The Ugly American Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Ugly American - Essay Example policymakers, journalists, and officers made leading to the loss of Sarkhan to the Communists knowing that Sarkhan has border difficulty with the Communist country to the north. Lederer and Burdick The Ugly American, set in the mythical southeast Asian nation of Sarkhan, is a critique of U.S. foreign policy. Lederer and Burdick point to the willful ignorance, careerist self-interest, and cultural arrogance that confound American efforts to close down the spread of communism. Their novel, essentially a series of loosely linked vignettes relating to the actions of foreign service officials, is meant as a counteractive to many harsh assessment. Even though liberal and unsparing in their representation of administrative incompetence and bureaucratic inertia, Lederer and Burdick appear oblivious of the use of terror by U.S. agents. They attribute the failure of U.S. policy to the lack of ability to distinguish the competent deception of communists, a refusal to learn native languages and customs, a lack of enthusiasm to leave the comforts of the capital city and its American enclave, a preoccupation with diplomatic social life, and an overriding anxiety with lar ge-scale, capital-intensive projects rather than with less significant innovations more likely to develop the daily lives of the native population. On the other hand, communist success is attributed to the careful training of its diplomats, their enthusiasm to respect native language and customs, and their capability to sarcastically prey upon natives' mistaken resentment. Consequently, the communists are on the threshold of world power and domination. As one Sarkhanese states, "America had its chance and it missed. And now the Communists are going to win" (Neilson p. 24). Or as a fictional U.S. senator declares, "we're facing the final crisis with Russia . . . the next few years will decide whether we're going to win or lose" (p. 242). This paranoia about the imagined abilities of communists is seen in the imaginary timetables by which they are said to plot world domination. The Senator in The Ugly American glimpses the fate of the world being determined in the next few years; Soviet agents in The Ugly American plan "to bring [Burma] within the Communist orbit within 30 months" (p. 35), and, according to Time, Anthony Eden's m ilitary advisors estimated in 1956 that by 1961 the communists would be ready to endeavor violent global conquest. Despite the fact that their basic thesis is that the United States needs more competent foreign service officers, Lederer and Burdick also give specific examples of policies and programs the United States might adopt that might make a difference in the struggle against communist hegemony: providing Asians with powdered milk to accustom them to fresh milk, which is alien to their diets, so they can begin raising dairy cows; broadcasting surreptitiously taped conversations of Russian field operatives telling their local agents not to "talk about 'socialist ownership of lands' " because that "only scares the peasants. Peasants are backward types" (Neilson p. 63); constructing simple water pumps run by bicycles, without exporting technology or giving aid money, since "Whenever you give a man something for nothing the first person he comes to dislike is you" (p. 216); or teaching Asians to construct and use long-handled brooms (rather than the traditional

Teenager and Technology Essay Example for Free

Teenager and Technology Essay Computer Science As it always be defined, Computer Science is the systematic study that deals with the theory and methods of processing information in digital computers, the design of devices hardware and software, and the applications runned by the operating system. Although the fact that made it the most sophisticated technology since the industrial revolution, some social and ethical issues need attention from the software developers. Computer technology is double ­edged sword, it is either positive and negative in some cases because of the social impact that it brought in our society. Many cases have been subjects of eternal debates, the main one is privacy. A loss of privacy is one of the social issue that we have been dealing with during these 10 past years. For example, the positive and negative side of cameras all around us used to check on our daily activities, this could be good for our safety but can also be bad because it violate somebodys private life. Firstly, individual’s personal data can be tracked and gained through databases, spyware and cookies, which give providers wider chances to access personal information. The WWW servers can create extensive log of the users who are accessing the web.

What Is the Ozone Hype Anyway? :: Free Essay Writer

What Is the Ozone Hype Anyway? â€Å"The ozone is a pale bluish form of oxygen gas with an odor like chlorine, formed by an electrical discharge in the air† (Webster 185). The first time that I thought about this research narrative was the first time that I read the syllabus for class. My immediate reaction was that I could not believe that we were actually going to write a ten-page narrative. I was never expected to write a paper of this length before and I was unsure if I were going to be able to do so. However, it turned out that it was not that bad, although I did go through many frustrations along the way. First, I had to come up with a topic. I think that this was the hardest part. In our class, we used one of our textbooks to help with this part of the process for our papers. In exercise 1.1, Ballenger suggests that you make a list under a number of different topics (23). Therefore, I made a list of at least twenty things under each topic that I thought might be a possible topic for my paper. My list ranged from pets all the way to relationships and back to health problems. However, after talking to my professor and my friends, and taking Ballenger’s advice on how to eliminate topics, I decided to go with the ozone layer (25). I had a few different reasons for making this choice. One of them was that this was something that I did not know very much about. In addition, the topic was something that I did want to know more about. Consequently, due to the fact that I did not know much, I would not do my research with a bias and more importantly, I would do the research w ell because I wanted to know more. Next, I had to come up with a question that I wanted to know the answer to. Again, Ballenger came with help. In exercise 2.1, Ballenger suggests that you make a list of questions and then have peers add questions also. During this process, I went through so many questions. Why was the ozone layer depleting? What could we do to help? How long has this been going on?

Word of Mouth Marketing in the Time of the Internet

At the threshold of the onslaught and brutal display of power of the internet-based word of mouth, there are many important things to discuss standing from different perspectives. The most important of which is from the standpoint of an advertising/marketing strategist, which is constantly manipulating the mechanisms of social behavior (including the word of mouth phenomenon then and now) in the name of successful market control. Word of mouth (WOM) and marketing go hand in hand in the past, largely because of the impact of interpersonal relationship and communication in consumerism. Companies overwhelmingly believe in the ability of consumers to influence one another’s purchasing decisions (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64). † Today, another player comes into the picture – the internet. If traditional marketing and advertising has managed to weave its way around traditional word of mouth communication enough to successfully manipulate it, the same cannot be said about how advertising and marketing entities are dealing with internet-based sources of word of mouth communication. The internet has shown that it is a powerful tool for word of mouth communication and the power grows vis-a-vis the growth of users, who are also the consumers. â€Å"The large number of users gives Internet WOM significant potential power for marketers. Anecdotal evidence of the power of the Internet WOM abounds (Schindler, Bickart, 2005, p. 35). † Despite the problems that go with the rise of internet-based word of mouth communication and marketing, there are still positive things to hope for. The opportunity here is for companies to find their brand ambassadors (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64),† while for others, the task is to simply be able to work well with this new social trend empowered by new technology that many is enjoying at the moment. Nonetheless, this is a very important topic to discuss, break down and analyze. This paper will discuss how different internet-based sources of word of mouth marketing including web sites, blogs and other similar mediums affect th e decision-making process and the buying habits of modern day consumers. This paper will be discussing the special and important relationship of three factors – the internet, consumers and the word of mouth communication – because how these factors affect each other is an important aspect that shapes how consumerism takes place today. Since the day that humans were able to understand and execute the system of selling items or services for a profit, the consumer segment of the society has already been created; and today, everyone is a consumer. With the creation of the consumer section and the start of the flow of local economics via sustainability through the sale of items or services that other people are willing to pay for is the creation of word of mouth communication. What is word of mouth communication, or WOM? There are several yet similar explanations about word of mouth communication made by experts. Here is one: â€Å"Word-of-mouth communication† is used â€Å"to exchange post-purchase experience among the costumers (Takahashi, Sallach, Juliette, 2007, p. 09). † Providing that this explanation is correct, the very first word of mouth communication is the very first time the very first consumer who bought something from another person told another individual what he or she thinks of the recent item he/she purchased. This trend has not changed since. All over the world, part of the culture of consumers is to let other people know how they feel about the product they purchased. Usually, neighbors who have pleasant relationship with each other include in their casual conversations appraisal and assessment of the things or services that they recently bought or paid for. It could be about anything and everything – food, clothing, equipment, accessories, home appliances, medicine etc. Word of mouth communication happens everywhere: as neighbors and friends talk to each other during social gatherings or everytime they pass by each other in malls, grocery stores, at work or when they bump into each other in leisure locations like in beach, gym, arcade etc. Word of mouth communication is a product largely a personal face-to-face conversation, although sometimes telephone conversations, even mails also become sources of word of mouth communication. This happens when friends or relatives suggest or advise for or against a particular item or brand, or if they simply express how satisfied or dissatisfied they were in a particular brand or item even without the conscious effort to affect the personal belief of the listener in the item or brand in question. Word of mouth is everywhere, it was an everyday experience which, at one point, was believed to be strong enough that it can affect consumer attitude. At the onset of media advertising in radio, television and print, commercials took to mimicking word of mouth phenomenon to reflect real life and make it appear that in real life, people are really talking positively about the brand featured in the commercial so that the consumers are influenced towards imbibing the same mindset about the product. Word of mouth style in advertising in media is one of the important types of advertising approach because it was successful and effective. When people see individuals in a commercial enjoying a bottle of a popular soda and talking about it and recommending it to other people, they feel that the people in the commercial are directly talking to them; and for most part consumers who are exposed to television are influenced into trying the product because the commercial made them feel/think that the product was great and it was worth trying. At this point, there was already a genuine word of mouth communication happening between individuals, as well as artificial word of mouth communication, which happen when commercials try to influence and manipulate the thinking, mindset and attitude of the consumers through the help of commercials. Word of mouth, at this time, was still powerful but it was not an unstable power that cannot be controlled. For one, word of mouth communication moves around a particular network and does not extend any further that it cannot immediately create a nationwide attitude for or against a product or brand. Secondly, advertising agencies and marketing professionals managed to control consumer attitude and buying preference largely because of the ability of commercials and marketing efforts to convince people to patronize a particular brand. And then, there was the Internet. The internet was not created primarily to alter the previous status quo in the consumer world. The idea behind the internet is to provide an information highway for everyone to use. But the inherent characteristics of the internet made it an important aspect in how word of mouth, marketing and consumerism would change. The internet gave word of mouth communication renewed power by giving the consumers power communicate with each other and let other consumers know how individuals feel about particular products being sold to the people. The society was introduced to a new set of culture that included blogs and websites, emails and chats, forums and websites which all provided new platforms where information can be made available, information which included the personal thoughts of other consumers about products. It turns out that other consumers are very much interested in finding out what other people think, especially about products that other people are thinking of buying. Because of this, consumers knowingly or unknowingly focused more attention online, looking for the opinion of individuals about different products and letting real life experience and not padded advertisement act as the source of information about products. This information is used to assist the individual in the formation of the individual’s buying attitude and consumer behavior upon a particular product. Some of the examples include the browsing of Internet users in sites that feature blogs on consumer appraisal on products, found in websites like www. oxygen. com and its message board; www. leftgear. com and its style chat; and other websites like www. consumerreviews. com and www. epinions. com. The entry of the internet complicated the relationship of consumer world with world of mouth communication, and most of the problematic aspect of this social change targeted the companies which are finding different ways and means to be able to regain control of this new source of word of mouth communication. I. The Consumer and word of mouth The consumer and word of mouth has been together and closely related to each other for a long period of time. â€Å"Verbal consumer-to-consumer communication, often referred to as simply ‘word of mouth’ (WOM) has long been recognized as an important factor in consumer behavior (Schindler, Barbara, 2005, p. 35). † Word of mouth and consumers are symbiotic and intertwined, each other directly affecting the other. Without consumers, word of mouth communication, at worst will lose its essence and its ethos, especially if the information disseminated are merely results of company-led propaganda. Without word of mouth communication, consumers will have to rely on how much information they have for them to be able to make the best, educated decision when buying products or services and selecting which brand to pick from the shelf. â€Å"The word-of-mouth communication between the consumers is crucial (Takahashi, Sallach, Juliette, 2007, p. 109). † Getting the opinion of other people first before making a decision is one of the innate characteristics of many individuals, and their particular attitude in buying is no different. For some people, they want to know first how other people ahead of him or her in buying the product feels about the item, and then uses this information to assess whether or not he or she will pursue purchasing the product, opt for other brand of the same product or shelf the idea of purchasing one all in all. â€Å"Innovators first seek information from other people in the purchase of an innovation and such behavior is similar across various new product categories (Krishnamurthy, 2004, p. 73). † This particular attitude of consumers is the main vein that connects consumers to word of mouth communication. For most experts, they believe that there are many enough individuals who follow this pattern of behavior in buying that it is important for companies to know how word of mouth communication. The consumers react and interact with each other so that the companies can make adjustments that enable them to use the presence of word of mouth communication to their advantage. If marketers were to realize the intended results of their efforts, they would benefit from understanding the manner in which consumers process WOMC (De Carlo, Laczniak, Sridhar, 2003, p. 225). † This is crucial for consumers because information sharing and dissemination is accomplished through this. But there is more to that. This is also crucial for companies relying on positive word of mouth from consumers to improve how the public perceive the product they are selling, or simply, marketing. The best marketing that ever was, or ever will be is word of mouth. There is no dollar value you can assign to having someone else talk positively about you, your company, and your services (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64). † This realization comes from the consideration that companies also has to rely on wor d of mouth communication because in several instances, the public/consumer is not interested or affected anymore by commercials and are instead more interested in word of mouth communication. Internet-Based Word of Mouth Seen by Consumers as a Fresh Alternative versus Product/Service Commercials There are many reasons why people find the internet-based word of mouth tools like blogs and forums more reliable, dependable and useful for information gathering. One of the possible reasons is that individuals are already tired, fed up or already calloused by the traditional commercials that they are not as affected anymore as in the past in being exposed to product commercials in television and print media. The feeling of being detached and impersonal by these commercials only improves its quality as something that is feigned and artificial, and because people wanted more, particularly something more personal and more genuine, word of mouth via the internet communication became the suitable answer to this consumer need. â€Å"Instead of fake artificial commercial messages, people can now get real-life comments from peers on anything they want (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64). † II. Word of mouth and the Internet. Word of mouth was a social phenomenon even before the age of Internet. But in the entry of the internet in the social structure and global culture, word of mouth communication, no doubt, was influenced by this new technology. â€Å"The development of the Internet has led to the appearance of new forms of word-of-mouth communication (Schindler, Bickart, 2005, p. 35). † Today, the internet and word of mouth is connected with each other; online word of mouth communication is expected by experts to increase as long as the users of the internet continue to increase. As online word of mouth communication increases, so is the power and influence of online word of mouth to affect consumer behavior and buying attitude, making word of mouth dependent on its online breadth for its power and influence, and the internet's source of power dependent in part in how individuals like consumers utilize this medium and give it power by exercising the newfound consumer power (word of mouth communication) through the internet and its features. â€Å"The importance of online WOM increases as access to and usage of the Internet continues to grow (Schindler, Bickart, 2005, p. 35). † Understanding how word of mouth works is one thing. But making word of mouth result favorably towards a particular product or item is more complicated. And with this knowledge, companies ensure that their initial task is not to make the most out of the word of mouth phenomenon by manipulating it in the onset; but rather to ensure that any marketing strategies outside word of mouth considerations do not become a source of negative publicity which in turn would be a potential negative feedback that can be fed in the word of mouth network and would generate more negative publicity and blow the problem out of controllable proportion. The companies’ task is the fine tuning of the advertising strategy driving the demand using sugarcoated advertising claims but paying attention not to initiate negative word-of-mouth effects (Takahashi, Sallach, Juliette, 2007, p. 109). † In the age of internet-based word of mouth, this is a task which is not as difficult as controlling a publicity crisis that went public and became the subject of many blogs and forums that can devastate and destroy the reputation of a product; there is just no ethical way to stop the bloggers from publishing online what they think and feel and how they respond to negative publicity, regardless of the notion that â€Å"bad publicity is still publicity. There is just too many bloggers, blog sites, forums and chat rooms in the information highway that controlling what comes from it is impossible, but making sure bloggers cannot say anything bad about the product, compared to the earlier task, appears more doable, workable and possible. At least through that, companies can hope that they have something they can use to attempt to equalize the impact of internet-based word of mouth communication. In this line of thought, it is easy to see that one of the effects of the powerful internet-based word of mouth communication is forcing companies to either make something flawless and good all in all, or be good in covering up foul ups and problematic aspects that can be used as topics to start communication threads and negative word of mouth streams of conversation that can be devastating. Simply said, this situation can translate to better quality control, with companies trying to play it fair with the consumers as much as possible, lest someone notices how things do not add up and publish it in the internet and create an online buzz that can negatively affect the image of the product and the company. Traditional or through the internet, word of mouth among customers and the consumer is a very powerful aspect of the mechanism of marketing and consumerism. Being able to understand this aspect is critical especially for market strategists and for the company themselves, so that they can, in turn, prepare for the possible trend in the word of mouth phenomenon, how it will affect the product and how they would hand this situation in a manner that benefits them more than harms them. Clemmer, Sheehy (1994) explained what the Washington, D. C. based group TARP or Technical Assistance Research Program found out, particularly that â€Å"while only a small percent of your unhappy customers bother to tell you about their dissatisfaction, they are eager to tell lots of your potential customers about the problems they have had dealing with you (Clemmer, Sheehy, 1994, p. 15). † This is just one of the many proofs that customers talk to each other, share each other’s experiences, and more often than not, take to heart the input they receive from other people and use it to affect their future decision making when it comes to buying or p atronizing a product or item. Through word of mouth phenomenon, many things come into play and not just patronage of products – sometimes the success of the new things being offered to the public is also dependent on word of mouth, regardless of whether or not the outcome resulting from the word of mouth is good or bad publicity for the product. â€Å"Favorable WOM has been found to be positively related to new-product diffusion†¦ Even negative WOM is found to increase credibility (Krishnamurthy, 2004, p. 273). † Increased Role of Word of Mouth Today. As years go by and as the attitude of consumerism increases around the world, the power of consumer input through different channels including the use of word of mouth communication (WOMC) also increased in significance. Partly, this is one of the means by which both the consumers and the companies in need of genuine product, service and performance appraisal can have real, first hand information about how the public as consumers really feel about a product, service or item sold to them. Word of mouth has become one of the gauges, not just of product appraisal but of the performance as well, of the companies to be able to deliver to the public what the public genuinely needs, and not what the companies want the people to need. â€Å"In the past decade, word of mouth and its more formal manifestation found in many consumer and industry protection movements have been playing a much bigger part in broadcasting what kind of service/quality a company is consistently delivering as perceived by its customers (Clemmer, Sheehy, 1994, p. 5). † The increase in this trend is due largely to the growth and increase in customer participation. â€Å"The influence of blogs and podcasts is increasing due to fast expansion of the audience and contributors (Swoboda, Morschett, Rudolph, Schnedlitz, Schramm-Klein, 2008, p. 9). † Word of mouth has become an important point of concern for marketing. This is because at the entry of the internet and the weakening hold of traditional advertising and marketing effort to influence the public, the consumers found in the World Wide Web a new source of information, as well as a place where they have the chance to speak about their experience as consumers, in the process empowering consumers and making them not just mere recipients of the messages of the advertising and marketing strategies but also a source of information that can seriously compete and challenge traditional marketing and advertising when it comes to reaching and affecting the consciousness of the audience. Professionals know about this already, but they are careful not to openly admit how consumers of today rely on word of mouth in the internet blogs and forums. How they are very cautious not to make internet-based word of mouth push their carefully and delicately laid out advertising and marketing plans out of order by making sure that even the consumer has fully ignored the commercials, the word of mouth results still puts a particular product in a positive light. Nacht and Chaney (2006) quoted Paul Beelen who said that a positive comment is very important, more important compared to commercials or print ads especially if the comment was something that came from â€Å"someone you know and trust (Nacht and Chaney (2006, p. 64). † Beelen, as quoted by Nacht and Chaney, went on to explain by stressing that word of mouth became more potent now than it was before because of the fact that â€Å"millions of consumers are now also publishers (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 4)† and the traditional word of mouth that was once left in the party huddles now jumps off and lives on longer and extends towards a wider audience via â€Å"the World Wide Web, in the form of podcasts, wikis, forums, and most importantly: blogs (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64). † Word of Mouth Marketing and the Power of the Internet Why is word of mouth very powerful? One of the reasons is that because it happens as part of a very simple and common human experience. It i s an important part of constant everyday interaction between individuals. Because the efficacy found in the word of mouth phenomena is the fact that there is a sense of commitment and the value of trust and credibility that people are willing to put on the line, making people trust the appraisal of the person who have already used a particular product. This power is a very important power that marketing strategists need to have if they want to be able to control and predict the outcome of buying attitudes and consumer preferences, the result more favorable to the product they intend to sell to the market. For example, the traditional word of mouth phenomenon happens between friends, between relatives or peers in the house, in the neighborhood, in the office or in locations where human verbal interaction is possible. A housewife may rant to a neighbor and fellow housewife how the recent upholstery stain remover did not work for her and how it messed the sofa more. Of course, housewife #2 do not have any way of finding out if this was true or if the worsening of the condition was caused by other factors (i. e. wrong use of the cleaner, etc), but there is a very large possibility that housewife #2 will shy away from the particular brand being discussed and select another brand (not unless the brand being talked about is something that housewife #2 has already used in the past and depended on for quality and performance). Nonetheless, this illustrates what is in play in the word of mouth phenomena. It becomes more credible because people believe that the appraisal/assessment of a product/service is based largely on true, first hand experience without any manipulative motive from the source of information besides the need to share the experience with another individual. The same effect marketing and PR professionals try to produce everytime they use common or ordinary looking individuals to comment on their products or everytime they use the everyday man random interview wherein the individual endorses a product based on his/her own true experience, which some individuals may not easily believe knowing that actors in paid ads are mere puppets and totally unreliable sources of information in a pseudo-word of mouth approach. This traditional word of mouth model is no different from how word of mouth communication and word of mouth marketing happens today in the online world or through the internet. â€Å"In recent years, the opportunity for consumers to generate WOMC (word of mouth communication), and the rate at which it is disseminated, has increased significantly due to penetration of the Internet (De Carlo, Laczniak, Sridhar, 2003, p. 225). Bloggers talk about items they recently bought or thinking of buying, and more often than not replies to the subject thread will generate different opinions about the product being talked about, and this series and streams of ideas racing back and forth between individuals involved in conversation through blogging affect the perception not just of the bloggers involved but also those who come across the blog site and gets to read it (i. . those who searched for the particular product in the search bar to get more information about the item, who will soon have dif ferent notions and particular mindset about the item which was unknown to the person prior to reading the blog and message threads that influenced the individuals thinking and perception about the product). Word of mouth marketing and communication placed in the plateau or realm of the internet is more influential and powerful as it is more dangerous because the spreading of word of mouth through the internet is easier and can target and reach more individuals compared to traditional word of mouth experiences. Because of this, marketing strategist are all the more concerned about the power of the internet-based word of mouth phenomenon. â€Å"Chat rooms and message boards, for example, allow individuals to share experiences with relative ease (De Carlo, Laczniak, Sridhar, 2003, p. 225). † For example, talking about a particular product or item in a chat room with 50 listed participants (something which is not impossible or difficult to achieve, especially with the growth of social networking via the internet that links more and more people together in a tightly knit web of online community that connects one to another in many different links) already puts the source of the information in a position wherein he/she can influence 49 different individuals, especially if the topic/item/product is about something that is of common interest to everyone in the chatroom (i. . the newest electronic entertainment gadget among young individuals or a particular product or item among hobbyist, like the newest GPRS gadget among outdoor enthusiast). Imagine the impact of influencing 49 individuals, something that is not easy to do traditionally since it is not easy to gather 50 individuals in one location on a particular time only to rant about product appraisal (not unless its the a nnual Tupperware Party, where the preferences of the individual on a particular common interest is already a given). Manipulating Internet-Based Word of Mouth Communication Because of the power of online word of mouth communication, there are several efforts to cheat word of mouth communication by planting individuals that will act as sources to create a stir in the internet and in the process allow people to talk about a particular product or item in the internet through blogs and forums and chat rooms, in the process creating word of mouth communication and marketing the product/item/service to the consumer. A perfect example is what happened in the internet during the effort to create popularity for a former pop star. â€Å"Students hired to post questions and comments on teen-oriented chat rooms and bulletin boards generated discussion and interest in pop singer Christina Aguilera (Schindler, Bickart, 2005, p. 35). † The power of word of mouth found in internet tools is very potent that companies are also trying to find ways on how to combat the presence of negative inputs directed at company products resulting from online word of mouth communication. Trademark owners may be able to suppress or excise negative word of mouth (Goldman, 2008, p. 404). † This can be also considered as manipulating online word of mouth, largely to protect the interest of companies who are in danger of bad publicity and bad public standing if word of mouth in the internet is not properly handled. Because of the power of online word of mouth and the collaboration of the word of mouth culture with the internet technology, several changes happened. One of which is the challenging the traditional market cycle power players. Experts believe that online and offline word of mouth communication functions differently. And because of that, control is something that companies are struggling with as word of mouth in the internet increases. â€Å"Offline, trademark owners have a fair amount of control over consumer perceptions of their brands. Online word of mouth undermines that control (Goldman, 2008, p. 04). † Challenging the Traditional â€Å"Expert-Review† Notion Another important characteristic of word of mouth communication in the internet that makes it very influential and significant in the consumer reception and patronage of a product in the shelf is because of what experts believe as the shift of credibility from the traditional â€Å"product experts† to the everyday, everyman blogger in the internet where word of mouth is mostly prevalent. Even if companies pay for the opinion of respected â€Å"product experts,† it hardly matters now because it seems like individuals who want information about a product read about what other individuals like themselves has to say about the product before creating their own mindset and perspective about the item. â€Å"Nowadays, customer reviews posted in different forums or virtual communities, web blogs and podcasts are much more powerful and believable than expert product reviews (Swoboda, Morschett, Rudolph, Schnedlitz, Schramm-Klein, 2008, p. 8). † This is good news for those who will be affected by word of mouth in a positive manner, especially those whose appraisal that was transferred via word of mouth through blog(s) commend the product and encourage other people to use it, because this phenomena evens out the impending failure in credibility of perceived product experts. This can also spell doom and worst case marketing crisis management for those which were appraised negatively in the blogosphere. Word of Mouth as a Source of Important Information One of the sources of power of word of mouth is because people rely on it, generally for information. In this age where there are many things being offered to them, each type of item available in different brands, customers wanted to have more information until they are satisfied that they know what they need to know after making the purchase. â€Å"A second source for consumers to learn about a new product is through word-of-mouth (Krishnamurthy, 2004, p. 273). † This was true during the pre-internet age, and still holds true now that Internet became part of the social culture and took an important part in how word of mouth is undertaken today. Word of mouth, particularly internet based word of mouth communication has been an important source of information that some believe that it has already overtaken the significance of the traditional mass media platforms when it comes to consumer preference on where to find the information that they want to know. Take for example, the case for the diffusion of new products in the market. Some experts believe that in this particular area, word of mouth is very important factor in how the sales and marketability of the new product will turn out after consumer reception to the product is gauged. Awareness of new products primarily came from personal communications, with mass media only consulted when more information was desired (Krishnamurthy, 2004, p. 273). † That people rely heavily on the input of other people rather than the impact of mass media advertising and marketing strategy only points to the idea that large sections of the items, services and other things for sale – particularly those which is in its initial launch level – depend the level of consumer saturation based on how the consumer and their preferences and buying habits will react to the input of word of mouth in their consciousness. Some studies have shown that innovators engage in more WOM communication than do imitators†¦ and are more dependent on WOM (Krishnamurthy, 2004, p. 273). † III. The Internet and the consumer One of the best things that happened to the world is the internet, as much as the internet is one of the best things that happened to consumers because of many different reasons. First, the internet improved purchasing, making the buying and selling of things faster and more convenient both for the vendor and the customer. Online purchasing is also now an option to consumers, thanks to the internet. Another important impact of the internet in the world of consumers is how the internet gave the consumers the power by providing consumers with a new platform for word of mouth communication. In the past, the consumers are left with very little options and chances for their opinion and thoughts to be heard by the companies that sell items, by their fellow consumers and by the rest of the world. With the entry of the internet, the consumer section is once again empowered because they have now, through the internet, what they did not have when the transfer of information was controlled largely by manufacturers and vendors. â€Å"Using the internet, consumers can now easily publish their opinions, providing their thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints on products and services to the public at large (Schindler, Bickart, 2005, p. 35). † A place to speak and influence other consumers through online word of mouth was made possible by the internet, and the consumers are now not merely the end-recipients of the products of capitalism and manufacturing. Consumers, with a more powerful type of word of mouth communication through the internet, can make people boycott brands and products and seriously affect the sales of different items simply by convincing individuals through blogs and forums and chats why such products should not be patronized. Consumers will never see fellow consumers as someone with an agenda, and because of this, they will take the input of fellow consumers and allow it to seriously influence them. Influencing Brand Perceptions Through the use of the internet, the consumer is not only provided with a new way to purchase goods and items, but also given the chance to influence other consumers towards brand perception. â€Å"The broad reach of online word of mouth gives consumers tremendous power to influence brand perceptions (Goldman, 2008, p. 404). † The Power of the Internet in Consumer World There are many proofs of the power of the internet in the consumer world. Some of the proofs include the fact that through the internet, consumers are connected with each other. â€Å"The Internet helps create new word of mouth content and disseminate word of mouth to new and previously unreachable audiences (Goldman, 2008, p. 404),† while another significant proof of the power of the internet in the consumer world is the entry of internet and how it impacted trademark law, â€Å"Online word of mouth poses the most important challenge to Internet trademark law (Goldman, 2008, p. 04). † These proofs of the power of the internet in the consumer world particularly through the internet-based word of mouth only highlights the limitations found in traditional and/or offline word of mouth communication. â€Å"Offline, consumer word of mouth plays a major role in the marketplace by disciplining some brands and rewarding others, but a person’s views typically reach only a limited number of people (Goldman, 2008, p. 404). † Proof of the Power of Internet-Based Word of Mouth The effects of word of mouth among customers and consumers have been studied extensively for years. Ever since market analyst identified the power of word of mouth in the market value and market success of products and other things for sale to the consumers, many entities like TARP have undertaken studies in order to understand more how word of mouth works and how it actually affects things. â€Å"TARP has studied the ripple effects of dissatisfied customers and word of mouth testimonials. The results will rock anyone concerned about sales and marketing (Clemmer, Sheehy, 1994, p. 15). But studies are not just the sole proof that can validate the claim that internet-based word of mouth is effective and is being seriously used today in aggressive marketing. Other proofs may include the cases in the past that pointed to the role and power of internet-based word of mouth and how it influenced the outcome of consumer/public patronage and support. Other proofs of the power of the internet -based word of mouth communication are identified by experts by naming instances wherein internet-based word of mouth communication was important in the marketing and in the ensuing success of the product/item/services for sale to the public. One of the industries that depend on positive public acceptance of what they sell for them to survive and sustain themselves is the entertainment industry, particularly movie making. In the past, many different movies saw what the Internet-based word of mouth can do for particular movies to make it big in the silver screen, including popular titles like the hit Blair Witch Project. â€Å"After the success of the use of Internet buzz in promoting the movie The Blair Witch Project, studios are increasingly relying on online WOM to develop interest in new films (Schindler, Bickart, 2005, p. 5). † The movie acted as a perfect case study that indicate the impact of internet-based word of mouth and how it can create a stir among consumers that can lead to consumption of the product (in this case, leading the people to watch the movie). Because of this, many other marketing strategists of other film outfits followed suit, including this particular formula in the overall marketing str ategy to guarantee the success of the movie based on patronage and public support. The same was the case in the more recent movies, like the global smash hit epic trilogy The Lord of the Rings which, according to Schindler and Bickart (2005), relied on the role and impact of the internet and how it can diffuse word of mouth information via its many different features. â€Å"New Line Cinemas encouraged the development of unofficial web sites about the movies, providing these sites with interviews with the film’s director in order to generate discussion and excitement about the movies (Schindler and Bickart, 2005, p35). Blogs – a Powerful Internet-Based Word of Mouth Communication Tool The creation of blogs and the blogosphere, and how the consumers were quick to embrace and utilize this new, internet-based form of interpersonal interaction is one of the main reasons why the internet has become a very potent source for word of mouth communication, word of mouth marketing and advertising, and word of mouth communication that can either seriously improve or damage a particular product or brand. While blogs are not exclusively focused on product and services analysis, it is easily noticeable how the traditional trend occurring between neighbors who chat and compare their thoughts on different products and services (in the process producing word of mouth communication) transformed into online neighborhood chat. Only this time, the people involved in the conversation of product and services comparison are bigger in numbers and not limited to geographical boundaries. An American youth can blog about his assessment of the latest mobile phone or media player, which can get different reactions from other individuals who may or may not be directly related or connected with the blogger from as far as Asian or European countries. They can converse via their entries and replies in the blog and talk as if they are next door neighbors even when offline they are mere strangers to each other and live thousands of miles away. It is for this particular power to â€Å"spread the word† that marketing strategies and companies make sure that they make sufficient consideration and leg room to accommodate the possible input of blogs and word of mouth communication in the internet in their overall market strategy and the overall performance of the product they are trying to sell. Generally, what every company can hope for is that the bloggers in the blogosphere have mostly good words to tell to each other when it comes to appraising the product/services that they are trying to sell to the public. â€Å"Not only will consumers talk to you via your blog, they also will talk to one another. Your readers can become your best brand-building evangelists, helping you to spread your message and your presence throughout their networks (Nacht, Chaney 2006, p. 64). † Being able to get an online ally and brand evangelist (directly or indirectly) is important because it does not only make one’s product or services look good, but it also helps in selling the product/service to the people. As what most experts believe, what people read in the online blogs focused on product and services assessment and appraisal greatly affect the individual in what he or she might want to buy in the very immediate future. â€Å"For consumers, blogs are like customer reviews on Yahoo! ocal or Amazon, which are helpful in making decisions about what to buy and whose services to use (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 65). † This is the needed push so that consumers can take it to the next level – to actually buy an item, and to start the foundation of a long lasting brand patronage and to trigger the start of new word of mouth by using the new consumer as the new source of information for other people whom the consumer can convince to either try the brand or opt for something else. Of course, marketing and advertising people have since made it their task to provide that necessary push to (1) make the consumer buy, (2) start the foundation of brand loyalty, and (3) make the consumer new sources of information that can influence other consumers and expand the network of word of mouth communication that delivers a very positive message favorable to the product/service being sold to the public. Today, experts believe that this task is something that advertisers and marketing professionals cannot achieve solely by themselves and their efforts. Internet-based tools like blogs provide the crucial word of mouth communication that heavily influences consumers. Blogs, one of the most popular and user-friendly internet-based tool for word of mouth communication, is proving that it is one of the forces to reckon with, flexing extensive power that dictates the movement in consumer attitude. â€Å"Blogs are word of mouth supercharged (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64)! † Add to this trend the consideration that most people outside of the marketing and advertising business is fast catching up with what advertising and marketing is trying to do. They sense the artificial push given to consumer and in the process, making consumers less and less dependent on advertising and more and more difficult to be influenced by advertisements especially when it comes to consulting other people about product input to affect buying attitude and preference. With internet-based tools like blogs, consumers feel like they are genuinely talking to another person who would give them an honest, first hand, experience-based opinion without any motive or agenda to influence the consumer’s buying preference other than to provide information. It is something that most believe they do not actually get from advertisements and marketing campaigns geared at making brands look good and pleasing to the senses and covering up areas which maybe problematic or undesirable for the consumer in real life. In their book, Nacht and Chaney (2006) used as an example the result of a North Carolina survey, and wrote that â€Å"one third of all consumers would prefer to receive product information from friends and specialists rather than from advertising (Nacht and Chaney, 2006, p. 65). The idea of â€Å"friends† in this particular idea would likely include peers and contacts in the online/internet network of an individual. The exchange of information between â€Å"friends† to substitute the information gathering from advertising-based sources most likely happens online, including the use of blogs through writing blogs or reading other people's blogs about the product, in this case blogs act, according to PR strategist Steve Rubel, as a â€Å"24/7 focus group that's transparent and out in the open (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 64). Companies also understand the significance of blogs and have a particular role for blogs to play in how consumerism works, in the hope that blogs can assist them in making sure consumerism and its related socio-economic conditions interact together favorably for the company and its products and items it sells to the public. â€Å"Smart businesses will pay attention to blogs, using them as kind of informal network of consumer opinion. Blogs have become a word-of-mouth marketing channel that allows companies to keep a pulse on their marketplace (Nacht, Chaney, 2006, p. 4). † The Internet Versus the Traditional Tri-Media So how does the internet and its features (i. e. websites, blogs etc) actually become another important source of word of mouth marketing and in the process have the capacity to influence the buying attitudes and preferences of the consumers? The internet, like the radio, print media and the television are all platforms used for the movement of information. The f irst three types of information platforms – the tri-media – nearly had the similar effect that the internet has. While the tri-media, no doubt, had immense effect on buying attitude and preferences and overall marketing, there is something that the internet has managed to give to the target consumers that the tri-media failed to provide them: interactivity. Because the websites and the blogs and the podcasts feature interactivity by allowing ordinary individuals to have a say on products or items for sale, people listen to what they have to say more. And because the internet is an accessible and available platform for discussion between and among customers (something that is not available for the other tri-media since the information direction here is one way – from the companies to the target audience), consumers who tried the product or service feels good that they have an avenue where they as ordinary consumers can appraise and assess a product, without the restrictions of companies and without the marketing scripts and paid appearances by individuals posing as ordinary consumers in the tri-media marketing which, as years went by, became passe and hardly credible a style for word of mouth marketing to convince the consumer/audience. Blogs and the websites has proven that it is a fresh new approach that meant empowering the consumers, allowing them not only to be informed but also to speak about the products and services they bought. The absence of pretentiousness and feigned positive approval in the world of blogging has made it a very influential tool because people speak based from their own appraisal of the product or services. And if the appraisal is good, then this type of word of mouth marketing can indeed help a product to gain more followers and patrons. Similarly, the bloggers who are not impressed by something they bought may speak about the product negatively. This is a serious threat to the market power and credibility of the product. Since the time of television, print and radio advertisements, marketing personnel are already conscious of the impact of having an â€Å"ordinary and common† individual talk about the product. This is why many brands have opted to pick someone that is not popular, someone that represents the common folk, to speak positively about the product as if what they are saying in the television, print or radio advertisement is a genuine personal appraisal and not a scripted one. Of course, to be able to get a space in television, radio or print media, one has to pay a hefty sum, and because of that, it is impossible an d impractical for the real common folk to talk to the masses via the avenues of mass communication about how he or she felt about a particular detergent brand or hamburger chain. The internet, through personal websites and blogs, is a very cheap way to make one’s own assessment of products through product reviews. In this particular sphere, the genuine essence of the idea of word of mouth is maximized because blogging meant that the entire worldwide communities hooked in the internet are talking to each other. This explains the idea that an important aspect of word of mouth marketing information transfer traffic is highly dependent on how the need to interact with peers and friends is facilitated and consumed by the consumers themselves. â€Å"Interaction with peers triggers new customer needs and alters buying attitude (Swoboda, Morschett, Rudolph, Schnedlitz, Schramm-Klein, 2008, p. 8). By blogging, people can influence other people not just about particular brand preferences. They can also influence other people about starting to want to buy something which an individual did not know or want in the past prior to the onset of the influence of the input of blogging or of a particular blog article. Through blogs they tell each other what products they find best and what products they find disappointing. They talk to each other, and the speed by which their messages are sent to each other is something that the traditional tri-media cannot match, making the bloggers and what they say to each other more powerful and more influential. Conclusion How the world is recognizing the true impact of the optimization of a potential of the internet as a powerful tool in marketing particularly through word of mouth marketing today just goes to show that, similar to the case of the traditional tri-media during its early years, new information platforms are always important avenues that affect the people and the different aspects of their lives, one of which is buying attitude and buying preferences. Add to the fact that compared to the era of the early years of the traditional tri-media, the world today at the apex of the influence of the internet on modern day life is also characterized vis-a-vis by the heightened sense of consumerism and capitalism that more and more people are investing in businesses that create new things to sell to the people because they can make people believe they need to buy these things. As products and brands compete for the limited budget of consumers, elbowing each other to be able to find a place in the grocery or shopping bag, what peers in the internet world has to say to each other about particular items and brands is an important word of mouth marketing hinged on electronic/digital medium of information dissemination that should be consistently studied so that they can have the knowledge on how they can use this tool for their own advantage, marketing-wise. This endeavor has, no doubt, started. But the study of this phenomena brings to light the prospect that the media and platforms of information and interactivity will always be an important tool to shape social attitudes, including consumer attitudes towards buying, brand preference and item selection. â€Å" The social effects of the social media are, by and large, a fascinating research area and a field most likely to shape future consumer or even human behavior (Swoboda et al, 2008, p. 9). May it be traditional word of mouth phenomena or online, internet-based word of mouth, what serves as a constant truth is that word of mouth remains an important and influential aspect of social interaction that affects market power of items for sale because word of mouth affects the buying attitude and consumer preferences. â€Å"It appears that electronically transferred or face-to-face WOMC has the potential to alter carefully planned marketing communication programs, depending on how consumers process such information (De Carlo, Laczniak, Sridhar, 2003, p. 225). † This leans towards the understanding that marketing strategies should always take into consideration word of mouth experiences and its impact and how word of mouth can be controlled to favor a particular product and act as a usef ul support mechanism in a marketing strategy.

Computer Thesis

BOUND MANUSCRIPT FORMAT Font: Bookman Old Style, Size 12 Margin: L – 1. 5†, R – 1†, T – 1†, B – 1† Spacing: Single Space (Title Page, Approval Sheet, Executive Summary, Abstract, Appendices) Double space (Body, Table of Contents, Acknowledgement) Page Number: Top-Right of the Page (No page number on the first page of each chapter and on appendices) Table Number and Name: Before the table (left alignment) Figure Number and Name: After the figure (center alignment) TITLE PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii APPROVAL SHEET ii APPROVAL SHEET ii Title (Bold, ALL CAPS) A Project Study presented to the Faculty f the College of Computer Science In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Proponents: First Name MI Last Name (arrange alphabetically – Last Name) October 2012 Title (Bold, ALL CAPS) A Project Study presented to the Faculty of the College of Computer S cience In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Proponents: First Name MI Last Name (arrange alphabetically – Last Name) October 2012 LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF TABLES v TABLE OF CONTENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS iv 2 Introduction Objectives General SpecificScope and Delimitations Review of Related Literature (Implemented previous studies— international, national, local,) Technical Background Existing System Hardware Specifications| Software Specifications| | | Proposed System Recommended Hardware Specifications| Software Requirements| Description 2 Introduction Objectives General Specific Scope and Delimitations Review of Related Literature (Implemented previous studies— international, national, local,) Technical Background Existing System Hardware Specifications| Software Specifications| | | Proposed System Recommended Hardware Specifications| Software Requirements| DescriptionChapter I INTRODUCTION Proj ect Context Present scenario/settings/procedure with the existing system Problems encountered with the existing system Purpose and Description Features of the Proposed System that will solve the problems encountered Benefits that can be derived from the Proposed System Chapter I INTRODUCTION Project Context Present scenario/settings/procedure with the existing system Problems encountered with the existing system Purpose and Description Features of the Proposed System that will solve the problems encountered Benefits that can be derived from the Proposed System Chapter II METHODOLOGYWindows 7 Check Your Understandingcom/windows-7-check-your-understanding/embed/#?secret=Mu8qhiqAyO" data-secret="Mu8qhiqAyO" width="500" height="282" title="â€Å"Windows 7 Check Your Understanding† — Free Essays - PhDessay.com" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no">A. Requirements Specification Operational Feasibility Fishbone Diagram (Add Description Below) Schedul e Feasibility Gantt Chart Cost-Benefit Analysis Data and Process Modeling (Diagrams for the Proposed System) * ERD * Context Diagram * DFD * System Flowchart B. Design * Screenshots (forms), Sample Reports Chapter II METHODOLOGY A. Requirements Specification Operational Feasibility Fishbone Diagram (Add Description Below) Schedule Feasibility Gantt Chart Cost-Benefit Analysis Data and Process Modeling (Diagrams for the Proposed System) * ERD * Context Diagram * DFD * System Flowchart B. Design Screenshots (forms), Sample Reports 8 Methodology C. Development Hardware Specifications Software Specifications Programming Environment * Front End * Back End D. Testing Plan (Testing plan during the development) E. Maintenance Plan * Gantt Chart (Description after the figure) 8 Methodology C. Development Hardware Specifications Software Specifications Programming Environment * Front End * Back End D. Testing Plan (Testing plan during the development) E. Maintenance Plan * Gantt Chart (Descri ption after the figure) BIBLIOGRAPHY Trajano, Emily, â€Å"Visual Basic: An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming†, 2008APPENDICES A. Source Code B. User’s Guide C. Grammarian Certification D. Other Relevant Documents CURRICULUM VITAE (Personal Information, Picture, Educational Background, Seminars/Trainings Attended) BIBLIOGRAPHY Trajano, Emily, â€Å"Visual Basic: An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming†, 2008 APPENDICES E. Source Code F. User’s Guide G. Grammarian Certification H. Other Relevant Documents CURRICULUM VITAE (Personal Information, Picture, Educational Background, Seminars/Trainings Attended) Chapter IV IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Description Implementation Contingency Schedule of Testing (Gantt Chart) testing plan during deployment) Project Implementation Checklist Activities| Finish| Not Finish| On-going| 1. Installed IS| v| | | Chapter IV IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Description Implementation Contingency Schedule of Testing (Gantt Chart) ( testing plan during deployment) Project Implementation Checklist Activities| Finish| Not Finish| On-going| 1. Installed IS| v| | | Chapter III RECOMMENDATIONS Chapter III RECOMMENDATIONS Samples†¦ Table 1. Distribution of Middle Level Managers in terms of Age, IFSU 2011 Age| Frequency (F)| Percentage (%)| MEAN| SD| 26 – 30| 1| 4. 5| 47. 55| 9. 16| 31 – 35| 0| 0| | | 36 – 40| 5| 22. | | | 41 – 45| 3| 13. 6| | | 46 – 50| 6| 27. 3| | | 51 – 55| 1| 4. 5| | | 56 – 60| 4| 18. 2| | | 61 – 65| 2| 9. 1| | | TOTAL| 22| 100. 0| | | Figure 4. Gantt Chart of Schedule of Activities Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Project Context Every organization is concerned with the modernization of their firm to become competitive. Our environment and its usefulness, in business transactions operation, education and others, already know computerization. It supported the success of each individual to gain benefits as the time period, less energy to exert and less number of person involve in processing such job.For this reason many-concerned citizen continue to contrive and investigate various type of applications that they aim to gain advantage of the adoption of modern technology gives big improvement in a company. It will show in a certain firm that there is development. The researchers observed that their recording and other operation are slow when done manually. Purpose and Description The success of an organization depends on its ability to acquire accurate and timely data or information about its operations, manage data effectively and use it to analyze the organizations activities and operations. sample format of citations) According to Earls M. Awad, â€Å"System is an organized group of components or elements linked together according to a plan to achieve an objective†. Information is needed in virtually every field of human thought and action. It generally supports that computerization of information system is considere d a great advantage in an organization. The job performance of management graduates employee and non-management graduates as computerized and is a student profile system operator.Both of them are with computer operations background. She compared the ratings given by the administrators in the performance of the both. One of the clients’ findings of the study was that there is a significant difference between the job performance of the management graduates employee and non-government graduates as assessed by the administrators and the big difference is in favor of management graduates employee for the reason that records is more fast and easy. (http:www. Sourceface. commanagement_1 ote35. html) Computer Thesis BOUND MANUSCRIPT FORMAT Font: Bookman Old Style, Size 12 Margin: L – 1. 5†, R – 1†, T – 1†, B – 1† Spacing: Single Space (Title Page, Approval Sheet, Executive Summary, Abstract, Appendices) Double space (Body, Table of Contents, Acknowledgement) Page Number: Top-Right of the Page (No page number on the first page of each chapter and on appendices) Table Number and Name: Before the table (left alignment) Figure Number and Name: After the figure (center alignment) TITLE PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii APPROVAL SHEET ii APPROVAL SHEET ii Title (Bold, ALL CAPS) A Project Study presented to the Faculty f the College of Computer Science In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Proponents: First Name MI Last Name (arrange alphabetically – Last Name) October 2012 Title (Bold, ALL CAPS) A Project Study presented to the Faculty of the College of Computer S cience In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Proponents: First Name MI Last Name (arrange alphabetically – Last Name) October 2012 LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF TABLES v TABLE OF CONTENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS iv 2 Introduction Objectives General SpecificScope and Delimitations Review of Related Literature (Implemented previous studies— international, national, local,) Technical Background Existing System Hardware Specifications| Software Specifications| | | Proposed System Recommended Hardware Specifications| Software Requirements| Description 2 Introduction Objectives General Specific Scope and Delimitations Review of Related Literature (Implemented previous studies— international, national, local,) Technical Background Existing System Hardware Specifications| Software Specifications| | | Proposed System Recommended Hardware Specifications| Software Requirements| DescriptionChapter I INTRODUCTION Proj ect Context Present scenario/settings/procedure with the existing system Problems encountered with the existing system Purpose and Description Features of the Proposed System that will solve the problems encountered Benefits that can be derived from the Proposed System Chapter I INTRODUCTION Project Context Present scenario/settings/procedure with the existing system Problems encountered with the existing system Purpose and Description Features of the Proposed System that will solve the problems encountered Benefits that can be derived from the Proposed System Chapter II METHODOLOGYWindows 7 Check Your Understandingcom/windows-7-check-your-understanding/embed/#?secret=Mu8qhiqAyO" data-secret="Mu8qhiqAyO" width="500" height="282" title="â€Å"Windows 7 Check Your Understanding† — Free Essays - PhDessay.com" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no">A. Requirements Specification Operational Feasibility Fishbone Diagram (Add Description Below) Schedul e Feasibility Gantt Chart Cost-Benefit Analysis Data and Process Modeling (Diagrams for the Proposed System) * ERD * Context Diagram * DFD * System Flowchart B. Design * Screenshots (forms), Sample Reports Chapter II METHODOLOGY A. Requirements Specification Operational Feasibility Fishbone Diagram (Add Description Below) Schedule Feasibility Gantt Chart Cost-Benefit Analysis Data and Process Modeling (Diagrams for the Proposed System) * ERD * Context Diagram * DFD * System Flowchart B. Design Screenshots (forms), Sample Reports 8 Methodology C. Development Hardware Specifications Software Specifications Programming Environment * Front End * Back End D. Testing Plan (Testing plan during the development) E. Maintenance Plan * Gantt Chart (Description after the figure) 8 Methodology C. Development Hardware Specifications Software Specifications Programming Environment * Front End * Back End D. Testing Plan (Testing plan during the development) E. Maintenance Plan * Gantt Chart (Descri ption after the figure) BIBLIOGRAPHY Trajano, Emily, â€Å"Visual Basic: An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming†, 2008APPENDICES A. Source Code B. User’s Guide C. Grammarian Certification D. Other Relevant Documents CURRICULUM VITAE (Personal Information, Picture, Educational Background, Seminars/Trainings Attended) BIBLIOGRAPHY Trajano, Emily, â€Å"Visual Basic: An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming†, 2008 APPENDICES E. Source Code F. User’s Guide G. Grammarian Certification H. Other Relevant Documents CURRICULUM VITAE (Personal Information, Picture, Educational Background, Seminars/Trainings Attended) Chapter IV IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Description Implementation Contingency Schedule of Testing (Gantt Chart) testing plan during deployment) Project Implementation Checklist Activities| Finish| Not Finish| On-going| 1. Installed IS| v| | | Chapter IV IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Description Implementation Contingency Schedule of Testing (Gantt Chart) ( testing plan during deployment) Project Implementation Checklist Activities| Finish| Not Finish| On-going| 1. Installed IS| v| | | Chapter III RECOMMENDATIONS Chapter III RECOMMENDATIONS Samples†¦ Table 1. Distribution of Middle Level Managers in terms of Age, IFSU 2011 Age| Frequency (F)| Percentage (%)| MEAN| SD| 26 – 30| 1| 4. 5| 47. 55| 9. 16| 31 – 35| 0| 0| | | 36 – 40| 5| 22. | | | 41 – 45| 3| 13. 6| | | 46 – 50| 6| 27. 3| | | 51 – 55| 1| 4. 5| | | 56 – 60| 4| 18. 2| | | 61 – 65| 2| 9. 1| | | TOTAL| 22| 100. 0| | | Figure 4. Gantt Chart of Schedule of Activities Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Project Context Every organization is concerned with the modernization of their firm to become competitive. Our environment and its usefulness, in business transactions operation, education and others, already know computerization. It supported the success of each individual to gain benefits as the time period, less energy to exert and less number of person involve in processing such job.For this reason many-concerned citizen continue to contrive and investigate various type of applications that they aim to gain advantage of the adoption of modern technology gives big improvement in a company. It will show in a certain firm that there is development. The researchers observed that their recording and other operation are slow when done manually. Purpose and Description The success of an organization depends on its ability to acquire accurate and timely data or information about its operations, manage data effectively and use it to analyze the organizations activities and operations. sample format of citations) According to Earls M. Awad, â€Å"System is an organized group of components or elements linked together according to a plan to achieve an objective†. Information is needed in virtually every field of human thought and action. It generally supports that computerization of information system is considere d a great advantage in an organization. The job performance of management graduates employee and non-management graduates as computerized and is a student profile system operator.Both of them are with computer operations background. She compared the ratings given by the administrators in the performance of the both. One of the clients’ findings of the study was that there is a significant difference between the job performance of the management graduates employee and non-government graduates as assessed by the administrators and the big difference is in favor of management graduates employee for the reason that records is more fast and easy. (http:www. Sourceface. commanagement_1 ote35. html)

Ordinary Research Paper Essays

Ordinary Research Paper Essays Ordinary Research Paper Essay Ordinary Research Paper Essay It certainly seems unfair that WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson, highest paid WNBA player, can make a maximum of $87,000 per year, while perennial NBA disappointment Shawn Bradley is guaranteed a minimum of $1,100,000. Many people believe it isn’t fair that males playing basketball should receive higher pay than the females playing basketball at the professional level. In the USA, employees completing the same job are supposed to have equal pay because the USA is based on gender equality. NBA players are among the highest paid employees on the planet, while WNBA players are earning an average between $46,000 to $60,000 a year. Even though the WNBA has only recently been established, the NBA receives more attention than the WNBA in several different ways. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) will hopefully grow in the next few years (Issaquah Par. 1-3). The National Basketball Association created the Women’s National Basketball Association. The idea behind the WNBA began in 1996 when the Olympics were held in the United States. The United States Women’s Basketball Team traveled across America meeting fans. The women’s team won the gold medal in the Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia. The American people wanted to see these new basketball stars play in there own league in the United States. The NBA decided to start WNBA teams in the cities that already possessed NBA teams. The women would play while the men were on summer vacation (Owens 6). The WNBA began in 1996 and originated with eight teams. One of the first teams in the league was the Los Angeles Sparks. They had Lisa Leslie on their team, who was famous before the Women’s National Basketball Association. She was one of the best United States basketball players. There were players from other countries coming to play in the United States in order to take advantage of the opportunity (Owens 9-13). The other WNBA teams formed to start the season in 1997 were the Phoenix Mercury, Utah Starzz, Sacramento Monarchs, Cleveland Rockers, New York Liberty, Houston Comets, Miami Sol, and the Portland Fire (The Associated Press 1-14). There are now 14 teams total in the WNBA. As of 2008, the teams consisted of the Detroit Shock, Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Houston Comets, Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Sacramento Monarchs, Phoenix Mercury, San Antonio Silver Stars, Seattle Storm, Washington Mystics, and, the newest team joining the WNBA, is the Atlanta Dream. The WNBA is split into two conferences the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference consists of 7 teams. Teams in the Eastern Conference are the Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Detroit Shock, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty, and Washington Mystics. The Western Conference is made up of Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, San Antonio Silver Stars and the Seattle Storm. Having conferences helps decided the top teams in the WNBA (WNBA Enterprises 1-10). The Women’s National Basketball Association began with eight teams in 1997 and expanded to 16 teams in 2002; three franchises folded by the start of the 2004 season. Cleveland, Miami, and Portland no longer exist as WNBA teams. In 2003, the Utah Starzz moved to San Antonio to become the Silver Stars. Chicago became a team in 2006 (The Associated Press 1-14). The Women’s National Basketball Association will tip off its 12 season of play on Saturday, May 17. Twelve of the 14 teams will play on the opening day (WNBA Enterprises Par. 1). The WNBA has established itself since 1996 and with its first season in 1997. There are now higher salaries; the league minimum was $5000 in 1997. Now, everyone in the WNBA makes at least five figures. No one has yet brought home a million dollars. There is a feeling that this milestone is not too far away. There has been a vast move forward in salaries since the league started in 1996 (Harris Par. 2). There are now better players in the WNBA. They began with two of the best women’s basketball players and now have many. When the league started, they suspected that Rebecca Lobo and Lisa Leslie were the best that women’s basketball had to offer. Now there are players like Sacramento ’s Yolanda Griffith, Los Angeles ’ Tameka Dixon, and Houston ’s Tina Thompson who have proven to be forces with which to contend. These players have rallied fans and money with out the help of the WNBA’s marketing machine (Harris Par. 3). National broadcasts air more of the WNBA games on TV now. When previously viewing the broadcast schedule, it seemed as if the league had pre-selected a national champion. The favorite seemed to receive more televised games (Harris Par. 4). In 2008, the WNBA and ESPN announced an eight-year suspension. The suspension was an agreement to have ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 televise WNBA games through 2016. This agreement was reached in a year when the increased attendance to games, enhanced TV viewership, and the number of people visiting WNBA. com rose as well. The agreement guarantees increased promotion of the WNBA on ESPN and will run through the 20 season of the WNBA (WNBA Enterprises Par. 2). Now, today teams that were not in the original line up that created the WNBA are receiving broadcasting time on television (Harris Par. 4). The WNBA has made greater strides over the years. The rivalries are more intense between fans cheering and booing for the team they want to win. There were amazing turnarounds in teams. Teams known as the worst in the WNBA one year made it to the conference finals the next. In every way, the Women’s National Basketball Association is taking steps. However, the WNBA is still not as respected as the NBA. Hopefully, the WNBA still possesses years to expand and make something more of themselves (Harris Par. 1-5). There are requirements that need to be met in order to become a member of the WNBA just like any other job. Females are not allowed to go directly from high school to the WNBA. To be a prospect for the WNBA, females must be at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the season to be played. A female must complete her intercollegiate basketball eligibility, graduate from a four year college or university or play at least two seasons for another professional basketball league. People may believe simply being good at basketball will help get a jersey and a spot to be on a team. However there are requirements to be met (WNBA Media Ventures Par. 1). After meeting the requirements to get drafted to the WNBA, there are different skills in which scouts are interested. The position played, whether it be guard, post, or forward, depends on scouts. Different positions have different skills that need to be mastered. Some things remain the same no matter what position being played. Scouts look at athleticism, knowledge of the game, execution of the plays and sets, work ethic, and poise under pressure. One shouldn’t simply focus on the way they play, but work on other things to help improve there game, too (WNBA Media Ventures Par. 2). It is hard to be recognized in the WNBA. Going to a small school, can mean it is difficult to know how to expose oneself or get invited to the draft camp. Making a high light tape is a good step to get recognized. A prospective player should send the video or film to current teams and the national office. Including a resume is a good idea in order to show stats and achievements. With respect to all divisions of colleges, coaches evaluate players from all conferences and divisions. By reading basketball publications, newspaper articles, updates, watching videotapes, and attending games, they develop background information on various players (WNBA Media Ventures Par. 3). Not everyone gets invited to the WNBA draft camp. To be considered females must meet WNBA requirements. Also the national office must have current game footage and a resume on file. Then, the player will be evaluated. That is how the WNBA determines if players have the skills and ability to play at the next level. It is the WNBA’s best intention to find the best players in the nation to compete at the next level (WNBA Media Ventures Par. 3). The number of draft picks changes depending on the amount of players needed on a team that year. Much depends on how many retire from the WNBA. If there are good players eligible for the WNBA one year and not the next, that also has an effect on how many players the WNBA teams will draft. If there are better players one year that can make it in the WNBA then the WNBA would draft them over someone who can’t. The highest number of draft picks ever in the WNBA was in 2001 and 2002. Sixty four players were drafted. The first round, second draft pick in 2002 plays for the Detroit Shock and is still there today. The lowest number of draft picks since the WNBA started in 1997 was 38 picks in the year of 2004. The first two picks in 2004 are powerhouses in the WNBA still playing strong. Diana Taurasi, who was drafted first in 2004, just won the national championship in 2007. Therefore, the demand for necessary players as well as how the collegiate players performance determines the number of draft picks (Insidehoops. com Par. 1-7). After getting drafted the WNBA has to decide how much money each player will get paid. The salary cap for the WNBA is going up every year but is still not even close to the NBA salary cap. The WNBA team salary cap in 2004 was $647,000, increasing every year in 2005 the cap was at $673,000, in 2006 it increased to $700,000, then in 2007 was up to $728,000 per team. The salary has been making a steady climb up but still has a ways to go to be close to the NBA (Insidehoops. com Par. 4). With the highest team salary in the NBA is $103,100,000 and the lowest team salary is $23,000,000 a year (Insisdehoops. om Par. 14). With 14 teams in the WNBA by adding up all their team salaries it doesn’t even add up to the minimum NBA team salary cap (Insidehoops. com Par. 4). The average salary of an NBA player making $3. 7 million the average salary for a WNBA player is only $50,000 (BlackAthlete Sports Network Par. 6). The maximum pay for players in the WNBA and NBA are not even close. The m aximum salary of a WNBA is $87,000 (Insidehoops. com Par. 3). While the highest paid NBA player is making 22 million dollars (Insidehoops. com Par. 5). The minimum WNBA salary for players of 0-3 years of experience is $30,600. Players with four or more years of experience make an average of $43,700. If on the team that wins the WNBA championship each player receives a bonus of $10,000 each. The runner-up team each player gets a $5,000 bonus. There is a very big difference in pay that the WNBA players and the pay that the NBA players receive (Insidehoops. com Par. 3). Some women in the WNBA have to get another job besides just playing basketball because they are not brining in enough money. Katie Smith is the all-time leading scorer in women’s professional basketball, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, and a four time WNBA all-star. If Katie were a man in the NBA she would never have to work another day in her life but being in the WNBA and not making enough money she decided to go to dental school. Smith being one of the best players in the WNBA is making nearly $90,000 which is a good amount of money but no matter how long or well you play basketball will not pay for your future. Only a few WNBA players have endorsement deals, while others have to get a job in the off-season or they go and play over seas to bring in extra income (BlackAthlete Sports Network Par. -9). The reason the pay could be so different in the WNBA and NBA could depend on the game schedules, price of tickets or game attendance. Comparing the Detroit Pistons an NBA team to the Detroit Shock an WNBA. Their 2007-2008 seasons differ very much. The Shock only has one preseason game (WNBA Enterprises Par. 1). While the Pistons compete in six preseason games. The Pistons season not including the play offs stretches from October 8 2007 through Apr il 16 2008. During that time the Pistons compete in 90 games (NBA Enterprises Par. 1). The Shock season runs from May 12 2008 through September 14 2008 not including play offs. Throughout this time the Shock will perform in 35 games (WNBA Enterprises Par. 1). The NBA has an average of 17,000 people attend their games and the WNBA only bring in about 10,000. Another reason the pay could be so different is because on average the ticket price to go to an NBA game is $45 and to a WNBA it is only $15. The NBA tends to have more games and longer seasons but one day the WNBA may be equal to the NBA (Issaquah Par. 4). â€Å"Its official the WNBA established itself as a real, professional, respectable sport. We’ve still got a ways to go, but the league’s progress since the 1997 inaugural season has been nothing short of a remarkable† (Harris Par. 1). The WNBA has gained teams and publicity over the years (WNBA Enterprises Par. 1-10). With the league going in a positive direction the salaries are also increasing (WNBA Enterprises Par. 1-4). Even though the WNBA has only recently been established, the NBA receives more attention than the WNBA in several different ways. The WNBA will hopefully keep growing and become as established as the NBA someday. â€Å"Atlanta Becomes 14th WNBA Franchise In League. † The Associated Press. 2007: 20 Feb. 2008 . Brown, Renee. â€Å"Hoops 101: Renee Brown. † WNBA Media Ventures. 2002: 19 Feb. 2008 Harris, Fran. â€Å"WNBA: The WNBA Is On Its Way. † Buzzle. com. 2008: 12 Feb. 2008 . Issaquah, Rebekah. â€Å"How Much Money Does the Average WNBA Player Make Per Year Compared to an NBA player? † Yahoo! Inc. 2004: 12 Feb. 2008 . â€Å"NBA Salaries. † InsideHoops. com. 2008: 14 March 2008 . Owens, Thomas S. Teamwork: The Houston Comets in Action. New York: Rosen, 1999. Owens, Thomas S. Teamwork: The Los Angeles Sparks in Action. New York: Rosen, 1999. â€Å"Pistons Schedule and Results. † NBA Media Ventures. 2008: 14 March 2008 . â€Å"Shock Schedule 2008. † WNBA Enterprises. 2008: 14 March 2008 . â€Å"WNBA’s 2008 Schedule: Season Tips Off May 17. † WNBA Enterprises. 2008: 22 Feb. 2008 . â€Å"WNBA Draft History. † InsideHoops. com . 2008: 19 Feb. 2008 . â€Å"WNBA Players Plan Futures. † BlackAthlete Sports Network. 2005: 14 March 2008 . â€Å"WNBA Salaries. † InsideHoops. com. 2008: 14 March 2008 .

To Drink or not to Drink essays

To Drink or not to Drink essays Throughout the United States, many laws have been passed, changed, and abolished. Even as you read this paper, new laws are being formed, current laws are changing, and old laws are in the process of removal from our very constitution. On July 17, 1984, every states legal drinking age was raised from eighteen years of age to twenty-one. Our government believes that two major reasons triggered the drinking age increase. According to statistics recorded by each year, teenage drinking is one of the largest causes of the many fatalities on the road. Others view alcohol as a drug to young America. America is one of the only nations in the world with such a high limit to the drinking age. Our bordering countries, Canada and Mexico, have legal drinking ages of eighteen years, and yet they have few problems related to teenage drinking. If an eighteen year old can make the same decisions that any person over the age of twenty-one can, such as voting or buying weapons, what seems so th reatening about teenage drinking? As an adult, would you want irritable teenagers sitting beside you in a bar? In most case scenarios, the answer would be no. The mere thought of an irresponsible teenager drinking alcohol during their high school years is detestable. Most adults view teenagers as immature, and would prefer for teenagers to be unexposed to alcoholic beverages. Underage drinking and driving is not only weeding out young America, but the results from the drinking and driving also kills more than the unruly and irresponsible teens. In the public and governmental viewpoints, if alcohol is banned from teenagers, they will be more responsible and the nations drunk driving statistics will go down considerably. Through the statistics, you will find that it is true; there is a slightly larger amount of drinking and driving accidents by teens than that of any other age group. Between 1970 and 1990, the MLDA was strongly ass...

Zulu War Vocabulary

Zulu War Vocabulary The following is a list of common Zulu terms relevant to Zulu war culture and especially the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Zulu War Vocabulary isAngoma (plural: izAngoma): diviner, in contact with ancestral spirits, witch doctor.iBandla (plural: amaBandla): tribal council, assembly, and the members thereof.iBandhla imhlope (plural: amaBandhla amhlope): a white assembly, a married regiment which was still required to attend all the kings musters, rather than live in semi-retirement.iBeshu (plural: amaBeshu): calf-skin flap covering the buttocks, part of the basic umutsha costume.umBhumbluzo (plural: abaBhumbuluzo): Shorter war shield introduced by Cetshwayo in the 1850s during the civil war against Mbuyazi. Only 3.5 feet long compared to the longer traditional war shield, isihlangu, which measures t least 4 foot.iButho (plural: amaButho): regiment (or guild) of Zulu warriors, based on age-group. Sub-divided into amaviyo.isiCoco (plural: iziCoco): married Zulus headring made from binding a ring of fibre into the hair, coated in a mixture of charcoal and gum, and polished with beeswax. It was a common practice to share part or all of the rest of the head to accentuate the presence of the isicoco - although this varied from one Zulu to the next, and shaving the hair not a required part of a warriors costume. inDuna (plural: izinDuna): a state official appointed by the king, or by a local chief. Also commander of group of warriors. Various levels of responsibility occurred, rank would be indicated by the amount of personal decoration – see inGxotha, isiQu.isiFuba (plural: iziFuba): the chest, or centre, of the traditional Zulu attack formation.isiGaba (plural: iziGaba): a group of related amaviyo within a single ibutho.isiGodlo (plural: iziGodlo): the king, or a chiefs, residence found at the upper end of his homestead. Also the term for the women in the kings household.inGxotha (plural: izinGxotha): heavy brass arm-band awarded for by the Zulu king for outstanding service or bravery.isiHlangu (plural: iziHlangu): traditional large war shield, approximately 4 foot long.isiJula (plural: iziJula): short-bladed throwing spear, used in battle.iKhanda (plural: amaKhanda): military barracks where an ibutho was stationed, bequested to the regiment by the king.umKhonto (plural: imiKhonto): general term for a spear. umKhosi (plural: imiKhosi): first fruits ceremony, held annually.umKhumbi (plural: imiKhumbi): an assembly (of men) held in a circle.isiKhulu (plural: iziKhulu): literally great one, a high ranking warrior, decorated for bravery and service, or an important person in the Zulu hierarchy, a member of a council of elders.iKlwa (plural: amaKlwa): Shakan stabbing-spear, otherwise known as an assegai.iMpi (plural: iziMpi): Zulu army, and word meaning war.isiNene (plural: iziNene): twisted strips of either civet, green monkey (insamango), or genet fur hanging as tails in front of the genitals as part of the umutsha.. Senior ranked warriors would have a multi-coloured isinene made from two or more different furs twisted together.iNkatha (plural: iziNkatha): the sacred grass coil, a symbol of the Zulu nation.umNcedo (plural: abaNcedo): plaited grass sheath used to cover male genitals. Most basic form of Zulu costume.iNsizwa (plural: iziNsizwa): unmarried Zulu, a young man. Youth was a term re lated to lack of marital status rather than actual age. umNtwana (plural: abaNtwana): Zulu prince, member of the Royal house and son of the king.umNumzane (plural: abaNumzane): the headman of a homestead.iNyanga (plural: iziNyanga): traditional herbal doctor, medicine man.isiPhapha (plural: iziPhapha): throwing-spear, usually with a short, broad blade, used for hunting game.uPhaphe (plural: oPhaphe): feathers used to decorate the headdress:iNdwa: the Blue Crane, has long (roughly 8 inches), graceful slate-grey tail feathers. Single feather used at front of umqhele headress, or one placed either side. Mainly used by higher ranking warriors.iSakabuli: the Longtailed Widow, the breeding male has a long (up to 1 foot) black tail feathers. The feathers were often tied to porcupine quills and fixed inside the headband. Sometimes woven into a basketwork ball, umnyakanya, and worn at the front of the umqhele headband, denoting an unmarried ibutho.iNtshe: the ostrich, both black and white feathers used. White tail-feathers significantly longer (1. 5 feet) than the black body-feathers.iGwalagwala: Knysna Lourie and the Purple-crested Lourie, green to greenish black tail feather (eight inches long) and crimson/metallic purple feathers from wings (four inches). Bunches of these feathers were used for the headdresses of very high ranking warriors. iPhovela (plural: amaPhovela): headdress made of stiffened cow-skin, usually in the form of two horns. worn by unmarried regiments. Often decorated with feathers (see ophaphe).uPondo (plural: izimPondo): the horns, or wings, of the traditional Zulu attack formation.umQhele (plural: imiQhele): Zulu warriors headband. Made from a tube of fur padded out with dried bull-rushes or cow dung. Junior regiments would wear imiqhele made from leopard skin, senior regiments would have otter skin. Would also have amabheqe, ear-flaps made from the pelt of the Samango monkey, and isinene tails hanging from the back.isiQu (plural: iziQu): bravery necklace made from interlocking wooden beads, presented to the warrior by the king.iShoba (plural: amaShoba): tufted cow-tails, formed by flaying part of the hide with tail attached. Used for arm- and leg- fringes (imiShokobezi), and for necklaces.umShokobezi (plural: imiShokobezi): cow-tail decorations worn on the arms and/or legs.amaSi (plural only): curd led milk, staple diet of the Zulu. umThakathi (plural: abaThakathi): wizard, sorcerer, or witch.umuTsha (plural: imiTsha): loincloth, basic Zulu outfit, worn over the umncedo. Consists of a thin belt made of cow hide with ibeshu, a soft calf-skin flap over the buttocks, and isinene, twisted strips of either civet, Samango monkey or genet fur hanging as tails in front of the genitals.uTshwala: thick, creamy sorghum beer, rich in nutrients.umuVa (plural: imiVa): Zulu army reserves.iViyo (plural: amaViyo): a company-sized group of Zulu warriors, usually between 50 and 200 men. Would be commanded by a junior level induna.iWisa (plural: amaWisa): knobkerrie, a knob-headed stick or war club used to bash out the brains of a foe.umuZi (plural: imiZi): a family-based village or homestead, also the people who live there.

Strategic Planning With the Hoshin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Planning With the Hoshin - Essay Example Strategic planning is the forecasting of the character and ways of development of the macro-system, tendencies of the industry development and their impact on the enterprise, its perspectives and stages of development, and that is determination of the business strategy for the enterprise. The Hoshin Process, described in the article, is often called operations strategy in Western literature. Operations Strategy, being the combination of the philosophical and operational levels of strategic management, represents the only possible method of surviving in the dynamic conditions of the global market economy. It is a general plan of the firm’s development and improvement at all the levels of its functioning, including all the aspects of objectives and goals. However, this plan is not a rigid and constant, but a dynamic and changing phenomenon. Due to this dynamics operations strategy provides an opportunity to meet and foresee all the market requirements, through usage of unique re sources and competencies. Operations strategy has become the major method of maintaining sustainable competitive advantage of the firms. The hoshin process, being a strategic planning methodology, provides an opportunity for long-term planning, breakthrough operations and day-to-day management. The article gives us an insight into the major requirements to the strategic management. The planning begins from positioning of the firm: where we are now and where we want to be. The strategy itself is a plan of overcoming the gap between the two points within a defined period. Objectives and goals being set, implementation of the strategy starts at all the levels of the organization. The hoshin methodology offers a systemized and standard strategic planning. The strategy is established by the upper management. However, strategic planning includes both top-down and bottom-up process. In the hoshin process the strategies are adapted to the mission, major objectives and goals of the organization at