Saturday, August 22, 2020

Management Information System Essays

The board Information System Essays The board Information System Essay The board Information System Essay Staff of Business, Economics and Public Policy University of Brunei Darussalam Negara Brunei Darussalam Semester II (2011/2012) Module Title: Management Information System (BB5107) Coursework: How can IS/IT help my Organization? A coursework submitted in incomplete satisfaction of the prerequisites for the level of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Name| Hj Mohd Shril Hj Matsawali| Registration No. | 11M0030| Programme| Master of Business Administration| Lecturer| Dr Hj Mohammad Nabil Almunawarah| Deadline| fifteenth April 2012| - Abstract This exploration moves toward the issues on job of Information System and how it help associations, with the point of discovering a few conditions that make the hierarchical setting ready to deal with the change procedure expected to truly get the potential advantages of these innovations. This paper will additionally clarify the procedure, types, advantages and how to guarantee compelling usage of data framework. Presentation In any business association, information is the most significant thing. Diverse kind of data is delivered from information. At the point when the measure of information is huge, it turns out to be progressively hard to process this information physically. So as to get speedy outcomes and auspicious data, an Information System is utilized in practically all associations. Data Systems (IS) advancement raises numerous significant difficulties to associations. These days, contingent upon the sort of association, somewhat business forms are upheld by an IS. It isn't bizarre to have in certain associations data and methodology islands lacking from an attractive incorporated access to data. Directors are progressively perceiving the serious and vital estimation of data frameworks. It has been viewed as that data is the most important resources in any association separated from its work force, money related capital, plant and hardware since it depicts these physical assets and the earth wherein they exist. Claiming and overhauling their data framework is presently impossible in this innovation driven time; it is a necessity since association that utilization a modern data framework to accumulate, acclimatize, and assess inward just as outer data are increasing upper hand over different firms. What is an association? Association is a socialâ unitâ of people, systematicallyâ structured and figured out how to meet aâ needâ or to seek after collectiveâ goals on aâ continuingâ basis ( businessdictionary. com). An association is a steady, formal social structure that takes assets from nature and procedures them to deliver yields. (http://phaariz. documents. wordpress. com/2010/03/laudon-highlight 3. pdf) They are additionally organizations with obvious divisions of work and specialization and mastermind these experts in a progressive way where everybody is responsible to somebody and authority is restricted to explicit activities represented by unique guidelines or techniques that must submit to laws. The association is committed to the guideline of productivity: boosting yield utilizing restricted data sources. Different highlights of associations incorporate business forms, authoritative culture, hierarchical governmental issues, general conditions, structure, objectives, voting public, and initiative styles. Association is likewise viewed as a data element (Lucas H. R. Jr (1994). This implies association gather and collect information from number of sources. Information is considered by researcher to be surges of crude realities speaking to occasions happening in associations or the physical condition before they have been sorted out and orchestrated into a structure people can comprehend and utilize which is generally called data. Data will be information that have been molded into a structure that is significant and valuable to people. The data anyway was seen as a lamentable, expensive side-effect of working together †basically â€Å"red-tape† (Laudon K. C, Laudon J. P. 1995). Hence, these highlights encompassing the association must be obtained and dissected and this influences the sorts of data frameworks utilized by associations. How association work generally before IS It is critical to initially see how association works customarily route before data framework is presented before it can show and think about how data framework improve and help association. Under the old worldview, the firm was administered by a generally unbending practical structure hinders cross-useful data streams. One of the other key issues recognized in traditional association is working in storehouses. Storehouses are authoritative units where there is a breakdown in correspondence, co-activity and co-appointment with both inside and outer gatherings. In a paper citing a 2003 Survey on Leadership Challenges by the American Management Association, Florence Stone notes that: â€Å".. getting individuals who have various plans to cooperate is among the greatest snags confronting business today† (Stone, 2004, p 11 refered to at Fenwick et al p. ). In an ongoing paper Conrad Guelke takes note of that â€Å". authoritative parochialism is portrayed by an absence of co-activity between [and within] organizations. In a professional workplace where dynamic is by and large progressively â€Å"unbundled†, and specialty unit financial execution is the need, the estimations of cooperation and co-activity are frequently neglected† (Guelke, 2005, p 749 refered to at Fenwick et al 2009 p. 3). Most associations and hierarchical units will have some storehouse attributes at some random time. However, storehouses become tricky when they are create to a point that great execution endures. The test is to indentify storehouses that are tricky or that take steps to turn out to be in this way, and to recognize and make healing strides. One of the approaches to conquer this issue is by the setting up a data framework in the association. What is Information System? A data framework is a lot of composed systems that, when executed, gives data to help the association (Lucas H. C. Jr 1994). As per Laudon K. C. et al. 1995), a data framework is a lot of interrelated segments that sense, convey, break down, and show data to upgrade recognition, getting, control and innovative capacity. Adjust S. (1991) anyway contended that data framework is a mix of work rehearses, data, individuals, and data innovations composed to achieve objectives in an association. Data frameworks (IS) are sets of segments that are sorted out such that underpins the execution of some function(s) (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering IEEE, 1990 refered to at Obeng S. 010). Nickerson (2000) doesn't restrain the segments to being just specialized â€, for example, PCs and code †yet observes that the individuals, the procedures, and the data are additionally parts of a data framework. Along these lines it very well may be said that a data framework is a framework that gives the board and other work force inside an association with state-of-the-art data in regards to the associations execution; for instance, current stock and deals. In this way, it is imperative to comprehend the relationship or job of data ystem in any association and how it would legitimately support them. An IS framework isnt only an assortment of equipment and programming, its substantially more than that, its a device. This apparatus can be utilized in various manners, and its estimation truly relies upon how a business selects to use it (Goessl L. 2008). Data frameworks are once in a while inven tive or out of the case business arrangements. Anyway administrator won't have the option to structure new frameworks effectively or comprehend existing frameworks without understanding your own business association. Relationship of Information System with Organization All organizations share one normal resource, paying little heed to the kind of business. It doesn't make a difference in the event that they fabricate products or offer types of assistance. It is an essential piece of any business element, regardless of whether a sole ownership or a global enterprise. That basic resource is data. The measure of data in associations is intensely expanding and it has gotten crucially critical to productively oversee and share data inside the association (Anna, 2009 refered to at Obeng S. 2010). Data empowers us to decide the need to make new items and administrations. Data advises us to move into new markets or to pull back from different markets. Without data, the products don't get made, the requests are not put, the materials are not acquired, the shipments are not conveyed, the clients are not charged, and the business can't endure. Data is viewed as the soul of any association (http://wiki. answers. com). It has far lesser effect when introduced distinctly as crude information. Then again harmed or lost information because of disorderly can cause disturbances in ordinary business exercises prompting budgetary misfortunes, claims, and so forth. Organizations must be moved in receiving new innovation so as to stay serious in a consistently creating business condition. This is the place data frameworks (IS) become possibly the most important factor. As such so as to augment the estimation of data, it must be caught, broke down, measured, incorporated, controlled, made open, and shared through a data framework (IS). It must be structured, created, controlled, and kept up which suits authoritative necessities and prerequisite. Data frameworks are hierarchical subsystems that perform ork identified with data (Lucas H. C. Jr (1994) p. 52) Companies and different associations are putting extraordinary wholes in presenting data frameworks in the association wanting to have the option to make business increasingly proficient and data sharing easily (Anna, 2009 refered to at Obeng S. 2010). A

Friday, August 21, 2020

University Events and Your Career

University Events and Your Career The University of Illinois offers many on-campus events for all majors that  enrich the learning experience by allowing you  to observe people in the real-world applications of such fields. These gatherings range from colloquiums to career fairs and allow students to sample what the future could have in store for them from individuals to individual companies. I am going to explain the experiences I have had from both of these avenues. Courtesy: smarterservices.com My first taste of the universitys career resources was at a career fair last summer. I was able to explore many company booths that  applied to my degree in Engineering Physics, including others that  I did not expect such as Navistar International. The most helpful aspect of this experience was, however, the exposure to the vast array of opportunity that I never knew I had. Before then, I felt I had to get into scientific research or teaching with my degree. Now I know I have more choices and more exciting ways to further my future well being. Courtesy: thebeancounter.com My second experience occurred when I attended some physics colloquiums at the beginning of this year. These presentations exposed me to the everyday life and responsibilities of people who followed a similar career track as I plan to. The impact this had was showing me what I could expect my actual contribution to a company/lab/business to be and how I may go about doing so. One talk that  stood out involved a lecture discussing inefficiency in star formation and what the speaker did in an average month to study such occurrences, which are believed to explain how galaxies formed the way they did. I learned that these accomplishments were achieved on a yearly scale with only sub-components of the job being completed on a seasonal basis, which basically meant that the work in astrophysics specifically was slow and tedious for the smallest of results, but it also made me feel better for looking into a former interest of mine before attempting to apply. I cannot stress how the presentations at the University of Illinois can help you somewhat predetermine what you should do post-college. Courtesy: baylor.edu Therefore, the university offers modes in which a student can explore careers very closely without having to risk taking a job first, with the most outstanding resources being career fairs and field expert talks. As a transfer student, I would like to conclude by stressing that any incoming student should take advantage of these resources and make sure they use them to develop a strong career plan as graduates. Jacob Class of 2018 I am a transfer student studying Engineering Physics in the College of Engineering. I started with the Illinois Engineering Pathways program through the College of DuPage. I am from Naperville, Illinois.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Addiction to Video Games Essay - 1605 Words

Addiction to Video Games Imagine entering a world where you can kill everyone in sight and be killed while not being hurt in real life. You enter the battle arena armed with just a handgun and your fists. As you start walking around, you suddenly see a man turn the corner aiming his shotgun barrel right between your eyes. You follow your instincts and strafe around him while shooting him with your handgun. The handgun suddenly runs out of bullets and you are forced to charge him with your fists while he is trying to blow your head off with his shotgun. He succeeds in hitting you twice in the arms with his shotgun, but you reach him in time to deliver one last powerful blow to his neck to kill him.†¦show more content†¦This is what leads many college students to play video games instead of completing homework assignments. Working-class people are also easily stressed out because many jobs require more effort than what most people can handle. These people might still be new to their job and havent fully adapted to their new lifestyle. On the other hand, they might be veterans in their field of work and have grown bored of the same repetitive work. Another factor that relates to stress is aggression. Young adults generally do not know how to properly manage stress and instead turn to aggression as a solution. By playing violent video games, these people can channel their stress into a virtual world where their aggression wont hurt anyone in real life. Some factors that influence younger children to play video games include boredom, curiosity, and peer pressure. Many elementary school and middle school students arent assigned that much homework and therefore have hours of free time everyday after school. Many of these children play video games to pass the time away between doing homework and going to sleep. Other children who watch their friends play these types of games become curious and want to try the game out for themselves. This is also similar to peer pressure. Anyone who plays these types of video games will no doubt try to influence all their friendsShow MoreRelatedVideo Games : Video Game Addiction2135 Words   |  9 PagesApril 15 Video Games Addiction in Asia For the past decades, video games have been accessible to varied kinds of groups all over the world, which are from children to adults. Meanwhile, problems of online games addiction are arising particularly rapid and evident, especially in Asia. According to the news â€Å"Gaming Addiction On the Rise in Asia† by Paul Gaita, nearly 1.2 billion out of 84 million of world wide online gamers are Asians, which has led Asia to be the chief of video game addiction. (Gaita)Read MoreVideo Game Addiction524 Words   |  2 Pagesperson thinks of an addiction, substances come to mind: drugs and alcohol. Doctors are now realizing and recognizing behaviors as addictive also. The criteria descriptions are almost mirrored with those of a substance addiction and Kimberly Young, PsD, clinical director of the Center for On-Line Addiction says compulsive gaming meets these criteria. Severe withdrawal symptoms are prevalent with those who are addicted; they can become violent, or depressed (Rauh, 2006). Video gaming is a $66 billionRead MoreThe Addiction Of Video Games951 Words   |  4 PagesAddiction to Video Games A few months ago, my son asked for a tablet which we bought it for his birthday. It was a good idea back then, since he never had one before and it was his birthday. My only thought was to make my son happy in rewards of his good work at school, but later it become a problem. I was scared of seeing my son playing video games! I started noticing that he was acting different. And many times he wanted to be playing these video games while we were eating or visiting relativesRead MoreVideo Game Addiction Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesabout video game addiction. Life is full of many stages and milestones that everyone must encounter one of the largest and most important ones is the teenage stage of people’s life. During our teen years we usually figure out who we are and who we want to be. Do you want to be the gamer who stays home all day and play video games or go out with friends? Some people would rather spend a beautiful weekend inside playing video games instead of going o ut. Just like most other things video games can affectRead MoreVideo Game Addiction Essay710 Words   |  3 PagesVideo game addiction has always been the main topic of controversies recently due to its impact on the young generation. In spite of the fact that it helps us to enjoy ourselves during recess and economically contributes to several countries’ income, its negative affects towards children and teenagers and so on, need our consideration. Merely in 2001, people in the US spent roughly 9.8 billions dollars on video game and this number increasingly enlarges in time. Besides, people who overplay thoseRead MorePsychological Effects Of Video Game Addiction Essay1622 Words   |  7 PagesPsychological Effects and Consequences of Video Game Addiction Hardcore players are usually younger and may suffer from emotional issues, low self-esteem, and low self-worth. People that suffer from such emotional problems are more susceptible to becoming addicted to playing video games. In these interactive video games, players can act out and take risks in the game that they otherwise would not do in real life. These young players attach themselves to these other identities, try out leadershipRead MoreExcessive Game Play and Video Game Addiction Essay708 Words   |  3 PagesThe excessive game play is a community problem in Macedonia that should be prevented because it results with addiction which symptoms cause lethal consequences. The possibility for creating a virtual life attracts people to participate in computer games that later on interfere in their lives. A decade ago children in Macedonia used to play with marbles and â€Å"seek and hide† outside, while adults went to play sports or in the gym. Today, in the era of computeriza tion, life has relocated from realityRead MoreVideo Game Addiction And Its Effects On Children And Teens Essay2256 Words   |  10 PagesVideo Game Addiction and its Effects on Children and Teens â€Å"You know you re a serious World of Warcraft player when the game starts interfering with your life. You know you re an addict when your life starts interfering with the game† (qtd. In Van Cleave iv). This anonymous quote in Ryan G. Van Cleave’s memoir, Unplugged: My Journey Into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction, perfectly describes why game addiction has become an increasing problem in this technology-based world. While it is questionedRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Game Addiction On Human Body And Mind1151 Words   |  5 PagesVideo game addiction â€Å"generally refers to an excessive, unhealthy amount of playing of games. Rather than engaging in the real world, an addicted user devotes the majority of his or her time to gaming. The addicted gamer often isolates him/herself from others, ignores more important responsibilities, and is often obsessed with obtaining higher status / ranking / achievements in his/her favorite game.† (Conrad, page 1, par. 1) This is an uprising problem between teens and adults that is forming intoRead MoreVideo Game Addiction Is A Modern Day Psychological Disorder1529 Words   |  7 Pagesto play outside , he would probably carry his laptop out there and play games therein. Yes, one would readily agree to the current scenario of increasing teenagers falling into the prey of gaming addiction. Sometimes I ponder if the same excitement, the same joy is inherited by their minds on slitting his virtual enemy’s throat, which we derived by scoring a goal or hitting a six in midst of the heat of the game. Video games are a common entertainment tool among today’s children. Gaming has grown

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Business Organization Shareholders vs Social Responsibility

ABSTRACT In this essay, I am going to prove that a business organization should be socially responsible in a successful or an effective manner which will eventually benefit the company’s owners or shareholders. I will do so through illustrating the different potential effects of a business organization engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (â€Å"CSR†). The effects that will be shown in this essay would be an increase and decrease in the company’s expenses, sustaining and harming the environment, increase and decrease in sales and customers, improve the lives of people inside and outside the company, and the practice of social irresponsibility. I will also be providing actual companies engage in CSR, and its effects on each company. I†¦show more content†¦They practice being socially responsible and encourage their clients to do so as well by signing with their company. The companies Director of Sustainability, Garratt Hasenstab said that their clients are willing to work with them because the company is focused on creating a healthier and productive world (Thorpe, 2013). Companies can also change a certain process or activity in their production to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. An example of this is Cisco, a manufacturing company of network equipment. The company’s vision is to reduce greenhouse gas emission in each of their business functions and processes to build environmental sustainability. After 5 years, they were able to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, save $500,000 from reducing their business travels, and through the use of well-known collaborative tools, they were able to increase its revenue by 30 percent (Cisco Systems Inc., 2014). This illustrates that companies practicing CSR can reduce expenses and increase sales after a certain amount of years after the implementation of CSR which increases the profit of the company that benefits the owners or shareholders. However engaging in CSR is being ethical and sensitive towards the things around the company, it can also instigate some kind of social irresponsibility. There are entities that try to pursue socially responsible agendas but end up behaving in a socially irresponsible wayShow MoreRelatedAssignment Sheet : An Assignment Cover Sheet1395 Words   |  6 Pagesup businesses. These structures affect a business positively and negatively. These structures can also determine team designs while inside of companies. This process can also can the stakeholders and shareholders in the company that different employees are working for. †¢ Organizational structures The structures that make up a business or organization enable it to operate and also in some structures show hierarchy. There are many different types of business, organizational structures and some of theseRead MoreArgument For Promotion Of Core Csr1635 Words   |  7 PagesMUST PROMOTE CORE CSR vs WE MUST NOT PROMOTE CORE CSR Milton Friedman, in his work titled, â€Å" The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits†, emphasizes the role of business in society is to maximize shareholder wealth, and likens any activity misaligned with regard to that mission as â€Å"stealing†. In my argument against Milton Friedman’s â€Å"must-not† engage in core CSR stance, I would like to introduce the argument of expanding the responsibility of business to only maximize profitRead MoreSustainability Report of BP1447 Words   |  6 PagesWhat responsibility did the executives of BP have in making more socially responsible and safety conscious decisions at the expense of not meeting the consumer demand of cheap gas and thus lowering the returns for shareholders and their own compensation? Executives in many prominent companies must constantly be aware of consumer sentiments in regards to business practices. As such, executives have a very compelling social obligation for safety and compliance. This is particularly important in industriesRead MoreDear Silent Partners Of Chocoholics Anonymous1238 Words   |  5 PagesDear silent partners of Chocoholics Anonymous, The purpose of this memo is to discuss the opposing views of shareholders and stakeholders, evaluating our decision based on multiple ethical principles, focusing on Chocoholics Anonymous profitability and ethical integrity. Chocoholics Anonymous has a decline of sales and decrease of profits during the economic downturn, and so do the other companies in town; and those companies fired employees to save money which caused a rapidly growing unemploymentRead MoreThe Ethical Decision Making Is A Vital Part Of The Foundation989 Words   |  4 Pagesa vital part of the foundation for any organization and its individuals looking for stability and longevity in their respective industries. In other words, it is extremely important for organizations, managers, and employees to practice ethical decision making. The course textbook provides a significant piece of evidence to support this: â€Å"According to a global survey of almost 500,000 employees, efforts to promote ethics are associated with better business performance. In high-integrity company culturesRead MoreTexas Instruments in South Korea1347 Words   |  6 PagesTexas Instruments in South Korea Understanding a target market’s needs and desires can assist companies with tailoring their offerings in the name of profit. Texas Instruments (TI) had been business since 1930. During this time they have reinvented their offerings to remain a viable business entity throughout the decades. Their ability to stay ahead of the change curve has translated into a current market cap value of approximately $47 billion (Yahoo finance, 2014). Whether it is calculatorsRead MoreEthical Policies Vs. Corporate Social Responsibilities1238 Words   |  5 PagesEthical policies vs. Corporate social responsibilities In ordinary life Ethical policies and CSR actions are commonly used and have certain overlapping, but there are contradictions between the two [1]. Ethical policies Let us come to general meaning of ethics. It is much dependent on individual’s inner voice, individual’s conduct of what is great or awful and senses make use of right or off-base. Presently apply this as business definition, the ultimate goal of the company is to make profitsRead MoreIfrs Vs. Gaap Ifrs923 Words   |  4 Pagesissue. Another important and major disadvantage of adopting or converting to IFRS makes the IASB the monopolist in the sense of setting the standards. And this will be more solid if the US companies adopt IFRS. And if there is competition, such IFRS vs. GAAP that are up on national level, there is more chance of having relevant, reliable and useful information that would be produced while the companies are in the course of competition. And even though the companies and countries are incurring bigRead MoreThe Human Resources And Compensation Committee. The Human1637 Words   |  7 Pages This committee is responsible for any appointments, promotions, terminations and performance assessments for senior leadership team to include the CEO, monitors the succession plan developed and executed by CEO, approve pension plans for the organization, and reports on occupational health and safety matters. The committee does include the CEO but when matters of CEO compensation are discussed it mandates that the CEO must leave the meeting (Human Resources and Compensation Committee Charter,Read MoreAccounting - Chapter 11194 Words   |  5 PagesAccounting matters because it has economic consequences (choosing certain accounting method can result in gaining more money or losing more money – which one do you choose). People need good accounting information to make good decisions about a business strategy. Cost benefit trade-off is the concept of comparing the benefits of an action with its costs and of taking the action only if the benefit from it exceeds the cost of it. More information leads to better decisions, however, there are limits

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Modern US history Free Essays

As an intellectual enterprise, contemporary social sciences are replete with claims of social collapse. Over the last 20 years, scholars have proclaimed â€Å"the end of history,† â€Å"the end of politics,† â€Å"the end of work,† â€Å"the end of the family,† â€Å"the end of liberalism,† â€Å"the end of medicine,† â€Å"the end of ideology,† â€Å"the end of individualism.† There is little doubt that we are experiencing massive social change. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern US history or any similar topic only for you Order Now As we are approaching the year’s end, something new is emerging, helter-skelter, in our midst that bears little resemblance to any existing political, theological, or sociological model of how the world is supposed to work. The social shifts are sufficiently different in character to have produced a new social form, one suitably widespread and anchored to become visible. This claim of a new social form lies at the heart of the postmodern contention that we have entered an era of ambiguity, and we argue that postmodernists advance this claim in a way that sociologist cannot ignore. While they are right on target in capturing the spirit of rapid social change that characterizes the present era, their embrace of the resulting â€Å"chaos† as a new social form is misguided: they mistake an era of societal transition for a new enduring social structure or even a hybrid of modern society. In historical perspective, what we are now experiencing bears a striking similarity to the place on the cultural and historical map that created sociology at the end of the last century. Rising suicide rates, the growing prominence of Protestant countries and the subsequent demise of Catholicism’s hold on the Western world, and the movement from agricultural to industrial production all have their parallels in the current social era. Rather than embracing the change and ambiguity they surveyed, and mistaking it for what â€Å"modern† society would be. One of the major tasks of sociology at the turn of this year is to struggle to understand the new institutional and personal structures that characterize contemporary social forms and not abdicate to other disciplines the task of making sense of emergent societal transitions and structures. A widespread belief seems to be emerging that the U.S. economy is in the throes of a fundamental transformation. The true enthusiasts treat the new economy as a fundamental industrial revolution as great or greater in importance than the concurrence of inventions, particularly electricity and the internal combustion engine, which transformed the world at the turn of the year. There is no dispute that the U.S. economy is awash in computer investment that productivity has revived. Economists have long been ambivalent about what social interactions constitute the proper domain of the discipline. The narrower view has been that economics is primarily the study of markets, a circumscribed class of institutions in which persons interact through an anonymous process of price formation. Throughout much of the twentieth century, mainstream economics traded breadth for rigor. In the first half of the century, institutional economics, which thought broadly but loosely about social interactions, gradually gave way to the neoclassical theory of general competitive markets. A pivotal development was the transformation of labor economics from a field narrowly concerned with work for pay into one broadly concerned with the production and distributional decisions of families and households. The important development was the emergence in macroeconomics of endogenous growth theory. Whereas classical growth theory assumed that the production technology available to an economy is exogenous, endogenous growth theory supposes that today’s technology may depend have been influenced by the past output of the economy. The broadening of economic theory has coincided with new empirical research by economists on social interactions. Unfortunately, the empirical literature has not shown much progress. Economics has sufficed with a remarkably small set of basic concepts: preferences, expectations, constraints and equilibrium. Widespread literacy is alleged to be indispensable to popular government. Dramatic changes in communication technologies which are said to affect exposure to traditional print media-we need to look afresh at reading’s political impact. Learning to read is a political act. Inability to read limits an individual’s participation in community life. It was probably for this reason that slaves in the antebellum South were kept illiterate. Even today, a connection between literacy and citizenship exists in evidence showing that persons who read are more likely than those who do not identify with larger political communities. American people are haunted by Old World hegemonies and hence are committed to individualism and modernism for philosophical and practical reasons. American people are a restless and contentious lot producing a kaleidoscope of attitudes about most social issues. The American people can be found in the election turnout figures and in gross economic indicators, to e sure, but they are more than that; they are also the meanings of their behaviors. Raised on a diet of political supremacy and technocratic invincibility, the American people were shaken to the core by 9/11. Shortly thereafter, a number of bromides caught the national ear: â€Å"America has lost its innocence forever,† â€Å"this is the first war of the twenty-first century,† â€Å"the U.S. just joined the world of nations.† At some point, history may prove these claims true. But 9/111 has already shown something more heartening: the functionality of a longstanding communal discourse. Admittedly, that discourse is shot through with contradictions and impossible overstatements. That contradictions and overstatements can prove sustaining to a people is a curious fact-an American fact. Reference: Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Available on-line: http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html. How to cite Modern US history, Essay examples

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Managing Across Borders for Globalization - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theManaging Across Borders for Globalization. Answer: Introduction: Globalization has supported the companies to expand their business at global level. The companies try to set up their business in the international market so that they can cover large masses of customers and thus enhance their business as well as revenue. Globalization has made this easy for the companies to go global (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2009). It has been analysed that the nature of market and culture at different countries is very different. Thus, the companies have to make a strategic choice of standardization or adaptations in the international market, if it wants to settle their business at the international land. Standardization strategy allows the company to be standard with their products and the strategies that has been used at the parent country by the company and using the same within the international market. On the other hand, adaptation strategy is the strategy that allows the organization to adapt the local market culture and alter the traditional or original strate gies or products of the parent company according to the host country. This is the situation where the company has to take decisions over marketing and the product strategies that have been implemented in the different part of the world for expansion of the business (Turnbull and Valla, 2013). This essay mainly focuses on developing the understanding of different aspect of adaptation straggles and the process of adapting the same in the international market. The discussion follows with various techniques that have been used in adaptation strategies in terms of market and the products. Managing across borders is the term used to manage the international market. The process of selecting one of the marketing strategies is followed by the companies who want to operate in international market. Following the whole process allow the company to adapt one of the strategies. Adaptation strategy is basically used by those companies who wants to have local touch in their products and wants the p eople to feel the connection with the brands (Cateora, 2008). It has been analysed that adaptation strategy provides many benefits to the companies such as localization and connect to the local people, better customers satisfactions, good relations with the customers and the foreign government etc. In addition to these benefits, some of the disadvantages have also been faced by the companies if it adopts the localization strategy. Some of the disadvantages are loss of actual identity of the firm; more time and effort is required to analyse different market and developing different strategies, high cost etc. the discussion below decreases the topic in detail and provides the understanding of various aspects of adaptation strategies in global market. International market: As the term suggests, international market is the market that is in the foreign country. Marketing in international land is the very common trend that has been found in the businesses these days. Many researchers have been taken place and are still in progress with regards to the understanding of purchase behaviour and demands of the people in different countries (Terpstra, Foley and Sarathy, 2012). International marketing is also defined as the process of identifying the demands of the customers across the boundaries and fulfilling them with some of the strategies. The companies have to take global decisions in terms of marketing to the international land by making variations in some of the marketing mix elements. Companies tend to face many challenges in case if international marketing regarding the strategies to adopt (Soares, Farhangmehr and Shoham, 2007). They generally have two choices, standardization and adaptation. Factors that affect the choice of strategy: The alteration in the marketing mix elements of the company for international marketing is required because of the differences in various factors across borders. Some of the factors that drive the change in marketing mix elements are: Language: language is the very important factor that drives the change in the original strategy of the company in terms of marketing in international market. This is because different countries have different native languages (Doole and Lowe, 2008). It is not possible for the organizations to advertise their products in the same parent language in all over the world. Taste: for the companies which deal with food products, it is very difficult to serve every international market with similar products. This is because the taste and the choices if the people in different countries are different. Culture: It is a known fact that values and culture of the people in different countries are very different. Thus, serving each and every market with the similar products and by the same strategies cannot work at every place (Pappu, Quester and Cooksey, 2007). Consumer habits: As far as the consumer behaviour and the habits are considered, it has been analysed that it is not necessary that the products for that is very popular in one country could be popular in another company as well. This is because of the change in consumer habits and their behaviour to purchase the products. This let the organization change the price, products and the marketing strategies. Economic factors: different countries have different type of economic level (Griffin and Pustay, 2012). It is not necessary that every country can afford to buy the products in high price and thus the companies have to later their products quality as well as the price level according to the economic conditions of the country. The localization school of thought: The localization school of though is also called as adaptation school of thought. This suggests that there should be non-standardized advertising approach in the international market. It talks about the different advertising campaigns that have been formed by the companies for different markets even in the similar country or in international country (Zhou, Wu and Barnes, 2012). The school argues that there are different people in different country as well as different people in the similar country according to the region. It has been analysed that when the localized strategy is applied in terms of deciding the marketing plan then it is necessary to take into account the differences in the market type and sixe of different places. Localization or the adaptation strategy for each and every place should have the local touch in them so that the people of that place can feel related to that products or service (Cadogan, 2012). The differences that majorly needs to be considered are cultur e, language, demography, economy, beliefs etc. it has been recommended to all the MNCs by the experts that they should choose the adaptation or the localization strategy because it is very important to overcome the cultural barriers that exists at every place. It is not possible that single marketing campaign can attract the customers of all places (Vrontis and Thrassou, 2007). This school of thought generally considered the differences at the places but fails to acknowledge the similarities and homogeneity of the market at different places. This suggests that the companies can use the standardized strategy only when the market is similar. This requires the companies to conduct the market analysis before deciding over the marketing strategy or before releasing any of the products (Griffith, 2010). This is because the places with similar market conditions and taste of the customers can be served with similar market strategies. Adaptation as customers orientation strategy: Adaptation strategy is about changing the different aspects of the products and services according to the international market needs. It provides the benefit of meeting the different needs of the different market all over the world. This allows the companies to have greater achievement of customer satisfaction (Chung, 2009). Developing products requires a process be followed. In this process, the stage of product development needs the alteration according to the differences at the different places that needs to be served by that product. There are many factors that support h strategy of adaptation over the strategy of standardization. The factors are the government policies of different places, condition of consumption and consumer behaviour. Most of the companies believe in adapting the strategies and altering their marketing mix. There are many examples that can be studied to have an idea about the difference in strategies of the company at different places. For example, Nokia is t he firm that sell its products with low cost strategy in Africa. This is because the consumer buying power of Africa is low as compared to other countries (Turnbull and Paliwoda, 2012). On the other hand, Nokia serves the people with smartphones like Lumia which are of high price to the places like North America and Europe where the buying power of the consumers is high in nature. McDonalds also uses the strategy of adaptation in order to serve the international market. The company believes in analysing the market and the taste of the people before entering the same. As the McDonalds men is considered it started its operation by serving Hamburgers to the people and succeeded. But, when the company enters the country like India, it takes different approach. The failure of KFC in India at tits initial sate suggests that McDonald should come with some of the veg burgers in India in order to attract the customers because most of the people there are vegans. This suggests that adaptation strategy of the company was customers oriented. It has been analysed that the change in the strategy of the company is the response to the changes in the market of the place. Adaptation strategies at different place also help the company to reduce the risks of failure. This is because; it is using different strategies at different places. One of the strategies can fail but all the strategies cannot be failed. Causes of adaptation strategy in marketing mix: Marketing mix contains the elements of the market such as products, price, place and promotion. Below discussion argues about the cause that drives the changes in the elements of the marketing mix when the adaptation strategy has been implemented: Product: the various causes that drive the changes in the products of the company if adaptation strategy has been implemented are government regulations, habits of the consumers, difference in culture and standards of the products. This is because it is required by the company to follow different regulation set of the respective government at different places (Zhou and Li, 2010). The consumer habits can also be different and thus affect the type of products that can be used by them. As far as the strategy of Nestle in considered, it released various range of Kit Kat in Japan. This is because the bar got very famous and popular in the country. Dominos and Dunkin Donuts are more examples of the companies that make alterations in the r products in order to serve different markets according to the relevant culture and choices. Price: different markets have different profit and sale volume. This this creates difference in the consumer power of buying things (Chhokar, Brodbeck and House, 2013). It needs to be considered by the multinational companies in ore to set the prices at different places or market at international level. Place: Place involves the factors such as nature of the market, characteristics of the customers of that place, laws and legislations etc. these factors drives the companies to make the changes in choosing the way or the location from where the products needs to be distributed. Promotion: there are different ways in which the customers can be attracted towards the products. Thus, it is required by the company to make changes in the marketing and promotional techniques to serve different markets (Tempel and Walgenbach, 2007). In this process, the company needs to consider the market conditions and the type of the customers. Benefits of adaptation strategies: As far as the benefits of adaptation strategy is considered, it has been analysed that there are many benefits of the strategy. Some of them are discussed below: Customer satisfaction: As discussed that adaptation strategy is the strategy that allow the organization adapt the local touch of the place where the products needs to be released or marketed. This helps in making connection with the customers (Steers, Sanchez-Runde and Nardon, 2010). As the customers feel related to the products, they will definitely be satisfied with the products. If there is no relativity between the products and the customers, then it will be difficult for the company to sell the products in that market (Michaels, 2008). Reduction of failure risk: as adaptation strategy helps in serving each and every market with different strategies, it reduces the risk if failure of the strategy. One strategy can be failed but all cannot be failed. In case of standardization, the similar strategy is used to different market and thus there is high risk of failure at every place. Rapid response to changes: It has been analysed that adaptation strategy helps in changing and altering the original strategy or the products of the company so that the local market needs can be fulfilled. This enables the company to respond to the changes that occur in the market rapidly (Ghemawat, 2007). This is because the company has already made the strategy and the products according to the needs and environment of the international market. If there are any changes in the market then it will be easy for the company to adapt such changed in the strategies as well. Effective communication: This is the most obvious benefit that can be achieved by the companies using the adaptation strategy in the international market. This is because of the company is adapting the localization strategy; it can easily communicate with the local people of the place (Deresky, 2017). Standardization strategy allows them to communicate in the uniform manner at all places. It is not necessary that every country can have same level of understanding and thus becomes difficult to deal with the market. Good relationship with foreign government: implementing the adaptation strategy also helps in developing good relationship with the foreign country government. This is because, in the adaptation strategy; the company generally follows the regulations formed by the international government and also have the local touch in their products. Ease of access: It is also one of the obvious benefits that can enjoy by the companies adopting the localization strategy. Drawbacks of adaptation strategy: Low speed of implementation: It has been analysed that adaptation strategy is the strategy that requires the companies to conduct the analysis of different market and their culture in order to about the same. This requires a lot of time for the company to implement such changes at every place (Knight and Landres, 2013). The process of gaining the knowledge of different market takes a lot of efforts and time and thus the market strategy also delays. Standardization strategy can easily be implemented as only on strategy has to be implemented at every place. Compromise with the core competitive advantage: adaptation strategy is implemented to the large scale in different countries with different variations. These variations results in loss of original identity of the company (Davis, 2007). As far as the brand like NIKE is concerned, it has been analysed that the major identity of the company is dynamism and active life style. As the company market its products with the slogan called Just Do It. There are possibilities that the company can lose its identity at different places if the localization touch is being imposed on the strategies of marketing at different countries (Jones, 2007). Conclusion: This report concludes that there are two types of strategies that can be used by the companies at international market. One of the strategies is standardization and another one is adaptation strategy. There are different factors that affect the decision of choosing the relevant strategy to serve the market. Some of the factors are language, culture, customer behaviour etc. Adaptation strategy is most popular and has been used by many companies now a day. Adaptation strategy is the strategy that deals with making the alterations in the original strategy of the company in consideration with the differences in the different market. The major elements that are been altered by the company in the adaptation strategies are product, price, place and promotion. These are the marketing mix elements that need to be changed according to the condition and the situations at the international market. There are many benefits of using adaptation strategy that can be enjoyed by the company such as loc alization and connect to the local people, better customers satisfactions, good relations with the customers and the foreign government etc. In addition to these benefits, some of the disadvantages have also been faced by the companies if it adopts the localization strategy. Some of the disadvantages are loss of actual identity of the firm; more time and effort is required to analyse different market and developing different strategies, high cost etc. References: Aaker, D.A. and McLoughlin, D., 2009.Strategic market management: global perspectives. John Wiley Sons. Cadogan, J.W., 2012. 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Country image and consumer-based brand equity: relationships and implications for international marketing.Journal of International Business Studies,38(5), pp.726-745. Soares, A.M., Farhangmehr, M. and Shoham, A., 2007. Hofstede's dimensions of culture in international marketing studies.Journal of business research,60(3), pp.277-284. Steers, R.M., Sanchez-Runde, C.J. and Nardon, L., 2010.Management across cultures: Challenges and strategies. Cambridge University Press. Tempel, A. and Walgenbach, P., 2007. Global standardization of organizational forms and management practices? What new institutionalism and the business?systems approach can learn from each other.Journal of Management Studies,44(1), pp.1-24. Terpstra, V., Foley, J. and Sarathy, R., 2012.International marketing. Naper Press. Turnbull, P.W. and Paliwoda, S.J. eds., 2012.Research in international marketing(Vol. 39). Routledge. Turnbull, P.W. and Valla, J.P. eds., 2013.Strategies for international industrial marketing. 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Thursday, April 2, 2020

Sociology of Health and Illness Essay Example

Sociology of Health and Illness Essay The state of our health is very important to us, we spend a lot of time and money on trying to stay healthy, but what do we mean by Health? The world Health Organisation (WHO) describes health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being which is more than just the absence of disease.When we think of health and illness, there is a general conception that it involves health habits such as exercise and eating the right food, as well as institutions such as hospitals and doctors. In Western societies it is commonly accepted that if we are ill it is a result of an infectious disease that can be cured by modern medicine, or is a result of genetics or lifestyle choices. Sociologists propose a different cause. They examine patterns within society, and they seek social rather than biological answers and suggest that the differences in health and illness between different groups within society are influenced by social, economic, cultural and political factors. It is from thes e observations that sociologists have concluded, health is unevenly distributed in a systematic way.Social class has always been a fundamental concept in medical sociology, demonstrating its empirical value for the understanding of ‘health chances’ for the individual ever since the early years of this century when Stevenson constructed a classification based on father’s occupation for the purpose of analysing infant mortality in England and Wales. In the past, however, medical sociologists have been criticised for an atheoretical use of class. Medical sociology, and especially the ‘inequality in health’ debate, have thus been criticised as being isolated from developments in wider sociology. (Fitzpatrick, 2004, 199-202) The objective of this paper, however, is to document how this is changing. It is argued that, currently, medical sociology is both taking note of contemporary theory of class and contributing to it. This is occurring largely through a n attempt to incorporate the concept of time. Health is a characteristic where time cannot be ignored: the sociology of health is concerned with birth and death, ageing and the life course, becoming ill and getting better, moving through both personal and historical trajectories. Health is neither simply a characteristic of the individual nor an event, but their meeting as they come together in biography. Thus health is a topic which adds in a special way to both structure and action as they are conceived of in the theory of class.This observation has been linked to class, gender, race, ethnicity and geographical location, in understanding why certain groups experience significantly different rates of illness. The sociology of health and illness is concerned with the social origins of and influences on disease, rather than the professional interests of medicine that examine health and illness from its biological development and regards illness as a malfunction of the human body. (Wi lkinson, 1999, 391-412) The social theory of health and illness is critical of the medical model and treats concepts of health and illness as highly problematic and political. It also gives special attention to how patients experience and express their distress when ill, but is critical of the ideal of the so-called sick roles. It argues that modern societies are primarily concerned with illness because of the emphasis that the medical professions have placed on it. Finally, the social approach has been critical of the medicalisation of social problems, such as lifestyle illness, like stress (Abercrombie, Hill, 2001, p. 337).Our ideas about what health and illness are have been shaped by the influence of contemporary medicine. It has been given high priority by British society with many industries being built around it whose main goals are not only health but also profit. However health and illness is far more than just medicine and medical treatments. Health and illness is closely linked to social structures and economic forces that go a long way to determining our health and our access to health resources. (Drever, 2001, 93-100) Health is linked inversely to income, with the poor generally suffering from worse health and limited health care as compared with the wealthier who tend to have better health and far greater access to health care.( Mensah, 2002, 1-7) Deficiency diseases such as Rickets and Scurvy are caused due to a lack of certain vitamins or minerals in the diet. Self-Inflicted diseases such as Lung Cancer, Alcohol Abuse, Anorexia and Bulimia are caused by peoples lifestyles, environment and maybe lack of education and awareness.( Smith, 1999, 10-12)We are concerned with infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and lifestyle diseases. All the diseases that fit under one of the above titles can be reduced or even eradicated, if humans change their attitudes and behaviours towards them. Below is a list of some of the diseases that humans p ass on to one another or threw lifestyle:Impetigo Alcohol AbuseGonorrhea Drug AbuseSyphilis Food PoisoningInfluenza ChickenpoxMeasles PolioDiet HerpesTuberculosis Heart DiseaseHIV/AIDS ColdsCholera ChlamydiaLung Cancer Cold SoresIllegal Drugs HepatitisGlandular Fever ImpetigoSkin Cancer ScabiesSome of the diseases listed above are more fatal than others, but they all affect our health one way or another. In third world countries the number of infected is the highest, this may be due to the lack of sex, health education, poverty and living conditions. (Mili, 2003, 160-66)In the U.K we are still contracting HIV/AIDS, why is this? We all have access to free protection (condoms), and we have all been educated to the risks and dangers of HIV/AIDS threw some sort of media form. But still we continue to spread the disease, could this be cause our attitudes towards it is it wont happen to me or have we a lack of self respect? Many non-infectious diseases are a result of the lifestyle people are either forced or choose to lead, for example: the diet they eat, to smoke or not to smoke, or to use illegal drugs or not. Theses diseases are self-inflicted as they are well within our control. Some factors to why we inflict theses diseases upon ourselves may be a lack of awareness, addiction, social class also living conditions.( Davey, 1997, 547-52)There have been extensive changes in the world of production, with the decline in manufacturing industry. The middle classes have not only increased in size, in both absolute and relative terms, but have also become more differentiated. There has been a shrinkage of the wage labour society, through extended education, earlier retirement, shorter hours, and the development of part-time, shared, and contract work. The boundaries between work and non-work become more fluid, with flexible forms of employment and domestic and wage labour less clearly separated. There is a shortening of the proportion of the lifespan spent in work. Risi ng living standards, a decline in the influence of traditional institutions, and the erosion of traditional status orders, have all been implicated in the changing meaning of class. (Davey, 1998, 934-39)These practical problems of applying RG Social Class, and doubts about the continuing validity of the system, have caused increasing unease about using class as an explanatory variable in health. In the field of inequality of health, for instance, class continues, despite all the problems noted above, to be a useful descriptive variable, but it offers little to explanation, to the identification of the factors which cause social variation. There is no clarity about what RG Social Class actually measures, or with what accuracy. (Davey, 1994, 131-44) The basis is officially described as level of occupational skill, implicitly presumed to be associated with both a material, economic dimension and a status dimension. The conflation has been criticised by Weberians and Marxists alike. In fact, rather little attention has been paid by theoretical sociologists to mapping either changing rewards or shifting prestige in RG classes over time, since in the wider sociological arena it is preferred to dismiss the simple RGSC I-V altogether. It is only medical sociology which has remained to some extent tied to the system because of its use for census and mortality data. (Eyler, 2002, 23-30)Emotions lie at the juncture of a number of classical and contemporary debates in sociology including the micro-macro divide, positivism versus anti-positivism, quantitative versus quantitative, prediction versus description, managing versus accounting for emotions, and biosocial versus social constructionist perspectives. (Hill, 2001, 329-36) Temptation to overstretch their explanatory frames of reference (i.e. move to the other extreme of the organic-social spectrum). Indeed, a purely constructionist perspective in the sociology of emotions, as Armstrong, Â  rightly argues: ignores bio logical process and presents a disembodied view of human emotions. The relationship between body and emotions are not resolved by ignoring the body’s relevance or by viewing emotions simply as cognitive products’ (1995:404). ‘Going beyond’ the biological, in short, does not mean ignoring it altogether. Rather, it necessitates a more intricate model than organismic theorists or social constructionists propose of how social and cognitive influences ‘join’ physiological ones in the genesis of human emotions.( Higgs, 1998,45-50)Emotions are embodied experiences; ones which radiate through the body as a lived structure of on-going experience and centrally involve self-feelings which constitute the inner core of emotionality. For individuals to understand their own lived emotions, they must experience them socially and reflectively. It is here at the intersection between emotions as embodied experiences, their socially faceted nature, and their link s with feelings of selfhood and personal identity, that a truly sociological perspective and understanding of emotions can most fruitfully be forged. (Bury, 2002, 167-82) Building on these insights, Emotions are best seen as complexes rather than things; ones which are multi- rather than uni-dimensional in their composition. (Blane, 1993, 1-15) Â  Emotions, he suggests, arise within social relationships, yet display a corporeal embodied aspect as well as a socio-cultural one; something which, in turn, is linked to techniques of the body learned within a social habitus.The pursuit of health has become an important activity, especially for the American middle class. Millions of people have become concerned about their health and have changed their behaviour in order to protect or improve it. Millions more continue to act as always or with minor changes but now with awareness that such behaviour puts them ‘at risk’. In either case, health has become an important topic in everyday conversation, reflecting an extraordinary expansion of medical, political, and educative discourses about health hazards and ways to protect individuals and populations against them. There are several kinds of health discourse. Health promotion means the set of discourses and practices concerned with individual behaviours, attitudes, dispositions or lifestyle choices said to affect health. Protecting and improving individual health appear to be prototypical acts of practical reason and personal responsibility—a matter of common sense. The appearance is based on the assumption that, given accurate medical information about hazards to health and naturally desiring to live a long life free from debilitating disease, the rational person will act to avoid unnecessary dangers and adopt healthy behaviours. Yet, there is a parallel appearance. No matter how much or how little is undertaken in the name of health, we all know that the attempt falls short. Health promotion is a n imperfect practice, an experience of conflicting urges and varied outcomes. Few of us live consistently healthy lifestyles and those who approach that ideal seem to be engaged in an unhealthy obsession. In short, we are both ambivalent and inconsistent in following the rules of health.