Customer Relationships And Services Business Operations...

ASSIGNMENT 7455-V5 April 11 2015 DEVELOP AND STRENTHEN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AND SERVICES BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT Task 1 Question 1.1 â€Å" The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-qualitymerchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.†- Sam Walton (1918-1992) (Wal-mart service strategies) a) Consumer requirements are the key factor in any service industry. It is important to know what they want and how far they received it.One step to check this is through consultation with them. There are many other reasons to consult with the end users and customers to identify the real needs, potential barriers they may face, specific individual needs, also to identify who is not using the products and services and why and contacting disabled users and potential users to bring them into the process. It is important to identify the real service users in your local area. At the same time it’s important to make sure that the consultations are accessible to all. (Effective consultation(2013 May news letter), 2013) Some other ways to do this are, 1. Feedback forms at service counters 2. Train staff members to get verbal feedback and suggestions from customers 3. Having a customer serviceShow MoreRelatedVerizon Wireless: Operational Analysis1648 Words   |  7 Pagesmanner, the ability to manage the labor force or the ability to develop positive relationships with the external stakeholder, such as the customers, the business partners, the public and so on. Still, while all these factors are crucial, they are merely adjacent to the core operational function which builds towards organizational success, namely the organizational operations. The concept of the organizational operation is seldom approached within the specialized literature and a proven definitionRead MoreIntroduction. Operation Strategies Aligned On The Internal989 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Operation strategies aligned on the internal or external customer and fortifying customer relationships pave a way to latter-day organizations to get a competitive edge on the market and make a significant profit. This signifies that enterprises must evolve their skills in relation to identification of customer needs and hopes and then dispense substantial benefits to their customers resulting satisfaction therefrom. Construction and development of customer relationships are conditionsRead MoreThe Operation Strategies And Cost Leadership1399 Words   |  6 PagesExecutive Summary This business report discusses and explores the operation strategies and cost leadership of both IKEA and Fruity fro-yo and how it relates to business operations. The success of the business will also be assessed through the identified operations strategies that each of the businesses applies into their operations. This results in increased operations efficiency, which is discussed within this business report. Strategic role of management - Cost leadership Cost leadership:Read MoreNorth Metro Home Services ( Nmhs ) Is Owned By Cody And Tera Hopkins1720 Words   |  7 PagesNorth Metro Home Services (NMHS) is owned by Cody and Tera Hopkins, Cody Hopkins has over 20 years of experience in the plumbing industry as a master plumber. The company is a small privately-owned plumbing company headquartered in Stanchfield, MN operating from the residence of Cody and Tera Hopkins. North Metro Home Services has started to provide plumbing services for the north metro of Minnesota. The Company was started to take advantage of the perceived weakness and inadequacies of other regionalRead MoreNorth Metro Home Services ( Nmhs ) Is Owned By Cody And Tera Hopkins1717 Words   |  7 Pages *North Metro Home Services (NMHS) is owned by Cody and Tera Hopkins, Cody Hopkins has over 20 years of experience in the plumbing industry as a master plumber. The company is a small privately-owned plumbing company headquartered in Stanchfield, MN operating from the residence of Cody and Tera Hopkins. North Metro Home Services has started to provide plumbing services for the north metro of Minnesota. The Company was started to take advantage of the perceived weakness and inadequacies of other regionalRead MoreCase Study : Citibank Financial Consultant1268 Words   |  6 PagesWriting the short report Citibank financial consultant Name: YANGQIYU ID: Course name: professional development in business BUSS1060 Professor name: Paper Due date: 02/09/2016 Table of contents: 1. Introduction. 1.1 Purpose of report. 1.2 Background information. 2. The purpose of the Citibank. 3. Mission and vision of the Citibank. 4. Company s operation and stakeholder. 5. What strategy Citibank use? 6. Discussion and Analysis of what Citibank occurred before. 7. FinancialRead MoreIndividual Assignment: Strategic Plan1617 Words   |  7 Pagescourse of its business (Kotler, Brown, Burton, Deans, Armstrong, 2010). SWOT Analysis helps a company in assessing which factors from its internal and external environment are in favor or against its business strategies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the internal and external environment of a proposed business entity We Do Your Proposal by identifying its distinctive capabilities, weaknesses, issues, opportunities, and circumstances which are the part of its business environment. ItRead MoreCase Study : Bb s Bakery ( B3 ) Will Be A Sole Trader Enterprise, Owned And Operated1516 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough superior customer service and the traditional family recipes used. Business Goals B3’s financial goals include establishing the business by holding 10% of the market share in the first year of operation to progress towards achieving the vision of being the leading bakery in the Sydney CBD and maximising profit to cover all first year operational expenses by selling enough baked goods and coffee to break even. B3’s non-financial goals include establishing a strong customer base in line withRead MoreHow Analytics Helps An Organization Optimize Their Business Processes1730 Words   |  7 Pagestheir business processes to make them effective as possible.† [3]. It is a proven fact that proper use of analytics can lead an organizations to success, providing them with that distinctive advantage over their competitors. In this essay, details will be provided on how analytics has helped my organization to compete in their business segment. Ability to compete on analytics Digicel Group is a total communications and entertainment company. The company’s objective â€Å"is to bring our customers never-endingRead MoreHow Entrepreneurs Align It And Strategy Essay1482 Words   |  6 PagesNOTES - Introduction - IT USE IN BUSINESS Information Technology is inseparable from business operations and strategy. A survey conducted by the Small Business Administration in 2003 gives the statistic that 75% of small businesses have heavily invested in computing technology. This is an important and good trend, because the growth of IT has introduced methods and has facilitated the implementation of new business models. The traditional view of IT is that it is an enabler of efficient processing

The Island of Equal Rights and Freedom in Lord of the...

We all want to live in a world where we have freedom, rights, opinions and democracy gives us that. In the book Lord of the Flies, Ralph’s democratic leadership style is much better than Jack’s dictator leadership style because everyone has equal rights and that is fair. Firstly, Ralph gives everyone on the island a chance to express their opinion and contribute. Secondly, getting rescued is the most important thing for Ralph. Last but not least, Jack is very self centered and selfish. He is rude and inconsiderate. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Ralph gives everyone on the island equal rights and freedoms. Ralph makes everyone feel worthy but Jack makes almost everyone feel useless. Firstly, Ralph lets everyone on the island†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, I’d like to catch a pig first,† (54) says Jack to Ralph. Later, Jack puts out the fire so he can have more hunters for his hunt. During that period, a ship passes by but there was no smoke signal because of Jack. The boys could’ve been rescued. Secondly, Ralph also cares a lot about keeping the fire going since this is the only way the boys can get rescued. Keeping the fire going is Ralph’s primary objective. â€Å"So long as your hunters remember the fire,† (54) says Ralph to Jack. This shows that Ralph cares about other things too but keeping the fire going is always on the back of his mind. Therefore, getting rescued is the most important priority for Ralph because he has a positive attitude towards it, he takes a lot of responsibility for the fire and mostly because he knows it is important. Jack is a horrible leader because he is a self centered, selfish prick. He is very rude to others and very inconsiderate about others feelings. Firstly, Jack has been very rude to Piggy since the boys got on the island. He broke one side of Piggy’s glasses knowing Piggy can barely see without them. â€Å"I got have them specs. Now I only got one eye. Jus’ you wait,† (76) says Piggy to Jack. Later that night, Jack refuses to give Piggy meat because he didn’t hunt but he gives meat to Simon who also did not hunt. Secondly, Jack does not care about the lil’uns. He tortures them with his words by scaring them and that spreads fearShow MoreRelated The Prevalence of Humanity1662 Words   |  7 Pagessociety [can be traced] back to the defects of human nature ... The shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.† This idea, quoted from author William Golding, of a corrupt individual corrupting an otherwise idyllic society is exemplified many times over the course of human history: Joseph Stalin corrupts Karl Marxs idea of communism into a totalitarian government that eventually results in the deathRead MoreComparing Animal Farm And Lord Of The Flies Present Human Nature3587 Words   |  15 PagesFarm and Lord of the Flies present human nature. George Orwell and William Golding were both writers who were concerned with human nature. They both thought that human nature had been twisted but they had slightly different interpretations of what it entails. George Orwell, who published Animal Farm in 1945, was influenced quite heavily on the Russian Revolution and was portraying human nature to be something that is weak and is easily corrupted through power and money, whereas Golding saw that humanRead MoreEssay on Thomas Hobbes Leviathan970 Words   |  4 Pagespower. Hobbes believes that any account of human action, including morality, must be consistent with the fact that we are all self-serving. His theory notes that humans are essentially equal, both mentally and physically, so that even the weakest person has the strength to kill the strongest (p.44). Given our equal standing, Hobbes believes that there are three natural causes of quarrel among people: competition for limited supplies of material possessions, distrust of o ne another, and glory so thatRead MoreThe Leadership of Jack and Ralph in Lord of the Flies: Essay examples2248 Words   |  9 PagesThe Leadership of Jack and Ralph in Lord of the Flies Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph tries his best to create a society based on survival. As time progresses, it is clear that Jacks feelings are towards living life and having fun. Jacks society eventually leads to corruption, killing innocent people, while Ralphs prevails as the boys are rescued. Ralph uses a repetition of hope towards being saved while Jacks technique with no thought clearly flounders creating savagesRead MoreBelonging the Crucible, Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm3249 Words   |  13 Pagespower)and corruption of power turns a town against each other and highlights the different groups in the town and how they are linked or exiled from the rest of the town and how better understanding of each group could effect this. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the different views and beliefs of Ralph and Jack and the need for power in both boys’ segregates the group and the loss of innocence and humanity turns the group away from civilisation and towards Savagery. In George Orwell’s AnimalRead MoreReview Of Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre 10879 Words   |  44 Pagesfamily. Bronte also loved her master just as Jane loved Rochester (in this case it was Constantin Heger). It has often been pointed out that Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte, as Bronte also struggled to come to terms with balancing her feelings and freedom. It has also been pointed out that Bertha Mason is Charlotte Bronte. Both did not get to go out, failed to find love, and expressed themselves in unorthodox ways. Literary Period: Victorian Produced: October 16, 1847 Published: Smith, Elder, andRead MoreRelationship Between Politics And Literature2000 Words   |  8 Pageshistory. A political novel is â€Å"constricted to political aspects of history, whereas a historical extends beyond political terrain, to social, cultural, moral and economic aspects of history. As she is the daughter of Ranjit Pandit, a distinguished freedom fighter of Independent Movement and Vijayalakshmi Pandit, a remarkable woman who held important positions in national life as well as important assignments abroad and as she is also the ‘ravan eyed’ niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, the lieutenant of theRead MoreSAT Top 30 Essay Evidence18536 Words   |  75 Pages21 Billie Jean King (Tennis legend and women’s rights activist) ................................................................. 23 Jesse Owens (Track star and civil rights icon).......................................................................................... 25 Muhammad Ali (â€Å"The Greatest† boxer of all time) .................................................................................. 27 Fiction and Literature: Hamlet by William Shakespeare (â€Å"To be? Or not to be?†) ..........

Native American Boarding Schools Free Essays

An Indian boarding school refers to one of many schools that were established in the United States during the late 19th century to educate Native American youths according to Euro-American standards. These schools were primarily run by missionaries. These often proved traumatic to Native American children, who were forbidden to speak their native languages, taught Christianity and denied the right to practice their native religions, and in numerous other ways forced to abandon their Native American identities and adopt European-American culture and the English language. We will write a custom essay sample on Native American Boarding Schools or any similar topic only for you Order Now There were many documented cases of sexual, physical and mental abuse occurring at these schools. In the late eighteenth century, reformers starting with Washington and Knox, in efforts to â€Å"civilize† or otherwise assimilate Native Americans (as opposed to relegating them to reservations), adopted the practice of educating native children in modern American culture. The Civilization Fund Act of 1819 promoted this civilization policy by providing funding to societies (mostly religious) who worked on Native American improvement. Attendance in Indian boarding schools generally grew throughout the first half of the 20th century and doubled in the 1960s. Enrollment reached its highest point in the 1970s. In 1973, 60,000 American Indian children are estimated to have been enrolled in an Indian boarding school. Several events in the late 1960s and mid-1970s (Kennedy Report, National Study of American Indian Education, Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975) led to more emphasis on community schools. Many large Indian boarding schools closed in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 2007, 9,500 American Indian children lived in an Indian boarding school dormitory. This includes 45 on-reservation boarding schools, 7 off-reservation boarding schools and 14 peripheral dormitories. From 1879 to the present day, hundreds of thousands of American Indians are estimated to have attended an Indian boarding school. Native American children were often separated from their families and people when they were sent or sometimes taken to boarding schools off the reservations. These schools ranged from those like the federal Carlisle boarding School, to schools sponsored by religious organizations to some created by non-profits such as the founding of an Indian school in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1769. In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic, the Carlisle curriculum constituted of vocational training for boys and domestic science for girls, including chores around the school and producing goods for market. In the summer students were often outsourced to local farms and townspeople to continue their immersion and provide labor at low cost. Carlisle and its curriculum would become the model for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and by 1902 there were twenty-five federally funded non-reservation schools across fifteen states and territories with a of over 6,000. Although federal legislation made education compulsory for Native Americans, removing students from reservations required parent authorization, although coercion and even violence were often used to secure the preset quota of students from any given reservation. Once the new students arrived at the boarding schools, life altered drastically. They were given new haircuts, uniforms, and even new English names, sometimes based on their own, other times assigned at random. They could no longer speak their own languages, even between each other, and they were expected to convert to Christianity. Life was run by the strict orders of their teachers, and it often included grueling chores and stiff punishments. How to cite Native American Boarding Schools, Papers

Recording Industry and the Digital Age Essay Example For Students

Recording Industry and the Digital Age Essay In this essay, several studies are examined that illustrate the economic impact of digital piracy on the music industry and the U. S. economy. Also examined are the changes made in copyright laws, as well as the recording industry’s strategies designed to deal with this growing problem. The first study, done for California Management Review in 2010, shows steady industry growth throughout 1990’s quickly eroded with Napster’s rise in popularity in 1999. A second study, completed in 2009 for the International Science Review, backed up earlier claims made by the recording industry in Federal Court that they account for a significant portion of the U. S. Gross Domestic Product. The study also shows a direct correlation between increases in file sharing and decreases in sales. The final study examined was completed in 2009 for Contemporary Economic Policy. It offers evidence that the recording industry’s partnerships with digital content providers, is having a positive effect on consumer’s willingness to pay for low priced premium content. Further research is required in order to measure the impact these partnerships have in reducing online piracy. Keywords: digital piracy, music piracy, file sharing, economic impact, U. S. Copyright Law Captain Crook: Why the Recording Industry must Adapt to the Digital Age According to the U. S. Department of Commerce, the Entertainment Industry accounts for 6% of the United States Gross Domestic Product (Bender Wang, 2009). Since 1999, the RIAA has seen sales of recorded music drop from $14. billion in 1999, to $7 billion in 2011 (Scope of the Problem, n. d. ). The source of the recording industry’s dramatic losses since 1999, are the pervasive number of sites that offer free uploaded music available for downloading and sharing. These sites have crippled a music industry that many felt had been too slow adapting to changes in the way music was being sought after and ultimately consumed. The act of making music available on-line , and/or copying said music , for free, without compensating the copyright holder, is called piracy. Piracy is a form of copyright infringement. No matter what name it is given, piracy is a criminal act that is wrong and is impacting the Recording Industry and this country’s economic recovery. A major issue that must be addressed is the overall attitude of indifference towards illegal downloading. This is especially true with the generation that came of age at the turn of the Millennium. The role of technology in their lives, and its ability to provide instant access to information, informs how they perceive information and its uses. It’s not to say this generation condones theft; they simply don’t see it as stealing. To them, downloading and sharing digital music files without paying, is nothing more than an exchange of information. Traditionally, this is the very demographic that has always been the recording industry’s bread and butter. There are those who would argue that the current copyright laws are outdated and no longer apply in the 21st century. In the opinion of some, the rules have changed; and so must the very definition of what constitutes copyright theft. Regardless, there is no denying the legalities of this issue must be addressed. In the meantime, the recording industry and lawmakers have pro-actively sought to adopt more pragmatic policies and legislation enabling them to compete with illegal file sharing. By pursuing partnerships with Digital Service Providers and utilizing digital media marketing strategies, the recording industry can create value and demand for their products; making illegal downloading less and less attractive. Background and Brief History Piracy, as it pertains to this subject, is defined as â€Å"the act of illegally reproducing or disseminating copyrighted material, such as computer programs, books, music, and films† (Hosch, n. . in Encyclopedia Britannica). Music piracy, or bootlegging, has been a problem for record companies for as long as the recording industry has been around. However, since the advent of personal computers and the rapidly expanding digital age, digital piracy has become a major problem for the music industry. By the late 1990’s, readily available computer software made it even easier to copy music in many formats and compress it into a digital file, or MP3 format, that is easily transferrable. Music could then be shared by simply uploading it to a file sharing site where anyone could download it for free. These sites became known as P2P sites (Napster, n. d. ). The Sound Recording Act passed by Congress in 1971, allowed for an array of reforms to copyright laws. The three biggest reforms were the lengthening of copyright terms, first in 1976, and then again in 1998. In 1984, Congress banned the rental of sound recordings around the time that cassette tapes were beginning to overtake vinyl albums as the primary from of music distribution. Congress also made it illegal to even attempt to circumvent these anti-piracy measures (Cummings, 2010, p. ). In 2001, as a reaction to changing technologies, the Supreme Court ruled against P2P sharing networks and criminalized sites that allowed its users to share and/or exchange digital audio files without the expressed consent of those who owned the copyrights. It seemed that this ruling was a reflection of a broader consensus. Sharing these files without compensating the copyright holders, as the Supreme Court saw it, was illegal. They also saw it as detrimental to the U. S. economy (Cummings, 2010, p. ). The most notorious of these file sharing sites was Napster. It is estimated that at its highest volume in 2001, there were 1. 5 million people sharing and downloading music for free using Napster’s P2P software (Napster, n. d. ). In 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America was successful in receiving a court ordered injunction against Napster, effectively shutting the site down. It seems, however, that it may have been too little too late. The seed had been planted. Other sites began filling the void left by Napster. The idea of file sharing had taken off The Economics of Piracy The word piracy usually brings to mind images of buried treasures, Caribbean islands, and Johnny Depp In recent years however, another form of piracy has increasingly become the bane of the music industry. It is known as on line, or digital piracy. In the late 1990’s, rapid advances in technology, access to information, and ever advancing software, began to re-shape the way music was listened to and consumed. On-line music piracy, in the form of file sharing, quickly became the most prevalent form of copyright infringement. The music industry’s inability to adapt to these rapid changes had cost them dearly. It is because of the digital piracy’s negative impact, that an immediate response to this problem is needed; the survival of the recording industry and its artists depend on it. The 1990’s were good for the music industry. It enjoyed continued growth throughout the decade. CD sales and shipments saw steady increases from $7. 5 billion in 1990, to $14. billion in 1999 (Goel, Miesing, Chandra, 2010, p. ). But, as the decade began to draw to a close, trouble was looming just on the horizon. The introduction of Napster in 1999 was a sign of things to come. It is no coincidence that shortly after the launch of Napster, sales quickly began to decline. By 2008, sales for the recording industry had dropped to $8. 5 billion (Goel, Miesing, Chandra, 2010, p. ). Initially, the entire entertainment industry seemed to be caught off guard by the file sharing phenomenon; but soon enough, a strategy for litigation had been developed. By 2001, the music and movie industries had joined forces and were successful in getting an injunction against Napster. Their strategy was simple, but effective. It was their position that, because their products consume so much of America’s disposable income and leisure time, it impacts a very valuable percentage of this country’s Gross Domestic Product The U. S. Department of Commerce statistics cited to make this claim showed that the entertainment industry actually accounts for 6% of the United States Gross Domestic Product was also able to show that the entertainment industry is one of a few that still enjoys a positive trade balance globally. These statistics, obviously, weighed heavily in the court’s deciding in their favor (Bender Wang, 2009). A study done for the International Social Science Review published in 2009 concluded that the RIAA’s argument did have statistical merit. In fairness, the study does acknowledge that file sharing could actually be a more efficient way for the recording industry to market their products. Doing so would allow customers to sample an artist’s work prior to purchasing it. But in its conclusion, the study estimated that for every 1% increase in file sharing, music sales decreased by . 6% (Bender Wang, 2009). That is almost a 1 to 1 ratio. To put it in monetary terms, the recording industry loses $6 million every time digital piracy increases by a percentage point. And while 1% may not seem like a lot, when dealing in billions of dollars, it adds up quickly. Grammy Winner Promotes the Virtues of File Sharing Surprisingly, some of the most vocal opposition to the theory that digital piracy hurts the music industry comes from the artists themselves. One of the first artists to come out in opposition to the theory was Janis Ian. In 2002, the Grammy winning singer, songwriter, author and poet, offered a different, and more personal perspective on file sharing. Her position is that file sharing does little to harm the multi-billion dollar global recording industry. In fact, as she sees it, file sharing actually benefits the artists by increasing demand for their music; at least that’s been her experience. According to Soundscan statistics there were 32,000 new releases in the U. S. by the major labels in 2001. This figure does not include the smaller independent labels that do not report sales to Soundscan. Conservatively, it is estimated that about 100,000 titles were released that year. To her, that seems like â€Å"an awful lot of releases for an industry that’s being destroyed† (Ian, 2002). Currently, Janis Ian’s website still averages about 75,000 hits per year even though her last charted hit on Billboard was in 1975. Pressures Of Industry On Education EssayHowever, the No Electronic Theft Law act of 1997 specifically addresses digital copyright infringement. In fact, the United States vs. LaMacchia case was one of the primary reasons the law was enacted. It would only be a matter of time before the merits of the law would be put to the test. It finally happened in 2006. At age 28, Jammie Thomas, a single mother of 2 from Brainerd, Minnesota found herself facing multiple lawsuits from several music industry organizations for allegedly using a file sharing service called Kazaa to illegally download music. The case achieved notoriety because, unlike others facing similar lawsuits, the now married Mrs. Thomas-Rassert, refused to settle her case out of court (Browning, 2012). And because of extensive media coverage, the case has essentially become the face of the recording industry’s war on piracy. After several court battles, rulings, reversals and appeals, her case still remains far from settled. In October 2007, a jury awarded the plaintiffs $222,000 in damages However, Chief U. S. District Judge Michael Davis concluded that he erred in his instructions to the jury, and awarded Mrs. Thomas-Russert a new trial. His position was that simply making a copyrighted work available to the public may not necessarily constitute distribution under the law However, the second trial ended with the jury finding in favor of the plaintiff again. This time the plaintiff was awarded $1. 92 million Judge Davis found that amount to be excessive, and reduced the damages amount to $54,000 The recording industry refused to settle for that amount and successfully argued for a third trail. So after a third trial in November 2010, the jury again sided with the plaintiff and awarded them a $1. 5 million judgment. This time, Mrs. Thomas-Russert’s attorneys appealed the decision; arguing that amount violated her rights of the due-process clause in the constitution. Judge Davis sided with the defendant, and reduced the amount awarded back down to $54,000. However, upon review, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this decision and remanded the case back to Judge Davis, and ordered the original $222,000 amount reinstated in September 2012 (Browning, 2012). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision clearly represents a broader consensus as well as upholds the merits of the No Electronic Theft Act. No matter the legal nuances, digital piracy is illegal and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Solution While issues with the legal definition of what constitute theft in the digital age continue to persist, one solution adopted by the recording industry has been to partner with Internet Service Providers and use a warning and throttling system. This method can identify and then issue a warning to the most egregious violators. If those progressive warnings are not heeded, the ISP will then begin to throttle the connection This method can also include ISPs blocking certain URLs, and shutting down the individual’s internet connection all together. From a public relations standpoint, this method of deterrence has gained a wider range of acceptance than the previous method of prosecution/litigation (Nakashima, 2008, n. p. ). Perhaps the most effective solution has been the recording industry’s willingness to market and create value for their products by finally embracing the very technology that once was being used against them. This is evident in the rise in popularity and profitability Digital Service Providers like iTunes and Amazon. Sites like these offer ever expanding catalogues of music for every taste imaginable. Between the two, there are over 40 million songs available download, most for . 99 cents per song, as well as entire albums for as little as $5. 00 (Google Music Has a Lot of Catching, 2011) (MP3 Music Download, n. . ). Purchased music can be downloaded and even streamed to almost any enabled device. Now, purchasing high quality sounding music online, legally, has become so convenient and cost effective that it rivals illegal file sharing sites. With that in mind, and to further illustrate the point, review the results of a 2009 study titled â€Å"Estimating the Willingness to Pay for Digital Music† conducted for Contemporary Economic Policy. The study concluded that simply reducing file sharing through legal means would not necessarily be enough to lead to an increase in revenue (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 12 522). The consumer’s â€Å"Willingness To Pay† must also be considered. In other words, offering a convenient high quality product, at a low price, can sway one’s decision to purchase said product. This study took controlled samples of students from diverse social and economic backgrounds nationwide and surveyed them. Their study indicates that the rise in popularity and availability of fee based services such as iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify does have a positive influence on consumer’s WTP. By continuing to partner with digital/online music services, the recording industry can now offer a viable alternative to peer-to-peer file sharing (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 512 522). The study determined that an individual’s willingness to pay is largely influenced by two things. One would be the level of disposable income. The second would be the perceived risk of getting caught. Obviously, the perceived level of one will undoubtedly influence the other. While the study doesn’t directly address the attitudes towards file sharing in the digital age, it does demonstrate that, government policy in conjunction with effective marketing, does have a positive influence. In its conclusion, the â€Å"Willingness To Pay† study determined that the two pronged approach does seem to be working. Increasing the perceived risk of music piracy, and the perceived value and convenience of legal music downloads, can reduce illegal downloading (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 512 522). The study concedes that there will always be an underground market for illegal file sharing. But, by continuing to build on its momentum, the recording industry has begun to make up some ground (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 512 522). To put this all in perspective, Jeff Beck, an Accounting Manager for Saddle Creek Records, offers insight into how the recording industry has had to adapt its business model in order to stay competitive in the digital age. Because of the popularity of Digital Service Providers like iTunes and Amazon, music is now available instantaneously (Beck, personal communication Saddle Creek Records, January 8th, 2013). Jeff summed up the new business â€Å"mantra† that record companies have begun to follow, â€Å"the proliferation of these services means we have dozens, if not hundreds of more revenue streams, albeit very small revenue streams in a lot of cases. The industry mantra is to put out as many buckets to collect as many pennies as possible. It eventually will add up. † In Conclusion The law is clear. Digital piracy is a criminal act. Not only is it a criminal act that must be prosecuted, there is also clear evidence that it is detrimental to a U. S. conomy that continues to struggle. Remember, the entertainment industry accounts for 6% of the United States Gross Domestic Product. Digital piracy adversely affects economic recovery. It also adversely affects one’s personal economy as well. Take a moment, and do some simple math. Spend . 99 cents for one song downloaded legally, or $750 for downloading the same song illegally. Which of these options makes more financial sense? With all the low cost music readily available for legal downloading and streaming, why risk breaking the law as well as breaking the bank? Bibliography: Bender, M.T. Wang, Y. (2009). The impact of piracy on music sales: A cross country analysis. International Science Review, 84(3/4), 157-170. Browning, D. (2012, September 12). Ruling revives music sharing case. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from http://www.startribune.com/local/169320686.html?refer=y Chiang, E., Assane, D. (2009). Estimating the willingness to pay for digital music. Contemporary Economic Policy, 27(4), 512-522. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from Academic Search Premiere database. Cole, T. (2012, April 21). Eulogy for a record store. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/04/21/151103039/eulogy-for-a-record-store Copyright law of the United States of America and related laws contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2013, from U.S. Copyright Office website:http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html Cummings, A.S. (2010, December). From monopoly to intellectual property: Music piracy and the remaking of American copyright, 1909-1971 Journal of American History, 97(3), 659-681. Dolfman, M. L., Holden, R. J., Wasser, S. F. (2007, October). The economic impact of the creative arts industries: New York and Los Angeles. Monthly Labor Review, 130(10), 21-34. Goel, S., Miesing, P., Chandra, U. (2010). The impact of illegal peer-to-peer file sharing on the media industry. California Management Review, 52(3), 6-33. Google music has a lot of catching up to do iTunes by the numbers. (2011, November 18). Retrieved February 7, 2013, from http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/11/18/google-music- has-a-lot-of-catching-up-to-do-to-itunes-by-the-numbers/ Gorry, Anthony G. Many People Do Not View Online Music Sharing as Wrong. Internet Piracy. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from Steal This MP3 File. Chronicle of Higher Education 23 May 2003. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Retrieved Web. 25 Jan. 2013. Hosch, W. (n.d.). Piracy. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from Encyclopedia Britannica at http://www.britannica.com Ian, J. (2002, May). The internet debacle: An alternative view. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.janisian.com/reading/internet.php MP3 music download. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2013, from http://www.amazon.com/ MP3-Music-Download/b?ie=UTF8node=163856011 Nakashima, R. (2008, December 20). Music industry drops effort to sue song swappers. Hanford Sentinel. Retrieved February 7, 2013, from SIRS Issues Researcher database. Naptster. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2012, from Encyclopedia Britannica at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/754550/Napster Scope of the problem. (n.d.) Retrieved December 16, 2012, from the Recording Industry Association of America website at http://riaa.com/ Statement of Marybeth Peters the Register of Copyrights. (1997, September 11). Retrieved January 25, 2013 from http://www.copyright.gov/docs/2265_stat.html

Risk assessment of hazardous materials

Grant Writing - sources and tips for writing grants part 1

Grant Writing - sources and tips for writing grants part 1 One of the greatest challenges for educators is finding sources of money to allow for innovation and technology in the classroom. Funding is barely available to pay salaries and buy basic supplies. Therefore, teachers and administrators who truly wish to try new ideas that require additional funds have to personally find sources for this money. Grants can be a godsend to solve financial shortcomings. However, two major stumbling blocks are associated with attaining grants: locating them and writing them. Locating Grants Assessing Needs Before your search even begins, you must have a project that you wish to fund. What is it that you want to accomplish? Any project you support must align with the needs of your school or community. Grant providers want to clearly see the necessity of your program. To make sure that your project fulfills a need, compare what your school or community has now to what you feel it should have. Use this information to create possible solutions. The upfront time spent investigating this chasm between your schools reality and your vision for it will pay off when it comes time to write your grant proposal. Do some preliminary research to find a solid educational basis for your idea. Map out the steps necessary to complete your project including necessary funding at each step. Remember throughout your design phase to keep in mind how you will evaluate your project using measurable outcomes. Make a Project Worksheet Make a preliminary worksheet concerning what you believe you will need for your project. By doing this, you can get a clear picture of what the grant you are searching for must look like. Some items your chart could include are: Project Overview Need for Project Research Sources Amount Needed Special School/Community Circumstance Evaluation Methods Searching for Options The most important piece of advice you can get when beginning your grant search is to carefully match your project with the grantors award requirements. For example, if the desired grant is only given to schools in inner cities, only apply if you meet that criterion. Otherwise, youll be wasting your time. With that in mind, three major sources for grant money exist: Federal and State Governments, Private Foundations, and Corporations. Each has its own agenda and differing levels of requirements concerning who can apply, the application process itself, how the money must be spent, and the methods of evaluation. So where can you search for each type? Luckily there are some awesomesites on the internet. You are welcome to modify and use this basic grant match rubric to determine how well the grant fits your project. Writing grant proposals is a complicated and time-consuming process. Here are some great tips to help make grant writing easier. I would like to acknowledge Jennifer Smith of Pasco County Schools for generously sharing many of these tips. Start with outcomes. Be specific in what you wish to achieve and design your project back from these outcomes.Carefully match your goals and outcomes with those required by the grant advertisement. You can use the Grant Match Rubric to help make your decision.Talk to the grant contact person to receive specific information about the purpose and goals of the grant.Find research to support your project idea. Programs that have been previously validated have more merit because they have shown success in the past.Find a district sponsor. Get them to help with any red tape or information you might need to complete your grant proposal.Make your grant proposal interesting to read through good formatting. Remember that people are going to judge your ideas against others and a pleasing and well-organized presentation will get you further. Include pie charts. Set off your information with appropriate indentations.Use language to your advantage. Quote from notable sources.Make a column to accen t exactly where in your grant proposal each component of the grants grading rubric is met. As you write your strategies for the grant proposal, keep assessment methods in mind. Think about how you are going to measurably show what you will accomplish.Look closely at any funding rules to make sure you do not ask for items that the grant will not fund. For example, Florida state grants do not allow food items to be bought with grant money.Check out the grant to see if matching funds are required. Many school districts will not have the money to match even if you are awarded the grant. However, professional volunteers can count as in-kind contributions.Check with your School District to find out the rules concerning salaries for any individuals working on the project. Many districts require you to account for benefits in your funding model.Find out whether the grant requires outside evaluators. If so, you might have to pay for them out of your funding.Make sure your budget narrative and your budget summary match exactly.Grants are stamped when they are received. Try to send i n your grants a few days early so that it appears you are on the ball. Because school districts are limited in the number of Federal and State grants they can apply for, many districts must approve of your grant proposal before it can be sent out. Because of the time constraints on many of these grants, you must plan ahead. Also, make sure you are not competing with others at your own school or district for the same money.Make a database if one is not currently available in your district of important demographic numbers and statistics. Place this information in your grant proposals as requested highlighting special needs.Get to know your states grant contact personnel. If they see your name cross their desk and they can place you, you have a better shot.If you plan to write numerous grants, create templates for commonly needed forms. This is especially useful for state and federal grant that repeat a lot of the same information.Be honest both in the grant proposal itself and with yourself concerning what you can actually accomplish. Remember, you have t o follow through with whatever plans you make.Other Articles

Discussion 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion 6 - Assignment Example The opinion poll is generally conducted as an attempt to measure and depict some broader conclusions about its audience. The poll which I found online is a representation of 1000 US citizens. I dare to think that 1000 people can be representative of the overall US population which is around 813 million. After a careful research I understand that actually collecting a 1000 opinions is the standard for any poll which I found. I dont think a sample of 1000 people can be representative to form a general opinion on an important matter. And I do believe that very often polls are biased in terms of how the question is asked and what answers the interviewees have to choose from. The limited answer options in the poll may influence how people project their opinion and may produce biased results. 2. According to the textbook, a hypothesis is â€Å"a causal explanation offered for further investigation or testing.† The book provides several methods for testing the quality of a hypothesis. Choose one of the statements below and use one or more of the tests provided in the textbook to evaluate the quality of the hypothesis. Identify the hypothesis in the statement, and then say why it is or is not a good one. b) Crop circles are complicated, symmetrical designs formed in grain fields through depressing grain stalks. Because of their complexity and symmetry, they cannot be natural phenomena. These crop circles appear overnight. Since it would take far too long and too much complex planning for one or two people to make these designs, which can be seen only from above, aliens from outer space must be making them. c) The other day, I was walking in the mall and suddenly remembered an old school friend whom I had not spoken to in years. Not five minutes later, there I was face to face with my old friend. There must have been some deep karmic connection that drew us together that day. The hypothesis here is the statement that 2 people must have karmic

The use of isotopes in medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The use of isotopes in medicine - Essay Example This physical difference explains why a process like fractional distillation can be used to separate isotopes. According to Van der Merwe (2002), due to the difference, a single element has the capability of existing in many forms for instance oxygen can exist as oxygen- 15, oxygen- 16 or oxygen- 17. This paper aims having a comprehensive discussion of isotopes, outlying their uses in archeology as well as looking at the future of isotopes in this area of interest. Isotopes are categorized into two main groups; stable and unstable. White (1998) asserts that stable isotopes are those that do not decay over time, while the unstable ones undergo through an ionizing radiation referred to as radioactivity. Isotopes that give off this ionizing radiation are called radioisotopes, for example, carbon- 14 is a carbon radioisotope. In fact, the radioactive process differs from one isotope to the other hence some isotopes have a higher radioactive rate than others. The difference in the radioac tivity rate depends on the ratio between neutrons number and proton number. The higher the ratio the faster the rate and vise versa. Ambrose (2003) explains that the decay rate of isotopes can easily be predicted and determined, thus has widely been used in determining age mostly in archeology. Uses in Archeology Carbon Dating Carbon dating is the most common use of isotopes in archeology where age of organisms is determined in the process (McKinney, et al, 1995). The isotope used in this case is carbon- 14. Normally carbon exists in the C- 12 form, but in few occasions it also exists as C- 14. C- 14 are radioisotopes hence can undergo a radioactive process at a specified rate of the half-life. According to the half-life rate, the proportion of decay is in such a way that the C- 14 to C-12 proportion is always constant. However, this is an unproven assumption that archeology attach to this theory of dating in order to assign ages to their discoveries (Van der Merwe, 2002). The theor y is based on the changes that occur to a living organism when it dies and the process of decay starts. According to the theory, during the living period of an organism, the carbon (C-12 and C-14) proportion in the organisms’ body and that in the environment is equal (White, 1998). This is so because the organism exists in an equilibrium environment as different metabolic processes take place within the organism, causing exchanges between the organism and its environment. In the process organisms are constantly replacing body molecules, a process that is faster in some tissues (skin), and slow in others (bone). However, upon death, the unstable form of carbon (C- 14) will start decaying without being replaced from the environment through radioactivity. Consequently, if some parts of the organism such as bones are found by an archeologist, the ratio of C-12: C- 14 at the time can be used to ascertain when the organism died (Van der Merwe, 2002). An organism that died recently will have a lower ration than the one that died ages ago. Material Classification The isotopes used in this process are mainly those of oxygen through a closer analysis of the ratio of O- 18: O- 16. Ambrose (2003) contends that archeologists use this method in the classification of the different types of glasses as well as in the analysis of mollusk shells as they try to determine their origins and sources. In

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Business law - Essay Example The intention of the parties is judged objectively by the judges. The court has to ask whether, in any given circumstances, a logical person would regard the agreement between the parties as whether it intended to bid them. The test is usually an objective one and the judges in the court mainly rely on assumptions in order to assist them in ascertaining whether the parties intended to be legally bound by the agreement. Where the agreement is made between the buyer and the seller, the court automatically presumes that the parties intended to be legally bound by the law by the agreement that they make. In the case Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571, Mr. Balfour worked with the government as civil engineer. At that time, he was living with his wife. During Mr. Balfour’s leave in 1915, his wife got rheumatic arthritis when they were still in England. Her doctor insisted that she had to be left behind since she would be affected by the change of climate. As her husband was leaving, he promised to send to her 30 pounds a month until she joined him. Later, the husband said that they better live apart the way they were when she was sick. The wife sued him so that she can still be getting the 30 pounds. The court ruled that in this case, there was no enforceable agreement between the two parties. This was though even if the depth of reasoning of the two parties differed. In the case Henthorn v Fraser [1892] 2 Ch 27, the claimant had received a note from the defendant, where the defendant had offered to purchase a certain property within 14 days. The claimant responded promptly where he sent the defendant an acceptance through the email the day that followed in order to accept the offer. Before the defendant had received the acceptance from the claimant, he withdrew the offer. This was after the claimant had posted the acceptance. When the claimant sued the defendant, the court of appeal ruled that the claimant was entitled to specific performance from the defendan t. This was so because a contract becomes bidding when the acceptance is posted within the given duration of time. When an agreement is reached in a business or commercial context, the court automatically assumes that the parties to the case intended to be legally bound at the time they were making the agreement. Apply the law to the facts of the question in a detailed and logical manner As an agreement only becomes legally enforceable when the parties in the case intend to be legally bound at the time they were making the agreement, a judge has to conduct an objective assessment of the circumstances in which Sally, Peter and Burt made the agreement. The question in this case is whether under any circumstances, a logical person would regard the sale agreement as intended to be binding. The parties in this case are no friends but business people that is, a buyer and a seller. There are sufficient facts in this case to indicate that the sale agreement was in a commercial or business c ontext. Given that the parties are not friends but business partners, the court will assume that the parties involved, Peter, Sally and Burt intend to be legally bound by the time they were making the agreement. In order to enforce the sale agreement, Sally has to prove with additional facts to the presumption

Supermarket Information Systems

Supermarket Information Systems INTRODUCTION Following the development of technology, Supermarket information systems have been improved from time to time. From the beginning of buying product from supermarket, to internet shopping system, up to now, Supermarket information system, customers behaviour have changes a lot. However, as retail system need high business analysis procedures, the ePos system and decision support system and Customer Loyalty System has been overlooked. This project aims to improve these Supermarket information systems in human factors perspective. History China Resources Vanguard Shop (CRV) is one of the largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong. It is a member of China Resources Enterprise, a wholly owned subsidiary of State-owned enterprise. China Resources Vanguard Shop, or CR Vanguard, is a flagship operating supermarket chains of China Resources. It is the third largest supermarket chain in Hong Kong. It operates approximately 450 stores in Hong Kong, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing. PROBLEM DEFINITION DSS: For the decision support system, Traditional Invoicing system based on single database system, usually including management Information systems and decision support systems, business processing subsystem and decision support systems with a database. Composed of a single database-centric database systems often can not satisfy the diversification of modern supermarket data processing requirements. Specifically manifested in the following areas: Cannot integrate internal and external aspects of data. Cannot meet transaction processing and analysis and processing needs. Difficult to adapt to various types of users of different levels of data integration requirements. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY SWOT [B2] A tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. SWOT analysis determines what may assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results. Strengths Part of the China Resources Enterprise 2926 stores in Hong Kong and China. Provide wide range of products No. of Staff 14500 in China ; 1000 in Hong Kong Weaknesses Founded in 1984 Branch store less than PARKnSHOP Wellcome in HK. Manpower: -Only 1000 in Hong Kong Product or service: Undifferentiated in relation to supermarket. Location. Opportunities Developing market: China Merger: Alliance with Manka (Supermarket) Theaters Price war. Negative impression a new competitor in your own home market Substitute: Competitor also has a new, innovative substitute product. Porters 5 Forces [B3] A tools is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This is useful, because it helps you understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position youre considering moving into. Threat of New Entrants (Low Pressure) High capital and investment requirement High likelihood of retaliation from existing industry players Threat of Substitutes (Low Pressure) Not easy to have substitution Modern family and office lady dislikes the traditional market Online supermarket / phone order is not popular No delivery delay Power of Supplier (Low Pressure) Many supplier sources Many kind of goods Supermarket has much bargaining power for price negotiation Power of Buyers (Medium Pressure) Not easy to order the goods from supplier directly Various customer group Easy to switch to other competitors Competitive Rivalry (High Pressure) Many equally sized competitors Parkn, Wellcome, DCH, Jusco and etc Price Wars DATA GATHERING juki CRC Business Manager, Roland said: We spent a few days, and open business meeting, the Preparatory trend analysis of customer loyalty to a few months, so we prefer to focus on the rush for our products than our competition Opponents and the development of our business. Questions Asked The questions that were asked from the Manager of Business ¼Ã…’Mr. Rolando, are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ How many sales staff do you have? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ How many customers do they cover daily? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What is the process of registering a new customer in your organization and how do the sales people introduce the company products? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The way of keeping the customer history? The questions that were asked from the Head of IT are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Describe the current environment in the supermarket industry? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Current IT capability and infrastructure of the company? RECORD REVIEWING AND ONSITE OBSERVATION xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx PROPOSED SYSTEM In the chart, we will be able to see the whole flow of the supermarket system situation, first by the RFID received the data by the customer and sales and supplies and the production warehouse, and then save into the traditional Database, the data have been re-organization store into the Data warehouse, used to support decision analysis (OLAY), at the end, Customer Loyalty system can collect the right information use for the promotion. RFID, OLAY and Customer Loyalty are the object of our study. We recommend the following three ways: DSS Data warehouse [B2] and Technology in the application of DSS on decision support systems has become a new trend. OLAP [B1]decision-making method according to demand in the process of multi-dimensional view [Figure1]of various types of information to the data stored in the warehouse, to provide decision makers with a wide range of business analysis. Data Warehouse environment supermarket Invoicing System Architecture Traditional Invoicing system has been built with a single database-centric data organization model, decision analysis has been unable to meet the system requirements on the database, but the emergence of data warehouse technology and Development of the above-mentioned problems provides a powerful tool and Means . Data warehousing is a kind of multiple distributed, heterogeneous databases to provide a unified query technology. Data warehouse management system of enterprises from outside the original data and collate the data together into a data warehouse, on this basis, through smooth, rational, comprehensive information management, so that end users can extract data directly from the data warehouse, associated data analysis. Data warehouse is not a substitute for traditional databases [Figure 4], but on the basis of a traditional database, the data re-organization, used to support decision analysis. Data warehouse and traditional database systems assume different tasks, play a different role. That is based on the traditional database, business processing system to complete the daily business of data entry and processing, the data processed are sent to data warehouse; based on data warehouse decision support system implementation analysis and processing, in order to provide decision makers with complete, timely and accurate decision-making information. In this way, transaction processing environment and analytical processing environment to achieve the separation, the relative independence, constitute new system environments, while the data warehouse is a system of core-based environment . Data warehouse environment at a supermarket invoicing system Structure shown in [Figure 1]. System is composed of business processing subsystem, support decision-making subsystem, and data management subsystem consists of three parts. Business processing subsystem in which the background for the traditional database (can be multiple distributed, heterogeneous database), foreground is a business application systems, the completion of all Invoicing business day processing, the entire Invoicing system data entry, and to support decision-making subsystem provides the raw data; support decision-making subsystem, the background for the data warehouse, front from the on-line analytical tools, data mining tools, etc., and the completion of statistical analysis and forecasting capabilities to achieve decision-making support; data management subsystem is responsible for the entire system of data management, in particular data from various data sources (traditional database) to the transfer of data warehouse and data warehouse data structures and business rules management. GOLBAL SUCCESS STORIES PROPOSED SOLUTION ADVANTAGES DSS Carry out market analysis Trend analysis Subgroups of commodities, layout, purchase of the analysis, recommendation and merchandise The analysis of the effectiveness of promotional activities carried out Customer loyalty analysis PROPOSED SOLUTION DISADVANTAGES DSS Higher initial capital investment Staff should need a special training. Difficult to integrate with other management information system. OVERALL BENEFITS OF THE SOLUTION DSS Data warehouse and multi-dimensional analysis with comprehensive data on capacity and can be fast and accurate analysis of the data to help managers make better business decisions, you can bring a competitive advantage for enterprises. The current data warehouse and data mining technology in domestic applications is not very extensive, but because of commercial enterprises have complex business structures, there are a large number of Invoicing business data, there is a specific need for decision analysis, the data warehouse technology in the business enterprise applications has broad prospects. GAINING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGRE DSS. Carry out market analysis Trend analysis Subgroups of commodities, layout, purchase of the analysis, recommendation and merchandise The analysis of the effectiveness of promotional activities carried out Customer loyalty analysis RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MAIN RESEARCH OUTCOMES Given below are the main research outcomes that we came across. The figures however are derived from observing past data of the organisation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ This project can be deployed with an initial cost of around US$.1 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ ROI Expectation time within 18-30 months à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expected sales growth up to the maximum of 25%-35% à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clear competitive advantage with the new system BIBLIOGAPHY Book references: [B1]Jun Chen, Sheng Yi-chi, CHEN Mian-yun. OLAP-based data warehouse DSS application in the study of .2003 (1) :30-31 [B2] WHInmon. Data warehouse. Mechanical Industry Press, 2000,5 [B2] SWOT Analysis I: Looking Outside for Threats and Opportunities [B3] Australias Construction Industry Porters Five Forces Strategy Analysis by Aruvians Rsearch Web references: [E1]

American Hawaii Essay -- essays research papers

American Hawaii American Hawaii Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches, it’s nice year-round weather, and its culture. Thousands of vacationers come to Hawaii each year to get away from the stressful city and relax. But do they know how cruel the Americans were to the natives? Do they know how we corrupted their culture and their religion? Do they know how Hawaii really became a state? Probably not. When most people think of Hawaii, they think of happy Hawaiian babes hula dancing and palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. Hawaii has still held on to many of their traditions although they were invaded by Americans. But you have to go to a museum to see their old way of life. Hawaii is now populated mostly by Americans. Native Hawaiians have adapted to our American lifestyle and much of their old traditions and beliefs are lost in history books. America dominated over the Hawaiians just as they did with the Native Americans. The Hawaiians didn’t even stand a chance against big b rother. They probably feel the same way towards America just as a child does with stubborn parents. Now I will tell you about the history of Hawaii so you will see how the United States came to annex Hawaii. Hawaii was first inhabited by the Polynesians. They came in canoes from other islands around the pacific. They called the new found island "Hawaii", which means "home" in Polynesian language. Hawaii was their home until the white man came in and took advantage of these simple, happy aborigines. The corruption of this unique and fragile culture first started when Captain James Cook ran into the islands on January 18, 1778. After Cook’s discovery, many other foreigners (mostly American) visited the islands. They brought clothes, livestock, orange trees, horses weapons and souvigners. Foreigners also brought with them a handful of deadly diseases such as smallpox, measles, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. During the time period of Cook&# 8217;s arrival in 1778 to 1820, the population of Hawaii dropped from 300,000 to 135,000 due to the diseases! Another problem was the introduction of alcohol. Like the native americans, Hawaiians were not immune to alcohol. Hawaiian’s were very sensitive to alcoholism. Hawaiians religion was a very complex one with many gods. They worshiped idols and they belived in many f... ...ature consisted of a council of chiefs and an elected house of representatives. In 1842, the Hawaiian islands were seen as an independent government. Sugar production was Hawaii’s largest buissiness. Tons of sugar was grown in Hawaii. Many of the Hawaiians worked on the sugar farms. Sugar was sold to the United States and large amounts of money flowed into Hawaii. Hawaii’s economy grew and banks were built. Annexation America’s main goal was to overthrow monarchy and Annex Hawaii as the 50th state. In 1887, the Americans forced king Kalakaua to sign a new constitutions that lessened the king’s powers and limited the rights of native Hawaiians to hold office. After Kalakaua’s death, Queen Liliuokalani ruled Hawaii. She was stubborn and wanted Hawaiian independence. But the Americans took over the government and ended monarchy and set up their own government. They put up the American flag where the Hawaiian flag originally flew. So, in other words, Hawaii was stolen from its original owners. Defenseless, Hawaii couldn’t do anything about United States’ control. Hawaii was then Annexed to the United states in 1898.

Four year strategic plan for Erie Capsim Company Essay

The four year strategic plan will focus on key drivers of the industry, factors determining future of the company, industry attractiveness, and its competitive environment. Each section contains detailed subsections which clearly defines the strategic plan. The plan uses 2009 data and our four year plan runs up to 2013. 1.1   Driving Forces In this industry there are many driving forces. Our top management uses the concept of driving forces to reach consensus on what strategic area represents the industries current driving force. 1.1.1 Research and Development: Our company will be introducing a new High End product every year. In addition we will reposition our performance and size segment products into our initial targeted sections. This will enable a stream or products lined up along the High End, traditional, and Low end sections. In addition we will allow present traditional section products to become a Low End section product so as to create room for segment drift. The company will later introduce a new product to the High End and will finally have four products each in the Low, Traditional, and High end sections during those four years. This way the company will present to clients products in line with their perfect procedure for age, reliability, and positioning. Also the company endeavors to sustain its existing product line, ensure presence in each section, and strive to sustain its products in the next four years in spite high levels of automation. 1.1.2 Marketing: Marketing is another main driving force. At first our company will attempt to keep pace with the accessibility and awareness of immediate competitor’s products.   Ideally we will be revisiting our status every year for the next four years to determine whether promotion and sales budgets should be sized or if the company will continue matching that of competitors. Generally our company will offer products at reduced prices. Also for these four years our company is planning to spend aggressively in sales and promotion in targeted sections; Low, Traditional, and High sections. In this light every client will have known our superb designs for the next four years. Basically, we are planning simplify logistics involved in identifying products by customers. After defining the company’s cost leadership position, we will reconsider the company’s situation to explore alternatives to enhance accessibility and awareness. 1.1.3    Production: Significantly our company will significantly increase automation levels on all products in the next four years. Since automation limits the company’s ability to reposition its products in line with R&D, we will edge our automation process in the Low and Traditional sections in the next two years and then High end section during the last two years. Our company will ensure capacity building to meet the generated demand. In the first half we will reposition our brands. However, in the last half we will evaluate ways of increasing in automation levels to enhance margins as well as repositioning products and sustaining sections as they traverse the perceptual map. 1.1.4 Finance The nature of our industry allows it to draw funds from a wide source. During the first half the company will finance its investments mainly through bond issues supplementing with stock offers following an as needed basis. For last half, the company will develop a divided policy and start to retire stock. The company is not adverse to leverage and expectation is that we will sustain debt/equity ratio at 2.0-3.0. 1.2   Future key success factors Factors for success in our company include; 1.2.1 Concentration: Our company will concentrate on Low, Traditional, and High end sections. This will keep production costs, raw material costs, and R&D costs to a minimum. Also company product lifecycle concentration will enable us to reap sales for the next four years on each of the four new products to be introduced into High end section. 1.2.2 Brand recognition and awareness The company will maintain presence in every section. We will endeavor to ensure a competitive edge by differentiating our products. This will be done through excellent design, easy accessibility, and high awareness during first half. In the other half, the company will initiate a competent R&D that ensures fresh and exciting designs. Products will be in line with the market needs, presenting enhanced performance and size. 1.3   Attractiveness of industry and competitive environment 1.3.1       Factors making the industry attractive Several factors make our company to be attractive.   These are factors that will determine how far our company can remain still. These include;  ·    Reliable products: will ensure products which are reliable to mainstream clients and brands that offer value.  · Premium products: our company offers good products and brands that will stand the test of time.  ·    Low price: the company offers products at reduced prices. Its brands offer solid value.  ·    Easy technology: our products are reliable even to low technology customers 1.3.2 factors making the industry unattractive  · Funding: the market is unpredictable and there getting enough financial support is a problem  · Extensive research: product sustainability requires an extensive research. This adds to cost by way of experts and professionals. 1.3.3 special industry issues/problems  · Product presence: our company plans to maintain a competitive advantage by ensuring presence in every section.  · Unrelenting focus: concentration ensures brand recognition which leads to unique opportunity over competitors.  · Substitutes: the company is likely to suffer incase substitutes flood market, particularly during last half.  · New entrants: during the first two years the company will enjoy monopoly but in last two years entrants are likely to enter the market. 1.3.4 Profit outlook The company currently is enjoying a profit margin of 20%. This strategic plan aims to grow the profit by additional 10% for first two years and another 15% in the last two years.

Free Essays on The Right To Be Free

The Right to be Free Freedom. Webster’s dictionary defines freedom as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action as well as liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another. American history has been, in essence, a huge struggle for those very principles. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, â€Å"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind† (Qtd. In Sime and McCambridge, 225). The integrity of your own mind is the purpose for which nearly every social battle in this country, as well as abroad, has been fought. America has made a history of fighting for the right to have every principle of freedom a part of each person’s daily life, in fact, it was the idea of freedom that resulted in the founding of the nation. From the day that the religiously persecuted set sail for the new world from the â€Å"old† to escape religious oppression to the day of the passing of the Civil Rights Act, America’s past abounds with st ories of freedom both won and lost as people of every race and sex fought and continue to fight to obtain the right to act and think as individuals. It was King Henry VIII of England that inadvertently ignited the separatist-flame that would eventually lead to the population of America. He did this through his public and official break from Catholicism in the 1530s, which had previously been the religion most widely practiced in his kingdom. His marital problems however brought him to realize that the catholic religion was not the proper religious niche for him, and along with him came many who believed separation was the correct path. This separation however would have left Henry and his followers religion-less had he not elected to replace Catholicism with his own Church of England. His action powerfully stimulated some English reformers to undertake a total purification of English Christianity (qtd. In Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen, 43). These reformers came... Free Essays on The Right To Be Free Free Essays on The Right To Be Free The Right to be Free Freedom. Webster’s dictionary defines freedom as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action as well as liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another. American history has been, in essence, a huge struggle for those very principles. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, â€Å"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind† (Qtd. In Sime and McCambridge, 225). The integrity of your own mind is the purpose for which nearly every social battle in this country, as well as abroad, has been fought. America has made a history of fighting for the right to have every principle of freedom a part of each person’s daily life, in fact, it was the idea of freedom that resulted in the founding of the nation. From the day that the religiously persecuted set sail for the new world from the â€Å"old† to escape religious oppression to the day of the passing of the Civil Rights Act, America’s past abounds with st ories of freedom both won and lost as people of every race and sex fought and continue to fight to obtain the right to act and think as individuals. It was King Henry VIII of England that inadvertently ignited the separatist-flame that would eventually lead to the population of America. He did this through his public and official break from Catholicism in the 1530s, which had previously been the religion most widely practiced in his kingdom. His marital problems however brought him to realize that the catholic religion was not the proper religious niche for him, and along with him came many who believed separation was the correct path. This separation however would have left Henry and his followers religion-less had he not elected to replace Catholicism with his own Church of England. His action powerfully stimulated some English reformers to undertake a total purification of English Christianity (qtd. In Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen, 43). These reformers came...

Analysis of Two Robert Frost Poems, Desert Places and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Analysis of Two Robert Frost Poems, Desert Places and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost takes our imaginations to a journey through wintertime with his twopoems 'Desert Places' and 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening'. Frostcomes from a New England background and these two poems reflect the beautifulscenery that is present in that part of the country. Even though these poems bothhave winter settings they contain very different tones. One has a feeling ofdepressing loneliness and the other a feeling of welcome solitude. They showhow the same setting can have totally different impacts on a person depending ontheir mindset at the time. These poems are both made up of simple stanzas anddiction but they are not simple poems.In the poem 'Desert Places' the speaker is a man who is traveling throughthe countryside on a beautiful winter eventing. He is completely surrounded withfeelings of loneliness. The speaker views a snow covered field as a desertedEnglish: Handwritten version of 'Happiness makes u...place. 'A blanker whiteness of benighted snow/ With no expre ssion, nothing toexpress'. Whiteness and blankness are two key ideas in this poem. The whitesybolizes open and empty spaces. The snow is a white blanket that covers upeverything living. The blankness sybolizes the emptyness that the speaker feels.To him there is nothing else around except for the unfeeling snow and his lonelythoughts.The speaker in this poem is jealous of the woods. 'The woods around ithave it - it is theirs.' The woods symbolizes people and society. They havesomething that belongs to them, something to feel a part of. The woods has itsplace in nature and it is also a part of a bigger picture. The speaker is so aloneinside that he feels that he is not a part of anything. Nature has...

Marketing Assignment (see attachment for details) Essay

Marketing Assignment (see attachment for details) - Essay Example In order to achieve this marketers have to understand consumer preferences, what competitors are offering and how existing competitors compare with each other. Bread and breakfast market: The UK food and drink market has been growing steadily between 1997 and 2005 peaking in 2000-2001, but generally maintaining a growth rate of between 3.3% and 5.5%. The market size in 2005 according to the January 2006 Mintel report was â‚ ¤ 110,000 million with a growth rate of 3.3%. The market consists of a vast array of items such as bread, cereals, meats, poultry, eggs, milk, beverages, vegetable etc., which makes it unwieldy to be considered in a single marketing report. Therefore this report focuses on a segment of the food and drink market, the bread and breakfast market. The background information for this report is drawn from the Bread & Bakery Products. Market Report. 2001, offered as a free sample report by Key Note Ltd., although the character of the market in 2005 as gleaned from the latest available reports is summarised below. The year 2005 was good for the market with retail sales reaching â‚ ¤ 3.5 billion and grew at 2.5% over the previous year. Key Note reported that the market size was â‚ ¤ 2.8 billion in 2000. Thus the industry maintained an average growth rate of 5%. The industry as a whole was able to capitalise on consumer preferences such as fitness fads that made them avoid more starchy and fatty foods. In the UK, twelve million loaves of bread are consumed every day and 99% of households eat bread for breakfast and lunch in the form of sandwiches. France imports sliced wrapped bread from the UK. A subset of this market, the speciality breads - consisting of such as baguettes, focaccia, ciabatta, naan, pitta, rye breads, corn breads, organic breads and flavoured breads - is fast growing. Ethnic products such as pitta and naan account for 40% of the speciality bread market while

Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes - Essay Example This essay researches various medical studies and provides information on connections between obesity and second type diabetes in the UK. Although there is subjectivity about the exact causes of diabetes, yet there are certain factors that increase an individual’s tendency to develop different kinds of diabetes. This particularly includes being obese or overweight for the type 2 diabetes. This essay coveres 3 most commonly used theories on the topic and also suggests on "How can the Risk of Diabetes Type 2 be Reduced". The first theory, that is described in this essay is based on the assumption that metabolism is subject to great changes because of being overweight because more fat molecules are released into the blood. When these fat molecules find their way to the cells which react to insulin, fat cells interfere with the functioning of these cells and reduce their ability to respond to insulin. The second theory, that is used states that fat in the abdomen releases pro-inflammatory chemicals. The condition of having excess abdominal fat is called as abdominal obesity, and it is an especially high-risk obesity form. It is believed by the scientists that in prediabetes, the level of fatty acids in the blood increases. The third theory holds that obesity can lead to prediabetes. It is believed by the scientists that in prediabetes, the level of fatty acids in the blood increases. In conclusion to these theories in the essay, good news is that an individual’s tendency of developing type 2 diabetes can be reduced by losing weight.

FACTION, LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FACTION, LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY - Essay Example In his view, Madison said that liberty is worse than the disease of faction; liberty being among the two remedy to remove the causes faction, the other is by giving every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests. Liberty according to Madison fans factions and works like an air to a fire, â€Å"an aliment without which it instantly expires† and â€Å"as long as the reason of man continues to be fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed† (Madison 1). Liberty despite its destructive agency, as it nourishes faction, â€Å"it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, [because it] is essential to political life (Madison 1). In his commentary in Federalist Paper No. 10, he wrote that as long as man is at liberty, different opinions will be formed. The unequal distribution of property which are those who have and have-nots are the most common and durable source of factions. This divided them into classes and actuated by different sentiments and views whom the regulation of these various and interfering interests is the principle task of modern legislation. 2. Why do factions present a problem to the institutions of a free and democratic form of government? In Madison’s view, faction presents a problem when a â€Å"group of individuals created a faction with a common interest that was adverse to individual rights, the rights of minorities and against the common good† (Riley). A faction that is given a chance to rule will invariably push for their own narrow and selfish interests than can be inimical to justice and public good. As a result, public institutions will become an instrument of private greed where factions can hasten their own narrow self interest. Worst, public institutions which should have been a dispenser of justice and an agent of public good will become an instrument for oppression and ceases to be free and democratic as it does not represent the true will o f the people but only the narrow interest of the few. 3. Why does Madison consider factions both the underlying basis of, and the fundamental problem in, politics? Faction is spawned by man’s fallible reasoning and fanned by liberty which was later formed as a shared interest of a number of citizens in a given society. This can be a fundamental problem in politics due to the nature of man to hold interest that is particularly inherent in his circumstances. Sidhu gave an example that â€Å"the merchant will naturally support low taxes on imports or exports and the religious man will resist restrictions on freedoms of expression† (8). In short, faction has a tendency to make man self-serving and will become a fundamental problem in politics if it becomes a supervisory agent of the people. In addition, faction divides people into contentious groups who are also endeavoring to pursue the same passions and opinions whose process only represents a marginal group of people wh ose interests can be inimical to public good. Putting factions in leadership can be likened to investing private greed to be a supervisory agent of the state and the people which could present a problem in politics. 4. Is it possible to resolve this problem, and if so, in what manner? Madison’

Access to the Bendee Essay Example for Free

Access to the Bendee Essay The availability of relevant local culture, indigenous practices and knowledge combined with new ideas in technology and science can generate successful sustainable community development through innovation. Indigenous knowledge will not only contribute to the success of intervention, but better still its sustainability into the future. Numerous indigenous communities worldwide have always developed, operated and acted to different life challenges using indigenous methods passed on from one generation to the next. Our main focus in this paper will be to study and design a simple bridge, highlighting the use of relevant traditional and indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage amongst the Aboriginal people and technology to create a way across the Nebine Creek. Introduction Access to the Bendee Downs site requires vehicles to cross the Nebine Creek which remains impassable during the wet seasons. The site is a ten hour car trip from Brisbane, the closest city with a major airport, and can be accessed via the Murra Murra Road off the Balonne Highway or the Munda Munda Road and east via Fernlee Road. See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay Nebine River is approximately twenty meters wide. The bridge design would respect the Nebine Creek’s cultural importance to the Kooma People; it provides a place where they can identify with their homeland and share their culture hence should be protected (EWB Challenge, 2010). The property has become a conservation icon for the region due to its conservation values. About 40km of the Nebine Creek flow through the properties and it has a 4km permanent waterhole behind the old homestead. During the rainy seasons, the wetlands render the river impassable yet still it hosts a vast diversity of birds and fauna hence rendering it regionally, nationally and internationally valuable (EWB Challenge, 2010). Our design had to borrow much from the indigenous knowledge of the local community in conserving the site to design a technologically sound bridge. The following were considered in the design process: †¢ The maximum load it can support at the middle. †¢ The maximum load divided by the weight of the bridge (a measure of efficient use of materials) †¢ Aesthetic appeal of the final project to give the conservation efforts a boost. †¢ The materials to be used. We settled on locally available materials like wood to make it affordable and to make use of indigenous knowledge. The design process was geared towards solving the problem of impassable road by building a beam wooden bridge that would be capable to allow even small vehicles to go across. This was supposed to present a creative solution and involve teamwork in implementing the design. Background Information Indigenous knowledge, sometimes referred to as ‘local knowledge’, ‘traditional science’ or ‘folk knowledge’ is a form of knowledge that is unique to a culture or society. It is passed from generation to generation by word of mouth and cultural rituals and has been applied in almost all forms of life including cooking, health care, agriculture, conservation, education and several other facets of life that have sustained societies the world over. The indigenous way of practical learning has been interrupted by the abstract form of formal and academic way of learning witnessed presently (Fien, 2010). As the indigenous knowledge disappears, with it goes the valuable knowledge about ways of living sustainably. In order to fulfil our objective of the design project, first we sought to find how the Aborigines lived and travelled in the past. This we did to help us understand the local conditions and provide a productive context for our design to help the community. Traditionally Aboriginal people carried as little as possible in their journeys and usually chose implements which were multi-purpose. They would revisit favourite campsites of previous years where they had left that were too heavy to carry. These items would be left closer to water so that it wouldn’t need to be carried far. The women carried items on their heads and would make a ring shaped cushion of human hair, manguri, to wear when carrying heavy loads such as a big wooden dish etc. Men sometimes after hunting would carry a kangaroo on their heads. They carried their babies in a pouch in the back of a possum skin cloak (Berowra Valley Regional Park, 2010). This knowledge was very important in choosing the best type of bridge. Types of Bridges Several types of bridges are in existence today such as: Beam Bridges, Box Girder Bridges, Arch Bridges, Truss Bridges, Suspension Bridges, Cable Stayed Bridges. Examples of these bridges are included in the appendix Beam Bridges A beam bridge is very simple. The farther apart its supports are, the weaker it becomes. Although the beam needs careful design, it is cheap and easy to manufacture but this compromises on its beauty. Box Girder Bridges This is similar to the beam bridge but with a girder, box shaped, which makes it stronger. The girder needs careful design; it is cheap and easy to manufacture but not very beautiful. The performance of a beam bridge can be improved by using supports i. e. arches, trusses, cables. Arch Bridges Being one of the oldest types of bridge, they have great natural strength. Instead of pushing straight down, its weight is carried outward along the curve of the arch to the supports at each end. These supports or abutments carry the load and keep its ends from spreading out. Although they are heavy, they are strong if well designed and can be very beautiful. Truss Bridges Truss bridges are mostly empty space, but very effective. They are made of thin triangulated assemblies of metal members. They have a very good strength to weight performance and can be incorporated into any design. They are usually very beautiful. Suspension Bridges A suspension bridge as its name suggests, suspends the roadway from huge main cables extending from one end of the bridge to the other. All the highly stressed parts of a suspension bridge are in tension apart from the towers. These cables which rest on top of towers are secured at each end by anchorages. They have a high aesthetic value, are light and strong. They span greater distances, are expensive and are susceptible to wobble if designed improperly. Cable-Stayed Bridges The cables are attached to the towers which bear the load alone. They are very beautiful and require less cable. They are easier and faster to build but require stronger towers. Core Material The design process Design of an arch bridge. Initially, a suspension bridge and other options were considered but because of the sandy nature of the place and foundation limitations, we decided on an arch bridge. We set to design a timber bridge over the Nebine Creek not only capable of carrying pedestrians and animals but also motor vehicles. This bridge would be built on concrete and stone abutments for the many girder span designed. Instead of pushing straight down, the weight of the bridge (mainly made of laminated softwood) is carried outward along the curve of the arch to the supports at each end. These supports or abutments carry the load and keep its ends from spreading out. The abutments should carry a span of 22 meters. Four pairs of wooden beams, running lengthwise to the in relation to the bridge i. e. ‘longitudinal’, will rest on hammerhead bearings. The wooden beams are made of wooden pieces put in layers and glued together to form a larger beam. The layers, which are glued laminated wooden beams to make them more durable, are laid horizontally to form the main beam. Each pair measures 1 meter by 0. 5 meters, 15 centimetres thick. The span is 22 meters. The beams are to be made of softwoods like pine which are readily available in the community. To hold the pieces together firmly, metal brackets would be used to bolt the pieces together. On top of the stringers, small pieces of timber would be laid across and a coating of asphalt pavement would provide the road wearing surface. Since the stream has high banks and can hold rising waters caused by a flash flood during the rainy season, a concrete and stone arch bridge was chosen. The goal was to maintain the level of the road to allow for maximum potential stream flow. Traditionally, each family amongst the Aboriginal people would have a canoe, made from a single sheet of bark heated under low temperatures and then bent into shape. These canoes were used for fishing and crossing rivers especially during the rainy seasons. A base of clay built in the bottom of the canoe, would be used to light fire to cook some of the fish caught from the river. The remainder of the fish would be brought ashore to be shared amongst the rest of the people. Crossing rivers, they would put logs across minor streams and sometimes large rocks would be used (Berowra Valley Regional Park, 2010). Examples of these are shown in the appendix. A simple model would be made of wood to test the usability of the bridge. A bridge plan diagram was drawn to determine the amount necessary; this was done by tracing on the arch at the bottom with a pencil. On the model, an allowance of 10 inches is left from the end of the boards on the bottom cut to allow plenty of support on the stringers to carry the weight of the bridge. The amount of arch on the model was determined by using tack and string to make the arch. Wood glue is used to attach the pieces together, the cut out pieces are attached to the top of the stringer with a bead of wood glue and small screws (they are put on the underside so that they do not show. The pieces are then brought together to form the model beam.

An Overview Of Employee Suggestion Schemes Commerce Essay

An Overview Of Employee Suggestion Schemes Commerce Essay Innovations are becoming increasingly important for organizations to remain competitive in the dynamic business environment. Employee Suggestions Systems plays a key role for organizations wishing to become more innovative. It is a useful tool used in the organization to elicit employees creative ideas. Over the past decades, suggestion schemes have been studied from many perspectives. The objective of this paper is to present the history and evolution of suggestion schemes, from their early beginnings to sophisticated computer based systems that are widely popular in many countries. We start by discussing the origins of suggestion systems, followed by discussing how they have evolved over the years, and understand a typical process involved in suggestion system. We would like to discuss the future model of suggestion system that can sustain and contribute significantly towards the success of the organizations. Through a literature review, we describe the existing research on suggest ion schemes to understand the critical drivers and barriers for the success of the suggestion schemes. This paper also cites and illustrates the well-known suggestion systems used by UAE organizations and their benefits. The literature, while extolling the many virtues of suggestion programs makes it clear that achieving the expected results from the programs is quite challenging as it involves organizational as well individual level factors and needs to focus on creativity and as well transformation of the creativity into innovations. The paper provides the list of driver and barriers to suggestion schemes mainly stemming from creativity, innovation and suggestion system literatures. The suggestion making and suggestion implementation are two crucial stages and both are equally important for the success of the scheme and are influenced by a number of factors. Organizations must therefore identify these critical factors to nurture both these stages. The schemes can be applied in any sector to elicit employee creative ideas but must have a formal mechanism to action this. Managers need to be aware critical success factors that are essential for the success of the schemes. It is clear that suggestion schemes will not yield results without the active involvement of everyone in the organization, and the required resources and support from top management. The future of suggestion scheme is bright as a tool for fueling innovation. Organizations need to recognize and evaluate their schemes to yield its potential benefits. There need to be sustainability in suggestion schemes. Organizations need to assess their schemes to recognize if right conditions exist for their sche mes to flourish. This paper should be of value to practitioners of suggestion schemes and to academics who are interested in knowing how this program has evolved, and where it is today and what future it holds. Although much research has been conducted on identifying these critical success factors to the authors knowledge, little focus has been directed towards sustenance of the suggestion system. This paper makes the contribution for identifying the research gap in the suggestion schemes and has assimilated the existing knowledge on suggestion systems to provide a quick run through to the field and has extended the search for drivers and barriers to suggestion scheme from creativity and innovation literature. Key Words: Employee, Suggestion System, Creativity, Innovation, Employee Involvement, Ideas Management Introduction An Employee Suggestion Scheme (ESS) is described as a formalized mechanism that encourages employees to contribute constructive ideas for improving the organization in which they work (Milner et al., 1995). Another elaborate definition explains suggestion schemes elicit suggestions from employees, classify them, and dispatch them to experts for evaluation (Cooley et al., 2001). After this, the suggestion might be adopted, in which case the suggestion maker will be rewarded. But even if a suggestion is rejected, the suggestion maker may still be rewarded with a token gift. So the managers or dedicated committees evaluate the suggestions and implement the one that works (Chaneski, 2006). The reward may range from a certificate to a reward commensurate with the savings generated by the suggestion. Researchers in this area explain that the suggestion scheme is a mechanism or a tool that fosters creativity, elicits untapped reservoirs of ideas and fuels both product or process innovations , triggers a work place improvement, improves process effectiveness, saves money or helps generate new revenue and increases organizational commitment and accountability among employees (Carrier,1998; Buech et al., 2010; Fairbank and William,2001; 96. Townsend,2009;Islam, 2007;Arthur et al., 2010 Lloyd,1996). Thus they are structured to have many goals and purposes (Kanna et al., 2005). There are others who view suggestion systems as mechanism to improve quality as well (Islam, 2007; Kanna et al., 2005). It is a known fact that no one would know the job, its specific processes( Darragh -Jeromos, 2005) better than the employees themselves as they are on the shop floor and are experiencing the advantages of what they are doing(Du plessis et al., 2008). Therefore, the suggestion scheme can be an advantageous way to gather suggestions in the work place by fostering this concept and taping into all employee creativity (Darragh-Jeromo, 2005). Over the past decades, suggestion schemes have been studied from many perspectives. In this paper, our objective is to present the history and evolution of suggestion schemes, from their early beginnings to sophisticated computer based systems that are widely popular in many countries. We start by discussing the origins of the suggestion system, followed by how it has evolved over the years, and understand a typical process involved in the suggestion system. Through a literature review, we describe the existing research on suggestion schemes in order to understand the critical drivers and barriers for the success of suggestion schemes. This paper also identifies future research opportunities in this field. The History and Evolution of the Suggestion Schemes In 1721, Yoshimune Tokugawa, the 8th Shogun, placed a box called Meyasubako at the entrance of the Edo Castle for written suggestions from his subjects (Arif et al., 2010). Although this is the most basic system known, an industrialized suggestion systems origin traces back to the 19th century. In 1880, William Denny, a Scottish shipbuilder asked his employees to offer suggestions in order to build ships in better ways (Islam 2007). Following this, the Kodak company became pioneer in this endeavor with its program being introduced in 1896 (Carrier, 1998). Industry associations, such as the Employee Involvement Association (EIA), then came into existence and they have contributed greatly to the increased formalization, objectivity, and professionalism of suggestion programs (Townsend,2009). Formerly, the National Association of Suggestion Systems, the EIA has instituted educational, statistical, and professional development programs to raise the bar of best practices in the encouragem ent, evaluation, development, and implementation of ideas that add value to their organizations. The IdeasUK, UKs foremost association for the promotion of employee involvement programmes was founded in 1987, its prime purpose being to assist organizations in both the public and private sector, an organization with more than 100 members worldwide. On the other hand in Japan the program was well known as the Kaizan Program. While Kaizen-oriented suggestion systems are primarily interested in generating many small improvements, western suggestion systems encourage the pursuit of innovation (Ohly et al., 2006). Simultaneously, suggestion schemes also became popular in many countries and they have a considerable history that includes USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East (Cooley et al., 2001). The well-known suggestion schemes have been in existence for over 60 years and companies like Japans Toyotas and Indias Tata Steel Mill represent a usage of these historic systems. Around the 1990s suggestion schemes became increasingly popular. In 1994, one employee suggestion alone saved British Gas  £4.4 million. The research around 1996 reported that the world class suggestion systems are exceeding 40 ideas per person annually, with greater than 80 percent implementation rates and high levels of participation (Savageau, 1996). The ETA 2004 annual suggestion program provided statistics from 41 of its member organizations in the United States. From this limited sample, a total of more than $811 million in savings and other benefits were realized as a result of employee suggestion programs (Townsend,2009). The latest 2009 Annual Survey of IdeasUK highlighted the following benefits amongst their membership organizations such as Boots, HSBC, Ministry of Defence and Dubai Aluminum. Cost savings of over  £100m with the average implemented idea worth  £1,400.00. Return on Investment of at least 5:1. Employee involvement increased with average participation rates of 28% The trend of cost savings due to employee suggestions continues till today. The Existing Research on Suggestion Systems An illustration of a formal process involved in the suggestion schemes Suggestions systems have come a long way (Arif et al., 2010) transiting from anonymous postboxes (Crail, 2006) or suggestion box to a sophisticated computer based electronic suggestion system (Fairbank and William 2001; Ahmed, 2009). The suggestion system is a process of two or more stages comprising mainly the suggestion making, the evaluation and implementation of the idea (Van and Ende, 2002; Prathur and Turrel, 2002; Lipponen et al., 2008; Bakker et al., 2006; Marx, 1995;Griffiths et al., 2006). There has been a negligence of research on the initial ideas generation phase that precedes the innovation, mainly because one major group of researchers who consider organizational creativity is fostered through the personal characteristics and motivations of creative individuals turned its attention to context and organizational factors(Carrier,1998). However the common process involved in the suggestion management system is depicted in fig 1: Description: http://www.apo-tokyo.org/productivity/pmtt_004b.jpg In recent times the suggestion schemes have also been known as Idea Capture Systems or Idea Management Systems. Leach (2006) claims that the Idea capture system can fall into four categories: Centralized suggestion schemes, De-centralized suggestion schemes, Work based systems Informal systems. Literature shows that the subject of suggestion schemes is multidisciplinary. Broadly the theoretical base for suggestion schemes emerges from the literature on creativity and innovation. This is mainly because the researchers describe suggestion systems as tools that stimulate creativity or innovation (Carrier,1998). Innovation begins with creative ideas (Amabile et al., 1996) and thus creativity and innovation are interlinked and the process in the suggestion system is mainly focused on eliciting the employees creative ideas and implementing them to fuel innovations. The main focus of the research then goes to the factors that trigger creativity and innovation. Researchers have examined these factors from three points of views (Buech et al.,2010) The first considers work environment. A second stream of research, focusing on the features of suggestion systems, weighs the influence of feedback about suggestions, management support of the system and rewards for successful suggestions, the third deals with the characteristics of the individuals. The creativity and innovation literature also highlights these contextual, organizational and individual factors that foster creativity and innovation but it is also evident that the contextual factors that foster creativity and innovation would also foster the suggestion making as well (Ohly et al.,2006). The factors cited to be drivers to creativity, suggestion system and innovation are identified below. Factors fostering Suggestion Making, Creativity and Innovation A good suggestion scheme should play a vital role in improving communication and promoting and enhancing the sense of common purpose (McConville, 1990). People need social, informational, and economic support to be able to create something new (Majdar, 2005). The creativity in an organizational context emerges from a process of sharing information with other people within the organization (Bakker et al., 2006). Although the social networking alone cannot be considered as an important source of information for innovation(Bigliardi et al., 2009), the high quality social exchange relationships (Kudisch, 2006), social influences(Klijn et al., 2010),collaboration(Bjà ¶rklund,2010; Fairbank et al.,2001), and diverse group exchanges(Shalley et al.,2004) can stimulate employee creativity. Even in a field where innovation is essential, most of the acute challenges do not concern innovation skills, but rather the organizational context of innovation the work communities culture, habits, and practices (Bjà ¶rklund, 2010). Creativity and innovation will only be sporadic occurrences and will not thrive without a supportive environment and culture (Malaviya Wadhwa, 2005;Amabile et al.,1996). Every organization has its own culture and needs and its suggestion system should be molded around that (Marx, 1995). The organization structure often hinders tacit knowledge sharing by establishing wrong authorities (Alwis et al., 2008). Several studies have shown how certain organizational structures facilitate the creation of new products and processes, especially in relation to fast changing environments (Lam,2010). Organization structures have to be modified in different industries so that the organizational structure of a company or a department supports transfer and transmission of tacit knowledge in the best way (Alwis et al., 2008). Management practices of the organization play a role in the success of the suggestion programs (Carrier, 1998). Management has a responsibility to satisfy the need for employee participation and they are required to create a culture which is supportive of employee involvement in the decisions which affect their work (Reychav et al., 2010). Senior management ought to demonstrate their faith in the scheme, promote and support it and encourage all managers to view it as a positive force for continuous improvement (McConville, 1990). Management must get actively involved by creating the opportunities for employees to submit their ideas, get those ideas properly evaluated, give recognition when it is due and implement them as soon as possible (Du plessis, 2008). Converting managers, particularly those in the middle is crucial (McConville,1990). Undoubtly, people will produce creative work when they perceive for example that the management is required to encourage (Amabile et al., 1996). T herefore a visible commitment from top management can encourage employee active participation in the scheme. Studies have shown that a traditional, autocratic management style results in low levels of employee engagement and motivation (Hayward, 2010). Empowering leadership has the capacity to positively influence employee psychological empowerment -an element of importance in affecting creative outcome (Zhang, 2010). On the other hand leadership styles that include threats, intimidation, and coercive tactics appear to universally discourage creative behavior on the part of employees (Anderson et al., 2008). The coworker support (Madjar,2008;Majdar 2005;Shalley et al.,2004;Arif et al., 2010) is another important element that can trigger employees to make suggestions. Tatter (1975) notes, the best way to kill a system are to let an idea remain in limbo for four, five or six months. The goal should be to completely process a suggestion in about 30 days and in no more than 60 days. To handle employee creativity effectively, it is important to organize the process of idea extraction to idea fo llow-up properly, otherwise employees will not be motivated to put their ideas forward and many ideas will be lost (Van Ende, 2002). The knowledge possessed by individual employees can only lead to a firm competitive advantage if employees have the motivation and opportunity to share and utilize their individual knowledge in ways that benefit the organization (Arthur et al., 2005). Therefore the development of an infrastructure (Marx 1995) with simple methods (Hultgren, 2008) for submitting suggestions (McConville, 1990) is a key aspect of the suggestion scheme. The companies lack of action on suggestions provided by non-managerial employees can de-motivate employees from participating in employee relation programs (Cho and Erdum 2006). Fairbank (2003) argues the formal Employee suggestion Management systems(ESMS)s are superior to the stereotypical suggestion box because they make it easier for employees to submit ideas that will eventually be implemented, provide a transparent pro cess for evaluating the suggestions, and generate timely feedback regarding the fate of the suggestions and any rewards they earn. Such a system can help to monitor the progress of the scheme on a regular basis (Hultgren, 2008). The more comfortable employees are with the format, the more suggestions will be received, and the more money will be saved (Mishra, 1994). Good ideas can come from anyone, at any level, any place, anytime (McConville, 1990; Majdar ,2005). Therefore a suggestion scheme should make all its employees at all levels eligible to participate (McConville, 1990; Lloyd, 1996). The involvement can be increased if employees develop a sense of belonging to the organization (Cruz et al., 2009). Empowerment is necessary so that the workers evaluate their own ideas before making a suggestion, as suggesting many ideas do not necessarily mean greater cost reduction and at the same time, it would be an added cost to process and may cause delays (Wynder, 2008). The biggest obstacles in the suggestion cycle lie in the area of review, evaluation and guidance. Insensitive comments of proposal reviewers can sometime kill an employees improvement initiative (Neagoe et al., 2009). When the review, evaluation and guidance aspect of the system functions properly, it can be a great motivating force that will attract many excellent proposals (Neagoe et al., 2009). If ideas are made public, these ideas, good and bad, could have started other creative ideas elsewhere in the organization (Stenmark, 2000). A modern well-managed suggestion scheme lies not in the immediate financial returns, but in the contribution made to achieving greater involvement and team- work (McConville,1990). Creative ideas are more often the product of social interaction and influence than of periods of thinking in isolation (Majdar, 2005) The cash rewards and recognition alone will not make a suggestion system successful (Strane,2000). Employee morale should be boosted by creating success stories and measuring the success of the scheme through the implementation of ideas (Marx, 1995; Hultgren, 2008; Lloyd, 1996; Cho Erdem 2006). A suggestion system is clearly a money saver in an organization (Mishra, 1994). There needs to be various strategies in place to avoid employee boredom and to consider the life cycle of the system, employees must be rewarded not only with tangible but also intangible benefits (Ahmed 2009). Incentives are important for employees to feel that submission of their useable ideas will be rewarded (Du plessis et al., 2008). It was also found that the volume of employee suggestions over time will be positively related to the amount of payout (Arthur et al., 2010). Depending on the attention given to advertising the schemes and how participation is rewarded, organizations could improve the return on the idea capture system (Leach et al., 2006). Individuals have the greatest possible number of characteristics that positively influence their creative performance (Muà ±oz-Doyague, 2008). Keeping workers intrinsically motivated is the key part for improving creativity and performance. No doubt, intrinsic motivation is a universally important and substantial factor (Suh et al.,2008). Sending individuals to state-of- the-art seminars, training programs, and conferences as a reward for their creativity might increase the positive impact (Griffiths-hemans et al., 2006). This will be the energy of renewal and the drive to a successful future. The Barriers to suggestion systems Research also reports on barriers that could hinder the success of the suggestion scheme. They are mainly cited as work load pressure, task reutilization, task standardization, unsupportive climate, aversive leadership, co-worker mistrust, coworker incompetence, budget problems, impractical idea, technical issues, competition, delay in assessment, controlled supervision, lack of support, fear of evaluation, free riding, lack of self confidence, low commitment to organization and system, rigid rules,self-interest, challenge of the work and resistance from middle managers(Alwis Hartmann 2008;Amabile et al.,1996;Anderson Veillette 2008;Bakker et al., 2006;Carreir 1998; Oldham and Cummings 1996;Lyold 1999;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Toubia,2006;Sadi,2008;Wong Pang Finally, the existing research also evidences that although the interest and practice in Continuous Improvement (CI) are widespread in many organizations, many of them have major problems in sustaining success in their CI programs (Rapp and Eklund, 2007),). Many organizations are faced with problems associated with both the implementation and sustainability of their CI programs. There is no study which gives account of the design features for frequency of feedback or extent to publicity (Leach,2006).Despite the increasing popularity of the gain sharing plans, evidence for their effectiveness has remained mixed(Arthur et al., 2010). Suggestion systems should not exist primarily as a means to recognize employees only (Darragh Jeromos 2005) but to utilize the scheme to its fullest extent. So a well designed system will accomplish both these goals resulting in tangible as well as intangible benefits (Ahmed, 2009). Overall suggestion system is a great mechanism that involves individual a nd teams in improving the organization performance (Crail, 2006) and they have a strong and significant effect on both process and product innovation (Townsend, 2009). It perfectly matches todays market need to deal with knowledge based workers who expect their involvement to be recognized and utilization of their skills to its fullest (Kesting et al., 2010). # Indicators Source 1 Supervisory encouragement Mclean 2005;Marx 1995;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Frese et al 1999;Lloyd 1996;Ohly et al 2006;Arif et al 2010;Hardin 1964 2 Co worker support Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Shalley Gilson 2004;Arif et al 2010 3 Top Mgt Support Huang Farh 2009.;Amabile et al 2004;Carreir 1998;Egan 2005;Jong Hartog 2007;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Du plessis 2008;Ahmed 2009;Mishara 1994;Powell 2008;Prather Turrell;Rice 2009;Zhang 2010;Khairuzzaman;Bell 1997 ;Unsworth 2005;Hayward 2010. 4 organizational Encouragement Fairbank and Williams 2001;Alves et al 2007;Ahmed 1998;Alwis Hartmann 2008 Amabile et al 1996;Arthur Kim 2005;Bjà ¶rklund 2010;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Ellonen et al., 2008;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Janssen, O., 2004;Klijn Tomic 2010;Kudisch 2006;Neagoe Klein 2009;Mclean 2005;Malaviya, P., 2005;McConville 1990;Powell 2008;Prather Turrell; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Rietzschel 2008;Zhou George(2001);Stranne 1964;Van Ende 2002;Bell 1997 ;Khairuzzaman;Bigliardi Dormio 2009 5 Communication Alves et al 2007;Aoki 2008;Arthur et al 2010.;Binnewies et al 2007;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.Klijn Tomic 2010;Kudisch 2006;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;McConville 1990;Ahmed 2009; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Khairuzzaman;Monge ;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Clark 2009;Fairbank and Williams 2001;Stranne 1964 6 Evaluation Egan 2005; Rietzschel 2008;Neagoe Klein 2009;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Ahmed 2009;Powell 2008;Tatter 1975;Van Ende 2002;Hultgren 2008;Lloyd 1996;Winter 2009;Sarri et al ,2010;Fairbank and Williams 2001. 7 Publicity Reuter 1976;Mishara 1994;Tatter 1975;Fairbank and Williams 2001. Kudisch 2006;Neagoe Klein 2009;Leach et al 2006;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Prather Turrell;Lloyd 1996;Winter 2009;Crail 2007 8 Resources   Alves et al 2007;Amabile et al 1996;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Klijn Tomic 2010;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Shalley Gilson 2004;Van Ende 2002;Lloyd 1996;Bigliardi Dormio 2009;Clark 2009 9 Rewards Lloyd 1996; Klijn Tomic 2010;Arthur Kim 2005;Arthur et al 2010. ;Bartol Srivastava 2002;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Neagoe Klein 2009;Leach et al 2006;Lloyd.1999;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Du plessis 2008;Ahmed 2009;Mishara 1994;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Rice 2009;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Teglborg-Lefevre, a.C., 2010;Van Ende 2002;Arif et al 2010;Bell 1997 ;Frese et al 1999;Winter 2009;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Baird Wang 2010;Bartol Srivastava 2002;Clark 2009;Crail 2007;Rietzschel(2008);Suh Shin 2008. ;Lyold 1999 10 Training Paulus 2008;Tatter 1975;Baird Wang 2010;Stranne 1964;Birdi 2005 11 Effective simple System Reuter 1976;Lloyd 1996 Arthur Kim 2005;Lloyd 1999;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Fairbank 2003;Mishara 1994;Prather Turrell;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Tatter1975;Van Ende 2002;Arif et al 2010;Frese et al 1999;Hultgren 2008; Winter 2009;Bigliardi Dormio 2009;Clark 2009;Fairbank and Williams 2001;Lyold 1999;Bassadur 1992;Hultgren 2008 12 feedback Cho Erdem 2006 ;Bakker et al 2006 ;Buech et al 2010;Leach et al 2006;Mishara 1994;Powell 2008;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Arif et al 2010;Hultgren 2008;Fairbank and Williams 2001. ;Stranne 1964;Bassadur 1992;Van Ende 2002;Du plessis 2008 13 Implementation of suggestion Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Hultgren 2008;Lloyd 1996;Cho Erdem 2006 14 Job factors Amabile et al 1996;Anderson Veillette 2008. ;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.;Buech et al 2010;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Hirst 2009;Powell 2008;Rego et al 2009;Shalley Gilson 2004;Shalley Gilson 2004;Frese et al 1999;Axtell et al 2000;Muà ±oz-Doyague et al( 2008);Unsworth 2005;Cruz et al 2009;de Jong den Hartog 2010. 15 Empowerment Recht Wildero ,1998;Lipponen et al 2008;Mclean 2005;Powell 2008;Axtell et al 2000;de Jong den Hartog 2010; Unsworth 2005 16 Expertise Bantel Jackson 1989;Bjà ¶rklund 2010;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Klijn Tomic 2010;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Verworn 2009;Bigliardi Dormio 2009 17 Individual attributes and self efficacy Huang Farh 2009.;Egan 2005;Lipponen et al 2008;Verworn 2009;Frese et al 1999;Axtell et al 2000;Aoki 2008.; Lipponen et al 2008;Binnewies et al 2007;Bjà ¶rklund 2010. ;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006 ;Klijn Tomic 2010 ;Lipponen et al 2008;Litchfield 2008;Malaviya, P., 2005;Powell 2008; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Verworn 2009;Janssen 2004;Litchfield 2008;Cruz et al 2009;Huang Farh 2009.;Aoki 2008.;Arthur et al 2010. ;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Egan 2005;Muà ±oz-Doyague 2008 18 job control Anderson Veillette(2008);Mclean, L.D., 2005;Sadi (2008);Anderson Veillette(2008) Wong Pang (2003);Neagoe, L.N. Klein, V.M., 2009;McConville(1990) 19 Organizational impediments Stenmark(2000);Alwis Hartmann(2008). Anderson, T.a. Veillette, a., 2008;Wong Pang (2003);Toubia 2005;Bakker, H., Boersma, K. Oreel, S., 2006);Amabile et al (1996);Lyold (1999);Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003.Du Plessis, AJ, Marx, AE Wilson, G 2008 Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003. Carrier C., 1998;Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003;Du Plessis, AJ, Marx, AE Wilson, G 2008;.BaMcConville(1990);Mostaf El-Masry( 2009) 20 Team work Rapp and Eklund 2007; Amabile et al 1996;Aoki 2008;Carreir 1998;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Shalley Gilson 2004;Baird Wang 2010;Egan 2005;Pissarra Jesuino 2005;Fairbank and Williams 2001. 21 Competition Bakker, H., Boersma, K. Oreel, S., 2006) 22 Support for innovation Lipponen et al 2008;Hultgren 2008 23 employee participation Alves et al 2007;McConville 1990;Lloyd 1996;Fairbank and Williams 2001. ;Cruz et al 2009; Neagoe, L.N. Klein, V.M., 2009 Discussion Suggestion systems have evolved from a traditional suggestion box to sophisticated electronic systems aiming to encourage all employees to take part in suggestion schemes and to rapidly process the ideas received from the employees and put to practical use. Large organizations are focusing on achieving bigger goals at company level as well as at employee level to accrue the tangible as well as intangible benefits. However companys need to carefully implement the program as every organization has its own culture, it needs to tailor the program to meet their organization needs and what they expect from this system must be clearly known. While suggestion schemes have evolved over the decades, the main underlying factor driving this engine is to pursue workplace improvements, process or product innovations. Research in this field has been mainly focused on features of suggestion schemes, guidelines for implementation and critical success factors and critical barriers encompassing the organizational as well as the individual contexts. Research also evidences its contribution as to how organizations have utilized the tool to obtain small workplace improvements through to good sized innovation and if implemented they contribute in building organizations innovation capability. The suggestion making and suggestion implementation are two crucial stages and both are equally important for the success of the scheme and are influenced by a number of factors. Organizations must therefore identify these critical factors to nurture both these stages. The schemes can be applied in any sector to elicit employee creative ideas but must have a formal mechanism to action this. Managers need to be aware of critical success factors that are essential for the success of the schemes. It is clear that suggestion schemes will not yield results without the active involvement of everyone in the organization, and the required resources and support from top management. The suggestion schemes are here to stay mainly because they are the vehicle for innovations. Today we live in a knowledge economy where innovation is not only significant but a key corner stone for an organizations growth and sustainability. The future of the suggestion scheme is bright as a tool for fueling innova tion. Organizations need to recognize and evaluate their schemes to yield its potential benefits. There needs to be sustainabil