Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Consumers always desired to get newer stocks and also other modified and sophisticated inventories which they considered would help meet the value of their expenses. Further the consumers also are found to order for getting the repeat stocks owing to the quality advantage obtained from such. However the present practice followed by the company in regards to stocking of the inventory created a problem for the consumers for they failed to get the right stock ordered for and also failed to regain the reorders made. The huge pile of unwanted and unsold inventories added to the problem for which the right and effective stock failed to be procured rightly and stocked for being delivered to the consumers. This problem of overstocking also led the company encounter huge losses and also blocked a large part of the working capital. This capital thus blocked could have been used by the company in other productive purposes. Thus the company not only suffers from lack of proper revenues emanating from the sales of inventories but also large numbers of complaints lodged in by the different customers for not getting the proper stocks required for. This fact in turn is found to hamper the goodwill of the firm and led the company counter a failure in the competitive business market. Moreover the presence of large number of unused and unsold stocks in the warehouse makes matters worse for specifically identifying those stocks which lead to the menace. Thus having large stocks spread around 30,000 stock keeping units create large number of problems for the warehouse manager to rightly identify and reduce the number of such odd stocks. Hence the management of Champion Electric thinks it feasible enough to reduce the inventory level so as to help in the effective management of the right and productive stock for the business concern to sale and gain considerable profit. Thus the management of the concern was found to be concerned in management of the stock levels of the firm in a sm art manner so as to help enhance the productivity climate of the organization. Hence this effective management of the stock level would help the company in firstly assessing the productive stock level and secondly in meeting the needs of the consumers in an effective manner. It would thereby save the concern in times of emergency when it required procuring products from external markets with additional amounts so as to meet customer requirements (Case, 232). A.2. President Campos of Champion Electric also was found concerned regarding the piling up of the stock levels in the warehouse leading to locking of considerable amount of financial investments rendered for such purpose. These unused levels of stocks in the concern not only made the management feel wary but also led to rise in the event of consumer dissatisfaction. Thus the president desired the effective management of such stock levels which would help the concern to enhance the level of service it required to deliver to the consumers by catering to their demands effectively (Case, 232). Thus Barb Patterson in order to abide by the order of the president was required to fulfill certain salient steps. Firstly Barb is required to identify such stocks which have been piled up in the warehouse for six months through the use of stock codes or labels in the computer. Secondly Barb is require

Intelligence Community Credibility- How do we get it back Research Paper

Intelligence Community Credibility- How do we get it back - Research Paper Example Therefore the accent in activities of intelligence community was shifted to a multi-perspective consideration about challenging issues of American society and the main goal of this organization is currently seen in serving American nation and not only to respond to the President. For the majority of people Intelligence Community is associated with films about spies. In America 14 agencies and organizations are united in a group where its participants develop their intelligent activities for provision of national security. Intelligent Community has a regulative basis specified in Executive Order 12333, which was signed by President Ronald Reagan on December 4, 1981 (Intelligent reform, 2008). In accordance with this order Intelligence Community provides American government with the information appropriate for foreign, defense, and economic policies. There are â€Å"four methods of intelligence collection: human, signals, imagery, and measurement and signatures intelligence (HUMINT, S IGINT, IMINT, and MASINT)† (Intelligent reform, 2008). All activities of IC are conducted under the guidance of the Director of Intelligent Community. Since 1947 Intelligent Community experienced numerous reforms. The most recent reform was conducted in the beginning of the XXI century, in 2004. After a dreadful terroristic act on September 11 the main claim of the act was a propagation of "unity of effort" (Intelligent reform, 2008). It was necessary to integrate and develop information sharing. Potential threats facing American society had to be more properly considered by Intelligent Community. Information is the central focus of representatives of intelligence community, policymakers, enforcement officers and other participants of this organization. A more detailed discussion of information is a way out to forecast potential terroristic threats. Intelligence community currently is supposed to perform the following function: â€Å"The threats posed today by terrorist group s, rogue states and transnational criminal networks are severe and daunting, and the increased effectiveness of the intelligence community is helping us combat these threats† (Fixing Intelligence: for a More Secure America, 2003). Currently a mutual collaboration of DNI and CIA is directed on an intelligence community efficiency increase. In such a way, ‘group think’ may facilitate ideas competition, which is relevant to intelligence analysis. Moreover, DNI is supposed to undermine power and authority of the Defense Department and intelligent support may be neglected. Nevertheless, DNI confirmed expectations and shifted its accents to consideration of community-wide matters. Consequently, management aspect of intelligence community is also better regulated now. A creation of the National Counterterrorism Center is another modern innovation introduced in the activities of the intelligence community, because it is directed on facilitation of terrorism-related intell igence analysis and deals with counterterrorism efforts regulation on behalf of the federal government. A modern generation of intelligence analysts is surrounded by enormous possibilities and tools facilitating their work. Electronic resources and information technologies facilitate a process of information sharing/discussing (Herrington, 2008). With regard to a wide-spread occurrence of social networks, officers of intelligence

Amalfi Restaurant: Leadership Strategies

Amalfi Restaurant: Leadership Strategies Provide leadership for a team in an organisation Unit 8493 About the company The Amalfi restaurant is a very famous in all over the New Zealand .it is 6 years old like there are many branch this restaurant all over New Zealand. This is branch is in Auckland there are total 15staff are working Iam the duty manager of over here.my work is to allocate duties to the staff member Iam very old employee here .we hire the employee after taking the interview and also giving the paid training of 2 weeks .we also help the people in their future time like in getting work permit and thing. We allocate the duties to the people according to the roasters. Now its time that we need to open another shop in Hamilton because our business is now taking a good step. The Amalfi restaurant is very famous in their best quality food and its affordable prices. My role at the above company is iam the manager of the above restaurant .i has been working as a manager and team leader for the past six years. I took Ove the past manager of the company few years ago. Now iam planning to build a new restaurant in Hamilton. We as the strive company in Auckland providing the best service by satisfy good customer services. The ultimate vision of my team Offer distinct, crave able fare prepared with premium quality ingredients that meet our exacting standards. Our attention to operational excellence, guest service, and product innovation keep our guests coming back for more. Amalfi values of Amalfi restaurant is to be the worlds best quality service restaurant .best quality means that providing outstanding quality, good customer service, cleaning so that we make every customer happy We give everyone a fair go and tell it is sound ethics is good business. At Amalfi restaurant we hold ourselves and conduct our business to the highest possible standards of fairness, honesty, and integrity.       Moreover as the manager of the above company I use democratic leadership style Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, is a type of leadershipstyle in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process. Everyone is given the opportunity to participate, ideas are exchanged freely, and discussion is encouraged. While the democratic process tends to focus on group equality and the free flow of ideas, the lead of the group is still there to offer guidance and control.The democratic leader is charged with deciding who is in the group and who gets to contribute to the decisions that are made. Researchers have found that the democratic leadership style is one of the most effective and leads to higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale. Characteristics of Democratic Leadership Some of the primary characteristics of democratic leadership include: Group members are encouraged to share ideas and opinions, even though the leader retains the final say over decisions. Members of the group feel more engaged in the process. Creativity is encouraged and rewarded. Example of this kind of a situation where I would others staff having to make decision on my own without other staff having to contribute .Example of this kind of situation is when I as the head teacher would have to hold a meeting and talk about some working strategies that I would like to have in place at the tiny crawlers day-care centre. This is not so bad of a l1eadership style as the team would always adhere to whatever has been in placed because they feel that their voice are always heard whenever they bring up an idea or solution and so doing vice-versa when I as the leader make decisions. Democratic leadership style In democratic style involves a team guided by a leader where all individuals are involved in the decision-making process to determine what needs to be done and how it should be done. The groups leader has the authority to make the final decision of the group. Focus the discussionIn this style my job is balance being open to ideas and keeping everything on-topic. If the conversation begins to stray, remind everyone of the goal on hand and then steer it back. Make sure to take note of off-topic comments and try to return to them when they are pertinent. Be ready to commit In the democratic leadership style, we get presented with so many possibilities and suggestions that it can be overwhelming and difficult to commit. But as the leader, when the time comes, I have to choose and do so with conviction. The team depends on the clear and unambiguous mandates to be committed. Respect the ideasI and my team might not agree with every idea, and thats ok. It is important, however, that you create a healthy environment where those ideas are entertained and considered not maligned or the flow of ideas will slow to a trickle. Laissez-faire leader styleLaissez-faire empowering patterns of leadership behaviour. Group members under laissez-faire leadership reported more isolation from the leader and less empowerment in decision making than did those under directive leadership. The results suggested that laissez-faire leadership contributed to low cohesiveness of the group. As pager compared laissez-faire and empowering patterns of leadership and showed that laissez-faire leadership was associated with lower task motivation and lower satisfaction with superiors laissez-faire leadership was associated with the highest rates of truancy and delinquency and with the slowest modifications in performance. It is individual risk-taking behavior in group settings and the shift in risk-taking behavior when the responsibility for making decisions moved from the individuals to groups. They found that the shift in such behavior was more likely to occur in laissez-faire-led groups than in groups led by a democratic or auto cratic leader. The consensus seems to state a disassociation of laissez-faire leadership with leadership in general since it enhances unproductive attitudes and disempowerment of subordinates The way our staff handle customers along every step of their dining experience has an impact on whether youll retain that customer. If they werent greeted when they walked in and when they left, they might mention it in an online review. As the digital arena continues to grow, online reviews are consistently important to your success. Our restaurant follows different personal and working styles and knows the importance of hiring and training the right employees. Our restaurant recently hired one employee named Neelam and as per recruitment our company and its old staff is providing Neelam with necessary training. Our company offers great emphasis on our staff, it reduce costs over time and enhance our diners customer service experience. We pay extra attention when hiring new staffs once hired, we train our staff and offer training manuals, checklists, goals and incentives. Inspire your staff as well as your management team. Train them to address any situation, good or bad, that arises. Make sure they are enthusiastic and motivated to pursue your goals and adhere to your restaurants unique concept. Establish and maintain a solid management structure so everyone knows and understands their own, as well as their team members responsibilities. Your management team should be exemplary, committed, motivational and adept at running the restaurant in your absence. Another working style our company follows is that to involve everyone in the task as it is a restaurant business the workplace needs to be filled with different personalities can be great for a workplace because it allows there to be many different opinions and ideas. It is the duty of the team leader or the manager to see that everyone is in this together, its just important to remember that everyone is working towards the same thing the success of the company. Our restaurant appreciate employees who are passionate and have opinions about work, it means they care. Inconsistent styles that were present in our company was common when the team leader use to give directions or come up with new ideas the team members use to nod their head, but dont agree. Those employees gifted at empathy and afraid of conflict will never tell you to your face that they dont understand your direction or why youre acting out of character today. Instead, theyll simply nod and smile and youll think that means yes, they understand, and will take action, when theyre really simply trying to keep you from acting scary. Our team leader discovered this when actually those tasks were assigned to the team members and they were unable to complete the task. Section 2 Section 2: Team member issues How do you establish behavioural expectations and standards with your team? In the workplace I ensure that team member issues are recognised and addressed by acknowledging the issue, discussing the impact, agreeing to a cooperative process, communication and lastly resolving the issue between team members. For example: Mary and Lucy started an argument at the workplace. Mary comes to me to complain about the issue, saying that Lucy has a laid back attitude towards her responsibilities at the workplace. I then separately call Lucy into my office and discuss on the matter and the impact of her attitude towards her team member and the workplace as a whole. Having said this I then asked if she could be more cooperative at work and help her to work as a team with her team members. Lucy knew she was not contributing to the team so she decided that shell be more cooperative and perform her duties well to the best of her abilities. Therefor as the leader of my team I need to be able to recognised issues and help resolve it in every way possible. 2) How do you ensure that agree behavioral and standards are clear and concise? They should be reviewed if the employees job description is updated. The discussion of standards should include the criteria for achieving satisfactory performance and the proof of performance (methods you will use to gather information about work performance) Manner of Performance: Describes conditions in which an individuals personal behavior has an effect on performance, e.g., assists other employees in the work unit in accomplishing assignments Prioritize Your WorkGood work plan or action plan is one that details what needs to be done, when and by whom. Even if the project leader does not have one for the project, you should personally have one for all the projects you are involved. Assuming you are involved in more than one project, you need to prioritize your work.Know what needs to be completed by its deadline. Your work affects those who are on the team. One of the much good behaviour is to make sure the important work is completed on time so that the rest can carry out their duty smoothly and successfully. That contributes to the teams success and people will know you have work behavior that is reliable. They will begin to like you. Do More than TalkThe problem with a lot of executives is that they talk more than do. These people tend to confuse busyness with achievement. They feel the more they talk the more they have done. When in fact all it has accomplished is a waste of time. Stand around the pantry chatting away when that time can be put to better use? Have you tackled your to do list? I have seen many executives that have a long to do list that never seems completed by the end of the day. Needless to say, these people have behaviors that are talk more than do. If you want your colleagues to start liking you, then start doing more and talk less. Keep Others InformedOne of the many working behaviors that will impress your colleagues is the ability to keep those who are involved in the project at the appropriate time. It is safe to assume that we all work in collaboration with others in order to complete a particular job. Keeping others informed is part of good work behaviours that others appreciate. It allows them to pace their work and know what to expect. They know if your part of the work will be delivered earlier, later or delayed. By keeping others informed you are also managing their expectations. Managing your colleagues expectations is also key work behaviour. Part of keeping others informed is also to follow up on next steps. Do you need certain information from others? Do others need certain data from you in order to deliver their part? Was this agreed in the meeting earlier? Then follow up with what is required. There is no need to wait for others to ask before you follow up. Especially when it was already agreed. Performance improvement As the team leader I need to continue to motivate my team members to help them improve their own performance and this carried out by distributing evaluation forms to all members at the end of every probationary period. It is helpful to ask the team members to complete this form, so that I can be allowed to rate, showing areas of agreement or discrepancy. Monitor, but dont micromanage. Avoid close supervision; do not over boss; do not dictate. Help keep the team focused and on track. Communicate team status, task accomplishment, and direction. Intervene when necessary to aid the group in resolving issues. (centred) Decision Making Being the team leader I need to make sure that all team members take an active part in decision making and that no one is left out or feels diminished. Each team member thinks about the problem individually and, one at a time, introduces new ideas to the group leader without knowing what ideas have already been discussed. After the first two people present their ideas, they discuss them together. Then the leader adds a third person, who presents his or her ideas before hearing the previous input. This cycle of presentation and discussion continues until the whole team has a chance to add their opinions. The benefit of this process is that everyone feels heard and acknowledged. Once all of the ideas have been presented, the team can look at ways to narrow the options down, and make a decision. Enhance and support In the beginning of every year I will have to provide an action list to all the team members. This Action list is a list of tasks that theyll need to complete a simple task or objective. And as the team leader ill make sure that each member achieves the activities that theyve set by establishing team meetings and having them to share how far theyve achieved certain activities and also discussing on certain issues or difficulties they face at work and how we can resolve it. I could also enhance and support my teams performance if team members decides trying to achieve a similar goal again, I can tell them to revise their plan after the work is complete, and making a note of anything that they can do better when working on it. Mutual trust Lead by Example If you want to build trust within your team, then lead by example, and show your people that you trust others. This means trusting your team, your colleagues, and your boss. Never forget that your team members are always watching and taking cues from you take the opportunity to show them what trust in others really looks like.( Pat Mayfield, 2007) Communicate Openly Open communication is essential for building trust. You need to get everyone on your team talking to one another in an honest, meaningful way, and you can use several strategies to accomplish this. Know Each Other Personally One way to build trust is to encourage your team members to see their colleagues as people. Think about creating situations that help them share personal stories, and bond. Do this by asking sensitively about their family, or about their hobbies. Start by sharing some personal information about yourself, and then ask someone else about a hobby, or a musical interest. Discuss Trust Issues If you manage an established team that has trust issues, its essential to find out how these problems originate, so that you can come up with a strategy for overcoming them. Consider giving team members a questionnaire to fill out anonymously. Ask them about the level of trust within the group, as well as why they think theres a lack of trust. Once youve read the results, get everyone together to talk about these issues (but make sure that you respect the anonymity of the survey!) Effective team work Consider each employees ideas as valuable. Remember that there is no such thing as a stupid idea. Encourage trust and cooperation among employees on your team. Remember that the relationships team members establish among themselves are every bit as important as those you establish with them. As the team begins to take shape, pay close attention to the ways in which team members work together and take steps to improve communication, cooperation, trust, and respect in those relationships. (David S. Finch, 2007) Set ground rules for the team. These are the norms that you and the team establish to ensure efficiency and success. They can be simple directives (Team members are to be punctual for meetings) or general guidelines (Every team member has the right to offer ideas and suggestions), but you should make sure that the team creates these ground rules by consensus and commits to them, both as a group and as individuals. Encourage listening and brainstorming. As supervisor, your first priority in creating consensus is to stimulate debate. Remember that employees are often afraid to disagree with one another and that this fear can lead your team to make mediocre decisions. When you encourage debate you inspire creativity and thats how youll spur your team on to better results. (M Leonard, 2014) Section Three: Enhancing working relationships Open communication with individuals outside of my team As the head teacher of the tiny crawlers day-care I need to keep an Open Communication with my work associates. This is established with all day communication, whether were sending emails and IMs, or meeting face-to-face. The better and more effectively I communicate with those around me, the richer my relationships will be. A ll good relationships depend on open, honest communication. Communication with your team from outside information After gathering information from the work association I then host for a staff meeting at my workplace to discuss to them information that have been gathered from the association and that needs to be addressed to the staffs. Managing unresolved issues raised by team members by taking corrective actions. Dealing with ethical issue between two team members. Example: a European member discriminates about the customs and rituals of a Maori member. As the leader I will personally call the two individually and hear their side of their story. After having to listen to their share of story I will counsel both of them and to ensure that I keep an open communication with the management I will have to report the matter to them, so that they can be aware of all that is happening at the day-care. Team members not following organisation procedures. Example: a team member hardly listens to instructions and prefers to do things her own way. I would call this member into my office and discuss about the issues and try and motivate and help her be on the right track so that the team goal is achieved and less problems can arise within the team members. Therefor during the management meeting I will have to discuss all matters and issues at the day-care so that the management will get to know the type of common issues or problems faced by the team and be able to come up with ground rules to solve such issues and problems. Managing unresolved issues raised by people outside the team by taking corrective actions. Parental issue Example: a parent comes to complain that every time she comes to pick her child up from the centre she notices that her child is never kept clean, like her nose is never kept cleaned and dirty diaper remains unchanged. After receiving this complain from the parent I then decided to have a talk with the carer in charge of looking after the child, and discuss to her the issue being brought up by this parent. I will then tell her that she needs to be more responsible with her duties by making sure that she checks diapers every half an hour and change dirty diapers ASAP. As well as keeping them clean before their pick-up time so that parents are satisfied with the service. Such issues are discussed during the management meeting so that the management can also discuss on matters where they think the team must improve on. Child accident in the centre Example: a child injures himself while trying to slide from a 3 meter slide. I will call the carer in charge and tell her to be more vigilant with the whereabouts of the children. I will then take this matter up to the management to which they have decided that special precautions are to be taken when kids are outside especially if its places where it involves climbing. At least a carer must be outside to look after the kids to avoid such accidents from happening. Therefor whatever is being discussed by the management must be taken down to the team and discussed clearly so that everyone understands and will try to avoid accidents from arising. Conclusion. Our company The Amalfi Restaurant has a good reputation of selling different kinds of cuisine. Our restaurant offers authentic dishes to its customers and has a variety of range when it comes to dining out with family. Our restaurant has to offer for every ethnic group and offers a multicultural and friendly environment. Our restaurant has a good relationship with its suppliers and relies on them for good quality products. Reference http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/qshc.2004.010033 http://www.davidsfinch.com/2007/08/8-basic-strategies-for-effective-team-building.html https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/6-steps-to-building-trust-in-the-workplace http://www.centerod.com/2012/02/leading-teams-today/ . Notice of Meeting for the Staff and Board Members of The Amalfi Restaurant Manuka 19thFebruary 2017 Notice is hereby given that a Board meeting will be held for all the Staff, Board Members of The Amalfi Restaurant Manukau will be held at 11:00am on the 19thof February, 2017. The meeting will be held at Manukau Institute of Technology. Staff and Board Members are required to sign the book at the reception before entering the conference room. The meeting is regarding our new branch setup in Botany Junction. Date of Notice: 13th February 2017 BY ORDER OF THE BOARD à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Kailash Raju manager Formal Meeting Notice of Meeting The agreement letter between Amalfi and apex building Apex building company For Amalfi Restaurant For The construction of a restaurant Prepared by Kailash For the Meetings with builders and restaurant owners Held in south hall Papatoetoe, Manukau Contract agreement between the Owner and the builder SECTION 1 DRAFT ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT (For Discussion only) Construction OF AGREEMENT MADE THE 16th day of April 2017. BETWEEN Amalfi restaurant and apex building company of (or whose office is situated at) (hereinafter called The Builder) of the other part. whereas the Owner is desirous of having a restaurant and its supporting infrastructure (hereinafter called the Works) constructed in accordance with the drawings and specifications approved by the Board and in accordance with the General Information at and the General Conditions of Contract And whereas the Builder has submitted his offer dated 16th December 2017 Offering to complete and construction work the Works upon the said conditions and in accordance with the Drawings and Specifications. And whereas the Owner has accepted the Builders offer conveyed in the said tender. Now it is hereby agreement as follows: For the consideration hereinafter mentioned, the Builder shall complete and maintain the Works subjected to the said Conditions of Contract and in accordance with the Drawings and Specifications. The Owner will pay the Builder the sum of ($ EC) 200,000 other sum as shall become payable in accordance with the said Conditions of Contract for the construction, completion, and maintenance of the Works. In witness hereof the parties have signed in the presence of the subscribing witness, Signed for and on behalf of the Owner by: Riteish Kumar Signature owner Kailash Raju In the presence of: Witness Krishna raj Wit Agreement between owner and barefoot and Thompson This Agreement is made on 14TH February 2017 between Name: Kim Samson Address: 1/10 Whitmore Road, Wellington, 1041 New Zealand and Name: Stella Valentine Address: 192 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, 1041 New Zealand. The seller owns and conducts a business of selling/renting properties, under the business of Barfoot and Thomson, 1/10 Whitmore Road, Wellington, 1041 New Zealand. For valuable consideration, the Seller agrees to sell and the Buyer agrees to buy business for the following price and on the following terms: 1. The Seller will sell to the Buyer, free from all liabilities, claims, and indebtedness, the Sellers business, including the premises located at 192 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, 1041 New Zealand. The Buyer agrees to pay the Seller the sum of $1.2 Million which the Seller agrees to accept as full payment. The purchase price will be allocated to the assets of the business. The $1.2 Million Promissory Note will bear interest at 12 percent (%)per year, payable monthly for years at 12 per month with he first payment due one (1) month after the date of closing. The Promissory Note will be pre-pay able without limitation or penalty. The Seller acknowledges receiving the Earnest money deposit of $80,000 from the Buyer. If this sale is not completed for any valid reason, this money will be returned to the Buyer without penalty or interest. This agreement will close on 16th /12/2017 This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New Zealand Dated: _01/03/2017 ____________ (Signature of seller) ______________ (Name of seller) ____________ (Signature of Buyer) ______________ (Name of Buyer) Justice of Peace: he/she is the person described in the above document and that he/she signed the above document in my presence. ___________ Signature of Justice of Peace) _____________ (Name of Justice peace) Date: __________ Agenda Meeting Agenda Objective: Date: 19th February 2016 Location: Manukau Institute Technology Time: 11:00am Meeting Type: Formal Meeting Secretary: kailashCalled by: kailash Time keeper: kaialsh Attendees: Shifa, Shina, , Shiwani, Baldev, Gurjinder, Preet, Antarpreet, Amanpreet, Sheroll, Jotishma, Kailash, Ritesh, Kishan, Pardeep, Jaskamal, Rishav Agenda Items. Apologies- Harveer Matters arising for discussion Setting up a new branch Location- Botany Junction Staff needed- Old Staff Assistant Manager Assistant cook 2 waiters Checkout operator New Staff 2 Chefs 1 waiter 1 Checkouts Operator Behaviour expectation from staff and training Need approval from the management

Fear of Polio in the 1950s Essay -- Disease Illness

Fear of Polio in the 1950s Paralytic poliomyelitis, "polio", held a reign of terror over this nation for decades. But unless you were born before 1955, polio may seem to be just another ephemeral disease that has been nonexistent for years. Those born before 1955 remember having a great fear of this horrible disease which crippled thousands of once active, healthy children. This disease had no cure and no identified causes, which made it all the more terrifying. People did everything that they had done in the past to prevent the spread of disease, such as quarantining areas, but these tactics never seemed to work. Polio could not be contained. Many people did not have the money to care for a family member with polio. This was one of the reasons the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was organized. The March of Dimes, the fund raiser headed by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, raised thousands and thousands of dollars to help people care for their polio stricken family members and to aid in the cost of research for a vaccine that would put an end to this misery that affected the lives of so many people. Poliomyelitis was the term used by doctors to describe the condition in which the gray (polios) anterior matter of the spinal chord (myelos) was inflamed (-itis). Until a cure was discovered, no one had the slightest idea where "polio" had come from or why it paralyzed so many children. People learned later that, oddly enough, it was the improved sanitary conditions which caused children to be attacked by the virus. Since people were no longer in contact with open sewers and other unsanitary conditions which had exposed them to small amounts of the polio virus as infants, when paralysis is rare, the dis... ...dy of Poliomyelitis, 1954" Medicine (September 1992): 316-320, at p. 317. 23. Smith, pp. 126-27. 24. Enders, pp. 317-18. 25. Dorothy Horstmann, "Three Landmark Articles about Poliomyelitis," Medicine (September 1992): 320-25, at p. 322. 26. Horstmann, p. 322. Bibliography Atkinson, William. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Washington: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996. Beneson, Abram. Control of Communicable Diseases in Man. New York: The American Public Health Association, 1970. Enders, John. "Some Recent Advances in the Study of Poliomyelitis, 1954". Medicine. Sept. 1992: 316-20. (reprinted) Horstmann, Dorothy. "Three Landmark Articles about Poliomyelitis". Medicine. Sept. 1992: 320-25. Smith, Jane S. Patenting the Sun: Polio and the Salk Vaccine. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1990.

Humanistic Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was a savant and philosopher of the highest order. The Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda is a gospel of humanism, for man is the central pillar of his life and teachings. Man, manliness, man-making these were the constant mantra on his lips. It sprang forth authentically from his own realization of the Divine that existed in himself and all. He therefore raised the dignity, and worth of man to the pinnacle of divine excellence. He exemplified man in his universal dimension which expressed itself in a concern for him everywhere and in every field of his life. It made him the exponent of humanism as much deep as significant in illuminating the whole of mankind from time to eternity. Swami Ranganthananda opines about Swami Vivekananda as: â€Å"What was unique about him as a spiritual teacher of mankind, however, was his deep interest in man and his untiring work for total human development and fulfillment everywhere. And this interest and work, we should not fail to note, was not just religious in the narrow sense of that word – just helping men and women to secure the salvation of their souls, as all other spiritual teachers have done – but covered all aspects of human life, as much economic and social as moral and religious. In fact, this all-round human interest formed the central theme of Swami Vivekananda’s life and work. † Romain Rolland speaks about Swami Vivekananda’s humanistic philosophy of man, as he exemplified man in his universal aspect, and not in the narrow racial, national, or sectarian aspects. That universal dimension expressed itself in a deep concern for man everywhere and in every field of his life; it made them the exponents and exemplars of humanism, as much deep as wide, as much intellectually stimulating as spiritually inspiring. What is humanism? The term ‘humanism’ is derived from the Latin word ‘humanitas’ implying ontological individualism and the quest for the perfection of the human spirit through the consummation of man’s inherent potentialities is subjectivist and optimistic in its orientation. Humanism is thus an approach n study, or the practice that focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance to human efforts. Humanism is not a creed or code but the fullness of a qualitative development of the emotional and cogitative potencies of the empirical human, Jiva that is the object of quest of the humanist. In the words of the Buddhist Tripitakas it can be said that ‘liberality, courtesy, benevolence, u nselfishness under all circumstances’ and ‘concord of fraternity’ mark the life of the humanist. Swami Vivekananda’s Humanistic Philosophy Swami Vivekananda assimilated and modified the philosophical ideas of the Vedanta, adapting them to the conditions of the new life. In contrast to the materialistic view of man, Vivekananda's humanistic philosophy possesses many features of active humanism and in his fervent desire to elevate man he put forward the idea that the highest divine substance Brahman is personified in millions. â€Å"†¦ the ideal of Vedanta is to know man as he really is, and this is its message, that if you cannot worship your brother man, the manifested God, how can you worship a God who is unmanifested? The uniqueness of Vivekananda was to reinterpret this philosophy of man that is at once creative and synthetic and uses it for achieving highest human excellence. Swami Vivekananda viewed man as a multi-leveled being, a composite of physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual faculties. Swami Vivekananda clearly showed in his exposition of four yogas that the various faculties of man ha ve to be harnessed for one’s spiritual growth. Swami Vivekananda is of the opinion that when man is able to integrate all of the faculties, he attains the manhood in entirety. He advises the youth to have a strong body. â€Å"You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you feel yourselves as men. Thus we have to apply these to our needs. † â€Å"Makes your nerves strong, what we want is the muscles of iron and nerves of steel. †¦ Stand on your own feet and be men. The faculty of reason should be cultivated to harness the full potential of being human. Swami Vivekananda says: â€Å"Why was reason given us if we have to believe? Is it not tremendously blasphemous to believe against reason? What right have we not to use the greatest gift that God has given to us? I am sure God will pardon a man who will use his reason and cannot believe, rather than a man who believes blind ly instead of using the faculties He has given him. † Swami Vivekananda feels that, religion is not a separate pursuit divorced from the humdrum of life. On the other hand, it envelops the whole life. The way man looks at himself, his conception of his own nature, governs all his other concepts. The value of the reorientation of man's view of himself extends from value to the individual in the development of his character to the humanity as a whole. This reorientation of man's view of himself results in a new kind of holistic awareness where the so-called distinction between the religious and secular vanishes. Referring to this approach Sister Nivedita in her Introduction to the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda says: â€Å"†¦.. No distinction henceforth between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion. To have and to hold is as stern a trust as to quit and to avoid. This is the realisation which makes Vivekananda the great preacher of Karma, not as divorced from, but as expressing Jnana and Bhakti. To him, the workshop, the study, the farmyard and the field are as true and fit scenes for the meeting of God with man as the cell of the monk or the door of the temple. † She continues, â€Å"All his (Swami Vivekananda) words, from one point of view, read as a commentary upon this central conviction. Art, science, and religion†, he said once, â€Å"are but three different ways of expressing a single truth. But in order to understand this we must have the theory of Advaita. † There is a faith in the greatness of man as expressed through his different socio-cultural activities in this material world. He strongly feels that, it is a greatest sin to call the human being is a sinner. He is potential ly divine. But there are unlimited creative possibilities in man, beyond this limited humanistic analysis. For this Vivekananda explains this creativity as the potential infiniteness or divinity in man as spiritual man. This idea of man does not merely explain the material or individual existence of man with the material development of life. On the other hand, it synthesizes the material and the spiritual dimension of man and thus evaluates the material or individual, collective or social and spiritual or transcendental values of life with their expressions in harmonious forms and manners. In order to explain the infinite potency of man, Vivekananda points out: â€Å"Do you know how much energy, how many powers, how many forces, are still lurking behind that frame of yours? What scientist has known all that is in man? Millions of years have passed since man first came here, and yet but one infinitesimal part of his powers has been manifested. Therefore you must not say that you are weak. How do you know that possibilities lie behind that degradation on the surface? You know but little of that which is within you. For behind you is the ocean of infinite power and blessedness. † In this way Vivekananda pleads for the spiritual Man, expressing the creative multi-natured divinity as the ‘ocean of infinite power and blessedness. Man, in the observation of Vivekananda, has an unlimited fund of energy which is not fully exhausted in fulfilling his limited material or biological demands. The unlimited energy in man, expressed through different creative states of existence, develop his infinite personality as the manifestation of his potential perfection as the sense of unity. Thus in the background of the evaluation of the ideas of man and humanism in the form of spiritual humanism advanced by Swami Vivekananda, we get a synthetic view of ‘multidimensional man' in the spiritual process of developing individuality and universality. Such a synthetic view will facilitate an advancement of Unity in different states of existence in different degrees. His profound spirituality, the scintillating brilliance of his intellect and the presence of his personality invested in him with a magic fascination which none could ignore our resist. Here was a man who spoke inspiring words to the masses like Messiah who has come to save their lives from darkness and misery. Here was one who spoke for ancient learning in highest praise, but at the same time urged that we throw off the shackles of convention. He was of the traditional and revolutionary, whose mission was not only reawakening the people to a consciousness of their great heritage but also to make them know man who could make a new India. â€Å"I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed, and well cared for. They pay for our education, they build our temples, but in return they get kicks. They are practically our slaves. Through his doctrine of the potential divinity of all beings, Swami Vivekananda sought to bring about a radical transformation in the society. To quote Nivedita again, ‘His prime concern was vindication of Humanity, never abandoned, never weakened, always rising to new heights of defence of the undefended, of the chivalry of the weak'. Swami Vivekananda advises that let the people be your God. Think of them, work for them, p ray for their well being. His definition about great soul is â€Å"Him I call a mahatman whose heart bleeds for the poor, otherwise he is duratman. Swami Vivekananda gave a new responsibility to the institution of monasticism by exhorting sannyasins to come out from the caves and work for betterment of the humanity. ‘Shivajnane Jivaseva’ – based on this aphorism he asked monks to work for the welfare of others. The present open education system was dreamt by Swami Vivekananda a century ago. He advised the sannyasins to go to every village to impart education for every individual irrespective of their castes, creed, sex with the help of cameras, maps, globes and such other accessories. He asked to give education, and instill faith in individual by that masses can gain their lost individuality and dignity of human labour. Once a young disciple asked Swami Vivekananda, how can we raise India again? He answers emphatically that, â€Å"Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village, and make the people understand that mere sitting idly won't do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say, â€Å"O ye brothers, arise! Awake! How much longer would you remain asleep! Go and advise them how to improve their own condition, and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the Shastras (scriptures), by presenting them in a lucid and popular way. †¦ Also instruct them, in simple words, about the necessities of life, and in trade, commerce, agriculture, etc. If you cannot do this, then fie upon your education and culture, and fie upon your studying the Vedas and Vedanta! † Swami Vivekanand’s heart bled for the poor masses. â€Å"For centuries people have been taught theories of degradation. They have been told that they are nothing. The masses have been told all over the world that they are not human beings. They have been so frightened for centuries, till they have nearly become animals. Never were they allowed to hear of the Atman. Let them hear of the Atman–that even the lowest of the low have the Atman within, which never dies and never is born–of Him whom the sword cannot pierce, nor the fire burn, nor the air dry–immortal, without beginning or end, the all-pure, omnipotent, and omnipresent Atman! † In his lion-like roar he enthused men to follow the practical humanism and not to be satisfied with a weak sentimental approach to it. His fiery words to feel for the suffering masses are as forceful even now as when they come out of his mouth. â€Å"Do you feel? Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbors to brutes? Do you feel that millions are starving today, and millions have been starving for ages? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud? Does it make you restless? Does it make you sleepless? Has it gone into your blood, coursing through your veins, becoming consonant with your heartbeats? Has it made you almost mad? Are you seized with that one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies? Have you done that? That is the first step to become a patriot, the very first step. † Swami Vivekananda’s concern about the Indian mass is phenomenal. The poor and illiterate form the bulk of Indian population. But they are being treated worse than animals for the last thousand years or so. According to Swamiji, the cause of degradation of India lies in depriving Indian masses of their basic rights of livelihood and education. He says, â€Å"Remember that our nation lives in the cottage. But alas! Nobody ever did anything to them†¦ The fate of nation†¦ depends upon the condition of the masses. Can you raise them? Can you give back to them their lost individuality? †¦ This is to be done and we will do it. † As such, his approach to social and political problems of India was facing at that time is totally humanistic in nature. He says that awakening of the masses by giving them proper education is the only panacea for all the ills India is facing now. In this regard he says, â€Å"All the wealth of the world cannot help one little Indian village if the people are not taught to help themselves. Our work should be mainly educational, both moral and intellectual†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Conclusion Swami Vivekananda says, â€Å"†¦ I may be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls-and above all, my God the wicked, my guard the miserable, my guard the pool of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship. Sister Nivedita testifies to Swami Vivekananda's love for man: â€Å"No institution, no environment, stood between him and any human heart. His confidence in that Divine-within-Man of which he talked, was as Perfect, and his appeal as direct, when he talked with the imperialist aristocrat or the American millionaire, as with the exploited and oppressed. But the outflow of his love and courtesy were always fo r the simple. Swami Vivekananda’s humanism is based on spiritual illumination, which he got through Vedantic means. As Vedanta stands for truth and eternity, with its focus on concept of divinity of man, the humanistic philosophy envisioned by Swami Vivekananda is centred on eternal principles of life. Here we find no conflict but perfect harmony between the religious and the secular, between the mundane and the transcendent and also between the individual and the collective. What the world wants now is not friction and fight but accommodation and acceptance. This should be the goal of any kind of humanism. Vedantic humanism lived and taught by Swami Vivekananda is a perfect archetype of this.

Business Model Re-Engineering: Myspace

————————————————- Business Model Re-engineering MySpace Date: November 4, 2011 ————————————————- Word Count: 3742 Introduction Nowadays, increasingly more industries, especially the media sector, are facing a continuous change. In the case of media, this is mainly a result of steadily developing digital technology. Even though a company’s business model might have been successful for many years, it suddenly can start to become weaker. The media market is quite competition-driven and hence a competitor with a new business model might alter the industry almost instantly (Business model re-engineering, n. d. ). In such a competitive market, the â€Å"strategy [†¦] is about being different. † (Eisenhardt & Sull, 2001, p. 116). This statement perfectly implies that companies and their products need to be so unique with such a well thought-out and innovate business model that they can create a competitive advantage. However, this adaption of the business model in an ever-changing media environment turns out to be quite a complex challenge, since now many companies face a decline of customers and revenue. A good example for a business model that could not survive the changing media environment in terms of online social networking is the one of Myspace. Consequently, I am going to propose a re-engineering of its business model. In this paper, I will focus on the problems of the current business model and carefully analyze the context of the market in order to propose a refreshed model that will help Myspace to survive and to compete more successfully in nowadays’ social networking market. Myspace needs a business model that provides value to its customers, guarantees a competitive advantage, as well as collects revenue (Teece, 2010). Myspace Myspace. com, which was founded in 2003 by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson (Piskorski, Chen, & Knoop, 2008), is an online social networking ervice that is now owned by Specific Media LLC and singer Justin Timberlake (Specific Media Acquires Myspace, 2011). Specific Media LLC is a media company which sells advertising online with a technology that aims at targeting specific customer segments (Specific Media LLC, 2011). Specific Media LLC, however, has not been the owner of Myspace for long. In June 2011, the company bought Myspace for about $35 million and as part of the deal pop star Justin Timberlake took an ownership stake (Specific Media Acquires Myspace, 2011). Before, from 2005 until 2011, it was owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation (News Corporation to Acquire Intermix Media, Inc, 2005). From 2005 until 2008, Myspace was the most popular social networking website in the world, as measured by the visitors. But the number of 75. 9 million visitors per month in 2008 dropped to 34. 8 million in May 2011 (Gillette, 2011). Problems Is Facebook Myspace’s biggest problem? Since 2008, Myspace has been continuously losing members which was at the time when it was overtaken by Facebook (Mack, 2008). Myspace has been gradually losing its users which can be expressed by the declining members and visitors of the website. As from February 2010, the visitors decreased by 43. 3 per cent (Arrington, 2011) and the members shrunk by ten million within one month at the beginning of 2011 (Stafford, 2011). This decline brings along a dramatic loss in revenues which are solely generated by advertising (Enders, Hungenberg, Denker, & Mauch, 2008). Facebook has now about 25 times more users than Myspace (Stafford, 2011) and it seems that members migrated from Myspace to Facebook, but there is other reasons for the failure of Myspace, mainly in terms of innovation. Myspace was performing really well at the time of News Corp’s acquisition and it barely had any competitors. However, with the rise of its first great competitor Facebook, the former leading social networking site had to confront one of its severest lacks: innovation! At the very beginning, Facebook entered a niche market, namely the one of college students. Firstly, it was available to Haravard students, then more and more universities wanted to join Facebook and today, almost everybody is using this social network, no matter if college student or not (Piskorski et al. , 2008). Today, around 600 million users enjoy keeping in touch with people all over the world via Facebook (Cauwels & Sornette, 2011). Facebook managed this great success because it was innovative. New features have been added all the time since it has been launched, hence people were involved and kept coming back as a result of new innovations such as the ‘news feed’ at that time (Stafford, 2011). While Facebook managed to be innovative all the time, Myspace failed to adapt to the market and did not add new features as Facebook did. Additionally, Myspace did not allow third party developers to create new features such as applications (e. g. Facebook – FarmVille etc. ), they rather kept everything behind closed doors. Therefore, Myspace lost the competition of controlling the market at the time between 2006 and 2008 and consequently it became boring (Stafford, 2011). Even though Myspace had certain features, they did not all work very well. For example, members were able to create their own backgrounds either themselves or they could download an existing design from many providers who specialized in creating Myspace profile designs. This feature turned into quite a mess, problems, and confusion regarding certain profiles. The whole competition resulted in a confusing mess and one could not be sure on what Myspace was focusing. Not only because of the customized user profiles but also because of some other flaws in the site’s design, Myspace was confronted with security issues. Results were spyware (Hesseldahl, 2006), phishing, and spam (Webb, Caverlee, & Pu, 2010). Another security fear was regarding the profile content. Users were concerned about trust and privacy and even law enforcement officials claimed, â€Å"MySpace is used by sexual predators to lure teenagers† (Dwyer, Hiltz, & Passerini as cited by Schrobsdorff, 2006, p. 5). The last problem I want to focus on is the revenue model. As previously mentioned, Myspace operates on revenues from advertising. Especially under the ownership of News Corp, the main focus was on generating revenue. It seemed that Rupert Murdoch solely focused on revenues and nothing else which is a great flaw for a social networking site, as it needs to focus on the onsumers. In 2006, Google pledged to pay News Corp as many as $900 million over three and a half years and in return Google was allowed to provide search services and advertising on Myspace (Piskorski et al. , 2008). For Myspace’s customer it seemed that the site was full of too much unorganized advertising, hence the website appeared unp rofessionally (James, 2009). The previously listed problems of Myspace are mainly problems of the time when Myspace lost the competition against Facebook, and reasons why Myspace is not successful anymore. With regards to the Business Model Canvas by Alexander Osterwalder (2009), I will focus on the problems based on the following elements: Value Propositions, Key Partners, Revenue Streams, and Media Channels. The element of value propositions â€Å"seeks to solve customer problems and satisfy customer needs with value propositions† (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2009, p. 16). I consider this part to be Myspace’s greatest problem regarding the issues of trust, privacy, spam, spyware, and phishing. Furthermore, the lack of innovation was one of the major problems why Myspace lost that many users who constantly want to experience something new. With its lack of good and new features as well as its unclear point of focus, Myspace was not able to deliver value which would result in customers continue to use the social network. From my personal experience, I can say that Myspace faded into obscurity which can be backed up by the low number of users now, compared to the time of 2006 when Myspace was at its peak (Snyder, Carpenter, & Slauson, 2006). I was a Myspace user around 2006 as well, when I was 15 years old. It seemed to be a meeting point for teenagers and for me it was not any different from the German social networking site ‘Schuler VZ’ except that it is international. However, as time went by, I decreasingly used Myspace as for me it always was too confusing and it could not compete with the German social network. Besides, I got spammed with advertising, random men (who were not at my age) thought it was a dating service, and it simply became boring. Therefore, I can state that Myspace’s biggest problem is that it is not valuable enough for the users. Theory Firstly, I will focus on the value propositions as all the other elements, I chose to focus on, follow up on the value propositions. When looking at value propositions, I would like to consider the three types of value propositions according to Anderson, Narus, and van Rossum (2006), namely ‘all benefits’, ‘favorable points of difference’, and ‘resonating focus’. In the case of Myspace, it certainly would not be enough to â€Å"simply list all the benefits† (Anderson et al. , 2006, p. 2) since there are too many competitors in the Internet environment that share most of the benefits and values. The ‘favorable points of difference’ approach is promising in so far that it distinguishes the valuable points that the competitors do not offer. However, I believe that Myspace does not present many highly valuable aspects over their competitors and therefore it would be most convenient to concentrate on the ‘resonating focus’. With this approach, I will focus on â€Å"the one or two points of difference [†¦] whose improvement will deliver the greatest value to the customer for the foreseeable future† (Anderson et al. , 2006, p. 4). In connection to that, I will of course need to study the greatest competitors with regards to their value propositions in order to highlight Myspace’s most valuable points of difference. Furthermore, I will need to research what customers expect from online social networking, what they value about Myspace, and what they generally find lacking in the social networking environment in order to develop ideas for a possible niche market. Additionally, for this customer value research, I will need to conduct research on focus groups with regards to problems mentioned in the previous section (safety and innovation). Furthermore, the design is an important aspect of the value propositions as well. As I previously stated, the old Myspace design was quite confusing which resulted in safety problems. Hence, a new design is needed which is unified for every user, yet attractive and which does not allow bugs. Secondly, in relation to innovation, I will need to look at the Key Partners who will be part of the re-engineering of the Media Channels as well and concerning revenues. Through Media Channels, the company can communicate with its customers and deliver the value propositions (Osterwalder et al. 2009). Especially in the online environment, awareness can be raised with the help of other key partners. For example, you can share content from one website on another. Not so long ago, Myspace introduced connection opportunities to Twitter and Facebook (Myspace introduces mashup with Facebook, 2010) and also youtube allows sharing videos on myspace. Myspace’s connections to Facebook which will al so help to generate user-specific streams according to the user’s Facebook profiles. However, Facebook for example, does not allow a connection to Myspace. Accordingly, Key Partners are needed that would help promoting Myspace. Moreover, the former revenue model which only consisted of advertising, has proven to be quite annoying for the users, hence Myspace needs Key Partners who will not only make the website more appealing but also help to make revenue. Hence, research has to be done on Key Partners who are willing to help financing Myspace as well as who would be interested to offer for example applications (which then help the Key Partners as well). As I said before, Myspace faded into obscurity. For this reason, I will also need to look at other media channels such as campaigns and marketing strategies in order to bring Mypsace back to people’s minds. In that relation, research needs to be done on what marketing strategies worked for successful social networks such as Facebook and also what media channels can help to basically re-introduce a media product like Myspace. Assumptions & Best Practices Review First of all I need to mention that Myspace decided in 2010 to focus on music and entertainment (About Myspace, 2010). However, for now I will only consider online social networking sites as websites that focus on music and entertainment are not Myspace’s greatest competitors. Of course, I will need to take Facebook into account as Myspace’s greatest competitor and as today’s most popular social network which was the most visited website in June 2011 (Smith, 2011). Facebook first started in a niche market of college students and it got awareness from the very beginning. It did not use any special advertising campaigns to become popular but the promotion was rather by word to mouth (Mitchell, 2009). The popularity has then been covered by newspaper articles and television which reported on the success (Ibid). Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook as a unique and intimate website and constantly added new features that kept the site interesting. Facebook is far more innovative than Myspace and therefore the members keep using it and promote it by word-of-mouth advertising. Similarly to Facebook, Twitter was initially successful in a niche market. At the beginning, primarily computer- and technology specialists as well as bloggers used Twitter for example to promote their blogs (How did Twitter become popular? 2009). Twitter could convince with its simplicity and real life experience. Real life experience in so far that people twittered news from certain events such as the Mumbai attacks or recently the uprisings in Tunisia as different to regular news channels (Ibid). The best practices that made Twitter and Facebook successful and popular are therefore word-to-mouth advertising and t he Internet itself. Word-to-mouth advertising only worked because of the convincing and interesting designs and usability. Both platforms are innovative, as they have been creating new features that make them enjoyable, flexible and interesting (The Success of Twitter, 2011). Those best practices worked for Myspace as well – in the beginning. However, the task now is to remake Myspace aware to people’s minds and the goal is that the users actually keep using Myspace because of the new design and value propositions. I would suggest sending a short and catchy email to the Myspace users which shortly introduces them to the new Myspace. Users might want to get to know the new Myspace and then tell people about their good experience. Additionally, since Myspace is focusing on music, an advertising campaign might help to make new bands aware of Myspace’s ability to promote their work. Facebook uses an aggressive innovation approach, meaning that it comes up with new features that users initially might not like but after a while they cannot imagine Facebook without those new features anymore. Furthermore, Facebook constantly adapts the privacy settings in order to meet the customers’ needs with regards to safety (Blodget, 2010). Innovation keeps Facebook interesting and worthwhile to continue using it. Another highlight it offers for their users are applications. Many software developers create applications for Facebook which make the site not only more interesting and entertaining but also help to generate revenues (Stone, 2007). With the help of key partners, Myspace can get help for its design as well as applications that help to make the site interesting. What is more, key partners help financing; hence Myspace would not only be dependent on advertising revenues. As users find the amount of advertising quite annoying, Myspace can focus on less but personalized advertising. Those steps would help to make Myspace more innovative and it can easier meet the users’ needs in terms of design, safety, new features that make it worth to use. Research Proposal – Method Myspace needs change! More specifically, Myspace needs a re-engineered business model. The previous statistics show that the numbers of Myspace users decline gradually. If this decline continues, the once most popular social network (Bains, 2009) will soon be almost unknown or at least unused. However, with further research on my previously stated ideas based on the problems of Myspace in relation to the Business Model, I will be able to help Myspace creating a new and innovative Business Model that will help to avoid further declining user numbers and to create competitive consistency in the environment of social networking. In order to study the value propositions carefully, I will conduct qualitative research. Only with qualitative research I will be able to gather in-depth understanding of the reasons why people do not use Myspace anymore. I can gather such information in two ways: through interviews and through an online research community. With the help of a qualitative research interview I will gather the facts as well as analyze the meaning (Kvale, 1996). As a result, I will be able to understand the values customers need as well as the reasons and problems which caused the failure of Myspace. By using an online research community, Myspace can put â€Å"the customer at the heart of [the] marketing strategy† (Simon, 2009). Such research communities allow efficient and deep qualitative research online. In such a community, members can discuss certain aspects such as new features and designs, and Myspace can adapt accordingly. Besides, a qualitative research online will probably bring more results since people rather take the time to discuss issues online. However, the qualitative Interview will also be needed because it is an additional in-depth analysis with face-to-face communication that enables immediate follow up questions and answers with high reliability. The qualitative research of both forms will be base on current or former Myspace users and also on general social network users in order to determine the general arget group’s values. Questions for both kinds of researches will for example include what they currently like about Myspace, what they do not like, why they use Myspace, or why they (stopped) using Myspace, what they generally value about Myspace, and their opinions about the competitors such as Facebook. For good measure a detailed research on the competit ors and their best practices is essential. This can be done by further online research on the competitor’s strategies in order to find out what could work for Myspace as well. Plan The following table provides an overview of the estimated time and costs for this project – subject to modifications. For now, I will conduct the research for three weeks, meaning that for example that the online community will be run for three weeks. Part| Time| Costs per hour| Costs per day| Creating online community(5 employees)| 8 hrs| EUR 10 (x5)| EUR 400| Leading discussion online(10 employees)| 3 wks (120 hrs)| EUR 8 (x10)| EUR 9600| Analyzing online community (10 employees)| 2 wks (80 hrs)| EUR 12 (x10)| EUR 9600| Developing questions for both onliny community and interview (4 employees)| 8 hrs| EUR 12 (x4)| EUR 384| Interviews (5 hrs per day)(10 interviewer)| 3 wks (75 hrs)| EUR 12 (x10)| EUR 9000| Evaluation Interview(10 employees)| 2 wks (80 hrs)| EUR 12 (x10)| EUR 9600| Total Costs for staff:| EUR 38584| Further costs: Possible travel costs (for interviewers):ca. EUR 300 Equipment (for Interviewers – recorders etc. ):ca. EUR 400 Technical equipment for online community:ca. EUR 10000 Total Costs:ca. EUR 49284 The additional costs might not apply if the equipment already exists. All prices are including value added taxes. Reflection In this paper I laid the foundation for a re-engineering of Myspace’s Business Model. Back in 2006 and 2007 I was a member of Myspace as well. However, I never liked this social network much since it was confusing, annoying because of all the advertising and I did not feel safe using it. Overall, it did not really work out. Now I am a Facebook user and I totally forgot about Myspace. Apparently, other social network users feel the same way which can be expressed by the declining number of Myspace users. Myspace became quite unpopular, fewer and fewer people visit that site and Facebook out-competed Myspace fast. Therefore I analyzed the problems that resulted in the failure of Myspace. The main overall problem is innovation. Myspace failed to add new features in order to make the platform interesting and worthwhile to keep using it. Myspace totally faded into obscurity wherefore it is essential to re-engineer at the media channels. Also, Myspace did not allow third party developers to help designing the page and add for example applications which not only would make the network more entertaining but also help generating revenues other than advertising. Instead, members were able to design their own profiles. This feature, however, resulted in an overall confusing design and safety problems. Safety problem arose from the bad software as it was easier to install for example spyware. Myspace could not meet the values that the customers need. Aside from bugs such as spyware, spam and phishing, users experienced a great lack of trust and privacy in that online network. To sum it up, I focused on the re-engineering of the following parts of the Business Model Canvas by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2009): Value Propositions, Media Channels, Key Partners, and Revenue Streams. All parts of the business model are connected though. That is why I analyzed all parts with regards to the others. My idea is that Myspace needs to be innovative. It can do so in analyzing both the values of customers and the best practices of the competitors and then adapt accordingly. With this method, Myspace can add new feature that will surely meet the customers’ desires. This is connected with a new design and key partners. Key partners can not only help with the design but also with innovation by adding applications that make Myspace more interesting. Furthermore, key partners would create another method of generating revenues. Then, Myspace would not only depend on advertising revenues and can reduce the annoying advertising to unostentatious, user-personalized advertising. After its changes, people need to be made aware of the new Myspace. This can be done with a short and catchy email to Myspace members who will then positively experience the re-engineered Myspace and spread the word. Additionally, television and Internet advertising campaigns might help to bring Myspace to the people’s minds. I am convinced that those methods and the further research, suggested in form of qualitative interviews, qualitative online community research and qualitative research on the competitors, would help Myspace to survive the competition in the online environment of social networks as well as stop a further downfall. References About Myspace. (2010). Retrieved November 1, 2011 from Myspace http://www. myspace. com/pressroom/2010/11/myspace-introduces-mashup-with-facebook/ Anderson, J. C. , Narus, J. A. , van Rossum, W. (2006). Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review. Arrington, M. (2011, March 23). Amazingly, MySpace’s Decline is Accelerating. Retrieved October 29, 2011 from http://techcrunch. com/2011/03/23/amazingly-myspaces-decline-is-accelerating/ Bains, L. (2009). Facebook Overtakes MySpace as Most Popular Social Networking  Site. Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://www. switched. com/2009/01/27/facebook-overtakes-myspace-as-most-popular-social-networking-sit/ Blodget, H. (2010). Ignore The Screams–Facebook's Aggressive Approach Is Why It Will Soon Become The Most Popular Site In The World. Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://articles. businessinsider. om/2010-05-17/tech/29991115_1_ceo-mark-zuckerberg-facebook-s-pr-innovation Business model re-engineering. (n. d. ). Retrieved October 27, 2011 from AMR International http://www. amrinternational. com/services/corporate_and_business_unit_strategy/business_model_re-engineering Cauwels, P. , Sornette, D. (2011). Quis pendit ipsa pretia: facebook valuation and diagnostic of a bubble based on nonlinear demographic dynamics. Retrieved October 30, 2011 from Cornell University Library http://arxiv. org/abs/1110. 1319 Dwyer, C. , Hiltz, S. , Passerini, K. (2007). Trust and Privacy Concern Within Social Networking

The Armenian; A forgotten people essays

The Armenian; A forgotten people essays In the world one lives in today, it occurs quite often to converse with people of all ages who do not know of Armenia and her proud people. Rarely does one know of the country, none the less of her mysterious and complex past. Armenia is one of the most difficult civilizations to describe and trace, because of the lack of archaeological proof and hence the many different opinions of historians, archaeologists and so forth. Even with a blurry past, the Armenian people have survived over the last three thousand years (approximately 1500 BC to present day). The Armenian people have survived through so much over these last centuries that one may wonder how they have made it alive today. Armenians have been under the power of so many empires (Urartians, Persians, Arabs, Romans, Parthians and so forth), and have survived through a genocide as a result of living in a place surrounded by neighboring countries opposing to such things as their values, religion and ways of life. The Armenian pe ople have persisted throughout these times because of their keen sense of survival, the love for their religion and their pride and unity as Armenians. Armenians have a very blurry and uncertain past. As mentioned above, with the lack of historical, geographical and archaeological proof, it is very demanding to accurately trace Armenia's history. Though history dates the beginning of Armenians back to around 1165 BCE, Armenians have legends, who to them helped forge their beginnings, at a much earlier date. For example such pioneers would be Haig (Hayg), Armenag and Harma (2350-1700 BC). Unfortunately, since they are only legends, it befalls quite normally that historians will not take into consideration these forefathers of Armenia. It is one aspect of Armenian history which will have to continue living on with her people. Armenians probably originated from Europe. Although there are many opinions on how Armenians migrated from Europe to Armenia, th...