Not so Fantastic Feasting Essay

All around town people have been talking about the new Mexican restaurant, El Fogon (The Stove), by the movie theatre on the Interstate Parkway in Green, OH. People are excited to have a new restaurant and are anxious to try it. But take my advice and don’t waste your time on visiting this joint unless you like greasy and grimy food. El Fogon has an unusually clean dining area and a deceivingly inviting and personal atmosphere, none of this corresponds with the staff in the least bit. Although the workers act and dress conservatively, we waited for our orders to be taken for more than fifteen minutes. The menu was laid out nicely and made it easy to see what food they offer at the restaurant. The print on the menu was small but I personally had no problem reading it. All the items on the menu ranged from four dollars to ten dollars. The food I was served was not fresh and the presentation was sloppy. I ordered the taco salad but it looked like something my four year old younge r sister would make out of mud. My friend, Shannon, always orders quesadillas when going out to eat. She didn’t like the quesadillas at all; she described them as being greasy and had suspicions that the cooks had cooked her food in old frying oil. We both ordered the two dollar tacos, which were served with your choice of chicken or steak on top of a hand full of lettuce on a store bought shell. They were very disappointing and neither of us finished them; they were dry and tasteless. On a positive note, the portions were extremely large for the prices listed on the menu. I have visited El Fogon once prior to my previous visit. I had ordered the taco salad during my first visit; it was presented very nicely and tasted so good that I had finished my whole plate, leaving nothing behind. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. She seemed to really enjoy working and greeted us right away. Our waiter during our second visit seemed to have had something better to do for our entire visit at the restaurant an d only approached us when we called him over to our table. He was hard to understand, much like many of the other employees and the restaurant, having a deep Mexican accent. Once or twice we had to ask for our waters to be re-filled, if he heard us he came right over to our table, but many times he just walked away. He didn’t seem too happy to be at work and appeared to have something else on his mind. He did not add to my  experience at all. Above the bathroom door reads, Baá ¿â€ o meaning restroom and above the kitchen reads Cocina meaning kitchen, there is a lot of very strongly Mexican influenced artwork throughout the restaurant that I thought added to my experience. Mexican restaurants should provide their customer with an experience that is relative to the origins of whichever Spanish speaking country it is based from and El Fogon did an excellent job. There was a large bar in the restaurant that was completely empty and made it very easy to see into the kitchen behind it. The kitchen looked very clean and organized. The restaurant is very large and has too many tables for the number of customers at any given time. The restrooms were very clean and large. The door to the women’s restroom reads niá ¿â€ as meaning girls or women, and the men’s restroom door reads niá ¿â€ os meaning boys or men. Ginny R. from Green, OH, has praised the restaurant for the quality of its food, portion sizes and low-priced menu. I do agree that the portions are large and the menu is extremely reasonable, but the quality of the food served at El Fogon is so cheap and bland that it is not worth half the price that the menu claims for it. â€Å"Great food for a reasonable price†, claims Aaron H. from North Canton, OH. The only thing that is good on the El Fogon menu is the cheese sauce that you can order for the chips, but even the chips are greasy, bland, and tasteless and not to mention under salted. Another Mexican restaurant in the area, Ponchos, has great food. The prices are a little bit more expensive but the atmosphere and service always leaves me coming back wanting more. Even though Ponchos is not an authentic Mexican restaurant the food is still much better than at El Fogon. The owner of this establishment must have not done their homework when picking the site for their restaurant. Although it is close to the local cinema theatre, and you would expect a busy out turn of customers into El Fogon, the exact opposite happens. The restaurant is almost always empty. Restaurants in this same location have not lasted more than 6 months without going out of business due to lack of customers. Unfortunately I see the same outcome for El Fogon as well. After an hour visit to El Fogon, I left unsatisfied, hungry, and full of displeasure. While El Fogon is not worth a trip or the money, it was surely an experience regardless of how bad it was.

Nucor Corporation Case Analysis Essay

1. What are the primary competitive forces impacting U.S. steel producers in general and the producers like Nucor that make new steel products via recycling scrap steel in particular? Please do a five-forces analysis Rivalry among Steel Producers There is a fierce competitive force in this industry. Rivalry revolves heavily around price competition because most steel products are commodities. Producing steel of satisfactory quality is most producers are familiar with. In a commodity market like steel, it is hard to distinguish products of one steel producer from another. I this type of market condition, buyers make a choice among lowest/best price sellers. Moreover, competitively, meeting customers’ delivery schedule requirements is also a relevant consideration for the buyers. This particularly holds true when rival sellers are charging fierce competitive prices. Nucor is figuring out how to use low-cost scrap steel recycling technology to make a wider and wider range of steel products. Nucor is using its newly developed technological capabilities to enter a fierce battle for market share in the new product categories. Competition from Substitutes A moderately strong competitive force: there are substitute products that compete with steel. For instance, aluminum, plastics and other materials can be used in place of steel in some products. The Threat of Entry A moderately strong competitive force: it is less likely that new start-up firms will enter the steel industry. According to this case, existing steel producers are anxious to operate their plant at their full capacity. It is more likely to seek out customers in geographic markets where they do not currently have a presence. Moreover, it is clear that new entry may occur when companies like Nucor and Mittal Steel acquire less successful steel  producers and try to turn the operations of the newly acquired companies into strong contenders in the marketplace. Nucor’s recent acquisitions, for example, represent entry of a potent and competitively successful steel company into either product categories or geographic areas where its presence is minimal. Similarly, Mittal Steel’s growth via acquisition strategy has turned it into a major competitive force worldwide. Bargaining Power of Suppliers There is a moderate competitive force in case of scrap steel suppliers and unionized steel companies but there will be a weak competitive force otherwise. There is an indication that suppliers are major competitive factors. However, the price of scrap steel is a key input for mini-mills and rising scrap prices can put them at a competitive disadvantage. But scrap steel prices appear to be a function of overall market demand-supply conditions rather than a function of the power of individual suppliers of scrap steel. Bargaining Power of Customers A moderate to weak competitive force when demand is strong and in short supply but a potent competitive force when demand is weak and steel suppliers are anxious to win a customer’s business. The competitive conditions in steel can be tough when the supply is greater than demand and that price competition tends to dominate the competitive environment because of the commodity-like nature of steel products. 2. What driving forces do you see at work in this industry? Are they likely to impact the industry’s competitive structure favorably or unfavorably? Three factors qualify as driving forces here: A. Technological innovation in steel-making via electric arc furnace technology, thin-slab casting, and direct casting of carbon steel that has allowed companies like Nucor to enter product segments formerly dominated by the integrated mills of producers using older, more traditional steel-making technology. This driving force is acting to increase the competitive pressures that mini-mills are putting on the integrated producers. There is an unfavorable result from the standpoint of integrated producers but a  highly favorable result from the standpoint of the producers like Nucor that are leading the charge to use new low-cost steel-making technology. B. Steel-making capacity worldwide exceeds the demand for steel, such that companies anxious to operate their plants at full capacity are seeking to find foreign customers for their output. Thus a number of foreign steel suppliers are shipping some of their output to the U.S. This puts them in a head-to-head competition with domestic steel suppliers. High-cost domestic steel suppliers are the hard hit by imported foreign steel. C. Industry consolidation to a smaller number of larger and more competitively successful steel companies (lead in part by the acquisitions of Mittal Steel and Nucor) is acting to increase competitive pressures. Aggressive companies like Nucor may be able to acquire efficient plants at bargain basement prices and enhance their long-term competitive market position. The industry outlook and competitive structure is much brighter for a low-cost producer like Nucor, which, is in a good financial position. In other words, tough industry conditions do not hit all competitors equally hard. As one of the industry’s low-cost producers, Nucor is in good position to gain sales and market share at the expense of the high-cost producers and those exiting the marketplace. Thus an industry’s market environment may be unattractive to some rivals doesn’t necessarily mean it is unattractive to all rivals because tough conditions for some may mean attractive opportunities for others. 3. How attractive are the prospects for future profitability of U.S. steelmakers? Should Nucor consider expanding in this type of industry environment? Why or why not? All the U.S. steelmakers have different prospects for future profitability. High-cost steelmakers in the U.S. are in a risky position, earning profits because of short supplies and historically high market prices, but facing a weaker future when demand weakens and the market prices for steel products slip. A low-cost producer like Nucor is easy to gain sales and market share at the expense of high-cost producers, although it must certainly fight off low-cost foreign suppliers opting to sell in the U.S. to achieve this result. Hence, we think Nucor should certainly consider expanding its capacity via both additional acquisitions and the construction of new plant capacity. And Nucor should probably be somewhat aggressive in doing so, since it has proven expertise in operating plants efficiently and profitably. However, many domestic steel producers  need to understand expanding in the present environment unless they have the knowledge and ability to do so. There is a tendency for domestic steel producers to acquire and expand existing steel mills rather than to construct new ones. In doing this, they can avoid price-cutting and overcapacity during excess supply of steel products. 4. What type of strategy has Nucor followed? Which of the five generic strategies discussed in Chapter 5 is Nucor employing? Is there any reason to believe that Nucor has achieved a sustainable competitive advantage over many of its steel industry rivals? If so, what type of competitive advantage does Nucor enjoy? Low cost provider: continued plant upgrades, cost reduction, and greater control over raw material costs. Very clearly, Nucor is pursuing a low-cost leadership strategy. Such a competitive approach often is the best strategy in a commodity product industry. Nucor has been successful in achieving relatively low production costs. Nucor builds plants inexpensively and operates them efficiently. Nucor’s record of profitability during hard times in the domestic steel industry is clear evidence that it is a low cost provider as compared to other domestic steel producers in the U.S. Nucor has to go far away from domestic competitors. No domestic competitors appear to have costs as low as Nucor. Nucor has a sustainable low-cost advantage over domestic steel producers and that it seems able to hold its own in competing against low-cost foreign steelmakers. 5. What are the specific policies and operating practices that Nucor has employed to implement and execute its chosen strategy? Some of the specific policies and operating practices that Nucor has employed to implement and execute its chosen strategy (in pursuit of low-cost leadership status) include: ï‚  The aggressive implementation of cost-saving technological improvements Nucor’s incentive compensation system for both plant employees and senior managers Nucor’s HR practices and policies such as its no-layoff policy and its empowerment of plant employees The company’s low-cost culture and operating practices. The company’s pursuit of innovative technologies to inter into new market segments ï‚  The emphasis on decentralized decision-making and a very lean corporate staff. ï‚  Employees were kept informed about company and division performance. Most all employees were quite aware of the level of profits in their plant or division. Nucor plants were linked electronically to each  other’s production schedules, and each plant strived to operate in a just-in-time inventory mode. 6. What specific factors account for why Nucor has been so successful over the past several decades? Do these factors have more to do with great strategy, great strategy execution, or great leadership? There are several factors that account for Nucor’s spectacular success over the years: 1. Nucor’s a low-cost leadership strategy. Nucor is an excellent example of a company with a winning strategy (a clear reason for the company’s success). 2. All of its operating practices, policies, and procedures are great competing strategies for Nucor, but it has also implanted and executed those strategies effectively and efficiently. 3. Nucor has had great strategic leadership, especially, in the case of Ken Iverson, Dan DiMicco, and senior executive team is a big reason for the company’s success over the long-term. Therefore, Nucor is a standout company in an industry that is highly competitive and profitable. Nucor can be an example of â€Å"great strategy + great strategy execution = great management â€Å" 7. What is your assessment of Nucor’s financial performance the past several years? How strong is the company’s financial condition? Financial Analysis Assessment of Nucor’s financial performance in the past several years and the company’s financial strength can be analyzed mainly using Nucor’s case Exhibits 1, 2, and 3. Based on the data on Exhibit 1, the following Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGR) of Tons Sold for Outside Customers, Total Net Sales, Total Earnings Before Tax, and Total Net Earnings are analyzed: Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) = [(Ending Value / Beginning Value)^(1/n)] – 1 The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of total tons of steel sold to outside customers from 1970-2006 and 2007-2011 is 13.86% and 13.99% respectively. These figures show that there is an increasing trend in the total amount of steel sold to the outside customers. CAGR in net sales from 1970-2006 is 17.06% and the net sales from 2007-2011 is 18.06% CAGR in earnings before taxes from 1970-2006 is 21.84% and that of from 2007-2011 is 19.05% CAGR in net earnings from 1970-2006 is 22.74% and that of from 2007-2011 is about 20% The calculated result clearly indicate that Nucor has been able to grow its business very consistently over the past several years from 1970 to 2011 even though there were fluctuations in the total tons of  steel sold after 2008 as indicated in Exhibit 1 on page C-215. The data in Case Exhibit 2 indicates that Nucor is in good financial shape and that its financial performance has been particularly strong from 2002-2008. Using the financial ratio information provided along with calculations of CAGRs, we can determine the following: Nucor’s net sales grew from $4.8 billion in 2002 to $23.7 billion in 2008, a very healthy CAGR of 25.62%. The strong increase is due both to rising unit sales volume and rising selling prices per ton (we can see in columns 2 and 3 of Exhibit 1 on page C-215 and also the data in case Exhibit 3 on page C-221). Nucor’s net earnings grew from $162.1 million in 2002 to $1.83 billion in 2008; and CAGR of 41.4%. However, the big gains primarily came from 2004-2008 period. Financial Ratios Based on the above table the cost of goods sold as a percentage of net sales in 2007, 2008, and 2009 is 81.14%, 82.90%, and 98.62% respectively. The rise in percentage of Nucor’s cost of goods sold during 2007-2009 is more a reflection of a depressed sales price for steel products than of costs running out of control. This implies that the rate at which the sales decreased is greater than the rate at which the cost of good sold decreased  because in Exhibit 2 both the net sales and cost of goods sold shows a decreasing trend. However, the net sales decreased by more than 50%, whereas the cost of goods sold decreased by a little less than 50%. Generally, there is from 2007 to 2011, we can conclude that there is a fluctuating trend in the cost of products sold as a percentage of net sales. Likewise, the marketing, administrative, and other expenses as a percentage of net sales has a fluctuating trend due to a fluctuating trend in both net sales and marketing, administrative, and other expenses. Generally, all things considered, Nucor is in very good financial shape. If we look at the balance sheet statement from 2000 to 2006 as a representative of the whole data, Nucor’s working capital has increased from $821.5 million in 2000 to $3.23 billion in 2006, giving it substantially more fund to conduct business operations and more financial flexibility. The company’s current ratio has climbed steadily during the 2000-2006 period as well. When we look at the cash flow statement, Nucor’s cash flows from operating activities climbed from $820.8 million in 2000 to $2.25 billion in 2006. This implies that Nucor’s cash flows have been sufficient to cover its annual capital expenditure. As far as Nucor’s long-term debt is concerned, even though Nucor’s long-term debt climbed from $460.5 million in 2000 to $922.3 million in 2006, Nucor’s long-term debt as a percentage of stockholders’ equity dropped from 21.6% to 19.1%; the company clearly has the ability to handle the higher level of debt due to acquisition. 8. What issues does Nucor management need to address? To be more financially and competitively successful in the years ahead, Nucor has to address the following issues: In Nucor’s case, we see the following issues: International expansion should be strengthened. For example, Work more on  value added products Expansion into developing countries Developing strategic aliens with other steel producing companies (Caterpillars) to better strength themselves. Union formation is a key to employee rights Recommendations Continue to pursue a low-cost leadership strategy Continue to seek out profitable opportunities to expand the company’s production capacity. Expanding into the markets of foreign countries needs to be pursued very carefully and cautiously because of its exclusive access to lower- cost steel-making technologies

1800 to 1860 events that led to the outbreak of the civil war Essay

1800 to 1860 events that led to the outbreak of the civil war - Essay Example Various constitutions on the decision arose from the territory, including Lecompton constitution making Kansas a slave state. Despite the efforts of James Buchanan, the constitution received rejection (Ransom 126). Another significant event was the raid on Harper’s Ferry by John brown and his group of blacks. The primary objective of Brown was to capture weapons and initiate a slave uprising. Unfortunately, the troop led by Robert Lee captured the group and executed them for treason. This led to the open warfare from the growing abolitionist movement. Upon election of Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina and other states withdrew from the Union. South Carolina had issued a warning that it would withdraw from the Union if Lincoln won, despite his moderate views on slavery. However, Lincoln agreed with the dominant Republican Party concerning the growing power of the South, thus barring the introduction of slavery on new states and territories (Selcer 267). Another major root of the war was the events at Fort Sumter. On April 10, 1861, South Carolina demanded for the surrender of Fort Sumter, but the garrison commander refused. A fire battle ensued. This event opened the engagement of the Civil War, despite no casualties in the bombardments (Parrington

Strategic management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic management accounting - Essay Example The analysis of variance involves finding the difference between the budgeted figure and the actual figure. Whereby, a positive or a negative variance may be obtained. Whereby, a positive variance implies that the budgeted figures were higher than the actual amount. This means that management an over cast was made when preparing the budget (Codjia, 2013). On the other hand, a negative variance indicates that the budgeted amount was lower than the amount obtained. This means that there was an under cast during budget preparation. Therefore, strategic variance analysis may be categorized into two divisions namely; mutually exclusive strategic variance analysis and discretionally strategic variance analysis. Whereby, exclusive variance analysis focuses at determining the deviations in terms of budgeted and actual sales volumes. On the other hand, exclusive variance analysis focuses at determining deviations in terms of contribution margin and production cost (Codjia, 2013). Additionally , strategic management accounting helps in monitoring and control. Whereby, internal auditors conduct a thorough scrutiny of financial reporting mechanism. This helps auditors to exercise internal control of financial reports as well as prevent errors that could occur. ... Therefore, this study will provide an insight on the two major sections regarding strategic management accounting as discussed. Question 1 Advice on two entirely different businesses about the benefits and problems associated with what is termed the â€Å"traditional approach to budgeting and budgetary control†. The benefits that may accrue from an organisation that tend to adopt traditional approach of budgeting and budgetary control may vary between different organisations. This is because a budget that can be applied in one organisation may not be effective in another organisation. Additionally, external factors influencing a business may not be similar because different organisation might be operating under different business environments. Additionally, organisation differs in terms of goals, objectives and activities carried out (Bhattacharyya, 2006). For instance, a budget that may be utilized in a business that operates in a very stable and static market place may not b e suitable to a business that operate in a very dynamic, rapidly changing, innovative environment. This means that on out of the two organisations, one might obtain more benefits than the other as a result of adopting traditional approach of budgeting and budgetary control. Connectively, traditional approach of budgeting and budgetary control has the following feature; budgets are approved prior the onset of the budgetary year, secondly, plans, assumptions and factors that could affect the next year budget are made in advance. Thirdly, control to rectify deviations might be taken into consideration. Additionally, the budgeted figures are normally compared with actual figures on both cumulative and monthly basis (Bowhill, 2008). In above

Raisin in the Sun Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Raisin in the Sun Article - Essay Example ch apparent universality is a positive feature, showing how insightful Hansberry’s work is, while for others this is a negative feature which involves rejecting African American values and culture in favor of imitating those of the Northern, white, and middle class people. Seaton’s conclusion suggests that the play demonstrates in fact deep appreciation of African American culture and at the same time also some elements of universality. In other words, it is not necessary to choose between these opposing critical views because â€Å"they are not exclusive positions but partial ones† (Seaton, 1992, 47). This article could be very useful as a source for an essay on A Raisin in the Sun because it clarifies some of the main themes that occur in the play such as the struggle of African Americans to achieve their dreams in a society which is inherently racist and the changing values of different generations of African Americans. The article would be particularly useful in providing a structure for setting out how the play has been viewed in the past. Seaton also provides useful evidence to support the view that the play moves beyond stereotypes because it portrays a range of different characters who view the family’s dilemma in very div erse and complex

Week four assignment (history) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week four assignment (history) - Essay Example vocation was introduced, meaning that American soldiers were not allowed to shoot at the enemy combatant unless they were shot at first, yet this was a full-blown conventional war which was unforgiving because it was fuelled by the communist ideology and actively supported by the communist USSR. Later on, the same soldiers were made to wait for approval to open fire on enemy combatant, in the ROE. In part, this was also a source of anger for the individual soldiers felt that they were being restricted merely for political reasons, and not serious considerations: American Presidents, wanted to maintain America’s international reputation as a country that values life. Battalion Commanders unlike individual soldiers serving under them had a wider threshold of operational freedom. Interestingly, Battalion Commanders had more operational freedom than their superiors even though they seldom fully utilized these powers. Battalion Commanders were accorded the power to use their discretion depending on: the nature of military operations they were discharging; and the type of force they were presiding over. Battalion Commanders such as Col. David Hackworth who served in the 101st Airborne Division adopted guerrilla war strategies to match Vietcong’s strategies. This was informed by strategic, other than political reasons. The ROE accorded Division Commanders more power at the platoon, company and battalion levels. Nevertheless, there were ROE-informed limitations such as the Division Commanders not being allowed to engage in divisional-sized combat. ROE had bifurcated Division Commanders into on-line and off-line categories, with the former being the only category being the only one allowed to engage its platoons on operations and patrols, provided that the group was being led by commanders. Division Commanders nevertheless were nevertheless restricted by institutional policies and Corps Commanders, and thereby making this group a hindrance to the effectiveness of

Salem Witch Trials Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Salem Witch Trials - Coursework Example ended rights, the jail conditions of accused were but harsh, with the accused witches often tied for months inside cold flooded, foul smelling cells; in effect, forcing many innocent prisoners to accepted their punishment for offences they knew little about.2 Those who attempted to escape would immediately be executed when caught. The examinations for evidence were humiliating at best, for the accused were often stripped naked and tortured even more to confess. The accusers were but a section of the puritans with strong beliefs in the existence of demonic sprits and the associated control over every bad thing in life; and was the case when their children begun behaving contrary to their doctrinal beliefs, leading to the Salem witchcraft accusations. The accused witches were taken before appointed magistrates, literally questioned, with their accusers appearing in the courtrooms in a grand display of name calling screams and writhing of the supposed demonic spirit possessed young girls, which to the disbelief of many, were the complete evidence in the trials. Belief in the dangers of supernatural powers had long been cultivated by the community, and that the challenges such as the after effects of the wars, smallpox epidemic, among other conflicts as well the soaring crime rates only cemented the simmering tensions and

The role of accounting in the collapse or failure of Allco Essay

The role of accounting in the collapse or failure of Allco - Essay Example Causes of the Collapse of Allco Corporate collapse of Allco occurred like many other collapses but reasons of other collapses had been different than with Allco, which collapsed due to duality of the positions of the chairman and the CEO, the two topmost positions in the company, i.e., one of the chairman and the other of the chief executive were managed by the same person, by late David Coe. Media identified Coe as the executive chairman although later Bob Mansfield was the chairman and David Clarke, the chief executive (Walters, 2013). Financial environment worldwide was particularly not conducive otherwise but Allco suffered from the deficiency in corporate mechanism as board of corporate governance behaved like a private company. Criticality of Board Independence Board independence is very critical factor in the scheme of corporate things. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has very clearly advised not to lead the two roles of chairman and chief executive officer by the dit to person. There has never been any ambiguity over this recommendation. Freedom of the board has been from the very beginning the leading principle of good corporate governance, as defined in the preamble of ASX. This issue is linked to the sound health of the capital markets, which has been central to the Australian economy. Take for example the case of Enron where the positions of the CEO and the chairman were managed by Kenneth Lay. Enron collapsed because of cheating and corruption of 18 years in securities (Walters, 2013). The same cannot be said about Allco that it cheated and practised corrupt practices but members of the board were found to be in compromising positions when it came to the issue of loan to one of its associate companies, the Allco Principles Trust (APT). Corporate Mechanism at Allco Former chief executive of Allco, David Clarke revealed the complicated corporate mechanism of the Company, which at one time had a market value of $5 billion and in 2008 it came r olling down to owing above $1 billion, affecting 50 related companies, facing settlement. The fall back in structured finance reduced the share price to almost half in late 2007. An associate company APT was given a loan of $50 million to ensure that margin calls do not bring down Allco share price. The leading shareholders of APT were holding senior executive level positions in Allco with Allco shares as capital (Lannin, 2010). Connection between Stock Prices and Earnings The relation between stock prices and earnings inspire managers to practice earning management. Generally, it is observed that public firms show increased discretionary accruals. Managers are additionally inspired to fulfil the stock market expectations of shareholders. They are motivated to leverage income before listing in stock market, for securing investors’ interests and outcomes of earning management can reflect on the capital market (Soffer et al., 2000). Functions of Allco Board A company’s b oard caters to the stakes of its shareholders, as executives are too busy in day-to-day management of the company. It is the responsibility of the chairperson to ensure that shareholders’ funds are invested to earn nice dividends. In the present condition, shareholders felt very unrelated and ignorant where their funds were invested and what role their super funds were playing in corporate governance (Walters, 2013).

Law and Politics Essay Example for Free

Law and Politics Essay Murphy and selected internet and electronic readings Some journal articles will need to be accessed through the UVU Library Journal database. If the below links to internet sources do not work, you should first search Google for alternative links. If you are still unsuccessful, then contact Dr. Griffin. ? This schedule is only â€Å"tentative† and subject to change by verbal or written notification – stay tuned! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Jan 8, 10 Introduction Introduction to course review of syllabus The Nature and Prominent Theories of Law (M) 3-12 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books, 2 vols. , pp. 39-62 Introduction, Section II, â€Å"Of The Nature of Laws in General,† pp. 39-47 (scroll down). http://oll. libertyfund. org/? option=com_staticxtstaticfile=show. php%3Ftitle=2140chapter=198645layout=htmlItemid=27 ? ? ? Charles Grove Haines, A Survey of the Development of Natural law Doctrines, 1930 Chapter 1 Ancient and Medieval Natural Law Theories, http://www. constitution. org/haines/haines_001. htm King, Martin Luther Jr. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. In Why We Cant Wait, ed. Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1963. http://www. stanford. edu/group/King/liberation_curriculum/pdfs/letterfrombirmingham_wwcw. pdf Herbert Spiegelberg, Justice Presupposes Natural Law, pp. 343-348 http://www. jstor. org/sici? sici=0014-1704(193904)49%3A3%3C343%3AJPNL%3E2. 0. CO%3B2-6 Jan 15 Origins and Roles of Courts and Judges (M) 13-20, 22-46 Martin Shapiro, â€Å"The Logic of The Triad. † (UVU Canvas) John Underwood Lewis, Sir Edward Coke (1552-1564): His Theory of â€Å"Artificial Reason† as a Context for Modern Basic Legal Theory. (UVU Canvas) James Wilson, The Works of James Wilson, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court , Vol. 2, Chapter IV, â€Å"Of the Nature of Courts,† pp. 287-299. http://books. google. com/books? id=lIs0AAAAMAAJ;pg=PA1;dq=James+Wilson,+The+Works+of+James+Wilson,+volume+2;hl =en;ei=9bx1TIyKA4W6sQOEqL2hDQ;sa=X;oi=book_result;ct=result;resnum=2;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage;q;f=fa lse

Commentary on Rita Doves Fish Stone Essay Example for Free

Commentary on Rita Doves Fish Stone Essay One of the ways that humans can discover information about the past is through examining the remnants of the past. The only way that we know that past organisms exist is because living organisms die, it is an inevitable cycle. Though death is feared by many, it is a stipulation that comes with life. If every organism is immortal, from what can we deduce our knowledge of the existence of the worlds history? The author sheds positive light on the topic of death- stating that it can be valuable, through the fish in the stones perspective. The author conveys this message through her style of imagery, symbolism and diction. Even though imagery is one of the most common techniques in poetry, Rita Dove has created a new style of imagery that also contains symbols, which function as the base for understanding the poems central meaning. Diction, poem structures also important literary devices, and Rita Doves selection of words contribute to the meaning of the poem. Imagery is also linked to symbolism. Throughout the poem, there are many symbols that can be interpreted. The symbols contribute to the overall meaning of the poem, in a tacit manner. This style can be seen In her style of imagery. For example, the ferns voluptuous braille, it is obvious that a fern cannot have braille. Underneath the layer of words there is a meaning, which could represent the biological makeup similar to DNA. The reason is because braille is like a code, it is hard to learn and decipher if you are not blind. Also, it could mean a guiding object, it gives more information and clues to the scientist observing it. Another symbol is the sea, it means infinity, or the infinite possibilities. The symbol can be interpreted as the fishs desire to be on of the many animals we overlook because its common. From the fishs view, it can be said that the fish wants to be alive and is not completely satisfied with being examined from the scientist. These symbols all contribute towards a deeper understanding of the poem. In contrast to imagery, symbols are on another level. Imagery is the most common technique authors use , but symbolism is different. For example, if the reader reads the poem he/she would imagine the ferns voluptuous braille, but it is not to be taken literally. This poems symbols prevents the readers from taking everything literally. Finally, after a analysis of the poem, I feel that the poem appears to be simple, but its meaning is actually quite hard to comprehend. The message that the author conveys in this poem is the message that death is not as bad as it is depicted in ancient legends and fables, but it can actually provide benefits for the living. Death is part of the natural cycle of life, and it is needed in order to find out information about our identity. To convey this message, the author uses variety of techniques such as free verse structure of the poem, diction, symbolism and imagery. The meaning of the poem is not obvious, and I think that it requires a lot of thinking to find out what it actually means. The poem has many layers, for example, when you first read the poem, you cant take everything literally, or the meaning can never be found. There is a meaning within a meaning; the poems stanzas are like riddles. The poem itself is composed of hidden meaning; it is like a maze.

Mission and vision of Dell

Mission and vision of Dell Firstly what a company need to do is to check for few things that is for example competitor analysis, self-evaluation and situation analysis. There should be a proper evaluation and ones the evaluation is done the objectives should be set. The objectives should be such that the work in line with the time-line. Both the short-term and long-term objectives need to be set. The after setting an objective a mission statement must be set, corporate objectives as a whole, Strategic business unit objectives which will involve both strategic and finance, and tactical objectives. One the objectives are formed on the basis of the objectives be analysed situational and upon that a strategy plan can be suggested. Plan will provide details of what are the objectives and can they be achieved. Strategy Evaluation: It is very important to have a SWOT analysis to know the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats both internal and external This will help us to make few changes in the strategy and even help to change the strategy. In corporate strategy, Johnson, Scholes and Whittington present a model in which strategic options are evaluated against three key success criteria: [3] Suitability Feasibility Acceptability STRATEGIC POSITION OF THE COMPANY We are going to talk about the company DELL Computers which is one of the leading companies which is dealing with the production and distribution of pcs and laptops to the for private,corporate and in the government sectors.It has acquired a large amount of the U.S market and it has now penetrated into the Asian markets leaving a competitive edge. Dell is ranking 12th in the global fortune 500 list of companies.so it is a successful global company and a pioneer of its field.It is the first of its kind to manufacture computers with an intel Pentium core 2 duo, dual core and now the latest quad core processor computers.Also it is worth noting that the company mekes huge profits with less amount of inventories with the help of the latest technology.When compared this aspect with its competitors then it can be noticed that many companies are still struggling to widen their processor ranges.So this company strategically builds around a strong intra and inter networking which helps the company to achieve a competitive edge.Also the laptops of Dell can be personalized and used for professional and private purposes.The customer can select a design that is unique to his or her laptop using the personalisation settings either online or in person at the shop.This is the unique feature provided by the sole company.Also the keys of the lap top can be designed in the way they are used to allow for more ease during the usage. This build-to-order approach allows the company to maintain low inventory levels and integrate emerging technologies into systems. MISSION AND VISION FOR DELL-CODE OF ETHICS The mission of dell is to make the optimum use of all the resources and other the macro ,micro and the internal environment in providing the best quality products and services and the best customer experience of the best value.It is considered to be a practical and a feasible mission as it talks about today and not the future.What is included in the mission is the customers and the services which means it is talking about the present . The vision of DELL is to provide structurally and functionally efficient computers to visually impaired individuals globally.It is the vision of the company and thinks about the future. The code of ethics for dell is to incorporate and inculcate social,economic environmental and corporate responsibility in all the activities of the company so as to deliver high values to the society from the company as a whole. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATIONhttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeSnn1MFmVrwWcHAqM0No11QLK3Xfifw3S5_N_X9G4ZUpLAdUt=1usg=__53BnH-BdW91zrDsaImwcxPGSp9c= Dell has targeted corporate relationship customers that had predictable, budgeted needs and that wanted a predetermined set of product models. The company also selected individual customers who were high-end, repeat purchasers with a preference for early technology adoption. Effective operations require powerful technical capabilities, customer knowledge, and the ability to fit into the customers organization and work processes their unique customer knowledge and customer relationships created a set of barriers to entry that others could not overcome.. Dell differentiated itself in the corporate market by developing a set of extremely effective customer-specific intranet Web sites. Each Web site was highly tailored to the customers individual situation. Dell worked with each customer to specify a particular set of product configurations that would work best in the customers network. Tailored offerings were specified and developed for each customer. At the same time, Dell used its dir ect links with both corporate and individual customers to get immediate review of the customer needs and to identify new generations of products and services. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQXaU1GtjJ3TC0MMFIBLyfFn9yW-Vh_AvivuAKfhKLvRytykG4t=1usg=__Y_XDtLm7ogV4p8tc7qh06Y_MYPM= STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION WAYS Dell had to find a way of operating with no inventories in order to raise desperately needed cash. The basis of this model is to match the supply and chain demand in which all the managers from the sales, marketing,purchases,production collectively decide the companys activities.This gives Dell liquidity and responsiveness to match the supply and chain demand instantly to emerging customer needs and market trends. Supply chain managers employ a powerful set of strategy creation and change-management skills to successfully lead their companies. The key to successful implementation of the new business model is to utilize a team approach . These managers should be given detailed information that enables them to identify the causes of poor or good performance in their respective subunits. In this organizational structure, they will have the coordination and flexibility to make the many adjustments that come with the complex task of implementing the new business model. Dell has used the t eam approach very effectively not only in creating its masterful strategy but also in ensuring business model alignment on an ongoing basis. Dell makes computers in three hours but has a 60-day lead time for components. OUTLINE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN Strategic Planning Framework: Scan the environment; Determine the criticla implications; Develop the desired future state; Assess the current state; Do a gap analysis; Develop the strategies to move forward; Outline implementation In order to balance the system, Dells top manufacturing and marketing executives meet weekly as a team to determine which products are makable that week. Dell manages demand by using day-to-day price changes and sales rep incentives to steer customer orders to the makable product Dell maximizes its capabilities by outsourcing component-part manufacturing. Dell invests heavily in the information technology infrastructure that could bridge the gap between them and the customers. Dell streamlines its operations and relies on its computer monitor suppliers to ship directly to the customer. As long as a supplier retains its strategic position, Dell will collaborate with it to achieve mutual success, but if a particular supplier loses its edge, Dell has the flexibility to respond quickly and customer focused to ensure Dell continued competitiveness. In addition, customers are important assets to Dell as the company as a whole. STRATEGIC PROCESS DELLs strategy is collapsing profit margins throughout the PC market, a dire development for rivals who cant keep up. DELL is pricing its machines not so much such as high-tech products but more like airline tickets and low margin commodities. DELL has tight competency with other big computer sellers like Compaq and HP. Social factors also affect the business environment of DELL. Computer companies have to acknowledge that in the Chinese culture, people are still unsure about credit card sales because of the huge expense of computers in China. Companies, then have to invest in door-to-door or face-to-face operations to gain consumers faith and consumers trust in the company and its product. DELL also has achieved the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS). DELL aims at product design, transportation and so on. As a part of DELLs ISO 14001 EMS, the organization implemented goals where by the goal is to improve internal business environment performance in a continuous improvem ent processes which are used to share successes throughout the company. DELL has positioned to extend its brand name beyond mainstream computer products by leveraging its reputation as an e-commerce leader. In the year 2000, Dell began to redefine itself as the company that knows how e-business works. It has shared its online sales expertise with a few large customers as they developed their own e-commerce capabilities. DELL faces some forces from its competitors in terms of Information Technology as the EDI tool gives very effective opportunities in reducing costs and it can establish the tight linkage between DELL with its suppliers and DELL with its customer. DELL started selling its own brand of handheld computers, called the Axim, at low price which can be considered as high potential and CEO, Mr. Michael Dell stressed how DELLs success lay in making it as easy as possible for someone to buy a computer. There are some applications that are currently being used by DELL and they are critical to the core operations of DELL business and the DELL direct which are its operational factors for success. Some applications that are currently being used by DELL that are valuable but are not considered for certain critical success. It is not surprising for Dell to determine where it wants to go in the future, it must assess where it is now as a part of the strategic planning process managers can call on the SWOT team for assessing Dell strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, a critical phase in the general planning process as it helps determine exactly where the organization is and what resources it may or may not have. Strength assessment identifies what the department tends to do well and can include a skilled, professional staff and a modern, well-equipped facility. Weaknesses denote what the company may not do so well or what diminishes its effectiveness. Inadequate financial resources may fit into this category. Opportunities reflect what the organization might seize upon to do better. This area could include increasing community interactions and taking advantage of particular grants. Finally, threats are environmental factors that may hinder performance as it could include a rising demand for se rvice or increased legislative mandates that can impact resources. Managers should consider SWOT analysis for issues both external to the organization, such as population growth and increased industrialization and internal to it, such as an aging workforce that might result in competing priorities for resources. SWOT analysis constitutes one of the most important aspects in the strategic management process THREATS DELLs threats are technological changes that are expected since technology can only get better. Global economy and increased competition in which DELLs financial ratios identifies that they are no match for their competitors. OPPORTUNITY DELL has many opportunities such as potential growth in overseas markets, the industry is still in a growth phase and the entering   to the new product markets. WEAKNESS DELLs weaknesses are single sourcing, new product market and reliance on corporate clients. STRENGTHS Strengths are internal resources and capabilities that have the potential to be core competencies. DELLs core competencies are their cost strategy. In consistent to being an integrated cost leader, DELL also produce high quality PCs by using their Direct Business Model approach and sells them directly to the customers. With this innovative process, DELL cuts out the intermediary, excluding the associated cost as the company can understand the customers needs better and can provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. Just as in legal disputes, there is often a high risk-adjusted cost in waging price or market-share battles, the same as in litigation. Competition, a combination of the words cooperation and competition, has become quite popular in recent years. Many companies understand the vicious cycle of trading customers at lower and lower margins in order to gain market share or win on price. In terms of designing a competitive intelligence system, it doesnt have to be overly complex. You first need to define the competitive areas that are important at an offering, market and company level. Second, make someone accountable for monitoring each area. Third, determine the best sources to collect info competitor Web sites, trade journals, press releases, financial reports, etc. Finally, create a few pro forma competitive intelligence reports that you can use to evaluate and track trends and material changes. Dells ability to change prices and delivery times on the fly has been leveraged effectivel y to manage demand based on component availability over the common components. CONTROL AND MONITORING MEASURES To build customer intimacy and loyalty, Dell leverages its customers knowledge of their own unmet needs. Dells brand image was and is shaped by customer feedback. Identifying the linked set of assets enables Dell to select strategy-focused, asset-based balanced scorecard measures that support the customer intimacy value proposition include: Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Training dollars spent per full-time equivalent by customer segment to ensure that well-educated business segment managers provide state-of-the art advice to customers Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Number of collaborative customer-solution teams that motivate Dell to collaborate with its customers and jointly create technology solutions that fulfill any unmet customer needs Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Number of emerging technologies evaluated inspires Dells leaders to stay abreast of technology threats and opportunities that may alter the competitive landscape in the future. Word count:2169

Ideas of the Parthenon Essay -- essays research papers

The Greek people of the 5th century BC created a culture that was deeply rooted in philosophy and the arts. Their endless search for their place in the grand scheme of the universe and in nature around them influenced everything in their lives especially their love of the arts. Their drama, sculpture, and even architecture are all shining examples of the ideas that were so dominant in the minds of the Greek people. What could be considered the crown jewel of Greek architecture, the Parthenon, is one such of these examples. It brings into form the three principal ideas of humanism, rationalism, and idealism of the 5th century Greek people through not only its structure, but its ornamentation and sculpture as well. The basis of humanism can be summed up in the words of Protagoras, â€Å"Man is the measure of all things.† Humanism is the idea that human beings are the yardstick by with to measure all things in the universe, including Greek gods and goddesses. The Parthenon stands for this very idea through the fact that it is a human organization of space. It brings an understandable order into a chaotic space that would otherwise be incomprehensible to a human being. It allows a human to see the space and recognize it as something that is real. It also consists of repeated patterns and distance intervals throughout its structure that add to this order. The metopes, for example, are set in an alternating pattern with the triglyphs around the entire building at distinct intervals bringing a clear order to the entablature of the Parthenon. The columns that support the Parthenon are also placed in certain distance intervals from each other and coincide with the pattern formed by the metopes and triglyphs. These columns, however, are not in a perfect pattern of equal distances around the entire Parthenon. The columns on either side of the doorway to the Parthenon are placed a little farther apart than the rest to show a clear entrance to the building. Also the corner columns of the building are positioned slightly closer to their neighboring columns in order to compensate for the human eye. Without this compensation the columns would give the illusion of leaning outward and being farther apart than the rest of the columns because of the distortion of such a large structure to the human eye. The stylobate that the columns rest on is also built to allow for this op... ...ding hints to the fact that the Parthenon is a place that is not meant for a human or even built with a human being in mind. For example, the steps of the Parthenon are to such a large scale that is clumsy and awkward for a man’s normal stride, but in the Greek mind, the perfect distance and size for that of a goddess. The entrance to the Parthenon, through it’s colossal size, denotes that a human is not the main concern when it comes to entering and exiting of this building in the mind of the architect. The 5th century Greek people played a pivotal role in the shaping of not only the world of philosophy but also the world of art and architecture. Their ideas of humanism, rationalism, and idealism were the things that brought to life the artwork of their time and still effects ours to this day. The Parthenon, with its bulging columns, its repeated ratios, and its colossal size expresses how these ideas formed the structure of the building and then shows how the same ideas brought to form the beautiful pediments and sculptures that give us a deeper insight into the minds and hearts of the Greek people. The Parthenon is truly an elaborate time capsule overflowing with Greek ideas.

Total Quality Management (TQM) :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

TQM1 TQM in Foodservice Introduction One of the most important industries overall is the food industry. The food industry consists of everything from food processing plants to fast food restaurants. The food industry affects nearly every living person. Most people don't realize how important this industry is and how it affects their everyday lives. That is why it is so critical that the products of this industry are at their highest quality, are free of bacteria and ensure that the consumer will not face any detrimental consequences. Total Quality Management (TQM) plays a big role in promising these results. Total Quality Management seems to be a confusing term for the layman. TQM is a philosophy advocated by Dr. Edward Deming, a world renowned quality guru. It was widely accepted by Japan from 1950 onward. They used this principle for continuous refinement of an organization-wide quality system. Since then many organizations around the world have adopted TQM or similar methodologies. There have been many successes and many reported failures. Success of the system depends on the total commitment of the people to quality from top to bottom within the organization. TQM implementation is based on team work and the philosophy of continuous improvement. Statistics need to be used extensively to analyze and reduce the variation in the process. In the food industry, continuous improvement is vital to the survival of a specific company or restaurant. The customer is constantly purchasing the products of competitors and any decline in quality will equal a decrease in gross profits. There are several areas that a restaurant may focus on for quality improvement such as menu offerings, hospitality, service, cleanliness, and over all food quality. All of these aspects will be covered in this paper concerning Total Quality Management. Summary Employee & Product Quality Various well known companies such as Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Taco Bell have implemented Total Quality Management programs in an effort to increase quality and market share. Ritz-Carlton of Kansas City, Missouri, recently revamped menu selections for its rooftop-level restaurant and bar operation. This came about through customer surveys, focus-group studies of local restaurant patrons, employee opinions, and market analysis. This began with the general manager, Norm Howard, as TQM must start at the top to be successful. He states that "It [TQM] is about listening to your customers and empowering your employees to participate in important business decisions" (Stephenson, 1993). Taco Bell, with the implementation of a Total Quality Management system, has improved its speed of service, friendliness of service, and value for money ratings. This company has done this by empowering employees and seeking customer input. By integrating their employees into the system,

Pretty Little Liars Essay

Are Pretty Little Liars good at keeping their dirty secretes? Pretty Little Liars a favorite ABC Family series is built around five teenage friends, until one goes missing and is found dead. It has a strong hint of supernatural force that mean no good. It makes most popular vampire romances look anemic. Because of a popular series of HarperTeen books by Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars follows the nervous lives of four girls in Rosewood, Pa. It’s a small town and these girls seem to have it all and that sets it up for an even better drama, when we start to see they also have secrets. The season premier starts with the disappearance and apparent death of the fifth girl in the circle, Alison DiLorentis. If the PLL series were traditional, Alison, Sasha Pieterse would have been the sweetest girl in school and no one could imagine anyone wanting to hurt her. If that’s what you’re expecting here, you’re wrong. Alison was a bitchy gossiper, backstabber and cruel practical joker. In any case, they were all together the night she disappeared and we join the story a year later, when free spirit Aria, Lucy Hale, nerdySpencer,TroianBellisario, crazy Hanna, Ashley Benson and jock Emily Shay Mitchell have drifted apart. Drug and alcohol use, foul language, scanty clothing, sexual innuendo and some passioate make-out scenes and homosexuality all make Pretty Little Liars a series that keeps viewers on their feet. Every episode leaves you with a cliffhanger. They run into each other in random chance encounters, however, that suggest each is harboring dark secrets, some related to Alison and some not. Since they apparently weren’t into deep sharing when they were all best friends then, they aren’t spilling now. Except they have two problems. A local cop is determined to find out what happened to Alison. Second, the girls all start getting mysterious messages that suggest some supernatural force knows all the secrets and could and sometimes do expose them to the public. Could the messages be coming from Alison? But isn’t that impossible? What kind of phone network lets you keep texting when you’re dead? I’d say that’s beyond 4g. It’s one thing to talk with your friends about lacrosse practice or the hot guy in the French class. It’s something else when you’re trying to figure out what happened to your disappeared friend, and how disappeared she really is. â€Å"Pretty Little Liars† is good at making us care about the girl’s lives. It keeps us thinking each week as to what might happen the next.

Technology Changing Society

Technology changing society Today in America, people are more interested in the new technology that comes out than their world around them. Currently we are in a long drawn out war that never seems to end and still people today tune out to what is really important and draw into the meaningless technology that surrounds them. Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 puts these concepts into his wittings to show that technology has a huge effect on the people by the expense, the influence and the time consuming effects it has on the people. Technology is expensive, no question about it.People always want the latest and greatest and will pay any price to get it. Manufactures can price their product at extremely high end and the consumers will pay any price that they throw out at them. Buyers upgrade in their technology when what they had before worked just as well as the new. In the book, Mildred wanted another wall of TV. She didn’t care of the price that it was going to cost and what it was going to take to get it. â€Å"It’ll be even more fun when we can afford to have the forth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the forth wall torn out and a fourth wall- TV put in?It’s only about two thousand dollars† (Bradbury 20). Mildred did not care the cost of the wall- TV even though it was one- third of her husband’s yearly pay. She was only worried about her own wants and desires. The pricy technology that Mildred wanted is an example of how the society has evolved into cherishing earthy treasures over things that truly matter. The media has a huge influence on people who watch and listen to it. Technology has made it possible for someone to sit at home, turn the TV on, and see whatever they want. While this can be a good thing, it can always dumb down society.People get so caught up in what is going on in the television shows that are playing that they lose track in what is real and just made up. They start to put th emselves in what they are watching and eventually it becomes their life. It is their every thought and makes it merely impossible to function without. Mildred in the story became this way. â€Å" Floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning† (Bradbury12). Mildred allows technology to dictate how she behaves and lives her life. When a person allows the waves of the sea to float them, they cannot control the direction n which they move. Mildred can no longer decide for herself what she wants to do and that her mind is dominated by technology pleasures. She started to betray her real life with her husband and begin a new one with her â€Å"family† from the shows she watched. It then became the norm to her and many other citizens in the city going through the same situation making a huge effect on society. Think about it†¦ The majority of a person’s day is spent with some type of technology influencing them, whether it is texting, computer work, television or any el ectronic device. The average American spends more time using media devices – television, radio, iPods, and cell phones- than any other activity while awake†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ball State University) What is that saying? Why is our society consumed to these forms of technology? While this can be good giving people information and an easier way to learn about something, it often becomes overused and eventually overtakes the lives of the users. ‘â€Å" I always wanted something very small, something I could talk to, something I could blot out with the palm of my hand , if necessary, nothing that could shout me down, nothing monstrous big’† ( Bradbury 132).As said by Faber, he saw the dangers that technology offers, and the ability to take over. He trumps this danger physically, by keeping the threat literally small. Faber did not allow the technology to take over his life and consume his time. The story behind Bradbury’s book is made up, but is not far from reality. When Fahrenheit 451 was written, it was only the 50’s, but Bradbury could already tell where society was heading. The huge effects that technology had on the characters in the book with the expenses, the influences, and the time consuming consequences are the same people struggle with today†¦ 60 years later.

How does Peter Medak create sympathy for Derek in ‘Let Him Have it’ Essay

Peter Medak directed this Film from a very biased point of view. He presents one side of an opinion – in this case sympathetic to Derek Bentley though exact events are not certain. At nine am on the morning of the 28th January 1953 Derek William Bentley was hanged at Wandsworth Prison London, as an accomplice to a murder which was committed by a friend in the course of a robbery attempt, it created a cause cà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½là ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½bre leading to a 45 year long and ultimately successful campaign to win him a posthumous pardon. The Trial took place before Lord Chief of Justice for England and Wales, Lord Goddard, at the Old Bailey London. Medak gains a lot of sympathy for Derek by showing his misfortune throughout. The beginning of the film indicates a very somber atmosphere. Immediately after the credits we encounter a Blitz scene with Derek buried under the rubble of an old building during the bombing. As an audience you soon realize that he has suffered a physical, mental and emotional trauma which has left him with brain damage. In the next scene Derek is four years older causing mischief vandalizing a shed with a group of other boys. The boys, however, are rumbled and managed to escape but Derek gets caught and, put in a difficult situation, experiences an epileptic fit. We fast forward again a few years, the camera moves down a corridor towards Derek sitting looking concerned outside the Head’s office of the Kingswood Approved School he had been admitted to. The decision is made that he is to be released partially because of his low level intelligence, that of an eleven year old. The scene foreshadows what happens later; from what is said you get a real sense that the institutions of society are much more powerful than the individual – in this case, Derek. Justice is firmly against him, although it is apparent there is nothing criminal about him. Ashamed of what happened, Derek becomes a recluse and does not leave the house. Within his own world he feels comfortable but as soon as he leaves the he begins to show his vulnerability. We then come across Chris Craig for the first time as he sees Derek from the street corner he is completely over dressed and it is evident he is a confident character, a tilting shot upwards signifies this. There is a strong contrast between the two: Chris, 16, tries to emulate and pretend to be a gangster with a strong American influence around the time of Al Capone and Prohibition. Derek who had very little contact with the outside world and has only just discovered a love of music. Their style and behavior differ as well. Despite Chris’ small stature he constantly manipulates people around him and because Derek naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, he is easily persuaded. The scene in which the two meet is set beside the train line. The sound of a train approaching almost builds tension and gives you a sense of resounding force Derek is up against leaving you asking, what events will follow? Derek soon becomes more acquainted with Chris and begins to feel a sense of belonging. From being with Chris’s clique he soon makes the connection that to get what he wants he needs money. It is rather easy to forget Chris’s age. In the next scene he is a classroom at school exchanging various objects for weapons. Because the film is set in a post second world war period, there were a lot of guns around which made their way into the hands of the youngsters. It becomes clear Chris actually uses the guns whereas the others in his class of his age do not. This is vital to the Tamworth road scene. As their teacher enters there is a high angle shot looking over the class, showing the students lack of power (authority). Derek is physically large and appears strong but is of a gentle nature. Derek becomes more and more involved in the gang and is given a blue jacket by Niven Chris’s brother who, noticing his physically large stature, perhaps had an intention of using him. This jacket is however a light blue a different colour to the black they were wearing so this does suggest he is still an outsider. When Derek returns home, his fathers suspicions are raised about his whereabouts. Through questioning it is obvious he is not any good at lying nor does he act well under pressure, he has to rely on his sister to help him. Reluctantly, Derek has to under-take a physical test so he can be excused from national service, due to his epilepsy, as an audience you feel sorry for Derek as they didn’t believe him. Despite his appearance Derek is shown in an extreme close up as vulnerable, unable to stand up for himself. Derek is excused from service and is deemed subnormal. At this stage Derek’s self-worth is low and his parents talking about him makes matters worse. Following this we see Chris’s brother struggling in a feud with the police. After seeing his brother trying to shoot his way out of arrest it’s as if it is no longer a game for Chris and he is hardened by the episode as his brother is sentenced to twelve years imprisonment. His right hand man however is not charged which leads you to think Derek’s fate would be the same in just such an occurrence. Bentley does try to resist the lure of the gang but is drawn back, as he goes to see Chris there is a establishing shot on Derek to show empowerment on his part (he had obtained the key to the butcher where he had been humiliated a number of times). At this point Chris appears at his weakest. We are reminded of his adolescence wearing his PJ’swith toy cars and a gun on his bedside table. Derek and the gang join forces once again; the camera lingers on Derek signifying that is not entirely sure what he is up against, whereas the camera looks up at Chris trying to exert his power. By this point Derek is in a black coat like the others, perhaps to suggest he is no longer an outsider. Their plan to rob the butchers doesn’t materialize so Chris and Derek attempt to break into Barlow and Parker (confectionary wholesale and manufacturer warehouse) via the roof. The camera looks down on Derek once again and up at Chris as he shouts from above. Even at this point the two are messing around. In this scene the action is mainly focused on Chris as he fires a revolver aimlessly into the air as the police arrive and detective Sergeant Fairfax reaches the lift-housing. In a pivotal part of the film Derek is placed under arrest but breaks free and shouts â€Å"Let him have it Chris!† which can be perceived in different ways but resulted in Derek’s conviction as he was said to have mentally aided murder. Derek stands up to Chris but to no prevail. The camera looks down on Chris as he exhausts his ammunition, he is consequently left powerless. Cornered, Chris jumped some thirty feet from the roof, fracturing his spine and left wrist when he landed on a greenhouse. At this point, he was arrested. The next episode is the funeral of the policemen shot dead, Constable Sidney Miles, in the incident. The Home Secretary of the time David Maxwell Fyfe is shown to say to the family of the officer: â€Å"Justice will be done† in a vengeful tone. We quickly move to the trial, as viewers we are witnesses and not at all impartial. There is a whole establishing shot of the court room with the two accused looking small and insignificant in the middle of shot. The court system was mainly run and controlled by the higher classes but the judge is not necessarily shown through camera angles or positioning as the greatest power in the room, under questioning Chris is almost in control of the courtroom despite the enormous charges and the severity he still manages to cast doubt over the courtroom elders, manipulating. You continue to feel sympathy for Derek with a defense that seems to get weaker throughout even though he is as much of a victim. It is not at all surprising that Derek is caught by the prosecution under questioning and the trial begins to feel unfair towards Derek. The fact that Derek had a knuckle duster and on him used as evidence builds sympathy again as none of which were his but given to him by Chris. As tension builds, through sound effects and an extreme close up we get a strong insight into his mental anguish as he struggles with his words. The camera pans around the room from Derek’s position with his family solidly there in the forefront of the picture. The camera rests on Derek’s father the longest as he still looks towards him more concerned about his thoughts and opinion even though the jury clearly depict their negative impressions. The verdict is passed by the jury with a recommendation of mercy, there is a low angle shot of Derek as he is taken down. He appears disorientated and dizzy after the devastating sentence; the picture gets darker as he is put in detention reflecting the situation. Chris is presented as a young boy as they both sit behind bars. After reading the home office psychiatric reports the Home Secretary refuses to request clemency from the Queen. This does make the legal system seen fallible, you feel increasing sympathy for Derek as we find out that the sentence is rarely carried out in this situation and especially since it was contreary to public opinion. There was talk that the trial was manipulated to send the public a message that of murder especially of a cop is unacceptable a point made clear by Peter Medak. The family only finds out the news in a slightly cruel way through a journalist. In the last meeting between Derek and his family the camera focuses on Derek at eye level. Once again he displays his mental age in saying will it hurt there is a strong sense of poignancy about it. Derek’s father goes to Parliament to appeal with a petition however they were not allowed to discuss Bentley’s sentence until it had been carried out. In a bird’s eye view shot we find Derek’s farther pacing up and down in a large space awaiting the MP’s decision. By this point nothing can be done. The picture fades to the next scene where one of the guards is scribing for Derek in a letter, as he attempts to sign the letter we recognize he is left handed considered clumsy at the time and different, considering he is shown as very right sided at the beginning of the film. Derek’s is shown to be understandably emotional but shows maturity, he had heart but not the judgment. There is a long establishing shot of Bentley’s street signifying morning which in tern is quite and peaceful. In the Penultimate scene the camera tracks down the stairs of the house into the living room with the clock on the mantelpiece getting louder and louder as it nears nine o’clock the time of execution. The speed in which it takes place is quite dramatic! along with it is a sense of finality. The story is controversial, because Medak has chosen a topic which had been familiar with the public not so long ago. The end sequence suggests that justice is a blunt instrument and the film in its entirety raises the question of capital punishment the incorrect decisions, the dangers and whether it should be abolished.

Attitudes Towards Error Correction Essay

Introduction The present study focuses on the way in which error correction is done and the significance of errors in the Romanian context. In designing it, I did not use my knowledge on causes of errors as I was not interested to find out whether it can be established a correlation between students’ mother tongue, the target language and the production of errors. I oriented this study towards a narrower issue: the attitudes of teachers, students and native speakers of Romanian towards error correction. In order to do this, I used the following classification of correction techniques: self – correction, peer correction and teacher correction. My research instrument for finding out teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards error correction was the questionnaire. In constructing my questionnaires my sources were David Nunan’s books entitled ‘Language Teaching Methodology. A Textbook for Teachers’ (1991) and ‘Research Methods in Language Learning’ (1995).The questionnaire is a research instrument which involves asking questions of other people and it is classified as ‘introspective’, since it involves respondents reporting on themselves, their views, their beliefs and so on. According to Nunan (1995:115) ‘introspection is the process of observing and reflecting on one’s thoughts, feelings, motives, reasoning processes, and mental states with a view to determining the ways in which these processes and states determine our behaviour’.Very often the questionnaire is answered by reading the questions and then ticking responses, or by writing in short answers. Thus, it is easier for the researcher to deal with the data collected and this is one of the reasons I chose it. The Theory of Questionnaire Design and Analysis Questionnaire preparation †¢Purpose The first thing to be very clear about was the purpose, that is, I had to know exactly the reason why I was setting up the questionnaire and what I wanted to find out. I tried to imagine the range of responses in order to know whether they would tell me what I needed to know. †¢Handling the data Again, it was important to imagine the completed responses. They needed to be in a form that was simple and convenient to analyse. This meant organising the questionnaire form so that it would be easy for me to record and discuss the results. †¢Practical details I needed to know how many copies of the questionnaire I would need and how I was going to ensure the maximum return completed questionnaires. †¢Anonymity I established whether the questionnaires were going to be anonymous. In case of anonymity, people might be more honest and informative in their responses. In case of non-anonymity, I might have been able to have follow-up interviews on selected questionnaires. I might also have been able to send reminders to those who had not responded. Questionnaire Design †¢Clarity It had to clear the informants why they were filling in the questionnaire: what was intended to achieve. It had to be clear whether or not the questionnaire was supposed to be anonymous. The instructions had to be very clear and explicit. The informants had to know whether the answers were to be ticked, crossed, circled or written out and where. †¢Simplicity I needed to know whether the questionnaire was laid out in a straightforward manner and whether the layout helped respondents to find their way through it. †¢Types of questions Questionnaire items can be relatively closed or open ended. A closed item is one in which the range of possible responses is determined by the researcher. In contrast, an open item is one in which the subject can decide what to say and how to say it. Questionnaires can consist entirely of closed questions, entirely of open questions, or a mixture of closed and open questions. The advantage of closed questions is that they usually make the questionnaire easier and quicker to fill in. they also make for quicker and more reliable scoring of the responses. The disadvantages of the closed questions are that they usually take longer to devise than open questions. Instructions on how to answer them have to be very clear. This means that the questionnaire designer has to anticipate all or most of the possible answers, so there may be little unexpected information in the responses. One corresponding advantage of open questions is that they are comparatively easy to design, but one may have some difficulties in trying to score and analyse the responses. It is also likely that responses to open questions reflect what the respondent wants to say. †¢Relevance Probably the most frequent mistake in designing questionnaires is asking unnecessary or irrelevant questions: for example, wanting to know whether the respondent is male or female, when his information has nothing to do with the purpose of questionnaire. †¢User – friendliness A lot of what I have been saying can be summarised by making the point that, since no one enjoys answering questionnaires, they should be made as ‘user – friendly’ as possible. This means they should not be too long, they should not be intensive (e.g. by asking questions that may embarrass the respondents) and they should not be confusing or perplexing. Piloting the Questionnaire An issue that affects questionnaires is that they should be piloted to see whether they work as planned. Even if I was going to distribute only a small number of questionnaires, I had to try them out on one or two people beforehand. In the piloting stage, I inquired: †¢whether the instructions were clear and easy to follow; †¢whether the questions were clear; †¢whether the respondents were able to answer all the questions; †¢whether the respondents found any of the questions irrelevant, patronising or irritating; †¢how long the questionnaire took the respondents to complete; †¢whether the respondents had any comments or suggestions that would help to make my questionnaire more effective. I piloted my questionnaires on two students. Drawing on the lessons learnt from the pilot I made the following changes: †¢I gave clear written instructions; †¢I eliminated questions five and six as they weren’t very clear and their answers were included in the variants of question seven †¢I changed the third variant from question three. Instead ‘uncomfortable’ I used the term ‘embarrassed’ as I thought that when producing an error students might show a sensation of embarrassment. This may be the result of teacher’s and even their classmates’ presence, more than a sensation of discomfort, which cannot be clearly defined. The questions that were unclear were given clear instructions about how to answer them. I tried to make my questionnaire user-friendly by changing the introduction. The questionnaire for learners was given in Romanian, as my subjects were beginners. As I was interested in teachers’ opinions I constructed a separate questionnaire. I piloted it on one teacher. After the piloting stage I made the following changes: I made my questionnaire user friendly by changing the introduction and I gave clear instructions about how to answer the questions. In addition I made a questionnaire for native speakers of Romanian as I thought that by administering it I might get useful and interesting opinions that could help me draw some conclusions concerning error correction in general and not necessary in the context of teaching / learning English. The purpose of questions Questionnaire for learners of English Question 1: to see how they find out learning English. Question 2: to find out what importance students give to error correction Question 3: to see how they feel when committing an error Question 4: to see whether they learn from their errors Question 5: to see what correction techniques students usually prefer Question 6: to find out which correction techniques students find more useful Question 7: to see whether they are interested in the errors committed Question 8: to find out what colour students prefer the teacher to use when providing correction Questionnaire for teachers of English Question 1: to know what is the respondents’ experience in teaching English Question 2: to see how they found teaching English Question 3: to find out what colour teachers use when providing correction Question 4: to find out the way in which correction is carried out Question 5: to find out the way in which they correct errors Question 6: to know what correction techniques teachers use in classroom Question 7: to find out which of the correction techniques teachers find to be more useful Question 8: to see whether they are aware of students’ feelings concerning correction Question 9: to know what they think to be the results of correction Questionnaire for native speakers of Romanian Question 1: to find out the respondents’ age Question 2: to know how they find learning a foreign language Question 3: to see what importance they give to correction Question 4: to see their attitudes when committing errors Question 5: to see whether or not they learn out of correction Question69: to find out what correction technique they prefer Question 7: to see what correction techniques have a greater utility Data Analysis I have administered the questionnaires to 10 students (beginners, studying English as a foreign language), 10 teachers of English and 10 native speakers of Romanian. When selecting the teachers I thought of getting answers from different ones, that is from middle school teachers, high school teachers and even university teachers. I also chose teachers being in their first years of teaching and experienced ones. The native speakers of Romanian were selected on the following criteria: they had nothing in common with the context of teaching / learning and they did not learn any foreign language except for the period when they were students, but they do not use it anymore. Quantitative Data Analysis The questionnaire for learners of English Q1. Nine students consider English as being easy to be learnt and one student considers it difficult to learn. Q2.All the students say that it is very important ‘being corrected’ Q3. Seven students feel encouraged when their attention is drawn to errors committed, while three students feel discouraged about this. Q4. All the students argue that they learn from their errors. Q5.Seven students say that they prefer to be corrected only by the teacher, while three prefer to correct themselves after the teacher has indicated the errors. Q6.All the students consider that they learn more from the correction provided by the teacher. Q7.All the students say that when they get back their papers with correction provided by the teacher, they look at them in order to avoid the errors committed. Q8.All the students say that they prefer their teacher to use a red pencil when correcting their work. The questionnaire for teachers of English Q1.Five respondents have been teaching English between 0-3 years, four between 4-6 years and one for more than 10 years. Q2.Seven teachers find teaching English to be difficult, while three find it easy. Q3. Eight teachers say that they use red colour when correcting students’ work and one teacher says that he / she uses a pencil when doing this. Teacher 4 says that he / she uses both red and blue. Q4.Five teachers write in the correct form when correcting errors, four give hint what it should be and two simply indicate something was wrong. Q5.Four teachers write in the correct form when correcting errors, four give hint what it should be and two simply indicate something was wrong. Q6.Three teachers say that they use only teacher correction in classroom, while two say they use peer correction. Five teachers use more than a correction technique. Here are their answers: Teacher 1 uses both self-correction and peer correction. Teacher 4 uses peer correction and teacher correction. Teacher 5 uses self-correction and teacher correction. Teachers 6 and 7 use all the techniques. Q7.Six teachers consider that self-correction helps students improve their knowledge, one teacher considers that it is peer correction that helps students and one teacher considers that teacher correction helps students more than the other two correction techniques. Teacher 6 considers that all types of correction techniques help students, while Teacher 7 considers that only self-correction and teacher correction is useful. Q8.Four teachers say that the students feel discouraged when given back a paper full of corrected errors, four say that students feel embarrassed, while two say that students feel encouraged. Q9.Eight teachers think that students learn from the corrections they provide for a written paper, while two teachers think that students don’t learn from this. The questionnaire for native speakers of Romanian Q1.The respondents are between 22 and 57 years old. Q2.Six of them find easy to learn a foreign language, while four find it difficult. Q3.Nine respondents consider correction as being very important, while one respondent ranks it as important. Q4. Nine respondents say that they feel embarrassed when their attention is drawn to errors committed while one respondent feels encouraged about that. Q5.All the respondents say that they learn from the errors they usually commit. Q6.Five respondents express their preference for self-correction, while five prefer to be corrected by other people. Q7.Five respondents argue that they learn more from self-correction and five say they learn more from the correction provided to them by other people. Qualitative Data Analysis The learners of English and the native speakers of Romanian consider learning a foreign language, English in this case, to be easy. Conversely, the teachers consider teaching English to be a difficult task. All the respondents consider being very important to be corrected when committing an error. That is why they argue that they usually learn from the errors committed in order to avoid them. Both learners and teachers of English showed their preference for teacher correction in the classroom. However, few students prefer self-correction, but only after the errors have been indicated to them by the teacher. I consider that to be a different way of teacher correction, a more blurred one. What I mean is that teachers should give learners a free hand in correcting errors, but also in getting them used to the identification of errors. I think this is one of the reasons why students, although some of them prefer self-correction to be used, argue that they learn more from the corrections provided by the teachers. They are not accustomed yet to freely express their opinions and I would argue that this might be owing to the tradition of learning in Romania. However, teachers argue that students learn more from self-correction. Taking into account the ideas provided by Julian Edge (1993:10) regarding self-correction: ‘People usually prefer to put their errors right than be corrected by someone else. Also, self-correction is easier to remember, because someone has put something right in his or her own head’, one may say that teachers are absolutely right when maintaining this point of view. But how can students learn more from self-correction if the majority of teachers argue that they usually prefer teacher correction as a technique? However, there are some teachers who use self-correction in classroom, while some use peer correction. Of course, when using peer correction one must keep in mind the disadvantages of this technique. Regarding the way in which teachers correct learners’ written work it was surprising to find out that some, not too many anyway, do not correct any of the errors committed, but simply indicate, probably by means of symbols or underlining, that something was wrong. They use red for correcting errors and this is in agreement with learners’ expectations about this matter. The utilization of a different colour, when correcting errors, that is red, may be explained as a way of making students be more aware of the errors they commit. As a conclusion of the matter of correction techniques, I consider that all of them (i.e. self-correction, peer correction and teacher correction) should be used in classrooms, either when correcting written work or speaking. That is why some of the teachers who were administered the questionnaire chose more than one answer to the question dealing with this issue, being aware of certain advantages, and even disadvantages which, of course when noticed, should be avoided while using one or another correction technique. The following table summarises the respondents’ attitudes towards the correction techniques and their usefulness.

A Study On Gatt And WTO Economics Essay

A Study On Gatt And WTO Economics Essay In this section I will discuss what was GATT. GATT stands for General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Countries first signed this document in 1947. This agreement was designed to encourage free trade between member states. It encouraged free trade by regulating and reducing tariffs the countries imposed on tradable goods. It also provided an international forum to settle trade disputes. 110 countries have now signed on to GATT. GATT was in existence until 1995, when a new international governing body on international trade was created to replace it. This new organisation is the WTO. WTO In this section I will describe what the WTO is. The WTO stands for the World Trade Organisation. The WTO was created to replace the GATT. The Bretton Woods agreement of 1944 was created to help with the financial consequences of rebuilding Europe after World War Two. It would also try to ensure that major world depressions would not occur. The IMF and World Bank were created to help achieve this. Ho wever, an organisation to regulate trade between countries was also required. The GATT was initially set up, but the WTO was created in 1995 to succeed this. As it states on their own website (www.wto.org), ‘ the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only international organization dealing with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.’ The WTO has nearly 150 members. Trade between these members accounts for 97% of the worldwide trade. How does the WTO work? In this section I will describe how the WTO operates and who the members are. The main point to note about the WTO is that it does not set rules on its own. This makes it different from the other two organisations set up by the Bretton Woods agreement. The WTO is more of an international forum where trade negotiations are discussed. It then ensures that outcome of the negotiations are undertaken. The WTO has many member states. Each state has a representative that sits on the council. Each representative has only one vote when it comes to decisions. This is different to the IMF as on the IMF the more powerful, developed countries have greater power. The one vote to one member policy that the WTO has is designed to ensure greater fairness with regards to trade negotiations. However, in the past, Europe, USA and Japan have dominated. This domination is to be upset with the introduction of China into the WTO. This will now mean that the developing world has a major voice at trade negotiations. The process of decision-making is undertaken by all member states. All members vote on specific decisions and the outcome of negotiations are usually by consensus. A majority vote can also be used, but this is extremely rare. Below this level are numerous specialised committees, working groups and working parties that deal with individual agreements and various other areas concerned with environment, developm ent, membership applications and regional trade agreements. What does the WTO do?

Competitors analysis and 4p analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Competitors analysis and 4p analysis - Essay Example atapact business with three competitors in a bid to determine areas in which the company can adjust to increase its performance using the four parameters. We shall first compere Datapact with Netstar. In terms of products, the two companies offers a variety of IT services to their customers with the sole aim of increasing their revenues and for diversification purposes. Datapact offers consultancy, security and antivirus solutions, hardware maintenance, software licensing and compliance among many other IT services (Datapact 2014). Nestar on the other hand offers a wide range of IT services which includes fixing it problems, cloud computing, experts in mac IT support, ditching slow connectivity among other IT services. The two companies therefore offer several services to help solve their customers’ problems and demands. In terms of promotion, both companies have relied heavily on references and used social media platform to lure potential customers and ensure customer retention. Datapact has for instance included the testimonials of their customers on the website with the objective of attracting new customers and giving assurance to the market of the quality of services it offers. Netsar similarly has included complementary messages of their customers to show satisfaction for their products and as a marketing strategy meant to attract customers. Both companies have also used social media platforms and electronic advertising to help expand their businesses and increase their revenues. Prices of Netstar are fixed and are based on a per user rates. On the other hand, Datapact offers flexible rates to their customers and promises affordable prices as a way of ensuring that their costs are customer friendly. The fourth important element of marketing is the place. Datapact as a company offers their customers services both in their offices and at the customer premises depending on the nature of the service being offered. Computer hardware are sold to the customers