Establishing Seamless Support

Establishing Seamless Support When dealing with a customer and trying to be able to fix the problem they are having, a support specialist must be able to listen, communicate (verbally and non-verbally), and have the ability or know how to fix the problem. When listening to the customer, take notes so that you do not miss anything. This will allow for the customer to vent and express their problem. Sometimes the customer is mad and just needs to let off some steam, and the support person is the person that has to hear it. Let them get it out and the conversation will go much more smoothly. Communicate to the customer what you will do and how you will do it. Spell it out for them, this will make them feel like they are part of the process and you are doing everything you can for them. When not speaking to the customer, communicate non-verbally so they know that you have their undivided attention. The customer will stay calmer if they know you are taking in everything they are saying. When there has to be some type of compromise, the customer’s needs are first. As a support specialist, we have to remember that we are there to help and not hurt our customers. We want them to continue to come back to the company for all their needs. Once a support specialist can understand that making the customer happy is their objective, then the compromise for an issue is easily obtained.

How Can You Better Manage Your Time at Work?

In any type of job, there will be instances when there seems to be no time for you to accomplish or finish everything task before the day ends. This usually happens when the all tasks are piled up and you have to finish all of them in a single day. Due to the lack of time, you end up either only finishing a certain amount of tasks or none at all. However, these things won’t happen if you manage your time well at work. Personally, at the start of the day, the first thing I should do is list down all the things I need to do for the day and rank them according to the level of priority.Afterwards, I would first work on the tasks that have the highest level of priority and see to it that I finish it as quick and as flawlessly as possible. For example, when studying for major examinations, I should first study the subjects that I find difficult to understand before I study the subjects that are easier for me. In short, in order for me to better manage my time at work, the most impor tant thing I should do first is to set my priorities so that I know which among the daily tasks I should finish first.Focusing on the task at hand is another key trait in managing one’s time effectively at work. When a task is assigned to me, I should make sure that my attention and all my efforts are concentrated on finishing that task. For example, when working on a project or a research paper, I should make sure that I only do things that are related to my project and temporarily avoid anything that could distract me from my task, such as the television and the computer, among others.Unnecessary small talk, delays, and other form of distractions can easily hinder me from accomplishing the task at hand. On the other hand, focusing on doing my work as efficiently as possible helps speed up the time it takes to finish that task. Moreover, setting goals is also vital in managing time at work. Once I start a task, I should always work hard on accomplishing the goals I’ve set. Setting goals basically gives purpose in what I am doing.In class, for example, my basic goal should be to finish my education and move up to the next level. In addition, another thing that could help manage my time better is to find motivation or inspiration that would drive me to finish the task at hand. This basically means focusing on the satisfaction or the rewards that I would receive if I effectively finish my task on time. For example, while studying in school, the source of motivation or inspiration should be getting good grades and receiving honors.However, among all the things that could help me better manage my time is to find all the reasons to do my work. In any type of work, there will always be times when I could offer excuses not to do my work. In order to better manage my time, instead looking for excuses not to being working, I should find all reasons for me to start doing my work. Over-all, for me, better time management at work basically means setting and organizing priorities, focusing on the task at hand and avoiding delay, and setting goals for me to accomplish.

Cause and Effects of Dehydration and Hydration

Erik Lipka Mrs. Van Mierlo English 101 05 21 February 2013 The Effects of Dehydration and Hydration Water is a necessity in our world today but especially involving the health of human beings. Water is so important to human life that we would not survive without it because people become dehydrated when an insufficient supply of fluids are consumed in a day. â€Å"Human survival is dependent on water — water has been ranked by experts as second only to oxygen as essential for life† (â€Å"Health Benefits of Water†). Proper hydration and the avoidance of dehydration are mainstays for health and well-being.The importance of drinking water is crucial in order to maintain a healthy and proper functioning body. Dehydration is actually quite common in our society today. â€Å"Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving your body is greater than the amount being taken in† (â€Å"Functional Fit Facts†). Severe dehydration can be deadly which may caus e symptoms such as intense thirst, absence of sweat, heart racing and delirium. More commonly experienced is a mild or moderate form which results in feelings of dizziness, fatigue, headaches and poor concentration.The majority of folks don’t realize they are undergoing symptoms of mild dehydration and that they can cure themselves with the proper intake of fluids, water for example (â€Å"Functional Fit Facts†). Proper hydration varies depending on many factors such as age, physical condition and even the climate. A commonly recommended amount of fluid intake is a half-ounce of fluid per pound of body weight, daily (Glenn Sabin). Drinking water helps with the regulation of temperature in the body through perspiration. This is especially important when playing sports. Water also plays a key role in the digestion of food.Food cannot be digested without water. Water is needed to break down and to digest food. It helps to eliminate waste and deliver nutrients to where the y are needed. â€Å"If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, so are the rest of the vital organs, your organs will be exhausted and so will you†(â€Å"The Benefits of Drinking Water†). It is amazing how important water is to our health and well-being. Water is also the basis of all of our bodily fluids such as saliva and blood and it dilutes toxins and removes them from the body through urine (â€Å"The Role of Water†).Every cell, from head to toe, needs water and this is why it is so important to drink enough water and stay properly hydrated. Dehydration both mild and severe can result in many harmful effects such as tiredness, headaches, constipation and dry skin. One symptom that indicates dehydration and the need to drink more water is the color of the urine. If your urine is dark yellow or orange in color and has a strong smell, this is an indication that the person is not proper ly hydrated. Urine is usually a pale yellow to clear color when the person is properly hydrated.Skin is the largest body organ and needs plenty of water to prevent dryness. One sign that you are dehydrated is thirst however you should not wait until you are thirsty before drinking more water. Your brain consists 90% of water. A headache and fatigue could very well mean someone is dehydrated and the brain is not functioning properly (â€Å"Benefits of Drinking Water†). Water is very beneficial and has many positive health effects. Drinking water helps the body break down fats assisting people with weight loss. When they drink a sufficient amount of water, it acts as an appetite suppressant so it helps people eat less.Since the brain consist mainly of water, being hydrated helps people concentrate, think more efficiently and raises awareness. â€Å"Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer† (Benefits of Drinking Water). Some cancer causing agents are diluted in the urine reducing the time that they are in the bladder. Another benefit of drinking plenty of water is people are less likely to get sick and they feel healthy. Drinking plenty helps fight against kidney stones, heart attack and the flu.It is also said to improve the immune system (â€Å"Benefits of Drinking Water†). The effects of dehydration and hydration are essential to the health of the human body. Being dehydrated can be deadly and hydration is vital to human life. It’s important to stay hydrated for many reasons in order for the body to function to its greatest ability. Many people are not informed as to the importance of water and are not able to identify the effects of mild dehydration. The symptoms of mild dehydration can be helped simply by drinking enough water.These are the main effects of hydration and dehydration. Works Cited â€Å"The Role of Water in the Body and Why It Is Important That We Drink Enough of It. † Water. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013. â€Å"What Is the General Effect of Dehydration on the Body? † What Is the General Effect of Dehydration on the Body? N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Proper Hydration and Your Health. † FON Therapeutics. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013. â€Å"The Health Benefits of Water. † The Health Benefits of Water. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

BMW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

BMW - Essay Example BMW's turning point came when they started to cater this market. They started producing motorbikes and expensive luxury cars branded the best in the world. Acquisition of Rover group in 1994 and the Rolls-Royce in 2003 were the other major milestones in their history. Today their annual revenue crosses 50 billion Euro's and they employ over 96,230 employees in 23 plants spread over 13 countries. They have 12 R&D centres in 5 countries. They sell over 1,341,048 cars worldwide. 78% of their sales comprise of their conventional BMW cars. BMW MINI series cars capture 16% of their sales while their stupendous sports motorcycles capture 6% of their sales (Illing, 2010). They sell over 2000 Rolls Royce cars per year too. BMW adopted various strategies to reach this position in such as short period. The company’s strategies are worth examining as they will help any company manage its competition quite effectively. PEST Analysis PEST stands for political, economical, social and technol ogical. This method is used to analyse the macro-environment of an organization. Such an analysis is done when high level of doubt prevails over the way the external environment responds to changes. It is necessary to determine whether the organizational policies are compatible and sufficient to meet the external environment. ... BMW takes care to comply with all the policies to avoid getting in trouble with the government. Economical Factors affect the automobile industry and BMW in general. The exchange rates and the economic growth of the countries like India and China make them emerge as worthy competitors in the market. Stagnancy of stock due to overproduction and economic slowdown is also a major issue. It might occur due to global economic slowdown or decrease in the exchange rate of Euro at any time. Social Factors: The recession, changing customer buying behaviour and increased eco awareness had made people look at cars as an important and useful commodity rather than a status symbol. They want their cars to give more mileage and be environmental friendly rather than just luxurious. Technological factors prevalent in the industry affect the BMW the most. They should keep upgrading themselves regarding the new technology in production as well as marketing. Everything from the latest Bluetooth facility to modern GPS systems should be incorporated in the cars to make it attractive while they still have to stick with the original design. The Key Drivers of Change From the analysis we can conclude that the major factors that contributed to change in BMW are 1. The need to advance technologically 2. Environmental regulations 3. Deployment of hi-tech infrastructure as well as qualified manpower Adaptability or changing its strategies according to the external environment is called consonance (Rumlet, 1980). It is the most important factor driving successful change in the industry. Porter’s five forces Analysis (Porter, 1985) Porter's Five Forces Analysis Threat from Substitutes: Medium BMW is associated with engineering excellence and ultimate luxury. So, the threat for

Ethics in Organizational Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethics in Organizational Leadership - Essay Example It explains that an act is ethical if it gives beneficial gains rather than pain. Employees’ acts are therefore ethical if it gives high benefit outcomes (Arnold, et al., 2013, p.89) This theory is based upon the social virtues in outlining code of conducts that regulates wrong or right and its major focus is on intrinsic worthiness that a given society share such as honesty, integrity etc. In this theory, wrong and right are judged based on the set regulations that have been formulated (Arnold, et al., 2013, p.89). The employees are therefore bound ethically to abide by the organizational/ professional rules in place. A conflict of misunderstanding would erupt if the virtues and moral baselines differ between a leader who has been socialized into different moral standards and those of the employees owing to cultural differences. The Virtual theory is based on virtues but these virtues may differ and a leader may have different moral values and virtues different from the employees. The three theories of ethics significantly differ in their baseline account for ethics but they join together in conceptualizing the communal/collective formulation of ethical standards; it is a group duty and not individual. The three differ in tracing the source of ethical

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ENTREPRENEURSHIP - Assignment Example can gain marketing competencies. Hence, context of the report tries to focus on the worth and value of entrepreneurial marketing. It is highly rational to conduct such a study because effectiveness of entrepreneurial marketing activities determines long-term success of small firms as well as the entire economic system of a nation (Papalexandris and Galanaki, 2009). According to the views of Donald Kuratko, â€Å"an entrepreneur is a person who pays a certain price for a product to resell it at an uncertain price, thereby making decisions about obtaining and using the resources while consequently admitting the risk of enterprise† (Kuratko, 2013). Entrepreneurs in the business world are treated as human capital. It is claimed that economic capital of an organization becomes more productive with the essence of effective human capital. It is also believed that leadership skills of entrepreneurs determine the circulations and shifts in an economy. It was claimed that fabrication of an economy is created through entrepreneurship (Glover, 2013). According to some researchers, Cunningham and Lischeron had first introduced the concept of leadership school of entrepreneurship in 1991 (Stryker, 1998). The entrepreneur in an organization, similar to a leader, assists workers to accomplish the desired organizational tasks and objectives. Motivation is another skill embedded in good entrepreneurs. The gap between workers’ ability and willingness to work is bridged by motivation instilled by an entrepreneur in workplace (Stryker, 1998). The mission and vision of an organization is achieved with dedicated work of an entrepreneur. It was also noted that work culture of a firm is upgraded with contribution of an entrepreneur (Glover, 2013). In latter stages, these theories of leadership were linked with those of entrepreneurship. Even so, it should be noted that these theories only help to analyze the worth of

Case Analysis on Human Resource Management Essay - 1

Case Analysis on Human Resource Management - Essay Example Line ,managers are the people who engineer effective human resource management. These managers link people with different missions. Linking people together and the human capital will require trained human resource managers who will be resourceful in acting strategically on issues concerning human resources management. Human resource management should be addressed as the firm’s business issues. The human resources managers should put much emphasis on the effectiveness of the business, maximizing profits, and the overall business survival. The line managers are very instrumental in making sure that the human resource issues are well managed. Lucent Technologies have made greater achievements in the human management issues. Their employees (managerial and professional) are highly motivated people a thing that has greatly contributed in the success of the company. These have seen it being the leading company in the technological field. It has a good repute on issues relating to staff recruitment, promotion of its employees to different managerial ranks and the overall management issues that has led to the inclusion of women as their employees thus gender sensitive. However, Lucent Technology is facing management challenges and is not sure about the future of its employees who are of hourly basis, this is because its competitors who include Cisco systems concentrate on manufacturing to smaller firms a move that help reduce costs, similar impacts are made on Lucent. The company CEO Mr. Henry Schacht is determined in making considerable changes in the company by making it move from manufacturing oriented to technological oriented a thing that has contributed to the increased productivity. Its growth in the first four years has been very successful under the leadership of Henry Schacht . He has organized the firm into eleven business units as an expansion strategy. Lucent technologies have created

E-Business Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E-Business Final - Essay Example The layout or web design of any website plays an important role in the success of e-business. Websites should be user-friendly, well designed, attractive, easy to navigate and search-engine friendly. Qatar Airways have considered all these features in their website. Business to business transactions helps in building new and strong relationships with other companies worldwide. They are reducing the costs and providing best services with the help of their Oracle ERP project and partnership with other airlines, hotels, travel agents and car rental services. For Qatar Airways ethical issues are very important. It is part of their ethics to take care of confidentiality and security issues of customers and to provide the information that does not hurt the emotions of their global customers. Qatar Airways, an airline company, was established on November 22, 1993 and it formally started its operations from January 20, 1994. It is one of the most competitive and fastest growing airlines in the world. In the span of thirteen years, QA has achieved tremendous growth by serving 100 destinations worldwide (Middle East Aviation, n.d.). Due to the advancement in Information and communication technologies, companies are now using latest technologies to remain competitive (Beheshti & Sangari, 2006). Click and mortar model is employed by the Qatar Airways. According to this model company sells through internet as well as through the traditional ways of selling. Qatar airlines have commenced an extensive Oracle ERP system to link or centralize different departments. Although, it is a costly plan but it will help in increasing the efficiency in the long run. Qatar Airways is reducing its expenses by providing many online services. These include Online Booking, Online Time Table, Online Route Map, Flight Status Information, Information via SMS, Online check-in, SMS check-in, Phone check-in,

Why Animal Experimentation Should be Banned Essay

Why Animal Experimentation Should be Banned - Essay Example This essay stresses that animal experimentation is an integral part of medical science. However, it seems to be that this is in part due to it being a scientific institution rather than something which is of great benefit. Medical research has relied on animals and animal models for such a long time that some scientists, perhaps, are unable to see the benefits of alternative means of experimentation. Animal models have been used for decades, and they are familiar, and even if they are not specifically accurate when it comes to modeling human disease, they are at least predictable and well-characterized. may be that many of the new techniques that have the potential to replace animal experimentation are simply not-well known enough to be considered acceptable replacements for animal models that are considered more reliable. This paper makes a conclusion that it is truly impossible to see how using animals in medical experiments can be considered ethical. When the results are so often misleading, sometimes to the point where harm is caused to humans, how can we possibly justify the suffering and slaughter of millions of animals worldwide every year? The simple answer is that we can’t. Animal testing is not effective or reliable enough, it is morally and ethically wrong, and there are increasing numbers of safe, accurate, and reliable alternatives to this practice. Animal experimentation must and should stop.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay - Research Paper Example The first advantage associated with acquisition is the undeniably, outright growth of an existing business. For instance if company A buys company B, the size of company A now becomes A+B, which means that there become an outright growth. This outright growth caters for the possibilities associated with starting a business and failing. It also caters for other basic company routines such as recruitment, placement and orientation; some of which do not always end well. Leading on from the first advantage, acquisition ensures that the buyer enjoys a ready-made organizational structure, system and culture. In business, there is no denying the fact that establishing an organization may not be as difficult as establishing or setting up a organizational structure, system or culture. Gourley notes that â€Å"organizational culture is defined as the shared values, norms and expectations that govern the way people approach their work and interact with each other.† This explains the extent to which organizational culture could be difficult for most businesses that are started from the scratch. Buying a company therefore saves an entrepreneur from the hassle of getting a new organizational culture in place. The very last advantage has to do with the inheritance of corporate publicity. Corporate publicity simply refers to the kind of popularity a company has in the eyes of consumers and buyers. These days, most investors target well established and publicized companies when they are buying. This makes it possible for them to inherit the popularity of the existing company. It also makes money voted into publicity very minimal. The best part of inheriting corporate popularity is the inheritance of customers. Customers are the lifeline of every company. It is their inputs that make up the revenues for companies. Building a strong customer base is however very difficult to do. When a person buys an existing company however, he automatically have the customers of the

Final Exam Study Guide Essay Example for Free

Final Exam Study Guide Essay Review Sheet Delivered on Monday, December 2, for the Final Exam to be administered on Monday, December 9. Gai Ferdon, Ph. D. Carefully consider each the following questions and be prepared to answer all of them in a multiple question format. The Exam will not contain questions unrelated to these unless presented for extra credit. To facilitate reflective thinking, the Exam will also contain questions related to quotations found in works by significant individuals mentioned in class, for you to examine and tease out the basic assumptions. This review sheet has been delivered one-week in advance of the Exam, offering you ample time to prepare. You are encouraged to tackle sections of the review sheet, presented as subject headings identical with lecture handouts. Budget your time wisely to ensure a successful grade. Move Towards American Independence and State Constitutions American War for Independence (â€Å"1763† 1776-1783) 1. Who originally crafted the Declaration of Independence? With this, what is the significance of ‘Congress’ in its title? Who further altered and ratified the document? – Committee of 5 (Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Sherman, Robert Livingston) – It’s a split, severing connections with Britain – Continental congress 2. What is the significance of the Declaration of Independence relative to the American Constitutional Order and System? It was a legal charter for the USA 3. Be able to identify the civil principle clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence known as the â€Å"Doctrine of the Lower Magistrate. † In this regard, you will need to refresh yourself on the role of the Continental Congresses. Lower magistrate corrects Upper magistrate 4. What is meant by the phrase â€Å"Laws of Nature and Nature’s God,† as America’s legal claim for separation from Great Britain and located in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence? – Their philosophical region for separating from great Britain. God endowed us with certain rights and if they are violated we are allowed to separate from whomever is violating them. 5. You will be required to read certain portions of the Declaration of Independence to tease out its civil principles. In this regard, be able to identify the ‘justification for legal authority’ to separate from Britain, which represents the legal claim made by the representatives. With this, how can we be certain that the Declaration of Independence is not a â€Å"deistic document† textually? Long train of abuses and user patience / they call on God as a witness 6. Three-fourths of the Declaration of Independence is devoted to enumerating twenty-eight charges against King George III. Twenty-four of these charges were originally located in State Constitutions. These grievances also depict violations in relation to what? 7. Does the Declaration of Independence delineate of express a structure of government, or a prerogative of power, and hence, representative of a Constitution? NO 8. What is the difference between the engrossment of the Declaration of Independence and the Dunlop Edition? Engrossment It was handwritten and then signed Dunlop was printed and handed out 9. When did the United States become a sovereign nation? July 4th 1776 10. Where is the engrossment of the Declaration of Independence housed? NARA Articles of Confederation 1781-1789: A System of Confederalism and State Sovereignty and the U. S. Constitutional Convention (May 25 – September 1787): Steps Towards a More Perfect Union 1. What was the nature of the civil arrangement of the Articles government? In other words, was it national, confederal, or federal? – Confederal Government 2. What led to the move towards the Constitutional Convention of 1787? The weakness of the articles of Confederation 3. Make certain you are able to identify the correct dates relative to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as well as the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, and the adoption of the U. S. Constitution by the Constitutional Convention. Declaration – July 4th 1776 Articles of Confed. – November 15th 1777 US Constitution – September 17, 1787 4. Be able to identify the nature of the deliberations during the constitutional convention. In other words, what was the main concern in regards to forming a new national civil structure? 5. What is the nature of the civil arrangement of the U. S. Constitution? In other words, was it national, confederal, or federal? Confederal What is the nature of federalism? Nature of Federalism – Abuse Power 6. Who drafted the U. S. Constitution? – Committee of 5 (Oliver Ellsworth, James Wilson, Edmund Randolph, Nathaniel Gorhand) 7. Who ratified the U. S. Constitution? – The states The United States Constitution: A Civil Covenant 1. What is the significance of the Federalist Papers (1787-1788)? Be prepared to read excerpts from some of these editorials to tease out the basic ideas. 2. What is the significance of Elliot’s Debates? – The record of the debates of the states on whether they would ratify the constitution or not. 3. What represents the philosophical nature of the U. S. Constitution? – Limited civil government to ensure ordered Liberty 4. Be able to identify the definition of a republic which the U. S. Constitution embodies. – PowerPoint 18 5. Be able to identify the proper definition of federalism. – Divided authority and diffuse power to a tri part system with checks and balances within a constitutional framework for the sake of ordered liberty. (Sovereignty lies no where, its spread out through the entire system. ) Slide 4 6. Why are people best governed by a diversity of power as opposed to a unity of power? Diversity of power makes tyranny harder to achieve 7. What is the law of the nature of the power of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, which the U. S. Constitution assumes to be true? In other words, what is the function of each of these branches? What Constitutional Articles identify the nature of these powers? – Articles 1-3 slide 9 8. Be able to identify the federal nature of the US Constitution. In this regard, you will be expected to identify the mechanics and structure of Federalism. With this, do not neglect the place of checks and balances and separation of powers as part of Federalism know these categories as well. – Federal in nature, republican in form 9. Be able to identify some of the principal instruments of checking and balancing outlined in the U. S. Constitution. – Veto powers in terms of office. All are located in lecture 18 10. What are the four kinds of power associated with the U. S. Constitution? What is the definition of each? – Enumerated – The power that is expressly given, Implied – Powers that are not expressly given but are implied, Concurrent – Powers possessed by the national and the state governments, Residual – Powers preserved for the states and for the people 11. What is the significance of Amendments IX and X of the Bill of Rights to the U. S. Constitution? – Residual Powers Principles of Economics: Hazlitt Hazlitt Text: Be prepared for one question related to each of the following chapters: Title is the answer 1. Chp. 4: â€Å"Public Works Mean Taxes† – Public works arnt the best idea in the world because it taxes the people more 2. Chap. 5: â€Å"Taxes Discourage Production† 3. Chap. 6: â€Å"Credit Divers Production. † 4. Chap. 11: â€Å"Who’s ‘Protected’ by Tarriffs? † – The governments own interests 5. Chap. 12: â€Å"The Drive for Exports† – To get income a different way than taxing people 6. Chap. 13: ‘â€Å"Parity† Prices’ 7. Chap. 15: â€Å"How the Price System Works† Your Exam will also contain five extra credit questions. With this, your extra credit option presented in Blackboard must be submitted along with your Final Exam.

Compare Microsoft and VMWare for virtual computing Essay Example for Free

Compare Microsoft and VMWare for virtual computing Essay There are two types of firewalls, there is the in-bound firewall that protects against all things that come into your computer. Then there is the two-way firewall. With this firewall it protects both inbound and outbound threats. This type is used quite often these days. Many computer only have a one-way firewall, but many of them like Zone alarm are two way firewalls. Firewalls are used to block or accept information into your computer that is not a threat. It will either send it to where it needs to be or it will block it if the potential of the file is threatening to your device. A type of firewall is your basic McAfee, which works with Microsoft Corporation on your basic computer it is a program that is already installed into your device. It is a virus protector that works with your computers already installed firewall to keep out and potential harmful viruses or threats to your computer. You can do basic setting for the firewall or you can put it to your liking to make sure of no type of threats can enter your computer. With the security of a computer it can get very complicating. You have to make sure you are aware of what you are using and how it operates in your system. In today’s society there are a million anti-virus software programs. Many of them have free versions and some just have trail versions you can test drive before buying the full version. McAfee and Norton have trail versions you can sample before getting the full version. With Panda, AVG, and other anti-virus programs they have a free version and full upgraded version you can use. When it comes to viruses and the types that get put onto your computer there are many of them. For example: the Trojan Horse, it is put into your computer by saying it is good for file converting or cleaning a system out, when it is really putting bad programs into your computer along with spyware and other potentially harmful programs. Just like when you go into your email and you see an email with a suspicious name, you click it and it automatically downloads something into your computer and you computers starts to malfunction. When it does this it is because the files that were put on your computer are basically eating up you memory. It is extremely important to keep your computers malware and anti-virus programs up to date to prevent any type of program getting into your system. When you back up a system you have different types of backups you can use. For instances you have your full back up which is where you can back up all your information onto a DVD-R or DVD-RW, so you can recover your system at a later time is it crashes or is lost. You should also look at your back up disks periodically to make sure they are in good form if needed to be used. You also have your deferential back up is where you can select certain things to back up and incremental back up is where your computer sets up a certain time after you have put so much into your system to back it up for later use if needed. Checking back up disks are extremely important to check as well to make sure that they are able to be used on the future. Also it is really important to burn your files to a disk not on your hard drive in case they are lost or damaged. Five passwords that are good to use in the way of remembering and using are, â€Å"Bab1eg1r!†, â€Å"Crazy8ight$†, â€Å"GoP!a1†, or â€Å"Playf00!† They can be used to help protect your passwords by replacing a letter by a number and capitalizing some of the other letters that you choose to use, along with using symbols of some sort. Another way of using passwords is using movie titles and shorting them to remember for instance, the day I left your mother to make our love stronger could be shortened by using the first letters of each word like this, â€Å"Tdilymtmols.† Also I can count the ways I love you, â€Å"Icctwily.† Many times the world went around, â€Å"mttwwa†. Honey I shrunk the kids,†Histk†. I love the way you love me, â€Å"iltwylm.† Many of my passwords were very strong in the aspect of how I wrote them. Passwords are very important and they have a good use to them. To keep people out of your system and protect you information as well as identity you really need to choose wisely and carefully on what ones you use.

PEST Analysis of Genting Highlands

PEST Analysis of Genting Highlands Genting Highlands, also known as Resort World Genting, was the idea of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong. He wanted to create a holiday resort in Malaysia, 2000 feet above sea level, where one can experience cool weather and have a relaxing vacation amongst the nature. Today, Genting Highlands is a leading leisure and entertainment resort. It compromises of six hotels, a country and golf resort, two apartment blocks and a theme park, international shows, gaming experience, leisure cruising and meetings and conventions. Their vision is to be a leading integrated resort operator in the world (Genting Malaysia Berhad, 2011) Genting Malaysia: http://www.gentingmalaysia.com/ Resort Word Genting: http://www.rwgenting.com/ Marketing Problem Marketing Audit External PEST Political and Legal Environment In 1965 when Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong purchased a mountainous land in between Selangor and Pahang there was an anomaly issue of the ownership title, one part of the land being leasehold and the other being freehold. Dato Harun Idris the Menteri Besar of Selangor at that time (politician) agreed to grant a freehold. When one has a business in a country, the laws that are set have to be complied. In political and legal forces the laws that govern the corporations have an impact on decision making. Some of the most commonly used political strategies are constituency building, political action committee contribution, advocacy advertising, and coalition building. Economic Environment Here in Malaysia the economic climate has been quite sound. We have trade freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom and high levels of fiscal independence. The highest corporate tax rate and the highest income tax rate are moderate. The tax revenue is low as a percentage of GDP. Inflation is very minimal and government does not alter market prices much with direct subsidies. The simple hire procedures with no minimum salary make the labour sector flexible and help businesses to stay competitive. Social Environment Customers have increasingly visited Genting Highlands as it was the first ever integrated resort. Globalisation has marked Malaysia on the globe and also increased more tourists to come over and spend their vacation in Genting Higlands. However times are becoming more challenging as new integrated theme parks are opening in Malaysia. Technology Environment Over the course of time the rate of change in terms of technology has moved to a rapid pace. Technology contributes directly to its competence in terms of substantially increases competitive levels as others may be better placed and have more sophisticated internal technology systems. Gentings Leisure and Hospitality also emphasizes technological facilities advancement. As mentioned by Mr. Andrew innovation is always encouraged in the theme parks bringing in new rides and adventure so as to not stagnate with the old school rides but keep adapting to deliver that experience of a lifetime. The Manager also mentioned that in terms of building customer relationship technology has evolved the strategies from analogue to digital. In terms of establishing a relationship between Genting and its customers, more mobile apps such as android or smartphone friendly websites are designed to cater to the customers convenience. Supplier, Publics, Intermediaries, Customers and Competition (SPICC) Suppliers Most of the suppliers are from a local source. If only the supply is exhausted or the requirement cant be fulfilled by a local vendor, then Genting looks for a foreign alternative. Even the live food stock for the restaurants and hotels in Genting Highland, they are purchased from a domestic vendor from the surrounding small business owners. Publics Genting Highlands provides abundance job opportunities, as per se there are 15000 employees working for Genting Berhad altogether. At least one person is said to be working for Gentings from the families of the neighbouring villages around Genting Highlands. Mr Andrew also mentioned that there are some avenues for the Orang Asli community. Help is being offered in the form of domestic aid and education aid. Intermediaries There are intermediaries such as the travel agencies and holiday package providers. They promote the leisure activities to the foreign and local market. Even the state tourism promotes the fun come holiday vacation at Genting Highlands. Customers and Markets Competition As Gentings was the first evert integrated resort in Malaysia it did have much competition for years. Recently over the past 10 years many changes have occurred in terms of tourism in Malaysia which opens avenues for business to open more resorts and theme parks around the country. As a result few months ago Legoland opened up with its theme park and resort. Soon to come many more integrated resorts may be built so Genting Highlands has to renew its brand image to upkeep as a key player in this industry. Relative Market Share Genting Malaysia Berhad is in the cash cow sector. According to five year annual report summary, it shows that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (ebitda) to be profitable as it increase from 2,024.2 Million (2010) to 2,330.2 (2011). Genting group Malaysia is considered to be in a matured market as it was operating since 1971which is still generating cash and making profits for the company. In the interview with Mr.Andrew, marketing manager of Genting Malaysia Berhad, he mentioned the Hotel is always occupied and customers need to do their bookings 2 to 3 weeks before visiting. From this it can be gathered that the Genting Malaysia berhad is continuously making money and he also mentioned that there is less investment needed in the company to be made to maintain its service. The investment made is only on the maintenance of the theme park, room service, renovation and refurbishment on the hotel which is going on from 1st October 2012 until the end of January 2013. Competitors The competitors of Genting Malaysia Berhad can be defined as any company that is in the similar industry. Genting Malaysia Berhad is into the Theme park and hotel business in Malaysia but also at the same time Genting faces competition from the Sunway Group Malaysia, Lego land and Mines Resort city. Sunway lagoon and Sunway Resort Sunway lagoon is a multi- park destination and into the theme park sector and one of the famous amusement park in Asia , with five division such water park, amusement park, extreme park, wildlife park, scream park (sunwaylagoon,2012). Together with Sunway lagoon attached with its own Sunway resort and spa five star hotel. Lego Land Lego Land recently opened in September 2012, and located in Johor, Malaysia. The size of the theme park is 76 acres (310,001 m2). Other park such as Legoland water theme park and hotels will be opening soon (Wikimedia foundation, 2012). The theme park has 40 interactive rides and 7 different theme park (legoland, 2012) The Mines Resort City and Mines Wellness Hotel Mines resort city has its own theme park named Mines wonderland and a Shopping Mall.The Mines wellness hotel is a five star hotel together the hotel is build with a man made beach and swimming lagoon. Internal 5 Ms Men (labour) There are 7000 employees of Genting Theme Park. Some of the employees are Malaysians, and some others are from other countries. The employees of Genting Highland or Hotels must be trained before they actually do the work. The time for the training is depends on the job that the employees apply. For example, the employees who work in the front desk or entry level, they have to be trained for six months. Money (finances) According to Genting Malaysia Financial Statement in 2011, the company got RM 1,322.3 million profits. And the company total asset is RM 13,490.6. Machinery (equipment) Genting theme park has a ride that other competitor do not have, it is the Flying Coasters. The Flying Coasters is a unique hang-gliding roller coaster that mimics the sensation of flying (Resort World Genting). Minutes (time) Genting Highland Resort has been running for 47 years. Genting Highland has three parks, which are outdoor park, indoor ark, and Video Games Park. The time operation of those three theme parks has a little bit differentiation. Outdoor Park Indoor Park Video Games Park Monday Friday 10 am 6 pm 10 am 12 am 9 am 12 am Saturday, Malaysia School Holiday, and Public Holiday 9 am 10 pm 9 am 1 am 8 am 1am Sunday and Malaysia Public Holiday 9 am 6 pm 9 am 12 am 8 am -12 am Materials (factor of production) Factor of production is an economic term to describe the inputs that are used in the production of goods or services in the attempt to make an economic profit (Investopedia Dictionary). There are four factors of production: Land Labour Land is all the natural resources used for production. Genting Highland resources it includes the land it self, 12,000 acres and 2,800 acres of land from the Pahang and Selangor State Government. Each person has different level of skills. In Gentings company, there are designers who design the hotels look, architectures, engineers, etc. Capital Entrepreneurship / Enterprise A business capital can include, finance or investment for the business, machines, buildings, factories, etc. The people who can organise the other three factors of production, which is Land, Labour, and Capital. The people are the managers who willing to take the risk and come up the innovatie idea to bring the company in the highest level of business success. SWOT Analysis Strengths Genting Highlands is one of the big attractions especially to a foreigner who come to visit Malaysia. It is provides leisure and hospitality services, which comprise amusement, gaming hotel and entertainment. The strength of Genting Highlands is in great marketing programmed and strong brand image that can take advantage of the opportunity, which is to increase the tourist. Genting Highland also consider as a good location because it is near to everywhere and it takes like only less than one hours of driving away from Kuala Lumpur, the city centre of Malaysia. In Genting Highlands, they have a five hotels at the resort which is genting hotel, highlands hotel, resort hotel, theme park hotel and first world hotel with a total about 10,000 hotel rooms and they are full house everyday. They are also including the genting convention centre for a meeting, any convention or exhibitions at the resort and also very famous with the casino. Especially during a night hours, we would never get bored because they still open the bar lounge, sports bar and also the safari so everyone can go and have fun in no time. Weaknesses As we know, Genting Highlands is a hill resort in Malaysia, and it is nestled on a mountain. So this can be effected by a global warming because it seems less showing because it is publics conscious issues towards the environment and especially when it is rain, so they need to wait or can play the indoor theme park only. It causes the problem to those who already bought the ticket with an outdoors theme park. Another benefits to educate the publics and make them feel confident with the environment on the harm of effect of global warming towards the Genting highlands. Especially, it would be a bad effect for those are coming for the first time and got no chance to play the outdoor theme park. Opportunities Most of the foreign Genting visitors come from Asia country such as Thailand, Singapore and China. The company more focus to improve the economic conditions of the market. Genting has also made further investments in other countries in developing its name as one of the international gambling and entertainment giant in the world. Threats After we have done with the research, we know that Genting can emphasize more on the uniqueness of having the best theme park and more excitement at a cool whether and can create something more interesting to the customers while having a weather problem. In the other hand, Genting also need to focus on their very close competitors because they are also faces increasing threats from gaming market in the region such as Macau and also in Singapore. Market Assumptions Marketing Missions/Values and Objectives Marketing Strategy Ansoff Ansoff (1987) contends that to survive and succeed in an industry, the firm must match the aggressiveness of its operating and strategic behaviours to the changeability of demand and opportunities in the marketplace (Thompson Martin, 2006). The Ansoff product/market growth matrix provides a simple way of generating four basic alternative directions for strategic development (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington, 2008). Box A of Ansoff Matrix is an existing product with existing markets. Box B, the top right-hand one is a new product developed by the company with existing markets. Under the box A is box C, which is the existing products in the new markets. The last one is box D. In box D, what companies do is taking the full diversification, with altogether new markets and new products (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington, 2008). According to Andrew Leong, marketing manager of Genting group, Genting will have a new ride in anytime soon. The construction is on going. This means, Genting theme park developing a new product in the existing market (box B). He also mentioned that Genting is not just upgrading the theme park, sometimes they also improve the service and make it better. In the Ansoff Matrix, what Genting do is including in box A. For the hotels, Andrew leong said, By the time I do renovation in the first floor of the hotel done and it continue until the top floor, I will start to renovate in the first floor again. From the explanation, the situation of the hotel business is include in box A. And it also can consider that Genting do an active continuously upgrading the business. They provide the best of the best what they can do for the customers and try to put their position ahead from other competitors. In box A, it includes Market Penetration and Consolidation as the strategy companies used. Market Penetration is where an organisation gains market share (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington, 2008). While Product Development (Box B), involves thinking about how new products can meet customer needs more closely and outperform the products of competitors (Portkabins Case Studies). Porters Generic Strategies According to porter, strategies allow organizations to gain competitive advantage from three different bases: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (David, 2009). Genting Malaysia Berhad can be categorized using the differentiation strategy. Location One of the uniqueness about Genting Malaysia Berhad is the location. The City of Entertainment is situated on the mountains called the Titiwangsa Mountains, which is on the border between Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia (Wikimedia foundation, 2012). Besides attracting Malaysia visitors Genting Highlands have attracted many people from various parts of the world; Marketing Manager Mr. Andrew has mentioned people from countries such as Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, and the Philippines comes here to spend their holidays as its a beautiful place with great weather. Genting Highlands came up with a strategic idea by locating their entertainment destination in such area which is different from other competitors. Speaking of the weather, in Genting Highland since is located in the mountains area the weather temperature is not higher than 25 oC( Wikimedia Foundation ,2012) The weather can be described as amid cool misty mountains with spring-like weather year-round (rwgenting, 201 2). Hospitality and Service Genting Malaysia Berhad has six hotels located in the mountains. The Maxims, Genting Hotel,Resort Hotels,Theme Park hotel, First World hotel and Awana Genting Highlands (rwgenting,2012). From here we can see that Genting Malaysia Berhad has gain its competitive advantage that no Hotels in Malaysia has come up with this strategic and secondly The First World Hotel is the largest hotel in Malaysia and 4th largest in the world with 6,118 rooms/suites available (Wikimedia foundation, 2012). There are few awards that Genting Malaysia Berhad has received this year and one of them are highest profit growth company under the trading/Services, Hotels, IPC and Technology Sectors category, awarded by the edge billion ringgit club. Last year they have also won Industry Excellence Award-Hotel Sector 2010/2011 by BASIS Publications House Sdn Malaysia National news Agency (Bernama) (genting, 2011) Theme parks and Entertainment On the other side, Genting Malaysia Berhad has also gained its competitive advantage from the wide range of games and entertainment offered in Genting Highlands, the space they have provided for games only is over 200,000 square feet. Genting Malaysia Berhad is also known to be upgrading new and latest games for their theme parks that make them distinctive between their competitors. Genting Malaysia Berhad has recently invested in the new Snow World, the biggest winter wonderland in Malaysia with space area of 22.8K square feet and the one and only thrill game in Malaysia, the 4D Motion Masters (rwgenting, 2012). In other ways to attract customers Genting has also held events for awards ceremonies such as Iffa Awards, Zee Cine Awards, Lux Style Awards and MTV Asia Awards (Wikimedia foundation, 2012). Mr. Andrew also said that he is indirectly marketing the Genting Malaysia Berhad through these ceremonies by having satellite to enable people in other countries to watch the award ceremonies LIVE. Value Proposition Their vision is to be leading leisure, hospitality and entertainment corporation in the world, (Annual Report 2008). Similar to their vision statement, their value proposition is to deliver the best of service to their customers especially their valued customers. The Gentings Marketing Manager Mr.Andrew said that they take personal care to acknowledge the needs of their customers in order to build a long term relationship with them. He emphasized that they are looking at a very friendly relationship. Digitalization has altogether made that very possible as their personal invites to events are sent out via emails, texts and there is a constant immediate response activity between the company and customers. The accommodation for valued customers is prepared to their personal interest and preferences in terms of food and beverages and other services. As the resort is set out on the mountain with nature and a pleasurable weather, certain group activities are held in the midst of the rainforest or the cliff top overlooking an astounding view. Imagine having a corporate teams outdoor activities with the tranquil sounds of nature, the scents and fragrance of flora and sometimes one may spot eagles, hornbills and other birds of paradise just cruising through the mountainous terrain. These are some of the customer valued moments that one may encounter in Genting, utmost exhilarating experience to those who hail from the hustle and bustle of the city lifestyle. Directional Policy Genting Highlands operates in two segments and they are: Leisure and hospitality, which includes the gaming, hotel, theme park, tours and travel, related to the bnty Size of the Segment- The number of the customer in Genting Highlands are large. They are in too many category that you can see in the graph below : Share Market In this company, the Genting Highlands group has much brunch such as Singapore, because it is one of the major casino resorts, and also in Macau, India, New York and Australia and other more country. These are one of the strategies because it would better luck in the casino and healthy visitor arrivals to boost profits at the resort or any hotel in those countries. At the same time, they can promote and tell to the tourist that they can also travel in the same places but in other countries. Current Market Share Genting Company have investment for the racetrack in between US$70S million and US$730million based on US$380 million with the license fee and between US$325 million and US$350 million capital expenditure programmed. The US$250 million can be used to directly offset the capital expenditure, and the companys net will be between US$455 million and US$480 million. The Maybank in Malaysia analyst said that it was a mere 3% earnings per share accretion which would give a low 6% return on equity on the intended multi billion ringgit investment in resort in New York. So we can see that the current market of Genting company is not focusing only on the one in Malaysia, or one country but they are very active in other countries also. The pretax profit from power increased 3 percent million ringgit on a higher tariffs in Malaysia and China, so at least they can cover whatever they have loss. Profit Lift The higher revenue was recorded at the group non-leisure divisions, particularly the plantation. For the plantation revenue, it is 53.8% owned the Asiatic Development amounted to RM249.50 million or the higher 93% higher RM 129 million a year earlier. The plantation company also achieved a higher crude palm oil and the selling price of RM3,403 starting from January to March against RM1,927 per tonne a year. Marketing Product Price Place Promotion People Processes Physical evidence Budgets Conclusion

Toronto Blue Jays :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Toronto Blue Jayss case study The Toronto Blue Jays baseball team was founded in the 1970s and experienced support from the fans during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1992 and 1993, the Jays won back-to-back World Series, yet in 1994, the team faced setbacks. The team had a losing streak, there was a major league baseball strike, and no World Series was played. At the same time, gambling came to Toronto, and the team had to compete for the fan's time. Also, players' salaries skyrocketed at a time when the Canadian dollar fell in value. How could the Toronto Blue Jays adjust ticket prices to improve financial performance and increase fan attendance? Situation Analysis The opening pitch of the 1999 marks the start of the Toronto Blue Jays twenty third seasons in the American League. In 1998, the Jays brought in their first winning season since 1993. The Jays plays in the worlds most advanced retractable-roof stadium. It is luxuriously called the Sky Dome. With a winning record like this and a state of the art stadium, the Jays feel their tickets are a great value because of the satisfaction fans can expect to receive from the ball game. Recommendation  · Price is that which is given up in an exchange to acquire a good or service. Price is typically the money exchanged for the good or service. Blue Jays pricing structure is based on the perceived value of the game, the entertainment, the love of baseball, and the action, not just the money.  · Inelastic demand means that an increase or decrease in price will not significantly affect demand for the product. In spite of the rising prices for the Blue Jays tickets, fans were expected to turn out in large numbers. This inelastic demand for the tickets can be attributed in large part of the fact that their teams plays so well in 1998, and another factor is that the Blue Jays fan could never stay away from their team. Another inelastic demand for the Blue Jays tickets is that there is no other locally substitute team.  · Blue Jays pricing strategies are not just a financial necessity, they are also a promotional tool used to increase fan attendance. How? At all Saturday home game and nonholiday games, senior citizens and young people up to fourteen years old can purchase tickets except for the most expensive ones.

The Internet :: essays research papers

The Internet The Internet is a wide-open arena for public discussion and interaction that needs to be regulated; protective rules, including censorship if necessary, must be instituted to ensure that this environment is kept hospitable to all. Recently a month ago, I got hooked up to America Online (AOL). I agree that the Internet is a wide-open arena for public discussion and interaction but, I disagree that it needs to be regulated. The Internet is a place where anything can occur. It is just like talking to someone on the phone; instead you are typing to them. You can have a conversation about anything you want to talk about. It doesn't need protective rules or censorship. If it gets censorship then it will be taking away our freedom of speech. Everybody has the right to say whatever they want. That's what they are doing on the Internet. When I am logged onto AOL, I sometimes go into a chat room. In the chat room you meet people form all over the world. In there sometimes there is some profanity used. People also say stuff that might offend you right away. This has happened to me. One night, when I was in a chat room, the room went into a conversation about relationships. We were all talking about previous boyfriends and girlfriends: how many, names and ages. Some girl that I didn't even know told them, "Garrett32† (my screen name) had 100 girlfriends by the time I was 18. â€Å"Love’em and leave’em.† â€Å"He is a jerk." My immediate reaction was to curse the girl out but, I didn't. I just left the chat room. That was the best thing I could have done. If I had cursed her out he probably would have notified AOL. Nobody told me that I had to sit there and listen to what she was saying. If I had stayed and listened to her then that would have been my fault. I would have been the one staying there to get the abuse. America Online gives you the option to notify them if someone said something inappropriately or not to your liking. They check on the problem to see what really happened. If it is true that person's account is canceled. That is a good way of keeping the Internet hospitable. I think that someone should go on line only if they are able to put up with all the things that occur on it. If someone isn't then they shouldn't be online. I am not saying that everything that occurs on line it all right, but you can't get offended about everything.

technology :: essays research papers

over the RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) rebuffed Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites)'s demand Sunday for a halt to violence, saying Israel first must withdraw its troops from the West Bank. Photos AP Photo Slideshows AP Photo Mideast Conflict Audio/Video Powell to Meet With Arafat Sunday (AP) Powell, shuttling back to Israel for a meeting in Tel Aviv, then pressed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) for a complete pullback, a U.S. official said. Sharon renewed his proposal for an international peace conference among Israel and Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon and the Palestinians, but not Yasser Arafat. Sharon said the United States would lead the conference, and "I imagine that within a short time a conference of this sort will convene to debate the diplomatic arrangements in the Middle East." Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the proposal was an attempt to "turn the clock backward." A senior U.S. official said the idea was discussed "as part of a way to move forward politically," but more talks were needed. Arafat, 72, appeared in good health as he met with Powell in his rocket-scarred headquarters that is surrounded by Israeli tanks and troops. Arafat has been under pressure that is "unreal for an old man like him," said Zeid Abu Shawish, a Palestinian doctor in the compound. Powell was driven to the besieged compound in a motmorcade of armored-plated SUVs, shielded by U.S. security personnel with submachine guns. The headquarters showed the effects of Israeli bombardment. A gaping hole marred the facade and the walls were blackened with bullet marks. A senior aide, Saeb Erekat, said Arafat stood by his commitments, including an end to violence. But, Erekat said after the three-hour meeting, that meant "once the Israelis complete the withdrawal we will, as Palestinians, then carry out our obligations." Arafat complained bitterly and extensively to Powell about Israel's military thrust into Palestinian-held towns and villages, and especially its actions in Jenin and a refugee camp in the town. President Bush (news - web sites) has demanded a pullback right away, but Sharon refused to provide a timetable when he saw Powell on Friday in Jerusalem. They met again briefly Sunday night in Tel Aviv. Powell, in a short statement to reporters, called his meeting with Arafat useful and constructive. A senior U.S. official said Powell's "clear message" to Arafat in a 45-minute presentation was "the bombings have to stop, that it was a major barrier" to progress toward a security agreement or on negotiations that Powell has said should lead to establishment of a Palestinian state.

Reflection Paper on the Climax in the Tell-Tale Heart

The Murderer versus the Murder Reflection Paper on â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Alan Poe A major aspect in this story is the climax, since in my opinion there is more than one. Which I believe is good since the story does not stop after the first climax, which is the murder; it seems to get even more suspenseful. Inevitably, the first climax is when the narrator, whose name and gender is unknown in the story, finally murders the old man after eight nights of planning. â€Å"There was no pulsation. He was stone dead.His eye would trouble me no more† (Poe 4). This is considered a climax since the murder was planned and we (the readers) were involved in each step of it due to Poe’s use of adjectives and repetition. After this climax, the story does not go into the falling action. Instead, it continues to be suspenseful as the cops show up in order to investigate the murder. It gets more intense when at first he was so confident that he would get away with the murder but then he begins to hear the heart beat and becomes paranoid. I smiled – for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome†¦ I fancied a ringing in my ears†¦ The ringing became more distinct: – it continued and became more distinct†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Poe 5). The narrator tried to hide the fact that he was so uncomfortable with their presence, as well as trying to speak louder in order to somewhat overbear the heat beating but the heart beats only grew louder and louder. â€Å"Dissemble no more! I admit the deed†¦ † (Poe 6).The previous extract from the story would very much demonstrate the second climax. Attention to all the details involved in this story may help the reader identify the climax, and in my opinion this story is about the murderer and his guilt rather than the murder itself. Therefore, I believe that the main climax occurs when the narrator admits to the cops that he murdered the old man. List of References: Angus, D. (1987 ). The best short stories of the modern age. Robbinsdale, MN: Fawcett. (Originally published in 1969)

China’s Relations with African Countries: Strategic Perspective (Case of Madagascar)

Communication University of China 2012-2013 Academic Year 1st Semester Course: MEDIA IN CHINA [pic] TOPIC: CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES: STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE (CASE OF MADAGASCAR) STU. NAME: RANDRIANASOLO Fenolanto Salome STU. NO. CLASS SCHOOL LECTUERER: PROFESSOR LUO QING GRADE: Master CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES: STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE (CASE OF MADAGASCAR) INTRODUCTION In recent decades, while China can ignore other countries, other countries cannot ignore China.It is beginning to play an increasingly important role in many areas such as economics, political, and socio-cultural. This is a great new rising power at the beginning of the 21st century. This explosive growth of China has generated significant debates among policymakers, scholars and business leaders on a number of levels. China is now building relationships in several countries especially in Africa. There have been a number of contacts between China and African states in recent deca des. This paper seeks to understand this recent shift in China’s relation with African countries such as Madagascar.Historical Background In 1955: 29 African and Asian states create the â€Å"Third world† to strengthen its base in Africa and Asia; Since 1960s: . The Chinese leader Mao supported the African independences. China supports the ambassadors of the emerging countries against Western interference in their internal affairs at the United Nations. In 1978: Deng Xiaoping decided to open the Chinese economy by establishing a new form of socialism; Since the 1990: African economies have opened up for the Asian powers including China; China becomes the spokesperson for developing countries within the WTO (world trade organization)Partnership China-Madagascar: China has become increasingly active on the African continent in recent years and this activity has drawn the attention of scholars and journalists, among others. Diplomatic Relations: Madagascar and China estab lished diplomatic relations November 6, 1972 and bilateral relations between the two countries continue to consolidate, develop and to strengthen since. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1972, their relationship and cooperation in the economic, commercial and various grow without ceasing.In recent years, the leaders of both countries attach great importance the development of relations and exchanges of high-level increase, which gives great impetus to the rapid development of bilateral relations of friendship and Malagasy cooperation. The Minister of Foreign Affairs established the first diplomatic relations between China and Madagascar during the transition (1972-1975); The celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between China and Madagascar held on 6th November 2012.Several high Malagasy personalities visited China since the 1990s such as the President of the Republic Albert ZAFY in 1994; Madagascar President Marc R AVALOMANANA arrived in Beijing in 2008. During the current transitional period, Ambassador of China Shen Yongxiang has presented his credentials to the Head of State Andrinirina RAJOELINA. Several high Chinese leaders such as the President of the National People’s Congress Chen Muhua; the Second Prime Minister Jiang Chungun and the Vice President of the Republic Hu Jintao was visited Madagascar.Economic Relations: If China's economic weight is felt in African countries, in particular Madagascar by its commercial dynamism, the country begins to be an investor not negligible. Since 2005, the partnership agreements between Madagascar and China have continued to increase. For example, the establishment of a cement factory, the construction of a large 5 star hotel by a Chinese group, the future construction of a hospital. And even well before the year 2005, investment in China has already had its place in the economy, be it in the industry â€Å"trade†.China is the largest partner of Madagascar in terms of imports; 95% of products from Madagascar benefit from the Chinese treatment tariff exemption; The agreement of economic and technical cooperation between China and Madagascar was signed in 2006. Several Chinese companies investing in Madagascar in the infrastructure, energy, the exploitation of oil and raw materials. Bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial widens constantly rapidly increasing bilateral trade, investment activates the  day and exchanges in cultural, educational and human intensify.The consultations between the two countries in international affairs reinforce more. Cultural Relation: During 40 years of partnership, China has provided more than 350 scholarships and has trained more than 860 government officials and journalist. CONFUCIUS Institutes were established in three provinces of the Big Island. Impact and perspective: The Chinese presence opens a new perspective for developing countries and it presents many more c hoices in terms of policy and developing model. It allows exploitation of natural resources with higher prices of raw materials and facilitates access to international aid.It promotes the diversification of investment, a new spirit based on the expression win-win more attractive. China's growth is pushing up global demand and therefore  the price of commodities exported by African countries. In addition, China has become the main partner of several African countries: it provides cheaper manufactured goods and reduces their dependence on their ways traditional trading partners. In the case of Madagascar, the local market is still underdeveloped in that 20% of the population live in urban areas and in this context, the abundance of Chinese products (food, textiles, toys, shoes, appliances, †¦ Markets Local penalizes local industries to the extent that the price of Chinese products is well below the cost of local industries and supply is abundant. The competitiveness of local in dustries is low compared to the value of a product Chinese including textiles and food products. In the Capital Antananarivo, expansion and Chinese domination can be analyzed via the rapid development of a shopping center Behoririka (name of district) in the middle Capital in the image of Chinatown. Added to this is the development of restorations.However, these imports improve the well-being of people in that price consumer goods from China are within the powers of purchases population. The development of these businesses creates jobs but the salary level remains insufficient compared to the level of wages in the private sector in Madagascar. Chinese competition also exerts downward pressure on the cost of investment. Chinese equipment (transport, agriculture) is very cheap an alternative to higher quality goods. However, the lifetime of the equipment is not long compared to the same type of equipment from Europe.Chinese growth will boost African exports but will also increase vola tility. China opened its market by treating preferential tariff least developed countries, but this has not yet been impacted on African exports. In the case of Madagascar, export to the China is still insufficient compared to the values of imports and has been a decade. This increases the trade deficit Malagasy and may undermine the external reserves position of the Central Bank of Madagascar. If Europe the main export destination from Madagascar, China still relatively low and represents 2. 2%.In terms of trade between China and Madagascar, relationships become increasingly important during the last decade. Current trends regional trade showed a significant increase and the value of continuous imports from China, and a modest increase in export exports Madagascar to China. Changes in imports and exports of Madagascar with China do not evolve at the same rate, resulting in an imbalance of trade. The exchanges are obviously in favor of China. CONCLUSION In short cooperation with Ch ina is mutually beneficial and China has promoted the cultural development in Madagascar.Projects underway in Madagascar, which involve Chinese aid, are also very visible. In terms of foreign direct investment, the weight of Chinese investors is not negligible and is around 10%. The majority of Chinese capital from Hong Kong. Chinese companies are among the providers of jobs in Madagascar. If the participation of France in the capital is very dominant in Madagascar, China’s participation has increased by 0. 8% to 10. 9% over the same period and has a negative influence on the situation in France.This attests to the strengthening of the position China and offset somewhat the impact of French colonization of the current situation. The friendly cooperation in the field of education, health and trade, have borne remarkable fruit. We think that with the principle of mutual benefit, cooperation between China and Madagascar will have a bright future. REFERENCES †¢ http://www. b bc. co. uk/news/world-africa-13864364 †¢ http://www. irinnews. org/Madagascar †¢ http://www. state. gov/p/af/ci/ma/ †¢ file:///F:/feed%20back%20de%2040%20ans. htm †¢ file:///F:/CCTV%20mirrroir%20d%20afrik%20frappe%20chinoise. htm file:///F:/mada%20chine%202. htm †¢ http://www. xinhuanet. com/english/home. htm †¢ Perspectives economiques en Afrique. OCDE. 2006 †¢ Plan cadre des Nations Unies pour l’assistance au developpement (UNDAF) Madagascar 2008-2011. Systeme des Nations Unies. Juin 2007 †¢ Rapport National sur le Developpement Humain Madagascar 2006 : Les technologies de l’information et de la communication et developpement humain. PNUD. Avril 2007 †¢ Les echanges entre la Chine et L’Afrique : Situation actuelle, perspectives et sources pour l’analyse , Jean Raphael Chaponniere, STATECO N °100, 2006.

Process Design Essay

Design Improvement Product/service design Planning and control Nature and purpose of the design activity Products, services and the processes which produce them all have to be designed Decisions taken during the design of a product or service will have an impact on the decisions taken during the design of the process which produces those products or services, and vice versa Design of products / services and design of processes are interrelated and should be treated together Designing the product or service Designing the process Products and services should be designed in such a way that they can be created effectively Product / service design has an impact on the process design and vice versa Processes should be designed so they can create all products and services which the operation is likely to introduce Design of the Product Design of the Process In manufacturing operations overlapping the activities of product and process design is beneficial In most service operations the overlap between service and process design is implicit in the nature of service Process mapping symbols derived from ‘Scientific Management’ Operation (an activity that directly adds value) Inspection (a check of some sort) Transport (a movement of something) Delay (a wait, e. g. for materials) Process mapping symbols derived from Systems Analysis Beginning or end of the process Activity Input or output from the process Direction of flow Storage (deliberate storage, as opposed to a delay) Decision (exercising discretion) Manufacturing process types Process tasks Diverse/ complex Process flow High Intermittent Project Jobbing Variety Batch Mass Continuous Low Volume High Repeated/ divided Continuous Low Specially made, every one ‘customized’ Defined start and finish: time, quality and cost objectives Many different skills have to be coordinated A project process with a small part of the process map that would describe the whole process Jobbing processes Very small quantities: ‘one-offs’, or only a few required Specially made: high variety, low repetition, ‘strangers’, every one ‘customized’ Skill requirements are usually very broad Skilled Jobber, or team, completes whole roduct Batch processes Higher volumes and lower variety than for Jobbing Standard products, repeating demand. But can make specials Specialized, narrower skills Set-ups (changeovers) at each stage of production Mass (line) processes Higher volumes than batch Standard, repeat products (‘runners’) Low and/or narrow skills No set-ups, or almost instantaneous ones A mass process – a packing process Continuous processes Extremely high volumes and low variety: often single product Standard, repeat products (‘runners’) Highly capital-intensive and automated Few hangeovers required Difficult and expensive to start and stop the process A service shop – This health club offers some variety within a standard set of facilities and processes A mass service – This call centre can handle a very high volume of customer enquiries because it standardizes its process Source: Royal Bank of Scotland Group Deviating from the ‘natural’ diagonal on the product-process matrix has consequences for cost and flexibility Manufacturing operations process types S ervice operations process types None More process flexibility than is needed so high cost Project Jobbing Batch Mass Continuous None Less process flexibility than is needed so high cost Professional service Service shop Mass service The ‘natural’ line of fit of process to volume/variety characteristics Flow (layout), technology and Job design are all influenced by process positioning Flow Unorganized Technology Little / general Jobs Varied / high discretion Volume Custom furniture maker Machine tool maker Automobile factory Predictable Specialist Routine / low discretion Petrochemical refinery Investment banking Customer service branch Bank call centre Credit card processing Customized sandwich – old process Raw materials Assembly Stored sandwiches Move to outlets sell Take payment Standard sandwich process Customer request The operation of making and selling customized sandwiches Prepare Sandwich materials and customers Assemble as required Take payment Customers ‘assembled’ to sandwiches Bread and base filling Assemble whole sandwich Use standard ‘base? No Yes Outline process of making and selling customized sandwiches Detailed process of assembling customized sandwiches Customized sandwich – new process Assemble whole sandwich Assembly of ‘sandwich bases’ Use standard ‘base? Take ayment Fillings Bread and base filling Stored ‘bases’ Yes Customer request Assemble from standard ‘base’ No Little’s law (a really quite useful law) Throughput (TH) = Work in process (WIP) x Cycle time (CT) Cycle time = 2 minutes WIP = 10 Throughput time = ? Throughput time = 10 x 2 minutes = 20 minutes time (CT) 500 exam scripts need to be marked in 5 days (working 7 hours a day). It takes 1 hour to mark a script. How many markers are needed? What is designed in a product or service? The understanding of the nature, use and value of the service or product A concept A package The group of ‘component’ products and services that provide those benefits defined in the concept The way in which the component products and services will be created and delivered A process The product and service design activity is a process in itself Transformed resources, . g. Technical information Market information Time information The product / service design process whose performance is measured by its Quality Speed Dependability Flexibility Cost Fully specified products and Outputs services Inputs Transforming resources, e. g. Test and design equipment Design and technical staff The stages of product / service design Concept generation Concept screening Preliminary design Evaluation and improvement Prototyping and final design Ideas from customers formally through marketing activities Listening to customers – n a day-to-day basis Ideas from competitor activity – for example reverse engineering Ideas from staff – especially those who meet customers every day Ideas from research and development Broad categories of evaluation criteria for assessing concepts Feasibility – how difficult is it? What INVESTMENT, both managerial and financial, will be needed? What RETURN, in terms of benefits to the operation, will it give? Overall evaluation of the concept Criteria for screening concepts Acceptability – how worthwhile is it? Vulnerability – what could go wrong? What RISKS do we run if things go wrong? Design involves progressively reducing the number of possibilities until the final design is reached CONCEPT Choice and evaluation ‘screens’ Large number of design options Uncertainty regarding the final design TIME One design FINAL DESIGN SPECIFICATON Certainty regarding the final design Design evaluation and improvement.

Accounts Receivable Crisis

The following criteria will consist of a complete record of all credit amounts which include precise approval and maturity periods, simple debtor background information such as employment position, how they receive money, amount of family members in household, and current place in which they reside. In addition, various documents that shows the exact date in which our establishment physically acquired funds from the patient will also need to be requested. Ill. In order to resolve this problem, a combined effort from all departments within this organization must be implemented.This Includes the Administrative department, the Finance department, the Health Information Management department, as well as the patient. Each department will provide a specific set of functions from various resources to the overall execution of the newly designed plan. L. Administrative department As you may well know, Admission and Registration Is probably the most Important department and is the first line o f defense against this pressing issue. Properly documenting critical patient data, such as insurance information can literally save a inconsiderable amount of money as well as ensure a faster payment.In an effort to reduce employee errors involving insurance changes during this phase of the process, an Increased amount AT training classes well De contacted Tanat would explain in full detail about what the procedures are for checking in a patient and a special session that focuses on proper insurance data collecting. In addition to this, a staff member suggested that a full time individual be utilized on a 24 hour basis. The full time clerk will be responsible for the inspection of all other employees' paperwork to catch any discrepancies that might occur. According to Brown,J.Oily 2000), â€Å"Manual Claim Reviews including utilization and medical reviews are conducted by trained specialists. Staff specialists review specific claims with established program and medical policy, with previously paid claims, and with other information to decide if Medicaid should pay for the services. † Once this task is complete, the data will be passed on to the medical record department for further processing. Lie. Finance department To reduce the number of days that funds remain within Accounts Receivable, an analysis must first be conducted to determine which dollar amounts are either paid or delinquent.This objective typically requires the utilization of an Aging of Accounts Receivable Schedule, which can be retrieved from resources such as financial department records. According to Emerson, P. (n. D. ), â€Å"The accounts receivable schedule is a listing of the customers making up the total accounts receivable balance. Most businesses prepare an accounts receivable schedule at the end of the month. † Accessing this critical data can be quite useful and will give the company a such clearer picture as to why this issue is occurring. Iii.Health Information Manag ement department The Health Information Management department and medical coding personnel's contribution to controlling the Accounts Receivable dilemma consists of decreasing the influx of rejected claims from various insurance providers as well as ensuring that all submitted paperwork from the Administrative department is finalized and thoroughly checked for errors prior to submission. To accomplish these tasks, pertinent information such as reports, medical charts, and patient data should be adhered and referenced. ‘v.

Empowerment Through Education Essay

I feel empowerment through education can be one of the most amazing feelings. When reading a great book, it teaches me many things about myself and the classes I take in college. Learning something that I can apply to my everyday life is a useful tool. It teaches me things that can change my life forever or at least help me get through my day. Education not only benefits my life but my family, friends and people i see on a daily bases. The times when I feel most empowered through education are when i have achieved something that i never thought i could. After reading my first book, all i wanted to do was read the next book in the series. Right away I picked up another book and started reading it. I was so relieved at how easy it was once I started getting into what I was reading. It taught me something that i never knew about myself, that i actually like to read. From that point on, reading became an enjoyable activity. One of the first books i read was able to teach me something I c ould use in my everyday life. It was a car manual, which isn’t easy to understand at first. It has complex diagrams of what parts you are trying to fix and learn about. After carefully reading the manual I was able to fix my car myself. Before that replacing my window regulators, changing my oil, and installing sub woofers were things i never thought i could do. Because I was able to install and fix a few simple things in my car I avoided having to go to someone i didn’t trust. If i had someone else doing it for me, how am i sure they are doing honest work? Reflecting on it I now, I realize that reading can save me money, time and peace of mind. During my first semester in college i was forced to read many books I didn’t enjoy. After reading and applying the text to my classes I was amazed and shocked at how enjoyable it can be. It helped make the work i did more meaningful and less of a burden. It helped me understand that sometimes in life you have to read some crap just to say you did it. For the first time in my life i was able to over come my doubts about my reading and writing skills. I always felt like my education and book smarts were on an undergraduate level, but I was able to read and write at a college level and pass all my classes. This empowerment through education was something i never thought i would achieve. It is all thanks to the people that believed in me and pushed me to go back to school. Empowerment through education is one of the greatest feelings in the world. It is like the first time you are able to ride your bike by yourself. It is the inspiration that pushes you to wake up and start your day. After over coming many odds and doubts i was able to achieve what i came for, higher education/riding that bike over that high hill. Bettering my education was something i never thought i would do but here i am. The feeling of empowerment is what will drive me to excel this upcoming semester. Not only because applying myself will be easier but i now know i can do anything i put my mind to. I no longer feel unequipped to tackle the challenges that college and life present.

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 32

History - Essay Example Governors known as satraps whose duties included being a vassal king to the Persian emperor, who administered the region on his behalf and oversaw the recruitment of the military whenever the need for it arose, administered these units. Under the satrap were often officials whose work was to ensure that all the records of the government of the satrapy were well kept and maintained. Depending on the period monarch ruled, the Persian Empire was often divided between twenty to thirty satrapies (Farazmand 280). Ancient Greece on the other hand, consisted of several hundred-city states, which were completely independent of each other. This situation was unique in the ancient world where societies tended to be organized either into tribes or into kingdoms that occupied quite a significant amount of territory. The Greeks fiercely defended the independence of their city-states and it was very rare for them to think of the idea of unifying themselves into one cohesive state. Their fierce sense of independence was clearly demonstrated during the second Persian invasion of Greece when while a group of city-states allied themselves to fight the invaders; a vast majority of the others chose to remain neutral in this conflict awaiting the outcome of the war. Once the Persians had been defeated, these city-states quickly resumed their independence and in fact, the conflict now became internal with those who were once allies fighting against each other. It can therefore be said that the Greek city-sta tes had two main features that were different from other states; the first is that they were very fragmentary by nature and the second was the focus that they had on their city-states rather than their identity as one people with a shared culture. Many Greek city-states had a form of government, which was based on some form of democracy, this meant that all adult males in the city could participate in the management of the affairs of the

Common Law 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Common Law 3 - Essay Example the landlord will remain as occupier for the parts of the building he has retained as a result of the letting; where a landowner gives a licence to a person to use premises and retains the right to enter premises to do repairs, the owner retains control and is the occupier; and finally where the owner employs independent contractors to do work on premises, the owner will generally retain sufficient control to be classified as an occupier, however there is a possibility that the contractors will also be found to be occupiers, depending on the amount of control they have while the work is in progress. The liability of occupiers for lawful visitors is governed by Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and will be discussed in respect of Messrs Jones and Thompson. The issue of rights and liabilities between Sunshine Beach Holiday Park Owners and Messrs Jones and Thompson will now be discussed. The principle of common duty of care bestows a duty upon the occupier to take such care in all circumstances of the case as is reasonable to ensure that a (lawful) visitor will be reasonably safe when he uses the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted to be there. (s.2(2) Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957) Further the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 goes on to state that a licensee (a person to whom a license is given) is owed a contractual duty of care (s.5(1) Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957). One of the most important defence to actions brought under the Occupiers’ Liability Act is the defence of contributory negligence, that is where a visitor fails to use reasonable care for his own safety and such failure causes him damage. The effect of this will be a reduction in damages. When the common duty of care is considered, the circumstances that are included are the degree and want of care which would ordinarily be looked for, in such a visitor. Contributory negligence may allow for a reduction in damages or may extinguish damages per

Financial Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Reporting - Essay Example The recent financial crisis as well as the leading corporate scandals of past however, cast a doubt over the information presented in the financial statements. It has been argued that the financial statements do not provide the information which can satisfy the requirements of the shareholders and investors. The overall quality of reporting and the loopholes in the existing regulations and standards therefore provide an opportunity to the managers to report the matter in a manner which may not satisfy the overall requirements of the shareholders and investors.( Weil,2011). This paper will discuss as to whether the annual report of a limited company satisfy the needs of shareholders and other investors. Annual Reports and Financial Reporting Every limited liability company is required to present its annual financial statements outlining the position of its assets and liabilities, profit and loss as well as the cash flow position. Apart from the three key financial statements, annual r eports of the firms also include notes to the accounts which provide different estimates and explanations of how different estimates were made and under what assumptions and standards. Standards set out by International Accounting Standards Board as well as the US GAAP are two of the major standards which are being followed by the firms internationally. Except US Generally accepted accounting principles, standards outlined by IASB are followed internationally where US GAAP is followed by American companies. Though there are some critical differences between the two set of standards however, there are extensive efforts being undertaken to converge both the standards and develop a unifying and single standards to be followed by all the firms globally. It is also important to note that the every limited liability company has to submit its annual accounts to the regulatory body as well as to present them to the shareholders. As such annual reports serve as the most important document th rough which shareholders can actually assess the performance of the management and assess the long term and short term future of the firm. (Jones, 1998). The recent financial crisis as well as the corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom however, created an strong debate as to whether the financial reporting made in the annual reports actually serves the interests of the shareholders and other investors or not? Financial Reporting and Shareholders’ Interests Despite the fact that there are extensive set of rules and regulations under which annual accounts of the limited liability companies are made however, the failure of the firms to disclose all the information has initiated a debate as to whether the annual reports provide the kind of information which serves the interests of the shareholders and other investors. One of the important concepts to be explored in this regard is the agency problem which outlines that the managers make decisions which may not necessarily be i n favor of shareholders and add value to the firm. Under this assumption, the information presented in the annual reports therefore may entirely represent the interests of

Code of the Street Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Code of the Street - Essay Example As a result, mainstream institutions such as the law, are experienced and interpreted through a different lens. This essay will critically analyse and reflect upon Anderson's code for the purposes of determining both its validity and viability. The code of the street is defined as "a set of prescriptions and proscriptions, or informal rules of behavior organized around a desperate search for respect that governs public social relations, especially violence" (Anderson, 1999: 9). Within the code people operate under a "threat of vengeance" which acts as a shield to violent encounters (Anderson, 1999: 10). The code is "a set of informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior, particularly violence" in inner-city neighborhoods (Anderson, 1999: 33). It is residents' form of "law" or their "street justice" (Anderson, 1999: 10). The code thus is an alternative system to the middle-class norm. While it may be difficult for outsiders to evaluate the validity of the state due to lack of lived experience with street life, one can safely assert that Anderson's analysis rings true insofar as it appears to stem from the very nature of social systems' rules and regulations. Any social setting is governed by a set of rules which mu st be strictly followed should one wish to negotiate his/her way through the system in question and interact with members therein. The street, according to Anderson, is no different. Proceeding from the above stated, it is necessary to point out that in any social setting, self-esteem is important, as is its preservation. The street is no different. In inner-city communities, respect is key to one's self-concept and as such, the code prescribes "the proper way to respond if challenged" (Anderson, 1999: 33). On the street, one's reputation is highly valued and important to his self-identity. To maintain reputation, there is a constant "threat of violence" against those who may attempt to trample another's standing in the community (Anderson, 1999: 15). Anderson argues that the code regulates violence on the street as it offers approved justifications for those desiring to aggress against another. Whether or not you engage in violence, you are aware of the penalty if there is a rule violation (Anderson, 1999). The code thus is one's defense on the street. The code "provides a framework for negotiating respect" and is a "practical" mechanism for surviving on the str eet (Anderson, 1999: 134). Respect is a powerful commodity on the streets of inner-city America and is "a form of social capital " Anderson (1999: 66) Respect is premised on "being treated right" and given deference (Anderson, 1999: 33). Respect is external and must be demonstrated and seen. On the street, young Black males must constantly prove themselves often using physical violence. Once you have established yourself, respect acts like shield of protection. To maintain respect, one must have a hardened image and appear unbreakable. While life off the street emphasises respect and self-esteem, it does not prescribe violence as a means of attaining and later preserving it. In other words, societal culture and street culture have different perceptions of the meaning of respect and its determinants, despite their both outlining and highlighting its importance. Just as is the case with society in general, street society is not homogenous but comprised of different groups, cultures and