education, marital status, otherych, fishych, credit and sell all) are evaluated at zero. The Likelihood Ratio (LR) Chi-Square (χ2 ) was 59.28 assuming that the model converged with all the parameters. Here, the value of log-likelihood is -88.56, which is negative, indicating better fit of this model. Prob > χ2 If Prob > χ2 tends to zero then there is no heteroscedasticity problem. Our probability of χ2 value is 0.0000 that rules out existence of heteroscedasticity problem. 6.2 Marginal Effects after Probit Marginal effects after probit is taken to find out the variation in the probability of increasing mobile phone use of the respondents. The marginal effects are calculated in Table- 9. Table 9: Marginal Effects after Probit Regression Variables dy/dx Age -0.004 (0.002) Education+ 0.21*** (0.06) Maritaul Status+ 0.08 (0.07) Otherych 0.0005** (0.0002) Fishych 0.0007*** (0.0002) Credit+ 0.017 (0.07) Sell all+ 0.33** (0.11) Note: (1) (+) dy/dx is for discrete change of dummy variable from 0 to 1 (2) *, ** *** denote 10%,5% and 1%level of significance respectively. (3) Otherych=Income from other source; Fishych = Income from fishing; Credit= Micro-credit; Sellall = Sell all fish All else held constant, education increases the probability of income by 21.28% and this was significant at 1% level. As the literate fishermen who are more educated can operate mobile phone effectively than the illiterate fishermen and are more informed about new inventions. They know that the use of mobile phone can minimize their cost by proving various market information including ups and downs in prices, pick demand etc. Relying on the middlemen, instead do not provide the mark; they information about price and market demand. So, the use of mobile phone among the fishermen who are educated is higher than the fishermen who are not educated. Also, the income from other source rather than fishing, when all else held constant, increases the total mobile usage by 0.05 %, with a significance of 5% level .That is, the change in income from other sources like agriculture, remittances, businesses, wage or salaries and interest earnings were influenced by the change in attitude towards mobile use. Again, earnings from fishing increases the total income by 0.07 % and this result is significant at 1% level. That is the income earnings from fishing change the mobile usage positively. The fishermen who were using mobile phone can sell their fishes with better prices. So, the total income of the fishermen who were mobile phone user greater than the fishermen who were not mobile phone user. We have to admit however, that the real impacts on the probability to use mobile phone by both income variables are quite low. Finally, selling all fish remaining increases mobile phone use by 33.14% and this result was significant at 1% level. So, the fishermen who are mobile phone user can sell all the fishes whereas the fishermen who were not the user of mobile phone cannot sell all the fishes very fast compared to fishermen who were the user of mobile phone. As fish is very perishable good, it becomes a vital incentive for the fishermen to use mobile phone. On the other hand, the impact of marital status and credit has no any significant impact on the change in total income. The status â€Å"Married† for person increases the probability of increasing income by 8.14% which was not significant. Receiving credit has a positive probability and increases the probability of increasing total income by 1.67% which was not significant. That the receiving microcredit may enhance their wealth but the wealth status is not much more different of both the fishermen who are mobile phone user or not. Finally, the probability of increase in total income is negatively related to the age. As age increases, the probability of increasing income decreases at 0.37% rate. This change is also not significant.

Life :: essays research papers

philosophy Before I can go on to lay out the foundations of my belief system, I think it would be helpful to shed some light on the playing field in which these ideas are to be considered. This playing field is constructed of words and statements, of course, but the precise meaning of "words" and "statements" is often left unclear. I will begin by defining these things as I intend to use them. I will also make a cursory attempt to explain the different types of statements we will encounter, the importance of falsifiablity and the role of faith, in addition to a smattering of other definitions that will become important as we proceed. Statements The ultimate building blocks of any philosophical system are statements. A statement is an attempt to communicate that which is true (or perceived to be true) through the symbolic code (words) of a language. All symbols are, of course, inherently limited. There exist various properties in a symbol's object of reference, which cannot b e contained within the symbol itself. An obvious example of this is the property of real existence. We may discuss in detail the various properties of a horse and of a unicorn. Considered only from a linguistic standpoint, a horse and unicorn can be assumed to be virtually synonymous. However, the object of the symbol horse possesses the property of real existence while the object of the symbol unicorn does not. The word/symbol horse, though, cannot convey this property because it cannot be contained by the symbol. True knowledge of this property can only be obtained by finding a real horse and touching it, riding it, getting to know it. The consequence of this is the understanding that there exist incommunicable properties of all real objects. These incommunicable properties are no less real than their communicable counterparts. They simply cannot be conveyed by symbols. Knowledge of these properties can only be obtained by direct experience with the object itself. These properties will hereafter be referred to as existential properties. Please note, however, that acknowledgment of such existential properties does not negate the reality or real importance of those properties, which can be contained and conveyed by the object's symbol. All real objects contain both communicable and existential properties and to disparage consideration of either category is to limit the degree to which we can understand the nature of such objects.

anitgone and tess of the durbervilles comparison on destiny :: essays research papers

In the play â€Å"Antigone†, Antigone’s demise is destined by the Gods of ancient Greece. However, in Tess of the D’Urbervilles† Tess endures many incidents and coincidences of misfortunes that mark the course of her tragic life, in which destiny does not play a role as it does in Antigone. Chance and coincdince can plague or bless any individual at any time.Thomas Hardy portrays chance and coincidence as having very significant roles in "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" continuously. Three such coincidences were quite influential and had significant effects on Tess's future. The first being that Tess Durbeyfield's father, discovered that their family came from the oldest, and once the most wealthiest family in England. This single decision, of sending Tess to the d'Urberville, and making her leave the sheltered life and town of Marlott that she had known for so long would be the change in her life that would lead to so many other events for her. Had Tess not been sent to the d'Urberville home, she would not have met Alec nor would she have bore his child out of wedlock and her life would have been completely different. Another event that occurs by mere chance in Tess's life is when Tess slips a letter of confession underneath both her lover's door and (by accident) the carpet, where he could not see it. Thus, Tess marries Angel under the impression that he has been informed of her past, when in fact he is ignorant of her former actions. After their marriage Tess enlightens Angel of her previous affairs when she realizes he has not received her letter and is surprised by his extremely disgusted reaction. Angel is regretful to have been informed of Tess’s past after he has married her, as he now feels he has morally wronged in marrying an impure woman. As they had vowed, Tess and Angel stay married, although Angel cannot forgive Tess for her actions, and thus they separate temporarily. The coincidence in which the letter slipped under the carpet lead to Angel and Tess’s strained relationship. Tess’s self-esteem suffered and she was left emotionally unstable and distressed. Tessâ €™s state of mind allowed Alec to eventually persuade Tess to marry her, and in subsequent connected events leads to Tess’s tragic death. The final coincidence would be the death of Tess's father, which not only leaves Tess in a state of deprivation, but also the rest of her family, including her mother and six siblings.

The Impact of Information Technology on Marketing Strategies for Health

Information has become the most valuable commodity in any market. Utilizing accurate information about customers and their interests is vital for successful marketing activities. In today's fast paced, highly competitive markets, companies must make marketing decisions quickly or risk losing their competitive edge. Using information technology (IT) allows companies to gather, analyze, and utilize large amounts of customer information. This information is used to reduce risk and uncertainty in decision making and maximize the profitability of marketing activities. IT also allows companies to evaluate the success, benefits, and profitability of IT investments, marketing strategies, and other business ventures over long periods of time. Today utilizing IT is essential in all aspects of marketing activities and successful marketing is not possible without the use of IT. Marketing in healthcare involves unique challenges which other markets do not face. According to Shaw (2008) "healthcar e marketers promote a service that is complicated, expensive, and even frightening." Most people do not want to imagine themselves needing healthcare products or services and usually reject information concerning the statistical chances of their future medical needs. As a result, traditional marketing techniques like directing products and services to specific consumers or broadcasting brand images are often ineffective in healthcare markets. In order to maintain a marketing advantage, healthcare marketers started moving toward a consumer driven marketing approach focused around consumer wants, needs, and expectations. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of IT on the marketing strategies of healthcare organizations. The rapid expans... ...ult, healthcare organizations have started marketing campaigns focused on patient privacy and cyber security. References Berisha-Namani, M. (2013). Information technology, internet, and marketing. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 4(1). doi: 10.7903/ijecs.1116 Kotler, P., & Clarke, R. N. (1987). Marketing for health care organizations (p. 265). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Rooney, K. (2009). Consumer-Driven Healthcare Marketing: Using the Web to Get Up Close and Personal. Journal Of Healthcare Management, 54(4), 241-251. Shaw, G. (2008). Department Focus: Marketing–Lessons from the Field. Online article on HealthLeaders Media website. White, K. R., Thompson, J. M., & Patel, U. B. (2001). Hospital Marketing Orientation and Managed Care Processes: Are They Coordinated?. Journal Of Healthcare Management, 46(5), 327. The Impact of Information Technology on Marketing Strategies for Health Information has become the most valuable commodity in any market. Utilizing accurate information about customers and their interests is vital for successful marketing activities. In today's fast paced, highly competitive markets, companies must make marketing decisions quickly or risk losing their competitive edge. Using information technology (IT) allows companies to gather, analyze, and utilize large amounts of customer information. This information is used to reduce risk and uncertainty in decision making and maximize the profitability of marketing activities. IT also allows companies to evaluate the success, benefits, and profitability of IT investments, marketing strategies, and other business ventures over long periods of time. Today utilizing IT is essential in all aspects of marketing activities and successful marketing is not possible without the use of IT. Marketing in healthcare involves unique challenges which other markets do not face. According to Shaw (2008) "healthcar e marketers promote a service that is complicated, expensive, and even frightening." Most people do not want to imagine themselves needing healthcare products or services and usually reject information concerning the statistical chances of their future medical needs. As a result, traditional marketing techniques like directing products and services to specific consumers or broadcasting brand images are often ineffective in healthcare markets. In order to maintain a marketing advantage, healthcare marketers started moving toward a consumer driven marketing approach focused around consumer wants, needs, and expectations. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of IT on the marketing strategies of healthcare organizations. The rapid expans... ...ult, healthcare organizations have started marketing campaigns focused on patient privacy and cyber security. References Berisha-Namani, M. (2013). Information technology, internet, and marketing. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 4(1). doi: 10.7903/ijecs.1116 Kotler, P., & Clarke, R. N. (1987). Marketing for health care organizations (p. 265). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Rooney, K. (2009). Consumer-Driven Healthcare Marketing: Using the Web to Get Up Close and Personal. Journal Of Healthcare Management, 54(4), 241-251. Shaw, G. (2008). Department Focus: Marketing–Lessons from the Field. Online article on HealthLeaders Media website. White, K. R., Thompson, J. M., & Patel, U. B. (2001). Hospital Marketing Orientation and Managed Care Processes: Are They Coordinated?. Journal Of Healthcare Management, 46(5), 327.

Advertising white chocolate

This advert will aim at introducing white chocolate in the Indian market. The following is a brief about the advisement.White chocolate is a portfolio of the Cadbury chocolate. Unlike the other chocolate which are dark purple in appearance, white chocolate comes in white milky color.   It also comes in different sizes starting with 45 gram bars, 100 gram bars, and 250 gram bars or the King size bar.   It is mostly preferred dues to it color and its grainy texture which turns very smooth in the mouth.(ii)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Advertising objectivesThe following will be the objectives of this advertisement putting into consideration that this will be the first time the product will be appearing in the market.; ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Induce trail usage of the product ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Intensify usage of the   product ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Build a personality brand appeal ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Generate sales lead(iii)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Target marketAccording to the market research data, it has been shown that white chocolate is famous among the female segment of the population. However chocolate is famous among children and therefore this advertisement will be target both market. It will be aiming at reaching both the female adult population and children(iv)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Positioning statementThis advisement will be aiming to create a brand personality around the dream. Therefore it will be expressed in such a way that it appear to the most female characteristic so that they can associate themselves with the brand.In order to create positioning through association, the advertisement the following position statement;‘My white chocolate, my dream’(v)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Key messagesThere are key message that will e expressed in this advertisement. Key among them will be the aim of creating a close association with the brand. The advertisement will look to appeal to the female market segment by associated with most of the characteristics that they like.For example the advisement will be produced in blue and white colors which have been found favorite among women.The other message that the advertisement will be taking across to the consumer is price advantage. Although there is not close competitor in the white chocolate market, it is clear that the chocolate the dark chocolate has dominated the market. Therefore it will be looking at appealing to the population to consider switching on to the white chocolate due to its price advantage.Media planThe marketing plan will use three channels for advertisement. These will include broadcast media, print media, and internet.

Literature Review and Learning Journal

Energy is an extremely significant cost factor in managing the United States petrochemical industry (Neelis et. al, 2008). According to the current business scenario, US faces an increasingly competitive and challenging business environment all over the globe, the US petrochemical industry seeks out to curtail their production costs without affecting their production output or yield. The uncertainty in oil prices is one of the most crucial factors that have a negative impact on forecasted earnings of the petrochemical industry. The most applicable method of price forecasting in petrochemical industry is making the estimations of average cost that has to be produced in a new plant in order to determine the economic size and eventually the reasonable profit. Viable and cost-effective investment in the petrochemical industry through installing energy efficient practices as well as technologies meets the tremendous challenge of preserving the maintenance of a high quality energy product. Energy usage is a significant source of emissions incorporated in the petrochemicals industry. This source of emission in the petrochemical industry causes a tremendous improvement in energy efficiency. Also the competitive factors comprising of number of manufacturer as well the employment of new technologies for the development of petrochemicals are the cause of strategic options employed in the manufacture of petrochemicals. Discussion Strategic management evaluates critically the significant initiatives taken by an organization’s top management to allocate its resources efficiently and effectively in order to attain maximum business feasibility nd profitability. The Chinese petrochemicals companies are Petro China Company limited and China National Petroleum Corporation. CNPC holds approximately total reserves of 3. 7 billion barrels (590,000,000 m3) of oil equivalent. CNPC produced approximately 54 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2007. CNPC invested most of its domestic assets into a separate company known as Petro China, during a plan of restructuring their organization. CNPC has around 30 international production as well as exploration projects. These projects are completed in joint coopeartion with numerous Asian, European, American as well as several countries that are included in USSR. The countries that are included comprised of Azerbaijan, , Peru, Sudan, Thailand, Canada, Iran, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, Myanmar, Oman. The exploration projects, both domestic and overseas, are run by a wholly owned subsidiary, the Great Wall Drilling Company (GWDC). So, strategic management consists of making clear the organization’s mission, business goals that are necessary to be achieved for the survival of business as well as its objectives. Public sector does not measure in cost but it is equivalent that is very much central to the production as well as delivery of public commodities and services. The market failure occurs because the goal of private sector in the economy organizations is usually to increase efficiency and effectiveness, thus attaining the business objective of producing the goods and services at a lower cost in comparison to the prevailing production costs in the industry (Baume & Tolbert, 1985). As private sector failed because of the market failure, public sector does fails because of the higher inefficiencies in the deliverance of service. The most common example of these inefficiencies is regarded as Public Education. The area of public education has immensely failed to match up to the level of Private Institutes that are operating independently in providing quality education as well as incorporate improved learning with the students. There have been dire movements that consist of demanding the transfer of the Public Education charter into the cruel hands of the Private sector NPO’s. If the public sector is to collaborate effectively with the private sector, the most important decision is to tackle the appropriate selection of organization related to that sector (Bryson, 211, pp. 473). The discussion of the most eligible alternative that is widely known as public choice is very critical. This also holds true for how values that are holding private sector’s infrastructure can be institutionalized into public sector. Institution itself is independent (Olson & Euyong, 1998). It is the design that is the most integral part of any organizations goal realization. Conclusion: Furthur research and development should be conducted in order to set up plants for producing oil efficiently and effectively. Also, there is a need to eliminate and reduce oil wastage in order to maximize oil production. 2nd literature review Introduction: This literature review highlights the issue of building up manpower through effective human resource management skills. Setting up an oil company requires good people management skills as any good organization always requires the capable human resources to fulfill the needs of a successful and viable organization. Organizations work through people and these people need some skills and competencies to perform their duties. Today, skillful workforce is considered as a single source of gaining sustainable competitive advantage and to manage this force human resource departments are established and huge amount of budget is allocated for this purpose. Recently training is taken as a critical component for the success of any organization. Therefore, companies are increasing their investment in training programs to improve employees’ performance that in turn can give rise to overall performance of organization. Basically training is conducted because of current or expected performance deficiency related to skills, knowledge, and abilities. So, undoubtedly, training and performance is naturally interlinked. When any management person realizes the problem in productivity they identify which type of training is required for solving the issue. Discussion Employee training in an oil sector is an important factor in the success of an organization. Also the labor is particularly cheap in China so it requires effective management in working efficiently and effectively (Armstrong, 2000). Training is not a single step process but it is a group of activities to provide employees with required or improved KSA’s that helps them to perform efficiently and in accomplishment of organization’s goals. It provides organizations increased employee commitment, improved job performance, enhance organization flexibility to adopt changes due to internal and external factors, reduce conflicts among employees, gives high motivation, improve thinking, creativity and physical competencies, and create an overall environment of dedication towards organizational objectives. Training is a five step process that starts from the training need analysis and ends at evaluation stage. Training is not only provided to improve and teach new skills but also to refresh existing skills with the alignment of new technologies and other factors. According to the research, there are five major benefits of training programs. First one is enhanced skills, second is succession planning, decrease time of supervision, management of risk, and improved motivation. Performance management is also a major function of Human Resource Management. It has different components related to measures of managing and assessing employee performance. Performance management includes improvement of individual and overall performance, delivering expectations of management from supervisors and managers, promote communication between management and employees, supervising subordinates to improve their performance by rewarding and recognizing them, and solve poor performance issues. Performance management comprise of five key factors as motivation, appraisals, promotions, coaching or supervising, and poor performance issues are resolved. The US petro chemical company operating in China needs to set up a learning organization in order to enhance faster growth and sustainability in the region. The successful organizations have focused on creating learning organizations through incorporating the five disciplines of personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, team learning and systems thinking (Senge, 2010). As human resources are the assets of an organization they need to be developed efficiently and effectively through the approaches of gaining personal mastery. Personal mastery is a discipline that focuses on creating and broadening personal vision as an employee to gain focus and motivation for achieving better results in terms of output and profit as well as personal development (Senge, 2010). Mental models describe the perspectives, generalizations and assumptions that the employees hold in their minds about the world. If the mental models are negative then it can hamper the employees in their personal growth as well as in attainment organizational objectives and vision. Positive attitudes of employees helps build up a shared vision towards organizational success. (Senge, 2010). This can be major human resource gap. Human resource development is an strategy to fill out HR gaps that causes major problems in achieving effective organizational performance and profitability (Ulrich, 2012). Human resource development encompasses human resource practices that are crucial to the effective, competitive and sustainable development of human resource management system. The categorization of human capital has been sub-divided into three categories which are intellectual capital, social capital and organizational capital. Human resource development encompasses crucial aspects of effective work practices that include recruitment and selection processes, employee training and development and performance management and compensation management to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees. These HRM practices conducted effectively results in the retention of quality employees and the dismissal of shirkers. One is of the major aspect of human resource development and management is the recruitment and selection of employees (Senge, 2010). Job Assignment, Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and selections are crucial for the organization, because it makes sure that the right kind of individual is selected so that they can bring success to the company (Senge, 2010). The strategic fit between the individual and the organization is done through recruitment and selection and it can be seen in the following diagram. Recruitment and selection is one of the most crucial and important phases of human resource development. It is the most initial phase in human resource development and management. As a first step a pool of candidates are selected that meet the eligibility standards for the jobs in an organizations, then out of these pool of candidates the most suitable ones are screened and selected through various tests and interviews by which their knowledge, skills and abilities are analyzed. After the recruitment and selection phase comes the next crucial step of training and development of employees. Conclusion It is a fact that China is a very successful company and its overall economic performance is improving year after year. The proof of its success can be seen in its wide operations in almost every country. Training and performance management as HR functions are very important for developing a sound management in the petrochemical sector of the country. So, the US management believes on the key role of performance management system and training programs in retaining and attracting high performers that in turn leads to improved overall business performance and gives extreme consideration to these functions. So, in the success or increasing financial results training and performance management functions are playing vital role. In conclusion, performance management is directly related to business performance or success. Training is indirectly related to business success because without measuring performance gap, need of training cannot be identified and performance management helps in recognizing this need. Training is directly related to performance management because when training is given it increases performance of individuals that leads to improve business performance and when a business perform well it becomes successful. The success of an organization is based on attracting and retaining the right kind of individuals. The process of recruitment tends to discover the sources of human resources to meet the requirements of staffing of the company and to implement effective measures so that talent could be attracted to fulfill the positions within the organization (Senge, 2010). Recruitment is very much Recruitment and selection are one of the major functions of the HR department. Recruitment process is based on a systematic procedure that starts from sourcing the talent and ending on interviews (Ulrich, 2012). There is a major gap in efficient recruitment procedures if they are not planned by keeping in mind the HR needs of an organization. (Senge, 2012) Recruitment procedures can be conducted effectively by laying out a proper recruitment plan through extensive research and analysis by creating a strategic human resource management plan and recruiting employees to create a competitive advantage in the industry. It is a strategic task and forms the basis for how the company is able to grow and achieve their business targets (Ulrich, 2012). Learning Journal Introduction The United States of America is faced with cut throat competitive and challenging business environment all over the globe, the US petrochemical industry seeks out to curtail their production costs without affecting their production output or yield. The uncertainty in oil prices is one of the most crucial factors that have a negative impact on forecasted earnings of the petrochemical industry. The most applicable method of price forecasting in petrochemical industry is making the estimations of average cost that has to be produced in a new plant in order to determine the economic size and eventually the reasonable profit The modules I have chosen are strategic management to gain competitive advantage and development of a core competency that is what others do not have is the key to implement a successful business strategy as is the case with the globally successful business schools of the world. Micheal Porter’s five forces also impacts to a great extent in the viable strategic management of a business. These forces are bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, threat of new entrants, existing rivals and threat of substitute products and services. These are the industrial competitive forces that have to be analyzed and assessed for capturing the market by implementing a viable strategy. The mangers who are involved in the strategic planning concerned with the business of petrochemicals must be concerned with the future prices forecasting of petrochemicals as well as the factors that regulate these prices. Strategic management is concerned with developing effective policies as well as strategic plans, more often related to projects and the programs. These projects and programs are effectively developed and designed to accomplish and achieve these goals and objectives. After that the allocation of resources is done to implement strategically these policies as well as plans, in addition to projects and programs. A balanced scorecard is often used to evaluate the overall performance of the business and its progress towards achievement of its business goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. Recent studies and leading management theorists have advocated that strategy needs to start with stakeholders expectations and use a modified balanced scorecard which includes all stakeholders. I learnt that the collaboration between the public and private sector organizations is inevitable to ensure that the public policy has been implemented and met. Public sector organizations are mostly government owned. They cannot ensure efficiency in every public goods and service they are providing. This is the system where private sector organizations are offered the tenders from public sector in order to carry out the production as well as deliverance of different varieties of public goods. Personal development is one of the major factors of attaining success in achieving one’s learning objectives as well as career development. Personality traits, economic stability, social status, institutional, cultural and dispositional variables are some of the most important factors when people decide upon their career decisions. Career development and decisions are one of the most crucial decisions of one’s life as they shape a person’s future prospects and sets out his vision for future. Discussion Economic stability is one of the major factors that influence the role in executing one’s career objectives. The ever increasing tuition fee is one of the major causes that affect students of not so high calibre for students who could not get into the university they choose. There seems to be a dearth of good educational institutions particularly in Asian countries because many high achievers in academics do get scholarships for getting into the best university. The students who cannot get scholarship are often the ones who have the aptitude for the subject but just because they have not secured good grades they are left out from scholarships. There is a contrasting situation if we analyze the European countries and United States as there is a wide range of good universities to take into account when applying for higher education in universities (Daib, 1999). Psychological factors also impacts to a great extent on career choices. The introverts and the extroverts are the two major personality categories; the introverts choose to vary in their selection of subjects as compared to extroverts. There is also a third category of individuals which is known as extroverted introverts ( The extroverts usually choose careers that require field work whereas the introverted personalities choose careers that will not let them reach out from their comfort zones. Both can choose the same career fields relating to the level of how introverted or extroverted are they (Wright, 1987). The extroverted introvert individuals are one of the important and complex personalities when it comes to analyzing their career choices (Sofer and Raimes, 2002). They pose a defensive self which reflects their extroverted side whereas deep inside themselves they know that they are introverts. Their career choices can be unexpected as compared to both the categories of individuals that is the extroverted and the introverted (Blackhall and Michelle, 2010). There are four stages of career development that consists of exploration, option analysis and decision-making, planning and implementation (Sofer and Raimes, 2002). The stage of exploration consists of analyzing different career options and exploring a wide range of career options including different studies and aptitudes required. The stage of option analysis comprises of the options available to make a successful and promising career as well as the fulfilment of learning objectives (Underwood,1989). The third stage is planning in which you plan to tread on the way as a career you have chosen for yourself (Bouma and Atkinson, 1995). The research and development should have to be enhanced in order to support the further viability of the new petrochemical setup in China Conclusion The module also helped me in understanding personal development. Personal development is one of the major factors of attaining success in achieving one’s learning objectives as well as career development. Personality traits, economic stability, social status, institutional, cultural and dispositional variables are some of the most important factors when people decide upon their career decisions. Career development and decisions are one of the most crucial decisions of one’s life as they shape a person’s future prospects and sets out his vision for future. The determination of career and learning objectives is one of the basic human rights and it is the right of every person to have his dreams of education and careers fulfilled. Also, it is of utmost importance that an individual should make a right career choice irrespective of the cultural, social and other pressures that have an impact on the long term mission and vision of an individual. With many factors influencing the career choices and learning objectives it is imperative that the right learning and career choices should be made in order to have a promising and successful future. Direction For Furthur Research How can the strategic management of the US petrochemical industry be improved to gain more markets in China? What are the ways to attract ideal employees for the organizational setup for petro chemical industries in China?

Apple Company Essay

Apple Company was created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Now Apple Company became very famous company in the world. It was made a lot of machine and computers. In recent years it’s created something that was very helpful to the human. For example such as Ipad2, Ipad3, Ipad4 that is a small hand computer. Human can use it store a lot of things and they can use it to watch moves talk to each other, use it for GPS and so on. He also made Iphone3 to Iphone5. These phone are famous and useful and it was perfect phone. Iphone5 series has many kinds of function. It can help human to do anything they want. It is easy to use and convenience to everybody in their life. Now Apple Company has contracted with many companies, such as AT&T, TSMC and so on. Apple Company has a lot of supporters all over the world. Creator and history In 1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple Company. Jobs growth after several twists and turns. First Jobs don’t like bundle, when he was a student. before he started his elementary school. His mother gave him in advance how to learn. But this has led to the later he arrived at the school. He said he has nothing to do for a few years and usually look for trouble by himself. Jobs soon discovered they can do work. Jobs like natural work, rather than be disciplined by others. Jobs met in the different authority, he disliked it. He almost and obey them, his curiosity about all sorts of things that they almost captured him. Jobs in McCollum class only with a year’s time to learn over three years of course. Jobs have a project, he made a photocell switch device, this matter after exposure the school of science living the school can make the device, jobs gets knowledge from his father. And his is very interesting in laser. Jobs and a few friends par tnership created belong to his light show stereo system. In McCollum’s class, jobs and a new graduate teachers to become friends. They especially like in the classroom with all the time to discuss their legend. His brother Stephen Wozniak worked in a swimming team almost five years, so jobs know more about electronic. But in the emotional and social he is a senior high school student, very weak. When Mike Markkula joined Jobs and Wozniak, Jobs their fledgling partnership into Apple Co., LTD. In January 1977,their valued about $5309. Four years later they think it is time to open the value. It is the first public in 1980, become most oversubscribe, apple company would be $1.79 billion. Yes, billion. In this change process it will make three hundred millionaires. Development Apple has a lot of competitors, Such as IBM, Microsoft, etc. They are rivals as well as a friend, in 1991 they had technical communication. In astronomy, the two stars orbit is binary system is closely related. Because of their attraction is interaction. In history have a similar situation, when a time made the relationship and competition two track star: In the twentieth century physics Albert Einstein and Bohr, for instance, in early American management, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander. Hamilton. For the first thirty years of the personal computer era, in the 1970 s, the definition of a binary star system is made up of two were born in 1955 college students of high energy control. Bill Gates and jobs has a very different character and background, although they have the same ambition interchange technology and business. Gates father is a Seattle famous lawyer, his mother a city in all kinds of famous leaders of the board of directors. He became a technical personnel a rebel, hippies, spiritual seekers, or members of the counterculture. Not a blue box destroy the phone company, gates in the school to create a program to help scheduling local traffic engineer and he such a car calculation procedure he got the girl. He went to Harvard, but he decided to leave school, this is not to find the enlightenment and the Indian master but a computer software company. Jobs also have the same thing. This is twin cooperation. When the first developed was Macintosh, Jobs to visit near Seattle gates office. Microsoft wrote some applications for Apple II , including one called Multiplan spreadsheet program, jobs want to stimulate gates and his company, for the upcoming Macintosh computer do more. Sitting in the Gates meeting rooms, jobs for public computer made a tempting perspective, friendly interface, this show is in a California factory automation has millions of production. He in the California suction silicon components and cultivate complete dream factory lead to Microsoft team Macintosh computer program code â€Å"sand†. They even put engineering reverse to a acronym, â€Å"Steve’s amazing new devices.† But in the end they twin and no successful cooperation. In 1988 when jobs announced the future computer, caused a excited. The second year began to sales, computer finally failed. The ability of jobs, move in media began to fail him, a series of things that companies get into trouble. Because of the presence of relatively small software running, so then, it has been difficult to attract customers. â€Å"Jobs was fired the board of directors, in 1996 the second back to apple. Apple Story Apple the pursuit of perfect, it also led to the growth of its ups and downs. Jobs not willing to give up work and control anything, especially when it may affect the customer experience. But he was faced with a problem. There is a part of the process he does not control: in a store to buy apple products experience. He went on to do a insightful views: this difference in design philosophy, he said, he and the apple is not good at cooperation with other companies. â€Å"Because Woz and I made the company based on the whole banana, we are not so good at working with people,† he said. â€Å"I think if apple in its DNA can have more, may make him it’s very good.† As early as in 2002, jobs have been impatient, Microsoft engineer development platform of computer software developed, it allows users to pen or pen input information on the screen. Some manufacturers released tablet PC this year using software, but have no effect on field. Jobs have been eager to prove no pen in how to use! But when he saw the development of apple is touch technology, he has decided to the first to use it in the iPhone. The first Apple computer was created in 1985s. It is name â€Å"Mac XL† By the end of 1985 apple MAC computers sold only 500000, no hit the two million mark, until 1988. Then they created â€Å"Mac128†, â€Å"Mac512†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Quadra 700† that was the first apple’s new MAC computer sales specifically for enterprise and graphics professionals provided. And then they created Mac 9500. Computer Mac 9500 is the first based on the PowerPC and can replace CPU tower daughter card. And in recent years at 2003 they created the first flat-panel iMac. â€Å"We must always give our customers the pure sex. It is like a in the back seat of a car with a beautiful girl rendezvous. People’s experience and personal computer should be able to give you the biggest high tide.† said by Jean-Louis. Apple iPhone  They use an iPod that makes calls. By 2005 iPod sales soared. A surprise number twenty million. One year, is equivalent to the amount of the first four years. IPod products more and more important, this year, the company’s bottom line, accounting for 45% of revenue, And it is also exaggeration polishing company image, driving, MAC computer sales. The same thing will happen to iPod, if mobile manufacturers begin to build music player to their mobile phones. â€Å"Everyone carry a cell phone, it will make iPod unnecessary.† Customers will want to use the prospect that jobs and his team became excited, construct a phone call. Their original method is to modify the iPod. They tried to use track wheel as a way for users to roll call option. No keyboard, try to enter the Numbers. It is not a natural choice. At that time they had a second project in apple: A secret efforts to build a computer platform. In 2005, the story is divided, iPod idea actually from befo re, in order to help shape the iPhone. The value of the Apple More than $50 billion has been cut off, science and technology giant apple’s market value as its share price slump. Share price dropped 12%, make poor iPhone in Christmas and Halloween sales plunged, mini iPod effect is the main reason for the company sales performance. The latest computer giant data showed that Mac sales fell 21.2% from the same period last year, Believe that the consumer is so infatuated with they buy the tablet PC, rather than a more expensive Mac computers. Some reports even claimed that smaller, cheaper iPod mini have similar influence on the size iPod sales. Because the Christmas iPhone sales not beautiful, apple shares dropped 12%, Apple Company is may lose it’s in intelligent mobile phone market dominant position. Conclusion  Since Jobs created the Apple Company and developed from 1976 to now. This company it also led to the growth of its ups and downs. And introduced Jobs grew up. Jobs don’t like bundle, when he was a student. In 1985 Apple Company had the first computer they created. At 2003 they created the first flat-panel iMac. They use an iPod that makes calls. Their original method is to modify the iPod. They tried to use track wheel as a way for users to roll call option. No keyboard, try to enter the Numbers. It is not a natural choice. At that time they had a second project in apple: A secret efforts to build a computer platform. Then the iPhone was born. Due to the mini iPod encroach on apple’s profits, Mac computer sales profit rate is low, Former CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new iPhone in January 2007. Some have attributed the decline in sales to the underwhelming launch of the iPhone 5 and the rise in other smartphones.

Communication And Newspaper Essay

Racism and sexism were a major part of the 1950s and 1960s, with very few newspapers or magazines being able to maintain neutrality in their printed word against such hate. The Watts riots of Los Angeles in the movie, Heat Wave, involved attacks of a bigoted police force against black individuals who had very little education, were living in poverty, with most of the people having no jobs–with unemployment being higher here than anywhere else. Many of these individuals felt they were being prejudiced against, with only five of the actual 205 police officers involved in the riots being African-American. In the movie, the Los Angeles Times reporter was played by Robert Richardson, as white reporters were not allowed in the area, which was a reverse discrimination of the riot itself. The whole picture was about racism, poverty, desperation, and feelings of anxiety and striking out against the world with feelings of   â€Å"enough is enough.† It also is about how someone in the lead role of a intolerant and racist police chief can influence whole neighborhoods of the African Americans, leading them to feelings of hopelessness and despair, eventually leading to the Watts riot which led to even more riots across the country as people began rebelling against their treatment. The movie Crash was also portrayed in Los Angeles, and also involves racism and prejudice. If possible, in a more dramatic way it regards how people interact with each other and how they develop a first impression based on race or statement, forming feelings of prejudice. It seems as if the movie is totally about relationships and different races of people, telling how we get all messed up inside and form wrong impressions about things that maybe later on we would never consider. The role of Officer Hanson in Crash psychologically seems to continue from the raging police in Heat Wave, yet here it shows that behind the scene of their abusive personality, it shows another side of racism in a different form of view, even though it brings up more violence and maybe other things causing it. It is a step-up in the picture of how discrimination, racism, and sexism develop in societies and within individuals. It is not always a black and white scene, but has many variables involved in it. In Crash, the viewpoint changed from the reporter’s view on how something can happen like a riot of minorities, or a car hi-jacking, as portrayed to the public or world to see how something can develop from the viewpoint of the stereotyped races—eventually even seeing things from the viewpoint of the police and why they feel the way they do. The third way of thinking refers to the scene in the movie Come See The Paradise, almost as if completing the circle of prejudice and racism. The writer of Crash felt that intolerance was a collective problem that needed to be explored along with shared humanity, almost as a â€Å"gang effect.† In the movie Come See The Paradise, Jack McGurn is a union organizer in New York City that is parallel to the police in the other two movies in regard to status and position, but finds himself on the wrong side of the law, also similar to the car hi-jackers or the rioters in the previous two movies. Fleeing to Los Angeles, he becomes involved in the Asia-American world, which involves racist and sexist as the blacks or Japanese, but he is the one who is prejudiced against when he tries to marry Lily, an Asian-American woman, by her father. The state of California also is prejudiced by their relationship by refusing to marry them, which forces them to flee to Seattle where they can wed. Prior to the prejudice and rioting of the 50s and 60s, â€Å"Civilian Exclusion Order No. 92† became the forced removal of all Japanese and Japanese-Americans from their homes into detention camps, with very few actually knowing where they were going or why. After WWII was over, and the Japanese Internment was actually admitting to as a wrong–doing by the United States, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was passed to make sure that the Japanese Americans were repaid for being locked up like criminals, during a time when prejudice and fear took away the rights of our citizens because they were of another nationality involved in a wrong-doing. This was a time when citizens of the United States lost their rights because of who their race was against the power of the United States. They literally had to stand in-line to toilet, to eat, were told when to go to bed, etc.—meanwhile losing their homes, jobs and many family members. Needless to say, their dignity and pride were torn away because they were Japanese, not because of what they did wrong. Similar to the African-American racist riots in the 1960s, with many of the blacks forced into jail and torn away from their homes because they were black, the Japanese were treated just as bad. The African-Americans targeted were jobless, homeless, and drifting throughout life—which were automatic red flags for white police to pick them up. During the Japanese Internment, just being Japanese was an automatic red flag to be put in detention camps during WWII. With about 120,000 of these Japanese-Americans being forced into the camps, it was held in little regard that 2/3 of them were actually American citizens, and had rights under our Constitution, even though they were a minority group. They simply were unlucky enough to be Japanese during a time when the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred, and they became the focus of the United State’s hate and prejudice. Living in the camps for three years under armed guards, this became a shameful period for our country when we had the audacity to treat our own people this way when they had done nothing wrong other than become a victimized race.   At one time, the Constitution of the United States actually protected the rights of our citizens, but the perfect union was not perfect during this WWII period or even later on, as the minority groups became a separate entity during the WWII as opposed to being a citizen of respect, as did the African-Americans during a later period, and is to this day. In my opinion, the similarity of the Japanese Internment period and the rioting of the 50s and 60s have changed very little, with one group locked up in detention camps and the other in prison. Both groups are imprisoned more due to race and color, by ignorant and bigoted individuals of authority who choose to separate themselves from their victims as beings of superiority. Very few looked at their victims and ask, â€Å"what kind of life did they lead before this moment, and what led to this?† and â€Å"do they consider themselves as criminals and doing wrong, because they were born Japanese or Black?†Ã‚   And did any of the answers justify the actions of their jailers? Race and racism is part of the United States and has very little to do with ethics or morality of the human race. Do we have room for a neighbor of another nationality? No—at the present time due to 9/11 the same thing is happening. How many people who are of the same race as the terrorist groups, are being punished by the United States and its citizen, being questioned in detention camps year after year, and with torturous techniques labeled as acceptable by our President? How different is this from the Japanese Internment period, or the locking up and beating of the African-American people simply because they were overly populated, living in extreme poverty, or uneducated? It is not†¦and we repeat history again and again, never learning compassion or empathy, which is why we are so popular with third world countries that are uneducated, poverty stricken, and over-populated—and who we are 100% prejudiced against.    Bibilography There needs to be the information here of the newspaper coverage, â€Å"the Readings,, of the Japanese-American Intemment during WW2 and the civil Rights movement of the late 1950`s,† which I do not have.