Analysis of Information Technology Role for Global Retailer

Analysis of Information Technology Role for Global Retailer PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose of report: This report has been requested by Mr Frank Hedge, the CEO of Myer Department Stores- Australia. The reports purpose is to investigate and analyse the strategic role of information technology (IT) to Myers business, including an IT infrastructure audit. Cloud computing is evaluated, and recommendations made for its partial adoption. 1.2 Limitations: This report is limited by the lack of IT infrastructure details provided by Myer. Assumptions were made when required, to enable completion of the report. 1.3 Scope of the report: This report focuses on Myer and the potential use of cloud computing within its IT infrastructure. Divided into four main sections, the report covers Myer; IT infrastructure challenges; cloud computing costs/ benefits and recommendations for cloud computing adoption. It has been compiled from research literature and phone/email interviews with two Myer store managers. 1.4) Myer and its industry Homepage URL; http://www.myer.com.au/ Myer is Australias largest department store group with 65 stores and approximately 14,000 employees. It is present in 25 of Australias top 30 retail centres and attracted 185 million customers in 2009 (Myer 2010). Myer generated net profits of $106.8 million for the first half of the 2011 financial year (AAP 2011). Myer operates across major segments of the Australian non-food retail industry as a department store chain. This industry consists of four segments; household goods, clothing soft goods, department stores and other (eg newspapers, books) (Myer 2010). Myer competes with other department stores, discount department stores, and single store operators as well as internet retailers and direct retailers. Within the department store segment, David Jones is Myers main competition though the former targets a slightly higher income group (Myer 2010). Competition exists with other retailers on price, store location, product range and customer service. Additionally, consumer demand hinges on factors such as disposable income which are sensitive to macroeconomic conditions eg interest rate rises (Myer 2010). The industry has struggled recently, due to weak consumer confidence and increased competition from cheaper overseas internet retailers (GST free and strong Australian Dollar) (Brooks 2010). 1.5) Myers products services: Myer offers approximately 600 000 product lines from 800 suppliers globally including categories such as; clothing; beauty and cosmetics; electrical and homewares (Myer 2010). Myer provides additional products and services such as; Myer One customer loyalty program, over 3 million members. Gift cards Myer corporate sales- eg corporate gifts, office fit outs, VIP nights Insurance (home, contents, travel, car) Bridal gift registry Myer Visa Card (Myer 2010). 1.6) Myers corporate mission corporate structure: ‘At Myer we strive to offer customers a wide and relevant choice of brands, rewards and ideas in a way that makes them feel both welcome and inspired, (Myer 2010, p.3). Myers corporate structure is shown in Figure 1.1. Head office operates under a hybrid of divisional (eg apparel, electrical division) and functional groups (Finance, marketing etc). A national retail store manager oversees regional store managers, who oversee individual store managers. Head office functional groups, directly manage their particular function (eg HR) in the individual stores (Myer 2010; S Johnson 2011, pers. comm., 20 April). (Adapted from: Myer 2010, pp. 25-7). 1.7) Myers major business processes: Laudon and Laudon (2010), note business processes are sets of activities to produce a product or service. Due to its variety of offer, Myer has many business processes such as; Sourcing product to offer in store. Automating administrative processes. Reducing stock theft. Creating visual merchandise displays. Analysing potential sites for new stores. Refurbishing existing stores. Making sales (Myer 2010). 1.8) Myers business strategy Myer has invested substantially in its business since 2006 ($500 million) realizing a world class supply chain, improved retail execution and focused customer service (competitive advantages) (Myer 2010). Myer aims for additional margin and sales growth using specific strategies of; Opening 15 new stores in next five years. Revitalizing instore environments for a better customer experience. Expanding the Myer One program. Implementing a new point of sale system (POS) improving productivity customer service. Implementing a CCTV system to reduce losses (Myer 2010). 1.9) Myers relationships with external entities: Myer has significant relationships with a variety of entities which include; Its 800 global suppliers (Myer 2010). Global sourcing offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai (Algar 2011). Partnership with Melbourne Institute of Technology for paid internship for students (RMIT 2011). Myers involved with philanthropic and community programs including children and womens charities and Melbourne Christmas Carols (Myer 2010). PART 2: IT INFRASTRUCTURE: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES(727 words) 2.1) Description of Myers IT infrastructure: Laudon and Laudon (2010 p. 191) describe IT infrastructure as, ‘the shared technology resources that provide the platform for the firms specific information system applications. It includes investment in hardware, software, and services†¦that are shared across the entire firm†¦. Myers IT infrastructure was analysed according to Laudon and Laudons (2010 p. 203) model which comprises of seven components. The required information was obtained from Myers Head Office IT department and interviews with two store managers (Appendix 1). A summary of each component is presented in Table 2.1. The IT infrastructure differs between head office and individual stores, due to centralization (Slotty 2009). TABLE 2.1 Summary of Myers IT infrastructure ecosystem. (Adapted: Myer IT department; Interview with two Myer Store managers 2011). The key findings from the analysis of Myers IT infrastructure presented above, are as follows; Computer hardware platforms: Client machines (desktops) are not standardized across Myer. A small number of servers exist at multiple locations (65 stores) doing replicated tasks (localized data storage, networking etc). Operating system platforms: Client and server machine software is licensed per computer with Windows variability on client machines. Large information asymmetry exists between managers and sales staff due to their limited access to software (Laudon Laudon 2010). Enterprise software applications: While an intranet portal exists to link to Myers applications, only newer applications (eg Mymerch- merchandising, POS) are fully integrated. Many legacy systems remain isolated and not integrated. Networking/Telecommunications: Myer operates both analog (phone system) and digital (data) networks using two providers (Telstra and IBM). While Myer accesses the internet, it also operates private networks (intranet) in the form of LANs and WANs. Networking is not possible between individual stores. Consultants System Integrators: Integration and implementation of new IT infrastructure is outsourced to IBM, including training. Data management storage: While the majority of Myers data is stored with a third party vendor, localized data storage occurs at individual stores (65). Internet platforms: Physical infrastructure and maintenance of Myers website is outsourced to third parties. Information asymmetry exists, with very limited access to internet for individual stores. Myers network infrastructure is further illustrated in Figure 2.1, which outlines information flows. Note information does not flow between stores, only between stores and head office. (Adapted: Myer IT department; Interview with two Myer Store managers 2011). 2.2) The issues and challenges of managing Myers IT infrastructure: Myer faces several challenges and issues in managing its IT infrastructure. Laudon and Laudon (2010) identify challenges arising from platform and technology change, management and governance and investing in infrastructure prudently. These challenges are also influenced by the strategic role of IT to the business and the impact of the industry in which the organization operates. By revisiting section 1.8 it can be seen that IT plays an important strategic role in achieving Myers medium term goals of increased operating margins and sales growth by; Facilitating increased supplier and sales volumes from new store initiatives (eg hardware and software required). Optimizing productivity, cost savings and customer satisfaction via implementation of new applications (POS system and CCTV loss prevention system). Catering for an expanded Myer One loyalty program (increased data storage and analysis needs for targeted marketing) (Myer 2010). As a result of ITs important strategic role, the challenges of managing Myers IT infrastructure are intensified. This is best demonstrated by specific examples; The challenge of platform and infrastructure change: To best accommodate expected future growth, improved productivity, cost efficiencies and increased data needs, infrastructure components need to be easily scalable (Armbrust et al 2010). This will be particularly true with regards to Myers hardware software platforms, its enterprise software applications and its networking, internet and data storage platforms. Currently, significant pressures exist within Myers industry. Consumer spending is down and offshore internet retailers are offering cheaper prices due to the strong Australian dollar and absence of GST (Brooks 2010). This poses further challenges to Myer to adjust components of its IT infrastructure quickly to generate database driven marketing programs or improve its operating efficiencies (Myer 2010). If cloud computing platforms are considered as future components of Myers infrastructure, then appropriate use guidelines and practices will be needed. Service level agreements (SLAs) for example would commit cloud computing vendors to minimum levels of performance and reliability for Myers systems (Hinchcliffe 2009). The challenge of management and governance: The management and governance of Myers IT infrastructure is significant, considering its strategic role, further evidenced by the commitment of $500 million to its IT program since 2006 (Myer 2010). Aspects to be considered include the location of IT control (centralized or decentralized model), the allocation of IT costs to functional groups or stores, the strategies and policies for using IT and measuring effective return on IT investments (Laudon Laudon 2010). The challenge of investing in IT infrastructure prudently: Considering the significance of IT infrastructure for Myer as it seeks its business goals, this is a crucial challenge. Whether Myer should rent or buy its infrastructure components will be further investigated in section 4 of this report. (Laudon Laudon 2010) PART 3: CLOUD COMPUTING ITS BUSINESS BENEFITS COSTS(986 words) 3.1)An overview of Cloud Computing: Zhang et al. (2010) note cloud computing is not a new idea. While many definitions abound, from an organizations perspective, ‘Cloud computing is an architecture in which companies consume technology resources as an internet service rather than as an owned system (Brandel 2009, p. 1). Most people have already experienced cloud computing through the use of Hotmail, Gmail or Facebook (Wyld 2009). Recent improvements in internet bandwidth, virtualization of servers and storage, open source software, adoption of Web 2.0 standards, has pushed cloud computing strongly into the business sphere (Kennedy 2011). Mell and Grance (2011) claim that cloud computing consists of five crucial characteristics, three service models (software, platform and infrastructure as services) and four deployment models (private, community, public and hybrid clouds) which are outlined in Tables 3.1 and 3.2. Potentially cloud computing can deliver to a business most of its IT needs (from computing power to collaboration tools to software) as an on demand service, wherever and whenever required. As long as an internet connection exists, computing becomes location and device independent (Agger 2009). TABLE3.1 The crucial characteristics, and service models of cloud computing. (Adapted from: Mell Grance 2011, pp. 2-3; Department of Finance Deregulation 2011, pp. 12-3) TABLE3.2 The deployment models of cloud computing. (Adapted from: Mell Grance 2011, pp. 2-3; Department of Finance Deregulation 2011, pp. 12-3) 3.2) Current trends in Cloud Computing: Present studies suggest, ‘†¦the number of organizations using cloud computing to rise to 43% within four years as they continue to cut their costs (Cross 2011 p. 1). In addition to greater cloud computing use in general, there are several trends within cloud computing concerning areas such as; User type deployment models- ONeill (2011), notes small to medium enterprises using cloud computing are typically accessing public clouds for cost savings compared with private clouds. Alternatively larger enterprises use private clouds (third party or onsite) for greater control. Governments (federal level) are trialing SaaS and Ouellette (2011) believes state and local governments will soon follow. Purposes for using cloud services- Its principal use remains as a testing/developing environment and/or as a platform for less critical services and applications (Knorr Gruman 2010). Synder (in The Australian 2010) believes moving core applications to the cloud is still to come. ITs changing role- Hakala (2009) believes the need for IT workers performing maintenance tasks will contract as cloud computing is embraced and employees can ‘self serve directly from the cloud. Innovation- Cloud computing will continue to be a conduit for business innovation due to its low costs and rapid scalability of IT resources (Kennedy 2011; Information Age 2011) Pricing- Cloud computing pricing (especially commodity) continues to become cheaper and simpler for users. Thibodeau (2009) suggests models utilizing a set number of hours for a range of cloud services. SLAs improved security- Improving cloud computing reliability via strong service level agreements (SLAs) continues (Hinchcliffe 2009). Colley (2011) Violino (2010) expect most businesses will demand independent certification of cloud providers reliability in next few years. Cloud providers are targeting improved security to allay user concerns. Working groups such as the Cloud Security Alliance are focusing on this issue (Thibodeau 2009). Violino (2010) noted a need for better access control and identity management within and across clouds. Improved performance and service- The performance of cloud services rises, as more managed service providers enter the market (Ouellette 2011) and performance monitoring standardises (Thibodeau 2009). Typically IT staff connect cloud services individually, though cloud aggregators and integrators are emerging to smooth this barrier (Knorr Gruman 2010). 3.3) The business benefits of Cloud Computing: Cloud computing offers many benefits to business. Leighton (2009 p. 5) asserts, cloud computing will ‘transform the way IT is consumed and managed, promising improved cost efficiencies, accelerated innovation, faster time-to-market, and the ability to scale applications on demand. Sagari (c. 2010) notes the level of benefits cloud computing brings to an organization will vary dependant on the types of services utilized, the business processes evident and the degree of integration achieved. Major business benefits can include; Reduced costs (set up ongoing) * Increased flexibility response times Scalability increased efficiencies * Increased business focus. Increased innovation * Improved mobility Armbrust et al (2010) maintains, one of the most impressive benefits of cloud computing is scalability (elasticity of resources). The business pays for its hardware needs (servers, storage) on demand with the cloud providing great elasticity. Business needs can be scaled up or down as required, saving time, money and improving revenue in peak periods (Zhang et al. 2006; Waxer n.d.). Additional business benefits offered by cloud computing include; Smoothed cash flow * Increased strategic role for IT Reduced business risk * Improved sustainability. Greater computation power * Improved business continuity These benefits are further expanded in Appendix 2 with business examples and their references. 3.4) Cloud computing solutions for Myer: Section 4 details specific cloud computing recommendations to be adopted by Myer. In contrast, Table 3.3, outlines cloud computing solutions best suited to Myer for the aspect identified in column one. The reasons for these choices are as follows; Servers for serving applications- Amazon EC2 has been the market leader in this area and for good reason (Huang 2010). It exceeds Microsoft Azures new offering and it has a superior range of operating systems to use (eg Linux, Myer using), compared with Googles App Engine (Amazon 2011). Servers for storage- Amazon S3 was preferred over Microsoft Azure and Nirvanix for the reasons noted in Table 3.3 eg a price leader, very easy to use and highly reliable, SLA exceeding 99.99% (Huang 2010). Client productivity software- Microsofts new Office 365 retains the known office layout of which Myer staff are familiar. Additionally it incorporates email, calendar collaboration tools. Superior in features to Google Docs or Zoho (McAllister 2010). Private cloud- If recommended to Myer, Amazons virtual private cloud is a good solution. It integrates easily with a firms existing IT infrastructure, including firewalls and security systems (Amazon 2011). Applications- As an application development platform, Force.com has been suggested for its long history of business application development. Furthermore, to use this environment, subscription to Salesforce.com CRM applications are required, which may be beneficial to Myer (Force.com c.2011). TABLE 3.3Most suitable cloud computing solutions for Myer. (Adapted from: Amazon 2011;Force.com c. 2011; Microsoft 2011) 3.5) Costs of cloud computing to Myer: Typically the IT industry uses ‘Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to determine the total cost of a technology implementation (Laudon Laudon 2010). Table 3.4 provides an estimate of the costs to Myer in implementing the cloud computing solutions listed in Table 3.3. As can be seen, support, maintenance, space and energy costs pass to the cloud provider and hardware and software acquisition costs are essentially avoided. Some training costs of the IT staff involved in implementing and/or the staff using the cloud services would be incurred (Aggarwal McCabe 2009). A small amount of ongoing support to Office 365 users may also be required. Integration issues and costs are not expected, as the servers and software to be sourced via the cloud will not be critical systems. Additional infrastructure costs (eg bandwidth) resulting from cloud computings greater internet reliance, may occur. Downtime estimates from providers SLAs are less than typical IT departments of large companies ie 44hrs/yr (Mann 2010). Moving data into and out of Amazon S3 storage, will incur costs (Amazon 2011). Finally, Aggarwal and McCabe (2009), reported TCO savings of some 50% over four years, for medium sized businesses implementing CRM software from the cloud, compared with on-premise deployment. TABLE 3.4 Total cost of ownership (TCO) for Myers cloud computing solutions. (Adapted from: Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 224; Amazon 2011; Microsoft 2011; Force.com c.2011 ) PART 4: RECOMMENDATION OF CLOUD COMPUTING ADOPTION/ ADAPTION(785 words) 4.1) Competitive forces model for IT infrastructure Investment: Specific recommendations for the adoption of a cloud computing strategy by Myer will soon be made. These recommendations will be based on the preceding analysis and also take into account the ‘competitive forces model for IT infrastructure as described in Laudon and Laudon (2010 pp. 222-3). Table 4.1 summarises the main points of this model as it relates to Myer. TABLE 4.1: Competitive forces model for IT infrastructure investment of Myer Model components Outcome 1) Market demand for Myers services (eg customer, supplier enterprise): Myers point of sale (POS) system supply chain improvements are based on extensive research of their services. These systems improved efficiency speed, and are satisfying customers, suppliers staff (Tindal 2010) Information asymmetry especially with sales staff is affecting performance.

Introduction to Debt Policy Essay -- essays research papers

When a firm grows, it needs capital, and that capital can come from debt or equity. Debt has two important advantages. First, interest paid on Debt is tax deductible to the corporation. This effectively reduces the debt’s effective cost. Second, debt holders get a fixed return so stockholders do not have to share their profits if the business is extremely successful. Debt has disadvantages as well, the higher the debt ratio, the riskier the company, hence higher the cost of debt as well as equity. If the company suffers financial hardships and the operating income is not sufficient to cover interest charges, its stockholders will have to make up for the shortfall and if they cannot, bankruptcy will result. Debt can be an obstacle that blocks a company from seeing better times even if they are a couple of quarters away. Capital structure policy is a trade-off between risk and return:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using debt raises the risk borne by stock holders  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using more debt generally leads to a higher expected rate on equity. There are four primary factors influence capital structure decisions:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business risk, or the riskiness inherent in the firm’s operations, if it uses no debt. The greater the firm’s business risk, the lower its optimal debt ratio.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The firm’s tax position. A major reason for using debt is that interest is tax deductible, which lowers the effective cost of debt. However if most of a firm’s income is already sheltered from taxes by depreciation tax shields, by interest on currently outstanding debt, or by tax loss carry forwards, its tax rate will already be low, so additional debt will not be as advantageous as it would be to a firm with a higher effective tax rate.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Financial flexibility or the ability to raise capital on reasonable terms under adverse conditions. Corporate treasurers know that a steady supply of capital is necessary for stable operations, which is vital for long-run success. They also know that when money is tight in the economy, or when a firm is experiencing operating difficulties, suppliers of capital prefer to provide funds to companies with strong balance sheets. Therefore, both the potential future need for funds and the consequences of a funds shortage influence the target capital struct... ...p;  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,701,744  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  668,391 Total Value  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,701,744  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2,234,077 Total per share = (Total Value)/(No. of Shares)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  60.50  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  79.43   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before re-capitalization, the weight of debt of the Kopper’s firm is around 9.1% (172,409 / 1,889,153) and the share price is $60.50. Issuing a debt of $1,738,095,000 has changed the capital structure of the firm and the new weight of Debt is 71.8% (1,738,095 / 2,421,486). Though, the share price has decreased to $23.76 after re-capitalization, shareholders have a cash flow of $79.43 due to the dividend of $55.67 (79.43 - 23.76) paid out. Share Price before Re-capitalization  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $60.50 New Share Price after Re-capitalization (SP)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $23.76 Number of Shares (N)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  28,128 Value of Dividend Paid Out (D)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $1,565,686 Dividend Distributed per share (Div/share = D/N)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $55.67 Total Value to Shareholder (SP + Div/Share)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $79.43 Introduction to Debt Policy Essay -- essays research papers When a firm grows, it needs capital, and that capital can come from debt or equity. Debt has two important advantages. First, interest paid on Debt is tax deductible to the corporation. This effectively reduces the debt’s effective cost. Second, debt holders get a fixed return so stockholders do not have to share their profits if the business is extremely successful. Debt has disadvantages as well, the higher the debt ratio, the riskier the company, hence higher the cost of debt as well as equity. If the company suffers financial hardships and the operating income is not sufficient to cover interest charges, its stockholders will have to make up for the shortfall and if they cannot, bankruptcy will result. Debt can be an obstacle that blocks a company from seeing better times even if they are a couple of quarters away. Capital structure policy is a trade-off between risk and return:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using debt raises the risk borne by stock holders  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using more debt generally leads to a higher expected rate on equity. There are four primary factors influence capital structure decisions:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business risk, or the riskiness inherent in the firm’s operations, if it uses no debt. The greater the firm’s business risk, the lower its optimal debt ratio.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The firm’s tax position. A major reason for using debt is that interest is tax deductible, which lowers the effective cost of debt. However if most of a firm’s income is already sheltered from taxes by depreciation tax shields, by interest on currently outstanding debt, or by tax loss carry forwards, its tax rate will already be low, so additional debt will not be as advantageous as it would be to a firm with a higher effective tax rate.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Financial flexibility or the ability to raise capital on reasonable terms under adverse conditions. Corporate treasurers know that a steady supply of capital is necessary for stable operations, which is vital for long-run success. They also know that when money is tight in the economy, or when a firm is experiencing operating difficulties, suppliers of capital prefer to provide funds to companies with strong balance sheets. Therefore, both the potential future need for funds and the consequences of a funds shortage influence the target capital struct... ...p;  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,701,744  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  668,391 Total Value  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,701,744  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2,234,077 Total per share = (Total Value)/(No. of Shares)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  60.50  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  79.43   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before re-capitalization, the weight of debt of the Kopper’s firm is around 9.1% (172,409 / 1,889,153) and the share price is $60.50. Issuing a debt of $1,738,095,000 has changed the capital structure of the firm and the new weight of Debt is 71.8% (1,738,095 / 2,421,486). Though, the share price has decreased to $23.76 after re-capitalization, shareholders have a cash flow of $79.43 due to the dividend of $55.67 (79.43 - 23.76) paid out. Share Price before Re-capitalization  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $60.50 New Share Price after Re-capitalization (SP)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $23.76 Number of Shares (N)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  28,128 Value of Dividend Paid Out (D)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $1,565,686 Dividend Distributed per share (Div/share = D/N)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $55.67 Total Value to Shareholder (SP + Div/Share)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $79.43

In the Dream of the Man that was Dreaming, the Dreamt Man Woke Essay

By traditional definition, perception is anything that can be known through the five senses. However, this quote adds another dimension to the idea about perception. It implies that perception is not dictated by the five senses, but by the brain. If a man perceives something, he has either seen it, heard it, felt it, smelt it, tasted it, or any combination of those. A man knows that a car has crashed because he saw the collision and heard the loud noise. He knows that he likes steak through enjoying its pleasant smell and satisfying taste. In addition, he knows that fire is hot because the nervous system allows him to feel its warmth. However, one usually forgets that it is impossible to use these senses without the brain, which controls each of these perceptions. The quote serves as a supporting reminder of this idea. Arguably, the dreaming man is able to perceive a dreamt man waking up. Yet, he does not necessarily see the man with his own eyes, because his eyelids are shut. He does not hear the dreamt man with his ears; he does not feel the man with his hands, and he certainly doesn’t taste or smell the man. So how is he able to perceive him? He is able to perceive him because his brain still functions, creating the image of the dreamt man waking. Now, the reason why the brain creates the image of the dreamt man is for another paper, about dream interpreting. The quote simply implies that we perceive only what our brain wants us to, and that our brain may even make us perceive what is not reality. It may be possible that we do not always know what is reality even if it is right in front of us. For example, today might feel like a cold day, yet it is still about 50-60 degrees F. However, in the winter months of January and February, a 60 degree day may not feel so cold. In fact, it would even feel warm compared to the usual freezing temperature. This is because the brain interprets what messages are sent through the nervous system, and it tells the body to feel warm because it is used to a colder temperature. Recently, due to the sniper shootings, America’s Most Wanted conducted a study which proved that the brain can affect what a witness may have seen with his or her own eyes. This is a major cause of the inconsistent eyewitness accounts of the shootings. These are just a few examples that prove that perception is under the complete control of the brain. Perception is much more than what the body is able to sense; it is how the brain interprets the information it receives through those senses. Even while the body is in slumber, the brain continues to interpret and create perceptions. Does the brain have a mind of its own?

China essay part 2

China essay part 2 China essay part 2 China essay part 2China essay   part  1However, unlike the US economy, the Chinese economy keeps growing and still has a considerable potential to keep growing in the future due to the development of the services sector, for example (Kuotsa, 2008). In such a situation, China can maintain its steady growth which though may be not so high as it used to be in the 2000s. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the development of Chinese economy relies heavily on the Chinese export at the moment. However, China has the huge internal market potential since, at the moment, the consumption within China is still low, taking into consideration the demographics and the economic potential of the population of China. Therefore, in case of possible economic difficulties, China can enhance its competitive position consistently through the re-orientation on the domestic consumption, if there are problems in international markets. For instance, if China faces the problem of a new glo bal financial crisis, China can just shift to the stimulation of the internal consumption within the country to compensate possible losses in international markets because of the decrease of demand on Chinese goods and services internationally.Consequently, the development of the Chinese economy still has a considerable potential and the current decrease of the account balance is not disastrous for the domestic economy because the Chinese economy could not just grow at such a high rate as it used to grow in the past decade. At this point, multiple factors have had a considerable influence on the development of the Chinese economy and its account balance, such as the global financial crisis of 2008 which triggered the drop of demand on Chinese goods and services on international markets. At the same time, the growth of the Chinese economy was too high in the previous years that made it difficult to keep up the pace of the growth at such a high rate.The currency rate of Chinese Yuan h as strengthened its position compared to the US dollar and other major currencies, including Euro and others. The change of the currency rate was probably dependent on the change in the account balance of China, its export and import payment balance, and the overall economic development of the country along with financial policies conducted by the government and central bank of China. At the moment, the decrease of the account balance is accompanied by the enhancement of the national currency of China, Yuan. The strengthening of Yuan coincided with the increase of the current accounting payment balance of China which peaked in 2008, when the Yuan exchange rate has get the highest point compared to previous four years and remained stable within the years to follow as well as did the accounting payment balance.On the other hand, researchers (Rodrick, 2012) place emphasis on the fact that the rise of the national currency and its strengthening compared to the US dollar, Euro and other currencies, may trigger the overall decrease of the account balance. At this point, it is important to understand that the increase of the exchange rate of Chinese Yuan means that the price of Chinese goods and services for other countries has increased respectively to the increase of the Yuan exchange rate compared to the US dollar or any other global currency. To put it in simple words, if an item manufactured in China cost $100, when the Yuan exchange rate to the US dollar was 8 to 1, then the same item would cost $125 now, when the exchange rate of Chinese Yuan to the US dollar is about 6 to 1. In such a way, the strengthening of Chinese national currency decreases its exporting opportunities. At any rate, Chinese companies have either to decrease the price of its products and services to keep the price at the same attractive level to customers in foreign countries or to increase the price to maintain the stable level of revenues from the export of goods and services. At the sam e time, Chinese companies have another alternative to compensate possible losses in international markets by the increase of sales in the domestic, Chinese market. However, such a change raises the problem of the development of new strategies to enhance the consumption within China. At this point, the increase of consumption in China depends on multiple factors, such as the buying power of the local population, the inflation rate, the unemployment rate and many other factors. At the moment, the export is still the priority for the development of Chinese companies so far, even though it makes them dependent on the situation in international markets and may decrease their revenues in case of the enhancement of the national currency rate which also is accompanied by the drop of the account balance.Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the development of the Chinese economy is accompanied by the steady growth. At any rate, the Chinese economy keeps growing, in spite of the global financial crisis of 2008 and its negative effects. In this regard, the account balance of China reveals the structure and overall development of the Chinese economy. At the moment, the Chinese economy is oriented on the goods’ production mainly which contributes to the steady growth of the Chinese economy so far. However, in the course of the last decade the accounting balance of China has decreased and cannot grow as fast as it used to be. On the other hand, the decrease of the account payment balance of China is accompanied and, to a certain extent provoked by, the enhancement of the national currency of China, Yuan. Nevertheless, China still has a considerable potential for the further economic growth maintaining its exporting potential along with the stimulation of the domestic consumption.

Dogs And Cats Essays - Cats, Cat, Animal Communication, Dog, Claw

Dogs And Cats Essays - Cats, Cat, Animal Communication, Dog, Claw Dogs and Cats I am going to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between dogs and cats. The similarities are innumerable, yet this holds true with the differences as well. First, we shall discuss the similarities that these two creatures share. One of the most obvious similarities between these two animals is that they both have hair. When a creature has hair, it belongs to the mammal kingdom. This means that they give birth to their young. They also drink milk when they are babies. Another similarity that these animals share is that they are domesticated animals kept as pets. They also require love and affection from their owner. If you show love and affection toward these animals, they will show it back. Another thing that is the same in both of them is that when you pet them, not only does it relieve stress, it gets dog or cat hair every where. They both give birth to multiple offspring at one time, which must be very hard on the mother. Now that I am finished with my explanation of ;the similarities between dogs and cats, I will now discuss with you the differences between these two majestic animals. One of the main differences is that of their species. The cats belong to the family of felines. Dogs, on the other hand, are canines. Another difference is that dogs are pack animals, which means you should spend lots of time with your dog so that it doesn?t get lonely. Cats are loners, meaning they can spend allot of time alone without getting lonely. Another big difference is the sounds that they make. A dog goes woof, bark, growl, or howl. A cat, on the other hand, goes meow and purr. Another difference is their social status, and how they determine their ranks. Cats don?t have any. The determining factor in dogs is the tail. When a cat holds it?s tail up, it means it is happy, but in dogs, how high they hold their tail is how they determine ranks. If one dog meets another dog, and one holds it tail up, it is the one of the higher social class. Another difference is that cats are nocturnal, meaning they go out at night. Dogs, however, are day animals. Another very obvious difference between dogs and cats is that dogs are usually bigger than cats. Cats are usually scared of dogs, and the dogs usually chase the cats. Dogs are also somewhat smarter than cats in the area of verbal command. For example, you can call your dog by name and usually it will come to you, unlike a cat. Also, you can train dogs to do tricks when commanded. Some of the most commonly seen tricks in dogs are role over, fetch, shake hands, sit down, lay down, and play dead. I have never seen a cat do any of these things, and I doubt that I ever will get an opportunity to see a cat preform even one of these tricks. Another difference between cats and dogs is that cats hunt mice, birds, rabbits, and many other types of rodents. A dog will maybe catch a bird, but I have never seen a dog catch a rodent. Here is the reason most people have cats, other than the reason that they are cute, is to catch mice and other rodents. Cats and dogs also hunt in different ways. A dog hunt directly, and when it catches its prey, it kills it immediately. A cat, on the other hand, likes to play with its food, tease it is another way someone described a cat hunting. For example, when a cat sees a mouse, it will pounce on it, then usually claw or bite it, then let it go. It will then pounce on it again, and let it go. Cats will do this for about a half hour before it finally eats its prey. Another difference is their paws and claws. While both of their paws are padded, cats are padded so that they can be stealthy. Their claws are different in the are of sharpness, among other things. Another difference in claws is th at a cats are retractable, while a dog?s aren?t. For

Marketing plan for british airways short haul flights Coursework

Marketing plan for british airways short haul flights - Coursework Example This highlights the need for business organizations to induce greater efficiency in their business process. The present study would focus upon the marketing strategies of British Airways with regards to short haul flights. The choice of the topic assumes significance considering that short haul flights constitute an important part of the business areas for the organization. The following sections would conduct an analysis of the marketing strategies of the firm that would help it to achieve success in the particular business segment. Market Analysis The recent economic crisis had imposed a very crucial blow to the business prospects of the participants of the airline industry. The dip in the levels of disposable income coupled with cost cutting measures taken by business organizations had a heavy impact on the revenue and profit margins of the participants of the airline industry in UK. A report published by the House of Commons in UK states that an approximate 225 million individual passengers and 2 million tonnes worth of goods used the aerial route for transportation. The report also shows comeback signs for the industry as it expect the industry to grow by approximately twice its present market value by 2030. The report also foresees plans for expansion of airports including the construction of a third runway at London Heathrow airport. The report also states the domestic passengers in UK are increasingly resorting to air travel due to the falling fares of the airlines (House of Commons, 2010, p.3). Low cost airlines are also emerging as a threat to British airways by virtue of their competitive pricing strategy. Customer Analysis Customers are the most important stakeholders for an organization. This is particularly more evident for organizations like British Airways whose business market is flooded with competitors. This makes it essential to formulate strategies so as to gain market advantage. In case of airline industry the consumer purchase decision is based on aspects like pricing which is one of the most important aspects that are considered by customers for making a purchase decision. In addition to this some other factors to be considered by the customers include loyalty programs, effective schedule of timings, comfort and ambience, safety and security, type of aircraft etc (refer annexure 1 for details) (Williams, 2008, p.19). Low cost carriers have become a major market player for the short haul segment, which is mostly because of the low fares offered by the airlines. However the low cost carriers score low on their ability to efficiently handle the operations. This represents a gap in the product offering and customer desires which could be effectively tapped by full time carriers like British Airways to gain market advantage. Marketing Objectives The marketing strategy of British Airways for a three year period would be based on the following objectives. These objectives would encompass customers, employees, performance, partnerships and service excellence. The main objective of the firm would be to gain market share by providing extremely high levels of service quality and ensuring greater efficiency in operations. The focus of the firm with regards to short haul flights

Cultural differences and e-learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural differences and e-learning - Essay Example Therefore one must be cognizant of these cultural differences when designing an e-learning program. observe and use e-learning.  Introduction With the advent of the Internet, distance education is rapidly becoming an excellent way for students become educated. In the traditional sense, it allows for one to one interaction between the teacher and student but also has the facilities for rich collaborative learning through an on-line environment. E-learning has a number of advantages, as it helps students become competitive in a market increasingly dominated by global,multi-national companies that use on-line learning to teach concepts, as well as helps students become globally astute and enhances their social skills. However, there are a number of aspects of individuals about which designers of e-learning software, as well as instructors, should be aware. One of these is the culture of the learner. Culture is a way that individuals mediate their world, and it is has profound implicat ions for e-learning and learning in general. Some cultures are low context, which means that the written word is paramount, and the non-verbal part of communication is deemphasized. With high-context, this is just the opposite.