buy custom Application Essays for Duke Fuqua essay

buy custom Application Essays for Duke Fuqua essay Throughout my life I have had two great passions, that is, economics and helping my country. It is my belief that China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world in this century. The majority of Chinas success can be attributed to growing business opportunities. Though great economic strides have been made in China, there is still a lot that needs to be done in order to propel the country to greater heights. I believe that business more so economics would be very beneficial to China at this point. I would like to study economics under the Duke Fuqua Masters of Management Studies (MMS) program, so as to gain the requisite academic foundation to start a financial consulting company in China and hopefully help the growth of the Chinese economy. My love and interest in economics began at an early age. While in high school I started my internet store which did very well. My father who was a successful businessman also inspired the passion for business in me. During summer holidays I would work at his firm helping in whatever I could. Through these experiences I was able to sharpen my business sense and gain a deeper understanding of economics and business in general. I was able to learn how companies operate and how to gauge the success of a company. I was also able to understand the dynamics of financial goods and services. It is through these experiences that I was able to develop a great passion for economics. Having witnessed the rapid economic growth of China I realized that I wanted to be part of making history. I wanted to be one of the contributors to the great advancement in Chinas economy and global position. My passion for economics deepened when I started reading renowned books such as the Wealth of Nations by Ada m Smith, Karl Marxs theory on economics, the Keynesian theory among many other economic theories. These great economists and philosophers advanced various theories on economics that made me develop great interest in the subject. I also have a passion for mathematics which is a significant part of economics. Mathematics unlike what most people believe is interesting and fun. It is interesting to solve problems using mathematical formulae, especially practical problems. I know that the Duke Fuqua MMS program is rigorous and fast paced but I believe I am up to the task. This is because I have honed my analytical and quantitative skills. This is evident from the tasks I did during my undergraduate studies at the SyracuseUniversity. While pursuing my Bachelors degree in Economics at the university, I was able to stress test portfolios and also work out the VAR (value at risk) measurements. This shows that I can be diverse and I am able to analyze various facts and present different perspectives. I also used a cleaned covariance matrix to come up with an efficient frontier. I was very passionate about both of these evaluations and evidently quantitative economics and risk management. My passion for risk management will enable me to work as a financial risk assessor for many firms in the near future. It will also enable me to offer people and companies, professional advice on risk management, especially in the long term when I open my own financial consu lting firm. I am passionate about the economics part of business because it is complex but at the same time very applicable and logical. After graduating from the Duke Fuqua Masters of Management Studies program, I intend to utilize my passion in economics and mathematics to work in the field of economic affairs. I believe that the Duke Fuqua MMS program will be instrumental for me to gain the academic foundation to launch my career as an economist and long term financial consultant. I greatly feel that given the opportunity to join the Duke Fuqua MMS program I would be able to fulfill my obligation to myself and to serve my country as a competent economist. I understand that it is very important for one to be a team player in any group projects. It is equally important to rise to the challenge of leadership in order to take on new responsibility and be accountable for certain projects as well as to showcase leadership skills. I have been involved in many team projects in my professional as well as academic life. In many occasions I have been a team player but in others I have worked as a team leader. Between June and August 2011, I worked at Knight Frank, Shanghai. While working at the company I was given the opportunity to work as an intern in the BD team. As an intern, my main responsibilities were to assist the director of global company consumers in the market in Shanghai, to build a consumer list and to analyze data from previous projects in order to make new timelines for new projects. When performing these tasks at the company, I was able to work both as a team leader and a team player. At the Knight Frank Company I was able to work as part of a team whose main function was to support the director of global company consumers. This is because being a multinational ccompany, the amount of work it required to coordinate consumer needs meant that there had to be a huge amount of team coordination and cooperation. During the period I worked with the support team of the director of global company consumer, I was able to interact with a number of people and work under high pressu re situations. I was able to learn that I am a good team player and am also able to work under a lot of pressure. I was also given the opportunity to prepare a consumer list for the global Knight Frank Company. This gave me the opportunity to work as a team leader as I was in charge of ensuring that the list was accurate for the Human Resource Manager. I also learnt to take specific instructions and to interpret them in the proper manner. I was also involved in making new timelines for new projects. This was a major responsibility on my part and it enabled me to coordinate a number of team members in order to allocate the proper timelines for every team project. My experience at Knight Frank Shanghai was very productive and it taught me a lot about being able to take instructions from my superiors as well as rising to the challenge of leadership. This is because as an intern I was able to adapt to different tasks and managers that I was assigned to. I was also part of a very successful team at the EFG Bank in Shanghai where I worked as a personal financial assistant between June and August 2010. My role in the bank was varied as I was assigned to various tasks within the organization, all of which I had to work under the supervision of a manager and also as part of a team. I assisted in designing fliers for some of the banks products which became very successful and helped to market the products. While in the bank, I also took part in various team building exercises which helped in strengthening team spirit. Having had CSI membership in the American Red Cross Association, I have also been given numerous opportunities to work as a team leader and as a team member. I have on many occasions assisted members of my cohort to win various medals. The fact that I have been involved in many teams and worked as a team leader I have acquired the requisite skills to be able to participate in the team activities both academic and extracurricular at the MMS program at the Duke University. I would be very pleased to be part of the distinguished class of MMS students at the Duke University. I believe the MMS program will equip me fully for my future responsibilities especially as an economist. Buy custom Application Essays for Duke Fuqua essay

The Consequences of World War I

The Consequences of World War I World War I was fought on battlefields throughout Europe between 1914 and 1918. It involved human slaughter on a previously unprecedented scale- and its consequences were enormous. The human and structural devastation left Europe and the world greatly changed in almost all facets of life, setting the stage for political convulsions throughout the remainder of the century. A New Great Power Before its entry into World War I, the United States of America was a nation of untapped military potential and growing economic might. But the war changed the United States in two important ways: the countrys military was turned into a large-scale fighting force with the intense experience of modern war, a force that was clearly equal to that of the old Great Powers; and the balance of economic power began to shift from the drained nations of Europe to America. However, the dreadful toll taken by the war led U.S. politicians to retreat from the world and return to a policy of isolationism. That isolation initially limited the impact of Americas growth, which would only truly come to fruition in the aftermath of World War II. This retreat also undermined the League of Nations and the emerging new political order. Socialism Rises to the World Stage The collapse of Russia under the pressure of total warfare allowed socialist revolutionaries to seize power  and turn communism, one of the world’s growing ideologies, into a major European force. While the global socialist revolution that Vladimir Lenin believed was coming never happened, the presence of a huge and potentially powerful communist nation in Europe and Asia changed the balance of world politics. Germanys politics initially tottered toward  joining Russia, but eventually pulled back from experiencing a full Leninist change and formed a new social democracy. This would come under great pressure and fail from the challenge of Germanys right, whereas Russias authoritarian regime after the tsarists lasted for decades. The Collapse of Central and Eastern European Empires The German, Russian, Turkish, and Austro-Hungarian Empires all fought in World War I, and all were swept away by defeat and revolution, although not necessarily in that order. The fall of Turkey in 1922 from a revolution stemming directly from the war, as well as that of Austria-Hungary, was probably not that much of a surprise: Turkey had long been regarded as the sick man of Europe, and vultures had circled its territory for decades. Austria-Hungary appeared close behind. But the fall of the young, powerful, and growing German Empire, after the people revolted and the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, came as a great shock. In their place came a rapidly changing series of new governments, ranging in structure from democratic republics to socialist dictatorships. Nationalism Transforms and Complicates Europe Nationalism had been growing in Europe for decades before World War I began, but the wars aftermath saw a major rise in new nations and independence movements. Part of this was a result of Woodrow Wilson’s isolationist commitment to what he called self-determination. But part of it was also a response to the destabilization of old empires, which nationalists viewed as an opportunity to declare new nations. The key region for European nationalism was Eastern Europe and the Balkans, where Poland, the three Baltic States, Czechoslovakia, the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and others emerged. But nationalism conflicted hugely with the ethnic makeup of this region of Europe, where many different nationalities and ethnicities sometimes lived in tension with one another. Eventually, internal conflicts stemming from new self-determination by national majorities arose from disaffected minorities who preferred the rule of neighbors. The Myths of Victory and Failure German commander Erich Ludendorff suffered a mental collapse before he called for an armistice to end the war, and when he recovered and discovered the terms he had signed onto, he insisted Germany refuse them, claiming the army could fight on. But the new civilian government overruled him, as once peace had been established there was no way to keep the army fighting. The civilian leaders who overruled Ludendorff became scapegoats for both the army and Ludendorff himself. Thus began, at the very close of the war, the myth of the undefeated German army being stabbed in the back by liberals, socialists, and Jews who had damaged the Weimar Republic and fueled the rise of Hitler. That myth came directly from Ludendorff setting up the civilians for the fall. Italy didn’t receive as much land as it had been promised in secret agreements, and Italian right-wingers exploited this to complain of a mutilated peace. In contrast, in Britain, the successes of 1918 which had been won partly by their soldiers were increasingly ignored, in favor of viewing the war and all war as a bloody catastrophe. This affected their response to international events in the 1920s and 1930s; arguably, the policy of appeasement was born from the ashes of World War I. The Largest Loss: A Lost Generation While it is not strictly true that a whole generation was lost- and some historians have complained about the term- eight million people died during World War I, which was perhaps one in eight of the combatants. In most of the Great Powers, it was hard to find anyone who had not lost someone to the war. Many other people had been wounded or shell-shocked so badly they killed themselves, and these casualties are not reflected in the figures.

Introduction to business for the creative industries Essay

Introduction to business for the creative industries - Essay Example anding its operations across several parts of the world included North America, India, Eastern and Western Europe and China thereby making it the forth biggest footwear manufacturer and retailer in the world(Clarks, 2014, p.1). Founded in 1825, the renowned British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer has sustained its growth over the years through its great brand marketing campaigns, more fashion focused products and management support to become the worlds largest footwear brand (Sutton, 2009, p.45). The history of the Clarks shoes business dates back to the 1820s when a British Tannery worker known as Cyrus Clark entered into a partnership with his Quaker cousin to begin a sheep skin rug business. Cyrus Clark was soon joined by his brother James who began making slippers from the sheepskin left over. The slippers were a great success. By 1833, James had been taken on as a full business partner and the business was renamed C & J Clark. In 1960s, Clarks also began building a reputation for its children shoe products not only in the United Kingdom but also in other parts of the world (Palmer, 2013, p.54). Currently, the company has established nearly 1000 branded stores selling more than 50 million pairs of shoes annually in over 35 countries across the globe. Despite experiencing difficulties during the middle of the 19th century, the company has managed to regain its growth and has expanded over the years by adopting techniques of mass production as well as enhancing its brand marketing campaigns to become a global giant shoe fashion designer and retailer. This paper presents an illustrated critique of the success of Clarks Footwear Fashion Business with particular focus to its marketing and brand positioning strategies. Throughout its 200 years of existence, the Clarks has always enjoyed an impressive market success and sustained growth in nearly all its product segments (Sutton, 2009, p.78). According to experts, the Clarks current market success is

Create an investment proposal for a business of your choice Assignment

Create an investment proposal for a business of your choice - Assignment Example Owing to the huge amount of the financial resources that will be required to implement the investment successfully, the funds will be sourced from commercial banks due to their ability in lending huge loans. The financial amounts that will be required to undertake a real estate investment has the potential of running into millions due to the cost of the essential requirements that will be needed. However, an investment analysis has been undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed investment. The business proposal evaluation has been undertaken using financial tools to measure the economic value of undertaking the investment. In addition, the investment proposal investigates the optimal financing approach that should be adopted by the investor based on the cost of financing an investment will incur to actualize the operations. Undertaking the financial plan of the investment is essential since it helps in validating the feasibility of the project to the financiers in suppor ting it implementation. Consequently, the investment proposal evaluation has played a critical role in establishing the significance of the investment and the optimal investment direction that should be adopted. In order to undertake the investment, the investor will need financial resources for operation of the investment activities. The amount of financial resource that is estimated to be required in undertaking the investment is  £100,000. Consequently, the financial resources will need to be solicited from the available sources. Sources of finance could be long-term, medium term or short-term depending on the favorable source for the investor. The long-term sources of finance are sources that exceed one year of reimbursement. The components of long-term debts are made up of equity and long-term debts (Ingram & Albright, 2009). Medium

Evaluating E-Commerce Strategy Development within Organisations Essay Example for Free

Evaluating E-Commerce Strategy Development within Organisations Essay Background The news about the â€Å"New Economy† has triggered many entrepreneurial ventures to exploit on the electronic commerce (e-commerce) opportunities. Ventures such as Amazon and eBay have received significant media attention and investor optimism about the potential of e-commerce. Now that the smoke has settled, both management and academic research have become interested on the impact of e-commerce on those companies that have supplemented their brick-and-mortar outlets with e-commerce initiatives. Several researches have emerged on effect of e-commerce on organisational strategy. Tapscott et al (1998) discusses the organisational changes created by B2B e-commerce and the benefits of deploying e-commerce within the organisation. O’Connell (2000) discusses the effect of e-commerce in the organisational structure in light of the resource-based view and transaction cost theory. E-commerce has been seen as improving efficiency, communication and lowering costs across business processes (O’Connell, 2000; Krovi et al., 2003; Garicano and Kaplan, 2001). In addition, researches have also shown the influence of e-commerce on brand management. Wind Mahajan (2001). discuss how the competitive environment is changing with the increasing number of Internet users and how the new technology is redefining the marketplace. The research presented a conceptual framework delineating the drivers and outcomes of marketing strategy in the context of competing in both physical and electronic marketplace. Part of the emergence of electronic marketplace is the ability of organisations to offer highly customized products to consumers, and the capability to build and to manage customer relationships (Brown, 2000). The aim of the research is to investigate the way in which an organisation develops its electronic commerce strategy over time in light of existing strategic approaches and development found within related literature. The research particularly looks into Marks Spencer e-commerce strategy as the case study for the research. The research looks into how Marks Spencer has developed and implemented its e-commerce strategy. Drawing from strategic management theories, the research specifically focuses on the how an e-commerce strategy is grounded on reducing transaction cost within the organisation and across the value chain. Furthermore, the research also looks into the importance of relationship marketing and how e-commerce is providing organisations with the necessary technology to achieve seamless exchange of information and reduced costs. Strategically, the adoption of e-commerce within an organisation hinges on these two important strategic management theories. In addition, the research is confined within the business-to-consumer (B2C) market, since business-to-business (B2B) relations are frequently characterized by a small number of customers and a strong emphasis on personal contacts between customers and salespeople as their means of marketing communication. Therefore, the research focuses on how consumers view their shopping experience within an e-commerce site, particularly Marks Spencer. The Overview of the Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The remainder of this study is as following statement:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chapter 2, Literature Review, will provide a concise concept and explanation of electronic commerce within retail organisation. The review of related literature discusses the concept and application areas of e-commerce within organisation. The review will also tackle the important strategic management concepts such as transaction cost theory and relationship marketing and how e-commerce is enabling organisations achieve increased efficiency, improved communication, and lower costs across its value chain. Chapter 3, Methodology, will describe the research design of this study. The research design of this study is empirical research method using secondary data for quantitative analysis. Chapter 4, Results, will demonstrate the results of this study.   At first, the descriptive statistical data such as maximum, minimum and mean, on the consumer’s perspective on the different service attributes of e-commerce site for Marks and Spencer. Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary† section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å"Conclusion† section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations† will be proposed to help companies to utilize the importance of electronic commerce in their strategic assessment.   In next chapter, related researches in electronic commerce will be reviewed CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Electronic Commerce According to the International Engineering Forum, e-commerce is â€Å"an emerging model of new selling and merchandising tools in which buyers are able to participate in all phases of a purchase decision, while stepping through those processes electronically rather than in a physical store or by phone (with a physical catalog). (online International Engineering Forum)† E-commerce enables a customer to access product information, select items to purchase, purchase items securely and have the purchase settled financially.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the notion of e-commerce as the ability of organisations or a person to sell over the Internet is very popular, the research paper will adopt the definition of Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). E-commerce can be defined as â€Å"the total of all applications that pertain to online communications and transaction (OECD, 2000).† The definition better suit our purpose of discussing e-commerce in the context of strategic management. The research views e-commerce holistically, which encompasses the communication between organisations and customer over the Internet, the completion of one-time or on-going online transactions, and e-CRM systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The emergence of e-commerce in the retail sector is one of the most widely adopted and anticipated development in the industry. Following the success of Amazon, many brick-and-mortar retailers jumped into the dot com bandwagon and established their online presence in the World Wide Web. Many have adopted e-commerce capabilities out of a fear of falling behind competitors or as a result of the general momentum to expand the use of an existing Internet presence. Nonetheless, the main value proposition for organisations adopting an online presence is the prospect of increasing revenue from new markets and using a lower-cost, electronic-distribution channel (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With a strong demand from organisations in creating an online presence, internet service providers (ISPs) have begun to offer electronic-commerce hosting services. ISPs often position as a outsourced service provider of the customers’ electronic-commerce capabilities, managing the networking and server aspects of the initiatives. Such services are important consideration for the roll-out e-commerce sites as it allows organisations to leverage on the expertise of ISPs and allows organisations to concentrate on their core businesses (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the customer’s perspective, the main benefit of an e-commerce system is the convenience it brings to consumers, who are constrained by busy schedule and numerous activities. The e-commerce system enables a customer to locate and purchase a desired good or service over the Internet when the customer is ready to make the purchase. Its function is synonymous to a virtual store (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the merchant’s perspective, the e-commerce system enables the organisation to take advantage of the strengths of online store and increase revenues. One of the key benefits of implementing an online store is the capability to cover greater market reach and a complementary distribution channel to its existing brick-and-mortar stores. However, in order to effectively implement an e-commerce strategy, the e-commerce system must recreate or utilize existing data and business processes. The merchant must recreate the same shopping experience in its online store providing in-store assistance, secure payment process, catalogs and prices about the products and services, inventory management, and transaction capabilities (including credit authorization, tax computation, financial settlement, and shipping) (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, e-commerce not only allows merchants to take advantage of market reach, but it also enables merchants to redefine and enhance an enterprise’s brand strength, customer-service capability, and supply-chain efficiency. An e-commerce site is one of the areas of an enterprise infrastructure that is open to customers via the Web, but it is linked with other information system of the enterprise value chain (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In implementing an e-commerce site, provision of the basic system requires an Internet connection, a Web-application server and e-commerce application software, and a personal computer for the shopper. Figure 1 illustrates the basic economic drivers and application requirements of an e-commerce marketplace. On the buyers side, consumers are driven to the online retail store through advertisements, interesting features, needed information, and directory. On the sellers side, merchants are driven to the online space because of its ease of entry, increasing website traffic, ability to sell and integrate marketing messages (online International Engineering Forum). Figure 1. Business Drivers in e-commerce strategy E-Commerce Strategies and Business Drivers A number of initiatives implemented within an organisation are driven by a market need. All industries are characterized by trends and new developments that gradually or speedily produce changes important enough to require a strategic response from participating firms. The popular hypothesis about industries going through a life cycle helps explain industry changes but is still incomplete (Porter, 1980 p. 157-162). The life-cycle stages are strongly keyed to changes in the overall industry growth rate (which is why such terms as rapid growth, early maturity, saturation, and decline are used to describe the stages). Yet there are more causes of industry change than an industry’s position in the life cycle (Porter, 1980 p. 157-162). While it is important to judge what growth stage an industry is in, there’s more analytical value in identifying the specific factors causing fundamental industry and competitive adjustments. Industry and competitive conditions change because forces are in motion that create incentives and pressures for change (Porter, 1980 p. 162). The most dominant forces are called driving forces because they have the biggest influence on what kinds of changes will take place in the industry’s structure and competitive environment. The Internet and e-commerce opportunities are unquestionably spawning a sweeping business revolution that altered industry boundaries, opens up all kinds of new business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) market opportunities and threats, sparks competition from new and entirely different breed of enterprises and mandates fundamental changes in business practices (Thompson and Strickland 2001).   In his book The Business of E-Commerce: From Corporate Strategy to Technology, Paul May discusses four business drivers for adopting an e-commerce strategy. First, organisations have the compulsion to catch up with competitors or to gain competitive advantage by being early adopters of the new technology. Organisation’s constant pursuit to gain competitive edge in the marketplace is a primary concern and part of a survival component in the business strategy. Second, organisations need to develop a credible e-commerce channel from its current online portfolio. Third, organisations are constantly looking for ways to reduce cost and increase efficiency within its value chain. E-commerce can be a creative force in delivering reduced transaction cost, increased communication and coordination, and improve business processes. Fourth, e-commerce enables organisations to improve its value chain by creating strategic supplier partnership and delivering customized customer solutions. It allows organisations improve business’ infrastructural capabilities to play as an extended enterprise and not merely a single business entity delivering greater value to its customers (May, 2000). Each of these drivers can be harnessed as a propulsive force for the business, rather than a deflective or immobilizing one (May, 2000). Application areas of E-commerce Six key emerging application areas in electronic commerce can be identified. It can be organized into two important domains: business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). The application areas include categories in consumer retailing to real-time business-to-business collaboration (May, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retailers were the first adopters of the business-to-consumer e-commerce. Retailers found selling products and services online as a promising channel of distribution for its products and reaching new markets. Nonetheless, B2C e-commerce is now more diversified and classified into three application areas which include retail, auction, and advice (May, 2000). The three application areas of B2C e-commerce are retail, auctions, and advice. Although each has its own distinguishing characteristics, and dynamics, a consistent theme underlies the development of all three. This is the increasing â€Å"busy-ness† of consumer lifestyles: the extension from work life into private life of a culture of ever-decreasing time-frames and ever-increasing obligations. Lack of time and complexity of choice drive the growth of products and services in each of these areas (May, 2000). Business-to-consumer is a term that stresses the direction of delivery: B2C e-commerce is supposedly something done by business to consumers. Yet this domain is founded on intense customer focus. Insight into the conflicting desires and pressures affecting consumers is a powerful ally in building successful strategies in this highly competitive area (May, 2000). Business-to-business, on the other hand, is the umbrella term used to refer to transactions between businesses conducted online, and the business networks and supply chains that make these transactions possible. While B2B activity has always, taken place, the Internet brings with it a new framework, B2B companies no longer need to depend on the traditional one-to-one model for business transactions (Michel, 2003). Procurement, inventory exchange, and real-time collaboration are relatively obscure categories of application, which have the potential to flip many businesses inside-out. Procurement introduces process improvements in the buying functions of organisations and also points the way to a more competitive environment in inter-company trading. Inventory exchange introduces the mechanism of the market to smooth out supply and demand inefficiencies across entire value chain, potentially lowers transaction and carrying costs, and focuses on improving exchange of supplier information. Real-time collaboration allows organisations to cooperate as fluid colonies of actors, undermining the stability of companies who prefer hands-off relationships or who prefer their reality-checks to be presented monthly (May, 2000). e-Commerce application in Retail Industry Retailers are now increasingly adopting electronic commerce as another distribution means of selling products and services. Online channels have also proved increasingly popular amongst retail companies within other formats such as hypermarkets or catalog retailers, who have attempted to expand into the sector to escape from stale growth within their respective markets (Datamonitor 2006). Datamonitor estimates the global Internet retail sector valued at $656.4 billion in 2005, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.3% over the 2001-2005 period. The estimate is based on the total revenues generated through the sale of retail goods via online channels, valued at retail selling price, with any currency conversions calculated using constant 2005 annual average exchange rates (Datamonitor 2006). With the number of Internet users increasing exponentially year-on-year, the industry has experienced strong global growth within the global Internet retail sector. Much of the demand for online purchases is due to the escalating number of working mothers and time-starved consumers who are conveniently seeking ways of shopping without the hassle of driving to a retail store and falling in-line (Datamonitor 2006). At present, drugs and health beauty aids are the sector’s most lucrative segment in 2005, accounting for a total of $154 billion in total revenues or 23.5% of the retail sector’s total value. Computer, hardware, software, and supplies contributed significant revenues in 2005, generating $114.9 billion in revenues or 17.5% of the sector’s total value (Datamonitor, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While analyst do not see a similar spectacular growth in the global Internet retail industry, experts still is optimistic the pace of revenue expansion for the next four years. Industry experts project to the expansion of industry to remain strong valuing the industry at $1.169 trillion by 2010. This translates to 12.2% CAGR over the 2005-2010 period (Datamonitor, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In terms of revenues generated per region, Datamonitor reports that Europe has the largest market share in the global Internet retail sector with 44.4% of total value, followed by the United States and the Asia Pacific with 22.5% and 21.7% respectively (Datamonitor, 2006).

Sports in Tibet :: Buddhism Recreation Culture Papers

Sports in Tibet When one hears mention of Tibet certain things initially come to mind, most commonly images of an isolated, peaceful, extremely religious society. One of the last things one would imagine from such a seemingly docile people would be a history deeply entwined with athletic showmanship, yet this actually is the case. Unfortunately most historians overlook this pivotal piece of information when studying the Tibetans’ rich culture and consequently the casual scholar rarely sees this side of the Tibetan people. One of the factors that may have influenced this attitude towards Tibetan sports is that the Dalai Lama has in fact previously banned certain sports citing various religious reasons. This may lead people to believe that the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, in principal, are against all sport, although in reality many of the Dalai Lamas have been quite the opposite. The banning of certain sports was mainly due to the fear of outside influence corrupting Tibet as o pposed to actual problems with the sports themselves. Tibetans have a strong historical bond with sport and use religion as an excuse to expel foreign authority. Sports have played an integral role in defining the culture of Tibet. They are commonplace at the various religious festivals throughout the year. Oftentimes entire religious festivals are based around traditional athletic sporting events. Sir Charles Bell, an English diplomat who was an intimate of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, witnessed one of these annual festivals noting that, During the concluding days of the ‘Great Prayer’ there were sports of various kinds, gun-firing and arrow-shooting on galloping ponies, a pony race without riders, a foot-race over a 6-mile course, wrestling, and the carrying of a heavy weight. These sports are presided over by two masters of ceremonies, who are chosen from the youngest officials just beginning their career. They are attended by a large staff, including six Maids of Honour chosen from the ladies of Lhasa.[1] Heinrich Harrer, another westerner who found himself immersed in Tibetan culture, witnessed a similar annual festival, this one taking place during the Tibetan New Year.[2] Both of these festivals show the deep connection between religious activities and athletic events. The sporting events not only take place during religiously significant festivals but they are presided over by monks and other religious figures. Sports in Tibet :: Buddhism Recreation Culture Papers Sports in Tibet When one hears mention of Tibet certain things initially come to mind, most commonly images of an isolated, peaceful, extremely religious society. One of the last things one would imagine from such a seemingly docile people would be a history deeply entwined with athletic showmanship, yet this actually is the case. Unfortunately most historians overlook this pivotal piece of information when studying the Tibetans’ rich culture and consequently the casual scholar rarely sees this side of the Tibetan people. One of the factors that may have influenced this attitude towards Tibetan sports is that the Dalai Lama has in fact previously banned certain sports citing various religious reasons. This may lead people to believe that the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, in principal, are against all sport, although in reality many of the Dalai Lamas have been quite the opposite. The banning of certain sports was mainly due to the fear of outside influence corrupting Tibet as o pposed to actual problems with the sports themselves. Tibetans have a strong historical bond with sport and use religion as an excuse to expel foreign authority. Sports have played an integral role in defining the culture of Tibet. They are commonplace at the various religious festivals throughout the year. Oftentimes entire religious festivals are based around traditional athletic sporting events. Sir Charles Bell, an English diplomat who was an intimate of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, witnessed one of these annual festivals noting that, During the concluding days of the ‘Great Prayer’ there were sports of various kinds, gun-firing and arrow-shooting on galloping ponies, a pony race without riders, a foot-race over a 6-mile course, wrestling, and the carrying of a heavy weight. These sports are presided over by two masters of ceremonies, who are chosen from the youngest officials just beginning their career. They are attended by a large staff, including six Maids of Honour chosen from the ladies of Lhasa.[1] Heinrich Harrer, another westerner who found himself immersed in Tibetan culture, witnessed a similar annual festival, this one taking place during the Tibetan New Year.[2] Both of these festivals show the deep connection between religious activities and athletic events. The sporting events not only take place during religiously significant festivals but they are presided over by monks and other religious figures.

Encountering Conflict

My main intention is to persuade the audience on the topic that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it and to pass year 12. The violent encounters of the past contain valuable lessons about resolving conflict. This writing is to be directed at the people reading it, which will be the general audience that doesn’t really understand the lessons of past and present conflict. Based on real world examples, and examples from the crucible. The style of writing is an expository. Conflict can bring out the best and worst qualities in individuals, and also in communities. Arthur Miller explores this in his play The Crucible. When witchcraft is declared in Salem, the reactions of the members of this strictly Puritan society differ greatly. Some see the events that take place as a chance for opportunism, a way to garner personal support, an opportunity to play out personal vengeance and also an occasion to strut one’s ability and knowledge. These characters, just as Miller intends, alienate the audience because of their self-interest and quickness to allow fear to overwhelm any genuine desire to find out the truth. The audience grieves for the suffering of the truly good characters – Rebecca Nurse, Giles Corey and Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor, the flawed hero of the play, may have succumbed to the temptations of the flesh with Abigail Williams, but he redeems himself in the end, realizing that saving himself through lying will not resolve the conflict overwhelming his small town of Salem. He goes to his death knowing that there is ‘some shred of goodness in John Proctor’. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. The best-known trials were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused but not formally pursued by the authorities. All twenty-six who went to trial before this court were convicted. Abigail Williams epitomizes self-interest and lack of concern for others in the play. Her manipulative scheming makes the audience wonder how much she enjoys being the Centre of attention and the wielder of such power in the court. It is difficult to feel sympathy for the loss of her parents or to consider her responses a result of fear of being found out. The fear she generates in others is so powerful. Abigail is willing to place the blame on Tituba, rather than tell the truth. She knows that John Proctor can see through her but initially holds power over him because of their adulterous relationship. Abigail is also angry at Elizabeth Proctor for dismissing her from service and has been unable to gain another position. She has much to gain by crying witchcraft. Her manipulation of Mary Warren’s fear in court is abhorrent. The audiences have seen Proctor make Mary Warren quiver in fear, but we sympathize with his reason; to save his wife. Abigail’s reasons are purely selfish. You think after dealing with all past conflict based on the â€Å"witch hunt† from the crucible it wouldn’t lead to future conflict when it came to accusations about what people are or, what they are doing, this was known as McCarthyism. During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person's real or supposed leftist associations or beliefs was often greatly exaggerated. Many people suffered loss of employment, destruction of their careers, and even imprisonment. Most of these punishments came about through trial verdicts later overturned, laws that would be declared unconstitutional, dismissals for reasons later declared illegal or actionable, or extra-legal procedures that would come into general disrepute Getting away from the crucible, conflict tests the character of a sporting a club or team, just look at Brendan Fevola the former Carlton and Brisbane Player the conflict he caused for both clubs really test the character of the football club and when it came to whether he had to be sacked or not, showed there strength as football club and how they won’t stand for such nonsense with a player of their football club. They had a player who all he did wrong at their club was get drunk on New Year’s Eve which surely he wasn’t the only the one, flashing a women which the police cleared him of anyway it seemed they were eager to this as a scapegoat to get rid of him, the whole Lara Bingle conflict which actually happened at another club and none of this could’ve possibly came into consideration but it all somehow did have an effect on the final outcome

Indian Wedding Clothes Essay

In India, the wedding rituals and clothes make the wedding as much as that of the bride and her groom. Both look their splendid best in gorgeous clothes. Not just the couple, but the guests attending the family and the relatives are often seen dressed up to the teeth. The bride is dressed up in auspicious colors, whereas the bridegroom is dressed to exude a regale aura. The bridesmaids and best men are often dressed in par with the bride and the groom. But they are toned down a bit because the day belongs to the couple. All the folks attending the marriage are decked up with gold jewelry including the bride and sometimes the groom. The ladies are additionally adorned with henna patterns all over their palms, hands, forearms, legs and feet. Sometimes henna patterns are replaced with alta designs which are short lived and easily removable. Indian wedding generally tend to continue for several days and new attire is worn each day. All these dresses and the color symbolize the meaning of marriage and the period that follows it. Indian wedding is one that gives more importance to details like different rituals and the various attires one wears to attend them. Hindu wedding Indian Hindu weddings continue for several days. India is a country that defines diversity and this is visible even in the wedding and its different styles. The ceremonies, the rituals, the formalities are all different between each region and culture. Unlike the Christians, Hindus wedding ceremony does not resemble the western marriages and are quite elaborate. In the North,Starting from the Tilak ceremony, each function has significance in the marriage. Tilak, Sangeet, Haldi, Baraat and the Shaadi, all necessitate the Bride and the bridegroom to wear new attire at each occasion.All these above ceremonies are known by different names in the other parts,e.g.:Simant puja in the west,or Mangalasnanam in the south and so on.But have got   he same significance all over. Bridegroom’s clothes Many communities of South,West and Eastern India still adhere to the traditional costumes,i.e. Dhoti,or sometimes Lungi,and Mundu by some communities of the South.Kurta or a shirt may be worn or sometimes just a Angavastram may be used to cover the chest. On the other hand in the Northern parts, bridegroom usually wears a Sherwani, Jodhpuri suit or a western suit. The groom’s face is covered with a veiled with a curtain of flowers which is called Sehra in the North,which is not the custom elsewhere. It is also customary to wear a Taqiyah all through the ceremony in Muslim marriages. Many prefer to wear a Kurta.Kurta can be worn with Salwar,or Dhoti. A dazzling series of ensemble for bridegrooms include majestic sherwani, blended Indo-western suit and ethnic Jodhpuri suit. The exquisite shirts, coats and jackets are designed with extra care and touch to bring out the magnanimity out of the bridegroom on the marriage day. Precious embellishments are studded into the collars and the cuffs of the bridegroom’s dress. Available both in simple cottons and splendid, royal raw silk, these Kurta Pyjamas are a preferred mostly by the bridegrooms. Bride’s clothes Christian Bride in wedding sari The bride wears a saree or a lehenga according to the region. Red is considered to be the most auspicious color in among Hindus. While the saree is preferred as the bridal dress in South India, West, East India, most brides of other parts of India prefer Lehenga, Gagra Choli and Odni as bridal dress. Christian wedding Christian marriage in India is mostly an adaption of western wedding ceremonies. Here the bridegroom wears a western suit or tuxedo. The Bride usually opts for a silk saree or a western gown. Bridesmaid and family While during a marriage function, the bride and the bridegroom take the centre stage, the bridesmaid takes over everyone off-stage. Dainty Lehenga Cholis in bright colors, long cholis for the conservative, authentic designer lehengas and readymade lehenga cholis are usually selected by the bridesmaid as wedding ensemble. Sometimes the bridesmaids wear sari rich in silk and embroidery. Delicately put together with alluring fabrics of bright and cheery colours, these Lehengas bring out the playful nature of the bridesmaid.

Free Essays on Kobe Earthquake

On Tuesday the 17th of January in 1997, and earthquake struck in south central Japan in the town of Kobe and Osaka, Japan's second most populated and industrialised area, after Tokyo. The shock occured at a shallow depth on a fault running from Awaji Island through to the city of Kobe, which has a population of 1.5 million. The earthquake, measuring at a magnitude of 7.2 (mj) began at 5:46 am, and the strong ground shaking lasted for about 20 seconds, causing severe damage over a large area. After the earthquake 5,500 deaths were confirmed, and 35,000 were seriously injured. More that 300 000 people were homeless because of the destruction of their homes. 180 000 buildings were badly damaged or destryoed, and because of this, all economic activity in Kobe virtually halted. Because so many people lost their homes, severe crowding in shelters occured, and sanitation problems increased with a risk of communicatable desease. After only two weeks of the earthquake, influenza and pnuemonia were commonly seen. After the earthquake, fires broke out and spread and were uncontrollable for more than 4 weeks, and caused losses almost as much as the ones resulting from the shaking. The direct damage caused by the shaking was approximately 13 trillion yen (147 billion U.S), and damaged occured more than 100 kilometres from the epicentre. The repair costs ranged from U.S 95 billion to 147 billion, which is an economic loss greater that the gross national product of many countries. The region shaken by the earthquake amounts for almost one fifth of th Japanese economy. The region of Kobe is seen as a hotspot for earhquakes due to its location over the intersection of the three tectonic plates: the Pacific, Eurasian, and Phillipene, making the Earthquake of 97 a natural disaster which no one could predict or prevent.... Free Essays on Kobe Earthquake Free Essays on Kobe Earthquake On Tuesday the 17th of January in 1997, and earthquake struck in south central Japan in the town of Kobe and Osaka, Japan's second most populated and industrialised area, after Tokyo. The shock occured at a shallow depth on a fault running from Awaji Island through to the city of Kobe, which has a population of 1.5 million. The earthquake, measuring at a magnitude of 7.2 (mj) began at 5:46 am, and the strong ground shaking lasted for about 20 seconds, causing severe damage over a large area. After the earthquake 5,500 deaths were confirmed, and 35,000 were seriously injured. More that 300 000 people were homeless because of the destruction of their homes. 180 000 buildings were badly damaged or destryoed, and because of this, all economic activity in Kobe virtually halted. Because so many people lost their homes, severe crowding in shelters occured, and sanitation problems increased with a risk of communicatable desease. After only two weeks of the earthquake, influenza and pnuemonia were commonly seen. After the earthquake, fires broke out and spread and were uncontrollable for more than 4 weeks, and caused losses almost as much as the ones resulting from the shaking. The direct damage caused by the shaking was approximately 13 trillion yen (147 billion U.S), and damaged occured more than 100 kilometres from the epicentre. The repair costs ranged from U.S 95 billion to 147 billion, which is an economic loss greater that the gross national product of many countries. The region shaken by the earthquake amounts for almost one fifth of th Japanese economy. The region of Kobe is seen as a hotspot for earhquakes due to its location over the intersection of the three tectonic plates: the Pacific, Eurasian, and Phillipene, making the Earthquake of 97 a natural disaster which no one could predict or prevent....

The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010

The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010 The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010 The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010 By Daniel Scocco First of all we wish a happy 2011 to all our readers. Second, we compiled a list with our most popular posts in 2010, so that you can re-read your favorite ones and check if you missed any. Next Monday well resume the writing tips, so stay tuned! What Is Irony? (With Examples): Recently I was walking and talking with my co-worker, who happens to be a freelance writer and aspiring journalist. We were talking about the fact that our employers were providing us with a Thanksgiving lunch the day after Thanksgiving, and she said, â€Å"It’s so ironic!’’ â€Å"There’s† and â€Å"There are†: Contractions are supposed to be easy to say. For example, they’re for they are is easy to utter, but adding another re to there to create â€Å"there’re† produces a word difficult to pronounce. English words Don’t (usually) End with â€Å"u†: The spelling â€Å"thru† has an entry in the tolerant Merriam-Webster that jumps to through.The OED has no entry for â€Å"thru,† although the spelling is listed along with many other historical variations in the through entry. â€Å"Ma’am† and Regional Colonialism; Where I come from, children are taught that responding to grownups with a mere â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† is impolite. â€Å"Yeah† is unforgivably rude. As a child I was taught to say â€Å"yes, sir, no, ma’am† and when I grew up, I continued to say it. When I lived in England, women whom I’d addressed as â€Å"ma’am† would sometimes smile and tell me that over there â€Å"ma’am† was reserved for the queen. 20 Computer Terms You Should Know: A great deal of jargon is used when talking about computers, and it’s surprising how often these terms are used incorrectly. Even published, successful novels sometimes do so. The following list provides an explanation of some of the more common computing terms you may come across or need to employ in your own writing. â€Å"Fun, Funner, Funnest†?: The word fun probably originated as a dialect pronunciation of Middle English fon, which as an adjective meant â€Å"foolish† and as a noun meant â€Å"fool.† The Middle English verb fonnen meant â€Å"to be foolish, to be infatuated.† 16 Manuscript Format Guidelines: If you submit manuscripts to publishers or agents, you’ve probably come across the demand that you use â€Å"standard manuscript format† (or â€Å"SMF†) for your submissions. However, it isn’t always spelled out what this actually means. Curbs and Sidewalks: In U.S. English, the word sidewalk refers to a paved footpath alongside a street or a road. The sidewalk is usually raised above the level of the road. The curb is a stone or concrete edging between the road and the sidewalk. 100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid – The Book: One of the fastest ways to improve your writing skills is to free yourself from the most common English mistakes: things like exchanging less with fewer, misspelling its as it’s, or placing commas where they are not supposed to be. This Sink Needs Fixed: The expression is often associated with Pittsburgh and â€Å"a narrow band in the middle of the country extending from the east coast to Montana.† I grew up outside those regional boundaries and am quite used to hearing â€Å"The lawn needs mowed† and â€Å"This sink needs fixed.† Taking and Bringing: Both bring and take have numerous meanings. One can, for example, take medicine, take the Fifth, take a liking to, take it on the chin, take a partner, take in a stray, take up for a friend, take out a date, and take an oath. 40 Twitter Hashtags for Writers: If you use Twitter, you’re probably already familiar with the idea of hashtags. These are simply a way of categorizing particular tweets by including within them a keyword prefixed with the hash or â€Å"pound† (#) symbol. PIN Number: To keep your writing as clear and concise as possible, you should generally try to remove unnecessary words. Sometimes duplication is fine – for artistic effect, for example – but as a general rule, it’s best to say things in as few words as possible. Corporate English: Thanks to reader Nick Corcodilos for sharing a link to an especially mind-numbing bit of English prose. I won’t publish the link he sent me, but I will give you an excerpt. Book Titles from Shakespeare: When I was receiving my secondary education in a small Arkansas high school many years ago, every student was expected to study four Shakespeare plays before graduating. The Letter â€Å"Z† Will Be Removed from the English Alphabet: Surprising as it sounds, it looks like the English alphabet will be losing one of its letters on June 1st. The announcement came from the English Language Central Commission (ELCC). No Talent for Writing: Unless the questioner wants to become an oral storyteller and tell these great stories to a live audience, or record them as audiobooks, the answer has to be, â€Å"Yes, you’re stuck.† However, I suspect that the person asking the question has made some attempt to put stories into writing, but is unhappy with the result. Post, Entry or Article?: My co-blogger and I have come across an interesting usage problem. We don’t know what to call what we write. It feels strange to refer to blog posts as â€Å"articles.† â€Å"Articles† sounds official, proper and very old media. â€Å"Posts† is the more common word, but it demeans the quality of the writing. 20 Movies Based on Shakespeare Plays: For me, April is Shakespeare’s month. I’ll be writing several Shakespeare-related posts this month, starting with Shakespeare in the movies. Story Writing 101: Since prehistoric times, when tales were told around fires and painted on cave walls, stories have been an essential part of our human experience. But what exactly is a story – and how can you write a great one? Don’t Be Burnt By â€Å"Inflammable†: In English, the in- prefix is often used to reverse the meaning of an adjective. Thus inactive is the opposite of active and inelegant is the opposite of elegant. So why isn’t inflammable the opposite of flammable? Mankind, Humankind, and Gender: My views on gendered language are perhaps too loose to meet the more extreme requirements of political correctness. For example, I don’t see anything wrong with using the word mankind in the sense of â€Å"all human beings living on the earth.† As I understand the word, it comes from an Old English construct in which man means â€Å"person.† 30 Religious Terms You Should Know: When I was growing up in small town America, stories about religion were generally confined to the Saturday church pages in the local newspaper. Catholics and Jews were the most exotic religious practitioners in town, and â€Å"atheist† was a strong term of disapprobation. â€Å"Completed Suicide†: My take is that, outside its valid use in medical literature, the expression â€Å"completed suicide† is being used as a euphemism by people who feel there’s more of a stigma attached to saying that someone â€Å"committed suicide.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of Phrases"Certified" and "Certificated"7 Sound Techniques for Effective Writing

Futures Complete Featured Software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Futures Complete Featured Software - Essay Example It can be termed as a process of creating an incomplete model for future’s complete featured software. The process includes identification of the basic requirements, developing initial prototypes, gather reviews of the customers, revise and enhance. Prototyping is mostly exercised in projects where risk is involved. The aim is to eliminate an element of any serious risk in the project. The processing methodology is mostly used when a rapid development is essential. It will solve many issues related to the software and the end users. This usually engages interviews involving a number of users from all the departments or phases of the existing system. If there is any misunderstanding between the end user and the customer is present, all of them are exposed. It will help in finding the missing services and will help us to identify the confusing services. A system is available early on in the process. It serves to provide the foundation for deriving a working system specification. User Interface (UI) that can support end user’s training and testing of the software at the same time. That will enable us in developing software according to our needs and requirements completely. Quicker user feedback leads to the better solution. Along with the development our end using staff would be given a training session as well. Some of the problems that I think we could face are insufficient analysis. This can lead to ignore enhanced solutions, preparation of incomplete specifications or the conversion of limited prototypes into poorly engineered final projects that are hard to maintain. The user may have some confusion regarding the finished system as they may think that this is a prototype and actual system would be more refined one. In this methodology, the developer could misunderstand the user’s objective.