Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Pollution in utah and it's affect on wild life Essay

Pollution in utah and it's affect on wild life - Essay Example Wildlife of Utah does not have any other choice but to breathe in the bad quality air which leads to several health problems. The pollution in the air affects behaviour and reproduction ability in amphibians, birds and even in insects. Several pollutants are present in air in Utah such as sulphur dioxide and lead which can cause damage to the nervous system and the respiratory system of the wildlife in Utah. One of the major contributors to the air pollution is the oil and shale facilities. The development of energy in these facilities produces toxic substances which can cause problem to the deer and elk populations. Light pollution is another major problem that exists today in Utah. Light pollution refers to the increasing use of artificial lights which has grave implication o the ecology of individual insects and organisms. Light pollution causes alteration in the normal natural light cycles and affects both nocturnal and diurnal animals. Migrating birds are often surprised by tall buildings lit up heavily by lights. The birds lose their sense of direction and often smash into the buildings. This not only hampers the population ecology f the migratory species but also alters the migratory patterns and routes of these birds (Plumer, 2014). However, water pollution is perhaps one of the major threats to the wildlife of the region. Waters of large water bodies such as Great Salt Lake have been polluted with contaminants such as methyl mercury. Studies have shown that the fish of the Great Salt Lake contain methyl mercury in their bodies. The chemical bioaccumulates and is transferred between species through the food chain. Therefore, piscivorous animals such as birds, ducks and otters suffer from adverse effects from the toxicity which may cause behavioural, neurological changes and can even result in death (Utah, department of Environmental Quality, 2014). Surveys of the Great Salt Lake conducted in 1996-1997 reported presence of

Monday, October 28, 2019

What Criticisms of 19th Century Life Is Dickens Making in the Novel Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

What Criticisms of 19th Century Life Is Dickens Making in the Novel Great Expectations Essay Charles Dickens wrote the novel Great Expectations in 1861. He originally wrote it as weekly instalments for a magazine called ‘All the year round. ’ In the novel he criticised many things about 19th century life, for example, the importance of being a gentleman and social status, crime and punishment, childhood and last but not least the role of women. Charles Dickens was born on 7th February, 1812, and spent the first nine years of his life living in the coastal regions of Kent. Dickens’s father, John, was a kind and likable man, but he was hopeless with money and piled up tremendous debts throughout his life. When Dickens was nine, his family moved to London and when he was twelve, his father was arrested and taken to prison for unpaid debts. Dickens’s mother moved his seven brothers and sisters into prison with their father, but she arranged for the young Dickens to live alone outside the prison and work with other children pasting labels on bottles in a blacking warehouse. Dickens found the three months he spent apart from his family highly traumatic. Not only was the job itself miserable, but he considered himself too good for it, earning the contempt of the other children. After his father was released from prison, Dickens returned to school. He eventually became a law clerk, then a court reporter, and finally a novelist. Many of the events from Dickens’s early life are mirrored in Great Expectations, which, apart from David Copperfield, is his most autobiographical novel. Pip, the novel’s hero lives in the marsh country, works at a job he hates, considers himself too good for his surroundings, and experiences material success in London at a very early age, exactly as Dickens himself did. In addition, one of the novel’s most appealing characters, Wemmick, is a law clerk, and the law, justice, and the courts are all important components of the story. In Victorian society, a gentleman was a person of upper or middle class. Usually, one was born into being a part of the gentry as it was almost impossible to move up the social hierarchy. Being a part of this elite sector of the class system is what Dickens explores and in doing so exploits the ambiguity of the term ‘gentleman’ and the complications as to what makes a man become gentleman. One of the major criticisms of 19th century life in the novel is the need to distinguish between social prestige and moral worth. Dickens explores this theme by questioning ideas about the nature of a gentleman. Pip is central to this theme, as he represents the link between the social classes. He is the village boy who becomes a gentleman with the help of a criminal. However, the contrasting view given through Herbert Pocket and his father shows us that ‘no man who was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner. Although Herbert has very little money, he is unquestionably a gentleman, both in the social sense, as he is well-born and has received an upper-class education, and in the moral sense, as he teaches Pip table manners, and, by example, that manners are meaningless unless they derive from sound moral principles. This is also illustrated through Compeyson, Miss Havershams lover, who possessed a superficial elegance that blinded people to his real nature. ‘He’s a gentleman, if you please, this villain’. Drummle is yet another example of an exaggerated type of gentleman. Although he has inherited money, and great expectations, he has no moral standards and remains idle, proud, reserved and suspicious. Dickens saw two sorts of gentlemen, Joe Gargery, who is a simple and hardworking blacksmith. He is also humble and kind. This was illustrated when he claimed that his father who was also a blacksmith ‘What sume’er the failings on his part, remember reader he were that good in his heart. ’ However, Drummle defined through his knowledge of social etiquette, the extent of his education, appearance and income. Dickens showed in his novel that one does not need to be wealthy and educated to be a gentleman. Crime and punishment is a key theme in ‘Great Expectations’ which is linked closely to justice and injustice. Pip is introduced to crime and criminals very early on when he is confronted with Magwitch on the marshes. This encounter compels Pip to steal from his own family, the iron file and the pork pie. So the first crime we see committed is by Pip, which is significant because the book is centred around crime and how Pip gets more and more involved. When Magwitch is caught, he is taken to the prison hulk where Pip got an insight into the justice system and saw how the prisoners were treated. Dickenss dissatisfaction with the prison system is evident when Wemmick is giving Pip a walking tour through the streets of London. Further evidence of Dickens concern can be found in Pips reaction to the Debtors Door of Newgate Prison, in which culprits came to be hanged. Using Pip as a vessel to express his latent views of criminals, Dickens expresses his deep-rooted memories of poverty and a father sentenced to debtors prison. This contradicts the fact that in real life, Dickens ‘believed’ the ‘model prisons’ to be too lenient to their inmates and extolled instead the virtues of hard and unrewarding labour, a regime which relied more upon punishment than moral improvement. This suggests that in real life, Dickens felt that it was more important to focus on the punishment of criminals, rather than giving them a second chance to redeem themselves. Further evidence of Dickenss concern for maximum punishment can be found in this statement regarding the punishment of a local street ruffian: ‘I would have his back scarified often and deep’. This attitude most likely stems from the fact that Dickens legal training gave him a far stricter outlook on prisoners. Dickens is often credited for being influential in the passing of the Capital Punishment Act of 1868, which banned public executions The reason Dickens was against public executions was because he felt they only made people sympathize too much with murderer, rather than the victim. Dickens paints an extremely vivid picture of childhood through the eyes and mind of Pip and sees the world through the eyes of a child. This was possible because Dickens understood the thoughts and feelings of children and applied this to Pips every thought and action when he wrote the novel. Dickens had an obvious gift for creating child characters in his works. The word ‘pip’ itself refers to a seed from a plant. Seeds need to be nurtured if they are to grow and flourish. In order to understand both Dickens talent and his compulsion to write about children it important to realize that through the characters in his novels he took up the plight of all children. In Dickens view of childhood, he felt that children have certain needs, for example, guidance in a nurturing home, to be free from emotional and physical abuse, to have a good education, and to be allowed to use their imaginations and as in the novel, Pip’s father figure, Joe Gargery had to work hard like his father before him and did not get an education. The phrase ‘brought up by hand’ implied emotional and physical abuse and yet it was meant to care and love in a very harsh way. In order for children to succeed in life he felt these needs must be met. Through his portrayal of child characters in the novel, Great Expectations, Dickens demonstrates how adults rarely, nor adequately provided for these particular needs that children have. In Great Expectations one can see how the women who fit Dickens ideas were rewarded with happy lives, usually in the form of marriage. Like in the case of Biddy, she was a nurse to a maimed Mrs. Joe and was the epitome of domesticity. She was later rewarded with a happy life by her marriage to Joe. Dickens imagines two types of women, subordinate and insubordinate, and rewards women according to their ability to render domestic harmony On the other hand, the women who did not conform to these ideas were punished in one way or another. Even though not all of Dickens attitudes reflected what was typical of the period, many did. Great Expectations is a reflection of those attitudes that were most likely encouraged by the women in his life. He believed as many did during the Victorian period that the womans place was in the home. Women were the caregivers of the world. Their lives were supposed to be centred on their family, for example, characters like Biddy and Clara Barley play the part of a natural, motherly type. Biddy takes over caring for Joe and Pip after Mrs. Joe is attacked by Orlick and dies soon after. Biddy, like Pip, is an orphan. She was the one that taught Pip to read and later taught Joe. Great Expectations is set in early Victorian England, a time when great social changes were sweeping the nation. The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries had transformed the social andscape, enabling capitalists and manufacturers to amass huge fortunes. Although social class was no longer entirely dependent on the circumstances of one’s birth, the divisions between rich and poor remained nearly as wide as ever. Throughout England, the manners of the upper class were very strict and conservative: gentlemen and ladies were expected to have thorough classical educations and to behave appropriately in innumerable social situations These criticisms as defined by Dickens in his novel were felt in almost every facet of Great Expectations. Pip’s sudden rise from country labourer to city gentleman forces him to move from one social extreme to another while dealing with the strict rules and expectations that governed Victorian England. Ironically, this novel about the desire for wealth and social advancement was written partially out of economic necessity. He also portrays characters caught up by social forces primarily via lower-class conditions but which usually steer them to tragic ends beyond their control.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Chemistry Essay -- essays research papers

Robert Boyle is considered both the founder of modern chemistry and the greatest English scientist to live during the first thirty years of the existence of the Royal Society. He was not only a chemist and a physicist as we know him to be, but also an avid theologian, a philanthropist, an essayist, and a beginner in medicine. Born in Lismore, Ireland to Richard Boyle, first earl of Cork, and Katherine Fenton, his second wife, Boyle was the youngest son in a family of fourteen. However he was not shortchanged of anything. After private tutoring at home for eight years, Robert Boyle was sent to Eton College where he studied for four years. At the age of twelve, Boyle traveled to the Continent, as it was referred to at the time. There he found a private tutor by the name of Marcombes in Geneva. While traveling between Italy, France, and England, Boyle was being tutored in the polite arts, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and science.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the years went by, Boyle became more and more interested in medicine. His curiosity in this field led him to chemistry. At first Boyle was mainly interested in the facet of chemistry that dealt with the preparation of drugs, but soon he became genuinely interested in the subject and started to study it in great detail. His studies led him to Oxford where he joined such scientists as John Wilkins and John Wallis. Together in 1660, they founded the Royal Society of London for the Ad...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Essay --

X can be seen as high on the openness scale. â€Å"The personality dimension that includes imagination, wit, originality, and creativity; people low on this dimension are shallow, plain and simple† (Friedman). X was very musically talented, having been acknowledged as the â€Å"King of Pop† by Elizabeth Taylor. (Interview with Oprah Part 2) In 1982, he produced the best-selling album of all time, Thriller. He is exceptionally imaginative as he wants to â€Å"bring out the child in everyone.† He constructed the Neverland Ranch which is equipped with candy, magic shows, carnival rides, and film. X worked with the Make a Wish Foundation in order to occupy terminally-ill children who would come every three weeks and he would entertain them with his child-like and spark. X was so generous and loved giving back to the world, and therefore he was also involved with the Heal the World Foundation. With regards to this foundation, the objectives for Heal LA division were f or the vaccination of children, having a mentoring big sister/ big brother program together with a teaching program on drug abuse (Interview with Oprah Part 5). X was also certainly open to experience by being a singer who toured the world. He showed his openness to different individuals through his numerous marriages and management with different performers on several albums. Being an artist, a singer and dancer, X was unsurprisingly imaginative by writing his own lyrics and designing his own dance moves. Michael seemed fairly high on openness. (Friedman, H.B., Schustack, M.W 2009). While X aimed for precision in his music he appears to be fairly low on the conscientiousness scale. â€Å"The personality dimension that includes dependability, cautiousness, organization, and responsibility; pe... ...t just by seeing the sight of his own father (Interview with Oprah Part 3). Owing to the fact of his violation as a child, X had many issues with his physical appearance, as well as sleeping problems. These factors presented him with great amounts of concern, which would position him high in neuroticism. X felt exposed and therefore had numerous amounts of plastic surgeries in order to fix his appearance according to his criteria. At the end of his life X was using potent sleeping medicines called Lorazepam and Midazolam in order to help with his insomnia by bringing about peacefulness, as well as Propofol, which was a sleep-inducing medicine used for general anaesthesia. The fact that X had use such potent medicines to help deal with his insomnia revealed how much it affected his life and indicated his emotional unsteadiness. (Friedman, H.B., Schustack, M.W 2009).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The last chapter of the novel ‘The Crucible’

‘Here. Now. It's all clear,' whispered Abigail coarsely, choking back a cough. Mercy squeezed through the small gap in the fence to join Abigail the other side. Together, grasping each other's hands for comfort, they darted through the trees, into the forest that served as a barrier between the sea and Salem. They ran along a faint path of trampled grass, till they arrived at a clearing, the same clearing where they and the others had danced six months ago. They stopped at the edge, panting for breath, with the moonlight streaming in through the gap in the trees illuminating the way ahead. They gazed around in silence, till Mercy sniggered. ‘I was just rememb'rin' the time we danced, and Parris,' she paused, smiling in amusement, ‘and Parris, he saw me dancin' naked!' ‘Aye, and dear Betty,' said Abby, ‘she were too young, we should never have let her come.' ‘That were wierdish, though. She lay on her bed, frozen, whimp'ring for her Mama. Aye, that were wierdish.' ‘Mary meant to tell-I know it. I remember her words even now, ‘Witchery's a hangin' error', ‘it's a sin to conjure',' Abby imitated, with a likeness that caused Mercy to shiver with remembrance as it all came back to her head. ‘Did you hear what happened to Tituba? She left the courtroom with Sarah Good, shoutin' to a cow ‘Take me home, Devil; Devil take me home.' She told them all that the Devil, ‘him be pleasure-man in Barbados!† Mercy laughed, as Abby ran through the trees shouting charms in Tituba's Barbados accent. ‘You beg me conjure, come, make charm with me!' Abby shrieked, violently swaying over an imaginary fire, as Tituba had done, calling out the names of the ingredients as she plucked them from the air. She beckoned to Mercy in a low whisper, ‘Come try Tituba's charm, come drink to kill Goody Proctor.' ‘Abby, you'll make me dream corruptions soon, and yourself,' said Mercy, with a serious tone to her voice. ‘You make me think I did see spirits, that I did see that yellow bird, on the beam, behind the rafter in the court room.' ‘Come on Mercy, you're harder than that,' teased Abby, ‘if I hadn't seen your face, I would have thought you were Mary Warren.' Mercy playfully punched Abby in the arm. Abby lay there shivering as the cold night breeze passed through the forest, whistling through the trees. The events of the last six months ran through her head, it was only the spring when they had danced. The bluebells had gone now, but the memories hadn't. The trial had taken its toll on Abby, her face was pale and the bags under her eyes grew each day. The days that went on forever in the courtroom, tirelessly questioned, till they got the answer they wanted, truth or not. She still had the guilt feeling in her, that Proctor's death was not meant to happen, and that she could have stopped it. But she forced this to the back of her mind, but it haunted her when her mind was still, each night, and slowly, it was wearing her down. She looked over at Mercy, whose large figure was stretched out on the grass beside her, her mouth wide open, loudly inhaling the cold air. Mercy was a tough girl, she had to be to work at the Putnams', yet had a conscience but Abby knew that it could easil y be convinced by some persuasive talking. She slowly drifted into doze but was easily awoken by the first light of dawn. She leapt up, knowing they had to be out of the region fast, or else they would be caught, made to return and punished. Within minutes, Mercy and Abby were running through the trees till they were out in the open fields at least three miles from Salem. ‘We'll have to stop for some food at a farm, else we'll never make it to Andover,' Mercy said. ‘When the sun rises over those hills,' said Abby pointing to the East where the red, early morning light was focused. ‘Then we'll find the nearest farm, and get somethin' till last us till tonight.' They walked for an hour, hardly talking. Their shoes pounded on the dirt track road, with an urgency that urged them to walk faster. They reached a turning to a farm, and turned down. ‘I'm goin' to talk to the farmer,' said Abby, taking control. ‘Stay a few metres back, but still in view.' Abby strided on up to the door and beat her fist on it, before Mercy could argue. ‘Good Sir, we have been travellin' for over a week now, and our bodies are weak. We had to leave our small village as Mercy, this girl here, she was found guilty of traffickin' with spirits.' Abby's voice deliberately started to crackle, as if attempting to hold in her tears but not very successfully. ‘She was so weak; I felt I couldn't leave her to run away by herself, if she didn't, she would have had to face the rope, and I care for her, I do.' ‘Aye,' the farmer said, nodding. ‘And so you gave all up for this sinner here.' ‘Aye, 'tis right good Sir. My name will be soiled in these parts, but Mercy would never have made it to Boston by herself. I felt it my duty as a friend.' A tear dropped from Abby's eye, and she made no attempt to wipe it away. ‘I'm sure my wife will have some spares for you,' said the farmer, smiling kindly down at her. ‘But she won't like you sharing it with your friend, she will never help the devil in any way. Goody Jones, do you have any left of yesterday's pie?' ‘Aye, of course, I'll bring it to you right away,' called a voice from within the small old building. Within moments, a small plump lady had appeared, with a kind smile, and welcoming eyes, like her husband's. ‘Oh, how long have you been travelling, child?' she asked, looking at Abby, ‘you'll need to get some of this down you soon. Here let me wrap it up in a cloth.' She disappeared again, for a moment, ferreted around in some drawers, and appeared with a patterned cloth to wrap up the pie. ‘Here you go. And safe journey.' ‘Safe journey,' called the two of them, as Abby turned round and started to walk towards Mercy. She stopped at the sight of Mercy's face. It was tense with anger, and as red as the fresh berries on the bush nearby. ‘Abigail Williams, how dare you? You lied, you lied, I never-‘ she broke off in anger. Her eyes could have shot like arrows. Her body was stiff and started to shake. ‘We had to get food, I had to,' Abby replied defiantly. ‘You lied,' repeated Mercy, spitting the words out as if they were poisonous. ‘You had to leave too, Abigail Williams, we left as you could not walk through the village without hearing your soiled name mentioned, and people running from your face. It were not my fault we had to leave, Abby, 'twas yours as well. Tell them that, Abby, tell them that you caused the death of John Proctor, and mark it Abby, mark it, Elizabeth is sure to hang once her baby is born.' Mercy was almost shouting by now. Abby kicked a stone in the road. ‘Look we had to get food,' she explained, knowing she shouldn't have, but never prepared to admit. ‘I'm goin' to Andover, and then to Boston. I don't care about you, I saved you Mercy from the judges, I saved you, and this is how you repay me? Well Mercy Lewis, you go by yourself and I'll go by myself and we'll see who gets there in the end.' ‘Fine, I can manage myself, I'm eighteen now, older than you, and you never helped, just caused problems. 'twas your fault we danced, you begged Tituba to conjure, because of you, Abigail Williams, the whole country's talkin' witchcraft.' At this, Abby turned her back on Mercy and strode down the dirt track, her eyes focused on the skyline ahead, not turning to look back, at Mercy's aghast face. She smiled a tight, forced smile, but she was happy, Mercy was shocked. Mercy's face was frozen in horror, the words had just come out of her mouth, she knew, although she was older than Abby, she couldn't look after herself, and Abby could. It was Abby's imagination that had lied them through, it was Abby's determination that would get her to Boston, it was Abby who could look after herself, not Mercy. She could never give in to Abby, so she turned dejectedly back down the long straight road and started to walk the long way back to Salem. She dragged her feet on the ground, wishing she hadn't said anything. She was tempted to run after her, but it was too far, and that was exactly what Abby wanted. Abby, meanwhile, was far in the distance. She sat down on a boulder by the side of the road to rest her aching feet. She closed her eyes and thought of Boston. She imagined the skyline view, the way it had always been described. A big town, busy with people, no one would know her name, or what she had done. She was about to start a new life. She could smell all the market fish, and could hear the buzz of noise from the inhabitants. The place was alive with colour, she had left Salem, and its old wooden buildings, her mud covered clothes, faded in time. Her life seemed awash of brown and grey, but now as she thought ahead, she dreamt of the exciting new start, about to begin.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Marketing Plan Star Inc.

Marketing Plan Star Inc. Executive Summary This paper provides the marketing plan for the Star Inc. that outlines the entry strategy into the growing market for its deluxe travel bags and accessories. The Star Inc. intends to introduce a new brand of luxury products namely travel bags and accessories.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Plan: Star Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a company that offers luxury products such as smart watches, bracelets, clothing, and footwear, the company intends to add the travel bags and accessories following an extensive market research. The survey reveals an increased demand for the superior luxury products that have also shown improved satisfaction amongst the consumers. To fill this market gap, the company intends to implement a careful entry strategy through market description, situation, SWOT, and competitor analysis before introducing the new products. Market Description The luxury indust ry is characterised by aspects such as historic heritage of artistic tradition, exclusiveness, brand image, and style (Kapferer 2012). The Star Inc. is identified through its deluxe lifestyle products that are uniquely designed to ensure consumer satisfaction. For a new brand to enter the luxury product market, a thorough research on the consumer’s demographic and psychographic characteristics is necessary. There is a need to identify the targeted market segment and develop apt product distribution channels for efficient customer satisfaction. The industry is deemed competitive, especially with the increasing rise of middle class populations in emerging economies such as Brazil and China (Veg-Sala Roux 2014). As many people join the middle class status, the demand for luxury products to manifest their status quo increases.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Th is trend has seen new entrants into the luxury industry in a bid to seize the growing markets. The Star Inc. prospects to enter the market with robust and specially calculated strategies in a bid to capture the market in a unique and sustainable way. Some of the products that are offered in the luxury industry include wristwatches, bags, outfit, shoes, jewels, and accessories among others (Park 2014). Situation Analysis Current Market Situation Having identified an increasing international demand for premium and classic bags by the upper class and upper middle-class income earners, the enterprise is top-gear to venture into the luxury market niche. An intensive market survey has provided credible information on the spending behaviour and trending culture of the international travellers. It has been identified that only few manufacturers are operating in this segment. Demographic survey also indicates that the number of consumers entering the upper class is increasing due to the prev ailing healthy global economy, which is anticipated to persist in the next five year. In the wake of the millennium development goals projection and vision 2050, many national economies have laid down strategic plans with a view of achieving increasing their revenues (Tsai Eisingerich 2010). As the global economy grows bigger and healthier, the probability of increased disposable income scaling upwards remains optimistically high. The enterprise targets this anticipated growth. Luxury bags and accessories have not been offered sufficiently on a global scale.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Plan: Star Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company also targets countries with emerging economies in Asian such as China, whose economy has been described as rapidly growing. The portion of the population joining the upper class will be rising in the near future. Therefore, they will require high-end luxury pr oducts to match their new class and manifest their status quo (Kuksov Xie 2012). With only few companies in the luxury industry, the Star Inc. will focus on entering the luxury product market, as it stands promising. Target Market The analysis of the current target markets focuses on assessing the demographic, geographic, psychographic, and product usage characteristics of the prospective market niche for Star Inc.’s deluxe products. In addition, the analysis aims at carefully evaluating the current customer needs and anticipated changes in the target markets. The market analysis is highly significant since it will help the firm to establish the customer expectations and needs; hence, it will guide the firm to align the production specifications with the market needs with a goal of meeting the customers’ needs satisfactorily. The Star Inc. will also focus on the growing upper middle class and the upper class of emerging economies as they continue to seek high-end sump tuous products. The products mostly target international travellers from the emerging economies as well as rich people, especially from Western and Eastern Europe. The Star Inc. will concentrate on positioning itself within the luxury market of specialty retailing. The global luxury market has doubled in the past two decade to almost $320 billion annually in retail value (Kuksov Xie 2012).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore, industry analysts envisage that the market growth will remain consistent at an average rate of 9-11% per year, especially in the United States, Japan, and China. Substantial evidence reveals that luxury is no longer reserved for the spoiled rich, rather the middle class that is ready to pay a premium for the thrill owing to the splendid aspect of the lavish products that brings a special meaning to them. For instance, luxury houses such as Cartier and Chanel have ventured into this market by extending their product lines to cater for the aspirations of the middle class. The Star Inc. intends to offer its products at multiple price points to allow the brand to reach a wider demographic region as compared to other luxury retailers. The company’s strategy is deemed to result in accessible luxury offering that will be its guiding principle. The Star Inc. will adopt a multi-channel international distribution model to influence its marketing channels that will encompas s direct mail catalogues, e-commerce sites, retail, factory, department, and on-line stores in the target market regions. The management believes that through these different channels the company will effectively appeal to manifold segments that are often unnoticed by the competitors as they fear and avoid brand dilution. Competitor Analysis The luxury industry is characterised by intense competition. It has grown rigorously over the last decade with noted entry of new players and tough competition from established companies (Wang Shaver 2014).). The Star Inc. will primarily compete with the European luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Chanel, which have been the leading deluxe companies for a couple of years. However, the Star Inc.’s unique business model of accessible luxury anticipates to reach a larger demographic as compared to the competitors’ higher priced products. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report (2014), the total worldwid e luxury goods market is anticipated to compound 5% to 7% per annum reaching sales of $413 billion in 2016 (Bendle Vandenbosch 2014). Approximately, half of this expenditure is estimated to encompass travel necessities such as bags and accessories, smart watches, and modern telephone gadgets. Particularly, travel bags and accessories are estimated to be $64 billion sales. This figure represents 23.5% of sales of the luxury industry. The company will face stiff competitors from premium luxury makers such as Hermes, Gucci, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton and mid-sized enterprises namely Kate Spade and Tory Birch (Bendle Vandenbosch 2014). However, it aims at becoming the dominant player in the retail segment since it focuses on capturing the emerging markets in China and India. Looking at the Europe’s touristic potential as an international destination, especially in countries such as France and Italy that receive big spending visitors mainly from the Asian regions, the Star is h ighly optimistic to enter the luxury market without many obstacles. The company is also planning to explore the online market to provide timely and accessible services to its clientele. In the wake of globalisation, the Star Inc. acknowledges the importance of integrating business activities with internet services to ensure availability of product information to the consumers globally. As a result, the Star Inc. is set to launch an e-commerce site in the emerging markets. Marketing Goal and Objectives for the Star Inc. The Star Inc. has developed various guiding goals and stringent objectives. The primary goals of the company is to offer premium quality travel bags and accessories on a global scale and provide consumers with relevant and innovative products of excellent quality that are manufactured with specialty to build an inexplicable product-customer emotional attachment. Products will be sold at reasonable prices despite their luxurious nature with a view of reaching a wider m arket including the growing middle class youth, especially in emerging economies. Secondly, the company aims at driving the growth of the market share by scaling up the retail distribution channels to gain access to the local clientele. This strategy will leverage the tapping of global opportunities. In addition, the company will create an unshakable brand that will remain premier, distinctive, and easily recognisable. To achieve this objective, the Star Inc. seeks to deliver a consistent message to the consumer through diverse communication avenues including e-commerce websites, online, mainstream media advertisement, and active protection of the developed brand name from counterfeit products (Romaniuk 2012). The company also aims at understanding the changing needs of customers. Therefore, being consumer-centric right from product design, production, and distribution to after-sales services will create sustainable consumer loyalty. As a result, the company intends to conduct regul ar and extensive market surveys to guide innovation and obtain dependable consumer feedback. SWOT Analysis for the Star Inc. In economics, SWOT analysis is a basic strategic planning method that is used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that influence businesses with a view of making feasible decisions (Ayub et al. 2013). It entails outlining the specific objectives of the business and identifying both internal and external factors that favour and/or hamper the achievement of those objectives. Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Strengths The company aims at utilising a multi-layered pricing strategy despite the fact that its products fall in the luxury class (McCann Vroom 2010). This strategy is contrary to the conventional pricing methods that are used for luxury products, as it will avail them to people of all financial capabilities. The Star Inc. will achieve this plan by pricing products depending on the financial ability of custome rs in different international markets (Ayub et al. 2013). The strategy will result in the seizure of a diversified market where aspiring customers from both the rich and middle classes will have gain access to premium products. Competitors have not used this pricing strategy; hence, it will enhance the company’s anticipated exceptional brand image and customer loyalty. Establishing dependable customer loyalty and a non-replicable brand image will enhance the company’s success even in harsh global economic crises (KrzyÃ… ¼anowska Tkaczyk 2013). The targeted middle and upper class consumers have a tendency to stick to their travel plans and vacations despite the global economic turmoil. Various studies indicated that the luxury industry continued to record substantial returns on investment in the 2009 financial crisis. Moreover, the company looks forward to providing strictly high premium products to create a reputable consumer impression. It will insist on quality and value with a view of winning many loyal customers. Besides, the star Inc. has accumulated enough liquid cash that it can use to finance its operations. As a result, the company has a significant advantage of its position in the luxury market that is characterised by rigorous social, technological, and economic changes (KrzyÃ… ¼anowska Tkaczyk 2013). The availability of adequate financial resources is paramount to the success of the firm since there will be no need to seek external funding for its operations. Furthermore, the company will have a distinctive and state-of-the-art product. Lastly, customer listening will be improved through market surveys and online customer support forums among others. This situation will immensely contribute to product development and distribution with respect to the customers’ dynamic needs. The product assortment will also be kept spanking new and appropriate. Weaknesses Weaknesses are perceived as areas within an organisation that call for improvement. They can include skills, marketing strategies, and product differentiation among others. There will also be a need to conduct a careful and in-depth research on the cost base and productivity levels of the organisation. Therefore, the management must be ready to face any unpleasant truths about the business amidst reality. The star Inc. concentrates on retail distribution. Retail business forms 99% of the Star business enterprise. It is an area of weakness since the company exclusively relies on end user consumers for its success. In case of a major production crisis, the overall business can collapse. Opportunities Economic analysts have provided crucial information on emerging markets that the organisation targets to enter. The company focuses on selling its products in the Chinese and Indian markets that are rapidly growing. The presence of a few players offering luxury travel bags and accessories is an excellent opportunity for the company to build its reputation an d create a sizeable competition gap. For instance, the company intends to seize numerous upcoming markets such as China and Brazil. In particular, the Chinese market has been deemed an ideal market for deluxe products due to the rising living standards and emergence of middle class members (Eggers 2012). Threats The contemporary business world faces high-level s of uncertainty that is characterised by erratic economic recessions and globalisation trends. Other factors that lead to volatility of the future include technological changes and consumer behaviours. This point is based on vulnerability of luxury products to recession as seen in the famous economic crisis of 2008. Many companies went through turmoil during the global economic downturn (Bekaert et al. 2014). During this period of economic hardships, consumers focus spending on necessities only because recession poses high degree of uncertainty. Even after the 2008 economic crisis, many firms in the luxury industry continued to struggle years on due to slow recovery. Given this scenario, it is undoubtedly that the success of the anticipated brand is attainable under healthy economies. This assumption is a high risk since the future of the global markets depends on a number of factors that are pioneered by dynamic technology. Notably, two types of substitute products that can pose threat to the Star Inc. include alternative brands and counterfeits (Miller Mills 2012). Brand image and product quality are they key driving forces for sales in the luxury and accessories industry. For this reason, investors in this industry spend a fortune on marketing campaign efforts such as advertising as well as sustaining premium quality products. Therefore, the Star Inc. will work in conjunction with competitors to combat counterfeit businesses through prosecution of culprit companies. The presence of counterfeit goods, especially from target markets such as China, poses a significant challenge to the company. Counterf eit products threaten the image of any company’s brand. Since some customers fail to differentiate between fake and original products, the company ends up losing its reputation of genuine products. Contingent Risk Factors International Market Penetration The long-term growth potential of the Star Inc. centres on successful entry into the international market and robust management strategies. The management requires significant resources and capital to venture into the European market among other emerging economies (Bekaert et al. 2014). Given that entrenched competitors presently dominate these regions, the enterprise must adopt strategic and high-end marketing approaches to surpass the prevailing competition. Although prospects seem strong today, if the international plans take long to materialise or the anticipated demand drops, the initial performance can fall excessively below the management’s expectations. The major concern for the Star Inc. is penetration and sus tainability of the Chinese market amidst the high rate of counterfeit practices in the country. In addition, the entry and stabilisation of short-term growth can be substantially slow than the company’s projections. As a result, the new-fangled products are likely to be disappointing in the short run. As a result, return on capital investment is conceivably going to be below the break-even point. However, the Star Inc. is exploring diverse economies around the world to cover stores that are likely to pick slower than projected. Along these lines, the company will sustain itself without having to pump in new capital to keep the stores operational. Lower Pricing Dissuasion The company will price its products lower as compared to those of the higher-end peers in line with the company’s accessible luxury motto. As a result, customers are likely to develop a tendency of being highly sensitive to the economy. Although the management views its pricing mechanism as a competiti ve advantage in uncertain macroeconomic climates, it may dissuade customers from buying the products (Tsai, Huang, Tsai 2013). For instance, given that the price elasticity of demand for Veblen goods is deemed high, consumers tend to perceive extravagant prices with exceptional value. Therefore, lower pricing can fail to attract customers, as they choose to associate the low price with low value. Stringent Competition The Star Inc. focuses to enter a highly competitive luxury industry. Although its aims to create an unparalleled brand loyalty, it winning consumer’s trust in the short term is nearly unmanageable. In addition, the market survey reveals that new entrants are attacking the incumbent niche day by day. Nonetheless, the management has done a tremendous job in reinventing itself over the decades. It will have to continue doing so to maintain standing leadership in the industry. We think the burden of proof lies with the bears. References Ayub, A, Razzaq, A, Aslam, M Iftekhar, H 2013, ‘A Conceptual Framework on Evaluating SWOT Analysis as the Mediator in Strategic Marketing Planning through Marketing Intelligence’, European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, vol. 2 no. 1, pp. 91-98. Bekaert, G, Ehrmann, M, Fratzscher, M Mehl, A 2014, ‘The global crisis and equity market contagion’, The Journal of Finance, vol. 69 no. 6, pp. 2597-2649. Bendle, N Vandenbosch, M 2014, ‘Competitor orientation and the evolution of business markets’, Marketing Science, vol. 33 no. 6, pp. 781. Eggers, J 2012, ‘All experience is not created equal: learning, adapting, and focusing in product portfolio management’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 33 no. 3, pp. 315-335. Kapferer, J 2012, ‘Abundant rarity: The key to luxury growth’, Business Horizons, vol. 55 no. 5, pp. 453-462. KrzyÃ… ¼anowska, M Tkaczyk, J 2013, ‘Identifying competitors: challenges for start-up firms’, Internationa l Journal of Management Cases, vol. 15 no. 4, pp. 234-246. Kuksov, D Xie, Y 2012 ‘Competition in a Status Goods Market’, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 49 no. 5, pp. 609-623. McCann, B Vroom, G 2010, ‘Pricing response to entry and agglomeration effects’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 31 no. 3, pp. 284-305. Miller, K Mills, M 2012, ‘Contributing clarity by examining brand luxury in the fashion market: Fashion Marketing and Consumption of Luxury Brands’, Journal of Business Research, vol. 65 no. 10, pp. 1471-1479. Park, J 2014, ‘What women want: Creation of a luxury brand’, Business Horizons, vol. 57 no. 2, pp. 247-257. Romaniuk, J 2012, ‘Five Steps to Smarter Targeting’, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 52 no. 3, pp. 288-290. Tsai, H Eisingerich, A 2010, ‘Internationalisation Strategies of Emerging Markets Firms’, California Management Review, vol. 53 no. 1, pp. 114-135. Tsai, K, Huang, C Tsai, M 2013, ‘Reviews of market drivers of new product performance’, International Journal of Market Research, vol. 55 no. 5, pp. 719-738. Veg-Sala, N Roux, E 2014, ‘A semiotic analysis of the extendibility of luxury brands’, Journal of Product Brand Management, vol. 23 no. 2, pp.103-113. Wang, R Shaver, J 2014, ‘Competition†driven repositioning’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 35 no. 11, pp. 1585-1604.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Art Histroy... compare and contrast.. two art works.. essays

Art Histroy... compare and contrast.. two art works.. essays The Nineteenth Century European Paintings and Sculpture Galleries Van Gogh, Flowering Orchard (56.13), Annenberg Van Gogh Gallery Monet, The Four Trees (29.100.110), Annenberg Monet Gallery Visual perception is a function of our eyes and brain. We see images as a whole rather then in parts. However, images can be broken into their visual elements: line, shape, texture, and color. These elements are to images as grammars are to languages. They, together, allow our eyes to see images and our brain to recognize those objects. In this compare and contrast essay between the Works of Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet French-born Post-Impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and the French, Claude Monet (1840-1926), both painted vibrant and expressive paintings during the twentieth-century. In this case, the chosen paintings are Van Gogh "Flowering Orchard", 1888 and Monet "The Four Trees", 1891. Both of these compositions are painting. Nothing is of more importance than the Flowering orchard. The orchard in Van Goghs painting, dominated by the rich, red-brown tree growing in the foreground, reaching out and upward with delicate searching branches. All of which give the flowering orchard an emerald expanse of grass carpeting the ground expression. In Monets case, the four trees were created solely with the use of layered similar colors close to each other. and a very random synthetist outline technique (a similar technique the post-impressionist painter Gaugin used). Modigliani outlines his figure moreso in black than Villon. Mme. Fulgence's age is understood by the strong dynamic colour quality that has been used to break her face apart. In a way, these colourful divisions act as wrinkles. For instance, the chunk of layered pink on her lip creates a scowl and the heavily applied white on her nose helps it to seem upright; a 'snobbish' upturn. Colours such as the oran ge, have been used to highlight her l...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Desperate Housewives Peep Show Gender Essays

Desperate Housewives Peep Show Gender Essays Desperate Housewives Peep Show Gender Essay Desperate Housewives Peep Show Gender Essay In the sitcom example from Desperate Housewives and Peep Show, there are many examples where the characters express ideas concerning their own gender.In Desperate Housewives, the women in the sitcom are typical American stereotype of rich women, pretty with slim figures and rich husbands. They may also seem obsessed with the other male characters in the show, and they are interested in money, cars, house, shopping and make-up which are usually portrayed as what a women interests. Every female character on Desperate Housewives struggles with the attempt of obtaining that perfect, idealistic picture of a family.The men in the sitcom are all tall, dark and handsome, and they all own big upmarket homes, with expensive cars, which evidently show that they have a lot of money. Some of them are ruggedly handsome, and some of them have a nice clean shaven look but the women in the show find attraction in them. The women in the show are mostly portrayed as either floozy, or wanting to everyth ing to be absolutely perfect, whether it be in their everyday lives or it being within their own families. These are the stereotypical views of the women and men in suburban areas of America.In Peep Show however, the portrayal on the women and the men in this sitcom are very different compared to the characters in desperate housewives. One main example of the difference between the sitcom is that they are not based in American or in the suburban area of Britain as that is where they are based. The main male characters in this sitcom share a flat in Croydon South London. So this sitcom is a representative of the attitudes and values of two men sharing a flat in London. This was portrayed as to be very unhygienic and messy. One of the main male characters clearly show this by being a drunk and obviously a hedonist who evidently lives only for the pleasures of life e.g. sex, drugs, and drink. He character is named Jeremy. The other however challenges the idea of a stereotypical male sh aring a flat, as he is more feminine, clean and definitely more organised than Jeremy. He is also much more nervous compared to the other more laid back character, this character is named Mark. The women in peep show are pretty and slim, but they are not as exaggerated as the women in desperate housewives. The women characters in Peep Show merely show a clear contrast between men and women in Britain as they are evidently much more clean and hygienic as opposed to the drunken unshaven men in peeps how excluding Mark and this shows how Mark has a more feminine side compared to the other male characters in the sitcom. Also in Peep Show, mark is afraid of a long term commitment of marriage which is correctly portrayed of most males. This therefore shows that Mark also has a masculine side to him.In Peep Show, the gender and masculinity is mainly shown through the way they act and what they say. In Peep Show, Jeremy enjoys sex and always getting drunk and also very unhygienic habits, wh ereas Mark does not correspond to this idea of stereotypical males, as his is much more hygienic, he also carries himself appropriately although his fears of marriage shows the emblematic male in him.The women in both sitcoms portray themselves as clean and know how to look after themselves, however in the American sitcom Desperate Housewives, they seem to be more obsessed with money, and also in both sitcoms the seems interested in sex which portrays them as sexual objects.In both sitcoms the do a good job of portraying different characteristics to do with the gender of people.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Property law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Property law - Coursework Example It is essential that the terms of these contracts must provide for the lease term, annual rent, security deposit, taxes, construction and completion and obligations for repairs. A commercial agreement needs to clearly and unambiguously state the lease term. It must state when the lease begins, when it ends and what the duration of the lease is. The beginning of lease is usually from the same day that the tenant commences to occupy the property. The lease agreement must also define the exact area of land that the landlord is willing to rent. It must also clearly state whether the area to be rented is on the ground floor. If the area in question is on any other floor on a building, the agreement document must also mention the floor. If the landlord has promised to furnish the property in a particular manner before the commencement of the lease, it must also be clearly stated in the lease agreement. These renovations are known as â€Å"Tenant Improvements† and they are usually re quired in a commercial lease for office space. It is imperative that the landlord (the Lessor) must agree to â€Å"reasonable diligence to attempt to complete the Tenant Improvements†. The plan for Tenant Improvements must be certified by an architectural firm and the improvements must be in compliance with the plan. ... If the deficiencies have been properly rectified, the architect must intimate that to the Lessee and provide a certificate. Within 10 days of the certification, the Lessee must occupy the premises. The Lessor and Lessee then must â€Å"execute a memorandum in writing† that specifies the date of occupancy of premises by the Lessee. The annual rent and the amount of security deposit of the lease needs to be determined in advance and be put into writing. Lessee agrees to pay the Lessor a certain amount of monthly rent. It is usually agreed upon to be paid on 1st of each month. An additional charge of a certain amount must be provided for in the terms of agreement which is to be paid if the payment of rent is delayed for more than five days after the first day of any calendar month. The mode of payment of rent must also be provided for. More than one modes of payment can be agreed upon. A cheque that is denied by bank shall not be deemed to have constituted a valid and timely paym ent of rent. Where renting out of an office space is concerned, it must be agreed that the Lessee, its agents, servants, employees, customers, guests, and invitees shall have the exclusive right to park without charge in the parking lot of the premises throughout the lease term. However, the Lessee must also agree that he shall have a limited number of parking spaces and this limit must not be exceeded so that the parking spaces for other tenants of the building are not hindered. Lessor must also agree that he will not attempt to prevent the use of the allotted parking spaces by the Lessee. The Lessor agrees to grant the place in peaceful possession of the Lessee and gets it acknowledged by the Lessee that the place is in an acceptable condition. The Lessor

Friday, October 18, 2019

International Business in the Emerging Markets Essay

International Business in the Emerging Markets - Essay Example The magnitude of this flow of capital is momentous, and although there are well-defined reasons for this trend it has caught many by surprise.† The increase in FDI investment has mostly been in East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, regions of Europe, and Central Asia. This means Africa and other parts of the world did not receive much in terms of FDI. The effect this has on the poorer nation is that it keeps their currency low and the amount of available jobs are low as well as the economy being flat. The effect on the countries that receive investments are a higher foreign exchange reserve, more jobs, and a higher GDP. (2) China’s energy policy and its impact on developing countries in Africa and Asia. China is now the greatest energy consuming country in the world, surpassing the US based on the IEA (International Energy Agency) findings. Although Chinese officials dispute that the country is responsible for 2.25 billion tons of energy consumption , the country did admit to stockpiling oil when there is a lull in purchasing. China is also the leading gas emitter so it makes sense that China would be the largest consumer of energy. Also China spends the most amount of money on green technology. China has such a desire to dominate the oil market that is has gone against sanctions in order to invest in Iran. This means that not only are the Chinese going against what the world is trying to accomplish but also are strengthening the Iranian mindset of misinformation. Due to the fact that Chinese officials focus on controlling demand of gas by emphasizing price impacts the developing countries like Africa and Asia because the prices in these two countries are much higher than what would be in China. Why? Well first of all purchasing from Iran would lower prices but also being a major buyer in the market can allow for more pressure on the market. In Africa there is little pressure on the market for energy and Asia outside of China's consumption has a much lower energy demand. By cornering the market with the U.S, China is essentially decreasing the likelihood that Asia and Africa will ever be able to afford the energy costs. Even if these countries can afford it, are the citizens willing to pay for this consistently, or will they tire of high energy prices? The effect on Africa and some parts of Asia will be a lack of the supply of energy and therefore power outages, inability to drive cars, and issues of this nature. As a NY Times article states: â€Å"Power blackouts — â€Å"load shedding,† in utility jargon — are hardly novel in sub-Saharan Africa, where many electricity grids remain chewing-gum-and-baling-wire affairs. Even so, this year is different. Perhaps 25 of the 44 sub-Saharan nations face crippling electricity shortages, a power crisis that some experts call unprecedented. The causes are manifold: strong economic growth in some places, economic collapse in others, war, poor pl anning, population booms, high oil prices and drought have combined to leave both industry and residents short of power when many need it most.† These outages can be crippling for small businesses such as farms, and production companies. Factories would have to build another day and the company loses because they are unable to meet their obligations. (3) The drivers of globalization amid the current financial crisis. Before we can talk about globalization we must

Ethical and Legal Issues in the Workplace Research Paper

Ethical and Legal Issues in the Workplace - Research Paper Example In terms of workplace conditions, modern racism does not lead to hate against women and other minorities; however, they cause discomfort and avoidance from members of the majority (Cornelius, 2002). Where the workplace or organization has some groups which represent minority populations, they usually create a crucial group of people who can also protect these members from unfavourable stereotypes (Cornelius, 2002). In some instances, the increased number of women in the upper rungs of management is linked with a decreased tendency towards stereotyping. Authors discuss the significance of indicating threshold points where there is a sufficient number of minorities in groups in securing diversity change techniques (Kosek, et.al., 2003). Tsui and Gutek (1999) also point out consistent indications which express more similarities among supervisors and subordinates in terms of age, ethnicity, and gender correlations with human resource outcomes performing better and having less role ambigu ity and conflict. Leck, et.al., (1995) discuss that some organizations which are more diverse (i.e higher female population), also manifest with lesser wage gaps. Among groups, studies indicate that there are varying results and outcomes from diverse setups. Analysis by McLeod and colleagues (1996) indicate that more diverse groups were likely to engage in improved quality solutions in terms of brainstorming, mostly in relation to homogeneous groups; they also displayed more coordination and cooperation.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Same Sex Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Same Sex Marriage - Essay Example In an attempt to show the positive aspects of gay marriage, he has ended up disclosing the negative and harmful practices that gay marriage can potentially inculcate in adults. The first point that is disagreeable in Sullivan’s essay is his comparison of heterosexual people with gays. The point he makes is that gays are asking for the equal status similar to that of the heterosexuals asked for during 1970’s. By this, he means that gays should be included in society without any hesitation and should be treated equally. However, what he fails to understand is that when heterosexuals were asking for equal status, they were asking for equal status ‘and’ respect for the ‘opposite’ and ‘unique’ responsibilities that women were carrying out in their married life. Females were never given importance and respect for their role in the development and growth of their families. Hence, they were asking to be given ‘equal’ status to men. However, in gay marriages there is no such friction as gays cannot fulfill the role of female no matter how feminine a partner is. Hence, comparing gay people’s de mand for equal status to the demand of equal status by heterosexuals is absurd. Secondly, Sullivan talks about the psychological wounds that gay men suffer due to heterosexual marriages they are forced into. However, Sullivan fails to look into the future of same-sex marriage. The same-sex marriage can cause immense psychological problems and deeper wounds on children as child needs both, a father and a mother, for healthy emotional and psychological growth. Third point that is unacceptable in Sullivan’s argument is his idea of sexual freedom that gays enjoy. Sullivan is saying that sexual freedom is in having sex with anyone and anytime you want to. According to him, more partners mean more freedom. It is difficult to understand how he has come to

Change Through the Ages Part One Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Change Through the Ages Part One - Essay Example The society today places a lot of emphasis on technology as most systems are wired to work efficiently with technology. The world has made significant strides in technology from people using simple machines to make their jobs easier. In this case, the use of computers has evolved over time from doing simple tasks to performing complex operations (Pepe, 2011). The use of computers has made work efficient in various institutions and corporations as it can perform tasks that would otherwise be done by a lot of people. Companies have been able to save time and money by doing accounting work, auditing, keeping their records and even in communication with other people (Pepe, 2011). The work of computer scientist in the workplace is to ensure that the technology department is working smoothly. Their work is to make sure that all the machines in the company are working in great condition and also to ensure there is no internet threat to the operations of the business. Threats can be in the form of internet viruses, competitors trying to get information about the enterprise. Computer scientists are held in high esteem in the society today. This is because they hold companies together. They ensure that there is the free flow of information and ensure that the companys operations are running smoothly and efficiently. Any reputable company needs to have a computer scientist to ensure that all the computers are synced and are working well to make the flow of information much easier. Technology keeps getting better and better with time (Towner, 2012). People are always coming up with better technology, faster computers, sophisticated software that are not only much easier to use but also very fast. For instance, there is a significant difference between the first computers that were initially invented and the machines that people use now. Today, the computers are much smaller, use less energy, are much faster and have more storage capacities than the first computers

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Same Sex Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Same Sex Marriage - Essay Example In an attempt to show the positive aspects of gay marriage, he has ended up disclosing the negative and harmful practices that gay marriage can potentially inculcate in adults. The first point that is disagreeable in Sullivan’s essay is his comparison of heterosexual people with gays. The point he makes is that gays are asking for the equal status similar to that of the heterosexuals asked for during 1970’s. By this, he means that gays should be included in society without any hesitation and should be treated equally. However, what he fails to understand is that when heterosexuals were asking for equal status, they were asking for equal status ‘and’ respect for the ‘opposite’ and ‘unique’ responsibilities that women were carrying out in their married life. Females were never given importance and respect for their role in the development and growth of their families. Hence, they were asking to be given ‘equal’ status to men. However, in gay marriages there is no such friction as gays cannot fulfill the role of female no matter how feminine a partner is. Hence, comparing gay people’s de mand for equal status to the demand of equal status by heterosexuals is absurd. Secondly, Sullivan talks about the psychological wounds that gay men suffer due to heterosexual marriages they are forced into. However, Sullivan fails to look into the future of same-sex marriage. The same-sex marriage can cause immense psychological problems and deeper wounds on children as child needs both, a father and a mother, for healthy emotional and psychological growth. Third point that is unacceptable in Sullivan’s argument is his idea of sexual freedom that gays enjoy. Sullivan is saying that sexual freedom is in having sex with anyone and anytime you want to. According to him, more partners mean more freedom. It is difficult to understand how he has come to

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Parvo Virus in Puppies; Does my Puppy really need it and why Essay

Parvo Virus in Puppies; Does my Puppy really need it and why - Essay Example In this case, the dogs cannot survive where the feces have been dropped anywhere. This makes the disease highly contagious and in the end very risky to the animals. The feaces that contain the virus serve as containers for the virus, and they are transmitted once they get in contact with surfaces such as cages, floors and other objects (Wade, 2). The virus does not discriminate on the dogs that it attacks, but it is highly infectious on puppies that are below four months and have not been vaccinated. However, the disease is more infectious on other breeds such as the Rottweiler and the Doberman pinscher. These breeds also have very severe results when they are infected. The disease also has its own symptoms that identify it. They comprise loss of appetite, fever, bloody diarrhea, lethargy and death after 48 or 72 hours from the day of infection. This shows that the disease is highly dangerous, and it is in the best factor that preventive measures are taken. In any case, when the signs are seen in the animals, more so the puppies, it is wise to see a veterinarian as fast as possible (Kahler, 2). Over the years, veterinarians have diagnosed the disease based on clinical appearances and laboratory tests. In as much as there is no specific drug that can be used to kill the virus and cure the dogs, the treatment of the dog is done in a slow process. This treatment normally starts with primary efforts such as; rehydration since the dog is extremely dehydrated from the diarrhea. This is also done to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. Proper cleaning and disinfection of kennels is considered one of the greatest ways of preventing contamination by the virus; thus reducing the risks that come along with the disease. To ensure that the cleaning has been effective, it is always advised that one should contact a veterinarian for advice on

Violent character Essay Example for Free

Violent character Essay Abigail starts off in the play all innocent, but as the play progresses she becomes a more violent character. Shes had an affair with John Proctor and wants him, but he wants to stop the affair altogether, she accuses him of being cowardly Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be. She really doenst want John to stay with Elizabeth so later on she tries to blame her for witchery. She makes the scene really dramatic, and grabbes the audiences attention more in a way of what they think of her now, to what they thaught of her at the start of the play. This man is a newcomer to Salem, an outsider who the people are not very accepting of him. One of the reasons maybe that hes no were near as religious as the people of Salem, for example I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart Mr Parris, there are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardily ever mension God anymore. This makes Parris angry, and aroused, he replies with Why, thats a drastic charge!  As the play goes on, in act 1 we learn that Parris is an important man, but also a man with enemies. The Putnams are always trying to find ways of sending him down, they get a great chance when his daughter is accused of being a witch. From this mans language in the play, the audience think of him more as being a respected man, but also one who doesnt want his authority questioned. Reverrand Hale comes into the play towrads the end of act one, he plays a very straight forward man, hes infact a man who knows a lot about witches, thats why Rev. Parris sends for him when Betty is taken ill.  He rises the tension in the play by shouting at the suspected girls who were dancing in the woods, shouting at them to confess about Lucifer.  In The Crucible there has been quite a lot of emotionaly charged scenes , like when Abigail and Proctor were discussing their affair behind the barn building, also theres been a lot of violence and arguments, for example when Tituba was being wipped for being accused of conjuring spirits in the woods, then Abigail was shouting all the bad things what Tituba was ment to have done. There was arguments like when Parris was arguing with Abigail, do you look for wipping, I thaught I saw someone running naked through the trees! and when Abigail says its not true he replies in anger I saw it!. I think the most dramatic scene was when the girls were dancing in the woods because they were all screaming with someone naked, with a chamber pot in the middle where a innocent chicken was sacrificed for the sake of the girls sportin as it were.  There were lots of interrogation scenes like when Rev. Hale was asking the girls who were dancing in the woods, who conjured spirits, he had them all in a line until one of them spoke out and accused Abigail. Abigail replied in anger and strongly denied the accusation. This builds up tension in the scene. Another thing that the audience want to know is if Abigail and Proctor are still sleeping together, further on in the play we find they dont, Its mostly based on Proctor and whether he is to save his life and lie, or go with his concience and suffer the consiquences.  I think what makes the plot dramatic is all the happenings comming at once, like the witchcraft, Abigail and Proctors affair, Betty being ill, Parriss disputes with the Putnams and Tituba being accused and beaten all packed into the opening scene of the play. Another small factor is Abigails dialogue being more and more violent as she gets more annoyed, first she was quiet later shes loud and violent. I think Arthur Miller chose to set the play in Salem simply because it was a very religious community with strong views on witchcraft and the supernatural, so if anything of the sort was to happen, serious problems would occur.  The play is also set in the spring time, which is ironic, and also it maybe a new start for the people, it almost looks like nothing bad would ever happen there, as if its a fairy tale land in a childrens book. Salem was a place where the community was divided between people who done good or bad thing in their life, for example Rev Parris has a faction within the church to drive him out. Sale is also a community split by religious disputes.  Another place is scene 1 which creates dramatic tension is when Rev. Parris in the small room where hes arguing with Abigail, hes almost in prisoned in the small dark room, where outside its bright and sunny. Almost making the audience think that Parris is a harsh, cruel man with something about him. If it started were he where outside, the audiences may have a different view on him. The stage directions help to build the tension in ways which build up towards the heat of the argument (the explosive force crucible), for example when Abigail keeps coming on stage and critisising Goody Putnam. When people come in and out of the play all the time, its not as boring for the audience which makes them want to see whats going to happen next, therefore building up dramatic tension all the way through. Characters appearing in and out of the play at specific times helps the audience build up a picture of what is happening and whats going to happen, they may mension or give clues on where theyre going then return when whether the audience expects it or not, most of the time if the writer of the play wants to create dramatic tension the characters will pop up when the audience leasts expects it. This helps give false expectations of the characters where abouts building up the tension bit by bit. To concude this essay I think think scene one in The Crucible is dramatic because of all the major happenings occur all together in one, action-packed scene, as I have explained earlier on in this essay. I think its a very effective first act because it grabs the audiences attention straight away, even in the first few minutes of the play. Scene one leaves you where you desperately want to see what is going to happen to the characters later on in the play. I think the audiences would have reacted in different ways, when the girls were dancing at the start of the play and Abigail smashed the chiken on the ground getting blood all over her face the audiences would have been quite shocked and even more shocked when they saw a naked woman all this was very dramatic, I think Miller deliberatley wanted the girl to be naked because of this.  Another audience catching scene was when Abigail and Proctor were behind the barn discussing their affair and Abigail said you sweated like a stalion when I ever came near, the audience must have been enthrolled at the thaught they were taking risks on having an affair in such a strict community.

Monday, October 14, 2019

A Critique of Data warehousing in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

A Critique of Data warehousing in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems INTRODUCTION General Background There are different ways in which companies have collected and accessed the data in order to support and enhance the business. Since 1990s, with the emergence of the concept of business data warehouse, companies have been instituting data warehousing for data mining, data analysis, reporting and other business intelligence purpose (Matthias et al., 2003). Bill Inmon in 1990, defined data warehousing as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a subject-oriented, integrated, non-volatile, and time-variant collection of data in support of managements decisions. He also stated that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“data warehouse contains a very useful source of data for the explorer and data miner. The data found in the data warehouse is cleansed, integrated, organized. And the data is historicalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Inmon W. H, 2002). Data warehouse is also defined as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“architecture used to maintain critical historical data that has been extracted from operational data storage and transformed into formats acce ssible to the organizations analytical communityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Anne Marie, 2009). In the same decade, with the success of Material Requirements Planning 2 (MRP II) and its evolution to Enterprise resource planning (ERP), various companies implemented ERP software as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“integrated suitesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  that automate core corporate activities and helps the corporate managers to coordinate the common functions of an enterprise (Gibson et al., 1999). ERP can be defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“techniques and concepts for integrated management of business as a whole from the viewpoint of the effective use of management resources to improve the efficiency of enterprise management. ERP packages are integrated (covering all business functions) software packages that support these ERP conceptsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Alexis Leon, 2008). For every critical business decision taken, information is the foundation. To facilitate this, all functional areas of the organization are integrated using ERP (Chou, 2005). Most ERP vendors have an integrated business suite containing busi ness intelligence (BI) tools to access their data modules directly. However, data warehousing in ERP system is a complicated task that requires the use of various types of inputs like the historical data, and the information that are external to the ERP system (Peng and Nunes, 2008; Chaudhuri et al., 1997). Although ERP systems can integrate all business transaction data into their master databases for organizational planning, it may not be a solution for data analysis and decision support process. Selection of ERP, implementation and integration with BI is the costly and risky processes in the companys life span (Baki et al, 2005). This paper reviews the value of data warehousing in ERP systems. It identifies the power and the capabilities ERP and Data Warehousing. And, reviews the claims made by ERP vendors about their integrated BI solution. The conclusion is provided in the last section. Research Objectives The paper presents the study of features and claims by ERP vendors on its ERPs efficiency of the data warehousing in ERP system. This study attempts to critically review and question the claims by ERP vendors on their efficiency of Data warehousing in ERP systems. Research objective is also to identify those issues that occur in Data warehousing in ERP systems, and then map them in the research framework, perhaps with more detail related to the dimensions that are found. The issues are defined with the viewpoints of vendors and consultants. This paper will provide an overview of the issues and challenges that the intersection of these two IS concepts are creating. Research Design An overview of the importance of the information technology sector and a synopsis on enterprise resource planning systems are presented first, followed by a discussion on the research problem and the academic and practical motivations for undertaking the present study. The study is a review of literature, and claims made by prominent ERP vendors on the data warehousing in ERP system. Critical Literature Review The research design of this study consists of theoretical risk ontology through a critical literature review. A critical literature review was conducted by first searching for the appropriate literature. Initial phase of the literature research attempted to search and retrieve the secondary literature sources like journals, books and newspapers that are directly related to data warehousing in ERP, and data mining. In this process it was identified that current research studies on data warehousing in ERP system focus mainly on ERP selection, implementation, integration with data warehouse, and business intelligence (Chou et al, 2005; Shehab et al, 2004; Davenport, 1998; Themistocleous et al, 2006). The process involved a search of prominent Publisher of journals in information services like ACM Portal, Emerald, Wiley Interscience and Web search engine Google Scholar and IEE Explore. Journals and databases were searched by generating key words and search terms with initial reading and brainstorming. I decided to focus my study on articles that discuss the ERP and particularly the integration with BI. This paper presents the critical literature review about the data warehousing in ERP systems. ERP SYSTEMS Definition of ERP ERP system is a software package that integrates the flow information through the company, including financial, accounting, human resources, supply chain, and customer information. Yen et al (2002) defined ERP system as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning, marketing and manufacturingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . An integrated ERP system can cover wide range of functionalities like reporting, planning, budgeting, forecasting, strategy management, scorecards, and risk management (SAP, 2009) and integrate them into one unified database. It automates core corporate activities by incorporating best practices to facilitate rapid decision making, cost reduction, and greater managerial control (Holland et al, 1999). For example, functional modules such as manufacturing, warehouse management, human resources, finance, customer relations management, supply chain management were all once stand alone software applications, typically having its own database and network (tech-faq, 2009). Best practices are incorporated as a result of the long development history of the ERPs. ERP market is led by companies like SAP AG, Oracle Corporation, Sage Group, Microsoft Corporation and Infor Global Solutions (Wikipedia, 2009). Importance of ERP An important reason for implementing ERP is that, it can help companies re-engineer their business process and compete in the market. Davenport (1998) says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“for managers who have struggled, at great expense and with great frustration, with incompatible information systems and inconsistent operating practices, the promise of an off-the-shelf solution to the problem of business integration is enticingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Following are the benefits of ERP systems over the distributed stand alone departmental systems (Yen et al, 2002): * Business process automation a unified enterprise view of the business that encompasses all functions and departments. Improvement in the supply chain via the use of e-communication and E-commerce. * Timely access to management information an enterprise database where all business transactions are entered, recorded, processed, monitored and reported There are many reasons why organizations find ERP system very attractive. The primary reasons focus on the frustrations in using the existing stand alone systems. Convincing reasons for a purchasing ERP system may include (Chen, 2001): * Efficiency of the current system Inability of the existing stand alone systems to support organizational needs * Failure in the distributed system The use of multiple points of input using multiple application which leads in duplicated effort of capturing and storing the data in existing system * Maintenance overhead in the current system The requirement of extensive resources (man and machine) for maintenance and support of the system. * Competition Competition in the global market and the desire to reengineer its business process * Company growth The growth of the enterprise and subsequent incompatibility of several legacy information system * E-commerce Inability of employees to respond easily to questions or information requested by key customer or suppliers ERP systems provide a common platform and business practices across the enterprise that allows the real-time access. According to Davenport (1998), ERP solutions are designed to solve the fragmentation of information in large business organisations, and integrate all the information flowing within a company. ERP failures ERP system implementation can either reap huge benefits for successful companies or it can be disastrous for organizations that fail to manage the implementation process (Holland et al, 1999). The selection and acquisition of ERP software is a risky and challenging task. And a wrong purchase may adversely affect the organization. Themistocleous states many reason for the failure of ERP system. For example, * Resistance from the employs against the change in the system * Differences between organisations and consultants as a result of cost overruns and projects delays. * Non-flexibility in ERP software forces organisation to abandon their way of doing business * Conflict with the business strategy of the organization Selecting ERP and implementation In-house software system development is generally expensive, time consuming and often covered by uncertainties and integration of various incompatible software systems may not function well with each other. If different software packages are being used, data may not be consistent. On the other hand purchasing off-the-shelf ERP software packages can solve problem. Holland et al (1999) says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the companies are radically changing their information technology strategies by purchasing pre-packaged software instead of developing IT systems in-houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . There are different strategic approaches to ERP software implementation. It can be implemented with either a minimum deviation from the standard settings that the ERP vendor provides or with the customization of a system to suit local requirements (tech-faq, 2009). As discussed by Yusuf et al (2004) in the case study about the implementation of ERP in Rolls-Royce in partnership with Electronic Data Services (EDS), ERP implementation is a complicated task. The project implementation problems faced while implementing are * Cultural Problems Some of the functions and processes of the new system did not receive full appreciation from the employee. So, the implementation team had to resolve this by illustrating the improvements made to the company as a whole. Also extensive trainings were provided to the employees of Rolls-Royce. * Business Problems Because of the rigidity in the business structure of SAP R/3 ERP, employees of Rolls-Royce adjusted their working practices in order to fit SAP. * Technical Problems As the system required the retrieval of old data from legacy system which were in de-normalized form, Rolls-Royce had to run legacy system in parallel with the ERP until the expensive process of extracting the old data from legacy system was normalized, screened and stored in a sensible data format in the new database. Implementation of ERP and planning of the resources required to run the enterprise is not the end of the road for ERP. Organization will realize the full potential of ERP when it is used and properly managed (Yusuf et al, 2004). One of the main difficulties experienced by ERP implementations have been the costly development of additional software to summarize and retrieve the information for generating the reports (Themistocleous et al, 2001). A company that plans to invest into ERP needs to have a good strategy and a clear idea about the cost of ERP system. Implementation slowdowns the routine works within an organization. Customization is costly and time consuming (Yen et al, 2002). As outlined by Peng and Nunes (2009), reasons like insufficient user training, loss of in-house IT experts, bankruptcy of system vendor and barriers like inefficient communication between functional divisions can cause ERP post implementation failures Analytical and forecasting functions of ERP: Business managers will have different information needs for planning and decision making (Peng and Nunes, 2009). Decision support system can reduce the time, cost and improve efficiencies. Analytical and forecasting functions are the skills, processes used to support decision making and forecasting. Analytical and forecasting features of ERP can be accessed by managers using an interface such as web-based or graphical interface via the internet or intranet (Marnewick, 2005). If an organization does not take advantage of decision support systems, it cannot take complete advantage of the data and may lose its competitive edge. Most ERP systems today have highly integrated databases and business intelligence (BI) tools to access their data modules directly (Chou, 2005). ERP vendors, data warehousers, and third-party tool vendors have numerous products and solutions for using the ERP data. There are 3 major solutions for ERP data (searchSAP, 2009): 1. Solutions from third-party vendors that analyze data within ERP systems 2. ERP-based solutions that analyze data within ERP systems 3. ERP-based solutions that build data warehouses outside their ERP systems An ERP-based data warehouse is a classical, external data warehouse or data mart built with tools offered by an ERP vendor (Russom, 2007). ERP reports are generated using the existing ERP schema as the foundation for building the standard reports. Integrated business intelligence system pulls the data from ERP systems to a data warehouse and enables to perform data analysis and deliver superior reporting for making timely and accurate decision (Chou et al, 2005). Closer integration of corporate wide data warehousing data with ERP data potentially enhances companies return on their ERP and data warehouse investments (Wiley, 2009). ERP contains a set of analytical tools to facilitate sales planning. Yen et al (2002) says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“many companies deploy data warehouses for facilitating the data analysis in ERP. They will buy packaged analytic applications that include a data warehouse, analytical tools, and predefined data models to accelerate the data analysis in ERPà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . But, in spite of deploying ERP and an integrated data warehousing and BI, there is no guarantee that the forecast generated is up to the accuracy. As discussed by Peng and Nunes, one of the reasons for inaccurate forecasting is due to inherent difficulties in predicting the fluid market. This results in significant impact in companies. ERP systems are usually designed to record business transactions data, make changes to existing data, reconcile data, keep track of business transactions, run predefined business reports, and manage business transactions. In contrast, analytical systems are designed to examine large volumes of data and then to generate essential information for decision-making. There are five major software vendors offering ERP solutions to business worldwide. According to reports from Gartner Dataquest, quoted by destinationcrm (destinationcrm, 2006) SAP is the market share leader in ERP, followed by Oracle, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics and SSA Global Technologies. DATA WAREHOUSING AND DATA MINING Data Warehousing Bill Inmon (2002) says that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“data warehouse contains a very useful source of data for the explorer and data miner. The data found in the data warehouse is cleansed, integrated, organized. And the data is historicalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . To help managers and decision makers retrieve information they need from tremendous amount of data reside in database, many enterprises have built system environments focusing on data warehousing technology, deployed that as an integral part of a decision support systems (DSS). Data warehouse is responsible for providing information needed for supporting executive decision making. As a result, data warehousing technology has been integrated into ERP systems (Zhang et al, 2006). Yusuf et al (2004) defines Data warehouse as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“an integrated collection of data. The data is stored centrally and is extracted from operational, historical and external databasesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Data warehouses are used for decision support. Historical, summarized and consolidated data is more important than detailed, individual records. Data Mining Data mining is the study and extraction of patterns from a large set of data. It can be defined as the process of analyzing data from different viewpoints and summarizing it into useful information for planning and increase revenue. It allows users to analyze data from many different dimensions or angles, categorize it, and summarize the relationships identified (Anderson, 2009). Data mining can also be defined as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“practice of automatically searching large stores of data to discover patterns and trends that go beyond simple analysisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Oracle, 2009). Data mining uses sophisticated mathematical algorithms to slice the data and evaluate the probability of future events. The key properties of data mining are (thearling, 2009): 1. Automatic discovery of patterns 2. Prediction of likely outcomes 3. Creation of actionable information Data Mining is widely used in applications such as product analysis, demand and supply analysis, understanding consumer research marketing, investment trend in stocks real estates, telecommunications, e-commerce and so on (Chou et al, 2005). However, a database which is new and which has only a current piece of information is not suitable for data mining as it can never detect trends and long term patterns of behaviour. Historical data is very essential for data mining as historical data contains valuable chunk of information hidden in it. Mature data is crucial for understanding the seasonality of business and the larger cycles of business to which every corporation is subject (Inmon, 1996). Data mining uses data from data source in order to provide users with meaningful indicators. Data from ERP systems is used as data source. Modern ERP systems provide advanced BI tools out of the box, avoiding the hassle of connecting a stand-alone BI system, and lowering the cost which is a critical capability to consider ERP for midsize companies, with limited staff and resources to maintain multiple systems (Newcomer, 2009). After implementing the ERP system in organizations, they tend to concentrate more on the return on investment (ROI). Chou et al (2005) says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In order to justify their return-on-investment (ROI), more and more organizations are turning to BI tools that make data collected by ERP, customer relationship management (CRM), and other data-intensive applications meaningfulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Since a BI system includes technologies for reporting, analysis, and sharing information, many ERP vendors have integrated these solutions with ERP systems to truly maximize the ROI of ERP. The integration of BI and ERP systems can strengthen corporate decision-making capability through utilizing the analytical capability of BI system and data managerial capability of ERP system (Chou et al, 2005). Business Intelligence (BI) can help in competition analysis, market research, economical trends, consume behaviour, industry research, and geographical information analysis and so on. Business Intelligence using data mining helps in decision-making (Naxton, 2006). ERP VENDOR CLAIMS Modern ERP systems may provide advanced BI tools, avoiding the hassle of connecting a stand-alone BI system, and lowering the cost. Integrated business intelligence contains a broad category of analytical applications that help companies in making decision based on the data in their ERP systems (Moller, 2005). Oracle and SAP are currently the only major ERP vendors with such offerings. Analytical applications can be broadly classified as follows: Financial Analytics Financial analysis refers to an assessment of the viability, stability and profitability of a business, sub-business or project (Wikipedia, 2009). It is concerned with optimising the profitability of the business. When used effectively it can provide a competitive differentiator. Financial analytics helps the business focus on the most important customers and the most profitable products and services (Brook, 2009). It helps them to (Schroeck, 2001): * Understand the overall performance of the organization * Identify ways to measure and maximize the value of intangible assets (eg. Services) * Effectively manage enterprise-wide investments and reduce operating costs * Forecast variations in the marketplace, * Optimize the capabilities of information systems, and * Business processes improvement. Integrated analytics allow organizations with an ERP infrastructure to facilitate reporting and tools required for decision-makers. Oracle E-Business Suit (EBS) is one suite of applications that contains ERP and integrated BI. Oracle says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Oracle Financial Analytics helps front-line managers improve financial performance with complete, up-to-the-minute information on their departments expenses and revenue contributionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . SAP Business Suite is a range of software modules with an integrated Business Intelligence. SAP states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“SAP ERP provides powerful analytic software that enables powerful financial analysis to help you analyze your business, develop business plans and budgets, and track performance during execution.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (SAP AG, 2009). Few of the features and functions that support financial analytics as stated by SAP are * Financial and management reporting Providing a set of tools to meet the financial and management reporting needs. * Planning, budgeting, and forecasting Support traditional budgeting, rolling forecasts, and collaborative planning, such as cost center planning. * Working capital and cash flow management Optimize cash flow, including cash flow calculations and middle- and long-term planning. Sales Analytics Sales analytics is a procedure involving the gathering, classifying, comparing, and studying of company sales data. It may simply involve the comparison of total company sales in two different time periods. Or it may entail subjecting thousands of component sales (or sales-related) s to a variety of comparisons, like comparison with s for earlier periods of time (Wikipedia, 2009). SAP says that the SAP sales analytic help the organization to obtain the data necessary to proactively address trends and measure success and revenue shortfalls. Oracle states that analytics solutions provided by its E-business suite dramatically improve the effectiveness of sales people by providing real-time, actionable insight into every sales opportunity at the point of customer contact. With more accurate sales forecasts and enhanced identification of potential problems and opportunities, Oracle Sales Analytics helps close business faster and increase overall sales revenue. It lists the following benefits: * Resource allocation Identifying critical opportunities so that executives can assign the appropriate resources to increase the chance of winning * Sales forecasts Analyzing pipeline opportunities to determine actions required to meet sales targets. Provide the information about sales documents, such as opportunities, sales orders and sales contracts. Thus, help in future revenue forecasting. Integrated sales planning and analysis enables sales managers to understand the financial status and overall effectiveness of the sales organization quickly and easily. These scenarios help users obtain the data necessary to proactively address trends, measure customer retention and revenue shortfalls, and assess future opportunities (SAP, 2009). Operational Analytics Operational analytics is a process that facilitates delivery of the in-depth and focused analysis of the performance of each key operational area of the business. Operational Analytics try to provide comprehensive and focused analysis of every aspect of the operational area of a company (Information Management, 2007). Oracle says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Oracles Business Intelligence Suite delivers real-time operational analytics that enable you to make better business decisions fasterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Operational analytics is also a part of SAP business suite. SAP says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“SAP ERP provides features and functions for operational analysis to help you optimize the entire supply chain, improve revenues, and increase customer satisfactionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Few of the features and functions that support financial analytics as stated by SAP are: * Manufacturing reporting Provides various standard reports and analyses detailing production-related information. * Customer service analysis Used for monitoring financial trends, costs, and revenues per customer, as well as service contracts and operations. * Sales planning Used for opportunity planning and analysis and partner planning. * Sales analysis Provides an accurate overview of current sales performance and an overview of sales force effectiveness. Workforce Analytics Workforce Analytics is a powerful decision-making platform using business intelligence tools that offer to the management at every level the right and timely information at point of decision making process for a better visibility and accountability in regards to workforce-related issues (Information Management, 2007). Workforce Analytics is used by HR professionals, and line managers. It provides an analysis option that gives real-time insight into your workforce. They can identify trends at an early stage and make well-informed decisions, enabling you to manage your human capital more effectively, predict human-capital investment demands, and track workforce costs and the ROI associated with HR projects (Wikipedia, 2009). The focus is to analyse current and historical employee data to identify key relationships among variables and use this to provide insight into the workforce they need for the future. Oracle says that Oracle workforce analytics in the e-business suite à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“provides the strategy management and performance tracking needed to measure the effectiveness of HR initiatives. It helps to evaluate and communicate company performance, staffing, turnover, HR readiness, compensation, and competencies.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Managers need information that will help guide your strategic decisions. Implementing an Enterprise Resource System (ERP) that integrates all the information and processes into one coherent environment is a first and major step towards improved decision-making. But capturing and processing data is not sufficient to give the insight into the business that decision makers need today. Only when coupled with a business intelligence system can your ERP software enable users analyse and act on that data quickly and effectively. IT industrial leader, Microsoft quotes that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Forecaster for Microsoft Dynamics ERP helps you manage financial performance through accurate budgeting and planningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Microsoft, 2009). A CRITIQUE OF VENDOR CLAIMS Data Warehousing In todays ever-competitive business climate, the ability to understand business conditions and gain timely insight into business performance is essential for survival. Business users have long faced the challenge of being unable to easily analyze business data in their enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment. Oftentimes, the reporting tools available are too complex for business users to utilize effectively, and IT experts do not have the business background to sufficiently understand business users analytical needs. The delay in IT departments turnaround time can quickly render information irrelevant and outdated by the time it is available to business users. ERPs serve as transaction engines in many organizations. It provides mission-critical operational workflow but do not support decision support systems (DSS) directly (Inmon, 2000). Therefore, the need to source a data warehouse from the ERP system and other legacy systems is obvious. Many organisations are now discovering that the solution to leveraging investment decisions in and retrieving useful data from, an ERP system is to undertake a Data Warehousing initiative in conjunction with the implemented ERP system. But, the harsh reality of ERP systems implementation, to the expense of those organisations that invested resources in the initiative, is that ERP only gets data into the system, it does not prepare data for use and analysis (Inmon, 2000). ERP systems lack certain functionality and reporting capabilities. It has been realised that ERP systems are good for storing, accessing and executing data used in daily transactions, but it is not good at providing the information needed for long term planning and decision making (Radding, 2000) as ERP systems are not designed to know how the data is to be used once it is gathered (Inmon, 2000). Consequently, in the post-implementation phase organisations are often dismayed to find that they havent improved their an alytical and decision support capabilities (Inmon, 2000; Radding, 2000) as ERP systems do not provide an environment for decision support activities such as analysing historical trends, drawing conclusions, scenario building and planning. Business Intelligence using Data Warehouse built on ERP System Analytical and forecasting features are provided by the business intelligence tools that are linked to the data warehouse. Some of the common functions of Business Intelligence technologies are reporting, analytics, data mining and benchmarking (Wikipedia, 2009). Integration of ERP and BI can provide a consolidated analysis of the data and user-friendly reporting capabilities and help users make and correct decisions and gain advantages over their competitors. Financial analytics, sales analytics, operational analytics and workforce analytical, may provide the facility to analyze relationships and understand trends that ultimately support business decision. However, few of the challenges faced by data warehousing in ERP systems are in its capability of providing a valuable and accurate reporting service, data analysis and forecasting. Chou et al says (2005) says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Organizations recognize the wealth of information within ERP systems, the challenge lies in the ways of min ing themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . The lack of historical transaction data in the database containing the data from ERP is the most significant obstacle in successfully implementing a BI on ERP system. One of the key elements in accurate forecasting like trend reporting is the need for historical data. Most of the ERP vendors claim that the reports and forecasts generated by ERP or a BI that is integrated with ERP environment are of high accuracy. Zhang et al (2006) says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“although ERP system is powerful, a serious challenge is how to make use of previous experiences and knowledge to support managerial decision makingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Still the research has to be carried out to know the accuracy of the reports as ERP system does not contain the historical data in the enterprises data warehouse. Traditionally, the enterprise data warehouse needs historical data. When a large amount of historical data starts to stack up in the ERP environment, the ERP environment is usually purged, or the data is archived to a remote storage facility. When an enterprise data warehouse needs to go back in time and bring in historical data that has not been previously colle