Culture and Global Business

Nothing Like the Sun (1964) by Anthony Burgess

Nothing Like the Sun (1964) by Anthony Burgess Anthony Burgess’s Nothing Like the Sun (1964) is a highly fascinating, albeit fictional, re-telling of Shakespeare’s love life. In 234 pages, Burgess manages to introduce his reader to a young Shakespeare developing into manhood and clumsily fumbling his way through his first sexual escapade with a woman, through Shakespeare’s long, famed (and contested) romance with Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and, ultimately, to Shakespeare’s final days, the establishment of The Globe theater, and Shakespeare’s romance with â€Å"The Dark Lady.†    Burgess has a command for language.  It is difficult not to be impressed and a little awed by his skill as a story-teller and an imagist.  While, in typical fashion, he does tend to break-off at points of leisurely prose into something more Gertrude Steine-like (stream of consciousness, for example), for the most part he keeps this novel in finely tuned form. This will be nothing new for readers of his best known work, A Clockwork Orange (1962). There is an exceptional arc to this story, which carries the reader from Shakespeare’s boyhood, to his death, with common characters interacting regularly and to an end result.  Even the minor characters, such as Wriothesley’s secretary, are well-established and easily identifiable, once they have been described.   Readers might also appreciate the references to other historical figures of the time and how they affected Shakespeare’s life and works. Christopher Marlowe, Lord Burghley, Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth I, and â€Å"The University Wits† (Robert Greene, John Lyly, Thomas Nashe and George Peele) all appear in or are referenced throughout the novel. Their works (as well as works of the Classicists – Ovid, Virgil; and the early dramatists – Seneca, etc) are clearly defined in relation to their impact on Shakespeare’s own designs and interpretations.  This is highly informative and simultaneously entertaining. Many will enjoy being reminded of how these playwrights competed and worked together, of how Shakespeare was inspired, and by whom, and of how politics and the time period played an important role in the successes and failures of the players (Greene, for instance, died sickly and shamed; Marlowe hunted down as an atheist; Ben Jonson’s imprisoned for treasonous writing, and Nashe having escaped from England for the same).   That being said, Burgess takes much creative, though well-researched, license with Shakespeare’s life and the details of his relationship with various people.  For instance, while many scholars believe â€Å"The Rival Poet† of â€Å"The Fair Youth† sonnets to be either Chapman or Marlowe due to circumstances of fame, stature, and wealth (ego, essentially), Burgess breaks from the traditional interpretation of â€Å"The Rival Poet† to explore the possibility that Chapman was, in fact, a rival for Henry Wriothesley’s attention and affection and,  for this reason, Shakespeare became jealous and critical of Chapman.   Similarly, the ultimately under-established relationships between Shakespeare and Wriothesley, Shakespeare and â€Å"The Dark Lady† (or Lucy, in this novel), and Shakespeare and his wife, are all largely fictional.  While the novel’s general details, including historical happenings, political and religious tensions, and rivalries between the poets and the players are all well envisioned, readers must be careful not to mistake these details for fact.   The story is well written and enjoyable. It is also a fascinating glimpse at history of this particularly time period.   Burgess reminds the reader of many of the fears and prejudices of the time, and seems to be more critical of Elizabeth I than Shakespeare himself was.  It is easy to appreciate Burgess’s cleverness and subtlety, but also his openness and candor in terms of sexuality and taboo relationships.   Ultimately, Burgess wants to open the reader’s mind to the possibilities of what could have happened but is not often explored. We might compare Nothing Like the Sun to others in the â€Å"creative nonfiction† genre, such as Irving Stone’s Lust for Life (1934). When we do, we must concede the latter to be more honest to the facts as we know them, whereas the former is a bit more adventurous in scope.  Overall, Nothing Like the Sun is a highly informative, enjoyable read offering an interesting and valid perspective on Shakespeare’s life and times.

The effect of Technological advances on the validity and reliability Research Paper

The effect of Technological advances on the validity and reliability of criminal profiling - Research Paper Example s, the new technologies have had a profound influence on the developments shaping the contemporary criminal profiling process and completely impacted both its validity and reliability at the same time. This paper sets out to interrogate the effect of technological advances on the validity and reliability of criminal profiling; specifically, this paper will explore the manner in which the new technological innovations are preventing crime and enhancing police performance. Furthermore, this paper will investigate the allegations that criminal profiling and the American criminal justice processes are flawed and skewed by human limitations leading to false confessions and improper convictions. Eventually, the impact of technology, in terms of both the intended and unintended consequences of technology-driven solutions to crime, as well as through the contributions and limitations of information technologies, will also be highlighted. Evidently, criminal profiling is one of the critical behavioral and investigative tools used by criminal investigators to accurately envisage and establish a sketch for the features of an unidentified criminal subject of offender. Based on an analysis of the nature of a crime and the manner in which that crime was committed, as well as an evaluation of the offender’s choices before, during and after the offence, criminal profilers are able to identify a perpetrator and numerous aspects of the offender’s personality make up. Combining these insights with any other vital information and existing evidence as well as comparing that with the traits of known personality types and mental disorders, criminal investigators are able to establish a practical working profile of the offender. The principle goals of criminal profiling are to give law enforcement a social and mental evaluation of the offender as well as a psychological assessment of the possessions of the offender; c riminal profiling also aims to yield suggestions and strategies

Attack Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Attack Prevention - Essay Example he information in the computer is not secure, this is because it is susceptible to people who hack the software’s and access the information .The ones responsible for hacking the computer today, are believed to have bad intentions of manipulating other peoples information stored in the computer. The core reason for the article is to inform home users on how criminals are on rise to involve them in fraud and data theft with an aim of getting wealth through their criminal activities of hacking other peoples software’s. The article refers from an article that is online from Cyber Media India Online Ltd, that claims that home users are always at high risk due to poor security measures in place and thus become victims at all times. It also suggests on the use of malicious code as a way of attacking desktop software’s and web browsers. The article also offers some techniques on how the home users can put home security measures to curb malicious networks and application dealings (Chou, 2014). The page was written by an organization and the author is unclearly identified and I think the identification of the author to miss is purposeful. The author of the article is affiliated to the organization because he/she has written on the topic related to the aim of the organization which is to inform the public about the criminal acts by the hackers of software’s. The page where the article is written does not give a link that is blank for one to comment or ask questions regarding the article (Chou, 2014) This is a scholarly site and the author is writing towards achieving the goals of the site but not to sell the information. The article tries to inform about various mechanism that can be used as prevention measures to avoid fraud and theft of data. It is very easy to identify a specific point of view in this article. The site targets the scholars and at the same time, the general public. The main objective of the site is to inform and educate both the general public

Approaches to Best Practice Hospital Administration - Implications for Essay

Approaches to Best Practice Hospital Administration - Implications for Saudi Arabia - Essay Example The healthcare system in Saudi Arabia is a national healthcare system, which involves the provision of healthcare services by the government, through a number of government agencies. Although there is increased participation from the private sector, as this sector takes on more roles and responsibilities in the provision of healthcare in Saudi Arabia, the ministry of health (MOH) in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the major agency responsible for providing preventive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare services for the citizens. The ministry of health provides primary healthcare (PHC) services through a network of about 1,925 well-equipped health care centres located across the length and breadth of Saudi Arabia. According to statistics obtained for the website of the Saudi Arabian health ministry, "the country's ministry of health also uses a referral system which provides curative care for all members of society from the level of general practitioners at health centers to advanc ed technology specialist curative services through a broad base of about two hundred and twenty general and specialist hospitals"1 In order to carry out an assessment of the current healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, and ascertain ... scary to compare the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia to the healthcare systems of other countries in the middle east, and also some countries in the north of Africa. This comparison would be on the basis of the characteristics of the delivery system, demography, health expenditure and status.

The control of inventory systems

The control of inventory systems INTRODUCTION It could not be argued that the emmergence of Information Technology has brought business its place present day. The Informatics revolutions have always brought new solutions that come up with new challenges, which keep the need for newer solutions continuous. Information Technology created new businesses being run and managed on the cyberspace called e-business and developed other businesses internally and globally. Some businesses found that it is essential to join the evolution which needed them some effort to transform the company and convert it into an e-business. Others, who stayed where they were have soon discovered the importance of IT application in every major of its business. Using experts of IT to help the conversion, and by means of IT it includes Data base experts, networking professionals, accounting and inventory control systems applications, web site designers and administrators,etc. Some businesses do hire some professionals from other IT solutions companies while others assign their own. Managing of inventory for any business, weather it is small or big, is one of the most important, and often least handled, functions for a business owner. Everything revolves around it: Sales, Customer Service, Accounting, Planning, Purchasing, etc. Barcodes Inc (2009) defines the inventory control system as â€Å"A set of hardware and software based tools that automate the process of tracking inventory. The kinds of inventory tracked with an inventory control system can include almost any type of quantifiable good, including food, clothing, books, equipment, and any other item that consumers, retailers, or wholesalers may purchase.† The paper in hand is considering a general purpose of design and implementation of an Inventory System developed around the standards which then can be customized according to the requirements of any company. The system would help companies overcome main challenges that are facing them by managing the Control Stock activities such as selling, buying goods and reports handling. However, the main purpose of the system is to apply the items information as input data and produce the purchase information as an output. On the Other hand, the system will support printing some functional reports according to the companys requirements. Therefore, when studied companies general requirements regarding control stock issues, it concluded that companies goals and satisfactions are achievable within the given time limitations. However, control of inventory system, which typically represents 45% to 90% of all expenses for a business, is needed to ensure that the business has the right goods on hand to avoid stock-outs, also to prevent shrinkage and uncertain accounting. Many businesses have fair enough of their limited resources, capital, tied up in their major assets and inventory. Worse than that, they may have their capital tied up in the wrong kind of inventory. Inventory may be old, worn out, shop-worn, obsolete, or the wrong sizes or colours, or there may be an imbalance among different product lines that reduces the customer appeal and concerns of the total operation. This project would spot the light upon common problems faced during the application of Inventory Control System and would suggest some solutions to overcome these problems. So we can say to any business â€Å"Control it before it controls you†. As in this paper we are concerned about the inventory control systems, we are going to investigate the role of inventory in general and inventory control systems in specific. In the literature review we are going to analyze some findings from journals, articles and web sites that mostly describe the role of inventory control systems and their problems. In the second part which is Methodology the data collection and research methods which would be basically: face-to-face interviews with three businesses that vary in services, size and needs but share the need to have an effective inventory control system. As well as observing those companies to highlight the main issues to be addressed. We would also consider the findings from journals and some case studies to help us understand the challenges in depth. We would also analyze the collected data in order to get the full view of the issue. Next, we are going to address the challenges that have immerged from data collection of these businesses. Those challenges would definitely vary as every company has its individual needs as they provide different services. But they do all meet at one point where there is a need for an effective inventory control system whether there is one used before or not. The next section of this paper is concerned about the proposed system which would suggest a system designed to ease the process of inventory control and prevent the problems that occurred before. This would be explained via a conceptual design as well as a data flow diagram which has three main actors: supplier, customer and bank. Later, we would explain the results of applying the proposed system, as some solutions would benefit some businesses than the others as every company would be treated separately. This section would also include some findings from resources describing the benefit that some companies gained upon application of inventory control systems. Discussion is the next section which would concentrate on evaluating the findings from results and linking them with the previous findings from the literature review. One could say how beneficial the use of applying the ICS and how many losses would be eliminated to be added to margins. LITREATURE REVIEW Manuel L. Alcuaz Jr (2008) describes the inventory saying Inventory is a major headache for most retailers. Some dont have any information on their inventory movement or levels. As a result they experience many and frequent stock outs, while millions of pesos are tied up in slow-moving or non-moving inventory. The problem can be due to the sheer number of items, the complexity of items, or having very many locations. This shows the consequences of having no reliable inventory systems, as the supplier would suffer from stock outs he would have to ship in more stock to cover the needs whereas there is enough stock but this all is due to system failures or errors. Rover Data Systems, Inc (2008) published a paper says â€Å"Control it before it controls you†. The paper discussed different points on the importance of inventory control system for different businesses. It addressed four types of businesses. First, manufacture to stock business that builds to stock according to a plan then waits for orders to come. Second, manufacture to order business that waits for orders to come, then builds a customer specific product. Third, distributers which purchases and stocks product, then sells to customer and finally the kitter that purchases and keeps detailed inventory on hand, then quickly assembles or packs to deliver to the customer when ordered. Inventories vary in the ways they are being managed, although we are considering the automated inventory control system, it is worthy to understand the problems of inventory in general. Weber (2008) explains these key symptoms of an inventory as follows: A company has too many of the wrong items and production shortages. Frequent overnight shipments. The perpetual levels on the computer are always wrong. Large end-of-the-year write-offs. Congested plant floors. If someones looking for an item, the whole crew has to go out and search. Responsibility for inventory levels is unclear. Hence, they could be all categorized as management problems. I think that these problems could all have been prevented if they was a strict and organized management that highlights the role of every single employee. Such as the problem of congestion of items, overnight shipments could have been eliminated if there was even one employee doing his job as should be. But, we cannot ignore the fact that use of an automated system would accelerate the pending jobs. In other words, the business would need to have focused strategies considering the inventory levels. This leads us to Naples (2008) who claims the responsibility on the f managers to improve inventory not inventory employees who only have to perform certain jobs. He defines the managers role in inventory as follows: Maintain the correct staff level; Make sure all department personnel receive required training. Hold department meetings to discuss problems and ways to improve. Become as proficient as possible with the inventory-control system. Control and work to reduce unsold special order parts, non-stock parts and excess inventory. Control parts inventory obsolescence. This is the most volatile influence on holding expenses as obsolescence increases, the inventory holding expenses become more punitive. Any profits made from items that are selling will be lost to holding costs for items that are not selling. Optimize settings to reduce inventory depth, build inventory width, and reduce the likelihood of excess stock and obsolescence. I would have to agree with Naples, especially that he was more precise than Weber. Because, even with the availability of an inventory Control system there needs to be the right application, control and planning of this system. So they have to be trained and listened to highlight their problems with the system and put together the suggested solutions. Mawson (2009) says retailers need to be focused more than ever on putting good stock control systems in place to ensure they do not overpay suppliers, and to reduce the risk of having items stolen off shelves. A report into loss prevention has found that too many retailers simply accept shrinkage as a fact of life, a fact that could cost them up to 3% of revenue, and all too many think that theft plays a bigger role than systems, a thought that could well be flawed. I believe that many retailers focus their efforts on internal and external theft by paying for CCTVs and security systems, where the main issue is often process failure which drags into leakage and shrinkage where nobody knows where these amounts are gone. All what it needs from retailers and businesses is to focus on inventory control systems and consider them as an investment. Inventory Control Systems are -as any other systems- not error free. According to Sahin and Dallery (2009) considering the thousands of items may come in and go out the system in a working day the Possible errors such as defects that affect the physical flow and the associated information flow can therefore be crucial. A survey held by Hollinger and Davis (2001) shows that among errors causing perturbation on the physical flow, internal and external theft, administrative errors and fraud made by vendor accounted for 1.8% of sales in US retail industry in 2001; assuming an annual sales base of $1.8 trillion this costs US retailers $33 billion. In other words this huge amount of cash can lost all around the world, it only is a crisis affecting retailers and is continuing to happen annually. This is due to either simply bad data or technical errors in the inventory systems that have been relying on worn-out systems thinking that they are saving money by keeping the same system. Whereas, making the right decision by a strict system update policy can save more amounts than what is being lost. A paper published 2002 by SCORE (Counsellors to Americas Small Business) suggest that inventory control systems range from eyeball systems to reserve stock systems to perpetual computer-run systems. It concerned with three forms of inventory that is Raw materials, In-process or semi-finished goods, and Finished goods. The Eyeball System is the standard inventory control system for the vast majority of small retail and many small manufacturing operations and is very simple in application but in this approach the manager have to check the store and record any stock shortage which is very difficult. Reserve Stock (or Brown Bag) System is much more systematic than the eyeball system as it keeps full control over the stock and ensure that the new shipment should arrive just as the last of the reserve stock is being used. In Perpetual Inventory Systems a programmed instruction referred to commonly as a trigger, automatically transmits an order to the appropriate vendor once supplies fall b elow a prescribed level. Floyd D. Hedrick (2006) suggests several proven methods for inventory control, which used for small business. The methods from simplest to most complex are Visual control, Tickler control, Click sheet control, and Stub control. Today as business grows computer-based system is used and is enhanced by the fact that company accounting and billing procedures can also be handled on the computer. Point-of-sale terminals relay information on each item used or sold. The manager receives information printouts at regular intervals for review and action. Off-line point-of-sale terminals relay information directly to the suppliers computer who uses the information to ship additional items automatically to the buyer/inventory manager. Large businesses nowadays are obliged to depend on accurate and up-to-date inventory systems by means of installing the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) so they can have accurate inventory counts and to avoid the massive loss. The Freightliner-Western Star Trucks as the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America in a published case study (2008) has proven the reliability of the Motorola RFID. As a result the company quotes â€Å"The installed solution has already proven itself at the Portland plant. Labor costs associated with inventory control have been reduced significantly, as have data errors and mis-ships.† (Motorola Inc, 2008). Tracking the case study- considering the uniqueness of each corporate- by installing the RFID system can prevent the errors and avoid several problems that where found in businesses and specially considering small businesses that lack the experience of decision making knowing their priorities in investment. Jon Schreibfeder (2008) wrote â€Å"Effective Inventory Management allows a distributor to meet or exceed customers expectations of product availability with the amount of each item that will maximize net profits. He thinks that there is a relationship between the inventory management and the distribution of goods and of course on the customer. Indeed he sees that customers may depend on you to have some of your slow-moving products always on the shelf just in case they need them. The availability of these products contributes to your reputation as a reliable supplier and helps to differentiate you from your competitors. It is true that this view shows the importance of having an effective inventory control system, but there are many other important views. For example in assembly line industry any shortage in the row material will cause shutting down the whole line, which means losing time, effort, and money. A paper published by Claudio, Zhang and Zhang (2007) proposed a hybrid system, which combines a make-to-order push system with a make-to-stock pull system in food industry. The paper suggests â€Å"The make-to-stock strategy will be applied to those customers who come in requesting a product at the time of arrival, and the make-to-order will be applied to those customers who can give information in advance about their needs†. The hybrid system is designed to overcome the most important problems that faced food industry which is competition and how to deliver the service to the customer fast and in a good quality. Edward A. Silver, (2005) published a paper with the title â€Å"Inventory Management: A Tutorial, Canadian Publications, Practical Applications and Suggestion for Future Research†. This paper first presents a tutorial overview of inventory management. This includes a categorization, by a number of dimensions, of inventory problems and associated models. Relevant Canadian contributions to fundamental and applied theory are listed within the dimensions. Then substantial evidence is provided of widespread Canadian applications of inventory management. The paper points out the continuing gap between theory and practice, followed by a number of suggested research topics to help bridge the gap. Zipkin, P.H. had published his book â€Å"Foundations of Inventory Management† McGraw-Hill, (2000). In this book he says that â€Å"all organizations in any sector of the economy, Supply Chain Management, i.e., the control of the material flow from suppliers of raw material to final customers, is a crucial problem. The strategic importance of this area is today fully recognized by top management. The total investment in inventories is enormous, and the control of capital tied up in raw material, work-in-progress, and finished goods offers a very important potential for improvement.† This book suggests a wide range of different inventory models that can be used when developing inventory control systems to give a significant competitive advantage. METHODOLOGY The aims of this research experiment is to spot the light on the most common problems that face small businesses in keeping track of their inventories for a better resource management. It is going to highlight the reasons behind not applying inventory systems and gathering needed information about the business goals and resources to apply a suitable inventory system. Data Collection methods Interviews The research would conduct a live interview with a small business owner Eng. Ali Al-Asfoor from ARC fabrication and welding services. Which is a small establishment started 2008 providing fabrication and welding services for individuals and corporate. Another interview would be held with Mr. Adel Al-Shaer an inventory manager at Hajji Hassan Al-Aali business group. It is considered one of the largest business groups in Bahrain providing building and pre-cast services. The third interview would take place with Mr. Hassan Ali an inventory manager at Al Jabiria Technical School, which is a public school as an example of inventory systems in the general sector. Observation A full working day was held at Al-Jabiria Technical school by the assistance of one of the teachers there to report the process of inventory tracking system. Journals Several web published journals were used to find out the major problems that encountered businesses upon the application of inventory control systems. Case studies The Freightliner-Western Star Trucks as the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America, has enriched the research by monitoring their use of inventory control systems using the RFID technology from Motorola. Data analysis It has been recognized that Arc welding and fabrication do not have inventory system and they need one to keep track of their supplies which consist of metal bars of different sizes, accessories, paints, welding materials so it can save their time and money as if bulk orders were made it is cheaper. Alali group had an inventory system which is the bar code scanning but with some accuracy errors. The inventory manager at Alali group lead to identify three types of inventory: row materials, products, and goods. It gave the research a clear view about the inventory path. The owner order new goods and kept in the store. When the customer made the order, the salesman would check the store if the goods are available or not If not, the salesman would place an order again. Next, the customer would pay the money and salesman would give him a receipt, if the customer was not willing to give a full payment, the salesman would save the debt to state the remaining money. At the end of the day, the salesman would collect the money and send it to the Bank. And in some situations, the customer might want to return the goods, thus the salesman will replace the goods and record it. Finally, the schools inventory system was complete manual which took time and effort from employees. By using work observation technique the research divided the system requirements into two groups, Functional Requirements and Non-Functional Requirements. Functional Requirements: In this requirement category, the research considers the functional requirements; within this task, it defines the system services and its functionalities. Furthermore, it provides a detailed description of the data. Non-Functional Requirements: Regarding the non-functional requirements, the research defines system properties and constrains. Consequently, through this task, it tried to take in mind system constrains and restrictions that company requested in order to achieve the desired performance. CHALLENGES Managing inventory by implementing inventory software is an essential part of successful and well-organized business organization, to manage inventory in more effective and efficient manner. In Todays competitive business world, business managers should know the fundamental operations of the business better. Therefore powerful inventory software helps to easily manage total inventory and invoicing system to maximize the inventory management benefits. Powerful inventory tracking software allows you to access the relevant information of the products including: Accurate information of received goods. Movement of goods within or between locations. Total sales or purchase order of goods. Removal or other disposition of goods. Status of remaining goods. Information of inventory items. If any organization does not implement an automated computerized system manage and monitor the activities of their stock-ins and out; it cannot predict what items are available in stock and their precise quantities. Sometime, the working staff may forget or misplace the original price of the product causing them not to know the minimum allowed price to sell. This would definitely slow up the process of the business and this would affect other activities performance that cannot be controlled and lots of information that could not be clear or available, as the types of information listed above. As a result of business analysis and workflow observations, unfortunately, many companies are facing problems with their current systems whether it was a manual or a half automated system. Our main concern is to build the new system as a solution for these problems. Moreover, we had a number of meetings with some companies staff and representatives to discuss some ideas regarding the modifications and the improvements needed to be made. In addition, we had the chance to track the job workflow these companies, and at the same time we were able to take some notes while observing. As a result, we concluded that the major current problems are: Many of the current manual systems contain some sensitive functions that were implemented manually, especially the calculation functions. As a result of this, accuracy leaking may appear during these mathematical processes. Consequently, using the mathematical functions in the designed system and turning all these manual process to an automated system will guarantee the desired accurate results. This case was obvious in Arc fabrication and welding services, which was relying on manual calculations that lead to data leakage which probably cause loss in amounts that would be increasing if an automated inventory system was not applied. Approximately, all of the current manual systems did not support printed documents where the reports are printed separately by employees who are in charge of HR activities. This process leads to less efficient performance and wastage in employees time. Actually, printed reports and other documents are one of the main functions in any inventory system. Regarding user satisfaction, the new designed system will support documents printing process in such a way that ensures simplicity, reliability and efficiency. Adel Alshaer head of inventory at Hajji Hassan AlAli group said We had to do the quantity surveying and register them into our system which is depending on spread sheets then deliver the calculations and then do reports upon the findings which needs extra effort and time from us. On the other hand, regarding the current automated systems, time is a critical limitation that faces both employees and managers. As a result of business analysis, many current automated systems contains some system debugs which need the system support team to be involved deeply in running the system functions. Thus, this involvement is a very time consuming task which may affect the system performance and cause some prohibited delays in the systems critical processes. Therefore, there is an urgent and essential need for a dependable inventory system that would cost less time by being accurate with reduced technical debugs. PROPOSED SYSTEM The main goal of the system is to make a business able to have a closer look onto their stock, have more control on activities concerning maintaining of inventory, and controlling the related financial issues. This system is expected to solve the problems that any business may face while maintaining inventory. Plus, the system will assist the purchasing department to keep ideal level of stock and to avoid any financial expenses that may occur as result of implementing improper policy of maintaining inventory. Listed below, some points that explain the main objectives and features of this system: Manage the company inventory system in effective manner. Facilitate to generate report to analysis total sales and purchase of the items. Facilitate to keep the total sale/purchase order of the products. Facilitate with customizable options that are easy to use. Display inventory data in a friendly user interface way. Keep track the customer records for customer relationship management (CRM). Save time with automatically calculating totals and doing tasks. Keep high level of security at shopping time, counting time and upon the display of information by providing accurate inventory quality information. Provide information on the availability of stock items and the status of stock requisition by creating a series of databases that will store product and/or item information effectively. Reduction of errors in transactions. Reducing manual system usage. Ability to run in different environments as a result of fast growing companies. Contextual Diagram The context diagram of any system shows the external entities and the flow of data between those entities and the whole system. The following figure1 shows this regarding the designed Inventory System. The square is a representation of the system boundary. The system boundary defines what is inside and outside the system which is shown in Figure2. The system basically will work like this: First the supplier will receive an order. Any useful information about the order will be entered in the system by the user who will save it in the order database. Then the user should view the stock information which related to the order in hand by using a search engine throw the purchasing department. The search technique could be modified to fit the organization. If the stock is not available the order will be cancelled. If the stock is available an invoice will be created and give it or send it to the customer. Finally, when the customer pays the money, reports will be sent to the bank. The system also will have access to CRM database for customer relationship support. See figure3. The data flow diagram shows the relationship between the supplier, customer and the bank. The new system would propose that sequence operations could start with the supplier that sends the orders to the company. Once the order is received it is being stored so if the stock is available in the required quantity the invoice is being proceeded, and if there is no stock available the inventory staff would have to contact the supplier until the process is being proceeded again until here. The invoice is being created and sent to the customer. The payment would either go directly to the bank via a cheque or by cash to the supplier. RESULTS The system helps the organization to keep track on its suppliers, customers and the item movement; be it stock-in or out, or between different branches, or to-from the customers. The ICS gives business the ability to have a closer look to their stock, have more control on the activities concerning maintaining of inventory, and controlling the related financial issues. Plus, it provides the business with asset management solution to increase warehouse and business productivity. ICS resolve also the following problems: What you sold? What you need to order? What should be left in stock? The impact of ICS use on the selected businesses: As three companies were chosen, had several problems with their inventory and stock management; the problems were explained in the Challenges section. The proposed system suggested solutions upon the mentioned challenges and its suggested solutions should do as follows: Provide a reliable and accurate inventory system to prevent data leakage. The proposed system suggests use of an integrated system that links the supplier, customer and bank. This starts from building data bases -if not available- using data warehouse. This would lead into more profit depending on the stock and supplies quantity as it is in Arc Fabrication and welding and AlAali group. Besides saving more items in stores to be used for the next years in the case of the schools inventory. Saving time and effort: This would obviously affect businesses and time is also money in the business world. Reports would be generated automatically upon using an automated inventory system. This would save employees time and effort providing accurate reports so that employees would be busy following up with other chores. Hassan Ali, inventory manager at Aljaberya School We had to do summative reports per semester which needed a week at least to finish after doing all the calculations and data entry via spread sheets and creating the charts then data analysis and writing reports. We even find it difficult and some errors could occur due to lack of organization and experience in such subjects. Elimination of technical errors: This would be clearly noticed in the replacement of an inventory control system instead of using spreadsheets in the case of AlAali group while this solution does not apply the other two companies as they were not using an automated system basically. Other examples by effectively managing inventory using an ICS: Xerox eliminated $700 million inventory from its supply chain. GM has reduced parts inventory and transportation costs by 26% annually. Wal-Mart became the largest retail company utilizing efficient inventory

Costco Wholesale Corporation Essay

Costco Wholesale Corporation was created in 1983 when its first store opened in Seattle. Costco runs on a membership warehouse concept, which was first created by Price Club in 1976. Now, though Costco has only subsidiaries in eight countries, but Costco is the ninth largest retailers around the world, and is one of the most successful discount warehouse firms in North America. In 2008, Costco open the store in Australia. Through the leadership of Jim Sinegal, Costco has been able to create value for shareholders as well as consumers. Part of Costco’s strategy is to attract customers through a combination of low prices. Although it is a success strategy, they will not likely has the same level of success moving forward due to intense competition in the industry. Costco began its e-commerce business in November 1998. According to a Compete.com survey in 2008, the Costco’s website attracted at least 58 million visitors. In addition, Costco online shop provide the membership additional products which can not find in store, and also provide digital photo processing, pharmacy, travel, and membership services. However, Costco operates Costco Online, electronic commerce web sites only in Unite States, Canada and UK. Objective: This report will through analyze Costco internal and external environment, potential customers, and online market needs to make a strategy plan to expand Costco’s e-commerce into the international market, and bloom it’s online sales. Costco Wholesale Corporation was created in 1983 when its first store opened in Seattle. Costco runs on a membership warehouse concept, which was first created by Price Club in 1976. Now, though Costco has only subsidiaries in eight countries, but Costco is the ninth largest retailers around the world, and is one of the most successful discount warehouse firms in North America. In 2008, Costco open the store in Australia. Through the leadership of Jim Sinegal, Costco has been able to create value for shareholders as well as consumers. Part of Costco’s strategy is to attract customers through a combination of low prices. Although it is a success strategy, they will not likely has the same level of success moving forward due to intense competition in the industry. Costco began its e-commerce business in  November 1998. According to a Compete.com survey in 2008, the Costco’s website attracted at least 58 million visitors. In addition, Costco online shop provide the membe rship additional products which can not find in store, and also provide digital photo processing, pharmacy, travel, and membership services. However, Costco operates Costco Online, electronic commerce web sites only in Unite States, Canada and UK.

Olympics Racism

A Greek triple-jumper and a Swiss soccer player were both banned for separate offensive comments, and a Lithuanian fan was arrested because of his aggravated behavior during a basketball game. Even the London Olympics is not immune to racism. Whenever nations all over the world compete, racial discrimination rears its ugly head. For some reason, when it is displayed in the context of sports, it is seen as more acceptable. Switzerland’s Michel Morganella, who was sore about losing to South Korean soccer team was expelled from the games for calling them a â€Å"bunch of mongoloids† that â€Å"can go burn. It was under the terms of the International Olympic Committees’ code of conduct that athletes must show mutual respect, and tweeting those insensitive words clearly showed disrespect for the basic Olympian value. Another was Greece’s Voula Papachristou who never even made it to the games because of her twitter post that read, â€Å"So many Africans in Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food. † She apologized for the â€Å"unfortunate and tasteless joke. Her coach George Pomaski complained that the punishment had been too harsh, but the triple jumper’s tweet was indeed more abrasive than the penalty itself. The last one was the arrest of a man who was making Nazi gestures and monkey chants during the game between Lithuania and Nigeria at the basketball arena. His lawyer said on a trial that he believed his gestures and behaviors were acceptable at sports matches, and later on was fined ?2,500 for the incident. Sports, when mixed with the hyper-passionate supports of people’s favorite teams or national squads, turns into a volatile mix of ugliness. The unsportsmanlike conduct and ugly behavior by some players and fans have overshadowed the positive nature of the games. Sports are the greatest equalizer in this world. It is where the color of our skin, culture, and beliefs does not matter, and all that counts is the ability and the color of jersey. Racism is still an issue even in the grandest event in the world. Discriminatory acts should be strongly and rapidly condemned in all domains, especially in sports.

Chart of the U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents

Chart of the U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents The first line of Article II Section 1 of the US Constitution states, The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. With these words, the office of the president was established. Since 1789 and the election of George Washington, Americas first president, 44 individuals have served as the Chief Executive of the United States. However, Grover Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms which means that the next president of the United States will be number 46. The unamended Constitution mandated that a president would serve for four years. However, nowhere did it state if there was to be a limit on the number of terms to which they could be elected. However, President Washington set a precedent of only serving two terms which was followed until November 5, 1940 when Franklin Roosevelt was elected for a third term. He would go on to win a fourth before dying in office. The twenty-second amendment was passed soon afterward that would limit presidents to only serving two terms or ten years.   This chart includes the names of all presidents of the United States, as well as links to their biographies. Also included are the names of their vicepresidents, their political party and terms in office. You might also be interested in reading about what presidents are on the bills  of US currency.   Chart of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENT POLITICAL PARTY TERM George Washington John Adams No Party Designation 1789-1797 John Adams Thomas Jefferson Federalist 1797-1801 Thomas Jefferson Aaron BurrGeorge Clinton Democratic-Republican 1801-1809 James Madison George ClintonElbridge Gerry Democratic-Republican 1809-1817 James Monroe Daniel D Tompkins Democratic-Republican 1817-1825 John Quincy Adams John C Calhoun Democratic-Republican 1825-1829 Andrew Jackson John C CalhounMartin Van Buren Democratic 1829-1837 Martin Van Buren Richard M. Johnson Democratic 1837-1841 William Henry Harrison John Tyler Whig 1841 John Tyler None Whig 1841-1845 James Knox Polk George M Dallas Democratic 1845-1849 Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore Whig 1849-1850 Millard Fillmore None Whig 1850-1853 Franklin Pierce William R King Democratic 1853-1857 James Buchanan John C Breckinridge Democratic 1857-1861 Abraham Lincoln Hannibel HamlinAndrew Johnson Union 1861-1865 Andrew Johnson None Union 1865-1869 Ulysses Simpson Grant Schuyler ColfaxHenry Wilson Republican 1869-1877 Rutherford Birchard Hayes William A Wheeler Republican 1877-1881 James Abram Garfield Chester Alan Arthur Republican 1881 Chester Alan Arthur None Republican 1881-1885 Stephen Grover Cleveland Thomas Hendricks Democratic 1885-1889 Benjamin Harrison Levi P Morton Republican 1889-1893 Stephen Grover Cleveland Adlai E Stevenson Democratic 1893-1897 William McKinley Garret A. HobartTheodore Roosevelt Republican 1897-1901 Theodore Roosevelt Charles W Fairbanks Republican 1901-1909 William Howard Taft James S Sherman Republican 1909-1913 Woodrow Wilson Thomas R Marshall Democratic 1913-1921 Warren Gamaliel Harding Calvin Coolidge Republican 1921-1923 Calvin Coolidge Charles G Dawes Republican 1923-1929 Herbert Clark Hoover Charles Curtis Republican 1929-1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt John Nance GarnerHenry A. WallaceHarry S. Truman Democratic 1933-1945 Harry S. Truman Alben W Barkley Democratic 1945-1953 Dwight David Eisenhower Richard Milhous Nixon Republican 1953-1961 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Lyndon Baines Johnson Democratic 1961-1963 Lyndon Baines Johnson Hubert Horatio Humphrey Democratic 1963-1969 Richard Milhous Nixon Spiro T. AgnewGerald Rudolph Ford Republican 1969-1974 Gerald Rudolph Ford Nelson Rockefeller Republican 1974-1977 James Earl Carter, Jr. Walter Mondale Democratic 1977-1981 Ronald Wilson Reagan George Herbert Walker Bush Republican 1981-1989 George Herbert Walker Bush J. Danforth Quayle Republican 1989-1993 William Jefferson Clinton Albert Gore, Jr. Democratic 1993-2001 George Walker Bush Richard Cheney Republican 2001-2009 Barack Obama Joe Biden Democratic 2009-2017 Donald Trump Mike Pence Republican 2017 -

Important Job Skills You’ll Need to Succeed in Your Career

Important Job Skills You’ll Need to Succeed in Your Career You probably have a pretty good handle on the hard skills you’re going to need to get your first job in your career. That much is usually listed on the job posting itself: a bunch of relevant skills and experience for  the work you’ll be doing, plus a handful of more general people skills or organizational talents, etc. What you’re probably less familiar with is the set of skills you’ll need to hone at later stages in your career. Though you’ll be hired on the strength of your hard skills and continually evaluated on them at the junior level, their importance will start to diminish as you progress. There will be a shift to an evaluation of your soft skills around the mid-career mark. Eventually, your promotions to the senior level and beyond will rely almost entirely on soft skills.Such as? Well: likeability, the ability to get things done, and leadership. If you want to go as far as you can in your career, you’ll need to start developing t hese skills early, so you can rely on them when the time is right.What are Soft Skills?Stuck on what your soft skills might entail? Here’s a primer.LEADERSHIPMentoring team members and junior associatesVolunteering to lead tough projects and picking up extra slackParticipating in your industry outside your companyBeing proactive about going above and beyond what is asked of youLIKEABILITYBuilding a reputation as a competent and caring team leader, collaborator, and mentorBuilding strong relationships with your manager and your coworkersMaking sure your efforts and successes are visible to everyone in your office, not just your bossABILITY TO GET THINGS DONEWorking independentlySelf-startingCollaborating with coworkers (and resolving conflicts that might come up)Meeting your deadlines no matter what the internal and external pressures might beHere are three steps toward growing these skills.Take  an honest look at your work personalityA little self-assessment will go a long way. Look at your habits, your strengths and weaknesses, your workplace demeanor and routines. Figure out where you need to grow and prioritize the most important areas to work on.Talk to your managerOnce you have a good handle on where you are, take it to your manager to see where your needs overlap, and where her priorities for your development and performance might differ from your assessment. Get on the same page. And get specific on what you’re being evaluated on at each level of your progress.Be proactive and seek out opportunitiesWithout sacrificing any of your hard skills (or the continued development of your technical arsenal of tools), start figuring out how your current job and position can equip you to advance. Look for collaborative and leadership opportunities. Take on extra responsibilities. Ask your boss what she needs the most and give that to her precisely.As soon as you can start building these skills- in addition to the ones that got you the job in the fir st place- you’ll be well on your way to proving worthy of promotion after promotion.

THE POLITICAL EVENTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES THAT INFLUENCED GABRIEL GARCIA Essay

THE POLITICAL EVENTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES THAT INFLUENCED GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ IN THE LEAF STORM - Essay Example Colombia is a South American country that is influenced strongly by Spanish rule and is the site of several international trade for countries like USA, France and Britain for over four centuries now(Henderson 2). Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Colombian writer who has written books that reflect the economic and social realities of his coutry. This paper examines the book, Leaf Storm which presents the vivid facts about an imaginary town, Macondo located in Colombia. It looks at the political events and factors that acted as foundation for Marquez to write the book and its implications in relations to that era of Colombian history. Leaf Storm is a narrative about the thoughts and views of three generations of a family; a grandfather (Colonel), a daughter and a grandson. Each of them give their views and opinions about a conflict involving the Colonel’s family and the people of Macondo who have an extreme hatred for a dead man who was the guest of the house for many years. The deceased, who happened o be a doctor, was seen by the townsfolk as cruel because he refused to treat members of the town who were wounded in the country’s civil war though he was qualified to. The people of Macondo therefore thought that the deceased did not deserve a normal Christian burial. On the other hand, the Colonel had made a vow to the deceased to perform his burial, since he had no known family members. In honor of his promise, the colonel sought to get the dead doctor a normal burial and as members of his family, his daughter and grandson had to support him in their conflict against the people of Macondo. The book therefore gives accounts of the events from three perspectives; an older man, a young lady and an innocent child. All these descriptions show strong links to Colombia’s political and social history. The narration appears to be set in 1909 (Marquez 2), a period linked with the numerous transformations that occurred in Colombia’s history including the Thousand Day War (1899 – 1902) and the establishment of numerous banana plantations including the United Fruit Company, which became a common entity in most of Latin America in that point in history. These two events came with so many complications and strive that determined the politics of the era. Pelayo(28) identifies three major events in the history of Colombia that are defined subtly through the writings of Leaf Storm. They include: 1. The arrival of the Banana Company 2. The people that the Banana Company attracted (the leaf storm) 3. The end of the Colombian Civil War The Thousand Day War Prior to 1909, the y ear the narration was set, there was a war in Colombia between 1899 and 1902 known as the Thousand Day War. It involved the members of the two major political traditions of the country: the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. The liberals accused the conservatives of retaining power through election fraud and this led to the commencement of a war that saw massive destruction of properties and human lives across the country (Henderson 54). This war was also fueled by economic crises caused by the falling coffee prices on the international market. This trend showed the need for the diversification of the country’s economy by planting other crops like bananas to support Colombia and prevent overdependence on coffee exports. Although Marquez does not refer to the Thousand Day War directly in the book, it can be inferred logically that the 10 or so men who were wounded and demanded treatment from the deceased doctor were involved in that war. Also, they appear to be fighting on the side of the rebels and the dead doctor seemed to be preserving his integrity by abstaining from the treatment of rebels. This clearly shows the extent people went to take and protect their positions in the Thousand Day War. This shows that there were some elites and conservatives who stuck to the ruling government when the war prevailed. This also shows the

The Great Gatsby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

The Great Gatsby - Essay Example S. Eliot in his Four Quartets. In Burnt Norton, he says This very vividly brings out time as an amorphous mass with no real future or past. It all seems to exist in one place and seems to suggest that it is also memory he is talking about, for where else in real life does all time exist in one place except in the human mind These lines from Little Gidding, bring a new dimension to the concept of circularity of time. It says quite clearly that one can only truly understand when one has come full circle. This dimension is not evident in The Great Gatsby. In the novel though past and present are irrevocably entangled, there is a quality that makes one think we are trying to escape from the past but cannot, especially in the last lines. However, Eliot seems to consider the pull of past on us as something that helps us to understand ourselves and the future more completely. The idea that the past and future are inseparable is brought out clearly in Nick's comparison of the Dutch sailors and Gatsby's vision of a new life. Here too, the idea of rediscovering oneself re asserts itself. The experience of the Dutch sailors on landing on the Long Island beach for the first time clearly seems to be one of wonder and is filled with a sense of incredible adventure. They had discovered a completely new, untouched virgin country; ".fresh, green breast of the new world." The discovery is accompanied by a sense of excitement and the promise of new and undiscovered adventure, as is evidenced by Fitzgeralds use of subtle but definite language. He describes the moment with tenderness, bringing out the overwhelming sense of wonder in their landing, with terms like "transitory enchanted moment" and his description of the greatness of their dreams for the future. The experience is unique because of the sheer newness of the discovery. The sailors had come across an entirely unexplored and unknown territory. Everything here was to be discovered and shaped by them, they had a sense of power and the headiness of it is evident in the language. The paragraphs vibrate with it despite the restrained language. This was not simply a new area; it was a new life and world, something of theirs and theirs alone. It was an experience of hope and was forward looking. Gatsby's experience on first identifying the light that swung outside Daisy's home must have been, according to Nick, a similar experience in terms of the wonder it created in him. He must have felt the same sense of discovery and also one of hope for the future; "I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it." However, this experience is both similar to and widely different from the one