MANAGEMENT REPORT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MANAGEMENT REPORT - Assignment Example The revenue from the natural resource makes the country rich. That is why the country has seen a sustained economic growth in last few years even though the rest of the world was suffering from global financial crisis. For years Qatar was among the fastest growing economy, but from the crisis period in 2008 it is among the top three countries in terms of the growth of GDP. The positive economic scenario allows the banking sector of Qatar to grow. Qatar is the place where the eastern sides meet western people. Apart from the domestic business houses, the hydrocarbon economy has attracted many foreign investors to invest in Qatar, Kerbaj (2006). The contribution of Petroleum is 70% of the government revenue, 85% of the export earning and more than 60% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. According to Shachmurove (2009) a very interesting fact about Qatar is that, there is no income tax for Qatari and GCC nationals. However, it is not a tax free country. Taxes are being collected from business houses, corporate and foreign investor. That is why the banking system in Qatar is bit different from the rest of the world. The apex bank of the country is Central Bank of Qatar. Many commercial bank and foreign banks are operating in the territory of the country. The banking system of Qatar is secure, well financed and well regulated. Regular banking services like, retail banking, corporate banking, branch banking, online banking, mobile banking, credit and debit facilities are available from the bank. Hasim & Chaker (2009) argued that, like in other parts of the world Qatar is also bending towards using new technologies in the banking system such as online banking and telephonic banking as these instruments have made banking easier and accessible. Elsamadisy et al. (2013) argued that, the banking scenario has seen a big change during the pre and post global financial crisis. The monetary policies and other banking policies

Critical evaluation - John Steinbeck-Of Mice and Men and Robert Ludlum-The Bourne Identity Essay Example for Free

Critical evaluation John Steinbeck-Of Mice and Men and Robert Ludlum-The Bourne Identity Essay Through the history of man; mathematicians, philosophers, teachers, and scientists have molded and shaped our world. These men and women, young and old, are responsible for the continually growing knowledge in todays youth. Upon studying the most influential educators, it was proven that writers and authors sustain every element of the society we live; love, passion, romance, adventure, drama, science fiction, and non-fiction. All of these categories exist for only one purpose, to entertain the minds who absorb the material. Entertaining authors make an exceptional story and none other than Robert Ludlum and John Steinbeck accomplish this feat better. In order to further understand these authors thirst to provide edge-of-the-seat entertainment, their past and present must be explored. Although these authors lived in two diverse locations, their driving desire for knowledge appears the same. Ludlum and Steinbeck attended college after high school, majoring in English. After graduating from Salinas High School in 1919, Steinbeck attended Stanford University from 1920-1925. Two years after Steinbeck left to pursue his writing career in New York, Robert Ludlum was born on May 25, 1927. Ludlum was educated privately and at the Chesire Academy, Connecticut. After appearing is school theatricals, he acted in the comedy Junior Miss on Broadway at the age of sixteen. His degree includes: B.A., Wesleyan University, Middletown, 1951. Having never graduated from Stanford University, Steinbecks life for the most part was low profile even after the publishing of his first books, Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown, which were all inadequately acknowledged by the literary world. Tortilla Flat (1935) was the noticeable turning point in Steinbecks literary career receiving the California Commonwealth Clubs Gold Medal for best novel. Steinbeck continued writing, and The Grapes of Wrath (1939) won him the Pulitzer Prize. The Nobel Prize was awarded to John Steinbeck for Literature in 1962 for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception. 1 Twenty-nine Academy Award nominations and four Academy Awards were given for revision of John Steinbecks stories. Literature lost one of its most accomplished and distinguished writers on December 20, 1968, in New York City; John Steinbeck died at the age of 66. However, on a more positive note, New York City was also the place where literature bore Robert Ludlum. Ludlum can be described as a modern day author. He is a well-known author writing twenty-one novels and selling over 290 million books in thirty-two different languages. Ludlum started his literary career relatively late because he was working in 1. Mobel Lectures; literature 1901-4967 the theatre as an actor and producer. One of the primary reasons Ludlum is such a suspenseful writer is due to the fact that he was born in an age where movies grabbed the attention of the public eye. In the 1950s, Ludlum worked as a stage and television actor. After producing 300 stage productions for New York and regional theatre, Ludlum wrote his first novel, The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971). Few writers are able to grasp global attention using unbelievable plots that spin into engrossing tales. John Steinbeck and Robert Ludlum are comparable writers. These two authors are very accomplished and their novels reputations speak for themselves. John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men and Robert Ludlums The Bourne Identity are the focus of this evaluation. Their works signify literary techniques that contribute to theme. The central theme in Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck: human fates are constantly controlled by outside forces. The techniques he uses for example: repetition and symbolism are extremely successful in getting across his very cynical views on this theme. Similar techniques are used in Robert Ludlums The Bourne Identity. Uniquely writing; many of Ludlums techniques are present in his writing, but the reader is too engrossed in the story to recognize them. However, Ludlum writes meticulously in his story plots. When evaluated, the reader can distinguish that repetition and symbolism are also used as literary techniques that contribute to theme. Steinbeck and Ludlum use the technique of repetition to effectively build up the climax of the tragedy. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie unintentionally killed his mouse when petting it. This situation repeats itself further in the novel when Slim gives Lennie a puppy. When playing with the animal, Lennie gave the puppy a disciplining thump for biting him and he killed it. An incident, such as this, will be the downfall of George and Lennie. Near the end of the novel, Lennie strokes Curleys wifes hair. He holds too tightly and she gets frightened. Lennie was in a panic. 2 Climaxing, he attempts to quiet her, Dont you go yellin, he said, and he shook her, and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck. 2 The repetition of unintentional death foreshadows a negative outcome for Lennie, his sealed fate. This action brought upon his own murder by George who shot him in the back of the head out of mercy for everything else that was weak and helpless. In this act of violence, George would not be considered a murderer, in fact, quite the opposite. George, instead, would be deemed a savor because he did Lennie a favor. 2. Steinbeck; 91 The Bourne Identity uses repetition in a similar fashion. The central character Jason Bourne faces memory loss, crippling him from discovering his true identity. His instincts and intelligence help guide him. The quote: You are not helpless. You will find your way. 3 is repeated on several occasions, which foreshadows success on Jasons behalf. Jasons rhetorical behavior when faced with stressful and difficult situations ends in same violent manner. Bourne grabbed the Frenchman in front of him now, his left arm around the mans throat, his right hand tearing at the mans left ear. 4 Without thinking, Jason reacts to the situation with poise and precision. Jasons rhetorical skills evoke his memory enough to enable him to think and act on his own to avoid death or capture. Whenever you observe a stress-and you have the time-do your damndest to project into it. Associate as freely as you can; let words and images fill your mind. In them you may find clues. 5 This quote is nearly repeated again, Whenever youre in a stress situation-and theres time, of course-do exactly as you would when you project yourself into one youre observing. Let your mind fall free, let whatever thoughts and images that surface come cleanly. Try not to exercise any mental discipline. Be a sponge; concentrate on everything and nothing. Specifics may come to you, certain repressed conduits electricity prodded into functioning. 6 except there is added tactics, which suggests that Jason is constantly learning. Through repetition Jason persistently advances his skills to obtain his past by varying his appearance, Change your hairyou change your face. 7 Soon after his skills advanced, Jason learned that his real name is David Webb who turns out as a young Far East scholar. Webb received a new identity from the Central intelligence (CIA) as Jason Bourne, a black ops agent. His primary objective was to kill Carlos, another far more advanced assassin, but was betrayed. As the plot twists, the CIA has given Jason quite a few hoops to jump through for his own survival. The climax builds to this particular moment in the novel, when Jason reverses the situation and uses the training the CIA gave him to kill the assassin Carlos. The climax appears to have truth because not only has Jason stopped being on the defensive side of this live or die game, but also his proficient skills have drawn him to his past profession to kill or be killed; fate. The interfering CIA has lost control of Bourne; however he is drawn back to his past line of work, which could result in death, so he ultimately loses. It could be said that Jason Bourne was born to be a professional assassin under anyones control. 3. Ludlum; 39, 43, 83 4. Ludlum; 64 5. Ludlum; 50 6. Ludlum; 82 7. Ludlum; 116, 161 Another technique that demonstrates John Steinbecks view of fate is the symbolism. Near the end of the novel, A watersnake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side, and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically. 8 The heron, stationary and patient, symbolizes fate, while the watersnake, vulnerable and unaware, its victim. The watersnake would most likely symbolize George. Not only does the Heron symbolize fate, it also symbolizes Lennie the burden to their dream. Steinbeck illustrates his view on fate once more by word choice. Words like lanced, plucked, and waiting suggest that Steinbeck believes that fate strikes assertively and specifically. Similarly, Robert Ludlum uses symbolism to project the same idea. Symbolism appears not as evident as repetition; however, present nonetheless. The CIA seems to be the entity or government corporation that symbolizes fate. Every element in the novel can be drawn back to something that the CIA has caused. Ludlum and Steinbeck believe fate to be all the same. In Ludlums case, the CIAs intricate plans and organized operations parallel Steinbecks idea that fate acts in the same manner, assertively and specifically. Of Mice and Men and The Bourne Identity are literally written in identical fashions. Steinbeck and Ludlum use character driven dialogue to tell the story. The point-of-views transpose between first person (the main characters) and third person (the narrator). The first person prospective uniquely projects to the reader each of the character thoughts and actions. The first person prospective gives a clear understanding of what exactly will happen, without all of the excess narration. However, the narration does an excellent job in describing the setting among other elements, such as flow between events. The events or chapters are present in both novels. Ludlum uses three books within his novel along with thirty five chapters because The Bourne Identity is far longer than the six chapters Of Mice and Men. This technique is apparent for the sole purpose of changing locations in the story with ease; in The Bourne Identity Jason and his companion travel to different countries, and in Of Mice and Men the only change of location appears within the town and ranch. These two books were written very similarly. Both switched between first and third person depending on what the best way to tell the story was. By changing point of views, Ludlum and Steinbeck were able to develop their themes more thoroughly. The technique of changing perspectives allowed the reader to identify with the main characters, but at the same time, know vital information that would be needed to understand the story. 8. Steinbeck; 99 Robert Ludlum and John Steinbeck are exceptional authors. There novels: The Bourne Identity and Of Mice and Men, respectively, have Robert Lattas praise. Woohoo, right? There are more positive, than negative, statements to be discussed. Particularly, Ludlums story is far more intriguing than Steinbecks. The plot and characters all are attention getters. The idea that a man with no memory has instincts that are above any normal man, and has answers to every question, except his name, is fascinating. The only downfall to Ludlums work appears to be the length of his novel, five hundred some odd pages, that turns out to be a lot of reading time. Steinbecks novel length; however, fits the taste well, only one hundred some pages. The olden story in Steinbecks novel, gets negative feedback because its entire plot stimulated nothing more than closing eye lids. Praising the literary device of repetition, this gave some indication that what was being read over again would prove useful in assembling a critical evaluation essay. The repetition also forces the information into your brain, meaning it holds significance. Moreover, the theme portrayed among these two novels had some relevance with our current lives, which also served another purpose to reading them Overall, the novels ended up balancing one another. A positive recommendation can be made for both these novels because something can be learned. WORKS CITED Lectures, Mobel. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1962. [online] http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1962/press.html Ludlum, Robert. The Bourne Identity. New York: Richard Marek, 1975 Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1978

Television Violence Essay -- essays research papers fc

Television violence and its effects on viewers has been a controversial issue for many years. Some viewers believe that there is an increasingly large amount of violence on television and this widespread public concern has "led to calls for stricter controls on the depiction of violence in programmes" (Gunter and McAleer 1990:92). Exactly how much violence is there on television though? Many cultivation theorists have studied this, acquiring data in the form of content analysis. They agree on a definition of a violent act, for example Gerbner in his study used the definition, "an overt expression of physical force against self or other, compelling action against ones will on pain of being hurt or killed, or actually hurting or killing" (Gunter and McAleer 1990:94). This is an objective definition that can then be used to count the number of violent acts in whatever is being observed. Halloran and Croll (1972) used this technique to establish the amount of violence on British television in comparison with that of American television. For one week in April 1971, they observed the news, fictional drama, current affairs and documentaries on BBC1 and ITV Midlands and counted the number of violent incidents using Gerbner’s definition of violence. It was found that on average, 56% of British programmes contained some violence with four incidents of violenc e per hour. This was in comparison with American television which contained some seven incidents of violence per hour and where it was considerably more prevalent than on British television (Gunter and McAleer 1990:97). Focusing now on British television and violence, we can analyse Guy Cumberbatch’s research on television violence in 1987. He looked at all types of television programme focusing on four separate weeks between May and September 1986. All four channels were reviewed, totalling 1412 hours of television (930 BBC programmes and 1146 ITV and channel four programmes). He found, using his own definitions of a violent act, that 30% of all programmes contained some violence with an average of 1.14 acts of violence per programme (Gross 1992:455). It was also found that there was much more violence on television after 9pm and that violence was rare in children’s television programmes other than cartoons. It has been questioned however whether the violence in cartoons should actually b... ...er factors have also shown to be influential in this cause and effect relationship between television violence and violent behaviour. Such factors as age, gender, parental influence and amount of viewing contribute to how influential television violence is on an individual’s behaviour. Findings are still however inconclusive in this debate, although a large proportion of the evidence does appear to strongly favour the hypothesis that viewing violence on television does have an effect on a viewer’s violent behaviour. As a Washington Post article states "the preponderance of evidence from more than 3000 research studies over 2 decades shows that the violence portrayed on television influences the attitudes and behaviour of children who watch it" (Oldenburg 1992 cited at http://maple.lemoyne.edu/~hevern/ericdig.html). Bibliography Condry, J. (1989): The Psychology of Television. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. Gross, R. (1992): Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Gunter, B. and McAleer, J. (1997): Children and Television. London: Routledge. Van Evra, J. (1990): Television and Child Development. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Management Control Systems at Reliance Industries Limited Essay

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is world’s leading and India’s no: 1 Private Ltd. Company. RIL group is a highly diversified group and is in to multiproduct business like oil / gas exploration, retail of petro / consumer products and mfg. of petrochemical / refining and textile products. Also, in to infrastructure and transportation sectors. he Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India’s largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Group’s annual revenues are in excess of US$ 44 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India. Backward vertical integration has been the cornerstone of the evolution and growth of Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward vertical integration – in polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production – to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain. The Group’s activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles, retail and special economic zones. Reliance enjoys global leadership in its businesses, being the largest polyester yarn and fibre producer in the world and among the top five to ten producers in the world in major petrochemical products. Major Group Companies are Reliance Industries Limited (including main subsidiary Reliance Retail Limited) and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited  Organizational Structure of Reliance Figure [ 1 ] Reliance Major Subsidiaries * Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) was a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and was created to exploit the emerging opportunities, creating value in the refining sector worldwide. Currently, RPL stands amalgamated with RIL. [7] * Reliance Life Sciences is a research-driven, biotechnology-led, life sciences organization that participates in medical, plant and industrial biotechnology opportunities. Specifically, these relate to Biopharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Clinical Research Services, Regenerative Medicine, Molecular Medicine, Novel Therapeutics, Biofuels, Plant Biotechnology and Industrial Biotechnology. [8] * Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited (RIIL) is engaged in the business of setting up / operating Industrial Infrastructure that also involves leasing and providing services connected with computer software and data processing. 9] * Reliance Logistics (P) Limited is a single window solutions provider for transportation, distribution, warehousing, logistics, and supply chain needs, supported by in house state of art telematics and telemetry solutions. [11] * Reliance Clinical Research Services (RCRS), a contract research organization (CRO) and wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Life Sciences, has been set up to provide clinical research services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. As far as Board structure of RIL is concerned there are 8 Non executive directors and four executive directors, hence RIL is strictly following suggestions given by Kumar mangalam Birla committee regarding corporate governance. Figure [ 2 ] Reliance Board Structure Figure [ 3 ] Reliance Reporting Hierarchy Functional structure Employees within the functional divisions of an organization tend to perform a specialized set of tasks, for instance the engineering department would be staffed only with production engineers. This leads to operational efficiencies within that group. However it could also lead to a lack of communication between the functional groups within an organization, making the organization slow and inflexible. As a whole, a functional organization is best suited as a producer of standardized goods and services at large volume and low cost. Coordination and specialization of tasks are centralized in a functional structure, which makes producing a limited amount of products or services efficient and predictable. Moreover, efficiencies can further be realized as functional organizations integrate their activities vertically so that products are sold and distributed quickly and at low cost. For instance, a small business could start making the components it requires for production of its products instead of procuring it from an external organization. But not only beneficial for organization but also for employees faiths. Hence Reliance is Having Highest Operational efficiency as compared to competitors. Management Style And Culture At Reliance Industries Limited Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has emerged as India’s largest private-sector enterprise and carved out a distinct place for itself in global Fortune 500 companies. Reliance’s business success and competitive position reflect the leadership provided by its founder, Mr.  Dhirubhai Ambani who said, â€Å"Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it do you get it. † The leadership system defined by Ambani is based on value creation towards both its customers and stakeholders. The same vision has been taken up and forwarded by his son Mr. Mukesh Ambani, current Chairman and Managing Director of RIL. Reliance believes that any business conduct can be ethical only when it rests on the nine core values of Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Fairness, Purposefulness, Trust, Responsibility, Citizenship and Caring. The existence of the culture in RIL is driven towards achievement of excellence in systems, processes, technology and people and also toward the fulfillment of their corporate vision i. e. â€Å"To become a globally competitive enterprise, driven by the market, creating and maintaining a lead over competition through quality products and establishing itself to be the preferred supplier of its customers. † With the vertical integration of chain from refinery to textiles, RIL has unique fully integrated structure. Basically it is a process centric organization that maximized synergies across all interfaces, leverage core competencies of various disciplines to maximize value from current assets and create growth opportunities while allowing people to develop and contribute to their full capabilities. When we talk about the organization culture, specifically RIL focuses on high performance work culture which fosters innovation, entrepreneurship, inclusiveness, teamwork and continuous improvements. Among all RIL basically focuses on innovation and has a innovative council for promoting the same. The company believes hat it is the innovation in thinking and execution that has made RIL reach where it is today. The firm belief of innovation being the differentiator for future and the source of competitive advantage shows the importance that is given to it. RIL in the early 1990s did suffer from low employee participation in improvement activities and low customer satisfaction. The introduction of various quality improvement tools in the facilities like the Total Quality Management( TQM), Kaizen Activities and customer focus approach led to the improvement in quality, productivity improvement and customer satisfaction in the organization. RIL realizing the importance of human and intellectual capital for business success, has given more importance to the use of its human potential and the creation of Learning organization to help in continued success in future. RIL in its importance to the health and safety also has also initiated Safety, Health and Workplace Environment Program (CASHe) – which is an initiative to promote healthy workplace and reducing health and safety risk has been instrumental in creating a culture of implementing health, safety and environment project on a priority basis. This program has also been able to improve the performance of the company on the occupational health and safety front. The Health and Safety Principles that were put forward in this regards to articulate the stakeholders expectation along with the existing values of the company underpin both the corporate culture and cooperation across the company. The growing importance of Corporate Governance by RIL shows its priority towards a transparent and accountable organization thus being able to meet the needs of all the concerned stakeholders. The publication of annual corporate governance report is one important aspect showing its growing inclination towards it and its aim to have fair and equitable treatment of its employees, shareholders, customers and investors. They aim to provide timely and balanced disclosure of all material information concerned towards stakeholders. Moreover they aim to have a sound system of risk management and internal control. The existence of code for board of directors and board committees, code of business conduct and ethics for director/management personnel signifies the existence of the culture driving the whole organization towards effective corporate governance. RIL has a long and strong tradition of supporting the larger communities that it connects with – from education, health, drinking water, large-scale development of employable skills, to assistance during natural calamities such as earthquakes and cyclones. The Reliance Foundation would address social development imperatives of India, specifically quality, formal and vocational education, affordable high-quality health care, meaningful rural development and urban renewal, and protection and promotion of India’s priceless heritage of arts and culture. Management in simple words are characteristic ways of making decisions and relating to subordinates. Different management styles and employed by different organizations depending on the prevailing culture, the nature of the business, the nature of the task and the personality and skills of the leaders. RIL is an organization which is operation in multiple facets. They have multiple manufacturing facilities at multiple locations where by dealing in different product ranges. The supreme authority of the company is Board of Directors. But they have given much more independence to the individual units at different level to take decisions at their level. There is a good mix of corporate level strategy (taking RIL as a whole which is set up by the BOD) as well as appropriate business level and operational strategies at each segment as well as business units to accomplish the corporate level strategy. Every unit which is a part of RIL has its own hierarchy, headed by the CEO or the President, but a more of a democratic style of leadership is seen. Since they promote innovation and value their human capital they promote participative environment at different levels of management to be able to make a better and informed decision. Empowering the employees in RIL is relevant. However the level of decisions and intensity of problems are defined whereby decisions can be taken at particular level of management. Management Control Systems Internal Controls RIL has a comprehensive system of internal controls to safeguard the Company’s assets against loss from unauthorised use and ensure proper authorisation of financial transactions. The Company has an exhaustive budgetary control system to monitor all expenditures against approved budgets on an ongoing basis. The Company’s accounting process is based on uniform accounting guideline that sets out accounting policies and significant processes and deadlines on a company wide basis. There are inding directives for internal reconciliations and other accounting operations. The Company maintains a system of internal controls designed to provide a high degree of assurance regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, the reliability of financial controls, and compliance with laws and regulations. RIL has well established policy towards maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and environmental norms while maintaining operational integrity. This policy is strictly adhered to all RIL manufacturing facilities. The Company has an internal audit function, which is empowered to examine the adequacy and compliance with policies, plans and statutory requirements. It is also responsible for assessing and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance process. The management duly considers and takes appropriate action on the recommendations made by the statutory auditors, internal auditors and the independent Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Internal Checks and Balances.

SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces for Sheng Siong Essay

Introduction Growing up in a pig farm, the CEO Mr. Lim Hock Chee and his brothers have brought Sheng Siong Group Ltd to an over 800million market capital, Singapore Exchange listed supermarket chain. The group’s humble beginning in the year 1985, from its first store in Ang Mo Kio which surrounded by 5 other grocery stores, has now expanded to be the one of the largest supermarket chain in Singapore. Sheng Siong is publicly listed at the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on August 17, 2011. Since then, it grows to become a major supermarket chain in Singapore with a total retail area of 400,000sq ft over 33 outlets island-wide. Sheng Siong’s outlets are designed to provide customers with both â€Å"wet and dry† shopping options ranging from a wide assortment of fresh, live and chilled products, such as meat, seafood and vegetables to processed, packaged and preserved food products as well as general groceries. Over the past few years, they have developed a selection of house brands to offer customers alternatives with at ample savings. Sheng Siong has now over 400 products under their 10 house brands. With the long history and reputation for quality products at competitive prices, the â€Å"Sheng Siong† brand had become an established household name in Singapore. Widely recognized by consumers, Sheng Siong were awarded the â€Å"Superbrand† status by Superbrands Singapore since 2008 (Superbrands, 1994). Mission: We strive to offer communities in which we operate quality products at reasonable prices together with good service in order to create value to our customers Vision: Our vision is to be the preferred retailer in the market, starting from Singapore and then further ashore. SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses 1. Strong brand recognition 2. Experienced management 1. Susceptible to rent hikes and labour cost hikes. 2. Lack of a formal succession plan Opportunity Threats 1. Overseas expansion 2. Untapped areas in Singapore 1. Losing market share 2. Supply disruption Strengths Strong brand recognition Sheng Siong is among the top 3 supermarket chain in Singapore. Sheng Siong launched a television show titled â€Å"The Sheng Siong Show† since year 2007 to further raise its profile amongst national audiences, on top of the traditional marketing mediums. Strong recognition by Singapore residents as a value-for-money supermarket chain. Awarded â€Å"Superbrand† status by Superbrands Singapore, a global organization that recognizes the most valued and exceptional brands, every year since year 2008. Experienced management Sheng Siong is founded since year 1985 and focus only in retail business in Singapore. Management of the group since then rests in the hands of the three founding Lim brothers: Mr. Lim Hock Eng (Executive Chairman), Mr. Lim Hock Chee (CEO) and Mr. Lim Hock Leng (Managing Director). They have almost 30 years of experience in grocery retailing, equipped with in-depth knowledge of the industry in Singapore. Weaknesses Susceptible to rent hikes and labour cost hikes The cost of rental and labour takes up 85% of Sheng Siongs’ operating expenses (Maybank KE, 2013) thus it is very vulnerable to hikes on operating cost in order to sustain their low-cost strategy. The Singapore Government had increase the restrictions for hiring foreign labour (Mom.gov.sg, 2013), which pressure Sheng Siong, in which one-third of its 2600 employees are non-Singaporeans, in their operating cost. (Michelle Teo, 2013) In Maybank KE’s research (2013), under the sensitivity analysis, an increase of 5% additional staff cost would incurred 9% of shortfall in Sheng Siong’s profit. According to Sheng Siong’s Annual Report in 2012 and 2013, rental expenses had been increased from 1.095million to 1.693million, representing  a more than 50% hike. In order to sustain the low-cost strategy, such rental hike issue had made Sheng Siong Group opened no new store in year 2013, whereby they cannot find suitable and affordable space to rent for expansion. La ck of a formal succession plan The founders, Lim brothers are holding more than 60% of the shares of Sheng Siong Group and also on the top managing positions. (Annual Report, 2013) The lack of a formal succession plan could prove to be a weakness in the long-run. The listing of Sheng Siong in the SGX had made incorporation of some outside talents including Mr. Tan Ling San (Executive Director) and Mr. Wong Soong Kit (Finance Director) into the management ranks, however if the Lim brothers decide to retire or step down before a formal succession plan is put into place, it may lead to a potential loss of strategic direction. Opportunities Overseas expansion Despite the foreign markets are also dominated by major players, Sheng Siong might able to seek chances in overseas expansion, especially in neighbor countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The benefits of overseas expansion including increase brand value, find new customers, seek for tax incentives and reduce excessive domestic, single market reliance and furthermore enjoy the robust economic development of the region of South East Asia. Especially in Malaysia, Sheng Siong has had various suppliers which relationships had been established for decades, the expansion into the market is not impossible. Untapped areas in Singapore There are still many highly populated areas in Singapore where Sheng Siong has no presence such as Bishan, Tampines, Hougang, Sengkang and Bukit Merah. This means that Sheng Siong still has a lot of room to grow its store network. Furthermore, Sheng Siong had commenced an e-commerce pilot project in December 2013, in the Thomson vicinity to provide customers the convenience of shopping groceries online via the website â€Å"allforyou.sg†. The possible success of this e-commerce project can reduce dependence on human labour, save cost on warehouse management and create new and better shopping experience of customers at their convenience. Threats Losing market share Sheng Siong operates in a highly competitive environment where it faces intense competition from other major super market chains as well as traditional grocery retailers, wet markets and even petrol kiosks. Its existing stores may face competition from new competitor outlets in their operating areas; it may lose market shares in the area where new competitor’s outlets are open where Sheng Siong is absent. Sheng Siong has suffer zero expansion in retail outlets in year 2013, making it a crucial threat of losing market shares due to expansions of its competitors. Supply disruption Supply disruptions arising from harsh weather conditions, force majeure events or natural disasters might hit Sheng Siong because about 30% of its revenue (Ocbc is from the sale of fresh produce. Porter’s 5 forces Competitive rivalry – High Sheng Siong is in tough competition with major direct competitors such as NTUC FairPrice and Dairy Farm’s Cold Storage and Giant, yet there are many other smaller retailers in the market. The 4 major supermarket chain had a dominant market share of more than 85percent (Euromonitor, 2014) (Maybank KE, 2014), making the business to be in a semi-consolidated industry. Supermarkets are having very low level of product differentiation. The retail sectors is growing steadily but slow. (Singstat.gov.sg, 2014) For the full year, retail sales in Singapore contracted by 4.3%, a reversal from the 1.3% expansion in 2012, but supermarket sales grew by 4.3% at current prices and 2.4% at constant prices during the same period, compared with an increase of 7.5% and 5.3% respectively in 2012. (Economic Survey of Singapore, 2013) The increasingly intensive competition may result in lower sales and greater operating costs and have an adverse effect on Sheng Siong. Threat of new entrants – Low The big 4 supermarket chains took up to more than 85percent of the total  market shares in Singapore, thus becomes a huge barrier for new entrants to meet the excessive capital requirements into the harsh competition. A new entrant would have to achieve the economies of scale needed to compete on cost advantage with the major market players, therefore not an easy barrier to cross over. Branding is another barrier to entry. A new entrant would need to differentiate themselves with the big 4 and to attain identity through promotions and advertising which may incur extremely high expenses. The highly responsive to competition of the big 4 supermarket chains to sustain market share also makes the barrier higher for new entrants. New entrant also face disadvantage in lack of expertise and knowledge of consumer trends, as the big players had been in the business for decades. Difficulties in accessing to distribution channels and locations is also an entry barrier for new entrant as Singapore is a matured market. Threat of substitute – High Chains of convenience stores such as 7-eleven and Cheers are emerging in the market. Convenience stores are selling some Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) like dairy products, soft drinks and packaged food which also sold by supermarkets, thus become a substitute of supermarkets. Restaurants, kopitiams (coffee shop) and food centers are also substitutes for supermarkets. People may want to dine outside rather than purchasing fresh meats, fishes and vegetable to cook at home. Pharmacies which are selling medicine, personal care, and baby care and toilet / pocket papers are also a substitute of supermarket. Traditional wet markets are considered another substitute for supermarket business. Newly emerged online groceries shopping brings threat of substitute to supermarket also. Bargaining power of customer – High Sheng Siong is facing intense competition from traditional grocery retailers such as wet markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets, and from non-traditional competitors such as, petrol kiosk convenience stores, convenience stores and restaurants. Customers have various options when comes to buying groceries. While pricing is one of the keys, convenience also plays a significant role in groceries shopping. People might choose to buy daily groceries from neighborhood grocery store just on their doorstep or buy drinks from the  nearest convenience stores, rather than purposely go to supermarket. Bargaining power of supplier – Low Due to the nature of grocery retailing business, Sheng Siong purchase goods from a large number of suppliers and contract manufacturers. A large network of over 1,000 suppliers and contract manufacturers had been established for Sheng Siong’s business. Some of the supplying relationships had established since the commencing year of 1985. The large and stable supplying relationships have enabled Sheng Siong to have a continuous supply of products without major disruptions and allow them to wield greater bargaining power in terms of the purchase prices of their products. No single supplier or contract manufacturer contributed more than 5.0% of Sheng Siong’s total purchases. (Prospectus, 2011) Summary Competitive rivalry: High Threat of new entrants: Low Threat of substitute: High Bargaining power of customer:High Bargaining power of supplier: Low The analysis above shows Sheng Siong is in a really intensive business environment. Therefore, the management team should act really cautious on their strategy planning for business operations as well expansions in order to stay competitive. Strategic planning As Sheng Siong is implementing low-cost strategy, it is very important for the management to plan their business tightly watch on their operational costs, as they are vulnerable to rental and labour hikes. On the other Hand, not having a succession plan may negatively impacts the operations of company in long run. Thus Sheng Siong should have plans with the goal to train and sustain the dynamic key management team for the company’s future growth. Goals Plans Control operating costs, Sustaining low-cost strategy Reduce dependence of foreign labours. Computerized operations to reduce labour costs. Seek new property rental or purchases opportunity in new high populated resident areas such as Punggol and Hougang. Make optimum utilize of the centralized warehouse cum distribution center in Mandai Link, to achieve economies of scale. Train and sustain the upcoming management team Set up a management training for potential employees from internal or external. Succession plan as well as a contingency plan should be well established as soon as possible to enhance the stability of the long term operations of the company. Organizing Sheng Siong is applying the functional organization where by it divides into different divisions such as Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Purchasing and Retail Operations. It is also a centralized organization since it was originally a family business. Most decisions are made by high-level executives and pass down for implementation. In my opinion, a transition should be made in the organizing system in Sheng Siong if the company wants to sustain in a longer run. Talents from internal or external should be brought up to managerial level through systematic trainings and being delegated in decisions making to cultivate fresh thoughts and ideas for the operations and growth of the company. The company should gradually decentralized in their organization to promote creativity and innovations, as well as act as a pathway for establishing succession plans. Leadership Despite using power of authority, power of rewards has been used in Sheng Siong’s leadership over their employees. 20% of the groups’ profit before tax was distributed in the form of various bonuses to its employees in the past 2 years. Relationship-motivated leadership Having policy such as provides one free meal per workday for every full-time  worker that has become a tradition of the company for 25 years. (Sheng Siong, 2013) The CEO Lim Hock Chee is an authentic and transformational leader. Although featuring at position 35 in Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 Richest list, Lim Hock Chee remains a humble man. He is known as the â€Å"towkay (meaning ‘boss’ in Chinese) who drives a lorry† due to that being his mode of transport for many years. He undertook a two-year car mechanic course and thus stood him in good stead as until recently he was known as â€Å"Mr Fix it† at Sheng Siong, regularly welding trolleys and fixing power outages. (Hunt, 2014) These good traits of leadership styles should be kept on in Sheng Siong to distinguish themselves from major trends in capitalized world that applies less relationships concerned leadership. However, a family business cannot sustain and grow if it stays only at family style, standardization and formalization should progressively apply and leaders should apply a balanced portion of task performance behaviors in their lead. Control In spite of bureaucratic control, market control is always being well-utilized in Sheng Siong. The plans and strategies in marketing, property renting and purchasing, and invests and divests are set according to close studies of the market. Sheng Siong emerged as Runner-up in the Retail & Household Goods category of the 14th Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) Investors’ Choice Award – Most Transparent Company Award (MTCA) 2013. (Annual Report, 2013) This indicates Sheng Siong is having good control of their accounts and audits with optimum information stated in their financial reports. Despite the financial parts, management audits are closely monitored. The evaluations of the the company’s planning, organizing, leading and controlling is always printed in their annual report. It reviews what have been done and what the upcoming plans are, giving a clear picture to investors and business partners. Recommendations Sheng Siong should always prudent in its expansion and execution under the  harsh economic environment. Setting up a clear succession plan of short, medium, and long term to ensure the future operations of the company. Overseas expansion exposes to risks and opportunities, the company should well utilize the connections that it has to expand the business to another level, locally and regionally. Conclusion Sheng Siong had gradually emerged as one of the biggest groceries retailer in Singapore. Nevertheless, there are huge growth opportunity for the company. The company should stay dynamic and improve the weaknesses to keep explore the chances of growth in this competitive environment. Changing is not always a bad idea. From a family business to a listed company, from a small establishment to a corporate, Sheng Siong has gone this far, but be it just the beginning of the future great arms in supermarket operators in the region or even in the globe. Modern management studies will help Sheng Siong to embrace any possible threats in the future. The transition of Sheng Siong should not be stopped at this point but should keep improving, strive to achieve its mission and vision.

The Eight Spellings of Long O

The Eight Spellings of Long O The Eight Spellings of Long O The Eight Spellings of Long O By Maeve Maddox English is blessed with many homophones: one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (as all and awl; to, too, and two; rite, write, right, and wright) called also homonym (Merriam Webster Unabridged Dictionary) The sound of long o is especially rich in alternate spellings. Such spellings are best learned when we are children, before weve been around long enough to regard such facts of life as something to be complained about. Here are the eight spellings of long o. (not counting exceptions, of course.) o o says /Ã… / at the end of a syllable: so, go, open o+e Silent final e makes the o say /Ã… /: stone, throne, shone (Am.) ow The spelling ow can represent two sounds: /ow/ as in cow and /Ã… / as in show, slow, grow. ou The spelling ou can represent four sounds: /ow/ as in round, /Ã… / as in four, /oo/ as in you, and /Ã… ­/as in country. Note that the second sound of ou is long o. oo The spelling oo can represent three sounds: /oo/ as in boot, /à »/as in foot, and /Ã… / as in floor. oa This is the o of boat. oe This is o of toe ough Ah, yes. This is the most ridiculed of all English spellings, good old ough. This spelling can represent six different vowel (or semi-vowel) sounds. The good news is that once youve learned the following six words, youre home free: /Ã… / as in though /oo/ as in through /uf/ as in rough /awf/ as in cough /aw/ as in thought /ow/ as in bough Note that /Ã… / is the first sound of ough: though TIP: English spelling is not for sissies. It can, however, be mastered by people who use words for a living. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Cost-Effective vs. Cost-EfficientOne Fell SwoopMood vs. Tense

The life of Karl Marx essays

The life of Karl Marx essays Karl Marx is the inventor of communism, a style of society used presently by countries such as China and North Korea. Communism is a type of government style in which all wealth is spread equally. It was designed to create a utopian type of world where no one is more or less well off. Communism has not been used the way that Marx intended to and has become a way to mask a dictators real motives. In this essay, you will learn about the man behind Communism. Karl Marx was born in Trier, Rhenish Prussia, which is now Germany, on May 5, 1818. Karl was born to a Jewish family that later turned Lutheran. Karl was schooled in Triar and later attended Bonn University to study law. Karl didnt take school seriously and spent most of his time socializing and running up debts. Karl was wounded in a duel, and his father was horrified so he decided to pay off his sons debts, but send Karl to a calmer school, Berlin University. Karl worked hard for the next two years of his schooling at Berlin. A lecturer named Bruno Bauer fascinated him. Bauer had been in trouble with the law because of his atheism and radical political views. Bauer introduced Karl to the writings of G.W.F Hegel. Karl was impressed by Hegels philosophy stating that an object or thought cannot exist without its opposite, and unity would be achieved by equalizing all opposites. Karls father died in 1828, leaving Karl to earn his own living. Karl decided to become a professor. Karl completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Jena. Marx could not find a job anywhere, because he looked for Bauer to help him, but Bauer had been fired because of his outspoken atheism. Karl then tried journalism, but due to his radical views, most editors would not publish his work. He moved to cologne where a liberal action was taking place. This group, called The Cologne Circle, had its own newspaper, the Rhenish Gazette. This ...

Capture Your Stories - Guest Post by Gary Ryan

Capture Your Stories - Guest Post by Gary Ryan Capture Your Stories Guest Post by Gary Ryan, edited by Brenda Bernstein, The Essay Expert In last week’s article by Gary Ryan, How Students Can Leverage Part Time and Volunteer Work, he explained what employability skills are and why they are important for your future. This week he asks an important question: How do you capture your experiences in a useful way? Your stories are important in the context of both creating your resume (The Essay Expert’s specialty!) and preparing for an interview. Are you the right fit? Once you are in front of your prospective employers, your goal is to communicate that you are the right fit for their organization. The interview is largely about testing your personality. The interviewers already know that you have the right technical skills or a demonstrated ability to learn them. What they don’t know is whether or not you will fit in their company culture. This is where your stories about your employability skills kick in. 95% of interview questions are behaviorally based. This means that you will be asked questions that require you to provide an example about how you have demonstrated your employability skills in the past. If you haven’t prepared your answers, you will likely fumble your way through your interview. Tell us about a time†¦ As an example, imagine being asked, â€Å"Please tell us about a time when you had to work with a difficult person.† This question is meant to elicit how well you will interact with your fellow employees. Will you be a good team member to have around the office? If you have prepared stories about teamwork, communication, leadership and problem solving, you will quickly be able to modify one of your existing stories to provide a succinct and coherent answer to this question. If you haven’t prepared your stories, your face could turn white, the blood draining from your brain: â€Å"I’m not sure. I can’t think of one right now. I know that I have worked with difficult people before but I can’t think of one right now. Sorry.† It is not unusual for these sorts of responses to be heard in an interview. How do you think the interviewers will judge your organizational â€Å"fit† with this kind of response? A structure to rely on Now here’s the good news: Interviewers have formulas that they listen for with regard to how your answers are structured. If you know the formula, you can prepare so you don’t get caught off guard. One common formula is the CAR (Challenge / Action / Result) method. When answering a question such as the one above about working with a difficult person, you might choose a CAR story that you had prepared. Let’s break down the components of a CAR story so you can create some of your own: ‘C’ is for Challenge or Circumstance. What situation sets the scene for your story? What was the context? Who were the players? What goal were you (as a team or individually) trying to achieve? What roadblocks stood in the way? Although the first place to look for CAR stories is in your work experience, some of your best examples might come from family, recreational, or other extracurricular activities. This is especially true if you are a new graduate, but might be relevant even if you are a seasoned professional. If you planned a wedding, for instance, you learned skills that will apply in any paid position where you might be asked to organize a project or event. And if you get along well with your family, that’s a great sign that you will be a great person to have in the workplace! ‘A’ is for Actions. This is where you differentiate yourself. What did you do that made a difference? Be specific and include the most pertinent actions that you undertook. In the example above, you may have recognized that part of the reason for the â€Å"difficult† person’s behavior was that you hadn’t been clear in your communication. So you may have stopped talking and just listened. Perhaps you discovered that they had misunderstood what you said- enabling you to communicate your message in a way they could comprehend. ‘R’ is for Results. This is the â€Å"So what?† part of your story. The results you have produced are some of the most important employability skills you can demonstrate. In the above example, your effective use of communication through improved listening may have resulted in a clearer understanding for the entire team of what it was trying to achieve- which in turn created a high level of focus and ultimately a successful project. You might even add that a big lesson from this experience was that through effective communication, you realized that the â€Å"difficult† person in question wasn’t that difficult after all. By sharing your results, you emphasize the positive impact you can have on an organization. Reap the benefits of preparation Preparing your CAR and employability skills stories, complete with results and lessons learned, provides you with flexibility when answering questions. You will be able to simply listen to the question and then select the most appropriate story to answer it. Your answers will be well-thought-out and evidence-based, and will make your interviewers engaged and favorable toward your application. The power of telling your stories through a structure such as CAR is that it enables you to shine and reveal your personality, in addition to demonstrating how well you prepare for important meetings (yes, an interview is a meeting!). Your interviewers are then in a position to objectively judge how you would fit in the organization. If you’d like to learn more about how to prepare yourself to be a successful interviewer and Young Professional, including another powerful formula for creating your stories and examples, then access What Really Matters For Young Professionals! Gary Ryan is the Founder of Organisations That Matter, author of What Really Matters For Young Professionals! and creator of the Yes For Success online platform for creating and executing a life of balance and personal success!

Viewpoint against childhood obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Viewpoint against childhood obesity - Essay Example This is a worrying trend because childhood obesity has undesirable personal and social implications hence the need to avert the condition in America. An obese child would be exposed to psychosocial problems. As noted by Green, Hargrove and Riley, such children would always be ridiculed and tormented by their peers. The problem has been noted to be even worse among girls known to be keen on their body images. This could even cause depression among such children. Such children become constant targets for social discrimination, which, coupled with their low self esteem, could hamper normal social functioning and academic success. Moreover, and even more important to note is the fact that obesity is associated with a myriad of medical complications. Childhood obesity has been associated respiratory ailments, hypertension, high cholesterol, orthopedic problems and depression. As noted by Barbour, about 70% of obese children have a risk factor of contracting a cardiovascular disease while 39% have more than one of such factors. Green, Hargrove and Riley indicate that type 2 diabetes has been on the increase among African American children as a result of obesity. Other health risks associated with childhood obesity include sleep apnea, hepatic steatosis and asthma. As such, this impacts on the government spending on healthcare. As noted by Green, Hargrove and Riley, the estimates for healthcare associated to childhood obesity was about $71 billion between 2008 and 2009. This informed a national healthcare organization known as Healthy People 2010 to seek to reduce the number of obese children aged 6 to 19 to 16% by the year 2020. To develop appropriate preventive measures, it would be critical to understand the causes of obesity. Basically, obesity results from an imbalance between the consumed calories and the calories used for growth and development, physical activity and metabolism according to Barbour. This could be caused by an

How might the innovation strategy of a service sector firm differ from Essay

How might the innovation strategy of a service sector firm differ from that a manufacturing company And what particular issues - Essay Example However, today, both sectors are increasingly borrowing from each other in order to offer consumers tailor-made services and products. Manufacturing companies are coming up with â€Å"servicisation† strategies for their goods, while service firms are engaging in the â€Å"productisation† of services (Cunningham, 2007, pp. 31). It is my opinion that despite this growing interrelationship between the manufacturing industry and the service sector, the use of R&D in the latter is not clearly defined and most R&D-related activities are not assessed. In my opinion, most studies have always placed the service sector second to the manufacturing industry in as far as innovation is concerned. However, this is an old-fashioned way of looking at the service sector. Today, the service sector employees more people around the globe, in comparison to those people in the manufacturing industry. Most of these employees are very educated people with the capacity to innovate new and redesi gn existing ones to ensure consumer satisfaction. Accordingly, this paper aims at analyzing how a service firm might use R&D as an innovation strategy, in order to cater for the needs of the consumer and ensure business growth. Secondly, the paper aims at evaluating how differently a manufacturing company might use the same R&D innovation strategy in the production of goods. The third aim in this paper concerns an examination of the particular issues that a service firm may be required to address when coming up with R&D as a key innovation strategy. Accordingly, the main objective is to demonstrate that the service sector can be as innovative as the manufacturing industry in the use of R&D. The other objective is to elucidate the positive correlation that exists between the consumer and the service provider in the service sector in consideration of R&D activities. 2.0 Innovation approach- service sector versus manufacturing company Innovation is a key driver in the growth of economi c structures in both technologically advanced and third world countries. The service sector is becoming increasingly more crucial to economic development, and as such requires more innovation strategies to ensure the sustainability of global economic growth. According to Gallouj & Djellal (2010, pp. 301) most service innovation strategies involve redesigning existing services in response to new market needs and trends, while some strategies aim at coming up with entirely new services. One of the innovation strategies adopted by the service sector is the use of research and development (R&D) activities to identify and meet consumer needs. In the service sector, there are various sources of knowledge, with R&D being one of them. Baldwin & Gellatly (2003, pp. 130) state that research in previous decades revealed that the manufacturing industry was more likely than the service sector to use R&D as an innovation strategy. However, within the last two decades, the service sector has also begun to invest more in conducting R&D in order to meet consumer demands. According to the OECD (2005, pp. 143) between 1990 and 2001, R&D in the service sector increased at a 12 per cent rate in most developed countries. Service firms and manufacturing companies differ in their use of R&D as an innovation strategy, just as their products differ. In the manufacturing

Modern operating system Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern operating system - Research Paper Example Microsoft’s Windows on the other hand is the opposite and it does not allow the users to bring about the changes in the source code or modify it. Apple Inc itself is a closed source operating system. The open source nature of Android makes it relatively flexible and more appealing towards the programmers. The added advantage of open source operating system is the presence of platforms and online societies supported by the given operating systems developer companies. The open source function provides the respective operating system an edge in the context of software support and software development. Android exhibits support for Linux based kernel, but this is not to be confused with the Linux operating system. The libraries of Android operating system vary considerably from those of the Linux operating system. The use of Dalvik Virtual machine by Android is a characteristic feature of Android which gives it an edge over the contemporary operating systems as well as the Linux op erating system. The run time features include Dalvik as well as the libraries functions support. The Windows O.S kernel has seen considerable improvement in the recent times. It provides features such as System on Chip (SOC) along with the feature of User Mode Driver Framework (UMDF). In the recent times, the Microsoft O.S has come up with a dynamic outlook in the form of user platform and SOC supported kernel. Apple’ I.O.S kernel is a derivate of Unix Based system, however it does not copy or resemble the kernel of Linux or Android for each has its own designated and specific kernel.

Issue 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issue 3 - Coursework Example Today, all public organizations are required to comply with the act. Additionally, SOX keeps check of the accountability standards for directors, the legal counsel, and auditors. SOX does not affect the corporate financial aspect only, but also the IT department that is tasked with storing and maintaining the corporate electronic records in a cost effective way. The management of the records involves storage of all business records following the required guidelines set for public accountants. Because of its stringent measures, it is believed that SOX will review its policies and the requirements may be reduced significantly and countries like the UK may implement their own version of Sarbanes Oxley as it is part of the existing legislation. SOX require that both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Controller certify that financial reports are accurate and complete. It is also their responsibility to assess and report on the effectiveness of the financial reports. An auditing firm should review these reports annually (Graziano, 2003). Moreover, it is a requirement that the issuers publish their annual reports in regards to the internal control structure and policies. The accounting firm that is registered should provide a report that shows the effectives of these structures. For the purposes of effectiveness of internal controls over the financial reports, companies should watch and control the amount of fraud that may occur in the organization. Additionally, the weaknesses in the materials as well as the internal control deficiencies in relation to Sarbanes Oxley should be reviewed. For those companies that are Sarbanes-Oxley compliant, they must have a documentation that shows all their internal contro l processes that are tested by the external auditors. The act has been successful in its implementation of improving the internal control levels within the registered companies (Graziano, 2003). On the other hand, the act has been

The Portrayal of AIDS in Mexico Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Portrayal of AIDS in Mexico - Research Paper Example Portraying the message in the correct manner will make a difference in the promotion of protection and safety of AIDS while providing a stronger basis for the communication and messages received by the public. Before developing an advertising campaign for AIDS in Mexico, there needs to be an understanding of the target market. The perceptions about AIDS and the affiliations that are a part of the cultural and social concepts of the area will make a difference in the ability to respond effectively to the current trends in AIDS. More importantly, the understanding of the cultural and social aspects will create a response from society in a positive manner. The more that the message can communicate about the importance of understanding the disease, without a sense of offense or other complications, the more successful it can become in creating prevention and safety measures within Mexico. The beginning of the AIDs epidemic was focused on the individual relationships and practices that were a part of society. Specifically, there was a strong association with the way that individuals carried out specific relationships and the different concepts related to sexual practices. However, it was later found that there are also relationships to cultural and social attitudes toward AIDs and the practices that are a part of society. More importantly, the amount of information and the presentation of knowledge through the media make a difference in understanding of HIV, as well as the transmission of the disease. Different cultures will respond to the information differently and will have a different perception of the disease. The main attitudes that are a part of the Mexican culture are important to examine, specifically because the information that is presented will make a difference in how it is perceived by the public, as  well as what the responses will be in society as a response for prevention and safety measures (Parker, 2001).

Issue 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issue 3 - Coursework Example Today, all public organizations are required to comply with the act. Additionally, SOX keeps check of the accountability standards for directors, the legal counsel, and auditors. SOX does not affect the corporate financial aspect only, but also the IT department that is tasked with storing and maintaining the corporate electronic records in a cost effective way. The management of the records involves storage of all business records following the required guidelines set for public accountants. Because of its stringent measures, it is believed that SOX will review its policies and the requirements may be reduced significantly and countries like the UK may implement their own version of Sarbanes Oxley as it is part of the existing legislation. SOX require that both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Controller certify that financial reports are accurate and complete. It is also their responsibility to assess and report on the effectiveness of the financial reports. An auditing firm should review these reports annually (Graziano, 2003). Moreover, it is a requirement that the issuers publish their annual reports in regards to the internal control structure and policies. The accounting firm that is registered should provide a report that shows the effectives of these structures. For the purposes of effectiveness of internal controls over the financial reports, companies should watch and control the amount of fraud that may occur in the organization. Additionally, the weaknesses in the materials as well as the internal control deficiencies in relation to Sarbanes Oxley should be reviewed. For those companies that are Sarbanes-Oxley compliant, they must have a documentation that shows all their internal contro l processes that are tested by the external auditors. The act has been successful in its implementation of improving the internal control levels within the registered companies (Graziano, 2003). On the other hand, the act has been

State of the economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

State of the economy - Essay Example It means that the U.S. economy has improved a lot as compared to the U.S. economy back in 2008. Based on the historical trend of quarter-to-quarter growth in real GDP, the U.S. real GDP tend to increase during the 4th quarter of each year. The trend strongly suggests that demand for products and services usually increase between October to December of each year. (See Figure I – Quarter-to-Quarter Growth in Real GDP on page 2) CPI is defined as â€Å"a measure of the overall cost of the goods and services bought by a typical consumer† (Mankiw 834). There is a significant relationship between the real GDP and CPI. Given that the real GDP falls into negative values, the CPI also tends to be at the lowest value. For instance, the real GDP during the 4th quarter of 2008 was -9%. As a result, the CPI during these periods was following a declining trend from 216.573 in October 2008 down to 210.228 in December 2008. (See Table I – Five-Year Summary of CPI below; Figure II – Five-Year CPI Trend in U.S. on page 3) Unemployment rate is defined as â€Å"the number of unemployed people who want to have a job but do not have one† (Kennedy 36). The U.S. unemployment rate is somehow related to the county’s real GDP. Since the real GDP was at the lowest during the last quarter in 2008, its unemployment rate started to rise significantly on January 2008. It means that there were a lot of companies in the U.S. that had to implement a massive lay-off or close down the company due to bankruptcy. Since the 4th quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate in the United States was moving on a downward trend. The continuous decrease in the U.S. unemployment rate was possible since the U.S. real GDP and CPI was somehow increasing. (See Table II – U.S. Unemployment Rate below; Figure III – Trend of U.S. Unemployment Rate on page 4) Other useful economic indicators include: the producer price index (PPI), interest rates, and export and imports. Specifically the PPI

Management Accounting Change Essay Example for Free

Management Accounting Change Essay Describe the ‘Challenge of Management Accounting Change’ in light of recent research findings and discuss, how can this change help an organisation, in getting its strategic, tactical and operating objectives? Management accounting change and the continuously changing roles of management accountants have dominated accounting literature for the past few decades and the theme of management accounting change procedures has been a topical issue of many studies such as Baines and Langfield-Smith, 2003; Kapla, 1985 and Granlund and Lukka, 1998, just to name a few. In order to understand the relationship between a firms strategy and objectives with its management accounting systems, it is necessary to first define the latter. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) define Management Accounting as the process of identification, measurement, accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation and communication of information used by management to plan, evaluate and control within an entity and to assure appropriate use of and accountability for its resources. Management accounting also comprises the preparation of financial reports for non-management groups such as shareholders, creditors, regulatory agencies and tax authorities. It is important to explore the extent to which management and strategic concerns are driven by accounting practices, and also how accounting practices are mediated by the views that managers have of the role of accounting (Burns et. al, 1999). Changes in Management Accounting can be viewed as an inevitable process, and they are also intrinsically interlinked to not only changes in a firms strategy, but also with environmental changes. Both internal and external changes in our economic and business environment are the dominating factors in the change of management accounting practices within organisations. This view that change is inevitable has been supported by Kaplan (1985), where he details the change as a cause-effect relationship. In short, management accounting systems have to change whenever there is any sort of change in an organisations business or economic environment. Organizational change is frequently a response to environmental change; such as changes in competition, or changes in laws and legislation. So if Management Accounting change occurs due to organizational change, it is important to note the indirect link between environmental change and management accounting change (Burns et. al, 1999). Wijewardena and De Zoysa (1999) support this idea by detailing that the success of an organisations strategy can be determined by how quickly and effectively management accountants can adapt to their systems to ever changing environmental and economic conditions, thereby supporting the link between management accounting practices and the business environment. It is fair to state that there are a number of factors that can influence change in management accounting and these factors are both internal and external. A research project on management accounting change in the UK, that was funded by CIMA and the Economic and Social Research Council was conducted between 1995 and 1998 by Burns et. al (1999). The study aimed to investigate changes in management accounting systems, the changing role of management accountants and the adoption of modern accounting techniques. The study initially sought to settle the claim that management accounting had not changed in more than 60 years (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). The initial stages of the research found that management accounting practices use traditional accounting systems and modern techniques such as Activity-Based Costing and Strategic Management Accounting were not being used as much as expected. One reason for management accounting changes is the general economic factors such as the globalisation of markets. Changes in technology are another key factor, especially changes in information systems and methods of production. It is in this context that changes in management accounting have taken place. Changes in information technology have allowed for accounts and information to be dispersed around the organisation and managers have a more profound and hands on role within a firm. This in turn indefinitely has an impact on how objectives are met and how strategies and tactics are implemented to achieve, said objectives. This has led to a decentring of accounting knowledge, meaning that it is not only specified accountants who have knowledge of a company’s accounts, but also managers and their subordinates. This gives managers a greater ownership of information and it also means that they have to have an increased knowledge of accounting systems. Ezzamel (1997) states that a lack of change in accounting practices is presented as being not only detrimental to business interests but also threatening to corporate survival. However we must also look at external environmental factors and how they affect management accounting systems. A definition stated by Macy and Arunachalam (1995) define an external environment as a phenomenon that is external and have either potential or actual influence on organisations. However we must reiterate the fact that organisations of no control whatsoever over external factors. It is in an organisations best interest to take any external factors that could affect their operations, into consideration and to recognise them for their long term survival. External factors create a lot of uncertainty for firms. This uncertainty means that companies have to learn to adapt to sudden changes in external environmental business factors. Research by Mia and Patiar (2001) show that organisations must have more refined management accounting practices in order to operates successfully in uncertain business environments. There are also a number of views that contradict the idea that management accounting systems are directly influenced by external environmental factors. The idea of uncertainty, according to Chapman (1997), can be linked to internal factors as well as external factors. More research shows that external factors affecting management accounting can be dealt with in the way internal managers and accountants actually perceive the external variables. Despite the vast amount of advantages to management accounting and organizational change, there are also downsides to such changes. Burns, Scapens and Ezzamel (1999), show that accounting change can challenge existing routines and institutions within an organisation. This can then lead to conflict and resistance within employees, managers and perhaps even board members. Goal congruence may disappear, and an organisations strategy to achieve objectives may be hindered with the lack of an aligning view from all the members who have succumbed to the initial accounting change. Burns et al. (1999) also state that it can be a difficult process for previous systems to be unlearned. A major role for management accounting systems is to motivate behaviours of employees and managers in line with the desires of the organisation as a whole. A great problem is that many managers try to implement new accounting systems without taking into consideration the behavioural implications and consequences of employees with regards to these systems. The lack of goal congruence and effective communication can lead to low motivation and dysfunctional behaviour of employees. A change in an existing system will reduce employees’ knowledge and skill thereby affecting the effectiveness to achieve company objectives. Implementation of new techniques has to be orchestrated with great care and communicated thoroughly throughout the organisation. Accounting practices and emerging routines can be said to be institutionalised when they become widely accepted in the organisation such that they become the unquestionable form of management control. In which case, they are an inherent feature of the management control process, and represent expected forms of behaviour and define the relations between the various organisational groups (Burns and Scapens, 2000). Burns et. al study of CHEM, a small chemicals manufacturer showed that a change in the accounting and organisational systems had little impact on the company as a whole and it did not change their previous ways of thinking. This led to conflict between individual members of the chemical manufacturing company. Later, the new accounting systems were scrapped as they offered little benefits to the company; there had been very little change in the routines, institutions and systems of the firm. There are also claims that management accounting does not always change or respond to environmental or business changes. For example Kaplan (1984) suggests that despite significant changes to the business environment, such as increased competition and continuous changes in technologies and production processes, there has been no signicant changes in management accounting to match since 1925. Research conducted by Horngren (1995) and Burns et. al (1999) show that firms still tend to use traditional management accounting methods instead of adopting new techniques such as ABC. It is also important to note that their has also been a lack of implementation of non-financial measures such as Total Quality Management, Strategic Management Advice or Internal Financial Presentation and Communication. The absences of modern accounting methods support the claim that there is indeed in some cases little change within organisations from traditional accounting systems to new techniques. It is a difficult process to draw a set conclusion on the effectiveness of management accounting change. It is evident that there are vast pools of research both supporting the idea that management accounting hange is beneficial in aiding an organisations strategy but there is an equal amount of research to support the idea that change in accounting systems is derogatory to the success and progress of a business. It is fair to say that further external factors can determine how successful accounting change can be for a firm. For example we must take into account cultural and political factors of the country a particular organisation resides in to fully understand the implications of strategic, and management accounting change. It is impossible to apply findings from research to every company, because in short, every company is different; be it its strategy, its structure, its ethics or its objectives. We must be liberal in what we determine is successful implementation of management accounting change. The change that has taken place in organisations cannot be pinpointed to solely a change in management accounting systems and techniques but it is in fact the change in how these new systems are used and implemented (Burns et. al 2000) and these changes are more often than not part of wider changes of the organisation as a whole.

Relationship Between Facebook Usage and Social Capital

Relationship Between Facebook Usage and Social Capital 1. Introduction The purpose of this research is to investigate the recent phenomenon known as social networks, and in particular the social networks associated with the World Wide Web and their impact on the social welfare (also known as social capital) of people. This topic is of particular interest to the researcher because of the increasing importance and span of the online social network sites. Thus understanding how they impact society in general. The scope of the research will be The Facebook – the biggest at this time online social network. The reason for the topic is the increase of the website in our lives and the many disputations whether it has positive or negative impact on its users. Therefore adequate research regarding key concepts and connections between The Facebook and social capital would benefit anyone who is interested in online social networks and their influence over societies. Before continuing with the research it is important to introduce key concepts and definitions which is to make easier for the reader to understand the matters at hand. 1.1 Key Definitions A  social network  is a  social structure  made up of individuals (or organizations) called nodes, which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of  interdependency, such as  friendship,  kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike,  sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or  prestige. As in almost everything in present days, the internet influences the social networks. A good example of that is the created in 2004 online social network: The Facebook. By 2007 it was reported to have more than 21 million registered members generating 1.6 billion page views each day (Needham Company, 2007). The site is closely incorporated into the everyday media practices of its users: Ordinary users spend about 20 minutes a day on the site, and two-thirds of users log in at least once a day (Cassidy, 2006; Needham Company, 2007). 1.2 Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between the use of Facebook, and the development and preservation of social capital – both bonding and bridging. Its objective is to determine whether online social networks and in particular The facebook have positive or negative impact on societies. 1.3 Key Research Questions Is Facebook positively connected with individuals who perceive bridging social capital? Will Facebook intensity be positively associated with people who perceive bonding social capital? Is Facebook helping people with face to face communication difficulties? Facebook Survey Pie Chart The remainder of the research is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews conceptual development and theories of the research questions. Section 3 reviews the research methods and how they address the questions and how the data will be collected. Section 4 shows the research plan vie diagram, displaying the different activities involved in producing the actual work and how they will happen in time. Section 5 concludes the research proposal by highlighting the importance of the research questions and their connection with the different theories. Section 6 is the bibliography and reference used for the research. 2. Literature Review Previous research suggests that Facebook users engage in searching for people with whom they have an offline connection more than they browse for complete strangers to meet (Lampe, Ellison, Steinfield, 2006). Much of the early research on online communities supposed that individuals using these systems would be linking with others outside their pre-existing social group or location, liberating them to form communities around mutual interests, as opposed to shared geography (Garton, Guila Haythornthaite, Dimitrova, Salaff, Wellman 1996). A benchmark of this early research is the assumption that when online and offline social networks overlapped, the directionality was  online to offline—online connections resulted in face-to-face meetings. For example Parks and Floyd (1996) report, that one-third of their respondents later met their online correspondents offline. As they mark, These findings imply that relationships that begin online rarely stay there. Much of the existing academic research on Facebook has focused on identity presentation and privacy (e.g., Gross Acquisti, 2005; Stutzman, 2006). Looking at the amount of data Facebook users present about themselves, the fairly open nature of the information, and the lack of privacy controls enacted by the users, Gross and Acquisti (2005) argue that users may be putting themselves at exposure both offline (e.g., stalking) and online (e.g., identify theft). Other recent Facebook study examines student perceptions of instructor presence and self-disclosure (Hewitt Forte, 2006; Mazer, Murphy, Simonds, 2007), sequential patterns of use (Golder, Wilkinson, Huberman, 2007), and the relationship between profile structure and friendship communication (Lampe, Ellison, Steinfield, 2007). Putnam (2000) distinguishes between bridging and bonding social capital. The former is linked to what network researchers refer to as weak ties, which are loose connections between persons who may provide useful information or fresh perspectives for one another but on average not emotional support (Granovetter, 1982). On the other hand, bonding social capital is found between individuals in tightly-knit, emotionally close relationships, such as family and close friends. Social capital generally refers to the assets accumulated through the relationships between people (Coleman, 1988). Social capital is a flexible term with a range of definitions in numerous fields (Adler Kwon, 2002), conceived of as both a cause and an effect (Resnick, 2001; Williams, 2006). Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define social capital as the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition (p. 14). The assets from these relationships can fluctuate in form and function based on the relationships themselves. Social capital has been related to a diversity of positive social outcomes, such as better public health, lower crime rates, and more resourceful financial markets (Adler Kwon, 2002). According to numerous instruments of social capital, this important resource has been deteriorating in the U.S. for the past several years (Putnam, 2000). When social capital declines, a community experiences augmented social disorder, reduced involvement in public activities, and potentially more mistrust among society members. Greater social capital increases commitment to a community and the ability to organize collective actions, among other benefits. Social capital may also be used for harmful purposes, but in general it is seen as a positive effect of interaction among participants in a social network (Helliwell Putnam, 2004). The Internet has been linked both to increases and decreases in social capital. Nie (2001), for instance, argued that Internet use detracts from face-to-face time with others, which might weaken an individuals social capital. However, this viewpoint has received strong criticism (Bargh McKenna, 2004). Furthermore, a number of researchers have claimed that online connections may add to or replace in-person interactions, mitigating any loss from time spent online (Wellman, Haase, Witte, Hampton, 2001). In fact, studies of physical (e.g., geographical) communities supported by online networks, such as the Blacksburg Electronic Village, have found out that computer-mediated interactions have had constructive effects on community relations, involvement, and social capital (Hampton Wellman, 2003; Kavanaugh, Carroll, Rosson, Zin, Reese, 2005). Lately, researchers have emphasized the significance of Online-based linkages for the formation of weak ties, which provide the foundations of bridging social capital. Donath and boyd (2004) theorize that SNSs (Social Network Services) could to a great extent add to the weak ties one could form and maintain, because the technology is well-suited to maintaining such ties inexpensively and effortlessly. Based on the earlier work, one could suggest the following assumption: Concentration of Facebook use should be positively connected with individuals perceived bridging social capital.    It is obvious that the Internet facilitates new connections, in that it provides people with another way to connect with others who share their interests or relationship goals (Ellison, Heino, Gibbs, 2006; Horrigan, 2002; Parks Floyd, 1996). These new connections may cause an increase in social capital; for example, a 2006 Pew Internet study analysed that online users are more likely to have a larger network of close ties than non-Internet users, and that Internet users are more likely than non-users to obtain help from core network members (Boase, Horrigan, Wellman, Rainie, 2006). Williams (2006) argues that even though researchers have examined possible downfalls of social capital in offline communities due to greater Internet use, they have not effectively explored online gains that could compensate for this. For that reason it could be proposed a second assumption on the relationship between Facebook use and close ties: Concentration of Facebook use should be positively related with individuals perceived bonding social capital. 3. Methodology The ontology of this research is such as: although Facebook is virtual and without material component, one can view and describe it as a real object, because it can be used, felt and its existence proved. Second is the epistemology, for which the objective perspective is used, because Facebook is seen as separate entity from the individual user. The environment is constant, thus the result is that the individual`s profile is what changes according to the virtual surrounding. This perspective makes it easier for marketers to analyse the user behaviour and give firms the opportunity to efficiently advertise and sell their products for maximizing profits. To provide evidence that the research findings are indeed correct, the positivist assumption will be used, because it is better and more accurate way of describing the topic, giving exact data for the research. An example of bad secondary date is the following pie chart: http://media.brainz.org/uploads/2009/02/facebook.png For the purpose of the research a comparison of the terms primary and secondary data is needed, so one can see why the author of the research chooses the second. Primary data is collected to be up to date and topic specific. This in no doubt leads to better and more accurate results. The big downfall of this method is its time consuming nature and the fact it is really expensive. On the other hand Secondary data is identified by Saunders et al (2003) as data previously collected, stored or published. The big plus of secondary data is that it is already published, analysed, structured and is reviewed by other professors and academics, who already evaluated it. There are two types of secondary data identified by Saunders et al (2003). These are qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data is usually analyses and text-like definitions whereas quantitative data is usually related to statistics and numbers. A good source of quantitative secondary data is census, housing, social security as well as electoral statistics and other related databases. It is exactly this type of data, that would be best to use in this research as it is easier, cheaper and less time consuming to obtain, while relatively reliable and least, but not last, by using secondary data it is easier to avoid privacy problems with the people the information was gathered from. As every method, secondary data has its disadvantages, which in this case are that the data may be collected for a different from the researcher`s aim and thus it can be distorted. The access to some secondary data sources can be costly and difficult. Furthermore it is proved that one has no real control over the quality and reliability of the secondary data at all. (Saunders, M. Et al. 2003) For that reason when collecting the secondary data it is vital to measure its validity and whether it meets the researcher`s needs. There is always bias in the data, so it is important to find as many sources as possible to minim ise the bias. (Saunders, M. Et al. 2003). For this exact research the secondary data will be collected from analysed written surveys, questionnaires, telephone surveys, observation focus groups and existing records. Each of those has their own pros and cons in terms of how much qualitative data can be extracted out of them. It is clear that written surveys with determined scales will give more pure numbers and thus make the descriptive statistics analysis easier. On the other hand processing telephone surveys and observation focus groups would be harder and more time consuming. But as stated above one need as much data sources as possible to fully analyse and give reliable and non biased answer on a topic as large as the impact of the largest online social network – Facebook on its users. 4. Research plan: Step one: writing the proposition Step two: make a research on the possible resources available and making a list of the most useful sources. Step three: Following the proposition methods, mine the needed quantitative data from the resources. Step four: Analyse and process the raw quantitative mined data via descriptive statistics analysis and the qualitative data analysis. Step five: Summaries the data found from the previous steps and based on it start writing the actual dissertation. Step six: Review the Reference and bibliography carefully and write it. Step seven: Give the semi-finished dissertation to the advisor for ideas of improvement. Step eight: Improve and polish the dissertation and then wrap it up for submission.http://thomaslarock.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/datamining.jpg http://www.42u.com/images/data-center-resources.jpghttp://howtowriteathesis.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/writingabook.jpg http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/classic-motoring/Flex3401VRGCarPolisher.jpg -1 -2- -3-http://www.whole-person-counseling.com/Images/bookstack.gifhttp://onetick.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/innovation_1.jpg?w=640 http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2008-11-17-2Advisor.GIF -4--5- -6- -7- -8- 5. Conclusion With the data that could be gathered using the models described above, one will have a more in-depth, reliable and useful information about the actual benefits and drawbacks Facebook gives in terms of social and bonding capital. It will be seen whether the theories suggesting Facebook helps people with face communication difficulties are indeed true. In general, conducting this research will provide data that is important for understanding the ever-growing online social networks and how to cultivate them to bring maximum benefits, not only for socializing, but for businesses, education, helping people overcome socializing problems and improving our lives in general.http://www.neurosoftware.ro/programming-blog/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/521f7_facebook_like_button.jpg