Evaluation of Canteen Service free essay sample

According to this definition of service and standards of service above, I will evaluate canteen’s service on three criteria: staff, product and facilities. First, I will talk about the quality of canteen’s staff : the seriously on their work, behavioral skills and appearance. We evaluate the first criteral base on their attitude when theyre working. It means the staff’s speed of servicing as well as cleaning their facilities, do they meet clients needs in time? The way they treat to the clients in normal case ( such as the way they say hello, thank you, good bye or simply that do they keep their smile continuous when they serve their customers) and special cases ( for example how they deal with customers’s complains ). What about the staff appearance: neat, cleanly, and do they have a uniform? Next, we will talk about the quality, quantity and price of product. The product is served have to sure that all of this meet the standards of food hygiene and safety according to the Ordinance command publicized food safety and sanitation that is signed by President Tran Duc Luong, has been the Standing Committee of the XIth National Assembly passed on 26-7-2003, effected from 1/11/2003. We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Canteen Service or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Besides, the main customers of canteen is student, who don’t have a strong financial capability and some of them also depends on parents allowance, the price for canteen’s product must not expensive and suitable for student living. It also means that, the quality of products must match to it cost ( they cant sell the product with an average price level but has very litter food ). Because of their major clients, canteen’s food must be diversity but still focus on lunch, then is breakfast and have junk food for the break between lessons. Finally, we will mention about the canteen’s facilities. The canteen’s area must meet the minimum requirements that 1. 5 persons/m2 of the standard construction design for restaurants. All outdoor walkways and approaches are well-maintained and cleaned. Reception and common areas (corridors, waiting area), floors, walls and ceilings clean and free of debris, damage, visible wear and marks. Temperature is comfortable throughout entire dining and common areas. Food pick-up area, corridors and doorways from kitchen are well-organized and hygienic inappearance. Floors throughout the dining area are in good condition, very clean, free of dust build-up and debris. Dining room walls, partitions and ceilings, especially those adjacent to dining tables, are clean and hygienic. Music system, if in use, at appropriate volume and clear sound, free of distortion and static. Dining tables and chairs are very clean and hygienic in appearance. Lighting is adequate to permit easy reading of menu. The tops of tables have a consistent appearance and are neat. Clean paper napkins, if used, are of superior thickness and quality. Its also have enough equipment such ad spoons, chopsticks†¦ to serve. Menus are clean, are in good condition (not excessively worn) and are easy to read.

Majoring in Project Management - Coursework and Careers

Majoring in Project Management - Coursework and Careers What Is Project Management? Project management is the perfect specialization for business majors who like to take the reigns. Project managers initiate, plan, and execute ideas. Whether its a multi-billion dollar construction project or small, modestly-funded IT project, there is a great need for qualified project managers who can oversee the timing, budget and scope of an operation. Project Management Degrees Most of the people who major in project management earn a bachelors degree. However, there are a growing number of students who are seeking out more advanced degrees, such as a specialized masters degree, dual degree or an MBA with a concentration in project management. Read more about graduate-level business degrees. An advanced degree could make you more marketable and may even allow you to seek out special certifications that require a certain amount of academic experience directly related to project management. Read more about project management degrees. Project Management Programs Although many students are choosing to earn a degree in project management from a college, university or business school, there are other education options outside of degree programs. For example, students could choose to complete a project management certificate program, such as the one offered by UC Berkeley. Many of these certificate programs award professional development units (PDU) or  continuing education units (CEU)  that look good on a resume and can be used as academic experience for project management certification.   Many project management majors choose to take structured courses and certificate programs offered by  Registered Education Providers (REPs). REPs are organizations that provide project management training that adheres to the global standards established by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Students who complete these courses will be awarded PDUs. An example of an REP is Bellevue College in Washington State. Project Management Coursework Business majors  who specialize in project management will find that coursework varies from program to program. However, most programs include core courses in management principles as well as classes that explore subjects like communications, project cost management, human resources, technology integration, quality management, risk management, procurement, project scope and time management. Some project management programs focus exclusively on theory, while others offer hands-on opportunities and real-world projects so that students can gain valuable work experience while earning their degree. There are also some programs that take a hybrid approach so that students can have the best of both worlds. Read more about project management curriculum. Project Management Careers Most of the students majoring in project management will go on to work as project managers. Although project management is still a relatively new profession, it is a fast growing sector in the business field. More and more organizations are turning to business majors who have academic training in project management. You can choose to work for one company or you can start your own consulting firm. Read more about project management careers. Project Management Certification Project management certification is an important consideration for students majoring in project management. With enough education and work experience, you can earn a project management certification to establish your credibility and demonstrate your knowledge of project management. As with certification in other fields, certification in project management can lead to better jobs, more opportunities for work, and even higher pay. Read more about the benefits of project management certification.

Leadership and Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Leadership and Managment - Essay Example ssion of poverty, school failure and social exclusion by enhancing the life chances for children less than four years of age growing up in disadvantaged neighbourhoods† (House of Commons, 2010:15). In order to achieve this, the institution strives to reach out to the most disadvantaged and or vulnerable families and children, engaging parents of these children and general community in the whole process as well as integrating and making services easily accessible to the community. Thus, the centre’s major goal is to put the vulnerable child and family at the heart of the program, providing them with essential day care and early education services necessary for their direct and easy entry into primary school. The non stop focus on the involvement of the parents and the community at large by the institution can be attributed to the roots in early childhood education and day care. Management Structure/Skills Centro Sure Start Children’s Centre operates under what can be described as an autocratic form of leadership where employees are to follow strict procedures, guidelines and policies. This form of leadership can largely be attributed to the government ownership or rather fund that the centre gets. The major issue with this leadership style is that decisions are made from the top with little or no consultation from the bottom of the leadership hierarchy. However, this little or no consultation makes such decision making processes rapid. In addition, it can result in some employees feeling devalued due to their inability to contribute their ideas. However, effective leaders can employ some of this style’s features in a sensible way, for instance in cases where the manager is the most qualified. Perhaps, one can term the leadership style used as heroic where the... This paper approves that leaders at Centro Sure Start Children’s Centre are capable of building relationships with their team members, the community as well as with other agencies playing a role in its activities. In addition, the delegation of duties to junior members of teams is seen as an important tool of empowering the staff and instigating a shared decision making model in the institution. Managers organize, plan, control and co-ordinate while leaders direct, inspire, advocate for and build teamwork, gain acceptance while at the same time setting an example to the junior staff. This essay makes a conclusion that different researches exist regarding educational leadership with almost all putting emphasis or rather focusing on the beliefs, values, skills and knowledge that many view to be the ideal for a good leader or leadership, rather than focus on actual practices of leadership. According to Leithwood, Day, Sammons, Harris and Hopkins, the existing literature spills out less regarding the specific requirements for successful leadership and more about effective practices of leadership. The overlaps between the different leadership forms like collaborative, shared, participative and democratic has resulted in the use of the term distributed leadership to refer to a form of leadership practice in Sure Start Centres that is devolved, dispersed or shared. However, it should be understood that distributed leadership does not mean everyone leads; rather, it means the practice is distributed beyond the manager.

Fast Paced Financial Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fast Paced Financial - Term Paper Example Designed to work with existing address-book standards and improve compatibility between widely differing systems, the ldap standard was adopted by the ietf in 1997 and now forms the basis of many white-page directories on the web. It has also been incorporated directly into some software programs and operating systems, making it possible to find e-mail addresses without visiting a directory site† (Ldap. 2003). LDAP was established after X.500 protocol, which was also a directory service standard protocol. However, X.500 incorporated high overhead and consequent dawdling response due to heavy X.500 clients. Consequently, keeping in mind the overheads of X.500 slow response, Light Weight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) was created. LDAP is implemented for both Microsoft Windows and Linux / UNIX clients. In order to make LDAP operational for Linux / UNIX, windows active directory configuration is required. LDAP is proficient in terms of accessing directory information due to inte gration of a designed database. The architecture integrates the security protocols including Kerberos that is defined as â€Å"An access control system that was developed at MIT in the 1980s. Turned over to the IETF for standardization in 2003, it was designed to operate in both small companies and large enterprises with multiple domains and authentication servers. The Kerberos concept uses a "master ticket" obtained at logon, which is used to obtain additional "service tickets" when a particular resource is required† (Gallaher, Link, & Brent R. Rowe,). Kerberos provides authentication and authorization. Moreover, LDAP services provide, automated imitation of information to multiple workstations, providing towering performance, redundancy and elevated availability. In order to provide elasticity wile storing data, extensible schemas are incorporated. The protocols including Kerberos and LDAP are compatible to various system platforms due to standardization (Likewise storage s ervices). However, LDAP implementations with vendor-defined directories are not efficient with the Windows environments, resulting in management of several directories and store identifications. Active directory is â€Å"an implementation of LDAP directory services by Microsoft for use in Windows environments. Active Directory allows administrators to assign enterprise-wide policies, deploy programs to many computers, and apply critical updates to an entire organization. An Active Directory stores information and settings relating to an organization in a central, organized, accessible database. Active Directory networks can vary from a small installation with a few hundred objects, to a large installation with millions of objects† (Active Directory. 2007). Few checklists are applicable including the network connectivity testing and raising the Active directory domain functional level to Windows 2003. The business benefit focusing on business continuity is also managed efficie ntly, as the user profiles along with sensitive data is stored in centralized Active directory servers. In case of a system failure, or crash, data can be recovered from user profiles to a new system. Moreover, total cost of ownership is also decreased, as it can be configured and managed by a centralized location. Furthermore, effective IT resource management is carried out via the entire network that will provide a

Business and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business and Management - Essay Example Recently UK government tried to privatise the royal mail partially. According to Lord Peter Mandelson, the business secretary of the country, it is required to have a strategic partner for bringing a gale-force fresh air in the culture and management of the organisation (Tyler, February 3 2009). The main objective of privatising the organisation is to modernise it and improve its financial condition. UK government found that there is significant declination in royal mail’s popularity and demand as there is other advanced mode of communication like email has emerged. According to some analysts there is almost 7 billion euro pension deficit in Royal mail. UK government provide various attractive benefits to royal mail so it stays ahead in the competition. But according to experts the decision of making it modernise and atomise it by bringing a private sector company as the strategic partner might result to 40,000 to 50,000 job cut. As a consequence Communication Workers Union (C WU) asked the workers to go for a strike till the decision is reconsidered. The union claimed that over 12,000 postal employees would go for strike in different cities like London, Edinburgh, Plymouth and Bristol (Hope, July 15 2009). In UK postal industry this is worker’s strike is a historical problem which is actually badly affecting the future of UK postal industry. Proper understanding and implementation of strategic human resource management would be the ultimate solution for this type of situation. Strategic human resource management is such a complex process that is continuously evolving and being discussed and studied by academic experts. There is no proper definition of Strategic human resource management as different people have different opinion regarding the topic. According to Wright and McMahan SHRM is â€Å"The pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable the forms

Geographical and Cultural Overview of the US

Geographical and Cultural Overview of the US Stephanie Cheah Introduction: The USA plays a very big role in our daily lives. Everything that we do is somehow connected to the United States, from our smartphones, to the value of money in our wallets, and even the laptop this project is being typed on. In this paper, all aspects of the United States will be explored. Its physical geography, population, industry, role as a superpower, and issues that they are facing. The USA is a very prominent country not only in the areas mentioned above, but in its physical size and population. Being the third largest country in the world in land mass and the third largest country in population, the USA has a very diverse society. They are also the leaders in many aspects of our lives, practically controlling our lives across the globe. 1. The physical features of the USA The USA covers 3.806 million sq miles (9.857 million km ²). It is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and its neighbours Canada. Relief The eastern part of the USA is low and flat, excluding the Appalachian Mountains, which are low rounded highlands. The western half is much higher, with more mountain ranges running down from Alaska to Mexico. The Central Plains are gently rolling plains, and the Great Plains are slightly higher. Both combined form an important farming region for cattle and crops such as wheat, corn and soyabean. Mountains There are four major mountains in the United States: the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Cascade Range, and the Sierra Nevada. The Rocky Mountains: They run 3000 miles from western Canada to the state of New Mexico. They also include numerous sub ranges, such as the Wasatch, Bitterroots, Big Horn, and Front Ranges. The Appalachian Mountains: Situated in the eastern United States, they stretch from Alabama northeast across New England, and extending up to Canada. The Cascades: The Cascade Range along the West Coast of the United States extend from Canada into the US states of Washington, Oregon, and California. These mountains were formed as part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and have volcanoes, including Mount St. Helens and Lassen. Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada mountains, located in the states of California and Nevada, are about 400 miles long. The name Sierra Nevada is Spanish for snowy mountains, because of the snow-capped peaks of the range. Many of the mountains are formed of granite, and shaped by glaciers. The tallest mountain in the United States in Mt McKinley, at 20,320 feet, in the Alaska range. Rivers There are approximately 250,000 rivers, adding up to about 3,500,000 miles (or 5,632,704km) of rivers. The Missouri (a tributary of the Mississippi River) is the longest river in the USA which is 2540 miles (4088km) long. In terms of volume, the Mississippi River is largest. Together they form the fourth longest river in the world, which is almost 7000km long. The longest undammed river is the Yellowstone river, which is 692 miles (1113km) long. Lakes The Great Lakes are the largest group of lakes in the world. Four of them are shared with Canada. 2. USA’s climate As USA has a large land mass, it has a wide range of climates. In Alaska, much of the land is tundra, and where it is not, it is cold and drier. At the south as well as Hawaii, there is tropical climate, meaning that it has warm summers and mild winters. In the south west, it is mostly desert, which are made out of stony soil and low shrubs. The Sonoran is the hottest, but it has cool winters. Large land masses heat up fast in summer and cool fast in winter. The further inland you go, the more drastic the temperature difference will be between summer and winter. Climate Regions There are nine climate regions in the USA: Central, East North Central, Northeast, Northwest, South, Southeast, Southwest, West and West North Central. Below is a diagram of the average temperatures: The west side of the country is the coldest, while the south is much warmer. The hottest states are in the South and East North Central. 2. Population of USA The USA has a population of approximately 324,490,000 people. There has been a fast but steady increase in the population of the USA over 25 years. This is comprised out of many diverse ethnicities which are shown in the diagrams below. Racial/Ethnic Mix Over 25 years, there has been an increase of approximately 53,000 people in the total population. The USA has seen a rise the general non-white population, with the exception of the Indian population, which has remained constant throughout the 25 years, and the â€Å"Other† category, which saw a decrease from 2005 to 2015. White remains the ethnicity with the largest population, while the Hispanic population is the second largest. For the convenience of the reader, a pie chart has been created to illustrate the above statistics. 3. Population Distribution The Eastern side of the USA is more densely populated compared to the west. However, it is rather densely populated along the west coast, as shown in the diagram above. The most densely populated cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia. Possible reasons to why these cities are more densely populated are: Their geographic locations make it a suitable place to trade and live comfortably. The most populous cities in the US are located near a body of water, have a (preferably) mild climate and easy access to natural resources. Water was the easiest way to transport goods before the Industrial Revolution, and it also allowed the movement of ideas. It also made it easier for immigrants to arrive there, considering their mode of transport was also water. 4. The automotive industry Henry Ford was the man who started up America’s automotive industry. Although he did not invent the motor car, he was the first to set up a factory producing low-cost cars that virtually anyone could afford. His first fatory was in Detroit, Michigan. He picked a good pace to set up his first factory. Detroit is located in an area known as the ‘manufacturing belt’. This place had lots of steel works, an abundance of workers, and a large number of nearby customers. He started with the Ford Model T, which was launched on 1 October 1908. It soon gained popularity, and sold 15 million Model Ts across the world. Mr Henry Ford was keen on globalisation as well. Within 20 years of opening his first factory, he set up plants in the UK, Canada, France, India, Germany and Australia. However, the American car industry is not experiencing the same success it did years ago. The Big Three American companies: Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, are selling less and less cars, mostly due to competition from other foreign car companies. The downfall started in the 1970s, when there were too many cars and the USA’s oil deposits were being used up and oil had to be imported. US car companies continues to lose money when Japan began to export smaller and cheaper cars to the USA. Now with even more cars on the road, it increases the air pollution and there is pressure to come up with cars that limit carbon emissions, by creating cars that run on fuel other than petrol. 5. Agriculture industry The USA is the world’s top exporter and the most productive in the history of the world. Thanks to the USA’s large land mass and range of climates, many crops are able to grow there. The two main crops grown there are wheat and corn, and rearing livestock also brings a lot of business. What makes the American farmers so productive is the fact that they have plenty of fertile flat land, which is suitable for growing crops and the usage of large machinery. Apart from this, there are large mechanised farms which often specialise in only one type of crop. They also use chemicals such as fertilisers to aid the plant’s growth. increase the yield and pesticides to protect the crops. They also lead in crop research. Through genetic modification, scientists have developed plants that can grow in a hostile environment. Lastly, the US government pays subsidies to farmers to encourage them. California is also famous for farming. It produces all types of fruit and vegetables, including grapes. Rearing cattle and selling milk is also big business, as well as growing rice and cotton. However, there is a huge debate going on about what America’s limited water should be used for. As 11% of America’s cropland depends on irrigation, it means that it takes up a lot of water. In fact, it takes up half of the USA’s water consumption. 6. The American Dream The American Dream is a belief that everyone in the USA has an equal chance to succeed regardless of their ethnicity or their background. This is what has led thousands of people over to the USA. Many people are drawn to the USA as there is not only the belief of the American Dream, but there is opportunity there. They go there for better education for their children. Most go there to find work, whether they are highly-skilled, or if they lack education and are willing to work hard and build a better life. Here is an example of an American Dream that did come true: â€Å"Ursula Burns The CEO ofXeroxfaced numerous struggles to arrive atop that company. Raised by a single mother a Panamanian immigrant in a New York City housing project, she attended parochial school and discovered an aptitude for math and figures. While she was pointed by teachers toward a traditional womans career such as nursing, she made another calculation: What high-paying work was available with the degree she knew she could get in math or science? She attended Polytechnic Institute of New York and Columbia University with that in mind.† Unfortunately, while the American Dream does come true for some, others aren’t as lucky. Thousands who arrive from their native countries migrate in the hopes of getting a better education or occupation, but the only thing they are met with is homelessness. To quote the New York Times: â€Å"Oscar was a shy 15-year-old when his parents hired a local ‘coyote’ in July 2008 to help him leave Veracruz, Mexico, and cross the border to seek work in the United States. Jorge, gregarious, bright-eyed and also 15, gathered up his 6-year-old cousin six months later and left Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in the middle of the night, to escape abuse that he said had escalated into fistfights with his father. He also planned to work and send money back to his mother. Without knowing it, both were headed toward homelessness. In that, they joined thousands of other immigrant children who have left their native country — for work, family reunification or refuge — crossed into the United States and wound up alone.† Is the American Dream just a fantasy? Or is it something that is real, and we know will definitely come to us? I find that both statements are wrong. The Dream is very much alive, but like it is, after all, still a dream. Not all dreams will come true. 7. Physical Geography of California The state of California covers a land area of 163,973 square miles and 7,734 square miles of water. California is the third largest state in the US and has over 1,200 miles of coastline. There are three major mountain ranges in California: the Klamath Mountains, Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. To the south-east extreme of California is the Mojave Desert which covers over 25,000 square miles of Californian territory. Vegetation is sparse and most of the region is at an elevation of more than 2,000 feet above sea level. The Central Valley is long, flat and sheltered, and the Death Valley is the hottest part of the Mojave Desert, which can reach temperatures up to 50 °C in the summer. Most of California enjoys mild climate and equitable rainfall. The coastal regions can get rather cold in winter months. The desert regions are low on rainfall and the temperature soars up to 130 °F (54 °C). The cities of Los Angeles and San Diego have average temperatures ranging between 50 °F (10 °C)and 60 °F (15 °C) and are very pleasant. This area is also affected by the presence of many earthquake causing fault lines. The San Andreas Fault, running through California, is a major fault line. 8. Issues the USA is facing Environmental Issues Due to the USA being located where two plates meet, the west coast is prone to earthquakes and volcano eruptions. On the south east side, hurricanes often occur, as it is near to the Atlantic Ocean. Tornadoes are also a frequent occurrence, especially in spring and summer. In addition to this, droughts are common throughout the whole of the USA. This is caused by low rainfall, which also leads to wildfires. To make matters worse, people have been pumping too much water from rivers and aquifers. Social issues While the American Dream is based on the idea that everyone has an equal chance, one aspect is certainly false. According to the statistics, far more non-whites have been arrested and persecuted. Studies have shown that a non-white person (eg. Black, Hispanic) was more likely to be stopped and frisked. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped. In the year 2010, it was reported by the US Sentencing Commission that whites faced a 10% shorter sentence compared to their black counterparts. While these numbers could possibly be justified as the non-white community happening to commit more crime, it should not be that a survey in 2011 revealed that 52% of non-Hispanic whites expressed anti-Hispanic attitudes. Although one may argue that the first black president, Barack Obama, was elected in 2009, this does nothing to disguise the fact that coloured people are still facing discrimination against them. Economic Issues The US no longer produce what we need to sustain themselves. Instead, they import much more than they export. As they are not making enough profit, they take on colossal debts to maintain their high standard of living. The US does not acknowledge that other countries are undermining them. For example, China’s currency manipulation has cost the U.S. millions of jobs. Instead we encourage U.S. manufacturers to design, engineer, and produce in third world markets like Mexico and China, making the problem even worse. 9. The USA as a superpower Why is it a superpower? The United States of America is not only a powerful nation economically; it is also one in the fields of science and technology. The USA receives the highest number of immigrants per year (approximately 1 million), a leader in technology, business, movies and tertiary education. It has the highest GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the entire world, almost twice that of the next highest. However, the United States of America is a huge spender, particularly on their military. They also spend the most of the world’s military spending, almost half of the total. The USA’s powerful military contributes largely to them being a superpower. During the two World Wars, there was a struggle for power, initially with the European â€Å"great powers† such as the United Kingdom, Russians, Austria-Hungary to name a few, then to one global empire (Great Britain), Japan, and currently the United States. After World War II, two superpowers emerged: the United States and the Soviet Union. They were both so heavily armed that engaging in direct war with each other could possibly destroy our civilisation. They also have a huge influence on our modern culture. They are the leaders for entertainment such as television shows, movies, music, food, fashion and plenty other things. Almost everything we do today, from what clothes we wear, to what music we listen to, or what digital device we use is all influenced by the US. References: US Rivers EnchantedLearning.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015. Gallagher, R., Parish, R. (2009). Geog 3 (3rd ed., pp. 52-68). Oxford: Oxford University Press. US Population by Year. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://www.multpl.com/united-states-population/table United States Mountain Ranges Map. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/usa-maps/united-states-mountain-ranges-maps.html Economic Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/printeconomics.html Economic Problems Facing the U.S. | Economy In Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://economyincrisis.org/content/major-economic-problems-facing-united-states United States Mountain Ranges Map. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/usa-maps/united-states-mountain-ranges-maps.html Chudyniv, B., Burnham, L. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/domestic_trends.pdf California Geography. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/states/california/geography.html U.S. Climate Regions. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/maps/us-climate-regions.php Knight, M. (2012, February 25). Far From Family, Alone, Homeless and Still Just 18. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/us/of-young-immigrants-who-arrive-alone-many-end-up-homeless-in-chicago.html 11 Facts About Racial Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-racial-discrimination Adelman, J. (2013, November 24). Why The U.S. Remains The Worlds Unchallenged Superpower. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/11/24/why-the-u-s-remains-the-worlds-unchallenged-superpower/ Largest Countries in the World by Area. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-top-ten-largest-countries-in-area-map.html Why New York City keeps getting bigger Per Square Mile. (2012, January 26). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://persquaremile.com/2012/01/26/why-new-york-city-keeps-getting-bigger/

The History of the Psychedelic Movement :: Psychedelic Movement Buddhism Religion Essays

The History of the Psychedelic Movement In an attempt to synthesize my own personal academic area of interest, that is: the history of the psychedelic movement in twentieth century America, with the content of the Asian Religions course, I have elected to study the relationship between the influx of Buddhist philosophy and the psychedelic counter-culture movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The subject, although highly specific, has nonetheless generated intellectual interest substantial enough to warrant a sub-field of study, in terms of Buddhist/American History examination. This paper will focus on the thought of the main harbingers of this movement, specifically Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, and Dr. Timothy Leary. This study will also examine the corruptions of classical Buddhist philosophy wrought by these intellectuals concerned with integrating the psychedelic experience in an Eastern context. The connection between Buddhism and psychedelics in the American experience is a subject of contention because of t he controversial associations of chemically altered perception as compared to traditional Bodhicitta, or the mind of enlightenment. The author Emma Layman, in her book Buddhism in America, asserts: â€Å"Of all the Buddhist groups in America, those focusing on meditation have been most attractive to young people from the drug scene, and it is these groups that have taken the strongest stand against drug use. The psychological literature as well as the literature on Zen abounds in descriptions of the altered states of consciousness experienced under the influence of LSD-25 and other hallucinogenic drugs. Descriptions of these drug-induced states often compare them with the experience of satori or enlightenment which may result from Buddhist meditation. Frequently the opinion is expressed that, under certain circumstances, the LSD experience is a satori experience. † The popularity of Buddhism in America became most pronounce in the period after World War II. It is interesting to note that the United States had just concluded the most devastating war in human history, with the first use of the atomic bomb on the Empire of Japan, yet the Japanese of style Buddhism took hold in America more than other school after the war. It could be said that the main figure head of Japanese, or more precisely, Zen Buddhism, in America was the author and intellectual Dr. D.T. Suzuki. In terms of the American expression of Buddhism, Suzuki had more influence over the interpretation of Zen philosophy than any other writer of the time.

Riordan Manufacturing Executive Report

Riordan Manufacturing Executive Report Warren Buffet once said, â€Å"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. † With a company that has over five hundred employees, four locations worldwide, and $50 million in annual sales, placing the value on the organization is simple; look at the bottom line and see the profit. This is the situation at Riordan Manufacturing where the price it paid to do business was less than what it made, defining a clear value in what Riordan provides.Riordan’s Sales and Marketing department has a clear value; $50 million is sales to show of it. But how do we show the value for other departments within the organization such as Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) solutions? While the IS and IT costs and what Riordan pays for it are clear from looking at the financials, the value is not. This brings us to the question of what value does Riordan Manufacturing get out of its IS services and IT department. This question is th e problem that Riordan Manufacturing has had for many years.Recently, Riordan executive management hired a new Chief Information Officer (CIO) to improve its infrastructure and to answer this question. While management wants to use more IS and IT solutions throughout the organization, it has had trouble finding the perfect fit in all aspects of its operations. Even though IS and IT costs have risen, the puzzle pieces still have not come together; the value and benefit has not been clear to the company. As we will see throughout this review, it is time to focus and find the value that technology and information brings to the organization.It is time to find the efficiencies and savings that the company needs to clearly see the value. With Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), or Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems, there has got to be value in the way they are used. There has also got to be value in using outside services such as Application Ser vice Providers (ASPs) than can help realize and utilize the value of these systems. Finding the best way to utilize technology will allow Riordan to find the best value in the IS and IT departments.Business systems analysis and recommendations Riordan Manufacturing prides itself on its public reputation as the leading edge manufacturer of plastic injection moldings that is backed by a powerful and innovative research and development team. However, internally, the organization is suffering greatly from severely outdated, labor-intensive, pencil and paper processes in the sales and marketing departments. Additionally, the business processes that are automated are departmentalized suited for the use of a single job function or department.Existing automated processes belong to the finance and accounting department as well as the inventory office of the manufacturing department. There is no connectivity between systems, and worse, attempts to establish communications between similar syst ems across the organization’s national and multinational locations have been fruitless. It is impossible for organization decision-makers to have a clear idea of the interworking of the organization and its financial health.Chief Operating Officer (COO), Hugh McCauley, has developed a comprehensive strategic direction for the organization decomposed into individual strategic initiatives and further broken down into various programs that are the responsibility of relevant departmental leaders to accomplish. Riordan’s COO has done an excellent job of initiating a strategic direction and smaller goals to ensure the organization maintains industry leader status, but the missing link that will truly drive each program’s success, is an information technology linkage.To remain ahead of competition and to transform into a more agile organization, it is recommended that Riordan’s management evaluate the benefits of enterprise-wide information systems. Enterprise-w ide information systems Organizations commonly implement enterprise-wide systems to improve access to information and as a result experience growth, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies. The benefits of enterprise-wide systems such as enterprise resource management (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM) directly align with Riordan’s strategic direction.Proper implementation of these systems will add value to Riordan’s business model. However, enterprise-wide implementations are characterized by large investments and large time commitments. Therefore, the organization must evaluate which systems will help it achieve the majority of its goals, in a reasonable time frame. In doing so, decision-makers can determine if each system’s value is worth its costs and the order in which to invest in and implement each system. Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) Pros.An ERP system is a necessary investment for Riordan because it i ntegrates all departments and their respective functions across the organization into a single IT system (UMaine, 2009). There are three main benefits of ERP systems that directly address problems with Riordan’s operations. One benefit is a logical solution to a mess of incompatible applications currently in use by the organization. ERP also allows global access and sharing of organizational data as well. Additionally, implementing an ERP system will help the organization bypass the difficulties and expenses of replacing legacy systems (UMaine, 2009).An analysis of Riordan’s current issues with its Finance and Accounting department reveal an immediate need for an ERP solution. Riordan’s current process to complete the general ledger, income statement, and balance sheet is so labor intensive that accountants cannot complete the task until two or three weeks after month’s end. Additionally, external audits are required monthly. Riordan’s process docu mentation is difficult to analyze, making this important task costly and labor intensive as well. Compliance with new, stricter government regulations is also extremely difficult for this department.Riordan management finds these issues unacceptable and expects them to be addressed first (University of Phoenix, 2012). An ERP solution will correct these error-prone, labor-intensive processes through automation (Business-Software. com, 2010). This will help employees of the Finance and Accounting department complete Riordan’s financial statements in a timelier manner. Further, ERP will ensure that all workflows and procedures are formally documented, allowing external auditors to complete their job more effectively and produce timely and accurate feedback for Riordan management.ERP systems also ensure there is only â€Å"one version of truth† by feeding data to one centralized, integrated database (Business-Software, 2012). Not only does ERP help the organization deliver timely, accurate information to its customers and suppliers but is also necessary for regulatory compliance. Cons. Although an ERP system will lay the foundation for modern, efficient enterprise-wide business systems, Riordan must weigh the risks of implementing the system. The first risk is cost. For a multinational company like Riordan, the cost of installation can range from $30,000 to $500 million (Demand Media Inc. , 2012).Riordan will need to do an extensive financial analysis to determine if the organization has enough capital to expend on an ERP implementation as well as enough contingency funding to bail the organization out should the implementation fail. Another risk of ERP implementation is the level of complexity that and ERP system will add to Riordan’s processes. Riordan’s current staff may find the system to be too difficult to use and rebel against the system as a result. Riordan may also find that a portion of their existing staff may turnover as a r esult of the implementation and will need to hire a more specialized user base as a result.These specialized employees may require higher salaries than those they replace. To avoid this, Riordan will want to provide comprehensive training to affected users, but it will be a time-consuming processefficiency benefits of the system will not be measurable until the organization adjusts to the changes that the ERP system will bring (Demand Media Inc. , 2012). An important risk of ERP implementation to consider is data integrity. Because the ERP system’s database will be the single source of Riordan’s data, it must be accurate and secure.Integrating the ERP system with existing systems may require some software modifications. It will be important to ensure that the integration of system results in data that is single version of the truth as well as securing any new transactions between systems. It is also important to note that some ERP systems will be too inflexible to work with Riordan’s current business process and strategy (Demand Media Inc. , 2012). The organization must evaluate vendor and implementation options to ensure the ERP system help drive Riordan’s objectives, not hinder them.Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Pros. Riordan’s strategic direction and initiatives are highly customer-centric. Riordan’s strategy is to compete in its market by serving the top 15 customer clusters, and driving this strategy by providing the highest level of customer satisfaction to its 20 most important account holders. Additionally, the COO wants the organization to transform the Riordan brand into a significant competitive advantage (University of Phoenix, 2012). A CRM system is an excellent way to drive the success of this customer-centric strategy.CRM manages all aspects of an organization’s relationship with its customers to help increase customer loyalty, retention, and the organization’s profitability (UMain e, 2009). Additionally, CRM systems are synonymous with building brand awareness and loyalty. A modern definition of a brand is the summation of hundreds of small interactions between an organization and its customers (Yarmoff, 2001). A CRM system can capture the data that results from these actions for analysis by the marketing department. Marketing analysts can determine what is unique about the organization that draws customers to it, helping Riordan build its brand.In the upcoming fiscal year, Riordan is launching an aggressive sales and marketing program to grow its revenue, expand its customer base, and retain its best customers. The sales and marketing department will find difficulty in successfully completing this program considering their outdated, pencil and paper processes within the department. It will be difficult for Riordan’s marketers to target customers effectively by sifting through hundreds of paper files of historical sales records to conduct market analys is.It will be difficult for the sales department to document special customers’ needs, and ensure they are served throughout the organization’s order fulfillment processes by using the disparate sales systems currently in use. For back office analytical purposes, CRM can assist the marketing department in drawing upon data from a single data source to reveal trends, explain outcomes, predict results of campaigns, and identify the organization’s most profitable customers (UMaine, 2009).Analytical CRM helps the marketing department understand what Riordan’s customers like, dislike, and what appeals to them and indicate if Riordan is meeting or is capable of meeting customer’s needs. Analytical CRM provides this deep understanding of an organization’s customer base through data analysis and business intelligence tools (UMaine, 2009). It sends pertinent information to the marketing department for campaigns and to the front-end part of the system to provide the sales force with the information it requires. On the front-end, operational CRM can assist the sales representatives.Technology will include a contact management system, and opportunity management system. In this use-case, the CRM system will alert the sales representative regarding what the customer likes/dislikes to enhance cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. Front-end CRM will also help the sales representatives in resolving customer issues by providing web-based customer self-service tips and call scripting to better equip the representatives with handling the most common issues (UMaine, 2009). The CRM system can log recurring customer issues.This will assist Riordan’s sales representatives in solving difficult problems that have been previously addresses as well as assist management in targeting recurring scenarios that require improvement, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and retention rates. Cons. Like other enterprise-wide systems, CRM systems are characterized by expensive and difficult implementations. Riordan management has to ensure that the CRM initiative is well planned, historical data is input accurately, and ensure workflow is properly defined to reduce the risk of project failure (Gartner Research, 2000).Success will also be highly dependent on cooperation with the ERP and SCM initiatives, as they eventually will become integrated systems dependent on one another’s data inputs and outputs. Solutions must be chosen with compatibility and interconnectivity in mind. In CRM, over-automation is always a risk (Gartner Research, 2000). CRM is about bringing a company and its customers closer together, and some human-to-human interaction is necessary for customers to feel as if they are being heard. Finally, CRM systems are difficult systems to measure numeric outcomes and value (Gartner Research, 2000).Riordan management must define what unique, possibly intangible outcomes they want to measure from the CRM system to ensure it is providing its intended value. Supply Chain Management (SCM) Pros. As a manufacturer, Riordan would experience many benefits from the implementation of a SCM system. As part of its business strategy, Riordan is currently striving for supply chain excellence. The organization will drive this strategy by streamlining time-to-market processes, achieving 90% of customer requested ship dates, and reducing inefficiencies associated with its current shipping methods (University of Phoenix, 2012).A SCM system can help the organization achieve these goals as it manages the information flows between and among stages in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and profitability (UMaine, 2009). A SCM system captures data from the five phases of the supply chain management process; planning, sourcing, making, delivering, and returning. This data translates into complete visibility and awareness of one’s supply chain, and in turn, competitiv e advantages. A SCM will be most effective in the planning phase if Riordan leverages information from an ERP and CRM system.With that data, the SCM system uses metrics to forecast and accurately meet customer demand. Riordan will eliminate waste from its inventory by having the right amount of materials on hand to fulfill customers’ orders as they are placed, reducing costs stemming from holding onto excessive inventory. Developing insight across all inventory locations will also permit better sharing of resources on-hand to meet emergency customer needs. In the sourcing phase, the SCM system will provide vendor management capabilities. Riordan can input data about eliable suppliers it has partnered with in the past as well as suppliers that have provided inadequate services to document differences in quality among vendors. Riordan can also capture pricing data to determine which vendors provide the best value for their products. This will make sourcing easier and more effec tive. The deals Riordan obtains from strong vendor partnerships could translate in more discounts for customers farther down the line in the supply chain. In the â€Å"make† phase of SCM, a SCM system can ensure Riordan is manufacturing its products in accordance with the organization’s quality standards.Managers can determine the desired quality levels, translate the quality levels into metrics, and have these performance metrics monitored with the SCM system. The system will indicate when manufacturing is in line with quality metrics, surpassing metrics, or below metrics. A good deal of Rirodan’s reputation is dependent on manufacturing high quality products, so performance metrics in this area are important. The deliver phase is important to monitor with the SCM system as Riordan is experiencing inefficiencies in its logistic processes.The SCM system will help Riordan deal with processes and controls of logistic process to create efficient and effective trans port and storage of its products as they are delivered to the customer (UMaine, 2009). A SCM system can analyze delivery times and help management determine where inefficiencies are occurring and why. The results may prompt management to create more conveniently located inventory facility locations to create more reliable transit times. The system will also help Riordan coordinate more effectively with its outsourced trucking company.The ability to share information between both parties will allow Riordan to load its trucks to 100% capacity, resulting in cost savings for itself as well as less trucks and drivers for its partner. Finally, the return phase of SCM will be most effective when combined with data from the CRM system. The return phase of SCM pertains to the process allowing customers to return defective and excess products (UMaine, 2009). It is important to capture why customers are returning products to serve them better in the future and learn from errors. It is also imp ortant forRiordan to be instantly aware that a return process has been initiated, so it can send out a replacement to a customer immediately. The customer may be dissatisfied as it is, so handling returns effectively can encourage the customer to continue using the company for future orders. This phase will help Riordan meet its goals of serving customers better as well as retaining them. Cons. Riordan must consider the many risks of supply chain management because this system is dependent on the cooperation of external business partners. The first roadblock is gaining trust from business partners.Riordan and its suppliers must be willing to exchange some confidential information in exchange for increase supply chain efficiency. Next a supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so if Riordan’s suppliers cannot provide quality goods in proper time frames, Riordan cannot get the most out of its SCM system (Wailgum, 2008). Internally, there will be resistance to change as well. Employees will need to adjust to stricter data entry requirements as well as higher scrutiny of their performance. Training will be crucial, as mistakes with the system will be made initially.A SCM system cannot absorb a company’s history and processes in the first few months (Wailgum, 2008) Management will have to be patient and continually feed the system clean data to reap visibility benefits. Recommendations The success of implementing enterprise-wide business tools is dependent on the creation of a single data source, populated by accurate and relevant information. To lay the foundation that will capture and integrate all information from Riordan’s unique workflows and processes, it is recommended that Riordan first invest in and implement an ERP system.Once this implementation is complete, and the organization is accustomed to the changes this system will bring, a CRM implementation can be considered. The ERP system’s centralized database will ser ve as the data source for the CRM system, making this implementation an easier transition for the organization. Once the CRM system is successfully implemented, a SCM implementation can be considered as Riordan’s financial health and strategic initiatives permit. A SCM system is recommended as the final enterprise-wide system to implement as it is reliant on information captured by both ERP systems and CRM systems (Wailgum, 2008).The success of these implementations will be dependent on a number of factors such as implementing the solutions in-house versus outsourcing the efforts, and implementing a performance metric system to ensure that the systems are continually providing the value intended. Outsourcing Models Riordan needs to consider outsourcing some of its business functions to reduce upfront cost and integration challenges faced while implementing enterprise applications ERP and CRM. There are many outsourcing models to consider and many benefits and advantages.There fore, a thorough analysis and understanding of outsourcing models is necessary for Riordan’s long-term strategic alliance with vendors. This section outlines outsourcing models and services provided by the application service provider or ASP and other outsourcing models. ASP Model Application service provider is one who has expertise in implementing and managing IT operations of the business applications over a secure Internet on behalf of its customer or client.ASP also known as Managed Application provider (MAP), or managed services â€Å"combine hosted software, hardware and networking technologies to offer a service-based application, as opposed to a company-owned and operated application† (Sans Institute, 2006). ASP services include end-to-end solutions necessary for executing and operation of ERP, CRM, accounting, payroll, cloud computing, and customized applications. In the ASP model, the provider typically identifies the applications common to many organization s (for example, ERP) and hosts them in their data centers.The access to applications provided via a browser-based or thin client software. According to Pearlson and Saunders (2010), â€Å"ASP not only provides access to software, but infrastructure, people, and maintenance to run it in a customized fashion for a client. † Hence, the objective of ASP is to provide a secure, error-free environment of application systems and infrastructure round the clock. The ideal candidates for taking the advantage of ASP are Riordan’s non-core applications, which relaxes IT resources and make them available for core applications.Another instance of ASP is Software as a Service (SaaS), which host multiple companies (multi-tenant) to use the same set of software and hardware, but still provide a user experience of single application. The application accessed via Internet, and provides rich web interface using technologies like AJAX and XML. The web applications delivered via SaaS is cus tomizable and integrates into in-house application using web services and ETL tools. For example, Sales Force applications from SalesForce. com are multi-tenant web applications used by many organizations as their primary CRM application.Engagement with ASP involves service level agreements (SLAs), which contains many clause and vendor expectations. SLAs consists of sections on â€Å"availability, accessibility, performance, maintenance, backup/recovery, upgrades, equipment ownership, software ownership, security, and confidentiality† (Pearlson & Saunders, 2010). ASP may provide cost-effective solution in their area of their expertise. However, for security professionals, the move to use the ASP model comes at an often-high cost. The ASP may be an expert in its domain, but its security function may be immature (Schoenfield, n. d. ).Hence, one should consider risk assessment and analyze the end-to-end solution of ASPs and their security models. Many ASPs available in the marke t, Riordan should evaluate them once the outsourcing requirement finalized. The table below provides list of ASPs and their domain expertise. Table 1 List of ASPs Application Service Provider Domain expertise Appshop www. appshop. com Oracle 11i ebusiness suite Applications BlueStar Solutions www. bluestarsolutions. com Managing ERP solutions with a focus on SAP Corio www. corio. com Specializes in Oracle Applications Outtask www. outtask. com Integration of budgeting, customer service, sales anagement, and human resources applications Surebridge www. surebridge. com High-tech manufacturing, distribution, health care applications USi www. usinternetworking. com Ariba, Siebel, Microsoft, and Oracle customer base Note. Adapted from â€Å"Information Systems Sourcing,† by K. E. Pearlson and C. E. Saunders, 2010, Managing and Using Information Systems. A Strategic Approach. Copyright 2010 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. According to Subramanian and Williams (2007), a complex scenario o f services provided by single or multiple vendors offer multiple benefits. The long term agreements are necessary to reap higher benefits.This model provides competence needed in the initial stage and provides better quality, increases productivity, and reduces cost as time progress. Service provider takes full end-to-end responsibility by investing on new technologies, mitigating risks to maintain business continuity and building high-level of trust. Figure 1. Services offered by managed Services. Note. Reprinted from Infosys White Paper (p. 5), by Subramanian and Williams, 2007, Copyright 2011 Infosys Limited Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing is a new outsourcing model introduced in 2006 by Jeff Howe in an article titled â€Å"The rise of crowdsourcing† in WIRED online magazine.In the traditional outsourcing model, the work of an employee outsourced to external service provider. In this model, the available skilled resources and ideas limited to service provider and its industry and domain experience. Crowdsourcing reach out to a larger community over the Internet to complete a job or task. Thus, organizations gain access to a wide range of skills and resources available online. According to Jeff Howe the definition of Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call.Companies and individual make an open call to perform a job for a small amount. Open call to an Internet community of collective intelligence can increase productivity. With the advancement of Internet and Web 2. 0, many websites like elance. com, odesk. com and guru. com provide abundant resources of freelancers available globally. Riordan can make use of this model where the projects need specialized skills and risk is very low. Resources picked on reviews and rewards obtained from past assignments.For example, Riordan’s websites along with dyna mic B2B and B2C pages using PHP and open source technologies is a good candidate of Crowdsourcing. Disadvantages of Crowdsourcing are low quality, communication issues, and researching for reliable resources with required skill set. Full Outsourcing Full outsourcing refers to outsourcing overall IT functions in an organization to an external service provider. This is similar to ASP model but the hardware and software remain on-site and vendor resources may collaborate with employee on-site or remotely, depending on the IT functions.For example, an enterprise may outsource helpdesk and desktop support. In this case vendor’s resources remain on-site to provide support on hardware and software issues. Some of software issues rectified remotely. Software development and maintenance happen in the vendor’s location. Companies typically choose this model if their perspective of IT does not support organizations strategic initiative. Doing so managers, and employees can concen trate on other value-adding assignment. Companies outsource completely to accommodate growth and respond to their business environment (Pearlson & Saunders, 2010, p. 09) with SLA’s and multiple vendors. Riordan should not opt for full outsourcing because of risk in exposing copyrighted material, formulas, trade secrets, and unique manufacturing methods to competitors. Selective outsourcing fit well for Riordan. Selective Outsourcing Selective outsourcing allows IT executives with options of retaining few IT functions in-house for strategic reasons. Selective outsourcing gives greater flexibility and often better service because of competitive market (Pearlson & Saunders, 2010, p. 210). According to Subramanian and Williams (2007), another name for selective outsourcing is â€Å"Strategic out-tasking. IT executive will have total control, manage projects, and review deliverables in-house. Only few IT functions like new application development, enhancing application due busine ss changes, fix non-critical issues outsourced and vendor take responsibility. Selective outsourcing is best suited for companies new to outsourcing. Riordan must outsource short-term assignments and small projects before venturing outsourcing in a bigger scale and when they cannot find resources with specific skills or to gain strategic advantage.Outsourcing versus in-house implementations Rose India Technologies PVT. Ltd (2011) defines outsourcing as â€Å"the process by which a company contracts another company to provide particular services†. These services and functions would be otherwise carried out in-house by the company’s own employees. The main reason companies outsource supply chain management are to reduce cost, free up internal resources, save time, to gain better control of managing functions, not enough internal resources to handle the job and share the risk with a partner.Some of disadvantages of outsourcing SCM include the underestimation of cost due t o communication, inadequate governance meaning that an in-house overseeing committee needs to be set up, reduction of technical, key information and crucial knowledge control, dimensioning leadership with the business relations managed by supplier, increase in business continuity, increased cost due to salaries raises in other companies, and unethical suppliers. Outsourcing SCM will save the organization money in IT expenditures.The system becomes is streamlined and use by all location, more energy and money is left for core business strategies. The vendor will handle the development and implementation of custom finance software along with an accounting package along with the establishment of a joint venture offshore back office operation of the company’s invoicing, revenue processing, and auditing services. Some IT functions should not be outsourced such as core business competencies, functions that are knowledge based, and are company proprietary information.Multidisciplina ry, Interdepartmental, factuality, and critical business function that may involve political risk should not be outsourced as well. Riordan should not outsource its core business function this part of the project should be done in-house so that Riordan maintain and controls these function to keep down all risk whether they are security risk or political risk. The reason most companies outsource ERP system is because they do not have the experience and the expertise to implement an ERP package.When it comes to implementation the supplier has a perfected system for installation and implementation, and most organizations do not want to assign full time staff to implementation thereby taking away from the day-to-day work as well as ERP package can be confusing and frustrating to employees due to false starts and downtime. Outsourcing ERP tends to be a good decision when it comes to medium to lager companies because more than likely outside help will be need for consultation, references, credentials, implementation, and monitoring and check consultants.Stress within the company is one disadvantage because employees must learn a new system, and process that may affect productivity and efficiency. The effect can be short and long term. Other cons such cost overruns during and implementation, converting, training and customized modules. The ERP system should be outsourced to a vendor can handle the testing and coding of the new system to insure it integrates with the existing or new MRP systems well verification and documentation leaving the IT Department free to oversee vendor and other IT functions ( Janstal,1999).Many ERP vendors and consulting firms, who have professional implementation and customization skills for manufacturing ERP software less adjustments, are necessary because they will design software specifically for Riordan Manufacturing. The cost for the production of ERP software purchase depends on the size and functions of the software and the extent of the adjustment (Baihaki,2009).The business of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is evolving and changing in the market on a constant and constant base to meet the growing and demanding need for new strategies that increase business profit margin by having an application that create interactive analysis of the customers’ requirements and leading to the customers satisfaction. C. R. M s’ are all over the market place the need is to choose one, implement, install and train. Simple jobs no need to outsource. Value of Implementations and Outsourcing RecommendationsSupply Chain Management Implementation Studies show that the effective supply chain management (SCM) enables organizations to perform better and maximize profitability by aligning their supply chains with the market demand (Baltzan & Phillips, 2010). SCM implementation helps the organization to reduce inventory levels, minimize order-processing costs, improve responsiveness to customer needs, and compress or der cycle time by streamlining and automating information flow among the different components of the supply chain process (Sumner, 2005).SCM implementation enables an organization to gain competitive advantage by reducing operating costs and increasing process efficiencies to meet market demands and to ensure timely delivery of products or services. Customer Relationship Management Implementation Intense market competition is forcing organizations to change their business models from sales-focused to customer-focused making customer satisfaction a paramount for the organization’s success (Baltzan & Phillips, 2010).Customer relationship management (CRM) implementation will enable organizations to gain insight into customer buying behavior and purchase patterns and develop business strategies to improve customer satisfaction and service quality (Baltzan & Phillips, 2010). Riordan can improve customer satisfaction, service quality, customer loyalty, profitability, and sales volu me by implementing CRM systems to manage its interactions with the customers efficiently. Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation Business leaders require access to real-time business information to make business-related decisions in an efficient manner to improve performance.Enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation integrates organization’s business processes into an information technology (IT) system facilitating an integrated view of enterprise-wide business information (Baltzan & Phillips, 2010). ERP enables Riordan to streamline, automate, and integrate business processes to improve efficiency of business functions to reduce operating costs, improve customer service, increase revenues, eliminate redundancies, and improve decision-making (Baltzan & Phillips, 2010). Outsourcing RecommendationsOrganizations have to find ways to improve performance of business operations to sustain in the global competition. Outsourcing enables an organization to increase produc tivity, reduce operating costs, and improve flexibility by taking advantage of low labor cost regions and difference in time zones (Morello, 2003). Riordan should consider full outsourcing model for the implementation of SCM, CRM, and ERP systems to another organization while ensuring appropriate knowledge transfer to its employees during the implementation process.Service providers expertise in the implementation of SCM, CRM, and ERP systems will help the organization to streamline, automate, standardize, and fine tune business processes to increase efficiency of business operations. Knowledge transfer to Riordan’s employees during and after implementation process will enable the organization to gain and retain adequate knowledge to support business systems efficiently. Riordan can use the selective outsourcing model for ongoing maintenance of the SCM, CRM, and ERP systems.Outsourcing only the IT support services to another organization will enable Riordan to keep critical b usiness process knowledge in-house while ensuring round-the-clock IT support to its global business operations. Outsourcing redundant IT support services to another organization will help Riordan to concentrate more on business critical functions to increase productivity and improve operations performance. Providing Continued Value Once IT implementations are completed assessing the value of new systems is the next step.When companies invest in IT initiatives they want to see the added value to the organizations IT and IS departments. Setting up a process to measure continued value is essential in achieving this. For Riordan is recommend using IT metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to measure value. KPIs also known as Key Success Indicators will help the organization define and also measure progress toward organizational IT goals. KPIs are quantifiable measurements that are agreed upon, reflecting the critical success factors of the organization.If Key Performance Indicator s are going to be of any value there must be a way for it to be accurately defined and measured. Equally important, KPIs once defined should be consistent year to year. The organization should also look to set targets for each Key Performance Indicator. Once KPIs are defined a way to measure it needs to be set up to collect information, a target, has to be established. Below are some KPIs for Riordan in assessing success of IT initiatives: IS and IT implementation adds tangible value to organization Implementation reduce IS and IT costMeasuring Effectiveness Measuring the effectiveness of a system can show its value to the organization but also set a benchmark to continually assess the system year after year. Using Effectiveness IT metrics measures its effectiveness on IT systems from the standpoint of a business tool. The metric can measure how IT affects specific aspects of a business and the business process such as conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and sell-through increa ses. Specifically, the metrics goal is to show how well a company is doing in reaching its objectives.In constantly questioning, it determines if the right decisions are being made to reach these objectives. One way we can measure effectiveness is through surveys to IT, finance and HR departments. The survey giving to employees can give insight as to if the system is helping make work more productive to Riordan employees or caused increased difficultly. The surveys should look to answer these questions: Is the system increasing daily productivity? Does system work seamlessly with critical IT systems? Are there any disadvantages to the new system?Is the system easy to support? Easy to use? Is more staff training needed? Establishing benchmarks is a typical way of measuring performance of IT Effectiveness. Benchmarking puts IT in greater demand to align with the business and demonstrate the company economic value. IT benchmarks can show how competitive IS and IT services are, and if t here are ways to improve the process or increase efficiency of delivery of services. There are different models that can be used for Riordan to asses IS values. These are recommended:Peer/ industry comparisons Customer satisfaction IT effectiveness/value IT efficiency/cost Business IT process Cost benchmarking will address the problem of cost and quality of services. It can show what can be done to reduce cost and improve performance by showing best practices in the industry. Figure 2. Cost Benchmarking. Reprinted from IT Benchmarking: A Baseline for improving performance, by Ambuhl and Bitterman, 2004. A successful benchmark is valued by the actionable recommendation that yield immediate and long-term results.Be sure to outlining specifics in improving efficiency and effectiveness or it will have no significant value. Measuring Efficiency Measuring IT effectiveness is only one aspect to determining IT value. Efficiency IT metrics while similar has differences. This metric will meas ure the performance of an IT system. It measures performance such as throughput, speed, and availability of a system. This will also determine how well the newly implemented system works with established systems. To measure performance organized documenting and reporting process must be in place.Efficiency IT metrics can be used to measure the throughput, how fast information is travelling throughout Riordan’s intranet or the speed of transactions with its suppliers and customers. Additionally, it can measure traffic to a website. Traffic measures how many people come to a website in a given period of time. Additional benefits to the Efficiency IT metric, it not only measures the efficiency of a IT system for evaluating and improving its performance, but it makes sure the system is being used the right way, ensuring the effectiveness of the processes, and that they are in step with business objectives.Utilizing methods such as KPIs, Effectiveness IT metrics, Efficiency IT met rics, and benchmarking will help Riordan establish a clear dashboard, adding value to its IS and IT departments with every successful IT implementation. It will also show continual value of its IT systems by performance, which systems continue to add value and which do not. Conclusion As we have seen, Riordan Manufacturing’s utilization of information systems and information technology leaves a lot to be desired. With so much potential, they continue to have manual processes for tasks and information that can and should be automated and interconnected.Because of the lack of technology, executive management is not capable of seeing the big picture they need across the entire organization in order to make the best decisions. Because of this, it is hard for the company to see the value of the continued IS and IT investments. However, with the implementation of such systems as ERP, CRM, or SCM, value can be added, value can be see in the benefits they provide. While different sys tems may have a better fit within the organization, Riordan must determine what is best for them; they must determine how they will be used in the most beneficial way.With any major infrastructure change, there are new risks and costs to the organization. The correct hardware must be purchased; the right software must be installed; the business rules and requirements must be met; the systems must be maintained over time. Putting these puzzle pieces together might not always go as well as planned. This is why Riordan must consider some of the outsourcing solutions discussed. Deciding on using an ASP, running in a SaaS model, or installing and maintaining the systems themselves, each require extremely detailed analysis.While it is easy to see the cost of each of these systems and deployment methods, Riordan must continue to go back to determining the value of each system at the same time. If the value is a reduced IT staff; if the value is a more integrated system; if the value is a m ore productive manufacturing process, the systems will show their value themselves. Riordan Manufacturing wants to receive the value out of what they pay for. Yet we see that value is not a pay for what you get model, but value is in how you use what you paid for. References Ambuhl, C. , & Bitterman, M. (2004). IT Benchmarking: A Baseline for mproving performance. Retrieved from http://www. rfgonline. com/events/highperformance. pdf Baihaqi (2009). Riordan Manufacturing. Retrieved from http://riordan-manufacturing. com/category/riordan-manufacturing and http://riordan-manufacturing. com/category/riordan-manufacturing-mission Baltzan, P. , & Phillips, A. (2010). Business Driven Technology (4th ed. ). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Brook Schoenfield (n. d. ),’ Evaluating Application Service Provider Security for Enterprises’, retrieved from http://www. cisco. com/web/about/security/intelligence/asp-eval. tml Business-Software. com. (2012). Why do you need an ERP solution? Retrieved from http://www. business-software. com/erp/about-erp/why-do-you-need-an-erp-solution. php Demand Media Inc. (2012). What are the cons of ERP? Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/list_6591648_cons-erp_. html Gartner Research. (2000). Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Perspective. Retrieved from http://lamarheller. com/technology/crm/whitepapers/crmdataperspective. pdf Janstal[v1] , S. (1999) Enterprise Resource Planning: Integrating Applications and Business Processes Across the Enterprise.Retrieved from http://www. dpu. se/CTR/ctrerp_e. html. Morello, D. (2003). The Organizational Implications of Offshore Outsourcing. Retrieved from http://www. gartner. com/resources/118100/118136/the_organizational_implicati_118136. pdf Pearlson, K. E. , & Saunders, C. E. (2010). Managing and Using Information Systems. A Strategic Approach (4th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Rose India Tecnologies Pvt. Ltd. (2011). Outso urcing Services – Outsourcing Company in India. Retrieved from http://www. roseindia. et/services/outsourcing/index. shtml Sans Institute (2006). Application Service Providers (ASP) Policy. Retrieved from http://www. sans. org/security-resources/policies/Application_Service_Providers. pdf Subramanian, M. & Williams, R. (2007). Outsourcing Models: Aligning Source Strategy to Business Objectives retrieved from http://www. infosys. com/global-sourcing/white-papers/Documents/aligning-sourcing-strategy. pdf Sumner, M. (2005), Enterprise Resource Planning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. UMaine. (2009). Enterprise Systems: SCM, CRM, & ERP.Retrieved from http://www. slideshare. net/mgraham213/enterprise-systems-scm-crm-erp University of Phoenix. (2012). Riordan Manufacturing intranet. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Riordan/RioMfgHome002. htm Wailgum, T. (2008). Supply chain management definition and solutions. Retrieved fro m http://www. cio. com/article/40940/Supply_Chain_Management_Definition_and_Solutions#scm_abc Yarmoff, L. B. (2001). Strike up the brand. Retrieved from http://www. destinationcrm. com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/Strike-up-

Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire Essays

Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire Essays Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire Paper Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire Paper Extended Essay Rough Draft The Fall of The Roman Empire Why the topic is interesting: The Roman Empire was one of the greatest and most powerful communities that ever existed, so how such a mighty Empire could decline in power is very interesting. Background: What was the Roman Empire? The Roman Empire came after the era of The Roman Republic. At its peak, it controlled territories from Britain and Germany to the Persian Gulf and North Africa. The great Empire was then separated into the Byzantine Empire and the Western Roman Empire and attacked by Barbarian invaders. Thesis In my opinion, the Fall of the Roman Empire was mostly caused by sociological and political factors. Some examples of this are the decline of morals and values in Rome that caused internal chaos and an increase in crime. Other factors included political reforms and wars with the Barbarians. Another possible conflict was that the introduction of Christianity to the Roman Empire led to many of the people becoming pacifists and thereby creating a weaker military force and allowing the Empire to be over taken far more easily. This is a case where an internal social conflict resulted in an external military issue. Body Part One In order to have all possible arguments shown, I have been sure to choose 10 different sources that portray many different points of view, ideas, reasoning, etc. Some of the ideas in the sources go hand in hand with my thesis whereas others provide completely new information or thoughts that disagree with my thesis completely. However, all of the sources used are valid forms of information and will help in forming my opinions. For this paper, my thesis is that the Roman Empire’s decline in power was ultimately due to political and sociological causes. In order to prove my thesis is correct, I will state my supporting facts and ideas as well as counter claims to my thoughts. I believe this is the only way to properly state an idea; by giving an idea as well as its opposition. Part Two Social Causes lead to Political Causes In 509 b. c. , Rome changed their government to a Republic which became an internal conflict amongst the Romans. This was largely due to the fact that the Republic had a Senate and a Consul, both of which were positions of authority only given to the wealthy men of Rome, also called Patricians. Many disputes among the people of Rome began to arise, and acts of violence even began to occur within the empire walls. It was not until the less wealthy citizens found an officer that would vote in their favor and veto the bills of the rich. Once the people of Rome solved the political issue, and had a stable government, they began to take control of Italy and the Carthage Empire, proving that the Empire does not thrive during social or political conflict. Sociological Issues affect Military Another issue that arose from social troubles and led to political problems was when the religion of Christianity was introduced to the Roman people. Some have a theory that by introducing the religion of Christianity to the Roman Empire, a religion widely based around forgiveness, mercy, kindness etc. , the Roman people, military men included, became weaker. Mercy was seen as a sign of weakness in the eyes of a military as strong as Rome’s. Some authors think even go as far to say that â€Å"Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the Barbarian attackers. † However valid this point may be, the view of Dr. Khan is slightly biased on the issue because he has proclaimed to be Muslim and defends his religion in several of his other writings. Therefore, his views on religion cannot be viewed as an impartial source. But, there are some other authors who agree that the Barbarians did play a descent size role in the Fall of the Roman Empire such as Peter Heather who wrote The Fall of The Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. There are also other authors that believe that the Christian religion was a partial cause of the Roman Empire’s Decline. These authors are N. S. Gill and the unknown author of the Rome. nfo website. Many other Causes Now obviously the fall of such a great and powerful Empire could not have been caused with only a few factors such as change of government, a new religion, and one enemy. There had to be other faults and weaknesses. A few that I believe to be valid causes are that Rome’s extended borders made them very vulnerable to attacks, th e Roman’s had inferior technology compared to their enemies, and the lack of a proper selective process when choosing a new emperor led to political corruption. Borders Some of the Empire’s greatest achievements turned out to be its downfall. It had conquered so much land and sea that it had too much territory than it could protect and defend properly. The Roman Empire’s borders stretched from Egypt, Anatolia, Italy, The Mediterranean Sea, Gaul, and several more. The problem was that these lands were very vulnerable. By having such a wide range of territory, it makes it a great deal easier for opposing Empires and countries to conquer one territory at a time and eventually have control of the entire Empire. This is what the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths did. The Ostrogoths and the Visigoths were the two new branches of the Goths. Ostrogoths an Eastern Germanic tribe that successfully invaded The Roman Empire, and after invading Italy, made what they called â€Å"The Kingdom of Italy†. The Visigoths successfully ruled Gaul for a short period of time. Their reign was ended by their loss at the Battle of Vouille. Though this point does not agree with my thesis, I think it is a very plausible reason as to why the Empire declined in power. Inferior Technology During the last 400 years of the Empire, their scientific achievements were very limited and lacking. When it came to engineering and public services, however, the Empire did wonderfully. They built very good bridges, structures, roads, and aqueducts. However, the Roman’s success was extremely dependent on human labor and the labor of animals. This prevented them from inventing very many new machines or technology that could help produce items faster and produce more of them. As previously stated, the Roman Empire had a great deal of territory. They, however, could not produce enough products to support such a large population. As well, they were getting defeated more frequently because they could not compete with other militaries’ technological superiority. Due to all of this, they could no longer maintain several territories, they were not gaining new ones or the new technology that would come with new territories, and the Empire could no longer maintain its military. This is also a cause that does not correspond with my thesis, but I am willing to agree that it has great validity. Political Corruption This argument, however, completely supports my thesis that political an sociological reasons were the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. One of the Empire’s huge mistakes was that its people never created a system that determined who would be the new emperor. The decision of who was to be the new emperor was simply left up to a discussion between the previous emperor, the senate, the Praetorian Guard (this was the Emperor’s personal army), and the Empire’s army. Eventually it go to the point where only the Praetorian Guard was choosing the new emperor and in return, the new emperor would give the Praetorian Guard more power and other perks. Although this was an obvious issue with the political system, a bigger problem arose when the army strangled one of the emperors in 186 A. D. This began a cycle of selling the throne to whomever was willing to pay the most for it. Throughout the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors. Out of these 37, 25 were assassinated. This ultimately weakened the Empire’s government a great deal and strongly contributed to both the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Distraction This article claims that the gladiatorial events that occurred throughout Rome’s history was merely a distracting device created by emperors to divert the common people’s attention away from wars and battles like the First Punic War and the Battle of Cannae. The author, Jason Mille, says that these distractions were strategically placed to keep the population amused and prevent street violence and such. Mille compares the gladiatorial events to television, radio, video games, and movies. This could be a true reason as to why the Emperors began the gladiator fights, but the fact that Mille suggests they were successful is absurd when so many other authors agree that it was social conflict, unemployment, uprisings, and violence that helped lead to the end of the Roman Empire. There are even historic records of mobs being started in order to violently control political situations. Men were even violently carried out of court and beaten simply for not agreeing with the mass opinion. And if anything, the gladiatorial events would encourage violence in the minds of the young just as people complain that violent videogames are poisoning the minds of our youth today. Another issue with this claim is that he compared it to the result of modern television, music, movies, and videogames. I believe that when an event as massive as your country engaging in war occurs, it is impossible to simply be distracted from it by entertainment. For instance, when the events of September 11, 2001 occurred in the U. S. and America entered a war with Iraq, a mere television sitcom could not distract the nation from the current events. And true, events were not broadcasted in Ancient Rome as they are broadcasted now, but wives and children of the soldiers knew their beloved men were fighting in wars and battles. They may not have known as many details as we do now given mass media, but a country still knew if it was at war, even then. Therefore, I do not consider this counter argument to be a valid one against my thesis. It is simply not plausible. Conclusion I believe that the main reasons the great Roman Empire fell, were mostly due to problems in the government and with its population such as failure to have a proper selective system in choosing the new emperor, the population becoming passive and weakening the military in doing so, changing the government to a Republic putting the rich in power and upsetting the poor etc. I also agree with some other opinions that widely spread borders making invasion easier to enemies and not being very technologically advanced are also causes of the Empires ultimate failure. However, I do not think these causes were as influential as the sociological and political reasons. And ultimately, I do not believe it was possible for the people of the Roman Empire to be distracted from political injustice and wars going on around them. I think the population was very aware of how corrupt their government was and the fact that unemployment was at a high. And although a certain group may have been affected by the introduction of Christianity into society and became pacifists, I think during the decline of the Roman Empire, many people became violent and reckless. McLovin McLovin Khan McLovin Rome. info Rome. info McLovin eb. com Rome. info Rome. info Rome. info Rome. info Rome. info Rome. inf Mille

Development of American Colonies essays

Development of American Colonies essays Before 1763, economic issues rather than religious positions determined the development of American colonies. Explore the validity of this statement by discussing three of the following colonies. (Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Carolina, Massachusetts Bay) Before 1763, the American colonies were greatly shaped by economic issues rather than religious issues. This statement will be investigated in three of the five available choices listed above. Virginia is known as the child of tobacco. In 1612, John Rolfe had perfected tobacco into a pleasant smoke. Soon after, the European demand for tobacco greatly increased and colonists of Virginia rushed for land in which to make their fortunes. Tobacco became such a big deal that Virginia at one point had to import food because of too much time spent growing tobacco. Eventually, tobacco was Virginias main trade, giving a strong economic advantage. The Carolinas were named after Charles II, and the land was given from him to eight of his favorite Proprietors. The Proprietors planned on growing foodstuffs to help supply the sugar plantations in Barbados. Wine, silk, and olive oil was also exported from the Carolinas. The Carolinas flourished because of close economic ties with the sugar plantations in the English West Indies. Rice was a main crop of the Carolinas as well, and was greedily accepted as a delicacy in Europe, furthering Carolinas economic strength. Maryland was founded in 1634 by Lord Baltimore. Baltimore and his family were devout Catholics, and he partly made Maryland a haven for his fellow Catholics. The other part was to make a profit. Huge land grants were offered to Baltimores Catholic relatives, and offers were soon taken at the mentioning of free land. Tobacco was largely planted and depended on the cheap indentured servants in order to farm it. For that reason, Maryland increased in population and wealth a good amount. ...

The Duty to Intervene in Conflicts Around the World Essay

The Duty to Intervene in Conflicts Around the World - Essay Example France, Belgium, the United States, and even the United Nations, did not intervene to stop the slaughter, and instead, they decided to pull out 90% of their peacekeeping soldiers and to evacuate all white people from Rwanda (â€Å"Genocide in Rwanda†; Rwanda Genocide Documentary). Some people believe that the U.S. and other powerful nations do not have a duty to intervene. We have a duty to intervene in conflicts around the world because it is right to do something that should be a universal law and because to do so without expecting anything in return is to treat people as ends in themselves who have moral worth. At the same time, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that member states have a duty to promote universal human rights and freedoms. Moreover, I believe that it is wrong to just leave and look the other way or to not do anything, like what happened to Rwanda, because these are innocent people who are unarmed and who have no one else to protect them, no t even their government, so another government should help them out of their humanity where compassion and goodwill live in. We have a duty to intervene in conflicts around the world because it is right to do something that should be a universal law. Immanuel Kant describes in â€Å"Good Will, Duty, and the Categorical Imperative† what it means do what is good. He offers two categorical imperatives, which are commands that must be done unconditionally. The first categorical imperative is to act according to the maxim that it â€Å"should become a universal law† (152). If nations help other besieged people in other countries, this should be a universal law because it is the act of rationality to help others in dire need. It is wrong then for France, Belgium, the United States, and the United Nations to not extend help to the Tutsis whom they were aware were being systematically slaughtered.