Ansoff Matrix of Nintendo Essay

Barriers to Change Individual and Organisational Barriers to Change Obama | IYou must be the change you want to see in the world â€Å"Despite the potential positive outcomes, change is often resisted at both the individual and the organisational level† (Mullins, 99) It is in human nature to resist change. â€Å"We resist change. We choose to keep our habits, rather the comfort of our habits† (Dr. Claude Brodeur PhD, http://members. tripod. com/zenol/humanism. html). Change and the phenomenon of it, is fundamental to evolution; and yet it implies some sort of resistance. Resistance to change can take various forms and the task of filtering out the cause of resistance can often be difficult. Examples include change in work processes where the needs, expectations, and concerns of individuals are ignored. Change and resistance to it forms a knock-on-effect to both the construction and destruction of any organisation. Fear is one of the major forms of resistance to change and I shall discuss this in depth at a later stage. Alas resistance to change can be categorised to the organisational level and the individual level. It is these two separate levels which I shall discuss further exploring what steps may be taken to overcome resistance at both the organisational and individual level. The Organisational Barriers to Change There are a number of barriers to change at the organisational level that, need to be addressed to allow change to be implemented with the least amount of resistance. These include: Financial and Environmental Lack of working capital in an organisation can prevent it from introducing change that is necessary to stay ahead of competitors or merely survive as a business. The lack of finance could be due to a variety of factors. Lack of Resources and Bad Resource Allocation Lack of resources is an onset of financial and/or environmental issues as discussed in the above paragraph. Bad resource allocation, occur when managers make bad decisions in allocating resources such as money, time, machinery and staff. Structural An organisation that follows the traditional hierarchical structure tends to resist change more than that which has a more flat structure. Insufficient Communication There are two branches of communication, which are communication internally, within the organisation between Employees and Management and externally between the organisation and suppliers and customers. Lack of or Bad LeadershipStrong leadership is required in order to direct the change management process in any organisation. Bad leaders who merely provide are not doing enough to inspire the employees to march ahead. People want to be shown the way. Lack of Preparation for New Roles Organisations may lack in their planning phase. Failing to prepare and define the new roles that will need to be satisfied when change is implemented; shall give rise to resistance. Cultural Issues The culture of an organisation is a set of â€Å"unwritten rules†. Management may have a set of protocols for employees to adhere to perform business processes. The way a task is actually carried out depends namely on the culture Individuals Resisting Change There are a number of barriers to change at the individual level that, need to be addressed to allow change to be implemented with the least amount of resistance. These include: Fear News of change can invoke fear among employees. Employees may feel afraid of not being able to fulfil the new proposed changes to work practices that are being imposed. Employees may begin to question the future of their job, which shall cause much discomfort. People resist change due to anxiety, pessimism and different personal ambitions. Lack of Input into the change Individuals tend to resist change where they play not part in change. The idea of not knowing the change can cause a rift between the employees and management. Overcoming Resistance at Organisational and Individual Level Organisational Level Overcoming Undefined Goals and Objectives Goals and Objectives should be frequently redefined and relayed to all employees. This shall aid towards clearing up any misunderstanding and possible conflicts. Overcoming Financial and Environmental Issues Organisations should have a contingency fund to cater for changes in demand or develop a very good relationship with their bank manager in case you need to borrow money at hard times Overcoming Structural Problems and Insufficient Communication In a large organisation employees may wish to elect a spokes person who can act as a collective voice to air potential barriers directly to management Overcoming Lack of or Bad LeadershipIt is a natural human instinct to follow leadership as children we look up to our parents and as adults we look up towards our superiors Overcoming Lack of Preparation for New Roles The importance of planning must be emphasised and reflected. The new roles should be concisely explained to the respective employees prior to implementing change, to stifle out any doubts, fears or resistance. Overcoming Cultural Issues The cultural characteristics once identified need to be overcome and evolved into a non-blame culture Individual Level Employees should be directly involved in the change process, which shall motivate and reduce resistance. Extra incentives should be made available to further encourage and reward compliance. Support networks should be established as a means to reinforce the change theory. Appendix 1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs depicts the theory of psychological needs, values of authority, hierarchy and rationality, security needs. The model consists of many levels. Maslow argues that once the basic level of Air food water and sex are met the next â€Å"hierarchical† or â€Å"rational† need is for safety. An organisation must concentrate on invoking a sense of â€Å"Belonging† to the organisation by keeping them informed, involved and sharing the success. Force Field AnalysisThe force field analysis helps identify the forces for change (drivers) and forces against change (resistance) in an organisation. Through analysis the author concludes that it important to note that even if you have more forces for change than against this may not actually guarantee you successful change. The key is to remove the barriers to change on the organisational and individual level. Force Field Analysis Figure 1 Field Force Analysis Twelve Principles for Managing Change These principles provide the cause and effect of managing change strategically: Thought processes and relationship dynamics are fundamental if change is to be successful. Change only happens when each person makes a decision to implement the change. People fear change it â€Å"happens† to them. Given the freedom to do so, people will build quality into their work as a matter of personal pride. Traditional organizational systems treat people like children and expect them to act like adults. Truth† is more important during periods of change and uncertainty than â€Å"good news. † Trust is earned by those who demonstrate consistent behaviour and clearly defined values. People who work are capable of doing much more than they are doing. The intrinsic rewards of a project are often more important than the material rewards and recognition. A clearly defined vision of the end result enables all the people to define the most efficient path for accomplishing the results. The more input people have into defining the changes that will affect their work, the more they will take ownership for the results. To change the individual, change the system.

Mina Harker: A Strong Character Essay

A strong character is one who possesses many qualities such as being selfless, courageous and sacrificial. Dracula written by Bram Stoker portrays the young and witty Mina Harker. She is the best example to fit the description of a strong character. Mina starts off as a young school mistress who is engaged. As the plot progresses, her normal life changes and she is faced with many challenges that she overcomes, that show that she is the strongest personality in the novel. The first attribute that portrays Mina as being the strongest character in the novel is her habit of being caring of everyone. The first time we see Mina doing so is when Lucy tells her that she has been proposed to by three different men, Dr. Seward, Quincey P. Morris, and Arthur Holmwood. Lucy loves the attention that is given to her by the three men and just like any best friend she tells Mina about it. Lucy says, â€Å"Just Fancy! THREE proposals in one day!† (P. 60) Meanwhile, Jonathan, Mina’s fiancà ©e has been out of reach for the past month. Mina is quite worried about it but she hides her pain from Lucy so she doesn’t worry about her problems. This not only shows that she is caring, it also shows that she is a great friend. Another example of Mina being caring is when she was staying with Lucy and her mother. Lucy had just started sleep walking and Mina did whatever she could to stop her. Mina did that despite knowing that she was under the curse of Dracula. She wrote, â€Å"Lucy did not wake, but she got up twice and dressed herself. Fortunately, each time I awoke in time and managed to undress her without waking her, and got her back to bed.† (P.93) Mina does a lot of little things that show that she is a genuinely caring person. Mina shows the reader that she cares about the ones around her and she is willing to do anything for them, even if it means to sacrifice her wants and needs. She shows that she really loves her husband by sacrificing for his sake. Her journey of sacrificing starts when she is called to Vienne because Jonathan has been staying there because he was ill. Within a very short time of being with Jonathan, they get married. She marries a man who is not very sane at that time because of what he has been through. Jonathan’s insanity  starts to become more obvious to her when he and Mina are walking down the road and he spots the Count and says â€Å"I believe it is the Count, but he has grown young.† (P. 184) Mina says that Jonathan was â€Å"was very pale, and his eyes seemed bulging out as, half terror and half in amazement.† (P. 183) She doesn’t get upset or regret marrying Jonathan. She doesn’t break down despite everything that’s going on aroun d her. This proves how strong she really is. The heroine of the novel continues to show how strong she really is by protecting her husband. After marrying Jonathan, Mina becomes Dracula’s next victim. Even though, it is not clearly said, she is dragged into Dracula’s deceitful plan because she is Jonathan’s wife. In chapter 21, Dracula comes into Mina’s room and threatens her by saying if she screams he’ll kill Jonathan. Dracula then makes her drink blood from his chest. Mina made another sacrifice by protecting her husband by doing something very unhygienic and immoral. She shows her strengths by protecting her husband all for the great sacrifice for love. The sacrifices that she makes show how much courageous she has. Her bravery in the plan to kill Count Dracula shows that she is willing to risk her life in order to save mankind from Dracula’s immorality. Her bravery begins to show right after Lucy has become un-dead and Van Helsing wants answers from Mina. The idea of being interrogated about somebody’s death can be quite frightening. Although, Mina shows that she is brave and answers everything Van Helsing has to ask. Van Helsing and the other men start to think of her as a â€Å"new woman† rather than a Victorian woman. Her ability to be brave like a man puts her in a position in which she is thought of as to be one of them. Van Helsing says, â€Å"Ah, that wonderful madam Mina! She has a man’s brain- a brain that a man should have where he much gifted- a woman’s heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose believe me.† (P.253) This leads to the men trusting Mina with the strong qualities that she possesses. They know that despite the fact that she is a woman, she is brave. Mina shows her bravery and courage again when the men leave her in Dr. Seward’s home while they go to Carfax. The courage the she shows in these small scenes makes her a strong person overall. Despite all of the â€Å"new woman† qualities she possess such as bravery and  intelligence. She also possesses some other attributes of a strong person. She is a great listener and very comforting. Right after Lucy’s death, Van Helsing gets caught up in trying to explain what actually happened to Lucy to the other men. Dr. Seward, Quincey P. Morris and Arthur were in love with her. They went through quite an emotional ride after finding out what happened to her. In Chapter 17, everybody decided to meet at Dr. Seward’s house. The three men that loved Lucy hadn’t really opened up to anybody about their pain. Dr. Seward went through a lot of pain after seeing what Lucy went through. He hid it from others and himself by working day and night. On the other hand, Arthur was quite upset and shared a cry with Mina. Arthur and Mina were talking about Lucy and â€Å"he turned away and covered his face with his hands.† (P.247) Mina could hear him crying. Then Mina comforted him, something that the men had never done before. She became more of a motherly personality to him. She said, â€Å"With a sob he laid his head on my shoulder and cried like a wearing child, whilst he shook with emotion.† (P.247) Arthur understood that she had comforted him so he spoke to her freely. He said, â€Å"and none other can ever know __ how much your sweet sympathy has been to me to-day.† This shows that Mina is strong because she can provide emotional support to the people around her, something that the men can’t even do.

The Internet Bubble Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Internet Bubble - Research Paper Example During this period, investors believed that a new era had begun with the internet sector seeing a 1000% growth in only two years, which equaled nearly 6% of the US’ market capitalization and more than 20% of equity volume traded publicly in the US. The bubble hit its peak in early 2000 with a score of 5,048.62 on NASDAQ (Kraay & Ventura, 2011). During this period, the sector saw increased establishment of internet companies that were referred to as Dotcom companies, taken from the suffix at the end of their URL. This bubble burst between the years 2000 and 2002 as NASDAQ saw a loss in value of over 80% with companies, for instance Pets.com, failing completely with more than $7 trillion destroyed in market value (Kraay & Ventura, 2011). This paper seeks to detail what happened during this period, why it transpired, the way it could have been prevented, as well as the main players in the internet bubble.The internet was responsible for creating a euphoric attitude in the 90s, in spiring hopes for the internet as online commerce’s future. This led to the formation of many dotcom companies hoping that they would be worth millions. However, most of these companies were not very successful as those that were overvalued (Perkins & Perkins, 2009). This resulted in these companies crashing, leaving significant losses to be handled by the investors. The collapse, in fact, precipitated the stock market crash of 2001 more than 9/11 did, costing investors $5 trillion. The mid to late 90s saw unrealistic expectations from the public regarding what the internet had to offer. Internet entrepreneurs invested in the hope of becoming internet billionaires, inspiring companies like Kozmo, eBay, and Amazon. However, for every internet company that became a success, hundreds of others collapsed. Most investors ignored fundamental rules of the stock market such as the analysis of P/E ratio, reviewing business plans, and the study of market plans (Perkins & Perkins, 2009) . They, instead, became pre-occupied with ideas that had no proven potential in the market. Factors that Led to the Internet Bubble Burst Two basic factors contributed to this phenomenon. The first was the utilization of metrics that were ignorant of cash flow. Most analysts laid emphasis on aspects of individual entrepreneurship that were not concerned with how to generate cash flow or revenue. One theory contends that the bubble burst due to the investors’ pre-occupation with what was referred to as the network theory, which stated that a network’s value increased exponentially. In addition, the number of nodes increased (Adams, 2009). While this made sense, it neglected the company’s ability utilizing the network for cash generation and making the investors a profit. Secondly, most of the internet company stocks were overvalued. On top of focusing metrics that were unnecessary, analysts made use of high multipliers in formulas and models in the valuation of t he companies, resulting in overly optimistic and unrealistic values (Adams, 2009). While the conservative analysts were not in agreement, the recommendations they made were

Loss Aversion and Its Effects False Impact in Decision Making Research Paper

Loss Aversion and Its Effects False Impact in Decision Making - Research Paper Example â€Å"People’s choices are often prediction-based about how different results will make them feel† including loss aversion. Naturally, people tend to trust that the effects of all the losses are superior to hedonic effects of a similar-sized gain. If these people are right that the irregularity of the foretold feedbacks to debts and credits matches true irregularity in real reactions to credits and gains, then they would be right and wise to avoid losses, if they are positive that the asymmetry of predicted reactions to losses (Deborah, Kermer; Erin, Driver-Linn, and Gilbert, Daniel). We acknowledge the fact that losses might have a larger hedonic impact compared to gains, but it is not so the case at all times. Even though the brain appears to processes negative events in different other regions compared to the positive events while triggering more concentrated neural activity than when it processes positive, but this does not mean that loss aversion always affects peo ple’s decision. Sometimes people trivialize negative results by persuading themselves that these negative outcomes will improve and will not be exceedingly damaging. This has led to the conclusion that not all people are negative. It is not a fact that all people are loss averse. It sometimes seems that people have learnt from experience that losses have less emotional impact than they predicted to have. However, studies showed that a number of impediments such as learning. As noted, a large number of psychological defences ensue outside of conscious alertness, making their anticipation difficult to observe. Further, for correct prediction, individuals have learnt to recognize how they recently reacted to a similar and previous occasion, and further, gotten to predict correctly. People have recognized experiences simulating how they are reacting. Individuals have mug up that loss has less emotional effect than what they predicted. They have learnt that these losses have less emotional effect than what they predicted due to facing repeated losses in the exact area over a short time. The theory of loss aversion does not apply at all times. It is not necessary that one bases his decision making on loss aversion. Research has shown that despite the fact that people try to make their decision on the fear that they might lose something and fall in a deep set back full of regret, they also try to link it to a past situation where a similar event happened, and the turnout was different. In contradiction to the theory of loss aversion, an experiment conducted on the reaction of people when they have lost $100. The rules of the experiment were whether the participants were ready to gamble to take another round and risk gaining the $100 back or falling $200 down. Though most people would quit and end the game at being $100 down, others will take the gamble of gaining their $100 back or falling another $100 down because the risk is a 50-50. Comprehending that the r isk of falling down another $100 is 50 and the risk of gaining back their $100 are also 50; they will go ahead and try regaining it. Not all the individuals are get affected with the anxiety of the loss affecting them emotionally and impeding their vision to make soundness decisions (Deborah, Kermer; Erin, Driver-Linn, and Gilbert, Daniel). An argument that there might be a forthcoming negative outcome is presented. This argument is feasible in

Western versus Modern Film Art Comparison Research Paper

Western versus Modern Film Art Comparison - Research Paper Example Western films are mostly devoted to telling of stories that pertain to the latter half of the nineteenth century or even earlier. The themes are very much about change and transformation, the change that was brought about when primitive ways were replaced by more civilized, advanced methods (Pitts, 1997). They may be about Civil Wars or important battles. They may even be about the Industrial Revolution and other such milestones in today’s history. Although they pertain to American history alone, these western films have gained popularity worldwide because of the commercial spices added and the perfection attained in recreating history. The popular perception of the western movies is that they always have a storyline that centers on the life of a cowboy or a gunfighter and how he uses the codes of honor and private justice to eradicate all evils around him which usually include a herd of villains and get the love of his life eventually. Western firms are mostly about morality. They seek to give a message to the viewer, it may be a simple message as that of spreading love or it may be a more complicated message like working hard to benefit not the present but the future generations. Isolated and harsh settings are often used such as that of forts, ranches, deserts etc to show how the Native Americans lived (Hyams, 1984). The western films, no matter what message they are intended to portray, always show the complete and true American civilization- one that is full of music, women, gambling, violence,  and love. Western films include a variety of sub-genres. There are the classics such as Godfather trilogy and The Big Country that was released in 1958. There are also the contemporary Western movies that have the same essence in a modernized setup, for example, Hud which was released in 1963.  

Introduction to macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to macroeconomics - Essay Example A single estimate is then derived and published as the official estimate of GDP. There are two ways to measure the GDP, Real and the Nominal. Every country uses estimates of GDP in real terms as the international standard to measure growth in an economy. It is essential to follow a common standard so as to allow meaningful comparisons between different economies. United Kingdom follows the international conventions and European Union guidelines. This paper examines the GDP as a metric for measuring the health of an economy. It begins by analysing the distinction between the real and the nominal GDP and then goes on to elucidate the voids in using GDP as a sole quantifier of national economy. It then suggests other alternatives and gives the relative merits of using other systems to access the state of national economy of any country. The GDP of every economy tends to rise over a period of time. ... The real GDP is the value of the GDP at constant prices using a given base year value. It excludes any inflation and reflects the changes purely in volume terms; thus giving the actual level of economic activity. It is estimated using chained volume measures. The nominal GDP gives the value of GDP at current prices, prices for which year the GDP is taken. Growth in nominal GDP reflects the effects of inflation, as well as real GDP growth .It reflects change in value terms. For example to calculate the value of 1999 nominal GDP, we will sum the value of all expenditures in 1999, using the prices that prevailed then. The real GDP would be calculated by taking the sum of the values of all the expenditures in 1999, but using the prices that prevailed in the base year (2003). When the economists need to quantify inflation they take the ratio of nominal to real GDP, and take its percentage. This then is called the GDP deflator. A Time Series data of nominal and real GDP. Year GDP at current market prices (millions of pounds) GDP at constant (2003) market prices (millions of pounds) GDP Deflator (index 2003=100) Population (in millions) 1990 558,160 814,956 68.49 57.237 1991 587,080 803,892 73.03 57.439 1992 611,974 805,699 75.96 57.585 1993 642,656 824,085 77.98 57.714 1994 680,978 859,566 79.22 57.862 1995 719,747 884,748 81.35 58.025 1996 765,152 909,102 84.17 58.164 1997 811,194 936,717 86.60 58.314 1998 860,796 968,040 88.92 58.475 1999 906,567 997,295 90.90 58.684 2000 953,227 1,035,295 92.07 58.886 2001 996,987 1,059,648 94.09 59.113 2002 1,048,767 1,081,469 96.98 59.322 2003 1,110,296 1,110,296 100.00 59.554 2004 1,176,527 1,146,523 102.62 59.834 2005 1,224,715 1,167,792 104.87 60.209 Source : http://eh.net/hmit/ukgdp/ Efficacy of GDP as a

Networking and competition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Networking and competition - Assignment Example People greatly recognized and appreciated him through his snapshots to an extent that even if he comes up with such a creative idea in future, people will still recognize him. He saw a business idea and made it happen. However, networking requires the spirit of hard work and commitment to attain the required fruits. Had Kalina not committed himself to the daily task of taking self portraits, his project would not have thrives. Competition is important to motivate business minded people to put an extra effort in their businesses. For Kalina to transform his snapshots into the most famous videos recognized today, he saw a video from Ahree Lee which served as his catalyst. Without such a competition, he would not have transformed his snapshots into something that would positively affect his career. Most businesses do not feel good if any form of competition tends to overtake them. This is because in today’s world, most customers flee to businesses that provide the best quality products at affordable prices. That is why most business individuals always strive to outdo their competitors to achieve the highest number of clients and maintain them. Competition is one powerful force that pushes business individuals to improve their performance. This powered with appropriate networking ensures that businesses achieve the expected goals and objectives of that organization. Many businesses make use of networking in their marketing plan. It enables a relationship of trust to develop between the individuals involved. It also enables the company to rank its profile at a high level. In the event of networking, most businesses learn of their competitors’ strategy and ensure that they come up with almost the same or even better strategies. However, it is difficult to get hold of a strategy used by a competitor. That is why some businesses wait for a competitor to come up with a

IMAX Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IMAX - Case Study Example IMAX originated in the market since 1967, was popular among all the business organizations. IMAX was the first company in the world getting involved in producing all characteristics of large format films (MPAA, 2009 Case Facts In 1994 Wechsler and Gelfond had purchased the long established business of IMAX Corporation from its traditional owners. The company was purchased for 80 million by the new owners. However, observing the growing competition in the market of movie theaters, the new owners launched the shares for the company to the public in 1994, in order to raise more capital for further business growth of IMAX. The investors who invested in the company started to face high volatility in their profits due to uneven business conditions of IMAX. At this juncture it became a primary matter of problem for all the investors and analysts to forecast sure economic surplus for the company in future in the presence of such growing uncertainties. At the time of the purchase the stock va luation of IMAX in NASDAQ was $196 million while in December 2008 its worth came down to $125 million. Despite of the large number of IMAX theaters in more than 40 countries in the world, the business of the company is decrementing over time (Chakravarty, 2002). Internal and External Constraints The commerce of IMAX is facing several internal and external limitations that have made the analysts worry about the long term success of its business. Internal Constraints The theaters of IMAX may lose its popularity and brand worth because its strategic managers only concentrate in non educational entertainment Hollywood movies. Further, the CEO’s of the company are in a dilemma to sell IMAX to some large media partners like Sony, Time Warner or Disney. The officials are also in a dilemma to release the Hollywood movies in both regular and large formats in IMAX. It is also a matter of internal constraint for the firm managers to analyze the requirement for further rise in Hollywood movie releases in IMAX theaters (Olijnyk, 2002). External Constraints Figure 2: Growing Substitutes of Movies (Source: IVEY, 2009) The number of movie viewers is higher than any other entertainments, as the ticket prices for movies are comparatively low. But it should be analyzed that the growing numbers of substitutes in the market of entertainment have lowered the aggregate movie viewers. Figure 3: Rising number of DVD Consumption in U.S. (Source: IVEY, 2009) The above schedule shows that the total DVD use in U.S. increasing with time, greater use of DVD has lowered visitors in movie theaters. Figure 4: Increasing Movie Ticket Prices (Source: IVEY, 2009) The falling Gross Domestic Product and increasing prices of movie tickets have lowered the total number of theater audiences, although the theater owners virtually find their revenues increasing. Statement of Criteria (Objectives) The objectives of business that IMAX should exhibit for its economic prosperity in future are: To bec ome a niche player in the competitive market of movie theaters. To diversify its operations. To augment the brand loyalty and tap more potential clients. Situation Analysis The context of situation analysis will help the readers

Selection of Web Server Software for Client Essay

Selection of Web Server Software for Client - Essay Example The client would also want a customised Content Management System to be coded so that they can easily change the content on site and add new pages, thus, making it flexible for accommodating changes. The current Information Technology Infrastructure is not very advanced and includes basic users with little knowledge of web technologies. The client is also not willing to spend a hefty amount but do requires a robust, agile and flexible system. 2) - Comparison of available technologies After going through the detailed requirements document from the client and understanding his needs, two sets of technologies can be recommended to the client. Let us compare and contrast between these two sets to see which set can be more viable for the client in the future. The two sets of technologies are: 1) - Internet Information Services, Active Server Pages and SQL Server (Microsoft Products) 2) – Apache, PHP and MySQL It is to be noted here that that both sets have a web server, a web progr amming language and a database. We should now just compare these technologies individually in detail and then in the subsequent sections, we will relate our results with the available IT infrastructure of the client. 2.1 - Web Servers The function of web server is to deliver services (web content) to the users who are requesting access via Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. The HTTP protocol is normally set by web browsers and doesn’t really require manual intervention or settings by the user. Web content here actually means all the media that is available on the web page. (WDN, 2012) The following table actually shows the differences between two available web servers: Apache and Internet Information Services. APACHE IIS Current market share at 65% Current market share at 15% Designed to work with most Operating Systems IIS designed to work only with Windows Operating Systems Co-operation is limited with the host system and there are no specific utilities available in every OS to monitor web service Greater co-operation with the host system and control through various Windows utilities Independent Request handler is limited Independent Request handler is not limited .Net languages aren’t integrated Support for most programming languages Open source software Comes with Windows OS More secure Less secure because of multiple system calls 2.2 - Web Programming Languages A web programming language or a server side scripting language is a language designed for developing web pages of dynamic nature. The following table shows the comparison between two leading server side scripting languages: PHP and ASP.Net PHP ASP.Net Microsoft Technology. Ships free with IIS on Windows OS. Open source language Runs on most OS Support windows only Slower compilation time Quick compilation and response time Hardware required to run PHP applications is expensive Windows licensing cost Not supported by any specific framework but has custom CMS such as Drupal and Magento Suppo rted by .Net framework which is very reliable Simple to code Complex to code Recommended for small applications Recommended for large applications Lesser data security Enhanced data security (Lerdorf & Tatroe, 2002) 2.3 - Database Management Systems A database management system (DBMS) is a software application that allows for the creation and management of a database. It also allows the users to make changes to the

Knowledge acquisition Essay Example for Free

Knowledge acquisition Essay Jegrins Insurance Company is one of the largest insurance companies. Jegrins Company is a group of six other companies that deal with life insurance, property insurance, insurance exchange, property insurance and management. Jerkins Insurance Company is one of the largest casualty or property insurers and has so many policies. It deals with life insurance, asset management and casualty and property Insurance. Insurance companies have to maintain a competitive advantage in order to ensure growth. Jergins is one of those insurance companies that need to maintain a competitive advantage. The company has a very stable financial condition, works towards superior targets hence attains the aim of providing superior services. The employees of Jegrins Insurance Company are a very committed group who work towards the success of the company and ensure that the company grows. Jegrins Company has policy holders too that always set specific targets to be met by the company. They either set long term targets or short term targets depending on what they want to accomplish, agents of the company work hard in order not only to meet these targets but also to exceed them as a challenge to their policy holders. This company uses all these to ensure growth in the market as well as maintaining a competitive advantage. The company uses the capitalizations risk adjustment as one of the ways of ensuring growth. It has a unique solid operating performance system as well, that it makes use of and views this as very important in the growth of the company. Another design in place for the Jegrins Insurance Company is the availability of the regional market that is well established. The advantage of the regional market, the employees attitude towards working hard, the adjustment of risk capitalization and the policies of the company that have to be met, place the company in a very high class among other insurance companies and enables it maintain a competitive advantage apart from just company growth. There are other factors that contribute to the growth hence high rating of the Jegrins Insurance Company. These are factors such as improvements on technology which has enabled the company growth on performance and service offering, low operating costs, a solid income investment, an increased sophistication on pricing and a well organized and well mannered underwriting. Jegrins Company cannot only depend on the already mentioned factors to be successful and to maintain a competitive advantage. It has to look for knowledge and how to manage it for the benefit of the company. The company therefore tried to change or implement ways of getting knowledge which it realized was a very important factor in maintaining competitive advantage. The company realized that by gaining knowledge from outside about other companies or competitors, it would be better placed, and apart from that, internal knowledge was noticed as essential for the general growth of the company. The company manager therefore decided to implement knowledge strategies to use for the companies benefit and be well informed about competitive advantage issues. The knowledge strategy of a company is the approach the company gives to the knowledge capabilities and knowledge resources to the companys strategy in order to achieve what the company targets are. A knowledge strategy enables the company to increase its knowledge in a specified area be it internal or external knowledge of a company. Companies choose from the knowledge sources which are either internal or external or can choose to use both. Jegrins Company decided on a knowledge strategy that uses both the internal knowledge sources and the external knowledge sources. Jegrins company internal knowledge sources are those that the employees have in their minds, that is, in their behaviors, the duties and procedures they conduct everyday, the company equipments and the software of the company that they handle. Jegrins internal knowledge sources also lay in the various documents that the company has, the databases and the on line repositories. The external knowledge sources that Jegrins decided to use are such as consultants, from brokers of knowledge, universities, publications, personal relations and from professional associations. Jegrins company manager found out that internal knowledge source could be used to prevent imitation by other companies and to maintain the required level of knowledge requirement for executing the companys strategy and maintaining its current position. The manager then decided to go to an extent of looking for external knowledge sources to avoid being beaten by competitors since competitors too have knowledge levels. The company has to ensure the gap between the competitors level of knowledge is closed down to ensure it is not down and cannot be out done at any time. Jegrins also creates new knowledge to keep in pace and to maintain a competitive advantage position. This extra knowledge, the manager feels is very important since the company will be better placed that the other companies. The company exploits knowledge to keep pace by looking for more information that is relevant. Jegrins insurance Company Internal knowledge management and knowledge acquisition: Without a knowledge strategy, the success of a company can be jeopardized. The company has since implemented a strategy of knowledge acquisition. This strategy has various processes that the company follows. The knowledge of the company since it was initiated was made available to the company employees for them to get to know more about the company. In knowledge management, employees are very important. Jegrins encourages its employees to get the information about the company and perform there duties on the basis of knowledge that they have gained. Internal knowledge is based on the employee knowledge, about their experiences, the soft ware in the company and other company documents. Since the company already had these, it was easy for the manager to go through this step of knowledge acquisition because the employees already had knowledge about the company, the software and had experiences in vast areas of the company. On the basis that this is a large company that provides services to other members and has so many policies, Jegrins has a lot to be termed as internal knowledge. It is therefore an important task to take a long term plan to ensure knowledge acquisition is not stopped after a short time but is continued over a long period of time. Jegrins made this decision just based on the nature of the business or company that does not go for days then close down. The manager decided on long term plans to avoid failure during operations in the future. Apart from the company knowledge that was readily available, the manager still implemented ways to encourage the employees to share the experiences they had and other organizational issues as a way to improve the companys operational system. By this he encouraged learning through experience hence acquiring more useful knowledge to what his targets of the company are knowledge. External sources of knowledge: Jegrins acquires knowledge too from the external environment as has been stated. It gets information from consultants about the companys operation steps whenever the manager feels there is a point where consultation is required. The company has evolved to an extent of looking at the other companys successful methods and learning about them for the benefit of the company and to bridge the gap between the competitor and the company itself. When the company manager does this, he realizes that the other companies do not have more knowledge than the company does, and therefore are at almost the same level of knowledge and not left out yet the company still ranks above the competitors. This he realizes is important in maintaining a competitive advantage since knowledge about other companies is available to him and he knows the steps to make to avoid problems or going down the competitive advantage. The manager also involves the company in looking for information about the environment to which the company operates apart from the competitors information. The market is very important to the management of the company since the basis of the company being set up is to provide services to a specified market. Jegrins manager encourages research on the market for the advantage of the company. This though has been the company norm even before the manager decided on taking to knowledge strategy since it offered a lot of information about the steps to be followed for the success of the company. The manager realized that there was need for a strategy or method to be used to acquire just more information relevant for development. This kind of information gaining was meant for the purpose of just keeping in pace with others or being ahead of them which would be to the advantage of the company. The company therefore looked for external sources of information from universities, publications about the successful insurance companies, and other related information professional sources. Jegrins Information distribution: The manager of Jegrins Insurance Company adopted a system in the company that stored valuable information in an order that could be easily retrieved for reference. He also adopted the system of allowing information to be shared among the employees depending on the ranks and area of work so that when an employee does not accept an issue, he/she can explain it to others, discussed and a conclusion made. All these steps the manager considers as a good knowledge management strategy that has shown great success to the company after implementation. After knowledge acquisition, distribution, interpretation and general storage, the company’s knowledge management can be discussed. The manager so far has used this strategy to manage the company knowledge and is able to realize some bit by bit improvements from the previous level in which the company was before. The company though was at a high level, the manager had intentions of improvement and not just sticking to one level forever that may fall down in one time. The manager decided therefore to implement the knowledge management strategy to improve company performance and maintain competitive advantage. In all the knowledge management procedures, the manager had to take time to make sure that strategic knowledge creation is correctly done. He had to make the short term decisions in some cases and long term decision in others to make sure that there is a balance. This is because in some cases like the maintenance of the competitive advantage by the company, the manager had to decide on long term strategy since the future of the company has to be considered. After implementing a knowledge management strategy, the company has come to realize that knowledge is the key issue in the basis of competition. The company is always aware of any competitor steps that are relevant for the company in order not to be beaten by the competitor. Additional knowledge places the company at a higher class since more improvements have been made based on the acquired knowledge. Internal knowledge proved to be very advantageous to the company since it made the employees share the ideas out of the strategy that the manager created that allowed them to share ideas on the companies operations and make corrections and improvements where it was necessary. The result of these steps by the manager was tremendous, easy maintenance of the competitive advantage, noticeable growth, and increased class when compared to other companies and just being informed in terms of knowledge. It was success for Jegrins. Jegrins manager feels that knowledge strategies that suit respective companies are one of the ways to maintain competitive advantage in insurance companies since knowledge is the basis of competition and improvement. According to Jegrins manager, when the company has knowledge from the external environment, there are very high chances of improvement and maintaining a competitive advantage. Internal knowledge also contributes to the improvement and competitive advantage too since the main subject here is the employees and the employees have a big role to play in the company. They are the one who run it through their routine duties and experiences.

How The Role Of Women Has Changed History Essay

How The Role Of Women Has Changed History Essay The role of women has greatly changed since 1840. One of the most significant changes for women has been with the power to have control over their bodies. In the 1840s women had the idea that they were only housewives and that was their duty. This idea is significantly different from that of the 20th century. The ideology of true womanhood was a widespread idea that women and men were complete opposites with almost no common traits that transcended the differences of gender in 1800s. There were two separate spheres; women were in charge of the private sphere, or the family sphere, while the men controlled the public sphere, which contained all the politics. Women had the responsibility of teaching their young children, especially educating their young sons to be prominent members of society. This mainly was an ideology that was embraced by the middle-class white women. Working class women did not fit into this category. Some women began to work in factories instead of doing domestic housework, such as the mill girls of Lowell. Black slave women were also exempt from this category. Slave women were not allowed to live with their families, be educated, marry, or raise children-all of which are some of the basic needs to fulfill the ideology of true womanhood. Even though the ideology of tru e womanhood was a widespread idea, it does not include all women. 1843 saw the beginning of the westward movement of Americans. The role of women has not changed in recent years. On the trail, women had the responsibilities of childbearing and childrearing. These women lived out of wagons for half a year or longer, where they cooked and cleaned and raised the children as best they could. This decision to uproot and make the journey to the west caused a great deal of domestic tensions. One woman, Keturah Belknap, recorded a fight between a wife and a husband from a near-by wagon, She wants to turn back and he wont, so she says he will go and leave him . . . with that crying baby. She wrote, [I heard a] muffled cry and a heavy thud as if something was thrown against the wagon box. She then heard the woman cry. Oh youve killed it, to which the husband replied, he would give her more of the same. When women had to deviate from their distinct responsibilities, such as keeping house, and help the men with their responsibilities, they were reluctant rathe r than seizing the chance to show that they could do a mans job. Women did not complain that the work was difficult, but more that it was unladylike. White women were not the only women that suffered along these journeys. Mexican women that were living in the south were pushed aside as American women moved their way into their lands. These self-identified respectable white women shunned prostitutes and female adventurers. Indian women were degraded to the status of domestic servants and at the time of the outbreak of the civil war, Mexican women were beginning to be of the same status. Womens sexuality was heavily suppressed during these time periods. The average period between births for whit women specifically in 1850 was twenty-nine months, it is a reasonable assumption that many, possibly most, women were either pregnant, nursing or caring for infants while living on the wagons. However, pregnancy was not discussed publicly even though confinement of the pregnant women was not possible while living on the wagons. Historians can only deduct that a woman was pregnant was through a womans references to getting sick, followed soon afterward by mention of a new child. An example of this comes from the writing of Amelia Stewart Knight in her 1853 trail diary. She wrote, Got my washing and cooking done and started on again . . . (here I was sick all night, caused by my washing and working too hard). Then, within two weeks and her trip almost to an end, she gave birth to her eighth child. The entire time she had been pregnant and had not directly referred to it in her diary. Once the journey was at an end and the white Americans begin their lives in the West, the Native Women and Mexican citizens were not fairing so well. They were pushed aside in the beginning were violently pushed to the side, were now experiencing conquest and displacement. This expansion set women against each other on the basis of race, culture and ethnicity. Hunger and diseases that were brought by the emigrating white Americans were spreading through the Plains Indian tribes. The Indian women were forced to beg for food and money. Many Native women began to hang around US Army forts and trade posts where they had informal sexual and domestic unions with white men. Unfortunately, these relations never worked out. Once the white men found a white woman he wanted to marry, he abandoned the Native woman. In many cases this happened and the womans Native communities would not allow them to return, so they ended up on the edge of white culture, serving as domestic servants to white wome n and prostitutes to white men. As prostitutes, these women were often met with scorn and called a black dirty squaw. The word squaw was originally used as a name for Indian Woman but had come to have a negative implication of sexual degradation and unrelenting, unrewarded, and unskilled female labor. The Antebellum reforms came in 1840 and continued up until the Civil War. These reformers pushed beyond established social and cultural norms in their attempts to improve, even perfect, both the individual and society. Women played a prominent role in these reforms. Their modest efforts on behalf of their communitys welfare were compatible with domesticity and female respectability. Over time their dedication to moral and social causes pushed them beyond their homebound roles and allotted sphere. Some women even made the step into new gender territory. Womens enthusiasm for moral reforms suggests that family and sexual life were important concerns to women antebellum reformers. The nuclear family that was central to the idea of domesticity was also a place of domestic violence, sexual abuse and female disempowerment. Many women antebellum reformers called for more radical changes in womens sexual and reproductive lives. Womens menstrual, reproductive and sexual dissatisfaction made t hem eager advocates and consumers of health reform. These women did not trust the questionable diagnoses of regular physicians so many health activists developed alternative therapeutic methods to increase body vitality using only natural and non-evasive approaches. They also urged women to take cold water baths and wear loose-fitting clothing which would offer comfort to those women who were worn out from too many and too frequent pregnancies. Mary Gove Nichols was an outspoken critic of the sexual abuses hidden with in marital life. She gave speeches about womens sexuality, their frustrations and sufferings in marriage. Few nineteenth century women ever encountered such direct speech about female sexuality. Womens rights were talking a big stride during this time period and women were being more outspoken about their bodies and their sexual well-being. There was a great reconstruction period from 1865 until the 1900. During this time there came a great change in womens lives. In the North, women were challenging the government and looking for equal rights for women. Black women in the South were confronting the challenges and dangers of their newfound freedom. After the defeat of the Confederacy in the Civil War, slaves were beginning to become educated and have families of their own. However, there were many racial conflicts in the aftermath of slavery. Whites charged that black men were sexual predators seeking access to white women. The irony to these accusations was that under slavery, it was the white man who took advantage of their slaves and had unrestricted access to black women. Middle class and upper class women created today what is called the Womens Era as they pursued new opportunities in education, civic organization and public authority. As the industrial society grew, more women wage earners entered the system and brought with them their determination to join in the efforts to bring democracy to American class relations. Immigration was a big change that came in the nineteenth century as well. Immigrant mothers stayed at home while teenage daughters became their familys secondary wage earners. Young daughters tried to move toward modern society while their mothers tried to keep them in the Old-World traditions. These women also often became domestic servants for white women and they had no choice but to do this degrading work because of poverty. In 1914, there was a great surfacing of feminism. As the votes-for-women campaign gained momentum, the idea of modernizing womanhood and feminism began to grow. The agenda of these feminists, who were suffragists-but not all suffragists, were feminists- was to embrace female individuality, sexual freedom and birth control. This feminism was more of a cultural development rather than a movement. Rheta Childe Dorr wrote, Feminism was something with dynamite in it. It is the state of mind of women who realize that their whole position in the social order is antiquated . . . made of old materials, worn out laws, customs, conventions, fetishes, traditions and taboos. This feminism brought along with it the birth control movement. Earlier womens rights campaigns had urged women to undertake pregnancy only voluntarily. Harriot Stanton Blach said in her speech in 1891 that, Motherhood is sacred-that is, voluntary motherhood; but the woman who bears unwelcome children is outraging every duty she owes the race . . . [Women] should refuse to prostitute their creative powers, and so jeopardize the progress of the human race. (pg.349). Margaret Sanger, a daughter of Irish immigrants, opened the first American birth control clinic. Days after it opened she was arrested for promoting birth control. When she was released, she continued to dedicate herself to the cause. Contraception became more acceptable and more widely advertised in the 1920s. But in the prewar years, birth control was a radical idea that challenged traditional ideas of womens sexuality and reproduction. During the Cold War years, another great emphasis was put on domesticity and family life because of the red scare, or the scare of communists. During this time the idea of feminine mystique was brought about. One woman, Betty Friedan, captured this idea. She attacked mass media for encouraging women to gain a sense of personal creativity through the use of cake mixes and floor waxes. She criticized popular magazines for psychologists for prescribing tranquilizers for neurotic women instead of examining the social bases of their unhappiness. In her book, The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan wrote, . . .the problem that has no name stirring in the minds of so many American women today is not a matter of loss of femininity or too much education, or the demands of domesticity. . . It was in these women that I first began to notice the tell-tale signs of the problem that has no name; their voices were full and flat, or nervous and jittery; they were listless and bored, or frantically busy around the house or community. They talked about fulfillment in the wife-and-mother terms of the mystique, but they were desperately eager to talk about this other problem with which they seemed to be familiar with. The ideology of feminine mystique is best understood as a prescription for female behavior indicted by those Americans eager to reinforce strict gender roles, and therefore find a means of social order. The feminist movement also encouraged women to exercise control over their bodies. Women liberation groups particularly addressed womens health and reproduction along with the issues of abuse and violence. A major concern was rape and other sorts of violence towards women and to bring it to the attention of the public. Before womens liberation groups, rape victims were accused of dressing provocatively and asking for it. As they women brought this problem forward, it came clear how many sexual assaults went unreported. This campaign by women liberators gave women more control over their bodies and focalized also on womens quest for sexual self-determination and its relationship to abortion. As you can see, the idea of control over a womans body and its reproductive rights has greatly changed over since the 1840s. Women used to believe that their only responsibility was childbearing, childrearing and keeping house. Also, that they were subject to their husbands and had no voice. Reforms that began at the beginning of the century allowed women to have a voice and gain the control they rightly deserved over their own bodies. If these women were not brave enough to make the steps toward individualism, we would not be where we women are today.