Branding Strategy- Nike Inc.U.K Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Branding Strategy- Nike Inc.U.K - Essay Example The positioning strategy of Nike is; to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. This is supplemented by Nike's definition of an athlete as anyone who has a body. Nike’s brand is perceived as a high performance brand in the world. Since its inception, Nike has always listened to its customer’s needs (athletes) and designs its products in such a way that athletes can give their best. Nike has tried to create an image of â€Å"innovative product† in the minds of its consumers and earned the reputation of highest quality provider in the sportswear industry of U.K. From the simple Marathon shoes in 1964, to introducing the cushioning technology in running shoes in 70s, to the introduction of air technology and high alpha line products are all the marvelous innovations of Nike. Nike has made its brand image in the market place by associating its product with high achievers of sports in the European Market. Nike has signed Golf player Tiger Woods , Tennis player Rafael Nadal, European Soccer Players Eric Cantona and Robert Mandeni, Football Player Michael Jordan in the past. All these players endorsed Nike brand and Nike emerged as a high quality, celebrity preferred brand in the marketplace. Further, in 2006, Nike collaborated with Apple which indeed was a clever step to take Nike to the heights of Glory.

Why Many Projects Fail At Rural Areas Construction Essay

Why Many Projects Fail At Rural Areas Construction Essay The construction industry is regarded as one of major indicators of the countrys economy, especially for developing countries. Periods of prosperity are usually associated with a large volume of construction activity, yet the rate of construction project failures is unacceptably high. 2. Abstract Purpose investigation into the cause of construction projects failure in rural areas, the research has been working at Kwazulu Natal (KZN) Province. The is research going to look at poor management, poor planning, lack of proper skill and cost overspend which is a merger problem to all construction Industry special to developed and developing countries. The purpose of this research is to find the factors enforce cost overspending to the construction industry which is affect south Africa economy. Literature reviews- Survey, curried out challenges through interviews of 2 Local Municipalities in rural areas, projects managers, project planners and also look at the budget were allocated for projects in rural and also conducted interview to the relevant stakeholders, through different news paper, through internet so that can be able to access the opinions of other people and get some literature books, the information will reveal proper equipments that is good for rural condition and it will come out with solution regards project failure. Findings research will be assist the government and other stakeholders to achieve good production in rural development, Analysis of theory via literature review would be aimed at finding answers to the question regarding the essential elements of project failure in rural developments and interview would be recorded with the permission of the interviewees. Internet would be the preferred method of obtaining precedents. We as consultant employed by government to identify the problem and find the solution so that we can give advice to government we undertake the research up to the ends. Ever since the research is on process to reach all the goals regards project failure in KZN special in rural areas. Conclusion-The consultant that will undertake studies concerning the cause and factors that influence to project in rural areas, were reliable because has found from construction Industry. As a consultant I will do my best to keep client happy and respect all stakeholders and would resolve the issue, if government and other stakeholders improve the standard too and ensure that all the work that carry out by Municipalities at rural has to be done effectively and efficiently. 3. Introduction Background of the study Many challenges in construction industry throughout the country are presented by different Personalities, financial limitations, time and scheduling, technical barriers, development work faces issues that are unique to the developing country. These problems may be present in country but due to inherent characteristics of developing, these issues are exacerbated and pose even larger challenges in development work. Throughout the developing people suffer due inadequate or failing of infrastructure. Infrastructure which are houses, roads, school and bridges, is the physical foundation on which development efforts and improved living standard are established. The construction industry in developing countries states that the construction industry is an essential contributor to the process of development, influencing nearly every sector of the economy. Improving the capacity and capabilities of the construction industry in developing countries is a critical step to improving infrastructure development that is over looked. (Kraig Lothe). According Kraig Lothe; South Africa is developing country and there have big demand of infrastructure for the people of the country special those who stay in rural areas to improve lives and reduce homeless people. People are still suffering in rural areas due to the problem of project failure which cost government alot of money without a change that was a reason of such research Attempts have been made to identify critical factors that lead to project failure in the relevant collected works; however the causes of project failure in South Africa are not well known or documented especially the degree to which project consultants contribute to this failure. The construction projects, however, fail at a shocking rate international more than 50% by some estimates. The South Africa construction industry, which is generally considered to be dysfunctional, is no exception with many stakeholders in the construction process concluding, although not necessarily to the same degree, that project failure is rampant. A research will go to identify the causes of project failure especially in rural area. 4. Statement of the problem Infrastructure throughout the developing country consistently falls into disrepair. The project are not built to the same level of quality expected industry national and in many instances the local Municipalities in KZN do not have the capacity or desire to implements the project. This occurs because projects are initiated from the top, down, paying little attention to the needs and capacity of the local Municipalities. Difficulties that projects manages experience during the planning stage of a projects, need to look at insufficient propel skill in the construction industry that were used in rural projects. It is clear that this project lacked key elements in its design and implementation. A successful project is flexible and able to adapt to various contexts and still maintain Monitoring and evaluation of project progress through indicators is always necessary, especially in rural areas. In terms of implementation, project officers working on the ground, especially in extreme situa tions like current in KZN, should have some overseas experience and background information before arriving. Context where national institution cannot be relay on similarly, alternative methods of keeping track of finances needed to be developed in the context of a cash-only local economy. 5. The aim This study aims to examine the service delivery in rural areas, and to come up with a solution of finding a better way of project delivery in rural areas at KZN. 6. Objective of the study The objectives of study are to: ? Is to find the cause of project failure in rural areas ? Is to check the capacity of local Municipality to manage themselves their project. ? The need of proper skill in construction industry ? To emphases quality work in construction industry. 7. Research questions The study will be guided by the following research questions: ? What causing construction projects to fail in rural? ? Why local Municipality fail to rectify soon a problem of poor project delivery in rural? ? How could improve construction industry in rural areas? ? Which purposes does the research would achieve regards construction project in rural? 8. Research design As defined by the Construction Specifications institute (CSI), project delivery is the contractual relationships between the owner, designer, contractor(s), and the management services utilized to design and construct a project (CSI, 2005). Project delivery is the framework used to take a project from its initiation stage to completion. The most common delivery systems used today in the developed country are design-bid-build, design-build and construction management (Arditi et al., 2002). In the developing country, engineers have only recently been introduced to different project delivery systems. Before this, the contractors acted as master builders coordinating everything from start to finish. This master builder system leaves no gaps between participants and uses a simple contractual agreement. Unfortunately, the system can no longer be implemented effectively as modern construction has become too complex. There is a large separation of knowledge and responsibility between the design and construction phases. This causes major problems in both the design and construction. Designers do not have practical construction experience so local knowledge and construction techniques are not taken into account during the design, causing unreasonable expectations and inadequate specifications. The skill levels and knowledge of the contractors vary greatly. Designers also complain that they have to over compensate for the expected lack of skill in operations and maintenance (Davis and Brikke, 1995), but this is exactly what is needed to design for sustainability. According Arditi information that is a reality, system have to follow to all project in order to minimize the problems and because project includes many parties need to be involve and satisfied with process, the project manager have to play a big role to make all parties happy and project could be smooth. 9. Literature Survey Conducting an interviews with the different Municipalities and Transport in rural areas that are affected by the issue of project failure in construction industry. They are serious factors that are influencing construction project which are uncoordet building environment professionals, collection of data, poor user input, poor project design and leadership; design and construction problems; and inappropriate staff skills; unrealistic timescales and cost estimation; poor selection of building procurement methods; failure to plan and lack of pre-project planning, and researching information on people who were specialist in the construction industry namely: architect, quantity surveyor, project manager, and structural engineer that are play a leading role in the development team. 10. Methodology Interview conducted through emails and telephonically with two municipalities which is Jozini and Umvoti. Jozini is local Municipality in rural area which is in North Coast of Kwazulu Natal at 125km towards the bonder of Mozambique and 78km towards the bonder of Swaziland, that municipality is under UMkhanyakude district Municipality. Jozini municipality is on struggle to push service delivery at rural area. Interview conducted with the Technical director regarding challenges that led to construction project to fail explain the following issue: Housing project Municipality has been experiencing a lot of challenges to housing project that was allocated to Kwajobe Area under Jobe Traditional Authority, as a rural insitu upgrade, project has been finish on 2008 June but there were many defects that need to be attend such as , floor cracks, wall cracks, roof took off by storm. The beneficiaries were unhappy at all about houses that were built; therefore municipality got a challenge to rectify those houses because consultants who were project manager have overspending the cost. And he added that there is a current insitu upgrade housing project that allocated Emakhonyeni area is still in planning stage for 4yrs, consultant report many difficulties that might cause project fail. The Municipality which has influence over the Munyeni Traditional Council area has forwarded a request for the approval of 1000 rural subsidies, for this project. Due to the limited capacity of the Municipality, an Implementing Agent has been appointed to undertake the housing development. The submission for stage 1(beginning of the planning process) was approved by the MEC of Human Settlements on 02 March 2010, since then there is no progress and consultant declared to municipality that they fails to undertaking the project to other stage. According Jozini municipality they employed Implementing Agents that were not qualified to do work in order such big project because in the rural areas need advance equipment to reach even a place that are not easily to reach. There is a big challenge facing rural areas even also government tried to developed relevant skilled people in order to fight against the insufficient of unskillful people in rural. Road construction Jozini Municipality plan to networking of the road comprises a hierarchical network of roads, being Primary, District and Local roads. The Jozini Municipality aims to develop a road network that will service all its communities and people to ensure that they need not walk more than 5 km to reach a Primary road or District road. This objective is already realized for some areas in the municipality area the runs. The condition of gravel roads are deteriorating rapidly and maintenance there to appear to be inadequate and roads often become impossible in wet conditions. The maintenance of these roads are a dedicated responsibility of the Department of Transport. An assessment of the location of the proposed development nodes have indicated an adequate all weather access to each of these. The nodes are further located on bus routes, which enhances the development potential thereof. The development nodes identified are located on district roads. The challenges regarding roads construction era equipment that were not easily to found because its cost lot of money here and transport it, as the result company s were failed to keep it until project would be over. The Road is 17 km from Jozini village to Makhathini flats and supposed to take one and half year to constructed but seems as it will take 6 years, still there is lot of work to be done. Municipality has been changing contractors to do something. There is a road from uMbombo to Mbazwane that road connecting uMbombo hospital and Mseleni hospital minister of transport at KNZ had approved the project in 2009 August and the contractor has been employed since then there is no visible progress regarding the project. The maintenance of these roads is a dedicated responsibility of the Department of Transport. . Proposed Transport Facilities In order to enhance the public transport facilities, it is proposed that taxi/bus stops be introduced at current locations two types of facilities are foreseen, namely: Major taxi/bus facilities which will comprise formal paved areas with passenger waiting facilities, the last mentioned which will be roofed. This will normally be served by existing shops and post boxes. This facility can be enhanced by formalized institutional facilities in the form of clinics, tribal courts and pension payout points. Minor taxi/bus facilities which will be only mark stall facilities and passenger waiting facilities. Provincial Roads As indicated above, the provincial roads have merely been provided as guidance as this has no effects on the analysis. The majorities of the provincial roads, being specifically the P and D roads, are of reasonable standard and frequently maintained by the authorities. The L and A roads are generally of inferior quality and only portions thereof are maintained by the authorities, and not on a Regular basis. Municipal Roads The municipal roads have been identified as those roads which serve at least 10 households as Secondary roads and 20 households as primary roads, whilst the household access roads predominantly will serves individuals household. Arising from aforementioned, the cost to establish the household access roads appears to be fairly prohibitive and should be prioritized only after the municipal rural roads have been established and after a maintenance budget have been affected therefore. The condition of the rural roads was assessed during in loco inspections. The condition could be classified according to the following norms: Surfaced roads, being those that have been formally constructed and provided with an all weather surface. Gravel roads, being those that had formally been shaped and provided with a gravel surface. Dirt roads, being those that were merely formed through blading. Tracks, being those formed through use of only vehicles. The majority of the municipal roads in existence were classified as dirty roads, being those which had merely been bladed, with no formal gravel surface or storm water drainage. These however still provide access to homesteads. Operations and Maintenance The provision and maintenance of roads is a dedicated responsibility of the Department of Transport. The said Department has established Road Transportation Forums, which prioritize the provision thereof in terms of the needs expressed by the community. This includes the provision of river crossings and bridges. Umvoti Municipality is a Category B municipality and is one of the four local municipalities within Umzinyathi District.Greytown,the main centre is situated approximately 65km from Pietermaritzburg and 100km from Stanger, and includes the town of Kranskop (refer to Map 1). It is about 2509km in extent and its population is estimated between 92 419 people and 117 000 people who are spread unevenly among the eleven municipal wards. It is located on the southern part of UMzinyathi District, and borders onto uMgungundlovu District to the south, Mshwathi Local Municipality, and largely falls within the Pietermaritzburg functional economic region. The parts of the municipality that borders onto King Shaka District enjoy the influence of Stanger-KwaDukuza economic region. Umvoti Local Municipality is well integrated into the Provincial transportation network. Route 33 MAP 1: LOCALITY MAP Umvoti serves as a major link between Greytown and Dundee while R74 connects the urban centre of Greytown, Kranskop and is the largest of four Municipalities, in terms of area, in the UMzinyathi District. Umvoti local municipality has been challenged both housing and road although that municipality has advantage of big road passing through which is R74, but they challenged to the access road and bridges that connect communities. According municipal official those access road have been identified and also bridges were approved because of the different challenges since then no bridges been constructed. Housing project have a big problem because Umvoti municipality surrounded by privates property that is not easy to develop, like one project is called Muden housing project that was given CHS developments as Implementing Agent. Muden housing project has been takes more five years still in the planning stage1. The cause of the matter is property that owners not by ingonyama trust as policy state that rural project was awarded only people who live under ingonyama trust land or property. CHS Developments still waiting approval for a proposal to use a property as Implementing Agent . Consultants Interview conducted with some of project managers regarding project failure in rural areas which is a big problem that affects people who are living at rural. There number of issue mention which is a policy, shortage of equipments, skill challenge, material, political leadership. 1. Policy that government had been set as guide lines of how to implements a project, sometime makes things to be more difficult end up cause many problems, eg a stage1 application its take time to approve and it s process usually been very slow than expected. 2. The shortage of equipments mentioned as a major problem in construction actually is not a rural areas problem only even at urban areas is a common problem but that s worse in rural areas. The project has been stack if is difficult to find relevant equipment. 3. The construction industry has a big challenge in term of people who have skill because most of them got relevant qualification with very poorer performance in practical work, as the results project fail to met the construction standard will end up fails. 4. The most problem in rural areas is material that s not easy to find it due the smaller stock in hardwires shop, even if you please order will takes long time to receive it, that one cause lot of delays end up whole project fail. 5. Political leadership sometimes cause lot of confusion in the project when they made unnecessary decision without observing the policy that should follow to runs a project. What causing construction projects to fail in rural? The budget that allocated for the projects in rural might be not enough amounts to compared with work to be done. The Consultants spend long time to prepare the projects and to implementation of it, material require according to the specifications is not easily to find at rural areas, equipment to be use are not found because due to the area condition need the advance machine so to be able to reach even the steep slope and unaccesseble sites. The main challenge projects were failing to reach the quality standard of construction industry. Many challenges in construction projects throughout the country are presented by different personalities, financial limitations, time and scheduling, technical barriers, and various surprises of difficulties. Development work faces issues that are unique to the developing country. These problems may be present in industrialized national but due to inherent characteristics of developing country, these issues are exacerbated and pose even larger challenges in development work. The municipality employed unqualified consultant as the results there is no progress. Cost/ benefits Travelling expenses in conducting the interviews to the different of Municipality and Department of Public Work Transport at rural areas, I have been get newspaper articles and using internet cafes to get more information and even makes number of calls. Impact 5. Advantages and Disadvantages Rural area have still challenged with A problem with the apolitical approach is that it is not apolitical. In addition to including an academic perspective to appreciate context, it is also important to include political perspectives to avoid unintentionally or indirectly causing harm in a situation. Any astute observer may wonder, if development projects without Multidisciplinary collaborations, as they are most often designed and implemented, have not produced positive results then are it possible that the good intentions have produced negative results? There are countless ways in which external interventions can thwart the internal development of a community or a nation and in some cases, fuel violence and corruption and contribute to the degradation of existing structures and systems. Why local Municipality fail to rectify a problem of poor delivery in rural? Projects also fail because they do not meet user requirements and are full of assumptions that give rise to conflict. Architect sometime get their briefs from people who are not regular users of the building or do not know the specific requirements of the building. Informed end users must give meaningful input during every phase of the briefing, design and construction. Some of projects are finally cancelled simply because people did not like each other. Others fail because the design team did not know or did not bother to find out who the real stakeholders are or whether they were going to support it. Parties also tend to rigidly defend their positions. 7. Model processing The rural project process in different system unlike unban project is severely fragmented and there appears to several barriers to development, particularly that of parties tending to rigidly defend their own turfs. The property development requires a combination of specialist, traditionally organized into a district occupation groups. According to Hindle (1996), the differences among the specialist consultants involved in a project are emphasized with the results that major discontinuities are created by the focus on function rather than process. For project success these professionals should not act in isolation but a well defined and closely knit network. 8. Model Output The outcome of the construction project in the context of its relevant solution system. The planners and designers of a construction project team, irrespective of the number of members, contribute the cognitive complexity mentioned, inadequate management knowledge and systems. One needs to identify the root causes of systems failures and to select and implement effective measures .Needs to adopt the basic principle of systems thinking can increase the prospects of project success. Definition of terms For the purpose of this study the following definitions apply Projects in rural areas Construction Construction is a risk-driven, multi-dimensional process; it is a series of interdependent steps, each requiring specific technical knowledge and participants working together. In the developing country, construction employs techniques, materials and expertise that make perfect use of available resources and expertise, while others compromise the integrity of the final product. Material delays, misunderstandings, and discrepancies in design are a few common problems that prevent projects from being completed successfully, on time. Every party in the project must work together in a coordinated effort because tasks are interdependent. If one person fails, so may the entire project. The following are some of the most common problems encountered during the construction, sometime Municipality facing a difficulties to find a good project manager as the results project fails to manage propel. The rural projects include many parties such as community, traditional leadership work together with Municipality and other stockholders, usually the common project in rural such as housing, schools roads working. Material Procurement Material procurement in developing countries require significant pre-planning due to road conditions, scarcity of transportation, and inconsistency of suppliers. Many sites are remote and are accessed by small 4-wheel drive vehicles, horse, and in some cases only by foot. Roads are also often washed out and thus prevent any vehicles from passing. For example, gravel, sand and aggregate are taken from local river beds. Often rivers swell, access to the river beds becomes impossible, and aggregate cannot be obtained. Local materials should be ordered early to prevent delays Project in Urban areas In many countries administration was the capital city and all development was focused on the capital city with infrastructure such as transport (road, rail, and air) concentrated around the capitals. The urban areas are the centre for economic growth and offer employment opportunities not found in the rural areas. Worldwide there is a drift towards the urban areas creating strains on the infrastructures and administration of these areas. At some time the rural areas are usually poorly serviced and sup-ported. (Peter Utting) According Proff. Peter Utting is agreed that many countries included South Africa did what others do. Focus is in big towns such as Johannesburg, Durban, Middleburg and Cape Town whereas the rural areas are in need of infrastructure. Structure of the report The project deals with the investigate the cause leads construction project fail in rural areas. The whole structure of the report have set as follows: Introduction/background, statement of the problem, the aim, objective of the study, research question, research design, literature survey, methodology, definition of terms, and conclusion. Construction Management The construction management project delivery system introduces professional management throughout the project acting as an agent of the owner. Owner has separate contracts with the contractor, designer, and construction manager. The role of construction manager as an agent of the owner does not bear any financial risk. The construction manager works closely with the designer and contractor during the design and construction phases in the best interest of the owner. The construction management entity has expertise in construction and allows the owner to execute complex projects which require extensive coordination between project participants The construction manager s expertise and involvement improves efficiency of even the most complex projects by minimizing rework, change orders, and cost overruns. The construction manager advises the owner in the design and construction stage allowing the owner have influence throughout the project. This involvement facilitates constructability, Integrating construction knowledge during the design phase. The construction manager oversees Design implementation during construction, often diminishing the designer s role in construction, but the involvement of the designer in construction differs in each project. In expensive, complex projects the extra cost of hiring a construction manager is offset by avoiding general contracting fees, savings in cost management, and the reduction of cost overruns. There is no delivery approach that is best in every situation. These three systems are the basic frameworks used in most projects. From each of these frameworks many variations and hybrids have evolved and been implemented. Projects may be adapted in any way that may aid in the project delivery and utilize the strengths of all project participants. The best project delivery system will address each of the project s unique needs and characteristics. Conclusion In conclusion this study identifies the needs of infrastructure and determines the challenges that municipalities are facing when are searching for information. Construction managers provide valuable construction expertise during design in the construction management delivery system. Acting in this role, development agencies need to involve construction personnel in design. Development agencies can either staff a contractor or hire contractors during the design to gain construction knowledge early. As involving potential contractors in the detailed design phase also provides continuity of construction personnel between the design and construction. If the contractor is involved early he can express his needs and learn those of the other participants. Through partnering, the parties can understand each other s needs and common goals can be created. However, the owner s goal of a cost-effective project may conflict with the contractor s profit motive. Incorporating these changes into typical project delivery is a viable way to address constructability issues in Honduras. The changes are small and affordable, effectively improving sustainability. Based on the research outlined in this report, shows a proposed delivery system for development work aimed to maximize community participation and involve a contractor in the design. While we have not tried to argue that multidisciplinary collaborations are the key to radically changing the development in rural, the cases presented do demonstrate that the lack of multidisciplinary collaborations does have a negative impact and does contribute to the failure of many development projects in rural area. More specifically, we have found that without consulting people, information and/or other resources from other sectors: I. Planners fail to fully understand the complexity of contexts; II. Planners gravitate towards grandiose, general, sectarian and superficial solutions rather than holistic and strategic ones; III. Planners, in their developme

discovering individuality Essay -- essays research papers

A journey is something that must be done in everyone‘s life. The journey starts when the person is born and ends when they die. People are all searching for their own things. Some search for things like: money, power, fame, knowledge, peace, understanding, and a sense of who they are. Some people do just for the thrill of adventure. Siddhartha wants to find his individual place in society through personal experience and follow no one else’s ideas but his own. Siddhartha’s journey takes him through different worlds which are represented geographically through the three different parts of the story. In the first part of the book he travels through the world of the spirit and intellect during his time with the Brahmins, Samanas, and the meeting with the Buddha. He journeys through the land with his friend Govinda in search of peace through the intellect. He learns all about a religion and after experiencing all that it has to offer; feels unsatisfied and moves on to find something new in hopes of finding peace. His meeting with the Buddha is where he truly begins to find his way. When he was listening to the Buddha he realized, "...you have reached the highest goal which so many thousands of Brahmins and Brahmins’ sons are striving to reach. You have done so by your own seeking, in your own way, through thought, through meditation, through knowledge, through enlightenment. You have learned nothing through teachings, and so I think, O Illustrious One, that nobody finds salvation through teachings." (Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse 33-34). Siddhartha realizes that the Buddha found enlightenment in his own way, and so Siddhartha realizes that he too must find his own way to true peace. After departing from Govinda and the Buddha he crosses the river, which is the symbolic separator between the world of the intellect and the world of the physical, to see what a life in the city has to offer him. While there Siddhartha thoroughly indulges himself in all that the city has to offer. He becomes fat and wealthy and enjoys his time in the company of Kamala. Over the course of the twenty years he spent there he came to realize that the life of the senses brought him no closer to the peace that he had been seeking. Hesse shows that it is time for Siddhartha to move on through one of his favorite stylistic techniques, the dream (Understanding Hermann Hesse 102). After... ...nd Siddhartha ends up getting another teacher in spite of the fact that he promised himself that he would not have anymore teachers since the Buddha’s teachings had not attracted him. Part of what made Siddhartha such a good book was the fact that it was taken from personal experiences that Hermann Hesse had experienced, and his personal set of beliefs. Hesse went through a phase where he doubted the belief in religion in general and he follows no set code of religious beliefs. Hesse found a Christ in everyone and, is Siddhartha, he finds a Buddha in everyone (Understanding Hermann Hesse 101). He used this part of his life to write the first part of Siddhartha. However, the second part proved to be quite a bit more challenging than the first. Hesse took time off from writing Siddhartha and began to study Lao Tse which was described as "the liberating experience that permitted him to finish the book" (102). For the second part he wrote about his experiences in the world around him. He described things that he had witnessed and experienced while living in the big city. Both of those parts came to him easily because they were things he had seen and experien ced for himself.

Two Types of Computer Software

COMPUTER SOFTWARE INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE Computer software or just call as software is about any set of machine –readable instruction that directs a computer precessorto perform spesific operations. One common way of dicribing hardware and software is to say that software can be thought of as the varible part of a computer and hardware as the invariable part. Hardware and software require each other neither has any value without the other. Software is a genaral term. It can refer to all computer instuction in general or to any specific set of computer instuctions.It is conclusive of both machine instruction that call the binary code that more human understand and source code that more human undestandable instructions that must be rendered into machine code by compiless or interoreters before being executed. On most computer plattforms software can be grouped into two broad categories. It is system software is the basic software needed for a computer to operate. The application software is all the software that uses the computer system to perform useful work beyond the operation of the computer itself.Software refer to one or more computer and data held in storage of the computer. In the other words, software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithm and its documentation concerned with the operation of the fuction of program it implemens either by directly providing instruction to the digitals electronics or by serving as input to the another piece of software. The term was coined to contrast to the term hadware. In the contrast hardware , software ‘ cannot be touched. Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense meaning application software only.Sometimes the terms includes data that has not traditionally being associated with computers, such as film, types and record . These are system software or operating system referred simply as the OS, application software and programming languages. Usually most of us interact with a c omputer using application software. * TYPES OF SOFTWARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE Application system includes a variety of programs that can be subidivided into ganeral-purpose and function-specific application categories. A normal user rarely gets to see the operating system or to work with it.But all of us are familiar with application software which we must use to interact with a computer. Application softwares are used to improve our work ability. Different application softwares and system softwares are used in daily life. Some are productivity software, content software, assessment software, online software, drill and practice software, problem solving software, tutorials, multimedia softwares, stimulation, games, group ware, share ware, spy ware, free ware etc . Some softwares are used to produce and create documents and different presentations. In the application software have four type. It is general purpose, custom software, commercial off-the –shelf(COST) and open source -software. Genaral-purpose application programs are programs that perform common information processing jobs for end user. For example word processing, spreadsheet, database management, and graphics prgrams are popular with microcomputer user for home,education,business, scientific and many other purpose. Because they significantly increase the productivity of end user , they are sometimes known a productivity packages.Other examples include web browsers, e-mail, and group ware, which help support communication among workgroups and teams. Costum software is an additional common way of classifying software is based on how the software was the developed. It is the term used to identity software application that are developed within an organization for used to identify software applicationthat are developed within an organization for use by that organization. In other words, the organization that writes the program code is also the organization that use the final software organization. Software that is developed for a specific user or organization is custom software. Since it is built for a specific user, its specifications and features are in accordance with the user's needs. Commercial off-the –shelf(COST). It is developed with the intention of selling the softwarein multiple copies and usually for a profit. In this case, the organization that writes the software is not the intended target audience for its use. Several characteristics are important when describing COST software.As opposed to custom software, off-the-shelf software is standard software bought off the shelf. It has predefined specifications that may or may not cater to any specific user's requirements. When you buy it, you agree to its license agreement. First as stated in our definition, COST software products are sold in many copies with minimal changes beyond scheduled upgrade release. Purchaser of COST software generally not control over the specification,schedule, evolution, or access to either the source code or internal documentation.A COST product is sold, leased, or licennsed to the genaral public, but in virtually all cases, the vendor of the product retains the intellectual prperty rights of the software. Costum software, in contrast,is gerally owned by the organization that developed it, and the specifications, functionality, and awnershipof the final product are controlled or retained by the developing organization. Open- source software is the newest innovation in software development. In this approach, developers collaborate on the development of an application usingprogramming standards that allow for everyone to contribute to the software.Futhermore , as each developer completes his or her project, the code for the application becomes the available and free to anyone else who wishes to use it. Open source software is available in its source code form and the rights to change, improve and sometimes distribute its code are given under a software license . Software developed by an individual or an organization, where the source code is closed from public (not available openly) is referred to as closed source software. SYSTEM SOFTWARE System software consist of program that manage and support a computer system and its information processing activities.For example. Operating systemand network management programs serve as a vital software interface between computer networks and hardware and the application programs of the ends users. System software is the backbone of any computer. It consists of all the files and programs that work to make your computer operate as a computer. System software is automatically provided when you purchase a computer on the high street, and is installed along with the operating system. Providers of system software include Windows and Apple Mac.These offer regular updates which can be installed for free as they become available. Examples of system software include assemblers, system utilities, tools and deb uggers. We can group system software into two major categories. System management programs. Program that manage the hardware, software network,and data resources of computer system during the execution of the various information processing jobs of users, example of important system management programs are operating systems,network managemant programs, database management systems and system utilities.System development programs. It is program that help user develop information system program and procedur and prepare user programs for computer processing. Major software development programs are programming langguage translators and aditors ,and variety of CASE and other programming tools. PICTURE OF TYPE OF SOFWARE REFFERENCE O’Brien, J. A. ,Marakas, G. A(2011). Management information system. American : new york: McGraw Hill. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ferrero Rocher Essay

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided byn For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. About Emerald www. emeraldinsight. com With over forty years’ experience, Emerald Group Service managers are challenged to effectively shape work environments so that customer-contact employees willingly deliver outstanding customer service. Retail and service firms attempt to â€Å"control† customer-contact employees by monitoring and rewarding input processes, job processes, and by shaping the desired outcomes (Babin and Boles, 1996; Lusch and Jaworski, 1991; Jaworski, 1988). The amount and types of training received by a customercontact employee represent input controls. Process controls include managers’ everyday prioritization, or commitment to excellent service quality. Output controls generally include attempts at shaping behavior through extrinsic rewards, including pay, and by producing a more empathetic work environment. The research described in this paper explores the mechanisms shaping service employee performance. First, the relative effectiveness that different control processes have in shaping quality service performance is examined. In doing so, two key prosocial employee behaviors represent performance: role-prescribed and extra-role performance (Brief and Motowildo, 1986; Organ, 1988; Katz and Kahn, 1978). Role-prescribed behavior refers to normal activities associated with fulfilling customer requests and handling service failures. Extra-role performance refers to unprompted or unsolicited acts performed over and above the normal procedures called for to create customer The research register for this journal is available at http://www. emeraldinsight. com/researchregisters Abstract Which type of managerial control makes bank contact employees more likely to perform so called prosocial behavior toward their customers (i. e. ehaviors which contribute to the bank’s positive image, perceived good service and customers’ satisfaction)? Four types of formal controls are considered here: training, behavioral control, pay administration and managerial orientation. An empirical study performed in six branches of a charter bank shows that pay management has the strongest effect on service employee prosocial behavior. Training also affects prosocial behavior significantly, but not a s strongly as does perceived pay fairness. In addition it is shown that pay is the primary contributor to these employees’ perceived workplace fairness. satisfaction. Second, the mechanism by which these control processes affect these behaviors is explored. Specifically, the roles played by customer-contact employees’ perceptions of training, specific process controls and their pay are explored in relation to their perceptions of workplace equity and their eventual role-prescribed and extra-role behaviors. The results contribute by providing insight into the relative effectiveness of various controls in shaping desirable employee attitudes and behaviors. For instance, the efficacy of control through pay management is examined relative to more eloquent control approaches.

The eNotes Blog Neil Gaiman to Write New SandmanSeries

Neil Gaiman to Write New SandmanSeries In the first piece of exciting literary news to come out of Comic-Con today, Neil Gaiman has announced that for the first time in ten years he will return to write a new release of his acclaimed graphic novel series The Sandman. In Gaimans video announcement above, aired before a stunned crowd at Vertigos Comic-Con panel last night, the author explains his impetus for returning to the series after so long. He says that, dating all the way back to The Sandmans first issue, there was always an untold story waiting to be filled in: When I finished writing The Sandman, there was one tale still untold. The story of what had happened to Morpheus to allow him to be so easily captured in The Sandman #1, and why he was returned from far away, exhausted beyond imagining, and dressed for war. It was a story that we discussed telling for Sandmans 20th anniversary but the time got away from us. The Sandman  was first published in November 1988, which marks 2013 as the series 25th anniversary. Gaiman notes that this fact makes next year seem a particularly good year to tell this story.  Much to Gaimans fans excitement, the tale will finally have its telling. In its 25 year lifetime,  The Sandman has grown to become one of the most popular comic book series of all time, topping the New York Times bestseller list more than once (one of only three graphic novels to ever do so). This time around, artist JH Williams will provide the storys artwork, a sneak peek of which is shown above. The mini-series title is as yet unannounced. Print and digital copies will be published on the same day by Vertigo sometime late next year.

Abba Kovner and Resistance in the Vilna Ghetto

Abba Kovner and Resistance in the Vilna Ghetto In the Vilna Ghetto and in the Rudninkai Forest (both in Lithuania), Abba Kovner, only 25 years old, led resistance fighters against the murderous Nazi enemy during the  Holocaust. Who Was Abba Kovner? Abba Kovner was born in 1918 in Sevastopol, Russia, but later moved to Vilna (now in Lithuania), where he attended a Hebrew secondary school. During these early years, Kovner became an active member in the Zionist youth movement, Ha-Shomer ha-Tsair. In September 1939, World War II began. Only two weeks later, on September 19, the Red Army entered Vilna and soon incorporated it into the Soviet Union. Kovner became active during this time, 1940 to 1941, with the underground. But life changed drastically for Kovner once the Germans invaded. The Germans Invade Vilna On June 24, 1941, two days after Germany launched its surprise attack against the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), the Germans occupied Vilna. As the Germans were sweeping east toward Moscow, they instigated their ruthless oppression and murderous Aktionen in the communities they occupied. Vilna, with a Jewish population of approximately 55,000, was known as the Jerusalem of Lithuania for its flourishing Jewish culture and history. The Nazis soon changed that. As Kovner and 16 other members of the Ha-Shomer ha-Tsair hid in a convent of Dominican nuns a few miles outside of Vilna, the Nazis began to rid Vilna of its Jewish problem. The Killing Begins at Ponary Less than a month after the Germans occupied Vilna, they conducted their first Aktionen. Einsatzkommando 9 rounded up 5,000 Jewish men of Vilna and took them to Ponary (a location approximately six miles from Vilna that had pre-dug large pits, which the Nazis used as a mass extermination area for Jews from the Vilna area). The Nazis made the pretense that the men were to be sent to labor camps when they were really sent to Ponary and shot. The next major Aktion took place from August 31 to September 3. This Aktion was in pretense a retaliation for an attack against the Germans. Kovner, watching through a window, saw a woman dragged by the hair by two soldiers, a woman who was holding something in her arms. One of them directed a beam of light into her face, the other one dragged her by her hair and threw her on the pavement. Then the infant fell out of her arms. One of the two, the one with the flashlight, I believe, took the infant, raised him into the air, grabbed him by the leg. The woman crawled on the earth, took hold of his boot and pleaded for mercy. But the soldier took the boy and hit him with his head against the wall, once, twice, smashed him against the wall.1 Such scenes occurred frequently during this four-day Aktion - ending with 8,000 men and women taken to Ponary and shot. Life did not get better for the Jews of Vilna. From September 3 to 5, immediately following the last Aktion, the remaining Jews were forced into a small area of the city and fenced in. Kovner remembers, And when the troops herded the whole suffering, tortured, weeping mass of people into the narrow streets of the ghetto, into those seven narrow stinking streets, and locked the walls that had been built, behind them, everyone suddenly sighed with relief. They left behind them days of fear and horror; and ahead of them were deprivation, hunger and suffering - but now they felt more secure, less afraid. Almost no one believed that it would be possible to kill off all of them, all those thousands and tens of thousands, the Jews of Vilna, Kovno, Bialystok, and Warsaw - the millions, with their women and children.2 Though they had experienced terror and destruction, the Jews of Vilna were still not ready to believe the truth about Ponary. Even when a survivor of Ponary, a woman named Sonia, came back to Vilna and told of her experiences, no one wanted to believe. Well, a few did. And these few decided to resist. The Call to Resist In December 1941, there were several meetings between the activists in the ghetto. Once the activists had decided to resist, they needed to decide, and agree, on the best way to resist. One of the most urgent problems was whether they should stay in the ghetto, go to Bialystok or Warsaw (some thought there would be a better chance at successful resistance in these ghettos), or move to the forests. Coming to an agreement on this issue was not easy. Kovner, known by his nom de guerre of Uri, offered some of the main arguments for staying in Vilna and fighting. In the end, most decided to stay, but a few decided to leave. These activists wanted to instil a passion for fighting within the ghetto. To do this, the activists wanted to have a mass meeting with many different youth groups in attendance. But the Nazis were always watching, especially noticeable would be a large group. So, in order to disguise their mass meeting, they arranged it on December 31, New Years Eve, a day of many, many social gatherings. Kovner was responsible for writing a call to revolt. In front of the 150 attendees gathered together at 2 Straszuna Street in a public soup kitchen, Kovner read aloud: Jewish youth!Do not trust those who are trying to deceive you. Out of the eighty thousand Jews in the Jerusalem of Lithuania only twenty thousand are left. . . . Ponar [Ponary] is not a concentration camp. They have all been shot there. Hitler plans to destroy all the Jews of Europe, and the Jews of Lithuania have been chosen as the first in line.We will not be led like sheep to the slaughter!True, we are weak and defenseless, but the only reply to the murderer is revolt!Brothers! Better to fall as free fighters than to live by the mercy of the murderers.Arise! Arise with your last breath!3 At first, there was silence. Then the group broke out in spirited song.4 The Creation of the F.P.O. Now that the youth in the ghetto were enthused, the next problem was how to organize the resistance. A meeting was scheduled for three weeks later, January 21, 1942. At the home of Joseph Glazman, representatives from the major youth groups met together: Abba Kovner of Ha-Shomer ha-ZairJoseph Glazman of BetarYitzhak Wittenberg of the CommunistsChyena Borowska of the CommunistsNissan Reznik of Ha-Noar ha-Ziyyoni At this meeting something important happened - these groups agreed to work together. In other ghettos, this was a major stumbling block for many would-be resisters. Yitzhak Arad, in Ghetto in Flames, attributes the parleys by Kovner to the ability to hold a meeting with representatives of the four youth movements.5 It was at this meeting that these representatives decided to form a united fighting group called the Fareinikte Partisaner Organizatzie - F.P.O. (United Partisans Organization). The organization was formed to unite all the groups in the ghetto, prepare for mass armed resistance, perform acts of sabotage, fight with partisans, and try to get other ghettos to also fight. It was agreed at this meeting that the F.P.O. would be lead by a staff command made up of Kovner, Glazman, and Wittenberg with the chief commander being Wittenberg. Later, two more members were added to staff command - Abraham Chwojnik of the Bund and Nissan Reznik of the Ha-Noar ha-Ziyyoni - expanding the leadership to five. Now that they were organized it was time to prepare for the fight. The Preparation Having the idea to fight is one thing, but being prepared to fight is quite another. Shovels and hammers are no match to machine guns. Weapons needed to be found. Weapons were an extremely hard item to attain in the ghetto. Even harder to acquire was ammunition. There were two main sources from which the ghetto inhabitants could obtain guns and ammunition - partisans and the Germans. Neither wanted the Jews to be armed. Slowly collecting by buying or stealing, risking their lives every day for carrying or hiding, the members of the F.P.O. were able to collect a small stash of weapons. They were hidden all over the ghetto - in walls, underground, even under a false bottom of a water bucket. The resistance fighters were preparing to fight during the final liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto. No one knew when that was going to happen - it could be days, weeks, perhaps even months. So every day, the members of the F.P.O. practiced. One knock on a door - then two - then another single knock. That was the F.P.O.s secret password.6  They would take out the hidden weapons and learn how to hold it, how to shoot it, and how not to waste the precious ammunition. Everyone was to fight - no one was to head for the forest until all was lost. Preparation was ongoing. The ghetto had been peaceful - no Aktionen  since December 1941. But then, in July 1943, disaster struck the F.P.O. Resistance! At a meeting with the head of Vilnas Jewish council, Jacob Gens, on the night of July 15, 1943, Wittenberg was arrested. As he was taken out of the meeting, other F.P.O. members were alerted, attacked the policemen, and freed Wittenberg. Wittenberg then went into hiding. By the next morning, it was announced that if Wittenberg were not apprehended, the Germans would liquidate the entire ghetto - consisting of approximately 20,000 people. The ghetto residents were angry and began attacking F.P.O. members with stones. Wittenberg, knowing he was going to sure torture and death, turned himself in. Before he left, he appointed Kovner  as his successor. A month and a half later, the Germans decided to liquidate the ghetto. The F.P.O. tried to persuade the ghetto residents not to go for the deportation because they were being sent to their deaths. Jews! Defend yourselves with arms! The German and Lithuanian hangmen have arrived at the gates of the ghetto. They have come to murder us! . . . But we shall not go! We shall not stretch our necks like sheep for the slaughter! Jews! Defend yourself with arms!7 But the ghetto residents did not believe this, they believed they were being sent to work camps - and in this case, they were right. Most of these transports were being sent to labor camps in Estonia. On September 1, the first clash broke out between the F.P.O. and the Germans. As the F.P.O. fighters shot at the Germans, the Germans blew up their buildings. The Germans retreated at nightfall and let the Jewish police round up the remaining ghetto residents for the transports, at the insistence of Gens. The F.P.O. came to the realization that they would be alone in this fight. The ghetto population was not willing to rise up; instead, they were willing to try their chances at a labor camp rather than certain death in revolt. Thus, the F.P.O. decided to escape to the forests and become partisans. The Forest Since the Germans had the ghetto surrounded, the only way out was through the sewers. Once in the forests, the fighters created a partisan division and performed many acts of sabotage. They destroyed the power and water infrastructures, freed groups of prisoners from the Kalais labor camp, and even blew up some German military trains. I remember the first time I blew up a train. I went out with a small group, with Rachel Markevitch as our guest. It was New Years Eve; we were bringing the Germans a festival gift. The train appeared on the raised railway; a line of large, heavy-laden trucks rolled on toward Vilna. My heart suddenly stopped beating for joy and fear. I pulled the string with all my strength, and in that moment, before the thunder of the explosion echoed through the air, and twenty-one trucks full of troops hurtled down into the abyss, I heard Rachel cry: For Ponar! [Ponary]8 The End of the War Kovner survived to the end of the war. Though he had been instrumental in establishing a resistance group in Vilna and led a partisan group in the forests, Kovner did not stop his activities at the wars end. Kovner was one of the founders of the underground organization to smuggle Jews out of Europe called Beriha. Kovner was caught by the British near the end of 1945 and was jailed for a short time. Upon his release, he joined Kibbutz Ein ha-Horesh in Israel, with his wife, Vitka Kempner, who had also been a fighter in the F.P.O. Kovner kept his fighting spirit and was active in Israels War for Independence. After his fighting days, Kovner wrote two volumes of poetry for which he won the 1970 Israel Prize in Literature. Kovner died at age 69 in September 1987. Notes 1. Abba Kovner as quoted in Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985) 192.2. Abba Kovner, The Mission of the Survivors, The Catastrophe of European Jewry, Ed. Yisrael Gutman (New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1977) 675.3. Proclamation of the F.P.O as quoted in Michael Berenbaum, Witness to the Holocaust (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1997) 154.4. Abba Kovner, A First Attempt to Tell, The Holocaust as Historical Experience: Essays and a Discussion, Ed. Yehuda Bauer (New York: Holmes Meier Publishers, Inc., 1981) 81-82.5. Yitzhak Arad, Ghetto in Flames: The Struggle and Destruction of the Jews in Vilna in the Holocaust (Jerusalem: Ahva Cooperative Printing Press, 1980) 236.6. Kovner, First Attempt 84.7. F.P.O. Manifesto as quoted in Arad, Ghetto 411-412.8. Kovner, First Attempt 90. Bibliography Arad, Yitzhak. Ghetto in Flames: The Struggle and Destruction of the Jews in Vilna in the Holocaust. Jerusalem: Ahva Cooperative Printing Press, 1980. Berenbaum, Michael, ed. Witness to the Holocaust. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1997. Gilbert, Martin. The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985. Gutman, Israel, ed. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. New York: Macmillan Library Reference U.S.A., 1990. Kovner, Abba. A First Attempt to Tell. The Holocaust as Historical Experience: Essays and a Discussion. Ed. Yehuda Bauer. New York: Holmes Meier Publishers, Inc., 1981. Kovner, Abba. The Mission of the Survivors. The Catastrophe of European Jewry. Ed. Yisrael Gutman. New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1977.