Good V. Evil Essay Example for Free

Good V. Evil Essay The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represents a conflict between good and evil. One character (Jekyll) is determined to keep his impulses in check and ignore temptations, while the other character, Mr. Hyde, is brazen and submits to any temptation or impulse. The four main characters in the story are all men of similar social class who are capable of keeping their impulses in check and denying the temptations of evil. In the case of Dr. Jekyll however, Dr. Jekyll is not able to say no to the evils and uses an alternate identity to unleash the monster from within. The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be easily related to the reader, as everybody knows the temptations of evil and the pleasures that both good and evil can bring somebody. Dr. Jekyll experiences strong tendencies of both good and bad. Unlike most men of Dr. Jekylls age and geography, Jekyll cannot keep himself from indulging in the pleasures that the evil side can provide. Jekylls trip into extreme evil (Mr. Hyde) is partially due to the fact that he has lived such an acceptable and exemplinary life in the past and he holds himself to a higher standard than some of his collegues. Robert Louise Stevenson describes Dr, Jekyll as a man who his friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest. (Ch1. P2) Dr. Jekyll seems to only trust those whom he was most comfortable with and does not let people that he barely knows too close into his life. It is possible that Dr. Jekyll did not reach out and become friends with too many people because he was aware of the evilness that was lurking inside of him. The attitude of Dr. Jekyll is described in the opening paragraph as at friendly meetings and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eyeStevenson. Could it be possible that Dr. Jekyll was aware of the evil secret life that he hides from the real world? It appears that there was something a little strange about Dr. Jeykll that others couldnt exactly figure out yet. Mr. Enfield is asked by Mr. Utterson to describe Dr. Jekyll so Enfield describes Jekyll as somebody who I never saw a man I so disliked. he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldnt specify the pointStevenson,pg. 1680. The bad side of Dr. Jekyll is evident just by his demeanor although it is nothing compared to the evilness of Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde represents the dark side of Dr, Jekyll. Hyde only comes to life when Jekyll takes the drug that brings him out. The drug that unleashes Hyde at first makes Jekyll feel terribly sick but shortly after, Jekyll feels incredible and almost as though he is not human. Jekylls evil fantasies and impulses become a reality after he takes the drug. The drug makes Jekyll feel like he is a whole different person and that allows him to do whatever evil things he wants to do. The good in Jekyll is only returned if he takes an antidote. Just like many other people there is a constant struggle between good and evil of our everyday lives. People who struggle with drugs or alcohol or any other worldly temptations live a similar life to the one that Dr. Jekyll lives. Life is not easy for anybody and sometimes people need to escape their reality for a little while by taking a drug just like Jekyll does. Stevenson does well in creating a parallel between good and evil that people can relate to in their everyday lives. Stevensons story is very similar to a modern film called Limitless staring Bradley Cooper. In Limitless, Cooper, a young man struggling to pay his bills, tries a new drug that gives him extreme brain power which he uses to achieve great wealth and success. The success is only attainable with the use of the drug and without the drug, Cooper becomes sick and very weak, similar to what happens with Dr. Jekyll when he is without the drug. Just like Jekyll, Coopers health starts to dwindle as the supply of drugs becomes smaller and smaller. Stevenson is perhaps trying to teach the reader a valuable lesson in saying no to the temptations of evil. These temptations can often be difficult to ignore. Stevnson seems to suggest the Dr. Jekyll is the victim of a split personality disorder which was a new concept during the Victorian age. The only difference between Dr. Jekylls condition and a split personality disorder is that in the case of somebody suffering from split personalities, the person is aware of the other personality and can bring this person out willfully. Mr. Hyde however, cannot control Jekylls personalty and is not even aware of him. Dr. Jekyll is aware of Mr, Hyde though and understands the evilness that Mr. Hyde causes when Jekyll loses control and takes the drug too much. Mr. Hyde begins to take complete control Stvenson might be suggesting that even if a person is good, once they give into their evil tendencies there is no trunigng back. When Dr. Jekyll starts to flirt with hs bad sidem he begins to lose control of his personality and he eventually loses his friends and good nature. Stevnson displays the power of good will and the consewuences of even the first approach at evil. Once somebody is indulged into a bad habit, they can let their abad habit take control of their lives and it becomes extremely difficult to come back from the evilness once it has become a major part of your life. Dr. Jekyll says, with every day and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to the truthby whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two Stevenson. Jekyll is describing the affects of his choices and how he is now truning into his bad side for good because that is the person that he has become. Stevensons main goal in writing this story is to create horror and excitement for the reader. He leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions about the message in the story but it is clear to me that this story is about human nature and the batte of good vs. evil. Once a human gives into their temtations they are more likely to indulge in these evil deeds again and again. Dr. Jekyll tried a drug that made him into a different person and he enjoye giving into his evil tendencies. Eventually these evil tendencies took control over Jekyll and he became too evil to return to the good natured Dr. the his colleagues knew.

Traditional Budgeting in Modern Business

Traditional Budgeting in Modern Business The essay below is an attempt to analyse the issue of Traditional budgeting and discusses the fact that how now-a-days formal, traditional budgeting does not prove quite apt for modern businesses. To begin with, the essay will give a brief explanation of what is a budget and what is budgeting. This will be followed by a short note on modern budgeting and there will be a concise induction on traditional budgeting. Furthermore, the essay will throw light on the strengths and weaknesses of traditional budgeting; following which it will explain and evaluate the alternatives to traditional budgeting in modern businesses. A budget is a business plan for the short term-typically one year(Atrill McLaney,2007) . It is mainly expressed in financial terms and it is designed to meet strategic purposes. Budgeting plays a vital role in business success as it helps in the organizations operational planning, performance evaluation, communication of goals, strategy formation, and controlling cost which helps the organization to achieve its overall objective. But it seems it is unsuitable for the modern business.The term modern business stands for a business which operates in a global economy and practises all modern techniques to survive in a highly competitive environment. In todays era of information technology, it is impossible for a business to compete globally without continuous innovation, updated information and controlled activity. In management accounting, budgeting is quite a vast and important concept. There are different kinds of budgeting. The essay will now focus on Traditional budgeting and its working in modern businesses. What is traditional budgeting? Budget is a part of strategic planning process. It lays down business objectives, targets and decides activities required to achieve these objectives. Traditional budgeting is based on previous year data, decisions, uncertain estimates and forecast (Drury,2009).Traditional budgeting is basically one year planning which lays down targets for the business and at the end of the year these targets are compared with actual results and deviations, if any, are reported to the budgeting team which uses them as an important source of information for current year budgeting. Traditional budgeting creates boundaries for the business operations and sets targets for its employees, which motivates employees to work hard and earn rewards for their achievement. Importance of Traditional Budgeting: Kennedy and Dugdale (1999) in his study on budgeting found out that 99% of all companies in Europe still using formal budgeting system. Budgeting provides a direction which can be used as a framework for planning and controlling the overall activity of the business. Budgeting is often used as an important tool for controlling cost and expenditure of the business, which is very essential for an organization to survive in a competitive world. It is also used as a tool to maintain liquidity position of the firm by matching business revenue against expenditure, which gives an actual position and requirement of cash at a definite time period. Kennedy and Dugdale (2009) in his study also points out that it is the multiple function of budgeting which makes it an important tool for management. Budgeting provides a system of authorization, a means of forecasting and planning, it also provides a channel of communication and coordination through which the actions of different parts of an organi zation can be brought together and reconciled into a common plan. Kennedys study also states that budgeting serves as a tool of motivation, a system of evaluation and control, which acts as a useful source of information for decision- making. Limitations of Traditional budgeting: Budgeting is always being criticized for its high cost and the longer time it takes for its preparation. These two limitations are always a point of consideration for modern business organizations, which require a long working of financial managers and which incurs heavy charges on the company. In addition to this, budgeting is criticized in many other aspects as well. Dugdale and Lyne (2006) in his study on budgeting points out that budgeting being an important tool for an organization has many limitations like, it meets only the lowest targets, it uses more resources than required, it competes against other divisions, business units and departments, also it spends only what is in the budget, provides inaccurate forecasts, has motives only to meet the budget but not to beat it and finally it also avoids risk element. Bourne et al. (2002) conducted a survey on limitations of traditional budgeting in which he criticizes traditional budgeting on a number of issues. From the survey resu lt, he pointed out the following criticisms against budgeting ; its time consuming, costly, restricts flexibility in operation, its very often focused on target and often misaligned with strategy, it focuses more on cost rather than value creation, it often encourages gaming between superiors and subordinates, it is hardly updated and is based on unrealistic assumptions and guesswork which make it unsuitable for modern business. Traditional budgeting and modern business: Budgets have long had a bad press, but they have attracted even more flak recently for being at best inappropriate to modern business practice and at worst potentially harmful (Marginson and Ogden,2005). Hope (2000), in his study on traditional budgeting, points out four important reasons of incapability of traditional budgeting in modern business. he pointed out that in modern business, innovation is more essential rather than incremental, focuses more on faster learning rather than faster working, customer focus is on product satisfaction rather than increasing sale and knowledge- sharing and use of talent given more importance, rather than physical or financial capital. Modern business requires innovation along with cost saving in order to be competitive enough to fight with its rival company. Marginson and Ogden (2005) in his study on budgeting and innovation argues how firms are balancing the need to control costs on the one hand with the pursuit of innovation on the other. That is, modern business is an era of global business and competition which requires continuous innovation and huge spending on R D for its survival. And if modern business follows the budgeting tool it will restrict the business from spending a huge amount on innovation and this becomes a major criticism of budgeting. Hopes Fraser, 1999a, cited in Ekholm and Wallin (2000) added that traditional budgeting is incapable of meeting the demand of the competitive environment in the information age. This means, traditional budgeting is a useful accounting model with its focus on command and control but it lacks in providing useful updated information like market changes, change in taste and preference, change in technology, etc. which makes traditional budgeting unsuitable for modern business. Traditional budgeting is a time consuming process and therefore fails in reflecting changes fails in the companys organization process. As a result it produces inadequate variance reports leaving the how and when question unanswered. That is, it ignores shareholders value and focuses more on short term financial numbers. It follows a risk avoiding culture and therefore faces a false sense of security as a yearly, rigid process and as being a toy of the accounting department.( Hopes Fraser, 1999a, cited in Ekholm and Wallin, 2000). Ekholm and wallin (2000) in his study about budget found out that traditional budget seems to be a burden, and therefore must be removed from financial reports, before improving financial performance. Dugdale and Lyne (2006) say that if companies want to meet the modern business challenges then they must dismantle their rigid command and control structure, which means scrapping their budget and should adopt a policy of radical decentralization and implement appropriate key performance indicators, scorecards and rolling forecast. Alternatives to budgeting: Traditional budgeting is described as a Bane of Corporate America and a tool of repression, by modern businesses which look for alternatives. Rolling forecasts produced on a monthly or quarterly basis, are suggested to be the main alternative to the annual budget (Arterion 1998, Hope and Fraser 1990-20 cited in Ekholm and Wallin, 2000). Limitations of traditional budgeting give rise to many beyond budgeting techniques. Fanning (2000), in his article titled evolution or Revolution, explained beyond budgeting as a technique that restrict gaming, focuses on other business performance in addition to financial performance and uses insightful forecasts that accurately predict companys performance for a shorter period of time like, rolling forecast. In addition there are some better budgeting techniques like, zero based budgeting, activity based budgeting, process based budgeting and performance based budgeting. Rolling forecast serves as a best alternative to traditional budgeting, as stated earlier. In this the budget is prepared for a short period of time which ranges from a month to a year. The main advantage of this method i s that it encourages the manager of a company to look ahead and review their plans on a regular basis. Zero based budgeting is also emerged as a good alternative to incremental budgets. Unlike traditional budgeting zero based budgeting justifies and prioritizes all the activities before allocating amount of resources to them. In addition it focuses on activities instead of functional department which is a feature of traditional budgeting (Drury, 2008). Activity based budgeting authorize the supply of only those resources that are needed to perform activities required to meet the budget production and sales volume. This overcome traditional budgeting limitation which works on incremental basis to predict year expenses on the basis of last year expenses. Traditional budget systems focus on expenditures. Performance Based Budgeting focuses on final result by fixing desired performances goal to each department. The purpose of Performance-Based Budgeting is to provide a sound basis, upon which resource allocation decisions can be done; to communicate the measurable results expected to be achieved from a budget allocation; and to build a connection between budget and program performance results for the same operational unit over same period of measurement. Importance of budgeting in modern business: Dugdale and Hanseen ( two writers ) from their study on find out that in budgeting; operational planning, performance evaluation, communication of goals and strategy formation are the important functions which help it in being alive in modern business. Ekholm and Wallin (2000) from a questionnaire survey on budgeting stated that traditional budgeting is needed in modern business as it is an important tool for maintaining internal effectiveness which is needed to maintain long term equilibrium position of the company. He also finds out that modern business still requires traditional budgeting because its targets cant be set for the people. This means that, no control and no performance evaluation can be done. Hanseen and Van der Stede (2004) from his study on Multiple facets of budgeting finds out that there are different reasons to budgeting like market related performance (sales growth, market share) and internal operation related performance (cost effectiveness, quality), which see ms to be important reason for its wide use in modern business as it will help company to achieve competitive advantage over its rival. Dugdale and Lyne (2006) as a conclusion of case study point out that budget is an important tool to set resources limit for function such as service and RD, which will help business to make efficient use of their limited resources that will lead to success for a company in this competitive world. Conclusion: After a detailed study about budgeting it can be concluded here that, budgeting is an important tool for any business organization which helps the organization in operational planning, performance evaluation, communication of goal, strategy formulation and fixing targets which serve as a basis for organizational working and control. Inspite of its importance in organization, its become a matter of great concern to change or abandon traditional budgeting from modern business. It is because of some budgeting limitations which make it somehow rigid to be used in flexible and compatible modern business. It can be seen that traditional budgeting lacks in providing updated information, flexible operations, restricts huge expenditure on innovation and in addition to this, it is time consuming and a costly method, which binds a company to a 12 month agreement with budgeting expenditure and income list which restrict flexibility of modern business. On the other hand, budgeting helps modern bu sinesses in setting their targets for the year and cost controlling measures which play a vital role in the competitive market. So, seeing budgeting limitations and benefits to modern business, many economists and business managers suggest that traditional budgeting is an important tool which cannot be fully removed from an organization but some changes or beyond budgeting techniques like rolling forecast budgeting, zero based budgeting, activity based budgeting, process based budgeting and performance based budgeting, help in solving business organization problem. Refrences Atrill, P and McLaney, E.(2008). Accounting And Finance For Non- Specialists. England: FT Prentice Hall. Bourne M, Neely A and Heyns H (2002) Lore Reform, Financial Management,January,p.23. Drury, C. (2009). Management Accounting For Business.UK: South- Western. Dugdale, D. and Lyne, s.(2006)Are budgets still needed?, Financial Management, November,pp 32-35. Ekholm B and Wallin J(2000), Is the annual budget really dead? The European Accounting Review,volume 9,number 4,pages 519-539. Fanning J (2000) Evolution or Revolution?,Accountancy, October. Hansen, S.C. and Van der Stede, W.A. (2004), Multiple facets of budgeting: an exploratory analysis, Management Accounting Research vol. 15, pp 415-439. Hope T (2000), Conflict Resolution, Accountancy, November. Kennedy A and Dugdale D (1999), Getting the most from budgeting, Management Accounting, February. Maginson, D. and Orden, S. (2005)Budgeting and Innovation, Financial Management, April, pp 29-31.

The Impact Of ECommerce On Tesco Plc Information Technology Essay

The Impact Of ECommerce On Tesco Plc Information Technology Essay In 1919, Jack Cohen founded Tesco as he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. On his first day, his profit was  £1 with total sales of  £4. In 1924, Jack sold his first own-brand product which was Tesco Tea and this was before the company was called Tesco. The name comes from the initials of TE Stockwell, who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers, and CO from Jacks surname. In 1929 Jack Cohen opens his first Tesco store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London. 1932 and Tesco Stores Limited became a private limited company. Two years later in 1934, Jack Cohen bought a plot of land at Angel Road, Edmonton, North London to build a new headquarters and warehouse. It was the first modern food warehouse in the country and introduced new ideas for central stock control. Furthermore, in 1947, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd floats on the Stock Exchange with a share price of 25p, and in 1956, the first Tesco self-service supermarket opens in a converted cine ma in Maldon. The list below shows further expansion by Tesco PLC within the subsequent years; Annual sales exceed  £2 billion Computerised checkouts introduced into the first Tesco stores 1983 Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd becomes Tesco PLC 1995 Would I Buy It initiative is launched to ensure that products are always of the highest quality for customers Tesco becomes the market-leading food retailer Tesco Clubcard is launched 1996 Tesco launches 24 hour trading 1999 Tesco enters South Korea Tesco launches a new on-line bookstore and on-line banking Tesco publishes supermarket price comparisons on the internet 2000 Tesco.com is launched 2004 Tesco enters China Tesco launches own-brand Fair-trade range Tesco Broadband is launched Tesco.com becomes first major British supermarket to enter music download market 2005 Tesco exits the Taiwanese market in an asset swap deal with Carrefour involving stores and operations in the Czech Republic Tesco Homeplus launches Tesco announces annual profits of  £2 billion 2006 Tesco Direct launches 2009 Tesco launches  www.tesco.com/clothing Clubcard re-launched in the UK with  £150 million investment offering customers the opportunity to double up their vouchers 2010 Tesco opens the worlds first zero-carbon supermarket in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire Tesco opens its first Lifespace mall in Qingdao, China. More information on the history and progress of the company throughout the years can be seen on the companys corporate website. Here are some common Tesco logos that can be seen around; http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQaFF1G-B2Pd3iXLWuhEoxiXI2BfXEPatERE12y9CX7VSkScZ http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS9vEIPDWGJMiMAThPnTWaTjp_LHes8YvMuQ5z_T6EhEzgSlyix http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqpNKamt2FQnmOZthlHgFaRLyzlO_oRZDKWZ72QS6agwBy811Jhttp://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGdVEEIbImv3nFiGQSkonLltz7w77rmlXaaTEEPeMovbxd5iBM http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMe4aTQ6V4FOR4f6ULiORWC8nlEBcjLYJ-wu4ATwiFA8VpNt61 HOW TESCO USED TO DO BUSINESS. In Tescos early days, as seen from the original operations, grocery products were sold from market stalls until the first Tesco store was opened in North London in 1929. Then in 1934, the owner bought a plot of land to build a new headquarters and a warehouse and introduced new ideas for central stock control. In 1956 Tesco opened a self service supermarket in a converted cinema in Maldon which meant that people could go in and pick their own items of interest from the shelves and make their way to checkout points or tills for payment. Initially, Tescos marketing operations would have involved the use of TVs, Radio, newspapers, mail shots and billboards. Then in 1982, computerised checkouts were introduced into the first Tesco stores and the companys annual sales exceeded  £2 billion. Here we can see the integration of computerised operations including the centralised stock control to get a picture of the early stages of e-commerce making its way into the business operations. HOW E-COMMERCE HAS TRANSFORMED TESCOS METHOD OF WORKING. With the integration of computerised systems in operations both at stock control levels, database and checkout levels, Tesco launched the Tesco clubcard which allowed customers to earn points from every purchase they made. This involved a brief registration of the customers name, phone number and address details and the issuance of a personal card but this also meant that the company now had a database of loyal customers and every time these cards were used by a customer, Tesco could tell what had been purchased in order to calculate the points but in the process, the company could make predictions about certain goods and items and they could also send in offers and coupons to customers based on what they thought each individual customer would be interested in, either based on a previous purchase or based on a new product. This greatly allowed customers who had the clubcard to relate to Tesco on an almost personal shopping experience, but the underlying factor here was in the use of this particular e-commerce application amongst others. Then the company launched of the 24 hour trading in 1996, which at that stage had a lot to do with the application of computerised and electronic methods of operation, in ways that could maximise the efficiency of the companys operations from the warehouses to the tills. This involved electronic methods of stock control to assist with constant replenishment when necessary, time management, use of barcodes, Television and radio commercials, coupons and printed flyers promoting the organic range, etc. All this time, Tesco was also busy expanding their International branches to as far as Asia and in 1999, the company launched a new on-line bookstore and on-line banking and also published supermarket price comparisons on the internet. Here again we can see that the companys use of e-commerce is expanding at such a rate that competitors would have had to have their seatbelts well tight in order to catch up with this giant retailer. In the year 2000, Tesco launched Tesco.com which basically began the whole Tesco/internet revolution of shopping online with Tesco for almost every household product that the customers needed. With an online platform to advertise and sell products, Tesco.com had made a way for the company to deliver its grocery goods and some other services to customers in the comfort of their own homes and without the need to go to the stores. This was the closest to maximum convenience both for the customers who could now shop anytime and have their goods delivered at conveniently agreed times, and also for the company who could now reach a wider range of people both socially and geographically while at the same time reducing traffic in the stores. Customers could pick from all sorts of products including the free from products designed for customers with special dietary needs and there was just a wide range of flexibility for the customer regarding the whole shopping experience. Nowadays, the comp any can be accessed instantaneously via the World Wide Web on computers, laptops and even the mobile phone. Internally, the use of email, fax, databases, computer programmes, intranet and internet has enabled Tesco to maximise its operational capabilities as information can be accessed, processed and sent around important divisions within a short period of time. I.e. functions of purchasing, supply, accounts, management, marketing, sales, etc. Below are some Advantages and disadvantages of E-commerce to TESCO. THE ADVANTAGES OF E-COMMERCE. Elderly and disabled customers can shop within the comfort of their homes and all customers have access to a wider range of providers to choose from thereby enabling customer empowerment. Heightened customer service as customers are enabled to find detailed information online, and intelligent agents can also answer standard e-mail questions in seconds. Also, reviews posted by other customers about the products purchased on a website can help with decision making for the customer. The use of phone and e-mail has also improved communications between the company and the customer as queries and enquiries are usually made directly via these mediums. Customers also have a wider product range to choose from as they can view the contents of an entire store without physically walking around it, plus round the clock operations online which makes shopping accessible to customers on 24/7 basis. Reduces Time and money spent as travel time and cost, to and from the store, is eliminated, and with online vendors selling different product ranges at different prices, customers can find a product that best suits their financial and qualitative demands. In some cases, companies will often offer the same products for less if it is purchased online. E-commerce benefits for the company. Globalisation in terms of product promotion and sales to reach a wider range of consumers. More efficient inventory management and stock control to maximise product availability. Just in Time (JIT) warehousing to eliminate Location and availability restrictions thus saving costs for both the company and the customer. Corporate image to establish identity and trust which is necessary for direct sales and to affirm the brand image. The use of computerised databases, fax, email, computer-aided designs, intranet and the internet as a whole has also equipped Tesco with some necessary tools for maximising operations and communications. From sourcing and dealing with suppliers of products via email, phone and fax, through to marketing towards in-store and online sales and promotions via Television, radio, electronic billboards, internet sites , and finally for customer support via phone, email, etc, e-commerce has completely transformed how Tesco works today. THE DISADVANTAGES OF E-COMMERCE. Security and privacy of personal information as a lot of people are still quite sceptical about using their personal bank details for shopping online. Programmes like viruses could cause a website to shut down and could also affect customers computers as a result of using the website. Product quality and delivery of items could be different from what the customer might be expecting. Internet speed and bandwidth in certain areas may make it difficult for customers to use the website hassle free. Staffing. The more e-commerce improves, the less human labour that is required to carry out certain tasks and this can cause a lot of human positions to become downsized or rendered totally obsolete which is not favourable to the workers. This has also led to the addition of new skill sets (to cope with new operations) which could mean new staff, new job roles and titles, and in some cases also involves retraining current staff in order to keep up with technological changes and all these have had its financial costs to the company coupled with the financial costs of implementing the hardware needed for particular e-commerce- related upgrades. There have also been some social costs as a result of e-commerce as there are now new job roles and titles which people have to adapt to via a cultural change. Also, since most items can be sold online to a much wider audience while cutting the costs of traditional retailing methods, a company does not have to spend so much on an expensive High Street presence and this in turn means that the traditional social gathering of shoppers is gradually fading away. RISKS INCURRED IN INTRODUCING E-COMMERCE TO THE ORGANISATION Social Risks. In addition to the potential loss of revenue that declines in employee productivity can create due to certain applications of e-commerce, an inappropriate use of the companys resources can also put a strain on business infrastructure and therefore result in performance and availability issues, causing users who are participating in work-related activities to experience a slow down. Information risk is another social risk that is impacted by employee use of company resources for personal reasons. Protecting information assets from destruction, loss and corruption is an important preventative measure. As employees use the internet for activities such as shopping, social networking and web surfing, the threats to the company information assets are greatly increased. If employees are using these devices to access personal e-mail accounts or shop online, or are using their work e-mail accounts in relation to shopping, phishing becomes more likely. Phishing can result in many damaging scenarios for enterprises such as loss of customer data, loss of enterprise intellectual property and damage to enterprise data. Social risks on the part of the customers can involve trust for a company in using their services online, putting out their personal information for transactions on-line, and even a change from the old tradition of shopping to a completely new system of doing things. Unregulated on-line buying could become a significant social problem as e-commerce spreads. The compulsive buying tendencies of certain consumers coupled with their affinity for the Internet is cause for special concern. Beyond inefficiency in markets, there will be social costs from reduced productivity, personal bankruptcies, disrupted families and ruined lives. Chasing the problem with credit and psychiatric counselling will be expensive both in terms of tax dollars and human lives. By way of prevention, existing fair trade practices prohibiting deceptive promotions and pricing should be extended to e-commerce. Fortunately, many people recover from addictions on their own and many more can learn the self-control required to avoid them, with a little help. Software developed within the Internet community could help on-line consumers maintain self-regulation. It could extend bundling by automatically totalling purchases across sites and sessions and provide a running on-screen meter of expenditures and time spent shopping, to promote self-observation. Automatic filtering of sites, types of products, or product stimuli (e.g., jpg files with product images) that foster excessive purchases would reduce exposure to shopping stimuli. To bolster the judgmental sub-function, shoppers could be prompted to make a shopping list before entering e-commerce sites and receive on-screen warnings when they surpassed referential norms or family budgets. Self-reactions could be prompted by forcing shoppers to re-allocate budgets, relate unplanned purchases to initial shopping objectives or respond to remonstrative e-mails from significant others before completing a purchase. Financial Risks. All companies face financial risk, even if they only operate via the Internet. E-Commerce companies may face a harder time securing external financing because they may not have a lot of physical assets to use as collateral or indicate their long-term viability as a company. Banks and other lenders may require a higher level of personal capital involvement by owners and officers before lending money to the company. Generating a positive daily cash flow may also be difficult because of the fees involved with website protection, hosting, electronic shopping carts and credit card companies. These fees are required by vendors of E-Commerce companies and cannot be avoided. To mitigate these risks, E-Commerce companies must employ accountants or use a public accounting firm to ensure that no internal waste of cash is going on and all expenses are relevant to the operation of the company. Since there are regulations surrounding data protection, consumer protection, distance selling regulations, etc, the company faces a huge financial risk if any of these security measures are breached, and such measures could potentially cause the business to go bankrupt. In general, the security systems needed in place to ensure safety of customer information as well as physical infrastructure of setting up an entire e-commerce system, failure of the hardware and/or software, attack via virus or computer hacker, fire and flooding all poses serious financial risks to the company if the revenue does not meet up with the expenditure used to secure these factors. THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE ON ITS CONSUMERS. E-commerce has completely changed the way people look at making purchases and spending their money. It has certainly had some positive as well as negative impacts on the consumers. The Tesco system has been active in making sure that the consumers experience the positives while almost making the negatives non-existent. This system of commerce has affected consumers in the way that many people can now do most or all of their shopping on-line and within the comfort of their homes or anywhere with a computer and internet connection. This can especially come handy for people with very busy lifestyles, the aged or disabled people. This has translated as a kind of empowerment as people can make purchases round the clock and even have their goods delivered at suitable times as well. Also, customer service with e-commerce has enabled consumers to have access to a wide range of specific and detailed information about their goods and purchases online. Intelligent agents can answer standard e-mail queries in record time and the use of help desk software allows human expert services to be expedited with minimal stress. Consumers can now also make use of a service that allows them to fully customise their products and services in contrast to buying in a store where products are usually merely standard. E-commerce has also allowed people who would otherwise not be interested in the physical side of technology to have somewhat basic ideas of the systems they need to operate in order to make use of the e-commerce systems which in turn is a kind of education in terms of having that new knowledge of how things work. In the case of the Tesco club card, consumers have been greatly impacted as they feel a personal connection with their retailer of choice that seems to give something back in the way of points and also make relevant offers based on previous purchases or potentially relevant products. All in all, from the stores using electronic check-outs, centralised stock control, etc to the website where consumers just place their orders and wait for delivery to their doorsteps, e-commerce has had a generally positive impact on its consumers. HOW TESCO MET THE CHALLENGE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY. IT systems have played a key role in helping Tesco deliver strong profits. The Tesco website, in which it has invested heavily in during recent years, saw profits leap by 21 per cent to  £48 million, on the back of an almost equal percentage sales rise. Online grocery orders have lifted by 10 per cent to  £7.5 million. The company has always been ahead in embracing and implementing new technology with an open-minded and optimistic approach despite the social and financial challenges. Advanced in-store queuing systems had improved shopping for 26 million of its customers by reducing checkout lines, Tesco said. The supermarket chain is using heat-sensing technology to monitor lines at tills. It also said improved scanners, better self service tills, and checkout cameras were helping it reduce queues. Self-service checkouts now account for a fifth of all of Tesco transactions. The supermarket took steps in 2008 to ready its technology for the Christmas sales peak, implementing ExpeT une performance management software from Macro 4 to manage its mainframe servers. Tesco has invested heavily in IT over the years, and this has played a strong role in improving sales, the supply chain, and efficiency across the company. The company has an in-house designed supply chain application, running on IBM system p servers based on UNIX. The companys five-year old warehouse in Croydon, which serves south-east London customers only and was also the companys first dedicated online hub, became profitable in 2008. The warehouse handles orders with a value of over  £1 million per week. Sales in non-food business Tesco Direct increased to  £180 million from a virtual standing start. The business, which is part of Tescos general merchandise division and has 11,000 items for sale online, had start-up costs and initial operating losses totalling around  £25m this year. Tesco said it is aiming to absorb these losses. Launched in 2006, Tesco Direct experienced IT problems that re portedly delayed its opening. The supermarket giant has 3,000 staff working at its offshore site in India, providing IT and administrative support around the world, including the recently launched US operation Fresh n Easy. The Indian site provides software development, as well as accounting and payroll services. Tesco also has a long running application development deal with Steria-owned outsourcer Xansa, targeted at ensuring its systems are up to date and in line with business needs. In store, Tesco continued to benefit from thermal imaging technology at checkouts, which speeds up queues and helps the store manage the flow of people and direct them to other tills. The company has a one in front policy, meaning that if more than one customer is in front of anyone at a checkout; it aims to open another till if one is available. Outsourcing and partnerships are other ways in which Tesco has been able to meet new technological challenges. In the case of their energy consumption, Tesco has outsourced the monitoring and regulation of this function to the HSE group to achieve the targeted reduced energy and carbon emissions by monitoring the plant and systems installed to ensure that they run and operate at their optimum. Their scope of services include: Energy monitoring, Plant performance, Management information, System improvement, Minor works and Maintenance. Their key objectives were To monitor the performance of new technologies, To provide feedback on plant and system performance, Management information is provided in a usable format and on a timely basis, Incremental improvements that will contribute to ongoing savings are identified and implemented, To be able to share findings from system performance, technologies and innovations. We have learned from our experience that there is often a frustrating gap between being able to identify the technology that is needed whether on low-energy lighting or lower-emissions refrigeration and being able to purchase and apply that technology commercially. We will work with our suppliers to reduce and hopefully eliminate this gap. Sir Terry Leahy (former CE0 of Tesco Plc). With the pace of consumer technology rapidly developing, Tesco now stocks an increased range of electrical products in-store and online. Responding to consumer demand, the retailer introduced Tesco Tech Support in 2008, making friendly faces available to expertly answer consumer technology queries, guiding them to choose the right product. Continuing to grow, the service now has more than 1000 expert advisors across the UK at 200 Tesco Extra stores and a dedicated UK call centre. The new http:///www.tescotechsupport.com website was created by an in-house team at FuturePlus. The site supplements dedicated online editorial content with all-new how-to tech videos fronted by Tesco Tech Support employees. THE SECURITY ISSUES IT ENCOUNTERED. TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES. Some of the technological security issues the company encountered include the following which could have had disastrous effects on the organisation; User authentication: A user name and password combination, where the password can vary in length and include numbers and characters. Remember to include a system that prompts employees to change their passwords at regular intervals. Viruses: A computer virus is a bug that affects your computer in many ways, it can come from almost any source like disks but mostly from the internet or emails, it can copy itself and manipulate a computers files. It can alter or even destroy company computers and also the computers of users who log on to such services. By installing anti-virus protection, the company can protect against viruses from affecting the computer. Firewalls and performance: Effectively, installing a firewall can slow down the computer depending on what it does, and where it came from. Firewalls are programs that monitor traffic, which is the incoming and outgoing data communication that takes place when the user is online. The software needs to be configured to permit or deny communication with websites, as chosen by the user. In general, once configured, there is no real impact on the performance of websites, but it can take time to set up the relevant permissions between the site and the users computer. SSL (secure sockets layer) and HTTPS: A popular implementation of public-key encryption is the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Originally developed by Netscape, SSL is an Internet security protocol used by Internet browsers and Web servers to transmit sensitive information. SSL has become part of an overall security protocol known as Transport Layer Security (TLS). Https is not a separate protocol, but refers to the combination of a normal HTTP interaction over an encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection. This ensures reasonable protection from eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks. RSA Certificates: A digital signature is basically a way to ensure that an electronic document (e-mail, spreadsheet, text file, etc.) is authentic. Authentic means that the user knows who created the document and you know that it has not been altered in any way since that person created it. Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication. Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authentication is the process of verifying that information is coming from a trusted source. These two processes work hand in hand for digital signatures. FINANCIAL ISSUES. Prevention of Hacking and Identity Theft: Identity theft is when a hacker gets through to a users computer via a virus and acquires their personal credit card details, and then uses the details for their own personal use. Hackers get in to the computer system through ports, when the ports are open the hacker can get in, this may be with viruses or other means, users can stop hackers by installing a firewall onto the computer which blocks off the ports so hackers cant get through. Payment systems: using payment cards online has always given cause for concern as the information contained in them is quite delicate. The introduction of services like PayPal have ensure that consumers have a reasonable amount of confidence in using online service that require some sort of payment for products or services. PHYSICAL ISSUES Physical issues include factors like access to both company and customer information by employees through mediums that make it all too easy to tamper with, destroy, or steal such sensitive information. HOW THE COMPANY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF NEW DISTRIBUTION AND SALES CHANNELS. With the integration of computerised systems of data processing and communications, the company had expanded their capabilities in the area of sales and distribution. Products could be sold through channels like the Television, on radio, on billboards, via email, via the internet and affiliate websites, flyers, coupons and even by text on mobile phones. Tesco used all their available resources and avenues to make sure their products were available to a large consumer base both locally and internationally. The application of call centres which made use of numerous phone and computer systems meant that the process from marketing to sales could be run by a unit of dedicated employees. Tescos distribution network in the UK was among the best in the world. The company emphasized the importance of putting resources to the maximum use. Tesco stores in the UK received two deliveries a day one a fill up delivery and the other, a top up delivery. To keep the things simple for customers as well as for employees, Tesco adopted several new systems such as electronic shelf edge labelling all across the store, through which prices could be changed from a single central point; self scanning tills; self service pre-packaged products, coffee shop on mezzanine floor and also merchandising of fresh produce. Things like next day delivery and named day delivery have also been effective in maximising the use of these new sales channels. For existing customers, email marketing and direct mail marketing to provide special offers and promotions to customers is important. According to Humby (2003), e-retailer Tesco.com use what he describes as a commitment-based segmentation or loyalty l adder which is based on time of purchase, frequency of purchase and value which is used to identify 6 lifecycle categories which are then further divided to target communications: Logged-on Cautionary Developing Established Dedicated Logged-off (the aim here is to win back) Tesco then use automated event-triggered messaging can be created to encourage continued purchase. For example, Tesco.com has a touch strategy which includes a sequence of follow-up communications triggered after different events in the customer lifecycle. In the example given below, communications after event 1 are intended to achieve the objective of converting a web site visitor to action; communications after event 2 are intended to move the customer from a first time purchaser to a regular purchaser and for event 3 to reactivate lapsed purchasers. THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE ON THE BUSINESS. Selling through websites is the fastest growing method of trading worldwide. There are two main forms of e-commerce: Business to business (B2B) trading where companies trade and exchange information using the World Wide Web. Business to consumer (B2C) trading where companies deal directly with customers through web pages, and ordering is carried out online. Trading online enables businesses to reach much wider audiences while cutting the costs of traditional retailing methods. For example, an e-tailer does not have to spend so much on an expensive High Street presence. Although the outlay on developing a good website is substantial the potential benefits can be enormous. There have been impacts on direct marketing where promotion of products and services have been enhanced through direct, information rich, detailed and interactive contact with consumers. The cost of delivering relevant information and digitized products to customers over the internet is results in substantial savings to the company when compared with traditional methods of delivery. The process of delivery, cycle times, administrative work and time spent on other fu

Dark Matter Essay -- essays research papers

There is perhaps no current problem of greater importance to astrophysics and cosmology than that of "dark matter". The controversy, as the name implies, is centered on the notion that there may exist an enormous amount of matter in the Universe that cannot be detected from the light that it emits. The evidence of dark matter is from the motions of astronomical objects, specifically stellar, galactic, and galaxy cluster/supercluster observations. The basic argument is that if we measure velocities in some region, then there has to be enough mass there for gravity to stop all the objects from flying apart. When such velocity measurements are done on large scales, it turns out that the amount of inferred mass is much more than can be explained by the luminous mass. Hence we infer that there is non-luminous matter in the Universe, i.e. there is dark matter. Dark matter has important consequences for the evolution of the Universe. According to standard cosmological theory, the Universe must conform to one of three possible types: open, flat, or closed. A parameter known as the "mass density" - that is, how much matter per unit volume is contained in the Universe - determines which of the three possibilities applies to the Universe. In the case of an open Universe, the mass density (denoted by the Greek letter Omega) is less than unity, and the Universe is predicted to expand forever. If the Universe is closed, Omega is greater than unity, and the Universe will eventually stop its expansion and recollapse back upon itself. For the case where Omega is exactly equal to one, the Universe is delicately balanced between the two states, and is said to be "flat". Dark matter candidates are usually split into two broad categories, with the second category being further sub-divided: baryonic and bon-baryonic. Then, under non-baryonic, hot dark matter (HDM) and cold dark matter (CDM) are its types. Depending on their respective masses and speeds, CDM candidates have relatively large mass and travel at slow speeds (hence "cold"), while HDM candidates include minute-mass, rapidly moving (hence "hot") particles. As leading possible candidates for baryonic dark matter, there are black holes (large and small), brown dwarfs (stars too cold and faint to radiate), sun-size MACHOs, cold gas, dark galaxies and dark clusters, ... ...e seeking them in a Stanford laboratory by watching for radiation as they excite crystals of germanium in a detector, but they haven't detected any yet. Soon they will try an even more exotic search by moving their equipment to an old iron mine 2,400 feet deep in northern Minnesota where one or two WIMPs, if they really exist, might very occasionally make their existence known. The detectors are hockey puck-sized superconducting crystals of germanium and silicon. These pure crystals are cooled to about 500 degrees below zero. A particle hitting a detector disturbs the molecular structure of the crystal and registers as a slight temperature increase. Because WIMPs easily pass through most matter, they can pass through the shields and register a signal. To date, the detectors at Stanford have registered a handful of signals, but an analysis suggests that these were caused by stray particles that originally came from cosmic rays and managed to penetrate the 35 feet of rock over the detectors. The ever-so important question what is dark matter will not be answered tomorrow. More data has to be taken, the theories have to tweaked, and many physicists must continue to work together.

No Prayer in the Public Schools Essays -- Argumentative Persuasive Re

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the past three decades, the issue of the role of prayer in the public school system has become increasingly controversial. The current debate juggles the opposing interpretations of the exact intentions of America's Founders, who came from an other country, England, in pursuite of expanded freedoms. The first colonists in the 17th century especially desired religious freedom, because their former British government forced them all to learn and practice a centralized religion. Consequently, A merica's first legislators made certain that their religiously pluralistic nation would not be the victim of government intervention in religious matters. Therefore, religious freedom was guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the Unite d States. The writers included as the very first sentence the words, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." (Alley 13). This statement a lows Americans to freely express and practice or chose not to practice a religion.    The two distinct terms of the religious freedom affirmation in the First Amendment to the Constitution became known as the Free Exercise Clause, which ensures religious expression, and the Establishment Clause, which protects citizens from state im posed religion. The two clauses are generally interpreted as being contradictory to each other. For instance, a right guaranteed to a particular group by one clause might directly violate the right of another group maintained by the other clause. Becau se of the conflicting religious expression clauses stated under the First Amendment, the role of prayer in public schools is controversial and must be interpreted in... ...Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books, 1994. Barker, Dan. "The Case Against School Prayer." Internet Infidels. Online. Internet. 21 October 2002. Available: http://www.infidels.org/org/ffrf/issues/pray.html Farmer, Rod. "The School Prayer Issue." Education 104 (1984): 248-49. Gaffney, Edward McGlynn. "A Church in Texas." Commonweal 124 (April 25, 1997): 9-10. O'Connor, Sandra. "Forward: the Establishment Clause and Endorsement of Religion." Journal of Law and Religion 8 (1990): 1-4. Sikorski, Robert. Prayer in Public Schools and the Constitution 1961-1992. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 1993. Thomas, Oliver. "Prayer and Speech." Finding Common Ground 12 (1996): 29 pars. Online. Internetr. 1 October 2002. Whitehead, John W. The Rights of Religious Persons in Public Education. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1994: 33,49-50.   

Women in the Workforce

Group: 6 Janelle Maskulka, Hannah Reifer, Laura Welker, Andrea McNett Group Leader: Hannah Reifer Scribe: Janelle Maskulka Topic: Women in the Workforce from the 1800- current Outline and Student Responsibilities Introduction: Our group will discuss how women in the past had limited working rights but over time laws and bills were passed that allowed women to grow in the workplace. However still today women are not treated as equals to their male counterparts. 1. 1800’s – Andrea McNett Before/ Early 1800s little to no rights and strictly housewives †¢ Industrial Revolution o Unmarried women worked in factories and moved to city o Caused women to delay marriage/ less children †¢ Women’s Rights o More Independent o Fought for equal wages ? Female Labor Reform Association in New England (1844) o Fought for education o Fought for voting †¢ The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) o Founded in 1840 o Mainly focused on women’s righ t to vote Branched into two subdivisions ? National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) ? American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) †¢ Susan B. Anothony 2. 1900-1950 – Hannah Reifer †¢ Employment in 1900 o Women only had 5% gainful employment outside of the household ? Woman self-imagine began to change †¢ Went from only wanting children and a husband to wanting to be employed o By 1910 this employment rate had increased to 11% †¢ Women in politics (voting rights) Also by 1910, only four states had equal women rights. ? These failures were partly due to people who believe that politics was no place for women †¢ Women’s Suffrage Amendment (1920) (NAWSA) o 19th amendment o Can’t base the write to vote off of sex †¢ The Great Depression (1930’s) o Prohibited married women to work ? Legislature passed in 26 states †¢ World War II (1939-1945) o Brought major change to women in the workforce o Men went to war o 6 million more w omen entered into the workforce o Some women didn’t want to work Rosie the Riveter â€Å"We Can Do It† was used as motivation o As soon as the war was over men returned to jobs women were laid off †¢ By 1947 women began to once again enter the workforce †¢ By 1950 31% of women in the United States were employed and working 3. 1950- 2000 – Laura Welker †¢ â€Å"Roots of the Revolution† (1950-1970’s) o Warning signs of a revolution, change in women’s expectations of employment †¢ Women began to see themselves as going to college and perhaps even graduate school o Working mothers and wives was slowly becoming more common †¢ â€Å"Quiet Revolution† (1970-2000’s) Woman enrollment in colleges and grad schools increased dramatically o Women began to studying fields men were typically professionalized in such as medicine, law and dentistry †¢ More women were now expected to go to college and join the workf orce by age 35, where in the past women were supposed to be in the home and raise the children 4. 2000’s – Janelle Maskulka †¢ Almost half of the workforce today is made up of women (46%) †¢ Major women in the workforce today o Oprah o Condoleezza Rice o Hillary Clinton †¢ Major changes since 1900’s o Bypassing men in management positions Staying with employers longer than men †¢ However, men still continue to make more money o . 76% higher wages than women Conclusion: (Group collaboration/ Input of tying up loose ends) Over time and history women have worked hard to gain rights in and out of the workforce. If we continue to work in the same direction and gain more and more rights we will see more results such as equal pay compared to men, more women in the management and CEO positions, in turn breaking the glass ceiling and the barrier between men and women in the workforce, which is the overall goal.

Business Organisational Behaviour Essay

Demonstrate the influence of environmental and behavioural factors on corporate size, structure and strategy. (b) Understand the processes of business planning and policy making and the reason for change over time. Percentage of marks awarded for module: This assignment is worth 50% of the total marks for the module Assessment criteria   Explanatory comments on the assessment criteria   Maximum marks for each section   Content, style, relevance, originality   Clear demonstration of rigorous research from recognised authoritative sources. Audience focus. 50%  Format, referencing, bibliography   HarvardÃ'Ž Assignment Task As a retail consultant you have been commissioned by a high street outlet, of your own choice, to prepare a strategy that will help them to compete for many years to come in a rapidly changing environment. The strategy will include methods of recognising how external changes impact upon the firm and the various techniques that may be used in the implementation of change. Consideration must also be given to the structure and size of the firm and how it presents itself to it’s stackholders.