Onlive vs Traditional Education Outline free essay sample

Thesis Statement: Online education provides students with flexible schedules and the ability to work at their own pace, while a traditional education provides students with the ability to interact with teachers and peer while learning. I. When choosing to make the choice to return to school, and further educations levels it can be quiet a difficult decision to make. Whether the choice is to enroll in an online program or the traditional education style, students must be dedicated and make the choice that will best fit their lifestyle and schedule.II. Learning Styles A. Classroom I. Face to face with teachers II. Black board B. Internet I. Chat room communication II. Forums III. Schedule A. Flexibility I. Convenience II. Work while in school B. Routine I. Set time to arrive II. Set amount of hours per week IV. Supplies A. Technology I. Computer/printer II. Microsoft word B. Basic needs I. We will write a custom essay sample on Onlive vs Traditional Education Outline or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Pen II. Paper V. Assignments A. Hard copy I. Posted on blackboard II. Turned directly into teacher hand B. UploadedI. Posted in forums II. Websites When it comes to online education vs the traditional education style there are some differences between the two, but there are very much similar. Either way each student gets a good education and has to set goals and standards for themselves to achieve completion of their program of choice. Student must just first decide on which type of learning style better suites them and decide on what will be the best for their lifestyle.

Work and Organization systems

Work and Organization systems The four frames In almost every discipline-embracing leadership, people devote themselves into publishing numerous volumes of articles on leadership theories. Amid the intense amount of work done on leadership theories, a thorough scrutiny of the existing literature surfaces four crucial frames deemed ample for the purposes of cute understanding of the organizational structures and leadership within such organizations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Work and Organization systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More â€Å"These frames are structural, human resource, political and symbolic frames† (Bolman Deal 2008, p.27). The paper points out three of the priory-identified frames in relation to facilitating successful implementation of a project despite an unsupportive environment presented as a case study 2005-3 by Raymond Young, available at Macquarie graduate school of management. In addition, the benefits and the limitations of taking each frame perspectives in facilitation of implementation of the agency’s IT project receive a thorough treatment. Finally, through consideration of benefits and the limitations of the three frames, the most amicable way of managing processes of change at the agency in future projects implementations will acquire some introspection. In addition, the leadership deemed vital for meeting the challenge of more successful approach to project implementation and change management in the future will receive some glance. Human resource frame Introduction From a human resource perspective, people are the central tools that an organization has in order to achieve its goals and objectives. As a repercussion, the human resource manager endeavors to ensure that he or she responds to the needs coupled with goals of employees as one crucial step toward ensuring that he or she gains the necessary loyalty and commitment of the employees to do the work of an organizat ion. â€Å"This leader empowers people through participation and attempts to gain the resources people need to do the job well but also confronts when deemed appropriate but tries to do so in a supportive environment† (Hersey et al. 2007, p.12). Tech-media is under immense transformation process. The organization desires to put into place a new system that makes it compliant to the Y2K technology. The CEO of the company sees this as an amicable opportunity to raise funds that would see the company listed in the stock exchange.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Senior managers of the company led by the CEO come together to form a steering committee with the chief intention of weighing various options for achieving the realization of successful implementation of the system. The committee agrees on ERP system. The implementation is within time and budget constrai nts. However, there is the need for an ample human resource. Implementation process For the agency, it is evident that the finance staff was totally unmotivated and unwilling to take up their responsibilities. According to the Young (2005), â€Å"most agency staff considered the finance department something of an inconvenience and largely irrelevant to the operational business of the agency† (p. 4). In addition, Young reveals that, the agency had already acquired an international standard for over decades. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, once a need is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivator anymore. Intentions to maintain excellent status in this case was not a motivator any more. Since, workers motivation falls under the human resource sphere de-motivation was a substantial impediment to the success of the implementation of the agency’s IT project. With reference to Bolman and Deal (2008), â€Å"the human resource framework places people first, which is remarkably similar to stewardship or servant leadership where participation in decision making and problem solving are primary components of the model† (p.34). Consequently, decision-making requires hefty inputs of the human resource management to instill the spirit of ‘yes you can’ to those charged with roles in an organization. For the new agency’s finance director, this was largely absent until when the chairperson of the MIS steering committees intervened. Young says, â€Å"the chairman firstly helped by reaffirming his confidence that she had the ability to drive the initiative through† (2005, p.7). This way, the finance director could overcome the criticisms emanating from Mark Black. This perhaps well exemplifies the absence of contributions of the human resource towards maintenance of the workers morale within the agency.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Work and Organization systems specifically for you for onl y $16.05 $11/page Learn More The framework of human resource lie on the foundation that individuals form an organization and that these individuals have different perceptions, have personalized biasness as well as potential and skills which are evidently different for different people. This fact served as a major impediment to the implementation of the agency’s project since some of the workers would forecast success; other would see failure of the project at the end. In addition, unfortunately, the new finance director realized that â€Å"the MIS project failed because no one from senior management had taken the risk of championing the project even though the head of the agency had initiated it himself† (Young 2005, p.7). Consequently, one of the noble functions of the managers was largely absent: leading. Another function of the human resource that was absent was the job design and work management. This responsibility calls for the human resource mana gers to decide on whom to allocate a certain job, and at what time. The new director claims that she â€Å"needed the right people to be under her if the implementation of the project was to bear success in terms of making financial decisions. Inasmuch as direction was required, it is somewhat evident that this agency was at advanced stages in terms of performance in implementing projects. It is thus arguable that every employee of the agency was well acquitted and experienced with his or her duties. Majority of the staff knew much well that delegation was the prime mover of their motivation. This may reveal itself because the new director claims that everybody kept asking her when she was finally going to make the financial decision over the corridors. This decision was essential in order to give permission to proceed. On the other hand, the chairperson had much hope on the agencys human resource especially in terms of achieving their delegated chores. To this ends, he laments tha t the â€Å"MIS did not fail technically but because of lack of sponsorship† (Young 2005, p.6). Support from all stakeholders was vital for the success of the project. Under the human resource frame, individuals get the capacity to learn to defend the existing old attitudes coupled with beliefs about certain ways of doing things.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This fact stands in the IT project implementation by the agency. The agency hired no consultants. The technicians received textbooks to read and thereof decide on what to do. Various staff members also expressed their worries that the project might end up being a horror story of failure. It was evident in some other organization. As it may be deduced from the above discussion, human resource frame is fully dependent on the capacity of the workers to get fully compliant with the objectives of an organization and appreciate that, in as much the organization demands they also need the institution too. One benefit of the human resource frame is that, more yields are obtainable for the employees upon the deployment of the appropriate strategies to ensure work satisfaction and motivation among workers. However, determination of essential motivators relies on the position of the employee needs in the hierarchy of needs as established by Maslow and Herzberg. Since human needs are continuous ly evolving and dynamic in nature, ensuring maintained workers morale and positive altitudes towards work calls for the inculcation of some new tactics to maintain the motivation of a given worker. Unfortunately, not every worker would attain the highest hierarchical level, since not all people can fit in the most top management level in an organization. Consequently, at any instance, there will always be unmotivated workers who might be in excessive need for promotion. Another drawback is that the human resource framework sees people as subjects of manipulation through some ways. However, people are different and have different feelings and emotional attachments. Consequently, opposed to what human resource management theories suggest, what may motivate one worker may not give equally similar effect to another worker. There is the warranty for the assumption that organizations serve human needs. Conclusion Change management is crucial for the evidently volatile and yet dynamic busi ness environments of today. A change of human resource management perspectives consequently stands out inevitable. More precisely, change is a process, which from human resource perspectives entails changing the manner in which people execute their duties, habits and beliefs. In one way or another, this would entangle removing people from their accustomed comfort zones. People are widely reluctant to adopt change. However, taking human resource perspectives implies the need to address such issues. Structural Frame Introduction When one thinks of an organization, perhaps what comes to mind is the pyramidal structure that depicts the hierarchical position of every member of that organization. Adopting a structural framework in the implementation of organization’s projects implies that â€Å"the structural manager tries to design and implement a process or structure that will be appropriate to a problem and circumstances† (Jensen Meckling 1994, p.5). The procedure would include clarification and setting of the overall goals of an organization, taking proactive strategies to ensure that the external environment is well controlled, ensuring the development of transparent structure that is appropriate with respect to the environment and tasks also putting into place the objects of authority. In addition, vital to consider would entail â€Å"focusing on tasks, facts and logic rather than on personality and emotions† (Jensen Meckling 1994, p.7). The structural framework, drawn from sociological considerations, places more emphasis on the need of following formal relationships within an organization. Structures that are created deserve to be consistent with the existing state of technology and the environment. In this frame, it is the responsibility of an organization to â€Å"allocate responsibilities, create rules, policies and management hierarchies to coordinate diverse activities† (Bolman Deal 2008, p.45). More often than not, proble ms arise in case the established structures fail to be coherent with the existing situations. Implementation process In case of the agency, certain roles are placed within a group of peoples: some forming the heads of the departments such as finance and technical among others. The responsibilities for each structural unit strictly lie within that structure so that the policy making process takes a cascaded format. For instance, Young claims, â€Å"most agency staff outside finance department has professional or scientific backgrounds while most of the agency finance staff has clerical backgrounds† (2008, p.1). For effectiveness, all the existing structures’ workers ought to posses some general knowledge concerning what happens in other structures. Why? A problem here is obvious. Some omissions are likely to occur when the users of the output of a given structure are not present during formulation and implementation of a given project level. For instance, considering th e agency’s IT project, it calls for heavy expenditure and commitment of resources. Consequently, subtle budgeting is essential. Supposing some bailing was omitted, and only discovered when some certain allocated funds remains. The result would end up being a frustration to the project since chances are likely that additional costs would be incurred in terms of time and other resources to correct the errors that the agency could have avoided. This was possible if the entire team making the policies sat on a rounds table as opposed to over the window approach. According to Bolman and Deal (2008), in structural frame work, the chief focus is on â€Å"how to find some arrangement-a pattern of formal roles and relationships-that will accommodate organizational needs as well as individual differences† (2008, p.50). However, following this framework in the implementation of the new IT project would end up being problematic to the agency. From experience, some other projects h ad failed tremendously when this approach was used. For instance in case, â€Å"the finance branch (a structure) implemented five separate information systems (AP, AR, GL, inventory, HR), which even though the systems worked, they were not integrated. Significant manual intervention was required to produce the statutory financial reports† (Young 2008, p. 2). This is perhaps well depicts the significance of incorporating knowhow from all structures within an organization. It is fascinating to learn about such failure while the agency had apple IT knowhow. For successful implementation of the agency’s IT project through the entire agency, it calls for a breakdown of such structures to make the policies regarding the project across all departments while borrowing the support and technical knowhow of all members of the organization. However, initially the finance department was reluctant to give an incorporative hand in the IT project. They claimed that they did not like à ¢â‚¬Å"waste of money on financial systems, the track record in finance branch was poor. There was no reason to anticipate the agency would not be the next horror given the dreadful experience of their colleagues in other public agencies† (Young 2008, p.9). Conclusion Adopting a structural approach would pose a problem since it is required that the organization be split up into independent unit. The challenge would be to ensure coherency and coordination between these structures upon splitting them up. Some separate units will have separate responsibilities allocated to them. This constitutes an enormous challenge especially while implementing an IT project since, such projects constitutes a set of activities so interrelated that a bug in one of the activities would truncate itself throughout the entire project with consequences of posing future troubles. Need for standardization of skills is yet another drawback. Human beings are different and talented differently and have dif fering capabilities that aid them in accomplishing certain objectives and tasks. More important is the fact that, â€Å"hierarchy and top-down structures tend to work for ordinary and stable tasks† (Bolman Deal 2008, p.56). In situations of complex environment, it is desirable for the structures to adapt. In case the agency used the structural frame, more emphasis would be placed on varying the structures to respond appropriately to the existing dynamics. It is also evident that for a structural frame, â€Å"few groups have flawless members: the light structure can make optimal use of available resources† (Bolman Deal 2008, p.70). The need to embrace group accountability would also emerge as an important issue. Symbolic Frame Introduction Visions coupled with inspirations forms essential components of a leader deploying the symbolic frame. The frame borrows widely from cultural and social anthropology. It â€Å"treats organizations as tribes, theatre or carnivalsâ⠂¬  (Bolman Deal 2008, p.89). The organizations are characterized by cultures driven by heroes, rituals, myths and policies while not negating authority. Problems typically emerge when â€Å"actors play their parts badly, when symbols lose their meaning and when ceremonies lose their potency† (Bolman Deal 2008, p.99). People normally give more concerns to those organizations, which give them unique identities and make them have a feeling of impeccable significance. According to Bolman and Deal (2008), â€Å"these leaders often rely heavily on organizational traditions and values as the basis for building a common vision and culture that provides cohesiveness and meaning† (p.109). Implementation process In the implementation process of the agency’s IT project, some symbols of failure were imminent. Young remarks that, â€Å"this period ended when Henry and another opponent took a leave and finally left the agency† (2005, p.10). The issues surrounding th e departure of Henry and his colleague, in fact, rendered the implementation of the project delayed by six months. Henry’s perceptions about the IT project to incorporate internal reporting systems rather than not just external reporting systems relied on the need to enhance the existing system rather than making additions, which would result to complication of the project. In this context, symbolic frame was essentially constructed by myths about failure, which prejudiced the intents to try some new ways to better the effectiveness and efficiency of the reporting systems with pragmatism. The weird part of adopting a symbolic approach is that, when people hold and advocate for certain beliefs, they normally have the tendencies to translate them into norms. An ideology that a certain way of executing certain organizational roles cannot work, sparingly without any practical proof, would, thus, serve to undermine development of better systems within an organization. Cultural con texts within work places are enormously valid depending on the number of cultures that are brought together for one single reason: attain the organization’s goals and objectives. Consequently, the central concern that a leader need pay impeccable attention to is the need to consolidate cultures, beliefs and myths and establish some compromise that only takes affiliations that are congruent with the optimistic anticipations of the organization in question. However, this does not mean that criticisms fuelled by symbolic frames should be kept at bay. They are indispensable especially when it comes to evaluation of the other side of the story. Nevertheless, the agency’s IT project implementation was not characterized by symbolic of cultural stigmatizations; something that perhaps resulted to the success of the implementation process despite the project being extensively complex. Conclusion Cultural considerations of the organizations’ workforce calls for some inculc ation of strategies that see the entire workforce recognize the relevance of cultural diversity. These are essential since, more often than not, such people come from different cultures. One way to accomplish this is shunning away from stereotypical racial inclinations that perceive some people as better than others, not based on their talents and cognitive abilities endowments, but rather on their color and bodily appearances among other racial traits. Benefits and limitations of the four frames Introduction The frames presented by Bolman and Deal play vital roles in contributing towards the change of ways in which people look at the manner in which work and organization are supposes to be managed. As discussed in the previous section, the four frames are political, structural, human resource and symbolic frame. This section points out the best possible ways of managing processes change by looking at the necessary leadership for successful implementation of projects in the future. The best Possible ways of managing the processes change As discussed in the previous sections, each frame has its pros and cons. A brilliant manager would, therefore, and according to Bolman and Deal (2008), â€Å"adopt the frame works that will most be appropriate for a given situation† (p.140). The nature of the organizations is characterized by deception, ambiguities, surprises and incredible complexity. Multiple frames can promote versatility with repercussion of improvement of understanding about a situation facing a manager. Bolman and Deal are for the opinion that â€Å"Multiple frames enable us to reframe-to view the same thing from multiple perspectives† (2008, p.157). This way the erroneous indulgences of the managers in narrow thinking would dwindle. Additionally, this would serve to the advantage of work and organizational systems. Organizations established within a society fragments them into discrete structures possessing some symbols that identify and th oroughly distinguish them from all other structures. Furthermore, such structures are mostly for individuals who have certain perceptions, feelings and prejudices. This makes it vital for such future agencies to incorporate the strategies of human resources. On a different account, organizations subject themselves to political influences especially when formulating certain policies (Frost 1986, p.29). Consequently, future agencies call upon managers who are part of the projects implementation committees to consider political frames in an endeavor to ensure that neutral positions are established among all stakeholders. In fact, it is impossible to align all stakeholders of any IT implementation project to the goal of an organization if they embrace differing political opinions especially bearing in mind how information technology project involves incredible investments in terms of technological knowhow amid large commitments of organization’s funds. It is pertinent to note als o that political frames embrace arriving at decisions through bargaining, jockeying and negotiations emanating from contributions of different coalition parties forming the entire decision making arm of an organization. Inasmuch as political frame consideration is paramount, arriving at decisions may take quite a long time following the need to provide political views agreement, failure to which they would form subtle catalysts for coercion (University of Melbourne 2003, Para. 3). Consequently, multiple frames stand out as the way out for the future IT project implementations. If future projects are to be implemented with excellence, â€Å"it requires whole some redefinition, perhaps, excellent firm do not believe in excellence- only in constant improvement and constant change† (Frost 1986, p.4). Such excellence may not be achieved through consideration of only a single frame when approaching the nightmare of future project implementations. Implementing changes demands commit ment of energy in an attempt to learn new approaches in development of new skills and capacities to handle emerging challenges. Therefore, future management requires managers who approach organizational challenges from multi-frames approach. Necessary leadership for successful implementations of projects With complexities in technological sophistication, it is anticipated that implementation of future projects would pose many management and leadership challenges. One radical shift that is vital is looking at leadership out of the old contexts. Leadership is not synonymous â€Å"to power also, it is a distinct form authority† (Bolman Deal 2008, p.167). Leadership also differs from the traditional managerial roles in that requires a leader to look beyond the existing personal jurisdictions thinking from a long-term dimension. The leader must possess political skills coupled with an incredible emphasis on renewal, acting as vision carrier of an organization. According to Frost (1986), â€Å"leaders are expected to persuade and inspire, not coerce† (p.78). The future leaders deserve to appreciate that their noble roles in organizations entail making policies vital for future prosperity of an organization. However, they should be flexible enough to allow policies shape them. They are not enforcers. Leaders, who will be at a position to lead and foster successful implementation of projects, will have to embrace high qualities of leadership. One of such qualities is characterized by visions and focus of the organizations future positions in terms of short term and long terms goals and objectives realization. To certify this requirement, leaders predominantly deserve to establish their standards of performance, set clear and precise directions, and seek the guidance of both practical and abstract images of the future position of the organization (Bolman Deal 2008, p.167). Deep emotional attachment and commitment to work toward the people who are charge d with doing the organizations work goes a long way in portraying the leaders passion to work and organizations functions. Other qualities of exemplary leaders include â€Å"technical competency, perceptive, holistic thinking, well endowed with communication skills and intuitive about undercurrents of mood or changes† (Hersey et al. 2007, p.93). These qualities arguably are consistent with calls for future leaders to incorporate multi-frames perspectives. With reference to Hersey et al. (2007), it is impossible that â€Å"managers will provide the necessary support to match the new demands they are making of their employees and employees are expected to emerge from the womb running without any visible means of support† (p.105). Bolman and Deal criticize the traditional approaches of leadership claiming that leaders operate and execute their responsibilities in an organization as if there is only one frame. The emphasis here is that, for successful implementation of fut ure projects, the leaders need to establish foundations that would ensure coherency in the way the stakeholders involve themselves in the implementation process.   They also need to know how they perceive and attach their anticipations to the entire project. A competitive leader needs to possess the ability to make the workforce and the heads of various organizational structures see the endeavors of an organization to implement projects that would translate to increased effectiveness of the organization from a positive dimension: enthusiasm for success despite failures of past attempts in other sectors. Such leaders appreciate the need to learn from such failures and use it to bench mark their organization projects implementation. This way replication of errors committed by other institutions may be avoided. All they need to do is to convince their workers that they can do things in a different way and succeed. Conclusion Making organizational decisions on implementation of vital projects that see an organization change its ways of operation and handling of work, calls for bold leaders. These leaders not only deserve to look at all issues entangling the implementation of projects from political, structural, symbolic and human resource frames collectively but also posses high qualities of leadership. The future leaders, who will perhaps handle intricate projects in future, are called to have high integrity and open-mindedness that prompts them to be open to logic and reason. This measure has the capacity to make them accommodate varying views of the people he or she leads irrespective of whether such views are instigated by political perspective, symbolism, structural frames or even human resource concerns. The success of implementation of projects squarely lies on the manager’s ability to consolidate and practice his or her roles: leading, controlling and monitoring, effectively. As discussed in the paper, adopting a specific frame while making essent ial projects implementation decisions exposes a manager to some situations, which curtails his or her efforts to look at the situation from varying latitudes and dimensions. Consequently, the paper advocates for a multi-frame approach while making management decisions especially by noting that people have different motivators, political affiliations and come from multiethnic society. In this perspective, organizational leadership has been discussed in the paper as complex, unpredictable and deceptive responsibility. References Bolman, L., Deal, T., 2008. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Frost, J., 1986. Power, Politics, and Influence: In L. W. Porter and others (eds.): The  Handbook of Organizational Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hersey, P., Blanchard, K., Johnson, E., 2007. The Management of Organizational  Behavior. Upper saddle river, NJ: Prentice Hall. Jensen, C., Meckling, W., 1994. The Nature of Man. Journal of Applied Corporate  Finance, 7 (2), pp. 4-19. University of Melbourne., 2003. Managing the Educational Organization. Available at: http/: www. University of Melbourne. Young, R., 2005. Against the odds: how an executive project sponsor influenced a project to succeed despite unsupportive environment; MGSM case study 2005-3. Macquarie Graduate School of Management, 1(1), pp. 1-19.

British Monetary Policy vis--vis Euro-Zone Essay

British Monetary Policy vis--vis Euro-Zone - Essay Example In the 19th century peak British currency was actually defined in terms of gold. Giving up the precious metal link after 1945 relaxed the constraint on monetary policy and the floating sterling exchange rate that followed provided even less discipline. With the discarding of any precious metal support, dependence in sterling and monetary policy after the Second World War was reflected in the foreign exchange value, which fell from $4.03 to $1.70 by 1976, while inflation climaxed at an annual rate of 26.9%. Different tactics to create monetary stability have been tried since 1945, including shadow the Deutschmark and monetary targeting. Paradoxically one of the greater political dishonours for sterling, being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, marked the beginning of the present union of the British economy to a stable non-inflationary growth path. The turn around in post war British economic policy began with Margaret Thatcher's government, elected in 1979. In addition to a series of monetary policy experiments, a variety of structural reforms in the economy were begun, including privatisation and steps to increase labour market flexibility. Inflation receded along with unemployment and economic development resumed. Election of the 'New Labour' government of 1997 saw no break in the principles of national economic management. It created an independent Monetary Policy Committee instructed to follow a uniform inflation rule and to report their deliberations. These arrangements eventually are usually judged to provide best practice monetary policy. For example synchronization between independent monetary and fiscal policies is far easier for Britain under the present arrangements than for Euro-zone with its many national taxing and spending policies. Not only is the monetary policy strategy and inflation target of the European Central Bank (ECB) censured for being poor and possibly damaging to the ECB's credibility. For the better management of the nation's finances the Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced the long belated distinction between capital and current account spending. Borrowing to improve the nation's useful capital was acceptable, as was temporary borrowing to stabilise the economy in the face of shocks. To ensure government debt increases were restricted to these two purposes, he accepted two obligations on government policy; that existing account spending should balance tax receipts over the cycle and that the government debt to national income ratio should not exceed 40 %. These improvements in the British macroeconomic management structure are important and definitely superior to the present equivalent institutions of the euro-zone, the European Central Bank and the Growth and Stability Pact. The government now needs to make comparable progress in the fields of the health service, education and transport, about which there is general displeasure among the electorate. In these services there is much to be learned from other European countries nevertheless joining the euro and possible resulting closer political integration with Europe do not guarantee to deal with British concerns. European Integration What Britain has in fact wanted from the rest of Europe is simply free trade, not imported institutions intended to manage continental problems.

Project Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Project Management Techniques - Essay Example This case is a project aimed at upgrading the staff computers from Windows XP to Windows 7. It should be accomplished during the winter and spring 2011/2012, and shall be carried out by the six member in-house technical support unit of the organization. By the project’s end, all 400 computers located in the company’s 30 locations situated around England should be running on Windows 7. The computers presently are of varied types and specifications, and by project’s end should be running on Windows 7 without compromising or unduly interrupting the regular workload. The purpose of this report is to examine the project management tools that may be used to provide a systematic means of addressing the project’s planning and implementation. The project shall provide the context for discussion, but a full blown analysis is not attempted at this point. Prescribed Project Management Tools This section provides a cursory examination of the traditional project managem ent tools and comment on their applicable use in the context of this project. The traditional tools that will be discussed are the Gantt chart, the PERT method, the Logic Network, the Product Breakdown Structure, and the Work Breakdown Structure. ... In contemporary use, the importance of the Gantt chart as an industry standard is that the time and functional interdependencies of the various tasks are rendered immediately visible (Haughey, 2011). In the figure following, a Gantt chart is presented that may well serve as the initial conceptualization of the project plan. Here it is assumed that the group of six technicians will work in two teams, each team having one member that is familiar with end user requirements. Each of the teams will address half or the 30 locations, and each location can be addressed in two days (including travelling time). The initial schedule is thus laid out in the Gantt chart for one team. Author created The above chart is tentative and not executable for lack of additional data. If the tasks for each location could be broken down further (e.g. hardware modification, software installation, troubleshooting, etc.) and scheduled, e a more detailed and reliable chart results. Even in its tentative state, t hough, it already presents a useful rendition of the work intended and points out what other information are necessary to obtain. Logic Network The Logic Network depicts the series of activities that a project undergoes. The logical and sequential relationships of tasks are emphasized, and may provide information such as the critical path and the important milestones of the project. As with the Gantt chart, the dependencies are established between the timescale, the project elements, and the workflow ((Haughey, 2011). Author created For this case, the Logic Network shown above pertains to the activity of each team for each trip it takes to one of the 15 locations scheduled for it. In the team, a group of three

Network security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Network security - Research Paper Example This study proposes a number of ad hoc network protocols that will operate during on-demand basis or situations because on-demand protocols are known to have faster reaction and lower overhead compared to other routing protocols considering proactive mechanisms. Recently, there have been many developments as concerns mounting secure routing protocols for ad hoc networks incorporating a significant number of on-demand secure routing protocols to shield a number of probable attacks. In this study, a new attack that causes denial of service when exposed to all the previous on-demand network protocols is presented; it is referred to as rushing attack. Ad hoc network protocols like AODV and DSR with all security protocols imposed on them can’t discover routes which are longer than 2 hops when subjected to this attack. This is a serious attack because it can be propagated by even relatively very weak attackers. This study pays close attention to the setbacks that previous protocols had hence failing to counter this grave attack and come up with a RAP (Rushing Attack Prevention) which is a standard protection against on-demand protocols rushing attack. This protection provides a provable security feature to weak and even the stronger rushing attackers at no cost provided the underlying protocol does not fail to identify the working route. Topic description Nowadays the WSNs or Wireless sensor networks is gaining a global interest of its usage of minimal power radio skills and microelectronic systems. Its Sensor nodes are able to use batteries as a major source of power as well as harness energy from the environment as the case of solar panels. However the wireless sensor network architecture for WSN like any other wireless technology, it is subjected to a number of security attacks because it uses broadcast way of a transmission channel. A number of limitations in including security in WSN are prevalent e.g. : communication, storage limitations, processing capa bilities and computation, therefore, to plan a security protocol one has to understand all these challenges if acceptable performance is to be achieved (C?ayirci and Rong 187-202). This study will therefore, elaborate certain kinds of attacks over the ad hoc and wireless sensor networks as well as doing security analysis of the main routing protocols in these networks as pertains security goals and design. Ad hoc network can be described as a group of mobile nodes or computers that collaborate with each other by forwarding packets to each other; this enables them to extend their limited communication range for each computer’s wireless network interface. This study shall produce a number of established protocols in ad hoc networks. These networks are mostly preferred in situations where the communicating computers are mobile and wired network use is not economical or generally not present. These nodes may run applications from un-trusted sources and therefore a need of a secur e routing protocol. Secure routing protocols shouldn’t only be implemented only because of known attackers but even for the unforeseen ones because it will provide resilience to misconfigured computers. Routing tables for misconfigured nodes poses a

Social And Emotional Development Of Children

Social And Emotional Development Of Children Social and emotional development underpins effective learning, positive behaviour and the judgements they make in and out of school. Schools need to be places where emotions are accepted as normal, unthreatening, discussed freely, expressed safely strategies and support are written in statements and policies. A successful strategy that has been introduced into schools is SEAL, SEAL stands for social, emotional aspects of learning, and this is a school programme that focuses on the development and the application of social and emotional skills. Not only does SEAL consider the needs of the children but also all that work in the setting, providing support for them to implement the strategies that it highlights. Its important in the early years that practitioners understand that children develop at different rates; emotionally others are more mature than others. This is a similar situation for social development children that dont have enough social experiences from a young age are less likely to be social in a classroom due to lack of confidence. The theorist Bowlby is most famous for his attachment theory he devised the term maternal deprivation (Bowlby, n.d.) this was because he believed that if children were separated from their mothers at young age then they would be psychology damaged (Squire, 2007) this supports the theory that without enough social attachment and experiences in the early stages of life then children are more likely to be unconfident in social situations and find it harder to adapting to school life. The EYFS believe that all children are ready to learn. The EYFS (2012, pp.2) states that Development is not an automatic process, however. It depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact with positive relationships and enabling environments being a unique child emphasises more on the fact that children do develop at different rates. So having relationships with people and being in a encouraging environment helps develop children socially and emotionally, this is why its essential practitioners and schools provide these are much as possible. It is proven that in the 21st century children are more likely to worry about family, school, friendships from two decades ago (Blake, 2007). This is a worrying result because most people have the view that childhood should be carefree and trouble free. Schools have more pressure now more than ever to ensure that children have a safe and worry free environment to learn in. Social development is promoted in all child care settings, teachers are using group tasks more and involving children as much as possible, if they realise that a child is withdrawn then action is taken to involve this child such as talking to them and introducing new provisions such as a buddy system at play times so children can always have someone to socialise with. However when it comes to emotional development, I havent seen many provisions put into place to support this, some schools introduce schemes such as emotion sticks in which the children place their name in the pot with the emotion that they are feelin g that day, this quickly faded out because the children forgot and the practitioners forgot to remind the children that they need to do this, circle time is a popular way that schools choose to support emotional development, this is very effective in the early years, unfortunately not every school use circle time often because they dont have time and it wont fit into their curriculum so its often put aside. One way in which some schools promote emotional and social development is interacting with the community in which they live in, this gives children the sense of belonging and a strong self-image, this in turn builds self-esteem, the higher their self-esteem is then the more confident the child will be, making the most of opportunities especially throughout the school, because they have already had the experience of being involved with the charity event or helping the elderly they will be more confident in the social aspect of new activities but also emotionally because they have more confidence in what they can do. The every child matters document supports this strategy, the ECM has a section titled make a positive contribution helping the community is part of this. There are several strategies that schools use to support emotional and social development, in order to keep these as effective as possible, the school need to review the strategies as often as needed to ensure that they are working, if a method isnt working then another is chosen and used in the school. This can be done by monitoring the children whilst they are taking part in the strategies to see how they are using them, if they are engaged and involving themselves in them then this is a good sign however if a couple of children dont feel comfortable or utilising the method as desired then a different approach may need to be taken. Reviewing the strategies every term is a good way to see how effective it is, another strategy can then be introduced in the next term, and once the method that is the most effective in the school for the pupils, teachers and parents then it can be used throughout the school, different age groups may also need different strategies, older childrens emotio nal and social developmental needs will be different to the early years, this needs to be taken in consideration when planning approaches. Some schools may end up with 2 or 3 different methods being used in the school. One of the most recent strategies that schools use to support emotional and social development is the healthy schools scheme. This was set up to promote healthy eating and exercise in schools, not only does this promote concentration in the classrooms but it involves children in activities organised by the school, the way in which the schools implement this strategy is up to them, some may decide to use Activate or Wake Up Shake Up in their school day or by introducing healthy snacks at break and lunch time. A Healthy  School  promotes  the  health  and  well ­being  of  its  pupils  and  staff through  a well-planned,  taught  curriculum  in  a  physical  and  emotional environment  that  promotes  learning  and  healthy  lifestyle  choices (Departement of Health, 2007) This strategy was more important than ever in 2012 due to the London Olympic Games, children wanted to be more active in and out of schools, so having sports days and Olympic challenges was an ideal way to promote healthy schools further. The walking and cycling provisions that some schools use, involve the children in the community as well as being sociable, this supports the emotional and social development of children. However not all schools provide strategies such as these, some schools dont have the funding whereas others dont see it as an important aspect of childrens learning. When the scheme was first introduced thousands of schools took it on board however as the years have passed its become increasingly difficult for schools to motivate themselves to continue the strategy. In order for healthy schools to once again be a priority for schools, new ways of promoting healthy eating and exercise need to be put into place, schools could involve the children in this process, this would also make the children more motivated to actually do the activities because they have had an input. If a child is constantly being told that they are unhe althy therefore they need to take part in the schools activities, then their self-esteem is going to get lower and lower which has a considerable effect on the childs emotional welfare, they will eventually have a negative view of themself, schools need to be aware of this and ensure that no child is told they are unhealthy or lazy, every child needs to take part in the scheme as much as possible. In contrast to the recent impact of healthy schools, there has been numerous research and discussion about gender roles. There is the ultimate question of, are girls born automatically liking pink and boys liking blue? There will never be an exact answer to this question some will say its to do with nature whereas others will say affected by nurture. When children first come into a setting, they may feel pressure to go and play with the construction area if they are a boy or immediately go into the role play area if they are a girl. This attitude is changing and children are becoming more confident in their own decisions as to where they should play, however some parents heavily promote girls playing with dolls and putting on makeup the same is for boys, parents may want their son to play football or rugby which are heavily male influenced. This goes against the various strategies that schools are implementing to help prevent children feeling as though they dont have an individual id entity, which affects their emotional understanding. Dowling (2012, pp.159) agrees with this point young children will only become confused if values at home and nursery are in direct opposition Every classroom should be gender neutral with pale walls, and pictures of girls and boys playing in the different areas of the classroom, providing activities that both girls and boys can play with for example not just providing colouring pages for girls but for boys as well. However even though this method is being implemented, the media still goes against a gender neutral environment, portraying women in Disney films as being helpless and in danger and having a dashing knight coming to save the day, this gives children the perception that women are weaker and less brave then men. However this attitude will almost never be changed, companies know what makes them money and if it means giving children mixed views about themselves then they will continue to do it. Its essential that schools co ntinue to use the action that they are taking to help prevent these views coming into schools. Not only is it important that classrooms are inclusive, the practitioners also need have an understanding and agreement about inclusion, in order to provide equal opportunities for every child (Beaty, 2006) One of the most effective provisions that schools have introduced is circle time. Jenny Mosley is the brains behind the whole school approach towards circle time. Good behaviour management is key when doing circle time, the children need to know the rules that surround circle time, its a trusting place where the children can communicate with each other and discussing issues that they feel are important and is also a great opportunity for children to socialise with the rest of the class. Circle time can also be used as a anti bullying technique, if children arent getting along in or out of the classroom then this strategy can be used to give the children the opportunity to talk about their issues, this also opens their eyes to the fact that they may of really upset the other children, providing emotional awareness that a childs actions may affect another child and they may not even know it. Circle time works best when its not done too often; having circle time every day would be borin g for the children and the teacher and would lose the desired effect. It provides opportunities to learn how to listen and respect others; its also an emotionally safe place for children to be in with trusting people and a comfortable environment. (Circle Time, n.d.) However because circle time is the most effective when its done regularly, it can be easy to forget the routine of circle time missing circle time several weeks in a row can effect children because they may have something specific they want to say in circle time and dont get the opportunity to say it because the teacher has forgotten about circle time, this can be easily resolved the children could be responsible for reminding the teacher about circle time, having a day activity planner in a visible place that consists of pictures and words so the children can see what they are doing also, is a good way to inform that circle time will be happening, reassuring the children. Circle time additionally provides important tim e for children and practitioners to develop a trusting and positive relationship; this is why circle time is especially important in the first couple of weeks of term. The professional relationship between parents and teachers is just as important, parents and carers need to know that their child is safe and happy in the setting, if a parent has concerns about their child then the teacher is the first person that they will go to, for example if a parent thinks that their child is being bullied by another child in the class then the teacher and parent can work together to think of techniques to use in order to stop this happening, circle time could be one of the strategies used. A method that was used in a school to promote the relationships between child and teacher and parent and teacher was stay and play. This occurred once a week and parents or relatives had the choice to join in on activities in the classroom, it would start off by the teacher explaining what the activities were for, how they linked in with the curriculum and what the parents could do to further encourage the learning at home, the stay and play session lasted for 45 minutes, th e teacher answered any questions that they were asked, and the children enjoyed playing with the various activities in the classroom with the support from parents and teachers. This was a very effective strategy used in this school, and they can continue to maintain the building relationships by having parent councils like the one in Bruce Grove Primary School, they found a parent council very effective it provided opportunities for parents to communicate with one another and have their input into how they wanted their children to learn. This continues the positive relationship between schools and parents/carers, its essential that there is constant communication because they both want the children to learn and develop to the best of their ability, when children see the positive relationship between their parents and their teacher, it makes them comfortable around the teacher. Not only is the relationships within school important but the environment is equally important, the EYFS approach to the unique child consists of positive relationships and an enabling environment. An environment that provides opportunities and exploration also needs to make the child feel safe and secure. These positive environments from the EYFS (2012, pp.2) explain that they need to have stimulating resources, relevant to all the childrens cultures and communities successfully combining play and learning especially in early years settings, this is important because then children will link learning with being fun. Not only do schools need to support children with their emotional and social development but they also need to support them to take risks and explore new environments, children learn the most effectively through personal experiences so promoting these gives children more confidence in their abilities and having a better perception of themself. Positive relationships and e nabling environments ensures learning and development. Observing, assessing and planning ensures that strategies work in the setting and meet the childrens individual needs. Each section of the EYFS document are individual however they are all underpinned by the basic factors to successfully support childrens social and emotional development. Every unique child needs positive relationships from every direction; parents, teachers and fellow peers. Enabling environments that are supportive and positive these together will equal to learning and development.

guarani indians :: essays research papers fc

The Guarani is an indigenous group living in the eastern lowland area of South America, with a population of about 80,000. It is believed that the Guaranis originated in the area of the Amazon River, then started to move south and inland (www.hollowear.com). They now reside in Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil and their language is spoken by nearly 4 million people. (www.bartleby.com). There currently are three main sub-divisions of the Guarani tribes. Those are the Mbya, the AvaGuarani, and the Pay Tavytera, although they seem very cultured, they carry many of the traditional cultural elements of the land around them (www.museobarbero.org). They cling to their religious traditions and feel that what the earth-touches symbolizes its ethnicity. One of the three main tribes, The Mbya, can be found in the northern area of East Paraguay. The Mbya identify with their peers, the same way as their ancestors used to, through the remembrance of the tambeao, which is a woven garment made by the ancestors; eating habits and linguistic expressions (www.socioambiental.org). Despite the various types of pressures that the Guarani have faced and suffered over the past couple of centuries, and with the separation of their villages, the Mbya began to see themselves as a different group from the rest of the Guarani (www.museobarbero.org). The Mbya have a good religious background, which allows them to see their peers as equals, and to fully respect the lands that surround them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Guaycuru of the South maintained the southern area from Villeta until Corrientes. The Guaycuru were always in search of horses and the livestock, because of their inter-ethnical fights, in hopes to defend themselves. That was until the end of the eighteenth century. The last of the three main tribes is the Ava-Guarani, who can be found in the southern part of the Venezuelan Plains (www.museobarbero.org).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the Spaniards established their place in Asuncion, the Guarani looked to form an alliance with the Spaniards (www.museobarbero.org). They wanted to because their river was constantly being threatened by surrounding tribes and they figured it they formed an alliance with the Spaniards, it would help to protect them, their family and their land. In way to get the Spaniards to form an alliance with the Guarani, the Guarani gave them corn and other food, as well as servants. The Guaranis are farmers, cultivating mainly corn, sweet potatoes, manioc root, tea, etc. Their handicraft is known to portray the forest and its living beings, and their basket weaving is seen to portray repeating patterns of snake skins, leopards and other animals.

Looking for Alibrandi Extra Chapter

Chapter 33 Three months have passed since Josie and Jacob’s break and the completion of their final year at school, the summer holidays are coming to an end and a new year has begun. My heavy eyes ached as I closed them listening to music. I was nearly asleep when the song I was listening to paused and my familiar message tone sounded through my headphones. I picked up my phone just as the song faded back in, my eyes blurred as they adjusted to the light of my phone screen but the only thing I could see was Josie’s name. I sat up in shock and re-read the sender name a few times before believing it.I opened the message and started reading. ‘I’ve missed you so much Jacob, this is so hard and everything I do reminds me of you, I really want to see you again. ’ I stared at it for a moment in shock before a huge wave of emotion came over me. I kept reading it over and over thinking I must be in a dream. I didn’t know what to do or say. My mind was soon crowded with thoughts and suddenly I felt wide awake. Every day that passed I thought how I wished I was good enough to be with her, because in reality I wasn’t over Josie and I really missed what we had.When I did reply I wrote ‘I need you in my life Josie, I can’t bear not having you next to me anymore, I miss your company and want to see you’ I pressed send and anxiously waited for a reply. I heard another buzz so I picked up my phone. ‘Meet me at Subway at 12’ she said. The morning went so fast, I was slightly nervous about seeing Josie again since it had been three months since our last encounter. I put on a t-shirt and shorts on then stood in front of the mirror as I splashed my face with water. I looked at the clock and saw it was 11:50 so I grabbed my helmet and jacket as I pushed my motorcycle out the garage.It wasn’t until I got to the street before Subway that I realised my phone had fallen out of my pocket and I had lef t my wallet at home. I knew then I was going to be late and Josie was going to be left waiting. I turned around and was accelerating down the road when my bike slowed and came to a halt. ‘Could things get any worse? ’ I asked myself as I stared down at an empty fuel gage. I was scared that Josie would be thinking I stood her up and that I had no intention of getting back together with her. I had no choice at this point but to push my bike back home. All I could picture was Josie sitting at Subway all alone waiting.I arrived back home feeling stuffed but I refuelled my bike and sped back down to Subway. I saw Josie sitting at a bus stop nearby and I knew she had recognised the familiar sound of my motorcycle. I parked and got off right beside her. ‘You actually bothered to show up? ’ she exclaimed with anger in her voice. ‘Jose I’m so sorry, I’m sorry for everything! ’ I said still taking off my helmet so my voice was muffled. I tr ied to wrap my arms around her but she resisted trying to be mad. Even though I knew her better than anyone and I could tell she was happy to see me.The butterflies from three months ago had probably just filled her stomach like she told me they used to. ‘I was nearly here when I realised I forgot my wallet, then my bike ran out of fuel, I’m so sorry†¦ I’ll make it up to you,’ I looked at her in the eyes as she pushed out a smile. ‘Let’s go, I want to take you somewhere’ I said as I grabbed her hand and she jumped on the back of my bike. We went down to the beach and took a long walk on the sand. Having that break between us was the best thing, it feels like nothing was ever wrong and we are just meant to be together.

Free Essays on Seven Habits

Seven Habits: Improving Ourselves The book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People written by Stephen Covey is an excellent book and compliments everything that we have studied this semester. His book is an enhancing book based on personal experiences, tips, and suggestions on how to better our lives. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People begins with the wise observation that people perceive the world differently, and because we view the world with our own unique "lens," it is difficult to separate the observation from the observer. Covey says that we all have our own paradigm, which is our own map of how we perceive the world and how we think the world should be in our ideal view. Covey writes, "The way we see things are the source of the way we think and the way we act" (Covey et al, 1989). Covey reveals ways of changing by providing a seven-step approach, which will give a positive accent to your life. Covey’s seven habits are: Be Proactive, Begin With the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win/Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood, Synergize, and lastly Sharpen the Saw. Habits one, two, and three relate to private victory with habit four, five, and six relating to public victories and habit seven being involved with renewal. According to Covey, Habit one, Be Proactive, explains our ability to take charge of our lives. We have the ability to take charge, plan ahead, and focus our energies on things we can control instead of reacting to or worrying about things over which we have little or no control. Being proactive is determined by principles. Principles are how you treat other people, how to listen to people, how you build trust, how to seek win-win relationships and being genuinely happy when other people succeed. No matter what the world outside is like or what your mood is you still hold true to your principles. Being proactive also means that yo... Free Essays on Seven Habits Free Essays on Seven Habits Seven Habits: Improving Ourselves The book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People written by Stephen Covey is an excellent book and compliments everything that we have studied this semester. His book is an enhancing book based on personal experiences, tips, and suggestions on how to better our lives. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People begins with the wise observation that people perceive the world differently, and because we view the world with our own unique "lens," it is difficult to separate the observation from the observer. Covey says that we all have our own paradigm, which is our own map of how we perceive the world and how we think the world should be in our ideal view. Covey writes, "The way we see things are the source of the way we think and the way we act" (Covey et al, 1989). Covey reveals ways of changing by providing a seven-step approach, which will give a positive accent to your life. Covey’s seven habits are: Be Proactive, Begin With the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win/Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood, Synergize, and lastly Sharpen the Saw. Habits one, two, and three relate to private victory with habit four, five, and six relating to public victories and habit seven being involved with renewal. According to Covey, Habit one, Be Proactive, explains our ability to take charge of our lives. We have the ability to take charge, plan ahead, and focus our energies on things we can control instead of reacting to or worrying about things over which we have little or no control. Being proactive is determined by principles. Principles are how you treat other people, how to listen to people, how you build trust, how to seek win-win relationships and being genuinely happy when other people succeed. No matter what the world outside is like or what your mood is you still hold true to your principles. Being proactive also means that yo...

Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation The WritePass Journal

Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation Abstract Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation , total revenues reached USD$ 27.5 billion. This is a 2% growth from its 2011 figure. Based on data for the past six years, the company had the highest growth rate in 2010-2011 at 12%. However, the company experienced a steep decline the following year, with growth rate at only 2%. Table 1. McDonald’s 6 Year Summary (Millions) Dollars in millions, except per share data 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Company operated sales 18,603 18,293 16,233 15,459 16,561 16,611 Franchised revenues 8,964 8,713 7,842 7,286 6,961 6,176 Total revenues 27,567 27,006 24,075 22,745 23,522 22,787 Table 2. McDonald’s 6 Year Percentage Growth Year on Year Percentage Growth 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008 Company operated sales 2% 13% 5% -7% 0% Franchised revenues 3% 11% 8% 5% 13% Total revenues 2% 12% 6% -3% 3% 2.Industry Overview and Competitive Environment McDonald’s operates in the fast food industry, which involves selling foods and beverages for immediate consumption either within the retail premises or as â€Å"take away.† The market may be categorized in to the following segments: QSR (Quick Service Restaurants), Leisure Locations, Mobile and Street Vendors, and Takeaways. In 2011, the global fast food market grew by 6.8%, reaching USD $253 billion in total value. The compounded yearly growth rate from 2007 to 2011 was at 5.2%. QSR is the most lucrative segment, generating over $167.8 billion in revenues; which is equivalent to 66.4% of the total market value (Research and Markets, 2013). McDonald’s, together with other players such as Burger King, dominate the burger segment (Reynolds, 2013). The market is comprised of many independent restaurants, as well as large chain outlets. To a reasonable extent, competition is intensified by the low entry costs and the ease with which already established companies can increase volume or grow outlet numbers. Within the restaurant industry, players focus more on fast food where profitability is dependent on high turnover activities. The degree of price competition is usually high within this industry with many companies, including McDonald’s, focusing on the same target market. Competitors range from fast food restaurants, traditional fish and chips outlets, coffee shops, and other fast food businesses (Brotherton, 2012). Key competitors to McDonald’s are other similarly large and well-established global fast food chains such as Burger King, Wendy’s Co, and Yum Brands. Although it is not actually a fast food chain, Starbucks is also considered as a major competitor of McDonald’s due to its immense popularity, especially in the US. McDonald’s McCafe chains are considered as more of a competitor to Starbucks. Table 2. Profile of McDonald’s Top Competitors Competitor Profile Burger King Corporation  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Operates over 12,174 fast food outlets in the US and has others in over 76 countries across the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Has 1,387 company restaurants as well as 10,787 independent franchises Domino’s Pizza Inc.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The leading pizza delivery firm in the US  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It runs a network of about 8,999 outlets, both franchises and company-owned stores in US’s 50 states and other 60 world countries. Starbucks  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A global coffee company based in the US  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is the largest coffee shop chain in the world with over 20,800 stores in 62 countries Wendy’s Co.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wendys/Arbys Group, arose from a merger between Wendys International and Triarc Companies  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wendys/Arbys group is a popular quick service restaurant operator, franchising the Wendys and Arbys brand names within the US and Canada.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The total number of franchises for this group is over 10,000. Yum Brands Inc.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yum runs several branded restaurant chains including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In total, it has over 39,000 restaurants spread in over 125 countries. Source: Key Note, 2012 Figure 1. Market Share of Fast Food Chains in the US (2006-2011) 3. Market Entry Strategy Historically, McDonald’s has experimented with a variety of market entry strategies (Hendrikse, 2008). Currently, some of the outlets are run by the company, while most of them (more than 26,000 outlets) are franchises. McDonald’s franchise arrangements comprise conventional franchise engagements, developmental license arrangements, and foreign affiliates. Of all franchises, the corporation runs 19,279 conventional franchisees, 3,574 affiliates and 3,485 developmental licenses (McDonald’s, 2013). Currently, McDonald’s is one of the biggest franchisors in the world. The company has implemented a comprehensive framework for engaging, training, and monitoring its franchises to make sure that they abide by McDonald’s’ Values, Quality, Cleanliness and Service plans (Moschandreas, 2000). These franchisees are required to pay a fixed fee plus a certain percentage of the generated revenues. They operate basically as independent entities within a national brand structure where they purchase various inputs from the approved contractors and also determine their own prices. The first international market expansion experiment by McDonald’s was to establish an outlet in the Caribbean with limited supervision by the company. After the failure of this first attempt, the firm experimented with a joint venture strategy in Netherlands. In this experiment, the local stores involved replaced the usual McDonald’s menu offerings with based on local preferences. The company decided to abandon its old strategy where stores would be run by local entrepreneurs and instead engaged a combination of both local and expatriate partners (Marketwatch, 2005). Unfortunately, the result was disastrous; forcing McDonald’s to revise its entry strategy. This made way for the second phase of entry, which was centred on adapting versus changing local culture. Despite some initial failures, McDonald’s continued to experiment with market entry strategies in foreign markets. For example, in India, the company established as a 50-50 joint venture partnership. This arrangement was between McDonald’s USA and two other Indian businessmen, Vikram Bakshi and Amit Jatia, who owns Connaught Plaza Restaurants and Hard Castle Restaurants respectively (Gerhardt et al., 2012). The joint venture partnership was different from McDonald’s usual franchise business model but it was seen as the best way to successfully enter India’s highly diverse and complex restaurant industry. 4. McDonalds Global Marketing Strategy The marketing mix is a framework consisting of the basic, strategic components of a firm’s marketing plan. The components are referred to as the 4P’s denoting product, promotion, place, and price (Chon et al., 2012). Marketers decide the right mix to use where they can alter the final product or service offerings to customers by varying the components of the mix. This section analyses McDonald’s marketing mix to find out what the foodservice retailer has done to position its products in the market. 4.1. Product Product is probably the most important element of McDonald’s’ marketing mix. The company has tightly controlled its products’ quality so as to induce demand from the target market (Verma, 2012). With the support of the other elements, McDonald’s has managed to develop a broad product portfolio to attract a broad market segment. The company’s products are planned carefully, considering aspects such as quality, design, shape, brand name, services, size, services, and packaging. McDonald’s also oversees the operations of all its restaurants to guarantee uniformity of standards in product quality and services offered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An important matter when it comes to international marketing relates to how a firm adapts its products across national boundaries. McDonald’s, like many other internationally recognized brands, uses standardization to ensure that its products appeal to a wide audience. This is a very i mportant marketing aspect because the company must ensure that its global brand is preserved. Therefore, McDonalds restaurants across the word offer a substantially standard menu. However, according to Thomadsen (2007), some variations are necessary to make sure that the different needs of consumers in different regions are addressed. As such, McDonald’s has made effort to adapt some of its products to some markets. This is necessary because consumers in different areas have diverse needs, tastes and preferences, and different consumption and buying habits. A good example of McDonald’s adaptation strategy is the Indian market where the company, on top of trying to market its international brand, has made several modifications to its products to make sure that they are suitable for Indian consumers. The Indian market consists of a large number of vegetarians. Therefore, the company found it necessary to modify its product offerings to cater to this market segment. This led to the introduction of vegetarian foods such as McAloo Tikki and McVeggie Burgers. The company has made sure that the separation of the two food categories (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) is maintained. Also, in India where cows are considered sacred, burgers are either fish or chicken in instead of beef (Armstrong Kotler, 2005). McDonald’s constantly innovates its product offerings based on the changing needs and preferences of its customers (McDonald’s, 2013). Additionally, intense price competition increases McDonald’s motivation to differentiate itself from other industry players. Applying a differentiation strategy can help a company to control price competition to some extent (Thomadsen, 2007). It can be surmised that McDonald’s is not a global retailer of exclusively American food because it offers modified menus to suit different regions. The brand and the format are globally consistent; however, certain customer-oriented components like individual menu offerings and service personnel are tailored to suit local preferences. 4.2.   Price Price is another very important element of a marketing mix. This refers to the amount that consumers are required to pay so as to obtain products and services. McDonald’s has always been dedicated to providing quality food products for reasonable prices (Datamonitor, 2012). Therefore, the company has developed a pricing structure to support this objective. Historically, the company has had several value bundling and pricing tactics such as Combo meals, Happy Meals, Family Meals, and others. The dollar menu is one of the most significant price strategies adopted by this firm. 4.3.  Place Another very important element of McDonald’s marketing strategy is place. In general terms, place refers to the mechanisms (distribution, intermediaries or channels), which enable the firm to supply its products to the final consumers (Thomadsen, 2007). McDonald’s has strategically situated its outlets to make sure that customers have easy and convenient access to its products. The best example is the United States where the walking distance to a McDonald’s outlet averages three minutes. In smaller market regions, McDonald’s locates it outlets close to the market centre; while in large markets, it chooses locations which are on the opposite sides of the market. Compared to its closest competitor, Burger King, McDonald’s locates outlets closer to optimal central locations. In a nutshell, McDonald’s is all about convenience (Datamonitor, 2010). 4.4.  Promotion In a marketing mix perspective, promotion encompasses the various marketing communication modes that McDonald’s uses to communicate information about its products in order to generate positive response from its consumers (Mishra, 2009). McDonald’s devotes a vast amount of money to global advertising, with the aim of promoting its image. It has used several advertising formats such as print publications, billboards, radio, television, and the internet. In order to increase awareness and create a lasting image in the minds of its target market, McDonald’s has creatively employed slogans such as: â€Å"It’s a good time for the Great Taste of McDonald’s† â€Å"Food, Folks, and Fun† â€Å"We love to see you smile† â€Å"I’m Lovin’ it† McDonald’s strives to position itself as a fun family restaurant and has implemented several tactics to achieve this goal. A very effective strategy that has enabled the company to differentiate itself from other companies is invention of the Ronald McDonald character. This character was invented to symbolize the company and has become a recognizable figure. The show â€Å"The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald,† produced under the sponsorship of the company, is an outstanding promotional strategy that leaves every kid craving the McDonald’s experience (McDonald’s, 2013). The company also positions itself as a family fun restaurant by setting up play areas in its outlets. With the use of various strategies, McDonald’s has built a strong image. This has greatly helped the company not only to grow but also to stave off the competition (Chon, Pizam, Mansfeld, 2012). 5. McDonald’s Corporation has always been determined to remain ahead of competition. Its international marketing strategy employs several tactics, which has enabled the company to emerge as one of the market leaders in the fast food restaurant industry. The success of a business greatly depends on the effectiveness of the strategies it adopts. McDonald’s’ strategies have proven to be effective as evidenced by the level of success that the company has achieved to date. The initial strategy for the company involved taking standardized American practices to other parts of the country. The initial resistance and failures that it experienced forced the company to change their strategy and instead adapt itself to the different preferences of its target market. References Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2005. Marketing: an introduction. London: Prentice Hall. Brotherton, B., 2012. International Hospitality Industry. Burlington: Routledge. Chon, K.S., Pizam, A. Mansfeld, Y., 2012. Consumer Behavior in Travel and Tourism. Madison Ave, New York: Routledge. Daley, J., 2013. Do you want truffle fries with that? Entrepreneur, 41(1), pp.124-29. Datamonitor, 2010. Mcdonalds Corporation SWOT Analysis. London: EBSCO Datamonitor. Gerhardt, S., Dudley, D. Hazen, S., 2012. Franchising and the Impact of McDonalds. Journal Of Management Marketing Research, 10, pp.1-10. Hendrikse, G., 2008. Strategy and governance of networks: Cooperatives, franchising, and strategic alliances. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. Key Note, 2012. Fast-Food Home-Delivery Outlets Market Report Plus 2012. [Online] Available at: keynote.co.uk/market-intelligence/view/product/10636/fast-food-%26-home-delivery-outlets/chapter/1 [Accessed 9 March 2013]. Marketwatch, 2005. Company Spotlight: McDonalds Corporation. Marketwatch: Global Round-Up 4, no. 12, pp.78-83. McDonald’s, 2013. Company Profile. [Online] Available at: aboutMcDonald’s.com/mcd/investors/company_profile.html   [Accessed 9 March 2013]. McDonalds, 2013. McDonalds USA Ingredients Listing for Popular Menu Items. [Online] Available at:   Ã‚  http://nutrition.McDonald’s.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf   [Accessed 9 March 2013]. Mishra, P., 2009. Sales management: Keys to effective sales.. New Delhi: Global India Publications. Moschandreas, M., 2000. Business Economics. London: Thomson. Research and Markets, 2013. Fast Food: Global Industry Guide. [Online] Available at: researchandmarkets.com/reports/564112/fast_food_global_industry_guide [Accessed 9 March 2013]. Reynolds, J., 2013. McDonalds runs ad to knock rival Burger King. Marketing Magazine, 25 January. Thomadsen, R., 2007. Product Positioning and Competition: The Role of Location in the Fast Food Industry. Marketing Science, 26(6), pp.792-804. Verma, H.V., 2012. Services marketing: Text and cases. New Delhi: Pearson Education. Wendys, 2013. The Wendys Company. [Online] Available at:   aboutwendys.com/Our-Company/   [Accessed 9 March 2013].

What finance options are open to a fast growing UK Listed Maritime Assignment

What finance options are open to a fast growing UK Listed Maritime Company that is looking to expand - Assignment Example The market failure may  arise from imperfect information fuelled by volatile economic conditions where lenders become risk averse. #1 Critical evaluation of the difference between debt and equity from the perspective of a UK listed company Listed companies have a broad range of financing options available to them, which include debt and equity (Graham and Smart, 2009, p. 44). Companies utilize a blend of debt and equity funding to finance their operations. Companies bearing high credit ratings can borrow money at low interest, besides selling shares at a premium. Debt refers to money raised from banks and bondholders, while equity refers to money raised from the shareholders. In return for investing their money in a company, shareholders are rewarded with a percentage of the company (a share). Equity financing refers to issuing additional shares of common stock to investors. The issuing of common stock decreases the previous stockholders’ percentage of ownership. Debt financ ing is often accompanied by strict conditions or covenants, besides having to pay interest and principal on stipulated dates. Debt Sources of Financing Debt financing incorporates collateralized bonds, leases, bank overdrafts, debentures, lines of credit, and bank loans. A bond refers to a written promise to pay back a certain amount of money on a stipulated date in the future. In the interim, bondholders receive interest payments at fixed rates on stipulated dates. Debt financing typically includes an interest rate of about 3-8% depending on the  debt and the arrangement. The face value, maturity date, and coupon rate are evaluated at the time the bond is issued (Morris, McKay and Oates, 2009, p. 328). The shareholders assume all the risks and rewards from debt financing. As a result, debt financing can be relatively less expensive compared to equity finance depending on the expectation of the equity financiers. Equity Sources of Financing Companies usually seek capital from inve stors through the issuance of either common or preferred shares. Equity financing may also incorporate employee stock options. Equity funding does not incur interest or have to be repaid. Debt financing is usually more risky compared to equity financing, although equity financing is more expensive (Gleyberman, 2009, p. 8). Some of the advantages of debt financing include interest payments being tax deductible and that there is no dilution of ownership to the existing equity holders. The disadvantages of debt financing include the fact that the debt holder has priority over the company assets during liquidation. Besides, in cases where the investor doubts the capability of the company to meet interest payments, investors may demand higher interests to compensate for the uncertainty. In addition, there are several covenants associated with debt instruments that may constrain a company’s freedom of action (Albrecht, Stice, Stice and Swain, 2011, p. 507). In debt financing, loan repayment should be done on a predetermined date even if the business is in a loss. The cost to the company in debt financing is known beforehand. The cost to the company in debt financing is straightforward to predict, plan, and repay. Equity financing has several advantages such as no current payments due and no preferential rights on the company’s assets. The process of raising funds through equity

The effects of TV Advertising on older consumer behaviour over 50 Essay

The effects of TV Advertising on older consumer behaviour over 50 years in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The findings of the research suggest that the segmentation of the group under question leaves somewhat to be desired given that this group are given little relevance and on the whole underrepresented within the media. In addition, it was found that it is not so much the underrepresentation that is an issue with this group, rather it is the portrayal; it is felt that older consumers are portrayed in a disparaging and derogatory manner of being ill and feeble or alternatively unrealistically attractive. This lack of synergy between the advertisers and the third agers is somewhat dangerous given their growing spending power within society and it is one which cannot be ignored if companies wish to be lucrative. The advertisers and the marketers have been exploiting the vulnerable minds of the children as they recognize the increasing influence that children have in family purchase decision making. The study also finds that organisations engage in CSR activities basically with a profit-dr iven motive while trying to project an image of being socially conscious and responsible organisation. All efforts towards this is aimed at enhancing the brand image, the brand identity and the corporate image. The marketing mix elements in advertising for older consumers have not been appropriately addressed. The study concludes that television advertising has not been able to make any significant impact on the older consumers. The limitations to the study have been highlighted and areas for further research have been recommended. Table of Contents Chapter One: Introductory Chapter 1.0 Background 1 1.1 Rationale for research 3 1.2 Aims and Objectives 4 1.3 Research questions 4 1.4 Dissertation Structure 5 1.6 Chapter Summary 6 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.0 Chapter Overview 7 2.1 The older consumers 7 2.1.1 The concept of ‘older consumers’ 7 2.1.2 Lifestyle of the older consumers 8 2.1.3 Segmentation for the older consumers 10 2.2 The advertising medium 11 2.2.1 Pr inciples of Advertising 11 2.2.2 Advertising as a means of persuasion 13 2.2.3 Television as an advertising medium 14 2.3 CSR and advertising 16 2.4 Consumer behaviour 18 2.5 Consumer buying process 19 2.6 Summary of the chapter 21 Chapter Three: Research Methodology 3.0 Chapter Overview 22 3.1 Academic Research 22 3.2 Purpose of the research and phenomenon 23 3.3 Epistemology 23 3.4 Research Approach 24 3.6 Data Collection 25 3.7 Justification: Secondary Research 25 3.8 Sources of secondary data 28 3.9 Ethical concerns 29 3.10 Chapter Summary 29 Chapter Four: FINDINGS 4.0 Chapter Overview 30 4.1 Television advertising and the older consumers 30 4.2 The impact of television advertising on the children 37 4.3 CSR in television advertising 39 4.3 Chapter Summary 43 Chapter Five: Discussion and Analysis 5.0 Discussion 44 5.1