Firms should seek to “get their own house in order” before seeking to manage suppliers Essay

Assignment Title: Firms should seek to â€Å"get their own house in order† before seeking to manage suppliers Purchasing is a vital process of the company, 100% efficiency is required at all times. There must be proper organization and flexibility in this department. People working in this department should constantly evaluate the current purchasing scheme of the company and adapt to changes at all times. Purchasing department or team of a company basically seek to answer these two questions: what we buy and how we buy. The answers to these two questions can change depending to companies size and sector. Indeed, by answering these two questions is the main goal of procurement team or department is to create best value for money and to maximize it. It is possible to maximize best value for money by obtaining surplus value. Surplus value is different from the value. Surplus value locates between cost of production for supplier and value of the product to the buyer. This is called the area zone of agreement. The surplus value which is retained by supplier is called producer surplus and the value which is retained by buyer is called consumer surplus, the procurement team/department aim to maximize consumer surplus. Purchasing process means that demand management. There are two ways to make purchase decision make-buy or outsourcing. Make-buy is required internal management it is related to the organizational buying behavior. Outsourcing is required external management consist of supplier management. The fundamental issue in purchasing process is to provide efficiency in demand management. Efficiency of purchasing process is related for instance a reduction in the number of suppliers used an automation of the purchasing process, the use of framework agreements, and the development of trusting relationship with suppliers. Providing efficiency contribute to get power. Business life means power games. The market is unforgiving for weakness so at first hand, while the firm seeks to establish its own house in order before seeking to manage the suppliers. It will provide efficiency. In order to get successful purchasing process, firm should manage its demand efficiently and firstly firm should be sure to provide this efficiency by establishing â€Å"in its own house in order† in this case firm could get power above its suppliers. Demand management problems in an organization could appear in different ways (Londsdale, SP&SM, Lecturer notes, Week 3) Maverick buying, fragmentation of spend, early specification, over-specification, unnecessary change to specifications, poor demand information, lack of clarity, adverse selection, inappropriate contracting, poor monitoring leading to moral hazard, unnecessary purchase. These problems occur alone or together. Organizational buying behavior involves a multi-person activity and it is true for 90% of organizational buying. This includes a very meticulous process which can even take more than a year to decide and conclude. Today’s organizations are aware of the costs involved in making timely, accurate and efficient decisions; create more value for money. If firms are to succeed in one facet of its global goal to be known in the market, a strong leadership should be in place; guide and make it move in a synchronized manner. Most of whom started small in its own right to be able to manage its own people easily, efficiently and most of all, avoid unaccounted costs. For a firm to manage its buying behavior and create a benchmark, it needs to: recognize a problem, acknowledge a general need, create or come up with product specifications, make an efficient and able supplier search, make a buying step, select a supplier, make an order-routine specification and conduct a post-purchase performance review. Once this process is harnessed over time; the next step to go bigger; to expand. (http://www. smartcompany. com. au/marketing/sales/22378-20111007-marketing-strategies-organisational-buyer-behaviour. html) To further elaborate: Recognize a problem- anticipate and plan for purchase on a routine basis Acknowledge a general need – extensive, objective cost-benefit analysis Create or come up with product specifications – using precise technical description using techniques such as value analysis Make an efficient and able buyer search- extensive search that extends to the search for a supplier Make a buying step – business to business Select a supplier- made after extensive evaluation of objective information Make an order-routine specification-routine calculation of re-order points as well as time and place of delivery Conduct a post-purchase performance review – extensive comparison made and feedback given, concern with quality management at source. All of these elements could still fail with the existence of problems that should be recognized and avoided at first glance namely (Londsdale, SP&SM, Lecturer notes, Week 3) maverick buying, fragmentation of spend, early specification, over-specification, unnecessary change to specifications, poor demand information, lack of clarity, adverse selection, inappropriate contracting, poor monitoring leading to moral hazard, and unnecessary purchase. When fragmentation exceeds its neutral level, means that parts or branches in this situation are unconnected and/or missing and still expected to come up with results the same as what the entire system once did (http://www. ourfurutre. com/real101. htm) the whole is always better in presence as everyone will have a better understanding of each function. It is also good to note that when there is a â€Å"whole Picture† concept. There is a better understanding as to the fluid interaction and dependency of each part resulting to better result of each task at hand. To cope with organizational fragmentation it’s important to understand why fragmentation arise in organization what are conflicts between branches or parts. Fragmentation arises in an organization because of several reasons. First, each department of an organization performs different functions, it follows that these departments have different needs. For instance, engineering department of a company would definitely use different computer from the HR department. These two departments have two different functions through both departments require computers for efficiency but both use special applications, features and specifications of computers to perform well. Legacy method is an old system that firms continue to practice these days. This is the second reason why fragmentation arises in organization. Maybe the system works satisfactory so organization sees no reason in changing it. The cost for changing and redesigning system could be costly both time and money compared to the anticipated appreciable benefits of replacing it to a new one. And lastly, difficulties in consolidating efforts in the organization. Human as we are, we have different opinions and our way of thinking is always different to one another. There are organizational factors that make consolidation efforts difficult. Conflicting preferences within organization arise due to limited rationality. Bounded rationality can also contribute to conflicting preferences for decision makers make decision with limited and often unreliable information. Limited time could and human mind’s limited capacity to evaluate and process information. Powers is exercised within organizations. People in higher position control over resources, rule-making, information and etc. lower ranks needed to comply to show obedience and respect thus result to conflicts. And lastly, each departments employees behave relating to their knowledge for example for manufacture department quality is important, for purchasing department price important. Each department has goals and priorities to fulfill,these can result to conflict as well. Conflicting preferences can be solve through identifying the problem and build organizational alliance to change internal client. Setting a standard and centralize preference within the organization would definitely help resolve this problem. Building alliances would demand purchasing managers to sort out personnel according to their rank. This could help to solve conflicting references in the organization. Furthermore, when fragmentation exceeds its neutral level, two problems that will basically occur in an instant. Inflation of transaction costs which an organization can face to cope with unnecessary suppliers. Organization could lose its leverage over its suppliers and suppliers tend to classify the customers. They tend to work with customers that work closely with their strategic objectives or make a good proportion of their turnover or help to spread their fixed cost but suppliers eliminate customers who don’t provide an attractive account or high volume of business. (Lonsdale and Watson, 2005) In a specific example, Rushmore University Hospital Trust (RUHT) (Lonsdale, SP;SM Lectures, Case Study) RUHT has fragmented throughout its 9 budget centres and each budget centre, clinicians could independently purchase. Fragmentation happens most of the time; each clinician in each budget centre can purchase commodities with the same specifications but under very different terms. For example, x-ray films purchase price could be differentiated 45% between budget centres. Lack of coordination and supplier opportunism cause inefficiency in RUHT. By understanding the characteristics of each budget center’s procurement needs, it could succeed consolidation between budget services. Another conspicuous example is Vodafone (Lonsdale, SP;SM Lectures, Case Study). In 2003, Vodafone Global Supply Chain Management Director, Detlef Schultz realized the internal procurement management problem. For instance, Vodafone has lack of information how it spend and it couldn’t translate its global size to the benefit. Schultz succeeds saving Money by putting together 17 disparate purchasing departments into one supply chain management. He introduced pre-agreed prices for frequently bought items. He provided the use e-auction system creates category management and developed different strategy for each category and it standardized the judgment way of suppliers so all this efforts to establish efficient procurement management result a great savings in Vodafone. Novartis also achieved cost saving by transforming its procurement strategy. Novartis is operating in seven different divisions and each of operating separately with their own CEO and CPO and it realized that 60 per cent of the overall expenditure is homogenous so Novartis achieved its goal like previous examples by leveraging its scale and by implementing global category management. In purchasing, demand management and procurement department capture power, decrease transaction costs, saving money and using companies scale and technology effectively, so by understanding companies own needs and improving information sources, providing coherence benevolently among brunches and departments and implementing appropriate strategies for each categories by this way company get efficiency in internal demand management and could reach its neutral level of fragmentation in purchasing. So by this way, company could share its value with its suppliers and monitor them in terms of even them pursuing companies values so company get leverage over its suppliers. Finally, providing efficiency in order house provide efficiency in the same time in suppliers management.

Prayer, Humility, and Fate

Victoria Smith (H) English 3 Mrs. Parsons September 24, 2012 Prayer, Humility, and Fate In the story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is developed as a Christian hero through his reliance on prayer and his humility which illuminates the theme that God controls fate. Gawain is developed as a Christian knight through his reliance on prayer. This trait is shown when Gawain is lost in a storm and does not know which way to turn. Gawain prays â€Å"Lord I beseech you†¦for some house where I may hear Mass devoutly† (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 157, 159).Gawain demonstrates his dependence on prayer through this quote because it shows him praying to God for shelter in the storm and continually saying â€Å"Cross of Christ, bless me! † (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 761). Gawain is established as a Christian hero through this quote because he relies on prayer in order to complete his task because he realizes that he cannot do it on his own. Immediately after G awain prays, God reveals to him a castle just ahead. Gawain’s establishment as a Christian hero illuminates the theme that God controls fate because it shows God granting his request and granting him victory.This is essential to the development of the theme because it clearly shows God altering Gawain’s fate which sets the course for the rest of the story. Gawain’s humility throughout the story also establishes him as a Christian hero. In contrast to Beowulf, a pagan hero, who often bragged about his strength and superior ability; Gawain, a Christian hero, is humble, often to the point of putting himself down. After Bertilak’s wife finishes telling Gawain how great he is, Gawain responds â€Å"I am all unworthy†¦to presume to the honor you ascribe me† (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 1243, 1244).Gawain reveals his humility to Bertilak’s wife by not talking himself up, but humbling himself and claiming himself unworthy of such high prais e. Another example of Gawain’s humility can be found when he speaks to Arthur following the Green Knight’s challenge saying â€Å"I am the weakest†¦ and the least wise† and in response to Gawain’s humility, King Arthur gives Gawain God’s blessing and allows him to take the challenge in his place (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 354).Gawain’s humility is essential in his development as a Christian hero because the Bible commands Christians to humble numerous times including the verse found in 1 Peter 5:6 which says, â€Å"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. † As Christians, it is believed that God will exalt those who are humble. This belief is clearly shown through Gawain’s humility and success as a hero further proving the theme that God controls fate. Because of Gawain’s humility, and his reliance on prayer, God grants him success in the end and Gawain is exalted.

A Shakespearean Prep

Diversity can it be defined? Shouldn’t every person be a living example of it? I am as different as night and day. I am probably the only Mexican in existence who dislikes Mexican food. My main contradiction, though, is my personality and my love for theater. I am a Dallasite through and through. From going to private school to shopping at Marcus to driving a BMW, I am the embodiment of a teenager living a privileged life. There is a side of me, however, that goes much deeper a more artistic side. Though my body may be devoted to the prep lifestyle, my soul has one passion theater. I have always felt comfortable on stage. It’s actually more than comfort, it’s a sense of belonging. Acting is the essence of my being and I often use my craft to define myself. Yet, how can I explain to my friends the beauty of a Shakespearean couplet when the only rhymes they care about are in the latest hip-hop hit? Here I find myself at the ultimate contradiction: the theater kid who conforms to the expectations of her seemingly homogeneous friends. But as the boisterous theater kid, I am unable to be stifled even by my best friends. Through my own diversity, I have overcome this obstacle. I embrace my individuality around my friends and believe that it is because of this that they love me as they do. Instead of listening to rap, I hum tunes from â€Å"Rent† in school and randomly quote Shakespeare during car rides or dinner parties. This path to individuality has not been easy. I was not always accepted for my theatrical tendencies. In fact, I lost many a friend because I am, well, a drama queen. Also, my life is not filled with others who, like me, love the spotlight (an actual spotlight, that is) and the Bard. Yet, in high school I began to find a few like me three. But this was all I needed. Once I found this small group, I could easily go back to my other friends feeling more comfortable in my own skin. Thus, all my contradictions (my inability to memorize chemical equations while easily learning lines of Shakespeare), are what make me quirky. I’m the loud theater freak whose friends are quiet and non-confrontational. I’m that actress who spends time with girls â€Å"who lunch.† But most important, I am myself.

A Scientometric Analysis Of Nuclear Medicine Technology Dissertation

A Scientometric Analysis Of Nuclear Medicine Technology - Dissertation Example Both diagnostic medical sonography and the nuclear medicine technology are similar to one another in the sense that both sonography and nuclear technology are used in the study of medicine as a tool for diagnosing and screening of various diseases (i.e. signs of malignant bone lesions, bone infections, or any kind of stress that can causes pain on the patients (Archive, 2015), appendicitis (Gjelsteen et al., 2008), pelvic pain, suspected for adnexal masses, or the presence of ectopic pregnancy (Busse, 2010; Gjelsteen et al., 2008), and various cancer diseases such as breast cancer, (vans & Bates, 2005), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (Gao et al., 2014), large hepatocelluclar carcinoma or malignant hepatoma (Hill & Hill, 2014), and ovarian cancer. The only difference between diagnostic medical sonography and the nuclear medicine technology is that diagnostic medical sonography is using a special type of technology that emits no ionizing radiation that could harm the patients’ current health condition. Based on the term nuclear, the nuclear medicine technology emits different kind of ionizing radiation which could negatively affect the patients’ health condition when excessively exposed to radiation (i.e. 131I, 90Y, 18F, and 67Ga, etc.) (Eckerman & Endo, 2008; European Pharmacopoeia, 2005). characteristics of the past and current studies published online. Often times, a scientometric analysis can be performed as a way to evaluate the work performance of a specific research group or universities, a country, and a group of researcher or scientist (Dutton and Jeffreys, 2010, p. 45). In line with this, the main idea of my dissertation is to conduct a scientometric analysis of scholarly productivity in diagnostic medical sonography vs. nuclear medicine technology. In general, a scientometric analysis can be performed to analyze and measure the usage of journal publications, its credibility and current position as a research institute (Reber & Brossard, 2013).

Medieval gargoyles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medieval gargoyles - Essay Example representing animal faces, or anthropomorphic, i.e. representing human form. The term â€Å"gargoyle† is extensively used with any grotesque carving of buildings of medieval times. They are a fascinating element of medieval architecture and are not only related to medieval churches and cathedrals, but also associated with English gothic castles. Gargoyles are ideal resemblance of great lords, who in order to crush and make natives do what they want, built such intricate fortresses and castles (Stratis Demon). Although the word â€Å"gargoyles† in plumbing sense appear to be followed since Ancient Greek times or even before that but they became popular in medieval times during the Victorian era. During Elizabethan period, channels or troughs used had no carved shapes on them (Stratis Demon). Initially most of the gargoyles used were usually made of wood and were generally undecorated. Along the progress in time, gargoyles were made with stone and lead and were made in the form of carvings of or absurd representations of animals and people. Those carvings were the creation of imaginative and proficient hands, often so ingenious as to carry a little or no resemblance to normal creature. During the first appearance of gargoyles in 1200 century, the people of other faiths were so much influenced by Roman Catholic Church that they converted to Catholic. An argument for attractive looking gargoyles at that time appeared, since most people were not literate at that time and therefore the images of gargoyles were of great importance then. In addition, many non-believers of Christianity were used to with the religious images like of animals or of those that included both humans and animals (e.g. unicorn, horned God). They were greatly encouraged to join the Christianity by putting similar images on churches and cathedrals as they felt more complacent about it. It is important to mention that some other accommodations like gargoyles were made by churches at

Work Setting as a Learning Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Work Setting as a Learning Environment - Essay Example What would students on placement do with learning programs in clinical environments? The learners expect to accomplish the appropriate professional and inter-professional theoretical and practical objectives in their curriculum. Working in the clinical environment can present challenges but with ready and efficient placement programs, the prospective clinical professional achieves coping strategies. Satisfactory placement environment also promotes academic excellence (McCulloch, Rathbone and Catchpole, 2011). Â  The clinical experts would not ascertain their clinical experiences if the work setting did not offer them the right platform for learning. Not only does a professional or student clinical officer achieve and evaluate varied perspectives of dealing with health care issues, but also increases the hope and expectations of realizing the ultimate as public health policy requires. The work setting becomes the ideal starting point for students and clinical officers because every day presents new challenges and opportunities. Â  The health officers would lack research and advance education pathways without a proper clinical learning environment. Gopee (2015) acknowledges healthcare institutions as the ultimate centers for sustaining inter-professional learning, creating the desire to advance in education and conduct research. Research is critical due to the dynamic nature of healthcare concerns. Â  Teamwork and leadership increase the scope of responsibilities for healthcare professionals within the practice setting (McCulloch, Rathbone, and Catchpole, 2011).

Management of a patient withan allergic rhinitis Essay

Management of a patient withan allergic rhinitis - Essay Example Allergic rhinitis is also known as hay fever and is supposed to be mediated by type-I hypersensitivity which is an extreme response of immune system against foreign bodies by build-up of antibodies. General nursing process begins with assessment of patient’s health history which involves their personal and family history (Burns, 2007). Secondly, an allergy assessment is performed by examining obvious symptoms and state of patient before these symptoms became apparent. Thirdly, occurrence of these symptoms is examined with relation to seasonal changes and related physical mental and physical problems. In the last stage of assessment, nature of antigen causing allergy is identified (Denise and Scandale, 2010). A patient is said to have this allergy when an ineffective breathing pattern and continuous sneezing is observed when encountered with triggers. Ineffective coping of chronic disorders is often followed by need for changes in environment of the patient. Possible problems e ncountered during management of the disorder include anaphylaxis, disturbed breathing pattern and failure to follow suggested therapy. The goal of interventions used for treating this patient were to restore normal breathing pattern, identify causes and control them, improve coping mechanism and avoid any complications. 2. History of the Patient A patient’s history must be comprehensive enough to provide information regarding onset and duration of the symptoms being experienced by the patient along with possible triggers. In addition to that, co-morbidity, family history of allergies, environmental exposure, and quality of life also play an important role in diagnosis. After preliminary form filing, the patient complained about seasonal flu in last five years which showed persistence despite usage of OTC medication without prescription. This was the first incident where patient entered into medical settings. The patient complained of frequent episodes of sneezing with large p roduction and exhalation of clear mucus. Since some of the symptoms mentioned later were similar to Sinusitis therefore discharge of mucus and drainage were observed to identify if the patient has Sinusitis or allergic rhinitis. Furthermore, localized itching also confirmed it. 2.1 Response to Allergens Patient complained of 10-15 paroxysms when experiencing sneezing along with nasal congestion leading to breathing through mouth. The symptoms grew severe in the springs and especially near plantation. Patient also mentioned having episodes of atopic eczema. It is important to note that patients with atopy are at risk of developing allergic rhinitis (Burns, 2007). Lara also complained of reduced energy level and fatigue especially in late winters and spring while experiencing this state. Lara further complained of itchy nose which made her rub her nose repetitively and a crease was visible in the middle of her nose (Lang, n.d; Plaut and Valentine, 2005). Furthermore, she mentioned tha t the sneezing and itching is more aggressive right after waking up and in the morning. Out of symptoms defined by the patient, it was evident that she had experienced sneezing, pruritus, congestion and drainage which are some of the common symptoms of allergic rhinitis (Spector et al., 2003; Harvey, 2012). The onset of pruritus was more evident in palate, nose and throat leading to aggressive coughing. In addition to these conditions, Lara also complained about sleep apnea, overbiting and episodes of asthma. She also mentioned that her mother

Argument in Favor of Abortion Legalization Essay - 3

Argument in Favor of Abortion Legalization - Essay Example It should be well understood that mothers have a natural motherly instinct that causes them to have a profound likeness to children, at least their own. Therefore, when they are forced to abort during fetal complication, it should be seen as a last resort. Mothers should not be punished with a risk of death at times of complications because it was their decision to get pregnant at first. Whereas opponents argue that fetal life is sacred and should be spared in such instances, it should be understood that a mother’s life is sacred and more important at such instances. Therefore, abortion should be legal at such instances. More worrying is the fact that mothers are forced to sustain and nurture life against their will at instances of rape and unwanted pregnancies. Fundamentally, we should not be promoting forced motherhood since the same is likely to bring social issues such as juvenile delinquency as a result of failed parenthood. Why should we force someone to support an unplanned family without financial assistance? Those who oppose abortion in such instances should provide a pool of resources for all parenthood caused by forced motherhood, at least they can help financially. Otherwise, abortion seems to be the most rational thing to do under the circumstances. It is worth noting that abortion is not killing since life begins at birth. Ideally, the fetus has not yet developed to a complete human being with free will and perception. This implies that fetus hardly has any moral status (Gaita and Sather 159). Although abortion should not be encouraged due to the associated complications, people should not feel as if they are committing murder since the same does not amount to terminating the life of a freely living being. The fetus is not yet developed and that is why it has to depend on another human being for survival.  

Why has the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been so difficult to resolve Essay

Why has the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been so difficult to resolve - Essay Example This is one reason why the problem has not been resolved. Another reason due to which the conflict has failed to be solved is that both sides are claiming that they own the entire region and are not ready to restrict themselves to their side only (Caplan, 2011). Due to this a religious conflict has taken place. The people in these regions fear that if the other side controls the entire region then their freedom to practice their religion will be taken away from them and due to this each side wants their religion to prevail and want to freely practice their religions. Another issue that is not solving the problem is the ineffectiveness of the United Nations which has developed policies that can solve the problem but has failed to enforce it (Harris, 2013). The failure to enforce such policies is due to the division of the Arab world and the Western world on the conflict. The Arab world supports the Palestinian view and on the other hand the western world, such as the United States sup ports the Israeli view. Harris, D. (2013). Why Israeli-Palestinian Peace Is So Difficult to Reach. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-harris/why-israelipalestinian-pe_b_2895228.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014]. Yehoshua, A. (2011). Why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict refuses to be resolved. [online] Haaretz.com. Available at: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/why-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-refuses-to-be-resolved-1.358095 [Accessed 11 Dec.

The Importance of Water Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Water Essay Water is one of the most important molecules necessary to life. humans, for example, are made up of 70% water. Osmosis is a form of intracellular transport which is important in maintaining a correct balance of ions and substances between the blood and the inside of cells, for example. If the oncentration of an ion is too high outside a cell, water will br pulled out of the cell by osmosis in order to increase the water potential and thus retore balance. This is the case in ORT (oral rehydration therapy) which is used to treat diarrhea ocurring due to cholera for example. The ORT packs ontain salt and electrolytes which are transported into the epithelial cells after ingestion and thus lower the water potential of the cell by causing water to be pulled into the epithelial cells from the gut lumen, thus stopping diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is caused by an too high water potential in the lumen of the gut, often due to a movement of water by osmosis. In the case of lactose intolerance, when lactose is ingested it will not be broken down and continues along the gut, thus causing water to be pulled out of the cells and liquefying the stools (diarrhoea). Water is important in thermoregulation. When the thermoreceptors perceive an increase in temperature, a signal is sent to the heat loss centre in the hypothalamus which starts the heat loss mechanism such as vasodilatation, lowering of body hair, and sweating or pantinh. Sweating allows to lose heat by evaporation off the skin, or mucous membranes in the case of panting. If there is not enough water in the body, sweating cannot take place and thus normal core temperature cannot be restored to normal value, which may cause overheating. Water is also the main molecule present in the cohesion-tension theory. Water is pulled up from the soil by osmosis from the root hairs of a plant, due to a lower water potential inside the root hair cell. Higher up, the plant is transpiring through its stomata (the rate of transpiration increases as temperature or wind increases) which pulls water out. There is an unbroken column of water from the stomata down the xylem of the plant, all the way down to the root hairs of the plant, so when water is pulled out of the stomata it is also pulled up from the root hairs of the plant up the xylem. The reason for this is the cohesion of the water moleules caused by hydrogen bonding between the molecules. There is also tension between the inside walls of the xylem and the water column this is why the diameter of a tree is larger at night due to a smaller rate of transpiration thus less tension. Water is also responsible for maintaining the shape and turgidity of plant cells by making the cell membrane push against the cell wall. If there is not enough water in the cell, it will be plasmolysed and flaccid.

Maxis Market Opportunity

Maxis Market Opportunity Maxis communications company, is Malaysias largest mobile service provider, or about forty percent of the Malaysian mobile phone market. The company providing a wide range of innovative mobile, fixed and international network services to their customers. Besides that, Maxis was first telecommunication company who launched the 3G services, such as 3G connect Card, PC Webmail, Video Mail and 3G prepaid. It is founded in year 1993. Maxis Mobile Sdn Bhd , which the founder is Ananda Krishnan who are one of the richest man in Malaysia. In 1999, Maxis create the popular prepaid brand Hotlink, which currently has 10 Million customers. In 2002, Maxis purchased from Timecel, a competitor mobile service provider. Before the purchase, Maxis offered phone numbers beginning with 012, and TimeCell 017. Now, user can choose between the two. In 2007, The company in preparation for expansions into the Indonesian and Indian markets. In 2009, The initial public issue and which constitute 30% of the com pany under the close supervision of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. STRATEGY Maxis believe that its extensive customers based strong hold in the high value segments, high quality network and services, effective distribution, recognize brands equity and resulting strong cash flow generation will allow it to consolidate its position as the market leader. Firstly, Maxis focused on conducting business responsibly in the marketplace .Secondly, nurturing talents and developing their potential in the workplace and contributing towards the communities. Lastly, doing their part to mitigate the impact of Maxis operations on the environment. OBJECTIVE Become the leading provider of convergence solutions for enterprises in Malaysia.   Become leading mobile communication service provider in Malaysia. MISSION Today -Malaysias leading mobile communications service provider. Tomorrow -The nations premier integrated communications service provider. VISION To bring the future to our customers lives and business, in a manner that is simple, personalised and enriching, by efficiently and creatively harnessing leading-edge technology and delivering a brand of service experience that is reliable and enchanting. TARGET MARKET However it is found that most student range from 7-18 are using Digi. While the user range of 19-35 are using Maxis. Maxis company involved in a wide range, suitable for businessmen. Product Maxis provide a variety of products and services in mobile communication flied, such as prepaid  call plans, monthly subscription plans,  global roaming,  MMS,  WAP  (over both  GSM  and  GPRS), Residential Fixed Line services,  Broadband  Internet plans. It was the first to launch 3G services to both prepaid and postpaid subscription customers. Besides that, they offer  VSAT  services (satellite based communications) and  BlackBerry  based mobile services besides regular services. Maxis also provide an online Music store for its customers to use it. Maxis most popular service is its prepaid brand Hotlink and focus on the segment of students, family and friend, working adults and business field. Thus, its branding was set up year by year. So far, Maxis is well-known. Product Life Cycle 2.jpg When a product reaches maturity, sales growth slows and sales volume eventually peaks and stability. This is the stage during which the market as a whole makes the most profit. A companys primary objective at this point is to defend market share while maximize profit. In this stage, prices tend to drop due to increased competition. Maxiss fixed costs are low because it is has well established production and distribution. Since the brand of maxis awareness is strong, marketing expenditure might be reduced, although increased marketing expenditure might be needed to retain market share and fight increasing competition. Expenditure on research and development is likely to be restricted to product modification and improvement, and perhaps research into improved production efficiency and product quality. Promotion The main Maxis promotion is through the promoter to help us push up the Maxiss market share. Those promoters will go into Maxis use the sponsor to let the brand to be more awareness such as: Maxis is official telco sponsor for badminton association of Malaysia. Maxis sponsorship will contribute to Badminton Association of Malaysias development program and create opportunities for new talent to be nurtured and be prepared for competition at the various international badminton circuits. Maxis is pleased to play a part in achieving Badminton Association of Malaysias objectives and goals as well as sustaining success on the court. As a sponsor, Maxis will be supporting Badminton Association of Malaysia in its development program such as running of the training facilities, payment for coaches as well as running costs for the association in participating in various tournaments. Maxis also provide scholarship for the brightest graduate student to pursue their courses in every University in order to promote their company. Maxis also trying to find celebrities to help us increase their brand awareness such as, Datos Lee Chong Wei, Frank Lampard and Lionel Messi. Maxis also focus on planning, they always launch a lot of package for customer, such as Value Plus 50, Value Internet Plus 50. It can increase the awareness of customer, and let the customers to become their users. Besides that, Maxis also use the social media to promote their new product for the youngsters, such as Internet, Radio and Television Advertisement. For the odd, they will give them some handbook which clearly list out the latest product for them. Community event is one of the promotions, such as the Maxis Cyberkids Camp 2010. In this camp, the Maxis featured its broadband products and educational programmes. Distribution Channels In a competitive and complex communications industry, the variety change of technological innovation is no any single one company can survive if it operates alone. And Maxis has known about the need to work with a range of different partners locally and globally to broaden out range of offerings and to enhance our capabilities as the preferred communications solutions provide. According to Maxis website, it has 250 outlets in Malaysia to serve their customer. The main distributions channels of Maxis are ZyXEL communications Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, ZyXEL will help Maxis to provide a value-added service in order to succeed in broadband market and bring out the outstanding performance solutions at the most competitive price. Advanced Broadband Communications Sdn Bhd, they help Maxis to provide total telecommunication solutions and services for both conventional IP Systems. They also will develop the all IP-based solutions and services are targeted at business and personal users at any levels. Techscience Consultants Services Sdn Bhd, they provide multi dimensional business solution. The Maxis Partner including application providers, content providers and system Integrators. The application providers provide solution, application and tools to customer propositions. The content providers enhance the valuable information to business by providing information anywhere, anytime and on any device. The System Integrators have industry, domain and application specific-expertise backed up to integrate business solutions. They are including DynaFront, OPTEGRA, QuickNet com and so on. The Maxis Alliances including technology partner, device hardware partner and consulting partner. The technology partner provides base functionality and interoperability of software, infrastructure and development tool. The device hardware partner provide the ever changing device and hardware necessary. The consulting partner provides the specialized and consulting service in specific field and specific knowledge. They are including HP, IBM, Microsoft and so on. Price The objective of pricing strategy is based on firm earning and needs of market. Meanwhile, it is also foundation of the pricing strategy. The Maxiss pricing objectives including profitability objective, its purpose is to maximize the profit and target return. The volume objective, its purpose is to maximize quantity and become market share leader. Thus, the psychological pricing strategy is most being used by Maxis. Psychological pricing is designed to appeal to customers who use emotional rather than rational responses to pricing messages. For Example, Maxis sell the mobile phone at RM999, RM1199. It will make customer to believe the price is cheaper and attract them to buy it. Besides that, it allows Maxis to influence customers view a product without the need to actually the product. Maxis is considered as a dominant company, thus, they also use high pricing strategy to sell their product in order to make more profit to the Maxis. Market opportunity of maxis Market opportunity means that newly identified need, want, or demand trend that a firm can exploit because it is not being addressed by the competitors.There are two market opportunity for Maxis in order to increase their company revenue and profit. Now days, Maxis had launch many device promotion and plan to attract and also increase their customers. Such as Maxis company is launching some Apples company product and also some latest android smart phone. Although the product are not manufacturing by them, but they use this opportunity to attract customer because in days right now, smart phone is playing an important role among the people, it helps people a lot in their daily life such as reading mail in everywhere at any time, and also can access to internet for information easily. But the problem is the price for a smart phone is expensive and are not affordable by many people, so Maxis company had launch the package for purchasing the smart phone in a low price and also at the same time their customer can enjoy the internet which are include in the package. So this attract many people who decide to take the package that Maxis offer because it is useless with a smart phone without internet, if a people buy a smart phone, he wil l also need to sign up a internet package but in this case, Maxis had launch a two in one package to convenience their customer. Besides that, Maxis Company is also up to trend. Because they are not just launching Apples product but they are also launching others smart phone such as Blackberry and also Samsungs smart phone. Others than smart phone, Maxis is launching tablet device in different package such as Samsung tab and also Ipad. This will attract many people especially the generation youth and the generation x to purchase and sign up their package. The second market opportunity that Maxis created is the 3G wireless broadband plans. This wireless broadband is actually for laptop or computer to access to internet at home or everywhere because the broadband need not to charge battery before use and also it also can function without putting a switch to the wall to have electric. It just only needs to plug in to the laptop USB drive to work. This wills convenience people who are travelling to other state in Malaysia and also are very suitable for business and personal use. The package is cheap comparing to others company and the coverage of Maxis is Malaysia is very strong. Maxis is also launching the fourth generation mobile phone communication standard which we called it 4G in the year 2013. With the latest technology of 4G, it will be faster to download and also access to internet comparing to 3G. So Maxis also grasp this opportunity in market and they are also starting their Research and development in order to launching the latest 4G in the market to increase their customer, their sales volume, their revenue and also the most important is to compete with their competitors such as Tm Unifi, Digi broadband, P1 Wimax, Celcom Broadband and others company that exist in the Market. Recommendation for maxis First of all, it is recommended that Maxis take immediate measures to launch smartphone plan in its call plan or internet plan. In fact, according to a March 2010 Nielson survey, more than 50 percent of Americans own smartphones. The smartphone offered in market are mainly from two major players which is Googles Android and Apples iPhone.Salodow, K. (2012). Approximately half of all respondents had a smartphone at the time of the ABI survey. Projections for market penetration indicate that by 2015, three-quarters of business  users will be toting smartphones.Barnes, N., Barnes, F. (2012).Besides, Blackberry smartphone also can take into account. The growth of mobile smartphone is pretty amazing. By offering these smartphone in low priced together with Maxis plan package, this would attract a lot more new customer to subscribe to Maxis plan. After they started to use Maxis service, they might find the service is affordable and continue to use Maxis service in a long term. Due to th e interpersonal determinants of consumer behavior, when everyone has a smartphone, this would influence one another to own a smartphone too. If Maxis offer an affordable price for these smartphone together with a package plan, there would be a lot of customer will consider subscribing the package. Well, smartphone will always introducing the new series of its model. The result of that are smartphone model and package plan must be always up to date in order to catch customer attention. The growth of users of Maxis would be huge and this might leads to a profitable outcome. Other than launching smartphone plans, it is also recommended that Maxis should focus on its 3G wireless broadband plans. Internet has fundamentally altered the way the world interacts and communicates. Internet use has grown up not only in total numbers, but also in terms of per capita usage. Maxis also signs up Siemens for 3G expansion.Maxis had invested US$108m on a controlled roll-out of its 3G network following service launch in July.Dennis, W. (2005).This shows that the network coverage of Maxis is improving rapidly. The purpose of doing this is to extend its maxis 3G coverage to more areas in the country. Maxis CEO, Jamaludin Ibrahim says the company will first focus on the states of Johor, Penang and the Klang valley before going nationwide over a period of two to five years, depending on the success rate in the initial key areas. Dennis, W. (2005). With the proper improvement done by Maxis, the 3G service that offered by Maxis would meet customer expectation in the future. Rapid advances in mobile Internet technologies now allow consumers to interact, create, and share content based on physical location. Such ubiquitous access tothe mobile Internet also provides companies with new marketing opportunities. Ghose, A., Sang Pil H. (2011).Therefore, Maxis should offer more different kind of quota package in order to satisfy their customer needs. With a higher internet quota package, it might cost a little bit more. It leads to a better profit. Furthermore, Maxis is looking to launch its 4G service early next year in 2013. This is a good market opportunity for Maxis to attract more customers with this brand new service. Therefore, Maxis should spend a little more on their advertisement in order to promote this upcoming service. The purpose of these advertisement made is not just for promoting the service, but also to explain how 4G works and the benefits of using it. In  telecommunications,  4G  is the fourth generation of  mobile phone  mobile communications  standards. With hold, Maxis has entered into an infrastructure and spectrum sharing agreement which will enable customers to speed up the development of their 4G LTE mobile networks. Once it built, its 4G LTE will be able to deliver the fastest mobile data connectivity not just in Malaysia, but the region with transmission rates up to 150mbps. LTE networks can handle twice the traffic of most 3G  networks, the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and video-streaming and cloud-computing services will drive up demand for mobile data eighteenfold through 2016, according to Cisco.Burrows, P. (2012).It is an advance service which could meet heavy internet users expectation. It is a successor of the  third generation  (3G) standards. Therefore, the charges will be cost slightly higher than 3G service. Above all mentioned are the recommendation that suits Maxis to increase their profit and also attract more customers. The basic objective of business is to develop, produce and supply goods and services to customers. This has to be done in such a way as to allow companies to make a profit. In conclusion, Maxis must always come out with new ideas and practice it different ways in order to sustained in the market.Only profitable companies are sustainable in the long term and capable of creating goods, services, processes, return on capital, work opportunities and a tax base. Conclusion At last, we know that the Maxis SDN BHD is a very good company by its use the strategic to all the customer. And control their worker to give the customer the best, let the customer satisfied to its company. And the manager monitor their worker to accomplish the mission. Maxis always do the promotion to let the goodwill of maxis is increasing. The product of maxis is always up to date let the customer can change the plan and to change the mobile phone such as iphone 5 and the data plan of maxis. Maxis also manage the distribution channel to meet the customer demand. The Maxiss pricing objectives including profitability objective, its purpose is to maximize the profit and target return. The volume objective, its purpose is to maximize quantity and become market share leader. Thus, the psychological pricing strategy is most being used by Maxis. And we recommendation to maxis, that are our people need and want by now. So if the maxis can do that, we think maxis is the leader of the mobi le communications service provider. References Bibliography MAXIS IS OFFICIAL TELCO SPONSOR FOR BADMINTON ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA. (2012, November 5). Retrieved november 13, 2012, from Maxis: http://www.maxis.com.my/mmc/index.asp?fuseaction=press.viewrecID=621 Product Life Cycle model. (2009, january 25). Retrieved november 13, 2012, from tomspencer: http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2009/01/25/product-life-cycle-model/ Vison Value. (2012). Retrieved november 13, 2012, from Maxis: http://www.maxis.com.my/personal/about_us/profile/vision.asp?iStruct=0:0:0 Arumugam, T. (2012, March 04). Marketing plan for maxis. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/TanuArumugam/marketing-plan-for-maxis MANUFACTURING STRATEGY. (2012, February 29). Retrieved November 11, 2012 , from manustrategy: http://manustrategy.blogspot.com/2012/02/maxis-strategy-and-swot-analysis.html Pricing Setting Prices Pricing Objectives. (2012, October 24). Retrieved November 13, 2012, from tutor2u: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/gcse/marketing_pricing_objectives.html Maxis Communications. (2012, November 15). Retrieved November 16, 2012 , from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxis_Communications Dennis, W. (2005). HYNIX BACK ON TRACK. lEE Review , 1. The iPhone/Android Hits the DR Market. (2012). responsemagazine , 1-6. Smartphone Technologies. (2012). INFORMATIONMANAGEMENT , 1-7. An Empirical Analysis of User Content Generation. (2011). MANAGEMENT SCIENCE , 1-22.

all about me :: essays research papers

All about me My interactions with others are affected by my physical self in many ways. For as long as I can remember I have had a very difficult childhood. In my life I have had only my mother. A week before I was born my father left my mother for some other woman. At the age of eleven I started to slit my wrists. Later on in life I learned, that the reason that I was did this was try to get the attention of everyone around me. This only ended up with me getting admitted into the mental word. After my mother paid an abundant amount of money for me to see many counselors she gave up. My life went on. I started to pierce myself because I was not getting the attention from my wrist slitting anymore. When I turned thirteen I got grounded for six months. My mother found out that I had pierced my tongue. Year after year every time that my mother and I got into a fight, I would lock myself into my room and pierce myself. Now that you know somewhat of my back ground you can now see that my physical self interrupts with my interactions with others. Middle school and high school was very difficult for me. I was always categorized as a freak, Goth, or Satan worshiper. I did not wish to be categorized in any of those groups. Over the years I have been turned away by many people. They think that I am a freak and that I will cast a spell on them or something. At lunch time, I would be the kid who sat all the way at the last table. I would sit all the way in one of the corners on the edge of the table. I remember this one time at lunch in 9th grade this girl threw something at me because she did not like my shirt. I cried the whole bus ride home. I did not understand why someone would do that to some one. I did not talk to no one. I also have even been turned away from all sorts of jobs. For example, last month I went to Salisbury Chevrolet and talked to the owner of the shop. He told me that I would be an ideal employee, but I have to get rid of all of my piercings.

The Deaths of Antigone and Creon :: Free Essay Writer

The Deaths of Antigone and Creon Antigone and Creon are the main characters of the play Antigone written by Sophocles. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, who was a major figure of ancient Greek myth. Oedipus accidentally killed his father and married his mother. Because of that act, Oedipus ended up cursing his family and died a horrible death. After his death, his sons inherited his kingdom and in a power struggle ended up killing each other. One of the sons, Polynices attacked the city to try and claim power from his brother. But since both of the brothers died and the city was not taken Polynices was labeled as a traitor whereas the other brother who died defending the city was celebrated as a hero. Creon decreed at the beginning of the play Antigone that no one was to bury the body of traitorous Polynices. Antigone felt that it was here responsibility to bury the body because he was still a member of her family. This led to a huge argument with Creon who felt he shouldn’t be crossed because he was the leader of the state. Eventually both Creon and Antigone are destroyed by the gods (and by each other) through their own actions. Antigone is a powerful character, strong-willed, determined and at times self-righteous. She is contrasted by her sister Ismene, who is weak and powerless. Though Antigone is a powerful character, she has no real political power and is dominated by one man, Creon. Creon is both the ruler of the state as well as the patriarch of her family. Antigone was raised by Creon’s house after her own father went in to exile. Antigone is betrothed to Creon’s son, Haemon, further cementing Creon’s power over her. There is one aspect of life that Antigone does have legitimate power in and that is her family, especially her blood line. In ancient-Greek culture the women’s place was in the home, she was responsible for household things and often wasn’t even allowed to leave the house. It is because of this responsibility that Antigone needed to bury her brother Polynices even though it went against the decree of Creon. Antigone also had the gods on her side. It was an unwritten rule of ancient Greek society that the dead must be buried, otherwise bad things may happen. This rule, because it was unwritten and therefore innate, was protected by the gods, specifically Hades, the god of the underworld and family. The Deaths of Antigone and Creon :: Free Essay Writer The Deaths of Antigone and Creon Antigone and Creon are the main characters of the play Antigone written by Sophocles. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, who was a major figure of ancient Greek myth. Oedipus accidentally killed his father and married his mother. Because of that act, Oedipus ended up cursing his family and died a horrible death. After his death, his sons inherited his kingdom and in a power struggle ended up killing each other. One of the sons, Polynices attacked the city to try and claim power from his brother. But since both of the brothers died and the city was not taken Polynices was labeled as a traitor whereas the other brother who died defending the city was celebrated as a hero. Creon decreed at the beginning of the play Antigone that no one was to bury the body of traitorous Polynices. Antigone felt that it was here responsibility to bury the body because he was still a member of her family. This led to a huge argument with Creon who felt he shouldn’t be crossed because he was the leader of the state. Eventually both Creon and Antigone are destroyed by the gods (and by each other) through their own actions. Antigone is a powerful character, strong-willed, determined and at times self-righteous. She is contrasted by her sister Ismene, who is weak and powerless. Though Antigone is a powerful character, she has no real political power and is dominated by one man, Creon. Creon is both the ruler of the state as well as the patriarch of her family. Antigone was raised by Creon’s house after her own father went in to exile. Antigone is betrothed to Creon’s son, Haemon, further cementing Creon’s power over her. There is one aspect of life that Antigone does have legitimate power in and that is her family, especially her blood line. In ancient-Greek culture the women’s place was in the home, she was responsible for household things and often wasn’t even allowed to leave the house. It is because of this responsibility that Antigone needed to bury her brother Polynices even though it went against the decree of Creon. Antigone also had the gods on her side. It was an unwritten rule of ancient Greek society that the dead must be buried, otherwise bad things may happen. This rule, because it was unwritten and therefore innate, was protected by the gods, specifically Hades, the god of the underworld and family.

Their Eyes Were Watching God :: essays research papers

Janie is the novel's hero. The story is told in first person as she narrates the story of her life to her friend Pheoby Watson. This is a story of one woman's search for love in the world. From the beginning of Janie’s story under the pear tree, she tries desperately to â€Å"find who she is† and this consist of obtaining three different husbands. Janie has gone through a lot in her life time the fact that she is a product of white rape - causes her to be lighter-skinned than other black women. Because Janie is an â€Å"unusual† woman concerning her physical characteristics this is a major factor during her marriage to Joe Starks and interactions with Mrs. Turner. Joe (Jody) Starks is Janie's second husband. She meets one day while still married to Logan. Joe proposes to Janie several weeks later, she accepts and feels that she can finally get away from Logan and start a new life. Joe's desire is to be a "big voice," in the community. This soon creates conflict for his new wife. Janie understands she is an â€Å"ornament† for Joe because of her physical characteristics. Joe wants Janie to be seen and not heard. He wants her to be his â€Å"light-skinned trophy† for the people of Eatonville to envy. Joe realizes that his wife Janie is very beautiful and he becomes jealous of other men lusting after her. Because of this, Joe restricts Janie by forcing her to always tend the store and wear a head rag to hide her beautiful hair. Joe wants complete control of Janie and sometimes he beats her when she does not obey him. I feel that Joe's search for power and to have the dominant role over women is very emphasized and presence. To â€Å"top it off†, Joe makes Eatonville's black community â€Å"bow† to him as non-equals. Sometimes the things that Joe does are traditional white behavior. When Joe dies his meanness left him friendless, with only Janie by his side. After Joe Starks dies, Janie realizes that her grandmother had "taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon†¦and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her. She hated the old woman who had twisted her so in the name of love" (85). The novel's title is taken from Chapter 18, as the hurricane strikes the Everglades. Their Eyes Were Watching God :: essays research papers Janie is the novel's hero. The story is told in first person as she narrates the story of her life to her friend Pheoby Watson. This is a story of one woman's search for love in the world. From the beginning of Janie’s story under the pear tree, she tries desperately to â€Å"find who she is† and this consist of obtaining three different husbands. Janie has gone through a lot in her life time the fact that she is a product of white rape - causes her to be lighter-skinned than other black women. Because Janie is an â€Å"unusual† woman concerning her physical characteristics this is a major factor during her marriage to Joe Starks and interactions with Mrs. Turner. Joe (Jody) Starks is Janie's second husband. She meets one day while still married to Logan. Joe proposes to Janie several weeks later, she accepts and feels that she can finally get away from Logan and start a new life. Joe's desire is to be a "big voice," in the community. This soon creates conflict for his new wife. Janie understands she is an â€Å"ornament† for Joe because of her physical characteristics. Joe wants Janie to be seen and not heard. He wants her to be his â€Å"light-skinned trophy† for the people of Eatonville to envy. Joe realizes that his wife Janie is very beautiful and he becomes jealous of other men lusting after her. Because of this, Joe restricts Janie by forcing her to always tend the store and wear a head rag to hide her beautiful hair. Joe wants complete control of Janie and sometimes he beats her when she does not obey him. I feel that Joe's search for power and to have the dominant role over women is very emphasized and presence. To â€Å"top it off†, Joe makes Eatonville's black community â€Å"bow† to him as non-equals. Sometimes the things that Joe does are traditional white behavior. When Joe dies his meanness left him friendless, with only Janie by his side. After Joe Starks dies, Janie realizes that her grandmother had "taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon†¦and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her. She hated the old woman who had twisted her so in the name of love" (85). The novel's title is taken from Chapter 18, as the hurricane strikes the Everglades.

Relevance of Fit Between HR Strategy and Business Strategy

Nadler and Tushman (1980) defined congruence or fit as â€Å"the degree to which the needs demands, goals, objectives and/or structure of one component are consistent with the needs, demands, goals, objectives, and/or structure of another component† (as cited in Boon, 2008). Fit between HR Strategy and business strategy According to U.S. Office of Personnel Management (1999), fit between HR strategy and business strategy means to integrate decisions about people with decisions about the results an organization is trying to obtain. To be able to achieve fit between HR strategy and business strategy, the HR Managers have to identify the real goals of the business, the business way, how to reach the goals and the real needs of the business from Human Resources (Luke, 2010). Some management tend to put the needs of their employees first, but this is not what the business usually asks for. Fit operates vertically and horizontally (Scribner et al, 2008). Vertical fit refers to the alignment of HR practices with the specific organizational context, and horizontal fit refers to the alignment of HR practices into a coherent system of practices that support one another (Delery, 1998). Relevance of fit between business strategy and SHRM The central debate about fit between HR strategy and business strategy is one of the most important to emerge in recent years (Helen Newell and Harry Scarbrough, 2002). It hinges on two broad approaches: the ‘universalistic’ and ‘contingency’ (Natalie Turner, n.d). The universalistic perspective â€Å"best practice† argues that some HR practices are universally effective; regardless in which context they are implemented (Boom, 2008). These practices include items such as (Newell & Scarbrough, 2002), employment security, selective hiring, self-managed teams or team working, high pay contingent on company’s performance, extensive training, reduction of status differences, and sharing information (Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999). Pfeffer & Veiga believe that if these policies are followed, they would always result in organisational success. The universalistic theory is also based on the assumption that HR practices observed in high-performing firms can be transformed to other companies with the same results (Armstrong, 2009). In contrast with universalistic thinking, contingency scholars argued that HR strategy would be more effective only when appropriately integrated with a specific organizational and environmental context (Chang & Huang 2005). This approach infers that the choice of HR strategy depends on the firm’s business strategy (Newell & Scarbrough, 2002). The approach is more akin to the idea of strategic fit because it claims that the optimal HR strategy choice depends on the unique characteristics of the individual organisation (Natalie Turner n.d), or the organisation’s strategy (Newell & Scarbrough, 2002). For instance, a cost-reduction business strategy would require a different set of HRM policies than a strategy based on innovation. â€Å"An HRM strategy to fit with cost reduction might require deskilling, management control and downward pressure on wages. In contrast, one aimed at innovation would be likely to foster employee skills, autonomy and competitive wages† ( Newell & Scarbrough, 2002:28). Other models have also emphasised the relevant of fit between HR strategy and business strategy. These include the Matching model, Life Cycle model, Harvard Model, and the behavioural perspective. The matching model argues that human resource strategies have a tight fit to the overall strategies of the business (Association of Business Executives, ABE; 2010). The basic premise of the life cycle model is that, as organisation grows and develops, human resource practices and procedures must change to meet it needs (Armstrong, 2009). Authors of Harvard model argue that any inconsistency between internal human resource management practices and competitive strategy is likely to lead to role conflict and ambiguity that can interfere with individual performance and organisational effectiveness (ABE, 2010). The behavioural perspective infers that firm’s business strategy must be matched with the specific HR policies and practices, which will elicit particular sets of employee attitude s and behaviours to foster success (Wang & Shyu, 2007). Baron and Kreps (1999) also argue that besides the fit between the individual practices, the HR system should fit with the broader context of what the firm is trying to do, such as the external environment, the workforce, organization’s culture, organizational strategy, technology of production and organization of work. According to Boxall (1992), â€Å"HRM cannot be conceptualized as a stand-alone corporate issue. Strategically speaking it must flow from and be dependent upon the organization’s (market oriented) corporate strategy†. Importance of fit between an organisation’s business strategy and its HR strategy Evidence have shown that to achieve superior organisation performance, there must be a distinct link between human resource strategies and organisations business strategies (ABE, 2010) An excellent example of a company that has matched its business strategy to its human resource strategy is the Lincoln Electric Company in USA. A producer of electrodes and welding machinery, Lincoln is also a cost leader. Lincoln focuses on hiring individually motivated, high performers. These individuals have their compensation tightly linked to their output with laid-down minimum quality levels. A substantial portion of the company’s profits is also distributed to employees at the end of the year based on an individual merit rating that is computed from output, ideas and cooperation, dependability and quality. Lincoln’s innovative HR strategy enabled it to gain, by 1995, a market share of 36% in the otherwise fragmented US market for welding equipment and supplies. (Source: Krishnan, 2005). Also, organisations are now using HR strategy to further strategic aims. For example, At Conventry Building Society, the strategic aim was to keep the business as it was – one of the few remaining mutual – but to reduce staff turnover. The society aligned its employee relations with its customer value, enshrined in the slogan â€Å"TLC not plc.† It switched from a traditional reward structure to a team-based pay and a benefits package called â€Å"TLC for staff† (Source: ABE, 2010). Factors that determine fit between HR strategy and business strategy Fit between HR strategy and business strategy is influenced by both external and internal factors. Some of these factors are discussed briefly below. Technological changes: Technological advances alter jobs, create new skills, make occupations obsolete, and revise what employees need to lean and be trained to do (Ozutku & Ozturkler 2009). Legislation/regulations: For example, the National minimum wage introduced by labour party in England had a significant effect on costs which has led to changes in employment practices in some industries and changes to personnel policies (ABE, 2010). Employee knowledge and skills: Employees knowledge and skills directly affect the quality and performance of the HR system (Wright & Snell 1998). Arguably, more knowledgeable and skilful employees will have competencies to understand and enact a variety of HR practices, such as those designed for a firm’s specific strategy (Wei, 2006). Culture: Several evidences have shown that culture plays a critical role in determining the right HR strategy to adopt. For example, when Lincoln Electric Company applied its HR strategy in ventures acquired outside the United States, it failed because of difference in culture both at societal and organisational levels (Krishnan, 2005). Life cycle stages: Organizations go through evolutionary life cycles, and the stage in which an organization finds itself in an industry affects the HR strategies it should adopt (Armstrong, 2009). Industry/sector characteristics: In analysing HR practices, classification of organisations as manufacturing and service firms is considered. This is because; different production processes necessitate different HR practices (Ozutku & Ozturkler 2009).

Palm oil stalemate: who is responsible Essay

Summary Palm oil is a plant with various uses in human life (such as: tooth paste, Moisturizer and biodiesel). ïÆ' ¼Malaysia is one of the largest producers and exporters of palm oil. Gajah Berang Oil Palm Estate is one of the largest multinational palm oil conglomerates whose managers offer a balance between efficiency and employee satisfaction. The company has multicultural employee since its workers from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh. Melaka Palm Oil project presented one of the biggest ventures for the firm.   To enhance the balance between efficiency of the firms operations and employee satisfaction the company employed Abdul Aziz as the estate manager. Abdul Aziz shared common mother tongue with people of Malaysia thus making him to have a similar culture with the people of Malaysia. Hearing Abdul Aziz (Indonesian) was an advantage to the company since: His ability to control the operations of the company within the region since he possessed the shared culture with the people of Malaysia. He enhanced social responsibility by involving the people of the region to company affairs through hiring them Abdul Aziz used various leadership and communication skills to encourage employees to work effectively in the company. During the course of Abdul Aziz leadership, the workers went on strike asking for clean water and tank covers. He wanted to settle the issue but the Lee Peng who was his superior argued that this could compromise Abdul Aziz as a profession and as a result he looked for his replacement. 1. Describe Malaysian cultural attributes and how they might affect the operations of a multinational palm oil conglomerate doing business within Malaysia. Malaysia has diverse culture following different ethnic groups. Some of the cultural attributes of the people include beliefs, language, politics, and religion. This attributes would affect the operation of the Multinational palm oil positively or negatively depending on how it would satisfy this attributes. For Example, if the company focuses on satisfying all the cultural attributes of the people of Malaysia, then it will be in a good position to enjoy efficiency and wide market for its product. On the other hand, if the company does not satisfy the cultural attributes of the  people, then it would expect low efficiency in its operations. 2. What are some effective leadership and communication skills that lead to the development of a positive worker-manager relationship in international business? Aziz used various leadership and communication skills to enhance efficiency in the company: A)He allowed the employees to take part in decision making process. This acted as a motivation to the employees thus helped to increase their productivity. B)He also showed empathy to employees and shared much with them. He extended his gratitude to employees by listening to their issues. C)He used his troubleshooting skills to solve problems within the company. D)He was able to foster proper communication with employees something that ensured clear communication of information within the company. E)He used his mother tongue language to persuade employees to love the company more and more. 3. Would you describe the respective attitudes of Aziz, Krishnan, and Lee Peng as ethnocentric, polycentric, or geocentric? What factors do you suspect of having influenced their respective attitudes? Aziz, Krishnan and Lee Peng can be said to have polycentric attitude. This is because their decision to put Aziz on the Manager position was a focus to enhance openness towards the culture, opinions and ways of life to the people of Malaysia. Aziz was the main player in ensuring that the employees of the Multinational palm oil felt appreciated and recognized through their culture. Generally, this people ensured that the independence of the culture of the people of Malaysia was respected and appreciated. However, the attitude of Lee Peng can be said to be ethnocentric. This is because he wanted the issue to be solved professionally without focusing on the culture of the people. 4. Was Lee Peng correct in assessing Aziz ‘s controversial actions in the work stalemate? Should a palm oil conglomerate employ someone whose main function is that of liaison between its corporate culture and the culture of its host country? If so, was Aziz the right person for the job in the detailed scenario? Lee peng was not correct in assessing Aziz’s controversial actions. This is because Aziz’s aim was to balance the company’s operation efficiency with employee satisfaction. However, Lee  thought that Aziz would be compromised professionally by the employees for being so close to them. To some extend this could take place but in this situation such relation was very helpful for the company. Palm Oil conglomerate should not employ a person based on the function of liaison between corporate culture and the culture of the host county. However, It should focus on employing someone who is multicultural. This is because culture plays an important role to people of different countries. In this case, such employment was very vital since Aziz was multicultural and could listen to the needs and demands of the people of Malaysia as compared to his collogues (counterparts). In my opinion, Aziz was the right person for the job because he was multicultural and was professionally competent (MBA and he also worked in a small palm project in Indonesia). These two factors are very vital for a company to run smoothly. With these qualities he was able to control and satisfy the employees of the company. Professionally, he could lead employees to enhance efficiency in their work. On the other hand, he could motivate the employees by listening to their problems and allowing them to contribut e towards the company operations.

Music Industry

The Ever-Changing (I think it's hyphenated)Music Industry The 1980s began with the death of two musical icons: John Lennon and Bob Marley. This set the scene for a momentous decade. A lot of artists in the '80s were inspired politically and that shined through their songs. For example, â€Å"19† by Paul Hardcastle and â€Å"99 Luftballoons† by Nena. The '80s was also the introduction to the CD and revolutionizing the way consumers listen to music, making it more portable. Now MTV has launched the first music video, â€Å"Video Killed the Radio Star† by The Buggles. With visual to accompany artists songs, they have another avenue to captivate consumers with. This led to extravagant production classics like â€Å"Thriller†. A revolution was happening and technological advances have only just begun to shape the way consumers listen to and share music.With revolutionary music comes controversy, and with music artists now having another media to articulate their message, Madonna releases â€Å"Like a Virgin† in 1984. This sent a wave through the decade and the boundaries of what was socially acceptable were pushed to the limits. Some songs were even â€Å"banned† for sexual content despite their immense popularity. The '80s was also a break through in Hip-Hop with groups like Beastie Boys and Sugarhill Gang. This wider representation and growth in diversity in the commercial aspect of music also led to growth in consumers.The birth of Hip-Hop in the '80s became a staple of music in the '90s. Hip-Hop stepped away from the soul and funk themes from the '80s to be dominated by the East Coast-West Coast Gangster Rap feud. The extreme success of N.W.A. followed by releases from Dr. Dre and Tupac established the dominance power and influence of West Coast rap. East Coast Hip-Hop was led by De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest but was incompetent in their attempt to could never quite match the commercial success of the West Coast. That is until the release of albums from Nas, B.I.G., and Wu-Tang Clan. This feud had everyone loyal listeners buying albums to hear the next low-blow and cultivated an intensely loyal consumer following. Sadly, speculation and business led to the death of Tupac and Biggie and with their death the end of a golden era in Hip-Hop. Again, music was changing and no one could predict the drastic change that was digital. Now at the start of the '00s, iTunes is born and now anyone with a smart device or computer for pennies per song, instead of buying the whole album. It is now evident that songwriters and artists have to focus wholeheartedly on making each and every song as great as the single. CDs were intensely profitable for artists and (especially) record labels, until the Internet, MP3s, piracy, Napster, iTunes, YouTube and Spotify kicked in over the past 10 years. Over the past couple of recent years, YouTube has grown into a lucrative machine for record labels. Popular videos with millions of hits can be adorned with ads, and YouTube shares that revenue with the copyright holders. Some artists like OK Go have even decided to split from their label and end up making more money from YouTube than they do iTunes. We saw the industry adapt to the digital age of music. Spotify is not just streaming anymore, it is now an authoritative  discovery platform, a network of popular  radio stations, and also the primary way people are listening to music. With the multitude of ways that people can listen to music for free today, now artists are concerning themselves with how to get on every platform and how many streams they can get. You can even put your song on a Snapchat filter now! (New paragraph) As a consumer, it's great to be able to discover new artists and groups that I would have never found through CDs or word of mouth. However, as an artist I can understand the frustration in a market that is changing so fast and so quickly.

Dunlap V. Tennessee Valley Authority Essay

What were the legal issues in this case? In the case of Dunlap VS Tennessee Valley Authority, the legal issue that was presented was discrimination, disparate treatment and disparate impact. According to the EEOC, race discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features). Color discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of skin color complexion. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers from discrimination, and when it comes to the case, discrimination was seen in many ways. For starters, when it came to the interviewing process, there were 5 white officials and 1 black which showed that the room was not balance. Next, when it came to the scoring, he received lower scores than the whites. The next issue that showed discrimination was when it came to the attendance record of the workers. Two of the workers who were Caucasian, had the same attendance as Dunlap, and they received a better ranking. Also, Dunlap had a perfect safety record and received a score of a 4; while a white applicant who was at the job for eleven, had 2 accidents within those years and received a score of 6. Dunlap was not the only African American to have problems with TVA when it came to discrimination as well. The suit that was brought against TVA was for discrimination under disparate impact and treatment. Disparate impact theory requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that the facility falls harshly on one group than another; disparate treatment requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that an employer has treated some people badly because of the race, age, gender or any other discrimination factor (Walsh, 2010). The district court found many filings along with the fact that Dunlap had been subjected to discrimination under both disparate treatment, concluding that TVA’s subjective hiring processes permitted racial bias against both Dunlap and other black applicants (Walsh, 2010). According to the text subjective criteria is assessing candidates that are not uniform and clearly specified, and when it came to Dunlap and the facts that were presented subjective hiring was conducted. The Appeals Court affirmed the disparate treatment claim, reversed the disparate impact claim, and affirmed the district court’s award of damages and fees to Mr. Dunlap (Walsh, 2010) Explain why the plaintiff’s disparate (adverse) impact claim fail? The reason that disparate impact failed is because when it comes discriminatory actions in this theory, proof is not required. The disparate impact theory requires a plaintiff to demonstrate that an apparently neutral employment practice affects one group more harshly than another and that the practice is not justified by business necessity. A prima face case is established when the plaintiff identifies a specific employment practice to be challenged; and through relevant statistical analysis proves that the challenged practice has an adverse impact on a protected group. When it comes to the case, discrimination was seen, but never affects more than one class. Glass ceiling in the book is referred to artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing in there organization to upper management. The reason that glass ceiling is seen is because when it comes to the interviewing process, there was only 1 black interviewer. Then when it came to the recruits, even if there work effort was poor and they were white, there scores was higher than the African Americans. But because discrimination is a fact that is null and void in this theory and because discrimination doesn’t matter, that’s why it failed. The only criteria Mr. Dunlap could prove was that the interview process had been manipulated to exclude African-American candidates, and how the scoring was different for blacks and whites. So in the essence in this theory, it was a challenge to prove it because Dunlap only had his interview Explain why the plaintiff’s disparate treatment claim succeed? The reason disparate treatment was successful was because it requires a plaintiff to demonstrate that an employer has treated some people less favorably than others because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The first fact was the manipulating of the score. In this case, Dunlap was able to prove that the matrix process was pretext for discrimination. After the district court did some investigation, they found that some of sheets had been changed more than 70 times, and there was no reason what so ever for the change. Dunlap said the matrix score was manipulated to keep him out of the top ten applicants. Another reason it was a success was because William Parchman, an African-American with thirty years of experience as a boilermaker that was also rejected. He played a vital role in the suit because of the problems he encountered to become employed with TVA. He provided testimony hat he had a history of being rejected for jobs and promotions at the company. He also stated that the only reason got the boilermaker position was after he filed a complaint with the EEOC. Other facts that showed discrimination was evidence before the district court when it came to the weight given to the interview and how it was changed, questions in the interv iew was not evaluated objectively, and the scores were altered to produce a racially biased result. Bottom line is that when it comes to discrimination, it was proven in several ways, and the district court committed no error in finding disparate treatment. The court saw how discrimination was seen from different people, and Dunlap was not the only worker that felt that way. What should the TVA have done differently with regard to interviewing and selecting candidates for these jobs? When it comes to interviewing candidates, what’s should of been done differently is looking at the applicants work history thoroughly. The first thing that should have been looked at first is education. When workers have education, they are better qualified because they will know how to think outside if the box. If an applicant didn’t have the education, then TVP sould look at experience as well as work performance. When looking at experience, factors that should  be viewed are supervisory experience along with performance and safety in the workplace. In the interviewing process, things that could have been different is interviewing with one interviewer at a time. Also the questions could have been different for each interviewer so that everyone was not following the same pattern. All of the scores would be the same, but the questions would be different and give the best candidates for the job. Another thing that could have been different is having a manager present in the room to grab and check the papers when the interview is finish. By a manager being there to verifying the score, there is not chance that manipulating could happen with the scoring. If this type of approach would have been used, the selecting process would have been different because no interviewer or candidate would have the same response. But the scores would show the real qualified applicants, and they would deserve the promotion. Nothing would be bias and scores could not be altered.

DOCUMENTARY CINEMA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DOCUMENTARY CINEMA - Essay Example This essay will delve into various aspects of the film Dark Days by way of relating them to the broader social, cultural and political contexts. Firstly, homelessness in the United States can be traced back a long way. The direct and circumstancial evidence for this is available in literary and performing arts of the last one and half centuries. Prominent among the artists who dealt with this subject are Walt Whitman, Jack London, Charlie Chaplin, Woody Guthrie, John Dos Passos, Bill Mauldin, Jack Kerouac and John Steinbeck. In the early twentieth century slang, homeless people were casually referred to as hoboes, which is a term of denigration. These so-called hoboes had a reputation for being barbaric, wild, lazy and unscrupulous. The first detailed representation of these people living on the fringes of society started appearing after the end of the Civil War. We further learn that â€Å"following the Civil War, a legion of men traveled the country with no visible means of support. Some earned the sobriquet "hobo," which they embraced it as a nickname for a migrant laborer, that is, a "hoe boy." Whatever the origin, sociologists of the 1920s used the phrase "hobohemia" to describe a subaltern lifestyle embraced by white working-class males. When congregating in places such as Chicagos "main stem," they forged a swaggering counterculture that defied domesticity. They embraced the labor radicalism of the Wobblies, even while they were parodied by vaudeville and motion picture comics.† (Lookingbill, 2005, p.314) During these early days, homelessness in the United States was largely an issue of social class and was caused by the huge disparities in wealth distribution between the top ten percent of the population and the rest. But in the last century, the issue has grown to encompass factors of racial discrimination, drug abuse and homosexuality. Of the half a

Research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research proposal - Essay Example Results of the multiple regression shall identify the predictors of effectiveness for both groups, and facilitate the compliance to the EMS pediatric care system. Following the quantitative analysis, selected respondents from both groups shall be interviewed to validate the results. The goal of the present research is to determine the predictors of effectiveness for both patients and healthcare professionals as regards pediatric emergency care at Hospital X. The two groups, having differing perspectives and needs, may have distinct factors that influence their effectiveness valuations. Pediatric emergency care has received increasing attention in recent years; the need has been exacerbated by lack of available primary care; the growing number of children who are suffer ring from chronic illness and who are dependent on technology; and other constraints such as manpower, resources and physical facilities. This study may help Hospital X better respond to these pediatric emergency care demands; to optimize the positive change that may be yielded from the study, both patients’ and healthcare professionals will be tapped for effectiveness evaluations. Since the roles of both parties are critical to the provision of emergency pediatric care, it is worthwhile to examine the factors which they perceive influences their delivery of emergency pediatric care. The Institute of Medicine Emergency Medical Services for Children Summary (1993) approximates that annually, there are about 30 million children and adolescents who are in need of emergency care. The gravity of the issue is realized in the fact that injury alone results in mortality in children between the ages of 1-19 than all other causes. Moreover, there are 21,000 deaths accounted for by illness and other disorders (Institute of Medicine Emergency Medical Services for Children Summary, 1993). The alarming realities

Criminal law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Criminal law - Assignment Example However, I would state that this was not just manslaughter but ‘unlawful act manslaughter’ as it shall be discussed later. This case is an example of what is demonstrated in R vs. Creamer1. According to this provision, it is indicated that an individual is considered to have committed unlawful act of manslaughter when in the act of carrying out a criminal act, causes another unexpected harm. In R vs. Dawson, the defendant had attempted to rob a certain petrol station. He was carrying a gun ready to use it if need be. However, he did not know that there was an attendant at the station at that time. When attendant saw the defendant, she collapsed and died. However, the defendant did not do anything that would directly be linked to the death of the attendant. The Judge held that this was an ‘unlawful act manslaughter’ stating that the defendant did not actually kill the attendant. However, it was held that he was ready to use his weapon if there would be any re sistance from anyone. He was therefore sentenced to serve several years in jail. This situation is similar to the one stated in this criminal damage article. The defendant though committed unlawful act of destroying the properties did not was not aware of whether it would have resulted in another catastrophe. He had not intended to harm the toddler, but was just driven by emotions to destroy properties. From the article, I would say that stating that the defendant was charged of ‘manslaughter’ was too general. This is because there is what is referred to as voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. The article should have been able to be clear on the matter. If for instance, the defendant was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, he should have been jailed for life. This is because this would show that actually the man had planned to commit the criminal act. However, as indicated before, the defendant in this article had no aforethought of wanting to harm anyone in the process. It is for this purpose that this article would be said to be too general in assessing this matter. Articles 2 and 3 These two articles are related in the sense that they both refer to a similar criminal act. In both, the arsonists have set ablaze properties, which is an act of crime. However, in the ‘Britain's oldest radical bookshop is burned, but the ideas survive,’ article, it is clear that the suspects have not yet been identified2. It is therefore difficult to tell the kind of sentence that was held by the court. On the other hand though, the third article, ‘Man, 47, charged with arson attack on 1,000-year-old Winchester Cathedral after ancient deanery doors were set ablaze using charity books,’ the police managed to apprehend a man who pleaded guilty of the offence3. He was charged of being responsible for destruction of properties. However, the article is not clear on how many years the individual was to be sentenced. Despite that, the artic le was accurate in identifying the kind of crime that had been committed. In the articles, if the two individuals would be held responsible for committing a crime of Arson. However, according to the common law statutory, a crime is stated to be an arson if, ‘it was malicious and also involves burning of other people’s properties.’ for the man who was apprehended, it is clear that he maliciously committed the act4. Though the

McDonald's strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

McDonald's strategy - Assignment Example ged across the globe because of the economic recession of 2010, McDonald’s adopted a combination of the cost focus and differentiation strategies to boost sales. This campaign comprised of initiating cost cutting measures in business operations, maintaining the affordable of menu offerings and improving the menu to address changing customer preferences. According to Mourdoukoutas (2013), McDonald’s has previously demonstrated similar patterns of adopting a specific strategic direction in the past starting from the 1960s when the company identified the customer’s demand of having access to a menu which offered both affordability and convenience. Consequently, the organization realized the onset of globalization as a fundamental trend that emerged in the decade of 70s and 80s thereby, choosing to take the McDonald’s brand worldwide because of favorable conditions. The company’s strategic decision-making in the past therefore, reflects that the organization carefully tailors its strategy around its most valuable element – the customers. Henceforth, the organization’s strategies have surfaced as winners when other companies have failed to make a mark or have succumbed to unfavorable economic conditions. Moreover, the company also recognizes the implications of competition in a highly volatile i ndustry which is also an important consideration behind the success which it has been able to achieve and sustain. Mourdoukoutas, P. (2013). Starbuck’s and McDonald’s Winning Strategy. Forbes. Available online at [2nd July,

Contrasting Cities. Miami and Charleston Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contrasting Cities. Miami and Charleston - Essay Example This vast collection of states and the cities within them offer huge variety of language, culture, food habits, dressing style and ethnicity. Among all such variances, it was really confusing to select the appropriate city for the present report. After a lot of brainstorming, I decided to compare the cities of Miami within the state of Florida and Charleston belonging to South Carolina. The cities are totally opposite to each other. While Miami is highly contemporary in their style, Charleston exhibits a conventional manner of lifestyle. Both the cities have their own charm. Culture and Tradition Miami is one of Florida’s and the entire world’s most well-liked vacation destinations. It offers several temptation and interests to several group of people from all around the world. The city consists of stylish nightlife, extremely caffeinated liveliness of the Little Havana and the remarkable secrete of the Coral Gables. The city even offers facilities for the activities like fishing, golfing, football, hockey, baseball, basketball and playing tennis for the sports lovers. The presence of over 25 beaches makes the city a perfect spot for spending leisure time and getting relief from anxiety and stress of the daily work life. On the other hand Charleston is seemingly opposite to Miami. It is the oldest and the most ethnic city of USA. Charleston is also known to be one of the most gracious and has been voted as the warmest city of America through the various opinion polls conducted by several magazines. The city comprise of a hospitable and well mannered group of people who exhibit a blend of British, French and West African culture. The city offers an ambience encircling art festivals, history, music and culture. Neighborhood and Food Miami has got an assorted neighborhood. The city has got the giant pouncing banyan tree at the Coral Gables with wide-open paths that makes the place as one of the most attractive and traditional neighborhoods of the city. Shoppers look for superior boutiques and elegant stores for bridal wears and leather goods at the Coral Gables. The Coconut Grove on the other hand offers an altogether different feel with the presence of the galleries, sidewalk cafes and the boutiques. T he little bohemian village ambience is further supported by small cafes and college bars standing in a line by the street. The rural west neighborhood in Coconut Grove is the historic enclave of the present era depicting the early civilization of the African-American and Bahamian descendants. This place is home to several admired annual events. The Sunny Isles Beach forms a relatively jovial neighborhood of Miami. The atmosphere in this place is very casual displaying funky motels of the 1950s style and the hotels of the beachfront which facilitates an entirely luxurious lifestyle. This place has the provisions for swimming and sunbathing. The Cuban effect on the foods can be significantly felt for the lamb or chicken dishes. In Miami, meat is generally prepared with vegetables and tomato sauce and is served with rice. The most important dishes of the city includes    grilled fish, fried pork chops, onions and peppers served with sausage or ham with tomatoes. The regional influenc e can be seen in the colors and flavors of the desserts of Miami. Thus it can be concluded that Miami is a diverse city which has got everything for everyone (PriceTravel.com n.d.). Charleston being one of the oldest towns of the US offers charm and history along with its other features. The Mt. Pleasant is located across the Cooper River on the middle of Charleston. There is an old village that includes historic houses which seems to be the most attracti