Claudius The Surprise Emperor - 1097 Words

Niko Akaras Mr Bozzi. AMW February 21, 2017 Claudius: The Surprise Emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was born in 10 AD in Gaul, modern day France. Due to an illness as a child he developed a limp and partial deafness. Because of this he was ostracized from his family, believing he was mentally challenged. Coming from a family of such high stature, Claudius was hidden until his teens, seen as an embarrassment to the family name. He gained the attention of his family when, in his teens, he began writing history. While he did not write history for long, as his works were too critical of Octavian, this showed his family that he was not mentally challenged and possessed full cognitive ability. Despite this, he was†¦show more content†¦He gave up many privileges that former emperors took advantage of and always approaching the senate with respect, almost as equals. However this was not enough to please the Senate as many plots were hatched in the senate on Claudius’ life. So Claudius used other methods to gain legitimacy . Under Claudius, the Roman Empire expanded for the first time on the scale of Augustus since then. He extended the empire s reach to the East by annexing Thrace (Macedonia), Pamphylia (Turkey), Lycia (Turkey) and Judea (Israel). He also extended north by annexing Noricum (Austria) and beginning a campaign to invade Britain. This was not the first time the Romans had attempted to take over Britain, as Caesar had tried before, but if the legendary Julius Caesar could not take Britain, no one could. Claudius disagreed. With great ambition and personal involvement, he ordered the invasion of Britain. He landed with his troops in Britain and stood along side them during the beginning of the campaign, before having to return to Rome. His campaign proved very successful and the southern part of Britain was annexed. Later Claudius’ successors would continue his campaign in Britain, but none would be possible without his initial invasion. In order to govern such an expansive empire, Claudius expanded the idea of client kingdoms and assigned a regional king to rule over their land. The ‘client king’ would be a native man of stature and well respected in theirShow MoreRelatedThe Roman Empire and Nero Essay944 Words   |  4 PagesA.D. Seneca, chief Roman tragic writer and philosopher in the time, who just came back from exile is summoned to the Roman emperors castle by the old emperor Claudius wife Julia Agrippina. He is assigned to tutor her son, Nero. Nero is a spoiled little twenty-year old fat freak hungry for gladiator-ism. He hates his step- father, Claudius for he always treats him as a good for nothing child, which he is. Where-from he feels indebted to his mother who seemingly gives him full attention andRead More Boadicea Essay856 Words   |  4 Pagesbecome a part of the Roman Empire. Iceni was amongst them, which happened to be the tribe of the famous Boadicea and her husband Prasutagus. 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Managing Operations, Information Free Essays

string(91) " in efficiently responding to changes of new procedures in the marketplace \(Gate Serve\)\." Managing Operations, Information, and Knowledge of Gate Gourmet Words 3,000 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract 4 1. 0 Introduction 5 2. 0 About Gate Gourmet 5 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Operations, Information or any similar topic only for you Order Now 0 Systems that enable efficient use of input resources and their impact on output of goods and services supplied by Gate Gourmet 6 3. 1 Transformation Process 6 3. 2 Production Techniques 6 1. Cuisine Sous-Vides 6 2. Hot Filling 6 3. Modified Atmosphere Packing 6 4. Food Safety Checks and Assurance Systems 7 5. Gate Serve Provisioning services 7 6. Post Flight Aircraft Stripping 7 2. Existence of Trade-offs within Gate Gourmet and challenges faced by following this approach 8 4. 0 Supply Chain Management issues and supplier selection 9 4. 1 Supply Chain 9 2. Supply Chain Management 9 3. Impact of integrated system in the management of suppliers and supplier selection 9 1. Alpha Flight Group 9 2. Pourshins 10 3. Supplair 10 4. DeSter 10 5. Potmstudios 11 6. Harmony 11 4. Recommendations for less advanced suppliers to establish consistent standard of operations with the supply chain activities 11 5. 0 ERP System 12 5. 1 Scala 12 1. E-Gatematrix 12 1. Challenges faced by the company in implementing ERP System 12 2. ERP implementation problems and solutions 13 1. Galley Planning 13 2. Complications of Data 13 3. Business Intelligence and Reporting 14 4. Selection of menus according to the passenger mix 14 6. Huge information used by Gate Gourmet to deliver their service 14 1. Human tacit and implicit knowledge is essential to make sense of hard statistical information and the same is used for enhancing performance 14 7. Conclusion 16 References 17 Abstract A biggest challenge for the companies in today’s world is the managing operations, information and knowledge throughout the organisation. Each and every company is struggling for the management of operations, information and knowledge in the competitive market. The whole production and delivery process, challenges with the existence of trade-off, supply chain activities, ERP, and human tacit and implicit knowledge to deal with the processes are discussed in this part with reference to the Gate gourmet Company. Managing Operations, Information, and Knowledge of Gate Gourmet 1. Introduction Each company wants to sustain in the highly competitive market. For this, the companies are involved in the management of operations, information and knowledge throughout the organisation, which has now days become of utmost importance. The company go for integration with other firms to improve their processes and for the application of software, which are used uniformly by the different departments of the organisation and their suppliers as well as customers. In the business of catering, providing right quantities at right time at the right place is of greatest importance. For the achievement of the goal, the company that enable efficient use of input resources to generate the effective output uses those systems. The company in integration with the other companies to provide the quality meals uses new production techniques. Also the supplier selection plays a critical role in supply chain management process. The company to improve their processes uses the ERP system and human tacit and implicit knowledge. In this part of study, all these activities are discussed with the case of Gate Gourmet. 2. About Gate Gourmet The Gate Group brand was introduced in early 2008 after several acquisitions after being founded in the year 1992. The company offers catering and last mile provisioning for airlines and railroads, lounges and business aviation. The company’s main force of secondary revenue is onboard retail operations (Gate gourmet). . Systems that enable efficient use of input resources and their impact on output of goods and services supplied by Gate Gourmet 1. Transformation Process It includes the processes, which converts the input to the output by adding value to the product. There are two categories of input resources i. e. transformed resources which are converted from input to the output and i nclude materials and information, and transforming resources which helps to convert input to the output and include facilities like buildings, equipments, process technology and the staff (NSW Government). 2. The new production techniques are used by Gate Gourmet to provide the meals of restaurant quality and also manageable in terms of cost, quality, service and safety. These production techniques help in efficient use of input resources. 1. Cuisine Sous-Vides The company to achieve amazing flavour and texture uses this technique. This technique relies on temperature-controlled circulator in which the food is vacuum-sealed and cooked in a precisely controlled water bath. As the method is very easy to learn, it helps in better control and reasonable results every time (PolyScience). 2. Hot Filling This technology is very easy to handle even by unskilled workers. This high temperature helps in the sterilisation of bottles and other equipments to maintain the high quality standards. 3. Modified Atmosphere Packing The technology helps in expanding the shelf life of fresh food products. The modified atmosphere packing technology substitutes the atmospheric air inside the package with the protective gas mix which ensures that the product will stay fresh for long time. The company used this technology for packing of red meats, fruits and vegetables. This helped to achieve the minimal spoilage of the input resources and lowers the costs. The company has established sophisticated machineries for this purpose (Modified Atmosphere Packaging). 4. Food Safety Checks and Assurance Systems The company voluntarily follows HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) to ensure food safety. The company inspects every vehicle that delivers the raw materials, check by digital probe food temperatures during the production and delivery process, temperature checks on every batch food; every dish and surface is cleaned while food preparation, this helps in production and delivery of food that is clean and safe (Gate Gourmet). . Gate Serve Provisioning services Gate Serve, a subsidiary of Gate Gourmet, helps in assembling soda drawers, packing silverware, provisioning packaged food items, and aircraft watering. This helps in efficiently responding to changes of new procedures in the marketplace (Gate Serve). You read "Managing Operations, Information" in category "Essay examples" The provisioning of items helped in making the trip safe and comfortable for the passengers. For these services, the company has installed cooling systems, onboard cameras and state-of-the-art engines. 6. Post Flight Aircraft Stripping In the catering process, the carts are removed and taken to the flight kitchen and unloading and sanitisation. Using the recycling system, the trash is separated from the general waste stream and sterilised before disposal. Crockery and other reusable items are sent for dishwashing and sterilisation line (Gate Gourmet Aircraft Provisioning). 3. Existence of Trade-offs within Gate Gourmet and challenges faced by following this approach The tradeoffs between economising and flexibility were noticed within the organisation. The reduction in expenditures helped the company to gain the competitive advantage whereas; the flexibility needs to be applied to meet the last minute demand of the clients, sometimes, which may cause wastage of food products. With the conflicting demands of the organisation, trade-offs were considered within the organisation. The trade-offs are considered for balancing the transformation process. Main challenge in front of managers is to maximise the cost reduction with flexibility and the dilemma cannot be completely eliminated. The stabilisation mechanism needs to be established within the organisation to meet the uncertain demands and to maintain stability in the production and delivery process. Also, the company had dilemma of trade-offs between making and buying of certain products. Buying of food products included outsourcing to the other company. But the challenge was that the making led to increase in costs and buying which will lead to outsourcing has hidden costs that will diminish its advantages with time. And, at the time when Texas Pacific bought the company, it was under enormous stress to cut down its costs (The Guardian, 2005). . Supply Chain Management issues and supplier selection 1. Supply Chain Supply chain includes procurement of raw materials from the suppliers, conversion of raw materials to intermediate goods, and then finally to finished products. It also includes the distribution of it to the customers. Three kinds of flows exist in supply chain i. e. material, information and financ e (Ganeshan R Harrison T, 1995). Upstream refers to the activities that take place before the supply phase. And, downstream refers to the activities that take place after the supply phase. IFx system was used to integrate the whole supply chain (AirlineHubBuzz, 2012). 2. Supply Chain Management Effective supply chain management is the coordination between the various players in the chain and each channel member operates independently (Ganeshan R Harrison T, 1995). 3. Impact of integrated system in the management of suppliers and supplier selection The company goes on maintaining the relationship with those suppliers who can meet quick and flexible supply in respect to the demand changes, deliver consistently and on time with high degree of mutual understanding and trust (Acorn live: 22). . Alpha Flight Group Alpha provided full catering and provisioning services in Amsterdam. Gate Gourmet intended maximum growth and operational flexibility with Alpha through its integrated system. The company aimed to serve 80 peak season flights a day with Alpha (aircraftinteriorsinternational. com). 2. Pourshins Pourshins, a fully integrated partner provides the tools required for s upply chain model including sourcing and procurement, asset management and food and beverage logistics (Pourshins. com). The challenge in front of the company was to reduce the LEAN’s supply chain management cost, which was rising. The integration challenge was to merge the two teams of employees in the United States and understanding the Gate Gourmet’s existing warehousing, distribution and software functions (Andersen, 2008: 29). But at the same time, the integrated system helped to aggregate purchase volumes, which resulted in lowering of costs, optimisation of products and services for the total value (Pourshins. com). 3. Supplair The company designed food including fresh food preparation and packaged food to keep them safe, appealing, and requires minimum handling. The challenge in front of company with the integrated system was to review the food offered for the crew consumption and introduce the same within four weeks for Easy Jet. The elements for the key success with the integrated system were the proven web-based ordering system, which was easy to use and the excellent distribution supply chain (Supplair. com). 4. deSter Gate Gourmet selected deSter as its supplier, deSter being leading supplier in service solutions across all aircraft cabins. To win the competitive advantage over the other bidders, the tender was in the favour of Gate Gourmet with Etihad Airways. This was because of technical know-how and production capacities of deSter (deSter. com). 5. Potmstudios The company offers design for packaging, cutlery, food and beverage service ware and passenger facilities for the in-flight services. The positive implication was the best computer aided design software, which was used by the company for the fast and accurate designs (Potmstudios. com). 6. Harmony The company is totally integrated airline service provider and involved in the designing of amenity kits. Harmony provides tailor-made solutions for enhancing the passengers’ comfort on board. The operational excellence of the company helped in managing the quality of the service (Harmonyonboard. com). 4. Recommendations for less advanced suppliers to establish consistent standard of operations with the supply chain activities First of all, for implementing integrated system, the less advanced organisations analyse their business processes. It helps in the modernisation of processes during the time of changes. It is quite easier for the centralised organisations to implement the integrated system. Secondly, balancing of work designed according to the requirements of the customers is of prime importance. The software should be configured before use. Lastly, the company needs to establish a system to convert the existing data into the integrated one. For this, the company may have to move for data migration planning like identification of data, data templates generation, and deciding migration interrelated set-ups and reporting policies. This will help the less advanced suppliers to gain the competitive advantage and will also help in modernisation. The genuine trick for the integration is the free flow of information, cooperation and respecting each business’s independence (Andersen, 2008: 30). 5. ERP System ERP system is the organisation wide network for harmonising the resources, information and functions of a business. It is the modern extension of MRP1 (Materials Requirement Planning), MRP11 (Manufacturing Resource Planning), and CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing). It helps in communicating with the customers and the suppliers to improve the quality of supply chain management (Acorn live: 19). 1. Scala system Scala is the ERP software and support ERP processes. This system was exercised by the company to cover the maximum business processes of catering operations. 1. E-Gatematrix The real-time data was fed into the Scala system through ‘e-gatematrix’ system, which is the web-interface system for capturing data. 2. Challenges faced by the company in implementing ERP System 1. The company has to face the challenges due to demand fluctuations- As food has to be prepared just before 12 to 24 hours before departure, the demand keep on fluctuating till the last moment. The ‘just-in-time’ delivery after the preparation and supply of food with the last minute fluctuations become difficult and challenging (Fidanza). All the last minute changes using ERP systems become difficult sometimes. 2. The company has to re fix the schedules with flight delays- The whole process of delivery becomes cumbersome with flight delays. All the data communication through ERP in rush becomes complex. 3. ERP implementation problems and solutions 1. Galley Planning Problem-With the technological support, galley planning becomes time consuming process. Solution-Galley Planning System (GP4) of the e-gate solutions can be easily incorporated into other material planning systems to increase the precision of the data. It leads to the fuel-cost impact analysis, automatic publishing of packing instructions and the online communication of changes to the supply chain (e-Gate Solutions). 2. Complications of Data Problem- There was complications of data and their application using the e-marketplace application. Solution- The company replaced it with ePix application to improve the order search capabilities and for the simplification of the data (e-Gate Solutions). 3. Business Intelligence and Reporting Problem-The reporting of real-time sales and analysis was difficult with ERP implementation. Solution-Onboard Retail Technology (TS4) was selected for reporting functions, as TS4 was able to reconcile the real-time sales to inventory. It was also used to identify the passengers’ buying trends (e-Gate Solutions). 4. Selection of menus according to the passenger mix Problem- The main challenge in front of the company was to reduce the inventory using ERP, when the menus were fixed but the types of passengers’ keeps on changing even six hours before take-off. Solution-The Pourshins’ trademark forecaster system for food helped to build new menus and reduce the inventory and costs (e-Gate Solutions). 6. Huge information used by Gate Gourmet to deliver their service 1. Human tacit and implicit knowledge is essential to make sense of hard statistical information and the same is used for enhancing performance Inventory management includes the processes involved in maintenance of optimal number of goods and services to avoid over and under inventory. The company focuses on inventory management through state-of-the-art software. Gate Gourmet collects the necessary data from state-of-the-art software with the help of Pourshins for inventory management (Gate Gourmet). The experienced personnel are hired by the company for the use of different software’s through their tacit and implicit knowledge. The main difference between tacit knowledge and implicit knowledge is that the implicit knowledge can be codified but it is impossible to codify tacit knowledge (Toolbox. com, 2008). Suppose a flight from Taiwan to New York, may stop at Los Angeles for 2-3 hours, the company will be required to unload the trash items in this time and have to load the 5 tons of new food with cutlery and other equipments. But the challenge now appears when the last minute passengers come up and like to have the menu according to the menu of the airlines. Also, the special meals like low fat meals are required by certain group of passengers. Through the use of software, it is easy to get the statistics but the right quantities are decided by experts so as to keep the wastage and costing minimum. Here comes the use of human tacit knowledge used by experts for the inventory management, Through the use of tacit knowledge the over-catering and under-catering is avoided. As the production and delivery of more meals than actual required is both the loss for airlines as well as for the Gate Gourmet. The software covers almost all the business processes involved in inventory management. The delays in flight arrivals upset the work schedules. It becomes crucial for the company to provide right quantities at the right place to the right person. The dedicated team members take action with flexibility and quickly to achieve the goal. The costs have reduced to the great extent with the management of inventories through the tacit knowledge of the staff (Donna, 2009). Hands do the majority of food preparation, which is also a time consuming process. The inventory of finished stock of goods needs to be kept ready with the demand fluctuations. They to reduce the wastage at the bottom level use the culinary expertise and implicit knowledge. The culinary trends and expertise is used to design the menus as per the trends. This has helped the company in gaining the competitive advantage and food and journey becomes enjoyable by the customers. Inventory forecast is a mix of statistical data with the use of human tacit and implicit knowledge. The company has been using the vast information and statistics, which finally gets evaluated by the experts to decide the optimal level of inventory. As a result, it helps in improving the function of the processes; reduce inventory wastage, optimal quantity ordering to the suppliers. 7. Conclusion Concluding the whole discussion, it is very imperative for the company to go for managing operations, information and knowledge to survive in the market cutthroat competition. The company has to face various challenges for the achievement of aspirations. Besides tough times faced by Gate Gourmet, the company has been successful in the administration of operations, information and knowledge. For this, the company has deployed experienced staff all over the organisation. How to cite Managing Operations, Information, Essay examples

Case Study Analysis Business Strategies of Amazon †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Analysis Business Strategies of Amazon. Answer: Introduction Organizations worldwide are adopting online environments for doing business and establishing information systems to support their business strategies. Amazon is a popular organization that has adopted information systems for gaining competitive advantages in the retail space. This case study would explore the use of Information technology systems used in Amazon and would explore its different components including, corporate structure, corporate officers, regulatory requirements and risk management practices of Amazon. The case study analysis results would be used for making certain recommendations on improving the IT systems of the company as well as enhancing its security posture(Imran, 2014). Amazon was started by Jeff Bezos in 1995 as an online book seller and soon it started to deliver books to 50 states in 45 countries across the world. In starting, the company had a website and an order fulfilment system connected with a huge database that was run over Digital Apha Servers. By 2000, the Information system was revived with Oracle DBMS, Epiphanys analysis software and manulogistics logistics application. Business to business integrated system was provided by Excelon while Amazon Web Services and Simple Storage Service were developed by the company in-house. This report would explore the current information systems and IT management practices used by Amazon. It would make an attempt to understand the nature of the ecommerce retail business, governance structures, processes, policies, corporate offices, regulatory requirements and risk management practices of Amazon(Bluschke, 2016). The nature of the business Amazon is e-retailing organization that has 35 million customers and makes sales of $5 billion annually. Amazon has supply chain efficiencies with which it is able to provide products at affordable rates to its customers. Custom shopping experience is provided by Amazon online through product search, inside book search, wish list creation, and so on. Amazon offers multiple products including books, clothes, accessories, electronics, and more. It is present in different countries including USA, UK, Canada, China, Japan, Germany, and more(ICA, 2014). Ever since its inception, Amazon has been a successful retailer and has been able to differentiate itself from its competition such as eBay and Borders. With the Amazon platform open to resellers and integrated view of customer reviews and referrals, the company is able to capture more and more customers every time. The company has expanded into its technology offers and digital content. However, in the technology space, the company faces director competition from other giants in the space including Google, Apple, and Microsoft(Gordon, 2014). In order to evolve in the digital technology market Amazon needs to provide high quality of services. The key resources of the organization are focused on innovation and service provisions as well as on maintaining and improving its resources that include fiancs, human capital, intellectual capital and physical resources. With the large retail consent that company has, it is able to stay up with the competition as well as gain significant profit s to drive investors to them. Amazon is able to pay its suppliers in 22 days which is much less time than the competition that makes this payment within 45 days. This has also added a competitive advantage to the company by enabling a strong supplier relationship(Aggarwal Travers, 2001). Amazon has a large customer database which allows for economies in scale as well as scope with usually supportive business services offered on the same platform such that marketing efforts used for promoting outside of its platform is less. Amazon acts as an on stop shop for most needs of customers so the chances of customers switching over to competition are reduced(Ganapathy, 2015). The Kindle platform and AWS brings most revenues t the company. Amazon Prime is also used to boost its digital market through the generation of advertisements. One of the strength of the company is customer satisfaction which is due to several experiential benefits that the platform provides to its customers including peer reviews, easy checkouts, tailored product suggestions, proactive response to demands through disruptive analysis of customer data(JIRA Security and Privacy Committee (SPC) , 2007). Information System at Amazon The information system of Amazon is based on service oriented architecture (SOA) which provides opportunity to the companies to use data and logic multiple times and enables the company to develop a variety of software components rapidly with sustainability. The framework enables integration of modular and structural components along with the support for large transactions. Services can be accessed from multiple platforms and from different locations such that consumer demands can be fulfilled instantly(AHIMA, 2014). The information system of Amazon mainly consists of transaction processing system, recommendation system , and interactive search system. Transaction system allows customers to personalize their profile and order products online through credit or debit card payment and using one click purchase feature. Recommender system makes recommendations to customers based on their past purchases and searches. Interactive searching helps customers explore catalogues to find specific items(AJAYI, 2003). Besides these specific information systems, the company uses enterprise wide IT systems for managing its retail supply chain that includes Enterprise Resource management system and Customer relationship management system. ERP database holds customer information and automates ordering process by searching the nearest distribution centre automatically. CRM system is uses for collecting all the customer data including orders, transactions, card records, profile, past purchases, wish list, product reviews, and customer feedback(Imran, 2014). Information technology systems need to be sustainable and continuously improved in order to sustain business operations in the modern world. Amazon has been upgrading and improving them ecommerce systems through the use of Big Data Analytics that uses huge data sets generated from page visits, clicks, user time on website, their demographics, social information and visit times(MYOB, 2016). Big data also gives the analysiss information about the demand and supply scenarios in every stage of the supplely chain of Amazon. Amazon has invested a significant amount on its IT systems including website management, search functionality, customer interaction, transaction processing, and order fulfilment. These systems not just need a huge investment but also a well-developed It infrastructure which Amazon has(Aggarwal Kapoor, 2012). Information technology is important for Amazon as the company has to deal with a large number of products, enquiries, requests for gift wrapping, and choice of shopping methods. Amazon uses Apathy Cloud software for managing its marketplace, inventory, and order management system. IT is used by the company to create a sustainable advantage such that the company is able to differentiate it from competition. Amazon Web Services provide storage and computing services to the corporate which generates a revenue stream for the retailer. Organizations that do not have finances for investment into IT are usually suitable for AWS(Ganapathy, 2015). Governance structures, processes, and policies IT governance has three main objectives to fulfil and these include regulatory or legal compliance, operational excellence, and optimum risk management. It results from a combination of factors including structure, leadership, and processes. IT governance usually comes in two forms that include governance institute model and archetypical model(Arnold, 1991). The institute model has objectives like strategic alignment of IT with business processes, value generation from IT, IT resources management, risk management, performance monitoring, IT principles adherence, IT architecture development, IT infrastructure development, understanding of business application needs, and investment prioritization for IT systems. IT governance structure talks of the distribution of rights to decision making by different parties in a system(Mortel, et al., 2012). As per the archetypical information technology governance model, IT governance involves two research streams including firm size and factors affecting decisions. Contingencies affect the structural decisions of the organization which can be centralized or decentralized. In centralized structure, economies of scale are the focus while in a decentralized structure(Mortel, et al., 2012); customization and integration of changing processes are important(Chittum, 2011). The decision making structures are affected by the archetypical political structures that include IT monarchy, business monarchy, and IT duopoly, federal, feudal, and anarchical structures(VISA, 2000). Organizations can assess their own IT systems using different models including Carnegie Mellon's capability maturity model integration and COBIT framework management guidelines. CMMi identifies 5 maturity levels of IT systems in six categories including communication maturity, competency maturity, governance maturity, partnership maturity, technology maturity, and skills maturity. In COBIT framework, beside the maturity models indicating value delivery, key goal indicators (KGI), and critical success factors (CSF), and key performance indicators (KPI) are also determined(Gordon, 2014). Corporate officers and their roles When establishing any organization, a bard of directors is established from top corporate officers including Chairman, corporate treasurer, and corporate secretary. These officers are responsible for providing operational guidance to the corporation. Their responsibilities include fiduciary like achieving financial well-being of the organization and strategic which involving setting up of vision, mission, and policies for an organization. The roles of each of these executive officers include(BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC, 2015): Chairman: A chairman is the primary spokesperson of an organization who signs legal documents on behalf of the board of directors. A chairman participates in board meeting and ensures that they go as per pre-decided agenda. Jeff Bezos is the Founder, CEO, and chairman of the organization. He has served the company as President from 1996 till 1999 and then from 2000 till today(Demir, 2017). Corporate Vice President: Corporate VP chairpersons the company but on ad-hoc basis but also has some regular duties in an organization. Amit Agarwal who is the head of Indian division of Amazon is also Corporate Vice President of the organization. Besides him, there are senior Vice Presidents of divisions of the company including Business Development, seller services, Web services, worldwide digital media, International retail, Finance, Ecommerce platform, North America Retail and Worldwide operations(WikiInvest, 2010). Corporate Board Secretary: The responsibility of the secretary is to create and maintain company records and documents. Minutes of the board meetings are recorded by the secretary. Besides the meetings, there are other corporate records to be maintained by the secretary that include events, personnels records, payroll records, and policies The responsibility of ensuring that these records are kept safe is with the secretary. L. Michelle Wilson is the Secretary, General Counsel, and the senior vice president of Amazon(Buckley, et al., 2015) Corporate Board Treasurer: Corporate Board treasurer chairs the finance committee of the board. The responsibility of the treasurer to maintain the financial well-being of an organization but his duties is not routine. His responsibility include development of budget, maintenance of budget, creating and review of financial policies, investment decisions review, annual finance audit of the corporation. Andrew Beath has been a Director and treasurer for the board of Amazon since 1997(Ward, 2010). Regulatory requirements Regulatory environment plays a significant role in determining any companys success Government imposes taxes and have several other regulatory measures that are intended to promote the economic growth of the organization and provide consumer protection from exploitation by any organization. With an understanding of regulatory environment, an organization can adapt its operations to the regulatory features. These regulatory measurements could be related to taxation, trade policies, economic policies, and politics(DH/Digital Information Policy, 2007). Each of these factors affects the working of an organization in specific regulatory environment. For instance, in case of trade policies, there can be multiple policy requirements such as tax policies, fiscal policy, monetary policy, regulatory policy, government policy and polices about property rights. A trade policy can either prevent or promote business growth in a country depending on whether it promotes free trade or not. Strict tra de policies can lead to trading losses for an organization(Demir, 2017). There are no single set of regulatory requirements that an organisation has to take care of while operating if it is a multinational organization like Amazon as every country can have a different regulatory environment. Thus, the organization is likely to ace different regulatory challenges. For instance, in India, the government has passed regulations that can affect the pricing and sales sourcing which currently Amazon seems to be violating. The organization has not been provided with sufficient time for enforcement and thus, it is a challenge for the organization. This can pose restrictions on the way ecommerce foreign companies operate in India such as Amazon. A major success for Amazon in India has been due to us Cloud tail strategy but it has now become illegal which would lead to a loss of up to 50% of the sales Amazon makes in India(PYMNTS, 2016). In Texas, company faces challenges in its operations due to unfriendly regulatory environment. As per the government rule, a retailer was not required to pay taxes unless it was in the physical nexus. Amazon had physical operations in only 17 states and thus, for other locations, Amazon could enjoy tax free facilities. However, with some legal trucks applied, Amazon was able to save more on taxes. Amazon had a distribution centre in Texas but did not pay sales tax that resulted into legal disputes as government emended $269 million which was claimed as uncollected taxes from Amazon in 2016(Chittum, 2011) Risk Management The risk management practices of the company are considered good worldwide especially in ecommerce Fraud Prevention. It uses latest technologies like statistical data modelling, cloud computing and has scalable distributed systems to support its transactions worldwide. The company has established a Transaction Risk Management Services (TRMS) for designing and building performance software systems and for preventing frauds in transactions(Ward, 2010). Risk management in retail involves identification of security risks that an information system may face and taking steps to reduce or counter the security threats. Several measures can be taken by the retail organization in order to do this such as development of an internal fraud management system which is used by Amazon(COmmon Criteria, Federal Ministry of the Interior ). There can also be certain other measures that Amazon has taken to secure its internal systems as well as the ecommerce system for the protection of consumers including use of Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code while making transactions, establishing a process for managing post-authorizations, using display effective policies, and intrusion prevention through passwords and software updates(VISA, 2012). Recommendations for Improvement Based on the study conducted on the IT systems of Amazon, some suggestions can be made for the improvement of its systems and structures such as: Amazon has good presence all over the world and has established and world class IT systems that are used for managing its operations. However, when it comes to the governance aspect, the company faced several challenges in multiple countries including developed countries like India. Thus, it is recommended that the company works to improve upon its strategies to take care of governance aspects by adopting local approaches to managing its IT systems in specific countries like India(Bluschke, 2016). Cyber crime is increasing day by day and affecting retail operations such hat ecommerce is at a big threat which is the key business model for Amazon. Thus, the company needs to use more intense measures for security and protection of organization as well as consumers. Business model of Amazon can be imitated and thus, it must work on building stronger competitive advantages using its IT systems such that it can stay ahead in competition(Buckley, et al., 2015). Amazon uses ERP systems that have helped it enhance its IT potential but its knowledge management is still an area that needs improvement as it is not integrated to the ERP or IT system of the organization. With its integration, customer issues resolution would improve which would drive up the customer satisfaction for Amazon. Most of the IT systems used in Amazon are standard. However, with adoption of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Amazon can create a special bond with the customers as it would allow the company representatives to connect with people in a more engaging manner(Barrett, 1996). Amazon can enhance its synergy between its different systems by integrating the information sources like sales, advertisement and after sales services such that its information systems can be better used to aid the customer at every touch point. Integration can be done with the social networking platforms which would allow the company to promote its products and services getting closer to the customers(COmmon Criteria, Federal Ministry of the Interior ). Amazon can improve its sorting feature on the ecommerce platform by allowing customers to have more filtering options such as sorting of products based on reviews or recent sales Amazon has been facing issues of phishing with customers as it has been continuously improving its systems and thus, it should create awareness about the same to the customers so as to reduce the phishing threats to its customers. Marketing campaigns of Amazon can be customized across different consumer communities and include the suggestions of customers while making customized information available to them Transparency in the systems can be improved if dashboards are provided to sales people for tracking sales across product lines and identifying individual contributions of the sales people while measuring key performance indicators(Chittum, 2011). Conclusions This case study was prepared to identify and analyse the Information Systems Strategies and Information technological management structures used in organizations. For this, the paper took the case of Amazon which is an online retail giant and explored the information systems used in Amazon, corporate structure used in the organization, corporate officers managing the organization, regulatory requirements and risk management practices in the organization. It was found that Amazon used some state of art information technology systems and a variety of information service was provided to its customers through digital media. It uses big data technologies for understand its customers and make modifications in their offers and offer customized recommendations to retain customers. The organization as a very strong database of customers. In the security posture, the company has a special team for managing security of its IT systems and has a very strong fraud prevention program. However, in some areas of IT management, the company is facing some major challenges such as governance. It has faced legal hassles in countries like India and US against the taxation and other legal matters which it is required to resolve. Based on the case study analysis, certain recommendations were made to improve the security posture of the organization as well as enhancement of the IT systems of Amazon. Some of these recommendations included integration of its knowledge management with ERP, improvement in it sorting feature, increasing transparency, and educating customers about phishing attacks. References Aggarwal, A. K. Travers, S., 2001. E-Commerce in Healthcare:Changing the Traditional Landscape. JOURNAL OF HEALTHCARE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, 15(1), pp. 25-36. Aggarwal, N. Kapoor, M., 2012. Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) - Its role and importance in Business Competitiveness. GIAN JYOTI E-JOURNAL, 1(2), pp. 1-14. AHIMA, 2014. INFORMATION GOVERNANCE Principles for Healthcare (IGPHC), s.l.: American Health Information Management Association. AJAYI, O. T., 2003. INTERACTIVE DATA VISUALIZATION IN ACCOUNTING CONTEXTS: IMPACT ON USER ATTITUDES, INFORMATION PROCESSING, AND DECISION OUTCOMES, Lafayette: University of Louisiana. Arnold, S. E., 1991. STORAGE TECHNOLOGY:A REVIEW OF OPTIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING, s.l.: Information Access Company. Barrett, P., 1996. BETTER PRACTICE PRINCIPLES FOR PERFORMANCE INFORMATION, s.l.: Australian National Audit Office. Bluschke, N., 2016. To E or not to Be Amazon's role in the retail industry, s.l.: Module Vienna University. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC, 2015. Information Technology Research Center. [Online] Available at: https://www.bmwusfactory.com/manufacturing/building-a-better-bmw/information-technology-research-center/ [Accessed 24 December 2015]. Buckley, C., DeFina, P. Root, L., 2015. WALMART VS AMAZON: Economist 2016 Investment Case Competition , s.l.: RealVision . Chittum, R., 2011. Amazon Bolts Texass Unfavorable Regulatory Environment. [Online] Available at: https://archives.cjr.org/the_audit/amazon_bolts_texass_unfavorabl.php [Accessed 20 May 2017]. COmmon Criteria, Federal Ministry of the Interior . Common Criteria Protection Profile Biometric Verification Mechanisms. Bundesamt fr Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik , pp. 2-64. Demir, A., 2017. Management Information System: Case Study of Amazon.Com. Journal of Research in Business and Management, 4(11), pp. 11-17. DH/Digital Information Policy, 2007. NHS Information Governance: Guidance on Legal and Professional Obligations, s.l.: NHS . Ganapathy, N., 2015. Inside Amazon: a Great Environment Fostering Innovation or a Brutal Workplace?, s.l.: SDMIMD. Gordon, F. R., 2014. Information Technology Governance Structures on Strategic Alignment, s.l.: Liberty University. ICA, 2014. Acquisition, development Implementationof Information Systems, India: ICA. Imran, A. A., 2014. A STUDY ON AMAZON: INFORMATION SYSTEMS, BUSINESS STRATEGIES AND e-CRM, s.l.: University of Malaya. JIRA Security and Privacy Committee (SPC) , 2007. Information Security Risk Management for Healthcare Systems , s.l.: MITA (Medical Imaging Technology Alliance) . Mortel, C., Wu, P.-L. Chan, C.-H., 2012. The e-commerce industry, s.l.: Amazon. MYOB, 2016. Protecting your confidential information. [Online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/myob/australia/myob-security-recommendations-1257829253909 PYMNTS, 2016. Amazons Ambitions In India May Have Hit A Regulatory Roadblock. [Online] Available at: https://www.pymnts.com/amazon-commerce/2016/amazons-ambitions-in-india-may-have-hit-a-regulatory-roadblock/ [Accessed 20 May 2017]. VISA, 2000. Risk Management Risk Management: Merchant Best Practices, s.l.: VISA. VISA, 2012. merchants guide to merchants guide to Risk management , s.l.: VISA. Ward, T., 2010. Strategies for Reducing the Risk of eCommerce Fraud, s.l.: First Data Corporation.. WikiInvest, 2010. Amazon Executive Officers. [Online] Available at: https://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Amazon.com_(AMZN)/Executive_Officers [Accessed 20 May 2017].

This Dead Butcher And His Fiend Like Queen, Is The Way In Which Malcol

"This dead butcher and his fiend like queen", is the way in which Malcolm describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Describe the way in which these two characters changed during the course of the play. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as a courageous soldier who is loyal to the King but is corrupted from the witches prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeth's ambition. This is because of the weakness of Macbeth's character and the strong power of Lady Macbeth and how she is easily able to influence him. Her strength motivates him at the start but after he realises what he has done it is himself that continues in his murderous, bloody path. At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth appears as a kind wife of Macbeth's but underneath lies a scheming and treacherous woman. In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a strong soldier who fights for the King without mercy but his strive for ambition and his curious nature leads him to the witches who give him a prophecy. Banquo realises that there must be a trick hidden in the witches prophecies somewhere but Macbeth refuses to accept that, and when Lady Macbeth finds out about the witches her strong desire for ambition and her cold nature leads Macbeth astray. Macbeth is a little ambitious at first, but Lady Macbeth's far exceeds his and so she is able to get Macbeth to agree with her to kill King Duncan. Macbeth still has a conscience at this stage because he is very hesitant about killing the King but his weak nature over comes him. He has a conscience throughout the entire play as this is seen by the hallucinations of the dagger and the ghost of Banquo and his vivid imagination and his constant worry also provokes him. This is also evident in his terrible dreams which gives the solid theme that he has in deed "murdered sleep". Throughout the play we see the character of Macbeth change not from just the way he thinks and what we hear from the play, but from the actions he takes in the play, from killing Banquo, then having Lady Macduff and her children murdered, shows the insecurity that was present in Macbeth. After the murder of Duncan Macbeth becomes paranoid and his first step of killing the guards is one of many that Macbeth takes to secure himself. Macbeth is also very superstitious and this is shown when he believes the prophecy the witches told him that Banquo's offspring would become Kings. Towards the end of the play when Macbeth's wife has died and the battle is drawing closer Macbeth shows some good which may have been. He wishes for a normal life for which he would have lived to an honourable age but he recognises that he has denied himself of this. Even when Macbeth hears that the prophecy has become true of Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane, he rejects this idea and fights on until he realises that Macduff wasn't born in a natural birth but instead was "Untimely ripped" from his mother's womb. When Macbeth hears of this he realises what he has done and how he has been tricked by the witches but instead he realises that it is useless and so he fights on only to be slain. Macbeth can be summarised into a character although strong physically he is very weak mentally and it is this weakness which causes the downfall and change of Macbeth. Other factors do however also contribute to this change such as his wife whose ambition is very strong at first and is much more stronger mentally than Macbeth but it is also Macbeth's ambition and his trust in the witches which ultimately change him. Lady Macbeth seems to be almost opposite compared to that of Macbeth in physical and mental power. Lady Macbeth is the person who is able to persuade Macbeth into killing Duncan, assuring Macbeth that it will succeed, as Lady Macbeth's ambition is far greater than that of Macbeth. This change in the character of Lady Macbeth is apparent after she reads the letter from Macbeth as she goes and talks to the evil spirits to make herself evil

Interactions between the Nativ essays

Interactions between the Nativ essays Interactions between the Natives, and the French and British The two documents, The Jesuit Relations, and Instructions for the Virginia Colony share commonalities in their approaches in enforcing Christianity on the Native people. Both French and English believe in exposing and converting the natives to Christians in order to make it easier for the countries to take over the land. The English announce to the natives in their document, ...make yourselves all of one mind, for the good of your country and your own, and serve and fear God. In other words if everyone had the same beliefs ( British and Natives ), they will create one strong mind with clear and consistent objectives capable of creating and maintaining a successful country. Likewise the French also aimed to declare to the natives a true God. To the English and the French the natives were seen as being spiritual, the French noted that they believed when someone died they would become spirits and live in the minds as memories of those they left behind. They believed that death is neither punishment or reward, and made no distinction between good and evil. In contrast, within the Christian religion, the souls of the dead that were good would live in, or be taken care of by Jesus Christ. The French noticed that the Natives treated evil equal as good, and how rather than to punish someone, they would teach them to be good. The French were intrigued by this since in their own country at the time if someone were to commit a crime they would just chop off their heads. It seemed in this document that the French saw some unique moral values within the Native community, such as their ability to get along, to exchange gifts, to give without receiving, however although liking it, the French probably felt that it was not a strong way of living and that the nation couldnt grow while still living on an equal treatment barter system....

The Meaning of s.t. or Subject To in Economics

The Meaning of s.t. or Subject To in Economics In economics, the letters s.t. are used as an abbreviation for the phrases subject to or such that in an equation. The letters s.t. proceed important constraints that the functions must follow. The letters s.t. are generally involved in stating relationships between economic functions using the mathematical functions themselves rather than articulating the same in prose. For example, one a common usage of s.t. in economics may appear  as follows: maxx f(x) s.t. g(x)0 The above expression, when stated in or translated into words, would read: The value of f(x) that is greatest among all those for which the argument x satisfies the constraint that g(x)0. In this example, f() and g() are fixed, possibly known, real-valued functions of x. The Relevance of s.t. in Economics The relevance of the use of the letters s.t. to mean subject to or such that in the study of economics stems from the importance of mathematics and mathematical equations. Economists are generally interested in discovering and examining different types of economic relationships and these relationships can be expressed through functions and mathematical equations. An economic function attempts to define observed relationships in mathematical terms. The function, then, is the mathematical description of the economic relationship in question and the equation is one way of looking at the relationship between concepts, which become the variables of the equation. The variables represent the concepts or items in a relationship that can be quantified, or represented by a number. For instance, two common variables in economic equations are  p  and  q, which generally refer to the price variable and quantity variable respectively. Economic functions  try to explain or describe one of the variables in terms of the other, thus describing one aspect of their relationship to one another. By describing these relationships through mathematics, they become quantifiable and, perhaps most importantly, testable. Though at times, economists prefer to use words to describe economic relationships or behaviors, mathematics has provided the basis for advanced economic theory and even the computer modeling that some modern economists now rely upon in their research. So the  abbreviation s.t. simply provides short-hand for the writing of these equations in place of the written or spoken word to describe the mathematical relationships.

The impact of biotechnology on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment Essay

The impact of biotechnology on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease - Essay Example On the other hand, amplified sequences can be inserted into other, more easy-to-manipulate species, such as microorganisms, thereby leading to the assessment of characteristics possessed by the resulting gene products of these sequences, such as structure, pH and function. In medicine, such findings are important because diseases that previously remain to be an enigma has been found to be caused by a depletion or over-expression of proteins whose functions have only recently been identified. So far, there are multiple procedures that have been developed, each catering to the specific needs of various research groups. This is a testament to the ever-growing field of biotechnology. This paper summarizes the different functions of various biotechnological procedures that are applicable to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. PREVENTION THROUGH VACCINES Vaccines are one of the most common and effective means of providing protection against infectious diseases. Because of its extensive use, continuous vaccine development is going underway since its initial use. One of the targets of advancement is the means of production. Basically, vaccines are just deactivated viruses, units or components, or antigens which induce immune reactions from the receiving individual. The effectiveness of vaccination lies on its induction of memory immune cells that act against multiple attacks of the corresponding natural infective exposure. Vaccine production Initially embryonated eggs were used for the propagation of virus units for vaccine production. In this process, an aliquot of virus solution is injected into the allantoic cavity of a 10- to 11-day old embryonated egg. The infected eggs are then incubated in temperatures suitable for growth of the virus (Szretter et al., 2006). However, since egg-based vaccine production imply that individuals with egg allergies cannot be vaccinated, a different host was searched for. With the parallel development of cancer cell r esearch, hyperproliferative cancer cells were seen as a better means of vaccine production. Firstly, individuals allergic to egg-based products can now avail of vaccinations. Secondly, cell culture-based production is more cost-efficient than egg-based production because cancer cells are much easier to culture than embryonated eggs. Similar to egg-based production, infective virus units are inoculated into a culture of a particular cancer cell line, usually Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) (Szretter et al., 2006). One of the novel protocols to produce vaccinations, especially the subunit vaccines, which are described later in this paper, is through recombinant protein expression. Briefly, developed expression systems, or microorganisms processed to receive genes and express proteins of other organisms, are inserted through a vector. Not only is this cost-efficient, but is much safer to handle than the culturing clinically-derived viruses. In addition, through recombinant protein exp ression certain mutations can be introduced to the antigen to make it more immunogenic (Zhang et al., 2007). Post harvest, the viruses undergo further processing. The virus units are weakened or deactivated either chemically, by formaldehyde or ?-propiolactone, through heat, or radiation. This deactivation prevents the vaccine from causing illness to the handlers and to the recipients. If to be used in another time, these harvested viruses are also stored in liquid nitrogen (Szretter et al.,

Evaluate the policies that could be used in the UK to meet inflation Essay

Evaluate the policies that could be used in the UK to meet inflation targets - Essay Example The UK, just like the US and Germany, has a growing workforce, and its wages has also been increasing. The Europe’s unemployment rate was 9.8Â  % in March this year while it was 10.4Â  % last year the same time. In Europe, the lowest unemployment rates in March 2015 were Germany (4.7Â  %) while the highest was Greece (25.7Â  %) (Trending Economics 2015). Demand side Inflation happens when there is a surplus of demand for goods and services over the supply; the supply remains constant. Demand pull inflation involves the rise of inflation as gross domestic product increases. At the same time, the unemployment levels will be expected to fall as witnessed in UK (Thirlwall & Barton 2014). The situation is contributed by the increase in the government expenditure and no change in the tax structure. The rise in income of households is a major contributor of demand for goods and services. The increase in the supply of the money in the country leaves more non-reusable income with the people causing the demand for products and services (Miles 2014). A loose monetary policy can cause the increase in money supply. In addition, inflows from other nations because of export will enhance the money supply. In UK, demand-pull inflation may be attributed to increasing disposable of the citizens. As the levels of income of people go up, the demand to buy things also go up (Willett & Laney 2014). When demand goes up, and supply remains stagnant, prices of goods will go up leading to demand pull inflation. The government must make every effort to ensure that there is a balance between demand and supply to eliminate any case of inflation. When there is a surplus in demand, there should be strategies to ensure that the demand is met expeditiously. Inflation is not good for any country hence the need to maintain it at a low level. Cost push inflation emanates from supply side; the rise in the cost of production and a constant demand causes

Character of Curley Essay Example for Free

Character of Curley Essay Candy joined the attack with joy Glove fulla vaseline ; he said disgustedly I didnt wanta; Lennie cried. I didnt wanta hurt him. Ques : Explore how the language in this extract influences your view of Curly? The language used in the extract shows Curley to be hateful, violent and angry. The extract describes a scene where by Curley is attacking Lennie, and it begins mid-attack. From the beginning of the extract it is clear that Curley is in an angry mood from the way that he â€Å"glared† at Candy when Candy joins the attack. Steinbeck uses a simile to describe Curley – â€Å"Curley stepped over like a terrier.† This comparison to a terrier works on two levels because a terrier is both small and aggressive, and Curley’s small size and aggressive nature are theme not only in the extract, but also throughout the book. When Curley speaks to Lennie, he uses obscene language and such as â€Å"bastard† and â€Å"son-of-a-bitch.† This further gives the reader the impression that Curley is rude and aggressive, and also that he dislikes Lennie. Curley attacks Lennie, punching him in the face and stomach, but at first Lennie does not fight back or defend himself. However, Curley continues to attack him. At this point, the reader feels sympathy for Lennie and feels that Curley is the guilty aggressor. This feeling is shared by Slim, who jumps up and calls Curley a â€Å"dirty little rat.† The language used here creates a very negative portrayal of Curley, as rats are very dirty animals But then when Lennie does finally fight back, we see a different and weaker side to Curley. Lennie is much bigger and stronger than Curley. Lennie catches Curley fist with ease and Curley is left â€Å"flopping like a fish on a line.† This use of simile shows Curley to be weak and defenceless and shows that Lennie has caught him out. There is a sudden transition from Curley being violent and aggressive (like a terrier ) to him being beaten up and defeated â€Å"Curley was white and shrunken by now†¦ He stood crying.†

The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell Essay -- essays research papers

The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell General William â€Å"Billy† Mitchell of the U.S. Army – Air Corp was a forward thinking officer who saw a need for the military to create an Air Force as a separate branch within the military structure. General Mitchell could foresee that technological advances would make air warfare an integral part of combat power in future operations. The military heirarchy, however, did not agree with his assessment. The heirarchy of the military put limitations on his abilities to prove his ideas. They did this by not providing proper funding to keep the aircraft they had in working order, and setting General Mitchell up for failure with testing standards in which they set the requirements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billy Mitchell faced many challenges in his desire to creat an â€Å"Air Force† within the U.S. Armed Forces. He had to gain support from the Army, Navy, and congressional leaders – many of whom thought air warfare was still more a carnival attraction than a viable option for our nation’s defense. He also needing funding as the equipment the Air Service had was obsolete and often in disrepair, causing several wrecks and costing service members lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The military structure were adamantly against a separate â€Å"Air Force†. Both the Army and Navy were worried about sharing their limited budgets with yet another entity. They also worried that another force structure would take away from their pool of possible soldiers and sailors. They reasoned that Naval s...

The Network Operating System For Habibi’s Restaurant

Log-on securities are delicate in protecting the computer network. As a restaurant that uses computers to enhance faster communication in a more efficient and less time consuming way must be aware of certain software updates to ensure the safety of the computer services. Defined in Wikipedia (2007), the system must be using the software NOS or network operating system hence this controls networking, the messages that comes like traffic and queues when many users are using the network. The software does not only aid in the quick access but it also does some administrative functions and has an especial function when it comes to security. Compared to the available softwares like OS's or Windows XP, NOS run to enhance the optimum network performance and the software is commonly used in local area networks or to a wide area networks but is also applicable to a broader array of networks. NOS are based in the 5 layers of OSI reference model. The restaurant could use the latest available NOS like Novell Netware, Windows NT and 2000, Sun Solaris and IBM OS/2 to achieve the best performance in the administrative level. Many important programs are protected by NOS like it could provide back-up for processors, protocols, automatic hardware detection and support multi-processing, security measures like authentication, authorization, logon restrictions and access control. Other featured programs are the name and directories, back-up and replication services, internetworking or routing and WAN ports. With the use of these remote access systems the administration could log on and log off efficiently. The NOS also aids in auditing, graphic interfaces, clustering, tolerance to fault and high availability system. In using the Windows Server 2003 the Active Directory compatibility could be enhanced. There is also better deployment support when it comes to the transition like for example from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. The security services are answered by changes in the IIS web server. It is rewritten for the enhancement of security. While the Distributed File System have many functions including the maintenance of multiple hosting of DFS single server , terminal server , active directory , print server , and other programs or services. There are new versions of Windows Server that can be used via the Remote Desktop Protocol for terminal services. This program can have a multiple functions as well as in remote graphical logins for fast performances from the distant server. The IIS as it is used in Windows Server 2003 increases the default security system because of the built in firewall that can break defaults.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In March 2005 new improvements and updates were incorporated to Windows Server 2003 like the Windows XP containing users like Service Pack 2. The following programs are the updates for Windows Server 2003. (1) There are Security Configuration Wizard that can enhance the administrator's research in making changes and security policies. (2) Another program is Hot Patching that allows DLL, the driver and non-kernel patches for a non reboot function. (3) The IIS 6.0 Metabase Auditing is responsible in tracking or editing of metabases. (4) The Windows XP Service Pack 2 could be effectively converted to Windows Server 2003 by using the Windows Firewall system. With package like the Security Configuration Wizard that can be used by the administrators for more manageable incoming open ports and hence it can be detected automatically because the default roles could be selected. (5) For the support of IPv6, Wireless Provisioning Services is used. This also builds new defenses against SYN flood TCP assault. (6) Default modes can be turn on when a Service Pack 1 server is booted after its installation, and is made possible by Post-Setup Security Updates , hence it configures the firewall to barricade all incoming connections, and able in directing the user for updates installation. (7) Buffering could be prevented if (DEP) or Data Execution Prevention has to be used. The No Execute (NX) does not allow overflow especially in cases that there is an attack by Windows Server vectors. The Windows Server 2003 R2 is the newest update with installable features for Windows Server 2003 that includes SP1. The software has many systems of function like (1) Branch Office Server that is very capable in centralization of tools in the administrator like the files and printers, enhancement of Distributed File System (DFS), the WAN data replication responsible for Remote Differential Compression. (2) The Identity and Access Management for Extranet Single Sign-On and identity federation, centralization of administration in extranet application access, automated disabling of extranet access in consideration to the Active Directory account information, the user access logging and cross-platform web Single Sign-On and or password synchronization with the use of Network Information Service (NIS). (3) Storage Management for the File Server Resource Manager that can have a storage utilization reporting function, enhancement of quota management, the file screening limits files types are allowed and the storage Manager for Storage Area Networks (SAN) for the function of storage array configuration. (4) The Server Virtualization serves in the 4 virtual instances. (5) The SDK for UNIX utilities that gives a full Unix development environment examples are Base Utilities, SVR-5 Utilities, Base SDK, GNU SDK, GNU Utilities, Perl 5, Visual Studio Debugger Add-in. The Windows Server 2003 contains Datacenter edition which allows an 8-node clustering that could help lessen fault tolerance. By means of clustering, the fault tolerance of server installations is boosted and is accessible. The clustering also supports the file storage that is connected to Storage Area Network (SAN). This could run in Windows and also to non-Windows Operating systems as it can be connected to other computers. To block data's or redundancy and to achieve fault tolerance, the Windows Storage Server 2003 uses the RAID arrrays for these functions. A Storage Area Network is available in Windows Storage Server 2003 where the data's are transferred then stored in bigger chunks and not by files. Therefore the data's transferred are more granular, because of that there is a higher performance in database and transaction processing, while it permits NAS devices to get connected in SAN. The Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 has a Single Instance Storage (SIS) contained in the file server to optimize high perfromance. The (SIS) can transfer or scan files in volumes moving it to the common SIS store, thereby reducing the storage bulk by 70%. As stated by Couch (2004) installation of data protection systems like the uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), redundant array of independent disks (RAID), and tape backup systems that are provided by Windows Home Server will aid in the maintenance of the network. References Wikipedia, 2007. Windows Server 2003. Retrieved on May 10, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2003_R2 Wikipedia, 2007. Network operating system. Retrieved on May 10, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_operating_system  Ã‚   Couch, A. 2004. Network Design System Administration. Retrieved on May 11, 2007.http://www.cs.tufts.edu/comp/150NET/notes/intro.php1

Multiple Choice Questions Essay

1. Which of the following is true about a TCP/IP network? The network uses standards defined in TCP/IP RFC’s plus other standards. 2. Which of the following terms is not a common synonym for TCP/IP model? Ethernet / TCP/IP Mapping 3. Think generically about the idea of a networking standard, ignoring any particular standard or standards group. Which of the following is typically true of a standard? It exists as a written document / it has been passed through some form of review and approval or certification process 4. Contrast an international standard as compared to a de facto standard? De facto standard documents have been reviewed more thoroughly. / De Facto standards typically mean that the standards group has been authorized by many countries to create standards that apply to multiple countries 5. Which of the following are true about the commonly used version of the TCP/IP model as shown in this chapter? The data link layer sits lower in the model than the transport layer. / The physical layer sits just below the data link layer 6. The TCP/IP model refers to standards other than those the IETF defines in RFC’s. Which of these standards groups is typically the source of external LAN standards? IEEE / ANSI 7. Which of the following is not a typical reason for a group of ten companies to start a vendor group, for the purpose of pushing a new networking technology? To keep intellectual property rights to the technology inside the company 8. The TCP/IP and OSI models have some obvious differences, like the number of layers. Think about the more commonly used version of the TCP/IP model discussed in this chapter, and then think about how to talk about TCP/IP using OSI terms. Which of the following is a correctly phrased statement for  how to use OSI terminology? IP is a network layer protocol 9. Historically, which of the following models were the earliest models used in corporate networks? TCP/IP 10. Which of the following statements is true when comparing the OSI and the TCP/IP model as defined in RFC 1122? 11. A network engineer connects two PCs (PC1 and PC2) using Ethernet NICs and an Ethernet cable that has copper wires inside. The two PCs communicate successfully. Which of the following happens when PC1 sends bits to PC2? 12. A TCP/IP network includes an Ethernet LAN with 10 PCs uses a LAN switch. PC1 sends data intended for an app running on PC2. Which of the following mechanisms does Ethernet define so that PC2 receives and processes the data? The Ethernet header lists PC2’s MAC address so that PC2 will realize that the data is meant for PC2 13. Two network pros are having a conversation about some issues in a network. They discuss some issues related to how PPP forwards data, so they happen to be discussing the data structure that includes the PPP header and trailer. Which of the following terms do they use? Packet 14. Which of the following are true facts about IP addresses? Are listed in the data-link trailer and used by routers to make a forwarding decision 15. Which of the following answers is true about Ethernet MAC addresses? All of the above. 16. Witch of the following statements is true comparing LANs and WANs? LANs generally connect devices that are nearer to each other, compared to WANs. WANs are purchased, and LANs are leased. 17. Which of the following answers list true facts about the data link layer of the TCP/IP? Two TCP/IP data-link protocols are Ethernet and PPP. Data-link protocols define addresses that identify devices connected to the underlying physical link. 18. Which of the following answers list true facts about the network layer of TCP/IP? Two TCP/IP data-link protocols are Ethernet and PPP. Data-link protocols define addresses that identify devices connected to the underlying physical link. 19. Which of the following answers lists true facts about the transport layer of ICP/IP? None of the answers are correct. 20. A PC user opens a web browser and sends a request to a web server to load a new web page. Three routers forward the data as it passes from client to server. Consider the data plus all headers and trailers that go from the web client to the web server. Which of the following headers go all the way from the web client to the web server? Network layer header, Application layer header and Data-link header. Define Key Terms TCP/IP network- It is commonly known as TCP/IP, because it’s most important protocols, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), were the first networking protocols defined in this standard Networking standard- record the details of exactly what a new networking technology does, and how it does what it does. Networks do not work if the pieces do not work together, and standards help everyone agree on how something works so that it works well within the network. TCP/IP model- defines a large set of standards, which, when implemented together, create a safe and useful network. Open networking model- shares the details so that any vendor can make products using those standards. Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model- a conceptual model that characterizes and standardizes the internal functions of a communication  system by partitioning it into abstraction layers. Encoding- Creates something like a spoken language that uses electricity Header- A place to store a message that needs to flow through the network with the user data that precedes the data. Trailer- A place to store a message that needs to flow through the network with the user data that follows the data. Leased line- the equivalent of a cable directly between tow remote sites. Internet Protocol (IP) – Lists the rules so that the network can forward data from end to end through the entire TCP/IP network. IP address- identifies a device in a TCP/IP network. IP routing- Defines exactly how routers makes their choices of how to forward data in a TCP/IP network. Frame- Refers to encapsulated data that includes the data-link header and trailer, plus everything in between. Packet- refers to what sits between the data-link hearer and trailer, but not including the data-link header and trailer.

Molding Gender Roles essays

Molding Gender Roles essays "What is gender? It is something everyone has, but rarely thinks about. They know they are either a man or a woman and simply take it for granted. Does it mean genetic status as XX or XY, or does it mean the sum of our development up until birth? Or is it simply the social label applied to us by our birth certificates?" (About Gender). In one short essay, "Women and Men Talking on the Job," Deborah Tannen argues that gender roles are defined from our peers when we are children. On the other hand, in "How Men and Women Think," Nicholas Wade disagrees saying the difference may be the direct result of men and women brains. Most people believe that we learn to behave the way we do, while a few argue that behavior is instinctive and predicted by our biology. In American societies, girls are taught by their family members and peers to act in feminine ways. As the child grows, it learns that certain expressions of its personality are appropriate to its sexual label, while others are not. Although times have changed, stereotypical images and ideas of women can still be found. For instance, women are known to be more intuitive, emotional, and submissive. One of the aspects of femininity, submission, can be developed through the relationship of childs parents. In the stereotypical marriage, the wife is submissive to the husband. When the daughter witnesses this relationship, she learns to mirror her mothers behavior. However, her peers also hold a strong impact on her actions. For example, when girls act too aggressively they lose acceptance from their peers. Tannen discusses these social impacts on girls stating, "From childhood, girls learn to temper what they say so as not to sound too aggressive-which means to certain" (Tannen 5 53). She adds, "Being a leader often involves giving directions to others, but girls who tell other girls what to do are called bossy" (Tannen 553). For ...

Advanced technology Essay Example for Free (#2)

Advanced technology Essay ? Now, in our society all over the world technology is the most important advancement, a necessity in bringing about progress as we move along in this computerized world. These changes in effect make man’s life easier and more convenient. Our advanced technology is unfortunately affecting the study habits of the students because there a lot of gadgets that they can use for searching information almost everybody depends on the internet, but there are still many importance of having a library. Many people think that they can find everything they need on the internet and that is not necessarily so. There is a lot of copy write material that is protected well beyond after the time the author is deceased. The internet can compliment the library and work hand and hand, but it can’t replace it. Google hasn’t even begun to digitized all the books that are available. Library is a place in which literary and artistic materials such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference or lending. A collection of such materials especially when systematically arranged. The library is a bunch of books with a librarian to check them out to you and back in when you return them. It is important that the library is well organized. Library Borrowing/Returning System is a process of organizing important information, used to track borrowed items and the scheduled time for returning. This system helps users or people who are responsible in recording the data appropriately. It also saves time and more convenient to use than the traditional manual recording. Lack of library System in a school can lead to disorder and troubles, and because of it the librarian is having a problem to serve each students and faculties who wish to use the library It is extremely useful in the school to use computerized system. The librarian has to keep the building neat and in good repair and also these things only shows a few of the things which make up your library. Schools set the various learning changes to achieve the current level of education in other countries. Because of the growing numbers of computer users, this became an effective medium to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of the students. From the traditional searching process for the books in the libraries, the interactive usage of computers can be now addressed as part of the library system. Traditionally, library systems are implemented manually. Forms are given to Librarian and they fill them of using pens. Afterwards, the school administrators process them manually and complied on large bulky file cabinet. Indeed, the manual Library system is very costly, time consuming and tedious. The primary complaint of school administrators with this system is the tiresome task of searching through records just to verify your query data. The fast phased of technology helped a lot to the improvement of the library system. Technology enabled software developers to computerize the library system. The automated library system helped the schools greatly. Library, transactions and queries can be created in a single click. Advanced technology. (2016, Nov 02).

Evaluate how domestic and regional factors limited Japan's abilities Research Paper

Evaluate how domestic and regional factors limited Japan's abilities to play more definitive security roles in East Asia. Asse - Research Paper Example There are some signs that this is now changing, but the Japan-US military alliance will continue to be the defining feature of Japan’s foreign policy for the foreseeable future. Article 9 Following the Second World War, Japan officially renounced its right to declare war, which has left the country in a unique situation, somewhat removed from the life of a ‘normal’ nation state. The Japanese military is restricted by Article 9 of its constitution, which states that Japan has forfeited its right as a nation to declare war, and will not recognize force as a valid means of settling disputes between nations. As a result, Japan does not officially keep its armed forces for any purpose except self-defense. Article 9 ends: ‘The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized’. Japan does maintain a large military force, and has one of the world’s largest military budgets, but this is justified as being purely in a defensive capacity, and unt il the past two decades, Japan did not even contribute personnel to peacekeeping missions sanctioned by the United Nations (UN). The defense budget is nearly $50 billion, approximately 1% of Japanese GDP, and it spends a further $2 billion annually on supporting American forces based in Japan1. Japanese forces are controlled tightly by civilian politicians, and the first time they were allowed to operate outside of the country was in a peacekeeping capacity in Cambodia in 1992-3. Article 9 effectively prevents Japan from taking a particularly active military role in international affairs, and for many Japanese, who are broadly pacifist, the horrors of the Second World War remain a powerful reason not to abolish Article 9 from the constitution2. As Kingston put it, ‘The US actually insisted on the insertion of Article 9 in the Japanese Constitution [as part of postwar peace negotiations], but has regretted it ever since’3. The United States would prefer Japan to take a m ore active role in attaining their shared security goals, so that it would not have to shoulder the absolute burden of operations in East Asia, including making considerable provision for Japan’s own defense. Kingston argues that, despite strong popular support for Article 9 – ‘For many Japanese, it is a point of pride that Japan’s Constitution embraces pacifism, a powerful symbolic break with the wartime past and an ongoing guarantee’, it has ‘diminished sway over government security policy’4. As we shall see, Japan has indeed circumvented the provisions of its constitution to deploy its forces abroad in recent years. The Japan-US Alliance Following the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan’s foreign policy has essentially been guided by its close relationship with the United States. Japan has been able to leave international issues to the United States, and concentrated mainly on economic recovery and development, ‘with relative ly little concern (and cost) for its own defense’5. The Alliance has had benefits for the US also. Keen to expand its practical influence right across the Pacific in the aftermath of the Second World War, Japan, as an archipelago right off the Asian mainland, offered an ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ from which to pursue this policy. Bases in Japan have helped with deployments against Communist forces in Korea and Vietnam, as well as other conflicts in the region. This alliance is boosted by the large volume and value of trade between the US and Japan.

HCM337-0704B-01 Current Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in H - Essay - 3

HCM337-0704B-01 Current Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in H - Phase 2 Discussion Board - Essay Example NAP’s Ethical Guidelines for Professional Care Services in a Managed Health Care Environment (1999) put patients at the top of their priorities. Their commitment for a patient-focused care means that they would rigidly observe the rights of their patients such as the right to have access to appropriate professional services, the healthcare’s obligation to meet with patient’s satisfaction, and the healthcare provider’s duty to provide delivery by uniquely trained personnel when complexity of the patient’s condition requires the knowledge and expertise beyond those of the primary care provider. Failure of compliance to these ethical guidelines can result to major penalties. A case documented by Klein and Campbell (2006) wherein members of the groups clinical and anatomic pathology laboratory, and 2 Michigan-based consulting and management services companies were sued by the government because or their alleged submission of â€Å"$1.3 million in false claims to Medicare and Medicaid†. The government also argued that the defendants â€Å"engaged in fraudulent conspiracy by offering referring physicians a discounted price for a routine, automated chemistry panel.† After the accused were proven guilty, they were, under the False Claims Act, potentially liable for 3 times $1.3 million, or $3.9 million, penalties of up to $10,000 for each of the 134,655 claims, and $116,000 for the cost of the investigation by the OIG. The physicians, who sold the laboratory to Corning in 1995 for $6.6 million, denied breaking any laws, but in 1998 settled with the government for $ 875,000. The consulting companies and their owner, whom the pathologists argued put into place the challenged billing practice, settled for $35,000. With the information supplied by other postings about my current and future health work, I can see outright the repercussions that might

Using Technology to Cheat Academically Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Using Technology to Cheat Academically - Essay Example g for the remote because changing the TV manually is unheard of, and student who want to cheat have a large number of technologically savvy devices to make their efforts successful. Teachers and principals claim that cheating isn’t more prevalent now, it’s just more sophisticated (Owen, 2008). Marty Wilkins, a 25-year veteran teacher at Milwaukie High School is quoted as saying, â€Å"Technology today does make it harder to keep on top of things† (Owen, 2008). Owen’s news article covered technology-based cheating in Oregonian classrooms. Teachers at Milwaukie and West Linn high schools have had enough, but are afraid that there isn’t much that can be done about it. They cite the reasons for cheating as trying to get higher grades, getting positive attention from parents, and trying to get into choice colleges. Still they have a message for cheaters: â€Å"Eventually, it will catch up with you,† Wilkins said (Owen, 2008). Technology-based cheating has taken on a life of its own. When teacher’s grades are done electronically, student hackers can actually access the school’s database, and change the grades unbeknownst to the teacher. Some students use the cameras built into their cell phones to take pictures of the test so that students taking the test later in the day can look up the answers. Others text messages answers to other students in the classroom with them. Even with all of this, administrators are reluctant to disallow the use of electronic devices in the classroom. â€Å"We want to give teachers tools to move to that next level and prepare students for a digital world,† Jennifer Nelson said (Relerford, 2007). Nelson is a technology coordinator at Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. Eden Prairie has gone digital, using materials like interactive white boards and video conferencing. Nelson and other school officials are trying to figure out how they can best use popula r kids’ devices like MP3 players and iPods. Mary Slinde, associate

Contract Strategy And The Contractor Selection Process Construction Essay

Contract Strategy And The Contractor Selection Process Construction Essay Contracts are the fundament of the project management. They are used to procure people, materials and services. Main components in the contractor selection process will be outlined in this chapter. This processes are influenced by many factors such as the nature of the parties included, project type, and the risk allocation between the parties. The project is always about achieving a result. The main problem of this that client usually can not or doesnt wish to provide all necessary resources to complete the project from the internal sources. Therefore there is a need of obtaining resources from external organizations in order to achieve planned results. The method chosen by the client plays the crucial point. Proper understanding of contract conditions and the way of administering them is therefore fundamental to the project manager. Different industries use different types of contract in order to achieve desired results. Therefore, standard types of work-based contracts used in construction industry are completely different to the result-based contracts used in manufacturing, oil and software industries. In addition, the most complex projects can be divided into several different contracts. They can be carried out under one turnkey contract, as well as can be broken down into separate contracts. Design can be carried out by one contract, site preparation by the second contract, and the service/operation of the completed facility under the third contract. They can be broken down into several contracts based on the skills of the contractor, one organization being responsible for production and installation of all necessary equipment for the plant, second organization being responsible for the site preparation and all construction work, a third being responsible for quality control (external for construction organization), and a fourth being responsible for authorship (to control works going according to the approved design). They can be broken down into small numbers of large contracts or large numbers of small contracts. Each will give the contractor advantages as well as the disadvantages. Depending on the nature of the project and the skills, contractor must decide. Finally, different contracts can be operated in different ways. According to Smith N.J. (2002) there are three different ways in which contract can be operated. The first one of which is price-based contract, under which the contractor responsible to provide service, equipment or materials on the fixed price. On the other hand there is a reimbursable contract, under which contractor is reimbursed with the cost of carrying out the work plus profit. Finally, somewhere between these two is the quantity based or rate based contracts. The type of contract or set of contracts should be selected by the client only after the consideration of the managers available to manage the contract, project goals and the skills required to achieve them, appropriate allocation of responsibilities and risks and time available to carry out the project. Factors affecting the contract strategy A number of factors need to be considered before the choosing contract strategy. Responsibilities such as design, construction, quality control, procurement, safety, installation and commissioning need to be determined. The risks also need to be allocated between parties. Then the payment method to contractors, as from this decision depend which contract to use. When making a contract, contractors always wish to make it flexible, because during the life cycle of the project changes may occur. However, one more important factor is that the contracts need to be fair, equitable methods of price changes for instance. However, interests of the client and contractor usually opposed to each other. For example, client carries minimum risk under the lump-sum contract, but contractor carries maximum. And vice versa for cost reimbursable plus percentage fee contract. Almost all of these factors are important for any project. Nevertheless some of these factors may dominate depending on the nature of a project. If the work is a building a power plant in a river, where during the spring period lowest level of water, time-scale obviously dominate. If the work is building the skyscraper, then the quality will dominate. Client have only one chance to choose the correct contract strategy, after deciding this, it can not be changed. There are a plenty of options, and project manager should advice the client which strategy to accept. The selection is definitely one of the most important decisions in any project. Smith N.J. states that the project manager should always remember the three Rs of the contract. (Figure 1) Figure 1 The three Rs (Smith N.J. 2002) Relationships. Whether being highly structured or not, relationship plays important role in a contact strategy. Unstructured relationship may develop during the life cycle of a project and according to the circumstances. There is no exactly the way under which relationships are managed, they need to be managed individually. Risks. Whatever type of contract strategy choused the client, risks present everywhere. It is important for the client to choose right contract strategy which carries out risks which the client is able to manage. When choosing the contractor, client needs to pay attention on the ability of the contractor organization to manage risks appropriate. By other words, every risk in a project should be divided and managed by each party because if something goes wrong, outcomes might be serious. Rules. Rules are necessary to keep the relationship in right way. According to the rules, client and contractors make their behavior, and there will not be many conflicts between them. These Rs are closely interrelated. Relationships, risks and rules formalize one word under which the contract will be governed during the life cycle of the project. Contractor selection After the selection of a contract strategy, client needs to select the contractor. The selection of a contractor is a crucial decision made by client. The criteria for selection might be cost, time or quality. Usually the price/cost criteria is dominate as the clients seek the most economic price. However, according to Smith N.J. (2002) dominating of one of these criteria may negatively affect to others. Figure 2 Project objectives (Barnes and Wearne, 1993). This triangle illustrates the conflict between the project objectives. If the client wants to minimize the cost to minimum, it will affect time and quality. The project will be finished with no desired quality and not within the time scale. Oppositely, if the client wish to increase the level of quality, then it affects on the one hand to cost (overbudget), on the other time (not within planned time-scale). Therefore, client always need to decide, which objective is crucial for the current project. This triangle shows the basic problem of contract strategy. In the planning of the contract, client need to be sure of reason employing a contractor. Client usually selects a contractor for one or more of the following reasons: To use the particular management, technical and organizational skills, and expertise of that contractor for the duration of the contract. To use the skills of the contractor after the project has been completed. To have the benefit of the contractors special recourses, such as licensed processes, unique design of manufacturing capability, plant, materials in stock, ect. To get work started quicker than would be possible by recruiting and training direct employees. To get the contractor to take some of the cost risks of a project, usually the risks of planning the economical use of people, plant, materials and sub-contractors. To use the contractor to provide the recourses, both physical and financial, needed for the project. To be free to use his own (limited) recourses for other purposes. To encourage the development of potential contractors for the future. To deal with a contractor who is already known to the promoter. Smith N.J. (2002) Whatever the reason, client always should make a decision based on it. N. J. Smith (2002) described six principal considerations of choosing type of contract which has to be made by contractor. Those are: discipline, incentive, risk, change, time-scale and relationship. These considerations describe analytical justification of contracts, mainly compared the two price-based and cost based contracts. However, in authors opinion these considerations are actually become an advantages and disadvantages of each form. Therefore, this will be discussed in Chapter 4. According to the M. Brook (1993) the main aim of contractor selection is to find out the lowest possible price, and the following: A reputation for good quality workmanship and efficient organization; The ability to complete on time; A strong financial standing with a good business record; The expertise suited to size and type of project. Also he agrees that, not only client has to consider financial ability of contractor, but the contractor needs to make sure that the client is able to pay bills on time. In the past contractors have not been considered this issue. However this has changed with the introduction of bonds and guaranties used by both parties. Usually contractors selected by two or combination of both: competition and negotiation. When there is an open competition, local newspapers or journals invite competitors to take part on the tender. A deposit normally required, in order to distinguish serious offers. Alternatively, tender might be selective. In this type of tender contractors are selected and invited to tender. M. Brook (1993) determined three ways in which selective tendering lists drawn up: An advertisement may produce several interested contractors and suitable firms are selected to tender. The consultants may contact those they would wish to put on an ad-hoc list. Many local authorities and national bodies keep approved lists of contractors in certain categories, such as work type and cost range. Contractors which are selected to add into list normally asked to provide their financial and technical performance, particularly on the area which is under consideration. Contractors can prepare the answers according to the Standard form of tendering questionnaire private edition written by the National Joint Consultative Committee for Building (NJCC). Questions on it is basically about the projects carried out for last three years. After the completion of questionnaire, it can be used for any further projects or particular project for which contractor invited as a competitor. On the other hand Code of Procedure for Single Stage Selective Tendering written especially for building industry by NJCC. According to this code, project success depends on the completion of design phase before tenders invited and the use of standard forms of contract. M. Brook (1993) classifies Code as follows: Preliminary enquiry contractors are given the opportunity to decide whether they wish to tender by receiving a preliminary enquiry letter, four to six weeks before the dispatch of tender documents. Number of tenderers the recommended number of tenderers is a maximum of six (three of four for design and build) and further names could be held in reserve. Tender documents the aim of the documents is that all tenders will be received on the same basis so that competition is limited to price only. Time for tendering normally at least four working weeks should be allowed, and more time may be needed depending on the size and complexity of the project. Qualified tenders tenderers should not try to vary the basis of their tenders using qualifications. Queries or unacceptable contract conditions should be raised at least 10 days before tenders are due. The consultants can then tell all the tenderers of their decisions and if necessary extend the time for tendering. A contractor should be asked to withdraw significant qualifications or else face rejection. This is necessary to ensure tenders are received on a like-for-like basis. Withdrawal of tenders a tender may be accepted as long as it remains open; a definite period is usually stated in the tender documents. The tenderer may withdraw his offer before its acceptable, under English law. Assessing tenders the tenders should be opened as soon as possible after they are received. Priced bills may be submitted in a separate envelope by all the contractors, or, more likely only the bills of the lowest tenderer will be called for and submitted within four working days. Once the contract has been let, every contractor should be issued with a list of tender prices. Alternatively, tender prices should be given in ascending order and the names listed in alphabetical order. Examination and adjustment of priced bills the PQS will treat the information in the tender documents as confidential and report errors in computation to the architect and client. There are two methods for dealing with errors. Alternative one gives the tenderer the opportunity to confirm his offer or withdraw it. Alternative 2 allows the contractor to confirm his offer or amend it to correct genuine errors. If the contractor amends his offer with a revised tender which is no longer the lowest, the tender of the lowest will be considered. Negotiated reduction of tender the code of procedure recognizes the needs to look for savings in the cost of a project where the tender exceeds the employers budget. This can be achieved by negotiation with the lowest tenderer, or the next lowest if negotiations fail. Two-stage selective tendering may be approved by the client, when the contractors involvement is needed at the design phase. The first stage will provide the competitive tender based on bill of quantities according to the preliminary design. The contractor selected at the first stage helps with the design, after completion of which submits documents for the second stage without competition based on the considered price. NJCC published codes for two-stage selection tender and selection tender for design and build. Those are almost same as the Code of Procedure for Single Stage Selective Tendering, except: Client should consider contractors design and build experience. Number of tenderers reduced to four. The price is not a key issue in the selection of contractors. Significant interdependence between cost, time and quality should be included in clients requirement. During the negotiation stage, contractors selected based on their past experience, performance, recommendation or familiarity with work under consideration. And only one contractor may be selected to proceed the work. Project organisation Often client employs a design consultant in order to advice on feasibility stage of project, or a project management consultant to advice the strategy and risks. As discussed earlier in previous chapter, it might be appropriate to the client to employ a single contractor for the whole project, or a consortium of companies as well as a two or more separate contractors. Further in this chapter will be discussed different types of project organisation. Package deal (turnkey, design and supply) According to the OGC report (2007), the main contractor has to be an experienced organisation to bring together all of the parties (design, construction, installation ect.) necessary to meet the clients expectations. Also further information stated in this report There is nothing to prevent a designer, facilities manager, financier or any other organisation from acting as the Prime Contractor, providing they have suitable ability and experience. Prime Contracting must demonstrate during the initial occupation period that operating cost and performance parameters can be met. It usually includes such features as pain/gain share (where the Prime Contractor as well as the client gains financially by reducing the project costs), target cost pricing (where prices are agreed on the basis of a reasonable profit for the supply team and value for money to the client) and open book accounting (where costs are made transparent to the client). (OGC report, 2007) In this type of arrangement, only one single contractor carries all the responsibility for the project from start to completion. Although main contractor responsible for the procurement, design, construction, equipment supply, installation, commissioning, these works can be sub-contracted to the specialist organizations. The main contractor usually responsible also for financing, design approval, working and state commissions ect. Although being simple, this arrangement has its advantages and disadvantages. The main strengths are: Estimating the cost of the project at the early stage may be possible, the clients requirements are known; The total cost of the project may be reduced; Early completion may be possible as result of design/construction overlap; Easier design integration; Better project organisation; Client has to deal with only one organisation for design and construction; Few recourses from the client need to be involved in a project; Fewer disputes caused by design failure or other defects. Weaknesses: Clients ability to control the contractor will be low; Clients expectations may not be met; Highly qualified staff needed to manage the contractor; No or little contact with the sub-contractors; Client in a negative position to introduce changes; Package deal contracts are commonly used in the service and process industries. Where the contractors are much more experienced in this type of contract rather than other types. (other types will be introduced in the next chapter) However package deal contracts are also used in civil engineering field, especially in building standard houses or office blocks. Package deal contracts are very effective when the client wish to start works early, but he has no sufficient recourses and advisors. Build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) This type of contract requires that consortium of companies or single contractor take responsibility to built, own and operate a facility. This usually undertaken by the government for the fixed duration (concession period), during which the client pays contractor (normally monthly). Contractor is completely responsible for the project from start to hand over after the concession period, including gaining necessary finance for the project at the start. At the end of concession period ownership of the facility returns to the client. Separation of design and implementation This tends to be the traditional contract. In that type of contract design separated from the construction. This normally achieved by employing the architect (designer) then the contractor for its construction. Despite the fact that there are many available and useful types of contract, this type of contract is still widely used in building and civil engineering industries. In practice, architect or design company supervises the construction process from the clients side. Smith N.J. (2002) states that, Construction is usually undertaken under a quantities/rates based contract, or occasionally under a lump-sum or reimbursable contract. Management contracting Management contracting is a type of contract where the client employs external organisation to control and manage the design and construction processes. External management organisation itself normally does not take part in any of the works. These are packaged into one or several contracts. When using the management contracting, client establishes the contractual and organisational system which is completely different from the conventional approaches. Management organisation employed by the client becomes a part of its team, therefore involvement of a client in the project increases. According to Smith N.J. (2002) payment for the management organisations staff normally is reimbursable plus fee, oppositely for engineering contracts this usually be a lump-sum or quantity based. The management contractor is appointed early, and it has a considerable involvement in a design process. Other participants such as design and construction contractors are employed in normal way. Management contracts have considerable advantage in a building and civil engineering industries, where traditional contracts can not be used. These advantages are listed below (depending of the needs of a client): Time saving. An early start to the project (political, budgetary or procurement policy reasons); Therefore an early completion of a project; When high probability that changes may take place, for instance, high technology or innovative projects. Organisational complexity. When client does not have sufficient resources or does not wish to manage a number of contractors, which may include two or more designers as well as the construction contractors. Although thesis has a construction emphasis, in authors opinion it would give the additional information about contracts if offshore oil engineering will be discussed as well. Offshore oil industry uses the same contracts as a construction industry, except concession contracts. However, industry called each contract in completely different ways. For example: EPC engineer, procure, construct contract; PC procure and construct contract; EPIC engineer, procure, install, commission contract; PIC procure, install and commission contract. In construction industry EPIC would be considered as a turnkey contract. The only one significant difference of oil industry from others is that oil industry contracts, including EPIC (turnkey equivalent) contracts, always concentrate in high level of clients involvement on the project. Direct labour Usually clients does non wish to employ external contractors to install or make equipments or construction activities, instead clients may use their in-house recourses, maintenance or construction department for instance. This is known as a direct labour or direct works. Each activity, such as design, construction or equipment installation normally responsibility of different departments within the company. These initial agreements are very similar to the external contracts, but the conflicts and disputes between departments would be solved in managerial level within the organisation rather than by external legal dispute resolution procedures. Bidding strategy The tendering process begins with the invitation to tender. (from the contractors point of view). Usually in practice, building contractors does not submit truly competitive tender. After the receiving the invitation, contractor must decide whether to accept or decline tender. If contractor accept, competitive bid must be submitted, however if the contractor does not accept, the bona fide tender still should be submitted. (definition of bona fide need here). Contractors always faced with to crucial decisions which are, whether or not submit competitive tender, and if so what is the bid price should be. Ansoff (1965) suggested five possible courses of action open for the contractor: Reject the project Provisionally accept the project Add it to a reverse list Remove a project from the reverse list and replace it with the current project Unconditional acceptance However Skitmore (1989) pointed out that the limited time available for tender restricts the use of reverse list, therefore normally contractors decide simply from two accept or reject options. Althouh contractor rejected the tender, it does not usually mean that the bid will not be submitted. If the contractor not interested in particular tender, but does not wish to reject (once contractor rejected the tender, it may not be invited to tender again), as it may cause problems in the future, contractor can submit the cover price. In practice, the decision whether or not to submit a tender depends on number of factors. According to the CIOB (1983), this decision depend on the type of work under consideration, if the contractor has an appropriate experience in particular area and necessary resources to prepare documents and carry out the work. However other authors agree that the key points in the decision would be the contractors present workload and availability of key personnel. Odusote and Fellows (1992) made significant effort in identifying the most important factors influencing the contractors decision. In this research, authors identified 42 considerations which are likely to influence the decision considered by other authors. Then constructed questionnaire and sent them to various building contractors each with a turnover of approximately 8m (or higher) per year. Figure 3 below illustrates these factors based on respond of 48 UK building contractors (ranked in order of importance). Client-related factors Type of work Value of the project Contractors current workload Estimating workload Likely profitability of the contract Location of the project Form of contract Physical recourses to do the job Identity of consultants Time available to tender Odusote and Fellows (1992) On the other hand, an American survey handled by Ahmad and Minkarah (1990) identified 31 factors affecting the bidding strategy of top USA companies. Further this list of factors used by Snash (1990) in his study. Snash formulated a questionnaire according to the list of factors, and submitted them to the top UK contractors asking them to rank the most important factor. Finally he received responds from 80 contractors, and the table has been produced based on contractors respond. Figure 4 illustrates the top 20 factors affecting bid/no bid decision. Contractors need for work Number of competitors tendering Experience in similar projects Current work load Owner/client identity Contract conditions Project type Past profit in similar projects Project size Tendering method (open/selective) Risk owing to the nature of the work Project location Type of contract Availability of qualified staff Rate of return Project cash flow Tender period Availability of other projects Availability of labour Completeness of the documents (Snash 1990) There is some similarity between two studies, however that does not necessary mean every contractor has to consider each factor. Some contractor may consider some, but others may consider completely different factors. Contractor should decide rather bid or no bid in particular project regarding his own status and circumstances. By other words, regarding to evidence (Odusote and Fellows, 1992) it can be said, that for large project, it would be decision of group of people rather than one individual. However, there is an alternative factor affecting bid/no bid decision. Contractors who have a number of contracts (portfolio of projects), can balance their overall risks by deciding to tender particular project. This approach first introduced in the financial sector, which basically says that the contractors can afford the risky projects if the overall risk can be reduced by balancing with the other less risky projects in contractors portfolio. Kangari and Riggs (1988) pointed out that this approach can not be used as successful as in the financial organisations. They concluded: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Diversification of the project portfolio can generally reduce but not eliminate overall risk exposureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Bid price After the decision to tender, contractor will be faced by the next important decision which is bid price. Normally contractor estimates the bid price according to the necessary inputs on the process. The management process estimating the level of bid price called adjudication. A significant number of researches have been carried out for last 40 years about submitting the best bid price. Different studies concentrated various model of bidding. If one researchers developed the mathematical model, method based on historical data, statistical bidding models and econometric based model, others concentrated on less mathematical models such as human decision-making process. However Moselhi et all. (1993) states: Markup estimation is a decision problem that is so highly unstructured that it is difficult to analyse and formulate an adequate solution mechanism. It is both time consuming and complicated to identify all the related factors that form a rational basis for such decisions, analyse their individual strength, and then quantify their combined impact on the decision. The usual practice is to make bid decisions on the basis of intuition, derived from mixture of gut feeling, experience and guesses. This implies some sort of pattern recognition is used rather than computation or deep reasoning about the problem elements. Alternatively, Park and Chapin summarised their research that: Many different theoretical approaches to competitive bidding have been proposed and tested with varying results. Any of these strategies should improve the contractors bidding effectiveness, and whichever one works best for a particular competitive situation is obviously the best one to use. It will be worth whatever time is required to at least become familiar with the different approaches; they all offer some good ideas, and even a bad plan is better than no plan at all. Factors considered by contractors Adjudication is the process about getting the best possible bid price, during which contractors should consider number of factors. Eastham (1987) identified 90 factors which are likely to affect the bid price. During the research questionnaire had been sent to ten contractors who identified only five most important factors. However those responds had not considered as important as in Easthams research. Subcontract requirements Type and size of job Competitors Client and professionals Labour requirements (Eastham 1987) Snash (1990) also identified factors affecting the bid price. This has been done through formulating the questionnaire. Degree of difficulty of the work Risk owing to the nature of the work Current workload Need for the work Contract conditions Anticipated cost of liquidated damages Owner/client identity Past profit in similar work (Snash 1990)