Conduct a Swot Analysis Essay

These range from one star to Five star deluxe depending upon size and amenities. About 30% of the rooms fall under the 5-star deluxe categories. To find out the present status of this industry a strength, weakness opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis is mental. This will help us in understanding this industry and also identify the weak spots. S. W. O. T ANALYSIS OF HOTEL INDUSTRY Strengths ? A very wide variety of hotels is present in the country that can fulfill the demand of the tourists. ? There are international players in the market such as Taj and Oberoi & International Chains. Thus, the needs of the international tourists travellers are met while they are on a visit to India. ? Manpower costs in the Indian hotel industry is one of the lowest in the world. This provides better margins for Indian hotel industry. ? India offers a readymade tourist destination with the resources it has. Thus the magnet to pull customers already exists and has potential grow. Weaknesses ? The cost of land in India is high at 50% of total project cost as against 15% abroad. This acts as a major deterrent to the Indian hotel industry. ? The hotel industry in India is heavily staffed. This can be gauged from he facts that while Indian hotel companies have a staff to room ratio of 3:1, this ratio is 1:1 for international hotel companies. ? High tax structure in the industry makes the industry worse off than its international equivalent. In India the expenditure tax, luxury tax and sales tax inflate the hotel bill by over 30%. Effective tax in the South East Asian countries works ou t to only 4-5%. ? Only 97,000 hotel rooms are available in India today, which is less than the Bangkok hotel capacity. ? The services currently offered by the hotels in India are only limited value added services. It is not comparable to the existing world standards. Opportunities ? Demand between the national and the inbound tourists can be easily managed due to difference in the period of holidays. For international tourists the peak season for arrival is between September to March when the climatic conditions are suitable where as the national tourist waits for school holidays, generally the summer months. ? In the long-term the hotel industry in India has latent potential for growth. This is because India is an ideal destination for tourists as it is the only country with the most diverse topography. For India, the inbound tourists are a mere 0. 49% of the global figures. This number is expected to increase at a phenomenal rate thus pushing up the demand for the hotel industry. ? Unique experience in heritage hotels. Threats ? Guest houses replace the hotels. This is a growing trend in the west and is now catching up in India also, thus diverting the hotel traffic. ? Political turbulence in the area reduces tourist traffic and thus the business of the hotels. In India examples of the same are Insurgency in Jammu Kashmir and the Kargil war. ? Changing trends in the west demand imilar changes in India, which here are difficult to implement due to high project costs. ? The economic conditions of a country have a direct impact on the earnings in hotel industry. Lack of training man power in the hotel industry. Transport Facilities A well knit and coordinated system of transport plays an important role in the sustained economic growth of the country. The present transport system of th e country comprises of several modes of transport including rail, road, air transport etc. Tourism industry is also affected by the performance of these services heavy road taxes are the great threat to the tourism industry.

Ramji Bhai Vasava Essay

G.H.Patel Post Graduate Institute of Business Management, Vallabh Vidhyanagar, Anand In the undivided Bombay province was worked out to build earthen dams and problems faced while building a dam across the rivers Lokmata and Sadmata in northern Gujarat and further issues encountered while a proposal is made to raise the control levels of it. The objective of the case is to maximize the irrigation potential of the dam while respecting the religious sentiments of the people. The options are either to implement the former plan in its present form or the latter by convincing the people of its benefits and deal with the issues faced. The conclusion is to try and implement the new plan resulting in maximization of irrigation and revenues. PROPOSAL 1 PROPOSAL 2 Approximate cost – 1.7 Approximate cost – 1.9 Water impound – 4700 Water impound –5700 Full supply level -592 Full supply level-595 Highest flood level-596 highest flood level-606 OBJECTIVES * Government aim for economic development through agricultural development. * Build the dam PROBLEM * Opposition of people to temple getting submerged * People getting affected due to submerge of villages CONSTRAIN * Location of dam CRITERIA * Maximum irrigation * Minimum people affected * Maximum returns * Minimum time * Minimum cost PRIORITY * Minimum people affected * Minimum cost * Minimum time * Minimum returns * Maximum irrigation ALTERNATIVES * Convincing villages to shift temple * Resettlement of affected people * Raising height of the temple ACTION PLAN Government should follow proposal 1 as temple was saved using gates from flood so that minimum people are affected so the cost incurred is also low and the time required is minimum and also there is irrigation which leads to economic development. CONTINGENCY PLAN * Raising height of the temple * Go with proposal 2 if proposal 1 does not work

Feminism in advertising

In my essay I will scrutinise feminism in advertising. We live in a world surrounded by commercial advertisements. For a very long time advertisers have used tactics such as gender representations for targeting their audiences (customers). It is described by others as the science that capture the human mind long enough to get money out of it. With theories of advertising and their sophistication, my assignment will look at both the advantages and disadvantages of feminism in advertising. Society and social structure are immensely affected by popular culture. Strinati (2004) says, â€Å"in modern setting, popular culture is the culture produced which is commercially created by a few for consumption by many†. Mass media such as television, films, magazines, bus stop shelters, billboards, internet and newspapers are the common forms of communication used by product manufacturers who portray and interpret society. Kellnar (1995, p 5) says â€Å"media is the form of art that teaches us how to be men or women, how to react to society, how to be successful and popular†. These are some of the advantages for manufacturers concerned about the commercial success of their products hence presenting a culture that will be consumed by many. These few points by Kellnar(1995) are some of what manufacturers or capitalists with one thing in mind success of their product use as advantage forcing them to present a culture they believe will attract and be consumed by the most audience. In doing so, popular culture often results in stereotyping people such as women, the disabled and other minorities because depicting them as stereotypes is easy. With advertising as another form of popular culture the stereotyping becomes very bold to ensure fast selling of huge volumes within a short time. To make achieving these targets, manufacturers/ capitalists will not have time to build up their own characters meaning stereotyping must be used. Although these manufactures of these manipulated mass cultural images say popular culture mirrors or echoes the society, the opposite is also true. Unaware the behaviour of society is being affected by these manipulated media images. More and more people are becoming more concerned and worried about how society sees itself and sometimes adapt to these impressions left by this art of popular culture especially feminist who are saying images of women in popular culture are undermining and degrading women. To some extent the feminist concerns are true when you look at what Srinati (2004) says that society does not award the same privileges it offers to men to women. This justifies the argument from feminist regarding the representation of women in mass media. Having started on feminist theory, I will describe it feather more before moving on to how women are represented in popular culture. Feminism speaks for women in terms of social equality for sexes against patriarchy and sexism (Macionis and Plummer 2012). Feminists trying to eliminate gender inequality have four different main theories of feminism, liberal feminism, socialist feminism, radical feminism and what Sylvia Walby calls the dual systems of feminism and each responds to the oppression of women in different way, outlining different causes and different solutions. However they also have criticisms. Liberal feminists oppose prejudice and discrimination against that stops women from pursuing their goals (Macionis & Plummer 2012) and Gidens (2009) also says liberal feminism searchers for answers of gender inequality in cultural and social attitudes. It has great support than the other perspectives because it is more tolerant and its views are less threatening to existing values. In Western societies liberal feminists’ plans are to change the political, economic and social systems. Liberal feminists believe that both men and women are not benefiting from gender inequalities (Haralambos and Holborn 2008). Some of its criticisms identified by Valerie Bryson (1999) are basing liberal feminism on male assumptions and norms. The other is emphasizing public life at the expense of private life. Abbort et al. (2005) says liberalism does not explain the exploitation of women, it take no account of structural sources of inequality. Marxist and socialist feminism started from Marx’s conflict theory, blaming the sexual divisions of labour as the barrier preventing women from wealth (Marsh et al 2009) and this Marxist analysis of feminism blames capitalism as the key source of oppression rather than patriarchy, and capitalist as the beneficiaries. Just like radical feminists they have a desire for revolutionary change and want a communist society where production is communally owned. Although Marxist and socialist feminism had a lot of influence during 1970s and 1980s it has lost influence in recent years and some of its aspects have been adopted by other feminists. Just like the other feminist theories it has its own criticisms. It has been criticised for using the masculine theory which does fails to explain of women’s position (Haralambos et al 2008). Its main criticism comes from failing to emphasise how men oppress women (Abbort et al 2005). Radical feminism puts all the exploitation of women on men (Gidens 2009). Radical feminists believe that men are the beneficiaries from women subordination. Valarie Bryson (1999) says radical feminists see women as an oppressed group who had to free themselves from their oppressors in this case men (Haralambos & Holborn 2008, p 101). Radical feminism is criticised for encouraging women to focus on negative experiences with men and for portraying women as good and men as bad. Banks, 1981; Barry,1983; Stacey, 1983; and Vogel,1983 (cited in Macions and Plummer 2012, p 407) say these distinctions describe the problem of patriarchy in different ways and call for correspondingly distinctive solutions for social damage. We already know that societies and individuals take time to adjust to change and to adopt the new routines therefore the representation of women in media can speed up the process of change, as already demonstrated, that popular culture has enormous effect on society. Even though the representation of women in media is largely hidden by capitalism profit making agendas, an exact representation of society would harm the feminist motives. There are other feminist theories like black feminism and postmodern feminism. They are all associated with femininity some with theories that try to put limitations on the way women are portrayed by the mass media. Despite the short comings of social and commercial limits on advertisements, advertisers are always a step ahead in terms of change to social reality and they have proved that they can provide better reflection of social changes than any other media. The truth is advertisers continue to miss-represent the female body and women are still seen as cheap of free labour for house work in spite of all the changes in representation of women over the years. In television adverts for both sexes, men appear 76% more as experts than women (Hasseltine 1982). Hasseltine also says women are often portrayed as mothers or housewives without common sense knowledge about their roles. Recent study (Yoder et al 2008) has proved that although women still appear as housewives, they no longer appear as people without voice and mind of their own instead they are now competent, have a voice and perform professional duties just like the male colleagues. This shows a clear picture of change from the past couple of decades. Although changes in the way women are portrayed on adverts are said to have improved, the stereotyping still remains and are adding worthiness to some of the feminist objections about the portrayal of females in mass media. For examples women were seen as voiceless, passive sexual objects for male gaze, nevertheless today it is still the same, except women are no longer presented as inactive but as desirable sexual subjects who presents themselves in that objectified manner because they want to (Goldman, 1992). This is now post feminism and advertisers still use their narrow ideas that create feminine qualities and feminists are finding difficult to persuade advertisers to change these gender identities because advertisers put so much money towards these ideas and cannot afford to have low commercial results (Cortese 2008) and to achieve high commercial results they must use their femininity ideas. They then persuade a beautiful female in what they call perfect body, slim and tall without blemish. Storey (2003) in his book â€Å"Inventing Popular Culture† calls the advertisers, the ruling class, who constitute themselves under the guise of democratic populism, exploits the art of popular culture and the manipulative art of advertising to promote docile conformism and worship of the new which keeps the consumer in a confused state of changing fashion and insecure about his/her taste. Especially on beauty products, the manipulation of art of advertising is extended by air brushing the women to look extra fine causing women to feel inferior among others. Men as a result of these manipulated images raise the expectation from women which creates more gender stereotyping. Even though post feminism shows women as professionals and not as stupid mothers or housewives, they persist showing them as objects, even in advertisements/commercials meant for the male audience. Female audience have the worst adverts that objectify women for purposes of selling products such as lingerie. Post feminism shows semi naked female bodies that are considered as showing the sexual power of women over men, this in pre-feminism time was seen as offensive (Amy-Chinn 2006). This is one form of feminism that has limitation to the feminist theory of popular culture. Like I said before, feminist objections of stereotyping women are more evident in commercials that sell products for women and in magazines for female audience (Lindner 2004). Research conducted by Lindner (2004) concluded adverts from magazines for female audience stereotyped women 78% more than any other magazines, so if it is true that adverts/commercials are created with the targeted audience in mind, then women find themselves in inferior positions in such magazines and are identified better with such stereotyping. Such advertisements limits the work of feminists and their theory of saying advertisements should reflect social reality become invalid as such advertising do reflect reality but harming the feminist plan. If this kind of female stereotyping is a reflection of society, then there is nothing wrong with the popular culture that presents the female body in such a way. Unfortunately popular culture has great impact on how people carry and see themselves around others. The air bushed female bodies on advertisements will lead to denial of how they look without the manipulation. Individuals exposed to sexist commercials had negative thoughts about their own body image (Lavine et al 1999). This, without the criticism from feminists, is not best for society and its best not to show sexist advertisements which show the female body as an object. It has serious consequences on a lot of women especially the younger ones where it may result in problems like eating disorders, plastic surgeries, locking themselves away from society Another disadvantage of sexiest advertisements is that showing women as sex objects, excluding them from society, can cause men to have negative perception of women. For example (Rosewarne 2005) says criminality can lead to perception of fear in women, and this is not acceptable in society especially from feminists who are fighting for woman to be equal to men. Unfortunately another form of commercials that is increasing masculine power is the outdoor advertisements that sexually degrade women and strengthening their exclusion is on city spaces (Ibid, p67). This cause sexual violence which forces women to reduce their movements and this type of popular culture which creates an environment is not acceptable in society. Feminists need to come up with more powerful arguments that the ones mentioned above to solve this matter that is rising from stereotyping and showing women as sexual objects. Strinati, (2004) says some feminists are campaigning for a female world that excludes men. Gill (2008) says by purchasing underwear to tea or coffee they are representing power and independence. This is also adding to advertisements that are meant for the female audience meaning more stereotyping especially if it’s a woman to women commercials, resulting in feminists failing to field the answer to the problem of stereotyping women in popular culture. In the last 30years changes have happened in favour of women about their representation in popular culture especially the way they are portrayed in commercials. From stupid mother or housewife without a voice in the 1980’s to professional knowledgeable people with a voice in the twenty first century, despite all these changes in the way women are represented in advertisements they still experience stereotyping. Pre feminists saw the stereotyping off women as harmful today, the postfeminist supports the idea of showing the female body as sexual objects saying it signifies the power that the female body has over men. The objectification of the female body is still seen as the main way undermining women’s bodies and the limits found in feminism have made it hard for feminists to out rightly challenge the deception of women in popular culture. In conclusion, there clear evidence that feminists do not agree about the origins of inequality between men and women. They argue that women have always been in a subordination position while some say gender inequalities originate from particular historical events (Haralambos and Holborn 2008). Women have suffered oppression in the past without a voice and today they have a voice but still experience oppression in one way or the other. In advertising we saw objectification of women in advertisements as harmful in the 1970s and 1980s and in the twenty first century the objectification of women in advertisement is still happening but is now called the sexual power of women over men. We have also seen that the stereotyping and portraying women as object is a tool for advertisers trying to achieve their targets for whatever they are selling. Stereotyping the depicting of women has been part of advertising and will continue to be a very useful tool for advertisers. The manipulation of images can have devastating effect on out women living them with all sorts of problems. Finally, feminism is a metaphor for transformation, having s voice, for women who did not have a public voice in the past and it is seen as moving from object to subject (Storey 2009). Today the feminism movements are still tackling the adverting industry with the introduction of new revolution ways to tackle mass media about these images that depicting women as sexual objects.

Acounting information System(AIS) research for Certified Management Paper

Acounting information System(AIS) for Certified Management Accountant(CMA) - Research Paper Example First, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TBPA) requires that an individual must complete at least 150 semester hours of college credit. The total number of credits that an applicant studied in college must be verified when the said individual produces official transcript as well as a well filled application of accreditation. The application of intent will only be approved upon verification that the official transcripts show attendance of 150 semester hours. These hours maybe achieved by completion of master’s degree or other higher degree course conferred by a university that is recognized by TBPA, completion of an upper level accounting courses that is needed to take CPA exam or even completion of additional semester hours(extra units studied in college) of upper level courses that enhance accounting skills and proficiency. In this regard, TSBPA requires that applicants must complete at least 30 hours of accounting courses out of the entire 150 semester hours. These 30 hours must be of upper accounting level courses such as cost accounting, financial accounting, financial statement analysis, intermediate accounting, accounting control and advanced accounting. Alternatively, applicant may complete the 30 hours by completing 12 hours of accounting information systems and 12 hours of taxation courses (TSBPA, 2014). Moreover, the applicants must also complete 24 semester hours of upper level business courses such as business law, financial management, finance, statistics, marketing, information technology, business communication and economics. Additionally, an applicant must also complete at least 3 semester hours on ethics (in which the courses emphasize on integrity, independence and objectivity of an individual) and 2 semester credit hours in tax analysis and research or upper level accounting. Secondly, an applicant applies for

Strategic Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Planning - Essay Example Let us look at the current situation of the coastal area of Australia and the challenges that have been facing it. The coast of Australia is an important asset to the country. It has great economic potential for Australian. Its value to the Australian economy calls for the taking of management measures that will ensure it remains to play its vital role in the economy. The coastal are has a unique values and resources that are very vital to the Australian way of life. It also plays an important role in ensuring ecological sustainability. Therefore development of sustainable coastal zone is imperative for the life of the Austrians for now and in the future. (Queensland Government, 2008c) The coast of Australia extends for more than 36 000 km including the external territories. The region has a wide range of climates, geographical and geological regimes and a mixture of various ecosystems that support the biodiversity. This biodiversity supports a number of activities including commercial and non commercial one. Commercial activities include transport of goods and services through the port, income generating recreational activities, urban development, aquaculture, mariculture, fishing, coastal agriculture, petroleum mining, and others. It is also home a variety of indigenous cultural values which include the coastal landscapes with cultural meaning, and others. (Queensland Government, 2008a) The above gives the importance of maintaining the Australian coast for the current and for the generation to come. This shows that it plays a vital role in the life of the people. The coastal area has turned to be a major focus for economic, industrial and social activities. With more than 86% of the population now living around the coast and with more people visiting the coast more often there has to be a management plan that will ensure

Generation of Electricity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Generation of Electricity - Assignment Example However, the PVs may also be ustilised in the production of alternating current when appropriate appliances are utilised. According to Knier (2002), photovoltaics uses the atomic level to convert light directlt into the generation of electricity. These involve using materials that can absorb light photons and later release electrons, such materials are said to have photoelectric effect. The capturing of the electrons produced by the photoelectric effects helps in the generation of electricity. According to the diagram above, rays from the sun are tapped by the photovoltaic cells. A common photovoltaic cell is a silicon cell that consist of N-type and P-type silicon. Thses silicon are located at the top most part of the material. The generation of electric field takes place at the upper part of the cells where the two silicons are situated. They comes into contact with the junction of the materials (referred to as P-N junction) (McNichol, 2006; Bazilian et al., 2013). The sunlight strikes the electric filed to induce motion of the electron that results in the flow of current. The size of the surface area of the PV cell determines the amount of electricity generated. The intensity of the rays from the sun also affects the amount of current generated. The larger the size of PV cells and the more intense the rays, the higher the amount of electrons generated hence increased electric supply. For instance a cell with an area of 150 cm^2 will generate 2 watts power. When a solar panel is exposed in the sunlight as shown in the diagram below, it will generate electricity that can be measured. The voltage produced is around 100volts on a single day when there is optimal sunshine. This can be stored on batteries arranged in series as shown in the diagram below. The results of such a strategy depends on the size of the panel and the amount of sunshine ( Knier, 2002; Wolfgang, 2013). Primary batteries are cheap because

The different negotiation styles between U.S. and Sweden Research Paper

The different negotiation styles between U.S. and Sweden - Research Paper Example   The business environment in Sweden and U.S. is completely different as analyzed by PEST analysis. According to AMB Country Report (2010), Sweden has very low economic risk, political risk and financial risk. Political conditions in Sweden are very stable for doing business. For example, although Sweden is a member of European Union, however, it has not joined European Exchange Rate Mechanism because political parties argue that Euro cannot be adopted without the public referendum (AMB Country Risk Report, 2010). With a population of 9 million in 2010, annual GDP growth rate of 4.5 percent in 2010, inflation rate of 1.4 percent and abundant of natural resources of forests, timber, arsenic, copper, gold, silver, zinc, tungsten, hydroelectric power, iron, uranium, feldspar and arsenic, Sweden offers ideal economic conditions to conduct business (Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, 2010). Swedish people have direct communication style; however, they are usually quiet, reserve an d shy. Moreover, they prefer working in flat hierarchical organizational structures with informal working conditions and authority at all hierarchical levels (Communicaid, 2009). Technological developments and innovation in Sweden provide a highly competitive business environment. According to Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010, Sweden is the highest scorer in Information and Communication Technology (Hennigan, 2010). Companies operating in U.S. are more exposed to political risks because of high government interference.   ... According to Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010, Sweden is the highest scorer in Information and Communication Technology (Hennigan, 2010). Companies operating in U.S. are more exposed to political risks because of high government interference. Early U.S. leaders believed in Laissez-faire concept which opposes government interference except to sustain law and order and the new leads are seeking to develop close ties between business and government (U.S. Department of State). U.S. is a developed state with 9.65 million population in 2010, GDP growth of 3.5 percent in 2009 and highly developed manufacturing and service sector (U.S. Department of State, 2010). People in U.S. are very excited and adventurous towards their tasks and they prefer working individually rather than teams (LMSCO, 2004). Technological conditions in U.S. are very favorable for businesses and it is evident from the fact that U.S. has been rated on number 2 in the last of top ten innovation driven econo mies (Virki, 2010). Negotiation styles vary based on culture. According to Hofstede, negotiators in the national cultures with high power distance are more comfortable with hierarchical structures, transparent authority figures and in an environment where the right to use power with discretion is preferred. On the other hand, negotiators in the national cultures with low power distance are more comfortable with flat hierarchies and democratic structures, shared authority and in the environment where the right to use power is limited to certain circumstances (LeBaron). The negotiation styles of U.S. and Swedish negotiators vary because American negotiators are aggressive, strong and have a formal

The Centrality of Forgiveness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Centrality of Forgiveness - Assignment Example He further states that both the oppressed and the oppressor risk spending the rest of their lives in self-imposed imprisonment unless they let go of the past and embrace the hope that forgiveness brings. In essence, Gould refers to forgiveness as a form of healing for both the oppressor and the oppressed that holds a future with hope. In the article â€Å"Five forgiveness assessments recommended for conflict resolution Processes† Gould provides detailed guidelines towards holistic forgiveness. He explains that to be able to forgive they must be aware of their subconscious perception of forgiveness. Such holistic forgiveness is very effective in resolving conflicts. From the discourse outlined by Gould, there is the realization that different people have different expectation from the process of forgiveness. It is therefore important to reconcile these expectations and seek for a common ground that will be amicable for the conflicting parties as explained by Gould. Gould also outlines that it is important that the healing for the conflicting parties take a higher priority even before they are persuaded to forgive each other. In essence, forgiveness should be a deliberate move by both individual without any form of external pressure and it should be preceded by

Detective Story Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Detective Story - Research Paper Example A group of workmen walking on their way home could be observed from a distance. At Geneva, the banking hours changes with demand, and so in most cases, the bankers work overtime to ensure that all customers are served to their satisfaction (Williamson, 1951). In one fateful day, business was going on as usual in one of the small banks as the merchants brought their day cash sales for deposit. It was approaching 7 o’clock and the last depositor had just departed, and the main door closed. The cashiers were busy engaged in balancing their books for the day. When the cashiers finished balancing their books and started packing the daily collection in bags for safe keeping, a knock was heard at the main exit door. Suddenly, three stocky men entered the banking hall while two of them proceeded to the cash section. The third one was left to behind to keep vigil at the main door. Once inside the cash section, one of them held the lady cashier by her neck while placing her other hand o n her mouth. Immediately, the young lady gave a piercing scream, trying to free. For the next few minutes, they got engaged in a wrestle, and at that moment, the young lady inflicted mouth bites on the arms of the attacker. On realizing that the time was moving too fast and it was becoming risky due to the screams, the attacker pointed the gun on her head and released the bullet. The room burst into a loud sound sending every person on the floor. The other attacker had managed to take control and had already accessed the safe - he was already packing the cash in a bag. No single minute was lost and as soon as they had packed all the daily collection and other valuables, they hurriedly left to a car packed adjacent to the main door. The front light facing the bank’s main entrance was not lit and it was hard to clearly observe what was happening. More so, the streets were full of activities with men and women buying wares while others were hurriedly walking to their homes from work. As soon as the two jumped with their bags into the vehicle, the one left manning the main door also hurriedly joined them, and the vehicle speed off. It took the other bankers long before they realized that the gang had already left. It was already at night and so there was no movement into the bank. After waking up, all the staffs were in big shock to find that all their daily collection and other valuables had been taken away. They were not sure of the next action. The bank’s president asked everybody to remain calm as they waited for the police to arrive. With great disbelief, one of the staffs noticed a flow of blood from the point where the young lady operated. On entering the cash point, the lady lay dead on the floor, and nothing much could have been done apart from waiting for the police to arrive. Time had moved so fast, and it was now at 2 am when the police and the detective arrived. Most of the staffs had been released to go home, apart from the senior bank officers who were asked to be left behind as the police officers collected the evidence. As the police officers were dusting the area for the assailants’ finger prints and looking around for DNA samples, the detective was taking temperatures and doing some calculations. Isaac Newton law of the cooling was to be applied in determining the â€Å"

Towards Effective Diversity Communication at ABC Assignment

Towards Effective Diversity Communication at ABC - Assignment Example According to the report the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is also keen on reflecting America’s cultural and ethnic diversity and this inevitably calls for broadening the diversity of its workforce. For instance, as part of its diversity initiative, the corporation now broadcasts programs that represent America’s diverse ethnic and cultural identities including shows by African Americans, Latina, as well as Asian lead hosts. With the widening ethnic and cultural diversity at the ABC, there are innumerable points of conflict that may easily provoke conflicts due to disagreements or misunderstandings within the organization.From this discussionn it is clear that  the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity at ABC poses critical communication challenges, especially because the corporation’s diverse workforce espouses varied and often opposed cultural values and beliefs, which exert a profound impact on their communication styles.  In light of the many communication challenges that arise among workforces, as a result of the increasingly multicultural workplaces and diverse communities, it is imperative for the ABC to initiate and incorporate multicultural communication strategies within its organizational communications framework. Generally, the news agency should initiate multicultural communication workshops to teach its diverse workforces about cultural differences and cross-cultural competences that are critical for interacting with people from diverse cultural background.

Cyber-Dating and Traditional Dating Methods Essay - 1

Cyber-Dating and Traditional Dating Methods - Essay Example Describing the term dating is vague and ambiguous in today’s world. Marquardt described a variety of definitions for dating in 2001. Dating can be described as â€Å"a fast-moving, highly committed relationship, when two people quickly form a serious and intense bond, spending most of their time together† (Rosenthal 2012). With the advent of computers, social networking sites and a plethora of dating sites available for teenagers and adults, online dating is rapidly becoming the newest trend for 21st-century people. Estimates show that there are 836 dating sites in January 2005 and 40 million Americans visit the online dating sites every month. A survey also showed that 14% of singles who were engaged, married or dating someone met them through online dating services (Rosen et al 2007). Although the differences between online dating and traditional dating are quite divergent, both display a variety of benefits and demerits when compared in various perspectives. The path that a relationship develops between two people is different and the bond created also differs when it comes to online dating and the conventional dating methods. The time taken for a relationship to flourish varies significantly. Online dating begins with email messages, interactions on social networking sites and chatting through the internet. ... Cyber-dating offers an escape from the various stereotypical roles and commitment issues that bound the otherwise conventional methods of traditional forms of dating. The traditional forms of dating mainly propose that a man asks a woman for dating and courtship. However, online dating offers the teenage girls to experiment with their powers within a heterosexual relationship (Nayar 2010). Traditional norms maintain that the woman should wait for the man, however, online dating services and experience lets the girls or women experiment with modern and more assertive relationship experiences. Although internet dating offers quick courtship services, the information and data provided by candidates can sometimes be deceptive. It is easier for people to lie to each other and the appearances can be altered to deceive the other person (Nayar 2010).  Ã‚  

The meaning of life Essay Example for Free

The meaning of life Essay During our brief time, spinning on this ball of rock, dust and water, there are questions that haunt almost every person on Earth. Why are we here? What is our purpose? And, what is the meaning of our life? These questions have been rattling around in great minds since the beginning of history, and will continue on until mankind’s eventual extinction. Many people have pondered the relevance of their lives, but finding the true meaning is knowledge that is reserved only for God. Though these questions may never truly be answered, many philosophers, authors, academics and holy men have given this question their full attention. I will explore two of these great minds, compare their philosophies, and try my best to explain my own life’s philosophy. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama The first man we will discuss is a world-renowned lover of peace and happiness; he has had a major motion picture made his life and its exploits, and is actually still alive to this day. His name is Tenzin Gyatso, otherwise known as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The reason I chose the Dalai Lama, is because of the trials and difficulties he has endured. The Chinese forced him into exile from his home in Tibet to India because of his beliefs about peace. His strengths are admirable and he won the Nobel Peace Prize for attempting to free the Tibetan people from Chinese rule without violence (The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, n. d. ). The Dalai Lama’s theory on the meaning of life stems from Buddhist religion and I will do my best to convey this wisdom in my own words. According to the Dalai Lama’s philosophy on the purpose of life (n. d. ) â€Å"the purpose of life is to be happy† (The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama). That seems simple enough, right? That statement is essentially the very beginning of his writings on the meaning of life. He continues on to elaborate on how this seemingly easy task can be accomplished, and how one can attain a life of meaning through happiness. The way that I interpreted his teachings is that, at every human being’s core, we are all after one thing, and that is love. Love is something we crave from a very young age and that life’s meaning is derived from love and the acts of love that we all give and receive in our day-to-day lives. I also believe that the Dalai Lama’ s meaning of life teaches individuals to be dependent by nature, and that our relationships with those whom we associate ourselves are generally based on love (The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, n. d. ). His Holiness believes that we gain our life’s purpose from our interpersonal relationships. These relationships can be our colleagues at work, teachers and fellow students at school. The Dalai Lama believes that our primary ambition in all of these relationships is to earn love. For example, at work we all strive to do our best in order to earn more money. However, for many of us, it is not the money we are after, but the esteem from our superiors and subordinates for a job well done. We want to feel valuable to that company, feel an importance, a cog within the great machine. I believe that deep down these feelings stem from our inborn need to be loved. While love is a fundamental part of the Dalai Lama’s philosophy, he also speaks of the role compassion plays in our lives. The Dalai Lama teaches that life’s meaning can be attained through true compassion, which should be derived from reason, not emotions, and that it should never waiver; regardless of whether a person is being negative or positive toward you (The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, n. d). Aristotle The second philosopher we will discuss is one of the most notable to come out of the Ancient Greek Empire, Aristotle. Aristotle is to the day one of the most globally recognized philosophers, and was a student of Plato and teacher to Alexander the Great. I chose the philosopher Aristotle because his ethical beliefs are good ones to live by in order to obtain the meaning of life. His studies give off the impression that he knows the answer to the question, why? I was unfamiliar with his direct philosophies, but my research allowed the ability to understand his point of view. Aristotle’s works focus primarily on theoretical, practical and productive sciences. He â€Å"identifies the highest good with intellectual virtue; that is, a moral person is one who cultivates certain virtues based on reasoning† (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005). He was extremely knowledgeable and able to absorb enough of an understanding of these sciences to be able to interpret how life worked in a way to achieve happiness. Using his theories of practical science, Aristotle was able to establish explanations relating to the actions and conducts of individuals within society (Cohen, 2008). He could easily comprehend how society clicked and how the individuals within society adapted. Productive sciences are those relating to the crafts of individuals, what they produce, and how they have evolved. By using the basis of these three sciences, Aristotle was able to establish a sense of ethics and rules of logic. He educated individuals throughout society to spread his beliefs and his understandings of the way of life. Aristotle used many factors when coming to an understanding about the philosophy of life. His main philosophy pertains to living one with nature and relating to society by simply being happy. He compares being happy to being Godlike; however, happiness is not just being happy, but instead living a life that teaches you to be happy by living virtuously (Aristotle, 350 B. C. E). Aristotle understood the meaning of life and would live and teach with that understanding. The choices individuals would make pertain to the ultimate goal of achieving actual happiness. This happiness triggers an unknown pleasure within an individual and essentially becomes a desire and drives one to maintain that happiness. With his education of theoretical, practical and physical sciences, Aristotle was able to make sense of it all. His beliefs of obtaining happiness were collected together by using knowledge and pure goodness. He felt as if knowledge, like happiness, needed to be learned through education and life experience. Aristotle believed that, â€Å"there is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses,† meaning that our knowledge is mainly absorbed through our experiences (Turner, 1907). To Aristotle, happiness cannot just be found; one has to be able to live their lives in a virtuous way to obtain honor and the greater good. Individuals need to understand what the reality of what happiness is and how to be a rational being in order to obtain it (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005). His meanings and interpretations have made a significant influence to many and still continue to influence and educate. Both, the Dalai Lama and Aristotle share similar feelings relating to their philosophies of life. The main objective for the both of them is essentially to obtain pure happiness through compassion and pleasure. The Dalai Lama strives to use love and peace to reach this goal, where on the other hand, Aristotle uses virtue and knowledge. They imply to live a life that one would be proud of, taking the trials that life gives to you and turning them into an experience and strive towards happiness and love. My Philosophy My own life’s philosophy is probably pretty cliche, but I firmly believe that if something makes you happy, do more of it, and that one must work to live and not live to work. I believe that if all you do is work then you miss out on all of the things the world has to offer outside of whatever structured work environment you may be a part of. That is not to say that some people do not love their work and that for them their work is their purpose. I think that is what everyone should strive for, but I believe that once work takes precedence over your family, your friends, and most of all your happiness, then it threatens all you’re working for. I have seen this in too many career soldiers, and unfortunately, myself. I can admit that my steadfast attention on work during my last deployment was without a doubt, a contributing factor in a failed relationship. Since that time in my life, I have become determined not to let that happen again, and to let happiness be my purpose in life. Earlier I said that if something makes you happy, do more of it. This means that if you love to sing, but can’t carry a tune, then sing. If you love to work on cars, but can’t find the time, make time. For me, it is making people laugh, I love to do it, and so I will! Life is cruelly short, so let’s all find just a little time to do what makes us happy. In comparison with the Dalai Lama, I feel that my philosophy is quite similar. We both feel that life’s meaning is directly derived from happiness. He feels that we gain this happiness from love and those that surround us, while I feel that we have additional happiness to gain in life if we could just find the time to do the things that make us happy. I feel that my philosophy differs from his in the area of work. I believe that you must work to live and that your work should not come before those you love, yourself or whatever it is you work for. As for Aristotle’s philosophy and my own, I believe that his theory on using virtue and honor to obtain happiness is very accurate. I too believe that living a life filled with honor can lead to a sense of pride that is able to coincide with being happy. I also support his opinion on happiness leading to pleasure. Being happy is like an addiction and the more happiness that you attain, the more that you strive for. However, Aristotle also believes that happiness corresponds to making decisions backed by knowledge and experience. I somewhat disagree and believe that life experience does not necessarily have to be a main factor pertained to happiness. If you want to be happy, then just be, and live your life honestly and virtuously. The main things that I have learned from the teachings of the Dalai Lama that I would like to apply to my own life, is that happiness is the meaning of our life’s and that we should show patience and compassion towards everyone no matter what. If even 25% of the world could manage that, we would not be in the state of constant war we’ve been in for the past decade. I would also like to take away his capacity for love, I think his philosophy of life involving love is inspiring and makes me want to live a more peaceful, loving life. Aristotle on the other hand, has taught me to be more open-minded to knowledge and experience. To take in an experience as a lesson learned instead of just another day on the calendar and to just appreciate every moment, good or bad, and use it to the best of your advantage. References Aristotle. (350 B. C. E). Nicomachean ethics. Trans. W. D. Ross. Retrieved from: http://classics. mit. edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen. 1. i. html Cohen, M. (2008). Aristotle. Retrieved from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/aristotle/ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2005). Aristotle (384—322 BCE). Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www. iep. utm. edu/aristotl/ The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama (n. d. ). A brief biography. Retrieved from: http://www. dalailama. com/biography/a-brief-biography Turner, W. (1907). Aristotle. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 17, 2012 from New Advent: http://www. newadvent. org/cathen/01713a. htm.

The Process of Development

The Process of Development Introduction This essay, will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of culture in the process of development. As it will be demonstrated, culture can both be a catlystic agent just as it can be a stumbling block for development process. Whether we like or not,we have to understand that culture plays an indespensable role in the way people respond to diferent development policies.Thus according to Spackman,in what he called Postmodern appraoch , an economic policy that leads to sustainable development opt to take into account a psychological angle also known as development with a focus on personal needs and growth; secondly, it should consider a spiritual dimension given that this trend constitutes the deepest root of human existence . Such policy he added will provide legs and not clutches .This policy is also referred to as People Centered Development (PCD) in short. (Speckman2007:24-25). The aim of this essay however is not to discuss which policy is the best but the advantages and dis advantages of culture on development process and,for the sake of this paper , I have decided to base my discusion on five important elements. These are: Sexism and Patriarchy; the impact of Lobola (dowry) on Development; African understanding of knoweledge, the understanding of Culture visavis of different deseases mainly HIV and AIDS and finally, culture and environmnet. What is culture? According to the Oxford Dictionary (1999), Culture is defined as arts and other manifestations of human itellectual achievement regarded collectively.the custums institutions and achievemtnet of a particular nation people, or group.(Oxford Dictionry, 348:1999). For an Africans the topic concerning the impact of culture and development progress is crucial because on one hand, we are eager to keep our culture of which we are proud of but on the other hand, as a leader, we are compelled to guide people toward a sustainable development. (Speckman2007:44). Christianity as a culture: From the definition provided above, one may also suggest that culture is not only what our ancestrors left to us which were transmited to us through oral traditional. After our grand parents had converteed to Christianity they somehow adopted a new culture that we inherit.In other word, I wsh to argue that Christianity itself and the way we adopt it contitute culture which deserve a special attention while discussing the isue of the impact of Culture and Development. For instance, some Zulus will say I dont practice ancestros worship because I am a Christian. In order words, this implies I dont practie that cultural practice because I have adopted another one. Thus the topic: christianity and Deveopment. What is development? : Acording Oxford Dictionary, (1999) simply one maysimply say that Development is a specified state of growth or advancement. (We will argue that s mant African scholars such as Kalenkole and Mbiti have argued Africans are very religius people and yet remained poor. (Oxford Dictionary, 1999:392). What is the relation between Culture and Development? Historically speaking, Schech and Haggis(2002) argue that the origins of the notion of development in the sense of promoting social progress lie in the same set in the nineteeth century as which are associated with the origins of the concept of culture . They added, Indeed culture and development sometimes mean almost the same thing until discourses of development planning and cultural specificity diverged in the ealry decades of the present century. (Schech and Haggis, 2002:5). Thus in Africa, specifically in South Africa, given the place ocupied by culture, one may argue that if we are projecting for a sustainable development, it is indispensable to scrutinize both the strenghts and the weaknesses that cuture can bring about and, when possible try to challenge critically some of our cultural practices and believes that appear to be as an obstruction to Development.But at all time, we first have to be conscious that we can not impliment efficient development policies while ignoring the presence of culture. Larry Yost nd Hugh Tracy were right in their eighth principle of Community Development Work when arguing the importance of involving the local leadership since the ultimate responsability for continuing development rests with the local citizen (Yost and Tracy: 1997;21). Beside that, either one is an economist or traditionalist; we all heartily and sincerely endorse the striving for economic development. In other words, Economic development expresses one of our fundamental hopes and aspiration. Moreover, in its report published in 1996, the UNDP (United Nations Development Program), defined human development as the endeconomic growth a means. (Human Development Report 1996). (http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1996/). Disadvantages of Culture: Speaking about the disadvantages of culture on development, one may argue that sometime people because of their ignorance or lack of knowledge can deny even what is indispensable for their survival on the basis of their cultural beliefes. Thus, as it has been argued by Spackamn, people need to be empowered as toward decision making.And, in my view, any theologian and any educated person who cares about the Development of Africa should think critically about the impact of culture.According to Spackman, culture can have positive impact on development just as it can have negative repercussion on development. Thus, this situation often plunge us into a dilemma because on one hand we are eager to keep our culture of which we are proud of but on the other hand, as leaders, we are compelled to lead people toward a sustainable development. (Speckman2007:40-44), Impact of Sexism ad patrirchy on development As mentioned before, this paragph will be discussing sexism in Africa and its impact on development. I will demonstrate how sexism and patriarchy have contributed all along many years to the oppression of women and, consequently this situation has also lead to the oppression of men and the impoverishing of Africa. Definition of Sexism: According to Cambridge Dictionary, Sexism is the belief that the members( in this case women) of one sex are less intelligent , able skillful, less accepted/valued by God than the members of the other sex. Especially that women are less than men are. (Cambridge Dictionary2005:1166). Mercy Amba Oduyoye argues that Womens status in most societies is far lower than that of men. In her view, this situation is due to cultural stereotype specified under attributes and responsibilities. (Oduyoye, 2007:22).Beside that, even the way the Bible has been often interpreted has immensely contributed to women oppression. In most African society, at the death of parents in most only male children will inherit and never a girl.Thus in African society and all over the World, there is a tendency to consider a boy more valuble than a girl.when there is shortage of income in the familly, often it isthe girl who has to interrupt her studies in favor of the boy. Secondly, though a woman is said to be a partner, in most decision making, either within the society or within the familly practically, she does not have much to contribute if not nothing. In other word she is just there as an auxilliary to her husband. Once divorced, a woman loses respect and finds herself despised if she does not quickly remarry. The whole education has been in preparation for marriage, so a failure here is a total failure. No woman is destined to stay single if so she has done something wrong. (Oduyoye, 2007:22). Apart from sexism found in the culture, we also find that even the way Bible has been interpreted does not encourage wo mens emancipation. To use Nyangweso words, Marriage is endocentric. This is a universal experience that cries for reexamination.'(Nyangweso2007:61). From the Hebrew Testament to the New Testament, the position occupied by women is often portayed to be lower to that of men. Thus, Oduyoye argues that gender stratification has distorted the quality of human relations and it continues to deny the parity between women and men to accept female and male as equivalent expression of being. (Nyangweso2007:62). How then do sexism and patriarchy impact negatively on Africans development? By oppressing women, some men think that they will monopolize the power and order will be established. However, a careful observer will agree with me that by oppressing women, men are doubly oppressed. First, men are deprived from the closest source of support. As when woman and man have equal access to education and make their economic decision together, this can boost their economy. In the previous decades we saw that in some part of Africa like Senegal, women were not allowed to attend school and this in my view was oppressive toward a man as he has by himself to provide not only for himself but his wife and children whereas a woman well educated will have access to better job and financial resources. And this will solve not only her financial problem but also will be able to raise the household income. (Oduyoye, 2007:22).By doing so the man is secured from working doubly. And more interesting, a husband will have peace of mind knowing that after his death his wife and children wi ll not be mistreated by the rest of his family. Womens contribution was not really valued in terms of Development .That is why pne may ague that sexism constitute a stubling block as women are considered as passive agents in the process of the development whereas ,if they were to be valued, their input should have boosted our Development. I dare to say that taking as reference to our modern time where men and women appear to ocupy the same position and deliver the same service.Thus tooday we have Nurses, Doctors, Enginneer, Political parties Leaders such as DA in South Africa and so on.In one word, one may say that African Development will not progress untill all of those who are oppressed by sexism and partiacrhy are free. Thus the UNDPs statement (Unitied Nations development Programme), Gender equality and womens empowerment are central to achieving for inclusive, democratic, violence-free and sustainable development in Africa and therefore a condition to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). www.undp.org/porvety The impact of our religious and social beliefs on development. Land and devolpment: Culture has a huge impact on land development. Werner Sombart argued that any economic system is nothing but a manifestation of the existing culture. And, a culture exists because of a certain spirit. (12).Thus in section I wish to discuss some of both positive and negative impacts of Culture on Agriculture and environmnet in general given its role in Development. Speaking about African culture and development, it is important to understand that knoweledge as a crucial component of technology raises some pertinent questions in Arfrican culture. Its cultural construction raises questions like: What value is placed on different forms of knowledge? (And by whom)Who has access to, or access to exploit knowledge? Consequently, individual are not free to engage in research given that only a certain group of people has access to that field.Often, it is found that our Culture imposes some practices that dont encourage development. For istance, in some areas where the tra dition is still highly observed, we find that there are some places which are reserved strictly for ancestors worship as well as some restrictions to cultivate some products. This can be a challenge when the government want to develop a such area either in terms infrustructrure, roads or practice an Agriculture which will benefit many.Often, when the Government insists and go against the will of the resident of that area, it is found that the project is never successful given that as the ABCD methods states a true development project, has to be initiated by people and with people. (Class notes) Impact of Lobola on development: Beside the issue of land, another pertinent issue in our modern time which arises from culture to be discussed is the issue of Lobola and weding ceremonies .Today, in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, the issue of Lobola present a stumblig block to development for different individuals. Originally, Lobola was meant to express a link between the two families. According to one of my South African friends, lobola was like a gift of appreciation to the best familly. Howerever, as time goes on, this practice has changed its aim and has tendency to become a business whereas life does not always allow it. Consequently, most couple ends up in debts.Speaking about development, this practice does hinder financially the new couple from achieving other goals such as education of quality of both their children and themselves because they can not afford it.In the future, this situation affect both the familly and the Nation as we can only produce a service of q uality if we have rceived an education of good quality. Furthermore, any carefull observor, will argue with me that the economical situation doe no more allow to feast for a long period.Thus to enforce the new couple into endless parties and ceremonies just in the name of culture is irrespective to what is defined as Sustainable Development as According to The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, development is sustainable if it meets the needs of the Present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs..Here the point I am trying to make is that there are many cultural practices that may seem to be fastidious whereas they dont encourage savings. (http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1996/) Deseases, Culture and Development: Today, no country in the World is unacquainted of HIV and AIDS. According to the report generated by the UNDP in 2007, South Africa was experiencing the most severe AIDS in the World. 5.7 millions of People living with HIV and almost 1,000 AIDS deaths occuring every day. In its efort to fight this deasease, South African Goverment together with Who (World Health Organization) spent millions of Rand in order to support people who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. (http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm) One of the reasons why this desease continue to spread extremely beyond major is our behavior due to our cultural beliefs and practices .Some of the practices to consider here are levirate mariage and poligamy. Levirage mariage implies that when the father of the house dies, his brother has to replace him. And, often this happen inspite of the wish of the wife of the desease.Consequently, this practice perpuates the spread of HIV in case one of the new couple is already infected. Apart from levirate mariage, polygamy which is accepted in most African Culture like Zulu culture for instance is another obstacle.Furthermore, beside levirate mariage and Polygamy, the way our tradition conceives and deals with deaseses such as HIV and Aids and many others such as Swine Flu, Cholera and so on often end in disastrous result. On 30th of November 2006 for instance, the SACC adressed its concern about a traditional healer who claimed to have cured 500 HIV-positive people with the use of herbs which acording to the invistigation done it was just a way of attracting people to draw their attention to traditional medications.( http://www.mg.co.za/article/2006-11-29-church-council-outraged-over-aidscure-claim) Beside that, some traditional healer do often suggest method which rather than leading to the cure encourage the spread of HIV. This, being because they have another understanding of the disease. Some believe that by sleeping with a virging girl they would get rid of the desease , others argue that the use of Condoms is not in accordance with our culture.I remember in my culture that there is an odd say ntawurya umunwa wugaye meaning no man can eat the mouth closed implying that a man could never have sex and stop the semens from entering the female private part.Others will go even further by arguing that condoms are Westerns assert used to spread the desease among Black People in other to exterminate them. Consequently, these b elieves have been the cause of death of many talented and energetic young people indispensable for the development of Africa. Thus while encouraging our young generation to assume the continuity of our Culture, we should be keen to think critically about certain practices that hinder the Development of our people. Beside that, each African should endeavour to reduce the cost of supporting people living with HIV and AIDSas it has huge repercussion on national economy. Impact of HIV on Development South African Government spends millions of rand each month to fight the desease and especially in the support of people living with HIVand AIDS by providing ERVs and other medications including the distribution of free condoms.These huge amount of funds which are used to support people living whith HIV and AIDS constitute a big lost as there should be used to support many other projects such as Education, scientific research,the fight against Women oppression and crime, and different studies that may help to kep our Environmnent from degradation and many other projects which in return will contribute to the Development process. By criticizing the investment in the fight against HIV and AIDS, I am not arguing that it worthless project.I do believe that People who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS are still people who deserve dignity and support. This being because first of all, they remain human like others and, most of them are indispensable for our Development. However, the point I am trying to make is that the support of people living with HIV and AIDS is very costy .Therefore, wherever possible we should be willing to divorce ourself from any practice that favor the spreading of HIV and AIDS in this case certain cultural pratices and believs mentioned above. Impact of Christianity on Development. Speaking about the church as one aspect that has shaped our culture (cfr introduction), While speaking about Development and Culture, it might look easy to criticize what had been passed on to us by our forefathers. One of the reasons is because; these cultural practices appear to be too old. Some of them are not even in practice today.They are just part of our history though we claim them to be part of our culture .And; often we just refer to them when it suits us as a way to defend our manhood, political argument and so on for instance. However, if we will have to engage critically, I think we should speak more about what appears to be a burning issue. Thus in my view, it is essential while discussing culture and development not to leave aside Christianity. This being as discussed before, the way we practice Christianity can constitute a culture.Though it is universally known that Chrisitianity is a religion, I wish to ague that Christian life is itself a culture. Thus, just as one can engage critically with his/her culture, we should also be bold to discus some of the impacts of Christianity on Development. Positive impact of Christianity on Development: One of the positive impacts of Christianity for us as African is that it has free us from diferent ancestoral practices which dont encourage development. This is for istance the total dependency on spiritual agencies and forgeting that we are the custodians of the earth.Beside that, Christianity does encourage hard working. Thus looking unto Jesus, Paul (He who does not work should not eat). And, today, some churches have sort to preach the prosperity Gospel. This kind of Gospel has some good aspects of development in a sense that it does encourage people to know that it is their fathers will that they may prosper (verse).Some individuals argue that one of the reason why Europ is more developed than africa is because we as African put the spiritual realm first and undermine our ability to create.This is often explained by the fact that in Europ, during the modern period, Europe develop dramatically especially in terms of technology and economy. Negative impact of Christianity on Development Though one may say that Christianity enclose numberous positive aspects for development, one has also to be aware of the negative impacts that Christianity can revert on Development and often due to the way, we interpret the scriptures. Often, church leaders do teach that we have to live a poor life. We have to look on things above. We should not keep our tresearues on earth here roast and will eat them. Thus, a missinterpretaion of such verses has leaded some of believers to be satisfied with their porvety and therefore hinder them from seing any need for development. Beside that, another negative aspect of Christian teachings is its impassibility visavis to issues regarding development and politic.Scholars in nowadays came to the conclusion that such attitude reveals ignorance given that the church operates within the society and whaterver strikes the society also strikes the church (Simangaliso.). It is therfore good time that the church starts to engage with not only spiritual is sues but also social issue. Conclusion In Conclusion, this essay has discussed the impact of Culture on Development. I have demonstrated how some facets of culture such as partiacrchy, sexims and Chrsitainity do impact both positively but most largely negatively on Development progress.Most extensively; I have discussed how culture in Africa has hindered the development process. I came to the understanding that there is no culture which is universal and there is no culture which is eternal. Consequently, each cultural practice should be understood from its historical and socialogical context and applied in contemplation with the current political, social and economic situation. Reference Ife,J.(2002), Community Development,(2nd edition), Pearson ,Sydney Australia NIV Bible Nyangweso.,M 2007,FemaleCircumcision, Maryknoll, New York :Orbis Oduyoye, Mercy Amba, 1986.Hearing and Knowing: Theological Reflections on Christianity in Africa,Maryknoll:Orbis.2001 Simangaliso, R, 2005, Theology and Education, the role of the Church in education for social transformation: A Methodist contribution, Cecil Renaud Library Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Speckman MT, 2007, A Biblical Vision for Africas development ?, Cluster Publication http://www.mg.co.za/article/2006-11-29-church-council-outraged-over-aidscure-claim http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm www.undp.org/porvety http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1996/ Schech,S and Haggis,J.(ed)(2002) Development: A Cultural Studies Reader ,Publisher Blackwell Yost,L and Tracy,H(ed).(1997) (class notes)

Vodafone Marketing Analysis

Vodafone Marketing Analysis Marketing, as a discipline, has travelled a long distance in the last four decades. It is a trade of linking the producers of goods with the existing and potential customers. The changes in the consumer behavior, market place, channels of distribution, the merchandizing, display and almost anything have been tremendous in the past few decades. The demand for more sophisticated products has come out almost in every field. Products have today very close similarities. The research has created nearly the same kind of services and customer aids. Today marketers are faced with tough decisions. One wrong decision or delayed decision can completely put business back and give competitors edge over the market place, which in itself is a tough situation to face. Marketing deals with two things 1st identifying human and social needs and 2ndly fulfill them; we can say its Meeting needs profitably (Philip Kotler, 2008) Marketing deals with four things Right product, at right place, at right time and at right price. (Adcock, 2004) Marketing task is to manage demand, just as production and logistics professional are responsible for supply management. For management of demand, Marketing involves comprehensive understanding of product ( goods and services), experiences, events, the consumers, the places, information, Ideas, properties and even its own organization to be able to answer what is right, for whom, where, when and how? .(Adcock,2004) Strategy: Strategy is long term planning to achieve the goal and objectives of any organisation by utilization the different resources in the different environment to fulfil the market need and stakeholder satisfaction. Vodafones strategy: Vodafones strategy is that to give satisfaction to the customer by the utilization of advanced technology and product led to the its purpose the company is continually developing new products. Marketing strategy: Marketing strategy plays a vital role in the development of corporate strategy which has directly concerned to fulfil customers demand and wants and efficiently meeting their requirements. Marketing strategy is also help full in the development of business. Vodafones marketing strategy: Vodafones marketing objective in the UK is to keep market leadership on revenue per customer, network quality and customer satisfaction. Vodafones strategy is customer focused and product led for this purpose the company is continually developing new products and services which utilize the advance technologies. For example, young people think hard about which mobile phone to buy for this purpose they go wide range search for only best services with best value of money. It is very difficult to sell them. In order to keep market leadership, Vodafone has established a set of marketing objectives. Keep the existing customers. Increase infiltration of new data service (i.e. Vodafone live!) Introduce new technologies and best services (e.g. Vodafone live! and mobile internet) Continue to expand the Vodafone brand Attain new customers. Vodafone is achieving these objectives by continually updating the variety of phones and services offered to keep ahead of its competitors. Also, Vodafones distinctive How are you? live! advertising is helping to improve the brand image and saliency to all mobile users. Vodafones at micro and macro level: Vodafone is the one of the leader in the international mobile communication market with over 200 million customers all over the worldwide 25 different countries. To fulfil the requirements of the stakeholders, Vodafones invents brands and products by using the different technologies in the tough competition of the modern market. In 2005, in Kenya, Vodafones did partnership with the safaricom which is the local telecommunication of the Kenya. Vodafone also did partnership with the UK Department of international development and commercial bank of Africa by providing local banking service. In start Vodafone feels that it is not about the new technology, it was about the new application of existing technology. At the first task, Vodafone won  £1m from the financial deepening challenging fund. There are different services available to M-PESA like making loan repayments, making payments from authorised agent and also cash withdrawal as well. Growth of telecommunication brings positive benefit for wider economy development. It increases efficiency of trade at micro level, specifically in the rural areas. More stable economy is helpful to bring benefits for long term business of Vodafone. Methods of marketing research: Quantitative marketing research: Quantitative method usually based on sampling. That sample data is estimated level of accuracy, population or universe which they are drawn. It is classified in the three groups: Market measurements Customer files or segmentation Attitudinal data Qualitative market research: Qualitative market research is classified in the following group: Observation Focus group Depth interviewing Projective interviewing techniques Customer complaints departments: For the effective marketing strategy organization has to give focus on the complaints departments which are more helpful to improve the business. Through this organization also came to know either we are following the right marketing strategy. Customer hotline: Customer hotlines means through using the internet and telephone. On the organisation specific website customer can give feedback, do complaints and many other option are there. This also a best way to know about the condition of the effective marketing strategy. SWOT analysis of Vodafone: Swot analysis shows about the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. through this analysis company came to know about the condition of company. Company can cover their threats by using the opportunities and also threats. (S)trengths: Vodafone have strong diversification according to the location. It is well known organisation in the middle east, Europe, Africa and many other countries as well. this is strong telecommunication company which has cross the boundaries. Vodafone has well developed networking system which construed by modern technology. Vodafone is also emerging in different countries like. (W)eakness: Vodafone have very low return on the assets which includes BT group. AAT group and many other assets as well. In the US business cannot run properly like this. This is not strong enough. More than 80 percent of the business is running in the Europe. There is also weakness that there is no network coverage in the rural areas. (O)pportunities: Vodafone have opportunities of cost reduction scheme. Vodafone is trying to get return on the assets. Vodafone is the largest revenue company in the Europe. Vodafone has opportunities to use new modern technology. There is also development in the research and development method as well. Vodafone have also chance of reasonable tariff service with the iPhones. Vodafone have also best any time service for the customer. (T)hreats: Vodafone have highly marking competition in the market. Vodafone have many competitors in the market which is the great threat for Vodafone. In Europe, There is competition of prices as well. There is high rate of penetration of prices in the market. PORTFOLIO is the Collection of Products, Services, or Brands that are offered for sale by a company. PORTFOLIO MODEL  means a companys strategy for allocating different organization resources between various units of business. Product portfolio is the best example of portfolio model. In building up a product portfolio model a company can use different analytical methods and techniques including. B.C.G. Boston Consulting Group-Analysis Contribution Margin Analysis GE General Electric. Multi Factorial Analysis B.C.G. Analysis is a 1st method used in Brand marketing, Product management and Strategic management to help a company decide what products to add to its product portfolio. Products rating includes in it according to their relative Market Share and Market Growth rate. The products are then planed on a two dimensional map. Cash cows: Cash cows are market leader which shows that high market growth and high market shares. They get more return on the assets. They help to cover administrative cost, funds, corporate debts and also many other things as well. Starts: Star has high growth of market shares and high generation of cash. They are directly related to the market. if stars maintain their reputation means keep maintain their situation then they can turn into the cash cows. Dogs: Dog includes low market share and low market growth. They cannot generate cash and cannot consume cash. Dogs dont have enough potential to generate any cash. Question marks: Question marks include low market share so they consume low cash. A question mark is known as problem child. If a question mark does not successful to become a leader then it will turn into the cash cow. BCG matrix shows Vodafone condition in the market either it falls in the cash cows, dogs, stars or in question mark. Vodafone have market shares but it have aloe of competitors in the market. BCG Matrix BCG Matrix with Cash Flows G.E. Multi Factorial Analysis is 2nd method or technique used in brand marketing and product management to help an organization what types of product(s) to add to its product portfolio. One dimension includes nine industry attractiveness measures and other comprises includes twelve internal business strength measures. Contribution Margin Analysis is a 3rd method or technique used in brand marketing and product management to help an organization what types of product(s) to add to its product portfolio. Calculations includes additional revenues, additional costs, effects on other products in the portfolio (referred to as cannibalization), and competitors reactions. Marketing Strategic alternatives: Vodafone is one of famous organization and big telecommunication company in the UK. There are three major group to which Vodafone provide the services that are private individual, small and large business and the organization. Vodafones strategy is to become a leader in the market. Vodafone take care of the customers needs, demand and want. Customer demands new up to date products and seek added value new packages with the modern technology. Marketing mix: A long term planning is helpful to make effective strategy which will take towards the successful marketing strategy. Marketing mix includes four Ps. Product Price Place Promotion Product: a product provide different facilities like to chat with others, play games, exchange ring tomes, sending and receiving pictures, capturing pictures and making video call, send up to date news about weather and news as well and there are many other services as well. Vodafone give live information the every move and up to date service as well. Price: Vodafone wants to extend their business as much as they can to the youngsters, mature persons, executives, professional people and to also to the senior citizen. Vodafones have different price package which is suitable to the every age group of customers and these different packages are added value which fulfill the requirement of the customers. Vodafone is offering monthly price plan package and also pay as you go package. Vodafone has provided online top up facility as well. Vodafone also giving NECTER benefiting by using the text messages, sending picture and many other things as well. Place: There are more than three hundred stores in the UK which is beneficial for the customer for the easy accessibility. Vodafone also sell their mobile phones and also independent to the other retailers like car phone ware house. Customer can come to the stores and check out their favorite mobiles and deals which is reasonable for them. Due to easy accessibility, customers are able to see and handle the products as they are purchasing the different products. In the different stores, there are well experienced customer service representatives are required which explained each and every thing to the customers and also give information about the coming new mobiles and the new packages. Through this way customer can be satisfy. Promotion: Vodafone have connection and communication with the famous icons like David Becham which increase its value. Best ways of promotions which is adopted by the Vodafone is adverting on TV, billboards, magazines, media out lets and also on the internet which has helped effectively and promoted Vodafone successfully. This is known as above the line promotion. Below the line promotion is to offer different package which do promotion of the company and also increase the annually sales of the company by using the attracting sales posters inside the stores to buy. In the marketing mix, promotions include Vodafones stores, staff and its different offer which increase its brand image. Vodafones also have good public relationship in the U.K by using the press release and up to dated articles and by using new source or media. Marketing mix of the Vodafone is the best way to explain about the different price offers which are reasonable foe every one. Promotion of the Vodafone Company gives shape a successful strategy. Different products of the Vodafone are reliable because of their quality and brands. Vodafone stores are located on those place which customers can access easily at the time of need. Climate change of Vodafone: At global level, there are different challenges from which climate change is one of them. Vodafone is also facing the climate change. Climate has great affect on the product and service. Vodafone has made a strategy to reduce the climate affect. There are three basic points of the strategy. One is minimizing the climate affect, Vodafone is delivery thy products to the consumers and businesses. Second is that Vodafone is trying to minimize the emission from the operations. Third is providing new technology to control the emission. What is change management? Change management is accept, control and manage the situation in the organisation and need to bring change in the organisation has effective management is called change management. Different analysis has to do to see the change and managed by well planned strategy. If any organisation has needed to do change then different valid models are made for effective management of change. Some proactive techniques are used to bring and adjust the change in the external and internal performance of the organisation. There is making some effective strategy to plan step by step change. Change management also keep in eye current and modern issues which can affect the change process. There are some solid reasons when change is required. Change management should have up to date knowledge about the of situation surrounding issues. Change process: There are many reasons due to change is done. That reason can be internally and can be internally. Change process means journey of source of change to the adopting the change is change process. Why change has done? Which type of changes has done either it is cultural, organisational behaviour, organisation policies. These changes can be related to different department of organisation and every department is related to change process and change process is related to the organisation strategies. Marketing environment and implementations: For the marketing environment of the Vodafone firstly there should be PESTEL analysis of the Vodafone which will about the environment of the company. At politically level, Vodafone has support and also developed in marketing level as well. At the economical level, Vodafone has extended its business. That has positive effect on the economical level. It has reasonable packages for calls, texts and internet as well. At the social level, Vodafone have positive response from the people and stakeholder. It saves the time and also it has cover the distance between the people and places. Vodafone have partnership with different companies and have new technology system for the development of network system. Vodafone has legal rights as well. Vodafone is working according to the legal rules and regulations. After the PESTEL analysis, we can examine marketing environment of the Vodafone. There is positive response from the stakeholder but Vodafone did many changes in the strategy of the marketing. For the changing, there is a process and some point which is kept in mind. For changing in the strategy of marking, there will keep on eye on the financial condition of the Vodafone, response of the staff because some time they show negative response and not happy with the changes, there is also some staff issues as well like it become difficult to adjust with the new marketing system, Vodafone also has to do media analysis which new source of media is going on and customers can be attract to the which source or media that can be a TV advertisement, magazine outlets and many other sources as well. After analysis all these points, we can plan a marketing strategy which will be helpful in the development of business and also in extension as well. Vodafone is well known telecommunication company in the worldwide. so, planning the and implementation of the strategy should be careful and keep in mind all the aspects as well. Conclusion: Vodafone is the successful telecommunication company which has developed networking system. In every company, have different department and have different responsibility. Vodafone also have different department from which marketing is one of them. Marketing is the main department of any organization. There is properly a strategy is constructed. Before doing anything there is need of making strategy. So there is also specific strategy of Vodafone as well which explains about the customer care and reasonable prices to customer as well. There is also examine of Vodafone at micro and macro level which explains about the importance if Vodafone at global and local. Next section is about the SWOT analysis of the Vodafone which explains about the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the Vodafone. SWOT analysis is the best way to know about internal condition of any organization. After that, there is Boston Consultancy Group Matrix which explains about the Vodafones market growth rate and market share rate. Marketing mix is the important part of the marketing strategy which includes 4 ps which are price, product, promotion and place. Marketing mix is the best way to know about the competitors and where company is standing. It also helps to be market leaders. Vodafone has climate affect on the company. For controlling this Vodafone is taking help of new technology. At the end , Vodafone is successful organization in the world.

Dangerous Minds Essay examples -- essays research papers

Dangerous Minds In chapter 4, Freire begins to discuss freedom. Although he believes that it should have some limits, he wants us, as teachers, to give our students all the freedom they need. Watching the movie Dangerous Minds made me question where one draws the line and if we even have that choice over our students. In this movie we see how these students in her Academy class are "bright, challenging" students who actually turn out to be rowdy and disrespectful inner-city kids. These students have all the freedom in the world to do and say whatever they want causing a BIG interruption in the lesson and teaching process. In reading Adams- â€Å"The School as an Ecosystem†, he brings up the question of who should control our schools and how? In the U.S we have a multilevel governmen...

Personal Narrative - Our Marriage Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Our Marriage Our official journey began on August 2, 1997 in Las Vegas. That was our wedding day and my official entry into married life. Tim and I said, ?I do? in Clark County, Nevada. The clerk declared us 'best friends for life' in a ceremony with just the two of us. That declaration was more profound and welcomed than one any priest could have made. Our wedding cost a total of seventy-two dollars, this included the license and ceremony. I should also include the cost of what I call 'our wedding planner.' His name was Jake and he was a taxi driver, he charged us fifteen dollars and we tipped him fifteen for his extra duties, it was a special day. When we arrived in Las Vegas from Boulder our car started to over heat from the long drive through the hot desert. We decided to park it at the hotel. We hailed a cab and set off to find a place to get married. We had a deadline; our honeymoon was scheduled to begin the next day. The cab driver drove us past several different chapels giving us details about each one. After a brief survey of chapels we asked him to drop us off at the justice of the peace. The chapels just seemed too cheesy and besides, I had no real affection for Elvis. He dropped us off in front of a large, very official looking building to get the license and he directed us across the street to a small brick office wher e the ceremonies are held. I had the distinct feeling that he has provided this service a few times before in his career. I soon found myself waiting in line behind a frail elderly man with a huge smile on his face; he stood next to a young girl, she looked equally happy. The man wore a red velvet jacket and the girl wore a shimmering red dress with spaghetti straps. It was a dress that would... ...ming with life. The smell of the flowers was intense and enlivening. The breeze that was not restricted by car windows, the heat that was not reflected by a rooftop or eradicated by air conditioning, the rain that was not repelled by anything more than my poncho, I was one with all of it. As I biked past, I moo'd as loud as I could at the cows in the fields and felt happy doing it. I even occasionally rode in the van when I was tired. Today I question my fears before I give into them. The questioning usually results in nothing that I can rely on as a concrete reason for forgoing an experience. The way we chose to get married, I had up to the last minute to change my mind. No wedding guests, invitations, seating arrangements, flowers, or caterers. Today seven and a half years later, I can say my marriage is the thing that has brought me the most joy in my life.

Gps Used to Track Kids Who Skip School

GPS Kids who keep on skipping school frustrate lots of people like teachers and parents. Now the police and school officials are now deciding to use GPS. The first school in California to test this Global Positioning System was the Anaheim Union High School. Many seventh- and eight-graders that have four unexcused absences or more during the school year have to carry this device. On school days each morning the students who get the GPS get automated call telling them that they have to get to school on time. After that, they have to enter a code five times a day that tracks their location.When they leave for school, when they arrive at school, at lunchtime, when they leave school and a 8 p. m. they have to type in this code. Also many students are assigned a adult coach that helps them to get to school on time. They also call them three times a week to see if they are all right. The devices are $300- $400 each and the six-week program are cost $8 everyday or $18,000. They are using th e GPS is because the students need education and the school loses close to $35 for every absent student there is.When the GPS started in the school the attendance rate went up from77 percent to 95 percent. If there was no GPS, the kids who continued skipping class or school, they were more likely to join gangs. Now about 75 students in Dale and South junior high schools are deciding to use this pilot program. But now district officials are deciding if they want to expand the GPS program to other high school and junior high schools. Many parents and students came to the Anaheim Family Justice Center to discuss about the GPS with the police and counselors.But not all parents like the idea. Raphael Garcia who has a 6th grader with six unexcused absences says, â€Å"This makes us seem like common criminals. † The Police Investigator Armando Pardo reminds the parents â€Å"They are letting their kids skip school without a valid reason. † Lots of kids grades 4-6, and their p arents had to attend the meeting but they would not be able to carry a GPS, but if they start seeing unnecessary absences, they will be able to get one. The Cruz family, hoping to be able to keep their child at school, they decided to buy a GPS for their son, Juan.Juan’s has had five unexcused absences and five excused absences. Juan tells Miller (the person who is teaching Juan how to operate the GPS) that â€Å"Sometimes I am sick and sometime I just don’t feel like going. † â€Å"I am going to keep it in my pocket so I don’t lose it. If the student loses the device, the parents will be responsible for paying for it. But the devices can be found very easily. Cristina, Juan Cruz’s mom supports this program a lot and is hoping it will help her out. She also says† He is one of six children, and we can’t always keep an eye on him. † By: Ruby Shah

Strategic Operations Issues

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS ISSUES Elizabeth Kelly ABSTRACT This paper identifies an operational issue of a national food-chain. The problem is identified with the demonstration of the functional relationships and process flow analysis. With the use of concepts of operations and process management, the problem is analyzed and methods sought to provide recommendations and an implementation plan. TABLE OF CONTENTS Background of Hi-Lo Food Stores†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Problem Identification†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Background of the LINX Operating System†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Analysis using Concepts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7Recommendation and Implementation Plan†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 BACKGROUND OF HI-LO FOOD STORES Hi-Lo Food Stores is a supermarket chain operating in Trinidad since 1950. With 17 outlets spread throughout the length and breadth of the country, Hi-Lo Food Stores employs over 1800 employees. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION At Hi-Lo Food Stores, which is considered a mass service process type (Slack et al, pg. 114) customers are afforded the option of different payment methods. Payment methods include cash, credit cards and debit cards.In an effort to continue to provide better options for settling of payments to merchants and customers alike, the company Infolink was formed. Infolink is a joint venture company owned by the four commercial banks of Trinidad and Tobago whose focus is to provide state of the art financial transaction-switching technology by way of debit card payment. In recent times, it has been observed that on peak commercial periods, Hi-Lo Food Stores terminals have not been able to process debit card payments. The message ‘No Communication Field’ is generated when debit card transactions cannot be processed.The customer is either forced to use a credit card or use cash. The nature of the business of Hi-Lo Food Stores would in some instances cause for a large sum of money at the check-out terminal. Customers, who do not have a credit card facility available, are then forced to leave their merchandise at the store and locate an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) to withdraw cash and then return to the store to complete the transaction. Hi-Lo Food Stores is then faced with the issue of storing in a secure manner those items selected and already bagged for the prospective customer and can only be delivered until payment is tendered.This then causes a storage issue since these items are usually placed at the termina l the customer was accommodated at. Sub-issues of pilfering and bottlenecking of check-out counters have also been evident. The second issue arises when the customer does not return for reasons such as, no ABM facility within range of Hi-Lo, and then causes the customer to leave to a more convenient supermarket. This leaves Hi-Lo with spoilage and re-stocking of the items already held at the terminals. Customer dissatisfaction sets in and an erosion of brand loyalty occurs.The impact on Hi-Lo Food Stores can then be summarized to include increased check-out times at terminals, customer dissatisfaction and decreased sales. BACKGROUND OF THE LINX OPERATING SYSTEM In 1992 saw the advent of the LINX shopping experience to Trinidad and Tobago. Infolink Services Limited is the facilitator of the LINX Network where debit cards from any commercial bank in Trinidad and Tobago would be processed at all Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) regardless of the commercial bank the customer so belonge d.This system led the way for merchants to employ the LINX Network at their Point-of-Sale terminals thus allowing debit cards issued at any commercial bank in Infolink’s Accredited Partners to be accepted at these participating merchants. While the LINX system proved seamless during its pilot project phase of operations, in recent times as the service became more widely accepted by the general public, LINX seemed to be unable to manage the demand of merchants. Evidence has not been offered on the number of transactions over a structured period, in order to ascertain the workload capacity of the Infolink Services Limited’s system.As the writer has evidenced at Hi-Lo Food Stores, the debit card payment system seemed unable to handle the workload during peak periods of demand. ANALYSIS USING CONCEPTS The use of technology to supersede traditional methods of payment can be seen to deliver great advantages and benefits to Hi-Lo Food Stores. The process design of the debit c ard system in its conception can be seen to provide great advantages to the mass service process type. This payment method can be seen as an internally supportive method of increasing operations capabilities.For example, in times prior to the LINX operations, Hi-Lo Food Stores terminal processing time was generally a longer process. This could have been caused by the customer having to present a personal cheque for payment along with a cheque guarantee card, if applicable. The second step would be for the cashier to examine both card and cheque for validity. In instances where the cheque was written in excess of the card guarantee amount, a supervisor would then be referred to for authorization.A process that would guarantee a longer turnaround time than the now widely used LINX service, debit card payment option. In analysis of the process however, we must measure the impact of the unreliability of the service and how it causes delays and decreased outputs. These delays then impact on the cycle time at checkout counters. In carrying out a process analysis, it is obvious that the LINX operating system has a process capacity which has not yet been determined. In identifying the system’s capacity, resources may be input into the process for improved reliability and performance.As can be seen the debit card payment system when effective can have a positive strategic impact on operations performance objectives. By firstly, impacting on the speed by which customers is processed at check-out terminals. When you have a quick turnover time you reduce the traffic and congestion in the supermarket which can result in breakage and accidents. Secondly, the LINX system has impacted on flexibility by allowing the customer the option of choosing a more direct form of payment as opposed to credit cards.Dependability can be seen as a performance objective where the system can be relied upon. The above performance objectives, speed, flexibility and dependability have bee n negatively impacted on as the debit card system has become unreliable during peak operating times as such the issues Hi-Lo has experienced relates to its inefficiency of its customer experience, its quality of service is risked, thus losing the trust and loyalty of some customers. RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLANIt is the writer’s recommendation that an immediate sourcing of an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) be allocated to all branches. This ABM facility will give the customer the ability to exact cash to the check-out terminal without leaving the premises. The ABM facility will have the effect of speeding up turnaround time at terminals for payment. The added advantage of the facility not only being available to check-out customers but the facility will encourage more traffic with customers who may need just the convenience of an ABM facility.The ABM facility will be strategically placed in an area just after the bank of check out tellers, but away from the main e ntrance point. This would force the person who came for the convenience of the ABM facility only to line up, surrounded by small convenient items that may encourage purchasing of candy, gum, magazines etc. In the hopes of a long term resolution, Hi-Lo Food Stores conduct a process design-analysis. This analysis will determine the throughput time and impact upon the flow rate of customers by measuring the number of successful or unsuccessful attempts using the debit card system.In conducting this analysis, list the customers alternate payment method used and whether immediate payment was affected. The system of process mapping can assess the processes for example, Hi-Lo Food stores must also account for those customers who are inconvenienced by having to visit an ABM to use cash as a payment method. List those persons who in fact will follow through and complete the transactions as against those persons who find it far too inconvenient to return to Hi-Lo.With the use of this data, Hi -Lo food stores will then be able to account for manpower used at the terminal for processing a void transaction, storage of items, spoilage of perishable items which may occur and hours of duty time spent re-stocking. Finally, Hi-Lo in conjunction with Infolink needs to formalize a structured plan of action to implement a larger capacity for processing of debit card transactions, and for Hi-Lo to ascertain its feasibility. ACTIVITY| TIME| OWNERSHIP/RESPONSIBILITY| 1. 1 Source a consultant | 2 weeks| IT Department| 2. 1 Identify number of transactions incomplete| 6 weeks| IT Department| 2. Identify time periods for ‘down’ time| 6 weeks| IT Department| 3. 1 Identify source of problem| 1 week| Consultant| 4. 1 Make recommendations| 2 weeks| Consultant| 5. 1 Implement changes and test| 6 weeks| IT Department| 6. 1 Gather feedback from customer| 2 weeks| Marketing Department| 7. 1 Make further recommendations| 1 week | Consultant| 8. 1 Implement and test| 3 weeks| IT Depart ment| | | | REFERENCES Slack, N & Chambers, S & Johnston, R & Betts, A 2009, Operations and Process Management, Principles and Practice for Strategic Impact, 2nd edn