Who Has the Most Accurate Weather Forecast

When it comes to checking your weather forecast, which weather service provider do you trust the most? If youre not sure, or interested in finding one that might work out for you, take a look at these weather services that repeatedly come out on top for accuracy. For most people,  choosing AccuWeather, The Weather Channel, or Weather Underground might be a good idea especially if youre a snob about air temperatures. All three of these weather apps were the best at getting the nations one-day to five-day high temperatures right—that is, they consistently forecast them within three degrees of accuracy. Why Not All Sizes Fit All Keep in mind, these apps are among the best for most, but not all.  These weather apps  may not be the  most accurate for you, personally. Each of these apps ranks as the most reliable for most locations across the United States. The accuracy of your forecast depends largely on where you live. One reason why a weather service providers forecasts may (or may not) be reliable for your city has to do with how that organization arrives at their forecasts. Weather providers each have a unique recipe. They all largely base their forecasts on the computer models provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but after that, there is no standard formula. Some services base their weather predictions solely on these computer models. Others use a mix of computers with a dash of human meteorologist skill and gut instinct sprinkled in. At times, computers do a better job at forecasting, and at other times you need a human to improve upon that data. It is the human element that factors in why predictive accuracy varies from location to location and from week to week. A second reason is that your location may be too localized. Most forecasts are generated for major metropolitan areas across the U.S., so if you live along the city outskirts or in a rural area, it is possible that your hyper-local weather may not be getting captured. As more companies allow users to share real-time via their mobile devices, called weather crowd-sourcing, this data gap may become  less of a hindrance. Which Service  Is Most Accurate for You? If youre curious to know which major weather providers give the most accurate forecasts where you live, try  ForecastAdvisor. The website lets you plug in your zip code and will show you how closely forecasts from The Weather Channel, WeatherBug, AccuWeather, Weather Underground, NWS, and others matched the actual weather observed for your area over the last month and year.   Feel Like Your Forecast Is Always Wrong? Did you try Forecast Advisor and were you surprised to see which services rank as best for your city mostly because none of them ever seem to get it right? Dont be so quick to blame your weather provider. There are a couple of reasons why the weather outside your window may rarely seem to match up with the current or forecast conditions showing on your app. And, it is not always related to accuracy. It has to do with where the weather station is and how often the app (or your device) updates. Youre may be too far away from the closest weather station. Most observations that weather forecasts and apps use come from airports across the U.S., so if you are 10 miles from the closest airport, then  your forecast may say theres light rain (and there may be at the airport) but it could be dry at your location. In some cases, the weather observations may not have updated. Usually, most weather observations are taken hourly. So if its raining at 10 a.m., but not at 10:50 a.m., then your current observation may be incorrect. You should also check your refresh time, too. Hate Weather Apps Entirely? If you have been let down by weather apps one too many times and have given up, all hope is not lost. If you want the most up-to-date picture of whats happening weatherwise, a good thing to do is check your local  weather radar. Your local weather radar should  update automatically every few minutes.

Comprehensive Legislation Of Social Media Privacy

Comprehensive Legislation to Protect Social Media Privacy Reading and Writing Workshop II, Section 007 Qiu Jin (Rachel) August 11, 2014 Comprehensive Legislation to Protect Social Media Privacy Abstract The article makes a research on both the present situation of social media users’ privacy, and the work of the FTC and other federal departments to protect social media privacy. However, without a comprehensive legislation in the federal level, the fragmentation of such trial cannot arise enough and active attention to privacy issues in the industry and in public. So the article suggests comprehensive legislation and gives recommendation on primary elements the legislation should take into consideration. Key Words Social Media, Privacy, Legislation, The FTC Introduction Social media is a digital communication process that connects people in the creation and exchange of dialogue, content and communities. Nowadays, social media have been playing more and more important roles in public communication. However, some issues have aroused accompanying the popularity of social media, for example, information overload and easy access to obscenity, but the most important issue about social media is the sacrifice of personal privacy. Everything you do on social media is public by default, and you have to change the personal settings to make it private. What is more serious, once information gets revealed to public, it will soon spread to the wholeShow MoreRelatedSurveillance and Privacy Issues1000 Words   |  4 Pagesopens fascinating possibilities-and alarming ones.† The Economist, Nov. 16, 2013 Discuss this statement in the light of the medias recent preoccupation with surveillance and privacy issues. Include government surveillance and social media. For example the young woman who accused Florida state quarterback jameis Winston of rape was identified by football fans on social media and had ugly anonymous things posted about her. Nearly every major international agreement on human rights protects theRead MoreThe Implementation of Technologies in Relation to Social Control – Surveillance Camera and the Big900 Words   |  4 PagesThe Implementation of Technologies in Relation to Social Control – Surveillance Camera and the Big Brother Society. The New Media and the Loss of Privacy. Media technologies were embraced by people as the means of easing their lives. However, if one does not know or take measures to use this technology properly, then one risks his life being abused by technology (Doyle, 2010, p. 4). Have you noticed that you regularly receive targeted ads as they offer you goods and services you used to surf forRead MoreProtecting Individuals Health Information From Various Threats1296 Words   |  6 Pages such as a patient’s physical and mental health status, social behaviors, personal relationships, and financial status are all documented (NCBI, 2016). Therefore, protecting the privacy of this information becomes a huge task for the individuals delivering healthcare and for those who need access to such information to make sound medical decisions and to improve the quality of care (HRSA, 2016). Health Systems Privacy or health privacy can be defined as keeping sensitive information about a patientRead MoreThe Effects Of Social Networking On Society1545 Words   |  7 PagesSheena Gonzales Instructor Mushett Eng-123 10 June, 2015 The Effects of Social Networking Social networking websites (further referred to as SNS) are web based platforms in which people connect to other individuals that they already have a real-life connection to, locate individuals they have shared interests with, and they allow users to share information with others such as photographs, life events and thoughts. Being able to keep current with one s personal group quickly and easily is one ofRead MoreEthics Fired Over Social Media802 Words   |  4 PagesEthics Fired Over Social Media Ethics Fired Over Social Media The purpose of this literary review is to enlighten my viewers of the importance of the ethical idea of companies crossing the lines of business with your personal life, when involving social media accounts. Most of my research has operated from the ATU library using the find it tool. Furthermost, the researched information use was from peer-reviewed research journal. I will discuss includes social media cons in the work environmentRead MoreThe Hipaa Act Of 1996851 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is the HIPAA Act of 1996? HIPAA, what is it? It is privacy, control, and peace of mind. You have the right for your medical information to be kept confidential. You have the right to decide whether or not family members are privy to your medical information. If you are changing jobs, why worry about health insurance coverage. Picture this. A woman called a local hospital and inquired about the condition of a patient. She was informed by the nurse that the patient was on a ventilator and couldRead MoreEssay Software and Hardware Companies: Oracle NZ Ltd1375 Words   |  6 Pagesrespect to IITP code of conduct and the New Zealand government legislation. Property: Intellectual property is an term used for human innovations and creativity that are capable of being protected under national and international law. IP includes a diverse range of commercial assets from patents for new inventions through to copyright protected artworks. Use our general information and guide to assist you in capturing your IP assets. Privacy: Oracle Corporation and there subsidiaries respect your preferencesRead MoreFourth Amendment Essay1438 Words   |  6 Pagesprotects citizens from unreasonable searches or seizures. However, the phrase, â€Å"reasonable expectation of privacy† is a different aspect that is pertinent to the evolution of the Fourth Amendment, and Riley v. California. To dissect this phrase, reasonable is the important aspect here, this is where the court must decide what is and what is not reasonable, in relation to the Fourth Amendment. Privacy, on the other hand, seems to be defined inadequately. (Baude Stern, 2016). Within this, importance comesRead MoreGtd Flaws And Issues. Gtd Is Considered As One Of The Most1382 Words   |  6 PagesGTD Flaws and Issues GTD is considered as one of the most comprehensive database of terrorist events in the world. But is it ideal? Since we deal with big data from open sources around the world, it’s not always show the true picture. All entries in one way or another were created upon unclassified information, mostly from media articles. That creates bias because articles is always a subjective view, moreover only English articles were used, thus we can see only one side of the coin. Data collectionRead MoreInsurance Customer Service Plan 20161037 Words   |  5 Pagesmechanisms we will utilise to investigate and assess our customer needs include customer satisfaction surveys, Competitor price comparisons, Social media monitoring, Historical complaint data. Other initiatives we will employ to ensure we are meeting our customer’s needs as well as meeting legislative requirements will include reward and recognition programmes, comprehensive complaint resolution processes and internal mystery shopping. The mystery shopping will entail call monitoring across multiple departments

Examine workplace mindfulness and relation - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Examine workplace mindfulness and relation. Answer: The aim of this research essay is to gain a thorough understanding of Organization behavior (OB) in the workplaces. However, this essay will mainly argue on the fact that for enhancing the productive performance of the employees whether care needs to be taken with the job design, working environment, goal setting, motivation and rewards. Thus, keeping in mind the topic this essay will start will the theories of OB, which are suitable for organizational setting followed by identifying the organizational issues related to culture, ethics and social concerns along with their managerial interventions and finally comparing and contrasting on the present developments in OB. OB is an important concept to study because it teaches why employees behave like the way they do in an organization. Thus, it guides to understand the complicated nature of employees behavior by identifying their causes and effects of those behaviors. OB further helps in encouraging employees, improvising relations as well as guiding in effective exertion of human resources in the organization (Kinicki and Kreitner 2012). Douglas McGregor was the original proposer of the fact that an employees motivation gets an impact from the attitude of the manager. Thus, he came up with two motivational methods known as Theory X and Theory Y management, which seems to have opposing each other (Kopelman, Prottas and Falk 2012). The theory of X management states that for any individual work is inborn distasteful and so they tries to avoid it as much as possible. Therefore, most of the employees are not ambitious and needs to be directed, as they have no desire to take responsibility. However, as per this theory the main source of employees motivation is monetary then security. On a total contrary comes the theory Y of management, which states that work can become easier if the working conditions are comfortable. Employees are bound to self-directed if they are committed to the organizational objectives. Therefore, through this theory there are chances that an employee can align his or her personal goals with that of the organization by utilizing their own needs for fulfillment as their motivator. Another theory of organizational behavior is Hierarchy of needs theory by Abraham Maslow. This theory is also among those effective theories, which can be applied in the organizational setting (Deci and Ryan 2014). According to Maslow, every employee in the workplace has to cross through a series of needs in association with their employment in which they mainly move from the fulfillment of their very basic needs to survive until the final need of self-actualization. Under this theory, the employees are said to have utilized their time in enhancing their job roles and advance their careers. Victor Vrooms expectancy theory is also applicable for organizational settings for enhancing the productive performance because not like other theories but it focuses mainly on the results. As per this theory, Vroom has proposed that whether the employee will enhance his or her productivity will depend on three variables, which are expectancy, instrumentality and valence (HemaMalini and Washington 2014). Therefore, the interaction in between these three variables in an employees unconscious mind will create a motivating force that will in turn determine how much effort the employees will exert on their jobs. Lastly, Frederick Herzbergs Two-factor theory is there which is also very much applicable for organizational settings. This theory states that an employees motivation will come from his or her job design whereas their job satisfaction will come from the work environment like illumination, companionship and so on (Ozguner and Ozguner 2014). The cultural concerns can have an impact on the employees productive performance, which can raise problematic situations in the organizations. Employees needs to feel that they are an essential part of their organizational culture otherwise their performance will be hampered and they will fail to deliver productive results to achieve the organizational goals. For instance if organizational culture is like the employees can only raise their voice when it is necessary or if one department is more outspoken as well as socially active, then in such cases there can be conflict in the organization among the departments (Hogan and Coote 2014). Thus, here in one organization, each department will develop their own culture, which will affect the performance of the employees, as they will not feel that each one of them belongs to one particular culture and all are equal for the organization. Therefore, managerial intervention is an important part, which can solve these cultural issues in the o rganization. Managers should structure their recruitment process at the very beginning and thus, should hire those officers who have almost similar beliefs and values, which comprises the organizational culture (McFarlin and Sweeney 2014). Managers should act in a fair and uniform manner to all their employees to deal with workplace diversity successfully. Moreover, managers should also encourage interaction between the employees of various cultures backgrounds. The next crucial issue is related to the ethical concerns in a workplace. Good ethical culture can direct an employee towards productive performance as well as to built love and belonging among employees. Code of ethics is always a good indicator of employees commitment, which in turn will increase their productive performance. An employee who has good work ethics will always deliver good work through his or her physical, emotional and mental effort to their job. Thus, they will also look forward to deliver the best work to the organization (Simha and Cullen 2012). Therefore, managers should intervene and take charge of this as well as encourage employees work ethics so that they can deliver productive performance. Managers should act as the role model because if they r into unethical activities then other employees will also follow him because maximum employees have a tendency to mimic their higher authority. Managers should appreciate as well as recognize good ethics of the employe es, which can act as strong motivators for the employees to continue their good work. Lastly, another organizational issue comes from their social concerns, which also is directly affecting the performance of the employees. Lack of ethnicity, racism as well as gender biasness is among those crucial issues, which can have a major impact on the employees performance. Managers should be alert enough to avoid all these by equally treating and maintaining peace in the organization (Heilman 2012). According to Wood et al. (2012), job design has been said to be having a strong impact on work satisfaction, engagement and performance. Authors like Truxillo et al. (2012), have further supported this viewpoint and through his research have concluded that productive performance is related with two dimensions and they are design of the job and high involvement management. Job design highly motivates employees and enhances their performance through increasing the efficiency of work and job specialization. On a contrary to this Bakker, Tims and Derks (2012), have stated that why only job design, there is a major role of working conditions as well which help the employees to proactively balance their work and environment so that they can stay focused and their productive performance increases. Working condition is among the essential determinant for employees to deliver quality performance. If the working condition is, such where employees are able to concentrate totally that will autom atically decrease their rate of error, absenteeism and increase the rate of output, their level of motivation and their length of services. Another factor that has been highlighted in the literature is the setting of goals, which is also associated with productive performance. Leblebici (2012) has stated that having a set goal by the employees help them to enhance their performance because they can set their focus and priorities their work based on their goals and to attain that they will at any cost give their best quality work. Employees will become highly productive in order to reach their goal, which will make them perform well in the organization. Arguing with this statement Wong and Laschinger (2013), has said that primary factor for extracting productive performance is through empowerment of the employees. He has further stated that motivation, goals, rewards, job design or work settings are all secondary when it comes to employees actual performance. As per the findings of the research, it is said that empowering employees will make them more responsible regarding their work. Therefore, they will be more frank and less hesitant to share their suggestions or feedback related to their work or the organization. Being empowered the employees will be co nfident enough to find innovative ways for their tasks which will make their performance more productive and fruitful because they will have that liberty to innovatively handle their errors. Dane and Brummel (2014), has also stated another factor, which also has a major role to play to enhance employee performance, and it is the work engagement. He has stated that work engagement is positively related to that of work performance and active learning with the highly conscious employees.Thus, to conclude this research essay it can be said that as per the aim of this essay a detail understanding has been obtained regarding Observational behavior in the workplaces. The theories of OB, which are much suitable for organizational settings, are found to be the X and Y theory followed by hierarchy of needs theory, expectancy theory and the two-factor theory because these are highly relatable for productive performance of the employees. Moreover, the organizational issues are mainly observed t o be related to cultural, ethical and social concerns in the workplaces. Lastly, there have been contradictory states as well from the researchers who have stated that job empowerment and engagement also increases productive performance of employees in the workplace. References Bakker, A.B., Tims, M. and Derks, D., 2012. Proactive personality and job performance: The role of job crafting and work engagement.Human relations,65(10), pp.1359-1378. Dane, E. and Brummel, B.J., 2014. Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention.Human Relations,67(1), pp.105-128. Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M., 2014. The importance of universal psychological needs for understanding motivation in the workplace.The Oxford handbook of work engagement, motivation, and self-determination theory, pp.13-32. Heilman, M.E., 2012. Gender stereotypes and workplace bias.Research in organizational Behavior,32, pp.113-135. HemaMalini, P.H. and Washington, A., 2014. Employees' motivation and valued rewards as a key to effective QWL-from the perspective of expectancy theory.TSM Business Review,2(2), p.45. Hogan, S.J. and Coote, L.V., 2014. Organizational culture, innovation, and performance: A test of Schein's model.Journal of Business Research,67(8), pp.1609-1621. Kinicki, A. and Kreitner, R., 2012.Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills best practices. McGraw-Hill Irwin. Kopelman, R.E., Prottas, D.J. and Falk, D.W., 2012. Further development of a measure of Theory X and Y managerial assumptions.Journal of Managerial Issues, pp.450-470. Leblebici, D., 2012. Impact of workplace quality on employees productivity: case study of a bank in Turkey.Journal of Business Economics and Finance,1(1), pp.38-49. McFarlin, D. and Sweeney, P.D., 2014.International management: strategic opportunities cultural challenges. Routledge. Ozguner, Z. and Ozguner, M., 2014. A managerial point of view on the relationship between of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's dual factor theory.International Journal of Business and Social Science,5(7). Simha, A. and Cullen, J.B., 2012. Ethical climates and their effects on organizational outcomes: Implications from the past and prophecies for the future.The Academy of Management Perspectives,26(4), pp.20-34. Truxillo, D.M., Cadiz, D.M., Rineer, J.R., Zaniboni, S. and Fraccaroli, F., 2012. A lifespan perspective on job design: Fitting the job and the worker to promote job satisfaction, engagement, and performance.Organizational Psychology Review,2(4), pp.340-360. Wong, C.A. and Laschinger, H.K., 2013. Authentic leadership, performance, and job satisfaction: the mediating role of empowerment.Journal of advanced nursing,69(4), pp.947-959. Wood, S., Van Veldhoven, M., Croon, M. and de Menezes, L.M., 2012. Enriched job design, high involvement management and organizational performance: The mediating roles of job satisfaction and well-being.Human relations,65(4), pp.419-445.

The Taming of the Shrew In Petruchios Trash Essay Example

The Taming of the Shrew: In Petruchios Trash Essay In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is one of the main characters and aides in the flow of the plot. He is what some would call the male version of a gold digger; someone looking to marry solely for financial gain instead of focusing on what most look for-chemistry (or attraction), morals, overall character, and, most importantly, love. From this piece of information alone, Petruchios character and beliefs are revealed quite clearly as we are able to infer that he is only looking for one thing. His desire for money is his first priority, whether it comes along with an angel, or, in this case, a shrew.After learning of Petruchios mannerism, it should be of no surprise to learn of the lengths he would go to get what he wants. It is easy, in this case, to discover the items that would be found be found in Petruchios trash. Starting deep down in Petruchios trash can, one can find an old newspaper ad, specifically a personal ad, for one none other than Petruchio. This personal ad includes the title Wanted: Rich Woman Ready to Marry.Based on the title, there is no doubt that there werent many responses to Petruchios advertisement. We will write a custom essay sample on The Taming of the Shrew: In Petruchios Trash specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Taming of the Shrew: In Petruchios Trash specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Taming of the Shrew: In Petruchios Trash specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This proves the theory that poor Petruchio would go to great lengths to find wealth-although it is a great shame that he should have to go so far as to resort to using a newspaper ad. However, this advertisement was found in a newspaper was found in a newspaper from Verona. This could mean that after Petruchios unsuccessful attempt to find wealth through a newspaper, he was off to Padua where, incidentally, he met Katherina.Petruchio must have bought this next item after he met Katherina since it is a self-help book aptly entitled My Future Wife Wears the Pants in our Relationship: A Guide for Men Trying to Secure the Pants Before Marriage. There is absolutely no way that Petruchio would have bought this book while in Verona, as his mind-set was to find a rich woman of any sort. After learning of Katherinas character-rude, ill-tempered, loud, shrewd, violent, impatient, and many more-is it any wonder as to why Petruchio would purchase an item as this? It seems that not only is Petruchio in great need of money, but also control and authority. If the title of this book is any indication of Petruchios will-power, there is no doubt left to claim the he is a quitter.The self-help book thrown in Petruchios garbage may have been thrown there following numerous pieces of broken dishes, uneaten and burnt meat, and various pieces of cloth, as well as materials used for disguises. It is written in Act IIII, Scene I III what Petruchio does in order to eventually tame Kate. His methods vary from starving Kate to giving her no piece of mind. These items end up in Petruchios garbage because after taming Kate, he had no use for them anymore. Unfortunately, many things were sacrificed and wasted in order to complete Petruchios scheme.Finally, one of the last items that one can find in Petruchios garbage can is an old, crumpled piece paper. This is not just any old paper, but a very important list. This list is one which outlined Petruchios plans for with the dowry he would receive after marrying a wealthy woman. After Petruchio marries Katherina, we can see subtle changes in Petruchios character. The subtle changes that we see in Petruchios character help us realize that not only is Petruchio unconcerned about getting rich, he is falling in love with Katherina.By throwing away this list, Petruchio can wholeheartedly proclaim that he isnt in it for the money. The items found when one snoops through Petruchios garbage should be no surprise at all. Granted, the items found in Petruchios garbage would not be found in most male newlyweds garbage, but the compilation of these items is what makes PetruchioPetruchio.

5 performance objective Essays - Marketing, Management, Quality

5 performance objective Essays - Marketing, Management, Quality 5 performance objective (2013) what are the generic performance objectives that operations are mostly seen to compete on? Fully explain the performance objectives and the advantage that each may support. What trade-offs may be made in pursuit of a specific competitive advantage. E.g. low cost product/service. Evaluate the extent to which the 5 performance objectives are applicable to a small, independent record shop and chain of large record shop suggesting which objectives might be the most critical to each service. Using the 5 performance objectives to frame your argument, how could a small convenience store/corner shop ever hope to complete with a large supermarket? Using the performance objective, in what areas would the small shop have difficulty in competing. QUALITY: is consistent conformance to customer expectations, all operations regard quality as a particularly important objective. It is a major influence on customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, it they satisfaction they will likely return. The advantage of good quality is not only effect on external customer but also makes life easier inside the operation as well. First, quality reduces costs, if things are done correctly first time, expenditure is saved on sorting out and correcting mistakes. Second, quality increases dependability, there is fewer problems because poor quality means a more reliable delivery process. For example, Quality in supermarket is products are in good condition, the store is clean and tidy, decoration is appropriate and attractive, staffs are courteous, friendly and helpful. SPEED: is the time delay between customers requesting products or services and them receiving them. Speed is important because of its advantage are externally, speed is an important aspect of customer service and speed reduces inventories by decreasing internal throughput time and reduce risks by delaying the commitment of resources. For example: speed in supermarket is the time taken for the total transaction of going to the supermarket, making the purchases and returning kept to a minimum( giu o muc toi thieu) and the immediate availability of goods. DEPENDABILITY: is doing things in time for customer to receive their goods or services exactly when they are needed, or at least when they were promised. The advantages of dependability are externally, dependability is an important aspect of customer service and internally, dependability within operations increases operational reliability, so saving the time and money that would otherwise be taken up in solving reliability problems and also giving stability to the operation E.G. dependability in supermarket are predictability of opening hours, proportion of goods out of stock kept to a minimum, keeping to reasonable queuing (xep hang) times, constant availability of packing. FLEXIBILITY: is the ability to offer a wide variety of products or services to the customer and to be able to change these products or services quickly. It can provide 4 types of requirement namely product/service flexibility( introduce new product/service), mix flexibility (wide range of goods stocked, mix of product and service), volume flexibility( change output depend on over time), delivery flexibility( change the timing of the delivery of its service/product). of flexibility is the increased ability of operations to do different things for different customers high flexibility lead to produce a high variety of products/services. Some organizations develop flexibility through customizing product/service for each individual customer. They manage to produce in high-volume which reduce the cost is called Mass customization. advantage: flexibility speeds up( tang toc do) response, saves time, maintains dependability e.g. flexibility in supermarket are product/service flexibility-th e introduction of new goods or promotions, mix flexibility-a wide range of goods stocked, volume flexibility-the ability to adjust the number of customers served, delivery flexibility-the ability to obtain out-of-stock items. COST: the companies compete directly on price, cost will clearly be their major operations objective. The lower the cost of producing their goods/services lower price for customer. Externally, low costs allow org to reduce their price to gain higher volumes or increase their profitability on existing volume levels . internally, cost performance is helped by good performance in the other performance objective. E.g: high quality do not waste time or effort to re-do things. High speed reduce level of in-process inventory between processes as well as reducing administrative. Dependable rely on delivery exactly as planned, this eliminates wasteful disruption and allows the other processes to

Assignment Tax essayEssay Writing Service

Assignment Tax essayEssay Writing Service Assignment Tax essay Assignment Tax essayOn 10 May 2013, the IRS issued regulations under section 336(e) that allow taxpayers in certain situations to elect to treat sales and distributions of 80Â  percent of a corporation’s (the target) stock as taxable sales of the target’s assets (Taxation of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions, 2014). In such a way, the US fiscal policy aims at the enhancement of the transparency of fiscal operations and minimizes the risk of tax avoidance. The development of section 336(e) contributed to raising barriers on the way of international fiscal schemes that allow money laundering and transferring money off shore.Net investment income tax imposes 3.8% tax on net investment income of individuals, estates and trusts (Taxation of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions, 2014). In such a way, the US fiscal policy aims at the accurate and effective taxation of investment incomes obtained by companies as well as individuals operating internationally. At this point , it is worth mentioning the fact that some companies have developed numerous schemes of tax evasion using their investments as the way to transfer their capital off shore or to other countries, where the fiscal legislation is more liberal and less restrictive. In such a way, the national legislation raises barriers for international schemes planned for tax avoidance and other schemes.Furthermore, the Foreign account tax Compliance act (FatCa) was enacted into law to address tax evasion by US taxpayers that hold unreported assets in financial accounts and undisclosed interests in foreign entities (Taxation of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions, 2014). The tax evasion is a serious threat to the national economy. At the same time, international transfers are the most efficient way to complete tax evasions fast and effectively. Local law enforcement agencies have difficulties with the investigation of such crimes. The elimination of fiscal barriers and the enhancement of the foreign account tax policies help to minimize the risk of the violation of tax policies and prevents the problem of tax evasion.One of the major advancement in fiscal policies at the international level is the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards. International Financial Reporting Standards introduce the common set of standards of financial reporting at the local and international level. In such a way, International Financial Reporting Standards help to balance the international legislation and fiscal policies, to harmonize them and develop common, transparent standards and principles that will contribute to the transparency of accounting and financial performance. International Financial Reporting Standards have been implemented since 2012. The first phase of the International financial Reporting Standards was introduced in 2013 and the preparation for the introduction of the second phase has started. 2014 involved the evaluation and assessment of the implementation of phase one of International Financial Reporting Standards. The accurate assessment is pivotal for the further implementation of phase two of International Financial Reporting Standards.Furthermore, the international cooperation in fiscal policies contributes to the tighter regulations and higher transparency of fiscal policies and accounting of businesses operating at the domestic and international market (Chernick Reschovsky, 2000). In this regard, the introduction of the automated information exchange international standard is an important step toward to the enhancement of the international fiscal policies and standards that facilitate the tax policy and tax accountability of businesses.At the same time, well-developed nations, including the US and the EU assist developing countries into the implementation of international accountability standards and fiscal policies that match international standards (Fighting Tax Evasion and Avoidance: A year of progress, 2014). In such a wa y, developed nations help developing ones to close fiscal gaps and help to introduce effective systems of monitoring and control. However, the key to the effective fiscal policies at the international level is the transparency of fiscal policies.However, one of the primary concerns of the international community in terms of fiscal policies was tackling tax heavens and aggressive tax planning that prevent the risk of the development of tax evasion schemes and transferring substantial financial resources offshore.3)International Financial Reporting Standards may become the tax framework within which international fiscal system can operate successfully. At the same time, the implementation of the common, global fiscal framework does not necessarily mean the resolution of the problem of tax avoidance. In fact, the tax avoidance occurs not only because of differences in fiscal policies and different policy standards but also because of the different in fiscal policies conducted by fiscal institutions of each country. At this point, the International Financial Reporting Standards can become a solid financial framework for well-developed nations with the solid legal system, well-established democracy, and low level of corruption. On the contrary, some developing nations, like Nigeria, for example, face the high risk of corruption. Even emerging economies, like China, suffer from the high level of corruption. Therefore, in case of the creation of the global tax framework after the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards, countries with the high level of corruption may become new tax heavens for companies and individuals, who want to hide their profits and pay fewer taxes.At the same time, the risk of corruption is not the only obstacle for the successful introduction of the global fiscal framework. The implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards and the elaboration of the common fiscal policy worldwide raises the problem the economic disparity in the global economy and the different dynamics of the economic development of different countries (Holzman, 2005). What is meant here is the fact that fiscal policies, including fiscal policies regulating international financial operations, are effective tools that help governments to stimulate business activities and balance the economic development. For example, in case of ‘overheating’ of the domestic economy, the government of a country may be willing to raise taxes to avoid the further ‘overheating’ that may lead to the crisis of overproduction and further economic decline. On the contrary, the government of a country that suffers from the economic recession may need to eliminate fiscal barriers and introduce more liberal fiscal legislation to attract more investors. In such a way, they can boost their economic development. However, the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standards as the common, global tax frame work will become an obstacle for such independent policies conducted by governments. Obviously, at the moment, national governments are not ready to put international fiscal policies above their national economic interests. Therefore, even in case of the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standards as the global tax framework, this framework will be unable to prevent the risk of tax avoidance.Nevertheless, the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standards as the common, global tax framework can lay the foundation to the development of common fiscal policies and tax legislation. The introduction of the tax framework implemented internationally will stimulate the introduction of the common tax legislation that will help to prevent the risk of tax avoidance. Even though the International Financial Reporting Standards will not eliminate the problem of the tax avoidance point blank, but still such global tax framework helps to decrease such a risk. At this point, the elaboration of common international standards is an important step toward the effective prevention of tax avoidance at the international level. At any rate, the global tax framework helps to stimulate companies to introduce common strategies to match international fiscal standards. In the course of time, International Financial Reporting Standards can help to make the global business more transparent.In such a way, the International Financial Reporting Standards as the global tax framework will not bring immediate positive changes in terms of the tax avoidance minimization but still the global tax framework will have a positive impact on the development of international business and fiscal policies. Even though the International Financial Reporting Standards will not eliminate the problem of the tax avoidance, they will help to decrease the risk of the tax avoidance.

The Effects of Sense of Belonging, Social Support, Conflict, and Essay

The Effects of Sense of Belonging, Social Support, Conflict, and Loneliness on Depression by Bonnie Hagerty and Reg Williams, Nursing Research - Essay Example The references are not very recent as far as the time of publication of this research paper is concerned (1999). The most recent reference quoted it self is from 1996. Only five references are mentioned which were published in the last five years. Similarly fifteen references (including the above mentioned five) were mentioned in the last ten years of publication year. Yes. The author explained that several research studies have been conducted in effect of biological factors on depression. Lot of researchers worked on effect of sense of belonging on depression. Similarly some researchers worked on relation between loneliness and depression. However clarity has not been developed on psychological factors affecting depression. Similarly there has been little research information available on the extent to which the belonging, social support, loneliness and conflict are predictive of depression. a. Is the framework explicitly expressed or must the reviewer extract the framework from implicit statements in the literature review No. There has been no organized frame work for explicit expression of interconnection of inter personal processes and depression. ... 3. Examine the study framework or theoretical perspective. a. Is the framework explicitly expressed or must the reviewer extract the framework from implicit statements in the literature review No. There has been no organized frame work for explicit expression of interconnection of inter personal processes and depression. The literature supporting the implicit expression of interconnection of inter personal processes and depression was reviewed in this research paper. b. Is the framework based on scientific, substantive, or tentative theory The frame work is based on scientific theories. Several researchers have come up with different scientific theories on depression which has formed the base for this frame work. Similarly the statistical path analysis is also a scientifically valid theory which has been used by the author for the present study. c. Does the framework identify, define, and describe relationships among the concepts of interest Yes. It defines the relationships among the concepts of interest i.e. depression and sense of belonging, loneliness and conflict. Path analysis with multiple regression model and correlation has been conducted for better description of relationship among the concepts of interest. d. How is the framework related to the body of knowledge in nursing By predicting the interpersonal theories contribution to depression, nursing will utilize this information for curing psychologically depressed patients effectively. Nursing will control those positive factors affecting the depression and will try to enhance those qualities negatively influencing depression. 4. Are there any research objectives, questions, or hypotheses Yes.

Effectiveness of Communication in an Organizational Environment Essay

Effectiveness of Communication in an Organizational Environment - Essay Example The opposite group was allowed to ask questions and present its own views regarding the idea presented by the other group. I was also a part of one of the groups. Observation Initially the teacher explained the theoretical concepts of the topic to us. We were told about the factor that add to the effectiveness of inter-personal communication which included; completeness, conciseness, concreteness and clarity. Afterwards, we were told about the factors that could cause hindrance in the process of communication. The hindrances included physical noise present in the surroundings of the place where communication takes place, psychological noise that keeps a person from processing the information being communication due to a distraction or emotional situation and the difference between the social and academic background of the individuals communicating. After the explanation of the theoretical concepts, we were told about certain real life scenarios that occur in organizations and about t he flow of communication in the organizations. We were told that the hierarchical structures of organizations impair the free flow of communication in organizations and they cause delay in the delivery of information. ... wed in this scenario is that, the subordinate will communicate to his manager who will communicate the information to the relevant person in line with his position in the respective department and then the information would finally be communicated to the concerned individual. In this extensive flow, sometimes certain essential facts are lost from the information and a distorted version of the message is delivered. After the teacher was satisfied that both the groups had understood enough concepts to come up with ideas, the discussion started and each group was told to present an idea to improve the flow of communication in an organization along with sufficient justification. The members of both the groups started figuring out the ideas among themselves. In my group, only a couple of students were taking part actively. One of them said that organizations should remove hierarchical structures and adopt a flat structure. Another group member said that this idea was impractical and organ izations will not be able to adopt a completely flat structure. He advised that the organizations should introduce such a policy that allows all the employees to communicate to any person at any level of the organization without going through a specified channel. He also added that an ‘open door policy’ could be an example of such a policy. Other group members nodded at this idea and this showed that they preferred this idea over the idea presented before. However the group member who presented the first idea held the view that this idea was not that effective as the flow of communication in an organization cannot be brought unless a prominent change is not made in the authorities and responsibilities of the personnel of the organization. Other group members weighed the pros and cons of

Reseach Workoholics Essay Example for Free

Reseach Workoholics Essay Is a 40-hour work week too much? Should there be a mandatory cap on the number of hours a person can work? Should there be changes in employment laws to give Americans more relaxation time? A workaholic definition is a noun a person who compulsively works hard and long hours. But the definition in a workaholics eyes is a person who â€Å"values work over any other activity, according to careercast.com. Merriam-webster.com says its a compulsive worker (Productivity) The reasons for someone to become a workaholic are some people dont feel their lives are fulfilled unless theyre engaged in constructive activities. The more they work, the happier they are. Its addictive. Where in the world can they be productive and reap the rewards of their labor but at their job? Workaholics cant be idle. They need to be constantly working. Proving their value Children who were raised in dysfunctional families, or by perfectionist parents, and were made to feel like their best was never good enough can grow up to be workaholics. Spending their adult lives immersed in their work is a way for them to constantly prove themselves and their worth. Escaping problems and negative feelings another reason why people become workaholics is because they lack a sense of control in their lives. They have problems at home they cant fix, or they dont want to deal with, for example. Being at work all the time allows them to escape painful, negative feelings. It also gives them a sense of control they cant find otherwise. Adrenaline rush working non-stop provides an adrenaline rush to some people. Being extremely busy, rushing to meet unrealistic goals, and pushing themselves beyond their limits gives them that intense feeling they crave. That same adrenaline rush- the increased heart rate, the burst of energy, the heightening of their senses- comes from roller coaster rides and other thrilling activities. In 1965, a U.S. Senate subcommittee predicted that as a result of increasing labor productivity from automation and â€Å"cybernation† in other words, the computer revolution. Americans would be working only about 20 hours a week by the year 2000, while taking seven weeks or more of vacation a year. By the mid-1970s, and especially after 1980, median wages weren’t keeping pace with increases in our capacity to produce. But flattening incomes didn’t derail the consumption train. Americans continued to buy more, in part by going deeper into debt, by having more members of the family enter the workforce and by working additional overtime. By the boom times of the late 1990s, Americans worked more than the notoriously workaholic Japanese. To answer the question of limiting the number of hours you can work I think we would have a happier and healthier society if we worked a little less. As of right now, some jobs require a lot of time and energy. Legalizing mandating the number of hours worked is an interesting idea. It would see a drop in stress levels, more family time and participation and healthier workers. This probably wouldnt make too many people happy at first, though, and it would take some getting used to. It is a way to raise healthier families and having less levels of stress that are exhibited in really tough jobs, like ER doctors and nurses, and other highly stressful occupations. American work-life balance according to the Center for American Progress on the topic of work and family life balance, â€Å"in 1960, only 20 percent of mothers worked. Today, 70 percent of American children live in households where all adults are employed.† I don’t care who stays home and who works in terms of gender (work opportunity equality for all – it’s a family choice). Either way, when all adults are working (single or with a partner), that’s a huge hit to the American family and free-time in the American household. The U.S. is the ONLY country in the Americas without a national paid parental leave benefit. The average is over 12 weeks of paid leave anywhere other than Europe and over 20 weeks in Europe. Zero industrialized nations are without a mandatory option for new parents to take parental leave. That is, except for the United States. Lets say someone make $60k/year. Excluding benefits, employee taxes, etc., lets consider this equivalent to $30/hour. ($30/hour x 40 hours x 50 weeks = $60k). Now they want to figure out the hourly number that he/she use to decide if its worth it to do something. For example, if he/she owe a fine on something he/she dont think they should owe, but its only a $5 fine, its not worth spending an hour ($30) to contest it. BUT, its not clear to me if he/she should use $30/hour for this number, because Im only working 8 hours/day. Like, if someone is willing to pay me for 40 hours/week at $30/hour, presumably he/she could get one or two more such jobs. Or should she/he divide that by 3 to get $10/hour because really for every 24 hours, they’re only able to earn $30/hour for a third of them? Because some of these activities he/she would be doing in my off-hours (e.g., theyd have to dispute that fine after work). Or is it something in between?

The importance of information systems

The importance of information systems 1. Executive Summary In business world there is no substitute for right information at right time. It is evident that in last couple of decades attempts has been made to develop systems which make information more precise, readily available and easily accessible throughout the organisation. The development and use of information systems is a modern trend which is primarily concerned with the collection, process and dissimilation of useful information that directs an organisation for better planning, better decision making and ultimately the better results. Information systems and information management is a vast subject. In order to discuss the importance of information systems for an organization, the fundamental concepts like what is information, how it can be managed must be acknowledged. In this essay there will be brief introductions of these fundamental concepts and then there will be a case study of Volvos Knowledge Management System, the VPS which highlight the importance of information system and information management in an organization. Furthermore, it is not always without a hitch to adopt and appreciate a new concept and information systems are no different. There are some issues and problems in installing and using such systems which again vary one organisation to another. This essay will also touch upon those difficulties as well. 2. The concept of information in Organization The world information has different usage in different contexts but in organizational context it becomes more complex and difficult to comprehend. Zorkoczy (1981) defines information â€Å"as the meaning that a human expresses by, or extracts from, representations of facts and ideas, by means of the known conventions of the representations used†. On the other hand in organizational context, Stonecash (1981) defines information by stating that â€Å"information is simply symbols (data, text, images, voices, etc.) that convey meaning through their relative ordering, timing, shape, context, etc. information is the raw material for making decisions for creating knowledge and fuelling the modern organization†. In organizational context, information becomes more like a basic resource similar to men, material and money. Information is the binding element that holds an organization together. On the contrary, since it is intangible, information is quite different for physical resources and is often difficult to interpret and utilize in efficiently in order to achieve desirable outcomes from the oragnisation. Nevertheless, it is an integral part of organization and should be properly managed to achieve goals and objectives of the organization (W.B. Adeoti-Adekeye, 1997). Hence, it is importance to acknowledge the importance of information in the organizational performance. 3. Information Management in Organizations Many scholars have recognized the fact that right information and its flow with in the organization can drastically improve the performance and achieve stipulated objectives with ease. But at the same time it is important to note that there is no point of having information which is not relevant to the organisaton. This is the point where information management comes in to play. The prime objective of information management is to make relevant information readily available for the organisation in precise and comprehensible format. Langemo,( 1980) has defined Information management as the â€Å"organization-wide capability of creating, maintaining, retrieving and making immediately available the right information, in the right place, at the right time, in hands of the right people, at the lowest cost, in the best media, for use in decision making.† Also Best (1988) defines information management as â€Å"the economic, efficient and effective co-ordination of the production, control, storage and retrieval and dissemination of information from external and internal sources, in order to improve the performance of the organization.† 4. The concept of Information Systems Ever since its invention, computers are becoming integral part of humans and humans are becoming more and more dependent on the services offered by them. In words of W.B Adeoti-Adekeye (1997)â€Å"the advancements in computer technology have escalated mans desire to obtain computer assistance in solving daily chores and more complex problems: problems which were considered solely in the domain of mans intuitive and judgmental processes, particularly in organizations, a few years ago. Therefore, information systems are becoming area of interest in progressive and dynamic organizations. The need to obtain access conveniently, quickly and economically makes it imperative to devise procedures for the creation, management and utilization of databases in organizations.† Duff and Assad (1980), has defined the information system as â€Å"a collection of people, procedures, a base of data and (sometimes) hardware and software that collects, processes, stores and communicates data for transaction processing at operational level and information to support Management decision making.† In general terms, Information Systems can be defined as a set of interrelated components which accept data or information (meaningful data) as a raw material store and then process it to generates information as a product to assist and support in decision making and controlling activities of the organization. The Information System contains information about the organization and its surrounding environment as well. The surrounding environment includes customers, supplies, competitors and other stakeholders of the organization. The basic three activities input, processing and output generate the meaningful information that organization need. There is another essential element of system known as feedback. It is output returned to appropriate authorities in the organization to evaluate input (Laudon and Laudon 2006 9th Ed.). It can be represented in figure as follows; through one or more transmutation processes It comprises the following functional elements which relate to the organization and its environment 5. Importance of Information System in Organizations Managers must have relevant information that increases their knowledge of internal processes and external business environment. This knowledge reduces the degree of uncertainty and makes managerial decisions more rational and practical. Without relevant information most of the decisions made by managers will be like trial and errors, which in turns decrease the efficiency and profitability and increase the uncertainty with in the organization. The main benefits if an information system can be discussed as follows: 1 Economic Importance: Even though the cost of installation and maintenance of an information system quite high (depends upon kind of system) in the beginning, but in due course the costs drops and appears fair deal when compared to kinds of benefits enjoyed with the help of it. Also with the passage of time cost of information systems tends to decrease, whereas, costs of its substitutes (for instance labour) has been historically tends to rise (Laudon, 1990). Furthermore, information systems use networks, which help an organization to reduce the transaction costs, by making it worthwhile for organization to contract external suppliers instead of using internal resources. For instance, the Chrysler Corporation reduces costs by obtaining more than 70% of its parts from other supplier by using computer links ( Laudon and Laudon, 9th Ed. ). 2. Information Systems Improve Performance: Information Systems are designed to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of a process. The information systems speed up the process and reduce the time by removing non-value adding steps in the operation. For instance, Citibank developed the Automatic Teller Machines and Bank Debit Cards in 1977( Laudon and Laudon 9th Ed.). It made financial transactions easy and was a huge success. Further, banks continued to innovate and these days with the help of reliable and secure information systems from TEMENOS, Infosys, Oracle etc, most of the customer can do majority of transaction from their home computer or even from mobile telephone. Moreover, information systems provide real time information which reduces the scope of errors, hence, increases the quality of the output of the process. 3. Importance in Decision Making: Information Systems provides the tools for managers enabling them to monitor, plan and forecast with more precision and speed then ever before. They also enable managers to respond more rapidly and adapt swiftly to the fast changing business environment. The Decision Support Systems can significantly improve results both on quantitative and qualitative fronts. For instance, there are around 142 million employees working in United States generating $12.2 trillion of Gross Domestic Products. If the decision making quality of these employees could be improved by just 1% in a year the GDP might be expand substantially. â€Å"This implies for any organization the ability of manager or employees to make right decision at right time with the help of right information can have extraordinary business value† ( Laudon and Laudon 9th Ed.). 4. Organizational Behavior Change: Behavioral researches illustrate that information systems facilitate flattening of hierarchies by broadening the distribution of information to empower lower-level employees. It pushes the decision making rights to the lower level in the organization as the lower level employees receives the information they need to make decisions eliminating the need of middle managers(Laudon and Laudon 9th Ed.). This also leads to the reduction is the administrative costs of the organisation. For example, after installing ERP system Knust-SBO Precision Machining1 of Texas, reduced the administrative staff by 50% and at the same time improved the accuracy of on -time deliveries from56.5% to 95%. 6. Case Study Illustration The efficient performance of an organization is dependent very much on the performance of the internal resources of organization and their synchronization with external environment. To illustrate the use and importance of a management information system in organizational performance the following example of Volvo from Managing Knowledge in MNCs-The case of the knowledge management initiative in the Volvo Group by Sona Gevorgyan and Boban Ivanovski (2009) will demonstrate that how Volvo achieved superior performances by deploying their Knowledge management system. 6.1 Volvo Group and Knowledge Management The Volvo Group is one of the leaders in its industry with production facilities in 19 and sales in more than 180 countries. In 2008 it employed more than 90,000 employees worldwide majority located in Sweden, France, USA, Japan, Brazil, China, and South Korea. The industry in which Volvo Group operates is highly technology driven and knowledge intensive. Its product range comprises construction equipment, trucks and buses, aircraft engine components, drive system for marine and industrial applications. Since it operates globally the Group is comprised of numerous subsidiaries, known as product related Business Areas (BA) and supporting Business Units (BU). The major function of Business area is to manufactures products, whereas Business Units are responsible for procurement, product plannings and financial aspects of the business. As the Group continued to grow, it recognized that the diversity that the subsidiaries represent could serve as opportunity to utilize all the knowledge within the Volvo Group. The group acknowledged need of the global Knowledge Management System which could help in eliminating waste of resources in terms of recreating knowledge in one subsidiary, while already possessing it in another. Furthermore, such initiative could potentially serve as means of discovering new synergies in the Group that may lead to smooth and efficient operation of the Groups activities. Hence, the Volvo Production System Academy was launched in 2008, aiming to undertake and support such a common group Knowledge Management initiative ( Gevorgyan Ivanovski ,2009). Knowledge Management Systems are designed to store and process the knowledge available in organizations (Wickramasinghe, 2003), and simultaneously support contextualized application of that knowledge (Maier, 2004). Workers are meant to use this technology in sharing information about past experiences and making sense of this information, while performing their tasks (Wickramasinghe, 2003). Volvo Production System Academy (VPSA) is the centre for research, development and innovation in the Volvo Group. The Academy is meant to represents a central research and development unit which provides the fundamentals for the KM initiatives. It developed the Knowledge Management System for the Group, the Volvo Production System. The assumption is that operational excellence, sustainable profitability and customer satisfaction is more likely to achieve if the workers operate in accordance with the VPS guidelines. The VPS model is described in detail through internal documents known as Reference Material, stored in central database and provided through the VPSA Intranet portal. The database and the Intranet portal on which the information from the database is available, represents the core of the KMS provided by VPSA. The ‘good example of VPS model is an essential part of the feedback and learning aspect of the model. It is represents a visual illustration of exceptional execution of a specific module described in the VPS model, this acts as a communication tool to encourage employees to repeat the desirable behavior. Good examples from various factories are stored in the central database in addition to the principles, and available on the Intranet portal. The good examples are either submitted by the factories and then quality-proofed by VPSA, or spotted in the assessments that VPSA conducts. By sharing them through the Intranet portal, good examples are meant to serve factories from different subsidiaries to locally implement the VPS modules by exploiting mutual synergies and learning from each others knowledge and experiences.( Gevorgyan Ivanovski ,2009) Discussion The Knowledge Management Systems are one of the most complex information systems. The Volvo Group has realized that their product and services are not limited to physical resources but also on the intangible assets i.e. knowledge. Since it operates globally and most of its business unit are geographically, demographically and culturally dispersed, therefore it was utterly important for the Group to synchronies its knowledge and make it available wherever and whenever it is needed to support the business processes and managerial decisions. The Group achieved it with the help of an information system, the Volvo Production System. However, installing an information system does not automatically result in success, unless continuous participation of all individual workers in processes is ensured. In this case workers have struggled initially to cope up with the changes the system brought in, but the strong organizational culture motivated them to get involved in the process. Problems with Information Systems There might be different reasons, but despite of many success stories there are examples of great failure of implementing information systems in organizations. For instance (web resource1); Hershey Foods The leading chocolate manufacturer in United States accounted 19 % drop in earnings was caused by an incompetent SAP ERP installation that caused distribution disorder during one of its most profitable seasons.   FoxMeyer Drug s The pharmaceutical distribution company was forced to declare bankruptcy after an unsuccessful ERP implementation. NASA -. The ERP system was not able to close year-end books on a Cal Tech contract which results in generation of inaccurate financial reports. Bang and Olufsen In 1999, the Danish Hi-Fi audio- video maker claimed that SAP systems has damaged relation with its retailers It is often argued that most of the issues in ERP systems disasters were not technical but were mainly related to employee and organizational culture of the firm. Many of the failures can be attributed to poor managerial practice in the form of inadequate training (Pang 2001). The resistance to change from with in the organization, lack of high flexibility in terms of customization of information system and inadequate IS implementation strategy may be considered as the major factors for such a drastic failure of the information systems in certain cases. Conclusion It is important to note that information management and information systems are the means not the end of the process. Both are the powerful tools in the hand of management, which when deployed appropriately can bring dramatic change in the way an organization perform and achieve its objectives. Appropriate utilization of information systems benefits both the organization and its employees and its stakeholders. But when misapplied, they can waste tremendous amounts of time, effort, and money. To accomplish successful information management and reduce the chances of failure in future, an information system must be designed and operated with due regard to organizational culture as well as technological factors. There should be an equal contribution from both the business management and the information professionals while designing and implementing a new information system. There is no doubt that better exchange of thoughts between organizational management and information professionals has the potential to develop information systems which will entirely change the outlook how we run business today. References; Best, D.P. (1988), â€Å"The future of information management†, International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 8 No. 1, March, pp. 13-24. Duff, W.M. and Asad, M.C. (1980), Information Management: An Executive Approach, Oxford University Press, London, p. 243 Langemo, M. (1980), â€Å"Records management/word processing a needed team effort†, Records Management Quarterly, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 10-14. Maier, R. (2004). Knowledge management systems: information and communication technologies for knowledge management. Zugl.: Regensburg, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2001. Pang , L. Managers Guide to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems information Systems Control Journal, Volume 4, 2001 Sona Gevorgyan and Boban Ivanovski (2009) Managing Knowledge in MNCs-The case of the knowledge management initiative in the Volvo Group Stonecash, J.C. (1981), â€Å"The IRM showdown†, Infosystem, Vol. 28 No. 10, pp. 42-8. W.B. Adeoti-Adekeye (1997) â€Å"The importance of management information systems† Library Review, Vol. 46 No. 5, page 318-327. MCB University Press, 0024-2535. Wickramasinghe, Nilmini (2003). â€Å"Do We Practice What We Preach? Are KnowledgeManagement Systems in Practice Truly Reflective of Knowledge Management Systems in Theory?†. Business Process Management Journal, 9(3): 295-316. Zoikoczy, P. (1981), Information Technology: An Introduction, Pitman, London, p. 157 1The New ERP System Halves the Administrative Staff, Modern Machine Shop, Feb2002, Vol. 74, p142

Ghana, the mixed capitalist Essay

Gold Coast, now Ghana had his independence in 1957 after a long struggle with our colonial masters, the British by Kwame Nkrumah and others who helped in diverse ways such as â€Å"the Big Six† and others. Colonized by the British, Ghana has gone through a lot of systems of governance; Monarchical, autocracy and now democracy. So is with economic systems which go with any form of governance system. Currently there are about four (4) economic systems in the world which are; socialist, capitalist, mixed economy (Socialist and Capitalist) and Islamic economic jurisprudence. The Economic Systems All these are economic systems and it is defines those who controls and owns the economic resources which forms the â€Å"means† in economics. Every economy is measured by the usage of its means and the nature of the â€Å"means† owners determines the kind of economic system the country runs. Socialist system of economy is a one that has its resources highly controlled by the central government. E. g. USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia etc), the Capitalist economy is that whose resources is highly owned and controlled by private individuals or a body other than the government. E. g. USA, UK, part of Europe etc. The Mixed economy is that which combines both the socialist and the capitalist economic systems to run the country’s economy. In that, the central government controls part of the economy whiles the other part is controlled by private participation. Functions of the Economic Systems There are multiple components to economic systems. Their interaction may be coherent or result in instability. Decision-making structures of an economy determine the use of economic inputs (the factors of production), distribution of output, the level of centralization in decision-making, and who makes these decisions. Decisions might be carried out by industrial councils, by a government agency, or by private owners. Every economic system represents an attempt to solve three fundamental and interdependent problems: What goods and services shall be produced and in what quantities? How shall goods and services be produced? That is, by whom and with what resources and technologies? For whom shall goods and services be produced? That is, who is to enjoy the benefits of the goods and services and how is the total product to be distributed among individuals and groups in the society. E. g. the current load management by the VRA and the ECG. Thus every economy is a system that allocates resources for exchange, production, distribution and consumption. The system is stabilized through a combination of threat and trust, which are the outcome of institutional arrangements. An economic system possesses the following institutions: Methods of control over the factors or means of production: this may include ownership of, or property rights to, the means of production and therefore may give rise to claims to the proceeds from production. The means of production may be owned privately, by the state, by those who use them or be held in common. A decision-making system: this determines who is eligible to make decisions over economic activities. Economic agents with decision-making powers can enter into binding contracts with one another. A coordination mechanism: this determines how information is obtained and used in decision-making. The two dominant forms of coordination are planning and markets; planning can be either de-centralized or centralized, and the two coordination mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and often co-exist. An incentive system: this induces and motivates economic agents to engage in productive activities. It can be based on either material reward (compensation or self-interest) or moral suasion (for instance, social prestige or through a democratic decision-making process that binds those involved). The incentive system may encourage specialization and the division of labour. Organizational form: there are two basic forms of organization: actors and regulators. Economic actors include households, work gangs and production teams, firms, joint-ventures and cartels. Economically regulative organizations are represented by the state and market authorities; the latter may private or public entities. A distribution system: this allocates the proceeds from productive activity, which is distributed as income among the economic organizations, individuals and groups within society, such as property owners, workers and non-workers, or the state (from taxes). A public choice mechanism for law-making, establishing rules, norms and standards and levying taxes. Usually this is the responsibility of the state but other means of collective decision-making are possible, such as workers’ councils. The Ghana’s Economy Ghana’s economy is purely a mixed type with the resources sharply divided between the public and private participation. The service sector is highly controlled by the government while the production sector is dominated by private and group participation. Decision making, which determines the direction of the economy and the type system, is done a lot of the times, through consultations with stakeholders of the economy. Example; when the power and water companies wanted to review utility tariffs to a certain percentage, there was a lot of consultations thereby; getting the rate we have now. Ghana, before the independence was purely capitalist. After independence, the then government focused on turning the economy into a communist/socialist system. They invested so much in agriculture which was the only sector controlled by the government and also reached out to industrialize the economy. Currently, Ghana is well-endowed with natural resources and agriculture accounts for roughly one-quarter of GDP and employs more than half of the workforce, mainly small landholders. The services sector accounts for 50% of GDP. Gold and cocoa production and individual remittances are major sources of foreign exchange. Oil production at Ghana’s offshore Jubilee field began in mid-December, 2010, and is expected to boost economic growth. Finally, I may agree with the statement but require more facts to completely justify its truth. Ghana is a mixed economy but capitalist oriented on the face assessment value of the various sectors. But can justify, if all percentages of public/private participation of the economic sectors are well defined. This will couple with the clear policy direction of the present governments which has state on record as being social democrats and has manifestoes seeking to provide a lot for the people.

Core Indian Values – an Advertising Perspective

INDIAN CONSUMER: CORE VALUES We are all consumers. Everyday, we consume goods and services as individuals, families, groups and organizations. With every passing year, the consumer has not only become smarter but also choosier with his purchase. On top of that, the fact that the competition and the variety of products available in the market only add to the marketers’ woes. To succeed in this dynamic and increasingly complex marketing environment marketers have an urgent need to learn and anticipate whatever they can about consumers.The better they know and understand consumers the more advantageous it would prove when accomplishing their organizational objectives. In a diverse country like India, which is slowly shedding its conservative nature and is opening up to new possibilities on the marketorial front, it becomes even more difficult for an advertiser to understand his consumer’s behaviour. The Indian mentality is more complex and layered than our western counterp arts. The culture of this country is very different from most others for it is home to various religions, languages, customs and values.This amalgamation has led to the Indian consumer having various layers of reasoning behind every action. There are certain values that play a very important role while purchasing a product from the point of the view of the Indian consumer. An advertiser should keep these values in mind while targeting their Indian audience. 1. Family The Indian society is a family oriented one. Elder members of the family are considered to be the head of the family. Though joint families have now disintegrated into nuclear ones, the bond and importance of family remains the same.Family is by far the most important reference group. The family is a major influence on the consumption behaviour of its members and generally the target market for most products. The consumption patterns of family members are seldom independent from those of other family members. There is a n interdependent relationship between the members of the family. An advertiser selling family oriented products must target it for the benefit of every member of the family. Eg. Tata Ventura ad. 2. Peace Peace  is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict.It also represents cosmic harmony. An individual seeks peace when he wishes to establish a personal relationship with the cosmos. India is country where different sects coming together causes chaos and conflict. Hence, peace is highly sought after both personally and internationally. An advertiser while selling a product, depending on its nature, must keep in mind the fact that his product must not invoke chaos in any form. He must try as much as possible to maintain decorum while advocating a product. Eg. Taj holidays. 3. Health India is slowly growing to be a very health conscious nation.Indian food offers a diversity of dishes that are very tasty and each provide a different delight. But at the same time . Some of them can be very heavy and unhealthy with continuous consumption. In the fast paced of today’s times, health has become of utmost importance. Various fitness centers are being set up everywhere and maintaining a healthy lifestyle has become very important to the average Indian consumer. Advertisers target this aspect of the Indian consumer while promoting various health related products. Eg. Saffola ads. D cold total ads 4. Time Time is of utmost importance in the Indian society. Natural time regulates ctivities with a â€Å"now† orientation. Indians have always factored in on time before starting or ending any event, both metaphysically and metaphorically. Time is considered to be an auspicious and important aspect for Indians. While making major purchases, time is factored in majorly. An advertiser can either portray the time factor majorly in his advertisement or he can portray it subtlely with respect to the product. Time also reflects the era the people live in and its dynamic nature. Eg. Hindustan times â€Å"It is time† campaign. 5. Will power. Will power is the strength to achieve the impossible or the difficult.Indians consider will power to be a treasurable value as it may lead to various achievements. If one gets over their fears and has the will power to achieve what many consider to be impossible then that person is highly respected. Without will power, one cannot alter events or restore it to the original post. India’s history has been witness to the importance of will power among the Indian public. Advertisers can theme their ads on the basis of will power thereby promoting their product and also gain popular vote for encouraging strength. Eg. Mountain Dew Darr Ke Aage jeet hai ads 6. SecurityA sense of security is very important in both a family and a community. Usually, the male member of the family is considered to be responsible for the security of the female counterparts in India. Females are especially protected in this society. But along with physical security, financial security has also become important for the modern Indian family. Many make investments so that the family is always financially secure. Protection of community is also a very important aspect as Indians are very community bound. Members of the same community usually have a sense of belonging and protection towards their other members.Eg. LIC jeevan bima policy ad. 7. Age Since time old, age has played a very important role in the Indian society. A person’s age has been synonymous with the amount of respect given to them. Even today, older people are treated with utmost respect and obedience is expected of the younger ones. Wisdom and experience of a person is calculated in terms of his age. In today’s times, the youth are very instrumental to the decision making process while purchasing a product. On the basis of the product, the advertiser must carefully target his age group and center the ad arou nd the mentality of the age group selected.Eg. Raymond teacher ad. 8. Care Since the familial values are very strong in the Indian system, love and affection play an important role. Love and care for others is considered to be an important value especially with the members of family and friends. Unlike their western counterparts, Indian children live with their parents even after reaching adulthood and are duty bound to serve their parents in their old age as a token of their affection. Parents fuss over their children and take care of them protectively from a tender age and even beyond adulthood.This feeling of care and affection is largely targeted by marketers to sell their products for they hit a soft spot among the Indian audiences with this value. Eg. Vicks ads. 9. Prestiege There is nothing more important to an Indian household than the family’s honour and prestiege. Indians bank a lot on social approval and the sense of prestiege they gain from it. That sense of prest iege even comes from indulging in luxury and living a high life. A lot of luxury related products target this aspect of the Indian audience and cater to their value of prestiege. Eg. Reid and Taylor Amitabh Bacchan ad. 10. OwnershipEver since the olden days, a personal home has been of epitome importance to the average Indian household. It is a matter of protection and pride to own a home. In this tight spaced urban world, it has become even more difficult to own a home. But nevertheless, Indians continue to strive for ownership of a home for both themselves and their loved ones. It ione of the most important consumer values. A lot of options are considered and a lot of research is conducted before a home purchase. A bevy of home loans have also eased the process of a purchase of a home. Marketers also target this aspect while advertising their product.They arouse temptation to own a home which coincides with the consumer’s desire of the same. Eg. Asian paints Bird ad 11. Ada ptability In spite of being from a conservative background, Indians have changed their behaviour with the changing times. People have adapted to the different languages in the country and different lifestyles with ease. This reflects the dynamic nature of the Indian population along with their ability to adapt to the changing times and the environment. This value is considered to be a sign of progress. Many advertisers wish to promote this value through their ads and encourage this aspect among the Indian public.The ads based on adaptability have proved instrumental in shaping the minds of the Indian audience as a whole. Eg. Aircel ad. Idea cellular Language ad 12. Religion This is by far the most important consumer value among Indians. Religion plays a very important role in India. There are people of numerous faiths and religions residing in this country. It is one the sure shot ways to get attention from the Indian audience through advertisements. But is also important to not off end the sentiments of the Indian audience as they are very sensitive when it comes to their religion.One has to be very careful while welding advertisements with religion. the Indian public adheres to their traditions and customs and is very dedicated towards maintaining their culture. Festivals are considered to be the best time for promotion of products in a religious theme. Eg. Tanishq ads (wedding) Aisanpaints pngal ad 13. Pleasure Pleasure relates to being happy and cheerful towards oneself and their surroundings. Everyone likes to indulge in pleasure after strenuous work. Indians especially like to please themselves with various pleasurable activities and believe in balancing work with play.The idea of pleasure, according to most Indians, is to spend time with their loved ones and engage in leisurely activities. While targeting this value of the Indian consumer, the advertiser has to keep in mind the mentality of the consumer and the nature of the product and blend both of the m. It could be themed around pleasure with intensity or pleasure with lightheartedness. Eg. Scooty pep+ ads Cadbury’s life ka swaad ads 14. Work Since the urbanization of Indian society, there has been an evermore increase in the job opportunities especially for the youth. The youth of the country have become very ambitious and aim high.The education levels have gone up and the literacy rate has also shot up. Having a high paying job has become very important to the average Indian consumer as his salary corresponds with his buying prowess. Advertisers should start aiming at this progressive value of the Indian audience and design their ads to suit this aspect as well as promote their products. Encouraging progress in terms of education and work has become a very important aspect in current Indian society and especially among the youth. Eg. The Sikkim Manipal University distance education ads. Bibliography Core Indian Values – an Advertising Perspective INDIAN CONSUMER: CORE VALUES We are all consumers. Everyday, we consume goods and services as individuals, families, groups and organizations. With every passing year, the consumer has not only become smarter but also choosier with his purchase. On top of that, the fact that the competition and the variety of products available in the market only add to the marketers’ woes. To succeed in this dynamic and increasingly complex marketing environment marketers have an urgent need to learn and anticipate whatever they can about consumers.The better they know and understand consumers the more advantageous it would prove when accomplishing their organizational objectives. In a diverse country like India, which is slowly shedding its conservative nature and is opening up to new possibilities on the marketorial front, it becomes even more difficult for an advertiser to understand his consumer’s behaviour. The Indian mentality is more complex and layered than our western counterp arts. The culture of this country is very different from most others for it is home to various religions, languages, customs and values.This amalgamation has led to the Indian consumer having various layers of reasoning behind every action. There are certain values that play a very important role while purchasing a product from the point of the view of the Indian consumer. An advertiser should keep these values in mind while targeting their Indian audience. 1. Family The Indian society is a family oriented one. Elder members of the family are considered to be the head of the family. Though joint families have now disintegrated into nuclear ones, the bond and importance of family remains the same.Family is by far the most important reference group. The family is a major influence on the consumption behaviour of its members and generally the target market for most products. The consumption patterns of family members are seldom independent from those of other family members. There is a n interdependent relationship between the members of the family. An advertiser selling family oriented products must target it for the benefit of every member of the family. Eg. Tata Ventura ad. 2. Peace Peace  is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict.It also represents cosmic harmony. An individual seeks peace when he wishes to establish a personal relationship with the cosmos. India is country where different sects coming together causes chaos and conflict. Hence, peace is highly sought after both personally and internationally. An advertiser while selling a product, depending on its nature, must keep in mind the fact that his product must not invoke chaos in any form. He must try as much as possible to maintain decorum while advocating a product. Eg. Taj holidays. 3. Health India is slowly growing to be a very health conscious nation.Indian food offers a diversity of dishes that are very tasty and each provide a different delight. But at the same time . Some of them can be very heavy and unhealthy with continuous consumption. In the fast paced of today’s times, health has become of utmost importance. Various fitness centers are being set up everywhere and maintaining a healthy lifestyle has become very important to the average Indian consumer. Advertisers target this aspect of the Indian consumer while promoting various health related products. Eg. Saffola ads. D cold total ads 4. Time Time is of utmost importance in the Indian society. Natural time regulates ctivities with a â€Å"now† orientation. Indians have always factored in on time before starting or ending any event, both metaphysically and metaphorically. Time is considered to be an auspicious and important aspect for Indians. While making major purchases, time is factored in majorly. An advertiser can either portray the time factor majorly in his advertisement or he can portray it subtlely with respect to the product. Time also reflects the era the people live in and its dynamic nature. Eg. Hindustan times â€Å"It is time† campaign. 5. Will power. Will power is the strength to achieve the impossible or the difficult.Indians consider will power to be a treasurable value as it may lead to various achievements. If one gets over their fears and has the will power to achieve what many consider to be impossible then that person is highly respected. Without will power, one cannot alter events or restore it to the original post. India’s history has been witness to the importance of will power among the Indian public. Advertisers can theme their ads on the basis of will power thereby promoting their product and also gain popular vote for encouraging strength. Eg. Mountain Dew Darr Ke Aage jeet hai ads 6. SecurityA sense of security is very important in both a family and a community. Usually, the male member of the family is considered to be responsible for the security of the female counterparts in India. Females are especially protected in this society. But along with physical security, financial security has also become important for the modern Indian family. Many make investments so that the family is always financially secure. Protection of community is also a very important aspect as Indians are very community bound. Members of the same community usually have a sense of belonging and protection towards their other members.Eg. LIC jeevan bima policy ad. 7. Age Since time old, age has played a very important role in the Indian society. A person’s age has been synonymous with the amount of respect given to them. Even today, older people are treated with utmost respect and obedience is expected of the younger ones. Wisdom and experience of a person is calculated in terms of his age. In today’s times, the youth are very instrumental to the decision making process while purchasing a product. On the basis of the product, the advertiser must carefully target his age group and center the ad arou nd the mentality of the age group selected.Eg. Raymond teacher ad. 8. Care Since the familial values are very strong in the Indian system, love and affection play an important role. Love and care for others is considered to be an important value especially with the members of family and friends. Unlike their western counterparts, Indian children live with their parents even after reaching adulthood and are duty bound to serve their parents in their old age as a token of their affection. Parents fuss over their children and take care of them protectively from a tender age and even beyond adulthood.This feeling of care and affection is largely targeted by marketers to sell their products for they hit a soft spot among the Indian audiences with this value. Eg. Vicks ads. 9. Prestiege There is nothing more important to an Indian household than the family’s honour and prestiege. Indians bank a lot on social approval and the sense of prestiege they gain from it. That sense of prest iege even comes from indulging in luxury and living a high life. A lot of luxury related products target this aspect of the Indian audience and cater to their value of prestiege. Eg. Reid and Taylor Amitabh Bacchan ad. 10. OwnershipEver since the olden days, a personal home has been of epitome importance to the average Indian household. It is a matter of protection and pride to own a home. In this tight spaced urban world, it has become even more difficult to own a home. But nevertheless, Indians continue to strive for ownership of a home for both themselves and their loved ones. It ione of the most important consumer values. A lot of options are considered and a lot of research is conducted before a home purchase. A bevy of home loans have also eased the process of a purchase of a home. Marketers also target this aspect while advertising their product.They arouse temptation to own a home which coincides with the consumer’s desire of the same. Eg. Asian paints Bird ad 11. Ada ptability In spite of being from a conservative background, Indians have changed their behaviour with the changing times. People have adapted to the different languages in the country and different lifestyles with ease. This reflects the dynamic nature of the Indian population along with their ability to adapt to the changing times and the environment. This value is considered to be a sign of progress. Many advertisers wish to promote this value through their ads and encourage this aspect among the Indian public.The ads based on adaptability have proved instrumental in shaping the minds of the Indian audience as a whole. Eg. Aircel ad. Idea cellular Language ad 12. Religion This is by far the most important consumer value among Indians. Religion plays a very important role in India. There are people of numerous faiths and religions residing in this country. It is one the sure shot ways to get attention from the Indian audience through advertisements. But is also important to not off end the sentiments of the Indian audience as they are very sensitive when it comes to their religion.One has to be very careful while welding advertisements with religion. the Indian public adheres to their traditions and customs and is very dedicated towards maintaining their culture. Festivals are considered to be the best time for promotion of products in a religious theme. Eg. Tanishq ads (wedding) Aisanpaints pngal ad 13. Pleasure Pleasure relates to being happy and cheerful towards oneself and their surroundings. Everyone likes to indulge in pleasure after strenuous work. Indians especially like to please themselves with various pleasurable activities and believe in balancing work with play.The idea of pleasure, according to most Indians, is to spend time with their loved ones and engage in leisurely activities. While targeting this value of the Indian consumer, the advertiser has to keep in mind the mentality of the consumer and the nature of the product and blend both of the m. It could be themed around pleasure with intensity or pleasure with lightheartedness. Eg. Scooty pep+ ads Cadbury’s life ka swaad ads 14. Work Since the urbanization of Indian society, there has been an evermore increase in the job opportunities especially for the youth. The youth of the country have become very ambitious and aim high.The education levels have gone up and the literacy rate has also shot up. Having a high paying job has become very important to the average Indian consumer as his salary corresponds with his buying prowess. Advertisers should start aiming at this progressive value of the Indian audience and design their ads to suit this aspect as well as promote their products. Encouraging progress in terms of education and work has become a very important aspect in current Indian society and especially among the youth. Eg. The Sikkim Manipal University distance education ads. Bibliography