Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Big Stick Abroad John Milton Cooper

Big Stick Abroad John Milton Cooper To get involved or not to get involved in global politics? That was not a question that Theodre Roosevelt ever had. Global politics were at the forefront of his mission as President. Within a year of Roosevelt becoming President he had interceded with Latin American affairs. I believe this was because Roosevelt felt that the problem threatened his visions for the United States. Roosevelt put the United States in the middle of Germany and Venezuela to help collect a debt that Venezuela owed Germany.He did the same thing to Heidi for Europe. By 1904 Roosevelt had made America the financial protector over the Dominican Republic. Roosevelt was impartial to English speaking Countries. In 1902 Roosevelt yet again conspired to gain Alaska land from Canada, but in 1903 he agreed to have an international tribunal settle the dispute. Canada was permitted three judges and so was America. Roosevelt conspired with Senator Lodge and Justice Holmes to side with A merica’s claim. Which in turn won America the rights to the land.One might think of Roosevelt as a bully when it came to foreign affairs because he did not always play fair and would always seem to get his way. As President sometimes you have to do what you think is best for your Country and look further down the line to decide if what you are doing will help or harm your Country. I believe the Roosevelt did what he had to do to make America a bigger and fiercer Country to mess with. I believe that his proudest moment was when he was able to strike a deal for America to have territory that would run through the of the new country.This would not only cut down on the time our men were out to sea but it would also protect them from the disease if they chose to take the path through the mountains. With Roosevelts help we were able to take Panama from Colombia and this was not the biggest victory. The biggest victory would come after Roosevelt had left office and the waterway that we called the Canal Zone was open. This ended up showing the world the maturity of America’s engineering and was thought to be the biggest triumph of technology. I believe that this could have only been done with the help of Europe.When Roosevelt left office he had remorse and guilt for the way that we took the Panama canal. While in office Roosevelt wrote several letters and had a section in his autobiography book on the way that we took Panama and what he did was morally right. Roosevelt was the bully to all of the weaker countries and would be cautious in his approach with countries of equal or greater power than he United States. I believe that the writer of the article Mr. Copper was trying to explain to us that Roosevelt did what he thought was best for America and that he pushed the envelope when it came to foreign affairs.Roosevelt prided himself on his accomplishments with how far he was able to take America with foreign affairs. Mr. Copper writing never seemed to b e one sided and told the story based on facts. I believe that this article was well written and places the facts out there for the reader to take it in and doesn’t distract the readers' views on Roosevelt. This is done by not having a one sided article this helps with not clouding the reader's judgement. After reading the article I have a different perspective on Roosevelt. I feel that he was a bully when he needed to be, but in all honesty isn’t that what America is and always will be?Roosevelt had a goal and a vision and he was able to accomplish them, and for that I applaud him for doing so. The way that he went about gain land and bullying the smaller countries that did not have as much power as we do, to me is not setting a good impression on us as a country. That if you do not give us what we feel is ours or that we want we will take it by force. I also do not agree with interfering in other countries business. Roosevelt felt the need to be the mediator in the Ge rmany and Venezuela situation and the Heidi and Europe transactions.I feel if other countries owe other countries that is for them to deal with not for anyone else to get involved. America has too many other things that should be a higher priority to deal with them to play in other countries affairs. With that being said I do feel that overall that Roosevelt was an amazing president. I am not sure if Roosevelts actions were always justified or made much sense to the citizens at the time. Without Roosevelt we would not have the Panama Canal and that was a major milestone for everyone.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Berkshire Hathaway Phenomenon In the Context of Modern Finance Theory Essay

Berkshire Hathaway Phenomenon In the Context of Modern Finance Theory Septtember 2013 Berkshire Hathaway Phenomenon In the Context of Modern Finance Theory Introduction Over the 46 years ending December 2012, Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) has achieved a compound, after-tax, rate of return in excess of 20% p.a. Such consistent, long term, out performance might be viewed as incompatible with modern finance theory. This essay discusses the Berkshire Hathaway phenomenon in the context of modern finance theory. Part 1 Modern Portfolio Theory Berkshire Hathaway’s investing strategies mainly differ with modern portfolio theory on two aspects. The first one is the attitude towards the undesirable thing in investment. And the second one is the perspective of diversification. As Harry Markowitz pointed out in Portfolio Selection, one of the assumptions is (Markowitz, 1952)â€Å"the investor does (or should) consider expected return as a desirable thing and variance of return an undesirable thing†. However, in Warren Buffet’s point of view, (Roberg G, 2005) the only undesirable thing should be the possibility of harm. He emphasizes on conducting fundamental analysis to work out a company’s future profits, so as to determine the intrinsic value instead of monitoring the stock prices. This is because in the long term, the investment outcome is mainly harmed by misjudging the business value, including misjudging of inflation rate and  interest rate etc. As such, risk is defined differently between Mr Buffett and Modern Portfolio Theory; one is defined by possibility of misjudging the  intrinsic value of business, the other being simplified to variance of expected returns. If we consider risk as a probability statement, then maybe Mr B uffett’s definition is closer to the original meaning. Also, the assumption of maximising one-period expected utility is not what Buffet focuses on in his investment strategies. (Roberg G, 2005)In this case, Justin Industries, which was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2000, can serve as a good example. During the five years prior to the acquisition, stock price of Justin Industries dropped by 37 percent, which should result in a huge variance of expected return. But Mr Buffett saw it as a perfect opportunity to purchase a well-managed traditional business with over 100 years of history. He offered a 23 percent premium over stock price at the time, and the stock price shot up by 22% on the day of announcement. It is also stated by Markowitz that, (Markowitz, 1952)â€Å"a rule of behaviour which does not imply the superiority of diversification must be rejected both as a hypothesis and as a maxim†. On the contrary, Mr Buffett has his famous quote, (Roberg G, 2005)â€Å"diversification serves as a protection against ignorance. If you want to make sure that nothing bad happens to you relative to the market, you should own everything. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s a perfectly sound approach for somebody who doesn’t know how to analyse business†. One can always argue that Berkshire Hathaway does not operate in only one industry, and they tend to invest in more industries in recent years. But as the business grows in volume, it is reasonable to be involved in new industries when there are few sound investment opportunities in the industries they already operate in, let alone that the technology industry was rarely in the list of holdings of Berkshire Hathaway, not even when Apple’s stock was soaring. The reason being, (Roberg G, 2005)â€Å"investment success is not about how much you know but how realistically you define what you don’t know†. Chart 1 (Martin & Puthenpurackal, 2007) Distribution of Berkshire Hathaway Investments by Industry The chart above shows distribution of Berkshire Hathaway’s investments by industry and firm size during the time frame 1976-2006. Judging by the size and number of investments, it can be concluded that a large amount of wealth was placed in manufacturing industry during the 30 years in study, although for diversification purpose, more weight could have been placed in the industry of agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction or retail trade. Having compared the differences, it is still worth noting that Markowitz did not rule out fundamental analysis in portfolio selection process, as is said in his foregoing paper,(Markowitz, 1952)â€Å"the process of selecting a portfolio may be divided into two stages. The first stage starts with observation and experience and ends with beliefs about the future performances of available securities. The second stage starts with relevant beliefs about future performances and ends with the choice of portfolio. This paper is concerned with the second stage†. Part 2 Efficient Market Hypothesis The strong form of efficient market hypothesis states that all information, no matter public or private, instantaneously affects current stock price. Semi-strong form is only concerned with public information, while the weak form suggests that current stock price reflects information in the previous prices. In short, they simply imply that in the long run, no one should be able to beat the market in terms of investment return. As is said in Fama’s paper in 1970, (Eugene F, 1970)â€Å"the evidence in support of the efficient markets model is extensive, and (somewhat uniquely in economics) contradictory evidence is sparse†. However, Warren Buffet has always criticised efficient market hypothesis as much as he could. The major  reason is that, as a fundamental analysis advocate, (Roberg G, 2005)he thinks analysing all available information make an analyst at advantage. He once said, (Banchuenvijit, 2006)†investing in a market where people believe in efficiency is like playing bridge with someone who has been told it does not do any good to look at the cards.† Also in his speech at Columbia University in 1984, he mentioned, â€Å"ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace, and those who read their Graham & Dodd will continue to prosper.† (Roberg G, 2005)To illustrate, we can take Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in 2009 for example. At the time, shares of Burlington Northern had dropped 13 percent in 12 months. Also, the market was soft during GFC, so the possibility of competitive bids was low according to Tony Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner, which holds Berkshire shares. If efficient market hypothesis does stand, the market would rebound quickly when GFC took place, and such opportunity of relatively low-priced acquisition would not exist. Even if it exists, other investor should anticipate quick upward adjustment of price and participate in bidding when they find out about this opportunity. However, this does not prove that fundamental analysis is superior, because intrinsic value is not yet clear defined, and how does Mr Buffet calculate the intrinsic value is still a mystery. Part 3 Capital Asset Pricing Model When examining assumptions of Capital Asset Pricing Model, it is obvious that Mr Buffett is at odds with almost every one of them. Firstly, the model assumes that all investors are Markowitz efficient, but as mentioned earlier, Mr Buffett does not treat variance of expected return as an absolute drawback, so the second rule that Markowitz Efficiency must follow does not stand. Secondly, the model is backed by the assumption that investors have  homogeneous expectations and equal access to opportunities, which suggests that everyone is supposed to have the same view of future profit stream. However, as a recent paper pointed out, (Frazzini, et al., 2013)Mr Buffett’s return is largely due to his selection of stocks. If everyone has the same view with Mr Buffett and the same access to the investment opportunities, then if not everyone, a large number of people should be as rich as Mr Buffett, when the reality is the opposite. So Mr Buffett would not agree with this assumption either. The third assumption is that capital markets are in equilibrium, which is practically what only efficient markets can achieve, which, as discussed above, is not in line with Mr Buffett’s view point. The final one, which is that Capital Asset Pricing Model only works within one period time horizon, is apparently against Mr Buffett’s long-term holding strategy. Apart from model assumptions, one of the strongest contradictions between Mr Buffett’s view point and Capital Asset Pricing Model is that the model is for short-term predicting purpose, which would clearly be categorised into (Roberg G, 2005)â€Å"speculation† instead of â€Å"investment† by Mr Buffett. In addition, â€Å"market portfolio† is not of practical use, compared with Mr Buffett’s way of only analysing businesses he is familiar with, because the market portfolio we use cannot truly represent the entire market. Part 4 Multi-factor Pricing Models Unlike Capital Asset Pricing Model, which has only one factor, in Multi-factor Pricing Models, such as Arbitrage Pricing Theory and Fama-French three-factor model, the rate of return is linked to several factors. As diversification is still suggested by the model, the same divergence on diversification exists with Mr Buffet’s strategies and Multi-factor Pricing Models. Moreover, differences also lie in the fact that multi-factor models usually take in some macroeconomic factors, which investors should not consider according to Mr Buffett, (Roberg G, 2005)the rationale being that if a single stock price cannot be predicted, the overall economic condition would be more difficult to predict. Despite the differences, some micro factors included in the multi-factor model, such as P/E ratio and book-to-market ratio, can also be used to conduct fundamental analysis to determine the intrinsic value and possibility of growth of a business. As such, the ideas of which factors to take into account can coincide within the two different approaches. Chart 2(Martin & Puthenpurackal, 2007) Factor Regressions of Berkshire Hathaway and Mimicking Portfolios In a paper by Gerald S. Martin and John Puthenpurackal, they conduct a regression analysis using Fama-French three-factor and Carhart four-factor models on monthly returns of Berkshire Hathaway and mimicking portfolios. (Martin & Puthenpurackal, 2007)The adjusted excess returns turn out to be significant with p-values < 0.024; the excess market return and high-minus-low book-to-market factors are again significant with p-values < 0.01. However, small-minus-big and prior 2-12 month return momentum factors are not significantly explanatory factors. As such, preliminary conclusion can be reached that book-to-value highminus-low can be a common factor in both multi-factor models and Mr Buffett’s fundamental analysis. In addition, the factors of firm size and momentum are not likely to be considered by Mr Buffett. Also, both Berkshire’s and mimicking portfolio’s returns outperform the multi-factor models in study. (Bowen & Rajgopal, 2009)But as is pointed out in another thesis, the superior performance is attributed to the earlier years and they observe no significant alpha during the recent decade. Part 5 Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model According to Berkshire Hathaway’s letter to shareholders in 2008,(Buffett, 2008)their put contracts reported a mark-to-market loss of $5.1 billion, and this led to Mr Buffett’s â€Å"criticism† towards the Black-Scholes formula as is claimed by the media. However, the loss was in fact caused by inclusion of volatility in the formula when volatility becomes irrelevant as the duration before maturity lengthens. As Mr Buffett said in the letter,(Buffett, 2008)if the formula is applied to extended time periods, it can produce absurd results. In fairness, Black and Scholes almost certainly understood this point well. But their devoted followers may be ignoring whatever caveats the two men attached when they first unveiled the formula. As such, Mr Buffett’s comment on Black-Scholes formula is more of self-criticism than the other way around. This is reflected in his earlier comment on performance in the letter,(Buffett, 2008)†I believe each contract we own was mispriced at inception, sometimes dramatically so. I both initiated these positions and monitor them, a set of responsibilities consistent with my belief that the CEO of any large financial organization must be the Chief Risk Officer as well. If we lose money on our derivatives, it will be my fault.† We can understand why Mr Buffett gave this â€Å"fair† comment about the formulae when referring to the Black-Scholes paper,(Black & Scholes, 1973)†if the expiration date of the option is very far in the future, then the price of the bond that pays the exercise price on the maturity date will be very low, and the value of the option will be approximately equal to the price of the stock. â€Å" Mr Buffett also commented that (Buffett, 2008)†The Black-Scholes formula has approached the status of holy writ in finance, and we use it when valuing our equity put options for financial statements purposes. Key inputs to the calculation include a contract’s maturity and strike price, as well as the analyst’s expectations for volatility, interest rates and dividends† and that â€Å"even so, we will continue to use  Black-Scholes when we are estimating our financial-statement liability for long-term equity puts. The formula represents conventional wisdom and any substitute that I might offer would engender extreme scepticism†. Despite Mr Buffett’s confession, a scholar studied the letter and reached a different conclusion why the loss was made:(Cornell, 2009)He first ruled out risk-free rate, inflation rate and drift and focused on volatility, which is consistent with where Mr Buffett thought he made a mistake. The lognormal diffusion assumption, which implies that volatility increases linearly with respect to the horizon over which it is measured, was discussed at length with controversial evidence. As such, its misuse is not a strong explanation regarding the absurd results. He then found out in the letter that Mr Buffett believed that inflationary policies of governments and central banks will limit future declines in nominal stock prices compared with those predicted by a historically estimated lognormal distribution. If Mr Buffet is right, then the Black-Scholes model will indeed significantly overvalue long-dated put options, to which a possible solution is making the left-hand tail truncated to reduce the value of long-dated put options. Summary Throughout this essay, we have discussed the common views and divergences between Mr Buffett’s investment strategies and Modern Finance Theories. Now we summarize the main points as follows: Common views Divergences Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model Modern Portfolio Theory Efficient Market Hypothesis Capital Asset Pricing Model Multi-factor Models Chart 3 Common Views and Divergences between Modern Finance Theory and Mr Buffett’s Strategies Modern Finance Theories Modern Portfolio Theory Divergences with Warren Buffet 1. Risk Defined as Volatility 2. Short Investment Horizon 3. Diversification Efficient Market Hypothesis Capital Asset Pricing Model Reliability of Fundamental Analysis 1. Markowitz Efficient Investors 2. Homogeneous Expectation and Equal Access to Opportunities 3. Markets in Equilibrium 4. Short Investment Horizon 5. Predicting Function Leads to Speculation 6. Impractical â€Å"Market Portfolio† 7. Diversification Multi-factor Models 1. Macro Factors 2. Diversification Chart 4 Detailed Divergences between Modern Finance Theory and Mr Buffett’s Strategies Bibliography Banchuenvijit, W., 2006. Investment Philosophy of Warren E. Buffet, Bankok: The University of Thai Chamber ofCommerce. Black, F. & Scholes, M., 1973. The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities. The Journal of Political Economy, 81(3), pp. 637-654. Bowen, R. M. & Rajgopal, S., 2009. Do Powerful Investors Influence Accounting, Governance and Investing Decisions?, Washington D.C.: University of Washington. Buffett, W. E., 2008. Letter to Shareholders, Omaha: Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.. Cornell, B., 2009. Warren Buffet, Black-Scholes and the Valuation of Long-dated Options, Pasadena: California Institute of Technology. Davis, J., 1991. Lessons from Omaha: an Analysis of the Investment Methods and Business Philosophy of Warren Buffett, Cambridge: Cambridge University. Eugene F, F., 1970. Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of THeory and Empirical Work. The Journal of Finance, 25(2), pp. 383-417. Eugene F, F. & Kenneth R, F., 1992. The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Return. The Journal of Finance, XLVII(2). Markowitz, H., 1952. Portfolio Selection. The Journal of Finance, VII(1), pp. 77-91. Martin, G. S. & Puthenpurackal, J., 2007. Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, Reno: University of Nevada. Roberg G, H., 2005. The Warren Buffet Way. 2 ed. Hoboken: John Wiley& Sons, Inc.. William F, S., 1964. Capital Asset Prices: A Theory of Market Equilibrium under Conditions of Risk. The Journal of Finance, 19(3), pp. 425-442.

Motorcycle Diaries Character Growth Essay

â€Å"The enormity of our endeavor escaped us in those moments; all we could see was the dust on the road ahead and ourselves on the bike, devouring kilometers in our flight northward. †-pg. 33 â€Å"The Motorcycle Diaries† is a story of a motorcycle trip made by 23-year-old medical student Che Guevera and 29-year-old biochemist Alberto Granado across the South American continent. Along the way, Che is exposed to extreme events of poverty, vulnerability, and overall suffering. Originally, Che’s only goal in life was to become a famous doctor who would help fight off the leper disease invading South America. During the course of the journey, however, Che transforms from an innocent, simple-minded young man to a knowledgeable traveler, and finally to a powerful revolutionary that has his sights set much, much higher. Here are the events that helped to trigger this transformation in Ernesto Che Guevera. At the beginning of the journey, the only thing Che can focus on is the thought of becoming a doctor. â€Å"In the shade of the immense trees, we made plans to build a laboratory in this place, when we finished with our trip. Keep in mind, that at this point in the journey, he wasn’t even close to crossing the border of Argentina, let alone his final destination. This is the simple-mindedness of young Che Guevera coming out. He is constantly thinking about the final result, and by doing so, he isn’t able to fully appreciate what is going on around him. At this time, Che is only thinking of himself. But as he continues on his way, a few distinct events help begin to transform Che into the revolutionary that he is today. As Che progresses further to his destination, he begins to title himself as a leprosy doctor. As he stop sin towns along the way, he begins to provide medical assistance to those in need. At this time, it was mostly to practice for when he was to become famous later in life. But one town he stopped in began to change his whole perspective on what â€Å"helping people† was. â€Å"Soon the whole family was gathered around the article. And so, like this, basking in their admiration, we said goodbye to those people we remember nothing about, not even their names. †-pg. 59. He is basically saying that once he did what he needed to do, that was that. There were of people suffering in South America at the time. And he had helped only a few people. This event started to make Che think on a bigger scale, and gave him a little push in the direction of really making a difference in the lives of ALL those suffering people. As he reaches the end of his journey, Che has reached the final step of his transformation. Che has finally arrived at the leper colony, the much-anticipated end to his amazing journey. But Che has experienced things along the way that have changed his way of thinking. He doesn’t want the journey to end right here. He has figured out the way to truly make a difference in the lives of the South American people. Here is a quote that demonstrates what he has learned and how much he has transformed. â€Å"We must begin to erase our old concepts and come ever closer and ever more critically to the people. Not in the way we got closer before. Everybody has done that. But they have done it practicing charity, and what we have to practice today is solidarity. We should not draw closer to the people and say: Here we are. We come to give you the charity of our presence, to teach you with our science, to demonstrate your errors, your lack of refinement and knowledge. We need to go humbly to learn from the great source of wisdom that is the people. †-pg. 173 Che Guevera has gone from a narrow-minded individual to someone who is capable of caring for an entire population. He has grown into someone who can see through they eyes of the people who are suffering. He can see where things need to be improved. Che Guevera became the person he wanted to be at the beginning of the journey-a difference maker. But he has done so in a much different and more effective way. This is how Che Guevara grew over the course of the Motorcycle Diaries.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Resolving the nursing shortage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Resolving the nursing shortage - Essay Example The author’s discussion point out to the lack of motivational support for new nursing professionals and the lack of competitive professional incentives. In such cases, many nursing graduates do not pursue the career or enrichments that are necessary to maintain and develop skills. One of the interventions proposed is in the development of effective professional and educational partnerships such as those developed by the University Health System Consortium joined with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing sponsored residence programs that allow new graduates not only a venue to practice their learning but also exposes them to the potential and rewards of the nursing profession. Based on the results of two cohort studies on the participation of nursing graduates in the year-long residence program, participants expressed greater commitment to the nursing profession due to exposure of the program and greater satisfaction in nursing as a career. One of the best indicators of the success of the program is in increasing retention rate of resident nurses to 89% from previous turnover rates ranging from 40 to 50%. Dracup and Morrish however also recognize that instituting similar comprehensive programs can prove to be challenging particularly in cases were there are existing deficiencies in professionals, resources and expertise for the programs. The conclusion was that such efforts that consider professional and personal development at the beginning of the nurses’ careers is an effective means of encouraging them to pursue their careers and competencies which are critical if demands of the profession are to be adequately met. Dracup and Morrish’s concerns and views are echoed in a significant number of researches. In independent studies done in Virginia and Nebraska, similar conclusions to support the development of programs that will encourage young

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Fundamentals of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fundamentals of Finance - Essay Example The company’s current drill and platform was purchased 3 years ago for  £10M. The firm depreciates the machine using MACRS over a 5 year recovery period when the assets are replaced due to very high maintenance costs. The company’s management estimates that after removal costs are taken into consideration, this platform can be sold for  £3.5M. The company can also buy a new high specification platform at a cost of  £14M plus installation costs of  £1M and still has an estimated life of 5 years. If they decide to go ahead with this purchase then the company’s working capital needs will change; accounts receivable will increase to  £1.5M, accounts payable will also increase to  £1M and inventory will increase to  £2M. Swindon is expected to be able to sell the new, proposed machine at the end of the 5-year period for  £4M while the present machine at the end of the same period is expected to generate  £2.5M. All else equal, the company expects to recover their Net Working Capital Investment at the end of the same period. The company’s tax rate is at 40%. The existing machine is expected to net  £3,500,000 each year for the next 5 years. Along with the C.F.O, the Operations Officer has also laid down the estimated cash flows of the company from the new drilling platform as follows: 1) DEBT: the company can raise an unlimited amount of debt by selling  £1,000 par value, 6.5% coupon interest rate, 10 year bonds on which annual interest payments will be made. To sell the issue, an average discount of  £20 per bond needs to be given. There also is an associated flotation cost of 2% of par value. 2) PREFERRED STOCK: the company can raise an unlimited amount of preferred stock under the following terms; (a) the security has a par value of  £100/share, (b) the annual dividend rate is 6% of the par value, (c) the flotation cost is expected to be  £4 per share. The preferred stock is expected to sell for  £102 before cost considerations.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Individual analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual analysis - Essay Example In addition, role fulfillment among each member will aid in attaining his or her essential goals. Based on my experience while working on the assigned tasks, I learnt there are principles of membership dynamics that are essential in a group work. For instance, I realized that every participant is equally responsible for the entire group’s success and good interaction amongst members. Therefore, each participant ought to ensure there is good communication amongst all the members. This is by availing required responses, participating in decision making as well as making discussion times livelier. Hence, ensuring there is no participant who lags behind due to his or her poor academic performance limitations (Weimer, 2013). In addition, group work can be extremely emotional especially if participants emanate from different races, ethnic backgrounds or religions. Therefore, leaders who are not in control of their emotions and choice of words end up being a stumbling block to the gr oup’s enthusiasm especially if they are not apologetic (Weimer, 2013). During group work, I learnt that a leader ought to emphasize on the importance of meeting as well as setting deadlines without any excuses amongst its members. This norm will always keep participants successful in every task they tackle. Besides, I believe when every member in a group feels psychologically safe and does not look down upon him or herself, their participation levels gradually increases. However, in many social settings such as group works, members have little concern about psychological safety of all their fellow participants. This influences their participation negatively because some may start feeling inferior; hence fail to participate in discussion as necessitated. Therefore, every member bears the responsibility of ensuring his or her fellow participants feel psychologically secure throughout the discussion period (Weimer, 2013). For instance, participants should avoid ridicule or sarca sm towards their peers because this may negatively affect their confidence and desire to participate in the group. During group work, I learnt each member ought to have a self-driven purpose in producing both good and quality work in every task they undertake. I also believe participants ought to foster good relationships amongst themselves and beyond to achieve proper results. Hence, aid in developing both trust and dependability among themselves by making discussions very interesting. Leadership is a process through which an individual, organization or group positively influences other people to achieve already set objectives (Northouse, 2011). In addition, it directs an organization or company in a cohesive and coherent manner towards achieving their goals (Northouse, 2011). For one to be a leader, he or she acquires power through four varied ways, which include legitimate, reward, coercive, expert and reverend (Northouse, 2011). Effective leaders understand risks and benefits, w hich each type of power embodies and try to use them appropriately to attain firm’s set goals. In many circumstances, leaders do not have any great influence on the success of a certain group but the will of the followers automatically leads to positive success in any situation. Many leaders acquire leadership skills and knowledge from schools or other settings (Rojas & Alvarez, 2012). However, these

Friday, July 26, 2019

Impacts of Gangsterism in USA 1919-1929 (History) Coursework

Impacts of Gangsterism in USA 1919-1929 (History) - Coursework Example ce there was widespread anxieties about the fears of the USA losing prospect of its traditional ways in the future.1 Tension heightened due to the epidemic of strikes that rose in the republic at the war’s end, majority of them resulted to high prices and various frustrated union-organization drives. The golden age of gangsterism was caught amidst sprawled shocking crimes. There were lush profits of illegal alcohol leading to mass police bribery. The republic experienced violent wars that broke up in its leading cities between several rival gangs-which were rooted in the immigrant neighborhoods. They were fighting to control the wealthy market of booze. The rival gangs used their sawed-off guns and machineguns to do away with the bootlegging competitors, who had attempted to muscle in on their premises. In 1920, a gang war broke up in Chicago leaving 500 mobsters dead.2 Few arrests were made, and the convictions were even lesser since the button-lipped gangsters took cover for one another with the underworlds policy of silence. Chicago was the most spectacular instance of lawlessness in America during this time. In the year 1925, â€Å"Scarface† Al Capone, who was a grasping and a murderous booze distributor, started six years of gang warfare, which netted him millions of dollars collected from blood-spattering.3 He drove through the streets in an armor-plated car which had bullet proof windows. He was a renowned public enemy number one, but he could not be convicted of the cold-blood massacres that took place in Chicago, on St. Valentine’s Day in 1929. He later served eleven years of detention in a federal penitentiary where he was accused of income tax evasion, and was later released as syphilitic wreck.4 Al Capone had six years of alcohol distribution, and this made him a millionaire. He may have looked like a businessman on vacation, but he had bigger and nastier businesses than most of the businessmen in Chicago. Gangsterism rapidly moved into other

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Managing and training a global workforce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing and training a global workforce - Essay Example Due to the importance of training companies have to device ways to become more effective at training a global workforce. The managing of employees internationally requires the use of sound management techniques. The business structure of a company affects the way employees are managed. Centralized and decentralized management systems function very differently. In a centralized management system all decisions are made at the top level, while in a decentralized system employees are also involved in the decision making (Blurit). Getting employees involved is a great way to instill confidence in the workers and to establish good labor relations. There are different factors that affect a company’s abilities to manage a global workforce. Four of those factors are cultural differences, language, currency differences, and regulatory variations (Gordon). The cultural differences among workforces affect a company’s ability to manage its workforce. Japanese culture is very male or iented. It would not be a good strategy for an American company to put an American woman in charge of a Japanese factory. In the United States women have equal employment opportunity, but there still exist a glass ceiling for women to get into managerial positions. During the next five years there will be more women at the top managerial positions of companies. ... Regulatory variations affect the way a company manages a global staff. The normal work week in France is 35 hours, while in the United States the normal work week is 40 hours (Itodt). The training of employees in global settings is extremely important. Due to the distance barriers companies that have headquarters in the United States or Europe have to adapt their strategies to train its staff located across the 200 countries in the world. A technique that can help multinational corporations implement training sessions faster and in a more efficient manner is the use of online training tools. An online training can be created customized to the needs of the global staff. Language barriers can be eliminated by creating the training in the native language of the population. One of the advantages of online training is the flexibility of implementation. Companies can choose to give the online lessons during working hours or to allow the employees to take the training sessions on their own time. Employees can assess the company’s intranet online to take the training. In order to be fair and to motivate employees to take the training session seriously companies can pay financial incentives upon successful completion of an online training taken at home. Due to issues associated with cultural factors another option companies can utilize to train its global workforce is to hire domestic consulting companies from the foreign location. For example a US company would hire a HR consulting specialist in China to train the employees from its Chinese operation. The use of this strategy can achieve better results because these firms have special insight into the cultural factors that motivate the employees from

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Role of Promotion in Retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Role of Promotion in Retailing - Essay Example The objective of the paper is to show the promotional strategies of Adidas that have been used by the company as a part of its initiatives within 2012 London Olympics as their promotion campaign. The paper also shows the role of promotion in retailing as well as the advantages of promotion and the line marketing of Adidas. Promotional Strategies: Adidas for London Olympics 2012 Promotion is one of the most essential tools in marketing of a product. The elements of promotion are advertising, personal selling, publicity, sales promotion and direct marketing. A company makes a promotional mix to identify the budget to conduct the promotion and to recognise the importance that is to be provided to the various elements of promotional mix. The objectives of the promotional plan include augmentation of sales, recognition of the new product, brand equity creation and corporate image creation among others (McGoldrick, 2002). ... t with a outlook to meet up the necessities of the promotion Promotion helps in improving the morale as well as the satisfaction of the job of the employee By improving the morale of the employees, promotion ultimately helps in improving the organizational health It creates alertness of the survival of the product as well as the service provided Promotion helps a company to enlarge its market share Promotion provides information regarding the products as well as the services to the consumers that produces an incentive for the consumers to procure the products as well as use the services (McGoldrick, 2002) Adidas is known as one of the prominent sportswear manufacturers of the world. The Adidas Group was established by Adolf Dassler on 1949 with its headquarters in Germany. The first as well as the foremost global achievement of the brand was celebrated in 1954 when Germany won the championship of soccer. In middle of the 1980’s, the group had certain commercial breakdown but i n 1995 the Adidas Group regained its momentum and to stay in a competitive market with Nike, in 2006 Adidas had taken over Reebok. The company sponsors many games with their own capital and its sportswear such as soccer and Olympics among others (Adidas Group, 2012). To grow to be the top retailer and provide with quality products are the main visions of Adidas. Retailing is important to show the breath of the product, to build division in markets where traditional structure of wholesaling does not exist and to influence the knowledge from own retail for the whole organization (Adidas Group, 2012). Adidas is going to be the official partner regarding sportswear for the London Olympics for the year 2012 (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2012). Adidas will act as the official partner for the team

Fianl report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fianl report - Essay Example GE discourages this approach by developing research based culture which promotes the employees to provide their input in the programs of continuous improvement. General Electric, commonly known as GE, is a US based company. It is well known for its wide range of specialized products and services. These products include aircraft engines, home appliance like dyers, washers, cook-tops, and many other devices that are used in healthcare facilities (GE.com). All these products and services are based on top notch technologies. The business of GE is spread in more than 160 countries of the world. China, India, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, New Zealand and Australia are only a few names. GE is present in many European, African and American countries as well (GE.com). The total task force of GE consists of 36,000 employees. GE calls them technologists instead of employees. This term does not only reflect technology orientation of GE but also gives employees a commitment with technology. It recruits people from all over the world ensuring the best return of their talent. The strategy of valuing its employees pays GE fairly well both in short and long term. Operations management is generally defined as the management of processes converting input into output. This basic definition contains vast meaning and many organizational functions are covered in this domain. The classical Economics theories identified land, labor and capital as inputs or factors of production and the output was the core product. The contemporary management literature considers man, money, media and material as inputs to the organizational processes while outputs are categorized as quality and quantity of the product. Operations management is an inevitable function in any organization (Greasley, 3) and it is the core factor determining success or

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Pros and cons of marriage versus singlehood as contrasting lifestyles Assignment

Pros and cons of marriage versus singlehood as contrasting lifestyles - Assignment Example In addition, the single life allows for full planning on definite grounds where there are no dependents in the society to bring in discombobulating events (Jones 14). The married life on the other hand provides security of its own in relation to retirement, where social security in America plans for early retirement in considering early retirement. As such, it offers early retirement benefits for the aging or those close to retirement age because it allows one spouse to have the benefits while the other works. However, the cons of marriage are not as rosy as the benefits due to the lack of independence as seen in the criteria used by society to determine how the said social security benefits are received. This is because it is dependent on a third person such as the wife, or the state of being a dependent for a child under the age of 16 years (Rose 51). TV shows and different cultures/ ethnicities The first show â€Å"everybody hates Chris† portrays the a African American fami ly, that has both parents, which contradicts the text in that despite stating that many children are raised by single parent. However, Chris’ school friend is raised by a single parent who is his father, but the family of this friend is native white American. The work ethic of the black family, which belongs to Chris is portrayed strongly as his father works three jobs and two at the least. However, his mother fails this work ethic concept in that she only works when she desperately needs money, and then quits citing that her husband works three jobs to support her and her children. In spite of this, there is no mention of self-help groups, except a neighbourhood watch and no other although there is mention of kinship, where the black community is close knit. Another show portraying how Latino Americans is Weeds, where there is a close knit society of marijuana dealers who know one another and mostly engage in crime on a familial basis. The bilingual aspect is highlighted mul tiple instances, where they choose between English and Spanish to communicate based on the level of understanding required and secrecy intended. To back the text, the population in the crime families keeps rising with new arrivals to take over certain aspects of drug and security businesses run by their families. The third show is NCIS, which has a portrayal of middle eastern families, especially Israel and Iran, where gender roles are the way of life with females sticking to their expectations as seen with Ziva David. The contradiction in the gender roles is that Ziva is respected more than other male members of her family as she is obedient, and that her family only has herself and her father. Online dating Online dating websites require users to provide different forms of information, most of which is personal, and POF is no different as the information required starts from one’s name and gender, and ends with ethnicity and nationality (POF). The website guarantees that th e entire registration and use of their services is free, which means that there is no need to pay any money to use their service. The appeal of the website lies mainly in its ability to appeal to all that do not feel sufficiently endowed in finances. This way there is a larger variety of people and a diversity since one can even choose from different ethnicities and cultures. The reputation of websites for

Monday, July 22, 2019

Edinburgh Napier library services Essay Example for Free

Edinburgh Napier library services Essay Edinburgh Napier University was established as a technical college in 1964 taking its name from famous inventor of logarithms, John Napier. Since 1971, the college has started to offer degree level educations. In 1992, the college was converted to university, and changed its name to Napier University. However, in 2009, the university changed its name to Edinburgh Napier University. To enhance high academic integrity, the university aims to implement scalable high level Library Information Systems in order to offer high quality learning. (Edinburgh Napier University, 2009, Microsoft Corporation, 2006). The objective of this proposal is to evaluate an initiative of the Edinburgh Napier library services. To enhance greater understanding of proposal, it is essential to provide brief description of the research area. 1. 1: Background of Research The university opened Electronic Library Information systems in 2000, and since this period, the library has acquired huge amount of academic resources in electronic formats. However, with increase in the academic complexity, learners are increasingly facing challenges in accessing academic resources from the university library. (Edinburgh Napier University, 2008). By visiting the current online library resources, it is revealed that the university is facing challenges to provide high quality and innovative e- library services. Although, the university e-library has offered various services such as e-resources, teaching resources, study and research, user’s information, and information on the library resources, however, it is revealed that there are various lapses in the existing library services that have led to gaps in the knowledge. The university teaching resources from WebCT has not provided social teaching networking where students and tutors will be able to interact when lecture is taking place. Thus, the university has not been able to provide virtual face-to-face teaching strategy that resembles traditional teaching method. As being argued by Rolfe et al (2008), the WebCT which is one of the university library resources of Napier Edinburgh University has not been able to provide social interactions for students. The lack of dialogue do not provide rich virtual academic standard for students. Moreover, the university has not be able to offer 24 hour service for students in the physical university libraries such as Canaan Lane, Comely Bank, Craighouse, Craiglockhart, Livingston, Melrose, and Merchiston. The books in these libraries have not been available online. To address this problem, the university needs to implement scalable e-Resources Strategy in order to achieve high quality e-learning. It is essential to realise that the library should be able to provide varieties of online portals that should provide social networking for students and instructors. The recommendation provided is that the existing software and hardware that were used for the university library resources need to be upgraded to high quality and scalable new software and hardware. The comparison between national and international students on the effectiveness of university library resources has revealed that overall international students are happy with the university library resources. Compared to home students where only 54% of home students are happy with the university library resources. (Bawden, Robinson, Anderson et al 2007). Thus, the proposal attempts to address these gaps and make recommendations to the library. To achieve these objectives, the study provides the outline of the project in the box below. 2. Project outline for the project 1. The idea for this research arose from: The research arose from the shortcoming identified in the library services of Edinburgh Napier University. The research attempts to provide recommendations to the library in order to fill the gap. 2. The aims of the project are as follows: To provide understanding among students the different means of accessing material through the various services. To provide recommendations of high quality and scalable e-library resources in order to ensure easy and quick accessible of learning materials. 3. The main research questions that this work will address include: To what extent the existing library resources have been able to satisfy the need of students and staff? What are the high quality and scalable methods to improve university library resources? 4. The software development/design work/other deliverable of the project will be: The software design will involve Software Development Life Cycle which is typically referred as waterfall model. The prototype of the software design reveals that output from a specific stage will provide the inputs for the next stage of software design. 5. The project will involve the following research/field work/experimentation/evaluation: There will be primary and secondary research to carry out this project. Moreover, there will be experimentation of software and hardware that will be employed for the proposal. 6. This work will require the use of specialist software: MOSS 2007, Microsoft cluster, Web 2. 0 7. This work will require the use of specialist hardware: VM Ware Tools, Linux Server, podcasts, Virtual hardware 8. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with: The project is done in collaboration with a researcher and school of computing. (Bawden, Robinson, Anderson et al 2007) 3. Conclusion The proposal attempts to evaluate an initiative of Edinburgh Napier library services. The study has revealed that there are shortcomings in the existing university library resources. The gaps identified are that the university has not been able to offer 24 hours services for some of the library resources. Moreover, the WebCT has not been able to offer virtual classroom experience for students where learners would enjoy virtual classroom experience just like traditional learning. Thus, the proposal has recommends that the existing software and hardware need to be upgraded to ensure that the university offers high quality and scalable library services for students. References Bawden, D. Robinson, L. Anderson, T. et al (2007). Towards Curriculum 2. 0: library / information education for a Web 2. 0 world. Library and Information Research. 31(99):14-25). Edinburgh Napier University, (2009). History of Edinburgh Napier University. Scotland. Edinburg University Press. Edinburgh Napier University, (2008). Napier University Learning Information Services E-service strategy: Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Microsoft Corporation, (2006). Napier University, University Streamlines Access to Student Services with Improved E-Learning Portal. Microsoft Corporations. Rolfe, V. Alcocer, M. Bentley, E. (2008). Academic Staff Attitudes Towards Electronic Learning in Arts and Sciences. University of Nottingham. UK.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Conflict Resolution In African Countries Politics Essay

Conflict Resolution In African Countries Politics Essay Africa as a continent is faced with rampant conflicts in some of its countries with consequent negative effects to the economic, political and social lives of their citizens and neighboring countries. A study by Africa action, an activism website for Africa, states It is important to note that most of Africa is not at warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ However, where conflicts do exist, they affect not only the stability of the countries involved, but also their neighbors and the entire sub-region. The political class often uses ideologies to stay in office and sometimes resort to conflicts in the form of violence. Conflict resolution, being a basic human activity, is conducted in forms that often vary across cultures. Different methods have been used in the past to try to resolve these conflicts including military deployment; dialogue between conflicting parties; and even negotiations. THESIS: Whenever there is scarcity of resources there is bound to be conflict as people try to share the resources. Conflict is thus as old as humanity. Conflict is defined as the underlying issue in dispute between or among parties and conflict resolution as the elimination of causes of the underlying conflict. Conflict resolution in African countries Africa as a continent is endowed with enough resources to keep the world moving for years. It is indeed the resources from Africa that brought industrialization to life; ranging from raw materials to labor. It is thus absurd that majority of African countries are categorized under third world countries and are faced with frequent deaths due to diseases, civil wars, poverty, and natural calamities. Civil wars and political unrests have been the major setbacks to development in Africa. Where there is peace, corruption comes in the way. Allocation of resources has always been a cause of disagreement in countries frequented by conflicts in Africa. Okoth et al states: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦State power in African countries has been the major arena of privilege -the religious, business, and other arenas provide fewer opportunities and it has been accessible to ambitious men of humble origin. The quest for political power is thus motivated by the desire to control state resources and their authoritative allocation. (46) African political class, thus try so hard to achieve political positions in their respective governments and once they get there, they work even harder to maintain these positions. They then indulge in allocation of state resources to theirs kinsmen and close friends with no regard whatsoever to the common man who labors so much and gets no say in the fruits of his labor. This scenario, more often than not leads to a section of the country feeling left out in the allocation of state resources taking up arms in an attempt to oust the incumbent political class out of government. In an attempt to try to hold on to power and the status quo, the political elite often resort to ideologies to save their skins. Nzunga points out that the current state of most African countries cannot be dissociated from the Berlin Treaty of 1885, which divided the continent into zones of European influence. Before this year, most communities in this continent ran their own affairs in relative independence, within a clearly understood ethnic region. He points out that the greatest injustice the colonial masters committed was, undoubtedly, the imposition of their language and culture on the colonized minority groups. Because of the way the colonial masters divided the African continent without regard to the various cultures of ethnic communities that were in existence before them, these ethnic communities found themselves in the same borders forming countries. The political elite is well aware of this fact and whenever things are not going well for them they go back to their ethnic cocoons making them believe that it is their tribes in threat of extinction by the others. This often leads to ethnic clashes as witnessed in the Rwanda genocide and Kenya. Okoth et al notes that the politically motivated ethnic violence in Kenya in 1991-1992 on the re-introduction of multi-party politics can thus be explained in terms of this misuse of the state to the advantage of a few, and the consequent instigation of parochial identities by political leaders for their own selfish interests (52). Others, in the case of Nigeria, resort to their religious affiliations clashing Christians against Muslims. Political ideology is thus a tool used by the politicians to cause conflict while they desperately cling to power for selfish reasons while the common citizen suffers. Sadiki is quick to point out that an observation of conflict trends in Africa indicates that intrastate armed conflicts, which were on the rise between 1990 and 1998, have significantly decreased in number. Many conflicts on the continent have been settled and others are in the process of being resolved, generally through peaceful means. This is an indication that as far as African states are concerned, military deployment has not been successful in resolving conflicts rather it fuels it. This is evident in southern Sudan where military deployment from the north for over a decade failed to resolve the conflicts until peaceful negotiations were introduced. Despite the military deployment by the AU and UN peacekeepers in Somalia, the state is still in chaos as violent conflicts thrive. In Kenya, for example, the 2007-2008 post election violence only escalated when police tried to intervene. It took the efforts of a third party, Kofi Annan, to lead peaceful negotiations between the two parties in conflict to resolve the conflicts. In the present day, conflicts in Egypt and Tunisia over corruption and equitable allocation of state resources cannot be resolved through military might. In conclusion, with studies showing the similarities in the causes of conflicts in African countries, one thing that stands out is that we should not wait for conflicts to occur and try to resolve them. Instead, African countries should put constitutional measures in place that will ensure corruption and resource allocation issues are dealt with from the roots upwards.

Staff Roles And Responsibilities In Rfp Process Information Technology Essay

Staff Roles And Responsibilities In Rfp Process Information Technology Essay Best Western International is looking at develop the functionality and the eServices of the European consolidated Best Western website that support the national European IT departments to integrate their functions and maintain-operate this single website portal. As the travel industry is characterised by dynamic changes such as mergers and acquisitions of hotel chains and properties, Best Western International is looking for a partner who is willing to share the responsibilities, benefits and risks. The partner should continually find ways to advance the functionality of the consolidated website portal and advise Best Western on the change management processes for its national IT departments. The vendor is also expected to help and assist the hotel to plan and go through with the required organisational change. The project is to complete within the next six months. This is a huge challenge as Best Western does not have any single IT department to oversee the design and the management of outsourcing requirements and process. This report helps to identify its operational and strategic needs for developing the Request for Proposal (RPF) as well as identifying and selecting an appropriate outsourcing vendor. One of the major requirements of the RFP is not only the technical requirements of the application but also the organisational competencies of the vendor that is required to help Best Western, Europe, manage the organisational transition process. This report advise the client how to write and negotiate the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the selected vendor in order to ensure the provision of reliable services, how to develop and negotiate a contract with a potential vendor so that Best Western enjoys pricing, technological and organisational flexibility. This report also examines the business operational environment, its culture and propose strategies. This should enable Best Western to effectively manage the knowledge transfers and process collaboration between the internal multi-national IT staff and the IT vendor development staff. The focus areas include knowledge management and transfer issues, management of the transition process and organisational changes that are required to take place within Best Western in Europe. In addition, it helps Identify the staff who should be involved in the transition process and their roles and responsibilities. Major outsourcing risks and recommend practices to overcome them were identified as well. Introduction Best Western International is the worlds largest hotel brand. With its presence in 80 countries, it has over 4,000 hotels all around. Member hotels of Best Western consortia enjoy many benefits. Besides being associated with the international brand name, they receive the benefits of the marketing and operational services of Best Western. This includes access to (electronic) distribution channels, international reservation call centres, training, and centralised e-procurement. While Best Western International has its footprints all over the globe, its local representative offices in each country function independently in more ways than one. They develop and operate their own websites. These websites are not characterised by any standardised design. Each one features different online services and functionalities. Furthermore, there is limited synergy and links amongst these country specific websites. These websites create confusion to international travellers and also act as a major technological and organisational inhibitor to the future development and adoption of sophisticated eServices by the hotel chain. Furthermore, every national Best Western office has an individual IT department. This department is responsible for developing its own eServices based on the departments financial resources and skills. As a result, eServices development efforts are replicated; leading to a waste of resources at a European level despite the fact that other national IT departments may be lacking resources for website development The organisation has recognised the need to develop a consolidated portal providing access to all European Best Western websites. This should feature integrated and holistic new eServices; such as dynamic packaging solutions and an easier interface to the Best Western Reward programme Dynamic packaging solutions provide several benefits and revenue making opportunities to travel companies. It can also help the organisation realise its aims to promote Europe as a single destination. It has envisaged the need to re-organise the IT departments of Best Western in every European country. Other requirements will be to foster and support their cooperation and synergies as well as define their roles and responsibilities related to website design and e-services development. RFP Development RFP is typically drafted at the end of the requirements-gathering phase of a project. It is important that the following prerequisites be completed before embarking on RFP process: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identify organisational objectives. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identify stakeholders. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identify project objectives. Once the prerequisites are completed, we can then accurately capture, interpret, and represent the voice of the client in specifying the IT system requirements. It is important that all stakeholders must achieve a common understanding of what the IT system will be and do. To achieve that, a combination of meetings with user representatives, facilitated workshops with analysts and users, individual customer interviews, prototyping, and user surveys be employed. It is important that Best Western International undergo the following pre-RFP activities before developing its RFP Has it performed any prior feasibility studies or High level design analysis on the new web portal to be developed Has the cost and benefit analysis of the consolidated systems being conducted and documented Was the benefits been quantified and shared with key stakeholders within the organisation to get consensus and endorsement about the new business for developing and consolidating the IT system Was the high level scope been identified including completing the documentation of the business process procedures (BPPs) to be enabled through new IT systems Identifying the sponsor for the new Portal and receiving approval to proceed. For example, a project charter to formally engage the necessary resources for the outsourcing project an Has the timelines for the implementation of new IT system and the estimated budget for the entire programme including TCO(total cost of ownership) for enduring support been finalised Pre-RFP activities are critical for formulating any business case into an RFP. It is recommended to use information gathering or IT requirement gathering methods, tools and techniques in order to capture the requirements for the new IT system. Some of the main tools that would help in elicitation of requirements are Brainstorming, structured questionnaires, case scenario, state transition diagrams and UML model diagram to capture relationship between the real time objects and classes. In other words, the pre-RFP activities are as much critical as the RFP activities. A good RFP address and capture the following: Scope of activities that are clearly defined to be delivered by the vendor. Unless the scope of the engagement is clear, vendors would not be in a position to submit a viable and competitive response for the RFP. Include inputs from the initial study/HLD analysis performed by client organisation with the quantifiable benefits expected out of new IT system. Vendor must understand the sizeable benefits and criticality of the new system to client organisation otherwise it would not be able assess direct financial implications on client organisation for any slippages and understand the criticality of the project to client Include technical requirements including specific technical infrastructure, platform and software. Furthermore, it is important to highlight reasons behind finalising on a particular platform and software including its roadmap in the RFP Include timelines for the vendors response submission and timelines for the project implementation and what impact would have on the client organisation in case of slippages Explicitly mention Vendor characteristics and minimum qualifications expected from vendor for being trusted partner for this engagement Clearly articulate the service level Agreement (SLAs) for the delivery of new IT system and impact of not adhering to SLAs along with financial liabilities (if any) Highlight the expected frequency and details to be incorporated in status reporting Explicitly document the mandate for signing on non-disclosure agreement of vendor with client organisation in order to ensure security and integrity of data Highlight the need for obtaining approval from key client personnel who will be engaged in the programme from vendors team Enforce the business units to highlight the risks, operational constraints and issues that the vendor can foresee on the programme/project. This will help in assessing its impact and its likelihood even before start of the programme and plan for mitigation What infrastructure required from a vendor perspective to deliver the new information system Vendors commercial offer and what factors that vendor thinks that would position them ahead of others Any live case studies whereby vendor had involved in similar engagement with other clients along with contact references from those clients for future enquiry and reference. Articulate clearly responsibility and accountability of activities to be taken by vendor and other parties as part of the engagement through RACIS(R-Responsible A-Accountable C-Consulted I-Informed S-Supported) matrix Include the warranty requirements that is expected from vendor on the new IT system to be developed The acceptance criteria for the new system and the process for obtaining signoff In addition an RFP should request a corporate profile of the responding vendor. Typically this will include risk statements around corporate liquidity, market share, an outline of local operations, number of staff in this country, support models (where support may be with a third party), escalation procedures to parent, local install base (number of customers in this country) etc.. A typical RFP for a website project should include the following components: Introductiona summary of the organization including the mission statement. Project outline Goals and purpose Project scope Website requirements Database development requirements User requirements Design requirements Functional requirements Budget constraints-limited budget Time constraints-when we need the project completed by and when we require responses from vendors Criteria for selecting a vendor Submission of proposal and further information-contact information that encourages vendors to contact the organization for more information Staff roles and responsibilities in RFP process: One of the critical success factors of an outsourcing deal is involving the right stakeholders who will be actively involved in this project whose interest may be positively or negatively affected as a result of the project execution or successful completion. For project outsourcing to succeed, it must be well-planned and carefully implemented. To help ensure the organisation benefit from outsourcing, different teams or roles can be formed or specified: Ideas team This team is involved in identifying processes which can be beneficial to outsource. They should be directly involved in overseeing the companys business strategy to ensure that they have a strategic overview of the companys existing processes and goals. Policy-level team This team is involved in assessing whether outsourcing specific processes is appropriate. For each process, this requires analysing the possible benefits of outsourcing in relation to the companys policies and strategic goals. The team should consist of senior company executives, rather than employees from individual departments. A common perception is that outsourcing a process implies a departments failure to manage it. Using senior executives rather than department members in a policy-level team helps ensure objectivity. It also ensures that the team has the required strategic perspective. Assessment team This team is involved in analysing the likely implications of outsourcing the process for the company. This team should include members from the policy-level team, and should be lead by an executive from the team. This team should include members with different roles and skills. This helps ensure that the team can recognise the likely implications of outsourcing across different areas and form the perspectives of different stakeholders. Members of an assessment should include: Consultants Functional managers Process experts Representative customers Technical experts Implementation and transition team This team is responsible for setting up project outsourcing to address any implication identified. It makes the changes required to pass internal production processes to a service provider. The transition team should be involved in managing the change involved in outsourcing project. This teams focus should be on ensuring that the move from internal production to outsourcing des not impact negatively on the company. Vendor evaluation and assessment criteria Prior to developing the evaluation criteria, it is important to clearly define the company objectives of outsourcing its IT operation in term of functions, performance, quality and costs. We can then define the following outputs expected from the vendors: Operational systems Documentation Management Training Communication Support Reduced costs Expertise Assets When we have the above outputs, we can define the following acceptance criteria: The quality of the service in term of functionality, usability, performance, reliability and availability The implementation and operational plan The quality of the support Capability for future enhancements in line with business expansion Qualification of vendor technical capacity ability to meet objectives financial stability quality system In additional, an evaluation of the following should be performed: Assess the managerial proposal: Desired working relationships Depth and frequency of liaison, meeting, reports Dealing with extraordinary items Location of offices and services Resources/commitment required of client Confidentiality Assess terms and condition: ownership of hardware and software maintenance of customer supplied equipment protection of customers and vendor proprietary information Warranty period Escrow arrangement Assess the technical proposal completeness of proposal demonstration of capabilities or products compliance to requirement (performance and quality) demonstration of degree of understating of problems and applicability of solution technical strategy maturity applicability and compatibility Assess the financial proposal assess method of payment E.g., fixed price, by usage of resource, shared savings, revenue it Identify Total costs Identify cost payment schedule Other factors in assessing proposal The vendor The company industry specification, track record Length of time in business Length of time with local presence Standard qualification (ISO 90000, etc) Size, ownership, financial position / paid up capital etc. Staff assigned CV, security clearance (if appropriate) Experience, is who you see who you will get? Any other commitments References (other customers) Previous experience with contractors Does contractors representative come across as direct or straight forward? interest in your business In addition, we can quantify evaluation criteria of each vendor by aiming to score vendors against each other. For example: Attached weights to each Criteria Weight Proposed Functionality 6 Demonstrated Services 5 Previous Experience 3 Costs 5 We can give each vendor a score of 1-10 for each criterion and determine total weighted score = sum (weighted scores) Criteria Weight Vendor 1 Vendor 2 Score Weighted Score Score Weighted Score Proposed Functionality 6 8 48 7 42 Demonstrated Services 5 4 20 5 25 Previous Experience 4 6 24 4 16 Costs 5 5 25 5 25 Total 117 108 The vendor with the highest score is usually the preferred partner. Service Level Agreement (SLA) development An SLA defines the boundaries of the project in terms of the functions and services that the service provider will provide, the volume of work that will be accepted and delivered, and acceptance criteria for responsiveness and the quality of deliverables. A well-defined and well crafted SLA should set expectations for parties, including the incentives, rewards and penalties applicable to the outsourcing agreement and its results. To ensure the provision of reliable services from the service provider, an SLA should specify client and the providers accountabilities in the outsourcing relationship. These include: Client role The organisation needs to detail its role in the outsourcing relationship. This extends beyond providing its requirements because it details what the provider can expect from the client organisation. For example, the organisation may need to advise the provider about the process, keep them informed about the vision of the project, provide any customise software it needs, or help it acquire and maintain infrastructure The terms of service This should include the cost and duration of the contract, and a time frame for deliverables. The terms should be realistic and measurable, based on the organisations requirements. It need to stipulate any context-sensitive terms, such as a roadmap for release dates, an hourly billing rate, any ceilings on billing rates, and conditions for payments. Delivery measurements This should detail how the providers service is measured, and any performance bonuses payable if metrics are exceeded. The organisation needs to specify who is in charge of completing the metrics, who reviews status reports, and how any conflicts in the measurements are to be mediated or arbitrated. For example, we should set metrics for service reliability, availability and response times for transactions and any service incidents such as server failure. Reliability = Uptime / Downtime The system shall not suffer a downtime greater than 15 minutes during continuous 24 hours operation Downtime = Operational down time + Waiting time + Investigation time + Recovery time Availability = Uptime / (Uptime + Downtime + Maintenance time) The system shall be 99% available during normal working hours (0700 1900) Performance Response time 95% of all online enquiries will be serviced within 5 seconds Average response time to online enquiries shall be 4 seconds No enquiry shall suffer a response time > 10 seconds Throughput The system will handle a maximum of 100,000 transactions per day Storage The system must currently store 1 million customer records and provision must be made for an increase in records of 5% per annum Delivery and Output The following reports will be delivered daily at 0800 Penalty clauses This should include the price and penalties of non-compliance in the SLA. This should clearly define the expectations in the relationship and helps establish remedial processes to resolve any compliance disputes and ensure uninterrupted service. We can dictate a fee reduction, corrective action or payable compensation for any defects or damages to the organisation reputation or service quality due to non-delivery. For example: A Defect is any non-conforming performance that occurs during a day. A Level one defect is any defect that lasts for more than 2 hours but less than 24 hours A Level two defect is any defect that lasts for more than 24 hours A Level three defect is any defect that occurs more than once during any seven-day period A Level four defect is any defect that occurs more than once during any thirty-day period Penalties For each Level one defect, service provider will grant the client a credit of $1000 against the provider fees For each Level two defect, service provider will grant the client a credit of $5000 against the provider fees Exit clause The organisation may need to terminate an outsourcing relationship due to non-performance, violation of the SLA like Termination for cause, or to reintegrate the outsourced processes into its in-house operations due to mergers or acquisition Termination for convenience. These instances and related activities need to be stipulated in an exit clause to ensure both parties understand how and when the outsourcing relationship can end. For example, the organisation stipulates that the contract automatically terminates after six months or if a contact violation occurs. Flexibility SLA should be flexible enough so that any changes or updates either internal or market-related can be easily added to the contract. It is recommended that SLA be reviewed every six month depending on service aspect and its occurrence of poor performance and duration of the contract itself. However, this should not negate the benefits accruing to either party. For example, if a project is scaled upwards to accommodate extra transactions, the metrics for measuring service deliverables need to change. When setting an SLA, we need to consider the organisation and service provider existing infrastructure, including expertise, employees, and technology. It is useless setting up an SLA that details commitments that cannot be fulfilled due to limited infrastructure. A typical SLA should be as long as it must be and as short as it can be. SLA of 10 to 50 pages are not unusual. The longer it is, the more important it is to focus on structure, clarity and readability Contract Development Building flexible in an outsourcing contract is important to ensure the success of an outsourcing arrange. Today market is moving fast and changing fast. Many IS outsourcing deals seem to be obsolete as soon as they are signed. Business strategy changes, market environment changes, technology changes, law, rules and regulatory changes could affect scope of services which means that outsourcing objectives no longer aligned to the business goals to achieve the desired outcomes that they were set to achieve. Flexibilities need to be built during planning stage, contracting stage and post contract management stage to meet any of the above changes. Planning Stage Selecting the right vendor with culture that reflects its business philosophy is important instead of evaluating merely on price and capability. The selection process should involve due diligence regarding the vendors record and attitudes toward rigidity, structure, adaptation, bureaucracy, change and, most importantly, the vendor attitudes toward creating customer value. Choosing the right vendor by forming a strategic alliance promotes the spirit of teams whereby both share relevant risk and rewards would enable contracting parties to be flexible in getting over those bumps along the path. Contracting Stage Contracts are made to allocate risks. Typical contracts allocate known risks and provide some opportunity to each party to obtain a commercially reasonable outcome for risks that are unlikely but nonetheless possible The first is a change in the scope of services. This will likely affect staffing commitments, technology investment, pricing and service level commitments, among other things. In defining the scope of contracted services, the customer should establish a method for integrating the vendors services into the customers other service infrastructures, both internal and external, both current and planned. In the contracting stage, provision for flexibility should be catered for changes in the business environment within organisation. As mentioned, with rapid globalisation, change is a constant to the business. Such change could result in a drastic increase or decline in provider services. The contract should contemplate the impact on pricing and service level commitments in the face of such dramatic changes. The pricing schedules should reflect a band of services at varying, foreseeable levels in order to facilitate financial planning for both parties. At the outer limit, unbundled and transparent pricing, particularly for commodity-type services should be considered. Pricing algorithms and strategies should be studied separately, since pricing flexibility reflects a constellation of business terms. Next are changes in the legal environment. Laws, rules and regulations change, often unpredictably. A contract that did not foresee such changes must be construed to allocate the cost of compliance with such new directives and compliance. Accordingly, contracts should require the vendor to comply with changes in the laws, and costs of compliance should be addressed. Otherwise, the vendor would be exculpated from having to comply by arguing that an act of state, act of God or other force majeure exonerates the vendors non-compliance. The vendor should assume certain predictable risks of technology changes. With rapid technological update and changes, both parties may predict and contractually agree on certain technology refreshment cycles beyond a certain threshold like three to five years where both sides must provide contractual leeway to benefit from such changes without incurring material adverse consequences if those changes should radically alter the contractual balance. Additionally, organisations are moving towards the concepts such as business process management (BPM). BPM allows an organisation to continually make adjustments to its business processes as it evolves and learns. A vendor should embrace this type of concept and allow flexibility into its processes. Furthermore, using best practices such as Service Oriented Architecture could also aid in flexibility. Business operational environment and Culture Staff roles and responsibilities in transition Staff or stakeholders involved in the transition process and knowledge transfer would include Ideas team, Policy-level team, Assessment team, and Implementation and transition team as mentioned Staff roles and responsibilities in RFP process who roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. In addition, the teams should consist of members from both the client and service provider organisation. Culture and resistance to change The culture of each organisation in an outsourcing relationship helps to determine its flexibility. Change typically involves stress because it requires that people adjust to new roles, process and responsibilities. An organisation culture helps to determine the level of stress caused by change, and whether this stress inspires resent or commitment. An organisation culture can help to determine: Its approach to the value of the relationship and to building the relationship over time with the provider Its openness to change The extend to which employees share a common vision and can work together One of the crucial factors to successful outsourcing is a smooth transition. The transition phase involves multiple stakeholders and a number of dynamics paradigms that outsourcing brings to an organisation impacts all clients stakeholders employees, users, and support groups. Many employees will be concerned about the implication of this change to their jobs and to their futures. For some employees, a clear understanding of the required changes and their rationale will foster immediate buy-in and support. Other employees will express their concern by asking questions, challenging rationales, and finding holes in the implementation plan and process. Other employees may resist the change by either avoiding involvement or causing real or potential disruption. Understanding the stages of Resistance A key step in a smooth transition is to understand the three stages of behavioural patterns as it relates to organizational resistance. The three basic stages that have been identified by organizational management professionals are Holding On, Letting Go, and Moving On. Holding On is the initial the resistance to change that occurs when individuals hold on to that with which they are most familiar and comfortable. Many users are used to getting served in a particular way from a team. There is mutual trust as well as fear of the unknown. In the case of outsourcing, their team may now be thousands of miles away instead of just down the floor. This naturally causes concerns such as: How do I know what my team is doing offshore? How do I speak to my team during my workday? Where is everybody? Signs of this stage include forgetting to attend meetings about the change, coming into work late or an increase in employees calling in sick, or when people become irritable or withdrawn from others with whom they have previously had good working relations. Letting Go is the second phase individuals typically experience when confronted with change. You may start hearing people say things like it just might work if management will let it happen. I will do it once I see others do it without any backlash. It might work somewhere else, but I dont know how it would work here. Letting Go is visible when people start attending meetings and either do not contribute or take opposing perspectives or when individuals question the issues associated with the change and start challenging thinking. They begin spending more of their personal time discussing how it might just work if only Moving On is the third phase. At this stage, we can hear comments like: When am I going to learn how to do this? How can I get this going already? This isnt so bad after all. Moving On is visible when individuals spend time planning how to make things wo

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Cuban Missile Crisis Essay -- essays research papers fc

During the administration of United States President John F. Kennedy, the Cold War reached its most dangerous state, when the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came to the brink of nuclear war in what was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. What was the Cold War? What started the tensions between the United States and the USSR? What actions were taken and how were the problems resolved? All of these questions and more shall be answered in this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Cold War was a struggle between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union. Although direct military conflict never took place, diplomatic and economic struggles occurred. The Cold War began when Joseph Stalin, leader of the Communist Party, used the Red Army to take control of most of the countries of Eastern Europe. The United States as well as Western European countries were greatly concerned. In response to Stalin’s military movements, President Harry Truman issued the Truman Doctrine in 1947. In his address to Congress, President Truman decided that the United States would aid any country that asked for help in resisting communism. The Truman Doctrine became known as the basis for containment, the policy to keep communism from spreading to other countries. After the Truman Doctrine, George Catlett Marshall, Secretary of State, proposed the Marshall Plan, the European Recovery Program through which the United States provided aid to Wester n Europe after World War II, in June 1947. The Marshall Plan was offered to all European countries, but Stalin would not allow the countries his military was occupying take part. In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed. The countries involved in this pact were the United States, Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. The NATO agreement said that â€Å"an armed attack against one or more of its members in Europe and/or America shall be considered an attack against them all.† To ward off aggressors, American forces and nuclear weapons were to be kept in Western Europe. In response to NATO, the Soviet Union formed a similar pact between seven Eastern European countries called the Warsaw Treaty Organization, or Warsaw Pact. The countries involved along with the Soviet Union were Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslov... ... allow them. The inspections weren’t needed, however, as U.S. aerial reconnaissance planes revealed that the missile bases were being dismantled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Cuban Missile Crisis had ended. Nuclear war had been averted, but the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis didn’t end the Cold War. The Cold War didn’t â€Å"end† until the early nineties, when Mikhail Gorbechev and George Bush stopped the superpower rivalry, at least for the time being. Possibly the most bitter and vicious rivalry in the modern era had spawned conflict after conflict; the Cuban missile crisis was perhaps the worst of these events, almost leading to nuclear disaster. With the brazen and quick thinking of world leaders, this calamity was averted and the earth remains unscathed from the nuclear scourge. Bibliography: Jared Wiener; Bay of Pigs http://members.aol.com/yo1460/byopr/contents.html Anonymous; John F. Kennedy http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/html/jk35.html Brinkley, American History; A Survey; Volume II; Since 1865, USA; McGraw-Hill College; 1999 Dilulio, John J. Jr, Wilson James Q., American government; The Essentials. Boston MA; Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Better Home and Gardens and The Home Depot Essay -- essays research pa

Better Home and Gardens and The Home Depot In the current issue of Better Home and Gardens (BHG) magazine, published on October, 2004, there is an advertisement presenting how BHG and The Home Depot work together to provide new ideas and products. This is a win-win situation for both companies. Once know as â€Å"Fruit, Garden and Home†, the â€Å"Better Homes and Garden’s magazine (BGH) was first published in 1922. This magazine has become a trusted friend for over 82 years for America’s neighborhood. Better Homes and Gardens is one of the leading women’s magazine which can be found in over 2 million homes. This magazine provides new ideas, techniques and simple ways to improve your life and home. The Home Depot provides the supplies to assist with the new ideas, techniques and simple way to improve your life and home.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Home Depot was founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia, by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. During this time, the store contained 25,000 products; compared to today’s store which carry 40,000 different home accessories and building supplies. In the beginning, the vision of the store was to be a warehouse full of products that sold to men and women, providing the best customer service. During the next five years The Home Depot placed stores in five different states, with Texas being one of them. Today the company has over 1,700 stores which are satisfying over 22,000,000 customers each week. These stores bring in approximately $64.8 billion ... Better Home and Gardens and The Home Depot Essay -- essays research pa Better Home and Gardens and The Home Depot In the current issue of Better Home and Gardens (BHG) magazine, published on October, 2004, there is an advertisement presenting how BHG and The Home Depot work together to provide new ideas and products. This is a win-win situation for both companies. Once know as â€Å"Fruit, Garden and Home†, the â€Å"Better Homes and Garden’s magazine (BGH) was first published in 1922. This magazine has become a trusted friend for over 82 years for America’s neighborhood. Better Homes and Gardens is one of the leading women’s magazine which can be found in over 2 million homes. This magazine provides new ideas, techniques and simple ways to improve your life and home. The Home Depot provides the supplies to assist with the new ideas, techniques and simple way to improve your life and home.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Home Depot was founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia, by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. During this time, the store contained 25,000 products; compared to today’s store which carry 40,000 different home accessories and building supplies. In the beginning, the vision of the store was to be a warehouse full of products that sold to men and women, providing the best customer service. During the next five years The Home Depot placed stores in five different states, with Texas being one of them. Today the company has over 1,700 stores which are satisfying over 22,000,000 customers each week. These stores bring in approximately $64.8 billion ...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Sociology Is The Study Of Individuals In Groups

In this essay three perspectives will be assessed. How society operates in the view of these perspectives. Also, scrutinizing theories on the subject ‘crime and deviance' aiming to outline how each perspective grasps the matter. Before one can observe society, one needs to take into account the ways in which it can be viewed. Perspectives that focus on social systems, are known as macro perspectives. Alternatively, the micro perspective, focuses on social action of the individual. (Taylor et al, 1995). One of The first major perspectives examining society is Functionalism. Functionalism begins with the observation that behavior in society is structured†. Harmless and Holbrook, 1 980, p. 14). They argue that Functional prerequisites such as hospitals, schools and families among many more, bind society together. In a functionalist society these integrate with one another to form a value consensus. Furthermore, it is essential they interrelate at a basic level for society to survive. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). Therefore, society is maintained by the value consensus and its cohesion of working parts.Mile Druthers founder of functionalism, observed societies values and norms portraying them as social order. Laws establish with the value consensus. He developed his argument by saying crime is an inevitable and normal way of social life. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). He added to this he states that social change begins with some sort of deviance, just enough deviance benefits society and keeps it healthy; it reinforces right and wrong in societies collective conscience. However too much on the other hand would cause a state enormousness described as anomie.For example, Morton (1968, cited in Harmless and Holbrook, 1 980) states since members of society are placed differently, such as social class, simultaneously having different collective enticements, too much imbalance; not enough prosperity and not enough opportunities, would cause an anomic state. As a consequence leading to a break down of societies values and norms. Rioting in such a case would be anomic state or the uprising of a government. Functionalism has declined as modern theories better explain society. Functional macro sociological analysis disregards small areas of society.Also, damaging criticisms arose with the ideas of human beings as products of the social system. (Taylor et al, 1995). Another macro perspective on society is Marxism. Named after Karl Marx a German sociologist. E described a theory of observing society that offered a radical alternative to functionalism and the nature of social stratification. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). Marx examined how society works and explained how history has unfolded paying close attention to capitalism. Marx was troubled with the effects of capitalism and was very concerned to get rid of it. Trainer, 2010). Marx suggested that society is in conflict. He observed western society was split in two. He argued that the r uling class, who had the means of production, the bourgeoisie; exploited the subject class, the proletariat. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). Furthermore, â€Å"Marx said history is basically about the struggle between classes for dominance† (Trainer, 2010, p. 1). The ruling class ideology in Mar's argument, only benefited the bourgeoisie; the distortion of reality, falsifying society binding members together with a false consciousness.Thus, helping to maintain the superstructure in the aid of the ruling class. When observing Mar's theory behind crime and deviance, one understands no value consensus express laws comparable to functionalism. Mar's argues that laws are passed by state government, reflecting the interests of ruling class ideology, rather an authoritarian consensus. As follows a false commitment is shared by society as a whole considering laws only benefit the ruling minority. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). A classic case study portraying this argument is Stuart Ha ll's ‘policing the crisis'.Hall raises the argument of ‘mugging; a new term from America that was used by the media to label an attempted robbery, murder scene in 1972 In Britain. He argued the term is now affixed to any type of crime particularly applied at black youth. From that point onwards it becomes symptomatic Of a ‘moral panic'. (Hall et al, 1978). Furthermore, Halls statistics show the term ‘mugging' appearing 60 times in newspapers the following year. (Hall et al, 1978) It can be said that the media's moral panics, run by the ideology of the ruling class, camouflaged the economic crisis that emerged during the sass's.Subsequently, the moral panics allowed the state to enforce policing methods legitimizing random stops targeting black youths. Thus, more control over the subject class. Social action theories offer a drastic alternative view on society to the above. Interpretative perspective emphasis is on individuals action, rather than the determini stic approach structured by social systems, social action focuses on small scale interaction. (Taylor et alarm 1995). The focus is on individual actions that are constructed by society through meaning and interpretations.For instance a newly wed husband and wife will understand the role a whole lot better by understanding the meaning of the term. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980) For Max Weber, founder of social action theory believed these meanings were attached to a social actions carried out by an individual. He expanded on his theory by stating self concepts are a result of interpretations there described them as. Individuals are more likely to carry out a behavior after being perceived in a particular way. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980).Furthermore, Interactions defines the construction of meaning through analysis. It can be said that language, gestures and appearance will govern the interpretation of the context the actions uphold. It can be said that individuals depends on symboli c symbols to define and understand meanings in society through relating, interpreting and making sense. (Taylor et al, 1995). Howard Becker, applied labeling theory in his attempt to define crime and evince to social action. His argument consisted of deviant behavior, only existing when perceived and defined as such.JP until it has been labeled by a member of society there was no deviance. The deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label. † Becker (1 963, cited in Harmless and Holbrook, 1980, p. 346). Becker develops his argument stressing the importance of the public identification of a deviant. As stated above, self concepts can change individuals to the label applied, in this case, accepting the deviant label may in urn, cause the individual to commit more deviance. However Becker states this theory may not be inevitable. Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). A criticism with interactions approach is the labeling term for deviance is too deterministic. Having been founded primarily on ideas based on free will through social individual action; the person labeled with the term deviant, will be expected to commit further deviant activities. (Harmless and Holbrook, 1980). However, Becker does reject this barrage of criticisms and goes on to defend his theory by saying labeling theory has been misunderstood and unfairly criticized. Harmless and Holbrook, 1980).Throughout the three perspectives it can be said that there are differences describing theories of crime and deviance. For instance, The Marxist view is directed through the course of history at the ruling class ideology. The manufacturing of crimes sees the subject class targeted and deemed deviant. In recent years Neo Marxist theories have developed a better understanding. The Hegemonic society as original Marxist views first stated have changed and a middle class has now emerged. It appears that although functionalism argues that crime i s inevitable by all, it takes the same route of determinism hat Marxism does.Social systems directing the course of society. Many have debated the nature of free will and these structural perspectives will suffer heavy criticisms. Adding to this, disregarding qualitative research missing out small subject areas of society will as a result, only provide a narrow based analysis. Social action theory however, grasps the idea Of crime and deviance better than the latter two. When specifically discussing crime and deviance, qualitative research better explains individuals actions rather than attaching to a system.