The eNotes Blog eNotes Book Club OctoberFinds

Book Club OctoberFinds In the event that you’ve been following our accounts on the Instagram, you will have seen us post about our book club a couple of times. As writing specialists, we’re continually on the chase for new and intriguing stories to peruse. That’s why five of us chose to make a book club where every week, we examine another short story, sonnet, or paper. For the period of October, we each picked frequenting short stories to get us in a creepy, Halloweeny soul. On the off chance that you’re searching for understanding proposals, look no further! â€Å"Teatro Grottesco† by Thomas Ligotti Hailed by The Washington Post as â€Å"the trick of the trade in contemporary ghastliness fiction†, Thomas Ligotti seemingly merits this title-in spite of the fact that Id lean toward it if more individuals read and talked about his work. Envision my happiness when our perusing bunch consented to peruse the nominal short story from his assortment Teatro Grottesco. â€Å"The first thing I learned was that nobody envisions the appearance of the Teatro.† We immediately understood that the other thing we were unable to envision was the course our investigation and conversation would take. Regardless of cases that Ligotti has the right to acquire the awfulness mantle from Lovecraft, â€Å"Teatro Grottesco† goes significantly past inestimable frightfulness and Eldritch giants to stretch the limits of our convictions. The composing is scholarly, complex, and connecting with it is additionally baffling, harsh, and confounding. â€Å"In a word, I took pleasure in the falsity of the Teatro stories. Reality they conveyed, assuming any, was immaterial.† Toward the start, we discover that the storyteller, an author of agnostic composition works, is sharing his own Teatro story. All in all, what do we think about his cases that the Teatro stories are great yet their certainties are insignificant? On the off chance that reality of the story is nothing of substance, at that point what is where is the ghastliness? Depend on it; a few scenes are legitimately upsetting, from an instinctive craftsmen painting a twilight night red to a picture takers dreamlike experience at the base camp of T.G. Adventures. Notwithstanding, the frightfulness of these minutes just forms to the existential dread in the long run uncovered. â€Å"You can never foresee the Teatro-or whatever else. You can never realize what you are drawing closer or what is drawing nearer you.† We couldn't exactly finish up exactly what the Teatro really is. The story entices, prods, and inconveniences. Peruse it cautiously, yet realize that â€Å"The delicate dark stars have just started to fill the sky.† - Wes â€Å"The Yellow Sign† by Robert W. Chambers A short story in his bigger assortment The King in Yellow, I chose â€Å"The Yellow Sign† for us to peruse on the grounds that I had recently perused an alternate story in Chambers’s assortment, â€Å"The Mask.† I particularly delighted in the traces of riddle strung all through the piece. Chambers recounts to the story, however he doesn’t overtell-a strategy that kept all of us pondering. â€Å"When I initially observed the guard his back was toward me.† In spite of the fact that he recounts to the story with a demeanor of riddle that kept all of us speculating, we saw that Chambers would in general include a couple of an excessive number of additional subtleties to his story. A few of us felt that these subtleties didn’t essentially add to the story and rather occupied from the â€Å"point† of the short story; this, thus, prompted inquiries regarding what’s â€Å"necessary† in a short story and whether rules for composing are subjective, taking our conversation outside of the domain of the story itself. â€Å"I could tell more, however I can't perceive what assist it with willing be to the world. With respect to me, I am past human assistance or hope.† â€Å"The Yellow Sign† by Robert W. Chambers is an extraordinary short story to peruse in the event that you need to talk about signs and their place in narrating. - Kate â€Å"Bog Girl† by Karen Russell Subsequent to talking with the prophets on what to peruse for example Googling â€Å"good creepy short stories for a book club†-I discovered this short story by Karen Russell, initially distributed in The New Yorker on June 20, 2016. I needed to pick a story by a female writer I realized nobody had perused at this point with, obviously, different strings of fascinating conversation to pull on. As I previously read the story (and what made me eventually pick it), I was envisioning what might occur straightaway and was correct, goodness, about 0% of the time. The account was altogether startling, and, when aggravated with the regular wordsmithing, I alloted it right away. â€Å"In the Iron Age, these marshes were entrances to removed universes, more stunning domains. Divine beings ventured to every part of the lowlands. Divine beings wore crowns of brilliant asphodels, skimming over the purple heather. Presently mechanical collectors rode over the depleted lowlands, brushing the earth into even geometries.† Our gathering especially delighted in the women's activist topics and editorial on female bodies and individual organization just as the fascinating advances utilized by Russell. â€Å"The young ladies had coordinating snacks: lettuce plates of mixed greens, diet confections, diet shakes. They were all envious of how little [the lowland girl] ate.† My preferred piece of the story is the means by which Russell presents Cillian’s Uncle Sean. I’ve since included â€Å"smearing† into my own vocabulary to portray such†¦ smearers. (You know the sort.) â€Å"He spread himself all through their home, his brew rings ghosting over surfaces like fat thumbs on a photo. His words stayed nearby, as well, leaving their cerebrum stain on the air.† There are a great deal of roads of conversation to take with this piece, and we could have effectively discussed it for a few additional hours. I don’t need to part with substantially more, yet this is an energetically suggested, astonishing, and popular piece for your next book club! - Sam â€Å"Winter† by Walter de la Mare Walter de la Mare is most popular as a productive writer, pundit, and anthologist who contributed broadly to the universe of British letters in the mid twentieth century. His short stories, however only here and there read today, remain among his best work. For our book club, I picked de la Mare’s 1922 story â€Å"Winter,† a meager, mysterious story about a man who strolls into a churchyard on a winter’s day and experiences something-or maybe somebody he can't clarify. Toward the beginning of the story, the storyteller discloses to us that â€Å"any occasion in this world-any person so far as that is concerned that appears to wear even the faintest cast or twist of bizarreness, is well-suited to leave an excessively sharp impact on one’s senses.† The story that follows is both a showdown with the uncanny and a testing of the brain. The storyteller continually questions his own faculties and instincts as he attempts to represent the unapproachable. Toward the finish of the story, the storyteller portrays the incomprehensible being: a lovely, celestial figure â€Å"in human similarity [but] not of my sort, nor of my reality.† The being glances in dread upon the storyteller and his human world-the churchyard loaded up with its landmarks of death-and vanishes, coming back to the truth whence it came. The storyteller is left with both an aching to visit that domain and a profound sentiment of mutilation, for the ethereal guest has uncovered the tears and frayed edges of our guide of the real world. In riddling, lovely expressions that accumulate like snow on a fruitless field, de la Mare presents the best sort of extraordinary story: one which lights up the puzzles of our reality. An ideal read for the darkest period of the year. - Zack â€Å"Especially Heinous: 272 Views of Law Order SVU† via Carmen Maria Machado Each scholarly mailing list I’m on has been suggesting Machado’s assortment Her Body and Other Parties for quite a long time, so relegating â€Å"Especially Heinous† was a priggish method to incorporate individual perusing with working environment commitments. â€Å"Especially Heinous† is made out of scene rundowns for 12 anecdotal periods of Law Order: SVU, going long from 4 to more than 150 words. Its sentences incline toward staccato rhythms and are objective-even clinical-as they depict occasions of foolishness and ghastliness. For instance, a scene from season one: â€Å"Misleader†: Father Jones has never contacted a youngster, however when he shuts his eyes around evening time, he despite everything recollects his secondary school sweetheart: her delicate thighs, her lined hands, the manner in which she dropped off that rooftop like a hawk. Highlighted themes: sexual viciousness; fantasy tropes (here, a set of three of traits); an unpleasant picture offering neither setting nor judgment. (Father Jones returns in season three.) I’m not certain this was a story anybody cherished, however it offered a great deal to talk about. The roundabout structure left illustrations, and now and again whole plot focuses, as a rule up to individual translation, estranging some from the account. The objectivity of tone brought about an isolated readership: a few perusers found a ton of silliness in the outright craziness of Machado’s account (the word â€Å"whimsical† was utilized); for other people, that foolishness read as dim and unfavorable, drawing in topics about social obsessions and sexual viciousness. While we all were keen on the story as an activity in structure, its prosperity as a story was still not yet decided as we left the table. â€Å"Especially Heinous† is intriguing. It’s additionally hard (and for me, at any rate, sincerely debilitating) work. I need to return and read it once more, since I recognize what I’m getting into, however book clubs, be cautioned: this is an unpleasant one to release on clueless colleagues. - Caitlin

The Contribution of Religion to Societies and Cultures in the 20th Century.

â€Å"Religion which doesn't affect culture is a toothless tiger. † This statement epitomizes the possibility that if religion didn't affect an individual, it would have a similar impact of a fierce tiger not having the option to apply its power. From the Latin religio (the regard for what is sacrosanct) and religare (to tie, in the feeling of a commitment), the word religion is a sorted out assortment of conviction and practice frameworks, concentrating on what individuals decide to be hallowed or spiritual.Throughout history and social orders over the world, strict pioneers have utilized holy stories, images and conventions trying to give all the more significance to life and to pick up insight through the comprehension of the universe. In each known culture all through hundreds of years, a type of religion is discovered, polished either inside an open way inside a gathering, or in a private authorization. The act of religion can be found through various practices, for examp le, dining experiences and celebrations, God or divine beings, music and craftsmanship, reflection or inception, penance or administration, and different parts of culture.A Study on Religion and its Role on People and Media†¦.In request to pick up knowledge of its commitments inside societies and society, it is critical to see this inquiry with a sociological viewpoint. While a lion's share of individuals accept religion to be an individual procedure, as people groups convictions are exceptionally close to home, religion is likewise viewed as a social foundation. Social researchers perceive that religion exists as a sorted out and coordinated allowance of faith based expectations and practices fixated on fundamental social needs and qualities. Along these lines, religion is a social widespread found in all social groups.The meaning of a general public is a network of individuals living in a specific locale and having shared traditions, laws, and associations. Living inside a cu ltural range, we are acclimated with acknowledge or dismiss the thoughts of religion where society creates and shows. While considering the effect of religion on a general public this can have both a positive or negative effect. â€Å"Religious people group live by similarity: they see associations among God and humankind, between the profound and the material, and between the human people who structure the more extensive community.They esteem connections and setting and agreeable request. † Archbishop Thomas Collins. Religion examines the very easy to refute addresses, for example, ‘the importance of life’. This leads into more profound inquiries, for example, â€Å"Who am I? Is there eternal life? Is there a God? † Although these inquiries may appear to be difficult to reply, for people it brings a feeling of solace and having a place in scan for those answers. It brings an individual self-esteem and satisfaction, and the sentiment of something to live f or.This is one of the principle reasons individuals choose to follow a specific religion †to bring them self-joy and to do directly by their religion, hence contributing decidedly to society. The general commitment of religion is about excellence. In writing, engineering, painting, mold and even film we find the thrilling and boundless profundity of excellence throughout everyday life. Under the subject of excellence, religion enters subtopics that stresses the talent of magnificence, elevates excellence to upgrade human prospering, and supports the reaction of stunningness and gratitude.The Bible is as yet thought to be probably the best work of writing ever. This hallowed content is widespread, being able to connect with a universal crowd. The Bible can fabricate a network as societies discover these accounts relatable. Likewise, the magnificence in engineering found in spots of love is remarkable. This shows the strict creative mind perceives the age in the network before th e excellence of such structures, for example, the Sistine Chapel, drawing in a great many travelers every day to appreciate the beauty.Another significant commitment of religion to society is the advancement of equity through the quest for basic great. Worldwide figures, for example, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, and Nelson Mandela are heavenly agents of religion who helped change severe social, financial and political frameworks †profiting there society, yet societies around the globe. In spite of the fact that religion can affect society in a very positive viewpoint, it can likewise be utilized as a manipulative device for its promotion.It can energize brutality when strict devotees are persuaded that their perspectives are being tested, prompting a flare-up in wars. An ongoing model was related with Islamic Terrorists being connected to inconsistent brutality in Uzbekistan. A godly man, Ulugbek Kodirov, entered the USA with the arrangement of killing Obama as he à ¢â‚¬Ëœknew this was what he should accomplish for Islam’. He expressed he was acting at the heading of an Islamic dread gathering in his nation of origin. While examining this circumstance, the manipulative capacity that eligion can engage over an individual is radical. In the event that it has the ability to affect the individual, clearly the general public will get included. Geologically little societies inside Iran/Iraq can be massively impacted by religion, as their societies would concentrate on the principle establishments that it gives. Another case of this is the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), an activist development which was working in northern Uganda, South Sudan and entered the Central African Republic.The group’s principle wellspring of philosophy is Christian fundamentalism; in any case, these devotees under the gathering head Joseph Kony (who declares himself as the representative for God) have been blamed for across the board human rights infringe ment, including murder, mutilation, youngster sex servitude and kidnappings. This is an away from of where the commitment of religion adversely impacts a culture †as a little society is progressively powerless in representing these fierce wrongdoings, as their insight into the outside world is controlled. The way that religion in these kinds of social orders is observed, doesn’t permit the person to rehearse by oneself.Sacred writings are altered to suit the strict tyrants sees, disciplines are guaranteed when one worships effectively, and it is extremely uncommon for the capacity of people to secretly revere their own convictions. â€Å"There are those that advocate that the voice of religion be quieted, or if nothing else consigned to the simply private circle. There are the individuals who contend that the open festival of celebrations, for example, Christmas ought to be debilitated. These are stressing indications of an inability to acknowledge not just the privileg es of devotees to opportunity of still, small voice and opportunity of religion, yet in addition the real job of religion in the open square. Pope Benedict taking everything into account, religion is the spine to our general public. Despite the fact that it has the ability to contrarily affect societies, it likewise can share understanding into the group of people yet to come strict pioneers. Numerous religions send over a similar message, having similar qualities and strategies for venerating. At the point when these qualities are accepted, it can give energy in various societies, giving people reestablished trust and an uplifting point of view.

Talk Therapy as a Treatment Option for Phobias

Talk Therapy as a Treatment Option for Phobias Phobias Treatment Print Talk Therapy as a Treatment Option for Phobias By Lisa Fritscher Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics. Learn about our editorial policy Lisa Fritscher Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on June 05, 2017 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on September 19, 2019 Tom Merton / Getty Images More in Phobias Treatment Causes Symptoms and Diagnosis Types Talk therapy is one of the most common treatment options for phobias, although the specifics will vary according to the client’s needs and the therapist’s school of thought. What Is Talk Therapy? Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, is based on the core idea that talking about the things that are bothering you can help clarify them and put them in perspective. Some talk therapists follow a specific school of thought, such as cognitive theory or behaviorism. Others use a more eclectic approach, drawing techniques and principles from several different theories. For specific phobias, a mental health professional (like a psychologist or psychiatrist) may use a combination of cognitive and behavioral strategies that includes exposure to the feared object or situation in their treatment plan.   Effectiveness of Talk Therapy vs. Medication Therapy There is an age-old debate in the mental health community regarding the usefulness of talk therapy as opposed to medication therapy. According to the medical model, mental disorders are the result of physiological causes and should be treated by medication, surgery, or other medical processes. Proponents of talk therapy believe that mental disorders are largely based on reactions to one’s environment. Therefore, they can be treated through discussion, resolution of conflict, behavioral changes, and changes in thinking. Today, most members of the mental health community feel that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Some conditions may be caused by physiological changes, while others are the result of conflict and unhealthy reactions. Most issues are based on a combination of factors. Many therapists consider both medical and talk therapy solutions when devising a treatment plan. Goals of Therapy The ultimate goal of any type of therapy is to help the client deal more successfully with a disorder or a situation. The specific treatment goals depend on the individual client, the therapist’s theories, and the situation at hand. The goal may be concrete, such as quitting smoking, or more abstract, such as anger management. When talk therapy is used for phobia treatment, there are generally two goals. One is to help the client overcome the fear. The second goal is to help the client learn to manage any remaining fear  so that he or she can live a functional life. Some forms of talk therapy have a third goal. In psychoanalysis and related therapies, the goal is to discover and resolve the underlying conflict that caused the phobia or other disorder. In interpersonal therapies, the goal is to resolve problems in interpersonal relationships that have resulted from or contributed to the phobia or other disorder. Find Help With the 9 Best Online Therapy Programs Progression of Talk Therapy Talk therapy begins with an initial appointment, often referred to as an intake interview. During this appointment, the client will describe what brings him or her to therapy. This is known as the presenting problem. The therapist will then ask questions to help clarify the nature of the problem, and its duration and severity. He will also try to determine the client’s goals for therapy. By the end of the first session, the therapist will have the beginnings of a treatment plan, although many therapists will wait until the second session to provide a more formalized plan to the client. Some therapists choose to maintain the treatment plan as a reference document for themselves  but do not present it to the client unless requested. Despite the treatment plan, clients should always remain in control of the progression of their therapy. The issue may require more or fewer sessions than originally planned. Family members or friends may be invited to join in certain sessions. Auxiliary resources, such as support groups, may be recommended. Group Talk Therapy Although talk therapy is most commonly performed one on one, group talk therapy can also be effective. In traditional group therapy, the existence of the group plays a key role. A therapeutic milieu is an environment is created within the group that provides structure, support, and a feeling of safety. Within a safe and trusting environment, group members often can express feelings, confront their own negative personality traits, and experiment with behavioral changes. Of course, it takes time and effort to build a sense of community. The popularity of brief therapy has led to a different style of group therapyâ€"the seminar. Time-limited to a single evening or perhaps a weekend, seminars could be seen as group-style individual therapy. These short group sessions use individual cognitive-behavioral therapy methods that are presented to several people at once. The group setting is largely irrelevant, beyond the confidence that may develop from seeing others successfully battle their own issues. What You Need to Know About Psychotherapy

Factors Influencing The Sources Of Finance - 4062 Words

FINANCE IN HOSPITALITY TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Task-1 Sources of Finance in Business Factors influencing the sources of finance being chosen by a business. Costs involved in sourcing of finance to fund any business and services and recording them in financial statement. Advantages and disadvantages of internal generated income with external sources of finance. Task-2 2.1 Discuss the cost card for the bike, ?Mount movers? and determine the least amount in $ to be accepted from a customer for a unit of this product. 2.2. Calculate the total profit and the sales value for 200 units of a bike, assuming the Iron Breakers Ltd has 25% mark-up policy. 2.3. Evaluate methods of controlling stock and cash in a business and services environment and prepare a bank reconciliation based on the above information as well as making any necessary corrections to the bank. 2.4. Advise ?Sweet hands? Ltd on the optimum z` (EOQ) of inventory needed to be ordered in order to maximise profit. Task 3 3.1. Assess the source and structure of the trial balance and state the process for constructing a trial balance. 3.2 Prepare Income statement (Profit and Loss Accounts) for the year ended 31 March 2015 and Statement of financial position (Balance sheet) of Flying Flowers Ltd as at 31 March 2015 from its trial balance and the adjustments.` 3.3 Explain the importance of a cash budget to Life 4 Living Plc management. 3.4 Prepare a cash budget and adviceShow MoreRelatedLabia Essay931 Words   |  4 PagesIsland 43.6 Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka (2015), Consumer Finances Socio – Economic Survey. Figure: 1.1, Distribution of Households who own Bicycle for Transport (%) by District Source: Household Income and Expenditure Survey – 2009/10, Department of census and Statistics Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka. Almost all the households in the study area own at least one bicycle, which is an important means of transport. 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The Names and Dates of the Tragedies of Euripides

Euripides (c. 484-407/406) was an ancient writer of Greek tragedy in Athens and a part of the third of the famous trio with Sophocles and Aeschylus. As a Greek tragic dramatist,  he wrote about women and mythological themes as well as both together, such as Medea and Helen of Troy. Euripides was born in Attica and lived in Athens most of his life despite spending most of his time in Salamis. He enhanced the importance of intrigue in tragedy and passed away in Macedonia at the court of King Archelaus. Discover the innovation of Euripides, his background and review the list of tragedies and their dates. Innovations, Comedy,  and Tragedy As an innovator, some aspects of Euripides tragedy seem more at home in comedy than in tragedy. During his lifetime, Euripides innovations were often met with hostility, especially in the way his traditional legends portrayed the moral standards of the gods. Virtuous men appeared as more moral than the gods. Although Euripides portrayed women sensitively, he nonetheless had a reputation as a woman-hater; His characters range from victim  to empowered through stories of revenge, retaliation, and even murder. Five of the more popular tragedies he wrote includes  Medea, The Bacchae, Hippolytus, Alcestis, and The Trojan Women. These texts explore Greek mythology and look into the dark side of humanity, such as stories including suffering and revenge. List of Tragedies Over 90 plays were written by Euripides, but unfortunately only 19 have survived.  Here is a list of the tragedies of Euripides (ca. 485-406 B.C.) with approximate dates:   The Cyclops (438 B.C.)  An ancient Greek satyr play and the fourth part of Euripides tetralogy.Alcestis (438 B.C.)  His oldest surviving work about the devoted wife of Admetus, Alcestis, who sacrificed her life and replaced his in order to bring her husband back from the dead.Medea (431 B.C.)  This story is based on the myth of Jason and Medea first created in 431 BC. Opening in conflict, Medea is an enchantress who becomes abandoned by her husband Jason as he leaves her for someone else for political gain.  To take revenge, she kills the  children they had together.The Heracleidae (ca. 428 B.C.)  Meaning Children of Heracles, this tragedy based in Athens follows Heracles children. Eurystheus seeks to kill the children to keep them from performing revenge on him and they try to stay protected.Hippolytus (428 B.C.)  This Greek play is a tragedy based on the son of Theseus, Hippolytus, and can be interpreted to be about vengeance, love, jealousy, death and more.Andromache (ca. 427 B.C.)  This tragedy out of Athens shows the life of Andromache as a slave after the Trojan War. The drama focuses on the conflict between Andromache and Hermione, her masters new wife. Additional Tragedies: Hecuba (425 B.C.)The Suppliants (421 B.C.)Heracles (ca. 422 B.C.)Ion (ca. 417 B.C.)The Trojan Women (415 B.C.)Electra (413 B.C.)Iphigenia in Tauris (ca. 413 B.C.)Helena (412 B.C.)The Phoenician Women (ca. 410 B.C.)Orestes (408 B.C.)The Bacchae (405 B.C.)Iphigenia in Aulis (405 B.C.)

Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning Violates The 5th Amendment...

Tiffany Mason December 7, 2016 BUS 201 – Brown The Unconstitutionality of Inclusionary Zoning Mandatory inclusionary zoning violates the 5th and 14th Amendments. Lack of affordable housing across the country is an issue that has gained national attention, and some areas in the country have resorted to zoning strategies to address the problem. For example, builders in Seattle who take advantage of the Incentive Zoning program will receive additional floor area in exchange for including affordable housing units in their developments (Director’s Rule, 2015). In contrast, mandatory inclusionary zoning is the unconstitutional practice of requiring private developers to include a specified percentage of affordable housing in their projects (Lerman, 2006). Mandatory inclusionary zoning violates the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment. It also violates the life, liberty and property interest protections of Due Process as well as the equal protection provisions under the 14th Amendment. Mandatory inclusionary zoning violates the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment. The Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment allows for the government to exercise eminent domain. Simply put, the government exercise police power to â€Å"take† property from a private owner for a public use to meet a public need, provided that the private owner is properly compensated (Cross Miller, 2012). Successful arguments against a â€Å"taking† would focus on whether there was a legitimate purpose for the taking,

Tourism and Travel System Design and Verification

Question: Describe about the Report for Tourism and Travel of System Design and Verification. Answer: Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to develop an application for tourists in Vietnam. The hospitality industry is growing massively in this country. Nowadays, tourists are facing massive issues with misleading information by the local people (Mowforth and Munt 2015). Moreover, local businesses are taking advantage of their low knowledge in the Vietnamese market, and this is an unethical behavior. This assignment will investigate this issue closely and apart from that, it will suggest a cohesive solution to the problem. The application software designed for this issue will be known as Welcome Vietnam. Identified problem In Vietnam, tourists face difficulties while communicating with the local people and vendors. Native people of this county do not understand English and therefore, tourists face a language barrier while communicating with people. Apart from that, the local vendors of this country misguide the visitors in order to increase their profit (Mai and Smith 2015). The most important issue that visitors faced is the transport issue. Public transport in this country is not much accessible. Local people use their personal vehicles to travel within the city (Horner and Swarbrooke 2016). Thus, tourists face enormous difficulties when it comes to traveling within the city. In addition to the travelling inconveniences, they also face problems regarding finding their preferred food stores. On the top of it, most of the restaurants do not have any fixed rate card and this in turn increases their expenses. Vietnam is a repeat tourism destination and therefore, it becomes the most attractive tourist destination for international and domestic tourists. However, the increasing trend of cheating faced by international tourists is harming the market environment (Kusakabe et al. 2015). There are different tourist attractions in this destination such as Cu Chi tunnels, Hoan Kiem Lake and War Remnants Museum. Apart from that, heritage places sea beaches, high quality resorts and food are the main attractions of this destination. Moreover, tourists often come across challenges in terms of lack of knowledge regarding travel routes and actual market rates (Nguyen 2016). However, challenges for the local tourists are lower in construct with international tourists, because international tourists face linguistic barrier as well. Proposed solution In order to help the local and international tourist of Vietnam, it would be effective to develop an application including efficient features that can address these particular issues. For example, an application that can be a tour guide for the people. Here, the proposed solution is Welcome Vietnam. This application would greet international and domestic tourists and would help them throughout their journey. The application can be downloaded onto tablets, laptops and mobile phones. The application will be compatible with different software platforms like Android and iOS (Ghobadi 2015). It will make sure that this strategy is benefiting every tourist in Vietnam. The goal of developing this application is to support the tourists with adequate information regarding rode direction, restaurant location and other details regarding local vendors and their current charges. Additionally, this application will assist the visitors with information regarding best places in Vietnam. For example, it will show details regarding the authentic restaurants and shopping destination. The application will be connected with Google Map and therefore, finding locations will never be a challenge for the visitors (McCann and McCloskey 2015). Additionally, tourists will be assisted with a local toll free helpline number in order to make their experience hassle free. The support executive of this helpline portal will assist the tourists in different languages such as Russian, Chinese, French and English. In this manner, the language barrier will be eliminated. Following is the pictorial presentation of the proposed solution. Figure 1: Interface of the application (Source: Created by the Author) Implementation In order to implement the solution, it would be effective to develop the software for different operating system platforms. For example, this application will be available for both the iOS and Android users. Thus, this will make the software accessible to a larger section of the tourist population. In order to communicate with the domestic and international tourists, the management will take help of social media website (Liu et al. 2016). It would be beneficial to open a Facebook page for the application in order to reach out to the stakeholders. In this manner, it will be possible to assist the tourists throughout their journey. Apart from that, it will help the users to troubleshoot any technical malfunctions. For example, it is possible that a technical malfunction may occur during the journey. In such a situation, the management will support the users to find out the best possible way in which they can resolve the issue (Gao, Huang and Han 2015). Moreover, it will also help the m anagement to improve the application as per users feedback. There will be a feedback section in the application, which will allow users to write comments. In this manner, it will be possible to adopt continuous innovation. Every user needs to sign up with their email id and phone number. Apart from that, they can connect their social media accounts with the application is order to get access. The application will allow the users to stay logged in even when they are not using the application (Nilsson et al. 2015). It would increase the session duration of the system. In order to protect private information like phone number and email address, this application will also use an end-to-end encryption system. When it comes to the device model, this application will be compatible with a range of Smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops (Alur, Henzinger and Vardi 2015). Geographically, this application would provide adequate information regarding Vietnam. In order to test the application, a real life testing process would be implemented. In this process, developers will release the application in Google Play Store and other application stores. Primarily, the company will encourage local people to download the application for their personal interest. In order to promote the application in the primary stage, the company will adopt rewarding strategy. After releasing the application in market, the management will gather feedbacks through survey processes. Apart from that, the company will allow the users to leave comments regarding the software after using it. After getting the feedbacks, the management will rectify the identified bugs and improve the application for further use. Apart from that, the management will keep updating the software accordingly with the operating system updates. In order to improve the Google Map accessibility, the management will improve the framework and graphical user interface (Trinh and Ryan 2016). In this manner, the application will be tested within two to three months of launching. After that, the application will be available in international market. However, continuous development and improvement will play a major role. Review Process Keeping a track of customer visits and number of time the application has been downloaded, can help in measuring the success of this application. In order to measure the success, the management will incorporate a tool, which would help to count the total number of visits per day. It will help the management to measure the success rate on a daily basis (Tisdell 2016). In this manner, it will be possible to understand whether the success graph is showing a fall or not. Moreover, as the management will also be creating a Facebook page, it would be effective in calculating the number of people following. Thus, by performing this activity for 3 to 6 months the management would be able to understand the success rate of this application. Theoretical Concepts In the technology industry, the market is full of competition. Various corporations are developing application software for almost all software platforms. Therefore, product promotion is becoming the most necessary factor in this sector (Ly and Xiao 2016). The application will assist the tourists regarding a range of aspects such as taxi fares, street food retailers and restaurants. Therefore, it would be important to conduct an effective marketing promotion in order to increase awareness among the stakeholders. Following are the marketing procedures for increasing awareness regarding Welcome Vietnam. Marketing strategies Social media advertisement: The management would promote the newly developed application through social media in order to get positive response. In order to promote the product through social media, the management will create video and banner advertisements (Kusakabe et al. 2015). Banner advertisements will help to share all related features of the application with the viewers. Apart from that, it will also measure the number of viewers through this process. However, under video advertisement, viewers may face difficulties due to low bandwidth (Kropinova, Zaitseva and Moroz 2015). As discussed earlier, management will create a social media page in order to incorporate all the information regarding the application. Through this page, it will be possible to reach to the targeted population within a short span of time. Mobile marketing: The management would implement mobile marketing in order to increase awareness about the newly developed application. In this marketing movement, the management will conduct SMS marketing in order to aware people about the availability of the application (Mowforth and Munt 2015). In the primary stage, SMS marketing will help to promote the application in the domestic market. Therefore, the management will easily conduct the real life testing process. After the competition of this process, the company would encourage the users to give their feedback regarding the difficulties that they are facing. Paid advertisement campaign: In this marketing movement, the management will allow third party vendors to promote the applications through their website. Apart from that, the management will use mobile application tracking software in order to track the number of downloads from the vendors website (Mai and Smith 2015). In this manner, the management will be able to push the product as well as can track the performance at the same time. Moreover, this process is cost effective for the management. Reward for sharing: Nowadays, social sharing is one of the best marketing strategies for mobile applications. In this process, the management will reward the existing user who shares the application with others. This process will help build a social word of mouth marketing process (Horner and Swarbrooke 2016). In order to reward users, the management will provide mobile cash, shopping coupons and other facilities. This process will increase the download frequency in an effective manner. However, some people may remove the application from their system right after being rewarded. It will increase product awareness within short time span. Third Party Promotion: In technology industry, third party marketing is becoming the most effective marketing strategy. Welcome Vietnam will assist the users regarding taxi fares, street food retailers and restaurant (Hildebrandt and Isaac 2015). Therefore, it would be beneficial for the management to promote this application through these sectors. The management would allow the alliances in order to promote the application in primary stage. This marketing movement will be cost effective. Competitive Advantages Nowadays, various technology corporations have developed a range of mobile applications. Therefore, it can be said that there are many substitutes of Welcome Vietnam in the market. However, the management needs to promote the usefulness of this application. This application will be especially designed for the domestic and international tourists in Vietnam. Therefore, this will provide a one-step solution for the potential problems that a tourist can face (Iyer, Dey and Chakraborty 2015). Keeping the current trend in mind, the application will ensure that users can be benefited with a range of assistance such as road direction, navigation towards preferred location, healthy food, safe accommodation and many more. In order to gain competitive advantage, the company would emphasize on the unique features of the application (Nguyen 2016). Building good communication with users will be the key of success for the management. Ethical issues This project could present different ethical issues that a developer can face. The most important ethical constraint is using General Public License. The source codes are copied from the open source and modified accordingly. Therefore, this can be a concern similar to stealing intellectual property, which is ethically wrong (Alur, Henzinger and Vardi 2015). However, due to time constraint the developers need to take the source codes from the public license. The source code is available in public domains and open to all developers. However, the credit of the source code will go to the management due to copyright protection. It is important to reduce the overall organizational cost, as the management needs to maximize their profit. Therefore, it is important for them to use pirated versions software. However, using such unauthenticated software is ethically wrong. Following are the ethical issues that may arise while performing for this project. Storing log files: In order to develop and improve the application continuously, programmers need to obtain the log files from users system. This process however, will take all the personal information from the device unknowingly (Nilsson et al. 2015). Welcome Vietnam will be based on Google Map service and therefore, it will keep a record of the locations that users are visiting. It will help the developers to fix any expected bugs of the software. On the other hand, users may not agree to share their location with any third party (Gao Huang and Han 2015). However, they are doing this unknowingly. It is the most important ethical dilemma that occurs in software development industry. Use of pirated software: Due to budget constraint, pirated software has been used in this project. However, using such software is against business ethics. In order to develop the software, different programming applications have been used (Liu et al. 2016). Buying all these software applications would increase the project cost beyond expectation. Therefore, it was not possible to purchase all the required software. Not addressing bugs: Due to time constraint, it is not possible for the developers to address all the bugs at the primary stage. However, the management commits to deliver error free application to the end users. Through promotion of the application, the management has committed that the application would address all requirements of the users (McCann and McCloskey 2015). However, the application will not error free at primary stage. Therefore, it can be said that it is an ethical constraint for the management to convey manipulated information to the end users at the begging. Using common features of competitors: Nowadays, many software developing corporations are developing software for similar use. In order to reduce design cost, the management has taken the basic idea from the competitors (Ghobadi 2015). However, copying an existing design is an unethical practice. The management has its own programming and concept; but the basic design has been taken from the existing mobile applications. Keeping users information: In order to develop the application, the management needs to keep users private information onto the database. Therefore, the management will be held responsible for keeping the data safe from unauthenticated access. However, due to time and budget constraints, the encryption method is not satisfactory (Gao, Huang and Han 2015). Therefore, it is possible that the data can be accessed by unauthorized agents and this could make user information vulnerable. Lessons learnt After completing this project, I came to know that unethical business activities are putting the tourism industry at risk in Vietnam. When it comes to my personal understanding, it is highly important to understand the root of the problem in order to provide a cohesive solution. I have leant that innovation is the key to success in this technological era. Apart from that, I have learnt that in order to be a software developer, an individual should have a wide knowledge regarding the field for which he or she is working. For example, I was working for the tourism industry and therefore, I had to conduct market research to know how local and international tourists face trouble in Vietnam. This has helped me enhance my knowledge regarding the tourism sector in Vietnam. This will ultimately help me to develop my career in future. In this project, I have researched much about the tourism industry and tourists in Vietnam and this has helped me develop my research capacity over this particular area. During the research, I came to know that language is one of the major barriers for the tourists especially the international tourists in Vietnam. This is because the native people in the country do not understand English. Thus, this leads to great inconvenience faced by the international tourists and the tourist guides while communicating with each other. After conducting the research, I have identified that communication problem often influences people to cheat the tourists in the country. Therefore, this knowledge will help me to develop the software in such a way that can solve this communication barrier between the international tourists and the native people in Vietnam. On the other hand, identification of the problem and analyzing the same helped me improve my analytical skills. Before developing any software, it is essential to identify the actual needs of the software, means the problems that the software needs to solve. Hence, critical analysis of each issue was one of the main sections of my project, which enhanced my analytical expertise. Apart from providing solution to the issues, the tourist guide software that is Welcome Vietnam needs to provide much information to the tourists about Vietnam and each of the tour locations. This has insisted me to gather all information about the country like, the information regarding its food and restaurants, the challenges in transport and the availability of hotels This information has improved my knowledge about Vietnam and now I am better placed when it comes to providing guidance to the tourist when they explore this new locale. It will help to improve the quality of Welcome Vietnam. On the other side, while developing the software that is Welcome Vietnam, I have also researched about the market in the country, where the software will be launched. This particular research has enhanced my knowledge regarding the Vietnam market and the constraints within that market. The identification of the constraints helped me to evaluate each marketing constraint and identifying the best possible solution to remove the constraints. Along with the information regarding Vietnam, I also came to know about the available techniques of marketing to promote the newly developed software in the market. This particular knowledge helped me to enhance my idea and skills in a different domain that is marketing. I gained information regarding the use of social media marketing, mobile marketing and paid advertisement and third party promotions. The knowledge in a different domain like marketing will be very important and useful for developing my career in future. On the other side, during the preparation of this particular project, I have faced several ethical issues and problems that helped me to learn about the tactics to avoid and handle any problematic situation. This learning has improved my level of competency. At the same time, it has improved my confidence level also. Now, I am able to manage difficult situation with more confidence. Apart from that, I can take proper decision in any situation that has ethical dilemma. However, I also came to know that there are some ethical dilemmas, which cannot be solved easily such as usage of pirated software, which is against business ethics. However, due to the cost constraints, I was bound to use the pirated software that created ethical dilemma during the project. Apart from that, this particular project has also educated me regarding time management. The urgency of the project influenced me to complete each task on time. The timely completion of each task helped me to submit the final project within the required time span. This improved time management capacity will definitely help me to complete each task on time in future. Moreover, this particular project has helped me to develop my overall project management capacity and this expertise and knowledge will help to develop projects that are more critical in future. Limitation of work Developing tourist guide software like Welcome Vietnam is a great help to tourists, who visit Vietnam. However, the development of this software was not an easy task. Many limitations created several problems at the time of developing this particular software. The primary limitations of this project were its time and cost limitations. The available time for this project was very short. In that short period it was quite difficult to develop such appropriate software suitable enough to guide the Vietnams tourists in best possible way. Developing the proper software requires in-depth analysis of the different issues of the tourism sector in Vietnam and identification of best solution to solve the issues. However, identification of issues and their solutions cannot be done within a short period. At the same time, cost was another issue of this project. The available money was limited that created difficulties at the time of researching on the tourism sector in Vietnam. Apart from the time and cost constraints, there was another limitation and that was related to the availability of proper and authenticate information. Identifying the authentic information within a short period was very difficult. Conclusion In this project, it has been identified that the tourism sector in Vietnam has several problems and communication is one of them. The inability of the native people to speak and understand English creates communication gap between the local guides and the tourists from different countries. However, Welcome Vietnam will be helpful for the international as well as the domestic tourists. Several marketing channels are available to promote the new software in the market. However, developing the software like Welcome Vietnam includes many ethical constraints that cannot be avoided easily. Along with the ethical dilemma or constraints, many other limitations like, time, cost and availability of authentic information have been faced at the time of preparing this project. Reference list Alur, R., Henzinger, T.A. and Vardi, M.Y., 2015. Theory in practice for system design and verification.ACM Siglog News,2(1), pp.46-51. Gao, S., Huang, L. and Han, B., 2015. Geometry processing in developing a software tool for NC wire EDM.International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology,51(1), pp.43-48. Ghobadi, S., 2015. What drives knowledge sharing in software development teams: A literature review and classification framework.Information Management,52(1), pp.82-97. Hildebrandt, T. and Isaac, R., 2015. The Tourism Structures in Central Vietnam: Towards a Destination Management Organisation.Tourism Planning Development,12(4), pp.463-478. Horner, S. and Swarbrooke, J., 2016.Consumer behaviour in tourism. Routledge. Iyer, V.R., Dey, N. and Chakraborty, S., 2015. Advent of Information Technology in the world of Tourism.Emerging Innovative Marketing Strategies in the Tourism Industry, pp.44-53. Kropinova, E.G., Zaitseva, N.A. and Moroz, M., 2015. Approaches to the assessment of the contribution of tourism into the regional surplus product: case of the Kaliningrad region.Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences,6(3 S5), p.275. Kusakabe, K., Shrestha, P., Kumar, S. and Nguyen, K.L., 2015. Pathways to sustainable urban tourism: Garden houses in Hue, Vietnam.International Journal of Sustainable Society,7(3), pp.286-303 Kusakabe, K., Shrestha, P., Kumar, S. and Nguyen, K.L., 2015. Pathways to sustainable urban tourism: Garden houses in Hue, Vietnam.International Journal of Sustainable Society,7(3), pp.286-303. Liu, L., Li, D.B., Tong, Y.F. and Zhu, Y., 2016. Key Technologies and Flow of Developing a New Coronary Artery Stent.Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience,13(2), pp.1227-1232. Ly, T.P. and Xiao, H., 2016. Tourism Management Perspectives.Tourism Management,17, pp.1-15. Mai, T. and Smith, C., 2015. Addressing the threats to tourism sustainability using systems thinking: a case study of Cat Ba Island, Vietnam.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,23(10), pp.1504-1528. McCann, G. and McCloskey, S., 2015.From the Local to the Global. University of Chicago Press. Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2015.Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge. Nguyen, N.P., 2016. Building inter-firm collaboration-Evidence from Vietnamese SMEs in Tourism sector.Archives of Business Research,4(2). Nilsson, A., Castro, L.M., Rivas, S. and Arts, T., 2015. Assessing the effects of introducing a new software development process: a methodological description.International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer,17(1), pp.1-16. Tisdell, C.A., 2016. The survival of small-scale agricultural producers in Asia, particularly Vietnam: General issues illustrated by Vietnam's agricultural sector, especially its pig production. Trinh, T.T. and Ryan, C., 2016. Heritage and cultural tourism: the role of the aesthetic when visiting Mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¹ SÆ ¡n and Cham Museum, Vietnam.Current Issues in Tourism,19(6), pp.564-589.

Cisco Erp Essay Example Essay Example

Cisco Erp Essay Example Paper Cisco Erp Essay Introduction Cisco Systems Inc. : Implementing ERP come ride with us your cowboys: bill atkinson denisa kubricka edmond lui georg wittenburg iman sharif Company Background †¢ Founded in 1984 by two Stanford computer scientists †¢ Became publicly traded in 1990 †¢ Primary product is â€Å"router† †¢ By 1997, Cisco was ranked top five companies in return on revenues and ROA in Fortune 500 †¢ In 1998, market capitalization was over $100 billion Markets Cisco was a key infrastructure supplier for the â€Å"New Economy† in the mid-90s. †¢ That market went through a period of amazing growth since Cisco formed. †¢ This fast growth rate was directly reflected in Cisco’s sales figures. †¢ The future was looking bright. Company Structure †¢ Three functional divisions: – Order Entry – Finance – Manufacturing †¢ Initial IT Strategy: – Let division take care of themselves. – Overall architecture is shared , enabling sharing of data. History of IT at Cisco UNIX-based software package to support its core transaction processing: – Functional areas supported: financial, manufacturing and order entry systems – Used common architecture and common databases †¢ Growth of Cisco resulted in scalability problems. †¢ Cisco was the largest single costumer of that vendor, resulting in a strategic weakness. Point Blank †¢ Would the software developed for a $300 million company fit the use of a $1 billion company? Point Blank †¢ Why would a multi-million dollar company want to avoid ERP? A Big Need †¢ Recognized the need for change, but left actions to each functional division: †¢ Thus: – Little progress was made in the year – Each functional area was reluctant to replace the legacy system because of high risk involved – Systems outages became routine – Unauthorized method for accessing the core application database malfunctione d, corrupting Cisco’s central database †¢ Company was shut down for two days Selecting an ERP product †¢ The planning was driven only by timing constraints and panic. There was no business case †¢ Cisco emphasized the need for: – – – – Strong team Strong partners Speedy decision making Getting Executive Board approval Project Team Partners †¢ Team: – Know that very best people are needed – Pulled best business IT people out of their current jobs at Cisco †¢ Partners: – Important that partner could work on the selection as well as implementation of project – KPMG as integration partner – KPMG team of 20 (highly experienced; not â€Å"greenies†) Cisco Erp Essay Body Paragraphs Teams selection strategy †¢ Teams strategy – use experiences of other companies and best practices to accumulate knowledge †¢ Selected five packages within 2 days †¢ After a week of high level evaluation – two packages selected: ORACLE and another major player in the ERP market †¢ 10 days on request for proposals Point Blank †¢ Is it wise to make a decision so quickly? Are there things that should be done to mitigate the risk? Did they do due diligence? Team Selection Strategy Cont’d Oracle other vendor given two weeks to respond to RFP †¢ Current vendor customers were visited by the team during these two weeks †¢ After response, received a 3-day software demonstration by each vendor (used Cisco’s sample data) †¢ Goal is to show how software meets or does not meet Cisco’s requirements Final Vendor Selection Criteria †¢ Three main criteria used: – Manufacturing capability – Long-term develop ment of functionality of package – Flexibility of Oracle’s being close by (location wise) Other motivations – Oracle’s first release of new ERP product – if Cisco project goes well, favorable product launch of Oracle ERP package †¢ Oracle chosen – team decision, no management approval at this point Time †¢ After 75 days from start of project, major TODOs are: – Negotiations between Oracle Cisco – Write up a Proposal to Board of Directors †¢ Time and non-interference with annual accounting as main considerations. †¢ Famous last words: – â€Å". there’s no way we’re going to take 15 months to get this done. That’s ridiculous. † – â€Å"Well, can we do it in five months? That just didn’t seem right. † – Let’s try nine. Point Blank †¢ Was nine months realistic? Should other criteria have been used to estimate the time, rather than quarte rs as primarily criteria? Costs †¢ No formal business case for project †¢ Concentrating on system failure as motivation to project start †¢ $15 million budget estimated †¢ Not approached from the justification prospective (no cost/benefit analysis) †¢ Costs:  »  »  »  » Software 16% Hardware 32% Headcount 14% System integration 38% Point Blank †¢ How do you think should project costs be estimated for Cisco’s project? Getting Approval From Board †¢ Met with CEO – comment about ‘jobs lost over much lesser amounts of money’ †¢ Got CEO’s support †¢ Met with Board of Directors – chairman says ‘show me the money’ as first thing †¢ Board approves project †¢ Single largest project ever undertaken by company †¢ CEO makes project priority for Cisco Building implementation team †¢ As not enough time KPMG performed well during planning phase †¢ KPMG relationship e xtended for implementation †¢ Extra 80 team members added on from the Cisco’s business community †¢ Five tracks (process area teams) used: Order Entry Track  » Manufacturing Track  » Finance Track  » Sales/Reporting Track  » Technology Track Point Blank †¢ Was it worth removing important people from the regular business positions to work on the IT project? How can an IT department in another company convince upper management that this is worthwhile? Steering Committee †¢ High level execs from Cisco, Oracle, and KPMG †¢ Shows commitment and importance of project Point Blank †¢ How important is it to have support of upper management to ensure success? Implementing Oracle †¢ A development technique known as â€Å"rapid iterative prototyping† †¢ Implementation broken into a series of phases called â€Å"Conference Room Pilots† (CRPs): – CRP 0 / 1: Build on previous work to develop a deeper understanding of the s oftware and how it functioned – CRP 2 / 3: Implement the ERP system. CRP0 †¢ Training the implementation team and setting up the technical environment †¢ Two parallel efforts: – Training the team in the Oracle applications Normal 5 day training pushed to two 16-hour days! Getting the application up and running by a small â€Å"tiger team† CPR0 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Configuring the Oracle package Hundreds of parameters in the applications Team members â€Å"locked† together for two days 1 % effort with 80 percent accuracy Completed one week after the meeting, leading to the realization that changes to the software were needed to support the company effectively Point Blank †¢ Do you think that having 80% accuracy with only 1% effort was just a matter of luck? Taking into account that typical ERP system configuration takes up to 6 months, not 2 days!! Any risks involved with this approach? CPR1 †¢ Goal of this phase each track makes the system work within its specific area †¢ Details and procedures for completing a process were created †¢ Realized that a lot of business processes were not supported by the software needed modifications †¢ Modifications were classified into: †¢ Green †¢ Yellow †¢ Red, needed to go to the steering committee for approval there were few reds CRP1 30 developers needed for 3 months to modify Oracle †¢ Modifications led to unplanned changes in the project plan and budget †¢ Realized that Oracle could not support the after-sales support needs †¢ Chose a service support package and planned to lunch both packages together Point Blank †¢ Would it have been possible to avoid most of these major changes and the need for a new service package had they spent more time in their initial design and decision making? †¢ Does it help to prioritize the required changes and control scope? CRP2 Continued scope change †¢ Major tech nical issues †¢ Creation of data warehouse for centralized data communication CRP2 †¢ 100-person IT department started decommitting from other projects †¢ Bore most of the responsibility for the project additions †¢ â€Å"IT did nothing else that year† Point Blank †¢ Is it wise to commit all of your resources to a new project, when your existing systems are barely scraping by? CRP3 †¢ Focus on testing the full system †¢ Assess readiness to ‘go live’ †¢ Captured one day’s worth of actual business data and ‘re-running’ it on a Saturday Point Blank †¢ Would you consider one day of testing adequate (with a subset of data), if you were planning a clean cutover of your entire IT infrastructure? The Aftermath †¢ The new ERP system went live on January 30, 1995, but it took two months before it was operating at a reasonable level of quality. †¢ Problematic areas were hardware architecture and sizi ng. – Test hat only been run sequentially and with a subset of the real database. †¢ Side-note: How is it possible that no one in the team noticed this before? Cisco Systems (1995) Cisco Systems creates five distinct business units that reflect its major networking product groups — Workgroup, ATM High End, Access, Core and IBM Internetworking. †¢ â€Å"While leveraging economies of scale in areas like manufacturing, sales and support, the business units can move quickly in product development and expedite time to market. † †¢ Cisco Systems is the first major supplier of internetworking products to be awarded global ISO 9001 certification. Cisco Systems (2004) †¢ John Chambers, president and CEO: â€Å"Our strong position in the core switching and routing business continues to be complemented by positive momentum in our Advanced Technologies, especially this quarter in storage, security, wireless and IP telephony. † †¢ Positive Q2 2004 figures: – Q2 Net Sales: $5. 4 Billion (14. 5% increase year over year; 5. 8% increase quarter over quarter) – Q2 Operating Cash Flows: $1. 7 Billion Oracle Corp. (2004) †¢ Third quarter revenues were up 9% to $2. 5 billion while net income grew 11% to $635 million as compared to the third quarter last year. Chairman and CFO Jeff Henley: – â€Å"Oracle’s fiscal third quarter was another solid quarter, with new software license revenue growth of 12%, which is identical to last quarter. † †¢ Oracle CEO Larry Ellison: – â€Å"This was a very strong quarter for our database business. † groupthink Point Blank †¢ Would they be able to do it again? – Which were to key factors to the success of the project? – At which points could it have failed? – Are these one-time events or can we generalize them? Pete Solvik CIO of Cisco Systems †¢ Heads the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) †¢ One of the top 25 unsung heroes of the Net by =/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection class=__cf_email__ data-cfemail=7f36110b1a0d3f1c0b16091a>[emailprotected] Week Pete’s Tips for CIOs †¢ Make sure that the company’s â€Å"business owners† make and fund IT spending decissions. †¢ Use infrastructure as a strategic enabler. †¢ Tie IT’s objectives and rewards to the goals of the company business units. †¢ â€Å"Pete Solvik’s Three Tips for CIOs† http://www. voicendata. com/content/top_stories/101010311. asp Thank you for your time! We will write a custom essay sample on Cisco Erp Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Cisco Erp Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Cisco Erp Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

How to Speak Shakespearean Verse

How to Speak Shakespearean Verse We start with a practical approach to an old question: how do you speak Shakespearian verse? Bring Shakespeare to life in the classroom and drama studio with the understanding that Shakespeare wrote his plays in verse. This poetic framework not only gives characters a structured speech pattern but enhanced authority. What Is Verse? Unlike modern plays, Shakespeare and his contemporaries wrote plays in verse. This is a poetic framework that gives characters a structured speech pattern and enhances their authority. Typically, Shakespeare’s verse is written in lines of ten syllables, with an ‘unstress-stress’ pattern. The stress is naturally on the even-numbered syllables. For example, take a look at the first line of Twelfth Night: If mu- / -sic be / the food / of love, / play onba- BUM / ba- BUM / ba- BUM / ba- BUM / ba- BUM However, verse isn’t spoken continuously in Shakespeare’s plays. Generally, characters of higher status speak verse (whether they are magical or aristocratic), especially if they are thinking aloud or expressing their passions. So it would follow that characters of low status don’t speak in verse – they speak in prose. The easiest way to tell whether a speech is written in verse or prose is to look at how the text is presented on the page. Verse doesn’t go to the edge of the page, whereas prose does. This is because of the ten syllables to a line structure. Workshop: Verse Speaking Exercises Choose a lengthy speech by any character in a Shakespeare play and read it aloud whilst walking around. Physically change direction every time you reach a comma, colon or full stop. This will force you to see that each clause in a sentence suggests a new thought or idea for your character.Repeat this exercise, but instead of changing direction, say the words â€Å"comma† and â€Å"full stop† out loud when you get to the punctuation. This exercise helps heighten your awareness of where there is punctuation in your speech and what its purpose is.Using the same text, take a pen and underline what you think are the natural stress words. If you spot an often repeated word, underline that as well. Then practice speaking the text with an emphasis on these key stress words.Using the same speech, speak it aloud forcing yourself to make a physical gesture on every single word. This gesture can be clearly connected to the word (for example a finger point on â€Å"him†) or c an be more abstract. This exercise helps you to value every word in the text, but again it will make you prioritize the correct stresses because you will naturally gesture more when saying keywords. Finally and above all, keep speaking the words aloud and enjoying the physical act of speech. This enjoyment is the key to all good verse speaking. Performance Tips Always use the punctuation in order to discover the natural places to pause or breathe when speaking verse. A common mistake is to always pause for breath at the end of a line. As Shakespeare often writes sentences that go across lines, this tendency to breath at the end of the line will distort the meaning and create an unnatural intonation.Be aware of the natural stress rhythms in the verse but don’t allow them to dominate your delivery of the line. Instead look at the line in its entirety and decide where your stress should go.Listen to the beautiful imagery and poetic elements of the verse and close your eyes when saying the words. Allow the imagery to form pictures in your mind. This will help you find meaning and substance in your lines. If you connect imaginatively with the language, you will naturally speak the words more effectively.Listen carefully to the colliding rhythms and sounds in Shakespeare’s verse. Often repeated words, harmonic sounds, and clashing s ounds help you to understand Shakespeare’s intentions and the motivations of your character. Obviously, use a dictionary if the context doesn’t present you with the meaning of a word you say. Not knowing the meaning of one of your words can be a problem. If you don’t know what it means, the chances are the audience won’t either!

Business case to successfully justify a suitable Knowledge Management Essay

Business case to successfully justify a suitable Knowledge Management System (KMS) for managing its tacit knowledge - Essay Example This thesis report highlights the importance of Knowledge Management System in an information-consulting firm that makes implementations of solutions like ERP in order to validate and substantiate the administration of its tacit knowledge. In addition, the Knowledge management theories, methods, and structural design that the enterprise can implement will come under evaluation in conjunction with the knowledge assessment of the company’s tacit knowledge, and will identify the necessary and existing gaps. Based on the assessments and the gap analysis, a framework and collection of possible approaches comes under proposal and recommendation that can better understand the needs of the talked about enterprise, reduce and shrink the threats involved in a Knowledge management system, and eventually facilitate the company in its development and growth. Furthermore, the discussion of the paper will also highlight and accentuate the advantages of a Knowledge Management System that will contribute to the business value of the ABC consulting firm and its productivity. Background Information As the world has entered into the twenty first century, it has undergone many technological advancements and improvements and the industries are transforming their manual processes onto technology-based processes. With this increasing demand of technology, and the growing competition, it becomes complicated and challenging to react to such market oscillations and instability. Therefore, several corporations are moving towards the implementation of solutions such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which is considerably one of the best solutions for the integrated processes, which raise and augment the competitive advantages of the corporations’ (Khosrowpour, pp. 115-118, 2001). The service provider or the information consulting company of these kinds of solutions is the subject of study and report that comes under limelight. Customization has always come under contempl ation and observation as the best alternative way out of any situation, trouble, or different business scenarios from the standard ones that the customer experiences during the implementation phase. It is imperative to comprehend the business processes coupled to the experience factor for the administration of designed and spontaneous situations while implementation. Therefore, during the entire life cycle of the ERP implementation, Knowledge Management is the key and crucial aspect that comes under utilization by the employees in the information-consulting firms (Khosrowpour, pp. 115-118, 2001). The entire life cycle comprises of planning, business process analysis, requirement mapping, gap analysis, system design and configuration, data conversion, communications, end-user trainings, pilot run and production run. As these processes are

Nanogene Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Nanogene - Essay Example ployees, which are also partial owners of the company; a concept that most organizations are pursuing in contemporary management, but with conventional practices such as differential organizational and human resource practices, salary and remuneration practices, rewards and recognition policies, etc. Most organizations also strive to align these practices and policies with their vision and mission; but the strategic alignment always has gaps and breeds inefficiency someway or other. Thus, employee commitment and responsibility, in the form of ownership, as well as its engaging culture are the reasons for its competitive edge in the market. On the contrary, present situation at Namaste Solar, which is to scale up their business in order to sustain their position in the highly competitive and volatile market, needs serious thought on aspects related to growth and expansion on larger scale compared to their previous smaller steps. All founders and employee-owners recognize this fact at Namaste, and that they have immense potential to grow and make larger profits. After much discussion and meetings held with all employees, as followed in its culture, Namaste Solar is now faced with three options, either to sell, invite external investment for a larger stake or retain its original values, vision and mission. Namaste’s culture, vision and values will be at stake if it decides on either first or second option, which on the other hand promise better growth and profits for the company. These options however do not promise growth and profits for Namaste’s employees as the new entrants and/or stakeholders would come with different expectations that may not match with Namaste’s culture; in this case, employees that are used to one way of leading their company and giving commitment may not be able to adjust to the new change and differences. This is probably a disadvantage of Namaste’s model that is its existence and sustenance in long run. Considering vast

Public Health Disease Management of Tuberculosis

Public Health Disease Management of Tuberculosis This essay critically examines the effectiveness of policy frameworks and assessment tools in public health disease management of tuberculosis. The essay discusses the role of the community nurse and multidisciplinary teams in empowering individuals and populations in reducing health inequalities. The essay also explores the nursing and public health frameworks that assist in holistic assessment, planning implementation and the evaluation of care in the community, primary and public health sector. The essay also discusses how environmental, epidemiological and demographic data can influence policies and tackle the underlying social determinants of the health of populations. The essay also discusses strategies that enable the empowerment of individuals and groups, to make them responsible for their own health. The essay also identifies key issues emerging from the health and well-being of communities and discusses the impact that these will have on the role of the nurse and the multid isciplinary team. The main policy framework that has been put forward to combat tuberculosis is contained within the 2004 Department of Health document entitled Stopping tuberculosis in England: An Action Plan from the Chief Medical Officer, which outlines the goals of the programme, namely the long-term reduction and ultimately elimination of tuberculosis from England, with the immediate aims of reducing the risk of people being newly affected by tuberculosis, providing high quality treatment for all people living with tuberculosis and maintaining low levels of drug resistance to tuberculosis, through careful usage of antibiotics (DoH, 2004). This framework has dictated how health professionals treat cases of tuberculosis but has, in practical terms not stopped the drastic rise in tuberculosis in England: in 2002, for example, 6638 people were diagnosed with tuberculosis (DoH, 2004), whereas in 2005, the number of people infected by tuberculosis rose by 10.8% to 8113 (HPA, 2005; BBC, 2006), with the largest increases being in inner cities, particularly London (HPA, 2005; BBC, 2006). The public health management of tuberculosis includes: vaccinating uninfected at-risk groups; minimizing the chances of spreading the infection through minimizing contact of humans with cattle, for example; actively seeking infected individuals from within those groups most at risk; thoroughly investigating outbreaks of the disease when they occur; having appropriate measures in place to ensure that those with the disease do not infect health professionals; developing more rapid diagnostic techniques and creating an effective and easy-to-use national monitoring and surveillance system which functions within a legal framework (NICE, 2006). The spread of tuberculosis is not, seemingly, therefore being effectively managed as per the outlines in the policy framework in the 2004 Department of Health document entitled Stopping tuberculosis in England: An Action Plan from the Chief Medical Officer nor by the public health management schemes that are currently in place. Increases in tuberculosis are consistently most notable in the poorest sectors of the population (Bhatti et al., 1995), and for this reason, tuberculosis has been described, as it was historically, as a disease of the poor. There is, therefore, a massive socioeconomic influence over the spread of tuberculosis (Bhatti et al., 1995). Given this, then, it is important that the community nurses working in the ‘poorer’ sections of inner city areas are fully trained in how to diagnose, and how to best treat, tuberculosis, within the general framework as specified by the Department of Health (2004) policy document. In terms of the role of the community nurse and multidisciplinary teams in empowering individuals and populations in reducing health inequalities, as identified by Palacios et al. (2003), nurses play a key role in the management of tuberculosis cases in the community, with nurses being responsible for, amongst other things, identifying patients, evaluating patients prior to treatment starting, managing emergencies, educating patients and other health professionals, and providing coordination, for example overseeing other health workers and communicating between the members of a multidisciplinary team. Not only do the community nurse and the multidisciplinary teams they are involved with have a duty to identify and treat tuberculosis cases, but there is also an implicit obligation (built in to the framework for controlling tuberculosis as outlined by DoH (2004)) that health professionals should also educate individuals at risk as to how to minimize the risk that they would contract tu berculosis. Health inequalities, such as the greater likelihood of contracting tuberculosis if one comes from a poor background, need to be first recognized by health professionals and then treated, through treating the diseases as they manifest themselves, and through education programmes, which would aim to minimize the risks of contracting such diseases. Obviously this is approach does not treat the root causes of the inequalities, which is a political matter. In terms of exploring the nursing and public health frameworks that assist in holistic assessment, planning implementation and the evaluation of care in the community, primary and public health sector, there is a national framework for dealing with tuberculosis which offers guidelines as to how tuberculosis should be managed on the ground as it were (Singh et al., 2002). Tuberculosis care is generally undertaken on an out-patient basis with only emergency (usually previously undiagnosed) cases being dealt with on an in-patient basis (White et al., 2002). There is a system in place that ensures that any patients with suspected tuberculosis are seen by a tuberculosis team as soon as possible, following their first presentation to a health care professional, and that the presence of tuberculosis is noted on the national database and then managed according to national guidelines (i.e., those from the British Thoracic Society) (DoH, 2004). This national database of tuberculosis cases is p art of the Health Protection Agency’s surveillance scheme for tuberculosis, through the Statutory Notification of Infectious Diseases (NOIDs) scheme. The current best practice in terms of managing tuberculosis is the allocation of the patient with tuberculosis to a named case manager, who provides routinely supervised care to ensure that the medication is taken correctly and that the disease is being managed properly (DoH, 2004). In terms of how environmental, epidemiological and demographic data can influence policies and tackle the underlying social determinants of the health of populations. There are many organizations that collect data on various diseases that are present in the UK, and who then relate this data to socioeconomic factors. The Rowntree Foundation is one such organization, for example. Tuberculosis is a pertinent example of how environmental, epidemiological and demographic data can be used to effect changes to the political structures in place. As has been seen, it is known that socioeconomic variables can predict the presence of tuberculosis in the population, with those individuals from poorer areas more likely to suffer from a higher incidence of tuberculosis than those individuals from more affluent areas (Bhatti et al., 1995). The fact that there are still such diseases, with a strong socioeconomic aspect, present in the UK is cause for concern, and as many reports from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have pointed out (for example, North et al., 2007; Dorling et al., 2007), the UK is facing higher levels of inequality than for four decades, which has major health implications for those living in the poorer sectors of society. These studies have been listened to, as the Government embarks on their social justice programme that aims to provide social equality for all members of society, in terms of health and education, for example. Thus, the use of environmental, epidemiological and demographic data can be responsible for directly influencing policies and tackling the underlying social determinants of the health of populations. If, for example, the poorer sectors of society were lifted out of this poverty, it is likely that ‘diseases of the poor’ such as tuberculosis would decline in frequency i n the UK. In terms of strategies that enable the empowerment of individuals and groups, to make them responsible for their own health, such strategies take many and varied forms, according to the disease under consideration. For tuberculosis, this entails, amongst other things, educating the patients as to why it is important to continue to take their medication even when they ‘feel’ better, to ensure that the disease does not recur and, more importantly, that antibiotic resistance is not developed. Most strategies for patient empowerment are based around patient education, in terms of bringing about changes in their immediate environment, or in their patterns of thinking, that will effect changes to their lifestyle and the ways in which they view their lives and, through this, will effect direct positive changes to their health; patient empowerment is generally a necessity for preventative medicine to be fully effective (Wensing, 2000). Empowering patients through education and t hrough better communication in the media, for example can lead to much higher levels of conformity with healthcare plans and to greater adherence to preventative medicine schedules (Wensing, 2000) which, in a disease like tuberculosis, which is notoriously difficult to treat if medicine schedules are not followed, is crucial to gaining control of the disease. In terms of the key issues emerging from the health and well-being of communities and the impact that these will have on the role of the nurse and the multidisciplinary team, it has been seen that tuberculosis is a disease of the poor, occurring most commonly in poorer areas in inner cities. Firstly, these health professionals have to recognize the socioeconomic aspect of such diseases, and to work within this context. For health professionals working in such situations, it is imperative that these health professionals are aware of all the current guidelines and policy frameworks with regards to such diseases, to ensure that they are aware of the necessity of conforming to these guidelines and frameworks. The impact that this has on the role of the nurse and the multidisciplinary team is to focus the health professionals attention to the diseases that are associated with poverty, and to focus their attention on treating these diseases in the optimum manner, and to empower their patie nts, in an attempt to manage, as effectively as possible, the incidence of such diseases. In conclusion, this essay has looked at the issue of tuberculosis in the UK, finding that whilst there is a policy framework in place aimed at reducing the incidence of tuberculosis, this is not wholly effective. The socioeconomic aspect of tuberculosis was discussed, as were the treatment options, the need for patient empowerment and the ways in which treating tuberculosis impacts health professionals. It is recognized that dealing with the root cause of diseases such as tuberculosis, which are generally known as ‘diseases of the poor’ is a political and not a health, matter, in terms of smoothing the inequalities that lead to the conditions where such diseases develop. References BBC (2006). Sharp rise in tuberculosis cases. 2nd November 2006. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6109228.stm [Accessed on 27th January 2008]. Bhatti, N. et al. (1995). Increasing incidence of tuberculosis in England and Wales: a study of the likely causes. BMJ 310, pp.967-969. DoH (2004). Stopping tuberculosis in England: An Action Plan from the Chief Medical Officer. Department of Health. Dorling, D. et al. (2007). Poverty, wealth and place in Britain, 1968 to 2005. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available from http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2019-poverty-wealth-place.pdf [Accessed on 26th January 2008]. HPA (2005). Annual report on tuberculosis cases reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Available from http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/pdf/2003_Annual_Report.pdf [Accessed on 26th January 2008]. NICE (2006). Tuberculosis: clinical diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, and measures for its prevention and control. Available from http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG033niceguideline.pdf [Accessed on 26th January 2008]. North, D. et al. (2007). Interventions to tackle the economic needs of deprived areas: analysis of six policy case studies. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available from http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/ebooks/2137-devolution-governance-deprivation.pdf [Accessed on 27th January 2008]. Palacios, E. et al. (2003). The role of the nurse in community-based treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 7(4), pp.343-346. Singh, S. et al. (2002). Tuberculosis in primary care. British Journal of General Practice 52, pp.357-358. Wensing, M. (2000). Evidence-based patient empowerment. Quality in Healthcare 9, pp.200-201. White, V. et al. (2002). Management of tuberculosis in a British inner-city population. Journal of Public Health Medicine 24(1), pp.49-52.

Graduation Speech :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

As you look back on the last four years I'm sure you'll all remember them differently. Some of you will think of them as the best four years of your life and others, the worst. Some of you will think of them as the most fun you've ever had. Some of you will remember the friendships you've created, or all the things you've learned and will carry with you wherever you go. Most of all I think we should remember and be thankful for the fact they've been a relatively safe four years. We've had our share of bumps and bruises, but nothing really major. I am saying this mainly because in the past few months, especially, other schools have not been so fortunate. When they look back on their high school years, their memories shall forever be tainted by unspeakable acts of violence and rage. As you know, I'm referring to the 12 students and one teacher killed by two crazed gunmen. In the aftermath of these tragedies people have searched for someone or something to blame. They've gone from video games to the availability of guns, to the lack of attention by parents, teachers, and counselors, and even to the Internet, but finger pointing will not solve the problem. I can't say that I have all the answers but I know there are some things we can do. The problem, I believe, starts and ends with us. Those two students, from Columbine High School were outcasts and constantly teased. The sad truth about that tragedy is that it could have happened here. Honestly, we've all made fun of someone at some time, but toward the end of the year it seems as though we're all being nicer to each other, mainly because we're not going to be here much longer and we realize it simply isn't worth it. I think it would have been much better to have had this attitude at the beginning of high school instead of at the end. As we go through our lives we should not forget what we've learned. We are the future and we're responsible for the next generation. It is our job to teach them to be nicer to each other and more tolerant of their differences. We have to teach them not to solve their problems through guns or violence. That truly is the only way to prevent these senseless tragedies from occurring.