Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Miohippus - Facts and Figures

Name: Miohippus (Greek for Miocene horse); pronounced MY-oh-HIP-us Habitat: Plains of North America Historical Epoch: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene (35-25 million years ago) Size and Weight: About four feet long and 50-75 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; relatively long skull; three-toed feet    About Miohippus Miohippus was one of the most successful prehistoric horses of the Tertiary period; this three-toed genus (which was closely related to the similarly named Mesohippus) was represented by about a dozen different species, all of them indigenous to North America from about 35 to 25 million years ago. Miohippus was a bit larger than Mesohippus (about 100 pounds for a full-grown adult, compared to 50 or 75 pounds); however, despite its name, it lived not in the Miocene but the earlier Eocene and Oligocene epochs, a mistake for which you can thank the famous American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh. Like its similarly named relatives, Miohippus lay on the direct evolutionary line that led to the modern horse, genus Equus. Somewhat confusingly, although Miohippus is known by over a dozen named species, ranging from M. acutidens to M. quartus, the genus itself consisted of two basic types, one adapted for life on prairies and the other best suited to forests and woodlands. It was the prairie variety that led to Equus; the woodland version, with its elongated second and fourth toes, spawned small descendants that went extinct in Eurasia at the cusp of the Pliocene epoch, about five million years ago.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Consumer Facing Side Of Your Profile - 1521 Words

A membership service that provides unlimited access to live events. Public Profile The consumer-facing side of your profile is written so anybody can easily understand your product or service. Information about the investment opportunity is detailed on the â€Å"Business Plan† side of the profile to maintain compliance with the SEC ‘general solicitation’ regulation. Meet GiggedIn 3-5 sentence â€Å"quick pitch† outlining key takeaways that will be explored in more depth within the body of the profile. GiggedIn is the first to market in the Asia Pacific (APAC) Region with a subscription service dedicated to live entertainment. Our members get unlimited access to attend events from a curated list of up to 100 quality events every month. We make it†¦show more content†¦We think there’s nothing more enriching than attending a live event, whether it’s music, cinema, comedy, or some other type of experience. With this belief, we’re on a mission to make it easier for Australians to experience and discover new live entertainment each week. Our founder came up with the concept for GiggedIn during his college days. He was frustrated that he couldn t afford to buy tickets to all of the shows he wanted to attend each week. He also found it difficult to find the best things to do each week. These two problems raised a question: How can we make it easier and more affordable for people to go out to experience to more concerts and events in their cities? GiggedIn is a membership service that gives members the ability to attend live events from a carefully curated list of 50+ events a month in Sydney, Melbourne, and other cities soon. Events range from concerts headlined by international and local acts across all genres of music to theater, comedy, and many other live experiences. Best of all, GiggedIn gives customers unlimited access to all of these incredible events starting at only $35 a month. Our team works with the industry’s best artists, event organizers, and venues to feature the best experiences for our members. We’re all about making it easier and more affordable for Australians to experience great shows and live events. We also exist to support Australian culture and its creators by filling up events withShow MoreRelatedFacebook Is A Multi Billion Dollar Corporation1746 Words   |  7 Pagesand establish social relationships by generating personal profiles, where they are able to upload pictures, text, videos, music, and add others to their friend list. Users are able to post statuses and comments to their friends and on their own profile pages, sharing and liking certain content through the influence of Facebook’s social occurence. This can be attributed to advertisers who are seeking additional information about the consumer with the aim to target a certain demographic, to increaseRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1482 Words   |   6 Pagesdon’t ever think twice about posting their personal information online. They enjoy using many features that are made available to them on social media. Including tagging their location, posting pictures of themselves, and filling in their bio and profile with information about them. Technology has grown into something that is so easily accessible and convenient. One can now shop from the leisure of their home without ever moving from their sofa or changing out of their pajamas. What many people don’tRead MoreA Diverse And Sustainable Compound Library For Aid Drug Development And Sales1185 Words   |  5 Pages________________________________________ Public Profile The consumer-facing side of your profile is written so anybody can easily understand your product or service. Information about the investment opportunity is detailed on the â€Å"Business Plan† side of the profile to maintain compliance with SEC ‘general solicitation’ regulation. Carmolex Inc. 3-5 sentence â€Å"quick pitch† outlining key takeaways that will be explored in more depth within the body of the profile. Pharmaceutical companies need robust andRead MoreMobile Device Management ( Mdb )1073 Words   |  5 Pages(Bring Your Own Device) Anirudh Parmar Student ID: #0910762 Computer Network –CSCI 345 MO1 Professor: Michael Silva Introduction What is Mobile Device Management (MDM)? MDM stands for Mobile Device Management. 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IMC means that all your corporate messages, positioning and images, and identity are coordinated across all [marketing communications] venues. It means that your PR materials say the same thing as your direct-mail campaign, and your advertising has the same ‘look and feel?as your Web site.? (Kotler Armstrong, PrinciplesRead MoreMetabical: Positioning and Communications Strategy for a New Weight-Loss Drug3235 Words   |  13 Pagesfor weight loss which can only be bought via a prescription, the overweight patients are not the only decision makers involved. The health care providers are also decision makers in this process for they are the ones who prescribe the drug. The consumer decision making process (J.Paul Peter amp; Donnelly, Ch3, p.49) for Metabical goes through five stages: a) Perceiving or recognizing a need. According to the case, 65 % of Americans are overweight. Many perceive themselves as social outcasts

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Media Law in South Africa Free Essays

The Press Freedom Commission (PFC) was launched in July 2011 by the press industry representative body, Print Media South Africa and the South African National Editors Forum in order to set up a suitable regulatory media system for South Africa (Press Freedom Commission, 2012: 1). The Press Freedom Commission that was held earlier this year assessed all measures concerning co-regulation, self-regulation, independent regulation and state regulation so as to ensure that the media is accountable to the public that they serve and similarly to ensure the protection of press freedom (Press Freedom Commission, 2012: 1). This year, the PFC recommended that an independent co-regulatory system , which does not include State participation, would best suit the country. We will write a custom essay sample on Media Law in South Africa or any similar topic only for you Order Now This would mean that the press are accountable to serve in interest of the population (Press Freedom Commission, 2012: 1). With reference to Julie Reid’s and Julie Posetti’s article in the Rhodes Journalism Review, I aim to evaluate various contexts and henceforth provide reasons for why I am in accordance with the co-regulation of the media. Under the South African Constitution, in the Bill of Rights (1996) it is stated that every person has a right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom of press and the media, the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas, freedom of artistic creativity, academic freedom and freedom of scientific research (Act no. : 108 of 1996). Henceforth press freedom means the autonomy to communicate ideas, opinions and information without restraint. The media are a public trust with the ability to inform and influence and because of this power they should serve to represent the interests of the citizens without external institutional constraints. When analyzing freedom of the press with the current regulatory system, there are two powerful institutions in society which cannot be ignored, that is political and economic power. Under apartheid the freedom of the press was heavily restricted. The Newspapers Registration and Imprint Act of 1985, required that all newspapers had to be registered and conform to a strict code of conduct. In addition newspapers were also required to lodge R40 000 as a deposit before they could publish, as a result the act silenced many liberal newspapers (Manoim, 1996: 7). With the transition into a new democracy, self-regulation of the media was employed to uphold freedom of expression, a pivotal component of a true democracy. Self-regulation is a system that operates on self imposed rules by the media, it consists only of representatives of the media profession who use the Journalistic Codes and Ethics as a guideline (Reid, 2012: 1). The relationship between the government/ state and the media is one of conflict and dependency because on the one hand, the media are commonly referred to as the ‘unofficial opposition’ to the government. As ‘watchdogs’ they make public a range of issues concerning health care, education, corruption, unemployment etc and because of these disclosures the government repeatedly attempt to censor their biggest critic. As such, the government proposed a Media Tribunal, which could lead to the forced registration of all newspapers, the registration of all journalists and punitive fines(Reid, 2012: 1). The tribunal exemplifies the government’s hostility towards the media and it clearly epitomizes the Newspapers Registration and Imprint Act of 1985 . Another example constitutes as the Protection of Information Bill which will allow the government to classify specific information which is deemed harmful to the â€Å"national interest†. The government have suggested media-unfriendly laws which pose a threat to attack the heart of the struggle for democracy (Reid, 2012: 1). On the other hand, however, the media are dependent on the government for information and official materials and similarly the government depends on the media to produce important information to their citizens. It is evident that the media plays a large role in making public the successes and the failures of the government, however, I argue that a change in the regulatory system could improve the relationship between the two so that the media do not have their own agendas for the information they produce, but they produce that which of interest of the public that they serve. Although self-regulation of the press was once highly valued, examples like the Murdoch scandal have shown that the system is weak and does not assure the accountability of the press. Journalists from the News of the World were accused of phone hacking, police bribery and using unethical means to obtain ‘public interest’ stories (Posetti, 2012: 19). The self-regulatory system allows for journalists to operate freely without state interference and although there haven’t been any situations like the aforementioned unethical proceedings in South Africa, the regulatory system does not fulfill the democratic vitality of the inclusion of wider population (Reid, 2012: 18). For many years under the rapacious system of apartheid, the black population was silenced, their grievances and njustices undocumented. In this new democracy, the media are still seen to cater for the interests of the elite, this can be conceptualized in Noam Chomsky and Edward. S. Herman’s â€Å"propaganda model†. Granted the media does deliver information to serve the interests of its citizens, news coverage is frequently tailored to what suits the corporate. The med ia are a profit-seeking institution, funded by advertisers and are (sometimes) owned by private investors, this can henceforth lead to the media placing profit above public interest (Manoim, 1996: 4). An example of this can be seen in various newspapers during the apartheid era, particularly the Business Day. The Business Day embraced a conservative liberal take on the apartheid system. The reporting that the Business Day encompassed relied on keeping an apolitical stance and avoided negative consequences of full disclosure. The newspaper did not report on any issues negative aspects of the apartheid system or its effects on the population and the reason for this was to gain more revenue than to possibly create controversy (Manoim, 1996: 4). Another example of this was the recent Marikana shootings, wherein the first pieces of information distributed by the media through print and broadcast, told a story of a violent, armed and angry mob, charging towards apprehensive policemen who then shot the mobsters from afar, in fear of their lives (Johnson, 2012: 1). At least 36 miners were shot dead and because of the inadequate coverage by the media, many people were under the impression that the police action was proportional to the threat posed by the miners. It wasn’t until Greg Marinovich went on to publish shocking findings about the deaths of the Marikana minors, in his article â€Å"The murder fields of Marikana: The cold murder fields of Marikana† (Marinovich, 2012: 1). The article made public that some of the miners had been shot by close range (execution style) and others crushed by police vehicles, thus providing proof that the police did not act in fear, but instead hand the upper hand and viciously killed the miners. In many of the articles published, before Marinovich’s, statements were mainly one sided, comprised of policemen, the mining management and government official (Manoim, 1996: 7). It can be understood that many journalists and news firms did not accurately report on the Marikana shootings because they did not want to cause controversy and did not want to lose revenue. With regards to the aforementioned relationships between the media and political/ economic institutions within the self-regulatory system, I argue that the system is clearly weak. There is indeed more freedom of speech with this system, however, the press aren’t held accountable to the citizens that they serve, the press can be seen to accommodate only the elites and silence the people. For these reasons and the above examples, in my opinion it is clear that the self-regulatory system in inadequate for a new democracy such as ours. The proposed system of independent co-regulation without state or government intervention will best serve the freedom of the press in our country. The system will consist of members of the public (e. g: academics, civil society organizations etc. ) and members of the press industry therefore sufficiently creating integration between the press and the society that it serves (Reid, 2012: 18). The independent system as well as journalists will henceforth be accountable to the public. The co-regulatory system will allow regulatory rules to be created by more than one stakeholder and it will have independence from industries (Press Freedom Commission, 2012: 1). The system should sufficiently allow members of the public and the press to engage with reports made by the independent body. This nature of transparency will build a close relationship between the public and the media and henceforth it will encourage the media to be accountable to the citizens that it serves (Reid, 2012: 18). I believe that the increased integration between the public and the press will give the once unheard voices of the public a platform for their opinions furthermore it will directly assist the country on the road to true democracy. The PFC suggests that the system will introduce a more efficient framework for dealing with sensitive matters especially when dealing with children. There will also be a be a method of â€Å"space fines† which will consist of monetary fines, summons or rulings for any offences made by the press (Press Freedom Commission, 2012: 1). The co-regulatory system proposed by the Press Freedom Commission is not an attack at the freedom of the press, rather, it is very necessary to strengthen the system of the press in South Africa. Co-regulation will not only serve the public because of the system’s transparency and allowance for integration but it could also improve the quality and credibility of journalism in the country. The marginalized and excluded persons of this country need an environment where they are able to make public their discrepancies and regarding the extensive reception to the current self-regulation it is evident there needs to be a change in the system. In my opinion co-regulation will ensure the greatest independence from different influential institutions, it will reinforce the accountability the press should have for the citizens, it will allow for press freedom and furthermore it will assist to uphold the principles of a democracy. References: Manoim, I. 1996. You Have Been Warned: The First Ten Years of The Mail Guardian. Penguin Books: South Africa. Posetti, J. 2012. Media Regulation, Murdoch and the Journalism Wars of Oz. Rhodes Journalism Review. Press Freedom Commission, 2012. What the Press Commission recommends. Retrieved from http://www. politicsweb. co. za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71656? oid=294997sn=Detail on 11/01/1012 Reid, J. 2012. Press Freedom in South Africa and why self-regulation is best. Daily Maverick. Retrieved from http://dailymaverick. co. za/opinionista/2012-01-26-press-freedom-in-south-africa-and-why-self-regulation-is-best on 11/01/2012. Reid, J. 2012. What will co-regulation mean? The Press Freedom Commission report and its implications for the regulation of journalism. Rhodes Journalism Review. How to cite Media Law in South Africa, Essays

Friday, December 6, 2019

Business Inf Financial Analysis

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Inffor Financial Analysis. Answer: Financial Analysis Financial Projection Worksheet, Sparkline and Other Charts Table 1: Income Statement Table 2: Balance Sheet Table 3: Cash Flow Statement Goal Seek Analysis Table 4: Goal-Seek Analysis of Income Statement Goal-Seek Analysis is a tool that is used in the spreadsheet to determine the impact of changes of a value on the other. It is necessary that both the values must be related with a formula. It is specially used when the input required for getting a desired output is not known (University of Memphis, 2016). Lastly, the goal seek analysis as presented in the income statement (Table 4) shows that in order to have an increase in the revenue AUD 80,000 thousand in the first year the company has to earn a high revenue amounting to AUD 122, 500 thousand in that particular year. It is because the operating expense of the company is quite high and the rise in revenue is the only scope of bringing about a hike in the profit after tax to AUD 80,000 thousand from AUD 46,363 thousand. The new revenue should be AUD 122,500 dollars from AUD 88,863 dollars. Increment in the level of revenue also involves the rise in earnings before interest, tax and depreciation from AUD 38, 863 thousand to AUD 72,5 00 thousand. The profit before tax also rose to AUD 56,363 thousand as a result of the hike in the revenue. Thus, rise in revenue seems to be the only way to achieve high profit after tax, keeping all the costs constant. Analysis of Spreadsheet Revenue gas witnessed rise from the first year to the last year. In the beginning the revenue of the company was AUD 88,863 thousand and it rose to AUD 1331,168 thousand in the eight year. It clearly reflects efficiency both in pricing and product decisions. First of all the marketing division was able to apply proper marketing mix strategy. The demand forecasting was appropriate enough to know the tastes and preferences of the consumers that led to acceptance of the product. Moreover, the economic condition such as GDP, GNP, per capita income, purchasing power parity was thoroughly studied to set up the pricing strategies as per the income of the consumer. The promotional activities were also very efficient. Appropriate selection of promotion mix and promotion vehicle was used. The selection of the place of distribution was done after proper analysis. It involved use of both online techniques and physical channels that led to proper push of the product into the market. Sales and tra de promotion served as a vital tool for increasing the revenue. The spreadsheet shows that the financial trend of the company is quite good. In the first year, the profit after tax was 46,363 thousand AUD and in the succeeding years there has been a steady rise in the level of profit after tax. In the 8th consecutive year, the company is found to have a profit of AUD 54, 318 thousand. The sparkline also shows that there has been a rise in the profit after tax during the eight consecutive years. However, in case of revenue earnings it can be said that there was a constant rate of growth over the eight years as depicted by the sparkline. In the first year, the level of revenue was AUD 88, 863 thousand whereas in the eighth year it was AUD 96,602 thou sand. It shows that the company has the potential to cover all the costs of production. It also reveals the fact that paying of tax has not been a burden for the company, which further reflects good financial planning made by the finance manager. Similar to profit after tax, the values of profit before tax also witnessed a high growth rate over the period from AUD 56,363 thousand in the first year to AUD 64, 424 thousand at6 the end of the 8th year. The earnings before interest, tax and depreciation rose sharply to AUD 44,825 thousand in the eighth year from AUD 38,863 thousand in the first year. However, the inefficiency is represented by the sharp upward rising operating expense. In the first year the operating expenses was AUD 50,000 thousand, which continuously went on rising and reached 51776 thousand AUD after 8 years. This indicates that the management was unable to curtail down the expenses and even in the implementation of the efficient cost cutting measures into their operations. The balance sheet also indicates a healthy and sound position of the company. It shows that the total of assets have witnessed a high rise. In the first year, the total of assets was AUD 44, 350 thousand whereas in the eighth year it was AUD 154, 860 thousand. Moreover, the fall in the level of cash over the years show that there was no left-cash of cash and that it was utilized for productive purposes. The current liabilities were AUD 1,350 thousand in first year whereas in 8th year it was AUD 14, 447 thousand. However, the current assets were AUD 14, 350thosand in the beginning and rose to AUD 82, 494 thousands in the last year. The excess of current assets over current liabilities therefore provides a clear sign of high short-term liquidity present with the company. The cash flow analysis also shows a rising trend of cash inflow from AUD 6,000 thousand to AUD 12,137 thousand in the last year, which is a positive sign. August Online Technology Improving Marketing and Sales At present, online selling methods are gaining high prevalence because the customers consider that reaching out to traditional shops and malls is difficult and involves loss of time and energy. Using internet as a tool of marketing, August Online Technology can stay connected with their customers at all times (Intef, n.d.). Online discussion at the time of sale is an immensely flexible and low cost method used by the companies for understanding the views and grievances of the customer. This online discussion is conducted by creating a chat option on the website of the company. In many cases a customer can be attracted by this online chatting facility of August Online. The availability of solution for the problems of the customers through the chat option in turn boosts up the level of association between the customer and the company. (Zinkhan et.al., 2003). August Online Tech can resort to take help from a web content editor who can help them to create a website. In the website the company can put the details of its features and services that will attract the interests of its clients. The company can also resort to create a provision on the web page where it can display its strategic goals, vision and mission so that the clients feel more attracted towards the company (Online Tech, 2016;). The company can also resort to host its website on Mozilla or use Google app engine to make the contents of the company available on Google. Dropbox is another option that can be used to store the unique features of the IT solutions on the web. A person having internet connection can resort to use the information stored in the web and retrieve salient features of the IT services offered by August Online Tech. (Mozilla Developer Network, 2016). Cloud hosting can also be implemented by the company as an online storage facility to publish it contents on the internet, thereby allowing the online database to be accessed by any user to know about the company and its services (1Online Tech., 2016). Social media is one of the most important online platforms that are used by companies to market their products and services. August online can resort to digital marketing by creating profiles and accounts on facebook, twitter, Google + and LinkedIn. This will help in making contacts at both business and personal level. Blog can also be considered a very important tool for online marketing that will help in maintaining regular discussions among its stakeholders in turn assisting in the efficient marketing of the company (Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd, 2015.; Evan McKee, 2010).In the modern world, the use of internet has become so flexible that it can also be used on a mobile phone. August Online Tech can resort to use a mobile application to advertise about itself. Affiliate marketing is another tool of marketing that can be used by the August Online Tech (Olenski, 2014; Mobile Marketing Association, 2011). Network Security Risks and Protection The marketing of products and services on the online platform is not free from security issues. The hackers who resort to leak the authentic and secured information by corrupting the website of a company pose one of the most wide-spread threats, despite the existence of tight security (Ackerman Davis, 2003). Another type of network issue that is faced by August Online Tech. is eavesdropping, which is referred to as monitoring of the website by some alien person. The website of the company can be altered by the hackers that might lead to unwanted and false display of records on the company websites, generally termed as data modification (Microsoft, 2016). Identified spoofing can be regarded as another type of threat that is predominantly found in case of online marketing. It involves the use of programs to create false IP address that cannot be distinguished from the original website. The hacker can easily make changes in the companys website after IP address spoofing. The various other type of attacks includes application layer attack, sniffer attack, man-in the middle attack, password based attack, compromised key attack, denial of service attack, SYN flooding, spam and address forgery, smurfing and routing attacks. The local area network (LAN) can also be attacked by an employee of an organization by accessing the password that is required for a secured website (Microsoft, 2016; Anderson, 2008). It is therefore a matter of great concern to secure the network of August Online Tech. One of the first steps to do so is configuration management, which involves the removal of all types of clues from the website that can help in the hacking of password easily. A centralized control mechanism should be introduced so that a vigilance and synchronization is possible 24x7. Firewalls play a vital role in blocking the harmful traffics. Circuit gateways can be regarded as an advanced tool to stop interference of hackers. The other mechanisms that can be used to stop harmful penetration into the network includes application relays, combinations , egress filtering and coordinated match between technical solutions and algorithms (Niranjanamurthy Chahar, 2013; Anderson, 2008). References Ackerman, M S Davis, D T 2003, Privacy and security issues in e-commerce. New economy handbook, pp. 911-930. Anderson, R 2008, , Security engineering, John Wiley Sons, India. Evan, D McKee, J 2010, Praise for social media marketing: the next generation of business engagement, The Next Generation Social Media Marketing ,pp. 1-377 Intef 2011, The benefits of online shopping, Shopping Trends, pp. 1-2. Microsoft 2016, Common types of network attacks, Library, viewed 20 September 2016, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc959354.aspx Mobile Marketing Association 2011, Mobile advertising guidelines, Version 5.0, pp. 2-24. Mozilla Developer Network 2016, Publishing your website. What are the options? viewed 20 September 2016, https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Getting_started_with_the_web/Publishing_your_website Niranjanamurthy, M Chahar, D D 2013, The study of e-commerce security issues and solutions, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 1-12. Olenski, S 2014, 4 myths about affiliate marketing you need to know, Forbes, viewed 20 September 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2014/07/08/4-myths-about-affiliate-marketing-you-need-to-know/#6c60ec24733b Online Tech 2016, Exceptional people. exceptional experiences. Company, viewed 20 September 2016, https://www.onlinetech.com/products/cloud-computing-hosting 1Online Tech 2016, Enterprise architectures for every business, Products, viewed 20 September 2016, https://www.onlinetech.com/products/cloud-computing-hosting Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. 2015, Social media marketing, Gaining Traffic Website, pp. 1-57. University of Memphis 2016, Excel - goal seek, CIVL 1112, pp. 1-2 Zinkhan, G M, Kwak H, Morrison, M Peters, C A 2003, Web-based chatting: consumer communication in cyberspace, Journal of Consumer Psychology, vol. 13, pp. 18-27.

Friday, November 29, 2019

14 Incredibly Shocking Confessions from Nurses

14 Incredibly Shocking Confessions from Nurses Being a nurse is a tough job, but somebody has to do. When you’re dealing with hundreds of patients a day, you’ve got to develop a tough exterior and occasionally break the rules. Here are 14 confessions from nurses who went the â€Å"extra mile†.  Ã‚  Ã‚   [Source: Imgur]

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on Getting To Yes

Getting To Yes! â€Å"A back-and-forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other party have some interests that are shared and others that are opposed.† This is the simple (and accurate) definition of a negotiation, given by Roger Fisher. You are a negotiator. Like it or not, admit it or not, everyone participates in negotiation processes everyday. What you want for dinner, which movie you should see, which route you should take, whose turn is it to tell the boss no: all of these are examples of negotiation. Negotiations can take place formally or informally, openly or ambiguously, but they are a constant part of all our lives. In Getting To Yes, Fisher and Ury convey their opinions on the problem source found in many of our negotiations. Ury and Fisher go on to identify what they believe to be the four crucial steps in a successful negotiation as well as confront the most prevalent walls we (as negotiators) run into or inadvertently build ourselves. By definition, a positive (or wise) negotiation should wield an agreement that is mutually beneficial to all of the parties involved. Perhaps the biggest piece of baggage many negotiators bring into the discussion with them is their preconceived notions of their position and what that subsequently means. But, by arguing over positions, negotiators often remove the possibility of a truly wise agreement. The danger that often time arises from positional bargaining is that the more one reiterates their position and reinforces how strongly they are bound to that position, the stronger that position truly becomes. Being that the point of a successful negotiation is for each party to remove themselves from their personal opinions on the matter and allow each other to meet in the middle, refusing to budge will quickly stonewall any discussion. With every point made regarding one’s â€Å"superior position† another viable point is lost in the fray as mo... Free Essays on Getting To Yes Free Essays on Getting To Yes Getting To Yes! â€Å"A back-and-forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other party have some interests that are shared and others that are opposed.† This is the simple (and accurate) definition of a negotiation, given by Roger Fisher. You are a negotiator. Like it or not, admit it or not, everyone participates in negotiation processes everyday. What you want for dinner, which movie you should see, which route you should take, whose turn is it to tell the boss no: all of these are examples of negotiation. Negotiations can take place formally or informally, openly or ambiguously, but they are a constant part of all our lives. In Getting To Yes, Fisher and Ury convey their opinions on the problem source found in many of our negotiations. Ury and Fisher go on to identify what they believe to be the four crucial steps in a successful negotiation as well as confront the most prevalent walls we (as negotiators) run into or inadvertently build ourselves. By definition, a positive (or wise) negotiation should wield an agreement that is mutually beneficial to all of the parties involved. Perhaps the biggest piece of baggage many negotiators bring into the discussion with them is their preconceived notions of their position and what that subsequently means. But, by arguing over positions, negotiators often remove the possibility of a truly wise agreement. The danger that often time arises from positional bargaining is that the more one reiterates their position and reinforces how strongly they are bound to that position, the stronger that position truly becomes. Being that the point of a successful negotiation is for each party to remove themselves from their personal opinions on the matter and allow each other to meet in the middle, refusing to budge will quickly stonewall any discussion. With every point made regarding one’s â€Å"superior position† another viable point is lost in the fray as mo...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Managing Human Resources Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Human Resources - Case Study Example Therefore the function of the human resource department then becomes central to the operation of any organization. The department is given the role of hiring, supervising and organizing training and development of the workforce. Therefore it is important to the management and development of the workforce. (Beer, 1995) In order to function properly, human resource department comes with particular policies and strategic plans that act as guidelines on how the organization is going to function. These policies and guidelines helps the organization to function properly in light of various workforce need for the organization. In order to ensure that these polices meets the needs for the organization and of the workforce, strategic human resource management (SHRM) has become the cornerstone for planning any human resource activities in an organization. Therefore SHRM has become the central focus to the operation of the human resource. SHRM implies the organized way in which the human resource department and in this case the whole organization comes up with strategies to manage the workforce. It involves taking into consideration a number of perspectives which are important of the operation of the department as a whole. ... (Truss, 2004) Background of Sainsbury J. Sainsbury plc. is one of the leading food retail in the UK and has been able to establish interest in non-food and financial services. It was established in 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsubring and it has been declared Britain longest standing major food retailing chain. It was established with a mission for making the company the first choice for consumers for quality goods, delivering of products and outstanding qualities which are cost effective. The shareholding is a mixed of individual with 42% shares, Bank and nominees with 56% and insurance companies with 2% of the shares. The group is made up of service chain supermarket called Sainsbury's supermarket, Bells stores, Jacksons Stores, and Sainsbury Banks. The corporation employs more the 145,000 people in all its operations. The company has been in the market for along time and has built a business empire based on its principle of ensuring that they give their customers the best butter in the world and at the affordable price. It has aimed at cutting in niche in the market by becoming the leading consumer first choice for food, delivering of outstanding quality products at the most competitive price in the market. The company has been taking various steps towards ensuring that it satisfies its customers in terms of meeting their demands through delivery of high quality goods and through ensuring that it pays attention to the matters of the environment. The company is best known for various productions in the market. Sainsbury has been know not only as a leading supermarket retailers in the UK but is also knows for other holdings. It operates Shaw's supermarkets Inc, Sainsbury Bank, J Sainsbury Developments Ltd, and Sainsbury's Property

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

In vitro Fertilization Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

In vitro Fertilization - Term Paper Example excess of embryos being wasted every year. Some of the ethical considerations have also been taken under evaluation which is associated with IVF. Lastly, the ethical undertakings will be elaborated in the context of moral absolutism, relativism plurality, ethical egoism and utilitarianism. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has become one of the smarter ways through which non-productive women can now give birth with healthy pregnancy. It is basically a method which enables reproduction of human pregnancy externally (outside the body). The method that is applied for pregnancy in IVF involves the man’s sperm and woman’s egg is combined together within the laboratory setting. Once the reaction between the woman’s egg and man’s sperm takes place, the reacting embryo is transferred to the uterus of woman by a surgical process. The procedure is conducted under planned time frame which cannot afford any delays or mishandling (Sher, Davis, & Stoess, 2005). Apparently, a lot of critics have mentioned that IVF is an easy method which has been contested by IVF practitioners. IVF is a complex process that involves systematic procedure for undergoing pregnancy. The processes that are involved in the IVF process includes following systematic steps: This step involves drugs that are especially given to women so that multiple eggs can be produced. This allows the ovaries to produce multiple eggs that are in a continuous yet natural cycle. This step is very important to note because this has a special association with the conflict of frozen embryos. The need of more than one cell is because not all eggs can be used for fertilization. Thus, more than one egg is produced in the IVF method of pregnancy (Bonnicksen, 1989). The second step involves the retrieval of the eggs from the woman’s body. This step does not take long as this based upon surgical method of retrieval of eggs. This step also undergoes the filtration of the

Monday, November 18, 2019

'Crime is a Symptom of Wider Malaise' - from the Perspective of Essay

'Crime is a Symptom of Wider Malaise' - from the Perspective of Positivism and the One Other Criminological Theory - Essay Example Crime is described in a sociological aspect, the behavior that infringes criminal law. It can be described in the course of laws, through official police reports of crime, or in the course of victimization surveys of people who are concerned about it, but possibly not involved with the department of police. In addition to this, â€Å"Crime consists of three principle divisions, 1. the sociology of law, which is an attempt to systematically analysis the conditions under which criminal laws develop and also an explanation of variations in the policies and procedures used in the administration of criminal justice. 2. Criminal etiology, which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the causes of crime; and 3. Penology, which is concerned with the control of crime† (Sycamnias n.d., para. 4). In general, crime has many definitions. One definition is crime is that, an act or an occurrence of inattention that is considered harmful to the wellbeing of the community, or to the principle s, or welfare of the circumstances, and is lawfully banned. Criminal activities keep increasing day by day in this world. The reason behind this could be various, but the crimes should be prevented at any cost, for the wellbeing of the mankind. Crimes happen due to certain reasons. ... ‘Crime is a symptom of wider malaise’, I would agree with this statement because malaise is a stage of mental depression, â€Å"a feeling of unease or depression† (Malaise 2012). A state of discomfort or stress leads to criminal activities generally. This could be treated and cured by increasing mental health and through anti crime awareness. If the reasons behind crimes are revealed, then the criminals should get appropriate punishment. Punishments are given to them in accordance to what they have done, and with the aim of preventing them for doing more crimes. But what I feel is, prevention is better than cure. Policies for preventing any forms of crime should be used awareness should be created in the society, so that criminal activities could be minimized. Punishments should be rigorous, so that those who have the tendency to the criminals should rethink. If the laws and punishments are not severe, it would increase the rate of crimes and would produce more cr iminals. Reasons such as family background, poverty, lack of education etc play a major role in creating criminals. In my opinion, criminals are not born; the circumstances create them as such. Circumstances mean family background, lifestyle, poverty, lack of education etc. There are many causes for crimes. Here I include 10 causes of crimes. â€Å"Lack of faith, imbalance, poor judgement, lack of love, poverty, deprived neighbourhoods, being a victim in a chain of events, poor parenting skills, ecological reasons etc† (Top 10 Causes of Crime 2007). The government has the responsibility to prevent crimes and secure the society. So it is the government’s responsibility to prevent crimes by implementing various

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Importance of a Crime Analysis Unit

Importance of a Crime Analysis Unit Crime analysis is not a new concept, as police officers have searched for ways to discover patterns and similarities between incidents for years. Furthermore, crime analysis has become a progressively common component in many police organizations. An increasing number of departments have allocated additional personnel to assume the role of crime analyst. Further, a number of police departments have established special units to perform crime analysis. In general terms, crime analysis deals with the collection and analysis of data relating to a criminal incident, offender, and target. Recently, there has been a shift from reactionary policing to proactive policing. Crime analysis does just that, it addresses the causes of crime and disorder overall preventing criminal activity before it ever occurs. Crime analysis is easily used in conjunction with community policing and problem-oriented policing, as they all have the same goal of preventing criminal activity before its too late (Gibli n, 2006). Analysis stands out amongst the best and most effective tools available to support law enforcement agencies today. Crime analysis is an effective and necessary constituent for both community and problem-oriented policing. Data collection is useless unless it is easily comprehended and relates to a case. The analysis of data not only puts an entire puzzle together, but it reveals what pieces are missing as well. Ultimately, crime analysis arranges information in such a way that it guides its departments towards prosecutorial achievement. Having a crime analysis function could fulfill the analytical needs related to problem-oriented policing. Basically, crime analysis coincides with any agencys contingency agenda and is an essential asset (Giblin, 2006). This paper is a proposal of guidelines revealing just how critical it is for this department to establish and maintain a Crime Analysis Unit. Mission, goals and objectives The mission of this crime analysis unit will be facilitating situational awareness and assisting out police officers with crime reduction efforts. The results of crime analysis will be generated to assist our officers with understanding their jurisdictions environment, as well as guide them in implementing specific strategies for crime reduction (Santos, 2012). The goals of this crime analysis unit will be to uncover vital pieces of intelligence from within huge quantities of data and to distribute this information to officers and investigators in the field, overall assisting their efforts in apprehending criminals and eliminating criminal activity. Additionally, analysis of crime is an essential tool when it comes to establishing crime prevention efforts. The cost benefit analysis shows that preventing crime costs less than apprehending, or trying to apprehend, criminals subsequent to the crime occurring (Osborne Wernicke, 2003). The overall objective of this crime analysis unit is to transform data into actionable intelligence on crime series, patterns, trends, etc. in order to support the department with preventing criminal acts from ensuing for both short and long term problems. Role of Analysis within the Department The role of analysis in this department is to assist with the overall intelligence, investigative, and planning activities. The crime analysis unit will analyze crime for a number of reasons. The analysts within the unit will allow this department to benefit from the wealth of information that exists in law enforcement agencies, the criminal justice system, and the public domain. The unit will also analyze crime to make the most of the limited law enforcement resources and to update our officers on general and precise crime trends, patterns, and series in a continuous, timely manner. Further, the crime analysis unit will be able to access crime problems beyond the local jurisdiction to pull from and assist fellow law enforcement agencies. On top of that, the analysts will be proactive in discovering and thwarting crime problems, as well as matching the departments efforts to the demands of an ever-changing society (Giblin, 2006). The crime analysis unit will ensure this department incorporates a geographic, spatial, and local focus that stresses the importance of incorporating crime-mapping techniques into departmental management, analysis, and enforcement procedures (Giblin, 2006). The unit will keep officers updated with critical information via crime bulletins, briefings, and a variety of intelligence reports. The analysts will also support officers and investigators in the field by identifying crime problems in their jurisdiction and assisting with short and long term prevention efforts utilizing the SARA model. The analysts will ensure they support the field both tactically and strategically. Although some crime analysis units solely produce crime statistics or only profile criminals, this unit will conduct a wide range of tasks in order to fully support field operations (Osborne Wernicke, 2003). The Crime Analysis Unit will also have an advanced and easy to comprehend software program as well. This program will be able to create statistics based off of inputted data, and will feature other tools like crime-mapping and an automated crime trend generator. With this database, even the entry-level analysts will be able to input data and generate basic reports. Analysts will also have knowledge on and be able to operate a geographic information system (Santos, 2012). Staffing A Senior Analyst will be in charge of the crime analysis unit and will be responsible for the everyday actions and products of the crime analysis unit. This position will be held by an experienced analyst with knowledge of all capabilities of the crime analysis unit and will be the link between the leaders in the department and the crime analysts. Below the Senior Analyst will be two specialty analysts, each with their own mission and team of three members. One team will be led by a tactical specialty analyst and the other specialty analyst will be skilled at strategic analysis. Both of these specialty analysts will have knowledge of general analysis techniques as well. The tactical team will focus primarily on present day issues, such as crime patterns and short-term statistics. The strategic teams objective will be long term analysis, focusing on permanent problems within the community. Although the two teams are split with separate missions, all analysts will have the basic knowle dge of all duties of the unit. The members on each team will consist of two entry-level analysts and one experienced analyst. The entry-level analysts will be responsible for conducting routine crime analysis duties. The experienced analysts on both teams will produce more advanced analysis, to include conducting statistics and research methodologies (Santos, 2012). These analysts will also assist the entry-level analysts and teach them what they know. Procedures There are five generally recognized stages in crime analysis: collection, collation, analysis, dissemination, and feedback. To start the process, the assigned analysts will start collecting data from a variety of sources, such as police reports, field interviews, probation and parole reports, as well as open source data. Analysts will ensure the information is coming from only the departments jurisdiction, as they dont need to be analyzing other departments jurisdictions. This data will be entered into a computer software program which assists the analyst with sorting. Since new data is constantly being generated, our department will choose specific crimes they would like analyzed. The analysts will then organize and place the data into sub-categories under the specified crimes. Once the data is organized, it will be analyzed more thoroughly and turn it into timely, useful, and accurate information for distribution. The analysis procedure will assist in identifying subjects, identify ing MOs, recognizing linked cases, and profiling all involved parties. Once the data has been concentrated down into useful information, it is distributed to the crime analysis units customers. Primarily it goes to the patrol officers, investigators, and command staff, but can also be disseminated to media, citizens, other city government employees, and other law enforcement agencies if needed (Osborne Wernicke, 2003). Since new crimes happen every day, they need to be added to the ongoing collation and incorporated into the bigger picture. When done effectively, this interesting and challenging work allows you, the crime analyst, to help police officers do a better job in making communities safer. Training All analysts in the crime analysis unit are preferred to have police knowledge, proficient research abilities, and technological skills. Subsequent to being hired, the analysts will undergo more training than their basic background knowledge. have training on geographical information systems (GIS), in order for them to generate intelligence products. Crime-mapping, CompStat, profiling, .. REWORD: The International Association of Crime Analysts has and continues to work to develop standards for crime analysis as a career and its practice. They have developed a national certification process and a handbook that provides basic crime analysis knowledge needed for certification, as well as a certification training series (IACA, 2011). More recently, they have initiated a standards, methods, and technology committee with the purpose of defining analytical methodologies, technologies, and core concepts relevant to the profession of crime analysis (IACA, 2011). Quarterly and annual training will be conducted using resources from the International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA) and from the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA) (Ratcliffe, 2004). Expected products Tactical crime analysis deals with the examination of recent criminal incidents and probable criminal activity through various methods (Santos, 2012). This type of analysis involves looking at data to produce intelligence on the where, when, and how of the crimes in order to aid field officers in pinpointing and interpreting certain, pressing crime problems. The objective of tactical crime analysis is to initiate a quick response to crime problems occurring in the present. The role of the crime analysts under the tactical team will be to identify current patterns of crime activities and forecast potential future crimes. The units tactical analysts will distribute information using a format known as pattern bulletin and include details such as suspect profiles, victim profiles, modus operandi (MO) factors, area type, day/time favored by the subject, and other elements that will assist in identifying the subject (Osborne Wernicke, 2003). The analysts will also provide products such as time series charts, crime pattern bulletins, and BOLOs (Santos, 2012). Strategic crime analysis involves long-range issues and arranging for long-term plans. The two main goals of strategic crime analysis are to aid in the identification and examination of long-term issue and to assess responses to issues as well as organizational measures (Santos, 2012). The analysts on the strategic team will observe long-term crime trends. The analysts will utilize different types of products to provide information to a variety of people, from command staff to field officers, as well as the community to put out this information. These reports will provide information on the ongoing deviation in certain crime categories, victim categories, target locations, or other crime elements of interest (Osborne Wernicke, 2003). The products of strategic crime analysis come in the form of memos, quarterly reports and maps, yearly reports, special reports, and research, evaluation, and problem reports (Santos, 2012). Because strategic analysis deals more with long term analysis, the reports will be pushed out over longer periods of time compared to tactical analysis reports. Along with tactical and strategic analysis, the crime analysis unit will also be able to conduct administrative crime analysis. Administrative crime analysis delivers a variety of services such as summary data, statistics, and general trend intelligence to the department. These products will assist administrators when they assign community resources and/or aid in relating pertinent information to citizens on crime and disorder issues (Osborne Wernicke, 2003). Conclusion: Most agencies are transitioning to a tactical and strategic crime analysis focus, dedicated to helping patrol officers and investigators apprehend criminals as well as assisting in problem-oriented and community policing efforts. References Giblin, M. J. (2006). Structural elaboration and institutional isomorphism: The case of crime analysis units. Policing, 29(4), 643-664. doi:13639510610711583 International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). 2011. Professional training series. Retrieved from http://www.iaca.net/training.asp Osborne, D., Wernicke, S. (2003;2013;). Introduction to crime analysis: Basic resources for criminal justice practice (illustrat ed.). GB: Routledge Ltd. doi:10.4324/9780203463284 Ratcliffe, J. H. (2004). Crime mapping and the training needs of law enforcement. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 10(1), 65-83. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/222839188?accountid=8289 Santos, R. B. 2012. Crime Analysis with Crime Mapping, 3rd Edition. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483302270/ http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/doi/full/10.1177/1043986214525080 https://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-w0271-pub.pdf (?)

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Industrial Revolution :: essays research papers

American dream promises equal opportunity to pursuit one’s happiness, personal wellbeing, and reward for all those Americans and immigrants who endure, overcome, and ultimately prevail hardships. However during the era of American Industrialization, many people were exploited and forced to work or else face starvation. New inventions increased the rate of production and the efficiency of the workers, thus greatly increasing profit. Success of capitalism further promoted continuation of exploitations lead on by few rich that are influential. American Industrialization had a negative effect on many groups of people, who were pursuing the great American Dream, and yet oppressed by selfish, greed driven upper class. With the introduction of the machinery, factory owners no longer needed â€Å"skilled† craft workers for production of factory goods. The machines performed faster, better and with more reliability. At most jobs in factories required neither great strength no sp ecial skills any more. The owners thought women could do the work just as well as or better than men. In addition, they were more â€Å"docile† and â€Å"compliant†. Therefore, many women workers were hired during the progressivism era. Even though the wage was low, working hours were long and working condition was less than satisfactory, these women had no choice but to work, for they need to support their family. The tale of Rose Stokes is a good example. The factory owners were getting richer and richer, by cutting wages, and providing less compensation for his workers. Many times, women went on strike to protest the wage cut and hour increase. Nevertheless, it proved useless, because of the rapid influx of poor immigrants arriving into United States from Europe: to earn a living, these immigrants were willing to accept even lower wages and poorer working conditions. Women in America did not have the right to vote until the year 1920. If women fought harder for thei r right to vote and gained suffrage earlier, I believe that women would have had a louder voice in the society, in turn better raise awareness of the exploitation and demand better treatment. In colonial America, most manufacturing was done by hand at home. Relationships between the employer and workers were generally harmonious. They worked side by side, shared the same interest and held similar political views. However during the era of American Industrialization, as towns grew in cities, the demand for manufactured goods increased. Employers no longer worked with his employees.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Comparing Ancient and Classical Art Essay

Ancient and classical art comes in all different shapes and sizes of visual experience. In this paper we explore into the making and design of two unique architectural buildings, Stonehenge and The Great Stupa at Sanchi. These two fascinating buildings were built in different eras from BCE to CE and yet have many similarities, and as well carry distinct differences between the cultural values and the purpose they were intended. This paper will also focus on the area’s region and the functions these two artifacts carry in our culture in the present day. The Stonehenge is located in Wiltshire, England. The Stonehenge is made up of many different size stones. The heal stone alone is 16ft tall, weighing 35 tons. When the sun sets, this stone casts a shadow towards the main circle of stones. There are two smaller stones known as the â€Å"Avenue†, which are lined up and these also cast a shadow in the direction of the circle. There are 2 stones that follow the â€Å"Avenue†, that stand next to each other, almost like an entrance to the outer circle of stones. The two stones are known as the â€Å"slaughter stone†. The slaughter stones were believed to be a place of human sacrifice. The main circle of stones are known as â€Å"The Sarsen Circle†. These stones are set in a circle and supported by tenon joints. The circles of stones are also circled by the outer bank, which is a 330ft in diameter and is the oldest construction in the area. In the middle of the circle consists of five trilithons. These stand 22ft above ground and are 8ft below ground level. The weight of these stones is 50 tons. In the inner circle is also the â€Å"Altar Stone†, this is made of smooth, green sand stone, which is known as one of the most recognizable stones at Stonehenge. The main circle of stones, have smaller stones inside, which also form an inner circle and these are known as â€Å"Bluestone Circle†. The Stonehenge was believe to be built in 2750-1500 BCE. The stupa sits on a hilltop in central India. The stupa consists of four gateways and each gateway has decorations that tell a story in regards to the life of Buddha. The shape of the stupa is dome shaped and is surrounded by a fence to limit distractions during the meditation period. The dome has an upper and lower pathway. The lower path represents the path of life and the upper representing enlightenment. The top of the dome has an umbrella, which is a tower of three discs, smaller at the top and bigger at the bottom. All three discs represent something different, from top to bottom, Buddha, his teachings and the community of Buddhist. The Stupa was built over 400 years, but most of its completion was in 15CE. The Stonehenge World Heritage spans ten miles around the famous site of Stonehenge. The region is also known as the Salisbury Plains as the location is grassy and flat. This Neolithic artwork in the United Kingdom is a famous destination for many individuals around the world. Unlike the region in which Stonehenge is located, the Great Stupa at Sanchi rests upon a hilltop in central India. Sanchi, which stands for small village is located in the Raisen district of the Madhya Pradesh (â€Å"Sanchi City Travel Guide†, n.d.). The surroundings of the Stupa is calm and restful and it is surrounded by hills, trees, and other types of vegetation. Many individuals still visit this religious site along with other temples and stupas located in this region. Scientists believe that it took over 600 individuals to create the famous Stonehenge monuments. This was because some of the rocks weighted some 50 tons. Great teamwork by the Neolithic people of Britain is attributed to the creation of Stonehenge. The great emperor Ashoka of Maurya is the creator of the Great Stupa at Sanchi although this site was rediscovered in 1818 by a British officer. It was then that the site was reconstructed to the condition that is in today. It is believed that that Ashoka created this and many other stupa in the area to divide relics of Buddha after his passing (â€Å"Stupa†, 2013). Their designs are circular, which is the first thing that viewers notice. With the huge stones used to build the Stonehenge and the complexity of The Great  Stupa at Sanchi, it definitely would have taken teamwork to get the jobs done. As the Closer Look states, â€Å"The stupa was built over a period of 400 years† (Closer look n.d.) and the Stonehenge took hundreds of people’s cooperation to build. These many groups of people probably valued socialism and teamwork in their cultures. With their hard work they completed something bigger than themselves which probably made the activity that more valua ble and special. The Closer look suggests that the Stonehenge was a burial ground due to the discoveries of human remains. According to Mike Parker-Pearson, â€Å"Villagers would have transported their dead down an avenue leading to the River Avon, then journeyed downstream, in a ritual symbolizing the passage to the afterlife, finally arriving at an avenue leading up to Stonehenge from the river.† (Closer Look n.d.) As for The Great Stupa at Sanchi, it represented Buddha’s life and was also a place for meditation. The Stonehenge and The Great Stupa at Sanchi have one obvious similarity; they both are made of stone and they took many of years to complete. These two works of art are very different from one another. The Stonehenge purpose is unknown still to this day. There are guesses and assumptions but there is no known fact about what it was used for. The Great Stupa at Sanchi was used for meditation purposes and where pilgrims would try to achieve harmony with Buddha and his life pat h. The Stonehenge was seen a great place to socialize but on the other hand, The Great Stupa at Sanchi was used by people to be peaceful, quiet, and calm. This great place is a relic of Buddha, and is used to worship him, as well as other Buddhist Gods. These two historical places, architecture could not be any more different. The Stonehenge is made of many separate stone setups that make up a circle and The Great Stupa at Sanchi is a dome shape to represent the earth. These two works of art, Great Stupa at Sanchi and the Stonehenge, both still have a function in today’s culture. They both are not physically used by everyone like they once were, but people are still able to see them in person. They are now tourist attractions which help others understand what they are, how they were, utilized, and more about each culture in that era. In conclusion, when we compare the architectural values and the visual description of each artwork, we find that they both hold a special meaning to the time and era of its  making. It can range from religious interpretation to the never ending mysteries that these attractions hold. It is all in the eye of the beholder. Whatever their original designs were meant for, whether it is human sacrifice or to leave a piece of art that would last through the ages, it is undoubtedly part of the power that ancient and classical art hold. So knowing the designer, the builders, and geographic locations of these pieces all play a part in their signature, it still leaves the world debating on whether it is even human design or that of a much more advanced race. References Closer look. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://closerlook.pearsoncmg.com/view.php?type=closerlook&id=653# Sanchi City Travel Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hoparoundindia.com/madhya- pradesh/city-guides/sanchi.aspx Stupa. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ancient.eu/stupa/ University of Phoenix.(2010). A World of Art, Ch.17. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ARTS230 website.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Cigarette Smoking and the Body essays

Cigarette Smoking and the Body essays Tobacco is consumed worldwide everyday by millions of people. Many people cannot prevent themselves from smoking because tobacco contains a drug called nicotine that makes them feel as if they need it in order to function normally. Nicotine is a substance found in tobacco. It is found in all tobacco products such as: cigarettes, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and cigars. When a person smokes a tobacco product, they inhale the smoke, which contains nicotine as well as over 500 chemicals, including formaldehyde (used to preserve dead bodies), cyanide, insecticide, carbon monoxide and tar [1]. I personally think that smoking is detrimental and that it has many fatal side effects, but eventhough many people know of these effects, they still chose to smoke. For what reason? Nicotine has a few positive effects on the body. It stimulates memory and alertness, enhancing cognitive skills that require speed, reaction time, vigilance, and work performance. It acts as a mood-altering agent, it tends to alleviate boredom and reduce stress, and reduces aggressive responses to stressful events. It also tends to be an appetite suppressant, specifically decreasing the appetite for simple carbohydrates (sweets) and inhibiting the efficiency with which food is metabolised. People who use tobacco products frequently depend upon it providing these side effects to help them accomplish certain tasks at specific levels of performance. Many people start smoking for the reasons mentioned before but some also smoke primarily because of peer pressure and advertising. Some also start to smoke because they think it makes them look cool. These 'positive' effects may seem reason enough for you to smoke but the negative effects are much greater and detrimental. The immediate affects of nicotine on the body include: increase in blood pressure, increase in heart rate, thickening of blood, narrowing of arteries, decrease in skin temperature, increase in resp...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

West Indies Yacht Club Resort Essay Example

West Indies Yacht Club Resort Essay Example West Indies Yacht Club Resort Paper West Indies Yacht Club Resort Paper As West Indies Yacht Club Resort is one of the five renowned resorts in the British Virgin Islands, the managers and employees have to cope with cultural differences and nurture them to excel. However, there is low staff motivation due to the escalating tension between the expatriates and the locals, as well as a consistently high expatriate turnover. The internal operational problems would lead to an increase in the number of complaints when customers are dissatisfied with the declining employees’ performance, thus potentially hindering the future growth of the resort. The following report includes detailed analyses of the problems in the resort, their underlying causes and their feasible solutions based on the observation respectively to restore harmony among the employees and therefore boost the profit of the resort. Analyses One of the major root causes regarding low staff motivation is the widening culture gap between the expatriates and the locals. For instance, most of the expatriates from America tend to be goal-oriented and individualistic. They are more competitive compared to the Caribbean people as their job was not guaranteed in the US. Thus, they would try their best to make a good impression. In contrast, the nurturing environment drives the Caribbean people to value the relationships with coworkers and quality of life. They have low incentives to work harder as the local employment laws guarantee their jobs and they grant salary increment every year without any performance evaluation. As a result, employees have lower motivation when the workplace atmosphere does not match what they value. Additionally, the root cause of the escalating tension between expatriates and the locals is the ineffective management style used. Expatriate managers have been using a behind-the-scene management style, which involves frequent supervision of the resort without actual involvement in its daily operations. They usually give vague directions instead of precise instructions. Because of the one-way communication, managers are distant from the employees; they do not know the needs of the locals as well as the actual problems of the resort. On the other hand, the locals have no chance to clarify the instructions. Thus, they often feel discontented as they do not understand the ambiguous instructions. This root cause would further lead to misunderstandings and conflicts between the expatriates and the locals and hence intensifying the tension between them. Moreover, the high expatriate turnover rate problem is caused by the lack of management training for the expatriates and the strict employment regulations for the Caribbean government. Expatriates lack vital experience in communicating with people of different races. They do not understand the needs of the locals which led them to apply the behind-the-scene approach that is often used in the US in the resort. However, it is ineffective to manage Caribbean staff who value collectivism. Because of the cultural difference and the poor results of the management style, the managers often feel demotivated very soon as they cannot manage their teams effectively. Consequently, the expatriate managers resign their jobs. Furthermore, the increasing number of complaints is because of the lack of sensitivity of the British Virgin Island vacation market. The Chicago headquarter has been continuing its overbooking practice for three years yet did not inform the guests in advance about the issue of over-booking the resort by additional 20 percent, as well as neglecting the opposition of the Room Division Manager and the employees. Hence, when the number of customers was much larger than the resort’s capacity during the peak seasons, there was insufficient staff and rooms to serve the guests. This results to guests having to stay on boats until rooms are available for them. Therefore, the increasing number of complaints is inevitable. Recommendation I recommend you and other expatriate managers to hold meetings regularly; perhaps once a week either by division or organization-wise. Managers should take the lead to translate organization goals into the tasks, as well as motivate employees when necessary. You should evaluate the employees’ performance as a whole and individually. Thus, predicaments would be prevented before they begin to affect daily routines and business. The meetings could be taken place at the beginning of the week, and hence could boost the staff morale efficiently and increase communication between managers and the employees. Also, you could organize informal gatherings such as some sponsored meals and trips after every peak season to form closer bonds between the expatriates and the locals. During the gathering, sharing session with the locals, department heads and headquarter staffs can be organized. Expatriates, managers, and headquarter staff should participate in order to attain a more harmonious workplace atmosphere. In addition, the headquarter should send expatriate managers to some local management training programs every year. The training sessions allow the managers to adjust their management styles based on the local culture and learn to be sensitive to cultural differences, thus improving their communication skills to some extent. The training course should have various role-playing situations; therefore, managers can simulate tackling random real-life problems. Finally, the resort should establish an effective appraisal system, which guests can carry out complaints or nomination anonymously. For poorly performed staff, managers could move them to a less favorable work position. For greatly appreciated staff, since they value their family, the resort should provide welfare on the staff’s family members such as offering a free hotel stay night which allows his/her family member to enjoy all the facilities at the resort for free. As a result, the employees would have greater motivation for optimal performance. Conclusion In conclusion, the resort must provide better services to further enhance the reputation and boost the profits of West Indies Yacht Club Resort. The above feasible solutions could be established gradually to attain the final objective: narrowing the culture gap between the expatriates and the locals. By doing so, all three parties WIYCR, employees, and customers would benefit from the improvements.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Arguing that restrictive state abortion law DO NOT violate the right Essay

Arguing that restrictive state abortion law DO NOT violate the right to privacy set in ROE v. WADE - Essay Example The right of privacy is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision on whether to terminate pregnancy or not. According to UN there are set committees created to ensure governments’’ compliance with their treaty obligations. The committee on the elimination of discrimination against women (CEDW) states that it is the duty of states parties to ‘respect, protect and fulfill women’s right to health care. The committee also raised concerns to unsafe abortion particularly in cases of rape. Such incidence also has raised the mortality rates in the world. When the case of Roe v. Wade was decided in January 1973, abortion except to save a woman’s life was banned in nearly two thirds of the state (Payment, 2004). The banned made women’s organizations to fight for the right to access safe and legal abortion, and surprisingly international human rights law support their claims. Since 1973, in the decision of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, states have constructed a lattice work of abortion law, codifying, regulating and limiting whether, when and under what circumstances should a woman abort. The denial of a pregnant woman’s right to make an independent decision regarding abortion violates or poses a threat to a wide range of human rights. The CEDAW committee has consistently criticized restrictive abortion laws that endanger a woman’s life. The UN committees suggested that women have a right to decide independently in all matters related to reproduction, including the issue of abortion. Roe a single woman in Texas sought a declaratory judgment that the Texas criminal abortion statutes were unconstitutional on their face, and an injunction restraining the defendant from enforcing the statute. She alleged that she was unmarried and pregnant and she wished to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. The abortion was to be performed by a competent

Saturday, November 2, 2019

What Might Succession Be A Critical Point in the Development of the Essay

What Might Succession Be A Critical Point in the Development of the Family Owned-And-Managed SME - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises are the commercial organization that is related by marriage or blood and resolution creation is entirely influenced by several family generations. It is believed to be the oldest system of business organization that has advantages of commitment to quality and focuses in long term. It is critical for understanding circumstances that leads to unhealthy and healthy family SME. The family-owned SME is considered as common and oldest model of economic business organization. There are a massive majority of companies from multinational listed and corner shop listed administrations that can be regarded as the family owned small and medium-sized enterprises. The five critical points that involve at the development of family businesses are social capital, human capital, patient financial capital, low cost of governance and survivability capital. The inner circle and human capital are considered as the first resource and the primary element. In the form of external relationships and networking, the valuable social capital has been brought by the family members. The threat of liquidation is lessened by effective family relationships with managers and investors. The firms have an opportunity to provide emergency loans and free labor for survivability capital of their family members. In perspective to infrastructure dimension, the strengths of family firms are innovative, informal, entrepreneurial and flexible. The organizational structure is believed to be effective and simple. This is primarily because the hierarchical position of family-owned SME is simple. Family members have the better understanding of each other. This enables to family businesses to expand globally. Most of the family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises are considered to have compact informal training. The mixture of younger and older individuals adds something new to the family business operation. The family members involved in SME are believed to be more committed to help a business grow and survive. The employee relations for family businesses are better.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Game Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Game Theory - Essay Example The games are well defined mathematical objects where it consists of a set of players, a set of strategies (moves) available to players and specification of payoffs for combination of strategies. A player is said to be rational if he play in a manner which maximizes his own payoff. It is often assumed that rationality of all players is common knowledge. A strategy dominates another strategy of a player if it gives a better payoff to that player, irrespective of what the other players are doing. For example, if a player have two strategies A and B the outcome resulting from A is better than that of B, then strategy A is said to dominate strategy B. A rational player will never choose to play a dominated strategy. In an extensive game, a strategy is a complete plan of choices, one for each decision point of the player. A mixed strategy is an active randomization, with given probabilities, that determine the players decision. The games are splitted as cooperative and noncooperative games. In a noncooperative game the participants cannot make commitments to coordinate their strategies, and hence the solution is a noncoopoerative solution. In a noncooperative game with finite players Nash equilibrium is a set of mixed strategies between two or more players where no player can improve his payoff by changing his strategy. Noncooperative games are defined by extensive and normal forms whereas cooperative games are presented in characteristic function form. In extensive form, games are often represented as trees and each node (vertex) represent a point of choice for a player. Each player is represented by a vertex. The lines out of vertex denote possible action for that player and the payoffs are specified at the bottom of the tree. In the normal form (or strategic form) game is represented by a matrix which tells strategies, players and payoffs. In general it is represented by any function that associates a payoff for each player with every possible combination of actions. In the normal form it is assumed that each player acts simultaneously without knowing the action of other. In cooperative games the individual payoffs of player are not known but the characteristic function gives the payoff of each coalition. For empty coalition the payoff is considered to be 0. In partition function form the payoffs not only depend on its members but also on the rest of players who were partitioned. In cooperative game participants can make commitments to coordinate their strategy which is a converse to noncooperative games. Cooperative games are particularly used in economics. In cooperative games if side payments (incentives) are allowed then the corresponding solution concept is known as transferable utility cooperative value otherwise it is known as nontransferable utility cooperative value.In game theory we have zero sum and non zero sum games. In zero sum games, the players gain or loss is balanced by other players losses or gains so that the total gains obtained when subtracted with total losses of the players gives a zero sum. In nonzero sum games we have sum le ss than or more than zero. A game is said to be sequential if one player performs his action after another or else it is a simultaneous move game.An example for a zero sum game is Matching pennies. In this game we have two players having a penny. On tossing the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

HR Management Essay Example for Free

HR Management Essay Negligent hiring is the potential liability of an employer for actions of an employee who was selected for employment without adequately determining the person’s qualifications for the job. Negligent retention on the other had refers to the prospective liability an employer faces by retaining employees who it knows (or should know) a re not qualified to perform their jobs tasks or have mental or physical conditions or propensities that result in them being hazardous to themselves or others. Discussion  Employers need to do reasonable investigations on the prospective employees work experience, background, character and qualifications to avoid negligent hiring. The doctrine of hiring and retention provides that an employer have a duty to exercise reasonable care in selection and retention of his employees. The employer should be aware of the employee problems that make him or her unfit should avoid negligent retention. The employer should take further action such as investigating, discharge or reassignment. Employers want to be sure their employees are doing a good job, but employees should not have their every sneeze or trip to the water cooler logged. This is where workplace conflict comes to foreplay. Employees are the greatest assets of any company and an employer should put much care in protecting their privacy. Employees should avoid providing all their information to their employers because such information could be used for identity theft as well as carrying out criminal activities such as fraud cases leaving the employee in financial problems. Employers should also ban use of the new technology such as camera phones, digital cameras etc because offensive pictures of workers in private, embarrassing or intimate situations can be taken and sent to the net. Such technology can be used to conduct industrial espionage. In this cue therefore employers do are not obligated under any law to use devices that can intrude on the employees privacy. The employers under the contract terms reserve the blame if the employee get accident or injured during the working term. Under the labor laws the safety of the employees lies on the employer if the employee gets the injury at the point of work. It is the mandate of the Contracting firm to provide safety and health measures at all costs to the working employees who forms the main component assets in the company. WS4DQ1-Merit pay Merit pay is pay compensation given to employee based on his/her productivity. Its based on the assessment of the employee’s productivity. Hoever merit pay is rarely used as most managers use it as a strategy to motivate those indiduals well known to him or her. Merit pay should be given based on competence in work. Hard working employees need to be rewarded; this should base on achieved measurable targets, units. Merit pay should be included as part of organization package for various reasons. One is that merit pay enhances a vibrant competitive workforce and therefore eliminates laggardness in workplace. WS4DQ3-Kenneth Lay Lay was one of the Americas highest paid CEO in America. He was Presidents Bush Treasury secretary . He dumped large amounts of his Enron stock and encouraging his employees to buy more stock. As the highest paid CEO, lay never contributed much to the Organizations success; rather he greatly contributed to its downfall. Thus, he was not entitled to the handsome package he was receiving, as he got filthily involved in scandals that amounted billions of shillings leading to the collapse of Enron. WS5DQ1 Workplace violence can take a heavy toll on a business in terms of liability, lost revenue and employee productivity. Tangible costs-medical bills, Antony fees, lost wages, security cost, rehabilitation and property damage. Intangible costs include; loss of staffs time, staff replacement, company liability, moral issues that affect productivity levels. Preventing work place violence therefore means the management of the human resource should ensure the safety of work place. Work place violence can be prevented by; being always alert-no work place is safe, understanding what the problem is, developing a violence prevention plan and responding to emergency incidents. Such policies as; violence prevention plan should be put in place, the management should be at fore in been alert on any violence incident, developing a good working environment and cultivating on maintaining good teamwork relations. This is because when there is good relation among the workers, there is low chance of violence. WS5DQ2 Federal Osha does not have jurisdiction over those employed by state, county, city or municipal governments. However, several state plans do cover such public sector employment. State with approved state plans and in accordance with section 27-a of the PESH act, New York adopts and enforce occupational safety and health standards in the public sector which are identical to OSHA’s. For instance public schools must comply with same fire protecting standard as private schools, but the standards are promulgated and enforced by the state. The California department of occupational safety and health differs with the federal OSHA agencies in the sense that, states have option to establish regulations for hazards not covered by federal standards or more stringent standards than those promulgated by OSHA, which California does. California state agencies standards cover more ground and stringent than federal OSHA’s. Mainly, California OSHA agencies differ from federal agencies in such areas as; requirement for injury and illness prevention program (IIPP), hazcom standards, permissible exposure limits (PELs) and Ergonomics. OSHA’s has continuously been involved in voluntary protection programs, which has indicated effective management of safety and health protection improvement in employees moral and productivity. WS6DQ3 The involvement of unions in social policy areas and participation in self-governing bodies of national social insurance scheme has been the role of unions in Germany. With the increased importance of private pensions, trade unions have enhanced their collective bargaining role in this area. Besides unions have seized opportunities to enhance their role in collective regulation of state imposed privatization. Trade unions over the recent years have had their membership dwindling ageing of membership and lacking support among young employees. This is because the top management or leaders in the unions have taken it as their platform to pursue their welfare as opposed to the welfare of the members in the collective bargaining. WSDQ3 The NLRB does not include coverage for all workers. These include individuals who are employed as agricultural laborers, domestic servants, parents or spouse, independent contractor, employed as supervisor, employed by an employer subject to railway labor act, employees by federal state or local government and those employed by any other person who is not an employer as defined by NLRB. These employees do not have right to form unions as other workers since they are not within the NLRB jurisdiction. In one case, NLRAB was unsure how to define ‘supervisor’. Individuals who are supervisors would not be included in the bargaining unit potentially represented by unions or allowed to vote in the elections. The court ruled that this NLRB judgment is unfair. The court said there were no statutory basis for excluding ‘’professional or technical judgment’’ from joining unions. The basis of the argument therefore is that each party in work environment has a stake in forming a labor union.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Hilton Hotels A Name That Has Been Synonymous Marketing Essay

Hilton Hotels A Name That Has Been Synonymous Marketing Essay Chapter 1 Introduction Overview The hospitality industry has from time in memorial revolutionised to ensure business in this service industry is conducted in a unique way such that at the end of the day, customers get value for their money. In brief, that is Satisfaction. Hilton Hotels, a name that has been synonymous with excellence in hospitality is a hotels and resorts worldwide that goes a notch above and believes that their customers are not only customers but they are their guests. Therefore, ensuring customers stay is memorable has always been paramount and of great concern to Hilton group of Hotels. Furthermore the hotel ensures that they supersede their customers expectations and always guarantees satisfaction. The research focuses on Customer satisfaction in the Hospitality industry with a Particular reference to Hilton London Hyde Park hotel. Located a mile from Oxford Street and the west End, the hotel is one of the distinct, exciting hotels on the city doorstep. The researcher sought to find out the unending process of ensuring and guaranteeing customer satisfaction at this hotel property which forms part of the entire Hilton hotels fraternity. (Hilton Hotels and Resorts, 2010) Customer Satisfaction in Hospitality industry has been the bottom line in earning competitive advantage. It should be of interest to the reader that there has been enormous competition in this industry that is always highly competitive and all Hotels whether for business or leisure strives to ensure they meet and exceed their customers expectations. Meeting Customers expectation ensures customer satisfaction, and that is what all customers look for when they check in at the Hilton- London Hyde Park. Aims and Objectives of the study. This research sought to evaluate customer satisfaction at the Hilton- London Hyde Park. To ensure a clear guideline on how this research was going to be conducted, the researcher developed the aims and objectives which have been outlined below; To review the existing literature on customer satisfaction and add to the body to of knowledge how to ensure customers expectations are met and exceeded in achieving customer satisfaction. To find out competitive advantage that Hilton- London Hyde Park has earned that guarantees customer satisfaction. To investigate on regular customer complaints and ways in which customer complaints are handled at the Hilton London Hyde Park. To recommend suitable ways to ensure good customer care at the Hilton London Hyde Park that would be part of ensuring customers expectations have been met. Research Purpose and Rationale. The main purpose of this study is to independently ascertain in details the process of customer satisfaction at the Hilton- London Hyde Park. When customers needs and expectations have been met, customers are said to be satisfied. It is every customers desire that businesses take their needs and expectations at heart, this in the end has a long term results since it compels them to come back to the business hence becoming loyal. Businesses also benefit by ensuring customer satisfaction. This is evident when the same customers frequent the business daily or regularly, it creates loyal customers who will purchase more and even recommend that business to their friends and colleagues. Its from this fact that the researcher sought to evaluate customer satisfaction at a Hotel that champions it. Hilton -London Hyde Park has been on the fore front in ensuring and guaranteeing customer satisfaction, as a matter of fact the hotels has also been used as a benchmark for other properties that are struggling or yearning to achieve satisfy their customers. The research also sought to tackle customers perception of products and services at Hilton- London Hyde Park. Customers perception is always as a result of what they have experienced first hands at they Stay in the Hotel or what they have heard about the Hotel, the issue of perception cannot be ignored since it affects business performance. Hilton -London Hyde Park has put in place brand standards in every area of operations; this is for the sole reason of ensuring that customers expectations are met and exceeded as well as to maintain a positive image to the customers who are in the Hotel either for business, meeting and conferences or leisure. The researcher therefore was prompted to find out customers perception on products and services at the Hotel. Scope and Limitations Due to lack of funding and inadequate resources to support the project, the researcher focused only on Hilton London Hyde Park out of the hundreds hotels around London. Some of the customers who were presented with questionnaires most of them didnt fill them in because the hotel also provides questionnaires to the guests on arrival. Most of them always felt in a rush due to their busy schedules and lack of time to respond to the customer satisfaction questionnaire. Questionnaires that were returned, some were half filled or poorly filled. The other challenge was lack of information from first time customers at the hotel. On the questionnaires, it showed lack of knowledge and that some customers dont care about customer satisfaction especially those who dont pay for their bills such as business customers. Summary The introduction chapter highlighted the pre amble of this research. This has been achieved by giving a simple synopsis of the research aims and objectives, presenting the background information of the research conducted as well as the importance of the research and all the limitations that were encountered while at it. In the following chapters an in-depth and detailed piece of this work is presented that will shed more light on the various literature and scholarly works that has been carried out on customer satisfaction. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction In this chapter various scholarly articles on customer satisfaction are going to be examined and compared, further more academic literature on the same will be reviewed and this will help the researcher relate to the research findings. This chapter will highlight various literatures on customer satisfaction and all the factors related to customer satisfaction. It describes in depth how good customer service from business acts as a catalyst in achieving satisfaction. However from this section it will be interesting to note that, not all customers appreciate what businesses does for them and hence the issue on customer complaint which can either be genuine or not. This opens the eyes of the potential reader to note that customers whose expectations are met tend to be satisfied, those whose expectations were exceeded tend to be delighted and those whose expectations were not met at all tend to be dissatisfied, this categorised the various kind of customers as much as customer satisfaction is concerned. 2.2 Who is a customer? There have been various definitions as well about who a customer is, but regardless of any definition its fundamentally clear that a customer is the most important person in any business. Every business must realise that a customer not dependent upon the business but on the contrary the business is dependent upon them since they are the sole reason as to why that business exists and favours the business when they come to buy the products or services that a business offers. Any business therefore knows that the customer is an essential part it, not an outsider. (Robert, 2005) The customer is the person who comes to the business with his needs and wants and its ultimate for that business to fulfil their requirements. A business should also accord every customer the most courteous attention they can give them since the customer is the lifeblood of every business, as a matter of fact Its Important to realise that without the customer any business would have been behind to closed doors. (Don and Martha, 2004) 2.3 Customer Satisfaction A result of good customer care is referred to as customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction therefore is a derived term that shows the results of offering good customer care in a business. It should be noted that customer care therefore involves the planning of all activities in customer supplier relationship including the pre, during and after stages so as to ensure the customer expectations with regard to transaction process are met or exceeded (Withey and Lancaster, 2006). This clearly shows that for customer satisfaction to be achieved the process towards customer satisfaction starts before the product or a service is offered to the customer. Customer care involves more than just customer service, as a matter of fact; customer service is an important facet of customer care especially in ensuring that customer satisfaction is achieved. The latter necessitates the involvement of every facet of the company marketing and customer related programmes and should affect every single stage of the marketing planning and implementation process (Withey and Lancaster, 2006). Its therefore important for marketing managers to ensure that good customer service is put in place and addressed in the marketing process since this will be part and parcel for ensuring that customer satisfaction is finally achieved. Kotler (2009) approaches customer satisfaction from a different perspective. He refers to customer satisfaction as the customers feeling of pleasure or disappointment that arises from comparing the products perceived performance to their expectations. This means that customers have a certain perception towards every product they use hence its evident that if this products or service doesnt fulfil the customer expectation according to his or her perception about the product there will be dissatisfaction. Furthermore if the performance of the business matches the expectations in which the customer had perceived the product or service the customer is satisfied and if the performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted. Customer Satisfaction therefore starts even before the product or service is provided to the customers, its important to note that every aspect of the business contributes to the overall customer satisfaction. It is vital for all the companies to realise that investing in good customer service and care will result in total customer satisfaction. But as much as companies that are customer focused is concerned will create customer satisfaction, its not the ultimate goal of a business. If a company will reduce the price of the products and service that they offer so as to ensure satisfaction then it means that as much as customers are going to be happy and get satisfaction from lowered price then that means the business may suffer as a result, and when a business suffers all the stake holders will suffer as well. Its reasonable therefore for all the company that seeks to create total customer satisfaction to do so subject to offering acceptable levels of satisfaction to the stake holders given the total results, (Kotler, 2009). Customers form their expectations from various channels. Kotler (2009) explains that the following aspects build up customers expectation; Past Buying experience. Friends and associate advice. Marketers and competitors information and promises. A customer previous or past buying experience can be a great determining factor that can persuade him or her to purchase and repurchase the product. If a product met the customer expectations in the first instance, it is possible that the customer will go back and repurchase that product or service. On the other hand friends and associate advises really count on building up customer expectations, consumers often tend to seek advises on where best to get a certain product or which company offers the best services, from this aspect there is a greater likelihood of the customer to believe his or friends or associates if they have had a first experience with the companys product or services. Lastly Kotler (2009) emphasis on Marketers and competition information and promises cannot be ignored many times the markers raise hopes on a certain product by doing a massive advertisement on that product. Competitors who seek to enlarge their market share are usually ion the spree on luring customers, the sum total of this builds up customer expectations before buying the product. From the companies perspective the dilemma that comes with customer expectations is that if their marketers raise high expectations, the consumers will be disappointed, the need to raise expectations by the company acts as a great marketing tool but can be disastrous if that expectation is not met at all. However if a company decides to set expectations too low, then that means that the company will not attract buyers but the likelihood of customers whose product value includes low prices will be satisfied. Companies should therefore raise expectation and deliver so as to match hence creating satisfaction Kotler (2009). 2.4 Cost of Poor Customer Care (Michael and Steven, 2005) emphasizes that if a customer expectation at any point of the customer relationship is not met, the result will customer dissatisfaction. These consequences can be mild or worse depending on the circumstances given. Most of the dissatisfied customers tend to complain to the company, others decide to stop purchasing from the same company, however the worst of dissatisfied customers are the ones who bad mouth the company especially if they were treated in a way that did not favourable to them, this kind of customers spread the news and unfortunately bad news travel faster than good new hence these might have negative impact to the company. (Michael and Steven, 2005) further confirms that dissatisfied customers with bad experiences are twice as likely to tell others as the good experiences customers, this pointer indicates the extent to which lack of satisfying customers expectation can lead to. Its important for business to realise that maximizing customer sa tisfaction gives them a competitive edge to exist in the market, customers are faced by many similar products as well as complimentary product, which makes it easier for them to switch to another product if they are dissatisfied in any way. 2.5 Benefits of Good Customer Care Contrary to a dissatisfied customer, a customer who is satisfied is a major asset to the business. The business can be rest assured that they will come back and in the long run become loyal customers (Lancaster and massingham, 2010). This explains why most customer focused companies are setting up loyalty programmes that seek to reward customer in order to woo them to be loyal and keep them in the business. The value of maintaining loyal customers is immeasurable to a business; it affirms the business that there will be repurchase from the loyal customers and at least a good word will pass around from them, which is a consequence of good customer care. The cost of acquiring new customers as opposed to maintaining the existing ones is very high, and every business primary goal is to minimise cost as well as maximizing profits. Good customer care ensures that business maintains its regular customers and still maximize on the loyal customers (Lancaster, 2010) 2.6 Loyalty from Regular Customers This is the act of particular customers returning to make purchases on the same product and services and choosing the same business for their purchases. A repeat purchase is another benefit of good customer care. Customers who are impressed and whose expectations are met will end up buying from the same business from time to time, this gives the business leverage when it comes to competitive advantage Below is a ladder of customer loyalty. From the above diagram, the suspect is the lowest level of the relationship ladder whereby the suspect includes everyone who might buy the product or service, a prospect is one who has the potential of buying your product or service while customers have purchased either a product or service from you and have the potential of buying it again, clients are those who do come back and then lastly but not least the advocates are those who market a product or service on behalf of your behalf. (Smith, 2006) 2.7 Referrals from Customers When businesses make sure that all their customer expectations have been met, they are indirectly marketing themselves to the potential buyers. Regular customers of any organizations always advise potential buyers about the products and services offered by that business. It is a common practice for satisfied customers to tell others especially their friends and colleagues about the exemplary service they received from particular business. This boosts the business in a ways that it even reduces on its costs of advertising since the outcome of good customer services is that word is spreading about what customers perceive on the products and services that are being offered. Referrals are more credible than advertising, while advertising convinces the potential buyer to buy a product that not been tried by the potential buyer, referrals offer a firsthand advise from an individual who has had a good experience with the companys product. Therefore its evidently clear that good customer care gives birth to loyalty that generates referrals which is a benefit to the business in terms of maximizing profit. 2.8 Customer Retention A business that meets customers expectations and surpasses those expectations and remains consistent in its customer care tends to retain those customers. These are the type of customers who will be loyal to the brand or the business in terms of purchases. Customer retention is as simple as making sure that the loyal customers are given all the reasons to buy the product again and again either by giving them incentives or by introducing a loyalty programme that will be rewarding them and earning them points every time them make a purchase. Most of the companies have implemented strategies that allow the marketing department to take care of their customers so as to make sure they are faithful to the brand in order to create retention. It should be noted that customer retention is a process that takes time since customers tend to judge the ability of a company to be consistent in being good to them. Its highly advised that the companies should rethink about their ways in which they ret ain their customers since in this competitive age a competitive strategy goes hand in hand with ensuring a market share is maintained and increased. 2.9 Steps in Customer Satisfaction Encourage face to face dealings. Dealing with customers face to face can be outright scary for any sales or company representative if they are doing it for the first time. However the results can reward handsomely and moreover the nervousness ceases with time. Depending on the kind of business that a company is operating its vital for the marketers as well as the sales team to go out and meet their customers face to face so as to get a firsthand experience and to create the business bond. It is advised that when meeting the customers calmness and confident are the two characters that need to be utilized. Listen to them and ask them what they need. It is believed that if a potential client in a business spends over half the meeting doing the talking, the company is on the way to making the sale. Face to face dealings is therefore paramount in dealing with your customers. Respond to messages promptly. Customers always want their queries and questions about a product or service to be answered promptly or as soon as possible. It is very unprofessional to keep customers waiting for a response that takes ages before its replied. Its also advised that even if the query cannot be answered at the exact time the courtesy of letting the customer know that their query has been received and will be attended to as soon as possible will be indispensable. Customers feel appreciated when their queries have been attended to and someone has taken their time to. Be Friendly and approachable. Customers always want to deal with someone who they can talk to and even relate in a friendly manner, this breaks down all the business formality and creates a conducive atmosphere to do business. Its very important to be friendly and courteous and to make them feel that they are part of the business and can be helped out when in need, this gives them some emotional security to know that they can always count and rely on the business. It should be noted that as much as some customers are annoying and would like to take advantage of every situation, its critical that you keep a positive outlook as well as give them feedback as best as you can while maintaining politeness and courtesy. Have a clear defined customer service policy. Every company that is customer focused understands the value of implementing customer service policy for efficiency in handling customers. It not only saves time but serves as a competitive advantage for the company as far as customers are concerned. Customer service policies are rules and guidelines that a company sets up for the purposes of ensuring customer services are handled in the most appropriate manner that it deserves. Its the procedural process in which customers queries are handled and this procedures outline the steps in which certain steps should be taken if the usual way doesnt work out. Customers should know what kind of steps they should take when making an inquiry since they find it annoying to be transferred to from the staff to the supervisor, to the manager who will then fail to solve it. A clear defined customer service policy therefore ensures that the company takes into consideration the needs of the customers as w ell as saving time for the company. Anticipate clients needs. Anticipating clients needs is a very high level of customer and company relationship that not many companies achieve. But it is evident that they companies that can boast about knowing and anticipating customer need can boast as well about the great rewards that yielded from it. This refers to a pro active nature of the company to look beyond what the customers wants and spoil them for what they wish to have without charging them any extra penny. It refers to a level where the company takes an insight into the customers needs and supersedes it. This act of anticipation to the customers needs will be used to spread good word about the company and the results will be referrals since many would love to be treated the same way. Honour Promises. Companies sell their products and services by promising amazing rewards from purchase of their product and services. It is empirical that this promises should be honoured otherwise the consequences can be daunting. Customers always want to make sure that they relate to the company that promises and delivers the promise. Lack of delivering promises can cause dissatisfaction and customers can bad mouth the company. Most importantly the company might suffer from lack of purchases that will eventually result to low profitability as well as losses. Benefits on products purchase, services on goods bought, meeting deadlines on projects and even charging for the amounts quoted are examples of keeping promises to the customers. 2.10 Monitoring Customer Satisfaction It is important for companies to monitor satisfaction since its the only way they can be able to know factors that shape customer satisfaction and from this they can be able to know what areas to improve on so as to ensure customer satisfaction is achieved by the company. Kotler (2009) argues that the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty is not proportional, the level of customer satisfaction varies from customer to customer hence its evidently clear that the lowest level of satisfaction can be characterised by customers who can find it easy to switch since as much as their expectation have been met, they still feel there is a better product out there and this means they can easily switch. The other level which is a bit higher than the lowest level of satisfaction refers to customers who are fairly satisfied and are likely to buy again as well as talk good about the company and the products. The level that is ultimate in customer satisfaction is where the customer is delighted, at this level there is an emotional attachment to the company and not just a rational one. Companies are therefore advised to always aim to achieve maximum satisfaction since its the only sure way of ensuring repeat business in the company. Measuring customer satisfaction will allow a company to be able to recognise what makes customers attain different degrees of satisfaction. Kotler (2009) lists several measurement techniques which include; Periodic Surveys. Customer loss rate. Mystery shoppers. Periodic surveys refers to ways in which companies track customer satisfaction by sending customers survey questionnaires to measure level of satisfaction as well as to know whether the customers can repurchase from the business again. Customer Loss rate is another way of monitoring satisfaction where the business tracks the lost customers and seek to find out why they dont purchase any more of the companys product or why they switched to a different brand. A mystery shopper has been a new trend that is first hand and that gives evidence on buyers experience. This method involves hiring potential customers to pose as customers so as to get the experience of how customers are helped and treated by buying the companys product in comparison with the competitors product. Additionally it should be a caution to companies that are complacent with their achievement on performance of customer satisfaction. They are highly always advised to monitor competitors performance in this areas since what might seems satisfactory to a company, might mean a low mark to another company. This is evident since some companies set a certain target of ensuring customer satisfaction is achieved and when achieved and possibly surpassed, they tend to relax and be comfortable not knowing that their competitors bench mark is even higher than what they are aiming to achieve. Companies should therefore do everything as possible to monitor customer satisfaction for purposes of efficiency. 2.11 Customer Complaints. Customers always look forward to companies to fulfil their expectations once they go there to make a purchase. Customer complaints refer to grievances placed by the customers if they are disappointed by lack of companies in fulfilling their expectations. Some companies have always been mistaken to measure customer satisfaction by analysing customer complaints; this is wrong and ineffective since a customers perception about a product or service starts even before a purchase is done. Jobber and Lancaster (2009) said that perception is a complex process by which people select, organise and interpret sensory stimulations into meaningful picture of the world. The process might be used to sort out the masses of stimuli that could be perceived into manageable amount. So even before the customer makes a purchase there has been a perception about the brand. 2.12 Benefits of Customer Satisfaction A company that ensures customer satisfaction is achieved is at the verge of enjoying benefits that is linked to it. (Vadim, 2010) highlights the benefits of customer satisfaction as; Highly satisfied customer generally stays in the business longer. When customers needs are totally met the tendency is that the customer will stick to that business more and more since he or she will always want the expectation to be met. This in turn will be an advantage to the business since there will be repeat business that will favour profitability. Less sensitive to price. Customers who normally stick to a particular business have a perceived value as well as firsthand experience on the companys products and services, its an advantage therefore to the business since anytime there will be a change it the price structure or a price quote, the business will enjoy the fruits of loyalty. Pays less attention to competing brands, a company can boast of having a market niche that does not pay keen attention to the competitors because of the relationship they have with a company that delivers and gives them satisfaction. Most customers are always happy why they realise they have a shoulder to lean on and thus shunning away any competitor trying to convince them otherwise. 2.13 Influence of Customer Satisfaction. Customer satisfaction influences the whole company as well in terms of the daily running of the marketing activities which are costly. Marketers are therefore left with a challenge of maximising profits, ensuring customer satisfaction is achieved and guaranteed as well as costs are minimised as soon as possible. 2.14 Summary. Customer service is a practiced art that takes time and effort to master. All one needs to do to achieve this is to sit back and reverse roles with the customer. What would you want from your business if you were the customer? How would you want to be treated? Treat your customers like your friends and theyll always come back. In conclusion the customer is the most important person in any business and if it was not for the customers the business wouldnt be established in the first place furthermore customer satisfaction basically ranges from industry to industry and in this research the researcher will be able to know customer satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry. Chapter Three Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction In the prior chapter, customer satisfaction was clarified conceptually and clearly outlined by use of the available literature the researcher was able to compare notes to. From the literature reviewed it is evident that customer satisfaction is a product of good customer care in every business, further more from the literature the researcher was able to categorise customers in three categories ; Dissatisfied, Satisfied and Delighted customers. In this chapter, the researcher outlines how this research was conducted in order to evaluate customer satisfaction at Hilton-London Hyde Park Hotel. The chapter opens up by outlining the research aims and objectives so as to keep abreast with the main reason as to why this research was conducted, more so by outlining the aims and objectives, the researcher is able to have a clear guideline on the use of relevant research philosophy to be used as well as the research approach to be put in place. In addition, an effective research strategy had to be inculcated by the researcher so and to ensure that data collected was credible and would be able to give the researcher the desired results; this chapter explains in depth the use of the research strategy used in this case. Towards the end of this chapter the research explains the data collection method this research employed as well as putting ethical consideration into perspective. Last but not the least the chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this research methodology. It should be noted that lack of a clearly defined methodology may lead to the wrong collection of data that can be tendered irrelevant to the research report, its therefore highly important for researchers to have a critical analysis of the broad research methods and select the appropriate to be used in their research. 3.2 Research Aims and