Color and the Visible Spectrum and Rainbows & Blue Sky Research Paper

Color and the Visible Spectrum and Rainbows & Blue Sky - Research Paper Example Other colors that come in the same sequence includes green Blue, Indigo and lastly violet (The Physics of Color n.p.). Electromagnetic radiations having a wavelength that is more than seven hundred and fifty nanometers are referred to as infra-red. On the same note, these with less than three hundred and fifty are termed as ultra-violet. The colors in the spectrum have varying lightness, saturation, as well as darkness. In trying to understand the color spectrum, a color wheel can be used. It is a color spectrum that has been twisted around so as to have the violet and the red terminal joined. It is significant in helping to understand how the color relates and interact with each other. One can create new colors by mixing two existing ones. A rainbow is a meteorological-optical phenomenon formed by the refraction, reflection and dispersion of sunlight in the raindrops causing a spectrum of colors in the sky. The process of rainbow formation shares similarities with the spectrum obtained from the dispersion of light using a prism. The essay highlights the process of rainbow formation with reference to water droplets and sunlight. White light originating from the sun hits the water droplets at a particular angle. The angle is significant for the formation of the rainbow because it affects the direction that the light travels after striking the raindrops. When sunlight hits a water droplet in the air, some of the light-rays get reflected according to the law of reflection. The rest of the rays obey the law of refraction as they cross the air-to-water interface. The refraction occurs as the light slows down due to the density variation between the water droplets and the air; water has a higher density compared to the air. As such, the speed of sunlight reduces causing its path to bend towards the normal line (Lee and Alistair 254). White light is comprised of a spectrum of colors with varying wavelengths. As such, each

Reflective diary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Reflective diary - Essay Example of communicating effectively through training and development; however, most of the learning is acquired through automatic learning in natural settings. In either case, effective communication has proved critical throughout my life, both in school and at home. Effective communication involves skills such as active listening, nonverbal communication skills, stress management, and emotional control. In writing this reflective diary, I used the Cook’s 4R’s of reflective practice because it is simple and straightforward to use. Cook’s model of reflection consists of four stages; these are recollection, reaction, reflection, and response. During the beginning of this module, I engaged in effective communication with my peers and tutors. Some cases required active learning among the peers as we progressed through the module. Communication with the Course Committee also required engaging in sending and receiving messages with great caution, as it was necessary to ensure both parties send and receive the messages in their exact forms. While we were making groups for role-play, it was sometimes difficult to reach amicable solutions to issues especially those that were characterized with conflicting decisions. We had to sit down as a group and discuss all issues that were affecting the process of our role-play. We accepted our individual differences and cultural diversities, and focused on the goals of our assignment. Effective communication was a critical ingredient in this process. The Course Committee advised us to seek clarification all the time in case we had any issues with preparation of the role-play and reflectiv e diary preparation. I learnt various methods of communication in delivering messages. These methods include written, oral, and non-verbal communication. Written messages are the most frequently used mode of communication in organizations (Holliday, Hyde, and Kullman, 2010). The types of written communication include memos, letters, periodicals,

Importance Of Distribution Channels Marketing Essay

Importance Of Distribution Channels Marketing Essay Meaning: in the field of marketing, channels of distribution indicates routes or pathways through which goods and services flow, or more from producers to consumers. We can define formally the distribution channels as the set of interdependent marketing institutions participating in the marketing activities involved in the movement the flow of goods or services from the primary producers to ultimate consumers. A channel of distribution is a path traced in the direct or indirect transfer of ownership of a product as it moves from producers to consumers. A channel is pipeline through which a flows on its way to the consumers. The manager put his products into the pipeline marketing channels and it moves towards various marketing people and reaches the ultimate consumer which is the other end of the channels. Components of distribution system: The distribution system involves two components such as below. Channels of distribution Physical distribution Channels of distribution: means a process through which the products are transferred from the producers to the ultimate consumers. It also known as marketing channels. The channels members such as merchants agents wholesalers and retailers are middlemen in distribution and they perform all marketing functions. These channels members such as merchants agents wholesalers and retailers are middlemen in contribution and try perform according to marketing functions. These middlemen facilitate the process of exchange and create time, place and possession utilities through matching and sorting process. Sorting enables meeting or matching the supply with consumers demand. Physical distribution: it looks after physical handling of goods and assures maximum customers services. It aims at offering of delivery of right goods at the night distribution activities cover: Order processing Packaging Warehousing Transportation Inventory control Customer service. All middle in distribution on performs these function and they assure putting the products with in an arms length customers desire and demand. Elements of distribution channels: Path way: distribution channels are a pathway through which products and services flow from manufacturers to customers. Flow: this of goods and services in sequential and usually in directional. Composition: it is composed of intermediaries also called middlemen who participate in the flow of voluntarily. Objectives: although channels components largely strive to achieve mutually acceptable objectives, the manufacturer focus is an achieving corporate marketing objective. Leader: manufacturer leads the channels components and their behavior is regulated by mutually acceptable code of conduct, trade customer and or contracted stipulation. Thus the company acts as the channels caption and manages the pathway. Functions: the intermediaries perform such functions which facilitates transfers of ownership and possession of goods and services from marketers to consumers. The function performed by intermediaries is been classified as follows: Sorting out: it involves breaking a homogeneous through grading or inspection. Accumulation: it involves bringing a number of like products together into a large homogeneous supply. This process is called concentration. Allocation: it involves sorting out of accumulated products and consists of breaking down a homogeneous supply into smacker lots it is also referred to as the process of dispersion. Assorting: it involves building an assortment of different but perhaps a related product to form a stock of an intermediary. At the manufacturer level assortment are dictated by production technology while at the consumer and, use assortments are governed by consumption pattern. These discrepancies in assortment create opportunities for intermediaries to participate in the channels of distribution. Importance of distribution channels: Channels of distribution for a product the route taken by the title to goods they are from the producers to the ultimate consumers. It is very important because product in one place while the consumption scattered in many place. So there is big gap between producers and the consumers. So through channels of distribution can only fill the gap. A channel of distribution connects a link between the producers and the consumers. The middle man plays an important role in consumer orientation demand. The middlemen are specialist in concentration equalization and dispersion, i.e. collects output of various producers subdivide the products according to the needs of the consumers. disperse this assortment to the consumers. The success of channels of distribution [COD] is completely depending upon the middlemen as they create time and possession utility. The COD helps in making products available at right time in the night place and in the right quality. Marketing is a comprehensive term, which includes distribution also, distribution is a function to distribution or sub divided the producers goods to various specific markets which incurred to all ultimate consumers. Role of channels of distribution Channel of Distribution plays a very important role in achieving the marketing objectives of a company. Undoubtedly, the manufacturer of product or services creates involve utility but the distribution channels create time and place utilities. According to Drucker, both the market and distribution channels are offer more crucial than the product. They are primary; the product is secondary. In an ever widening market, particularly in consumer goods market distribution channels have a distinctive role in the successful implementation of marketing plans and strategies. These channels performing the following marketing functions the machinery of distribution. The searching out of buyers and seller. Matching goods to requirements of the market(merchandising) Offering products in the form of assortments packages of items usable and acceptable by the consumers /users. Persuading and influencing the prospective buyers to favor a certain products and its maker [personal selling /sales promotion]. Implementing pricing strategies in such a manner that would be acceptable to the buyers and ensure effective distribution functions. Participating actively in the creation and establishment of market for a new product. Offering pre- and after sales service to customer Transferring of new technology to the users along with the supply of products and playing green resolution in our country. Providing feels back information, marketing intelligence and sales forecasting services for their regions their suppliers. Offering credit to retailers and consumers. Risk- bearing with references to stock holding transport. MIDDLEMAN IN DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS Merchant intermediaries are those channels member who take both title to and position of goods from the proceeding member (s) and channels them to the subsequence. These may classify as follows: Wholesalers : A merchants wholesalers may be defined as that intermediary who buys goods in bulk from manufactures and sells them largely to subsequent intermediaries participating in the channel, namely, semi-wholesalers and retailers, they buy the goods and sees the same on their own account and risk. They take title of goods and they resale the goods at a profit with commission. Retailers: A retailer may be defined as that merchant intermediary who buys product from preceding challes members in smaller assorted lots to suit individuals consumer requirements. Retail in the final middlemen in the channel of distribution as he is going to sell products to houses holds consumers for non- business use. Retailers are further classified as institutional and non- institutional retailers. The institutional retailers are: Consumer Co- operative stores. Fair price shops. Departmental stores. Chain / multiple stores. Mail order houses. The non-institutional buyers are: Stress sellers. Peddlers. Hawkers. Agent Intermediaries: Agent Intermediaries are those channel components who never take title to end usually do not take title to and usually do not take possession of goods but merely assist manufacturers, merchants intermediaries and consumers in carrying out transactions of sale and purchase. There for, unlike merchant intermediaries, they do not buy or sell goods on their own account but merely bring buyers and sellers together in order to strike a transaction. There exist an agency relationship between such an intermediary manufacturers where in the former acts as agent and the latter as his principal, such agent intermediaries solicit orders, sometimes with discretion a fixing prices, and determines the term of sale with buyers. Agent intermediaries are usually compensable for their services by way of commission on the value of sale affected through them or any other basis naturally agrees upon. Agent intermediaries may be further classified as follows: Sole selling agent. Selling agent. Commission agent. Brokers. Channel decision The first problem of channel design in whether you want direct sale to consumer or indirect sale i.e., sale through middleman under the direct sales the channel problem becomes problems of company organization. If the company chooses the indirect route, it must consider such problem as the type and number of middlemans and methods to be employed in motivating and controlling them. The selection of these middlemen beings with the knowledge of ultimate customers-his needs and desires for distribution services. Customer conveniences and economics of exclusive distribution will determine the number of middleman employed. The company must choose whether to attempt extensive, selective or exclusive distribution or combination of all three types, the decision is made after the careful analysis of product, customer, dealers, and company objectives and policies, and the conflict with in the channels and any other relevant factors. The company must resolve channels and bring the product profit ably to the market. In the chance managements a manufacturer has to make three decisions: Section of a particular middleman at each level and in each market. Number of middlemen at each level and in each market. Selection of particular middlemen for selling goods, with or without any exclusive rights of distribution. Once the company has determined, its basic channel design and levels of distribution, it has to select middlemen appoint them, motivate their efforts, evaluate their utility periodically and if necessary, it has to reorganizing the channels in the light of experience. Channel choice Channel decisions also require special attention as involve long term commitments to other firms with whom marketer enters in to a contract. The problem of selecting the most suitable channel 0f distribution for a product is complex. The most fundamental factor for channel choice and channel management it economic criteria, viz., cost and profit criteria, we have to consider a number of factors such as the nature of the product, market trends, competition outlooks pricing policies typical consumer needs, as well as needs of the manufacture critical factor. Product factors Product manufactured by a company itself is a governing factor of great force in the distribution channel selection. The product attributes shape the channel decision in the following manners, If a commodity is perishable or fragile a producer prefers few and controlled levels of distribution. For durable and standardized goods longer and diversified channel may be necessary. For custom made product direct distribution to consumer or industrial user may be desirable. Systems approaches needs package deal and shorter-channel serves the purpose. For technical product requiring specialized and selling and serving talent, we here the shortest channel. Products of high unit value are sold directly by traveling sales force and not through middlemen. Market factors Under the modern concept of marketing market factor shape all marketing decision. As a corollary, the distribution channel choice is considerably influenced by market factor. Consumers: the numbers of consumers, their geographic location and purchase pattern considerably govern the choice of a channel. Intermediaries: the relative strength and weakness of intermediaries and the difference in the type of function performed and facilities and privileges desired by them often determine the choice of channel. Competitors: the distribution channels used by competitors also influence the channel choice because it may be the customary channel used by all those operating in the field. If the market size is large, we have many channels where as in a small market direct selling may be profitable. Company factors Like markets and products, companies own strength and weakness significantly influence and shape channel choices. Financial strength: a company with substantial and financial resources need not really too much on the middlemen and can offered. To reduce the levels of distribution a weaker company has to open on middlemen to secure financial and warehousing relief. Past channel experience: in case often old and established company its past experience of working with certain kind of intermediaries also condition channel choice. Marketing policies: the marketing policies relevant to channels decision may relate to advertising delivery, after sales service and pricing. Reputation: it is said that the reputation travels faster than the man. It is true in case of companies also who wish to select distribution channels. Middlemen Middlemen who can provide wanted marketing services will be given first preference. The selected middle men must offer maximum co operation particularly in promotional services. They must expect marketing policies and programs of the manufacturers and actively help them in their implementation. The channel generating the largest sales volume unit cost will be given top priority this will be minimizing distribution cost. Competitors Marketers closely watch the channels used by rivals. Many a times, similar channels may be desirable to bring about distribution of your products also. Followers, sometimes marketers deliberately avoid customary channels (dominated by rivals) and adopt different channels strategy for instance, you may by pass retail store channel (usually used by rival) and adopt door to door sales (where there is no competitors). Environmental factors Marketing environment can also influence the channel decision. During recession or depression, shorter and cheaper channel is always preferable. In times of prosperity we have a wider choice of channel alternatives. Technological inventions also have impact on distribution. The distribution of the perishable goods even in distant markets becomes a reality due to cold storage facilities in transport and warehousing. Hence this led to expanded role of intermediaries in the distribution of perishable goods. Arranging in classes of distribution channels and intermediaries Types of distribution channels: broadly distribution channels may be classified as a non integrated and integrated channel is individual or conventional marketing channels.

Speaker identification and verification over short distance telephone l

SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION OVER SHORT DISTANCE TELEPHONE LINES USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS Ganesh K Venayagamoorthy, Narend Sunderpersadh, and Theophilus N Andrew gkumar@ieee.org sundern@telkom.co.za theo@wpo.mlsultan.ac.za Electronic Engineering Department, M L Sultan Technikon, P O Box 1334, Durban, South Africa. ABSTRACT Crime and corruption have become rampant today in our society and countless money is lost each year due to white collar crime, fraud, and embezzlement. This paper presents a technique of an ongoing work to combat white-collar crime in telephone transactions by identifying and verifying speakers using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Results are presented to show the potential of this technique. 1. INTRODUCTION Several countries today are facing rampant crime and corruption. Countless money is lost each year due to white collar crime, fraud, and embezzlement. In today’s complex economic times, businesses and individuals are both falling victims to these devastating crimes. Employees embezzle funds or steal goods from their employers, then disappear or hide behind legal issues. Individuals can easily become helpless victims of identity theft, stock schemes and other scams that rob them of their money White collar crime occurs in the gray area where the criminal law ends and civil law begins. Victims of white collar crimes are faced with navigating a daunting legal maze in order to effect some sort of resolution or recovery. Law enforcement is often too focused on combating â€Å"street crime† or does not have the expertise to investigate and prosecute sophisticated fraudulent acts. Even if criminal prosecution is pursued, a criminal conviction does not mean that the victims of fraud are able to recover their losses. They have to rely on th criminal courts awarding restitution after the conviction and by then the perpetrator has disposed of or hidde most of the assets available for recovery. From the civil law perspective, resolution and recovery can just be a difficult as pursuing criminal prosecution. Perpetrators of white collar crime are often difficult to locate and served with civil process. Once the perpetrators have been located and served, proof must be provided that the fraudulent act occurred and recovery/damages are needed. This usually takes a lengthy legal fight, which often can cost the victim more money than t... ...phone speech†, IEEE Signal Processing Letters, vol. 2 no. 3 March 1995, pp. 46 - 48. [2] J.M.Naik, L.P.Netsch, G.R.Doddington, â€Å"Speaker verification over long distance telephone lines†, Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), 23-26 May 1989, pp. 524 - 527. [3] A.L.Mcilraith, H.C.Card, â€Å"Birdsong Recognition Using Backpropagation and Multivariate Statistics†, Proceedings of IEEE Trans on Signal Processing, vol. 45, no. 11, November 1997. [4] G.K.Venayagamoorthy, V.Moonasar, K.Sandrasegaran, â€Å"Voice Recognition Using Neural Networks†, Proceedings of IEEE South African Symposium on Communications and Signal Processing (COMSIG 98), 7-8 September 1998, pp. 29 - 32. [5] V.Moonasar, G.K.Venayagamoorthy, â€Å"Speaker identification using a combination of different parameters as feature inputs to an artificial neural network classifier†, accepted for publication in the Proceedings of IEEE Africon 99 conference, Cape Town, 29 September – 2 October 99. [6] H.Demuth, M.Beale, MATLAB Neural Network Toolbox User’s Guide, The Maths Works Inc., 1996. [7] T.Kohonen, Self-organizing and associate memory Spring Verlag, Berlin, third edition, 1989.

Another Brick in the Wall

This song was written by Pink Floy’d. It was recorded April-November 1979 and was released to the public on December 1979. The song can be found on â€Å"The Wall† album. The song is written with three parts: part one is referred to as reminiscing, part two is referred to as education, and part three is referred to as drugs. Part two is the most recognized part of the whole song. â€Å"Another Brick in the Wall† hit number fifty-seven on the disco chart. Part one of â€Å"Another Brick in the Wall† starts off with a soft and long guitar solo, this solo hits a few louder notes throughout this part. You can hear a teacher yelling at students. Floy’d comes in with soft vocals; he only gets louder in a few parts. All the vocals are softer than the other two parts. In all three parts the line â€Å"all in all it was just a brick in the wall† is repeated. This line is a symbol for people building up a wall to protect themselves from emotional harm. Part one is about Pink’s childhood life. This part is reminiscent about Pinks’s father; this is shown in the lines â€Å"daddy’s flown across the ocean and what did you leave for me. † The first line shows the separation from his father due to the military. His father was killed in Italy, so the separation from him was a great issue for him. Pink uses the word ocean as a metaphor for the afterlife that lies past a great body of water. He is both physically and mentally separated from his father. Reminiscing ends with another soft guitar solo. Part two, education, is the most famous part of â€Å"Another Brick in the Wall†. Floy’d tries to show his childhood struggles with cruel teachers whom he blames for adding more bricks in his wall. Since its release, there have been accounted stories of children and adults adopting this song as an anarchistic hymn. They use it to fight back against their years of educational oppression. The line â€Å"we don’t need no education† does not suggest that we do not need education, but, in fact it is a double negative which means the â€Å"don’t† and â€Å"no† cancel each other out producing we do need education. Part two has added the drums and a synthesizer to its musical items. The guitar is still used here. In a part of this song Floy’d has children singing the same stanza he sang earlier. This part of the song also ends with a guitar solo with the drums being played in the background. Part three â€Å"drugs† is much shorter than the previous two parts but it starts out with a sound of smashing then you hear a guitar and drums starting to play. At the same time, Floy’d starts singing with the line â€Å"I don’t need no arms around me. And I don’t need no drugs to calm me. † This part symbolizes his pain and how he dealt with it: drugs and loving arms around him. He uses part three as an attack against the world. He uses the line â€Å"I have seen the writing on the wall† as a metaphor for him seeing what life can throw at you and you have to stand strong if you want to survive. The song ends with the sound of the synthesizer fading into nothing.

Hispanic Groups Living in US Essay

It is very common for someone walking down the streets of any American city and hears Spanish spoken. The federal government of America coined this term ‘Hispanic’ way back in 1970’s to refer people tracing their origin in Spanish speaking countries which were former Spanish colonies or those who can trace their origin to Spain or its territory. This represents a varied range of countries and ethnic groups with different social, political and emotional experiences. A large part of Hispanics still try to characterize themselves in terms of their individual ethnic identity as Mexican, Cuban, and others rather the whole term ‘Hispanic’. Hispanic Americans, n. d. ) The wide range of the Hispanic group includes Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, El Salvadorians, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, Columbians, Central and South Americans among others. The Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and Cubans form the largest part of the Hispanics living in America. (Tienda and Mitchell, 2006) America’s cultural canvas is very vivid as each group brought their respective culture’s specialty with them which has totally mingled in the main force. The Hispanic community has left their mark over traditions, customs and cultures throughout the country and the bilingual education structure of America displays the growing importance in the country as they are the largest minority community. It has been noticed that people from the Hispanic groups have done well in various fields and their progress is something to be watched. The 2002 census showed the Mexicans forming the largest part of the population with 66. 9%, followed by Central and Latin Americans at 14. 3%, third position held by Puerto Ricans, others 6. % and last Cubans at 3. 7%. (The Hispanic Population, 2002) Majority of the Hispanics are native born neutralizes citizens or have acquired legal residency status. They are largely concentrated in the west part of the country especially the urban areas of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, and Texas. There is a tendency among them to live in family units which are generally large in size unlike the non-Hispanic Whites. In comparison to Whites communities, the rate of unemployment and poverty is much more in the Hispanic groups. Mexican Americans are the one to form the largest part of the Hispanic population living in America and they are also the largest group of White Hispanics. The Mexican immigration could be traced in the past decades as they started establishing themselves in the 1600s in southwestern parts of the country who later became New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas. (Stacy, 2002) The work at railroads and steel industry of the Midwest America attracted them in the 1800s and this immigration is still continued to the present time. Today majority of Mexican Americans are U. S. born citizens. The major causes behind the migration of Mexicans to America are self-liberty, quality education, modes to improve economic condition and achieve good living standard. Spanish is the main language for Mexican Americans, some of them are monolingual. But most can fluently speak both English and Spanish. The attitude of the Mexican Americans is something to be watched as more than 90% of them are literate. Their respect towards others is also acclaimed as their communications are respectful in manner. They are one of the strict believers in the concept of familism (Nash, 2007) and value family considerations over individual as well very much rely on family in times of crisis. Patriarchy is the trend of Mexican American family. Earlier, they used to neglect family planning but at present time they have been active in that. Largely they are the followers of Roman Catholicism. They look at churches as powerful source of hope, faith and strength while spirituality and religion play significant role in times of illness, health and life. Their housing conditions are really bad as they live in colonies not appropriate for living to low-income. Central and South Americans stand second in the American Hispanic population. They owe their origin to different countries such as Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, and Argentina among others. These groups of people display a vast diversity due to their different origins. Most of them migrated from their respective countries in the period of 1970s and 1980s when the region was going through political turbulence. Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala were suffering from civil wars that made their people to flee in search of stable life. In the present time too, the immigration is on due to different causes. Although many of them arrived in U. S. as refuges, gradually they acquired political asylum from the state. Cheap accommodation and easy immigrant services made most of the Central and South Americans settle in California. They speak other languages rather than Spanish, which is a main language, such as French and Portuguese. Though Catholicism is the main religion, Protestants and Jews as well as other beliefs are followed by this group. They have high religious values. Males are treated as the head of the family. Due to intermarriage among this group and other Hispanics or Europeans, they have become much diversified. The education level of Central and South Americans is much appreciable than other Hispanics but still they lack behind in employment tin respects of other groups. Third largest group belonging to Hispanic community are the Puerto Ricans as they became U. S. citizens after Jones Act of 1917. (Stacy, 2002) But they are not allowed to vote in U. S. Presidential elections. They are mainly settled in industrial areas such as the states of Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, and New York due to the availability of employment opportunity. Wherever they settled, they tried to hold on their tradition and culture and formed various groups and organizations to support them. Puerto Rican Americans pay huge respect to education but still they maintain a low level than other Hispanics which makes parents encourage their children to pursue good education for better future. They are bilingual speaking both Spanish and English. The expressive nature of Puerto Ricans and their hospitality is well known. They possess high respect for women, parents and elderly people and family units that they even allow more than one family living together. Puerto Ricans are followers of Catholicism and seek support from religion and spiritualism in tough situations. Their approach to health and illness is based on these beliefs. Cubans too comprise a significant part of the Hispanic community. Cuban immigration to America can be traced back to history but the major wave was created during the political turmoil of 1959 which still continues today. They have their bases at Miami, Florida and New Jersey. They can be considered as the most affluent among all the Hispanic groups due to their well performance in education, which led to better employment opportunities and a good quality lifestyle. Till recent past they faced problem in speaking English, but nowadays they have overcome that. The Cuban Americans are very much into their culture that they most often do not show much interest in the Anglo culture. They hold a rather conservative outlook towards politics due to their experience in their native country. They possess diverse beliefs of religion; still Catholicism is more prevalent among them. They stand against communism holds much important place in U. S. The Hispanic groups in spite of their various origins share some commonalities as well some major differences among them. Spanish is a bond that binds all of them, while most of them are bilingual. Approach towards education is another common factor between them as all the groups show very much respect to education as they know it is the only key to good living. Religion too makes them stand on a common platform as most of the Hispanic Americans are followers of Catholicism. Political perspective is one thing that creates differences among these groups as each of them has their respective political idea. Cuban Americans support Republicans as they are inclined towards conservative idea of politics whereas Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and South Americans have a liking for democrats. Still, Catholic faith, language and belief in their respective culture make them stand on a single platform.

How Fantasy Has Changed Since the 1920s

How Fantasy Has Changed Since the 1920s A Century of Fantasy: How the Genre's Changed Since the 1920s The English word, "fantasy," sprang from Old French's  phantasie, or "vision, imagination." But you wouldn't be entirely remiss if you'd thought that it came from  the word, "fantastic." When you consider all the fantastic things in our world and our imaginations, it's no wonder there are so many different subgenres in fantasy - and dedicated readers of each subgenre.In our past piece in this series on writing fantasy, our editors gave tips on writing compelling fantasy fiction. In this post, we conduct a brief examination of the evolution of the genre and its subgenres. Because we've only got so much space, we're going to concentrate on the Anglophone side of things - though fantasy is a worldwide phenomenon that's got roots in Indian myth, dating back to 1500 BC.   And yet, up until the 1940s, "fantasy" wasn't even a universal term for the genre yet! ("Fairy tale" was preferred.)How did we get from there to fantasy's current, steadfast position in mainstream English literat ure?The Two Giants of FantasyEnter two names that you might’ve come across before: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.The two fathers of fantasy met in 1926 on the campus of Oxford University, where they were both on the faculty together. (Lewis was a part of the Literature faction of the English faculty. Tolkien, unsurprisingly, was more of a Linguistics person.) So it's curious that it seems to actually be young adult and children’s fantasy (something called Harry Potter, in particular) that changed all of that. First,  Harry Potter got everyone reading fantasy. Then the genre really sprang into popular culture when the advent of CGI took fantasy from our books to our silver screens. Suddenly, the worlds that we could only envision in our minds were right in front of our eyes. In 2002, Peter Jackson captured the attention of both readers and non-readers with the Hollywood adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Then  Game of Thrones started showing up on our televisions every week, and that, as they say, is that.Where will fantasy go now?We mentioned it already, but we’ll mention it again. There really is no better time to write fantasy. When you think about it, the biggest pop culture phenomena since the turn of the millennium almost all have ties to fantasy: Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Twilight. Even The Hunger Games is a dys topian fantasy, set in an entirely imagined (albeit terrifyingly bleak) world.Looking back now, it’s easy to see the many ways that the genre’s evolved since the days of Tolkien. Consider The Hobbit, which possessed a grand total of zero women. Then take a gander at all the girls who are mainstays in the most popular fantasy books now (Hermione, Katniss, Triss).Admittedly, it’s tough to predict the future, but at the rate that the genre’s progressing, there are two big trends that will carry us through the next couple of years:An ever-diversifying spectrum of characters and worlds as fantasy expands beyond its European and medieval roots. In Tor.com’s past open call for submissions, for instance, they specifically asked for novellas that  were not based on European cultures - seeking, instead, worlds that â€Å"take their influences from Africa, Asia, the indigenous Americas, or any diasporic culture from one of those sources.†Further gen re- and subgenre-blurring. Fantasy already overlaps with romance, mysteries, and thrillers - and we’ll see much more of fantasy’s influences in other genres as the spectrum of writers and readers continues to broaden.Fantasy traditions of other countries will impact the stories of the Anglophone world. Russia, for instance, recently pioneered the increasingly popular "LitRPG" genre, where the stories take place in worlds with video-game mechanics.Ultimately, the future of fantasy rests on the imaginations of all the writers out there. How will you show us glimpses of another universe? People are always wanting to escape from reality. And so it's Lloyd Alexander, the author of the famous The Chronicles of Prydain series, who  states the purpose of modern fantasy best: â€Å"Fantasy is barely an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.†Has this post inspired you to write fantasy of your own? Tell us about your ideas in the comments. And if yo u want to get an even more concrete idea of fantasy's evolution, check out this post of the 100 best fantasy series of all time.

Whats the Lowest SAT Score Possible How Many Get It

What's the Lowest SAT Score Possible How Many Get It SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you embarrassed of your SAT score, or think it’s pretty low? Chances are it isn’t even close to the lowest possible SAT score. In this post, we’ll reveal how rare the lowest possible SAT score is, the lowest scores we have seen, and how to improve on the test, regardless of what your currentscore is. What Is the Lowest SAT Score? On the Redesigned SAT, the lowest possible score is a 400: 200 on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 200 on Math. The lowest possible SAT score on the old SAT was a 600 composite, which could only be earned with scores of 200 on the Critical Reading, Math, and Writing sections. While there is no data yet on the Redesigned SAT, we know from data on the old SAT that the lowest possible score is extremely rare. Only 374 people got a 600 on the SAT in 2014 – even fewer than a perfect 2400! The SAT is scaled so that the average score is about a 1500 old/1000 redesigned, or 500 per section. The bottom 25% of scorers have about a 1270 old/850 redesigned or lower. Any score below an 1100 old/750 redesigned is rare – only 10% of test-takers score that low. So odds are, even if you have a low score, it’s not the very lowest possible! In fact, it’s incredibly difficult to get a 600 old/400 redesigned SAT composite score. How Do You Get the Lowest Score on the SAT? It’s harder to get a 600 old/400 redesigned than you might think. Even if you guess on every question, you’ll probably get higher than the lowest possible score. Why? Assuming you really don’t know anything and guess on each question, odds are you will guess correctly 25% of the time, since there are four answer choices. And it turns out that getting 25% of SAT questions right gets you a score above the lowest possible! Even Jon Snow, who knows nothing, would probably score higher than a 400 on the SAT. The SAT is scored by translating your raw score (the total amount of questions you get right) into a scaled score. For more on this process, check out our scoring guide. On the Redesigned SAT, a Reading raw score with 25% of the questions correct is a 13. A Writing raw score with 25% of the questions correct is an 11. After combining these, your final Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score would be around 350 low, but far from the lowest possible score of 200. A Math 25% raw score is about a 14, which would net approximately a 380 final score. If you add up these two scores, you would get a 730 composite – low, but far from the lowest! So you would have to have very bad luck or be deliberately trying to get a low score to get a 200 on each section for a 400 composite on the Redesigned SAT. You need a raw score of 1 or lower on each section to get a scaled score of 200 on the Redesigned SAT, which means you basically have to get every single question wrong. So even if you just give up on the test and fill in every answer bubble with a "C," you'll definitely get more than 1 raw point on each section, and thus get a higher score than a 400. On the old SAT, getting the lowest possible score was actually pretty complicated. Since the old SAT had a guessing penalty, you needed a negative raw score on each section to get the lowest possible score. That meant you could sleep through the test, leave all of the answers blank, get a raw score of 0, and still get about 210-220 per section, which was higher than the lowest possible score. On the Redesigned SAT, however, leaving the test blank and taking a nap will result in the lowest possible score, since you would get a raw score of 0. This means getting a 200 on each section of the old SAT was surprisingly tricky. You could have skipped most of the questions but answered 8 incorrectly to get a -2 raw score. Or, of course, you could have gotten every single problem wrong and gotten a raw score below a -2, and thus received a 200 section score. You can actually read about one man’s attempt to get the lowest possible score on the old SAT here. Note that he had to know the SATquite wellto accomplish this â€Å"feat.† Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! What Are the Lowest Scores You’ve Seen? At PrepScholar, we work with everyone from high-scorers, trying to close the last 100-point gap to a perfect score, to students who struggle with standardized tests and want lots of extra help. On the old SAT, we’ve seen scores as low as 900 (around 300 in each section), but gotten them up to the 1300 range, which gets them into the top 75% of scorers. How do we do this? There are two main ways to improve a low score: fill content gaps and improve test-taking strategy. If you’re scoring in the 300s, there is probably content on the SAT you simply don’t know. Whether you struggle with vocabulary, geometry, grammar rules, or all of the above, not knowing major concepts can seriously hamper you on the SAT. That said, even if you know the content, struggling with test-taking can lower your score, too. Just because it's multiple choice doesn't mean it's easy. Time management, process of elimination, smart guessing, and familiarity with the test are all factors that can make or break your score. A student who is able to manage their time and answer 40 out of 58 math questions will get a better score than a student who gets stuck on a single problem, loses time, and only answers 30 math questions by the end of the test. Also, knowing how to eliminate wrong answers can raise your odds of getting a question right from 25% to 50%. Process of elimination is an important strategy! Sound like there’s a lot to learn? There is, but it’s very manageable to make big SAT score leaps, especially if you have the best resources. How Can I Improve My Score? The key to a higher SAT score is fixing your weaknesses, practicing with quality questions, and learning test-taking strategy. With PrepScholar, we will create a custom program for you based on your weaknesses. We will fill your content gaps and get you on track for a higher score. Basically, we take the hard part out of SAT studying – analyzing your weak spots – and give you more time to practice. You can also study on your own with prep books and a study schedule. Remember to block your SAT prep time into your schedule like it’s a class or a sport – you have to put in the time to see a difference. Finally, you can see if your school has an SAT prep class, study sessions, or other free resources to take advantage of. This can help you make time for SAT studying each week. If you commit dedicated time to studying, and use the best resources, you are guaranteed to see an improvement in your score. Even you, Jon Snow. What’s Next? Learn more about average SAT scores by state to learn just how good or bad your score is. So what’s a good SAT score? An amazing one? See our guide to the best SAT scores, based on which colleges you are aiming for. Thinking about giving the ACT a try instead? See our guide to which test is easiest, and which one you will do the best on. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

[WATCH] Why millennials need to find their passion

[WATCH] Why millennials need to find their passion As the head of the Henry Ford Museum, Patricia Mooridian knows a thing or two about American history. And from that knowledge, she derives inspiration for her own professional life. She knows that America is a land of innovation, a place where no problem is too big to solve. Watch her explain how she harnesses this can-do attitude in her everyday life, and how you can too. Source:[DailyFuel]

Security Bank Customer Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Security Bank Customer Service - Essay Example Many banks have failed to improve their business performance because of scarcity of natural resources in their economy. The Security Bank aims to advance their business through ensuring that the scarce resources are well utilized well in the organization in order to avoid compromising with the future needs. Thus, it will ensure that the business rates are higher more than the spending rates. This is through delivering high quality and effective customer services to organizations in order to capture the attention of many customers; thus increasing the profitability levels. The business also plans to improve the investment level by 3% in the year 2018. This is crucial because it will enable the business to improve their performance level in order to achieve high profitability level.The marketing segmentation of the potential buyers will be based on gender, income, age, education, employment and family lifecycle. Margit and Pallas (79) point out that understanding market and segmenting markets are crucial because it can enlarge the customer base. This is because segmenting market will offer adequate information to the business, which will successfully enable them to adjust their component of business activities. For instance, the Security Banking sector has to adjust their components on the way they service and market their products across the organizations. The bank can either chose banking technologies as a single and combined e-payment platform by encouraging customers to use SmartVista collection. The aim of advancing technology in the banking sector is to provide customers the solution to complicated card transactions and operations. For instance, the business will install SmartVista software in order to expand the ATMs and Internet merchants as well as improve the mobile banking services. The business is currently planning to transfer the SmartVista solution in the next five years in order to increase banking performance; thus offering better

Country Analysis Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Country Analysis Report - Research Paper Example Wikipedia notes that China is probably the fourth largest country in the world by total area and defiantly the second largest in the world by land area after Russia. Over the years Beijing has been the most popular tourist destination in China, this is according to an article on top tourist destinations in China by Kelly. Other major interesting places in China are The Terracotta Army in the province of Xi`an, panda breeding in the province of Chengdu, the scenic Zhangjiajie, the plateau of Tibet, the yellow mountains of Huangshan, the idyllic limestone scenery of Guilin, the cities of Hong Kong ,Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou which one can all visit by use of the bullet train. Since my business is that of Tourism and travel Management which involves the detailed organizing and booking of tour trips for my customers I choose China due to its diverse culture. The diverse culture in China will be very profitable to my business in that, my customers will have a varied number of choices to make from the tour packages that my business will be able to provide. These tour packages will include all the festival events in China, the beautiful geographical scenes in china and the opportunity to have the time to travel and shop in China. China has a decentralized political system, a system that provides the provincial and sub-provincial leaders with a significant amount of autonomy. The Marxism ideology followed in China provides a rather conducive political environment for the growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) entities in China.

The Prospectus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Prospectus - Essay Example Using this prospectus in this study, will make it easy for the designed objectives to be achieved as the research problems will be easily achieved. The prospectus also ends up giving ways through which this study can be helpful to the stakeholders. The wedding day is the greatest day that the brides have been waiting for all their lives. They, for this reason, raise expectations high on this day, assuming and wishing that everything will go as planned. However, the brides get consumed thinking about the positive expectations from their wedding day until they forget about the unexpected negative events that can also accompany the day (Laurie, 2014). There are very many stressful issues that the brides are normally concerned about during this day that can make one wonder whether this day should be meant to be a big one for the brides or a stressful one for the. In their endeavors to making sure that everything goes well beginning from making themselves look fabulous to ensuring that there arises no mess in the program and arrangement of activities, the brides end up being stressed during their wedding day. This research is for this reason aimed at finding out those reasons that make the brides go crazy during when it is expected to be their biggest day in life. The research will be based on certain assumptions including the fact that the brides need to oversee the planning of activities during their wedding day. Another assumption is that, the brides are the ones in-charge of their looks during this day. We can also assume that all the weddings have some stressful events in them. Weddings are expected to be the best events that bring a lot of happiness in the lives of the brides. It is this day, the wedding day, which should mark the begging of endless happiness in the lives of brides when they begin living together with the grooms. Wedding is perceived as a bridge that brides use to pass through life full of loneliness to a life of companionship.

Personal ethos statment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal ethos statment - Essay Example An empathetic individual should be concerned about others’ plight and ready to help when called to duty. This I believe should be the key character of a rational person. I trust honest effort based on commitment and dedication to achieve a set mission in life. Attaining life visions, I believe, is always a possibility when an individual hopes for the best. Kindness rewards. Coupled with patience, kindness is a virtue that is indispensable in the life of every individual. Everyone should embrace the urge to give back to as a way of being thankful. Whoever is not thankful, I believe, does not deserve help. I believe disrespect is a disappointment to good character. Character makes an individual and influences success, being a vital aspect of life. I believe in my exceptional character and morality. My integrity is perfect with a great attitude to strive and attain my best. No doubt, a strong character of kindness, hope, readiness to struggle, hope to attain life visions are esse ntial for

Industry analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Industry analysis - Essay Example The forces have profound impact on the industry and on the organization. The global economic recession will affect both the national economies and the organization. The consumers' disposable income will be reduced. The weak economy negatively affected software sales, increasing pressure on software firms' gross margins. This means that higher marketing and operational capabilities should be more important than R&D capabilities i.e. the ability to rapidly innovate. The technological environment consists of the skills and equipment used in design, production and distribution. R&D capabilities are thought to be particularly important in software industry. In this industry,being first to market is often essential to becoming the de facto standard. Given the rapid rate of change in the software industry, we would expect that firms having higher R&D capabilities would have a distinct advantage (Slaughter & Shanling & Shang, 2006). The demographic forces result from changes in the nature, composition and diversity of a population. More and more households use the Internet. The baby boomers age i.e. people that are over 54 are interested in using a computer.The education and entertainment software segment is growing very quickly (U.S. Department of Labor, 2006). On the business side, computer networks are pop... The trend in business customers is to have their data accessible, secure and private. On the other hand, the task environment includes immediate persons involved in producing, distributing and promoting the offering and therefore it includes internal and external factors that are influenced by the general environment. The task environment forces are suppliers, distributors, customers and competitors. The suppliers provide organization with inputs. The managers of the organization need to secure reliable input sources. The suppliers provide raw materials, components and even labor. In the case of the software industry the suppliers provide mainly components and service. It can be hard to work with suppliers' shortages and lack of substitutes. Suppliers who are in a good bargaining position are those that possess scarce items so they can raise the price. Managers' preference is to have many similar suppliers of each item. The distributors are organizations that help others to sell goods. Microsoft, which is a leader of the software industry, uses mainly wholesalers for selling its products to the SOHO market whereas Microsoft sells directly to the large customers. The distributors can threaten not to carry your product unless a strong brand name is established as it is in Microsoft's case whereas the actual power is in the hands of the producer. Customers are the people who buy the goods. For Microsoft, there are business, home and government buyers. The competitors are other organizations that produce similar goods. The most serious force facing managers is the rivalry between competitors. High levels of rivalry often means lower prices and profits become hard to find. Software industry is characterized by intense rivalry but due to the fact that the R&D

Macroeconomic Situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Macroeconomic Situation - Essay Example As a result there are lesser incentives for the manufacturers to increase the production and so reduced industrial production is anticipated. The consumer spending, on the other hand, has increased rapidly (especially for food items), despite the fact that the household incomes had been reduced in the last quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, the inventories for the consumer goods and business supplies have reduced considerably in contrast to the inventories of different materials and equipment. Further, the inflation rate was anticipated to increase recently because of the increase in the oil prices. However, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation has remained more or less the same as the previous year. (FRB, 2010) The overall GDP has risen 14204 billion dollars after an increase of 5.6% in the last quarter of 2009. At this rate of economic expansion the economy can easily recover within a few months. But that is not quite likely. Despite the fact that the economy has improved considerably since the last quarter of 2009, it is still important to consider the fact that the US economy has grown only 0.1% over the last one year. (Fedec, 2010) Since the percentage by which the output worsened in 2008 was 1.9%, a lot of economic growth is needed to cover up for the loss. Also it is pertinent that the government gives importance to the strong expansion of the economy. Out of the 5.6% of the increase in the GDP over the last few months, 3.9% has been due to the rebuilding of inventories. (Fedec, 2010) Once the inventories are created the production is likely to fall. As a result the overall output production may fall. Although the labor market has improved considerably, the unemployment rate still is the highest that has been recorded in the last 26 years. (Fedec, 2010) If nothing is done by the government in this regard the situation can worsen. The

Industry analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Industry analysis - Essay Example The forces have profound impact on the industry and on the organization. The global economic recession will affect both the national economies and the organization. The consumers' disposable income will be reduced. The weak economy negatively affected software sales, increasing pressure on software firms' gross margins. This means that higher marketing and operational capabilities should be more important than R&D capabilities i.e. the ability to rapidly innovate. The technological environment consists of the skills and equipment used in design, production and distribution. R&D capabilities are thought to be particularly important in software industry. In this industry,being first to market is often essential to becoming the de facto standard. Given the rapid rate of change in the software industry, we would expect that firms having higher R&D capabilities would have a distinct advantage (Slaughter & Shanling & Shang, 2006). The demographic forces result from changes in the nature, composition and diversity of a population. More and more households use the Internet. The baby boomers age i.e. people that are over 54 are interested in using a computer.The education and entertainment software segment is growing very quickly (U.S. Department of Labor, 2006). On the business side, computer networks are pop... The trend in business customers is to have their data accessible, secure and private. On the other hand, the task environment includes immediate persons involved in producing, distributing and promoting the offering and therefore it includes internal and external factors that are influenced by the general environment. The task environment forces are suppliers, distributors, customers and competitors. The suppliers provide organization with inputs. The managers of the organization need to secure reliable input sources. The suppliers provide raw materials, components and even labor. In the case of the software industry the suppliers provide mainly components and service. It can be hard to work with suppliers' shortages and lack of substitutes. Suppliers who are in a good bargaining position are those that possess scarce items so they can raise the price. Managers' preference is to have many similar suppliers of each item. The distributors are organizations that help others to sell goods. Microsoft, which is a leader of the software industry, uses mainly wholesalers for selling its products to the SOHO market whereas Microsoft sells directly to the large customers. The distributors can threaten not to carry your product unless a strong brand name is established as it is in Microsoft's case whereas the actual power is in the hands of the producer. Customers are the people who buy the goods. For Microsoft, there are business, home and government buyers. The competitors are other organizations that produce similar goods. The most serious force facing managers is the rivalry between competitors. High levels of rivalry often means lower prices and profits become hard to find. Software industry is characterized by intense rivalry but due to the fact that the R&D

Website copywriting Essay Example for Free

Website copywriting Essay Welcome!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Makati Educational Institute offers various programs that will prepare soon-to-be teachers to efficiently impart critical information to our future generation. We   prepare a person enrolled in our institute by developing his or her full potential. We employ a very modern, multi-dimensional and hands-on approach to education. We also ensure that our tranining and educational policies are at the forefront of the industry.   Moreover, we utilize the latest technology in our classrooms, departments and other facilities on campus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, we manage our students on a one on one basis. We make sure that our teacher to student ratio in our classrooms is kept at a bare minimum, about twenty students per teacher, so teachers can actively attend to each of their students needs and critically monitor each individuals progress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our programs and various teaching methods provide students with a competitive advantage by setting them apart from the rest of the pack. We ensure a professional and dynamic atmosphere along with the latest information and technology in whatever field our students are pursuing. We also guarantee that our faculty members and staff will only bring out the best in our students. They are also dedicated in honing students abilities to their fullest. That is why our institution can proudly say that we only deliver the best and most qualified teachers of the future.             History of the institute   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Established in 2005, the founders of the institute wanted to provide an accelerated program for working professionals or to those who want to get a degree in a matter of one to two years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our goal is to properly educate teachers that will be truly competent in their designated task   of effectively passing on knowledge to our future generation. Our institute is dedicated in making this possible by providing quality education and training to our students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our faculty started with a group of educators who have been working in the academic field for decades. They decided to start their own institute after having been employed in numerous public and private schools. They figured that it is time they actively contribute to the educational system and what better way to do this than to educate and train future teachers.   In a year, the institute has employed 40 full-time teachers as well as 20 part-time teachers. Each year, the faculty and number of students just keps on growing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our institutes meager beginnings started with just two dozen students walking the hallways of the two departments that occupy one building of our newly, furnished campus. After a year, enrollment in our institute has quadrupled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our graduates in the last three years consisted of over two hundred students. They were employed at least three months upon graduation. This is because our institute offers educators the necessary skills and training to effectively do their job. We have a training program wherein our students are authorized to teach and provide support in various public and private schools nationwide. We also partnered with several schools in order to conduct a job fair that we hold in our institute at least twice a year. We also provide job assistance to fresh graduates of our institute. Faculty   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our faculty consists of 150 qualified educators, working either on a full or part-time basis. They are all masteral and doctorate degree holders and experienced professionals in 16 different specialities. They operate and handle 6 departments in our institute namely Mathematics; Natural Sciences, Social Sciences; Foreign Languages which include Spanish, French, and German; Preschool Pedagogy and Pyschology; and Elementary Education. Each department has their own buidling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We also have a library, which holds about 350,000 academic journals and books. In addition, we are electronically subscribed to various online academic journals and magazines. We also have three modern computer laboratories to ensure that students have all the resources that they need to succeed in any of their chosen field of study. While our science laboratories contain advanced equipments to assist our students in furthering their knowledge regarding the subject matter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, we also offer free tutorial sessions to our students after class. Out of the 150 teachers on campus, 50 of them voluntarily tutor students on a regular basis. Most of these teachers have doctorate degrees in a wide-array of courses available in our institute.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, our after-school tutoring program is headed by five of our most dedicated and talented instructors. All of them have doctorate degrees in their chosen field of studies. Also, they all have impeccable records due to their accredited performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of our tutors and full-time staff member is Lisa Gonzales. She heads the foreign language department. Her specialty is in Spanish and French. She graduated as magna cum laude of her class. Lisa strongly believes that learning a foreign language is essential in our ever-growing society that is becoming more globalized over the years. With more Filipinos being employed overseas, it is crucial that students learn and become fluent in at least one foreign language to have an advantage over other job applicants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, Tesa Santos who heads our Math department, stresses the importance of developing better math skills. This is because Filipinos are lagging behind when it comes to this subject area. Thus, she simplifies concepts in order for her students to understand the general idea. She realizes that students need to constantly practice math skills that they have learned. Therefore, she usually engages them in numerous assignments and projects that are based on real life scenarios so that students can see the relevance of what they are learning. Her teaching strategies has proven to be effective because most of her students are currently employed at Mapua and Don Bosco schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, Mariel Garcia heads our elementary education department. Mariel firmly believes that the most important stage in the development and learning of children lies in their early years of education. This is because the desire to learn is at its peak. Therefore, educators should know how to handle young children effectively in order to bring out the best in them. Thus, her teaching method employs a more personal approach to learning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These are just some of our exceptional instructors. Students who have been taught by any one of these teachers know all too well that these teachers demonstrate a strong passion for what they do and skillfully challenge their students. As teachers, they exceed their students expectation. These teachers, along with the rest of our faculty, are all determined to make a difference in each of our students life. We are truly and genuinely interested in their future well-being and success. Thus, students at our institute becomes our main priority. This is because we are aware that without them, our institution will not exist.

Quality Assurance Of Teaching Education Essay

Quality Assurance Of Teaching Education Essay The divisions of rules that exist in the university curriculum-making authority are distributed as follows. Curriculum design is done by a team at the program-level in which courses design is in draft form. Then, as a draft of curriculum it should be approved by the department and faculty academic senate before it finally passed by the chancellor as formal curriculum for each program. This arrangement is suitable with the hierarchy of stakeholders of the institution within the university. It defines that the Faculty is organizing stakeholders and or academic activities in specific disciplines and can consist of one program or several program of study. Department is the organization of academic resources for the development of science, education and implementation of academic, professional and or profession, in part or one branch of science, technology, art and culture. The Program is the integrated study plan as guidance and academic education or profession conducted on the basis of a curriculum and aimed so that learners can master the knowledge, skills and attitudes in accordance with curriculum objectives. Based on this definition, the program is the stakeholder which takes main responsibility of curriculum design and evaluation. As will be elaborated below, the process of curriculum development involves many parties in which the program holds main duty that is initial design and determining course structure jointly with the department. Curriculum Design The formulation process of the curriculum at the program level is carried through several steps: (i) define the graduate profile, (ii) define their competences, (iii) map and translate the learning process that needed for achieving these competences in the course design, (iv) arrange the courses in suitable order and reasonable time study, (iv) synchronization of the course design with related programs. This duty is carried by the curriculum design team at the program level in which consist of: Head of the program Group of lecturers who represent each of specialization area Academic staff of the department Historically, the curriculum design has been evoluted following the rule set by directorate of higher education, Ministry of Education. It had involved three curriculums, namely curriculum 2007, curriculum 2009 and the current/undertaking revision: competence-based curriculum. Shortly, current undergoing  changes in  the curriculum  is a shift from  the target  mastery of science  and technology  into  the  emphasis on  the education process  that refers to the  context of culture  and  human  development  in a comprehensive,  global  /  universal. The target now is to produce  graduates who are  cultured  and able to  play a role  in the international world.  This is known  as a  competency-based  curriculum. The curriculum development is started by formulation of descriptive profile of the graduate. Referring to the current rule, as stated in the Chancellor decree No.897/SK/R/UI/2009 in article 2 about the objective of the program, it is stated: To generate economic undergraduate economics courses that have the ability and skills analysis of both micro and macro economics to meet the needs of analysis and research in government institutions, research institutes, banking and capital markets. According to this definition, the graduates are those who should master ability and skill as junior economist. In order to achieve this profile of competence, the entire representative of lecturers of each are/courses was involved to design the appropriate course structure. Internal course area meeting In this meeting each courses area design three important documents: GBPP(Garis-garis Besar Program Pengajaran), SAP(Satuan Acara Perkuliahan) and the syllabus. In the new term GBPP and SAP are recognized as BRP(Buku Rancangan Pengajaran) and BPKM(Buku Pedoman Kerja Mahasiswa). During the last revision this process have been conducted for . (isi tanggal rapat koordinasi internal tiap konsentrasi dan matakuliah wajib). Within the program, the area is a group of specialization in economics area. The following is the lists of area and lecturers responsible for each area. Monetary economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx International economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Industrial organization: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Public economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Human resource and labor economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Environmental and natural resource economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Regional economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Work meeting (Rapat Kerja) In order to create a good coherence and mapping of each course with the graduate profile, jointly work meeting were carried. For the last curriculum revision this meeting conducted on (Raker Bandung). The result of these process is summarized in the following tables. Table 1 Sequence of Courses of Economic Undergraduate Program (EUP) Based on Curriculum 2009 Table 1 Sequence of Courses of Economic Undergraduate Program (EUP) based on KBK The detail of the connection between each courses and competence aimed from each course is in the Appendix. Users Involvement In the curriculum development, jointly with the department, the program  also  involves users as the  important stakeholders. One of the example is during the develpment of 2009 curriculum, a focus group discussion with stakeholders were conducted on December 10, 2008. To accommodate the various type of organization of workplace for graduates, the meeting invited participants from Ministry of Finance and National Planning Agency who represented government institution, NC Sekuritas, Mandiri Sekuritas, Bahana TCW Investment MGT, Danareksa Persero, and PT Pefindo as private instituion representatives, participant from the Bank Indonesia (Central Bank), and LPEM FEUI and LD FEUI as research institution representative. From this session, there were valuable inputs as a based to revised the competence profile in order to be suitable with the users need. For example is the focus on the mastering quantitative software, loyalty, English proficiency and writing skills. As the result, wit hin the compulsory 144 unit of courses now students are required to participate more on the quantitative laboratory session, minimum of 15 unit English-based course, and the academic writing course. Students Involvement In addition, the students  involvement in the course development also considered as important as other stakeholders. Especially, the students are the main party of the curriculum implemetation. For this reason, the program also conducted several meeting with each of students bagde, e.g. meeting December 19, 2011. In this meeting there are some feebacks including the continuous improvement of writing skills which then be accomodated in the KBK curriculum design. The Curriculum Dissemination and Implementation After the curriculum is finalized as formal document of the university, the faculty has been disseminating the curriculum for all stakeholders, mainly it targets students and lecturers. This was done by two handbook: Buku Panduan Akademik and Buku Katalog Mata Ajar. In addition, the program also uses program website to inform lecturer and students about the curriculum. Figure 1 The Website Course and curriculum evaluation The role of UPMA and BPMA Specifically, the university manage teaching and learning process by the role of quality assurance body BPMA(Badan Penjaminan Mutu Akademik) at university level and UPMA(Unit Penjamin Mutu Akademik) at faculty level. Curriculum implementation then will be monitored and audited by these units. The cycle of curriculum monitoring started by formulation of quality standard then followed by monitoring, internal evaluation and finally the development and enhancement of the curriculum. In addition to the role of internal evaluation, the implementation of the curriculum is also influenced by external evaluation such as national accreditation (BAN PT) and AUN itself. Figure 2 Cycle of Curriculum Quality Assurance In Handbook of Quality Standard published by university, within the quality standard, it is stated that the curriculum component should meet the criteria of: mention explicitly the graduates competence, list of learning materials, appropriate grouping of courses, has three main documents of BRP, BPKM and syllabus, and exhibit well connection between courses to meet the required competence as the learning objectives. In addition to this indicator it also should show indicator of the availability of course reference in the library, delivery method, time study allowed and the spread of workload and student evaluation system. The cycle is summarized in the following figure. detail of audit process Once the audit by quality assurance bodies was carried, and at the same time it is the period of curriculum evaluation, the faculty will appoint a team to review and develop new curriculum. Historically we have two consecutive revision, in 2007 and 2009. detail of the 2007 and 2009 revision KPTS/449/D/2006: Prosedur Pengembangan dan Perubahan Kurikulum KPTS/29/D/2008: Pembentukan Panitia Pengembangan Kurikulum FEUI Student evaluation The monitoring from student point of view to academic progress is carried over following processes: EDOM EDOM(Evaluasi Dosen oleh Mahasiswa) is one of the formal intrument to monitor teaching process within university. This system is implemented based on the Chancellor decree number (isi SK rektor tentang EDOM). While the name of the system suggests that the evaluation is mainly on the performance of the lecturers, the evaluation components are not limited to individual lecturers evaluation but also teaching and learning in various aspects. Evaluation aspects in EDOM includes: Course content delivery of course by the lecturer Class management Course assessment Course content: evaluating the availability of course syllabus, information of references, textbooks and other leaning resources, as well as relevance of assignments with the course objectives. Delivery of course by the lecturer: evaluating the delivery methods (including the implementation of active learning methods, discussion methods), relevance of course materials with the syllabus, consistency among lectures within teaching team, encouragement by the lecturer Class management: evaluating the punctuality of sessions, learning atmosphere, the use of supporting facilities, lecturers attitudes towards feedback and support for students with problems. Course assessment: evaluating the relevance of examination and assignment with the course contents, feedback and discussion on the results of assignments and examination. Analysis based on EDOM Pros: ? Cons: it is not completely reflect student opinion rather than obligatory fill in to see their course grade Academic Councelling (Bimbingan akademik) In addition to feedback from EDOM, the program evaluates the curriculum based on the feedback from students during the consultation with the academic supervisor. This is a non-structured feedback from student that ocasionally gives valuable input, epecially related to course assesment and course management. Evidence

life of US soldier :: essays research papers

The quality of life of the single soldiers in the Army is at an all time high. Never before has there been such an effort to increase the quality of life as we have had in the last few years. From 1998-1999 the army spent nearly $600 million in new barracks construction or renovations to older barracks, building 30,000 1 + 1 spaces for junior enlisted. The command here at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has also tried to keep the permanent party soldiers in a 1 + 1 style of living even though current events have forced some changes. Today we are finding fewer places that still have 4 per room or a common latrine for the floor. We have kitchens, laundry rooms with easy access, and a decent day room. And while they are not always up to a standard we expect, it’s only because the soldiers that use them fail to keep them clean or take care of the equipment in them. Unfortunately despite all the changes to recent policies and the continuing improvement in the barracks there are still several areas that I would like to see improved. In terms of our living areas the main issue is privacy and morale. The command does not abuse the use of inspections because they are a necessity, but they do not consider the fact that some jobs in the hospital operate on a 24 hour basis. For example while working night shift you may wish to sleep from 1000 till 1600. Since there are shift workers who are home during the day, or people who come home for their lunch break you are forced to deal with loud music or yelling outside, not to mention traffic. But worse then that, if there is a room inspection or furniture check, you also have to deal with people walking into your room, usually around 1100-1400. It’s obvious where the problem is with shift workers. This could be easily fixed by starting earlier such as at 0830-0900 or even just starting at 1000 while going to the night shift personnel’s rooms first. This would eliminate being disturbed during sleep time and still show that the command cares about the welfare and morale of its soldiers. When considering the quality of life of single soldiers, you must also look at programs offered to them. This area we also find to be lacking.

Variety of Love Relationships in Shakespeares As You Like It Essay

The Variety of Love Relationships in Shakespeare's As You Like It  Ã‚   One of the main concerns of man throughout the centuries has probably been to define the concept of love and to understand the complexities that govern love relationships among people. William Shakespeare seems to have been fully aware of the need and interest in love, since his work transcends time and place. Love is the central concern in As You Like It. This comedy presents different attitudes towards love, which may be derived from the conversations among its characters and from the romantic attachments portrayed in it. By comparing the different love relations in the play, one may further appreciate important facts about the concept of love. Moreover, love is also depicted as the force that rules over all kinds of human ties other than the romantic ones, namely familial bonds and friendship. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of love portrayed in As You Like It, and to explore the different varieties of love relationships among its characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A reading of As You Like It may lead us to an understanding of the concept of love as embodying different ideas, which might be observed through the characters of the play. These ideas, love's wealth, love's truth, and love's order, are expressed in the characters' perceptions of love and in the way they relate to one another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the interpretations attributed to the concept of love in this comedy, and often portrayed in Shakespeare's plays, is that of love as a kind of richness, as a commercial enterprise in which men and women trade. Under this light, the bond beaten lovers gains a mercantilistic value and may thus be regarded as a kind of contract... ...portrayed in Shakespeare's   As You Like It, and   to examine the love relationships in it. Through a careful observation of the characters' perceptions about love, and of the way they engage in love relationships, we may conclude that the concept of love may be attributed different meanings, depending on individual and personal beliefs. Our conclusion may be derived from the various types of comic relations: familial, sexual, romantic, and friendship. Works Cited and Consulted Howard, Jean E., "Intoduction to As You Like It." The Norton Shakespeare Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et.al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 1997. Sparknotes. As You Like It, by William Shakespeare. 8 Nov. 2004 http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/asyoulikeit/

How does Hill present childish behaviour in I’m the King of the Castle? Essay

Hill presents childish behaviour through the use of dialogue, description and structure. She highlights that childish behaviour is a characteristic of adults, as well as the children. There are numerous examples of childish behaviour throughout the novel, for example when Hooper and Kingshaw fight over a toy, or when Hooper soils himself. One way in which Hill presents childish behaviour is after an incident where Hooper and Kingshaw are fighting over a toy fort: during that fracas Kingshaw chants â€Å"It’s mine, it’s mine!†, Hills use of dialogue is interesting here because the use of a tri colon not only emphasises the intensity of Kingshaw’s emotional reaction, (furthered by the fact he is fighting over a toy) but also echoes that chant like whines of small children. The importance of this line is signalled through the use of italics, which suggests that there is a degree of stress on Kingshaw whilst he speaks, again like a child. Another way that Hill explores childishness in the novel is through her description of Hooper soiling himself: Hill describes a â€Å"dark damp stain† of pee in the groin of Hooper’s jeans†. Hills use of the word â€Å"stain† portrays an image of dirt and even disease to the reader, the reader is hence disgusted. Furthermore the reader can perceive the word â€Å"pee† to relate towards a lack of control, like a child. What is interesting to note is that the word â€Å"pee† is highlighted before the more scientific word â€Å"groin†, this highlights Kingshaw’s childish nature. This quote fits in the context of this novel because it is based upon power struggles between two children; Hill exposes the fact that although Hooper is initially presented as a powerful figure, he is still a child. Finally Hill not only presents the children in I’m the King of the Castle as childish, but also presents the adults as childish. It can be argued that when Mrs Helena Kingshaw â€Å"felt a little ashamed of not wanting to take Charles with her†- she is behaving in a childish manner. Hill uses the words â€Å"not wanting† to portray Mrs Kingshaw as a selfish individual, oblivious of her sons’ needs; this is arguably a childish quality. Hill’s use of juxtaposition highlights the phrase â€Å"not wanting†, her selfish qualities prioritise over that of her own son: this is especially self, and comparable to little children. Mrs Kingshaw also displays a lack of empathy, as shown in the previous quote: young children also have a lack of empathy until they grow older, and hence this quality is a childish quality. In conclusion Hill presents childishness or immaturity in the novel through her use of dialogue, description and structure. Hill emphasises childish behaviour that is associated between Hooper and Kingshaw, but also points out the adults are equally susceptible to such behaviour. Perhaps she is criticising parenting styles to show the reader the negative impact it can have on children. Her use of parallel structure is also ironic as it suggests that such negative qualities are passed on through generations. However, the parallel structure can also be reparative and predictable at times.

Dell Computer

PREFACE We are living in the era of information. The 21st century has come with more than ever powerful working tools: the computer, the Internet, and Information technology. The computer has been playing an increasingly important role in the daily lives of people, families, organizations and businesses. With their huge computing and processing power, computers have boosted up productivity, increased accuracy, saved time, and become essential equipments for almost every business today.Windows 7 Check Your UnderstandingTogether with the widely application of the Internet and Information technology, the computer has become even more powerful tool which improves every aspect of people’ lives. Owning to its power and functionalities, the demand for computer has increased continuously over years, pushing the PC (personal computer) industry become one of the most competitive and dynamic. Within 6 years from 2006 to 2010, the worldwide PC sales almost doubled and stay at more than 30 0 million units in 2010.Large computer companies today spend billions of dollars annually on innovating new technology, developing new products in order to gain the top position on the market. Besides, due to the fast pace of changing, as a feature of the industry, computer firms have to adjust their overall strategies continuously to stay strong. Dell Inc. is one typical example of successful computer enterprise by using appropriate strategies toward technology innovation and operation.With innovation based on standardization, direct sales model, and the support of modern and fast information technology system, Dell keeps in hand key comparative advantages to win the first position in the market for many years. Until now, Dell still remains as the toughest competitor for any PC maker. Being attracted by the eventful computer industry and efficient operation of Dell Inc. , the writer decides to choose the PC industry as the theme and Dell Computer is in the centre for this working p aper. Within the limited volume of this thesis, the writer will go through three parts:The first part introduces briefly about the computer industry, technology development, strategies of enterprises regarding technology innovation and development as well as some short stories of leading companies. The second part talks about Dell Inc. , including its history of development, its strategies of technology innovation and operation, and its global expansion. This part will analyze how the combination of creative technology development policies and business model help this firm becomes one of the leading computer makers in the world.The third part will be about technology development in Vietnam in globalization scenario, Vietnamese technology enterprises and some lessons withdrawn from Dell Computer’s success and failure for them. Due to the limited time and knowledge of the writer, this paper inevitably contains some limitations and shortcomings. Therefore, the writer would like to receive every feedback or comment from teachers and people who interested in this topic to improve the quality of the thesis.Chapter 1: OVERVIEW OF TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF COMPUTER ENTERPRISES IN GLOBALIZATION 1. 1. Overview of technology development in computer industry in the world: The personal computer (PC) industry is one of the strangest and most dynamic in the world. Probably there is no other kind of product that is so technologically sophisticated, changed so rapidly, sells for so much money, and is sold by so many companies for not much profit. The fierce competition in this industry is the reason why so many problems are encountered by those who deal with PC vendors.Since PC could be assembled from standardized components without much expertise required and the barriers to entry are not as tough as in the past, new computer business is established on a frequent basis. As a result, there are thousands of companies making PCs that perform similar functions pushing the market to be extremely price-competitive. Since the market is so competitive, vendors often sell at very low margins. Computers are not the same as many other products, where the company selling the device is making upwards of 50% of the price of the product as gross profit. For PCs it is often around 10%.Additionally, there is probably no other industry that has prices change as dramatically and frequently as the PC industry. Usually, prices are decreasing. This is good for the consumer but very bad for vendors, because it means that their already low margins get squeezed if prices drop between the time that they buy a product and the time they sell it. Drop in the price of PC comes from both severe competition and rapid changes in technology. As a consequence, PC makers often prefer to keep low inventories. Whenever prices fall, the vendors potentially lose money on every component in inventory at the time.Due to the rapid frequency of changes in technology, functiona lities and capacity of computers are improved continuously, broadening PC’s definition over time. In the dawn of PC industry, a computer was a bulky device, furnished with some simple functions and small volume, but extremely costly. Today, people could possess small handheld devices which are integrated with processing power and functions tens times better than huge mainframes decades ago. The PC industry has a strong connection with the software industry and the application of the Internet.These two peripheral industries have accelerated the speed of technology innovation even faster. In years recent, a computer device has evolved into a centre for all the digital peripheral such as music players, digital cameras, video recorders, internet TV, etc. With the technology evolution, computers have become the ever powerful tools that are essential for any success business and modern families; and the PC industry become one of the most strategic industries in the world in the 21s t century. 1. 1. 1. Velocity of development and innovation:The personal computer industry has grown from a hobbyist industry in the 1970s to a highly profitable industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. Driven by consumer demand to access the Internet and the advancements of microprocessor technologies, the demand for PCs for personal and business use has climbed continuously in the early 21st century The PC industry is one among the fastest growing industries in the world. According to a research carried out by Etforcasts, the annual worldwide PC sales has a trend to double every six years. By 2000, the PC sales was 132 million; and almost doubled in 2006.The velocity of increase in this industry is at a staggering rate of around 9% annually compounded. (Table 1) Table 1: Worldwide PC Sales Unit: 1 million PCs |Year |1990 |1995 |2000 |2005 |2010 | |Worldwide PC Sales |24 |58 |132 |207 |325 | (Source: etforecasts) Another noticeable index is the number of PC in use. In 2000, there were more than 500 million units in-use and the figure in 2010 is over 1400 million units almost three times higher. Table 2) Table 2: Worldwide PC in use Unit: 1 million PCs |Year |1990 |1995 |2000 |2005 |2010 | |Worldwide PC in use |100 |225 |529 |910 |1,425 | (Source: Etforecasts) The figure above shows that the computer industry has a huge growth potential. These growth potentials are fostered by the upgrading of obsolete machines, newly established business around the world, new generation or innovation of computer devices integrated with digital functions.Yearly PC sales for the U. S. and the main regions of the world are summarized in the next figure. North America will remain the largest region through 2007. All figures are in millions of units. Figure 1: Annual PC Sales of the main regions of the world [pic] (Source Etforecasts) In 2003, the number of PCs sold in the US was roughly about 30% of the total worldwide sales. This data indicates that the remaining 70% of the PC sales happened outside the US. This shows that there are many opportunities yet to be discovered by firms around the world.According to etForcast , Asia will be the region with the fastest growth in computing devices. This trend is confirmed by the rapid urbanization and modernization of China in recent years, and expected to continue to grow in the next decade. Therefore, it is logical to move the PC manufacturers in the US into the global arena. PC revenue was growing slower than unit growth due to considerable price declines and saw a pause the last two years due to lower unit sales growth than price declines. The worldwide PC revenues were $251B in 2000, which increased to over $333B in 2007. Worldwide PC revenue declined to $320B in 2010.According to experts of Etforecasts, worldwide PC revenue has a trend to grow again in the next five years to around $400B in 2015, which is due to the unit growth boost from the iPad and competing products. To get a clearer pict ure of the potential of IT industry, have a look at the following figure about computer and peripherals industry in the period from 1999 to 2004. This computer and peripherals industry include products which are computer-based and inter-connected to computers. These products are indicators of how well the entire industry is doing in terms of new innovations and future development.Figure 2: Computer and Peripherals Industry 1999 – 2004 Unit: billion Dollars [pic] This figure is a good indicator of the huge potentials in the IT industry. Although the industry had a minor setback in 2001, the net profit and sales remains high for 2004. As mentioned above, IT industry has become a center for computer and peripheral devices. There will be a greater demand in networking because computers are more connected to each other. Wireless technology will continue to grow in range and speed for more and more information need to transmit between computers and across networks. . 1. 2. Overall impact to the development of economies in the world The 21st century comes with more than ever powerful tools which based on the widely use of computers and the Internet. The popularity of PCs is phenomenal because it has revolutionized the way people communicate, how information is stored, and people’s ability to access knowledge at their fingertips. Besides, PCs have become necessities in the corporate world simply because business processes involve heavy use of computers and Internet.In fact, the percentage of population with computer connected to the worldwide network has become one of the key indicators for the level of modernization and human power of economies in the world. Following is the figure for some typical countries: Table 3: Internet users per 100 people |Country |2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 | |US |75. 2 |74. 1 |78. 2 |79. 3 | |Japan |73. |74. 7 |77. 4 |79. 4 | |Germany |75. 4 |78. 3 |79. 7 |82. 5 | |Australia |69. 6 |71. 7 |74. 1 |75. 8 | |China |16. 0 |22. 7 |29. 0 |34. 4 | |Singapore |67. 9 |68. 0 |68. |70. 1 | |Vietnam |20. 9 |24. 2 |26. 8 |27. 8 | (Source: World Bank estimates – World Development Indicators) There are two things that can be easily seen from the above table. First, the advanced economies often have high percentage of population with computer connected to the Internet. Developed countries such as US or Germany have a very high rate, almost four-fifth of the population; meanwhile, developing countries like China or Vietnam stay at much more humble levels.This means that internet connection is one of the indicators for the power and modernization of the economies. Second, the percentage in general has the trend to increase continuously over time which denotes the increased demand for computers and Internet using. People’s job will more and more related to the application of computer and Internet’s functions. Information technology has shifted the paradigm of economies. In a macroeconomic sense, informati on technology affects the patterns of production, investment and employment.Production structure: as the information technology evolves, the world is now in paradigm shift from the industrial age to the information age. As a result, there is a growing demand in the service fields that require expert knowledge and information. Thanks to information technology, existing service industries such as banking and distribution are enhancing efficiency and expanding their business areas. New industries on the basis of information technology such as software industry and information processing service are rapidly growing.The following table is about information and communication technology goods exports include telecommunications, audio and video, computer and related equipment; electronic components; and other information and communication technology goods of some countries. The number is taken as percentage over the total goods exports. Table 4: ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports) |CountryYear |2007 |2008 |2009 | |US |14. 2 |12. |13. 0 | |Japan |15. 7 |14. 3 |14. 7 | |Germany |7. 9 |6. 9 |6. 8 | |Australia |1. 8 |1. 5 |1. 4 | |China |29. 1 |27. 5 |29. | |Singapore |36. 2 |35. 9 |35. 4 | |Malaysia |41. 6 |26. 2 |38. 1 | (Source: United Nations Statistics Division's Commodity Trade) The table shows clearly that ICT products is an important part in the production structure of countries, especially Asian developing countries since the percentage is very high (times higher than developed economies).This can be explained as the trend of outsourcing in big technology firms of developed countries to take advantage of cheap labor force and market potential in Asia-Pacific area. Investment structure: as information technology changes the aspects of competition, investment is made more in the area of information and communications that promotes productivity and efficiency of knowledge-based products. As the demand for high technology goods has increased continuously, th e IT industry becomes a highly profitable but competitive industry.Severe competition in home countries forces computer firms to expand globally, finding new market for their growth. In addition, the pressure of price-competition requires them to find ways to cut cost. As a result, large multi-national technology tend to invest in potential markets such as countries in the Asia-Pacific area or India, changing dramatically the investment structure of both home countries and investment receiving countries. According to OECD Factbook 2010 regarding to investment structure of the world, ICT shares in total non-residential investment doubled, and in some cases, even quadrupled between 1980 and 2000.In 2008, ICT shares were particularly high (at 24% or more of the total) in countries like the United States, Sweden and Denmark, etc. Software has been the fastest growing component of ICT investment. In many countries, its share in non-residential investment multiplied several times between 1980 and 2008. In 2008, software's share in total investment was highest in Sweden, the United States, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom. In the recent years, software accounted for 50% or more of total ICT investment in France, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Korea, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Netherlands.Communication equipment was the major component of ICT investment in Portugal and Greece. IT equipment was the major component in Belgium and Ireland. Changes in employment structure: In advanced economies, the number of workers in manufacturing sector is drastically reduced by shrinking share of its production. But employment in information and knowledge-intensive service sector is increasing with automation and investment in information technology. In the occupational categories, there are more demands for experts with creativity and information technology.Meanwhile, for developing countries, a large number of people move from the agricu lture sector into manufacturing due to the trend of outsourcing of big technology firms in the world. Investment in infrastructure of high technology firm in developing countries to take advantage of the cheap manufacturing factors has created jobs for millions of employment in the local areas. In a microeconomic sense, information technology changes business activities. It is important today that how much information a company have and how much of them could be converted into useful knowledge.The global modern economy has proved that knowledge itself, not a physical good, is a valuable product. In other words, owning to advanced information technology, knowledge-based workers, who create and utilize information, play a key role in economic activities and knowledge creating organizations like research institutes and universities will find their increased roles as a place for economic activities. Changes take place in every part of the business from the communication system to develo pment of goods and technology, procurement, production, sales, distribution, and after sales services.Enterprises depend heavily on rapid development of diverse goods and technology in order to satisfy customers. Time to market is also getting an important position in today economic environment. Modern communication methods such as email or fax have been widely used in companies since they accelerate the whole business process and save a lot of time. Meanwhile, enterprises have a trend to change production system from mass production under economy of scale into production on demand thanks to the application of E-commerce and advanced communication tools.Keeping a smooth flow of information both internally and externally has become one of the key comparative advantages of companies in technology field. It helps companies save time and keep them updated constantly with information about the real demand of the market. That is the basis for their customization to truly meet the need of theirs customers. In short, the informatics era come with the technology evolution has restructured and speed up people’s lives, business operation, and the whole economic scenario of every countries in the world. The technology power of countries in the 21st century comes with the economic and politic power.Information, communication and computer-related industry have become the strategic focus of development in almost a large number of countries and regions around the world. National policies to promote technology development and innovation: When talking about the countries growing fast and increasing their power with technological means today, people often mention the role of information technology, the widespread use of computers and the Internet. Information technology sector has proven itself to be the most strategic power in the development of national economies due to its productivity, speed, and versatility.As a consequence, countries in the world have set up and cha nged their own policies and strategies to develop their technology power on a continuous basis. On of the main indicator regarding to the policies for technology development and innovation of countries is how much they spend on research and development activities (R&D). The following table shows a brief comparison of this expense in some typical countries in the world. For even a clearer look, the second column takes this expense as percentage over the GDP of those countries. Table 5: Domestic expenditures on R&D by country 2009-2010 (most recent year available) Country |R&D expense (million current ppp) |R&D expense/GDP (%) | |US 2009 |401 576. 00 |2. 90 | |Japan 2009 |137 314. 21 |3. 36 | |Germany 2010 |86 209. 64 |2. 82 | |France 2010 |49 990. 76 |2. 6 | |South Korea 2010 |53 184. 86 |3. 74 | |United Kingdom 2010 |39 137. 82 |1. 77 | |Canada 2010 |23 970. 09 |1. 80 | |Italy 2010 |24 269. 15 |1. 26 | |China 2009 |154 147. 6 |1. 70 | |Singapore 2009 |5 733. 23 |2. 27 | |South Afric a 2008 |4 708. 22 |0. 93 | (Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators) In general view from the above table, developed countries often have a higher rate of R&D expense over their GDP, more or less of 3%. This is relevant with the result of strong technology power and potential in these countries.Meanwhile, developing countries such as China has also spent a substantial amount to develop its technology power to catch up with developed economies in the world. In deed, the location of R&D investment has a trend to move toward new emerging economies such as India or China. This is considered as the direct consequence of outsourcing activities of many large technology firms in the world in the process of global expanding and cost cutting. According to an estimation of European Commission, between 13 years from 1995 to 2008 the world’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) almost doubled in real terms.Over this period real GERD increased by about 50 % in the EU, 60 % in the United States, 75 % in developed Asian economies, 855 % in China, 145 % in BRIS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, South-Africa) and almost 100 % in the rest of the world. As a result, less than 24 % of R&D expenditure in the world was located in the EU in 2008, compared to almost 29 % in 1995. The share of the United States and Japan also decreased substantially from almost 38 % to 33 % in the United States and from 16 % to 13 % in Japan.Moreover, this global trend has been accelerating since 2004, which marked the beginning of a steeper increase in R&D expenditure in China and developed Asian economies. Figure 3: Changes of World GERD in real terms [pic] (Source: DG Research and Innovation Data: Eurostat, OECD, UNESCO Notes: BRIS: Brazil+Russian+India+Singapore) This evolution is expected since rapid economic growth in China and a number of other countries in the world allows for rapid increases in R&D expenditures in these countries. Also, high growth rates are more easily reached when the initial level is relatively low.In that context, the share of the EU and other advanced economies is bound to shrink and the figure below quantifies this shrinkage. This re-balancing in knowledge production has important consequences for the EU in terms of international scientific and technological cooperation and knowledge flows in the world. In the 2002 Lisbon Strategy, the EU set the objective of devoting 3 % of its GDP to R&D activities by 2010. In 2005, with the re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy, Member States set their own national R&D intensity targets to be met in 2010.In the Europe 2020 Strategy adopted in 2010, the EU maintained the 3 % objective for 2020 and in the following months, Member States adopted their 2020 national R&D intensity targets. Despite a 25 % real-terms increase in research expenditure over the period 2000–2008, R&D intensity in the EU has stagnated at around 1. 85 % of GDP between 2000 and 2007 with a slight increase in 2008 and 2009 to 2. 01 % of GDP (Figure I. 1. 2). This late increase in R&D intensity is, however, due to a more rapid decrease in GDP than in R&D expenditure.In the United States, after a continuous decline during the first half of the decade, R&D intensity started to increase from 2005 to 2. 77 % of GDP in 2008, slightly above its 2000 value (2. 69 % of GDP). This quasi-stagnation of R&D intensity in the EU and the United States contrasts with the strong increases observed in Japan, South Korea and China during this period, up to 3. 44 %, 3. 37 % and 1. 54 % of GDP respectively. Part of the very high R&D intensity growth observed in China is due to its low initial position. It is to be noted that this increase slowed down in 2007–2008 in Japan.Of the largest contributors to R&D expenditure in the EU, France and the United Kingdom have followed a similar path to the EU average, while Germany is closer to the US level. 1. 2. Development strategy of technology enterprises: Although th e market for computer is huge and profitable, the competition is truly fierce between leading providers including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sony, Toshiba, Acer and Apple. As the demands for computer and computer-related products are getting higher day by day, there is also a pressure for PC vendors to drive the price down to compete with others.It is often down to the level where profits are questionable; as mention in the previous sector, around 10% of price margin. Meanwhile, PC vendors also have to cope with rapid product cycle because high technology is changing so quickly. As the result, IT enterprises have to keep their costs down and try to maximize their market share. The use of information systems to gain competitive advantage becomes very attractive to the companies in this industry. Each firm follows their own strategy of technology innovation and doing business. Dell: The innovative Direct-Sales Business Model eliminates the need for a retail chain.The ability to custo mize PC on an individual customer basis is one of the main comparative advantages of this vendor. Dell’s PCs are built and upgraded based on standardized components of collaborative partners. Hewlett-Packard: It merged with Compaq Computer to compete against Dell. This computer giant still relies on the more traditional retailer channel business model. HP also offers variety of computer products such as printers, scanners, and digital cameras. IBM: Traditionally IBM is in the mainframe and large scale computing market. It holds the most patents in the world as an attempt to stay ahead in the competition.The PCs from IBM are gear towards corporate and business use. Lenovo: Lenovo is the world's second largest PC maker after its 2005 acquisition of IBM's personal computer business. . Lenovo markets its products directly to consumers, small to medium size businesses, and large enterprises, as well as through online sales, company-owned stores, chain retailers, and major technolo gy distributors and vendors. Sony: a Japanese consumer electronic giant becomes a computer maker. Their computers gear toward the consumer market and offer tools for video editing.It is aiming towards the overall design and appearance of the computer. The main Laptop line of Sony is Vaio which tend to concentrate on the high end market. Toshiba: a Japanese diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services. In PC venture, Toshiba focuses on portable computers. Their computers offer a balanced between price and performance. Acer: Taiwan PC maker which has been staying in top 5 PC vendors regarding the market share in recent years after its acquisition of US-based competitor Gateway.In the early 2000s, Acer changed it business strategy a manufacturer to a designer, marketer and distributor of products, while performing production processes via contract manufacturers. Acer’s prod ucts are competitive both in the quality and the price. Apple: Last major PC maker that is not using Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Apple has moved from competing directly with the Wintel market to a more leisure computer market. Their computers focus on design and user-friendliness. The customers for Apple are personal users, educational institutions, and graphics design firms.The following table is about global market share of leading vendors in recent years: Table 6: Global PC Market Share 2008 – 2011 |Rank |2008 |2009 |2010 |2011 | |1 |HP |18. 4 |HP | Customers |Individuals |Corporate |Education |Government | Markets US |Europe |Asia |Latin America | Manufacturing strategy |Customized |Fixed features | Sales and distribution |Direct Sales |Retain Chains | Company’s structure |Alliances |Independent |Any enterprise in the computer industry has to choose at least one primary and perhaps some combinations of the supplementary strategies. The two primary strategies are low cost and product differentiation, and the supplementary strategies include innovation, grow, and alliance. In order to implement the low cost strategy as the primary strategy, the firms have to notice a few important points. In the least-cost competition there is only one winner, and this is to say there is only one company that can achieve the least cost in the production. Low cost strategy emphasizes on ways to cut cost as low as possible.For example, the most popular way is based on economies of scale which means the firms have to sell a lot of the same products to sustain the extremely low profit margin on each item. Other ways include the policies to keep low inventory, direct sales to cut the cost of middleman. Generally, the firms need to use information systems to exploit cost reductions and form strong business alliances with suppliers and other logistics providers. Dell Inc. is the best example of companies successful in applying this strategy. The direc t sales model and the ability to maintain almost-zero inventories have ontributed greatly in the forming of extremely competitive price of its products. On the other hand, the differentiation strategy focuses on separating the product from the industry standard. This is a strategy that focuses on unique products that exceed the industry average in terms of performance and design. The product must be highly customizable so it caters to individuals rather than having a generic form. Firms using differentiation as a strategy need to constantly make adjustments to the product because of the competitor’s imitation.As an illustration, Apple’s primary strategy is in product differentiation. It tries very hard to differentiate itself from the rest of the PC manufacturers through better design and performance. Through Apple’s own brand image, it tries to convince the customers that its computers are superior to other competitors. The PC industry offers a wide range of pr oducts. Desktops and laptops are computers that target at home customers. For business, government, and educational customers, they will find the tablets and servers both very attractive to fit their needs. In the 21st century, the PC industry is truly global.Computers can be shipped to different places around the world with the minimal modifications. The computer itself is the same for all countries; however, the documents and manuals that come with the computer will have to be localized to the specific countries. Besides a clear primary strategy, a good combination of the supporting strategies is also important. Innovative use of information systems in Supply Chain Management will enable the firm to cut costs to support the primary strategy. Total Quality Management allows a company to provide and sustain a good customer service time after time.Strong Alliances are formed to foster a closer relationship with the suppliers and logistics providers. Alliances can also drive the costs down and increase the profit margin on each product. The options for strategy are limitless. The goal for all firms is to make a well-balanced choice – a choice that will ensure the competitive edge of the firm in the industry. Failure in doing so will result in loss of market share and perhaps the end of the business opportunity for the firm. 1. 3. Development strategies of some MNCs in the world and achievements: 1. 3. 1. Globalization of the Personal Computer industry:Table 7: Share of global PC production by region | |1985 |1990 |1995 |2000 | |Americas |53% |32% |32% |34% | |EMEA |24% |27% |20% |19% | |Asia-Pacific |23% |41% |48% |47% | Source: Reed Electronics Research, Yearbook of World Electronics Data Note: EMEA: Europe – Middle East – Africa) The computer industry has long been one of the most global of industries. The Asia-Pacific production network was concentrated in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Taiwan. In Singapore, many U. S. and oth er MNCs set up production of computer hardware, especially disk drives. In Taiwan, entrepreneurial local companies found opportunities supplying the major PC makers, beginning with simple parts and moving up to more sophisticated components, and assembly of PCs and peripherals.Over time, labor-intensive activities were relocated to low-wage locations such as Thailand, Malaysia and China, with Singapore and Taiwan coordinating production in these sites and handling more sophisticated manufacturing processes at home. Japan and Korea were less successful as global PC producers, but were the major suppliers of high volume components such as memory chips and flat-panel displays. As early as 1988, the Asia-Pacific region had surpassed the Americas as the largest producer of computer hardware, even though the largest market was in the Americas and most leading PC vendors were U. S. companies.Asia-Pacific gained production at the expense of both the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa (E MEA) until 1990; since then it has grown relative to EMEA while the Americas’ share of production has remained stable. In absolute terms, production has continued to grow in all regions. In Europe, production was concentrated in Germany, the UK, France and Italy during the 1980s. Each of these countries had a â€Å"national champion† computer vendor that had been nurtured through government procurement and other policy measures. However, none of the national champions made a successful transition from mainframes to personal computers.As a result, production stagnated in the mid 1990s in all of the countries except the UK, which attracted IBM and Compaq to locate PC production in emerging industry clusters in Scotland and Wales. In the Asia-Pacific region, production was dominated in the 1980s by Japan, which nearly tripled production between 1985 and 1990 to surpass the U. S. as the world leader. During this time, Singapore and Taiwan also saw rapid growth, followed by Korea. In the early 1990s, Japan continued to see solid growth in production, while Singapore and Taiwan each tripled their production to become the third and fourth largest producers in the world.In the late 1990s, however, Japan’s production declined precipitously, and Singapore and Taiwan saw much lower growth rates. The fastest growth was now occurring in the less developed ASEAN countries of Malaysia and Thailand, and most dramatically in China, which has leaped to number four in world production. This shift to developing countries was driven by investments by U. S, Japanese and Taiwanese firms looking for lower cost production sites and, in the case of China, looking for market access as well. 1. 3. 2. Strategies of some leading PC makers in the world and achievements: Hewlett-Packard (HP):HP is a PC vendor that operates in more than 170 countries all over the world. HP was founded in 1939. Corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, California. In recent years, HP has re mained as the largest IT company in the world, with revenue totaling $127. 2 billion for fiscal year 2011. In 2011HP stayed at number 11 in Fortune 500 ranking. In 2002, HP and Compaq have merged together to gain the market competing with the main competitor Dell. These steps in the strategy of HP has boosted the market share of this PC enterprise become much larger than Dell and help the company stay at the first place in the world for years.Probably no other company offers as complete a technology product portfolio as HP. The company provides infrastructure and business offerings that span from handheld devices to some of the world's most powerful supercomputer installations. HP offers to consumers a wide range of products and services from digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This PC vendor divides its products into three groups to meet the need of each market segmentation, including: The Personal Systems Group: business and consumer PCs, mobile computing de vices and workstations.The Imaging and Printing Group: inkjet, laser-jet and commercial printing, printing supplies Enterprise Business: business products including storage and servers, enterprise services, software and networking In order to innovating its technology constantly, at the moment HP scientists are focused on 24 large-scale projects that fall under eight high-impact research areas: printing and content delivery; mobile and immersive experiences; cloud and security; information analytics; intelligent infrastructure; networking; services; and sustainability.However, in recent years, HP has shifted from creating entirely new technology to using standardized components in producing PCs. The clear figure is that this company has reduced it R budget continuously. In 2009, HP spent $2. 82 billion on R, down from $3. 54 billion a year earlier. In 2007, HP’s R spending was $3. 6 billion. This movement in its strategy has supported greatly to lower cost. HP keeps a balance in its products, good quality PCs integrated with updated technology but at a competitive price level. Apple Apple Inc. , formerly Apple Computer, Inc. is a multinational corporation that creates consumer electronics, computer software, and commercial servers. Apple's core product lines are the iPad, iPhone, iPod music player, and Macintosh computer line-up. Founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak effectively created Apple Computer on April 1, 1976, with the release of the Apple I, and incorporated the company on January 3, 1977, in Cupertino, California. For more than two decades, Apple Computer was predominantly a manufacturer of personal computers, including the Apple II, Macintosh, and Power Mac lines, but it faced rocky sales and low market share during the 1990s.With the introduction of the successful iPod music player in 2001, Apple established itself as a leader in the consumer electronics industry, dropping â€Å"Computer† from its name. The latest era of phenomenal s uccess for the company has been in the iOS range of products that began with the iPhone, iPod Touch and now iPad. As of 2011, Apple is the largest technology firm in the world, with annual revenues of more than $60 billion. The main lesson from Apple’s success, however, is the central importance of focusing on strong products that are well-designed for the market.For years in this century, Apple has become the best leading innovator with continuously updated generation of its products and brand new ones. Steve Job, the company’s leader, is a genius at minimalist designs that integrate technology breakthroughs to fill a newly emerging need with unusual style. The result can be seen in the way he describes the attraction of the iPad â€Å"It’s like holding the Internet in your hands. It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and more capable than an iPhone. It’s truly magical. † The following figure presents the budget Apple has spent on R&D as percentage of revenue.In general, spending on R&D of this company is high, keep this vendor among the top 50 R&D spenders in the world. However, company’s revenue increases faster than this expense (as illustrated as decrease trend of the figure), especially since 2010 with the introduction of the ever successful tablet – Ipad. Figure 6: Apple’s R&D % of sales [pic] (Source: Larry Dignan – ZDNet news) Behind such great products, Apple thrives because it has been described as a well-oiled machine. The company has outsourced its manufacturing operations, while 317 Apple stores are wildly popular and profitable.The Apple music store – iTunes – has expanded into a powerful vehicle for trading videos, movies, and possibly other information products. Lenovo: Lenovo is the world's second largest PC maker in 2011. This Chinese company is established on November 1, 1984. In 1985, the company launched the first Chinese-made motherboard with Lenovo te chnology. The brand name, Lenovo, was born from this. Lenovo operates factories in Chengdu and Hefei in China, Japan, and as of December 2011 has plans to start production in Argentina.Lenovo focuses on vertical integration in order to avoid excessive reliance on original equipment manufacturers and keep costs down. This PC maker offers to the market the ThinkPad, IdeaPad line of notebook PCs and ThinkCentre line of desktops. These brands became part of Lenovo's offerings after its 2005 acquisition of IBM's personal computer business. As its strategy, Lenovo markets its products directly to consumers, small to medium size businesses, and large enterprises, as well as through online sales, company-owned stores, chain retailers, and major technology distributors and vendors.This direct sales model helps the company to reduce cost of middle man and retailers, and form the basis to get instant feedback from its customers. This all reduces the cost of producing and selling products and k eeps this enterprise stay competitive on the market. Besides, Lenovo owns the greatest track record for innovation in the PC industry and remains committed to innovation in its products and technology. As stated in the company’s statement, Lenovo’s innovation strategy is based on a two-tiered approach to solving real-world customer problems: Focus the majority of development on ideas that can be brought to market within 24 months; and, Invest longer term in research targeting â€Å"game changing† big plays† At the moment, Lenovo operates seven research and development centers and more than 46 world-class laboratories, including major research centers in Yokohama, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, New York City. The company employs more than 1,700 engineers, researchers and scientists and has received more than 100 major design awards.Lenovo’s R centers have produced some of the world's most important advances in PC technolog y, ranging from the original Bento Box PC notebook design in 1992 to the 2008 launch of the innovative ThinkPad X300, considered as one of the world's lightest, thinnest and most innovative full-featured notebook PCs ever. Lenovo's commitment to innovation introduces more industry breakthroughs and technology that sets the technical standards for business users as well as consumers. Chapter 2: DELL COMPUTER’S TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2. . Overview of Dell computer’s development: This section of the paper deals with Dell Computer in the PC industry in terms of how they fit in the global PC industry, their technology innovation, their competitive strategy, the significance and the roles of the information systems, and the strengths and weaknesses of Dell Computer in the industry. In 2011, Dell reported $61,494 billions in sales, 16% increased in comparison with the previous year, and employed 100,300 people worldwide in production, development, and customer support of the operation.Dell is truly a global business with products range from desktops, laptop, workstations, servers, networking devices, and computer peripherals such as printers, cameras, LCD TV, mp3 music players, and recently tablet. Each Dell’s product can be further customized to meet the needs of the customers. Dell’s direct sales business model has been refined and modified to support the changing product line and customer service. However, the main idea behind the direct-sale business model remains unchanged.From a statement on Dell’s website, â€Å"Dell is doing business directly with customers, one at a time, and believe we can do it better than any one else in the industry. † The successful direct-sales business model puts much emphasis on the customers. From the beginning to the end of the transaction, Dell understands completely what the needs of its customers are. This results in a satisfied customer with the potential to do b usiness again and again in the future. After two decades of growth, Dell has become the world leading direct-sale computer vendor in the PC industry.As a relatively young company, Dell finds themselves constantly competiting with old, more established companies like Hewlett-Packard and IBM. In many years in the early of this century, Dell reclaimed the title of the number one PCs supplier in the industry. The success of Dell Computer is not possible without the vision of Michael Dell and his innovative strategies of technology development and operation. The following is a brief history of Dell Computer and its development. 2. 1. 1. Introduction to the company: Dell, Inc. s an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States. The company is founded on November 4th, 1984 by Michael Dell who at that time was still a student in University of Texas. In 1983, Michael Dell started his computer hardware retail business by s elling hard drives and RAMs for IBM PCs. Dell bought his products from IBM dealers at cost, and later resold it through newspaper and magazines to individuals and businesses at lower cost than the retailers.By April 1984, his dorm room computer business was already making about $80,000 a month, and the success was strong enough to persuade him to drop out of college. As a result, Dell founded Dell Computer with $1,000. In the next few years, he was making IBM clones computers under the name PC-Limited and sold it to customer directly without retailers. This approach allowed PC-Limited to sell computers to its customers at 40% of the price of the IBM computers. The direct-sales business model propelled Dell Computer to the leading PC supplier in the industry.Table 8: Dell market share and rank from 2001 to 2010 |2001 |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 | |Market share |13. 3 |15. 2 |15. 0 |16. 4 |16. 8 |15. 9 |14. 3 |14. 3 |12. 2 |12. 9 | |Rank |1 |2 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2 |2 |3 |2 | |(Data: Gartner Inc. ) For many continuous years, Dell was the number one PC maker in the industry. However the situation has changed dramatically since the merger of HP and the direct competitor Compaq in 2002, together they own the market share bigger than Dell. Besides, bigger size allows HP to foster it low cost strategy due to economy of scale.Some years later come the rise of Lenovo and Acer with the acquisition of IMB and Gateway respectively. As a result, Dell keeps the third position in the market in 2011. The direct-sales business model is just one tool for Dell to do business. If the success of Dell is based solely on this model, Dell would have lost its competitiveness a long time ago. The competitors of Dell can duplicate the model and do business the same way as Dell. There are other factors staying at the core of Dell strength. Following is a summary of Dell comparative advantages based on several analyses about this firm:Leading technologies: Dell always k een to embed latest technology in its products. Following standards-based innovation, Dell PCs are built with standardized components which are well-recognized by the market. Dell has spent much effort and money to push its product to the limit of capacity in order to serve customers with the best computing solution. In addition, due to its direct relationship with customer, Dell is able to introduce the latest relevant technology compared to companies using the indirect distribution channels. Moreover, Dell launches newer technology far more before the other companies that hold inventories.The focus of Dell on technology personnel has helped this firm to catch up with every change in high technology. Customer Direct: one of Dell’s core strength is its firm belief in upholding the direct business strategy. Going direct has benefited this firm in many ways. Since it cut off all the role of wholesalers as well as retailers, it reduces greatly the cost of manufacturing and selli ng computers, resulting in products with very competitive price level. In addition, direct relationship is the basis for its ability of customization.The information and feedback from customers could be collected easily and quickly. And this information will be of help in choosing the most appropriate computing solution to serve the customers. This process results in higher satisfaction and trust of customers on Dell’s products and services. This form of innovation has been of great importance in pushing it from the bottom all the way to the number one supplier of Desktops, notebooks, and server in the world. Information Systems: no one can deny the importance of Dell’s Information Systems as a competitive advantage.Information Technology has been around for some time now and is available to everyone at fairly low costs, so it only makes sense for a company to have one. But by just having Information Systems they do not inherit a competitive advantage. The advantage co mes from strategies built around solid business models. And Dell’s overall implementation of the customer direct business model which uses Information Systems is one of its most powerful competing forces. The efficient Information System at Dell has kept the flow of information run smoothly in the operation of this company.It turns Dell Inc. into an extremely flexible machine which is always up-to-date. Leadership: Michael Dell, the founder of the enterprise is the one who has contributed greatly to Dell’s top position. His innovative vision about the PC industry and market trend has driven Dell to where it is today. Besides Michael Dell, Dell takes on some of the top executives in the world including its own employees such as Kevin Rollins who manages its day to day operations and helped develop strategies around the direct selling of computer systems and services.As Dell Computer is moving towards a multi-products, multi-national, and multi-services business, it beco mes impossible for one entrepreneur to have all the right skills in managing the company. The collaboration of leaders combines the talents of people in a company that is growing at a tremendous rate. Dell most certainly has more strengths than weaknesses as a company, but that just means it needs to keep a closer watch on its weaknesses. Rivalries as weakness: Industry rivalries are perhaps the greatest weakness of Dell. As one of the top PC manufacturer, Dell has everybody as a competitor.HP and Compaq have merged to counter the strength of Dell. The new merger can lower their costs significantly so they can continue to use the retail approach to compete with Dell. In addition, when Dell expands globally, it also faces with strong competition from local region. From previous section, Asia is the area with the highest demand of PC at the moment. Therefore, some Asian computer firms have been emerging strongly; become the direct competitors of Dell. For instance, Japanese and Korean consumer electronics makers are switching to manufacture PC in recent years.Their advantage is the abundant of cheap and skilled workers. They focus on product designs as a differentiation strategy. Especially in recent year, Lenovo has become one of the top PC makers after the acquisition of IBM. In 2011, this firm even overcomes Dell and gains the second position of global market share. That is a clear illustration for the competition from Asia. Another potential problem for Dell is from the suppliers. Dell relies on the suppliers to provide them with the necessary components to build a PC.If the suppliers cannot deliver the components to Dell, Dell will face with a delay in production. It will create a ripple effect to the rest of the business processes. Limited Technological Selection: even the strategy regarding technology innovation has brought Dell a lot of successes; it also causes a minor weakness that Dell is faced with is its choice of technology. Dell has the opportunit y to employ technology as soon as it comes out, but this enterprise usually waits to verify how a technology will perform in the market before implementing it.Dell’s cautious nature of adoption could possibly lead to a loss of market share to other companies willing to take a risk. And sometimes it is not necessarily a risk that it would be taking. One of the illustration could be pointed here is the success of Apple with the famous tablet Ipad in 2010. This enterprise spent 3. 1% of its revenue in 2009 on R&D and come up with the first tablet Ipad in the market. This product become a big success and helps this company gain the main market share for tablets after that.Meanwhile, Dell has waited for a period of technology standardization to release its first tablet Latitude ST. Strategy Mimicking: Dell’s strategies of standards-based innovation and customer direct are well known and its business processes can be duplicated by any company. This is not seen as a direct we akness of Dell but an indirect weakness of Dell’s in relation to the market. In fact, many competitors of Dell have changed some parts of their technology focus when perceived the fact that Dell has born a much lower R&D cost while still gained the biggest bite of the cake.For instance, in recent years, HP has shifted its technology innovation strategy into using some standardized components in stead of building their own technology. On another side, the emerging Taiwan firm Lenovo is also keeping a direct relationship with its customers, lowing down the cost and price of products. Strategies which help Dell stay competitive for years at the same time, could help its competitors, especially with newly emerging firms which do not stuck with any old and complex system need to change.In general, Dell’s innovative strategies regarding technology innovation and direct business model enable it to become and stay competitive in the changing global market. With strong global s ales and growth, Dell will continue to own a large market share in the PC industry. 2. 1. 2. History of development since establishment: Timeline of development: 1980: Michael Dell purchases his first computer-an Apple II-and promptly takes it apart to understand how it was designed and made. 983: Declaring he ultimately wanted to beat IBM, the young Dell conducts a lucrative business out of his dormitory room at the University of Texas, selling upgraded PCs and add-on components. 1984: With $1,000 in startup capital, Michael registers his business as Dell Computer Corporation, doing business as PC's limited, and leaves school in May of that year. The company becomes the first in the industry to sell custom-built computers directly to end users, bypassing the dominant system of using computer resellers to sell mass-produced computers. 986: Dell unveils the industry's fastest-performing computer, a 12 MHz, 286-based system, at the Spring Comdex national computer tradeshow. The system quickly attracts a large number of reviews from the technology press. The company also pioneers the industry's first thirty-day money back guarantee, which becomes the cornerstone of Dell's commitment to expand its service offerings and offer superior customer satisfaction, and offers the industry's first onsite service program. 987: In a bold move for the risky operation, Dell establishes its first international subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Eleven more international operations would open over the course of the next four years. 1989: The fast-growing company experiences its first major stumbles: It accumulates excess inventory of memory components, which results in write-downs, and cancels an ambitious product development program code-named â€Å"Olympic. † 1990: Dell becomes the first computer company to jump into the burgeoning market for computers sold through consumer retail stores such as CompUSA and Best Buy.The company later becomes the first company to exit this segment as well, after determining the retail-store model did not meet its financial objectives. 1992: Dell achieves slightly more than $2 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended January 1993, which represents a remarkable 127 percent increase. 1993: Suffering from the pains of extremely rapid growth, Dell cancels a secondary offering and posts its only quarterly loss resulting from a temporary withdrawal from the notebook market, its exit from retail stores, and a restructuring of European operations. 996: Dell challenges the traditional market for premium-priced servers based on proprietary technology with its introduction of its Power Edge server line. In less than two years, PowerEdge vaults Dell from the tenth position in market share to the third largest server vendor in the world. The company's quiet bid to sell custom-built computers over the Internet quickly becomes a public revolution when the company announces that sales over www. dell. com have exceeded $1 million pe r day. During the same year, Dell introduces its first custom-made web links for customers.Called â€Å"Premier Pages,† the links allow customers to tap directly into the company's own service and support databases. 1998: Dell solidifies its Internet leadership when it tops $12 million per day over the Internet, expands its Premier Page program to more than nine thousand customers and establishes web-based connections with its suppliers to speed the flow of inventory and quality information. Dell opens an integrated sales, manufacturing, and support center in China. 1999: Dell becomes the number one PC company in the United States, the largest worldwide market for personal computers.To accommodate its growth, Dell opens new manufacturing facilities in Nashville, Tennessee and Eldorado do Sul, Brazil. Sales over www. dell. com top $35 million per day. 2001: It's a year of firsts as Dell becomes the No. 1 computer systems provider worldwide, and reaches No. 1 in U. S. Intel-bas ed server shipments. The PowerConnect line of network switches launches Dell into the networking equipment market. Dell signs an agreement with storage leader EMC to enable more affordable enterprise-class storage area network solutions for customers of all sizes. 003: The Company expands its product portfolio with Dell-branded printers and officially enters the consumer electronics market to serve as a single source for its customers. 2005: Dell