Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Economic - Essay Example This is shown in the following figure: Image Courtesy: Port Jackson Partners Limited, 2006 These top prices are backed up by a change in the iron ore cost curve in current years. Following figure proves it. Image Courtesy: Port Jackson Partners Limited, 2006 Australian Producers must take benefit of these high prices of iron ore and demand for the mineral Since Australia is the low cost manufacturer of iron ore exported to China, the operating costs to mine the mineral and transporting the ore to the ports are also low. The substructure and iron ore mining procedures in Australia is world class which has been proved by their position on the cost curve (Port Jackson Partners Limited, 2006) in the following figure: Image Courtesy: Port Jackson Partners Limited, 2006 For the past few years Western Australia has become one of the individual country to produce and export iron ore on a large scale. This has been possible due to the Chinese demand for iron ore [(Adams, (2004); Clements and Greig (1994); Clements et al. (1996); Layman (2004) and Ye (1998)]. The low cost of production has helped Australian manufacturers to be unambiguously placed to captivate chances produced by quick Asian demand growth. On the other hand, reacting promptly to shifts in demand is vital to pulling in the break. Any collapse to react to the market increases the threat that other producer countries, will set up low cost production installations in contest with Australia. The longer the postponement the bigger will be the threat. If Western Australia is to increase its supply of iron ore and reap the benefits of growing profit then it has to optimize its inputs. This can be achieved with the help of various combinations of its inputs. The following figure proves this: Source: Seattle education - Appendix to chapter eight In the above figure isoquant Q1 is for 500 units, Q2 is for 475 units and Q3 is for 400 units. Australia can take advantage of this opportunity The production facility ela borations and capital investments demanded to meet this upsurge in demand are enormous. This will have to be made in a much planned way and should be timely too. If Western Australia wants to hold on to its present contribution of sales, it will require committing in a further 300 million tonnes of yearly production capacity over the subsequent 20 years. The kind of commitment needed to attain this capacity is considerable advances to existent port and rail installations in addition to expansion of new mines and elaborations of existent mine sites. At a conventional standard cost of a$65 per tonne in capital expenses demanded for the extra capacity will amount to roughly a$20 billion in extra capital investments compulsory over the following 20 years (Port Jackson Partners Limited, 2006). Optimization of inputs M and L A firm’s production function represents the means by which the different resources of production can be combined to produce a particular quantity of output. In reality the production function denotes the different combination of raw materials like land; labor etc., to produce the maximum quantity of output for a given period. The state of technology is assumed to be fixed (Rowles, 2011). Let us now look at what happens when the inputs like Machinery (M) and labour (L) are optimized with the help of this figure: Figure: (Rowles, 2011). In the above figu

Supermarket Database-Computer Coursework Essay Example for Free

Supermarket Database-Computer Coursework Essay Introduction There are many supermarkets around us, but there do you know how it works. In this coursework., we will anyalsis the problem of the old supermarket system and how to solve this problem. Besides, in this coursework, it will introduce a new supermarket system, introduce its advantage, how to set up, how to use it and what is its advantages. Old supermarket system Disadvantage: piles of papers are used to keep the records it is hard to back up the records, if you really do so, the cost of the ink and the papers can make you bankrupt the payments are calculated by men, if your mathematics is poor, you will bankrupt again you need to spend nights after nights to turn the pages by your hands in order to search the data of the customers and supplier snail mail is used, which means time and money is wasted your customers cannot immediately get the most update news of your product, simply the million-dollar contract will fly to other companies the piles of paper wont remind you when your product is expired, you need to search through the papers it is not easy to comunicate to your branch stores. Many workers are needed to check the store Solution of the problem To solve the problem in the old supermarket system,setup up a database system that would control local store inventory, and cover the ordering of stock from the customers. Advantages of the new system Digital record is used. Millions of information are stored in a 6-inch hard-dish. The records can be backed up inside a DVD or a hard dish drive. the payments are calculated by computer, which decreases the human error In order to search the data of the customers and supplier, you simply need to type the name, or tel. number. email is used, your customers can get the most update news of your product, at once the computer will remind you when your product is expired, so you can make preparations you can communicate the computer form one branch store to another. Information can be transferred immediately computer can do most of the jobs. Less workers are employed Old system Computer system Space needed to keep the records more Much less Back up Very difficult Very easy error High possibility Low possibility Search data Very complicated Very convenient mail Slow and expensive Quick and free Check expired stock By hand automatically Communication Slow and inconvenient Quick and easy Number of employees more less Requirement of the system. It is consider that the supermarket has original system which has only one computer with the following equirement. Working system Windows 2000, standard edition Processor Pentium III 733Mhz, RAM 256MB recommended Drive space 20GB Video 32MB shared ram In order to reach the requirement of the new system, the computers need to replace new ones and connected as the following instructions. Requirement of the server. Working system Windows server 2003, standard edition Processor Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, 550+ MHz recommended RAM 1024MB/1G recommended Drive space 250GB Video 128MB shared ram or better This computer is highly security. It needed the voice check and the password of the three highest manager to open the report of the profit and also to open the economy condition of the supermarket. Besides, the server is connected to a internet server with domain name. This is because this can convenient the customers to shopping or order products from the internet. Requirement of the other computers The other four computres is used to save data. They should have the following requirement. Working system Windows XP, Professional Processor Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, 550+ MHz recommended RAM 512 MB recommended Drive space 80 GB Video 128MB shared ram or better Software of the programme The supermarket can use Microsoft Access or Visual Basic The advantages of using MS Access are: * It is a relational database, which makes the data management easier. * It integrates easily with other Microsoft packages such as Word and Excel. * It is inexpensive. * It is a flexible product that cab be used for all kinds of databases. * It can be used to build extensive database applications. * All the information is held in one place and the information only needs to be updated once. * It can retrieve and update information quickly and easily. * Reports, standard letters can be easily produced. * Backup and archiving is easy. The disadvantages of using MS Access are: * It lacks in high volume capacity. * It is limited to a low transaction rate. * It can bring down the entire servers if it is not used properly. The advantages of using Visual Basic are: * It provides a user-friendly interface. * The modular structure in visual basic program helps the programmer to develop a large program without knowing all the variables and their relationships. * It is provided by an integrate development environment that helps the programmer in debugging syntax errors. The disadvantages of using Visual Basic are: * It is limited in the kind of application that visual basic can code. * That additional memory might be required because of the graphics. * That visual basic is not a matural programming language. * That successful operations are crucial. * It has a slower processing in some applications. * It is more difficult to recover. Set up of the programme In this system, the programme is based on the Microsoft Access Create a new database file first and then create a table which should contain the following item: * Image of the * item description * bar code * item code * item location in store * price * maximum (amount to order) * current stock * date ordered * date received * quantity received * expired date * supplier * supplier address * supplier email * supplier telephone number * The characteristic of each item of data, such as The data on the documents have been analysed, where on the next page tables have been completed to show what information is contained. The information that is contained includes: * What tables and column are presented. * The names of the current tables and columns. * Any validations on the values of certain columns. Data Item Description Data Type Validation * item description The description of the product Text * bar code The bar code of a product Text Letters only * item code The code of a product Text Letters only * item location in store The location of the product in the supermarket Text Letters only * price The price of a product Numbers * maximum (amount to order) The number of product in the supermarket Numbers * current stock Whether the book is hardback or paperback Text Letters only * date ordered The order of the product by the customer Number * date received The order of the product ordered by the customers Number After create the above table, by using the Microsoft Access, a new table will be created to input the data of each product. Besides, to show the out and in of each product, by using the Microsoft Access, a report can be created. Shopping from the Internet Some customers will order products from the internet. Therefore a website should be set up for their confident. In order to get associate with the system, some more items are needed to create in order to record the information of each customer. It can be done as shown: Contain of the table This table is about the information of the customers which order products from the internet. The table should contain the following item: * Customer name * Customer no. * Address * Contact method * Phone number * Credit card number Data Item Description Data Type Validation * Customer name Name of the customer Text * Customer id. The id of the customer in the system number * Address The home address of the customer Text Letters only * Contact method How to contact to the customer E-mail/phone choose * Phone number The mobile/home number of the customer Numbers * Credit card number The Credit card number of the customer Number This website should also be linked to the main server of the supermarket and the website should have the following function. Function A laiding form will need to be printed, which will accompany the shipment to the store, and should include the following information: * (from) address of supplier, (to) supermarket ID, * supermarket address, * department, * managers name * and order number, * as well as a list of item descriptions, * item codes, * amount requested, * and amount sent. When the shipment reaches the store, the manager initials the bill of laiding, confirming that the shipment has arrived. This form is then returned to the warehouse where an invoice must be generated . The invoice, which will be sent to the store should be in some form that can either be printed (and subsequently mailed), or simply sent via email to the specific store. The proccess is done as shown. Problem of the security As it is easily to shopping on the Internet, and is easily to hacked by the hackers in the Internet and the personal information of each customers will be stolen. Thus, to prevent this happen, security is needed. SECURITY of the system This system requires some form of a hierarchical security system which should consist of three categories. * Level one access should be for the Head Manager. The Head Manager should have access to everything in the system, and should be able to add new people to the system, and delete them when necessary. It should also be possible for the Head Manager to easily switch people between different security levels, and to add/delete departments as required. * Level two access should include privileges for Department Managers. These managers should have complete access to everything in their department, including the placing of orders and allocation of access for cashiers/stockers in their departments. However, they should not have access to any other department functions * Level three access is intended for cashiers/stockers. Basically they should be allowed to change the amount of stock in the current inventory, either through the selling of an item to a customer, or in the stocking of shelves with new inventory. In order to identify the power of the different manager in the system to increase the security. The table should contain the following items: * Worker ID * Worker Name * Working position * Power of the worker * Date of birth * Address * Phone number And then setup the table ass shown Data Item Description Data type Manager Id The Managers ID Number Manager name Manager name Text The working position working position of the manager Text Power Power of the worker in the system Text Date of Birth Birth of the worker Number address Address of the worker Text Phone number Phone number of the worker Number This table is used to input the data of each worker in the supermarket. It also identify the power of the worker in the system. It decides what the worker can see in the system. Work and power of the manager Managers also have the ability to cancel an order altogether, and to change the supplier. As new products hit the market, they should be able to add a new item to the database. Similarly, managers should be able to delete an item from the database in the case that it may not be selling, or is discontinued by the manufacturer Some mechanism allowing the manager to adjust the information contained in the database will be a beneficial tool. This mechanism should include among other things the ability to change the product point of order value, change the product maximum order value, transfer items between departments, and add and delete departments as necessary. Changing current inventory stock is a function that should be given to everyone in some form. For example, cashiers will automatically decrease the item count when a product is sold to a consumer. Stockers and/or managers will also need the ability to increase current stock count as new stock arrives. The order form should contain the default amount of stock to be ordered for each item, and should be able to be adjusted by the manager under special circumstances (such as a promo). When the manager gives his/her OK to the system, the system should send the order to the warehouse. If some product has been ordered, and it takes a while for that product to arrive, we do not want the same product ordered several days in a row. The system must contain some sort of list of items on order. As the items received come in, they should be taken off this list. The objectives of the proposed system are: * To make buying things an easier process. * To produce reports on overdue books. * To check which products are currently available in the supermarket. * For the staff to be able to obtain information of who has ordered a particular product. * To keep a record of customers and their details. * To be able to add, edit or deleted details concerning the customers * For each customer to have a unique id in case two people have the same name * For each product have a unique id * The system should only allow authorised people to the data. Problem of this system When using the Microsoft Access to setup the programme, it will take a long time to set up. As it needs to create a lot of tables, besides, each table is linked together and totally linked to the server to the internet. When linked to the internet,it is difficult to get a good domain name. Also, it is easily linked wrong. Solution of the problem To solve the problem * First, set up the system more carefully. * Try to buy a good Domain

Rwandan Genocide of 1994 Essay -- essays research papers

The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 lasted only for a brief period and lasted for approximately a hundred days. During that time, an estimated amount of 800 000 people were slaughtered. Beginning on April of 1994, massacres were held on a daily basis with the intent to eliminate an ethnic group known as the Tutsi by another ethnic group known as the Hutus. This genocide was overlooked by the United Nations, and the superpowers of the time offered very little or no assistance at all to Rwanda. The civil unrest between the Hutus and the Tutsi has been in place since the Belgians segregated the two groups after being handed Rwanda after World War I. The Tutsis were favoured and placed above the Hutus and identity cards were distributed to distinguish the two different groups. The hatred linking the ethnic groups is evident from the very conception of segregating the Hutus from the Tutsis. The civil turmoil had remained relatively dormant for almost a century until the assassination of Presiden t Habyarimana of Rwanda in 1994. This act prompted genocide and a century’s worth of quiet hatred suddenly erupted into massacres in the country’s capital of Kigali. Blockades would be set on roads and bands of Hutu youths with machetes and sticks would go door to door to kill Tutsi families. The United Nations could not physically intervene as they were merely monitoring the situation and were acting as peacekeepers, and not as peacemakers. Soldiers watched while civilians were brutally murdered and were unable to respond because their mandate refrained them from doing so. It was not until months after the initial killings that the United Nations finally acted and sent soldiers to protect civilians. In their absence, hundreds of thousands of people we... ...d the two groups after World War I, they created a civil rivalry between the by favouring the Tutsis and the disregarding the Hutus as inferior. This rivalry would remain relatively dormant for almost a century until President Habyarimana would be assassinated in 1994. This act would initiate the genocide and the suppressed feelings of animosity would erupt into massacres all around the country and would even spill into neighbouring countries such as Burundi. The genocide was disregarded by the United Nations and few countries would offer assistance to Rwanda. Beginning in April of 1994, the Rwandan Genocide lasted only around a hundred days and eliminated almost a million Rwandans. With the lack of action taken by the United Nations, its mandate should be changed to provide immediate protection to civilians and citizens who are at risk because of a national crisis.

Dominos Case Analysis

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose Dominoes was found in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Domino’s Pizza Inc. is the market leader in the United States pizza delivery and second largest pizza company in the world based on number of units. The company offers a wide variety of pizza products as well as pasta, bread sticks, boneless chicken and wings, desserts and soft drinks. As of the beginning of this year, 2012, Domino’s had 394 company-owned stores and 4,513 franchised Domino’s units in the U. S. and 4,835 franchised stores internationally.Domino’s strategy is to use its superior supply-chain to provide its franchises with lost cost inputs so the franchises may focus on sales and service. Through the online world, Domino’s customers began to share their dissatisfaction with Domino’s products, such as pizza lacked taste and quality and poor quality delivery pizzas. Over the past 3-5 years Domino’s has made an ef fort to improve the palatability of their core products, and in 2009 introduced a new and redesigned crust recipe, fresh ingredients, a new sauce, and real shredded cheese.This effort, along the successive marketing campaigns has increased brand loyalty and customer preferences which has had a profound effect on increases in revenue and number of franchise openings. I believe that this strategy that is currently implemented is working, but for Domino’s to remain an industry leader and prolong the current trend of success, Domino’s needs to focus on the demographic and technological changes in the market. Focusing on the changes and reevaluating their current strategy will help Domino’s remain a leader within the industry. Situational AnalysisGeneral Environment Analysis: Demographic | -Pizza remains a very popular product appealing to a wide demographic of Americans that consider restaurants an essential part of their lifestyle. -According to Rasmussen Reports 4 0% of American eat pizza at least once per month w/adults ranging 30-49 yrs. of age; 21% of young adults (18-24) purchase pizza more than three times a week. Pizza is an integral part of American culture and shows no sign of exciting the market. | Economic | Domino’s is not immune to market trends; its revenues are directly affected by how the economy is doing.As the labor force progresses closer to full employment, consumer spending will increase and real GDP will be boosted. As a result, Domino’s Pizza will benefit from the increase of consumer spending as more consumers will likely spend more money at quick-service restaurants than dinging at home. To retain consumer’s quick-service restaurants should not worry as much about pricing but about expanding their menus. | Political/Legal| The political and legal conditions that could affect the business of Domino’s Pizza are the policies of the local and national government towards business.If the governmen t is more open to the establishment of numerous restaurants, then more restaurants will be established. Laws in favor of employees will be a factor for Domino’s. In each state/country they operate in they will have to provide proper employee training, as well as the minimum wage that are in compliance with state and federal regulations. Wages increasing can have a negative impact on revenues. | Sociocultural| Households are more likely to have a double income these days, resulting in families going out to eat more often. No time to cook at home) Media is growing at a fast pace means that Domino’s need to be part of this trend and keep up with the technological changes when comes to their online and app. options. Providing healthier options can be a potential competitive advantage for Domino’s. More people are concerned with their health and are becoming more aware of nutritional facts. Organic and gluten free products are gaining popularity. | Technological| The fast changes in technology nowadays have far-reaching effects.The factors that have a huge impact are: research and development, internet and e-commerce, and new technologies. The research and development has effects on Domino’s Pizza because through R&D new products are developed for the business, the internet and e-commerce also contributes to the technological factors because through them customers can give feedback regarding the products. Technology will assist in developing the firms’ strategies and strategic competiveness. | Global| More and more industrialized countries are emerging.Current and potential political events can affect the potential growth of Domino’s. | Physical| Creating and using products that are bio-gradable and promoting recycling can save Domino’s money, and differentiate themselves from their competitors. | Industry analysis: The restaurant industry was projected to have $604 Billion sales in 2011, which is approximately 4 per cent of the projected total GDP of the United States according to the estimate from National Restaurant Association. The industry has been expanding since the 1960s, mainly due to the boom of quick service restaurants such as Yum!Brands Inc. and McDonald’s. The long term expansion of the restaurant industry is expected to continue as the major players in this industry are focusing on providing healthier and less expensive food for both Americans and customers’ abroad. The restaurant industry provides two categories of services: fast food and full-service restaurant. The fast food restaurants mainly serve products including sandwiches, and pizza. Those restaurants attract customers by offering convenient, inexpensive and appealing foods.Fast food restaurants will still perform comparatively well during financial downturn (see graphs below) because customers will switch from full-service restaurant to the cheaper fast food restaurants. Threat of new entrants| ? Economies of Scale: The saturation of the pizza industry is a huge limiter of how much an advantage can be attained by economies of scale.? Product Differentiation: Differentiation is a necessary expense in the pizza industry but it is not difficult to overcome so we can say it is not a significant barrier to market entry.?Capital requirements will dominate the formation of new, national competitors, but is not a significant barrier to private startups.? Cost Disadvantages: The extreme saturation and similarity in product offering make convenient locations essential for quick service restaurants large and small. This is a significant barrier to entry.? Distribution Channels: Speedy and reliable channels are essential among all firms in the industry, they are not necessarily difficult for new comers to attain. Due to the lack of any of the barriers to entry being so significant, we feel the threat of new entrants is high. Power of suppliers| The bargaining power of suppliers shapes the restau rant industry by determining the food commodity costs. Restaurant operators usually negotiate on their purchases through future contracts; however instability in food goods costs can constrain the power to price their products. Suppliers for Domino’s pizza have low bargaining power, due to the high volume of products and the low differentiation level. There are also many substitutes for any particular input. | Power of buyers| Price is a key factor for customers in choosing restaurants.Consumers compare the values of food and what they pay for the food. Domino’s Pizza customers bargaining power and switching costs are low since a costumer can find a second option easily (frozen pizza or other pizza restaurants and chains). Differentiation levels are created by the consumers and include style of pizza, atmosphere, and location. | Threat of product substitutes| One reason for high competition in the restaurant industry is similar menus among the companies in the restaura nt industry. Few restaurants have successfully differentiated menus from others.The threat this poses on the industry’s’ profitability depend on the price-to-performance ratio, it is also affected by switching costs. Since there are so many firms offer the same basic need the consumer is looking for it results in low switching costs and a high threat of substitution. | Intensity of rivalry among competitors| The rivalry in the restaurant industry is high and gives firms more incentive to differentiate themselves form its competitors and meet customers’ needs. Firms in this industry are competing for the same market share.Since the customer base is not growing as fast the industry, the growth is slow. | Competitor analysis: With Domino’s Pizza competing in the domestic and global market, its main competitors globally are YUM! Brands, McDonalds, and Wendy’s. Many of these fast service chain restaurants are expanding internationally at a rapid rate. E ach competitor offers wide array of products to its consumers, so Domino’s has had to make many menu changes to help keep their loyal customers satisfied. Domino’s main U. S. competitors in the pizza delivery service market are Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars.Domino’s is in an industry where it must use its valued brand name as a way of competing with its competitors around the globe. Locally, Domino’s uses its trademark â€Å"Domino's Pizza: You Got 30 Minutes†20 to remind consumers that they are the number one pizza delivery company in the U. S. and use this as a competitive edge against its aggressive competitors. Pizza Hut The number one competitor for Domino’s is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut operates under Yum! Brands, which also includes four other restaurant chains. Pizza Hut is only two years older than Domino’s and has over 13,000 store locations in 95 different countries.The main focus of Pizza Hut is letting their customers customize their pizzas; each location is designed to tailor to local tastes and culture. They serve a variety of products ranging from specialty pizzas to pasta, sandwiches and chicken wings. In 2010 the brand reported a 4. 7 percent increase in revenues and sales for Pizza Hut increased by 8. 8 percent in the US. Though Domino’s remains the leader in the US delivery segment, Pizza Hut maintains the top spot in the US pizza segment with a 13. 78 market share as of late 2009.Pizza Hut’s goal is moving forward, they want to be known not as a pizza restaurant, but as a â€Å"pizza, pasta, and wings† brand. To complete their transformation Pizza Hut is working to make its menu items more competitively priced and improve their service times as well as focus on great customer service. Lastly, to help gain market share throughout the world, Pizza Hut is focusing its expansion plans on China, one of the world’s rapidly growing marketplaces. Papa Johnâ €™s Papa John’s is considered the world’s third ranked pizza delivery and carryout restaurant behind Pizza Hut and Domino’s.Currently it owns and franchises 3,646 restaurants in which 612 are company owned and 3,034 franchised in all of US and 32 countries worldwide. Papa John’s was founded on the premise that if you make the best pizza and price it competitively, you can sell it. Some of their major products include pizza, bread/cheese sticks, chicken strips, winds, dessert, and beverages. Papa John’s operates through six segments: domestic restaurants, domestic franchising, international operations, variable interest entities, and â€Å"all other† business units.In 1999 Papa John’s took over the number three spot in the US market from Little Caesars. But in the early 2000s, Papa Johns hit the wall and put a break on its expansions plans. The economic recession caused a dip in revenues for year-end 2009, and 2010. In effort to re -energize its brand during this period, Papa invested heavily in advertising, becoming the official sponsor for the NFL and the next three super bowls. In addition, Papa John’s launched a highly successfully promotion for consumers, these efforts helped Papa John’s maintain its market share.Little Caesars Family-owned Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc a subsidiary of Illitich Holdings owns and franchises over 2,600 units in the US and 11 other countries. As of 2010, it owned 4 percent of the US pizza locations and was a major competitor of Domino’s despite its lack of delivery service. It’s considered by Technomic Inc to be the fastest growing pizza restaurant chain in the US. Approximately 80 percent of Little Caesars locations are franchises with many stores located in strip malls or other popular shopping areas.Little Caesars offers pizzas, crazy bread and sauce, cheese bread, Caesar dips and churros as well as it offers party catering service. Littler C aesars has been following the same marketing campaign since the 70s and is known for its two-for-one â€Å"Pizza! Pizza! † Little Caesars has topped a host of â€Å"Best Pizza Value in America† lists for years and years in a row and, despite some setbacks in the 90s as Papa John’s climbed the ladder, continues to offer some hard- to- beat competition. Internal analysis Tangible resources:Domino’s low cost deliver-oriented store design is a tangible resource. Domino’s franchises approximately 90 percent of their 5,155 stores in the US. The stores are decided small with a focus on delivery, which allows them to cut the cost of having the typical large pizzeria type restaurant. Domino’s also uses their company owned stores as testing facilities for new products and technologies, this allows them to cut cost on having to rent out additional stores. Domino’s has its own supply chain for domestic and internationally franchised stores.This o peration consists 17 domestic facilities/6 international facilities that distribute food, equipment and supplies to the franchised stores nation and worldwide. Having their own supply chain gives Domino’s an advantage, it means automatic delivery of ingredients to stores which eliminates wait time and adds freshness, allowing the store team to focus on its sales and customer service. The vertically integrated supply chain allows Domino’s to leverage the purchasing power of thousands of privately owned and franchised stores nationwide to help food costs low.Domino’s new smart-phone â€Å"pizza tracker† application that is also available on their website, shows customers where the pizza is in the process, and how long it will take for the pizza to be ready and/or delivered. This allows customers be more involved in the process and allows instant communication between the two. In result this will help decrease the number of employees that Domino’s nee ds to hire, which will increase revenues as well as focus more on the food making process. Intangible resources: Domino’s has multiple intangible resources.Firstly, Domino’s focuses as a company on two core strengths: high quality pizzas at a competitive price and a fast delivery time, both that are intangible. Secondly, Domino’s strong brand image results in many loyal customers even with the new introductions made to the menu. Lastly, Domino’s has a worldwide presence and have pioneered the pizza delivery industry giving them a strong reputation. Capabilities: Domino’s has five capabilities that were discussed in the analysis. The first is their vertically integrated supply chain. Domino’s is able to drive sales up and costs down.Secondly, Domino’s focuses on adapting each location to its surrounding environment, such as changing menu options in other countries to adapt to the taste preferences of the population. Thirdly, the new sm art phone application, which allows customers order as they go and have more of a connection during the process. Having a strong brand image is another capability of Domino’s, its what allows them to be a direct competitor in the restaurant industry. Lastly, Domino’s is very cost effective, they pre-cut and pre-package all the ingredients, which allow them to be competitive in the market, and in the price they charge their customers.Core competencies: The last four decades Dominos has proven to be a top leader in the pizza industry, and has created several core competencies. Strong brand presence is what created brand loyalty with their customers and lead them to be one of the major competitors in the industry. Their focus on fast delivery is the foundation of their daily profit margins. Expanding internationally and incorporating online services as well as smart device application is another factor for them staying competitive. Also, Domino’s has a cost leaders hip business model which allows them to sell their products at a competitive rice. Sustainable competitive advantage: Domino’s has expanded their opportunities for more profit by opening over 3,000 locations internationally. They have built a strong brand image; by incorporating online technology they were able to stay competitive and ahead of some of their competitors. They have sustained their competitive advantage with the incorporation of Internet services as well as their strong brand image, as well as their expansion to over 70 countries. Since 2009, Domino’s stock has grown a remarkable 233 percent by 2011.SWOT Analysis Strengths| Weaknesses| -Delivery leader in the industry. -Has a strong and diversified franchising network around the world-Massive growth in its expansion across the globe; Dominos international network grew 48% from 2,987 stores to 4,442 stores-Strong brand equity. Known as the â€Å"Mega Brand† as defined by advertising brand magazine. Its positive brand image leads to dependable and trustworthy customers -Technology savvy: Online menus, as well as a Domino’s application for the iPhone and iPod.Helps customers order quickly and choose to have food delivered; pizza tracker allows the customer to the progress of their food being delivered. | -Compared to competitors it lacks menu options -Weak international presence as compared to peers-Lacks significant amount of profit it earns outs the US compared to its competitors-Weakening bottom line| Opportunities| Threats| -Expand its product outside of its stores and into the frozen food market can be quite profitable and beneficial (good for top line growth)-Introduce new healthier options: organic toppings, gluten free, etc. Entry into expanding markets will like boost revenue growth-Sales growth from online orders and smartphone application| -Faces high competition among other pizza companies domestically and globally. Constantly dealing with new product innovati on techniques and pricing pressure among the pizza delivery industry. -Strict govt. regulations poses threat to company’s development plans-Social media can result in a threat due to more people sharing their experiences-bad experiences can influence a prospect client to go elsewhere -Consumers growing more heath conscious| Strategy FormationDomino’s prides itself on its consistency and logistical operations that keep overhead costs down and provide less expensive pizza. Due to the current demographic changes and methods of communication changing, Dominoes must make changes to it s current cost leaderships strategy in order to gain more market share and stay a top competitor in the industry. Strategic alternatives: A strategic alternative for Domino’s to pursue would be a differentiation strategy. Domino’s could gain more customers from segments of the market that had not considered Domino’s as an adequate meal choice.If Domino’s chooses to focus on even a lower cost leadership strategy it would help them maintain its current customer base and possible gain more bargain shopper customers by exploiting its already known capabilities and core competencies, resulting in even more market share form this market segment. Pursuing an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy, Domino’s will still be able to maintain its competitive pricing while creating new products that will attract new segments of the market. Alternative evaluation: The first strategy that Domino’s could pursue is the differentiation strategy.Pursing this strategy would mean that Dominos would need to look for new suppliers to obtain higher quality ingredients. The finance support in the value chain would have to examine to see where capital could be found and allocated to make this strategy work. For Domino’s to change to the differentiation strategy, they would need to gain new tangible and intangible resources to achiev e this strategy as well as to create new capabilities that would lead to new core competencies, resulting in a competitive advantage in the market. Secondly, Domino’s could purse a even lower cost leadership strategy.To pursue an even lower cost leadership strategy, Domino’s would have to cut mores cost in areas such as food quality and choice of supplier. This could lead to fewer costs for them but may result going back to their â€Å"tastes like cardboard† negative image. Due to the taste aspect of their product, it would be safest for Domino’s to look to make cuts else where such as marketing and advertising in order to keep their even lower cost leadership strategy. Lastly, Domino’s could pursue the integrated cost leadership and differentiated strategy.This strategy would be the strongest strategy for Domino’s, it could allow them to be the first mover in the industry to use healthier, organic ingredients which would attract a new segme nt of the market as well as those who might have decided to go else where. Alternative choice: I would choose the integrated cost leadership and differentiated strategy from the three options I listed above. I believe that this strategy allows Domino’s to use its current core competencies and helps develop new capabilities that could lead to even stronger core competencies and a higher competitive advantage in the industry.Strategic Alternative Implementation Action items: In order for Domino’s to implement an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy and gain a competitive advantage in the industry it will need: suppliers that will sell quality ingredients at a reasonable cost, a new structure that is supported by the company, and lastly having the current leader initiate and encourage these changes, or put a new leader that will help implement these changes.Actions plan: In order for Domino’s to take on an integrated cost leadership and different iation strategy, they should use their existing connections with suppliers that will help them find new suppliers who can deliver organic, high quality ingredients at a reasonable price. This will assist with Domino’s becoming the first mover in the industry towards healthier, high quality pizzas.Though this may lead to an increase of price, I believe that because of the current organic foods sector recent growth sprit in our society, there won’t be much of a negative reaction to the price. The current hybrid functional/multidivisional structure may be able to hand the strategy change, but modifications to the value chain would need to take place. Less focus on cutting costs, more of a focus on differentiating the product.Last of all, the current leader or a new leader would need to me a transformational leader, that would implement and encourage the strategy switch from cost leadership to integrated cost leadership and differentiation. Pursuing this new strategy would lead to numerous opportunities, and benefits for Domino’s now and the future. It would allow Domino’s become a first mover in the industry, and create a new market for other fast food restaurants.

Cost and Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay

Have you pulled your car up to the gas pump lately and been shocked by the high prices of gasoline? The Auto industry has the technology necessary to address this concern. . It’s the hybrid car. Today, there are many different models out there in the market and most major manufacturers are involved in developing them. Hybrid cars will save the drivers a lot of money. The purpose of this paper is to identify the costs and show the benefits of this awesome vehicle. Identifying Costs. This section is designed to compare and contrast all the costs that we will see in the decision of purchasing a new hybrid car. It’ll include all monetary costs and all non-monetary costs. I will be comparing the costs of buying a new hybrid to other regular non-hybrid vehicles in order to better see the differences. A. Gasoline & Car Loan People are obsessed with spending less money on gas. Websites have even been created to help the penny-pinching consumer find the cheapest option close to home. Hybrid cars get really good MPG (miles per gallon). In my opinion, the best way to find out if switching over to a new hybrid car is a good idea is to compare the prices and costs. I’ll use my own car as an example, if I were to replace my paid-off 1999 Honda Accord, which only gets 25 mpg, with something more economical; I would consider a Toyota Prius or a Corolla. The following chart shows how much money I would save if I made the change. |2012 Auto |Miles per Gallon (MPG)|Monthly Gas |Sticker Price |Monthly Payment |Net Monthly | | | |Savings | | |Savings | |Toyota Prius |55 |$ 70. 71 |$21,275. 00 |$386. 56 |$(315. 85) | |Toyota Corolla |36 |$ 34. 72 |$14,005. 00 |$227. 83 |$(193. 10) | The table above, shows us how much more it is to save if purchasing a Prius over a Corolla (Hensley 2011). On the other hand we can see that the sticker price of a Toyota Prius is more expensive than the Corolla. The monthly payment above is calculated at a 5. 5% APR. However in the long run we will be saving so much more if we chose the Prius, because the money that we are saving on gas every month could be used to pay off the difference in the Sticker Price. With gas prices skyrocketing again like they did in 2008, this will be the best decision to make. The following chart will give us more insight on gas prices (Hensley 2011). [pic] B. Taxes Even though the final selling price is including taxes, there are many things to note about tax credits per hybrid car. There is no set tax credit, and it depends on what vehicle you buy, so remember not to only take into account the miles per gallon and price, but also the varying tax break incentives. The list of IRS-certified vehicles is not always the same; automakers keep producing hybrids that are qualified and adding them to the list, we need to make sure we look at the updated data. Also, another thing about hybrid tax credit is that they are reduced every year and eventually is eliminated, so make sure to check out the phase out dates that are determined by different manufacturers. Credit amounts begin to phase out for a given manufacturer once it has sold over 60,000 eligible vehicles. It is all depending on the year, for example if we go back to 2005, you can save anywhere from $500 all the way up to about $3,400 (Fuel Economy. gov). Sometimes, it can be a guessing game, but remember, we will be saving something and it adds up! Vehicles purchased after December 31, 2010 are not eligible for this credit (Fuel Economy. gov). C. Registration Fees and Other Monetary Costs The registration fee is the amount charged by the state to register a new car, assign a title (legal proof of ownership) and cover the cost of license plates. The dealer provides this service for you; saving you a trip to the DMV or registry but the money goes to the state. There are other fees that need to be paid when buying a new car such as: doc fees, taxing the trade-in, taxing rebates and dealer fees. However; when buying a Prius those fees will be the same as buying a regular car so further explanation is not necessary (Karim, Layton). D. Non-monetary costs The time it takes to go buy a car would be one non-monetary cost. Let’s say I was going to go buy today. Since I work 40-hours a week and get paid $9. 00/hr, I would have to get at least 10 hours, 5 hours off of work and 5 hours off my personal time. I could use this time to go to the dealership pick out the car and do all the loans and transactions necessary. Filling out all that paper work can take a lot of time, and since I am a college student I need time for school as well. Therefore my Non-monetary cost is 10 hours of my time from my work-time/personal time. Another cost would be the amount of gas that it takes to drive to the dealership and the time it takes me to travel there. If someone is accompanying me and helping me decide which car I want, I am also using their time which could be almost as much as my time. Benefits 1. Savings at the Pump All Hybrids get a better fuel economy than their counterparts. 2. Lower Insurance Rates Insurance rates can depend on many things such as your driving record, your age, and it can also depend on the model car you drive. Driving a Prius will lower your insurance rate from 5-10%! 3. Government Assistance The Federal Tax credit was also a great benefit although they stopped giving it at the end of 2010(Fuel Economy.gov). 4. Lower Emissions A fact that should be considered is that 97% of all vehicles in the U. S are dependent on Oil. Also with lower emissions it’ll help less Carbon Monoxide adding to Global Warming. In fact, Regular vehicles create 1/3 of the greenhouse effect (Karim, Layton). The key thing here is that the amount of pollution allowed does not depend on the mileage your car gets. But a car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. That pollution will have to be removed by the emissions control equipment on the car. So decreasing the fuel consumption of the car is one of the surest ways to decrease emissions (Karim, Layton). 5. Special Car-Pool Lanes In some states if you own a hybrid car, you are allowed to use a special car-pool lane regardless how many people are in the vehicle. After identifying all the monetary and non-monetary costs. We can see that the Sticker price is more expensive than purchasing a regular vehicle. However, in the long run with the gas mileage we will be receiving from this awesome hybrid technology it will payoff for everything that we’ve spent. It’s sort of an investment. If we add all the benefits, we can see that we are not only benefiting ourselves when we purchase a hybrid but we are helping the environment and our world (Fuel Economy. gov). More people are buying more hybrid cars everyday, the sales of hybrid cars increased 141% from 2004-2005 (Karim, Layton). In conclusion, I recommend everyone that if they are looking to buy a new vehicle, hybrid is the way to go. All the benefits we receive from it are totally worth it, and although the cost might be somewhat high in comparison to other cars, it’s worth it. Not only will we be saving gas driving to work, school and other places, but also we won’t take into as much consideration the price of gas next time we stop at the gas station! References Fuel Economy. gov. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. fueleconomy. gov/feg/hybrid_sbs_cars. shtml Hensley, R. , Knupfer, S. M. , & Krieger, A. (2011). The fast lane to the adoption of electric cars. Mckinsey Quarterly, (1), 10-14. Nice, Karim, and Julia Layton. â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work† 20 July 2000. HowStuffWorks. com. 04 April 2012.

Free Essays on Effective Policing

â€Å"Effective Policing† As times change, so do the methods of criminals. Police are always looking for the quickest and most efficient way to catch the criminals. After studying three different forms of policing which include foot patrol police and motor vehicle police I found that bicycle police are not only quick to apprehend criminals, but they also help prevent crime because of their visual presence and their ability to maneuver quickly also aids them. One growing trend in law enforcement today is the utilization of mountain bicycles for patrol duty. Mountain bikes are quiet, cost efficient, extremely effective and are able to bridge the gap between the police cruiser and foot patrol. Studies have shown that citizens are more likely to approach a bike patrol officer over an officer in a car. This optimizes the department’s philosophy of community policing. Bicycle officers are better able to use all their senses, including sight, smell and hearing, to detect and address criminal activity. For one thing, bicycles are quiet and can be deployed very quickly. Bikes can be operated on streets, sidewalks, alleys, trails, and in areas that are hard to reach in cars. Many times bicycle officers ride up on top of criminal activity in progress. Then escaping from the police becomes unlikely. The San Antonio Police Department implemented a bicycle patrol unit in 1990. The Downtown area of San Antonio is a high-populated area and has many activities and small business operating daily. The SAPD bicycle unit’s mission is to be a visible deterrent to crime and an approachable source of assistance and information within the downtown area of San Antonio. The bike unit patrols the heavily populated downtown area both night and day assisting tourists, conventioneers, and local office workers and shoppers. San Antonio host many big events in the downtown area. Bicycle officers are able to mingle easily with big crowds, and can see over the... Free Essays on Effective Policing Free Essays on Effective Policing â€Å"Effective Policing† As times change, so do the methods of criminals. Police are always looking for the quickest and most efficient way to catch the criminals. After studying three different forms of policing which include foot patrol police and motor vehicle police I found that bicycle police are not only quick to apprehend criminals, but they also help prevent crime because of their visual presence and their ability to maneuver quickly also aids them. One growing trend in law enforcement today is the utilization of mountain bicycles for patrol duty. Mountain bikes are quiet, cost efficient, extremely effective and are able to bridge the gap between the police cruiser and foot patrol. Studies have shown that citizens are more likely to approach a bike patrol officer over an officer in a car. This optimizes the department’s philosophy of community policing. Bicycle officers are better able to use all their senses, including sight, smell and hearing, to detect and address criminal activity. For one thing, bicycles are quiet and can be deployed very quickly. Bikes can be operated on streets, sidewalks, alleys, trails, and in areas that are hard to reach in cars. Many times bicycle officers ride up on top of criminal activity in progress. Then escaping from the police becomes unlikely. The San Antonio Police Department implemented a bicycle patrol unit in 1990. The Downtown area of San Antonio is a high-populated area and has many activities and small business operating daily. The SAPD bicycle unit’s mission is to be a visible deterrent to crime and an approachable source of assistance and information within the downtown area of San Antonio. The bike unit patrols the heavily populated downtown area both night and day assisting tourists, conventioneers, and local office workers and shoppers. San Antonio host many big events in the downtown area. Bicycle officers are able to mingle easily with big crowds, and can see over the...

Voltaires Candide essays

Voltaires Candide essays The beginning of the 17th century marked many changes for Europe. These changes were both physical and philosophical in nature. Common citizens were tired of being abused, mistreated and most of all labeled as peasants and commoners by the aristocracy. They were fed up with the hypocrisy of the church and the abuse of power by its leaders in the name of God. One man stood tall above the rest. Francois Marie Arouet was born November 21, 1694 to a middle class family in Paris. At that time, Louis the XIV was king of France and the overwhelming majority lived in harsh conditions. The aristocracy of France ruled with an iron fist and poverty was widespread throughout the land. Francois attended the College Louis le Grand, where he got his Jesuit education. His deep-rooted satirical views were prevalent even as a child. After college, Francois worked as a secretary for the French Ambassador to Holland, but left that position to pursue his writing career. Francois writings soon became famous in France. His quick tongue and fast pen soon got him into trouble with the French government and he got exiled to Sully. Using his fame, Voltaire quickly got those in power to allow him back into France. Shortly after he returned he was blamed for a piece of writing that opposed the government, which sent him to prison. While in prison, Francois assumed the pen name Voltaire and wrote his first play, Oedipe. Shortly after is release, the 24-year-old Voltaires Oedipe was produced in Paris and became an instant success. After being exiled to England, Voltaire became familiar with the English language and in 1979, published Candide. Candide was by far his most famous work. In it he satirizes and criticizes Leibnizian optimism, aristocratic snobbery, the Protestant and Catholic Church and human nature. Leibniz, a German philosopher and mathematician of Voltaire's time, developed the idea that the wor...

Absolutely!

Absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely! By Maeve Maddox Not a month goes by that someone doesn’t write to complain about the ubiquity of the word absolutely. The following objections to this word are typical: Please answer a question without starting with the word absolutely. Its driving me mad, please please stop. What’s wrong with responding, â€Å"without a doubt,† â€Å"you bet,† â€Å"of course,† â€Å"for sure,† or simply â€Å"yes†? It [strikes] me as ironic that perfectly good English words and phrases like thats correct and yes [are] being usurped by the invasive absolutely. Complaints about absolutely have been circling the Web for at least 18 years. It was on the Lake Superior State University’s list of banished words in 1996. It continues to be the object of wrath on many blog sites, and it made another appearance on the LSSU list in 2014. Perceptions that absolutely as a synonym for â€Å"yes† is a recent tic have led people to speculate as to what or whom to blame for introducing it into popular speech. In 1996, a critic put the blame on the movie Rocky (1976). However, the citations in the OED indicate that absolutely has been used as an affirmation since 1825: Is it permitted me to ask your majesty whether the opinion of the queen is conformable to that of your majesty? Yes, absolutely; she will tell you so herself. (1825) Is such really the state of matters between you and Rivers? Absolutely, sir! (1847) Do you mean to say that if he was all right and proper otherwise youd be indifferent about the earl part of the business? Absolutely. (1892) Absolutely is not confined to use as a word for â€Å"yes.† It is also used to modify words in every type of context, from baby clothes to wartime atrocities: Fifteen Absolutely Darling Onesies Pablo Hernandez scored an absolutely outrageous no-look back-heel against Atletico Madrid this evening. The Absolutely Most Delicious Wrap and Sandwich Recipes Cookbook Killing reporters during battles in southeastern  Ukraine  is  absolutely unacceptable. In each of these examples, absolutely is being used as an empty intensifier, the way awesome is so often used. Sometimes absolutely is used functionally, as in this household tip: Get all the  clothes  that you want to store  absolutely clean and dry. Here the meaning is, â€Å"to the fullest extent.† In a 2009 article on the CNN website, Rex Bossert, an assistant dean at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, is quoted as blaming O.J. Simpson for introducing absolutely as the ultimate modifier. Bossert points out that when Simpson was arraigned in 1994 and was asked how he pled, he didn’t say simply â€Å"not guilty†; he said, â€Å"Absolutely, 100 percent not guilty.† Why does a word that ranks so high among verba non grata continue to remain so popular? The CNN article also quotes an account executive who has embraced absolutely as her word for â€Å"yes† because it sounds reassuring: Absolutely sounds confident and sure. In times of ambivalence, people could use a bit of semantic surety. When you use it, you just feel more confident. Unfortunately, many speakers perceive absolutely as the contrary of reassuring. In the view of one college student at the University of Oregon, [Absolutely] now means â€Å"a lot of bull.† It’s like â€Å"whatever,† or â€Å"sure.† It grates on me when a professor or another student says â€Å"absolutely† because saying it means they’re a phony (2010). Bottom line: Absolutely as both a synonym for â€Å"yes† and a meaningless intensifier will probably be with us for some time. Professionals need to be aware that promiscuous use of the word is annoying, and that many speakers view such use as evidence of insincerity, untrustworthiness, and mental vacuity. vacuity (noun): complete absence of ideas; vacancy of mind or thought. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowA "Diploma" is not a "Degree"

L course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

L course - Essay Example They can get access to important numbers such as the ID numbers and other personal information such as the product preferences of customers. This may end up causing significant losses to the companies as well as to customers. This applies to banks too whereby hackers have had access to information in several banks causing significant losses. Another modern way to attack individual privacy is using surveillance cameras and traffic cameras. This is usually meant to be a step by the government towards ensuring people’s security but instead end up being interference to privacy since these cameras can monitor the movement of people from place to place. CCTV cameras as well are used to enhance surveillance. These have software that even recognizes faces and can even records sounds. In addition, wiretaps which are used the US government to identify a group of individuals who were suspected to be associated to terrorists. Corporation has also been viewed as spying on people, from their strategy of obtaining targeted people’s information from others. The corporations have achieved this by using club cards, rebates and raffles, which may even be sold to other parties. Use of customer lists have also led to the attack towards privacy, whereby one corporation may sell customer names and identities from their customer lists to other corporation thus the information of the customers extending to these other corporations, who thereafter start contacting these customers. Radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) have also been seen as a way of attacking people’s privacy. They are microchips with antennas in bar codes of products, for the purpose of tracking the products’ use. They track the period that products stay in the stores, the movement to customer houses and finally their disposal. This way, the companies are seen as being spies on people who buy their products. Surrendering

Action Research- The starting point speech Assignment

Action Research- The starting point speech - Assignment Example This almost astonished me and led me to research the significance of learning English with respect to the impact of pupil’s interest and overall learning achievement. This helped me a great deal in initiating my starting point of research. For the purpose of understanding the impact of pupil’s interest in learning English language on overall learning achievement, I would categorize pupil into groups i.e. intensified interest in which students will be listed who claimed that learning English is very much important for them. The second group will include students who claim that learning English is to understand information in English whenever needed. This will help me understand the students who have more or less interest in learning English (Altrichter). I will also conduct a survey from both the groups before and after undertaking complete activities and tests as per the curriculum. In this way I will be able to measure the learning by evaluation undertaken so far throughout the semester. Also, to note is the fact that there have been a number of researches which have evaluated the learning patterns of non-speaker individuals in English courses but the aspect has been relatively touched to a shallow extent. It is for this reason that my research will help understanding the student’s self-implied approach to learn English language (Altrichter). As a starting point to the research, I will be taking a closer look at the databases to evaluate the past contribution made by different investigators done so far. This will not just help me to learn about the research method but also help in understanding the ethical and moral concerns of the research. I am also going to help my pupil learn English as per the approach they would want to take in the semester instead of putting my own chosen research criteria

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Ethics - Essay Example An individual must perform right things at the right time. The script of the book dealing in ethics originates from the heart and each one has to read and understand it with one’s own efforts as per the demands of the situations. Restoration of ethics in American life, particularly in business, has to be given top priority. Practice right things, for self-satisfaction, and not to become selfish and to amass wealth. C W Colson In, â€Å"The Problem with Ethics,† Charles Colson writes with anguish about the plight of the people of America in all segments, with loss of ethical values. According to Colson, ethical and moral decay is the root cause of the problems in American culture. The leadership and people of the country have failed to make proper utilization of the abundant natural wealth that has been bestowed. Selfish goals have turned out to be priorities. A distressing scenario is gradually building up, and no concerted efforts are made to find a tangible solution. Colson’s lecture at the Harvard Business School on April 4, 1991, on the subject of ethics was well-received by the Harvard students. Moral philosophy and ethics were not the favorite topics with the would-be business executives at Harvard, whose sole purpose of getting educated was to know the principles and procedures to maximize profits in the business world. The gist of his lecture was â€Å"that a society without a foundation of moral absolutes cannot long survive.† (Colson†¦) Perfect ethical discipline in the business world may be impossibility; but one needs to know how to carry on with the available discipline by applying the principles of ethics. Colson laments about the future of America, where thousands of public officials are prosecuted and convicted, where Congressmen are censured and forced out of office, where money meant for helping the poor people is being siphoned off by those who are supposed to be its guardians for its proper utilization, where spy scandals threaten the unity and integrity of the nation, where well-known authorities in important positions sell the national honor for sexual favors or for money and where corruption has engulfed all ranks, high and low, of the country’s administration. Colson argues that no professions or branch of business has remained unaffected from corruption. Loan scandals, open exhibition of greed in business dealings, pharmaceutical firms producing adulterated goods, athletes using drugs to improve performances, sportspersons engaging in gambling rackets, top literary figures indulging in plagiarism, section of the intellectuals tendering applications for educational grants on the strength of bogus credentials--the loss of ethical values lies at the bottom of all these maladies. To highlight the existing grotesque scenario of the society Colson quotes from the cover story on ethics from Time Magazine, â€Å"Hypocrisy, betrayal and greed unsettle a nation’s soul,† mentions The Washington Post that â€Å"common decency can no longer be described as common,† points to the observation in The New Republic magazine that, â€Å"There is a destructive sense that nothing is true and everything is permitted.†(Colson†¦.) The Press is the barometer of public opinion. Such a grim situation creates a cynical society, as is the case with America today. Crisis of character has affected all

Risk and value management Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk and value management Report - Essay Example Value management helps in developing an awareness for value in an organization and also focuses on targets and objectives seeking solutions to function on practical innovative outcomes. In this case, value management would relate to development of value based systems, of aims and methods in the company TechWatt and developing skills and competencies in the staff members. Maximizing potential of a company by developing structures and functions appropriate to the value management principles would also be recommended. The concept of value is dependent on resources and needs of a company and satisfaction of these needs and resources would be dependent on management style, human dynamics and interaction, external and internal environment and effective methods and tools of achieving outcomes. The value management focus on management style highlights the importance of teamwork and communication, creativity, innovation, with focus on functional and customer approach and requirements. Considering the need for teamwork and cooperation, cooperative operating principles with enhanced meeting facilities and office space for many members of staff would be an important aspect of value management. Enhancing facilities for interaction and communication among members is very important and could be emphasized. Teamwork, communication as well as external and internal c onditions and managers can consider value management perspectives to influence these conditions. However means of achieving this outcome would relate to better business decision making with improved services and products, better competitiveness, value culture and common knowledge, with development of multitask and multidisciplinary teamwork. The benefits of value management with the technological sector as relates to TechWatt would be associated with provision of services in public and private sectors. The people who could remain involved in this aspect of management

Financial Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Services - Essay Example The paper tells that economic activities, financial services, and banking have experienced quite a few changes in the last couple of decades. As the industrial activities see an upsurge on the global scale, it requires more funds to sustain the upsurge together with enough money with the consumer, for being able to use those products and services from the industry. The institutions, in turn, are supposed to make their operations and services attractive enough for the industry and the customer. The value that is addition done by both operations management and operations strategy happens to be fundamental to any organization. The articles mentioned in the paper have one thing in common; they underline the need for effective management of financial aspects of a business. Providing services or goods are the basic forms of operational activities. All organizations try to provide a combination of products and services, using available sources with them. Opening a bank account, taking a mea l in a restaurant, visiting a hospital, buying pair shoes, ensuring a vehicle, a hotel stay etc. are all operations activities and their management is central to the successful provisioning of goods and services. Such value addition helps the banks and financial institutions help in making them friendly institutions to the customer base at large. Marketing consists of the strategies and tactics used to identify, create, and maintain satisfying relationships with customers that result in value for both the customer and the marketer. Relationship management, the very basis of running financial services, asks for earning the loyalty of customer. This in turn calls for keeping the workforce motivated enough, while extending valuable services to the customers. The global economy has made it almost mandatory for retail stores, banks, financial institutions etc. that an effective strategy is adopted for managing the workforce and the diversity at the organisation so that everybody is able to enjoy a better working environment and the customer too feels valued. This helps the company in taking on the competitors with fullest potential. The bank (or any company for that matter) can acquire competitive advantage on its rivals on account of marketing efforts, brand building, value creation, innovation, supply chain management, operational efficiencies etc. But more important is to sustain the advantage. The value configuration helps in sustaining the advantage. It describes how value is created in a company for its customers, how the most important business processes function to create value for customers and the way a particular company/ organization conducts its business. In this study

Risk and value management Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk and value management Report - Essay Example Value management helps in developing an awareness for value in an organization and also focuses on targets and objectives seeking solutions to function on practical innovative outcomes. In this case, value management would relate to development of value based systems, of aims and methods in the company TechWatt and developing skills and competencies in the staff members. Maximizing potential of a company by developing structures and functions appropriate to the value management principles would also be recommended. The concept of value is dependent on resources and needs of a company and satisfaction of these needs and resources would be dependent on management style, human dynamics and interaction, external and internal environment and effective methods and tools of achieving outcomes. The value management focus on management style highlights the importance of teamwork and communication, creativity, innovation, with focus on functional and customer approach and requirements. Considering the need for teamwork and cooperation, cooperative operating principles with enhanced meeting facilities and office space for many members of staff would be an important aspect of value management. Enhancing facilities for interaction and communication among members is very important and could be emphasized. Teamwork, communication as well as external and internal c onditions and managers can consider value management perspectives to influence these conditions. However means of achieving this outcome would relate to better business decision making with improved services and products, better competitiveness, value culture and common knowledge, with development of multitask and multidisciplinary teamwork. The benefits of value management with the technological sector as relates to TechWatt would be associated with provision of services in public and private sectors. The people who could remain involved in this aspect of management

Business accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business accounting - Essay Example Methodologies Used A preliminary literature study enables a research to get a feel of the topic to be covered (Goddard & Melville 2007: 19). Thus, secondary research has been undertaken after the identification of the research topic and the specific industry to focus on. The researcher has utilised textbooks written by renowned experts in the field of accounting for the purpose of gathering information that would be confirmed or negated in the later part of the research when the interviews with selected parties have been concluded and the results thereof have been orderly put together. After doing some secondary research, the particulars of the enterprise to be made subject of the research were next planned out. Finding the right enterprise was, indeed, a challenge that had to be dealt with. After all, managers or owners of business enterprises are usually the kind of people who are busy and are keen on never wasting their time on unimportant things. They also are likely to turn down the proposition to have their enterprises covered in a research paper such as this, especially if they see that it offers them no personal or commercial advantage. (Saunders, etc. 2007: 5) Requests that interviews be granted were sent and upon obtaining such permission, the researcher next worked on composing the questions to be asked. It has been established that in the conduct of interviews, a researcher must keep in mind what it is like to be in the shoes of the subjects interviewed (Andrews 2003: 1). Doing this would serve as an effective way to check on the quality of questions asked and the manner in which they are asked. Only relevant questions must be asked and a polite manner must be consistently adopted throughout the interview. These inputs from relevant sources have served to guide the researcher throughout the interviewing processes that had to be carried out as an integral part of this research. Interview answers - which represent data gathered from primary sources - then had to be compared with the information gathered from the textbooks - which, in turn, represent data from secondary sources. Similarities and differences were processed to get to findings and to deliver the results of this research. Results The subject of the research is one of the small-sized diners of London that is called "Sunday Diners." Located in the busy district of the city, it caters to college students and young professionals who drop by for quick meals or drinks on their way to school or to work. The diner's accountant and owner both graciously consented to be interviewed as their unique way to contribute to an important school project of one of their regular customers - the researcher. The latter undertook the interview procedures by visiting the diner during its less hectic hours for a week. The accountant, Miss Elizabeth Jones, maintains the books all by herself. She does the cash register, the cash disbursement register, the journal voucher, the general ledger an d summarizes them all monthly through the generated financial statements - the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of changes in cash position. As if she does not yet have her hands full, Miss Jones also takes care of the subsidiary ledgers for both the accounts receivable and accounts payable of the diner. It is a good thing that the bank reconciliation statement does not anymore have to get in the way of adjusted cash balances. This is

A Gllance At Information And Communication Technology Essay Example for Free

A Gllance At Information And Communication Technology Essay Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an important tool in all aspects of life. With the development of technology, the introduction of ICT as a tool has essentially brought tremendous revolution to the practices and procedures of nearly all forms of endeavor within business and governance during the past decades. Consequently, the importance of ICT project management cannot be overemphasized since it is the catalyst for successfully carrying out the ICT project. A critical research on the factors influencing the performance of ICT has been conducted as well as the introduction of different evaluation models or frameworks, which are used determine if an ICT project is successfully implemented. The last but not the least, a conclusion and a recommendation are given to prove that the potential values and benefits will be brought by elaborately analyzing those related factors before implementation and regularly evaluation on the ICT project. Table of content Introduction Recently, the role of Information and communication technology (ICT) has become more and more important in any forms of organizations and businesses. According to Daniels (2002) ICT has evolved to be one of the basic tool but pervasive among the public within such a short time. Besides, understanding the operational mechanism of ICT and mastering the fundamental skills and concepts of ICT are regarded as the basic knowledge that people now should equip with. However, it seems that many people have the wrong perceptions of what ICTs are; it’s commonly that ICTs generally be referred to ‘computers and computing related activities’ before the definition of ICT officially clarified by a United Nations report (1999). Also, according to UNESCO ICT could be understood in the way that which is the combination of ‘Informatics technology’ with other related technology, such as communication technology in particular. In other words, ICT is a more extended than information technology (IT), ICT not only emphasizes the technology itself, but also highlights the unified communications and the integration of telecommunications, computers; furthermore, by using these products such as the enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, users will be able to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. Now, we can find the radio broadcasts, audio conferencing, teleconferencing, email, interactive voice response system, audiocassettes and CD ROMs etc., are vari ous kinds of ICT products available, and those ICT products have been used for different purposes in our daily life, work environment, or common business practices. There are more and more people become aware of the benefits and efficiency brought by the ICT. With that in mind, people are starting paying more attentions on the ICT management issues, such as how to better manage ICT projects, what are those key factors determining the performance of ICT project, or how to adequately evaluate the performance of ICT project. Discussion Just as the other project management is, there are various success/failure factors related to the ICT project management. Here we discuss the roles of attitudes and the alignment between ICT and business, which are regarded as two of the most important key factors in ICT project management. A corresponding literature review is also preformed in order to better understand the background. The Roles of Attitudes Based on recent researches on the acceptance and use of ICT project, and related ICT design and development, ICT only brings values to the organization if it is accepted, applied and widely applied by those targeted users. From one of the research (Zhang, P. 2007), the author mentioned two different theories, which the inconformity between these two theories lays in the concepts behind and effects behavioral intention. The theories mentioned are Attitude toward ICT as an object (ATO) and Attitude toward using ICT as a behavior (ATB). By definition, ATO is â€Å"a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor† (Eagly et al. 1998) or, as a combination of evaluative judgments about an object (Crites et al. 1994), while ATB is defined as â€Å"an individual’s positive or negative feelings (evaluative affect) about performing the target behavior.† (Fishbein et al. 1975) And the conceptual confusions whether attitudes play important role in the context of ICT project acceptance and use has been clarified, and there is an interesting evidence showing that the roles of attitudes can change as the users’ use of the ICT increases. The Alignment between business and ICT The literature related to the information and communication technology (ICT) demonstrated that alignment between ICT and business will influence the business performance and effectiveness of the organization in a positive way. (Cumps, B., Viaene, S., Dedene, G., Vandenbulcke, J 2006) Furthermore, the alignment of business and ICT of an organization is one of the fundamental sustainable factors, which can also be an advantage for an organization. In that case, the organizations should consider establishing specific ICT management routines in order to obtain better alignment performance scores. Since the role of ICT cannot be underestimated, more and more people want to know whether the ICT really brings values, whether the ICT substantially improved the efficiency, or whether the ICT works as expected. Based on the research, there are several more comprehensive ICT management capability maturity framework developed, such as the ICT management capability maturity framework and ICT Per formance Reference Model. The differences between these two frameworks or models are the focus and the content. ICT management capability maturity framework The framework is a ‘spider diagram’, which includes seven indicators: ICT Applications, Business-ICT relationship, ICT strategy alignment, ICT user profile, ICT managerial paradigm, ICT governance and ICT organization. Before applying the ICT management capability maturity framework, the users should firstly define the critical processes of their ICT management for each indicator. For each indicator, there are specific process-orientated evaluation standards, and the users should make judgments for each standard to see whether it fits to the organization’s characters, needs, and specific industry. For each applied standard, there are different dimensionalities to assess the maturity of capability. The key function of this framework is to be used as an evaluating tool and a improvement roadmaps that can point out directions for the senior management on ICT and business management in strategies planning in order to sustainably improve, develop, and manage the ICT capability in support of optimized business value delivery. From this capability maturity framework, we can clearly see the ICT management capability maturity of an organization as well as its improvement footprint. At the same time, with the use of such framework, the organization can be evaluated on its overall ICT management capability, the comparison analysis between different organizations can be conducted, and even the industrial benchmark can als o be made to see the ranking of the organization in the certain industry. ICT Performance Reference Model ICT Performance Reference Model is a model using the reference model principles in the area of ICT management. For better understanding of the meaning of reference model, here the definition of the reference model that â€Å"Reference model contains relevant structures and relationships among the model elements (process structures, levels, document structures) and also the predefined knowledge (best practice examples) already included in these structures.† is used. ICT Performance Reference Model combines the strengths of mathematical and data modeling techniques for its structure and knowledge management principles for its content; namely, it represents the best practices and knowledge in the formalized model structure, and therefore allows easier knowledge replication. The framework of ICT Performance Reference Model includes ICT Management Process, ICT Performance management Methodologies, ICT Performance Measurement Processes, ICT Performance Measures and ICT Performance m anagement Tools and Applications. The performance of ICT project is then be evaluated through these dimensions. With the implication of ICT Performance Reference Model, it would be easier to address ICT management related issues including application functionality overlap, technology and knowledge heterogeneity, and constantly changing business pressures. Conclusion From the discussion part, we can see that there are different success/failure factors relate to the Information and Communication Technology project management. Each factor cannot be left out from consideration whenever applying an ICT project, namely, the importance of each factor cannot be overestimated, or there would possibly result in an unpleasant outcome. On the other hand, it is also necessary to have the ICT project to be reviewed, or assessed the related management capability maturity periodically. With the regular evaluation, the organization will have better understanding about the current state of the implementation of ICT project, the acceptance level of related personnel, the operation results compared to expected results, and the continuing alignment with organization’s strategies. Recommendations As we all know that the management of ICT in the enterprise has been increasing in importance and nowadays it is one of the critical success factors of any type of business. In order to ensure sustainable growing of an organization, the use of ICT cannot be avoidable. After the careful research, I recommend the organization should look into every success/failure factors corresponding with the ICT project before implementation, which will largely reduce the risk of carrying out a project and ending in nothing. At the same time, with careful elaboration on each success/failure factors, the organization will have better understanding of its status quo, its strengths and weakness, which can be a great headstone for the design and implementation of the ICT project. In addition to the prior-art research, the ongoing assessment is also important for an ICT project management. In that case, the organization should choose adequate evaluation model or framework with some customized changes in order to fit into the needs of the organization. By doing the regular inspection, the organization can notice the wrong behavior in time and make certain modifications accordingly. Without such safeguard monitor mechanism, it may be too late when the organization realizes the mistakes happening. References Becker, J., Knackstedt, R., Pà ¶ppelbuß, D. W. I. J. (2009). Developing maturity models for IT management. Business Information Systems Engineering, 1(3), 213-222. Cumps, B., Viaene, S., Dedene, G., Vandenbulcke, J. (2006, January). An empirical study on business/ICT alignment in European organisations. InSystem Sciences, 2006. HICSS06. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on (Vol. 8, pp. 195a-195a). IEEE. Donnellan, B., Sheridan, C., Curry, E. (2011). A capability maturity framework for sustainable information and communication technology. IT professional, 13(1), 33-40. Novotnà ½, O. (2009). ICT performance reference model in the context of corporate performance management systems. IDIMT-2009 System and Humans–A complex Relationship. Linz: Trauner Verlag Universitat, 13-16. Silvius, A. G. (2009, April). Business and IT Alignment: What We Know and What We Dont Know. In Information Management and Engineering, 2009. ICIME09. International Conference on (pp. 558-563). IEEE. Zhang, P., Aikman, S. (2007). Attitudes in ICT acceptance and use. In Human-Computer Interaction. Interaction Design and Usability (pp. 1021-1030). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Thor: Comparison of Myths and Comic Books

Thor: Comparison of Myths and Comic Books The modern day image of a superhero consists of either Superman or Batman riding in a high-speed car and swinging off of buildings hundreds of feet from the ground, desperately trying to save the innocent victim. A Norse God with long blonde hair, a winged metal helmet, and a bright red cape with blue leggings is probably not an ordinary image being pictured in ones head. Superheroes come in all varieties, shapes, and forms, but behind each superhero lies a secret to why they were created. The reasons for creation range from events that previously occurred in history to recent changes in todays society. Comic book superheroes were indeed influenced by history, but the comic book superheroes also continually influence history itself. This reciprocal influence continues to affect the generations of comic book fans for years on end. Comic book creators have been known for using a strategy to create characters which tend to resemble infamous gods to separate the common ideal mortal heroes from the indestructible immortals. By using this strategy, comic book creators are able to give their characters a fierce outer shell with a scholarly uplift (Reynolds 53). With the creation of the Mighty Thor comic book character in 1962, Lee and Thomas used this strategy perfectly (54). Asgardian characters were just ready-made superheroes waiting to be transformed into the comic-book world (57). Being named one of the most unusual creations in comic book history, Thor truly defined â€Å"†¦the first successful attempt to harness existing mythology on a large scale to construct the mise en scene of a superhero† (54). In relation to history, Thor was the son of Odin, the universal father, and Frigga queen of the gods. His name dates back to ancient Norse Mythology where he was known for his incredible strength and enormous size. This continually amazed the gods (Guerber 59). Recognized as the god of thunder with a magical hammer, he was â€Å"honoured as the highest god in Norway† (60). Thor was always right in the middle of action when it came to battling against raging monsters, deadly giants, and prehistoric forces. There are three main properties that define Thors character when he becomes involved in battle. The first is his infamous hammer Miollnir which symbolizes the crushing skulls of monsters and giants. The second is his belt of strength which when buckled, makes his godlike powers multiply. Last are his iron gloves which he must wear in order to swing his hammer (Page 40). There is a direct correlation between the mythical Thor and the comic-book character the Mighty Thor. From both the physical aspects and the characteristics of their personalities, Norse legends have heavily influenced the modern comic-book superheroes (Knowles 29). The Mighty Thor is visualized as a tall robust man, with strawberry blonde locks, and blue eyes. He also speaks in a very distinct old English accent. An example is when the mighty Thor proclaims, â€Å"Thy work is done, father! Let it be known far and wide that the full might of Mjolnir is restored† (0000). Whereas the mythical Thor is closely described â€Å"†¦as a man in his prime, tall and well formed, with muscular limbs and bristling red hair and beard†¦(Guerber 60).† Both characters also share the same love of being involved in battle, and depend on their mighty hammer. Although, the mythical Thor depends on his hammer for security and power, the Mighty Thor uses his hammer to transform into Don Blake and back into Thor (Page 13). The mythical Thor was also known for his outlandish and dangerous outrages which eventually became uncontrollable. Consequently, his mother sent him away from home and placed him in the care of Vingir and Hlora. This is where his other names â€Å"Vingthor† and â€Å"Hlorridi† derived from (Guerber 59). Much like the mythical Thor being sent away from his homeland, the Mighty Thor was sent away from Asgard to earth as a punishment from his father because of his arrogance (Reynolds 54). From these comparisons one can obviously conclude that the artist, Jack Kirby, was truly fascinated with Norse legends. Since his childhood, Norse legends formed the basis for his imagination and gave him great inspiration when it came to graphically representing the Mighty Thor on paper (Misiroglu 599). History has indeed influenced the creation of the Mighty Thor, but another question should be raised. Has the Mighty Thor influenced history? With the debut of the Mighty Thor in 1962, the hippie era was on the rise. Long hair, bell bottom jeans, and tie-die were some of the trends getting ready to appear. The country was also getting ready to be faced with the Vietnam turmoil which would greatly influence comic-book creators and their story-lines to come. The Mighty Thor has always been known for fighting out against powerful Communists and mad scientists (Knowles 191). Throughout most of the Marvel comic-books, villains were represented as Communists. Some superheroes would actually have to travel straight into the heart of the Viet-Cong for battle. In the famous 1965 series, Journey into the Mystery, the Mighty Thor was found in South Vietnam assisting a group of anti-communist peasants. Both the peasants and Thor were taking on the merciless Viet Cong military. Along the way, Tho r also liberated a Vietnamese family from Communism where he promised a village he would return (Wright 222). With the Vietnam conflict raging among citizens all over the United States, young adolescents were getting ready to burst out. The Mighty Thors heavy anti-communism propaganda, influenced readers of all ages. One way Thor truly influenced the youth culture was actually unintentional towards young men. Preceding a couple of years after the Might Thors debut, his long golden hair would become a fashionable trend. This long hair then became a symbol of rebellion and rage for young people all over the nation (213). The hippie era had begun.

Propaganda and Its Effect on America Essay -- Advertising Advertisemen

Propaganda and Its Effect on America Thesis: Propaganda was a tool that leaders used to get people involved in wars of the past. Propaganda, a term that only reminds people of corruption and manipulation. Others, it reminds of advertising and raising American spirit. Well, they are both right. [â€Å"Propaganda† Pg. 1, sec.1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda. At its root, propaganda is to propagate (spread around) a certain position or point of view, rather than just reporting the facts. Most propaganda is associated with politics or war time. It is used to help unite countries, especially the U.S. in the past. [Pg. 1, sec. 1] Most propaganda that people have heard of came from World War II in Nazi, Germany. They would be surprised to learn that the U.S. has done the same thing in the past. [Pg. 1, sec. 1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before World War I, uninterrupted public support was thought to be critical to all the wartime effort. In 1917, Wilson created the War Aims Committee on Public Information (CPI) to promote World War One Nationally, while advertising America overseas. Under the guidance of a journalist named Creel, the CPI gathered people from different aspects all over the world. The CPI mixed advertising techniques with a refined understanding of human psychology; its efforts represent the first time that a modern government distributed propaganda on such a large scale. It is intriguing that this occurrence, often linked with totalitarianism, emerged in a democratic state. [Pg. 1, sec. 14] Also, being that video was more popular than written propaganda, they begin to make videos. One propaganda video I came across was of an American citizen pretending to be a Japanese man in a very racially discriminating way. The man was obviously a fake Japanese man who was made to look Japanese by using stereotypes and donning a very obviously fake Japanese accent. [â€Å"My Japan† Pg. 2, sec. 2]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The video went on to try and convince Americans at home that Japan was to strong and formidable opponent in the war using Japanese newsreels. By using stereotypes and fear (see â€Å"Types of Propaganda†), America was trying to get America to accept their idea that the war was a good thing. [Pg. 2, sec. 2] Yet another example would be around Pearl Harbor. Right after Pearl Harbor, propaganda helped unite people in ... ...I. They were also a measure to manage inflation by removing money from the economy heated up by war efforts. [Pg. 1] By the end of WWII, over 85 million Americans had invested in war bonds, a number unmatched by any other country; and most of the credit can be given to propaganda. If a country had a mass of supporters it has a better chance of winning then a country that has to fight with only government funding and no supporters. Frankly, it would be a whole easier to strike fear into another country if you have more supporters to go along with a large army of well-trained soldiers. [Pg. 2]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To some people, the only reason we won any war was because of propaganda. They might also consider it sad that we had to manipulate America in order to get support, of course, that is their opinion. Maybe it wasn’t more of manipulation; maybe propaganda could be considered a â€Å"push† rather than a total brainwash. The U.S. is a democracy, and the survival of democracy depends on the ability of people to make decisions based on information; propaganda would be an easy and efficient way to get people this information and therefore give them the choice to support an idea or not. [ Rooij 2]