Freedom and Equality

Although freedom and equality are values that American’s hold dear to their hearts, they are difficult to enforce to an entire nation from the perspective of the US government. Freedom was easier breaking from the colonial days to a new constitutional government, one reason was because there was less people to govern, and secondly because only first class citizens (white male) had any true freedom to do whatever they we interested in. This was the case because all men were not created equal in the eyes of the wealthy white make, obviously I am generalizing, women and African Americans had a very difficult time even asking for the right to vote in the so-called free country. This being said true equality has never been mastered by the US Government, or any other governing body for that matter. The US today is still torn over the right to marry whomever you chose. This should be a no brainer in a country that prides itself on values of freedom and equality. Throughout the history of the United States government, I believe that equality has taken strides to encompass more and more people. I believe that equality is progress, and in this case it is progressing much further than freedom has. Most recently in this last decade or so since 9/11, freedoms have been stripped from civilians in order to promote safety. Under amendments such as the Patriot Act, the Executive branch has taken certain privacy freedoms from the citizens, informing us that the reason is to protect the Land of the Free. Quite a double standard when it comes to freedom and a governing body. If the citizens were to have every freedom that they so chose, without moral consideration, than laws would not be abided and the local or National governments would not have the freedom to enforce such laws that keep society running smoothly.

Walgreens Analysis

Walgreens Strategy Analysis Retailing: MKTG 3740 B April 7, 2013 I. History and Mission Statement Walgreens has grown from a small, neighborhood-oriented drug store to a trusted, national pharmacy. Founded in 1901 by Charles R. Walgreen, the company bloomed from a commitment made to perseverance. Walgreen came from Dixon, Illinois at the age of sixteen, working an unpleasant job at a drug store after he lost a portion of a finger that left him incapable of continuing a career in athletics.He left with an ambition of entrepreneurship as the flourishing city of Chicago welcomed him with the booming pharmacy business. Devoted to his goal, Walgreen worked his way through gaining experience and financial stability within the growing industry. His work experience through jobs with different pharmacies allowed Walgreen to analyze the strengths and weaknesses in their business operations. Focusing on the gaps in service and the needs by customers that were not being met, Walgreen had an oppo rtunity to capitalize on the industry’s shortcomings by opening his own pharmacy.After earning enough money to put a down payment on a loan for the store that he was working in at the time from Isaac Blood, Walgreen finally owned a store in a great location just south side of Chicago in a prosperous area. He renovated the space, employed a colleague, broadened the selection of products offered, and priced at a fair rate to improve efficiency. One of the differentiating strategies that Walgreen implemented was through utilizing his development of the â€Å"two-minute† drill.This service allowed a local customer to call Walgreen’s store, request an item, and have it delivered by one of Walgreen’s handymen within two minutes of the customer calling. The good reputation of his service spread quickly among the community. The next chapter in Walgreens store innovation and competitive edge was his idea to sell hot food items during the winter, cooked by his wife , Myrtle Walgreen. The trend of that time for many businesses was to have a soda fountain that served cold drinks and milkshakes, which Walgreen also served during the hot summer months.His approach to customer service carried through to winter months with the hot food serving, while his competitors failed to keep up with what would eventually become an essential part of drug store business. Walgreen’s store was growing at a strong pace. By 1929, he had 525 operating stores, 633 in 1975, and hit one thousand open stores in 1984. Today, Walgreens opens around 425 new stores, on average, each year. Through the company’s mission statement, Walgreens strives to be the most trusted and innovative pharmacy with health and wellness solutions and serve consumers across the U.S. Walgreen set out to help people get well and stay well. With constant innovations in technology and customer satisfaction, the company is expected to continue to soar. II. Key events that shaped the com pany Over the past century, there have been economic conditions, changes in demographics, technological advancements, and competitive pressures that Walgreens has had to face and overcome. The first major event that shaped the company was the featuring of the soda fountain in the store in 1909, which lead to the introduction of the malted milkshake that became an American icon.Although a minor triumph at the time, the milkshake attributed to the growth of the company overall. The next event to affect the company hit hard. The Great Depression was a difficult time for most businesses and many were dying out and closing. Walgreens, though vulnerable itself, was able to push through this time by implementing the value of marketing. Through smart advertising and innovations in customer service, Walgreens not only survived the depression but also was able to help by employing workers and added to its testament of always being able to adapt to the changing times.After the death of Charles Walgreen in 1939, his son took over the president position in the company. Fast-forwarding to the next significant even in 1950, when Walgreens opened its first small, self-service store. This event is representative of the innovation and move toward the future that Walgreens will continue to see. A jump to 1975 is a marker of importance as the company reached $1 billion in net sales. In 1999, Walgreens. com opened, offering a convenient shopping experience for its customers online.Today, them most influential growth strategy Walgreens has implemented is the partnership with Alliance Boots to form the world’s first pharmacy-led enterprise. The two brands coming together will position Walgreens for growth in the long-term by transforming Walgreens drug stores into a community, daily living destination while expanding across new avenues of markets and reinventing cost structures. III. Key Financial Data The financial highlights from the income statement of Walgreens Co. n 2012 include a net sales figure of $71,633 million; a decrease of 0. 8% from the previous year. Net sales combined with a cost of sales of $51,291 million lead to a gross profit of $20,342 million; again, down from the previous year by 0. 7%. A net earnings comparison shows a 21. 6 % decrease from $2,714 million in 2011 to $2,127 in 2012. Some in-store sales figures help explain some declines with a prescription sales decrease of 3. 1% and front-end sales increase of 3. 6%.These key financial figures represent a trend in diminishing profits for Walgreens in prescription drugs for the past fiscal year, but a growth in front-end sales, which is an indicator of pharmacy-related issues. IV. The drug store industry analysis As an industry that has been around since the late 19th century, the drug store is comprised of staples and pharmaceuticals retailing. History of the industry recalls the first drug store being opened in 1823 and strictly worked with pharmaceuticals under the first regist ered pharmacist. As the tores became more popular and customers’ needs grew for different products, the industry transitioned into including staple items. Today, the average retail products include (but not limited to): prescriptions, food, cosmetics, toiletries, and tobacco products, but dominate in the pharmaceutical department that holds the highest profit. Chain drug stores currently possess the greatest market share in the industry when compared to independent stores and the majority are incorporated at 76% of all drug store firms. Among the top three company chains are CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid.This segment within the industry is highly competitive with demand growing. V. The future of drug stores With demographics changing, especially within the U. S. , the future of drug stores is expected to transform their product offerings. A shift to concentration on prescription drugs sales, as the general public grows older, will be responsible for a decline in products that are no longer demanded as staple items (ex. beauty aids and fragrances). A growing trend seen in the current market is self-diagnosis and self-treatment along with the addition of generic drug sales.Customers are being offered a generic drug alternative for a lower price and are becoming more inclined to self-treating without the help of a pharmacist. Another movement towards the future includes implementing advancements in technology. Many stores currently use self-serve checkouts and photo printing booths. Advancements in electronic prescription filling and ordering refills online are playing a big role in development. Therefore, a broader depth of target market research and differentiation in product offering based on research results may be beneficial to the survival and growth of the drug store industry.VI. SWOT analysis of Walgreens Strengths and weaknesses Walgreens, as mentioned before, is one of the leading examples of success within the drug store industry. A continuous ne ed for improvement and adaptation to the changing market keeps Walgreens alert and attentive, in step with customer wants, which serves as one of its major strengths. The past 3 decades for Walgreens have been those of growth and exceeding competitive sales. The use of technology incorporated in Walgreens store operations allows the company to receive and analyze real-time sales data and customer interaction.Systems such as the POS (Point of Sale) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) generate up-to-date information on impact of certain store displays on sales and record marketing data needed to maximize profits. In order to serve customers more effectively, Walgreens offers convenient services online, such as photo printing and prescription call-ins. The implementation of technology as a tool for tracking data and servicing is another strength of the company. Walgreens offers a loyalty program to its customers to further improve on customer satisfaction.The reward program, call ed Balance Rewards, is a point-based system that gives discounts and coupons to customers whenever they use the loyalty card and earn points. Many ways to earn points include filling prescriptions, purchasing certain items in-store and online, using the mobile app to purchase items, and a Steps with Balance Rewards that tracks when the customer is living a healthy lifestyle. The customer can redeem his or her rewards for more coupons and discounts on future purchases. While the success of Walgreens is prevalent, weaknesses within the company prevent Walgreens from reaching perfection.A major weakness and concern for the company is opening too many stores. This may seem strange, considering the growth in demand for more stores is perceived as a positive characteristic, but cannibalizing their own market at the growing pace could lead to a mass reduction in sales and revenue by stealing customers from their current top selling stores. As Walgreens is always adapting to its market and looking for new opportunities, an important factor to look into would be limiting how many new stores they are opening and evaluating their product portfolio. Threats and opportunitiesThreats are inherent in any business. Competition would not be possible without external threats. The biggest threat to Walgreens is the rise in grocery store and supermarket discounters. Before, drug stores competed against other drug stores and pharmacies in a highly competitive market. Now, stores like Target and Kroger are offering prescription drug services and are able to do so at a discounted rate. Since these stores carry a much larger assortment of products and more SKUs than a typical drug store, they operate at lower costs and charge a cheaper price.The current economic state poses a threat to businesses everywhere. Within the drug industry, the cut from Medicaid in 2007, by $3. 6 billion, impacted many pharmacies and affected the sales of generic drugs in the U. S. Today, uncertainty around the long-term viability of the Affordable Care Act is threatening the insurance industry, or at least the affordability of coverage. Currently, about half of the states in the U. S. are refusing to participate in the new insurance exchange program, which is driving insurance rates up drastically.Moving away from the challenges of business, opportunities also present themselves within the industry. One opportunity that Walgreens may be looking into is how to market more towards the generation it has been growing with: the baby boomers. This market is the general population that is now getting older and has the most experience with Walgreens. As this generation ages, their needs change and require different products. More prescriptions for aging health issues need to be filled and less beauty supplies are being purchased, for example.The opportunity to transition and focus on this particular market could benefit Walgreens’s sales. Further prospects for Walgreens includes going global. International business opportunities offer drug stores an entire new market, which if executed correctly, can be a major growth possibility. It’s easy to oversaturate a market when operated domestically, as is the case is for Walgreens in the U. S. , so expanding past our borders to different nations may be a prospective move for the company. If there was only one opportunity Walgreens should take on, it would be most important to increase the sales of non-prescription items.Although marketing towards the older generation and profiting from more prescription fills is demanded, incorporating the sales of items that people will buy, as a related product to their main purchases, will boost profit. VII. Competitor’s strengths and weaknesses Walgreens’s biggest competitor is CVS (Convenience, Value, and Service). CVS Caremark is the largest, most profitable drug store/ retailer in the U. S. Strengths CVS Caremark operates under three different retailing segm ents: the CVS pharmacy, Caremark pharmacy services, and its MinuteClinic.Under these three segments, CVS is able to offer its customers lower prices, loyalty programs, cover over two thousand healthcare plans, and operate a walk-in clinic service. Through their services, CVS is able to hold the strongest market share at almost 20% of the prescription drug market. It also has one of the largest loyalty programs for customers; more than 500 million customers who use the loyalty card through the Extra Care program. CVS has made substantial investments in technology and incorporating it into their programs.The company’s strengths have lead them to push a revenue of over $100 billion and net income of $4 billion. Weaknesses The only complaints to come from a customer’s point of view at CVS is that the store consistency varies occasionally, meaning one CVS store may be too different in product offering than another CVS store, which confuses some customers. The employee turno ver rate is also higher than ideal for a large company operating many stores, meaning focus should include keeping employees happy with more benefits. VIII. Key competition comparison SimilaritiesBoth Walgreens and CVS have loyalty programs that they use to reward customers and offer valuable customer data. Using a customer rewards program to offer coupons and discounts builds loyalty to that company’s brand and image. This incentive strategy has worked well for both companies. However, they differ in the way each one works. At CVS, when a customer purchases multiple items in one transaction, the reward points/ coupons are split amongst the items within the one transaction. The customer receives more incentive with each purchase whereas at Walgreens, the reward is based on the number of transactions only.A customer can purchase the same number of items in each store, but receive more reward points/ coupons at CVS. Differences When compared to CVS, Walgreens carries more of a â€Å"mom and pop† store reputation, which benefits their image. The company’s stores are all linked, making it easier for customers to get prescriptions filled at any Walgreen store, which is an advantage over CVS. Walgreens also offers prescription labels and in-store advertising in other languages and is open 24 hours in many locations across the U. S. , another incentive that CVS does not offer.These distinctive traits represent Walgreens’s commitment to pleasing its customer and fulfilling needs. CVS is differentiated from Walgreens through store layout and product offering. CVS stores are known to be larger and customer more customer-friendly in space and appearance than Walgreens. CVS has also brought in more net revenue, over $100 billion as compared to Walgreens at $75 billion, leading by about $25 billion. As mentioned earlier, Walgreens has seen a diminishing performance, financially, while CVS is rising. IX.Recommendations The first recommendation fo r Walgreens to move towards better sales and profits in the future would be to capitalize on the baby boomer generation. As explained before, this would require readjusting the marketing platform to appeal to more prescription sales and aging health products. This strategy has potential for short-term and long-term growth. The second recommendation would be to become aware of cannibalizing its own market. This strategy would lessen the investments in real estate space being made currently.Instead of opening more and more new stores each year, the company should focus on evaluating and expanding the current services in each existing store. Innovations in store layouts and product differentiation in the existing stores may help individual store sales and not oversaturate the market with too much of the same thing. The final recommendation for Walgreens is to enhance its customer service through the convenience factor. Developing more online services will help also help the aging gener ation as it becomes more difficult for them to get in a car and drive to a brick-and-mortar store.This kind of innovation is what customers like to see in businesses and the company will be benefiting from the multichannel strategy. X. References CVS Caremark |. (n. d. ). CVS Caremark |. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://info. cvscaremark. com/ Page Through Our Past: Page 4 | Our History | Walgreens. (n. d. ). Welcome to Walgreens – Your Home for Prescriptions, Photos and Health Information. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://www. walgreens. com/marketing/about/history/hist4. jsp

Company Q and Social Responsibility Essay

Evaluation Company Q’s attitude toward social responsibility reflects a negative reputation on them as a corporation in their current community. The geographical location in a major metropolitan area should sustain the business with a solid consumer base and maintain reliance of current investors. However, they closed two stores in high crime areas for consistently losing profits, waning investor trust and damaging employee faith. The decision to close the stores limits their ability to be socially responsible to its stakeholders and potentially contributes to the areas crime level. Customers requested health-conscience and organic products for years before it was finally stocked in limited amounts. Company Q ignored earlier requests from their customers and created a deficiency in establishing long-term relationships. The company needs to demonstrate a better approach for customer satisfaction by building long-term relationships and reflect a more socially responsible corporation to not only customers but all stakeholders. Donating to the local food bank would also demonstrate a better attitude towards social responsibility, yet Company Q’s management rejects donation requests claiming potential fraud and theft from employees. The company deteriorates employee commitment and trust in the corporation by insinuating that employees might steal if they handle donations. If Company Q maintains the existing attitude toward social responsibility they may find themselves closing every store in the future. Recommendations Action 1 Company Q can upgrade their current attitude toward social responsibility by addressing their ethical culture and ability to be a profitable company. Company Q will need to develop a financial plan, set financial goals, and identify areas of unreliable returns that will capitalize on investor  wealth. If action is taken to address poor financial returns, the company will not have make decisions to close stores because of consistently losing profits. Next Company Q needs to integrate an ethics program throughout the corporation that will lay the necessary ground of promoting an ethical culture. This ethics program should be designed by the company’s management to guide employee conduct, generate better-quality decision making and discourage potential theft from company employees. Management should then launch training courses with quarterly workshops and incentive packages which motivate employees to exercise guidelines. Employee trust is critical and laying an ethical foundation for employees to follow Company Q needs to begin at the upper management level. To be an effective program the company needs to educate upper management so that they initiate the standards and lead by example. Management of Company Q will have a stronger impact if they practice the ethical standards and set the standard to employees. The combination of executing an ethics program and improving the financial condition of Company Q is a major stride in social responsibility. As the company’s ethical culture develops and investor confidence and wealth returns, Company Q‘s overall integrity grows, thereby demonstrating a more socially responsible image. Action 2 Company Q took years to respond to multiple requests by customers for providing health-conscious and organic products. A current trend in society has increased awareness to be more health conscious. Customers are asking for these high margin products because they want them to be available for purchase. Company Q needs to listen to the desires of their customers and supply a broader selection of the higher margin items. By doing so Company Q forms stronger relationships with customers and increases their commitment to make purchases at the store. Customer relationships improve as more sales of the requested products increase and profit margins will begin to rise. Company Q needs to also set up a request station where customers can write down requests of products they would like to see available for purchase. The company can use these requests to poll which products that  the customers would most likely want to purchase. This way Company Q can zero in on satisfying their customers and eliminate products that have the least amount of demand. A second opportunity that presents itself is establishing new supplier relationships within the local community by generating partnerships between Company Q and organic producers. By the company forming new relationships with local producers the local economy is strengthened and new development encouraged in the community. The purchase of organic products from local vendors will also keep transportation expenses down and Company Q can then forward that savings to customers by offering lower prices. Company Q would benefit greatly from this action by offering a broader range of health conscience products and partnering with local suppliers. These relationships will supplement Company Q in changing their approach to being socially responsible. Action 3 A third recommendation is to revisit the decision of donating day-old products to the area’s local food banks. By denying the request all together and opting to toss out the day-old products is damaging to Company Q’s image. The company needs to exhibit accountability to society by supporting their local food bank illustrating community support by offering day-old products to their local food bank. Company Q should then monitor donations with a checks and balances system which would allow management to track the process of donations and reduce concerns of employee theft. The company will reveal positive decision making by donating instead of tossing the day-old products in the trash. The decision to be charitable through regular contributions will demonstrate to employees, investors and other stakeholders that Company Q is changing their attitude toward social responsibility. Conclusion Company Q should implement the above recommendations to become a more socially responsible corporation. Taking action of their profitability, promoting an ethical work place environment, and giving back to the community are the strategic actions necessary to attest Company Q’s changing  attitude towards social responsibility. The company will continue to suffer consequences for failing social responsibility if changes in their approach are not taken.

Which factor is most important to consider when thinking about Essay

Which factor is most important to consider when thinking about education and classrooms - Essay Example This paper will focus on the debate between private and public schools, their advantages and limitations, then which factor is most important to consider when thinking about education and classrooms. Public schools have their own advantages and disadvantages just like any other institution. The advantage of public school is a standardized way of education. The school provides an equal opportunity to all the students and this makes it more accommodative. Public schools are strict when it comes to discipline, as the students need to develop spiritually, psychologically, emotionally and educationally. More parents prefer to take their children to public schools because of the low economy experienced in most of the countries worldwide. The parents save for their children’s college fees and it has become comfortable for them. The school curriculum and the program managed by the state follows an equal setting of the exams. This is easier for the students to handle the exams as they are on the same level. The graduation and attendance of the students help the government to have a clear statistics of each public school and its performance. Examinations tackled determine the stude nts mean grade, leading to suggestions of the students looking for a different school if they do not perform well. Teachers must have certain qualifications for them to work in a public school. They must attain a degree in college, have teaching license and proven by the state for them to teach. This means that the teachers are well qualified in public schools. Classrooms in a public school are well structured and built with desks inside for the students (Ross, 2004). There are requirements for students before joining a public school through the help of their parents. The management is systematic in a way that the parents must ensure the location of the school and where the child lives. The disadvantages of the public schools exist as well.

Lockheed Martin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lockheed Martin - Essay Example The willingness and determination of executive management has played a significant role in establishing future growth in the present and even in the years to come. In essence, Lockheed Martin Corporation has a strong management team, which for the past years has helped the company stay ahead of its competitors. The persistence and determination towards the fulfilment of its mission and visions rests in the management team. The company has a strong culture that boosts talent development on its skilled employees. This builds a strong team that understands the goals and objectives of the company and how they can attain them. The primary purpose of the company is to offer professional improvement in an appropriate way that meets the needs and expectations of clients and shareholders. Thus far, the aim of this paper is to discuss the management area of Lockheed Martin Company and in doing will discuss its mission statement, short term, long term goals. Mission Statements To Hartung (2011) , the company’s mission statement is straightforward, to be dynamic, ethical, and technology oriented in the global market. This corporation believes that innovation is the key to success. With this, the company helps the clients achieve the best products and services that suits the needs of the 21st technology world. The company provides the highest standards of ethical conducts in all they do, which as a result, helps in converting the first clients to frequent and potential clients. The company believes that integrity and honesty is the cornerstone of the business’s success. It recognizes that success can only be achieved if the business strives to abide by the laws implemented in the United States and other countries. The company recognizes that its success and growth as an enterprise depends on the skills, expertise, and talent of people and the ability to work as an integrated team. The company appreciates diversity and foster a positive relationship among the co lleagues, partners, clients, and the management team. Overall, the company understand the importance and its mission and creates a strong ground where employees understand it and work towards attaining the set goals and objectives. Lockheed strives to flourish in every aspect of its business with determination and perseverance to succeed regardless of any obstacle that comes the way. The company believes that it has what it takes to be competitive in the 21st century where technology has peaked well. As technology advance from one level to the other, the company intends to embrace every opportunity that would make the company succeed in the 21st world. The management team understand that innovation is the key aspect to growth. The management team understand the importance of its mission and strive to embrace ever challenge with right attitude and determination to succeed (Hartung, 2011), Short Terms Goals Some of the short-term goals include increasing in sales and revenues. On a mo nth basis, the company calculates the total sales and revenues and thereafter makes the judgement on whether the company has achieved its target sales and revenues. On a monthly basis, the corporation conducts an assessment, which helps the management team to access areas that need improvement. With this, one would argue that one of the Lockheed’s short term goals is to satisfy clients with best products and services, which satisfy their needs and wants. Still,

Reading response of the reading identities and social locations Essay

Reading response of the reading identities and social locations - Essay Example The part of my identity that I underplay is physical characteristics. If my idea is tied with the way, I look. Basing my self-worth and identity is a monumental bad idea. This is because if I gain weight, there is no way I will be happy. If I have something that I believe is ugly, it will lower my self-esteem. My people are the people I identify with. People that have characteristics similar to mine, we have common interests and we are all equal, no one feels stronger than the other in any aspect does. I refer Chinese in America as my people. Home according to me is a physical place or an emotion that gives me a sense of belonging, here I identify with each other, and we can share affiliations ((Okazawa-Rey & Gwyn, 110). A social location is a point where all characteristics of my identity meet. It determines the privileges I can have and situations, which are beyond my control. My social location is Chinese, educated class, female, heterosexual, and studying in America. From the dimensions in the social location, the social dimensions that provide privilege and power is class and education. While the dimension that provides less power and disadvantage is race, and sexual orientation. Most white privilege bearers try to do their best in looking out and avoiding ways of helping them get ahead of life. It is not a simple task, this is because education has helped them in recognizing the privileges, and therefore, their understanding has not been with them for their entire life. According to my understanding, for one to be equity activist, they have to dismantle the system that favors some people for no go reason than the social group members (Okazawa-Rey & Gwyn,

Visual Re-design of an Existing Logo for a Company or Product with a Essay

Visual Re-design of an Existing Logo for a Company or Product with a Series of Visual Ideas to Support a Communications Campaign - Essay Example Logo has an important role to play because it is used to represent the organization in different marketing material, in packaging, in corporate kit including business cards, letter heads, post cards etc (Verhoef, & Leeflang 2009) and therefore a unique and attractive logo would gather the attention of the most whereas a boring and a dull logo would not be able to get the attention of people (Kumar, 2009). Today as industries have become highly competitive, every organisation needs to differentiate itself from the other firms and logo has an important role in differentiating a company with others (Pavitt, 2002). A logo is able to make the company stand out in the crowd and therefore an attractive logo could help in increasing the sales of the product particularly when consumers are buying without thinking too much (Blythe, 2008). This report analyses one of today’s leading brands of the fashion industry in the world, Christian Dior. The report examines what the logo of the comp any visually reflects and communicates to the target market. Also the report comes up after redesigning the logo of the company and recommends what the logo of the company should be. ... The company offers fashion clothing and other accessories and the main target market of the company are female particularly young females. As the company offers a lot to its target market, therefore the logo of the company should be such that it would be able to get the attention of people and reflect the target market about the offerings of the company. Logo of Christian Dior The logo of Christian Dior is just the name of the company written in Black and White. The logo of the company is has been shown in the following image: Also there is another variation in the logo of Christian Dior and the other variation is in inverted colours. The logo in inverted colours looks like the following image Visual understanding of logo It is important for the company to make sure that the logo of the company clearly reflects what the company offers to its client. A well prepared logo is able to get into the minds of the consumers and it is easily remembered by them. This is one of the reasons why many companies and entrepreneurs pay a lot of attention in designing the logo however companies that do not pay a lot of attention face consequences in the long run. The right combination of colours, image, style and overall look play an important role in the overall logo of the company and what it visually reflects to the audience (Zenker, & Martin, 2011). Therefore it is important to design the logo and to work on what the customers would perceive and understand from the logo of the company as the target market of the company would be able to recognise the brand from the logo. So, once the logo of the company is approved, the management needs to think over the logo and analyse from the perspective of a consumer what the

The Present Customer Service and Expectations within Samsung Which Essay

The Present Customer Service and Expectations within Samsung Which Have Emerged From the Delivery of Superior Products and Services by the Organization - Essay Example In this paper, various strategies which could be applied by Samsung to deliver consistent as well as effectual customer services within the competitive marketplace will be evaluated. Apart from these strategies, this paper also provides certain recommendations which can be fruitful for the organization to sustain customer service excellence going forward. Customer service is regarded as a service stipulation which organizations’ deliver prior to and after a product purchase. Customer service involves a sequence of activities which are designed by an organization in order to enhance the level of customer satisfaction through delivering products and services as per the customers’ expectations. The significance of customer service may differ in terms of industry, a company’s products and services. It can be said that customer service is a kind of systematic process which is utilized in order to make certain that customer satisfaction is achieved by delivering produc ts as well as services according to the demands of the consumers. Due to this reason, a majority of the leading organizations are intending to execute the process of customer service effectively in order to increase the level of customer satisfaction. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is considered as one of the globally leading advanced electronics based companies in terms of manufacturing digital media as well as superior communication systems. With the help of innovative, talented employees, dependable products and services along with making collaboration with their partners and clients, the company is taking the world into a whole new imaginative direction. At present, the company’s products, services along with the incorporation of its systematic approaches towards the operational activities have helped it to maintain specific business level activities which in turn have enabled it to contribute effectively towards the development of people throughout the world. The employee s of this company are always directed by the simple philosophy, effectual values and superior ethical standards which help them to work efficiently and to deliver better products and services to satisfy customers’ requirements.

Law of Electronic Commerce and the Internet Essay - 1

Law of Electronic Commerce and the Internet - Essay Example The taxation, customs, trade practices, industrial law, bankruptcy, immigration, administration law, patents, copyright, environment law, sexual and racial discrimination, access to information will be dealt by Federal court of Australia. Federal court will hear the class actions that involve seven or more people who have claims against the one defendant. The family court will deal with family laws. It deals with divorce, division of property and maintenance, child related matters, determining parenting orders and plans. The court to appeal on the decision of family court is high court. The magistrates court of the federal legal system deals with providing the action for litigants and eases the work load of the federal and family court. Thus it works as a complex lessening part in the federal judicial system as the jurisdiction is concurrent with family and federal court. 1 The state legal system's first stage is the magistrate court. The state coroner's office, victims of crimes assistance tribunal, work related injuries and perin courts are part of this system. The majority of the criminal and civil matters that proceed to court will be dealt by magistrate court. The offences of less serious in nature will be dealt by this court system. It is having civil jurisdiction and is the immediate court that can be approached in any case. The next stage in the state legal system is the county court of Victoria. It has both criminal and civil jurisdiction in concurrent with Supreme Court. The person who is not in agreement with the magistrate's court can appeal to county court and the appeal court for this is supreme court of the state. The supreme court of any state will have trial and appeals division that deals with the differentiation of the disputes and appeals. The appeal court for this part of the court system in the state legal system is high court of the country. The high court is the top of the legal hierarchy in Australia. As a result it has both criminal and civil jurisdiction and is the ultimate court to appeal. It can resolve the interstate disputes and thus the federal system prevails over the state legal system. References 1. law institute Victoria, 2007, Australia legal system, Law Institute Victoria, ,electronic, 3-9-07, http://www.liv.asn.au/public/legalinfo/court/ 2. Law institute Victoria, 2007, Australia legal system, law institute Victoria, ,electronic, 3-9-07, http://www.liv.asn.au/public/legalinfo/court/court-The-2.html Question 2 Jurisdiction is the power of the court or the right of the administration that can apply their laws on a particular context or issue. In the absence of internet and e commerce, the Jurisdiction used to depend on the geographical context of the occurrence of the incident. The advent of internet is making the concept of jurisdiction more complex and the administrations are compelled to make new laws regarding jurisdiction in the issues involving internet. In relation to internet there are contexts that raised the question of the authority of the courts in various places. As the electronic communication involves the border crossing the internet is borderless. This needs a definition of jurisdiction of its own without relating to the previous understanding of jurisdiction. The law used to deal with the physical movement or presence that

Review of the movie Missing Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Of the Missing - Movie Review Example Alternatively, the film also demonstrates the relationship between Horman’s father Ed Horman (Lemmon) who is an American and Horman’s wife (Spacek). At the beginning, Lemmon blames Charles for his radical political views that resulted in his disappearance. However, he later on changes his mind thinking that there is a possibility of the Government being heavily involved with the disappearance of Charles or possibly his death. There is also the possibility that Charles the young American would have been on the informal hit list that involves foreign journalists taken away and probably killed. It is also claimed that the American embassy officials were aware of his fate and were even involved in approving Charles death. A drama film, which is set in Chile at a time when the nation is experiencing civil war, the film generally concerns some of the actions in which the United States government takes to gain more popularity. Generally, Missing focuses mainly on power from its actual life basis. Alternatively, Missing is a straightforward film that has an extensive deal that imparts on the United States behaviors in foreign countries especially in its operations. The theme in this case revolves around the United States on foreign land. Alternatively, the film demonstrates how the United States works in sustaining its operations in foreign nations and yet its own citizens decry the nation’s secret operations especially when the public are aware of these events. From the film drama, it is quite evident that the United States operates like a two-edged sword whereby the United States citizen’s priorities tend to shift especially when matters become personal. Ed Horman who is Charles father de monstrates this aspect. Edward and Mildred Lewis uses the characters in this film in such a way that they effectively bring out some of the true events that once happened during the civil war year. The characters are

Benefits of Mobile Business Intelligence Research Paper

Benefits of Mobile Business Intelligence - Research Paper Example From the report it is clear that Mobile BI should be considered because it enables data that is captured by the mobile devices to be integrated on- the -fly hence enabling the mobile workers to get current reports and make important decisions on time.According to the discussion findings the Mobile BI should be considered because many individuals have the access of the tablet devices and Smart phones that are simple, affordable, and practical and provide strong analytics and features with functionality of forecasting algorithms in intuitive, user-friendly and browser environments that are customizable to many users and provide views that are meaningful. The new Mobile BI should be considered because it is cost effective and can be accessed anywhere so long as individuals have mobile phones. The technology improves knowledge sharing that supports organizational cohesion and collaboration. The business value for Mobile BI is that it enhances the organization’s customer satisfacti on and productivity and enables the business to succeed by adapting to the market, customers, and the competitive changes quickly. Mobile BI enables information technology organizations and businesses to evaluate business intelligence using mobile devices and examining software vendors’ offerings hence enabling the customers to assess products based on deeper understanding of how the new technology addresses their own business requirements.

Final Reflection Essay Example for Free

Final Reflection Essay 1. Upon embarking on writing about my Autobiography/Self-Discovery piece, I did not really expect it to become an enlightening journey of introspection. For me, it was a typical school day and I was just about to do a requirement. The incident I cited in my writing piece happened way before and yet I never forgot its profound impact on my life. It had me acquainted with an aspect of my true self that is, that I could also be a better and more appreciative person, and come to think of it, that anybody is capable of improving himself/herself so long as the desire to change is present. The Significant Event Essay which I wrote and submitted reveals only an aspect of my personality since the short anecdote plucked from my life story merely focused on my realizations on the values of compassion and appreciation. A person’s life has a lot of aspects and an essay or even a book would not be enough to capture everything about a man’s life. 2. My purpose in writing my essay was for others to appreciate the blessings they had because not everyone is as fortunate as his fellowman. It is intended for a general audience and is meant to be helpful to anyone who has not realized the value of blessings in his/her life. The essay is presented in the form of a short anecdote where there is an introduction, a building up of the story, a climax and a conclusion. As a writer, I learned that I had to present my story in a way that it is structured and systematic so that only the incidents related to the story were included and other details were left out. In this manner, focus was maintained and the main storyline was given more significance. I also made use of an outline so that I would not deviate from my projected direction, hence, the results of which are reflected in my essay. A profile is supposed to capture and present to the reader a glimpse on the life of a personality. The problem however, is that sometimes, the profile of a person that is presented is a skewed version, and that is where write-ups such as these are often questioned. More often than not, the more dramatic, exciting and odd aspects of an individual’s personality are those which are glamorized and sensationalized because these are the stories which usually sell. It is what piques the interest of the readers, hence, these are the materials which are highlighted, and the less dramatic and boring topics are relegated to the background or worse, not even mentioned. With regards to my own profile, I encountered the same problem because I found that it is not really possible to compress into one essay that which has taken so many years to achieve. Hence, theoretically, it is not really possible to create a â€Å"complete† profile because eventually, some details will ultimately be left out. 2. The omissions in a profile for general readership consumption connote that readers engage in reading more to be entertained than informed. A complete profile would mean that all aspects in a personality’s life will be included with all the boring stuff attached to it. Of course, this will not be allowed by the editors of magazines where the profiles will be published because this â€Å"boring stuff† can be done without and the excess writing space could be allocated for more ad space which can be sold to earn more income. Even if a writer wants to present the profile of a subject in a complete manner with everything included, it is not the writer who determines what becomes published because it is the reader who will choose. This is a lamentable fact, and yet what is in practice since the mass media operates on these guiding principles, however distorted the stories may be. Answers to Chapter 4 Questions: 1. I particularly believe that most if not all of the academic materials which present their concepts as uncontested truths do so because they are already based on widely-known and acknowledge facts and ideas. Basically, the whole chapter on Explaining a Concept is one such typical example because as of now, the ideas presented here are what are considered as true and accurate – for the moment. As new discoveries will be unearthed, new theories and concepts will correspondingly emerge and the present truths we have now will most likely be replaced later eventually. 2. Knowledge is established by way of a meeting of minds. Usually, the prominent academicians, researchers and professors in specific disciplines conduct meetings to agree/disagree on the concepts that are still considered up-to-date or obsolete. Once decided upon, obsolete ideas noted but not totally discarded. In some books, it is noticeable that references to such ideas are still mentioned but the reason for shelving the idea is always given. 3. The essay I did was about the practice of contraception. The idea that I pursued has long been established and accepted in society. It could be said that there are some sectors that still uphold religious beliefs over these medical practices which seem to challenge such beliefs. Yes, at some point, I felt that the ideas I am presenting may be questioned by my readers, but then, I had references to point to for the more technical stuff and I was confident with my own knowledge about the subject. I decided on doing a topic that would be helpful, practical and interesting and had more contemporary novelty, hence the subject of contraception. In writing my paper, I was not really comfortable in being a giver of knowledge at first but later on, I warmed up to the idea because I would be sharing some things that my peers may not really know about.

Construction Techniques for Bridges

Construction Techniques for Bridges Structure of report An extensive part of this report was dedicated to the literature review. Though actually the most interesting part is the one which concerns to the results of the vulnerability of bridge of the case study, it is not admissible to neglect all the general considerations based on an extensively research in technical text, through which was possible to determine the specific structure, the method and the phases of construction, the type of analysis to be carried out and in which way the results have to be read. Indeed close attention is needed in interpreting the results due to limitations of the specific case under consideration and at the same time because of the need to generalize the specific results for use on a larger scale of projects. In the literature review section of the report a general study about bridges has been developed. This has been done investigating the history, the evolution, as well as the technologies and trends of bridge design, with particular attention to recent developments in California. Construction techniques have also been analyzed in more details referring to many important projects, based on international literature, scientific journals and technical books. Then the earthquake section was covered. In the section about Codes of practice an overview of the most important aspects has been made and few tables of interested have been attached to justify the choices made in the case study. Type of Analysis of previous papers The second part, elaborated with the support of the software SAP2000 BRIDGE Modeler, follows the development of the project of a common bridge in California according to the local and currents codes of practice. Literature review An extensive literature review was conducted to understand which is the state of the research and the interest of the codes in assured performance behavior of the bridges during phases of construction. Bridges Among all the engineering sciences, bridge engineering is one of the most complex because involves in itself a lot of disciplines, from technical to aesthetic, from environmental to social, from economic to political aspects. Without any doubt the technical and the economic factors are those that strongly influence engineers choices in designing a bridge, but they do not cover all the design process. Using Troitsky words Planning and designing bridges is part art and part compromise (Chen, Lian Duan, 1999). For understanding recent trends in bridge design and construction it is of high importance to consider the development that bridge engineering has undergone during centuries. History illustrates that social and economical changes in a nation have been reflected on bridge engineering development. At different historical moments, various types of bridges have been built for many purposes with the new technologies at each time. From the 19th century, due to the big industrial growth, bridges have been built essentially as part of the transportation system. During the 20th century, bridge engineering has been characterized by big changes in the structural solutions and methods of constructions because of the diffusion of the reinforced concrete. The designers had finally a large possibility of choices between materials, methods of constructions and technologies of analysis. This led to the actual scenario where multiple type of bridges are in operation highlighting the wide creativity of bridge engineers. Designing a bridge, the main important parameters to take in account in choosing the best solution are: location, span, material, type of foundation, scheme of the bridge, type of superstructure, type of supports, method of construction. Regarding materials, nowdays timber is used only for temporary bridges, then for ordinary bridges the choice is between reinforced concrete and steel. Depending on the span of the structure one material is to be preferred to the other. For spans between 65ft and 330ft reinforced concrete gives the best compromise, for spans greater than 330 ft steel is recommended. The span influences also the system of the bridge: for small and medium spans a beam bridge is commonly used, for spans longer than 160 ft an arch system could be adviced and a suspended bridge can be the solution for very long span bridges. These are only indication, and every single case has to be evalued considering limitations due to location, codes, cost and typical bridge of the area . It is a good rule of practice to consider typical projects recent designed in the area in which there is the purpose of insert a new bridge structure, if the medium-span is the one of interest. (Chen, Lian Duan, 1999). Structural Types This paragraph intends to provide a list of the several commonly used types of bridges, highlighting the differences for geometry, analysis, economy. This list is not to be intended complete, as other type of bridges may be design, in which case, specific deep studies have to be done in order to analyse the particular solution. According to Raina it is possible to categorize bridges in six different types of superstructure regarding the material which is made of. Materials commonly used for building the superstructure of permanent bridges are: Reinforced Concrete Prestressed Concrete Masonry Steel Mix of steel and reinforced concrete or mix of reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete Special superstructures with cables For each material there are possibilities of different kinds of sections. 1. Reinforced Concrete Superstructures can be simple span or continuous span; balanced cantilever, arch or frame, tipically utilized for short span bridges. Some parts may be precast. Solid Slab Used for spans between 5 and 14 meters Slab and girder (T-beam bridges) Used for spans between 14 and 25 meters Hollow box girder Used for spans between 25 and 70 meters Characterized by a high torsional resistance, is suitable for curved paths. 2. Prestressed Concrete Superstructures can be simple, balanced or free cantilever, or continuous span. It is possible to have segmental cast in situ or precast solutions. Prestressed Concrete superstructures cover medium spans. Hollow slab Used for spans between 10 and 25 meters Slab and girder (Girder bridges) Hollow box girder 3. Masonry superstructures have been associated with arch bridges in the past centuries. This type of bridges is not of relevant importance for this study, which is relative to new bridges under construction. 4. Steel Superstructure typically consists in a steel truss deck and covers long spans. 5. Composite superstructures can have the following deck types: Longitudinal plate girder and transverse beam girder with concrete slab Longitudinal and transverse beam girder with concrete slab Longitudinal box girder with concrete slab The deck arrangement can be simple span or continuous span, or arch and covers medium and long spans. 5. Special superstructure Cable stayed bridges Suspended bridges These structures are of relatively new conception and in last century have been used for long span solutions. (V.K.Raina, 1994). New trends According to Caltrans informations, in California the majority of bridges have been built with the cast-in-place (CIP) technique (See also fig.x?). This method of construction provides a good compromise between bridge cost and seismic performance of the structure. Commonly CIP system requires big effort in design and preparation at the site; often needs framework to support and long time for casting and finishing. An ever-increasing requests of new way of transportation has been registered due to the rapid growth of population and the high economic standards, added to the aging of infrastructures and the introduction of new seismic design criteria. The transportation planners are searching for new solutions that can accelerate highway and bridge construction in alternative to the traditional ones. Caltrans engineers are looking at precasting to try to achieve the Accelerating Bridge Construction (ABC); they are developing research and studies to understand the effectiveness of precas t solutions in reducing construction time on site and delays in the decongestion of traffic. In the beginning, Caltrans was concerned about the behavior of the precast structures in high seismic zones, because there was not a long tradition in the earthquake prone areas. Precasting has been usually considered having too many points of connection which are weaknesses for seismic performance capabilities. The University of California-San Diego conducted tests on the seismic behavior of precast segmental bridge and the results showed that this kind of method gives desirable performances also for high seismic zones. (Aspire, Spring 2007) In the last 3 years few projects have been completed successfully in California with prefabricated elements, and even if they costed 30% more than it they were built with traditional CIP method, the reduced time-on-site guarantees a overall gain. Economic analysis and Quantity trends In the figure above is graphically shown the trend of the Bridge Construction Cost Index in California over the last 45 years. It is evident how the index cost has been increasing over the decades, although sometimes decrements have been registered. This is possibly due to periods of regressions in the economy of the State or due to improvements in various technical aspects of construction and consequently in the adoption of new, cheaper and better designed solutions. It is very difficult to forecast the cost of bridge engineering works, as they are related to a lot of uncertainty parameters like economic situation, inflation, local environment. By the way an effort in this sense has been done to have some costs of Seismic Codes WHICH SEISMIC CODE AASHTO Standards Specifications give provisions of minimum requirements for conventional bridges with span not exceeding 300ft. There are some general indications about cable-stayed bridges, suspended bridges, arch bridges but these are not fully covered. The fundamental principles on which the Standards are based on are the following points: Structural performance should be ensured without significant damage (elastic range) under small and moderate earthquakes Design has to be carried out applying realistic ground motion accelerations Large earthquake should not cause collapse The Codes are valid for all United States and the seismic risk varies a lot through the Country. Reading the acceleration contours on the hazard map (fig.20?) the acceleration coefficient A, relative to the place of interest, is determined dividing by 100 the value read; the map is based on a return period of 475 years for events with 10% probability of exceedence in 50 years. Four Seismic Performance Categories (SPC) from A to D (AASHTO SDC) or from 1 to 4 (AASHTO LRFD) are defined (fig.20?) on the base of the Acceleration Coefficient (A) and two Importance Classification (IC) parameters categorize every bridge as Essential (I) or Critical (II) regarding its importance (fig. 22?). To take into account the soil conditions a Site Coefficient (S) has to be used in the design process for all type of foundation for approximates the effect of the soil modification on the structural behavior (fig.22?). S coefficient varies from 1 to 2 for soils from rock to soft clays or silts. For those c ases in which is not possible to determine the characterization of the site, a soil Type II with S=1.2 should be assigned. With this specifications the elastic seismic response coefficient Csm has to be calculate for the Tm period of vibration of the structure that corresponds to the mth mode. Csm is defined by the Code (3.10.6.1 AASHTO LRFD) as a function of A, S and Tm. Seismic design forces for substructure and connections have to be determined dividing the elastic forces by the appropriate Response Modification Factor given for each Importance Category of bridge. To consider the variability of the directions in which the earthquake may occur, two combinations of orthogonal seismic forces have to be apply to the superstructure of the bridge with the proportion of 100% and 30% in each direction. The Code (AASHTO LRFD) defines a vertical support as a column if the ratio of the clear high to the maximum dimension of the cross section is not less than 2.5. If the ratio is less than 2 .5, the requirements for piers have to be satisfied. A pier can be analysed as a pier in its strong direction and as a column in the weak one. Analysis Method The objective of seismic design is to define forces which structures are subject to, calculate elastic and inelastic deformations, study the ductile behavior of the structure and verify the ability of the single elements to resist. Different methods of analysis were found in the literature review with different assumptions and for different scopes. Briefly it will be given a list of the methods covered by the codes. Analytical Methods ESA Equivalent Static Analysis EDA Elastic Dynamic Analysis ISA Inelastic Static Analysis Structural System Global Analysis Stand-Alone Local Analysis Transverse Stand-Alone Analysis Longitudinal Stand-Alone analysis Simplified Analysis ESA Equivalent Static Analysis can be used to estimate the displacement demands of those structure with uniform stiffness, responding by the predominant mode of vibration, where dynamic analysis would not give significantly different results. (Cetinkaya, Nakamura,Takahashi,2005) EDA Elastic Dynamic Analysis can be used to estimate the displacement demands of those structures where ESA does not give a good response of the dynamic behavior. The effect of applying design spectral acceleration likely results in stresses exceeding the linear range. This is due to the contribution of the soil, yielding in the structural elements, expansion of the joints. According to recent Caltrans specifications (Caltrans SDC (v.1.5)) an Ordinary Bridge can be analyzed either with Equivalent Static Method or Linear Elastic Dynamic Method for estimating the displacement demands. For establish the displacement capacity of the elements a nonlinear analysis is required to take into account the ductility of the structure. Pushover analysis Case study The case study has been chosen after evaluating the trends in bridge construction in California in the last ten years. The trend shows that the majority of bridges designed in recent past are of medium span, built with the cast in place technique. A very high percentage of these are prestressed box girder built by segments with the balanced cantilever erection method. Since the interest of this study is aimed at predicting the likely behavior of the bridges that will be probably built in the next future in California, the choice was made in that direction. Precast!!!!!NEW TRENDS The main objective of this study is to study the vulnerability of the bridge under the seismic load if the earthquake is going to occur during the construction phases. Before doing this, however, is fundamental to be sure that the bridge (case of study), after work completion and during life time under live loads, will respond satisfying all safety criteria required by the current local codes. We are talking about small earthquakes if the performance behavior of the structure has to stay in the elastic range, because this is a principle that governs the bridge design according to the codes of practice. Structural System The solution adopted consists in a prestressed cast on site concrete box girder constructed with the segmental balanced cantilever method, with a mixed system of prestressing cables in post-tension. Stages of Construction One of the most significant aspect of the bridge under consideration, that affects the all the design phases, is the definition of the bridge behavior during construction in the sequential progression of structural configurations. Therefore, issues relating to structural analysis during construction and those due to the actions in the final phase, have been examined in depth. Modeling The modeling has been conducted The capacity demand of vertical supports is a complex function of a lot of variables including: Ground motion characteristic Required design level Period of vibration of the structure Material behavior Elastic damping coefficient Soil condition and foundation type The geology of the ground and the morphology of the site play a key role in the design stage and govern the choices to be made in terms of foundations, maximum span length and construction type. A subsurface investigation in the vicinity of piles and abutments is necessary to identify a suitable foundation type. The economic aspect is also affected because, depending on the geological situation, in case of high risk of liquefaction or slope stability the cost of foundations can vary greatly and reach very high costs in proportion to the total cost of the structure. In the case study taken into consideration, there was no possibility to determine the required type of the foundations due to the lack in knowledge of the geology of the soil. The feasible foundation options that could be proposed are many and, depending on the particular one chosen, they could significantly change the behaviour of the structure under seismic load. It was therefore preferred to leave the type of foundations as undefined and study the behaviour of the superstructure (piers and abutments) by assigning a good degree of restraint at the base of the substructure. Basically in the analysis model the base of the substructure has been fully restrained neglecting the possibility of deformation. This decision is based on the assumption that a fully fixed restraint (as the one simulated/assigned in the analysis model) will never occur in reality, regardless the type of foundation chosen; this means that the reactions at the base obtained from the model will be higher than the ones expected in reality, guarantying a conservative approach of the study. On the other hand the scope of this study is not the full design of the bridge, but the variation of the seismic vulnerability during the construction process, hence the previous assumptions, constant during the study of all construction stages, do not affect the final results. This means that making sure that the limitations deriving from these assumptions are taken into consideration, it has been possible to interpret the results appropriately as described in the following paragraphs. Analysis procedure The project of the bridge should be feasible in the near future at the location indicated and therefore the completed structure has to be able to withstand to all the loads defined by the codes, including seismic loads. Therefore, the first phase of this study involved the design of the bridge sections by analyzing bending, shear and torsion in superstructure and substructure. Usually, while conducting a push-over analysis, the structure is pushed till collapse is reached. This means that the structure would be allowed to pass the linear state and undergo to the non-linear one with the progressive formation of plastic hinges. Plastic hinges are a exemplification of cracking and initial damages in the structure. Wherever they occur, is not admissible to have cracks in the structure during construction of the bridge. For this reason the capacity of the piers to resist to seismic loads during construction has been evaluated through linear pushover analysis. Therefore the structure behavior has always been considered linear and when plastic hinges started occurring, which means that the structure was dissipating energy while cracking, the pushover has been stopped because the piers were considered damaged. Since the structure was reproduced with a 3-dimensional model, two different pushover analysis were carried on: one in the longitudinal direction and one in the transverse direction. The two chosen directions correspond to the first and the second mode of vibration of the bridge. Longitudinal pushover analysis was performed applying a slowly increasing seismic load on the superstructure of the bridge in the same direction of the span, and transverse pushover analysis similarly in the perpendicular direction. Summary and Conclusion The discussion in this study was carried out looking at a single bridge and making some simplifications (assumptions of fixity supports, two orthogonal directions of seismic forces, no admissible damage, linear behavior) to limit the number of variables that could affect the analysis. The previous push-over results refer to different models for the different construction phases of the same bridge. It would be hazardous coming to the conclusion that these results are representative of all bridge behaviors. Surely this study can be considered a good starting point for further investigation to be carried out on bridges with different characteristics for compare and group them in classes with analogue behavior to reach a generals conclusions about seismic vulnerability during construction.

The Work Of A Hotels Front Desk Staff Tourism Essay

The Work Of A Hotels Front Desk Staff Tourism Essay When in a hotel there are jobs for all levels where the front office manager job and responsibilities,assistant managers jobs and responsibilities, the front desk representatives job and responsibilities, the night auditor job and responsibilities, the cashiers jog and responsibilities. If all the job and responsibilities are done correctly the hotel will be successful in the hotel industry. However if a poor job is done the hotel will face failure and bankruptcy there for it is important for the staff to achieve there job and responsibilities to secure a successful business. Front Office Manager The front office manager is in charge of maintaining a high level of efficiency among all the front office staff, to make effective decisions regarding reservations policies and room assignments, and handle guest problems and complaints with courtesy and tact. The manager must also maintain an open communication between all other departments of the hotel. The front office manager must assign duties to all staff members of the front office. He is in charge of preparing weekly work schedules and shift assignments, scheduling regular staff meeting to make sure that staff understand what they have to do and all the hotel policies. The manager must also hire and train all new employers, consistently overview the performance of each the new staff members. The front office manager must also define the reservation policies and set quotas, aiming for maximum room occupancy. The manger must also monitor all arrivals, departures and cancellations. And setting policies for no-shows, early arriva ls, and over booking. Assistant Front Office Manager The assistant front office manager is there to aid the department manager who is responsible for coordinating front desk personnel, monitoring all guests accounts and payments, and authorized checks and credit procedures. Also the assistant manager may assist the front desk staff during high peak periods. Other duties of an assistant manager are to review reservation for the day and preparing daily room occupancy forecasts. For a manager an front office manager may have have a lot of work to do so as a front office assistant manager he is to help the manager with extra work that needs to be done. Along with helping desk staff if the are to many customers wanting lodgeing. There for needing patience. Front Desk Representatives. Front desk representatives are the main for who are always reminded to always show to the personality of the hotel to all the guests, to be a front desk representative you must strong communication skills along with the ability to work with people. Front desk representatives must use diplomacy, courtesy, and warmth in order to successfully make a guest feel welcome. They must also deal with clients problems and complaints. Also to directly work with clients of the hotel. Working at the front desk they have an important role of assigning rooms and maintain maximum occupancy. The front desk is responsible for verifying reservation information, checking credit card identification and authorization, assigning rooms, and dispensing room keys. Other duties are to provide information about facilities and policies, handling special guest requests, such as photocopies, and gift purchases. A front desk representative must always be polite warm and understanding around customers. Giving there f ull attention to customers. A customer does not like to be keept waiting. And also must highlight their experience in the hotel. The night auditor. A night auditor has two jobs to do where first he must do all the jobs as a front office representative. Secondly he or she must prepare a machine balance report. Typically, a night auditors shifts run from 11 pm until 7 am. When the front desk responsibility slackens usually the night auditor starts to audit or trace the posting of the previous days transactions to verify their accuracy. The main point is the night auditor must calculate the total charges owed to the hotel and incurred by guests during the previous day. They must determine the daily balance. To be a night auditor one must be good with numbers along with having all the skills needed to be a front office representatives. A night auditor is one of the most tireing jobs in a hotel. Because work is based at night until early morning. As for most people wont want to work as a night auditor. Cashiers The cashiers are responsible for checking out departing clients, posting charges, verifying the guest check, and handling payments. Cashiers may also be required to assist other members of the front desk staff in the performance of their duties. And vice versa. Cashiers are responsible for verifying payments from customers who are about to check out. Also they must calculate the charges and presenting the guest check. They are considered members of the accounting department who answer to the accounting manager. And finally they have other duties, such as sorting mail, handlingguests communications, and coordinating room status and reports. A cashier is responsible for handeling all the income for a hotel so its necessary that a cashier is knowledgeable about accounting. And also if asked to help the front office staff with their dutys so there for must have good people skills to be able to communicate sucessufly with a customer. Being a cashier one must always respecta customer along with getting all your taskes fulfilled. Reservationist The reservationist is responsible for handling advance room requests, determining availability, quoting rates, and documenting reservations. Reservation systems range from simple forms that are organized like desk calendars to computer-based systems. A reservationist must have good knowledge of the rooms, rates, and hotel policies. In addition, arithmetic and computer skills may be required. A reservationist is responsible for reciving all reservations and dealing with the accordanly. But mst make sure that all reservations are below 70% because that is the limit that a hotel and reserve for customers. Because if a hotel reserves 100% of the hotel and most the guests dont come they will lose customers and income. A reservationist must know how to deal with a customer, say when when you can and know how to reject a customer if the hotel has already reserved 70% of rooms in the hotel. Telephone Operator A telephone operator is responsible for coordinating the use of the telephone system of a large hotel. An operator answers all incoming telephone calls and directs the callers to the appropriate guest room, department, or staff member. In addition, operators may be required to direct house calls placed from inside the hotel. Operators must have an up to date directory of the guests room assignments. This position requires oral communication skills, an efficient telephone technique, and attention to detail. A telephone is required to know how to transfer calls to all rooms in the hotel and know how to make house bound calls from within the hotel. A telephone operator must answer the phone with a smile talk with a gental tone to all guests. It is important that a telephone operatormust have full knowledge on how to do his job. CONCLUSION The Work of a hotels front desk staff is important they are responsible of first impressions and must always treat guests like royalty. To do so they must always meet their jobs critiera where a front office manager is responsible for looking out on staff giving a weekly work schedule, high level of efficiency infront of all staff, be able to make decisions, and must always have communications with all deparments of the hotel. A assistant front office manager is to help the manager with tasks needed. Coordanating front desks opperations the assistant front desk manager has the responsibility to train all new employees. The front desk representative are the one who serve guests, they must always be polite and carry a smile at all times. Being a front desk representative you need be to able to communicate with customers successfully. The night auditor is responsible of 2 jobs first he is a front dest representative then when customers stop coming normaly around 1 he must calculate all income from the day. cashiers are the ones who deal with the money that guest pay before check out. The also can assists the front office representative with their work. They are considered as members of the accounting department.working under the supervision of the accounting manager. Reservationist are basicly the ones who deal with reservations from customers. Determining availability, quoting rates and documenting reservations. The telephone operator is in charge of handeling all calls, and directing the calls to guests rooms, staff members or department. The also may have to direct house calls placed from within the hotel. QUESTION 2 Front office staffs must have certain skills to attract guests during the first impression. Write about Front Office staff skill in guest relations. INTRODUCTION Front office staffs must have certain skills to attract guests during the first impression. Write about Front Office staff skill in guest relations. When working in a hotel as a front office representative you must have special skills to attract customers. From being able to have a good first impression, giving a smile to customers. Good interpersonal and communication with customers. being able handle stress properly. Having knowledge of phone lines, having knowledge of computers. Being polite and always showing warmth to all customers. Being polite, being courteous, having patience with all troubleing customers. Being helpful to all the customers. When having learned all these skills it will be easy to attract customers to the hotel. Being polite and warm to all customers. When all of these skills are used correctly for sure that all Customers will feel wanted and important by the hotel. Then wanting to come again on holiday. Resulting in a successful hotel. All this is needed for a front office staff. When working in a hotel customers will want to feel like they are wanted by the hotel. Since customers are paying for their stay they will want the perfect service where all customers want to be able to stay their holiday in peace. To do so the staff must always show that they are wanted. A good first impression, A good first impression can go a long way. The way you dress, the way your hair is tied for girls, your hair style for guys, how u say hello to a customer. The way you present your self is important because a customer does not want to be served by someone who looks unpresentable. So dressing correctly and having a decent hairstyle is important to attact customers. Therefor staff members must always have a correct uniform on and is presentable to all customers. First impressions can also be seen from how you greet a customer. A simple hello and a smile would be enough. And must also remember regular customers by name. It makes them feel as if they are all wanted and remembered by the hotel. So making sure that all staff are dressed correctly and know how to greet a customer properly. Good interpersonal and communication with customers. Again all staff must be able to communicate with customers well. Making sure that the customers fully enjoy their stay. Being interpersonal and having good communication with all customers is important to have in a hotel to make it successful. Being able handle stress properly. Every staff member of a hotels front office must always remember that they must not show their personal problems inside the hotel. If in a bad mood or if angry when a customer comes they must not show their emotions towards them. As for a argument might escalate. However if one has a personal problem that is hard to control tell your supervisor to let u have a break or the day of. As for personal problems are part of life and cant be helped. But if a small matter they wont. And you will have to hide your emotions inorder to satisfy the customer. And if a troubleing customer comes that might be rude or disrespectful one must always ignore what he/she says just to please the customer. Hold your emotions. Until later when can release them freely. So having control over stress and emotons is important for front office staffs. To ensure that customers are treated correctly and avoid any problems. Being polite and always showing warmth to all customers. When working in a hotel as a front office staff it is important to always be polite to all customers, politeness is one of the main things to remember when serving a customer. Being rude will show that the hotel does not care about the customers. Even when the customer is wrong the staff must always respect the customer and remember that the customer is always right. When outside ad out of uniform you can say what you want. But when inside of the hotel or wearing the uniform you must respect all customers and always be polite to all the customers. Showing warmth to customers is important being able to show the customer that they are wanted. Try void body contact a customers would not think well some some one they dont know hugging them. A simple thank you or a smile would be enough to show a customer that they are wanted in the hotel. Being courteous. Courtsy is a form of politeness saying that you for your stay will show your customer that their business is appreciated in a hotel. Always remember that inside a hotel staff must always show courtsy to all customers even if a customer is rude or abnoixous but they are all customers of the hotel and for a hotel to be a success the hotel must have customers so being courteous is important for a hotel. Every hotel must remember to make sure that their front office staff are show courtsy to all customers. Having patience with all troubleing customers. Patience is important for every employee in a hotel. If its being patient with your boss or more importantly being patient around a troubling customer. A customer way be annoying, rude, disrespectful or just an overall pain. But its the job of a front desk employee to make sure that the customer enjoys their stay. Patience is the key for success as they say. Every employee must be able to handle a customer, have patience with troubling customers and know how to treat all customers correctly. This having being said every front office manager must always remember to train all staff in ways to communicate with customers to successfully gain their business. Every employee shold be kind to all customers, talk in a soft tone to each and every customer And always make sure that the customer is pleased when checking into room and checking out. Make sure that their stay is a plesent one. CONCLUSION Every employee must have a special set of skills to make sure that a customers stay is plesent. So a manager must always make sure that the acting supervisor is coorectly training staff to handle customers correctly. By making sure that the employees all know how to communicate with a customer correctly and efficiently. Making sure that all employees are warm and kind hearted to all current and future customers, enable to sustain current customers and attract potential customers to the hotel. Making sure that customers have no complaints with employees attitude, A good first impression goes along way where all employees know how to dress correctly and look presentable to all customers for the hotel. Being presentable means having the correct uniform and a decent hairstyle nothing to crazy. Being able to handle stress is important to for all employees where they must not show their unhappy mood to customers. Customers dont want to see your attitude. Being courteous to all customers is something every employee must remember. A customer is the income for a hotel. And the reason you work there. So always show customer courtsy. Being able to handle troubleing customers is important. Some time customers can be un-understanding, a employee need to be able to handel a troubling customer easily. Bibliogaphy http://www.ehow.com/facts_5538984_hotel-office-manager-job-description.html http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_Duties_and_responsibilities_of_front_office_manager_in_hotel http://www.paycheck.in/main/work-and-pay/women-paycheck/job-outlook-2/front-office-staff-receptionist-in-hotels-1 http://www.wowjobs.co.za/job/Oops.aspx

Death of a Salesman Essays -- essays research papers

The Dysfunctional Family In Arthur Miller’s drama, â€Å"Death of a Salesman† the protagonist is a sixty-year-old salesperson by the name of Willy Loman. Willy suffers from self-delusion and is obsessed with the desire to succeed. Willy’s actions strongly influence his family, which contributes to their self-delusions. Willy’s wife Linda is an enabler and is codependent upon him. Linda encourages and participates in Willy’s delusions. She is unselfish and her life revolves around Willy and their two boys Biff and Happy. The Lomans are definitely a dysfunctional family due to their lack of communication, respect, and morals. The basis for any healthy relationship is communication. Communication is something the Lomans do not practice often, and when they do, it usually ends in a shouting match. Willy has extremely poor listening skills, which is an important part of communication. When Willy goes to speak with Howard about getting a job in New York, Willy would talk over Howard whenever he would say anything that Willy did not want to hear. Howard leaves Willy in the office alone to greet people outside. Willy then notices this himself saying, "Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! How could I!† (Miller 1350; all page references are to the class text, The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5 th ed.). Willy however, is not the only member of the Loman family with ... Death of a Salesman Essays -- essays research papers The Dysfunctional Family In Arthur Miller’s drama, â€Å"Death of a Salesman† the protagonist is a sixty-year-old salesperson by the name of Willy Loman. Willy suffers from self-delusion and is obsessed with the desire to succeed. Willy’s actions strongly influence his family, which contributes to their self-delusions. Willy’s wife Linda is an enabler and is codependent upon him. Linda encourages and participates in Willy’s delusions. She is unselfish and her life revolves around Willy and their two boys Biff and Happy. The Lomans are definitely a dysfunctional family due to their lack of communication, respect, and morals. The basis for any healthy relationship is communication. Communication is something the Lomans do not practice often, and when they do, it usually ends in a shouting match. Willy has extremely poor listening skills, which is an important part of communication. When Willy goes to speak with Howard about getting a job in New York, Willy would talk over Howard whenever he would say anything that Willy did not want to hear. Howard leaves Willy in the office alone to greet people outside. Willy then notices this himself saying, "Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! How could I!† (Miller 1350; all page references are to the class text, The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5 th ed.). Willy however, is not the only member of the Loman family with ...

American and Japanese values system Essays -- compare, contrast, compar

Japan and America each have their own value system that draws comparable interest for how it shapes society and patterns of interaction. Even though there are similarities between the two-value systems, it is essential to understand the fundamental differences that deal with equality, respect, and communication style. Understanding the motivations behind behaviors will lead to successful intercultural interactions. Japanese society exhibits a gender base stratification of society. Male dominance over female contributes to upholding norms and expectations of gender specific division of labor. Still prevalent and modeled after by most households in Japan, is that the male is typical salaryman ‘breadwinner’ that provides only the economic means. Meanwhile, the female is the ‘shufu’ or the full house wife is responsible for the household, raising children, and the wellbeing of the husband’s parents. The masculine and feminine speech patterns further refines the gender roles and the gender divide in all domains of society. Masculine speech is vulgar while feminine speech is politer in nuance. Even though the institutions that prevent women from entering into the workforce are changing, it is stigmatize that a woman’s career peck at age 25 and expected to return to the house married with ‘shufu’ responsibilities. ‘Career women’ are marginalized from society for having a higher status in income or education to good for oneself. This contrasts with America’s society of equality. Male and female are encouraged to pursue individual goals and aspirations as competitive equals. The transparency of institutions discourages discrimination and enables women to strive and advance in their careers in the majo... ... pursing happiness by being able to strive for individual achievement and desires. Many Americans would go back to school to seek better skills or degrees in improving the available opportunities in life. Similar in Japan, expectations by parents push their kids into the correct primary schools and later, cram schools, in order to get ahead because of the examination culture. At an early age, these kids learn that self-improvement is the means of avoiding marginalization public and family shame. The fundamental differences between the American and Japanese values system is the difference in individualistic and collectivism tendencies. Both Americans and Japanese see share similarities in time orientation and self-improvement. Understanding the core assumptions of each culture will improve the intercultural interactions and promote a global consciousness.

Tablets vs. Textbooks

During the 21st century, humans have developed the scientific technologies more rapidly than ever before. And the way of their lives is also changing according to the change of new technologies. Nowadays, we can easily see the people who are holding tablets with their hands around our place. A tablet is simply a mobile computer that is small, portable, and easy to use with just two fingers. Since it has been recognized for its usefulness and utility, many students study and do their homework with tablets. As tablets have become more prevalent, a new debate has formed over whether schools should replace print textbooks by tablets.In fact, many schools and states have begun transitioning from the paper textbooks to digital learning environments, â€Å"California launched a free digital textbooks initiative in 2009, and West Virginia replaced social studies print textbook purchases with digital textbooks† (FCC). However, there are some people who disagree with the idea of using t ablets in school. The opponent of tablets’ argument is that tablets can have a bad influence on student’s education in a way that it can distract student’s attention and contribute to an eye strain. I would argue that the positive aspects of using tablets in school outweigh the negative.The recent research has shown that tablets help students learn more materials faster, â€Å"Technology-based instruction can reduce the time students take to reach a learning objective by 30-80%, according to the US Department of Education and studies by the National Training† (FCC 9). Actually, tablets can provide various methods of studying which are very distinguishable from paper textbooks. It is possible for tablets to explain the concepts with such as sound and video clips. Not only do these functions make studying interesting, but it would really help students improve their learning abilities.In my experience, I also had more fun when I was studying with a tablet. R ather than just reading printed texts, variety of contents a tablet provides helped me understand the concepts more easily and interestingly. Also, tablets can hold thousands of books on one device. Usually, when we are using the paper textbooks, the books actually take up much space of our place. However, if we are using tablets, we can eliminate the need for physical storage of textbooks and classroom materials. It is known that â€Å"The average tablet contains anywhere from 8 to 64 gigabytes (GB)of storage space. On the Amazon Kindle Fire, for instance, 1,000 books take up one GB of space† (Price), which implies that people don’t need to go to the library every time when they need a book to borrow. Since they can find and read almost every book they need on one device, it can reduce the waste of time finding the books and help students concentrate on their studies. Furthermore, there is one another important aspect of the fact that tablets can hold thousands of boo ks, which is that it can eliminate the need for carrying heavy print textbooks.Up until now, students carry lots of heavy textbooks in their backpacks when they go to school. Not only does it make them feel tired, but it could actually cause injuries. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, it was recorded that â€Å"during the 2011-12 school year more than 13,700 kids, aged 5 to 18, were treated for backpack-related injuries† (Dallas). In contrast, a tablet only weighs 1-2 pounds, while the average weight of a student’s backpack is 15. 4 pounds (Dallas). When I was in high school, there were some students who didn’t want to carry the textbooks in their backpacks just because of its heavy weight.But, if they are told to carry a tablet instead of textbooks, I am pretty sure all of them wouldn’t resist doing it. Using tablets can also save some of the money purchasing from the print textbooks. For the print textbooks, there are printing, tra nsportation and warehouse costs. However, if we are using E-textbooks on tablets, we can yield tangible savings in these costs. In fact, it is reported that â€Å"E-textbooks can save schools between $250- $1,000 per student per year† (Electronista). With that amount of money saving per student, we can see that it would exceed the amount of expenditure on providing a tablet for each student.Similarly, using E-textbooks can also save our environment. Since all the print textbooks are made of paper, we have to cut down the trees to make a paper and ultimately print a textbook. Some statistical data has shown that A school with 100 teachers uses on average 250,000 pieces of paper annually. A school of 1,000 students on average spends between $3,000-4,000 a month on paper, ink, and toner, not counting printer wear and tear or technical support costs. (Williams) Indeed, we can see that we are using huge amount of papers in school and losing a lot of trees accordingly.But, if we ar e using tablets, it will lower the amount of papers teachers have to print out for the assignments and handouts, which will consequently help to save the environment. Furthermore, tablets help students better prepare for a world immersed in technology. Students will be able to develop their technology skills with tablets by simply doing homework, customizing the apps or making out presentation materials. In the present and near future, more jobs would require the worker’s high technology skill, since the tools that workers use is also rapidly developing and changing.According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it reports that â€Å"Employment in computer and information systems is expected to grow by 18% between 2010 and 2020†. Therefore, students that learn technology skills early in their lives will be better prepared to pursue relevant careers later in life. However, there are some arguments that tablets can have a bad influence on student’s education. The argument that tablets have too many distractions for classroom uses has been considered to be one of the most important concerns we shouldn’t neglect.Indeed, there is a high possibility that students may pay attention more to the apps, games and websites instead of their teachers. But, if there’s the app for teachers that allow them to control all the devices in classroom, there will be no need to worry about students being distracted. Likewise, when I was in high school, students were not able to call with their phones within a school area. That was because the system in school blocked the student’s communication network, so we needed to go outside of school to make a call.Thus, in the similar way, schools may be able to block the distracting games and websites within the classroom. Another argument is that tablets are more susceptible to theft than print textbooks. It is reported that â€Å"In San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, robberies related to in ternet –enabled handheld devices have accounted for 50, 40, and 25 percent respectively of all robberies in 2012† (Associated Press). Since the electronic devices such as tablets are likely to be more expensive than print textbooks, there will be a high possibility for the danger of theft.Therefore, it will be very important to have a system that protects against the danger of tablet theft, if schools replace print textbooks by tablets. For the solution, schools may limit the use of tablets outside of school and let students keep their own tablets in their lockers. And in fact, there is already the app that can track down the location of its device, so it would help prevent theft from others. Through researching the both advantages and disadvantages of using tablets in schools, I could have found that there are  more advantages than disadvantages.Even though tablets have some distractions and are more susceptible to theft than print textbooks, those problems can be re solved with the appropriate school’s policy. Rather, we should focus on the positive influence that tablets can bring up on the students’ education. In fact, many students easily fall asleep in class while reading the textbooks, because the print textbooks are boring to read and the reading level of some of the textbooks is too difficult so that students sometimes cannot understand the important concepts.But, tablets can help reduce this kind of problems, because it can make learning fun and easy in a way of explaining the concepts. In print textbooks, it explains the concepts usually with bunch of written words, sometimes with pictures. Every page looks almost same if we don’t look carefully on the content of writing. In contrast, the way of tablets can explain some particular concept is countless. Unlike the print textbooks, tablets allow us customize its software in several ways.In that way, teachers can make their lectures more interesting and attractive for the students. Then, students will less likely to fall asleep during the class and learn more materials. In addition, students no longer have to carry bunch of heavy textbooks, if they can use tablets. Also, not only using tablets instead of textbooks can save money from the printing, transportation and warehouse costs, but it can also save our environment by reducing the amount of trees cutting down to make a paper.Consequently, I could have noticed from researching the topic that the positive effect of tablets on student’s education outweighs the negative. Tablets can effectively help students improve their learning abilities and creativities. Besides, it positively influences on the environment and students’ health problem. But still, many people tend to stick to traditional education system. As we are living in an era of rapid technological change, it is also important for the education system to change and evolve correspondingly.