Summary and Continuation of the story “Where Are You...

Erika Villanueva â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† By Joyce Carol Oates There are things that happen when we are growing up that change us when we are grown. There are things that change us forever. Every human being is different, and there is a reason why . All of us had a childhood and all kinds of experiences some good, some bad, some full of joy but also others very painful. Eventually we grow childhood and mature depending of what we have gone through. The way we are able to handle situations is very important because one thing leads to another. We cant rely on intuition, we need to have logic in what our choices are. We can’t just punch someone in the face just because we don’t like a certain individual, or go up to†¦show more content†¦He was telling her that he thought she was cute, and she said back to him, that she didn’t know who he was. He told her that his name was Arnold Friend, and he acted like she should know him. They kept going at each other, Arnold from the driveway and her from the house (behind the do or). Arnold seemed to know everything about her family. He knew that they were out for the day and that they wouldn’t be back. He told her that he thought that she was cute and that she should come for a ride in the car. She told him flat out that she didn’t want to, but he told her that if she hadn’t done so that he was going to hurt her family. (Oates 367) He told her too that if she picked up the phone and called the police that he was going to come into the house, but otherwise he wouldn’t come in.Connie was terrified she didnt know what to do so she put the phone down â€Å"Cmon honey†. She put her hand to the door, and walked towards Arnold Friend. He said to her â€Å"My sweet little blue eyed girl.†(Connie had brown eyes)†¦Oates tells in the end â€Å"Connie had never seen so much land before and did not recognize it except to know that she was going to it.† (Oates 377) Arnold friend took Connie away†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ While they were in the car Connie was sooo scared thatShow MoreRelatedAmerican Youth in the 1960s1593 Words   |  6 PagesAmerica has in a short time been established as a nation that symbolizes acceptance and change. It has progressed into a country of equality that finds its foundation in its personal freedoms and the progressive movement of technology, politics, economics, social views, ethics and so forth since the American Revolution. It has been changing rapidly since the influx of immigrants that came here before the Revolution. The 1950s were a happy time. I Love Lucy and Leave It To Beaver were on televisionRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pagesmultiple study paths, to self-assessment, to a wealth of interactive visual and audio resources, WileyPLUS gives you everything you need to personalize the teaching and learning experience.  » F i n d o u t h ow t o M A K E I T YO U R S  » www.wileyplus.com ALL THE HELP, RESOURCES, AND PERSONAL SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS NEED! 2-Minute Tutorials and all of the resources you your students need to get started www.wileyplus.com/firstday Student support from an experienced student user

A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Free Essays

string(111) " System Logistics Information System \(LIS\) is the application component of logistics information technology\." A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Anil Gurung University of Texas at Arlington Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, College of Business Administration Office: Room 630 Business Building Box 19437 701 S West St. Arlington, Texas 76019-0437 Voice: 817. 272. We will write a custom essay sample on A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now 3528 Email: gurung@uta. edu ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the impact of information technologies (IT) on logistics by conducting a survey of literatures on academic logistics journals and practitioner journals. The literature survey and practice find that third party logistic providers have better opportunity to leverage IT since they need to have interoperable IT systems with their customers. The business philosophy of Just-In-Time (JIT) has also contributed to the impact of IT in logistics. Further, information technologies are identified that has benefited the logistics. Future directions of logistics are discussed. INTRODUCTION The proliferation of information technologies (IT) and the internet technologies have provided impetus and challenges to the logistics. New technologies present new means to manage the flow of information. IT as a productivity tool can be utilized to both increase the capability and decrease the cost at the same time (Closs et al. , 1997). It has been widely accepted that firms can achieve competitive advantage by cost reduction or differentiation with the proper implementation of IT (Porter Millar, 1985). Enabled by IT the logistics has become a source of competitive advantage for many firms. Two streams of research are identified that highlights the role of IT in logistics. First stream relates to just-in-time logistics information system (Anderson Quinn, 1986; Bookbinder Dilts, 1989; Das Handfield, 1997; Gomes Mentzer, 1988; Perry, 1988; Schwarz Weng, 2000; Spencer, M. S. et al. , 1994; Spencer, M. S. et al. , 1996; Takahashi Nakamura, 2000; Titone, 1996; Wafa Yasin, 1996). The other stream is the third party logistics (Lewis Talalayevsky, 2000; Peters et al. , 1998; Sauvage, 2003; Sink Langley, 1997; Vaidyanathan, 2005). Importance of IT in logistics has grown to some extent by business philosophy of Just-InTime (JIT) by firms. With the emphasis of firms on JIT, the impact of logistics has grown as it is increasingly recognized as a source of consistent, low lead time, damage free deliveries (Bardi et al. , 1994). In pursuit of competitive advantages, firms outsource their functions which are noncore competencies so that they can focus on their core competencies. A recent survey found that 83 percent of the surveyed Fortune 500 companies reported having at least one contract with a third-party logistics provider (Lieb Bentz, 2004). Over the years, the use of third-party logistics has been increasing. Similar survey of Fortune 500 companies taken in 1991 had only 38 percent of the respondents reporting the use of third-party logistics provider (Lieb, 1992). The 618 third party logistic operators attempt to harness the capability of information technology to provide superior services to their customers. The objective of this paper is to study how IT has impacted logistics. To this end, literature review of both leading academic and practitioner logistic journals is conducted. The next section will report the framework of logistics. The following section will analyze the IT enablers in logistics. Then, the implications of ecommerce are discussed followed by a section on future directions for logistics. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE A classification scheme logistics functions provides a meaningful way to study how IT has impacted the various functions of logistics. Previous research in logistics have categorized the use of information systems in logistics in different ways. A system of logistics functions can be divided into following five broad areas (Bowersox, 1974): facility location, transportation, inventory, communication and material movement. Based on the problem areas that application addresses, seven areas of logistics has been identified as facility location, inventory control, order entry, vehicle scheduling, warehouse layout planning, freight rate retrieval, and product and shipment tracing (Ballou, 1976). Another survey identified five categories as facility location, inventory control, transportation, production scheduling, and total physical distribution (House, 1978). These categories treated each category as individual entities rather than a whole system. Noting this shortcoming, Stenger (1986) proposed another classification consisting of transaction systems, short-term scheduling and inventory replenishment systems, flow planning systems, and network planning and design systems. Expanding on the framework developed by Bowersox, Novack et al (1992) divided logistics function into two categories. The first category refers to physical activities that are required various utilities of customer need. These will include inventory, transportation and customer service operations. The second category refers to flow of information or transaction activities that follow or initiate the physical activities. The physical and information flows in logistics function is well-depicted in Figure 1 that shows the categorization of logistics functions as described by Vaidyanathan (2005). As shown in the figure, information flows between logistics function are managed, coordinated and supported by various logistics technologies. 619 Inventory and Logistics Management: – Freight Consolidation – Freight Distribution – Shipment Planning – Traffic Management – Inventory Management – Carrier Selection – Order Entry/ Management Information Flow Customer Service: – Freight Payments – Auditing – Order Management – Fulfillment – Help Desk – Carrier Selection – Rate Negotiation Information Flow Warehousing: – Packaging – Product Making – Labeling – Warehousing Material Flow Transportation: – Fleet Management – Cross Docking – Product Return Figure 1: Categorization of Logistics Functions (adapted from Vaidyanathan 2005) IT enablers in Logistics The literature in logistics is full of instances where information technology has been touted as a means to enhance logistics competitiveness (Bowersox, 1974; Closs et al. , 1997; Rabinovich et al. , 1999; Stenger, 1986). Yet there has been few empirical studies that relates logistics information capabilities to logistics competence (Closs et al. , 1997). A popular framework in information systems discipline put forward by Gorry Morton (1989) place logistics decisions as structured and varying from operational to strategic. The role of logistics information systems as operational and strategic enablers in different areas of the firm’s supply chain has been stated in the literature (Langley et al. , 1988). There has been a shift of IT from being an enabler of operational and material handling functions to being an enabler of decision-making and activityplanning functions within the supply chain (La Londe Auker, 1973). Logistics Information System Logistics Information System (LIS) is the application component of logistics information technology. You read "A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management" in category "Essay examples" An effective LIS facilitates the proper information flow between inventory, 20 Information Flow warehousing and transportation to realize the high level of customer service. The ability to optimize the logistics cost and service levels is affected by the LIS of the firm and its partners. Firms that provide better logistics services at a lower cost can have competitive advantage over its competitors (Bardi et al. , 1994). Two classes of LIS has been recognized in the literature (Closs et al. , 1997). Logistics operating systems (LOS) refer to transactional applications such as order entry, order processing, warehousing, and transportation. Logistics planning systems (LPS) refer to coordinating applications such as forecasting, inventory management, and distribution requirements planning. EDI Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has successfully enhanced the communication between firms which is essential for logistics. This technology requires firms to have common data formatting and transmission standards or protocols. Such technologies have been employed by companies to coordinate their value chain activities including logistics. Early applications of EDI has been on transmitting vehicle location information by railways to their customers. Other types of logistics information carried by EDI are purchase orders/releases and changes, advanced shipping notices, bills of lading, and invoices. Timely and accurate information is crucial in decision making about complex logistics problems. Japan Airlines (JAL) adopted EDI to manage their complex value chain logistics required for their operations, including procurement and just-in-time delivery of aircraft fuel, repair and maintenance aircraft parts, food catering and other customer requirements (Chatfield Bjorn-Andersen, 1997). The competitive advantage gained by companies employing EDI is cited in the literature. Firms utilizing EDI were better able to fulfill greater number of services to their customers (Rogers et al. , 1992). Bar coding Bar coding is one of the most IT enablers to date and has made significant impact in the practice. Starting in 1960’s some of the earliest implementation of bar codes were in rail road cars. Nowadays it is rampant in anything that needs to be identified and tracked. The different type of bar codes are available, known as symbologies, for different purposes. In practice, most firms prefer to use industry standards rather than proprietary standards for most of their bar codes on their products. By following industry standards, bar codes reduce the complications inherent in the use of multiple standards and thus provides a strong foundation for integrating the corporate logistics and the supply chain (Closs Kefeng, 2000). Real-time communications capability The logistics IT capability of real-time communications is essential for maintaining the flow of information. As noted by Dudley Lasserre (1989), one of the important roles of logistics IT is to substitute information for inventory. To make real-time tracking of goods, logistic information systems of business partners should have real-time communications capability. The business partners require an integrated messaging architecture which exchanges business data while customizing business flows and format transformation. Real-time communications also allows for schedule plans to change in dynamic routing and scheduling system when the vehicles are 621 already out on the road. Any last minute changes in routing and scheduling system or constant tracking has been possible only with real-time communications ability of the respective systems. RFID RFID helps to identify, track and locate items automatically. The use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is expected to increase rapidly in coming years. Often referred to as the next step in the evolution of bar-coding, RFID is growing rapidly in the automatic data capture and identification market (Srivastava, 2004). RFID is not a new technology, in fact, its use dates back to 1940’s but only now it is starting to make a significant impact within the supply chain. The growth in use of RFID will be enhanced to some extent by mandates from large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, and the US Department of Defense, who require their suppliers to adopt this technology within the next few years (Asif Mandviwalla, 2005). Among the companies that are piloting RFID in their supply chain management prominent ones are WalMart, Procter Gamble, Coca-cola and Gillette. Although the biggest driver in the popularity of RFID has been supply chain, companies are experimenting in other applications as well. Other applications are theft detection, asset tracking, mobile payments, in-process inventory tracking and luggage tracking. Dell, Seagate, Boeing and Ford are among other companies that are using RFID to track their in-process inventory in manufacturing. An RFID system includes transponders or tags that can identify items ; antennas that allows tags to be interrogated and to respond; and software that controls the RFID equipment, manages the data and interfaces with enterprise applications. RFID has lots of potential to improve the efficiency in the supply chain and reduce waste. For example, efficiency would result from automatic update of inventory system when products with RFID tags are unloaded from trucks into stores. The advantages of RFID over bar coding are as follows: RFID tags can provide longer read distances; store more data; require no direct line of sight between tag and reader; and can collect data from multiple sources simultaneously (Asif Mandviwalla, 2005). There are some technical and business challenges to overcome before RFID can be ubiquitous. Technical issues include problems of interference, security and accuracy while business issues relate to costs and lack of standards. Another significant business challenge in adopting RFID faced by managers is to work out a business case for the executive board. Early adopters of these technologies are marred by problems such as possible adverse consumer outbursts to perceived invasion of privacy, reliability of the RFID system, and issues related to health, safety and IT integration. IMPLICATION OF ECOMMERCE ON LOGISTICS The growth of ecommerce pose opportunities and challenges for logistics. As internet retailing increases the companies are accepting orders from their clientele across the borders. In many instances the location of clients are not covered by any existing distribution system of the companies. On such occasions the companies have no resort but to turn towards third party logistics operators for physical flow of goods. As for the information flow, the companies need to have capabilities for ecommerce applications. The group of technologies and processes for coordinating logistics information flow has been named e-logistics. An important web 622 technology that facilitates the exchange of business data among logistics business partners across different platforms is extra markup language (XML). For example, UPS is exploiting the power of the web services to streamline its information flows for logistics activities such as RFQ, shipping and tracking. Changing Trends in Logistics Consultants are beginning to take an active part in helping out the shippers select third party logistics operators. Shippers hire consultants to help them align business processes with supply chain strategies. The newly coined term â€Å"4PL† for consultants stands for dominant role that consultants will be taking in managing the resources, the technology and the processes in the supply chain. It is yet to be seen whether the shippers will let the consultants manage all the logistics processes. Instead of handing over the authority to manage the logistics processes to the consulting firms, shippers may choose to develop alliance with the third party logistics operators and maintain the supply chain themselves. The key thing that will allow coordination between shipper firms and the third party logistics will be information technology and management skills to run the supply chain effectively. This implies that firms should also have proper logistic technologies in place to enjoy the full benefits of use of third party logistics. FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The research directions that are available for researchers in logistics are numerous. Before companies implement new logistic information technologies such as RFID it is important to assess the viability of adopting the technology. What would be the expected benefits? What is the ROI? Researchers can come up with various econometric models to predict the outcomes of adopting logistics technologies. Modeling techniques can be used to assess the scenarios that would be beneficial for adopting new technologies. As companies are entering into ecommerce, better coordinating techniques are required to streamline logistics activities for transactions taking place on the internet. Collaborative technologies for supporting e-logistics would greatly enhance the future logistics. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide an interesting avenue of research that is applicable for supporting logistics technologies on the internet. Intelligent software agents can be used to assess the bids offered by multiple third-party logistics operators. To support global ecommerce the companies need to have different options for global logistics. The best way to traverse the geographical distribution is through technology. What are the communication channels and technologies that would benefit the company in terms of monitoring and coordination logistics functions? More empirical evidence will be preferred to establish the direct link between organizational performance and logistics information systems. Researchers can seek to examine the complex relationships between logistics technologies and performance from different paradigms and theories. The perspective of organizational learning can be used to evaluate the performance gained by employing logistics information systems. 23 CONCLUSION The objective of this paper was to observe the impact of information technology on the logistics functions. A literature review of the academic and practitioners journals was conducted. The information technologies that have been used to support logistics functions were discussed. It is evident that academic researchers are aware of new tec hnologies in practice such as RFID. Development in technologies offer sources of competitive advantage for companies. Adoption of new technologies provide challenge and opportunities for the companies. Proper business case and calculation of ROI needs to be done to assess the expected benefits from new technologies. Changing trends in business in terms of ecommerce open new markets for firms for all sizes to expand their market share. Strategic use of information resource would bear results of competitive advantage and thus leading to success stories. The best practices in logistic information technologies need to be adopted by firms in alignment of their strategic goals. Future trends in logistics may prompt companies to rethink their logistics strategies. Firms may choose to use third party logistics in order to focus on their core competencies. However, firms need to have logistics information systems in place that is compatible with the third party operators in order to fully benefit from their services. REFERENCES Anderson, D. L. Quinn, R. J. 1986, â€Å"The Role of Transportation in Long Supply Line Just-InTime Logistics Channels â€Å", Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 68-88. Asif, Z. Mandviwalla, M. 2005, â€Å"Integrating the Supply Chain with RFID: a Technical and Business Analysis†, Communications of the AIS, vol. 15, pp. 393-427. Ballou, R. H. 976, â€Å"Computer Methods in Transportation-Distribution†, Transportation Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 72-85. Bardi, E. J. , Raghunathan, T. S. Bagchi, P. K. 1994, â€Å"Logistics information systems: The strategic role of top management†, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 7185. Bookbinder, J. H. Dilts, D. M. 1989, â€Å"L ogistics Information Systems in a Just-In-Time Environment â€Å", Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 50-67. Bowersox, D. J. 1974, Logistics Management: A Systems Integration of Physical Distribution Management and Materials Management, Macmillan Publishing, New York, NY. Chatfield, A. T. Bjorn-Andersen, N. 1997, â€Å"The impact of IOS-enabled business process change on business outcomes: Transformation of the Value Chain of Japan Airlines†, Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 13-40. Closs, D. J. Kefeng, X. 2000, â€Å"Logistics information technology practice in manufacturing and merchandising firms† An international benchmarking study versus world class logistics firms†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 30, no. 10, pp. 869-86. 624 Closs, D. J. , Goldsby, T. J. Clinton, S. R. 1997, â€Å"Information technology influences on world class logistics capability†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 4-17. Das, A. Handfield, R. B. 1997, â€Å"Just-in-time and logistics in global sourcing: An empirical study†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 27, no. 3/4, pp. 244-59. Dudley, L. Lasserre, P. 1989, â€Å"Information as a Substitute for Inventories â€Å", European Economic Review, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 67-88. Gomes, R. Mentzer, J. T. 988, â€Å"A Systems Approach to the Investigation of Just-In-Time â€Å", Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 71-88. Gorry, G. A. Morton, M. S. S. 1989, â€Å"A Framework for Management Information Systems†, Sloan Management Review, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 49-61. House, R. G. 1978, â€Å"Computer Models in Distribution Management†, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 1, no. 1, p p. 129-52. La Londe, B. J. Auker, K. 1973, â€Å"A Survey of Computer Applications and Practices in Transportation and Distribution†, International Journal of Physical Distribution, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 92-301. Langley, C. J. , Carlisle, D. P. , Probst, S. B. , Biggs, D. F. Cail, R. E. 1988, â€Å"Microcomputers as a Logistics Information Strategy†, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Materials Management, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 11-7. Lewis, I. Talalayevsky, A. 2000, â€Å"Third-Party Logistics: Leveraging Information Technology â€Å", Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 173-85. Lieb, R. C. 1992, â€Å"The use of third-party logistics services by large American manufacturers†, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 29-42. Lieb, R. C. Bentz, B. A. 004, â€Å"The Use of Third-Party Logistics Services by Large American Manufacturers: The 2003 Survey†, Transportation Journal, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 24-33. Novack, R. A. , Rinehart, L. M. Wells, M. V. 1992, â€Å"Rethinking concept foundations in logistics management†, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 233-67. Perry, J. H. 1988, â€Å"Firm Behavior and Operating Performance in Just-In-Time Logistics Channels â€Å", Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 19-33. Peters, M. J. , Lieb, R. C. Randall, H. L. 1998, â€Å"The use of third-party logistics services by European industry†, Transport Logistics, vol. , no. 3, pp. 167-79. Porter, M. E. Millar, V. E. 1985, â€Å"How information gives you competitive advantage†, Harvard Business Review, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 149-60. Rabinovich, E. , Windle, R. , Dresner, M. Corsi, T. 1999, â€Å"Outsourcing of integrated logistics functions†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 353-73. Rogers, D. S. , Daugherty, P. J. Stank, T. P. 1992, â€Å"Enhancing service responsiveness: the strategic potential of EDI†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 15-20. Sauvage, T. 2003, â€Å"The relationship between technology and logistics third-party providers†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 236-53. Schwarz, L. B. Weng, Z. K. 2000, â€Å"The Design of a JIT Supply Chain: The Effect of Leadtime Uncertainty on Safety Stock â€Å", Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 231-52. 625 Sink, H. L. Langley, J. C. J. 1997, â€Å"A managerial framework for the acquisition of third-party logistics services†, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 18, p. 163. Spencer, M. S. , Dale, S. R. Patricia, J. D. 1994, â€Å"JIT Systems and External Logistics Suppliers†, International Journal of Operations Production Management, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 6074. Spencer, M. S. , Daugherty, P. J. Rogers, D. S. 1996, â€Å"Logistics support for JIF implementation†, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 701-14. Srivastava, B. 2004, â€Å"Radio frequency ID technology: The next revolution in SCM†, Business Horizons, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 60-8. Stenger, A. J. 1986, â€Å"Information Systems in Logistics Management: Past, Present, and Future†, Transportation Journal, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 5-82. Takahashi, K. Nakamura, N. 2000, â€Å"Reactive logistics in a JIT environment†, Production Planning Control, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 20-31. Titone, R. 1996, â€Å"Moving Beyond JIT to Logistics Planning†, IIE Solutions, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 22-4. Vaidyanathan, G. 2005, â€Å"A Framework for Evaluating Third-Party Logistics†, Communications o f the ACM, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 89-94. Wafa, M. A. Yasin, M. M. 1996, â€Å"The impact of supplier proximity on JIT success: an informational perspective†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 23-34. 626 How to cite A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management, Essay examples

The U.S. Economy after September 11 free essay sample

The paper discusses the impact of the events of 9/11 on the US economy, looking at such important issues as consumer spending, airline industry, investment and unemployment. This paper discusses the impact of September 11 tragedy on the economic conditions of the United States. The author examines how the economy, which had showed a dismal performance for three consecutive quarters before September, completely collapsed when the disaster struck as consumer spending decreased with lower purchasing power, investment and borrowing declined, all industries reported lower profits and there was an alarming increase in unemployment. The paper also briefly discusses the condition of the airline industry after the tragic events of 9/11. From the paper: The United States economy had already been predicted to go into recession when the tragedy of September 11 struck and accelerated the downward spiral of economic conditions of our country. . The economy crumpled as many industries in the country were hit harshly by the attacks and the slow down finally took shape of recession. We will write a custom essay sample on The U.S. Economy after September 11 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After three quarters of poor GDP growth, it was almost certain that the economy was heading towards recession but September 11th attacks only accelerated the negative process. The government has been unable to generate enough Consumer-spending despite several announcements of tax cuts, which are aimed at giving people more purchasing power. Money supply and demand in the market is insufficient to tempt businessmen to increase production.

Women in Distress in Literature free essay sample

An analysis of two women in distress in Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar and Elizabeth Smarts By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. This paper analyzes Esther Greenwoods By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept and Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar. In particular, the paper examines the two women in the stories and their problems in society. One may wonder, the paper proposes, to what extent people are responsible for their own happiness in life. In the case of Esther Greenwood and the woman from By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, the paper proves, the different circumstances surrounding their distress play a crucial role in determining their emotional outcomes. She feels that Doreen corrupts her and rejects her as a friend, AI decided I would watch her and listen to what she said, but deep down I would have nothing to do with her. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in Distress in Literature or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Deep down, I would be loyal to Betsy and her innocent friends. It was Betsy I resembled at heart.

work or hell essays

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Case Study of KFC Malaysia Holding

Case Study of KFC Malaysia Holding â€Å"A Case Study of KFC Malaysia Holding: Channel used by KFC to solve communication crisis† Abstract On 6th February 2013,the kitchen staff of KFC I- City outlet at Shah Alam, has gone violent towardone of the customers due to miscommunication. The customer was then put on the floor after a heated argument between the staffs and the customer.This problem then solve by KFC Malaysia Holding with a proper alternatives. One of the alternatives used by the company is to use the right channel in solving the issue. Basically, the main aim of this research is to examine the channel used by KFC Malaysia Holding to solve the communication issue specifically the incident of staff and customer caught into a fighting. This research is tries to answer the question of the effectiveness of the channel used by the company to solve the problem or issue. The survey method will be employed in this research for data collection. As this method fall under quantitative method, SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software will be used to analyze the data. The finding of this research will help the future researchers to understand the effectiveness of channel used by the Food & BeveragesCompany in solving their problem or issue. Besides, this research will help to add more literature on the same topic. Keywords: Channel, problem, Food & Beverages, Effectiveness Literature Review Definition of Crisis In Effective Crisis Communication (2011), crises can best define as unique moments in the history of an organization. Nowadays, the word â€Å"crisis† has been used widely in a daily conversation. People used this word to describe their problem. For example, they refer to this word if they forgot about their appointments with their clients, having a bad hair days or even quarrel with the family members. All of these are awful experiences do not portray or describe the crisis. When it comes to the company, most of the company refers crisis as something that rel ated to the problem. For example low sales or short of manpower are assume as the crisis to the company. All of the situations are not crisis. But, usually the company will consider all the situations as crisis. Crisis is defined as any situation that is threatening or could even threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, damage reputation and/or negatively impact stock value (Jonathan Bernstein,2006). According to Hermann (1963), he identified three characteristics of separating crises that are surprise, threat and short response time. An event will not achieve the level of crisis without coming as a surprise, posing a critical level of threat and forcing a short response period. Robert, Timothy & Matthew(2011) mentioned in their study that crises can be divided into two categories which are intentional crises andunintentional crises. â€Å"Intentional crises are those international acts which is designed to harm an organization such as terrorism, sabotage, workplace violence and poor risk management whereas unintentional crises are the crises caused by natural and some uncontrollable factors such as natural disasters or product failure† (Robert, Timothy & Matthew, 2011). As for the incident case happened in KFC Malaysia I-City outlet, the incident are category under the unintentional case of crisis. The incident happened due to some misunderstanding between the worker and a customer who has been waiting for the food for some times and did not get the food.

Secure Webbased Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Secure Webbased Application - Essay Example A Research methodology is a set of underlying principles behind the collection of models, theories, ideas, and hypothesis. Collectively, research methodology is a technique of collecting data systematically (Rajeev, 2009). For this research the data was analyzed from the previous researches in the literature review section. The authenticity and contingency of this paper depends upon the validity of study data, the reliability of measures taken to collect the data, as well as the time taken to conduct the analysis. Here I would like to tell you that the data was collected from _________ number of respondents through _________(tool used). This data collection part of the research took approximately_________(time consumed for data collection). Basically Single Sign On system cannot accomplish the goals on its own. In order to triumph over the challenges in user understanding and security obstacles, security and usability professionals require putting efforts and working more strongly to gether (Connolly, 2002). In this research, the ultimate solution will be produced which will allow the creation of a "strong": password (contains letters, numbers and special characters) that will open all the authorized applications. As we are using here the Single sign on method so some of its benefits are listed over here: If an employee does forget their one password, he or she c... Frequently results in significant password help desk cost savings If an employee does forget their one password, he or she can easily reset it by using the preset authentication line. Both are factors that have need of extraordinary concerns. Our initial research was done on the internet to discover seller password synchronization tools that would fill our total requirements. We piled up a list of vendors that offer Single Sign On products. A new list of needs and wants was created to incorporate total requirements and other assessment criteria. Some of our initial requirements were that the security system must be able to synchronize password between different platforms, should be able to plot user ids from one platform to another, should provide password status synchronization between different platforms, to implement host platform password format rules across the diverse server platforms. Next step of our research methodology is to develop some evaluation criteria. Our analysis has shown that several flaws in the evaluation criterion and specifi cation can lead to vulnerable implementations (Thomas, 2003). Based on this comment of Thomas we have selected cost, Support for Tandem, Support for other security platforms, and lastly the clearness to application development as our evaluation criterions. Now these criterions were to be tested and verified. Verification of criterions (testing): As mentioned earlier the purpose of this paper is to develop a simple and secure web-based application sign-on method in order to increase the security, reduce the risk to identify theft by reducing the passwords number of the web- based applications and the tool for encryption which will be used here is ASP.net. So from the above

Political sciencemiddle east Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political sciencemiddle east - Essay Example They failed to protect key strategic resources and national treasures. In addition, they failed to have a workable form of rule and order in place to replace the ousted Sadaam Hussein, This failure to plan resulted in a weakened and fragile economy, social upheaval, and political instability that will continue to burden Iraq for years to come. The war in Iraq wrecked an already declining economy and failed to deliver on the promises of prosperity and oil revenues. In the 20 years leading up to the war, the per capita income had declined by 75 percent and the first year of the war cut that in half again to just $450 (Schifferes). The country was burdened by high unemployment, massive numbers of people employed in "inefficient state-owned enterprises", and half the population that was dependent on food aid (Schifferes). At the time there was a plan to privatize the industries, and increase oil revenues so that Iraq would have a self-sustaining economy. However, oil production, which accounts for 90 percent of Iraq's economy, continues to stagnate at about 2.4 million barrels per day, far off the peak production of 3.5 million barrels reached in 1990 (Kumins CRS-1; Iraq Economy 2008). In addition, unemployment continues to hover between 18 and 30 percent (Iraq Economy 2008). ... But it didn't last. Both the privatizations and the pension conversion were rushed into place before the country had the infrastructure or investor sophistication to support them". Without a long term plan and commitment to the restructuring of Iraq's economy, the US will be mired down for years continually trying to jump-start it. A recent effort at privatizing the oil industry has met with considerable resistance due to its demands that Iraq surrender a significant degree of sovereignty. The 2003 invasion of Iraq set off one of the bloodiest periods in Iraq's history, and had been responsible for a period no less violent than the era of Sadaam Hussein. There is little debate about the ruthlessness and cruelty of Sadaam Hussein and his inappropriateness as a leader in the modern world. However, when Hussein was ousted, the US had made no plans for a system to replace him. Religious factions rushed in to fill the void, and resulted in a civil war with the US forces attempting to act as referee. While accurate body counts are difficult to estimate, counts range from between 100,000 to over 2 million. The Lancet, a well-respected British medical journal estimated that 600,000 deaths had been attributable to the war as of 2006 (Polya). This is on an even par with the number of deaths blamed on Sadaam Hussein in the 20 years leading up to the war. In addition, the social strife has caused many people to flee the country and "approximately two million Iraqis have fled the c onflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey" (Iraq Economy 2008). This has torn apart families, communities, and social institutions. If the US had planned a stable transfer of power in Iraq after the invasion, the

President Nixon & Jumpology Essay Example for Free

President Nixon Jumpology Essay One of the other novel contributions was the series of jump pictures where his clients, including the likes of President Nixon, Marilyn Monroe, Duke and Duchess of Winsor jumped for him. Halsman always believed that the jumps revealed more realistically the latent idiosyncrasies of the personality of his clients. (Merryman, 2002) The ideation of this particular pictorial genre had, of course, its offshoot in Halsman’s photography of the animated antics of many of the noted comedians like Sid Caesar, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx who were captured in his film. Halsman could readily realize that, contrasted with their more traditional portraits, the characters came out in full life and vigor when they jumped. To quote Halsman When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears. (Halsman, 1986) Incidentally his published book [1959] titled â€Å"Philippe Halsman Jump book† is replete with 178 photographs of numerous â€Å"celebrities jumpers†, interwoven with hilarious discussion on jumpology. (Halsman, 1986) [linnilabelled. wordpress. com/2007/10/06/philippe-halsman-the-father-of-jumpology/] [http://astadnik. file. wordpress. com/2008/04/bb2. jpg] Halsman’s jumpology created a genre in photography which moved and inspired a lot of people, professional and otherwise. Philippe Halsman Fritz Gruber (Writer) and the Crew Jumping on Set profile. myspace. com/index. cfm? fuseaction=user In 1958, to recognise his contribution Halsman was included in Popular Photographys Worlds Ten Greatest Photographers along with Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Ernst Haas, Yousuf Karsh, Gjon Mili, and Eugene Smith. American Society of Magazine Photographers gave him the Life Achievement in Photography Award in 1975. Halsman believed that his career matured and his art came to fruition in his adopted country, America. He thus made America, the subject of his works in myriad ways. One review noted Halsman’s unsanctimonious and immensely intense portrayal of American bounce. When we look back in time at the works and contribution of Philippe Halsman, we see the discovery or even invention of a nation as seen by an artist through the lens of his camera which took into account not only imagination but also the psychology of the country and its people. His images form a vivid portrayal of prosperous American of the mid 20th century. In that respect his adopted country became his creation.

Migraine: The Unbearable Headache :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Migraine: The Unbearable Headache I often remember my grandmother lying down on the couch with an agonizing look on her face. At times like these, she'd frequently ask to turn down the volume of anything seemingly too loud, or to dim the lights. Grandma was going through her common, yet terrible incidents of migraine headaches. As a child, I never really understood why aspirin wouldn't help her pain. After all, that's what we all took when we had a headache, and soon enough we were back to feeling fine. Little did I know of her "condition" until, as an adolescent, I experienced, for the first time, what my sisters and I jokingly called, "the grandma episodes." The pain was so terrible I could barely eat, drink, move, talk or see things they way they normally looked. Flashing lights overtook my vision and a nauseating feeling kept me hidden in my totally dark bedroom attempting to make the overall disgust go away. I went from prescription pills that would only relieve the other symptoms, to inhalers that would knock m e out after a couple of minutes. I also tried green apples, stopped drinking caffeinated substances, made a journal, tried breathing exercises, and nothing really helped. So, where was science? Why was it not coming to my aid? Controversies over the origin of migraines, and TV specials regarding what to do about them, would always leave me empty-handed. In time, I came to accept the fact that no one had real answers and that I had to live with my condition the best way possible. But what exactly do "scientists say" is a migraine headache and what does science have to say in contribution to this? A migraine headache is considered a vascular condition that is associated with changes in the size of the arteries within and outside of the brain causing them to throb and spasm. The National Headache Foundation estimates that 28 million Americans suffer from migraines and these occur about three times more frequently in women than in men. A quarter of all women with migraines suffer four or more attacks a month; 35% experience one to four severe attacks a month and 40% experience one or less than one severe attack a month. Each migraine can last from four hours to three days. Occasionally, lasting longer. Studies have shown that per 100 people, about 5.5 days of activity are restricted per year due to migraines.

Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth

This short essay contains an outline of the pertinent points and concepts discussed by R. Businessmen Fuller In his essay Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, which puts forward one argument for evolution. ‘Earth is only eight thousand miles in diameter, which is almost a negligible dimension in the great vastness of space. Our nearest star – the sun – is ninety-two million miles away. The nearest star after that ‘is one hundred thousand times further. It takes approximately four and one-third years for light to get to us' (Fuller: 1969: Pl) It puts us Into perspective.We are Just one of nine planets In one of one Right now, we are traveling at sixty-thousand miles an hour around the sun, as well as spinning axially, which adds approximately one thousand miles per hour to our motion. Each minute we both spin at one hundred miles and zip in orbit at one thousand miles. ‘ However our earth is so ‘extraordinarily well invented' that we don't feel t his. To our knowledge, humans have been on earth for two million years' and not even been aware of this. ‘Its so superbly designed' that It Is able to keep life regenerating despite' the fact that it should be impossible.Fuller: 1969: Pl ) To our knowledge, the sun has to be at Just the right distance away from us to be able to emit the energy we and our plants need to survive but not too close as to fry us. We also have to have the perfect amount of gravitational pull to hold us to the earth. Too much and we wouldn't be able to move but not enough and we would float off Into space. If either one of these were to be slightly out of place we wouldn't exist. This, from our knowledge to date 18. 10. 13, is proven by the fact that in our Milky-way we are the only planet with life form.That's not to disprove that in the future we loud find other life forms existing on other planets in other galaxies. It is statistically probable that there are other planets homing other species bec ause of the fact that there are approximately one hundred billion other galaxies. There are approximately 8. 7 million different animal species on earth (Moral, C et all 2011) plus another 400,000 different species of plant Offers: 2008) All of these survive on the earths surface. However there's not just one of each species.For example, there are approximately 7,186,560,610 humans on this planet (accurate at 10:ma'am 18/10/13). Current World Population: 2013) If we assume that every species has that number of participants then you are looking at 6. 5397702 x ION 6 (calculated by humans x animal species + humans x plant species) That's a lot for one planet to keep alive. Its amazing that we even exist and yet we do. Not only do we exist but we have evolved. ‘Quite clearly, all of life as designed and born is utterly helpless at the moment of birth' and humans ‘stay helpless for a lot longer' than any other species. ‘intellect. We had to experience and learn how to contend with difficulties and wrought ‘comprehensive reviews of the compound facts of experiences using intellect' we found ‘awareness. ‘ We can differentiate between the red berries that will kill us and the red berries that will nourish us. ‘ (Fuller: 1969: UP) We have also learnt to cultivate more of these botanical edibles by genetically inbreeding (Fuller: 1969: Pl) ‘Only as [man] learned to generalize fundamental principles of physical universe did man learn to us his intellect effectively. ‘ (Fuller: 1969: UP) We have been able to discover and understand science. That we are endowed with such intuitive and intellectual capabilities' which we have gained from experiences and the earth have meant that we are able to discover fundamental principles governing the fundamental design of life. ‘ (Fuller: 1969: UP) For example, R. N. A (Ribonucleic Acid) and D. N. A (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) and in discovering these we have been able to ‘ increase our survival potentials millions fold. ‘ (Fuller: 1969: UP) In conclusion, we are only one small species on one tiny planet in the ‘great vastness of space' and so really we are inconsequential.Yet what we have achieved, the percussions and effects we create Just go to show that whilst we may be small we are powerful. In the past 2,000 years we have evolved from thinking the earth is flat to realizing that not only is the earth round but that it is part of a universe. From this we have created rockets that can take us out of our earths atmosphere and into space. Give us another 500+ years and we will have achieved Warp Speed technology. The fact that our planet can have, sustain and regenerate millions of life forms only emphasizes our potential and proves how much more we can learn.

Stock Market and Paramount

Case Study Questions –Paramount Communications Inc. 1993- Why a paramount is a takeover target? Several Strategic Reasons – Cost reduction: through combinations of similar business and economy of scales – Sales increase: a) cross-promotions of each company’s brand and utilization of each company’s channels, and b) cooperation in international businesses. 2. Which of the two firms (Viacom or QVC) would make a better fit with Paramount? -Viacom: Overlap in the business creates synergies regarding cost and revenue. However, cannibalisation may happen in the near future. QVC: Small rooms for synergies (cost reductions may be limited to non-business section. ). Volatility may high regarding the realisation of synergies (Most of new synergies come from new businesses. ). Therefore, Viacom is more likely to be a good fit with Paramount. 3. Compare your valuation (stand-alone basis) with market price. What makes the difference between two prices? Target Pri ce: $26. 48 to 29. 41 Market Price: $ 48. 88 to 55. 50 Market Price Multiples: Multiples imply the current stock price is overvalued. PER 33. 46 X, PBR 1. 61 X, EV/EBITDA 13. 7X There is a big difference in our Target Price and Market Price.This may come from 1) Market expectation that the company will generate more Free Cash Flow growth in the next few years 2) Speculation regarding potential takeover 4. What effect would Viacom have on the costs at Paramount if it bought the company? What effect would Viacom have on Paramount’s growth rate? What would happen to costs and sales growth if QVC bought Paramount instead? 1) Viacom impact on the cost and growth rate at Paramount -Cost reduction can be expected thorough combinations of similar business and economy of scales -Viacom will increase sales growth of Viacom by cross-selling and cooperation in international businesses. ) QVC impact on the costs and sales growth at Paramount -Though QVC expects , the cost reduction will b e limited as both companies share the same business area. In addition, sales growth of Paramount will be cut as QVC has intention of restructuring some of the Paramount businesses. 5. What is Paramount worth to Viacom? – Theme park (cross-selling) – Film Library/Film Distribution Business 6. What is Paramount worth to QVC? – New business opportunities in Entertainment – Film Library/Film Distribution Business 7. Compare your valuation with Smith Barney’s.What assumptions do you have to make to get the terminal value EBITDA multiples used by Smith Barney. Is there any benefit of their method relative to FCF method? Smith Barney is using EBITDA of 14 to 16X. Since EBITDA multiple tends to revert to a certain level over the year, we need to assume that the market will keep pricing the company at the same level of 1993. The merits of EBITDA multiples: -They don’t need to assume the perpetual growth rate which is hard to calibrate but has substan tial impact on pricing. -They can ignore the capital structure change Easier to understand (it is â€Å"market consensus†) 8. What doe 30% premium suggest? Is it reasonable? 30% of premium over the market price may be reasonable given; a) control premium b) the nature of takeover (it can be considered as â€Å"Insider Trading†, and to avoid litigation by shareholders, an acquirer may need to pay premium) c) consideration of synergies through a takeover. 9. How should Redstone proceed? What price should he offer? Should the offer be a cash offer, a stock offer, or some combination? What should he do about the lock-out option and the termination fee?Should he bother trying to buy Paramount at all? -The price to offer: $63. 00 (after aggressive synergies consideration) > premium of 14. 55% over the current stock price ($55. 00) -The type of merger: The total amount required will be From $63. 00 * 120million shares * 50. 1% = $3,787. 6 million to $63. 00 * 120million share s * 100% = $7,560 million. Cash: $3,783. 6million to $7,560 million was too much as Viacom has only $28. 7 million cash and most of cash is supposed to be kept for working capital (total current liabilities amount to $848. 3 million).Also, as the LBO is impossible either since Paramount has only around Free Cash Flow of around $300 million. Stock Offer: Therefore, stock offer can be a more reasonable option. However, Redstone’s control over Viacom itself will decrease (see the table below). Lock-up and termination fee: Redstone should cease the options first if he really wants to buy the company. Conclusion: Redstone should not buy Paramount for the following reasons; a) He will substantially lose his control over Viacom b) Current market price is overvalued compared to Paramount’s intrinsic value. c) Realisation of synergies on revenue side is still uncertain.

14 Weirdest College Christmas Trees

14 Weirdest College Christmas Trees It’s not that college students don’t love Christmas or take it seriously. That’s not the case at all. The issue is that due to financial restraints some people are forced to get creative. Like a Marine, they must adapt and overcome, and use whatever they have at their disposal. What you end up with are these 14 weirdest college Christmas trees. 1. An Elaborately Decorated Traffic Cone Hey, it’s kind of the same shape as a tree, right? They’re handy and sitting in the road, or perhaps half buried in dirt in the front lawn. Why not just grab some tape, a string of lights and maybe a roll of dental floss and voila, Christmas Cone Tree. 2. The Almighty Beer Bottle Christmas Tree Many have tried, but few succeed. In reality, pulling off an impressive beer bottle tree is hard to do. How many college kids does it take? No one knows yet. Search around the net though and you’ll discover the beer-tree creation is a science (should be a degree option). 3. A Majestically Stacked Pizza Box Tree There’s at least 30 of them all stacked neatly in the corner behind the thing (otherwise known as the love seat sofa), so why not put them to good use? It all comes down to stacking, super glue and then all the many adornments laying around the house. 4. The Keg Tree You’ll need about 20 kegs to pull off a monster keg tree. Stacking them is simple and then decoration is cake walk. Lights galore, and to finish it off perhaps a single light within a Jgermeister bottle (festive green of course)? 5. Walk Outside Grab a Twig When all else fails simply walk outside, grab the nearest branch with foliage still clinging to it (Pine is ideal) and then stick it a bottle, tac it to a wall, or whatever it takes. That right there is a classic dorm room tree, worth of center window placement. 6. The Textbook Tree What else are they good for? Plus, they’re heavy and won’t be missed, unlike the pizza boxes. You can use them to hold lights in place but getting ornaments to hang from them is a bit tricky. 7. Traffic Cone + Branch Tree Combining a traffic cone with a branch is another epic strategy for the â€Å"staying on-campus this year† Christmas student. Like putting peanut butter and bananas together, it just works. 8. Blowup Dino-Tree They’re green with spots and come with plenty of things to hang thing from. Plus, the plastic is thick enough to where you can tape all kinds of festive things (popcorn strings anyone?) on them. Who doesnt love a quality blowup Dino-tree? 9. Air freshener from a Stick Tree Grab one of those timeless, and fresh scented, air fresheners that already come in the shape of a Christmas tree and dangle it from a stick. In college you have to be open minded. Where you might see an air freshener hanging on a string from a stick, the roomies consider it the equivalent to Time Square’s Christmas tree. Lighting it is a problem though. 10. The Disappearing Dorm Hall Tree It’s there one minute and then quite suddenly it disappears. What’s with that? Doesn’t it defeat the purpose? In case you’re wondering, we’re attempting to get you to infer that the tree was stolen. It happens every year, but every year the dorms have to have their own trees. 11. Any Tree Made in The Lab If the tree was concocted or conjured up in a lab on or off campus, then it definitely belongs in this list. If the person creating the tree is wearing protective eye goggles or even a torch mask, then chances are it could end up being more of a hazard than anything else. 12. Toaster + Branch If there’s never any toast around anyway, why not put it to good use. Hey, it plugs in and they can hold not one but two small Christmas Tree twigs without a problem. 13. Thumb Tacs + Short Light String This is for the more artistic Christmas lovers out there. You buy a string of Christmas lights and then use thumb tacs to put it on the wall in the shape of a tree. If the wall paper is green, or festive, then that right there is an epic tree. 14. Christmas Tree Ladder Like the traffic cone, ladders come pre-molded for use as Christmas trees. Throw a green blanket around it, tape some lights into it, maybe even some tinsel and you’re golden! These are some of our favorites, but we know there’s so many more fabulous trees. The lengths that some of us will go to celebrate the Christmas spirit never ceases to amaze. If you still dont know how to celebrate Christmas, here youll find amazing Christmas party ideas. How about it, what kinds of weird Christmas trees have you seen or created?

Strategic Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management Accounting - Essay Example A Ltd operates in a very stable environment wherein there is hardly any variation in the different activities of the business like sales, inventory, closing stock, demand and profit. B Ltd on the other hand operates in a very dynamic environment. There are huge variations in the different activities of business continuously for which deciding a single course of action would be very difficult. Whether in stability or dynamism, zeroing on the suitable approach of forecasting and budgeting is imperative. Initiating the suitable course of budgeting helps the management to direct its employees in the desired manner. There are many types of budgeting like the traditional, performance, zero based etc. As A Ltd operates in a non-dynamic environment, traditional approach sounds to be an apt option for it. Traditional approach of budgeting: It is a procedure of forecasting contingencies and planning to overcome those situations effectively. It starts with the: Assumptions to be considered: Dev eloping up of assumptions and plans to mitigate those circumstances- The assumptions could be mostly economic in nature. Some of the economic considerations could be in terms of inflation rate, growth rate, exchange rate, interest rate etc. For example, if there is high inflation, the demand of our product could be low (Unless our product is a necessity). This implies an inverse proportion also as in the case of high interest rate. Similarly, the demand of our product is directly proportional to growth and exchange rate of that particular region. Once these assumptions are laid out, course of action plans which should be taken to control these situations have to be well drawn out in the form of budgets. (Chandra.P, 2006) Approval of the plan: It is like succeeding in the endeavor of convincing the management to take up a particular course of action. As such, a standard path has to be outlined to prepare a successful budget report as follows: Plan Administration: Senior officials of operations along with finance executives should get involved while execution of budgets. The plan should involve all related resources like HR, Technical etc. Planning Profit: Optimum production volume and desired profit have to be ascertained by considering the unit sale price, volume, mix, and cost of production per unit, research and competitive forces of markets. Operational strategies which could be alternatively followed in place of the current plan also have to be examined and the best one has to be selected. These plans usually deal with the realities of plan execution like objective, description of plan, assignment of responsibility, costs expected, need for research and deadlines for each stage and the expected results of those efforts. Planning for contingencies: In case of any contingencies, crisis response also has to be planned to mitigate the loss. Continuous observation of warning signals has to be undertaken. Once all these rigorous efforts have been taken up, by al l the functional departments namely sales, production, marketing, HR, Research, sales etc. all these budgets would be combined to form a master budget which would be approved for implementation purposes. (Shim.J.K& Siegel.J.G, 2009) Comparison of Budgets: After the budget period commences, the actual results of all the planned budgets have to be called for on a regular basis.

Cost and value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cost and value - Essay Example t project, a joint venture between an NGO and the private sector, presents an excellent example of how long-term benefits can be achieved by enhancing the overall value to all stakeholders. This paper analyzes the cost and value management processes in this project. Cost and value are both important concepts that need to be considered and controlled in any project, taking an integrated view. (Venkataraman & Pinto, 2008, pp.2-3) In order understand why this is so, and to appreciate the relationship between the two, it is necessary to first recount certain basic principles. Cost Management, at the project level, is concerned with cost estimation, budgeting and cost control at the implementation phase, and the revenue streams resulting from the pricing policy and volumes, the cost of capital, and the input costs at the post implementation phase. Value management is concerned with the maximization of the value created by the project within the constraints of cost, time and other resources. On an ongoing basis, the appraisal of projects on the basis of value crated should consider the direct and indirect returns flowing form the project that create value. The aim of value management is to ensure that the total value accruing to all stakeholders is maximized. It should be remembered that the concept of value will differ from one stakeholder to the other. Cost and value management need to be integrated in order to obtain optimum results. We can define value as the benefits accruing to various stakeholders. According to Venkataraman & Pinto (2008), value is â€Å"meeting or exceeding the expectations of project stakeholders.† In financial management, value addition is the difference between the net revenue generated and the cost of capital. Although financial management perspective is traditionally limited to that of the shareholder, current thinking in strategic management favours the inclusion of perspectives other than that of the financial returns alone. From this

Management Concepts in Hospitals Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Concepts in Hospitals - Assignment Example The efforts were towards advertising in the native languages and also developing simple 'guide to hospital' pamphlets in native languages. Childbirth classes were given in native languages. Extensive media advertisement was done too. The idea was to make it family-centered care. Multilingual physicians and nurses were catering the patients. This was enhanced by presentable looks of the hospital characterized by a large state of the art labor rooms and postpartum rooms with Jacuzzis and rooms for family members. The market orientation of an organization is directly related to overall business performance, employee commitment, and esprit de corps. The above quality improvement measures turned out to be a good business strategy too. The marketing presence was further enhanced by creating a new maternity services 'brand' for the hospital-the graphic image of infant footprint. The hospital further stated its presence loudly through aggressive advertisement. 1. Focus on the customer -serving majorly in the native language, advertising in native languages, organizing cultural shows for the ethnic population and in general making the people feel at home for the stressful event of childbirth to take place. 3. 2. Extensive research into the ethnic ways and this followed by aggressive promotional activities in culturally acquainted [to the ethnic populaces] ways. 3. More presentable looks and adoption of hospital services 'brand'-the infant footprint-all this made the community hospital more professional in outlook. Lager labor rooms and post-partum rooms with Jacuzzis were a similar step.   As the overall marketing orientation is related to staff motivation, the work standards were bound to improve with more number of satisfied customers. The staff's esprit de corps is directly related to the success of the organizational behavior[Knights and Willmott, 67]. Thus better business would've been a catalyst for better work again. While the hospital's overall rapport with the general public improved with the improved reputation the staff and administration produced better results.  

Consequences Of An Older Population Research Paper

Consequences Of An Older Population - Research Paper Example Consequences of an Older Population Diverse studies have been undertaken to closely monitor factors that influence living conditions of a population. With vast developments that have been achieved over the past centuries, medical breakthroughs and improved nutrition, concurrent with other innovative products and services have resulted in an increasing percentage of aging population worldwide. The study conducted by the collaborative agencies on aging under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that most significant increases in the number of people aged 65 and above were identified in developing nations where the percentage increase is projected to reach 140% by the year 2030 (US DHHS, n.d, 2). It has been the natural desire of humans to live a productive and rewarding life for a long time. However, despite the obvious benefits of a long life, there are consequences that should be evaluated in the light of its impact from various perspectives. In this regard, the current study aims to would proffer pertinent issues on the consequences of an older population. ... Medicaid, Medicare, Disability, Welfare and Supplemental Security Income, and The Older Americans Act). Options that could be helpful in relieving this potential burden, in terms of increased taxes, Social Security reform, and reduction in assistance would also be discussed. Finally, from the information gathered from scholarly sources, the paper would propose viable and validated measures to address the significant onus of an aging population. Causes of an Increasing Aging Population The study conducted by Schrier (n.d.) identified a significant cause for the aging population being â€Å"the long-term historical decline in the fertility of the population. In other words, the falling birth rate is responsible for fewer children in the population, and this, in turn, means that the older age groups will form a larger share† (Schrier, n.d, 3). This was supported by the discourse entitled Demographics of an Aging Population provided a clear explanation for the rationale for popula tion age structures in both mortality and fertility transformations, known as demographic transitions (Demographics, n.d). It was reported that the decline in rates of mortality were contributed by improved medical breakthroughs, immunizations, personal hygiene and public focus on health and cleanliness of the environment, that enabled people to survive from various diseases. On the other hand, fertility rates declined due to an interplay of economic and social factors. The need to generate more income for the family led to women joining the work force thereby leaving lesser time for child bearing and rearing, especially in developed countries. Trends in Global Aging The US DHHS (n.d.) have revealed trends in global aging, to wit: (1) â€Å"the overall

Exclusion of Data Records from Documents of Web

Exclusion of Data Records from Documents of Web ABSTRACT: Ranking is tremendously significant in information retrieval. Most information on web is unstructured text in natural languages, as well as extracting information from natural language text is extremely hard. A lot of current effort has focused on obtaining knowledge from structured information on web, especially from web tables. But most significantly, title of a top-k page frequently evidently disclose context, which makes page interpretable as well as extractable. Rather than focusing on structured data as well as ignoring context, we spotlight on context that we can recognize, and then we make use of context to interpretless controlled or approximately free-text information, and direct its extraction. We spotlight on a prosperous as well as expensive source of information on web, which we describe top-k web pages. Top-k lists contain additional significant and appealing circumstance, and are additional probable to be helpful in search, as well as previous interactive systems. Unl ike web tables, which hold a set of items, items within a top-k list is typically ranked consistent with a principle described by title of top-k page. There are quite a lot of reasons to make use of the page title to recognize a top-k page. Top-K Ranker ranks candidate set as well as picks top ranked list as top-k list by a score function which is a subjective sum of two. Keywords: Top-k page, Web pages, Unstructured text, Ranking, Information extraction. 1. INTRODUCTION: World Wide Web is an enormous and speedily mounting repository of information. There are a variety of objects embedded in statically as well as energetically made Web pages. Web services moreover are used to respond exact conjunctive queries, which require quite a lot of search on Web and unite across them, if done physically by means of a search engine. In the earlier period,  information extraction was used on minute harmonized corpora. Accordingly, conventional information extraction systems are capable to rely on weighty linguistic technology tuned to domain of attention. These systems were not intended to extent comparative to the extent of corpus or number of associations removed, while parameters were unchanging and diminutive. A lot of current effort has focused on obtaining knowledge from structured information on web, especially from web tables. Consequently, understanding context is tremendously important in information extraction. Regrettably, in the majority of cases, context is conveyed in unstructured text that machines are unable to interpret. In the majority cases, description is in natural language text which is not unswervingly machined interpretable, even though the explanation has the similar format for different items. But most significantly, title of a top-k page frequently evidently disclose context, which makes page interpretable as well as extractable. We mark top-k pages in support of information extraction for reasons such as: Top-k data on web is large as well as rich. The top-k information is moreover prosperous in terms of content obtained for every item in list. Top-k data is of high superiority and it is normally cleaner than previous forms of data on web. Most data on web is in free text, which is tough to interpret. Web tables are structured, however merely an extremely minute percentage of them enclose meaningful as well as useful information. On the contrary top-k pages contain a general style: the page title hold the numb er as well as concept of items in list. Every item is considered as an example of page title, and numeral of items has to be equal to number stated in title. 2. METHODOLOGY: Most information on web is unstructured text in natural languages, as well as extracting information from natural language text is extremely hard. Some information on web exists in controlled or else semi-structured forms. It is true that entire number of web tables is enormous in entire corpus, however only an extremely minute percentage of them hold helpful information. There are a variety of objects embedded in statically as well as energetically made Web pages. An even lesser percentage of them contain information interpretable devoid of context. Rather than focusing on structured data as well as ignoring context, we spotlight on context that we can recognize, and then we make use of context to interpretless controlled or approximately free-text information, and direct its extraction. We spotlight on a prosperous as well as expensive source of information on web, which we describe top-k web pages. the proposed system which includes components: such as Title Classifier, which effo rt to be familiar with page title of input webpage; Candidate Picker, which take out the entire prospective top-k lists from page body like candidate lists; Top-K Ranker, which score every candidate list as well as picks most excellent one; Content Processor, which post process take out list to additionally make attribute values. Atop-k web page explains k items of meticulous interest. We build up a system that takes out top-k lists from a web corpus that holds billions of pages. Top-k lists enclose rich as well as expensive information. Especially compared with web tables, top-k lists enclose a well-built quantity of data, which is of superior quality. Top-k lists contain additional significant and appealing circumstance, and are additional probable to be helpful in search, as well as previous interactive systems. Unlike web tables, which hold a set of items, items within a top-k list is typically ranked consistent with a principle described by title of top-k page. Ranking is treme ndously significant in information retrieval. Fig1: An overview of system representation. 3. EXTRACTION OF INFORMATION FROM TOP-K WEB PAGES: The block diagram shown in fig1 reveals the proposed system which includes components: such as Title Classifier, which effort to be familiar with page title of input webpage; Candidate Picker, which take out the entire prospective top-k lists from page body like candidate lists; Top-K Ranker, which score every candidate list as well as picks most excellent one; Content Processor, which post process take out list to additionally make attribute values. The top-k information is moreover prosperous in terms of content obtained for every item in list. Top-k data is of high superiority and it is normally cleaner than previous forms of data on web. The title of web page helps us recognize a top-k page. There are quite a lot of reasons to make use of the page title to recognize a top-k page. For the majority cases, page titles provide to bring in topic of the main body. While the page body may possibly have diverse as well as complex formats, top-k page title includes comparatively comparabl e structure. Title examination is lightweight and well-organized. If title examination indicates that a page is not a top-k page, we choose to pass over this page. This is significant if system has to extent towards billions of web pages. A web page by a top-k title might not contain a top-k list. Candidate Picker step take out one or additional list structures which become visible to be top-k lists from a prearranged page. A top-k candidate has to first and for mainly be a list concerning k items, visually, it have to be provided as k vertically or else horizontally aligned standard patterns. While structurally, it is obtainable as a list of HTML nodes by identical tag path which is path from root node towards a convinced tag node, which is presented as a succession of tag names. Top-K Ranker ranks candidate set as well as picks top ranked list as top-k list by a score function which is a subjective sum of two. Subsequent to getting top-k list, we take out attribute or value pairs for every item from description of item in list. 4. CONCLUSION: Web services moreover are used to respond exact conjunctive queries, which require quite a lot of search on Web and unite across them, if done physically by means of a search engine. Conventional information extraction systems are capable to rely on weighty linguistic technology tuned to domain of attention which were not intended to extent comparative to the extent of corpus or number of associations removed, while parameters were unchanging and diminutive. In the majority cases, description is in natural language text which is not unswervingly machined interpretable, even though the explanation has the similar format for different items. Web tables are structured, however merely an extremely minute percentage of them enclose meaningful as well as useful information. Some information on web exists in controlled or else semi-structured forms. It is true that entire number of web tables is enormous in entire corpus, however only an extremely minute percentage of them hold helpful info rmation. spotlight on a prosperous as well as expensive source of information on web, which we describe top-k web pages. We build up a system that takes out top-k lists from a web corpus that holds billions of pages. While the page body may possibly have diverse as well as complex formats, top-k page title includes comparatively comparable structure. Top-k lists enclose rich as well as expensive information. The top-k information is moreover prosperous in terms of content obtained for every item in list. Top-k data is of high superiority and it is normally cleaner than previous forms of data on web.

Emperor Justinian: Builder of the Byzantine Legend :: essays research papers fc

?Ã… ¡Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The writing in Bold refers to the Works Cited page where the info came from Justinian was a Byzantine Emperor who helped to revitalize the Byzantine Empire that would leave a lasting legacy for Western Civilization. During Justinian?fs reign, the Byzantine Empire was at a time of decline. With Justinian?fs visions, he was able to lay out a foundation that would help the Byzantine Empire live for many years to come. Justinian (Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus) was born in 483 AD at Tauresium in Illyricum in the Balkans of what is now central Europe. He was the nephew of Emperor Justin. His uncle Justin had passed over the duties of governing the Empire to his wife Lupicina, and nephew Justinian (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). Justinian worked hard and rose in his uncle?fs government. He studied in Constantinople and became consul in 521. He married his wife Theodora in 523 (Shelter)and rose to general-in chief of the Byzantine Empire in April 527. That same year, his uncle, Justin died and Justinian became the new Emperor (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). Justinian had dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire in Europe so he immediately set out to secure and expand the weakening Byzantine Empire(Norwich- A Short History of Byzantium,68). The only way Justinian could achieve his goal was by retaking control over the Western provinces that were once ruled by Rome (Fortescue- Justinian I, Roman Emperor). His first challenge to conquest in the West was to end warfare in the Persian Empire. The two empires had been long time rivals in the Middle East and had battled often (Norwich-A Short History of Byzantium,27). During the 400?fs, both the Romans and the Persians struggled to cope with invasions from outside groups. But in 502, conflict re-ignited between them. From 502-505, the Byzantines, led by Justinian fought the Persians and then again from 527-532. This revisited conflict of warfare between the two rival empires ended when the Byzantines fought the Persians to a standstill and ordered them to accept a peace treaty (Whittow-Making of Byzantium,41). With peace now in the East, Justinian appointed General Belisarius to lead an army and re-conquer the western Roman provinces(Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). In 533, Belisarius?fs army smashed the Vandals and took over North African provinces and sent their King, Gelimer, back to Constantinople as a prisoner. In 535, the Byzantines overtook Sicily and then moved into Italy (Norwich-A Short History of Byzantium,68-69).

A report to the Board of Directors at Ennismore Capital Regarding the Expansion Idea at Hoxton Hotel

Abstract The hotel industry has gained more popularity over the recent decades in most parts across the globe. London, like other cities has manifested stiff competition among different hotels in offering high quality services, including meals and accommodation to both local and international customers.Hoxton has been a top ranking hotel in London, with some of the surveys ranking it the best for three consecutive years. The hotel is under the management of enthusiastic and goal-oriented team (Ennismore Capital), characterised by the constant ambition to grow into a larger hotel industry. Having proposed the expansion idea to the Hoxton Manager, there is need to conduct a critical review of the idea and render the most informed recommendation to warrant the implementation of the expansion idea. This paper therefore outlines a report to the Board of Directors at Ennismore Capital regarding the expansion idea at Hoxton Hotel, in which the strategic analysis of the hotel, internal analysis throu gh a resource audit and core competency analysis, and the application of Ansoff’s matrix are covered. The report gives concludes by proposing a local expansion of the hotel in the UK, and summarises the recommendations to the board. Introduction The Hoxton Hotel is owned and managed by the Ennismore Capital. From recent surveys conducted in the United Kingdom, The Hoxton Hotel has been ranked as one of the leading hotels in London (Agencies, 2013). For example, one of the surveys and ranking by the Guardian Newspaper had ranked Hoxton Hotel as the best in the UK for three consecutive years. The ranking by the Guardian Newspaper focused on the professionals from the creative industries such as Design, Computing, as well as Fashion. The constant growth and development of the hotel, which has since its foundation, led to its modern top ranking can be attributed to the enthusiastic, goal oriented and successful management body. For instance, the Ennismore Capital have a current plan of expansion, in which they aim at either local expansion within the UK, or internationally in the same hotel business, or through further diversification into related sectors. In order to facilitate proper decision making regarding the multi-million pound expansion idea by the Ennismore Capital, there is need for a strategic analysis of Hoxton Hotel, together with an examination and evaluation of the strategic choices that are open to it. This report details the required strategic analysis of the hotel, which constitutes the current strategic position of The Hoxton Hotel in terms of the external environment it faces. This is achieved through a PESTEL analysis, business trends and level of overall competitive rivalry in the hotel industry. It covers the internal analysis through a resource audit and core competency analysis for The Hoxton Hotel. The report advices the Board of Directors on the expansion idea through the application of Ansoff’s matrix, and proposes the organic method of growth. Current Strategic Position of the Hoxton Hotel Strategic business position refers to the process in which a business distinguishes its products and services from those of its competitors, and as such, identifies which market niche to occupy. Strategic positioning is one of the most vital benefits associated with proper business planning. The importance of proper business planning in developing an advantageous strategic position is vital, especially in the face advancing technology (Field, 2013). The Hoxton Hotel has overrecent years, acquired a leading position among the hotels found in the United Kingdom. The study by the Guardian newspaper relied on the nature of the products and services offered by the hotel, with major back-ups from the customer testimonials. The customer testimonials, among other sources of information contributed to the hotel’s leading rank ion offering meals and accommodation services. The strategic position of a business becomes contingent when it manifests its uniqueness in products and services offered, as well as its verifiable value (Vignali, 2014). In order to determine critical analysis of the current strategic position of The Hoxton Hotel in terms of the external environment, it is necessary to conduct a PESTEL analysis, and the current industry trends, in tandem with the overall competitive rivalry.The PESTEL AnalysisThe PESTEL analysis is a common framework in the United Kingdom, used to evaluate the external environment of different business. The framework consists of different factors affecting businesses, ranging from Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Economic as well as the Legal aspects (Glykas, 2013). For instance, the political factors involve factors that determine the level of involvement by the UK government. The government may influence the operations of the business through an introduction of new tax policies. The business, upon compliance, experiences a new era in its revenue, which affects its competitive advantage. The governmentâ€℠¢s stability, press freedom policies, trade union regulations, consumer protection policies, as well as the level of corruption also defines a business’ external environment (Glykas, 2013). In addition to the political factors, economic factors also determine the overall performance of a nation’s economy, which bears a direct impact on the profitability of any business. For instance, inflation trends in the economy determine the pricing policy of hotel prices for their meals and accommodation services. Moreover, there are socio-economic factors, which involve the prevailing cultural and demographic trends on marketing. The technological aspect of the framework consider the level of innovations and their application in sales, marketing as well as delivery of goods and services within the business industry (Glykas, 2013). Similarly, the legal aspect of the PESTEL framework affects both the internal and external business environment, owing to the hotel’s effort to comply with the legal policies enacted in the UK. The legal factors work in tandem with environmental aspect of the PESTEL framework, since there are various environmental policies enacted and enforced through legal terms. The hotel has an obligation to conduct its business in such a way that it complies with environmental sustainability policies enacted in the UK. The table below outlines each of the factors in the PESTEL framework, and the effects of each factor on the current strategic position of the Hoxton Hotel. Factor Impact on Hoxton Hotel PoliticalThe UK government is currently getting involved in the hotel industry owing to the need to control security. The UK government is also making further restrictions into the issuance of licences for hotel operations. The Hoxton Hotel has a good business relationship with the UK government in tax payments, and through their ability to attract international markets EconomicThe hotel accommodates international guests and hosts international conferences, which are dependent on the individual economies of foreign countries. In some cases, the local markets do not supply adequate food, and the Hoxton Hotel imports beef and potatoes from other countries to meet the demands (Yang, Flynn & Anderson, 2014). Socio-culturalThe Hoxton Hotel enjoys a larger section of the UK population being of higher social class, who can afford the high prices offered for the meal and accommodation services provided. The Hotel also offers the modern amenities and innovative technologies such as the wireless network, which is a hot cake for the up-coming generation. It therefore means that the younger generation form a promising class of customers for the hotel (Lazzeroni et.al, 2013). TechnologicalTechnology has played a pivotal role in ensuring the competitive advantage for the Hoxton Hotel. This is because the hotel offers a wireless network in the rooms, which has acted an attractive feature for many customers (Yang, Flynn & Anderson, 2014). EnvironmentalThe hotel has a public responsibility to ensure a sustainable use of the environment. There are policies which have a legal binding for the hotel, especially regarding waste disposal and management (Brigade, 2014). LegalThe Hoxton Hotel complies with all the labour policies in the UK, as well as international standards by scheduling manageable workloads for its staff (Hoque, 2013. Key Industry Trends and Level of Overall Competitive Rivalry Having emerged as a leading hotel in the United Kingdom for three consecutive years implies major achievements for the Hoxton Hotel. There are many factors which contributed to the hotel’s competitive advantage (Hulbert, Gilmore & Carson, 2013). For instance, surveys have indicated that Hoxton Hotel is one of the most popular with relatively lower rates. Compared to other major hotels in the UK, Hoxton offers lower prices for high quality services for not only delicious meals, but also the comfortable accommodation rooms. The lowly charged rooms include some of the publicity-garnering ?1 per night, among other facilities that remain affordable to the customers. In the hotel industry, the location of the business forms a critical aspect of its usefulness to the intended clients. This is because the accessibility depends on how far or close the facility is located from other public utilities, such as roads, hospitals, as well as other sources of entertainment, including natural features (Porter & Shaw, 2013). Considering the location of Hoxton Hotel in the United Kingdom, the hotel remains highly competitive for its Shoreditch location. The presence of the Shoreditch around the hotel acts as a point of attraction to many clients, who according to surveys, have affirmed that they experience a double benefit when they visit the hotel. Their double reward is owing to the fact that their stay in the Hoxton Hotel gives them an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery at the hip Shoreditch. The room design is also another significant factor that is responsible for the high competitive advantage. According to the reviews done by most customers in Hoxton and other hotels, the room design is a central factor, which determines the customers’ choice to stay in a hotel. Based on this knowledge, Hoxton Hotel has properly designed, physically attractive and more appealing to most customers’ accommodation demands. Their appealing nature is associated with the fact they have relatively more luxury, than what most customers’ often expect. For instance, customers have free access to milk in the fridges, various options for a cold snack, and well balanced diet during breakfast. The rooms are supplied with a system of free wireless internet service. The customers who have laptops and other internet enabled devices have free access to the internet at an unlimited rate, for as long as they stay in Hoxton Hotel. Moreover, the hotel rooms have some of the most comfortable beds, with the bedding materials displaying high standards of hygiene. Customer reviews conclude that according to their assessment, they found no source of discomfort during their stay at the 4-star Hoxton (Ryan, 2013). These reviews from customers also recognise the high aesthetic value of the hotel environment, noting the 2VVV Golfs forming a snug at the Hoxton’s entrance. Despite the strong competitive rivalry from the other hotels in the UK, Hoxton banks on its less costly products and services, the beautiful scenery located around the hotel, among other luxurious services including the free wireless internet offered in the rooms to maintain itself at the top of competition (Ryan, 2 013). Internal Analysis through a Resource Audit and Core Competency Analysis In order to establish whether a business is strategically positioned to meet its objectives, it is a business requirement to conduct Internal Resource Audit (IRA), in which the management determines the available resources and how they can contribute to the achievement of the set goals of and objectives.Clean External and Internal EnvironmentsSince its foundation, the Hoxton Hotel has thrived on a good reputation for its cleanliness, both in the internal and the external environments. The high standards of hygiene that have formed the brand’s reputation have resulted into improved confidence among customers, who trust the safety of their meals as well. It is a common belief that clean environments have safe products for human consumption (Smith, 2013). This belief has been a primary motivating factor for even parents with younger children to use the facility for the available child friendly meal toys. Consequently, there has been a trend of increasing number of customers over the past years, which have led to an increase in revenue generation for the hotel.Safe FoodsHoxton Hotel has shown historical commitment to ensure that they serve safe meals and beverages to their customers (Smith, 2013). The process of ensuring safe foods and beverages at the hotel is a collaborative work between Hoxton and its suppliers, who take an active role in monitoring, tracking and testing different ingredients used in the production and processing of such food items (Smith, 2013). The food and beverage safety is a comprehensive process program in the hotel operations, that not only ensures food and beverage safety, but also all other promotional items. Based on critical analysis of the hotel’s safety standards, it is evident that Hoxton Hotel is in compliance with the government’s standards, and in some cases above them. The extra effort invested to ensure additional food safety is aimed at maximum consumer protection, as a core obligation of the business to the customers. Similarly, it is the responsibility of all the staff members to notify the relevant authorities in case of any safety issue, so as to maintain safe food as a resource (Smith, 2013). The rooms at the Hoxton Hotel are comparable to the mothership at the Shoreditch. The rooms designed to prioritise the customer’s comfort through adequate space. Just like stated in the above discussion, the rooms are among the most captivating facilities at Hoxton Hotel. With special designs to ensure customers’ comfort, they are spacious to permit free movement as necessary. In addition to the adequate space available, the rooms provide a refrigeration facility, which creates for storage of basic beverages and snacks (Smith, 2013). For instance, customers can always access the free milk provided in the fridge, other cold snacks as well as a variety of breakfast meals. Moreover, the rooms also incorporate an aspect of the modern technology, in which the management supply free internet connection to the customers through a wireless platform. Application of the Ansoff’s Matrix Based on their financial ability, the Ennismore Capital has ?100 million for the expansion idea. Considering the level of risk, it is important to acquire a deeper comprehension of the existing markets and the new markets, as well as the new products and new ones. In the UK for example, there are many expansion ideas, each with a varying level of risk, depending on whether the idea involves the introduction of new products or use the existing ones. Similarly, the levels of risk also depend on whether the expansion involves operations with the current market, or entry into a new market (Gianos, 2013). Hoxton Hotel has maintained a leading role in offering meals and accommodation services in the UK, and can boast of adequate knowledge in the sector. Furthermore, the business has involved the provision of one particular goods and services, during which the management has acquired all the basic and technical information required to run a successful business in the hotel industry. Having been located in the UK, the hotel also has a better understanding of the market structure and operations dynamics, including the requisite competitive advantage over their rival hotels within the region. Conclusion Based on the findings, it is evident that there is lower level of risk involved in an expansion idea, which involves opening new branches of the hotel, offering similar services in different parts of the country. On the other hand, there is higher level of risk involved in an expansion idea, in which the hotel has to penetrate new international markets, offering similar services, or introducing new products. Considering the Ennismore Capital’s concerns over the level of risks involved, it would be most appropriate for Hoxton Hotel to consider adopting a local expansion of the hotel offering similar services within the UK. While expanding the business within the UK, organic method of business growth would be the most appropriate. This is because the method involves minimum investment of external capital, since it relies on the existing business capital. Organic growth originates from the existing business, and has a higher chances of fast growth due to the fact Hoxton Hotel has ready market information and investment strategies. Summary of Recommendations The Hoxton Hotel has earned its place in the top ranking of hotels for offering satisfactory services to its clients during the course of the recent past. Plans of expansion by the management can be a source of its further advancement, or can lead to its decline in the hotel industry. In order to keep the business at a higher niche, it is important that the management consider a local expansion within the UK, by dealing in the same meals and accommodation services. This shall help in acquiring further stability and popularity in the native country, before further penetration into new markets across the borders. The Ennismore Capital should aim at minimum cost of the expansion, as a base of gaining a stronger investment base for a more advanced expansion in the future. This can be achieved through adoption of organic growth, which shall utilise the existing business resources such as ideas, market information and capital. References Agencies, I. H. S. (2013). 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(2013). The territorial approach to culturaleconomy: New opportunities for the development of small towns. European PlanningStudies, 21(4), 452-472. Porter, L., & Shaw, K. (Eds.). (2013). Whose Urban Renaissance?: An international comparisonof urban regeneration strategies. London: Routledge. Ryan, N. (2013). Art and urban renewal: Public and private developments in Las Vegas. The Marketing Review, 13(3), 283-295. Smith, T. (2013). Hotel values in London 2012 and beyond. Journal of Building Survey,Appraisal & Valuation, 2(1), 44-49. Vignali, G. (2014). The mix map modelling approach: research application-a thought for the service industry. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 12(1), 75-81. Yang, J., Flynn, J., & Anderson, K. (2014). E-business application in the hospitality industry: A case study. Communications of the IIMA, 3(1), 1.