The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 30

Stefan drove like a maniac al the way back to the boardinghouse. â€Å"I can't believe I forgot to tel him that his name had been cal ed,† he said for what felt like the hundredth time. â€Å"I can't believe we left him alone.† â€Å"Slow down,† Meredith told him, trying to hold Matt's sleeping body steady in the backseat as Stefan whipped around a corner, tires squealing. â€Å"You're going way too fast.† â€Å"We're in a hurry,† Stefan growled, yanking on the wheel to make a hard right. Alaric turned around in the passenger seat and gave Meredith a panicky look as Stefan narrowly missed a garbage truck. She sighed. She knew he was trying to make up for his mistake, for not tel ing them immediately that Matt's name had appeared in the herb shop, but kil ing them al in a race to get home wasn't exactly the solution. Besides, although they probably would have done things differently if they'd known, it might not have changed the outcome for Matt. It wasn't as if their precautions had saved either Bonnie or Elena. â€Å"At least you've got vampire reflexes,† she said, more to reassure Alaric than out of any particular confidence in Stefan's driving abilities. She'd insisted on being the one sitting in the back with Matt, and now she turned her attention to him. She put a restraining hand on his chest so he wouldn't go tumbling to the floor as the car jerked and swerved. He was so stil . None of the twitching and eye movements that usual y went with sleep, just the steady shal ow rise and fal of his breathing. He wasn't even snoring. And she knew from camping trips as far back as sixth grade that Matt snored like a buzz saw. Always. Meredith never cried. Not even when the worst happened. And she wasn't going to start now, not when her friends needed her calm and focused to try to figure out how to save them. But if she had been the kind of girl who cried, instead of the kind of girl who strategized, she would have been sobbing. And even now, the breath caught in her throat a little painful y, until she schooled herself into impassive calm again. She was the only one left. Of the four old friends who'd gone through school and summers and adolescence and al the horrors the supernatural world could throw at them, she was the only one the phantom hadn't captured. Yet. Meredith clenched her teeth and held Matt steady. Stefan pul ed up and parked in front of the boardinghouse, having somehow avoided causing any damage to other cars or pedestrians along the way. Alaric and Meredith started to inch Matt careful y out of the car, looping his arms around their necks and slowly shifting him forward into a half-standing position. But Stefan simply grabbed Matt away from them and threw him over his shoulder. â€Å"Let's go,† he said, and stalked off toward the boardinghouse, easily balancing Matt's unconscious body with one hand, not looking back. â€Å"He's become kind of a strange guy,† Alaric commented, watching Stefan alertly. The sunshine caught the stubble on Alaric's unshaven chin and it glinted with a touch of gold. He turned toward Meredith and gave her a rueful, disarming grin. â€Å"Once more into the breach†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he said. Meredith took his hand, warm and solid in her own. â€Å"Come on,† she said. Once they were in the boardinghouse, Stefan clomped straight upstairs to deposit Matt with the other bodies – the other sleepers, Meredith reminded herself fiercely. Meredith and Alaric, hand in hand, turned toward the kitchen. As she pushed the door open, Meredith heard Mrs. Flowers's voice. â€Å"Very useful indeed, my dear,† she was saying, a warm note of approval in her voice. â€Å"You've done very wel . I'm so grateful.† Meredith gaped. At the kitchen table with Mrs. Flowers, cool and calm and pretty in a blue linen dress, sat Dr. Celia Conner, sipping tea. â€Å"Hel o, Alaric. Hel o, Meredith,† said Celia. Her dark eyes bored cool y into Meredith's. â€Å"You'l never believe what I've found.† â€Å"What?† said Alaric eagerly, letting go of Meredith's hand. Her heart sank. Celia reached into a tote bag sitting by her chair and pul ed out a thick book bound in ragged brown leather. She smiled triumphantly and announced, â€Å"It's a book on phantoms. Dr. Beltram ended up sending me to Dalcrest Col ege, which actual y has a very comprehensive col ection of texts on the paranormal.† â€Å"I suggest we adjourn to the den,† Mrs. Flowers said, â€Å"where we can be more comfortable, and examine its contents together.† They moved to the den, but Stefan, when he joined them, did not seem any more comfortable. â€Å"Different types of phantoms,† he said, taking the book from Celia and flipping rapidly through the pages. â€Å"The history of phantoms in our dimension. Where is the banishment ritual? Why doesn't this thing have an index?† Celia shrugged. â€Å"It's very old and rare,† she said. â€Å"It was difficult to find, and it's the only book on the subject we're likely to be able to get our hands on, maybe the only one that exists, so we'l have to excuse things like that. These older texts, the authors wanted you to read straight through and real y learn about their subject, to understand what they wanted to tel you, not just to find the page you needed right away. You might try looking near the end, though.† Alaric was watching Stefan whip through the pages with an expression of pain. â€Å"It's a rare book, Stefan,† he said. â€Å"Please be more careful with it. Would you like me to look? I'm used to finding what I need in these kinds of books.† Stefan snarled, literal y snarled at him, and Meredith felt the hairs along the back of her neck rise. â€Å"I'l do it myself, teacher. I'm in a hurry.† He squinted down at the text. â€Å"Why does it have to be in such ornate print?† he complained. â€Å"Don't tel me it's because it's old. I'm older than it is, and I can barely read it. Huh. ‘Phantoms who are feeding like vampires on one choice sensibility, whether it be guilt, or despair, or grudge; or lust for victuals, the demon rum, or fal en women. The stronger be the sensibility, the worse be the outcome of the phantom created.' I think we could have figured that out ourselves.† Mrs. Flowers was standing slightly removed from the rest of the group, eyes fixed on empty air, muttering seemingly to herself as she communed with her mother. â€Å"I know,† she said. â€Å"I'l tel them.† Her eyes focused on the others as they stood around Stefan, peering over his shoulders. â€Å"Mama says that time is getting short,† she warned. Stefan leaped to his feet and exploded. â€Å"I know it's getting short,† he roared, getting right up into Mrs. Flowers's surprised face. â€Å"Can't your mother tel us something useful for once?† Mrs. Flowers staggered away from him, reaching out to steady herself on the back of a chair. Her face was white, and suddenly she looked older and more frail than ever before. Stefan's eyes widened, their color darkening to a stormy sea green, and he held out his hands, his face horrified. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I don't know what came over me†¦ I'm just so worried about Elena and the others.† â€Å"I know, Stefan,† Mrs. Flowers said gravely. She had regained her balance and she looked stronger, calm and wise again. â€Å"We will get them back, you know. You must have faith. Mama does.† Stefan sat down, turning back to the book, his lips pressed together into a straight line. Her skin prickling with apprehension, Meredith gripped her stave more tightly as she watched him. When she had revealed to the others that the members of her family were hereditary vampire hunters and that it was now her turn to take on the duty, she had told Elena and Stefan that she would never turn on Stefan, that she understood that he wasn't like other, evil vampires, that he was good: harmless and benign to humans. She had made no such promises about Damon, and Elena and Stefan hadn't asked her to. They al shared an unspoken understanding that Damon couldn't real y be characterized as harmless, not even when he begrudgingly worked with them, and that Meredith would need to keep her options open when it came to him. But Stefan†¦ she had never thought this would happen, but now Meredith was worried that someday she might not be able to keep her promises about Stefan. She had never seen him acting the way he had been lately: irrational, angry, violent, unpredictable. She knew his behavior was probably caused by the phantom, but was Stefan becoming too dangerous? Could she kil him if she had to? He was her friend. Meredith's heart was racing. She realized that her knuckles had whitened against her fighting stave, and her hand ached. Yes, she realized, she would fight Stefan and try to kil him, if she had to. It was true that he was her friend, but her duty had to come first. She took a deep breath and consciously relaxed her hands. Stay calm, she coached herself. Breathe. Stefan was keeping himself more or less under control. It wasn't a decision she had to make. Not yet, anyway. A few minutes later, Stefan stopped flipping pages. â€Å"Here,† he said. â€Å"I think this is it.† He handed the book to Mrs. Flowers. She scanned the page quickly and nodded. â€Å"That feels like the right ritual,† she said seriously. â€Å"I ought to have everything we need to perform it right here in the house.† Alaric reached for the book. He read the spel , too, frowning. â€Å"Does it have to be a blood spel ?† he asked Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"If it backfires, the phantom might be able to turn it against us.† â€Å"I'm afraid it's going to have to be a blood spel ,† Mrs. Flowers replied. â€Å"We'd need more time to experiment to change the spel , and time is the one thing we don't have. If the phantom is able to use its captives the way we think it can, it's only going to get more powerful.† Alaric began to speak again but was interrupted. â€Å"Wait,† said Celia, a slightly shril note in her usual y husky voice. â€Å"A blood spel ? What does that mean? I don't want to get involved in anything† – she searched for a word – â€Å"unsavory.† She reached for the book, but Stefan slammed his hand down on it. â€Å"Unsavory or not, this is what we're doing,† he said quietly, but with a voice as hard as steel. â€Å"And you're a part of it. It's too late for you to back out now. I won't let you.† Celia gave a convulsive shudder and cringed back in her chair. â€Å"Don't you dare threaten me,† she said, her voice quavering. â€Å"Everybody calm down,† Meredith said sharply. â€Å"Celia, no one is going to make you do anything unless you agree to it. I'l protect you myself if need be.† Her eyes flew quickly to Alaric, who was glancing back and forth between them, looking worried. â€Å"But we need your help. Please. You may have saved us al by finding the spel , and we're grateful, but Stefan's right – you're part of this, too. I don't know if it'l work without you.† She hesitated a beat. â€Å"Or, if it does, it might leave you as the phantom's only target,† she added cunningly. Celia shivered again and wrapped her arms around herself. â€Å"I'm not a coward,† she said miserably. â€Å"I'm a scientist, and this†¦ irrational mysticism worries me. But I'm in. I'l help any way I can.† Meredith, for the first time, felt a flash of sympathy for her. She understood how hard it must be for Celia to continue to think of herself as a logical person while the boundaries of what she'd always accepted as reality col apsed around her. â€Å"Thank you, Celia.† Meredith glanced around the room at the others. â€Å"We've got the ritual. We've got the ingredients. We just need to gather everything together and start casting the spel . Are we ready?† Everyone sat up straighter, their faces taking on expressions of stern resolve. As scary as this was, it was good to final y have a purpose and a plan. Stefan breathed deeply and visibly took hold of himself, his shoulders relaxing and his stance settling into something less predatory. â€Å"Okay, Meredith,† he said. His stormy green eyes met her cool gray ones, in perfect accord. â€Å"Let's do this.†

Huckleberry Finn Essay

Mark Twain was most recognized for his most famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, however, Mark Twain has also received many literary scholar’s critics in regards to the ending of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’s how about it isn’t able to resolve all the problems that ties in novel and how unrealistic it is. Although well written, the result of the ending is questionable. The novel surround the world of Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist is a young boy who only seeks for adventures. Jim, a runaway slave travels with Huck throughout most of the story. Unfortunately, Huck’s friend Tom Sawyer appears near the end of the novel and changes the whole direction of the story. Huck’s role in the book suddenly disappears and the â€Å"happily ever after† ending displaces with it. Most of the characters like the duke and the king seems to disappear when Tom Sawyer appears in the novel introduce new characters and forgetting the old. Tom brings in new personal which confuses the readers as he suddenly appears in the story. The story becomes unusual and tedious, rather than being trilling and stirring. Whenever Huck gives an idea Tom ignores it, thinking Huck’s ideas are stupid as compared to his superior idea. â€Å"Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style, and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would, and maybe get us all killed besides. So I was satisfied, and said we could waltz in on it. † This illustrates that Tom owns all the power in the story, switches the role of him and Huck in which he becomes the main character of the novel. â€Å"That’s all Tom said and that’s all Huck said† Huck is the main character throughout most of the book until the end when Tom begins to takes over the role. The story surrounds Huck as everything goes his way. Huck’s entire plan is for him and Jim to escape, and the readers usually can easily portray the plot. However, this all changes when Tom Sawyer enters the story and transforms the plot. Huck becomes a character who lacks freedom by always listens to his friend Tom, the leader becomes a follower and makes Huck lose more freedom being with Tom than with his father. Tom comes into the story and the novel becomes a copy of the first novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck becomes the shadow of Tom’s ideas, listening to everything he says without objection. Because Huck thinks that Tom is â€Å"smarter† than he is, this causes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn turns out to be a novel which lures the reader to falling for a whole other story. The happily ever after ending in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is unrealistic. The ending chapter of the novel has a different attitude than other chapters, because all the problems are now resolved. The ending reveals that Jim is finally free, Huck’s father and Miss Watson have died. The adventure that they go through is now completely pointless, and everything that Huck and Jim is have been running away from is now gone. Huck has fulfilled his wish to escape and finds a home with the Phelps to become â€Å"civilized†, everything comes to a full circle. â€Å"Aunt Salle, she’s going to adopt me and civilize me, and I can’t stand it. I was there before. † Instead of focusing the most critical moment in Huck’s life after the long adventure, the ending is constructed and it seems the adventures Huck and Jim as it never happened before. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the last chapter takes out the meaning in Huck’s ideas as the main character which cause a ineffective and meaningless ending. In conclusion, overall The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a well written book in a unique use of language. However, during about the last few chapters of the novel, the adventures that Huck and Jim shares become pretty much pointless due to the ending of the book. During their trip from robbery, murders, new friendships, to their new prospective in life and people they meet through their quest for freedom. But by the end of the book, all of this seems to end in vain as Tom takes over as the main character of the novel. This reasons makes this novel irrational as it isn’t able to adapt to its full potential with the rest of the story.

Scientists Take An Organic Approach To Improving Machines

Naturally occurring chemicals are being used to develop state-of-the-art microprocessors capable of replacing much bigger computers, for dimes on the dollar! Researchers headed by a team of scientists from the Netherlands’ University of Groningen, Netherlands have developed a way to alter the chemical composition of silicon dioxide, which could mean a revolution in the manufacturing industry. The discovery is the latest in the budding field of organic electronics that are gaining acceptance due to their multifold superiority over electronics made from artificial substances. These electronics are being seen as the biggest developments in the field of electronics since the invention of micro chips. Researchers from the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials at the University enlisted a team of industry-insiders from the Philips Research Laboratories, The Dutch Polymer Institute of the Netherlands as well as the Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials in Moscow Russia. Their combined efforts have materialized in the form of ‘self-assembled-monolayer field-effect transistor’ or SAMFET. SAMFET is the newest innovation in organic electronics, a newly emerging kind of electronic circuits which are constructed using only chemicals that occur naturally, such as silicon. Bottom-up organic electronics is a hot topic nowadays among electronic engineers and industrialists alike because, this technology allows the building of highly complicated circuits at a fraction of the cost of conventional circuits. Besides the economy, such circuits are also proving to be much more energy efficient than their predecessors. So the hype around the invention of this kind of ‘self-assembled-monolayer field-effect transistor’ or SAMFET is well-earned! Although the technique used to create SAMFET’s is complex, thankfully it is much more easily comprehendible. Researchers have basically developed a way to control the shape and proximity of atoms within a given sample of silicon dioxide. This allows them to mold molecules of the substance into a very compact and tightly packed formation. The molecular arrangements are organized in tiny layers sandwiched between another substance such as titanium. The ability to regularize the size and form of the molecules, together with the capability of cramming together millions of molecules more closely is the key element in this technology. This is so because the arrangement of the layers within a microprocessor is what allows complicated processes to be controlled by a microprocessor smaller than a matchbox! Electric pulses that pass through these layers are controlled with the circuits that are made of these SAMFET’s. Since the new innovation has allowed the packing of many more molecules into every layer of electronic circuits; many more commands to control and direct the currents can be programmed into an organic circuit as compared to a conventional electronic circuit made of synthetic materials. The developers explain that this innovation has been developed from the same liquid crystal technology that is used in television screens. LCD televisions are able to display better contrast and detail because of the fine crystals and their uniform distribution. In other words, they use the same technology as SAMFET’s albeit at a less complex scale. The newly developed silicon compound is sandwiched in layers of titanium for durability and strength. The titanium would normally restrict the flow of current but the inventors have come up with another ingenuity to overcome that problem. Contact points that link the different layers of silicon dioxide inside each microprocessor, are made of gold. Gold, one of the best conductors of electricity; allows small electric signals to pass between layers without much resistance against the current. Additionally due to the proximity and evenness of the molecules of silicon and other compounds within the layers, the smallest pulses of electricity can pass through it without any significant loss of energy. Experiments have been conducted to compare the performance of conventional microprocessors to those built using this newly developed technology. Inventors Simon Mathjiseen and Edsger Smits They say results indicate that their components can not only transfer electric currents through more elaborate formations; they can achieve this task with smaller currents because very little energy is wasted in the process. This allows them to build ever more complicated circuits. SAMFETS are structured to minimize resistance against electric currents, and since there are no moving parts, power is not wasted in transportation or heating. In turn, one microprocessor can perform much more elaborate tasks to help build multi-purpose machines that can carry out operations that would previously require many different machines. Simply put; a smaller, more efficient machine can now perform tasks that would have required an entire sequence of machines and robots. For manufacturers this means a ton of savings in their processes. This is so because at the moment even the most technologically advanced assembly lines contain many different machines, and materials have to be shifted between them many times before the final product is made. By combining many processes into a fewer number of machines, manufacturers can save money on the purchase and maintenance of equipment, and on the cost of human resource that is used to monitor and control these assembly lines. The developers of this strategy are confident they have discovered the building blocks to a new era of technology, one where the size†¦ of the circuit, does not matter! Instead, by increasing the density of molecules inside the layers that make up micro chips, more complex programs such as those used to control robots or entire assembly lines can be programmed into the same sized chip. Coupled with the energy efficiency, which means a lower cost of operating such electronics; these compact processors are being hailed as a much needed boost to the manufacturing and electronics industries. Under the current economic recession, many factories across the globe are looking to cut costs of production. SAMFET technology seems very promising in this regard because it allows manufacturers to use smaller, smarter electronic components. Not only can they save on human resource costs, but also on the cost of running these processors which act like the brains of the assembly line. All that remains to be seen now is how soon this technology can go into mass production.

Exposition universelle of 1889 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exposition universelle of 1889 - Essay Example Nonetheless, the period had a significant effect on the natural sciences, education, and historiography. Also, this period is presumed to have complex and considerable impact on politics. It is associated with radicalism and liberalism and later on nationalism (Breckman 10). This paper will look at the Romantic era or Romanticism and compare a painting and a musical work. The Romantic era authenticates tough emotions as a genuine basis of aesthetic understanding, putting emphasis on emotions, for example, awe, horror and terror, and apprehension. This is especially that which is encountered in tackling the sublimity of wild nature and its charming features, both current aesthetic groups. This period progresses ancient custom and folk art to something gracious. Moreover, the Romantic era makes spontaneity an attractive feature and advocates for a natural performance of human beings activities as habituated by natural processes in the context of customary usage and language. The Ration al era reaches past the classicist and rational ultimate models to raise a revitalized element of art and narrative and medievalism presumed to be realistically medieval in an effort to get away from the boundaries of industrialism, urban sprawl, and population growth (Breckman 19). This period also tries to embrace the distant, unfamiliar, and exotic in forms more genuine than Rococochinoiserie, utilizing the power of the imagination to escape and to envision. Painting The Romantic era first appears in landscape painting, in the visual arts. One of the most prominent artists of the Roman era is the pioneer of The Hudson River School, Thomas Cole, from America (Powell 6). This school concentrates on developing landscapes of the United States continent in a pastoral location where human beings are perceived to be connected with their land. These artists appreciate the diversity and beauty of the American landscape as coming from God’s grace. Moreover, these artists’ wor ks establish a visual depiction of the thoughts of American transcendentalism. The painting of focus is The Course of Empire. This is a painting containing five pieces. This painting is one of the most recognized paintings of Thomas Cole. The Course of Empire shows the artist is trying to argue against religion that is not concurring with nature. The painting was developed between 1833 and 1836. The five sizeable paintings are a symbol of an unreal realm and its process from creation to destruction and revival. Thomas Cole illustrates the whole painting series because of the exclusive landscapes that act as the location and subject of each empire stage (Powell 13). The painting can also be presumed to be representing the five stages of civilization. This society builds to magnificence and then crumbles. The paintings highlight the Romantic worry that the progress of contemporary life is intruding on the peaceful life of the past and will end up weakening the structure of civilizatio n. The Savage State This is the first painting. It depicts the valley from the shore adjacent to the crag. It is a dawning stormy day with a dim light. There is a hunter dressed in skins, he is in a hurry, and he is hunting a deer. There are also canoes moving up river. On the shore, there is a fire surrounded by a cluster of wigwams (Powell 18). This is a visual reference of Native American living. The Arcadian In this painting, the sky is clear, and it is morning of

Managing 'Fifteen' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Managing 'Fifteen' - Essay Example Seeking to intentionally form one is, therefore, an important part of leading an organisation (Ansoff 1965). It is also important to plan it carefully as implementing a business culture in a haphazard manner can have a detrimental effect on the long term practicability of the business venture (Prasad 2012). Corporate culture defines the joint behaviours or conduct of a company, their feelings regarding all the divisions of the company, like consumers, colleagues, and shareholders, and the general values the co-workers all practice on a regular basis (Morgan 1997). Decisiveness, empowerment, and team work are some of the qualities that show the presence of strong working culture in businesses (Perrow 1986). The culture actually grows to be the true motivator for outstanding performances, and generates a competitive advantage that other corporations will find it quite difficult to imitate (Stoner & Freemen 1995). The Essential Nature of Managerial Work, and the Role of Leader Managemen t is a common quality in that it is a familiar component in all businesses. Managers carry out more or less identical operations regardless of their standing or the type of business in question (Luthans 2006). Management aims at realising corporate objectives and purposes (Maslow 1954). Management basically involves overseeing people who are arranged in work groups. It also incorporates retaining, motivating, and developing employees in their workplaces, and assisting them to realise satisfaction in their capacities as employees (Robbins 2002). All such interpersonal associations make the ‘management’ functions a social development. Leaders in the present world have to play numerous roles while seeking to advocate for only one key vision (Allen 1958). All the stakeholders of a business, from its workers to its consumers, look to the leader to speak of where he or she sees the future of the company as being, and then give details about how this dream can be implemented ( Weihrich & Kootz 1990). One of the most important aspects of leadership is providing inspiring leadership that is not based on following the rivals, who may have a bigger reputation (Ivancevish & Matleson 2007). The Different Roles Played By Jamie Oliver as A Manager in ‘Fifteen’ Using Mintzberg’s Classification Henry Mintzberg defined particular managerial functions that were a common theme in most businesses (Hersey & Blanchard 1988). He felt that a manager should be able to appreciate all of his or her functions, as well as how to execute them efficiently (Mintzberg 1992). Jamie Oliver shows in ‘Fifteen’ the different traits that were proposed by Mintzberg in his model. Figure head:Â  Jamie Oliver invested a considerable amount of capital in the creation of the restaurant called ‘Fifteen’. He was already a recognised chef and so he had a lot of goodwill, which would auger well for his new business enterprise. Leader: As a leader, Jam ie inspired his employees and inspired them to develop their different talents. He not only motivated the students, but sought to speak to them about their personal problems. He visited the homes of students and also evaluated their level of commitment by giving them tough tests. Liaison: Jamie Oliver was strongly involved in his community in various aspects. He was a well known campaigner for better

IT Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Trends - Essay Example Various organizations such as Gartner and Juniper have listed some of the top technological trends that are leading in the field of information systems. This section will briefly explain two major trends from the two firms According to Gartner, the arrival of Windows 8 made battles related to mobile devices as one of the top technological trend for the year 2012 and 2013. Gartner claimed that the conflict among the vendors to have full attention from the consumers had forced IT managers to be heterogeneous. It was predicted that by the year 2013, mobile phones would overtake personal computers, mostly among those workers whose jobs required them to do so though a few still require the PCs. The rise of mobile devices signaled the end of PCs as well as Windows as the only corporate platform. This means that by 2015, it is highly likely that Windows 8 will be lagging behind Apple and Android, reducing Microsoft’s share (Miller par.4). The mobile money has attracted immense attention and related services have been diversifying and growing rapidly. According to Juniper, the environment in Asia and Africa has led to an increased uptake of mobile money oriented service, leading to the development of other services such as product tracking (Koetsier par. 3). In successfully adopting mobile devices in organizations, it is important to first understand some of the drawbacks such as loss of data and insecurity. In this case, there is a need to provide a strategy or framework for mobile users to work in a secure manner, including the use of applications with business oriented data at prescribed entries to heighten cost savings. Consequently, this will unleash innovation and easily solve business related problems. Another way of effectively adopting mobile devices in businesses is by heavily investing in IT. If the IT staff does not have the ability to support the devices, it is essential to outsource external support to ensure that users have someone they

Needle stick injuries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Needle stick injuries - Research Paper Example These injuries pose a risk for development of various infectious diseases to the injured threatening their employment, health morbidity and mortality. More than 20 different pathogens have been identified to be transmitted through exposure to body fluids or sharps injury. Injuries by sharps and splashes of body fluids are the main routes of transmission for occupational acquisition of blood-borne pathogens among health care workers (Bi et al, 2008). Despite these injuries being common, they are often under reported and in many places, both health care and non-health care workers are unaware of safety methods to prevent these infections. Globally, needle stick injuries are the most common cause of blood-borne infections among health care workers (Wilburn and Eijekamans, 2004). More than 35 million people worldwide constitute health care work force and they represent 12 percent of the working population in the world (Wilburn and Eijekamans, 2004). It is estimated that people working wi th them as non-health workers are even more in numbers (NHS, 2008). ... In this essay, various concerns pertaining to needle stick injuries will be discussed along with current and best practices and strategies to change. Needle stick injuries: causes, risks and concerns According to the Health Protection Agency report (2008), the most common type of exposure that has been reported among health care workers is the percutaneous injury which accounts for 45 percent of exposures. These exposures contributed to significant seroconversion for HCV, HIV and other diseases. The HIV seroconversion rates reported were high, 0.8 percent. In the NHS, needle stick injury continues to be the most commonly reported adverse incident among healthcare workers, which are a potential source for transmission of various diseases like Hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus. These injuries are also a potential source of transmission of prion-related diseases. The risk of transmission of hepatitis C with needle stick injuries is 3 percent, for hepatitis B is 30 perce nt and for HIV is 0.3 percent (Elmiyeh et al, 2004). The transmission from the patient to the healthcare worker through the injury depends on the viral load of the patient and also on the amount of blood that passes from the patient to the healthcare worker. Other infections which are transmissible through needle stick injuries are malaria, syphilis and herpes (Wilburn and Eijekamans, 2004). Needle stick injuries: current practices There is uncertain information about the prevalence of the diseases among hospital population and health care workers and non-health workers (Elmiyeh et al, 2004). According to a study by Elmiyeh et al (2004), 38 percent of health care workers had atleast one needle

A survey on Finnish SMEs investment Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

A survey on Finnish SMEs investment - Thesis Example 46 4.12 Findings of Secondary Survey†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 47 4. ANALYSIS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 52 5.1 Interpretation of SME’s Investment Policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 54 5.2 Analysis of SME’s Employment Strategy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 55 5. CONCLUSION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 56 6. SOURCES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 59 List of Tables Page No Table 1. No of Each Type of Firms in Finland’s Economy in 2009 7 Table 2. Total Tur nover of the Four Types of Firms in 2009 8 Table 3. Comparison of Finnish SMEs Facts with corresponding data average of the EU countries in 2004, 2005 5 Table 4: SME’s Investment Performance in the past one year 26 Table 5: Future Investment Plan of Finnish SMEs for next one year 28 Table 6: SMEs opinion regarding the factors which could limit their investment and growth 31 Table 7: Preference of the SMEs in directing their Investment Projects towards specific Aims 34 Table 8: SMEs Employment Performance in the past one year 36 Table 9: SME’s Plan of Employment during next one year 38 Table 10: SME’s Opinion about the importance of Regulatns in influencing the Firm’s Grwth and Operations 40 Table 11: SMEs Sales Performance over the past one year 42 Table 12: Future Sales Plan of Finnish SMEs for next one year 43 Table 13: SMEs Debt Performance during the past one year 44 Table 14: Future Debt Plan of Finnish SMEs for next one year 46 Table 15: The Role of SMEs in the Finland Economy in 1991 47 Table 16: Number of SMEs in Finland according to Firm Size and Turnover in 2003 47 Table... According to the Business Register of Statistics of Finland, in 2002 the country’s economy was home to 226,600 business enterprises (excepting those related to agriculture). The total turnover of these organizations was EUR 274 billion and they provided employment to 1,315,000 persons in the economy. Out of this total, 99.7% of the firms could be categorized as SMEs, which accounted for 52% of the gross turnover of the industrial sector and employed 61.5 % of the total working force of the economy. Among the total number of business enterprises, 40% were owned by self-employed entrepreneurs (OECD, 2005, p.213). The Federation of the Finnish Enterprises conducted a survey and found that there were 263, 759 business enterprises in Finland’s economy (excluding agriculture, forestry and fishing). They classified them into four categories according to their number of employees and noted the number of firms under each category. They also surveyed the total turnover and the nu mber of employees of each of the four classes of firms. According to the Report of the European Commission Enterprise and Industry (ECEI) regarding Finland’s business scenario, there are about 36 SMEs present in the economy for every 1000 citizens. In comparison, other countries of the European Union (EU) have an average of 40 SMEs per 1000 inhabitants in their economies. In Finland, the micro firms and the small enterprises employ a comparatively lower number of people than their counterparts in the EU countries.

Effects of Bullshit on Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Effects of Bullshit on Society - Essay Example the act of an individual (the bullshitter) presenting ideas loosely as true, whereas he/she does not know or care if they are true or not, instead seeking only to impress. In this respect, bullshit is more dangerous than an outright lie. Frankfurt further states that bullshit may involve the falsification of the self by misrepresenting one’s attitudes, thoughts, and/or feelings. Frankfurt, in this respect suggests that bullshit does not necessarily feature the falsification of facts. Bullshit is entirely disconnected from the truth in a manner that lying is not. Frankfurt (55) states that it is difficult for an individual to lie unless he or she knows the truth. On the other hand, generating bullshit does not demand so much conviction. An individual who is lying, therefore, responds to the truth and in that context respects the lie. When a sincere person speaks, he or she exactly knows that whatever he/she is saying is the truth. The liar on the other hand appreciates that his /she is telling lies. In the context of bullshit, the individual neither speaks the truth nor lies (Frankfurt 55). Bullshit is a very big threat to the growth of the society as the bullshitter cares about nothing and acts carelessly says things anyhow. Bullshit also pulls the society down as nothing good will come out of the words and acts that are uttered and sown carelessly. To a great level, bullshit hinders and demoralizes respect for the truth, and therefore fosters the fear of truth. It makes people believe in and support what is presented as wrong while in the actual sense is right much like it makes people reject whatever may, in fact, be right. The present political scenario is full of bullshit because the politicians make statements that are not based on any truth. Politicians tell a lot of bullshit even as they are famous for opposing rational arguments through stupid means such as logical fallacy, misrepresentation, repetition, and lying. A good example of bullshit in

Corporate & Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate & Business Law - Essay Example The company laws also set standards required to be followed by the company and maintain their ethical behavior since ethical leadership is considered to be very essential for the appropriate operations of the company and its success (Miller & Jentz, 2009, pp.63-64). The present study focuses on how the law of England and Wales is made and how a company is incorporated with study on the evaluations of the incorporation of companies. The General Legal System in England and Wales (in the United Kingdom): England and Wales are two countries that form part of the United Kingdom. The primary laws prevalent in the nation include the legislative law, the common law, the European law, and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Parliament is in the primary charge of the legislative law. The legislature that is located in London has the responsibility and power to pass different laws in all the four countries that include England and Wales as well. The common law represents a common legal system prevalent in England and Wales. The European law is more superior to the UK law since UK is a part of the European Union. The human rights convention is responsible to look after the rights of individuals as dictated by the legal system (The Legal System of the United Kingdom, n.d.). ... Corporate and business laws have been found to be essential for any firm that tries to establish itself in the market or the industry. Moreover, when contractual issues are involved in a business, standardization proves to be essential (Mantysaari, 2009, p.11). The formation of the law in England and Wales: As it is already mentioned and learnt, the passing of laws in both the countries in the UK is the primary responsibility of the parliament that has the necessary and required power. In order to form the laws in England and Wales, at first the law needs to be proposed. The new law that is proposed is referred to as the bill that then needs to be accepted by the parliamentary houses. Once the parliament agrees to the bill and its purpose, the Queen needs to give her assent to the passing of the bill. Once that happens, the bill becomes ready to be treated as an Act by the parliament. The first reading of the law reflects a situation where the parliament learns that a new law is read y to be proposed. A second reading presents the discussion on the law by the members of the parliament. In the next step, a third reading is performed where debates and votes take place on the new proposed law. If majority of the votes are won, then the bill gets passed by the parliament and requires the assent of the Queen. If the Queen provides with her assent, then the bill becomes the Act and acts as the law for the nation, including the countries (Barrow, 2012). Considering the level of crimes and frauds occurring in businesses in the present state of globalization, laws associated with the business crimes have emerged to be significant to be formed and followed. Thus while national and international laws are

Financial Reporting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Reporting - Assignment Example The involvement of the all stakeholders, the identification of the economic status, financial identification and effective transmission of the components of the financial reports outlines the main characteristics of effective and good quality financial reports (Helen and Gary 2001, P. 57). Although conventional financial statement systems are still effective in providing financial reports in an organisation, the adoption of contemporary financial reporting techniques and policies have proved to be more valuable and cost-effective. Organisations provide financial reports to facilitate the successful creation of practical regulatory policies and for procurement authorisation. To address the issues of finance reporting extensively, International Trade Organisations have developed various policies aimed at harmonising the global financial reporting process for the benefit of global economic development. One such initiative was the formation of International Accounting Standards (IAS 10) to harmonise accounting practices across the globe. The main aim of the IAS 10 policy framework was to prescribe the most effective timeframe for adjusting financial statements for an organisation and to enable the identification of necessary disclosure requirements regarding the date for financial statement authorisation and the events that followed the reporting period. The standard stipulates that, an organisation should not prepare financial reports based on going-concerns. The International Accounting Standards (IAS 10) offers an explanation of the events that occur after the finance reporting date. The standard is also exceptionally decisive in explaining various activities that occur instantaneously after reporting period. Definitions Events after the reporting period- This entails the inauspicious and constructive happenings that takes place after the end of the reporting date and before the date of authorisation of the financial statement. Adjusting Events These are events that offer comprehensive evidence to support the occurrences that take place at the end of the reporting date. Adjusting events also incorporates the events that relate to the inappropriateness of the going concerns assumption in the entire or part of the financial plan (Evans, 2000, p.535). Non-Adjusting Events These are events that reveal the conditions that occur after the termination of the reporting date and do not interfere with the organisation’s financial report. These events occur at the end of the reporting period. However, these events should not be allowed to inference with the absolute finance reporting. The Scope of the Provision This standard is only appropriate in the entire accounting process, at the disclosure and in the analysis of events that occurs after the reporting time. Objective of International Accounting Standard (IAS 10) This provision is aimed at prescribing the most appropriate time for adjusting financial statements for events that might take p lace after the reporting period. The provision also offers a description of the necessary disclosures regarding the financial statement authorisation and the impact of the events that take place after the reporting date to the organisation finance report. The provision is as well expected to ensure that no organisation prepares its financial reports on a going concern basis. This occurs in the scenario where,

World War Two Sources Questions Essay Example for Free

World War Two Sources Questions Essay 1) Source A is a primary source. Its a message sent by Commander Paulus (of Sixth Army) to the Germany Army High Command, on 24th January 1943. We expect to find that the source is genuine and unbiased, considering the message has been sent from one German to another. The message was also not an attempt of propaganda as it was kept top secret between army generals. The information is regarding the surrender of the Sixth Army in Stalingrad in 1943. The German Army was losing considerably and couldnt keep up the strong fighting, as known in 1939 onwards. The source tells us that supplies were gravely low, and command was no longer possible. It is a very adequate explanation of why the German Army had to surrender. One main reason for the defeat of Russia was to do with the strategic positioning of the army. Almost half of the original army going to Stalingrad was redirected to the Caucacus. This caused problems later on. We also know that the Luftwaffe wasnt delivering the required amount of supplies, although Goering had promised. Not nearly half of the ammunition, food and medical supplies were being flown in. The source tells us that the front lines were crumbling. We understand that the German Army had conquered approximately nine tenths of Stalingrad, but still couldnt manage to hold the most important area, the banks of the Volga. Russians were bringing in fresh troops and supplies constantly during the night, and the Luftwaffe wasnt strong enough to eradicate the Russians during the day. The Germans were eventually pushed further back out of the city as the armys numbers dwindled. There could be however, one false interpretation of the source. Paulus asks the High Command if he could have permission to surrender (in order to save lives). This could be interpreted as the reason why they finally surrendered, but in actual fact it wasnt. Hitler had denied the request of Paulus, he expect Paulus to fight till death; every last solider. The final collapse of the Sixth Army was when Stalin and Zhukov decided to finish the Germans off. Two Russian armies went around the city from either side, eventually meeting up in the centre. They had the Germans surrounded. On the 10th of January the Russians opened fire and thousands of Germans were killed, many more taken prisoners. Finally on 31st of January 1943, Soviet troops captured Pauluss headquarters in the basement of the Univermag department store on Red Square. He and his generals and the remaining troops in the city surrendered without a fight. Therefore we can see that the source gives us a very good explanation of the background information as to why the Germans surrendered. However, the actual surrender could be misleading, and we also need to know of the Russians participating role in the whole situation. 2) Source B is a photograph of Stalingrad, entitled The Russians recapture Stalingrad. It is a primary source, however we have to be careful, because photographs can be false. They can be changed in anyway for propaganda purposes. Stalin was well known for this. Photographs are also only an instant in time, and could be misleading in many ways (we dont get to see the whole picture). Because Stalin was renowned for his propaganda methods, it is probably that the picture was taken for such an effect. Stalin wanted to show the people that Russia was strong and powerful. In the picture we can a Russian soldier holding the Soviet flag. Stalin is trying to convey the message that although Germany conquered Western Europe, Russia will never be defeated. It symbolises victory to the nation, and raises the morale after so many people had died. The buildings in the background seem to be quite stable and healthy looking, whereas we know that most of the city was covered in rubble. This was probably to give the message that the Germans didnt actually do that much damage. In the background on the picture, we can see military vehicles. It is also hard to decipher whether or not they are Russian or German vehicles. If they are German, then they were put there to show people that the Russian army is strong and powerful, and have managed to round up the German troops and keep them under control. However, I think it is more probable that they are Russian. They are military and supply vehicles. Just to re-reinforce the fact that they are able to get resources in for their people, and to make a stand. A little like when a flag is put in the centre of a newly conquered territory. To let the other side know it belongs to them. Therefore all in all, I think that the photograph was another method of propaganda, to raise the morale of the civilians. To let them know that Russia will not be conquered. The photograph shows us that. 3) Source C, a letter from an unknown soldier in 1943, is another primary source, again expected to be genuine (because it was sent from one German to another and was not a form of propaganda). The source isnt really useful in telling us why and how the defeat of the Germans came about. It doesnt mention the Russian army, or the lack of supplies and men. However, it does show us what the view of a German soldier is at the time. We can see that many Germans were dying I have seen hundreds fall and die. The Germans felt helpless and deserted. They had the view that Hitler had let them down, failed to keep his promises. The soldier now realises that Hitler had deceived them in many ways. The source can show an historian that the defeat of the German army was terrible and severe in Stalingrad. We can see that the morale had disappeared and were ready for surrendering. Source D, a cartoon by David Low (British newspaper cartoonist), is also a primary source, but a method of propaganda. We can see how the interpretation of the defeat of the German Army was being conveyed to the British public. It is quite important to an historian because it shows the outcome of the war and also Britains role in the war. The British were obviously supporting Russia, as we know that they were sending in troops. But also that the cartoon shows us that Russia was greater than Germany. Russia was really an enemy to Britain, but Germany was more of a threat to Britain (so they took the side of Russia). The cartoon shows us that the German army was small in comparison to the Russians. We can also see that it was the Russian civilians who were fighting. This is depicted by the man with a scythe and hammer in his hands, representing the industrial and agricultural workers. They were strong and brave. I think both sources are just as useful as each other. Source C shows an interpretation of the Germans, and Source D shows the interpretation of the British. But thats all, therefore I think the limitations outweigh the positive values. We dont see why it happened or how. However, there are a limited amount of sources which are able to tell all three qualities, why, how and the effects. We do however, have the valuable explanation of the effects. How people were feeling in 1943. 4) The two interpretations of why the Battle of Stalingrad came to an end, are different because the authors intended different points of view to go to a different class of audience. Source E, a primary German broadcast, is intended for the German public, therefore biased and another method of propaganda. This is contrasted with the selected piece from a Russian textbook, a secondary source, therefore biased towards the Russians. Source E, is explaining to the German public that the war had come to and end, with the German Sixth Army being defeated. That the soldiers were brave and the war was not a waste of time. The German Army had held out for a long time. The broadcast tries to get the view across that the German Army is still strong and the reason for their failure was the encirclement of the army and unfavourable circumstances confronting the forces. The reason why this interpretation is different to Source F is because the media had to send out information to make the public still feel safe, and for them not to lose their morale. They make Germany out to still be strong and that they should re-unite even further. Because it needs to give the public a sense of gain instead of loss, it leaves out the bad parts of the war. That the army wasnt supplied well enough. And that Hitler hadnt let them surrender in order to save thousands of lives. The source therefore is giving a biased view on the battle, favoured more for the German government. This is then compared with Source F, which is also biased, in favouring Russia. The source talks about a Great Patriotic war, making them seem more important than the Germans. Most of the source is correct according to the facts, for example that Hitler refused the surrender of the Sixth Army. However, it is written to interpret the German Army as being incompetent compared to the Russian civilians. However, there are limitations to the source. It says that the battle of Stalingrad was the greatest military and political event of the second world war. We know that it was the first turning point, and helped stopping Japan becoming even more involved than it already was. However, there were many important battles and turning points in the war (for example the U.S.As nuclear attack on Japan), therefore the source is biased favouring the Russians as the most important country at that time in the world. Therefore the reason as to why the two sources differ in many ways is because they were intended for different audiences. The Germans had to raise the morale of the civilians, and Russia wanted to make its people think it had the most important role in the war. Neither of the sources committing truth to the facts. 5) The Nazi defeat at Stalingrad was more important to the Russians than to the Germans. This statement is both true and false. In many ways both countries needed to win for many different reasons. For the Germans as a whole the defeat of Stalingrad was not really a necessary thing. Source G, a British secondary source tells us that maybe the battle wasnt a decisive turning point in the second world war, and that Germany was still strong. The Germans had already taken over the Caucacus, receiving the benefits of Russias main coal supplies. However, it was Hitler who had an urge to take over Stalingrad. It was mainly because the industrial town bore the name of the countries leader and possibly held an important position. It was also quite an important town to Russia, and the defeat of it would give Hitler even more power. We know that it didnt really have much benefit to Germany as a whole, as they ended up taking over most of the town with no beneficial effects occurring. As seen is sources A and C, all that happened was that thousands of men were captured and over a quarter of a million men were killed, in the biggest military blow to Germany during the second world war. However, it would have stood them in good stead for the take over of Russia. Germany failed because there werent enough supplies as the reinforcements couldnt keep up, plus the winter had a great catastrophic effect. If Germany had won, then there may have been different consequences. Russia for sure would have been turned into a superpower, with possibly billions of people under the control of Hitler. Britains hopes of winning the war could possibly be over too. If Russia was out of the war, that would strongly increase Japans power, possibly even conquering the U.S.A. Hitler occupied a huge part of Europe. He had to make sure that he kept everyone happy, especially in Germany where revolts and rebellions could have serious consequences. He had to keep the public morale high, which he had done up to now. However, the defeat of Russia would have raised morale even more. Source E and H confirms this view. Source E tells us of the type of propaganda used, and how it needed to be used to keep the people at peace. Source H a second British secondary source which states that the German people started to have doubts about their Fuehrer. They had been following him blindly, receiving victory after victory and now this, the first crisis. This is also backed up by source C, the letter from a German soldier saying he had been deceived and tricked. For Russia the defeat of the Germans was also quite important. Stalingrad was an important industrial town. It would have also been an important step for Germany to taking over the whole of Russia. The town was also not evacuated, it gave the Red Army an incentive to fight for. Also Stalin needed to keep the hopes of the Russian people of a communist state alive. He needed victory for support. Sources B and F show us how important the public view of Russia is. Source B, was predicted to be a propaganda method, trying to make the Russians look good and patriotic. It helped the Soviet morale grow stronger. Source F, which is written much later not only supports the facts but gives a biased view as well. Even years later they seem to need to make themselves look good. All this propaganda is helped again with source D. It shows the united Russia, of agricultural and industrial workers, working to fight the Germans off their territory. They were strong and patriotic. From this we can see that the take over of Stalingrad was necessary for both sides but for the different factors mentioned. Hitler needed the area for a further attack and then finally the elimination of Britain and the U.S.A in the war. Stalin needed to keep Stalingrad as it was a main industrial area and the morale and support of the people needed to be kept high. It was also quite a crucial turning point in the history of the second world war.

Advantages Of Marketing Over The Internet Marketing Essay

Advantages Of Marketing Over The Internet Marketing Essay Today, the Internet appears to be a powerful weapon, especially for businesses in the area of promotion.  This process of operation of Internet marketing is through the promotion and sales of company products using the Internet as the main instrument. The internet marketing offer many benefits for the art of sales marketing and media to a wider audience.  This method is one of the best ways to promote a product and has a direct response to customers. Anyone can be advertising the company directly from internet but it is not the solution for all the companies. To the struggle to achieve their business, some people guess if their plans are correct and whether it meets their expectations.  The internet marketing can put out the largest companies, on the other hand not all the companies have the right strategy and the money for a proper advertised. Although some companies because they want to take economic opportunities for the promotion of their products, they use other kinds of marketing such as magazine or newspaper, television and Radio.  This is because they focus on the disadvantages of the internet and not the benefits.  So they lose the opportunities that offered by the internet marketing.  But with the proper information and the right administration companies can benefit sufficiently from the internet and they can have the right investment. The advantages that someone can think about internet marketing are many.  S ince the internet marketing is so widely available to all companies around the world, can acquire millions of customers with a few mouse clicks them.  However, like any advertising, except that there are some advantages and disadvantages of each internet. Companies should consider both sides to know if the view would be correct.  They have to weighing their options and have the right kind of consumers they need to achieve, would surely find that the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Advantages of Internet Marketing   Another of the benefits can be achieved by promoting a website is the cheapest and most flexible advertising. Great advantage is that the cost of electronic mail it is cheaper and can compare prices.  Except that it is faster and easier it will be more accessible depending on customer needs.  Because it is cheaper this will make buyers to repeat their purchase, so the proceeds will be many more.  Thanks to internet marketing can be extended to overnight.  The Internet marketing is much more different from print advertising and will be accessible for longer time.  If you want to change something from the ads will not need to put someone else do it for you.  Of course this will not stop other types of advertising, but gives the buyer the opportunity to see the difference between potential customers and an l employer.  We also dont have to pay employees for the store because this job will take it Internet.  However, another benefit is that we dont need to get tired at al l to receive their product, they just have to stay in their couch and it will come straight on to their house. Also in time needed for a phone call or to go straight to the shop you can send at the same  time thousands of electronic email without mail.   One of the advantages of internet marketing is that you can expand the market and that the store can be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Internet is in all geographical boundaries and is accessible whenever you want any of it can access to it.  So, your customers are from around the world and they can be able to access the Internet, and can shop anytime they want. Although there is no holiday days or close hours.  There will no longer stop in time to market.  With internet marketing will be able to find easily what they want, and are in categories so they can found it just with a keyword. Compared to other forms of advertising such as television, radio and magazines can be reached very  faster around the world.     The comfort of customers is still an advantage for business.  A convenient person for investigation of product will seek, would go by car to buy or learn information about the product .With the ease of internet it will become much easier since can go directly from the couch to make purchases and he can also learn information about the product.   Visitors can get information about the product to buy but also they can see comments from other buyers.  So depending on the interests will be chosen internet market since it can visit the website whenever he likes without having to enter the process or the Move stress and the problems from the outside world.  It is also much more convenient for people with disabilities.   A website serves as an excellent place to refer potential investors to show them what your company is about, what has been achieved and what can be achieved in the future.  There is an opportunity to develop company and much improved reliability.   An advertisement from internet is giving potential customers are ready and why you deserve their trust.  In fact, many buyers use the Internet for research before the purchase so they can decide for themselves whether a particular supplier or brand is worthy of sponsorship, and it will not take a walk.  With the ease of the internet marketing is a point of reference and that touch of individualized customer service can ultimately add value to the supply and customer trust in a higher level of satisfaction.   When implementing a successful marketing program in the Web, online e-trailers need to understand that this method is a process of development to promote a company using online media.  . This new marketing method does not only mean creating a website or a promotion, because behind this Web site is a real organization that has a clearly defined set of objectives. The strategies of internet marketing include all aspects of online advertising products, services and websites, including market research, email marketing and direct sales.   One of the major benefits associated with this online marketing process, is able to gather a large amount of information.  Online consumers can access the Internet and in products and purchase them at any time of day.  Companies using online marketing can also save money.   In summary, this new form of Web Marketing helps businesses expand just be a local market, national or international level, and much faster.  So the internet marketing compared with other types of traditional media is better.  Hard aspects to deal for online marketers. With veterans of trade, the most difficult part of running an online marketing campaign is to find a team for the company. Although by creating a list, you have a target group  who gave you permission to market, since it also allows you to develop a relationship with them as you can provide the necessary information, and also suggest what products more useful and better for them.   To get customers and generating sales then it would be better if you could also enter the popular world of social internet sites. Many businesses online today are now switching to web sites. Sites like Face book,  Bebo and MySpace seem to play a major role in the market, and these areas in future, would certainly be the main destinations for online shoppers.  While traditional marketing methods can make to achieve a common target market. Offers opportunities to create marketing on the Internet which has grown to be the most popular means of marketing, many companies today use search engine optimization and other techniques  to get quickly in touch with remote users.   The Internet offers companies an inexpensive but effective way to reach new customers.  Not only are they able to reach new customers, but is also able to interact with them.  In this way they are able to better understand the needs, wants and even the purchasing habits of customers.   Benefits of Internet marketing are many, however;  this does not mean that every company should purchase goods and services on the Internet.  Believed to be given to the target market and products and services sold.  The target market you may search the Internet for goods and services, or you will have more chances to get a telephone directory, for example. Of course there are the costs involved in Internet marketing and can be very different.  For each firm embarking on such a course would say that one of the most important factors is that you get great service from your Web Designer and Internet Marketing company, otherwise you could find yourself facing a web site that is outdated and inaccurate  and this will cause more harm. http://www.google.com/images/cleardot.gif

7 Elevens Information Systems

7 Elevens Information Systems 7 Eleven commenced operation on 11th July 1927 in Dallas Texas and has gone on to be an industry leader for more than 40 years (http://www.rimag.com). Originally the stores operated from 7am to 11pm, a trading span that was unheard of at the time. However most 7 Eleven stores now operate 24 hrs a day (www.answers.com). 7 Eleven has approx 7100 stores in North America and over 30,000 stores world wide. It has the largest ATM network of any other convenience store in the United States. 7 Eleven have had many convenience store firsts including being the first retailer to sell coffee in take away cups and offering all major soft drinks brands at their fountains. To put the size of 7 Eleven into perspective they sell 41 million gallons of milk each year, which is enough milk to pour more than two glasses of milk for every person in the United States (www.7-Eleven.com). The diagram below demonstrates the expanse of 7 Eleven world wide. Q.1 7 Eleven competes with both other chains of convenience stores and independent stores. What competitive advantages can you identify in this case? According to the J.D Power and Associates (www.jdpower.com) customer satisfaction survey the following are the most important contributors to customer satisfaction in Japan. There are 3 key areas encompassing the many aspects that provide 7 Eleven with their competitive advantage. As you can see from the overview below 7 Eleven are able to compete and more often than not dominate in each of the key areas identified in the aforementioned study. Extensive Knowledge of the market The management information systems utilised by 7 Eleven allow them to be able to capture crucial data on their customer base, which ensures that are providing customers with the products and services they need and want. Additionally it enables 7 Eleven to be able to track products and utilise a sophisticated inventory system to provide exactly what the customer wants at the time that they need it. Furthermore it refines 7 Elevens inventory system as they are more accurately ordering and restocking products that they are confident will sell. They have developed a streamlined value chain through electronically transmitting orders and keeping product turnover high. They are using computer based information systems to connect all the partners in their value added chains directly into flexible manufacturing systems (Best, 1993, pg. 49). The management information systems also offers added value as it provides 7 Eleven with an avenue to monitor staff performance, thus providing them with the ability to continuously provide a high level of customer service. Technological advances The time distribution system provides competitive advantage on two fronts, the ability to be able to be utilise the small spaces in Japanese retail outlets and to be able to provide customers with a greater range of products more accurately catering for there needs. The information available through their management information systems not only assists in building relationships with their customers, it also allows 7 Elevens vendors to anticipate their needs and prepare and deliver items in a faster than expected timeframe (Buchanan, Thunderbird, Simmons, Washington and Lee University, 2004, pg. 6) providing advantage to 7 Eleven, their customers and their vendors. Expanding core business The expansion of the core business into services such as Internet provision and hot fresh meals sees 7 Eleven providing an alternative service to it customers. This gives customers additional reason to come to 7 Eleven thus expanding the clientele base. 7 Eleven uses its management information systems to obtain competitive advantage that not only helps them decide which products to make available to their customer base, it also allows them to determine how they are going to deliver the product, a crucial component to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (Buchanan, et. al. 2004, pg.1). In Japan, 7 Eleven have thoroughly engrossed themselves in the concept of expanding their core business to provide their customers with a one stop shop. They provide alternatives to some of the more difficult aspects of the hectic Japanese life style such as meals, ATM access and a pick up point for Internet shopping. In a cash based society they even provide a cash pick up point for e commerce goods and services. 7 Eleven in Japan has truly embraced customer service, which has helped them achieve a distinct competitive advantage in this market. 7-Eleven has exploited the economies of scope of a customer relationship business by working with a broad range of product and service vendors to define new products and services tailored to the needs of their customers (www. edgeperspectives.typepad.com). Q.2 Use the internet to find the major competitors of 7 Eleven in Japan, the United States and other countries where 7 Eleven is active. Describe the competition faced by the company. 7 Eleven has convenience stores in Japan, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, the Philippines, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Thailand, Norway, Turkey, Malaysia, China and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico (www.7-eleven.com). The following chart depicts the breath of 7 Eleven across its territories. In Japan the major competitors of 7 Eleven are Ministop and Circle K with 1700 (www.ministop.com.ph) and 3000 (www.circlek.com).stores respectively. Compared with the number of stores occupied by 7 Eleven (www.sej.co.jp) it could be concluded that the neither poses any real threat. Both provide very similar services to 7 Eleven including the provision of ready to eat food products, internet services and bill payment facilities (www.circlek.com and www.ministop.com). It is worth noting that Circle K is also a major competitor in Hong Kong. In North America two of the major competitors are B. P North American with 5166 stores including trading names such as AM/PM Mini Market, Amoco, Arco, BP, B Connect, BP Express and Shell Oil Company with 4907 stores (www.csnews.com/csn/images/pdf/CSN_2006_Top100_CStores_Chart.pdf). In Australia the two major competitors to 7 Eleven are Caltex with 566 stores and Coles Express with 595 stores (http://www.cstore.com.au/industry/acn/acn2006.pdf). In Australia both Caltex and Coles Express enjoy a higher market share than 7 Eleven. All of 7 Elevens competitors use management information systems to assist them with data collection and smooth management of their value chain. The evidence suggests that in Australia and North America, the biggest competitors are those that also provide petrol. In Australia this could be partially attributed to the incentive schemes offered by Coles Express and Caltex, providing a distinct competitive advantage that gets the customer through the door and whilst they are there they pick up their bread and milk and other last minute items. The difference could also be distinguishable due to a cultural difference between Japan and western nations such as Australia and North America. Unlike Australia and North America, Asia does not operate on a car dominated transport system. Due to high levels of congestion and inadequate roads, on the whole Asia does not compare with Australia or America in the car ownership stakes. (Moriaty, P, 2000, para.3) Australia has 522 passenger vehicles for every 1000 people in (www.abs.gov.au) the United States has 776 per 1000 population (http://www.unece.org/stats/trends2005/transport.htm) compared with 374 per 1000 population in Japan (Moriaty, P, 2000, para.6). Perhaps the difference in market domination can be attributed to the difference in a cultural need. 7 Eleven have managed to find the niche market in Japan but perhaps they have failed to recognise the key aspect of the consumer oriented decision making in Australia and America. Q3. Which of porters five forces are countered by the 7 Eleven system described here? With a large and varied operation base, 7-Eleven requires advanced business processes and information systems to keep ahead of rising customer expectations and an increasingly challenging business environment. To accomplish these goals, 7- Eleven maintains a business and technology alignment that produces strategy and tactics that are not only efficient and cost effective but are also capable of delivering competitive advantage. The system adopted by 7-Eleven has a consistent and predictable IT infrastructure, one that can adjust to capitalise on changes in the business environment. The Five Forces model of Porter is an outside-in business unit strategy tool that is used to make an analysis of the attractiveness (value) of an industry structure. The Competitive Forces analysis is made by the identification of 5 fundamental competitive forces; the following are countered by the strategic framework for 7-Eleven. Threat Of New Entrants The system adopted by 7-eleven maximizes the threat for new entrants the reason being that 7-Eleven has already reached economies of scale through maintaining a strong customer base and brand loyalty. The access to latest technology and capital investments in the same ensures that the barrier for entries for new entrants is huge .The chain also maintains a wide distribution channel thus the likelihood of retaliation from existing players is diminished. Bargaining Power of Suppliers With the implementation of inventory control systems such as JIT and production of customised products by specialized companies the supplier base is strong for 7-Eleven. However since these suppliers are not dominant they do not threaten to integrate forward into the industry, the reason being the product line is huge and few specific products do not dominate customer requirements. The broad range of products supplied has seen them forge sound relationships with a plethora of suppliers. Additionally they have achieved a level of horizontal integration with the creation of their own supply companies who make customised products under their own branding. Intensity of Rivalry 7-Eleven has emerged as a clear market leader in terms of competition with similar convenience stores because of its highly customer focused orientation and implementation of various information systems adding to its differentiation strategy. Rivalry is further reduced because of the switching costs buyers face with the presence of customised goods. The organisation does not possess high fixed costs and this discourages competitors from manufacturing with price cuts. Q.4 Which strategies of those suggested in the various frameworks are noticeable in this case? 7-Eleven Japan is thriving, owing largely to their digitized foundations, IT infrastructures and business processes that automate core capabilities. Building such foundations requires a sound operating model, a solid enterprise architecture, and IT engagement throughout the company. The company bases its business strategy on a retailer initiative. Each 7-Eleven store tailors its products and services to its neighborhood; the retailing environment is highly dynamic and complex. 7-Eleven Business Model The 7-Eleven business model consists of five key strategies: 1. A differentiated merchandising strategy; 2. utilisation of 7-Elevens retail information system; 3. managed distribution; 4. providing a convenient shopping environment; and 5. a unique franchise model (Stout J, 2005). Differentiated merchandising strategy. 7-Eleven offers a broad array of products, including many not traditionally available in convenience stores, to meet the needs of its customers. These products include high-quality fresh foods that are delivered daily to stores. In addition, the company sells a number of products that are developed specifically for its stores. Utilization of 7-Elevens retail information system. 7-Eleven was the first major convenience store chain in the United States to use an integrated set of retail information tools. Effective utilisation of the system is the foundation of the companys business model. Managed distribution. 7-Eleven works with its vendors and distributors to provide daily delivery of fresh food and other items to its stores, to lower the cost of delivery, and to shift deliveries to off-peak hours. Providing a convenient shopping environment. 7-Eleven seeks to provide its customers with a convenient, safe and clean store environment. The majority of 7-Eleven stores in the United States and Canada provide more than 6 million daily customers with 24-hour convenience, seven days a week. Unique franchise model. More than half of the 7-Eleven stores in the United States are operated by independent franchisees. The companys franchise model is different from most others because 7-Eleven owns or leases the stores and equipment used by its franchisees. In addition, the ongoing royalties that the company receives from its franchisees are based upon a percentage of store gross profit (Stout J, 2005). Apart from this The Just In Time approach for inventory management makes sure that the goods are delivered on time to the point of sales keeping the customer orientation strategy in mind. Q.5. Which business pressures are evident in this case? Retailing is a competitive market in Japan. As stated by Lohtia Subramaniam (2000), in 1994 Japan had 1.5 million retail stores. To put this into context, there were 12 retail stores per 1000 persons in Japan compared to six in USA. In the countries of western Europe, the number of establishments per 1,000 people was close to seven, (Tsuchiya Riethmuller, 1997). While this trend is slowly changing in Japan with the number of retailers declining, the number of convenience stores has been growing. In 1994 there was 48,405 convenience stores compared to 29,236 in 1985. In this same period 7-Eleven has grown from 2,651 stores in 1985 to 5,905 stores in 1994, up to 11,310 (as of February 28, 2006) (www.sej.co.jp, 2007). Low availability and high cost Japanese real estate has seen a trend of small food retail outlets across the country. In 1993, 28.3 per cent of stores had a selling area of under 20m2 and 89.2 per cent had a selling area of under 100m2, (Tsuchiya Riethmuller, 1997). In addition to the high competition the floor space to display and store stock is very limited in Japan. In contrast to the typical US distribution channel which is open, independent and margin-driven, Japanese distribution channels have typically been long, complicated networks where it was not uncommon to have as many as four layers of wholesalers. Such intricacy of the Japanese distribution channel is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture and socio-economic setting that underlies Japanese business customs (Min,1996). Wholesalers have long controlled the Japanese distribution channel through vertical integration, financial linkage, and reciprocity dealings. By the late 1980s 7-Eleven US was losing a lot of money, which continued through to the early 1990s. It was seen as a franchise system with retailers sharing little more than a common brand name with tired generic products. A lot of stores were not only performing badly, they looked run down and unappealing to the customer. Due to poor management of its supply the fresh foods where limited in range and often far from fresh. Pricing was inconsistent with high discounting on some lines and prohibitively high prices on others. It was viewed as a last resort rather than a convenience-shopping experience. 7-Eleven US had got itself into considerable debt and was bankrupt when it had to be rescued by its Japanese franchisee in 1991. Q.6. Which corporate response activities are evident in this case? The success of 7-Eleven Japan has set itself as a benchmark. Meyer-Ohl (2004) states that the perception of the convenience store in Japan is of being the most advanced form of Japanese retailing in having considerable success in merchandising backed up with comprehensive systems. The achievements of 7-Eleven have largely influenced this as it is the largest company and most other companies did not achieve the same level of profitability. 7-Eleven Japan has displayed strong growth and today it remains Japans most profitable retailer and has a market capitalisation that ranks it in the top three retailers in the world. It has achieved this despite the fact that the Japanese economy in the 1990s had been in deep recession and many retailers have seen major losses and faced incredible operating difficulties (Sparks, 2000). Japans success came from a customer driven merchandising system. Its implementation of a $200 million information system for its stores in the early 1990s. The purpose of this system was to (1) discover who their customers were and what they want and (2) create a sophisticated product tracking system, (Case Study). It based its operations around the information provided. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Relays its orders electronically to its distribution centres and suppliers directly from its point of sale system. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 7-Eleven Japan has formed relationships with its suppliers that break the traditional Keiretsu networks of distribution, where wholesalers have had control of the relationship. It has formed strategic relationships with suppliers where it orders directly from them using a Just-in-Time approach. It has even created its own companies to manufacture customised products in response to its market trends. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring customer preferences from both the point of sale system and staff entering data about the customer as well as any requests customers make for products 7-Eleven doesnt have. This enables individual stores to change stock from slow moving lines. 70% of products are replaced each year. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Determining product mix and how much shelf space allocated to each product. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rotating stock at least twice each day to suit purchasing trends of customers throughout the day. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring staff performance and rewarding high performers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quality control data is collected by a team of 200 inspectors regularly visiting the stores. This is entered into and analysed by a computerized decision support system at headquarters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expanding on its traditional convenience food, beverages and fuel type product offerings with, such as ATM, phones and phone cards, internet kiosks and even beer. As outlined by Sparks (2000), the Japanese model of convenience stores has been introduced to the United States. 7-Elevens core functions are managing the data on what its customers buy and honing its unique merchandising skills. 7-Elevens core business is merchandising the pricing, positioning and promotion of ready-to-eat food, snacks, fuel and sundries (Gottfredson Phillips, 2005). It improved its systems to enable it to control and make the most of critical capabilities such as stock price to key metrics like inventory turns. While sticking to its core competencies and some core products the Japanese model used market information for a localised approach at the store level in product offering. The slow but strategic changes for 7-Eleven US have been concentrated on the following elements: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poorly located and performing stores have been closed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The stores have been remodeled, with new designs and layouts. The remodeling has included the introduction of point of sale systems (POS). This enables a customer driven approach where using their feedback for product selection and development. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Offering a core range which is supplemented by products selected to meet local needs, stocking proprietary or exclusive products where possible. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Non-food products have been introduced including phone cards and phones as well as additional services through ATMs and trailing of a financial services centre. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Standardised pricing that is more competitive. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Re-positioning of the business to have fresh foods and convenience elements to meet modern consumer demands. Daily supply of many of these products through a reconstructed distribution and production chain. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The combination of new products of a high quality and found only in a 7-Eleven, and backed by trademark development and protection and a more focused advertising strategy is summarized in the companys first, best and only slogan. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The distribution system itself has been re-engineered and Combined Distribution Centres have been introduced to better manage the flow of products into the stores. A high level of control of the supply chain has been achieved. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A high quality and advanced retail information system has been introduced, which closely resembles the model in Japan. Many of the business processes were operated manually for a long time to understand the critical elements driving the business. Now with the introduction of technology this process can move further ahead and can aid the store employment and management situation by freeing up staff time. This extra time will enable gathering market information. Q.7 Does the procedure of collecting customers information infringe on their privacy? Why or why not? Is it unethical? Should customers have the right to anonymity, or check that information collected on them is accurate? The procedure of collecting information about customers does not infringe on their privacy at all. The procedure is very simple and is done by observing customer behaviour and preferences in order to serve them better. It does not involve any sort of interviewing or interference with the customers. It is only an efficient way of running an organisation. As 7-Eleven is well aware of customer preferences and choices it makes it easy for them to make only those products available in ample quantities so as to serve the customers better. It is not at all unethical. Different customers have different choices. As per demography i.e. age, location. Thus 7-eleven keeps a perfect record of demand of products as per their age and location. At different times during a day different products are required by the customers. The information collected is purely from 7-Elevens point of view a way of serving them better. There would be no point of having products that do not match the customers need. So every store must be well aware of the demand of customers. If some customer questions the management as to why a particular product is always available and why some other product is not then in such a situation he can be given the reason of the information collected. Besides there is no reason for the customers to interfere with the 7-Eleven way of managing as it does not in any way infringe on their privacy. Q.8 Surf the Internet to find information about recent IT related initiatives of 7 Eleven, both in Japan and the United States. Relate them to gaining the strategic advantage. In its latest effort, 7-Elevens procurement staff have developed a tool that makes procurement productive and efficient. Its an automated system where procurement professionals can manage hundreds more requests for proposals (RFPs) and contracts per person. An important part of 7-Elevens procurement initiative is to encourage franchisees to use the new streamlined system and, ultimately, buy from recommended suppliers. Although franchisees can purchase from any convenience-product supplier, the new centralised system enables 7-Eleven to aggregate suppliers and items for consolidated negotiations (7Eleven news room, 2007). With a solid enterprise IT foundation in place, 7-Eleven has begun adding layers of advanced systems and functionalities to its industry-leading business process and technology strategy. Recent initiatives include a contact less payment option at POS to provide more convenience to 7-Elevens customers. Using radio-frequency (RF) technology, these systems enable customers to make quick and secure transactions by holding close to or tapping a reader with an RF-enabled credit card or alternative device, such as a key fob. All other aspects of the contact less payment process are handled in the same way as a traditional credit-card or debit-payment transaction (Anonymous, 2006). The contact less payment initiative has gone chain wide to 5,300 stores in the U.S. in 2006 in partnership with Chase with Blink, the MasterCard PayPass, American Express Express Pay and Visa Contactless systems. Authorisation is accomplished in seconds, and no signature is required for many purchases under $25, making this a speedy, easy, convenient and secure customer transaction. Contactless payment systems are often a first step by retailers into the emerging world of radio frequency identification (RFID), and this may be the case at 7- Eleven. We anticipate adding RFID technology to other products and services offered at 7-Eleven stores, adds Rick Updyke, 7-Elevens vice president of business development, to provide even convenience for consumers( Updyke R., 2006). Other Initiatives à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increasing use of an integrated set of retail IT tools to analyze sales on individual items, sales trends and customer preferences to improve product assortment, eliminate slow-moving product from inventory, and increase same-store sales by developing new products, such as the new fresh-food offerings that attract new customers and increase transaction size. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expanded use of Vcom, a proprietary multi-function, self-service kiosk that offers check-cashing, bill payment, money order, money transfer, pre-paid credit cards, ATM services and access to residential telephone services (Updyke R., 2006). Conclusion Through its long term involvement and study of the market along with its extensive information systems Seven-Eleven Japan has been characterised as a major innovator in convenience store operations. By its continual improvement and sustaining this over a long period of time it has resulted in significant growth. 7-Eleven has used continual improvement in its model of a customer focused information systems approach. 7-Eleven has succeeded in the essential steps for marketing management as outlined by Wen Peng (2002), market segmentation, market segment targeting, and design and implementation of marketing mix. It has used its information systems combining its POS and staff driven customer profiling to capture market trends to base its selection and stocking of products through to aiding its inventory management and Just-in-Time approach. 7- Elevens distinct competitive advantage can be attributed to the way the information management system links with the corporate strategy and the o perational strategies of logistics, merchandising and day to day store operations (http://www.worldscibooks.com/eastasianstudies/4981.html). From this it has gleaned efficiencies that enabled it to become the number one retailer in Japan at a time of fierce competition and poor economic conditions.

Greece :: essays research papers

Art & Culture There are few places in the world with so rich and diverse an artistic and cultural history as Greece. In terms of archeology there are artifacts that are 200,000 years old, while architecturally Greece boasts Minoan and Dorian ruins dating back almost four millennia. Greece is also where drama originated, so there are plenty of ancient theatres to pick your way through Museums Greece is bursting at the seams with museums. Almost every single city, town, village, historical site, settlement and hole in the hedge has an archeological museum which details the archeological and historical significance of its surroundings Historical Sites There is certainly no shortage of these in Greece. Every city has their own specialties, like the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora in Athens, the Oracle at Delphi, the Palace of the Grand Masters in Rhodes Town, and so on. There are far too many to list here. It is suggested you get hold of a tourist map from the Greek Tourist Organization (EOT) which sets out all the ancient, Byzantine and medieval sites throughout the country. But some of the major historical sites you should make a special effort to see are listed below: The Acropolis, Athens The Ancient Agora, Athens The Byzantine monument of Nea Msni on Chios The Polycrates Wall and Eupalinos Tunnel at Pithagorio, Samos The Oracle at Delphi The Minoan palace city of Knossos, Crete The ruins of Gsrtyn, Crete Minoan ruined city at Phestss, Crete Arch of Galerius, Thessalon?ki The White Tower, Thessalon?ki The Sanctuary of Isis, at D?on. Dafn? Monastery, Greece’s largest Byzantine monastery Met?ora Monasteries, perched on mountain outcrops, in Kalabaka Climate Greece is perfect for those who enjoy the sun, as for over two thirds of the year the country basks under clear, sunny skies. Temperatures do vary, however. Winters are mild and rainy, with temperatures sometimes dropping to freezing point, especially in the north. Summers are long and dry, with extremes of 37Â °C (99Â °F), making the yearly mean temperature about 17Â °C (63Â °F). For those not overly fond of the heat, the mountainous areas offer some respite as they receive more rain in summer, and even snow in winter. Rainfall figures vary, depending on the region. Thessaly is very dry, receiving around 38mm (1.5in). Portions of the western coast paint a different picture, however, receiving about 1,270mm (50in) of rain. Greece can be divided into the northern and southern climatic regions: Greece :: essays research papers Art & Culture There are few places in the world with so rich and diverse an artistic and cultural history as Greece. In terms of archeology there are artifacts that are 200,000 years old, while architecturally Greece boasts Minoan and Dorian ruins dating back almost four millennia. Greece is also where drama originated, so there are plenty of ancient theatres to pick your way through Museums Greece is bursting at the seams with museums. Almost every single city, town, village, historical site, settlement and hole in the hedge has an archeological museum which details the archeological and historical significance of its surroundings Historical Sites There is certainly no shortage of these in Greece. Every city has their own specialties, like the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora in Athens, the Oracle at Delphi, the Palace of the Grand Masters in Rhodes Town, and so on. There are far too many to list here. It is suggested you get hold of a tourist map from the Greek Tourist Organization (EOT) which sets out all the ancient, Byzantine and medieval sites throughout the country. But some of the major historical sites you should make a special effort to see are listed below: The Acropolis, Athens The Ancient Agora, Athens The Byzantine monument of Nea Msni on Chios The Polycrates Wall and Eupalinos Tunnel at Pithagorio, Samos The Oracle at Delphi The Minoan palace city of Knossos, Crete The ruins of Gsrtyn, Crete Minoan ruined city at Phestss, Crete Arch of Galerius, Thessalon?ki The White Tower, Thessalon?ki The Sanctuary of Isis, at D?on. Dafn? Monastery, Greece’s largest Byzantine monastery Met?ora Monasteries, perched on mountain outcrops, in Kalabaka Climate Greece is perfect for those who enjoy the sun, as for over two thirds of the year the country basks under clear, sunny skies. Temperatures do vary, however. Winters are mild and rainy, with temperatures sometimes dropping to freezing point, especially in the north. Summers are long and dry, with extremes of 37Â °C (99Â °F), making the yearly mean temperature about 17Â °C (63Â °F). For those not overly fond of the heat, the mountainous areas offer some respite as they receive more rain in summer, and even snow in winter. Rainfall figures vary, depending on the region. Thessaly is very dry, receiving around 38mm (1.5in). Portions of the western coast paint a different picture, however, receiving about 1,270mm (50in) of rain. Greece can be divided into the northern and southern climatic regions: