MGT 501 Mod 2 Case assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGT 501 Mod 2 Case assignment - Essay Example The most notable of the report is that not even Facebook or Apple made it to the list. Google has committed human resource team whose only job is to work on keeping employees happy. Irrespective of such extreme attention on the retention policies, Google still loses their workforce to Facebook or other bigger companies. But, the employee turnover rate of Google is comparatively less than that of the rival companies. For an organization, it is not just important that they have clear mission and goals. It is also important that they reach at all levels of the organization. This is exactly what we will analyze with the case of Google’s ranking. The difference in Google compared to that of other companies is that the employees are equally aware about the mission and goals of the company while in many other companies it is just the top management that are aware about the mission. In Google, the employees strive towards achieving the organizational goals. The work and leisure enviro nment at Google is considered to be the best in the industry. The essay will begin by analyzing how the job satisfaction and motivation of people at Google are influenced by its corporate values and goals concerning employees, customers and business. The essay will finally conclude by suggesting whether this business model can be adopted by every organization or not. Corporate Values and Goals Values and Goals Concerning Employees: â€Å"A company with employees aligned on goals for the future is able to reach those accomplishments faster.† (Frost, 2013) The same is true in the case of Google. Google’s value and goals concerning the employees are one of the best in the industry. Google’s values consist of 10 things that the company charted in the initial years of formation of the company. The company still holds on to those 10 values. The one point that focuses on employee values is ‘You can be serious without a suit.’ (Google, 2013a) Google’ s approach to employees is unlike the traditional organizations. Google believes that work should be fun for the employees. Google’s work culture is employee friendly compared to many other organizations. In fact, Google believes that it is the proper work culture that brings out the best from an employee. Google values the ability of the employees over their experience. For proper employee motivation and job satisfaction, the freedom to share opinions and ideas is very much essential. In Google, each and every employee gets the opportunity to be a significant contributor to the objectives of the organization. They have good say in the objectives of the organization. At the weekly meetings, employees have the freedom to shoot questions even to Larry and Sergey. It is not just the monetary benefits that motivate an employee. Almost all theories related to motivation and job satisfaction says that participation of employees in decision making will lead to higher employee motiva tion. (Ezinearticles, 2013) Similarly, a good work culture is also essential in job satisfaction and improving employee morale. This theory holds true in the case of Google. Due to its extreme focus on enabling an employee friendly work culture, Google was able to be ranked as one of the best companies to work for. It also has one of the

Morality and Competitor Essay Example for Free

Morality and Competitor Essay No doubt, Money is an essential, almost indispensable article in the present day world. It is the’ money’ through which we can purchase all the necessary comforts and amenities of life. If you have money, you can obtain what seems impossible to others. It is the money which gives man, confidence, creditworthiness, credentials, capacity, capabilities and courage. In present day materialistic world, money has become very powerful. In the present day corruption, cut throat competition, callous degradation of moral and ethical values, are for the sake of grabbing and accumulating more and more money. The prestige, respect, social status, commanded by a person is calculated per his monetary status. Time has gone, when we valued a person in evaluated of his moral and ethical values. People were earlier known for keeping their words, for donating every thing to a donee. Now people are know in terms of their ranking in the list of rich of the world. Money has become the centre of all activities. Money and muscle power have become essential ingredients of a successful political leader. Money is regarded as omnipotent by a few people, particularly by the poor. As whatever one does not possess, one aspires it badly, and it becomes mono aim of achievement. For the rich, that owe lots of money, still craving to earn more and more, by hook or by crook, with fair or foul means, without caring even for their own health, own family. They are the servants of money, earning money not for the sake of themselves but for the sake of money and a time comes they find themselves unable to use the money for their happiness. They are unable to eat, unable to taste the most delicious dish, unable to move, walk or enjoy because they suffer from many diseases which are the result of their undue craving for wealth at the cost of health. Can one purchase anything with the power of money? No, one cannot. You cannot purchase inner satisfaction with money, you cannot purchase the lost youthfulness with money, you cannot purchase time from the death at any cost. Those who earn money simply to a have more money, more balance in their accounts are no better than the proverbial miser king ‘Midas’. Excessive love for money, make a man slave of money. Money is important for our life, but it is not the most important thing for a human being. Those who use money for fulfilling their necessities, acquiring reasonable comforts and for the welfare of a common good, are the masters of money. But those who earn money just for the sake of increasing its volume and number are slaves of the money. They are the most unfortunate creatures of God who know well that whatever money they are earning, can’t be taken an iota of that when they die even they are minting more and more money. What a paradox Money has become their master and they are just slaves, having no peace of mind, no moral and ethical values, no inner satisfaction. So it is rightly said that money is a good servant but a bad master. Let us use the money for our comfort, not for the sake of money, minting more and more money.

japan :: essays research papers

Morita was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1921 the son of sake brewers. In 1946, he helped start Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo KK (the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation) with Ibuka. They had $375 and space in an abandoned department store, shelled by bombs in the war. The company quickly built Japan's first tape recorder, but it was big and bulky -- not a product destined to propel the company into the limelight. Then, in the 1950s, Ibuka and Morita got a license from Bell Labs to build transistors. The Japanese were still hard hit by the war, and couldn't really afford expensive electronics, so Ibuka set his sights on the American market with a brand new idea -- a small, transistorized radio that could fit in your pocket. As it was, a US company built such a radio first, but more as a gimmick than an actual product. When Sony, as Morita's company was soon renamed, came out with their radio, it quickly took over the market While the Regency sold out everywhere, it didn't stay on the market. Texas Instruments caused the sensation it wanted and then moved on to other things. But over in Japan, a tiny company had other ideas. A tape recorder manufacturer called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo had also decided to make small radios. In fact, they were going to devote their whole company to commercial products like that. Tsushin Kogyo was close to manufacturing its first radios when it heard that an American company had beaten them to the punch. But they kept up the hard work, eventually producing a radio they named the TR-52. When Regency quit producing the TR1, in the spring of 1955, the Japanese company was poised to enter the US market. While most American companies researched the transistor for its military applications, Ibuka envisioned using it for communications. While Regency and Texas Instruments in the US may have built a transistor radio first, it was the Tokyo Company that really invested the radio as a viable commercial product. Ibuka's company -- now named Sony, a combination of the Latin word for sound "sonus" and the chic Japanese boys of the time nicknamed "sonny" -- quickly took over the market. The only problem was that the company name was unprouncable for Americans. They needed a new name. Ibuka and his partner Akio Morita thought and thought. First, they found a Latin word sonus meaning, "sound.

Henry David Thoreau: a Philosophical Reflection Essay

Henry David Thoreau was an inexhaustible writer that encompassed poetry and philosophy within his narratives and created a style of writing that, for his time, was difficult to define and categorize. Because of this his works were often overlooked for the genius that was held within them as writers of his time had already begun to stray from the traditional stances of philosophy. However, one can easily survey the works of Henry David Thoreau and do so with an immense amount of appreciation for his keen ability to contemplate and delve into the varied psyches and perspectives that man holds. And despite the difficulties in categorization it cannot be denied that Thoreau’s works were powerful and filled with brilliance. Thoreau wrote from a contemplative platform. He was not one who was frightened by solitude. Coined often as saying, â€Å"As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness, weakness. † He passionately held to the understanding that in order to embrace all the wonder and beauty that the world holds we as a people needed to slow down, to observe our surroundings and embrace all that is before us. And sometimes in order to do that, more often in order to do that, one needed to disconnect and detach from distractions and things that skewed one’s vision in order to do so. Thoreau held to the belief that, â€Å"our limited view often keeps us from appreciating the harmonious interdependence of all parts of the natural world: this is not due to â€Å"any confusion or irregularity in nature,† but because of our own incomplete knowledge. † This was just one of many excerpts taken from Thoreau’s work, Walden, that expressed his elief that we have so much to gain by embracing more than our own perspectives as a singular perspective only sees from one vantage point. This particular work of Thoreau’s, Walden, really highlighted his fusion of philosophy and poetry amidst a presented narrative. And as previously mentioned, while it made it hard to categorize, Thoreau did gain notoriety for its content and his literary prowess. Thoreau was a Harvard graduate. He was a student of ancient scripture as well as one who studied literature containing Asian wisdoms and traditions. He was well versed and enjoyed covering a broad spectrum of material. He enjoyed the philosophical perspectives of Locke and Coleridge as well as holding honor and respect for Emerson, despite their different outlooks at times. It was evident in his writings that he held a great value for nature. He also found importance in seeking out God in the midst of nature’s existence. Thoreau held to this belief not just as a mere perspective but as a life philosophy as well. The evidence of such was found in that many of his greatest writings came when silence stilled the atmosphere and he was able to enter into the beauty that the earth around him held. After all it was his belief that beauty was more than just in the eye of the beholder but was actually held within one, a beholder, who was able to first perceive it. Thoreau brilliantly described his viewpoints in his explorations of human perspectives and challenged individuals to see beyond the mere surface of things. We see this demonstrated in the expression of his story, Walden. He was out in the woods, far from any other individual for two years and two months. During that time, he became one with nature in a way he found difficult to do amongst the bustling of a busy city. He provided for himself through his work laboring the land and as he was secluded in this place he was able to gain a deeper perspective of life through his silent contemplations of the life that surrounded him. It wasn’t loud, crowded and crazy, filled with opinions and demands. The wilderness provided a contemplative canvas of beauty where every possibility could be considered without the rude interruptions that often come with man’s agenda. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy it was aptly conveyed that one of the greatest attributes or virtues of Thoreau’s writings was awareness. Thoreau had a talent for drawing his reader’s into a greater understanding of things they were not first nature to them and causing them to ponder, reflect and evaluate life in a deeper manner. Life is more than what it first appears and that in the embrace of simplicity one can begin to see and behold all that there is beyond what merely man has created himself, this was a message of great importance to Thoreau. Henry David was also an agent of change. In arousing individuals to embrace greater perspectives of life philosophies he compelled them further to change the way that they approached life. His belief was this, â€Å"We need to cherish and nurture our capability to discern the difference between the idea and reality, between what is and what ought to be. It is when we experience dissatisfaction with ourselves or with external circumstances that we are stimulated to act in the interest of making things better. † If we strive to uphold a certain value but are not actively doing things that promote our values or beliefs then there is a chasm between what is and what should be and Thoreau was not shy about addressing this issue in his writings. Ultimately Henry David Thoreau was an inspirational writer who spurred his readers on to seek out and explore a life with deeper meaning. He admonished small thinking and in the same breath imparted a sense of hope and expectation in portraying that there was more to the world than meets the eye. It was just simply in the eye of the beholder to not only see it but perceive it. This thought was brilliantly encapsulated within a timeless quote credited to Henry David Thoreau when stated, â€Å"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. † If one believes, all things are possible.

Who I Am as a Teenager

Who am I? This uncertainty has to be one of the most common to go through a teenager’s brain. As a regular teenager, I make mistakes, laugh, cry, smile and love. Every experience in my life good or bad, happy or sad makes me stronger. Each step in my life and each passing moment make me grow into the person I want to be. To understand who I am, I have to talk about things that help to shape my identity like my past, the culture where I come from, the environment where I grow up and my family Our history influences our patriotism and our nationalistic tendencies. As I have been growing up, I notice that my entire background have influenced in who I am. My history helps me to remember where my ancestors came from. By remembering that, I will understand my heritage, more about me, and how I should live my life the best I can. History is not only telling me about how my family’s ancestors lived their lives, but also show me my culture, my tradition, and the way that I think. The family history of everybody marks their past, their present, and their future, because the consequences of the actions remain in time. Our culture influences, to an extent, everything in our lives, from how we are schooled, the morals we are taught and other influences on our lives such as sports we play, foods we eat, clothes we wear, music we listen to and how we feel. All these examples represent my culture. It makes me different and identifies me with my birthplace, and I feel important in this world because of these differences. I was born in a small city in Vietnam, and I did not have any brother or sister. As the only child in my family, I grew up in a very loving, caring and educating family environment. However, grew up in that type of sheltered environment prevented me from seeing the outside world. My only friends were my toys, so when I started pre-school, it was really different for me because there were a lot more kids than I was used to seeing. Since I did not know anyone, I didn’t talk very much. As I grew older and moved through school, I began to have more friends than I did back in pre-school. I was starting to talk more and be more active. I realized that the environment where I grew up had influenced who I am as a person. All this parts of my background make the person that I am. Another aspect of who I am is the hobbies that I enjoy doing. I like to listen to any kind of music except rock and rap. I enjoy playing sports such as soccer, basketball and football with my friends. I also enjoy off-road adventures, and playing with my two three-year old nephews. Another one of my hobbies is reading books especially medical books because I want to be a doctor like my parents. My family is probably the largest reason that makes me who I am today because it decides my personality, bias and character flaws. My dad and my mom are both dentists and although they are busy with their job, they always spend most of the time to take care of me. Being a working housewife, my mom tries very hard to be a good homemaker. She is an adventurous cook, and she is good. Unlike many of my dad’s contemporizes, he is a picture of health and vitality. I admire his dedication to his patients and work. Although my father is a strict disciplinarian, he can be jovial and caring at the same time. When I was sick, my parents would take off work and spend the whole day to pampering me back to health. My dad used to tell me that â€Å"as a human being, everybody made mistakes. Some people would deny to facing it but the smart people would have the courtesy to learn from them and not made them twice. † He also taught me how to be strong. He told me to except things as they happened and moved on. If I spent all day thinking about it, I could miss the things that made me happy. Not only did they teach me good moral values, but they also provided me with examples of good behavior and how to support my family. I was taught that my most important goal in life was to have a good education. My parents used to say that someday they would not be with me anymore, and if I wanted to have an economic independence, I had to have a good education. Then I started to think about that, and I decided to study abroad in America. I knew more friends and got more independent. Through that experience, I had a chance to experience both traditional Vietnamese culture and innovation American culture. I learned how to use my Asian background as a beneficial tool and to see myself as a unique person rather than as a vagrant. I was able to know and learn about each person and their culture; my personality changed from introverted to sociable. Henry Ford once said, â€Å"Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. † Each one of us is unique in the way that we interpret the influences on us and decide whether or not to accept these outside interventions in our self-molding. My history, my culture and my family’s environment are the most important parts of my life. They are things that help to shape who I am. I love being me and the person that I am. I am not perfect, and don’t try to be. I go through life with an open mind and take things in as they happen. I am me and that all I can be.

Use Ansoffs matrix to evaluate the extent to which innovation has driven the development of Innocent ltd. The WritePass Journal

Use Ansoffs matrix to evaluate the extent to which innovation has driven the development of Innocent ltd.   Introduction Use Ansoffs matrix to evaluate the extent to which innovation has driven the development of Innocent ltd.   Introduction  1.  Evaluate the extent to which innovation has driven the development of Innocent from its inception to the present dayProduct DevelopmentMarket DevelopmentDiversification 2. Evaluate the extent to which entrepreneurship has driven the development of Innocent from its inception to the present day3. Evaluate the extent to which leadership styles has driven the development of Innocent from its inception to the present day4. Evaluate the extent to which both the strategic direction and the method of development chosen are suitableStrategic capabilityIntellectualFinancialHumanPhysicalIssues that face Innocent and Coca-ColaEthicsCompetitionCultureSuitabilityStep1- Create a sense of urgencyStep2-Pull together the guiding teamStep3- Develop the change vision and strategyStep4- Communicate the vision broadlyStep5- Empower others to actStep 6- Quick successStep7-Buil momentum and keep pushingStep8- Create a new culture ReferencesRelated   Introduction   1.  Evaluate the extent to which innovation has driven the development of Innocent from its inception to the present day To start off with Innocent only had one product which is their renowned smoothie made from squashed up fruits. After entering the market with their famous healthy juice they were able to provide themselves with sufficient finance, in 10 years they were able turn over  £110 million calculating out to  £6m profit. With the additional finance Innocent were able to diversify their product range and widen the scope of their business. This successful turnover led them into creating and developing new products and penetrating into different markets such as, â€Å"Yoghurt thickies† â€Å"Juicy waters† â€Å"Wedged shaped cartons† –   Fitting neatly into lunchboxes (entered into the children’s market in 2005) In relation to the new products that Innocent have introduced it is possible to use the Ansoffs matrix in order to analyse the development of products into different markets and place them into the categories within the matrix. Source: tutor2u.net Product Development Kids smoothies – Instead of appealing to cash rich time poor consumers they have started to bring out new products for kids Innocent Smoothie The first product that Innocent launched Juicy waters Competing with healthy waters such Market Development Yoghurt Thickies Innocent Smoothies Trying out new flavours with new fruits Diversification Vegetables Trying to move into the fresh vegetables sector In order for Innocent to be this popular there would have been certain stages that business would have to have gone through in order to be where they are at the present day.   NPD (new product development) would have been a strategy that Innocent used in order to try and see whether or not their first idea was feasible to carry on with.   The table below consists of 6 phases that they would have gone through. Stage Relating to Innocent Strategic logic Alignment First of all Innocent wasn’t an easy business to set up for the three university friends. As they were young and inexperienced they found it extremely difficult to find financial banking for the business they proposed to set up. 20 banks or so had rejected their business plan due to lack of experienced and knowledge of the sector. Finally after much pursuing they were put in touch with a business angel who invested  £250,000 and who now owns 20% of the company. Idea generation The three university students at this stage would have had to look at the current markets and try and find a possible gap that they felt they could penetrate into. Smoothies were a concept they had engaged into. Concept Development Selection Once they had all of this set in place they needed to develop their idea to be different from any other potential competitor products out there, they made the smoothies from 100% fresh fruit which could be preserved for 14days and still get the same fresh taste. Programme Definition The idea of the smoothie had originally come from the trio buying  £500 worth of fresh fruit and making them into smoothies then going onto to sell them at a music festival in London. The customers were asked to put the empty bottles in either one of two bins one named â€Å"yes† and one named â€Å"no†, the question they would be answering was â€Å"do you think we should give up our day jobs to make these smoothies† The yes bin was overwhelming so this gave the three entrepreneurs the push they needed to take their idea forward.   Giving every consumer â€Å"2 of their 5 a day† with one bottle of Innocent. Design Development The design of the smoothies had to be unique and welcoming to the consumers Innocent also wanted to be a company that built on ethics hence the name. Ethics was decided to play a big part of the business by using fresh fruit for example the banana suppliers have rainforest accreditation, they also strived to try and be carbon neutral and using bio degradable packaging. Validation To try and make sure that customers were willing to invest in the product they had the knowledge from the music festival that customers were interested in their product. Pre- Commercialization launch The launch of their product was on a national level at first finding distribution channels through the market and now there product is stocked at many delicatessens, health food shops and coffee bars. First day they sold 24 bottles from a van. Innocent were the first company to start selling smoothies which in turn gave them a competitive advantage of being the first on the scene, this gave them allot more experience over the years of operation than other competitors in the market today, factors which play in favour of Innocent are as follows: Experience Having years of practice in serving the customers exactly with what they want, also taking on board the customer’s views and opinions to try and increase product ranges but also at the same time satisfy the needs of the consumer. Scale benefits- Innocent will definitely have this advantage as they will already have bulk order in place and be able to mass produce quicker than any new upcoming smoothie business. Pre emption of scares sources- Innocent have key technology and product innovation that makes there smoothies last 14 days from the day of production, so consumers will still get that great fresh taste. Reputation- In the years Innocent have been operating they have managed to gather a huge client database through emails and feedback this gives them an advantage as they have started to build relations with the customers a long time ago and by listening to what the consumers want and by responding appropriately they are able to keep the interested and having consumers who are brand loyal. Buyer Switching- As Innocent are big well known business there suppliers would be more than happy to negotiate with them in terms of competitive pricing. 2. Evaluate the extent to which entrepreneurship has driven the development of Innocent from its inception to the present day As the three young entrepreneurs had a lot to learn about business it was a huge learning curve for them to be thrown into the deep end so fast. Although successful as it is Coca-cola have huge part to play with their  £30m investment into Innocent when sales went down and competitors got tough. Innocent can gain from Coca-Coola distribution channels such as Europe and global distribution something that Innocent wasn’t to geared up with. From being Entrepreneurs they had given 20% away for investment but also taken onboard help and investment from another major drinks company that has been around for a lot longer than they had. On the other hand this could be a partnership between both businesses that could work. Coca-cola can learn how to compete with a whole new style of drinks. Below is a diagram of entrepreneurial growth cycle which the three young students would have found themselves going through in the early stages when Innocent started up. The diagram will give an insight and relate how the founders of Innocent would have proceeded within each step of the diagram. Start up capital For Innocent the start up capital came from on a business angel as the banks had turned them away for being inexperienced, the business angel now owns 20% of Innocent. Growth As the business grew so did the amount of employees by 2007 Innocent has 250 members of staff working within the organisation of Innocent. Maturity Innocent have handled with maturity very well in terms of them diversifying themselves into different markets offering new products aimed at different ages. They have kept revenue on a positive scale by doing this. Innocent are from maturing as they are constantly innovating new ideas and creations and with the help of their loyal customers they are always trying to find ways to impress their consumers. Exit This does not apply to Innocent as of yet as the entrepreneurs are still running the business and the Angel investor still owns 20%. Innocent have done well to not base their business entirely on profits but have been looking at the bigger picture in terms of social and economical responsibilities. This helps them achieve the business they originally set out to create which was â€Å"natural, entrepreneurial, responsible, commercial and generous†. 3. Evaluate the extent to which leadership styles has driven the development of Innocent from its inception to the present day When starting up a new business it is very important to try and get the leadership styles correct as this can make or break a business from the offset. Having a sound leader for a business can not only help with the direction of the business but also the way in which employees react to the style of leadership. If it is possible to get employees on side with the business values this can help increase efficiency and brand image. Being three young university students it was hard for Innocent to give of a professional image at first as the youth of the entrepreneurs was soon noticeable in their approach to business. Their youth style approach consisted of: Dress codes- â€Å"dress informally, often in shorts and bare feet’ Messages- â€Å"funny informal message† on the drink carton labels Employees- â€Å"leaving their personal values at home when they go work† Buildings- â€Å"fruit towers† Office block name The factors above show the laid back autocratic approach that the founders of Innocent adapted to help the business image and help support employees within the workforce to come up with new innovative creative ideas to help push Innocent forward. As the company was growing it was very important for the leadership styles to suit the number of employees so that all work could be done effectively and efficiently. After the auto critic approach as there were no employees at that time the leadership style has slightly changed to democratic as there are now 250 employees, but Innocent still ensures that employees play a role in the business and partial decision making processes, giving the employees freedom at work helps with their participation in fundamental decisions. 4. Evaluate the extent to which both the strategic direction and the method of development chosen are suitable As time went on Innocent found itself in a situation where it needed from help other businesses, this was mainly due to the expensive marketing decision that took them into the European sector this proved to be costly for them and made their financial positioning weaker. This led them into the path of Coca-Cola a large global drinks company that has one of the strongest brands in the world. Coca-Cola currently have operations in over 200 countries and has been around since 1886. The global organisation is currently the leader in the drinks beverage industry. As Innocent have decided to take investment from the global business it is able to use many of the resources that Coca-Cola use for its own products, as well as looking into international investment. There will be certain factors that will drive Innocent in this direction which can be seen in the table below. Source: Yip, Total Global Strategy As it is clear to see the above drivers would help Innocent to move forward internationally with the help of Coca-Cola and their global marketing brand. Objective comparison (Innocent vs. Coca-Cola) As two totally different businesses the vision, values, missions would differ a lot which could cause issues in the working partnership and could push toward a change within either of the organisations.    Mission Vision Values Innocent Make good food The earths favourite little company Be commercialBe generousBe entrepreneurialBe responsibleBe naturalBe generous Coca-Cola To refresh the world in mind, body and spiritTo inspire moments of optimism through our brands and actions, andTo create value and make a difference everywhere we engage ProfitPeoplePortfolioPartnersPlanet LeadershipPassionIntegrityAccountabilityCollaborationInnovation Quality From looking at table above it is clear to see that coca-cola and Innocent both follow similar ways but show their views in different perspectives. Innocent is all about being simple and telling the customers exactly what they are doing where as coca-cola is a much larger organisation therefore they have to try and abide by settling a level platform as they operate globally.   Innocent tend to follow the trends of the UK and try and adapt their changes to suit the UK economy as that is their main source of income, compared to coca-cola who have to look at the issues of the world and try and adapt their company values to suit the mass market.   Looking at the suitability of each company joining together, it may not have been the best idea. Coca-Cola doesn’t have the greatest image of being a healthy drink where as â€Å"Innocent† has a strong backing of being health conscious and the concept of the drink is that it contains â€Å"2 of your 5 a day†. This is an immediate clash for both companies whether Coca-Cola can learn from Innocents approach to being health cautious or whether Coca-Cola have only invested for a return on investment. Strategic capability In order for a business to be able to be able to survive and trade it needs to have the resources and competences at its disposable to help alleviate the downfall of the business. Innocent seem to have many resources which they use effectively to send out a positive message to all its consumers: Intellectual   Customer feedback, letters from consumers, emails letting Innocent know how they feel about their products which in turn gives Innocent new innovative ideas. Financial   Millions made which means investment for expansion and product development, Partnerships, Business angel, 2million Innocent smoothies sold a week bringing in constant revenue Human Creativity in the staff that Innocent employ which is showed throughout their products, 250 employees who all have different skills and knowledge that make Innocent who they are, New staff after working with Coca-Cola brining potentially new ideas to the business. Physical Innocent have all their products that they sell as well as all the development production technology that use to create the drinks. They also have â€Å"Fruity Towers† where they operate from. All the resources that Innocent have proved to be a success for the business in the previous years else they would not be who they are today. Innocent having proven themselves to have good customer relations and doesn’t find it hard to communicate with their consumers this could be because of their critical success factors. Innocent have certain product features in order to keep their consumers engaged with the business such as the â€Å"funny informal messages† or making sure they are letting their customers know what they are drinking is healthy. Innocent’s honesty with the consumer has paid off as they are well engaged with many of their consumers. All the different departments within Innocent all interlink together which helps the business run effectively and efficiently. As Innocent is a simple business its logistics and processes flow easily enabling them to create their products and meet the demands of the consumer, compared to that of Coca-Cola who have vast production lines in 100’s of countries with lots more products. The two different value chains could clash as the organisational structure and technology development as well as process methods differ drastically. The technology that relates to Innocent would be the fact they can keep their smoothie fresh for up to 14 days where as Coca-Cola have developed their packaging to ensure the coke tastes fresh when opened. With Innocent juicy possibly entering into international markets as well as European they could benefit from Coca-Cola’s production methods to ensure they would be able to meet the extra demand on time and of high quality. Also when distributin g abroad with only 14 days of freshness for the smoothie Innocent will have to work with Coca-cola to help distribute their products quick enough so that they can be on the shelve as long as possible before the best before date runs out. Transportation costs on a global scale could creep up significantly for Innocent if Coca-Cola distribution channels are not feasible to use. Increasing costs in certain areas could cause internal conflict for Innocent as there are different investors that have put capital into the business, the decisions off Innocent as a whole can effect more than just the investors, other effected parties would be the employees and suppliers as well as any other stake holder. Rising costs and changes within the processes could cause possible disruption in parts of Innocents infrastructure leaving employees unhappy and investors concerned about expenditure. The stakeholder interests within both organisations will vary and all stakeholders will be expressing their v iews and concerns to the board which in turn could leave Innocent torn between following Coca-Cola on an international level or keeping stake holders happy on a more local scale. Issues that face Innocent and Coca-Cola The merge of the two businesses can cause serious issues that could affect the brand image and stakeholders concerned. Ethics   Innocent have a much more ethical approach to business compared with Coca-Cola, partnering up with a less ethical company could bring down customer views and opinions of Innocent which could damage their international venture. Competition Although both brands are well established within their fields there is always the fear of a new competitor or substitute products being purchased, if Innocent cannot keep the price of their product at a competitive rate consumers may start to look elsewhere. Innocent currently only make 5p per bottle sold this is a low profit margin, with all the additional costs they will have to look closely or look into cutting costs which may cause a backlash on their ethical programmes. Innocent will have to do lots of market research to see if there is a need for their product in other countries, although consumers may be willing to pay the slightly higher price in the UK for a smoothie this may not be the same in international countries depending on the state of their economy. Culture   The culture clashes between Innocent and Coca-Cola vary on a large scale, Innocent have the very laid back approach towards business where as Coca-Cola are a lot more formal and diverse. Management techniques and employee relations differ which could cause conflict in the way both businesses work together in order to get things done. The organisational structure’s of both business would look very different as Innocent only have 250 staff where as Coca-Cola would be in the 000’s making the layering of each level and employee powers differ. Suitability In terms of Innocent and Coca-Cola working together it needs to analysed whether or not it would be feasible for this to take place. Strategic Options Environment Capability Stakeholder/Cultural Influences Consolidation Innocent can maintain their market position within the UK and Europe. Coca-Cola maintains their global positioning. Build on their brand and product strength and new innovative ideas   through the creativity of their employees Stakeholders not wanting to move into the European market as they are comfortable in the markets they operating in currently. Market Penetration Try gaining more market share through promotions or new products. Exploiting the resources available to them which were mentioned previously. Coca-Cola exploiting their vast global connection. Stakeholders happy with the current position of both businesses not wanting any change to occur, thinking they might be at risk of a loss in new strategic directions Product Development Innocent looking at feedback from the customers on acting on it. Coca-Cola taking a leaf out of Innocents book and engaging with their consumers maybe looking into healthy drinks with less sugar contents. Both companies could use each other’s research and development groups giving each business a different perspective on their products. Trying to make the stakeholders take interest in the better of the business in order for growth and expansion. Market Development Innocent and Coca-Cola can both benefit from new products and using existing products to penetrate into different segments of the market Exploiting the current capabilities and products in different market segments. Such as Coca-Cola trying out new kids drinks with an â€Å"Innocent† concept. Trying to help stakeholder understand the need for investment into new areas before current market reach the decline stage. Diversification The markets that Innocent and Coca-Cola have become to   mature/decline Exploit the core competences in new areas Must still be able to meet the needs of the stakeholders at the same time.                     Source: Exploring Corporate strategy pg 337 exhibit 10.6 As we can see from all of the above analysis it would be fair to say that both Innocent and Coca-Cola can learn new ways of managing, developing products, and targeting different sectors, but this could come at a cost of either damaging brand image or leaving behind the ethical issues that both companies value. With reference to appropriate models/frameworks analyse the change in management issues that could arise in implementing this strategy With the merge and assistance of both Innocent and Coca-Cola coming together certain issues could arise in the management styles having knock on effects to other areas of both businesses such as employees and stakeholders the issues that could arise from this have been analysed below using different models. To help try and overcome these issues there is a 8 step process that can be followed in order to and remove potential unwillingness to participate in new operations. Step1- Create a sense of urgency Innocent and Coca-Cola both need to let their businesses know that in order for them to grow and succeed further there visions and strategies need to be fulfilled to the maximum potential. Step2-Pull together the guiding team Making sure that the team has strong beliefs and values of what they are doing to show other people that it is a beneficial move. Step3- Develop the change vision and strategy Making sure that consumers and investors understand what the future will be able to give them and how they will gain from this and how it is different from the past. Step4- Communicate the vision broadly Make sure as many people as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy this could be done through the media as both Coca-Cola and Innocent have media connections. Step5- Empower others to act For example if Innocent had enough money and certain stakeholder such as the business angel did not see the vision that everybody else had seen it may be in the best interest of Innocent to buy certain stakeholders out this would give the entrepreneurs more control and power to drive the company forward with Coca-Cola. Looking at this from Coca-Colas perspective they would have to convince their stakeholders that partnering up with Innocent is the way forward for a better image and more product innovation. Step 6- Quick success Produce sufficient short-term results to give their efforts credibility and to disempower the cynics Step7-Buil momentum and keep pushing Once the first success point has been reached for example Innocent in the international market they need to keep pushing themselves in order for the vision to become a reality. Step8- Create a new culture The old traditions of the business need to become the past and future should be embraced Coca-Cola could do this by leaving the high sugar content drinks behind and getting onboard with Innocent into the healthier beverages, with a strong brand name people may trust the drinks. The method above is a simple 8 step rule of trying overcoming change management issues but time constraints need to be taken into account as it can be a lengthy process trying to get everyone on side.    References http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm innocentdrinks.co.uk/ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3Prwx2sWtPsCpg=PA583lpg=PA583dq=DAVID+RAINEY+NPD+MODELsource=blots=vJ6Z37tZKTsig=i8sT69tygn6cSHd3yuYTVRtuwAkhl=enei=5kbYS-WdF4z0mAPezMCnCAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=false (PAGE 10) coca-cola.co.uk/About_Us/ youtube.com/watch?v=PeORynrUakk Kotter, J., and Rathgeber, H., (2006) Our Iceberg is Melting : Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions Pan Macmillan Ltd, London

Is Richard III a Machiavellian character Essays

Is Richard III a Machiavellian character Essays Is Richard III a Machiavellian character Paper Is Richard III a Machiavellian character Paper The dictionary definition of a Machiavellian character is: Being or acting in accordance with the principles of government analyzed in Machiavellis The Prince, in which political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described. Machiavellian behaviour is characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty. The part in the play which I think epitomizes Richards Machiavellian character is his cunning plan to turn his two brothers, George Duke of Clarence and King Edward IV against each other. He does this by creating a completely bogus prophecy that the person who will kill the King, their name will start with the letter G. As Clarences name (George) starts with a G Edward has no choice but to send Clarence to the tower of London. The making of this rumour shows great expediency and cunning, not to mention dishonesty. After a little bit of a push in the right direction from Richard, Edward IV sends out an execution order for Clarence. However Edward has a change of heart at the last minute and send out an order through Richard revoking the execution warrant. However Richard in a show of great deception and dishonesty never passes on this message. This plan works really well and is shown in Clarences refusal to accept that he was betrayed by Richard: SECOND MURDERER You are deceived. Your brother Gloucester hates you. CLARENCE O, no, he loves me and holds me dear! .. FIRST MURDERER Come, you deceive yourself; Tis he that sends us here to destroy you here. CLARENCE It cannot be, for he bewept my fortune, And hugged me in his arms, and swore with sobs That he would labour my delivery. One Moment in the play where Richard shows much cunning and deceitfulness is in Act One where Richard is seducing Lady Anne the widow of the Prince of Lancaster. Richard says that he has never cried, not even at his fathers funeral but says that Annes refusal to marry him makes him cry. This makes Richard appear initially weak and that Anne holds all the cards. Richard then begs Anne to stab him for I did kill King Henry, twas I that stabbed young Edward. Anne cannot do it and Richard uses this very manipulatively. He says Take upon this sword or take upon me. As Anne cannot stab him she marries him. A part of the play where Richard is greatly manipulative in gaining support through fear is at a meeting with many people including Hastings and The Archbishop. Richard incensed by Hastings ignorance says those who love me follow me, those that do not stay here. Not wanting to stay with the doomed Hastings all stand and follow Richard. After the beheading of Hastings, Richard had to persuade the Mayor of London that Hastings killing was justified. So Richard and Richmond dressed in rusty armour (Stage direction says; Enter Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and Buckingham, in rotten armour, marvellous ill-favoured). This cunning move makes him appear weak just like when he was seducing Anne where in actual fact it is Richard who holds all the cards. So therefore, in my interpretation of a Machiavellian character, Richard is a Machiavellian. Does he benefit from it? I think that he does. Richard, a deformed man, can never exist in a peaceful world but on a battlefield is equal to any man. To gain this war Richard used Machiavellian techniques/tactics so that he could live. Without his Machiavellian side Richard probably would have stayed under his brothers shadows, shunned by his mother.

What Is a Subsidized Loan Definition and Explanation

What Is a Subsidized Loan Definition and Explanation SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In looking over the financial aid packages that colleges provide, you might see some terms that are unfamiliar. You have a general idea of what a loan is - you borrow money now, and pay it back later (plus some extra) - but what's a Direct Subsidized Loan? As it turns out, subsidized student loans are pretty unique (in a good way). So what is a subsidized loan? How do you define subsidized and compare it to unsubsidized loans? A Direct Subsidized student loan is one type of financial aid provided by the US federal government, or more specifically, the US Department of Education. You can also get Direct Unsubsidized student loans as part of your federal financial aid package. Before we get into the specifics of subsidized loans, I'll talk a little bit about why these loans exist, and how loans usually work. A Brief History of Federal Student Loans You can thank Russia and the Cold War for the first government-backed student loan programs. The federal government first started offering loans to students in the 1950s under the National Defense Education Act, or NDEA. After Russia launched Sputnik, the US scrambled to boost education in the sciences - hence, a financial program that encouraged students to pursue higher education. Federal student loan programs have since been expanded to assist students to fund their education in a wide variety of disciplines, regardless of whether they plan on defeating Soviet Russia in an arms race. OK, So How Do Loans Work? The way that loans work is pretty standard, no matter where you're getting the loan from. You borrow a sum of money, or principal, from some lender - usually a bank. You also agree to particular loan terms, including interest rates and length of repayment. When you make loan payments, which usually happens on a monthly basis, you pay back a portion of the principal plus extra money: the interest, or a percentage of the principal that's accrued (accumulated).The longer you take to pay back the loan, the more interest accrues. The bigger your principal, the more interest accrues. You can think about interest as a charge or a fee that you pay to your lender. Interest is how lenders make money on loans. It usually starts accruing as soon as the loan is disbursed (when the money is given out, or provided to you. Sometimes, the interest that has accrued on your loan is added to your principle. When new interest accrues, it will be on this new, larger principle. This is called capitalization - when this happens, you start paying interest on more than your original loan amount, which means more interest. Loans can be really helpful when it comes to paying for school, but as you may have guessed, people generally don't love being in student debt. The less money you owe after you graduate, the better, right? What Makes Direct Subsidized Loans Unique? You're might already be thinking about how to decrease your loan payments in the long run. Subsidized loans can help you do that. Direct Subsidized loans are special because, during certain periods of time, the federal government pays your interest for you. In the long run, this can save you a lot of money. As I previously mentioned, interest on "normal" loans starts accruing as soon as the money is disbursed. When you have a subsidized loan, however, interest does not accrue during the following periods: When you're in school at least 1/2 time For the first 6 months after you leave school (this is called agrace period) During a postponement of loan payments (this is called adeferment period) It's almost like your loan is frozen while you're still in school, and for 6 months after you leave. You're not adding any extra money to the amount you owe because interest isn't accruing; you also don't have to make any payments. This is useful if you need some time to find a job in order to be able to afford payments. Ultimately, you're not being "charged" to borrow money - you're not building up any interest on your loan - when you're not in a position to be able to pay it back. Subsidized loans: a little bit friendlier than your average student loan Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized: How Much of a Difference Could It Make? I'll use an example here to demonstrate long-term financial outcomes of a subsidized vs. an unsubsidized loan. Say I take out a $3,500 loan to pay for school my freshman year, at an interest rate of 4.29%. The chart below outlines different outcomes based on loan type if I don't make any payments while still in school. UNSUBSIDIZED SUBSIDIZED Amount Borrowed $3,500 $3,500 Interest Rate 4.29% 4.29% Interest Accrued During School (4 years) $640 $0 Balance Owed at Graduation $4,140 $3,500 Time to Payoff at $50/month (Interest accrues for both subsidized and unsubsidized loans during this period) 99 months 81 months Total Amount Paid $4,950 $4,050 Standard repayment plans for federal student loans set a timeline of 120 months until payoff, but the minimum monthly payments are $50.In this example, it would take me much less time (and much less money) to pay back a subsidized loan vs. an unsubsidized loan. Direct Subsidized Loan Details There are some standardized limits, restrictions, and repayment terms for all students who take out Direct Subsidized loans. They're not quite as flexible as Direct Unsubsidized loans, but that's a small price to pay when you consider how much money they save you in the long run. First, there are limits to how much money you can take out in subsidized loans. These annual maximums depend on your year in school: Year Subsidized Loan Limit 1st Year Undergrad Annual Limit $3,500 2nd Year Undergrad Annual Limit $4,500 3rd Year Undergrad Beyond Annual Limit $5,500 Subsidized Total Loan Lifetime Max $23,000 There are also limits to eligibility windows for Direct Subsidized loans, unlike for Direct Unsubsidized loans.You can only receive subsidized loans for 150% of your program length; for example, if you're enrolled in a 4-year college, you can receive subsidized loans for a maximum of 6 years (4*150% = 6). Interest rates are standardized and are the same as for unsubsidized loans. Federal student loan interest rates are generally pretty competitive and are the same for all students regardless of credit history.For 2015-2016, the interest rate is 4.29%. Finally, repayment plans (including details about the amount you owe every month, and the amount of time you have to pay back your loans) can be customized, and will depend on variables such as your principle balance and your income.Standard repayment plans set up monthly payments so that you pay off your principle + interest in 120 months, or 10 years. Who's Eligible for Direct Subsidized Loans? If you're looking for aid to bridge the gap between what you have and what you need to pay for college, subsidized loans are smart options if you meet all the eligibility requirements. Direct Subsidized loans are only available to undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. Because these loans are a form of federal aid, you must also meet basic federal requirements in order to be eligible. The following charts list these requirements. You must do all of the following: Have a high school diploma, GED, or approved homeschool education Be enrolled or accepted to enroll in an eligible degree/certificate program You can check with your school/program’s financial aid office if you want to confirm eligibility Be registered with Selective Service, if you are male and between 18-25 years old If applicable, you can do this here https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration Have a valid Social Security Number (unless you’re from the Marshall Islands, Federal States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau) Sign statements on the FAFSA stating that (1) you’re not in default, and do not owe refund money, on a federal student loan, and (2) you’ll only use federal aid money to help pay for your education Access the FAFSA here https://fafsa.ed.gov/ Maintain â€Å"satisfactory† progress in school If you’re concerned about your academic performance or have questions about what is considered â€Å"satisfactory,† set up a meeting with your dean or other school administrator. In addition to the requirements listed in the chart above,you must be able to check one of the following options: Be aUS citizenorUS national Have agreen card Have anarrival-departure record Havebattered immigrant status Have aT-Visa How Do You Apply for a Direct Subsidized Loan? All things considered, eligibility requirements aren't too stringent for subsidized loans. The next step after meeting requirements would be to actually apply for this great financial aid resource. You can apply for all types of federal financial aid, including Direct Subsidized loans, by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The federal submission deadline to receive aid for the 2015-2016 academic year is June 30, 2016. You can find detailed instructions on submitting a FAFSAhere. What's Next? You can get an estimate of your federal aid eligibility, including the amount you could take out in Direct Subsidized loans, by following steps listed in ourPell Grant Calculator guide. Want more information on federal aid that youdon'thave to pay back? Learn more abouthow to get a Pell Grant, and check out our guide onPell eligibility requirements. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

MIS- Hersey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MIS- Hersey - Essay Example It appears that the company is sincere about living up to its mission statement – â€Å"Bringing sweet moments of Hershey happiness to the world every day†.1 Hershey made a decision to up date their hardware and software with a four-year plan. The company set goals which included standardizing the hardware and changing from mainframe to TCP/IP network. The company-reviewed information from Grocery Manufactures’ of America and this showed they were well behind on system updates, and expenditure on systems compared with similar companies in the industry. The upgrading proved to be a bittersweet lesson2 for the company and cost them considerably in sales and credibility over nearly a 12-month period. The food and beverage industry in the country works on low profit margins and high volumes due to extensive competition. As a whole, investment in modernization of IT systems is low. But the Y2K threat required them to make major changes in their systems, and hence the Hershey management decided to go in for a major overhaul instead of tuning and adjusting the current system consisting of mainframes to client server environment. Many distributors and retailers felt that the delivery system of the company could be better tuned in order to reduce inventory costs. At that time, orders for peak time demand (Halloween) needed to be placed several months in advance for timely delivery. Unless Hershey complied, there was a chance that retailers and distributors may switch over to other manufacturers. Moreover, rising competition and low margins required higher turnover and a better equipped IT infrastructure was the only solution open. Customer loyalty is not high in the industry and they will switch over to other brands if Hershey’s products became unavailable. It will also enable Hershey to tackle high seasonal demand. Due to peak demand during Halloween, Hershey

Original topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Original topic - Essay Example More than 40 years passed since the signing the US’s Civil Right Act which stated the equality between Whites and Blacks. Both parties were to access public services equally rather this is not the case since divisions are permeating. Accompanying these divisions is the American Identity paradox. The society has two avenues of foundation, one is on the principles of justice, and equality and the other are on the traditional racism and popular slavery traditions. Although this situation may somehow reflect original cultural and political events, the psychological factors that determine this challenge are pervasive and enduring. Both within and beyond America, the undetermined globalization brings in new psychological, social and economical challenges for the host. With reference to the recently observed ethnic divisions in Europe and Asia, the viewpoints on the varying values, traditions, and belief among the host and immigrants can facilitate observable conflict and violence (G up, 2010,March 13th). Racism and Stereotypes Racism and stereotyping existed in the past and is still present in America. Puerto Rican girls growing up in the United States, they have had a different view because of the Hispanic appearance. For example, a girl in the text grew up in New Jersey and the culture around her was all Puerto Rican. The food, language and all cultural beliefs and behaviors were all Puerto Rican. The girls learnt Puerto Rican culture from masses, dress code and the mode of life reflected their culture. The surveillance the girl received mainly strict due to the culture and family expectations. The girls learnt and received teachings how to dress like elderly women and this sent a different message to other people seeing them as being too mature. The dress code that is the lack of too loud colors provided an avenue for stereotyping by their fellow friends. While attending a business school, the girl lacked an idea of what to wear. She decided to put on what s he saw it felt and looked agreeable to her. An Italian-American cajoled her for wearing everything at once. Men and employers in the street often misinterpreted the accessories, ornaments and short skirts worn by the Puerto Rican girls (Ortiz, n.d) The stereotype that existed of the Hispanic woman is that of hot tamale' or what they many call sexual firebrand. The same idea has received a promotion and backing by many media parties. The women from Latin America receive descriptions such as sizzling and smoldering, which normally used in describing foods. This shows how stereotyping in America exists on a higher scale. According to some reports about the Puerto Rican women at work some men requested sexual favors from the women and upon rejection, they received firing letters. The color the Puerto Rican and Latin women prefer is scarlet, and that originated from their chromosomes. In tropical islands, women and older women often would show skin as a way to keep their bodies cool. How ever, the protection from the family and extended family members gave them the opportunity to do so. In the current world, they receive a different view in a manner that they are depicting loose morals (Ortiz, n.d). In Kansas City, an incident occurred where a Drug Enforcement Administration officer stopped a young man who was out of a flight from Los Angeles. The reason behind the stopping is that, according

Sct2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Sct2 - Essay Example It will be done through conducting case studies involving qualitative structured interviews, content analysis of documents, and research from secondary sources. Knowledge-intensive organisations are heavily involved with and dependent on knowledge. Starbuck (1992) defined them as having a greater importance for knowledge than other inputs and outputs. In the knowledge-based world we now live in, knowledge is a very important resource (Rooney et al, 2005). Moreover, knowledge-intensive organisations are playing a central role; and are responsible for the radical transformations taking place (Schienstock, 2004) in our knowledge society. This knowledge function of management has therefore completely changed the former bureaucratic concept characterised by managing a standardised organisational structure, planning methods, work processes, and so on (Mintzberg, 1983). Knowledge management policies refer to those methods employed that â€Å"support the creation, transfer, storage, retrieval and application of knowledge, and they can include technical as well as human components† (Jemielniak & Kociatkiewicz, 2009:174). This may be in a comprehensive manner or as special localised tools. For the former, implementation support systems may be established that aim to make knowledge management easier. Such systems would deal with not only establishing appropriate structures, and technical systems in place, but also providing effective leadership and organisational culture. Generally, innovation is facilitated by highly flexible structures â€Å"because they push people to interact and encourage creativity† (Jemielniak & Kociatkiewicz, 2009:174), and technical systems are based on information and communication technologies. Establishing the right culture would be necessary because it can then allow continuous advantages to be gained. The figure below shows a visualisation of the components of a knowledge management system

Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) - Essay Example Its mission is, PDA has contributed and played a huge role in providing knowledge for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. It has worked towards increasing the individual’s professional knowledge and abilities. PDA publishes the consensus document called PDA’s technical report on the issues where little or no technical guidance exist , its two major membership publications are; the PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology and the PDA Letter, it also publishes the PDA’s newest membership publication, International Pharmaceutical Quality (IPQ). (PDA Annual report 2007). Apart from this it regularly conducts seminars, conferences and workshops which are designed, developed and executed in the way that they provide ample information regarding professional knowledge and abilities. It holds conferences on topics related to pharmacy, microbiology, quality systems, management etc. In 2007 it published 3 of the technical reports as supplement to PDA journal; PDA has contributed many valuable books to the PDA/Davis health care (DHI) publishing library from where people could get access to them easily. The PDA journal has imposed two important students outreach programs; firstly the student research symposium at the PDA 2007 annual meeting and second being the doctoral program which provides funds for the partial support of four graduate students pursuing doctoral research at various universities. To provide a sound professional knowledge the PDA letter also has articles of many industry experts regarding different issues and topics like; â€Å"Articles of Interest to the Microbiologist: A Review of microbiology-related research published in volume 60 (2006) by Scott Sutton, PhD, Vectech Pharmaceutical Consultants, low energy electron beam applications in aseptic filling operations by Cilag and Ike Harper, Johnson & Johnson†(PDA 2007, 8). PDA has launched a number of student programs to promote learning and research

Response Paper 3 - Feminist (Human Resource Development) Essay

Response Paper 3 - Feminist (Human Resource Development) - Essay Example Initially the feminist wave was that women can also work the way men do and become economically as productive as men are. However, the thought has now taken a new direction. Hughes mentions that most late-twentieth-century feminist are (rightly) resistant to the simplistic arguments, say of men with objectivist, distanced, positivistic, scientific methods and women with subjectivist, connected, interpretive, non-scientific methods. Few feminists would endorse a wholesale science-bashing that smacks more of ideological excess than of a genuine quest for knowledge. Nor would feminists unanimously opt for the essentialism that identifies quantitative methodologies as male, qualitative ones as female; and positivism as male, ‘interpretationism’ as female (Code, 1995 cited in Hughes, 2000, p. 51). Hughes supports the view of the new breed of feminists who have come way ahead of crude assumptions related to two genders and believe in understanding the minute similarities and d ifferences among men and women. Though it has not got much attention of the HR departments as yet, this study can benefit HR the most as there the two genders are supposed to be treated as equal. Also since it is the responsibility of the HR department to train the human resources for the organisational need, a better understanding of the process of learning of the two can facilitate their training process to a great extent. Hughes rightly defines her purpose as to begin to delineate the ways in which the field of human resource development would be enriched through the incorporation of feminist perspectives (Hughes, 2000, p. 63) Even as the number of women in the managerial spheres of organisations has increased, the learning styles and working styles of men is still taken as a norm. Female managers are forced to confirm to men’s style of learning and working. Else they are assumed to be inefficient. Though the women’s way of working in cooperation with other colleagu es can be extremely beneficial for the organisation, till date the independent working approach of men is considered to be a norm. The reason behind such an approach is that the top level management in most of the organisations is still dominated by men. Giving data from three developed countries, Fiona M. Wilson quotes that U.K. has only 18% of women in managerial positions, Germany has 25% while U.S. has only 5% of the senior managerial positions filled by women (Wilson, 2003, p. 17) Since several years, the society has groomed men and women in a way that they use two different modes of reasoning. Hughes rightly differentiates the two. She says that more men used the mastering, impersonal and individual modes and more women used the receiving, interpersonal and interindividual patterns of reasoning (Hughes, 2000, p. 55). Based on an interview study, Hughes quotes that the gendering pattern of mastering, impersonal and individual patterns was stronger than the receiving, interperso nal and interindividual patterns (Severeins et al., 1998 cited in Hughes, 2000, p. 56) Another strong belief was that men are more target-oriented than women and women are better in doing repetitive work. However, these generalizations do not always hold true. Women also look for more satisfying and challenging jobs as shown in a study on job satisfaction and employee attrition. Many women, like men, express the need for personally satisfying

Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) - Essay Example Its mission is, PDA has contributed and played a huge role in providing knowledge for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. It has worked towards increasing the individual’s professional knowledge and abilities. PDA publishes the consensus document called PDA’s technical report on the issues where little or no technical guidance exist , its two major membership publications are; the PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology and the PDA Letter, it also publishes the PDA’s newest membership publication, International Pharmaceutical Quality (IPQ). (PDA Annual report 2007). Apart from this it regularly conducts seminars, conferences and workshops which are designed, developed and executed in the way that they provide ample information regarding professional knowledge and abilities. It holds conferences on topics related to pharmacy, microbiology, quality systems, management etc. In 2007 it published 3 of the technical reports as supplement to PDA journal; PDA has contributed many valuable books to the PDA/Davis health care (DHI) publishing library from where people could get access to them easily. The PDA journal has imposed two important students outreach programs; firstly the student research symposium at the PDA 2007 annual meeting and second being the doctoral program which provides funds for the partial support of four graduate students pursuing doctoral research at various universities. To provide a sound professional knowledge the PDA letter also has articles of many industry experts regarding different issues and topics like; â€Å"Articles of Interest to the Microbiologist: A Review of microbiology-related research published in volume 60 (2006) by Scott Sutton, PhD, Vectech Pharmaceutical Consultants, low energy electron beam applications in aseptic filling operations by Cilag and Ike Harper, Johnson & Johnson†(PDA 2007, 8). PDA has launched a number of student programs to promote learning and research

Social Media Communication Annotated Bibliography

Social Media Communication - Annotated Bibliography Example Some scholars in sociology have criticized the negative influences of new technology on humanity and relationships to be precise, arguing that the value of relationships is fading and the strength of peoples’ connections is deteriorating (Christofides et al., 2012). This paper will present an annotated bibliography of four scholarly sources that discuss this matter of how the social media has affected interpersonal relationships. Porter, K., Mitchell, J., Grace, M., Shinosky, S., & Gordon, V. (2012). A Study of the Effects of Social Media Use and Addiction on Relationship Satisfaction. Retrieved from http://journals.chapman.edu/ojs/index.php/mc/article/download/340/735 According to this source, Facebook has deeply affected people’s application of the phrase â€Å"friend†, even though their notions of the word might not have altered as much (Porter et al., 2012). When an individual â€Å"friends you† on any social network platform, it does not automatically denote that you now have the nearness and intimacy, which you have with your offline friends. The authors also show that people do not frequently send friend requests to or allow them from persons that they have not met, opting rather to have met the individual at least once in their lifetime. Other users, even if, particularly adolescents, take part in what is referred to as â€Å"friend-gathering behavior,† which involves users friending individual they personally do not know or those that they would not speak to in person so as to boost the size of their online followers (Porter et al., 2012). According to the source, this is an impression management approach becau se the users assume that a huge number of Facebook friends will make them seem much more popular to others. These researchers also studied how the formation of these networks influences our interpersonal relationships and might even reorganize how people think concerning their relationships. Even if a person might have hundreds of Facebook

Logon Identification and Password System Essay Example for Free

Logon Identification and Password System Essay This is with reference to the management’s approval to upgrade our Information Technology (IT) system or the structure of our computer processor in order to expedite the hospital’s operational processing. As the Information System Director of this hospital, I highly recommend the introduction and/or implementation of a Logon Identification and Password System or what we may technically refer to as the LIPS. The LIPS, which will be applied and carried out in our central processing unit, will require that once a user enters into the system, the computer unit prompts or requires for a user’s name and password. The said details should have been previously registered in the system so that it will be recognized because if not, the user will be unable to use any computer unit of the hospital such as our desktop computers and laptops or notebooks. Once this recommendation is considered, the system will work in such a way that it will speed up the computer processing which concerns all the possible information of each patient particularly his or her medical records in the hospital. Additionally, the LIPS aims to lessen the workload of concerned hospital personnel because the processor or mainframe will simplify the works which need to be done such as the computer processing of patients’ admission, laboratory results, billings and other related matters. Most importantly, the rationale behind this LIPS recommendation is the hospital’s objective to adapt and keep abreast with the technological demands and necessities of today’s modern setting. In doing so, we will be able to provide our public with an exceptional hospital service. For your information and approval.

Identification of Unknown Macromolecule

Identification of Unknown Macromolecule Heike Behr Aim The purpose of this lab was to use the scientific method to identify an unknown solution, based on the reactions (i.e. color changes) of known solutions with indicator solutions. These known solutions contained different types of macromolecules. Each type of macromolecule reacted with at least one indicator solution in a unique way, which allowed us to identify the macromolecule based upon the presence or absence of a color change. The hypothesis is that protein will have a positive reaction with Biuret reagent, changing the color to violet. Starch will have a positive reaction when treated with the iodine solution, changing the color to blackish-blue. Lipids will show a positive reaction when coming in contact with Sudan III, changing the color to red-orange. Vitamin C will diminish the color of iodine when it is positive for presence of ascorbic acid. General Background Macromolecules can be divided into four classes; carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins. These molecules are all considered to be organic molecules, because they consist of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphate and nitrogen elements. Macromolecules have different building blocks to form carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. These building blocks are amino acids, monosaccharaides, nucleotides, fatty acids and glycerol. The water will be used as a control, to see if there are any false positive reactions during our experiment. The water will also show us what the most natural response is for each of the indicators. Water will also serve as a great way to compare color changes, since everything that looks the same as the water will be negative. Proteins are one of the components of macromolecules and are very important in different biological processes. They are catalysts and are capable of transporting and storing molecules throughout the body. Proteins are build up out of several amino acids bound together by peptide bonds. The function of a protein depends primarily on its 3D structure. Common foods that contain proteins are milk, eggs, meat and cheese. Lipids are another form of macromolecules. These molecules are non-polar molecules and non-soluble in water. Lipids consist of two parts, a glycerol and a fatty acid tail. Lipids have large stores of energy that are released when the molecule is oxidized. Lipids come in different types, such as waxes, oils and certain vitamins. Common foods that contain lipids are any oils such as olive oil or grape seed oil and butter. Starch is a carbohydrate that is not found in humans, but in plants. It consists of multiple Glucose molecules bound to each other by Glycosidic bonds. Common foods that contain carbohydrates are potatoes and bread. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid and is an antioxidant. This vitamin is soluble in water and plays an important role in growth and repair of the bodies tissues. The most common foods that contain Vitamin C are citrus fruit. Focused Background Iodine test is the most common test for detecting the presence of starch. If the substance that is being tested has starch present, then there will be a change in the color to a blackish-bluish liquid. The best method for testing proteins will be the Biuret test. This test can also determine whether there are peptide bonds in the protein. A positive result for proteins will show a color change from a blue to a light purple. If there are peptide bonds present, the color will be a much darker purple. If Biuret can’t be used, Fehling’s Solutions A and B and Sodium hydroxide and copper (II) sulphate solutions can be used. The test that best shows the presence of lipids is the Sudan III test. Sudan III is a fat-soluble compound that will cause the color of the solution with lipids present to change to red. An easier test to preform is using a brown paper bag, lipids are fats, thus on a brown paper bag it will leave â€Å"greasy†, translucent stains. Another test for testing the presence of lipids is an Emulsion test The main test for Vitamin C is adding drop for drop the Vitamin C solution to Indophenol solution. If the dark blue color of the Indophenol solution becomes colorless, then the suspected solution does indeed contain Vitamin C. In our experiment, we will use the Iodine solution to test for the presence of Vitamin C, because it follows the same principles that Indophenol does. Method Testing with Iodine solution: Clean all your test tubes thoroughly with ethanol and then rinse them with distilled water. Label each test tube as water, protein, starch, lipid, vitamin C and unknown. Add 3ml of each of the macromolecules to the correct test tube, except Vitamin C. Add 2-5 drops of the Iodine solution to each of the test tubes, except Vitamin C. Add 3ml of the Iodine solution to the test tube marked as Vitamin C. Drop wise, add Vitamin C to the test tube until the color changes. Mix the contents well. Note any color changes. Testing with Biuret reagent: Clean all your test tubes thoroughly with ethanol and then rinse them with distilled water. Label each test tube as water, protein, starch, lipid, vitamin C and unknown. Add 3ml of each of the macromolecules to the correct test tube. Add 2-5 drops of the Biuret reagent to each of the test tubes. Mix the contents well. Note any color changes. Testing with Sudan III reagent: Clean all your test tubes thoroughly with ethanol and then rinse them with distilled water. Label each test tube as water, protein, starch, lipid, vitamin C and unknown. Add 3ml of each of the macromolecules to the correct test tube. Add 2-5 drops of the Sudan III reagent to each test tube. Mix the contents well. Note any color changes. Materials Apparatus used: Test tubes for containing the solutions. Test tube rack to keep all test tubes organized. Pipet will make the transfer of different liquids easier and the measuring there of. A piece of white paper will make it easier to determine whether a color change has taken place. Safety goggles to protect your eyes from any harmful reagents. A white lab coat to protect your skin from any harmful reagents. Chemical Compounds: Distilled Water – used for rinsing test tubes and making the control solutions Ethanol – to clean the test tubes Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Protein Glucose Lipid Unknown substance Iodine solution – used for testing starches Sudan III solution – used for testing lipids Biuret Copper sulfate solution – used for testing proteins Format Table 1 Content Water was used as the representative to show the natural change that will take place when the different solutions were added. The protein had no different effect than that of the water when Iodine and the Sudan III was added, thus we can assume it to be negative. When it reacted with the Biuret solution, it yielded a different reaction than water did, it changed to a dark purple, resulting in a positive reaction, the hypothesis was correct. Starch showed no different changes than water with the Sudan III and Biuret test, thus we assume it to be negative. While with the Iodine test, it changed color to a dark black-blue color, as indicated by the hypothesis. This color change indicates a positive reaction to iodine, meaning that there is starch present in our compound. The suspected lipids solution showed a changed in color when Sudan III was added to it. This solution changed to a red color, thus there were lipids present. The other two tests, Iodine and Biuret tests didn’t yield any changes that differed from the results obtained from water. This test proved the hypothesis was correct. When testing for Vitamin C, the iodine solution proved that there was Vitamin C present because it turned the dark blue Iodine solution colorless. The other two tests, Sudan II and Biuret test show no difference from the water control subjects. The results from this test was as expected from the hypothesis. The Unknown substance only showed a positive response when tested with the Iodine test, leading me to believe that it is some kind of carbohydrate compound and possibly starch. The Sudan III test was negative and so was the Biuret test. Interpretation of results Protein: The protein solution reacted with the biuret reagent to show a change in color to a dark purple. This means that there was indeed peptide bonds present in the solution. The Biuret reagent has both KOH (potassium hydroxide) and CuSOà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ (copper sulfate). The solution’s pH is raised to an alkaline by the KOH, which is important for CuSOà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ to react. Cuà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ² react with nitrogen atoms present in peptide bonds to form a complex. The CuSOà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ solution is usually a blue solution, but when the Cuà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ² react with the nitrogen atoms to form the complex, the blue changes to violet, sometimes dark purple color. Starch: The starch reacted with the iodine solution to bring forth a blackish-blue change in color. This color change is attributed to the iodine and iodide ions reacting with each other and bond, forming a triodide ion. The iodine, which is a ligand, fits into the space created by the hundreds and thousands of simple sugar molecules such as Glucose that makes up the structure of starch. The color change to black is associated with the absence of light, since iodine absorbs all the light wavelengths. Lipids: The lipid solution reacted with the Sudan III reagent to change its color to an orange-red solution. Lipids are triglycerides, and have an oily appearance. Sudan III is a dye that is lipid soluble; it is also non-polar and will react with hydrocarbon chains in the lipids to form hydrophobic interactions. Vitamin C: Vitamin C reacted with the iodine solution to diminish the blackish-blue color of iodine to form an almost colorless, but milky solution. This is accounted for because when these two solutions react with each other, they are no longer what they started out as. During this reaction, these two are mixed together, the ascorbic acid losses its electrons to iodine, meaning that this reaction is a redox reaction. Ascorbic acid will be the one being oxidized while iodine is reduced. Ascorbic acid forms dehydroascorbic acid and iodine forms iodide ions. Unknown: The unknown solution reacted with the iodine indicator to form a blackish-blue solution. The only known solution which reacted with iodine to form a solution of that color was starch. Although these colors don’t match up perfectly, they are the closest match. The difference in color between the starch solution and the Unknown solution could be explained by a difference in concentration between the two solutions. This difference in concentration could have resulted if the solutions weren’t both well shaken, since starch can settle out of solution. Broader implications of results Biuret test: This test is used for detecting the presence of proteins in a solution. When there are proteins present, the mixture of our suspected solution and the Biuret reagent will undergo a color change to violet. This indicates the presence of peptide bonds in the protein solution. I did achieve this by proving that our suspected protein solution did indeed contain peptide bonds present in proteins when it changed color to violet. Iodine test: Iodine can be used to detect the presence of both starch and vitamin C. When testing for starch, a positive test will be indicated by a change in color from colorless starch to a blackish-blue solution after the addition of iodine. Our suspected starch solution did test positive for starch when its color changed to blackish-blue. When testing for the vitamin C, small amounts of vitamin C was added to the iodine solution, this determines whether or not a redox reaction will take place to transfer vitamin C electrons to the iodine. This was proved to be correct when the addition of vitamin C to the iodine eliminated the blackish-blue color of the indicator. Sudan III test: Sudan III is a lipid soluble reagent that is used to stain triglycerides. This is used to detect the presence of lipids. Both lipids and Sudan III are non-polar and react with each other to have a hydrophobic interaction, and a color change is present when the suspected solution contains lipids. The change is a red-orange color. Our test showed this when our suspected solution exhibited this change in color to red. Conclusion I can conclude that all the expected results did indeed happen. The protein solution did change color to violet-purple when tested with the Biuret test, resulting in a positive reaction. This was because the Cuà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ² reacted with the nitrogen atoms. The starch solution reacted with iodine to bring forth a blackish-blue change in the color, testing positive. This is attributed to the formation of a triodide ion. The lipids did indeed react with the Sudan III to show the positive reaction of color change to red, because of the formation of hydrophobic portion in the solution. The vitamin C showed the positive results when added to iodine when it eliminated the dark color associated with iodine. This result is because of the redox reaction that takes place between these two compounds. All of my results prove that my hypothesis were indeed correct. The unknown solution only showed a positive reaction with the starch, thus it can be concluded that it’s starch or maybe a f orm of a carbohydrate close to the composition of starch. References J.M Berg, J.L Tymoczko, L Stryer. Biochemistry, 5th ed. New York: W.H. Freeman; 2002 Dr Ananya Mandal. What are Lipids?. http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Lipids.aspx (accessed 29 September 2014). R.B Smith, E.C Loucheed, E.W Franklin, I. McMillan. The Starch Test for Determining Stage of Maturation in Apples. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 1979; 59(3): 725-735. SEP Staff. Testing for Lipids, Proteins and Carbohydrates. http://seplessons.ucsf.edu/node362 (accessed 29 September 2014) Mack, S. How does Biuret ReagentCause a Color Change with Proteins?. http://www.madsci.org/posts/achieves/2004-12/1102321490.Gb.r,html (accessed 2 October 2014).

Long Swings In The Exchange Rate And The Excess Returns Puzzle: The Ro :: essays research papers

Long Swings in the Exchange Rate and the Excess Returns Puzzle: The Role of Imperfect Knowledge The paper is a clear breath of "dirty" air in the sterile world of perfect foresight. The authors offer a well worked out model of how agents persistently bid the exchange rate away from the expected long-run equilibrium rate. It seems intuitively comfortable to see the mathematical justification for the unexplained excess returns to be a function of the distance from the bench-mark (PPP). The uncertainty of a switch occurring in a regime (the Peso Problem) is an interest-ing form within which to embed the imperfect information. It is a format that seems ready to ex-pand into many other areas of economic modeling in which expectations are at the core of the model's dynamics. Of course, the choice of the benchmark is key to the mechanics of the process. In this case, PPP is an obvious choice†¦ but, since the idea of PPP drives this model so strongly, it is interesting to look at its place and its characteristics. In the paper, the authors note that if PPP holds, "relative excess demand for domestic and foreign goods is zero." The obvious suggestion, based on the model, is that the flow of goods and services is the foundation for the equilibrating dynamic. Behind the flow of goods and services is the gap between the gap between, domestic and foreign short-term rates, and the steady state long-run interest rate gap that sets goods flows to zero. The assumption is that the prices of the domestic and foreign goods in their respective for- eign currencies are "incorrect" based on the fundamentals of the respective countries and that agents know this (and know that the exchange rate path is unstable) but cannot be sure of the de-gree of "incorrectness" or the persistence of the di vergence. Embedded into this model are as-sumptions about PPP that provide comfort about this benchmark's ability to give the "correct" relative prices. It is possible that these assumptions, to some degree, mask the complexity of the situation with respect to PPP's ability to proxy relative prices. At the theoretical level, PPP should simply offer equal purchasing power for equal commodity bundles through the exchange rate. Unfortunately, the problem of explaining stylized facts requires some matching with reality. Set- tling for getting the signs right mitigates much of the angst, but, as has been

Explain the Hardware, Software and Peripheral Components of a Computer System and the Functional Relation Between These Components

Explain the hardware, software and peripheral components of a computer system and the functional relation between these components. Fig: functions of the operating systems (1) 1-Hardware Hardware consists of physical equipment of the computer. We distinguish equipment within the Case such as: Power supply: it is the equipment that receives electricity from a DC current and converts it to a alternative current AC for the needs of the computer. The power supply may depends on the motherboard of the computer because the wattage varies depends on other equipment inside the computer. Fig 3: power supply (4) The motherboard: it is the main equipment of the computer. On it are stored and connected every other equipment. The motherboard is the central piece of the computer. We have many others components installed on the motherboards such as microprocessor, RAM, controller†¦ Fig 4: the motherboard (5) Microprocessor: it is the brain of the computer. it means that all the operation on the computer are made by the microprocessor. It is also known as CPU (central processing Unit). it can be measured in megahertz (MHz) or in Gigahertz depending of computer. he performance of the microprocessor is so important that it is essential to any customer to be aware of the number of calculations it can perform before buying a computer [23]. for example, Dell Optiplex 990 works with Intel Core i3 2100 (3. 1GHz). Fig 5: microprocessor (6) RAM: it is Random access memory. its role is to store instructions or data for a possible processing and its storage is temporally. it hold s a list of instructions of an information that is currently working. it can be accessed randomly, it means that it does not have to look in the storage device (hard disk) from the start to find a piece of interest [23]. When we switch off the computer any storage within the RAM, will be erased that is why we say the storage is temporally. RAM is the main memory because we can quickly access any files in the hard disk. Fig 6: RAM (7) ROM: it stands for read only memory. ROM differs from RAM in two ways: first it is not changed or erased after the computer is assembled, you can read it but cannot write on it, and second it remains unchanged even after the computer is turned off. [23] Fig:19 ROM [22] Hard disk: it is the component where data, files, operating systems are saved. t stored large amount of data depending on its size. the records stored are not volatile as in the RAM, but it remains until it is changed or deleted. it is measured in bytes. today we noticed that computer are almost hard disk capacity of 40 gigabytes. this performance of the disk capacity is one of the main measure when we are buying a computer. [23] Fig 7: the hard disk (8) Drive controllers: its role is to control data trans fer to and from the hard disk. it is a circuits that allows the CPU to communicate with the hard disk and the other kind of disk drive. or example the controller talks to the keyboard and to the mouse to enable the CPU to read information from them(2). we have drive controller such as IDE(integrated drive electronic) and SCSI (small computer systems interface) Fig 8:drive controllers (9) CD-ROM Drive: we use this drive to play and read CD-ROM (DISK COMPACT Read only memory) in the computer. we can also play audio CD. a typical capacity of the CD ROM is about 650 megabytes. they are now being overtaken by DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) because of their large capacity storage up to 3. 9 gigabytes. [23] Fig 9: CD ROM drive(10) Floppy drive: we use this drive to save or read data in a floppy disk. a floppy disk is a small and removable storage devices that record data in square plastic jacket. fig 10: floppy disk drive (11) 2- Software The computer software are programs that controls the computer hardware. They command the hardware and tell them what to do and how to do it. We have many kinds of software: operating systems software, application software, and drivers. Operating systems: it is a program that controls and manages the computer in every task. it controls the input and the output of the computer such as disk drives or scanner. Two of the main features of the operating systems are: -multi user: it means that two or more users can run programs at the same time, it is used particularly with mainframe and minicomputer (3) -multitasking: it means that it is able to execute more than one task at the same-time. For example we can play music in the computer and use the write a document in Microsoft word. We have many type of operating systems: -Windows (XP, VISTA, Windows 7†¦) -Mac OS X -Linux there are additional operating systems that we find on the computer. We called them systems tools of the computer. e use them for the routine maintenance. routine maintenance is different method we take to keep our computer safe and without problems. we have tools such as Disk defragmenter: it is a tool that we use to keep our computer running quickly and efficiently. it organizes and consolidates data on the hard disk, allowing the systems to run faster. we have to use it at least every week. [17] Disk cleanup: it is a tool that enables us to free space in the hard disk and improve the performance of the computer. we use it to remove and delete programs such as temporally internet files, or programs that we on’t use. [17] Backup, [17] Application software: they are programs designed to handle specific types of information and achieve useful results. We distinguish many kinds of application software: -word processing: in those applications we can create text documents. E. g. Microsoft word -database: in those applications we can create and edit data records. E. g. Filemarker pro -presentation graphics: we have the possibility to draw, create 2D and 3D graphics. E. g Corel Draw -media player: with those applications we can play Video, MP3, and other audio formats. E. g. QuickTime player It facts application software depends on platforms and operating systems. for example there are some applications that cannot work in Drivers: there is a program that controls a particular hardware device. Devices such as keyboard, monitor and printer are controls by a driver. Without those drivers the devices cannot function properly. 3-Peripheral components of the computer the peripheral components of the computer can be input or output devices such as: Monitor: it is a device made as a screen where information is represented. it is one of the most important peripheral components of the computer. Fig 11: monitor (12) Keyboard: it is a device that we use to write or enter data text into the computer. Fig 12: keyboard (13) Mouse: it can be defined as a device composed of one or many button that we used to select or to choose specific things through a pointer in a screen. fig 13: mouse(14) Printer: it is a device that we use to represent physically text or graphic data or information stored in the computer. We represent it through a paper. we have many kinds of printer: Dot matrix printer: it can print up to 200 characters per seconds; the print head is hammered very rapidly over the paper. Laser jet printer and ink jet printer. fig14: ink jet printer (15) Scanner: it is a input device used to scan or copy pictures, text to the computer. fig 15: scanner [16] Digital camera: it is a device that we use to record video. We can transfer our recorded video to our computer, and edit them, or email them to friends. fig 16: digital camera[19] Loudspeakers: we use these devices to play music or to use some application that involves sound hearing. fig 17: computer loudspeakers [20] Microphone: we use microphone to create or record a voice or a sound . ometimes we use it for communicating with friends via internet. [18] fig 18: computer microphone [21] References: 1-www. cisco. co. uk 2-http://encyclopedia2. thefreedictionary. com/Hard+drive+controller 3-http://www. webopedia. com/TERM/M/multi_user. html 4-http://trustcomputers. co. uk/index. php? main_page=index&cPath=2 5-http://www. teach-ict. com/gcse/hardware/parts/miniweb/motherboard. htm 6-http://www. cpu-world. com/CPUs/K10 /TYPE-Sempron. html 7-http://www. pcextreme. net/news/your-ram-check-it/ 8-http://www. novell. com/coolsolutions/appnote/16837. html 9-http://www. techarp. om/showarticle. aspx? artno=388&pgno=2 10- http://www. powersourceonline. com/buy-equipment/ibm-Parts/10K3782/31776879-10K3782-cy-en. jsa 11_http://www. darlingtoncomputerrepairs. co. uk/index. php? main_page=product_info&cPath=58_100&products_id=87 12- http://www. lcd-monitor-reviews. com/lcd-monitor-reviews/iiyama-AS4611UT-lcd-monitor-review. html 13- http://voices. canonical. com/joey. stanford/2007/11/ 14- http://www. tomshardware. com/reviews/microsoft-breeds-unique-mice,1554-2. html 15-http://www. inkandmedialtd. co. uk/blog/epson-r300-inkjet-printer-review/ 16-http://www. letsgodigital. rg/html/events/PHOTOKINA-2004/news/epson/PERFECTION-4180_en. html 17-http://www. microsoft. com/atwork/maintenance/speed. aspx 18-www. camcorderinfo. com/content/Glossary. htm 19-http://digital-cameras-planet. com/ 20-http://www. comparesto reprices. co. uk/Trust-computer-speakers-reviews. asp 21-http://www. custom-product. com/wholesale-items/662/714-1/computer-microphone-cm-9002-129285. html 22-http://www. novopc. com/2008/09/rom-read-only-memory/ 23- Brendan Munnelly, Paul Holden, 2000, ECDL3 the complete coursebook, Prentice Hall, Redacteurs Software Documentation Limited 2000