Saturday, November 30, 2019

Managing Customer Relationships in Thailand Airline Industry

Executive Summary Over the past few decades, the worldwide airline industry has been grappling with some major challenges. Just a few of them are: the aftermath of September 11th attack in the US, the ever increasing and fluctuating world oil prices, the effects of the devastating global economic downturn, as well as political and social upheavals experienced in different parts of the world, particularly in the Arab countries over the decades.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Managing Customer Relationships in Thailand Airline Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is this challenge that has left most airlines with dwindling margins against rising costs of operations. One way to deal with these challenges is to employ mechanisms to ensure maximum profitability and improved income with minimal or no wastage at all. But to be successful in the long run, companies should have strategies that must improve custo mer relations (Suriya 2009). To attract, acquire, serve and effectively retain the customers, is the best approach to recover from the effects of these financial challenges. This is why the use of customer service management has become a critical part of any company that wants to build a strong customer loyalty and beneficial relationship. The application of CRM to the airline industry has been on for a long time. However, the service has always been exclusive to first class and business passengers leaving the rest of other passengers without any services of such type (Jiang 2003). It has become clear that the only way to build long lasting customer relations in phase of the foregoing challenges is to ensure that companies employ more focused customer relations management that cuts across all the clients according to their demands. Recently, the challenges accruing from the changing economy, as well as the adoption of e-business are significant challenges that will also be examined here. This last aspect has been the driving factor behind the application of e-CRM, a component that is also described here (IBM Corporation 2008). Industry Overview There is no doubt that the invention of air travelling has not only collapsed the globe but has also contributed significantly to the exotic experience that has allowed the masses to move conveniently and do much business across the globe. It started from the recorded history of the activities of 1930s.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It was however in 1952, when the airplane and commercial travel as we know it today was realized. This was after the Board of Directors at Boeing Company authorized the manufacture of the first jet airplane, the project 367-80 and which we also know as 707 (Airline monitor 2006). This was the first successful commercial airplane and its success has led to the replacement of the sh ip, as well as the craft, as the means of choice for mass transport across continents (Airline monitor 2006). This merger was a mutually beneficial one in which the SAS contributed as mush as 30% of the initial capital, expertise and training to the Thai Airways company. To date, Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI) is the leading airline in the industry and it is wholly owned by the Thai people. It is the major carrier in the international and regional front (eTN 2009). Other airways mainly flying or operating domestic flights in Thai include the Nok Airways, Bangkok Airways, Business Air, Happy Air, Solar Air and Thai Air Asia among others (Thai Technic.com n.d.). Customer Relationship Management in the Thailand Airline Industry-Current state of affairs The program must ensure personalized attention to the customer and has to be consistent, proactive and experienced in all the points of contact between the airline and its clientele. It is also of great importance that any such endeavor must be an organization wide approach to secure the interest of all the clientele of an airline. The employees of an airline organization must be empowered to deliver an ultimate unforgettable customer experience. It is imperative the Thai airlines must be prepared to handle all its customers right, the first time, every time and at any place or point of touch with the airlines (Suriya 2009). Figure 1 illustrate the Key Elements of CRM Architecture. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Managing Customer Relationships in Thailand Airline Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Figure 1: Key Elements of CRM Architecture (Munusamy et al. 2011) Objectives The application of CRM in the Thai Airlines can help ease the cash drought and the ever increasing competition from major international airlines. The year 2010 saw a reduction in the profitability of most airlines all across Thailand. The culprits of this fall were the political clashes which resulted in the entire major airways; Thai airways international PLC, Airport of Thailand PLC, recording reduction and falling number of passenger travels. Moreover, shutdown of the European airspace in April 2010 buttressed this situation. The country recorded about 7% decline in flights to India according to Phromchanya and Setthasiriphaiboon (2010). At the same time, declines were reported on flights to China, South Korea, and Japan. This decline saw the introduction of some strategies to help protect the industry from further losses. The strategies included special ticket deals, and reducing the frequency of some routes. In the same year, the Thai air traffic had targeted a growth rate of 10% and which was really affected by the unfolding events. In spite of this, the year 2012 was expected to be a good year for improved tourism activity in Thailand as reported by Wood (2012). The countries’ economy was expected to bounce back from the effects of the man made and natural disasters of 2010. To ensure a responsive airline in Thailand, the airlines need to embrace CRM. Specifically this development will ensure the following objectives. To ensure revenue improvement for the airlines. To ensure savings best running of CRM. To ensure collaboration among all the players in the airline sector that will result in stability and profitability (Jiang 2003). Strategy Adoption of the CRM in Thai Airline industry must be based on a strategy that takes into account the challenges of dwindling fortunes, the fluctuating world oil prices, the fierce competition from other international players in this field, as well as the understanding the challenge put forward by the fact that customers are being spoiled having an access to a broad choice with a more flexible system that can easily allow them to defect from one airline to another (IBM Corporation 2008). The following strategic adjustments are bound to bring about the b est success for the Thailand airlines. The first strategy should be to embrace the Information technology and World Wide Web to ensure that customers can book and make enquiries about the airlines 24 hours a day.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This will reduce the sales cost by eliminating the travel agents. The last strategy is to embrace the usage of e-CRM to help attract retain customers and improve customer loyalty (IBM Corporation 2008). The Drivers of CRM The business environment will continue to be fierce The business environment for the airline industry has been froth with numerous challenges that has revealed the fierce nature of the competition that the airline companies must sustain in order that they stay in business. From the ever fluctuating prices, the increasing competition from world’s major airlines and the open business environment, Thai Airline industry operates against a backdrop of major challenges. These challenges force the Thai Airlines to be prepared to learn and track the needs, behaviors and the lifestyle of their clientele. It is only by using this information for value positioning that the Thai Airlines would be able to attain customer loyalty. This information will also ensure selecti ve competitive advantage and unique positioning all necessary to thrive against the competition. This calls for deeper application of the CRM within each organization (IBM Corporation 2008). The cost of attracting and Retention of customer loyalty gets exorbitant As it has been mentioned previously, the e-business and the new economy have bred challenges to the airline businesses across the globe. It is this heightened activity that has left many airlines putting in place all manner of plans to woo and keep their customers.. According to Chen and Popovich (2003) a company loses 50% of its customers after every five years. This indicates that companies are always at a state of flux which involves attracting new customers every so often. In the same report, Kalakota, reports that it takes 5 to10 times more resources to acquire a new customer as it would take to keep old ones (Chen Popovich 2003). This is a clear reason for encouraging companies to retain customers based on long term relationship as opposed to always looking for new ones. More challenging is the fact that the recent developments in the liberalizations of the airline industry that begun from the early 1970, has led to customers wielding real customer power that leaves the airline companies with no choice but to put in place mechanisms to retain their customers if they wish to stay afloat leave alone to thrive. Customer relations therefore remain key to ensure airline growth and this is the very reason Airlines in Thailand can no longer ignore the CRM approach (Airline Monitor 2006). Developments in information Technology has led businesses to afford use of CRM effectively The changes in the information technology front have made the actualization of CRM such as challenging task for many organizations. At the same time, this change may be considered a fundamental advantage in leveraging on old customer relation strategy that if effectively employed, would result in improved sales and profitability for the airline industry. In any given trip, a traveler is likely to have multiple interactions with the representatives of an airline company with each interaction giving the traveler a chance to judge the level of service offered to them by the airline (Suriya 2009). All these interaction points make uniform and consistent delivery of awesome customer experience even more challenging. This can effectively be resolved by creation of customer contact centers as avenues to ensure excellent customer experience, the first time, every time, and at all points of interaction in all areas (Hutchinson 2012). Some of the possible advantages of the CRM in the airline industry are captured in the figure 1 below adopted from (Phisanu and Piyarat 2010). Figure 2: Benefits of a CRM Strategy (Case Study 2008) Leveraging CRM to e-CRM As companies strive to move from CRM to e-CRM, the swift is likely to bring gains for the Thailand Airline industry. Specifically, e-CRM is likely to reduce customer defection, as it allows for more efficient handling of the customer while at the same time allows for their complaints to be handled in real time through the customer contact centers. Second, a company is able to achieve increased competitive differentiation and value positioning that is unlikely to be aped by others. This is possible as the company personalizes each customer experience in a way that is unique to customers’ satisfaction. The airlines will be able to improve brand image, experience high customer loyalty and thus rank in more income. This improvement comes as the increase in a companies’ market share, as well as a healthy bottom line (Hutchinson 2012). Successful CRM and e-CRM Strategies in the Thailand Airline Industry Airlines and any other businesses for that matter have a chance to ensure improved attraction and retention of customers if only they allow all the activities to be customer centric. This includes their operations, strategies and all are as of business. Thailand Airlines might use the model below that shows the various interactions between the various micro and macro-environments in which the airlines operate (Case Study 2008). Figure 3 Airline e-CRM system model Drivers of change in the Thailand Airline Industry and implications for  Changes in CRM strategies over the next three years As we approach the next few years we can only say that the appreciation of CRM as a customer attraction and retention model within the airline industry has just begun. The challenge is unparalleled, but Thai Airline has done well to apply this concept in the face of the very many challenges they face. The key drivers of change within Thailand’s Airline industry can be summarized as: The desire to better connect customers to the airline more conveniently. To utilize the digital information sharing that leads to reduced cost of sales and overheads. The desire to compress place and time for customers. Last is the need to have CRM updated in real time (aMaDEUS 2012). And with these changes Thai Airlines can be prepared to fly high and compete even with the worlds’ best airline companies. Figure 4. Source; (Munusamy et al. 2011) The Future CRM focus activities in Thai Airlines for the next three years Based on the key drivers listed here, there is an emerging trend in the nature of activities that shall be the mainstay of the implementation CRM strategies in the Thai Airline Industry. Facing fears competition due to the rapid changes, occurring in the Thai Airline industry, the major players have very limited time within which to respond to theses challenges or else face dire consequences. The next ten years is surely going to be a reaping time depending on what a company has sown with regard to activities that are directly a manifestation of this delicate industry. Obviously, there has been a very serious misunderstanding of CRM applications in some industries where, instead of giving it a long t erm approach, many Airlines have looked at this as a distinct component that they often airline to common flying practices. The challenge of these three years must be a shift in the operationalisation of the CRM application and adoption or implementation. Customer relationship that caters for the very value and need s of the customer must be the focus of the current implementers of this strategy. Airline companies must strive to optimize the activities that generate positive customer feed back that attracts productivity and loyalty. It is only this approach that will ensure that the companies augment and keep generation revenue for the development of the very crucial functions within the competitive environment in which they operate. They must focus on creating mechanism to get hold of and hang on to their high value customers with lots of precision to ensure improved results. The strategies of CRM that ensure reduction of costs of operations awhile guaranteeing customers the ultima te experience must be the core of all customer relation mechanisms put forth by the Thai Airlines (Munusamy et al. 2010). Conclusion Of late, the factors such as the pre-flight boarding services, cabin crew handling and their positioning, as well as the services offered are closely related to the extent to which customers feel catered for (Munusamy et al. 2010). The overriding finding is that most airlines world wide and the Thailand in particular do not only look at price differentiation as the only way to attract and retain customers. The customers are now more than ever before have now focuses on issues of building better relationships with their airlines. CRM implementation must therefore focus on bringing about a holistic airline commitment that embodies the decision of every one within the organization and particularly starting from the top management. There must be a clear distinction between the frequent flyer progrmammes offered by most airline companies and the requirement s of the much desired change in the implementation of the new CRM technology. It is evident that the reliance of most companies on the segmentation of their clients based only on mileage is an idea that has been overtaken by the many unprecedented events and changes happening in the Global airline industry as a whole. Companies are in a better position to facilitate their business and client segmentation based on the value and the needs of these clients. The initial segmentation criteria had the problem of overlooking the fundamental and unique differences of the needs of most of the customers leaving high value customers discontent with the services offered. Moreover companies must act boldly and courageously to avoid acting as followers but as leaders in the very field where they operate. They must be creative and innovative to capture their high value customers and corresponding revenue. The needs of the new market environment demands that the organizations design management syst ems which are customer oriented and cutting across the whole organization. They must help their employees to understand the challenge to have a complete view of the customer and to offer their leadership and supporting role to ensure successful implementation of the CRM. The use of CRM is seen as the best bet for the airline industry to attract and retain customers with a bid to aging out competition while maintaining customer loyalty. It however unfolds that companies will have to adopt both e-CRM and CRM at the same time so as to take advantage of the developments in IT, as well as on internet (Paul Hartmann 2003). The development of customer analysis tools that support quick decision making by organizations should be the focus of e-CRM. This must be accompanied by the laying out of a support infrastructure. It is this customer information that is vital for the understanding of the different levels of services required based on genuine customer value. Use of e-CRM will definitely lead to better operational decisions and act as a tool for both long term and short tem efficiencies. The Airlines will reap from a strong relationship management with the benefits of enjoying long term growth in spite of the competition. Reference List Airline monitor 2006, A review of trends in the airline and commercial industry Airlines 101- A Brief History of the Airline and Commercial Aircraft Industries, http://www.airlinemonitor.com/tutorial.html. aMaDEUS 2012, From Chaos to collaboration- Insight into the future of travel, http://www.amadeus.com/blog/11/01/from-chaos-to-collaboration-insight-into-the-future-of-travel?SEM=Google_futuretourism_airline_industry. Case Study 2008, Classic Airlines Scenario, http://www.case_studies.com. Chen, I Popovich, K 2003, â€Å"Understanding customer relationship management (CRM): People, process and technology†, Business Process Management Journal, vol. 9, no. 5, pp.672–688. eTN 2009, Thai and Nok air join forces to boot domestic and regional air travel, http://www.eturbonews.com/13325/thai-and-nok-air-join-forces-boost-domestic-and-regional-air-tra. Hutchinson, D 2012, Customer experience management in the airline industry, http://www.gcem.org/eng/content_details.jsp?contentid=2025subjectid=101 . IBM Corporation 2008, Customer Focused Airline: A Vision for Airline CRM, http://www-07.ibm.com/solutions/in/travel/pdf/May27_Customer_Focused_Airline.pdf. Jiang, H 2003, Application of e-CRM to the Airline Industry, http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/jiang/paper.html. Munusamy, J, Chelliah, S Pandian, S 2011, â€Å"Customer Satisfaction Delivery In Airline Industry In Malaysia: A Case of Low Cost Carrier†, Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, vol.5, no.11, pp. 718-723. Paul, H Hartmann, J 2003, â€Å"The World Airline Industry: A European Perspective†,  Fachhochschule Mainz Case Series, p. 303. Phisanu and Piyarat 2010, Thai airline industry traffic passengers down, http: //www.eturbonews.com/15778/thai-airline-industry-traffic-passenger-numbers-are-down. Phromchanya, P Setthasiriphaiboon, P 2010, Thai airline industry: Traffic, passenger numbers are down, http://www.eturbonews.com/15778/thai-airline-industry-traffic-passenger-numbers-are-down| Apr 27, 2010. Suriya, C 2009, â€Å"The impact of low-cost airline to airline industry: An experience of Thailand†, Journal of Economi Malaysia, vol. 43, pp. 3-25. Thai Technic.com n. d., Airlines in Thailand, http://www.thaitechnics.com/thai-airlines.html Wood, A 2012, Upbeat prediction for Thailand tourism from new Skal Thailand national president, http://www.eturbonews.com/28155/upbeat-prediction-thailand-tourism-new-skal-thailand-national-pr. This report on Managing Customer Relationships in Thailand Airline Industry was written and submitted by user Keith V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Disability Awareness Essay Example

Disability Awareness Essay Example Disability Awareness Essay Disability Awareness Essay Introduction As a member of Security Team you may experience the need to communicate with disabled customers or visitors to these premises. It is therefore important that we all understand the correct etiquette to use to ensure that the customer or visitor has a positive memorable visit due to the excellent customer service we provide. Words and phrases guidelines Disability vs. Handicap A disability is a condition caused by such things as an accident or trauma, disease, or genetics that limits a person’s vision, hearing, speech, mobility, or mental function. A handicap is a constraint imposed upon a person, regardless of that person’s ability or disability. These constraints can be physical or attitudinal. For example, stairs and curbs are handicaps imposed on those who use wheelchairs. Points to Note Individuals with disabilities are people! Individuals with disabilities are whole people! They expect to be treated with the same dignity and respect that you do. Just because someone has a disability does not mean he/she is disabled. Disability Etiquette Remember, he/she is a person, NOT a disability. A wheelchair is part of a person’s body space; do not lean on it. Speak directly to the individual, not to the person assisting him or her. Interact with the person at eye level. If need be, sit down. Be aware of the distance between you and the individual, as he or she may have difficulty hearing you. Offering help is never the wrong thing to do, but make sure it is provided in an unobtrusive manner. Follow through on whatever needs to be done. Do not make a premature exit when assisting someone. Never patronise them by patting them on the head or back. Offer to shake their hand, even if it appears as if they have limited use of their arms or have an artificial limb. Simply the gesture will help them feel accepted and create a warmer environment for communication. For those who cannot shake hands, lightly touch the individual on the shoulder or arm to welcome their presence. Look at and speak directly to the person, not through a companion, carer, or interpreter. Treat adults as adults. Don’t apologize if you use an expression such as â€Å"I’ve got to run† or â€Å"See you later† that relates to the person’s disability. These expressions are part of everyday language and it is likely the apology will be more offensive than the expression. Don’t pet or feed service animals or guide dogs as they are working. When giving directions, make sure you consider things such as the weather, locations of ramps/curb-cuts, and other physical obstacles that may hinder travel for individuals with disabilities. Speech Disability Etiquette Never assume†¦. many people mistakenly identify these individuals as being mentally retarded or mentally ill. Make sure to be patient in finding out which communication method works best for them. Be patient and unhurried when talking to the individual; understand that the conversation may not move along rapidly. Make eye contact. Use the same tone of voice and volume that you would normally use unless the person asks differently. Do not try to finish the person’s sentences; rather be patent so the person can complete his or her thoughts. Ask questions that require a short answer or a nod or shake of the head. If you do not understand, ask the person to repeat the statement. Listen to the person’s words, not to the manner in which they are said. Respect that a person with a speech impairment may prefer one-on-one conversation to group discussion. Ask the person how to best communicate instead of guessing. Be 100% attentive when conversing with an individual who has difficulty speaking. If you are in a noisy and/or crowded environment, don’t panic. Just try and move to a quieter location to talk. Let them complete their own sentences. Be patient and do not try to speak for them. Do not pretend to understand; instead, tell them what you do understand and allow them to respond. Do not be corrective, but rather, encouraging. When necessary, it’s OK to ask short questions that require short answers. Wheelchair Etiquette Do not automatically assist the individual without permission. It is ok to offer assistance. However, if the offer is not accepted, respect his/her request! Some who use wheelchairs may also use canes or other assistive devices and may not need his/her wheelchair all the time. Individual who use wheelchairs may require different degrees of assistance. If you will be speaking with an individual in a wheelchair for more than a couple minutes, find a place where you can sit down to give the individual a more comfortable viewing angle. A person’s wheelchair is part of his/her own personal space. Never move, lean on, rock, or touch his/her wheelchair without permission. In addition to being rude, it can be dangerous. Do not assume that having to use a wheelchair is a tragedy. Wheelchairs can be a means of freedom to fully engage in life. Hearing Disability Etiquette Do not shout at a hearing impaired person unless they request you to. Just speak in a normal tone but make sure your lips are visible. Keep conversations clear and find a quiet location to communicate. If you are asked to repeat yourself, answering â€Å"nothing, it’s not important† implies the person is not worth repeating yourself for. It is demeaning; be patient and comply. Show consideration by facing the light source and keeping things (such as cigarettes or your hands) away from you mouth while speaking. Visual Disability Etiquette When meeting someone with a visual disability, identify yourself and others with you (e. g. â€Å"Jane is on my left and Jack is on my right. †). Continue to identify the person with whom you are speaking. Do not assume that a person needs your help, rather ask if they would like help. When providing assistance, offer simple information about the surrounding area in order to help familiarize the person with the location. Follow through on what needs to be done when helping an individual with a visual impairment; do not make a premature exit. When greeting a person, feel free to shake his or her hand after saying, â€Å"How do you do? Let me shake your hand. † When speaking with a person who is visually impaired identify yourself by name. Address people by name during a conversation so they know you are speaking to them. Speak in a normal tone and speed of voice. Answer all questions verbally instead of with nods, gestures, or other body language. Direct your conversation to the person with the vision impairment, not to another person or helper who may be with them. In order to gain the attention of a person with a visual impairment, touch the individual lightly on the arm as you speak. Do not feel awkward giving written information to a person with a visual impairment; he or she can always ask for assistance reading it. Let the person know when you are leaving his or her company. When walking with someone with a visual impairment, offer them your arm for guidance. They will likely keep a half-step behind to anticipate curbs and steps. Always remember that the person is not the condition. Keep all your speech person focused, not disability focused. AcceptableUnacceptable A person with a disabilityCripple DisabilityHandicap; handicapped person A person who has mental or developmental disabilitiesRetarded, Spastic Able-bodied; able to walk, see, etc Healthy; normal- Just because someone has a disability does not mean they are not healthy A wheelchair user; walks with aidConfined/restricted to a wheelchair Mental or emotional disabilityCrazy; insane A person who is deaf/ hearing impairment Deaf and dumb; mute A person with epilepsy An epileptic Avoid terms which carry a negative connotation: Abnormal, Afflicted, Confined, Crippled, Defective, Handicap, Invalid, Lame, Palsied, Retarded, Stricken, Sufferer, Victim, Withered Use empowering, individualized vocabulary; dont clump them with phrases like the blind or the disabled.

Friday, November 22, 2019

11 Inspiring, Uplifting Quotes for Dad

11 Inspiring, Uplifting Quotes for Dad Playing daddy all the time can be a tiresome task. Dads sometimes feel ignored, unappreciated, and even unwanted in their own family. When that happens, it is time for some words of inspiration. Inspirational dad quotes will pep up any sagging spirit. Dad Quotes for Inspiration Harry S. Truman I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. Lydia M. Child Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father! Kent Nerburn It is much easier to become a father than to be one. Euripides Noble fathers have noble children. Richard Henry Dana Better to be driven out from among men than to be disliked of children. Douglas MacArthur By profession, I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder - infinitely prouder - to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battlefield but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, Our Father who art in Heaven. Anonymous One night a father overheard his son pray Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is. Later that night, the Father prayed Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be. Croesus In peace, the sons bury their fathers, but in war, the fathers bury their sons. Sir Stephen Spender When a child, my dreams rode on your wishes, I was your son, high on your horse, my mind a top whipped by the lashes of your rhetoric, windy of course. Chinese Proverb If a son is uneducated, his dad is to blame. Jan Hutchins When I was a kid, my father told me every day, Youre the most wonderful boy in the world, and you can do anything you want to.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Problem of Leadership in Cuba, Mexico and Brazil Essay

The Problem of Leadership in Cuba, Mexico and Brazil - Essay Example 2. Cuba The Cuban tale of independence was preceded by two more important events namely the independence of Haiti in 1791 and the call for independence from Spain in the 1820’s. The Haitian revolution had proven beyond doubt that people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds could operate together to subdue not one but three colonial powers to claim their independence. The Cuban revolution and its constituents resembled the Haitian insurgents in racial composition as the call to arms was taken up by blacks, mulattos and whites alike. Previously the Cuban domain had remained faithful to Spain even though other nations were claiming their independence. Cuba was given the motto â€Å"The Always Most Faithful Island† by the Spanish Crown although small plans for insurgency had been unearthed throughout the 1830’s and 1840’s. The loyalty towards the Spanish Crown stemmed from dependence on Spain for trade as well as protection from pirates and unease at the rising power of the United States. The actual insurgency was initiated by Carlos Manuel De Cespedes who was a sugar plantation owner. Carlos freed his slaves and declared that any slaves who were presented for military service would be freed. The conflict emerged in 1868 and became known as the Ten Years War with the emergence of a new government supported by blacks, mulattos and white men. Throughout the struggle race was nearly dismantled as a classification as white men served under blacks and blacks and mulattos rose to prominence as colonels, generals and the like. The newly formed government was not recognised by the United States though other European and Latin American governments recognised it. The war ended in 1878 with the Pact of Zanjon as Spain promised greater autonomy to Cuba. In the following year another insurgency was initiated by a Cuban patriot better known as Calixto Garcia. This effort was labelled as the Little War but it received little support. Slavery was abolished generally in Cuba following these events and abolition was completed in the 1880’s. The next conflict in Cuba emerged in 1895 with forces led by Jose Marti who was finally killed in the battle of Dos Rios on May 19, 1895. The large Spanish army outnumbered the insurgents as local people were forced into concentration camps by the military governor of Cuba. The final end of the war in 1898 placed leadership in the hands of the influential whites and some mulattos. Following independence Cuba saw social and political corruption along with short regimes that boomed and waned in rapid succession till the socialist revolution. 3. Mexico Mexico was ruled by a republican general Porfirio Diaz who took over Mexico during the French intervention. Porfirio was in charge of the country from 1876 to 1880 and then from 1884 to 1911 through five consecutive reelections and the period became known better as Porfirio. This era was characterized by large progress in economics as wel l as the arts and sciences though economic disparity was on the rise along with political repression. Election fraud associated with Diaz’s fifth election instigated the Mexican Revolution of 1910 which was led by Francisco I. Madero forcing Diaz to resign in 1911. However Francisco was overthrown only two years later in a coup by the conservative general Victoriano Huerta which put the nation into another civil war

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Brief Memo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brief Memo - Case Study Example As the adviser firm, Harris Associates LP was sued by Jones amongst other investors, citing – section 36(b) of the Act. From receiving an adverse finding as passed by the Illinois District Court, Jones appealed, gaining a hearing in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., 08-586 1). However, in the end, the majority of the Court of Appeals (Maryland) did rule against the claim, citing the lack of judicial authority; regarding the legal regulation of investment company fees. In explanation, the court was of the view that the best regulator of ‘fees’ was the free market-arena itself. Further rejecting the provided line of argumentation, the court also viewed government as not being ‘in-place’; in regard to making such an assessment. Ultimately, the ideal portrayed was that of a strong free-market approach, as opposed to legislative interpretation of prevailing aspects of the existing economy (Jones v. Harris Associates L.P). In effect, the court ruled that when the settling entity/ person charged with a given trust’s (firm) administration made a given decision, it was in essence conclusive. This is in reference to – The Contractarian Basis of the Law of Trusts, 105 Yale L.J. 625 (1995) (Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., 08-5 86 1). In the case of the – Serita J. Weathersby v. Kentucky Fried Chicken National Management Co., No. 92-2360 (1993/4) Case [326 Md. 663, 670, 607, A.2d 8 (1992)] – essentially concerns discrimination within the employment sector, public accommodation and housing. Under focus is the aspect of employment litigation whereby the Maryland Court of Appeals did, and continues to emphasize, on the need of tort law; in regard to intentional infliction of emotional distress, to be utilized sparingly. This should be only in cases of opprobrious behavior that is inclusive of truly outrageous/ extreme conduct; extreme to the nature of going beyond bounds of decency, and hence

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Facebook Case Essay Example for Free

Facebook Case Essay It has been almost one year since Mark Zuckerberg decided to take his social media site public. Created on the dream of making the world more open and connected, Mark has devoted the past ten years to making that dream come true. Starting while still in college with a product called Facemash, Mark saw the potential for connecting people through the internet. He has devoted his entire adult life to Facebook which took six years to become profitable. Facebook quickly overtook competitors such as MySpace and became the social square of a global village. The user numbers grew exponentially and soon outnumbered the populations of many countries. The resulting global village was seen as ripe for advertising, profiteering, and soap-boxing. Through the growth, Mark was able to maintain and spread a sense of information democracy. All voices and opinions had equal pull and could reach audiences previously inaccessible. Formerly repressed people had an accessible outlet to outsiders. The simultaneous development of the smartphone industry provided portable and affordable platforms for Facebook everywhere. But what is all of this social capital worth? In 2011 an investor purchased a 1% stake in Facebook for $500 Million, which set Facebook’s net worth at $50 Billion. A year later when deciding to take the company public, Facebook negotiated an IPO price of $38 per share for a total company value of $104 Billion dollars. Many were skeptical that a social media company with few physical assets and no physical products was actually worth over $100 Billion. In fact, Facebook’s IPO was the highest initial value of any newly offered company. Mark himself was uneasy and not openly supportive of the jump to IPO. It was not a strategic business decision but rather a necessity based on the SEC’s rules (Facebook, Inc, 2013). Investors and users alike wondered how Facebook would maintain its dominance in the future, and ensure increasing shareholder wealth. Speculation ran wild that Facebook would begin to charge for its traditionally free service. Mark Zuckerberg had to do massive media campaigns on his own platform to regain control of Facebook’s image. The investors were right to be concerned. Facebook (FB) stock lost 35% ercent of its value in the first 10 days of public trade, and to date has not recovered to the initial stock price of $38 per share. Zuckerberg has a history of leaving investors hanging, and even stood up many investors for an entire day in Boston (Gandel, 2012). Mark has more pressure than ever to develop new revenue streams through his Facebook platform to appease shareholders without push ing users away to the ever growing number of competitor social media sites. Mark has stated multiple times that profits are not his primary goal. Now he has to make shareholders happy. Company amp; Management: Facebook headquarters is located in Menlo Park, California. Located in the heart of the US tech world, they are well positioned to attract top talent and stay abreast of all industry occurrences and trends. They have about 10 offices within the United States and more than 20 offices worldwide. Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 and post IPO is Chairman, CEO, and owns 57% of shareholder voting power. Sheryl Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer of the company. Sheryl serves on more than four boards including ONE and the Walt Disney Company. She was formerly the Chief of Staff for the United States Department of the Treasury under the Clinton Administration. She also worked previously as economist for the World Bank. Her responsibilities for Facebook vary from marketing and business development to legalities and human resources for the company (Facebook3, 2013). Facebook’s Chief Financial Officer is David Ebersman. He came from working at Genentech as their Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President. Rounding off the management team, the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering is Mike Schroepfer (Facebook2, 2013). He comes from Mozilla, where he served as Vice President of Engineering and was instrumental in the development of the Firefox software. The board of directors for Facebook is responsible for the interests of the shareholders and oversees the management of the company. The purpose of management and the board of directors is to fulfill Facebook’s mission of making the world more open and connected. These responsibilities can be at odds with one another. Mark has stated publicly and paraphrased in the 2013 SEC filing that profits are not the main goal, and that he will steer the company owards long term innovation over short term gains. Facebook’s board is comprised of nine members. Two of these nine members are from within Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sheryl Sandberg. The remaining seven board members are employed at various organizations across the country. Marc Andreessen, Co-founder, and General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz (board member since June 2008) Jim Breye r, Partner at Accel Partners and one of Facebook’s first major investors (board member since April 2005) Susan Desmond-Hellmann, Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) (board member since March 2013) Donald E. Graham, Chairman, and CEO of The Washington Post Company (board member since March 2009) Reed Hastings, Chairman, and CEO of Netflix (board member since June 2011) Erskine Bowles, President Emeritus at The University of North Carolina (board member since September 2011) Peter Thiel, Partner at the Founders Fund (board member since April 2005). Original Facebook investor and founder of PayPal (Facebook3, 2013). Facebook grew from 3200 employees in December 2011 to 4619 employees in December 2012. These employees are distributed across the approximately 30 worksites. The Facebook tagline for employees is â€Å"we don’t have rules, we have values† (Facebook6, 2013). The company has a variety of job areas; such as technical staff, sales and marketing, general, and administrative personnel, software engineers, and product designers (Facebook, Inc, 2013). Between 2011 and 2012 there was a 73% growth in engineering, design, and product management hiring; while at the same time there was a 19% increase employees supporting global sales, business development, and customer service jobs. History of Facebook: Facebook began as Facemash in 2003. Facemash was a social rating system for Mark’s Harvard classmates. Members were able to look at two peoples photos and rate them either ‘hot’ or ‘not’. However, the photos were not obtained consensually and the site was shut down. Though short lived, Facemash provided insight that people really enjoyed using the internet to look at photos of friends. In early 2004, Thefacebook. com was launched with a mission to connect people across the university. Three hundred university students were invited to use the site, and within twenty-four hours, more than 1,200 had signed up. This exponential growth drew the attention of other IT inventors and entrepreneurs. By June 2004, Sean Parker co-founder of Napster, and Peter Thiel founder of PayPal had joined forces with Facebook. At year end, Facebook had reached 1 million users. Facebook user growth focused exclusively on college campuses (Zeevi, 2013). In 2005, Accel partners invested $12. 7 million while user-ship continued to expand globally amongst students. Prior to September 2006, Facebook only allowed students and certain company employees (including Apple and Microsoft) to sign up. On September 26, 2006, Facebook became open to anyone over the age of 13 that had an email address. This not only allowed for an explosion of growth but the development of business pages and a new form of advertisement. The growth continued steadily and in September of 2009 Facebook finally became cash flow positive (Zeevi, 2013). By 2011 Facebook was completely mainstream and an important focus for business owners and marketers. The same year they partnered with Skype to allow video chat, and continued updating the look and functionality of the site. Facebook acquired mobile photo-editing company Instagram prior to their IPO in May 2012. Facebook’s move from private to public was not a strategic business decision but mandatory by the Security and Exchange Commission law. Since going public Facebook has tested and launched several new revenue generating service streams, cognizant of shareholder expectations. Currently the site hosts 50 million pages, 10 million applications, and 300+ million photos (Facebook8, 2013). Facebook Products and Services: Facebook has three main customer groups: users, software developers, and marketers. It has developed certain products and services to create value for each group and maximize their interconnectivity. Facebook has also been careful that the products for certain customers, namely developers, do not cannibalize on business from other customer groups. One of Facebook’s fears is that its developer friendly platforms will allow users to view the same content on third party sites. The delivery method for Facebook’s products and services is via the internet over any computer, laptop, or tablet. Recently Facebook has been focusing on expanding their mobile availability. Most smartphone platforms in the US have access to the Facebook application. Products for users include personal or business pages, events, groups, photo and video sharing, messaging, graph search, and news feeds. Pages allow companies, organizations, groups, or individuals to be visible within the Facebook community with a unique profile. Users have control over the information they share and who they share it with. Many businesses have pages in hopes of gaining an outside interest and understanding their customers. Updates to pages are posted in the newsfeed of a person who has â€Å"liked† that page. An algorithm determines whom the user interacts the most with and makes those updates more easily accessible. A new feature is the ability to mark a user as an acquaintance rather than a friend. This has given users more control over their privacy. The events product allows a user to organize a group meeting or gathering, send virtual invitations, and track respondents. It also creates a forum for discussion so any question asked, for example â€Å"What is dress code? † is visible to all other members, streamlining event planning work. Groups combine a set of people into one space within Facebook to streamline communication within the members and only for those members. Groups can be fan pages, memorial areas, or family members. Facebook also has video and photo sharing options. Similar to Snapfish or Flickr, a person can upload albums of photos and/or video within Facebook for sharing amongst friends and family. This allows people to be â€Å"tagged† within photos, which in turn link the photo to the specified person’s profile page. In August 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram, a photo editing site, which has enhanced their photo service offerings. As of January 2013, Instagram had 90 million frequent users, and it is easily integrated with mobile devices. The Facebook mobile application enables users to link messaging via text, email, and chat so that the messages stay as one continuous conversation. Timeline, a recent improvement, allows users to show their profile based on dates that are most important to them. It allows control over specific sections of the timeline, limiting viewers to enhance privacy. Newsfeed is a consistently updated and ongoing list of connections, likes, pages, etc. that others are able to comment on or like and that is available as the center focus of the service page. This list is personalized to the interests of the owner of the newsfeed algorithmically. Finally, Facebook offers graph search, which allows one to search using small phrases in order to in order to find people, friends, photos, etc. throughout the Facebook realm. In 2012, Facebook updated their iPad, mobile, iPhone, and Android applications to update speed and ensure a consistent experience for users. For software developers, Facebook offers development tools and application programming interfaces (APIs). These allow third party site developers to integrate their content with Facebook. The integration helps boost the rating of the third party site and allows them to take advantage of Facebook’s network of 1 billion users. As of year-end 2012, over 10 million aps and webpages had been designed and integrated with Facebook’s platforms. Social Plugin’s are a very short section of code offered by Facebook to enable the â€Å"Like Button† on other sites for easy social connection. These also increase the website’s rating when searched on Google. com. Facebook also provides a secure payments platform allowing users to buy services directly. This is most widely used for the purchase of games and virtual goods. An example is Farmville where players can purchase virtual farm goods to support the game via the platform. Marketers have access to all the products of a user, plus Ad analytics and insights. These services allow the tracking of ad campaigns and their effectiveness. Campaign data including number of viewers, region viewers are from, unique clicks and opens are all available in a quick view format and as raw data. This allows marketing clients to tailor ad campaigns and increase effectiveness quickly. Newer products introduced in 2012 are Facebook Custom Audiences that allows marketers to find their customers on Facebook, and Facebook Exchange that allows marketers to bid for ads in real time (Facebook2, 2013). Customer Profile: One out of 7 people on the earth use Facebook regularly. Facebook has 1. 06 Billion monthly users, 680 million of which are mobile users. Over 80% of Facebook users live outside the United States. User-ship increased nearly 25 percent from 2011 to 2012. Much of this growth came from Brazil, India, and Indonesia whose growth rates are 81%, 54%, and 25% respectively. By comparison growth in the United States during the same timeframe was only 8%. The company made an average of $5. 32 of revenue per user in 2012, a 6% increase from 2011. In 2011 the average user age was 38 and the average number of friends was 229. The average user also had never met face-to-face with 7% of those friends (Bosker, 2011). The figure above shows the dominant social networking sites globally. Pale grey areas are regions where social media has not yet penetrated in a meaningful way. Currently there are no Facebook users in China, as it is prohibited by the government. Facebook expects with the increase in mobile platforms that user-ship in underserved areas will increase since the availability of Wi-Fi continues to outpace infrastructure construction. Financial: Mark delayed taking Facebook public as long as possible. He was eventually forced to by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (Gandel, 2012). The Facebook IPO was a global financial buzz. The IPO was the largest to date, $104 Billion at $38 per share. In comparison, the Facebook IPO was 6 times larger than Google’s and 8 times larger than Apple’s (Gandel, 2012). It is a benchmark for future tech IPO’s. The bulk of the company’s worth comes from ad revenue and intangibles. Last minute analyses pointed that the company was not in as comfortable a position as initially thought, causing many large investors to withdraw their interest (Sloan, 2012). This revenue mix still continues. The IPO made millionaire and billionaires overnight, both for Facebook executive staff and Morgan Stanley who underwrote the IPO. Morgan Stanley profited more than expected due to the immediate drop in share prices. They had pre-sold stock to clients at the IPO price beyond the stock they actually had. They were able to purchase the additional shares directly from the market, making a larger profit (Gandel, 2012). The mix of Facebook stock sold was unbalanced. Facebook early investors, including Mark Zuckerberg, sold more than 241 million shares, while only 180 million were sold directly from the company. Shares sold by early investors accounted for 57% of the total shares sold in the IPO. Facebook has two classes of stock. The common stock sold to the public allows one vote per share. The preferred stocks owned by Zuckerberg and a select few allow 10 votes per share. As of May 2012, Mark Zuckerberg owned only 18% of Facebook’s stock, but had a majority control (57%) of votes, allowing him to maintain control of the company (Gandel, 2012). Mark is now responsible for continued growth and profit to his company and to employees, but to the external public shareholders who are already soured and skeptical by the lack luster IPO. One source of revenues is advertisements on Facebook. More than 80% of Facebook’s revenues come from advertising on its social network. The growth of the revenues directly depends on the growth of users. At the same time, Facebook has a lower click-through-rate (CTR) than an average website, which is only 0. 05% and about 4% respectively. In order to earn more income from the advertisements Facebook has to change the way it displays the ads (advertisements on wall posts have more than 6% CTR) but without interfering users’ experience. This leaves company very vulnerable and dependent on continuous growth of users, which will eventually be only marginal as the social network matures and saturates all possible markets. Though the company enjoyed a $32 million income in 2012, their revenue balance is insecure and uncertain. Additionally growth rates have been slowing. From 2009 to 2010 the company revenue grew 154%, from 2010 to 2011 it was 88%, and most recently from 2011 to 2012 it was only 37% (See financial reports at end). The company will eventually hit a saturation rate of customers, which has driven the revenue growth. The average amount spent per user has not increased dramatically. Mark expects that growth may become flat or decline once past the user saturation point (Facebook, Inc, 2013). History of Social Media: According to The Washington Post, researchers at Microsoft studied records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people in various countries and announced that any two strangers are, on average, distanced by precisely 6. 6 degrees of separation (Smith, 2008). This was the first time a planetary-scale social network has been available. Facebook, the online social network, may reduce a degree or two: Barack Obama already has well over a million Facebook friends. While the internet was born in the 1970’s it did not start playing a role that could be described as social media until the mid-1990’s. It started with the Bulletin Board System (BBS), where a piece of social information was posted for many to see, but each individual reacted to it separately without a way of communicating their reaction readily to others. Among other avenues for social interaction was CompuServe, a service that allowed members to not only share files and access news and events but also join any of CompuServe’s thousands of discussion forums to ‘yap’ with thousands of other members on virtually any important subject of the day. Those forums proved tremendously popular and paved the way for the modern iterations we know today. The dotcom boom and rise of AOL began the first mainstream wave of social media. Communication became instantaneous with more avenues of expression. The Internet Boom epic started in 1995. Nostalgic users rediscover long lost friends on Classmates. com, a social service founded to reconnect former elementary, high school and college classmates. In the world of business and commerce, the dot. com bubble burst in 2000 and the future online seemed bleak as the millennium turned. At this time only seventy million computers were connected to the internet. Currently, there are more than 1. 5 billion internet users on personal computers and more than 3 billion mobile users globally (Facebook, Inc, 2013) In 2002, social networking began in earnest with the launch of Friendster, which opened to the public solely in the U. S. and grew to three million users within three months. Friendster refined a degree of separation concept into a routine dubbed the â€Å"Circle of Friends† (wherein the pathways connecting two people are displayed). This concept is the key to social media as it is currently experienced. Introduced just a year later in 2003, LinkedIn differentiated itself as a serious, business-oriented social networking site for professionals. Social networking evolved in 2003 when MySpace launched, just a few months prior to Facebook. MySpace was a favorite site for the younger U. S. emographic and quickly became the number one social media site. MySpace held that title until May of 2009 when Facebook finally surpassed it in users and traffic (Zeevi, 2013). The most recent launched social network website is Google+, Google’s full-featured social networking tool. It differentiated itself early on with the ability to create multiple circles allowing users to better manage their professi onal and personal image, and the ability to edit previous posts, both for grammar and content. Another key feature is Google Hangouts, which allows instant video chats for up to 10 people at a time. Lastly, Pinterest a social scrapbooking launched in 2010 has captured attention for attaining 10 million users faster than any other standalone site in history, in only 22 months. Currently Pinterest attracts 11 million new users a week. The image and definition of social media has grown and shifted in the past 15 years. The most important changes have been in the scope and interactivity of the media. Social media has moved beyond connecting people to connecting ideas, companies, interests, and locations. Social media sites include Foursquare, Pinterest, and Twitter. Their delivery and business methods are very different from the original Friendster model. Secondly, the media has become ‘smart’ and interacts back to users. Algorithms drive the way posts appear, the ads displayed, and the friend suggestions that are made, changing the nature of the relationship to the software. Global Impact: Facebook has changed the way people communicate, and shifted the boundaries of communication. Facebook as a communication method has allowed users to relate experiences in real time, in a full range of media. Facebook’s platform and newsfeed has developed a feeling of immediacy for many people that is reflected in non-social media outlets. There is a constant desire to have new information. Facebook is both a service company and a data repository. The individual experiences of its 1+ billion users are stored in multi-media. This allows for information democracy on a new scale. As a social site with fluid boundaries, information can move more quickly and unconventionally. This attribute was a major player in the Arab Spring of 2011. Facebook on mobile hones allowed instant updates across large groups of people. It allowed the viewing of images and video by millions of people where they previously would have been censored. What color video was to the Vietnam War, Facebook was to the Arab Spring. The world was able to watch an uprising unfold in real time, uncensored, from multiple viewpoints. Facebook has also affected the criminal justice system. The public availability of photo and video media posted on the site provides law enforcement more evidence. Individual posts and friends’ lists have made finding people easier. Facebook posts are admissible in a court of law and have been used to prove violations of parole, abuses of child custody, and other crimes. Facebook as a platform has also shifted the concept of goods. Within the Facebook platform, users can buy virtual items for real money. Facebook used to prompt users on a friend’s birthday to buy them virtual flowers. The company has recently updated this feature to allow the purchase of a tangible gift. However, purchase of virtual goods for games like FarmVille is still extremely popular. The virtual goods industry revenue for 2011 was $2 billion. Industry: Two social networking sites are currently considered direct competitors of Facebook in the US- Twitter and Google+. Twitter has roughly half the users of Facebook, and a revenue model that focuses on sponsored tweets. Twitter is not exactly a direct competitor. Tweets integrate with Facebook status updates and many users actively participate in both services. Google+ currently has only 343 million users, roughly one third the user base of Facebook. Google+ is in direct competition with Facebook and has a very similar look and feel. While smaller by user base, Google+ 2012 revenue from highly targeted ads was $40 billion, eight times Facebook’s revenue for the same year. According to market survey, 83% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business; however more marketers (76%) are planning on increasing use of YouTube and video marketing than any other form. The current top five social media tools for marketers are as follows: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and YouTube. Facebook will need to increase its ability to show video ads if it intends to keep the number one spot. In a five forces analysis of the industry climate, the bargaining power of consumers is high. There are many substitutes available and little cost to switching. The threat of substitute products is therefor also very high since there is a saturated market and the differentiation between brands and has been decreasing. New entrants have low barriers to entry because of low initial investment, and only moderate brand loyalty, however they need to be sufficiently interesting and innovative to capture the number of users necessary to be a major player. The bargaining power of suppliers is low. Server space providers and hosts exist almost in a commodity market with little differentiation in product or price. As in most tech industries the threat of rivalry in social media is extremely high (Tran, 2013). There are cut throat battles for patents on features and modes of use, and companies need to constantly innovate and update to stay relevant. Another threat to Facebook’s revenue stream is ad-block extensions. Users can install ad-blocks to view the site ad-free. As these increase in popularity, revenue may decrease. Privacy: Privacy is a current concern of most media users. Depending how the company manages its user’s privacy, it can be a strategic advantage or a threat. Facebook has already endured public scrutiny and backlash for its privacy control. It has a history of changing privacy settings and defaulting them to the most open and universal option, putting the onus on customers to activate a more private mode. In December 2012, Instagram (now owned by Facebook) changed their terms of use policy to state that it could sell and profit off its user’s photos. The customer backlash was intense and Instagram reverted its use policy. The possibility of being hacked and losing customer data is also a real risk. While Facebook does not store social security numbers it warehouses thousands of passwords, and captures information about individuals’ daily lives that could be misused. Virtual or real identity thefts could seriously harm the company. Facebook offers the bulk of its products for free, and its ad revenue is generated from the ability to make details about users’ demographics and interests available to marketers. This information is freely given by users after consenting to the terms of use agreement, and housed by Facebook, so they have the right to use it. The problem is that privacy laws are lagging behind internet use and technology. What is a major revenue source for the company today could be deemed illegal in the near future. Aside from legislation, bad press regarding a privacy incident could just as swiftly hurt the company and cause users to shift to substitute services. Facebook has made it easy for users to spread information instantaneously- even bad news about itself! As big data and data mining become more important for companies, Facebook may want to capitalize on its data resources buy selling information in the aggregate. The company will have to be very careful to remove identifying names and tags, but even more careful how the endeavor is presented to the public. Facebook’s Future: Facebook has been an incredible social force and an industry trail blazer. The concurrent move to a publicly traded company and into a mature lifecycle segment poses large challenges. Both revenue growth and user growth are slowing. There are multiple substitutes in the industry and the competition is rapidly innovating. Future legislation on privacy and rights ownership may require a complete rework of business strategy. Pressure from public shareholders is on Mark to create more value and increase stock prices. The company is looking to expand into large population markets such as Brazil, India, Mexico, and Japan (Facebook, Inc, 2013). The recent change of leadership in China may eventually provide an opening for Facebook services there. Increasing the focus on mobile applications will also slow the inevitable market saturation by making services available in regions with little infrastructure. Continued acquisition of promising start ups will also help the company stay cutting edge while removing future competition. However, Facebook needs to develop new revenue streams beyond advertisements, while still staying true to its mission. The company needs to define these projects before the falling growth rate triggers a major decline in the Class A stock rate. Mark himself is unsure if they can monetize their current business more than currently without alienating users (Facebook, Inc, 2013). One option is to create spin-off services that are paid, such as aggregate data sales. Another is to focus a Facebook platform on job search and recruitment. A third natural move would be to offer a unique, differentiated online dating experience (Tran, 2013). Mark Zuckerberg and his company have an incredible advantage. In the new data economy he has billions of data points that each tell a story and can be used in thousands of ways. Google Fiber installation that increases internet speed by 100 fold will allow his innovative staff to develop services that are not feasible yet. He will just need to keep one step ahead or diversify to avoid being the next,

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Creating a Personal Electronic Home Room Security System Robot with Leg

Personal Electronic Home Room Security System-Bot Question: Is it possible to create a personal electronic home room security system with Lego’s Mindstorm kit? Hypothesis: If I use the Lego’s Mindstorm kit, I hypothesize that any type of security system is possible with legos because the freedom of using as many RCX blocks as possible allows room for larger and more complex robots, though the program NQC does have some limits to it. Background Research: Ever since the beginning of civilization, people had been searching ways to secure their own privacy from intruders. First, it was fire, the most basic form of security that scared unwary animals away, along with dangerously exposing one’s â€Å"clandestine† hideout to curious nature. Next came the actual fortification of structures and barricades, which provided temporary protection from unarmed thieves. Finally, after centuries of failed attempts of searching a flawless security system, the world entered the Information Age, where home security was given a complete renovation in safety and style. A typical home security system consists of an alarm system that sounds after an unwanted break-in. Motion sensors around the house may also trigger such an alarm, just in case if the burglar is already hiding out in the house after security is set. Paranoid housekeepers may also take the extra step of installing timed light systems, just to inform burglars that there is still life and activity within the house. However, the price is horrendously expensive. Nevertheless, one security system for the house is enough for the whole family†¦ unless, those pesky teenagers want one too. Subsequently, installation of nested alarm systems and motion sensors is rather inconvenie... ... further studies, future creators can remedy this problem by developing new ways for two RCX to communicate with each other, such as touch sensors that are attached to both RCX’s, or the usage of laser communication. One other problem is the exposure of the RCX blocks that can allow intruders to simply turn off the blocks to shut off the alarm system. This can be fixed by developing automatic enclosing boxes that lock over the open RCX’s when password is set. The idea of multiplexing sensors without the usage of extra hand-created pieces is another important research that can allow more convenient robots and even a numeric pad controlled security system. With these studies, paranoid room securers may someday finally find peace in the security they have. References: Baum, David. Definitive Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS: Second Edition. New York, Apress 2003

Monday, November 11, 2019

Daily Dairy

First day back at placement after Easter Holiday, I greeted children in to class as their parents dropped them in to class in the morning. Straight away children where learning through play. My morning duty was to supervise children and play with them. There was Lego, foam on a table, a table with sand and toys set out for the children. Girl A speaks Bengali at the moment learning to speak English. But she said whistle in Bengali as she was pouring sand through a windmill toy. Girl B described the foam as â€Å"sticky† as she was touching the foam. Girl A said â€Å"let’s play with water! †, again she said that in Bengali.So I helped her and translated in Bengali for her to repeat after me and say, â€Å"Let’s†¦ play†¦ with†¦ water! † She attempted and said, â€Å"play†¦ with†¦ water! † I then praised her and said, â€Å"Well done! † While Girl A, B, C & D where playing with fishes in the water bath they were s eeing who catches how many fishes. So I instructed them to take turns and count how many they caught in their nets. After play I assisted Girl B to wash her hands making sure the water was not to hot and that she rinsed all the foam off her hands. Then I instructed her to dry her hands with the towel.At morning play, I was with a group of children. I pointed out to them as we were admiring the sun that the clouds where moving. So I instructed them to steady their eyes on the clouds and watch how slowly the clouds move. After break was numeracy time. The children where divided in three groups in different areas f the class room. One of the teachers had to go to the loo so she left me with her group and instructed me to sing â€Å"five little ducks† with them which they enjoyed as I exaggerated my hand gestures. After the teacher came back she did a sharing and counting activity using bears/animals & a container.Boy A understands more about equableness than the other children i n his group. After group activity children had phonics time with the whole class just before lunch. They where sounding out the first letter of their names. E. g. â€Å"T†¦ T†¦ Tahmina† and then deciding whether it was a bouncy or stretchy sound. â€Å"T†¦ T†¦ is a bouncy sound† During phonics another teacher called me over and instructed me to set the construction play table outside ready for lunch play. So I chose a box full of Interstars and tipped the lot on the table outside in the nursery playground.Then Miss put out costumes in a corner for the children to express themselves as different characters. I believe this is a great way to build their confidence. Before lunch I supervised children to wash there hands and dry them. Also I was mopping the floor regularly for the children’s safety in case they slipped because water was being sprinkled on the floor. At the lunch hall, I asked the children what they would like to eat giving them a choice of, tuna rap or chicken. Then I gave the children a slice of bread and some salad, bearing in mind there was a child allergic to bread on my table.As well as working 1:1 with Girl A helping her eat cause she was getting bored I also helped other children cut their chicken into small pieces making it easy for them to eat and pick up. During lunch play I was instructed by the teacher to water the plants with the children which I very much enjoyed with the children as they enjoyed the activity to. I didn’t experience any difficulties during that particular activity, but if there were any concerns or problems I would have asked any of the teachers for advice and support.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Government Growth in an Age of Improvement Essay

Democratic accountability is supposed to be alive and well in any political system rather than a government ran on â€Å"auto-pilot† at the expense of neglected and so expected taxpayers and rightful citizens. Introduction It should sound ironical that the president should continue to choose cabinet and sub cabinet officers and both the president and the congress continue to remain accountable to the American people through elections and exercise the power of the purse unlike in other democratic countries a great lack of interest in political administration is evident in the United Nations, resulting to deeper strains in American Society at large. The US has never created a high level, government-wide-civil service or a highly skilled and experienced top executive political manpower. The control of government policies is vested in an informal enduring series of â€Å"iron triangles† who are a link between particular program proposed to the relevant executive bureau, congressional committees and interest groups clientele the iron triangles are disastrously incomplete since they hardly understand changes in politics and administration but rather look for the powerful actors with whom to do business (P. 88). The job of presidential appointees in controlling their own actions and managing the bureaucracy are ultimately complicated. The problem arises where politicians, officials and their fellow travelers fail to meet what the public can understand and accept; thus registering large strains of American politics and society. Organized politics are dissolved and organizational life throughout the nation is politicized. Government Growth in an Age of Improvement The late 1950s and entire 1960s witnessed a wave of federal initiatives in health, civil rights, education, housing, manpower, income maintenance, transportation and urban affairs all associated with low government expenditure. Newer types of welfare concerns such as consumer protection, the environment, cancer prevention, energy, etc. have characterized an ambitious, reform minded period and a big government. However, there has been astonishingly little increase in the overall size of the federal executive establishment. Federal employment never grew either in comparison with spending and regulations (P. 89). Higher costs of existing policies are just one explanation of expanding government and stable bureaucracy and has been important in income maintenance programs. Another explanation is lack of administering programs directly to general population but rather act through intermediary organizations such as state governments, city halls, third party payers, consultants, contractors etc. making the contract between the ordinary citizen and a federal bureaucrat quite rare. This promotes the idea of government by remote control. This in essence is advantageous to the federal government builds support for policies, translating otherwise indivisible collective goods into terms suitable for distributive politics (P. 91). Sidestepping the tremendously difficult task of creating a broad national consensus for the governments administered activities is another advantage. This method of policies has led to mushrooming of federal regulations much in common with federal spending – the government can use regulations and tell the public and private bureaucracies what to do. The federal policy makers are left to distribute funds and bear blames when things go wrong. The style of retailing promises of improved policies and wholesaling the administrative headaches connected with delivery has left the people to expect the government to solve problems but not to get in anyone’s way in the process (P. 93). These results to policy pile up. Washington has in the end been put to the worst of both world-blamed for poor delivery by its public customers and besieged with bills from its middlemen. The possibility of both politicizing organizational life and depoliticizing democratic leadership is an area of concern. Since 1950s greatest policy growth was advocated – programs seeking social betterment in terms of civil rights, income, housing, environment, consumer protection etc. otherwise known as welfare policies. The idea of compensation is a theme in the clamor of group politics meaning that the federal government should put things right fits well for the groups that are disadvantaged and special treatment is required for truly equal opportunity to prevail and for those representing the disadvantaged. The government action is required to redress the impact of the selfish private interests. The prevalent feeling in the US that â€Å"there oughtta be policy† and the connotation of getting in on society’s compensations is decidedly positive. New initiatives in federal funding and regulation have infused old and new organizations with public policy dimensions, especially when such groups are used as administrative middlemen (P. 96-97). Expanding welfare policies on indirect administration have encouraged the development of specialized subcultures composed of highly knowledgeable policy makers some of whom have advanced professional degrees and commonly shared detailed understanding of specialized issues (P. 100-101). Employees in the field and in Washington who perform the routine chores associated with direct administration have become less prominent whereas those with necessary technical and supervisory skills have become more important. This in essence, results to expansion of the upper and middle levels of officialdom rather than increase the overall size of the bureaucracy. More technical skills and higher supervisory levels have become a requirement. Stable sets of clear goals in all modern organizations, even non profit oriented are the causes of increasing complexities and specializations affecting leaders. The pressure for more expert staff assistance have become immense for decision makers in governments where policy goals have been neither stable nor clear in the last twenty years and this applies to legislators and public executives (P. 101). Weakness in executive leadership below the level of the president have never really been due to interest groups, party politics or congress, rather the problem lies on the lack of any democratically based power political executives yet their popular mandate to act in the bureaucracy secondhand, from either an elected chief executive in congress political democrats further weaken the scenario. As much as political administrators become close to specialized policy networks the gap between them and the ordinary citizen widens a typical presidential appointee hardly gets time to see or listen to an ordinary member of the public. Only a minority of citizens gets a chance to be moralized in the various networks while those who are not policy activists depend on the ability of the government institutions to work on their behalf (P. 118). Conclusion More communication may need to be involved incase the gap between the policy networks and the bulk of the population is created by information. Policy forensics among the networks yield more experts making more sophisticated claims and counter claims that non-specialists becomes inclined to concede everything and believe nothing that he hears. Many factors and events are linked to these changing public attitudes. The prominence of issue networks is bound to aggravate problems of legitimacy and public disenchantment. The influential systems for knowledgeable policy making tend to make democratic politics difficult (P. 118-119). References Hugo Heclo, 2007 â€Å"Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment. †

Thursday, November 7, 2019

On Buying Local Essays - Industrial Agriculture, Organic Farming

On Buying Local Essays - Industrial Agriculture, Organic Farming On Buying Local, Katherine Spriggs mentions the positive aspects of consuming locally produced food items from local farms which deals with fresh products. According to the author promoting local buying helps in the development of small farms, maintaining environmental stability, strengthens local market, promotes rural economies and helps in minimising environmental problems, which is caused due to transportation, over usage of chemicals, and increasing the fertility of land by cultivating various types of crops at the same time (polyculture). On other hand industrial scale production leads to increase in environmental problems which is caused by the movement of goods, using of pesticides, and unhealthy farming practices like cultivating single product across the whole land frequently (monoculture). This leads to barren land, pollution of ground water and even in the destruction of natural eco system. Though the author states about various counter arguments such as, loss of jobs, gl obal recession, and instability of national economy which she received from others, who support large scale industrial production, Spriggs encounters all the arguments by stating that, all the benefits of local buying outweigh the advantages of industrial production. Though, buying of local product needs personal sacrifice, it has various social, economic and environmental advantages far more than sacrificed.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Air and Sea Travel Case Study

During April, the business provided travel services for clients. It is now April 30, and investors wonder how well Air Sea Travel performed during its first month. They also want to know the company’s financial position at the end of April and its cash flows during the month. The following data is listed in alphabetical order. Prepare the Air Sea Travel financial statements at end of April 20X6. Accounts payable |$100 |Land |$18,000 | |Accounts receivable |2,000 |Office supplies |500 | |Adjustments to reconcile net | |Payments of cash: | | | income to net cash provided | | Acquisition of land |40,000 | | by operating activities |(2,400) | Dividends |2,100 | |Cash balance at the beginning of April |0 |Rent expense |1,100 | |Cash balance at the end of April |33,300 |Retained earnings at the beginning of April | | | | | |0 | |Cash receipts: | |Retained earnings at the end of April |? | | Issuance stock |50,000 |Salary expense | 1200 | | Sale of land |22,000 |Service revenue |8,500 | |Common stock |50,000 |Utilities xpense |400 | |Dividends |2,100 | | | 1. Prepare the income statement, the statement of retained earnings, the statement of cash flows for the month ended April 30, 20X6, and the balance sheet at April 30, 20X6. 2. Answer the following questions: a. How well did Air Sea Travel perform during its first month of operations? b. Where does Air Sea Travel stand financially at the end of April? ASSETSLIABILITIES Cash33,300Account payable100 Account receivable2,000Land 18,000 Insurance stock50,000Office supplies500 Sale of land 22,000Payment of cash Common stock50,000 Acquisition of land40,000 Dividends2,100 Dividends2,100 Service revenue8,500Rent expense1,100 Salary expense1,200 Utilities expense400 Adjustment to reconcile 2,400 net income to net cash provided by operating activities 1. |Air Sea Travel Inc. | |Income Statement | |April 30, 20X6 | |Revenues |8,500 | |Expenses |2,700 | |Rent expense 1,100 | |Salary expense |1200 | |Utilities expense |400 | |Net income |5,800 | |Air Sea Travel Inc. | |Statement of Retained Earnings | |April 30, 20X6 | | | | |Beginning of Retained Earnings |0 | |Net income |5,800 | |Cash dividends |(2,100) | |Ending Retained Earnings |3,700 | |Air Sea Travel Inc. |Balance Sheet | |April 30, 20X6 | | | | |Assets | | |Cash |33,300 | |All other assets |20,500 | |Land |18,000 | |Office supplies |500 | |Account receivable |2,000 | |Total assets |53,800 | |Liabilities | | |Acount Payable |100 | |Total liabilities |100 | |Stockholder’s equity | | |Common stock |50,000 | |Retained earnings |3,700 | |All other equity |0 | |Total liabilities and stockholder’s equity |53,800 | |Air Sea Travel Inc. |Statement of Cash Flows | |April 30, 20X6 | |Net cash provided by operating activities | |3,400 | |Net income |5,800 | | |Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities |(2,400) | | |Net cash used for investing activities | |(18,000) | | Sale of land |22,000 | | |Acquisition of land |(40,000) | | |Net cash provided by financing activities | |47,900 | |Issuance stock |50,000 | | |Dividends |(2,100) | | |Net change in cash | | 33,300 | |Beginning cash balance | |0 | |Ending cash balance | | 33,300 | 2. a) They performed very well, since they got profit in the end of the month. They do not pay too much salary and they don’t have too many depts. To be a financially well-managed company, it must generate profit, meaning there is more money coming in than going out. This looks to be well managed company since there is a lot of profit in the end of the month. Income Statement, Statement of Retained Earnings, Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flows are all on the plus side. Nothing seems to be out of order. b) They have 33,300 retained earnings at the end of April, which means a good profit. Air and Sea Travel Case Study During April, the business provided travel services for clients. It is now April 30, and investors wonder how well Air Sea Travel performed during its first month. They also want to know the company’s financial position at the end of April and its cash flows during the month. The following data is listed in alphabetical order. Prepare the Air Sea Travel financial statements at end of April 20X6. Accounts payable |$100 |Land |$18,000 | |Accounts receivable |2,000 |Office supplies |500 | |Adjustments to reconcile net | |Payments of cash: | | | income to net cash provided | | Acquisition of land |40,000 | | by operating activities |(2,400) | Dividends |2,100 | |Cash balance at the beginning of April |0 |Rent expense |1,100 | |Cash balance at the end of April |33,300 |Retained earnings at the beginning of April | | | | | |0 | |Cash receipts: | |Retained earnings at the end of April |? | | Issuance stock |50,000 |Salary expense | 1200 | | Sale of land |22,000 |Service revenue |8,500 | |Common stock |50,000 |Utilities xpense |400 | |Dividends |2,100 | | | 1. Prepare the income statement, the statement of retained earnings, the statement of cash flows for the month ended April 30, 20X6, and the balance sheet at April 30, 20X6. 2. Answer the following questions: a. How well did Air Sea Travel perform during its first month of operations? b. Where does Air Sea Travel stand financially at the end of April? ASSETSLIABILITIES Cash33,300Account payable100 Account receivable2,000Land 18,000 Insurance stock50,000Office supplies500 Sale of land 22,000Payment of cash Common stock50,000 Acquisition of land40,000 Dividends2,100 Dividends2,100 Service revenue8,500Rent expense1,100 Salary expense1,200 Utilities expense400 Adjustment to reconcile 2,400 net income to net cash provided by operating activities 1. |Air Sea Travel Inc. | |Income Statement | |April 30, 20X6 | |Revenues |8,500 | |Expenses |2,700 | |Rent expense 1,100 | |Salary expense |1200 | |Utilities expense |400 | |Net income |5,800 | |Air Sea Travel Inc. | |Statement of Retained Earnings | |April 30, 20X6 | | | | |Beginning of Retained Earnings |0 | |Net income |5,800 | |Cash dividends |(2,100) | |Ending Retained Earnings |3,700 | |Air Sea Travel Inc. |Balance Sheet | |April 30, 20X6 | | | | |Assets | | |Cash |33,300 | |All other assets |20,500 | |Land |18,000 | |Office supplies |500 | |Account receivable |2,000 | |Total assets |53,800 | |Liabilities | | |Acount Payable |100 | |Total liabilities |100 | |Stockholder’s equity | | |Common stock |50,000 | |Retained earnings |3,700 | |All other equity |0 | |Total liabilities and stockholder’s equity |53,800 | |Air Sea Travel Inc. |Statement of Cash Flows | |April 30, 20X6 | |Net cash provided by operating activities | |3,400 | |Net income |5,800 | | |Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities |(2,400) | | |Net cash used for investing activities | |(18,000) | | Sale of land |22,000 | | |Acquisition of land |(40,000) | | |Net cash provided by financing activities | |47,900 | |Issuance stock |50,000 | | |Dividends |(2,100) | | |Net change in cash | | 33,300 | |Beginning cash balance | |0 | |Ending cash balance | | 33,300 | 2. a) They performed very well, since they got profit in the end of the month. They do not pay too much salary and they don’t have too many depts. To be a financially well-managed company, it must generate profit, meaning there is more money coming in than going out. This looks to be well managed company since there is a lot of profit in the end of the month. Income Statement, Statement of Retained Earnings, Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flows are all on the plus side. Nothing seems to be out of order. b) They have 33,300 retained earnings at the end of April, which means a good profit.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE - Essay Example cesses based upon divine or supernatural intervention.1 For instance, earliest humans attributed floods, famines, and other natural occurrences to spirits and the fact that they were otherwise frustrated or angry with their behavior. However, with the advent of the scientific revolution, identifiable and statistically measurable metrics were provided that helped the average individual to understand the fact that they live in a rational and bounded universe; bounded to science and the processes that it involves. As a function of seeking to understand this scientific revolution to a more demonstrable degree, the following discussion will be based upon how rationalist and empirical epistemologists facilitated a fundamental shift from divine human-based knowledge. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the individuals involved within shifting epistemology towards a human-based knowledge most essentially affected the means by which stakeholders within society sought to question the status quo.2 For centuries, the church had held unchecked authority over the way in which individuals understood the world around them. To a varying degree, the overall level to which individuals sought to question this authority was relatively limited. However, with the advent of the scientific revolution, stakeholders within society, although all classes, were encouraged to question the status quo and consider whether or not scientific merit provided a rational and reasonable explanation for the processes and beliefs that they had so long been led to engage with. A secondary manner by which rationalist attempted to provide a fundamental shift from divine to human-based knowledge is with regard to the way in which they sought to use identifiable numbers and processes as a function of proving a particular point. Naturally, this is the very cornerstone of science; however, in centuries past, the league and dictated as the final understanding of whether or not a particular process or