Project financing and risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Project financing and risk management - Essay Example The risk teams work extremely hard to help to maintain the reputation as well as financial performance of the NCB Jamaica Ltd ? and also ensure that the bank functions responsibly and assists the business to grow in a meaningful and sustainable way. As corporate responsibility has turned out to be the ‘buzzword’ in the banking business, banks are being forced to enthusiastically engage in providing to sustainable development? given their intermediate position in the financial system. The primary objective of this study is to recognize various risks? particularly the strategic risks faced by the banking industry and how to mitigate them. Strategic risk take place from the inability of an institution to execute suitable business plans and strategies, resource allocation after making apt decisions and its incapability to adjust to the changes occurring in its business environment. It is very important for banks to be serious in improving, measuring and reporting their risks as well as goals and objectives of their organization? as they will ultimately be bound to fight on benchmarking with competitors. 2. Introduction and Background. Jamaica is the third major island in Caribbean. National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd. (NCB Jamaica) is Jamaica's major provider of the financial services with 37.5% marketplace share by assets of the profitable banking sector. NCB offers a wealth of financial services in the course of its network of 42 locations and more than 170 ABMs island wide. These services consist of savings accounts and chequing, facilities of the credit card, commercial and personal loans, insurance, and wealth management. National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited, jointly with its subsidiaries, offers different financial banking and products and services primarily in Jamaica. â€Å"National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited reported consolidated earnings results for the fourth quarter and year ended September 30, 2012. For the quarter, the company reported net profit of JMD 2,685,498,000 or JMD 1.10 per basic and diluted share compared to net profit of JMD 4,616,324,000 or JMD 1.87 per basic and diluted share a year ago†. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=20357150 The First Caribbean International Bank is a major Caribbean banking unit with assets in excess of US $9.5 billion and it is the second major institution among public traded financial organizations in the area with a market capitalization of above US $2 billion. The fundamental strategic principle of NCB Jamaica philosophy includes taking into account the interest of the stakeholders, customers, employees and their satisfaction. Strategic risk is a function of: †¢ A bank’s strategic aims †¢ Strategies of business developed in order to accomplish the goals †¢ Resources set up in search of these aims and the superiority of implementation †¢ Resources required accomplishing both tangible and intangible business strategies It consists of channels for communication, delivery networks, managerial capacities and capabilities and operating systems. The internal characteristics of an organization must be assessed against the impact of competitive, technological, economic, and regulatory and the other environmental changes. Strategic risk may occur due to several factors. â€Å"The primary risk to inflation in the 2011/12 financial year is the exchange rate and the pass through effect on prices if there is accelerated depreciation.

Important and application of data mining

Important and application of data mining Important and application of Data Mining Abstract Today, people in business area gain a lot of profit as it can be increase year by year through consistent approach should be apply accordingly. Thus, performing data mining process can lead to utilize in assist to make decision making process within the organization. This paper elaborate in detail the level of importance and also the application the application of data mining which can be adopt for various fields depends on the objective, mission, goals and purpose of conducting the study within the organization. there are three main areas take as a example which are hotel, library and hotel to observe on how data mining works to these main field. Keywords: Data Mining, KDD Process, Decision Trees, Ant Colony Clustering Algorithm; Association Rules, Neural Network, Rough Set, 1.0 Introduction As we know, organization which conducts business transaction is keeps massive of document or data in a specific database for further retrieval. The data are combine from are a few departments that carried out different task and each of their function parallel with the mission and vision of organization. According (Imberman, 2001) the number of fields in large databases can approach magnitudes of 102 to 103. Therefore, it is necessary to make proper decision making or strategic planning using the existing data where these plays important role in order to ensure any action that are taken place does not given an impact especially bring loss to the organization. Other than that, data became obsolete when it keeps on changing and easily out dated as the user requirement shifting depends on factors such as trends, money, needs and so forth. One way to analyze data is using of data mining technique which enable to assist organization by emphasize several steps to produce the valuable output in short period of time compare with the traditional method which may involves more than one methodologies and it derive to longer of time to accomplish the investigation towards a portion of data. Thus, in the business area an action should be done quickly in order to compete with other competitors and to improve performance both in giving service and produce a high quality product. Moreover, process interpretation of the result involves group of people to inject some of the creativity and synthesis which can lead to the solutions on the problem or tasks. Obviously, data mining a lot assist in various fields with different purposes and depend on the objectives that want to achieve. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 tells about definition of data mining. Section 3 determines the importance of data mining. Section 4 explains the application of data mining in various fields. Section 5 draws the conclusions. 2.0 Definition of Data Mining There are abroad definitions listed by a few researcher and academician according to their view and opinion based on the study they have done. Moreover, these will help to understand or giving an idea before discusses more in depth towards data mining technique. Basically, the main purpose use of data mining is to manipulate huge amount of data either existence or store in the databases by determine suitable variables which is contribute to the quality of prediction that will be use to solve problem. Define by Gargano Raggad, 1999. Data mining searches for hidden relationships, patterns, correlations, and interdependencies in large databases that traditional information gathering methods (e.g. report creation, pie and bar graph generation, user querying, decision support systems (DSSs), etc.) might overlook. Besides that, another author also agreed with opinion toward the data mining definition which is to seek hidden pattern, orientation and also trend. Through (Palace, 1996) added to the previous is: Data mining is the process of finding correlations or patterns among dozens of fields in large relational databases. Moreover, data mining also define as process to squeeze of knowledge or information using appropriate framework or model to analyze until produce an output that assist in fulfill the objective of the study. From Imberman, 2001: As knowledge extraction, information discovery, information harvesting, exploratory data analysis, data archeology, data pattern processing, and functional dependency analysis. The statement above agreed and adds that the framework or model that adopt definitely to expose the real circumstance. Define by Ma, Chou Yen, 2000: Data mining is the process of applying artificial intelligence techniques (such as advanced modeling and rule induction) to a large data set in order to determine patterns in the data. In the other hand, data mining is taken a few steps during analysis and this step is depending on the methodology that is chosen. Each of the methodology is not much differ from other methodology. Through Forcht Cochran, 1999: Data mining is an interactive process that involves assembling the data into a format conducive to analysis. Once the data are configured, they must be cleaned by checking for obvious errors or flaws (such as an item that is an extreme outlier) and simply removing them. 3.0 Important of Data Mining As discusses above, it can be seen that data mining will be beneficial a lot of party and multiple range of level in the organization as the model or framework that is apply can reduce time and cost. Then, the results allow the responsible knowledge worker to transform into the strategic value of information effectively by critically analyze the result. The process should be done carefully to avoid the useful variables or algorithm being removes or not be included in the extraction of reliable data. Data mining techniques will help in select a portion of data using appropriate tools to filter outliers and anomalies within the set of data. According to Gargano Raggad, 1999, there are a few others important of data mining consist of:  · To facilitate the explication of previously hidden information includes the capabilities to discover rules, classify, partition, associate and optimize. According to (Goebel Gruenwald, 1999) in order to seek the pattern of data, a few methodologies are use in clarify the vagueness as well as to identifying the relation among one variables and other variables within the databases whereas the outcome will guide in making decision or to forecast the impact when the action were take into consideration. The chosen of methodologies should be determined in a proper way suit with the rules and condition towards the data which is to be analyzed. The methodologies include: Statistical Methods: focused mainly on testing of preconceived hypotheses and on fitting models to data. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR): technology that tries to solve a given problem by making direct use of past experiences and solutions. Neural Networks: formed from large numbers of simulated neurons, connected to each other in a manner similar to brain neurons which enables the network to learn. Decision Trees: each non-terminal node represents a test or decision on the considered data item and can also be interpreted as a special form of a rule set, characterized by their hierarchical organization of rules. Rule Induction: Rules state a statistical correlation between the occurrences of certain attributes in a data item, or between certain data items in a data set. Bayesian Belief Networks: graphical representations of probability distributions derived from co-occurrence counts in the set of data items. Genetic algorithms / Evolutionary Programming: formulate hypotheses about dependencies between variables, in the form of association rules or some other internal formalism. Fuzzy Sets: constitute a powerful approach to deal not only with incomplete, noisy or imprecise data, but may also be helpful in developing uncertain models of the data that provide smarter and smoother performance than traditional systems. Rough Sets: rough sets are a mathematical concept dealing with uncertainty in data and used as a stand-alone solution or combined with other methods such as rule induction, classification, or clustering methods  · The ability to seamlessly automate and embed some of mundane, repetitive, tedious decision steps not requiring continuous human intervention. Several steps are taken in processes or analyzes on selected data where the process involves of filtering, transforming, testing, modeling, visualization and documented the result or store accordingly in the databases or data warehouse. Each of the steps functions differently and has responsibility in carries out the process with the purpose to easier and produce the high quality of assumption by automate generate towards specific conditions. For example, data warehouse also keep previous analysis and this allow eliminating the redundant output at certain steps. Through Ma, Chou Yen, 2000, they stress the characteristics of data mining define how it assist to reach the end process of analyzing. It comprises: Data pattern determination: Data-access languages or data-manipulation languages (DMLs) identify the specific data that users want to pull into the program for processing or display. It also enables users to input query specifications. Therefore, users simply select the desired information from the menus, and the system builds the SQL command automatically. Formatting capability: It generates raw data formats, tabular, spreadsheet form, multidimensional-display and visualization. Content analysis capability: Data mining also has a strong content analysis capability that enables the user to process the specifications written by the end-users. Synthesis capability: Data mining allows data synthesis to be timely executed.  · Simultaneously reducing cost and potential error encountered in the decision making process. Basically, data mining can minimize the error of forecasting by following the steps of selected methodology in well manner to avoid delaying in making decision where this situation will giving big impact for the business area. Therefore, it must be careful in handling the data throughout the steps involves whereby the strategic plan should take into consideration includes of the objectives to done the analysis, the amount of data, the variables, the relationship between variables, test adopted, and so forth. Moreover, if there is need to discuss with the professional towards the study conducted and it should be included in the planning part. In the context of organization, usually a unit or group of people are given responsible to carries this duty to discover the hidden pattern for another department. Hence, the continuously meeting should be done between the professional and researchers to ensure the end result fulfill their requirement as well as to improve the performance of work er, department and organization. In term of reducing a cost, compare to the traditional research which take time in acquiring the data from respondents and it depend on the methodologies that are use and the number of sampling. If the questionnaire method, it can be done quickly and less time consuming but if the interviewing method is adopted, it surely take time and researcher have to meets the respondent more than one time, if there is an ambiguity or the answers not meet with the requirement. For certain study, the sampling are involves from the different location which require the researcher to travel in order to gain the genuine opinion from them and this will cost a lot involves of accommodation, food, flight ticket and so forth. For data mining, it uses the existence of data (for example, data of customer transaction, data of student registration, data of patient undergo the operation process and so on) that keep in data warehouse which mostly reduce cost in aspect of acquiring data. Other than that, researc her take first action by search for the study in the data warehouse when the objective being determine at the beginning of study because previous study are store in the data warehouse. If it is found tally, a few step will be skip or easily decided towards the data and it prove that data mining can reducing the cost as well as time. Refer to Gargano Raggad, 1999, data mining also derive long term benefit which the cost incurred due to the development, implementation, and maintenance of such systems by a wide margin. 4.0 The application of Data Mining Nowadays, data mining is widely use especially to those organization that focuses on consumer orientation. For example, retail, financial, communication, and marketing organizations (Palace, 1996). Besides it, healthcare area also gain benefit by apply the data mining into the daily operations. These various of field shows each of the organization carries different transaction where all of details keep in the databases which enables to perform analysis for multiple purpose likes to increase revenue, gain more customer, improve customer satisfaction and others. Moreover, again through (Palace, 1996) the existence data allow to determine relationships among internal factor consists price, product positioning or staff skills and external factor consists economic indicators, competition and customer demographic. Hence, there three examples of data minings application in different areas which are hotel sector, library scope and also hospital with the goals to reduce or eliminate the weakness by address it using the result that is interpret in well manner to assist in making decision for the best solutions. The examples are as follows:  · A data mining approach to developing the profiles of hotel customers. A study conduct by Min, Min Ahmed Emam, 2002 with the objective to target some of the valued customers for special treatment based on their anticipated future profitability to the hotel. There are a few questions regarding to the customer profiling: Which customers are likely to return to the same hotel as repeat guests? Which customers are at greatest risk of defecting to other competing hotels? Which service attributes are more important to which customers? How to segment the customer population into profitable or unprofitable customers? Which segment of the customers best fits the current service capacities of the hotels? The researchers adopt decision trees for analyzing the data from the abroad method of data mining methodology because the ability to generate appropriate rules using visualization and simplicity. There are three steps having to follows in this process and it includes: Data collection: the process of select data that suit with objective from the previous survey. Moreover, remove the unwanted data from databases by filtering out the excel file. Data formatting: the process of converted all data in the spreadsheet to Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) for the purpose of classification accuracy. Rules induction: the process of selection of algorithms to building decision trees which is C5.0 to generate sets of rules that bring important clues in order for hotel manager to take further action. As the result, the researcher found that if-then rules as a useful in formulating a customer retention strategy with a predictive ranging from 80.9 per cent to 93.7 per cent whereas a predictive accuracy reflect to the rules conditions that affect by times (percentage).  · Using data mining technology to provide a recommendation service in the digital library. A study conducted by Chen Chen, 2006 with the purpose to provide recommendation system architecture to promote digital library service in electronic libraries. There are abroad of digital publication format likes audio, video, picture, etc. thus, it lead difficulties in analyzing or defining the keyword and content in order to gain information from the user to improve the service in the digital libraries. In the methodology section, there are two data mining models selected which consist o Ant Colony Clustering Algorithm; This model is capable to find the shortest path or reduce time to find the best output fit with the problem that existence in the organizations. Each of the steps has different function to enable they too see the relation among the variables It takes a few steps which are: Step 0: parameters and initialize pheromone trails. Step 1: Each ant constructs its solution Step 2: Calculate the scores of all solutions Step 3: Update the pheromone trails. Step 4: If the best solution has not been changed after some predefined iterations, terminate the algorithm; otherwise go to step 2. o Association rules to discover the hidden pattern. This model enables to find co-purchase items and assist in uncovered relationship algorithms in form of association rules. There are two main steps as follows: Step 1: Find all large item sets Step 2; use the large items set generated in the first step to generate all the effective association rules. As the results, these two models encounter more than one solutions and enable to gain a lot of recommendation that can be manipulate into various problem that exists in conducting digital libraries as well as to promote the usage in multiple level of user using the appropriate mechanism and providing suitable services.  · Using KDD process to forecast the duration of surgery. A study conducted by Combas, Meskens Vandamme, 2007 with the aim is to identify classes of surgery likely to take different lengths of time according to the patients profile as well as to allow the use of the operating theatre to be better scheduled. There are many issues arise in this field that lead to the study. For example, an endoscopy unit use of endoscopy tube (shared resources) during the surgery. However their availability is limited because it takes 30-45min to clean and sterilize each one. The scheduling of endoscopies (and all other operating theatre procedures) must obviously take into account the availability of these different resources. The researchers adopt Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) process to analyze this massive data from the databases. The step as follows: Step 1: data preparation which the selected data must be fulfill of requirement includes secondary diagnoses, Previous active history and system affected. Step 2: data cleaning where filter data by concerning surgical procedures that had been performed at least 40 times (at least 20 times for combinations involving both surgery and specific surgeons). Step 3: data mining which to decide appropriate method to test on the portion of data which it involves rough set and neural network. Step 4: validation by comparison consist process of interpretation by comparing the result from two methods that perform data analysis in order to observe the rate of good classification. Then, researcher added up another three steps in order to fit with the objective that is proposed and to produce the best outcomes to forecast the durations of surgery. It consists of: o Step 5: Measuring the impact of predicting the duration of surgery on planning which in this step the duration of surgery supplied by the prediction models (empirical laws, rule-based laws, etc.) based on information stored in the database is used to feed a series of algorithms and heuristics for planning purposes o Step 6: Simulation involves the present time will allow to simulate the activity of the different theatre suites in terms of the operating sequence determined by planning methods on the two scenarios which are operating data and patients profile o Step 7: validation selection of the best model where the results supplied by the simulation model should enable to assess the quality of scheduling on the basis of a series of performance indicators likes the length of time for which the operating theatres are not in use, the number of potential additional hours, and errors in predicting the duration of surgery. As the results, researchers are not particularly satisfactory. The main problem seems to be the choice of variable grouping, which might possibly have an effect on prediction quality. 5.0 Conclusion As a conclusion, data mining can be consider as an effective and efficient way to discover or to transform the invisible to visible data that retrieve from databases which have capabilities to store huge amount of data by using the right tools in assist or enable to analyze, synthesis and manipulate the content of data for various purposes and often depend on the main businesses that carries out to define the target. From the discussion above, it can be seen that there are a lot of advantages when perform data mining especially in the business area which allow the organization to predict the trends, customer requirement, the relationship and so forth as early preparation can be identify in order to seek another or a few others way to ensure that organization can still operate their daily operation after determine that organization not agree towards the result have been gain. In order to produce the end result that satisfying the organization and minimize the error as it successfully implement the information in order to perform business transaction. The key variables should be assign in well manner meet or suitable with the objective that propose in conducting the study because it have to repeat the procedures when found the errors as the decision making process could not been done according to the timeline. 6.0 References Chen, Chia-Chen Chen, An-Pin. (2006 ). Using data mining technology to provide a recommendation service in the digital library. The Electronic Library. 25(6): 711-734. Combas, C., Meskens, N Vandamme, J. P. (2007). Using a KDD process to forecast the duration of surgery. International Journal of Production Economics. 112: 279-293. Forcht., Karen A. Cochran, Kevin. (1999). Using data mining and datawarehousing techniques. Industrial Management Data Systems. 99(5), 189-196. Gargano., Michael L. Raggad, Bel G. (1999). Data mining a powerful information creating tool. OCLC Systems Services. 15(2), 81-90. Goebel, Michael Gruenwald, Le. (1999). A survey of data mining and knowledge discovery software tools. ACM SIGKDD Explorations Newsletter. 1: 20 33. Imberman, Susan P. (2001) Effective Use of the KDD Process and Data Mining for Computer Performance Professionals. in International Computer Measurement Group Conference. Anaheim: USA, 611-620. Ma, Catherine, Chou, David C. .Yen, David C. (2000). Data warehousing, technology assessment and management. Industrial Management Data Systems. 100(3), 125-135. Min, Hokey., Min, Hyesung Ahmed Emam. (2002). A data mining approach to developing the profiles of hotel customers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 14(6): 274-285. Palace, Bill. (1996, Spring). Data Mining: What is Data Mining? retrieved March 2, 2010, from: http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/jason.frand/teacher/technologies/palace/datamining.htm

Television as a Teaching Tool :: Papers

Television as a Teaching Tool In the world we are living in today there are a great many people who will tell you televisions are an amazing teaching tool, or that they bring quality entertainment to millions of people around the world. This is quite simply a lie. Television is no 'great teacher' or 'show stopper', but an evil machine, an evil mind-numbing machine. You only need to look at the effects that Logi-biards contraption has on people, to see what I mean. They sit in front of trashy soap operas, with their far-fetched storylines and sub standard acting, stuffing junk food into their faces. These 'Tele-Addicts' will, with no hesitation, watch hours upon hours of programmes, wasting evening after evening in front of their 'goggle boxes'. From the very first moment they turn on their televisions, they turn off their brains and become transfixed on the screen. They begin to plan their lives around the television schedule; the T.V Guide has become their bible. If you observe someone watching television it's easy to see that they have turned off their body and minds except for their hands. Their hands are now on autopilot used on the odd occasion to operate the remote or stuff junk food in to their faces. You could set off a bomb in the same room with them and I doubt they'd notice, as long as it doesn't interrupt the programme they were staring at they couldn't care. There are actually only two things you can do to distract an addict from their televisions and just prey to God you don't do them! Well what are these two 'Sins' of which I speak? Standing in front of the screen and touching the remote control. Quite trivial things you may think, but if you dare to commit either one of these crimes against television you will receive the same response. You'll be hit instantaneously with a tidal wave of foul language and violent gestures. It's a totally primal response, it as if evolution never took place.

Gatsby Automobile Essay Essay

There are many different themes, images, and symbols in Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby that render great importance to the development of the story. One particular image and symbol seen throughout Fitzgerald’s novel that acts as a major contributor to the plot is the automobile. The image of the automobile can be seen in relation with any of the characters in the novel who involve themselves in with driving an automobile or even simply talking about an automobile. Two characters in the novel that Fitzgerald uses to portray the images and symbols of the automobile are Tom Buchannan and Jay Gatsby. These two automobile owners are created into the strongest conductors of Fitzgerald’s imagery and symbolism throughout the novel. The automobile can be seen as representing a few different types of images and symbols. A possible symbol of the automobile may stand for the respective automobile owner’s status in society. Almost all automobiles in the nineteen-twenties were black and just about as plain as could be. These black automobiles were owned by all those who could just barely afford an automobile, to those who were average, middle class people, to the extremely wealthy who could easily afford three or four automobiles. What makes this piece of history so important is the fact that Fitzgerald gives both Tom and Gatsby brightly colored automobiles. The personalities of these two characters effortlessly magnifies the showiness and in Gatsby’s case, gaudiness. Gatsby’s absolutely obnoxious Rolls Royce is â€Å"a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns. † No one in the nineteen-twenties had such an untasteful looking automobile that Gatsby. One obvious and straightforward possible explanation for Gatsby’s hideous automobile is that he wants to show off his wealth, status, and â€Å"success† in his many trades. Another not so obvious reason for this hideous yellow automobile could be an image produced by Fitzgerald to try to illustrate Gatsby’s need to reach out and grasp Daisy’s attention. Unfortunately, because Gatsby was formerly a much lower class man, living on a farm out west with his family, his wealth and riches cannot buy him any class or style. A very similar situation can be seen with Tom Buchannan and his automobiles. He too, is very showy and flashy in his actions to show the world his possessions. Tom, like Gatsby, has an unusual colored car. This blue automobile is a symbol of wealth, status, and riches, just like Gatsby, but it can represent another image. Every single time Tom heads over to Wilson’s Garage for some gas or to see Myrtle, Wilson asks Tom about purchasing his old automobile. Tom plainly and seemingly without thinking puts the topic off to the side as if it wasn’t important and he didn’t want to talk about it. Sadly for Wilson, the automobile in a sense symbolizes Myrtle. Tom pushes the car aside as if it didn’t matter much at all to him, just like he uses Myrtle and makes all those empty promises to her about trying to divorce Daisy and being together forever. The images and symbols throughout The Great Gatsby create many dimensions to such a superb plot and character development. These amazing images set up by Fitzgerald give the novel a complete feel of full development. Fitzgerald ties in all the different elements of the story by using the one simple entity of the automobile.

Women in History

Transportation and Trade Pre-History to 1500 CE World Civilizations 1 February 25, 2013 Transportation and Trade From the prehistoric time period to 1500 C. E. there have been many technological advances in the way of transportation and the way that different cultures have used their advances. In this, the student will attempt to convey to the reader ways that certain world culture areas evolved in the way of transportation to become more successful in transporting their goods for trade.Starting with Ancient Mesopotamia (my personal favorite) there are very many different ways that the Mesopotamians changed their method of travel to accommodate their growing needs for certain goods. Starting by traveling on foot, Mesopotamians would take sling bags and fill them with their goods when they only had a few small items to transport. Maybe a small amount of Barley or wheat to make some bread with or some pickled or dried, salted fish would fit into most sling bags and the person would han g it over one shoulder like the way women carried babies in slings and just walk their route to get the goods t their destination.When they needed to carry moderate loads they would wrap a cloth around their bundle of goods that might also include some meats from beef, sheep, or goats and wrap the bundle onto their back and use their forehead as a balancing point to hold the package of goods steady and keep themselves balanced to be able to walk without problems. Heavier loads however, were loaded onto a quite large pallet and covered in a cloth and tied down with rope. Then the pallet was loaded onto the carrier’s back and carried that way.Due to the strain and limited space, they usually only kept meats and fish within the same or very nearby cities to avoid spoiling. In 3000 BC the Mesopotamians began utilizing donkeys as a mode of travel to carry goods. This enabled them to carry more and heavier items, and also they were able to carry different items as it was not as tax ing on the individual traveling and the donkey could bear the weight instead. With the introduction of donkeys as domesticated animals the Mesopotamians were able to transport textiles (cloth and/or fabric).While this is too heavy for a human to be able to carry enough to make the trip lucrative for all involved, using a donkey made it a lot easier to transport. Tied to the back of a donkey in bundles, the ass could walk for miles without needing a break and was able to bear the heaviness of the load. Donkeys enabled Mesopotamians to be able to travel and carry goods as far away as Kanesh in Turkey. The donkeys were also able to transport items such as gold, silver, and precious stones.In order to make the stones enough to make the trip worthwhile, they could not just carry it on foot because it was too heavy once you had enough of these metals to prove enough to accomplish all needs. They could carry more grains also. The donkey was also able to carry wine and lapis lazuli (Mined i n Afghanistan large chunks of it were able to be transported to make jewelry to trade. Without donkey assistance they would not have been able to carry enough back at once to make the amount of items needed to trade for survival or profit).Which were both very heavy and needed to be carried by an ulterior method to get to where it needed to go efficiently and effectively. Around 2500-2350 B. C. , boats began being introduced to the Mesopotamians for a way to travel and transport their goods from place to place. Starting with gulf boats, they were Stronger than common river boats, used to transport goods from South Mesopotamia to the Gulf. Made out of reeds and other woods covered in bitumen (A natural tar-like substance that is derived from petroleum to make the wood waterproof).The Mesopotamians were able to continue to transport barley, wheat, and textiles, but now, more of them and much faster. They also became able to transport stone. Mesopotamian Kings sent expeditions in searc h of unusual stones and carried from the gulf into Mesopotamia. Special woods like pine and cedar from as far away as India were traded in Southern Mesopotamia in trading posts. Pearls, known as fish eyes to the Mesopotamians were also able to be harvested and transported. Pearls were used to make jewelry and were exchanged for Babylonian goods.Carnelian, a red or reddish white mineral that usually came from India was used to make jewelry and to decorate objects was also moved this way first. Copper, mixed with Tin and Bronze, being one of the most important traded goods traded, it came from Anatolia, Iran, and the Gulf. Ivory became available to be moved with the use of the gulf boat as well. Also, reeds cut from along the river banks and woven into mats or tied together as bundles for building boats and houses. Reeds were easier transported by water than by land.Another form of boat that was used later on as needs became greater and more abundant amounts of goods were needed to su rvive this period was the coracle. The coracle is a small round boat made of animal skins and covered with the bitumen and were paddled or drifted downstream. They mostly used these coracles for moving and transporting fish, (more of it, and some of it was even transported alive in large post. Reeds, grains, and meat from beef, goats and sheep were also moved using coracles.Although the type of goods did not change, the amounts and condition of some of these goods were very different as opposed to the foot or donkey method of traveling. Rafts which were simply logs tied together and placed on top of inflated animal skins. Was good for easy storage of the equipment used for making the rafts as they could be floated downstream and then dismantled upon arrival and the wood could be sold. With rafts the Mesopotamians were able to move more and heavier logs by lashing them together and floating them in the river along with side raft.Larger amounts of reeds and grains for beer and wine we re able to be moved easier this way and then the trip was even more advantageous. Assyrians used rafts to move large flat stone slabs to use in decorating their palaces. River boats that were made of reeds bundled and lashed and often covered in bitumen also to waterproof just the same as the coracle and gulf boats were. Usually drifted downstream with the current but then needed to be towed back upstream by various means such as donkeys, oxen or even people. The Mesopotamians carried all of the usual items on these river boats (grain, reeds, logs, wool, wine, and beer).Although, they were also able to carry and transport bricks with much more ease than was available before these boats were used. Bricks were made of mud of baked used to build structures. Normally made near the place to be used, but sometimes needed to be transported to different cities. Moving on to Medieval Europe we have a very simple people. They usually did not go very far if they did leave because everything wa s so far away that they had to venture for days or even weeks to simply thirty miles and back. Most of the civilians that did travel did so on foot.Most people in Medieval Europe stayed near the places where they were born. Whenever one did venture out, the person would usually be able to walk up to ten or twenty miles to a village, work all day and then walk back again at the end of the day. If the road was well maintained, they could walk further, however, it was uncommon unless need was emergent to go further. If not traveling on foot, the second most available choice after 2500 CE was on horseback. Horses could go much faster and further than a human simply walking to and from a destination.Horses could go as far as thirty miles without needing a break. Would leave it to where the rider was able to accomplish much more with his day and even be able to bring with him some goods to trade where he ended up riding to. When they needed to move more than just a small amount of goods s uch as locally grown foods to sell or trade or things like wool. Wool was very heavy and a horse could not carry a very large amount on just horseback. They used covered wagons pulled by horse or oxen able to transport silk, wool, and grown foods to trade.Could only go 20 Miles at a time when using horses for pull the wagon or 10 miles at a time (when using oxen oxen) before needed to stop and rest, or repair wagon due to condition of roads. Although this did make the trip take longer that with just one single horse, and also the trip was more lucrative because of the goods that could be carried back using a covered wagon. If there was more than just a moderate amount of supplies or goods they would use sailing ships to transport them. There were a few different types of sailing ship that was used, each one having its own purpose.The first type of sailing ship that was used was a Knarr. This was the most common type used for most people. The Knarr had a sole square rigged sail and w as mainly used to move light cargo. The next most available type of sailing ship used was the trade cog. These were single mast, flat bottomed ships with steep sides. The flat bottom allowed the sailors to come into port easier and go right up on land to be able to load and unload the goods and cargo better, faster, and easier. One more type of sailing ship that was used by Medieval Europeans was a hulk.Also having a flat bottom like the trade cog, this ship was easy to dock on land to make boarding and de-boarding of cargo and persons easy. However, unlike the previous ships, the hulk had no mast making oceanic travel impossible in this craft. The hulk was used mainly in canals and rivers due to the limited controllability when attempting ocean traveling. The final two types of sailing ships that were used were the caravel and carrack. Both of these ships were mainly created by the Portuguese for exploration voyages.The caravel had either both square and lateen rigged sails, or sim ply just lateen rigged sails. The carrack was a rather large ship, much larger than the caravel was. With six sails (a mizzen, a bowsprit, a spritsail, a foresail, and two topsails) this ship was very easily controlled no matter what the conditions. The many different sails made it so that the carrack could sail against the wind. In the Ancient Roman Empire transportation of goods didn’t really pick up too much until the Romans began using ships to move things, on account of how taxing everything was.The invention of their roads did however help with the traveling but the items they had to trade and transport were so far away that they needed to be able to use shipping methods via waterways to get the items moved efficiently and in a method that was worthwhile to the people moving the items and the amounts of goods they needed to move The Romans started using ferries for transportation for crossing and traveling shallow passages. Although these passages could have been waded across, rivers like The Euphrates River had already begun to be inhabited by crocodiles and other harmful creatures.Making it undesired to cross without being on a protecting contraption of some kind. Horse drawn chariots were two wheeled vehicles drawn by three or four horses (later on in history to be drawn by 2 horses) that were hitched side by side. This was a preferred method of transportations for Emperors and other royal persons. They were often made out of wood for the basket and wheels. The chariot was strengthened in some places by bronze or iron. The tires were also made of iron or bronze and the wheels had anywhere from four to eight spokes.Sledges, pulled by oxen were used mainly to transport things that were very large and/or heavy. Sledges were known to carry large statues, animals, bricks and sunbaked soil. Sledges were made of Wood as well, but constructed much sturdier to be able to bear the weight of the large and heavy items that they were carrying. Last but not least, the Romans used ships to transport salves, silk from China, perfumes, cotton, precious stones, spices, and precious metals.The romans differed on which ones they used the three most common types of ships that were used were rafts, sailing ships, and merchant ships. References Leokum, A. â€Å"When Were Ships First Used† The Free Lance Star October 24, 1968, Tell Me Why! Pg. 23 Print. Beller, Steven. â€Å"Vienna. † The World Book Encyclopedia. 2009 ed. Print. O'Brien, Patrick Karl. â€Å"THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS: MESOPOTAMIA AND THE INDUS REGION 4000-1800 BC† Oxford Atlas of World History. First published in 2002 by Philip's an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Second edition 2005Reprinted with revisions 2007. Print. Singman, Jeffrey L. Blaine, Bradford B. Daily Life in Medieval Europe Speculum Vol. 76, No. 2 (Apr. , 2001), pp. 523-524 Published by: Medieval Academy of America Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/2903521 Nelson, Eric. â€Å"All Roa ds Lead To Rome† Complete Idiot's Guide to the Roman Empire August, 2011 Print. Derived from: http://site. ebrary. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/lib/ashford/docDetail. action? docID=10048566;p00=ancient%20roman%20travel%20trade

biology of aristotle essays

biology of aristotle essays Many would consider that Aristotles biological studies left a more beneficial legacy. His studies in this area marked a watershed in the history of Greek science.[20] In contrast to Plato, he placed the value of personal observation above abstract argument.[21] He was an expert logician (the founder of formal logic) and this led naturally to him being the originator of systematic biological classification.[22] Most scholars agree that this was his greatest contribution to science. In his works[23] he referred to about 520 species of animals, and his descriptions of some have only been confirmed in the last 150 years.[24] With the benefit of specimens collected during Alexanders conquests Aristotle was able to write his History of Animals, The Generation of Animals and The Parts of Animals, reputedly the first scientific treatises of this kind produced in Europe and unsurpassed in their detail until the sixteenth century.[25] Aristotle rightly rejected the idea that the reproductive seed is drawn from the whole body (known as pangenesis), and so denied that acquired characteristics could be inherited[26] as Lamarck (1744-1829) later maintained. He has been called the first evolutionist by some.[27]. Such a claim is totally unjustified because Aristotole taught the fixity of species[28] and attributed the driving force behind evolution to a guiding intelligence[29] rather than to a purely natural random process. Aristotle rejected the idea that men were spontaneously generated by the earth, and that water-animals had developed on dry land.[30] However, he did teach that spiders, locusts, cicadas, roundworms,[31] eels[32] barnacles[33] and certain fish,[34] are all spontaneously generated from mud and putrefying material. By the sixteenth century Aristotelian philosophy had been harmonised with biblical revelation and biblical revelation with Aristotelian philosophy to such a degree that it b...

Types and forms of FDI Essays

Types and forms of FDI Essays Types and forms of FDI Paper Types and forms of FDI Paper Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a direct investment into production or business in a country by an individual or company of another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country. Foreign direct investment is in contrast to portfolio investment which is a passive investment in the securities of another country such as stocks and bonds. Foreign Direct Investment as any flow of lending to, or purchase of ownership in a foreign enterprise that is largely owned by the residents of the investing company. It may take the form of Cash, securities, plant, equipment, and other factors of production, such as managerial skills, technology, or know how. FDI usually involves some combination of the above. The transfer of this package of capital assets as well as the retention of control is what distinguishes FDI from portfolio investment. Foreign Direct Investment is generally classified into fives types which is: 1. Inward Foreign Direct Investment 2. Outward Foreign Direct Investment 3. Horizontal Foreign Investment 4. Vertical Foreign Investment 5. Platform Foreign Investment Inward FDI: An inward investment involves an external or foreign entity either investing in or purchasing the goods of a local economy. A common type of inward investment is a foreign direct investment (FDI). This occurs when one company purchases another business or establishes new operations for an existing business in a country different than the investing companys origin. In this case investment of foreign resources is local resources. The factors encourages the growth of Inward FDI contains relaxation of existent regulations, tax breaks, loans on low rates of interest etc. Outward FDI : A business strategy where a domestic firm expands its operations to a foreign country either via a Green field investment, merger/acquisition and/or expansion of an existing foreign facility. Employing outward direct investment is a natural progression for firms as better business opportunities will be available in foreign countries when domestic markets become too saturated. Outward Foreign direct investment is also referred to as direct investment abroad. In this case it is the local capital, which is being invested in some foreign resource. Outward FDI may lso find use in the import and export dealings with a foreign country. Horizontal FDI : Foreign direct investment by a firm to establish manufacturing facilities in multiple countries, all producing essentially the same thing but for their respective domestic or nearby markets. Horizontal FDI refers to the foreign manufacturing of products and services roughly similar to those the firm produces in its home market. This type of FDI is called horizontal because the multinational duplicates the same activities in different countries. Horizontal FDI arises because it s too costly to serve the foreign market by exports due to transportation costs or trade barriers. in multiple countries, each producing a different input to, or stage of, the firms production process. Vertical FDI refers to those multinationals that fragment production process geographically. It is called because MNE separates the production chain vertically by outsourcing some production stages abroad. The basic idea behind the analysis of this type of FDI is that a production process consists of multiple stages with different input requirements. If input prices varies across ountries, it becomes profitable for the firm to split the production chain. Vertical FDI consists of two groups: backward and forward vertical FDI. In case of backward FDI multinational enterprise establishes its own supplier of input goods which delivers inputs to the parent company. Conducting forward FDI, the firm builds up a foreign affiliate, which draws inputs from the parent company for own production, thus staying after the parent in the production chain. Platform FDI : Foreign direct investment from a source country into a destination country for the purpose of exporting to a third country. Horizontal FDI decreases international trade as the product of them is usually aimed at host country; the two other types generally act as a stimulus for it. Green Field Investment direct investment in new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities. Greenfield investments are the primary target of a host nations promotional efforts because they create new production capacity and Jobs, transfer technology and know-how, and can lead to linkages to the global marketplace. However, it often does this by crowding out local industry; multinationals are able to produce goods more cheaply because of advanced technology and efficient processes) and uses up resources (labor, intermediate goods, etc). Another downside of greenfield investment is that profits from production do not feed back into the local economy, but instead to the multinationals home economy. This is in contrast to local industries whose profits flow back into the domestic economy to promote growth. Mergers And Acquisition occur when a transfer of existing assets from local firms to foreign firms takes place, this is the primary type of FDI. Cross-border mergers occur when the assets and operation of firms from different countries are combined to stablish a new legal entity. Cross-border acquisitions occur when the control of assets and operations is transferred from a local to a foreign company, with the local company becoming an affiliate of the foreign company. Unlike greenfield investment, acquisitions provide no long term benefits to the local economy even in most deals the owners of the local firm are paid in stock from the acquiring firm, meaning that the money from the sale could never reach the local economy. Nevertheless, mergers and acquisitions are a significant form of FDI and until around 1997, accounted for nearly 90% of the FDI flow into the United States.

Example Sentences of the Verb Forget

Example Sentences of the Verb Forget As a new English learner, it can be easy to forget the proper tense for irregular verbs. This page provides example sentences of the verb Forget in all tenses including active and passive forms, as well as conditional and modal forms.   Every Tense of Forget Base Form forget / Past Simple forgot / Past Participle forgotten / Gerund forgetting Present Simple He often forgets to do his homework. Present Simple Passive The homework is often forgotten by some of the students. Present Continuous I am forgetting my appointment! Present Continuous Passive The appointment is being forgotten, isnt it? Present Perfect Have you ever forgotten an appointment? Present Perfect Passive Has an appointment ever been forgotten? Present Perfect Continuous I have been forgetting to apply conditioner and now my dandruff has come back Past Simple He forgot to come to the meeting. Past Simple Passive The meeting was forgotten by John. Past Continuous They were forgetting about everything when I reminded them of their duties. Past Continuous Passive Everything was being forgotten when I reminded them of their duties. Past Perfect He had forgotten to mention the new employee when I introduced him. Past Perfect Passive The new employee had been forgotten by management when I introduced him. Past Perfect Continuous I had been forgetting to apply conditioner when my hair fell out. Future (will) She will forget it. Im sure! Future (will) Passive It will be forgotten, wont it? Future (going to) She isnt going to forget the appointment. Future (going to) Passive The appointment isnt going to be forgotten. Future Continuous None Future Perfect She will have forgotten everything by the end of next week. Future Possibility She might forget the appointment. Real Conditional If she forgets, I will give her a call. Unreal Conditional If she forgot, I would give her a call. Past Unreal Conditional If she had forgotten, I would have given her a call. Present Modal She should forget about it. Past Modal She must have forgotten about the appointment. Quiz: Conjugate With Forget Use the verb to forget to conjugate the following sentences. Quiz answers are below. In some cases, more than one answer may be correct. _____ you ever _____ an appointment?She _____ it. Im sure!_____ an appointment ever _____?The homework _____ often _____ by some of the students.She _____ everything by the end of next week.If she _____, I would have given her a call.He _____ to come to the meeting last week.The new employee _____ by management when I introduced him.She will _____ it. Im sure!The appointment _____ (not). I promise. Quiz Answers Have forgottenwill forgetHas been forgottenis forgottenwill have forgottenhad forgottenforgothad been forgottenwill forgetisnt going to be forgotten

Chapter 6 homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 6 homework - Assignment Example Variable lead-time is the part of processing time, which is dependable on the order quantity. Manufacturing lead-time is the summation of preprocessing, processing and post-processing lead-time (ORACLE, â€Å"Oracle Bills of Material Users Guide†). 6.13. If the second machine is setup after the completion of the setup of first machine, then there will be no reduction in manufacturing lead-time. Setup time i.e. preprocessing time is fixed for a machine to work for a scheduled time. The manufacturing lead-time is affected with processing time i.e., move time between operations and post-processing time i.e. run time of the machines (ORACLE, â€Å"Oracle Bills of Material Users Guide†). Actual backlog is the differences between the total and actual planned within the given period. The calculation is done to maintain the output level for each period in order to reduce the lead-time and queue hours. The above report shows a lower level of input and output. The work centers performance can be monitored through the analysis of planned and actual outputs. The lead-time and queue performance are monitored through planned and actual backlog (Arnold 515). Based on the above interpretation, it is estimated that actual backlog at the end of period 5 is 37

Colonization and its impact on historical geography of north america Essay

Colonization and its impact on historical geography of north america - Essay Example American colonies also moved in and resolved on sharing the fishery with France, and after the cross-island railroad was built in the 1800’s, fishing had become the only industry in Newfoundland. Fishery impacted the island in many ways: economically, geographically, on the population, industry sector, transport and communication as well as its education sector during this historical time. The geography and ecosystem of Newfoundland has been credited to be a major contributor in the prosperity of fishery. Its climatic conditions had great impact on the marine ecosystem, especially around its central Grand Bank in comparison to other areas, such as the northeast Atlantic. The southward extension of the Island is covered with the Labrador currents that are responsible for the transportation of cold water in the southward direction from the Hudson Bay, Davis Strait and the Canadian Archipelago. The cold water offer conducive fishery conditions in these areas. The median extents s outherly of the sea ice towards the Grand bank with the temperatures at the water bottom falling bellow 0 degrees Celsius for most of the period. The cold conditions that extent southerly are implicated by the frequent polar cod presence along the Newfoundland coast. The fishery activity in the Newfoundland became so dominant that it impacted the geographical considitions of the Island in many adverse ways. This paper is going to look at how European fishery impacted the ecosystem, population and demography and climate of Newfoundland. Road Map 1. Impact on Ecosystem 2. Impact on Climate 3. Population and Demography 4. Conclusion Impact on Ecosystem Before the European interest in the Island, the ecosystem of Canada in general was characterized by very few species, and this was the case at Newfoundland. Among these few species, very few of them were in high abundance. The most dominant fish species included capelin and lance mostly found in the area around the Grand Bank plateau and the polar cod around the north (Lear 50). Herring species was only found in the adjacent waters or in some cases in the bays. The named species fed mostly on crustaceans and calanoid copepods. The fishery activities led to the discovery of more species that later became dominant and important in the Island. Such species include: Greenland halibut, Atlantic code and American plaice. Northern shrimp and snow crab were also later discovered and dominated benthic crustaceans (Lear 62). These species were not enough, considering fishery had turn out to be the main activity on the Island. This called for the need for species in the fishery changing the historical ecosystem of the area. The main introductions included hooded seals and harp seals that come from the north, but this was seasonal. The other species to be introduced were the whales that came into the Island from the south. This species was also seasonal. The most important species that were not naturally found in the Island in clude minke, humpback, pilot whales, fin, sei and sperm (NAFO 333). In addition to the fish species, there were other immigrants that came to the Island following the fishery activity, and they include: squid with short fins, bluefin tuna, mackerel and birds like sooty shearwater and greater shear water (NAFO 333). Overfishing was observed to have great impact on the ecosystem

What is knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

What is knowledge - Essay Example The paper examines the practice of knowledge management and how it has helped Japanese companies to gain a competitive edge. Porter (1998) gave the structure of the Five Forces Analysis that gives companies a sustainable competitive edge in a market. While the structure allows analysts to form a grouping of manifestations and market forces such as threats of suppliers and substitutes, power of buyers and barriers for new entrants, the framing is not a mantra that yields solutions. Kadapa (2006) argues that after employing tools such as PEST and SWOT, analysts still have to find a way to solve problems and the industry is interested in solutions. At such junctures, when easy solutions are not obvious, it is knowledge management practices that help to provide the means to achieve competitive advantage. Again Drucker (1981) tried to provide answers to the phenomenal success that Japanese industries have achieved since the Second World War when the country was reduced to rubble. The author argues that just by using oriental philosophy, it is not possible to explain how the country went ahead in all fields of industries such as automobiles and electronics. The author suggests that the main secret lay in sharing knowledge and information among the workers and diffusing it to the people who need it, that helped Japan to achieve its success. A rigorous mindset, good knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering that existed from the pre war days and the insight to apply it effectively helped the country to go forward. By extensively reading the works of the author, it is obvious that he is explaining a culture where knowledge is continuously being recycled and redistributed. Drucker (1999) speaks of the management challenges for the future and speaks of how organizations need to ap ply and reapply their learning and knowledge if they want their competitive advantage to be sustained. Meyer

Proudct design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Proudct design - Essay Example The attribution of newness usually arises in association with positively valued qualities, often supported by the inclusion of criteria such as originality, progress, or truth. From a historical perspective, the positive treatment and appreciation of newness can be described as a consequence of the functional differentiation of modern society. Religion, the political system, science, business, and art not only display different degrees of receptivity to novelties, they also react to it at different speeds. The appreciation of newness can be observed, in particular, in the field of fine art towards the end of the 19th century (Hughes 1971). The establishment of the idea that the value of works of art arises from the special skill of the artist and the privileging of the original over the copy, channeled attention to new works of art. The associated appreciation of newness also abandoned the idea of the work of art as a representation of reality and therefore highlighted the self-referentiality of art (Luhmann 1999b). Hence, newness assumed a key position within the art system both in the sense of a product (novelty) and in the sense of an evaluation criterion (newness). Newness plays an increasingly significant role in the field of science and technology. There is a permanent quest in these fields for new scientific insights and technological inventions, which are only deemed to be novelties if they extend or transform technological and scientific paradigms (Schummer, forthcoming). In addition, technical objects and scientific facts achieve visibility and value by being marked as â€Å"new†, thereby providing orientation to users. Can newness be considered new any longer? Is the concept of originality in contemporary art even possible or relevant? Interpreted as fresh, transformative, or even deliberately backward-looking, the idea of newness seems empowered by our own personal and

Assigment #1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assigment #1 - Assignment Example In line with this, I find the English colonists as someone who is more superior as compared to the American Indians. Even though the English colonists acknowledged the fact that the American Indians were highly competitive in terms of their progress in economic activities particularly when it comes to hunting and agriculture, there were quite a lot of situational events wherein the English colonists were treating the American Indians badly. In most cases, the English colonists viewed the American Indians as a group of weak individuals who can be easily manipulated through the use of religious activities. I believe that the familiarity between the captive people and the colonists can be explained with the use of frontiers of inclusion or exclusion. Specifically the English colonists adopted the frontiers of exclusion when they settled in North America. Since frontier of exclusion means that they distance themselves from other culture and race, the English colonists never had the opportunity to become more acquainted with the American Indians (Mancall, 1995, p. 2). For this reasons, the English colonists failed to have a better understanding with regards to the strength and weaknesses of the American Indians. This gives the American Indians the benefit of not being able to become strongly manipulated by the English colonists. The same applied on the part of the American Indians. Because of the use of frontier of exclusion, the American Indians do not clearly know the real reasons why the English colonists chose to colonize their country. In fact, the American Indians were not able to have the opportunity to know more about the English culture. The only thing that the American Indians know is that the English colonists were abusive to their tribe. With regards to this perception, the American Indians became more familiar with the English colonists. The benefits and liabilities behind invading another country is not always clear

Internet-Based Company and IT Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Internet-Based Company and IT Systems - Essay Example For instance, Google recently introduced "Google My Business," a platform that gives companies the opportunity to interact with customers. The company uses this application to interact with customers. The "Google My Business" integrates a variety of tools, such as Google Maps, Search, Hangouts, Insights and Google +. These tools allow business to manage their online presence at once (Nassivera, 2014). Through My Business, companies can manage information and respond faster to customer reviews. Additionally, the service enables businesses to have easy access to data about customers and their engagements. This implies that businesses using the IT tool are able to engage easily with their customers and respond faster to their queries, thereby helping build better customer relations. My Business tool also enables companies to add photos and videos about their businesses and respond to customer reviews with a lot of ease. Moreover, companies using the My Business are able to connect to customers through Google Hangout and Google+, thereby helping companies interact better with their customers (Nassivera, 2014). In the end, the companies are able to maintain close contact with customers thereby helping build a better customer relation and loyalty. Nassivera, J. (2014, June 12). Google introduces My Business service to improve company and customer relationship. HNGN, p. 1

Assigment #1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assigment #1 - Assignment Example In line with this, I find the English colonists as someone who is more superior as compared to the American Indians. Even though the English colonists acknowledged the fact that the American Indians were highly competitive in terms of their progress in economic activities particularly when it comes to hunting and agriculture, there were quite a lot of situational events wherein the English colonists were treating the American Indians badly. In most cases, the English colonists viewed the American Indians as a group of weak individuals who can be easily manipulated through the use of religious activities. I believe that the familiarity between the captive people and the colonists can be explained with the use of frontiers of inclusion or exclusion. Specifically the English colonists adopted the frontiers of exclusion when they settled in North America. Since frontier of exclusion means that they distance themselves from other culture and race, the English colonists never had the opportunity to become more acquainted with the American Indians (Mancall, 1995, p. 2). For this reasons, the English colonists failed to have a better understanding with regards to the strength and weaknesses of the American Indians. This gives the American Indians the benefit of not being able to become strongly manipulated by the English colonists. The same applied on the part of the American Indians. Because of the use of frontier of exclusion, the American Indians do not clearly know the real reasons why the English colonists chose to colonize their country. In fact, the American Indians were not able to have the opportunity to know more about the English culture. The only thing that the American Indians know is that the English colonists were abusive to their tribe. With regards to this perception, the American Indians became more familiar with the English colonists. The benefits and liabilities behind invading another country is not always clear

Data Warehouse Business Pla Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Data Warehouse Business Pla - Assignment Example The company’s data management and knowledge by its personnel and use of the internet in data warehouse are clearly explained. Under internet use, web revolution in data warehouse has contributed towards the growth of many business organizations. IT planning and analysis processes are vital in the operation and growth of any company that deals with data warehouse. Lastly, a summary of main areas or factors that contribute towards the success of the company are illustrated in the business plan. Overview and Structure of the Business Data Ware House Business The main activity of data warehouse business is to provide data resources for external public health partners. This is a vital idea because Local Public Health Agencies (LPHA) only targeted the primary stakeholders and need to access county-level data regarding health indicators. Based on the health indicators, the business will determine the content of the warehouse that will enable LPHA to effectively plan and evaluate oper ations (Khan, 2005). Objectives of the Business The first objective of the company is to improve the levels of information accessibility where the public health partners can access information from data warehouse. The second objective is to promote quality decision-making process by the company’s management. ... Activities involved in this stage include gathering or collecting high-level data requirements of the warehouse and evaluating expectations of the various users such as casual and power users. The last stage is the definition of the data warehouse project and its scope. The scope of the business will function as the business plan of the data warehouse that outlines the objectives and the vital success factors of the business (Khan, 2005). The Infrastructure and Information Systems Needs of the Company The infrastructure plan of the data warehouse describes the hardware, software and data networks, which are crucial in providing support to data warehouse. The infrastructure plan is dependent on two factors, the project budget and the results of gap analysis. Architecture of Infrastructure and Information Systems The architecture of infrastructure and information systems is built on telecommunication networks, data warehouses, databases, hardware, software and their procedures that are managed by various specialists (Khan, 2005). Due to the current globalization in business, it is important to put in place extensive planning to maintain the complex infrastructure. Information systems and infrastructure need to be properly set up to create significant options for various corporate initiatives that might involve mergers, transformations, and acquisitions in the global business market (Kerschberg, 2001). Information Services Organization Internal units or outside firms will deliver the information services of the company. The organization of information services characterized by outsourcing is essential in improving the accessibility levels, enhance cost saving and emphasizing the company’s focus on its set goals or

Analysis of UK Commercial Law

Analysis of UK Commercial Law Commercial Law Definition Commercial law in England and Wales is not susceptible to succinct categorisation as a unified body of law such as, for example, criminal law or the law of torts. Goode[1] has commented: â€Å"The absence of anything resembling a commercial code makes [the question, â€Å"Does Commercial Law exist?] harder to answer than might be imagined. If, by commercial law, we mean a relatively self contained, integrated body of principles and rules peculiar to commercial transactions, then we are constrained to say that this is not to be found in England†. Commercial legal practice will deal with a wide variety of subjects including the law relating to contracts, consumer credit, insurance, tax and partnerships. Commercial Law is thus an amalgam of common law, statute and even equity. Historical Development Despite these difficulties of categorisation the existence of a body of law controlling mercantile life has been recognised since medieval times when special courts existed for the purpose of dealing expeditiously with trade disputes. In the eighteenth century Lord Mansfield held sittings in the Guildhall in the City of London to hear commercial cases assisted by special panels of merchant jurymen to provide commercial expertise. When these sittings were discontinued the parties were forced back into the common law courts which proved unpopular due to procedural delays and the fact that the judges were often not conversant with the needs of the commercial community. Accordingly, in 1892, the Council of Judges recommended that there should be a special court to hear commercial cases and this led to the introduction in 1895 of a special commercial list in the Queen’s Bench Division. In 1970, a special Commercial Court was established but this remains part of that division. Court Structure and Jurisdiction The Commercial Court is subject to the Civil Procedure Rules. Part 49 and the associated Practice Direction provides that the court has jurisdiction in: â€Å"any case arising out of trade and commerce in general including any case relating to†: A business document or contract; The export or import of goods; The carriage of goods by land, sea, air or pipeline; The exploitation of oil and gas resources; Insurance and reinsurance; Banking and financial services; The operation of markets and exchanges; Business agency; and Arbitration. The remit of the court therefore also represents a succinct statement of the type of disputes which might be regarded as â€Å"commercial† notwithstanding the vagueness of this term. However, it should be noted that the county court has unlimited jurisdiction in claims in contract and tort and it is mandatory for claims worth less than  £15,000 to be commenced there. Thus a high volume of â€Å"commercial† law is administered by this court with the more valuable or complex being dealt with by the Queen‘s Bench Division of the High Court. The Chancery Division (the role of which in this regard can be summarised by its dealing with cases concerning companies and insolvency) will therefore also hear commercial matters. Finally, it should be noted that in addition to the Commercial Court, there is also a specially constituted Companies Court. The rationale behind the establishment of these fora is to allow the speedy resolution of commercial disputes by a body with expertise in and sympathy for the unique needs of those involved in commercial enterprise. Thus the scope and extent of commercial law is vast and full description is impossible within the scope of this submission. Nonetheless, it is proposed to examine certain key elements of the corpus of commercial law which characterise its principles and demonstrate its operation in practice. Sale of Goods This is a species of the law of contract which has long existed and been regulated by common law principles. Contracts have been defined[2] as â€Å"legally enforceable agreements which represent a vehicle for planned exchanges†. Contracts for the sale of goods are therefore subject to contract law principles but it should not be forgotten that they are increasingly controlled by specific statutory provisions. Thus all contracts for the supply of goods now contain terms which are implied by statute and prescribe that they must be of a stipulated quality. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994) imposes a number of requirements: s.12: that the seller should have the right to sell the goods, that the goods should be free from encumbrances and that the buyer should enjoy quiet possession of them; s.13: that where the goods are sold by description, they should corespond with that description; s.14(2): that the goods should be of satisfactory quality; s.14(3): that the goods should be fit for the buyer’s purpose; s.15: that where the goods are sold by sample, they should correspond with that sample. Of the above, the implied term as to satisfactory quality is one of the most frequently litigated. The word â€Å"satisfactory† replaced (by the 1994) the use of the historic term â€Å"merchantable† in relation to quality and continues a long pedigree of such a requirement in English law. Decisions in the 19th Century demonstrate a recognition by the law of the commercial expectations of a purchaser. In Gardiner v Gray[3], Lord Ellenborough observed somewhat bluntly: â€Å"The purchaser cannot be expected to buy goods to lay them on a dunghill†(!) While the concept of â€Å"merchantability† endured, it was not until 1973 that it was the subject of statutory definition. By then, the term had become somewhat outmoded with Lord Ormrod commenting in 1976[4]: â€Å"the word has fallen out of general use and largely lost its meaning, except to merchants and traders in some branches of commerce†. Nonetheless, it was not until 1994 that it was replaced by somewhat less arcane terminology. Another significant statutory intervention in the ability of parties to determine the contractual relationships between themselves relates to exemption clauses or unfair contract terms. The leading piece of legislation in this field is the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Prior to its enactment, the courts interpreted attempts by parties to a contract to restrict or exclude their liability in the event of a breach of contract very strictly. The legislative code has now largely superseded this function. The common law lacked the ability simply to declare such a term unenforceable merely on the ground that it was unfair or unreasonable (see Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd[5]) hence the need for the sometimes strained interpretation of such clauses. In broad terms the 1977 Act applies a test of â€Å"reasonableness† to such clauses in commercial contracts. Not surprisingly, this concept and the interpretation of the term has been the subject of much litigation. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 extend certain aspects of the 1977 legislation. They were implemented as a result of a European Directive and apply to terms (other than â€Å"core† terms in consumer contracts. They are therefore different in certain critical aspects from the 1979 Act and a comparison of the respective effects of the two reveals anomalies. It is submitted that the original legislation should now be reviewed and redrawn in order to provide a unified and consistent framework. Manufacturers and Product Liability While the above legislation applies only in contract law, it should not be overlooked that there are certain commercial situations in which the law of tort can play a part supplying an additional or alternative remedy. The statutory implied terms described above may entitle the buyer to reject defective goods and, in any event, claim damages for the breach of contract. Because this law is based upon the contract, a problem arises as a result of the doctrine of privity of contract which enables only the parties to a contract to sue upon it. Accordingly, the law of tort began to develop remedies for situations in which loss or damage was caused by a breach but the breach was not actionable in contract at the behest of the party thus injured. In the classic case of Donoghue v Stevenson[6], the principle was established that in certain circumstances a manufacturer owes a duty of care to the end-user of his product. Thus where the product is defective and causes injury, the consumer may r ecover against the manufactuer in negligence notwithstanding that there is no direct contractual or other relationship between them concerning the supply of the product. Again driven by Europe, the UK passed the 1987 Consumer Protection Act in order further to regulate product liability. A claim may be brought under the Act by any person injured by a â€Å"defective product†. â€Å"Product† includes goods and even electricity. A product is defective for the purposes of the Act if its safety, including not only the risk of personal injury but also the risk of damage to other property is â€Å"not such as persons generally are entitled to expect†. It is submitted that this legislation is not only appropriate but necessary in the complex modern consumer society in which products are increasingly sophisticated and the relationship between manufacturer and end-user far more difficult to discern than would have been the case in the nineteenth century. Consumer Credit A very significant development in commercial law in the recent age has been in respect of the protection of customers in credit transactions. In Consumer Credit Deregulation, A Review by the Director General of Fair Trading[7] it was recognised that there was required â€Å"a strong level of protection in a market which for many centuries perhaps even since ancient times has been regarded by law makers as particularly sensitive. Buyer-seller interactions in credit markets are characterised by imbalances of information and bargaining strength between lenders and borrowers.† Accordingly, in the 1970’s, following the report of the Crowther Committee[8] the Consumer Credit Act 1974 was enacted. The Act applies to â€Å"regulated agreements† which are defined as â€Å"consumer credit agreements or consumer hire agreements†. Despite the emphasis on the word consumer, certain types of business credit transactions are controlled. Section 8 of the Act defines a c onsumer credit agreement as â€Å"a personal credit agreement by which the creditor provides the debtor with credit not exceeding [an amount varied by Statutory Instrument from time to time]. Section 189(1) defines an individual as â€Å"including a partnership or other unincorporated body of persons not consisting entirely of bodies corporate†. Thus many commercial business transactions (provided that they do not involve companies) are caught by the Act. The OFT Report referred to above proposed that all business credit transactions be removed from the scope of the Act but this suggestion was rejected. Conversely (and perhaps a little perversely) the present upper limit on such transactions of  £25,000 means that many genuine non-business consumers increasingly fall outside the safety net of the Act. The operation of this type of provision in the commercial sector again serves to illustrate the difficulty of classifying commercial law as a single discrete body of regulati on. The inclusion of chapters on consumer credit in most so-called commercial law textbooks plus the existence of an entirely separate body of work purporting to deal with â€Å"consumer law† is illustrative of this dilemma. Insurance The scope of commercial law extends into many other fields of human activity. On such example is insurance. This remains essentially commercial in nature and, in many instances, can be said to stem from the basic commercial dealings of the parties. If commercial law is regarded as being based upon transactions, insurance has developed as a means of protecting those transactions and the subject-matter thereof. The modern law of insurance has developed directly from the activities of merchants principally those involved in seafaring from Italy in the fourteenth century. Merchants reached agreements between themselves to insure their ships and cargo against the risk of travel by sea. This practice was adopted in the coffee houses of London and gave birth to Lloyds the principal insurance underwriter in the world. The insurance industry has been subject to statutory regulation since the Life Insurance Companies Act 1870. The current regime is regulated by the Financial Services and Marke ts Act 2000. Interestingly, in addition to such controls, contracts of insurance where appropriate also fall under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 discussed above. Banking Bradgate[9] places banking at the very heart of commercial law: â€Å"The banking system plays an essential part in commercial activity in a developed economy. The modern bank provides a wide range of services to both business and private customers. The provision of such services is itself an aspect of commerce†¦in addition, banks provide essential services which underpin all other commercial activity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Banking activities in the UK have long been regulated by regulated by statute with important developments occurring in the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 and the Cheques Act 1957. International Trade Although this submission has focussed perforce upon UK domestic law, it would be erroneous to conclude without acknowledging the international element which represents so great a proportion of commercial activity and gives rise to a consequent need for regulation. In this regard a distinction should be drawn between two possible uses of the term â€Å"international trade law†. First, it is used to describe the law controlling the relationships between the parties involved in international trade transactions. Second, it may describe the body of rules which govern relationships between states and regulate the use between states of devices such as tariffs to control imports which are subject to such international treaties as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Works on commercial law habitually focus upon the English law applicable to international transactions. A great many contracts used in such international transactions contain a standard clause requiring the contract to be governed by English Law with the result that the Commercial Court in London is frequently called upon to adjudicate upon agreements that have been made between one or more parties located outside the jurisdiction. The UK is a party to the Hague Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods which is given effect in English law by the Uniform Law on International Sales Act 1967. That Act is applicable to contracts where the contract itself stipulates that it should apply. In practice, few contracts take the opportunity to do so with the result that international sales contracts which are governed by English law fall to be determined according to the principles of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 thus returning us to the outset of this discussion. Conclusion Thus the scope and extent of the law which might be grouped under the heading of â€Å"commercial† is seen to be vast in reach and divers in type. Detailed description is therefore beyond the limit of a submission of this length. However, an examination of the broad cross section of topics discussed above reveals an enduring theme. In all aspects of commercial law the focus is upon transactions. Some commercial law such as the sale of goods legislation regulates such transactions directly. Other areas such as the law relating to banking and insurance concern the mechanisms that are necessarily ancillary to such transactions. Others again, such as product liability, stem from the consequences of transactions even where the party seeking to avail himself of the law was not a direct participant in such a transaction. Bibliography Bradgate, Commercial Law, (3rd Ed., 2000) Goode, Commercial Law (2nd Ed., 1995) Poole, Textbook on Contract Law (7th Ed., 2004) Treitel, The Law of Contract (11th Ed., 2003) www.hmso.gov.uk Lexis/Nexis Westlaw 1 Footnotes [1] Commercial Law (2nd Ed., 1995), p.1205 [2] Poole, J., Textbook on Contract Law, (7th Ed., 2004), p.1 [3] (1815) 4 Camp 144 [4] Cehave NV v Bremer Handelgesellschaft mbH [1976] QB 44 @ p.80 [5] [1980] AC 827 [6] [1937] AC 562 [7] OFT (1994), para.1.8 [8] Report of the Committee on Consumer Credit (1971) Cmd 4596 [9] Commercial Law, (3rd Ed., 2000)

Distributed Software Development :: Outsourcing Careers Technology Essays

Distributed Software Development As new technologies emerge, they often eliminate certain types of jobs. History is littered with many such examples. The number of bank tellers dropped by about 37% between 1983 and 1993.1 The new technology responsible for eliminating those jobs was the ATM (Automatic Teller Machine). More recently, the wide popularity of buying books over the web has caused many book stores to close down. You may have noticed this in your own neighborhood. Since the Industrial Revolution, technology has been blamed for massive unemployment.2 However, more recently, in addition to technology eliminating certain jobs, technology is enabling the transferring (for valid reasons) of certain jobs from the USA and Europe to far away places like India. Software development is a benefactor (or victim, depending on the viewpoint) of this technology. The technologies that were developed by the US in the 1990s boom are facilitating distributed software development. These range from global high-speed networks, ever-cheaper computers, collaborative tools, satellite communication, and the web.3 Requirements documents and software tools no longer need to be snail mailed, rather they can be emailed to pretty much anywhere in the world. This phenomenon of having software developed in far off places such as India, has come to be known as outsourcing or offshoring. While their may be some small differences in these two terms, they are many times used interchangeably. Earlier, outsourcing referred to the practice of turning over noncritical parts of a business to a company that specialized in that activity.4 But now outsourcing affects a business' critical components as well. While jobs have moved over seas before, like Levi Strauss jobs, which is now completely manufactured overseas, software jobs are getting lots of attention because this seems to be the first time white-collar jobs are being affected.5 While outsourcing can be painful for some of the parties involved, I will s how that it is still an ethical practice. Outsourcing is predicted to affect a very large number of jobs in the future. In the US, about 14 million jobs (or 11%) are identified as being at risk of being sent abroad.6 While not all of these are software related, many of them are. The non-software jobs that are also at risk of being sent abroad are telephone call center, data entry, business and financial support, legal assistant, diagnostic support services, accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll.

Spanish Languages Influence on the Puerto Rican Identity Essay

Spanish Language's Influence on the Puerto Rican Identity The initial occupation of Puerto Rico by the Spaniards carries an important implication for language as part of the Puerto Rican identity. The Spanish language was imposed upon the inhabitants of the island, the Tainos, in the sixteenth century, when the Spanish inhabited the island in 1502, after the Spanish conquerors claimed the island in the name of Spain in 1493. Eventually, the Spanish had moved out or taken over the ways of the old and their culture infiltrated that of the Taino to create a new dimension of the first storey, where the Spanish language was incorporated as the building blocks of the foundation of the Puerto Rican identity (Figueroa, Sept.15). The Spanish maintained control over the island until 1898, when Spain relinquished Puerto Rico to the United States as a result of the Spanish American War. This change begins the construction of the third storey (the second storey involved the economic and political growth of the island under Spanish rule). The 400 years of Spanish history and influence on the island caused conflict for notions of identity and has great impact on Puerto Rican identity. Although the Spanish had come to the island and taken over, decimating the entire Taino population, Puerto Ricans now take pride in the fact that the Spanish contributes to their identity (a result of acculturation), and that they are a (mainly) Spanish speaking nation. Although it wasn't initially intended to be, the acquisition of Puerto Rico resulted in the island becoming an unincorporated territory (http://Welcome.ToPuertoRico.org/history.htm). The passing of various acts, such as the English Only Act (1902), the Foraker Law (1900- establishing un... ...". From Negrà ³n-Muntaner and Grosfoguel (Eds.), Puerto Rican Jam: Essays on Culture and Politics. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 257-285. Rivera, Angel, Q. "Music, Social Classes, and the National Question in Puerto Rico". In Glasser. Scarano, Francisco. "Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico, 1815-1849: An Overview," from Scarano, 1984, Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico: The Plantation Economy of Ponce, 1800-1850. Madison: U of Wisconsin Press. pp.3-34 Trà ­as-Monge, J. (1997). "The Shaping of a Colonial Policy". From Trà ­as-Monge, Puerto Rico: the Trials of the Oldest Colony of the World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 36-51. Walker, Rich. (1998). A Multicultural Alternative to Language and Nationalism. Http://frontpage.trincoll.edu/rwalker. Waxer, Lise. (October 29, 1998). Puerto Rican Music Between Rafael Hernandez and Rafael Cortijo.

Local Literature of Sales Inventory System Essay

Computerize sales and inventory system Computers began from a wild imaginative idea to the world’s highly prioritized tool. Computers today are now used as a substitute to manual processes and other past inventions like the radio, television, etc. It is now used by people for much simpler, easier and faster way to do things. Some used it as a hobby, and some use it as a job. Technology has never stopped from advancing through the years. Its new innovations helps answer the people’s further complex questions. Why not use these advantages to benefit ourselves? Many people use computers in their daily lives. Some use it for transactions, some use it for educational purposes and others use it for data storage. Though it might sound unnecessary but in some cases when storing a file for such a big company, can you manage it properly? Organizing, finding a file, etc. With computers, it can help you simplify the process of storing and managing the files you need for future use and make finding files easier than the manual process. A Proposed Sales and Inventory System In business like merchandising, Sales and Inventory system plays an important role. It is used to track all the transactions made by the business and responsible for monitoring the items supplies. All the business transactions must be properly recorded and must be fully secured by password. A Computerized system is the best solution and most innovative answer for their needs. The researchers had been motivated to do a study on this topic according to the above observation. The result may help others to understand more about computer-generated data processing, especially on how to deal with computers in terms of speed, accuracy and data security. Monitoring the transactions and other significant information regarding the customer is the main concern of this study. Also covered in the study are saving of information and transaction records with the customers. The Sales and Inventory System is concern with the processing of the transactions of the customers and owner and saving the sales records at the same time. These saved records area filed and stored for future use. This computerized system is important to a company because through it, the owner can easily assist the customers and store data safely. And also the monitoring of stocks is the most important part of this system.

Channels of Distribution: McDonald’s Essay

Introduction. The core of this presentation is to discuss the theory of distribution strategy with the underlying real life examples of McDonald’s fast-food restaurants. The aim is to discuss McDonald’s distribution channel and the way in which this fast-food restaurant chain gets its products to the market. In the theory of the Marketing Mix, place (distribution) determines where the product will be sold and how it will get there. In fact, as noted on www.mcdonalds.com, McDonald’s is the leading global foodservice retailer, with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving nearly 46 million people each day in 121 different countries. Approximately 80 percent of all McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent franchisers. Furthermore, at the essence of place decisions, Kotler (et al., 2001, p. 513) claims that, â€Å"retailers, particularly fast foods chains, often state their seven P’s of marketing to be, that is location, location, location, location, location, location and location.† Hence, a retailer’s location is the key to attracting customers. The costs of the building or leasing facilities are a major factor on the retailer’s profits. Thus, site location decisions are among the most important the retailer make† (Kotler, et al., 2001, p. 513). Intensive Distribution. Distribution arrangements tend to be long term in nature. Because of this time horizon, channel decisions are usually classed as strategic, rather than tactical or operational ones. Many of McDonalds restaurants are open 24 hours per day which satisfies the customers needs and wants, especially for exists their hunger. This kind of distribution strategy is called â€Å"intensive distribution†, means marking the product available for sale through all possible channels of distribution. As defined by Kotler (et al., 2001, p. 487), â€Å"intensive distribution is stocking the product in as many outlets as possible.† In addition, this strategy must be designed to reach the consumer wants at anytime and anywhere. Vertical Marketing Network (VMN). A franchise organization, to quote Kotler (et al., 2001, p. 482), is â€Å"a contractual vertical marketing network in which a channel member called a franchiser links several stages in production-distribution process†. McDonald’s has adopted the service-firm-sponsored retailer franchise network, in which a service firm licenses a network of retailers to bring its service to consumers (Kotler, et al., 2001, p. 482). Nevertheless, McDonald’s caters to a large consumer market with varying tastes and thus cannot afford to introduce products without familiarizing itself with provincial preferences in food. For this reason, McDonald’s distributes its products in foreign and domestic locations with the help of franchisers who are well aware of what works in their country. Moreover, these franchisers also provide insight to the company on its diverse customers, and helps McDonald’s achieve its vision of â€Å"being the world’s best quick service restaurant experience.† In brief, this is an extremely intelligent distribution method since it helps in providing people with the kind of products they desire, maintaining the franchise reputation worldwide. To encourage repeat customer visits, McDonald’s is intensifying the efforts to ensure the restaurant interiors and exteriors are clean and welcoming. Moreover, McDonald’s intends to regain the status as the gold standard for clean restaurants. Furthermore, McDonald’s is giving the business a fresh edge in many places by rebuilding, renovating and re-imaging the restaurants. The McDonalds experience abroad demonstrates that doing such can result in improved sales and profitability as stated on www.mcdonalds.com. McDonald’s ensures consistent products by controlling every stage of the distribution. In addition, regional distribution centers purchase products and distribute them to individual restaurants. On the other hand, when designing its channels, a company needs to consider competitors’ channels. Yet, it may want to compete in or close to the same outlets that carry competitors’ products (Kotler, et al., 2001, p. 486). Thus, food companies want their brands to be displayed next to competing brands. Meanwhile, McDonald’s adopted this setting channel objective as a view and therefore wants to be located near its competition. On the other hand, McDonald’s uses essentially the same competitive strategy in every  country, the company wants to be the first in the market and establish the brand as rapidly as possible by advertising very heavily. This effective distribution strategy (place) has helped McDonald’s develop a strong market share in the fast-food market around the world. Moreover, according to Kotler (et al., 2001, p. 513) stores must have a planned atmosphere that suits the target market and moves customers to buy. In addition, McDonald’s has pre-determined the locations for many of its stores to help reach a variety and diverse popul ation. Conclusion. In conclusion, McDonald’s has an intensive distribution process which is a credit to their Marketing department. As businesses and other organizations move forward, the challenge of making their products and services readily available to customers around the world will become much more difficult and complex. Marketers responsible for developing and managing the marketing channels needed to meet these customer demands in the global market will need all the help they can get. McDonald’s has implemented a successful distribution strategy in which other companies should follow. Adopting a marketing strategy that openly focuses on distribution (place) on location of stores, has helped make McDonald’s the successful business it has become is a definite success story. References: Kotler, P., Brown, K., Adam, S., Armstrong, G., 2001. Marketing, 5th Edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York. http://www.mcdonalds.com/