Final Paper Essay

Target corporation is one of the biggest retailers there is out there, bringing in an estimate of $74 million dollars a year in revenue. Majority of Target revenue is earned during the busiest time of the year, which are Black Friday and holidays. Target has had a huge positive reputation because of the â€Å"Expect More Pay Less† promise and giving 5% back to the community. However, Target has been going through some hard times because of the Target breach that occurred during the holidays of 2013. This research paper will focus first on introducing the Target breach and how it has affected the company and what the company has done to fix the problem. Moving forward, I will focus on internal controls that Target could have applied and summarizing everything towards the end. Target Breach & Internal Controls Target Corporation is a well known and respected retail store out there. Target is a corporation that buys goods from manufactures at a purchase discount price and reselling it to consumers in a higher price to make a profit. Target has brought in revenue of $74 million dollars a year and continues to grow every year. However, Target has gone through some hard times with the Target breach that just occurred during the holidays of 2013. Consumers have had a hard time trusting their card readers and loyalty and sales have been dropping ever since. The question that is now in the air is what internal controls that company had during this breach and what could they have done to avoid this breach that just occurred. To begin with, the company was running perfectly and driving outstanding sales until the company and guest found out that they had a breach, also known to the community as the â€Å"Target Breach. Target corporation confirmed that a major data breach occurred between Black Friday and December 15, 2013, which includes many of the most important shopping days of the year† (Edelson, 2013). Ever since the Target breach, the company’s reputation was hurt, consumers were not confident about shopping, and are afraid of using the card readers at the stores. Later in time, after the breach was announced, the company had given further information on how the breach affected the people. It is believed that the breach affected roughly 40,000 card devices at store registers, which could mean that millions of cardholders could be vulnerable, according to the people familiar with the incident† (Sidel, 2013). On top of the 40,000 card devices being affected, 40 million people’s credit card and debit card information was stolen. The CEO of Target Corporation later released to the press and announced that personal information such as address, names, phone numbers, and e-mail address were also taken from the Target system. After reading about the Target breach, being an assistant manager for Target, and hearing about the tragic that has been caused, I remember feeling upset because of the way the company was going to be affected. However, it also reminded of the internal control concept that was thought in class. There was a lot of fraud involved with the Target breach, which is something that occurs when it comes to intern control. â€Å"Fraud refers to any act by the management or employees of business involving an internal deception for personal gain. Fraud may include, among other acts, embezzlement of business cash, theft of assets, filing false insurance claims, filing false health claims, and financial statement fraud† (Ferris, Wallace, Christensen, 2014, pg. 314). With the Target breach, you are able to see the fraud triangle concepts, which consist of pressure, opportunity, and rationalization. Being employed by Target, that concept came into mine when reading the article because there was an e-mail sent to management about believing that an employee that worked with the POS (point on sale) system had a lot of inside information within the system. The pressure was there to get information from the POS system and rationalization was involved when they knew that they can get credit card information. The opportunity occurred when they knew the busiest time of the year was going to be Black Friday and majority of the sales are driven in that day. From all that has occurred it is not clear what internal controls Target had in order to avoid this situation. Internal controls are important when it comes to businesses in order to avoid situation like the Target breach. There are two parts that I believe that important when it comes to internal controls, which are prevention control and detection control. A â€Å"prevention control is intended to deter a problem or fraud before it can arise† (Ferris, Wallace, Christensen, 2014, pg. 316). Target should have followed the prevention control with the POS system in order to avoid the Target breach. A â€Å"detection control, on the other hand, is designed to discover any problems or fraud shortly it arises† (Ferris, Wallace, Christensen, 2014, pg. 316). Target followed the detection control after the problem of the breach was brought and took justice in their own hands in order to fix the problem. The first thing Target did was post a prominent message on its Web site, â€Å"Important notice: unauthorized access to payment card data in the U. S. stores. † The message linked to a letter alerting customers that a breach occurred and outlining steps Target is taking to a voice a recurrence† (Edelson, 2013). Another step that Target has taken is bringing justice for the information was that was stolen out of their systems. Target had invested $5 million dollars into a multi-year campaign in order to stop phishing scams (Target, 2013). â€Å"Target has longstanding history of commitment to our communities, and cyber security is one of the most pressing issues facing consumers today,† said Steinhafel. â€Å"We are proud to be working with three trusted organizations-the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Better Business Bureau (BBB)- to advance public education around cyber security† (Target, 2013). Target has gone to long measures to protect the information of the guest and reinsure loyalty by offering ProtectMyID, which keeps track of credit reports, monitoring, and identity theft (Target, 2013). As an apology to the guest, Target offered a 10% off discount to all guests which were a huge success for the company but numbers of transactions was cash paid. Being an employee for Target, we are still determine to follow our core roles, continue delivering the â€Å"Expect More Pay Less† promise, and delivering an excellent shopping experience for our guest in order to continue driving profitable sales and guest loyalty. In order to avoid this situation and detect the problem ahead of time, Target should have incorporated the following elements that are designed for prevention and detection controls. The first element is establish clear lines of authority and responsibility, which is giving authority to a supervisor or manager but also evaluation their consequently to companies policies and rules. Implement segregation of duties, â€Å"requires that when allocating various duties within the accounting system, management should make sure that no employee is assigned too many different responsibilities† (Ferris, Wallace, Christensen, 2014, pg.317). Hire competent personnel, which the company sees if that person has the education and qualified skills to perform that job. Use control number on all business documents, which is having all important documents with control numbers. Develop plans and budgets, which is having a plan and budget in order to bring the company forward. For example, the $5 m illion dollars that were invested in the anti fraud software in order to bring guest loyalty back. Maintain adequate accounting records, which is making sure that the company has the most recent accounting records. For example, the number of fraud claims that were reported under guest bank statements in order to reinvers their money back. Provide physical and electronic controls, is locking their doors or important files to prevent theft, which should have happened with the POS system. Conduct internal audit, â€Å"is a company function that provided independent appraisals of the company’s financial statement, its internal control, and its operations† (Ferris, Wallace, Christensen, 2014, pg. 319). In conclusion, we are able to see how the company was impacted from the breach that had occurred and the actions that the company has taken in order to fix the problem. People information had been stolen and finances have been tampered through it. We are able to see how internal controls play an important part when it comes to finances, accounting, and to businesses such as Target. If the proper elements and procedures had been applied with internal control I am sure that all of this could have been avoided or reduced.

Letter of proposal

EXAMPLE OF A LETTER OF PROPOSALThis illustration is fictional and is for illustration intents merely.LetterheadDear Mr. Hanson: Recently I noticed a missive in the editorial subdivision of the Argus Leader in which the author expressed concern over the present status and jobs associating to Newton Hills State Park, near Canton. A hebdomad subsequently I read your answer to that missive, and I was really pleased to happen that programs were being developed to better park conditions. Having visited the park many times myself, I have become cognizant of the many design jobs the park now holds. Engagement in out-of-door diversion and related activities is turning enormously across the state. Park directors and supervisors are happening their Parkss unable to stand the greatly increased usage. Roads developed for a few Sunday visitants are about wholly unequal for the multitudes of people who converge on Parkss on warm, cheery weekends and hills erode after big Numberss of people trample the flora. Furthermore, recent events such as the old-timer auto show and the one-year common people festival brought even more people into your park, seting an extra strain on the park ‘s resources. However, these jobs can be solved and more like them can be prevented.ProposalI propose that Sara Jen Forest Services, Inc. survey and look into the jobs associating to the physical functionalism of Newton Hills State Park. Upon finishing the probe, we shall subject a study to you that will incorporate the proposed recommendations and modified park program. This study and its attender prog ram will rectify the park of its traffic flow jobs.BackgroundPark design has become a really complicated discovery difficu1t procedure. Along with the job of aesthetics and traveling people around inside the park, societal map has become a job of paramount importance. In other words, a park must offer the proper physical scene, every bit good as the proper societal ambiance for people to bask their recreational experience. Peoples come to parks for different grounds. Therefore, single demands have to be considered. At the same clip, the park interior decorator has to see the whole population ‘s demands. Satisfying all these demands involves utilizing every possible country in the park, without making a struggle in involvements.ProcedureThe basic process for explicating our recommendations involves four stairss and will take about 10 hebdomads to finish.Measure one:I will analyse the park itself. Carefully analyzing the park, watching the users, and speaking to visitants are parts of this measure.Measure two:After happening and specifying the particular job countries, I will make intensive research. I will look into books, booklets, and legion other written resources for appropriate solutions that have been attempted and have either succeeded or failed.Measure three:I will oppugn our staff of advisers about their experiences and thoughts refering to specific jobs. I will see these replies in expli cating executable solutions.Measure four:After I have completed these stairss, I will do my concluding recommendations in a study that will be submitted to you within two hebdomads after the study is completed. The 10 hebdomads I propose should be more than adequate to fix a study and program which will increase your park visitants ‘ enjoyment.CostIn the long tally, the cost of this research will be little compared to the money it will salvage as a consequence of hapless planning and over-use. The lone costs will be my disbursals and my labour. Our company policy is to delegate one individual to a undertaking while the remainder of our associates act as advisers. We pay our outside advisers on a set footing. For this undertaking, the rates are as follows: My labour 30 hours @ $ 65.00 per hr $ 1950.00 Secretarial fees $ 100.00 Entire Cost $ 2050.00 This sum will be collectible within 10 yearss after our program has been submitted to you.Forces and QualificationsI believe that I am qualified to function you, and I know that my staff of advisers is really qualified to assist with the job. I have a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Purdue University. I besides hold a Maestro of Science in Recreation from The Ohio State University. After passing four old ages with Parks and Landscape Design in Omaha, I have merely completed my 3rd twelvemonth with my ain house. My staff of advisers consists of other park interior decorators, my associates, university professors, and many other qualified persons.FeasibilityThe best cogent evidence I can offer of my company ‘s success is our record. We have saved many people and communities big amounts of money by our experience in design. For illustration, we were asked to confer with in be aftering the design of a Pukwana, South Dakota City Park. Upon look intoing the programs submitted we found that the cloaca system drained straight into the proposed swimming pool. If the installations had been built harmonizing to programs, the mistake would hold cost 1000s of dollars to fix ; nevertheless, a simple alteration in programs resolved the job before it became an actuality. I realize that you serve the people non merely in Canton, and Sioux Falls, but those in Southwest Minnesota, Northwest Iowa, and Northeast Nebraska every bit good. As you well cognize, trial at all South Dakota State Parkss is up about 15 % over last twelvemonth and New ton Hills has had an about 20 % addition so far this twelvemonth. This increased trial makes redesigning Newton Hills State Park really of import. I hope you will earnestly see our command and so accept it. If you have any inquiries or suggestions as to bettering our methods and processs, delight name us anytime at ( 605 ) 366-1978. Thank you. Respectfully, Sonny Sundstrom Manager SaraTen Forest Services, Inc.Notes on This ExampleLetterhead: This illustration shows that you could utilize or plan your ain letterhead. Letterhead is typically centered horizontally on the page and takes up an inch to an inch and a half of infinite at the top of the page. If you use letterhead, do certain that you use it merely for the first page. AUGUST 12, 2006: This illustration follows what is called †Block Form † in your text. Block signifier topographic points everything at the left border, with no indenture for paragraphs. Paragraphs are separated by one clean line. Block signifier is the most formal, and is excessively formal for some authors. You may, if you prefer, use â€Å" Semi-block Form, † which allows the Heading, Dateline, Complimentary Close, and Signature Block to be indented. The indenture is either set so that the longest line of these elements ends at the right border, or set by tabbing over to the centre point to get down typing each line of these indented elements. However, in both formats, paragraphs are non indented and a colon follows the salute. HANSON: In both the block and semi-block formats, ever follow the salute with a colon. The comma is used merely in informal, or personal missive formats, which are inappropriate for a missive of proposal. RECENTLY I NOTICED: This statement provides some context for subjecting the proposal. Since this proposal is unasked it needs to hold some sort of principle. In your assignment, you may mention to e-mail correspondence or telephone conversation. Turning TREMENDOUSLY: This paragraph provides some background to the reader. Notice that this background is both general ( â€Å" park supervisors find†¦ â€Å" ) and specific to the park that he manages ( â€Å"the old-timer auto show and one-year common people festival† ) . This paragraph shows the reader that the author understands some of the jobs that the reader faces. I PROPOSE THAT: Again, this proposal is unasked. That means that the author has to be really specific as to what he is suggesting to make. In this instance, the reader will have a study and an affiliated program. These paperss will work out traffic flow jobs at the park. It will non turn to other unexpressed concerns that the reader may hold. Make it clear merely what any proposal will supply. As your text points out, a proposal is a binding papers. Any vagueness can take to unpleasant fortunes. PARK DESIGN HAS BECOME: This background subdivision provides a more generic. background for the proposal. However, whereas the background paragraph above alluded to the jobs faced by the reader, this background provides some avenues toward solutions. This subdivision besides shows how the information in this subdivision win be incorporated into the overall solution and indicates the range of what the author proposes. Ten WEEKS: Built-in in any proposal is a clip agenda. Undertakings that involve several stairss may besides include a dislocation in hours. This tactic is a benefit to the reader ( to see what he ‘s paying for ) and to the author ( to coerce him to budget specific sums of clip for the assorted undertakings the involved in the undertaking ) . Since this undertaking is reasonably simple, the clip is given merely in hebdomads, and no peculiar figure of hebdomads is budgeted for any given measure. Note the concluding text for this subdivision. You should ever seek to reason each subdivision with text, and non with figures, tabular arraies, or lists. WILL Be SMALL COMPARED TO: The cost of the proposed undertaking may look high, particularly to a park director who deals with province support and limited resources. This tactic shows reader benefit, comparing short term disbursal with long term nest eggs. I AM Qualified: In proposals, particularly unasked 1s, it ‘s of import to catalog the author ‘s makings. Even when the reader and author are known to each other, it ne'er hurts to include a makings subdivision, particularly if the reader may non be the ultimate determination shaper. Including makings is more professional. PROPOSED SWIMMING POOL: This subdivision is structured deductively, traveling from a general statement ( â€Å"we have saved many people† ) to a really specific illustration of the company ‘s success. This sort of specificity is persuasive. In a longer proposal you might see including one or two more illustrations, if you have them, or indicate that you can supply the names of satisfied clients should the reader bespeak them. SERIOUSLY CONSIDER OUR Command: This concluding paragraph presents a gross revenues pitch to the reader. The unexpressed premise is that this job is non traveling to travel off and win likely merely acquire worse.. Again, in an unasked proposal this technique allows the author to stop the proposal on a positive note, demoing assurance and reader benefit.

Essay: Obesity Essay

How many times a day do you see an obese person walking down the street? And how often do you see them exercising to overcome their problem? Obesity is one of the biggest problems in the United States due to people not knowing how to eat right, depression and lack of exercise. To begin with, Americans are not very open minded on the idea of healthy eating, they are not well educated on the topic. They think that eating healthy is just eating salad or not eating anything at all, when in reality, that just makes the problem worse because it would be like trying to keep a boat from sinking by throwing rocks at it, you’re just making it worse. Eating right consists of different types f foods: proteins, which are meat and/or chicken and others, fruits and veggies which are the salads, and grains which would be the rice and the beans. Secondly there is another common reason, depression. Depression tends to lead to obesity because people start eating with their minds and eyes instead of their stomachs. In the United States there are many stressed people, from working too much, to having to many kids, and even from having too many pets. Stress leads to depression; therefore from having to much stress in the U.S, we have a large number of obese Americans. Calming yourself and meditating is a very good way to disconnect for some time, and just relax. The third and most common reason for obesity is lack of exercise. I remember when I was 10, I was slowly becoming obese, and little by little I would start eating more and more, until it got to the point that I was considered obese. I was like that for a few months until I got tired of it and started exercising, by the time that I was 13 I was healthy and no longer obese. By saying exercise, it does not mean that you have to work out 24/7, it just means to take 60mins, or if not more, of your day off to do any type of exercise. To sum it all up, Obesity rates in the U.S keep growing for various reasons such as not knowing how to eat right, depression, and lack of exercise.  Eating right and exercising is not too much to do, anyone can do it, you do not need a manual or instructions. Overcoming obesity might be hard, but it is definitely not impossible.

A Pricing Strategy of Apple, Inc Research Paper

A Pricing Strategy of Apple, Inc - Research Paper Example Some of the software they are marketing includes the Mac OS X Operating System, iTunes media browser, the iWork suite of productivity software, iLife suite of multimedia and creativity, Final Cut Studio suite of professional audio and film-industry software products, Logic Studio suite of music production tools, Safari internet browser and iOS mobile operating system. It is believed that Apple Inc. highly influenced the Computer Industry (John). Â  Apple indeed established a unique and remarkable character and status in the consumer electronics industry. Apple has gained many loyal customers that are truly devoted to the company and to its products and brand, particularly in the United States. According to a news report based from the data in the year 2007, Apple Inc. is one of the high-technology companies with the significant number of loyal customers (Macnn, 2006). In the year 2008, the Fortune magazine, as the most well-liked company in the United States, also acknowledged Apple. Last March 2011, in the eighth annual American Brand Excellence Awards, Apple Inc. was recognized as the best brand that meets the need of small and midsized businesses. (Birmingham Business Journal, 2011) Lastly, on the United Kingdom T3 Awards, Apple won six of the twenty-five awards. Apple’s iPhone was scooped as the Most Anticipated Gadget or 2007, as voted by the Sky News online readers. On the hand, iPod was recognized as the Best Commuter Gadget, Best Music Gadget and Best Gadget of All Time (John).

Biofuel topic as an emerging technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biofuel topic as an emerging technology - Essay Example The engineers have stated that they were able to achieve a much higher percentage of energy conversion than what could normal be obtained through natural photosynthesis. This is because the foam does not need to divert some of its energy to help maintain life. It can simply take all of the energy and convert it in larger quantities because of this sole reason. This discovery is amazing and could lead to less crops being destroyed in order to produce biofuels. It will be interesting to see what steps the engineers take to make this production more feasible for a larger scale operation. Body The transformation of unwanted plant material called "biomass" (wood chips, rice husks, grass) into usable fuel is a hot area of scientific research. A recent proposal by Purdue scientists tries to overcome one of the most fundamental problems with so-called biofuel: the high cost of transporting the starting material. If you’re going to take a substance such as wood chips or straw and conve rt it into a usable fuel, you quickly find that it takes a large amount of the biomass in order to make just a small amount of fuel. The scientific description is that biomass has a low energy density. So, trying to transport the huge amount of necessary biomass to a central processing plant becomes prohibitively expensive; you use more fuel transporting the wood chips than you obtain from the fuel transformation process. The Department of Chemical Engineering at Purdue has recently published two scientific articles which attack this problem on a very logical level. Instead of transporting the crude biomass in a bulk, a small portion of the material is used as a hydrogen source which transforms the remaining biomass into a liquid fuel. This intermediate fuel is much higher in energy density and is much less expensive to transport to a central plant for final processing. imagine that you are an orange juice company, looking to reduce your transportation costs. If, instead of transpo rting crates of orange fruits to your factory, you instead transported a crude pulp/juice mixture (produced on site in the orange fields), you could save a lot of money on fuel costs. You reduce the amount of material that you have to ship, and the material that you do transport is more enriched in the part of the orange that you’re interested in. This new method as applied to biofuel is nicknamed "H2Bioil", and uses solar power to split water in the biomass into hydrogen and oxygen. The business of trying to find alternate ways for biofuel production is a profitable one. Thousands of companies are currently racing one another to come up with alternatives to our current biofuel options. Companies are trying to create this fuel through chemical processes that extract sugars from the algae. Perhaps this will lead to more tests being conducted on how to generate energy from different kinds minus using chemicals to get it done. It's important that people realize not only what bio fuels are, but also realize their limitations in terms of the scope of what they can accomplish. A biofuel is any chemical derived from natural foodstocks such as corn or maize which can be burned to provide useful energy. With exposure to the right processing conditions and

Financial Reporting and Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Reporting and Analysis - Assignment Example 2) Non-cash items usually include those items which do not include the transfer of money. The most feasible way for adjusting non-cash items is by adding the same form the net income of the firm (Hung, 2000). 3) The stock market participants were able to predict the fall in the revenues of Charter. As a result the company’s stock prices began being priced low by the stock market forces. A low price allocates a low level of dividend (Berk & DeMarzo, 2013). A low share price allocation also helps a firm to attract a large number of small investor (Rioja & Valev, 2004). However a declining share price also indicates a firm’s low revenue which also repels a number of investors who expect growth and rising dividends (Chandra, 2005). The financial performance of airlines industry is generally analyzed on the basis of return on equity (ROE) or return on assets (ROA). The airline industry is immensely capital intensive and profitability is usually measured on the basis of returns available on equity or assets. Accordingly it is seen that the ROA for the airlines industry on an average is around 9.8. From the given data it is seen that firm 6 incurs a ROA ratio of 9.95. Hence this firm belongs to the airlines industry. Banking firms puts special emphasis upon the returns from operations. Hence net margin is usually one of the critical parameters for judging the efficiency of the firms in this sector. The banking industry usually incurs a net profit margin of 16. From the given data set, it is seen that firm 9 has a net profit margin of 12.82. Most brewery firms analyze their financial effectively by analyzing the gross margin ratio. Breweries usually have a gross profit margin of 60. From the given data it can therefore be analyzed that firm 8 has a gross profit of 60.21. Hence firm 8 belongs to brewery industry. Departmental stores usually experience a very high level of liquidity and hence

History of work-family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of work-family - Essay Example This essay seeks to address how these changes have had an effect on employees and their relationships with their families. The project will also expatiate on the rules that have been put in place to help individuals have the ability to balance their lives in terms of family and work. Unlike in the past, employees are faced with so much pressure of being able to support their families. Coupled with the harsh economic times, it is becoming more difficult for employees to be able to have quality time spent with their families as many individuals opt to have two or more jobs so as to maximize on their income. This paper also discusses the history of work since the 19th century. It also examines the challenges that men and women who were in employment faced as they tried to acquire a balance between family and work (Hammill, 2005). The paper also looks at how social levels have an effect on family structures, and how these structures change with time. Finally, the paper also glimpses at t he expectations that the society had of men and women who had employment outside the home thorough 40s to the 60s. At some point between 1960 and 1980, the dynamics of the family changed, and this could be attributed to a number of factors. These issues included divorce, single parenting and same sex partners. Currently, some companies are implementing commitments to employees by creating environments of open communication, appealing jobs, safe working conditions, and good benefits. Researching European work/ family policies we can see where legislation might need to change to become beneficial to all. During the industrial revolution in America in late 19th century, many of the working class in America and Europe moved from the rural areas to find urban jobs. There was also massive migration of people from their countries to the new American and European cities. As a result of these movements from the rural farms and foreigners into America and Europe, there was a total disruption of the social engagement of the people. This was because of the mix-up of the numerous cultures of the people in the newly formed American and European cities (Gornick & Meyers, 2004). It formed a prominent need for these people to be able to interact due to their diverse backgrounds. Fortunately for these huge populations, their numbers called for a vibrant economy which left some workers and employees a frustrated lot as they faced exploitation and unjust working conditions. The reformers of the time identified this problem and created organizations which came to be known as labor unions. Their goal was to fight for the rights of all workers to have fair terms of employment. They also advocated for a balance between work and family. The unions also had the goal of seeking economic protection of workers. These unions provided workers with the sense of belonging to a group with common goals, a factor that also served to motivate them in their workplaces. As these unions continued to gain influence and recognition in America, they also began to make public issues that were once thought to be private. Such included the employment of women and children. The organizations helped draw the line between children helping their parents and families, and engaging them in laborious work for little or no pay. By the year 1910, there were clear laws in place regarding child labor and exploitation, the appropriate working hours, and unsafe practices in

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 237

Assignment Example She grows up experiencing joy with Nel Wright, who is her best friend. The two are inseparable friends, even though their backgrounds and personality are different. Sula is an independent character who has minimal commitments. She got the independent characteristic from her mother, who acted in a similar manner. Nel Wright is a character who is the opposite of Sula. Her physical characteristic is plain and also light colored. Her physical appearance contrasts sharply to the black and mysterious features of Sula. The Bottom society considers Nel as a girl of good character and morals, because of her obedient and quite nature. The family background of Nel is good, and it is respected in the society. Nel desires individuality, and this is what drives her to seek friendship with the person like Sula, who has the desired qualities of independence, strength and bravery. Helene Wright is the mother of Nel. She was the daughter of Rochelle, who worked as a prostitute in Orleans Creole. Helen was raised by her very religious grandmother, called Cecile. Hellen was married off to Wiley Wright when she was aged 16 years. Eva is the grandmother of Sula, who is illustrated throughout the novel. She is very instrumental in determining the direction of Sula, and in the development of the plot of the novel. She is a very colorful character in the novel. She is very hopeful, even though her husband left her with children at a young age. Eva cut off her leg, with the intention of obtaining insurance money. The move shows love and determination, because the money was used to take care of her family. Eva is a compassionate character, because she turned her house to a boarding facility that accommodates diverse individuals, for instance, the â€Å"dewey boys†. The informally adopted Deweys were inseparable, even though they are physically different. BoyBoy Peace is illustrated as a reckless character; this is because he abandoned her young Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 163 Assignment Example Action research is an alternative approach to change in an organization. It requires the change facilitators with the ability to give specific attention to the personal and collective processes of action and reflection. Using this approach will, therefore, requires the change agents in Arc Limit Cinema to be both leaders and researchers in the process of finding the opportunities for change. In this case, research on the issues related to the market, internal and external factors promoting of inhibiting change in the organization should be done (Cameron & Green 2012, p. 132). In Lewin’s model for change, there are three identified phases of effective change process. Unfreezing, change process and refreezing. This approach will require the change agent at Arc Limit Cinema to recognize the need to change and to be uncomfortable with the present situation. This may be concerning the operations, production, customer service or marketing. The identified flaws then lead to the change implementation, and after the change is done, the organization need to be re-stabilized through refreezing (Cameron & Green 2012, p. 132). This model, therefore, implies that for a change to occur in Arc Light, the inputs that the organization, its initial environment in terms of partnerships, markets and the general reputation of the organization must be harnessed to give a strategy that is compatible with the organizations structures. The effects of this are positive change that will give results that will improve the organizations situation. In order to understand the performance of an organization, this model recommends first to understand the basic elements of performance. These are inputs, strategy, output and processes. In the USC strategy, these basic elements can be identified as: Output. The strategy expects the outputs to be a success of the students and the fulfilment of their ambitions. This will also lead to a feeling of satisfaction of the

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

Information Management - Essay Example There are basically 10 principles that ensure Information Management is done effectively and successfully. These 10 principles make Information Management easy and the organization experiences much better results if they follow these. The 10 principles are: Organizations have very complex environments in which it is necessary to implement concrete solutions. There are a lot of challenges when planning and implementing information management projects. All these challenges have to be over taken. When these complexities arise project teams often try to find easy and simple solutions, which is wrong. In reality complexity cannot be avoided and the easiest way to solve it is to find new approaches to information management that recognize and manage this complexity. Information management systems are only successful if they are actually used by staff, and it is not sufficient to simply focus on installing the software centrally. In practice, most information management systems need the active participation of staff throughout the organization. Meaning that adoption by staff to the information system is essential. Information management projects must always be designed so that they deliver tangible and visible benefits. This means that mostly information management projects are very valuable but when asked it can be difficult to show the return on investment. For example, improving the information accessible to call center staff can have a very observable and tangible impact on customer service. Business Needs should be given importance Some organizations try to prioritize projects according to the technology to be deployed meaning that if newer technology is being used the project is given the highest priority; this is not a meaningful approach. Instead of using this method projects should be prioritize according to how they address the business needs. Move step by step There is no single project that wills solve all the information management problems of an organization. In reality, anyone who tries to design the complete information management solution will be trapped in 'analysis paralysis' that is the inability to get out of the planning process. Hence journey of a thousand steps should be taken that is small changes should be made in the information management practices that eventually result in the perfect process later. Strong Leadership If an organization wants effective information management they need to concentrate on organizational and cultural changes. Strong leadership can only achieve these objectives. Hence effective and successful information management is a result of strong leadership. Avoid Risks While providing solutions for complex issues of any organizations as we discussed in the 1st principle it is very necessary to study all the risks involved. All the solutions that are provided have risks involved while implementing them. Identifying those risks and avoiding them using risk management is necessary and quite achievable. Extensive Communication Effective

Supernatural Drama Media Essay Essay Example for Free

Supernatural Drama Media Essay Essay Explore how far the Vampire Diaries/Being Human/Misfits DVD cover conforms to genre conventionsIn this essay, I will be analysing the DVD cover of the Vampire Diaries which is a television programme in the teen-supernatural hybrid drama genre. I will also be analysing the covers of Being Human and Misfits and I will compare and contrast them with the Vampire Diaries cover. The typical genre conventions of supernatural dramas are that there are supernatural beings such as ghosts. Werewolves and vampires, and ordinary setting, a trigger/event that leads to the creation of supernatural beings. Ordinary people becoming supernatural or finding out about supernatural beings, and the running theme which is good vs bad. On the front of the Vampire Diaries cover, the title is written in bold white writing. The red ribbon wrapped around the white writing could connote the red strangling the white, or rather the bad strangling the good. There is also a drop of blood that can be seen under the V. Blood is conventional of the vampire story. There is a girl in a red dress which could connote lust, blood, love and danger and she is lying in the middle of two men which could connote a love triangle. The bodies look lifeless but they are looking directly at the camera which could connote that they are the living dead. This contrasts to the drooping tree which looks like it has been drained of life which links to blood being drained. The logo on the Misfits cover is separated, and is tinged pink. The Being Human title is written in a plain, simple font. The Misfits title is the only one that uses an unconventional colour scheme. The Vampire Diaries follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) who falls for a century old vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Their lives grow more complicated as Stefans vicious brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) returns to town with a vendetta against his brother. The series is set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, a town charged with supernatural history. This cover is the only one that uses conventional colours and gothic themes and the other covers, especially Misfits subvert the genre conventions. The narrative of the Vampire Diaries is very conventional of a supernatural and a teen drama. The elements are there, especially when a love triangle is introduced into the plot. Misfits is a British science-fiction drama television series based on a group of young offenders who obtain supernatural powers after a strange electric storm. The plots of Misfits and Being Human  follow a majority of the genre conventions, but some parts of the narrative completely subvert them. For instance, there is a lightning storm that leads the characters gaining supernatural powers, but they are a group of young offenders and they wouldnt usually be the kind of people to gain powers. On the back cover, there are profile images of each character which are comic-book like, which links with the idea of superheroes which is iconic, but the characters subvert the conventions of superheroes. There is a different colour behind each character which again suggest they are a team of superheroes. In Being Human all three supernatural characters share a flat together in Bristol. The darkness surrounding the characters with some light suggest they are fighting against something evil that is almost taking them in. The messy house suggests chaos and along with the simple font and location suggest the simple they want is not possible. Both programmes would be very ordinary if there was no supernatural element to it. The Vampire Diaires appeals to teenagers, as the characters in it are attractive and are supposed to be around the ages of 17 and onwards. The drama part of the series also deals with some of the social problems and worries teenagers face today. Misfits subverts genre conventions and appeals to its target audience as it contains things like sex, drugs, mystery and action which are endearing to people in this age range and uses the kind of language they would also use which makes the characters seem more realistic. All three programmes have a website where views can interact with each other and can be more involved and learn and watch more about what happens behind the scenes of the shows. The Vampire Diaries is the programme that fully follows the conventions of supernatural drama. The running theme of good vs bad, the colours used and gothic themes. There are lots of different types of supernatural beings involved. The convention of a small historic town is also used. Misfits and Being Human also subvert some of the conventions of supernatural genre. They have ordinary settings but although the narrative revolves around supernatural beings the background of it is quite normal.

Knowledge Dilemma and Strategies for Knowledge Management

Knowledge Dilemma and Strategies for Knowledge Management Introduction Information being exchanged amongst the workers of an organisation is a system that has been an essential constituent of the procedure of knowledge management. With the introduction of the contemporary information and communications technology within corporations, it has become very convenient and has also become a valuable support function to make such exchanges possible by reducing the obstructions of time and distance. On the other hand, those corporations that have invested in technologies of this kind are frequently faced with the complications of inducing the workers to utilise the purpose of those technologies in order to communicate their knowledge and perceptions. The knowledge share/hoard predicament is a socio-psychological behaviour aspect that describes that employees feel the need to not share information or organisational knowledge that they posses because it may eventually harm their own status within the organisation or by sharing knowledge may therefore provide a co mpetitive advantage to their colleagues, over them. This has been elucidated further in Sabrautzki 2010 that since organisational knowledge is a collective resource employees may make use of it without actually contributing towards developing or increasing it. However, sharing or hoarding knowledge does have their own results which may be in a positive or a negative manner. Individuals usually hoard knowledge when they feel that sharing that knowledge would eventually result in a decrease of their power or status within the corporation because of the very fact that they have shared their distinctive wisdom with the rest of the workforce. While assessing the various forms of beneficial public problems, there have been certain suggestions of particular interventions that may be implemented by corporations in order to facilitate the organization to promote the required social dynamics which would eventually boost the all-encompassing concept of sharing knowledge and information within the corporation and its employees. Such interventions may assume various forms such as interventions that lead to restructuring or even increasing the recompenses for making a contribution towards increasing organisational knowledge or interventions that aim for augmenting effectiveness within the employees by means of sharing knowledge. Various substantial corporations have started to or have taken into consideration the aspect of implementing an organisation-specific and effective knowledge management system which would help the organisation and its employees share knowledge with efficacy. Most of such corporations aim at engaging in particular knowledge management initiatives because of the objective of attaining a competitive advantage over rival firms, enhancing marketing efficiency, intensifying focus on the consumer as well as increasing modernization within their product lines, as described further in Paton McCalman, 2008 that for a corporation, to develop a learning mindset amongst its employees, it is necessary to develop an attitude that works on the information pull element rather than a culture that encourages the information push attitude. A very significant element of the information pull culture has been the fact that it concentrates mainly on the softer aspects of management, therefore many corporations are often not very successful with the information pull attitude and as a result are not able to accomplish the complete benefits of a bottom-up knowledge delivery structure. Knowledge management consists of such executive practices carried out by a corporation for the purpose of generating, collecting, distributing and making use of organizational knowledge. There has been an increasing certainty amongst corporate leaders, experts and researchers that sharing knowledge within the organisation would be an important strategic resource. This is because organisational knowledge is regarded as a nonmaterial asset that is distinctive, reliant on direction, causally indefinite and is also difficult to replicate or replace in any way, therefore such attributes cause knowledge to be a possible reason for competitive advantage for an employee, hence the reason why hoarding it becomes a possible course of action for most employees, as subsequently the person in possession of it becomes a plausible target for attention from company management. Impact upon Knowledge Exchange and Trust within the Workplace The knowledge hoarding dilemma has made organisations move towards more effective alternatives which would assist the corporation in managing its knowledge in a better way. The current advancements in information and telecommunications technology have greatly assisted organisations in successfully sharing organisational knowledge among the employees. With the development and extensive implementation of global networking and telecommunication procedure, the usage of the intranet knowledge portals within organisations have made it achievable as well as cost-effectively practicable to share knowledge in order to integrate workforce, specifically within substantial and extensively disseminated corporations and also permitting such organisations to easily exchange records and reports and practically any form of multimedia records from one location to another. In Schwartz 2006 it has been explained further that within an organisation, the socio-technical attitude regards sharing of knowled ge to be a completely organised procedure that requires support from top-down involvement from the management as well as bottom-up employee and expert interventions. This sharing and exchange of information amongst the workforce encompasses an important constituent that is essential for the formation and management of combined knowledge and subsequently causes the availability of such implements that sustain such exchanges, while this in turn also immensely makes possible the execution of effective knowledge management systems within a corporation. On the other hand, various corporations frequently experience several issues within their operations and functionalities that ultimately put at risk the probable benefits of investing in modern automated systems for organisational knowledge management. Such as the element that workers may hoard the information that they possess from their fellow workers simply because of their inadequate awareness of the advantages sharing knowledge with other workers. Goodman 2007 describes this aspect further that when various groups within an organisation operate collectively, as a result they naturally develop a cu lture that encourages the sharing of knowledge, whereas global and interconnected groups function jointly in order to accomplish shared targets, thereby driving group effort amongst the assorted departments of sizeable corporations. Employees might also face other difficulties because of problems with being able to incorporate such activities in the course of their daily work owing to lack of time or the lack of abilities or the expertise to use information systems that support knowledge management. Whereas certain workers may perhaps not be able to understand the personal gain that they would obtain from exchanging organisational knowledge partially because of the fact that they receive inadequate encouragement from the management of the corporation for utilising new initiatives to the companys existing operational set up. Knowledge symbolises a source of supremacy and dominance for most employees in a corporation. It is this knowledge that is exchanged or shared amongst consumers and suppliers with reciprocation, good reputation and selflessness that in turn also operate as mechanisms of compensation. Trust, on the other hand, is a necessary requirement for trouble-free execution of such activities within the market. This conviction therefore exists on an individual stage and is possible by means of strong corporate working associations that may exist among co-workers, within work groups and even within various organizational levels. However various employees believe that by sharing significant organisational knowledge with the other co-workers, he or she becomes exposed to the hazard of decreasing ones worthiness within the corporation thereby raising the probability that he or she is not indispensable requisite for the organisation any longer. In Torrey Datta 2002 ithas been described that trust among employees comes when knowledge is understood and accepted through inner and outer cultural filters as well as by managing situational problems through via socially acceptable behaviour. When a corporation focuses on understanding the management of knowledge across various cultures, then this practice would in turn assist knowledge sharing as well as originality and creativity, thereby evening out the course that leads to further learning and knowledge exchanges taking places across cultural limitations. As a result differences in social culture are what an organisation must focus on when dealing with and achieving effective knowledge sharing and exchange. Furthermore employees also feel that it is most essential for them to be known as a specialist or an expert within their organisation, hence their reluctance to share knowledge with other co-workers. They believe that if a worker does not have the repute for proficiency then that knowledge or expertise would not be able to symbolise their power or dominance over their colleagues. When employees hesitate in sharing their knowledge it might also be because of the uncertainty that other co-workers may accept acknowledgment for the source of that information, and consequently assert acclaim for it. Such attitudes that cause hoarding of knowledge will eventually be detrimental for an organisation because not releasing important organisational knowledge might hinder the operational procedures of a corporation. Hislop 2009 states that the element of trust is the actual reason why employees hesitate to share information with their peers. Even when an individual does actually trust another an d shares knowledge, the aspect of uncertainty still remains as to where and how would that infomration be used by that person. When organisational knowledge becomes the only means of attaining a competitive advantage over other employees, then hoarding knowledge becomes prevalent within that corporation, ultimately also increasing the level of mistrust and feelings of jealousy and envy amongst employees. Organisational culture and ethics might also be compromised and would also cause a negative environment to develop within the workplace. However, it is essential for organisations and their employees to understand that sharing information with a colleague will most likely result in receiving beneficial knowledge in return, while it might even result in increasing ones own knowledge as well. Thus by the establishment of an educational framework within an organisation that promotes as well as remunerates the practice of knowledge sharing and prevents and reprimands the practice of hoarding important organisational knowledge for individual gain or gratification, would consequently ensure that the organisation h as been successful in carrying out its knowledge management practices. Stegmeier 2008, pg. 59, has explained this in the following words that various corporations enhance and develop advanced knowledge management systems that assist in classifying data according to competitive pricing analyses, market researches as well as according to technical information. The main purpose of conducting such tasks is to accumulate and store for easy accessibility, quick retrieval and to manage the intelligence of the corporation for its subsequent benefit. It is essential for an organisation to create a corporate philosophy that attaches importance to innovation and vision, incessant improvement as well as interaction and communication of thoughts and wisdom, as it is the presence of such organisational culture which would ensure that the knowledge management initiatives being employed do become successful in the end. When a corporation wants to manage its knowledge assets in an effectual manner it must also possess a workforce that is enthused enough to delve into new market prospects, is able to adapt to and implement new operational processes and new products as well as are keen on employing new methods to their work systems and operational structures. de Man de Man 2008 has described this further by saying that with the presence of trust amongst staff members diminishes the propensity of protecting and hoarding knowledge because this then provides the assurance that the other employee will not try to exploit the ingenuousness. The refore, corporations must adopt procedures that consist of reciprocal faith; companionship and respect which would therefore decrease protection of knowledge. Conclusion Organisations must also establish such work structures that are variable enough to allow ground-breaking and inventive modifications within corporate procedures, occupational descriptions that permit workers a rational degree of working independence, while they must also establish corporate procedures that make it possible for knowledge and information to be shared among employees in a timely and effective manner. Not only will such procedures ensure effective knowledge management, it will also eliminate any form of distrust amongst employees, in fact employees will also learn to rely on their co-workers and managers for receiving and sharing knowledge without the fear of not receiving credit for the knowledge being shared. Thus sharing and exchange of ideas within a corporation is one of the most essential procedures through which an organisation is able to achieve the practice of collecting knowledge without which an organisation would not be able to attain core knowledge that in t urn formulates its core competencies.