Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Analysis Of ââ¬ÅHereââ¬â¢s Herbieââ¬Â Essay
This short story by Mike Feder, is about his own life as a discouraged teen in the 70ââ¬â¢s society. When Mike was a young boy he was in a constant state of teenage depression, and one of the major reasons why, was his motherââ¬â¢s both mental and physical illness. This sickness of hers, made him sick as well, and it didnââ¬â¢t become any easier when his mother constantly reminded him, that he wasnââ¬â¢t wanted and that she wished she had never had children (p.62). This was just one of the many obstacles, that Mike had to face during his teenage years. Especially this factor is very clear to see in the story, since the narrator Mike, describes himself as a boy who was ââ¬Å"possessed of great many psychosomatic complaintsâ⬠(p. 62) We know in forehand that this is a true story, but when a narrator is writing about himself, it is very hard to determine if he is reliable or not, and to be honest I do not want to draw any conclusions since there could be solid argumentations for both parts. This story could easily be an exaggerated version of a childhood memory, but could also be an actual event. Some elements could indicate, that we have an unreliable author as for instance the long gab between the year he wrote the story and his age in the story, which we know by looking at the many passages of the story which reveals it as: ââ¬Å"When I was a kidâ⬠or ââ¬Å"When I was about fifteenâ⬠(both on p. 62) As a little wimp boy, Mike had a lot of fears, but on the top of the list was the long and adventurous trip to his allergist in Manhattan. He lived at the edge of the city, which meant, that there was a long way to his destination. The trip held a lot of terrors for Mike and he had ââ¬Å"a department full of fears to play withâ⬠(p. 63). First of all he was quit afraid due to the violence in the train, but also other things as the powerful machines and the darkness of the underground frightened him. The funny thing is; as much as he hated the whole experience, he felt this kind of crazy excitement as soon as the train came rumbling and roaring into the station. Every single time he felt this adrenalin rush, which he love very much, and that made him forget about all his other fears. This could indicate that the theme in ââ¬Å"Hereââ¬â¢s Herbieâ⬠had something to do with the initiation of adulthood, since he is so passionate about this, that he forgets some of his childishà anxieties. This is obviously just one of the themes, where the main theme is growing up which in this case also contains being different. Mike liked to sit in the front of the train, because of two things, firstly because he felt ââ¬Å"some sort of identification with the surge of power in the frontâ⬠and then also because he could peek out of the front window. He wanted to stand up and look out of the window, but he could never seem to find any courage to do so. He speculated too much about what the others passengers might think of him, and the attention that position would draw. So he had to live with just glancing out of the window, from the corner of his eyes, every now and then. But this whole thing changed one day, because of one specific man named Herbie. Herbie was slump shouldered and had a nutty lopsided look on his face. He looked funny with his dim eyes and big hairy ears, but seemed careless anyways. This man just walked to the centre and started shouting: ââ¬Å"Hereââ¬â¢s Herbie! Hereââ¬â¢s Herbie!â⬠with absolutely no care in the world, and it was this kind of confidence Mike wanted to possess. Herbie then walked straight up to the front window of the train, with a plastic steering wheel and started ââ¬Å"steeringâ⬠the train, as if it was nothing. The one thing that Mike thought about doing every single time, Herbie did so abruptly. So despite Herbieââ¬â¢s shaggy appearance he actually achieved that one dream, that the narrator was embarrassed to fulfill. I think this was the point where Mike realized that he could never reach any of his own goals if he kept being afraid of what others might think of him. Experiencing Herbie just shouting into the void and pursuing his dream really got to him and changed him. (p. 67) This is a very simple goal, and is nowhere near something impossible, but no matter what the dream is or how big or small it is, the same rules apply. Nothing should stop you from pursuing your dreams, even if itââ¬â¢s just to look out of a train-window. This is why the message of this short story is so simple, yet so deep. It really applies to so many different occasions and almost everyone can relate to it. No matter if you want to be a president, or an artist or if your biggest dream is to try an awesome rollercoaster or climb Mount Everest, I really believe that nothing should keep you from doing what you want. Because at last Mike was so inspired by this odd man Herbie that he decided to look outà window, without thinking about the other passengers, and this really changed him. He might have gotten some pitiful stares or judgemental comments, but this was the first time in his life that he felt he was in command of it. So a lesson we can learn from this short story could be: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
New Burger King Seven Incher Ad Report Essay
Advertising has a big effect on selling products or propagandizes. Thatââ¬â¢s why; companies and organizations start to increase their advertising expenses. A research made in 1985 indicates that in 1983, companies worldwide spent $19,837,800,000 on advertising. In 1984, $23,429,700,000 was spent and in 1991, about $52 billion was spent on advertising by companies. This shows us that companies understood that advertising is the best way of selling. All of these companies want to make their advertisements effective and memorable, but what makes an advertisement memorable? An illustration, a headline and a copy can make an advertisement incredibly memorable. The first feature, which makes advertisements effective, is an illustration. An illustration has a great effect on advertisements. They can easily make them memorable. First, the size of the illustration is very important for effectiveness of the illustration. The size of the illustration should be between 1/4 and 2/3 of the page such as 66% of top-scoring advertisements. So you can put headline and copy on the blank side of the page. For example, inad, advertisers used 2/3 of the page as an illustration. Secondly, the subject of the illustration is very important to capture customers. Most (36%) of the top scoring ads uses the technique of borrowed interest. For instance, à uses borrowed interest. In headline it says, â⬠, thatââ¬â¢s why, advertisers used a woman, which look like a surprised. To conclude, an illustration may make an advertisement such as, very effective with its size and subject, but there are more can make an ad memorable. The second feature that makes an ad memorable is a headline. A headline has a great effect on stopping power. It makes people stop and read the rest of the ad. So people may buy the product. First, the size of the headline is very important to make a headline memorable. It should not be very small or very big. The top scoring ads use commonly half inch or in rare cases less than half-inch headlines. For example, in ad, advertisers used a headline, which is 2. 5 inches. First row of the headline is written bigger than the second row, because advertisers wanted to make both rows in the same width. Second, the length of the headline is as important as the size. If the length of the headline is too long, people may easily forget it or donââ¬â¢t want to read it because it is long. 36% of the top scoring ads uses a headline between 1 and 6 words. So it can be memorable. For instance, advertisers used 5 words in the headline of à It is a basic phrase, which people use in their normal life. So, it is easy to remember. In conclusion, a headline is a basic way to make people remember the ad, but still there is one more thing to talk about. The last feature, which makes an advertisement effective and memorable, is a copy. Actually, copies havenââ¬â¢t a big effect on effectiveness, but after people stops because of the headline and the illustration, the copy becomes important. First property, which makes a copy effective, is its length. About 70% of top scoring ads have copy, which has words between 26 and 100. So people can read it easily and it will not bore them. For example, and has a copy made by 47 words. So it is easy to read and understand. Secondly, the message of the copy is a big effect on ad. Every copy has its own message. Some copies give people information about the technical specifications of the product. Some explains how to use it and some tells how the product will make you happy. The major (33%) part of the top scoring adsââ¬â¢ copies includes information about the usefulness of the product. So the advertisers can easily fool the customers. For instance, à adââ¬â¢ copy is about effects of the hamburger on the potential consumers. To conclude, even though the copy is not very important at the beginning, it becomes very effective with its length and message. In other words, most of the top scoring ads such as à uses illustrations, which do not fill all of the page and includes the subject of borrowed interest; headlines, which are about half inch and less than 7 words and copies, the lengths are between 26 and 100 words and explains how do the products helps you, to improve their sales. However I am sure all these would change in the future such as entire page illustrations and copies less than 50 words.
Outline for an Informal Report Essay
This report is designed to study and critically analyze the economic and management problems being currently encountered by the Roanoke Branch of Phoenix Advertising particularly in their employee management approach and the relationship between the management and the subordinate employees. Classification / Division I. Background information about the agency is as follows: The agency being targeted by this report is the Roanoke Branch of Phoenix Advertising located in Charlotte, NC that serves banks, insurance companies and retail chains advertising needs, currently headed by Gregory S. Forest as the company president and locally handled by Frankie Evans as the Vice-President for Human Resource Management, which is presently besieged by turmoil in their employee management. II. Information regarding the report investigation. Determining and critical analyzing the condition of the targeted work branch requires personal investigation approaches. Thus, this researcher has interviewed several employees of the said work branch to determine their opinion and views regarding the work condition and environment in the targeted structure. In addition, this researcher has also reviewed and analyzed several work documents and manuals pertaining to employee management approach of the company. à III. Results of the investigations. Thus, the said investigation has determined that the Roanoke Branch of Phoenix Advertising is currently experiencing several employee management and employee relations problems, which are significantly affecting the production and quality of service of the said office. Among its problems is the significant decrease in the morale of the employee particularly in their dedication for their work, quality of work environment and the dissatisfaction with the services and performance of their superiors. This in turn has caused higher stress level for the employees thus, further aggravating their discontentment with their work conditions. In addition, this problem has also affected the production rate of the said branch as the rate of absenteeism and turnovers have increased to a detrimental level. Other contributory factor to the discontented wok nature of the employees are the lack of communication between the body of employee and the management, increased in the work load for each employee, and theà increasing unpaid overtime dues to the employees. IV. Recommendations To address the investigated employee management and relation in the employeeââ¬â¢s body of the Roanoke Branch of the Phoenix Advertising, this researcher recommends the following approaches. A. Revising the hiring and recruitment procedures particularly drawing out a clearer and more comprehensive work contract that elaborates the rights and privileges of the employees to encourage more applicants thus enabling the administration to expand the workforce pool in the Roanoke Branch. B. Establish experimental work system to determine the most convenient for the employees and the most effective for the companyââ¬â¢s production cycle. Included in this concept are the aspects of employee scheduling employing a fixed but semi-rotational work schedule for each employee and shortening the work period through extending or establishing employee vacations and day offs. C. Reducing the workload of the employees through hiring in part-time personnel especially during work peak seasons to accommodate the increasing workload and increase the work capacity of the Roanoke branch. D. Formulating grievance and dispute procedures to expand the communication aspect between the management and employees wherein employeesââ¬â¢ views and opinions can be expressed and will be duly addressed and incorporated in the development plans of the Roanoke branch. With this implemented, the work environment and condition of the employees can be improved in accordance to their preferences thus promoting in turn their dedication and willingness to do their job tasks and their personal safety while in working condition. E. Establishing a management development training program where the leadership and interpersonal skills of the branchââ¬â¢s leaders and managers can be develop thus enabling them to better relate and understand their subordinate employees. F. Establishing employee incentives approach as the managementââ¬â¢s tool for motivation for their employees and their rewards for the hard work and services done by their employees. These incentives can manifest through different forms such as awards like employee of the month, compensation time, extra bonuses, and profit share, which are all constituted in monetary and honorable recognition forms.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words
Marketing - Essay Example Marketing has been defined differently by various authors. As per Eztel, Walker and Stanton (2003), ââ¬ËMarketing is a total system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote, and distribute want-satisfying products to target markets in order to achieve organisational objectivesââ¬â¢. On the other hand, Kotler (2003) defines marketing as ââ¬Ëa societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with each othersââ¬â¢. These two definitions provide significant insight into the main operations of marketing, vis-à -vis planning, pricing, promotion and distribution. The American Marketing Association provides another definition of marketing as ââ¬Ëthe process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational goalsââ¬â¢ (Bennett, 1995). There are three main eras through which marketing has evolved as a revolutionary concept and has taken its current form. These include product orientation period (Eztel, Walker and Stanton, 2003) in which demand were greater than supply, manufacturing and production were limited and industries were not fully developed or capable to take care of the needs of the market. In this period, the main focus of the companies were on producing large quantities of products to satisfy the ever more increasing wants and needs of the target market. Little, if at all, efforts were used to be put in the marketing of products through searching the customers. This was followed by sale orientation stage (Eztel, Walker and Stanton, 2003). In this period, customers used to have relatively lower purchasing power, hence companies began hard selling through overly aggressive advertising and heavy reliance on promotional activities. In the post world war II era of 1950s and onwards, market orientation has emerged as
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Cisco Networking Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Cisco Networking Assessment - Essay Example Error correction also includes the additional ability to reconstruct the original message, with error-free data. Two basic methods have been designed to handle the error correcting system. These are called the Automatic repeat-request (ARQ), and the Forward Error Correction (FEC). The ARQ sends that data with an error detection code, which the receiver user to check for errors. In the FEC method the transmitter includes an error-correcting code (ECC) and sends the coded message. The receiver never sends any data to the transmitter, it just decodes what it thinks is the most "likely" data. The Network Layer deals with errors via a variety of means (Wikipedea, 2008). These are to ensure the QOS is maintained. These can be items such as the Parity check, which means that if any bits are corrupted in the message, they are replaced to the expected format. A checksum, which involves an algorithm to check the validity of the data, Hash functions, which perform a similar function and repetition schemes. The full list of methods is stated here: The Transport Layer uses 2 two way error correction protocol, which involves a discussion between the sender and the receiver. This is where the receiver informs the transmitter to resend a message when an error occurs. ... Repetition schemes Parity schemes Checksum Cyclic redundancy checks Hamming distance based checks Hash function Cryptographic message digest Horizontal and vertical redundancy check Polarity schemes Transport Layer: The Transport Layer uses 2 two way error correction protocol, which involves a discussion between the sender and the receiver. This is where the receiver informs the transmitter to resend a message when an error occurs. The two basic types for each packet transferred are called a NACK (Not Acknowledged), when a failure occurs and an ACK (Acknowledged) when a packet has been successfully received. The way it does this is to check the header/footers of packets to see if it is in the format expected. This is usually achieved by CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) checksums which are calculated based on the data transmitted. Summary: Basically, the Network Layer function is to check the validity of the data at a lower level than the Transport Layer, and communicates the problem up the hierarchy. The Transport Layer in turn, informs the transmitter to resend the erroneous data. The Transport layer has other functions, such as allowing a mechanism where the receiver informs the transmitter what to send next and what is expected. Question 2 (5 marks) What are the different types of collisions that can occur on an Ethernet network Briefly explain each. There are the types of collision where two packets are sent over the network at the same time, and this is handled by the CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Detect) protocol and a 'Collision Domain'. A Collision Domain happens when two devices on the network transmit at the same time (The TCP/IP Guide, 2005). An Ethernet network can be composed of a single or a multiple
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Leaks and Hacks. When Is It Illegal To Get Hacked Essay
Leaks and Hacks. When Is It Illegal To Get Hacked - Essay Example The term is also used to describe variation of a program or mechanism to give the user entrance to computer features that otherwise would be inaccessible like the DIY circuit bending. Hacking has been considered a serious crime especially when one hacks in to a government. There are instances when some get involved in what is termed as "ethical hacking"; this is company's strategy to determine their security weaknesses or target for intruders. Even so, the ethical hacker may get in trouble with the law, it is therefore necessary that some one gets the Get out of jail Free Card (GOOJFC) which is a document that states that you have been authorized by someone in power to do so. Hacking is a federal crime and any cases of suspicion would be investigated by the federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ), the crime can never be expunged unlike the other state crimes, depending on the damage caused, one could also be sued for damages ion the civil court leading t o possible jail term or job termination. There are some critics who are proposing that any company hacked should be held responsible and make it a rule that it's illegal to be hacked. Taking Responsibility In the recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued claims and charged hefty fine to some companies that had leaked data to hackers. This of course brought about some critical questions about taking responsibility if the firm in question is hacked (Severson.1997, 36). Usually it's very difficult to stop a company's computer system from being hacked if not impossible; hence imposing liability to the affected company could result in unintentional consequences. The development of disclosure laws has played a great deal in revealing that some of the security breaches that have bee common over the pas t few years were actually due to negligence on the part of the corporate information technology (IT) team failing to lock down the data in any considerable mode. This revelation encouraged the pressure on companies that get hacked to take responsibility for the crime. The computer systems hold very critical information about consumers, company's corporate management, finances and other critical information that should not be accessed by just anybody; companies that leak such information should be help responsible (Hammond & Hammond 2003, 36). This is according to Slashdot post at info world. Imposing serious penalties on the involved companies especially on claims of negligence is also very risky undertaking on the company and consumers. This is because the regulations may be very strict and could result in unintended consequences bearing in mind that hacking is inevitable, companies may even totally stop accepting credit cards from customer since the liability could be very great (Severson.1997, 42). This means that people would have to forego the convenience of using credit cards to protect their safety. Most of the credit card users however would rather use their credit cards for convenience and risk their safety since benefits outweigh the chances of risk. Leaks and Hacks The difference between leaks and hacks is not very distinct as in leaking information facilitates hacking and it's likened to the difference between negligence and wickedness (Hammond & Hammond 2003, 39). This is the basis on which some penalty is imposed on companies with arguments that doing something stupid that hams others should be penalized. This is like the situation when a driver falls asleep at the wheel and because a fatal accident, it's quite justified to hold him accountable for being negligent with other people's life, in the same way a negligent
Friday, July 26, 2019
Coordination and Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Coordination and Control - Essay Example In addition, it is responsible for processing sensory information from external stimuli, such as sight. This system is responsible for the regulation of such involuntary functions of the body as digestion, blood flow, and heartbeat. The autonomic nervous system is most essential for two functions, which are during emergencies that lead to stress and need the individual to either take flight or fight and during non-emergencies, allowing the individual to digest and rest (Mai & Paxinos, 2012: p55), which are under the sympathetic or parasympathetic system respectively. This system is responsible for the regulation of bodily functions like digestion, sweating, and heart rate. The sympathetic system provides for fast responses required for immediate needs, for example in response to present threats. The SNS is responsible for the regulation of many processes of homeostasis in the human body at a basic level, as well as in mobilization of the flight or fight response (Mai & Paxinos, 2012: p56). This is the second part of the autonomic system that opposes the sympathetic system, for example by dilating blood vessels and slowing the heartbeat down. This system serves to relax sphincter muscles, increase glandular and intestinal activity, and slow heart rate, thus conserving energy and this is the reason why it is also referred to as the rest and digest system (Mai & Paxinos, 2012: p56). Sensory neurons transmit signals from peripheral body parts to the CNS, including such sensory information as sound and sight. The neurons undergo activation by sensory input before projecting this information to other nervous system elements (Widmaier et al, 2011: p27). They are afferent neurons, only transmitting signals towards the CNS. Relay neurons conduct information from one part of the CNS to another, forming connections between other neurons. The term relay neurons also refer to
Thursday, July 25, 2019
The Occupy Wall Street Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
The Occupy Wall Street Movement - Research Paper Example In terms of my presentation I will perform a little skit on the ââ¬Å"Occupy Wall Streetâ⬠movement, demonstrating how communication and interpretations of symbols converge to create a shared reality for the people involved (Jack & Adam, 2011). Introduction The Occupy Wall Street is an underway chain of protests started by the Canadian activist group, Adbusters that started on 17th September, 2011. The setting was in the Zuccotti Park in New Yorkââ¬â¢s Wall Street economic district. A common vision for this group is protesting against fiscal and social inequality which in turn has resulted into increased rates of unemployment, greed and corruption (Jack & Adam, 2011). Such inhuman acts are being done under the effect of organization especially in the fiscal sector. The demonstration group has a slogan we are the 99% referring to the escalating diversity in wealth in the United States of America. This escalation is between the bourgeois 1% and the rest of the populace. Like m ost of good techniques used in rhetorical analysis, the fantasy theme analysis method utilizes the schemata in which there is description, interpretation, and evaluation of the rhetorical material. This paper takes on the particular movement of Occupy Wall Street Movement that has a symbolic reality of the populace under demonstration (Jack & Adam, 2011). Assumptions of this fantasy theme analysis technique are of paramount importance in unveiling the implications of symbols used and the kind of vision that these people hold in common. As such, the plotline of the Occupy Wall Street movement shall be looked into as well as its scene to reveal the kind of setting and motives behind the movement. Along the discussion, the paper shall establish whether there exists a sanctioning agent in the vision of protest. Application Adbusters Foundation, which is well known for its marketing-free anti-consumerist magazine suggested a diplomatic activity of Wall Street to demonstrate corporate imp act on the democracy, the lack of authorized ramifications for the bankers causing the recent universal economic recession, and an increasing disparity in affluence (Bormann, 1985). In the use of the fantasy theme analysis, the movement indicates the element of scene, which is the place in which the protest takes place. As a result, the OWS sought to put together the symbolic setting of this yearââ¬â¢s demonstrations in Tahrir Square having the consent decision making of the 2011 Spanish dissents. There most significant reason as to why the setting for such an action was in the Zuccotti Park is because it is privately owned. This bars the police forces from lawfully forcing the complainants to leave without an official permission of the property owner. In this case, the rhetoric, figurative and tricks of the Occupy Wall Street are on the one hand stimulated by the Arab Spring demonstrations like the Tahrir Square in Cairo. In addition, the movement has an immediate archetype whic h is the British student gripe of 2010, Greeceââ¬â¢s as well as the Spainââ¬â¢s anti-austerity demonstrations of the ââ¬Å"indignadosâ⬠(Bormann, 1972). These experiences have a commonality with OWS dependence on social media and electronic messaging to outwit the governments and the notion that monetary organizations, associations and
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Apple Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Apple - Research Paper Example It states that the company has done a very good job of marketing its sustainability efforts in order to increase the brand value of the company. Another good aspect about the firmââ¬â¢s sustainability efforts is that Apple has been an early adopter of new sustainability technology. Article 3: Sustainability Faceoff: Microsoft vs. Apple URL: http://www.fastcompany.com/1650270/sustainability-faceoff-microsoft-vs-apple The article provides a comparison of the sustainability efforts of Apple and Microsoft. Overall the author believes that the sustainability efforts of Microsoft are better, but he does mention a lot of good things that Apple is doing in terms of sustainability actions. ââ¬Å"The company claims that the new iMac and MacBook computers are already free of the toxic substances.â⬠(Schwartz, 2010). Article 4: Responsible Supply Chain Leadership: Should Apple Just Do It? URL: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/mar2012/responsible-supply-chain-leadership-sh ould-apple-just-do-it The author of this article discusses the steps that Apple has taken since 2005 to improve its sustainability program. In 2005 the company established a code of conduct outlining expectations for suppliers. During the next five years the company took steps to enforce compliance of its supply chain responsibilities, it incorporated an internal control system, and established worker empowerment training. Article 5: Apple Inc. Making Progress on Sustainability In China, Though Workers and the Environment Still Deserve Better URL: http://www.joshuawickerham.com/2011/10/11/apple-update/ The article focuses on Appleââ¬â¢s sustainability efforts from the perspective of the importance of establishing good stakeholder relationships, social causes, and environmental efforts. One of the good things about the sustainability efforts of the company is that Apple integrates them into its production processes. The company has improved a lot its sustainability program in the Peopleââ¬â¢s Republic of China. Article 6: Apple: Sustainability, Child Labor, Bribes and Suicide URL: http://www.caelusgreenroom.com/2011/02/15/apple-sustainability-child-labor-bribes-and-suicide/ The purpose of this article is to discuss the results of Appleââ¬â¢s 2011 progress report for Apple supplier sustainability. ââ¬Å"The report offers several examples of Apple improving worker conditions, employer practices, material sourcing, and other changes in its supply chain, including a 24.5% increase in the number of independent audits on work sites in that chain.â⬠(Caelusgreenroom, 2011). The firm has increased the number of sustainability audits to 102 per year. Part II: Companyââ¬â¢ efforts to improve/promote environmental sustainability Apple is truly committed towards the use of sustainability practices into its operations. The company has done a lot of good things to improve its sustainability program. The firm incorporates sustainability throughout its entire supply chain. ââ¬Å"We've learned that about 98 percent of Appleââ¬â¢s carbon footprint is directly related to ourà products. The remaining 2 percent is related to our facilitiesâ⬠(Apple, 2012). The company applies sustainability in its transportation efforts. The company designs products with less material, ships with smaller packages, and they are free of toxic
Project Analysis Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Project Analysis Report - Research Paper Example The following report presents an analysis on a project from its planning, implementation and performance together with other crucial elements of a project. The project is Computerized Passenger Reservation System by the Indian Railways. The project was successful developed, designed and implemented as attributed by the high level of management, experienced vendor, CMC, slow hurrying among other strategic techniques that the company employed. Introduction Success of a project depends on several things such as evaluation of risks and opportunities and knowing how to utilize the outcomes for the benefit the project, as well as effective projectââ¬â¢s objective definition, planning and management. A project manager plays a key role in project planning, execution and implementation; thus, they are tasked with the obligation to search for new strategies and ensure a strategic project. The following report presents an analysis on a project from its planning, implementation and performanc e together with other crucial elements of a project. The project is Computerized Passenger Reservation System by the Indian Railways. Overview of the Project and Objectives The establishment of railway transport in India started in 1851, and by 1901, there were 24 million passengers using railway transport managed by GIPR Company. 42 railway companies operated in India during the colonial era, but after independence, they were all merged and operated by the government (Raman & Wig, 2010). Since then, the company has improved on the number of passengers carried per year, as well as the carriages and the railway lines. The Indian Railways is divided into 17 zones for effective management with several divisions. The divisions also encourage sports and operate hospitals and schools for employees. PRS system that was designed from scratch has been labeled the most successful project done by the Indian railways. The objective of this project was to transform passenger reservation system i n order to handle the huge magnitude of passengers and complexity of the transactions. Analysis of scope of the project shows that is was divided into four stages, which were initiation stage, project stage, implementation stage and growth stage. The initiation stage comprised feasibility studies and the decisions that piloted the approval, as well as funding of the PRS project. The major activities at this stage included creating the need for the PRS, approving schedule and budget and identifying management team for the project (Raman & Wig, 2010). The second stage was the project stage, which constituted activities for startup of the project. Activities in this stage were vendor and hardware selection, systems design, integration, testing, software development, data conversions, manual procedures redesigning and finally, roll-out. The third stage of the project scope was the implementation stage where the organization accepts PRS and puts it into use. As such, this stage was fulfi lled by carrying out activities such as rework, debugging system and software, staff training and system performance tuning. Lastly, growth stage came fourth on the scope of the project, and this is where the organization established plans to further investment in infrastructure to support the technology. In addition, the organization also extended the new systemââ¬â¢s use to other areas, as well as developed additional applications to be linked with the system. Stakeholder Analysis The major
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
A Comparison of world religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
A Comparison of world religions - Essay Example The Hindus do not eat meat. Shinto does not look at the emperor in the face. Native American people fear handling the dead (Hall et al., 2006). In Islam, pork is forbidden. The act of eating anything in Islam is a form of worship. It is this reason that makes Muslims selective in food. Muslims do not eat pork because the Quran prohibits them from doing so. They also do not drink alcohol because they say it intoxicates the brain as stipulated in the holy Quran. Intoxicating the body by eating ââ¬Ëunlawfulââ¬â¢ food is a sin (Naik, n.d). In Hindu, eating beef is taboo. The Hindus do not eat beef because they associate cows with Godââ¬â¢s creation. In the past, Hindus used to sacrifice bulls for religious purposes. The beef would then be eaten. Things later changed among these religious groups. Individuals would be holier by avoiding beef. Nowadays a cow, to a Hindu, is a source of life. The cow is a sacred creature that must not be eaten. Consuming other products like milk, however, is accepted (Nigosian, 2007). They believe that there are severe consequences that come as a result of breaking a taboo. One would be jealousy of others, angry, anxious, and fearful of death. Hindus believe that if they inflict pain on others, including cows, the same pain will rebound on them (Hall et al., 2006). In Christianity, the taboos regarding the choices of food are different among the Protestants, Orthodox and Roman Catholics. Roman Catholics do not eat meat on Fridays during lent time. They fast during lent because they believe it improves spiritual discipline. Fasting is also believed to enable a Catholic overcome the physical worldââ¬â¢s sensations and focus on spiritual growth. The Catholics believe that sacrifices are offerings to God. God, therefore, deserves to receive the best form of sacrifice. The Catholics choose meat because it is always associated with celebrations. Eating meat on Fridays is,
Monday, July 22, 2019
Juvenile Adjudication Essay Example for Free
Juvenile Adjudication Essay It is a common knowledge that juvenile offenders in the US were those violating the law and arrested by the authorities at age 17 and lower. Quite a number of researches by psychiatrists and sociologists have been conducted on the causes of juvenile delinquency. It was the 13 year study of McCord and McCord published in 1959 involving 650 eleven year old children that gave credibility and proof to the hypothesis that ââ¬Å"Parental permissiveness and laxness is the cause (â⬠¦) of such delinquent and aggressive behavior. In fact, children coming from homes with permissive parents are thirteen times more likely to produce delinquent and aggressive ehavior than children coming from homes with overly strict and punitive parentsâ⬠. (Hwang, et al, ca 2007, Abstract). According to the authors, this conclusion was supported with similar study conducted by Paulson involving California adolescents incarcerated for striking their parents in 1990. The Nature of Juvenile Courts It was a common knowledge that a juvenile court was established by different states in the U. S. to handle cases of delinquent, dependent or neglected children under the age of 18. The common law violations of juveniles were delinquency, status offenses, abuse and neglect. The same kind of offense committed by youths in one state is subject to different rules in another state due to the fact that juvenile courts are primarily run by state and county courts and not by the federal government (law. rank. org, 2008). The website further reported that some states adjudicate youths guilty of unlawful acts with both a juvenile and adult sentence. The juvenile sentence is served first and then continues with the adult sentence at age 21 onwards. This extension of the sentence to age 21 is normally under the condition that the delinquent was not eformed or rehabilitated while under a juvenile sentence or his sentence exceeds the number of years till his 21st birt hday. Though each state treats juvenile delinquents differently, the juvenile courts are dedicated to protecting the childââ¬â¢s privacy and well-being and seeing to it that the delinquent is rehabilitated either under house arrest or under the guidance of foster parents and social workers. 2 Despite the efforts of the federal government to curb juvenile crime rates, during the 1980ââ¬â¢s, there was an experienced increase in serious crimes committed by youths. Victims of serious crimes were not satisfied seeing the youth not imprisoned and just confined in special rehabilitation house. As a result of the clamor for justice and the increase in violent crimes perpetrated by the youth, some states consider adjudicating the youth offenders under the adult court despite being contrary the juvenile justice law. There were claims that subjecting the youth offenders to adult court and punishment will discourage youth offenders from graduating to full pledge adult criminal. This paper aims to elucidate the issues related to endorsement of uveniles to adult court and those against it and strike a compromise on punishing the youth offenders to bring justice to victims while maintaining the right of due process stipulated in the juvenile court. Juvenile Crime Trends in 2000ââ¬â¢s and Policy Changes Young and Gainsborough (2000) claimed that the proportion of juvenile crimes to total arrests in 1998 was about the average for the past 25 years and that of property crime arrests declined throughout the most of the period. The authors claimed further that the one crime category that exhibited significant increase from the overall trend during the 25 year period was urder perpetrated by youth offenders as shown in the following graph: Criminologists Alfred Blumstein and Richard Rosenfeld (cited in Young and Gainsborough, 2000) reported from their analysis that the sudden increase in gun killings were related to the 3 development of the crack markets in metropolitan cities where fierce turf wars were waged with juveniles recruited by market organizers. As more guns came into the streets, juveniles armed themselves with guns for protection and self-defense resulting to spiraling of death cases. The sharp decline of murder cases in recent years according to the criminologists was due to market tabilization of crack and police authoritiesââ¬â¢ efforts to keep guns off the hands of juveniles. Related to this, according to Myers (2005) in his book Boys Among Men, there has been serious debates in the last 40 years related to juvenile courtsââ¬â¢ philosophy, structure and procedure. The author added that ââ¬Å"A variety of critical attacks have focused on such issues as due process violation, ineffective treatments and rehabilitation services, abuse of the juvenile courtsââ¬â¢ power, lenient treatment of adolescent offenders and general lack of direction in dealing with adolescent crimesâ⬠. (p 71). On incisive analysis, these issues may have contributed heavily to mounting serious juvenile crimes. Myers (2005) claimed that the criticisms combined with the rapid increase of juvenile crimes in 1980 to mid-1990s and heavy media attention in sensationalizing juvenile crimes contributed to the erosion of traditional philosophy and authority of the juvenile courts. The author added that the central issue is the transfer of juveniles to criminal court which was equivalent to a move of criminalizing delinquent behavior. In relation to this, Young and Gainsborough (2000) commented that the legislative esponse to increased wave of serious crime focused on sending more and younger children to adult criminal court with the intention of discouraging the juveniles from committing murder crimes. The authors reported that since 1992, almost all states has made legislation to make it easier to try juveniles in adult court. The federal government through Congress initiative in 1998 provided additional grants to states with legal policies related to prosecution of those 14 and above as adults. It was an accepted practice since the inception of juvenile justice system hat serious and chronic crimes done by juveniles can be transferred to adult criminal court through a process of judicial waiver following a hearing in front of a judge in juvenile court. In reaction to mounting serious juvenile offenses, the judicial waiver was broadened to allow 4 juvenile court judges to transfer younger juveniles and those with less serious offenses to adult court by means of mandatory waiver. The authors further added that prosecutorial discretion was broadened to allow prosecutors more authority in their hands to file juvenile cases to either juvenile or criminal court as they choose. The statutory exclusion was also expanded to exclude certain juvenile offender categories from juvenile court jurisdiction based both on age and nature of offense. The legal provision of ââ¬Å"Once an adult, always an adultâ⬠was enacted by almost all states which in effect automatically place the juvenile in adult court for the trial of subsequent lesser offenses once the offender was tried previously in criminal court. The policy changes resulted to abnormally high rate of juvenile children being tried as adults. The authors revealed that per data of Amnesty International in 1998, as many as 200,000 outh under 18 years of age were prosecuted in criminal courts. In 13 states which set the upper age limit of juvenile court jurisdiction at 15 rather than 18, a total of 180,000 juveniles were adjudicated in adult court. Although the central objective of the laws facilitating juvenile offenses prosecution in adult court was to discouraged homicide and violent crimes, the impact was much wider. The authors reported that in 1996, more than half of the cases waived to criminal court were non-violent drug and property offenses; 43% were person offenses, 37% were property offenses, 14% were drug related and 6% were public order disturbance. Moreover, racial disparities were very evident; 67% of juvenile adjudications were black and 77% of juveniles sent to prison were minorities (60% black, 15% Hispanics and 1% American Indians and Asians). Despite using drugs at a much lower propensity than whites (15. 7% of blacks, 16. 7% of Hispanics , 19. 6% of whites aged 12 to 17), 75% of juveniles charged with drug offenses in adult court were black and 95% of juveniles sentenced to adult prison were minorities. It was very evident that discrimination toward minorities which should not be the case actually happened as a result of juvenile transfer to adult courts.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Discussing and comparing the Tyler model
Discussing and comparing the Tyler model In this essay I will be discussing and comparing the Tyler model and Knowles model for Adult Learners. This can be seen in section one where the comparison and contrasting of the two models will be established in order to get a better understanding. In section two I will choose one of the two models that are most appropriate for a learning context. The conclusion will consist of a summary of the key points established throughout this paper. Section One Tyler was very much linked with curriculum theory, development, educational assessment and evaluation. In education individuals regard Tyler as the father of behavioral objectives. This form of approach puts much more importance on the needs of the learner. There are similarities between Tylers and that of the andragogical model as they both relate specifically to the individuals self direction and their experience. Tyler regularly used this in learning to be a development during which an individual attains new patterns of behaviour. He had four basic questions regarding to learning: What educational purposes should the school seek to attain? What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? How can these educational experiences be effectively organized? How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained? (Boone, pp.26) The previous questions are now well known in adult education. Knowledge of the psychology of learning helps set bounds on what can be learned within the given time and the current environment of the organization (Boone. Pp. 26). Tyler thought that the makeup of a schools curriculum had to relate to three main factors that together form the elements of an individuals education experience. First off would be the nature of the individual learner, which may include the individuals developmental factors, their learner interests/needs and also their life experiences. Second would involve the individuals values and aims of society, which may include values and attitudes. The last being knowledge of the subject matter. What the learner believes to be worthy and usable knowledge. In answering the four questions and in designing learning experience for students, curriculum developers had to establish judgments through the three factors. He believed that when setting educational objectives, pro grammers should take into consideration the learners, society, philosophical considerations within the institution conducting the program, the intellectual climate of society and experts in the subject (Bye Reich, pp. 181). The assumptions of this model are that all learning can be measured in terms of changing behaviours. One of the most frequently offered criticisms of programs of professional preparation by graduates who subsequently inhabit the real world of practice is that such programs are strong on theory but weak on practical application (Brookfield, pp. 201). Knowles is regarded as a central figure in US adult education in the second half of the twentieth century. The programming model is structured on his andragogical philosophy, where one assumes that adults move toward self-direction. By doing this use their experience as a learning resource, then are ready to learn in accordance with socio-developmental tasks and desire immediate application of learning. Knowles believes that the adult learner brings life experiences to learning, incorporating and complementing the cognitive abilities of Piagets adolescent. As the individual matures: his/her self-concept moves from dependency to self-direction he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experiences that becomes a resource for learning his/her learning readiness becomes increasingly oriented to the tasks of various social roles his/her time perspective changes from one of postponed knowledge application to immediate application his/her orientation to learning shifts from subject-centered to problem-centered (http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/knowles.htm ) Knowles believes that adults should have developed mature understanding of themselves, able to understand their needs, motivations, interests and goals. Individuals should be able to look at themselves objectively and maturely. They should accept themselves and respect themselves for what they are, while striving to become better. Adult learners should develop an attitude of acceptance, love, and respect toward others. This is the attitude on which all human relations depend. They must learn to distinguish between people and ideas, and to challenge ideas without threatening people. Ideally, this attitude will go beyond acceptance, love, and respect, to empathy and the sincere desire to help others. Knowles was convinced that adults learned differently to children and that this provided the basis for a distinctive field of enquiry. His earlier work on informal adult education had highlighted some elements of process and setting (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm ). In doing t his Knowles cam to the conclusions about the shape and direction of adult education. According to Knowles andragogy model the key points are: Adults move towards self-direction Adults use experience as a learning resource Adults are ready to learn in accordance with socio developmental tasks Adults devise immediate application of learning (Bye Reich 2003, p182) The two models are very different to one another when compared. Tylers objective model requires no prior knowledge of the content being taught whilst Knowles institutional model requires some prior knowledge from the adult learner. This prior knowledge helps motivates the learning to participate more in the learning process which results to further /advances in knowledge of the topic being taught. The learner is seen as an empty vessel in Tylers model. The individual is more dependent on the teacher in learning new things within the learning environment. This is entirely opposite to Knowles model, as the learner seeks growth in knowledge. Section Two My goal in this section is to apply Tylers model with TAFEs Business Management course. Central to Tylers model is effectively organizing the learning activities. He believes in three criterias that are required in building organized learning experiences. These are continuity, sequence and integration. Business Management mirrors Tylers model by creating active learning experiences in a content area that is otherwise found boring. Having identified a number of learning activities, the teacher challenges students in active learning with writing assignments, group presentations, group quizzes, a written financial project, individual and group participation and a final exam. The process of assessment is critical to Tylers model and begins with the objectives of the educational program. The lecturer will be required to establish the point of the assessment by answering questions such as what is the purpose of this assessment, what do you want it for? With an online syllabus, students can prepare for the various methods of assessment. Mid semester evaluations provide valuable feedback on learning activities. A final evaluation of 2009 present important feedback for course revision. As a result, the following semester group learning activities were increased from 10% to 40% of the course content. Other feedback found that students desire for more review time and that the instructions progressed too quickly. Due to time limitations, the lecturer incorporated additional non-graded assignments as group presentations. By doing this the curriculum and instruction assessment helped better achieve the defined outcomes of improving critical thinking, communication and analytical skills. A final exam also helps evaluate the learning objectives and integration of knowledge. Tyler and TAFEs Business Management have comparable strategies for designing curriculum and instruction. Tyler states, Education is a process of changing the behaviour patterns of people. TAFE uses assessme nts to achieve the defined learning objectives and promotes participation from individuals through interesting activities. They both value the individual learner. Conclusion Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of generations into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world (Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 1970) By using a combination of adult learner techniques and strategies, educators can create training experiences that will enhance the learning of participants. When an individual is put into positive learning experience that follows andragogy process that has been presented above, they are more likely to retain what they have learned and apply it in their work environment.
Importance of Smartphone Security in Business Environment
Importance of Smartphone Security in Business Environment 1.0 Introduction The purpose of this document is to expose a business problem from a technological viewpoint. The subject of the business problem I have selected is smartphone security. This subject will be analysed and critically evaluated, then expanded upon further to reflect the range of possible solutions and raise awareness of the risk and need of smartphone security. 1.1 Aims and objectives Aims Create an authoritative document with recommendations to raise awareness and inform businesses for the need of greater mobile security within the business environment. Use insight to establish a research gap. Main objectives Assess smart mobile devices currently used. Analyse security advantages and disadvantages of smart mobile devices. Establish what risks smart mobile devices are exposed to. Evaluate impact of risk exposed by unsecure mobile devices to businesses. Examine mobile security currently available. Investigate responsibility Evaluate current business policies and procedures for mobile devices and how these can be enforced. Construct smartphone security guide with recommendations for businesses. 1.2 Problem statement The problem is information and financial loss due to information theft or inaccessibility from malicious software, and the detrimental impact this has upon the business. A recent report from Gartner (reference report) indicates that sales of smartphones have grown exponentially and businesses are reaping the benefits gained from smartphones, however their use also creates security risks and opportunities for cybercriminals. There are many types of information that can be stored on smartphones for example, personally identifiable information in the form of identity credentials, email, SMS and MMS messages, GPS coordinates, passwords, company documents and connectivity access information to company servers as just some of the examples. Information security has gained significant value within the business domain over the past decade however this value remains subjective (why subjective? And value pertaining to what?). Users have been made aware of the risks posed by malicious software whilst using their personal computer on the internet, now assistive technology like smart mobile devices are becoming increasingly more powerful, functional and ubiquitous. Where personal computers have at least some security software in place as standard, smartphones commonly have no security software installed as a standard and are susceptible to (Malware, Viruses, trojans,etc-examples please ;)) the exact same threats as to personal computers. Businesses, professionals and personal users now have a greater awareness for the need of personal computer security. This has been provided by media coverage, enterprise training or through personal experience. When using a personal computer or laptop for example, it is common to find a firewall and antivirus software installed showing that internet safety has now become a social normalcy. ââ¬Å"â⬠¦Smartphones are more powerful than supercomputers were a few years ago, and we are putting them in the hands of people whove never had anything like it before. Google CEO Eric Schmidt As Schmidt states smartphones are pervasive devices, workers typically need training on these devices as they are multifunctional and unless people are aware of the threats these devices pose the consequences can be detrimental on the business. Todays organisations rely heavily upon information technology in order to allow their business to function (Khosrowpour, 2001). This is fundamentally due to how intricate information technology systems are embedded into organisations. Smartphones provide businesses with many new opportunities (sweeping statement-what opportunities and is this your opinion/referencing?) however these opportunities provided by smartphones exist not just for business and personal users as the opportunity extends to cybercriminals too. Malware is one of the most common sources of security failures within businesses currently (sweeping statement-most common according to who?), they have the same capabilities as personal computers and are used within business environments in the same manner, however they are typically unsecure and rely solely upon the standard out-of-the-box security features with no antivirus or firewall present. There are many different mobile operating systems for smart mobile devices requiring different security applications. The operating systems and the risks associated will be carefully analysed. The intentions of this paper are to investigate what impacts smart mobile devices can have on businesses, why these problems affect the organisation, and how they are overcome. Finally, insight will be gathered and recommendations made so that businesses can use to foresee and prevent future unnecessary costs and risk. 2.0 Literature review The focus of the subject proposed for this project is a very real-world business and information technology problem. Smartphone security is a recognisable potential problem for both individuals and businesses as most smartphone users including businesses and educational establishments do not have any specific policies in place to safeguard from smartphone security related issues. Because smartphone security is still in its infancy, it will be a challenge to source accurate and relevant information from authoritative sources such as ââ¬ËEmerald without resorting to web based research. However, the more this project advances smartphone security in the media is becoming omnipresent. For the project a survey will be proposed in order to gain knowledge for understanding how aware users are for the need of smartphone security. This survey will target as many participants as possible in order to gather appropriate primary evidence. Interviews will be conducted with professionals in the field of smartphones and security such as police personnel, security advisors and mobile phone shop staff to ascertain levels of security training, public security literature and knowledge. Authoritative information sources will be used to gain technical information directly from manufactures, websites and retail outlets such as Apple, Android, Research In Motion, Nokia and Microsoft for documentation on smartphones and smartphone platforms. Only technical information will be used from these sources as it is in manufacturers interests to sell their products Analysis of the survey will be done using statistical analysis tools including IBMs ââ¬ËSPSS, ââ¬ËSPSS Text Analysis software and more modern statistical analysis web-based techniques such as MarketSight. MarketSight is a hosted research data reporting environment accessible by the internet and only available through the internet browser Microsoft explorer whereas SPSS is software directly installed onto a computer. ââ¬ËMalware: the new legal risk the paper written by Verine Etsebeth in 2007 has invaluable source material for this project. Acquired from Emerald Insight, it is very suitable to this project as it highlights the threat of malware and risks posed to businesses. It is well written and authoritative however Emerald specified it was unique as no such document has been published previously. The majority of sources used by Etsebeth are from Harley, D; Slade, R and Gattiker, U. Etsebeth references Viruses Revealed (McGraw-Hill, New York, NY 2001) This source is recognised and trusted within the industry as a whole and is considered to be authoritative and well-documented on its own merit. This paper focuses on the legal and professional implications of malware on companies in South Africa Etsebeths home town. This paper is very suitable for this project as it is a very well written and authoritative document, the majority of sources used by Etsebeth are from Harley, D., Slade, R. and Gattiker, U. (2001) Viruses Revealed, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. The source used by Etsebeth ââ¬ËViruses Revealed as a well-documented authoritative document published by McGraw-Hill, a recognized trusted source. Etsebeth is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of law specialising in the areas of law and information security. Although Etsebeths paper ââ¬ËMalware: the new legal risk is highly suitable in terms of qualitative information, it lacks suitable geographic law for the scope of my project. I will use the information provided by Etsebeth for Malware, as this information is not geographically bound, and analyse the legal implications after comparing them to UK law. Etsebth highlights that companies are reluctant to report cybercrimes as it has negative implications on the companys reputation this correlates to my hypothesis. ââ¬ËUnderstanding the spreading patterns of mobile phone viruses by Pu Wang, Marta Gonzalez, Cesar Hidalgo and Albert-laszlo Barabasi is a technical journal based on mobile phone virus modelling and the understanding of spreading patterns. The journal was published in 2009 and investigates various mobile platforms relating to my assignment however the document is a highly technical report based on the mathematics of virus spreading patterns, I find this report to be highly enlightening however due to the technical awareness of the target reader of my assignment I believe this report to be too technical and out of scope. Authoritative information directly from manufactures websites and retail outlets will be used including Apple, Android, Research In Motion, Nokia and Microsoft for documentation on smartphones and smartphone platforms as this will allow me to access accurate and current reliable information directly. Secondary information sources will be avoided where possible such as blogs and review websites for direct smartphone technical information as these types of resources may facilitate in providing inaccurate facts. Local mobile phone retail outlets such as Orange, Vodaphone, Phones4u, The Carphone Warehouse, O2 and T-Mobile will provide me with valuable information on device security awareness. I will enquire on staff security training and in-house company security literature currently available to public and business consumers as this will affect the average smartphone users security awareness. After investigation smartphone security I established that some research in this area had been done already by Goode Intelligence a UK company based in London. ââ¬ËGoode Intelligence is a company that provide strategic research and analysis that specialises in information security. Founded in 2007, Goode Intelligence has provided clients globally with statistical information from evidence accumulated from surveys in the field of information security. Goode Intelligence is viewed as an authoritative market leader of information security consumer information. 2.3 How this project fits in with the literature review I had chosen the subject then chosen the literature review method, thus tailoring the literature review to fit the requirements of the project. The Survey will allow me access information on how smartphone users actually use their device, how important they view the information stored on the device and users perception of the need for security 3.0 Research methods 3.1 Hypothesis ââ¬ËBusinesses are not aware that they are at risk of information and financial loss or theft due to malware infections on smartphone devices. Information Technology consultants have recognised the gap in security for mobile devices, however it was soon realised that the physical security of the device was not the real issue, as the need for smartphone security awareness within businesses was a far greater concern. Experience establishes that the best form of security is the awareness for the need of security and why by the individuals who use the technology. Smartphone malware is not seen as of great importance to IT professionals, business managers or general consumers. A majority of smartphone users use their devices for both business and personal use and a large share of smartphone users will be using their personal smartphone for work related activities. The assumption is based that most individuals would know what information they deemed as confidential, more specifically, what information would they not like others to access to include such things as calendar, contacts, photos, emails and files. IT professionals should be the most aware group of smartphone malware risk, as their experience and technological awareness should allow them to be more technologically security aware. Antivirus used on personal computers is well known to hinder system performance and conflict with some applications and other software, The hypothesis is that antivirus products will consume more system resources then current smartphones can afford to offer and require more power from the device ultimately reducing the battery life and impacting negatively on overall system performance, rendering the device unusable by the average user. The perception of products such as the iPhone are viewed as secure out-of-the-box along with Blackberry smartphones as they are mostly touted by mobile phone shop staff as business orientated secure devices. 3.2 Methodology The project will be implemented using a triangulated, positivistic methodological approach. The particular technique chosen this will provide a balanced view of the subject area. It will incorporate both quantitative and qualitative primary research methods as reffered to by Bryman as multi-strategy research (Bryman, 2006). The scope of this project will mostly be Quantitative based research as indicted in Fig 1 below. Bryman advises that quantitative data can be gathered by way of a survey and qualitative research collected from journals and interviews. The Initial research will be conducted using primary research in the form of a cross-sectional survey questionnaire with closed questioning, interviews with professionals in the field of smartphone related security such as police personnel, security advisors and mobile phone shop staff will also be conducted to gain knowledge of their awareness of smartphone security and what advice they provide. The survey will be available to respondents in paper form where needed however the survey respondents targeted will mostly be from the internet so it is required that the survey be electronically hosted. The web-based survey distribution method selected is ââ¬ËSurvey Monkey. The main motivations for selecting ââ¬ËSurvey Monkey are reputation, administration features, ease of access and user layout familiarity. The survey will be designed to be concise and simple to maximise the amount of respondents in order to gain quality information. The target survey population will represent business managers, IT professionals as well as individuals who use their smartphone for personal use to establish users who admit to using their smartphone for both business and personal as opposed to personal use only. This is suggested by Baxter as an important step in defining who should be included and excluded from participating in the survey (Baxter, L. Babbie, E, 2004). The users have been targeted as the project will establish not only the perception of smartphone security but also what smartphone policies and procedures are currently in place and how aware users are of these. Research indicates that an ideal resource for the proposed target users is through a popular internet based technological social news website named ââ¬ËReddit. ââ¬ËReddit has a daily turnover of over 850.000 unique users (Alexa, 2010). According to Alexa the average ââ¬ËRedditors are male between the age of 18 to 44, are well educated and browses ââ¬ËReddit either from work or home, suggesting that the majority of ââ¬ËRedditors are working professionals in the technology field.This suggest that the average ââ¬ËReddit user is technologically aware (Alexa, 2010), suggesting that ââ¬ËReddit would suit the proposed target survey participant. The proposed project will be delivered using an analytical in-depth research structure. This project structure has been selected as it will primarily be research based on the current business problem as previously stated. The intentions are to analyse the problem, understand how aware people are of the issue and propose possible solutions, One method of analysis proposed is the conceptual method, as described by Beaney as a way of breaking down or analysing concepts into their constituent parts in order to gain knowledge (Beaney 2003). I have interpreted this to mean the compartmentalisation and analysis of data. Critical and creative thinking skills such as Edward.De Bono six thinking hats will be used to examine the problem domain. A review will be given on how the systems work and compare them to how they should work. I will then analyse the solution domain by examining which options are available to improve the system security along with optimal recommendation and the benefits this would provide. ââ¬ËSPSS is a well-established statistical analysis application first released in 1968. Randomised questions, Marketsight. Survey design 4.0 Results 4.1 Presentation and description of results Who took part? The survey was conducted to establish the awareness of information security and the need for smartphone security. Users were openly invited from technological backgrounds to partake in the survey and assured of anonymity. A total of 758 people responded to the online survey from a possible 854,998 potential participants (Fig. 2). The survey itself was open for one month during February and March 2011. The results indicated in Figure 2 that a majority share of survey participants, with 82 per cent being male and 18 per cent female confirms my survey target gender. When asked, both genders averaged at age 26 (Fig. 3) as denoted in Figure 3, again confirming my target survey demographic groups. When asked 53 per cent of respondents reported they had used their smartphone solely for personal use, opposed to 45 per cent of partakers that reported they used their smartphone for both business and personal use, with 2 per cent reporting to use a smartphone solely for business use only as shown in Fig. 4 combining a total of 47 per cent. 25 per cent of respondents had only been using smartphones for the past six months, 17 per cent were aware they had been using them for at least a year and a majority percentage of 59 per cent had been using smartphones for more than one year seen in Figure 5. Only 12 per cent of respondents opted to use the ââ¬Ëpay as you go payment facilities as opposed to the greater majority of 88 per cent that have contracts shown in Figure 6 below. 87 per cent of participants reported that they did not use any form of smartphone security software such as antivirus as opposed to 13 per cent that did as highlighted in Figure 7. SMARTPHONE In answer to the question ââ¬Å"What type of smartphone do you currently use?â⬠34 per cent of respondents said they used an Apple IPhone, 58 per cent reported to use Android smartphones, 13 per cent used Blackberries and 6 per cent of respondents had Symbian smartphones (Fig. 8). 87 per cent of respondents had used calendar functions, 94 per cent of respondents used email, 86 per cent of used games, 87 per cent of respondents used GPS features, 74 per cent of respondents used instant messaging, 52 per cent of respondents used internet banking facilities, 66 per cent of respondents used multimedia messaging service (MMS), 94 per cent of respondents used the short messaging service (SMS) feature and 78 per cent (Fig. 9) of respondents admitted to using social networking sites on their smartphone. 93 per cent of survey partakers used 3G for mobile data communication, 59 per cent of respondents used ââ¬ËBluetooth technology, only 4 per cent of had used infrared line of sight technology, however 75 per cent of respondents admitted to connecting via universal serial bus (USB) and 94 per cent of participators had used wireless for mobile data communication shown in Figure 10. Total of 757 participators answered this question and 1 partaker chose to skip the question. From a total of 758 respondents, 63 per cent (476) valued the physical smartphone above the 37 per cent (282) whom valued the information more. Figure 12 shows 62 per cent of survey participants reported that they did not pay attention to licence agreements and permissions when installing applications on their smartphones 34 per cent reported they did read the licence agreements and permissions. 4 per cent of respondents believed that this question was not applicable to them for their smartphone use. The awareness for the need of personal computer security is apparent as 81 per cent of responders were aware for the need of security software for personal computers as opposed to the 19 per cent who were not aware. 94 per cent participants have connected their smartphone to a personal computer (PC), 6 per cent stated they had not ever connected to a PC. All 758 respondents answered this question. Figure (XXX) shows that survey respondents considered smartphone security as ââ¬Ëbeneficial but not essential as the majority answer with 64 per cent , 21 per cent (159) didnt not consider there to be a need currently for smartphone security software as opposed to 15 per cent (114) whom considered smartphone security software as absolutely essential. 95 per cent of respondents were aware of ââ¬ËAdware, 27 per cent had known about ââ¬ËBadware, 25 per cent of respondents were aware of ââ¬ËCrimeware, 69 per cent had previous knowledge of ââ¬ËRootkits, ââ¬ËTrojans 95 per cent,, ââ¬ËSpyware 95 per cent, ââ¬Ëand ââ¬ËWorm 90 per cent were the most commonly aware terms of malware from the malicious software list, the majority being ââ¬ËVirus with 97 per cent of respondents being aware of this type of malware. 731 respondents answered this question. 96 per cent of respondents stated that they owned the smartphone, only 4 per cent of respondents had employer owned smartphones. All partakers responded to this question. Out of the 758 respondents, 15 per cent were aware of policies within their place of business, with the majority of respondents 41 per cent unaware of any workplace policies or procedures particularly orientated toward smartphones. 44 per cent responded that the question was not applicable to them. All participants answered this question. It is interesting to find that only 15 per cent stated they were aware of specific workplace policies and procedures specifically for mobile phones and 40 per cent were aware there were no mobile phone policies and procedures. A majority of 92 per cent (699) had not been advised of any security methods to protect them or their information from fraud, theft or malicious software. 8 per cent (59) respondents agreed they had received adequate security advice. 4.2 Discussion and interpretation of survey results Analysing the results of the survey shows the majority of smartphone users to be Android users peaking in the 20 to 24 age bracket, this would indicate that an IT professionals choice of smartphone is Android as indicated in Figure 3 below. Smartphone survey contributors within the 20 to 24 age group were then further examined to indicate what purpose is intended when using the devices, examining the results shows clearly that a majority of survey respondents reported they viewed their smartphone use as personal use, however disturbingly over half the users in the same age group admitted to using their smartphone for both personal use and business use as shown in Figure 4. Female respondents preferred the features provided by iPhones however also as opposed to male smartphone users who clearly preferred the Android platform over all others as seen in Figure (XXX). Examining users perception for the need of smartphone security against those users whom did or did not have antivirus shows that the awareness for the need of security correlates to users whom did indeed have smartphone security measures in place with nearly half of users who responded ââ¬ËAbsolutely essential to the question ââ¬ËHow necessary do you see the need for smartphone security software as shown in Figure (XXX). However the overall amount of smartphone users with antivirus or other security is disturbingly low given the malware threats currently available. The results also show us that a large majority of IT professionals do view smartphone security as beneficial however not essential. Android users are the most security aware demographic as demonstrated in Figure (XXX) above. This indicates that users are not aware of the threats posed by malware and view the need for smartphone system performance greater than the need for security. Business users have been defined as respondents who confirmed they used their smartphone for business only and users who reported they used their smartphone devices for both business and personal use. Smartphones have many features of value to employees as shown in Figure (XXX) Below, Email, Calendar, GPS and SMS features were shown to be the most used features all of which are viewed to aid employee productivity. However features such as games and social networking which negatively affect employee productivity were also shown to be frequently used, suggesting that smartphones can have negative effects on employee productivity. Figure (XXX) also shows us that over half of business users reported to use internet banking facilities from their smartphones. After finding out what smartphone features business users were most interested in I studied how aware business users were of security permissions and licence agreements prompts when installing new applications on their smartphones. The pie chart below is a representation of business user survey respondents awareness of how essential smartphone application installation security prompts are in regards to new application installations. Figure (XXX) shows us that 60 per cent of all business users admitted that they did not pay attention to licence agreements and permission prompts when installing new applications. The distinction between smartphones and personal computers is becoming increasingly marginal. Personal computers for example do not have built in billing systems and unless connected to the internet are static devices accessible via a local area network or through direct contact. Smartphones have an integral billing system are completely mobile and have multiple connectivity methods. When business user survey partakers were asked if they used any security applications such as antivirus, an overwhelming majority responded that they did not use any security products. This confirms part of my hypothesis that business users do not perceive smartphone security as a real threat. Discovering that the majority of business users used internet banking facilities for either personal banking or business banking and 9 out of 10 business smartphones had no security products installed it was elementary to understand if business users were aware of smartphone malware threats. The line graph in Figure (XXX) indicates that over 90 per cent of business users are aware of malware threats such as Adware, Spyware, Trojans, Viruss and Worms however business users were all least aware of malware threats such as Crimeware as indicated in Figure (XXX) Survey respondents who reported they used their smartphone for personal use only were excluded from the following analysis.7 out of 10 business users confirmed they were not aware of any specific smartphone security policies at work (Figure (XXX) The awareness of security for iPhone smartphones is low as users perception of Apple and Mac OS is that it is impervious to malware infection. Research shows that iPhone users have the least amount of antivirus installed on devices. As discussed earlier, users are completely reliant on Apple to vet all applications for malicious code, whereas Android and Symbian applications are open source so users may inspect the contents for malware. secure smartphone model, least security aware group Android users are the most security aware demographic group as the typical android user is conscious that malicious software exists and the android community are able to vet applications themselves. Android users were also the highest security aware group with the highest percentage of antivirus products per smartphone. Virtual environments, least secure smartphone perception Blackberry smartphones were the most secure devices in regards to email, network connectivity however it was found that application signatures can be purchased by anyone for a small fee thus rendering the security of the device minimal. Very secure aspects, not as secure overall Symbian smartphones are found to be the most current common target for malware developers. Low security Windows phone 7 is the newest platform on the smartphone market and only time will tell how secure the device is. Awareness and concern 5.0 Smartphones Private and confidential data from lost or stolen mobile devices such as laptops, USB pen drives and computer storage drives has gained negative exposure within the media recently however one of the largest growing threats to corporate information comes from unsecure smartphones. To understand this statement it is important to appreciate the history of the smartphone to recognise why smartphones pose such a threat in todays business environment. A mobile phone is a portable electronic device used to make and receive telephone calls. The mobile phone was first revealed by Dr Martin Cooper from the company Motorola in 1973, it was not until ten years after Dr Coopers demonstration that Motorola released its flagship mobile phone the ââ¬ËDynaTAC, this was the worlds first commercially viable mobile phone (Motorola, 2009). Originally these devices were commercially targeted at businesses and upper class individuals as the cost of the device was very high and the actual usage was severely restricted, due to the technology limitations at this time of battery weight (Motorola, 2009) and because the battery duration was limited to last a maximum of 30 minutes thus making the device impractical and available only to businesses and professional consumers. ââ¬ËAccording to Moores Law, the number of transistors on a chip roughly doubles every two years. (Intel, 2005) As Moore stated over thirty five years ago, due to the advancement of processors, battery technologies and overall reduced power consumption, mobile phones have become lighter, smaller, more powerful and longer lasting (Intel, 2005). Due to these fundamental technological advancements mobile phones have been able to incorporate additional existing technologies such as camera units, sensors, speakers and often take advantage of JAVA based applications and features, thus coining the term ââ¬ËFeature phone. Feature phones are more advanced technologically than mobile phones however now Smartphones currently reside in the top tier of mobile communication technology. The term ââ¬Ësmartphone is ambiguous and many experts fail to agree on a suitable definition. Most smartphone features are not exclusive to a particular category, this project does not intend to make that definition, however for the scope of this project I have listed combined definitions and compared current smartphone f
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Essay --
The novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, is written by Rebecca Skloot. This novel provides a real story regarding research using human tissue without patientââ¬â¢s consent. It gives the background of Henrietta Lacks and the achievements HeLa cells established to point out how fallacious it is for doctors to take the cells without asking. Through the unique pattern and devices, Skloot expresses her sympathy for the right of consent of medical research. This novel illustrates Sklootââ¬â¢s footsteps that uncover the truth behind Henrietta Lacks, whose cells are ââ¬Å"immortalâ⬠, which launched a medical revolution. Skloot introduces her obsession with Henrietta Lacks by saying ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ve spent years staring at that photo, wondering [â⬠¦] growing in laboratories now than there ever were in her bodyâ⬠[Skloot 2]. As one of the chapters quotes, ââ¬Å"Henrietta Lacks was born Loretta Pleasant in Roanoke, Virginia, on August 1, 1920.â⬠[Skloot 18]. She went to Johns Hopkins Hospital claiming that she has a knot inside her womb, but the doctors did not take any action. After her son Joe was born, she goes to the hospital and starts radium treatment. The doctors start taking the cervical cancerous tissue without Henriettaââ¬â¢s knowledge, and surprisingly, the cells do not die in the culture dish as normal cells did. George Gey , the doctor that starts to send the ââ¬Å"immortalâ⬠cells to his colle agues for the purpose of researching, creates the first immortalized human cell line that help save a large number of peopleââ¬â¢s lives. After the Lackses realize that Henriettaââ¬â¢s cells have been sold without their consent, they did not start taking actions because of their lack of knowledge. Skloot begins to be involved into the Lacks family membersââ¬â¢ lives, especially Henriett... ...use HeLa cells. As a result, Skloot draws vivid pictures for the detailed description to express her compassion toward the family. Skloot creates the correct atmosphere to make the reader feel sympathy for the Lackses throughout this novel. For this novelââ¬â¢s validity, she incorporates different types of statistics, including newspaper articles, personal journal, documents, etc. as shown in the following passage, ââ¬Å"the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, [â⬠¦] govern most tissue researchâ⬠[Skloot 317]. Skloot also interviews Henriettaââ¬â¢s relatives, Johns Hopkins Hospitalââ¬â¢s doctors, and other people that have knowledge of Henrietta Lacks that are necessary to write this novel. As the reader slowly reads through this novel, they would feel the sympathy. Therefore, this novel composes passion that Skloot wants to merge into the scientific world and reality.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Analysis of Flea by John Donne :: essays research papers
The Flea The narrator in The Flea is a youthful man trying to convince a young woman to give her virginity to him. He tries to do this by comparing their relationship to a flea that is in the room. The flea bites them both and Donne explains to her that this is symbolic of both of their worlds combining into one. He says that the flea is now the realm of love, lust, and marriage. At first this poem seems to be just about love, commitment from a male to a female, who says no his lustful desires. However, a deeper look than just the superficial reveals that the male in this poem is actually revealing a valid point to his lady: that the loss of innocence, such as her virginity, does not constitute a loss of her honor. At first, this poem seems to be simply about a young, sexually hungry man who is trying to convince a girl to give into his sexual wishes. She denies the ?wanna be? lover because she believes that the act of intercourse before marriage is a dishonorable sin in the eyes of the church. The lady ends up killing the flea and symbolically killing the false world the man had constructed in the flea. She then says that neither of them are any worse by killing the flea, which the male agrees with. The man concludes his point by granting that the death of the flea does not really have any consequences, just like her fears to loose her respectability and honor. His main point in all his talk about the flea is to show her that her honor will not be ruined if she yields to him. John Donne?s poem connects flesh and spirit, worldly and religious ideas in a fascinating way between seemingly unrelated topics. He compares sexual intercourse to a bite of a flea and says that now their blood has mixed inside the flea. He also compares the inside of the tiny flea to the entire world, including the couple.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Open Polytechnic Nz Operations Management Assignment 1 T3 2012
| 71232 Operations Management| Assignment 1| | Matt Hinkley 3319696| 12/10/2012| | Contents Question 1: Operations management role2 Question 2: Types of production4 Question 3: Environmental factors5 Question 4: Strategic options [case provided]6 Case question 1 (customers)6 Case question 2 (competitors)6 Case question 3 (strategic decisions)6 Case question 4 (expansion issues)7 Question 5: Measures of quality8 Question 6: Types of quality management9 Works Cited10 Figures Figure 1: Company structure2 Tables Table 1: Quality characteristic measurements8Part A: Nature of operations management Question 1: Operations management role I would imagine that my role would be to ensure the profitable and reliable running of services. A bus service is a continuous service which runs to a schedule on a predetermined route. Our customers base their movements around our schedule and will expect us to adhere to those times. Figure 1 below is an indication of the simplified assumed structure of the company essay writers world reviews. I have not allowed for maintenance workshops and such like and have assumed that these functions are outsourced to suppliers.Figure [ 1 ]: Company structure The interactions between the departments are on a two way information route and feedback is gathered from the customer by the frontline staff. This could also include the drivers or ticket staff. The long term strategies of the company would be managed by the CEO and their senior team which would then be fed down to the operations manager for the day to day management to deliver these goals. Operations would see to the efficient running of the services and provide any early warning signs in their reports to the senior management.An interface with the customer would also be recommended by way of an occasional MBWA (management by walking about) style. This enables a personal interaction with both the staff and the customer. Close relations with suppliers should be kept with the finance side of the relationship being managed by the accounts department. Maintaining this degree of separation enables the ââ¬Ëgood cop bad copââ¬â¢ kind of relations which can be of great benefit when bills come due. Question 2: Types of production The bus company is a transportation operation, as it transports people. It works as a mass services production process type.This is demonstrated in the fact that it has many customer transactions, involving limited contact time and little customisation (Nigel Slack, 2011). It does not store stock but you could argue that resources are stored in the form of bus spares and fuel should they have their own depot rather than outsourcing these items. The customers are queued in as much as the wait to be picked up on the route but they are not defined in a customer list or database. Question 3: Environmental factors As with any business there are more than one company vying for the limited number of consumers.Running busses you will have very little s cope to be better than your competition so you need to be very careful how you do it. There will be a couple main reasons why your customer chooses you which will be price, route, condition of vehicle and convenience. Breaking the four task environments down and assuming that there is a counter to each of the factors, we can reduce the impact as follows: Competitors: You could be cheaper or more regular than the competition, perhaps have newer buses which donââ¬â¢t smoke so badly as the others.Try to offer services on the routes which the competitors would struggle to compete on. Customers: The customer is king (or Queen). The most effective way to encourage New Zealand customers is by price. Kiwis love a bargain (Edmunds, 2012). Be it the one day special or concessions for demographic or regular users. But your price will not matter if the route is in the wrong place so location is a major factor when looking for the target customer. Iââ¬â¢d probably hit high density student areas, they have low income and require transport regularly.Suppliers: The suppliers in this case would be our vehicle manufacturers, stationary suppliers and most probably land to operate from. You can enter into long term contracts with the suppliers and bulk order to reduce costs. But as with every business we are our suppliersââ¬â¢ customer so shop around. The only restraint is location. Buses are easy to buy direct from Japan with parts sourced just as easily. Suppliers will cause your variable costs to change and as such will have a greater impact on your margin which needs to be passed on to your customer.Building good solid relationships is imperative. Labour market: ââ¬Å"The central bank expects unemployment of 7. 1 percent in the March 2013 year, falling to 5. 9 percent in 2014 and 4. 9 percent in 2015, according to forecasts in the MPS. That's more pessimistic than the 6. 4 percent, 5. 3 percent and 4. 9 percent forecasts in Septemberâ⬠(BusinessDesk. co. nz, 20 12). With unemployment predicted to be falling and the labour market choosing to head to Australia in droves it makes the pickings slim.A business like the bus company will require skilled trades people to service the busses unless it out sources this and clerical people to administer the day to day operations. This is on top of the drivers and management team. Labour is a large cost for the company and retention is a big cost reducer, by keeping training and trained staff within the organisation. I fly to PNG where I work on a mine site, every time I get into a conversation with the bus driver taking me between international and domestic they ask if I can get them a job as a driver on the mine site.Question 4: Strategic options [case provided] Case question 1 (customers) Currently the customer base for HollyRock is teens and school aged youths. They have been referred to in the article as ââ¬Å"Young peopleâ⬠. There may be some parents who also attend the restaurant but I wou ld assume from the way the article reads this would be in accompaniment of younger people. Case question 2 (competitors) From the article we can see that there are two possible current competitors in the area.These are the pizzeria which serves similar food to HolyRock in as much as Pizza and Robbââ¬â¢s restaurant which opens Friday evenings also. Although neither of these are competing for the same demographic as HolyRocks but they do have similarities in goods and services. It is also mentioned in the article that fast food chains had had difficulty in the past gaining approval to operate but, in time these may be able to move into the area. Case question 3 (strategic decisions) To fully answer this question we should look at the details for each component: 1.Structural. a. Location: Large old house in the middle of a retail area 15mins walk from the schools. b. Capacity: Ample parking and facility to seat 75. c. Technology: Low to mid technology level. 2. Infrastructure d. Wor k-force: 3 staff, cook, counter staff e. Quality Management: Nothing is mentioned regarding the Quality Management but I would assume this would be handled on a customer feedback system. f. Organisation design: A flat structure with an owner manager. Compact enough to manage easily and able to adapt to its target audience easily. . Policies and procedures: There was no mention of policies. Procedures are simple with food orders being taken with the issue of a number, empties and waste is collected on a continuous service system. Events seem to managed by the customer with a board in place for bands to volunteer to play. The initial concept was for the local young people to have somewhere safe to be able to gather and ââ¬ËHang outââ¬â¢. The structure of the business would support the initial concept in that it is simple to manage and adapt to the needs of the client.It has furniture that is moveable to accommodate the groups at the time and the venue offers enough space to cate r for the needs of the customer. If the organisation were to grow past the current system then other changes would need to be brought into place which would then mean tighter management would be needed which would most likely mean a change in infrastructure. I would therefore say that the decisions do support each other and that of the overall strategy of HolyRocks. Case question 4 (expansion issues)The proposed enhancements would step completely outside of the current company structure. Although the base idea is similar in so much as it is a supply of food to customers the demographic is vastly separated. Some of the issues to consider are as follows: * Direct completion with Robbââ¬â¢s restaurant. An already well-established lunch and breakfast coffee time shop. * Is the location right for the stay at home mum? We note that itââ¬â¢s close to the high school, but there is no mention of other facilities which would attract the new client base. * Interior decor.Do rock posters and picnic tables attract stay at home mums looking for a coffee, a chat and some finger food? * With younger children coming onto the premises are there implications to the high school kids being turned off the idea of it being a ââ¬ËHang outââ¬â¢? * Suppliers for the different food types will possibly differ, so more contracts need to be administered and accounts. * Extra equipment will be needed for coffee production and the storage and display of finger foods. As these are generally uncooked foods they need to be stored separately from the other food types.Different skills/personalities of staff required. Although there may be more intricate details regarding food, health and hygiene legislation the main points to consider are the local competition and the site suitability for the operation. It may be worth considering the option but at another location and sponsoring the new location with some brand attachment. Part B: Quality management Question 5: Measures of quality Us ing the table system as shown in the set text, the quality characteristics which we can measure would be the following: Quality characteristic| Variable| Attribute|Functionality| Number of meals served| Was the food acceptable| Appearance| Number of seats and layout| Were they clean in a timely manner| Reliability| Bands playing or meals delivered on time| Were there any complaints| Durability| Is the venue keeping up with the times| Are the trends of the young people being followed| Recovery| Meals rectified or bands removed| Did the customer feel the staff acted accordingly and timely| Contact| The extent that customers feel well treated by staff (1 to 5 scale)| Did the customers feel that the staff were helpful (yes or no)| Table [ 1 ]: Quality characteristic measurementsWe could easily apply functionality, appearance and contact to this business with contact being our quantitative measure. Functionality would be measured on the number of meals served against the number returned due to poor quality. Appearance would be a general measure by the management as to the tidiness of the venue throughout the shift. Contact could be measured through a quick and easy 2 question tick slip with the customer at the end of their visit. This could be a voluntary measure as people with high opinions are certain to leave feedback if it is made easy for them. Question 6: Types of quality managementThere are a range of available approaches such as TQM, Six Sigma and ISO 9000. Briefly each of the systems are as follows. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular organization or may be in adherence to established standards. TQM can be applied to any type of organization; it originated in the manufacturing sector and has since been adapted for use in almost every type of organization, TQM is based on uality management from the customer's point of view (Rouse, Total-Quality-Management, 2005). Six Sigma is a management philosophy developed by Motorola that emphasizes setting extremely high objectives, collecting data, and analyzing results to a fine degree as a way to reduce defects in products and services. The Greek letter sigma is sometimes used to denote variation from a standard. The philosophy behind Six Sigma is that if you measure how many defects are in a process, you can figure out how to systematically eliminate them and get as close to perfection as possible.In order for a company to achieve Six Sigma, it cannot produce more than 3. 4 defects per million opportunities, where an opportunity is defined as a chance for nonconformance (Rouse, Six-Sigma, 2006). ISO 9000 is a series of standards, developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), that define, establish, and mainta in an effective quality assurance system for manufacturing and service industries. The ISO 9000 standard is the most widely known and has perhaps had the most impact of the 13,000 standards published by the ISO.It serves many different industries and organizations as a guide to quality products, service, and management (Rouse, ISO-9000, 2005). From the three approaches above only two would lend themselves to our diner environment, these are the TQM and the ISO-9000 approaches. The Six Sigma philosophy is extremely complex to implement and can take years to show any real savings from a financial perspective. It is also not appropriate to our scenario as it better suits mass production or production line businesses. Of the two which are left I would use the TQM approach.It has a far better management system and would suit this small close knit workforce. The customer feedback would be available as to monitor the results and give indicators to the improvement strategy. The ISO-9000 sys tem is a more formal and managerially implemented system which would detract from the empowerment of the employees in this case, although there may well be some standards within the ISO-9000 that could be used in the TQM structure. Works Cited BusinessDesk. co. nz. (2012, December 6). NZ official unemployment rate overstates labour market woes, RBNZ says. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from www. sharechat. co. nz:
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