American International Group, or AIG

Ann-Katrin Kohnle Organizational Behavior AIG American International Group, or AIG, started out as a company that represented American insurance companies in Shanghai. The company moved on to become a reinsurance company in the United States that would hekp insurance companies disperse their liabilites and therefore aid those companies to grow faster. In 1968, Maurice Greenberg took over as CEO and AIG grew and expanded into countries around the world. Today, AIG does not only provide reinsurance services anymore but also financial services.Maurice Greenberg was born in 1925, is a war veteran and graduated from New York law school. He had a very autocratic approach to leading AIG. His goal was to expand AIG and many political key figures asked him for advice. Because he gave advice to influential people and lobbied effectively, he was often given the benefit of the odubt when questionable practices within AIG became known. In the early 2000s there were several investigations into AIG aimed at clarifying questionable insurance practices and schemes used ot boost AIG’s revenue.As a result, Greenberg was asked to step down as the CEO in 2005 and he is currently the CEO of C. V. Starr & Co Inc. Greenberg was succeeded by Martin Sullivan, Robert Willumstad, and Edward Liddy, who is the current CEO of AIG. Leading up to the bailout of AIG in 2008, the company was involved in riskier and riskier transactions. AIG used credit default swaps that allowed other companies to transfer their risk to AIG in case their securities defaulted. However, AIG did not have enough money to actually pay all these companies once the recession hit.As a result, the federal government agreed to bail out AIG to save it from sure bankruptcy. Not all of AIG was to blame for its downfall, however. One department of the company, AIG Financial Products, dealt with hedge funds and very risky transactions that earned AIG billions of dollars but that also brought down the whole company in th e end. Even though it seems as though employees of AIG knew about the potential threat the Financial Products section posed to the entire company, nothing was ever done to impose stricter regulations on the department.On the contrary, big money and benefit incentives were given to the employees who brought in the most money. However, the transactions that brought in the most money most often also were the transactions that were the riskiest resulting in a very high risk portfolio. After the bubble exploded because AIG could not pay the institutions they had promised money to, the government bailed them out mainly because if AIG would have gone down, many other national and international companies that depended on AIG to do well would have failed as well.Until today, Greenberg who was CEO of the company the longest, maintains his innocence and states that he always acted in the best interest of the company and no unethical behavior was going on. The big question, however, is if the b ailout was necessary or justified. Should a company that has gambled away individuals’ and businesses’ money be rewarded for failing or should they have taken the fall and endured the consequences?

Female feticide Essay

Female feticide is one of the biggest challenges that India is facing today in terms of gender. It has become a significant social phenomenon. It transcends all barriers of caste, class and community and even the north-south dichotomy. The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Gender Gap report for the year 2007 has shown India at a dismal 120th position. The gender gap report looks at the disparities in terms of health, education, economic status and political participation between men and women. India is facing the toughest test when it comes to bridging the existing disparities. If we consider the gender gap alone, then the biggest challenge that India faces today is of female feticide. Sex selective abortions and increase in the number of female infanticide cases have become a significant social phenomenon in several parts of India. It would be wrong to say that the government is doing nothing, but the problem is that sometimes even the government becomes helpless. If the p eople are not ready to change their mentality despite being educated, then ‘we’ are to be blamed. Any progress toward halting infanticide has been foiled by the rise in sex-selective abortions. One thing which is clear is that laws can be enacted but whether we follow the law is up to us. Our government frames one law at a time and there are several people ready to break it. The other form of killing a girl child is infanticide – intentional act of killing a female within one year of her birth. This has led to an escalating gap in the sex ratio. The ratio among children up to the age of six was 962 girls per 1,000 boys in 1981, but twenty years later, the inequity had worsened: 927 girls per 1,000 boys. This ratio is amongst the most imbalanced in the world. The local, religious and social customs have also added fuel to the fire. India is still a largely feudal and patriarchal society. In many parts of our country (especially in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamilnadu and Punjab), women are viewed as an economic liability despite contributing in several ways to our society and economy. Women in India are victims of the patriarchal ideology that oppresses them. The most disturbing factor is the fact that sex selective abortion is prevalent even amongst the educated class. We need to understand the gravity of this problem before it is too late. There are numerous reasons behind this and mostly are social evils such as dowry system and lack of education and rights for women in India. The government can just provide few more schemes such as literacy programmes for females.

Hewlett Packard Case #2

2. What do you think of the way the team set out to find a market for the Kittyhawk? What correct turns and what wrong turns did they make? When setting out to find a market for Kittyhawk, there were several correct and incorrect decisions that the DMD division made that greatly affected their product and its future effectiveness. They initially went about it the right way by researching the electronics industry and the several companies within the industry that might want their new product. They also spent time analyzing HP’s future product plans and how they aligned with that of Kittyhawk’s.They looked into businesses where their innovative and disruptive product may have a greater demand and be better able to quickly incorporate their product, such as the mobile and gaming markets. The DMD division made the mistake of not waiting for the market to develop before mass producing their product. Existing customers tend to be hesitant when moving away from products that t hey have already invested in and move towards a disruptive technology. Many customers may not even have the resources or capabilities to use HP’s new product.DMD should have given time for customers to become aware of their innovative product before jumping to conclusions of future demand trends. One way to initially see how customers would react to Kittyhawk would have been to do beta and end user testing before establishing a permanent market. Also, the company hired a market research firm specializing in high-tech markets to help them segment the market, but since Kittyhawk was so innovative, the research was almost useless because there were no reliable leads or demands from customers.At the Computer Electronics Show, HP did not capitalize on the immediate market need set forth by Nintendo, who wanted their product for $50. This went against DMD’s original purpose of the project which was to create a cheap, small disk drive, which was exactly what Nintendo wanted. Instead, they chose to go into the PDA market, which was stated to have technical issues and an uncertain future. This was an unnecessary risk taken by HP.At the show, they bypassed the desktop and notebook computer sections, which were established markets that could have taken advantage of Kittyhawk. Although searching for a â€Å"new hill† to establish their market is a good idea to get a first-mover advantage, there are high demand risks when focusing solely on unproven markets. Instead of focusing on such unproven markets, DMD should have created their product so it could be variable enough to adjust to different consumer needs, which would attract a much wider market.DMD made the mistake of setting forth goals for Kittyhawk before assessing the market. These goals were not only unreasonable, but they created a lot of pressure on the engineering staff. They set forth a strict deadline of introducing the Kittyhawk in 12 months and breaking even in profits in 36 months. Alt hough this is a good idea to motivate your engineers to beat the competition and achieve a first-mover advantage, the engineers instead sacrificed aspects of the product that were critical to its success and were part of the original goal.In order to lower the price of the product as much as possible to satisfy customers, they sacrificed some of the promised capabilities that set the product apart from the competition. Although there is definitely an innovation and price tradeoff, when HP refused to sell Kittyhawk for less than $130, it was a clear indication of how they had moved so far away from their original goal of creating a visionary product and were mainly focused on just creating profits.

Analysing data and findings from questionnaire Essay

Analysing data and findings from questionnaire - Essay Example This information is available in Figure 5.3. 5.2.4 Respondents' Education The academic background of each of the respondents was obtained. Figure 5.4 reveals that most of respondents were Master degree holders and they represented 34.9 percent of the sample population while 8.9 percent of the respondents were educated up to high school level. 29.4 percent of the respondents were found to be having a Bachelor degree and 14.4 percent were PhD degree holders. 12.5 percent of the respondents revealed they had other certificates. 5.2.5 Respondents' Position It is evident from Figure 5.5 shows that most of respondents were experienced and had worked for 1-5 years. They represented 37.6 percent of the respondents while respondents having more than 20 years’ work experience comprised of 4.9 percent of the sample population. About 18.7 percent of the respondents had working experience of 6-10 years. Additionally, respondents having experience of less than one year accounted for 14.1 pe rcent of the respondents; while 17.7 percent amongst them had working experience of 11-15 years. The remaining 7 percent respondents amongst the sample population had experience of 16 -20 years. 5.3 The Data 5.3.1 Data Inspection Data analysis commenced with an inspection and review of the data in order to ascertain that it was suitable for analysis. In order to carry out an exhaustive data analysis it was considered proper to follow the procedures outlined by Hair et al. (2006), which included examining data patterns that were missed out and adhering to statistical assumptions, identification of outliers, and a review of skewness and kurtosis. 5.3.2 Missing... The study provides specific contributions relative to quality management practices in public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The researcher uses a sample population of 327 respondents in carrying out an exploratory factor analysis to determine the factor structure of instruments that had 101 items. The factors examines in this context were: transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style, laissez-faire leadership style, organizational culture and quality management practices. A test of reliability was also made in the context of all the interval scale variables in order to ascertain the extent to which they are free from casual errors. Additionally, this research made an analysis of the assumptions made in regard to homoscedasticity, linearity and non linearity and the outcomes showed that the assumptions proved to be correct. In addition to the above, the research conducted hierarchical regression in order to analyze the relationships amongst different leadership styles , organizational culture and practices of quality management. In view of the outcomes that emerged from the research, it can be said that all the hypotheses made in this study were found to have adequate support in terms of the research outcomes. The independent variables also revealed a pattern whereby they sufficiently contributed to practices of quality management. Organizational culture has been found to be important and to have a partially moderating impact on the relationships amongst laissez-faire leadership styles and quality management practices.

Newspaper Industry Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Newspaper Industry Analysis - Essay Example However, the effects of the internet are variant and do not affect the Indian newspaper industry and other developing economies. Table of Contents Introduction 5 Findings 6 Description and Benefits of PEST Analysis 6 PEST Analysis for the Newspaper Industry in the Developed Economies 7 Political Factors 7 Economic Factors 7 Social  Factors 8 Technological Factors 9 The Meaning of the PEST Analysis for the Newspaper Industry 9 SWOT Analysis of the Guardian 10 Strengths 10 Weaknesses 10 Opportunities 11 Threats 11 Describe Lewin’s Field Force Analysis 11 Field Force Analysis for the newspaper industry in the developed world concerning the use of the internet 12 Driving Forces 12 Restraining Forces 12 Recommendations to Reduce the Strength of the Obstacles 12 The Indian Newspaper Industry 13 Conclusion 13 References 15 Introduction In the developed economies, the newspaper industry is going through a period of change. Yet whilst the industry is going through a period of change in the developed economies, in other economies such as India the story is different. The modern newspaper industry is facing structural challenges and fundamental transformations where they experience a long-term decline in circulation volume in paid titles as advertisers move to modern means of advertising. As such, newspaper publishers across the globe are facing a decline in: Newsprint prices Advertising revenues Titles Circulation Notably, the innovation and adoption of the internet derive the greatest losses to the newspapers where in developed economies circulation has been falling for a long term (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009, p. 9). However, in other countries like India, newspaper sales are rising (Mallet 2013, p. 1). Notably, most young people are spending most of their time in the internet where they get the news online instead of reading newspapers (The Economist Newspaper Limited 2006, p. 1). Although, newspapers are yet to shut down in large numbers, we can expect that in the near future, most of the largest newspapers will close business especially in America. Nevertheless, the newspaper publishers are still trying to remain afloat and reduce operational costs by: Spending less on journalism Investing in free daily papers Trying to attract younger readers Trying to create new businesses on- and offline Raising the price of their subscriptions and news-stand copies The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper, which started publishing in 1821. The Guardian has grown to a national paper that deals with a complex organisational structure and international multimedia and web presence (Guardian News and Media Limited 2013, p. 1). Indeed, it is one of the world's best-selling international weekly newspapers, which provides relevant and updated information on international news, politics, entertainment, culture, and comment (Guardian News and Media Limited 2013, p. 1). More than 200,000 people in over 100 countries read the Guardian Weekly (Guardi an News and Media Limited 2013, p. 1). To analyze the position of the newspaper industry in the current scenario, I will use the PEST analysis and Lewin’s Field Force Analysis. I will also use the SWOT analysis to analyze the British newspaper The Guardian. Findings Description and Benefits of PEST Analysis The PEST analysis will refer to the analysis of macro-environmental factors that influence the newspaper industry which include: Political Economic Social Technological analysis The PEST

What is meant by predictive validity Why are assessment centres Essay

What is meant by predictive validity Why are assessment centres considered to have greater predictive validity than facetoface interviews - Essay Example In particular, the prevalence of the traditional employment interview as the primary selection method will be compared to the alternative methods of cognitive ability tests and biographical data. Whilst the assessment and selection process provides information for decisions by both the employer and the potential employee, this is not the traditional view as employment decisions have long been regarded as a management prerogative (Torrington & Hall, 1991). However, given the predicted skill shortages and the fact that selection is also concerned with the future life plans of individuals, the predictive validity of selection methods is an important issue (Meijer, 1998) both for organizations and for individuals. Predictive validity refers to the extent to which an assessment measure can predict subsequent job performance (Smith et al, 1993) such as error rate, production rate, appraisal scores, absence rate, or other criteria that may be important to the organisation. Relationships between assessment outcomes and future performance are expressed as correlation coefficients (r), where r = 1 represents a perfect relationship, and r = 0 signifies that no relationship whatsoever e xists. A correlation of, say, r = 0.4 is regarded as comparatively good in assessment and selection (Torrington et al, 1991), but this does illustrate that there are no methods of selection that represent outstanding predictors of future performance. In their survey of management selection methods used in French and British organizations, Shackleton & Newell (1991) illustrated that, although there was an increasing use of personality assessments, cognitive ability tests, assessment centers and biographical data between the years of 1984 and 1989, the traditional method of face to face interviews continued to represent the dominant method of assessment and selection in the UK. The format of interviews may range from totally unstructured where no objectives are set, to highly structured, pre-planned processes in which topic areas are closely related to job behavior, with varying degrees of semi-structure in-between (Anderson & Shackleton, 1993). Huffcutt & Arthur (1994) used meta-analysis to demonstrate that predictive validity increased as interview structure increased; the degree of standardization of questions and response scoring mechanisms resulted in validities ranging from r = 0.20 for less structured interviews to r = 0.56 for more highly structured interviews. Nevertheless, even highly structured interviews may vary in their predictive validity. In a comparison of situational interviews (future-orientated) and behavior description interviews (past-orientated) Campion, Campion & Hudson (1994) found higher validities for past-orientated (r = 0.51) than for

Ice Hotels Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ice Hotels - Assignment Example The ice hotels belong to the category of destination hotels as they arrange many attractive features for travelers and other tourist who are interested in some unusual entertainments. The ice hotels are promoted by some sponsors with intent to offer special entertainment experiences to customers. The ice sculptures increase the attractiveness of hotel lobbies; and the nature of circumstances decides the type of foods and beverages supplied. The temperature inside an ice hotel is 17 to 23 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 to -8 degree Celsius) which offers an exceptional experience to the tourists. Since the ice melts in the sunlight, ice hotels require to be reconstructed every year. The most prominent feature of an ice hotel is that its walls, fixtures, and fittings are completely made up of ice. Colorful light settings make â€Å"the structures look more like magical snow castles than frigid artic dwellings† (Srinivasan, 2008). Generally, ice hotels are built beside rivers in order to maintain freeze. It would take five to six months for building an extensive, large capacity ice hotel. The emergence of ice hotel concept has surpassed the resort and other cottage trends. Moreover, transformation of a night into a day would create sheer exhilaration for the ice hotel visitors. The world’s first ice hotel was built in Sweden. c) Competitiveness of the ice hotel industry in China Since the ice hotels are built seasonally and disappear after a certain period, it gets world wide popularity. The increasing demand for ice hotels may persuade the sponsors to bring forth future modifications to this concept. The ice hotels can mitigate the intensity of the atmospheric condition like global warming (explorra). Moreover, since this concept does not hurt the environmental balance, it would not face legal or other political challenges. Before implementing the ice hotel project in China, it is necessary to conduct a detailed market study in order to get a clear view rega rding the potentiality of the project in the country. It would be better to choose SWOT analysis for this purpose as it covers all relevant aspects of market. Strengths The novelty and increased market demand for the ice hotel concept found to be the most potential strength with this project. Since the ice hotel concept filmed in James Bond’s Die Another Day movie, this innovative concept has been getting world wide popularity. Similarly, the location of the business is other strength to the project since China is world’s largest market. Since China is a highly- populated country, the Australian hotel chain can take business advantages of this feature. The rampant technological development in China would also contribute to this business concept. Weaknesses Since the ice hotel is a new concept, the parent firm would lack marketing expertise; and hence the management may fail to attract more visitors. A series of difficulties may arise during the implementation of the pr ocess if the project team is unaware of the technical aspects of the concept. Moreover, the management team may also face troubles with deploying experts in ice hotel construction. Opportunities Modern facilities like information technology rampantly grow in China. The internet would largely assist the project team to deal with various phases of the project. It has been identified that internet is the one of the best platforms to effectively market a new concept. The ice hotel concept in China may get numbers of potential strategic alliance offers from other big hotel operators in Chin. An integration process would greatly aid the Australian hotel management to successfully market its concept among Chinese people. Moreover the absence of a potential competitor in china would also largely contribute to this

Qualitative Research in Educational Processes Essay

Qualitative Research in Educational Processes - Essay Example The benefits of the use of qualitative research are also highlighted. The key social processes in educational environments are thinking, understanding, learning, studying, teaching, and interrelating. With respect to studying gender related issues in the primary school setting, all of these can show that there exist gender differences i.e. between boys and girls expressing their gender roles warranting a closer study of these social phenomena. The justification could be to prevent gender bias, stereotypes, discrimination, and so on. A study of these social processes especially requires a close examination of the phenomena of relationships within it. These relationships involve interactions mainly between students, teachers, the school management and parents. But the nature of these relationships is shaped by the context or environment and ethos within which they function i.e. the classroom and school atmosphere. For example, there are particular school rules that define these relationships, and children tend to behave differently at school than they do at home. In the latter, student behaviour is the phenomenon and the context is the classroom and school. ... The justification could be to prevent gender bias, stereotypes, discrimination, and so on. A study of these social processes especially requires a close examination of the phenomena of relationships within it. These relationships involve interactions mainly between students, teachers, the school management and parents. But the nature of these relationships is shaped by the context or environment and ethos within which they function i.e. the classroom and school atmosphere. For example, there are particular school rules that define these relationships, and children tend to behave differently at school than they do at home. In the latter, student behaviour is the phenomenon and the context is the classroom and school. If we distinguish between two sets of relations on the basis of gender, behavioural differences can be noted between boys and girls. These would typify behaviour associated with that gender although there could also be observed differences due to variations of the social context. In the process of learning too, there are observed gender differences. Qualitative research can help to understand these processes so that we can deal with the issues better. There is also a prevalence of stereotypes in the way boys and girls perceive different subjects and their contrasting attitudes towards them. A study of the role of gender can help to understand why certain subjects are regarded as masculine and others as feminine. Attitudes and study patterns differ between the sexes. The perceptions and attitudes formed early on can later impinge on their academic choices later in life. Gender differences and other gender related issues in a school could manifest not only whilst studying in

World Peace and Prayer Day Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World Peace and Prayer Day - Research Paper Example ent time crisis were over consumption, population growth, pollution and natural resource depletion have damaged the life-sustaining capabilities of our Earth. Nuclear, biological and chemical technologies are wiping out humanity and making the planet unable to self-sustain (Susie, 2013). We have a short time to cherish the earth and thus the message by the White Buffalo of global harmony, peace and unity should be sent worldwide. In the year 1985, the message of justice was addressed to the world’s people while inviting them for a new social order consideration. The greatest process of world peace and the foundational elements are addressed within â€Å"The Promise of World Peace†, a document drafted by the â€Å"Universal Church House of Justice†. World peace is a tool for peace, happiness and freedom among all the nations and people of the world. All nations should cooperate voluntarily or under a governance system, thus preventing warfare. The term often refers to absence of hostility among all humanity. It crosses boundaries through technology, medicine, diplomats, engineering and human rights, and in this way, it aids in addressing most of the world’s problems such as climate change, desertification and global warming that has to be addressed through a peaceful global consensus (Susie, 2013). Ancient prophecies have predicted the time when overconsumption, pollution, natural resource depletion and population growth is damaging the life-sustaining capabilities of the Earth. The personal commitment of the Chief Looking horse as a keeper in the sacred bundle is assisting in the fulfillment of the Mending Hoop of Nations. Besides working with his community, he also conducted meetings with the spiritual and global leaders worldwide in addition to offering prayers and speaking at environmental symposiums and universities. The mission of the Chief Looking horse with the Prayer and World Peace Day has made tremendous contributions to the progress of World Peace

Zara Summary Essay Example for Free

Zara Summary Essay Global apparel chain are characterized by unique combinations of high value research, design that they have been pursued for quite some time. Almost more than 30% percent of world production apparel was exported. Lots of company making their manufacturing production on the developing country, because of some factor of the cheap labor intensive. Some country are keen to supply their product to the country that has a very low quote restrictions like China supply their product to Japan where there are no quota restrictions. Some country also do like combining all of the resources part from other country and combine it, like in making a jacket, the zipper come from Japan, the shell from Korea, the jacket filling from Japan, and the label, and other trim are from Hong Kong. Apparel retailing usually try to promote quick response that is needed to improve coordination between the manufacturer and the retailer itself. This is used to increase flexibility and response. The main competitor of Zara are GAP, HM, Benetton. All of them have a comparative advantage among each other. More than 90% percent of GAP product are outsourced from outside US, GAP do this to get the competitive advantage of cheap labor, also, they are lack of clear fashion positioning. HM are Inditex closest competitors from all side. They generate more than half sales outside the country. They have a cheaper price than ZARA. The last is Benneton, they focus on a colored knitwear. They are labor intensive. They use a strategy of narrowing their product lines. Basically, Inditex are global specialty retailer that sell apparel, footwear and accessories for women, children, and men through a prominent store like Zara and others. They are headquartered in Galatia to get the advantage of poor labor and other advantage. There are 6 chains that Inditex worked with which Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara. This are all the prominent chain. That are all the chain in 2002, but in May 2001, Inditex sold 26% percent of their share to the public to raise cash. The largest chain of Inditex are Zara that are oprated in 507 stores in various countries. Zara has it’s own way to track consumer preferences. Zara usually supply the store directly from the main distributor which usually take twice a week. Zara can work very fast regarding the finished goods, with the systematic technique, they can be able to have a finished goods including finishing the design in just 4 weeks. Zara has it’s own professional creative team, designer and consulting team, product development and sourcing specialist. Zara focused it’s product distribution from internal and external supplier. That passes through the distribution center in Arteixo and than it is distributed on the store to saves time. By the time going, Zara want to improve their model to be more sophisticated based on the trends to increase consumer loyalty and keep maintaining the lower prices than the competitor. Zara only do a small amount of advertising campaign. They focused on the freshness of the product that stay up to date with the changing environments.

Phylogenetic Analyses of S. Kinabaluensis

Phylogenetic Analyses of S. Kinabaluensis Based on the results obtain from both phylogenetic analyses, the putative parents of S. kinabaluensis are related to two different lineages. In one case, clones #1, #7, #8, #9, and #10 appear to be related to a lineage that includes S. crenata and S. nitidus (Clade 1). In the other case, clones #4 and #6 are closely related to S. alabensis (Clade2) (Figure 12, Figure 13). From both the MP and ML, it shows that S. kinabaluensis is most closely related to S. alabensis where they are aligned together in both tree. Even though the consensus tree has an inclusive low level of resolution and bootstrap support (listed above branches) (Figure 12, Figure 13), the results are in agreement with previous analyses based on ETS and ITS sequence distinction (Shafreena, 2012) suggested that the S. alabensis as one of the potential parents since the polymorphic sites observed are additive between S. alabensis and the potential parents (Shafreena, 2012). However, there is not enough support for this relationship. More data are needed to positively confirm the result. From the phylogenetic analyses, both trees of MP and ML yielded similar results (56% MP, 60% ML). The results of lineage that related to the S. crenata and S. nitidus (Clade 1) are considered as not supported and unresolved due to the low bootstrap value. Therefore, the morphological differences between these two species with S. kinabaluensis were not further evaluated in this study. As for the other lineage, it shows that S. alabensis could be one of the potential parents of S. kinabaluensis although with low bootstrap support value (Clade 2). Therefore, the vegetative and reproductive parts of these two species were observed closely and compared to find out if there is any similarity to support the result of the phylogenetic analysis. As already noted, the distinguishing feature of S. kinabaluensis is that this plant is covered with white stellate hairs on the vegetative and reproductive parts. Based on morphological observation, vegetative parts of S. alabensis are glabrous. However, the reproductive parts especially the inflorescence, branches, peduncles and pedicels do have sparse hairs. Further morphological analysis based on the reproductive parts of both species could not be further observed due to the flowering and fruiting stage while conducting this study. The specimens examined for S. kinabaluensis only had fruits, and as for S. alabensis, the specimens examined were just past flowering and there is no fruit seen. However, the leaf margin which is toothed (only towards the apex) is shared between these two species. Based on the morphological observation and study by Shafreena (2012), the corymb-like inflorescence is also shared by these two species. Therefore, these morphological similarities somehow do support the phylogenetic analyses. A study by Mallet (2007) has mention that in a hybrid speciation, it means that hybridization has had a principal role in the origin of a new species. The derived species initially have exactly one genome from each parent, a 50% contribution from each, although, in older polyploids, recombination and gene conversion may ultimately lead to unequal contributions (Mallet, 2007). However, Arnold (1997) confines the opposite view as, in his opinion, hybrids are often more fit due, not only to the intermix of genotypes from the parents, but also due to the fact that hybridization often creates novel genotypes that may be more fit under certain environmental conditions, particularly disturbed or novel environmental conditions. In this study, the potential parents of S. kinabaluensis still in a question. Therefore, the features and characteristics of S. kinabaluensis could not be fully determined and examined thoroughly. The features and characteristics of S. kinabaluensis might be inherited by the other parents or maybe it is because of the evolution undergoes by the plant itself for its own adaptation to the surrounding. Other than that, the type and phase of elevation of S. kinabaluensis and S. alabensis are more or less to each other which are 1986-2254 m and 1500-1800 m above sea level, respectively. There is not much difference in distance of elevation between this two species and therefore, increase the probability of S. alabensis as one of the putative parents of S. kinabaluensis. However, it seems that the phase of elevation of S. kinabaluensis is higher compared to S. alabensis. Based on this elevation data, it can be correlates with the facts of hybrid speciation. A study by Chase et al. (2010) has stated that once a hybrid species is developed, they faced ecological challenges. When they do become established, there are several potential reasons why they succeed: a) they exhibit transgressive traits (novel mixtures of those exhibited by their parents) that assist their existence in habitats in which neither of their parents can grow, conferring the isolation needed to avoid their reabsorption into the gene pool of one of their parents; or b) their intermediacy in some morphological traits or ecological preferences allows them to utilize a novel niche, again delivering a degree of genetic isolation from both of their parents (Chase et al., 2010). Often such hybrids can only exploit the ecological transition zone between those of their parents, which places them near one or both parents and which may be so inadequate in area that they cannot form viable populations and this intermediates are unlikely to form viable species in their own right (Chase et al., 2010). In this case, the S. kinabaluensis populations grows on a higher elevation compared to S. alabensis, showing that this hybrid species forming a populations near to their parents but with slightly different ecological changes based on the lower temperature at higher elevation. Several lines of molecular evidence support that S. kinabaluensis is of hybrid origin. First, 14 and 16 polymorphic sites for each of two accessions were discovered in the ETS and ITS region (Shafreena, 2012). Based on observation of polymorphic sites of Schefflera species showed that there are 14 species that have between 1-3 polymorphic sites except for S. avenis that has 5 polymorphic sites (Shafreena, 2012). Thus, the presence of 14-16 polymorphic sites of S. kinabaluensis showed an unusual condition (Shafreena, 2012). Second, phylogenetic analyses showed that within-individual cloned ITS repeats were not monophyletic; instead they arose from two distinct lineages (Small Wendel, 2000). From this study, S. kinabaluensis cloned ITS sequences are related to two different lineages. The clones #1, #7, #8, #9 and #10 appear to be related to a lineage that includes S. crenata and S. nitidus. Other clones #4 and #6 are closely related to S. alabensis. Third, although shared nuclear ancestry could simply point out sister relationships with S. alabensis, S. kinabaluensis also allocates nuclear ancestry with a different lineage of species including S. crenata and S. nitidus. To conclude, this molecular phylogenetic information verifies the hypothesis of a hybrid origin for S. kinabaluensis. Quite a lot of additional studies of natural hybridization are needed before the nature of the claimed hybrid origin can be comprehended (Barkman Simpson, 2002). First, it would be of relevance to know if S. kinabaluensis is an allopolyploid or diploid hybrid. Second, artificial crosses should be executed to resolve if there are any obstructions to hybridization between the potential parental species (Barkman Simpson, 2002). For future studies, the limitations in this study should be overcome such as the limitations on the amount of clones produce form the species in order to get a more precise analysis. In addition, a complete morphological description which includes the vegetative and reproductive parts of both the target hybrid species and the putative parents should be done to support the phylogenetic analysis.

Supply Chain Management in Tourism

Supply Chain Management in Tourism The integration of key business processes from end users through original suppliers that provides products, services and information that add value for customers and other stake holders. Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain as efficiently as possible. Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. (wikipedia.com) SCM in tourism will start from planning of a product, identifying the different sectors to be included in the complete tourism product and also, in each sector of the product, The management of the raw material , inventory of raw material and delivery of the services. Tourism: An industry Tourism denotes the temporary, short term movement of people to destination outside the place where they normally live and work and their activities during their stay at these destinations. Tourism is a multi segment industry. It is an industry where the products are consumed on the spot forming invisible exports. It is also a fragmented industry with high complexity due to the price sensitive nature of demand and the intangibility, perish ability and inseparability. Tourism, like all other supply chains, operates through business-to-business relationships, and supply chain management can be applied to deliver sustainability performance improvements alongside financial performance, by working to improve the business operations of each supplier in the supply chain. The main differences between tourism supply chains and those of other sectors are that tourists travel to the product, and the product that they buy has a particularly high service component in other words, it involves a higher proportion of people in the immediate production of the holiday experience. Supply Chain Management in tourism The aim of supply chain management is to eliminate waste in the chain and to improve the customer service. The elimination of waste for example waiting time, inventory and production of non-requested products leads to lower costs. The improved customer service by means of, interlinked processes, lead to preferred suppliers and to a bigger turnover. All this leads to higher productivity (more income/ less costs). In tourism it plays a very important role to deliver the quality service with minimum gaps or reduced gaps. Shortened product life cycles, increased competition, and heightened expectations of customers have forced many leading edge companies to move from physical logistic management towards more advanced supply chain management. Therefore, in many cases, the only possible way to further reduce costs and lead times is with effective supply chain management. In addition to cost reduction, the supply chain management approach also facilitates customer service improvements. It enables the management of inventories, transportation systems and whole distribution networks so that organizations are able meet or even exceed their customers expectations. Tourism supply chains involve many components not just accommodation, transport and excursions, but also bars and restaurants, handicrafts, food production, waste disposal, and the infrastructure that supports tourism in destinations. These all form a part of the holiday product that is expected by tourists when they purchase holidays, quality, depends on performance at all the links in the tourism supply chain. A further aspect of the tourism supply chain is the activities of customers while on holiday, particularly in relation to their behavior, and what they source for themselves in particular situations. The main strategies in any supply chain are sourcing strategy, distribution strategy, inventory strategy, manufacturing strategy, customer service strategy and the strategy of integration. Tourism comprises of different industries product and service like of Hotels, accommodation, transport, destination etc. SCM strategies can be modified to suit the nature of the product. Sourcing Strategy -Sourcing mainly constitutes Make or buy decision Manufacturing management Capacity Management Make or buy decision: Services can be delivered directly or can be outsourced/Co-Sourced as done by Thomas Cook a reputed name in providing tourism services. Thomas Cook implemented strategic sourcing arrangement with Accenture by outsourcing its Back-Office activities. Through this model they were able to improve operations and reduce its cost, by US $ 243.72 million in just 16 months. Manufacturing management: In tourism, manufacturing component is limited only to certain sectors like food and craft, memento, gifts etc. Services are processed at each stage in the tourism. For example, in transport sector at airport different services like visa and immigration processing, waiting time etc are processed to deliver the maximum satisfaction to the travellers. At the destination the service is processed by providing safe environment and security to the tourists. Capacity Management: The tourism products are subject to instability of demand. Example during Muscat festival in Oman, the demand exceeds the supply in many of the sectors of tourism like in hotels and airlines. Airlines meet this excessive demand by increasing the capacity by introducing additional special flights at special rates. Distribution strategy In tourism industry, the distribution strategy has far reaching impact on the development of the industry. This makes it essential that the channel decisions are sound so that the beginning and end process of marketing are managed efficiently and effectively. A basic understanding of the structure and working of the distribution system in travel industry, including the middlemen who form the part of the system, is found essential to understand the Economics of the tourism industry. The current practices insist on four types of sales distribution of tourism as a product. One stage system: This system provides direct sales from primary suppliers of the services to consumers through its own reservation departments. E.g. airlines directly selling tickets to travellers through its reservation office. Two- stage system: This system involves single middlemen i.e travel agent. Three-stage system: This system involves two middlemen, retail travel agent and wholesaler or a tour operator. Four-stage system: This system involves a retail travel agent, wholesaler and additional middlemen known as Speciality Chancellor, who is instrumental in the development of tour packages. Inventory Strategy: An inventory of tourism products identifies the opportunities and constraints that a local authority has in attracting visitors to their town/ city/region. The number and range of attractions and activities, things visitors can see and do, are particularly important. Gaps in the product range and/or poor quality facilities will make places less attractive to visitors. In the same way lack of transport and accommodation will deter visitors from travelling to and stopping at the destination. Until an inventory of attractions, activities, accommodation and transport has been completed and this is matched with an understanding of visitor demand and Visitor satisfaction, destinations will be unsure whether they are meeting visitor expectations. In terms of prioritising tourism requirements, the attraction and activity sectors are the key areas. For Example, Tourist visit Switzerland for fun and excitement and it is the service provider that provides this opportunity to the tourists. Local government is often also, a key provider of visitor (and residents) theses attractions and amenities. Customer Service Strategy: The aim of the tour operator should be that he consistently makes the customers happy 100% of the time .Inconsistent service leads to customers not knowing what to expect. Customer service includes providing accommodation, flight details, and attractive tourist points. Employees are vital in this attempt to achieve consistently high customer service. Organisations must have the right systems in place in order to achieve their goals. If staff cannot take the right action when dealing with customers, the business will suffer. It is about five times as expensive to win over a new customer as it is to work with an existing one. Integration Strategy: Supply Chain integration Strategy links all the business entities in the supply chain. In tourism the tour operators act as producers as well as distributors. In an efficient supply chain, manufactures, suppliers, distribution channels and customers are linked in the form of a chain to develop and deliver products as a single organization of pooled skills and resources. Higher the integration process, greater is the success of supply chain system. Tour operator or service provider has to integrate all the services together effectively to design the preferred output to gain the competitive advantage. For effective supply chain management of tourism services, it is essential that different segments of product (tourism) are managed in tune with changing habits and desires of users. SCM in few of the important aspects of the tourism like accommodation, transport, food and crafts and destination are discussed briefly in this paper. Accommodation Accommodation facilities are found to be important aspect of Tourism product. For managing hotel services, at the very outset, the locational factors are found important. It is essential those hotels are easily accessible to the tourists sites or beaches or shop. The staff of the hotel should be trustworthy, well trained, and well versed with technology. Hilton Properties California manages their procurement and inventory using software application called Birch Street. There is need for development of Hotels of different Grades and categories to accommodate the tourists of all segments. The restaurants and cafeterias are also found to be image creators. The accessibility and comfort of user is important factor in satisfying experience. The place should be free from all industrial Hazards. The guests staying in hotel should be able to avail the facilities like Quality Bedrooms, conference halls, bars, shopping arcade, swimming pool, transportation arrangement, first aid facilities etc. While developing the product, the quality of services comprising of efficiency, personal attention become significant. According to Carla Gold GM Radisson hotel, Cleveland A good supply chain management starts with Hotel operator knowing the upcoming business demand. Optimum inventory management is required to minimize the cost. The tourist organizations cant think in favour of an optimal product strategy, if classified and unclassified hotels of different grades or stars are not easily available to the tourists. Unplanned development of accommodation sector can hamper the quality holiday experience of the tourist. Transport All ingredients of tourism product fail in getting positive response, if the tourists do not experience comforts while travelling or while coming to the destination. It is not possible that all the tourist sites are directly linked to the airports. Hence other transportation facilities like railways and road transport facilities become significant. The tourist organization may also offer services but most of the guest prefers to avail private transportation services. This makes it essential that the transport facilities are well integrated. The tourist should be offered safe, fast, convenient and economic transport services. Since all the tourists cannot avail air services, the railways and roadways are required to develop planned way. The schedule and speed should be maintained. The number of visitors to a country also depends on the ease with which tourists are able to obtain Visas and sail through immigration procedures. At Muscat international airport immigration procedures are b eing modernised to cut the wait for travellers. To speed up the processing of registration and to take care of security of the travellers electronic gates are installed. Hong Kong International Airport has been named best airport in the world by Skytrax. Travellers look for speed and maximum time utilization in the airport, clean washrooms, seating availability, and prices charged at food and beverage outlets, and how helpful the airport staffs are. The transport operators should behave properly, so that the tourists are motivated. The seating arrangements should be comfortable. The drivers and the conductors and other window staff should behave properly. At any cost, there should not be any compromise with the safety principles. It is important to mention that the inadequate airline capacity is critical bottle neck in are travel to and fro India, particularly during peak season. Charters not only augment air capacity but also help in promoting new destinations. This necessitates adequate attention for upgrading transporting facilities, in important tourist centres. Rail transportation needs to develop special fascination for foreign tourists. It is appreciated palace on wheels scheme. The coast line and back water areas need an intensive care. The possibility of having ship cruises along with coast line and the potential offered by the back waters of Kerela and sunderbans (West Bengal) for river cruises are required to be fully tapped. Food and crafts In many cases tour operators use local food and crafts as one of the tourist attractions of their packages Food and crafts can generate considerable profits for the local population, when volume production and delivery at set quality standards can be met by local producers. Key issues for local sourcing of food supplies in the tourism sector are quality, reliability and quantity of supply. Promotion of local sourcing therefore requires training and technical support and investment for example in storage and distribution facilities to meet quality and reliability standards, as well as the development of production and distribution networks to gather supplies from different local producers into the quantities required by hotels. Few tour operators have supply chain initiatives on the production and distribution of local, sustainable food and crafts, but some work with their local suppliers to promote local sourcing of food and other local products. Small hotels are more likely to buy from local suppliers, while some large hotels have developed programmes to encourage local production at the standards they require. This generally requires constant supervision and commitment, and success is often linked to championing of local sourcing by hotel chefs. Local sourcing and production will usually improve the contribution of tourism to the local economy, both financially and in terms of employment, and may also help to preserve local skills in craft production. For example Surajkund Crafts Mela, is the prominent tourist destination of Haryana, India. The Mela attracts lakhs of visitors, both for the amazing range of interesting crafts it showcases as well as the relaxing rural ambience of the Mela grounds. Besides shopping to your hearts content, you can also witness beautiful, colourful folk dances and also savour delicacies of various states of India. Destinations In relation to the tourism supply chain and direct inputs to tourism, destinations provide infrastructure and services. Destination initiatives for sustainable tourism seek to improve the quality of infrastructure for example, through improvements to waste management infrastructure for solid wastes and awareness raising programmes on waste management practices , to transport systems and to reduce vehicle impacts and to increase the ability of the destination to gain from tourism. Other initiatives include the promotion of linkages between tourism sites, and promotion of a wider range of tourism activities to encourage tourists to sample different aspects of the country and thereby diversify and spread the economic benefits of tourism. A number of initiatives in destinations in many developing countries are designed to enhance local employment in tourism, such as by supporting the substitution of locally-grown and locally-manufactured products in place of imports in the tourism sector, the establishment of investment and loan funds to assist local tourism businesses to start and expand, or the setting up of employment bureaux to match employees with tourism jobs. Some destinations have set up local quality of life and sustainability programmes using sustainability indicators to monitor environmental quality, and in some cases, biodiversity, as well as monitoring visitor satisfaction and changes in tourism markets. Marketing, products and operations can then be adapted according to the monitoring information obtained. The Taj Mahal one of the Seven Wonders of the World in India attracts 2 to 4 million visitors every year with more than 200,000 from overseas. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourist must either walk from the car parks or catch an electric bus. For security reasons only five items water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies-purse are not allowed inside the Taj Mahal. Conclusions Based on various discussions in the above paper, it can be concluded that rules/ trends/models of supply chain management of manufacturing technology holds good for service sector also with reference to tourism Various aspects of services with reference to tourism are discussed separately. This paper discusses that there are many components in tourism. In each component like Accommodation, transport, food and Crafts Destination etc. there is need for Supply Chain Management to deliver quality service resulting in satisfying experience or tourist satisfaction. From the discussions in the paper it can be concluded, higher the integration of services within a particular sector (intra relationship) and also amongst the different sectors (inter relationship) of tourism, greater is the competitive advantage. Services in tourism like security of tourists, minimum waiting time at different locations, Environment friendly operations etc forms the important constituents in strategies of SCM. Supply Chain Management is a strategic tool which leads in cost reduction, optimum utilization of resource, sustainability resulting in leadership in todays global competitive market. References Jha, S.M.: Services marketing; H.P.H., Bombay, 1994. Predictions that will make you rethink your supply Chain; Supply chain management review; September/October 2002; Anderson Supplier OEM Sahay, B. S. (2000). Supply Chain Management for global competitiveness, Macmillan India Berry and Parsuraman, Marketing Services: Competing through quality (New York: The Free Press), 1991 Web sites visited: http://tourism.gov.in/statistics/statistics.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_chain_management www.http:// ITT9603 Tourism and Information Technology.htm http://www.fincorp.net/reports/tourism sector report-09-04.pdf http://www.tourism.govt.nz/tourism-toolkit/toolkit-word-docs/planning-checklist-TOUR-IND-INVEN.doc

Promoting Family Values in Macbeth Essay example -- Macbeth essays

Promoting Family Values in Macbeth  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, was first printed in 1623, and is a play that is confrontational and disturbing to the values of the audience. Values such as truth, masculinity, security and goodness are all implied in the play, as their opposites are shown to be destructive and life shattering. Of all of Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth is the one most obsessively concerned with evil. It is dark, brooding and bloodthirsty; by way of illustration, the only function of the messenger to Lady MacDuff is to prepare the audience for bloodshed. Blood in itself is considered an evil image and it aids in character development, as seen in the description of Macbeth at the start. According to Duncan, gutting someone like a fish is worthy of praise such as â€Å"Oh valiant cousin, Oh worthy Gentleman!† To the people of the age, being able to kill someone with such skill is a good thing†¦ of course, it does mean that Macbeth has the potential to snap. The evil imagery in the play also helps with the rising tension – the old man’s description of the horses devouring each other is a prime example of this. Macbeth himself is essentially evil as well; when he knows he is going to die, instead of taking the honorable way out by committing suicide he decides to take as many people with him as he can. It is somewhat ironic therefore that â€Å"Macbeth† means â€Å"son of life†. The evil that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth create within themselves means that the audience is made to experience the psychological emptiness involved in committing a murder. Evil is inevitably destructive, but it is also self-destructive. By murdering Duncan, Macbeth is destroying himself; his â€Å"single state of man† is shaken by his... ...elm.   Criticism on Shakespeare s Tragedies . A Course  Ã‚     of Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature. London: AMS Press, Inc., 1965.  Ã‚   Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul  Ã‚   Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Steevens, George. Shakespeare, The Critical Heritage. Vol. 6. London:  Ã‚   Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981.  Ã‚   T.W. Shakespeare, the Critical Heritage. Vol. 5. London: Routledge & Kegan  Ã‚   Paul, 1979.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wills, Gary. Witches & Jesuits. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.     Epstein, Norrie, The Friendly Shakepeare, New York, Viking Publishing, 1993. Harbage, Alfred, Macbeth, Middlesex England, Penguin Publishing, 1956. Magill, Masterplots- Volume 6, New Jersey, Salem Press, 1949. Staunten, Howard, The Complet Illustrated Shakespeare, New York, Park Lane Publishing, 1979.      

Free Software Vs. Open Source :: essays research papers fc

Free Software and Open Source While Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman argues that Free Software is not Open Source, he is only half right—or only speaking about the question of motivation (the half that matters to him). The definition of Open Source, as enshrined in the Open Source Definition (OSD) is a nearly verbatim copy of the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG). Both the OSD and DFSG are practical articulations of Stallman's Free Software Definition (FSD). Open Source, with a different political and philosophical basis, can only exist because the FSD is broad enough to allow for its translation into other terms yet defined enough to allow for a directed and robust social movement. As much as Stallman might want to deemphasize Open Source, he would never change the broadly defined definition of freedom that made its existence possible. This level of translatability within the domain of Free and Opens Source Software (FOSS) is echoed in the accessibly of its philosophies and technologies to groups from across the political spectrum. Recalibrating the broad meaning of freedom outlined in the FSD to align with their own philosophies and politics, these groups perceive FOSS as a model of openness and collaboration particularly well suited to meet their own goals. In this process of re-adoption and translation, FOSS has become the corporate poster child for capitalist technology giants like IBM, the technological and philosophical weapon of anti-corporate activists, and a practical template for a nascent movement to create an intellectual "Commons" to balance the power of capital. In these cases and others, FOSS's broadly defined philosophy—given legal form in licenses—has acted as a pivotal point of inspiration for a diverse (and contradictory) set of alternative intellectual property instruments now available for other forms of creative work. As a site of technological practice, FOSS is not unique in its ability to take multiple lives and meanings. For example, Gyan Prakash (1999) in Another Reason describes the way that many of the principles and practices of early twentieth century techno-science were translated, in ways similar to FOSS, during India's colonial era. British colonizers who built bridges, trains, and hospitals pointed to their technological prowess as both a symbol of a superior scientific rationality and justification for their undemocratic presence in the subcontinent. Prakash describes the way that a cadre of Indian nationalists re-visioned the practice and philosophical approach to techno-science to justify and direct their anti-colonial national liberation movement.